Zakir Naik – To Attract People to Islam, Identify Yourself as a Muslim
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The speaker discusses his experience in the field of comparative religion and how it helps him to spread Islam more broadly. He also talks about how people are listening to him and how he uses his hesitation to convince them of his weight. He emphasizes the importance of using hisStephaianship to convince people of his weight and to use it to open pathways.
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that he is a student of comparative religion.
He
said that if you keep away from these
labels like headgear
and beard, it helps you to spread Islam
more according to you. Everyone has the right
to the opinion. Brother,
fortunately, when I happen to be in this
field, I'm not aware how much dawah you
do,
but I travel throughout the world. This headgear
doesn't come in my way at all.
Give me one example
if you're a that the headgear comes in
between your way. If you are not a
if you're materialistic,
ah, if a non Muslim comes to know
I'm a Muslim, he will not come to
my shop. If you're a materialistic person,
temporarily you may think it's a loss. But
you see you're a student of comparative religion,
you live with Jain, etcetera. Brother, I'm a
full time guy.
Give me one example in your experience in
which the headway will come in your way.
It helps me. It helps me break the
barriers.
The thing is that there may be situation
in which you may not know how to
handle it. So Quran says
in chapter 16 was 43, that if you
do not possess the knowledge, ask of those
who possess the knowledge. Go to an expert,
and he will show you how to solve
the problem.
Don't take a decision which is wrong. Yes,
brother. What's the problem I'll solve it? See,
actually, you are you are a full time
guy. We are not a full time guy.
We are doing a business. Along with that,
I would like to do this work. When
I'm sitting in my office, I talk to
my employee people also. I talk to them.
At
least 1 or 2 I could make them
even convinced.
But the thing is that what I have
found even and even those people, when they
see you see even my colleague one colleague
is having a beard, they don't approach him.
And when they don't bring him closer. But
when I go to them and I talk
to them, I find that people are listening
to me. So that's what I found it
is more easier for me to spread it.
Has given an example that he has his
colleagues,
and he's got a full time die like
me. Now he's changed. 1st, he's had a
comparative religion. Now he says he's not a
full time die. No one is stopping you
from being a full time die. It's the
best profession. Better than a medical doctor also.
I was a medical doctor. I left my
profession for a better profession.
Quran says in Surah 4 Salih chapter 41
verse number 33, it says, woman
Who is better in speech than one who
invites
the people to the way of their lord,
works righteousness, and says, I'm the 1st to
bow my will to Allah
The best profession
is a profession of die. Brother,
before I became a full time die, I
was a student in America college,
and majority of my colleagues were non Muslims.
Very strong against the Muslim, and yet
they may be allergic to a person having
a beard, wearing a cap. But
they love me
because I use hikmah.
Quran says, you know how to do dawah,
in chapter 6, number 125.
Invite all the way of the lord with
wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them
and reason with them in the ways that
are best and most gracious. You have to
use your Hikma.
And
if you use your Hikma,
the cap and the beard can never come
in your way. You can tell a non
Muslim
friend that, you know, I've come to know
of a Muslim, who
has a beard. Tell me, you know, there's
a young boy. You know? Young boy by
the name of Zakir. He says he can
speak with non Muslim. He's very comfortable.
He wears a cap. He sports a beard.
He's comfortable.
You can give my cassettes.
If I don't have the time to meet
them personally, you can give the cassette. It
does wonders. I don't live with a non
Muslim,
but these cassettes, they have done wonders.
You are talking about convincing 1 person,
by Allah's grace. 100 and 1,000 have been
convinced by the talks.
So it is only a misconception.
It's your infinity complex.
That if you say Islam is the best
religion,
why are you afraid to identify yourself as
Muslim? I'll give you an example. There's a
gentleman
who's very old, who's very feeble, who's saying,
I have got
the water
secret
to strength.
If you drink this water, you'll live 100
years more. You will be a strong man.
And this old man, one footed in the
grave, he wants to sell his bottle of
water for 100 rupees. Will anyone buy? I've
got a bottle of water costing 100 rupees.
If you drink this, you will live for
100 years more. You'll become the strongest man
in the world. Will you believe
in him? Will you believe in him? Yes
or no?
Why? The person, one foot in the grave,
if the water
can give him strength, why does he drink
it himself? So if you are spreading Islam
and you're afraid to call a fellow Muslims,
how come you're following the best religion? You
are hypocrite.
I'm sorry to say, if you're afraid to
call yourself a Muslim and you say Islam
is the best religion, that means you're hypocrite.
Will any logical person buy the water of
an old man who's 1 footed in the
grave and who says that this water, if
you drink, you will live for 100 years.
You'll be the strongest man. It's hypocrisy.
Even we meet non Muslims,
and it does wonder. When I pass the
customs, the non Muslim, when they see, they
respect me. Oh, you're the same man who
comes on the cable TV. They give me
red carpet treatment.
They know I'm spreading Islam.
People may not know about the other Muslims
who keep a beard and a cap, but
they know me very well.
They respect me. I don't have to bribe.
I don't have to bribe. They
respect me.
If you're apologetic,
if you have inferiority complex, if there's something
wrong in your heart, that means you're agreeing
with a non Muslim that those who keep
a beard, they are wrong.
What do you have to do? You start
growing a beard, and tell your non Muslim
friend, see, previously,
you used to respect me because I didn't
have a beard.
You didn't like the people who had a
beard. From today,
I'm going to start going abroad. Inshallah. Inshallah.
And then you tell them, that see, brother,
I'm the same
I'm the same man.
I'm the same man who wears a beard
and wear a cap.
No. Has my nature changed?
And don't change your nature. Improve,
And you give them example. See, brother, you
know your misconception
that the beard and the cap, the people
wearing a beard and a cap, they are
wrong people. They are than a touristy. I've
lived with you for so many years. In
this few weeks, inshallah, from now when you
sport a beard, you will tell your non
Muslim friend, I have a beard. I'm wearing
a cap. Have my need to change.
It will open up your pathways, and you'll
be able to do more. Hope that answers
the question.