That speech given in Chicago USA by Dr Israr Ahmed
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00:00Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillahin ahmaduhu wa nastaeenuhu wa nastaghfiruhu wa nu'minu bihi wa natawakkalu
00:17alayhi, wa na'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa min sayyiati a'malina, man yahdihi allahu
00:27fa laa mudhilla lahu wa man yudhillu fa laa haadiya lah, wa nashhadu an laa ilaha illa
00:34allahu wahdahu laa sharika lah, wa nashhadu anna sayyidana wa maulanaa muhammadan abduhu
00:41wa rasuluhu, arsalahu bilhudaa wa deenil haqqi li yudhhirahu ala d-deeni kullih, wa kafaa
00:49billahi shaheeda, fa sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi wa sallama tasliman
00:57kaseeran kaseera, amma ba'du faqad qalallahu tabaraka wa ta'ala kama warada fi awwal surat
01:06al-baqarah, a'uzu billahi minash shaytanir rajeem, bismillahir rahmanir raheem, alif
01:15laa ammeen, saalika al-kitaabu laa rayba feeh, hudal lil-muttaqeen, al-lazeena yu'minuna
01:24bil-ghaybi wa yuqeemuna as-salata wa mimmaa radaqnaahum yunfiqoon, wa al-lazeena yu'minuna
01:32bimaa unzila ilayka wa maa unzila min qablik, wa bil-akhirati hum yuqinoon, ulayka ala hudan
01:42min rabbihim, walayka hum al-muflihoon, wa qala tabaraka wa ta'ala kama warada fee aakhir
01:50al-nafsi al-surah, aaman al-rasool bimaa unzila ilayhi min rabbihi wal-mu'minoon, kullun
01:58aamana billahi wa malayikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulihi, laa nufarriq baina ahadin min
02:05rusulihi, wa qaloo sami'naa wa ta'naa ghufranaka rabbanaa wa ilayka al-maseer, wa qala azza
02:14wajal kama warada fee basti al-surah, laysa al-birra an tuwallu wujuhakum qibala al-mashriqi
02:22wa al-maghrib, walakinna al-birra man aamana billahi wa al-yawmi al-aakhiri wa al-malayikati
02:30wa al-kitabi wa al-nabiyyin, wa qala jalla wa ala kama warada fee surat al-an'aam, fa
02:37ayyul fariqayni ahaq bil-aamni in kuntum ta'lamoon, al-lazeena aamanu wa lam yalbisu imanahum
02:45bi dhulmin ulayka lahumu al-aamnu wa hum muhtadoon, sadaqallahul azeem, wa an talhata
02:54abni Ubaidillahi radiallahu ta'ala anhu, qala an-nabiyyu sallallahu alayhi wa sallama
03:02kana izara al-hilala yaqul, Allahumma ahillahu alayna bil-aamni wa al-imani wa salamati
03:10wa al-islam, rawahul imam al-tirmidhi rahimahullah, rabbishrahli sadri wa yassirli yamri, wahlul
03:18uqdatum mil-lisani yafqahu qawli, Allahumma rabbana alhimna rushdana wa a'izna min shururi
03:25anfusina, Allahumma rabbana nawwir qulubana bil-iman, wa shrah sudurana lil-islam, wa
03:33waffiqna lima tuhibbu wa tarda, ameen ya rabbal alameen.
03:39Dear brothers and sisters and sons and daughters in Islam, with the name of Allah we begin
03:47with this series of lectures on the main themes of the Koran. The most basic and the
03:58most important theme of the Koran is what is iman. So I propose to give four lectures
04:07of one hour each on what is iman. Then inshallah we shall try to understand the converse of
04:16iman and tawhid, that is shirk. Then you know this iman because it is an ideology,
04:25it's a Weltanschauung in the German philosophical terminology, it's a worldview. It takes the
04:31form of a social order, a whole political socio-economic system that is called the system
04:39of khilafah. So we shall try to understand what that khilafah is and how it can be implemented.
04:47Then there are two more subjects which are very important and basic and that is what
04:53is jihad, what is meant by jihad fi sabirillah, what are the different levels of jihad and
05:00what are the requirements and prerequisites of each level. And finally we shall try to
05:07understand what is nifaq according to the Koran and the sunnah of Muhammad sallallahu
05:13alaihi wa sallam. So with the name of Allah and praying him that he gives me the strength
05:20to fulfil what I have decided to do and I also solicit your help by concentrating your
05:29attention and praying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he gives me the ability and the
05:35strength to do what I intend to do. So now please let us start with our discussion regarding
05:43iman. I propose to discuss this issue under ten headings and let me give you the list
05:52of those headings in the very beginning. Number one, what is the literal meaning of the word
05:59iman? Number two, what iman means as a basic term of Koran? That is to say, what is the
06:09technical definition of iman? Number three, what is the subject matter of iman? Number
06:17four, the main articles of iman or main articles of faith and their relative importance as
06:25compared to each other. Number five, two aspects of iman. That is, the legal iman and
06:33the real iman. What are the differences between the two? Number six, the relationship between
06:40iman and amal. Whether these two things are separate entities or they are an organic whole,
06:49what is the connection, relationship between the two, the iman and the amal, the faith
06:54and, you know, the deeds. Number seven, the solution of the age-old controversy, whether
07:02iman increases as well as decreases, or it neither increases nor decreases. Number eight,
07:10the relationship between iman and amal. That is, internal tranquility and peace. Number
07:18nine, the relationship between iman and jihad, fī sabīlillāh. Are they related to each
07:24other or not? Is jihad essential prerequisite of iman, or is it included in the very definition
07:33of iman? Lastly, number ten, how to get real iman and where to get it from. So you must
07:43have appreciated that we have to go a long way. This is a list of very important topics.
