The Hidden Truth- Islamic Roots in the West
By Abdullah Hakim Quick | 2026-01-15T12:22:27.269259+00:00 | Topic: Iman
The Hidden Truth: Islamic Roots in the West
By Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick
Opening Prayers and Greetings
(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem). (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen). Wa ash'hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, waliyyul salihin. Wa ash'hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu, khatimul anbiya'i wal mursaleen. Allahumma salli wa sallim ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammad wa ala alihi wa as'habihi wa man da'a bi da'watihi wa istanna bi sunnatihi ila yawmiddin wa sallim tasliman kathira. Amma ba'd.
All praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And surely Allah is the friend and protector of the righteous. 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. 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 and establish his sunnah to the day of judgement. As to what follows, I begin with the greeting words of the righteous: As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.
The Muslim Ummah at a Crossroads
Alhamdulillah, it is a great privilege to be with you here tonight. And I pray that Allah would make you successful and would continue to bless this community and the Muslims in this region. This is a very unique time that we are going through now. Muslims, the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad, is at the crossroads. It's at the crossroads. In one direction is imminent destruction - a well orchestrated plan of destruction for this ummah. But in the other direction there is light. There is light, there is hope for us. And the decisions that we're making now are crucial, serious decisions. The moves that we make, that our leadership is making, the direction the young people are going in will have a serious impact on our lives and on the lives of people throughout the world.
Observations from Traveling the Muslim World
I have spent the last 30 years travelling throughout the Muslim world, living with Muslims in different conditions. And as a person who had embraced Islam and who had embraced the Muslim world and learned to speak the Arabic language, travelling amongst the people, I was finding different signals and messages that I was getting. On the one hand we have so many Muslims in so many places. Masjids are filled in many parts of the world. We have extremely rich people in the ummah. Some of the richest people on earth are actually Muslims. We have great standing armies. We have intellectuals, we have books. You can take the books of hadith and tafsir and fiqh and you can put it on a disc, put it on a chip and you put it in your pocket.
The Contradiction Within the Ummah
But at the same time there's a contradiction. With the great wealth there is poverty - extreme poverty. With the
great armies there's a feeling of frustration. This frustration is leading Muslims to feel a state of despair, to drive Muslims to do things that we have never seen before in the ummah. People burning themselves to death is unprecedented in our ummah. It is a Buddhist action. The Buddhists used to do that during the Vietnam war. Other times the Buddhists used to do that. But for Muslims to go to this extent shows the level of frustration and despair that we are feeling. The oppression that we are feeling, knowing that we can do so much but we're being blocked from doing it. Knowing that we have so much riches in our ummah but yet we can't get a job. We cannot feed our families. And so it is leading people into the streets. It is leading people to make extreme moves and they're hoping for something to happen.
Prayer for the Muslim World
And we can only make dua and pray that Allah would protect and bless the Muslims in Tunisia and Egypt and Algeria - in this region here who are in the streets, who are in the front lines now to make this change. This region has always been a very important land in the hot lands of Islam. And the events that happened there no doubt will have an impact on the rest of the Muslim world.
Living in Extremes
And so we are in extremes. And in my travels I live with Muslims in the southern part of Africa and in Pakistan and in the Sahara desert, living with Muslims in certain places where in Ramadan they hardly had enough to break their fast. Then I moved to the Gulf region and I spent a year living in the Gulf. And I found Muslims with so much wealth they didn't know what to do with it. It's the same ummah. It's the same shahada. The same creator. The same prophet. But extremes. We're in extremes. We have the same human tests and challenges in front of us. We have the same fate to live in this dunya for a short period of time. But we are living in extremes.
The Divine Test: Death and Trials
And Allah tells us in Surah Al-Anbiya:
"Every soul will taste death"
Speaking in general, every soul must taste death. But in the same verse there, which is verse number 35, after saying this, Allah continues:
"Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned."
