Seeking Knowledge The Obligation on Muslims

Problems are happening. And like we said the other day, if your problem can be solved, then don't worry. And if your problem cannot be solved, then worrying will not help you.

So why are you worried? And then again we learn, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) will speak of many other shackles. Oh Allah, inability. I'm speaking of emotional wisdom.

They say that there was a man that was blind and he was crippled and he just had all sorts of problems. And he's sitting down and he's saying Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. So someone passed by him and said Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

Look at you. You're blind, you're crippled, you're bound to this chair and all we hear from you is Alhamdulillah. What are you talking about? So he said Alhamdulillah that Allah gave me a tongue that is constantly remembering Allah.

He said Alhamdulillah that he gave me a heart that has accepted the will of Allah. He said Alhamdulillah that has given me a body that is patient with the tests of Allah. You know what happened is that he could have said Oh la ilaha illallah, look at this and look at that and you know, and you would give yourself every single excuse to feel miserable.

Allah hates misery and faking misery or bringing misery upon yourselves. It is not, my brothers and sisters again, it is not befitting to the character of a believer. Liberate yourself of this.

Have what we call emotional wisdom. Similarly, emotional wisdom, some people are just easily angered and that stops them from achieving. They break many friendships.

They are always in problems with their spouses. They are always, you know, they can be triggered by anything. But then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) one time came to his companion and said, whom do you consider to be a strong person? So now the answer is very obvious.

They said Ya Rasulallah, They said Prophet of Allah, it is he who is able to wrestle down other men. Then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

He said strength is not determined by you wrestling other men. He said the strong man is indeed he who has control over himself when he is angered.

What we call again, emotional wisdom. Liberate yourself of this. And then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) goes on to say, Of these shackles is ajiz and kasal, inability and laziness.

Inability, what it is, is that you have the desire, you have the will but you have no means. Kasal, laziness is when you have the means but you do not have the desires. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, Oh Allah, I don't want to be in that situation where I am crippled, where I am shackled, when I am put down.

And you know what they say about lazy people? They will always do more work tomorrow. Isn't that what lazy people do? They say, we will do more work but tomorrow. Dear brothers and sisters, Assalamu alaikum.

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The ability what it is, is that you have the desire, you have the will, but you have no means. Laziness is when you have the means, but you do not have the desires. And the Prophet said, Allah, I don't want to be in that situation, where I am crippled, where I am shackled, where I am put down. And you know what they say about lazy people? They will always do more work tomorrow.

Isn't that what lazy people do? They say, we will do more work, but tomorrow. They have a funny joke about New Year resolution. You know some people they do New Year resolution.

They say, you know, Inshallah, this coming year, I am going to lose 10 pounds. This coming year, I am going to memorize a Quran. Or this coming year, I will be this.

Or this coming year, I will be that. So there came this person and he said, this year, I will stop procrastinating. Starting from next week.

He said, he will stop procrastinating but starting next week. Not immediately, next week. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) would say, I do not want to be in that situation.

And that's why Umar Ibn Khattab would say something marvelous. He would say, I cannot see. He said, I just cannot.

I said, Allah, I seek refuge in You. From seeing or amazing it is, he said that. A person who is wicked, they have so much strength and enthusiasm.

And a believer is so lazy. He said, it's not acceptable. How is it that a believer can be lazy?

Physical and Mental Laziness

One more thing, my brothers and sisters. Laziness is not only physical. Because sometimes we think that it's lazy because you know, he just doesn't move around, he just wants to sit. And you know, they have the saying, if you can walk, don't run.

And if you can stand, don't walk. And if you can sit, don't stand. And if you can sleep, why be up? Okay.

They use this logic. So many times, laziness is not necessarily physical, but sometimes laziness can also be mental. You just don't want to think.

You give up thinking. You want someone else to do the thinking for you. The same brain intellect that Allah gave you, you gave it up and you surrendered it to someone else.

Remember what we said earlier? That Islam is not afraid of people asking questions. It's not afraid. It's all a matter of, you know, just give me proof.

You know, the other day, Dr. Zakir made the statement, he said, I, Zakir Naik, if you ever find this in the Bible, I will become Christian. That's what he said. You read into the Quran and it says:

"The Prophet shall tell people, say, if thy Lord has begotten a son amongst the first to worship that son."

"Just show me your proof if you are indeed truthful in what you're making. So believer is never afraid to ask questions."

And that is why you hear in the Quran:

"You know, go about the land and see the creation of Allah. Use your fikr, tafakkar, do this and do that. And now that the idea is, it is so sad that us as Muslims, we are intellectually lazy. We let someone else and we depend on someone else to do the thinking for us, but we ourselves, we do not do any thinking."

Story of the Monkeys

You know, they have a story. They said that a group of scientists, they got together. And what they did is that they brought about 10 monkeys into a room.

I think monkeys in Urdu are called Bandars. So they had 10 monkeys in a room. And then in the room, they placed like where you see this fan is, they placed some bananas, like hanging from a rope.

And there was a table in the room, so if a monkey stepped on the table, easily grab the banana. But then what they did is that they put along in the room, they put water hoses, ice cold water. And here is the drill, that every time any monkey makes an attempt to get the banana, they hose the monkey with ice cold water.