07:50At the same time, you must have appreciated how neglected this issue has been. We have
07:56been under a wrong notion that we have iman. And if you ask a Muslim what is iman, in most
08:04cases he will be perplexed as to what to say, especially the non-Arab Muslims. Because at
08:12least the Arab Muslims will be able to say what iman means literally. But, you know,
08:17the non-Arab Muslims, especially people from the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, they will
08:22be just, you know, perplexed at this question. And they will say, iman is iman. That's all.
08:29We can't say anything more regarding iman. I have given you the list of the ten most
08:35important headings of what iman is, because my diagnosis is that actually where we are
08:42lacking, the whole ummah, is this place that we don't have the real iman, the iman which
08:50is conviction. And only the conviction can transform the character and practical attitude
08:56of a person. All that we have is a racial creed. We profess to believe in certain things.
09:04And that is also only because we were born of certain parents, because they believed
09:10in certain things. So actually, our iman at the present time is a racial creed. It's not
09:17a conviction with us. And that is why you know the condition of the ummah, because the
09:22Quran says at one place, antumul a'launa in kuntum mu'mineen. O Muslims, la tahinu wa
09:29la tahzanu. Don't have any fear. Don't be anxious. Don't have anxiety. You will remain
09:36supreme if you are real mu'mins. Antumul a'launa in kuntum mu'mineen. A'laun is plural of
09:43a'la. A'la is the one who is supreme, who is above all. Subhana rabbiyal a'la. We use
09:52this word in our sajdah, in our prostration. So a'laun is the plural of a'la. Antumul a'laun
10:01in kuntum mu'mineen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, you will be supreme. You will dominate
10:07the earth if you are real mu'min. And we are not dominating. We are being dominated.
10:14We have been put to extreme humiliation. We have no honor in this world. So actually,
10:20this proves, and this is an ample proof of that, that we don't have the real iman. Because
10:26Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cannot tell a lie. Maazallah, whatever He has said is true. Antumul
10:34a'launa in kuntum mu'mineen. And we are not a'laun. Actually we are, you know, the humiliated
10:40ones. So what does it mean, that we don't have the real iman? So now I start with the
10:48first discussion as to what is the essential meaning, literal meaning of the word iman.
10:56First of all, let me make a point. The Arabic language is very mathematical language. And
11:06the 99.9 recurrent percent words of this language are derived from a three-lettered root. A
11:16very small number of the words, you know, they come from a four-lettered root. A few
11:23are from five-lettered. But mostly, as I told you, 99.9 percent words, they are derived
11:30from a three-lettered root. And from that three-lettered root, so many words can be
11:36formed and framed at different patterns, which they call in Arabic the a'zan. But every word
11:44is connected literally and in meanings to the basic root from which it is derived. The
11:51most simple example of that is ilm. And even those who don't know Arabic, they can frame
12:00so many words which are derived from this word, this three-lettered root of ilm. We
12:05know the word alim, who has knowledge, who has ilm. Malum, the thing which is in the
12:13knowledge of somebody, which is known by the people, it is malum. Then we have allama,
12:21the most knowledgeable person. Then we have mu'allim, who teaches knowledge to others.
12:29Then it is mu'ta'llim, who is getting knowledge, who is trying to get knowledge. Iste'lam,
12:37to get information. So many words. Ta'lim, to educate others. Ta'llum, to get knowledge
12:45for your own self. Iste'lam, to ask others to give you some knowledge. So all these words
12:53are derived from the same word, same three-lettered root, ilm. And you know, the connection remains
13:00there between all these words and the root from which it has been derived. The best simile
13:08is that of a tree. And Qur'an has given this simile.
13:20Just visualize and imagine a tree which has its roots fixed and firm in the soil. Then
13:28there is a trunk, then there are branches and sub-branches, then there are leaves and
13:34branches are very high and they are very broad. So actually this is the condition of
13:40this Arabic language. Every word being, you know, derived from a three-lettered root.
13:46But from that there are branchings. So many words can be derived and you know there are
13:52so many in number. Now let us see what is the root of iman. This word has been derived
14:02from aml. And we know what is aml. And all the Muslims from the Indo-Pak sub-continent,
14:13they also know what is aml. Aml is a condition in which there is no fear, there is no anxiety,
14:20no frustration, no grief, no sorrow. This is aml. And let me make another point here.
14:29It is very peculiar to our religion and it is very peculiar to the Qur'an that the most
14:37basic terms, both of them, iman and islām, these are the basic terms of our religion,
14:44iman and islām. And the meanings of these two words are the same. Both have a connection
14:51with peace. We must say it out and we must bring it to the knowledge of our youth. Because
14:58there is propaganda against the Muslims. Muslims are terrorists. And we can reply. How can
15:04a Muslim be a terrorist? Maybe. Certain, you know, misguided people take to that resort,
15:11go that way. But a Muslim can never be a terrorist. Why? Because the basic teachings of the Qur'an,
15:19the book of Allah, they are based on these two terms, iman and islām. Iman derived from
15:26aml, islām derived from salāmah. And you know salāmah, salāmati in Urdu, what does it mean?
15:34It is the security, it is the outer peace. So actually iman is the inner tranquility,
15:43inner peace of a person, inner tranquility of a person. And what is islām? It is the
15:49outward expression, outward manifestation of that inner peace. If somebody is in peace
15:56with himself, then he will be at peace with his society also. But if there are conflicts,
16:03there are frustrations within the personality of a person, his behavior will become negative.
