Humanity at Crossroads

Humanity at Crossroads - Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

Opening Praise and Testimony

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa ala aqibatil al- muttaqeen. Wa laa udwana illa ala al-dhalimeen. Wa ashhadu an laa ilaha illa Allah. Wahdahu laa sharika lah. Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh. Khatimal anbiya'i wal mursaleen. Allahumma salli wa sallim ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammad. Wa ala aalihi wa ashabihi. Wa man da'a bi da'watihi. Wa istanna bi sunnatihi ila yawm al-deen. Wa sallim tasliman kathira. Amma ba'd.

All praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And surely the best reward is for those who have taqwa. And surely there is no animosity except for the oppressor. And I bear witness that Allah is one and has no partners. And that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, is his servant, his last messenger. And may Allah always and constantly send peace and blessings to Muhammad, to his family, to his companions, to all those who call to his way. Establish his sunnah to the day of judgment. As to what follows.

The Foundation of Taqwa

Usikum wa nafsi bi taqwa Allah azza wa jal. Wa sama'in wa ta'a. Wa yaqulu al-haqq subhanahu. A'udhu billahi (مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ - minash shaitanir rajim)

"O you who believe! If you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion (to judge between right and wrong), remove from you (all) evil (that may afflict you), and forgive you. For Allah is the Lord of infinite bounty."

I begin by cautioning myself and you to have taqwa. Al-khawf wal-raja. That we fear Allah, we hope in the mercy of Allah. We surround ourselves with a wiqayah, a shield. A spiritual shield. The consciousness of Allah. That we are aware of the creator, not only in the masjid, but outside of the masjid. Not only on special occasions, but in everything that we do. And I advise myself and you, that we hear the words of Allah azza wa jal. And we obey.

He has revealed to us in surah al-anfal, in verse 29. Giving a deeper understanding of the result of taqwa. We are cautioned to have the consciousness of Allah. We are cautioned constantly, every Jum'ah. That we should fear Allah, hope in the mercy of Allah. But Allah tells us, in giving us more understanding of this. If you have the consciousness of Allah, if you fear Allah, He will make for you a furqan. He will make a criterion to separate the truth from falsehood. And He will release you from your sins. Forgive you. And Allah is the lord of great bounty.

Understanding Furqan: The Criterion

O you who believe, in this time of great crisis. In this crossroads, that the Muslim world is at. We need to reflect upon the mercy that Allah azza wa jal has given us. To be Muslims in this age. Taqwa itself, this consciousness of the creator is the bottom line. It is the main factor in success. And Imam Shaukani rahimahullah and many of the other great imam. Gave more explanation of what taqwa leads to: the furqan. Al furqan is thabatul qulub, wa quwwatul basair, wa husnul hidayah.

That with this furqan, this criterion to separate good from evil. We have thabatul qulub, our hearts will become strong and strengthened. And we will have basair, the power of insight. That we don't just look at issues on the surface. We go under the surface to try to understand what is really happening. And finally, husnul hidayah. That Allah would give us the best of guidance that we need in these times. And surely right now, we are in need of this strengthening of our hearts. The proper sight looking at matters in the totality of the issue. And also seeking the guidance from Allah azza wa jal in this very critical point.

The Muslim World Awakening

People are on the streets. The Muslim world is rumbling. And this rumbling has been going on for a long time. It is what they say what is happening in Egypt. They say it's the tip of an iceberg. You only see a small little iceberg on the surface. But 90% of it is underwater. You don't realize the immensity of this issue. That we are seeing Muslims out on the street expressing themselves. Not only for the Muslim world. They are expressing themselves for humanity at this point in time.

The Age of Deception and Illusions

But we live in an age of deception. We live in an age where people have the ability to make what is true seem false. And make what is false seem true. To put words in people's mouths. To change scenarios. And beam it around the world. So people all around the world are watching this at the same time. There is illusions around us. There is an illusion of civilization. There is an illusion of success. There is an illusion of stability and happiness. People especially in the western world are living in this illusion.

One of them is happening right now in America. When the people are now going into what they call the Super Bowl weekend. And they are saying no we will enjoy ourselves. No we will have fun. But the snow is coming down. It is some of the worst temperatures in the history of America. Since records have been taken. Some of the worst temperatures. But they are in the illusion. They say no it is a time of joy. It is a time of happiness. Planes are being grounded. But they still say no it is a special weekend. That is the illusion. What is really happening is something of immense importance.

Environmental Crisis: Signs of the Times

And I come to you as believers from the northern part of the Americas. From Canada. And we have seen some strange things that are happening. The polar bears in the north cannot find their feeding grounds. They cannot cross because the ice caps are melting. Insects are flying not south. Insects in parts of Canada are flying north. There is something strange going on in this world.

