MSA West
Date:
Channel: Zaid Shakir
File Size: 13.28MB
Episode Notes
Wonderful and insightful speech given by Imam Zaid Shakir at the opening of the Muslim Student Association gathering in Berkley (Jan, 2012)
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AI Generated Transcript ©
pushed away from your home life he says a travel adventure well enough to Riyadh it is it's a it's a travel adventure kapu Shahad if you kill them that's really bad on the surface. But it's Margaritaville papu Shahada
was goldfill genetti level personnel was he added in the afterlife? Good, which is gender was he added which is
the beatific vision
as a pretty good deal.
So on the surface these things, they all look bad. But beneath the surface for the believer, they're all good.
They're all good.
So we should always look at how is this reflect in my relationship with Allah subhanaw taala doesn't make it stronger. I was with some of this Syrians earlier. You know, a lot of us Syrian
Americans.
Forget this, my Kindle. Hey, you never know.
But then they were saying, you know, it's really bad. It's bad in Syria, no doubt. But a friend of mine came from Syria recently. And was saying how it helps a lot of the people who were walking with the girls have no hijab, and the guys holding the heads of the girls have no hijab. Now they're all in the masjid said the people's faith is has increased exponentially the fears they had are gone, and the laxity in the religion is gone. And how how the fate of the people so we look at the tribulation. And indeed it's a difficult situation that we wouldn't wish on anyone. But there's a consequence of that. And that consequence is what is laying the the paving the way for the future
good. There are many people look at turkey today and see an Islamic revival unbelievable. And all that layers and layers of V. even beyond secularism, layer system. secularism, the state doesn't interfere religion layer system, the state tries to eradicate religion takes an active role in the eradication of religion. This is what happened in Turkey, but there are people who are struggling. When I lived in Turkey, actually two and a half years. And after 30 years, I was able to go back to the past home or visit people I hadn't seen for 30 years, I was a new Muslim living amongst them. But in any case,
a friend of mine his father is a half of
his father memorized for me, because it was illegal
even to study Arabic, at one time, what must have been a crime because they will call me a Turkish like
anyway.
They had to post guards at the windows of the mascot. The carpet rolled back, the plates like this stage opened up. And when the guard saw the police coming, they would alert them they take the most hot woman in the board, coming aboard over roll the roll, go over it and then sit like they're having a conversation. That's how they memorize Quran. Some other people that had darse there's lessons of knowledge, the only way they could do it without being suspected because they couldn't sit in the masjid for less than a knowledge. They rode the train from Izmir to Ankara had the lesson on the train, in the car of the train. That's how that's how knowledge was preserved. And there were
great great scholars and great people sacrificed all that darkness. And now after the death, decades after they pass, now you see a flourishing of Islam, but the hardship that they endured, and they're holding on to those difficult times. Those were the seeds that were planted and that are bringing about this good. So it's it's all how we look at things. It's all in how we look at things we mentioned in the Juma we just continue that we mentioned the verse
Last time I mentioned in your obsessed school car, called the mess of code.
What didn't get a
little we're passionate we're
we're touching your head that will love me when you may so law hulan in an amicable way, I'm happy caffine. So a lot of Tyler he mentioned, if some difficulty as, as a flipped into, then your adversaries have been similarly afflicted. So don't think weaknesses just for the Muslims. There are times when people want to postpone when we
don't think that our military defeat is something unique to Muslims. There was a time when Muslims were winning battles, and those who are hostile or losing.
Don't think hardship, impotence, all of these things that most of them generally as an oma are experiencing are unique to them. And a
lot of times is less than
just as the Muslims have over
the forehead that
this is the Muslims have better local forehead.
So what tin can am there wouldn't have been a nest. These fortunes we alternate between the people.
When the animal lover they need to add in an order that allows show which of you truly believes we had to handle that and take martyrs for your rights. Will law hold a body mean, and a law doesn't love oppressors. So we talked about this a little bit I do need that. But then he says when you
were young happen Kathie Lee, in order get through these trials and tribulations alone purify the ranks of the believers. So the trial the tribulations, the hardship, the difficulty the hard times.
On the surface, it might look like this something bad, but it's a purification tempis is how the gold is separated from the slag. If you have gold today, make sure it's recycled gold.
Seriously, recycled gold is gold that was mined
in one form and then melted down and make it into a ring or something because now you don't want to buy gold, you know how, how gold is mined. They take here in California the method of choice you take the gold door and you run the mercury over in the mercury extract the gold from the from the from the ore, but it left the left tons and tons and tons of mercury contaminated streams or slag that washes in the stream to this day you have mercury contaminated water running other Sierra Nevadas in South Africa where most of the gold comes from, to produce a ring which is a fraction of an ounce or wedding band of gold. These 20 tons tons of cyanide poisoned slag that's that's either
left there on the land or dumped in the ocean.
Because they don't take a mountain of gold the size of this room and drench it with cyanide in the cyanide extracts the gold into collecting pools and then they separate the gold and they leave the cyanide the poison residue just there in the lab. That's how you get gold.