Every soul will taste death, but We will test you. We will test you with evil and good. A fitna. It will be a trial and a tribulation. And all of you will return to us. And so sadaqallahul azeem, we are seeing it happen today. This fitna we are under.
The Trial of Wealth
The Prophet even said in one authentic hadith:
(Unknown Source)
"Every nation has a trial and test, but the trial and test of my nation is wealth."
We would have too much or not enough. It's an extreme that we are on.
The Ummah Under Attack
At the same time with the rise of the Muslim world and with the decline of the western countries, we have become a target. We have been misunderstood. We have been maligned. They have said things about us that are not true. Distorted our history. Distorted our message. And this is only adding to our frustration. But in times like this, we need to seek refuge in Allah, seek refuge in Allah, patience and prayer. And also the example of the Prophet Muhammad. What did he go through? Look at his example and his followers in a time like this. In order that we get a type of opening, a type of understanding of the greater picture.
The Story of Al-As Ibn Wa'il and the Revelation of Surah Al-Kawthar
It is reported in the early days in Mecca, the Prophet and his companions were being tortured, driven out of their homes, abused, humiliated. The Prophet ﷺ himself, people following him around, calling him names, throwing intestines and filthy things on top of his head. And one person in particular named Al-As Ibn Wa'il As- Sahmi, he used to follow the Prophet. And whenever the Prophet would speak to the tribes that would come in, Al-As would say: "This man is useless. He is abtar."
And abtar, when we say this in Arabic, we are talking about a person who is cut off. And in a paternalistic society like that, it also refers to the fact that he has no male descendants. He has no males who will protect his family, who will sing his praises, who will carry on his genealogy. And so in that type of society, to a certain extent, he has no future. So Al-As would say this about the Prophet, calling him abtar. And surely this must have hurt the Prophet as a man growing up in Mecca at that time and having feelings. This was one of the worst things that you can possibly say to personally hurt this individual. You want to hurt him in a way that would go right down to his essence.
The Revelation of Surah Al-Kawthar
And it is reported during these dark days that the Prophet one night, he smiled and he told his wife that Jibreel عليه السلام had come to me and he has revealed to me a beautiful chapter in the Quran. He has revealed to me - I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan - in the name of Allah the most merciful and the most compassionate:
"Verily We have given you Al-Kawthar (abundance). So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off."
Allah revealed to the Prophet: We have given you abundance. Verily we have given you an abundance. We have given you al-kawthar. That is also understood to be a beautiful river in Jannah that pours into the watering place, Al-Haud, for the day of resurrection. The liquid inside of al-kawthar is as cold as ice, as sweet as honey, as white as milk. If you drink it one time, you will never be thirsty again. We have given you al-kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. The one who insults you, he will be cut off.
The Miracle of Surah Al-Kawthar
This chapter revealed to the Prophet is a standing miracle. It is revealed in a time of extreme oppression, a time of frustration, a time of feeling like you just can't make it. You only had a few followers, and this beautiful chapter is revealed. And what is so interesting about it: it only contains 10 words. It is the shortest chapter in the Qur'an. And I can believe that probably everybody here has memorized al-kawthar. Those who memorized al- kawthar raise your hand. Everybody, that's the one. If you want to do an express salat, then you read al-kawthar, falak, nas, ahad. Everybody knows Surah Al-Kawthar. It is the smallest chapter in the Qur'an, but the miracle about it: it is expanding and expanding and expanding and will continue to expand until the day of resurrection.
Understanding Al-Kawthar: An Infinite Word
How is this possible? When the companions of the Prophet looked at this chapter and the scholars who followed them, they found that the word al-kawthar, from al-kathura, that this word is in Arabic - the form of the word is called mutlaq (غَيْرُ مَحْدُودٍ - unlimited). It is an open-ended word. So the meaning is open-ended. So we would translate it one of the translations given to this word is "an abundance." An abundance, like it's a lot of things. It continues and continues. It's an abundance. So when Allah said this, He said: Verily we have given you an abundance. What is al-kawthar?
