Is Streamer 'Chud the Builder' A Racist | Islam and Free Speech

[00:00:00]People on racist principles deserve to go to prison for it.

[00:00:04]>> Look at this chimping out. You following me to my truck now?

[00:00:07]>> Social media influencer known as Chud the Builder.

[00:00:10]>> I think this is a FBI psychop.

[00:00:12]>> I've heard growing up, you know, they put crack in the crack and cocaine in the neighborhoods. Come to find out, the CIA, >> chapter 49, do not insult each other.

[00:00:19]It's done.

[00:00:20]>> Period. It is only going to be used as fire to burn our communities down. That means a Muslim is not allowed to insult a non-Muslim. Allah has honored every single child of Adam, black or white.

[00:00:31]>> Concept of the dangers of the tongue.

[00:00:33]>> So if speech is silver, then silence is worth gold. Why?

[00:00:37]>> And that goes back into the matters of the heart. This racism now is a he's is he from what you're seeing >> is just the beginning. But the true intention is fullout conflict.

[00:00:47]>> Thank you, Musty.

[00:00:51]>> The initial part says, I will defend my life with lethal force. Do not approach me with intent to threaten bodily harm.

[00:00:58]>> I think it's reasonable.

[00:00:59]>> That's the Eliar Lang who's been going to different masids.

[00:01:03]>> I felt very comfortable. I was welcomed with warm hearts.

[00:01:07]>> Talked about how this is actually doing a lot of harm now.

[00:01:09]>> Yes.

[00:01:09]>> To the da. And then this code of conduct has us acting a certain way. We have limits.

[00:01:25]This is the alhamdulillah. Assalamu alaykum. Welcome to the Dean Show. It's good to have you guys with us. We got an exciting episode. Before I bring out my next guest, let's get into this video. It's going to kind of break down what we're going to be talking about. You've heard about this uh for those that haven't, the Chud the Builder. Let's go ahead and look at this video and I'll bring out my next guest. We'll break it down and look at true freedom of speech versus or freedom of speech versus hate speech, what Islam has to say about all this.

[00:02:02]We'll be right back.

[00:02:03]>> I think that people who shoot other people on racist principles deserve to go to prison for it.

[00:02:10]>> Look at this chimping out. You following me to my truck now? We got 18 rounds for you. We ain't got nothing else. The social media influencer known as Chud the Builder is now facing an attempted murder charge after a shooting today outside the Montgomery County courthouse.

[00:02:23]>> I support freedom of speech. I believe he acted in self-defense.

[00:02:26]>> That's what happened. Chud was assaulted. He defended himself.

[00:02:29]>> Not acting in self-defense.

[00:02:30]>> I've watched the videos.

[00:02:31]>> Why you acting like a right now?

[00:02:33]>> Acting like a what?

[00:02:34]>> You heard me. Sit down. Keep coming up.

[00:02:36]>> I'mma mace your ass real quick.

[00:02:37]>> I don't want to get pepper sprayed. I really don't. Go pick up my hat and you heard me.

[00:02:43]I've seen the posts.

[00:02:46]>> Look how he's chipping out.

[00:02:47]>> I think he was very very clear about what he intended to do.

[00:02:52]>> Blew his brains out that night. I almost feel like it's going to happen.

[00:02:54]>> And I believe he should be held accountable.

[00:02:56]>> How's it going? This is channel 5 with Andrew Callahan. Andrew is in Iran right now, so he can't make it. But we are at Montgomery County Courthouse where Jake Lang advertised a free Chud the Builder rally. For those of you that don't know, Chub the Builder is an online agitator who came to prominence a few weeks ago brandishing weapons at people while calling them the Nword.

[00:03:15]>> I think this is a FBI psychops.

[00:03:17]>> And earlier this week, he shot somebody, which was the obvious outcome. There's not really anybody here, but we do see some people right here. I see somebody.

[00:03:25]>> How's it going? We had heard that there was a free Chud the Builder rally.

[00:03:28]>> That's exactly why I'm here.

[00:03:30]>> That's why you're here.

[00:03:30]>> Yeah, I was calling it Cap because I didn't think he was actually going to come. I drove around a little bit ago and didn't see anyone. So, >> is the political climate of this town kind of favoring Chud the Builder or >> No, no. It it would absolutely be the minority. It's funny actually because me and some of my friends had reached out to the mayor like 6 months ago when this first started happening, saying that this exact thing was going to happen.

[00:03:49]So, a little disappointed, but at least no one died, I guess.

[00:03:52]>> Dr. Hassan, >> good to have you back. How you been?

[00:03:56]>> Alhamdulillah. It's so good to be back.

[00:03:57]I've been good.

[00:03:59]>> So, uh what' you think? Have you ever heard of this uh Chud the Builder? M you know fortunately I've never heard of him before. Uh he hasn't even popped up. But you know what? Alhamdulillah I guess the algorithms are doing well. When you watch certain content you get certain feed. So I I'm only uh bombarded with in alhamdulillah reminders and things that are beneficial.

[00:04:21]>> Do you use X Elon Musk X?

[00:04:23]>> No. No I don't. I don't.

[00:04:24]>> This is where you can see a lot of it.

[00:04:26]>> Oh >> on the X.

[00:04:27]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:04:28]>> Okay.

[00:04:28]>> So what do you think so far? you. This is pretty much a guy who's going out under the pretext of freedom of speech.

[00:04:36]So, he'll approach >> certain um he'll go to certain black communities and he say, "Hey, do you believe in freedom of speech?" And he'll say they'll say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." And then he'll utter the n-word >> and then he'll provoke people.

[00:04:48]>> He'll have a big mace can that you can use on bears, it looks like. And he'll have a pistol, a gun.

[00:04:53]>> He'll he'll be armed. And what happened here? I guess he was in front of a courthouse and he did the same thing and erupted and he almost killed the guy.

[00:05:01]>> Now he's in jail. $1 million bond.

[00:05:03]>> So we want to find out freedom of speech, >> Islam between freedom of speech, hate speech, >> and how Islam looks at >> these topic.

[00:05:16]>> Yeah, this is a very important topic actually. Um and just my initial response to seeing you know his provocations is that um he got exactly what he was seeking. He was seeking attention. He was seeking to provoke the people and he was actually seeking violence not freed speech because you know freed speech um has many facets to it and there are those who will engage in hate speech and call it free speech but it's not free speech. What we mean by hate speech is speech that can provoke someone else and speech that will inevitably result in um uh confrontation uh physical confrontation, armed confrontation.

