Challenges Facing The Muslim Youth In The 21st Century - Sheikh

Challenges Facing Muslim Youth in the 21st Century

Sheikh Abu Aminah Bilal Philips

Opening

On behalf of Madrasa Miftahul Khair and The Whiteville Islamic Center, we'd like to welcome you all to tonight's program by our esteemed guest, Sheikh Abu Aminah Bilal Phillips. Many of you have traveled wide and far to avail yourself this evening. May Allah reward you and inshallah it will prove to be a memorable trip.

Quranic Recitation

Surah Al-Kahf (18:13-16):

Introduction of Sheikh Bilal Philips

Sheikh Abu Amina Bilal Phillips was born in Jamaica but grew up in Canada. He is an Islamic scholar who accepted the message of Islam in 1972. He completed a BA in Islamic Studies at the University of Medina and an MA in Islamic Theology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1994, Dr. Bilal completed a PhD in Islamic Studies at the University of Wales in the UK.

Sheikh is 70 years old in his age, and Allah has been keeping him strong. He has written, translated and commented on over 50 published books on various Islamic topics, as well as edited and published 56 book Iman reading series for children. Dr. Bilal is the founder of the Islamic Online University which launched the free

diploma in 2007, then the degree program in 2010. Currently about 400,000 students are registered with the online university.

We ask Allah to keep Sheikh strong, steadfast, and in good health, and accept all his efforts, inshallah.

Main Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, and may Allah's peace and blessings be on the last Prophet Muhammad, and on all those who studied and on all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.

The Primary Challenge: Culture vs Authentic Islam

The challenges facing Muslim youth face the Ummah as a whole. We tend to focus on Muslim youth because they represent the future. However, for us to be able to meet the challenges which face them, we have to deal with the challenges which face the Muslim community as a whole.

The Muslim community in the 21st century is a community where, first and foremost, the challenge of culture and authentic Islam presents itself as a struggle for which Muslims are currently engaged. Those who have studied in enlightened universities and have come back to Muslim communities around the world come back with knowledge which wasn't available to those communities in the past. As such, they were faced with resistance from the existing practice of Islam in the various areas of the Muslim world. So a struggle began.

Alhamdulillah, that knowledge which was brought back has gained certain inroads. More and more people are being enlightened to it. However, on the whole, the challenge remains - the challenge between culture and authentic Islam.

That's not to say that authentic Islam does not have a culture. It does. However, its culture is based on the authentic teachings and practices which Prophet Muhammad brought and taught, and his companions carried to the generations after him.

Completion of the Religion

That authentic Islamic culture can be summed up in the verse:

Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:3):

"Today I have completed for you your religion."

Reference: Quran 5:3

When that verse was revealed, whatever was religion will always be the religion, and whatever was not a part of the religion can never be a part of the religion.

Imam Malik expressed that, saying that whatever was not a part of the religion when that verse was revealed can never be a part of the religion. Because if we are to bring hundreds of years later, a thousand years later, something to the religion which was not a part of the religion, then it means that that verse was not correct. The religion was not complete. We needed time to come when others would add to the religion what was missing.

And of course that thought is heresy - to say that the religion was not complete when Allah said the religion was complete is heresy. It is openly going against the statements of Allah Himself.

Resistance to Authentic Islam

However, when those who return spread this knowledge of the authentic religion - the religion which was there with the Prophet and his Sahaba - they are faced with rejection. Rejection from those who are following traditions that had been practiced for centuries.

And so we find ourselves in a situation where, as Allah said:

Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:104):

"And if you, O Muhammad, call them to what was revealed by Allah to His messenger, they will say: 'What we found our forefathers doing was sufficient for us.'"

Reference: Quran 5:104

That was enough. So when something is made clear that this was what Prophet Muhammad did, the response is: "Are you saying my parents were wrong? My grandparents were wrong?" The same response which Prophet Muhammad met when he brought the message of Islam.

Those who were living a culture which had roots in revelation - Prophet Ismail had lived there, died there. Prophet Abraham had come there, built the Kaaba. But in time, that message became distorted and a new norm arose.

