Real Islam- A Response to Bill Maher

Real Islam: A Response to Bill Maher

Opening Sermon

"[Indeed, all praise is for Allah; we praise Him, and seek help from Him, and ask for forgiveness from Him. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the wickedness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray; and whomsoever Allah leads astray, there is none that can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, alone, without any partner, the One, the All-Subduing, the Exalted, the Oft-Forgiving. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, his family, and companions, and abundant peace.]"

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims."

Supporting Our Scholars and Leaders

You know, people love to take Shaykh Hamza and I have my own theories about that. We can differ with Shaykh Hamza on number of issues but the khair of Shaykh Hamza is much more. The good of Shaykh Hamza is much more.

Dr. Ingrid Madison, a brilliant young scholar, a brilliant woman who's a scholar, Maryam Amir Ibrahimia, a young woman who's in Azhari, was my student for 10 years, Hafath of Quran, speaks Persian, English and Arabic. Why are these people not pushed by the broader community? Because we're too busy arguing. Zahir Ali, a brilliant scholar and Malcolm X who lives in New York City. Intisar Rabb, who lives in this city. These are people that we should strategically support and there are others as we continue this struggle. So we ask Allah to let us understand the power.

The Prophet's Concern and Our Deep Reflection

Although I differ with my brother upstairs, I appreciate his sincerity but the Prophet was concerned about what people thought about him. If it wasn't the case, the Quran wouldn't have corrected him. Number two, that we need to think deeply, deeply, deeply about the situation.

Understanding the Challenge of Islamophobia

Islamophobia now, they've raised 22 million dollars in five years. That's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. 22 million dollars in five years. Look at just the attack on me in one week from three different angles. Even the Muslim site that claims to be Muslim is ran by the Islamophobes. It's not ran by Muslims. That's how deep it gets.

Realizing Our Potential Through the Prophet

Secondly, we need to understand that each of us has potential to be realized through the Prophet. We should aspire not be broken. And the third is the need to strongly support institutions and individuals.

Lessons from Qari Abdul Wahab al-Baghdadi

Now Qari Abdul Wahab al-Baghdadi was one of the greatest scholars of his age. He had no support in Iraq. I'm saying this with respect to Iraqis. This is now. This is a thousand years ago. Don't get upset with me. He had no support. He's a talented leader. Brilliant. He was undermined by people close to him who did things, tried to replicate things that he was already doing that undermined him.

Secondly, he didn't have a supporting cast. To the point he left. He left Iraq and moved to Egypt. And the Egyptians, you know, mashallah, they hooked him up. And he said, (لقد كنت في العراق كالمصحف في بيت زناديق). He has a poem where he talks about this. He said, I was in Iraq like a Quran in the house of someone who hates Islam. That's how I was in Iraq.

Supporting Institutions and Individuals

So not only should we support institutions, even though we may be critical of individuals, we need to see a larger good and support those people. We ask Allah to create a bond between the hearts of Muslims. And we ask Him to make us firm on the truth. We ask Allah to show us the truth and make us from those who follow the truth. We ask Allah to make us from people of wisdom and mercy.

Supplication for Our Community Leaders

We ask Allah to allow us to forgive each other for our shortcomings and to magnify the good that we do. We ask Allah to bless brothers like Harun Mogul, Wajahat Ali, Sister Intisar, Dr. Ingrid Madison, Sheikh Hamza, Dr. Yasir Qadhi, those people Riza Aslan, those people who are Deen Ubeyrullah, who are speaking on behalf of our community at the public level. May Allah provide them insight in prophetic wisdom in doing that work.

Closing Supplications

We ask Allah to unite us with our beloved Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We ask Allah to help those of us who in our community are sick. May Allah cure them internally and externally. We ask Allah to bless the people of Somalia. We ask Allah to bless and protect the people of Iraq. We ask Allah to protect us from dhulma, wherever they are.

We ask Allah to make the Book of Allah beloved to us and the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) an inspiration for all of us. We ask Allah to make us from the vital center (أمة وسط) (Quran 2:143), as we ask Allah to make us a blessing and a means of blessing for those of around us. We ask Allah to forgive our parents who have passed away, to guide our parents who are alive, and to bless those around us with hidayah through our actions.

Prayer for Sister Mariam

We have a young girl who passed away, she was only 10 years old, Sister Mariam. We'll be praying janazah for her after Salatul Jum'ah. We ask Allah to give her parents patience. We ask Allah to make her a means for their maghfira.

Closing

"Glory to your Lord, the Lord of might, [exalted] above what they describe, And peace upon the messengers, And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds."