Knowledge is Key

hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa salatu wa salam O Allah shuffelin via you will mousseline early he was a marine. sama Villa he ministry Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim Allah Dena Manu Ada Diane to Medina, La Jolla massaman to boo banyak to biocompatible, milady rubbish. Sorry, sorry, well, your silly Emery was the Tamil ehsani of Coco de manera. But I mean, there are sometimes some places in the Quran where Allah talks about,

you know, certain certain concepts that we just pass over, because we're so focused on one thing, the primary subject, and we just want to derive the main conclusions from what Allah is saying. And we overlook the way in which Allah said it. And sometimes the way in which Allah says things and the small phrases that he adds to the speech, just completely change your perspective on how you should view certain subjects. I know that sounds abstract, I'll try to make it very, very direct. Now. You know, everybody has a concept of I am learning Deen or I am learning dunya so when they're learning science, or if they're learning biology, if they're learning, you know, medicine, or if they're

learning, you know, accounting or finance or something like that, they're learning dounia. And if they're studying Hades and fear, kajaria and Arabic, and that read and all of these things, then they're studying while they're learning, Dean, right. And we do this all the time, like, my work is dunia and my time in the machine is Dean. Right. So we separate Dean Antonia Deen and dunya all the time we, we use this terminology, right? And so what happens then when you keep doing this, and you keep using that kind of language, as you develop the idea that certain things you do and in a day, 24 hours, certain things you do are beneficial for your ohana.

And certain things you do are only beneficial for your dunya. But actually the concept of Islam is very powerful. It's very beautiful. The concept of assignments that we are, we are slaves of Allah, and a slave is not a slave for certain hours. By definition, a slave is not the same as a worshipper. a worshiper is someone who does worship. So we were worshipers when we were upstairs making Salah. You understand, but when Salah was over, we were still slaves. Now the word for worship or is ibid ibid. But the word for slave is out. So we are added meaning worshipers at certain times you know when I go to Hajj I'm avid when I go to Salah ibid when I'm reciting Quran

I'm avid. But when I'm driving my car, I'm still What? I'm still armed. When I'm when I'm getting married, I'm still armed when I have children, I'm still when I'm going to work. I'm still odd when I'm taking a vacation. I'm still armed. I may not be Aveda at the time, but I'm still a cop. But now the thing is, we've turned this conversation into Deen and dunya. In other words, unless you're ibid

you're really not doing anything for your afterlife. You're not doing anything that makes a lot happy. I feel if you really want to do something for your deen, then you have to be on the opposite side of things. You have to be a worshiper, you have to be learning teaching in a machine in a halaqaat in a setting you have to be doing these things. Other things are all for your dunya Now the thing is, let's just change the framework of our education first, this happened to me while I was in Australia, a young man came up to me after my program and said, you know, start I feel really bad. Why do you feel bad while I'm studying accounting? Well, I guess you should feel bad, but

but explain more why you feel bad. But he feels bad because

he wants to be studying Dean instead. And instead he's studying accounting, which is dunya. So I said, Why do you Why do you don't? Why do you know like accounting, you don't like the subject. I mean, I understand that just if you don't like accounting, that just means you're a normal human being.

No, he goes, I love accounting. I really like it. I love it. I love the math, I love doing the numbers, I enjoy it. But I just feel bad that I'm doing this to make my career better, and get a job and get married and make my parents proud. And all of this, all of that is dunya. What am I doing for Dean? I'm just doing all of this for dunya you understand the question? Right? And a lot of people feel that way. They have a successful career. You know, they're an executive or they're getting an MBA or they're getting a PhD, and they're not getting a PhD in Hadith or Sharia. They're getting a PhD in microbiology. They're getting a PhD in psychology, they're getting a PhD in history

something and they're like, well, this is just worldly. You know, it has nothing to do with my afterlife. The way the Quran shatters this unfortunate concept. By the way, this concept is a new concept. This is not an old concept. This is a new development as a result of secularism. And the idea of secularism is to separate the worlds of morals.

morality and education from the rest of life. So your spiritual life and your moral life has not and should be one thing, and education and public sphere, everything else should be separated, those two worlds should not coexist together. Okay? So who you are at business and who you are at the masjid are two different things. This is business don't bring the machines into this, you know, or this is this is University don't bring religion into this. Or, for example, you have companies even in the Muslim world, sometimes you have, for example, American companies. And you know, America is known for freedom of speech, but only in America.

