Unity in Light of Sectarian Differences A Pragmatic Approach - Shaykh

6/23/25, 5:49 PM Khutba Transcription Verification - Claude wants to make takfir of everybody else wallahi I thank Allah that none of these people holds the key to Jannah or else Jannah would be empty wallahi I swear to you any jama'ah that makes takfir of all the other jama'at they have shown that they are mistaken simply by their fanaticism The default of the Ummah is that it is upon good and the bulk of the Ummah is correctly guided why do we know this? because, listen to this carefully, it's a theological point is there a Prophet after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ? yes or no no, what does this mean about the message of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then? it means his message is going to be what? true, but what does it imply about the message? preserved, protected why were previous Prophets had to be sent other Prophets? because their messages were what? corrupted, their messages were misguided, their messages were lost, the fact that our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is the final Prophet and there's no Prophet after him automatically implies this is a necessary corollary, a necessary follow up that the bulk of those who follow this Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم shall be within the rightly guided Ummah that's why we don't need another Prophet and wallahi the average Muslim knows this you know what corrupts you? sectarian scholars corrupts you The average person the average uncle and auntie knows this, that the bulk of the Ummah has good upon them, this is the fitrah they know this, it's only sectarian scholars that say oh look at where he places his hand, judge him based upon that, ask some abstract question about theology nobody's ever heard of, and based on the answer then you classify him, you categorize him put him into a pigeon hole, before you met that sectarian scholar your fitrah, your heart told you any Muslim who loves Allah and his Messenger is a good Muslim, that's the way the world works, right, and I'm telling you that is what the Quran and Sunnah tells us too, the default of Islam is that it is pure and good, the default of the Ummah, they love Allah and they love the Messenger and they shall enter Jannah if they follow the basics of Islam

The Hadith of the Bedouin

Go back to the hadith of the Bedouin, the famous hadith Ya Rasulullah how many prayers? Five that's all? Yeah that's all, how many how much zakat? Oh two poor families, that's it that's it, how much siyam? One month, one month that's it Ya Rasulullah if I do this and I live a good life and I make the halal and I make the haram, shall I enter Jannah? He said yes, khalas (Bukhari hadith 46, Muslim hadith 11) Make Islam simple, not because we're trying to water Islam down, but guess what surprise surprise, Islam is simple Islam is easy so the second point, is that the Ummah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is bigger than anyone firqah, anyone maslak anyone madhhab, anyone jama'ah anybody who says the kalima, becomes a part of that Ummah

Principle 3: Differences in Revival Methodology Should be Complementary

The third point the third point differences in how to revive the Ummah, should be viewed as complementary and not in competition, differences in methodology should be viewed as complementary generally speaking, what do I mean by this and again let me be explicit here some movements they prioritize some aspects of the religion other movements prioritize other aspects of the religion and as long as these movements prioritize legitimate aspects of the religion there's good in all of them because Allah did not create us to be exactly the same Some people are more interested in the academic study of Islam, other people are more interested in extra ibadat other people are more interested in living a very simple and zahid life avoiding the luxuries, other people they don't have this, they just want to do the bare minimum and move on, and Allah has revealed a religion that caters to all of these groups from the time of the sahaba some of them excelled in one field and not in others and the Ummah needed this diversity Khalid ibn al-Walidradiallahu anhu was needed for his speciality, he wasn't an expert in fiqh, he never gave fatwa he didn't narrate lots of hadith, we didn't need him for that, Abu Huraira was not known to be at the forefront of the battlefield he wasn't known for that, we didn't need him for that Mu'adh ibn Jabal was the academic the mufti, we needed him for that every one of them Hassan ibn Thabit was a poet the artist, he was a poet he was not able to participate in war, he couldn't hold a spear we didn't need him to hold a spear we needed him for his poetry every one of us has a role to play, and as long as we understand that this diversity is something that is natural and that the aspect that the group is calling for overall is within the fold of Islam, well then so be it good for us

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6/23/25, 5:49 PM Khutba Transcription Verification - Claude Examples of Contemporary Movements So for example you have some movements I don't want to cause controversy but I mean I don't see a problem mentioning them by name because I'm praising them, I'm not saying anything wrong, for example the Deobandi movement, right, the Deobandi movement and I'm going to be saying praiseworthy things, don't worry don't splice my words and say read negative the Deobandi movement, mashallah tabarakallah, they're doing such amazing work in preserving a version of fiqh the Hanafi fiqh, and they're very concerned about everybody following Hanafi fiqh and mashallah they have a system, and wallahi if this was the only benefit for them, we would owe them so much the Deobandis, may Allah bless and protect them, the number one contribution to the ummah, they emphasize hifdh of the Quran wherever they go, mashallah tabarakallah just spouting hufadh we thank Allah for the Deobandi movement, I am not Deobandi, I thank Allah for the Deobandi movement The Tablighi Jama'at, yes I'm going to go there guys don't worry the Tablighi Jama'at, mashallah tabarakallah, good people you meet them and you sense purity, you sense innocence, you sense spirituality, and they want you to come and pray in Jama'at, and go with Jama'at, and go in khuruj, and this and that you know, make sure the beard is longer and good okay, mashallah, good reminders we need these reminders, may Allah bless them The Jama'at Islami, yeah I'm going there, don't worry the Jama'at Islami the Ikhwan they bring an important element, guys you know all of this ibadah is good, but we need also to impact politics as well, I mean you have to build a society, didn't the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم bring about a Madinah society, and that's a legit point, I mean he did without a doubt, right The Salafis, yes them as well aqeedah aqeedah, aqeedah, and yeah okay, it's good, we need to know what is aqeedah, teach us, okay

everyone is within that mainstream, everyone is interested in one aspect, and they're doing something that they feel is good for the Ummah so take the good and try your best to minimize the bad, and understand

