Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
Sharia, culture, and application — 0:03
you needed an Abu you needed mu you need you need abak you need you need an our grandmother used to wear that type of hijab with this Fabric and this you have I don't want to be too explicit you have those schools that want to just go to the past and follow one particular School of Law one your talent is connect it to the umah and connect yourself to scholar so you need to know what's har and and then go and shine go and flourish go and do something welcome to Faithfully invested a podcast powered by mcca's income fun today we have an extremely special guest he's probably going to kill me for saying it but I would like to welcome Dr to the podcast for me how was the trip to Australia so far can't complain alhamdulillah it's been 5 days alhamdulillah alhamdulillah beautiful so um but we're here to get you in a bit of trouble asking you some questions no I'm just kidding in um I also like to welcome this is the first podcast my name is brother suale and this is Brother Adam elenti uh we both are very excited to be bringing you this broadcast inshallah moving forward expect this once a month inshallah we will try to keep ourselves you know I think we've got some pretty big names lined up but definitely Dr is out first yeah and the most important name so for alhamdulillah I wasn't aware this is the first podcast I'm very honored to be your very first guest all right I'm going to hand the mark over to brother Adam because he's going to hit you with some quick five questions questions in uh so besides the prophet s alaihi wasallam which which prophet resonates with you the most these types of questions are very profound actually you want a rapid response but I can't give you a rapid response right which prophet resonates with you most obviously the prophet ibraim Alam is a role model for all of mankind so I have to say that immediately his life story the struggles that he went through he's a role model for all of us let's not ask why because it's quick fly yeah okay actually you know uh I was watching a video there's a quick thing that popped up recently with uh ham yfam YF and he was saying that we're the only religion of the abrahamic faiths that actually have a slightly the other Isam other abrahamic faiths or montic faiths do not have a prayer purely for anyway okay which resonates with you the most again these are questions that there are okay you want me to do okay two or three come to mind immediately okay first and foremost I mean you know my father called me Yas and so there's no doubt even as a child you know the story of Yas and andar always resonated with me you know because obviously that's that's one of the reasons why it's healthy to name your children after iconic figures because they have a role model to look up to uh in terms of lifestyle and and and um uh reputation and and and background I mean no doubt mu jab as being as our Prophet said that when the are resurrected mu jab will be leading them on the day of judgment I pray that Allah blesses me to be in that and so he is indeed a role model um in terms of um um uh eloquence and whatnot is somebody that I'm I'm you know he he has a very interesting history as well and so I I kind of do resonate with that as well so yeah all of these things I mean all of these put together there's no one particular figure every sahabi bring something unique to the table because they always say you know when it comes to sahabas they show or they they represent an element of human beings or human nature the diversity of humanity and the diversity of talents and the diversity of of fields I mean if you've listened to my lectures you know this right that the sahabah show us that you don't have to be only one track you know there were those sahaba that they weren't Scholars the Maj the majority of them weren't the types of they didn't give fat they didn't memorize the Quran but they were you know you needed an AB you needed need you need abak you need you need an entire diversity is the poet so you have an entire diversity you each one is bringing something to the table so whatever your talent in field is you'll find a sahabi that kind of sort of resonates with you in that regard as a Lebanese person uh definitely we go to the next question actually you touched on one of the sahaba the poet uh when you spoke about him in the about how I think it was during the Battle of where he went with the the and it was sort of a given that people knew that he wasn't going to come fight Sor so it was uh and and I got a lot of questions from my son about this one you know why didn't he go fight isn't that part of so I sort of said let's listen to Dr yes let's see what he has to say and the way he explained that M was on point you resonated with us a lot especially for the brothers that don't have those characteristics you know don't have that you know it just shows that all like either you sahab or you know or you're a prophet we're not we're human beings at the end of it to be an outlier doesn't mean you're negative oracy as long as you stay within the limits and was an outlier in some areas but he was number one in other areas that was the point this is the one that's going to get him into trouble no no no not story from n but this is the question that we want let's just jump straight into I reckon we need to get you in trouble drum roll okay syy you Melbourne or Sydney Melbourne or Sydney you have exper what if I said just came from Brisbane and mashallah what a breath of fresh air and Golden Coast and mashallah the the weather the people Mah what are you going to say about that I was in Brisbane too I don't believe anything just I just landed in in in in Melbourne and I'm shivering like what happened where did I just come our weather's very bad here Su actually and went up uh with brother aan as well from MCA attended the the conference so I don't know and our team in St was also small they also part of the IAM conference that happened beforehand so um that was good that we got the team up there to see and they all came back saying Brisbane weather he was like 10 out of 