The Multiple Meanings of Al-Kawthar
When the companions looked at this and the scholars looked at this, they said: Al-kawthar is kalimat al-tawhid. It is tawhid itself, it is shahada. Because by getting la ilaha illallah, he is connected with all of the prophets and messengers from the beginning of time. He is directly connected to Allah above seven heavens, Who is eternal, Who is unending - you know, infinite knowledge. So it is an infinite connection that he is given in this time of gloom and despair.
Also, ijabat al-da'wah - his call was answered. People started to come in. Kathiratul ashab - his followers increased and increased and increased. And by his death, before his death in the Arafat sermon, he had over a hundred thousand people with him. And so it increased.
The Expansion of the Ummah Today
And now we can even see and understand this even more than in the past, because the followers have increased to an unbelievable number. I recently was in Australia and met with an aboriginal chief. These are the original people of Australia, called aborigines. In Malay it's Orang Asli. They would say Orang Asli. That these people, they're accepting Islam. They're coming into Islam. This is something we never thought was possible. They're coming into Islam.
I recently came back from Europe and there are now Greek people coming into Islam. The Greeks are coming in. This is something we thought was not possible for the Greeks because of their conflict with the Ottoman Empire, with the Turks. But Greeks are coming into Islam.
We established a masjid now in Canada, where I'm coming from now. We established a masjid on the North Pole. On the North Pole there is a masjid. They carried it up and put it in. So now you can make salah on the North Pole. You call Santa Claus to make prayers too when he's up there doing his thing, high in the North Pole.
Everywhere people are coming in. People who did not know him, who do not speak Arabic, who have nothing to do with him, are saying "Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad" from all nations. Verily we have given you an abundance. We have given you an abundance.
The Name Muhammad: Most Popular on Earth
Even his name, which was not being used by the Arabs at the time - the name Muhammad now - they recently did a survey some years back and they found it is the most popular name on earth. How many people are called Jesus? Some Spanish people say Jesus, but it's only a few people who would dare to name their child Jesus. How many Moses? How many Alexander the Great? How many Julius Caesar? But the Muslims, they won't say Abdul Karim, they will say Muhammad Abdul Karim. They won't say Salih, they say Muhammad Salih. I even had a friend from the Sudan, his name was Muhammadain - that's two Muhammads. Another friend of mine, he took out his passport and it said Muhammad, Muhammad, Muhammad - three on his passport, three of them. So it is the most popular name on earth.
The Fulfillment of the Prophecy
Look at the miracle in this. Al-As Ibn Wa'il - how many people know Al-As Ibn Wa'il? Who knows him? Amongst the Arabic people, who knows Al-As? The only way that you might even hear his name is his son Amr, Sayyiduna Amr Ibn Al-As, or his grandson Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn Al-As. That's the only way you'd even hear his name. But Al-As, he's cut off. What did Allah say?
"The one who insults you, he will be cut off."
You will be given an abundance. This is a standing miracle.
The Islamic Golden Age and the Renaissance
And one of the recent conclusions that historians have come to is that even the renaissance in Europe itself, the rebirth of knowledge, did not actually happen in Europe. It happened in the Muslim world. And it was Muslims during the period between approximately 622 to 1492 - it's what we call the golden age of Islam. It is Muslims during this time who came out. The Prophet ﷺ said to his followers: "Those who are present, take the message to those who are absent." So they took it around the world. But they were seeking knowledge. They did not destroy the libraries. They did not destroy the knowledgeable people. They brought them into the ummah. And so we gained knowledge at an unprecedented rate, a rate that was not known by other societies in any point in history.
