People on racist principles deserve to
go to prison for it.
>> this chimping out. You following me to
my truck now?
>> social media influencer known as Chug
the Builder.
>> I think this is a FBI psyop.
>> I've heard growing up, you know, they
put crack in the crack and cocaine in
the neighborhoods. Come to find out the
CIA
>> Chapter 49, do not insult each other
done.
>> Period. It is only going to be used as
fire to burn our communities down. That
means a Muslim is not allowed to insult
a non-Muslim. Allah has honored every
single child of Adam, black or white.
>> concept of the dangers of the tongue.
>> So if speech is silver, then silence is
worth gold. Why?
>> And that goes back into the matters of
the heart. This racism. Now is the time
he's Is he Is he from what you're
seeing?
>> is just the beginning, but the true
intention is full out conflict.
>> Thank you for the costume.
>> The initial part says I will defend my
life with lethal force. Do not approach
me with intent to threaten bodily harm.
>> I think it's reasonable.
>> That's the liar laying who's been going
to different masjids.
>> I felt very comfortable. I was welcomed
with warm hearts.
>> talked about how this is actually doing
a lot of harm now.
>> Yes.
>> to the Dawah. And then this code of
conduct has us acting a certain way. We
have limits.
>> As-salamu alaykum. Welcome to the Deen
Show.
It's good to have you guys with us. We
got an exciting episode. Before I bring
out my next guest, let's get into this
video.
It's going to kind of break down what
we're going to be talking about. You've
heard about this uh for those
that haven't, the Chug the Builder.
Let's go ahead and look at this video
and I'll bring out my next guest who'll
break it down and look at
true
freedom of speech versus or freedom of
speech versus hate speech, what Islam
has to say about all this.
We'll be right back.
>> I think that people who shoot other
people on racist principles [music]
deserve to go to prison for it.
>> him chimping out. You following me to my
truck now? We got 18 rounds for you. We
ain't got nothing else.
>> The social media influencer [music]
known as Chud the Builder is now facing
an attempted murder charge after a
shooting today outside the Montgomery
County [music] Courthouse.
>> I support freedom of speech.
>> I believe he acted in self-defense.
>> That's what happened. Chud was
assaulted. [music] He defended himself.
>> Not acting in self-defense?
>> I've watched the videos.
>> Why you acting like an right now?
>> I acted like a what?
>> You heard me. Sit down.
>> Keep coming up.
>> I'm going to mace your ass real quick.
>> want to get pepper sprayed. I really
don't. Go pick up my hat.
>> [music]
>> You heard me.
>> I've seen the posts.
>> Ooga booga. Look at him chimping out.
>> he [music] was very, very clear about
what he intended to do.
>> blown his brains out that night.
>> I almost feel like it's going to happen.
>> believe he should [music] be held
accountable.
>> How's it going? This is Channel 5 with
Andrew Callaghan. Andrew is in Iran
right now, so he can't make it, but we
are at Montgomery County Courthouse,
where Jake Lang advertised a free Chud
the Builder rally. For those of you that
don't know, Chud the Builder is an
online agitator who came to prominence a
few weeks ago brandishing weapons at
people while calling them the N-word.
>> I think this is an FBI psyops.
>> And earlier this week he shot somebody,
which was the obvious outcome. There's
not really anybody here, but we do see
some people right here. I see somebody
How's it going? We had heard there was a
free Chud the Builder rally.
>> why I'm here.
>> That's why you're here?
>> Yeah, I was calling it cap because I
didn't think he was actually going to
come. I drove around a little bit ago
and didn't see anyone, so.
>> Is the political climate of this town
kind of favoring Chud the Builder or
>> No. No. No. It would absolutely be the
minority. It's funny actually because me
and some of my friends had reached out
to the mayor like 6 months ago when this
first started happening saying that this
exact thing was going to happen, so.
Little disappointed, but at least no one
died, I guess.
>> As-salamu alaykum, Dr. Hassan.
>> Wa alaykumu s-salam, akhi.
>> Good to have you back. How have you
been?
>> Alhamdulillah, so good to be back. I've
been good.
>> So, uh what do you think? Have you ever
heard of this uh Chad the Builder?
>> Mhm. You know, fortunately, I've never
heard of him before. Uh he hasn't even
popped up. But, you know what?
Alhamdulillah, I guess the algorithms
are doing well. When you watch certain
content, you get certain feed. So, I I'm
only uh
bombarded with in sha Allah
alhamdulillah reminders and things that
are beneficial.
>> Do you use X, Elon Musk's X?
>> No, no, I don't. I don't.
>> This is where you can see a lot of it.
>> Ah.
>> On the X.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
So, what do you think so far? You This
is pretty much a guy who's going out
under the pretense of freedom of speech,
so he'll approach a certain um he'll go
to certain black communities and he'll
say, "Hey, do you believe in freedom of
speech?" And he'll say they'll say,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." And then it's he'll
uh utter the N-word. And then he'll
provoke people. He'll have a big uh mace
can that you can use on bears, looks
like, and then he'll have a pistol, a
gun.
He'll he'll be armed. And what happened
here, I guess he was in the front of a
courthouse, and he did the same thing,
and it erupted, and he almost killed the
guy. Now, he's in jail, $1 million bond.
So, we want to find out freedom of
speech,
Islam,
between freedom of speech, hate speech,
and how Islam looks at
these topic.
>> Mhm.
Yeah, this is a very important topic,
actually. Um
and just my initial response to seeing,
you know, his provocations
is that um
he got exactly what he was seeking. He
was seeking attention. He was seeking to
provoke the people. And he was actually
seeking violence, not free speech,
because
you know, free speech um
has many facets to it.
And
there are those who will engage in hate
speech and call it free speech.
But, it's not free speech.
What we mean by hate speech is speech
that can provoke someone else and speech
that will inevitably result in
um
confrontation,
uh physical confrontation, armed
confrontation.
Uh
I'm happy to know from uh
the quick search that I did prior to,
you know, jumping on uh this podcast is
that um he ended up shooting a guy, but
he ended up shooting himself, too. So,
he's he's a fool. Uh you know, he's
carrying these weapons. He doesn't even
know how to use them properly. But, the
point was to insult people to the point
where they would attack him and then he
can get, you know, this race war that I
find a lot of
angry
young uh white males in this country are
um starting to ascribe to. That, you
know, they're so desperate for a change
because of the economy, because what's
happening in the world today, that they
believe that their situation will get
better if there is a race war, a race
white riot, you know, they can regain
control and, you know, regain uh years
that were
um in their point of view better. So,
you know, he's definitely using um
speech, you know, as his ship uh to sail
forward, but um it's not going to get
anywhere because, you know, people of
all faiths can see through this. But,
those who already have hatred in their
hearts, uh you know, they're going to
support their guy. They're going to, you
know, say that he's just defending
himself as they did in those clips, but
definitely his intention was to provoke
people.