Not everybody is going to be interested in politics, not everybody is going to be interested in academic study of Islam, not everybody is going to be interested in a specific Hanafi Fiqh or what not but within the Ummah you will find diversity, and some people will flourish with that interpretation, and so mashallah, they join it, and they go far in the deen, without that movement, they couldn't have gone far in the deen give them credit for that and see that they are drawing closer to Allah and His Messenger so, differences in methodology should not be viewed as competing Ya Ikhwa Muslims, Wallahi it doesn't matter whether your children are Salafi or Deobandi or Ahli Hadith or Sufi in this environment if they're praying five times a day if they're avoiding the major sins Alhamdulillah Allah has blessed you with a treasure more precious than this whole world and all that is in it do you not understand this point? who cares? which specific understanding of Islam if they're praying five times a day they're wanting to come to the masjid they have an interest in Islam in whatever level however level, whether it is Hanafi Fiqh books, whether it is Tahawi and Ibn Taymiyyah whether it is revivalism and Sayyid Qutub whatever it might be isn't it better than watching HBO and Astaghfirullah Game of Thrones, let's be honest here isn't it better than the filth around us? thank Allah that your children are involved with some type of activism rather than nitpick about oh, but your version isn't the version of my grandfather don't worry about it, it's all good Different methods of revival appeal to different minds different minds different psychologies as I said, some people appreciate spirituality and mysticism and so they find comfort in Tasawwuf, good for them other people appreciate activism I need to be, and Allah created people this way, so good for them if they find comfort in Islamic activism, other people appreciate the academic study, I'm one of them, I love reading abstract books written a thousand years ago, that's when I find myself closest to Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala, literally reading abstract historical controversies of Nishapur in the 3rd century my mind is just abuzz, if you listen to my library chats, Allah created me that way that's the way I am, I didn't choose this path, right, and guess what, you need a nerdy geeky person like me too, okay, alhamdulillah I hope I'm also of some benefit of the Ummah everybody has a role to play Rather than view it as competition broaden your horizon and understand

so this is my third point here, differences on how to revive should be viewed as complementary, and what this means to be brutally

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6/23/25, 5:49 PM Khutba Transcription Verification - Claude honest all of these revivalistic movements around us today, all of them we should stop viewing them as competition against each other, all of the Mujaddids of the last 3, 4, 500 years, look up to them and respect them, and yes you might yourself like one more than the other, no problem, I get it you yourself might be attracted to Shah Waliullah Dahlawi, good for you another will like, you know, Sheikh Ghimari from Morocco, another will like the Ba'alawis in Yemen, another will like the Tijanis, another will like this, you know what whichever movement you find a level of activism a level of comfort and you are coming close to Allah and his messenger, and there is scholarship, we're gonna come to this point, there is legit scholarship in all of them then you know live and let live you find your way, and don't make others who find other ways the enemy Why? because listen to this, for every one of you that has found one way, there are 5 that are completely lost, 10 that are completely outside the fold of practicing Islam, is this not correct? Wallahi is it not correct, for every one of you that has found one of these paths there are at least 5 to 10 that are not praying committing major sins have no interest to be close to Allah and his messenger, why are we bickering amongst ourselves when all of us should be focused on outside, there is plenty no need for competition The problem is we consider the masjid pool the competition this is our problem wallahi, this is our problem, and so the salafi looks and says, oh these are not all salafi, I need to make them salafi the jamaat islami go, I need to make them all jamaat islami the tablighi goes, oh khuruj chawla let's go, chawla let's go right? everyone

(Quran 23:53) guys there is plenty of fish outside the masjid plenty correct? much more so, the fact that we're all coming here, don't worry about it these people are all praying go find somebody outside and then bring into your maslak and I'll say, zaka Allah khair, no problem for me simple as that The world has so much to offer you and even more, non-muslims out there, we can all agree that to bring somebody into Islam what a big blessing, right? so, instead of prioritizing practicing muslims who disagree with you, look at the broader picture and realize that, differences of methodology are complementary

Principle 4: The Banality of Trivial Differences

My fourth point and I gave a khatir about this last year, you should listen to it my fourth point, I'm gonna teach you some basic psychology here, you guys weren't expecting this I'm gonna teach you some basic human psychology this is a well observed phenomenon and it is studied in sociology, it is studied in anthropology, it is studied in psychology it is called, the technical term the banality of trivial differences, the banality of trivial differences, technical term even Freud mentions it in his books and other people mention it, the anthropologist of religion as well, first also mentioned this, and this is a principle, by the way, it applies in every field of human existence, not just religion in every field, listen to this principle it's a principle of, lived experienced life of anthropology, history, culture religion, anything, listen to this anytime, two things or two groups of people or two societies are closer and closer together automatically the differences between them become more pronounced inverse proportionality the closer two groups are the bigger the trivial differences become, and the farther apart the two groups are the more trivial even the bigger differences become

Example of Interfaith Programs vs Sunni-Shia Relations

I'll give you a simple example, and again I'm not missing my words the goal is not controversy, the goal is to make you understand we are sitting in, which masjid is this guys, which masjid? Isna, which is the largest masjid in Mississauga? No? uh oh, we got, uh oh I'm getting in trouble for this, one of the largest masjid ok, does Isna have interfaith programs where they invite Christians and they do that, right? Every masjid does, right? Yeah, nobody bats an eyelid, we can invite I have, we have, Epic has our masjid, we invite priests in Ramadan, before the conflict we invited rabbis as well, now of course we're not gonna do it but before that, we invited priests and rabbis ok, not because we have a problem with inviting them, but because of Zionism our problem is not with Jewish people, our problem is with Zionism right, remember this, right? So the, we would invite them, now and nobody bats an eyelid we can invite somebody who believes Jesus is the son of God, we break bread with them, we share, you know, speeches and lectures, we go to their churches, they come to our masjids When was the last time Sunnis and Shi'as had an iftar

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6/23/25, 5:49 PM Khutba Transcription Verification - Claude together in Ramadan? Yeah, I went there, I'm sorry, I'm gonna go there When was the last time? Never Doesn't happen Do you wanna know why? Banality of trivial differences Psychologically we find it more difficult to come to terms with somebody who's closer to us and those differences become more pronounced because they are closer to us Why? Because, psychologically, the threat becomes, the one that's closest to you is actually your competition

Business Example: Coke vs Pepsi

Let me give you an example in the business world Who is Coke's main competitor? Pepsi It's not sparkling water, even though, in actual sales, sparkling water is a bigger fitna for Coke than Pepsi is, but Coke doesn't care about Pellegrino sparkling water Coke only cares about Pepsi Because they view, and psychologically even, even though, despite all of your claims to the contrary, I guarantee you, 9 out of 10 people, if I put the two in front of you, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I know you think you know but you don't know, okay? 9 out of 10, you couldn't tell the difference between the two of them But the competition between them is so severe Why? Banality of trivial differences The perception is, because legitimately, this is my main competitor Similarly, we need to understand and apply this to our lives Salafis and Sufis Wallahi, I swear to you the average, non-practicing Muslim, will be in shock like, you guys are actually fighting over these things? As for the non-Muslim, he wouldn't even understand He would just go over his head like, you guys are too grooved because of what exactly again? Wouldn't even understand But the amount of animosity that has been generated over the last 30 years, between Salafis and not just that, before this Subhanallah, from the perspective of the outsider These two movements and more are exactly the same Let me put it to you this way If, what is your national newspaper here? The Toronto Mail, what is it? Toronto Star If a reporter from the Toronto Star lived in the house of a Salafi for two days, and then the house of a Sufi for two days, do you think in the interactions, in the way the children, in the way dating is not allowed in the way the television, in the way the Salah Do you think that reporter could tell any difference? No Then why are we creating differences? An outsider could not even tell the difference, from his world view It is exactly the same The morality we're teaching, the food we're eating, the akhlaaq of the children the ambiance of the household 100% the same But within our ranks, we have all these divisions, oh this is this, this is that This is this, this, that Banality of trivial differences We need to understand the psychological problem The closer two groups are the more exaggerated the perceived threat becomes, and so we instinctively kick in and make a very similar group much more problematic than it needs to be We need to overcome this So this is my fourth point, understand the banality of trivial differences

