how do we implement the religious
identity in a word
education in a word education this has
to become a focus for
us we have to turn our Attention our
resources our talents our abilities to
educate our community especially our
children our young people and build
their religious
identity a sister from my community a
young sister from my community came from
Muslim family parents were generally
practicing went to the Islamic school
Etc you can check off all the boxes they
were all there the mother of this young
sister shows up at my door one
day knocking crying her eyes out telling
me that she just came home and she's
told me and she said this has been going
on for a couple of years she no longer
believes in Allah she no longer believes
in Islam she wants to renounce all faith
everything all together it's gone what
happened I don't understand what
happened so I calmed her down and the
sister the the young sister in question
was in the vehicle in the car called her
up called her inside sat her down my
wife was there as well and started
talking to her and what ends up
happening this sister again was getting
a degree in microbiology or something
third year of college since the
beginning of high school at the very
least through three years into college
seven years of this person's life
they've been studying science and I
answer a very simple I don't believe in
Allah because of this reason that reason
this reason that reason all these
scientific reasons so I asked her a very
simple question I said if you're going
to make a life-changing life-altering
decision shouldn't you do your research
don't you owe that to yourself
absolutely so I asked you a question
when's the last time you read the Quran
the translation of the Quran at the very
least from cover to cover when's the
last time you read a book on the life of
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
an educator should have provided that to
her but an educator wasn't there so she
had to go and seek out this education at
least I was there in some capacity to
guide her through this process says and
what ends up happening so I told her I
told her mom leave her alone give her
space that's it don't be breathing down
her neck I gave her a translation of the
Quran in a book on the S and I said read
just do your research we'll talk in 6
weeks until then no talking just do your
research sister reaches out to me three
weeks later saying problem
solved problem solved today this sister
Mah practicing your Dean praying five
times a day attending classes and by the
married raising a family all of that is
there why because of that
education classically speaking there are
two elements of this education in terms
of building the religious identity that
are
emphasized
and and is actually understanding and
knowing one's religion grasping the
basics of the
religion and if I was to be asked what
are those basics of the the religion
because you can study the religious end
the religion
endlessly I I conduct I teach a seminary
program a full-time Seminary program
where we're reading everything
from to to we're reading through all
these things in classical Arabic text so
it's an endless ocean that's there but
what is the absolute basis of that it is
two things number one is the Quran the
book of Allah subhana wa tala because
that is the foundation of our religion
that is the scripture to borrow a more
general term and secondly and pay very
close attention to this the life of the
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam which
is a part of his Sunnah so it is still
Quran and Sunnah but within the Sunnah
because the Sunnah is also a very broad
umbrella I'd like to emphasize the life
of the Prophet sallallah alaihi wasallam
the prophetic biography the prophetic
experience because when we read a Hadith
from a Hadith
collection it is extremely beneficial
and believe it or not it is is actually
the overwhelming legal source of our
religion most of our and our legality is
derived from the a Hadith the collection
of a Hadith but when we talk about
forming a religious identity it is
actually the life of the Prophet s
wasallam
the actually talks about this where he
says that we started teaching our
children the the life of
Muhammad wasallam from the time that we
would teach them the Quran the
generation of the say our primary
concern was to preserve the life of the
Prophet s may be able to transfer that
to coming generations and when people go
out there and live the Quran when people
go out there and they live the Quran and
they live the prophetic example and they
impart knowledge and education even if
it be quote unquote worldly secular
knowledge but they realize Dean within
their lives that will be the greatest
way to pass Islam on to a future
generation