Why Youth Accept Authentic Islam First

So this is the major challenge that the youth face. Because they are amongst the first to accept that clarification - the first to accept authentic Islam. Why? Because it makes sense. If Prophet Muhammad said to do it, then that's

what we should be doing. We shouldn't be doing what our parents, our forefathers, our relatives, our community are doing, because revelation didn't come to them. Islam didn't come to them. Islam came to Prophet Muhammad. So if he told us that this is what we should be doing, then that's what we should be doing.

Pre-Islamic Traditions

So we have to deal with pre-Islamic traditions which have been brought here by Muslims from India and Pakistan and Indonesia. And some might say, "Well, these traditions are minor issues." However, here in South Africa, perhaps some of them are not as entrenched as they are back home in Pakistan, India and Indonesia. But the fact still remains that many of them have nothing to do with Islam at all. And there is harm which comes from them.

Whether it is connected with the marriage traditions, where people have to spend so much money to get married, having so many different gatherings and the costs that are involved, making marriage very difficult, delaying marriages. When the Prophet had said:

Hadith on Marriage:

"O young people, those of you who are able to get married, get married."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5065

He encouraged early marriage. But because of traditions - and it's not just here, it's in many parts of the Muslim world today - the marriage traditions become so elaborate, so expensive, that people are blocked from marrying at the time that they should.

Innovations: Mawlid and Birthday Celebrations

Besides those inherited traditions from Hindu backgrounds which have found their way in the culture today, there are other practices which came from Muslims imitating non-Muslims - adopted cultural practices like the Mawlid, celebrating the birthday of the Prophet.

This is going on all around the Muslim world. In many Muslim countries, it's an official holiday. But the bottom line is that when Prophet Muhammad came to Medina and he found the people celebrating on different occasions, he asked them why they were doing it. And after they explained to him, he said:

Hadith on Celebrations:

"Listen, all of these celebrations are over. We only have two celebrations, annual celebrations in Islam: Eid ul- Fitr and Eid ul-Adha."

Reference: Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1134

That's it. So birthday celebrations, birthday of the Prophet celebrations, any of those types of celebrations which are taking place, especially with religious connotations on a regular basis - these are outside of the teachings of Islam.

And it is natural that young people, as they come into this knowledge, they would resist. And of course they are faced with struggles with their parents who have been doing this all their lives. They learned it from their parents and from their parents. So a struggle exists.

Worship of Other Than Allah

We also have other innovations which have come into our midst - innovations which come under different names, different titles, where groups, movements, sects invite Muslims to worship other than Allah. And of course, this kind of change, this kind of innovation, is very serious.

And it's natural that young people, when they come to realize and to understand that worship belongs only to Allah with no exception - worship can only be directed to Allah alone - then they are faced with challenges with those who say:

"Well, Prophet Muhammad is still alive. You can pray to him, he will answer your prayers."

Or: "Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani is special. He's not like other human beings. When he was born, he was born in Ramadan. And he was born in the daylight hours. After his birth, when his mother tried to suckle him, he refused to drink milk. And it wasn't until after sunset that he began to drink milk. So this was a special person.

And because of his special nature, he can answer your prayers. So you can pray to him."

You have others who say: "Well, there is Ali Ibn Abi Talib, and there is Fatima Bint Muhammad, and there is Hassan Ibn Ali, and Hussain Ibn Ali, and descendants of Hussain who were all very special. So special that they also can answer our prayers, and we should pray to them, call on them. We're not worshipping them, we're only calling on them, we're only making dua to them."

But Prophet Muhammad had said:

Hadith on Dua:

"Dua is worship."

Youth Seeking Guidance for Their Parents

So this is a struggle now that young people are faced with: How to guide their parents? Young people ask me all the time: "What should I say to my parents? They don't want to listen to me. And when I try to correct them, we get into arguments."

I advise them: Well, better you find an elder - an elder who has understood - and let the elder speak to your parents. Because your parents still see you as a little child. And naturally they feel: "How can this little child tell me what Islam is? I brought him or her into this world, and now they're going to tell me what Islam is?" Very difficult.