Principle 5: Understanding Syllogisms and False Implications

The fifth point here The fifth point is a bit technical, I'm teaching a little bit of philosophy, a little bit of syllogism And again, I hope inshallah there's some benefit The syllogism is Syllogism means philosophical premises, if X then Y If Y then Z Z is wrong, so X is wrong It's like basic syllogism, right? If X then Y If you say this, this implies something else This something else is wrong, therefore X is wrong

Example of Hand Placement in Prayer

Let me give you an example And I'm giving you a trivial example that does exist in the Indian subcontinent, Pakistani subcontinent, but it's not common I hope it's not common in Canada and America But it's well known, the difference between the Deobandis and the Ahli Hadith All the Pakistani Indians are aware of this The difference between Deobandis and Ahli Hadith One of the biggest differences is where to place the hands, and I'm not even exaggerating This is a matter of life and death to this group Like literally, okay? It's a matter of Sunnah and Bid'ah, Kufr and Watnah Right? Now I'm giving you a legit example, this is the real example from that bubble Each group says the Ahli Hadith for example, they say It is established that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم put his hand on his chest It is established that he did so This is X for them, right? If you reject X, if you reject the placing of the hands on the chest, this implies you are rejecting the command of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,which is Y If X then Y Rejecting the command of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is Kufr Hence, placing your hands on your stomach is Kufr This is a legit example that is well known in that part of the world, I've heard it multiple times with

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6/23/25, 5:49 PM Khutba Transcription Verification - Claude my own ears from their scholars And it goes both ways, the Deobandis have their own versions as well If X then Y, Y is Kufr, therefore X is Kufr Now, do you understand the syllogism example? Okay, I'm going to teach you some basic philosophy some basic syllogisms If X then Y 99% of the time exists only in your head not the head of the person that you are ascribing it to You are the one making this linkage not the person If you want to be technical, there is an Arabic maxim here

The corollary of an opinion is not the opinion The implication of an opinion is not the actual opinion What you've derived from the opinion is not the opinion, that's your derivation, and the person who holds it doesn't agree with your derivation Hence, when you make a verdict on your derivation that is not a verdict on the opinion, that is a verdict on your own derivation of the opinion In other words the deobandi will say to you I don't agree that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed with his hands over here and I have this evidence, this evidence, this evidence, that he prayed over there So from my perspective, I'm not rejecting the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم at all, you're the one assuming this of me

Application to Theological Controversies

And I give you a simple example We can apply the exact same example to almost every single strand of Islam Between Salafi Sufis, between even Sunni Shia, between the Barelvi and the Ash'ari, every group The laazim of the qawl And again, if you want to get technical There are so many examples, I don't want to confuse you all, but one of the controversies which again I mean, Allahmusta'an It is what it is. One of the controversies is What does it mean Allah has risen over the throne?

And this has been a huge controversy for a thousand years What does it mean

And we've had six opinions in early Islam Three of them became codified and then basically you now have, even within Sunnism, you have two or three strands. So one group says When Allah says he has risen over the throne, he has risen over the throne So there is a throne, and Allah has risen over it. The other group says, no this is metaphorical language, that means Allah has conquered, and Allahazawajal has majesty. There's no actual throne. Now, I'm not going to get into which one is right or wrong and what not I'm saying, each of these groups then reads in heresies in the other group's opinion So those that say Allah has literally risen over the throne they accuse the other group, okay if you deny this, you are denying the Quran and denying the Quran is kufr Simple. If you deny this, then you're denying the Quran And the response is, no they're not denying it. They are interpreting a verse just like the sahaba when they were told, pray zuhr or asr at banu quraiza the words are the same. They didn't deny the hadith. They interpreted it in a different manner. This is not a denial. In your mind, it's a denial. Not in the mind of the other group And the same goes the other group. The other group says if you say Allah has risen over the throne, then you mean astaghfirullah that Allah has a body, and Allah comes up and down, and that Allah sits, and Allah and the group that says risen, they don't say any of this. But each group ascribes to the other what the other group does not actually believe I'm telling you this, I hope you guys are following me. Next time you hear a shaykh criticize another movement and say, they say this, this means that cut off this means that cut it off because the derivation is something the person has derived and not that the other group holds. You understand this point? Once you understand this technical point, much of the animosity, and I can be even more blunt, I just don't want to cause any issues or troubles even between sunni and shia we can give examples that really our perceptions, even though I am sunni no doubt about it, I respect the sahaba but I don't make takfir of the shia. I'll be blunt here, I don't care what you guys say. I'm, this is, I've studied aqidah, I can defend my views. I don't make takfir. They're not kafir. They are not kafir I know what I'm saying and I can debate any of you. Come and talk to me, no problem certain aspects that certain people might believe might be kafir, but as a whole movement, no we don't make takfir of the 12 rishia. We don't. This is not mainstream sunnism even.

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Principle 6: Ignorance as an Excuse

Move on to the 6th point 6th and 7th and then we'll open some Q&A The 6th point, very important very basic premise of theology on the day of judgment ignorance is an excuse within mainstream Islam if somebody genuinely did not know, Allah will forgive them. On the day of judgment what is important? Your niyyah of wanting to worship Allah and believing in the messenger. That much ignorance is not excused. If you rejected Allah, there is no excuse, you knowing who Allah was. If you rejected the prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), that's not an excuse there but if you thought you're following the prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) incorrectly it is very possible you will be excused even if you make a blunder of the biggest proportion

The Hadith of the Man Who Burned His Body

Simple example, hadith is in Bukhari that the prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that on the day of judgment a man will be brought and this man when he was about to die you know the famous hadith when he was about to die, he told his children that burn my body and disperse my ashes. I don't want Allah to resurrect me.