You know?
>> That uh individual Omar Johnson, you've
heard of him?
>> Uh no, I haven't.
>> in that in that clip, he mentioned that
he thinks this is an an op.
>> I think this is an FBI psyop.
>> Oh, Dr. Omar. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean,
I've heard of him. I I've heard of him.
I have some thoughts about him as well.
Uh but, you know, it would it really
wouldn't be too far. Sometimes when we
say these things that these are, you
know,
you know, funded by the government
perhaps, you know,
it 20, 30 years later we find out that
yeah, there was a budget for that. You
know, you find in the black community
they'll say, you know, I've heard
growing up, you know, they put crack in
the crack and cocaine in the
neighborhoods. Come to find out the CIA
did allow crack and cocaine to be
prevalent in African-American
communities. This is proven. This is you
can just Google search this. You know,
you'll find when I was growing up I
heard that, you know, they flooded the
streets with guns. Where do we get the
guns from? We don't manufacture guns.
And then years later we'll find out that
yes, you know, there was CIA operations
to allow guns to be, you know,
distributed through the community. So,
you know, I it wouldn't be too
far-fetched of a thought
that, you know, there are lone wolves
that are working
maybe not directly through the
government unfortunately, but through
those who are associated with the
government with the goal of, you know,
starting race wars and starting
high-level provocation so that, you
know,
what, you know, our government perhaps
desires to really put the society under
some sort of martial law to just gain
more control over the people
unfortunately. And they're using it
through these type of provocations, but
then it leads to another conversation.
You have a lot of young black males who
say, "Well, there's nothing wrong with
the N-word. Like I can say the N-word.
What's wrong with it? And other people
should be free to say this word." And I
found a lot of discussion online where
people are, you know, giving their take
on this issue. But
I think we should just turn to the book
of Allah
where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us
in Surat al-Hujurat, this is the 49th
chapter of the Quran. He says, "Ya
ayyuhallazina amanu la yaskhar qaumun
min qaumin." All you who believe, do not
insult one another. Do not allow men to
insult one another. As-salamu alaykum
perhaps the person they're insulting is
better than them. So as a rule of thumb
if Allah has commanded us as Muslims,
I'm talking to Muslims right now, men
and women. Allah has forbade us from
insulting one another or using terms
that are offensive to one another. And
as Muslims we should just avoid these
terms all together and not get into the
semantics of where these words
originated from, who has the you know
strength to use them, who shouldn't use
them. No. Allah says that we shouldn't
use terms that are offensive towards one
another and we should just obey and just
leave these actions because as we see
from this Chad guy, it is only going to
be used as fire to burn our communities
down.
>> Mhm. Wow, this is this ends the debate
if you're Muslim. Uh at the end of the
day this is our
This is our instruction manual, the
Quran from the creator of the heavens
and the earth. You quoted Surah Surah
Hujurat Hujurat, chapter 49. Do not
insult each other. It's done.
>> Period. Do not insult each other. And so
upon Allah the caveat right behind it is
perhaps the one you're insulting is
better than you.
>> And this is for everybody. Actually the
Quran is a a mercy for all of mankind
and this is a guidance for all of
mankind and now Chad the builder, I mean
he could have saved himself
from you know going in circles and
trying to promote under the pretext of
freedom of speech which comes out to
actually hate speech or comes out of
racism.
>> Yes.
>> Offending a whole um
uh group of people and here with Islam
is very straightforward.
>> Yeah, you know another point that can be
made off of this is that often times
when you read perhaps Judeo-Christian
texts, you will find a lot of you know
the old law or you know what the
community you know calls you know the
Torah, you know the first five books as
well as their other books the Tanakh and
other Talmudic scripture. You find that
when commands come down they come down
for their particular community. So you
know they're not allowed to charge each
other interest but they could charge
communities outside interests. You know,
they're not allowed to, you know, um,
engage in certain actions amongst
themselves, but they're allowed to take
advantage of other communities. However,
you know, I said it and I'm very glad
that you said it behind me. When it
comes to the Quran, Allah is not telling
the Muslim community, do not call each
other names, but you can call other
people names. No. This is a general
command as to how human beings should be
interacting with one another. However,
Allah addresses the believers in this
verse because Allah knows that they're
the ones that are going to enact these
commands and put the will of Allah, God,
over their own wills. So, yes, Allah
tells us in this verse not to insult one
another. That means a Muslim is not
allowed to insult a non-Muslim. And a
non-Muslim shouldn't insult a Muslim as
well. And perhaps the one you're
insulting may have a particular virtue.
You may think, well, I'm Muslim, they're
not Muslim. How could they be better
than me? Why wouldn't I be able to
insult them? You don't know what the end
of their life may be. You don't know if
they may become Muslim and they may do
amazing things for this religion and
become better than you and more
knowledgeable than you. This is why, as
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the
Quran, "Wa laqad akramna bani Adam." And
indeed, we have honored the children of
Adam. Allah didn't say we've honored the
Muslim community. No. Allah has honored
every single child of Adam, black or
white, believer or non-believer.
Everyone has this innate value and
honor. Why? Because of their potential.
Their potential to back to the creator,
to put the creator's will above their
own, and to submit and to worship the
one true God. So, yes, we're not allowed
to insult anyone, Muslim, non-Muslim,
even an enemy. We're supposed to speak
with each other in terms of honor and
endearment.
>> So, is this how Islam regulates our
speech?
>> So, yes. I mean, this is just one facet
of how Islam regulates the speech of
human beings in general. However, we
have many ahadith and many other verses
with that comes with different rulings.
example, we have a Hadith that is very
popular in the Muslim community in which
the Prophet Muhammad, may peace and
blessings be upon him, said, Man kana
yu'minu billahi wal yawmil akhir, fal
yaqul khairan aw liyasqut. Whosoever
believes in God and the last day, right?
Who is Allah addressing here? Who is the
Prophet addressing? He should be
addressing the community as well. They
believe in God and the last day.
Addressing Christians as well. They
believe in God and the last day. And
many other religions believe in a deity,
the supreme being, and the last day, a
day of judgment. The Prophet, he said,
"Whosoever believes in God and the last
day, then let them say a word that is
good or remain silent." So, again, we
see how the Prophet is not only
addressing his community, but he's
talking to people of all faiths, those
who recognize that there is one Lord,
and that that they will be called to
account. The best way, or from among the
ways in which we safeguard ourselves, is
to make sure that we say a word that is
true and good or simply remain silent.
No one is forced to speak. And so, Islam
seeks to restrain our tongue not only
from insulting one another, but
encouraging and promoting the speaking
of good and remaining silent when we
feel otherwise.
>> I don't think you can find this concept,
this concept of the the dangers of the
tongue
>> Mhm.