So better to get an elder to communicate with them and help them to understand the realities of faith.

The Challenge of Acquiring Knowledge

So the challenge is one of acquiring knowledge. Because for us to be able to meet this cultural challenge to the Muslim community of the 21st century, especially young people, for us to be able to meet that challenge, we need to have reliable knowledge. We need to have access to knowledge.

And this is where it is very important that we attach ourselves to scholars who are righteous, who are clear in their understanding of the deen, and to learn from them. To travel, if it's possible to go overseas and gain knowledge, or to access that knowledge through whatever means may be accessible and available to us.

Islamic Online University

My university, the Islamic Online University, provides this opportunity where in the comfort of your own home you can study Sharia, Arabic, from reliable scholars. You can even study education, get a degree in education taught from an Islamic perspective.

So we have opportunities today to gain knowledge which 20 years ago, 25 years ago, weren't available. There are other universities online too, like Knowledge International University from Riyadh - they also offer Sharia program online. Mishkat University from US, from Egypt - they also offer. So we have opportunities that were not available before, and we have to take advantage of them.

YouTube Learning vs Structured Education

It is not enough for us to say, "Yeah, I'm watching you on YouTube." One brother met me today and said, "You know, I've been watching you on YouTube longer than I've even been married to my wife." He's been married for 13 years, mashallah. But the point is that watching YouTube might be useful - in fact, is useful - you will get some knowledge. But what happens is that when you watch my lectures or you watch other people's lectures, you know, you're getting knowledge bits and pieces from here, there, everywhere.

So over those 13 years, assuming maybe 14 years that you've been watching me and others on YouTube, and you've listened to so many lectures - if I ask you now: "Okay brother, please, give us a lecture on Tawheed, Aqeedah 101. Can you deliver that for us please?" He said, "No, no, no, sorry. Yeah, I did take it, I did watch that class, but can't put it, cannot give it."

And the Prophet had said:

Hadith on Learning and Teaching:

Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5027

"The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it."

It's not just the learning of the Quran - it was the learning of the Quran and conveying its meaning, conveying it to others. This is where the greatness lay.

So you're not to blame. Information gained haphazardly from anywhere and everywhere will not give you a solid foundation of knowledge which you can impart to others.

Call to Structured Learning

So what to do? Get enrolled. Start to study. Join classes which are available by the local scholars here in the community - reliable scholars who are open-minded to changing the present in order to change our future. So we have this responsibility of seeking knowledge.

Reconnecting with the Quran

Also, we need to reconnect the community with the Quran. Because if we are to bring people back to authentic Islam, authentic Islam begins with the Quran. So we need to reconnect, because the community has become disconnected from the Quran.

One may say, "Yeah, but we are producing so many Huffaz - people who memorize the whole Quran every year. We produce, you know, 50, 100 Huffaz."

But the question is: What did the Prophet actually tell us?

Hadith on Learning Quran:

Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5027

"The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others."

Memorization is a means of helping one learn, but it is not a goal in and of itself. It has become a goal in the Muslim community today.

The Fabricated Hadith About Hafiz

And in the subcontinent, the common story which circulates is that the Hafiz can carry with him seven family members to Paradise. How many of you heard that before? Put your hand up. Yeah, yeah, confirmed. The Hafiz can carry seven family members to Paradise with him.

So what does that mean? The family designates one of the children: "You, Ahmed Muaz, you memorize the Quran. We will take care of you. We will carry on our business, live our lives anyhow - in riba here, there, everywhere - but you just make sure you memorize that Quran, because inshallah you're our ticket to Paradise."

What is that saying about Allah? If we just stop and think for a minute, what is that saying? That's like the Pope in the Middle Ages. The Popes used to write a certificate - they were called Papal Indulgences. What did the certificate say? The certificate said: "The bearer of this certificate has a place in Paradise" - the seal, stamp, signature of the Pope. And the rich in Europe used to buy them. They paid big money to the Pope to get that papal indulgence - a ticket to Paradise.

