Navaid Aziz – Between Reason And Revelation

			Salam Alaikum, warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
		

			wash
		

			some of
		

			my sisters, I was in the City of Calgary a couple of months back. And I was told a very troubling
story
		

			that there is a Muslim, there is a Muslim, who's called broke down and told me to be fixed. So while
they're driving on the highway,
		

			and park it on the side,
		

			they're fixing the tire, everything's normal. It's the middle of the night well, so he doesn't know
as to what's going on around him because there's not much light. So he's changing the tire. And as
he's changing the tire, he notices that there's a car coming along on the highway. He thinks just
like the other previous cars that have come by, and just want to go by him.
		

			However, as his call is now getting closer, he notices that it's not driving straight on the road.
It's really, really swerving. It's going all over the place. So the winner gets a big wave and he
stops changing his tire. And he pulls up to the light, he goes a bit to the right, just to make sure
that he avoids that call that's coming. So he stands behind his trunk. And as he's just standing
there waiting for the car to go by, the car drives directly into him. And he gets crossed between
the two cars, the color was coming, and his own car was tired, he was changing. He died instantly.
He did not live much longer after the collision itself. Now what ends up happening, this individual
		

			was driving the car, he was heavily intoxicated, he was heavily heavily intoxicated. But when they
did the measurement as to how much alcohol you had, it was something like eight or nine times the
quote unquote, permissible amount, according to Canadian law. Now this individual went to court. And
his sentence, his punishment in court was something like two and a half to three years. He was
intoxicated, and he killed someone. But when the judge ruled that he was intoxicated, he laid him
off. He said that he did not have his normal faculties, he was unable to think properly. And this he
didn't commit premeditated murder, it was a conscious motive that he committed. Now, whenever
		

			destroying suppiler, like made my blood boil, that these people have no sanctity for human life,
that in order to preserve human pleasure, they allow the consumption of alcohol. But when a wife is
killed, they still continue to consume that alcohol and do not change human life. And this was one
of the biggest contradictions that I saw in western secular liberal law, that it will give priority
to one's desires, it will give priority to one's wants over those things, which are more fundamental
and more important, like human life, like human safety. And after I read the story, I wanted to see
what would happen in Islamic law. In Islamic law, this case, we should take place what exactly what
		

			happened. And I came across a subject that is called Mufasa, the Sharia the objectives of the
Sharia. Now you guys are going to be bamboozled. And I'm going to tell you why our brother was
announced my topic, he said the little things about gentleness, there was a change in the schedule
from yesterday, we did not update your schedules. But my topic for discussion
		

			is the middle path between reason and Revelation. And that's what we're going to be talking about.
		

			So I started looking into the subject. And I came to see that Islamic law presumes five fundamental
things that Islam
		

			has come to preserve five fundamental matters. It has come to preserve religion. It has come to
preserve human life. It has come to preserve intellect, it has come to preserve our wealth, and it
has come to preserve our honor, as well as our progeny. These are five things that Islamic law has
come to preserve. Now, how does Allah preserve these five things in Islamic law? It's quite simple.
It is true. There's things that are missing Hannah Montana has commanded and through those things
that Allah subhanaw taala has prohibited. So now when you look at Islam,
		

			You will see that it is completely upon benefits and harms. Now where the difference lies is
sometimes you will not see those benefits, we may not realize those benefits, and at times, we will
not see those harms that Allah subhanaw taala is preventing us from or protecting us from. So now
when it comes to alcohol, when it comes to alcohol, we see that Allah subhanaw taala has prohibited
it. And there is a clear reason why, because it has a very adverse effect on the human mind. And now
if you look at this matter, in relation to Western law, what does Western law tell you? What's the
law tells you that you're allowed to drink, but you're not allowed to drive? So when you start
		

			drinking, and you start getting drunk, make sure someone else is driving the car. Now, what is the
problem with this law? The problem with this is that once a person starts to get intoxicated, he is
no longer able to complete to the reason you're asking the impossible for an individual at that
point in time, when he becomes intoxicated, he is unable to comprehend the effect of his actions.
That is why a lot of the times people who are drunk who will go and drive because they think it is
completely safe, they do not perceive that they themselves are intoxicated, and that their mental
capacity and mental capacity is now incapacitated. So this Allah subhanaw taala prohibited alcohol.
		

			Now if you look at every commandment in prohibition, you will see that it revolves around preserving
these five matters. So life is preserved by Allah subhanho wa Taala prohibiting alcohol life is
preserved by Allah subhanho wa Taala.
		