I don't want Allah to bring me back together because I'm a sinner and if Allah resurrects me, he's going to punish me so I want to get out of the day of judgment I want to trick get out so that I don't have to have the day of judgment, right? So his sons burnt the body, distributed the ashes in the wind. Allah said (كُنْ فَيَكُونُ - kun fayakoon) (Quran 22:17), the body comes up Allah says what did you do? Why would you do this? And the man said Ya Rabb, I was scared of you So Allah says because of your fear for me, I have forgiven you (Bukhari hadith 7506, Muslim hadith 2756)

You were genuinely good intention but you were jahil. I mean I'm saying he's a jahil, right? He thought he could out trick Allah, correct? He thought he could outwit Allah but did he do so out of arrogance or out of fear? Fear of AllahAllah looked at the niyyah above the form Allah looked at the spirit above the letter of the law.

This hadith is well known in our tradition and this leads us to the principle that all theologians acknowledge that (الْعُذْرُ بِالْجَهْلِ - al-'udhru bil-jahl) excuse because of ignorance. Fact to the matter, I don't want to get too controversial but I'm pretty fairly certain the bulk of you in this audience, the version of Islam you follow, you were born into it or max, you were exposed to it as a young man or woman and it was your first version of real Islamic spirituality jahil and activism I am positive 99% in this audience are following the version of Islam that you were born into or you were just born a generic Muslim and when you come to college you meet a group of Muslims, whether they're tablighi, whether they're jamati, whether they're hizb, whether they're salafi, whether they're this and that and they're your first exposure to Islam and you discover the joy of Islam through them and you become immersed in their world next thing you know 20 years go by and here you are sitting here today and your own cousin, your own brother was exposed to another version of Islam and so they're in another strand of Islam and a third cousin of ours, all of us, not even practicing Islam that's the way the world is

Principle 7: Context and Priorities

And the 7th point if you don't understand or agree with any of these 6 then inshallah the 7th is all that you need look at the world around you and ask yourself is this the time and the place I need to be bickering about issues that are of no tangible concern is this the time and place I need to divide the ummah up when your house is on fire and you're going to be arguing over the color of the furniture wallahi this is the equivalent when your children are in danger and you're arguing about the groceries for tomorrow literally this is the reality it's not just gaza and the bombs over there it is the modern world we live in and the values facing us guys brutal bra honesty sunni, salafi, deobandi, barelvi, hizb, ikhwan whatever you want to call we are all one when it comes to alcohol is haramzina is haram, lgbt is unethical we are all one when it comes to akhlaq and morality we are all one when it comes to praying 5 times a day and worshipping Allah and reading Quran and fasting Ramadan and in this society where hardly any of our country members are believing in Allah and his messenger praying 5 times a day now those that have chosen to be in this masjid amongst us we start fighting over aspects that even if they're important at some places and times, right here and now it becomes trivial

So my 7th point, context look at the world around you the world right now doesn't need these classical controversies, if you are very interested, hire a hall, bring your 5 10 20 people that are interested, lock the door and shout as much as you want then when you're done shake hands and pray together in the masjidwallahi I'm dead serious if you're really, you have to let out that steam, that pressure cooker, you wanna argue what does (اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ - istawaa 'ala al-'arsh) mean you wanna argue fine bring the 20 people that are super interested in this topic and in a private room, debate and then at the end hug each other and pray in a unified saf facing the same qibla, with the same sajda, the same god that we worship reading the same fatiha following the same arkan of salah who cares if your hand is here and here, you are praying to Allah is it not so look at the context around us all and understand even if some of our teachers, may Allah bless and reward them, I'm not criticizing that they think certain issues are important back home, they don't live here and look around you and see those issues are not anywhere near as important as the issues we can all agree upon as Muslims

Historical Example: Ali and the Khawarij

Before I open up the floor for Q&A, I have some examples and one concluding remark, as for the example in my opinion, one of the most important examples in our history is the example of Ali and the first group that broke away and that is the Khawarij I don't want to go into the details of where and why and what not, let's just say, during the time of Ali a splinter group formed with a different fiqh and a different aqeedah and a different methodology everything was different they had a different belief in Allah, a different understanding of what it means to be a Muslim and a Mu'min, of course they believe in Allah they pray, but their understanding, the definitions of Iman and Kufr, the definitions of what not very different than mainstream Islam

Aliradiallahu anhu attempted to debate with them, he sent Ibn Abbas to them he went back and forth, some of them came back and some of them remained over 2000 of them remained and they said they don't even want to live amongst the Muslim and Kufr, they want to live in a city outside of Kufr because they felt that the rest of the Muslims were all misguided Aliradiallahu anhu being the Khalifa and this is important because Aliradiallahu anhu is respected by Sunnis and Shia what was his policy? as the Khalifa he could have said, I'm going to force you to follow my version of Islam as the Khalifa he could have said, there's not going to be freedom of religious thought within the Ummah and this is not under a democracy this is not under Canada's constitution this is under Khalifa Ar-Rashidun, what did he do? under Khalifa Ar-Rashidun rule he said to them (لَيْسَ لَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ - laysa lanaa 'alaykum min sabeel) I have no right to force you to follow I have no right to force you to follow my interpretation so as long as you don't physically harm other people you are free to do as you please

It was only when the Khawarij began highway robbery and began threatening and killing then Aliradiallahu anhu fought them because of physical and this is my Madhab and methodology we live and let live for any strand of Islam except when they become violent then we need to get involved as a community we live and let live doesn't mean we respect I do not respect those who I don't but what is my hatred going to accomplish? what is my fomenting anger going to accomplish? they are around for 1200 years do you think my giving you a khutbah against them is going to change them? and let's be honest there is no mass conversions taking place there is no people going here and there and honestly even if one person were to convert and go over there it's better than becoming a kafir a million times so Aliradiallahu anhu gives us the template there is a level of freedom of diversity of thought even if I don't agree with it

Contemporary Application and Leadership

And this leads me to my second two final points I gave a khutbah or khatira last week in my masjid you can listen to it online about UNRWA and I mentioned a very controversial aspect but I'm going to say it again it's high time we the Muslims of North America Canada, America, England Australia the English speaking countries it's high time we understand our problems are unique to the world and in order to solve those problems sometimes respected scholars 5000 miles away are not the best source of answers for our modern problems I speak as somebody who respects those scholars because I've studied with them they've written tazkiyahs for me I'll be the first to say their akhlaaq their ibadah, their knowledge of the tradition cannot be compared to anybody over here but when it comes to living amongst non-Muslims in a secular democracy when it comes to engagement, when it comes to da'wah, when it comes to activism our local scholars who have lived amongst us even if they can't quote you the classic tradition as much as your shaykh 3000 miles away, your local scholars here are your primary source of reference and leadership I don't mean myself not at all wallahi no you have amongst you senior ulama and I need to speak to the youth here an alim isn't just somebody who can quote you the texts an alim isn't just somebody who's memorized the classical books an alim also has tarbiyah here, an alim also has a level of interaction of knowledge, of wisdom I'm going to mention names here Dr. Jamal Badawi is the icon of western Islam I swear to you I would go to him in a heart beat over any allama or shaykh ul-Islam in any other part of the world for issues pertaining to North America and I have studied with those great ulama and I would not ask my esteemed Dr. Jamal Badawi a very technical question of fiqh usool al-fiqh, musallat al-hadith, I would not ask him this and I would go to those ulama that I've studied with for those aspects but when it

comes to living in Canada and activism in Canada and engagement with the broader community, I need to give speciality to those that have lived it do you understand my point here?

