Quran Study 14 Jan 1983 By Dr Rashad Khalifa
Transcript
0:02 Alright, but it does not apply to you, so remember it's not a requirement for this ritual.
0:12 Okay, let's say you're riding a car wearing Ihram clothes.
0:20 So, what's the consensus? You can pray while you're in the car.
0:53 We're having an appointment, and we're late, and the other party doesn't come.
0:58 We're sitting there checking our watches, and we're like,
1:00 What?
1:03 What's the problem?
1:04 What's happening?
1:05 I'm sorry.
1:07 I'm sorry.
1:09 I'm sorry.
1:09 I'm sorry.
1:11 I'm sorry.
1:12 I'm sorry.
1:14 I'm sorry.
1:15 I'm not saying that it's not a problem,
1:16 because there's absolutely no excuse for not knowing God.
1:21 There's no coercion in any of it.
1:24 There's absolutely no way to do that.
1:27 I don't understand.
1:30 I don't understand.
1:34 This is what I said.
1:35 In the past, we didn't know what this scripture was like,
2:13 So you don't have to worry about having your wealth and all that kind of stuff.
2:19 It's not like you're going to have to go back and forth to see if it's going to be a problem.
2:24 It's not possible. The next prescription is this.
2:29 The prescription is to understand the problem.
2:33 If you're trying to walk, for example, on a plane,
2:36 maybe there are two things around the world that are very widespread.
2:41 I have no other concern, and the only concern is what the Qibla will be.
2:48 You cannot cheat yourself and try and get away.
2:52 Everyone can do that, but not in the proper way.
2:54 Do it that way. Otherwise you'll be cheating yourself.
2:58 You can keep the shirt in the bag, but keep Submission in your heart.
3:11 How does it stand against this?
3:14 I don't know.
3:17 I don't know.
3:21 I don't know.
3:29 I don't know.
3:33 I don't know.
3:39 I don't know, that's not my section, but let's all find out what happened to the rejectors that are mentioned in Sura 11.
3:54 I don't know what happened here.
4:20 People are confusing the traditions with the Quran all over the world and they don't
4:26 understand it well.
4:29 It's a big myth that Islam oppresses women, but the opposite is exactly true.
4:36 As you see here, there's an ayat for women, and the proof is in the word of God.
4:45 So who wants to take the blame?
4:50 Let me tell you, it's different than I thought it would be.
4:56 The first one is a guy named Adnan, 29, who is a three-month-old Submitter in Washington, D.C.
5:05 The guy is officially in Washington, D.C.
5:10 The clarification is that he is from Washington state, and not Washington, D.C.
5:48 It's the part of the will that will put pressure on the rest.
6:06 It may not fit in with your household, but it is a part of the one-year process.
6:17 I don't know.
6:18 You can see that this is
6:21 from the moment they die, they have to make sure that
6:23 the interpretation is that she is supported.
6:25 They don't have to use legal tricks
6:27 or riddles.
6:29 That's what you...
6:31 what you have to do.
6:33 It's not...
6:34 It's not a good thing
6:36 to have a...
6:40 I'm just saying...
6:42 I'm just saying.
7:17 They calculated their money, but they couldn't have it.
7:19 So they ended up wanting her out of the house,
7:22 but they didn't want to have to wait for their father's house
7:24 because of the ruling.
7:26 They wanted her to get out.
7:28 That's the...
7:30 That's the...
7:31 That's what I'm talking about.
7:32 That's what I'm talking about.
7:33 I don't know.
7:40 Okay.
7:40 Yeah.
7:48 The idea is not to say that she has conjugal rights anymore.
8:17 I'm just going to tell you what they do in our country.
8:26 This has nothing to do with inheritance or the ego.
8:31 In our culture, when relatives live together,
8:37 it's not just a group of relatives.
8:39 In the household, we have brothers, sisters and so on.
8:45 Sisters and share of inheritance.
8:49 That is something else.
8:52 You can interpret this as follows. Somebody takes over the household, maybe it's the son or the brother of the deceased.
9:04 That's legal. If she remains in the household, you must guarantee her keep for one year.