And not only that monkey, but all the monkeys, they get hosed down with the water. So the first monkey goes to try and he gets hosed down with the water and all other monkeys, they are now hosed down with the water. So they tried four or five times.

So the monkeys say, you know, it seems like every time we try to get up and get the bananas, we are getting hosed down. So forget it, no one is going to try it anymore. And then what the scientists did is that they took away the hoses, so there was, nothing was going to happen.

And then interestingly, they took a monkey out and they brought in a new monkey into the room. And the bananas are still there. So now the new monkey comes in and what does he see? He sees bananas and monkeys love bananas, right? So he sees the bananas, so what does he do? He steps on the table to get the bananas.

But something interesting happened. All the other monkeys, they gang up on him and they start beating him up. Because they are afraid that they are going to be you know, hosed down.

So now here, you know, the monkey doesn't know why he cannot have the banana. He sees bananas, he loves bananas, but these monkeys obviously don't want him to get the bananas. Then what they did is that they pulled another monkey out and they put a new monkey in.

So now we have two new monkeys and eight old monkeys. The new monkey comes in and what does he see? He sees the bananas again. And he wants to go and grab the bananas, but all the other monkeys, including the new monkey that was previously beaten up, doesn't know why, they all get together and they beat the new monkey up.

Then you can imagine the story goes on to say, a third monkey was brought in, sees the banana, everyone starts ganging up on him, including the two new monkeys. They don't know why they were beating, but now they are beating this monkey. A fourth monkey, a fifth monkey, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

No one has ever been hosed down with the water. They've never witnessed that incident. But because an old monkey did something, the new monkey does not want to think for himself.

And sadly what happens many times is that we behave like the new monkeys. No, I'm serious, I'm serious. Wallahi, sadly, we are the new monkey.

Where, we don't know why, just happened to be there. Why do you do this? Allahu a'lam? I don't know. I found my forefathers do it, so it must be good.

My dad was a good man. My mom was a wonderful woman. We have a beautiful culture.

That's how they do it. That's how we do it. But do you ever think about it? I don't need to.

Someone else did the thinking for me. So in the process, what's happening is that, again, we are putting these shackles around ourselves. And that is a shame, my brothers and sisters.

A Muslim thinks. A Muslim analyzes. A Muslim reflects.

You know, not only on big issues, politics, and history, and sociology, and all these, but you know what we are told in the Quran? Does man not think about what he eats? Don't they look into the heavens, how it is being raised as a canopy? Don't they think? And you see, Allah said, think about this. Think about that. Think about this.

Think about that. That you should have three hours. Or divide your day into three different segments.

Some time to think. To do some thinking. Rather than being intellectually lazy.

Let someone else do the thinking for you. Because it can really be a shackle. You are capable.

You are a very smart person, but you never gave yourself that opportunity. You always thought of yourself very low. Or you were just plainly being lazy.

And then the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) would say, Oh Allah, I seek refuge in you. I don't want to be shackled. I don't want to be, I don't want to have chains around me that are of faqr and kufr.

Faqr means poverty. And kufr means disbelief. He said, Allah, these are shackles.

He's saying, I don't want to be worried about the future. I don't want to be sad about the past. I don't want to be lazy.

I do not want to go through inability. I do not want to be in the state of poverty. And I definitely do not want to be in the state of disbelief.

Because these are all shackles. You see poverty here every day. And it is so sad, subhanallah.

So sad to the point where Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, Allah, I seek refuge in you. I do not want to be in that state. Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say, had poverty been a man, I would have killed him.

Had it been a man, I would have killed it. Because of the catastrophes that poverty brings. Do you mean to tell me that a poor person that is just struggling, struggling to make living, struggling just for that day to pass by and just put some food in his stomach.

This person is analyzing and thinking of the dictators and thinking of the politics and thinking of this and that. He is too busy, too miserable to be in that, to think that way. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) says, Allah, I do not want to be in that stage.

And it is so sad that nowadays, Muslims are the richest and they are the poorest. Some people die of obesity because they eat too much and others are dying of hunger because they have nothing to eat. And here you have the commands of Allah.

You know, give, spend, make sure you alleviate the problems and the hardship of other people. Because these are shackles. The guy or the girl is very smart.

Story of Rats and Mice

They have a story you probably know the story but it really hits home when we say that many times we can be revolutionary in our thoughts but very impractical in our actions they said that there were a group of rats and mice playing all over the place but then there was this cat everyday it would come and snatch away one of the mice and one of the rats so what the mice and the rats did is that they made a conference and they said you know we've got to discuss this problem if this cat keeps taking one of us everyday soon there will be no one of us left so we've got to do something about it so they held their conference it was not like our conference of course so they held their conference and they are talking about you know what needs to be done what do we do what do we do and then this brilliant rat gets up and he says I've got a brilliant idea what we need to do is tie a bell around the cat's neck so every time the cat comes near us clink clink clink we hear the bell and we all run away and they all say brilliant idea and they start celebrating so someone asked how are we going to put the bell around the cat's neck it was a very revolutionary idea but it was very impractical so now here the prophet said again you know when you have the means or when you have the desire you lack the means or laziness when you have the means but you lack the desire and the will and the prophet said I don't want to be in that position and then finally the prophet would say of these shatters would say so that oh Allah I seek refuge in you from being a coward and I seek refuge in you from being a miser a greedy person coward being coward that is something that Islam absolutely despises and Islam by the same token encourages courage you've got to be courageous as a Muslim you know you say it and that's why the prophet said you know many times

