Quran Study 17 Dec 1982 By Dr Rashad Khalifa
Transcript
0:03 Wa la ta'kulu amwalakum baynakum bil-batil.
0:06 We cannot take each other's money dishonestly.
0:10 Wa tudlu biha ilal hukkam, nor use it to bribe the officials in order to take other people's money sinfully and knowingly.
0:19 Well, that's up to you if you want to go and take it word for word.
0:25 You see, to me that might mean, the government can invent a story in order to put us away.
0:48 But there's two reasons.
0:51 The people.
0:52 A lot of people don't care.
0:55 So,
0:56 a lot of people can have
0:58 five, seven hundred dollars
1:00 for what they need, but
1:02 and that's a good reason.
1:04 Just put this in perspective.
1:07 You said that God,
1:08 uh,
1:11 God's scheme.
1:12 Yeah, you said God would
1:14 scheme against you, right?
1:17 I'm saying, like, okay, like, me and you, and, like, um, say, for instance, I say,
1:22 Michelle, let me, um, file a sign-on or something like that, and then I may put the sign-on
1:28 if it doesn't have a title in it or something, or, um, or, okay, there's a title in it or
1:34 something like this, but then I might have told you that I needed something to eat or
1:38 something like that, and so to me, that's being dishonest, and then also, um, I'm saying,
1:44 Let's just say,
1:48 if something happened and I went to jail, and I needed to get out, I would pay an official.
2:00 You know, like say I stole something from somebody or hurt somebody.
2:03 And then I would pay an official to get out of jail or bribe them.
2:07 I'd give them $50 or $100 if you let me out.
2:11 Don't worry about those other people. And then they take it.
2:15 And so I'm not worried about these other people seeing me
2:19 and seeing me do these wrongs, and people never
2:23 whereas God is looking directly at both of us. And we're both
2:26 going to be exposed. But most men, you know,
2:31 people seriously don't think like that. They think that's the kind of money
2:34 they're going to end up with. Whereas God is looking at the thing in the long run.
2:38 Because if they sit down, they're going to get a lot of cuts.
2:42 But that's not a big deal.
2:44 Also, to put this in terms of traffic,
2:48 what I was saying is that when you have that scheme,
2:50 you're very correct.
2:53 That you go to the market,
2:55 and you buy things,
2:57 and then you go out and give the...
3:01 that's very...
3:02 what do you call that?
3:05 Cashier?
3:06 You give the cashier $5, and she thinks that you gave her $20.
3:11 So she gives you the change, you bought things for $2, and she gives you $18 back.
3:18 Because she thought you gave her $20, when you really gave her $5.
3:23 You know, you have two choices, you can take the $15 and walk out,
3:28 in which case you are eating other people's money dishonestly,
3:31 because at the end of the day she'll count her money and she'll be short $15.
3:36 Or you can give her the money back, what the Quran tells you. The Quran tells you,
3:41 give her the money back. You tell her, "I gave you only $5."
3:47 Now, when you upset God's scheme, it is that if you do walk out with the money,
3:52 you eat other people's money dishonestly.
3:55 In that case, you don't make $15 dollars.
3:59 You actually lose a lot more than the $15. Something else will happen. What do you
4:06 lose? A lot of money.
4:09 You could put a zero on the right hand of the $15.
4:13 Right. Or a seventy-five dollar speeding ticket. Or worse yet, you get in an accident. Because
4:24 breaking God's law is very serious. The seriousness here is not just taking $15.
4:29 The $15 is nothing, but the serious matter is really disobeying God, when He says in the commandment,
4:37 "You shall not take each other's money dishonestly."
4:42 So in that case, you will pay the price, because God says you will pay the price.
4:48 Regardless of how much you take.
4:52 Yes?
5:09 Right, because they will cost you a lot more, they cost you a lot more than the price of
5:15 the cigarettes.
5:17 Sometimes the charge is more than the cost.
5:20 You know, it's better that you lose money than you gain money, because God rewards the sufferers.
5:33 Yeah, you better make sure that you are a victim rather than the aggressor. God makes it up to you.
5:44 So, the Submitter is aware that when this happens, the people usually look at you like, "My God,
5:50 there are some honest people around here."
5:52 They don't realize that you returned it because you were scared to death.
5:57 Because it would actually cost you a lot more, because it is a lot smarter to give back the money.
6:04 It's a lot smarter, a lot cheaper, and you make a lot more money than what you gave.
6:17 They belong to somebody who worked very hard for them.
6:25 I know someone who never returned them.
6:28 Oh yeah.
6:32 Some people have a real struggle, that's for sure.
6:39 This is a real test.
6:41 Thank God.
6:42 Okay.
6:43 Okay.
6:43 Bye-bye.
6:44 Bye-bye.
6:46 Okay.
6:47 The bribery,
6:49 um,
6:50 the test of bribery,
6:52 that's what I'm talking about.
6:53 Well, bribery was,
6:55 we had a national test of bribery
6:57 on TV and radio.
6:59 The head of the
7:01 Teamsters Union
7:03 was Tom Gitteon.