10 amazing yeah so let me answer your question The Baklava is better in Sydney the coffee is better than Melbourne nice well that's good you can't you can't deny that bro he just he just dodged the question that's what he did like it is what it is man I can't help it I love it you're right everything has something offer um I guess we'll just jump straight into the questions insh the main body from what I've seen and what I've understood watching TV and you know TV shows I hear a lot about Texas being a very redneck State you know like what's it like as a Muslim growing up and I'm I'm guessing you grew up in the US between Houston and jeda I grew up in jeda as well a little bit so actually I've been a number of Brothers in Australia asked me this question about Texas and I think just like you know we have stereotypes about Australia you guys have stereotypes about Texas and other places right I already got a text message you know from one of my friends have you seen any kangaroos yet in Sydney like you don't see them on the streets you know have you seen one of those spiders that fall off the roofs like the what is it the huntsman spider or something like these stereotypes you know you understand the reason why they go viral is because they're atypical they're not the typical narrative the typical story so I mean somebody born and raised in Texas having lived in Texas 20 years I mean Houston Austin Dallas these are metropolitan cities you know what you're seeing about is the cartoon characters and the The Westerns that are more the more rural areas and I'm sure they're still around here and there but metropolitan cities no there's no issues alhamdulillah I've rarely faced any obviously you do face here and there especially after 911 but I I have not faced any impediment in my personal life per se nobody just comes up and says things to you I had a friend visit recently from England he was terrified to see people walking around with guns for example right but that's the norm it's not that big of a deal to see G because it's an open licensed state which means you can you can you can carry it and it's not a problem to carry it I mean there's no extra violence in Texas and other compared to other states it is what it is okay but you do own a pair of cowboy boots yeah no I don't he killing my dreams today can I ask a more in depth question of course let just delve into I want to get into like a really deep question parts of the essence and yeah I want to know it's what level um Canam accommodate for different time in different times and places like in relation to so accomodate different times and places or accommodate to different times um from a perspective yeah so obviously the sh of Allah is meant to be applied in all times and places Allah says in the Quran you we have given to all of you a and a way of life and Allah then we have made you upon a of the matter follow it and do not follow anything else and Allah's Commandments can never ever change when Allah has said something Allah's speech has been perfected in in truthfulness and in Justice So when you say the sh obviously the Shar is meant to be a comprehensive lifestyle every minutia of our life the Shar tells us you know what to eat how to dress our livelihoods har and marriage divorce inheritance everything so Allah has sent down the Shar but then the has within itself the mechanism to apply to different Societies in slightly different manners this is not the Shar changing this is the application of the Shar and that's why one of the maxims of has many maxims there's five that are called major maxims the one of them says that the culture of the region is going to play a very important role the culture is seminal the culture is going to be definitive where the Shar is silent so where the Shar is silent culture plays a role so here now in in modernity that we see we are struggling to come to terms with the radical changes taking place in society now I don't want to go too deep in this podcast but gender gender roles gender men and women what should they do in a marriage you know how much this and that so many differences how we live our lives compared to how our grandparents lived our lives right I'll give you a non-controversial example to make you understand what I'm saying the has said for example that men's needs to be covered women's needs to be covered this is the okay so men have to cover between Naval and KN women have to cover the whole body and the hijab and everything J did the dictate the color the dress the fabric no so if in some societies the hijab style has now become accustomed to a certain level right now the the the very same culture migrates to Australia right and now our daughters are have to interact with B Society there are some interpretations of Islam I'm giving very simplistic example they're going to say oh see our grandmother used to wear that type of hijab with this Fabric and this style and this color and our grand Muti back home says this is the F that we should do right now I will humbly humbly come along and I'll say not just me many many because they're they're competing strands here right I'm giving an example that's non controversial I'm going to come along and say Allah didn't reveal the specifics of the cloth and the cut and the style and so if in Australia we rethink through not the because you cannot think through the hij we rethink through and say yo in this culture and Society we live in if a sister wears a loose skirt or even a loose pants and loose jacket or loose and and has a head scarf and in this Society it might be yellow or red or blue whereas back home maybe it's only black right now I'm giving a simple example but the concept is I'm trying to say right now somebody comes along say oh this guy has changed or reformed say no there's no reform in Allah's law no one has the right to reform the Shar but when I come and say the grand mu's idea back home that you have to only wear black that can be reformed this is not reforming this is saying okay now this of course is a very simplistic level in a more deeper level and this is a conversation that can be had here and this is not at the Mac this is