Holding onto your Religion

Allahu Allah azza wa jal if he could ever he can even borrow the ANA Buddha will let him in a che Tanaka Jean the call has a dean cultivation of bush to be that high from a yoke for the poor hoti when we look in the law or the stem Sacher below what it was called countryside manda Allahu semi on I think a lot whether you live in Amman or your fridge your home enough automatically that no we're living in a CAFO LDR hooked up

with Iike Ostrava now, Kofi Hassan.

From probably Shockley, somebody will say the only one that said in your coding bulletin, that in the Lotte de la ilaha illa. Allah how much an

annual study had but also be happy was also the summer I mean, me.

Today's goodbye will be focused, especially on the younger audience that's sitting here. And my new apologies to those of you that do not understand the English language novel in Vienna, Baba Candeias they have come on an hour via work is Allah Shabaab along with Attica, staminate, easier,

shut down.

What I wanted to start off with is an understanding of how, in many societies religions are seen, not just now, but even historically,

there are religious majorities, and there are religious minorities, and the minorities. And historically, these are people that are ashamed of being part of that religion, because they don't fit with the majority. So they're looked down on as second class or they're looked down at as inferior people, they live in the poorer neighborhoods, they don't belong, they don't fit with the elite, they don't fit with the the mainstream of that society. This has been the case historically, with many, many communities, and especially, sometimes what happened was the minority community that was religious, they were doing well. So they were running good businesses, they were well educated.

And even though there are a small number, then they were especially hated by that society. These people are sucking the blood of our society. These are the these are the problem in our society, they're not one of us. These are the foreigners. And this kind of mentality existed towards those that were successful. And interesting, recent example of that, in the in the world is Sri Lanka. And in Sri Lanka, the Muslims are a very small minority, but they're actually very well educated, they have good jobs, they run good businesses, they're actually in some sense, the economic and social part of the economic and social elite of that society. And you find that in Sri Lanka, every few

years, there's an eruption. You know, Buddhists are known to be passive as pacifist, they're supposed to be peaceful. You associate Buddhism with people that are, you know, that are doing all kinds of peaceful activities going up in the mountains and conscious concentrating and meditating. And yet you find in Sri Lanka, we have the most anti Muslim hateful speeches that make Nazis look calm. That's the level of speech that they give towards the Muslims, and there's eruption of violence against the Muslims, every few years, this happens towards the Muslims. So and in this case, this happens to be the minority happens to be the Muslims, but the reality of the world's

history is any religious minority becomes a target. If they are, if they are succeeding, if they are becoming more prominent, if they are becoming more powerful, then they become a problem for that society. And if they are under, they're living in the poor neighborhoods, they're downtrodden, etc, then these are the second class people, these are the you know, these are the people we look down on, they're not the same as us. They're not equal to us. This has been the mentality of the world for a long time. But now we find ourselves in a different age altogether, we find ourselves in an age where in many countries religion itself is a minority.

So we live in societies that are predominantly even if people their parents were Christian, or their parents were Jewish, or their parents were Hindu, and their parents are Muslim, they don't identify themselves too much with that religion. Practically, they're all the same. They're all hanging out together, they all have the same habits. So you might find at a bar in different countries, you might find a Christian, a Jew, or Muslim or Hindu all having a drink together. It's come. So the religion itself has become less and less and less relevant. And so those people who try to hold on to their religion, and of course, today I'll be talking about ourselves, Muslims, those who try to

hold on to their religion, they become strange. Why do you like if you if you're a doctor and you work at a hospital and you take break for Salah to pray for her, you recall your colleagues are saying, Why do you do that?

