Lecture
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17
Social Justice
Islam, A Coherent Social Justice Tradition | Omar Suleiman | 16th MAS-ICNA Convention
22
Jurisprudence (fiqh)
Appreciating Scholarship: Intro to Islamic Law - Tesneem Alkiek | Yaqeen in NY
26
Islamophobia
How Yaqeen Heals Internalized Islamophobia - Dalia Mogahed | Making Principled Progress
29
Education
How Yaqeen is a Resource for Our Community - Sh. Omar Suleiman | Making Principled Progress
34
General Psychology
Spiritual Personality - Zohair Abdul-Rahman | 2018 Yaqeen/MAS Academic Conference
35
Social Justice
Conflict Resolution: The Line Between Justice and Peace - Sh. Omar Suleiman | Lecture
47
Identity
Keeping Masculinity from Trending Toxic - Dr. Jonathan Brown | Reframing the Gender Question
Station of Certainty | Lecture
https://youtu.be/y4hvhTuDHKk
Dr. Hatem al-Haj, Yaqeen Scholar and Research Advisor, discusses faith, certainty, and spirituality as part of the Manazil As-Sa'ireen lecture series at Masjid Al-Wali in Edison, New Jersey.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. So I wanted to say that, you know, when it comes to certainty, some people think that certainty is by dispelling every doubt that you come across. It is by the ability to refute every misconception, every misgiving about Islam, and to dispel the doubts in your mind. And that is your way to certainty. That is not a proper way to certainty. That is not a holistic way to certainty. This retail approach to certainty is completely unacceptable. Completely unacceptable. These are two different pursuits, two different quests. You know, refuting misconceptions or fighting doubts is one thing, and building certainty is a different thing. They are interdependent because you do need, you can't build certainty and basically ignore the doubts that are under the surface. You will have to address them. They are interdependent, but they are separate quests or pursuits. So today we will talk a little bit, and we may take a little bit more time, and we will borrow it from Fep, but we will talk about building certainty versus fighting doubts. We will talk about both, but first building certainty. In order for you to build certainty, you will have to have proper information, proper data, and proper tools as well.
Or the input and the ability to make use of that input, the proper input. These are intellectual data and spiritual imports, input that is coming to you that will need to be now processed. And you have to have the ability to make use of this input. And I don't want to say process because it may sound just like too dry or intellectual, but to reap the benefits, the fruits of that input that you're getting. Because it is not only intellectual, but it is also spiritual. And just refuse to be reduced into like matter, mindless matter. Or refuse to be reduced into matter with intellect. Because you also have a heart, and you also have a spirit. And the role of the heart and the role of the spirit cannot be ignored or overlooked in this pursuit or in this quest. You have more meaning to you as a human being than the rest of the species. It should be obvious to you that there is some meaning beyond just being like the rest of the plants or the rest even of the animals. So now the data that you will be receiving, the data comes from two sources. One source is the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created this universe and sent us a message. You are part of this universe and you look around you and there is a message, there is a claimant of the creation of this universe.
There is a claim to the creation of this universe. There is a wonderful, magnificent, astounding universe around you and there is a claimant to the creation of this universe who sent you a message. So these are your sources, these are your sources, sources of input to this Yaqeen. And the spiritual imports that we will talk about because he sent you a message and he created the universe for you and he also sends you those waridat that come to your heart. So the message that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent you is your way to Yaqeen. And the way of the Quran is beautiful. It is simple and it is superior. Complexity and superiority are not mutually inclusive or simplicity and superiority are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the most obvious facts need to be the most simple ones to grasp. So the way of the Quran in addressing various issues, like keep in mind, you sit down and it is not about linguistic jargon, it is not about looking or sounding too technical or too advanced. So you could always talk about cosmological evidence and teleological evidence and ontological evidence, but all of this is in the Quran, but it is in a very simple way. Amkhuliqumul ghayrushayn amhumul khaliqoon is the cosmological evidence. Have they been created without a creator or have they created themselves or have they created the heavens and the earth or are they in control? Or do they have the treasures of your Lord or are they in control? Teleological evidence, all of the invitation to ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth is about this.
