We Begin by praising Allah we praise him
and we seek his help and we ask for his
forgiveness
we seek Refuge with Allah
from the evil of ourselves and from the
evil consequences of our evil actions
whomsoever
Allah guides there is none to misguide
and whomsoever he leaves to go astray
there is none to guide
and I bear witness that Allah God Alone
is worthy of being woried and that
Muhammad
May Allah's peace and blessings be upon
him he is the servant of God and he is
his final messenger
many people in the world today
view Islam and imagine that Islam
is a religion
that Advocates
violence terrorism
many people imagine that Islam is a
religion
that denies
basic human rights
many people in the world today
have a very negative image of Islam
and the fact is that this negative image
is not greatly helped
by the behavior of Muslims which very
often
is not in accordance with the teachings
of Islam
however every reasonable person
every reasonable person
would realize that a religion
should not be judged
by the people or some people who profess
to be its followers
a religion should be judged
by its teachings
a religion should be judged according to
the actions and the teachings of its
founder
if some people who Pro profess to be the
followers of that religion
after many years and after a later time
have changed and corrupted
and diverted themselves away from the
true teachings of that religion it is
not fair to say therefore that religion
is bad therefore that religion is wrong
no reasonable
sensible or rational person would judge
Christianity based upon the actions
of the IRA
or
the Conquistadors
or the Spanish Inquisition
or Adolf Hitler
or any other person or any other group
of people who claim directly or
indirectly to belong to the Christian
faith
rather if you wanted to judge
Christianity you would go back and you
would see what are the teachings of its
founder
what did the founding fathers of that
religion say and what did they teach and
then you would have to criticize the
religion if you wanted to based upon
that
this is the sensible rational approach
sometimes when I hear people talking
about Islam on the news and in the media
when they accuse Islam of being a
religion that Advocates terrorism and
teaches violence
and we have many images
of Muslims
and in fact sometimes interviews with
Muslims sometimes they are people who do
not even have knowledge of the religion
and I think to myself and I even say
this that I don't recognize this
religion which they are portraying as
being Islam
it doesn't seem to me that this is the
same religion that I am following it
seems to me as if they're talking about
something quite different
you and would imagine that the basic
teachings of Islam were about killing
and murdering and so on and so on and so
forth but what are the basic teachings
of Islam
what are they one might imagine that
Islam was a religion of Fanatics and
fanaticism
that it was not based in any way or had
no connection with reason rationality
and I think this is a view that
sometimes is purposely portrayed by the
media
but what are the basic teachings of
Islam
what are the basic fundamental teachings
of this religion let us examine them and
let us see
what re what Islam really teaches what
Islam really says the first and the most
important teaching in Islam
is its teaching about God
what does Islam teach about God
the Quran tells us and tells the human
beings
to observe to look at the world around
you to look at the universe around you
to look within yourselves
and in these things you will find signs
clear signs for people who reflect
for people who have wisdom and for
people who understand
in the alternation of the night and the
day
in the ships which Sail
on the ocean
carried by the winds
in the rain that falls
in the crops and the different fruits
and the different food foods which we
eat
in these things and other things there
are signs
for those who are wise for those who
understand for those who reflect
signs of what
they are signs to show that there is a
Creator there is a lord there is a
sustainer
that these things could not have come
into existence by themselves
because we don't find
in The Human Experience
something just coming from nothing
we don't find things just coming from
nothing we don't find order
spontaneously arising out of chaos
rather our Human Experience tells us us
that when we see something ordered
working according
to laws
working according to patterns
working in a system then our Human
Experience tells us again and again and
again that someone or something has
ordered it and systemized it and made it
work according to these laws and
patterns
this is why an archaeologist can go into
the desert
and this archaeologist could find a
small piece of pottery a small piece of
pottery
but from this small piece of pottery the
archaeologist will tell us so many
things
he'll be able to tell us the state of
technological ability of the society
and the people who made that Pottery why
because he will say in order to be able
to make the clay and to bake the clay
they must have been able to build ovens
and in order for the ovens to reach
sufficient sufficient temperature for
that clay to be baked they must have
been able to have this level of
technological ability and then he may
say and this clay we don't find it in
this area in fact this clay only comes
from a such and such place so many
hundreds of miles so we know they must
have some system of transportation and
then maybe the person could look at the
artwork or the writing and then more
things they could tell us about those
people who built this piece of pottery
who made
this clay and shaped it and fashioned it
so for this archaeologist the existence
of this piece of pottery is a conclus
clusive proof
of the existence of the people who made
it he doesn't need to see them
he doesn't need to see their town he
doesn't need to see their ovens he
doesn't need to see any of those things
the piece of pottery proves to him the
existence of these people and also
proves to him the state of their
knowledge and intelligence
that's why we look at things today
pieces
of incredible
technologically complexed machinery
and that makes us understand something
about the level of scientific knowledge
and achievement of the society that has
made them
and then
if these things also not only are
functional but they are also beautiful
that they H they are aesthetically
pleasing
then we have a higher state of
appreciation of that Society
because not only do they have
technological ability
they have qualities
that appreciate Beauty and art and so on
and so on and so forth for to us all of
this is a proof
of the ex existence of the people who
made it of their knowledge and their
intelligence
why because we don't find something
coming from nothing none of us would
believe that this glass spontaneously
came into existence through a processes
of chance and coincidence even if we
believed that for example we claimed
that this glass was found in a volcanic
area where there was a volcano
surrounded by sand and the volcanic
explosion heated up the sand and a piece
of glass which was formed from the sand
flew up into the air and it came down
and it landed and then the rain fell and
then the waves washed it until
eventually we had this glass formed here
even no one will believe that it's not
possible
did anyone see a glass perfectly formed
by process of coincidences or a motorc
car or a bicycle or even an ink pen
[clears throat]
or a handkerchief no
rather when we see things ordered we
know that someone or something has
ordered them so then the Quran tells us
the Quran tells the human being look at
the world around you and you will see
everywhere order you will see things
working according to precise mechanisms
and the degree and the sophistication
of that ordering
is illustrative of the wisdom and the
knowledge and the power of the one who
made it
if we look to the universe
with its galaxies
its Stars its solar systems
how stars come into existence how
galaxies are formed how the universe
itself
was created
if we look at our Earth
if we look at the alternation of the
night and the day
that we have a day which goes through a
period of 24 hours 24 hours imagine for
example just for imagine that a day
instead of being a day and a night
instead of being 24 hours was 30 years
imagine the Earth spun so slowly on its
axis that it didn't take 24 hours to go
around that it in fact took 30 years to
go around or 40 years or even 100 years
so the Earth is moving very very slowly
what would happen the sun would be
constantly beating down for 15 years on
one part of the Earth's surface and it
would become super heated another part
would become super cooled because it
would not be exposed to the Sun
therefore you would probably almost
definitely life could not exist
the composition of the gases in our
atmosphere oxygen nitrogen and carbon
dioxide
if there was not oxygen life could not
exist if it was pure oxygen still life
could not exist because pure oxy oxygen
is poisonous we need carbon dioxide we
also need nitrogen we need the other
gases there is a perfect balance of
gases there happens to be a gas
ozone very important gas we're all
learning about it now especially in
Australia they tell us about skin cancer
and the ozone layer is being depleted
the the ozone has an extremely important
role it filters out the harmful effects
of the sun's radiation if there was no
ozone layer what would happen we would
be bombarded with harmful radiation life
would not exist imagine if the Earth was
much closer to the Sun or much further
from the Sun again too hot too cold in
fact what we find
that our planet is a perfectly balanced
mechanism
more intricate
and more delicate
than the most sophisticated mechanical
watches
if we look at the human brain the eyes
the ears the lungs the the heart the
kidneys each of these things are
incredibly complex machines if we go
deeper and look on the microbiological
