Sikander Hashmi – Islam A Religion of Wisdom

Salaam, Alaikum.

Sala Rahman irahim Alhamdulillah, mean Salah to as a Phil hamia,

even more saline, so you didn't Muhammad wala Alihi Osama he Asmaa

in Oman tabi alhambisan in ilayam Deen.

Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters,

we begin by thanking Allah, Subhanahu wa,

the Lord of the universe, who has not left us without guidance,

our Rab, our Lord, the one and only Allah who has sent

messengers, and the final messenger, Muhammad, sallAllahu,

alaihi wasallam, to give us principles and guidance on every

aspect of life. And indeed, this is a great favor upon us, because

you can imagine going to a new place, not knowing where to get

help, not knowing how to live, not knowing what to do, and indeed,

that would be a very difficult circumstance to find oneself in.

So this is a great favor of Allah subhanahu wa taala upon us that

there is no need for guesswork. There is no confusion in terms of

what is required from us, why we have been created, and what we are

supposed to do and what we are not supposed to do, and this gives us

the ability to live with inner peace. It should give us inner

peace and satisfaction knowing that if we follow the guidance and

if we follow it properly, we will be safe and we will we will be

successful in the long run, Inshallah,

and this is in contrast to Those who are constantly questioning

in a state of confusion, struggling with different ideas,

different philosophies, desires and pressures to change. Allah

subhanahu wa is our designer. Allah Azza wa Jalla is our

Creator, who knows us best, just like the creators or the designers

of an object or of an item, know that item and that object best,

Allah Azza wa Jalla is more knowledgeable and more wise than

any other designer or any other creator that exists. So Allah

subhanahu wa is our designer, our Creator who knows what is best for

us,

and what his final messenger, sallAllahu, alaihi wasallam, has

taught us

is that which constitutes the healthiest, most efficient, most

optimal, most balanced way of spending our lives, and this is

what we know and we understand from Allah subhanahu wa taala.

Now, there is no question,

there is no doubt, that some of those teachings right, the Allah

subhanahu wa guidance that Allah has given us, some of the

teachings that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam has

taught us that some of them are different than what the norms are

today. They are challenging to people's desires, and they go

against some of the philosophies and popular movements of the day.

And there's no question about that.

But this is nothing new, because at the time of pre Islamic

jahiliyyah, at the time of ignorance, it was considered

radical, and it was considered shameful, for example, to not bury

baby girls alive. Or it was considered radical and shameful to

treat your slaves and your servants kindly, because that was

not the norm. It was something odd for people not to drink alcohol,

for alcohol to be prohibited. It was unfathomable. It was

it was difficult to imagine right other things like for a woman to

receive inheritance that was unheard of at that time, and, of

course, to believe in Allah, Azza wa Jalla alone, and to believe in

the message of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa sallam, that

too, all of these things were unpopular and they went against

the norms of the day.

Now those who changed,

those who changed their ways, and they adopted and adapted to the

new way of life, and they believed

in one Allah

and in a.

Rasulallahu alaihi wasallam, yes, they were mocked and they were

harassed and they were attacked. But that did not deter them from

the truth and from knowing that what they were following was

indeed the truth that had come from Allah subhanahu wa taala

through rasulallahu alayhi wa sallam,

the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself. And you imagine

this scene that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is

going around right in the marketplace, in the marketplace,

preaching

and inviting people towards Islam, inviting them, saying, yahan NAS

Kula, Ilaha illallahu. Flahu, that oh, people say there is no God

worthy of worship except Allah. You will be successful. So the

Prophet salallahu, alayhi wa sallam is going around, person to

person, making this proclamation, passing on this message.

And there's people who are gathered around him and behind him

there is a person described as having a bright face and squint in

his eyes and two braids in his hair, and he's going behind him.

And as he is trying to speak and as he is trying to preach, he is

this man is making his own proclamation, saying that, Verily,

He is an apostate, meaning from their religion, from the religion

of the time. And he is a liar. And the narrator says, The Witness

actually who saw this, says that this man was following him,

meaning the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa sallam, wherever he

went. So he says, I asked who was he? And they, the people told me

that this is his uncle, Abu Lahab, and this narration is recorded by

Imam, ah.