9:14 Unless, as I was saying, she decides to go back to her father or to her brother,
9:22 or she has enough means of her own and she wants to leave, then she gets her children with her.
9:34 Let's say I die and we all take over the responsibility of the household where they all live together.
9:43 He, normally he is a brother or an older son, he must take care of my widow and her needs for at least one year.
9:54 And I think that is very important to them.
9:57 Over and above the inheritance.
9:59 But if she doesn't want to stay, she can get the inheritance and leave.
10:03 And the head of the household is not obliged now to fit her in another household
10:09 because she has left the household.
10:11 It's them who have.
10:13 If she wants to stay for one year, she will stay.
10:16 But if she wants to stay longer, maybe you have to go to work.
10:19 Or maybe she has a prospective husband, you know.
10:23 So, give her a chance to look.
10:26 For us, the signs of kufr also have consequences.
10:31 If a person loves kufr, they want you to prefer this life.
10:37 Then there is no need to worry about it.
10:42 If her security is required, we have to see that the widow's provision is not lost in one year.
11:19 It's about the people who are weak in society.
11:33 And now that you think about the people who are weak,
11:36 or who want to go to the city, I know of two instances where people
11:41 who have a lack of help with the basic needs of life,
11:46 or who only have the right to go to the household,
11:49 they have to go to the household.
11:49 And they have to go to the household.
11:49 We do not have an answer for that.
11:52 Well, I do not have an answer for that.
11:55 That's not...
11:56 It's very, very general.
12:00 And if we go to details, you will see how good this is.
12:04 For example,
12:07 Suppose I have two wives.
12:11 Unfortunately, I only have one, but anyhow.
12:14 It's hypothetical.
12:15 Hypothetically, suppose I leave two widows behind.
12:30 Suppose I leave two widows behind.
12:35 This might apply only to one individual. For example, if Widow One has no children, but Widow Two has children, and the children will take over the household.
12:55 So maybe Widow One does not want to stay in the house. She wants to go back to her father or to her brother.
13:05 Because this case does not apply to Widow Two. Widow Two would like to stay in that house.
13:10 So it's not a problem for Widow Two. It may be a problem for Widow One.
13:15 Maybe, for example, we could be treating this as dogma.
13:19 I don't think this thing works.
13:23 For example, for those who want to live in the household,
13:26 but if it has only one bedroom,
13:30 and that bedroom is for the children,
13:31 the other widow can't stay in the household.
13:33 Yes, we can say that.
13:34 But what if she doesn't want to stay with the children?
13:37 It is one household.
13:38 Some people care about their color,
13:43 it doesn't matter who they are.
13:46 You don't have to be a certain person.
13:47 You don't have to be a party to it.
13:47 You don't have to be a party to it.
13:48 It doesn't matter.
13:50 Yeah, and it doesn't matter if you're a Buddhist or a Christian,
13:53 or a right-wing or a left-wing.
13:56 If you are black or white,
14:00 that doesn't mean you have to be a white person.
14:01 If you're a Jew or a Muslim,
14:18 I think it's not a problem, but you have to be trustworthy, because I can tell you,
14:29 You know, you can buy, pay rent,
14:33 you can't favor your friends and others,
14:35 and that is stopping you from being greedy.
14:38 Even your wife.
14:40 And she doesn't get all the money.
14:41 She can't get that money.
14:44 All right.
14:48 That's one of the points we read in the book.
14:52 Yeah.
14:53 There was a man who bought insurance for about a month or so.
14:57 And his wife, uh, had an insurance policy on him, and this lady, she shot her husband in the office, uh, last week.
15:09 And she was the chief beneficiary.
15:12 And she shot this man.
15:28 This woman cannot inherit one single cent from the man. She killed him. She killed him.
15:37 His brothers, his children can inherit, but the person who killed such a man,
15:43 he cannot inherit. I tell you, no judge who believes has ever been involved in a divorce, you know.
15:48 If you go to a case in court, if you got a divorce there, you know, you're not a good person, you know.
15:54 You're not a good wife, you know.
15:57 And you look after your children, that's all there is to it.
15:59 They can look after their children.
16:01 And I say to them, you know, you're not getting the children.