7:05 trying to bribe a senator, give him a few acres of land in Las Vegas, because they wanted
7:13 the senator to oppose deregulation of the trucking industry, which means the drivers
7:20 make a lot of money from you and me.
7:24 This is why the verse says, nor shall you bribe the officials in order to take other
7:29 people's properties, sinfully and knowingly.
7:33 So, what the Teamsters Union president wanted was to take the people's money sinfully, unknowingly.
7:40 Because the deregulation of the trucking industry made the trucking business cheaper for us, and less money for them.
7:49 That's a bribe.
7:52 Unfortunately, in many societies, bribe is a way of life, you know.
8:03 Oh, geez! Yeah, yeah. That's a must, you see.
8:06 If you don't bribe, you cannot get freedom or your own right.
8:10 Yes.
8:11 Is it a bribe to arrive in the United States?
8:15 Yes.
8:15 Yes.
8:17 What is a bribe?
8:18 What is not a bribe?
8:20 But...
8:20 But what...
8:23 What is a bribe?
8:24 A bribe is, you want a visa, for example, to get out of the country, and...
8:28 You want it.
8:29 You can get it, if you bribe.
8:31 But, of course, if staying in the country means they will kill you unjustly...
8:42 Suppose you do not commit a crime, and your enemies in the government are going to frame you, and you know it, and you are given a chance to leave the country, but you have to give, let's say, 100 good Egyptian pounds.
8:55 If you do not give the 100 good Egyptian pounds, then you will allow other people to
9:01 also commit injustice.
9:04 And then if you die, who will feed your family, your children, and so on.
9:08 I think it's a hard question.
9:10 I make a policy of not putting myself in a test when I don't need to, so this is a
9:17 But does bribery include when you are asked for payment for, say, a policeman to forget
9:26 that you've done something wrong?
9:28 Like in the Philippines, you know, tong is the thing, and, you know, it's for something, for somebody
9:34 to forget.
9:36 There's a...
9:37 Especially on Christmas.
9:38 Yeah.
9:39 Yes, on Christmas.
9:40 For the Christmas gift.
9:41 The policeman tells you, you deserve this ticket.
9:44 What is it?
9:45 I will pay for it.
9:46 But, you know, he said, "Never mind, you go on with the spiel, but my family needs it."
9:50 So you give him a ten.
9:55 That's funny. Institutionalized.
9:58 Right. It's just almost a standard thing.
10:08 Nobody's going to get me to say, "Go ahead and bribe."
10:13 The commandment is,
10:14 Yes, you shall not bribe.
10:17 So God made it very easy for us; it says, "You shall not bribe in order to take other people's money."
10:23 Right.
10:23 So perhaps there's a situation.
10:27 You only have to have the things that you are due.
10:29 But you see, the policeman will take a bribe in order to forget about the ticket.
10:37 Now, where does the ticket money go?
10:39 To the government.
10:40 So the ticket money goes to the general treasury, where some other people are going to get the money, possibly salaries or whatever. So what he is doing is diverting the money from its proper source.
10:52 But that is different from the other case. So suppose you want to expedite your paper, that's something else. You go again, I take Egypt again. I don't want to use Egypt.
11:03 So you are giving money to him, you are not going to take away money from the government.
11:08 Government says you must pay 10 pounds for a passport, alright.
11:13 Then you see this hard-working man, and you tell him, "Here is 2 pounds, hurry up!"
11:20 Right. You know how he will hurry up?
11:21 Is that a bribe or is it a gift?
11:23 I am going to tell you how he will hurry up.
11:25 He is going to put my papers on the side and take your paper and push it through.
11:29 So my paper is going to be delayed.
11:32 That's what happens. You get priority to your paper by pushing my paper on the side or other people's papers on the side.
11:39 Yes, that's true. It will be at the expense of others.
11:43 Because of course, he could just wake up early and work extra.
11:48 No, he will not do that.
11:52 He will just push other people's papers on the side and he will put your paper on top.
11:59 That's what they will do. We must remember that there is a law of the Quran that says
12:04 if you are forced by circumstance without being malicious or deliberate, then you are not committing a sin.
12:11 If you don't get a visa, they will kill you. Now that's self-defense.
12:18 You bribe, you do anything. You are forced by circumstance and you are not being malicious
12:25 and not eating other people's money or other things.
12:29 So that is clear. It's a matter of common sense.
12:32 Islam is absolutely common sense.
12:35 Alhamdulillah.
12:36 Do you have a question for him?
12:38 Yes.
12:47 Exactly.
12:55 Is that sound good?
12:59 Okay, back to Latif.
13:25 But the right to sin is to be prayed for, and to observe God, and you make the sin.
13:31 Yes, you make the sin.
13:35 That's what you said.
13:36 And I said, again, I think I seem to have one particular point of doubt about that.
13:44 The right to pray for, I think that's how I'm speaking, and that's, you know, that's
13:52 somebody asked him about the moon, that being a test for him, he said they desired a sign, or for another sign, he said.
14:00 So, God answered him on earth, and he sent a sign.