You have in this masjid one of the legends of Islam in North America, shaykhAbdullah Idrees, how can you, wallahi shame on you to bypass him and to think your shaykh back in another country 3000 miles away is better suited to tell you how to live your life in this country, I'm not talking about theoretical aspects in which case go to the any, I'm talking about practical aspects of living your life of engagement, of activism you cannot take fatwas from people about issues they haven't actually experienced and living as a Canadian citizen, in a democracy in a liberal society brings a new set of challenges that only those that have lived it are qualified

Circles of Cooperation

And so yes wallahi, I say to you as somebody who has studied with major shuyukh, the big names I have studied with I'm not saying this boastfully, I'm saying this so that you understand, I know Dr. Jamal, shaykhAbdullahshaykhMuzammil Siddiqui, others, don't equate with shaykhbin Bashir, shaykhUthaymeen I studied with them, shaykhUthaymeen, Uthaymeen I'm not saying they equate in fiqh or in aqeedah abstract, but wallahi I say to you when it comes to activism and engagement and living in the west, how can you go to a scholar who has never interacted with non- muslims, never lived in a democracy some of them with utmost love and respect still think voting is kufr, some of them still think protests are haram, with utmost love and respect, this is not a fatwa that comes from a book, this is a fatwa that deals with reality, so leadership has to be from within guys even if your local leaders can't quote you the classical books as much as other people can still they are your leaders do you understand this point to you? still they are your actual bona fide leaders

Have you ever heard of a company where the CEO of the company is not involved with the company have you ever heard of a company where the CEO of some far away land or island and he does the day to day activities of the company it doesn't work that way only somebody who is in the thick and thin of it, understands the nuances sees what is going on that person is a leader even if the CEO doesn't know as much as the PhD professor of Harvard or Yale in business studies, the CEO knows his business better than any other professor does the same reality applies to living Islam as a minority situation

Concentric Circles Model

And my final point here then and this is my conclusion, when it comes to firaq and manahaj and all of these strands and what not, what I propose is the following, I propose something called circles of cooperation it's very simple we need to get to this point of having circles of cooperation concentric circles a narrow circle, a larger circle, a larger a larger, and the more religious something is purely religious, the narrower the circle, the more non-religious or secular or political becomes, the bigger the circle So for example, when it comes to who is going to lead the salah and the masjid we make a narrow circle the smallest circle who's going to teach Islamic studies to the kids in our Islamic school we don't want somebody from another firqah we don't who's going to teach Islamic studies, we narrow the circle, somebody who has similar understandings, generic Sunni Islam needs to be there, right, cannot be too narrow by the way, that's another point has to be reasonable narrow and for me, generic Sunni Islam we respect the Quran, we respect the Sahaba, we follow the Quran and Sunnah this is mainstream Islam this is my version of the narrowest who gives the khutbah, somebody who is within this mainstream and I mentioned some of these groups that are mainstream all of these are mainstream, okay that's the narrowest circle

Now a bit larger than this, and that is for example, to build an Islamic school, we don't have to have only people of our understanding of Islam we might have people that are, I mean in the end of the day, the Islamic school is going to give an ambiance of no drugs, you know, no living that, so if they're Sunni, Shia you know, others that come together to build an Islamic school, okay, what's the problem in that Bismillah, go for it

Now even broader than that, is what? political activism political activism we really don't care what your aqeedah is there's an Islamophobic government coming there's a government that is sanctioning the bombing of Gaza, I'm sorry, I don't care what your aqeedah is, even a kafir becomes an ally and when I ally

with a kafir for Gaza, it's not an endorsement of his kufr it's only the teenagers who make a fuss and release YouTube videos that actually understand this guilt by association is not an Islamic concept this is a figment in the minds of the fanatical youth it is not a Quranic concept if I stand next to somebody it doesn't mean I endorse everything that this person has ever said if I cooperate, and by the way, nobody lives you all come together for your corporations, don't you work with people of all different backgrounds in your corporations your office mate, the guy next to you, does it mean that because you're next to him, that you endorse everything about him? if you understand you're going to come together for your dollars and you're going to work with somebody from another community of, how to put it nicely, moralities and sexualities and what not, right? you're going to come together and work with them, and you're going to understand that this is ja'iz in Islam you don't control the sexuality of your team and what not, right? you can come together for the dunya and nobody is going to say guilt by association, and yet the minute activists and scholars come together for Gaza, and they bring Jews and Christians that are anti-Zionist and they bring, all of a sudden, oh look at this guy watering the deen down, this and that no yahi, wallahi, it's only your mind that is watered down there is no watering of the deen going on here, we're trying to save lives we're trying to bring about activism, and only you, and this is if x

Final Call to Unity

then y goes back to this issue only you make the assumption that if you do this or that, it implies this or that, no, nobody else says this, so understand that we are living at a time and a place where, out of the 1.8 billion Muslims in the world less than 10 million that's me and you are able to impact the policies of the superpowers of this world is that not correct? less than 10 million are able to impact the policies and I'm going to say this bluntly, and with this I conclude wallahi, oh people of Toronto I find it embarrassing and sad that according to latest statistics, Toronto roughly is more than 10% Muslim and Mississauga in particular is closer to 15% Muslim I find it embarrassing that this 15%, and I speak inshallah as one of you in the sense I'm not a Canadian, but as a western Muslim when I say embarrassing for myself as well, I'm not blaming you that this 15% has not made a fraction of their impact on the government level wallahi, I find this atrocious and I'm not rebuking you as an outsider we're all guilty, I'm getting harsh at myself and all of you how can we not come together as Muslims how can we not unite and understand we have a role to play here literally the genocide of the century is taking place as we speak, literally no genocide in human history has been broadcast with such vivid color, detail imagery, live there are people that have the phone on when the bomb is falling and they're saying (لا إله إلا الله - la ilaha illallah) and the video goes out never in human history has this cruelty been broadcast across the globe if now is not the time we understand we need leadership that is based in this country I don't care what a scholar 5000 miles away says about firqahs and manhaj and kufr and bid'ah and shirk we need to come together as Muslims in this land one ummah, one god one Quran, and we need to fight according to our constitution our political engagement and cause an impact that is gonna save lives here if we're not gonna understand this at this stage then I'm sorry one of two scenarios comes to mind if somebody still wants to divide the ummah, if somebody still is obsessed about where I place my hands or what version of aqeedah I follow one of two things, either number one you have been planted by an outsider to cause fitna within and we know there are people like this, wallahi there are people like this, you are being paid by sources from without to cause controversy from within or number two, genuinely your IQ is not in the two digits genuinely your understanding of Islam is so backward that perhaps the pen has been lifted on the day of judgment, ignorance will be an excuse because you really are ignorant right now wallahi, I'm sorry, but at this stage, I cannot think of a third excuse for you, I'm sorry either you are planted and you're getting paid and there are people like this, I don't want to be more explicit, but because I am who I am I know for a fact, some of the biggest names online that are our critics they are paid by other people, I don't want to say any more than this, we know for a fact some of these YouTube videos you guys are influenced by, we know for a fact they are paid by other people, but I don't want to say more than this because Allahmusta'am or number two number two, you genuinely your understanding of Islam is so shallow and so narrow that honestly it's not even in two digit IQ, and you literally think that it is more important that I worry about abstract issues of aqeedah than to save lives of people being bombed overseas in which case, we just make dua for you and continue to pray for you that Allah opens your minds to a bigger understanding and until then, Allahmusta'amAllah protect us from