16:08And he will be doing mischief to others also. So actually these two things are the two aspects
16:14of the same phenomenon. They are the two sides of the same picture. Iman within and islām
16:21in your external attitude, in your behavior. It is the practical manifestation of iman.
16:27I have discussed these things, you know, in a very small pamphlet of mine that is titled,
16:32and it is present in English also, it is also in Urdu, Qurān or Aml-e-Ālam, that is the title
16:39of that pamphlet in Urdu. Qurān and the world peace is the title of the pamphlet in English.
16:46And I have discussed these things, what is iman, what is islām. So actually this is
16:51a very important point, and I have stressed it in the very beginning. I am going to discuss
16:57what is the relationship between iman and islām, and we shall see it in detail and in depth.
17:02But in the very beginning I decided to make this point, that it should be brought home
17:07to all Muslims, and it should be taught to our youth, that our basic terminology,
17:13the two most basic and fundamental terms of our religion, they are iman derived from aml,
17:20islām from salāmah, salāmati in Urdu we can call it. So it is actually, as I have said,
17:29both are one, two aspects of the same phenomenon, two sides of the same picture.
17:36Iman within, aml within. Islām in our external manifestation and attitude, in our social behavior.
17:47Now, what is the meaning of this root according to the Qur'ān? Let us now turn to Qur'ān.
17:57Qur'ān says at many places, lā khawfun alayhim walāhum yaḥsanūn.
18:03For example in Sūrat Yūnus alayhi s-salātu wa s-salām,
18:08alā inna awliyā' Allāhi lā khawfun alayhim walāhum yaḥsanūn.
18:12So actually, this is the definition of aml.
18:17If a man is saved from fear, and number two, from anxiety and grief and sorrow,
18:24what does it mean? He has the aml, the inner peace and the inner tranquility.
18:30Now in Arabic language, amena ya'manu amnan. This means to be in peace yourself.
18:41Amena ya'manu amnan wa amanatan. And the ism al-fā'il from this is āminun.
18:49Āminun means a person who is in aml, who is in peace.
18:53Latadkhulunna al-masjid al-ḥarāma in shā'a Llāh āminīna muḥalliqīna ru'ūsakum wa muqassarīna lā takhāfūn.
19:02Allāh Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la promised the Muslims that you will enter the masjid al-ḥarāma,
19:08the sacred mosque at Mecca, and in a condition that there will be no fear for you.
19:14You will be in aml, āminīna. So āminun means a person who is in aml.
19:20Then āmana ya'manu īmānan. This is from Bābu l-if'āl.
19:26This means to give īmān, to give āman to others, to give peace to others.
19:32And the ism al-fā'il here is mu'minun.
19:36And you must have recalled that one of the beautiful names of Allāh Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is al-mu'min.
19:44As we have it in the last but one āyah of Sūratu l-Ḥashr.
19:48huwa Allāhu l-lazī lā ilāha illāhu al-maliku l-quddūsu s-salāmu l-mu'minu l-muhayminu l-azīzu l-jabbāru l-mutakabbir
19:59So there are two names included. This is a very peculiar āyah. There is no example in the whole of Qur'ān.
20:07Nine names of Allāh Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la are included in one āyah.
20:12huwa Allāhu l-lazī lā ilāha illāhu allāhu al-maliku l-quddūsu s-salāmu l-mu'minu l-muhayminu l-azīzu l-jabbāru l-mutakabbir
20:25Nine names of Allāh Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la included and mentioned in one āyah.
20:30Here again you find the two names are as-salām, al-mu'min.
20:35As-salām is from the same root from which Islām is derived. And al-mu'min is from the same root from which īmān is derived.
20:44So here again you find both words, Islām and īmān, together.
20:50Allāh Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is as-salām. He is the peace. And He is al-mu'min.
20:58He is the only person who can give you real peace in your hearts, who can give you real tranquility, satisfaction in your hearts.
21:09So this is āmana-yūmino īmānan.
21:12Now you add one thing more and our discussion on the literal meaning of īmān will be complete.
21:20In every language we have this phenomenon. If you add certain preposition to a verb, the meanings change.
21:30The most simple example in English is, everybody knows what to give means.
21:35To give, it has certain meanings and connotations.
21:40Now you add, to give up, what does it mean?
21:45It's a world of difference. To give in, what does it mean?
21:51Absolutely new meanings.
21:53So to give, compare it to, to give in, again compare it to, to give up.
22:01Same is the case in Arabic.
22:04But in English we find there remains no connection between the meanings of to give and to give in and to give up.
22:12But in Arabic, after even you add prepositions, and that will result in addition of additional meanings to that,
22:20but the connection with the root will remain intact. It will not be severed or broken.
22:25So āmana, if you add the word, and it is the harf, harf-e-jār, bā, or lām,
22:34āmana-ve, āmana-le, āmana-lahū, āmana-vehi,
22:41what does it mean? To believe in someone, to accept the claim which someone is making.
22:49This is āmana-ve, āmana-le.
22:53Suppose a person comes and he brings you news,
22:57well, such and such incident has taken place just now, and you accept.
23:01This is āmantuṁ vehi, āmantuṁ lahū.
23:07You had faith in him, and you have accepted the news that he brought as true.
23:13And in the same way, someone comes to you and he makes a claim.
23:17For example, well, I am a very experienced physician, I can treat you.
23:23And you take him on his words, and you believe in him, and you hand yourself up to him, over to him.
23:31You know, because when somebody is ready to get a treatment from a doctor or a physician,
23:36it is as if he has handed over himself to him.
23:39Now he will prescribe, and whatever he prescribes you will take, because you have faith in him,
23:43that he has the knowledge, he has the expertise to advise you what to take.
