Transcription
Alhamdulillah. So monthly, we try to have an open Q&A. And alhamdulillah, today we had over 115 questions submitted in 3 hours. I'm going to try to answer around 20 of them, inshallah. So let us begin.
Uh, a lot of people sent their condolences, and I appreciate that. May Allah subhanana wa ta'ala, uh, bless you all for your care and concern. Alhamdulillah, uh, inshallah, my mother is doing well. Alhamdulillah, we are, it is, uh, that we, inshallah, have to accept and move on, inshallah.
So, first question, uh, there's a lot of Islamophobic content online about the fact that Muslims do not belong in this country. How do we respond to this type of, uh, rhetoric? So, this is a very, very important question, and it is one that our youth have to struggle with. There is a concerted campaign that is happening across the country. Politicians, senators, even indirectly from the White House, as you know, and, uh, across the social media. There is a concerted campaign. Now, I need you to understand, this campaign is not random. It is linked to what is happening in Gaza, and it is being used as a tactic to divert attention away from the reality.
Now that slowly but surely the media is being allowed in. Now that we're seeing the aftermath, now that we see that an entire city, an entire land has been laid to rubble, and now the death tolls are coming out, 150,000, 200,000. What is the tactic? How are they going to bring attention away? They create a controversy out of nothing. They literally create a controversy, and they make an entire Islamophobic campaign. And Muslims are here, and this and that. You're the ones committing the genocide. You're the ones killing a 100,000 people, and now you want to call us that we are some type of fifth column, some type of, you know, Muslims don't belong here, etc., etc.
So, understand this is a campaign that is being funded by the same people that are funding the genocide. The same mentality. It's not coming out of thin air. Therefore, as I have been telling you for the last 2 years, this Islamophobia is linked to the ummah situation, and the reality of we cannot just remain passive in this regard, and we must make our voices heard. Much can be said, but because this is a long Q&A, first and foremost, first and foremost, Muslims, understand our religion. Our deen does not have any conflict with us living in this land. If you feel this way, then honestly, I'm trying to be respectful, but then you should not be living here. If you really feel this way, that's fine. I'm not saying it is obligatory, but then you are causing problems for the rest of us. If you're going to say things that can be used by the far right, if you're going to say things that the majority of us don't believe, "Oh, I cannot, don't want to be in this country." Then why are you in this country?
I was born here. I have no plans of leaving. And I will publicly and vocally criticize my own country when it deserves to, and I will praise it when it deserves to. So, there's no conflict for me. My Islamic identity is not at all infringed. Even if there are aspects of my country that I'm very irritated at, and there are aspects that I am grateful for. So, this is the reality. If you feel otherwise, then you have to ask yourself, what then are you doing here? If you really believe that it is sinful to live in this land, I am not saying you're right or wrong. I'm simply saying, then why are you here? Just a simple question. I'm not even saying you're right or wrong. I'm saying, why are you here?
I believe if I wish to remain in this land, it is completely permissible as long as I try my best to speak the truth, as long as I make my conscience clear, and as long as I'm able to practice my religion and pass it down to my children. And I believe that that is happening, inshallah tala. So, if you do believe like I believe that yes, it is completely permissible and there's no conflict of identity, then what do you say to the far right that says, "Oh, you guys want to overthrow the country? You guys are following Sharia law?" This and that. We say a number of things. First and foremost, Muslims have been a part of this land since the very beginning of this land. There were Muslims here before the USA became the USA. We have documented reports of people that came to these lands as Muslims before 1776, and in 1776, and after 1776. And the slave trade that existed, 20 to 25% of those that were forcibly bought here were Muslims. We have documented evidence of people praying, fasting Ramadan in the 1700s, 1800s. So, you can say whatever you want. Islam has been a part of this land for the last four centuries, and nothing can change that.
