Nadim Ali – The Importance Of Tawhid
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AI: Transcript ©
And in one translation, indeed,
our praise belongs to Allah.
The most high, we thank him and we
seek his aid and we seek his forgiveness.
And we seek refuge with him
from the evil of ourselves and from our
bad actions.
Whoever Allah
guides, then there was no one who can
mislead him him and whoever Allah causes to
go astray, then there's no one to guide
him.
And I bear witness. We, of course, bear
witness that there's no deity except Allah who
is unique and with our partners. And I
bear witness that Muhammad is his worshipper
and his messenger. May the peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him and his family
and his companions and those who follow them
with good intentions
until the day of judgement.
All you who believe, fear Allah as he
should be feared and don't die except as
Muslims again. Oh, you who believe, fear Allah
as he should be feared and don't die
except as Muslims.
And all mankind, be careful of your duty
to your who created you from a single
soul and from it created its mate.
And from the 2 of them, he spread
forth many men and women.
Be careful of your duty to Allah whom
you demand your mutual rights and be careful
of your duty to the wounds that bore
you. Indeed, Allah is our over you.
Oh, you who believe, fear Allah and always
speak the truth. He will cause your deeds
to be beneficial, and he will forgive for
you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and
his messenger, then he has truly achieved
a tremendous accomplishment.
For indeed, the best speech is the book
of Allah. And the best guidance is the
guidance of Muhammad sallallahu alaihiwasallam.
And the most evil of all affairs are
newly invented matters, which has no precedence in
Islam and indeed all innovations are astray. And
each astray is in the hellfire. And And,
oh, Allah, save us from it. And, oh,
Allah,
accept our
And in one translation, it says, say he
is Allah, the one who was sought after
by us all. He begets
nor has he begotten, and there's none comparable
to him.
And
many of us, just one of the first
source that we we learned, the Surah Al
Khalas.
And it talks about the concept of tawheed.
And so
as Muslims, we have to
be aware of the significance
of this that particular sower, short sower.
But
there was a story, the Hadith talks about
how
when
the prophet, peace be upon him, you know,
basically asked if a person if the people
wanted to know 1 third of the Quran.
And then he recited that,
and they were sitting there waiting for more.
And they sat and waited and and that's
it.
Because if you look at the essence of
that Surah,
it's saying that the unity of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
That there is only one deity.
And specifically during this time of year,
what does it say? He begets,
nor has he begotten.
He doesn't give birth. He nor has he
been given birth to. Allah is. So we
have to fully understand it. I call it
overstanding it as Muslims,
you know, because these are some of the
things that we'll be dealing with specifically on
the next few days. One of the things
that we used to do,
during, when we were raising our children,
during from December 1st through
January 1st, the television and the radio was
off for the most part because we were
inundated
with
the the concept that there is more than
one deity.
You know, specifically during this time. We live
in a pluralistic society and so we're gonna
be bombarded
with,
so much of of this.
And so, you know, we have to protect
our children, you know, from this so that
because if we're gonna be raising Muslims in
this society,
then, you know, we have to let them
know to be able to be to be
able to distinguish
what is the correct approach and what is
incorrect.
You know, we don't just want to basically,
just absorb everything. We take the best from
the West and leave it it because most
of the best from the west came from
the east anyway.
You know, many of the inventions came from
the Muslims. Many of the belief systems came
from the east.
You know, but they don't accept the last
prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. They don't
accept that.
I've mentioned all the time about we were
in Canada and we met this minister,
who was the head of the one of
the largest Christian groups in Canada.
And what he says is that we accept
our denomination, accept the prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him,
as the prophet as a prophet. He he
met all of the criteria
of of the prophet of a prophet.
But he said we don't accept them as
the last prophet.
And you think about that. He said, because
if we accept them as the last prophet,
then we all have to become Muslim.
You know, this came from, a learned,
minister of the Christian faith.
And so many of the people and you
have people who are not Muslim that know
more Arabic than maybe all of us in
this room for the most part. But Allah
has not given them Islam.
And then you have someone who doesn't even
have a GED sees the hikma
of the unity of Allah
You can have a PhD and be ignorant
and you can have less than a GED
and be enlightened.
So education is not necessarily
enlightenment.
The prophet, peace be upon him, he was
not learned even in his own society. He
was not a lettered man. He did he
was he didn't it was known that he
was he did not read or write,
but he was an enlightened man. He was
known as Al Amin, the trustworthy one. Even
when he when he declared prophecy,
The people, the unbelievers, they basically they basically
sought his advice and sought his counsel and
sought his mediation when they had disputes because
they knew he wouldn't lie to them. He
was trustworthy.
So if we have a microcosm
of the character of the prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, we're doing real good.
We're doing real good.
And this is what what we have to
do. We have to
learn about the prophet, peace be upon him.
Read the series. Read the biographies on the
prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and how
he dealt with things, how he dealt with
people.
Talked about the neighbors.
Your neighbors are 40 houses in every direction.
40 houses in every direction. And even the
companions, you know, they were paranoid that the
they would the neighbors would become heirs. And
so, you know, that's just one little thing.