not at the micro this is at the macro level at the macro level at times the Shar has indeed come with a system of law that is meant to be governed right but of course in modernity there is no nation state that is applying the Shar into Morality In fact a deeper philosophical question a very deep question that is being discussed at higher levels can you even apply the full Shar in a limited nation state the reason why the Shar has come with a hierarchy of Muslim andab Andi right it's a different system of governance where if you're Muslim you have these rights if you're not you're themi and whatnot whereas the nation state everybody has to be equal if you're Australian citizenship that's the concept of the nation state so at some some level the laws that are applicable in the Shar and the laws that should be in a nation state we have to figure out do we how do we reconcile and nobody's actually done this look at the world around you there is no nation state that is applying so now we have a bit of a conundrum right nobody can change the sh but the question arises suppos we're not talking about Australia Canada England because it's not our job to to to bring about a revolution our job is to preserve the dean but I'm talking about Muslim majority countries let's say Pakistan okay my ancestors are from Pakistan now let's be very blunt here the majority of Shar laws are not applicable in pakist they're not happening they're not sayc they're not being applied in Pakistan suppose a Muslim uh parliamentarian suppose an Islamic party comes into power right how much can they apply of those classical laws my position is this is a good conversation that needs to take place I don't have an answer let me give you another example you understand so um suppose I'm not sure about Pakistani I'm just giving an example suppos that in the laws of the country premarital um Zena is not penalized suppose I'm just saying I don't know I'm just give an example in our Shar premarital Z gets the punishment you're going to be lash you're going to be what suppose in a Muslim country that's not now we know that if we were to do this from zero to 100 the people are going to say we're not going to have this type look look Afghanistan look other places what if a Muslim party were to say okay if we find two people premarital will find them $1,000 it's like a it's better than nothing right now it's fully free I'm just giving an example I'm not don't quote me on the example because I don't know if it actually applied I'm giving an example right now it's totally free and people understand they're not going to go from 0 to 100 overnight suppose a Muslim part an Islamic party comes in and they start changing you know what we want to make sure there's no alcohol being sold and we're going to criminalize not to the punishment cuz or 80 lashes or whatever that's not going to work it maybe for the people but we're going to give a penalty $11,000 fine if we find you drinking my question is is that better than nothing or do you want all or nothing I I humbly State and ask the far bigger than me I would say that is better than nothing so can we for the time being because here's the point anytime type of stuff we do it's not to substitute the no it's a program to eventually apply the sh right so I would humbly submit that and this is a hypothetical question because it's not relevant to me but if I have such a discussion with other people bring it up hey does Islam say that the guy uh pre you know premar Zen should be I say yes Islam does say that yes Islam are you going to apply it in America Canada no we're not supposed to apply in America Australia Canada okay how about Muslim majority countries none of them apply it I say you know what it's up to them let's them discuss and let them see if they but the ideal without a doubt the ideal that eventually you should get to in a Muslim majority land without a doubt the full of thear but how do you get from here to there may I humbly say wisdom dictates you work bit by bit so that you take the people with you when you do this you bring their IM up you do this more you bring their IM up until you finally when a person does this this is not a rejection of Allah's laws it's just a wise way of how to achieve the ultimate it's like realistically moving forward so we had obviously when she spoke about the implementation of the sh when the the religion was being brought exact example exactly said what what I'm the philosophy I'm trying to say is this that our mother said the first verses of the Quran did not deal with this is Haram and drinking is Haram and ging is Haram and because if Allah began with that even the sahab would have rejected rather Allah began with building Im talking about J and and IM and whatnot when im became strong then Allah revealed you know don't drink and whatnot now in our times drinking is always going to be Haram but suppose an entire Society is guilty of drinking and a Muslim majority party wins if you were to implement that law in a modern nation state democracy you're G to get voted out the next day so is it better to start slowly and while you increase the law you also increase the sh increase the then you increase the law then you increase the IM is it better to do this I believe it is but if somebody disagrees that's fine but what I'm doing is not rejecting the sh I'm not calling for nobody can reform Islam that's ridiculous nobody can reform the Shar but it's how do we apply the Shar at the macro level this is a very good question I don't have answers and it will change from time to place and then ask for the micro level as I explained with the hij issue again it's not changing the Shar this is the Shar the Shar allows you at the micro level to fine tune and to rethink through that which is not in these are technical terms that which is certain that which has the red line the um agrees about it there is no controversy you know immorality is going to be immorality Haram is going to be Haram so there is no fine tuning in that regard but where there's a gray area ambiguous area the sh did not come with specific tasks of the husband and wife okay who's going to take the trash