Don't you know your religion is so extreme. I mean, it's

such and such a barbaric religion, it's so backwards. Why do you follow that? I thought you're an educated man. So and if you're in the university, and if there's a there's a girl in the university and she's wearing a hijab, everybody's looking at her, like, why are you wearing? What's wrong with you? Because this is not the way someone educated and intelligent and modern is supposed to be this is a backwards thing. This belongs in villages and third world countries and places that, you know, people like kill each other. This is for those backwards people. Why are you following us? I thought you're smarter than that. So the dean, anything that looks like Islam is looked at like it's

backwards. But this is not just something that happens in Europe, or this happens in Australia or happens in some parts of America, that it's not just there. This is actually something that happens even in the Muslim world. Even in the Muslim world, you can go to the Muslim world where the Muslims are supposed to be the majority, right? Called the Muslim countries. It's a strange word to use when you go in those majority Muslim countries, and you go, some of my friends from America, they went back to their home country, and it's time for Salah and they went to pray. They heard the Athan and they went into the masjid and they pray, there's a 20 year old young man went to pray in the masjid.

And all of his cousins, all of his friends are like, what do you do? Are you going in the machine? What's wrong with you? Oh, my God, did you become a chef? You know, they think Muslims think that even something basic like that is extreme. So we're living in a time now, where being a Muslim is seen as something strange. Interestingly, it's seen as something strange by non Muslims. But it's also seen as something strange by Muslims themselves, lay themselves. And in that environment, you feel like you always have to defend your religion. There are people who write to me that talk to me, you know, young women that are doing their PhD and microbiology and other stuff. They're very

intelligent people, right? And they pray and their colleagues are atheist, and they're always making fun of Islam, always making fun of the Quran, always making fun of the Prophet slice on them. And they're like, how do I answer these people? What do I say to them? We're always defending ourselves. We're always under the attack, verbally at least, we're always defending ourselves. You'll know Islam is not like that. Oh, yeah, those are some crazy Muslims. I'm not like them. I'm normal. We're just trying to prove ourselves to be normal all the time. So you're always on the defensive, on the defensive on the defensive, and you know what? It doesn't feel good to be on the defensive, then

eventually, the thought comes in your head, maybe Islam is not so great. after all. Why do I have to follow this religion? If everybody around me these really smart people, they think it's a stupid thing to do. To follow this religion, the majority thinks it's an idiotic thing. So why am I holding on to it so much? Maybe it's just because of my Is it because of my parents? Is that why I'm Muslim is because I come from a, you know, brown country, a black country, that why a Muslim, that's the only reason is because, you know, I it was given to me like, you know, if I was born in a Hindu family, maybe I would have been handled. If I was born in a Christian family, maybe I would have

been Christian, maybe the only reason I'm Muslim is because I was born in a Muslim family. Yes, that's the only reason why else do I have to hold on to this religion. And the only reason I'm not questioning it, because if I questioned it, my mother will have a heart attack.

But actually, in my head, I have all these questions. Because all these questions were put in my head by the world around me. And anybody who's successful looks like anybody who's successful is not religious. So you know what else has happened? Anybody who's extreme and backwards is religious. So in my head success is the same as not being religious. And being backwards and extreme is the same as being religious. What do I need this religion, I don't want to be unsuccessful. I don't want to be backwards. I even met someone who told me that even though they know better, they know better. But the moment they see a Muslim, the moment they see a woman in hijab, they think this is someone

backwards and oppressed. Because someone oppressed This is someone who doesn't have freedom. This is someone who is doesn't understand how to live in the modern world. They're, you know, and, and this is not even some non Muslim looking at a Muslim, this is a Muslim, looking at a Muslim and saying, Oh, look, an oppressed person, you understand? So these perceptions that are constantly being bombarded to you and I, even the adults get infected by it. And why do you think a 12 year old 13 year old a 14 year old will not be affected by this?

Why do we think it's automatic that we're just going to be able to pass on our religion and our children will be better Wilsons than we are automatically Well, if we're if we're holding on to the religion is a minority, and it's actually considered less than intelligent and it's not socially accepted.

Well, that's not the cool thing to be. It's weird. It's strange. One time I went to play basketball with some young guys in America and in place, and it was time for salon. I was out in a park. It's time for Silla. So go in a corner and a few of us prayed. And the other boys that normally they pray, they didn't pray.