[00:06:04]Uh I'm happy to know from uh the quick search that I did prior to, you know, jumping on uh this podcast is that um he ended up shooting a guy, but he ended up shooting himself, too. So, he's he's a fool. uh you know he's carrying these weapons he doesn't even know how to use them properly but the point was to insult people to the point where they would attack him and then he can get you know this race war that I find a lot of angry young uh white males in this country are um starting to ascribe to that you know they're so desperate for a change because of the economy because what's happening in the world today that they believe that their situation will get better if there is a race war, a race riot, you know, they can regain control and, you know, regain uh years that were um in their point of view better. So, you know, he's definitely using um speech, you know, as his ship uh to sail forward, but um it's not going to get anywhere because, you know, people of all faiths can see through this. But those who already have hatred in their hearts, uh you know, they're going to support their guy. They're going to, you know, say that he's just defending himself as they did in those clips.

[00:07:16]Definitely his intention was to provoke people. You know >> that uh individual Omar Johnson, you've heard of him?

[00:07:24]>> Uh no, I have not.

[00:07:25]>> In that in that clip, he mentioned that he thinks this is a an op.

[00:07:30]>> I think this is a FBI psychop.

[00:07:32]>> Oh, Dr. Omar. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've heard of him. I' I've heard of him.

[00:07:36]I have some thoughts about him as well.

[00:07:39]Uh but, you know, it would it really wouldn't be too far. Sometimes when we say these things that these are, you know, um um you know, funded by the government perhaps, you know, um it 20 30 years later, we find out that yeah, there was a budget for that.

[00:07:54]>> You know, you find in the black community, they'll say, you know, I've heard growing up, you know, they put crack in the crack and cocaine in the neighborhoods. Come to find out, the CIA did allow crack and cocaine to be prevalent in African-American communities. This is proven. This is you can just Google search this, you know.

[00:08:11]Um, you'll find when I was growing up, I heard that, you know, they flooded the streets with guns. Where do we get the guns from? We don't manufacture guns.

[00:08:19]And then years later, we'll find out that yes, you know, there was CIA operations to allow guns to be, you know, distributed through the community.

[00:08:28]So you know I it wouldn't be too farfetch of a thought uh that you know there are lone wolves that are working um maybe not directly through the government unfortunately but through those who are associated with the government with the goal of you know starting race wars and starting high level provocation so that you know um what you know our government perhaps desires to really put the society under some sort of martial law to just gain more control over the people unfortunately >> and they using it through these type of provocations, but then it leads to another conversation. You have a lot of young black males who say, "Well, there's nothing wrong with the n-word."

[00:09:05]Like, I can say the nword. What's wrong with it? And other people should be free to say this word. And I found a lot of discussion online where people are, you know, giving their take on this issue.

[00:09:15]But I think we should just turn to the book of Allah uh where Allah subhana wa ta tells us in this is the 49th chapter of the Quran.

[00:09:25]He says, All you who believe, do not insult one another. Do not allow men to insult one another.

[00:09:39]Perhaps the person they're insulting is better than them. So, as a rule of thumb, if Allah has commanded us as Muslims, I'm talking to Muslims right now, men and women, Allah has forbade us from insulting one another or using terms that are offensive to one another.

[00:09:54]And as Muslims, we should just avoid these terms altogether and not get into the semantics of where these words originated from, who has the, you know, strength to use them, who shouldn't use them. No, Allah says that we shouldn't use terms that are offensive towards one another and we should just obey and just leave these actions because as we see from this chud guy, it is only going to be used as fire to burn our communities down.

[00:10:17]>> Wow. This is uh this ends the debate. If you're Muslim, uh, at the end of the day, this is our this is our instruction manual, the Quran from the creator of the heavens and earth. You quoted surah surah, uh, hujat chapter 49. Do not insult each other. It's done.

[00:10:33]>> Period. Do not insult each other. And subhan Allah, the caveat behind it is perhaps the one you're assaulting is better than you.

[00:10:39]>> And this is for everybody. Actually, the Quran is a mercy for all of mankind. And this is a guidance for all of mankind.

[00:10:45]And now Chud the Builder I mean he could have saved himself from you know going in circles and trying to promote uh under the pretext of freedom of speech what comes out to actually hate speech or comes out racism. Yes.

[00:10:57]>> Offending a whole um uh group of people and here with Islam it's very straightforward.

[00:11:04]>> Yeah. You know, another point that can be made off of this is that often times when you read perhaps Judeo-Christian texts, you will find a lot of, you know, the old law or, you know, what the community, you know, calls, you know, um, the Torah, you know, the first five books >> as well as their other books, the Tanakh and other Talmudic scripture. You find that when commands come down, they come down for their particular community. So, you know, they're not allowed to charge each other interests, but they could charge communities outside interests.

[00:11:34]You know, they're not allowed to, you know, um engage in certain actions amongst themselves, but they're allowed to take advantage of other communities.

[00:11:42]However, you know, I said it and I'm very glad that you said it behind me.

[00:11:46]When it comes to the Quran, Allah is not telling the Muslim community, do not call each other names, but you can call other people names. No, this is a general command as to how human beings should be interacting with one another.

[00:11:59]However, Allah addresses the believers in this verse because Allah knows that they are the ones that are going to enact these commands and put the will of Allah God over their own wills. So yes, Allah tells us in this verse not to insult one another. That means a Muslim is not allowed to insult a non-Muslim and a non-Muslim shouldn't insult a Muslim as well. And perhaps the one you are insulting may have a particular virtue. You may think, well, I'm Muslim, they're not Muslim. How could they be better than me? Why wouldn't I be able to insult them? You don't know what the end of their life may be. You don't know if they may become Muslim and they may do amazing things for this religion and become better than you and more knowledgeable than you. This is why as Allah subhana wa ta'ala says in the Quran, "And indeed, we have honored the children of Adam." Allah didn't say, "We've honored the Muslim community."

[00:12:47]No. Allah has honored every single child of Adam. Black or white, believer or non-believer, everyone has this innate value and honor. Why? Because of their potential, their potential to turn back to the creator, to put the creator's will above their own and to submit and to worship the one true God. So yes, we're not allowed to insult anyone, Muslim, non-Muslim, even an enemy. We're supposed to speak with each other in terms of honor and endearment.

[00:13:15]>> So is this how Islam regulates our speech? So yes, I mean this is just one facet of how Islam regulates the speech of human beings in general. However, we have many a hadith and many other verses with that comes with different rulings.

[00:13:27]For example, we have a hadith that is very popular in the Muslim community in which the prophet Muhammad may peace and blessings be upon him said, "Whosoever believes in God in the last day," right? Who is Allah addressing here? Who was the prophet addressing? He should be addressing the community as well. They believe in God in the last day. Addressing Christians as well, they believe in God in the last day. And many other religions believe in a deity, the supreme being, and the last day, a day of judgment. The prophet, he said, "Whosoever believes in God and the last day, then let them say a word that is good or remain silent." So again we see how the prophet is not only addressing his community but he's talking to people of all faiths. Those who recognize that there is one lord and that that they will be called to account. The best way or from among the ways in which we safeguard ourselves is to make sure that we say a word that is true and good or simply remain silent. No one is forced to speak. And so Islam seeks to restrain our tongue not only from insulting one another but encouraging and promoting the speaking of good and remaining silent when we feel otherwise.