So this was, you know, this is just one example of the types of

challenges that existed and how open this hatred, this

Islamophobia, was at the time of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa

sallam. So the opposition to the teachings of Allah Azza wa Jalla

and His Messenger, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, this is nothing

new. This is unfortunately, nothing new, and it goes way, way

back today as well. You know, every once in a while, we have

some commentators.

We have some commentators. Sometimes in the media, maybe a co

worker, maybe someone within the community, or maybe in your social

circle, perhaps a family member who questions some of our

religious practices, because they're different, right? They're

different from most of the prevalent practices today. There

may be other faiths that are also doing things which are similar.

But of course, the attention is is on us.

The attention is on Islam, right? Because the rest, nobody's really

worried about that much, right? When it comes to Islam and

Muslims,

everyone is worried.

Lots of people are worried. Okay, so from time to time, we come

across these questioners, these commentators. Okay, now at times,

these questions may be genuine. It's possible sometimes people

sincerely want to know. They sincerely have goodness in the

heart. They have a desire to learn to some of them even profess that

maybe what I'm doing is not wrong. People who practice other

religions, they'll say openly that perhaps what we are doing, what I

am doing, maybe it is wrong. So I have a desire to learn and to know

that maybe there's a greater truth out there that I should adopt. So

there's people who are sincere, but then there's others who are

not. Now, if it appears that a question has been asked of you,

and I know that many of us face this scenario from time to time.

So if it appears that the question has been asked or has been raised

in a negative way, or has been raised with the intention it

appears to just mock or to provoke,

then in that case, you're probably better off not responding. Okay,

you're probably better off not responding or responding in a

tactful manner that makes the point without getting into details

or a prolonged debate. Okay? Because sometimes what happens is

someone asks us something, and of course, we want to explain it, we

want to defend and we want to do the right thing, so we get into

these long debates. Okay? Now this person has no intention of

learning. This person is just trying to provoke us, okay? And

he's trying to poke holes in our arguments. And sometimes they come

well prepared, okay? So if you sense that, then do not get into

that discussion. Do not get into that debate. It is fruit. It was

most likely going to be fruitless, okay? And as Allah tells us,

right, the qualities of the Ibadah Rahman, the servants, the slaves

of Rahman, of Allah subhanahu wa said,

okay, that the one of the qualities is that we would want,

we want to adopt, is that when the the ignorant address them, meaning

the slaves of the Most Merciful, the.

Say Salaam. They say words of peace, and they move on. Okay, so

this is a good approach to have, especially, you know, in those

comments, most, Alhamdulillah, most news sites are getting rid of

comments now under them, okay, but once in a while, when we have free

time, we say, Okay, let's see what people are saying, right? And then

you start scrolling down, and you start seeing all these comments.

The urge is there to respond to every single one. Now, perhaps

there is sometimes benefit in responding, but generally, what

does it lead to? Or sometimes it happens on Facebook posts, or it

happens on tweets, right? You start just back and forth, back

and forth. You know one person is dissing the other, and you're

going back and forth trying to make arguments, but really it's

just a show for everyone else what is happening. Or if it's a show

for everyone else, it's a type of entertainment. Say, oh, okay, what

do you say? Oh, okay. Now you said this. Okay, let's see what we see.

We're going to come back with there's no, there's no benefit in

that. Okay? Now, if you feel that the question is sincere, okay,

perhaps it is just out of curiosity or to broaden one's

understanding,

then that's great. Alhamdulillah, you answer the question, if you're

able to answer it, okay, if you have knowledge, you read up on the

issue. You have some background, you have you know, you have some

something to offer on it, which is you know, which is correct? Then

okay, go ahead. If you answer it, if you're able to, or if you don't

know, then you ask someone who does know. Okay, it's okay to say,

You know what? That's a great question. I haven't thought about

this. Let me look into it. Let me get back to you. Okay, actually,

you know, some of the you know, we learned, one of the signs of a

scholar, right? Is a person who's able to say that I don't know.

A true scholar is someone who says I don't know when he really

doesn't know. Okay? And a sign of an ignorant person is that even

when they don't know, they pretend to know, and they keep talking

Okay. So we should not be ashamed to say, I don't know, that's okay.