level we find that even the cell which
is the most basic building block of life
is incredibly complex it has been
compared to a mega City a huge City
a huge City
in fact if you were compare if you were
to compare the cell to a city that human
beings built the cell would actually be
more complex and more sophisticated
this cell has incredibly complex
mechanisms that allow nutrients in and
that allow waste products out but does
not allow harmful products in and that
keeps the beneficial products out it has
the means of reproducing itself
it has factories
that produce certain substances because
each cell has a special task
and within the cell is a factory that
produces these substances breaking down
chemicals and reconstructing them this
is a cell the simplest building block of
life is incredibly complexed
what is there in the whole totality of
Human Experience to allow us to believe
that such a thing could be a product of
random events
the fact is that asking us to believe
that is not reasonable it is irrational
it does not fit with human experience it
is not reasonable it is not rational
rather it is rational and reasonable to
believe that there is
an intelligence a power
behind all of this
so it could not have created itself
this universe could not have brought
itself into existence
nor did it create create itself the
universe is not its own Creator
because we cannot attribute to the
universe and the things of the Universe
the power to create it is only a
collection of what stars and galaxies
and stars and galaxies do not have the
ability to bring things into existence
and to organize so it couldn't have
created itself nor could we be the
creators of it because we ourselves are
in need of a creator
and these are the rational arguments you
will find in the Quran
the Quran is the essential book that is
the foundation
of the religion of Islam so in the Quran
you find these beautiful rational
arguments observe look think
contemplate in the these things you will
find signs evidences for those people
who reflect for those people who are
wise for those people who understand
and if you think and you reflect then
you will realize that yes this universe
this universe it did not create itself
and it did not come from nothing so it
must have a Creator there must be one
that has brought this universe into
existence
and the you and the creator of this
universe cannot be of the same nature as
the universe
the creator of the universe must be
different
because if the creator of the universe
was of the same nature as the universe
then it would also need a Creator and
then that Creator would also need a
Creator and you'll have creators
creating creators at infinum in fact you
would never get anything created
it is not reasonably possible so the
Creator must be different so as the
universe is temporary the Creator is
eternal
as the universe is needy it's needy it
means it needs a Creator it needs one to
bring it into existence and to make the
laws through which and by which it
exists then the Creator must be
self-sufficient without any needs
and you could only have one such Eternal
self-sufficient Creator you could not
have two Eternal self-sufficient
creators
therefore what the Quran teaches and
this is what you will find the Quran
teaches fundamentally about God that
there is one God who is eternal who is
self-sufficient
who has bought this universe into
existence who has created it and who
sustains it and who maintains it
that this universe is not God
and God is not part of this universe God
is the creator of it nor does God become
something inside this universe because
that would contradict reason that is an
unreasonable and an irrational claim
that could never ever be proven if
anyone says God became a man
that is a claim that you can never prove
you can claim it you can say I believe
it but you can never prove it because by
definition
by definition the belief that God became
a man is something that contradicts
reason
because man is temporary man is needy
man breathes man man eats
man is born and man dies
but God is eternal
God does not need to eat God does not
need to drink God does not breathe
because God is self-sufficient God does
not have a beginning and God does not
have an end
so to say something is eternal and
temporary both at the same time
that [clears throat] something is
infinite and finite both at the same
time that something is Immortal and
Mortal that is self-sufficient and needy
it's an impossibility
you are asking or the person is claiming
that two completely opposite
contradictory things exist at the same
time
and if you claim that then on what basis
can you ask people to even believe in
God in the first place
if you claim that then what is your
argument and what basis can you say to
people believe in God
because if you say believe in God
because it's rational then you demand
that they believe in something
irrational
then
they will then question the very belief
in God in the first place
so it's not something that can ever be
proven it is only something that can be
claimed
and so therefore the first
Beauty and the first wonderful thing
about Islam is exactly this what Islam
teaches about God it is a belief that is
so pure it is so free from irrational
beliefs
it is so completely in accordance with
reason and with the natural disposition
and the natural inclination of the human
being
we are not thought rather the Quran
refutes
any concept that God is a trinity that
God is three and God is one know the
Quran clearly says
do not say three do not say trinity your
God is one God
do not say trinity
desist
that will be better for you your God is
one God the Quran says about those
people who believe that for example that
Jesus Is God then the Quran gives a
beautiful rational argument to appeal to
the common sense and to the nature of
the human being it says
if God wanted to destroy Jesus and Mary
and everything in the heavens and the
Earth who could stop him
meaning Jesus and Mary and everything in
fact in the heavens and the Earth is
under the power and the control of God
and that that which is under the power
and the control of God cannot be God
they ate food the Quran says they walked
on the streets the Quran says see how we
make our signs clear to them and see how
they are turned away from the truth
the Quran calls people away from
worshiping the things of this world
don't worship the son don't worship the
moon don't worship the Stars worship the
one who created the sun and the moon and
the stars all of these things have no
power and no strength of their own
rather all of their power and their
ability comes from God so worship the
one to whom all power and strength and
ability lies
why do you bow down and worship idols
that you yourself fashion with your
hands
and then you call upon them and you seek
their help but these things could not
even help themselves
[sighs]
if they fell down they couldn't pick
themselves up
if you smashed it they could not even
prevent you so how can you worship this
thing that has no power no ability it
cannot hear you it cannot benefit you it
cannot harm you it has no ability
whatsoever why do you worship these
things why do we worship each other
other human beings
that we allow other human beings
to forbid things for us which God who is
all wise and all knowing has allowed
and to allow for us things which God who
is all wise and all knowing has has
forbidden
where it is Allah God the Creator he is
the one who knows all things and what
the human beings know is very very
little
so the Quran is appealing
with beautiful wonderful reasonable
arguments
calling to something also not only the
mind but something that is deep within
the the human being a deep knowledge a
deep recognization a deep recognition of
this truth that it is God alone the
Creator alone that is worthy of being
worshiped that he is the Lord the
provider the sustainer
and this my dear listeners is the first
of the great wonders and the beauty of
Islam what Islam teaches about God is
there anything irrational
fanatical
unreasonable about that
is there anything unreasonable in
anything of that is there anything
irrational in anything of that no rather
the honest and sincere person must admit
that this is a very rational and very
reasonable belief [snorts]
and this belief in fact is the
foundation
of the teachings of Islam in fact Islam
is all about the human being's
relationship with God
what we should believe about God what we
should say about God and what we should
not say about God what we should
attribute to him and what we should not
attribute to him how should we worship
Him how should we seek his pleasure and
how should we a avoid his wuth
and then the Quran tells us also
that this life is not the only life
that there is another life to come
there is a time when every human being
will be recreated by God physically
as well as spiritually but physically
and that human beings from the first to
the last will be assembled
in front of God and he will judge them
he will judge them according to what
they believed and according to what they
did
that every atom's weight of good that we
have done we will know about it and
every atoms weight of evil that we have
done we will know about it
you know it is one of the deepest and
most natural things within the human
human being is the desire for justice
one of the deepest and most natural
things within the human being is the
desire for justice to the extent that
to the extent that if a small child
a small child has something taken away
from it
it will cry
if a small child has some injustice done
to it it will complain
even though this child has not reached
the age or the ability to reason
but something deep within the Natural
Instinct of the human being craves for
justice
but we look at this world in which we
live and we see very often it seems as
if
Justice is not done
that the powerful and the rich
get away with many evil criminal acts
and the poor and the weak and the