[00:14:39]>> I don't think you can find this concept this concept of the dangers of the tongue >> in many different religions. I mean they might touch upon it but the in-depthness that you have the details and what happens. It reminds me of one statement from the last and final messenger saying that paraphrasing of a person will not think of some of the words they're saying. They can say one word and because of that one word they could be dropped to the depths of the hellfire so deep but they can say a good word. Yes.

[00:15:05]>> And they can be raised up to the ranks of Jenna.

[00:15:07]>> Yes. Yes. This is again another beautiful hadith statement from the messenger of Allah where he said exactly as you said that a person may say a word or may throw a word giving no thought to it. just throw it out of their mouths.

[00:15:21]But because of it, the punishment and the anger of Allah comes down upon them and it will cause them to fall into the depths of hell. And so the Muslim, he safeguard his tongue. This is why our scholars, they say that the human being, their tongue is a very dangerous weapon.

[00:15:38]It is a very dangerous thing. And because of its danger, Allah God, he has locked and sealed the tongue behind two sets of teeth and behind two sets of lips. Right? All of our other senses are outside. Our sense of smell, our sense of touch, our sight, our hearing, but our sense of speech, our sense of taste, what we consume, Allah has put that behind teeth and behind lips. Why? To keep it concealed. The worst vessel that the human being can fill as the prophet he mentioned is his stomach. So the mouth is closed. It shouldn't just take everything in. And the worst speech that a person can do is to tell a lie against Allah. This is the worst of the worst to lie against the creator of the heavens and the earth. But there are also other speech that are not becoming of a believer. Thus Allah seals our mouths.

[00:16:26]And it takes great effort to move these lips to open these teeth to say something. So we should be very mindful that we should be speaking less in general and listening more. To piggyback off of that as well, we find that one of the wives of the messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him, our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, she said that the messenger of Allah was an individual whom you can count the words that left his mouth on your hands. Meaning many times you find people are very long-winded. There are many people who call us, we love them, when we see their phone call, we go, "Oh man, this is at least half an hour. I don't know what they're calling for, but we know it's going to be half an hour."

[00:17:05]because that's what it takes them just to warm up. But the messenger of Allah, he chose his words and he was very specific and he was short- winded. And so if he spoke with you, you can count the amount of words that left his mouth when he spoke. And this means that the Muslim should be mindful of his speech.

[00:17:22]We should think before we speak. Least it gets us in trouble.

[00:17:26]>> So there's also the concept now of virtues of being silent.

[00:17:29]>> Yes.

[00:17:30]>> That's another whole thing in Islam.

[00:17:31]>> Yes. Yes. Subhan Allah. Yeah. We can definitely do a whole lecture, an hour and a half easily on speech and silence.

[00:17:37]You find as well this beautiful statement from our scholars. They say that if speech were to be given a value, speech would be silver. If we were to give it a value, what is it worth? It's silver. And that silence would be golden. So if speech is silver, then silence is worth gold. Why? Many reasons. From among them, the person who's silent, he does not get himself in trouble. You find from among the statements of the people of the book, the Jews and Christians, they say, "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life.

[00:18:08]Whoever keeps their mouth closed, they preserve their life. They won't get in trouble." And the prophet, he said to us, you can relate from the stories of the Christians, no harm in it as long as what you are relating is in harmony with Islamic teachings. So yes, the statement of preserving one's tongue is still fine in the scripture of today. And Islam continues to uphold this type of action and character that we should be modest in our speech. But silence as well also hides one's ignorance. Our scholars they say that when students are in front of them, the teacher doesn't know who is a fool and who is genius until he opens his mouth. So when you are in an interview or when you are meeting maybe in-laws for the first time or meeting neighbors for the first time, you should always be reserved in your speech because until you open your mouth, do you reveal who you are and until the ideas of who you are become manifested and this is why speech is a covering and it's a shield. No one knows whether you're the most ignorant person on the world until you open your mouth and no one knows if you're the most virtuous as well. Likewise, you find that in Islam, we are taught that there is a day of judgment. And when you were to ask a Muslim or even a Jew or a Christian, they would tell you, "Yes, our deeds will be weighed on the day of judgment."

[00:19:23]We believe this. But Islam goes further.

[00:19:25]Islam tells us that it's not only our deeds that will be weighed. There are narrations that come in that say that our speech will be weighed as well. So our speech will be weighed, our deeds will be weighed and even our very own selves will be placed upon the scales to show you that every facet of our life whom we are our being will be weighed on that day and will be judged and definitely our speech will be one among from among the greatest factors as to whether we will be among those who are happy and enter paradise. We ask Allah to make us from among the people of paradise. A mean or whether we will be from among the losers because of what our tongues have earned us and cause us to go into the depths of the fire.

[00:20:06]Silence is a shield. What do you think when you see when you look into this uh Chud the Builder and he's a Christian.

[00:20:15]He's somebody who quote the Bible and when you when you when you um watch some of the videos some people say, "Oh, he's actually a nice guy." when you engage with him nicely, he's just he's trying to do something noble. He's trying to free us from potential tyranny where now they're trying to restrict certain speech. So, he's pushing the limits now to make sure that that doesn't happen.

[00:20:39]And some people actually raise him up as a tomorrow martyr.

[00:20:43]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you know, unfortunately, even though they set the bail at a million dollars or the bond, you know, in the country that we live in, in the environment that we live in, he I'm sure he's able to raise that money in an hour, you know, there because there's just so many people who believe what he believe and who feels what he feels. So, that million-dollar bond is definitely going to get covered and he's going to be released before we know it. However, there are individuals who feel that he's trying to do a good thing. I feel that those people, they're either one ignorant of the reality of it and naive and naivity is a real thing.

[00:21:16]You know, um there are people who believe that we are post racism just because we've had a black president, Barack Obama, and they believe we're past racism. You elected an African-American to be the president, but we're not past racism. We can see what's happening. People are being killed by the police. People are being uh persecuted. And even our government has been purged of many uh uh minorities and women um as soon as you know um our president took office. He purged many of the much of the military of you know black and Hispanic leadership and female leadership. So there is an agenda going on. There is a plan going on in the background. And if we're sitting here still fighting with one another and still denying it, then they're going to be setting the stage for how our children grow and the environment that our children grow up in in the next 30 years. I'm sure there are people who believe that this ch the builder is an innocent guy, but he isn't because no one goes out with a innocent mind and heart and intention and they need bear repellent and a gun. I mean, none of us are walking around, you know, armed. the majority of us, yes, it is our right in this country. We have the right to bear arms. But if we're going out seeking a conversation, wouldn't he do better with a microphone and a and a table, you know, head headphones of what we're sitting here? You know, I I don't see any beer repellent on on you on your persons, right? You're telling me what you're in for, right? You're telling me that perhaps, you know, what you're going to say is going to create a response where you will need those arms.

[00:22:51]But if you truly came out living the gospel as you consider yourself a Christian, then you would know that Jesus Christ, he didn't have any arms on him when he was interacting with the people. And even though Isaiam made statements within the context and the confinement of the scripture, the Bible of today, when he, as it is alleged, went into the temple and turned over the tables in which they were exchanging money inside of the house of the Lord, he didn't need any arms or any army with him or any weapons with him. He knew that the truth of his speech would shine through. And so this person as many of us we need to go back to our scriptures and truly be sincere and stop trying to do things that is only intended to get likes and a huge following.

[00:23:37]>> What about the uh verse from the Quran where God almighty Allah is even commanding the Muslims not to insult their gods.

[00:23:45]>> Correct. Subhan Allah. This is a very beautiful point in I believe this is the sixth chapter of the Quran. Allah subhana wa ta'ala tells us and do not curse what they call on besides Allah. So Allah is telling us throughout the Quran that there is only one God, one creator in reality and everything else that is worshiped besides God Almighty doesn't even exist.

[00:24:11]But yet and still Allah is sensitive to the sensitivities of creation and commands us do not curse whomever they call upon. do not curse what they call upon. Even though what they call upon doesn't exist at all, but don't curse it. Why?

[00:24:31]Before they curse Allah without knowledge, just seeking to be vengeful.

[00:24:36]This ayah shows us human nature that if I say something about your mother, you're going to respond by saying something about my mother. And so to protect my mother's honor, I should not try to insult your mother so that you don't say words that will be offensive to me or that will dishonor her.

[00:24:52]Likewise, Allah is commanding us in the Quran that even though we do not believe in all of these false deities and idols, that we should be respectful. Why?

[00:25:00]Because if we attack them in their persons, in their religious beliefs, their rituals, then they may curse Islam and they may curse Allah out of ignorance and out of enmity. So again, we see the rules of engagement. Allah commands us to only speak well with one another. Allah commands us not to insult one another and Allah commands us not to insult the insult the religion of others. Compare that to what we have here in this country and around the world and in Europe. Every year we go through the same thing where that whether it is draw Muhammad day or burn the Quran, right? Their religion is not putting forward any safeguards, any rails to respect others. But we find that Islam is such a respectful religion that we are prohibited from even insulting deities that we do not believe exists. So yes, the other communities they will attack us. They will draw our prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in very compromising ways. They will even take our scripture and they will burn it. But I hope and I pray that the Muslim communities does not go low when they go low. That we stay high and we lead through character and example. If they burn our books, we continue to reason with them in their emotions and in their character and in their higher behaviors because definitely you get more with honey than you get with salt.

[00:26:18]So we must take the high road and we must be patient so as not to fall through the cracks and to play their games.

[00:26:24]>> I think this is just a front. I think this is um a cover for what's really deeper. I mean, we don't know what's actually in the heart and only God Almighty, Allah knows, but from what's apparent from from what what you see. I think this is something that because like I said, there's some videos where he's just like he's talking to to black people there and they're cool. They're, you know, >> and then the other he's just he's he's just really just it's like he can't wait to go off the edge, you know, to really and and that goes back into the matters of the heart. racism now as a top he's is is he from what you're seeing what I've seen I I believe he's racist. He's just he's really you know this is and the >> the excuse is hiding behind >> freedom of speech because now he's put on the whole >> uh suit with you know the whole outfit with it. He's got the mustache. Correct.

[00:27:14]He's got what are those called? The um >> the um the the trousers trousers back in, you know, >> and the cowboy hat.

[00:27:20]>> Cowboy hat. And he wants to like you know Yeah. when there was slavery and he wants to >> so um that's what but so that goes back deeper to the original sin I want to I want to cover >> what was the original sin >> was it not racism I'm better than you >> in essence right so you know the Islamic narrative of you know the original sin or the first sin is actually not connected to Adam right the father of human beings because we say that Adam sinned or he committed sin or we are born in sin this is a Christian concept but we find that the Islamic narative tells us that the first sin to be committed was by Satan whom we call El and that Satan he saw our father Adam before Allah the creator put a soul into Adam. As you know we are from the dust and when we die our bones they come back to being dust because this is what Allah created us from from water and from earth. And so our traditions tell us that after Allah molded the human being, molded Adam and before he blew a soul into Adam, that el Satan saw him and hated him from the beginning without knowing anything about him without even interacting with him. He saw him and he hated him and he said to himself, "If I were given authority over you, I would mislead you." Of course, the story continues that now Allah has given life to Adam, may peace be upon him, and orders the creation to prostrate to Adam, not out of worship. We should get this straight that there were two types of prostration during the time of the prophet and before the time of the prophet. The first of them being the prostration of respect, sujud, prostration for respecting someone. You find parts of this still exists in cultures today. In the Japanese culture, they bow towards one another. And in the Eastern Or Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they get on one's knees and they touch the toes of their elders out of respect.

[00:29:16]And in Korean culture as well. So this bowing out of respect was always present. However, when the prophet he came, he said, "Now I have prohibited bowing to one another. There is only one prostration that should be done, and that is to prostrate to the creator of the heavens and the earth." So we should only be bowing and showing this great level of reverence to the one who created us. However, at that time Allah permitted the bowing of each other out of respect. So he ordered his angels and he ordered Satan bow to Adam out of respect and reverence to him. And what did El say? What did Satan say? He said, as you mentioned, I'm better than him.

[00:29:56]I'm created from fire and he's created from earth. And indeed fire is mighty and powerful of a substance. Why would you order me to bow to him when he's created from a lesser substance? But this shows you the hatred and I wouldn't call it racism at that time because is a different creation altogether. But the level of hatred blinds the mind because if we truly examine the power of fire and earth as Satan tried to make this example, we know that if a person is camping and they have a fire, what are some of the ways in which you can put that fire out if you don't have water?

[00:30:33]You put dirt on it. So what is truly more powerful? It's earth that is more powerful than fire because dirt is used to put out fire. Fire cannot put out dirt. But it shows the level of ignorance that when the heart is blinded by anger, statements of ignorance will leave the throat.