out on Tuesday you know I don't know if you guys have taking the trash out who's going to put the problem whatever it might be the sh didn't dictate it yes okay so if in this area if we renot suppose my grandfather did something and the sheh of his time said something am I allowed to fine tune if the the sh is silent in my humble opinion and again it's not me these are two big schools you have I don't want to be too explicit you have those schools that want to just go to the past and follow one particular School of Law one particular narrow this is it it's been enshrined in stone and there are many in our great time I don't mind mentioning is the greatest that represents but he's not the founder he represents an idea that idea predates him by thousands of years hundreds of years and I am somebody who's very sympathetic to that idea so when I or somebody else says we need to rethink through those laws we are not talking about the Shar of Allah we are talking about the opinions of men that go back 100 200 years that are based upon their time in place and Australia is a different time in place so I hope that's insh clear it does and I think actually one of the lectures I heard you speaking I think it might have been in the S actually um you actually calling for birth bir bodies or both people sitting on each side of the spectrum to show like um not too much of in in their in their thought and to have that sort of level of like we understand where this part is coming from and we understand where the other part is coming from and so to sort of like not cause tensions between the two groups yeah so again call you know sort of so so those people who want to stick to the Past opinions I understand they're worried about what is called The Floodgate argument they're worried if we change a little bit it's going to change a lot I understand and I respect that at the same time those that are trying to bring another sense of of practicality their goal is not to destroy Islam their goal is to allow the next generation of Australian Muslims you know a a vision and a a a philosophy of law that is actually conducive to them because what the fear is is that this version is not going to be applied by all of these people and then neither does the Shar require this version that's what I'm trying to say in my humble opinion that's my opinion but you have the right to disagree that the opinions two 300 years ago are not all of them applicable in Australia who's going to decide that's a very deeper question and it requires so when you find an who has a track record when you find a reputable scholar like like fan like when you find great even if you disagree isn't it safer to keep your tongue and protect it rather than say something that might bring you displeasure when you're slandering or what not so I know a lot of people don't like respectfully disagree say you know what it's his View and I have another group of Scholars no problem no problem but to open the door to slander or to accuse his ni or to say that is trying to destroy Islam and the same goes for those that are following the same Paradigm these are I'm being simplistic there's more than two but these are two examples of schools they have precedents for 1,200 years and they're going to continue to have so there's no point being so nasty to another Muslim you might actually end up getting get getting you know your giving them over to somebody else just be careful in this regard yes Subhan Allah I remember there was a a video that surfaced of a person within the community doing something I'm not going to go into development I'm not going to develop on that further sorry but they did something that was against the dean and the person was caught on film and it was basically spread and people were like slandering the person's name and there were you know were they were they were saying things that you shouldn't be saying about another believer and um I remember speaking to my mate and I'm like maybe that person did something Haram and they did they they did something wrong like it is what it is like the it was caught on film but don't you feel like Allah is also giving them a way out by making all these people speak about them and in a way alleviating the sins that they've committed yeah I've spoken about this this negative cancel culture and this ENT came it online it's really sad and it's um not I don't think it's healthy for the future of the um at least these segments of the um that people should not be so obsessed with the mistakes or the pseudo mistakes of others you will not build your own Iman by putting down other people's Iman you will not build yourself up by putting other people down concentrate on one's own and if you disagree with another person leave them and find the people you agree with simple as that yeah it's just I find it you know problematic to be honest and it is what it is I mean at the end of the day it's their their lives they they have the we I'm very happy Allah will judge me on the day of judgment I'm very happy I'm going to face Allah and not any of these other entities and whatnot Allah is indeed and Allah is so if you are sincere in what you do and insh if you are you know qualified to do what you are doing Allah will reward you so yeah I mean my generic advice to all the brothers is and sisters is concentr on yourself and your m in the eyes of Allah this is really try your try your best to not give your Deeds to other people for no reason I have few Deeds as it is why would I want to gift them to other people man just keep your tongue silent from other people you know it's just the best thing to do but anyway it's their business if people want to gift me or anybody then I'll take it I'm I think it's called toy syndrome that's what it's called where they like to cut the other person down to make themselves feel taller I want to ask why is there a level of controversy surrounding and I I guess it feels as though somewhat the more po you are the more scrutiny you're under and the more scrutiny you face so why is this level of controversy and Subhan I mean that's a very blunt question Allah I mean from from from look you can answer