It is about the wisdom. Look at this. There must be a wisdom and there must be a purpose and there must be a wisdom. So you examine, you reflect, you learn the Quran and you reflect on all of the discourses in the Quran with the disbelievers about the existence of Allah, about the greatness of Allah, about the names and attributes of Allah, about the oneness of Allah also, which is very important. How could you find anything that is more powerful than, qullaw kana ma'ahu alihatun kama yaqooluna idha labtaghu ila dhi al-arshi sabila, law kana feehim alihatun illa Allah wa lafassadata. Had there been gods other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in them, they would have been in complete corruption. That is answering the possibility of equal gods, equal gods controlling the same domain. Absolutely. When you have equal willful agents controlling the same domain, can you imagine willful agents with separate wills controlling all of them, controlling the same domain and they are all equal. The corruption would prevail. That is basically giving like a plane to two pilots and giving them equal authority over the plane or like one ship to two captains or three or four or five or so on. And qullaw kana ma'ahu alihatun kama yaqooluna idha labtaghu ila dhi al-arshi sabila. Say, say, law kana ma'ahu alihatun kama yaqooluna, if there are truly gods as they ascribe to him, gods beside him, as they ascribe to him, they will have all sought the means to the pleasure of the Lord of the throne, dhi al-arshi, so the Lord of the throne. So that is answering the hypothesis of gods, several gods of unequal power.
And if they are inferior and they would be seeking the pleasure of the Lord of the throne, they are not gods. They can't be gods. How do you describe them as gods if they are inferior and they are dependent on the Lord of the throne for their power, for their influence? They cannot be described as gods. So both the hypothesis one is false and two is false. There can't be equal gods controlling separate willful agents controlling the same domain. Corruption prevails and there cannot be unequal gods because that idea itself is self-contradictory. It's oxymoronic. If they are inferior, they are not gods. So that is the way of the Qur'an of explaining things. We need to reflect and we need to study the Qur'an and reflect on the Qur'anic message and the way of the Qur'an in pointing these things out to us. So listening to the Qur'an attentively with open minds and open hearts and reflecting. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us that the Qur'an is enough. وَلَمْ يَكْفِيهِمْ أَنَّ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ يُطْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرًا لِقَوْمِي يُؤْمِنُونَ In surat al-Ankabut Allah said, had it not been enough for them that we have sent down to you the Qur'an. يُطْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرًا لِقَوْمِي يُؤْمِنُونَ Certainly in this there is mercy and zikr, a reminder for people of faith. For people of faith. People who are worthy of having faith. People who are deserving of faith. It would have been enough for them. It would have been enough for reasonable people who are worthy of faith to have received the Qur'an and to be told all of these proofs by the Qur'an. So the Qur'anic way of explaining things, and I provided a link for you inside the document that I sent you.
I provided a link for you to a Yaqeen Institute paper by Justin Perrott on the Qur'anic way of addressing the existence of God. And certainly the Qur'anic way is the superior way. It does not mean that you do not seek every possible way to convince people who have doubts or to talk to people who may not be Muslim or who may be Muslim. But certainly, like, fill yourself up with the Qur'anic way because that should be your foundation. That should be your foundation and it is very important. اولا مفهما ان انزلنا عليك الكتاب يطلع عليهم Had it not been enough for them, is it not enough for them that we had or sufficient for them that we have sent down the book to you to be recited to them. The Science of Prophethood, and there is a Yaqeen Institute paper also by Muhammad al-Shidnawi on the Science of Prophethood. I provided the link for you to that paper and it is a very well written paper and it is a series, you know, Proofs of Prophethood. It is a series and I really recommend for you to read the entire series on the Proofs of his Prophethood, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So all of this is intellectual, intellectual data, you know, that you would need to reflect on. But don't underestimate the importance of the spiritual imports, the ahwal, the conditions, you know. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala lets you taste the sweetness of faith, that is important in your pursuit of certainty. That is important in this quest.
When you feel the comfort, when you feel the stability, when you feel the sweetness of faith, you are being told as human beings that is what works for us, you know. And ample research has been, has documented and confirmed that faithful people live happier lives and healthier lives. So the spiritual imports are important, make use of them, make use of the ahwal, the conditions, the spiritual states that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants to you and make use of the insights, the visions, the insights that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants to you and the disclosures, the kashf, you know, which does not, it is not limited to people at the top of the pyramid. Some people may get kashf to enable them, to help them, to support them on the path to certainty. So ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for this and rely on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide your heart. Because dua is extremely important. Dua is extremely important. Now, then you are paying attention attentively or you are listening attentively to the wah, the Quran, the sunnah and reflecting on the proofs of prophethood and so on and so forth, making use of the ahwal and waridat. But you are also reflecting on this universe around you. It is important. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us, this is one of your avenues to certainty as well.