defenseless
seem to suffer
that there are people who steal and
murder and commit the most atrocious
crimes in they seem to be living a life
of luxury
yet someone lives an honest life
yet they at the end of it seem to get
nothing
but if we look to this universe and we
go back as we began we will see that in
reality we have a world that is so
finely balanced
a universe that is clearly working
according to such precise laws therefore
it is something deep deeply
acceptable to the human mind and to the
human nature
that Justice will be done that those
people who committed crimes will not
escape
and those people who led good and
righteous lives will be rewarded
therefore the belief in the day of
judgment the day of accounting when the
guilty criminals will be punished and
the righteous
will be re wed
it is something that is deeply
attractive
and satisfying to the human mind and the
human instinct
so the Quran teaches
the belief in the day of judgment
the place of punishment which is the
Hellfire for the transgresses
and the place of reward
for
the True Believers and righteous people
this is the fundamental teachings of
Islam
that in order to teach us how to worship
God in order in order that we could know
more about our creator
that we could know how to worship Him
how to thank him how to pray to him how
to praise him how to glorify him what
are the actions that God loves from us
what is the way what is the purpose of
our life
this is one of the wonderful things
about Islam
and believe me I searched before I
became Muslim through many different
religions and I read about many
different philosophies
but one of the wonders of Islam is its
clear unequivocal teaching
about the purpose of the existence of
the human being and the knowledge that
has come from the Creator the knowledge
that has come from the Creator
think about this as an an analogy
imagine I spend
a great deal of money and I buy myself
myself a overhead projector or I buy
myself a new computer but I'm I'm
unfamiliar to this technology it's very
new it's very expensive I don't know how
to work it
or for example let me borrow your mobile
phone
this is a good example this mobile phone
now this is the brother's Abu bakr's
mobile phone phone but a friend of mine
he gave me a mobile phone he wanted to
keep in touch with me because I'm hardly
ever in the house he gave me a mobile
phone but he just gave me the phone
he didn't give me he just gave me the
phone I could figure out how to turn it
on and I could just about figure how to
dial a number imagine you spend what how
many dollars you going to spend for this
how many dollars he going to spend
400 400 bucks
so imagine $400 it's a lot of money
right that's quite a lot of money 400
bucks so you buy this phone 400 bucks
and you get it it's made by you see
Ericson so you get the box and you open
it up okay maybe you switch it on and
you fiddle around with it and you said
there's supposed to be some games on
this and some stuff and so what do you
look for what are you looking for in the
package huh the instructions
the in so you pull out the instructions
and on the instruction manual it's got
Sony
wait a minute it's Erikson this is an
Ericson R 3110s
you can drop it I know you told me it
still works but my instruction is for a
Sony 5217 Z
I said that's no good I want the
instruction
by the people who made this phone for
this phone
yes
isn't that what we need
you see
then this is the point we human beings
we are much more sophisticated than a
mobile phone
individually and socially
we are extremely sophisticated
if you ask most people what is the
purpose of your life they won't even be
able to tell you you they will look
blank they don't even know why do they
exist what is the purpose of their life
many of them in reality what are they if
you ask them what's your mobile phone
they'll tell you what's your camera for
they'll tell you what are your eyes for
I know what my eyes are for what are
your ears for I know
what are you for why do you exist what
is the purpose of your existence
oh I don't know it's a good question
very strange so really this is more
worth it has more worth than you because
you know what this is for but you don't
know what you are for
yes
really
so we need to know and this is a very
very deep desire the human being really
everybody is asking themselves this
question
everybody at different times in their
life asked himself why am I here what is
the purpose of my life what is it all
for most people they ask themselves when
things start to go wrong you know the
things that they really attached
themselves to their house their
girlfriend their whatever it was their
religion they find it was a false
religion or whatever the their their
party that their government
and they find they're so corrupt and
then they start asking what is it all
for why what's it all about why am I
here
then from who do we want the answer do
we want the answer
from George Bush
did he create us
did America
create us
did the United Nations create us
did they create us did they make us and
bring us into existence
did Tony Blair and the house of
Parliament did they are they our
creators are they the ones who made us
but they all of them they write the
instructions
they say you should do this and you
should do that and you shouldn't do this
and you shouldn't do that and this is
the way you should live and this is what
is good and this is what is evil this is
what is right and this is what is wrong
they are writing the instructions but
they themselves are in need of
instruction
I'm not interested
in their instructions I want to know
from the one who made me
I want the instruction manual from the
one who created me and brought me into
existence everything else is worthless
that's why God sent prophets
God sent prophets to teach us how to
live
according to the way
that is
God's way from his knowledge
God sent with these prophets instruction
manuals books
these books taught human beings and gave
the human beings the basic outlines
through which and by which not only the
basic outlines but in many respects
details
how to live in a manner that is pleasing
to God
it makes sense that if we have a Creator
and we don't know what is the purpose of
our life
that God will send us instructions
prophets and these prophets were who
Ordinary People just anybody no the
prophets were special people people who
were themselves type of proof and
evidence
but they were messengers of God why
because of their character because of
their personality because of their
truthfulness their trustworthiness
they were the people of the most
outstanding Noble characteristics
truthfulness and trustworthiness
as someone said for example if the man
used to be a thief he said I know you
used to be a thief and now you're trying
to steal my soul as well
you know even if everything he says is
right the person will go I know what you
you're like that's how you are but the
prophets therefore were not like that
they were people of the most excellent
if you examine the character of the
prophets itself will be a type of means
for you to be convinced
that they are messengers from God
indeed this is one of the wonders of
Islam that Allah sent a messenger
Muhammad May Allah's peace and blessings
be upon him sallallahu alaihi wasallam
this man if you were to read and
Research into his life and his teachings
and his morals and his conduct you will
find that there is a human being of the
most outstanding integrity
[clears throat] and dedication
and good character and good morals and
good manners in fact there are so many
incidents where people became Muslim
merely by observing the character of
prophet Muhammad
just by observing his behavior
there was a there's a famous incident
where there was a Jews who used to live
on the same street in Mecca as the
prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wasallam
and she used to throw rubbish
you know the waste from her house and
she used to wait for the prophet
Muhammad to come and then she would
throw it out onto the street so he would
get dirty and to just to inconvenience
him
and this used to happen regularly every
day and then one day the prophet
Muhammad walked past the house and then
he realized
I didn't get my usual delivery today
so
if it was one of us we would have saidh
hope the cow's dead
you know I'm sure most of us that's even
the best of us we'll be thinking like
that but the prophet Muhammad what did
he do he went back and he knocked on the
door and he asked the servant is your
mistress well is she sick is there
anything I can do for her when this
woman heard about it she said
I testify that there is no God but Allah
and that Muhammad is his messenger no
one except the prophets have character
like this
this is one incident out of so many that
illustrates the character and the
personality
and the truthfulness and the Integrity
of the Prophet Muhammad
he indeed is one of the wonders of Islam
that Allah has sent us a man who is such
a perfect example in so many spheres of
life if one of us was just to be for
example a perfect example of how to be a
husband I'm for example say that I
managed to achieve being a good example
of being a husband or you manag to
achieve a good example of being a wife
or you manage to achieve a good example
of being a businessman or a business
woman
or you manag to achieve a good example
of being a teacher or a good example of
being a General a leader a judge
if one human being was to achieve just
that in their life and they were to fall
short in others still you would say this
person is someone whose character is
admirable take for example the judge
that has now been accused in the
Australian parliament of having involved
himself in child prostitution and
homosexual Acts he although he's openly
a homosexual of course as Muslims we
find that something that is how can we
say it is displeasing to Allah it's not
something we find that we like it
however the man everyone amongst his