			The killing of another individual life is preserved through many other things as well. Likewise, our
religion is preserved by us
		

			every day and teaching it to our children.
		

			Our Deen is preserved. Now the question arises, how does Allah subhanaw taala preserve the
intellect? We've given you one example already? That one example is that it is prohibited, but how
about in terms of what we are commanded to do with our intellects? When it comes to our intellect,
you will see that Allah subhanaw taala gives us various commandments in the Quran. And the Quran
Allah subhanaw taala tells us several commandments, some famous commandments, there are those that
are very similar to one another. For example,
		

			Allah subhanaw taala tells us to contemplate and to reason. Likewise, Allah subhanho wa Taala uses
the term
		

			when do you not use your intellects? What was Allah subhanho wa Taala says,
		

			not to remember. So all these terms are actions that Allah commands us with, that are related to our
interests, and related to our minds. Now, if you were to break down these commandments, in terms of
the commandments that Allah subhanaw taala gave to the non believers, and the commandments that
Allah subhanaw taala gave to the believers, you would see that each given two commandments, they
were each given two commandments. As for the Lord delivers, when I
		

			gave them commandments, in terms of their intellect, he told them to use their intellect, and
challenges their interests with two things. Number one, we reflect upon the creation of the earth,
reflect upon the creation of everything around you. And you will see that the sound intellect
necessitates that there is only one creator. So someone who does not believe in God, someone who
believes in many gods, when he looks at the perfect creation of the heavens and the earth. This
necessitates that there's only one God. And this was the first commandment that the non believers
were given in terms of using their intellects. The second commandment the disbelievers were given in
		

			terms of their intellects that use your intellect, and you will see that this man Mohammed is indeed
the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. If you look in
		

			verse 184, Allah subhanho wa Taala says, will we not think and reflect that this man that is amongst
you, is not possessed, nor is he a magician? So most
		

			of the time, that if you look at this man, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reflect over his
life, that he is what he is doing. You recognize the fact that he's not a magician. You recognize
the fact that he is not possessed. So why would an individual
		

			striving so hard. Why would we be striving so hard and sacrificing everything that he has, he must
then have a very, very important message to give. And that message is the message of Islam. So the
second commandment, the disbelievers were given that after they recognized one Lord through their
intellects, now use that same intellect to recognize that this man
		

			is indeed the Messenger of Allah. Now, when it comes to the Muslims, the Muslims likewise are given
commandments, and the commandments that Muslims are given in terms of their intellect, the first one
that they are given is reflection upon the heavens and the earth. But this reflection upon the
heavens and the earth, is not what the reflection that the performer told about the reflection of
the heavens and the earth that took a photo told about his reflect on the heavens in the earth, and
it will necessitate that there is only one God. But when Allah subhanaw taala, commanded the
believers, he commanded them live in Matthew,
		

			the conclusion that there are human beings that will affect the day in the next 24 hours a day. And
then they come to a conclusion that says,
		

			You did not create this in vain, that all of this was created for a purpose, and that purpose is for
your worship. So the Muslim we come to the conclusion that all of this that Allah subhanaw taala has
created is not for the sake of recognizing that there's one God alone, but it is for the sake that
this one God alone is the one who solely deserves to be worshipped. So this is what Allah subhanho
wa Taala commands the believers with in terms of their intellects. Now the second commandment that
Allah subhanaw taala gives the believers in terms of their intellects is upon contemplating the
Quran.
		

			A favorite surah for the vast majority of us, is Surah Yusuf. Every time we will try some sort of
use of everyone loves to attend, just because of the beautiful stories that are in it. Now if you
were to look at just the second verse, in Surah, Yusuf Allah subhanho wa Taala says in
		

			na na, na Ki Moon that we have creating such galaxy will reveal to you 100, an Arabic Quran so that
you may reflect and that you may ponder over it. Likewise, Allah subhanho wa Taala says in the
Quran, one of
		

			the vicar for him was that indeed we are facilitating the Koran as a reminder
		

			to anyone that will now reflect on it. So the second commandment that Muslims are given in terms of
the internet is to use that internet to contemplate and reflect over the Quran. Now, the interesting
thing over here is that Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us to contemplate and to reflect, but he does
not tell us to challenge the Quran. So when we come to analyzing the text of the Quran and the
Sunnah, it's a reflection it is an analysis, but it is not a challenge. However, when it came to the
Quran, Allah subhana wa Taala challenges them, that use your intellect and challenge your intellect,
and the way of your practices and the way of the people challenge what they believe in, and you will
		

			come to see that they are on falsehood. And the true reality is that there's only one God and that
Muhammad
		

			is His Messenger.
		

