Self

Imam Dukuley discusses what it means to be good in Islam and the importance of humility and standing up for justice.

Being Good in Islam

Being good in Islam.

Worship may be classified into two types. One, specific beliefs, feelings, and visible acts of devotion paid in homage to Allah, which he has commanded. That is number one. Number two, all other acts of goodness generally encouraged in the life of a Muslim. This one say, in the Qur’an [quoting in Arabic]... It says, “you are the best of nations ever evolved. Why? Why [do] Muslims say that? Why somebody say Islam, this generation of ours, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (the most glorified, the most high), this is the best of generations ever evolved. … The best of nations is—what? My nation. So why, when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (the most glorified, the most high) says, the best of nations ever evolved is this generation. Why? Yes? … Yes. And? Why? Can anybody tell me why? … Yes? Yes, yes. Why would Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (the most glorified, the most high) describe this ummah (community) as the best of nations ever evolved? Can anybody tell me? Yes? What’s your name? Ahmed. Yes, Ahmed? Guess. Why would Allah describe this Muslim community—this nation of his, this nation of ours, is we are the best of nations ever evolved. Why? Why is that? Can you tell me brother? Why would Allah say, [quoting the Qur’an in Arabic]... Why would Allah say, “you are the best of nations ever evolved? Because, I’m asking this question, if you —you need to know as a Muslim how to answer this. What if you go somewhere —“I saw in your book of Qur’an, Allah calls you the best of nations.” What would be your response? “Can I throw something out there?” That’s what I asked you. “Al-hamdu-lilah (praise be to God), the purpose behind us being the best community is based on our conduct and our actions. That we should emulate more excellence in our performance. So, by the grace of Allah, when we’re united as one solid block, according to Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala (the most glorified, the most high), and his prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, we are in authority, or I should say, we are in the trust of propagating and promoting the reflection of his din (law or religion) through our deeds, actions, and statements.” Okay, thank you. That’s perfect, that’s perfect… Now, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, He said—what did I say at the beginning of this lecture? That Allah was a good teacher. He gave us questions, he gave us lessons, he gave us warning, he gave us advices, he gave us everything. He says, in the same verse, “The reason why I say you are the best of nations is because why? Because He commands everything that is good [quoting the Qur’an in Arabic]....He commands every excellent action, everything that is good. That’s what Islam is about. It’s not just, “you better wash and pray, give zakat, this, that.” They are only actions. [Quoting in Arabic]...You also prevent the doing of injustice. Anything that is wrong, He says, “No. Islam, eschew all those things.” [Quoting in Arabic] … “You believe in Allah, and Allah alone.” This is a specific, what do you call, preference of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, on a condition though: “[Quoting in Arabic]... Because you do this, that’s why you are the best of nations.” What if we don’t do it? We are not the best of nations. We cannot be the best of nations. We are only the best of nations because we [are] commanded the doing of good. [Quoting in Arabic]....And mar’uf, mar’uf means every single thing that is known to be good, that is what mar’uf is. Everything bad—even the bad guy doesn’t want it. They say, Steve from..., Steve or called something….mad or something….Yeah, somebody goes sees something and steals from them. They can get mad. Because they think that they put their life on the line and the repetition and everything, and at the end of the day, somebody smash it away from them. Yeah. It can make them angry, right? It can make them angry. So, ...mar’uf everything that you don’t like, if somebody was to do it to you. So, Islam forbids those things.

He says, in the same verse, “The reason why I say you are the best of nations is because why? Because He commands everything that is good....He commands every excellent action, everything that is good. That’s what Islam is about. It’s not just, “you better wash and pray, give zakat, this, that.” They are only actions....You also prevent the doing of injustice. Anything that is wrong, He says, “No. Islam, eschews all those things...." “You believe in Allah, and Allah alone.” This is a specific, what do you call, preference of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (most glorious, most high), on a condition though, “....Because you do this, that’s why you are the best of nations.” What if we don’t do it? We are not the best of nations. We cannot be the best of nations. We are only the best of nations because we [are] commanded the doing of good.