>> in many different religions. I mean,
they they might touch upon it, but the
in-depthness that you have, the details,
and what happens, it reminds me of one
statement from the last of the final
messengers saying that paraphrasing
phrasing how a person will not think of
some of the words they're saying. They
say one word, and because of that one
word
>> Yes.
>> they could be dropped to the depths of
the hellfire so deep, but they could say
a good word
>> Yes.
>> and they can be raised up to the ranks
of Jannah.
>> Yes. Yes. This is again another
beautiful Hadith statement from the
messenger of Allah where he said exactly
as you said, that a person may say a
word or may throw a word giving no
thought to it, just throw it out of
their mouths. But because of it the
punishment and the anger of Allah comes
down upon them, and it will cause them
to fall into the depths of hell. And so,
the Muslim, he safeguards his tongue.
This is why our scholars, they say that
the human being, their tongue is a very
dangerous weapon. It is a very dangerous
thing, and because of its danger, Allah,
God, he has locked and sealed the tongue
behind two sets of teeth, and behind two
sets of lips. Right? All of our other
senses are outside. Our sense of smell,
our sense of touch, our sight, our
hearing. But our sense of speech, our
sense of taste, what we consume, Allah
has put that behind teeth and behind
lips. Why? To keep it concealed. The
worst vessel that the human being can
fill, as the prophet he mentioned, is
his stomach. So, the mouth is closed. It
shouldn't just take everything in. And
the worst speech that a person can do is
to tell a lie against Allah. This is the
worst of the worst, to lie against the
creator of the heavens and the earth.
But there are also other speech that are
not becoming of a believer. Thus, Allah
seals our mouths, and it takes great
effort to move these lips, to open these
teeth, to say something. So, we should
be very mindful that we should be
speaking less in general, and listening
more. To piggyback off of that as well,
we find that one of the wives of the
messenger of Allah, may peace and
blessings be upon him, our mother Aisha,
may Allah be pleased with her, she said
that the messenger of Allah was an
individual whom you can count the words
that left his mouth on your hands.
Meaning, many times you find people are
very long-winded. There are many people
who call us, we love them. When we see
their phone call, we go, "Oh man, this
is at least half an hour." I don't know
what they're calling for, but we know
it's going to be half an hour, cuz
that's what it takes them just to warm
up. But the messenger of Allah, he chose
his words, and he was very specific, and
he was short-winded. And so, if he spoke
with you, you can count the amount of
words that left his mouth when he spoke.
And this means that the Muslim should be
mindful of his speech. We should think
before we speak, least it gets us in
trouble.
>> So, there's also the concept now of
virtues of being silent.
>> Yes. Yes.
>> That's another whole thing in Islam.
>> Yes. Yes. Subhanallah. Yeah, we can
definitely do a whole lecture, hour and
a half, easily on speech and silence.
You find as well this beautiful
statement from our scholars. They say
that if speech were to be given a value,
speech would be silver. If we were to
give it a value, what is it worth? It's
silver.
And that silence would be golden. So, if
speech is silver, then silence is worth
gold. Why? Many reasons. From among
them, the person who is silent, he does
not get himself in trouble. You find
from among the statements of the people
of the book, the Jews and Christians,
they say, "He that keepeth his mouth
keepeth his life." Whoever keeps their
mouth closed, they preserve their life.
They won't get in trouble. And the
prophet, he said to us, "Hadithu an Bani
Isra'il wa la haraj." You can relate
from the stories of the Christians, no
harm in it as long as what you are
relating is in harmony with Islamic
teachings. So, yes, the statement of
preserving one's tongue is still fine in
the scripture of today, and Islam
continues to uphold this type of action
and character, that we should be modest
in our speech. But silence as well also
hides one's ignorance. Our scholars,
they say that when students are in front
of them, the teacher doesn't know who is
a fool and who is genius until he opens
his mouth. So, when you are in an
interview, or when you are meeting,
maybe in-laws for the first time, or
meeting neighbors for the first time,
you should always be reserved in your
speech. Because until you open your
mouth, do you reveal who you are, and
until the ideas of who you are become
manifested. And this is why speech is a
covering and it's a shield. No one knows
whether you're the most ignorant person
on the world until you open your mouth,
and no one knows if you're the most
virtuous as well. Likewise, you find
that in Islam we are taught
that there is a day of judgement. And
when you would ask a Muslim or even a
Jew or a Christian, they would tell you
yes, our deeds will be weighed on the
day of judgement. We believe this. But
Islam goes further. Islam tells us that
it's not only our deeds that will be
weighed. There are narrations that come
in that say that our speech will be
weighed as well. So our speech will be
weighed, our deeds will be weighed, and
even our very own selves will be placed
upon the scales to show you that every
facet of our life, whom we are, our
being will be weighed on that day and
will be judged. And definitely our
speech will be one among from among the
greatest factors as to whether we will
be among those who are happy and enter
paradise. We ask Allah to make us from
among the people of paradise, amen, or
whether we will be from among the losers
because of what our tongues have earned
us and caused us to go into the depths
of the fire. Silence is a shield.
>> What do you think when you see uh
when you look into this uh
Chud the Builder
and he's a Christian.
He's somebody who'll quote the Bible.
And when you
when you when you watch some of the
videos, some people say, "Oh, he's
actually a nice guy." When you engage
with him nicely, he's just he's trying
to do something noble.
He's trying to free us from potential
tyranny where now they're trying to
restrict certain speech, so he's pushing
the limits
now to make sure that that doesn't
happen. And some people will actually
raise him up as a tomorrow martyr.
>> Mhm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know,
unfortunately, even though they set the
bail at a million dollars or the bond,
you know, in the country that we live in
in the environment that we live in, he
I'm sure he's able to raise that money
in an hour. You know, this because
there's so many people who believe what
he believe and who feels what he feels.
So that million-dollar bond is
definitely going to get covered and he's
going to be released before we know it.
However, there are individuals who feel
that he's trying to do a good thing. I
feel that those people they're either
one ignorant of the reality of it and
naive and naivety is a real thing. You
know, um there are people who believe
that we are post-racism just because
we've had a black president, Barack
Obama, and they believe we're past
racism. You elected an African-American
to be the president, but we're not past
racism. We can see what's happening.
People are being killed by the police.
People are being
uh persecuted and even our government
has been purged of many uh
minorities and women um as soon as, you
know, um our president took office. He
purged many of the much of the military
of, you know, black and Hispanic
leadership and female leadership. So,
there is an agenda going on. There is a
plan going on in the background. And if
we're sitting here still fighting with
one another and still denying it, then
they're going to be setting the stage
for how our children grow and the
environment that our children grow up in
in the next 30 years. I'm sure there are
people who believe that this Chug the
Builder is an innocent guy, but he isn't
because no one goes out with a innocent
mind and heart and intention and they
need bear repellent and a gun.
