Rerouting To The Straight Path

Rerouting To The Straight Path

Opening Remarks and Welcome

Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam ala rasulillah. I want to say salam to brother Omar Suleiman who is leaving. But I would like to say it is my pleasure again to have my brother Imam Sheikh Suhaib Webb and Imam Omar Suleiman with us here at Adam Center.

The first time actually I come to know about brother Suhaib Webb from our brother, I don't know if Omar, brother Omar is here, that he is from Oklahoma and brother Omar met him in Oklahoma and he talked to me about the brother Suhaib Webb and says really we should have him here. At the time he was in Egypt but alhamdulillah he is back here. I am very happy to see also how many people have come to this conference.

I said last night this conference has been organized by the youth of Adams from A to Z. And that itself shows that the youth have really taken the responsibility and the sense of ownership of learning and studying Islam. And therefore the poster that you see, the inviting of this invitation to the speakers, and all this arrangement done by the youth of Adams. Can you give them a hand? Thank you.

Appreciation for Parents and Youth

Secondly, I would like to say that the parents of this youth have really been very supportive of their children engaging in these activities. They come into meetings, planning, and so forth and so on, and they know that this is the right place for them to be, which is Adam Center. And I would like to appreciate the parents of the youth by supporting them, by having them to come here to Adam Center and do all of these wonderful activities.

Give a hand to the parents. And finally, I would like to say, when we talk about youth in Adam Center, as the most important group this masjid serves, we do mean that. By sitting in this basketball court, the biggest room in Adam Center is a basketball court.

That's the proof that this masjid has really had the youth in mind when they designed the masjid. I heard Brother Omar Suleiman yesterday talking about how the youth have led the Muslim Ummah and the importance that they had in the history of Islam. But we can make history now also.

The Vision for Muslim Youth

History in the making in the United States. And be made, inshallah, by these young people that you see here. Don't underestimate them. And each one of them, inshallah, will be a shining star in the sky of America. And I would like them to believe that. You know, they say that, if a person has a great soul, that he is striving for excellency and for good, that person, their body might get exhausted.

Because people who have great impact, they dream big. They think big. They act as leaders. And when you read in the history of Islam, in the Quran, that Yusuf, peace be upon him, was dreaming about the stars prostrating before him. And the moon and the sun. Muslim youth have to think like that.

There's an Arabic saying, they said, aim to the star, you might get the top of the minaret. Dream big. Think big. And everything you do in your life, no matter how little it is, it builds up any goodness that you do. Don't believe in any good deed that you do. Even stuck in a chair after this lecture.

Or sending a message to somebody about what you heard from these wonderful speakers. Share the knowledge you have. That's how you make a difference. And I would like you to know that after this event, we would like not to stop here. We would like to do more of this good work. I would like to see more of activities.

I would like to plan more of our activities. And you will get my support and the support of the youth committee. And Dr. Yunus Merza sitting there. And the support of the administrations. We would like you to know that we are very proud of you. We would like you to take this sense of leadership today.

So that you be the leaders of the community, Muslim community at large, tomorrow. Inshallah. May Allah bless you. May Allah reward you for what you have done. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have more of you inshallah. Jazakumullahu khair. Assalamualaikum.

Introduction by Sheikh Suhaib Webb

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Alhamdulillah. Wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulillah. Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. First of all, it's great to have met Imam Majid. Ayna al-kawake min al-shamos. And he's a very dear friend of mine. We've traveled together a number of times.

You know someone when you travel with them. And I've traveled with him over a good portion of Europe. It's a long story, but mashallah, he's a party animal for Allah. I'll just say that. And straight halal. Straight halal. But he's a great man. And you're really lucky to have him. Hopefully he can stay here more often.

And try to anchor him down. Because he's a great person, alhamdulillah. And Sheikh Omar is actually ill. So he's asking you to make dua for him. He's been traveling quite a bit and he's sick. And secondly, it's an honor to be with you. Whenever you visit a community and you see people. And you see the Muslims. And you see the majalis.

Or the majalis of barakah. These are gatherings of barakah. And the sakina comes. The dhikr Allah is there. Mentioning al-Habib salallahu alayhi wasalam. So it's a great barakah to these experiences. And we should appreciate the time that we have together as muslimin.

The Importance of Not Taking Things for Granted

You know Imam Ibn al-Jawzi mentions in his tabaqat al-huffadh, which is a collection of historical figures who were considered huffadh and hadith. People who memorized more than a hundred thousand hadith. And he mentions. You know we take things for granted. Because we're talking about the straight path. And he mentions Imam Abu Dawood. The great writer of the sunnah. One of the writers of the sunnah. And he mentions Sajistani. Abu Dawood al-Sajistani rahimahullah.

Who was a student of al-Tirmidhi. And al-Tirmidhi was a student of Muslim. And Muslim was a student of Bukhari. And Bukhari was a student of the sheikh of Imam Ahmed in hadith. And he mentions that Imam Abu Dawood. One of the things that I want to talk about now. When we talk about the straight path. Is not to take it

for granted. Not to be negligent of things. Not to look past the little things that we tend not to really understand how important they are. One of them are these gatherings. Right.

So Imam Abu Dawood was riding on a boat. Small craft. Like a faluka if you've been in Muslim. Faluka. So he was on the faluka. Which is like a small canoe. And a man on the shore. Around 30 yards from him sneezed. And the man said. Alhamdulillah. So Imam Abu Dawood said. The man that was you know steering the boat. Turn back and go to the shore. So he was like well this is ijara. Like you know we made a contract. We're taking you from here to here. It's like a taxi. So if I take you to the shore.

You know it's like taxi drivers now. It's still in the middle east. And other places you gotta pay me more money. If you want me to take you to the shore. So and here too. So Imam Abu Dawood said. No problem. And he gave him. He said I'll give you whatever you need. Just take me to the shore. So he took him to the man who sneezed. And Imam Abu Dawood got off the boat. And then the man said to him. (يَهْدِيكُمُ اللهُ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَكُمْ - Yahdiikumullah. Wayuslihu balakum) (Sunan Abi Dawud 5033).

Then he came back. And the guy on the boat said to him like. You could have just yelled it. I mean I didn't have to like. Drive you. In the water right. Steer you back to the shore. But Imam Abu Dawood said. He said. Imam Abu Dawood said. Perhaps. He was a righteous man. And his dua for me will be accepted. That is not taking the little things. For granted.