سَنُرِيهِمْ أَيَاتِنَا فِي الْأَفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقِّ هَا لَمْ يَكْفِي بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٍ In surat fussilat Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, سَنُرِيهِمْ أَيَاتِنَا فِي الْأَفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقِّ هَا لَمْ يَكْفِي بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٍ Isn't it not enough that your Lord is a witness over all things? So that particular quest to certainty through reflection on the signs of the universe, أَيَاتِ مَنْظُورَ وَأَيَاتِ مَقْرُوَةَ أَيَاتِ مَسْمُوعَةَ The signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can be witnessed or can be heard. The ayat of the Quran can be heard, can be read, and the ayat in the pages of this universe can be seen. But this particular quest is not limited to Muslims. You don't only need Muslims to point these things out to you. And if you have competent scientists or competent even philosophers that will point some things out to you and that will enable you with a, particularly for many of you as dua in your capacity of dua. And keep in mind I'm not just talking to you in your individual capacity because, you know, hopefully, you know, I don't need to talk to you about fighting doubts in this much detail as I will in your individual capacity because I hope that you don't have, you know, I hope for all of us that we don't have this.
But in your capacity as dua you need to learn this so that when you talk to people you know how to talk to them. And if certain people will need to be, you need a certain language to talk to certain people, to convince certain people, learn it to talk to them. Learn the language, learn Greek, learn German, learn also the language of the philosophers, the language of the lay persons. Don't talk to a lay person like philosophers would talk to each other and don't talk to a philosopher like a lay person. Learn the language that is appropriate for each one to convince them. And when you try, when you're talking to them leave your ego outside the door because once you bring your ego in with you it will ruin everything. It will ruin everything. So you're just, you're full of concern for them, compassion and concern for them, and humbleness and you're trying to figure out and also an anxiety about yourself. You're talking to someone who has doubts, you're also full of an anxiety that the one who dimmed the light of faith in his heart may... may do the same thing or put it out completely for you. So you're coming in with an anxiety, with compassion, with concern, and you leave your ego outside the door. So like I said, you know, because you may find... Why am I saying this? Because you will find me using like people like Anthony Flew for instance quite often, Fred Hoyle or statements from Fred Hoyle or Anthony Flew or Francis Bacon quite often. You'll say, well don't we have enough? Yes, we do have enough, but you know, it is different, particularly if you talk to someone who's not Muslim, particularly if you talk to someone from here for instance,
and they have particular aversion to sort of like Eastern philosophy and they have particular preference for Western philosophy, someone like Anthony Flew, like one of the sort of most popular atheists of the second half of the 20th century, converting back to theism at least, it would be helpful to read his book, and you know, there is a God and he provides you a link to his book, because he asks very, like he asks very important questions, he poses very important questions to atheists and to the deniers of the existence of God. So someone who spent his entire life, you know, like an Oxford professor of philosophy, and not only Oxford, but you know, professor who taught philosophy in many, many places, who was the most notorious, most known atheist of his time, converting back to theism, I think what he has to tell us is important to hear from him. So for instance, he said, how can a universe of mindless matter produce beings with intrinsic ends? That's an important reflection, that's the sort of part of, that's teleological proof, but certainly in his book he poses questions in a language that those people would relate to. So it is important to equip yourself and to arm yourself with all the tools that you need to help out people, to help people out with compassion, because those people deserve your compassion. How can a universe of mindless matter produce beings with intrinsic ends, intrinsic purposes? You know, like think about it, you have purposes, you have ends, you have goals in your life,
you have thoughts, you have feelings that cannot be explained by matter, and cannot be explained by chemistry, cannot be explained by physics. So this is also important, and this book is important, and there are other resources as well that would be helpful in this regard. So this is the data, when we said this is intellectual and spiritual data, and you make use of all the data, but how do you make use of all the data? How will you make use of them if you don't have the proper tools? Proper tools, not only the intellect, but also the spirit. And proper tools, the most important of all, is the guidance by Allah, the ability to make benefit of this, the ability to overcome your own biases, your own whims, your own desires. Because after all, committing to a religion is not easy. It's not easy, it's restraining, right? It is somewhat burdensome. There is a burden. You commit to a religion, you have the commandments, the prohibitions, this, that, sometimes stigma also for certain religions, certain times and certain places. So committing to a religion is not easy. How could you be deserving, how could you reap the benefits of this data, and be deserving of guidance, and overcome your biases, and your whims and desires, and the societal pressure, and so on? You will have to have that ability, that capacity. You will have to have that capacity. How do you develop that capacity? Certainly by dua and zikr, remembrance of Allah, and compliance.
