Beyond Halal and Haraam: The Purpose of Religion

0 Bekeken· 26/02/06

MECCA Media
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Transcript

[0:24]Madan.

[0:25]And Muhammad Amen.

[1:05]Allah fell.

[1:26]fellow.

[1:29]Allah Allah.

[2:17]Alhamdulillah.

[2:19]Alhamdulillah.

[3:01]Ali Muhammadu Ali Muhammad Aliuhammed.

[3:52]Brothers and sisters, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all of your

[3:56]and bless you On this blessed Friday of the holy month of

[4:07]Shaaban, we live in a time where religion is under question.

[4:12]Many people criticize religious establishments and religion as a whole and they

[4:20]say that I don't need religion.

[4:22]They lose touch and uninterested with religion.

[4:26]And one of the reasons why people lose touch with religion is

[4:35]because they have a misunderstanding of what religion truly means.

[4:42]Their perspective on religion is one thing and what religion actually is

[4:50]is something else.

[4:51]For many people, you ask them what does religion mean to you?

[4:57]They'll tell you it's a system of do this, do that.

[5:02]This is halal, this is haram, this is makru, this is mustab,

[5:05]this is it's just laws that constrain my life and constrict me

[5:09]and take away my freedom and take away my liberty from doing

[5:14]what I want to do.

[5:15]And there's too many logistics in it, too many technicalities, a checklist

[5:22]of do this and do that.

[5:25]And this is something that I'm not interested in.

[5:28]Now of course while the dos and the don'ts of religion the

[5:35]halal and the haram and the and the and the mubah these

[5:39]five these five options for anything that you want to do while

[5:44]this is something that is extremely important because we need to know

[5:50]what does Allah subhana wa ta'ala expect from us every everything out

[5:54]there has a ruling either it's halal or or it's haram or

[6:00]it's recommended or it's or it's meaning it's you you're you're left

[6:04]to do whatever you like with it.

[6:05]Everything out there has a ruling and we need to know what

[6:10]Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expects from us.

[6:12]God is our creator.

[6:12]We have to know what God wants us to do.

[6:16]However, if we limit our understanding of religion to just that, just

[6:21]the halal and the haram and the logistical aspect of it, then

[6:27]we will be doing ourselves injustice and we will be minimizing religion

[6:33]to something that is not the whole definition of religion.

[6:39]When we do that then we will take away the spiritual benefit

[6:44]and the greater benefits and objectives and purpose of religion.

[6:48]Religion has a purpose in my life.

[6:50]It's not just a system of do this and do that and

[6:55]don't do this and don't do that.

[6:56]No, there is a greater purpose and there's a greater benefit.

[7:02]And if we truly understand the purpose and the benefit of religion

[7:06]and the purpose of following this religion beyond the halal and the

[7:11]haram, then we will be able to benefit much more from it.

[7:16]A lot of a lot of times when we're focused on our

[7:19]our deeds, we're just focusing on let me make sure I do

[7:23]it correctly or I don't I do this or I avoid that.

[7:28]And we don't really take in the meaning of what the whole

[7:31]purpose and the and the philosophy of religion.

[7:34]For example, the month of Ramadan.

[7:35]Many people they fast, but then you ask them, did you benefit

[7:41]from the month of Ramadan?

[7:41]Maybe not.

[7:43]Many people pray every day.

[7:44]They pray.

[7:46]Did you benefit?

[7:45]Did you take in the greater meaning of what it means to

[7:51]be someone who's praying and and praying on time and doing what

[7:55]you're supposed to do?

[7:58]A lot of people don't.

[7:57]So here we need to understand what the whole purpose of religion

[8:01]is.

[8:02]And when I say religion, I'm talking about the religion of Islam.

[8:06]the religion of Islam and the religion of Islam that is practiced

[8:11]in the correct way.

[8:12]There's a lot of people that might be religious but they don't

[8:16]reach that potential of what the religion is supposed to have on

[8:22]their life.

[8:20]But if we truly practice religion in the sense that it is

[8:26]it came down and in the way that we are supposed to

[8:30]we will benefit from the religion in a way that is much

[8:32]greater than just halal and haram and do this and do that.

