[Music]
alhamd
let me start by telling a joke how about
that so basically there was this guy and
he was uh he wanted to he was
graduating and he was going to check his
grade now overseas you the university
typically would put your grades out on
this board and everyone looks for their
name and then they see their results so
the guy tells his friend he says I can't
go to the school but when you go check
my grades for me all right and then then
come to my house and tell me my grades
but I'm going to be sitting with my
father so if I failed one grade tell me
Muhammad says assalamu alaykum and if I
fail two grade say Muhammad says
asalam so the guy is sitting with his
father and waiting and then his friend
goes checks his grade comes back and he
tells him Muhammad says Asam
alayum
the reason I chose that joke is it has
the word um in it and our my next talk
is about how this is an an umah that is
a moderate
umah and there are many people who think
that Islam is a very strict religion
right many people think that that that
Islam is very strict are you're
following young man pay attention so a
lot of people think this especially the
young people in the audience pay
attention
because you think Islam is so strict
there's so many things that I can't do
and that's how you're taught Islam by
the way you taught that it's just a list
of dos and don'ts and that's why and if
the adults and parents and the audience
could pay attention that's why when
you're children ask about Islam their
only questions are Halal andam because
that's what they think Islam is a list
of things that are Hal and a list of
things that are Haram pay attention
young man pay
attention
pay attention to what I'm
saying so a lot of young people think
Islam is a list of things that are Halal
and Haram that's why when young people
ask questions it's only Halal and Haram
and it's the weirdest and strangest
things is this Halal is that Haram and
until now of years of dealing with youth
I have yet to experience a young person
come up to me and ask how do we do this
where do you put your hands in how do
you do this movement or that movement in
Salah it's always Halal andam questions
because that's what we teach them Islam
is but it's actually not that and
there's always a a wisdom and a logic to
why something is halal or Haram but
because that's how we present it to them
in their minds they think Islam is just
a list of dos and don'ts and that's why
a lot of young people believe and a lot
of people in the audience might believe
that Islam is just generally a very
strict religion a couple of things one
the more you learn about Islam the more
you will you will realize that it's
actually not that strict that there's a
lot of leeway in many many issues for
example many people if they get a small
paper cut they think that they have to
go and redo the woo many people are like
that they get a small paper cut they
okay I need to make my woo all over
again but that's actually not the case
you study and you find that it's a lot
more flexible than that a lot of people
think that if you touch a dog it
nullifies your wo or if someone's pet
dog touches you on your way to the
Masjid it nullifies your wo no it
doesn't if a dog licks your hand or
something like that all you have to do
is wash your hand and you go straight to
the Masjid and you continue with your
Salah uh likewise touching a man or a
woman like for example you have W and
you go to the grocery store and the
cashier lady as she's giving you the
change back she just touches your palm a
little bit oh she Ruined My Wo no
doesn't ruin your woo and the the only
touch from the opposite gender that with
ruin your W is one that is associated or
comes along with desire and I'm sure
when she gave you the change in your
hand and and her finger just touched you
lightly you weren't overtaken with
desire or anything like that so it's not
uh it's not as people think it is how
about uh raw
meat huh Haram huh most people think ra
me Haram the only people who know how to
answer this question question properly
are Lebanese people because they have a
k which is raw meat with spices and
everything Halal crocodile Halal or
Haram no that was a trick that's Haram
actually I just put that on purpose
mermaids Halal or
Haram they don't exist uhhuh thank you
yeah they don't exist you're right with
but if you want to
any some scholars in the past said yeah
merid Halal to eat and so on that would
be weird wouldn't it you have a human
torso and you're eating arms and ears
but okay they don't exist all right so
anyways the more you learn about Islam
the more you discover that it's flexible
and it's not as strict as you think it
is now Islam is strict when it comes to
issues of belief issues of AA and you'll
find it more relaxed when it comes to
issues of and of dealings and acts of
worship so in issues of belief Islam is
very strict our belief regarding Allah
subhana wa tala you cannot have any
doubt about it and you cannot have two
opinions about Allah with issues of
belief it's very strict are you with me
with issues of belief it's
strict so is there only one God there's
no you know ifs ANS or butts about that
it's strict and can you have doubt about
that issue you cannot have any doubt in
that issue but can you have doubt
whether when I come up from do I put my
hands on my chest do my hands go down to
my sides that's that's more flexible so
you find in different opinions there's
flexibility but in issues of belief
Islam is a very strict
religion most people also think that