16:05 On the matter of the insurance contract, we have a question about it.
16:10 You know, I'm not, you know, I'm not, I'm not a legal expert on that.
16:17 Uh, they started, uh, at first, by demanding that citizens would have insurance.
16:22 Uh, and required visitors to sign a paper saying that you are insured.
16:26 But the government got too much flak, and now the law is that people only sign a paper saying that, "I am insured."
16:33 So I will go and I will sign a paper saying I'm insured.
16:38 They want a policy number, and I don't have a policy number.
16:43 Now, if they ask me at the office, and say, "Hey, you don't have insurance."
16:50 I tell them no, but I have insurance with the Lord.
16:53 I just signed the form, no matter what the company.
16:57 If they ask for a policy, I will refuse.
17:01 Because we do have insurance with the Lord.
17:03 And if you do that, then you will not have accidents.
17:09 They say, "You can't do that."
17:11 And if you do that, then one of the accidents will happen to you.
17:17 So, this is the difference between our insurance and the insurance companies themselves.
17:24 With the insurance companies, you will have accidents and you will pay for them.
17:30 Your job is to ask what is the law. You do not have to ask for the specifics, but you do have to look at it.
17:36 So you have to make sure that the amount is what is prescribed in 4:11, 12, and 176.
17:44 That's the difference.
17:46 So how do you get the correct law?
17:54 The numbers are one-half for the husband, one-fourth for the wife, one-sixth for the mother, one-sixth for the father, and one-third, and two-thirds.
18:08 The amount is really up to you. It depends on how much you can afford.
18:14 How much you have to pay.
18:16 So it's just up to you.
18:17 But, what the Quran says, "Spend the excess."
18:22 This is an incumbent duty upon the righteous.
18:34 What is needed, what is needed is a real, accountable duty upon the righteous.
18:41 The righteous people will be responsible for it and you will have to give a little bit more,
18:48 more and more, as a known right for the beggar and the deprived.
18:53 which is why the Quran calls for two arbiters,
18:55 one from his family and one from hers, to step in.
18:57 But in the courts of the government,
18:59 they do not let this happen.
19:03 The only way to keep the dissension from being prolonged
19:05 was to get them to step in.
19:08 So if we were to do that, we would have to get them
19:10 to see the couple.
19:12 But we don't have that kind of law system.
19:18 I have a very different opinion.
19:20 You have a very different opinion.
19:22 Yes, but I want to ask you this.
19:24 Because the Hadith, the Hadith scholars have determined that the word won't, the word
19:30 won't save you.
19:32 The word won't save us?
19:33 Yes.
19:35 In my first class, I said the word didn't save you and the Hadith is very specific.
19:41 Yes, I was thinking something in the same spirit.
19:46 Actually, in many cases, Islam discriminates against women.
19:52 On the contrary. It's in favor of women. I'll explain more.
20:00 That's what I'm saying. The divorcee here has to refer only to women. It can't be men.
20:04 Because the one who announces the divorce is the man.
20:11 And therefore, in any case, the woman is the aggrieved partner.
20:17 And what the actual practice is, when a woman is, let's say,
20:24 mistreated by her husband, et cetera, she asks for a divorce from her husband.
20:32 You get it, Barbara?
20:42 So, she asks for a divorce, and he refuses. Sometimes the judge declares the divorce. The judge declares it for her.
20:58 or he declares the divorce. So, in any case, even if the woman is the one who wants the divorce, or wants to be divorced,
21:11 since it is the husband who declares the divorce, she is the aggrieved partner. And therefore, strictly speaking, in Islam, only a woman is a divorcee.
21:21 The divorcee has always had to be a woman. A woman cannot tell a man, "I divorce you."
21:30 She can make his life so miserable that he will divorce her. Then she gets what she wants.
21:38 Because she cannot say, "When you divorce me, you must give me back my dowry, you must give me this, this, this."
21:44 So, it's all this traditional Islam that is against women. This is the complaint, you know.
21:54 The claim that Islam is against women... this is really black propaganda against Islam.
22:06 And let me mention that the idea of inheritance for women was not found in ancient Greece.
