Emotional Intelligence in Islam – Episode 01

Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa sallahu wa sallim ala Nabina Muhammad Ali he was a big marine allama Medina Illa alum Tana, alumna and foreigner one foreigner Bhima alum Tana was in Maya Kareem, my dear brothers and sisters, Salaam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu Barakatuhu.

You know, it's been a long time since I've taught a Friday night hallak I think, maybe beginning of March, before we move into this location.

And I think this halycon in particular, Allahu Akbar. It's amazing how Allah subhanaw taala plans things where the plan was to start

last Friday,

yet Allah subhanho wa Taala had another plan where my father or him or her law passed away. And I think there was a divine wisdom behind that, because in the topic of emotional intelligence, as you'll come to see, a lot of it is about understanding your own emotions, how to regulate your emotions, and then understanding how emotions are actually a positive tool for change.

Or they can be something very, very destructive, as we'll come to see. And I think Allah subhanaw taala placed me in that test to learn valuable lessons before I actually embarked upon this journey. You know, the general thought process was, I was going to be using this book with the heart in mind by Shaykh Michela Smith, to talk about emotional intelligence from the Islamic perspective. But Allah subhanaw taala decided, you know, what, it's something that you need to experience firsthand, at a much deeper level, before you can actually talk about it. So let us start off Firstly, by discussing what exactly this emotional intelligence mean, from a scientific perspective, you will

find very little data that supports that there is actually something called emotional intelligence, because they look for, you know, substantial evidence that, hey, is there such a thing? as emotional intelligence? Is there an emotional quotient, that you can actually give people a test to see how emotionally intelligent they are, as opposed to not being emotionally intelligent? So the science isn't there just yet. But on a practical level, you do know it is something that exists? Now how do we know that oftentimes, you will interact with people that are giving you the right message, they're telling you to do the right thing. But they're not conveying it in the best of manners. So

they're not able to understand your emotional starting point. nor are they able to understand what emotional tactic do they need to use to get you to that end point. So there's a very big difference between knowing what is right and wrong, and getting people to understand it. And that is why when you look at the Prophet sallallahu alayhi, wa sallam he had mastered that very technique. On he knew where people's starting point was, he knew what he had to say or do to get to them to that end point. And this is what we will refer to as emotional intelligence. It is the ability to recognize your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others, and to understand what is the most appropriate

thing to do in that given situation, to get to that desired result to get to that desired result. Now, there are a lot of things I wanted to discuss about today. The first of them will be when we talk about emotional intelligence. from a psychological perspective, there's five key components that emotional intelligence consists of mean that if you don't have these five key components, the emotional intelligence will not be able to sustain itself in the long run. So once you understand these five key components of emotional intelligence, you know what you need to build on, you know what you need to work on. But more importantly, what I'm hoping we'll get out of it, is that when we

look at the seal of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi, wa sallam, we'll be able to recognize what are the tactics that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is using in order to influence change. So the first of them is self awareness. The first of them is self awareness, understanding where you are understanding what your current state is an example I want to give at this, and this is something I discussed in today's codebook. So I apologize if it's repetition for some of you, is that when you look at the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and his son Ibrahim passing away, when Abraham passed away, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wasn't actually there. So the

Prophet salallahu alaihe salam comes back and he hears the news that Ibrahim has passed away, and he kisses Ibrahim at that time, and he starts to cry tears start to come out of his eyes. And then at that time of Mana withouth or it could have been another companion according to other narrations, he asked the Messenger of Allah sallallahu Sallam said O Messenger of Allah, even someone like you was crying, like how is this possible? Doesn't crying negate email?

Doesn't crying in the gate, pleasure or acceptance of the color of Allah subhanho wa Taala How is it possible that you as the Messenger of Allah are crying, because that was his understanding of what crying meant that if you cry, you're weakened Eman and you're displeased with the cuddle of Allah subhanho wa Taala and the Prophet salallahu alaihe salam puts things into perspective. When he says in the head urashima that indeed crying is a mercy from Allah subhana wa tada we're in the line, Allah tidemark we're in a combat zone with an akula illa my god robina that indeed the eyes will shed tears The heart will grieve, but the tongue will only say that which is pleasing to Allah

subhanho wa Taala. And if I was to look at emotional intelligence, I would say this is like the foundational Hadith under the chapter of emotional intelligence. Why? Because that self awareness is there. So step one, we said is self awareness. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is very well aware that his son has passed away. And that it is only natural and human to grieve, during that time, is a time where you need to grieve or you need to express emotion. And that proper emotion at that time is to shed tears. And to be said, Can you imagine how awkward it is? someone passes away and you start laughing? Can you imagine how awkward it is? someone passes away, and you're

expressing another emotion that's just not befitting. So here the Prophet sallallahu alayhi. wasallam is showing us self awareness that he understands the correct emotion to display is sadness. And he's also in such a state to explain that to someone else. And this is what I'm talking about that when we talk about emotional intelligence, it's not just about recognizing the emotion, it's about having the ability to conveyed, your son passes away, and someone comes and asks you like a nakida question like this, really, that's what happened, his son passed away. And he said, O Messenger of Allah, even you're crying, like the appropriate thing to do for any of these companions

is, let him be let him grieve at that time, don't bother him with a flicker of either question at that time, they just give him some time to be by himself. But that sexual awareness has not been developed. And this is something that will also come to study. situational awareness is so important that a lot of times, you know, someone passes away, we want to express our condolences. When that person doesn't want to receive your condolences, just yet. They're going through the grieving process. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam allowed people to grieve for three days, a husband passes away have a wife, she has four months in 10 days to grieve. And there's a wisdom behind that