23:48So actually, if you accept the claim of a person, or you accept the news that he has brought,
23:55so for that this is āmana-ve or āmana-le.
23:59Now what is the connection between the two?
24:02Because if somebody comes and says, and tells you something, and you accept it, it's peace.
24:08Āmana, no conflict, no argument.
24:11And if you say, no, you are telling a lie, then the argument starts.
24:16Maybe physical scuffle also begins. It's just possible.
24:20He says, no, what I am saying, it is true.
24:23And you say, no, what you are telling is a lie.
24:25So there is, you know, now āmana is finished.
24:28Now there is an argument, there is a conflict, and it can go to any extent.
24:33In the same way, somebody comes and says, and makes some claim about himself, you accept him.
24:39Okay, we accept your claim. So there is peace. You have given him peace.
24:43But if you contradict his claim, no, it's not so.
24:47We don't accept you as such.
24:49So there is an argument, there is a conflict, and again, let me say,
24:53this conflict can go to any extent, to a physical scuffle even.
24:58So the collection remains here. Āmana vihi.
25:02They have faith in him, they believed in him. They accepted his claim.
25:06So this much should suffice regarding the literal discussion on the meaning of the word īmāna.
25:12Derived from the three-letter root āmana.
25:15Āmena yāmano āmnan, to be in peace yourself.
25:19Āmana yūmino īmānan, to give peace to someone else.
25:22Āmana ve āmana le, to believe in someone and to accept his claim.
25:28Now we go to the second heading of our discussion.
25:32What is the technical definition of īmāna?
25:36What this means as a term.
25:40And here again, let me give you a basic principle.
25:44Because you know, Koran was revealed in Arabic language.
25:49So all its basic terminology has been derived from Arabic language.
25:54But Koran has picked and chosen words from the Arabic language,
25:59and then added to those words additional meanings to make them the terms.
26:05As you know, in every science, in every field of knowledge,
26:09there is a peculiar terminology. You must be familiar with the terminology.
26:15If you want to study physics, you must know the basic terminology which are used in this science.
26:22If you are going to study chemistry, you must know the basic terminology of this science.
26:28In the same way, every science, whether it is political science, social sciences or physical sciences,
26:34everything has its own peculiar terminology.
26:38So Koran has also its own peculiar terminology.
26:42But this terminology is based on the words that Koran picked and chose from the vocabulary of the Arabic language,
26:51which was existing before Koran was revealed.
26:55So now īmān, it has a literal meaning.
26:59And īmān as a term, as a basic terminology of the Koran, it has a specific meaning.
27:05Now what is it?
27:07Al-īmānu tasdīqū bi-mā jābihi n-nabiyyu sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam.
27:14Īmān technically means to believe in the prophets of Allāh,
27:21to accept their claim that they are prophets of Allāh.
27:25Whatever they are saying is not from their own minds, their own thinking, their own logic.
27:30It is from Allāh subhānahu wa ta'ālā.
27:33It was revealed to them.
27:35So if you are accepting their claim of prophethood or messengerhood of Allāh subhānahu wa ta'ālā,
27:41and on that basis you accept whatever they are telling you, it is īmān.
27:46Tasdīqū bi-mā jābihi n-nabiyyu sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam.
27:51And for us the most important is the Prophet Muḥammad sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam.
27:56Because you know, the guidance of Allāh subhānahu wa ta'ālā,
28:00that became complete in the messengerhood of Muḥammad sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam,
28:05in the prophethood of Muḥammad sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam.
28:08It became complete in the Qur'ān.
28:11al-yawma akmaltu lakum dīnakum wa atmamtu alaykum ni'mati wa raḍītu lakumu l-islām ad-dīna
28:17To have faith in Muḥammad sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam,
28:20to believe in him and to accept whatever he says,
28:26is the technical meaning of īmān.
28:29And let me quote here, Allāma Ibn Ḥajr, Asqalāni, rahimahullah, he has defined it.
28:35al-īmānu lughatan at-tasdīq
28:39Literally speaking, īmān is tasdīq, to believe in someone.
28:45And in our shar'a, according to our basic terminology of our dīn,
28:55it is to accept and believe in the messenger of Allāh,
28:59in whatever he is saying, from Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'ālā.
29:06And this definition is agreed upon by all the Muslims.
29:10There is no controversy, no difference of opinion regarding this definition of īmān.
29:17Now, if we analyze further, whatever the prophets brought, it can be divided into two parts.
29:27First of all, the knowledge of some metaphysical truths, metaphysical realities of this universe.
29:35And number two, practical guidance. Do this, don't do this.
29:40This is ḥalāl, this is ḥarām.
29:43You can eat this thing, and not this thing.
29:46You can drink this thing, but not this thing.
29:50You can go this way, but not that way.
29:53You can have the satisfaction of your sexual urge under these rules, but not beyond them.
30:01This is actually the practical guidance that they have brought.
30:05So we can divide what the prophets brought to us.
30:10It can be divided into two.
30:13The knowledge of metaphysical realities of this universe.
30:17I will enumerate them later on.
30:20And number two, the practical guidance.
30:23The do's and don'ts, which we call.
30:25The āvāmīra and navāhi.
30:27These are the āhkāmu śarī'ah.
30:29These are the rules of the śarī'ah, which you have to follow and observe.
30:33But now the term īmān is reserved for the first type of the teachings of the prophet.
30:40This īmān, although technically it includes, you know, everything that was brought by the prophets.
30:48But it is reserved in usage for the knowledge of the metaphysical realities and truths,
30:56which the prophets, alaihimu s-salātu wa s-salām, they brought.