			Now talking about the intellect, the intellect, is a faculty, just like all other faculties, we see,
we smell we hear, these are all faculties that Allah subhanaw taala has given us. Now the intellect,
likewise is a faculty as such, and it is a faculty that makes mankind unique over the rest of the
creation of Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah subhanho wa Taala says
		

			that indeed, we have made the children of Adam. Now what was it that made them mobile, it was the
very fact that they are able to understand they're able to analyze, they're able to perceive and
able to reflect, and this is what made them mobile. Then this is why you see some of the nations of
the predecessors when we talk about the angels of Allah subhanaw taala and they talk about the
animals. They said that when a human being uses his intellect to overpower his desires, then he is
like an angel.
		

			Likewise, when a human being lets his desires overpower his intellect, then he is no greater than an
animal. So most of
		

			the children of Adam and Eve sit down with their intellects. And this is what makes us special. Now
just make all of our faculties, they are limited, our eyesight, we cannot see beyond a certain
distance, our hearing, when there's a lot of noise in the room, we will not be able to hear
anything. These are the limits of those faculties. But likewise, our mind has a limitation as well,
that in limited amount of things that it will understand. And that is the boundary that Allah
subhanaw taala has created for mankind, that Allah subhanho wa Taala the things that he told us to
reflect upon, we should reflect upon them and try to understand them. But one should not use this
		

			intellect as a challenge for the commandments of Allah, one should not use them as a challenge for
the revelation of Allah subhanaw taala. And this becomes quite problematic. This becomes quite
problematic, because as Muslims will sometimes come across texts of the Koran and assume that they
will not make sense to us. How can this possibly make sense
		

			as Muslims, the very fact that Allah subhanho wa Taala created our intellect as something limited.
This necessitates that the latter part that is missing in terms of its limitation, then we need to
submit to it. And this is what Islam is all about. Islam is not about peace, as many people like to
translate it. Yes, Islam brings about peace, that Islam is not peace with love itself, but rather
Islam is submission to Allah subhanho wa Taala. Islam is about submission to Allah subhana wa Tada.
Just to give you an example of one of those nations, there is a narration reported in Sahih al
Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, that every day when the sun sets, a goes and makes sense, to the office of
		

			Allah subhanho wa Taala, it goes
		

			to the office of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And it seeks permission to rise for the next day. So
according to this, if you were to look at it purely, literally, this would mean that the same is the
one that goes the revolving, and it is not the that is revolving around the sun. This is what one
would understand. And then you see that Muslims when they read this Hadith, even though is noted in
Bukhari and Muslim, the same people who made the Quran to us the same chain of narrators, somehow
they will reject this heavy from the Prophet sallallahu sallam, but they will not reject to the
Quran. And you can see that it is about to open that if you reject this Hadith, it necessitates that
		

			you reject the Quran. If you reject this heavy acetates that the other hobbies that these nature's
came with, about
		

			to worship, you will have to reject it as well. So you can see that the door of rejecting even when
due to human intellect has great ramifications. Now that being said, How do we understand the Hadith
of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the sun makes sense the attribute of Allah subhanaw
taala. And the answer to this is quite simple. That we need to understand our internets are limited.
Allah subhanho wa Taala has given us a limited capacity to understand things. What is the proof of
this in the Quran? If you were to look and saltiness, number 17 I am number 44. Allah subhanho wa
Taala talks about all of his creation and how all of his creation makes the Spear of Allah subhanho
		

			wa Taala all of his creation makes the speech of Allah subhanho wa Taala so this stage
		

			is making this we have Allah subhana wa tada the trees outside are making this be possible of
		

			the sun and the moon.
		

			We have Allah subhanaw taala but my dear brothers and sisters, do we hear this this beer? Has any of
you heard the tree making beer? Has any of you heard the oceans making this beer? No we have not.
And this is why Allah subhanho wa Taala mentions in that very verse, When I cannot be home and this
is why your mankind yes you do not perceive more Do you hear? Well Do you understand that?
		

			So the way they do this is not the way we do this. The way that they do serve Allah subhanho wa
Taala is not the way that we do
		

			and if you can come to understand and accept this
		

			Then you can come and understand that when the sun makes sense that
		

			it is in a way that your mind does not perceive it is in a way that your mind does not understand.
So now what is the will of the intellect in Islam?
		