[00:30:51]>> And so yes, this was the first sin that he made. He made he had arrogance. He thought himself to be better. And as such human beings, we fall into this era as well. this person. I say that from the outset I would say that of course he's a racist. That's easy to say without meeting him because of some of the ways in which he's being provocative. But there are other clips that I've quickly seen where he said, "I have black friends." But there are many racists as well who have black friends.

[00:31:20]That doesn't mean anything. Having a black friend means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But what truly matters is not about him being racist or not being racist, but is about the danger of what he is engaged in and the amount of youth that he could inspire to do copycat type of tactics and to truly harm others. Whether he likes me or not, I could care less. Right? But what I don't want is the further corruption of our youth who are young and who are looking for mentors and looking for leadership. And as you mentioned, he's a very masculine individual. He's showing, you know, his body type and structure.

[00:32:00]You know, he's clean shaven. You know, looks like, you know, the average, you know, American, which is something that, you know, uh, people are trying to uphold and to revive again. Although what is an American? The natives were the first Americans and a Native American is never the standard of what an American really is. So we know that this nation is built up upon many people. But as you mentioned, yes, racism is the origin of this and it will continue to be with us. As the messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him said that there are four things that will remain with this nation and with all of you until the day of judgment. He said, one of them is belittling others because of where they come from. It is being racist towards one another. It is insulting one another because of their lineage. The prophet, he mentioned that this nation, humanity will never be able to get rid of this.

[00:32:53]So when I find young people striving to we need to change this. We need to change racism and rid it from the earth.

[00:33:00]I say to them, don't put too much energy trying to change what the prophet said will remain with us. But make sure that you change it within your heart. That is where the start is. You'll never be able to remove it from others. You don't know their childhood. You don't know what they experienced. You don't know what they were taught. But when you know better, the question is, have you purged it from your own heart? Because as Allah subhana wa ta tells us in the Quran that those who will come to the Lord on the day of judgment are those who come to him with a heart that is pure. So we're placed on this earth. Allah gives us a pure heart when we are born. Every single child, every infant is innocent and they are taught hate. And the goal is to go back to Allah with the heart that he gave us.

[00:33:42]He gave us a pure heart at birth. Now we become filthy with dealing with the people in life and circumstance. But through the guidance of Allah, we can purify our hearts and meet him again with a heart that is pure.

[00:33:54]>> Because uh insults, that's the stage one.

[00:33:58]>> Stage one.

[00:33:59]>> And then after that, what comes next?

[00:34:01]It's just like the parable or the example of a go of a of a dog. A dog will first bark at you and bark and it will get more intense in its barking become more ferocious. But if you continue to close the gap between you and that dog eventually what the dog will attack. We all understand this right? Everyone understands that there is a fight orflight response that if you don't give people an out if you don't leave them alone and you corner corner them as Chud is doing. He's cornering them. He's calling them, "Oh, look.

[00:34:32]They're chimping out. Oh, look. Look at these n-word people. Come and say it in my face." He's trying to be overly masculine towards them. Hiding behind the facade of the camera. Hiding behind the mantra of I have black friends. Then he knows that if you continue to insult, it's going to lead to provocation, which will lead to altercation. So yes, hate speech is just the beginning, but the true intention is fullout conflict. and he in his appearance and the way in which he carried himself was prepared for that for conflict having his camera on him being armed and having bear spray. Let's look at this clip real quick. This is from the bond hearing.

[00:35:12]>> All right, for the record, Mr. Eley is now in the courtroom with your justice.

[00:35:16]>> All right, take him into custody.

[00:35:19]>> You recognize?

[00:35:21]>> Yeah, I know him. I've seen him. I >> told you, sir, you did not have a speaking role today. You decided that you wanted one for whatever reason. I don't know why, but thank you.

[00:35:38]>> However, anybody on that side of the bar does not have a speaking role in any of these proceedings today. There's not going to be any hoopla shenanigans from the from the gallery. You're going to be removed and I'll talk about that in a second.

[00:35:50]>> Can you read what uh these posts say?

[00:35:55]Uh the initial part says, "I will defend my life with lethal force. Do not approach me with intent to threaten bodily harm." I think it's reasonable to have a a gag order on the defendant should he make and I guess even while he's in the jail and has his I don't know iPad or whatever but he cannot live stream post or anything that uh indirectly or directly encompasses these offenses.

[00:36:28]But the first amendment is very important to a free country. Um, without us being able to talk about ideas freely, we can't really be a free society. Now, I mean, repugnant ideas are still protected under the under rights of free speech.

[00:36:47]So, people are free to go say whatever offensive things they want to say as long as it's not calling for someone to hurt somebody else.

[00:36:57]That's a $1 million bond with the following conditions. No weapons.

[00:37:03]GPS monitor.

[00:37:06]There will be a gag order for Mr. Etherly regarding social media live streaming about the facts or the parties involved in this case. That's only that's going to help him as much as anything.

[00:37:20]>> What are your thoughts? Uh the first thing that I thought was interesting is that the the person that's the Eliar Lang who's been going to different masids around America.

[00:37:31]>> Didn't he come here?

[00:37:32]>> And he came here also. He uh was wearing a topi >> and kami a kamse >> and he faked like he was Muslim came in and then said, "Oh, they threw me out."

[00:37:43]Then after we didn't throw him out, well, he started to make a scene after someone called him out because why you dress faking like you're, you know, a Muslim, >> they recognize him from Detroit.

[00:37:55]>> And then he did his whole show came on.

[00:37:57]Provocator.

[00:37:58]>> Yeah. Started provoking provocator >> and then asking people for money to send the money, >> right? Wow.

[00:38:04]>> And he lied. He said, you know, the whole event was live stream, but to the people who obviously didn't know what's going on, >> which we had a Jewish man here. We had a also a Christian lady. They had a great time.

[00:38:16]>> Hi, this is Lynn. She's uh a Christian, non-Muslim. And you were here at the conference. How did you feel?

[00:38:23]>> I felt very comfortable. I was welcomed with warm hearts. No problems. In fact, in the other masjid that I go pick my grandson up, I have gone in many times.

[00:38:34]They've invited me in many times. I have gone in.

[00:38:38]>> They said they were treated with respect and love. We actually had their testimony, >> but he was like they were recruiting, you know, military age style men.

[00:38:45]>> Wow.

[00:38:46]>> Uh they were trying to basically come together to make a plan to overthrow.

[00:38:51]Anyway, so somebody hears it's interesting that he's the one who's showing up to his right >> to his uh court hearing.

[00:38:59]>> Birds of a feather flock together. I mean, listen, we should always give credit where credit is due. And even though I believe this took place in Tennessee and um you know uh there are a lot of people who feel like every American feels that way, like all whites are racist, we should never group people into one bunch. Just like someone who commits an act of terror regardless of their religion, we shouldn't condemn the whole religion, but we should condemn the individual.

