APPENDIX 2
"MERCY FROM GOD [21:107]
When the believers are faced with a problem, they develop a number of possible solutions, and this invariably leads to considerable bickering, disunity, and disarray. We learn from 2:151, 3:164, and 21:107 that it is but mercy from God that He sends to us messengers to provide the final solutions to our problems. We learn from 42:51 that God sends His messengers to communicate with us, and to disseminate new information. Hence the strong injunction in 4:65, 4:80 to accept, without the slightest hesitation, the teachings delivered to us through God's messengers."
Crucial Advice
17:36 You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.
Reference points copied from: https://sites.google.com/view/mocs-audios-2
7:10 - God has nothing against the prophet, but He's telling us don't follow his behavior. That rules out Sunna right there.
14:40 - Talks about Sura 1:7 and the three categories of people in Sura 2. "Those whom You blessed" are the righteous, "those who have deserved wrath" are the disbelievers, and "the strayers" are the hypocrites.
16:35 - The strayers are those who started on the path, but then lost their way. They strayed off. They are the hypocrites. They come to the Quran and Islam, but then somehow deviate.
17:30 - There were thirteen years and 200 miles (Mecca to Medina) between Sura 1 and Sura 2.
18:00 - The Quran was written down before the creation of the heavens and the earth, but it was revealed on occasions. When the prophet turned away and frowned from the blind, poor person, this was written before Muhammad was ever born, but it was revealed immediately after he did that (same with the Battle of Badr).
5:25 - A disbeliever says they disbelieve, but a hypocrite says they believe when they really don't, so you can see the danger of a hypocrite.
7:00 - Explains Sura 2:20 (lightning allegory). The hypocrites actually sit with the believers and claim to be believers. They are getting the light of the Quran. Whenever they follow that light, they move forward, but whenever they ignore it, they are in total darkness. They cannot move. They stand still.
9:30 - Heaven and Hell are allegorically described because we cannot imagine the beauty of Heaven or the severity of Hell. Heaven is described in terms we can understand here, things we enjoy in this life: gardens, fruits, food, etc.
11:20 - Explains Sura 2:26 (mosquito allegory). The description of Heaven in the Quran compared to the real Heaven is like the mosquito compared to you: size-wise, complexity-wise, goal-wise, etc.
11:50 - Continues explaining Sura 2:26. Answers question, "Does God mislead?" The answer is yes, but He never misleads except the wicked, so the person is already wicked and made the decision not to have anything to do with God, so God helps them and misleads them after they make that decision.
13:05 - If you decide you want to believe in God, all the circumstances around you will work out to guide you. There's only one solution to any kind of problem: to go to God and be with God.
14:20 - You have to have that confidence (that God is the solution to any problem). You cannot do it with hesitation.
15:20 - If someone is mentally retarded and incapable of making decisions, they will go straight to Heaven. That's a lucky person.
17:20 - Explains Sura 2:28 (two deaths and two lives for the disbelievers). There's the death before birth, being alive from birth to death, the second death, then waking up again for the eternal life.
25:30 - People who don't believe in God go against their instincts. Imagine the birds refusing to lay their eggs, for example. It's an instinct for them to lay eggs. If they refused to lay eggs, they would go extinct.
32:30 - Explains Sura 2:30 ("representative on Earth"). Rashad understood the representative to be the human, but has been clarified now that it is Satan as a temporary god.
35:00 - God did not let the angels witness the creation of the human souls.
36:25 - The first purpose of creating Adam was to expose Satan.
39:20 - Explains Sura 2:31 ("He taught Adam all the names"). Gives the example of the TV. This is the kind of knowledge that amazed the angels. This is what is meant by the names. God gave the human being knowledge. Gives the example of the airplane.
41:25 - The soul is part of God. It's in a different dimension. The soul is a small part of God, which is why when you do things that have to do with God, your soul grows. You'll find out what the soul is made of on the Day of Resurrection.
43:15 - Answers question, "Was Satan cast alone or were there other angels with him?" We were not with Adam at the time, either. We didn't exist (our bodies). We are descendants of Adam, so we came from him. Rashad said he can't think of anywhere in the Quran where it mentions any other angels; Satan was cast out by himself.
44:40 - A jinn is a fallen angel. Satan became a jinn, but he was an angel. God told the angels to fall prostrate before Adam, so if Satan were not an angel, he was not required to fall prostrate.
46:00 - It's a Hadith that the angels are made out of light. The Quran says the jinns are made out of fire, so since the jinn was an angel initially, Rashad said he supposes the angels are made out of fire.
47:20 - Explains Sura 7:22 ("their bodies became visible to them"). When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, their bodies became visible to themselves. Our soul is in a different dimension. We are now in a dimension where our body is visible to us, not in the dimension where the body is invisible to us.
55:50 - Angels are very physical. They are not spirits.
59:20 - God told Adam and Eve that the offense they committed was forgivable because the ultimate objective was to send Adam and all his descendants to Earth in order to show Satan and the angels that this creature would worship God without ever seeing Him. We are here to worship God, to discover that God is the only Master.
(recording of the community reciting zikr/dhikr)
3:25 - Read Sura 9:120. They do not do anything that enrages the disbelievers without having this written to them as a credit, so don't worry about the feelings of people who aren't completely sold on God. A lot of people compromise their own convictions just to please others or are afraid that they may hurt the feelings of others. You aren't hurting their feelings; you're serving them and helping them. We shouldn't forget Sura 16:125 about inviting to the path of God with wisdom and kind enlightenment, but the Quran deals with all situations. There are situations where you cannot compromise your convictions and you have to be solid on the side of God. If the person deserves to be enraged, this will be written to you as a credit.
5:25 - There's no salvation without obeying the messenger. When delivering God's messages, messengers do not speak on their own initiative. The prophet Muhammad is represented by the Quran alone.
8:25 - Recites Sura 4:80. When you are obeying the messenger, you are obeying God. Obviously, the messenger is not God, but when he is uttering the words of God, the Quran, then he absolutely makes no mistake and we must absolutely obey him.
10:05 - When we go to Hadith, we are rejecting God's revelations that state that Quran is complete and perfect and we are inventing lies.
11:45 - In the strictest possible language, we are commanded to uphold the Quran, the whole Quran, and nothing but Quran. The Quran implies also referring to the previous scriptures, in other words, scripture. We are commanded to uphold the Quran as the only source of religious guidance. The following of any other source beside Quran equals the setting up of other gods besides God.
16:00 - Talks about the design of the moon.
19:30 - All the wisdom we need is in the Quran. It would be stupid to go to people for wisdom.
24:10 - Hadith and Sunna are conjecture. They think the prophet said that. Even if the prophet said that, we follow only the wisdom of God. Obeying the messenger is conditional. Recites Sura 60:12 (they should disobey when you are not right).
25:30 - The personal opinion of the prophet may be bad and may cause bad things to happen. On the other hand, Muhammad the messenger utters only the Quran. He can be right or wrong. He is right only if he agrees with the Quran. For example, the prophet neglected the poor, blind person and gave his attention to the rich man. Is this something we are supposed to do? This is what Sunna means. It's not anything that the prophet would want us to do. We are to obey Muhammad only in his Quranic utterances and not in his personal utterances or personal behavior. This rules out the Hadith and Sunna as a legitimate source of religious guidance.
28:20 - Read Sura 33:56 ("God and His angels help and support the prophet. O you who believe, you shall help and support him..."). The word Nabi always refers to the prophet during his lifetime, not after he's dead. God and His angels will make Salat on us if we are believers; they will take us out of the darkness into the light (Sura 33:43).
36:20 - In Deuteronomy, Moses says God will raise up a prophet like him for them from among their own kinsmen and that they should listen to him (referring to Muhammad). Some people may think he's referring to Jesus, but Jesus came from among them, not their kinsmen. Muhammad came from Ismail, but Jesus came from them, from the line of David.
40:20 - The problem with most people is the lack of awareness of God. They think of God as something abstract, but God runs the world like the chairman of the board: this person is fired, this person is hired, move this person here, move that person there, etc. Nothing happens without God's permission or control.
44:45 - The Quran is not a usual book. Not anybody can read the Quran. Even professors of Arabic linguistics will not understand a word unless they're sincere believers. God will put the Quran in the believers' hearts, regardless of their language. Don't let anybody shake you up that you don't know Arabic, doesn't make any difference.
46:40 - The Quran is a great blessing or a terrible curse if they don't believe it and follow it. The blessing is unimaginable.
51:00 - You are not really a complete, devoted believer unless you realize that you can be equal to or better than Muhammad or Jesus or Moses or anybody. They're all human beings like you. This is idol worship to not think you could ever be better than them.
54:35 - Sura 33:21 has been abused ("The messenger of God has set up a good example for those among you..."). His example is to follow the Quran and nothing but Quran. The same words are applied to Abraham, word for word (Sura 60:4), but they don't mention Abraham.
56:40 - The true love of Jesus is to recognize him as a human being and a messenger of God. The Christians love Jesus so much, yet he will disown them on the Day of Judgment. The true love of Muhammad is to recognize him as a human and to follow his teachings, uphold Quran and nothing but Quran. Those who follow Hadith and Sunna are named as Muhammad's enemies and Muhammad will disown them on the Day of Judgment.
1:20 - Discusses Sura 2:75-76 (concealing the word of God). "Do you (Muslims) expect them (Children of Israel) to believe as you do..." We may say something that is true from the Quran that has support for it in the Bible, like how Muhammad is prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, and they see this in the Bible, but want to hide that, so they don't give you any support.
3:20 - Read and explained Sura 2:78, which was still translated to "illiterates" at the time, instead of "gentiles".
5:30 - The Ahmadis believe that Hell is not eternal (Sura 2:80-82).