there's more Haram in Islam than Halal
this is an exercise I always like to do
is there more Halal or Haram so if we
were to take for example the different
kinds of materials are there more Halal
materials than and Haram materials what
are the Haram
materials materials gelatin what do you
wear something made of gelatin
huh golden silk for males all right what
else what materials are
Haram huh yes shout it
out is
Haram okay all right what else so you
can't think of anything because there's
so but generally it would be things that
are made of pig skin or dog skin you
wouldn't wear something like that or
even the the the skin of a wolf or Fox
that type of animal but see all the rest
is halal there is so much Halal drinks
what kind of drinks are Haram alcoholic
drinks Haram what
else what else shout it
out see you can't you have to be
creative now blood right blood right no
Nobody Drinks urine what's the matter
with you it's not a
drink you have that in your fridge at
home let me grab a cold
one so but these are things people
typically drink blood or things that
have alcohol well all the rest is halal
how many kinds of other drinks are there
how many kinds of fruit juices are there
vegetable juices all kinds of other
drinks Hal you see so you when you look
at it you actually find there's a lot
more Halal than there is Haram but even
the things that were prohibited from
there's a wisdom and there is a logic to
to behind why Allah subhana tal forbade
us from these things I want to give you
some examples because Allah subhana tala
tells us in the
Quran this verse is saying and thus we
have made you this um of Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam a community
that is just or a just Community a
moderate community in the middle right
in the middle between what if you
compare Islamic law to Jewish and
Christian law you will really understand
how we're a middle uh umah or we've been
we're just in the in the middle we're
balanced we're just okay and this is one
thing that I want the only thing that I
want you to to walk away from this
lecture with that we really have have a
very fair and balanced Shar so I'm going
to give you examples of Jewish dietary
law and I want you to see how strict it
is okay everybody with
me all right for example in Jewish
dietary law there are certain parts of
permissible Halal animals that cannot be
eaten does this exist in Islam and is
there any part of the sheep that you
can't eat you can eat all of it any part
you can eat it
can anyone think of a part you can't eat
from a
sheep
what I can't hear you so but in certain
in in dietary laws in Jewish dietary
laws even a Halal animal some parts of
it cannot be eaten also you have the
meat of other birds or mammals cannot be
eaten with dairy cannot be mixed with
anything that's cheese or yogurt or milk
but we can do that we can mix it the way
we want you can pour milk over your
steak and eat it right but for them very
strict and according to some views and
I'm only going over the more or less
Universal Jewish dietary laws According
to some views fish cannot be eaten with
meat either okay then the utensils the
cooking pots if they have come into
contact with meat it cannot be used for
dairy yeah if your pot has come into
contact with meat you can't boil milk in
it believe it or not that's very strict
for Muslims you wash the pot you put
whatever you want to put in it everyone
paying
attention also utensils that came into
contact with non- kosher food cannot be
used for kosher food and grape products
made by non-jews cannot be eaten by Jews
any grape product made by a non-jew
cannot be consumed for us is that the
case it doesn't matter who makes the
great product as long as it's not wine
of
course if it's a Hindu or whoever it is
we can eat it or consume it so you see
how it's flexible for us also for the
Jews shellfish lobsters oysters shrimps
clams the good stuff what about it crabs
all of it forbidden all of it forbidden
but for us it's Hal they have a very
strict dietary laws also reptiles you
can't eat reptiles can
we what kind of reptiles can we
eat we just said it reptiles yeah
lizards you can anyone have lizard in
here before anyone Tred lizard nobody
they say taste like fish yeah so lizards
you know imagine if you're a Jew you
couldn't have a good lizard man you guys
can have you have that blessing you have
that honor also they can't eat insects
we can eat insects
alhamdulillah what kind of insects are
eaten by by Muslims
typically locusts Locust you know what
those are
very very very big grasshoppers so you
see then in their dietary law everything
is very strict for us very very relaxed
okay even in when it comes to the menes
for the woman very strict laws in in in
Jewish law very very strict that in for
a woman during her Menses if even if she
touches something else that thing
becomes unclean and it can be it can
contaminate other things but for us it's
very simple it's very relaxed
would report that during her menes she
would drink from a container the prophet
would turn it to where she drank from
and he would drink from that part you
know and in the other Hadith he would
show her that how the impurity is not in
her hand she can touch things you can
sit with a woman in the same bed but in
Jewish law you cannot do that very very
strict so you see that Islam the the
laws in Islam are more relaxed than they
are in Judaism for example I also want
to share one thing with you this is just
for fun that in Jewish law there's a
prayer that the men say every morning