Understanding Sirat al-Mustaqim

And we talk about. Coming to Sirat Mustaqim. Or the straight path. We should understand that we need to be very nuanced. And very appreciative. Of all things. Whether great or small. And that's what it means to be shakir to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The straight path. In Islam is something very interesting. Number one. The straight path is a rhetorical device. Used in the Arabic language. And for those of you who are students of knowledge. It's kind of for you. Which is a form of rhetoric. Which. Falls under the subject of what's called. Al-Bayan. Al-Bayan is from the three subjects that rhetoric touches on in Arabic. Al-Bayan. Al-Bayan is the art of how to say things in a totally fresh funky way. I mean that's not what you're going to read in the classical book. But that's how we can break it down here. Since it's a youth conference and all. You know what I'm saying.

The Art of Arabic Rhetoric: Isti'arah

So. Bayan is the ability to articulate something. In different ways. This man is very brave. You know. This man is very brave. That's just a regular Arabic sentence. It's cool. You know. Alhamdulillah. Or you can say. This man is like a lion. So now you said the same thing. He's brave. But you said it in a way. That like adds the syrup to the gulab jamun. It makes it like. Oh. Nice. And that's called tashbih. Comparison.

But the highest form of this. Is called isti'arah. Isti'arah. And I don't really know how to translate it in a word that makes sense. The English equivalent is no joke. You know it's like eight syllables. Right. Isti'arah. Tasrihiya. Which means. You hide. The object of comparison. Which would be the man. And you hide the article of comparison. Which is kaf. And you leave. What the subject of the comparison is. Which is asad.

So let's say you saw. Shaykh. And I'll give you an example of this. Shaykh Majid Hafidhullah. He gave a khutbah. And you came home and someone said. Who is giving the khutbah? And you would say. MashaAllah Imam Majid. Egyptians know what that means. They say he gave a great speech. Imam Majid gave a great speech. Cool. That's the first level. That's like you know. That's like Drake. No it's not very good you know. It's just Aubrey you know. It's kind of cheesy but it works. But then. May Allah guide him. Then. I mean. She's like. I mean. I hope so. Shoot. I'm single.

Calm down girl. We got Drake's over here. MashaAllah. These Drake's are holding down the Quran. May Allah put their brakes on Drake. So that's your basic sentence. And I did that on purpose to get your attention. Don't write a blog post about me or nothing. Number two. Is if I came home and you said. Who gave the khutbah? And I said. MashaAllah. A Shaykh. Al-Yonkel Badr. Allah.

You can only do this in Arabic. You do it in English people. There's something wrong with you. But we have our own ways of doing it in English. But usually it's a little different. Rakim was a master of it. And still is. And I came home and said. You said. Who gave the khutbah? And I said. Man. Today. Dr. Majid was like a full moon man. Because the full moon reflects the nur of the Prophet. See the beautiful comparison here in Arabic.

But if I wanted to take it to another level. And make isti'arah. And I came to the house. And you said. Who gave the khutbah? And I said. Al-Badr. The full moon. So I hid the object of comparison. I hid the article of comparison. And I just brought the comparisor if you will. In the sentence. And that makes you think. And this happens all the time. Those of you who have been to Arab countries. And you had a boab. Whenever a boab would get mad at someone. What does he call them? Does he say. This man is like a donkey.

Or does he just say. Donkey. Isti'arah. And those of you who speak Amir. No one should bully you for that. Because the foundations of beautiful Arabic language are in Amir. For real. So he would say. Donkey. And the reason that that comparison is so profound is. Since there is no object of comparison. It brings about a sense of universality. Umum. So then the guy who is called the donkey is like. How am I like a donkey? Do I smell like a donkey? Do I look like a donkey? Do I walk like a donkey? Do I talk like a donkey? I mean this is the height of insult.

And no Muslim should say that. So when I say Badr. In reference to Imam Majid. I am not. I'm not restricting his light as a khateeb. Now think about why it's called Siratul Mustaqeem. It's not used for no reason. It means. Islam is like a straight path. But instead of saying that. It just says Siratul Mustaqeem. Because that creates what's called. Tashwiq Sameh. And we have to appreciate the Arabic language. And some people. Oh this is hard. We need to move beyond cheerleading. Islam is great. Yeah we're Muslims. Awesome. So what man? Let's get into it.

Because we have to create a generation of people. Who are educated. To a degree that those who come after them. Can continue their education. And that eventually have. An Islamicized rhetoric in the English language. And we create scholars. Here in this country. Women and men. Who speak our language. I didn't say Drake on purpose. I don't like him at all. And I didn't know who he was. Until I went home one day. And my daughter said. Drizzy Drake. And I was like. What? No you didn't. No I didn't say that. I was like. Who is that? Tell me about him. And then after a while. She was like. I was like. Yeah. Squared.

The Power of Quranic Imagery

Guide us to the straight path. Meaning. (اهْدِنَا إِلَى دِينِكَ وَهُوَ كَصِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - Ihdina ila dinika wa huwa ka-siratin al-mustaqim). Guide us to your religion. Your way Islam. Which is like a straight path.

And the reason that that happens. Is because it creates a powerful image. In your mind. Because the job of isti'arah. Is (تَجْسِيدُ الْأَفْكَارِ - tajsid al-afkar). And I want you to appreciate the language. The job of this type of metaphor. Is to take a thought. And actually give it in imagery. So you can touch it. So Islam is an intangible. It's a concept in your mind.

How do you visualize it? And that shows you. The centrality of revelation in our lives. It goes back to what I started my talk with. Because revelation presents Islam. As a concept in imagery. That makes it absolutely clear. That this is the real deal. And now you can understand when Allah says (يُخْرِجُكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ - Yukhrijukum mina adh-dhulumati ila an-nur) (Quran 65:11).

Allah took you from darknesses to light. You weren't in a dark room somewhere. And suddenly the lights came on. But what it means is. He took you from (ضَلَالَة - dalalah) Misguidance. (كَالظُّلُمَاتِ - kadh-dhulumati). Which is like darknesses. And brought you into (إِيمَان - iman). Faith. Which is like what? A light. Are you with me? And the reason I'm saying that is. You can appreciate the power of the investment of your Lord. In the book He sent you. And as an extension of that. We as Muslims should try our best. To invest as much as we can. In making da'wah properly.

Because when you study the Quran deeply. One of the things that you feel is shukr to Allah. Because you see the absolute beauty of the book. And that it is from Allah. It's not from any human being. So when we talk about (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim).

Number one is we should understand. That this is imagery. And that in many places in the Quran. The deen which is an intangible. It's a concept. Is given a tangible. And that's the job of what I call isti'arah. Isti'arah is to give. For example, I can't qualify his khutbah. So I say he's like a full moon man. One time I was in Azhar. And I asked one of the sheikhs. Describe for me your sheikh. He said, (شُمْسٍ - shams). A sun. So he's comparing him to the sun. To give it an imagery. His love for him. I can't hold his love and measure his love.

