Islam from Scratch #5

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alhamdulillah welcome everybody to lecture number five lesson number five on our, our series Islam from scratch we we look to really get down to the core of what Islam is Islam as we know is

can become a very complicated issue it speaks about how to eat halal and stranger and for the non Muslims. And they are very, you know, I must say there are a lot of our non Muslim friends and neighbors that are part of the schools more than we expected. We welcome you. If you don't know what stingier means. That's a few lectures down the line. We're not there yet. But you know, so we said we want to take this opportunity to really get to the core of what this religion is all about? What makes it different, what is it? What are its fundamentals, and then from there we can we can move forward within within a point of view of understanding one another, and to get closer to your own,

your own your Creator. And I must say thank you to those people who have commented and especially people that are not from the Muslim community that sent me a private message and said, Look, I'm a Christian and, but enjoying the learning opportunities. And, and then of course, those who have asked questions as to you know, I don't know, if I'm allowed to ask this question, please feel free. And I really love the questions that are being asked in the background, really appreciate it a Hamdulillah. So if we just to quickly take a summary of what we discussed the swap lecture, one was a little introduction, and we said the word Islam means to submit to a higher power creator, within

winter for a bit of a tangent, I think in lesson two and three, talking about, is there a higher power? Is there a creator, because as I said, the dominant theology of the dominant philosophy of the world is secular,

you know, sort of the atheism, secular atheism or agnosticism, we, we don't really believe in a personal creator with a personal God, if you will. And so we had to make the case to say, does it make sense to even believe that there is a higher power? And we did we took some time talking about that, in lecture two and three. Then last week, we said well, okay, if there is a Creator, if there is this powerful, mighty, being who created me and placed me on the earth, then what exactly when I think about him, who is he? What does he want? What is what is his personality like? And so, yes, last week, we, we just began the discussion as to who is Allah, you know, who is Allah? What is his

personality? Like? What is he? What are his names? What are his attributes? And we spoke with we from an Islamic perspective, we said that Allah is the one who made everything. And therefore when people say, well, that's your God. And if my God, we said, oh, no, no, there's no such thing as a creator of the Muslims and the creator of the Christians and the creator of the atheist. Well, the atheists, of course, don't believe in a creator. Now we say that these one creator, you know, whatever name you call him, by whatever religion, whatever name, whatever culture, you used to call him, but he is the creator, we talking about the One who created the universe, and controls the

universe, and watches over the universe. So we talking about that, that being my Creator, and your Creator is the same one. And so we went from an Islamic perspective, to ask, Who is this creator? What is what are these characteristics? And, you know, we said let's open the book from let's open the Quran from the beginning right at the beginning, first chapter, he says Bismillah R Rahman Rahim in the Name of Allah, in with my name, his name, we said, Allah means that Allah is the name of God, basically, in Arabic. So in the name of the Creator, who is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen. All Praise be to the Lord, the Creator sustainer of

all of creation. This is how the Quran begins. It begins by saying Praise be to Him, who created and sustains all of creation, Rahman Rahim. He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. And so, we basically spent most of last week's lecture saying that the, the underlying characteristic of this creator with his power and his mind and his knowledge, the thing that he wants you to know about him, the thing Allah wants you to know about him first and foremost, is his mercy. Is this the most profound quality of Allah is that of compassion and mercy and we spoke at length about the verses of his mind

See how he says Latok Motoman Rahmatullah don't ever give up hope in my mercy, no matter how much sin you've done, you never away from my mercy, no matter how bad you are, you might feel as a person, the door to returning to him is always the end only ox in not in return, but only asks of you is to come back to him whenever you in need, turn to Him, ask Him invoke Him, we then also mentioned, and I think we ended up with us, that He established the relationship between us and Him. And He says, look, oh, Children of Adam, or people or mankind, white people, black people, Muslims, none of this is to all of you, I created all of you, I watch over all of you, night and day, I look,

I care for you. And you, you are only benefited through me, you will only enrich through me, you only get success through me. And only I can protect you from harm. And whatever you want, only you can, you can only achieve that through invoking me. And if all of you were to worship me, it doesn't benefit me. And if all of you were to go against me and deny me, it doesn't harm me. So your life, you know, you have the free will to choose to either have a relationship with your Creator or not to your own benefit or to your own detriment. And so we really pick up from where we left off last week. Continuing with that, can you guys see the slides?