Witness to Justice

Being a witness for justice

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Allah… [quoting in Arabic] In this [quoting in Arabic]...In his eyes, Allah says, “all you who believe, be maintainers of justice and bearers of true witness for Allah. “Even if the truth goes against your own selves, your parents, your relatives, or someone who is rich or poor. You know why Allah mentioned the poor and the rich in this? Now it says, “You should be good witnesses.” Don’t back your brother. Allah says [quoting Arabic], “Even if they are poor or rich, Allah says, I will protect both, it’s not your responsibility.” The reason why [quoting in Arabic]... Allah said, I’ll protect both. Because, nowadays, justice is about money. Right? The one who has money can get justice. Muslims can’t be like this. When you go to court, if you saw something and you are called to account, you are not doing it for yourself, you are doing it for the sake of Allah. He said, [quoting in Arabic].... He said, “You should be witnesses and maintainers of justice for the sake of Allah. And even if speaking that truth is speaking out against yourself, or your father, your parents, all your close relatives, Allah says, speak the truth. To protect them , it is your duty. Now, some people…some people come, say, “Oh, this man has a lot of money. If I go and witness against him, he’s going to lose a lot of money. Or, this guy is very poor. If I go witness against him, oh, he’s going to end up in jail. So you know what, I’m going to say something else.” Either case, Muslim, you’re not supposed to do it....Allah already mentioned that. [Quoting in Arabic]...Their protection lies with Allah, not you. Allah says, [quoting in Arabic].... “Do not follow your heart’s desire, [quoting in Arabic] in making justice.” Don’t do it, don’t follow your heart desire. When you are presenting justice, don’t follow your heart’s desire. Because your heart’s desire will say, because you’re my friend, you know what, you’re my friend, I’m going to protect her. Yeah. And go to court, the judge was not there. I’m the witness. I don’t care about the oath. So, I’ll take the oath and then something. [Quoting in Arabic]... Allah said, As Muslims, good conduct, this is a code of conduct. Do that. But if you didn’t, [Quoting in Arabic]....Allah is watching, though, all that you do. So one of the good conduct of Muslims is to observe this.

Allah says, “All you who believe, be maintainers of justice and bearers of true witness for Allah. “Even if the truth goes against your own selves, your parents, your relatives, or someone who is rich or poor. You know why Allah mentioned the poor and the rich in this? Now it says, “You should be good witnesses.” ...Allah says...“Even if they are poor or rich, Allah says, I will protect both, it’s not your responsibility.” The reason why... Allah said, I’ll protect both [is] because, nowadays, justice is about money. Right? The one who has money can get justice. Muslims can’t be like this. When you go to court, if you saw something and you are called to account, you are not doing it for yourself, you are doing it for the sake of Allah.... He said, “You should be witnesses and maintainers of justice for the sake of Allah. And even if speaking that truth is speaking out against yourself, or your father, your parents, all your close relatives, Allah says, speak the truth. To protect them, it is your duty. Now, some people…some people come, say, “Oh, this man has a lot of money. If I go and witness against him, he’s going to lose a lot of money. Or, this guy is very poor. If I go witness against him, oh, he’s going to end up in jail. So you know what, I’m going to say something else.” Either case, Muslim, you’re not supposed to do it....Allah already mentioned that..Their protection lies with Allah, not you. Allah says,... “Do not follow your heart’s desire... in making justice.”