So understand when we talk about (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim). That you are engaging in one of the highest forms. Actually the Quran set the bar for this. Of rhetoric ever seen in the Arab world. That when it dropped. When it came down to the Prophet. And this type of imagery was employed. That's why the Arabs were moved. One of the diseases of modernity. Is that we've turned the Quranic miracle. Into a scientific miracle exclusively. But the Quran is more than that.

Defining the Straight Path

So (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim). Imam al-Muhasibi رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah. In his book (رِسَالَةُ الْمُسْتَرْشِدِينَ - Risalat al-Mustarshidin). He identifies what is (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim). And he says very clearly. (كِتَابٌ وَسُنَّةٌ وَمُجْتَمِعٌ عَلَيْهِ الْمُهْتَدُونَ مِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - Kitabun wa sunnatun wa mujtama'un 'alayhi al-muhtaduna)

min ummati Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wasallam. The Quran, the sunnah. And what the general body of scholars have agreed upon.

Now that's good. But the beauty of (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim) in Islam. For us. Is that it encompasses two very opposite concepts. Number one is rigidness. That there are parts of (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim). That we are not flexible on. Like tawheed. God is one. (لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ - Laysa kamithlihi shay'un wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad) (Quran 42:11, 12:4).

And that Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) is the final prophet. You know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says. Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) is the messenger of Allah (وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ - wa khatama an-nabiyyin) (Quran 33:40) Noor (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - salallahu alayhi wasallam).

Again that language here goes. Muhammad is like light (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam). Our belief in the malaika as taught to us by our prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) don't budge. Our belief in the finality of the Quran. That the Quran is the everlasting miracle of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam). And that the Quran and sunnah are GPSs for us. For how we should live and function in this life.

Fundamental Principles of Faith

These are what we call fundamental principles of our belief of Sirat al-Mustaqim. Our respect for Ashab Rasulillah (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam). The homeboys and homegirls of the prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam). The companions is not what Sahaba means by the way. It does not mean companions man. It's star track. Mr. Scotty was the companion of Captain Kurt (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam).

But Sahaba comes from the word (صُحْب - suhb) which means to rub and get dirty. You know in slang we say that's my dirty man. Right. It almost has the same meaning of those very 90s. Forgive me. But to rub together to the point that we're like you know I'm saying like this. That's Sahaba. But in order to appease the liberal academic establishment. We have drained the emotion from the translations. So now you know it becomes very you know politically correct. We make the translation very friendly.

But we lost the feeling of how the companions would talk. And how the prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) addressed him. And even how the Quran would address. Ask any Arab to translate (تَبَّتْ يَدًا - tabbat yada) (Quran 111:1). They ain't going to translate that for you. Right Arabs. If someone says (تبا لك - tabban lak). You have me fired. Because we know what that means. Boy. So (تَبَّتْ يَدَا - tabbat yada). You know perish he. Get out of here with that man. Perish he. No that means like you know. Incinerate him. That's the real feeling of it. And we lose that emotion. In order to appease certain people. But that emotion is key to the dawah.

The Balance Between Rigidity and Dynamism

So what's incredible about (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam). There are fundamental principles of it. Which we are not flexible about. Which we hold as being no pun intended cardinal to our faith. Central to our identity as Muslims. But at the same time what empowers us as Muslims. And makes us so dynamic and

beautiful. Is that (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمٍ - sirat al-mustaqim) on its opposite. Is something which is very tolerant. Something that actually engages and encourages differences.

And creates a dynamism that allows Islam to be (صَالِحٌ لِكُلِّ زَمَانٍ وَمَكَانٍ وَ لِكُلِّ أَحْوَالٍ وَالْأَشْخَاصِ - salihun li kulli zamanin wa makanin wa li kulli ahwalin wal-ashkhas). To be fitting for any place, time, people, group or reality. And that's incredible. Because even if we ask the scholars of logic. Because we study logic. اجْتِمَاعُ نَاقِيضَيْنِ مُحَالٍ - ijtima'u naqidayni muhal. Noah Al-Akhdari said in his book السُّلَّم - As-Sullam Which is a poem that a scholar wrote about you know logic.

He said that bringing two opposites together is impossible. But not with Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). So here we have two opposites. Absolute rigidness. And at the same time this concept. And I don't mean this in the modern liberal meaning of pluralism. But we have a concept of pluralism. And dynamism that empowered the early Muslims. To engage different people in different societies.

And that is important for us as Muslims in America. Because we have a job to do here. We are not simply here to protect cultural clubs. But we have been commissioned by our Lord. Unequivocally to deliver the message of Allah to humanity. By any means necessary. As long as it's halal. And that goes back to what I talked about earlier. The idea of identification. If you see yourself as Pakistani first. Egyptian, Ahli or Zamaliki, first. Or American, white, Oklahoma, first. You have failed to identify yourself properly. If I see myself as this group, first. That group, first. Celtics, it's a hard one, first. Then there are problems. But first and foremost.

First Identity: Servants of Allah

And I remember Dr. Tariq Ramadan, hafizahullah, once. We were sitting with a group of sisters. And he said, Sisters, how do you see yourselves? They said, as the wives of men. He said, that's good. But that's not the first thing. The first thing is you are amatullah. The first thing is you are the servant of God. And everything else is secondary. Hathahul asl. And everything else is far.

So the beauty of Siratul Mustaqim. And this is where I feel that we have problems in our community. Is that when we talk about Siratul Mustaqim. We tend to think it as an uncompromising universal. That is gonna kick down the door. And be like a bull in a crystal shop. Whereas in fact, the beauty of this concept of Siratul Mustaqim. Is that it encompasses the idea of absolutes. But also is enhanced with an idea of pluralism and dynamism. That we learn from our Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) and the early scholars.

And for us in a transmodern reality. That's why Gardner said, the only faith that is really equipped to deal with the modern and postmodern age is dynamic enough to do so. Is Islam. Because Islam possesses principles which are going to maintain anchorage in the face of postmodernity. But at the same time, it is equipped with a sense of dynamism that empowers it to engage modernity. And this man was a non-Muslim who wrote this. And that doesn't make it any better. I just thought it was incredible that he was like أَفْقَهُ الْفُقَهَاءِ - afqah al-fuqaha.

Warning Against Extremism

So what is Suhaib Webb saying? And what I've seen is that we have community members who tend to be educated on one or the other. Those who think that خلاص - khalas man, this white boy is gonna change a thing.

Or the other, you know, this Shaykh is completely out of touch man. This is a pluralistic society. You know, we don't need to pray anymore. And you know, this stuff, you know, whatever.