you know people say why are we not talking about Tawheed why don't we talk about Aqeedah listen to Aqeedah now listen to this statement beautiful statement of Tawheed listen to this statement let not your fear of people stop you from saying that which is just and right for people do not bring your departure day closer and they do not push back the sustenance that Allah chose to give you let me say this one more time let not your fear of other people stop you from speaking the truth for people do not hold the day of your departure meaning your death and they cannot withhold that which Allah chose to give you this is why Tawheed is important when you have that complete trust in Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala you know one time I was teaching a class I was talking about the names of Allah the beautiful names of Allah and then I would ask the students what's your favorite name of Allah you know what does it mean and why do you like it so there was this African American brother a revert to Islam someone that came back to Islam so you know people usually say oh my favorite name is Al-Kareem my favorite name is most generous my favorite name is Al-Haleem sublime my favorite name is Al-Rahman most forgiven and then this African American brother said my favorite name of Allah is Al-Mumit the one that causes death it's a beautiful name but you know people usually don't choose Al-Mumit the one that causes death as their favorite name why did you choose Al-Mumit as your favorite name and he said you know what whenever I see wrong I speak against it because I know that only Allah can take away my life that is where Tawheed is that is what I call strong Aqeedah it is not how well you are able to verbalize it how eloquently you can say it how passionately you can speak about it but how do you demonstrate it in action that is what matters most you know we are not better than the companions of the Prophet ﷺ but we know more than the companions of the Prophet ﷺ we know more but we are not better even though they knew far less than what we know now that made them better people now instead of pondering about this you know Allah says about himself that he is a SameerAllah hears all now I personally do not really care how Allah hears to me Allah hears so I better watch what I say I am going to be careful with what I say because that is what is important to me someone else says well how does he hear and we get into this and it just strips the whole spirit of the name and the whole spirit of Aqeedah away from this so in Islam you be courageous but here is the thing what is courage because sometimes I want to be a brave man but I don't even know what it means to be a brave man see my brothers and sisters courage is not the absence of fear you can be afraid and still be a very brave man Musa A.S. is a great example every time you see the name Musa next to it will be the term Khawf what is Khawf? fear Musa throws the staff or the stick it turns into a snake and Musa is afraid we said do not be afraid oh Musa we want you to go to Pharaoh and talk to him oh Allah we are afraid now this is the prophet of Allah Musa A.S. is speaking in such language Musa go to Pharaoh Allah I am afraid can you imagine this? oh Musa we want you to go to that city so Allah says Musa A.S. Musa came into the city when people were distracted and he was afraid and he was very vigilant do you see what I am saying my brothers and sisters we are saying that courage is not the absence of fear courage is doing what is right despite the existence of the fear anything which contradicts the way of Rasul A.S. is wrong anything which contradicts the Qur'an of any of the other scriptures is wrong the Qur'an is 100% the word of Allah everything else was Batil it is clear it is false and we call to that truth this is the truth.

True Courage: Acting Despite Fear

Because sometimes I want to be a brave man but I don't even know what it means to be a brave man see my brothers and sisters courage is not the absence of fear you can be afraid and still be a very brave man Musa A.S. is a great example every time you see the name Musa next to it will be the term Khawf what is Khawf? fear Musa throws the staff or the stick it turns into a snake and Musa is afraid we said do not be afraid oh Musa we want you to go to Pharaoh and talk to him oh Allah we are afraid now this is the prophet of Allah Musa A.S. is speaking in such language Musa go to Pharaoh Allah I am afraid can you imagine this oh Musa we want you to go to that city so Allah says Moses came into the city when people were distracted and he was afraid and he was very vigilant do you see what I am saying my brothers and sisters we are saying that courage is not the absence of fear courage is doing what is right despite the existence of the fear Musa A.S. was afraid but did he stop? he did not he was afraid you know what it is the right thing to do I am afraid but I will not if you stop you are a coward you are not a coward because you have that fearful feeling in you you are a coward because you let the fear stop you from doing what is right and that is what we want courage is not the absence of fear courage is doing what is right despite the existence of the fear now speaking of the culture of silence the culture of silence you know what the Prophet A.S. said the best of martyrs is my uncle Hamza may Allah be pleased with him then he said and similar to him is a man that spoke the truth in front of a tyrant and the tyrant put him to death that is why we say the moral courage to speak the truth many times is far more superior than courage that can be displayed in the battlefield battlefield you go and you die mashallah brave man brave woman mashallah but the courage to speak the truth to say it then that takes a lot a lot of courage because of the consequences of it be it because of the society be it because of whatever it is please be responsible when you do that but in principle let's just have this vision that this is what is happening with things and then finally the Prophet A.S. would say oh Allah I seek refuge in you from being in the state of tamah being a miser someone that is not willing to share someone that is so consumed and preoccupied with me myself and I that is really what is important to me me myself and I outside of this boundaries are very very small just me myself and I and that is it not knowing that the great prophets of Allah have taught best where Isa A.S. used to say blessed are those who give blessed are those who give the blessings you are getting because you are giving there is so much joy in giving, lot of joy but you deprive yourself from it when you do not give sometimes it's a smile sometimes it's a good word beautiful word how many times do you compliment your young sons and daughters because being a miser is not necessarily money, it's not only financial you can be miser with the love you don't love enough you can be miser with hugs, you don't hug enough you don't say good words enough you do not express how positively you feel about I say this to the brothers here sometimes the prophet was asked whom do you love most and the prophet said Aisha he said her name in public and he expressed his love to her in public so I said to one of the brothers if that was really the case in your case, let's say that the most person that you loved in your life was your wife, would you say he said oh no, forget it, I will never say that he said why not it will make her head too big brother he said you know so what does he do he chooses not to share something like this with his wife or sometimes even with what we say and subhanallah we can be very greedy and very stingy with what we can potentially say but we don't say it we're very quick to criticize to rebuke, to scold and point out the wrong and all this, but if it's good we have very few words can't you realize this we have got