this for multiple ways obviously let's begin with the spiritual at the spiritual level every person who faces any Calamity one person person should realize it should time for introspection there's no doubt that every pain or suffering that happens to a person it should cause this person to think about your own past your own relationship with Allah Allah says in the Quran any M that happens to you it's because of the things you have done and inshallah through it Allah will forgive many things so I pray that no doubt at spiritual level it is you know painful that what is happening but I pray that inshallah it is a cleansing mechanism I pray is a cleansing mechanism now that's at the spiritual level at the um sociological level this is pretty standard explanation I mean the more popular or the more famous a person is in any field the more people also can hate on him as well it's a human nature thing you know it's just look around you there are people that are like any famous person it's just like it becomes easier to also uh pinpoint negatives or whatever it might be and I think in my case there's also a bit of a historical issue that 20 years ago um I used to follow a different um Strand and a different interpretation and I created a bit of a fan base in that and now that I've moved on from that respectfully I've never mentioned any of the people by name but I believe there are certain things that were mistaken theologically about that movement that I have um had to move on from and because this movement was a bit more focused on minua and issues and issues whatnot I think it's human nature that there has to be a discrediting it's again human nature that is a bit harsher if I the the strange thing is pretty much everything that I feel I say lots of other people are saying it as well nothing new per se you know I don't have any position except that I can quote you great that have held it I don't have any mainstream view about anything except that other have held it for some reason I find My Views seem to get extra attention even though I'm not the one saying them you get my point like they're not emanating from me they're not starting from me allaham I think it's simply because one of the reasons could be the historical factor that this particular movement is not um happy with these views and even if these views were found by great these were not a part of the movement now that I am saying them there's this notion that it needs to be extra discredited I'm just trying to historically analyze because I I am some sometimes surprised much of what I hear people criticizing me for are fairly mainstream views sometimes himself says them sometimes IM shaf sometimes abif and this is a mainstream position and the level of negativity or hatred an entire video created over even this issue of again thinking about Islamic law if you really listen to it it's actually very mainstream very mainstream sh does not change but the application changes from specific time to place but the way it is twisted and then made out to be I I I don't know could be just a defense mechanism but in the end of the day it does it does sadden me that this drama is caused online I would do try to to minimize it and no doubt no doubt nobody's perfect I have no doubt I've made some mistakes and the wordings I've used and the best way to phrase it ask Allah's forgiveness um you know for any mistake in this regard and I hope in the end of the day that the good that a person does is more than the than the negatives and mistakes that's really the goal we learn from our mistakes and pray that the positive contribution is more than any negatives and mistakes Allah may Allah have mercy upon us all honest cuz we all have things we're not proud of that we've done in the past may Allah you know on the day when it's when it matters the most may you forgive us inshallah um I think I wanted to move on to maybe a lighter topic sure um I know that in the the Brisbane leg of the conference you spoke about how there were six or seven sahaba only that were or that were Scholars that were able to do fatawa within the the group is that correct or am I during the lifetime of the Prophet very very few s were delegated with and even after his passing the number of mutis and the number ofu was minuscule compared to the number of of actual sahabah so the scholars that were known to give or of amongst the sahabah were literally less than you know 101 15 that were of that caliber and the number of hu is debated but many say that there were never more than you know in the life of the Prophet himself told us four or five names right and even after his passing it wasn't something that was the norm that they did and the reason that I brought this up is to demonstrate that the ways to worship Allah are many and is definitely one of them and definitely one of the most important one of the most blessed knowledge and the scholars of the backbones of the um they're always going to keep the um in check but a reason I brought up in the brisban talk is that the average Muslim some times feels that if I don't become an then I'm not worthy to do anything for the um like it's subconsciously the only way to contribute to the umah is by becoming a but I'm trying to explain historically from the time of the sahab up until our times the percentage that were is a minuscule percentage and that's the way it's supposed to be everybody should be connected to an everybody should listen everybody should get the FAS from no question but you cannot expect Society to all become academics that's not any civilization and Society so my point in saying this not to it was to actually say listen if you choose fine if not excel in what you're doing and contribute in other ways because the umah needs you to contribute where you shine the best right again going back to the we needed an entire diversity of people people that were living their lives people that were businessmen people that were Scholars people that were warriors people that were poets you know people that were politicians you needed an entire diverse group of people no civilization can function in one field that's not how any civilization