31:00And again, another point.
31:02There have been differences between the practical guidance and the śarī'ah of different prophets of Allāh,
31:09different messengers of Allāh, as we know.
31:12The śarī'ah of Mūsā alaihi s-salātu wa s-salām and the śarī'ah of Muḥammad sallallāhu alaihi wa sallam,
31:17there are minor differences.
31:19The form of prayer that Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'ālā prescribed for us,
31:23five prayers a day, and the form, you know, in every rakaḥ, the sequence of the events,
31:29that is different from the prayer that was prescribed for the former ummah.
31:34In the same way, we know the different rules of ṣaum, fasting.
31:40The rules for the former ummah were different, and the rules for this ummah are different.
31:46They had no concept of siḥrī, suhūr, to eat during the night.
31:51Once they went to sleep, their ṣaum, their fasting began.
31:56But here in our śarī'ah, there is emphasis.
32:00tasaharu fainna fi-stuhūr e-barakaḥ
32:03Must eat something before dawn, you know, because in this eating and drinking before dawn, there is baraka.
32:10So there is a fundamental difference between the rules of śarī'ah,
32:14śarī'ah of Moses alaihi s-salātu wa s-salām and śarī'ah of Muḥammad sallallāhu alaihi wa sallam.
32:20So regarding the practical guidance, there have been differences.
32:25But regarding the metaphysical truths, there has been no difference whatsoever.
32:31It's the same from Ādam alaihi s-salātu wa s-salām till Īdam.
32:35Īdam in Persian means this time.
32:38From Ādam till Īdam.
32:41Or you may say, specifically, from Ādam to Muḥammad alaihi s-salātu wa s-salām wa sallallāhu alaihi wa sallam.
32:48There has been no difference whatsoever in the metaphysical truths which were revealed by these prophets.
32:57That is to say, the subject matter of īmān has been the same,
33:02although the practical guidance has been changing.
33:07Now we come to the third subject.
33:12What is the subject matter of īmān?
33:15And this is important as well as interesting.
33:20And I have to make a few preliminary points first.
33:25Number one.
33:27There are two types of human beings.
33:31There have always been two types of human beings.
33:35There are two types of human beings.
33:37There will always be two types of human beings.
33:41Most of the people, most of the humans, they are followers.
33:47In whichever society they are born, they accept the norms of that society.
33:53They don't question them.
33:55Why do you believe in this?
33:57They accept whatever their parents believe.
34:00And they start, you know, the journey of their life.
34:05They don't question.
34:06How do you believe it? And why do you believe it?
34:09And why should I accept anything?
34:12Only because you believe in those things.
34:15I must know the truth for myself.
34:18So actually most of the people,
34:20here again I am using the same expression,
34:2299.9 recurrent percent of people in this world
34:27have always been, are today, and will ever be followers.
34:33They follow.
34:34They don't question.
34:35They don't criticize.
34:37They don't demand arguments.
34:39But there have always been and will always be,
34:45although in minority, a microscopic minority,
34:49some people who question,
34:51why should I believe this?
34:54How come?
34:55How do you believe these things?
34:57So these people you know,
34:59you may call them, you know, the intellectuals,
35:03although they are a microscopic minority,
35:06actually they are the pacemakers.
35:09They strive to get the truth for themselves,
35:12to have the knowledge for themselves.
35:14They make research.
35:16Then they argue.
35:18They make a comparative study.
35:20Then whatever they accept,
35:22it is usually followed by others.
35:25Let me give you two examples,
35:28rather three examples.
35:30And let me start from the East.
35:34Imagine, you know, who was Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha,
35:39a prince,
35:41and living in a palace, brought up in a palace.
35:45He was the would-be king of that kingdom.
35:48That was quite a big kingdom.
35:50But that was a person of that type.
35:53He started thinking,
35:55what we believe, is it correct?
35:58Especially, why is there suffering in this world?
36:02He saw a blind man,
36:04who was born blind.
36:06What was his fault?
36:09Why he was born blind?
36:12And he saw, you know, an infant dying,
36:15and the parents standing by the side of that infant.
36:18Can't do anything.
36:20They know our beloved child is going,
36:23but they can't do anything.
36:25All this suffering,
36:27can there be any salvation?
36:29Can man be saved from this suffering?
36:32So that was the starting point of his
36:35inquiry into the reality and truth.
36:38What are the basic truths of this universe?
36:41So that was the reason
36:43why he left his palace.
36:45At the prime of his youth,
36:47he was thirty years old,
36:49married,
36:51you know, left wife sleeping.
36:54And an infant son was also sleeping by the side of the mother.
36:58All the things, you know,
37:00which a person loves in this world,
37:03the comforts and luxuries of the palace,
37:06a young wife,
37:08and now an infant son also,
37:11left everything, went out,
37:14into the wilderness.
37:16This is the word of the Bible,
37:17a cry from the wilderness.
37:18It is used for Hazrat Yahya alaihi s-salatu wa s-salam.
37:22So he went into wilderness.
37:24And how many years?
37:26For about forty years,
37:28he kept roaming about
37:30to this rishi and to this muni
37:33and to this learned person and to this person.
37:36Now I don't know exactly
37:39the conclusions which he reached.
37:41And we can't say,
37:43because there are different sects of the Buddhists.
37:45And all of them, you know,
37:47ascribe different things to Buddha.
37:49And because he belongs to an era
37:53before Christ,
37:55so it's very difficult.
37:57And that his teachings are, you know,
38:00preserved.
38:02So I only wanted to give an example.
38:06There have been people
38:08who want to know the things for themselves,
38:11to have a direct knowledge of the basic truths of this universe.