The Rapid Expansion of Islamic Civilization
In 100 years, Muslims reached deep into China. On the western side to the Atlantic Ocean. In the northern side to the high Russian steppes. In the south deep to the Swahili coast off of East Africa. 100 years. No ideology, no leader, no system has ever done anything like this. But one of the unique things about Muslims at that time is that they have open minds. They have open minds. And one of the khalifas in the Abbasid period even developed what is called Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom). Even invited scholars to come in. Invited Hindus, Buddhists, Christians. "Bring your proofs. What do you think about this? What do you think about that?" So knowledge was coming into the ummah at a rapid rate. Muslims were developing rapidly.
Andalusia: The Peak of Islamic Civilization
In Spain and Portugal, known as Andalus, it reached a very high level. Muslims were tolerant at that time in dealing with other people. They took in the scholars from the Jews and the Christians. They were not forced to accept Islam. So the Jewish people in Andalus had their high point in Jewish literature. It's considered the golden age of Jewish literature. The Christians, they sat at the feet of Muslim scholars.
Cordoba: The Largest City on Earth
And by the year 1000, the city of Cordoba, Cordoba in Andalus, it was the largest city on earth. This is interesting. In the year 2000, you remember? Millennium, right? In the millennium, they're all looking for the millennium bug and some change that's gonna come about, some confusion. I think it was Newsweek magazine did a survey: What were the largest cities in the year 1000? And I was surprised to see that 6 of the 10 largest cities on earth were Muslim cities. The largest city was Cordoba.
Over a million people living in Cordoba. They had 200,000 houses. They had 600 masjids, 900 public baths. They had hospitals, universities, schools, unions for their workers. Trades were being encouraged.
Abdurrahman ibn Muawiyah: The Founder of Cordoba
One of the great leaders in Cordoba itself who founded Cordoba, Abdurrahman ibn Muawiyah, Saqr al-
Quraysh, Abdurrahman al-Dakhil, rahimahullah - he gave education for all the children in Cordoba: Christian, Jewish, Muslim. All the children would get reading, writing and arithmetic. Those who wanted to study the Qur'an and Hadith, they could study also the Qur'an and Hadith. But everybody would be literate. And so by doing this, they developed an amazing society.
The Achievements of Cordoba
And the achievements that Muslims made during that time - I mean the city of Cordoba, it had lighted streets and running water. It's amazing because it took London and Paris 700 years to reach the same point. This is unbelievable. 700 years it took them to reach the point that Cordoba was. This is where the European scholars went. They sat at the foot of our scholars. They learned the basis of the scientific method. They learned the concept of zero - sifr. The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - our numeral system. Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus. They sat at the feet of our scholars and learned about modern medicine, surgery, pharmacology.
Islamic Contributions to Modern Science
The basis of just about everything that we have - I was surprised to even find that a scholar by the name of Al- Kashani, he had a rudimentary computer in the 15th century. Even the basis of the computer technology, Muslims had developed it at that time. Even flying, we had a person who was actually flying. So that the roots of the society came directly out of the work being done by Muslims.
The Beauty of Islamic Knowledge Synthesis
This does not mean we discovered everything. No. The beauty of it was that we were able to take the achievements of the people who came from the past with a Tawheedic understanding, bring them together. Tawheed - not only the concept of God. We united knowledge: sacred and secular. We united people: all different colors, all different races, language - unity. And so some of the achievements are astounding.
Sciences Originated by Muslims
From them you find some of the sciences that were originated by Muslims during this period. I'll just name a few for you: Algebra, Anesthesia, Biology, Botany, Cardiology, Chemistry, Dermatology, Embryology, Emergency Medicine, Geology, Metallurgy, Modern Surgery, Modern Medicine, Modern Arithmetic, Optics, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Pulmonary Medicine, Toxicology, and Urology.
Sciences Advanced by Muslims
You also find sciences that were advanced by Muslims: Acoustics, Agronomy, Anatomy, Calculus, Electrochemistry, Engineering, Genetics, Geometry, Geophysics, Meteorology, Physics, Taxonomy, Thermodynamics, and Zoology.