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Okay, no questions. Right? Right. So then we continue asking this question, Who is Allah and I've taken some verses from the Quran, really trying to establish the relationship between Allah and us and for him to give over a little bit of Louise and, and as I said, this is about wherever you are, whether you're Muslim or non Muslim, when you call out to that being who made you, these are the kinds of things that you need to think about. So Allah subhanaw taala says in the Quran, who Allah He is Allah, Allah saying, He is Allah, Allah de la ilaha illa who there is none worthy of worship other than him, there is none that you should worship besides Allah, Allah, Allah Obi Wan shahada,

he knows everything that is hidden, and that which is apparent he knows all the secrets of the universe. He knows everything, who are Rahman Rahim. He is the most compassionate and the Most Merciful. Who Allah He is Allah, Allah de la ilaha illa who there is none worthy of worship other than Him and Malik, he is the king of all things Allah could do. He is the overall holy, the old divine as salaam. He is the old perfect, he has no deficiencies and movement. He is the source of all peace and serenity. Al Mohammed, he is the watcher and the protector of all things as he is He is the Almighty al Jabbar is the supreme in might. Well, Al Motta cabin, he is the majestic Subhana

Allah Glory be to Him, let him be free of all imperfections. I'm not usually cool, how is it that they commit they ascribe partners with him? They make equals with him How is that possible? Who Allah He is Allah and Holic, the creator of everything I will bury the inventor the origin nature of all things. Animal so we're the one who gives form and shape to all things law who law who Allah sama Rosner, To Him belongs all the perfect names, you sub Behala who math is somehow it will art that whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is on the earth constantly glorifies Him who worships in praise him, or who will Aziz will Hakeem. And he is the all powerful, the all wise.

In another Surah Surah Rahman, which is as we said, this name Rahman implies mercy complete compassion. He is we ask Who is Allah he is a rock man He is the Most Compassionate Allah Al Quran, the one who taught and gave as a gift of the Quran holla call in son he created every single human being every single person was created by him, I lemahieu by and he taught mankind the ability to speak a Shem so will amaro because man, the sun and the moon travel with precision according to his command, when new German was scheduled with a student and the trees and the stars fall in prostration to him was Sama, Rafa, aha, Amazon, that he expanded and he spread out he

put forward and raised up the heavens with might, and he set the balance of justice that he is a system that he plays he put in place in the universe, and that the whole film is and so all mankind you should not transgress this balance that he has been

Need a clean will wasn't that crystal well I took several means and and always way injustice and do not give short in measure while Allah Wa Al Anam and he said I spread forth the earth for all of the creatures. It's a place for all creatures to love. Then we follow on in the chapter, Allah also says, Who lumen Allah have fun that everything on this earth will come to an end this earth will perish. Every creature every living being on this earth will eventually die Weyerbacher watch for a bigger role generally with a crumb and only your Lord Himself full of Majesty and Honor he will remain forever for the European verticality ban. So all of them asks so Then which of the favours

which of the bounties would you deny of your Lord? Yes, Allahu manvi sama Watty. Well, out of that everything in the heavens and the earth besiegers him asks of him is in need of Him. Coolio mean, who officiated every day he is engaged with a matters with the affairs of his creation in one of the final chapters of the Quran very short, the second shortest chapter of the entire Quran, but extremely concise in terms of what we believe as Muslims, about our Lord. He says cool who Allahu Ahad say that He is Allah, the one the only the unique, Allahu Samad, he is a Samad, the one upon which all of creation depends on him, everything is dependent on him, whereas he is independent of

anyone else. Let me lead, he has no children, none is born of him, what am you let and he was not born with me Aquila, who went ahead, and there is nothing that is comparable to him, there is nothing equal to Him, there is no partner with him. He is Allah the one the only the unique. So these are some of the verses of the Quran that tried to give us a better understanding of who Allah is and who our Creator is. We'll move on and speak a little bit more about the

I see there's someone's raise their hands, maybe we want to question Ishmael, about pronouncing correctly if you're raising your hand, they have a question.

We might ask you a question.

Is there anyone else that has a question perhaps and would like to would like to go on before we proceed?

So today's lecture, Inshallah, we're going to talk about the overall theme of the Quran, the or the overall theme of Islam. And what I mean by theme, like, you know, in English, we, you know, you guys are all of you you've, you've done Shakespeare, you've done, you know, Hamlet, or whatever it is, and the English teacher will tell you Well, before we go into all the different sub themes of the the chapter, the book, there is one overriding story that this there's one message that the book wants to give over to you. Now, if you were, you know, on, on the left, you know, someone stopped you and says, you know, you're Muslim, or you want to know a little bit about Islam, tell me in just

a minute or two, what is this religion about? You know, what exactly is the crux of the matter of this religion. And, ultimately, if you open the Quran from the beginning to the end, and you have to read it, behind all the laws and behind the rituals, and behind all the do's and the don'ts. Ultimately, this religion is about the oneness and establishing the oneness of God, but he's one, and he is unique, and that you should turn to him alone. Now, having said that, most of our Christian friends and neighbors, Jewish friends and neighbors, and in fact, even our Hindu friends, and neighbors may say, well, well, that's not so that's not so profound. I mean, that's what most

