Guidebook to God #13 – Keeping an open mind

open mindedness, the ability to look past yourself the ability to look past just today that ability to go past thinking that you are the know it all, the ability to assume that there is more to learn the ability to understand more than one perspective and be able to tolerate more than one opinions. And it's important to kind of define the concept of open mindedness for us as Muslims, which is the ability to have a tolerance for more than one view, to be able to look at things from more than one perspective and to have the mental capacity the mental faculty to look beyond the superficial or the immaterial things that distract people and being able to look at the crux of the issue, the internal

most important aspect of an issue. The primary reason why people find it difficult to be open minded, is that they are ignorant of their own ignorance. And in fact, you know, as Muslims, we kind of appreciate the beauty of knowledge. But we also have this great resentment towards what we refer to as Lj lol Maura curb ignorance that is compounded What does that mean? ignorance is compounded is where a person does not know, but believes they know.

The law. It's one of the greatest fears that you and I should have is that you're entirely convinced of what you know that it is the only truth and you're unaware that there can actually be another legitimate opinion. And therefore some of the great moms that we follow, for example, in our religious tradition, and imamo hanifa Imam Malik al Imam Shafi Lima magma dibny humble. radi Allahu Ana Sahaba Rahim Allah who are immortal muslimeen ultramarine may Allah have mercy be upon all of them, and their teachers, the Sahaba of the prophets, I send them they all have a very similar statement. They would say things like Matt and Allah help mama and daddy he about what I believe is

what I believe to be the truth. The thing that I hold I believe after studying it and learning it and understanding it. I believe I'm correct. And I believe you're wrong. What Obama and Allah Hakuna about it, but I will never ever take out of my heart the concept and the thought that perhaps you are right and I'm wrong. And that's a very important aspect of open mindedness that we found in the life of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the prophets I seldom was willing to engage with people, and he tells us on Allahu alayhi wa sallam had this una sala Cabrera who dream that when you speak to people speak according to what they can understand and approach people in a

way that they can understand what you have to say, because you don't want people to have a narrow mindedness that is a result of our fanciful pneus in Word, one man came to the Prophet sallallahu wasallam. And he said, O Messenger of Allah, I don't know how to ask a law in the way that you and your Sahaba Abu Bakar and, you know, you guys are very eloquent. I'm not very learned.

I don't know how to ask Allah for the things that I want. So the prophets I send him said, Well, what do you say? He said, I say Allah Khomeini slo Cal Jenna. Hello, mania. Oh, do we come in an hour? Oh, well, I asked you to protect me from Hellfire, oh, Alaska to give me agenda and protect me from hellfire. And the prophets. I seldom said how to handle them did everything we say is asking for that exact same thing. And therefore the prophets I send them doesn't come to this man and say no, I want you to say exactly what I said here. And it has to be in this exact same way. This isn't something that he would do with all matters of teaching, because there's always an openness for

understanding that there's greater capacity for people to approach Allah subhanho wa Taala in ways that may be different to other people, as long as they are in the same suit almost Akeem, the same sooner and weigh and process of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it's important for you to consider the near pneus of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in his heart to other people's hearts. And when I say open mindedness, it becomes really important to also warn about being negligent so I can't say oh, I'm going to be open minded so let's get rid of a job all let's be open minded fabulous too early, you know we're just going to pray it as soon as we wake up. Let's

be open minded as Muslims you know, how else are we going to get to know each other we need to date a little bit more and need to experience a dating culture and lifestyle within our communities. Oh no, we need to be more open minded does not mean that we need to be people who bring about a negligence of our dealings and our treaties that we have as Muslims in our a bad in our class, in our teachings that were taught to us by the prophet Muhammad Sallallahu

SLM, there is a direct balance in a barrier between being open minded and being a person who's watering down faith. Do not ever assume that being a person of open mindedness is an assumption that I can change what I like and not like from the Koran based on my mindset. No, in fact, what it means is that you seek to understand the teachings and the rulings that Allah has set in the Quran, through the path and framework and the habit of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the greatest way of understanding the Quran is not your mind is in the practice of the prophets. I send them the practice of a Sahaba the practice of the early generations. They're the ones who

codify and set and made the standard of our Deen and therefore one of the greatest assault that has entered upon the Muslim home of the prophets. I seldom in recent times, and the most recent times of the last 200 years has been that people seek to undermine the third wabbit. The things that have always been common amongst Muslims. It was unheard of in our oma in the past and present, that, you know, the regulations that are taken as things that could have been today of liberty, about halal and haram and the sexual ethics and, and sexual immorality that these are things can be

undone with. But in fact for us as Muslims, that the word of Allah is true, the word of the prophets I send them is true. But we also appreciate that there are things that are gray in the middle. So the prophets I send him gives us a code of conduct he says, hallelujah in that which is permissible is clear. We'll have our movie in that which is haram is clear, will obey now whom out more in between the clear and that and the clear. On the other side, are things that much w hamata shabbiha. Things that are ambiguous. A person who isn't trained in Islam is not able to sift through it. And the prophets I seldom tells us to go first ellu Allah Vic, Allah says in the Quran, gold back to the

people of knowledge, who have clarity and can separate between the issues with their open mindedness and tolerance for the truth. We ask Allah Subhana Allah to Allah to make us of them. Thinking is very much a product of our belief in Allah in the Quran, flf Yaki loon Do they not ponder over the whole an hour lm? Yet effect guru? Do they not think about the verses of Allah Subhana Allah to Allah, Allah komiya tuffa karoun this Quran has been sent for people who deliberate and ponder and study the words of Allah Subhana Allah unending mentioned in the Quran about the importance of thought and logic and learning and teaching, but never will we as believers, make what we deduce

logically be put forward over what was authentically revealed to us. And therefore a knuckle cobbler laughs That which was revealed, is always the standard of our practice, not what we understood of it as being a logical understanding the Why is always the center of our existence, not the understanding that we have, because there may come a time some of the times that we live in today, where the understanding of the majority is in direct contradiction of the revelation that was sent to us by Allah subhana wa Tada. It might be that you and I live in a society where they have made permissible something that a law has prohibited. It doesn't matter how many people agree to it, we

do not have open mindedness and say, we will change our plan for it. We will change our sexual ethics for it. We will change our gender diarization of right and wrong for it. In fact, open mindedness for us is that we understand the revelation in its practice, but we do not contradict it with our minds. Well, suddenly lahoma wa Sallim wa barik ala Sayidina Nabina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam your brother your hair Brahim was Salam alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh