Importance of Tolerance

I'll tolerate, so I don't have to do what Allah has said, I don't have to dress in a specific way, I don't have to pray in a specific way, I don't have to do X, Y, and Z that the Almighty has instructed. That is a misconception completely.

Tolerance has nothing to do with giving up your opinion. It has more to do with respecting the same right that others have of not giving up their opinions. Amazing.

In the same way I feel my opinion is sacred, I feel intelligent, I feel, wow, I'm clever. Everyone else feels the same. As much as I am passionate about Islam, there are people who are passionate about Christianity, there are people who are passionate about Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever other ism, even atheism.

I can believe that I am correct and I do. I do believe that I am absolutely correct, but guess what? Don't they have a right to believe as human beings in whatever they consider to be the most correct? Subhanallah. When I discussed this sometime back with a group of youngsters who were quite religious, they told me, no, they don't have the right.

I said, what are you talking about they don't have the right? You mean that the Almighty only asked you to survive. That's it. And you are the only one who is entitled to be living.

And everyone else should be dead. Is that what it is? That is absolutely unacceptable. Everyone has the right to live. Everyone has the right to believe whatever they feel is correct. That's why I am here. Because someone has given me the right to believe that whatever I feel firmly is correct, is correct.

Subhanallah. If that was not the case, I wouldn't even be here today. It's a very very important point.

Interfaith Dialogue and Understanding

I am passionate about Islam. I would desperately like to see people understand the goodness of Islam. See the light within Islam. Perhaps come towards the fold of Islam. Maybe if Allah guides them, even enter the fold of Islam. But I need to know that that is a struggle that will continue.

And it needs to be done in a very respectful way. There will be people who agree with me. There will be people who disagree with me. There will be people who couldn't be bothered at all. And there will be people who will fight me as a result. How do I react? How do I retaliate? I need to make sure that I can peacefully coexist with all these differences of opinion.

I remember when I became part of an interfaith committee at one stage, people told me that you are losing your faith. And I said, Absolutely not. You don't even know what we are discussing.

We want to understand each other. We want to be able to discuss what we believe so that we can respect each other. And so that we can actually perhaps learn from each other.

And guess what? Many people who did not know much about Islam learned that it is actually a religion that has heavenly teachings, that has superb teachings, filled with not only excellence in the worship of the Almighty, but even in our interaction with humankind and the other creatures of the Almighty. They

did not have that opportunity before. So when we participate in interfaith committees and dialogues and conferences, never is it to give up your faith.

As some people might presume. But rather it is to be able to coexist peacefully and exchange notes to understand each other without giving up a single droplet of what I believe. Subhanallah.

It's amazing. It doesn't mean that because I interacted with people of other faiths that I have suddenly given up my own faith. No. Rather I have shown them how beautiful the faith is. And they would show me as well perhaps what they may have that I may not have known before. There are so many teachings of these heavenly faiths that are so common yet we don't know.

The Spread of Islam Through Tolerance

It is ignorance, my brothers and sisters, that results in hate, that would actually then result in fighting and possibly even killing. May the Almighty protect us from ignorance. So let's educate ourselves.

Let's become people who are willing to peacefully coexist. That is the entire meaning of tolerance. I draw your attention to something else.

Every one of us at some stage, and I've said this so many times, whether it was within ourselves, for those who have reverted to Islam, whether it was our parents or grandparents or great-grandparents or somewhere up that ladder, they were not Muslims. They were not Muslims. Someone, somewhere, somehow happened to be speaking to them or dealing with them or associating with them or interacting with them in such a beautiful way that they decided they want to be Muslim.

That's why we're Muslim. Subhanallah. Had they been taught not to interact, not to associate, not to deal with, to fight, to be at war with, had they been taught that you're the only people who have the right to exist on earth.

If that was the case, our forefathers would have been wiped out from the earth. So it's common logic. We need to appreciate that someone, somewhere, somehow has actually had that concern to be able to interact in such a positive way that we are where we are today.