people believe that these one Creator, and it's called monotheism, and most religions on earth are monotheistic. Islam has a deeper understanding of what monotheism is. And this is really the distinction between this religion and other religions, this issue of our understanding of monotheism, the oneness of God, and the rest of the world's understanding of monotheism. So again, what is the word monotheism? monoamine meaning one theist like atheist, he has a god. So the belief in one God. Now as I said, most religions believe in they have the belief that there's one Creator, but they would not be deemed monotheistic in terms of from an Islamic perspective why? As we said,

monotheism is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as the belief in the existence of one God or the oneness of God. So there's one God one Creator, okay, that's pretty easy. Again, the Oxford Dictionary believe in the one personal and transcendent God transcendent means is external to the universe, he's a part of the universe, as opposed to polytheism polytheism is the belief in multiple gods so the God of light the God of,

you know, the God of Rain, the god of fire, many, many gods so if you look at the ancient Greeks and the Romans, they were polytheistic they believed in multiple gods monotheism of course is the is one and one God. Now when you look at the religions that ascribe to monotheism so that's the aneurysm is monotheistic. The Baja is a monotheistic Christianity Hinduism, Hinduism. zpanel I would say but Hindus worship so many different gods

But they Yes, they will say we worship many deities, but we have one Ultimate Creator. And so we are out monotheistic, of course Judaism, Islam Sikhism, so most religions on earth would ascribe and call themselves monotheistic. From an Islamic perspective, it's not enough that you believe in one Creator. Let us talk further on this. So while many, well, most religions, basically all the religions believe in the concept of one Creator, one over overriding supreme god, one he said, God,

the there is also room in most religions. For other gods, all they worship others along with that God. And so and again, I genuinely do not mean any offense, especially to our Christian friends or neighbors. Yes, sorry. I do serve to sorry to interrupt you. I do have a question. I'm glad you said that. There was

a follow more than one card. No, I said you're monotheistic, you will continue to speak. You may go ahead. No, no, no, it's not that it's my God. It's just that it's it's normal humans that have evolved from what normal humans did back then. Sure. So then, these people were regarded as Gods because they could do normal things that they could do extraordinary things that normal people couldn't do. That's why they were regarded as called. Because if you go to India, you will find out there are millions and millions of God. Yes. But we all know that there is one Creator. Excellent. Fantastic. And I think Brother Ishmael, I remember not saying your name correctly, you really

hitting home the point I'm trying to make that way, in fact, this lecture is to say, what makes Islam different to Hinduism, Christianity.

And my, my, my, you know, my, you know, first comment is, what makes Islam different is the concept of the oneness of God. And when you respond to me and say, well, that's not so profound. I mean, we as Hindus believe in one Creator, Christians will say, we believe in one Creator, the Jews will say we believe in one Creator. And we said, Yes, you believe in one Creator. But Islam takes this concept of monotheism a step further, in that believing that there is one Creator is not enough to, you know, to establish the unity of God, you need to believe in one Creator, and worship one Creator alone. And this is the difference really, between Islam and other religions, other religions

established this one Creator, but we worship many, many different deities. Okay. And that is the point that this lecture wants to so if I were to, if you were to ask, what is the crux of Islam? Or if you want to know one thing about Islam, and you want to know what is the difference between Islam and other religions, Islam basically says that while we all agree besides, for the atheists, we all agree there's one Creator, most religious people, most religions, they worship others besides that creator, the Christians, they have a creator, but they worship Jesus. And yes, the Trinity is a very deep and and, you know, it is still one being for the Christian theology. As you just mentioned, the

Hindus, we believe in one Creator, but we have other deities are the objects of worship, are the things that receive worship, and we have idols that are worshipped, and not only, I mean, in many, many fights, we have saints and shrines and graves, and, and stones, whatever to protect you. So these are all all types of worship, we have tokens to protect us or to hoard of evil. These are all forms of worship. Islam says that if you really believe that there's one Creator, and that he controlled everything in the universe, here, and he is the only one that can benefit you and harm you and sustain you, then why speak to anyone other than Him, when you have a personal direct

relationship with Him. And when you raise your hands, you're speaking to the one right on top. You don't need to go through any intermediaries. And this is what Islam is all about. Islam says when something perspective, the Oneness of Allah, the Creator, is not just believing that there's one Creator, but it's making him exclusive to your worship, that you have a personal one on one relationship with the Supreme Lord.

And Islam before asks you why are you worshiping your deities? So if if, and this goes to the Muslims, are they there are Muslims that go to shrines that go to state saints and statues and all of that, if we were to ask, if you really believe that there is an all powerful creator, and that He hears everything, and he responds to everything, and He is the Most Merciful? There's no one more merciful than him. Then why are you turning to Jesus or statue or stone when Idol or stick or grave? Why are you doing that? What is what evidence do you have that even these these creatures or these objects of worship, have a link with the Creator? How do you know that this thing that I'm

worshiping this idol let's say for example,

has a special bond with your Creator.