I mean,
none of us are walking around, you know,
armed. The majority of us, yes, it is
our right in this country. We have the
right to bear arms, but if we're going
out seeking a conversation, wouldn't he
do better with a microphone and a and a
table? You know, head head headphones or
what we're sitting here. You know, I
don't see any bear repellent on on you
on your persons, right? You're telling
me what you're in for, right? You're
telling me that perhaps you know what
you're going to say is going to
create a response where you will need
those arms. But if you truly came out
living the gospel as you consider
yourself a Christian, then you would
know that Isa bin Maryam, Jesus Christ,
he didn't have any arms on him when he
was interacting with the people. And
even though Isa bin Maryam made
statements within the context and the
confinement of the scripture, the Bible
of today, when he, as it is alleged,
went into the temple then turned over
the tables in which they were exchanging
money inside of the house of the Lord,
he didn't need any arms or any army with
him or any weapons with him. He knew
that the truth of his speech would shine
through. And so this person, as many of
us, we need to go back to our scriptures
and truly be sincere and stop trying to
do things that is only intended to get
likes and a huge of following.
>> What about the verse from the Quran
where God Almighty Allah is even
commanding the Muslims not to insult
their gods?
>> Correct. Subhanallah, this is a very
beautiful point. In Surat Al-An'am, I
believe this is the sixth chapter of the
Quran, Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala tells us,
And do not curse what they call call on
besides Allah.
So Allah is telling us throughout the
Quran that there is only one God, one
creator in reality, and everything else
that is worshipped besides God Almighty
doesn't even exist. But yet and still,
Allah is sensitive to the sensitivities
of creation and commands us, "Do not
curse Do not curse whomever they call
upon."
Do not curse what they call upon even
though what they call upon doesn't exist
at all. But don't curse it. Why? For
they
are doing
before they curse Allah without
knowledge, just seeking to be vengeful.
This ayah shows us human nature that if
I say something about your mother,
you're going to respond by saying
something about my mother. And so, to
protect my mother's honor, I should not
try to insult your mother so that you
don't say words that will be offensive
to me or that will dishonor her.
Likewise, Allah is commanding us in the
Quran that even though we do not believe
in all of these false deities and idols,
that we should be respectful. Why?
Because if we attack them in their
persons, in their religious beliefs,
their rituals, then they may curse Islam
and they may curse Allah out of
ignorance and out of enmity. So again,
we see the rules of engagement. Allah
commands us to only speak well with one
another. Allah commands us not to insult
one another and Allah commands us not to
insult the insult the religion of
others. Compare that to what we have
here in this country and around the
world and in Europe. Every year we go
through the same thing where that
whether it is Draw Muhammad Day or Burn
the Quran, right? Their religion is not
putting forward any safeguards, any
rails to respect others. But we find
that Islam is such a respectful religion
that we are prohibited from even
insulting deities that we do not believe
exist. So yes, the other communities,
they will attack us. They will draw our
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in
very compromising ways. They will even
take our scripture and they will burn
it. But I hope and I pray that the
Muslim communities does not go low when
they go low, that we stay high and we
lead through character and example. If
they burn our books, we continue to
reason with them in their emotions and
in their character and in their higher
behaviors because definitely
you get more with honey than you get
with salt. So we must take the high road
and we must be patient so as not to fall
through the cracks and to play their
games.
>> I think this is just a front. I think
this is
a cover for what's really deeper. I
mean, we don't know what's actually in
the heart and only God almighty Allah
knows, but from what's apparent, from
from what what you see, I think this is
something that because I like I said,
there's some videos where he's just like
he's talking to to black people there
and they're cool, they're you know.
And then the other he's just he's he's
just really just it's like he can't wait
to go off the edge, you know, to really
and and that goes back into the matters
of the heart. This racism. Now is the
time he's is is he from what you're
seeing what I've seen, I I believe he's
racist. He's just he's really, you know,
this is and the the excuse is hiding
behind
>> Mhm.
>> freedom of speech because now he's put
on the whole
uh suit with, you know, the whole outfit
with he's got the mustache. He's got
what are those called the
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> the um the the trousers trousers back
in, you know,
>> and the cowboy hat.
>> cowboy hat and he wants to like, you
know, [clears throat] go
yeah, when there was slavery and he
wants to
So, that's but so that goes back deeper
to the original sin I want to I want to
cover. What was the original sin?
>> Mhm.
>> Was it not racism? I'm better than you.
>> In that sense, right? So, you know, the
Islamic narrative of, you know, the
original sin or the first sin is
actually not connected to Adam, right?
The father of human beings because we
say that Adam sinned or he committed sin
or we are born in sin. This is a
Christian concept. But we find that the
Islamic narrative tells us that the
first sin to be committed was by Satan
whom we call Iblis and that Satan he saw
our father Adam before Allah, the
creator, put a soul into Adam. As you
know, we are from the dust and when we
die our bones they come back to being
dust because this is what Allah created
us from from water and from earth.
And so, our traditions tell us that
after Allah molded the human being,
molded Adam,
and before he blew a soul into Adam that
Iblis, Satan, saw him and hated him from
the beginning without knowing anything
about him, without even interacting with
him. He saw him and he hated him and he
said to himself, "If I were given
authority over you, I would mislead
you."
Of course, the story continues that now
Allah has given life to Adam, may peace
be upon him, and orders the creation to
prostrate to Adam not out of worship. We
should get this straight
that there were two types of prostration
during the time of the prophet and
before the time of the prophet. The
first of them being the prostration of
respect. Sujud, prostration for
respecting someone. You find parts of
this still exist in cultures today. In
the Japanese culture, they bow towards
one another. And in the Eastern
Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they get on
one's knees and they touch the toes of
their elders out of respect. And in
Korean culture as well. So, this bowing
out of respect was always present.
However, when the prophet he came, he
said, "Now I have prohibited bowing to
one another. There is only one
prostration that should be done and that
is to prostrate to the creator of the
heavens and the earth. So, we should
only be bowing and showing this great
level of reverence to the one who
created us." However, at that time
Allah permitted the bowing of each other
out of respect. So, he ordered his
angels and he ordered Satan, "Bow to
Adam out of respect and reverence to
him." And what did Iblis say? What did
Satan say? He said, as you mentioned,
"I'm better than him. I'm created from
fire and he's created from earth. And
indeed fire is mighty and powerful of a
substance. Why would you order me to bow
to him when he's created from a lesser
substance?" But this shows you the
hatred. And I wouldn't call it racism at
that time because Iblis is a different
creation all together. But the level of
hatred blinds the mind. Because if we
truly examine the power of fire and
earth as Satan tried to make this
example, we know that if a person is
camping and they have a fire, what are
some of the ways in which you can put
that fire out if you don't have water?
You put dirt on it. So, what is truly
more powerful? It's earth that is more
powerful than fire because dirt is is to
put out fire. Fire cannot put out dirt.