Take a look at Java. Take a look at Indonesia and that part of the world where it is said that, and they are the most populous Muslim nations on the globe. It is said that Islam has spread there not even through the active propagation of Islam, but rather through businessmen and traders and people who dealt with them when they were honest, when they dealt with them in such a beautiful way.

There was a little flicker of a candle within the heart that became brighter and brighter such that they wanted to know more about what is making you such good people and then they entered the fold of Islam. Imagine. So that's part of the beauty of the tolerant religion of Islam.

Misinterpretation and Extremism

I'd like to think that religion has partly been hijacked by those who don't understand scriptures. Those who have misinterpreted it intentionally to suit their own agendas of creating disaster on the globe in the

name of the most merciful. I always say, those who kill in the name of religion have perhaps never considered the fact that the Almighty calls himself the most merciful, the most beneficent.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Every time we start, we say in the name of Allah, the most forgiving, the most merciful, or the most merciful, the most merciful. One in a specialized way and one in a very, very broad way.

The owner of mercy, the one who calls himself the most merciful, do you really think that he would ask you to wipe people out, out of that mercy? Subhanallah, subhanallah. You are killing in the name of the giver of the life. If he wanted, he could have taken that life away himself.

And secondly, you are killing in the name of the most merciful. Where is the mercy? Where is the understanding of the beautiful faith? Subhanallah. So we go back to the issue of tolerance, to willingly coexist with those whom you differ with.

The Wisdom of Human Diversity

Subhanallah. You're ready? You're ready? Let's go back to the first verse that I recited here. And I said I'm going to come back to it, remember? O people, we have created you from a single male and female and thereafter, we have made you spread as different peoples and tribes.

Why? Why is there black and white and yellow and brown? Why are there different races, ethnicities, different sizes, different understandings? Allah says:

One word. In order that you can recognize each other.

Reference: Quran 49:13

You are different, not so that you can discriminate against each other. That's not the reason. Allah didn't say so that one can consider himself higher or bigger than the other. No.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, in order that you recognize one another. They say, who is this man? He is an Indian. Who is this man? He is this, he is that. He is an African. Or he comes from this place or that place. It does not mean that the Almighty wants you to discriminate, not at all.

Rather, you recognize each other. Each person, comes in front of the Almighty on the day of judgment on his own. Remember, if you think a certain nationality is bad, a certain race is bad, a certain ethnicity is bad, you are so wrong, because every race and every nationality and every ethnicity has in it good and bad.

So, you would be totally uneducated if you thought that a nationality in its entirety is bad, just because of the acts of a few. We as Muslims are trying to combat this type of ideology where people on the globe who have become Islamophobic think that because of the acts of a small percentage of people who are Muslim or who claim connection to the faith, because of their actions, we're all suddenly termed as guilty. We're all termed as those who have absolutely no right to exist.

Those who are intolerant, terrorists, whatever else. All these words are used against us. And why are these words used against us? Because of a few, a small number who have actually perpetrated heinous crimes in the name of this beautiful faith that we're speaking about.

The faith of mercy, the faith of tolerance and goodness. Subhanallah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us ease.

Equal Rights and Mutual Respect

So, the Almighty addresses mankind at large reminding us of the fact that you come from a common forefather. You're all brothers and sisters. In the same way, I believe I have a right to exist on earth.

I promise you, anyone who was born on earth has the equal right, same right. You were born on earth, they were born on earth, you have the same right. You have a right to your opinion, you have a right to your... what you believe is correct, you can believe what you think.

And you know what? Keep on educating yourself. I know one might say, well, as a Muslim, I believe that I'm 100% correct. Yes, I do. I actually do as well. But you know what? Do you realize that people of other faiths and even those who don't have a faith, they too would perhaps believe or they have the right to believe that they are 100% correct and I have the right to believe that perhaps they are wrong and they have the right to believe that perhaps I am wrong. These are all rights.

This is what makes humankind. Why should we think because this person doesn't think like me, I must eradicate them, I must chop them off, I must hate them, I must perhaps not live with them, not talk to them. No! Learn to greet people.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught us about greeting. Not because of any reason besides its great importance and the benefit of it. I recall myself, in my travels, many times people look at me and perhaps things go through their minds.

The moment you break into a smile and you greet them, I swear 99% of the time it changes the attitude completely. Wow! They realize, okay, this is a human being. Okay.

Oh! He smiled. He actually greeted. Subhanallah! Subhanallah! Wow! And then they will come and say, Oh! I like your dress.

Wow! Thank you. I just needed you to talk to me. That's all. I'm also a human. We all like it, subhanallah. We like to be spoken to.

The Power of a Smile

If someone praises you, you're walking and you're tired and someone says, Wow! Sorry, sir. Sorry, sir. Sorry, sorry. I like the way you're dressed. What will happen? No matter how upset you are, you're going to look, smile and say, Thank you, thank you. You know, that's how the world's become.

The problem with us, we're sad, we show that sadness on our faces, so we make everyone else sad. No! Muhammad peace be upon him taught us the opposite. You're supposed to smile even if there is sadness in your heart.

Try and break to a smile. Imagine, that tabassum that is spoken about in the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Why is it considered a sadaqah? Why is it considered a charity? To be able to peacefully coexist with the others.

Not just coexistence, but help them, benefit them, without them realizing that you've benefited them. When you have an expression on your face that is constantly pleasant. And I want to pause for a moment to actually let you in on something very, very interesting.

My brothers, my sisters, promise yourself and your life will change. Promise yourself what? Promise yourself to constantly try and have a good expression on your face. I swear.

My brothers and sisters, you will not regret. Your life will change. Promise yourself to try and have a good expression on your face.

You know, go and think what I've just said. Many of us, we actually are very, very sad looking throughout the day, every day. Promise yourself to try, try to have a slight smile plastered on your face.

As though it's part of your makeup, subhanallah. And see what happens. You will change not only your life, but I promise you, you will change the globe. Everyone around you will have a totally different perception. They will want to know what is the driving force behind you being so happy all the time. If you could tell them, I'm actually sadder than you, but I'm just smiling.

Subhanallah. That smile is contagious. Other people will smile. We will all smile. We break the ice between us and others. If I believe I'm on the right path, whenever am I going to get the opportunity to discuss that with those who differ with me? When? And there are so many who believe they may be on the right path, and they probably are not.

We, myself included, need correction because that is the condition of humankind. None of us is perfect. If I'm making a mistake, and I'm not prepared to talk to anyone, and I'm not prepared to interact or to listen to any other opinion, when am I going to realize my mistake? I won't.

I need to listen. I need to think. I need to be able to open my heart, and I need to know for me, as a Muslim, my guidance comes from revelation.

Yes, if whatever is being said, something is proven that I have done or said something wrong, I need to acknowledge that I'm wrong. And that's what makes me even more tolerant. I was tolerant of somebody's opinion, and I got to learn that, guess what, mine was wrong and theirs was right.

I promise you, it has happened to me, where I firmly believed that something was absolutely right, and later on someone came to me, and they explained to me, look, you made a mistake, this is what you said,

and this is what you did, etc. And subhanallah, I thank the Almighty for giving me the opportunity to listen to it, to be able to acknowledge, to be able to understand.

Worship Through Building, Not Destroying

My brothers and sisters, I want to go back to a verse that I recited earlier, where the Almighty says to the Muslims, and to all of us, obviously it's a verse in the Quran, so the Muslims would believe it, others may not believe it.

What do we believe? We believe we were created in order to worship the Almighty. In order to fulfill His instruction and stay away from His prohibition, that will result in our peace and comfort in this world, and the success in the next. That's what I believe.

That's what we all believe. So, the Almighty told me, told you, I've sent you on earth in order to worship Me. He didn't say, I sent you on earth to kill those whom you differ with.