So we have people that tend to be exposed to rather extreme variations of those two concepts. And that is, one, Islam is as it is, ain't nothing changing. And the other is, I'm gonna change everything. I'm gonna deconstruct the deen. And both are wrong. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) mentioned these type of people in a hadith related by Imam Muslim (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) who he said هَلَكَ الْمُتَنَطِعُونَ قَالَهَا ثَلَاثًا صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَا - Halaka al-mutanatti'un qalaha thalathan (Sahih Muslim 2670(.

He said, destroy all the extremists. And the word as Imam Ibn Qayyim (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) mentioned مُتَنَطِّع - mutanatti' doesn't mean the extreme right or left. It could be both. So someone could be مُتَسَهِّل - mutasahhil liberal, or someone could be مُتَشَدِّد - mutashaddid, that he sticks to the apparent meanings of text and ideas to the point that they're no longer relevant to anyone anymore.

And Imam Ash-Shatibi said, whoever did this is a fool. And he said, the Mufti, his job is to carry the people between both of those extremes as a doctor would carry a patient. He doesn't over-medicate and he doesn't under-medicate. And he said (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah), in the sixth volume of Al-Muwaffaqat بَلْ يَحْمِلُهُ - bal yahmiluhu. He carries this person on a way which is in the middle. وَهَذِهِ الْإِسْلَامُ - wa hadhihi al-Islam.

Islam as Moderate Path

So when we say that Islam is moderate, what do we mean? We mean that Siratul Mustaqeem as a universal encompasses certain fixed concepts and beliefs and practices for which we cannot bargain with. Like Tawheed, like Salah, like Hijab for example, like Hajj, like not wearing skinny jeans. Some of you brothers man, your skinny jeans need to eat some carbs man. There are certain areas that we will not compromise as Muslims. And then there are other areas for which scholars from the time of the Sahaba till now have negotiated.

And those negotiations have been influenced by a number of variables. And I'll mention a few. Number one is a person. Taking people into account. اعْتِبَارُ أَشْخَاصٍ - itibar ashkhas. So in Sunan Abu Dawood, we take this principle, when you study fatwa, this is a class you take on how to look at people. How to understand people are different.

That surfing in Microsoft is not the same as surfing if you live in Santa Cruz. That a man came to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) and he said يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - Ya Rasulallah. Can I kiss my wife in Ramadan? فَقَالَ لَهُ نَعَمْ - Faqala lahu na'am رَوَاهَا أَبُو دَوُدَ فِي سُنَنِهِ - rawaha Abu Dawud fi sunanihi (Sunan Abi Dawud 2385). Man asked the Prophet, Can I kiss my wife in Ramadan? He said, Sure, no problem.

In the same gathering, Imam Al-'Ayni Al-Hanafi mentions it very beautifully, that another man raised his hand and said, What about me? Not you. So Imam Al-'Ayni commenting, he said, لِأَنَّ - li'anna. Because the first guy, he was an old man, it takes him a while to get things started. You know what I'm saying? Just keep it nice. That's actually what he wrote because we have become so embedded in a fashionable piety that we are not empowered to address the real issues.

Remember that. Adh-Dhahir

Remember that. Adh-Dhahir in Urdu. As if you're Mawlana. Samihni. And this is important. And that's why wherever I live, I teach Usulul Fiqh. Because, (لَيْسَ مَنْ مَن لَّمْ يَتَعَلَّمِ الْأُصُولِ فَمَا عِنْدُهُ أُصُولٌ - Laysa man man lam yata'allam al-usul fama 'indahu usul). Whoever hasn't studied that, should not really get off into Islamic activism. Or if they do, they shouldn't talk too much. they're gonna make, as Imam Umar ibn Abdalaziz said, (أَفْسَلْ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا يُصْلِحُ - afsal akthara mimma yuslih). They will create more trouble than good.

Two Types of Text: An-Nass and Adh-Dhahir

So, we have two type of text. Identified by our scholars from the earliest ages. One is called An-Nass. The word Nass means to be high. They used to call, you know in Pakistan, in Malaysia, I had to do it. You ain't seen the pictures. When I married my wife, they made me get up on that throne. You know, watch the throne. And, and I remember I was up there and I was like, man, this is high, man. I'm a tall dude. And this throne is, and they call that (نَ الْعَرِيسِ - nass al-'aris). It's called Nass because it's high.

So it's used, watch how this is gonna come back to haunt you. It's used as a comparison, just like (صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - sirat al-mustaqim). You call a text which is so explicit and so clear (نَصّ - nass). So that text is like (نَصّ - nass). Just like Islam is like a straight path. The same thing as isti'arah. What that means is a text as one of our mashayikh said, (مَا لَا يَحْتَمِلُوا تَأْوِيلُ - ma la yahtamilu ta'wil). A text that doesn't allow for interpretation.

Allah says, for example, and you guys okay? Everybody alright? And so Tabakar Allah said

- thalathatin fil-hajji wa sab'atin idha raja'tann (Quran 2:196). That a person should fast three days in hajj if they violated certain things, and seven when they get back

- Tilka 'asharatun kamilah (Quran 2:196(. He says that's ten. Three and seven equals what? So that's a (نَصّ - nass). It's so explicit. Three and seven is ten.

No one's gonna say, well I think you know, if we can deconstruct ten according to Maslow's understanding of hermeneutics, you know, seven and three actually could be like what? And then we all get into this weird, stupid, post-modern garbage. (لَا مَوْلَانَ هَذَا النَّصُّ أَوْسُكُوتَ يَا مَوْلَانَ - La mawlana hadha an-nassu awskut ya mawlana). Allah said, clear.

You can say, well you know, I don't know because like (أَقِيمُوا - aqimu) could be, you know, with calf, and you know (يَلًا مَاشِ الْحَالَ مَامًا - yala mashi al-hal mama). Or someone could say, you know, for example Allah says (أَتِمُّوا الْحَجَّ - Attimmul-hajj) (Quran 2:196). Complete the hajj. Hajj is hajj (هَذَا النَّصُّ - hadha an-nass). Allah says (وَاعْبُرُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا - Wa'budullaha wa la tushiriku bihi shay'an) (Quran 4:36). Worship Allah. Don't make shirk. (هَذَا النَّ - hadha an-nass).

And the Quran and Sunnah has these kind of texts, where the scholars didn't debate about their meaning. In fact, Al-Qarafi said, you should never attribute these texts to any madhhab. Because the madhhab is a term which immediately means a scholar had to engage an understanding. So he said, if he said, according to Malik, you should pray five times a day. (لَا - la), that's wrong. According to Allah, you should pray five times a day. According to Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam), you should pray five times a day.