because it is a process that needs to take place. So the level of component number one is self awareness. Level number two is self regulation is the second component. So how do we get self regulation from the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam over here, he says, and we will only say that which is pleasing and happy and will make Allah subhanaw taala happy. So that means you have to understand that even in expressing your emotions, there are limits as to how far you can go. So when someone passes away, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, prohibited whaling to such a degree where people are beating themselves or people are ripping their clothes, or they're saying

things that go against the culture of Allah. Why him he was so young, he was so innocent, he was so righteous. These statements we hear all the time, but that lacks self regulation. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is teaching us over here, that even in your emotion, you need to practice regulation, you need to know that there is a limit as to how far you can go and expressing yourself on the tongue. It is that which is displeasing to Allah, you never want to say that would you displeasing to Allah, and then the exact opposite side? Allah subhanho wa Taala teaches us how to react when a calamity takes place. Allah subhanaw taala he tells us in Soto Baccarat Lavina,

either our Saba tomo Seba galuh, in Allah, he were in La Jolla June that the believers when they're tried by calamity, their natural response is, indeed to Allah we belong. And to him, we shall return.

Perhaps towards chapter three or chapter four of the book, we'll discuss this statement in a bit more detail. But this statement is a paradigm changer. It changes perspectives completely. When you talk about emotional attachment, the life of this world. You know, as a young child, someone breaks their crayons, they start crying, they spill a glass of milk, they start crying. As you get older, the crayons and the milk, they change and manifestations. They will look like you're not getting into the degree program that you want. You're not getting the job that you want. You're getting fired. You're not being able to marry the person that you want. You're getting divorced. They're

just the same calamity just in different manifestations. As you mature, that which you value will change but all of that

That becomes irrelevant if you understand everything belongs to Allah in this dunya. And at any given point Allah subhanaw taala has the full right, he has the full right to take it away.

Then the third component of emotional intelligence is motivation, the desire, the desire to continuously grow and to change, the desire to continuously grow and to change. So, you see this in the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and is perhaps the second foundational hadith of emotional intelligence. A man comes to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he says, All messenger of Allah advised me and the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells him that do not become angry, he asks again, it says, Do not become angry, he asks again, and he says, Do not become angry. So over here, we learned that this man came sincerely asking the Messenger of Allah

sallallahu alayhi wa sallam for advice. And that means that this man has a desire to grow. And the fact that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gives him this advice, shows that the process Salaam appreciates such a question where people are seeking to grow. In fact, if you look even deeper, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the hadith of a right of a believer upon another believer, the version of Bukhari mentions five, the version of Muslim mentioned six, that sixth right of a believer upon another believer is if they ask you for advice, you give them the best sincere advice that you possibly can. This is an actual fundamental right of one Muslim upon

another, meaning that as believers were meant to have this desire, and this motivation of I will never become complacent, I will never become content with where I am. And I will always want to continuously grow. But for the sake of our discussion, it's about I will always want to continuously grow and understanding my emotions, and understanding other people's emotions, and understanding what is the most appropriate response or action in any given situation. And then after you understand these three components of emotional intelligence, the practical reality kicks in. And the practical reality is understanding empathy, which is perhaps the most important of all of the tools

that you will be learning in Sharla. And then the last of them are social skills. The last of them is social skills. Why is empathy so important? I give you the example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when a Bedouin man comes into the masjid and he starts urinating in the middle of the machine, the companions rhodiola who and whom the best of us creation that walked on this planet, after the prophets of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Their reaction was on messenger of Allah, let us harm him on messenger of Allah, let us physically stop him. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, Let him finish, let him finish. And then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa

sallam goes up to him and tells them, this is a place of worship, urine is impure, and this is not a place to relieve yourself. We want to keep this place as clean as possible. The man's reaction, may Allah have mercy upon me, upon you, and upon no one else upon me and you and no one else. That was his reaction, so many valuable lessons that you can learn from that Hadith. Why? Because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had empathized with him. Where is the empathy that if you force a man to stop urinating while he is urinating that is physically painful at that time, and it is actually harmful to the body in the long run. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam understands that it

will physically cause him pain. He's empathized with that pain, and now he knows the correct response. Now he knows the correct response. Number two, he recognized that this man was a Bedouin man, he wasn't from the city, meaning that he wasn't as educated. He wasn't as literate as perhaps this dwellers of the city work. The Bedouins were just farmers and caretakers of the desert. They were shepherds. That's all they knew. And this man perhaps was new to Islam. He didn't know the sanctity of the masjid. And he didn't know about the impurity of, of urine. She takes the time to explain this data in the nicest possible way. And then what do you get that desired outcome that we

keep talking about? That in every situation you are going in with a desired outcome that you have to think in advance in this interaction, what I'm trying to achieve is the following. I want to be able to achieve this goal through my interaction with you. And if I was so long, I knew I knew that the intended goal over here was to get this man to understand what he did was wrong, to make sure it was not repeated again. And then the desired result. May Allah have mercy upon me and upon you and upon no one else. Why? Because the people's response was not adequate to the situation. At that time. They weren't able to have

Understand they did not empathize. And that is the importance of empathy. And the last but not least, is social skill. And for me, this was my biggest desire and it's something that shape McHale Smith mentioned at the beginning of his book as well. We have the famous hadith of

Abdullah Ahmed Lebanon us.

Where are actually I'm Robin asked where he believes he is the most beloved person to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Can you imagine what that feels like? Can you imagine what that even looks like? You think you're the most beloved person to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, due to how he sallallahu wasallam treats you? That's what he felt.