So anyway,
bear with me.
So
before the goal tended
No, yeah, so you were one way to get the gold out is the burn it off. This is the timepiece. So you burn the ore and it's separate the pure gold from the slag. And so Allah says this is what he does to the believers through trial and tribulation, he gets the gold out.
He gets the gold out. So that that which is pure, is left and now which is pure, that was takes the struggle for Muslims evolved in a struggle and a struggle is not easy.
If you're looking for easy
Religion and you're serious about it. You know, don't don't take this left.
Because it's his word, and is serious. And the sacrifice and his effort and his struggle is struggle. That's why over and over in the corner edge he had this problem with Jay he knew he had called GE had struggled in the way of a lot as you rightfully be the case. Yeah, you Hello.
Hello Do commodity Java.
Shall I direct you to a commerce that will save you from a painful punishment of painful punishment? Then I definitely put me in on a video a while soon he will leave it alone. His Messenger went to jail he doing a feasibility lab and stroll into whatever lobby and when he went full circle, then kung fu Kung Fu Panda, that's best for you.
So over and over and over n. Allies telling us this is a struggle, the man came to the prophet SAW setups and said, I want to follow you What did he tell him then prepare yourself for poverty. He didn't say oh, well, you're gonna get rich tomorrow. This isn't this isn't the gospel of prosperity. This is the gospel of struggle. This is the gospel of sacrifice. You have some money, you join the Muslim, you're not an investment plan. You know, oh, you're coming in with 10 million, you gotta leave but the 100 million
each other.
You're gonna leave like, like, oh Sahaba who sacrificed their money, but they left, you might come in with 10 million you leave with $10
in this world, but the edger that you have with the law
that you have with the laws is measurable. That's what it's all about. So the hardship, the difficulty, the good, the bad and the ugly in this world. As we said for the lever is all good. I just meant the me movement in
the believers affair. All that is good. Why? Because it's helping us and preparing us and allowing us the privilege to pay the price for gems.
And the price of agenda is not it's not a a an easy price.
is not an easy price is expensive, because it's precious. It's expensive.
But it's sweet. And the struggle is sweet. It has it has sweetness is not bitter. It doesn't leave us depressed. It leaves us energized. It leaves us invigorated, it leaves us have lifted, it leaves us empowered.
And so this is what it's all about. So as we had the difficulty it was mentioned the marriage, just be patient. And I saw that food garden
savara can
have some difficulty before the person they patiently endure,
patiently endure. And that's best. Never despair. Rose is never despair. This trial is we're going through what I mean in reality work trial, I would go through an American
what trials are we going through? Well, the people they're talking about us and then there's a lot of people saying great things about Muslims like jon stewart
right. I was just I was in San Francisco when I got the call like can you be in Berkeley at eight o'clock.
Anyway,
I was having dinner with the founder
allow frozen foods available at Whole Foods right off the street.
I bet he started Stonyfield farm yogurt, organic yogurt, sold it to dentists and started this fast food Hello organic Hello organic milk.
In any case,
when Whole Foods pick them up. Some of you know about this. He was attacked by the usual cast of characters, Cam Geller and all these bloggers.
This inappropriate group word for them to sloggers
do live in Santa
Fe with the case the name there are blogger.
So in any case, this cat
Time them and it was real nasty. And the the, the
the whole foods supported them. They got all these actors in Hollywood, though is a huge campaign non Muslim.
And they beat the they beat these people back and their sales skyrocket skyrocketed. It was free advertising and free publicity. It was far more voices and supportive live than the war against them. So don't don't think it's all bad. The point is, you know, even if what so what would you rather have been in America and you turn on the radio, and rush limbaugh's talking about you or your brother in Syria, where some sadistic goons are kicking down your door
pulling a teenage brother out, and you get him back two or three weeks later in a box with limb junk you take I mean, that's a trial or in Palestine? Well, you don't know when the next political event is going to precipitate a bombardment of your town or village for for political gamesmanship
or Iran, where you don't break any law. You're a nuclear scientist and you get blown to smithereens
for for abiding by every International Atomic protocol.
Those are tribes brothers and sisters. There's nothing here.
If we're depressed,
some people leaving Islam
For what?
For what asked yourself for what?
And I hope when you when you hear the hypothetical you I hope with the hypothetical you out there saying that empty chairs.
I hope when you ask yourself,
you better have a good answer.
I never really thought about it. Why do you need this lamp?
Why don't you stop praying.
I was kind of depressed and I just got sick of everyone looking at me funny. I can take that book.
You know, the good luck. Some people were building with the book for 400 years.
Cornel West was here right? A few weeks ago. He likes to say, you know after 911 a lot of people got nuclearized and couldn't deal with it.
You know, some people when dealing with it performed reviews.
So rather than sisters counting your blessings, look at the good that you have. Anything you think is bad, just patiently persevered is gonna get better? Sooner or later, it's gonna rain here. inshallah.
If it doesn't rain soon, we should all go through the rain prayer.