I sent you on earth to fight those whom you disagree with. I sent you on earth to spit on others. I sent you on earth to destroy. No. I sent you on earth to build. I sent you on earth to worship.

I sent you on earth to try to spread the goodness. If Allah wanted, there would have been nobody misguided. I read that verse for you.

But because He wanted to test us as to how patient we are with others, He created differences. Are you prepared to be different? Are you prepared to listen to someone and to discuss in a dignified manner, in a respectful manner? I've known within Muslims, within Muslims of intolerance, within a sect itself of intolerance, just because someone has a different opinion. How? I'm not saying give up your opinion, but I am saying be tolerant of others.

They have a right to exist. Remember that. They have a right to exist.

Protection of Places of Worship

It's up to you. Subhanallah, if you look at the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about the masjids, the places of worship, the churches, the synagogues, etc. And Allah says:

"Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about how had it not been that people had to check one another... had it not been for that system of the Almighty, places of worship would have been destroyed by mankind themselves."

My brothers and sisters, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him has told us that even at the time of war, make sure you know that the places of worship are safe havens. Today, people go into a place of worship and commit murder.

A'udhu billah. People go into a place of worship and commit murder. Yes, we know what has just happened in New Zealand.

But I'm talking about even beyond that, as Muslims sometimes people think, because these people are Christian, they have no right to worship. So they end up going into the church and wanting to eliminate the people who believe in a different faith. Not realizing the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, himself said, whoever enters that place of worship is actually safe.

You have no right to harm them even at a time of war. How's that? Subhanallah. Those who enter the monastery are safe. Those who enter the church are safe. Those who enter the synagogue are safe. This is at a time of war.

And yet there are people who believe that this beautiful religion of tolerance has istaghfirullah, teachings that are intolerant. No, not at all. Those are misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

May the Almighty grant us goodness and ease. So my brothers and sisters, it's very very important for us to continue discussing this topic. We need to clarify the doubts that we have from those of knowledge.

We have three full days inshaAllah where we will be discussing various aspects of tolerance. And the idea, like I say, is not to water down your faith. That is a mistake that people think.

I recall people who told me, that you know, whenever you want to engage someone and you're talking to them so nicely, come on, you're showing that Islam is weak. That's not true. Actually the strength of Islam is in this beautiful characteristic that we have, that of tolerance, that of goodness, that of reaching out to people.

The Limits of Tolerance

So my brothers and sisters, I pray that the Almighty benefit us. And I pray that the Almighty grant us a good understanding. And I would not like misunderstanding, because like I said, if you sit and ponder for a moment where you came from, and where the person you totally disagree with came from, you will realize you are one family.

And you know what? If you were traveling on an aircraft, or in a ship, or perhaps if you were moving in any place, and suddenly there was a disaster that struck, be it a natural disaster or any other type of a disaster, what would happen? People would strive to save one another. They would strive. If I fell right now here, may Allah forbid, without knowing me, people will run to my assistance, male and female.

If an accident happened on a road that has little traffic, a deserted road somewhere, and an accident happened, and later on a car came past, of people who really differed from you. They were a different race, a different religion, a different inclination, different ideas, different everything. But I promise you that humanity sets in, they will stop and help you.

They won't ask you, sorry, tell me, what religion are you? Oh, this religion, you can die, goodbye. They won't say that. Islam teaches you never to say that.

It's humanity that clocks in:

The most beneficial of people, the hadith, the Prophet Muhammad says, peace be upon him, the best of people is the one who benefits most the rest of the people.

(Sunan al-Daraqutni Hadith 2906)

How do I benefit the rest of the people? Subhanallah, the best of you are those who have best character.

So now comes a man, and he says, you know what? Well, I'm going to go around slapping people because they need to be tolerant of me. I believe that I must slap people. So I'm going to go, and I'm going to slap that man, and that man, and that man, and that woman, and that woman, and I'll slap them as I'm walking out.

