Wasim Kempson – The Knowledge – New To Islam

			bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump,
		

			bump, bump,
		

			bump,
		

			bump, bump, bump,
		

			bump, often in gentleman where
		

			we're looking for somewhere where I can sit down with my friend and talk to him for a little bit.
I'm a Muslim, but he's a non Muslim somewhere like a mosque or something close by where we can sit
down and talk. Okay. I know Regent's Park mosque is a nice area. Okay. It's a nice park at the back.
If you're like, Yeah,
		

			you're Muslim. I'm a Muslim. But my friend Anthony. He's looking into Islam. So we're going to think
about just sitting down and talk to him. about Islam for
		

			Santa Monica. Oh, when it comes to llama Tila, how are you doing? You're right. I'm good. Brother.
How you handle I'm fine. Good. Yes, yes. So you've been to that mosque before it? Yeah, I've been to
that mosque before was the first time for Anthony. And he's got quite a few questions to ask about
Islam.
		

			One of the one of the one of the questions he keeps asking me is, Can we be friends? Yeah. Well, you
know, there's something which
		

			people ask a lot, actually, that they, they take on a new life. And they make a lot of changes in
their lives, you know, they make a choice to stay away from alcohol and,
		

			and they stay away from certain places. And inevitably, that means you don't go to the same places
that your friends maybe that they went to before.
		

			But you know, in Islam, there's nothing that stops you from adding your friends, we randomly I'm
sure you've known him for a long time. There's nothing that stops you from being you know, good
person to him showing respect. And, you know, it's part of your old religion, that you show him a
good side of Islam. The fact that you know, you're taken into the masjid, is a very good thing. So
there's nothing in Islam that stops you from, you know, being good to him, respectful to him,
showing him what you believe to be right shown in the straight path if you'd like. So, there's no
problem in what you're doing. In fact, is it's unfortunate that many Muslims don't take the same
		

			position as you are wanting to show your your friend, some goodness, you know, my friend,
		

			my friend keeps talking about,
		

			like worshiping in one God, but don't all religions, worship same God?
		

			Well, the world religions, you know, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all claim to worship the one
supreme god. So in that sense, yes.
		

			They all came from the same source from a Muslim perspective. You know, the Moses was sent to the
children of Israel, who now we known as the Jews, and Jesus peace be upon them both was sent to,
again, the children of Israel to teach. There's only one God and like Muhammad peace be upon him to
teach, there's only one God as well. So in that sense, yes, we do worship the same God. But there's
one fundamental difference, and that is in Islam. We have something called purity of worship.
		

			And that is that we have a very
		

			monotheistic verse, pure way of worshiping, worshiping Allah, we ensure that there's no go betweens,
or in betweens, when we worship God. So we wouldn't, for example, take worship prophets, we wouldn't
worship, you know, holy people, we have to make sure as Muslims that we purify our religion,
		

			for Allah alone. So, in a sense, yes, we might say, we worship the one God, but the actual practice
of it is very different than the religion and how we worship God Almighty in Islam, is completely
unique.
		

			So how are we difference? How do you know you're right, and the others are wrong? Yeah, well, you
know, the good question, how do I know I'm right? I mean, there's a couple of things. There's
something in all of us, that we all recognize the Creator, and that's a lot. And we recognize that
we should worship Him, and we should serve him. Now, there's different ways that people will claim
this is what God wants from us. So that we need to look at ourselves and look at the evidence is
because he can't have two truths. There is only one truth, because each of the religions they claim
that we're right, and the others are wrong.
		

			Christianity would say that they're there they have the correct path.
		

			Hindus may say they have the correct path and Muslims have the correct path. So what do we do as
human beings? You know, God gave us minds logical minds to, to analyze to think, to ponder over. And
when you look at Islam very carefully, from a faith person
		

			objective. And also from a logical perspective, it's something that's unique and stands out. So, you
know, I'm sure that you know, when you go to the masjid and you speak with,
		

			you know, brother Rashad there that whatever questions you have, it will always address your logic,
it will always address your mind into something which is not just blind faith, it's always something
which is something was acceptable to oneself, you know. So that way you come to a conclusion, yeah,
this is the right thing to do.
		

			One thing, one thing, most Muslims I see have a bit.
		

			Yeah, you know, Islam is, is a way of life. It's not just something we do on a Sunday or even on a
Friday, or, you know, one part in the week. Islam is a complete way of life.
		

			And it's something that affects all aspects of our lives, from the way that we think. And the way
that even that we dress from the way that we eat. And the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, for
all Muslims is somebody whom we tried to emulate. And for, for men, trying to follow the way that
the he looked, if possible, in that he had a beard, we tried to have a beard as well. And it's only
natural to grow a beard because, you know, God created us that men have beards. It's a natural thing
it was, you know, shaving your face all the time, and things like that maybe
		

			is difficult for a lot of people. So it's only a natural thing to have a beard in the first place.
So we tried to emulate his his way and in the way that he looked and the way that he he would deal
with people can ask a question.
		

			You know, when a lady becomes a Muslim,
		

			she, she covers it covers it here. And
		

			what's the ruling on that? Lady's covering? They're here? Yeah. Well, you know, when a person
accepts, you know, Allah as their as their Lord.
		