functions so whatever your field is whatever your passion is whatever your talent is connect it to the umah and connect yourself to Scholars so you need to know what's Haram and Hal and then go and shine go and flourish go and do something you know I I say this in America all the time the one person who brought the greatest to us as a Muslim American Community the one he gave us most you know is that we could possibly have is no it's Muhammad Ali the boxer the name of Islam became a household name and there was a genuine respect given you know to and when he passed away all of America came together talking about cassus clay became Muhammad Ali he embraced Islam he went through the nation then he discovered Orthodox Islam there was genuine raw admiration he wasn't any but he gave what no none of us could possibly have given that was his field to be now he was a Muslim he was a proud Muslim that's what we need he didn't shy away from being a Muslim he wored on his sleeve he always said it you know in the name of Allah whatever like you know he's proud to be a Muslim that's what we need our youth to understand is that find your field your Forte your Niche what are you good at and what do you have a passion for once you find that and it'll take you a few years maybe few trial runs you might fail in your 2122 that's fine no problem okay keep on rising up finding another field doing something else entrepreneurs business Talent whatever it might be we need you know good people even in the Arts and entertainment as long as they're Hal you know we need them because Muhammad Ali is arts and entertainment isn't it you know what I'm saying are you into it that's did that no no cuz I'm a part of entertainment kind of you are entainment behind behind the scenes what do you do jugle just kidding with you already know just kidding something similar in well as you talking about Muhammad Ali um we think about we have in Australia that has led the way for us to practice Islam a lot more easily um and these are people that haven't compromise on their deal exactly people that are in the spotlight you you're like I'm not giving him a shout out or anything like um you know I I look up to his brother significantly I think he's done a massive service to our community even at MCCA as an a brand ambassador bash hly B who who we meet later today in um brother bashad is's a three- time Premiership player and like it's the equivalent of the Super Bowl equivalent Super Bowl yeah he's won the Super Bowl three times football club um and the amount of things he's brought to Australia um into Aussie Rules Football um from an Islamic perspective amazing and it's giving us the capacity as Muslims in austral to practice our Islam and you now I think a lot more brothers and sisters will be more comfortable praying out in public than previous excellent in his in his sorry but in his um goodbye speech to the football club at to AFL he actually made s you know in front of the entire media and in front of his entire team that was so profound so profound D how no so I'm saying so imagine if we had people like this right in entrepreneurship imagine if somebody you know does something amazing contributing to some type of uh uh you know pharmaceutical drug that's going to solve your cancer whatever it might be somebody's doing something for the community and he's proud of being Muslim not compromising his or her values that is a contribution to the umah and do it for the sake of Allah in your Nia have a good Nia and in your lifestyle follow Islamic laws you are doing what what we need you to do simple as that so don't assume the only way you can contribute to the umah is by leaving everything aside and going and studying 10 years overseas no one out of 10,000 needs to become an the rest of the 9,999 they need to contribute in different ways can I ask cuz this is something I struggle with myself and I I may be exposing myself a little bit but all for for the good reasons inshallah it's um when you get caught in autopilot and Things become a little mundane and Life starts to move and feel like it's one massive day and this is something that I feel like a majority of people in this day and age are feeling they're feeling like everything's just moving very quickly and you you can't even catch time to be able to find your feet and or your religious feet that's what I like to say um what advice would you give to those brothers and sisters who are kind of in that you know so elaborate what do you mean by autopilot like do you mean they're not doing anything other than their their worldly dun stuff so you feel like you're you're you're praying five times a day but it you feel like it's kind of a it's it's mechanical it's not really La okay so what you're saying is you're lacking the spirituality that's what you're trying is that what you're so yeah it's it's a bit of that and then it's also a bit of um like there's um there's been there's been a bit of a plateau religiously like you're trying to get better and then you can't really get there so yeah like you were saying spiritually I would okay there's multiple things to to deconstruct with this regard first and foremost um let's be positive side there are specific times and places and things you should should be doing to give you that extra energy boost pack right that extra you know um uh charging uh and that's what Ramadan is meant for by the way and that's what and is meant for okay you're literally it's meant to be that big boost you know or the you know the the the therapeutic any the shock you know yeah exactly like you're supposed to like go pop out of it that's what really Ramadan is exactly meant to do this every single year you're supposed to rise up higher you know that's the whole point so there should be that shock and awe that you get out of it so there are things you should do to yourself try to go for try to go for like that but I want to flip this script here I want to say you know what sometimes as long as autopilot is on good there's nothing negative per se about it as long as you're doing what needs to be done and there's no trauma happening to you that in and of itself is a