If these things can they hear you? Does Jesus hear you? When you speak to him? Does he hear you? Does he respond? Does he?

Yes, I can respond to that to either worshipping the idol worshiping

God in the idle type of worshipping, it's not that pricy God in the idle Sure, just the focal point, it's just the focal point to create, because the mind is a monkey brain, okay, the mind wanders, so you need, you need something to focus your mind on. So, in Hinduism,

in Hinduism, we use idols to folk focus, like it's used as a focal point. They don't We don't believe that the idol is has any power or, or its God or anything. Correct, that that's how it is. And that is, you know, even from an Islamic perspective, so remember, Islam, or the Quran was revealed to a people that were idol worshipers or they were polytheists. They believed in one Creator, and in fact, they called him Allah, but because they were Arabs. And then when he was asked, Why are you worshipping these idols? You know, why are you? So they say, We don't pray to these things, these stones, except that these things sort of amplify our worship, these things are

intercessors, with with God himself. So Islam oozes to all of us, you don't need a middleman, you don't need anything to amplify your worship or channel your worship, you can call upon Him directly upon his name. So that is, as I'm trying to say, this is not about debating which religion yes or no, I'm just trying to give you what is Islam take on one of theism, Xena, you had a question, or your hand is raised.

So now,

I wanted to ask, you know, when people have the prayer beads, and those little booklet things, you know what I'm talking about that they will only risk as Muslims. Now, my understanding is that that's not permissible because you prescribing an image to Allah subhanaw taala, which we're not allowed to do, because he's unimaginable. Like, we can't do that. So some brothers and sisters use that as a point of protection is that, like, is that allowed? So it's a very famous Hadith or perfect tick narration, a man was weighing a type of bracelet on his arm, and the Prophet will ask him, What is this thing? So he said, This thing protects me from old age and protects me from like,

supernatural harm. And so the Prophet peace upon him said that this thing does not only doesn't benefit you, it has no, it doesn't save you from anything. If you were to die waiting lists, then it would imply that you denied the Creator because you are looking for other things to protect you. So from an Islamic perspective, we don't have any amulets. For protection, we don't have any symbols or tokens or protection, if you want to be predicted. You make a dua as you go, and you literally say, I seek Your protection, I want to be law, yeah, Allah, I asked you protect me, and that is your protection. So we don't put a scribe benefit and power into any objects or into people or to any,

you know, symbols, it is your one on one relationship with the Creator, is what would protect you? I hope that answers the question. And really JazakAllah hate I mean, I've been waiting for so long, for for this kind of interaction, I really thank you,

Brother Ishmael, for, for, for, for engaging. And I think that is the point we want to make. So for example, as Brother yesterday was mentioning, that Hinduism, they affirm that this one Creator, and they have deities, idols or, or objects of worship objects that they, which is not the end goal, and really, most,

you know, polytheistic societies before before, Islam had the same concept that we have a creator, a head God, and we have these sorts of intermediaries that channel our worship towards him, Islam comes, the premise of Islam is that you don't need to go through your Imam who assists a saint or special person or an object that every single one of you have has a direct line. Like if you had a cell phone, you can you have the number of the Creator on your phone on speed dial, and if you need to speak to him, you can speak to him anytime of date, anywhere in the world. You don't need to channel it through a person or an object when intermediary and that is your relationship with him.

So this is really what Islam the crux of Islam, that when you worship Him, you worship Him when you worship, you worship Him alone. And you call upon Him on by his by his name, you know, like you on a first name basis with a creator. That is what Islam basically comes to establish. Okay. That is the crux of Islam. And that is why if someone wants to become a Muslim, if you've you've you've you've learned about Islam and you

Feel you know what? I want to be a Muslim? How do I become a Muslim? What do I need to do? You only need to make the statement. This is really the slogan, the logo, the motto of Islam, but everything of this religion comes down to these four words La Ilaha, Illa, Allah, and we make the eyes Muslims that we pray that we live by this and we die, that whoever dies with this as your your final words is the you this is the highest form of success is to die with this on your tongue. It is to say La Ilaha illa Allah, but there is none. There is no deity there is no God, except Allah alone, that the one and only Creator, He is the only one deserving of worship. He's the only one that I should bow

my head to that, you know, when as people, when we look at the universe, there is nothing superior to us. There is nothing that can overpower us. There's nothing stronger than us more knowledgeable than us why we shouldn't bow down to anyone or anything other than our Creator, that there's nothing that can benefit us except our Creator. And so this is really what Islam comes down to establish that you and your Creator have a personal one on one relationship. And when you need anything, you want anything, you're scared of any one prediction, it is to worship Him alone. Okay? So this is just to unpack it. The word. You know, if we were to go linguistically word for word la Illa, there

