06.05.08
ICNA lectures on Da’wah at IFS
Assalamu Alaikum,
Saturday, November 19th, 2007, IFS had ICNA come over and have a series of lectures on Da’wah. I took notes, along with Sarah and Zainab, and one speaker commented on how we were taking notes and no one else was. Haha. Anyway, the lectures were recorded, but I have no idea where the reocrdings are (can’t find them online). But anyway, here are my notes-not too organized, but they work:
Evolution (denying Darwinism):
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Fossil records: no different than current organisms
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Materialism: idea of eternity
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Richard Darkins: denies the existence of God
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Evolution idea started on three premises: racism, totalitarianism (Hitler), and communism
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No fossil proves Darwinism
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ICNA Haroon Yahya Museum-proves the idea of evolution wrong.
Prophet Muhammad saw was a messenger-making us responsible to do daw’ah
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“Proclaim what Allah has revealed to you” and “have I not conveyed the message?”
Prophet Muhammad (saw):
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Last Messenger
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proclaimed that Islam is a universal religion (to everyone) and not a *limited* religion
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He invited others to Islam
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There must be a designated group of people who do da’wah
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We are the messengers of the las messenger
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Follow Allah and you will be loved and forgiven
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Da’wah was critical to his life
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5 major descriptions of Da’wah: a witness bearer, caller, lamp giving light, giver of good news, and warner
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he holds the “true freedom is servitude” concept
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innate sense of holding the truth leads to spreading the truth
Da’wah comes in different forms:
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Everyone should contribute to it
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Convey Islam, even one ayah-that can change everything
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Believing in one God can be sufficient to go to Paradise
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Being a good example is a form of Da’wah, not only preaching
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There are three kinds of non Muslims: those who don’t know, those who have a distorted view, and those who consciously know and reject Islam (Kafirs). Read the rest of this entry »
05.22.08
Islam: Blind Belief or Rational Evidence-Shaykh Yusuf Estes at IFS
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Shaykh Yusuf Estes came to IFS and did a lecture called Islam: Blind Belief or Rational Evidence? I won’t lie it-when I heard the title, I had a bad feeling about the lecture because to cut Islam into black and white pieces is really dangerous. But the lecture was entertaining and a bit informative. It wasn’t very structured (that isn’t an insult; lectures aren’t meant to be perfectly structured, but his was harder to organize than other lectures I have attended before.) So forgive me if my notes seem rather spontaneous. (And I am a pretty bad note taker as I was doing salawat while taking notes. haha)
Islam: Blind Belief or Rational Evidence?
Quran is IN Arabic
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Translation of the Quran isn’t the REAL Quran; you need to learn Arabic to truly understand it. [So don't go running around thinking you understand God's message with a translation-that is why we seek knowledge constantly]
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Allah sent it down in Arabic for a reason… so learn it.
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Every scholar MUST learn Arabic (I mean really, how can you learn hadith, Quran and other sciences without Arabic?)
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In prayer, we must recite in ARABIC. [If you don't know Arabic, you say subhanallah, alhamdulillah until you do. We cannot read translation in salah]
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And translation of the Quran can’t just be word for word-it must be based on tafseer as well [because words can have many meanings and context must be taken into account]
Taqleed: To blindly follow——opposite of seeking rational evidence Read the rest of this entry »
05.02.08
Agenda to Change Our Condition, by Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir
Salaam! Sarah let me borrow a book she was reading, Agenda to Change Our Condition by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir. It was is an AMAZING BOOK. I recommend EVERY Muslim to read it. Even Super smart and holy people out there. Even if people do follow everything that is advised in the book (which, I do not,) it is still an imperative reminder for people out there. And the use of language is excellent-not many Islamic books use the English as well as it is used in Agenda to Change Our Condition. Anyway, I totally want this book, but it is Sarah’s so I am taking notes/copying some of the passages from the book. I hope you gain a lot out of it!
Ch. 1: Taqwa: Its Definition and Benefits
Taqwa: conscious awareness of Allah (and there are 4 pathways):
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Fulfilling obligations outwardly
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Fulfilling obligations inwardly
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avoiding prohibitions outwardly
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avoiding prohibitions inwardly
To achieve Taqwah, one must undergo a spiritual struggle (mujahadah)
“This is our purpose for being here [worship to realize Taqwah]. We must simply start–not tomorrow or the day after–but today, right now, at this moment. The heart must make a firm commitment and never turn back.”
Ch.2: The Heart and Its Treatment
There are two modes of action:
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Action of the limbs
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Actions of the heart
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—belief (Aaqidah)
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——Sound belief and removing all your doubts
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—Sincerity (Ikhlas)
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——sincerity of the heart comes through the sincerity of the limbs
Achieving sincerity:
Remove the four destructive forces of the tongue:
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Lying: it is only allowed as a means to rectify between people, an effective military tactic, and when an individual plays with young children (But these can only be practiced with HUGE discretion and as a last option)
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Backbiting: it is only allowed in 7 circumstances:
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“When appealing to an authority to remove an injustice.”
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“When seeking help from others to change a wrong or to stop an oppressor from his wrongs.”
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“When seeking a legal opinion.”
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“When warning others concerning commerce, marriage, neighbors, and companionship (for example, it is acceptable to mention the violent temperament of a man to his prospective wife).”
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“When one mentions a man by a nickname he is known by, such as, the “Lamented One” (however, if the nickname is used to belittle him, it is prohibited; if not, then using another name is preferable).”
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“When mentioning innovation in terms of religious practice (if someone is known for practicing such innovations, then it can be mentioned in relationship to him to warn others, unless there is a valid difference of opinion about that matter, in which case it is strictly prohibited!).”
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“When mentioning the wrongs of someone who openly commits those enormities (however, it is prohibited to mention wrongs that others do not know about).”
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Argumentation For Its Own Sake:like, trying to create bid’ah with Quranic verses as back up. Trying to present something false as true. Can’t explain this one very well.
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Mirthful Jesting on Serious Occasions: self explanatory and also butting into other people’s business. Read the rest of this entry »