That's okay, right? So now, if it's you know, something that

that we do then, and most of the things that we do, especially when

it's related to our deen in our worship,

that it should be based on the Quran and the Sunnah of the

Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa sallam. Okay, so if it's based on

the Quran and the Sunnah, and if it's it's something that is coming

from there, then we must make it clear to ourselves first, and also

to the questioner, that the first and foremost reason why we do it

is because we have been commanded to do so. It should be clear to

us, okay, that the first and foremost reason why we're here

today, right, whatever the wisdoms may be behind it, whatever the

benefits may be, the reason we are here is because Allah has

commanded this Prophet, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, has

instructed us to do this, and this is why we're doing it, okay. So

this should be clear in our minds, and it is something we should also

communicate if we are asked about something okay. Now this is the

main reason. There may be other wisdoms, there may be benefits

that we may know or we may not know about. We may have seen some

lecture, or heard some lecture, you know, seen some very

interesting YouTube clip, you know, where someone was mentioning

some Sheik was mentioning, you know, all these, you know, things

that we hadn't heard before. Okay, Alhamdulillah, maybe there's some

wisdom, some benefits that we are not aware of. But nonetheless, the

first and foremost reason why we do something is because Allah and

His Messenger, salaried Salam have commanded us to do so. Okay, now,

some of these wisdoms and some of these benefits that we come

across, they may be convincing to some, maybe not for others, but

the reason we practice our deen the way we do so is because this

is the way that has been taught to us. This is how we've been taught

to do it. And As believers, we submit to the will of Allah, okay,

this is what, really what Islam is about, okay, submitting to the

will of Allah, Subhanahu wa Taala and the guidance of His Messenger,

sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, whether we like it or not, whether

we like it or not, and sometimes whether we understand it or not,

okay, because the fact of the matter is that

you know, the the wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa, the knowledge of

Allah subhanahu wa, is at a completely different level

compared to ours. But we will get into that a bit later on.

Also,

if we give, you know, you can give reasons and give wisdoms. Okay? So

people ask, for example, okay, why is court prohibited, right? So

then you say, Okay, it's a dirty animal. It's this, you know, it's

so unhealthy, this and that. Okay? So we give reasons, okay, so you

know that that's fine, but do not present that as the definitive,

definitive reason for the fact that it is haram. Okay, it is

haram because Allah decided it haram. Now, there may be reasons

for that. There's maybe wisdoms behind that, and this may be one

of them, okay, because you know what's going to happen if you say

that, this is the definitive reason why people say no. Now you

know it's genetically modified, and it's so pure and so clean, and

you know things have changed, and this is how it's treated. So is it

still halam? Okay, so now you're sitting there giving fatwa, so

you're trying to figure out, okay, is it still going to be Hanami?

And this can lead to confusion. Okay, so close that door for

yourself. Don't fall into that trap. You.

Now also, when we are having these discussions, do not expect

agreement. Do not expect agreement. Okay, most questioners,

most sincere questioners, will be respectful,

but expect that they will likely not agree, and that's okay, right?

Our job is not to convince everyone. It's Allah Who gives

hidayah. Okay? Our job is to deliver the message and to tell

people things as they are, right? As you know, the the prophet Ali

musallah would say, and the Prophet Salam as well, right? This

is our job. Our job is only to present the message, to deliver

the message. Okay, so don't be expecting that this person is

going to agree, and if they're not agreeing, then you feel like

something's lacking, and you know something's wrong, and so on.

That's okay, right? You just explain. Most sincere questioners,

as I said, will be respectful,

and yes, as I mentioned a bit earlier, we must also recognize

that our understanding, our capacity to understand, is nowhere

near the knowledge and the wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa. This is

very, very very important for us to understand. So there will

certainly be many things. They will certainly be things, perhaps

many things which we are not able to understand, okay, or benefits

and wisdoms in what we are commanded to do, to do that we may

not be able to figure out. And that is also okay, right? We must

be okay with this. We must understand and comprehend and

accept this concept, this idea that we will not be able to fully

comprehend every single wisdom, every single benefit, every single

reason behind every command of Allah and every guidance that the

Messenger of Allah, Salah Salem, has brought to us. So the next

time an Islamic practice, one that is, you know, truly proven from

the Quran the Sunnah. Because sometimes, you know, we think

there are practices which are Islamic in nature, and we are

doing them for a long time, perhaps, or people you know in our

culture or families have been doing them, but perhaps they're

actually not proven from the Quran the Sunnah. Okay, so I'm talking

about practices which are truly proven from the Quran sunnah. If

one of them is is attacked or questioned right by someone,

whether it's in the media or someone you know,

do not feel unconfident and worried. Okay, there's no need to

go into a panic.