We look at it and laugh, but we are doing the same thing. We are attributing to Rasulullah that he said the Hafiz will carry seven family members - some narrations, seven generations of family members - to Paradise.

But let me inform you today, if you didn't know before, that none of those narrations are authentic. They are fabricated narrations.

Yes, the Hafiz will not carry you and the family members. You have to do for yourself. Nobody can carry your sins. No carrier of burdens can carry the burden of any other.

Quran (35:18):

"And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another."

Reference: Quran 35:18

So we have to give Allah His due praise, not reduce the religion to simple tricks like these.

What is Required: Understanding the Quran

What is required is that we learn the Quran. Of our children, those who would memorize, which should memorize and understand. Because remember, the Sahaba - the 60 or 80 thousand of them - when Prophet Muhammad died, less than 10 of them had memorized the whole Quran. Many of them memorized different portions of the Quran, but less than 10 of them had memorized the whole Quran.

Had the memorization of the whole Quran been a goal in and of itself, then surely the Sahaba would not have failed to do so. Of course, after the death of the Prophet and the compilation of the first Mushaf, many of the Sahaba did learn. But the bottom line is that their approach to the Quran was that of learning and understanding the Quran.

As Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and others said:

"We used to learn the Quran 10 verses at a time, and we didn't go on to another 10 until we had understood what was in the first 10, and we had tried to implement it. We learned the knowledge and the application of that knowledge at the same time."

And they said also: "The one who memorized all of Surah Al-Baqarah was called Hafidh amongst us." That's the one who was known as the Hafidh - the one who had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah.

The Power of Surah Al-Baqarah

Surah Al-Baqarah, about which Prophet Muhammad had said:

Hadith on Surah Al-Baqarah:

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 804

"You recite Surah Al-Baqarah in your home, it will drive away Shaitan for three days and nights."

Is there any other Surah in the Quran that you heard that? It's Surah Al-Baqarah. If you read it understanding it, it has that power behind it.

The Fabrications About Surah Yasin

Instead, the most popular Surah for all of us is what? Yasin. Yasin is the Surah that we all treasure. We write in gold letters and place it on our walls - beautiful calligraphy, nice frames. You put Yasin on your wall and your home is now an Islamic home. Delusion!

The well-known statement attributed to Rasulullah - "Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Quran is Yasin" - that is also a fabrication. It's a fabrication. It's not authentic.

"Read Yasin for your dying ones" - fabrication.

In fact, there are no authentic Hadith about the merits of Yasin. That's reality. That's where culture has come and taken over the deen.

Cultural Distortion of Islamic Teachings

So we are caught up in these practices, these beliefs, these traditions which really don't have a foundation in the actual teachings of Islam. So we are sidetracked.

How many people have Surah Yasin on an object hanging in our cars from the rear view mirror? How many of you have it? Be honest now. How many of you have it? Be honest. People are shy to put their hands up. It's not available? Okay, inshallah that's a good sign. If that was real, I feel I've been in some cars already and seen this, but anyway, I won't point any fingers.

The point is that all of such practices are a part of the cultural distortion of the Islamic teachings and practices, where they have been turned into pure rituals and the understanding of the Quran is lost. The understanding of the Sunnah is lost, and we have been caught up now only in the ritual.

Making the Quran the Source of Guidance

So this is the challenge that faces the community today: to bring the community back to the Quran, to make the Quran the source of guidance in our lives individually, family lives.

The understanding of the Quran, about which Allah said:

Closing Remarks

And in closing, I would just like to remind you - for those of you who haven't heard me say it before, especially for those who heard me say it, hear it again - alhamdulillah, in spite of all the negativity that's there, the struggles that we face, the opposition locally and globally, Islam - Islam is alive and well.

It is. It is on the rise. And the challenges we face, the efforts to distort its picture, its image in the world, is the natural consequence of that awakening that is taking place in the Muslim world.

Fifty years ago, you would not see what you're seeing today. Sometimes because we're sitting in the middle of things, we can't see the progress. But reality is that things Islamically in the Muslim communities globally, in spite of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria - things globally are far better than they were fifty years ago.