And if they want to do anything to me, I'm going to say, you're supposed to be tolerant, don't you know? You're supposed to be tolerant. Can I tell you? That proves to us that there is a line. When we speak of freedom, when we speak of tolerance, we are not speaking of the usurping of rights of another.

You steal someone's property, you cannot come and say, sorry, at the police station, they're supposed to be tolerant, come on, I stole, that was just my weakness. Recently, I read an article where, a thief actually said, that since I was born, it was in my jeans to steal. So don't blame me.

Wallahi, I read this a few days ago. A thief who was caught, he said, since I was born, it was in my jeans to steal. So he must have stolen a pair of jeans as well.

He says, it was in my jeans to steal, so I stole, why are you punishing me? Hang on, hang on. You cannot use the term tolerance to perpetrate crime, and to claim that you're not going to be dealt with. That's not tolerance.

So, as much as you are free, you are not free to damage someone, to hurt someone, to take the rights of someone else, there is a line. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us understanding. The same applies to insult.

While we are free to talk, we are free to say things, we are free to express ourselves, we must be respectful. Because the moment we begin to say things that are hurtful, hateful, insulting, we will be taken to task. And we have to be taken to task.

Someone has to stop you. Because if they don't, it's going to create chaos and disaster across the globe. Hence, we check each other.

Number one, we remind each other, listen my brother, please don't do this, this is wrong, this is not allowed. You cannot come in and steal or damage.

You know, I have the right to drive on the road. Once I have a license and a car and everything is registered and it's okay, I'm good to go. I have a license to drive on the road, but I don't have a license to

bump into someone else. If I bump into someone else, I'm going to pay.

I have to pay. I cannot say, sorry, this is the year of tolerance, so you got to tolerate my bashing. That's foolish.

I have a license to drive, but I don't have a license to break the law. In terms of speed limit, in terms of seat belt, in terms of so many other things. If I've broken the law, I will pay.

So, this goes to clarify the issue of injustice, oppression, and the violation of the rights of others. That is not included in the term tolerance, where we cannot use tolerance in order to perpetrate these crimes. May the Almighty grant us goodness.

Hating the Sin, Not the Sinner

The last part of what I'd like to say this evening is connected to the issue of hatred. Yes, I will hate things. Sometimes I hate certain behavior. We all hate criminals, or should I say crime. Let me word it again. We all hate the crime.

But there is a noble level that Muslims are taught and trained. As much as we hate a crime, we need to have hope that perhaps the criminal will regret. He will feel the sense of remorse and change his life.

Yes, the punishment of this world will be meted out. Say for example, a man commits murder. We hate murder. We don't accept it. We won't allow it. We'll try our best to protect everyone from it.

But if someone has committed murder, while the law is dealing with them, a true heart that is filled with compassion should actually be praying within it that the person feels the remorse, that the person perhaps turns to the Almighty, that the person regrets, seeks forgiveness. That is a separate matter from the justice of the world. I remember there was a perpetration of a crime not too long ago in New Zealand.

And I remember putting out a little note saying, you know what, we should be praying for this person to see the light. And people thought I'm saying, forgive him, forgive him completely. I have no right to tell people to forgive someone when the crime has been committed against them.

But I do have a right to say, pray for the man if he realizes and he regrets and he shows remorse. Surely one part of his dealing has been sorted out, that with the Almighty. Perhaps there is hope for his hereafter.

What will happen on earth? He will face justice. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us an understanding. So we will inshallah be going into greater detail of what I've said this evening and many other aspects of the issue of tolerance in the next three days.

Closing

I pray that the Almighty grant acceptance and I pray that we've benefited from what I've said. In a nutshell, we need to learn that the right we have to hold an opinion, the right we have to be firmly upon our faith, we need to understand others have a similar right, we will differ, we will discuss, we will

exchange notes, we will propagate, we will continue praying for, we will hope and where we are wrong, we will also change ourselves. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a broad understanding.

I conclude with this statement, and may Allah send His peace, blessings, and mercy upon our Prophet Muhammad.