15:40 - Idolizing the prophet is worse than disrespecting the prophet. Satan worked on having the Jews disrespect those prophets/messengers, but this backfired because a higher proportion of Jews worship God without idolizing the prophets/messengers. Satan did the other extreme with the Christians. When it came to the Muslims, he did exactly what he did with the Christians, but in a concealed way. He got the Jews to kill the prophets, kill Moses, kill the messengers, and disrespect them, and this made them worship God. (made similar comments in Audio #108 at 10:45)
22:00 - Discusses the story of the heifer (Sura 2:67-74).
24:40 - "Look how Israel's defeating the Arabs. What a scandal this is. It just doesn't make sense. Of course, it makes sense in light of the Quran, but on a physical level, it doesn't make sense at all." References the beginning of Sura 17. This is now the "second time", Israel today (Sura 17:7). The "first time" was probably Hitler or the Babylonian invasion (Sura 17:5). The invasion had to be by real believers.
7:30 - Read Sura 2:90. There may be some people who look at the Quran (there's nothing wrong with it; there's even physical evidence that it's a divine scripture), but they won't accept it, just out of resentment that it's coming from the Arabs or some other reason. They're really destroying their own soul.
20:15 - Gabriel's function is to mediate the revelations between God and the messengers.
21:15 - Satan was kicked out before the human beings were on Earth.
22:15 - The Quran are the words of God. Gabriel was told to release them from Muhammad's heart. Muhammad was summoned to the highest horizon and the Quran was in his heart. Each one of us has in his/her heart the knowledge that God is the Master, the Lord of the universe. We all met God before we were born. Because of this body, we don't remember. Muhammad had the Quran in his heart in the same way, but he needed Gabriel to release it to his mouth from inside. That knowledge you had about meeting God needs to come to the surface with the help of an angel. You need to die and get rid of the body. The body obscures that knowledge.
24:45 - The angels wake you up for the Dawn Prayer. When they get familiar with you, they pinch you to wake you up, push you off the bed, speak to you, knock on your door (you open the door and nobody's there, but it's time for Dawn Prayer), etc. Rashad tells story of when an angel spoke to him to get him up for Dawn Prayer. Whenever they do it, you're never afraid or scared, doesn't matter what they do. They're very nice. It's never a frightening experience. If anything, it's an exalting experience. When you somehow open up your eyes just before sunrise and you're given the impression that it's time to do the Dawn Prayer, it's the angels doing that.
28:30 - Read Sura 13:11. The angels around you make sure that nothing happens to you, except exactly what is supposed to happen to you. It all depends on your decision and what you do. Rashad tells story of when his friend said marijuana is good, so he told his friend to expect a pinch because God doesn't like intoxicants. We aren't supposed to like it or say anything nice about it. Rashad said he felt like he was "preaching", so he held himself back, but that it was a mistake on his part. He felt like he wasn't doing justice to the subject when he should have.
9:50 - Read Sura 5:48 ("for each of you, we have decreed laws and different rites"). If you want to be a Christian, you have to follow the laws of Christianity. If you want to be a Jew, you have to follow the laws of the Jews. (rites used to be translated as methods) Rashad said "methods" refers to methods of prayer, methods of worship, methods for dieting, etc.
11:20 - Jews make Hajj to Jerusalem and they don't have to do Friday Prayer (Saturday or Sunday). Hajj is one of the forgotten practices.
12:15 - There's a verse that tells us there was pilgrimage in the older religions (Sura 28:27 when Moses was marrying the man's daughter, he had to work for eight pilgrimages for the dowry, meaning eight years).
14:00 - The Bible prohibits pork in the New Testament. Rashad references the story of Jesus casting out demons into pigs (Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39).
15:30 - Competing in righteousness is within this group. It's the kind of competition that increases the good relations and affection instead of hatred.
21:20 - We are the lucky generation that has entered the new era of religion where we have physical proof. It's a commandment to say, "Show me your proof". People say Jesus is God or the son of God; you say, "Show me your proof".
23:40 - Read Sura 2:111 ("No one will enter Paradise except Jews or Christians"). If you go to any religious group and they tell you that this is the only group that will go to Heaven, you better leave right away. God will not restrict His mercy to a group of people. God's mercy will encompass anyone who worships God alone.
24:50 - Read Sura 2:112 ("those who submit themselves absolutely to God alone"). It doesn't say any Muslim who submits to God; it says whoever submits to God. You can be a Buddhist who came to the conclusion that the only One to be worshiped is God who created this universe. He will be taken care of and inspired to bow and prostrate on their own by instinct.
26:20 - Read Sura 2:114 ("those who boycott God's masjids"). You must encourage, rather than discourage, attending the mosque. There are many commandments in the Quran that tell us to stick together because God inspires us as a group through one of us and we learn a lot. That's the maximum evilness to forbid others from attending the mosque.
34:30 - The Christians claim that God had to give His son for our sins, which means He is unable to forgive. This is a blasphemy in itself. If God wants to forgive the world, why can't He forgive the world? Why does He have to give up His son? They also show God as a helpless father.
41:35 - Even if Jesus saw God or was the most perfect creature, he's still a creature and he's still a man. If he did see God, it's only because of God's grace that God allowed him to see Him. This doesn't make him any better than any one of us. We must believe that we are all capable of being like him or better than him. The Quran doesn't mention any of Jesus' sins or mistakes. He could have been sinless or maybe the Quran just didn't mention any of his sins if he did sin. Whether he was sinless, perfect, saw God, or didn't see God, it all doesn't make any difference. There's only one true God. We must forget about anyone else as a helper.
00:50 - Read Sura 23:1-2 ("Successful indeed are the believers; who are reverent during their Contact Prayers (Salat)"). Success here includes everything: health, wealth, happiness, peace of mind, here and in the Hereafter. When you bow in your Salat, you mean it. You don't just go through the mechanical motion of bowing down. You must think of the greatness of God and that you are deliberately bowing down and saying, "Glory be to my Lord, The Great". When you make Sujud, you also think of the greatness of God. You may go through mechanical motions initially, but the purpose of these thoughts is to have you have some awareness about the greatness of God.
2:10 - As you bow and prostrate, remember that you are doing a deliberate action, showing your respect and recognition of God's greatness.
14:20 - The solar year is something we invented, the Gregorian year, but the lunar year is God's year.
16:20 - Satan is so powerful that he wanted to be a god with God. God gave Satan so much responsibility and capabilities that he thought he's important enough to be a god with God. We owe our creation to Satan. We were created to prove to the angels and to Satan that we will worship God alone without partners.
17:40 - Because we were the reason for evicting Satan from angelhood, he's out for revenge. You're up against a very powerful creature. We must never underestimate the power of Satan. The real reason for his eviction was his rebellious thought, but Adam was the tool that was used. He wants to prove that God indeed needs a partner. His objective is to make us disbelieve in God and be an atheist. If he fails to make us atheists, he wants to make you a polytheist, an idol worshiper. Then, if he fails to do that, he tries to divide the believers.
20:40 - We must never have a hard feeling or a dislike towards a brother or sister. Absolutely forget the past as if you're meeting the person for the first time in your life. Any success Satan obtains is detrimental to us. Satan will drive wedges among the people, so they don't say "Salaamun Alaykum" to each other or greet each other. We must give each other a chance. No mistake is so gross that it cannot be forgiven. You must forgive and forget. Start all over again as far as hard feelings are concerned. Sura 17:53 is a commandment from God ("...treat each other in the best possible manner, for the devil will always try to drive a wedge...").
24:30 - This is your family. Your genetic family may not go with you to Heaven, but this family, the people who believe in God alone, you're going to be stuck with us forever, inshaAllah, in Heaven. We must maintain the best possible relations.
25:40 - Read Sura 39:53 ("O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of God's mercy. For God forgives all sins..."). It's much greater than a sin to be an idol worshiper. In this mosque, we preach total elimination of idol worship. If you ever think anyone or anything besides God can benefit you or harm you in any way, you have fallen into idol worship. God knows how much sickness or health you deserve or how much money is good for you. Money is not always good for you. If you think your job provides you with money, you have fallen into idol worship; you must have God in mind.
35:00 - The Holy Spirit and Gabriel are one and the same thing.
21:40 - The advantage we have (in comparison to Jewish submitters or Christian submitters) having the final scripture is that we know exactly what to do to grow and develop our souls. The person who reaches Submission by instinct will be guided, but will not have the most effective way of doing it. There will be a lot of waste of time when you don't have the five prayers and fasting during Ramadan; these are specific prescriptions that God gave us. The Christians and Jews who submit to God will be instinctively guided to do good things, but they're not as efficient. They'll be rewarded for whatever they do, but nothing tops the final scripture where God perfected His message and how to grow and develop.
25:45 - When Abraham was a young boy, he thought that worshiping the statues that they carved with their own hands was stupid and that God must be in charge of this universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, etc. He reached that knowledge as a young person and it was just a matter of established knowledge in his mind.
28:00 - Abraham was the first and last recipient of religious duty. There were things that were instituted later on, like the Sabbath, and the dietary regulations were specifically instituted as a punishment.
29:00 - The whole Hindu, Pakistani culture is very strict as far as food prohibitions are concerned and God tells us (Sura 16:112) that when you do this... God made them the poorest people on earth in India because of that.
32:10 - God says He instated the dietary regulations on the Children of Israel because they started to say, "Don't eat this, don't eat that". He makes the people who turn their noses up poor.
33:10 - The shrine (Kaaba) was built first before the Salat was established. As Abraham and Ismael were raising the foundations, they prayed to God to teach them the religious practices (Sura 2:127).
35:40 - Discusses Sura 2:126 when Abraham prayed, "...provide its people with fruits...".
41:35 - Sometimes, you're poor because you're a believer. God loves you and wants to direct you in a certain direction, so if you're going in the wrong direction, God throws a block in front of you until you're guided to the right path.
42:00 - The majority of people who don't need anything don't think about God. Money doesn't affect happiness, but usually affects adversity. People who have too much money have high blood pressure, ulcers, worry about taxes, etc. There's no connection between happiness and money.