May Allah bless you.

Question and Answer Session

Question 1: Challenges in Educational Institutions

Question: There are three points that I want to make, especially for us here in South Africa. One will be a comment. The first one is that we are facing a kind of discrimination in South Africa as black people. There are madrasas and Islamic schools that are catering for the Muslims in general, but you will find that these schools are very, very expensive that the indigenous of South Africa cannot afford to pay. Some of them have catered for those people who cannot afford, but you'll find that when you go there for you to be accepted, you must either affiliate yourself to the so-called groups that we find in Islam. That's number one. But unless you affiliate yourself to those groupings in Islam, that's the only time that you'll be accepted.

In the madrasas that we find in South Africa, you'll find that even the children in the madrasa are put according to where they are coming from. The children from Malawi, they will be in a certain apartment. Children from Somalia will be in the same apartment. Children from Uganda and South Africans will be there.

Answer: I wouldn't call that racism, brother. Be careful. Be careful of the terminology that we use, because racism is a very strong term. Let's say these matters are matters that we can take up with the heads of organizations. If we have alternative suggestions to make, we suggest them.

The point is, if we want the ideal madrasa, then we need to make it. There's no point in saying "they should," "he should," "it should." We need to do it ourselves. We try to gather those people who are like-minded, who are

open-minded, who see the importance of integration, having students from all backgrounds study together. And I agree with you 100%. That's what it should be. That's how it is in the enlightened institutions.

However, what is going to change the situation is what we do about it. So we need to get together with people who are like-minded and establish alternative institutions where that full integration takes place. People are not separated according to their language groups, although people do it.

You know, we have an Ethiopian masjid. I went and gave a talk at an Ethiopian masjid. The brothers from the Somali masjid, they wanted me to come and give a talk there too. There was a Somali masjid. The people of that area are mostly Somalis, so they set up a masjid. And since most of the people there who are praying in it are Somalis, and the ones who set it up are Somalis, it's called a Somali masjid. But it's just a masjid in the end.

And we as Muslims should strive to be culturally interactive, dealing with all of our various cultural groups. You know, we should be fully represented in all of our Islamic activities. And this is something I can say personally I have expressed to the brothers who have organized my coming here - that they need to include, be more inclusive in their gatherings, their efforts, etc. And they're trying. They're trying. They're coming from a period - the whole society is coming from a period of apartheid, divisions and segregations. And it is a learning and growing process.

So let us inshallah work together and establish the kind of institutions which properly represent Islam in the 21st century, inshallah.

Are you all ready to support this project? That sounds kind of weak. Are you all ready? No, just say yes. Are you all ready? From the women's side, are you all ready? Ah, still kind of weak. You know, we still have a lot of work to do, inshallah.

Question 2: Women in Mosques

Question: In the time of Prophet, what was the position of women in mosques? Because we're given examples of women walking and scraping against a wall so that they're not seen, and they're supposed to be hidden away and not visible at all.

Answer: Well, we have the clear statement of the Prophet:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Do not prevent your women from going to the mosques."

Hadith 900

So after that, any other discussion becomes irrelevant. People might say, "Well, okay, in the women in the Prophet's time, they didn't use to wear makeup." The Prophet gave a principle: "Do not prevent your women from going to the mosques."

Oh, the Sahabi so-and-so did. The Prophet said, "Do not prevent your women from going to the mosques."

That's the end of the story. We need to stop there.

Do it in a good way, in a decent way. But that is the way. To prevent our women from going to the mosques is in direct contradiction to the statements, the instructions of Rasulullah.

Question 3: Surah Yasin Benefits

Question: He made a comment previously on Surah Yasin, right? And I disagree with what Sheikh has said on Surah Yasin because in the kitabs I read, benefits of Surah Yasin is shown, for example, protection against evil or thieves, etc. And Maulanas write these kitabs. And some of the kitabs that I read, like "Key to the Treasures of Jannat," and to us for the contentment of the heart - please comment on this and clarify.