So he actually finds the courage one day to ask the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, or messenger of Allah, Who is the most beloved of people to you, just to get that certainty that he feels he has in his heart already, but he wants to hear the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, you know, someone loves you, but you want to hear them say, Do you want to hear the words? I love you. So he asked, you know, messenger of Allah, Who is the most beloved of people to you. And he says, I shall read the Allahu tada and his wife, which is normal. So he says, almost in German law, not from the women, I mean, from amongst the men. And then he says, her father, her

father, and then he says, okay, you know, father in law best friend. I'm not in that category. But I'm talking about just the regular men, you know, not the special people, just the regular men are

not fun. I live in avatar lab. And it's like his heart start seeking as the names Go on, because he's like, okay, where do I fall on this list, till eventually, you know, some of the versions stop and off man, some at least some even at all, not. The point being. It wasn't that the the fact that the messenger didn't mention his name. It was the fact that the Messenger of Allah says Allah without intending it, got him to believe that he was the most beloved of mankind to him. And that's what I mean by social skills, the way we interact with people. So people feel welcomed through that people feel loved. And that is something that takes true skill. And when you look at the rapid

expansion of Islam from the time of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam, till the time of Anuradha, Allahu anhu, just now was 40 years, that expansion was only possible after the tofik of Allah subhanho wa Taala, the power of Revelation, then through emotional intelligence, and the example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So even though when you study books of Islamic psychology, or Elmo knifes, you know, from the time of huseby onwards, you're not going to find a science that's called emotional intelligence. Why? Because it was already assumed that it existed, the concept of teddy bear the concept of a cluck, it was all inclusive of emotional intelligence. So

those are the five key components that we refer to when we talk about emotional intelligence. That is what we're trying to develop. That is what we're trying to harness. And that is what we're trying to look for. In examples when we discuss the seal of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The second thing I wanted to discuss with you is the actual book or the text that we will be going over. And this is a very loose usage of the text in the beginning, the very loose usage of the text in the beginning. So the book is called with the heart in mind, the moral and emotional intelligence of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam by Sheriff Mikhail Achmed Smith. He is an African American, that studied in Syria, studied in the Deobandi by de memorize the Quran, and eventually learn to the Islamic sciences. And he still he's an instructor at a condom Institute. And the first book that he actually compiled was a translation on the art of learning and reading a book, like how

do you actually read a book, what is the best way to read a book and to retain the information that you have, and this is the second book that he is put together. And I believe Subhanallah This is a masterpiece of a book, because not only does it bring about the Islamic sciences, his references from the psychological world, show the deep understanding that he has of psychology, even perhaps without having majored in it. I don't know his his secular background, but it brings together both the Islamic sciences and the secular societies and says together in a profound way, and this is a book that I cannot recommend enough that people get so telling you to tell you how the book is laid

out. There are four chapters in this book, there are four chapters in this book, of which tonight we will be covering the first chapter. The first chapter is about the topic of

Allah subhanaw taala uses the concept of alcohol in the Quran many many times. He says if Allah Yaki loan of Allah alone, will you not reflect Will you not rationalize? Will you not comprehend and understand

So he says Allah subhanho wa Taala uses this concept of alcohol. How do we understand what the alcohol is? And then he brings the psychological perspective of the intellect. Historically speaking, what has been the role of the intellect? And what did people desire from it? What was the objective behind it? And that's what we're going to discuss tonight in Sharla. Topic number two, or chapter number two, is the actual emotional intelligence, where he beings examples from the state of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and breaks them down. As to these are the things that we can learn. And this is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was so perfect in all of his

intelligences, but particularly his emotional intelligence. So it's a dissection of the CLL deployments on Allahu annual Salaam. Looking at these components that we've spoken about, then number three,

chapter number three, is about moral intelligence is about moral intelligence, which is different from emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence, we said, looks at emotions, how you can use them as a tool, or there's something very destructive, and how you use them to interact with others. But moral intelligence is a portion of the brain that how do you eventually decipher what is right from wrong? And what is revelation come into that? So often times, we will know what is right, and we will know what is wrong. Yet, we will still somehow end up doing the wrong thing. And at other times, it's unclear, what is the right thing to do. So you look at a moral dilemma of your mother is

drowning, and your daughter is drowning you as a as a male Father, and the Son, who you're going to save if only one of them can be saved? What is the right answer over there? So what tools are you going to be using to get to the answer that you want to achieve? Right? So that's what we want to be referring to about moral intelligence? How do we decipher the world between right and wrong? And then last but not least, is radical change. And that was the concept I was referring to, that if you look at the expansion of Islam, from the time of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam, till the end of the time of ideology, Allahu anhu, how did Islam expand so drastically? And we'll look at the

role that emotional and moral intelligence played in the expansion of Islam. So, that is an overview of the book altogether. And tonight inshallah, we will be talking about topic number one or chapter number one, which is the occult, which is the occult. So he starts off by posting, or by posing a question, Who is the most intelligent person that you know, who is the most intelligent person that you know, throughout history? I want you to think about the most intelligent person who comes to your mind. Someone give me some answers.

Raise your hand to actually so I can ask you. Go ahead. Sorry.

Adam manisa, the prophet of Allah subhanaw taala. Excellent. Any suggestions from the sisters? The most intelligent person you've ever come across?

Raise your hand. Sure. I can ask you.

A mama chef. Mo. Hola. Excellent. And you're going to say, the proverb Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam excellent.

Imam, Bukhari mcquarry. Man, you guys are spoiling words like Einstein or something like that. Go ahead. What are you going to say? Yeah.