And that takes us into the next type of text, Adh-Dhahir. Adh-Dhahir is a text which allows the scholars to debate and argue about it because it's not conclusive. It's not nass. It doesn't stick out. For example, Allah says,

فَإِلْطَعَامُوا سِتِّينَ

- fa-it'amu sittin (Quran 58:4). Miskeen. Allah says, let them feed sixty poor people. What does miskeen mean? No, not if you're Abu Hanifa, it doesn't.

Miskeen in Arabic has three or four meanings. One is like a pound, sixty pounds. Another meaning of miskeen is a poor person. So you find the majority of scholars said (إِلْطَعَامُوا سِتِّينَ - it'amu sittin). Miskeen means to feed sixty poor people. Abu Hanifa said, not according to us up here in Kufa, miskeen means sixty pounds of weight, not people. That's called (ظَاهِر - dhahir).

Examples of Scholarly Differences

The scholars are gonna differ. Watch how beautiful it gets. And I know you're tired, but we have to raise the discourse. And one of the things I love about Imam Majid Eminem is that Eminem don't play, yo. Right? He raises the discourse. You have a full functional madrasa in your community. Take advantage of that, man. So, we find that the scholars differ over who should pray in the masjid. The Hanbalis say, if a man lives close to the masjid, he has to go to pray in the masjid.

Sadat al-Maliki, the Malikis, the Shafis, and the Hanafis, they say, no. It's mu'akkadah, sunnah mu'akkadah. But if he does it constantly, it's a problem. If he fails to go constantly to the masjid, that becomes a problem. Now, what's interesting in here, pay attention is, the Hanbalis' evidence is that the Prophet said, I wish I could have wood and do what? We all know the hadith. This hadith makes people who love, you know, human rights flip out.

It totally violates the Geneva Convention. And let me explain that before you write it down, sir. Or record it. But what's the hadith about, I wish I could collect what and do what? For people who don't come to the masjid and pray. I wish I could what? Collect firewood and what? And burn down people's cribs, who don't come to the masjid (Sahih Al-Bukhari 644, Sahih Muslim 651). So the Hanbalis say, here's this hadith.

The Prophet said, if he could grab, collect khashab together, and burn down people's homes, it's all like popcorn on Saturday night, man. What do you think about that, malikis? And the malikis, being the ultimate ballers that they are, responded. But this is cool. What hadith do you think they used to respond? The same hadith. They said, well, our proof is, that he didn't do it. And we have an axiom that says, if the Prophet threatened something and never acted on it, then it was only to instill a sense of importance, not reality.

Here's two divergent opinions, based on what? The same text. Now, if that's the case, and this happened with the sahaba, this happened and we don't have much time, one day we'll come back and do a course on usul al-fiqh, insha'Allah. And you have one of the greatest scholars in America, in usul al-fiqh, Imam Majid, here, right now, amongst you. Take advantage of that opportunity. Sheikh Majid is like a buffet, that's just waiting to be devoured. Real talk.

Importance of Adab with Scholars

And that's the same thing as surat al-mustaqim. I did it on purpose, by the way. I could have said, you have a buffet here. That would have been the same usage. And he's someone that you should have adab with. One of the biggest fitness I've seen in American communities, is they take the giants in front of them for granted. They

don't have proper adab with him. You know the restroom in front of his office? Today, I felt like Bear Grylls in Survival Man, trying to make it through that restroom. Wallahi, man.

It's like that new space movie, where they land and they all die, with the snow white lady. Right? Man, that's your imam's restroom, yo. Have some adab. First of all, there's massive punishment for the person who does not know how to use the potty properly. Okay, hello. And secondly, this is the restroom of your imam, B. Like, there should be like hayat, man. I mean, it was jacked up today. I'm not gonna lie. It was like Survival Series.

I pulled out the flint, the flint and the compass. I'm here, in Imam Majid's restroom. I have 24 hours to live. Right? And he wasn't here. So, it wasn't him. Don't even try to go that way. And I saw some kid walk out with a Wu-Tang Clan shirt. I don't know what they was wearing. No. Protect your neck. Protect the tahara. Real talk.

That's basic adab with your sheikh. Basic adab with your ulema in front of you. Because you can't get knowledge being an arrogant fool. You can't be knowledge having a hard heart. Oh, this sheikh, I read on PalTalk. You know, I was on some, you know, disjointed, jacked up people net talk show. And they were blasting. Today, we're gonna talk about the matter of suheibweb. What is wrong with these people? The matter of Majid. Talk about the matter of your hellfire, man. So, real talk.

So, we have the same text in two different opinions. But guess what? The Hanbalis don't play. The Hanbalis responded. Oh, yeah? We got another text. That there is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque. Rawahotirmidhi (Sunan At-Tirmidhi 217). The Malikis, the Shafis, the Hanafis said, Oh, yeah? Well, guess what? There's no prayer at the neighbor for the mosque except in the mosque. Huh! Same text. And this debate continues right down the line. They use the same text over and over and over and over again.

When There Is No Text

Now, that takes us to a third component of Salatul Mustaqim. And that is when there is no text. We established that there are two different type of text, right? The text we don't play. Then there's a text we argue about it. So, for example, to wear niqab or hijab. Why are women busy about that? We should welcome hijabis and niqabis equally. And just as we like to have sisters on stage with makeup, you know, may Allah help them realize that their foundation is here and not here. And they're out there rocking it. And we present that to the people.

See, we're modern, alhamdulillah, you know. We should equally have a niqabi who's articulate, intelligent, and understand what it means to be massive imam, swagger in America on the mic. Because she's equally part of our community. And we should not call them ninjabs. You're talking about the dress of your mothers. The wives of the Prophet were wearing niqab.

But, look at the discussion around niqab. The majority of fuqaha said it's not fard. The Hanbali said it's fard. What's the proof? They all say, the hadith of Abbas. His brother, Fadhl. When the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) saw him on hajj, and a woman came, and he turned away from her (Sahih Al-Bukhari 1513, Sahih Muslim 1218).

They say, he turned away from her because the aura of the woman is her face. That's the Hanbali position. Bam! Respected. You right here. You ask the other three, they said, although he turned away from her face, the

Prophet did not order her to cover. They use the same evidence for two different positions. That's total crack right there, without the bad side effects. I mean, it's just incredible. And you see the plurality.

And not to belittle crack, it's a horrible thing. And those of us who came from the 80s, we're lucky that we don't have all kinds of cognitive issues because of it. Right? Our P's are not B's and stuff. But that's a real problem in our community, by the way. But the same text is used for two different opinions.