peers recognizes that he is very good at
his job he is a good judge he is honest
he has integrity and that they say all
of these things are going to blow away
because he is a person who is good at
what he does he works hard and he has
Integrity so you see that his good
quality in just one field
allows people to overlook his
shortcomings in others
how about therefore if someone is able
to be an excellent example in every
single field of activity
that he is the best example of being a
husband
an an example unfortunately that many or
even most Muslim men miserably fail to
match up to
the prophet Muhammad May Allah's peace
and blessings be upon Him used to sew
his own clothes
he used to look after his own Affairs he
used to milk the goat he used to clean
the house when he was not busy he would
come home and serve his family
this is how the prophet Muhammad used
used to be
but he was also an example of a leader
one only needs to look and see how his
companions revered him and respected him
in fact one of the pagans when they saw
how the companions treated the prophet
they said I have been to the court of
Caesar and I have been to the court of
HRA Who is the leader of the Persians
but I have never seen people who have
respected and loved their leader as the
Muslims love Muhammad
s Al
his example as a general his example as
a judge his example in as a teacher
they used to say and one of the
companions said I never found anyone who
used to be
so kind and so good in the way he
corrected as the prophet Muhammad
really we could give a lecture on the
manners and the method that the prophet
muhammmad used to use in teaching his
companions
but I just want to give one beautiful
beautiful story there was one day when a
bedwin a bedwin there are very rough
people from the desert he came into the
mosque and he started Ed to urinate in
the mosque
he started to urinate in the mosque
so the companions jumped up and they
were going to grab him and throw him out
of the mosque and the prophet Muhammad
said leave him alone
and let him finish
yes leave him alone and let him finish
so when the man finished the prophet
spoke to him he said
this place is not the place for that the
mosque meaning the mosque is not the
place to do that this is not the place
to do that
he said pour water on it and that will
clean it pour water on it and that will
clean it
when this bedwin saw this he accepted
Islam and he said may Allah have mercy
on me and Muhammad and no one else
cuz he was I said the beduins were rough
and then the prophet said and then the
prophet said no he said Allah is much
more merciful than that Allah is much
more merciful this is just one incident
how the prophet Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasallam how he used to teach
people his kindness and his gentleness
really if you found one person could
have one of the qualities in in one
field you will admire that person how
about someone who is an example in
everything that he does
this is one of the wonders of Islam that
Allah he sent this messenger and indeed
Allah said about him that he is on an
exalted level of character
so Allah
he sent books the instruction manual and
then he sent the messenger
who in their life and through their
example taught people how to implement
that instruction manual so not only did
God say here's the instructions but I'm
also sending you someone who will show
you exactly how to
fulfill those instructions
so imagine Ericson they send not only a
little book they send someone along to
come and teach you everything
H so Allah not only did he send
Messengers books he sent a messenger to
teach you exactly how to fulfill those
instructions
and what are those fundamental
instructions
what are those fundamental teachings of
Islam what is it kill murder blow people
up
read look and learn see what are the
fundamental teachings the fundamental
teachings are number one what you
believe very simple we've already
covered most of it that you believe that
there is only one God
that he alone is worthy of being woried
he is not born
nor does he beget and there is nothing
which is like unto him
that you should worship him alone
that Muhammad is his messenger
that you believe
in the Angels
you believe in the books all of them you
believe in the prophets
and you believe in the last day the day
of judgment
and the paradise and the Hellfire and
you believe that God has the complete
knowledge of all things
and that that knowledge he has written
down
from the beginning of the creation to
the end everything that will happen
nothing happens except that God knows
about it and nothing happens except with
the permission of God nothing can happen
unless God allows it to happen
this is the Divine decree this is the
belief what a Muslim
what all in fact human beings are
required by God to believe
that is what we believe essentially
very briefly and the practices of Islam
are first of all that you should pray
to God at least five times a day the at
a very absolute minimum that you must be
in a state of Purity
that you should wear clean clothes free
from filth
that you yourself should be free from
filth because you are going to stand in
front of the creator of the heavens and
the Earth
and that you must present yourself
before him and there is no intercessor
and no intermediat and there is nothing
between you and him you are standing in
front of God
you don't need to pray through anyone in
fact it is for forbidden absolutely
to intercede or seek the intercession of
everyone God wants you to talk to him to
pray to him to worship him alone and to
direct your prayer to him five times a
day
once in the morning before Sunrise
between the Dawn and the sunrise so
think about that
the first thing you do when you wake up
is you think about your God
your creator the lord of the heavens and
the Earth and you thank him and you
praise him and you seek his help and ask
for his forgiveness and then the day
goes and it moves on until about
lunchtime
and you've been working or whatever
you've been doing
and then it reaches the middle of the
day and then again you must present
yourself in front of your lord and your
Creator
and then in the afternoon maybe it's
just about the time when you're heading
home from work or you've just got back
from work again you have to present
yourself in front of Allah thanking him
and praising him and seeking his
forgiveness
and then when the sun goes down and the
sun sets once again you present yourself
in front of your Creator and just at the
end of the day the end of the the the
night when the night begins to come and
it is done dark and maybe just before
you go to bed again
that you present yourself in front of
God to remember him so throughout all
the day you are constantly reminding
yourself
that you have a lord a creator that you
should praise him and thank him you
should seek his help and ask for his
forgiveness
this is what a Muslim is required to do
at the minimum at the minimum you must
do that to be a Muslim you must at least
do that
that you must give 2 and a half%
of your excess wealth minimum if you
want to give more you can give more but
as a minimum you must give 2 and a half%
of your excess wealth meaning after you
have paid your bills and so on and so
forth then what you have left
as excess wealth you must pay a minimum
of 2 and a half% and that is to be given
to the poor and to the needy people who
are worthy of receiving it
as a minimum
that one month in a year you will Fast
you will not eat you will not drink and
you will not have sexual intercourse
from dawn to Sunset from dawn to Sunset
after the sun has set you may eat and
you may drink and you may enjoy the
company of the H the husband with the
wife and the wife with the husband
that the intimate company that is
and you should also abstain
from Evil Deeds from loose talk from
backbiting and slandering because as the
prophet Muhammad said Allah has no
interest in the fast of the person who
abstains from food and drink but does
not abstain from evil deeds and evil
speech
so it is not just a physical fast it is
a fast in your manners also from the
evil behavior and all of this is to
teach the Muslim patience to remind them
of those people who are less fortunate
than themselves
that they abstain from their worldly
desires and their worldly needs
just to please God and it is something
that only God knows about
only God knows whether you are fasting
cuz you can go in there go to the L and
you can drink some water no one will
know only you and your creator knows
that's why Allah said fasting is for me
it's one such a special deed it is for
Allah and Allah he will give a special
God will give a special reward for it
and the other thing that you must do is
that at least once in your life if you
can afford it you should make pilgrimage
you should make pilgrimage and perform
the Hajj which is the pilgrimage
and you should go to visit the first
house that was ever built for the
worship of the one true God
Thea which was built by the friend of
Allah the prophet of Allah ibraim or
Abraham
that you should go there and in this Haj
you will worship your lord call upon him
and seek his help and you will stand
with all your pretensions taken from you
for all you will wear is two pieces of
cloth
one that you wrap around your waist that
is it has no stitches it is an
unstitched piece of cloth one around
your waist and one around your body it
doesn't matter whether you are a king a
millionaire or a pper you will be
dressed the same
and you will go and you will worship
your lord and you will go to the plane
of arafa and you will call upon your
lord and your creator
that you should try to do this at least
once and you must do it at least once in
your life life if you have the ability
and you can afford it
those are the basic
acts of worship
and apart from that what does Islam
teach
from its fundamental teachings from its
fundamental teachings these are the real
fundamental teachings of Islam number