[8:38]So inshallah I will mention three points, three great benefits of religion.

[8:44]And when I say religion, I mean Islam if it's practiced in

[8:47]the correct way.

[8:50]Three great purposes and benefits that you will not find anywhere else.

[8:54]There's a lot of ideologies, there's a lot of teachings, there's a

[8:58]lot of lifestyles, but they don't come and give you this fulfillment

[9:01]that religion and the religion of Islam specifically gives you.

[9:07]Number one, Islam as a religion gives you the sense of fulfillment

[9:14]in answering the most important questions in a person's life and in

[9:21]a person's afterlife.

[9:23]We all have needs.

[9:26]I have physical needs.

[9:26]I have emotional needs.

[9:30]And I also have intellectual needs.

[9:31]And the intellectual need is more important than the physical need and

[9:39]the emotional need.

[9:39]You find a lot of people maybe they could fulfill their their

[9:43]physical needs.

[9:44]Maybe they could fulfill their materialistic needs.

[9:47]But if their intellectual need is not fulfilled, the questions that they

[9:52]have are not answered.

[9:52]They will not find happiness.

[9:54]They will not find fulfillment.

[9:57]And this is why when we look at people, you might look

[9:58]at some societies, you might look at some communities, very affluent societies,

[10:03]very wealthy, everyone has the best cars and the best houses and

[10:07]everything.

[10:08]But there's a sense of void.

[10:09]Why is there a sense of void?

[10:14]Because the intellectual answers are not there.

[10:15]The needs of answering these deeper questions are not there.

[10:20]Why am I here?

[10:21]What is my purpose in life?

[10:23]Where am I going?

[10:24]And where am I heading?

[10:28]All of these questions, you see, they are not answered.

[10:30]And as a result of them not being answered, you might find

[10:36]people even if they answer all of their other needs, they are

[10:39]not going to be happy and they're not going to find that

[10:44]sense of fulfillment.

[10:44]Studies show that once people reach financial stability in their life, then

[10:51]their happiness plateaus.

[10:52]Meaning that they might be happy for a little while and then

[10:55]they're not going to be very happy.

[11:00]But also studies show that rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide increase

[11:05]in a affluent societies, godless affluent societies.

[11:10]So it's very important to give yourself a purpose in life.

[11:14]And one thing very important other than the halal and the haram

[11:19]and do this and do that.

[11:20]Something that religion gives us in our life is it gives me

[11:24]a purpose.

[11:22]Gives me a sense of purpose.

[11:26]It gives me an objective.

[11:26]And if you have a purpose in life, you're going to live

[11:31]a much more comfortable life because you have satisfied your intellectual need.

[11:33]Here there is a uh an author and a scholar.

[11:39]His name is Victor Frankl.

[11:42]He's a Holocaust survivor and he's a psychiatrist.

[11:44]And he's the author of a very important and influential book by

[11:49]the name of Man's Search for Meaning.

[11:53]He observed prisoners.

[11:54]He looked at prisoners, two prisoners.

[11:57]He says those prisoners that had a goal in life, they had

[12:01]something to look forward to.

[12:05]They lived much more fulfilled life.

[12:07]And those who did not have a goal in life, nothing to

[12:10]look forward to, nothing to to to um to to answer the

[12:16]the why in their life, then it did not they did not

[12:19]have a very fulfilling experience.

[12:23]Even if they were physically stronger, even if they were physically stronger,

[12:27]they were not happy.

[12:28]So one thing that religion gives you and and this is this

[12:32]is a a a reply to those people that say what does

[12:35]what comes out of religion it just do this this is halal

[12:39]and this is haram no it gives you a sense of fulfillment

[12:40]it gives you purpose in life it gives you an objective to

[12:46]live for in life and it even tells you what is your

[12:48]purpose in life if I I'm a person who follows Islam I

[12:52]I know right away that I have a purpose I'm living here

[12:56]this life is a test I have a mission I have a

[12:57]goal.

[12:58]I'm on a path exactly.