Al Bukhari? Excellent. So we're thinking of Islamic personalities, which is great. But in a traditional setting, those aren't the typical answers you would hear. When we think about the intelligent people of our times, you don't hear about your modern day moms, you'll hear about like Elon Musk, or you'll hear about the guy from Microsoft, all you hear about the people on Google, like these are the people who think of intelligence, even historically, you know, Einstein and Newton, these were the most intelligent people that we knew of. But the fundamental flaw is in how we understand the question, because what is the intelligence we're actually seeking? So now, once

you understand the role of secularization throughout history, and how the church was separated from the state, you understand that the impact that it had, even in understanding this question, because before the secularization the most intelligent person should we have been to presumed, the one that can get you to paradise, the one that understood his Lord the best and worshipped him the best, that is who the most intelligent person is. But then you bring secularization into the question, and into the framework. And all of a sudden, it's like, who will technologically developed and advanced mankind and humanity, that is what we understand as intelligence. And that is how we developed the

IQ, the intelligent quotient intelligence quotient, is purely based upon how you understand the life of this world. The life of the Hereafter is completely irrelevant.

So shake my kale he poses the fact that from a Muslims perspective when we understand success, it's not just about the success of this life, it is inclusive of the life of the hereafter. And without a shadow of a doubt to the individual that will be the most successful in the Hereafter is the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, the highest level of intelligence of the hereafter hands down is given to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. But can we make the claim that he was also the most intelligent person when it came to the life of this world? And again, the question is posed, how are you going to measure that intelligence before the development of iQ? So

he says, the level of impact that he had upon humanity, and again, the ability to expand the religion of Islam as a religious and political movement, department sallallahu wasallam had that impact, that you see a group of 300 people overcoming 1000 in the Battle of budder, you have a whole city that will disbelieving and then he enters upon Mecca, and the whole city with the exception of about six to 10 people embraces Islam, like that is radical change that is taking place. So even from a worldly perspective, the ability to influence there is no greater influencer than Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wasallam and that is beyond those are just like logical arguments to understand

the statement of Allah subhanho wa Taala. What in Africa, the other fellow can have him that you are Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, or have the most exalted standard, when it comes to everything. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the most perfect human being, and thus the most intelligent human being to have ever walked this earth. So therefore, it is none other than Mohammed sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

And then he goes on to break down the topic of over time, as secularization encroached into the mindset of individuals. This presumption came about, the more intelligent you are, the less religious you are, the more intelligent you are, the less religious you are. Because intelligence depends upon empirical evidence, can you test your theory, can you prove your theory and thus make it affect whereas religion, there are parts of it that can be tested and proven. But there are other parts of it that require faith. And faith is not something that can be tested according to scientific method. And therefore, it is not logical for an intelligent person to believe in

religion, when you come from that paradigm of secularization. But from a Muslims perspective, we embrace everything holistically, that at the highest levels of math at the highest levels of biology, at the highest levels of science, everything is meant to return back to Allah subhanaw taala Woolfolk aku, Li, ve l min le, they're at the head of every science is the most knowledgeable. Allah subhanho wa Taala. So that's what his introduction is all about. Then into chapter number one, he starts discussing the term outcome. And he says the framework we're going to be using is of this Imam known as Imam and has to be, and he gives a brief introduction as to who he was. So his name is

how this has to be. And he lived during the time of Imam Muhammad Rahim Allah just to give you some framework, you may have not heard about how thermo has to be, but you've definitely heard of him and mathematics, one of the four major themes of jurisprudence in Islam, and he gives you a brief framework or brief historical context as to what is happening during that time. He says the halifa at that time, was Abu Jaffa almanzora. And Abu Jaffa monsoon, he had dedicated the Muslim welfare house or the Muslim wealth, I'm forgetting the term right now, based on mallia dedicated the beta not the Muslim Treasury, that's the word he dedicated the Muslim Treasury to the expansion of

education. Like he's like my legacy is going to be that Muslims have to reclaim

education. So he invested as much as he possibly could from baitul, not from the Muslim Treasury, into education. But what did that actually look like? Two things encroached into the Muslim world at that time. So Abu Jafar almanzora, he himself couldn't afford to translate these science books in Greek, in Latin, in Aramaic, and in Sanskrit, into Arabic. So he has a pact or an understanding with Caesar. You know what, why doesn't Caesar translate the Greek science and the Greek Aristotelian logic into Arabic and that's what Caesar did. So

Java 11 showed he embraces this, his life is very short 1213 years or so, his brother Maddie becomes the Khalifa and expands it even further. He says, You know what we'll continue to invest in this. He had science and logic, I'm going to bring math from India as well. And now they're trying to bring in the sciences that the Muslim community is not aware of what it means what its impact is going to be, and the long term effect that it will have. So a 20 years after that, we move forward. And now you have a generation of Muslims, predominantly from the elite and wealthy, who have become familiarized with our septillion logic and Greek logic and Greek philosophy, that are now

approaching the sciences of Islam with this framework, so much so that it develops a whole movement known as the movement of the mortal Xena, the movement of the martyrs, Xena, and when you study the life of Muhammad and how he became persecuted, it was because that these people reached such a level of influence, that they are the advisors of the Khalif at that time, and they actually influenced the Khalifa. And therefore the people of faith are now being persecuted the likes of me Mama Ahmed. Now Elmo has to be in his own household. His father became a more designee, he became a rationalist. How do you summarize this rationalist in the very simplest form?

sub rationalization during that time meant you will give preference to your intellect over revelation? Meaning if you have to understand what is good and evil, you would rather use your mental faculties to decipher what is good and bad and give precedence to that over what the Quran and Sunnah actually state that is a very symbolized form of understanding what rationalism meant at that time, and how the film has to be. He was from the framework that in order to understand what is good and bad, the starting point has to be the Quran and the Sunnah. Because Allah subhanho wa Taala created the mind. And Allah subhanho wa Taala revealed revelation.