You know, it's known for some freedom of speech, when they said they'll set up a company, somewhere in like the Arab world somewhere, and they'll create a compound inside the compound, you pretend you're in America. And inside that compound, you can't talk about your religion.

And you can't really openly pray and you can't really do this. You can't really Wait, what is it? Well, I thought freedom of expression, freedom of speech, you can do whatever you want. No, no, not inside this compound. We don't tolerate religious discussions here, really.

So what happens then is this idea, this extreme idea of separating your religious life, and your life will vary by that from your life of your career. And we you know, for the most part of the world, not just one country or another country, the world has experienced some form of secularization or another. So the way that the average Muslim is secularized, even if they're raised in a Muslim country, even if they heard about their entire life, even if they're, whether they're in Pakistan, or they're here, or they're in Bangladesh, or they're in Australia, or they're in America, it doesn't matter. You know, what's happening with us? What's happening with us is when you go to

when you go to college, right? Why? What's your motivation for going to college, it's to get a good degree so you can get a good job. That's your motivation, which of course equals donia. Right? But then you have this guilt I'm going to do all these things from my dunya become a techie. I've become a programmer, I've become a doctor, I've become an architect, but I haven't done anything for my dunya now I need to make some time for Salah I need to make some time for I need to do Hajj I need to start learning some Arabic memorize Quran, I need to start taking care of my Deen. Right. So what happens is people swing one way, then they swing the other way and then a lot of people quit their

career.

They just quit their career. I just want to do something for Islam. I don't want my career anymore. Forget it. What I want to share with you in this small expression, this is an idea about loans.

And in Medina and the prophets time sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, most people were not literate. Most people did not know how to read and write starting with our own Prophet salallahu alaihe salam he didn't know how to read and write.

Now, when Allah revealed guidance for business transactions, which is what happens is so little Baccarat, how do you do business transactions? What are the ethics or the morals of business transactions? Particularly he highlighted a complicated business transaction. And a complicated business transaction is not like when you go to the store and buy a kid cat.

Because when you go to the store and buy a kid cat, you give some money, you get the kid cat, it's done.

But when you have a complicated business transaction, you sign a contract,

you make a down payment first, then the services are being provided. And when the services are done, then you make the rest of the payment.

Let's move more complicated, or you've taken a loan

and the loan is for this property or whatever it is. And you have to make the loan payments over time. Right and some complications can arise in between or there might be an a conflict between the lender and the borrower. There's some problems might arise. This is not simple situations. These are complicated situations. Now the thing is, if I borrowed money from you, if I borrowed $100 from you, or 100 ringgits for you, or actually nowadays 400 ringgits

from you

and said, I don't I'll just I'll pay you back next week. I got you next week.

You come back to me next week. Hey, so did I say next week? I thought I said two weeks.

No, I pretty sure you said next week. Really? I could have sworn I said two weeks. Okay, here's your 200 back. Wait, no, no, I give you 400 Are you sure you gave me? I was pretty sure you gave me 200?

No, I think I don't think I would have taken 400 I think 300 at the most. Even if I'm not a liar and a cheater, what can fail.

My memory can fail and my memory usually fails in a way that saves me money.

For either

consciously or subconsciously. My memory fails me in a way that I want to extend the deadline. Not pay you ahead of time, but pay you later, isn't it? So if you're going to have you know, to die and to be done in a larger Limbo somewhere sunlife you're going to take a business loan transaction until a set deadline * to boohoo then document it. Allah says write it down. Don't take loan agreements.