22:12 Women began to inherit in England only in the last century.
22:16 And this is what I want you to know.
22:19 Inheritance for women is found in the Quran, 1400 years ago.
22:23 It took the US 100 years.
22:25 Not only that, even the other children were discriminated against because only the oldest son inherited.
22:30 That's right.
23:00 It's a reality that the only thing that matters is the one thing I have, and that is the Holy Quran to me.
23:08 Look at what's in your hands and pray.
23:10 As much as you can imagine about it, you have to wonder what the Holy Quran is.
23:16 When you're after these things, the Holy Quran is the Holy Quran.
23:20 The Holy Quran is the one for us.
23:22 The Holy Quran is the connection with God.
23:25 The Holy Quran is the connection with God.
23:28 I think we can find a way to fix this.
23:31 The second aspect of the
23:34 The problem is,
23:37 the problem is that
23:38 there are a lot of people who are trying to
23:42 we can't put a finger on it.
23:45 My understanding of the problem is that
23:48 all the proposed solutions are not the best.
23:49 I understand the rest of the reasoning.
23:56 Two people are married, and after a while, one party, the man,
24:00 gets angry.
24:01 The one party, invoking Zihar, decides to follow the pre-Islamic process.
24:05 God makes that illegal.
24:08 Then that party wishes that he could just resume his marriage with the same woman.
24:12 But the traditions that go around have been there for a long time.
24:17 The One with the Book is the only one who has the right to choose the right
24:21 path.
24:22 I mean, there really is no compulsion in religion. There is no act of force; it has to be an act of free will, an act of free will, an act of free will, an act of free will.
24:36 This is one of the primary axioms in the Quran.
24:40 It's one of the traditions to insist on a man, a warden, with you.
24:47 Because the Mahram is a warden.
24:58 The man is there to take that authority from you.
25:01 He may enter the agreement, she may enter the agreement, but they are not qualified to prove it to other people.
25:11 So, you know, it's unbelievable.
25:18 The case is closed.
25:20 I was going to say, you might as well do it.
25:23 Where am I?
25:28 Actually, you guys are the only ones there.
25:30 It's good to see you.
25:33 I'm glad to see everyone is aligned with me.
25:37 Especially you two gentlemen in the front.
25:42 So, here are the kinds of stories.
25:46 You read the Philadelphia Inquirer report about the United Submitters,
25:51 the records of our lives, good and bad destinies written for our lives,
25:56 and that's scary, right?
25:58 But I believe it is so.
26:01 And one of the key lines was,
26:05 many things that seem good are not going to result in good things.
26:14 So I think that's the truth.
26:19 This teaching is not a piece of science.
26:26 And what about, I mean, if it was, uh,
26:31 the system requiring a male witness,
26:33 if the proof was not written,
26:35 if the proof was not revealed,
26:36 if there wasn't a proof,
26:37 what would that mean?
26:48 I mean, the last messenger they had, he had this, and that package was one of the biggest
26:54 proofs that were in the scripture, and they knew that the package was from God.
27:00 Yeah, well, that's fine.
27:02 So, we started out with two wrong ones on one page.
27:07 There's two on the one page.
27:10 So, who's the author?
27:11 Yes.
27:14 Okay.
27:16 And then, after.
27:17 Okay.
27:18 That's the red one.
27:19 Thank you.
27:22 Okay.
27:22 So, that's 243.
27:23 Oh, that's not bad.
27:25 And then, we got into another one.
27:41 You shall fight in the cause of God.
27:46 Have you not noted those who fled their homes, in the thousands, fearing death?
27:56 God is gracious towards the people, but most people are not thankful.
28:05 You shall courageously fight for the cause of God, and know that God is Hearer, Omniscient.
28:13 Does this refer to a known historical event, or does it apply to you and me now?
28:23 Well, in general, you know what this means.
28:36 I don't know if it refers to a particular event.
28:43 But the idea is not to...
28:57 I don't think that...
29:00 Yes, that is true, or a lesson for us.
29:07 This is the first reference to...
29:09 I don't know what's the story in the traditions,
29:14 that these are people who found decomposed bones,
29:19 they were 70,000, and they came upon them.