abundant we can make a dictionary of negative words we can really, but then you know compliment, compliment us good can you say something else, very good something else, very very good you know, and that's where it ends they say that and please excuse the childishness of the story but there is some wisdom in it they said that one time two frogs you know frogs two frogs were playing in the forest, in the jungle and they're singing and playing and jumping up and down and being very you know carefree, worryfree, they're jumping here and there and as they're playing, not paying attention, they fall into a well now the two frogs fell into a very deep well so the frogs you know start yelling help, please help us and the other frogs they hear the yelling and they come and they see and they look down, and the well was very deep, and they just knew there is no way the frogs are coming out but the frogs in there are trying to take a leap and try to jump out, so now the friends start yelling, give up no, please don't torture yourself, you're torturing us please give up, and you know the frogs are trying to walk out and trying to jump, and the friends are yelling, please you are torturing us, please don't do this and they're trying to come out please stop this, stop, and please, and they're trying to jump so one of the frogs jumps all the way up and comes down head first and kills itself the other frog is still trying, and the friends up there, or the so called friends they are yelling, please give up, you're torturing yourself you're torturing us, and the frog is trying to come out, trying to come out, and finally the frog took this big great leap and jump, and makes it out of the well so the other friends come to it and they say did you not hear what we were telling you, and the frog looked at them and said, you all know that I have a problem hearing, I thought you were cheering me up, and that's what kept me going, but see the moral of the story is this words can give life, and words can give death they gave life to that frog, and they definitely gave death to the other frog and many times, we put shackles around other people and many times we put shackles around ourselves because we do not know the joy of saying Jazakallahu Khayran you know, mean it from the very bottom of your heart, that was an excellent job that you have done or I am so proud of you or I love you so much, you know unfortunately sometimes we feel that the more religious you become the more rigid, and tough and insensitive and numb, and desensitized that you have to be, why is he talking all that sweet, you know sometimes we ask he is supposed to be a Shaykh, you know, you don't talk like this but if you look into the life of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم that's how he always spoke

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

let he who believes in Allah and the day of judgment, either say something good or remain quiet now what do we think when we say, I want to illustrate my belief in the day of judgment and my belief in Allah I am going to pray more, I am going to fast more, I am going to do this more and the Prophet says, you know what how about what you say why do you have to be such a miser and such greedy with it my brothers there is so much joy into this let me conclude with this the aim of education in Islam I said earlier, is to liberate you, live an enjoyable life and as free as liberated as possible where you are walking and working with all your faculties emotionally you are healthy intellectually you are healthy you know even when feeling good you are just healthy all over the place however the way we have defined education nowadays is this we said well there is a distinction between the secular knowledge and the religious knowledge Islam does not recognize any of this Islam does not recognize any of this, once a

brother was reading a book, so a brother came to him and said oh what book are you reading he said I am reading a book on Tawheed, he said oh let me see the title, and he opens the title and it was a biology book and he said what are you doing I asked what book are you reading and you said I am reading a book on Tawheed, that is for my non-Muslim brothers and sisters Tawheed is the concept of the oneness emphasizing and stressing the oneness of God, monotheism so I am reading a book on monotheism and you are reading a book on biology, he said it further enhances my belief in monotheism the more I know of this because part of knowing Allah and we ought to know Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala is by the creation of Allah, you see the Taj Mahal and you appreciate the architecture you see a good car and you appreciate the designer and the engineer of the car, the same way you see the creation of Allah, the more you learn about the creation of Allah, you appreciate the creator Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala is in the name of Allah, my sociology, my politics, my history, whatever it is, I am doing it in the name of Allah.

Whatever it is that I learn, again it will tell me about Allah. So in Islam there is no distinction. Where we think, you know, success is being a doctor, is being a lawyer.

And if you're a sheikh, miskeen. And even subhanallah, it's interesting because the higher score, I don't know about India, but back where I come from, you know, if your score is higher, you go to medical school. And if it's a little lower, then you do engineering.

And if it's a little lower, you do this. And if you absolutely have no hope, become a sheikh. It is sad, but that's how we look at it.