But, it shows the level of ignorance
that when the heart is blinded by anger,
statements of ignorance will leave the
throat. And so, Iblis, yes, this was the
first sin that he made. He made kibar.
He had arrogance. He thought himself to
be better. And as such, human beings, we
fall into this error as well. This
person,
I say that from the outset, I would say
that of course, he's a racist. That's
easy to say without meeting him because
of some of the ways in which he's being
provocative. But, there are other clips
that I've quickly seen where he said, "I
have black friends." But, there are many
racists as well who have black friends.
That doesn't mean anything. Having a
black friend means nothing in the grand
scheme of things. But, what truly
matters is not about him being racist or
not being racist, but it's about the
danger of what he is engaged in and the
amount of youth that he could inspire to
do copycat type of tactics and to truly
harm others. Whether he likes me or not,
I could care less, right? But, what I
don't want is the further corruption of
our youth who are young and who are
looking for mentors and looking for
leadership. And as you mentioned, he's a
very masculine individual. He's showing,
you know, his body type and structure.
You know, he's clean-shaven. You know,
looks like, you know, the average, you
know, American, which is something that,
you know,
people are trying to uphold and to
revive again. Although, what is an
American? The natives were the first
Americans, and a Native American is
never the standard of what an American
really is. So, we know that this nation
is built up upon many people. But, as
you mentioned, yes, racism is the origin
of this, and it will continue to be with
us as the messenger of Allah, may peace
and blessings be upon him, said that
there are four things that will remain
with this nation and with all of you
until the day of judgment. He said, "One
of them is belittling others because of
where they come from. It is being racist
towards one another. It is
insulting one another because of their
lineage. The prophet he mentioned that
this nation, humanity will never be able
to get rid of this. So, when I find
young people striving to we need to
change this, we need to change racism
and rid it from the earth. I say to them
don't put too much energy trying to
change what the prophet said will remain
with us. But make sure that you change
it within your heart. That is where the
start is. You'll never be able to remove
it from others. You don't know their
childhood. You don't know what they
experienced. You don't know what they
were taught. But when you know better,
the question is have you purged it from
your own heart? Because as Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the
Quran that those who will come to the
Lord on the day of judgement are those
who come to him with qalbun saleem, a
heart that is pure. So, we're placed on
this earth. Allah gives us a pure heart
when we are born. Every single child,
every infant is innocent and they are
taught hate. And the goal is to go back
to Allah with the heart that he gave us.
He gave us a pure heart at birth. Now,
we become filthy with dealing with the
people and life and circumstance. But
through the guidance of Allah, we can
purify our hearts and meet him again
with a heart that is pure.
>> Because
insults, that's the stage one. Stage
one. And then after that, what comes
next?
>> It's just like the parable or the
example of a of a of a dog.
A dog will first bark at you
and bark. And it will get in more
intense in its barking, become more
ferocious. But if you continue to close
the gap between you and that dog,
eventually what? The dog will attack. We
all understand this, right? Everyone
understands that there is a fight or
flight response. That if you don't give
people an out, if you don't leave them
alone and you corner corner them as Chad
is doing, he's cornering them. He's
calling them, "Oh, look, they're
chimping out. Oh, look, look at these
N-word people. Come and say it in my
face." He's trying to be overly
masculine towards them, hiding behind
the facade of the camera, hiding behind
the mantra of I have black friends. Then
he knows that if you continue to insult,
it's going to lead to provocation, which
will lead to altercation. So, yes,
hate speech is just the beginning, but
the true intention is full out conflict.
And he, in his appearance and the way in
which he carried himself, was prepared
for that, for conflict, having his
camera on him, being armed, and having
bear spray.
>> Let's look at this clip real quick. This
is from the
What are your thoughts? Uh the first
thing that I thought was interesting is
that the the person
that's the Elior Lang, who's been going
to different masjids around America.
>> Didn't he come here?
>> And he came here also. He uh was wearing
a topi
>> Uh.
>> and uh kami a kamiz.
>> Huh.
>> And he would fake like he was Muslim,
came in, and then said, "Oh, they threw
me out." And
uh after we didn't throw him out, well,
he started to make a scene after someone
called him out, because why you dress
faking like you're, you know, a Muslim?
And they recognized him from Detroit.
>> Mhm.
>> And then he did his whole show,
>> Mhm. Provocateur.
>> Yeah, started provoking, provocateur.
And then asking people for money to send
them money.
>> Oh, wow.
>> And he lied. He said, you know, the
whole event was live streamed, but to
the people who obviously didn't know
what's going on,
which we had a Jewish man here. We had a
also a Christian lady. They had a great
time.
>> Hi, this is Lynn. She's an
uh a Christian, non-Muslim, and you were
here at the conference. How did you
feel?
>> I felt very comfortable. I was welcomed
with warm hearts.
No problems. In fact, in the
other masjid that I go pick my grandson
up, I have gone in many times. They have
invited me in many times. I have gone
in.
>> They said they were treated with respect
and love. We actually had their
testimony.
But he was like they were recruiting,
you know, military age style men.
>> Wow.
>> Uh they were trying to basically come
together to make a plan to overthrow.
Anyway, so somebody hears that. So it's
interesting that he's the one who's
showing up to his Right. to his uh court
hearing.
>> Birds of a feather flock together. I
mean, listen, we should always give
credit where credit is due.
And even though I believe this took
place in Tennessee,
and um you know, uh there are a lot of
people who feel like every American
feels that way. Like all whites are
racist. We should never group people
into one bunch. Just like someone who
commits an act of terror regardless of
their religion, we shouldn't condemn the
whole religion, but we should condemn
the individual.
>> Yes.
>> And I actually appreciated the clip that
you just showed me because it showed
that there is a level of justice that
still exists within this country. This
country is good and we should be praying
for the success of America. Praying for
it to be preserved and for it to be
continue in its position of leadership
and standing up for the rights of others
and the oppressed. So, we as Muslims
should pray for this country.
>> Yes.
>> And what I saw in that clip, I'm very
amazed with it. I mean, the judge was
white,
the prosecutor was white, you know,
everyone was white. I mean, there were a
few officers that were black. And yet
and still they came to a conclusion that
the average person would feel is just.
