Back to Basics – Episode 01

Haman hamdulillah

Mohammed Ali, he was

a beloved brothers and sisters in Islam. I said I'm Ali Kumara to Lahore Barakatuh Jazakallah fade. Thank you so much for joining us with Episode One, a brand new series entitled back to basics, the essentials of Islam. Before we begin a little introduction about the course about this entire series, we said a few months ago that because we live in a very difficult a very busy time, many of us would love to learn more about Islam we'd like to attend a class or read a book but we find it that we just don't have time during the week or even the weekends over the holidays to do any further studies. And you know even myself Subhanallah I find it very difficult to teach a class I'd

love to teach many classes live but they just isn't time in the day to do something like that Allah make it easy for us and leave you know the the team yet put a handle, but I don't imagine we make do out for all of us here that there was a need and said why don't we try and distribute a course via WhatsApp, very short 2030 minute audio once or twice a week that someone can listen to ideally in traffic that you setswana so many everyday you said an hour, two hours you're in Cape Town traffic has become so difficult now let make it easy for us. Let us use that time. beneficially we can either do a car, or we can listen to a lecture series. And we can actually learn and progress. After

a few weeks of listening to these audios, we have completed a new course while hamdulillah and therefore about a few months ago, we released our first series called The women around the Messenger of Allah Salam where we documented and discuss the lives of the mothers of the believers, the wives of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam in a 50 part series Alhamdulillah a lot of work from the bronto team, we released that and we completed that Alhamdulillah and it's available to those of you who have not followed the series, you can contact us and receive the entire series free of charge off of the episodes with the audios and the material, please, you know, share, we only ask that you you

make the offers and that you share that with other other individuals and you also benefit in America. So we did that series Alhamdulillah it was completed and it had gone far and wide. And then we took a bit of a break. And we asked you which series Would you like to learn what area of Islamic knowledge? Are you interested in learning? We did a bit of a survey we asked you Would you like to learn about the biography of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, he Sierra? Would you like to learn a little bit of Tafseer the meanings of the ayah to the sutras that you decide do you want to know what you are reciting in your Salah. So let's do some Tafseer. We would like to learn about Kiana or

the angels or the jinn or magic or these kind of you know strange things. And while we received, you know, a hamdulillah responses from nearly 50 people or more the the feedback that has been the overwhelming majority that you have requested was to learn the basics or the essentials of Islam again. Now many of you tell me that Alhamdulillah you know we went to madrasa or madrasa as we were young kids, we learnt a bit of salado how to butcher, as we say in Cape Town. And that was good. But now that I'm an adult, I'd like to relook at that basic information with a level of maturity and wisdom in a way that I couldn't appreciate. As a child, I have my own kids now. And I would like to

explain this Deen this way of life to my kids. So we'd like to look at what it means to be a Muslim. What is this religion all about? Also, I have certain people that have messaged me that are interested in becoming Muslim. They're not Muslim, but they're interested in Islam. And they want to know, well, what is this religion all about? Or you find someone that says, You know, I never went to madrasah I maybe have a Muslim name. But in reality, I have no attachment to this Dean. And I'd like to learn this religion first, so I can understand what it is that I'm doing. You might even find the person that is not interested in Islam that is not interested in learning the religion, but

they might interact with Muslims on a daily basis. In fact, one in four people, one quarter of the world's population identifies as Muslims 50 countries in the world identifies as Muslim majority countries. So to really understand this religion, which is one of the great faiths of the world, it's important to know something about it. And inshallah We hope that this course will will do that of the objectives of this course, is we want to take Islam all the way back to its very core. We are going to look at Islam at the very essential basic level. And we want to ask those fundamental questions, those questions that every human being asked some point in your life, you wake up in the

morning, and you think, why am I going to work? Why am I you know, what am I doing on this earth? What is the purpose of my life? Who put me here? Is the Creator is there God is everything. Yes.