Without having proper documentation, so you should have legitimate documentation, even when you're taking a personal loan, of course, banks and things like that they do a lot of due diligence, and they do their homework and they make you sign 85,000 papers and, you know, like the, here's what you have to sign, okay?

You know, and you don't know which which one signs off your leg and which one signs off your left eye or something, you just sign in, because you're not going to read any of that, you know. But anyway, but among personally among family, friends and things like that, you might give a loan and just say it's a favor, don't worry about it. Just, you know, I know you'll pay me back next year. No, don't do that you should still want write it down, you should still have some documentation right? Now. But my problem with this instruction in Medina was what

most people don't know how to write,

for jacobina, compatible invalidly, then a writer should be writing this down among you, some writer, let's say Scotty Boone, a writer.

He doesn't say a believing writer. He doesn't say a person of duck Wah, he just says a person who knows how to write. Now the person who knows how to write, I mean, he receives an education not in the, with the profit slice of them, he doesn't he didn't learn to write from the Prophet alayhi salatu salam, because the Prophet himself does not know how to write. So he got his education, the writer got his education from some other source. And I would argue and an Islamic source a secular source, did me. And without that writer, you would not be able to fulfill this ayah

because the IR requires a writer, and this writer God has secular education elsewhere. But this writer says, You know, I don't want to write it down for you. I'm busy.

But Medina is not very many filled, it's not filled with writers, people who are able to write so the few people who can write now you've heard the concept of jury duty.

Right? Well, you're called into court as a as a responsibility of your citizenship. All the few people who are capable of writing we're now called upon to say if there is a business transaction and you are being asked to write, then you shouldn't refuse. You should come and write it down. Because it's your civic duty to help the people who want to make business transactions because they're not capable of doing it. Right.

So let's as well Ah, yeah, because even

though right no writer should refuse,

and jacoba to write things down.

Now, this is the part that really gets me come I llama hula hoop and yocto.

No writers should refuse writing things down, just as Allah had taught him.

So he should write it down. Wait a lot, didn't he didn't learn from the Prophet. He didn't learn from the angel gibreel he learned from someplace how to write some other plays. And what did he learn to write business contracts? accounting finance, isn't it? Which we today call a secular field isn't it? and allows languages the way Allah taught him Come on Allah Allah who.

Now if you look at the word Allah in the Quran to teach

you know, Allah says, Well you I limo como la, Milan Taku tala Boone. Are you only mukamal and Tyler, Tyler moon, where you are living como Allahu Allahu Allah is teaching you and Allah knows everything. Allah teaches you what you couldn't possibly have known yourselves. Allah says Allah, Allah Quran, he taught the Koran. And now he says he taught the accountant how to write the language of accounting and finance and business transactions.

He on the one hand, talks about he taught revelation. And now he's talking about teaching business agreements. Why? Because Allah is now making all knowledge, all human knowledge, so long as it benefits society in some way. All of it is sacred to Allah.

Knowledge itself is sacred to Allah, and he takes credit for it himself. You may have learned from your teacher, you may have learned, for example, the language of science from your teacher, who may have learned it from his teacher who may have learned it from his teacher. And you keep going further back and you're going to end up at the first human being, either Molly Sam, and Adam alayhis. Salaam did not know any words, until Allah taught him names for all things Allah, a double a spa, I've said this several times, I'll repeat myself just because it ties into this concept. every subject you study, whether you're studying, you know, the language of studying science, or

history or politics, whatever you're studying, every subject has terminology. If you're studying grammar, it has terminology. Yeah. A lot of terminology. Right? If you're studying to see it, it has terminology if you're studying, you know, finance, it has its own terminology. If you're studying programming, it has its own terminology. Isn't it?

What is terminology certain special words that have a special definition isn't it? That's what they are. And then every textbook at the end, there's a glossary of terms. Because you need to be familiar with these terms. Now terminology names for things is in Arabic and asthma.