By putting a bond on him, by putting the
gag order on him, by not taking the bait
of well, he should be able to say
whatever he wants because it's a free
country. They know better. And the
judge, credit where credit is due, he
still put the gag order on him to
prevent him from saying things because
he knows that if he is allowed to
continue to make such statements that it
will only lead to further provocations
and further problems within that state
and perhaps across the country. So, I'm
very um
happy to see that, you know,
we live in a country where justice, you
know, can be done. But, this is only the
beginning, you know? He's going to
definitely fight this to it through and
through. And if he loses, he will become
a martyr for their cause. And if he
wins, he will only embolden more people
to follow this behavior. So, as I say,
people of faith, we cannot keep our
faith within the precincts of our houses
of worship. We have to do what, you
know, this center is doing, giving doubt
to the people, reaching the people,
talking to the people directly, engaging
others. If we continue to stay silent,
we're going to allow people to formulate
ideas about us that are incorrect. But,
just as he is taking to the street
preaching hate, well, then the only
response is for us to take to the street
preaching love and preaching guidance
and preaching sincerity and honor for
each other. If we do so, Allah will make
us successful and we will win in the
end, as we believe, as Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says in the Quran, "Kattab
Allah la aghlibanna ana wa rusuli. I
have already decreed victory for myself
and my messenger." So, as Muslims, we
never allow ourselves to get worked up
too much. Why? Because Allah has already
decreed that this religion will be
successful, that the words of Allah will
remain and that the message of Islam
will enter into every single home and
will spread across the world. So, let us
do our part before Allah replaces us
with others who are more sincere and who
will go out and do the work that's
needed.
>> Let me ask you this as we conclude. Have
you seen, and alhamdulillah, you have a
lot of the the younger um
doat, young brothers who are coming up
and
and are
uh delivering the message and a lot of
debates going on.
>> Mhm.
>> But, there seems to be a um
what some would consider more of a
aggressive dawa, a lot of this uh
insulting back and forth
>> Yes, unfortunately.
>> Unfortunately, have you seen this?
>> Yes, so you know, like anything else
there's always going to be a level of
in-fighting. And it's not because the
message is confusing,
but it is because
the messengers, right? Have their own
egos, their own demons, you know, their
own likes and their own prejudices. Just
because you see a Muslim doesn't mean
that he's dealt with his own demons and
has dealt with his own prejudice and has
sat and pondered upon the condition of
his own heart. So yes, unfortunately,
although we have a lot of young people
in this space, a lot of people who are
studying a lot of venues where we can
study and gain knowledge, I do find that
there's still a lot of in-fighting
amongst us, a lot of insulting, a lot of
throwing people outside of the fold of
Islam and believing that their way and
their understanding is the only way.
Unfortunately, you find that this is the
truth. However, it only shows and
highlights their level of ignorance. You
never find the serious people of
knowledge getting into these debates. I
always find it curious that the
students, the alleged students of these
amazing scholars are fighting with one
another, yet the scholars themselves are
not fighting with one another. It's acts
the It begs the question, are you even
really students or are you just
attributing yourself to these scholars,
right? And so again, you know, we must
not waste any time in going back and
forth. We must spend time as the prophet
he did in his 13 years in Mecca, going
door to door, inviting one's neighbor
and trying to raise Islam and give the
Dawah and call the people to Islam.
Sitting and fighting with one another
when perhaps our parents need guidance
or our siblings need guidance or a
neighbor could be benefited from what
you know, it's a shame on you that you
rather spend that time and energy
cursing and yelling and getting worked
up than spending that time and energy to
care for one another because as the
messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
said, "La yu'minu ahadukum hatta
tuhibbu wa la tuhibbu hatta tahadu."
That none of you will truly believe
until you love one another and none of
you will love one another
until you give gifts to one another. In
another hadith, he says, "Wa afshu
salam." Or you spread the salam to one
another, the greeting to one another.
So, if we truly want to see where we're
going to land in the hereafter, we must
understand that for us to be considered
believers as Muslims, we must have
genuine love for one another and not
hatred for one another. But again, that
is a process and that takes time and
that takes knowledge and that takes
effort and it takes being real with
oneself.
>> Yes. What about towards non-Muslims, not
yet Muslims, non-Muslims?
Specifically.
>> When it comes to the Muslim community
and giving the dawah, you find
>> Have you seen this? How you've seen some
dawah some Muslims there doing great
job, but sometimes, you know, it's it's
centered around, uh, you know, I've
smashed this guy.
>> Correct. Correct. Yes, I know. You see
it, right? It's It's I see it as well,
you know, I see that
>> I'm talking about.
>> Yeah, I know you're talking about when
they're getting into the debates.
>> I didn't see much of this when I was
coming up. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.
>> Seems like a trend now.
>> It is a trend, you know.
>> about like humiliating the person. Even
though a lot lot of these guys are
attacking Islam.
>> Yes.
>> So, what's the balance? How do you
balance to do
>> Again, exactly what we said from the
beginning of this podcast. We've been
given these rules of engagement. You
know,
so it just goes back to the rules of
engagement. But yeah, you know, you find
this as well that, you know, they're
using this sort of very aggressive
language to describe their interactions
with one another. Even when you watch
videos and clips of like Speakers'
Corner, a place in the UK where people
of other faiths used to gather to
actually debate publicly, now it's just
been just a shaming ritual where you
know, they're ready and they're eager to
provoke each other to the point where
they can call the police to come and
intervene. And we've lost the ability to
really discuss the difficult issues with
one another with a level of respect. So,
you know, again, um we have a lot of
work to do within the Muslim community.
Although we have the answers, uh it
still takes work to enforce those
answers. And alhamdulillah, we have
certain elders that are still with us.
From among them, we have a brother
Sheikh Khalid Amin. He is a giant in the
Dawah scene and wrote a book as well
about uh the lost art of Dawah.
>> What's which Sheikh?
>> His name is Sheikh Khalid Amin.
>> Sheikh Khalid Amin from Medina?
>> From Medina, yes.
>> Khalid?
>> I know him. Of course I know him.
He when he uh he came to Jamaica with uh
>> He's in Medina right now.
>> He's in Medina right now. He's been
living over there for over 20 years. But
he also, early on in his Dawah, he
visited the island of Jamaica uh to give
Dawah to the people. And one of the
people he ran into was my father who was
an Imam at that time. And he said, "You
know, your father took care of us
because when he ended up coming to
Jamaica, it was at a time of political
unrest."
>> Mhm.
>> We have two parties, the JLP and the
PNP, and they're fighting one another
for control over the island. At that
time, there was martial law on the
streets. So, subhanallah, Sheikh Khalid,
he came and it's unrest. Where do you go
when there's literal shootings happening
between one another? And he met my
father. My father, you know, took care
of him and made sure he was good. And
and from that time, you know, we've
always had this close connection with
one another. So, you know, he's one of
our, you know, living legends of the
Dawah scene and has wrote a book, as I
mentioned, The Lost Art of Dawah.
>> The Lost Art of Dawah.
>> Of Dawah.
>> By Sheikh Khalid Amin.
>> By Sheikh Khalid Amin. You know, as he
is still with us, we have to connect
with these teachers who have spent
decades, not weeks, not months, decades
in the street dealing with the people
one-on-one. One of the statements that
he said that I find of importance,
although, you know, there are many
things that can be said, is that he
said, "We don't even touch each other
anymore." He said, "You know, back in
the day when you meet someone, you say,
'Hey, man, what's up? What's going on?'