38:15And they can sacrifice everything for that.
38:18The comforts of a palace,
38:20the luxuries of a palace,
38:22there would be the future
38:24that he would be the king
38:26or the ruler of that kingdom.
38:28But he gave up everything
38:30to have the knowledge of the reality.
38:33Now let me give to the West.
38:36It's a well-known fact.
38:38You must be knowing what happened to Socrates,
38:40Socrates.
38:42He was a thinker, a philosopher.
38:44He didn't accept
38:46what the society believed.
38:48He taught himself.
38:50He pondered over those things himself.
38:53He argued with himself.
38:55Then he reached certain conclusions.
38:57And then he started preaching.
39:00This is what I believe.
39:02To me, it appears it is like that.
39:05Not according to what you believe.
39:08So there was, you know, a controversy in the society.
39:11And then the society reacted.
39:14He was, you know, he had to appear in a court.
39:17And the verdict of the court was
39:20we can allow you to believe in anything you like,
39:24but we can't allow you to preach.
39:27We can't give you the freedom
39:29to challenge our beliefs
39:31and our, you know, ideas.
39:34You can keep your ideas to yourself.
39:37You have to keep your mouth shut
39:39if you want to live.
39:41And if you can't keep your mouth shut,
39:44then this is the cup of the poison.
39:46You have to take it here and now.
39:50And you know what was the decision?
39:53He said, I can't live
39:55without saying what I believe,
39:57without preaching to others
39:59the knowledge that has come to me.
40:01I can't live.
40:02Life is meaningless.
40:04So I prefer to take this cup of poison.
40:07He took it there and then.
40:09Right?
40:11Now let me come to the third example.
40:13And this is from the Middle East.
40:15Who was Salman al-Farsi?
40:17R.A.
40:20He was born in Iran.
40:22And the people worshipped fire.
40:25And he was born in the house of a priest,
40:27just like Hazrat Ibrahim A.S.
40:30He was born to Azar.
40:32And Azar, you know, he was a priest.
40:36He used to make idols.
40:38The same was the case here.
40:41A custodian of a place of worship
40:45Hazrat Salman was born to him.
40:48But then he said to himself,
40:50it is ridiculous.
40:52We burn this fire.
40:54We add fuel to it.
40:56We light this fire.
40:58If we don't add fuel to it,
40:59it can't continue burning.
41:01And then we stand, you know,
41:03folded hands before this fire.
41:05And you ask the blessings from this fire.
41:08It's ridiculous.
41:10I'm not ready to accept it.
41:12What was the fate?
41:14He had to leave his home and hearth.
41:16Just as
41:18the father of Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. said to him,
41:29This is in Surah Maryam A.S.
41:32Are you leaving my gods?
41:35The gods whom I worship?
41:37You don't want to worship them?
41:40No.
41:41I will stone you to death
41:43if you, you know, don't change your attitude.
41:46Or you have to leave this house.
41:48Go away from my sight.
41:51The same fate happened and occurred
41:54to Hazrat Salman.
41:57He left his home and hearth.
41:59Even his country,
42:01just as Ibrahim, you know,
42:03migrated from Iraq to Syria.
42:05He had to migrate again
42:08from Iran to Syria.
42:10What a similarity
42:12between the life of
42:14Hazrat Ibrahim A.S.
42:16and Hazrat Salman from Iran,
42:18Salman-e-Farsi.
42:20He also migrated to Syria.
42:22That was the seat of learning.
42:24He became Christian.
42:26And Christianity was the deen of Islam of that day.
42:29Because before the advent of Muhammad A.S.
42:33it was the era of the prophethood
42:35and messengerhood of Hazrat-e-Masih A.S.
42:38So he became a Muslim, so to say.
42:40So he accepted Christianity.
42:42And he was under the training and teaching
42:45of so many rahibs,
42:47knowledgeable persons, Christians.
42:49But you know, the last one with whom
42:52he was getting knowledge,
42:54when he was on his deathbed,
42:56Salman said to him,
42:58My thirst of knowledge has not been quenched up till now.
43:02Now you are also dying.
43:05Where do I go after you?
43:07And then that rahib, you know,
43:10he said,
43:12My knowledge tells me
43:14that the time of the appearance
43:16of the last prophet
43:18has come near.
43:20And he will appear
43:22towards the south
43:24in the land of the dead.
43:27So go there.
43:29Try your luck.
43:30If you are sincere,
43:32it may be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
43:34takes you to Him
43:36and your thirst for guidance and knowledge
43:39is quenched.
43:41So after that rahib died,
43:43Hazrat-e-Salman, you know,
43:45he started his journey with a caravan
43:48towards the Arabian Peninsula,
43:50the land of the dead.
43:53But you know that caravan was looted,
43:56attacked by robbers.
43:58Salman was taken a prisoner.
44:01And what did the prisoner mean at that time?
44:03A slave.
44:05He was sold.
44:07But his purchaser was a Jew of Medina.
44:11So he reached Medina anyhow.
44:13There he heard
44:15that someone at Mecca had made a claim.
44:18He has made a claim that he is a prophet.
44:20But now he is tied in the chains of slavery.
44:24He can't go.
44:25He can't move. He is a slave now.
44:27So he kept waiting.
44:29And I do say these words
44:31about Salman r.a.
44:33In Urdu we say that
44:43The well came over to the thirsty.
44:46In the case of Salman,
44:48Muhammad s.a.w. migrated to Medina.
44:51And thus, you know,
44:53the desire of Hazrat-e-Salman was fulfilled.
44:56I can't go into further details.
44:58They are very interesting incidents.