it's amazing they say praised are you oh
Lord our god king of the universe who
did not make me a non Jew so they're
saying alhamdulillah for being a Jew
just like we say alhamdulillah for being
Muslims then they say who did not make
me a slave and who did not make me a
woman yeah they say that every morning
huh what do you think of that very nice
yeah shello asani shell asani a
Shani Isa that's the woman
part oh I love that fantastic anyways
this is when it comes to Jewish law that
I just wanted you to look at these
examples and see how strict Jewish
dietary law is now look at the
Christians now so now we went at one
extreme end is so difficult then look at
the Christian law huh what's Christian
law you might ask what law what law
everything is allowed and everybody's
just going to jump rope into Paradise
it's so easy you accept Jesus as your
savior died for your sins you accept him
in your life and that's it you're
guaranteed Paradise you know they have
that belief anyone know that one time I
was sitting talking to a to a Christian
person he said so in Islam you guys
don't know if you're going to Paradise I
was surprised by that question I said
who knows if if they're going to
Paradise he
said I was like poor you it's not how it
works
so uh for them dietary laws what dietary
laws even though in Leviticus in the
Bible it has all the dos and don'ts of
what you can and can eat in new parts in
parts of the New Testament they said
look it doesn't make you unclean and so
on and so forth so now they eat pork
they eat all kinds of things they have
no no kind of adary law whatsoever and
everything else is very relaxed so we're
not like that and we're not like that
Allah now I hope you would appreciate it
more made us a moderate um in the middle
our laws are not that strict and other
nations even if an impurity falls on
your clothing you can't wash the
clothing you have to cut that part off
but for us it's so much easier and so
much more relaxed I hope you're starting
to appreciate how wonderful Islamic Shar
is
Sho asani
Isa
and so now I want you to to focus about
a few things in Islamic
law first of all you find it very
balanced everything is so balanced Islam
doesn't ask of you to put yourself in a
cave or to shun everything from the dun
and to not even gather wealth and to not
work hard for it just everything is
balanced there's a balance between this
life and the next life in Islam it
doesn't tell you to ignore this world
and only prepare for the next and it
doesn't tell you just focus on this one
and not there's always a balance you
know other other religions you'll find
people staying in monasteries or staying
staying in some kind of Temple at the
top of a hill and this is their entire
life but we're able to live a normal
life under Islamic Shar there is a
balance between reason and Revelation
and Allah always explains to us you
throw that thing one more time I'm going
to throw you you in the air you stop
throwing that around what's the matter
with you somebody tell that kid to stop
that everybody pay
attention didn't fly all the way from
Calgary so you guys can mess around pay
attention
welcome everybody with
me fantastic telling you some important
stuff here now you go to school tomorrow
they start attacking Islam and you don't
know I wish I paid attention pay
attention now
all right so we're saying there's a
balance between Revelation and reason
there's a balance between the individual
and the community there's a balance
between the religion and the world and
so Islam always chooses the middle
positions in the majority of things even
like even in issues of belief that we
said are strict you find that you know
again with the Christians it's so
relaxed you you take Jesus as your
savior you basically skip rope into
Paradise you know for the Muslims no one
is told okay you're going into Paradise
or or not this is something you strive
for your whole life you balance between
love hope and fear you worship Allah out
of love hope and fear not other people
who just have hope some people just have
fear but again we always have a balance
I want you to appreciate the fact that
everything is balanced in Islam acts of
worship again very balanced in Islam you
have different opinions you have leway
different opinions make it more relaxed
for
people versus if you look at as we as we
did with the Jewish law also the the
laws of Shar they're all logical and
they're all within reason and they're
all within your capability and within
your
capacity uh let's look at uh some
examples pay
attention Don't make me say that
again if you want to fool around go
outside leave
now all
right
so uh
we were saying in Islamic law for
example it's so fair and so balanced
there's no obligation Beyond Your
Capacity can you think of anything in
Islam that Allah made obligatory upon
you and it's beyond human ability to do
it wouldn't make sense and Allah created
us he knows what we can and can't do he
wouldn't ask us of something that we
cannot do true or false can you think of
anything that Allah asked us that we
can't do maybe there are things we can
never perfect but we can always make a
step towards improving them or having
some of this aspect right so Allah in
his law in Islam doesn't ask us of
things that are beyond our capacity
likewise Allah out of his fairness he
makes all the good things permissible
and all the bad things forbidden
everything that's harmful for you you'll
find it to be forbidden all the things
that are good for you you find it to be