You know, even, you know, our uncles,
they would grab us and feel us up and,
you know, like, you have to touch one
another. Now, you know, we're like in
these corners where we don't even engage
one another. We don't even feel one
another." And I thought to myself, "This
is something that I have to do to
improve my own, you know, Dawah." If you
were to see me interact with the youth
and the kids, I'm hugging them up, I'm
pulling them close, I'm hugging the men,
I'm pulling them close, because, you
know, we have to, you know, really feel
one another, you know, because the
guidance is from one heart to another
heart. And for you to truly feel that I
mean you no harm and that I'm sincere,
you can get that in a touch. A touch can
be ice cold or a touch can deliver
warmth. So, you know, while we have such
individuals around, we have to learn
from them. And these yelling and
screaming and arguing and lambasting and
saying that I smashed your man and I
smashed your boy, as if they're in a UFC
ring, we need to leave this. This is not
beneficial. We don't see the messenger
of Allah, may peace and blessings be
upon him, going back and forth with the
people. Rather, his silence, his
character, and his gentleness is what
won over the people. And if that gave
the prophet success to deliver this
message from a small group in Mecca to
being almost 2 billion Muslims today,
that is the formula for us to be
successful as we move forward into the
future.
>> I want to mention a story. I got my my
good friend, Dr. Sabeel Ahmed,
and he was up against one of these
really provocative individuals, and the
guy was he was confronting Dr. Sabeel,
and then he was just going at him, you
know, provoking, provoking, provoking,
and he was just very stoic. You can see
this video if you maybe could pull it
up.
And at the end, after all the insults,
and he's doing his thing, a lady passes
by and starts she jumps in. And she
starts
>> She jumps in?
>> She jumps in. She goes, "Look, I don't
know his religion or yours."
"But the way he's acting, I want to
follow his religion."
>> I don't know. You see that? You see
that? I tell you, it's the That's it.
It's pose, posture. You know, as they
say, that when you look at a tree
that has, you know, I'm going to use
mangoes as an example. My family's from
Jamaica. I just came back from Jamaica 2
weeks ago. So, I'm still tasting the
mangoes. When you look at the tree, they
say the branches that have the most
amount of fruit, they don't stand high.
Because of the fruit, it causes the
branches to bow.
Right? But the branches that don't have
much fruit on it, they stand really
high. And they They use this as an
example for knowledge. That when you
have no knowledge, your nose is up. You
think you're better than everyone.
You're standing high. But knowledge
causes you to be humble, causes you to
come down, causes you to be able to be
grounded, you know? So, this is what we
need from each other. We need to place
great emphasis not in the art of debate,
but in gaining knowledge so that
humility can stand its course and take
us into the future that will be bright,
inshallah.
>> There was another veteran out there who
I had um
some good times with. Kamal Shaikh Kamal
al-Mekki. Do you remember him?
>> a veteran as well. Yes. Yes. I remember
him.
>> And he did a I recommend people watch he
did a program he an interview and he's
he talked about how this exact topic
that we're talking about and he talked
about how this is actually doing a lot
of harm now.
>> Yes.
>> To the dawah.
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's really misrepresenting
the dawah because it's
you know, how can you want to sincerely
guide a people who you're being
combative with?
>> Mhm.
>> Right? You have to have a level a level
of gentleness. Once the Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he saw one
companion, one of his disciples,
um yelling and screaming and berating at
another one who was his brother. They
were related. So, you know, sometimes an
older brother, he's yelling at his
younger brother like, "Come on, man.
Speak up for yourself. Stand up. You
know, why are you being so shy? Why are
you being so quiet? People are going to
take advantage of you."
Probably we've all have said this to our
younger siblings or we said this to our
sons. But the Prophet, he said, "Do not
yell at him and scream at him because of
his shyness. For indeed, this haya haya
min al-iman, shyness is a branch of
faith."
That a part of what it means to have
faith in Allah is that we have this
level of shyness. And the Prophet, he
continued and he said that shyness is
not added to anything except that it
makes it more beautiful. So, I think
what we need uh
a a greater share of in our dawah is a
level of shyness and haya and modesty.
Modesty in our speech, letting those
whom we are um debating see that there
are certain things that they will never
be able to get from us. They will never
be able to make us lose our temper.
They'll never be able to work us up to
use the language that they use, but we
will continue to stay in peace and
moderate moderate and to be calm. And
indeed, you will find that these same
people, they will reach out to you after
and will praise you after. In the
moment, they're not able to cuz the
cameras are on, but after long after
your poise, your silence, and not being
willing to go as low as they're going
will be the cause, inshallah, God
willing, of that person
being guided later in their life. I
believe this.
>> One hadith, is this a authentic hadith
that comes to mind, um paraphrasing that
uh tell us how do we understand this
where uh the last and final message sent
to mankind, Prophet Muhammad, is sitting
with his companion Abu Bakr Siddiq,
and one of the pagans come and he start
attacking him. He's quiet, but then he
starts attacking the Prophet Muhammad
and then the Prophet leaves.
>> Mhm.
>> And then he races to Prophet Muhammad
and he said, "Why did you leave?" And
then he said, "While you were there
quiet, not arguing back, the angels were
there. But once you started to engage,
left. I don't sit with in the company of
when there's no angels."
>> Correct.
>> This is authentic narration.
>> understand this?
>> And it shows us again the
the similarities of the malaika, the
angels and human beings. The Prophet
Alaihis Salatu Was Salaam and peace be
upon him, he said, "Whatever offends the
angels, whatever offends humans, offends
the angels. So, whatever human beings
find offensive, even from repugnant
smells or repugnant behaviors, the
angels are also repulsed by it. Although
they are a different creation, we are
similar in this. This is why the Prophet
he forbade us from eating onions or
anything that will make our mouths smell
bad from coming into the masjid to
worship. Because when you speak with
your brother after eating raw onions,
it's offensive to him. He will be
patient with it, but it will be
offensive to him.
And you should know that whatever is
offensive to him, it's going to cause
the angels to move away from you as
well. Today, there are people who smell
like a pack of cigarettes. They come
into the mosque. They say, "The Prophet
didn't mention cigarettes." Well, that
wasn't a thing at that time. But you
know as well how repugnant that smell
can be. Likewise, not only smells and
speech, when Abu Bakr, may Allah be
pleased with him, is sitting in his
poise and is quiet, the angels they are
present with us.