44:25 - Before Abraham, all that was required was to believe in God, be honest, not cheat, not commit highway robberies, etc. No specific practices. The society became a little more sophisticated as time went on. We're no longer in the era of faith. You don't need faith anymore because we entered the era of physical evidence, which increases the responsibility of the people.
48:10 - Wherever you deliver God's message, you are a messenger.
54:35 - You're either in or out. There's no in-between. You're either a submitter to God or not.
55:40 - You can't just follow your parents because they're your parents. You have to follow your parents because they are right. It's your own neck. There's no intercession.
56:40 - Discusses how Christians think you have to go through Jesus to make it to Heaven. What about the people before Jesus, like Abraham?
58:30 - Discusses the prophecies about Muhammad in Deuteronomy and the Gospel. Explains "Spirit of truth" (Muhammad or the Quran, not the Holy Spirit).
36:10 - Abraham is the founder of our religion, Islam. He set the example for us. Discusses how Abraham thought God wanted him to sacrifice his son.
38:40 - Rashad says that for the rest of his life, he will owe it to a member of the community (for pointing out that God never ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son).
46:15 - Read Sura 2:142-145. Muhammad said that the Kaaba is full of idols now and they're going to face Jerusalem because Gabriel gave him this message. Some of the Muslims disobeyed that because their tribal prejudices were stronger than their belief in God and His messenger. They had to get rid of their prejudices and submit completely to God.
55:00 - Talks about Muslims who face Northeast as their Qiblah (in Tucson). They claim they are taking the shortest route to Mecca, the way the planes go. The shortest distance to Mecca is actually through the Earth. The soul goes through the walls; souls don't recognize material. They ignore the fact that God treats the globe as a rectangle; Mecca is slightly south of east (in Tucson).
Starts with a discussion about not praying in certain masjids (Sura 9:108).
3:25 - If there's no masjid where you are, you can stay home and do four rakats for Noon Prayer.
5:20 - Talks about the names of Muhammad that people have given him that are exclusive names of God, like Al-Muhaymin (The Supreme Being) and Al-Shafi (The Healer).
7:00 - Tells story of someone in Singapore who got the message and lost his friends, but he's happy and content. When you see the truth, there's nothing anybody can do. You don't want to lose your neck or God. If friends don't see your way, it's too bad. You have no choice anymore once you see the truth. You don't get interested in people after a while and you see them as unfortunate and misguided. Quotes Sura 25:28-29. Many people go to Hell because of their friendships.
14:40 - Discussion about Qiblah for 10 minutes.
23:45 - Qiblah is very slightly south of east in Tucson. The soul goes through the earth. If you concentrate enough, your soul will actually go to Mecca.
25:10 - Talks about out-of-body experiences. When he tried it, he went through the ceiling and could see his body below. Whatever you will, you can be in Egypt at the pyramids or at the Kaaba at the speed of thinking. It's a wonderful experience, but the first time is frightening because it's weird. You don't feel the body's pains.
30:15 - We have a commandment from God to face the Qiblah in Mecca when we pray. It's a wonderful commandment because we stand in one line, facing the same direction, and it's a very good organizational point.
36:05 - Steadfastness is very important. You may want to come to God because you want to be happy in this world and the Hereafter. After a year of praying five times a day and fasting the month of Ramadan, following God's law, you still wonder why you have problems. You are not a Muslim because you didn't come to God. You're coming to happiness.
36:45 - You must be proving that you know that God is the Master, doesn't matter what happens to you: happiness, misery, accidents, etc. The knowledge is established in your mind and convictions. This would be proven by steadfastness. It may take fifteen years, ten years, or two months until you obtain that state of perfect happiness. The state of perfect happiness is not the object. The object is belief in God and knowing that God is the Master.
37:35 - When you say, "Why is this happening to me?", you are not a Muslim. You're not submitting. You're objecting. You don't deserve the perfect happiness where there are no problems. Your objective is happiness, not God.
38:10 - Happiness is a natural consequence, a side effect, of your deep conviction that God is the only Master.
39:55 - God wants you to show the angels and Satan that you are convinced that He is the only Master and nothing is going to change that, no matter what happens: extreme success, extreme failure, health, sickness, better or worse.
40:50 - Discusses a test a community member experienced where she was far away from the masjid without transportation. She has to struggle and find a ride to do her best to go to the Quran study. If she can't find a ride and there's no way she can make it, she satisfied the requirements if she did her best and she submits to that without objecting.
42:35 - The teachings of the Quran will come to you at the right time when you need it. This is why the Quran is never a boring book because every time you read it, you get something new out of it. You could have read something a million times, but didn't see it because you were not ready yet.
46:45 - Talks about seeking help through steadfastness and Salat (Sura 2:45, Sura 2:153). If you are steadfast and you are doing your Salat, you are going to receive help.
00:45 - Umrah is exactly the same as Hajj, except it's another time, anytime of the year. Hajj has to be during the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months of the lunar calendar.
2:30 - For as long as the person is alive, there is hope. Once they die as disbelievers, they're finished. They're condemned and they deserve the curse. The angels beat them up at the time of their death. They'll be in pain. They think it's the pain of death, but it's the pain of being beaten up. They're being slapped in the face and kicked in the butt.
4:20 - They probably don't get shot (in reference to believers). Rashad says he can guess that the believers die very peacefully in their sleep or something because their souls are taken gently. If a believer is fighting in war, he knows what he's in for and he's pleased when he's stabbed. God makes it easy for them.
5:35 - Talks about a good entrance and good exit. A good exit means exiting this life as a believer.
6:05 - There was an age where people were to be proven believers by going in battle, but now we're in an age where the whole thing is mental. There's no way you can go and fight Russia, for example, and make them Muslims. You have to invade them mentally.
15:40 - God inspires all of us through the input... this is the benefit of a group. Here we have twenty brains thinking of the same verse. Otherwise, we sit home and read the Quran by ourselves, but it won't be as productive.
16:05 - Talks about them starting Arabic language lessons. Rashad said the reason they are starting the Arabic language again is because he found it very useful in comparing translations and in pinning down certain words that are crucial in the translation.
21:50 - Rashad said he came to the brink of saying "alhamdulillah" that they're all perfect and he hesitated, but he said he doesn't see why not because you look around and don't see anyone with one arm. There's something to it because when God promises those who worship Him alone... (cuts off)
2:05 - Satan wanted to be a partner with God. God wants to show Satan and the angels that there are creatures who never see God, but will worship God without need for a partner.
11:20 - Discusses verses about messengers eating food and walking in the markets (Sura 21:8, Sura 25:7, Sura 25:20).
14:45 - You have to constantly be aware of the greatness of God, everywhere we go, because Satan will always take advantage of your unawareness. Anytime you're unaware, Satan will try to make you forget. When you appreciate God and worship Him alone, God promises that He will make you a king or queen on earth. Everything will go your way and nothing bad will happen to you, no exaggerations.
15:45 - The word is spreading, but it's spreading painfully slow. There's a lot of resistance on the part of Satan. They want to put out God's light, but God will perfect His light against the will of idol worshipers.
16:40 - When we worship God alone, God fulfills His promise to us: kings and queens on earth. You have to know that. You must believe that without the slightest doubt or hesitation because it's part of believing in God.
17:55 - You cannot even kill yourself, unless it is God's will, so don't try. Nobody can benefit you or harm you, except in accordance with God's will.
24:25 - The Quran advocates that we keep our original names. Talks about why it's bad when people change their names when they become Muslims.
26:35 - Keep the name that you're born with. Says this is a personal opinion because their affairs are based on consultation.
30:00 - Even in spite of all the distortions, deficiencies, and additions, if they follow the Bible as it is printed today, they would be Muslims. The Bible never says that Jesus is God. When the Bible says you can only come to the Father through Jesus, this is a mistranslation. The Quran says the same thing: whoever obeys the messenger obeys God.
46:15 - Discussion about law of equivalence and capital punishment for about 15 minutes.
1:08:45 - Explains the end of Sura 4:11 ("when it comes to your parents and your children, you do not know which of them is really the best to you and the most beneficial"). People go through stages where they're mad at their son, and the next month, they will be buddy-buddy with this son and mad at the other son. Some people end up angry at all their children, so they leave the million dollars to the cat instead of the children.
1:12:05 - Talks about wills. The Quran puts down specifically how the inheritance laws should be, so this will applies to things in the house, not the real estate, for example.
1:13:50 - The adopted children are members of your family, even though you have to keep their original name. You can give them your name if there's no way you can find out what the original name is.
1:14:35 - Every human being is treated as a potential believer. They may become Jewish and through the Jewish religion, they discover and worship one God.
1:18:50 - If you have adopted and genetic children, they have to be treated exactly the same.
00:40 - When fasting was decreed first to Abraham, there was no intercourse throughout the whole month of Ramadan: fasting from food, drink, and sex throughout the whole month. This was modified later.
1:50 - The specified days of fasting (Sura 2:184) are identified by the appearance of the new moon of the 9th month (lunar calendar) and end by the appearance of the new moon of the 10th month.
2:05 - You can feed a poor person for every day if you are ill or traveling, there's hardship, you can postpone the fasting. But after all these allowances, excuses, even though God gives you permission to break your fasting, fasting is the best for you.
4:00 - People say that the Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years, but that's not true because Sura 2:185 says, "Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed". Muhammad was taken on the Night of Power (Night of Destiny) on the 27th night of Ramadan up to the highest horizon and the whole Quran was put in his heart, just like you and I have in our heart the knowledge that God is the Lord of the universe. Subsequent to this, Gabriel will bring out a portion of the Quran that's small enough for the prophet and his companions to memorize.
9:40 - Sura 44:3 ("We have sent it down in a blessed night...") shows that the Quran was revealed in one night.
23:35 - The angels come to the people in the form of human beings (gives example of Abraham bringing his guests a roasted calf that they wouldn't eat).