45:00How he approached the Prophet s.a.w.
45:03The question that he asked.
45:05He had an identity
45:07told to him
45:09that this will be the identity of that Prophet.
45:11And he, you know,
45:13he fulfilled.
45:15And he satisfied himself
45:17that he is really the person
45:19to whom he had referred.
45:21So these are the three examples
45:24of those persons
45:26who don't accept things, you know,
45:28only because people believe in them.
45:30Only because their parents believed in them.
45:33They question something.
45:35They criticize them.
45:37And then they want to know the truth for themselves.
45:40And they are ready to sacrifice
45:42everything for that cause.
45:44Everything which is, you know,
45:46loved by people.
45:48But they can sacrifice all those things
45:50for the sake of gaining the truth,
45:52the knowledge of the truth.
45:55Now,
45:57let me make another point here.
46:00These people, such people,
46:03whatever truth
46:05comes to them,
46:07then they preach.
46:09And now the followers
46:11follow them.
46:13Mostly not in their lifetime.
46:16But after them,
46:18you know,
46:20all the people in the world,
46:22how many people are Buddhists?
46:24At least they claim to follow Buddha.
46:27How many people, you know,
46:29all these philosophies
46:32of the West,
46:34the Greek philosophy,
46:36the realism and the idealism,
46:38they are all branches of the philosophy
46:41that initiated, that were initiated
46:43by Socrates.
46:45Because
46:47Plato
46:49was a disciple of Socrates.
46:51Then Aristotle,
46:53Aristotle, he was a disciple
46:56of Plato, of Plato.
46:59And there are only two branches of philosophy.
47:01Either realism,
47:03which starts with Aristotle,
47:05or idealism, which starts from
47:08Plato, of Plato.
47:10So all the Greek philosophy,
47:12all the Greek philosophers later on
47:14followed Socrates.
47:16But what happened to Socrates
47:18himself in his lifetime, I have told you.
47:21Same is the case of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
47:24You know, I have told you
47:26that after the ten years'
47:29hardest labor,
47:31not more than 150 persons were there
47:33with Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
47:35In the tenth year,
47:37after the beginning of Wahi.
47:39But how many believe in him now?
47:42So actually these are the people,
47:44we may call them the pacemakers.
47:48They have set the channels
47:50on which then humanity
47:52is treading and going.
47:54So they are the people
47:56who set channels of thought,
47:59lines of thought.
48:01And then the people, generally
48:03they follow those lines
48:05and they follow in the footsteps
48:07of these people.
48:09Now, let me come to the questions.
48:12What are the basic questions
48:15to which these people,
48:17the thinkers, the sages, the philosophers,
48:20they have been addressing,
48:22they have been grappling with?
48:24What are those questions?
48:26Number one,
48:28what is this universe?
48:31Has it been here
48:34in existence from ever
48:37and will continue to exist forever?
48:41Or it has a beginning and an end?
48:46If it has a beginning and an end,
48:49then there must be some creator.
48:53Who is that creator?
48:56How can we know that creator?
48:59What are the attributes of that creator?
49:02We must know for ourselves.
49:04Can we have any contact
49:06with that creator?
49:08Can we approach him?
49:11Then number two,
49:13who are we?
49:15Are we just like animals?
49:18Or is there any
49:21qualitative difference between us and the animals?
49:24We find so many things common
49:26between us and animals.
49:28The animals have to eat,
49:30feed themselves,
49:32to preserve themselves,
49:34preservation of the self.
49:36We also need food.
49:38Animals require rest.
49:41We also require rest.
49:43Animals sleep, we also sleep.
49:46Animals have sexual desire
49:49for the preservation of their species.
49:52We also have a sexual desire.
49:55So many things are common
49:57between animals and us.
50:00But are we only
50:02quantitatively different from animals?
50:05Or is there any basic and
50:07qualitative difference between us and the animals?
50:09Number one.
50:11Then what about our life?
50:14Is our life
50:16only this period of our existence here,
50:19from our birth till death?
50:22The 30, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 years?
50:27You can add to it, according to your knowledge,
50:30another nine months
50:32that we passed in the wombs
50:34of our mothers.
50:36So is that the only existence of our earth?
50:39This is life.
50:41Was there no existence
50:44before coming to this world,
50:46before our birth,
50:48or before our conception
50:50in the wombs of our mothers?
50:52And, in the same way,
50:55will there be our
50:57existence after death also?
50:59Is there any form of existence
51:02beyond death?
51:04Or death is the end?
51:07Is that the end of our existence?
51:12Or is there any life after death?
51:15Or is there any existence to continue
51:17after death also?
51:19Then, what is evil, what is good?
51:23Are these ethical values,
51:25moral values, are they real?
51:28Or just apparent?
51:32As there is a saying in English language,
51:34nothing is good or bad,
51:36only thinking makes it so.
51:38Is it correct?
51:40Or, the good is good,
51:43and evil is evil.
51:45Are these permanent values, or not?
51:48You must be knowing
51:50that according to the Marxist philosophy,
51:52there are no permanent ethical values.
51:55With the changing of the economic condition
51:58to the society, the values change.
52:01There are no permanent ethical moral values.
52:05Is it so? Is it correct?
52:07Then, if there are permanent ethical values,
52:11why should we observe those values?
52:14Supposing I know
52:16that to tell the truth is good,
52:19to tell a lie is bad.
52:21But why should I tell the truth
52:24when I see there is danger in telling the truth?
52:27Maybe I am killed.
52:29Maybe I am fined
52:31because I have told the truth.
52:33Why not to escape the dangers
52:35by telling a lie?
52:37What's the motive of enforcing?