You are most important tool. Ask Him to guide you. Ask the one who created you. Ask the one who made you. Who would be the first person an infant turns to for sustenance, food, security, guidance? Mother, right? Mom. You turn to your mother. Because you came from her, you know, you were connected to her by this cord, the umbilical cord. You came from her, you go back to her. And in this pursuit, in this quest for guidance, you go back to the one who created you. And you ask Him with tadarru, with imkisar, with brokenness, and sincere hope for guidance, that He will guide you, and you remember Him. Allah SWT said towards the end of surah al-Baqarah, وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهُ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٍ Fear Allah and Allah will teach you. And Allah is all-knowing of all things. Allah is all-knowing of all things. وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهُ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ But the point is, fear Allah and Allah will teach you. What comes first is the fear of Allah SWT. To be deserving of this guidance, to be deserving of this support, to be deserving of Allah holding your hand through the difficulties of this life, and the turmoil, and the hardships of this life, and ups and downs of this life, and keeping you on the path, not losing sight of your destination, you do need His support. How could we be so wicked with people? How could we shortchange people, and abuse people, and exploit people, and cheat people, and think that Allah SWT will then show us mercy? Then the Prophet ﷺ tell us,
أَرْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَرْحَمُكُم مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَرْحَمُوا مَنْ أَرْحَمُوهُم أَرْحَمَنُّ The merciful ones will be shown mercy by the most merciful. Show mercy to those on earth that the one in the heavens may show you mercy. So how could you expect, you know, every time you abuse someone, whether it is a spouse, or a friend, or a neighbor, or an enemy, or adversary, every time you abuse someone, you're basically making yourself less deserving of his taufeeq, and his guidance, and his compassion, and his mother. And if he turns his sight away from you, you're duped, you're destroyed. That is the sign of compassion, and the eye of mercy, and the eye of compassion. So, وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهُ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ But it is not easy. You think it is easy, it should not be easy. أَحْسِبَ النَّاسُ وَيَتْرَكُوا يَقُولُوا وَمَنَّهُمْ لَا يَفْتَنُونَ And people think that they will be left after saying that we believe without being tried. There will be trials, because that's the nature of life. In surah al-Kaboot, and at the end of surah al-Kaboot, Allah SWT says, you know, that's the beginning. At the end of it, Allah said, وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُولَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ And those who strive for our cause, we shall guide them to our paths. And Allah SWT is with the al-muhsinīn, those who excel in pleasing their Lord. So, show him that you are deserving, and this requires effort, and this requires mujahadah.
But show him that you are deserving, because without having the right tool, you could collect as much information as you can. You could gather as much data as you can. You could have whatever you want. You could reflect as much as you want. You could be the best physicist or chemist or biochemist or this or that. You could be a biologist of renown, and then you talk about the abiogenesis. You talk about abiogenesis, life coming from chemical, sort of random chemical reactions. Anthony Flukel, he says, even if we believe in this theory, you would need more than the life of this universe, just for using combinations and permutations for this to create like one strand of DNA by using combinations and permutations. You do need more than the entire life of this universe for this to have happened randomly, by like random chance. So, people think this way. Some people think this way, and they are smarter, more intelligent. So, be more deserving of guidance. Now, this is building certainty. Now, resisting doubts. There is also a Yaqeen Institute paper mapping out doubts in our community, in our Muslim community, and they classify doubts into three different categories. There are doubts that stem from social and moral concerns. There are doubts that stem from scientific and philosophical concerns. There are doubts that stem from personal trauma. And the papers indicated that most of it comes from personal issues and social issues,
not scientific or philosophical concerns or contentions or anxieties or apprehensions that would cause them to doubt Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or to doubt Islam as a religion. So, mapping out doubts is important. For you as a da'i, mapping out the doubts within our community is important because you'll have to know where this is coming from, the sources of this. So, social and moral doubts. It is basically when the society, when the norms of the society are in conflict with the teachings of the deen. Sometimes it is because you don't know the deen. Sometimes it is because there is a real conflict. Sometimes you may be mistaken about the deen and what the deen says. Or sometimes you may be mistaken about the application of certain teachings within the context, within modern context. You don't have enough knowledge. Bottom line, you don't have enough knowledge. Whether about the actual teachings or their application, you don't have enough. But sometimes there is true conflict. And here the true conflict will have to be addressed. Certain teachings that, particularly the sisters now with the spread of feminism and so on, certain teachings about the different roles of men and women that they may have difficulties with or some level of discomfort with. But most of the social and moral concerns or contentions that people have difficulty with come from the behavior of the believers. Most of it comes from the behavior of the believers. Religious people and their hypocrisy. Religious people and their intolerance. And things of that nature. It is important that we realize that we could be contributing to this tragedy. The spread of doubts within our community.