And these names came about from previous things, you know, we had more basic names for things, as our knowledge advanced, we use those basic elements and created more advanced names, and then created more advanced names and created more advanced names isn't it. So terminology keeps getting more and more and more what advanced so we have names for more and more and more things. So keep going back.

We keep naming new new and newer, newer things, you keep going back there are lesser and lesser names, lesser and lesser names, lesser and lesser names, until you go far back enough. It's other money some and Allah says a lot taught him terminologies for all things, allowed him the names for Alice mercola. In other words, every science that is made up of any terminology is that actually a great, great, great, great, great grandchild of the same vocabulary that was once given to who other on Instagram, which means all of it is revealed by Allah, all of it. All knowledge and science that human beings discover is actually inspired to the human beings. Come on I llama Hola, as Allah had

taught him, I made it a point to, to share this concept with you, because you don't have to feel bad about this area of science or, you know, the area of Social Sciences, the area of history, whatever you are studying, you're not to feel bad that it's not Dean.

It's knowledge granted to the human being if you're studying architecture, does that benefit society? Absolutely. If you're studying public administration, does it benefit society? Absolutely. does it benefit people? Yeah, sure. If you're studying business, can it benefit people? Absolutely. These fields are essential, they're beneficial. As a matter of fact, I look back at my own career. And I realized I made a transition out of the technology industry into what I do now, this crazy thing we call the, you know, right, this is I made this jump.

And before I was doing this, for almost a decade, I was in the technology, I got a job full time working in the tech industry while I was in college. So I used to work full time and go to college part time, right. And by the time I graduated, I was already offered like a department director position at a company.

And I used to be a design director. So I was big on like front end design, and you know, UI and graphic design, that sort of thing. That was my area, right. And so when I left all of it, and you know, in early 2000s, it was the.com bust, and all these companies were laying off people well, I was

laid off, you know.

And then I decided to do something with Arabic, and maybe put some just, you know, take whatever notes I had, and put them online somewhere and this and that. But I couldn't I didn't have the money to hire a graphic designer, or, you know, somebody who can write the code for me and do the JavaScript for me. And back in the day HTML. For me, all of a sudden, I didn't know that any of you know Who did that? I did. I did it myself. But I couldn't have done it. If I didn't have

previous background. If I didn't have my career background, I would not be able to put together a.com and put together the study materials and put together the advertising materials and put together the resources that I needed to actually teach a class at election because I didn't have any outside help was just myself.

Right? So what I learned before, had I not known it, we wouldn't be sitting here.

We wouldn't be sitting here. So I don't look at look back at that career. And that job and that position and those opportunities as Oh, that was dunya. And this has been

not at all. As a matter of fact, I look at that as the fundam, the essential, the essential tarbiyah that Allah allowed me to learn. That allowed me to do what I'm doing now. It's not a waste. And that's the view we have to have of our education and our experiences. No experience is a waste. No learning is a waste. No job is a waste. It's a waste when you don't take advantage of it. When you don't take advantage of everything Allah will give you as an opportunity. And you have to use that opportunity for something better, something good, so long as you're doing that you're good. Don't get caught up in this Dean versus dunya thing and there's one final note on this, which you might

not like to hear but I have to say

is people say I want to do this for the sake of Allah. I want to do everything for the sake of Allah.

I see that's impossible. Hmm.

He, if you want to have sincerity, if you want to be sincere, what does sincerity mean? You do things for the sake of Allah.

Ah, no.

Sorry.

You can't say that.

That means you don't have sincerity because everything you do should be for the sake of Allah.

Let me ask you this famous Hadith the prophet SAW Sodom describes a man, a man who had committed many, many sins, many sins, and he sees a dog that's dying of thirst. And he's about to drink himself.

And he gives the dog the drink.

And then he died. The man died. Where did he go?

He went agenda because he showed mercy to the dog. Yeah. Now, I think about that had Ethan I asked myself, did he give the dog with a drink for the sake of Allah?

Did he before he fed the dog say Yala? This is not for the dog. Because I personally don't even like dogs. This is for your sake, sincerely for you. Now I'm gonna give the dog is that what happened? Why did he give the dog drink?