The "Dark Ages" Myth
Our scholars were making amazing achievements. But to stop them or to take it out of history, a type of amnesia was developed in history. They said this was the Dark Ages. They called it the Dark Ages and they said the lights are out. And maybe it was out in certain parts of Europe at the time because the Roman Empire had fallen. But for Muslims the light was shining brightly. It was shining brightly at that time.
Products and Innovations Introduced by Muslims
We brought in so many different products. It's amazing, the products. Just to give you a few of the substances and the products introduced by Muslims: Pendulums, Cotton, Paper, Glass mirrors, Crystals, Street lamps, Colored glass, Satin, Pepper, Paper money, Postage stamps - now think about this, these are all the things that make you civilized, right? - Postage stamps, Book binding, Clocks, Astrolabes, Soap (that was a crucial one, soap), Compasses, Slide rules, Flasks, Surgical instruments, Windmills, Artificial teeth (interesting, artificial teeth), Spinning wheels, Globes, Citrus fruits, Eyeglasses, Porcelain, Cables, Velvet, Almanac - the almanacs that we used to use (now you have Google and what not, but we used to go to the almanac before in the encyclopedia, right? It's almanac, it's an Arabic word. We used to go to the almanacs) - and Saddles and leather shoes.
Arabic Words in English
Interesting that a study was done. A person by the name of Walt Taylor, and he did a book called "English Words of Arabic Origin." This is in the 1930s, and he found a number of interesting things. He found also like Admiral - Admiral is Amir al-Bahr. Alcohol - Al-Kuhl. Al-Jabr of course from Jabr. Arsenal - and this is important for the people who like soccer. Here everybody is waiting for the Superbowl, right? But if you are a World Cup man, if you come from the UK or Canada, Arsenal, right, is one of the big teams in the Premier League. That's Dar al-Sina'a. It's an Arabic word. Arsenal, second place in the league, Dar al-Sina'a - this is an Arabic word, the word Arsenal.
Also Calabar. Your check - you write your check at the Bank of America, this is seck. Cotton. Magazine is Makhzan, this is an Arabic word. Also Matrah, your mattress. Your monsoons, your syrup from Sharaab. Even the mayor of your city - and I was one time giving a talk in Detroit and I said the mayor was there and the police chief was there, and I said, "The Amir is here, the Amir of Detroit, and the Sharif of Detroit." And they were looking at me like, this is Arabic, right? But the word mayor comes from Amir, and the word sheriff comes from Sharif, directly taken from it. Whether you're the sheriff of Dallas, Texas or the sheriff of Nottingham.
The True Nature of the Renaissance
And so it's an amazing achievement. And one scholar who has done some recent research, he even took it to the extent, he made the statement - and he's backing it up - that there was no renaissance in Europe. That's a serious statement to make. There was no rebirth of knowledge because when you read the records of the kings and the leaders in the 16th century, 15th, 16th, 17th, they were mostly burning witches. They were hunting down
women they thought were witches and they were burning them at the stake. That was what they were mostly busy doing.
What it was for Europe at that time was translation. They translated the works that were gathered together and improved and developed by the Muslims, translated them into their languages, and then there was a renaissance. So it was not scholars in the 15th century taking Greek books or Roman books from a thousand years before and then rebuilding science. No. That was done by the Muslims. And it was through that activity that we were able to give the impetus for Europe itself.
The Source of Islamic Achievement
How did Muslims do this? Where did they start from? It came from one man who was by himself. And Allah opened up on him. And Allah told him:
"Verily We have given you an abundance. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice." (Quran 108:1-2)
The whole of the renaissance, all of this, can go back to the originator, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who sent out his companions. This is Al-Kawthar. And this is still happening today.