[13:02]I know exactly where I'm going.

[13:11]Allah gave me Allah put me in this life to test me.

[13:15]SO I KNOW I'M BEING TESTED.

[13:16]THEREFORE, I know what my purpose.

[13:19]I know what my goal.

[13:20]I know what my objective is.

[13:21]This gives me a sense of fulfillment.

[13:23]While other people they might have all of this dunya, but if

[13:27]they cannot answer these important questions, they're going to have a meaningless

[13:32]life and they're going to feel that sense of void.

[13:36]So this is something that is very important.

[13:40]Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells us where we're going.

[13:41]If a person believes in Islam and believes in the Quran, they

[13:46]know everything.

[13:46]Their whole purpose, their whole plan.

[13:48]You see your whole plan in this life, everything is right in

[13:55]front of you.

[13:53]Allah subhana wa ta'ala.

[13:58]Oh, you are struggling and you're striving day by day.

[14:04]You get closer to your Lord until you meet your Lord.

[14:08]And then Allah also tells us what is the option if I

[14:11]lived a good God-fearing life or if I lived a life distracted

[14:14]away from God.

[14:23]If I lived a life obeying God and doing that which Allah

[14:29]subhana wa ta'ala wants from me, then I know what my end

[14:32]is.

[14:41]So it gives me clarity.

[14:45]Having clarity in life is something that is very important.

[14:47]Without clarity, life becomes very difficult.

[14:52]Life becomes very painful.

[14:53]Even if you have all of the riches of this dunya.

[14:57]But having clarity and not having the riches of this dunya, you

[15:00]could survive with it.

[15:02]But you will not be able to survive without that mental clarity,

[15:05]without that intellectual clarity, even if you have everything in this dunya.

[15:10]And this is one of the most important objectives of religion is

[15:13]that it gives you that sense of clarity.

[15:15]It gives you that purpose.

[15:15]It gives you the understanding.

[15:19]We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to increase our understanding and our

[15:23]clarity in this life and in the I will mention the next

[15:26]two benefits of of having religion and practicing religion in the second

[15:42]Muhammad Allah.

[15:54]Alhamdulillah.

[15:57]Alhamdulillah.

[16:23]Aliuhammed Aliham.

[16:50]My dear brothers and sisterham Aliuhammed Aliham.

[17:28]Hussein Hussein Ali Muhammadu Ali My dear brothers and sisters, we were

[17:56]talking about the purpose of religion more than just halal and haram

[18:03]and do this and do that.

[18:05]And we mentioned in the firstb one of the most important purposes

[18:08]is that religion gives you that intellectual fulfillment.

[18:13]It answers questions.

[18:13]It answers questions that no other lifestyle would be able to answer.

[18:19]It tells you where you're going, where you are, what's your purpose

[18:24]in this life.

[18:23]If you don't answer these questions, life is going to be very

[18:28]difficult and unfulfilling.

[18:30]And this is why you see people they have everything but they're

[18:33]not happy because they cannot answer these basic questions in life.

[18:37]Second, one of the most important purposes and objectives of religion is

[18:45]that when I understand what my purpose is in this life, I

[18:50]know what my objective is in this life.

[18:53]I know that I'm living in a life of a test.

[18:56]Then I'm going to automatically live a life of morality.

[19:00]This is talking about the person who's truly following Islam in the

[19:04]way that it's supposed to be followed.

[19:06]Not talking about people who claim to be religious.

[19:08]There's a lot of people that claim to be religious and they

[19:12]don't follow the religion in the way that they're supposed to.

[19:15]But if you are truly on the path of understanding your purpose

[19:18]and your goal and you know that life is a test, then

[19:23]you're going to live a life of morality.

[19:26]Then oppressing other people, stealing, cheating, abusing anyone is going to be

[19:32]a red line because you know that Allah subhana wa ta'ala is

[19:35]going to judge you.

[19:37]You know that Allah subhana wa ta'ala is watching you.

[19:39]And here when there is no faith, when there is no accountability

[19:46]about this is right, this is wrong, there's no purpose in life,

[19:49]then people are not obliged to live a moral lifestyle.