one that you speak the truth and you
don't lie
you speak the truth and you don't lie
the prophet Muhammad May Allah's peace
and blessings be upon him said the
believer could be a miser the believer
could be a coward the believer could
drink alcohol and the believer could
even steal but the believer could never
be a liar
speaking the truth and not lying is one
of the fundamental teachings of Islam
keeping your promises
when you promise to do something you do
it because the person who fails to keep
their promises is a person who has a
very clear quality of hypocrisy what is
hypocrisy a hypocrite is someone who
says I believe they say it with their
tongue but in their heart there is no
belief
that's a hypocrite I believe I believe
I'm a Muslim I'm a Muslim but really
there is no belief in the heart it is
just something they say on their tongue
this is the prophet Muhammad said
sallallahu alaihi wasallam there are
three or four signs
of a hypocrite Whoever has all of them
is a complete hypocrite meaning this
person is completely a hypocrite meaning
they have no faith at all
even though they claim it Whoever has
one of these things has one branch of
hypocrisy
when when he speaks he lies when he
makes a promise he breaks it when he is
entrusted with something he betrays it
and when he argues he does so in an
insulting and lenti manner
these are the basic teachings of Islam
amongst the basic teachings of Islam is
the treatment and the kind treatment of
your parents
in fact Allah has mentioned in the Quran
the kind treatment of the parents along
with reverence of him
Allah has mentioned that in the Quran
Allah said reverence Allah and the wombs
that bore you the prophet Muhammad
taught that paradise
Paradise lies at the feet of your mother
Paradise lies meaning at serving your
mother being kind to your mother and OB
obeying her as long as she does not
order you to do something that is
against Islam
then Paradise is in serving your mother
the amongst the greatest crimes that a
human being can commit is disobeying
their parents
this is the fundamental teachings of
Islam
amongst the fundamental teachings of
Islam is kind to the neighbors
it's kindness to the neighbors the
prophet said s was
which means he is taking an oath by God
he is making God testify meaning God a
witness
by God W
he is not a Believer W he is not a
Believer wall he is not a Believer
the person
whose neighbor is not safe from his
Mischief
the person who is mischievous and annoys
his neighbor
cannot be a believer
in fact the prophet Muhammad said that
the angel Gabriel jib jiel the angel
Gabriel used to come down and tell him
so much about the rights of the
neighbors that the prophet Muhammad
thought that it was going to be revealed
to him that the neighbors would share in
The Inheritance
the prophet said a Believer is not the
one whose stomach is full while his
neighbor is hungry
these are the fundamental teachings of
Islam
Justice
to be just even against yourself
even against your family even against
your tribe or your nation be just
Justice in fact is one of the foundation
pillars of Islamic Society to the extent
that if the people are Muslim
they're Muslim but they are not just
Allah will not support them
and if the disbelievers the people who
are not Muslim they are just even if
they are disbelievers God will support
them because Allah favors the people who
are just even if they are disbelieving
over the nation that is unjust even if
they are believing because the Sunnah of
God in this respect
in the establishment of strength in the
land is upon justice
so from amongst the fundamental
teachings of Islam is to be just
I will want to tell you one story
about to give you an example of the
justice and please I don't think anyone
could find
in the history of the world today or
from before an example like this
there was an Egyptian
who was whipped
by
the general who entered the Muslim
armies entered into Egypt and they
opened Egypt for Islam
there was one General his name was Amar
he was from a high and Noble family of
the Arabs as he was riding on his horse
there was an Egyptian Christian who
stood in his way and he whipped him with
his crop you know with this the horse
the stick they used to make the he
whipped him with it
so
this
person this Egyptian Christian
he said
I have heard of the justice of Omar Al
the kth the leader of the Muslims Omar
was one of the close Companions of
prophet Muhammad
and he was the second rightly guided
Cale the Muslims so this man he said I
have heard the stories of the justice of
Omar so I will go and I will seek
justice so he traveled
from Egypt to Mecca
and at the time
the same Egypt the same general was
actually had returned and he was making
ta around the Kaba and Omar was sitting
near by so this Egyptian came to him he
said oh oh leader of the Believers
this general of yours whipped me with
his crop and I did nothing wrong
I want justice
so Omar alab he called this man he's a
general of the Muslim Army who has
liberated Egypt for Islam
he is a noble man from amongst the
nobility of the Arabs
so he calls him he says ohar
is this true
that you whipped this man
so Amar looked at him he said yes I
whipped him so what
so
so Omar took his stick he gave it to
this Egyptian he said whip him as he
whipped you
and the man said no
I testify there is no God but Allah and
Muhammad is his messenger
and he became Muslim
this was the type of justice that was to
be found amongst the Muslims
this was the type of Justice to be found
amongst the True Believers
could we find a story like that today
could we find an incident like that
today it would be very very very
difficult
I think it would be impossible
these are the fundamental teachings of
Islam
now I ask you honestly and I could talk
about many other things that we find in
Islam but I ask any person who is
reasonable any person who is sane any
person who has wisdom and understanding
is there anything in what I have
described today that a reasonable person
could find an objection to
does not these things do not these
things illustrate and show
that really Islam far from being some
irrational
misguided
and barbaric way of life is indeed
light wonderful light and guidance
from the creator of of the heavens and
the Earth
ald
mall we got lots of nice questions
so
okay the first one
you mentioned about the purpose of human
life the meaning of human life but you
evaded the answer it seemed to me
sometimes I believe I know the purpose
of my life and other times I'm not sure
100%
okay that's the F the first part of the
question okay
we have to make a distinction now
between
the actual purpose of God creating human
beings
and
those things that some human beings
think they want to do with their lives
it's two completely different things
sometimes if you ask somebody what's the
purpose of your life they say the
purpose of my life is to make money to
have a nice house to have a nice car and
to retire and to be able to enjoy it so
they say that's the purpose of their
life
some other people may say that the
purpose of my life is to be a doctor or
someone else says the purpose of my life
is you know my wife or my boyfriend or
my girlfriend or whatever
so really these people they reply that
the the purpose of their life is not
something that is the purpose of the
existence or why human beings exist and
what God created them for all they're
saying is these are the things that I
want to do and Achieve with my life in
fact the interesting thing is that these
self- same people who say this is the
purpose of my life when they don't make
that that money and they don't get that
retirement home or when their wife
leaves them or when their boyfriend
leaves them or when
your wife sleeps with your best mate
and he happens to be a famous football
player right and then you go into
Hospital right and then you start asking
yourself what's the purpose of life
what's it all for because that thing
which I thought was my life's purpose
now I realize that's not what the
purpose of my life was at all so
sometimes people make some things
their life's purpose but this is not
what we mean
the point is what is the reason for our
existence
and there are many things that we could
guess or we could philosophize and we
could say well maybe it's this and maybe
it's that and it could be such and such
and it could be this and some people may
say to do good and some people say to do
bad and some people say to spread peace
and some people to say you know
different people will give different
answers some people have thought about
it and they've come to some sort of
philosophical understanding but the
point is at the end of the day all of
that really is just speculation it's
just guesswork as the gentleman said
sometimes I think I know but I'm not
100%
so the only way you could actually
really know
100%
the purpose
of your life
is when the one who gave you life when
the one who created you tells you I
created you for this purpose
so the Quran tells us
exactly what is the purpose of life
the Quran tells us exactly why God
created us in the Quran it says
that
that we did not create
the gin
and the human being except
to worship us this is what God is saying
when God uses in the Quran
the plural the we it does not mean as
some people say oh there's a proof of
the Trinity there or it proves that God
is more than one or something no this is
anyway well known in the Arabic language
that it is a plurality of respect just
as the queen some sometimes says we did
this and we did that you know this is a
type of plurality of respect even in
French and in in fact in every language
you have that plurality of respect
so when Allah says we created it means
Allah God but he is using he is the
plurality of respect which is just a
Convention of language so we we did not
create the human beings except to
worship
God created the human being to worship
him that is the actual purpose for which
we exist what does does it mean worship