Moving something, an obstacle out of the way
is is is one of the least expressions
of faith. And so we can look at
all of the ways that he dealt with
the people in this in this society and
how he dealt with the family. What did
he say? The best of you are those
who are best to their families.
And many of us are beast to our
families.
And he says, I'm the best of you
because I am the best of my family.
And again, your family is your children, your
wives,
your relatives, you know, even the people who
did not
basically accept Islam, who were his family members.
You know, he still treated them with kindness.
Even though many of his enemies,
his enemies
were family members, blood ties,
because they valued their disbelief
more so than the belief that the prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, bought.
You know, again, as Muslims, we have to
be aware
of the duties
of being a Muslim,
not just not just
during this time of the year, but throughout
the year.
247, 365,
we have to be
down with our Islam in our all
168 hours that Allah has given us in
the week.
Even though we're sleeping so many hours, we're
working so many hours, and even when before
we go to sleep and when we wake
up, we have to show signs of worship.
We have to be conscious of Allah.
Be conscious of our duties.
And we have to be conscious also
that we worship
who Isa ibn Mariam worshiped.
And that's what we have to communicate to
our not yet not yet Muslim friends and
relatives.
We worship
he who Isa ibn Mariam worshiped Jesus, the
son of Mary, peace be upon him.
That's the message that we have to give.
We don't need to get into debates and
arguments.
You know, we have to be of those
to say, you know, this is what we
believe. Who did he pray to? He can't
pray to himself.
You know, so we have to understand that.
You know, we have to also understand the
fact that an Arab man was chosen to
receive the last testament, the Quran,
the last testament.
Because
the the Banu Israel, the Jewish community, they
call themselves the chosen people. Chosen for what?
Chosen for prophecy.
That, you know, Allah chose that tribe for
many of the prophets.
Peace be upon them all.
But then
they lost that, and then an Arab was
chosen
to be the last prophet, the seal of
the prophets.
And that's the message that we have to
give those who practice
Judaism.
Those who practice Christianity, we worship
who Esau worship.
Those who practice Judaism, we read the last
testament.
You know, we have the old testament, the
new testament, the Quran is the last testament.
The last communication
of written form that Allah
has given to mankind.
And that's the message that we have to
basically spread throughout the planet.
You know, we live in a society that's
not monolithic.
It's not monolithic. It's not a same. We
have a pluralistic society.
So again, we're gonna be exposed to a
little bit of everything. A little bit of
this, a little bit of that.
And when I was living in the Middle
East, it was interesting. I would, always they
would once they found out I was, you
know, from born and raised in this country,
they would say, I couldn't be Muslim in
America.
I couldn't be Muslim in America because one
of the things when you go to Muslim
majority countries,
the government controls
basically the narrative.
The government basically,
basically enforces the the rules of the religion
in many instances. And so, Muslims in Muslim
majority societies are not, you know, as exposed
to the fitna that we are
exposed to. And I meet people,
I've met people who were from here and
they would never come back here.
And they were fluent in Arabic and learned
and very learned. And I used to think,
you know, we need you over there.
We need you over in the US to
come and teach. But they're
running around, you know, Americans speaking teach to
speaking to each other in
Arabic. You know? And so
you can go there and then get the
knowledge. And then again and if you're gonna
be here, we have to be here to
give the Dawah as well. If we're gonna
be here, give the Dawah,
give knowledge.
And then, you know, one of the things
we do business and by doing business, we're
able to build
the so
that we don't we're not in debt.
We're able to build communities so that we're
not dealing with the homeless problem.
You know, there are many Muslims in homeless
shelters ran by people who are of other
faiths.
And so we have to start to put
together
the solid institutions
so that we can address the needs of
not only the Muslims but the not yet
Muslim.
Because that's, you know, we can give a
person a pamphlet
but we can also
help them with a meal. We can give
a person a pamphlet but we can also
help them to find suitable housing.
And and then
not just for that person to stay there,
but to elevate that person out of the
mindset that put them in that condition in
the first place. Whereas the law says, he
does not change the condition of the people
until they change what is in their hearts.
And so a lot of times, people are
so traumatized
by different types of abuses and trauma is
anything that's less than nurturing.
So traumatized
that they they can basically become paralyzed emotionally,
spiritually, and physically.
And so we have to be of those
who are changing this society
because we have
so many problems in this society, and then
we will be held to account.
We will be held to account on the
day of judgment.
What did you do when you were in
that toilet called America?
Did you flush it
or did you change it?
Did you change it into a spring?
Or did you just sort
of rock walk around, step inside from the
feces that's in the society?
So we have to be doing work, brothers
and sisters, as opposed to just walking around
looking cute, looking Muslim y.
Do the work.
We have to change the society, the overall
society.
And what
we have to understand
above all that not everybody's gonna become a
Muslim.
It is the law who makes Muslims.
And if we understand that, and if we
understand the whole concept
of tawheed,
the oneness of Allah,
believing that again in Allah alone
and
attributing
to him alone all the attributes of lordship
and divinity. And that's the concept of Tawhid.
We don't mix and match.
We don't mix and match.