The reason is the greater purpose or is everything here by chance or by luck. What happens after I pass away? What will become of me and my deeds? We will look at the very basic fundamental questions that every human being asks some point in your life, the purpose of life, we will hope through this course to strengthen your relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala, your Creator, and you will find that you can worship Him in every aspect of your life. It is not just the solar, it is worship, but in how you buy and sell how you talk to your wife, how you interact with your children, your customers, how you use the toilet is all part of your relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala. We

will highlight the truth and the evidences of this religion. Why is Islam true? And why should I follow and believe this religion? How do I know it is correct? We'll look at those evidences the evidences of the Quran, the miracles of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, then we will look at what it means to be a Muslim. What are the things I need to believe? And the things I need to do? How do I perform those basic rituals of salah and fasting and purification. And we also hope as we did in the mothers of the believers or the women around the messenger Salaam, we hope to respond to certain criticism in modern the modern day and age, what you see on TV or in the media about Islam, a very

different Islam to what is found in the Quran and the Sunnah and the way the prophets and I'm live this life, how do we respond to those criticizing Islam? Those who, on a theological level attack this religion? How do we respond to that being a Muslim in the Western world? How do I preserve my Islam in this context? So we hope to do all these things in sha Allah with the CDs, but you can allow us Allah to grant that sincerity. Allah grant us success, and the perseverance to go through it and to only say and do that which pleases him when hamdulillah so we begin in sha Allah listen to one, what is Islam? What is Islam? I call myself a Muslim. I say I practice the religion of Islam.

But if someone were to ask me, what does this Islam mean? And it's very important for us to look at words, words, obviously have meaning, the word Islam, the word Muslim, they are Arabic words, and they mean something. And Allah subhanho wa Taala chose these words to describe this religion for a reason. So it's important to go back to the Arabic. So the word Islam, the word Islam, if you open the Arabic dictionary, and you were to look up this word, you would see that the word Islam, it comes from it's a root letters, it's the root letters means to submit or to surrender. The one who makes Islam, the one who makes who practices This is the one who submits or he surrenders, he does

not oppose anything. He is the one also the one that fully wholeheartedly gives up all opposition. This is what the word Islam means from a linguistic background. Also, you know, as Muslims we say, Assalamualaikum, the word Assam peace, Islam, similarly, is derived from from that. So there's an element of being in a state of peacefulness, the one who submits peacefully completely. This is really what the word Islam refers to. That is the word in the dictionary. When we speak about Islam as the religion. What do we mean? Islam is the religion of the one who submits and surrenders completely wholeheartedly purely to his creator, the male, the female, the person who submits

completely in peace, without any opposition to the Creator. That person is the one who practices Islam, it is the way of life it is the religion that puts you in submission with the Creator. That is what this word Islam means. And the one who submits the one who practices the religion, the one who follows this religion of submission, he is called a Muslim. So the Muslim is the one who submits Islam is the way in which you submit to the higher power to the Creator. In this course, we will ask Who is this creator? How do I submit How do I be a Muslim? Those questions in sha Allah will come the term Islam and Muslim very interestingly, they are found in the Quran, they found in our

scripture, and we did not name ourselves Muslim. And nor did we give this religion there was no shape or mowlana. That said, the word Islam sounds really nice. I will give you that name. We could have had many names, we could have been the mohammedans, the followers of Muhammad, we could have been the the monotheists, the ones who believe in one God, but the name Islam was given to us this label was placed upon us by whom, by Allah Himself, by the Lord, creator of the universe. He had chosen the name of our religion, and he had given us the label. There is no need for us to have any other labels when it comes to our belief. You're either a Muslim or non Muslim, that you are one who

submits or you will not submit. This is the title Allah had given you had given me and there are many religions on earth yet you will not find in those religious scriptures. The word Christianity you open the Bible, you won't find the word Christian Christianity.