The Role of the Mufti

Now, that takes us into the third type of text. And that's where it's a blessing to have someone like Imam Majid here. Because the Suyuti said in Ashbat wa Nadhair, that it is fard on every community to have a Mufti in their city. Because the job of the Mufti is two. Are you guys okay? I know it's deep, but it's important. Imam Abu Amr ibn Salah al-Shafi'i said in his Adab al-Mufti, his etiquette of the Mufti. He said (فَقَدْ يَقُومُ الْمُفْتِ مَقَامَ النَّبِيِّ - faqad yaqum al-mufti maqama an-nabiyyi).

I don't know how to translate that, Mawlana. But listen to what he said. He said that there are times when the Mufti stands in the position of the Prophets. What did he mean by that? Before we label him as something that he's not, because he was an incredible human being. The Shaykh of Imam Nawi. Abu Amr ibn Salah said that because the job of a Prophet was to clarify religious guidance for the people.

And to relate on behalf of his Lord to people what cannot change. So sometimes people come to a Mufti, they ask him a question and he just says (قَالَ اللهُ قَالَ رَسُولُ الله - qala Allahu qala rasulullah). Allah said this. The Prophet said this. So he's like the Prophet. (فَإِلَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّقْتَ رِسَالَتُهُ بَلَغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مَن رَبِّكَ فِي قِرَأْ رِسَالَاتِهِ - Fa-illam tafal fama ballagt risalatahu balligh ma unzila ilayka min rabbika) (Quran 5:67).

But Ash-Shatibi came almost 150 years after Abu Amr ibn Salah. Abu Amr ibn Salah Ash-Shatibi in the 7th century. Ash-Shatibi said 791 after Hijri. In the 8th century actually. In Andalus. Allah. He said no. There are also times where the Mufti stands in the place of Allah. Now what did he mean by that before we declare Ash-Shatibi a deviant because we are so quick to do that. And then we end up hurting ourselves.

But check yourself before what? You wreck yourself. What he meant here is that there are issues for which there is no text. So he cannot function in a prophetic office because he is not able to relate anything from Quran and Sunnah to directly speak to that. For example carbon emissions. You are not going to find in the Quran a verse about carbon emissions. You are not going to find in Sunnah explicit text about carbon emissions.

Or fair trade. You won't find that explicitly mentioned. So he says here the job of the Mufti is to utilize as Ash-Shafi'i said, He said, Ash-Shafi'i said that the text of Quran and Sunnah are limited. But af'aru al-'ibad, the actions of people are not limited. Thus Ash-Shafi'i said, there has to be a way to deal with those unlimited actions implicitly relying on a system. And what he meant was Usul, the system of the Mufti.

I'm sorry, but I felt that this had to be dropped. Because it's a real deal. So when he says this what he means is that the Mufti is trained in a way. For a fatwa. Because the word fatwa means to clear something that's ambiguous. That's why we call young people what? In Surah Al-Kahf (فنية - fitya) (Quran 18:13). Because when you arrive at puberty you become clear. Oh we thought she was going to be ugly. Thank God. Mashallah. Mashallah. You do our work baby. Right? Because then it becomes clear who he is, who she is.

Understanding Fatwa

So the fatwa, also from the same word, means to make something clear. Which there is something which is ambiguous to the Muslimin. That also is part of Sirat al-Mustaqeem. And the reason that I'm touching on that is if the scholars said that there are two type of divine texts. One which we do not differ on its application. And that's the minority. And one, Dhahir, what the scholars have differed from the beginning till now. Then don't you think we should have a little bit more, you know, compassion. And a greater sense of acceptance when it comes to the opinions of scholars? Fatwa? And that's the rule.

Because the scholars said, Ash-Shafi said it well in Al-Um. That the fatwa is something that came from the minds of men based on Sharia. And that we should allow each other to have depth and breadth and acceptance when fatwas come from people who were qualified. And I'll finish and I'll give you this example. Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal. In his madhab, if you eat camel's meat, and you don't have that problem in Virginia as far as I know.

There aren't any camels local to Herden, Virginia. Right? He said, if you eat camel's meat, you have to make wudu (Sahih Muslim 360). Malik, rahimahullah, because his madhab was the soundest and the strongest and the most right, because it's from Medina. He said, sorry. He said, just joking. He said, no. People from Medina used to eat camel meat. They didn't make wudu. And these are the grandchildren of the Sahaba.

So someone asked Imam Ahmed, because people like to make trouble, right? You know the troublemaker people? They like to ask questions. Oh yeah, what do you think about this? Haha, haha. Pow talk. They shouldn't call it a pow talk. They call it shaitan talk. (إِنَّمَا النَّجْوَى مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ - Innama an-najwa mina ash-shaytan) (Quran 58:10). Najwa is from shaitan.

And any of those big scholars who like to talk about people, if they don't have the testicular fortitude to speak to them in their face, they're cowards. So you can talk about Hamza Yusuf Ali I in your closet. Go to the man's face and say, you know what, I think you're ahlu bid'ah. Go to Ya Saqqadi. You so hard, you talk about Ya Saqqadi all day long. Go down to Memphis, Tennessee, because they got them country fellas, swamp people.

Go to Sheikh Yasser and say, you know what, I think you're wrong. They not respect you. But for you to get a group of little teenage kids who live in the suburbs and got nice iMacs, and their mama and daddy's got them full Skype with their credit card, and they're able to sit there and listen to you all night long. Oh, you're just a really big, bad, brave man. And you don't even let people put comments on your YouTube page, you're so scared. Milkshake.

Yeah. And you know what's scary about that person? He has absolutely no training in the deen. And if he's here, I'd say to his face, because I'm 6'5 and I got these fly shoes on. And secondly, I will say this. The scary thing is, you compare that to the number of people who go to Tafsir Quran by Nu'man Ali Khan. You'll find 20,000 people went to Tafsir, and 250,000 people went to listen to this man slander other people.

What is wrong with our ummah? What is wrong with our ummah? That we are gathered around fitna, instead of being gathered to the good. We know what flies like to gather around, so we understand, maybe what our spiritual states are like. Whereas when I converted to Islam, I used to drive an hour every day to memorize Quran with the sheikh in our home.

Respecting Scholarly Differences

So that takes us to the last point that these muftis are gonna differ from Saudi Arabia to America to Malaysia to Egypt. They might have different opinions about things, based on nassas. And as Shafi said that, that is something commendable, and something that we should have great respect for, and adab with. So when the people went to Imam Ahmed and said, Would you pray behind an Imam who ate camel's meat, trying to make trouble? Imam Ahmed said, Subhanallah. Would I not pray behind Malik? And he said it in a rhetorical way, means like, If Malik was in front of me, I'm gonna pray behind him. He could have a camel burger, man.