It is really sad. Or like they say, you know, what is your son doing? My son is going to medical school. Oh, mashallah, that is great potential.

And what is your son doing? He's going to be a sheikh. My condolences to you, you know. Now, but why is this? Why is this? See, we are telling the medical doctor as if you are becoming a medical doctor, it's like you're becoming an atheist.

As if that is wrong. And again on this part here, we're saying, my brothers and sisters, that is not acceptable. That is not acceptable.

Let us see that, you know, Islam does not know it. And it was very common that great scholars of Islam were doctors, they were mathematicians, they were into astronomy, they were into geography and physics and what have you. And they were also known for being great Muslim scholars.

There is no that distinction. So let us pay attention to this. Number two, I think because we are not aware of the aim of education in Islam, unfortunately, we have trivialized Islam.

I made it very shallow. I'll give you an example. What we do is that we make small what Allah makes big.

And we make big what Allah makes small. Let me give you an example. The term yateem, orphan, is mentioned 18 times in the Quran.

Now, if Allah mentions something, one thing, it must be important, right? If He mentions it twice, then it must be more important. Three times, really important. Four times, 18 times, it means that it is very, very, very important.

Now, and please do not misunderstand me, pay attention to what I'm saying. How about wudu, making ablution? How many times is it mentioned in the Quran? Once in surat al ma'idah, and maybe once in surat an-nisa. Let's say maximum, twice.

And it says, you go, you wash your hand, you rinse your mouth, you wash your face, you wipe or you wash it, and you do this and you do that. End of the story. In one verse, or one and a half verse, Allah speaks of khalas, wudu, easy, just go with it.

However, however, we spend more time, more time on discussing wudu than we do discussing the welfare of the orphan. And that is making a mockery of the Quran. Because Allah is making this far more important, yet you are occupied with that which is less important.

Why is this? So now we are thinking that, you know, knowledge, I've got to be very well articulating my point and all this issue. And again, please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that this is not important, but I'm saying, let us give due weight according to what Islam and what the Quran did.

I am not going, because an issue is important to me, I'm going to make it your concern. Because it's a question that I raised, it does not have to be your question, it does not have to be your issue. However, collectively, when I see that Allah said more about this, and He said that, you know, it leads to the hellfire.

They will be asked, what are you doing in the hellfire? Listen to this. Beautiful, beautiful, powerful verse. What are you doing here in the hellfire? We were not of those who prayed, and we were not of those who fed the hungry and the orphan.

Can you believe this? Can you imagine this? Yet I make my main concern, you know, on something like this. Let me tell you one more thing. The teachings of Islam are not all the same level.

Some are important, some are less important, and some are more important. And someone would jump and say, wait a minute, are you saying that Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) brought something that is not important? That is not what I am saying. I am saying that the level of importance is not the same.

Islam is not one horizontal line where everything is equally the same. That is not Islam. Rather, Islam is a slope where there are things down here and there are things that are up here.

And to be occupied with this at the time that you are neglecting this, then you are making a mistake. Let me give you an example. In fact, let me give evidence for that statement.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that Iman, belief, faith is about 70 some branches. The highest of it is La ilaha illa Allah, and the lowest of it is to remove harm from the path of people. Now here he used the term highest, and he used the term lowest.

What does that tell me? That there is a high and that there is a low. Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali made a phenomenal statement. He said there is a hadith where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, there is nothing by which my servant may come closer to me other than that which I have made an obligation upon him.

And my servant would want to come closer to me through extra acts of worship until I become his side by which he sees, his ears by which he hears, and his hands by what he grasps and what have you. Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali said people pay attention to the latter part of the hadith, but they do not pay attention to the beginning part of the hadith. Allah said, if you want to get closer to me, then let it be through that which I have made an obligation upon you.

So what does he say? He said people are more keen in praying Taraweeh than they are in praying Isha in Jama'ah. Isn't that the case? Ramadan, you know, everyone wants to come and pray Taraweeh. But wait a minute, Allah is telling you, if you want to come closer to him, it is through that which he has made an obligation upon you.

That is where, you know, my heart is much happier when, Alhamdulillah, I pray Isha with Jama'ah today. Whether I pray Taraweeh or not is, if I pray, mashallah, if I don't pray, mashallah. But I have made something or I have done something that was beloved more by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

What happens is that some of us have what we call a microscopic personality. What does that mean? We have the ability to see that which is small very very well. If it's small, we can see it extremely very well.

But you know what happens if you have a microscopic personality? Is that you may be able to see the details, you see the details, but you miss out on seeing the bigger picture. Isn't that what happens? You're very aware of the details, but the bigger picture, you are lost. See, focus is what? Is not paying attention to details only.

Focus is paying attention to the details without losing sight of the bigger picture. One time, and this is mentioned in Bukhari, Usman ibn Affan, along Abdullah ibn Umar, they went to make Hajj, pilgrimage. And when they got to Mina, Usman was leading the prayers, this is after the death of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and he decided that he was going to pray Zuhur, four rakaats.

Now traditionally, when you are in Mina during the time of Hajj, you shorten your prayers, so you pray two rakaats. So he is there, and so Abdullah ibn Umar goes to him and said, you know, I have made Hajj with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and in this specific place, at this specific time, I prayed behind him, and he prayed two rakaats. So maybe you should pray two rakaats.