The Ummah's Expansion Today
The Ummah is expanding. Our potential is getting greater and greater and greater. Right now in Toronto, the GTA of Toronto, it's 10% Muslims. In Toronto, from 2.5 million, 250,000 in the official books are Muslims. In Paris right now, in Paris and Marseille, people for 25 years and under, 50% are Muslims. In Holland and Belgium, over 50% of the children born in the hospitals are Muslims. It's happening all over the place. It is a rise that is happening.
The Test We Face
But we have to realize we are in a test. The Prophet ﷺ said:
(Source Name)
"Every nation has a trial, and the trial of this ummah is wealth."
With wealth, overabundance of wealth or too little.
The Need for Internal Change
Also we have to look into ourselves. We cry for change. We're going out on the streets. We want change. You know what Allah said:
"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Quran 13:11)
We would have not gotten into this situation if we did not change something in our hearts. If nationalism, tribalism, racism, class divisions, rich exploiting the poor - if this did not come into our Ummah, we would not be in this position. And we're not going to get out of it until we change what is in our hearts. And this is a key point now as movement is going on, especially for the younger generation. It's not just gaining the victory, but what happens after the victory. This is something to think about.
The Path Forward: Balance and Unity
Because if we don't change ourselves and have a balanced approach to Islam - not one extreme or another extreme - we're going on extremes. We have to stop being emotional, just emotional, and go back to the Sunnah and become balanced. And to really take this message not only as something for Muslims, we are talking about humanity. Because our responsibility is to the Earth. It's to the whole world. It's not just to our little countries. This is what we have to realize.
The Call for Repentance and Reconstruction
And so it is a very critical period that we are in. We need to make Tawbah. We need to make repentance. Repentance to Allah. And in Tawbah there is a self-analysis and reconstruction. Self-analysis and reconstruction. That we analyze ourselves - what are the problems that we have within ourselves to get us in this predicament? What is the problem in our relationship to Allah? We have to straighten this out and then reconstruct. Reconstruct. Reconstruct in the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Study the seerah. Study closely what happened in the different periods. Take the wisdom and the knowledge out of this and to raise ourselves up at this critical point in time.
The Prophetic Guidance: Make It Easy
When the Prophet ﷺ used to send his companions out, he used to tell them:
(Sahih Bukhari 69, Sahih Muslim 1734)
"Give glad tidings and do not drive people away. Make it easy and don't make it difficult." (Sahih Bukhari 69, Sahih Muslim 1734)
Don't make the religion difficult. Don't go to extremes. But be positive, not destruction of everything. It is to build everything. It is to rebuild the society. It is to cement relationships with people all around the earth. It is to deal with the crucial problems that are facing people in the world.
Closing Supplications
And so at this crucial point in time, we seek refuge in Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth. We ask Allah
to have mercy upon all those who are suffering in the ummah of Muhammad. We ask Allah to have mercy on those who are in the streets giving their lives. May Allah make it easy for them. May Allah unite them. May Allah bring down all the tyrants that are ruling over our Muslim countries. May Allah give us a just society, a balanced society, and a balanced understanding of Islam. May Allah have mercy upon the sick and the weak of the ummah of Muhammad. May Allah have mercy upon all those who have fallen and died from the ummah of Muhammad. May Allah raise up leadership in this ummah to guide our misguided political leaders from darkness into light. And may Allah raise up an ummah deserving of the leadership of this world and remembering the blessings that Allah has given us.
"In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Indeed, We have granted you Al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off."
Wa sallallahu ta'ala ala Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ wa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. Wa salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Questions and Answers Session
For those who don't have questions right now, we invite you on behalf of the Maghreb Institute to come to our courses. There we will have time and we will go through some of this information in details. Want to give it to you in details and a chance for feedback and relax time for the questions that you may have.