Number two, that let's be fair to its own constitution. The constitution of this country guarantees freedom of religion. So, anybody who says that Muslims don't belong here, we say to them, you are not following your own constitution. As long as all faiths abide by the law, as long as they abide by the law, they are allowed to be a part of this land. And we are taxpayers, and we are obeying the law. Every faith has the right to be here.
Now, if somebody says to us, "Oh, which one is more important to you, your God or your country?" Do not ever be embarrassed. Do not ever hesitate to stand up with pride and say, that question is unethical, immoral, and absurd. What faith-based person would ever say that a country is more important than a God? Would any Christian say that Jesus Christ is less important than a country? This is an absurd question. There is no ambiguity that if you force me to choose, I am a Muslim first and foremost, and my God deserves unconditional loyalty, and everything else is conditional loyalty. It's an absurd question. You're asking me this question. Go ask a Catholic. Go ask a Protestant. Go ask any faith-based person. America is not a God. America is a nation-state. It was founded in 1776. And like all countries, like all countries, there is no country that is eternal. All countries rise and fall. And we wish the best for every country, but no country is God. So, don't ask me to choose between a God and between a nation-state. And I say this question goes against the spirit of this country. The country was not founded to make a quiz, make an interrogation. Choose between your religion and between your country. So, push back at the question. Do not be intimidated by giving the correct answer. And the correct answer is, I am Muslim first and foremost. Every other identity, it is conditional. And if you change the constitution and you say everybody living here must consider the country first and then the religion, then apply it to every other faith tradition. Apply it to every faith tradition, and then we also will be applied to. And then without a doubt, we will choose our God over every nation-state. But we say, as long as you abide by the constitution of this land, so are we. And we are not asking to choose. I am a Muslim, and I'm worshiping my God according to my faith, and I'm obeying the laws of the land. So, we push back.
The American identity, from the beginning, was not supposed to be an identity of faith. It was not. This is very clear. And then we can say, here, as for the racial identity, well, factually speaking, maybe in 1776, they thought only one race was American. But as you know, slowly but surely, that changed over the course of the next century. And now the default is that America is not a racial identity. And if that is the case, then it should apply to people of all races. And we do say that America, out of all the countries in the world, really is a unique country. And I say this as somebody who has visited almost 70 countries now. Subhan Allah. And I say this factually, dear brothers, dear sisters, the fact that you cannot deny that this country, yes, it has some negatives about foreign policy, about this and that, but it has a lot of positives. Hardly any other country in the world can a foreigner come and migrate and take on citizenship and then contribute and then rise up so economically and be given chances to be a part of this country. There really is a lot of positive. So, if you want to retain that positive, you have to fight for that identity. Push back at this ridiculous notion that if you're Muslim, you cannot be in America. Simple response is that Muslims have always been in this land, and this is what makes this country different, that it wants people of diversity to come. And we will be here. And factually speaking, Muslims are contributing at every single level. The statistic given of 10% of healthcare workers being Muslim, it's constantly being, you know, mentioned. 10% of healthcare workers are Muslim. That's not a trivial percentage. We are working here, living here, paying taxes here, and we shall remain here. This small group of arrogant, hate-filled, you know, xenophobic Muslim bigots, anti-Muslim bigots, don't be intimidated by them. They are hate-filled. And here's the point, they're trying to cover up for the genocide. That's their real goal. It's not even the irony. Their main goal isn't even they hate you. Their main goal is they want to cover up genocide. So, don't be intimidated and push back and affirm your identity, and bit by bit, inshallah.
And by the way, the reality is they're losing. Look at New York. Look at New York. The largest congregation of people of a Jewish background in the whole world outside of Israel are in New York. And a person who claims to be Muslim ran for mayor and he won with a landslide victory. This shows you that Zionism, which is what we're against. We have nothing. We have no problem with Judaism and Christianity. Zionism is failing in New York. It is failing. If it's failing in New York, and this is, it's terrifying the older generation because the younger generation of Zionists, born in Zionist families, are abandoning Zionism. More than 30% of Jewish New Yorkers voted for the Muslim candidate. That means they're anti-Zionist. Do you understand? This is a victory. So, don't be intimidated by these loud voices, these arrogant, hate-filled voices, and push back because there's no other way for survival other than making sure the narrative remains as it is.