14:03 Yeah, this is, they ask you, Muhammad, about the phases of the moon.
14:10 So, these people really came to him saying, "You're not a prophet."
14:16 So, instead of saying, "You're not a prophet," they said, "What about the phases of the moon?"
14:23 "Tell us about the phases of the moon."
14:26 But that's not the real question.
14:29 The question is, "Prove to us that you're a prophet of God."
14:33 So, they're beating around the bush.
14:35 So, God is providing the answer to Muhammad here in this verse.
14:41 He can tell them that this is a timing device, and it will tell us when to fast, which is the 9th month, and for the Hajj, which is the 12th month.
14:51 We will look at the moon today, and we can tell this is the second day of the month, the new lunar month.
14:59 And you can tell by the time that it rises, you know, it gets later and later, bigger and bigger, until it is a full moon on the 14th of the month.
15:14 So you can tell, it's a timing device.
15:16 I said, you know, what I'm saying is like, I'm not sure, to me, okay, what I'm sure of is that it's saying to me, like people be straightforward, do not be a rude person, you know, that's what it's saying to me, and that's what I do, but then I have problems with that, because sometimes I'm too scared to do it, so people tell me, and they feel hurt, but when I was getting hurt,
16:12 That's very good.
16:13 I've heard that, but still, you know, you get that kind of pushback on you that makes me, maybe I ain't reading it right.
16:20 Well, you see there, first of all, you have to be straightforward.
16:26 In any form, fashion, whatever.
16:29 Don't beat around the bush, under any situation.
16:32 But, there are different ways of being straightforward.
16:35 There's a diplomatic way, a loving one, doing it easy and mindful.
16:41 The Quran says, invite to the way of your Lord by wisdom and tact, and being diplomatic.
16:50 So, you can be straightforward.
16:52 Yeah, instead of saying, I don't like your hair, you can say, you know, I like your hair better when it is up.
16:59 This is a positive. This is a positive statement.
17:03 At the same time, you told the person, I don't like your hair this way.
17:07 But you said it in a diplomatic way. You're straightforward and you're telling the truth.
17:16 But at the same time you didn't hurt the person's feelings.
17:48 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
17:51 You may kill them if they attack you, or evict them from where they evicted you.
17:56 Okay, Abdullah, she attacked you.
17:59 I saw nothing, I saw nothing.
18:03 So, who threw a pillow at Abdullah?
18:18 Correction, correction. I have to correct that. She was trying to get Ahmad's attention.
18:26 She was trying to get Ahmad's attention to quiet down the children.
18:30 Unintentional. But Ahmed would have no part of it, so she threw a pillow at Ahmed, but she missed, and she got Abdullah.
18:38 Abdullah is always the recipient of these tricks.
18:43 The other day, the other day Kathleen wanted to trick Erol. Erol had done terrible things to Kathleen.
18:54 So Kathleen went and got the shaving cream, a can of shaving cream, and went to Erol's
19:02 shoe and filled it up with shaving cream, except it was not Erol's shoe, it was a
19:28 God knows that Abdullah can take it.
19:34 See, had Mas'ud had got Ahmad, he would have turned right around and threw the pillow back.
19:39 He wanted a bigger pillow, but Abdullah just put the pillow aside and smiled and blessed himself.
19:52 I think he cried 'foul' and said, what's the meaning of this?
19:58 She had to explain that.
20:06 You shall fight in the cause of God against those who fight you.
20:11 But do not
20:11 aggress. For God does not
20:13 love the aggressors.
20:16 You know, Iraq
20:17 attacked Iran.
20:20 And they went
20:22 on fighting each other even in the sacred
20:23 months. Well, there is no war in the sacred months.
20:26 That is the law.
20:27 And both of them claim that they are Muslims, you know, say La ilaha illallah, Muhammad Rasul-Allah, and all that.
20:35 The fact is they fought during Ramadan, Rajab, and the other sacred months, okay? Okay?
20:49 And it continues, "You may kill them if they attack you." "Oppression is worse than killing."
20:58 Do not fight them at the Sacred Masjid, unless they attack you therein.
21:03 If they attack you, then you may kill them, and this will be their just conclusion.
21:19 However, if they refrain, then God is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
21:26 You may fight them to eliminate oppression, and to worship God freely.
21:32 Once they refrain, there shall be no aggression except against the aggressors.
21:39 If they attack you during the Sacred Months, you may fight during the Sacred Months.
21:46 An aggression may be met by an equivalent retaliation.
21:49 If they attack you, you may retaliate by inflicting an equitable retribution.
21:55 You shall observe God and know that God is with the righteous, and spend in the
22:02 cause of God.
22:03 Do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction.
22:06 You shall be charitable, for God loves the charitable.
22:12 This brings up the prevailing misconception regarding the law that allows for equitable retribution.
22:20 And it's talking about the Sacred Months.
22:23 The misconception is that during the Sacred Months, if somebody attacks us, then you can't fight them or kill them.
22:30 Or even just give them the same amount of punishment that they gave you.
22:35 No more, no less.