And the if these two statements are true, because they're both from the same source, there shouldn't be any contradiction between them. And this is a point that even Tamia expands upon much later on, and dumped out upon the knuckle, that there is no contradiction between revelation and rationalization that they're both mentioned to be in harmony. So a lot of them has to be seen the impact that it has in his own family, and his father rejecting verses an ayat of the Quran, when his father died, and Mohammed Al Harrison, my son, who was very poor, he needed the money from inheritance. But he said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam forbade inheriting from people

of another religion and therefore I cannot take from his inheritance being that that's how bad it had gotten. So now understand this framework. Now Elmo has to be as he comes along. He had studied Shafi felt he had studied Hanafi folk, and he's now studying animal column. Animal column in its simplest form is what we will refer to as philosophy and logic. The reason why he studied philosophy and logic is to refute the multizilla movement, the Martelli movement. And he starts up in unintentionally, or is one of the founders of his own movement called the mythical the moon. And they develop and this is going to be another long discussion and Al Qaeda known as the Acharya

Qaeda, Al Qaeda known as Mr. Trudi Akita. And they say that in order to refute the this rationalist movement, we need to see what tools they're using, find those tools in the Quran and the Sunnah, and refute them with those very tools from the Quran and Sunnah using this logic, and that is how that movement gets formed. Then there's a third movement in this frame of time, which is Imam Mohammed Rahim Allah and what historically has been called the Imam of Allah sooner well, Gemma, the sooner well, Gemma movement and their email, and their stance of You know what, don't bother wasting your time in learning this logic, rather refute them directly with verses of the Quran and the Hadith.

They are self explanatory, and do not require the understanding of Aristotelian logic in order to refute these claims. So now to give you further context behind this, as I said, Mr. Muhammad, and Elmo has to be their contemporaries. They lived in the exact same time.

And at that time, Mr. mathema, knew of a man that was very close with alma huseby. So much so that Alma has to be used to hold his halaqaat in this man's house. So one day, Mr. Muhammad Rahim Allah He comes to this man and he says, Look, I know you're very close to it has to be Would it be okay if I came and attended one of his holocausts? This man gets so excited. He's like, you have a massive and you have a mammoth, both of them in my house. How can I miss out on this opportunity? So he goes to Omaha minister

Can you and your students come to my house tonight and have a Hanukkah and aloha Serbian students came after Mohammed. And after Mohammed they sat there in absolute silence. And half of the night went by just in silence. People will not speak until the MA has to be spoke, what one person out of turn, he asked you on what has to be a question. And then he starts speaking. And it impacts the hearts to such a degree that everyone's crying. The man who Mr. Mohammed went to his house, he went to go see my Muhammad. And he said that he was crying so profusely at that time, I feared he was about to pass out, I feared that he was about the fate. So now, after all this is done, he goes back

to him and he asks him at all, Imam Abdullah, what did you think of it has to be. And he says, what Allah has to be has to say without a shadow of a doubt, is definitely very impactful. But I still want you to stay away from him. So this is the most common criticism of all more has to be why not because he was saying anything wrong. But because of the methodology he indulged in known as Elmo column in the science of philosophy and logic, that Imam Ahmed and those that followed him, eventually viewed as detrimental to Islamic theology, because that was the same science that led to the rationalization and matassini movement. So that is who has to be is and the interaction that he

had with the Imam Ahmed. Now, to tell you something else, one of the most, I'll tell you about three of his books. The first book is one that's available now it's been translated into the English language. It's called resell it almost Mr. Moore scholarship, Dean decided to associate dean, which is guidance, or the the letter for those that are seeking guidance. And this is his understanding of how to develop spirituality in this day and age. And it's translated, it's available in English. And I think it's a remarkable book. For those that are looking to study. Islamic spirituality, especially from his earliest sources, like this is first generation Islam, or for the first three

generations of Islam, you're getting exposed to it from a very early standpoint, that's translated to English. Number two, is a book which I find remarkable, and I'm hoping that it'll be translated one day is called a terroir home. And it is a first person narrative of what the journey of the soul afterlife looks like. She talks about from before the moment of death, when the Angel of Death comes till entrance into paradise, or Johanna, and it's a first person narrative as if he had died. And he's experiencing all of this. But the way he's talking about it, even though it's from a first person narrative, all of it is coming back to it, and that Hadith from the Quran, and from the

sinner. And then the third letter is, or the third treatise or book that he wrote, was on the darker than the intellect, which is the primary focus of what we are discussing tonight. And today, now, let us get into that in sha Allah huhtala.

So according to him, the article

consists of three levels, there's three levels to the intellect, and instead of alcohol, we're going to use the word intellect, because it actually is going to become redundant. He says that there's three levels to the intellect, you have alcohol, which is the intellect, then you have firm, which is understanding. And then you have basilar. And then you have basura, which is divine insight, which is divine insight. And we're going to look at all of these. Now, what is the objective behind this, the objective behind this is that he says that in order to understand intelligence, and in order to understand intellect, you have to understand that things are only as good as the function

that they are created for, things are only as good as the function that they are created for. So if an individual has eyes that cannot see, they are not serving their function, and therefore they are not good, therefore they are not good. So he says, in order to understand the intellect, you have to understand what the role of the intellect is. And the role of the intellect according to alma huseby, is to get to know Allah subhanho wa Taala, fulfill His commands, and stay away from his prohibitions, summarize that into two parts, to get to know who Allah subhanaw taala is. So the soul has this desire of recognizing who its creator is, and once it recognizes its creator, it

understands its relationship with the Creator, which is to worship the Creator. So to stop just at recognition is not enough, and has to transcend that and actually go into worshipping Allah subhanho wa Taala. So that was Alma Hassabis point when it came to the intellect and he says these levels of intellect are three you will be