Answer: The issue of Surah Yasin - it doesn't matter who said there are virtues in Surah Yasin. If Prophet Muhammad did not say it, then what anybody's opinion may be is irrelevant. Those are personal opinions. Our religion is not based on personal opinions. It's based on Allah said and Prophet Muhammad said.

So whatever virtues you have seen, if you don't see after this virtue which is mentioned "Prophet Muhammad said in Sahih Bukhari," or "Sahih Muslim," or "Abu Dawud," "Sunan Abu Dawud," or whatever - if you don't see a reference that you can go back to to confirm, then please know that you do not accept that.

Our religion is based on what we have authentically from Allah in the Quran and the statements of the Prophet. As the Prophet told us:

(Al-Muwatta)

"I've left with you two things. Two things. If you hold on firmly to them, you will never go astray: the book of Allah and my Sunnah."

Hadith 1594

The book of Allah and my sunnah. He didn't say, "And the Maulana's opinions that are gonna come after me."

Okay, so this is not the basis of our deen. We cannot make ijtihad in matters of religious pronouncement, saying about the Quran that it will - if you read it ten times. Because you can find this: read some chapters from the Quran or some words from the Quran, and if you weren't able to get pregnant, you can get pregnant. We have this written in books, isn't it?

You have books on the names of Allah. If you recite this name of Allah a thousand times in the morning and you fast for two days before, and so on, so your business will be successful. And they will give you a whole list of things that happens when you recite the names of Allah.

Do they have the authority to say this? No. Only Rasulullah. Rasulullah has the authority to say that if you recite this Quran, you recite it, it is equal to one-third of the Quran. He has the authority to say it. Has anybody else got the authority to say that if you recite Surah Yasin or Surah Al-Kahf, it is equivalent to half of the Quran? No. Nobody else has that authority, because this is based on revelation. That's the point.

The scholars deduce based on the evidence which comes to them from the Quran and the Sunnah. What is authentic is the basis of our deen. What is not authentic is not the basis for our deen.

Question 4: Dealing with Fabricated Hadiths

Question: The biggest problem we have in South Africa is a lot of times, and our own ulama have also picked it up, is a lot of times people are quoting a hadith which are fabricated or very weak. So how does a layman in a situation, especially in South Africa, then decipher what is and what isn't authentic? It's going to be a consistent battle.

Answer: The question: How does the layman or laywoman determine what is authentic and what is not authentic if some scholars say such-and-such a thing is authentic and some say it is not authentic?

What you can do is to ask those who say it is authentic to bring the evidence. Can they please show you the evidence for its authenticity? And those who say it is not authentic, can they show you the evidence for its lack of authenticity?

Then when you have that information in front of yourself and you read from both sides, the side you are convinced of, you follow. That's what Allah is going to ask you about. You found out, you saw the two evidences, and you felt this one was more authentic, and you followed it.

But if you look at the two and you say, "Well, I can't really say, is it this one or is it that one?" then you go to another person who is more knowledgeable than yourself and bring these two evidences to him and say, "Can you clarify this for me please? Which one is right?" If he can't, then you try to find somebody else.

Okay, that is the way.

Question 5: Going in Jamaat vs Learning Deen

Question: Sheikh, please advise: Is it better for our youth to go in Jamaat to make Muslims better Muslims, or to learn the deen to invite non-Muslims to Islam?

Answer: Well, these are two issues which need to be done. On one hand, we do need to encourage Muslims to be better Muslims. And on the other hand, we do need to learn more about the deen and also call non-Muslims.

Actually, calling non-Muslims to Islam is an obligation on all Muslims, whether you have learned so much about the deen or not. Because Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Even if all you have learned from me is a single verse of the Quran, convey it to others."

Hadith 3461

So that is an ongoing responsibility. So while you are trying to encourage Muslims to become better Muslims, you should still be calling non-Muslims to Islam.

If you need to gain knowledge and you go to institutions, etc., because you want to play a more effective role, then you should go and do it. These don't have to be mutually exclusive things - either you do this or you do that. How about doing both? I would say try and do both.