I'm a rocket behind, because that is a man I respect. When Shafi went to Iraq, he prays qunut. It's highly recommended in the Shafi'i madhab to pray a qunut after fajr. And the students of Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Al-A'tham, they wanted to see, is he gonna pray a qunut? And he didn't. And they asked him why. He said (احْتِرَامٌ لِصَاحِبِ هَذَا الْقَبْرِ - ihtiraman li-sahibi hadha al-qabr). Out of respect for the person buried in that grave.

And he pointed to the grave of Abu Hanifa. Look at the adab that they had before. So when we talk about sirat mustaqim, let's visualize a number of things. Number one is fiqh. Number two is tasawwuf, tazkiyat al-nafs. Number three is aqidah, as-sahihah. All of that is under sirat mustaqim. And in articulating that, we have texts that are fixed, texts that are open for interpretation, as Shaykh Ibn Bayyah told us, the majority are that way. And then finally, the efforts of religious scholars to allow people to continue to tie as we say (رَبْطُ السَّمَاءِ بِالْأَرْضِ - rabtu as-sama'i bil-ard), to tie the heavens into the earth, were their fatwa.

And in those issues, none of those are absolutely fixed on anyone, but there's an absolute sense of respect. And that's why Al-Qarafi said (غَيْرُ يَزْمٍ - ghayru yazim). He said about the fatwa, it's not binding on anyone. Just because your Shaykh said this and my Shaykh said that, doesn't mean I have to follow you, and you have to follow me. But what they did say, is it's not allowed to fight about it.

Ibn Taymiyyah's Wisdom on Disputes

And I'll give you a beautiful example. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, I believe is the most misunderstood scholar. Him and Imam Al-Ghazali, are two of the most misunderstood scholars in history. And utilized by people in the wrong way to create divisions in the ummah. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, was once sent a question, by people who were arguing about, did the Prophet see Allah? On the night of Isra and Mi'raj (صَلِّي صَلَّمْ نَبِيُّنَا رَعَى هَا رَبَّهُ - salli sallam nabiyyuna ra'a ha rabbahu) (Quran 53:18).

And in the question they said, we be... Actually the question started about the meaning of istiwa, which I find very interesting. The meaning of God rose on the throne. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, when he read the question, they said, oh and by the way, we actually physically fought, in the masjid, about this issue. We went like blows for blows, be. Because it was about the minhaj. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, his answer, we hope to translate it soon.

He said, I refuse to answer your question about the meaning of istiwa. But I want to address one issue. Why are you fighting? His answer, Ya Mawlana, is about why are you actually hitting each other? You're muslimin. Why

are you physically going at it over this issue? You're not even ready for that. You guys are like rumparoom, man. And that shows you the fiqh of that imam and his understanding now.

He has been misappropriated by many in the name of certain articulations. So we talk about salatul mustaqim, what does that mean? Loyalty to wahi, and respect for the opinions of the scholars. And if we're able to garner that as a practice, wallahi, we'll be able to move beyond a lot of these things that are stopping us from bringing good to the people.

Because we are the ummah which is bringing goodness. We are khayru ummah ukhrija linaas (Quran 3:110). And our Prophet is Sayyid al-awwaleen wal-akhireen. Alayhi afdalus salatu was-salam wa tasleem. But I believe that as Sheikh Mustafa Zarqa said, from the tricks of shaytan is to get us caught up in these little issues, so that we're not able to address the major issues. So what I wanted to do is define salatul mustaqim for you, in somewhat of an interesting way, so that you're able to visualize it.

The Comprehensive Nature of Sirat al-Mustaqim

And one end it contains things which are not flexible. And on the other end it has this dynamism that especially for those of us in America, and especially those of us born in America, who know that the wire wasn't a TV series, right? Those of who know what it's like to live in certain realities, whether it's the burbs or not. But we have to be empowered to know, and as I finish, that the fatwa is affected by the following things.

I mentioned one is people. Number two is place. It can change according to the, if you will, qabla as tipping point that is apparent in certain areas, based on the understanding of the mufti, as he takes the kulli and applies it with the jiz'i. He takes the universal and makes it work with the text itself. And that's not easy. Number three are certain dispensations recognized by Islam, like fear.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said, (إِنَّ مِنَ الْمَسَائِلِ جَوَابُ وَهَا سُكُوتُ - inna mina al-masa'ili jawabaha sukut). He said some issues, their answer is to be quiet, because you fear for your life. (رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ مِّنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُوا إِيمَانًا - rajulun mu'minun min ali fir'awna yaktumu imanan) (Quran 40:28), for the man who hid his iman, fearing for his life. (إِلَّا أَن تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً - illa an tattaqu minhum tuqat) (Quran 3:28). It's mentioned in Quran.

Number four are phenomena, what are called nawazil, issues that suddenly befall the Muslim community that require the fatwa to change in order to make sure that the benefit for that person in this life and the next are maintained. And I'll give you an example of that. I had a woman who converted to Islam in California. She drove via Maulana five hours to me. And she said, Sheikh, I have become Muslim, and my father is the head of a religious cult. He is the spiritual father of this religious cult.

And I am the heiress of the cult. I said, subhanAllah, ajeeb. But I want to be Muslim, because the cult is kufr. I was like, yo, this lady is something else, man. She didn't have on hijab. You know what I'm saying? She came in incognito. And she said, but there's a problem, Sheikh. If I announce my Islam, I may be physically harmed. Real talk.

Real-Life Fatwa Scenarios

And I got to teach Sunday school. Because if I don't teach Sunday school, they're going to come after me and

my daddy. She said, but alhamdulillah, I only teach tawhid. Even in the Sunday school, I teach tawhid. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. I'm doing like a hashi on that joint. I said, subhanAllah. She said, I'm not going math, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, letters to Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. No, no, no, no, no.

I'm sticking with Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I might touch on Malachi, but that's pushing the envelope. And those of us who came out of Sunday school, you remember VBS. Vacation Bible School. We memorized all that. So she said, Sheikh, what do I do? I said, keep doing what you're doing. She said, but how? Like I'm Muslim, and if I want to do Islam, but if I do it, I'll die. I was like, exactly, you're going to die. And we need you alive.

She's like, but how do I pray? I said, go in the restroom, shut the door, cover the toilet, put a sajada down, and pray in the restroom. As the Malikis allow this. That's not a fatwa for the whole community. But that's allowing her to maintain her Islam. Another sister called me last year. Listen to what some people are struggling with in this country, so you can appreciate what you have as I finish.