blessing that you should appreciate the very fact you're doing the rituals praying five times that you're raising your kids in other words life is good thank Allah for life being good don't look at the negative side in and of itself having a routine as long as there is the bare minimum the connection is there the Salah is there the is there there is a huge amount of positives and that's why the prophet would ask for for a life that is not full of extra trials and tribulation so look at it also that let's try to increase the positive but also in and of itself it is not negative to be on autopilot and there's nothing exciting spiritually happening as long as there is the the the the amount of connection with Allah there right may also say there you also need to discover in that mundane routine that in fact you are doing much when you raise your children upon Islam this is your legacy this is an autopilot there's nothing better you could be doing than being a father to your children nothing better to to ingrain in them a sense of pride in their Heritage and their in their in their Islam and whatnot have love of what it means to be parent to rooll this is not autopilot this is investment so you have to be careful here that Shan doesn't come to you once again going back to your previous question I'm not doing enough what are you doing oh I'm just raising five kids or whatever that's what you're doing what do you mean you're not doing enough you're protecting those five kids you're making them you know you're you're taking care of your wife you're having a family you're contributing to Sunday school you're that is what we need you to do so be careful that Shan doesn't cause you to just not even appreciate y your autopilot is actually the Lifesaver for 20 30 people around you you see what I'm saying so look into this reality of Shan messing with you and making you feel no sometimes I'm knowing that if you're having a a decent lifestyle that is the best thing you possibly could be doing there is nothing wrong with that in this regard so again all of these things need to to be yourid Subhan Allah when you say that it just reminds me of I think it was Dr when he said that we are worshippers of Allah but not the feeling and if we keep searching for the feeling that's a blessing from Allah but it's not guaranteed and if you're praying for that and you don't get it that means you're worshiping maybe isn't for the right reasons or maybe I'm paraphrasing so I I don't exactly obviously what he OB obvious a good friend of mine but yeah the concept is 100% valid is that a lot of times the Western world we live in right it wants to prioritize the feelings you know over the productivity and over the actions themselves and for us the feelings are okay good and whatnot but yeah we are not searching for that spiritual Epiphany per se if it comes it comes if it doesn't it doesn't we are searching for Allah's and Allah's will be given to what you talked about this the way you describe this you know Auto Drive pilot going on here M right as long as As I said productivity is being done the rights are being done the rituals are being done the obligations are being done you will achieve Allah pleasure what more do you want you see what I'm saying we have to wrap it up I want to wrap it up with one last question you had a question too no no I was going to let him finish um I wanted to ask we know this is your third time to Australia yeah okay um how have you seen the growth of the Islamic community Australia I think as an organization such as MCCA we're very Community oriented we're Community owned so for us the community is our bread and butter that's our life blood of of MCCA um if was up for the community we simply wouldn't exist so how have you seen the growth of the Islamic community of Australia how I guess do you see the Islamic community of Australia Muslim Community of Australia in your opinion so this is my third visit to Australia my first V was literally over 20 years ago I was actually still a student doing my masters in Medina when I came uh and then I came seven eight years ago and then I'm coming out for the third time I mean in these 20 years the Muslim population of Australia has almost tripled I've heard I mean unbelievable like how quickly the Muslim Community is growing Subhan Allah you know and um I feel that Australian Muslims are situated in a relatively unique situation there's a lot of positives a lot of potential and I'll I'll mention one or a few of them that come to my mind number one you guys have a percentage of Muslims concentrated in three four five cities that is phenomenal we don't have that in America or Canada right overall your Australian Muslims are around 4% right now right and within like 10 years it'll probably come close to two digits okay that is you've are in that case you will have surpassed any Anglo Western Country I mean America is less than 1% Canada is very low as well England right now is more than you but if you continue at these rates of immigration because again the Australian government is is very open to immigration and immigration is just massive in the last 10 years Muslims have doubled in the last 10 years in the last 20 years you know so you know almost tripled so that's what I'm saying your your your community is growing at an exponential rate so very soon within not just your lifetimes within a decade or two you might potentially be in two digits and you are primarily concentrated as you know in three four cities not the bulk of Australia so in portions of Sydney you know uh the entire zones are like almost Muslim basically right uh all the public schools I was shocked to hear there's over what 25 public school public schools in which basically basically everybody's a Muslim right that's nonexistent in America public schools for the community where basically everybody is of our faith Rel so they can even accommodate and this and that that's phenomenal phenomenal and I was just in Brisbane again entire districts 30 40% Muslim you know Melbourne I heard as well you have certain pop here and there this is phenomenal so you are blessed in this regard number number two