These are some of the things that we
have to be reflecting on specifically
during this period of time when we're inundated
with the concept that that that God is
more than 1. If I've said anything that's
inconsistent with what Allah has given us and
the prophet, peace be upon him, teaches us,
I take full responsibility for that. And if
I've said anything in which you have gained
some new insight, as always, all praise belongs
to Allah.
And the scholars, when they talk about tawheed,
they've written tons of books just on the
concept of Tawhid.
Tons of books. People have gotten degrees on
that.
And
this talks about being divided into 3 categories.
And one is Tawhid al Rubabiyyah
and that means again the oneness of divine
lordship.
Tawhid alulahiya
and the oneness of divinity.
And tawhid al asma wal
Sifaat, which means the oneness of the divine
names and attributes. Because we hear all the
time that,
you know, Allah has 99
attributes. And that's again how
he has described himself. And, you know, I
work in the field of addiction and, sit
in meetings a lot and they talk about,
you look at the 12 step programs. They
talk about how God as he has as
we understand him. And so, again, that's giving
people
a, an out on on how to worship
Allah other than a way in which Allah
has asked people to worship him.
You know? So you have people worshiping trees
and themselves and and other things.
And the main thing is that Allah, through
his attributes, he described who he is. He's
our Rahman.
He's our Raheem.
He's our Al Aqaliq. You know, he gives
all of the different he gives you all
of the attributes. He describes himself, not
it's not left for debate.
And so we have to understand that.
We look at the oneness of divine lordship.
Again, meaning
that the law, again, is one and unique
with regard to his actions
and such as creation, sovereignty, control, giving life
and death and so on.
In evidence of the Quran, it says, and
and if you were to ask them, who
has created the heavens and earth and subjected
the sun and the moon? They will surely
reply Allah.
How then are the how are they deviating
as polytheists and disbelievers?
And if you were to ask ask them,
who sends down water, the rain from the
sky, and gives their therewith to the earth
after its death? They will surely reply Allah.
Say, in all praise and all thanks be
to Allah. Nay, most of them have no
sense.
And if you were to ask them, who
created
them, they will surely say Allah. How then
are they turned away
from the worship of Allah who created them?
And we look
at tawheed al
it means devoting all acts of worship both
inward and outward, in word and deed to
Allah alone and not worshiping anything or anyone
other than Allah. No matter who he is,
Allah says in the interpretation, and your lord
has decreed that you worship none but him.
Worship Allah and join none with him in
worship.
And again,
it may be described as devoting all the
actions to Allah alone.
And when you look at
the tawheed al Asmawal Sifaat
with regards to the names,
Allah says there is nothing like him
and he
is the all hearer, the the the all
seer.
And so even when we take the shahada,
we have the negation
and then we have the affirmation.
The negation is there is no deity. There
is no god.
And the atheist, they get it half right.
There is no god. I remember meeting an
atheist. Met an atheist in Saudi Arabia. And
that's why I told them, oh, you half
Muslim.
You know? And he said, what are you
talking about? I said, well, you say there's
no God, but
we say there's no God but God.
So when we take the shot, there is
a clearing. It's just like your computer. You
basically delete all of the unnecessary
information,
all of the the fit, all of the
the information that we receive throughout our lives
that our parents gave us and our grandparents
and great grandparents gave us. We delete all
of that.
There is no God
but God.
Negation then affirmation.
Brothers and sisters, we have to read, we
have to study, we have to absorb,
you know, their classes both in person and
online.
And they're good teachers
out there. They have good teachers in this
room,
but
we we set up classes
and, you know, you're on Facebook,
y'all on Twitter,
hanging out with Elon.
But
is the
the
the the social media gonna get you across
the sarong?
Is the social media gonna allow you to
be able to,
to absorb the type of knowledge that you
need to be able to answer the the
proper questions of who is your Lord,
what was your way,
who was your prophet.
So we have to learn.
We have to study. We have to absorb.
And,
again,
one of the things about knowledge
and it doesn't mean that you do have
to go
to a formal,
type of college and but you can read
and and and and get people who who
know, and you can you can get books
from them.
But what did the prophet, peace be upon
him, say about knowledge? He said that one
learned worshiper
one learned worshiper
is hard on the devil than 1,000 ignorant
worshipers.
So he recognized there will be ignorant worshipers.
One learned worship is harder on shaytan than
1,000 ignorant worshipers.
And so I'm not saying you have to
become a scholar if you become a scholar,
but learn the basics of your Deen.
Don't just take Shahada 1 year and the
next year all you know is half a
Fatiha in English.
You have to learn the basics of your
Deen.
Again, if I've said anything that's inconsistent with
what Allah has given us and the prophet,
peace be upon him, has taught us, I
take full responsibility for that. And if I've
said anything in which you have gained some
new insight, as always, our praise belongs to
Allah.
Our lord take us not into task if
we forget or fall into error.
Our lord laid out on us a burden
such as you did lay on those who
have gone before us.
Our lord laid out on us a burden
which we do not have the power to
bear and overlook our faults and forgive us
and have mercy on us. You are our
protector and grant us the victory over the
disbelieving people he come and been telling.