is no inner except Allah. Allah means God. So we think there's no ILA except Allah, and Allah is anything that is worshipped. So any deity, Jesus is a deity. Idols are deities money can be data, your family can be an healer, anything that that prioritizes your love, your hope, your fear, above God is an ILA. So Allah is saying, there should be no ILA in your heart, there should be no ILA in your worship, except your Creator. And that is if you accept that. So if you didn't want to, you want to ask, can I be a Muslim? You know, and there are many people that are very keen on learning about Islam. And some of you are at that point where you said, I'm thinking about becoming a muslim,

but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. How do I know? Do I do? Have I believed enough? Or do I have enough faith in my heart to become Muslim, and really, it comes down to this, if you accept that you have a creator, and he's the only one that you should worship, and that you can call upon Him directly him and only him, if you can sign off on that, if you can, by that, then really, you are ready to be a Muslim, because that is what Islam is all about. Everything else is secondary to that how you pray, how you dress, whether you wear hijab, is to is in is in submission of him. Once you say, I want a relationship with you, My God, what do you want, we do want you What do you want me to

do, then he will tell you, I want you to foster once in the year in the month of Ramadan, you will tell you, I want you to give two and a half percent of your wealth as charity, I want you to pray five times a day to me, I want you to be good to your parents and your neighbor. If you really want a relationship with me, then do these things. And that will increase your relationship with me. That is, in essence, what Islam is all about. And as we said Islam is not something new. I mean, it didn't begin with Muhammad. It began with when creation began. And you still find this message within, for example, the Bible, the first commandment of the Bible so that we know that the 10

commandments, the 10 most sacred principles of Judaism and Christianity are the 10 commandments. And so Jesus peace be upon him, we believe was a great prophet, a man born without a father, who had the ability to heal the sick and resurrect the dead with the permission of God as a, as a servant of God. When he was asked, and this is still in the Bible, this is in Matthew, I believe, when he was teaching, he was giving a lecture. And someone asked him, oh, teacher, Master, what is the most important law? What is the most important commandment? Now? What is the crux of Christianity even? What is the whole fundamental of Christianity? And so Jesus stopped his lecture and he said, the

most important commandment, and he said, listen, oh, Israel, oh people of Israel. Listen, the Lord our God, the Lord is one you only have one God, love thy Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and all your strength, worship Him and love Him and be devoted to him completely and alone. That is what Christianity is really all about. This is the words of of Jesus. And so, Allah Subhana Allah says, In the Quran as well to all peoples of faith Alesis kuliah al Kitab are people of faith or you know, people of Scripture, people of faith to all people in the world that believes in in a creator, the ILO Illa kalimat, in SOA in vain and Albania calm, let us

put all our differences aside, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, us, let's put all our differences aside. And let us come to a common understanding come to a common equal word between you and us that we do not worship anyone other than our Creator. And let us not make partners with him in anything that doesn't make not equals with him that does not make any deities with him. If if let us all agree on that first that is one Creator and we worship Him alone. So Allah is all

asking all the people of the world that believe in a creator, let's worship Him alone, and not make partners with him. And so

Allah, that is really the theme and the crux and the message of, of Islam, and I hope it becomes a little bit clearer. Look, all religions have a shared

morality. Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Christians, we all believe in, you know, in a shared morality, be good to thy neighbor, give charity to the poor feet, defend the weak stand against oppression, this is basic, you know, you don't even have to be a theist, you can be an atheist and have this basic morality. So being a model person doesn't require you to be even a religious person. But fundamentally, the theology between Christianity Judaism, Hinduism, the concept of Islam, that really it steps, it takes a step on one side is that you should worship the Creator that you establish the one that you know, to be the creator, you should speak to him alone and worshipping

alone, that is really the essence of this religion. And everything is built on that. Is there any questions either very, someone gave a very, very interesting question, which I will pick up. But I give the floor once again to, to all of you to ask a question is Does anyone have a question?

Yes, Ishmael, please. Yeah. Hi, I.

I do have a question.

Is it necessary to circumstance if I want to reward?

So okay, so the question is brother also want to become a Muslim?

Should I circumcised? So we haven't even gotten into the laws of Islam, right. As I said, Everything begins with this foundational theology, that I believe in one Creator worship, the next step would be okay, I've joined the club. I've like, let's say, there are many people who are on the verge of becoming Muslim, and they want to know more. So we said, to enter the club to be part of the Muslim faith, you declare that is unworthy of worship at him, and that you believe in the prophets of God, you believe in the books and the testament, okay? Once you do that, now, the law so that becomes applicable to you, you can't eat pork, you can't drink alcohol, you have to pray five times a day,

you have to force the month of Ramadan, you have to dress a certain way. So all the laws now become applicable, one of those laws, one of those laws is useful for males, that you should be circumcised it is one of the requirements of the of the religion. And, you know, it is also understood that a person who embraces Islam, it's a staged process, we can, you know, command you to do everything all at once, you will not be able to pray automatically five times a day, you will not be able to give up certain, you know, habits or certain dietary things. And in fact, when you look at the history of Islam, and the Prophet peace upon him came to his people, it was a 23 year process where people