[00:39:24]>> And I actually appreciated the clip that you just showed me because it showed that there is a level of justice that still exists within this country. This country is good and we should be praying for the success of America. Praying for it to be preserved and for it to be continue in his position of leadership and standing up for the rights of others and the oppressed. So we as Muslims should pray for this country and what I saw in that clip, I'm very amazed with it. I mean the judge was white, the prosecutor was white, you know, everyone was white. I mean, there were a few officers that were black and yet and still they came to a conclusion that the average person would feel is just >> by putting a bond on him, by putting the gag order on him, by not taking the bait of, well, he should be able to say whatever he wants because it's a free country, they know better. And the judge, credit where credit is due, he still put the gag order on him to prevent him from saying things because he knows that if he is allowed to continue to make such statements that it will only lead to further provocations and further problems within that state and perhaps across the country. So, I'm very um um happy to see that, you know, um we live in a country where justice, you know, can be done, but this is only the beginning. You know, he's going to definitely fight this through and through and through. And if he loses, he will become a martyr for their cause.

[00:40:47]And if he wins, he will only embolden more people to follow this behavior. So as I say, people of faith, we cannot keep our faith within the precincts of our houses of worship. We have to do what you know this center is doing.

[00:41:02]Giving da to the people, reaching the people, talking to the people directly, engaging others. If we continue to stay silent, we're going to allow people to formulate ideas about us that are incorrect. But just as he is taking to the street preaching hate, well then the only responses for us to take to the street preaching love and preaching guidance and preaching sincerity and honor for each other. If we do so, Allah will make us successful and we will win in the end. As we believe as Allah subhana wa ta'ala says in the Quran, I have already decreed victory for myself and my messenger. So as Muslims, we never allow ourselves to get worked up too much. Why? Because Allah has already decreed that this religion will be successful, that the words of Allah will remain and that the message of Islam will enter into every single home and will spread across the world. So let us do our part before Allah replaces us with others who are more sincere and who will go out and do the work that's needed.

[00:42:03]>> Let me ask you this as we conclude. Have you seen and alhamdulillah you have a lot of the the younger um dwat young brothers who are coming up and and are delivering the message and a lot of debates going on. M >> but there seems to be a um what some would consider more of a aggressive da a lot of this insulting back and forth unfortunately.

[00:42:29]>> Unfortunately. Have you seen this?

[00:42:30]>> Yes. So you know like anything else there's always going to be a level of infighting and it's not because the message is confusing but it is because uh the messengers right have their own egos their own demons you know their own likes and their own prejudices. Just because you see a Muslim doesn't mean that he's dealt with his own demons and has dealt with his own prejudice and has sat and pondered upon the condition of his own heart. So yes, unfortunately although we have a lot of young people in this space, a lot of people who are studying, a lot of venues where we can study and gain knowledge, I do find that there's still a lot of infighting amongst us, a lot of insulting, a lot of throwing people outside of the fold of Islam and believing that their way and their understanding is the only way.

[00:43:16]Unfortunately, you find that this is the truth. However, it only shows and highlights their level of ignorance. You never find the serious people of knowledge getting into these debates. I always find it curious that the students, the alleged students of these uh amazing scholars are fighting with one another yet the scholars themselves are not fighting with one another. It asks the it begs the question, are you even really students or are you just attributing yourself to these scholars?

[00:43:46]Right? And so again, you know, we must not waste any time in going back and forth. We must spend time as the prophet, he did in his 13 years in Mecca, going doortodoor, inviting one's neighbor and trying to raise Islam and give the da'wah and call the people to Islam. sitting and fighting with one another when perhaps our parents need guidance or our siblings need guidance or a neighbor could be benefited from what you know is a shame on you that you rather spend that time and energy cursing and yelling and getting worked up than spending that time and energy to care for one another. Because as the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said that none of you will truly believe until you love one another and none of you will love one another until you give gifts to one another. In another hadith he says or you spread the salam to one another the greeting to one another. So if we truly want to see where we are going to land in the hereafter, we must understand that for us to be considered believers as Muslims, we must have genuine love for one another and not hatred for one another. But again, that is a process and that takes time and that takes knowledge and that takes effort and it takes being real with oneself.

[00:45:11]>> Yes. What about towards non-Muslims? Not yet Muslims, non-Muslims specifically >> when it comes to the Muslim community and giving the da you find.

[00:45:22]>> Have you se have you seen this? Yes.

[00:45:24]>> Now you've seen some dua some Muslims there doing great job but sometimes you know it's it's centered around uh you know I've smashed this guy.

[00:45:34]>> Correct. Yes. I know you see it right.

[00:45:35]It's it's I see it as well. You know I see that you know what I'm talking about.

[00:45:38]>> Yeah. I know what you're talking about when they're getting into these debates.

[00:45:40]I didn't see much of this when I was coming up.

[00:45:43]>> Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:45:44]>> It seems like a trend now.

[00:45:46]>> It is a trend, you know.

[00:45:47]>> It's more about like humiliating the person even though a lot a lot of these guys are attacking Islam.

[00:45:51]>> Yes.

[00:45:52]>> So, what's the balance? How do you balance that?

[00:45:54]>> Again, exactly what we said from the beginning of this podcast. We've been given these rules of engagement.

[00:45:59]>> Goes back to the rules.

[00:46:00]>> So, it just goes back to the rules of engagement. But, yeah, you know, you find this as well that, you know, they're using this sort of very aggressive language to describe their interactions with one another. Even when you watch videos and clips of like Speakers Corner, a place in the UK where people of other faiths used to gather to actually debate publicly, now it's just been just a shaming ritual where, you know, they're ready and they're eager to provoke each other to the point where they can call the police to come and intervene and we've lost the ability to really discuss the difficult issues with one another with a level of respect. So, you know, again, um we have a lot of work to do within the Muslim community.

[00:46:38]uh although we have the answers uh it still takes work to enforce those answers and alhamdulillah we have certain elders that are still with us from among them we have a brother she khalid a he is a giant in the da'wah scene and wrote a book as well about uh the lost art of da'wah >> what's it which >> his name is Khalid Amin from Medina >> from Medina yeshal I know him of course I know him when he uh he came to Jamaica >> with uh >> he's in Medina right now.

[00:47:09]>> He's in Medina right now. He's been living over there for over 20 years.

[00:47:12]>> But he also early on in his da he visited the island of Jamaica uh to give da to the people and one of the people he ran into was my father who was an imam at that time and he said you know your father took care of us because when he ended up coming to Jamaica it was at a time of political unrest. We have two parties the JP and the PMP and they're fighting one another for control over the island. At that time there was martial law in the streets. So subhan allah khalid he came and it's unrest.

