Muslim Peace Forum 2018

Muslim Peace Forum 2018

Opening and Praising Allah

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon our Master and Beloved, the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and his companions and those who follow him. After this, praise be to Allah, we praise Allah the Exalted. We ask for his help and we ask for his forgiveness. I welcome the scholars, the ministers, the ambassadors, my supporter and my sheikh, the scholar Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah. I welcome you with the greeting of peace and blessings be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

The Beginning of Ideas and Meeting Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah

Alhamdulillah, this is an extraordinary event for me because all things that manifest in the world begin as ideas. Everything begins in the concept within the human intellect. And Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, who I had the good fortune of meeting in 1984 in Jeddah, and he actually spoke about the problem of pollution. And at the time, I'd never heard a scholar speak within the Muslim community that I was studying with about pollution. So it struck me as very unusual. Again, I met him here in 1987 at the Maliki conference that they had when Sheikh Zayed, Allah yarhamhu, was alive. And then in 1998, I had the good fortune of beginning to study with him Usul al-Fiqh and he came to the United States.

The Importance of Moderate Islam for Minority Communities

At the time, it was very clear to me that he was very concerned about the minority Muslim communities and the importance of having a moderate, intelligent Islam that could work within the context of a community that was alien to the religion in some ways. Over this time, what's really struck me about the methodology of Sheikh is that he embodies what he teaches. And this is the most important quality that a scholar and also a murabbi, a rabbani, somebody who is teaching others, is that they actually embody what they're teaching.

The Sheikh's Character and Treatment of Others

In the entire time that I've known him, I've traveled with him many times, I've never heard him speak ill of any group. I've never heard him say an ill word about Jewish people, about Christians, or any of the Muslim groups. He speaks about ideas and he maintains a level of abstraction that enables him to look at things, not in the muck and mire down here, but understanding them at where the problems really arise in the conceptual realm, the mafahim. And for that reason, I think he's able to meet the Christians and the Jews with what we call sarimu al-sadr, that there's no hypocrisy. And unfortunately, many of us can't make that same claim, and I think also from within the other communities also.

The Alliance of Virtue in Islam

But the alliance of virtue, this hilf al-fudul, comes out of the matrix of Islam, but it's not alien to other traditions.

The idea of what the Arabs call al-qawasim al-mushtarakah, these common denominators that we share, that bind us together. And if we look at the seerah of our prophet, the biography of our prophet, it's very clear that he was making alliances, that he did not see religion as something that left us in antagonistic relationship with others.

The Prophet's Alliance with a Polytheist Guide

And just one example of that, the man who the prophet engaged to guide him from Mecca to Medina, Abdullah bin Urayqit, was a polytheist, he was a pagan. But because he was known to be trustworthy, and the prophet did not feel he would betray him to the pagans, he became his guide. This is an example of a recognition that goodness is not always contained within the context of a religion, that there are good people, there are good secular people, there are good Jewish people, there are good Christian people, there are good Muslim people, and then there's people that are mixed, and then there's people that are what we call shayateen al-ins, the human satans. We call them sociopaths, I think, in psychology, and psychopaths.

The Marrakesh Declaration and Inclusive Citizenship

But the prophet, when he went to Medina, he wanted to bind this community together, not simply as a faith community, but as a community of citizens. And this is where Sheikh Abdullah began a process with the Marrakesh Declaration, which took several years at coming to this conclusion of the idea of inclusive citizenship, the idea of recognizing that the prophet's initial engagement with others was to enfranchise them fully within the context of the city. The word in Arabic for the prophet's city is Medina. The word for civil society is al-mujtama' al-madani. Civil society is what enables people to live together.

The Breakdown of Peace in the Prophet's Time

In the prophet's lifetime, between 561 and 603, there was a Pax Romanica in the region. The Byzantines had a treaty with the Persians that enabled commerce to flourish. All of that broke down in 603, when a war broke out due to a coup d'etat in the Byzantine community, the Persians invade, and everything broke down. Synagogues and churches were being destroyed. There was religious persecution. The prophet, at the time, was not yet in the context of his mission. He was a merchant. All of the commerce broke down. Religious freedom and commerce broke down.