24:40 - Read Sura 25:32. The Quran was released gradually over a period of 23 years to fix it in the prophet's memory and in the memory of his companions around him.
27:20 - The Quran was written before the Earth was created.
30:50 - Discusses the Quran as the "Statute Book".
32:10 - Talks about breaking your fast due to traveling. The idea is hardship. If you take a plane from Tucson to New York, you wouldn't break your fast because it's really nice and comfortable, but when people would travel by camel, it was really hard. Even in the hot, long days, nobody will die from abstaining from food and water for 16 hours. It's hard. It's not easy. This will show your appreciation of God, if you really believe in God. When He says you fast the month of Ramadan, you fast no matter what.
33:10 - If it's hard to fast during pregnancy, you can do it some other time. If you can do it, it's better for you and your baby.
34:10 - God designed the whole life for the test.
37:20 - Appreciation of God means you appreciate that He is the Master, the King, that whatever He says must go. He doesn't want to bother you and disturb you and get you up at 4 o'clock in the morning. He doesn't need our prayer, but He says this is what is good for you. This is what prepares you to join His kingdom.
38:45 - Don't be discouraged if you're at the stage where you're praying one prayer a day. Progress is what counts. The important thing is that you do not regress. Your body is a wild horse that you're trying to tame. If you're strong, you'll make your body get up. Try to exercise your soul until you're stronger than your body because your body's going to die and you're going to stay on as a strong person or as a weak baby.
40:40 - God wants you to fulfill your duties, but the test requires that He does not interfere. God wants you to be saved and join His kingdom. He wants you to be a king and queen on Earth and have absolutely no masters, except Him. He wants you to pass the test.
41:40 - You show your appreciation to God by fasting the month of Ramadan, by praying the five prayers during the specified times, being charitable, and being kind.
43:30 - Read Sura 2:186. These are the requirements that your prayer be answered: responding to God and believing in Him. Responding to God means following His commandments.
45:40 - You may pray for something and because you're a good believer, your prayer is answered, but not exactly at the time you want it. As a king or queen on Earth, the angels are all around you and they're eager to fulfill whatever you want, so sometimes, you may make statements and they rush into fulfilling those statements. They don't know your thoughts.
46:25 - When you pray to God, He knows what is best for you, what is the best time. You may pray for something that is not good for you at this particular time and your prayer will come to pass at the best time for you, at the right time.
46:40 - Rashad talks about how he thought a prayer takes three to six months to get fulfilled.
50:25 - Gives an example of God's scheming. If you go to the market and check out, but the cashier accidentally gives you back more change, you have two choices: you can keep the excess change and walk out, in which case, you are eating other people's money dishonestly, or you can give the money back, like the Quran tells you to do. If you walk out with the money, you actually lose a lot more than that. Something else will happen where you lose a lot of money. Breaking God's law is very serious.
56:50 - Rashad says he makes it a policy to not put himself in a test where he doesn't need to, like saying what he would do in a theoretical situation.
58:10 - Gives examples of how bribes victimize others.
1:01:40 - Explains Sura 2:189. When the verse says, "They ask you about the phases of the moon", people came to Muhammad and instead of telling him he is not a prophet, they asked him to tell them about the phases of the moon, but their real question was to have him prove to them that he's a prophet of God. They're beating around the bush. God is providing the answer to Muhammad in this verse: that the phases of the moon "provide a timing device for the people, and determine the time of Hajj".
1:04:00 - You have to be straightforward. Don't beat around the bush in any situation. The Quran says to invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and tact and by being diplomatic. Instead of saying, "I don't like your hair", you can say, "I like your hair better when it is up". This is a positive statement: straightforward and telling the truth without hurting the person's feelings.
1:11:50 - Do not aggress. Take the side of the weak. The instances where you fight is if you are attacked or oppressed religion-wise.
1:17:30 - Salat is another means of wiping out sins (Sura 11:114), the inadvertent sins, like if you tell a lie inadvertently. Says he's sure that fasting wipes out sins.
1:19:05 - We can't be in Heaven with one sin.
1:22:00 - Read Sura 59:19 ("Do not be like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves"). They neglect themselves. They forget to feed their souls.
1:23:35 - Our goal is to go out of this life sinless. All the duties imposed on you by God wipe out your sins. The righteous works wipe out the evil works (Sura 11:114). When you feed a hungry person out on the street, this wipes out some of your sins.
1:24:30 - Talks about extra fasting (as a form of worship). Rashad says to stick to what God says and that he doesn't want to deviate from what God says. God says to fast the month of Ramadan. Mentions other examples of times God says to fast (e.g. violated an oath).
1:25:50 - God says to fast a specific number of days. It's like saying when you make ablution, you do these four steps. Satan wants you to disobey God in any way or form. If you want to fast to go on a diet for health reasons, Rashad says he would deliberately break his fast and eat something, just so he would not be fasting (dieting). Satan's object is to make us break God's law.
1:27:00 - Talks about extra prayers versus extra fasting.
1:28:45 - Talks about making pledges to God.
1:31:25 - The idol worshipers do not have the advantages of forgiveness or repentance.
1:33:25 - Your body wants to go and get drunk and you tell your body no. You're exercising your soul and it's becoming stronger. Your body is becoming your slave instead of the other way around.
3:25 - The sin of Adam and Eve was that they ate from the tree. Because of that, they did not qualify to continue in Jannah, in Heaven, Paradise, the kingdom of God. They committed one sin. You cannot go to Jannah with one sin. If you have one sin in your record, you do not qualify to go to Heaven. It's not difficult for the people who worship God alone because you can wipe out the sins from your record; you will not see them in your record.
5:30 - What are the ways of erasing sins from your record? Repentance is the first method. You turn to God and say, "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I pledge I will never do it again. I repent". Paying for your sins here in this world is the second method. As a believer, you will pay in material things, not with your arm or leg. You don't see anyone with one arm or one leg in this mosque, alhamdulillah. You have to say alhamdulillah every time. It seems that the punishment is out of proportion to the sin, but you have to pay for it if you want it to be out of your record.
8:05 - The payment for sins seems to be out of proportion in this world, but it really isn't. It's a tremendous mercy. The believers are the only people who enjoy certain problems in this world because they know they are wiping out certain sins. The believer does not get away with sins in this world. He has to pay for it. The disbeliever doesn't, either, but for the disbeliever, the punishment continues in the Hereafter. They will appear to get away with sin, but they don't connect the punishment with the sin.
10:00 - Read Sura 4:17-18 about when repentance is acceptable versus unacceptable. Repentance is acceptable when you fall in sin due to ignorance, like if you didn't know that wine is haram and you go drink wine, then you find out in the Quran that alcohol is haram and repent, pledging never to do it again. If you know that alcohol, marijuana, adultery, etc. are haram and deliberately do it, you can't repent for that. You have to pay and the price is very high.
12:35 - Read Sura 39:53 ("O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of God's mercy. For God forgives all sins"). Gives example of Moses being forgiven for murder. One unforgivable offense is idol worship (Sura 4:48).
23:20 - Read Sura 41:44. Language is absolutely immaterial. If you are a believer, a sincere Muslim, then God will put the whole Quran in your heart. If you are a professor of Arabic linguistics and you are not a sincere believer, you cannot get one Arabic word from the Quran. Those who do not believe will be blind to it. The Quran is for the whole world. It would not be fair to restrict it to those can read and write Arabic. God made the Quran available to every believer. The Quran is never available to those who are not believers.
34:35 - Discusses Sura 39:65 (idol worship nullifies all work).
38:10 - We go through stages where we don't follow the commandments exactly, but we can be sinless. It is in your hand to commit a sin or not. We do not have to be sinners. You can get rid of all your sins (repentance) and have a perfect life, absolutely no problems: no traffic tickets, headaches, stomach aches, sickness (Sura 24:55). You better believe it because God promises that.
39:50 - If you are afraid of anything, like if someone points a gun at you and you get scared, this is idol worship. That gun will not work unless it is in accordance with God's will and if it's God's will that you die in that moment, there's nothing anyone in the whole world can do about it because the method and time of your death is already written down. You cannot die, except with a personal decree from God. God must sign your death certificate. No one knows when you will die, not even the angels.
41:10 - Talks about how Christians get twice the reward for recognizing the truth. They have additional hurdles that they have to cross because their parents told them Jesus is God, Jesus is the son of God, the trinity, etc. and they have to overcome this. God wants to be generous with them. If you grew up under unusual circumstances and you come to Quran, you will receive double the reward.
44:45 - Discusses Umrah and Hajj.
47:25 - The first person to announce Hajj was Abraham.
50:40 - Read Sura 2:197 about refraining from sexual intercourse, misconduct, and arguments throughout Hajj. This is really self-control. You can't say a word of cussing or anything. You only say Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk (I'm responding to You, my Lord).
51:30 - Lists when/where you observe the rites of Hajj. Mena is where the ceremonial stoning of Satan is done. It's a symbol of Satan's temptation to disobey God. Rashad said he did it on his parents' behalf because they couldn't. You say Allahu Akbar as you throw them.
57:00 - Explains Sura 2:198 (seeking provisions from God through commerce during Hajj). Discusses what happens at Arafaat.
1:15:30 - Ends the study by reciting Al-Fatehah.
37:40 - Read Sura 2:214. The idea here is to worship God alone no matter what happens. It's a matter of knowledge. You came to the conclusion that God is one, He's the only Master, He's the only One that benefits your heart, He's the only One that controls the minds and hearts of the people around you. He makes them love you or hate you or care about you or not care. With this knowledge, it doesn't matter what happens: adversity or happiness.
38:40 - God wants to be proud of you and show you off to the angels and say, "Look at my servant. He or she worships Me no matter what happens without ever seeing Me".
39:10 - After the final test, there's nothing but kingship on Earth as God promises: when you come to the conclusion that you worship God alone. It takes a long time. The road is long and hard. It's a continuous struggle, but there will come a time when you are a perfect worshiper of God alone, then there is no hardship.