blessed with the first to every human being is, but only the righteous are granted the third, only the righteous are granted the third. So when he talks about the intellect the first level, he says that the primary focus or function of the icon or the intellect, is to conceptualize things is to conceptualize things. And he brings the story of Adam and his Salaam and the angels. So Allah subhanaw taala brings forth Adam alayhis salaam and Allah Subhana Allah says that I am creating a halifa and what do the angels respond Oh Allah, will you create that which spills blood and creates chaos? And Allah says, surely I know that what you do not know. And then Allah subhanho wa Taala

brings Adam and teaches him the names of everything, teaches him the names of everything. And then he asked the angels tell me their names, and the angels are not able to do so. And then the angels respond, surely you know that which we do not know. So the point being over here, either man, he said, he is taught the names of different things, because he starts to recognize them as different things. And this is what conceptualization actually is, and conceptualization at its highest level, means a word can be given to you. And you can develop a mental image of it. So someone says, Man, and you automatically think of a male human being, someone says car, you automatically start

thinking of a vehicle that has four wheels, it has a motor and an engine and a steering wheel, and Windows and it goes backwards and forwards and then go and go right and left. So you are able to conceptualize what is being described to you. And he says that everyone has been given this basic function of the intellect. Now this is very, very important. As human beings, we need to be able to differentiate between different things, and that is where the conceptualization takes place. Now, why was Hassabis conceptualization point so relevant? Because during his time, you had Muslim philosophers that said the alcohol is actually the rule, the alcohol is actually the rule, it is

actually the soul, that if you take the soul out, then you've destroyed the human being, you put the soul in and the human being exists. They said, the actor and the soul were synonymous. And Elmo has to be leader said No, okay. And he is arguing No, they are not the same. But rather, the intellect is a faculty of the soul, that every soul is given this ability to understand and to,

to conceptualize. And then there was another movement that said,

that the intellect is solely about recognizing that is only about recognizing things. So the the soul recognizes its creator, it has served its function. But according to one mahasin, he said, No, that's not the case. Everyone can recognize, but it is the intellect that will understand what is a command that you have to do, and a prohibition that you have to stay away from. And this is what differentiates us from animals. Animals know that Allah subhanaw taala exists, but they implemented their carnal desires without the use of their intellects. So this is why his conceptualization point was very relevant. Now, under conceptualization, he says, there are three tools that the ACA is

dependent upon this first level of intellect, there's three tools that this appeal is dependent upon speech, deduction, and choice, as you can mckell gives a very nice example. He says, One day, my daughter and I, we were outside, and we saw someone smoking. So my daughter asked me, What is this man doing? What is this man doing? And I responded to her, he is smoking. And she asked me, What are the effects of this meaning? Why does he do this? Why does he smoke? And he says that according to this person, this person will tell you that it makes them feel good, and takes away their stress. But in reality, it is harmful and can kill you and causes cancer.

And then she asks, so why does he do this? And those are the effects. And that is the concept of choice. So I want you to understand that as human beings as we develop, the first things we learn is speech. Right? We teach our children that this is a table. This is a chair, and unfortunately it's getting younger and younger. This is a phone. That's the reality of what we're teaching them these days. So they may not understand what it is

But they know what it is. So that's the first thing that they will ask. And that is what speech is all about, to be able to define something and specify a word to a concept. That is the definition of speech. So they learn speech, and that is what the first level of intellect is about, then they're able to deduce, then they're able to deduce meaning that they want to ask, you know, what are the effects of this? What are the consequences of this? So you start to understand what is right and what is wrong. So you know, what is right and you know, what is wrong, and that is also part of conceptualization. So you have a moral framework inside of yourself, which we'll discuss later on,

known as the fifth law. This fifth law that Allah subhanaw taala created in us, he mentioned in sudo, room fitrah tala allottee, forthrightness Allah, that it is this innate disposition, that unless I know what Allah has instilled inside all of us, were the fundamental core values of every human being will be synonymous, they will be exactly the same. That regardless of where they're raised, wherever they're brought up, their fundamental values that human beings are meant to agree upon. And they will only be changed after, you know, deep indoctrination and perversion. So let me give you an example. For the most part, all of humanity will agree that murdering someone unjustly

is wrong. For the most part, humanity will agree, a strong person, taking something from a weak person that does not belong to them is wrong. These are fundamental values that we were hoping that everyone will agree upon. But as time goes on, and our concept of good and bad becomes more perverse, this becomes a very blurry thing, it becomes very, very blurry. And those are sort of the times that we're living in, where you cannot decipher between good and bad anymore, because the photo has been perverted. There is this high level of indoctrination, where you become desensitized into wronged, so much so that you think it is right. So I want you to look at particular movements,

I want you to think of particular movements, and how 20 to 30 years ago, they're considered very apprehensive, they're considered immoral. They're considered a mental illness, but through, you know, pop culture. And through desensitization, not only do people no longer see the morality in that act anymore, but now the store to embrace that lifestyle, and think of it as something normal and think of it as something normal. And this is what happens time after time. Any vice people become desensitized to it first, then they embrace it as something normal. It happened with alcohol, it happened with cigarettes, it happened with a wide variety of things, even with marijuana. You

know, marijuana is now legalized. And originally, you know what, it was a criminal offence to have it, it is intoxicated, you need to stay away from it. It has detrimental effects. But now look at the way that it's promoted. Or you're feeling stressed, go have some marijuana, or did you know that CBD has these medicinal properties that can cure you. So what if it has THC and you get high, it has these medicinal properties that will help you and that is the way it is treated. So understand. That is the general process where that concept of good and evil becomes corrupt. Starting with desensitization, you know, lots of anodyne has created every human being with this moral compass