And I wonder why didn't they pray? So I talked to them afterwards. Why didn't you? You know, other people were there, they were staring at us. Just kind of feels strange to pray in front of them, you know, like, they're, they're gonna look at us funny. But I don't want to be, I don't want to be the strange one. You know, on the flip side of it, you have a saying of our Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam photobomb. Congratulations to the strange ones, pride. It's on the other side. But what I wanted to share with you today is some brief reflections from an iron suitor, Bukhara, and this is a complicated subject, but I want to try to simplify it in a few minutes. For our benefit.

The first thing I want to share with you is sometimes there are opinions about an idea in RFC there's many, many opinions but some opinions become more famous. And when they become more famous, people start thinking this is the only opinion this is the only way to look at it. So for example, the I'm going to share with you is a graphic de Blasio says there is no possibility of forcing anyone in the religion you cannot force into the religion. I cannot pressure someone to become a Muslim. I cannot pressure someone to even stay in was I cannot there's no pressure in the religion. There's no forcing no coercion in the religion. Now there are many opinions about this idea in RFC

in history. But one of the opinions was some people said oh, this is Lucy country. I think. They said this IRA is no longer we don't follow this Ira anymore. It's been smooth. Because the the IATA fighting came after this. In other words, there's no forcing in the religion but later on the prophets, Allah Allah Allah he will send him was commanded to fight the disbelievers. So clearly he was forcing them because he's fighting them. So this idea is no longer applicable. This was the understanding. This was not the only understanding but this was one of them.

And I'm here to share with you that that understanding is actually one of the weaker opinions on this side. It's one of the weaker positions. First of all, Allah has the Quran we call it you know, Ki Max is two who are keep an eye out who it's Ayat are stitched together. The ayat of the Quran are stitched together, and the one who sticks them together is Allah Himself. So when Allah puts Alhamdulillah, Allah means iron number one. And when Rhonda Rahim is number two, and Maliki of Medina is number three, the order of these ayat is put together by who by Allah Himself, by Allah Himself. And you know in speech, when I'm speaking to you, the words I see in a sentence have to be

organized. And then the sentence after the next sentence has to be organized. If it's not organized, you won't understand what I'm saying. So the best kind of speech is the most organized kind of speech and no one can organize speech the way Allah does himself. Now the the claim is this idea is when soon because the IATA kitten came, but incredible thing is in the Quran, when Allah azza wa jal revealed this iron circle Bokhara a few Ayat before it, or the Ayat of Teton, the Ayat of Kittler their long discussion on fighting in the path of Allah and then AYATUL kursi and after it could see you get this iron. So why would Allah teach us so much about fighting and then say no, this doesn't

apply?

It doesn't make any sense. The other thing is if we say an iron isn't a suit even though pneus is not my subject, but I want you don't understand this if we say this is monsoon means the IR doesn't apply anymore. But this is only one small piece of the eye. But we do not wish to minimize the truth has been separated clear from the falsehood that's the next part of the eye is admin. So to that will never be console. He says for me yet for the Houthi woman you will laugh at this concept of Bill Robertson was whoever disbelieves and those who disobey against Allah and believes and Allah has held on to the strongest anchor that will never be one so

lengthy sama Allah has this this chain you're holding on to the image you're holding on to can never break. That will never be one so what Allah who sent me an ID when Allah hears everything, he knows everything that will never be monsoon so only one little part of the Heisman so the rest of it is still applicable. There is no such thing as we take some part of the ayah and say this one doesn't apply. The rest of it applies this weekend, he says. So that's actually not a strong position at all. But the reason I wanted to bring this up now is Allah is not telling us that this religion is strong because

You can force someone into this religion, your children stopped praying.

You say Sunday, Sunday Sunday, you're forcing them. And okay, maybe they are they tired of hearing it from you. So they start praying, but they're only praying because you're standing there looking at them like a security guard.