40:40 - Read Sura 24:55 about believers being kings and queens on Earth. Gives example of Job and how he had lots of hardship and adversity, but once he passed the test, his health recovered, he recovered his family and his wealth, both twice as much. He was under the test for as long as he needed to be tested to prove himself and the same is true with us.
41:40 - We must also think of adversity as a cleansing, polishing process. You expect some trouble at the beginning because you're cleansing all the past sins and errors and this can be cleansed only by paying for them in this world. When you come join this mosque, you're going to have 5-10 years of adversity because it's a polishing process.
43:15 - Read Sura 65:2-3 ("Anyone who reverences God, He will create an exit for him... And will provide for him whence he never expected"). When you observe God, you sacrifice a job or a source of income, strictly for the sake of God, He will provide for you whence you never expect. You better believe it.
44:40 - There's a mandatory insurance law, but we have insurance with God. With God, you have the best insurance and you just have to believe that nothing will happen to you when you have insurance with God. If God wants to get you, He will get you whether you have insurance or not (those who deserve a pinch, accident, sickness, etc.). We will not buy insurance unless we have to. Says he called the Civil Liberties Union himself and told them that this contradicts his religious beliefs. If you have to do anything without being malicious or deliberate, you aren't committing a sin.
47:15 - When God says He provides for you whence you never expect, you must know that and have that confidence. If you have the slightest doubt, it will not work.
48:45 - Read Sura 65:4 ("Anyone who reverences God, He makes everything easy for him."). You will not suffer any hardship. There's absolutely no humiliation for God's servants. You go apply for a job and you'll be the boss. Your soul takes over the place and you see them running to serve you. They may not realize it, but you'll see it.
50:20 - All these severe problems, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, all these are punishments and tests because all these things are absolutely controlled by God. No pain, no disaster, nothing happens except by personal decree from God. It's not easy to get a painful headache, for example. It has to be a personal decree from God that God will sign.
55:40 - Discusses Sura 2:215 about Zakat. Each takes care of his own. If each takes care of his own, there will be no misery in the world.
58:45 - There's only one reason in the Quran for fighting and it has to do with freedom to worship God alone. There's absolutely no other reason for fighting, only if it's going to interfere with your freedom of practicing the worship of God alone. Oppression meaning: imposing any religious view on you or to prevent you from practicing your religion. Fighting for land or because of borders or country is all a waste of life. God did not create these borders.
1:02:35 - This age is an age of mental debate, rather than swords and fighting. We can't fight over land or money or anything like that, unless you're attacked.
1:03:05 - Joining and fighting are different. Joining the Air Force, but not fighting, is like a job. You don't want to earn a living selling liquor, for example, which is breaking God's law. If you join the armed forces and there's no war, it's just like any job. If your government gets in a war with another country, that's when you have to make a decision: whether this is in the cause of God or not. Joining the armed forces or making weapons or anything that is not war is perfectly alright.
1:07:10 - Discusses Sura 8:60 ("You shall prepare for them all the power you can muster...").
1:12:50 - Oppression to change your belief is like taking you out of Heaven and putting you in Hell, so it's a lot worse than murder.
1:18:20 - You may like something which is actually bad for you or you may dislike something which is actually good for you. You go apply for a job, you're a worshiper of God alone, and you don't get the job. Why? It's because it's not good for you. That's why you go to apply for jobs and you don't care if you get it or not because you know that God will give you the job that's good for you. You submit to God, The Omniscient. He knows what circumstances you will exist under for every job you are applying for. You knock on all the doors and God will open the one that is good for you. God knows exactly what is best for you.
1:22:50 - Answers question about Sura 2:219 regarding where it says that intoxicants and gambling are a gross sin, but have "some benefits for the people". The Quran acknowledges the fact that some people plant grapes and sell them. Lots of people have jobs because of wine. God says the evil outweighs the benefit.
1:26:20 - If we break God's law and gamble in order to make money, we'll probably make $10,000 and then lose $100,000 somewhere else. Answers question about sweepstakes.
1:27:15 - When God wants to send you money, He will send it to you legitimately and in a very honest and straightforward way. Each one of us have a number of dollars assigned to us. There's no way you're going to get any more or less.
1:33:45 - Answers question about giving the excess to charity. You do not give away from your own necessities of life. Charity begins at home.
2:00 - Discusses Sura 2:221 ("do not marry idol worshipers"). In Sura 5, we are permitted to marry Jews and Christians, but you cannot marry a Muslim who does not believe God instating in the Quran that it is complete and perfect. When we receive the Quran where every page says not to worship idols, our responsibility is multiplied.
2:50 - Gives example of "God's chosen people", how they had been suffering and Hitler killed six million of them. It's because their responsibility doubled. When God chooses you and gives you His message, your responsibility is doubled. When God gives you a message and says it's complete and perfect and you say no, it's not complete, then you have deserved the punishment manifold.
3:20 - This is why we are allowed to marry Christians and Jews, but not a Muslim who does not believe the Quran is complete and perfect. When you break this law and marry an idol worshiper, you suffer a lot of pain. You follow this law and marry a believer. If you are about to get married, you ask your fiancé to believe, and this will serve two purposes: it will be a proof of genuine love and you are guaranteed a happy marriage. You make it a condition of marriage (belief).
5:30 - Talks about difference between Christians who haven't received the Quran versus Muslims who have read the Quran and how it says it's complete, perfect, and fully detailed, but rejected it.
12:20 - There's different words in Arabic for those who repent versus those who continuously repent and Sura 2:222 says God loves those who continuously repent.
13:00 - You cannot go to Heaven with one sin. You have to be sinless to qualify. Adam and Eve committed one sin and got kicked out. One way of erasing sins is repentance. You have to make it a habit to repent continuously to the extent that when you toss around in your bed and you're half asleep, you must bring yourself to repent. Repentance is you're sorry for anything wrong you might've done and at the same time, you're pledging that you'll never do it again.
14:55 - Answers question about when you make a pledge to God, then break it. If you swear to God that you will meet someone at the airport, then you don't do it, you have to feed ten poor people or fast three days if you cannot afford that (Sura 5:89). But when you pledge not to break God's law again, it's different. There's nobody else involved, but you and God. It was not your intention to sin again.
19:35 - Being a repenter implies recognition of God, dhikr (zikr), commemoration of God, etc. If you can find an excuse to mention God every chance you get, you're in good shape.
21:00 - You must be ready to meet God anytime. Be determined not to have any sins in your record.
25:00 - When you have a life of idol worship and sin, then repent and come to God, all your sins are converted into credits.
33:00 - Sura 5:89 says God holds you responsible for your actual intentions. Gives example of someone who swore to God that he will not smoke but ended up experiencing withdrawal symptoms. He had to feed ten poor people or fast three days. But if someone pledged to God to never sin again, but then intends to commit adultery, this doesn't make sense. Smoking is not a sin, but the sin he expiated for was breaking an oath.
38:30 - Explains why hypocrites are worse than disbelievers.
45:10 - Sura 4:92 says that no believer shall kill another believer, unless it is an accident, and Sura 4:93 says if anyone kills a believer on purpose, his retribution is Hell (unforgivable offense). The person who does this is not a believer. A true believer who has read the Quran knows that killing one person is like killing everyone.
43:00 - Discusses Sura 2:62 (minimum requirements for salvation). People ask if a Christian, Jew, or convert can make it to Heaven or if Muslims are the only people who can make it to Heaven. The answer is in this verse. Anybody who believes in God, the Day of Judgment, and leads a righteous life, that person has attained the minimum requirements for salvation and will go to Heaven, whether he is Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, etc.
45:30 - Belief in God means you believe in the Creator of this universe. If you believe in Jesus or Buddha as a god, you aren't believing in God. Believing in God implies believing in God alone.
49:00 - Read Sura 3:113 (righteous Jews and Christians). They're feeding their soul, but it's not a complete meal.
52:20 - The five prayers are the minimum. Whenever you feel like it, you should get up and do some prayer.
Starts with a conversation about dowry.
00:30 - Discusses Sura 2:228 about how the husband's wishes to remarry supersede the wife's wishes in case of pregnancy. If a couple got divorced and the woman discovers she's pregnant, she tells her ex-husband, and he decides if they should reconcile. The woman hates her ex-husband's guts and doesn't want to go back to him, but in this case, the Quran is saying she should give up her feelings and force herself to reconcile for the sake of the baby. God will make it up to her; it's a commandment.
1:25 - A verbal utterance (declaring divorce) in anger when you're fighting and arguing does not count. For divorce, you have to come to the conclusion that your life together is not working.
4:20 - Widows have to wait four months and ten days before remarriage. This is the official mourning period, a minimum period of honoring the dead husband.
4:50 - Answers question about if there's a minimum limit for dowry or if it has to be money. It can be anything of value.
11:35 - A widower (male) doesn't have to wait four months and ten days before remarriage.
12:45 - People who try to deceive and get around Quranic laws are only deceiving themselves because we must follow God's commandments out of conviction, not try to get around them.
13:20 - Discusses Sura 2:239 about praying while walking or riding. If you're riding a car and going on a long trip, these are abnormal circumstances. You can pray while in the car and make Tayammum (dry ablution). Say "Nawatu Tayammum" (intention). Just touch the seat in front of you. Wipe your face and hands. You can pray in your head. You can have an imam in the car. It can also be the driver. You can stop the car and go somewhere to pray; that would be better. If you have to catch a certain appointment and you're late, God will accept it, inshaAllah.
14:20 - You can pray anywhere you want. Salat prayer is the one worship where there's absolutely no excuse for not doing it. Even if you're sick or paraplegic, you can pray with your eyelids.
15:15 - Someone asks if they can pray at their desk if they're busy working. Rashad says it's better to get ablution and find a quiet place to pray, but if it's not possible, you can pray at your desk.