The Qur'an

Lessons of Humility

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Now, let me tell you this story of how Muslims are supposed to be humble. Okay? [Quoting in Arabic]... Umar was the Calipha. He appointed one of the ….Said to be one of the governors of one of the cities in Syria. … I have many stories to say, but the reason I’m bringing this one is because it talks about humility as a Muslim. And I want you to listen to this...and notice. So one day … he decided to go to Syria and the city of Homs to visit the people there. He was met upon arrival with many people. Many. And so, the people complained about the governor, Said... They give him four complaints. Number one, this Said would not come out until the middle of the day. Number two, he would not answer to calls at night. Number three, they said that Said, once every month, he would stay away from them. And number four, from time to time, he would fall unconscious for no apparent reason. [Quoting in Arabic]... Umar, He was the Calipha, So the he wanted to do justice to someone and he asked Said, “What is your reaction to the complaint against you?” And I want you to listen to the answer. The four complaints, and his response to those complaints. Number one, he said, “The reason why I don’t come out early in the morning, except midmorning, is because I don’t have a servant. I don’t have nobody to serve me.” This is governor, it is the town chief, or clan chief. A governor. Like Dayton, for the whole province of Homs! Yes. He said, “I don’t have a servant. So, I crush my own wheat, and make my own bread. So, when I am finished making my bread and have my breakfast, I come out to see the people.” Number two, “The reason why I don’t answer calls at night is because I have devoted all my days serving the Homans. And I have devoted all my nights to worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, (most gracious, most high), so when I’m in worship, I don’t answer the calls. Number three. I only have one garment. That’s the reason why I stay away every month, once every month, is because I only have one garment. So, the day I wash that garment, I have to hang it so it gets dry before I come out the next day to meet with the people. Number four, he said the reason I fall sometimes unconscious is because, when I was not a Muslim, when I was ….in Mecca, I witnessed the killing of one ...brothers in Mecca. Come from Medina, and he come to Mecca...the Qureshi, they arrested him, they mutilated him. He was alive, they were cutting his body, even to the point where they said, “Would you like Muhammed to be in your position?” He said, “I would sacrifice my mother, my father, and all my kids, my wife, even for a thumb to prick Muhammed, let alone to sit where I am sitting. I would sacrifice all of that for that, if that would save him from thumb pricking him, I would sacrifice that, let alone to sit in my place.” He said, “I witnessed the killing of that brother. I was there. I did not participate but I did not also do anything to stop it. I did not say anything.” He said, “Every time I think about that, I fall unconscious.” Al-hamdu-lilah (praise be to God). “And I think that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala wouldn’t forgive me. When I think about this, because I don’t know if Allah will forgive me for this because I was there, I witnessed this.” He said, “This is why I fall unconscious.” Now, you need to remember this, and there are lessons in this to learn. Because some of us, maybe some of your husbands in the house, we can’t even remove this plate. We make the woman like a slave in the house. This is a governor, people have hired hundreds to work for him. He didn’t have that. Brothers, [quoting Arabic], he was so humble, so he was humble. We need to be humble. All of us. All of us, we need to be humble. Okay? So, as soon as someone says, come and move this, we will not complain. We will not complain at all. So let humility—ask, how many clothes we have? Including Imam here. I don’t even know how many suits I have. I don’t know. But, I’m not boastful of that. I don’t have them because I want to boast, no. But I’m just saying, this is a governor, he was so humble he only had one garment. One. So we need to be humble.

But I’m just saying, this is a governor, he was so humble he only had one garment. One. So we need to be humble.

Importance of Humility

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But you can not be, like the brother made reference to that, until you become [quoting in Arabic].... You have to be a moderate community. A community that does not go to the extreme in everything. Even in doing good. You can’t do good until the point you don’t have no clothes to wear. You have food in the house, you don’t have food to eat, say I want to be the best guy, to give everything out. No, this is not [quoting Arabic]… Your sacrifice will not be accepted when your brothers, your sisters, or your household are in need. They took it out, while you’re hungry, don’t give it out. This is not zakat. [Quoting in Arabic]… When your people are in need of it. So, see, you have to be a moderate person in Islam…[Quoting in Arabic]...said be aware of exaggeration….It’s because it destroyed nations before you. Exaggeration. Meaning going to the extreme. Islam is not about this. It’s about moderacy. You have to be cool, you have to be calm. You have to be calculative. It’s not when people say, just going to shoot people, kill people, that’s not Islam though. That’s not what Islam teaches. People are doing this for themselves. Because Allah … would do this. So, He puts strong laws against those. So if you are worshipping Allah, one of the ways we describe a taqwa, God-consciousness, is to be where Allah wants you to be, and stay away from where he does not want to see you.

You have to be a moderate community. A community that does not go to the extreme in everything. Even in doing good. You can’t do good until the point you don’t have no clothes to wear.

Youth

Imam Dukuley discusses the importance of Islamic teachings for Muslim youth.

Islamic teachings and the Muslim youth.

We are living in a very challenging environment. And if you want to be good Muslims, you have to choose your friends. Not because you go to the same school… If you are a believer...be with those that are truthful...Be with the righteous.