And Usman was of a different opinion, and he prayed four rakaats. Now imagine this, imagine this. Not only you have a sound hadith, an authentic hadith, you prayed behind Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and you are so sure, there is no more assurity, there could be no more certainty, more than this.

So Usman prays four rakaats, and Abdullah ibn Umar prays behind him, four rakaats. So after the salah, people come to Abdullah ibn Umar, and they say, now Abdullah, just could not understand what you did.

You said, you saw the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) pray two rakaats, yet you prayed four rakaats with Usman ibn Arfan.

Maybe you should have waited for Usman to finish his four rakaats, and then you come and you do two rakaats, like you have seen Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) does. Then Abdullah ibn Umar said this, and I want you to pay attention to it. He said, that is so wrong.

Shortening my prayers is a sunnah. The unity of the Muslims is an obligation. You do not waste an obligation to perform a sunnah.

Do you see that wisdom? Do you see the ability of looking into the bigger picture? You are aware of the details, but at the same time, the details, because you are so well focused on them, do not necessarily make you lose sight of the bigger picture. My brothers and sisters, education is beautiful, but let us do it for the right reason. It is not enough that we know, we must act upon what we know, and we must also share what we know with other people.

And I say this, and I will repeat it again. We are the best ummah, or we are the best ummah, like Allah said, that was erected for the welfare of mankind, not for the welfare of the Muslims. Muslim, living in any part of the world, he is our brother.

We should feel for him. Muslims are suffering. Muslims are butchers.

Muslims are slain. And some of us even, they don't feel, they don't cry over that. If one organ is in pain, the whole body feels that.

Whether he is in India, whether he is in Far East, wherever the Muslim is, he is my brother. I should feel for him. My brothers and sisters, education is beautiful, but let us do it for the right reason.

It is not enough that we know, we must act upon what we know, and we must also share what we know with other people. And I say this, and I will repeat it again. We are the best ummah, or we are the best ummah, like Allah said, that was erected for the welfare of mankind, not for the welfare of the Muslims, for the welfare of mankind.

And I go back again to what was said earlier, what is your contribution, my contribution, her contribution to humanity nowadays. If we claim that we are the best, then that comes with responsibility, and we must provide evidence for it. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us facilitators of peace.

And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those who help and contribute to the welfare and to the progress of humanity. Jazakumullah khair for being so attentive, and again on your behalf, I would like to thank the organizers for this beautiful conference. I think that they have set the bar up so high, that when I go back to the States, unless it is something of this caliber, no more conferences are going to impress me.

People of Chennai, mashallah, I think you have really started a beautiful sunnah here locally, but inshallah it will also be felt and be seen globally, but make sure that you are always part of it. Be part of it. The

brothers are saying, you know, this thing is costing.

Mashallah, it's beautiful. You know, when I come here and I want to see, I wonder who paid for it. I wonder if they need help.

I wonder if there is something that I can do. And if there is, and there is something that you can do about it, then do not miss out. For the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, Addallu alal khairika faa'ilihi.

He who facilitate, he or she who facilitates for goodness will be rewarded as if he has done that goodness. Hadha wallahu a'lamu sallallahu ala nabiyyina Muhammad wa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Jazakumullahu khair for this inspirational speech.

I hope we will all be able to benefit from it, inshallah. Before we go forward with the question and answer session, I strongly urge all the brothers and sisters to stick on to the topic. Like I always say, inshallah, I will try to be as firm as I can to filter out the questions that are not related to the topic, inshallah.

I encourage you to ask questions and get more benefit out of Shaikh Yasir so that we can all further benefit from the remaining session, inshallah. So, there we are, ready for the first question.

Question and Answer Session

Question 1: Inability and Means

Assalamu alaikum.

You said in your talk that Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) didn't want to be in a position of inability. So I would like to ask, like, if a person is in that position, like he doesn't have the means, but he has the potential, what exactly is he supposed to do?

Answer: It's a good question. We said that it is not befitting to the character of a Muslim that he be in the state of humiliation. And very quickly, there is a difference between humility and humiliation. Humility is praised in the Quran. You be humble. That's what humility is. The humiliation is when you are put down and belittled and debased. So that's what we're talking about.

Remember my brothers and sisters, let us learn to accept that which we cannot change because it will make us feel better. But what happens is this, let not our circumstances depress us about ourselves. And think that this is temporarily. Inshallah, things will get better. In the meantime, I may not be able to do the best according to my potential, but the question is, what is the second best that I can do? And that is why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to say:

Sahih Muslim

He said, be concerned with that that benefits you most. And do not be hopeless or give up and always seek the help of your Lord. And never say, if I do this, if I have done that, if, because it will just depress you further more and more.

I'm saying my brothers, many of us are not really living up to our potential. Maybe it is because due to our laziness, due to this. But what happens if I'm not living up to my potential because of circumstances that are out of my control? I will say, what is the second best? The second best goes next to my list. And that is what I'm going to do.

Question 2: Reading Other Scriptures

As-Salaam-Alaikum Brother.

You emphasized on reading for the believers as mentioned in the Quran. We Muslims do read Quran for the guidance. As concern to the awareness, you also emphasized reading physics, biology, other subjects. Is it advisable in Islam that we also read other scriptures in order to have an awareness of what it speaks about?