Encourage Muslims to come to the deen, to practice. Your family members, your relatives, etc. You don't necessarily need to go anywhere. You don't necessarily need to go and sleep in a masjid to do that. Every one of you have relatives, family members who are not practicing Islam properly. So calling Muslims to proper practice, this we should all be doing. This is our responsibility to those who are close to us.

As Allah told us:

(Quran 26:214)

"And warn your closest relatives."

We should call those who are close - relatives, etc. That's who we first have responsibility to. But at the same time, we do have the responsibility to gain knowledge of the deen, get involved in organized and structured programs of learning, increase our knowledge. And in both circumstances, we should be inviting non-Muslims to Islam, taking the message of Islam to them.

Question 6: Route to Learning Correct Islam

Question: In regards to the Surah Yasin and this argument that has been happening, I would like to ask: How

does a person, which route do you take in learning Islam? Because it gets a bit confusing. Like for a normal person, you know, as you consult from sheikhs in terms of the religion, and then they tell you that they give you, like, a fabricated hadith to say that Surah Yasin can do this for you, can do this for you. And then you take that and implement it in your life. So my question is like, what route should a person take in learning the correct Islam?

Answer: It's the same question actually, repeated about: How can we learn correct Islam if people are telling us different things? You know, somebody tells us one thing, and we thought it was right, we implemented it in our lives, and then we came across somebody else who told us something else, and so we had to stop doing it, and then so on and so forth. How to just find the right person who will tell us everything?

Well, this is part of the struggle. Allah said in the Quran:

Surah Al-Balad (90:4):

"I created human beings in struggle."

Reference: Quran 90:4

The knowledge will not come on a silver spoon. You just have to - you have to struggle for it. We have to make effort. That's the bottom line.

When you read the stories of the scholars of the past, how they traveled and sacrificed, what they did to gain that knowledge - alhamdulillah, today we don't have to do that. It's at our fingertips. But we still have to make some effort.

But no, if somebody who you trusted - Maulana, Sheikh, Doctor - told you something, that this was good for you, so-and-so and so, and you trusted that individual, and you did what he told you, and it was wrong - he carries the sin. If he knew better, he carries the sin. If he was ignorant, he carries the sin, because if he is playing the role of teacher and he has not gained proper knowledge, then he is deceiving. He is held responsible.

So you just try to learn under those who have some credentials which show that they have been - they have studied - and the community and the people who have more knowledge than you tell you that this person is a good and reliable person. That's the best you can do.

If you find out later that what they gave you was incorrect, don't worry about it. You correct your information and you move on. It's not a problem. That's part of life.

If you read the story of Imam Shafi'i, how he studied under so many different scholars, how he changed his opinions - one time he wrote and held certain opinions, he wrote a book called Al-Hujjah, and that was the summary of his conclusions after studying with a number of different scholars. Then he went to Egypt and

studied under more scholars in Egypt, and he realized that some of the positions he held in his previous book were not correct. So he wrote another book called Al-Umm, and that is now the well-known book of the what is called the Shafi'i Madhhab.

So if a great scholar like that can do that, who are we? Can't we do the same?

Question 7: Drug Abuse in the Community

Question: If you have some advice for the Muslim community when it comes to drug abuse - we are suffering with the problem of drugs in some of our communities. If you can just share with us from your experience how we can deal with this problem, inshallah.

Answer: To be honest, this is not my area of specialization. And this has to do with the situation in the community here. What I can advise is that the head of our department of psychology, Dr. Ghulam Rasool, Professor Dr. Ghulam Rasool - he specialized in addiction, addictive behavior and its treatment. He wrote his thesis in that.

So my advice to you: You really want to do something? Invite him here for a week and let him prepare workshops to help you in dealing with the problem. Because this involves amount of research I cannot just go and make pronouncements, you know, when I don't know the background of what is going on in the community, how it's going on, where the problems lie, what leads to these matters.

So he is a specialist in addictive behavior and addiction therapy. So my advice is: Invite him, because that's what you need to do. If you don't have the knowledge, ask those who know.

Question 8: Living in Areas with Homosexuals

Question: I live in an area where the homosexuals are prevalent and active, seeking to corrupt the youth. What should I do?