that they are born with that deciphers good from evil. And that is the second level known as our the second

concept or tool that the uncle has, which is deduction. And then the third is choice. We're now you know what is right and wrong. Yes, people still choose to do the right or wrong thing. So that is at the very first level, every human being will have that that is level one of the aka what we will call Archons. Level number two is is to understand realities to understand realities. So now that you know what is right and wrong, you have a deeper understanding of its reality, that no matter how much I try to sell it to you, you will be able to see it for what it is. So for example, you look at an alcohol commercial, and you will see people having a good time. There's a there's a party going

on. Everyone's having fun. And hey, what are you drinking, this is what I'm drinking. Therefore, this is what I need to have fun. These are marketing gimmicks that are placed in front of you. At the end of the day, you still have a deeper understanding of statistics. They may be somewhere in the back of your mind. But a lot of accidents on the road take place because of drinking. People are killed. People are harmed and injured people speed recklessly. If you look at domestic violence, you will notice that there's a relationship with drinking. You look at suicide at certain points. There may have been some element of drinking. You look

At

zinna and causes of abortion and, and conception, a lot of it happens when people are under the influence of drinking. So all of these mind all these things are in the back of my head. And this is what the farm is the deeper understanding of the reality. Now, even though everyone will have this deeper understanding of reality, not everyone is able to grasp it, not everyone is able to bring it to the forefront of their mind. Now this concept of bringing something to the forefront of your mind with him is known as basura is known as basura. The greatest example that I can give you of this in the Quran, is Yusuf Ali, Sara, Yusuf Ali Salaam, a young man, he's being seduced. And what does he

say? his natural reaction man as Allah, I seek refuge in Allah, I seek new a habit in a president is more beloved to me than this. And this is what you call Basilan. The ability to bring that firm to the forefront and see the reality for what it is. This is destruction, this is a disaster. And no matter how much I may desire it, I need to stay away from it. I need to stay away from it. And no has to be argues that while the first two everyone will be will have everyone will have the rationalization, everyone will have the deeper understanding. But only those that are conscious of Allah, people of taqwa will be able to have Basilan to have foresight and insight into the reality

of something. And he says the more righteousness a person has, the more basilar they have. And the more sin a person accumulates, the more the basilar is taken away, the more the viscera is taken away. So this is chapter one in a nutshell, him bringing Alma Hassabis understanding of the intellect as one of the early understanding of what intelligence looked like. So understanding that intelligence from an from a, from an Islamic perspective has always been about obeying Allah subhanho wa Taala and worshipping Him. And it's never been about how well you can do a math test how well you can, you know, understand geometry or science or your ability to use language arts, it has

always been about understanding who Allah subhanho wa Taala is, and can you get yourself to obey Allah subhanho wa Taala and stay away from his prohibitions and actually want to read the very last line from chapter one to you. Because I think it'll really bring things into perspective.

So at the end of chapter one, he says, rationality was not the enemy of the theist, as Locke and Spinoza would opine. On the contrary, the immaterial soul was of divine origin. And rationality was, it was its defining attribute. rationality is the strongest ally to belief in Allah and His profits, rationality is the strongest ally, to believe in Allah and His prophets. So under explaining this last point, he talks about the history of when the soul was separated from the body, and how the role that the intellect played in that so particularly talks about john Locke and Spinoza, two philosophers, and they argued that the soul was not divine. It was just a social construct that

we've created to understand life and death. And thus, the intellect has no spiritual realm to it whatsoever, that this concept of understanding, you know, God and understanding good and bad was not the primary function. The primary function became, how can I survive as long as possible according to these individuals, and eventually, what did that lead to? You're either rational, or you were a theist, meaning you believed in God, you are not the two combined anymore. At the end of chapter number one, the conclusion he brings about is that rationalization and theism believing in God, were never meant to be at odds, but rather they are two sides to the same coin, they're meant to go hand

in hand. And that is why Allah subhanho wa Taala in the Koran uses rational arguments to discuss matters with the corporation and the disbelievers, that is a common ground with them, the usage of rational arguments. So rationality is what will bring people back to understanding and believing in Allah Subhana Allah and His Messenger, but not the rationality that you and I understand the rationality that Allah subhanho wa Taala portrays in the Quran. So this is the introduction to chapter number one or summary of chapter number one. And inshallah next week in chapter number two, we actually start looking at emotional intelligence itself. So we're speaking about general

intelligence and intellect. And next week, we started speaking about emotional intelligence in particular, and what that looked like in the life of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. What I want to conclude with for tonight, inshallah

I'll conclude in the next five, six minutes in Sharla, our 12 habits that we want to try to develop in order to become more emotionally intelligent 12 habits we want to try to develop in order to become more emotionally intelligent. Number one, to think about our feelings. Often times, oftentimes, speaking about emotions is something that is put in a negative light, particularly with the way men will talk to women, it becomes very, very clear. Why are you being so emotional? We hear that all the time. And this brings to light that emotions are something negative. But in reality, this is couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, even our theology necessitates that we

understand certain attributes of Allah subhanho wa Taala, which from a human perspective, our emotions, so when you go back to the Prophet salallahu alaihe salam, he says, Well, I know kuno, in Lima Europeana, and we will not say except that which pleases Allah or makes Allah happy. So this is something that is considered a strength and not weakness. So when you start looking at your own emotions, this is a sign that you're developing emotional intelligence, you think about feelings. Number two, you learn to pause, you learn to take a step back, before you speak, before you react before you act. This is a sign of emotional intelligence, how many times do we get cut off on the

road and the street, and our natural reaction is to scream profanity, or to say something foul, or the to make a gesture that a Muslim shouldn't be making. That is what happens when people don't take the time to pause.