Answer: Again, it would have to depend on the intention and the why. Remember what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said. He said, be occupied, be consumed with that that benefits you most. If Dr. Zakir is reading the scripture, then I can see why. And I can say, MashaAllah, if you're going to become the next Dr. Zakir Naik, please read the scripture. But if you are in an area where there are absolutely no people of the scripture that are around you, then I would say, you know what, all the guidance, actually guidance comes from the Quran. Information may come from other source.

So I would say, let us read the scripture that pertain to us directly and not necessarily, you know. So I would say it really depends on who is asking that question as far as reading the scripture. If you deal with them all the time and you are engaged with interfaith activities and what have you, then I would say it would be advisable that you learn something about their faith so that you are able to relate and give.

But if that's not the case, then I would say, no, it is permissible. In Islam, there are different places in the Quran where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would say, you know, ask them, ask the people that have the scripture, ask the people that were before you, ask the people. So in principle, there is nothing wrong with it.

There is a story of Umar ibn Khattab one time reading into the Torah, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came to him and he said, Umar, what are you doing? And he said, I am reading the Torah. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, Umar, why do you need the Torah when you have me? Why would you do that? And the scholars have said that that story is not authentic. The authenticity of that incident did not really take place.

And also it would have not been appropriate that you seek other scripture when you have Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with you.

Question 3: Different Scholarly Opinions

Question 4: Global Muslim Situation

Any more questions?

I want a guideline from you again. The topic may be different. When Afghanistan was attacked, we were keeping quiet because we were not Afghans. Again, when Iraqis attacked, we were keeping quiet because we were not Iraqis. When tomorrow Syria is attacked, we will also do. You know, here our stories, old history is rewritten, Poisonized. In the same way, economically, one section is trying to spoil us. In all the sphere, the industries which are dominating now, these people are making hurdles. In this condition, except praying God, is there any alternative, please?

Answer: It's a good question. And you can sense the frustration and the anger in the brother's voice. And rightly so. One thing to remember, a Muslim is never pessimistic, my brothers and sisters. Remember this always. It may be difficult now, but subhanallah, you never know the goodness that can come out of it. Let me give you an example.

The average number of people that accept Islam in the U.S. before 9-11 were 25,000 people. Every year become Muslims. When 9-11 took place, the September 11th massacres, the attacks, you know, we are thinking in the masjid, said, la ilaha illallah. Our masajids are going to be closed. They're probably going to target the Muslims. They're probably going to do this and no one would ever be interested in Islam.

Now, September 11th till March, the next year, that's how many months? Five months, 34,000 people accepted Islam. Now, you would never think this. You would never think that, you know, a catastrophe can come with so much goodness in it.

The same days, they show some Palestinians dancing in Gaza, you know, celebrating what happened in Palestine. You would think that, you know what, that is it from now on. That's it. The Palestinians can just forget about it. In October of the next year, over 100,000 Americans marched in Washington, D.C. to speak on behalf of the Palestinians. It looked, initially, it looked very bad.

But you know what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Indeed with every difficulty and hardship, Allah brings ease. Again, Allah says, Allah brings ease. So there will be ease.

The question is, what can I do to be part of that process? It could be, I'll become a better student in my school. I will contribute positively more to the people that are around me. I may not have the ability to defend the Iraqis or to defend the Syrians or to speak on behalf of the people of South.

I may not be able to do so, but always remember what we said earlier. Act locally and think globally. That is what we do.

And in the process, always we do this because we are told, Everything that we do is done in the name of our Lord. Seeking His blessings and seeking His aid in the process. Allah knows best.

If possible, I really beg your forgiveness. InshaAllah, let's make this the final, the last question.

How are you, my friend? How are you? Alhamdulillah, I'm fine.

Question 5: Different Muslim Groups

I have two questions. It's the last question. In Muslim, there are separations of many jamaats. Some jamaats, they may be called as tabligh and some jamaats. There is in Muslim community, there is not unique. There may be separations.

It came to my knowledge, there may be one jamaat will be inshaAllah entering in Jannah. We don't know which is the right jamaat. Which jamaat we have to follow. So there may be a misunderstanding between different scholars. Will you prove this through Quran, any versions and surah? And second is, whether there is Islam, what is the way to spread Islam? Whether there is Islam allowed through this media, we can preach Islam to all, like video coverage, all those things. Whether there is the allowed Islam? Please answer.

Answer: As far as your first question is concerned, we do hear this all the time. There are complaints. There are so many groups going around. These groups are recruiting for themselves. And these groups are recruiting. And in the process, this group is telling you that this group is wrong. And this group is telling you that this group is wrong. And it can be very frustrating, especially to our younger brothers and sisters. You know, I want to feel comfortable. Because it's a religion, it's a deen. You know, this is serious business. So I want to make sure that when I belong to a group, I want to make sure that I belong to the correct group.

So the frustration is understandable, although not justified. The action, the fact that the way we are so divided. I'll give you an example. Here is how I look at it. This is my personal opinion. I say, we all complement one another. We have five different fingers. My finger by itself, my thumb by itself, is not really, it won't do me any much. However, my fingers collectively, we complement one another. This finger may be deficient in that which this finger has. So collectively, we all add to the power of one another. So I say, mashallah, my brothers in Jamaat Tabligh, and we have seen them in the US.