The Sira as Restoration of Civil Society

The Sira can be looked at as an incredible attempt at restoring what had been lost, restoring civil society. He made Medina a sanctuary, a place where people could not fight. In our narrative in Islam, we have a narrative like the Jews and the Christians have a narrative. In our narrative, Adam and Eve are expelled from paradise, which is called Dar al-Salam, the abode of peace. And this is what human beings want to get back to. In fact, the Qur'an says, that the greeting that they have when they return to their Lord, the good people that have done the work in this world, is peace.

Peace as the Call from Allah

"[Peace is a word from a merciful Lord.]" That this is what we're being called to. When in the narrative in the 7th chapter of the Qur'an, Surah al-A'raf, when Allah gives this narrative of the expulsion of Adam and Eve (اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ - Quran 7:24), go down and some of you now have animosity with others. In other words, the Dar al-Salam was lost and we enter into a boat of strife and conflict because of our fall. But then, a few verses later, Allah says (فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ - Quran 7:35), that when the messengers from you come to you, those who have piety, those who are dutifully pious towards the Lord and spread islah, spread peace, these people will have no fear of the future and no grief over the past. This is the path of this faith.

The Prophet's Role as a Reconciler

This was the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who was constantly reconciling. When Yom Bu'ath, which was a day that the Aws and the Khazraj in Medina celebrated, and somebody, one of the enemies of Islam that did not want to see Islam spread, sent a poet in to recite the verses that they used to recite and the Aws and the Khazraj were about to fight. When the Prophet heard this, he immediately went and reminded them of the blessing of peace. They began to cry and then they embraced one another. If you don't have sages amongst us, war breaks out very easily. If you don't have the people, the muslihun, to come into these environments where there's strife and misunderstanding, then war breaks out and war is the worst thing that can happen to a society. And you can ask so many of these cultures now in societies that have been ravaged and destroyed by war.

The Foundation of the Forum's Work

And this is why at the foundation of the work of the forum, the work of Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, the work that we are fortunate to be engaged in, it's based on the khutbah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which according to some is the very first message that he gave in Medina, which in essence summarizes his teaching. The first thing he said was (أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ - Sunan Ibn Majah 3251, Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2485), spread peace. Because if you don't have peace and security, you can't worship God and you can't trade with one another. (أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ وَأَطْعِمُوا الطَّعَامَ - Sunan Ibn Majah 3251), to take care of the physical needs of people. When you have poor people in hunger, you have to think of them.

The Million Meals Initiative

And so the forum for promoting peace as part of the alliance of virtue that we had in Washington DC was a program that Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah initiated which was feeding a million meals to hungry people around the world. Embodying this command of our Prophet (أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ وَأَطْعِمُوا الطَّعَامَ). Sheikh Abdullah al-Matook, may God reward him, took this upon himself. He's the one of the major charitable organizations. This led to a conference in Kuwait that we just finished. We exceeded the billion meals by more than double. 2.2 billion meals were committed to feed hungry people around the world. It was an extraordinary achievement and Sheikh

Abdullah al-Matook himself literally cried when he saw this. And with NGOs from all over the world committed to fulfilling this promise.

Maintaining Family Ties and Religious Brotherhood

And then he said, (وَصِلُوا الْأَرْحَامَ - Sunan Ibn Majah 3251), maintain the ties of kinship. Part of the rahm is the rahm of our religions. That we're brothers and sisters. We believe, especially the Abrahamic faith which is not to exclude the other peoples of faith. But the Abrahamic peoples share profound areas. We dovetail in so many things. We believe in one creator, God. Creator of the heavens and the earth. The knower of all things, seen and unseen. The giver of life, the sustainer of life. The giver of blessings.