Q&A Session

In any case, with this insha'Allah we will open the floor for Q&A and bismillah so should we do these ones first ok, bismillah assalamu alaikum everyone just before we get started with the Q&A there are three cars that need to be moved immediately, you can't have a Muslim gathering without the three cars announcements you are correct, this is the sunnah of western Islam as well masha'Allah so, license plate CXAD823 that's a Honda CRV I have a Toyota Highlander DAXC648 and a Kia GVKE573 jazakallah ok, bismillah so guys, question to you all it is now how much time should I continue? is 10 o'clock good? 10 o'clock good? can I hear a yes? 10 o'clock ok, so insha'Allah sharp stop at 10 o'clock insha'Allah jayyid

Question 1: The Mawlid Issue

So, the first question I have in light of your lecture, can you give an example how would you deal with the mawlid issue, is the mawlid bid'ah or not jayyid so this is a good example guys, I need you to lower the volume because I can't scream above 3,000 people, so if we can keep the volume down, so the issue again one thing you need to understand brothers and sisters, is that before you pronounce a verdict on something pretend you were on the other strand or the other side and see what they're saying, the issue of the mawlid, whatever position you want to follow understand there are great ulama on both sides of the equation, and it all goes back to definitions, it all goes back to how do you define a bid'ah can you believe both groups say bid'ah is wrong, can you believe that both groups say bid'ah is wrong, both groups say following the sunnah is obligatory both groups say we want to show love to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم so rather than jump to the difference, let's begin with the commonalities, the commonalities the one group says by not celebrating the bid'ah we are showing love, the mawlid which is a bid'ah, we're showing love the other group says, the mawlid is a legit demonstration of love so we're going to show love via the mawlid what combines the both of them love for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم what combines both of them, they believe their interpretations are showing love to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم so allow them this issue in common, you choose the academic side that you like, and you follow it, and then allow room for the other, because listen to me carefully in Muslim lands we do not enforce this strictness in our own masajid, look at any Muslim land you have those who celebrate, those who don't celebrate then why do you think it is obligatory, you on Darul Kufr, in Mississauga, in Isna you must enforce one version against the other, follow the sunnah of Ali صلى الله عليه وسلم live and let live you present your opinion politely, respectfully and then the other group want to listen, in the end of the day both of you are still on the same side live and let live I have my opinions, and if you know my biography and what not, and see what I do you know what my opinion is, but don't hate somebody who is doing something out of love for the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم so the next question then

Question 2: Watering Down Islam

My second question so Shaykh in all of this aren't we watering Islam down and making Islam too easy so this is a very important question aren't we watering Islam down aren't we making Islam too easy and the response is I'm not the one who made Islam easy Allah did Allah says in the Quran

"Allah wants to make things easy for you" my name Yasir, from this my name is easy too, Yasir Allah easy Allah says in the Quran

Allah did not make the Deen have haraj on you, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said

(Bukhari hadith 69, Muslim hadith 1732)

"Make things easy and do not make them difficult" the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said

(Bukhari hadith 39)

none of you makes this religion more difficult except that you will end up destroying yourself

We have a problem in our psyche and that problem is we think the strict opinion is more pleasing to Allah and that is not a rule that any scholar ever said in the history of Islam strictness and non-strictness has nothing to do with the correct opinion sometimes the correct opinion is strict, waking up in your country

during winter for Fajr and doing Wudu yeah that's strict man, I can't give you any concession, no matter how cold it is outside, you cannot do tayammum okay, in your houses it's a strict opinion do Wudu, that's why I don't live here number one reason I don't live in Canada not because of the smiles of the people in Mississauga it is the weather, leave me out of it so, I'm not going to give you a concession it is what it is at the same time if somebody were to never have heard of the concession of combining when you travel and then they hear it, they're going to say Astaghfirullah you guys are destroying the religion you're making the religion easy you're combining Zuhr and Asr when you travel who said strictness is necessarily better who said that making things easy is always worse nothing is judged by strictness or ease and in fact if two things are both permissible then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself would choose the easier of the two the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself would choose the easier of the two so, this notion of making Islam easy this notion of making Islam watered down I'm sorry we need to be more academic just because so, let me give you another example and this actually leads to a number of other questions we have over here as well about not about Aqeedah but it's about gender issues and women's roles and what not

So, we'll move into this automatically segue, there's a lot of questions about females sitting next to each other with males in the back all of the standard stuff that happens it's fine, I get it, it needs to be asked can there be a female scholar presenter at the front of the Musalla this is about our presenter here ok, Khair, you want me to answer it I'll answer it, it's right here, I'm not making it up ok, so all valid points ok, listen to me, sisters and brothers just because our culture our ancestors did something in a certain way doesn't mean it is right or wrong it could be right, it could be wrong it could be culturally relatively good for them and not good for us just because certain things are cultural doesn't mean they're Islamic we need a more detailed discussion

Question 3: Gender Issues

And so when it comes to gender and gender norms when it comes to gender interaction listen to me carefully the Sharia has come with a cultural spectrum of leeway and there are certain red lines that are haram so what is a red line that is haram the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said

(Bukhari hadith 3006, Muslim hadith 1341)

"Never should a man and woman be alone in a room without any other person present" in a place that they cannot, you know any non-mahram people should not be here this is a red line, no culture can change that, ok