A more appropriate response. And I know this has been very idealistic, but I'm doing this intentionally, someone cuts you off on the road, you compose yourself, and you're like, may Allah guide him, that's what you'd like to achieve in an ideal situation is not going to happen for most of us. But that's the ideal situation, what should be the very least, the very least I should realize from this is just like how I didn't like being cut off on the road, I should understand that when I cut people off, this has the exact same effect on them. Right? So you learn to take a pause and reflect on your circumstances, and you develop the situational awareness. Number three, you

strive to control your thoughts, you understand that your thoughts are like the, you know, when the water is going down the sink, it starts going like a whirlpool, though, that is the impact of your thoughts. And eventually, if you don't stop that cycle, you're going to drown yourself, and you're just going to go down. At some point, you have to stop your thoughts and control your thoughts. And you have to tell yourself, I'm in control of my thoughts, and my thoughts, my thoughts are in control of me. And when you do that, that is a sign of developing emotional intelligence. Number four, you benefit from criticism. someone tells you, brother, sister, I have some advice for you.

Our unfortunate gradual reaction, who do you think you are to give me advice? Who gave you the authority to give you the advice? How do you have the audacity to give me advice? Like we feel so threatened when someone has a criticism for us? But what we need to realize is that yes, there are some criticisms are valid, some criticisms that are invalid, the valid ones we embrace, and we love the people for them, the ones that are invalid, Jazakallah fair, I appreciate what you have to say. Thank you very much, and have a nice day, and you walk on with your life. Number five, you show authenticity. What does that mean? That you know what is right and wrong, and your group of friends

are doing the wrong thing. Yet, you're comfortable enough to do the right thing. You're comfortable enough to do the right thing. The best example that I can give as a young child, when you're with a group of your non Muslim friends, and the time for Salah comes and everyone else is playing hockey, everyone else is playing video games. your authentic self, you know that you should be praying, and you're like, you know what, I'm going to be me. I'm a Muslim, I'm going to go pray. And then I'll come back to doing whatever I have to do. And if they can understand that at a basic child level, you'll understand that peer pressure and societal influence transcends that the way we dress, the

way we act, the language that we use, the things that we watch, a lot of it is dictated by society. But a point eventually comes where you have to recognize I am a Muslim, I have boundaries, and I'm going to be authentic to that. And no matter who says what that is what I'm going to embrace be you be the best version of yourself. Right?

I'm trying to remember where I got this from, you know, everyone has this notion of I want to be the next Michael Jordan. I want to be the next x y&z

But who will be the first to you? That is a question you need to ask. So be authentic to yourself, be who you are. Number six, you demonstrate empathy. We've spoken about that already. Number seven, you're comfortable praising others, someone does something good. You should be able to say, Man, that is amazing, Mashallah are Jazakallah khair for doing that, or Thank you so much. Allah bless you, like praising people for the work that they do is this quality of strength or the quality of weakness, people develop jealousy and envy in the hearts because they've given up praising people. One of the best ways to protect your heart from jealousy and envy is to praise people for the good

that they do. Number eight, you give helpful feedback. As an oma, we love to criticize, we want to point out, Hey, you know what, there's water dripping from the ceiling, somewhere in the masala, but we failed to look at the 99.99% of the other amazing facilities that the masala has. So when you give feedback, give constructive positive feedback. And don't don't be the the negative person. Don't be the person that wants to pinpoint the negative. Try to give be an individual that actually gives feedback that is helpful. You know what this is what is wrong, and this is how I think you should fix it. Rather than just be the person that points out the wrong. Number nine, you have no

problem apologizing, apologizing, and particularly, without giving an excuse. You'll notice that people, most of them, inshallah they'll give you they'll give an apology. But often they want to justify it. When you hurt someone when you do something wrong. don't justify it. Say I am sorry, at a later time, give your justification give your explanation. But at the beginning, just say I am sorry, without an excuse. Embrace the blame, learn from it, and accept it and try not to do it again. Number 10. You develop the frame of mind of forgiving and forgetting, you know how evil grudges are, and you know how harmful they are, and you don't want to hold on to them. Number 11.

You keep your commitments, if you're able to keep your word and understand the importance that it has in relationships, that people can trust you because it's based upon your commitments, then you will understand that this is something you have to abide by. Number 12 you help others. If you can focus on beyond yourself, develop an altruistic way of life where you focus on other people. That is a sign of developing emotional intelligence. And even though this isn't directly related, this is something I hope people will recognize. Because this is a huge problem in our community, particularly with parents. You protect yourself from emotional sabotage. Meaning that one of the

tools that parents will use in our community is to emotionally blackmail children, like emotionally blackmail them to the worst degree that the child says, You know, I want to go and study art in school. And then the parent is like, Don't you love me? Don't you know that I want you to be a doctor. You're not becoming a doctor means that you don't love me. Like that's sort of deep emotional blackmail, where we traumatize our kids. So as the one of the highest levels of emotional intelligence is knowing when someone is trying to emotionally manipulate you, and you protect yourself from that and inshallah that is something I'm hoping that we can get by the end of chapter

two within lights Allah, I pray that inshallah this has been a beneficial discussion that Allah subhanaw taala brings clay from the series, and that Allah subhanho wa Taala gives us emotional intelligence and gives us emotional aptitude and gives us the ability to understand our own emotions and embrace them and use them as positive tools for change. And the loss of an OTA allows us to recognize emotions in others and influence people towards guidance and not miss guidance through that Allahumma amin well, Los Alamos Allahu selama Baraka Ambien Muhammad Ali, he was a big man in the locker room for attending. Next week's halaqa will be again after salata, mclubbe Subhana

Colombo behind the shadow and critical to Enoch.