22:37 It's sad.
22:38 And I think somewhere else it states that it would be better if you could forgive them.
22:45 Yes. You see, again and again it says, do not aggress, do not attack, only if they attack you.
22:53 Yet, the general belief in the world is that Islam is a religion of the sword and aggressors,
22:58 and really you don't blame the people because of what the so-called Muslims are doing.
23:04 But in Islam, this is the way of Islam.
23:08 You do not attack until they attack you.
23:19 They did not aggress. They did not aggress.
23:25 When they went to Egypt and Syria, there was no war.
23:28 When they went to North Africa, there was no war.
23:32 They did not aggress, but when they went to Spain, they went to other places, so I
23:45 think they went to another place, but they found something, they went to some other place.
24:09 So, as you see, the verse is very clear that you do not aggress unless you are attacked first.
24:15 But the instances where you fight are for two reasons: if you are attacked or if you are oppressed.
24:26 Religion-wise, because the most precious thing, the most precious thing to us is our conviction, worshipping God alone.
24:35 If there is any circumstance that would stop us from doing it, you have to fight to preserve it.
24:42 Do we have a question on this?
24:45 I don't know if you just started, Martha?
24:47 Yep.
25:13 We will talk about religious oppression.
25:17 Religious oppression.
25:19 But before I close, before we close,
25:22 I want to mention that the Dhikr will be,
25:26 we're going to pray in the morning at 6 o'clock,
25:28 and it is followed by the Arabic language lessons,
25:31 and we are having a lot of fun, I'm telling you.
25:34 If you're not taking the Arabic lessons, you're missing a lot of fun,
25:37 and the students can testify to that.
25:39 Also, we have the best Arabic course in the whole world. Just think, next week, Latifa
25:45 will be reading Quran in Arabic. That's right. And she started, she started from zero. This
25:54 morning, we're going to finish the alphabet and the cursive, the way it is written in
26:01 Quran. So, a week from today, I promise you, Latifa will be reading Quran in Arabic. And
26:07 this is how good the Arabic course is.
26:09 Insha'Allah.
26:12 Don't worry about it.
26:14 Yeah, I must say, insha'Allah.
26:16 Bless your heart, yes.
26:18 Listen to the Quranic instruction.
26:20 You must say, insha'Allah. So, a week from today, insha'Allah,
26:23 the people will be reading the Quranic Arabic, and you will witness that.
26:26 How about the meaning?
26:28 I want to read it.
26:30 Yes, we're gonna, then we'll...
26:31 This one, she's gonna read, but she will not know the meaning of it yet.
26:34 Yes, it's only two weeks.
26:37 The meaning is the same.
26:38 Right.
26:43 When you read the word Quran in Arabic,
26:46 you understand what it is all about.
26:47 When you read words like Allah,
26:50 there are already some words that you know.
26:54 Ok, we're going to close.
26:55 Pray the 'Isha' and then we'll go home and sleep.
26:57 We'll come back at 6 o'clock in the morning.
26:59 Fatiha.
27:01 In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
27:04 All praise is due to God, Lord of the universe, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
27:08 The Master of the Day of Judgment.
27:10 You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.
27:14 Guide us in the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed;
27:19 not of those who have incurred anger, nor of the strayers.
27:23 Who is Arik?
27:26 Arik is in California.
27:27 Who?
27:27 Arik is in California.
27:29 [unintelligible]
27:59 [unintelligible]
28:29 [unintelligible]
28:59 [unintelligible]
29:53 But, the best way to look at it is, we have been asked for the same, just the same meaning.
29:57 And so, apparently the Salat is also another means of wiping out sins.
30:05 Now, I would say those are the unperceivable sins.
30:12 What was the word you used to say? Inadvertent?
30:16 Inadvertent sins.
30:18 Like you tell God it was inadvertent.
30:24 like
30:24 oh I love her dress
30:26 what do you think
30:27 this is an inadvertent
30:33 inadvertent sin
30:36 so the prayers will take care of all of them.
30:40 [unintelligible]
30:41 [unintelligible]
30:42 [unintelligible]
30:49 [unintelligible]
30:50 practices, you know there's a reason for them. God gave us a criterion to follow in the
30:58 fast, the Siyam, the fasting, and so all these things. The fasting is a form of
31:06 self-imposed suffering, isn't it? And it is a worship at the same time, and therefore
31:13 And I'm sure that's why it's there. So we do it hoping that this will clean our sins.
31:23 But the idea that we learn from the Adam and Eve lesson is that we cannot enter Heaven
31:30 with one sin. And God picked out a very simple thing: a forbidden bite.
31:38 I mean, it's not really about the one thing, but if you think of it this way, I mean, how many do you need?
31:47 It's a very simple act of apostasy.
31:51 You're out.
31:52 Okay, good, I'll come to that.
31:57 Is the verse also saying that this is...
32:01 I'll look it up again.
32:02 It is a type of faith, 29. Is it a remedy for remembering God?
32:13 If it is a remedy for remembering God, which is even greater.