[19:52]If someone doesn't believe in the day of judgment, if someone doesn't

[19:56]believe in God, then what stops them from killing someone?

[19:59]What stops them from stealing?

[20:00]What stops them from hurting other people?

[20:03]Nothing.

[20:03]There's going to be no red lines.

[20:05]There's going to be no boundaries.

[20:06]But when you know what your purpose is and you know that

[20:12]you're living in this life and this life is a test from

[20:15]Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala you see that this will force you to

[20:22]live a life of morality of ethics and this is where we

[20:25]see the role of faith because when someone doesn't have faith stealing

[20:29]might be something that it's an opportunity I got and I took

[20:34]it and I I'm living a pragmatic lifestyle I'm trying to benefit

[20:38]benefit or for example hurting uh one whole race, one whole community,

[20:41]stealing from them, abusing them, annihilating them.

[20:45]This is something that has to do with survival.

[20:46]I'm I'm doing it to survive.

[20:51]So here's one very important purpose that comes with religion is that

[20:54]it gives us that sense of morality and that sense of ethics.

[20:58]And today you see many people speak as if they have morality

[21:03]and as if they have human rights and as if they have

[21:05]democracy and ethics and all of that.

[21:07]But you could tell if a person is truly religious, if a

[21:13]person truly follows the religion when it comes to dealing with other

[21:17]people.

[21:18]Anyone could come and claim to be religious.

[21:21]But you see when they deal with other people, you see if

[21:24]you could trust them with some money, when you could trust them

[21:26]with not cheating, not lying, not stealing, not abusing, that's when you

[21:31]know who is truly a religious person.

[21:33]This is why I imam he says if you want to judge

[21:39]whether someone is religious or not, don't look at their prayers in

[21:42]the middle of the night.

[21:42]Don't look at their zakat.

[21:46]Don't look at their charity.

[21:47]Don't look at any of this stuff.

[21:49]Look at their Look, if this person is going to be honest

[21:53]and this person is going to be trustworthy, that is how you

[21:58]know this person is truly a religious person.

[22:00]Because someone who is truly religious, they know that God is watching.

[22:05]They know that there's a purpose in life.

[22:06]They know that even if things are not going my way, Allah

[22:10]subhana ta is testing me right now.

[22:13]Allah is testing me with wealth.

[22:14]Allah is testing me with poverty, with whatever God has given me,

[22:16]Allah is testing me.

[22:19]And therefore I have to make sure that I remain living a

[22:21]life on the path of morality and ethics.

[22:25]And it's very easy to see people declare and give the impression

[22:32]that they're religious, but in reality they're not.

[22:33]You see, look at in this in this society, they talk about

[22:38]human rights.

[22:38]They talk about democracy.

[22:41]They talk about all of these rights that the US preaches the

[22:44]whole world about and becomes a bully to the whole world about

[22:47]because if they have, for example, human rights issues or they have

[22:52]other things.

[22:51]Look at what's happening here.

[22:54]Here in the streets of the United States, ICE is coming and

[22:58]killing people and arresting people.

[23:00]Why?

[23:01]because for example they speak from a different language.

[23:05]Where's the ethics in that?

[23:06]Where's the morality in that?

[23:06]Look out what's going on in other countries.

[23:09]Look at what's going on in Gaza and and Palestine and in

[23:14]many other places.

[23:14]Look at what's going on with the Epstein files.

[23:18]You you see that the most uh impactful and people that have

[23:22]the most power in the world, they're on these files.

[23:27]Their names are on these files associated with someone who was a

[23:31]sex trafficker, someone who was a pedophile, someone who had no morality

[23:34]whatsoever.

[23:35]You see that their names are associated with this person.

[23:38]And this shows you that the lack of religion, the lack of

[23:43]religiosity, this is what it gives you.

[23:46]This is what provides you.

[23:46]And those who have religion and morality and ethics, then they will

[23:52]live a life of morality.

[23:56]So religion more than just the halal and the haram.

[23:58]It gives me purpose.