[00:47:40]Where do you go when there's literal shootings happening between one another and he met my father. My father you know took care of him and made sure he was good and and from that time you know we've always had this close connection with one another. So you know he's one of our you know living legends of the da scene and has wrote a book as I mentioned the lost art of dawa >> the lost art of da >> of da'wah >> by khalid >> by khalid ain you know as he is still with us we have to connect with these teachers who have spent decades not weeks not months decades in the street dealing with the people one-on-one of the statements that he said that I find of importance although you know there are many things that can be said is that he said we don't even touch each other anymore. He said, "You know, back in the day when you meet someone, you say, "Hey, man. What's up? What's going on?"

[00:48:29]You know, even, you know, our uncles, they would grab us and feel us up and, you know, like you have to touch one another. Now, you know, we're like in these corners where we don't even engage one another. We don't even feel one another. And I thought to myself, this is something that I have to do to improve my own, you know, da. If you were to see me interact with the youth and the kids, I'm hugging them up. I'm pulling them close. I'm hugging them in.

[00:48:53]pulling them close because you know we have to you know really feel one another you know because the guidance is from one heart to another heart and for you to truly feel that I mean you no harm and that I'm sincere you can get that in a touch a touch can be ice cold or a touch can deliver warmth so you know while we have such individuals around we have to learn from them and these yelling and screaming and arguing and lambasting and saying that I smashed your man and I smashed your boy as if they're in a UFC ring we need to leave this this This is not beneficial. We don't see the messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him, going back and forth with the people. Rather, his silence, his character, and his gentleness is what won over the people.

[00:49:35]And if that gave the prophet success to deliver this message from a small group in Mecca to being almost two billion Muslims today, that is the formula for us to be successful as we move forward into the future.

[00:49:47]>> I want to mention a story. I got my my good friend Dr. Sabil Ahmed and he was up against one of these uh really u provocative individuals and the guy uh was confr he was confronting Dr. Sabil and then he was just going at him, you know, provoking, provoking, provoking.

[00:50:04]And he was just very stoic. You can see this video. See if you can pull it up.

[00:50:10]And at the end, after all the insults and he's doing his thing, a lady passes by and starts she jumps in >> and she starts >> she jumps in.

[00:50:19]>> She jumps in. She goes, "Look, I don't know his religion or or yours, >> but the way he's acting, I want to follow his religion."

[00:50:26]>> You see that? You see that? I tell you it's that's it. It's pose posture. You know, as they say that when you look at a tree that has, you know, I'm going to use mangoes as an example. My family's from Jamaica. I just came back from Jamaica 2 weeks ago, so I'm still tasting the mangoes. When you look at the tree, they say the branches that have the most amount of fruit, they don't stand high. Because of the fruit, it causes the branches to bow, right?

[00:50:54]But the branches that don't have much fruit on it, they stand really high. And the they use this as an example for knowledge. That when you have no knowledge, your nose is up. You think you're better than everyone. You're standing high. But knowledge causes you to be humble. Causes you to come down.

[00:51:11]Causes you to be able to be grounded.

[00:51:15]You know, so this is what we need from each other. But we need to place great emphasis not in the art of debate but in gaining knowledge so that humility can stand its course and take us into the future that will be bright inshallah.

[00:51:30]>> There was another veteran out there who I had um some good times with Shik Kimali. Remember him?

[00:51:38]>> He's a veteran as well. Yes. Yes. I met him >> and he did a I recommend people watch.

[00:51:41]He did a program he an interview and he he talked about how this exact topic that we're talking about and he talked about how this is actually doing a lot of harm now.

[00:51:49]>> Yes.

[00:51:50]>> To the da.

[00:51:51]>> Yeah. Yeah. It's really misrepresenting the da because it's um you know how can you want to sincerely guide a people who you're being combatant with.

[00:51:59]>> Mhm.

[00:51:59]>> Right. You have to have a a level of gentleness. Once the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he saw one companion one of his disciples um yelling and screaming and berating at another one who was his brother they were related. So, you know, sometimes an older brother, he's yelling at his younger brother like, "Come on, man.

[00:52:16]Speak up for yourself. Stand up. You know, why are you being so shy? Why are you being so quiet? People are going to take advantage of you." Probably we've all have said this to our younger siblings or we've said this to our sons.

[00:52:27]But the prophet, he said, "Do not yell at him and scream at him because of his shyness." For indeed, this hay shyness is a branch of faith. that a part of what it means to have faith in Allah is that we have this level of shyness. And the prophet he continued then he said that shyness is not added to anything except that it makes it more beautiful. So I think what we need uh a a greater share of in our da'wah is a level of shyness and hay and modesty.

[00:52:58]Modesty in our speech letting those whom we are um debating see that there are certain things that they will never be able to get from us. They will never be able to make us lose our temper. They'll never be able to work us up to use the language that they use, but we will continue to stay in peace and moderate moderate and to be calm. And indeed, you will find that these same people, they will reach out to you after and will praise you after in the moment they're not able to cuz the cameras are on. But after long after your poise, your silence and not being willing to go as low as they're going will be the cause inshallah, God willing, of that person being guided later in their life. I believe this >> one hadith is this authentic hadith it comes to mind. I'm paraphrasing that uh and tell us how do we understand this where uh the last and final messenger sent to mankind proph Muhammad is sitting with his companion Abu Bakr Sadik and one of the pagans come and they start attacking him he's quiet but then he starts attacking the prophet Muhammad and then the prophetam leaves >> and then he races to proph Muhammad he said why'd you leave and then he said while you were there quiet not on your back the angels were there but once you started to engage correct left I don't sit with uh in company of when there's no angels. Correct. Authentication.

[00:54:14]>> This is authentic narration. How do we understand this?

[00:54:16]>> And it shows us again the um the similarities of the the angels and human beings. The prophetat wasam peace be upon him he said whatever offends the angels whatever offends humans offends the angels. So whatever human beings find offensive even from repugnant smells or repugnant behaviors the angels are also repulsed by it. Although they are a different creation we are similar in this. This is why the prophet he forbade us from eating onions or anything that will make our mouth smell bad from coming into the masid to worship because when you speak with your brother after eating raw onions it's offensive to him. He will be patient with it but it will be offensive to him and you should know that whatever is offensive to him it's going to cause the angels to move away from you as well.

[00:55:02]Today there are people who smell like a pack of cigarettes. They come into the mosque. They say the prophet didn't mention cigarettes. Well, that wasn't a thing at that time. But you know as well how repugnant that smell can be.