32:20 So, if it is a remedy for remembering Allah, we can also say that Salat is a technique against forgetting.
32:27 That's right.
32:28 It means, therefore, Salat might be the technique that we will not fall into the sin of Adam.
32:35 Adam and Eve.
32:36 They forgot.
32:37 Yeah.
32:37 So it's a very personal eating from that tree.
32:41 I think these things are all connected with...
32:44 Actually, in one of the verses in the Quran, it says Adam and Eve forgot.
32:49 Yeah.
32:50 So they forgot God.
32:53 They are meant to remember God.
32:55 How many common people think of God?
32:59 How often do they think of God?
33:01 They wake up in the morning and they're going to work.
33:05 They get up in the morning and they're taking a shower,
33:08 and they go shaving or making up their faces,
33:11 putting their makeup on, as they say,
33:15 and then go to work.
33:17 And they never think of God.
33:20 And then at the end of the day, back home,
33:27 So, most people don't think of God, most of them forget what their main aim is.
33:37 The main aim is found in 59 verse 19. Surah 59 verse 19. They forgot God.
33:46 Okay.
33:48 Who are we talking to?
33:54 We're going to a verse that says,
33:56 O you who believe, reverence God,
33:58 and let each of you examine what he or she has advanced
34:02 for the coming day.
34:04 You shall reverence God, observe His commandments,
34:06 and do everything you do.
34:07 Do not be like those who forgot God,
34:10 so He made them forget their own souls.
34:13 These are the wicked.
34:15 Not equal are the dwellers of Hell and the dwellers of Heaven.
34:18 The dwellers of Heaven are the winners.
34:21 The Quran says that when people forget God, God makes them forget themselves.
34:25 So they neglect themselves.
34:28 And what is "themselves"? It is their soul.
34:32 They forget to feed their soul.
34:35 A lot of people are very careful in the morning to get a cup of tea or breakfast.
34:39 So they are feeding the body its cup of coffee or a drink, and they never, never forget it.
34:49 They do not go a few hours without food; they never forget their meal.
34:52 But they forget the soul, which is them.
34:56 The body is a garment, worn by them, temporarily, for a blink of an eye.
35:03 The whole life is like the blink of an eye, in comparison.
35:09 But in the real life, in the Hereafter, we'll be talking in terms of millions of years.
35:15 We're talking 60 years, or 100 years.
35:18 The blink of an eye.
35:19 Yet people put all their concentration on this blink of an eye.
35:24 Are they going to be rich or poor?
35:27 Tall or short?
35:28 Fat or skinny?
35:33 The blink of an eye, and they are concentrating all their efforts on that blink of an eye.
35:39 When it's really not important at all to be tall or short, man or woman, fat or skinny,
35:45 beautiful or ugly, it really doesn't matter.
35:49 The blink of an eye.
35:52 What matters, this blink of an eye is very important in that it prepares you for the Hereafter.
36:00 So, our goal is to wipe out our evil deeds.
36:07 I don't know if any of you have missed that, but the Quran goes on to state it.
36:12 It says that the righteous works wipe out the evil deeds.
36:22 When you are passing the test, the evil deeds you commit are wiped out, wiped out are your sins.
36:31 Because that verse we looked at in 11:114, is a general statement, that the righteous works wipe out sin.
36:39 Righteous works. When you feed the hungry person, or give them a drink, they wipe some of the sin.
36:48 You know, I talked to Dr. Ahmad, he's a friend of mine, he's a friend of ours.
36:53 Dr. Ahmad?
36:54 Dr. Ahmad.
36:56 You know, when you fast, you feel kind of... drained, you know what I mean?
36:59 Did you feel the same?
37:00 Did you feel like you couldn't think straight?
37:06 I don't know for certain, but I will tell you, Dr. Ahmad.
37:10 Tell me more.
37:12 What about making up the fast for the day that you're in here?
37:15 Otherwise no.
37:18 So the tradition of
37:19 Monday and Thursday.
37:21 Monday and Thursday.
37:23 Yeah, that's what I want.
37:25 Just like in Wudu.
37:26 Four parts but they do nine parts.
37:28 I don't add to Wudu.
37:29 I don't add to Wudu.
37:31 I don't add to Wudu.
37:33 Extra fasting is not good.
37:38 No.
37:38 But fasting...
37:40 a specified number of days.
37:43 Right.
37:45 Right.
37:46 Right.
37:49 It is stated in the Quran, yes.
37:54 But if you break an oath,
37:56 you have to fast three days.
37:59 That...
37:59 These are...
38:02 These are...
38:04 obligatory.
38:05 They are stated in the Quran, but...
38:06 I don't know what to do with it, but you just fast.
38:11 So if you fast at other times than Ramadan, and you have no reason to do it, and you want to
38:14 fast it some other day, it's not good.
38:18 But, you got to fast a specific number of days.
38:22 Like I said, when you get to it, you do it for days.
38:26 So Satan wants you to do it bad, in any way or form.
38:32 If you want to fast to go on a diet, in other words,
38:35 but for that reason, I will deliberately break my fast.