This was something which the followers later added, you look at the scriptures of the Vedas or Hinduism, you won't find the word Hindu in the Buddhism, you will not find the word. Buddhists inside the scripture are always the follower of Buddha. This religion, which is very unique, you find the term Islam and Muslim in the Quran. So Allah Subhana Allah says in Surah, Merida, four three of the Quran, verse number three, Allah says, this day, I have perfected for you your religion, this religion, I have perfected it, and I completed my favor upon you or mankind. And I have approved for you that Islam shall be your religion, but this religion that you shall follow

this way of life is going to be called Islam. And Allah subhanaw taala then also labeled us as Muslims, when you sit in sort of Hajj, the 22nd surah of the Quran, verse number 78. He said, this religion is the religion of your forefather Ibrahim, this religion is the same religion that was practiced by Abraham. It is He Allah, God Almighty, who has named you as Muslims, both before and in the school. And I've given you the title as Muslim, the ones who submit as I've given Ibrahim the title as Muslim and before him. So we begin to see now that this religion, and this title of Islam, and this title of Muslim is one that was given to us by the Creator Himself. And he's the religion

that he has favored and chosen for mankind. And as we see, this is the only religion in the world where you open the book, and you will say this title was not given by any clergy or any Imam, it was given by God Himself. When you open other scriptures, you won't find the word Christianity, even in the Bible, just something to think about. So when did this religion commence? As I mentioned, the verse, Allah says that Ibrahim was a Muslim, and that he followed the religion of Islam. So who began this religion? If you you know, you search Islam on the web on the internet, you'll find the check. Google will tell you that Islam is a religion that was founded by Muhammad by a man called

Muhammad 1400 years ago, so Islam is 1400 years old. We say no, as Muslims, we do not say that. If you were to ask, When did Islam begin? We say, Islam is the religion, where you submit to the Creator with the creation submits to the Creator, the creation obeys the Creator. Now we say if you look at nature, whether you look at the most distant star in the universe, or the smallest atom, you know, in creation, whether you go into the depths of the ocean, or high up in the sky, when you look at the animals, the planets, the trees, the wind, the rain, everything in nature follows a system, it has a design, it has a purpose, the sun rises as it should, from the east, and it sits in the

West, the moon follow it stages through the month, the stars arise and the stars sit, the Earth turns on its axis, we say that this universe, everything in creation, everything in creation follows a system. It does its function, it is obedient, and it is in submission. Everything in creation is a Muslim, it follows the religion of Islam, the religion of Islam, as you said, is the submission to God. Whoever submits to God is a Muslim, the sun submits to Allah, the moon submits to its creator, the earth submits to its creator, the animal submits to the Creator. Everything in creation is a Muslim. And therefore the religion of Islam did not start with Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, it did

not start with Ibrahim alayhi salam, he did not even start with our father Adam, it started at the very beginning of creation, in fact, at the point of creation, when Allah himself when the Creator of all things, the Lord God most high, when he created the first thing in creation, and we'll talk about the very first thing that Allah created, when he created that thing, that thing submitted to Allah, that creation obeyed its creator. So that thing was a Muslim, when the angels came about and they obey and submit, so they are Muslims as well. And then humanity was created. Now, humanity, you and me, we as people are unique, we are something very special within creation, there is nothing in

creation that we can see. That is like us. Why? Because we have the ability to choose, we have free will. We can either submit or not submit, we can obey or we can disobey. We can surrender to God, or we can oppose God. And therefore for us, Islam is a choice, Islam, this religion, this way of life is something you choose. You either choose to be a Muslim, or you choose not to be a Muslim, whereas everything else in creation is by default, without any choice, they submit, and they bow and they worship God in the way in which they are meant to to do so without any without any opposition. You me, my children, your children, our parents, we have to make a choice, to submit or not to submit

and everything

Ultimately, our lives comes down to this question, do I submit and obey the creator? Or don't? I do so? And what will be the repercussions? If I submit? What will be the repercussions if I don't submit? If I choose to submit it, who is this creator? Why should I submit to Him? Why should I follow Him and surrender to Him? Who is he? And how do I fit into him? insha Allah in the next few episodes, we'll talk further as to the fundamentals of Islam. And we'll talk about the Creator who is Allah subhana wa Tada. And we'll answer these very fundamental questions. I remind yourself as well, you know, please feel free to question and to ask, please feel free to highlight any mistakes

that I've made so I can correct myself in upcoming episodes. I hope this was beneficial and you'd be part of the CDs please share it. Any questions, concerns or comments, please email me on whist [email protected] or visit our website and you can get these lectures or query as further zakka Hey, thank you so much until our next episode was around work with a lawyer where to go to