Much of it could be related to societal pressure, like I said. But also we could be contributing. Having a negative experience, a negative encounter with a religious person, particularly for someone who is far away from the religion and sees you as a representation of the religion. Having a negative encounter, particularly if you are a da'i or imam or something that is even more expected to be abiding, to be compliant, to abide the teachings of the religion. Could be detrimental. Could be devastating to someone's faith. So you have to pay attention because you do not want to be sadd an sabir Allah. You do not want to be one who diverts people away from the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because that is the last thing that you want to do to someone or you want to do to yourself. Then there is this group of scientific and philosophical concerns or apprehensions that cause people to have some doubts or some difficulties with faith. They mentioned creation versus evolution. They mentioned the existence of God. They mentioned the problem of evil. And on the problem of evil there is also a Qena Institute paper by Mohammad Shanawi that drew on Dr. Sami Amri's book in Arabic that I provided the link for you in the document that I sent you. But it is really important that you read this if you are a da'i. If you don't have any particular issues you don't need to worry about it. But if you are a da'i you do need to worry about everything
because you need to learn about things proactively. But if you don't have particular issues with this you don't necessarily need to read it. Why people suffer, the existence of God and the problem of evil. And then there are certain issues, there are certain concepts also or certain teachings in Islam that people may find some difficulty in reconciling with some scientific or philosophical concepts that they believe in. Now the third group was personal trauma, personal trauma. And that's a big group and that's a big source of doubt. Failure of relationships could actually trigger people into like a psychological down spiral that could lead them eventually to losing their faith. Being unhappy in general and feeling that religion did not work for them, did not make them happy. Loss of loved ones. There are many personal traumas that could lead people to this down spiral. So this is the mapping out of doubt. So I like to converge things, I like to make sense of things in my classifications. I like things to have some solid tangible foundation for classification. So I would say that we could converge all of this to emotional and intellectual. And sometimes there is a mixture of both that you are unable yourself to identify. But it is emotional or intellectual. There is the emotional group of sources of doubt and there is an intellectual one.
So scientific and philosophical questions such as the problem of evil, the existence of God, creation versus evolution, or these issues, certain concepts. These are intellectual issues that you need to address. And then there is the emotional ones, personal trauma, your depression and anxiety, obsessions with certain things, or societal pressure that is causing you to cave in and so on. These are emotional reasons. Sometimes it is a mixture. Sometimes you are unable to sort things out. Or your personal trauma or the societal pressure created the proper medium for doubts to grow. It is like a culture where germs grow. Created the proper medium for those doubts to grow. And then you are yourself confused. You think you have intellectual contentions against certain teachings. But in fact, in reality, it is not. In reality, you are under pressure. You feel like a misfit. You are in your workplace or you are under pressure for this or that reason. And you are just tired. And then you do not want to basically confess. You do not want to admit to that intellectual timidity. So you want to make it look better. So you want to say that I have intellectual or philosophical reservations against this or that. It is a way for you out of admitting the real source of your doubt. Whether it is personal or societal or something else. So this is it.
