Tom Facchine – Are American Muslims Operating In Low Gear
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of human life and how it is linked to their desire to transform their societies. They emphasize the need for relief and a pleasing way to achieve this, as it is the cornerstone of their desire to transform the world.
AI: Summary ©
Raghba Asfahani, one of his main points, and
it's very, very salient to our time and
relevant to our time, is they have ambition.
That most people are operating in low gear.
That Imarat al-Ardh, which he identifies as
the first purpose of human life.
He says there's three purposes to human life.
The first is just the most basic, that
even the animals do it.
Imarat al-Ardh, that's your livelihood.
That's just basic, man.
You're no different from an animal if that's
the only gear that you're operating in.
The second, Ibadat al-Rahman, worshiping the most
merciful.
That's your gratitude.
That's your shukr.
That's your saying thanks and giving back at
the very, very minimum for the opportunity and
the things that Allah has given you.
But even that's not enough because that doesn't
cover transforming society.
That doesn't cover organizing society in the way
that Allah wants it to be organized.
And that is khilafatullah.
So that is being a representative of Allah
on earth.
That is the highest purpose of human life.
That you are not just benefiting yourself and
hiding out in the suburbs in your McMansion.
You are actually improving people's lives.
And not just doing it in a very,
very basic way that, you know, like Habitat
for Humanity or any of the things that
are cookie cutter.
Not that they don't do good work.
But you're actually solving the root causes.
You're actually changing the terrain and the game.
If you could do relief, you could come
in and swoop in and try to relieve
somebody.
But you're not changing the actual structure of
the system that produces that need for relief
in the first place.
So that's why if we look at the
world, I mean, there's always going to be
opportunity for relief.
But who's going to stop the systems that
produce the need for that relief in the
first place?
That's what Allah wants from us.
So that lesson is needed now more than
ever.
That we can't have rudimentary ambitions.
We can't just be content to live and
eat and drink and buy groceries and eat
groceries and buy groceries again.
That's nothing.
That's animal life.
That we need to have the highest aspiration
that Allah gave us, which is to transform
our societies and attempt to organize them in
a way that's pleasing to Him.