			They accept everything that he advises us in the Quran.
		

			And you find that in the Quran, there are different directives, different advices that are given to
us, which we can display and show our servitude and worship to Allah. Now, men in different from
women, men are different from women fundamentally. So there are times when we will display our
worship differently.
		

			Now one of those things, which is specific to women, is that they are required to dress
		

			it's interpreted as modestly.
		

			Now, how do we understand what modesty means? Because that may be something which is relative, you
know, one person to the next, what do you understand to be modest, I understand this to be modesty,
I understand that to be modesty. So we look at how the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and his
wives, and all the Companions who were around at that time, how they understood how they would cover
themselves, and they would wear what we know now as a female, or a hijab. And we're flowing garment,
that women would wear this, and that's how they display their modesty. And it serves as a protection
for women. And, you know, it's easy for me to say that, but there are many testimonies, many answers
		

			from women themselves, because they're the best people to ask. And that the prospect the best people
to give answers really, about how wearing a hijab and wearing this clothing protects them from from
so many things, and it really honors them. And, in fact, what contrary to how many people think that
it serves to suppress them is in fact, the complete opposite.
		

			I've seen that they portray Mary where he made sure
		

			that's, you know, Mary, Mary, you know, I don't there's not a picture that exists. That where Mother
Mary, the mother of Jesus, Lisa, then of course, we don't have pictures in Islam of, of Mary, in
that sense, muddy and, but within the Christian world, there's not a picture that exists except that
the she's wearing what we know is a mod or a hijab, which is a sign of modesty. That's what I'm
saying. So it's not something strange. This is something that's been known throughout the times,
people who followed you know, followed religion and followed, you know, worshipping along women,
this is what they will, they will, they will and I'll tell you something else, that
		

			my grandmother, for example, my grandmother would not leave the house, except that she would wear
like a small scarf. Actually, my mom was the same actually. Yeah, yeah, my mom was just what, you
know, a couple of generations ago, it's not long ago. It's only in the past, you know, 20 or 30
years or 40 years if you'd like that people have decided that, you know, they don't wear these
things anymore. But for the vast majority of time, this is how they displayed themselves when they
got aside this this were small stuff and they weren't Muslims. You know, my family are not Muslims.
So she used to leave the house and you know, not wearing a scarf. So she did used to wear a scarf.
		

			I think some countries in European small towns in Europe still do that. Until now. You're right.
Yeah. Until now. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's why
		

			A
		

			lot of these places where they've not been affected by if you want to call the the westernization
		

			of certain, you know, cultures that they still reign upon, you know, their generations before them
or upon, you know, wearing scarves and things like that men again, dressing very modestly as well,
because modesty is not just for women, it applies to men as well, that they have to, you know, dress
appropriately. You know, they wouldn't just wear clothing, which attracts attention, undue attention
to themselves. They display modesty in many different ways, the way that we speak, the way that we
dress, the way we deal with people. You know, that's what Islam came to teach us. Islam, you know,
gave us this holistic view of how to live as good human beings. Can you tell me more about the five
		

			prayers that Muslims do? On a daily basis? Yeah, I remember, once upon a time, when I was told that
Muslims pray five times a day, I couldn't actually believe it. Because, you know, there was how was
that person can pray five times a day.
		

			You know, some people find it difficult to go to the church, once a week is quite difficult.
		

			But when you know why you're doing it, and the special manner of the prayer itself, it has, it's a
special relationship you have with with Allah, you know.
		

			And then when, when I you know, when you study it further, again, it's not something which is unique
to Islam.
		

			There are many times when,
		

			within, you know, even Christian scripture, there are times when it tells us that, you know, Jesus
peace be upon him when he
		

			wanted to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, you know, that he asked for water, he washed himself and
he frustrated.
		

			And, you know, the closest people to emulate in the Muslims. So the five daily prayers are something
which is an opportunity for you to have a relationship with God five times a day. And it's the most
important act of worship that you can offer on a daily basis. So it's very important as a Muslim to
establish those five prayers. Can you tell me about any other acts of worship that they that they do
that I might not know about? Yeah, see, a lot of the time
		

			we focus on
		

			the external worship. What I mean by that is, you know, what you see a person do, you know, they're
praying, or they go on a pilgrimage. But some of the most important acts of worship are actually
internal. They're inside and that's, and they, you know, they just in your heart. So for example,
you have love, you have hope, and you have fear, and you have trust and reliance, all of these are
extremely important acts of worship for us as Muslims. So, we, you know, we, when we speak to Allah,
we supplicate and call upon Him, we have love for our Creator, we put our trust in Him, but He knows
what is best for us. So this is, you know, a side of worship that a lot of people don't really focus
		

			on.
		

			So yes, we have the five daily prayers and we fast you know, we abstain from food and drink. But we
also have these internal acts of worship, which are the very essence the very foundation and the
beginnings of how we worship Allah.
		

			You know, when you're offering those five daily prayers, if you don't have this love for Allah, and
hope and fear that it just becomes actions.
		

			So it's very important that you have both that you have submission in your heart and you have
submission in your, in your limbs in your physical body as well. Boom,
		

			boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.