gradually changed. The women didn't start in hijab from day one. And you know, everyone started fasting and giving charity. Now you came to a society that was steeped in idolatry, and steeped in not even, they were uncivilized. They mean, they were doing all kinds of horrible things. There was no sense of law and order. And so the law, it comes in stages. So the answer is if you become a Muslim, as a male, one of the requirements, one of the recommendations is that you circumcised but you can be a Muslim, I've been circumcised were to put it bluntly, if you say, I want to be a Muslim, but I don't want to circumcise myself. Well, that's between you and your Creator. It's like

me saying, Look, I want to be a Muslim. But you know, I'm, yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean, like, I mean, for grown up,

quite painful to circumstances like,

so I can't, I can't comment on that. I don't know if you're any.

How did we end up with circumcision? But I don't know if any of you but males who are a strong or are brave enough to comment on that, look, there are many, many rivets that I know and that they've circumcised I think you go through an operation, meaning you go through an aesthetic and, you know, it's, I think a bit of it's a bit of discomfort. But you know what, let that not put you off.

Do not let that put you off on if you circumcision, circumcision is the correct way to go. It's hygienic, and it's easier to you know, like to clean and stuff.

I mean, like men, you know, now.

circumcised men wouldn't have to, I wouldn't know.

I wouldn't know. So, so yeah. So that's all I just wanted to know, is it necessary or not? It's not, as I say, it's not necessary. You don't have that you don't have to be circumcised to become Muslim. You can be a Muslim and uncircumcised but it's not correct. And you have a leeway. We'll give you a grace period and say you then afterwards will come to us and said, No, no, we won't do that. We'll just basically

You'll be remarked like anyone then it becomes then it becomes a sinful thing it becomes you're not, you know, you're becoming you are in contravention of the law. So again, if someone comes to me and says, Look, I really love, you know, drinking, can I be a Muslim and still drink alcohol? Say, look, it's not ideal, it's sinful, it's not correct. But yes, you can be a Muslim, you will just come that is your sin. And we hope with time, eventually, you will get the courage and the faith to do it. So, so but I mean, I don't what I'm saying is, don't let the fear of circumcision prevent you from embracing a religion, which you feel is the right thing. There are many, many sisters, that this is

a very similar, they would be like, I want to be a Muslim, but I'm not ready to wear a scarf. Now there are many Muslim women that are still not ready to wear a scarf. We said okay, fine. When you you become a Muslim, and in sha Allah, we make dua, you get the sign up. You want to comment?

Actually, just wanted to comment with regards to the scarf and the brother asking that question. So I am a revert to two years ago, Hamdulillah. I, when I started, I didn't want to wear a scarf. I didn't feel it was necessary. And then as time went on, and become became more devoted, Alhamdulillah it became easier for me and my need to want to wear the scarf outweighed anything because my love for Allah subhanaw taala grew. And so as it grew, I had to make difficult decisions, I had to leave my job in order to fulfill that need for myself.

Just for materialism, really. And so I'm really liking shall it will be easy for you and you do make the decision. But as shakes it is a process. It's taking two years to get to the place where I'm like, I'm hungry.

And I'm hungry to pray, pray. So Insha Allah, it will be easy for you just be patient with yourself. Yes, absolutely. I couldn't have said it better. And really, I think coming from a river, you know, that you have the actual lived experience to know how you change your life because Islam is a lifestyle. So there is a part of it, that is just religion, and then there's a lifestyle, and that lifestyle will come and you know what, Muslims are not hungry, you know, born Muslims are still struggle to get that and it's fine. We are all on our own journey, so long as you're on the journey. Akela

question.

With regards to Zane up, you know, I just want to commend you, I commend you on that. wearing hijab, I come from a Muslim family born and raised, I went to a private Muslim school. So I've learned

quite a black, you know, I can see my knowledge and Islam is, you know, we should be I would hope. And

when I live my parents when they stick with me or wearing hijab, they always yes, my mother and father are both a buyer and quota.

But they were never strict on me to say you should wear hijab now, because you are barley. And it was always my decision. And then how do you laughter WinForm right, in 2018 When I came back, I decided that this is for Allah. It's not for No, it's not for anyone else. It's not for anything, any person or to show anything. That yes, I do love the fact that I'm known as a Muslim, knowing that when someone sees me walking, even with a Muslim that I don't know, when they look at me and they smile, and I nod my head, okay, we know that I'm a Muslim. So I'm identified as a Muslim with my job, but like I say, hijab is something that happens as a Muslim, it was a process for me on it

breaks, it was a process for me. So not everything is

not everything comes to you just like that. So I agree with the you know, like she's coming to, she's coming.