A study was recently done in South Africa. To look at what is the condition of human beings. Scientists came from around the world. To see the oldest some of the oldest finds for human existence. What is happening during our period of time on the earth. And they came to the conclusion. That we are living in the sixth extinction. There have been five major extinctions. Over hundreds and thousands of years. Different forms of life have been completely wiped out. In some cases continental shift. Some cases carbon dioxide release. Some cases asteroid impact on the earth. But different forms of life have been totally wiped out.

Now we are in the sixth extinction. This one is mammals and birds. And right now 50% of the mammals on earth are extinct. They will never come back again. What is the cause of this? Some of the scientists say no it is human overpopulation. But that doesn't make sense. Because there is plenty of fertile land. That if we were not using our wealth to destroy things. And to try to make more material wealth. We could irrigate hundreds and thousands of acres of land. But human beings because of what we have done on this earth. Because of pollution, misuse of technology. We have reached a critical point.

Quranic Prophecy: Corruption on Land and Sea

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed to us in the last testament. In Surah Ar-Rum verse 41. Allah told us what was going to happen. And the companions of the Prophet peace be upon him discussed this issue. Allah told us,

"Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by reason of what people’s hands have earned, so that He may cause them to taste the consequences of some of their deeds and perhaps they will return (to the right path)."

And so صدق الله العظيم it has come to pass. And now we see it even in a higher level.

The companions of the Prophet peace be upon him, they discussed what would be الفساد في البحر. And they said because of the sins of Bani Adam, going over the limits, there would be a decrease in vegetation. There would be widespread death. Corruption on the earth. الفساد في البحر. The companions of the Prophet peace be upon him said, that the fish in the oceans would decrease. Because of what human beings have done. And now we see it coming to pass in the recent developments taking place.

The Global Crisis in Numbers

We see now in the last 30 years, major issues cropping up. And what they are saying now, is that if we continue as a human race, to produce waste, to pollute the atmosphere, that 70% in 30 years, 70% of human beings will be suffering. Because of the direction we are going in. They also found out, one third of the fish are destroyed. One half of the fresh water in our rivers and lakes has been polluted. They have also found out, that 40% of the water in the earth, fresh water has been destroyed. And in a short period of time, within 30 years, it will be 50% around the world. They said in the Middle East and Western Asia, 90% of the fresh water will be destroyed in 30 years. So we are going into a major crisis.

But the strange thing that they found, it is not just things on earth, not just creatures and vegetation, but the human situation is one of the worst things. Because they found, that more than 1 billion people are living in cities. They found that 2 billion people are at risk of malaria. One fifth, one fifth, 20% of the population of human beings are eating 90% of the resources. That is the real problem that we face. Two thirds of humanity, over 4 billion people are making less than $2 per day. 4 billion people.

Standing for Humanity

And so when people are on the streets in Tunisia, on the streets in Egypt, coming out, standing up against a tyrannical regime, they are not just standing for themselves, they are standing for the whole of humanity. This situation has reached critical points. It is a major test on the whole world. And the Prophet peace be upon him did not speak for himself. In an authentic hadith he said, speaking about this nation

"Every nation has a trial and test. And the trial and test of this nation is wealth."

And we see it come to pass. Muslims in some of the parts of the world starving to death. In other parts they have so much wealth, they don't know what to do with it.

The Frustration of Untapped Potential

A type of frustration is coming amongst us. A frustration because of the potential that we have. We have over 26% of the earth's population. We have some of the richest people on earth. We have hundreds and thousands of soldiers standing at arms. We have intellectuals. We have books. We have technology. But we are not getting the results. Something is wrong. There is a frustration coming. With the great riches there is poverty. With the large armies we are feeling humiliated on the ground. They are not respecting us. Not respecting our sacred sites.

We feel a frustration with the leadership. A frustration with the scholars. Our scholars instead of solving the problems of the world, they argue with each other over trivia. They argue over tashahud. Do you wiggle your finger or not? When people are dying in the streets. And so this frustration is causing people to cry for change. It is coming out of us in all different ways. And when a Muslim burns himself to death, out of his frustration we have reached the limits.

The Divine Principle of Change

And as we cry for change, we need to go back to our sources. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has clearly shown us,

"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves."

The question that is striking us now is not what will happen, will change come about. But the issue now that we need to be proactive about is what will happen after the change. Will we be worse than before?

And in many times our colonial regimes were overthrown. We were colonized by people who came from Europe. They colonized our countries. And when they left, in many cases, the people who took over, they were worse than the colonial masters. Some people even wished for the colonial master to come back. Because the change had not gone on within ourselves.

The Root Sins: Pride, Jealousy, and Greed

One of the great imams, Imam Malik ibn Anas rahimahullah, in looking at the sins of Bani Adam. Remember what Sahaba said about ظهر الفساد. ذنوب بني آدم. What are some of these issues we have to tackle? The imam said, rahimahullah, أول المعاصي الكبر والحسد والشح - He said the first sins was pride, jealousy and greed. حسد إبليس وتكبر فقال خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين - Iblees was jealous and became proud, and he said, you created me from fire and you created him from clay فقال تعالى فكلا من حيث شئتما ولا تقربا هذه الشجرة فشاه آدم حتى أكل منها - And then Allah spoke to Adam alayhi salam and his wife. And he said, eat from wherever you want but do not approach the tree. And Adam got greedy and he ate from the tree.