52:39What's the motive
52:41that will make me tell a truth?
52:44Just as you know I mentioned about Socrates.
52:47By saying out the truth,
52:49he had to finish himself.
52:51So to say, he committed suicide.
52:54He could live
52:56if he accepted the judgment of the court.
52:59You can keep your thoughts to you.
53:02You are free to believe whatever you like,
53:04but you can't preach them.
53:06He didn't accept it.
53:08So what is the force, motivating force
53:11that will bind us
53:13to the ethical values, to the moral values?
53:16So these are the questions. What is knowledge?
53:19We know that we have certain sense organs
53:23and we gather some information
53:25through these sense organs.
53:26We can see, we can hear.
53:28Then we know that we have
53:30some faculty over here, you know,
53:32of inferring.
53:34We infer from our sense data.
53:36The data is fed
53:38just, you know,
53:39as the data is fed in a computer.
53:41We know we have a computer here.
53:43And you feed the data
53:45and then data is processed by this computer.
53:48And we reach a conclusion.
53:50And now those conclusions
53:52are stored in the memory of this computer.
53:55This much we know.
53:57But is that all?
53:59Or there is any additional source of knowledge?
54:03Can we get knowledge through any other source?
54:07So you know all these questions.
54:10You might be knowing and you might have appreciated.
54:13These are the basic questions of philosophy,
54:17of different disciplines of philosophy.
54:20You know, you know, this philosophy
54:22has been divided into so many branches.
54:25Otherwise, sometime before,
54:29philosophy included metaphysics.
54:32It included ethics.
54:35It included psychology.
54:38It included epistemology.
54:40All these are the branches of philosophy.
54:43And the questions which I enumerated,
54:46they relate to different branches of philosophy.
54:49What is the nature of existence?
54:51This is metaphysics.
54:53What is the nature of human mind?
54:55What are the motives?
54:56This is psychology.
54:58What are the sources of knowledge?
55:00How do we get knowledge?
55:01This is epistemology.
55:03Whether there are permanent ethical values or not,
55:06or what are the motivating forces
55:08to be moral in your attitude,
55:11to have a moral attitude,
55:13and to, you know,
55:15to act according to the ethical values.
55:18This is ethics.
55:20So these are the different branches,
55:22different disciplines of the same subject
55:24which we call philosophy.
55:26Now, another point.
55:28There has been answers to these questions.
55:32But the sources have been different.
55:36On the one side we find philosophers, thinkers, sages.
55:41You can mention Confucius, Tao,
55:44Gautam Buddha, Mahavira.
55:47You can, you know, say Socrates, Plato.
55:51All these people, they were philosophers.
55:55They thought about these problems.
55:57They reached certain conclusions.
56:00Then they arranged those ideas
56:03into a logical system,
56:05and that is called,
56:07this is the philosophy of Plato,
56:09this is the philosophy of Aristotle,
56:12this is the philosophy of Confucius.
56:15These people, they say
56:17that we have thought upon these questions,
56:20and our mind, our intellect,
56:23our logic tells us
56:25that these are the answers to these questions.
56:28This we call philosophy.
56:30But no philosopher till this date
56:33has claimed
56:35that it is 100% true what I am saying.
56:38No philosopher up till this date.
56:40Let me mention here Allama Iqbal,
56:43the biggest poet-philosopher of Islam
56:46the 20th century has produced,
56:49and you must have heard the name of his book,
56:52Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.
56:56Though in the preface to that book he says,
56:59I don't claim
57:01that whatever I have said in this book
57:04is 100% correct.
57:07We should maintain an attitude of learning
57:10and thinking,
57:13and adding to our knowledge.
57:15And maybe that as time passes,
57:18better ideas, more sound ideas
57:21are given by other people.
57:24This is the humility that he shows.
57:26And this is the case with every philosopher.
57:29No philosopher has up till this date
57:32claimed that whatever I have said
57:35or I am saying is 100% true.
57:38But the other source of answers to these questions
57:42has been that certain peoples claimed
57:45that we have a certain,
57:48a peculiar, exclusive source of knowledge
57:52which has come to us.
57:54It is not with you.
57:56The humanity at large
57:58has not been blessed with that source of knowledge.
58:01It is Wahi from the creator of this universe.
58:04And we know for sure
58:07that these are the answers to these questions.
58:10And they are 100% correct.
58:12This is the claim of those persons
58:15whom we call prophets.
58:17A very long chain of prophets.
58:20Prophets of the Old Testament
58:22and those, before you know,
58:24Hazrat Ibrahim alaihi salatu was salam.
58:26It's a very big chain.
58:28And you, all these prophets,
58:30gave answers to these questions.
58:32I shall, you know, discuss in detail
58:34what were the answers.
58:36And actually the collective name of those answers is Iman.
58:40But here I want to make the point
58:43that these prophets claimed
58:45that we have known these answers
58:48to all these questions
58:50through a special source of knowledge
58:52which has not been given to all the human beings.
58:56And we claim that this is 100% true.
58:59There can be no doubt about it.
59:01That is why we find that the Koran, you know,
59:03Surah al-Baqarah starts with a claim,
59:05a very big claim, a very loud claim.
59:07Alif laam meem, zalikal kitaabun laa rayba fee.
59:11There's no doubt about it.
59:13This is the truth.
59:15This is 100% truth.
59:17There's nothing false in it.
59:19Nothing, no doubt about it.
59:21And I'll give you in the next session, inshallah,
59:23what Hazrat Ibrahim said to his father.
59:26That is the most beautiful expression
59:28of the claim the prophets made.
59:31I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you
59:34and all Muslims.