Suhaib Webb – Settling The Cultural Clash Angel Jibrail Teaches Us
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AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
When Angel Gabriel came to visit
the community of the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
there's a very important lesson.
And that was how was he dressed?
Did he dress in a culture different than
the people recognized?
Did he dress in a in a culture
that was foreign
to the people of Medina, or did he
wear the dress which was culturally appropriate for
the people he was sent to? He would
wear the dress which was culturally appropriate for
the people that he was sent to. Therefore,
Allah
has commanded him to do that.
In our dawah,
there are times where we certainly need to
wear thobes and turbans, and there are times
where we need to display our honor as
Muslims.
But there's also nothing wrong
with dressing like the people you reside amongst
if the effort is to bring them close
to Islam and you are not capitulating
yourself to their authority. That's very important.
It's not done out of shame,
it's done out of being smart.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah was asked
about dressing in the clothes of the non
Muslims, if this falls under Tashabuh Bil Kufar,
you know, emulating the disbelievers and so on.
He said absolutely not.
And he said for a number of reasons.
Number 1 is you're gonna bring people closer
to you. You're gonna create these relationships that
you already have. Number 2, you're gonna protect
yourself.
When Sayyidina Umar ibn Khattab radiAllahu anhu went
to Damascus,
and he found Muawiyah
and the people who had began to,
join Muawiyah's ranks even at that time,
that they were
dressing in a very fancy way, a very,
very kind of austere way.
Imam al Qarafi and Warrboroke
mentions
that clothing
is not a bidah.
The way you dress is not an innovation.
He mentions this narration. When Sayyidina Amr saw
them, he said, I know you know that
I don't like this,
but I know you know your people a
bit better than I do. So handle your
people.
Deal with your people.
The people of sham at that time.
So the point is if we look at
the dawah in America, we have to be
strategic. I remember one time I made a
mistake. I gave a Khudbah and I mentioned
this,
in Masjid Dawah in Chicago.
Masha'Allah, what a community, man.
My brother came to me and said, Sheikh,
if I start to wear the clothes that
I wore before I was, you know, a
Muslim and I get shot because I used
to be in a gang. So the thobe
and the turban are protecting me. Say amen,
wear the thobe and turban.
But there's other instances where where people have
been told to dress in Pakistani cultural dress
or in Malaysian cultural dress or in African
cultural dress,
and it has created more of a harm
for them than a benefit
within the realms of their family and their
community
and the people around them.
So what falls under IBHA,
permissibility,
is largely left to your own personal decision.
And when we see that Angel Gabriel is
able to go into a place
and not create no smoke man,
right?
And dress in the custom of the people
because in general we say in
Right?
Customs
customs and so on and so forth
generally are considered permissible unless there is a
text to show they are forbidden
or a consensus.