29:25 But anyhow, they fled their homes, but in any case, God made them die, to show that you cannot postpone death.
29:39 Now, regarding reviving them, it means, in any case, that they were recreated.
30:01 But in the very act of creating them, giving them a second opportunity,
30:10 a second opportunity, it's still a form of graciousness towards them.
30:14 and some people do not understand why God has to judge us at one time,
30:23 why God has to revive us after death and judge us.
30:33 The command is clear.
30:49 Why? Because you are afraid and you run away.
30:53 That's the point of this.
30:56 And then you get killed anyhow.
30:57 And when God decrees it, you die.
31:00 So, when your time comes to die, you are going to die.
31:03 This is the point.
31:04 Why not die in the King's cause?
31:08 And what king is greater than God?
31:12 So, this is the lesson. I've seen people fight for God's cause, and really, I've seen them die, and that's why these verses are put together.
31:25 There is a known law, that people who fight for God... let me put it this way, I can give you the general, then make it specific.
31:35 If you are willing to give your life for the cause of God, this is like a law.
31:42 He will give you a better life in the Hereafter.
31:48 And certainly, this substitution of a good life in Paradise is much better.
31:55 It is a multiplication of the highest order.
31:59 This is in contrast to this life that is so short, finite, and difficult for all of us.
32:11 So, if a man wants to live, he needs to live with honor.
32:17 And you get the increase.
32:20 Many points.
32:23 There are times, really, when the commentators say things contrary to this.
32:28 Well, I don't know what's going to happen in the future.
32:31 if they are not going to continue.
32:33 But in many countries, there are cases when a man is asked to stand up to be counted for the defense of his existence.
32:44 Even if he lives in a quiet country.
32:51 I have seen people who work for their corporations, and they are eulogizing the memory of many masters
32:59 besides God.
32:59 And we see, and hope you see, if you have the faith, that for people like that, there are
33:07 many masters and many partners.
33:44 If you try to call on them, there is no chance that they will stand up for you, or be ready to talk to you, even when you want to talk to them.
34:03 In this first life, my understanding of it is that there are two forces in life.
34:12 The first force is the self that you have to live with.
34:15 What is this self that you have to live with?
34:16 The problem is that you have a self.
34:18 The natural impetus of the self is that it wants to survive.
34:30 So, they went to attack those people, and the others didn't want to stand up for them; they let them down.
34:37 Well, Mahmoud talked about this, about the interpretation.
34:41 So I'd like to add to that, why,
34:44 so we can see that this is not only,
34:46 it's not that obvious,
34:48 that this is not a mindset.
34:49 I mean, that's a whisper,
34:51 that's a real threat to your faith,
34:53 that's a real device.
34:56 If you're not on your guard,
34:58 it's not a habit,
34:59 it's a real threat to your soul.
35:02 My feeling is,
35:04 that's a real warning to us.
35:07 What is it you do? For the people of Toronto?
35:12 I'm a director.
35:13 Oh, you mean that's what you are.
35:16 I'm a doctor.
35:18 I'm a doctor.
35:19 I'm a doctor.
35:21 I'm a doctor.
35:26 I'm a doctor.
35:28 I was at a gathering once.
35:31 The first man I met was from my community,
35:34 we were at a social club, and he said,
35:37 "Oh, I'd like to have this."
35:38 I said, "Oh, I'd like to have it."
35:40 Well, that person's been here for 100 years,
35:42 and he wanted to get that money.
35:45 It was a lot of money.
35:46 It was a lot of money.
35:47 The amount of money is, you know,
35:49 the spirit of the Cave.
35:51 It's more important than that.
35:52 That's the spirit of the Cave.
35:57 I don't know if that looks like the right thing to do, but I know that this is the right thing to do.
36:24 I want you to get the whole picture.
36:29 You have to know that you have to be able to renounce this world.
36:32 But you have to renounce this world.
36:35 Because it is bad for the people.
36:37 It is bad for the people.
36:39 It is bad for the people.
36:41 It is bad for the people.
36:43 So you just need to renounce this world.
36:47 So that's what the Quran is actually teaching.
36:49 It's explaining this world.