And it took her a while to get there but Masha Allah and Allah keep you steadfast and, and make you even better than I am in sha Allah.

I mean, I mean, and I mean, just to underscore this conversation, I remember last week's discussion. You know, Allah subhanaw taala doesn't require conviction of us. He doesn't require us to follow every rule, every law, every ritual, you'll never get the we will never get the and next week we're going to talk about Adam, the first man. And the angels asked Allah of any, you know, very interesting question. They said, why would you create someone that can disobey you? Why will you create somebody that is not going to follow your laws that's going to deny you that's going to reject you that's gonna harm each other. You have angels that worship you perfectly.

And Allah was ALLAH responds to them that they are that this creature, This creation is a very, very special being

and it is in our ability to disobey Him. It is in our ability to sin, that also we find, we choose to obey Him, we choose to have a relationship with Him, we have the choice, we do things out of our own free will. And that is so much more powerful than doing things out of compulsion. And it's a journey. And remember, Allah doesn't. The destination is Allah, really how I how I like to summarize Islam. Islam is the belief that there's one Creator, and to live your life, building on your relationship with Him every day, going through life, getting closer to him getting close to him, eventually you die. And when you die, you then journey towards him in a physical sense. And we know

that I'm giving away all the stuff yet, but we know that the greatest reward in Paradise is not the wonderful palaces and the food and drink paradise, the real joy of Paradise is that every Friday, you get to congregate at a certain spot in paradise. And then God speaks to each and every one of us personally, and he removes the veil that is between him and his creation, where you can see him directly. This is what Islam is all about, that I make him the focus of my universe, so that when I die, the next life I will be living alongside him really nice. Islam devote some time you have a question?

Yes,

no questions like masala.

I just want you know, you use the word quiet, you know,

a lot in the sense of that we are looking at a revert versus a convent. And, you know, by, by virtue of that we are born sinless, you know, we are born basically as a Muslim. And if your inner your upbringing takes you away from

back to where you belong, that is Islam. If you can just expand on that. Just briefly. Sure. Yeah. Secret Uncle Sam, you're asking a beautiful question. Yeah, most people will, if you say we took what converts, you know, you you convert from one religion to another. But in Islam, we talk about revert, because we believe that if that every child up until they become they hit the age of puberty, they are Muslim, whether they are Christian in a name, or whether they even you know, they are the choir boys or whatever. We believe that everyone is born with a relationship with your Creator. And you have on a date, your default your factory settings is that of Muslim, so that show

you when you come out of the factory line, that you are a Muslim? And yes, God, then Allah gives you the choice. When you become a you become you hit puberty, you get to choose what religion you went to B, and then you choose another religion. And if you were to come back, you're basically reverting to the state that you were meant to be? Well, that's our theology. Yeah, Ishmael.

Yeah, sorry. So is that just a belief? Or is it a scientific proven fact?

A scientifically proven fact that you that you will,

we are born has, that we are born as

Muslims? Well, this is our theology. I mean, I will say Our belief is that every, everyone is created by the Creator. And I think in lecture two, we spoke about the fact that if there is a creation, there must be a Creator, if there is a beginning, there was someone that originated it. And so if you came, if you, you know, if let's put it this way, I mean, Nelson Mandela, we don't give God any analogies. Let's say you were born to a mother. And then you got separated from that mother. Okay. And then you got raised by another mother, your original biological mother is not denied through your, you know, let's say, your adopted mother, and then you come back and you find

your actual biological mother, you're coming back to your original mother? That is what we're saying that yes, scientifically, we can prove that there was a beginning, and that there was a creator, and that we come from that creator. And so when you return to Him, you actually reverting back to the original state. I can't show you that you were born. You know, there's a stamp made by Allah, you know, in, you know, behind your ear, but it is yes, it's a bit iffy to theology, but that's why we call it a divert. That's why we call it evil. And I think there are some profound implications, you'd find some religions, babies maybe need to be baptized, because the default state is your you

are born in sin. And some religions have this concept that you're born in sin, and you need to almost get out of sin. Whereas Islam as the other view, you are born pure, you're born connected to God, and how you live your life determines if you stay on that, or you deviate.

I love the questions this evening. But there was a question that came through. We're gonna set up. Yes. So you're saying

if you're born, a non Muslim, it's the sun. No, no, no, I didn't say that. I didn't say that. I said everyone is born every

Buddy is born now and I've seen some religions, some religions, basically, within certain groups within Christianity, they have the concept that you're born into sin that you are born inherently sinful Islam that it says the opposite. You are born inherently.