[00:55:13]Likewise, not only smells and speech, when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, is sitting and is poised and is quiet. The angels, they are present with us. But once we begin to get worked up and to yell and to scream, how many of us would be comfortable sitting around someone who's yelling and screaming? No one. We would all feel uncomfortable and we would all want it to stop. Likewise, the angels as well, they saw this situation getting worked up and they decided that they would just distance themselves from this level of provocation. And again, it shows the character of the prophetatam and what he taught his companions. Allah subhana wa ta'ala says about him, indeed you, oh Muhammad, are upon a high standard of character and moral excellence. The prophet would never engage in this back and forth. The prophet would never engage and would never want to defeat the people verbally to embarrass them. But not only the prophet, even our pious scholars from among them our four great imams. One of them Im may Allah have mercy on him. He said, "I have never entered a debate except that I hoped that the person I was debating the truth would be on his tongue."

[00:56:25]>> Subhan Allah. So, he didn't come into the debate like, "All right, I have to get a win, you know, and then I'm going to cut it and edit it and clip it and post it up so I show a win." He went into every debate sincere, seeking the truth. And he hoped that Allah would reveal the truth on the tongue of his opponent. Why? Because there's no loss when you learn. Even if the truth comes on the tongue of the one who is he debating, he would appreciate that interaction because at least now he would have learned something. I think we've gone far away from this. We want to be, as we say in Jamaica, one of the sayings is don't be wrong and strong.

[00:57:02]You know, when you're wrong, don't be strong with it. You just stay on it.

[00:57:06]Stay adamant because, you know, you just want to be right so bad. Being wrong and strong is going to cause you to fall into error. Let us be more humble with one another. Let us understand that the truth can come on the tongue of even an enemy. Going back to another example of when the prophetat wasam had Abu Hurra guarding the zaka.

[00:57:26]Zaka is charity. He had him guarding the spoils of charity which was going to be distributed to the poor. In this narration, Satan el came to him in the form of a man trying to steal from the charity. And Abu Hurerra, his companion, stopped him and said, "I will take you to the messenger of Allah." And he said, "No, no, no, don't take me, please. I'm just poor. I just needed some food." Abu Hurerra was gentle. He let him go. This man visited three times and on the third time Abu Hurera caught him and said, "I'm going to take you. There's nothing that you can say." And this man, he said, "Well, shall I teach you something that will benefit you?" Abu Hurer, he was always a student of knowledge. He wanted to learn. Yes, teach me. And so this individual said, "If you recite ayati, then Allah will protect you and give you a shield." Abu Hurrah goes back to the prophet, mentions this incident, and the prophet said he spoke the truth even though he's a liar. It shows you that even what you perceive to be an enemy, the truth can come from them, right? And what was this truth? That whoever recites ayati and for the viewers, they can Google ayati and find out what that ayah is that Allah will give them divine shield and a divine protection throughout the day. So we should understand that the truth could come from anyone. For even in that interaction with Abu Hurerra, the truth came upon the tongue of who? Satan.

[00:58:44]Satan revealed the truth although he is a liar and indeed the devil is a liar.

[00:58:49]But if Satan can reveal a truth, then what about these people that we're debating in the street? Perhaps we can benefit and learn from them in certain areas, not in all areas, but we have to be willing to have these conversations and not be insecure.

[00:59:03]>> And I let the the brothers know that look, they're not our teachers. We have a certain code of conduct integrity that we live by certain boundaries like earlier that even to the point where Allah says don't insult their gods.

[00:59:15]>> Correct?

[00:59:15]>> We have the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam who went through all sorts of insults. Everything was hurled at him. How did he act?

[00:59:21]>> And then this code of conduct has us acting a certain way. We have limits, boundaries, but they don't.

[00:59:28]>> They don't. Nope.

[00:59:29]>> So you keep pushing and and what's going to happen? It's going to go into an allout. No rules.

[00:59:35]>> Correct. and they're going to push the limits and they're going to keep going and >> and then you'll be regretful and then you'll sit there with all the regret in the world and wish that you had not said what you said or done what you've done.

[00:59:46]Right? This is what we never wanted to get to. And this is why as well we should be making prayer that we ask Allah to protect us from being put in situations where we will dishonor ourselves, dishonor our religion and where we will misrepresent the religion.

[01:00:01]You should be very very careful to always, you know, show the best example.

[01:00:06]You know, I tell my children all of the time, even though you may not consider yourself an ambassador of Islam, you may say to yourself, well, my dad, he speaks, you know, I'm not a speaker.

[01:00:15]When you leave your home and you are carrying yourself as a Muslim, you are representing all Muslims whether you like it or not. Because someone can see you yelling at your sister or your sibling, uh, acting a fool in the middle of the street and you know what they will say? They'll say, "You see these Muslims? You see how they act? They're not going to say, "Well, he's not a speaker. He doesn't represent the religion." When you leave your home, you are representing the religion of Islam.

[01:00:39]So, it's important upon us to act within the rules because there are going to be people who are going to find strength in our behavior and in our actions.

[01:00:50]Oh yes. Subhan Allah.

[01:00:52]This was uh just on the shelf. So before we conclude, if people want to know more about you, read some of your book. This is one of them, right? So, this is one of them. Guided by the stars.

[01:01:03]>> Yes. Guided by the stars. This is uh one of my five books. Um the forward is written by Dr. Bell Phillips. Uh I find many parents coming to me and asking for me to uh give lectures on again what we're talking about how to speak with one's parents, how to speak with elders, and how to have good manners and good behaviors with relatives. And so I said, let me do better than a speech. Let me write a book on the way in which we should honor our parents. But not only that, how did the prophets and messengers honor their parents? They didn't just fall out of the sky. Sulle man had a father Daw, how did he honor him? How did Abraham Ibraim honor his father Azar? How did the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam honor his father? You may say, "But his father died before his birth." Yes, but the prophet also said that the uncle is like the father. So how did he treat Al Abbas, his uncle? So in this book we discuss and we take on whole chapter out as well talking about how the messengers and prophets interacted with their parents so that we can benefit. How was Jesus with his mother? How was Yahya with his father? All of these relationships we take a deep dive in and we could benefit from their example not only from their worship. So anyone who's interested in you know getting a copy of this book they can go to my website which is napsinwahida.org org and they'll be able to find it or you can just Google guided by stars.

[01:02:29]Hassan Abdul Akbar. You Google that, you'll find links to purchase the book.

[01:02:33]>> Dr. Hassan, thank you.

[01:02:34]>> Always a pleasure to come here and I love the topics. It's not abstract topics, topics of the future, topics of the hereafter. We're always speaking about what matters, what is happening right now. And so people can listen and they could change their behavior, their speech, their tongue right now. May Allah bless you for always taking the time out to address the needs of the community. Amen.

[01:02:58]>> And um you know, may Allah continue to make this podcast a success for the and into the future, inshallah.

[01:03:04]>> Amen. Thank you very much.