			The role of the internet intellect in Islam is quite simple.
		

			It is there to facilitate revelation. It is there for that revelation may be understood. But at the
end of the day, the revelation takes precedence over our internet, and our Internet's never take
precedence over revelation. Allah subhanho wa Taala granted us the faculty of the internet, so that
the message of Islam will be understood and may be facilitated. But Allah subhanho wa Taala did not
give us intellects through that our Internet's become a brand new religion for us. So that is the
role of the intellect. Now, prior to our ties, I would say the first three generations of Islam,
this really was not too much of an issue. Genuinely speaking, the vast majority of the predecessors,
		

			they understood that this was the role of the intellect and they submit it to the text of the Quran
and the Sunnah. But after that time, two major problems occurred, two major problems occurred.
Problem number one, I have already given you an example of that there are certain narrations in
verses of the Quran, certain that minds did not perceive. So they went on to be rejected, purely
based upon one's intellect. And a second problem that eventually arose is that as Muslims left the
line of the Muslims, and they went to other lines, then they came about new problems, new
tribulations that they were faced with, they came across scenarios of situations that made it
		

			difficult to practice the Pure religion of Islam. So at that point, the Muslims decided that we will
use our intellect to decide what is good and what is bad, even if it goes against a clear and
explicit text of the Quran and the Sunnah. So these are the two problems that happened. And you see
a strong revival in our place. Right now we live in a time when we are pulled to challenge, we are
told to question we are told that you are the ultimate authority. In Islam, this is not the case.
Allah subhanho wa Taala go back to Surah Yusuf and that beautiful surah tells us a great conclusion.
He says
		

			that on top of every knowledgeable person on top of every scholar on top of every person who has an
intellect and knowledge, there is someone who is more knowledgeable and that is Allah subhanho wa
Taala. So in the religion of Islam, the intellect has evolved, it is there it is used to get closer
to Allah subhanho wa Taala. It is used to reflect the text of the Quran and the Sunnah, but it is
limited and ultimate knowledge is for Allah subhanho wa Taala alone. And this is why there's this
beautiful statement of value of your loved one. So, understand this one statement, and you will have
pretty much understood this whole lecture, understand this one statement, and you will have
		

			understood this whole lecture. He said, If this religion was based upon intellect alone, meaning
purely our own understanding, when when we as Muslims will put over our socks and shoes, we would
walk over the bottom and not over the top. Meaning that if it was purely based upon intellect, we
will be working on the bottom and not to the top. Why? Because it is the bottom of the sock that
gets dirty. So in our minds, you want to purify the dirty parts, therefore, the bottom of your
socks. However, in Islam, we do not work the bottom, it is rather the top that we wipe. Why? Because
this is what Allah subhanaw taala and His Messenger told us to do that we wipe over the top. So part
		

			of Islam is to use the internet for the most part it is submission to the commandments of Allah
subhanho wa Taala and the commandments of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And this is why
it is very interesting that when Allah subhanaw taala started off the Quran, in the beginning of
certain Bukhara, the very first description of the very first description he gives
		

			and
		

			that it is those individuals who believe in the unseen it is those individuals who are abroad.
		

			I've seen it or not, or have heard it or not. They believe in it, because they have been told about
it from the Creator, and they have been told about it from the Prophet and Messenger. My dear
brothers and sisters, a time is now coming, where we're going to be told to reassess the religion of
Islam, we're going to be retold, we're going to be taught to re assess the jurisprudence of Islam,
the things that we understood that Muslims did not do, we did not listen to music, then all of a
sudden music became an issue of a difference of opinion. We did not shake hands with the opposite
gender, but then all of a sudden, we are called to re assess this ruling. And then they becomes a
		

			difference of opinion, as time goes on, Islam is going to be questioned, and it is going to come
under scrutiny. And we as Muslims have to know where you stand, that as Muslims, the religion of
Allah subhanho wa Taala, is protected and preserved, that which was considered to be at the time of
the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is that which is considered a deal to do. That
which was highlighted then is highlighted that which
		

			is hard to do. And we cannot succumb to the pressures of the outside we can not succumb to the
pressures of the west of the oil tourists or even of Muslims that want to question Islam. The simple
issue of
		

			it was understood that the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
		

			If you look inside Sahara,
		

			there is the famous story where I showed her
		

			a necklace, and she was left behind in the caravan. Because
		

			I'm sensitive companion stuff one back to retrieve eyeshadow.
		