38:38 I will go on a diet and I will eat a bit or a peanut or something, just to, so you give in to that desire.
38:47 What can one do for self-restraint?
38:51 Well, the subject is to make a very strong belief.
38:55 We started off with fasting thirty days, you know.
38:58 Yeah, that's the subject.
39:00 No, it's a very, you know, very common practice among Muslim students,
39:05 if I'm not mistaken.
39:08 Yeah, what kind of...
39:10 I'm just being like the...
39:13 The fasting of the righteous, I don't understand,
39:17 it's just like, well, God says in the Quran to do the five prayers,
39:21 and I don't feel that if you did more than the five,
39:24 I mean, they're not doing it just for show, they do it with devotion.
39:34 Well, if you do it just because you feel like doing it...
39:37 The Quran says that. The Quran says you can pray extra prayers.
39:42 The Quran says you can pray extra prayers.
39:45 That's what the reference is.
39:47 That as far as extra prayers are concerned, God says do them.
39:52 They get up in the middle of the night and pray, but there are no specific numbers.
39:58 And you have to do it because you feel like it.
40:03 And you are rewarded for that.
40:05 So the Quran did specifically say, go ahead and do extra, a lot of prayers.
40:10 It never says do extra prayers.
40:12 For fasting, it says a specific number of days, right?
40:15 But fasting says fast a specific number of days.
40:22 To be more exact, the Quran says it has to be on specified dates, specified days, in the month of Ramadan.
40:32 The new moon, the new moon sighting, the new moon is the beginning of Ramadan.
40:37 So...
40:42 Right.
40:47 Right.
40:48 Right.
40:49 So, it's making a problem.
40:52 When they question the Siyam, they think they're doing the wrong amount.
41:08 I'm going to quit tomorrow, I pledge to God, I'm going to quit tomorrow, and then you don't.
41:22 No, it's a pledge. A pledge to God.
41:25 That's an example: "I pledge to God that I will be there every Sunday if you want me to do it."
41:32 I say, "I'm going to do the laundry tomorrow," and I don't do it until Friday.
41:35 That's a promise to somebody. You're supposed to fulfill your promises to anybody.
41:40 But if you don't, for some reason, fulfill the promise, is that something you'll have to pay for?
41:45 That's a question.
41:46 That's a sin.
41:48 Because only when you take an oath to God about it, do you have to worry about it.
41:51 Like this.
41:52 If you break this, you know, you can fast or do that.
41:55 It will take care of the matter then.
41:57 Is that clear?
42:00 Yeah.
42:01 Because God is merciful, the Lord is going to give you more credit for good things than is taken away from you.
42:12 When you do a good deed, you are rewarded for it ten times.
42:16 When you do a bad deed, it's recorded as one sin.
42:20 That is the mercy.
42:26 No, no, no, it's not equal.
42:28 Yeah.
42:32 Yeah.
42:33 Yeah. That's what He does. One good work, and He'll give you a reward of ten.
42:40 But if you do a bad work, you'll be punished for one.
42:43 So, you have to pay for what you commit.
42:46 If you go stealing now, you'll have to pay for the one act of stealing.
42:54 Because you know it is wrong.
42:57 But if you feed a hungry person in the street, you get the reward of a good deed.
43:05 And one good deed is rewarded as ten.
43:10 You get the reward of ten.
43:18 So, the only unforgivable offense is idol worship.
43:24 Don't get too discouraged, you know, thinking that you have to go through life without sinning.
43:32 Yes, you know, but it's also a warning.
43:36 See?
43:39 It's not that we encourage people to sin, though, you understand.
43:43 Yes, but see, the people who die in idol worship, they do not have the advantage of forgiveness.
43:53 The disbelievers and the idol worshipers do not have the advantage of forgiveness or repentance.
44:02 So, like I mentioned just before, the believers are not threatened; they are promised forgiveness.
44:13 You can repent from idol worship.
44:15 Oh yeah.
44:17 You can repent from idol worship,
44:19 as long as you're alive.
44:20 And when I'm talking about an idol worshiper,
44:21 it's a person who died as an idol worshiper.
44:24 That person is
44:28 outside
44:31 the favor of the Lord.
44:34 I'm going to ask you
44:35 I have a question about a Hadith.
44:39 It says
44:39 if you wanted to do something wrong, then don't do it, because it's more of a mistake.
44:45 And that's just... I mean, if you were to intend to do it and then fail to do it, then it would be a sin not to do it.
44:51 It would be more of a mistake.
44:59 I don't think so. I don't remember.
45:02 What if I say I'm going to go down and do something wrong, and then I say no, I can't do that?
45:09 when I stay away from it.
45:11 Do I get anything extra from that?
45:13 I don't know about your Hadith, to me,
45:15 what you get is
45:16 you've prevented the vice
45:17 from going into your record.
45:19 What you want to know is
45:20 you saved yourself
45:21 from a sin.
45:25 This is a Hadith, I know that.
45:27 But I was thinking that
45:28 there are lots of things
45:29 in Hadith that are open to us.
45:30 I have to think about it.