So what advice do we have now for individuals and for us collectively as a community? How do we address the doubts within our community? As individuals, if you are confronted by doubts or if you encounter doubts, certainly for the vast majority of people that are in this room, I am talking to you in your capacity as dais and teachers and so on and activists and people who may encounter people who have doubts. I am not talking to you in your personal capacity only. So the first thing that we have to tell people is that you should not be really seeking out doubts to dispel them. You should not be seeking out doubts to dispel them. That is not the proper way. Like I said, always build certainty before refuting misconceptions and misgivings or fighting doubts. Build up certainty first. Build up certainty first. Do not prematurely expose yourself to doubts and misconceptions and misgivings about the deen when you are so weak and frail and unable to stand the test of these encounters or this exposure. This is like a sick man, really sick man or woman, who just injects themselves with like hundreds of potent germs to figure out if their immune system would actually be able to handle it. That is unwise. Wise people do not do that. So no premature exposure. Build up your certainty first. Be deserving of guidance first. And then, if you are a student of knowledge, if you are a scholar,
you do need to learn about these things so that you can help people out of their anxiety or their skepticism. Their skepticism. Okay, so that is the first one. The second thing that I wanted to say is a busheh, it is glad tidings. It is actually good news. Here is some good news for you. If you do encounter doubts, if you encounter doubt or you do encounter doubts, do not think that this is necessarily a punishment. It could be a trial, a test, and if you pass it, you can come out stronger in faith. You can come out stronger in faith. Imam Tamim, may Allah have mercy on him, said something that is really encouraging for people who would encounter doubt or may encounter doubt. He said, فَمُن كَانَ مُسْتَنَدُ تَصْطِيقِهِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ أَذِلَّ كَثِيرَ تُجِبُ الْيَقِينِ Whosoever bases his tasdiq, his belief in Allah, his mahabba, his love of Allah, on many proofs or evidences that result in, that bring about certainty, many proofs that bring about certainty, لم يكن كَانَ مُسْتَنَدُهُ دُونَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ or as he said. He is not like someone who has less proofs or whose basis of belief is less than that. So the 1000, Imam al-Razi's 1000 proofs, Imam Taimiyya here is saying
that this actually did help Imam al-Razi, that this actually made him superior to that elderly woman. Because he said from the karam as-sanad, تَصْدِيقِهِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ أَذِلَّ كَثِيرَ تُجِبُ الْيَقِينِ وَتُبَيِّنُ فَسَادَ الشُّبْحَ الْعَارِضَ لَمْ يَكُن كَمَنْ هُوَ دُونَ ذَلِكَ or كَمَا قَالَ So not only that it is أذلّ كثيرا, it is many proofs that will bring about certainty, but also that will reveal the invalidity of the passing misconceptions or misgivings. That will reveal, will show the invalidity of the passing misconceptions and passing misgivings. And he said, بَلْ مَنْ جُعِلَ لَهُ عُلُومٌ ضَرُّرِيَّ لَا يُمْكِنُهُ دَفْرُهَا Whoever was granted knowledge or exposure that compels him to believe, compels him to faith, or compels him to believe or to have faith, whoever has been granted knowledge or exposure that compels him, compels him to believe, that compels him to faith, that compels him to faith, or compelling knowledge or compelling disclosure or exposure, is not like one who encounters شُبَة كَمَا تَعْرَبْ لَهُ الشُّبَةَ لَيْسَ كَمَا تَعْرَبْ لَهُ is not like one who encounters misconceptions and misgivings and then he actively, willfully and actively seeks to dispel them through نَظَرَ and بَحْثَ, نَظَرَ and بَحْثَ, reflection or examination and research, examination and research.
So, good news, you may come out stronger, but if you address the doubts properly, properly, properly. And how do you address the doubts properly? How do you be wise about this? Keep in mind that wise people don't squander their capital to look for profit. Wise people don't throw something in their hands to grab something in the sky. Wise people also show calculation and deliberation. Wise people are also humble and wise people are honest. All of these things you need to do if you encounter doubts, so that doubts will not lead you, will not erode into your certainty that will be your vehicle or your transporter to greater certainty, catalyst of greater certainty. It can happen. But be honest, you know, and be honest when you trace down or you try to track down your doubts. Try to really be honest. Try to really sit down with yourself and say, do I really have intellectual reservations or is this because I'm tired? Is this because I'm depressed? Is this because I just got divorced? Is this because... Try to figure out, be honest. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبُ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ Those who make lies against Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will never prosper. So don't cut yourself off from His help and assistance and make yourself deserving of His wrath by lying, by being dishonest. Be honest and try to figure out where your doubt is actually coming from. Be honest and try to figure out where your doubt is actually coming from. So that's one thing that is important.
The second thing is to be humble. Extremely important. Be humble. That is extremely important. Anthony Flew in his book, There is a God, keep in mind that he wrote this book after he... I don't know how old he is, but he was somewhere close to his 70s. So he says that at age 15, I thought that the problem of evil would be sufficient grounds to disbelieve in God. I thought that the problem of evil by itself. At the age of 15, that is basically the arrogance of knowledge. The arrogance of little knowledge and haste and arrogance. Because he was at this level, he was particularly knowledgeable in philosophy, he had this inclination towards philosophy and so on. But then later, after 50 years, 50 years of diaspora, not believing in God, he realized that these are actually two separate philosophical quests. That they should not be... Basically, the problem of evil is a separate philosophical quest. You address it later. But first, answer the questions about the existence of God. And if you believe that there is a willful agent who controlled this universe, there is plenty of room to believe that there is some wisdom for the evil and the suffering that takes place in this universe. But these are separate philosophical quests. It took him 50 years. And it took... This is one of the main philosophers of the second part of the 20th century. And it took him 50 years to come back to accepting God. So, humble yourself. Little knowledge could be devastating to you.
And that is, you know, we've always talked about, نصف فقيه نصف نحوي نصف لغوي نصف متكلم. So, the half philosopher and half the faqih and half theologian and half linguist. Francis Bacon, and I sent you this, like a statement of Francis Bacon, he said, little philosophy inclines man to atheism. And depth in philosophy will bring man about to faith. And the problem is, you learn a few things, you learn certain things, you take Logic 101 in college, and then you learn about the anchoring bias and the confirmation bias, and then you want to get rid of yourself from the anchoring bias. And the anchoring bias is when people anchor all, you know, subsequent information on the first thing that they heard about, first concept that they developed, or first thing that they knew about a particular thing. But keep in mind, the anchoring bias is not always a bias. It's not always a bad thing. You know, they teach you in medicine what? That you want to converge things down to one diagnosis, right? So, if someone, like an asthmatic, comes to you coughing, you think asthma, right? That could be an anchoring bias, because it may not be asthma. But likely, if this asthmatic is wheezing and coughing, it is likely what? It is likely asthma. Most of the time, the anchoring bias is actually not a bad thing. It is not a bad thing to think this way. But you learn that, you know, there's confirmation bias and anchoring, and you try to figure out, you know, I should not this, I should not that. And this sort of arrogance of little knowledge is the most devastating thing. You know, if one thing will doom a person, that is the arrogance of little knowledge.
So beware of this and humble yourself. You know, when you talk about walking away from your religion, you're walking away from a religion of 1.6 billion people. Some are a lot more intelligent than you. You're going away from a religion that billions of people believed throughout 1,400 years. So just like, you know, and people of the capacity of Avicenna, you know, and Averroes, and I'm mentioning them before they're philosophically oriented in particular. Not that these were the greatest, and you know, certainly Averroes is one of the greatest, and Rushda, rahimahullah, but I'm just mentioning them for her, they're philosophically oriented. So humble yourself, it's extremely important. And finally for the individuals, finally for the individuals, we said you have to be wise, you have to be honest, you have to be humble, and you have also to be calculated. Show deliberation. Don't be hasty. Why are you in a hurry? What is the hurry for? Like what is the rush to be rushing to become an atheist? Why? At least use Pascal's wager. If you're at this level, at least use Pascal's wager. Pascal's wager is, you know, if you will have to bet on something, bet on his existence because, you know, you will be a little bit, you will sacrifice a little bit of freedoms and this finite life, but then you will rejoice infinitely if he exists. You know, that's Pascal's wager. We have certainty in his existence. But if he exists, then, but if he does not exist, you will have sacrificed a little bit in this finite life, so what?
You know, everybody turns into dust. And Pascal's wager did not just come from Pascal. We have it. It actually has been attributed to Ali, but we have it from our righteous predecessors. So, the astrologer and the physician, they both claimed that there will be no resurrection of bodies. I said, go away. If it is true what you're saying, I lose nothing. And if it is true what I say, the loss is all yours. And that is basically Pascal's wager. So, at least there is no hurry, there is no rush. And not only that you will not be losing much if you lost this life, but keep in mind that even that is not true. Like atheists don't lead happier or healthier lives. There is ample research that proves the opposite. There is ample research that proves the opposite. Now, if this is about having difficulty with Islam itself, seek clarification, seek knowledge. You may not be around people who can give you clear answers, but this is an enormous step in your life. If you're having doubts, seek certainty, seek confirmation. Before you seek something that will threaten your faith, seek something that will confirm your faith. And look for someone to help you. Look for someone to give you answers.