She became Muslim, right? Her mother found out. Immediately stormed her to the church. Evangelical, hardcore man. Sat in front of the preacher, he went off, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, kept going at it. She didn't say anything. And then the mother said, if you're going to stay... This is a minor, single parent family. If you want to stay in our home, and not be homeless, then you have to go to church every Sunday with me, and don't be Muslim. She never responded about the don't be Muslim part, she just goes to church on Sunday.

And it's interesting in Khalil, Ya Maulana, Imam Khalil talks about the convert to Islam was forced to go to the church. And this was written 700 years ago. It's a very beautiful thing. And he said, we don't declare him as a murtad, because it's karaha. He's being forced. You know what she told me? I have to fast Ramadan, Imam, how can I do it? I said, Wallahi, that's a tough one right there.

Because she said, if I wake up and cook food, or after sunset and cook food, my mother is going to know, I'm what? And don't tell me the community is going to help her. Come on now. You know what she did the whole month of Ramadan? She broke her fast on protein shakes. You know the powder in your room, you can put in a glass, and put some water in there, and you get like a meal replacement thing.

And she did suhoor with protein shakes. And she said, I have maintained my relationship with Allah, and even though I wasn't able to do certain things, my iman is the iman of Bilal, man. She didn't say, I'm Bilal, but she said, I feel what Bilal said he went through, because I'm going through it.

The Need for Contextual Fatwa

Now, if we would have not given her fatwa and just told her, you know what, forget it, you got to go buy some Joe Babs, man, kick down the door, forget Sunday school, these crusaders, man, they're straight on like popcorn, and you know, go cook in the morning and tell them to become Muslim, or they're going to hell. And that's what happened to me when I became Muslim. And it took me eight years to fix the damage I did with my mother.

Eight years to fix that damage. But here's where you can't, and these type of fatwa also shouldn't be published to the people. This is fatwa khas. But what I wanted to show you is how that might differ from Saudi Arabia, that

might differ from Egypt, that might differ from Sudan, that might differ from Somalia, because we have to make sure that people are able to maintain their faith as long as they can and stay strong. And that's our role.

So Surat al-Mustaqim encompasses those uncompromising texts, aqidah, and acts of ibadah, then it has those texts that scholars have negotiated till now, and then it includes the intellectual output of scholars. And what that means, as I finish, is that yes, there can be an American Islam. I get hit, oh, what do you mean by American Islam? No, I'm not talking about changing those fixed texts. I'm not talking about, you know, changing those texts that are different about, according to some postmodern philosophy.

But when it comes to doing what's best for people here, to keep their faith and spread this faith, I gotta make that call, when I'm allowed to. And what that means for the younger generations, you as youth, is that Islam is a source of inspiration, a transformative energy, that is gonna stop you from living a binary existence. Because one of the questions I have about Islamic schools is, is your goal to create a binary existence, or a synthesis? The goal should be a synthesis.

America Needs Islam

Because believe me, America needs Islam just as bad as we do. I saw in Boston in the last four months, 61 converts. Puerto Rican, African American, upper class white folks, Cambridge, Wayland, Dorchester. And a 19-year-old Puerto Rican girl walked in my office and said, I'm Puerto Rican and white, all these dudes is looking at my backside, all they want is my digits, I am a human being, Imam. I was like, who are you? And then she said, it is your job to guide the youth of America. Where are the young Muslims? I was like, man, can you get the khutbah tomorrow? She was like, this is like, Sadaqallahul Azeem, dude.

Like, she's dropping it. I was like, are you Muslim? She's like, no. I was like, what are you talking about then? She's like, I want to learn Tafsir of Quran. I was like, it's not Tafsir, it's Tafsir. And she studied Tafsir of Quran for two weeks in English, and then one day she did it. And two weeks later she got married, Alhamdulillah.

And now she's holding it down. But she told me, the young Muslims, where are they? Where are they in the sense of integrated into our culture so that they bring the nur of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - salallahu alayhi wasallam) into the public square? That it touches the people. So, when Dr. Majid tells you to go forth and engage, it's not because he's a modernist sell-out, it's because he's holding on to one of those important principles of Siratul Mustaqim.

And if you were to amputate one of those principles from Siratul Mustaqim, either too far to the right or too far to the left, this is bid'ah. And this is extremism. But as our Shaykh Ihsan Bashir, he said to us, Siratul Mustaqim encompasses the totality of Muhammad's message. From yu'allimuhum, from yuzakkihim, all the way to akhlaq and teachings.

Muslim Identity in America

So as young American Muslims, what that does is give you a creative impulse that should not be suffocated by culture, should not be suffocated by false notions about religion. And as converts, in order to be Muslim, we don't have to change our names and adopt Arab clothing. The thobe that so many of us wear that say it's the sunnah. Do the research. The thobe was introduced 300 years after his death.

It came from Persia, dude. That was the clothes of the Persians. We should not have to adopt a culture so we go back to our neighborhood and speak to our boys in the park. They're like, who are you? Don't you know me? I'm Abdul Malik. I never knew no one named Abdul Malik. And what are you wearing? I got some candy.

And that happened to a brother of mine. One of our homies who converted to Islam wore the thobe every day in the turban, not to chastise anyone, but Imam Nawi never wore a turban or a kufi when he led the salah. And that's Imam Nawi. He's a mujtahid in the Shafi'i method. And he went to the bank, dressed like that, and a man came to him and said, man, where can I buy that costume, yo? Yo, you look just like bin Laden, B. And I'm not saying that to make fun of anyone. If you want to dress that way, that's your business.

I'm pro-choice. But I'm just saying wisdom-wise, man, for us, we go home dressed that way, man, we're going to flip our parents. And my father cried when he saw me dressed like that. He said, what happened to my son? What did they do to my son? Even his dress code has changed. Where is my boy? And I said, well, I changed my name too. And I don't eat your meat.

And that music is haram. And let's tear down them pictures. And get rid of the dog. And the beer, got to go. And they were like, but we're not Muslims. We're kuffar. I was like, so what? Don't Islam me up in this house right here, boy. My dad was like, but who pays the bills and the mortgage? I was like, okay, well, mortgages are haram.

Hope for the Future Generation

So what that last final principle means is that there's a lot of hope for this future generation. And that you have a responsibility to lend yourself to centrist scholarship. Centrist scholarship. Who is able to respect the nuances of this Sirat al-Mustaqim. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless all of you. May Allah increase this important institution. What I love about this institution is you see according to dress code, all kinds of Muslims here.

And that's healthy, man. That's a very healthy thing. Because our community is not simply a monolith. Read the Pew study about Muslims. 15% of Muslims in America even go to the masjid. So this is not the community. We're the minority. The majority of Muslims are where? God knows. And we have a responsibility not only to be ministers to them, but custodians of others.

Jazakallah Khairan. Wa salallahu ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.