45:32 But would you be rewarded for that
45:34 because you're choosing another path?
45:36 If you're asking me...
45:38 Yeah, I see. Yeah, what's the benefit?
45:41 He's preaching now, brother.
45:43 All right.
45:44 See, what you're doing, your body wants to go and get drunk or whatever.
45:50 And you told your body, no, don't do that.
45:53 So, you're exercising your soul.
45:55 Your soul is becoming stronger.
45:56 And your body is becoming your slave.
45:58 It's the other way around.
46:00 So, you're practicing.
46:02 You're practicing.
46:03 You're practicing.
46:04 You're practicing.
46:05 You're practicing.
46:06 You're practicing.
46:07 I'm surprised how many people would not have seen that.
46:11 That's a fine thing to do, to give up a sin.
46:14 What would you do if you weren't in that position?
46:48 Thanks a lot.
46:48 That wasn't that kind of thing.
46:51 Yeah.
46:53 I just want to know,
46:54 you just talked about all the things that
46:56 have happened.
46:57 Have you ever shared any of these
46:59 things that have happened to you?
47:02 Yes.
47:02 I've heard of it.
47:04 Yeah.
47:08 Have you ever seen an offer better
47:09 than this?
47:10 Here is the best.
47:11 Let's look at it.
47:25 I have to try to cross-reference it, right?
47:33 25:70.
47:35 25:70.
47:36 25:70.
47:39 25:70.
47:40 25:70.
47:40 25:70.
47:41 25:70.
47:41 25:70.
47:46 Then God will change their sins into credit.
47:50 So God is Forgiving, Most Merciful.
47:52 Let's say you were in a state of idol worship for ten years.
48:00 And you commit sins and you repent, but you cannot be forgiven.
48:06 And then all of a sudden you come to the realization that it was an idol worship
48:10 all your life,
48:12 and you,
48:13 you,
48:14 you,
48:14 you,
48:15 you
48:16 repent.
48:18 We should take this with us. Let's try this. Let's go to...
48:28 This is the description of the believers.
48:35 Sixty-three, let's go to 63. It says:
48:40 The servants of the Most Gracious are those who walk on earth humbly, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.
48:49 And who spend the night before their Lord prostrating and standing. And who say, "Our Lord, spare us the agony of Hell."
48:58 Surely, its torment is permanent; it is a miserable abode, a miserable destiny.
49:03 And when they spend, they are neither extravagant nor stingy, but moderate in between. And they never
49:10 set up beside God any other god.
49:12 Nor do they kill anyone, for God has made life sacred, except in the course of justice.
49:16 Nor do they commit adultery.
49:18 Anyone who does this will incur the sin.
49:21 The retribution will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection.
49:24 He abides therein, humiliated forever.
49:27 Except for those who repent, believe, and lead a righteous life. God will change their sins into credits, for God is Forgiving, Most Merciful.
49:36 Whoever repents and works righteousness has repented to God a virtuous repentance.
49:45 So, this is good news for us.
49:49 In other words, the fact that you might go out of this life tainted is not an insurmountable
49:55 and impossible thing, because the trait of the believers is to repent.
49:59 You just have to bear in mind that you continuously repent,
50:06 but be ready to go any time, and then renew your submission.
50:16 This applies at all times. And if you commit a sin, then you should immediately pray.
50:22 You can take a bath and do it right away; be ready to pray.
50:29 I would like to suggest also maybe that the way this phrase is conjoined,
50:35 the phrase
50:36 "work righteousness"
50:37 is conjoined
50:38 with repentance
50:40 in 25:71.
50:43 The suggestion,
50:44 I think,
50:45 is that
50:46 suppose you
50:47 harm
50:48 someone
50:51 and therefore
50:52 you disobeyed
50:53 God.
50:53 And you ask
50:55 God for
50:55 forgiveness
50:56 for what you have done.
50:57 You see,
50:58 this might not be enough.
50:59 You have to work
51:01 righteousness.
51:01 You might
51:02 have to make amends
51:03 regarding the person
51:05 whom you have harmed.
51:09 Because, you know, the Quran always puts "believe" and "work righteousness" together.
51:15 It's not an isolated theme. It's all over the Quran.
51:20 I do remember, years ago, that this problem was discussed, and it came from you.
51:29 And our teacher, one of the great men, he said, if you insult a man, and later on you regret, and you say, "O God, I'm sorry I insulted him."
51:41 Our teacher used to say, if that man is really repentant and he means it when he says, "O God, I am sorry that I insulted him,"
51:50 he should go to the person and apologize.
51:53 And that is fulfilling what God wants him to do.
51:57 So there is the social, the social aspect.
52:01 This notion of Salat also brings into focus the importance of the duties, Zakat, the Hajj.
52:08 Why should we save money and make the trip to Mecca and go through the hardship?
52:14 Also the five prayers a day and the fasting of Ramadan.
52:18 Obviously, these are from God, to help us wipe out all the sins.
52:31 It's another answer to the question, why do we have to pray five times a day?
52:37 Because of the inadvertent sins that we commit in the course of the day, because of laziness,
52:43 because even though we know what's good, we do things that do not help us.
52:52 So all the prayers and the fasting and these things provide us with the means of erasing these sins.
53:01 Because you see, when you go to Heaven, you will not have all those things that you were ashamed of.
53:07 You will not have any record, unless you, on your own, do a personal investigation.
53:12 You will start to see. You're going to travel back and review your life from birth to death.
53:16 You can do it if you want, but nobody else will see it, because you repented and you reformed.
53:28 Whatever you want. In Heaven you get anything you want.
53:32 If you want to look back and review your life, only you can do it.
53:37 If you don't want anybody else to see it, only you decide that.
53:40 You're going to be in the Kingdom of God, you are free to do whatever you want.
53:45 There is absolutely no embarrassment, no humiliation.
53:51 There is always nothing but dignity and happiness and love,
53:55 and peace and perfection, and more perfect than anything.
54:02 So this is the meaning of everything there is.
54:07 Repentance and righteous deeds.
54:13 Okay, back to our lesson, now in the Baqarah, chapter 2, verse 196.
54:20 We talk about Hajj pilgrimage.
54:24 And the only training, or the things that you do, again, like all the other practices,
54:31 is to perform rites where you are forcing your master, your soul, over your body.
54:39 Because, with the vast majority of people, the body is the boss.
54:46 They do everything in this life to please the body.
54:49 Good job, good money, good house, good spouse.
54:54 The body, whatever, they cater to the body's desire.
54:58 That's all they want. That's all they do.
55:00 And it is the most stupid thing anybody can do.
55:03 Because the body vanishes, becomes dust, and then you stand by your self.
55:11 You know, people, you can imagine the person after shedding the body, they say,
55:16 "Oh God, I spent all my life caring for this thing, and it's rotting now."
55:24 You think, "I went to school, took tests, got a good degree, had a good job..."
55:33 I spent my life caring for this thing; what did I do for my self?
55:38 Now, what you do for your self are the spiritual tools: the prayers, the fasting, the charity (the Zakat), the righteous works,
55:46 worshiping God, remembering God, because your soul is what profits from that.
55:56 But if you are ill or suffering some head injury, then you may cut your hair,
55:59 and expiate by fasting, or giving a charity, or some other form of worship.
56:04 For one who enjoys the time of peace between Umrah and Hajj,
56:09 then expiate by offering a sacrifice.
56:14 When we were making Hajj, my father wanted to break the Ihram between Umrah and Hajj.
56:22 Because it was many days; we were there from the first day of the month until the 8th.
56:31 And then the official day of Hajj is the 8th day. Everybody must be in Mina on the 8th day.
56:41 This is the day of Hajj, the 8th. On the 9th day, everybody must be on Mount Arafat.
56:48 So we went on the first, we went for Umrah on the first. Now we had eight days, and my father wanted to relax, spend these waiting days, whatever he wanted to do, so he had to satisfy his needs.
57:04 And this was his burden. I told him not to break the Ihram. So I told him to be mindful of his oath.
57:14 Yes. When you go for Hajj, the requirements are that you go to Arafat and perform the rites at the Ka'bah.
57:25 Well, most of the practices came to us, like Salat, through Abraham, but actually most of them have been mentioned here.
57:33 No, the Sha'a'er (rites) are mentioned here. The running between Safa and Marwah is mentioned here.
57:42 And Arafat is also mentioned. Arafat is mentioned in verse 198.
57:48 198?
57:49 198.
57:51 In that verse it's mentioned.
57:53 198.
57:54 Yeah, that's right. Arafat is mentioned. So Arafat is mentioned in verse 198.
58:00 So, almost everything in Hajj is mentioned in the Quran.
58:05 Now, when you go around the Ka'bah seven times,
58:11 it will feel like it's being worshipped.
58:16 So you're going around the building,
58:20 and people will ask you, "Are you worshipping this thing?"
58:23 And that's why the language of the Quran is very important here in Hajj.
58:26 But with God's help, it is certainly all right to go around the Ka'bah.
58:29 This is how it is.
58:30 You are not committing a sin by circling the Ka'bah.
58:33 This is how it is.
58:34 Another example for you is what was there.
58:37 What did He say?
58:38 The language of Quran is very, it's like God said,
58:42 "Prostrate before Adam."
58:45 Are they worshipping Adam?
58:48 Or what?
58:48 So, it is by permission from God that we do this.
58:52 We do this because we are obedient to God.
58:55 And the angels prostrated before Adam, not because they worshipped Adam, but in obedience to God.
59:02 And this prostration to the ground is a very, very simple and an insignificant act.
59:08 So the conclusion is that this act of following the command is all right.
59:14 All right.
59:16 The second question.
59:17 You are not committing a sin by
59:20 prostrating
59:22 on the
59:23 ground to do it.
59:26 No, you see,
59:27 you commemorate God during these days.
59:29 It is like that.
59:31 You can leave
59:33 in two days, and you commit
59:34 no error. And if you delay,
59:37 you commit no error.