And when you're not there, when you go to work when you go to a meeting, and they're gonna pray, no, this religion has no value. Because even when they stand in Salah for for us, like what we are they going to make I'm praying for record because my mother is staring at me Allah has

it's not for Allah, it's because you're being forced to break

some eemaan happens when you come to the conclusion that you will worship this Rob, that this man is a messenger of allah sallallahu. And he said this Quran is the word of Allah, when you come to this conclusion on your own, then that conclusion is so powerful, no amount of pressure, no amount of criticism, no amount of people staring at you, even people trying to kill a believer, they will not leave it.

They won't leave. This Imam was something strange. I told you in the beginning of this football. Now we're going to come back to that beginning again. In the beginning, I said the minorities have the weak position. But you know the people of Eman in the Quran. They're always a minority. Always. Ibrahim alayhi salam is the biggest minority was one by himself. And by the way, the next is going to be about Ibrahim Ali so that right after these ayat is going to be about Ibrahim alone by himself. And it's not even alone. And there's a pressure from him from his father, others pressure from society which happened, but eventually there's even pressure from the king from the government.

And I'm Tara Illa, Allah, the hijab Rahima Philippi and a whole lot more

that much pressure, and he's not going to leave his religion. Why? Because he came to it on his own. So the real question is, Islam is not like Christianity. It's not like Hinduism. It's not like Buddhism. It's not just a religion, we follow because our parents followed us. This is the Hochuli again, this is the truth that gives you absolute conviction. It doesn't matter who believes around you who doesn't believe it doesn't matter if it's cool, or it's weird, it doesn't matter. You become so powerful in your faith internally, that you could have darkness all around you. And the darkness doesn't make you dark. And so I want to conclude this with an analogy that, you know, it's in this

idea, and Allah azza wa jal mentions it in more detail other places. Here Allah says Allah, Who will you Latina Allah, Allah is the protective friend of those who have evolved. If you really develop faith, why, you know, ask yourself these people in Makkah, especially the young people, I want you to think about this for yourself. You see non Muslim friends of yours and college, university, high school, whatever, right? You see, they're those friends. They can talk however they want, they can drink whatever they want, they can smoke, whatever they want, they can do whatever they want. And you know what I mean? You can watch whatever they want. And you're like, my parents think that's

haram. I can't do that. Islam seems like a prison. And everybody else has freedom. And I'm living in this prison for no reason. Right? That's what it feels like. What I want you to think about is these young Sahaba around the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, before Islam. Before Islam, everything was halal for them.

Drinking was okay. Zina was okay. Partying was anything they wanted to do, they could do that complete freedom, complete freedom.

And then the prophet is calling them to this religion. And the moment they accept this religion, their family is going to hate them. Their society is going to hate them. They're going to be socially and economically and politically boycotted. And all the things they used to enjoy. They can't enjoy them anymore. Life became held. Offer why for accepting this religion? So the question is what you have to give so much out to accept this religion and nobody's forcing them. In fact, everybody's forcing them come back to normal leave. This is too much. Just come back to normal. The question is what is so powerful, that they're giving up everything? Everything that they desire

inside, they're giving it up? Every pressure from outside, they don't care about it, and they're still coming to the Prophet alayhi salatu salam, and they would rather be tortured to death, then go back. This cannot be something weak. This cannot be something Oh, just I'm Muslim because I must know this is something really powerful. It's a fire inside them that no matter what you can't pull it out. You cannot pull it out. This is all a believer needs. This is all real. Iran is all over.

ever needs that every other pressure, every other social structure every other nor everything that's normal to everyone else and it's not normal to you as a Muslim. All of that becomes easy to handle, then you don't say, Oh, it's so hard life in Europe is so hard. Life in America is so hard. Yallah life here is so hard life to know, you think your life is hard? No, I'm pretty sure that life and waka was much harder. The life of my family was much harder. But Allah azza wa jal gave them large either, or they considered him and how much there's no difficulty in this deed for you. Why? Because you're absolutely convinced. Now, let me give you yet another example. Before I wrap this up.