what does I mean it you know worship is
as as we explained this last night if
you were last there last night to my
talk last night you will I'm sorry I'm
repeating it but the term worship is
very very inadequate in describing what
is I the best way to describe it is with
a definition I means I is or Worship in
Islam the term IBA the purpose for which
we were created
is everything which which God loves
and is pleased with
everything which God loves and
everything which God is pleased with
whether it is the actions of the heart
or the actions of the limbs this is
worship so the purpose of life is to try
to make everything that you do and
everything that you say and everything
that you feel and believe you try to do
it and say it and believe in it and
feeling it in a way that God loves
and in a way that God is pleased with
how do we know what God loves and how do
we know what God is pleased with
in Islam the answer is clear
we know what God loves and is pleased
with because God has revealed that
knowledge
in the Quran and he sent a messenger to
explain it and to clarify it
and to F complete its teachings so we
know what God loves and we know what God
is pleased with through the Revelation
that he sent to his Messengers
that's how we know how to make I to
Allah
so that's the purpose of life and as you
can understand therefore this is
something very comprehensive it covers
everything it covers it covers how you
pray how you fast how you give charity
how you perform pilgrimage it covers as
we've already mentioned manners morals
treatment of the neighbor treatment of
the parents
the relationship between the ruler and
the ruled
international relations it even teaches
manners of cleanliness how to go to the
toilet how to walk how to dress all of
these things can be done in a manner
that is pleasing to God or in a manner
that is displeasing to God so our aim is
to try and make everything in our life
to try and make everything that we do
pleasing to God by obeying him and
submitting to his will and his knowledge
so that's the purpose of life
also Al you mentioned Adolf Hitler in
connection with the Catholic church I
don't understand Hitler didn't approve
of the church as far as I know that's
true
um Hitler was not a Christian
no no sensible person will say that
Hitler was a Christian in fact Hitler
was a great admirer of the occult and
paganism
however what I meant to illustrate by
that was that if someone is living not
in the West W but if someone was living
in another country they think that
everything in Europe they think of it as
Christendom that the people there are
Christians
so they might point to someone like
Adolf Hitler and say look he was a
Christian look what he did
so of course the Christian quite rightly
would say Adolf Hitler was not a
Christian he didn't even believe in
Christianity
that's a perfectly good defense but the
thing is that people say the same things
about Muslims they say look at that
person in this country and look at that
leader of that country and look at this
one who does that I don't want to
mention any names but many of these
people are not Muslims they don't even
profess belief in Islam
in fact they attack Islam
so therefore it's not right to say that
this is Islam
anymore than it's right to say Hitler
represents Christianity that's the point
I was trying to make by that
this is a very good question here Islam
does not seem to be able to recognize
God as a trinity Father Son and Holy
Spirit aren't you limiting the
prerogative and power of God to manifest
himself as he chooses
that's a very very good question
now
the point this is a you know this is
quite a big topic
but let let's try and deal with it in a
very simple manner
it's a big topic it's an important topic
you see the issue is this
as Muslims
it is not a question of
can God do it or can God not do it
that's not the issue the issue is is
this worthy and is this befitting the
dignity and the power power and the
nature and the attributes and the
perfect attributes of God the most
simple way to illustrate It Is by giving
another example let's forget the issue
now of incarnation whether God can
become a man or whether God does become
a man let's talk about an issue that for
example every Muslim and Christian will
agree about this
can God do something evil can God do
something something evil
can God do something stupid
can God be ignorant
these questions
are something that almost unanimously
whoever I ask will give me the same
response
they will say some will say no God can't
do evil things God can't do stupid
things
God God can't be ignorant why not
because God is good a good God doesn't
do evil things
an all knowing god and an all wise God
does not do stupid things
and an all- knowing God does not do
ignorant things so it is not in the
nature of God who is good to do evil and
it is not in the nature of God who is
all wise to do stupid things and it is
not in the nature of God who is all
knowing to be ignorant
God is good and he does what is good God
is wise and he does what is wise we
don't even ask the question about God
can he do something stupid can he do
something ignorant can he do something
evil because it's not in the nature of
God to do those things because God is
God what makes God God is that he is
good that he is wise
that he is all knowing if God was evil
and God was stupid and God was ignorant
then we wouldn't worship him he wouldn't
be someone that we praised and thanked
and worshiped he wouldn't be worthy of
it because he would possess attributes
not of perfection but he would possess
attributes that are bad attributes evil
attributes if we use exactly the same
example we just think about it
God therefore as God is good God is
eternal
God is good he doesn't do something evil
God is eternal he doesn't become
something that is temporary
God is as God is wise God is also
self-sufficient
so as a wise God does not become or do
stupid things a self-sufficient God does
also not become needy and temporary
why the answer is exactly the same
because that is not the nature of God
that is not befitting the Majesty of God
if God becomes a temporary needy human
being who is born and who grows up and
who gets killed then that being is not
worthy of being worshiped because this
being possesses the attributes
that are imperfect that are temporary
that are not things that we admire or
not things that are worthy of admiration
or being worship we worship God and we
praise him because he is infinite he is
the one before whom there is none he is
the one after whom there is none we
worship God because he is
self-sufficient because he is good
because he is wise because he is and so
on and so forth so Allah God the Creator
is the one who possesses all the
attributes of perfection
now someone may say ah
but
if you're saying and this is now getting
a bit into philosophy I think the issue
is pretty clear after that but just you
know just to cover this issue someone
may say this a bit philosophical now but
people will say but if you're saying God
can't or God doesn't have the capability
or he wouldn't become a man aren't you
limiting God aren't you actually saying
he's not really perfect the best way I
answer this I have the the best answer I
have for this is to say
since when is it an attribute of
perfection to say
that you are someone or that someone is
some someone who has the ability to do
evil
is it an attribute of perfection
to say that this person has the ability
not to be perfect no
no one will say this is an attribute of
perfection this is an attribute that
makes something praiseworthy and good
that it has the ability to do this or to
be evil or to be bad or to be no
so therefore we say that God is the
possessor of the perfect attributes
we don't as Muslims say it's not a
question to us of whether God can or God
can't God doesn't become a man because
God is God because if God became a man
he would negate those attributes of
being Eternal and infinite and
self-sufficient just as if God
became
a real human being he would also be
ignorant
and he would be temporary and he would
do foolish things and I think one of the
best things I would like to illustrate
this was is in respect to Jesus
specifically here is an incident in the
gospel
of Matthew as far as I remember we can
check the reference later but in the go
in the gospel of Matthew and this this
is a very an a Very insightful event
Jesus is riding on a donkey back to
Jerusalem
and he sees a fig tree
and he's hungry and he wants to eat some
figs
so he goes to the Fig Tree and he finds
that there are no figs on the tree and
as I far as I remember Matthew says and
he says and it was not the season for
fig
so when Jesus finds that the tree has no
figs
he actually then curses the tree and
they come back at another time and they
find that the tree is withered and died
now here we have uh we here we have a
perfect illustration of somebody who
does not possess Godlike qualities
number one he is riding on a donkey
God does not ride ride on a donkey
number two number two number two
number two Jesus feels hungry Jesus
feels hungry but God is not one who
feels hunger
then Jesus finds that there are no figs
on the tree now that means that Jesus
didn't know that there were no figs on
the tree if he was God and he knew
everything he would have known that
there were no figs on the tree and he
would not have bothered going over to
that tree in the first place meaning he
was ignorant he was lacking in knowledge
he had a shortcoming in information God
is not ignorant or lacking or has a
shortcoming in information
so this illustrates perfectly the
attributes of somebody or something that
is not God
that is human that has imperfect
qualities that is the nature of the
human being by necessity
so therefore this matter is answered
very simply
God does not become a man because first
of all God does not need to become a man
there is no need for God to become a man
nor is it befitting
