Why Do You Believe What You Believe?

[Arabic recitation]

[Silence]

Tonight inshallah we want to speak about an issue that we need to be honest with ourselves. elves about if we hope to correct this part of ourselves. This is the point that we have reached in our reflection on surah mur. We've reached the verses of surah althur that deal with a man that was incredibly influential in his time. And not only that, but he was trusted and well respected. Alwel Mural Wal's father. This was a household of great honor, was a household of incredible generosity. And these are not just stories that we learn about. These are things that help us to understand the Quran and in turn help us to administer the medicine of the Quran on ourselves and on our hearts. The Quran is a medicine but you have to let it in in order for it to take effect and you have to take it properly in the proper dosage. You have to take the right parts of it at the right time in order for it to have the desired effect. The issue that we want to speak about this evening is regarding how many of us think for ourselves truly and how many of us merely hold the opinions of others. Now this doesn't mean that we don't trust our scholars. This doesn't mean that we don't trust our prophets. This doesn't mean that we don't trust each other. That's not the point here. The point is how many of us with regards and respect to the things that we are able to think about for ourselves and reach a conclusion. So for instance, a complex issue in a complex issue in these are things that you need tools in order to be able to deal with them. It's not that everybody can just jump in and give their own opinion. A person who is not a person of knowledge does not have an opinion. An opinion is earned. It's something that you learn and you earn the responsibility of holding an opinion with regards to Islam. That's a different topic. We're not speaking about that. You trust the scholar. You trust the companions, the the imams of Islam. You trust them because you do not possess the tools and resources that they had knowledgewise in order to come to a conclusion. But how about the things that you can come to a conclusion on? Those are things you are responsible for thinking for yourself, not just to jump on the bandwagon. If many of us were to really really be honest with ourselves, with ourselves, and really reflect, reflect on the things that make you angry, the things that make you happy, the things that you take as un undeniable truths about the world around us, opinions on people, opinions on countries, opinions on races. Where have we gotten the majority of those opinions? Most of us to fancy and think that, oh, these are these are opinions I've come to on my own. But is it really is it really an opinion that you've come to on your own? A conclusion that you've arrived at after thinking and weighing things on your own? This is a question we have to ask ourselves because we have been trained in this time in this super break neck speed information coming at you left and right. Lies being told and gushed into your mind at every turn. In this time and in this place, whether we to admit it or not, there are very good aspects to this country. maybe aspects that we don't even have in our own Muslim countries. Fantastic. However, with regards to propaganda and with regards to leading the charge in changing the fra of humanity and evil, this is the belly of the beast. Right here we are in the nest where Shaitan came and laid his eggs and they have hatched. That's where we live right now. To play games with words and chew water and act that's not the case is only going to weaken our position more. This is where all new ideas, androgyny, homosexuality, zena, ultra consumerism, lies, propaganda, things that would make Hitler and Stalin proud. They come from right here. We've mastered that in this country. And I say that as an as an American. I was born here. Now, if we understand the situation that we're in, the question is the opinions you hold. Whose opinions are they? And what does this have to do with? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about a man named Mu wasn't just some guy. I want you to imagine yourself having grown up in Mecca. These were your heroes. Abu Jahel, he was not called Abu Jah. He was called Abu Hakim, the man of extreme justice and fairness. Abu Sufyan Sakbar Abu Leah who was referred to as Abu Leah a reference to burning embers because of how he had the redness in his cheeks. So he's referred to as Abu Lahab because he was so wealthy and he was such of such nobility and royalty in Mecca that he didn't have to walk in the sun ever. The sun never had to touch his skin. And so that's why red and white was considered a sign of nobility during those times. They don't get a tan. They don't walk out in the sun. That's for the peasants. He was called Abuahab because of that. These are your heroes growing up. Whenever there's a war, a battle, whenever there's an issue, these are the men that you go to. You grew up with your father going to sitting in these gatherings and seeing these menf Abuahab Abu Jah. You you grew up seeing them sitting on the thrones of the Arabs or as close to a throne as as they had. These were the men that you looked up to. These were the men that you hoped would be at your wedding. These are the men that you hoped would name your children for you. This is the kind of environment these men were in. And so you've grown up and you've spent so much of your life looking up to these men and fighting for them. In certain cases, if you were 15 or above, you were going to war for these men. you would protect them and their honor with your dying breath and that was considered your duty. So the question is if you grew up in this environment and a man came and said he was a prophet and these men said he is a liar, he is a magician, he is a madman, he is a poet, cut him off, berate him, belittle him, humiliate him, laugh at him. only followers this man who claims to be a prophet, the only followers he has are a handful of slaves and women. Which side would you be on? That's a question you have to ask yourself. How strong is propaganda and how susceptible are you to it? It's not hard to find the answer to that question. Just look at the opinions you hold today. Where did they come from? Who told you that? Why do you get upset when Twitter tells you to get upset? And why aren't you upset when Twitter doesn't tell you to be upset? What are the things that anger us? What are the nononsense not open to debate issues? If I were to ask you right now, who is the greatest villain in modern history? Who popped into your mind right now? And who told you that? It's okay. This is not a an attack. This is a diagnosis. We're trying to diagnose ourselves. It's very easy for us as Muslims to say, "Oh yeah, of course I would have been on the right side. Of course, I would have been with the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. If I