Answer: My advice: You don't have authority to do anything beyond advising the youth that they are trying to corrupt - that what they are involved in is false. And for yourself personally, my advice would be to move if you can. If you and your family can move to another part of the town or the city or whatever, it's time for hijra.

If your area is taken over by homosexuals, it's time for hijra. This is like Prophet Lut leaving Sodom.

Question 9: Jamaat Tabligh

Question: Sheikh, my question is: Jamaat Tabligh - is it allowed in Islam? Because a lot of our youth are doing it.

Answer: Whether a lot are engaged or not, this is not the issue of whether it is allowed or not allowed. The issue goes to the organization as a whole and what it is teaching in general.

If it keeps young people off the streets, helps them to get back to their deen, practice, pray when they didn't use to pray five times a day, etc. - it helps them to do these basic things - then there is no harm.

But if it is misguiding, if the branch that is here or the group that is in your city are taking them into areas which go against the teachings of Islam, then you avoid it.

So organizations have good parts, bad parts, better parts. So you have to judge the situation that exists in your area.

Question 10: Youth Sports Programs

Question: Do you support youth sports programs such as soccer, etc.?

Answer: Yes, if the boys that are playing soccer are wearing appropriate garments - they are not exposing their awrah in the game - and also if those who are organizing it are using it also to get Islamic information to them. So it is not just the sport. When they gather together, there are reminders given to them. After the game is over, they are doing some activities which are Islamically related. So we try to blend and have Islam a part of that process.

Otherwise, sport is good. Prophet, peace be upon him, he used to wrestle, he used to race.

Question 11: Is Niqab Compulsory?

Question: Is it compulsory for women to wear niqab?

Answer: Is it compulsory for women to wear niqab? Some scholars hold that it is, and many scholars hold that it isn't.

My advice in this type of a matter is that you look at the evidence for those who say it is, and look at the evidence for those who say it isn't, and then you decide.

Even those who say it isn't, they still say it's maybe preferable or it's commendable or whatever. So doing it definitely is permissible - there is no issue about it.

Those people who say that it's not really from Islam, it's from Persian culture and these kind of things - this is totally incorrect. But for yourself, if it is in fact obligatory, then - and you sought to understand and you found out it was - then it becomes an obligation on you. If you are convinced from your research that it is, then it's an

obligation on you. But if you are convinced that it isn't, then it's not an obligation on you. And Allah will not hold you accountable.

So those sisters who have researched and concluded it is an obligation - you cannot and should not also browbeat or put down the sisters who chose not to. You know, we should have that balance. And nor should the sisters who chose not to look at the sisters who are doing so as being holier than thou. You know, we are better Muslims than you are. You know, we should neither go this way nor that way, but be able to tolerate both opinions.

Question 12: Muslims Refraining from Understanding Quran

Question: Especially in Indian subcontinent and all over the world also, but mainly there, we are taught by Islamic organizations or some ulema, with due respect to them, that we, in fact - promoting the idea of refraining - we must refrain from understanding Quran by our own. On top of that, they come out with lot of books with fairy tales and fabricated books to confuse us. So my question is: Is it innocent ritualistic innocent approach, or it's probably international conspiracy behind it for Muslims to keep away from the Quran and damage or do the harm?

Answer: International conspiracies, you know, I usually don't try to get into those areas. You know, there are so many stories about that circulate about the Illuminati and the this group and that group that is working behind the scenes. So I won't go into that area.

All I would say is that if there is misguidance, know that Shaitan is busy in it. How he is busy in it, who works for him, who does not, etc. - Allah knows best. But if it's not coming from Allah and his messenger, know that it's coming from Shaitan and his friends, his followers. So that's enough to know.

Such books or such teachings are to be avoided. You have the truth. Share it with others, and inshallah Allah will reward you, and his truth will prevail.

Closing Dua

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

We thank the Sheikh once more time for his time and his knowledge that he has shared with us. And we now take this time to end our program, and we ask Allah to make us understand whatever has been said and to try our best in learning our deen till we leave this world.

End of Khutbah