Question: The Growth of Islam and Addressing Fear
Questioner: Today, subhanAllah, I will never be able to look at Surah Al-Kawthar the same way anymore. But subhanAllah, today I was just reading - CNN published a report today that 20 years ago, pretty much the conclusion was 20 years ago, 1 out of 6 people in the world were Muslim. Today, 1 out of 5. In 20 years the prediction is that 1 out of 4. One quarter of the 25% of the world population will be Muslim. They were talking about - pretty much they were - there was a lot of fear mongering. I was reading the comments, people were scared. They were saying that the big Armageddon is coming. So how do we address this? When people come to us, when we talk about us expanding and people really becoming very fearful, how do we address this?
Response: Redefining Islam and Our Contribution to Civilization
I think it's important that we first try to redefine what Islam is within ourselves. Because for many people, Islam was more of a family tradition, a cultural type of thing, instead of the principles of Islam. Because if we go back to the principles of Islam, we realize that we are connected to the prophets from the beginning of time. So the original teachings of Moses and Jesus and Abraham and all of the prophets is Islam. And this is what people have to realize. We're not coming with a new religion. We're talking about the same enshrined principles that the
prophets and messengers had from the beginning of time. Some of them we know their names, some of them we don't know their names.
Also it is a world view, it is a culture. And if they can see, if they can understand what we have actually done for the western society - because this image is coming that we are trying to destroy the western society - we built the western society. It was built on our backs from the information that we had. And we freely gave it to the people. We freely educated the people. So there was no clash on our part.
The Truth About the Crusades
The crusaders were not going to save the true Cross of Christ, because Christian Palestinians had lived there for centuries without any problems. The church of the Nazareth was there. They were going there because of what Marco Polo told them about the riches in the east. That's what they wanted. It was an economic war. And once people realized that there is no clash of civilizations on our part - we are coming back to life - we have always respected the traditions of other people. Show them what the Prophet ﷺ did when he first came to Medina and he developed the constitution where he recognized the rights of minority groups within Medina. So we have spearheaded the concept of civil society, the concept of open thoughts. We have spearheaded these ideas. And so this needs to be shown to people.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
But really the bottom line to a great extent is not just our words, it's our actions. We will have to be involved in projects in this society which meets the needs of this society. You cannot think all the time about the other part of the world. If there are problems in this society and we are part of this society, then we need to develop programs to help people.
The Example of Alcohol-Free Living
You know, recently in Canada they did a study and they found that alcohol is more dangerous for a person than heroin and cocaine. Now this is serious because we used to consider heroin and cocaine to be hard drugs. And alcohol? Well, you just took a little nip, he's just high, and they laugh. Alcohol is complete destruction of a human being. If a person becomes an alcoholic, it's not only him, his family - 25 to 30 people around that person is going to be destroyed. Not only is he destroying his body, he's destroying his relationships. Rape, abuse, all types of things. And then accidents on the highway. Look what happens around Christmas season when people are getting drunk. So they have classified alcohol as more dangerous than drugs.
Look at our position. We have an alcohol-drug free lifestyle. Friday night comes, Saturday night comes, and we can smile and enjoy ourselves without getting drunk. This is - some people think it's impossible. You cannot socialize without a drink. He can't talk to her unless he has something to drink. It's impossible. We have a drug- free, alcohol-free way of life. If we practice Islam, we have an alcohol-free way of life. And this is what people
need to get from us. Because they want to know, how can we do this? How can we live? How can we enjoy ourselves without the scourge of alcohol and drugs? This is something that we can give to the society.
Contributing to Society's Needs
There are many gems that we have within our lifestyle that we can give to the society if we try to understand what are the ills and problems in society and try to help. Reach out to other communities and work together for the homeless. Work together for the needy. Work together for the different problems people are facing. Then they will look at Muslims in a totally different way. You're no longer just foreigners in the building, somebody shouting some strange thing from the roof and you're wearing these long clothes. You're no longer this. Now you're a living part of the society.
Final Words
So Alhamdulillah, it is a pleasure to be with you. I pray that Allah protects you and unites you and helps the Muslims at this very critical point in our history. I say this, and I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.