Now, when it comes to interacting, when it comes to speaking, when it comes to public spaces did the Sharia send down logistical maps about how the sukh should be structured did the Sharia come down with masajid and how they should have their structures here no, no and so, if in India and Pakistan and Bangladesh and Egypt and what not, this audience would not happen in a masjid I'm not criticizing them, I'm not saying they're backward, I'm not saying they're up-forward that's their culture if a mother feels it is more important to prioritize her career than her children, then I will say that she has lost the Islamic plot, I'm being blunt here if a mother feels that her career is more important than her children's tarbih, I didn't say she can't work, don't misquote me I said prioritizing, please don't misquote me sisters, I know what I'm saying the priority is children if you can manage both, that's something else, but the priority is children, so there are certain things where we're crossing the red lines there are other times where culture would allow it if Umar ibn Khattab can tell the Prophet that hey, men and women can fight in a different way in Mecca versus Medina did he not say this? this is in Sahih Bukhari, well then guess what? men and women are going to have very different gender roles in Canada than in Mecca and Medina and just because my grandmother, grandfather had a different system than I do doesn't mean they were backward and I'm forward, doesn't mean they were correct and I'm wrong, it's all permissible, as long as the sharia has not contravened

So I hope that answers that question that as long as men and women interact in a dignified manner as long as there's no explicit suggestiveness or flirtation as long as both are dressed appropriately, there is a leeway now am I saying this should happen or not? no, it depends on specific circumstances and I will say one thing, brothers, listen I'm visiting your community, I don't know the internal issues so don't read in, I'm just going to say one thing to you, if you will deny our sisters their legitimate rights don't be surprised when they demand illegitimate rights as well if you will make the halal haram, don't be surprised that

they're going to demand haram as well then what do I mean by this? and again, I don't know the politics of your community, so board members please, I'm not talking about any of you sitting behind the wall there, I don't know anything about your board politics if you don't allow sisters to have a healthy, normal role in the masjid, don't be surprised that they're going to start demanding un-Islamic things as what happened in America, in Los Angeles the women said we're going to build our own masjid, women-only masjid, women imams, women khatibs I don't believe this is allowed, women don't give khutbas this is not something we agree to women do not give khutbas they do not lead mixed congregation salah so we have to go with the flow as much as the sharia allows being honest with you, if we be too hardline it's going to result in a backlash and it's going to result in our own daughters not understanding because we didn't understand what the sharia allowed, if we become too strict, there's going to be a counter-reaction of being too liberal correct? and if we are also too lax, that will also result in a backlash, so talk to your scholars, talk to your board talk to your community and have these difficult conversations what is good and what is not good, each community should decide and as long as the sharia's overall overarching philosophy is met, inshallah that is permissible

Question 4: Political Engagement

Next question we have here is that we are the next government here in this country will be a non-friendly government, many Muslims believe we should not engage with that party or politics, what should we do? so listen, everybody has a role to play my role as the cleric, as the minor scholar, whatever in this regard, it is not to analyze which party you should vote for, that's not my role and you should not go to shuyukh to do political analysis, generally speaking my role is to be generic, and to generically tell you, oh Muslims of Canada, you must be involved in the Canadian system, that is my role oh Muslims of Canada any shaykh that tells you voting is haram any shaykh that tells you political activism is haram, I'll be gentle just bypass that shaykh and move on in this issue at least, overlook him, jump over him and move on with utmost love and respect these opinions are disconnected from reality

Whether you like it or not you are involved with the system your tax dollars are involved with the system your politicians are voted as a result of your own districts you not voting is itself a stand whether you like it or not, so it is not my job to tell you who to vote for, because that's not my forte it is my job to tell you these conversations need to take place at a public level if I were you, maybe the masjid cannot do this, but in a town hall or hire a big hall there call Muslims involved in this party, call Muslims involved in that party, and have a civil dialogue for the Muslim community, in public let us hear views about both parties let Muslims make their case to other Muslims, and let us have an adult conversation, a mature conversation, because in the end of the day, I don't know your full parties that well let me speak about our parties, Republican and Democrats, both are bad parties for us both are negative for us I can honestly see an argument that people are saying that we should vote for the Republicans, because at least they haven't done what they're doing in genocide and I can see the argument that let's not vote Republican, because they're gonna try to kick us out, let's vote for the third party called the Green Party in America I can see a legitimate argument but at this stage I cannot see a legitimate argument for voting for the party that is calling for genocide me personally, I draw the line there and I don't think we should be voting for anybody that has just increased aid to that apartheid regime for 15 billion dollars, no our president unilaterally bombed the poorest of the poor countries, Yemen, unilaterally he went over Congress, I'm sorry, how can we support this person, so between the other two parties, we have a Green Party in America, and we have I can see a legitimate argument, I'm not the one to decide here, well let's have a public debate about this, but one thing you cannot do is to be inactive Wallahi it is zulm, oh Muslims of Canada, 10% of this country, city is Muslim 12%, 15% of Mississauga is Muslim, if all of us collectively came together you would have an impact at the state level, at the district level, at the country level and it will trickle down so we have to be involved

The Muslims of France, I visited them a few years ago, Wallahi my blood was boiling, 25% of Paris is Muslim and politicians get voted into office by outrageous Islamophobic comments the more outrageous the more you stamp down the Muslims, the faster you'll get voted, and I said to my guy my friend that was there, mentor friend how can a politician get away with this, and he said because the default position is that Muslims think voting is haram and so by bashing the Muslims, he knows the far right will love him,

he knows the Muslims are impotent, voiceless, nothing, you're going to do nothing and so khalas, go ahead and bash the Muslims, they're not going to do anything and let's rise up so you don't think and I'm not trying to be too sinister you don't think that some of these people that are preaching the Muslims of France to not vote, that they have perks that they have with people that are telling them to have these views I'm sorry to be sinister but you don't think that that is the case you really think that coincidentally the largest concentration of Muslims in the western world is in Paris and coincidentally the default opinion that has been brewing in the ranks for three decades, four decades, is that voting is kufr, you don't think that there's a reason for this and those that try to they were taken down, khalas, and we know what happens, so anyway, let's not get into too much controversy here, but it is what it is, wallahi open your eyes, open your eyes to this reality may Allah protect me and all of us in this regard it is a dangerous world we live in dangerous world we live in, we cannot go down that route, we cannot we have a moral and ethical responsibility to be involved, however you're involved, that having been said bird's eye view that I have actually even if generally we endorse one party versus the other still at the 3D level, it is healthy to have some Muslims in all parties because we need to have some connection with whoever is in the office, even if I wouldn't want my brother or my friend to be in that party, do you see my point here the irony of irony is, it's a dirty job and if somebody's doing it it's better than nobody doing it so even if we say one particular party is very evil, and we say as a default nobody should go there, we still know people are going to be in that party, correct? so to have some people that we have some connection with is better than to have nobody there in this regard again that's all I want to say in this case and let's move on to some other questions inshallah ta'ala, what did I say guys? 10 o'clock right? so we have inshallah just another 7 minutes inshallah and then move on