			He goes back to that place where the Muslims will stay, and he sees
		

			and he recognizes her. And if you say something so profound, yet so subtle. He says the only reason
I recognize eyeshadow
		

			is because I had seen her before the job was revealed. Meaning that when the job came down to the
members of the believers, the job it was understood that it covered their faces. The days, you have
people that come and say that Islam oppresses women by forcing them to learn that Islam does not
have this concept of niqab. But rather, it is just a cultural practice of the arms of old. Here we
have a clear example of eyeshadow. Allahu falana take it a step further. During the days of Hajj. I
		

			used to say that when the writers used to come past us, meaning that the male non Muslim men, when
they used to come to believe in women, we would cover our faces, what is the makeup other than a
covering of the face. This is just one example of how God existed during the time and so it had
nothing to do with a cultural practice. But this is something purely from Islam. So my dear brothers
and sisters time is going to come and everything is going to be questioned. And you have to
understand where you stand as a Muslim. Are you going to make your intellect and your perception of
intelligence? overcome your understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah? Or rather, will you limit
		

			yourself, just make Allah subhanho wa Taala tells you to limit yourselves when it comes to the Quran
and the Sunnah, and submit to this world. What I would like to conclude upon
		

			is the linguistic definition of the Western definition of intellect. For those of you who have been
to the Middle East, you will see that
		

			excuse me, you will see that the men over there, they wear the scarves over the head, the scarves
are known as they are known as a shimmer. Then on top of that, they wear the circle that keeps it in
place. This in the Arabic language is known as the APA. It is known as the F bar. Now, if you look
as to why these men were the icon, the history behind this is that the vast majority of these people
were shepherds and formers and they wanted to make sure that their animals would not run away. So
what they will do is that these round circles that they would have on their head, they would use
those round circles to tie up the legs of the animal. So they would take the leg of the come off and
		

			it would be joint over here so that he could not put down his leg and run away. So there are a
simple neck restraints and that is how it is used on the camera when it comes to the horses.
		

			If you look at the ropes that are around the neck of the horse that make it slow down and they let
it go faster, this is the outcome of the horse. So it is something that restrains from running away.
Now, why would I
		

			use this term with the same word as something which has restraint which is restraint, when it comes
to the intellect, Allah subhanho wa Taala uses it as such, because it is there to be used for a
certain purpose. It is not meant to be used to one wild with that it is meant to be restrained that
when it comes to our intellects, it is not the dominant factor, but rather the dominant factor is
the text of the Quran and the Sunnah. And this is what we believe is will always come back to, and
part of us being Muslim is submitting to that fact. Whether we can understand it or not. Muslim
means to submit, whether you like it or not, whether you understand it or not, you submit because
		

			Allah tells you, and it is that very submission that will be a cause of you entering paradise.
		

			So my dear brothers and sisters, just to recap everything that we've learned today, Allah subhanho
wa Taala has given us intellects, and this intellect has a high station in Islam. This is what
enables the children of Adam and Eve Surya has come to preserve this intimate. This is done by
prohibiting those things that decapitate our intimates, as well as commanding us to reflect and use
those interests so that they may become stronger. The more Muslims are encouraged to use their
intellect to recognize the oneness of Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah as Muslims
were commanded to use our intellect, to the Koran, and to see that Allah subhana wa tada is the only
		

			one that deserves to be worshipped to the problems that arise when it comes to the intellect is not
understanding certain texts and remedies upon the Muslim that if he does not understand it, he
purely submits to that text because it is from Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
The second problem is that the times we are living in, we are told to reassess we evaluate the
concepts of good and bad, we are told to re evaluate the religion of Islam. And again, we submit to
the fact that it was ever part of the religion during the time of Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, his
religion today that was higher than
		

			that which was haram then is haram today. My dear brothers and sisters, the very fact that you are
here in front of me, indicates that Allah subhanaw taala has blessed you with intimates. That rather
than being somewhere else and wasting your time, you have chosen to come here today and to benefit
and I pray that Allah subhanaw taala, guides myself and all of you sound intellects to further the
religion of Allah subhanaw taala and to clarify the misconceptions, not only that those of you non
Muslims that they have, but rather the misconceptions of the Muslims as well, and that Allah
subhanho wa Taala granted to us our internet in his worship, and helping the religion of Islam
		

			rather than its destruction. Welcome
		

			alameen wa sallahu wa Sallim wa barik ala nabina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salaam aleikum
wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
		

			For questions like 40 minutes
		

			sorry, 40 minutes