Seriously, then if it rains A few days later be great.
Positive, right.
This is turkey The first thing or the last did he was the mayor of Istanbul before the president, Prime Minister.
When he got elected in before he took office, he won the election in the lame duck period for the previous layer. There was a terrible drought in 1994 95 did some Turkish people here.
Witness
witness
anyway. So he said so they asked him the secularists. You know, what are you going to do about the problem? There's a big policy issue that you talk water in from other parts of the country. They couldn't clean the streets. The city was filthy, and dirty. So I asked, What are you going to do about the drought? He said, we're gonna pray they ridiculed him.
They ridiculed him. Oh, he's gonna pray. See these these Muslim they just come in and prayer. This a modern country detects policies and strategies and this and that and organizing bureaucracy, who's gonna pay? He got an office. One of the first things they did, they went out and they paid the rent. It said in court continuous
For six days in a row.
And the problem with
that is it does a site with things that come in Sharla. So
we're going to
show all our panelists in the way by the MSA, MSA, West,
MSA, east,
the local
communities.
But sooner or later is going to rain.
Sooner or later, if you're struggling with something, it'll be over. You're sick. I was sick, I was sick. I don't say that to
just to make a point. Well, I'm better now.
Sooner or later, I'll be 100% inshallah, you don't stay sick forever. And if you've been sick, you've been sick forever. You don't you don't stay down forever, sooner or later up.
So let's learn to get better in childhood. And if it's if it's good, they're going to be trials and tribulations. And oh, it's not going to be pre 911 forever for Muslims in America. There's going to be trials, tribulations and difficulties. The thing for us is to persevere without dignity. The thing for us to do is to maintain the prophetic virtue
and not to despair mercy from Allah. Allah tala mentions in the Quran.
And the hula is
only a disbelief of people despair of a loss mercy. That's why we know it's going to get better because
that's what gives us joy in this world is the mercy of Allah. Their trials is tribulations. There's so called Islamophobia. I don't like that term of personal.
I just like, you know, this old fashioned American racism
group of largely
brown skinned people.
I mean, that's how I see it. But in any case,
person here a lot of times says these things happen.
These things happen alone mentioned in
the time is up, whether to blur, the oneness, EMC, EMC, VMware,
VMware,
whether test Marine, the mainland linear
optical O'Meara de la kathira, that's the bed right? You're going to be tested in your wealth in your lives. And you're going to hear for that
company come from those given the Scripture before you some of the Jews, some of the Christian and some of the idolaters This is what you have now is not all of them. Were right now it was the emerging geostrategic anti muslim access.
America. That's the Christian
Israel as the Jews, and
Indian
India
and so not all Christians, not all Jews, not all Hindus. Those are the
other 10 test run the minute they do outta the middle
one minute
and then can see much abuse.
much abuse. Look at the comments. Where are they coming from? A Muslim does something positive there's 5 million negative comments totally unrelated to whatever happened. You know, Muslim rescues cat from tree
The guy with a big beard the kitty cat.
And the comments Muslim has been there Why?
Like 5000 comments totally unrelated to the guy rescue the cat can't even rescue a cat from
you look at look at where they're coming from.
millennial
company Camila Dinesh Roku. You see more and more of these Hindu nationalists.
Again, so
Or some people might be some hidden
Jewish Christian guys, some not all, not most, but some much abuse and then get Iraq. So what does the law say to despair?
Run away deny Islam when Tasuku if you patiently persevere what teta who, and we may mindful of the law and the commandments and prohibitions, that in that he can as my Lord, this is from resolve, and firmness in one's affair. So that's the path for us. Red is good or bad, persevere. Red is good or bad, be mindful of a lot.
Be mindful of where you are. Red is good or bad, maintain and this
is more. This is way cooler, as long as a beer you're handling can be
as memorable as those great habits of firm resolve, persevere, and patiently endured before you. This is our way brothers and sisters. mela blesses the whole the banner of faith and a world that rapidly abandoning faith real faith. Allah bless us to maintain human dignity in a world that's abandoning human dignity account dignified. These sisters are
Mashallah
Maya This is a lot of my recent travels, I was visiting family.
They're complaining about the way that girls dress.
These are anonymous, don't people. This is not a control,
the exploitation, the dehumanizing the undignified behavior.
And I don't want to repeat what I mentioned on July in terms of just what people are on television, how people are being encouraged to act, hold on to your dignity, hold on to the prophetic standards, and virtues and values and mores in this world. If you can do that, you've done something great. And believe me, you're going to be a source of inspiration for a lot of people. Because a lot of people giving up they don't think you can push back. They don't think you can fight back. And that is that Muslims have. We have community we're not isolated individuals. We have a community and bless that community to be a community of virtue, a community of seriousness, a community of service, a
community of dignity, a community of principles and values. Our community does not ashamed of modesty, not ashamed of, of decency, not ashamed of mortals, not ashamed of virginity, not ashamed of human
basic human worth. mela bless us to be a community. If we can do that movie a light for this world is a source of hope for a lot of people.