Yes. Okay. That is the it's the opposite of that. Okay. Thank you for that. Okay. There was a very, very good question. Okay. Let him Salam. There's a very good question that came through the WhatsApp line and something else to think about. So the sister Austin, she was really shy about it. So in the last lecture, we said allies had benefited by us worshipping Him, He is not harmed when we don't worship him. He doesn't need our prayers. He doesn't need our thanks. So why does he what is in for him? What is the purpose of life? Then? Why did he even create us? Why does he care? If he's not harmed to benefit? What does he get out of my worship? That's a very good question. So

from Allah's perspective, what goes on in within Allah? I don't know. You don't know. All we know is he created us but maybe for us to, to expound and, you know, these are kind of questions. This Muslim sister asked us, she felt very shy, can even ask this question. Of course you can? Of course you can. Why don't have an answer for you. So you want to know, what does Allah Get out of my worship? He doesn't get anything from your Salah. He's not harmed or benefited. He's, I think, the more you ask of him, and the more he gives, He doesn't diminish his his kingdom, and the more people deny him, it doesn't harm him in the least. So why does he even care what I do and what would I do

with my life? Now, one way of looking at this relationship with Allah implies worshipping Him, and to worship Allah. There's two ways you worship Allah, there is the conventional, I mean, in our mind, you see you praying, fasting, that is the ritual between you and Allah, that's your personal worship, when you have part of worshiping Allah is how you live on this world, with the rest of creation, how you teach your mother, how you teach your father, your employees at work, the people in the in the bank, all of that how you treat them is part of your worship of God, I am, I try to be a good person to please my Creator. So you have to understand this, you got two types of worship,

you have a personal worship one on one, me and Allah, and how you treat the creation. Now, you can all agree that God wants the creatures on earth, to live in harmony with one another. He is not pleased when one of the creatures harm the other creatures, he doesn't want to see corruption on the earth. That's why he cares that you should live in harmony, you should live in a state of Islam, because it is good for the how many on Earth so everyone can see yes, I get that. The second point is, he also wants you to succeed. And so he cares that you are successful. And you can only be successful by having a relationship with him. Your life only has meaning when you have a

relationship with Him. And so that is why he cares not for his benefit, but for your benefit for my benefit. And that's what at the end of the narration that I said last week, Allah basically said that, at the end of the day, when life comes to an end, if you find good, meaning you have a relationship with me, then you are successful. And if you find anything other than that, don't blame me, I've tried, you know, I extend my hands out to you, it is for you to either accept my relationship or not. But if you live a life without God, Allah is not diminished. Allah is not made empty, but you are made empty. That is sort of the philosophy from an Islamic perspective. So he

wants what is best for all of humanity, and he wants what's best for every individual within your humanity. And you get that success through him to Zappa. Thank you so much, everyone for a wonderful, wonderful lecture. I really, really enjoyed this evening. But the Ishmael, thank you so much, I really appreciate when people you know, you know, especially you know, out of the faith, speak to and have the courage to to ask very difficult questions. That is exactly what this course is about. That is exactly why we are here. It's a forum we all searching for the truth. Am I was pantalla mother creator, you know, and whatever name we call him, may he guide us. May He bless us,

may He grant us goodness in this life. May He make easy for us may keep the world safe, and you know, keep us in happiness in this world in the next. Any last questions before we conclude?

Nadia, your hand is up.

I have a question. At what age might you start making salsa and frosting? What age so?

That's, that's a seven year old boy. And I. So the lovely question is the boy's name Adam.

Adam, so Adam, wonderful question.

So, as I said that when you are born and you're still a child and you're still young, Allah gives you a free ticket.

He says whatever you do, He forgives you, but you mustn't be naughty. But when you become McCullough, you become a man you become old enough to know what is right and wrong, then you are responsible for yourself the word McAuliffe means responsible, you are accountable rather. And so when you become accountable, that's when you need to make Salah and fast but we of course practice before that because it takes time to get used to it. Usually it's around between 1314 and 15 different people or different girls, sometimes they are more mature, they become kind of a little earlier. Girls always a bit ahead of the boys, but inshallah maybe by 12 years old, 13 years old,

you you will become Calif. Shukran. So, does that gonna fade once again? It's another question. No, okay. So as I can, okay, thank you so much, everyone. Just a quick announcement if you're in Cape Town, you know, head out to the Blue cup. Yeah, the Bronto the cultural hub. We are having a market day. So lovely market day, give the give yourself a break. Don't try on Saturday, you don't make food in the kitchen, come to the market day with some some good food in, you know, things to buy. That's on Saturday, the fourth of March. I mean, as I mentioned before that there is this pre marital workshop

for those of you looking to get married and this also open for those who are married. What are my duties rights responsibilities husband as a wife, we also have a psychologist who's going to give us the love languages and how to communicate. So if you're interested in joining the marriage, the road to Nicastro to marriage, then contact us send us an email WhatsApp whatever it is, and we gladly would love to be see you part of the course this will not be online. It's a private workshop. So please be the disciple if he can so much was ALLAH said now Muhammad Allah Allah Yusuf Islam, Celine hamdulillah rubellite Amin have a wonderful wonderful week Santa Monica Morahan Pillai obrigado