Question 5: Intersectarian Marriage

So what is the question of intersectarian marriage if the girl and boy are from different strands of Islam so this goes back to this goes back to multiple factors by strands they mean literally like sunni, shia or something not like within sunnism listen technically the nikah is valid between all strands of Islam so sunni and shia 12 or shia if they marry this is a valid nikah it's a valid nikah, the question though is it wise or not and my answer to this is the more religious the people are the less wise it is because when they're both religious at some time they're going to have to decide which masjid they're going to take the kids to it might be possible for a husband wife to eke out while they don't have kids but what are you going to happen when kids come in the picture so generally speaking to have a marriage where religious understandings are radically different not just religious even finances even you know gender roles it's not just about religion marriage is based upon compatibility and anywhere the husband and wife are severely incompatible about a major issue is going to destroy the sanity of the marriage and that includes religion So it's one thing to say is such a marriage valid or not and I'll say yes it is valid, when will it not be valid it will not be valid if the group is outside the fold of Islam, which group is outside the fold of Islam, any group that does not follow the kalima (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ) so there's no ibadah to Allah or there's no belief in the finality of Muhammad Rasul Allah okay, so if a firqa of Islam does not have worshipping Allah, there's a strand of Islam that they don't have any sharia, there's no salah, there's no siyam, there's no ibadah they're not really Muslim, there's no (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ) there's another strand they believe in a prophet after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم they're outside because they have rejected the kalima so the nikah is not valid by the way, even with those two strands that I don't consider to be Muslim what's the point of fomenting hatred in a masjid what's the point of constantly bashing them yeah, academically I say any group that doesn't pray five times a day as a religion, any group that doesn't fast Ramadan, their people don't read the Quran and some of you don't know, but there are there is a Muslim group like this, any group that's like that, they're not really Muslim if you're not going to pray, you're not Muslim similarly, any group that has a prophet after the prophet we don't accept them, so a nikah between them would not be valid other groups, the nikah is valid but is it wise? I say no, it is not wise, so I would not recommend this in this regard

Question 6: Public Debates

Question over here that some people are wondering that should we debate these other groups in public, and they mentioned some movements or not, so in my humble opinion, the emphasis should not be on sectarian debates debates are like salt is to food just a little bit is good enough and I myself try to live up to that reality I don't debate other movements or groups, and once in a while I need to clarify another movement, I gave a whole talk last year about the group that believes in a prophet after the prophet I said this is a red line, we cannot cross it I gave a whole talk, but I have 3,000 lectures online, one of them I gave to that group one, I gave another khutbah respect to the sahaba, and I generically said, any group that disrespects the sahaba, they have made a major mistake and it hurts us, and we don't like this but I was polite, but I still I was very clear what is going on out of all of my lectures, this is a few of them I mentioned, and I keep on bringing up respect to the sahaba, but there is a way to do it without fomenting hatred there is a way to do it with wisdom, I hope I'm trying to follow that, so I personally would not encourage debates online debates is a waste of time it's like Netflix dramas right, there is no point to it, do something more productive find somebody who doesn't believe in any version of Islam and bring them to Islam, and as for those who have another understanding realize one thing when you debate with another person about understanding of Islam the fact of the matter is, you can have a debate and after the debate if you were to survey who won chances are your group is going to say you won and his group is going to say he won, this is well known by the way and the reason for this is something called confirmation bias go look it up, it's another psychological term confirmation bias, I have a more academic talk in my library chats called the reality of debates, listen to it debates serves more as a function to prove to your group that it is right, rather than a function to convince the other group that it is wrong debates is a psychological tool that is used to prove to your group in other words your audience already wants you to win your audience thinks you have won and that's why let's be realistic Sunni Shia, we have been debating for 12 centuries never once has there been a mass conversion of either to the other correct? never once has there been a mass conversion because of a debate, what does it show you? each side thinks my proofs are solid and each side is certain my proofs are better than the other and yet it doesn't seem to have the impact on the other side so I would say that minimize one's debates and concentrate more on calling to Allah for those that are not following any strand of Islam Inshallah

Question 7: Following a Sect

Let us finish up over here do we have to follow a sect? what if I just want to follow the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet so you don't have to follow a sect but the devil is in the details it's like saying do I have to follow a doctor when I take medicine I mean if you don't follow a doctor what else are you going to do? and even when you follow a doctor there's various madhhabs of medicine by the way you have allopathy, you have homeopathy you have eastern medicine, you have western medicine you have science based medicine you have to follow a whole protocol school you can't start from scratch so in the theoretical level one can say it is not wajib to follow a sect agreed but the practicality, what are you going to do? you can't reinvent the wheel you can't start from scratch when people have already built skyscrapers you can't start with a madhhab it's already there and therefore, it just makes sense that you just go with the flow

Now, if you ask me the flow is generic Sunnism Quran and Sunnah by Sunnism, what do I mean? Respect for the Sahaba that's what I mean, that's all because interestingly enough guys, for the academic stuff Sunnis themselves disagree about Iman in Allah and the Sifat controversy Sunnis themselves disagree about Qadr Sunnis themselves disagree about Fiqh Sunnis themselves disagree about so many things what combines all of Sunnism believe it or not, it's not the Quran and Sunnah as much as it is the Sahaba interesting, isn't it? because Sunnis disagree about how to interpret the Quran meaning Fiqh and theology Sunnis disagree about how to interpret Hadith but they don't disagree the Sahaba should be respected so me personally I like this mainstream attitude ecumenical attitude then within that, if you choose any Shaykh who's not a fanatic here's the point, let's conclude with this one in every strand of Islam Salafis, Sufis, the Ubandis all of them, list all of them in every strand of Islam you will find the moderates and you will find the hardliners in every strand you will find those that understand for the betterment of the Ummah we need to come together at times and places and we will teach advanced stuff at times and places this is moderate and then you have the hardliners the hardliners, we can never unite with anybody else my advice to you choose the strand that you like for whatever reason and find the moderates of that

Closing Dua

Let us conclude our lectures by raising our hands to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and by making dua to Allah

"O Living, O Sustaining, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor, O Hearer of supplication, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Allah, show us the truth as truth, and grant us its following, and show us falsehood as falsehood, and grant us its avoidance. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are lost. Amen. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah's blessings, peace, and grace be upon Muhammad, his family, and all his companions. May Allah reward you with goodness, and peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you."