I do not go, I do not have the courage. I spoke of courage. I did not have the courage of going to a bar or a nightclub because I saw a Muslim brother or sister entering there. However, my brother from Jamaat Tabligh would see a Muslim brother or sister going into the nightclub or into the bar. They would go to them and they say, brother, this is really wrong. Why don't you come to us? I love that.

I really love that in them. And I want them to remain because they are going taking a brother or a sister that I do not have the means of going and getting that brother and sister. Similarly, there is another group. They are so active in the colleges. They're so active in the universities. I love them because what they're doing is that they are keeping the identity of my Muslim brothers and sisters.

Had these groups not been there, these brothers and sisters would have been lost. So the way I look at it is, mashallah, Jamaat Tabligh is taking care of this. Mashallah, these people are taking care of that. Mashallah, they're taking care of here. And collectively we complement one another. In the process, I do acknowledge, well, I know maybe this could have been done in a better way. Maybe they do lack here. But no one is perfect. That's one.

Another point is this, that I may belong to a certain Jamaat as far as organizational is concerned. They're organized. I want to be part of an organization because by myself, I really am not able to do much. But my allegiance belongs to the Muslim Ummah and also to humanity. I am not going to hate or love people because whether they belong to my party or they do not belong to my party. The person that belongs to Jamaat Tabligh, Wallahi, he loves Allah and His Messenger. And he wants to please Allah and His Messenger. The person that happens to be Salafi or Ikhwan, Wallahi, they love Allah and His Messenger. And to me, that is enough.

I want to be like them. Because these people chose to join a group that loves Allah and His Messenger. So my brothers and sisters, again, I see that diversity is healthy. However, it is the way we are reacting to our diversity that is not very healthy. You know, open your hearts and just say, you know, I will accept the brother, but he remains my brother and sisters. Maybe we will talk and do something.

And let me ask you this. This conference right here, do you think it makes a difference whether you are a Tablighi or Salafi or this or that? Don't you find the people, you know, with Dr. Zakir and Abu Ali and what they have presented, did we not all benefit from what they had to say? It was so beneficial that we have got some non-Muslim friends attending. So you're telling me that non-Muslims may attend and benefit, yet Muslims may not attend? I have a problem with this kind of logic.

And that's why whenever we see these types of division, although they may look religious on the outside, but the Quran says they are due to something else. When they became negligent of that which was revealed to them, we put animosity and hatred amongst them. So the minute I see animosity and hatred, I say, we've done something wrong. Because that's not how it's supposed to be doing. And then the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam would tell us, you know, should I inform you about the best of deeds? They're better than fasting all the time and praying all the... What is the Prophet of Allah? He would say, it is to reconcile between people. But we're never engaged in reconciling. We're always engaged in dividing people.

And finally, I'd say that, you know, the second question is regarding using this type of venues to spread the word of Islam. Subhanallah, of the most beautiful things nowadays, is this concept of internet and videos and CDs and cassettes, because they are a way of spreading the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Dr. Zakir told us the other day, these programs will soon be... If you find them beneficial, he said that, these programs will be aired to a hundred and fifty nations are going to benefit from it. The other day I was watching the news here, and as I was flipping the channels, I recognized one of the priests back in the U.S. His message is going to the people of India. And I said, subhanallah, a priest in the U.S. has his message heard in India. Why can't an Imam, a Sheikh that has something to offer, why can't his message be heard to the people of the U.S. and to the people of this and to the people of that? So I think they are a beautiful way. Alhamdulillah, we see that they are being put into good use. Let me tell you this.

Do you know how fast internet is? It is three thousand miles a second. That's how fast it is. Three thousand miles a second? By the time I blink, the person is already somewhere else. Blink twice, and they are in Europe. Blink again, and they are in the other part of the world. Three thousand a second.

And Allah has facilitated this for us, and now it is up to us to make good use of it. And may Allah bless the brothers that are making good use of this. Again, Jazakumullah khair.

Thank you for your attention. Do not mean to keep you here for so long. Khairullahu A'lam wa Sallallahu A'la Nabiyyina Muhammad.

And Allah knows best, and may Allah send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let us remember that the pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey, one that enriches our understanding of Allah, ourselves, and the world around us. May Allah guide us to seek knowledge that benefits us in this life and the hereafter.

Let us strive to embody the qualities of a seeker of knowledge: humility, patience, and perseverance. May we always be mindful of the importance of acting upon the knowledge we acquire, and may we use it to benefit ourselves, our families, and our communities.

May Allah grant us the wisdom to discern truth from falsehood, and may He protect us from the pitfalls of ignorance and arrogance. May we always be grateful for the blessings of knowledge, and may we use it to draw closer to Allah and to fulfill our purpose in this life.

As we conclude this journey together, let us renew our commitment to seeking knowledge, acting upon it, and sharing it with others. May Allah accept our efforts and grant us success in this life and the hereafter. May we be among those who are guided, who guide others, and who are pleasing to Allah.

Ameen.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

May Allah reward you with goodness.