Beyond Halal and Haraam: The Purpose of Religion

0 Views· 26/02/06

MECCA Media
Subscribers

In Lectures

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.

0 Comments

Up next

Beyond Halal and Haraam: The Purpose of Religion

Transcript

Up next

Explore more

Please note that if you are under 18, you won't be able to access this site.

Up next

Beyond Halal and Haraam: The Purpose of Religion

Transcript

Up next

Explore more

Choose a payment method

Language