permissible and this is then one of also
the definitions of the Halal thing Halal
thing is that that which agrees with
your nature as well and the Forbidden
things you'll see the bad aspect in it
likewise the uh like in conditions of
extreme necessity and excuses made for
you because it's a logical Shar you know
for example if someone is torturing you
to say something that's kufur can you
say it as a
Muslim yes yes now other nations before
us their law was that you had to die
with it so if someone is trying is
torturing you or saying we're going to
cut you in half unless you disbelieve in
Allah in their you had to just be cut in
half you couldn't say it to get yourself
free but in our sh you can it it has the
leeway and it has uh conditions for
extreme necessity just like you know
you're starving in a desert you're about
to die of starvation right and then you
find in the middle of a desert a roast
Pig and some wine and you can you eat
just just a little bit of that pig in
order to
survive right you can why because it's
fair and it's a just Shar so you don't
find it that it's over overburdening
people or making things difficult for
people also you
find that the values in Islam they are
Universal and it's not specific to a
culture not specific to a race and not
specific to a country you find anything
like that is there any ruling in Islam
that's just for somalis for
example no any ruling for any specific
people in Islam any specific race or
culture no it's Universal very nice and
very easy for example you don't find uh
also religious classes in Islam that
there are rulings for this class of
people and rulings for that class of
people like you find in many other
religions again very Universal no double
standards and it also recognize izes you
know the natural things that you want to
enjoy in life and it teaches you also
how to enjoy things but not to go not to
to be excessive in it so it's very
logical and very realistic Shar really
hope that you can appreciate that it's
not like the other other nations the
Shar is so strict or others that
basically don't even have a Shar and I
know you're probably thinking well
what's so bad about what the situation
the Christians have that they don't even
have laws concerning many things for
example we can follow sallam in how he
made right and how he made and how he
did Salah we have ways of how to attain
inah but talk to other people of other
religions and tell them give me steps to
get in Salah you know focused and being
feeling humbled and improver in front of
Allah talk to other religions tell them
how do I get in Salah do they have the
how no if you ever listen to and I don't
recommend it but if you ever listen to
the the evangelicals and people speaking
on Sunday uh morning television they
always talk about what we need to do we
need to do this you need to allow the
Lord this into your life you need this
you need that but they never show you
how you know why because they don't got
the how they don't got it they don't
have the how they could just talk about
what we need to do but we have that so
you can't ask the followers of all the
other prophets how did make they can't
tell you
did improve his they can't tell you and
so what happens when you don't have the
law you have to make up your own and
that's why in in Christian history there
are people who started to make up their
own laws you know St Augustine and
others they started to invent their own
laws because they didn't have it we have
our law that comes from Allah subhana
tala and because it comes from Allah
it's not oppressive to any group or any
peoples
so and uh it's very practical as well
Islamic law it takes into account
people's needs human needs it takes into
account emotions desires what people
wish for all of that very very nice very
flexible very logical not overburdening
anyone and even if there were something
that were to overburden you and you were
in an extreme situation Allah subhana
tala then does not require from you more
than what you can bear even then that's
another rule that we have that Allah
only asks from you what you can bear and
what you can do do so the truth is that
when we don't know our religion we think
it's very strict we think it's very
rigid and we cannot see how it's
moderate but Allah made it moderate
placed it in between the Jewish religion
and the Christian religion not that
strict and not without any boundaries it
made it a middle religion that takes
into account many things human needs
desires all kinds of things balancing
this life with the next life balancing
the religion with this life
fantastic but like I said you don't know
it you'll think that it's very strict
you'll think that it's a very difficult
religion and if it's presented to you as
dos and don'ts you will always think
this is a strict religion we can't do
this we can't do that we can't do this
we can't do that but then when you look
into why you can't do it you will see
that it comes Under the Umbrella of
another good for you and for the
community let's take one example for
example dating you know you all know you
can't date right so and people just
think they can't date and they don't
know the reason and parents again in the
room always explain the reason to your
children your children are smart and
they understand things don't give them
the nonsensical explanation with
Boogeyman and all kinds of things tell
them the actual reason they'll
understand it and the religion will make
sense to them I know some young men who
would come to me after years of not