[24:00]And as a result of having purpose and knowing where I'm going,

[24:03]where I am right now, I live a life of morality and

[24:08]I live a life of ethics.

[24:09]And the third benefit that comes from religion is that you live

[24:14]a life of inner peace.

[24:18]You're going to be at peace with yourself when you're when you

[24:20]know what your purpose is in life and you know you have

[24:24]not oppressed anyone.

[24:24]You know you're living a moral life with ethics.

[24:27]Then you're going to be living at peace because real peace does

[24:31]not come from this.

[24:34]The extravagance of this dunya real peace of mind comes from Allah

[24:38]subhana wa tala.

[24:40]Verily through the remembrance of God the hearts will be at peace.

[24:46]And in the verse that I began surah number six uh verse

[24:48]125 Allah says in the Quran if God wants to guide someone

[25:00]and of course God wants to guide everyone but sometimes we could

[25:04]res we could accept we could be recipients of the guidance or

[25:08]we could reject the guidance from Allah.

[25:09]It all depends on the decisions you make in your life.

[25:13]Allah wants to guide everyone.

[25:14]But some people reject the guidance, some people accept it.

[25:17]Those who accept it, Allah continues to guide them.

[25:25]If God wants to guide someone, then Allah will make your heart

[25:30]vast open so that it accepts Islam.

[25:33]What does Islam mean?

[25:33]Islam means submitting to Allah subhana wa tala.

[25:38]Submitting to what God wants.

[25:38]And if you reject that woman and whoever rejects the guidance that

[25:50]comes from God and if the the person rejects the guidance of

[25:58]Allah, what will happen to this person's heart?

[26:02]Their heart will be will feel as if it's constricted.

[26:07]And Allah gives an example.

[26:11]Have you ever been to a to a place where there's high

[26:16]elevation?

[26:16]When you go somewhere either in an airplane or you're you're going

[26:20]up a very high mountain, you feel that you can't breathe anymore.

[26:24]There's low low oxygen level.

[26:26]Allah subhana wa ta'ala says the one who rejects the from God,

[26:32]they will feel as if as if he's going up in the

[26:41]in the sky.

[26:40]Look at the metaphor that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives.

[26:45]So submission to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

[26:47]A lot of people say religion, oh, you're living a life where

[26:50]you're submitting to God.

[26:52]Be free.

[26:51]Live how you want to live.

[26:55]No.

[26:53]When I submit to God, I'm living a life of purpose, meaning,

[26:59]understanding.

[27:01]I'm living a life of morality and ethics because I know that

[27:04]there's a purpose in life and as a result of that I

[27:07]will be at peace.

[27:07]I have not hurt anyone.

[27:09]I have not oppressed anyone.

[27:10]I have not abused anyone.

[27:11]I'm following a religion that tells me to respect my creator and

[27:15]respect the creation alongside me.

[27:17]Therefore, I am going to be at peace.

[27:21]And here I want to conclude with this.

[27:24]Being at peace, we have to take advantage of what religion has

[27:30]to offer us.

[27:29]Right now, for example, how many of us actually take advantage of

[27:36]the resources that religion gives us?

[27:37]Religion is not just do this and do that.

[27:39]No, religion provides you resources.

[27:40]Resources that will put me at peace.

[27:43]From amongst the greatest resources that we have and means that come

[27:48]through religion is salah.

[27:50]When you pray, your heart will be at peace.

[27:52]When you pray, you'll be comfortable.

[27:54]When you pray, you surrender your matters to Allah subhana wa ta'ala

[27:57]and you know that God is the one who's going to be

[27:58]answering all your problems.

[28:01]That really gives you peace.

[28:03]Right now there are studies that show that people who pray, people

[28:06]who are connected with God, they live a more peaceful and content

[28:12]life even if their life is difficult, even if their life is

[28:14]challenging because they have that connection with God.

[28:16]So we have the salah and we also have especially we the

[28:23]followers of the B we have such a great vast library of

[28:27]literature and those are the duas of theam that teach us how

[28:33]to speak to God that open our heart that give us that

[28:35]feeling of fulfillment and understanding.