you are a fresh batch of immigrants I.E if I were to ask in tonight's audience how many immigrated to Australia probably 80% would raise their hand right probably 80% would say and maybe 20% are born here correct would you agree with that statistic maybe even a bit more okay maybe 7030 okay that would not happen in America that type of statistic you guys are still very high now that has positives and negative but I'm talking about the positive what the POS positives are because you are relatively a new community you have the luxury and the option of drawing on a blank canvas you can dream magnificent dreams there's no protocol there's no bureaucracy there's no internal establishment to fight okay if you all if that's the big if now if you can all come together get aside your ridiculous backwards differences of sectarianism and and ethnic divides the potential you guys have have unbelievable you we have nothing like this in America and Canada right now because you're brand new you haven't built your full infrastructures yet you know you need to build your schools your Visions your projects you're just doing it right now right so if your community can have the maturity to come together you know in some areas 40 50 60% of the people say hey we're going to build a magnificent Center for our youth we're going to do we're going to have a vision of Islam in Australia 100 years from now there's nothing to stop you from that Vision except your internal discords there's no bureaucracy there's no other establishment there's no nothing the sky is the limit so this is an amazing potential that you guys another thing that I've noticed here Subhan Allah again because Australia is a different country overall I've noticed that you know the the federal and local government seems to have a much stronger and direct Association I think it's also because you have fewer people here right there's a much more direct contact you know we don't have that level of contact in America we don't so you actually are much more connected to the uh State and the federal or the the government y uh levels of of of you know um uh politicians and of laws and whatnot and there's direct access that I didn't see I've been here five six days just hearing the stories of of how easy it is and whatnot I think you guys have massive potential are there negatives there are negatives as well and I think one of the biggest negatives you still have a massive ethnic divide you guys need to work on that this is not Islamic you should be proud of your ethnicity without dising or without having a antagonism towards others it's okay to like I like my Pakistani Cuisine culture my kuras you know no problem but the minute I say that you know somebody else that is not Pakistani is not as good as me or I'm not going to cooperate with him because he's Arab or what not we have an Islamic cause not a Pakistani cause not a Lebanese cause not a Bengali cause no we have an Islamic cause to come together right and then of course a very awkward issue I'm not going to go into detail but we have to be long visioned not narrow-minded and bigoted and sectarian we have to to save Islam and not a strand of Islam Islam is above one narrow madrasa or school or or sect or you you guys have to think a 100 years ahead everybody who says the K who lowers his head to Allah subhana wa tala there's an element of Islam in them and frankly if the differences are trivial which they generally are you have to learn to come together for the greater good it is a cancer to start hating other Muslims man W it's a cancer it's destructive you're too few in number 3 4% I mean it's more than us but 3 4% now you're going to start saying oh this guy prays like this versus this says I mean out loud he goes He follows this or all mainstream groups and W the bulk of the um is mainstream man if you love Allah you want to follow the prophet wasam you you want to follow our great of the past whether it's IM gazali you know sh no these are all mainstream man all mainstream let's learn to live you're not going to solve the sectarian differences in Lebanon or or Saudi Arabia over here in Australia are you you're not going to so then let's learn to live together and come together for the sake of our children and that will require a mature discourse which unfortunately I think frankly this is one of the things that need to work on I think you need to but I think the overall positives are much more and you have the potential to do oh one of I have to say this as well one other thing you have a massive potential in since you're the newest kid on the Block you can look at what the other kids have done and that's us you can learn from Canadian Muslim experiences American Muslim experiences British Muslim experiences and you can see the positives and negatives and then take the good and avoid the bad it's a beautiful way to wrap it up I remember you said something at the um Brisbane T again to bring it back the the actions that we have in the next 30 Years will shape the next 300 for Our Generations that is my firm belief what we do in the next 30 Years in terms of our vision and laying the foundation because we are that unique generation you know we are fully climatized to our past and also to where we are now we'll shape Islam for the next 300 every one of us has a role to play every one of us has something to contribute aim high think a hundred years ahead and remember Allah has blessed you to be at a time and a place maximize your potential do as much as you can and ask Allah to bless you Allah may Allah unite the sorry bro say no look thank you so much we know that um when they talk about giving they say the most valuable commodity is time and we really appreciate you giving us your time how busy you are um if you ever do decide to come back insh to Australia in the near future you're always welcome back on the C we'd love to have you like comment subscribe please uh we're starting the the Faithfully invested train so we're waiting for everyone to hop on board after this inallah so make sure you show us some love in the comments and show Dr y some love inshallah we'll put all of his links below andum for m