Some young man decides that he's going to join the football team. He thinks he's got talent, and he wants to join the football team. When he joins the football team where he wants to join, he's going to train hard yes or no. He's going to run every day. He's going to train hard every day. And other people will look at him and say, Man, don't you get tired? Yeah, man, I get really tired. But I love it.

I love it. Other people, I could never make that kind of effort. That's too much. It's raining outside. He's running and he's training. It's sunny outside, it's too hot out. He doesn't care. He's training because he wants to join the team.

All that pain, all that, you know, here's you're restricting his diet, all his friends are eating ice cream, he's having a salad.

Why is he doing that? Why is he training himself like that? Because he has a goal in front of them in front of him. And that goal is so powerful that he's willing to to go through any pain because he sees that goal. What Allah did in the Quran, for those who have Eman, he gave them a goal

to give them a really powerful goal.

Once they become convinced of that goal, that you anybody else sees that as pain. You see it as my I love it. This is I enjoy it. This struggle is my favorite thing. This is what makes me stronger. This is what makes me unique. And you know, not everybody is capable of struggle. Not everybody can not everybody join the football team. It's not just about physical ability, it's mental. It's great, isn't it, you have to have the mental will to get up every morning to make the same good choices to stay away from laziness to to curb your diet, you have to do all of those things. You have to have strong will. This is actually a kind of struggle against yourself. And this is the same thing Allah

demands from believers, when I have enough sand in how you prevent yourself from your whims disciplining yourself. It's a powerful thing and once the mind comes in, Allah azza wa jal takes care of the rest. The idea that I wanted to share with you today because you know what, I've come to soluble a couple of times, and I saw mashallah the mustard is here, it's a small mushroom, I don't see a lot of youth, you see you sometimes. And it's a it's a scattered community. So I understand there's no environment, no, no consistent environment where your mind can be reinforced. But that's not an excuse. That's not a reason for you not to be the strongest Muslims. Anybody else can say all

we came to this society, we mixed with non Muslim culture, we became like them and be forgotten about our religion. That's fine. Muslims don't have that excuse. We have the word of Allah with us. For the religion of Ibrahim Al Islam, whether we're standing next to a million people at Hajj, or we're standing by ourselves alone for 20 years doesn't matter, as long as our Islam. It doesn't depend on anybody else. It doesn't lean on anybody else. It's actually your own personal grip and responsibility. So Allah says, you read your homie of Olathe, Illinois, he pulls them out of darknesses into like, this religion will not be forced on but once you have a deeply inside you, no

one can force it out of you. No one can force it out. It's the most powerful gift that Allah has given human beings. And one day habit Allah had our lead, like Les says in sort of a hedge, he says my condo Allah,

Allah, Allah Korean Aziz, they didn't appreciate Allah like he deserved to be appreciated. Allah is COVID Allah is Mighty. You know what that means that when we have Allah Imani of Allah in our hearts, and nobody is stronger than you everybody else is weak. every other belief every other idea is weak. You don't feel the you don't feel inferiority complex. You don't feel like these people are better you don't feel like you should you wish you could be more like them. You don't feel like oh, as long as so ours, you those feelings disappear because you're you become stronger inside of yourself. And I pray that for every young man and woman, I pray that for every household that Allah

azza wa jal gives us that strength of the land and that confidence in what Allah has given us. This thing this Quran that Allah gave us is so powerful, it changed the entire world. Why do you think it can change you? Why do you why do I think it can't change me? It changed the entire world. It changed the map of this, this planet. This one this one book is one revelation, Allah azza wa jal put

To light of human in the light of the Quran, deep inside of our hearts and really make us understand why is it that we're Muslim and we're able to carry this religion with confidence and with pride no matter where we are Allah when you are working on an annual year