[28:39]Right now you read the duas, we have the month of Ramadan

[28:42]coming up.

[28:44]And the reason why I say this is that we have to

[28:48]try to take advantage of this holy month that is going to

[28:50]come.

[28:51]Don't let the month of Ramadan be just a month of fasting

[28:55]and hunger and that's it.

[28:56]You don't get anything out of it and having a lot of

[29:00]dessert afterar.

[28:59]Don't let that be the all all that defines what Ramadan means

[29:05]for you.

[29:07]Let Ramadan be a month where your heart elevates and you feel

[29:11]that sense of closeness to Allah subhana wa t'ala.

[29:15]And even before Ramadan, right now we are in the month of

[29:19]Shaan, I want everyone if you have the time to go and

[29:25]read the look it up.

[29:28]Even read one page, even read one paragraph of it.

[29:32]Do yourself a favor and read that.

[29:34]Look at how speaks to God.

[29:38]And when you see that, this will open your heart and this

[29:41]will show you what are the benefits of religion and and living

[29:47]a religious life.

[29:47]So my dear brothers and sisters, these are the three points that

[29:52]come with religion.

[29:52]It gives you intellectual fulfillment.

[29:53]It gives you and and a purpose.

[29:55]It gives you morality and ethics.

[29:57]And it gives you a peace of mind, not just the halal

[30:01]and the haram.

[30:00]My dear brothers and sisters, I wanted to um just make a

[30:07]few announcements regarding the upcoming uh events.

[30:08]Inshallah, we have one more Friday and then the Friday after that

[30:13]we will be in the month of Ramadan, inshallah.

[30:16]And if you have any missed fasts from last year, you have

[30:19]to make them up before.

[30:20]You have to make them up before you enter into the month

[30:24]of Ramadan.

[30:23]Otherwise, you have to give a fya and make it up if

[30:28]it's from last year.

[30:30]So this is the opportunity to make up any missed uh fasts

[30:34]and um we have inshallah tonight we will be having uh the

[30:39]continuing the celebration of the birth of Imam Mahi.

[30:42]We have a very fun and very educational and familyfriendly program which

[30:47]is uh a trivia on the life of Imam Mahi.

[30:51]Over a hundred questions will be asked and we have teams and

[30:56]we have the buzzers and there's prizes and it's going to be

[30:59]very educational.

[31:00]Come to learn about Immi and come to participate and have a

[31:03]good time and there's going to be prizes and desserts and a

[31:06]lot of that.

[31:08]Inshallah tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

[31:09]there's the ice skating event on Michigan Avenue Arctic Edge.

[31:14]Uh and then Sunday there's uh one of the sisters in the

[31:18]community has authored a book Stars of Barzak and there's going to

[31:21]be a book launch and there's going to be over 10 vendors

[31:25]coming here from 3 to 6:00 p.m.

[31:26]So um we encourage everyone to come.

[31:29]And finally, inshallah as we begin the holy month of Ramadan, we

[31:35]are in need of sponsorship for the programs.

[31:38]So every night you could sponsor.

[31:40]You could take up one position or two or or as much

[31:42]as you like and inshallah on the nights of the program we

[31:47]will be announcing the fat for the souls of the of the

[31:49]sponsors.

[31:50]If anyone would like to sponsor and we encourage everyone to sponsor

[31:53]at least one night and you could see Hassan in the back

[31:59]and you could sponsor a program for the holy month of Ramadan

[32:02]inshallah.

[32:03]We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to bless you all.

[32:07]There are several sick people in the community that are in need

[32:11]of dua and in need of prayers and some of those who

[32:16]attend Friday prayer with us who are not here with us right

[32:18]now.

[32:19]One of them is Hajnadim who usually sits here.

[32:22]He is ill and he is in need of dua.

[32:24]And we have other people as well.

[32:27]So let us raise our hands in dua.

[32:32]Amen.

[32:36]Amen.

[33:04]Let us recite for all of those who are ill from this

[33:09]community.

[33:41]Allah.

[33:50]Muhammadu sai wasam.

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