36:50 They thought they were going to escape.
36:51 And he's dead.
36:53 He is dead.
36:54 He's not living in his neighborhood,
36:55 and he dies in the field.
36:57 Then he's revived.
36:59 And he's not dead.
37:01 God shows him who is his Lord.
37:02 You're really not your own lord.
37:04 You're not your own lord.
37:06 They were the thousands that died in that exodus.
37:08 They lived in both of these states.
37:11 It was a great lesson.
37:14 Alright.
37:15 We know what you're thinking.
37:16 Perhaps if fighting is decreed for you, you will not fight?
37:22 They said, "And why should we not fight in the cause of God?"
37:24 But when fighting was decreed for them, they turned away.
37:28 They turned away.
37:29 There is nobody who can prevent death.
37:39 I just want to get rid of it.
37:41 I don't know where it is.
38:46 There's not much truth.
38:48 There's only a few of them, of course.
38:51 I should remind you of a couple of real-life happenings.
38:56 You get them.
39:01 What's the effect of that?
39:03 Good stuff.
39:06 What was the problem?
39:08 What was the effect of the problem?
39:10 Well, alhamdulillah, he handled it.
39:13 I actually couldn't put my head on the floor, because I couldn't get my head on the floor.
39:18 I wasn't going to knock on the door, I was going to hit the door.
39:22 I'm not going to hit the door.
39:26 It's a good idea.
39:28 Oh!
39:30 I guess the immovable one is a bit more difficult.
39:34 I'm not going to hit the door.
39:36 I guess the immovable one is a bit more difficult.
39:43 Have you not considered the elders of the children of Israel after Moses, who said to their prophet,
39:50 appoint a king for us, that we may fight in the cause of God."
39:54 He said, "Is it your intention that when fighting is decreed for you, you will not fight?"
40:00 They said, "Why should we not fight in the cause of God when we have been evicted
40:04 from our homes and our children?"
40:08 Yet when fighting was decreed for them, they turned away, except for a few.
40:13 God is fully aware of the wrongdoers."
40:16 Their prophet said to them, "God has appointed Saul
40:20 to be your king." They said, "How can
40:24 he be our king? How can he be our king?
40:27 When we are more worthy of kingship than he is? And he is not rich."
40:32 He said, "God has chosen him over you, and endowed him with an abundance in knowledge and body.
40:38 God grants His kingship to whomever He wills. God is Bounteous, Omniscient."
40:46 Their prophet said to them, "The sign of his kingship is that the Ark of the Covenant will come to you,
40:54 in which there is tranquility from your Lord, and relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron.
40:58 It will be carried by the angels.
41:02 This should be a convincing sign for you, if you are believers."
41:11 One of the points I think
41:14 is that
41:20 material wealth
41:21 is not...
41:23 it's not the criteria for choosing a person for a certain mission.
41:42 It's also a description of people who might say things without actually meaning them, you know, saying things without any intention of following through.
42:01 Like these people who said, "Why not? Why wouldn't we fight for that?"
42:09 Actually, you know, they told their prophet.
42:23 So, this is part of the discussion in the last few minutes, and as we said, I don't
42:29 just want to look at it.
42:30 I think about it as a whole.
42:33 I would like to talk about the objective of the story, that's going to be the main moral
42:39 for us.
42:41 So, to them, their mission was to add a lot of things; things that
42:46 didn't come from God, but from tradition, for them to come up with a lot of things that
42:52 they'd like, you know.
42:54 And also, the fact that, you know, for a lot of things, we had some...
43:00 I don't know if you can hear it, but I think it should be on the same device.
43:10 Also, you know, there's the essence of the Ark.
43:13 If you're going to see a movie, you're going to have to watch it.
43:17 Because it's not good for the movie.
43:21 The movie.
43:23 But if you're going to see a movie, you're going to have to watch it.
43:30 The other thing to note is that the Quran reveals that when you think about
43:45 what the people of the world have, the Quran says that what they have is of no value.
45:00 It is time for us to begin.
45:03 So I'm going to take leave from that topic.
45:06 And then I will get ready for our next meeting.
45:10 Thank you.