Everything, you know, I told you last night, what is it? What is it that could, you know, aside from the existence of God, because that's a different question, but when it comes to Islam, when it comes to philosophical or moral or scientific concerns, seek, and I'm not going to talk about the details now, but there is an answer for every contention or apprehension or anxiety or difficulty that you have in your mind. There is a good answer. You may not get it from the first person that you come across or that you ask, because, you know, if the worth of your deen to you, if the worth of these most important questions, most important answers are in your life, where did we come from, what are we here for, where are we going, it's just like, you know, I asked the Imam of my Masjid and he didn't say anything. And then what do you do? I didn't do anything. Is that what those answers are worth to you? Is that what your destiny is worth to you? You just like paid a visit to the Masjid and you asked the Imam and that's it? Or I googled it and that's it? So show deliberation, be honest, be humble, show deliberation, there is no haste. Now if you are in a hurry to basically leave Islam to another religion, don't be in a hurry. Even us Muslims, we say to non-Muslims that as long as, you know, as long as you are seeking God, truly, honestly seeking God, and you die on your way, that God, the God of any religion is merciful enough to basically show you mercy,
if you are seeking Him and you die on the way to Him. So there is no hurry and show deliberation and ask the right questions from the right people. Collectively as a community, we need to respond to this, you know, unfortunate condition where you do, I'm not saying that this is a phenomenon in the sense of, you know, Muslims are being overtaken, you know, the communities are being overtaken by doubts or anything, but I'm saying that there is a significant number of Muslims who are having doubts. It is a concerning thing. It should be a concerning thing and it is not unexpected in an environment like this when Muslims are under a lot of pressure, societal pressure, it is not unexpected. And when Muslims have difficulties, personal difficulties, social difficulties, family difficulties, it is not unexpected. You have the proper environment for the growth of these doubts. So one is to take care of the psychological and the emotional well-being of our brothers and sisters and support them psychologically and emotionally because as we said, personal trauma is a major source of doubt. So good companionship, good companionship. When you see someone sitting in the masjid alone, just say, Assalamu alaikum, and sit down next to them for like a minute, particularly if you see them depressed. The Prophet ﷺ would have certainly done this. Just be his ambassador, be his agent. So just, you know, and you're coming to the masjid to read the newspaper sometimes, you go to some of the masjid, you go to some of our masjid,
and if you are reading the newspapers from back home, it's just like homesickness. Everybody, the Egyptians, they have al-Ahram and al-Akhbar and they sit in the masjid and they make tea. And if someone walks in devastated, you know, they'll just not even look at them. So that's really sad. So pay attention to this. It is really important. And if there is need for a profession of care, then we help them out. We point out to them that you do need to see a psychologist. You do need to take care of your depression. You do need to take care of your stress or anxiety. You do need to take care of your psychological well-being. And secondly, the social network. You know, Muslims feel like misfits in the larger society because of various reasons, obvious reasons. So they do feel, how do we make them up? How do we, as communities, as the masjid and organizations and so on, how do we make them up? As people, you know, collectively, we don't always blame it on the organizations. Make your own organization. This is a free country. You can make $50 and send an application, make your own organization. So how to help out our Muslim? Make them up for this. Help them out. Make them up for this feeling and create the social network that will provide support for them. Lastly, provide proper knowledge. Proper knowledge. It is extremely important that we talk about the issues. We talk about misconceptions and we talk about misgivings, particularly if they become widespread. It's not like you're exposing people to something that they've never heard before.
Talk about the issues that have become widespread and talk in a language that is understood by the people. Contextualize, provide proper explanations, proper application. Help them cross the bridge between antiquity and modernity. Tell them about the proper application of different teachings, different principles, Islamic principles in current realities. And make sure that you learn all of this stuff and make sure that you yourself are not bad representations, negative representations of Islam because that is one of the main sources of doubt that people have about their religion. We are one of the main sources of doubt that people have about their religion and we should not be. Qul qawliyaa ahthafirullah wa aaliyaa lakum. Wa min Allahi t-tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.
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