So the imam who thinks with the Quran, he thinks with this book. He said the first sins were pride, jealousy and greed. Iblees, may Allah protect us from his plan, was jealous. He was jealous of Adam alayhi salam and he became proud. And he said, you created me from fire and you created him from clay. And then Allah spoke to Adam alayhi salam and his spouse. And he said, eat from wherever you want but do not approach the tree. And Adam got greedy and he ate from the tree.

Combating Pride in Our Communities

Look at these three qualities of the many qualities facing us. Too much pride. We are proud of our language. Proud of our color. Proud of our passport. Some people just got the passport 10 years ago. And they look at their cousins over the border and they think they're lower than them because of the passport. Proud of our economic class. Proud of our families. It is a fool's paradise.

If a person says, well I come from a family of ulama. So I don't have to study. He's in fool's paradise. If he said, my mother used to give sadaqah. So I don't have to give charity. He's in fool's paradise. Pride leads to takabbur. It leads to arrogance. And it's that arrogance and pride amongst us that we have to now deal with and start to look at each other not as people of different nations and tribes in a negative way but part of the qibla, ahlul qibla.

Start looking at Muslims in a positive way. Not because of his language or his color or the amount of wealth. What is the taqwa? The Prophet peace be upon him said, that is the best one amongst us. It is the one who has the highest level of taqwa. The highest level of the consciousness of Allah.

Planning for the Future After Victory

And so at this critical point with the younger generation especially we need to now not just react to the present. We need to complete the actions we are doing in the present but plan for the future. Plan for the future. What will happen after the victory? Will we have the wisdom to be able to live in the 21st century with our deen? How will we approach it? In many cases we threw out the oppressor. And then afterwards we start fighting each other. So we have to now look serious. And I want to leave you with a few points for the leadership especially for the younger generation.

First Priority: Increase in Taqwa

Number one, we need an increase in taqwa. We need to increase the consciousness of Allah. To think about the Creator in everything that we do. Not just on special occasions. But in every part of our life we need to realize there is one who is closer to us with his knowledge than our jugular veins.

Second Priority: Proper Knowledge of Islam

Next, proper knowledge of Islam. Our Islam can no longer be taken from culture. Oh, my father used to do that. My mother used to do that. We have to return to the sources. We need tajdeed. We need to revive Islam in a relevant way for the 21st century. So we will need to go back to the sources and put them into practice in a relevant way today. That means that all of us with our own local tongues we need to learn to speak classical Arabic. Everybody needs to try to learn classical Arabic. Fusha. So we can go into the text. We can go into the sources. We can understand the guidance from Allah and his messenger.

Third Priority: Prayer for Wisdom

Number three. We need to pray to Allah azza wa jal for wisdom. Hikmah. وضع الشيء في محله - Putting things in the proper place. Now is the time. If we are now faced with a situation. We have control. How do we deal with the Christians? How do we deal with people of other Islamic movements? How do we deal with people who are confused? You need to go back to Rasulullah peace be upon him and you will see when he entered Medina one of the three great activities he did he made a constitution which recognized the people of the book. He did not force them to be Muslim. He helped them to be part of the city itself. Respecting other ways with Islam being the main way of life. So wisdom is a crucial issue right now. Not to go to one extreme or another extreme. أمة وسطا - A balanced nation.

Fourth Priority: Islamic Character

Number four. The proper Islamic character. For a long time we focused on ibadat. We focused on making salat. Paying zakat. Fasting in Ramadan. But now we have to understand and put into ourselves what is the purpose of salat? What is the purpose of fasting? What is the purpose of doing zakat? You see in Ramadan what the whole thing is about. It's not just an issue of the body. Why would the Prophet peace be upon him said

(Ibn Majah 1690)

"- Why would he say that some people who fast will get nothing from their fast but hunger. And there are some who will stand in the night and get nothing from their qiyam but sleeplessness."

Why did he say that? There's something else behind the fast. So Islamic character. This is the issue. And one of the beautiful things that I saw with the people on the streets in Egypt. A woman said the most beautiful thing was how people were cooperating with each other. How they were taking care of each other. She said, I thought we lost this in Egypt. But Alhamdulillah it is still in our hearts. And it is coming out. Even though the issue got difficult, the people cooperated with each other. The people show love for each other and love for their land.

Love for their deen. Love for justice. Islamic character. The Prophet peace be upon him said, I have been sent in order to complete the best in character.

Fifth Priority: Courage and Conviction

The next we need to pray to Allah azza wa jal for courage and conviction. And that is that the courage is not just a burst, but the courage is patience and conviction. Hold.

"O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful."

Have patience. Have patience with each other and bind yourselves together. And have the consciousness of Allah in order that you will be successful.

Sixth Priority: Environmental and Social Awareness