From Protest to Engagement

There are few talks I listed to that floor me as 'gem-filled' but this talk by Imam Suhaib Webb was one of them. It is one of those that forces some tough introspection into ourselves. It makes us evaluate what are real priorities are, and what we are doing to further the true essence of the Shari'ah – to bring benefit to people, and prevent harm to people.

I came across this video after reading an article on Imam Suhaib's blog giving advice to how a Sufi should act in a Salafi masjid, and vice versa. Please read that article if you have not done so, as it gives excellent advice that I pray Allāh(swt) gives us all the tawfeeq to implement.

Here are a few points I found of particular interest that I took down from the talk. The videos of his lecture Protest to Engagement follow after.

*Islam is a religion of moderation, and moderation is a distinguishing characteristic of the Muslim. The ayah mentioning moderation is ayah 143 of Surah Baqarah, exactly in the middle of the surah (it has 286 ayaat).

*Imam ash-Shatibi said the Shari’ah is moving on balance and justice. If one of the servants of Allāh moves towards any type of extremism, the shari’ah will react and bring him to moderation.

*Can you imagine a person who has lived their entire life and never said alhamdulillah, or said sal-Allahu ‘alayhi was-Sallam?

*Escaping and fleeing differences is an admirable action.

*Our youth have taken people who have been shot 9 times and dress like prisoners as heroes.

*We must clean our hearts of ill-feelings towards each other.

*Mike Tyson, hafidhahullah, is our brother, and we must be careful of backbiting him.

*Al-‘Izz bin Salam (rahimahullah) thought about what it is that Islam wants from us for a long period of time. He concluded that the sharia’h in its sum total is to bring benefit and prevent harm.

*Ask yourself in a Western context how you can bring benefit to your society?

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3