Shared Beliefs Among the Abrahamic Faiths

We believe in the 10 commandments. We believe in a day of judgment, of recompense. These are powerful areas of unity for us. But we also believe in these virtues of taking care of the orphan, of taking care of the widow, of feeding the hungry. The Catholics have the seven acts of mercy. We believe visiting the prisoners, people in jail, in prison, the broken. These are powerful things. Consolation. One of the great gifts to console others that are struggling. Because this world is a difficult world.

Hilf al-Fudul: The Alliance of the Virtuous

In our religion, hilf al-fudul was a hilf in the period of Jahiliyyah. They had four famous alliances. But the hilf al-fudul, the alliance of the virtuous that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned, he said that, I witnessed with my uncles in the house of Abdullah bin Jad'an al-Taymi, an alliance that I wouldn't trade that witnessing for the treasures of the world. And he said, and if I was called to an alliance like that in my Islam, I would answer. In other words, if people outside of my faith called me to an alliance of virtue, I would answer that. So it is from Islam to respond to the call of virtue whether it comes from Muslims or others. And this is extremely important.

The Meaning of Jahiliyyah

That period of Jahiliyyah, in Arabic, Jahiliyyah has two meanings. Jahal is dhidd al-ilm. It's the opposite of ignorance, of knowledge. But it's also dhidd al-hilm. It's the opposite of hilm. Of forbearance, of patience, of bearing the others. The Qur'an says (وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ - Quran 25:20). It's a powerful question from God. We made some of you a tribulation for others. Will you show patience? Will you be haleem?

Taking on the Attributes of Allah

One of the names of God is al-Haleem. Sidi Ahmed Zarruq said, the biggest proof that God is haleem, is forbearing, is sailors. Because he said, some of the worst people in the world are sailors. And he said, yet they sail the oceans and they arrive to the opposite shore safely. No offense to any sailors. God is haleem, and is telling us to be haleem. To take on these attributes, it's called ta'alluq of the asma, you know, of the names of

God, of how we takhalaq, how we take on the character that Allah describes himself with. And so knowledge and forbearance and patience are keys to this.

Gratitude for Guidance and Support

We've been incredibly blessed to have the guidance of Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah. May God strengthen him and give him good health. We've had incredible support from this country, which is known for its tolerance. I was fortunate to study here as a young person. I got a scholarship from this country. I have a great sense of loyalty to this country because of what it did for me as a young student in the 1980s. I came here. And the fact that all of you have come from so many distant places to honor us with your presence and to be committed to this alliance of virtue is quite extraordinary.

The Need for Sages in Times of Division

And in a time where things are breaking down, the center isn't holding. In a time when there's so much strife and tribulation and division around the planet, there has to be amongst us sages and people committed to spreading peace, afshu al-salam, to spreading virtue, to reminding people. This is extremely important and hopefully, that at least we can have an excuse with God on the day of judgment, that we tried, we did our best. It's not for us. The outcome is never for us. The outcome is determined partially by the effort, but in the end, it's what we call tawfiq. It's success from providence. And so we hope that this endeavor has success and continues to have success on behalf of the forum and of this extraordinary country.

The True Intention Behind This Gathering

We welcome all of the guests that have come from around the world, taking time out of your busy schedules to come here and to be part of this. This is not a PR campaign. This is not to make us look good. And we say (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ - Sahih al-Bukhari 1, Sahih Muslim 1907), actions are by intentions. The intention behind this is to live up to these powerful truths.

Religion and the Ideal of Universal Mercy

And in conclusion, there are people that say religion creates all this strife. Look at the world without religion. Look at the world with ideologies. My argument against that is that every religion has an ideal. In the Jewish religion, they have the tzaddik. In the Christian religion, they have the saint. In the Muslim religion, we have the wali. In Buddhism, they have the bodhisattva. In Hinduism, they have the sanyasi, the arahat. The hallmark of all of these people are a commitment to justice and mercy. And their hallmark is universal mercy that they love for the sake of God. And this is what I have experienced from my teacher, Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, that he embodies that message. And this is the message that he's spreading. And this is the message we're committed to. Thank you.