But once we begin to get worked up to
yell and to scream, how many of us would
be comfortable sitting around someone
who's yelling and screaming? No one. We
would all feel uncomfortable and we
would all want it to stop. Likewise, the
angels as well. They saw this situation
getting worked up and they decided that
they would just distance themselves from
this level of provocation. And again, it
shows the character of the Prophet
Alaihis Salatu Was Salaam and what he
taught his companions. Allah Subhana Wa
says about him, "Wa innaka ala khuluqin
adhim." Indeed you, oh Muhammad, are
upon a high standard of character and
moral excellence. The Prophet would
never engage in this back and forth. The
Prophet would never engage and would
never want to defeat the people verbally
to embarrass them. But not only the
Prophet, even our pious scholars, from
among them our four great Imams. One of
them, Imam ash-Shafi'i, may Allah have
mercy on him. He said, "I have never
entered a debate except that I hoped
that the person I was debating, the
truth would be on his tongue."
Subhanallah. So, he didn't come into the
debate like, "All right, I have to get a
win." You know, and then I'm going to
cut it and edit it and clip it and post
it up so I show a win. He went into
every debate sincere seeking the truth.
And he hoped that Allah would reveal the
truth on the tongue of his opponent.
Why? Because there's no loss when you
learn. Even if the truth comes on the
tongue of the one who's he debating, he
would appreciate that interaction
because at least now he would have
learned something. I think we've gone
far away from this. We want to be, as we
say in Jamaica, one of the sayings is,
"Don't be wrong and strong." You know,
when you're wrong, don't be strong with
it. You just stay on it, stay adamant
because, you know, you just want to be
right so bad. Being wrong and strong is
going to cause you to fall into error.
Let us be more humble with one another.
Let us understand that the truth can
come on the tongue of even an enemy.
Going back to another example of when
the Prophet
alayhi salatu wa sallam had Abu Hurayrah
guarding the zakat. Zakat is charity. He
had him guarding the spoils of charity,
which was going to be distributed to the
poor.
In this narration, Satan, Iblis, came to
him in the form of a man trying to steal
from the charity. And Abu Hurayrah, his
companion, stopped him and said, "I will
take you to the messenger of Allah." And
he said, "No, no, no, don't take me,
please. I'm just poor. I just needed
some food." Abu Hurairah was gentle. He
let him go. This man visited three
times, and on the third time Abu
Hurairah caught him and said, "I'm going
to take you. There's nothing that you
can say." And this man, he said, "Well,
shall I teach you something that will
benefit you?" Abu Hurairah, he was
always a student of knowledge. He wanted
to learn. "Yes, teach me." And so, this
individual said, "If you recite Ayatul
Kursi, then Allah will protect you and
give you a shield." Abu Hurairah goes
back to the prophet, mentions this
incident, and the prophet said, "He
spoke the truth even though he's a
liar." It shows you that even what you
perceive to be an enemy, the truth can
come from them, right? And what was this
truth? That whoever recites Ayatul
Kursi, and for the viewers, they can
Google Ayatul Kursi and find out what
that ayah is, that Allah will give them
divine shield and a divine protection
throughout the day. So, we should
understand that the truth could come
from anyone. For even in that
interaction with Abu Hurairah, the truth
came upon the tongue of who? Satan.
Satan revealed the truth, although he is
a liar. And indeed, the devil is a liar.
But, if Satan can reveal a truth, then
what about these people that we're
debating in the street? Perhaps, we can
benefit and learn from them in certain
areas, not in all areas. But, we have to
be willing to have these conversations
and not be insecure.
>> And I let the the brothers know that
look, they're not our teachers. We have
a certain code of conduct, integrity
that we live by, certain boundaries like
earlier that even to the point where
Allah says, "Don't insult their gods."
>> Correct.
>> We have the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam who went through all
sorts of insults, everything was hurled
at him. How did he act? And then, this
code of conduct has us acting a certain
way. We have limits, boundaries. They
don't.
>> They don't, no.
>> So, you keep pushing, and and what's
going to happen? It's going to go into
an all-out, no-rules
>> Correct.
>> And they're going to push the limits,
and they're going to keep going, and
>> Yes.
>> And then you'll be regretful and then
you'll sit there with all the regret in
the world and wish that you had not said
what you said or done what you've done.
Right? This is what we never wanted to
get to. And this is why as well we
should be making prayer that we ask
Allah to protect us from being put in
situations where we will dishonor
ourselves, dishonor our religion and
where we will misrepresent the religion.
We should be very, very careful to
always you know, show the best example.
You know, I tell my children all of the
time even though you may not consider
yourself an ambassador of Islam you may
say to yourself, "Well, my dad, he
speaks." You know, I'm not a speaker.
When you leave your home and you are
carrying yourself as a Muslim you are
representing all Muslims whether you
like it or not. Because someone can see
you yelling at your sister or your
sibling uh acting a fool in the middle
of the street and you know what they
will say? They'll say, "You see these
Muslims? You see how they act?" They're
not going to say, "Well, he's not a
speaker. He doesn't represent the
religion." When you leave your home you
are representing religion of Islam. So,
it's important upon us to act within the
rules because there are going to be
people who are going to find strength in
our behavior and in our actions.
Oh, yes. Subhan Allah.
>> This was uh just on a shelf.
So, before we conclude
people want to
know more about you, read some of your
book. This is one of them, right?
>> this is one of
>> guided by the stars.
>> Yes, guided by the stars. This is uh one
of my five books. Um the forward is
written by Dr. Bilal Philips. Uh I find
many parents coming to me and asking for
me to uh give lectures on again, what
we're talking about, how to speak with
one's parents. How to speak with elders
and how to have good manners and good
behaviors with relatives. And so I said,
"Let me do better than a speech. Let me
write a book on the way in which we
should honor our parents, but not only
that. How did the prophets and
messengers honor their parents? They
didn't just fall out of the sky.
Sulaiman had a father Dawood. How did he
honor him? How did Abraham Ibrahim honor
his father Azar? How did the Prophet
Muhammad
honor his father? You may say, but his
father died before his birth. Yes, but
the prophet also said that the uncle is
like the father. So, how did he treat Al
Abbas, his uncle? So, in this book we
discuss and take on whole chapter out as
well talking about how the messengers
and prophets interacted with their
parents so that we can benefit. How was
Jesus with his mother? How was Yahya
with his father Zakaria? All of these
relationships we take a deep dive in and
we could benefit from their example not
only from their worship. So, anyone
who's interested in, you know, getting a
copy of this book, they can go to my
website, which is nafsinwahida.org
and they'll be able to find it or you
can just Google Guided by Stars
it Hassan Abdul Akbar. You Google that,
you'll find links to purchase the book.
>> Dr. Hassan, thank you.
>> Always a pleasure to come here and I
love the topics. It's not abstract
topics, topics of the future, topics of
the hereafter. We're always speaking
about what matters, what is happening
right now and so people can listen and
they could change their behavior, their
speech, their tongue right now. May
Allah bless you for always taking the
time out to address the needs of the
community. And you know, may Allah
continue to make this podcast a success
for the akhirah and in to the future
inshallah.
>> I mean, thank you very much. Jazakallah
khair.
>> Wa jazakallah khair inshallah.
>> Assalam alaykum.
>> Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa
barakatuh.