that God should become a man this is
something that contradicts
his attributes of perfection so that's
uh the answer to that very good question
okay
this is okay it's not that this is
okay for non-muslim Neighbors can we mix
with them socially I.E can we invite
them for lunch or dinner or just uh the
relation should only give them services
and that is it and no more
no absolutely you should have good
relations with your neighbors you should
have good relations with your neighbors
you can invite them for lunch you can
invite them for dinner you should send
them food if you cook something it is
from the manners of Islam to send them
something what you have cooked and this
is the way that the Muslim should behave
with a neighbor
in fact one of the interesting things is
is what is the neighbor who are your
neighbors
is it the person next to you or the two
people next to you
this is very interesting topic some
Scholars said that your neighbor who is
your neighbor they are the 40 nearest
houses in each Direction
the 40 nearest houses in each Direction
some Scholars said they are all
considered to be your neighbors I don't
know exactly where they got that number
from 4
but this is what they said
and some said less and some said they
the people on your street or so anyway
your neighbor really I think the best
answer that I came across is your
neighbor is the person whom it is
considered in the custom of that land to
be your neighbor
so in some places your neighbor was
literally considered to be the 40 people
nearest around you they were considered
by custom to be your neighbors they
would know all of their neighbors
but in this Society usually your
neighbor is the person the two people
who live next door to you or some other
places it may be the person on your
street so it's according to the custom
if people are more friendly here in
Australia than they are in England right
your neighbor is really the guy next
door and that's it you know those are
your neighbors so alhamd it's a bit
easier at well inshallah but if
Australia Australians are a bit more
friendly then you know it might be you
know like the people on your street or
it just depends on the custom of the
people who are your neighbors but
certainly you should have uh good
relations with them and you know invite
them around and send them stuff and this
is and really to be concern because what
the Hadith of the Prophet shows is the
concern when the prophet said a Believer
does not have their stomach full while
the neighbor is hungry meaning that you
know the condition of your neighbor you
know whether your neighbor is hungry or
not you know whether your neighbor is
poor or not meaning you're concerned
about your neighbor and their condition
that's this is the very important thing
to understand from that Hadith of the
Prophet
sallallah wasam that you should be so
concerned about your neighbor it's not
that you will have your stomach full and
they are hungry you're enjoying your
life while they are in a miserable
condition
this is a very good question question
here we sort of really talked about this
whole issue yesterday
is if Islam is such a beautiful religion
then why are the Believers of Islam not
honest and why do they cheat each other
okay we did sort of answer that question
yesterday in my talk the Coca-Cola
Muslim generation
so if you really want to look into that
a bit more you could get a hold of that
tape
it really goes back to what I said is
that you can't judge a religion by the
people who claim to be its followers you
have to judge it by the book and by the
messenger
I think many Muslims today they are
Muslim not because this is the religion
that they have chosen
because it's the religion that they were
born into for many for many people Islam
is just a type of culture for them
maybe they have some good things like
Hospitality if we take the Lebanese for
example
I'm always picking on the Lebanese
especially in Australia they have a good
tradition of hospitality but when it
comes to arguments you'll see they take
out the swords and they take out the
knives and that's it and
so
and the prophet said
if the prophet said sallallah alaihi
wasallam that it's a sign of hypocrisy
it's a sign of hypocrisy that when you
are arue you are licentious
then how about if you actually fight and
attack each other I mean that's worse
yes if you're just rude and you say you
this and you that and blah blah blah and
you you're shouting and being rude and
if you do that that's a sign of
hypocrisy but how about if you try to
actually injure someone and you attack
them what's that
so that shows me that people are their
it's their culture
they're brought up to be hospitable and
that's part of their culture it's good
alhamdulillah but it's not really that
they thought about Islam and they
studied it and they wanted to go back
and see how was the prophet what did he
teach let me try and emulate his
teachings and try and imitate him be a
good husband how many Muslim men follow
the example of the prophet in in being a
husband tell me
I think generally the women are better
at being wives than the husbands are at
being husbands I'm not totally but I
think generally
okay maybe not I don't know inshallah
how many Muslims imitate that but what
do you find the Muslim is Big you know
the Muslim man is big and Macho and he's
I'm in charge and you do what I say and
this and that and you cook this and do
that and you know I did the work and
that's it you know and again when you
look this is culture this is not Islam
this is not the way the prophet
sallallah alai am was with his wives
so we are Muslims culturally it's a type
of cultural thing it's not something
that we are Muslim because we studied
the Quran and we studied Islam and we
tried to emulate the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam so this is
part of our problem we need to go back
to the pure teachings of Islam to see
really how the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam was and tried
to imitate him because as I said Allah
sent the book and he sent a messenger to
show us how to live that book The
Prophet Muhammad is the Practical
example of how to implement Islam
that's why we try to imitate him and
follow him because he was made the
Practical example
so that's what's lacking
lacking of returning to the Sunnah and
too much uh cultural Islam so I think
that's one of the reasons why we find
that we have gone really far away from
the pure religion
when a non-muslim asks about general
information on Islam what would you
recommend as a preliminary introduction
without bombarding the person with
information overload maybe you could buy
this vide tape inshallah and give that
to them inshallah
um
but I think myself perhaps the best
introduction to Islam in my opinion is
to give them translation of the Quran
that's what I think it's the best and
that leads right on to the next question
there is a friend of mine who is
interested in Islam I gave him a few
books about the fundamentals of Islam
and he's currently reading them further
to that I intend to give him the English
translation of the Holy Quran but there
is this verse in the Quran which I
translate to the Quran should only be
touched by the clean ones or the clean
the clean ones I believe that it it will
help him a lot if I give him the Quran
should I or shouldn't I
by far thanks Farah
okay um first of all the Quran is only
Quran in the Arabic language the moment
the Quran is translated it is not
anymore Quran it is only a translation
of the meanings of the Quran Allah
revealed the Quran in Arabic it is only
the Quran in Arabic
once it has been translated it is only
really an interpretation of the meanings
so first of all there is absolutely no
harm in giving somebody
a translation of the Quran
how about if you wanted to give someone
the Quran itself
then this verse is not a proof because
this verse actually means is this verse
is actually not talking about the Quran
at all
this verse says that only the purified
ones will touch it so first of all that
is a statement that contradicts reality
because there are people who are not
pure who have touched the Quran there
are people who are not pure who have
touched the Quran anyway this verse does
not is not talking about the Quran this
verse is talking about the
the preserved tablet this is the in
which everything that is from the
beginning of the creation to the end has
been written down okay this means the it
does not mean the Quran
okay so uh this verse that is been
quoted is not any way referring to the
Quran as for giving the Arabic Quran to
non-muslims
then Allah that's something the scholars
they differ about some say that you can
and some say that you can't
however it seems to me that the opinion
that you can is stronger because we have
evidence that the prophet Muhammad May
Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him
sallallahu alaihi wasallam sent letters
he sent letters to various Kings and
various leaders around the world and in
those letters he included verses of the
Quran and of course they were going to
be touched by people who were not Muslim
so in that is an evidence that it is
permissible to give at least things that
contain Quran to people who are not
Muslims but Allah he knows best Allah
Allah knows best
I was just wondering if long hair is
allowed for males
because
because many people say it is Haram for
males
I think that I think that I have to be
myself an example or an Ever what at
least the way I am shows what my opinion
is okay if I thought it was Haram I
would not let my hair grow long but the
fact is there is no evidence at all to
say that men cannot grow their hair long
the only thing that we could say and the
only possible thing that could be used
is the prophet Muhammad sallallah alaihi
wasallam said that Allah has cursed The
Men Who imitate women and the women who
imitate men but you would have to
establish that growing the hair long is