15:50 - You are the one who can judge what you can or cannot do. You cannot cheat yourself. If you are, in any way, able to do the Salat in the normal way, do it that way.
19:35 - Discusses Sura 2:240 about alimony. The husband would have to make sure he's leaving enough support for his widow(s) for one year. The idea is that when a man marries a woman, she is not the same anymore. She may become dependent on him, at least partially.
23:40 - The Quran is designed to cover all circumstances. There are circumstances where if the inheritance laws cover the one-year support for the wife, then there's no need to worry about it. But if the circumstances require it, you may have to see that the widow is supported for one year.
27:30 - Insurance is haram. Explains why it's a game of chance.
29:20 - Answers question about mandatory insurance. Rashad says he would sign the paper and say he's insured with God. It is the best insurance in that you do not have accidents, alhamdulillah. "I have to say alhamdulillah because I don't want to go out there and get in an accident."
31:20 - The amount of alimony depends on how much the husband can afford. It's left up to you. It's an incumbent duty upon the righteous. You have to go a little bit more against yourself when the person is paying the alimony. It's God's recommendation. Alimony is for the women (clear in Arabic).
36:10 - Satan realizes that the women are more than half of the society. Women raise the children. Satan has made them a target. He doesn't want them to go to the Friday Prayer (Hadiths against women going to the Friday Prayer), he doesn't want them to go to the mosque, he doesn't want them to pray or fast while menstruating, etc. Satan concentrated on the women, but the Quran has clearly guaranteed the women's rights.
37:00 - Rashad said his understanding is that the woman can also divorce the man. Marriage is an agreement between two people and the two people are married for as long as both of them agree that they are married to each other. If one party, either the man or the woman, decides it's over, this makes it illegal.
37:50 - Explains Sura 2:282 about two women substituting for one man as witness. Financial transactions or loans are the one instance where you cannot have a man and a woman witnessing because the man can marry the woman. They become like one witness. They may influence each other, and they're not qualified as two different witnesses anymore.
46:35 - When you come to "La Elaha Ella Allah", people declare war on you. It's mainly because Satan always moves his agents against you, especially if you're going to be a significant force for worshipping God alone. There will be all sorts of forces that fight you and if you're not courageous enough to stand up to those fights and be ready to face them, then you don't qualify for the job.
47:25 - Discusses Sura 2:243 about those who fled their homes.
55:35 - Discusses the story of Saul and the Ark of the Covenant (Sura 2:246-248).
44:30-50:30 - Discussion about Sura 10:10.
1:05:30 - Discusses Sura 2:257 ("God is Lord of those who believe; He leads them out of darkness into the light"). In the darkness, you don't see a thing. When God leads you into the light, you see everything.
1:06:45 - You have the freedom of choice to believe or not believe. Based on that decision, you are either guided or misguided, deliberately. If you make a decision not to have anything to do with God, the veil comes down. If you make a decision to believe in God, all circumstances will work out to direct you to the right path.
1:07:10 - Continues discussing Sura 2:257 ("As for those who disbelieve, their lords are their idols; they lead them out of the light into darkness"). Gives an example.
1:12:20 - Discusses Sura 2:259 (lesson about death). God is not speaking to the person. It's all by inspiration. "He" could be anybody. It doesn't say it's God.
1:14:25 - God did not speak to Abraham in Sura 2:260. When God speaks to someone, it's a big thing that's mentioned specifically (like Moses). Even when Muhammad was taken to the highest universe, God did not speak to him. It was mentioned specifically that he was inspired.
1:16:00 - Talks about how the period between death and resurrection is like one night. We were dead for millions of years. We all experienced death already. There are two deaths and two lives.
1:23:10 - There's no difference at all between sleeping and dying. In fact, people don't know if they've died.
1:26:30 - It doesn't matter what kind of death the people die; they don't know that they died.
1:29:40 - The moment you are resurrected, you'll know if you're the people of Heaven or the people of Hell.
1:31:00 - Discusses Sura 17:13-14 ("the video tape"). That video record of your life, from birth to death, will explain to you why you are in this position, whatever position you find yourself in.
1:33:15 - Getting your record behind your back just means you have a bad record (Sura 84:10).
1:33:40 - The reason everybody will be in Hell initially is because God won't be there. The absence of God is Hell. When God comes, it becomes Heaven for the believers and a worse Hell for the disbelievers.
1:34:40 - It's not a punishment. We're told that this initial Hell will serve to make you appreciate Heaven because you don't appreciate the good things unless you know what the bad things are like. Hell is not what they picture to you (i.e. the fire). The terrible thing about it is the eternity and hopelessness. That initial Hell is not eternal or hopeless.
1:38:05 - Purgatory will be for people who didn't make it to Heaven and didn't make it to Hell, people who said La Elaha Ella Allah a year and a half before they died (didn't get the chance to grow). Hypocrites will be in the deepest Hell.
1:39:50 - The disbelievers will sneak into Heaven, but they will suffer even worse because the baby souls suffer more in the presence of God in Heaven. They go back to Hell voluntarily, but Hell is so bad that they sneak back again. They will spend eternity circulating between Hell and a worse Hell in Heaven. That's why when God comes, the people whose souls are grown will enjoy it and be in Heaven automatically and the ones whose souls are small and shrunk will suffer terribly; it'd be worse than Hell and the proof is that they voluntarily go back to Hell.
1:45:30 - "If they're sincere, God will reassure them". Gives an example in light of Sura 2:260 about Abraham wanting reassurance. There are some people who say they believe the Quran is from God, so they don't need the mathematical miracle as a reassurance. In other words, they're saying they're better than Abraham; they don't need reassurance. We believed the Quran is from God before the discovery of this miracle, but when we saw that, our faith strengthened. The sincere believers need reassurance and request it; there's nothing wrong with it.
1:47:35 - Discusses Sura 2:260 about Abraham wanting reassurance. Abraham took four birds and studied the markings of the birds first before cutting them in pieces and putting each piece on top of a hill. When he called them, God put the birds together, the same birds. God had the angels do that; He doesn't have to do it Himself. It was all done by His command.
1:48:35 - The belief of resurrection is required along with belief in God.
1:49:00 - It is very important that you develop your soul and grow. The more you grow, the higher your rank for eternity. One of the most intensive worships that make you grow is making dhikr (zikr) at dawn. It's really a shame to sleep through it when there's a treasure going on right here in this mosque at dawn, so don't sleep through it. The commemoration in a group is also very effective because it's contagious.
00:15 - We must believe in the previous scriptures. The Bible is 90% truth and 10% distortions. Unfortunately, most people take the 10% distortion and make it the doctrine of the church. We have the Quran as the criterion to correct any deviations.
1:30 - When there's too much lawlessness on Earth, disobedience of God, and non-adherence to the oneness of God, God destroys the earth. "I want to use this to point out to you that you probably saved the Earth", because you are people who believe in God alone, you don't idolize anyone or anything... because you reached the conviction that God alone is King and God alone rules the world and your life, every minute detail in it (you have come to this conviction)... you know that your boss has no authority on you; God controls the minds and hearts of everybody: your boss, spouse, children, parents (you've come to that conclusion).
2:45 - Masjid Tucson was established in 1978.
5:50 - When corruption takes over the earth, there's no need for the earth to exist. The end of the world will come because there will be no one who worships God alone.
8:35 - God is angry at California.
9:45 - The majority of people, no matter what you do, will not believe. The majority of the believers are idol worshippers. They worship God, but they also idolize Muhammad or Jesus or Mary or somebody or something. They just cannot come all the way to La Elaha Ella Allah, to worshiping God alone. If you're with the majority, you'll be in trouble.
13:10 - You're a very special person when you come to La Elaha Ella Allah. Satan will concentrate all his forces on you. He doesn't want you to make it. "Making it" means kingship on Earth, sovereignty on Earth, and ruling all your surroundings, perfect happiness in this world and in the Hereafter.
16:00 - Talks about Joseph being in prison. God wants to show the angels and Satan that no matter what condition Joseph is in, he knows that God is The King, and he worships God alone.
16:45 - Some people say they've been a Muslim for two weeks and ask why they are still having problems. You have to have patience. You're guaranteed kingship on Earth.
17:45 - You can't come to Islam for six months and demand kingship on Earth. You must steadfastly persevere. You must prove that you really believe under any circumstance. You have to be put to the test. You are in God's eyes throughout the test. He may push you to the brink, but He will always watch over you. You will never fall because if you fall, He will hold you back, but you will be on the brink because God wants to be proud of you.
18:30 - Read Sura 12:110 ("just when the messengers despair... our victory comes to them"). When you reach the point of despair, you're a believer in God alone, nothing changes your conviction, then comes kingship on Earth. This is what is guaranteed to you, but you have to steadfastly persevere and prove yourself.
19:35 - When you come to La Elaha Ella Allah, Satan will tempt you with your most urgent needs. If you need money, he will tempt you with money. If you need sex, he will tempt you with sex. Whatever is your most urgent need, he will tempt you with that to take you away from La Elaha Ella Allah.
20:20 - Uses analogy of catching fish with bait. The bait must be fantastic for the fish, but as soon as you catch the fish, you cut its head, fry it in oil, take its intestines out, etc. This is what Satan will do to you once he has you because he is our enemy.
21:10 - Read Sura 38:41 about Job. God was proud of Job and He was telling the angels and Satan, "Look at my servant, Job. He worships Me alone". Satan said, "Well, look at him. He's rich, he has a family, he's not under any pressure, so why shouldn't he worship You?" So, God lent Job to Satan for a while, but Job was always in God's eyes and Satan has limits to where he can go.
22:20 - God may lend you to Satan for a while and if he can take you, you're his. Just like when you catch a fish: he's going to fry you. You must steadfastly persevere, and you cannot flunk a test. When you flunk a test, you regress. You start again at square zero.
24:25 - Signs of idol worship: they cannot stand to talk about God alone, they cannot follow the Quran alone, and they cannot accept what God says in the Quran.