We felt bad for the dog. He felt mercy. He sincerely felt mercy for the dog. He had sincerity. What we've done is we've taken the word sincerity and made it what sincerity for the sake of Allah. Sincerity approved by Allah is not the same as sincerity for the sake of Allah.

There's all kinds of sincerity. I have sincerity to my wife.

That's not

for the sake of Allah.

That's for her. I have sincerity to my mom. I love her. But I don't love her for the sake of a life you tell your mom I love you for the sake of Allah.

You know what that means? Had it not been for Allah I would not have I mean

seriously, it's so hard otherwise

no, I you know the the prophet Isaiah says when you smile in the face of your brother in South Africa, right? He casada

when I see a good friend I smile but I don't smile for the sake of I just happy to see him. I don't see him. Okay.

If I did that, by the way, if I did that if I smiled only for the sake of a lie not because I'm happy to see him that would not be a sincere.

That's actually an insincere smile, isn't it? There are some things you and I do purely for the sake of Allah.

class to Allah Salah is only for Allah Hajj is only for Allah. Teaching. The Deen is only for Allah, you know, like, memorizing Quran is only for Allah is only for a lot of eyes only for Allah, you understand. But then there are some things you do for people.

There are some things you do for yourself. I don't exercise for the sake of Allah.

I like it. I don't play basketball for the sake of Allah. No, he change your intention, if you do it for the sake of Allah and basketball will count as everybody how do I change my intention? I just like basketball.

What do you mean change my intention? I'm taking the shot for the sake of Allah. No. That doesn't make any sense. That doesn't make any sense. So what we've done is we've taken these famous words for the sake of Allah, and we artificially impose them on everything in life, and then our life becomes super difficult because when you're driving to work and getting paid, you're like, I'm getting paid for the sake of the paycheck. I'm not getting paid for the sake of Allah. I'm insincere. No, you're not relax. And Cascio habibollah. The one who works hard is the Beloved of Allah. Why? Because they are sincere to their job. They're sincere to their employer. They're

sincere at their work. They don't lie they don't cheat. They don't steal

sincerity. For the sake of Allah does not mean sincerity only to Allah.

Sincerity to people sincerity to your job sincerity to your agreements, sincerity to yourself, all of that's acceptable to Allah, all of that is beloved to Allah.

Why would the prophets lie Selim even say something so powerful? Like a husband and a wife loving each other physically is an activity bada

that no man is thinking about the sake of Allah when he's with his wife. He's not let's be honest.

I mean, doesn't before Hold on a second, let me just make my intention.

No, it's just not our Deen is natural. It's natural. We make it artificial. We make it difficult to understand and process that so what I'm going back to is some people feel when they have a particular career. That career is not for the sake of Allah, your career should have sincere intentions. You want to do something good with it. You want to benefit someone with it? And that's okay. That's okay. There are certain things in which the intention should only be for Allah, everybody.

is the big one. bother should only be for Allah. When you give charity it should only be for Allah. But by the way, if you give charity because you feel bad for someone

is that acceptable? Yes, there are sometimes acceptable intentions, acceptable intentions. That's fine. Like that man who gave charity to the dog. Wasn't that an acceptable intention? Yeah, yeah, that was completely unacceptable intention. So we have to broaden our perspective on how to think about our religion and not impose on our Deen things that align His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not impose. They didn't force those things on us. We did we took some of these definitions. We gave them an ultra strange meaning and then made our own lives difficult. May Allah azza wa jal make a sincere to him and to people in all things that we do. barakallahu li walakum wa

salaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato

Thanks for watching guys, I hope you benefited. I'd like to encourage you to actually embark on a comprehensive journey into the Quran. I've done a video translation and explanation of the entire Quran. It's called Quran cover the cover. I'd like you to check it on the Vienna TV, just do a little bit of it every day and before you know it, you'll have gone through the entire coding translation with me. Hope you can take part somebody's gone.