dating and they'll say why are we not
allowed to date or they won't go to the
prom and then they'll ask well why can't
we go to the prom
so that means they just did it because
they were told no but no one explained
their wisdom to them and when you
explain the wisdom to someone it makes
it easier for them to accept that and
easier for them to follow not just that
I'm just forbidden from something and I
don't know the reason but I'm just
that's what I'm told I can't do it so I
can't do it and then you're going to be
constantly met by people in school and
approached by people in school who ask
you why can't you do this why don't you
do that and you have to have answers to
that but obviously if we don't teach our
children the answers then they won't
know and if you teach them the answers
you'll really help them even in the
future from obeying Allah subh better
because they know why they're doing
something they know why they're
abstaining from the
Haram and we are living in the society
where people just glorify the Haram and
they give it nice names you know and so
the youth will be bombarded with that
constantly but if they know why it'll
make sense to
them so know your religion I'm telling
you the more you learn about Islam the
more you'll see it's flexible the more
you'll understand why Allah subhana will
tell us this and will tell us that one
of the interesting things just to add
that by the way is that there is
actually pay attention please there is
not a single narration when the prophet
Sall wasam ever told the companions or
forbade them from something and they
asked is this like Haram or just Mak
never never ever never ever you know why
because there were people ready to obey
their Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
proph said don't do something they
stayed away from it but today people
they want to know where it falls so they
can just ride the Border you know most
people they come to you they ask you a
question like this is such and such
Haram you told them no it's not Haram
but it's Mak what's Mak it's disliked or
hated by Allah oh so it's not Haram yes
it's not Haram but it's Mak okay okay
but it's not
Haram why that's all they want to look
at is it haram or not you know if you
tell them it's makr okay that means I
can fool around with it for a good while
the scholars warn of of they say if you
keep falling into the Mak it will
eventually lead you into falling into
the Haram if something is disliked by
Allah why would you want to do it that's
it then and that's why the companions
never asked is this Haram or Mak is this
Haram Haram or just Haram like you know
stay away from it this is what we do
today something is something's Mak
something is is it
or okay and Allah prefers that I do it
okay great so I can ignore it then
that's not how it is people you know
it's interesting the
prophet he
said the religion is ease and not
hardship but Subhan Allah so many times
when we look we find hardship who's
making it difficult then if the prophet
of this religion said the religion is
ease who's making it difficult
somebody's making it difficult so for
sure right but the religion is ease so
it's supposed to be easy and yet we find
difficulty and that difficulty again
leads to not understanding the religion
or leads to strictness of things that
Allah subh did not impose upon us but we
impose upon ourselves these things you
know such as all kinds of things we make
it obligatory you have to pick this you
have to do that and Allah didn't say do
that so the religion is ease and it's
not difficulty if you're finding the
religion to be difficult that means
something's wrong either you're
understanding or or something you're
being taught or your teacher or
something like that the prophet wasam
said the religion is ease it's not it's
not difficulty it's not difficult so
that means you have to find that it's
easy at some point now the other thing
the prophet
said
he said make things easy and don't make
things difficult and whether your
parents or your children you stay within
the boundaries of the Sunnah as we spoke
about in the last lecture don't make
things difficult for people and most
things most people I like I said they
think being religious is making things
difficult so they frown they come to you
brother this is Haram and they think
this is a good religious brother the guy
who frowns to you and he comes and yells
to you that this is Haram what you're
doing this is a good guy you know but
that's not the way of the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam and by the
way just when you tell someone
something's Haram like that to their
face all they do is defend
it have finesse diplomacy style when it
comes to giving people dawa and telling
people this is Haram or prohibiting
people from
something so uh with that I'm going to
end here I think if I make this lecture
any longer yeah there'll be either
sleeping or there'll be a brawl in the
front
row so I know it's been a long day but
uh I hope you can now focus on looking
how at this uh at our um as actually a
moderate umah that was placed in the
middle Allah didn't give us an
overburdening very difficult Shar nor
did he not give us any laws and then
allow us to make our own laws and
oppress each other in the process study
your religion you will find that it's
easier find out the purposes or the
wisdom behind why Allah subh will forbid
us from doing something have the
arguments in your head be ready to
explain it to non-muslims be ready to
defend your
religion