something that is definitely an
imitation of the women if it is common
for men in society or it is considered
normal in men for society to leave their
hair long then that would not be
considered imitating the women okay and
nor is it prohibited for women to cut
their hair short it is not Haram it
depends on the custom of the people if
for example as in some cultures cutting
the hair of the for the woman to cut her
hair is considered to be a sign of a
disreputable person in some cultures
that is for example I don't know about
now but it used to be that for example
in the Indian subcontinent if a woman
cut her hair short she was it was
considered to be something really
disreputable
so if that's the case all we can say is
it is not right for a believing Muslim
woman to represent herself as a
disreputable person person
and this for example the prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he
used to leave his th undone he used to
leave it undone
he used to leave it undone but in some
cultures if you leave your thob undone
and you show your chest it's only
considered that rough people and bad
mannered people do that so therefore
it's not considered right in that
Society to have your shirt undone
okay because it's not good for a Muslim
to present themselves as being like the
people of Bad Manners or bad qualities
that's all but to say absolutely is
Haram you can't say that you need some
evidence to say something is Haram you
need something that Allah said or
something that the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam said okay to
prohibit it so anyway even the prophet
sallallah alaihi wasallam himself used
to let his hair grow down to his
shoulders we know from authentic
narrations that that the prophet
sallallah alaihi wasallam used to let
his hair grow down to his shoulders
the one of the things that is not
encouraged is to constantly have your
hair shaved
for the men and for the women as far as
I know it's not allowed to shave your
hair it's actually not allowed except if
you have lice as far as I know but I'm
pretty sure there is Hadith prohibiting
the women from shaving their hair and
why the men except you can cut your hair
but you have it all the time shaved why
because this is the one of the signs of
a deviant sect in Islam which the
prophet Muhammad warned about and one of
the things he said is one of their
Hallmarks is that they are always
keeping their head shaved
okay so then it's not considered good to
do that
okay there's a question about briefly
how I accepted Islam
um very briefly uh it's because really I
came uh I came across across a
translation of the meaning of the Quran
and I read that and that is what uh
convinced me that it was in fact the
word of God uh if you really want to
know the story more deeply uh I'm not
going to go through the whole story the
brothers are selling a tape out there
about how I became Muslim so uh you
could look to that inshallah
um there's a question about insurance
and I covered that pretty much
comprehensively yesterday I covered the
whole issue of insurance yesterday and
it's not fair to go through it all over
again
this is a very good question here
okay the question is this could you
please just briefly mention that the
prophet Muhammed S.I wasallam said that
there will be 71 second in Judaism 72 in
Christianity and 73 in Islam this is
true there's a Hadith of the Prophet
sallallah alai wasallam that mentions
that the Jews split up into 71 sex and
the Christians split into 72 sects and
he said my umah will split into 73 sects
in fact in the Hadith he said the Jews
split up into 71
70 in the Hellfire and one in paradise
and the Christians split up into 72 71
in the Hellfire and one in Paradise my
um was split into 73 sex was it 7
73 73 sex all of them in the Hellfire
except one so 72 in the Hell Fire and
one in Paradise so the companions asked
oh messenger of Allah
which is that one which is that one
meaning which is the one that is saved
they didn't want to know about the ones
in hell they wanted to wanted to know
about the one that saved we want to be
from the saved sect and the prophet
sallallah alai wasallam he said that to
which I and my companions belong
in another narration he said
though that which I and my companions
are upon this day Al this day that which
I and my companions are upon this day
and there are other narrations that
state similar things but the broad
meaning of all of these various sayings
of the Prophet about the Muslims
splitting up into sects is that first of
all the Muslims will split into 72
different groups 73 Al together but 72
will be astray only one will be guided
they will be the the saved sect and what
is their quality how do we know who is
the saved sect they are the ones who
follow the teachings of Islam am the way
they were in the time of the Prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam as
the prophet said they are the ones that
which I and my companions are upon this
day Al this day okay so this is
something in fact which really is just
agreeing with everything I've been
saying today and what I mentioned that
the Islam the true Islam is the one that
was followed by the prophet and his
companions people have distorted and
corrupted and followed different sects
and different groups what is upon us if
we want to be from the saved sect is to
go back to
the original teachings of Islam
which alhamdulillah we have intact
Allah has preserved this religion Allah
has preserved the Quran from corruption
and Distortion Allah has preserved the
teachings and the sayings of the Prophet
Muhammad may Allah peace and blessings
be upon him
so that we know what is authentic from
what is not authentic from what the
prophet Muhammad truly said and truly
did from the lies and the false things
that have been attributed to him and
this is one of the great blessings and
one of the wonders of Islam that the
Muslims have the same book today that
was revealed to Muhammad 1,400 years ago
in fact you can go anywhere in the world
and you will not find two different
qurans you'll find everywhere in every
country in every place the Muslims have
the same Quran
not like other religions they say we
have the same book but our version has
15 books or 16 books more than yours and
our has less than yours and we've taken
this bit out and according to the newest
edition we have taken these bits out and
we've put those bit in
you know all of these things we find
that they don't agree about what is in
their book this is not the case
alhamdulillah with the Muslims and this
is one of the Miracles and one of the
signs that Islam alhamdulillah is the
true religion of God
for that
okay I think we'll make it now uh the
last question
another question about having long hair
okay there lots of good questions l so
many okay I think we'll just leave it
with this one it's a simple question but
in a way it's quite a nice question why
do we pray five times why is the number
five not 25
a little smiley face
so actually it's not a bad question
really why Subhan Allah if you really
think about it don't you think if we
thought deeply about our Lord about
Allah about how great he is about the
bounties and the mercies and the
blessings and the favors that he has
bestowed upon us that are so countless
if we thought about the smallest favor
that God has given to us the smallest
the ones we take for granted Vision
hearing
speak
if we just thought about it we will not
be able to count the benefits and the
blessings of the smallest of Allah's
bounties
and his bounties are countless to us so
maybe we would think we only pray five
times a day shouldn't we pray 25 times a
day or 50 times a day or 100 times a day
that would be more worthy
but as I said anyway Muslims are
supposed to be people who try to make
their Whole Life Worship for Allah it's
not just a prayer the prayer is not the
only time you're supposed to remember
Allah you're supposed to remember Allah
the whole time
but why five then five this is something
that is a wisdom from Allah this is from
his knowledge
this is what he has ordered us with
therefore we hear and we obey there are
some things that you cannot understand
with the intellect there are some things
that you cannot you cannot achieve with
the intellect knowledge of the Unseen if
I asked you what is taking place behind
me in the room behind me there
maybe some of you will say I think
there's a man standing there selling
videos cuz you could take a guess maybe
you could think and you could take a
guess in approximation but if I ask you
no tell me in detail you'll not be able
cuz you can't see it and you have no way
to hear it the intellect is not capable
of perceiving that this is why one of
the things the Muslims believe is in the
Unseen we can't see the Hellfire we
can't see the paradise
but we believe in it and we know it's
there because God has told us about it
we may not know why we pray five times a
day exactly we could think and we could
understand something as I explained in
my talk in the beginning of the day in
the middle of the day in the middle of
the afternoon when it begins to get dark
and when it's dark you can actually
think that these are very important
times in the life of the human being in
the day of the human being and each time
God is bringing us and telling us to
remember him but we can never really
know absolutely for sure we can just
take an approximation but at the end of
the day this is what Allah has ordered
us with and because we are Muslim we
submit ourselves to God's will to his
knowledge
and we are his worshippers and we we
worship him the way he wants us to
worship him not the way that we want to
invent for ourselves
this is really the essence of what Islam
is all about may Allah
guide you all and may He guide me and
all of us closer to the truth thank you
for coming today and listening I hope
inshallah that you benefit yourself in
this life and inshallah you will benefit
in the next as well inshallah
alayum