32:00 - The energy associated with God is equivalent to a million hydrogen bombs. God let us invent hydrogen bombs so we can understand what happens when He comes. When God comes, this whole earth will shatter into pieces, like a million hydrogen bombs fell on it.
35:25 - You must never neglect to feed your soul. Remember your old clothes that you gave away? Do you care who's doing what with them now? Your body is just like that: old clothes, old garment. If you neglect to feed your soul, it's your own fault.
36:00 - The five prayers are useless if you idolize anyone else beside God. God must be the only One, not number one, because number one means there is a number two. God must be the only One in your life.
37:10 - Read Sura 2:261 ("the best investment"). For every dollar you spend (charity), you get seven hundred minimum, not necessarily in dollars.
38:00 - Read Sura 2:262 ("...do not follow their charity with insult or harm"). People may give assistance to somebody, then hurt their feelings later on without necessarily saying a word, but they hurt them and make them never forget it. God says it's better not to make such a charity.
39:25 - The money that we have is not really ours. God is lending it to us.
40:15 - Read Sura 2:264 ("do not nullify your charities by inflicting reproach and insult"). Charity that's followed by hurting people's feelings is like somebody that's being charitable while disbelieving in God, all in vain. Some people are very charitable, they help a lot of people, build hospitals and have charitable organizations, but they don't believe in God. All their works are in vain. We're not here to be charitable. We're here to worship God. Charity must be a form of worship, obedience to God's commandments.
42:00 - Read Sura 2:265. The Quran teaches the principles of agriculture. If you want good land, you have to make sure it is deep and high with enough water supply.
43:00 - Read Sura 2:267 ("...do not pick out the bad therein to give away, when you yourselves do not accept it unless your eyes are closed..."). If you give away old clothes you don't need anymore, that's not charity. Charity must be as good as the things you have. That person may be doing you a favor by helping you get rid of old clothes.
45:00 - Charity must be from among the best things you have. You get seven thousand percent return. You do it and you forget it. You never bring it up again. You don't tell other people, except the recipients, again. References Sura 2:270 ("anonymous charity better"). If you keep it secret, it's even better because it implies you believe in God. You know that God saw you. If you don't keep it secret, you tell people around you, then you're showing off. You're reaping some kind of reward by not keeping it secret.
47:35 - If you show off or you reap any benefits, that reduces the benefits that God has for you (in reference to giving charity).
1:06:25 - Someone asks if it's wrong to work as a banker because you're helping the bank operate. Rashad says you're earning from usury.
1:07:30 - Islamic economy is a productive economy. Gives an example of how God diminishes usury (Sura 2:276). Arizona started a lottery and for the first time, the state had a $100 million dollar deficit. They were expecting to earn money, but God diminishes sinful earnings: gambling or usury.
1:17:00 - If the people are charitable to the government and give the government five hundred dollars each, the country's $100 billion dollar deficit would be wiped out.
1:19:00 - Discusses Sura 2:279 about expecting a war from God and His messenger if you don't refrain from usury. Anyone who speaks on behalf of God will speak against usury.
1:21:00 - Read Sura 33:40 about Muhammad being the final prophet, but not the last messenger. Explains difference between prophet and messenger.
1:21:40 - Every village, generation, and community have a messenger. When you go in the market, meet somebody, and tell them about God and the worship of God alone, you are a messenger of God at that time.
1:22:15 - Obey God and anyone who preaches the one God. Any person who comes to you and says to worship God alone, obey that because disobeying means you're going to worship more than one god. You're going to idolize someone besides God.
1:26:00 - Read footnote of Sura 2:275: "Usury is any fixed percentage of earnings incurred in return for deposited or loaned money. Earnings that fluctuate with investment profits and losses do not constitute usury. It should be noted that the Quran condemns only those who take usury while those who are forced by circumstance to pay usury are considered victims, rather than sinners".
1:26:40 - Read Sura 2:280 about if the debtor is unable to pay. The debtor, the person who took the debt, is a victim. The only way to buy a house is to have a mortgage on it and pay exorbitant interest, then you're a victim. There's a Hadith that says anybody who pays interest is also a sinner, but that's wrong.
1:28:45 - Tells story of when submitters asked Rashad for stock market recommendations. The stocks went down, and they lost money, but they didn't blame Rashad for it, then God made it up to them.
1:29:45 - If you're just using a bank as a depository, writing checks, and you're not earning fixed percentage, then it's perfectly alright. If you carry cash in your pocket, you're subject to loss.
1:31:30 - Some people use the stock market for gambling. If people buy and sell every day and this is their business: just moving the money from here to there, that's gambling. Any non-productive and games of chance are gambling, prohibited.
1:39:20 - Gives an example of posting a bond to guarantee repayment when no scribe is available (Sura 2:283).
1:40:40 - This commandment (Sura 2:282 about writing down financial transactions) is very important to actually do it: anytime you lend anybody money, unless you don't want it. Write it down and have witnesses because we tend to forget.
1:41:15 - Answers why the witnesses have to be one man and two women (unless there's two male witnesses) for financial transactions. If you have a man and a woman and there's some fooling around with this transaction, the man can marry the woman, then you're in trouble because they're on one side. If there's one man and two women, even if polygamy applies and the man marries the two women, these two women will hate each other's guts that they will not agree. There will be competition.
1:48:15 - We make mistakes and turn to God for forgiveness, but people who don't believe in God or have some other gods beside God, they don't enjoy that forgiveness. We forget and we make mistakes. Thank God that God is The Forgiver. Only believers are forgiven. Idol worshippers are not forgiven. You can repent from idol worship, then it will be wiped out. Idol worship is not forgiven if the person dies in a state of idol worship.
1:49:30 - Belief in God would imply automatically that you will ask for forgiveness and repent.
1:49:40 - Talks about not making any distinctions among the prophets. We only say La Elaha Ella Allah because if you say Muhammad Rasool Allah, you're making a distinction. We know and believe that Muhammad Rasool Allah, but we also believe that Noah, Saleh, and Moses are Rasool Allah and you don't want to make any of them stand out or make distinctions.
1:52:15 - Abraham was in an idol-worshipping community, he did not go to school, but he made it because we are all born with the message (Sura 7:172 about every human being born with an instinctive knowledge about God). There's no excuse. It doesn't matter who teaches what. If people were taught Christianity and accepted it, it's because they deserved that. This is what they actually believed. If there are people in that community who believe in God alone, they will actually make it through Christianity, reject the idea that Jesus is God or the trinity, and they will believe in God alone. Abraham is an example of that.
28:00 - Talks about the significance of the Quranic initials. We're told in eight suras that these letters are the miracle of the Quran. God told us that there's a secret in the Quran that will be unveiled in the future, not in Muhammad's time. It was these letters and the miracle associated with them that Rashad personally used as a sign that this translation is authorized by God. Rashad said that as a chemist, he had no business translating the Quran and he refused to publish it; he did it for himself initially. He refused to publish it unless he saw a definite sign that he was authorized to do it.
30:40 - Rashad said his translation of the Quran happens to be the nineteenth translation in English. God showered him with signs that this is authorized, that God approves of this, and there should be no hesitation about it.
31:50 - Rashad said the Yusuf Ali translation is a very good translation, but the archaic English he used does not make the Quran available to everybody. Islam, like any other religion, is first embraced by the oppressed and the poor. They end up being the best people.
33:10 - When they argue with you or discuss the issue of Quran and Hadith, God alone, and idol worship with you, they make a classic statement: that you are idolizing Rashad Khalifa. Read Sura 9:31 about setting up religious leaders and scholars as lords instead of God. This was revealed through Muhammad, and it applies to every congregation, every religion. The criterion is if the scholar, priest, or rabbi is saying something that is identical to what God says, then you are worshipping God because God says you shall obey God, the messenger, and those in charge among you, or the imams, priests, or rabbis among you for that matter ("among you" as in you, a believer). They utter the same things that God is uttering. However, if the imam, priest, rabbi, or scholar says something different from what God says and you follow that, then you are worshipping them. Gives an example.
44:50 - "If I (Rashad) say something that is different from what God says, are you going to listen to me or listen to God's word? You can tell if you are worshipping God or worshipping me by that criterion. As you know, I wouldn't dare say anything that is different from what God says. You wouldn't let me get away with it... As long as it conforms with the Quran and you accept it, then you are not worshipping me, but if I say something that is different, it is your duty to tell me this is garbage."
46:35 - It's an awesome responsibility (for Rashad to write/publish the translation of the Quran) because if he writes one sentence that is wrong, and he misleads a hundred people, he will be responsible for that. Rashad calls himself "the biggest chicken". He doesn't want anybody else's sins because he has enough of his own; he doesn't want to mislead anybody or carry anybody else's misguidance. Gives example of Moses' reluctance to be a messenger because it's an awesome responsibility.
47:40 - The opposition is beginning to realize what the significance is (regarding A.L.M.) and now they are completely silent instead of attacking like they used to do. It is going to overwhelm and overtake them because it is God's miracle, not because he (Rashad) had anything to do with it; he had nothing to do with it.
53:15 - When the Quran came down, there were no numbers. The alphabet was used as numbers.
54:20 - You do not need Arabic (Sura 41:44). The only requirement is to be a believer and God will put the Quran into your heart. There were people who wanted them to put Ali's name in their azan (call to prayer) and wanted everybody to be experts in Arabic first in order to understand the Quran. Rashad demonstrated to them that what God said is the truth by asking them to ask a relatively new submitter anything about the Quran to see if the Quran is in her heart. They thought of the hardest, most difficult and impossible question (meaning of K.H.Y.A.S. at the beginning of Sura 19) and she told them about the numerical code associated with them. They didn't argue after that.
56:30 - The number of the verse came in the middle of the sentence (referring to how the sentence continues between Sura 3:3 and Sura 3:4), indicating a deliberate numbering of the verses.