was with him, I would have and I would have and I would have." Everybody says that in their mind. But look at yourself today. Whose side are you on? Who do you stand for? How many of the prophet's heirs today? I'm not speaking about those who claim to be from his, you know, lineage. That's not what I'm talking about. His heirs, his those who inherit from him. His heirs are the scholars of Islam. And not just any scholars but those who upholdahill to its fullest extent. They reject and refuse any type of shik. They reject and refuse any type of innovation. Those are the people of knowledge. Those who have a lineage of knowledge that goes back to the prophet Muhammad sallall.aii wasallam. If I were to ask, if we were to ask ourselves, how many of those heirs could you name right now? Do you know who they are? Are you on their side? Because from the moment that Allah sent to the prophet Muhammad Sallallam, the people were divided at that moment. those who believed and those who disbelieved. And that division will continue until the day of judgment, the day of resurrection. It never ended. It did not end. It's going on right now still. So the question is when we look at these verses here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about wasn't just a nice guy or nobility made most of the swords that you're carrying because he was a well-known blacksmith, very very skilled at that. He had so much wealth that he had to use all of the gates of Mecca at the same time to be able to get his caravan into the city. That is how much wealth he had. They couldn't all come in through one door. It would take him days to get through that door. slaughtered 10 camels every single day throughout the entire Hajj season for anyone who has come to Hajj for the pilgrims. Ali would make the cloak of the Kaa every other year himself on his own with his own wealth. And every other year all of the rest of the tribes of Quraysh would get together to to cloak it every year. So he was referred to as he is equal. He is one who is equal to all of in his generosity. If you or I lived in Mecca before the prophet sallall.aii Wasam, there's not a household who wasn't affected by's generosity. You or I could have very easily gotten married with wealth that he gave us or in a lima that he threw for us or from a daughter that he went to ask for her hand for us or because of blood money that he paid on your behalf. He had a min on everyone in Mecca. This is what we're talking about, right? And now the prophet Muhammad sallallah.aii wasallam, he's known for his honesty. He's known for his great character, but he wasn't involved this. And so now he comes and says and he recites the Quran and those with him all start to go against him and tell the youth and tell everyone and hold meetings. Don't listen to him. He is lying. He just wants to do this. This is the reason he's saying this and that's the reason he's saying this and bring up all kinds of rumors. He's crazy. He has gins attack him. He's been learning from the people of the book and claiming that it's him. He's got a devil that comes and whispers to him the Quran. It's not from him. It's not from Gibl or Allah. Propaganda. I saw him do this. Look who became Muslim. That guy. And that guy is a known scumbag. Right? This is how propaganda works. Are you strong enough to reject that? Which side would you have been on? Which side would you have been on? And so we now sit back 1500 years later and we look back and say, how could these people dare to unshath their swords on the prophet of Allah? However, that's because we are very we are very u we are very distant from the situation. We aren't involved in a very delicate way. There's a narration and we will end with this for today in Muslim during the battle of during the battle of Aland the battle of the trench or the confederates it was so cold and the companions were so scared. It was so cold that night that they were taking all the clothes. Each one of them had to take every piece of clothing from the house, even their wives clothing to put on themselves because it was so bitter cold. And they were so frightened because the only thing it seemed to be hanging by a thread of these thousands of men spilling into Medina and having their way with it. And so it was dark, it was cold, it was night, and it was uncertain. And all of the major tribes of the Arab peninsula have now gathered around the Medina and they're just a few meters away from having their way with Medina. And the only one that's protecting you from the back are the people of the book who have been waiting for this opportunity to turn against you. So they were very scared. It was very difficult situation. And the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam came to the group of companions dur at that night and it was raining it was cold. He said who will go and spy on the the other army who will go as recon for reconnaissance go and see where they are, what they're doing, how many of them there are and come back to me. They were already scared inside of Medina. Now he's asking them to go right up right up to the tents and look inside of them. The companions and this was narrated by Jabber. They said, "So we all ducked our heads down." The companions. Yes. That's how scared they were. Everyone looked down and nobody wanted a part of that. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said who will go on recon bring us back the information that we're looking for and for you I guarantee paradise still none of them raised their hand and mentioned that he started to hunch his back down and duck down so that he wouldn't be chosen And so the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam then chose the one who was hunched down. He said you you're going to go and we'll get to that story inshallah when we get to and before that the point is why did jabir tell us this story? He told us this story because he was sitting in a gathering with some of the not companions the next generation after the prophet had passed away sallallahu alaihi wasallam and they were having a conversation about some of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and they were holding this attitude of if I was there the only thing between me and being the hero of the Muslims at that time is is time. If I was there, I would have done this and done that and I would have right with regards to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. I would have protected him and I would have gone to war and I would have done this and I would have done that. And so he said to them, don't say that we were with him. And then he related the story of and the kind of fear that they were encountering. It's not beneficial to read these stories they're a fairy tale or without using your imagination. You have to go there and be with them in the circumstances in your mind in order to truly draw on and be benefited by the Quran and the stories of the Quran. Subhanahu.

[Silence]

Alhamdulillah.