There's no need to go into a panic or to start thinking, okay, maybe

we need to revise our deen. This is what people are saying about

us. And you know, we're we're looking bad. Now, of course, if

it's something which is not proven from the Quran sunnah, if it's a

misinterpretation of the deen, if it's a misunderstanding of the

deen, then yes, we need to be concerned about how to fix that.

Okay, but the things which are established and are clearly

established, and it has been the practice of the of the Ummah since

the very beginning. Okay, one of those things come into question,

it's okay. You know, no need to panic or to start thinking about,

you know, how do we change things so that we fit in better, or that

so that people start thinking well, of us, and, you know, to

adapt to societal demands that or pressures that the certain players

or actors may be putting upon us. Alhamdulillah, we are very, very

fortunate. Alhamdulillah, we are very fortunate that we live in a

land where all people, all people in this land have the right to

freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience,

freedom of opinion. So you can believe whatever you want to,

right you can believe whatever you want to no matter what anyone

thinks or says about it. Okay? Because your beliefs are are for

you, that's your matter. Okay? That's your prerogative. You can

believe in whatever you like regardless of what people say,

regardless of what people think about it, and you're free to

practice your religion. You're free to practice your religion as

long as you're not taking away the rights of others, hurting others,

putting others at risk. Okay? So within those boundaries, you're

free to do whatever you like. Alhamdulillah, this is a great

blessing of Allah, and one we should be constantly reminded

about. So let us thank Allah, Subhanahu wa Taala for this and

for the guidance that he has given us. And have inner peace. Have

inner peace and contentment knowing that your your Rab, your

Lord, is the most wise, that Allah subhanahu wa is the most wise, and

that following his commands and the guidance brought to us by His

Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is the best course of

action for you in the long run. Okay, it may the benefits may not

be there immediately. It may not be visible immediately. Perhaps to

us, we may not be able to recognize them immediately. But

the fact of the matter is that in the long run, there will be much

higher and there will be falaf, there will be success in following

that which Allah, Subhanahu wa Taala has brought to us, has said

to us, and that the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu, sallam, has

taught us and let us also, my brothers and sisters, have the

desire and the effort to learn more about our deen, to learn more

about the guidance of Allah and the Prophetic practice practices

so that we live a.

More confident and more fulfilling existing existence, that which is

closest, that which is closest to that which is pleasing to Allah

subhanahu wa taala, because at the end of the day, right? And we

talked about this while I've been created, we've been created as

slaves of Allah to worship Allah subhana wa Taala and to gain his

pleasure, right? This is really what our objective should be in

life. So you know, through this journey of life, there will be ups

and downs, there will be bumps and along the way, there will be

things thrown at us. There will be some challenges here and there,

but these are temporary challenges. Okay, some of them may

seem to be long, but that's okay. We continue forward, but it's very

important that we have this recognition inside of us, that our

heart is content and we sincerely believe that, yes, this is the

hop, and this is the truth that Allah subhanahu wa taala has said

to us, that the messenger of allah sallallahu, Sallam has brought to

us. And if someone

feels hesitant, saying that,

if you feel hesitant, believing in that, thinking that, okay, no, I'm

not going to tell you. Leave the room. Okay, what you should do is

turn to Allah subhanahu wa taala, turn to Allah subhanahu wa

sincerely, and ask for hidaya and ask for guidance. Okay, if there's

something that sometimes is normal, you know, sometimes we

have a swas. Sometimes we have, you know, shaytan put some

thoughts in our in our minds, in our hearts. Sometimes our nafs is

saying something, doing something. Sometimes there's something we

see, we don't understand, we are confused, and we start getting

some doubts. Okay, this is something normal that many people,

almost everyone, goes through. And that happens if you seek

protection with Allah subhanahu wa sincere dua to Allah subhana wa

Taala to guide you and to clear up the the doubts that you're having.

And Inshallah, will guide you. InshaAllah continue to guide us.

May Allah Azza wa Jalla strengthen our Imaan, Allah subhanahu wa

taala grant us wisdom and knowledge to practice and to

understand the way that he has chosen for us. Aminu.