58:40 - God sent down the statute book (Sura 3:4), meaning the book of law. We have to obey these laws if we are to have a perfect life, a happy life.
59:10 - Nothing is concealed from God because He knows what their hearts are doing, if they're really believing or not. Based on that, they're isolated from the Quran; they cannot see it.
59:40 - The allegorical verses are things that we may not be able to understand or fully comprehend yet. Had the early generations who didn't understand what God meant by the earth being egg-shaped tried to interpret that, they would've wasted their time and ended up confused.
1:00:15 - There are things in the Quran now that we cannot comprehend. God reserves these for future generations because every generation has to see something new in the Quran. We have a certain understanding of them, and we have to be content and satisfied with those, as long as we aren't digging and causing a lot of confusion. It's perfectly alright to study the Quran and try to understand everything without confusing ourselves.
1:01:00 - The past generations, for example, didn't understand what the number nineteen meant and had no way of knowing, so God gave them a temporary understanding that they are possibly the guardians of Hell (Sura 74:31). God knows that it is not important whether the people know that Hell is guarded by nineteen or not. It's not a crucial thing to the doctrine or the worship of God alone.
1:02:00 - Only those who possess intelligence will take heed. People who don't heed the Quran, believe in God, or worship God alone, have to be stupid. They aren't intelligent. People leave God, who is holding the seven universes in His hand, and seek the wisdom of a human being who lived on Earth a hundred years who is very tiny and helpless.
1:04:10 - Does it make any sense that 3 million Israelis consistently defeat 150 million Arabs? Even in the physical level, it doesn't make sense, but this is what God says in Sura 3:12 because those people were given the Quran and when you're given the Quran, your responsibility is immediately doubled. The people who come to Islam and the Quran who end up following Hadith and Sunna are in bad shape and much better off as Christians worshipping Jesus.
1:05:10 - The Quran is a fantastic blessing or a fantastic disaster, depending on if you uphold it or not. The Arabs were given the Quran, and they chose to abandon it. Sura 3:12 applied to them (those who disbelieve will be defeated, then gathered in Hell). This is God's promise, and it doesn't matter what the physical statistics say. If you disbelieve God when He says the Quran is complete, perfect, and fully detailed, you will be defeated, and it doesn't matter how many you are, how rich you are, or how many weapons you have. There are 200 million Arabs and God gave them so much wealth just to make all the physical statistics on their side, yet they keep losing, consistently defeated, and that's because they abandoned the Quran. The Quran is in their tongue: Arabic.
1:08:50 - The Gospels aren't the Hadiths of Jesus; they're the Hadiths of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are the canonized books because at the Nicene Conference, they collected all the scriptures of Jesus: the true and the false. They canonized these four and burned everything else. They established the doctrine of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Audio #125
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHVTKCvVJZo
1:30 - We came to the conclusion after God's miracle that we must be absolutely, positively worshipping God alone and we must realize that only God possesses the power to benefit you or harm you, that only He is worthy of worship, and that everyone else in the past generations is dead, helpless, and powerless, whether it is Muhammad, Jesus, or Mary. They are dead, useless, powerless, and helpless, and this is what the Quran says.
2:50 - Rashad says he's surprised because this is not supposed to be appreciated until about three or four generations from now. The present generation usually does not appreciate the discoveries (referring to the mathematical miracle).
3:55 - The only opposition we ever have is from people who never read the miracle and do not know.
5:00 - Are you right and all those millions of Christians and millions of generations of Christians, are they all wrong? If you worship God alone, you can never be wrong. This is the whole purpose of life.
7:10 - Rashad said he thinks Satan can hold the whole Earth in his hand because he was God's assistant. Rashad said he thinks but is not sure that Satan can manipulate the thoughts of every human being at the same time. Satan swore by God's dignity to mislead us all. We're up against a terrible enemy, but when you join the worship of God alone, he cannot touch you because God puts guards on you that are more powerful than Satan and they keep him away (references Sura 38:82-83 at 15:20).
9:45 - Read Sura 11:119 (The judgment of your Lord has already been issued: "I will fill Hell with jinns and humans, all together."). God already saw the Day of Judgment and He saw that the vast majority of people are going to Hell. Are those millions of Christians and Muslims right or wrong? The Muslims fell in the same trap as the Christians. They cannot worship God alone. They have to mention other names with God.
10:40 - Read Sura 12:103 (the majority of people do not believe). The minority will believe. Read Sura 12:106 (the majority of believers destined for Hell because of idol worship). Rashad says we should memorize these verses by heart.
16:00 - It's a statement of fact in the Quran. Those millions upon millions of Christians are wrong and you're right? God tells you yes, they are wrong. If they idolize anyone or anything, they are wrong. If they die in this state, they go straight to Hell. The same is true with the Muslims. Millions upon millions of them do not believe when He says the Quran is complete and we are told in the Quran that shields fall on them and deafness in their ears; they are not allowed to understand the Quran (Sura 17:46, Sura 18:57).
17:45 - God is the Most Merciful, so why are all these people going to Hell? Is He unjust? God does not inflict an atom's weight of injustice. This is the people's choice that they insist on.
19:00 - Read Sura 7:172-173 about being born with an instinctive knowledge about God. God put an instinct in us to worship God alone, just like the bird. Who told the bird to sit on the eggs until they hatch? Do the birds go to school? God put the instinct in them. God is just. When we idolize Muhammad, Jesus, Mary, or the saints, we go against our instinct.
23:20 - We used our brains, we thought, we did not accept what was given to us from our parents or scholars. Read Sura 17:36 about not accepting any information, unless you verify it for yourself. You shall not accept anything until you are positive that it is correct because you are hanging your salvation on it. It's your neck; you are the one who would go to Heaven or Hell. When you hear anything from anyone, you have to ascertain and make sure that it is right, whether it is your parents, scholars, president, wife, husband, whatever it is. The relations we have here is just a means of reproduction here, but we are all independent individuals in the Hereafter.
25:00 - Gives example of using your minds (Sura 17:36), regarding Salat and praying with a moderate tone instead of praying silently.
28:10 - Discusses polygamy. When Muhammad died, he had nine wives. Polygamy is not limited in the Quran. The Muslims abuse Sura 4:3 where it says, "you may marry two, three, or four". It does not say you are limited to four.
30:10 - We follow the true Hadith of Muhammad. The Quran came out of Muhammad's mouth.
34:15 - Some people think that "worship" means you bow and fall prostrate to something. If the scholar, priest, rabbi, or imam is saying something that is exactly identical to what God says, you are not worshiping the scholar, priest, rabbi, or imam. If the scholar, priest, rabbi, or imam says something that is different from what God says and you follow that instead of following God, you have set them up as a god instead of God.
36:45 - You are following those words because they are the words of God, not because they are the words of the scholar or imam.
Starts sermon and almost accidentally says the false Shahada. "The old habits come back sometimes, the days of ignorance and idol worship". God does not want any other names mentioned in His mosques. All messengers of God want us to say La Elaha Ella Allah.
00:45 - Rashad reads a talk that was given by Warith Deen Mohammed (leader of American Muslim Mission) for his first sermon. Rashad said that he believes Warith Deen Mohammed believes in the truth in his heart and that he's a striver. Rashad says this talk could be written by him (the talk is mostly about hypocrites).
3:45 - That's the price all of us who want to do good have to accept to pay (the more people know what you represent, the more enemies you would get).
7:00 - Warith Deen Mohammed says, "Every masjid is infiltrated... they are here to hurt us...they are here just to see that you don't prosper... we don't want to become paranoid, alarmed to the extent that we are going to say, "I'm going to find him". No, don't try to find him. Forget about him. Just know that he is here, but don't worry about him. Hope he keeps coming. Maybe he'll hear a khutbah that will change his heart one day". Rashad said he keeps saying that himself (in reference to the last part).
15:15 - Muhammad grew up in a society that was idol-worshipping. They were Muslims according to the religion of Abraham, but they deviated from the true Islam to idol worship. They worshiped God perfectly, they prayed the five prayers a day perfectly to God, but they also had Allaat, Al 'Uzzah, and Manaat, i.e. other gods with God. God chose Muhammad, guided him to the worship of God alone, and gave him the message. They attacked and persecuted him.
17:00 - Talks about the objective of the people in Sura 2:189 asking Muhammad about the phases of the moon. They didn't want to know about the phases of the moon. They really wanted to know if the verse was right or wrong. They wanted to embarrass, harass, and prove that Muhammad was a fraud and that he didn't know about the phases of the moon. They didn't want to know about the one God or the worship of one God.
17:30 - The Quran was written before the creation of the heavens and the earth, but the Quran narrates that story of the people who went to Muhammad to prove that he's fake by asking him about the phases of the moon. This means that these people are sitting peacefully somewhere, then God wanted them to do something and all of a sudden, they were all pepped up and wanting to go and prove that Muhammad is fake. God was doing that because it serves the Muslim community. It shows them who is who. It brings things to light and forces certain issues.
18:40 - Rashad says his translation is an authorized translation.
21:20 - Rashad compares his translation of Sura 22:15 to other translations.
27:30 - Discusses Sura 22:15 about severing dependence on anyone else besides God. This is the solution to any worries that you have in this world. If anyone of us does not think that God can support us here in this world and in the Hereafter, let us give true Islam a try. Let us turn totally to God and cut out all idol worship from our lives, then you will see that all worries are gone. No more headaches, no more traffic tickets, no more problems from the spouse.
28:40 - Rashad says he has permission to translate the Quran into English. He started the translation in St. Louis and when he came to Sura 22:15, he had already finished the first 21 suras and it was 1971. He had all the translations of the Quran spread open on his table and he would turn the pages as he would translate. The original Ibn Kathir translation said to hang yourself in Sura 22:15, but it didn't make sense to Rashad because it defied God's law to not kill yourself or others. He left that verse blank and moved on, then he had to leave for Hajj. Sura 22 is titled Al-Hajj.