So, that is question number one, very deep one, very philosophical one. Second question, uh, very difficult one. Subhan Allah. All miscellaneous, all of them. I just chose at random that which is useful, inshallah. That I have, um, a parent on ventilator and life support, and I'm confused what can be done. Our family is talking about, uh, the various options. Can you summarize? Very, very sensitive question. And please don't just listen to a generic response and do something. I'm going to give a generic response so you have background knowledge, but you should come to me or any sheikh and go into more specific detail.
So, understand, I'll give you a generic response. Listen to this carefully. Medication of all types. Medication, the default is that medication is permissible. It is not waj, and will only be haram if the medication itself is, is, you know, there are conditions that are met. As a default, taking medicines, putting on a ventilator, engaging in chemotherapy, doing any treatment, it is mubah, not waj, and not haram, unless there are other conditions of haram. This means if somebody says, "I don't want chemotherapy," that is permissible. If somebody says, "I don't want a ventilator put on me if I'm in that situation," that is permissible. You are not obliged. We don't believe that Allah required us to push life as much as we can. No, we're not allowed to take our lives. Suicide means you do something that inevitably causes your death in a means that is something that directly causes death. For you to not take medication, that is not suicide because medication is not required. Suicide is you jump off a building. Suicide is you shoot yourself with a gun. Suicide is you take poison. That is suicide. But to say, "I don't want to do chemotherapy." That's not suicide. No. Nobody says this. Chemotherapy is a tactic to cure a disease. If you choose to not do it. Putting a ventilation is a tactic. So, if the person is conscious and he's asked, "Listen, you have breathing difficulty, do you want to be put on ventilator or not?" He says, "No." He has the right. He has that's his right. He says, "Yes, okay, put it on." No problem. You can put it on.
But what if he's not conscious? What if he cannot make a decision? Because if it's his decision, then understandably. What if he's not conscious? Then the family needs to make a collective decision, and nobody can intervene. The wife, the mother, the parents, everybody there, they make a, you, they, you know, amongst themselves, and then, you know, of course, according to the law of this country, the law assigns one particular person, generally the spouse. So, then in that case, you know, we cannot intervene. The law assigns one person, that person will decide. But wisely, it is the, the family's, uh, decision, and they will do what is in the best interest of the person. It is not obligatory to provide food and water and air above the natural way that we usually take food, water, and air. What do I mean by this? We are breathing with our lungs. If you take a pillow and you put it on a person's nose, mouth, you have deprived them of the normal mechanism to breathe. This is murder. If somebody cannot breathe, their lungs collapse. You are not obliged to put a ventilating machine and some fake pump and do that. That's above and beyond what Allah gave them. You're not obliged to do this. We must drink water. If they cannot drink food and eat food and drink water anymore, and you must have put a, a needle or something, and they say, "I don't want that." No, that is their right. Or if the family says, "Now he is clinically dead, we don't see the point in putting this on." That is their right to do so. You, you are, you are not obliged to go above and beyond what Allah created you upon. Yes, if a person is hungry, you deprive them of food. That is murder. But if a person's unconscious and the doctor's saying he's clinically dead, should we put some tube, this and that? You do not have to put a tube on them because this is not the same as giving food and water. So, understand this point here.
Now, should you, should you not? Here is where the councils of have basically said, look at a number of things. First and foremost, quality of life. The goal of the is not that you just live for the sake of living. If a person's the vegetable, there's no, there's no ibada, there's no salah, there's no, what is the purpose of keeping a vegetable alive? If a person is not conscious, complete, you know, almost brain dead, and just lying there, and the family is like, "Oh, I just want to give, wait for a miracle." Miracles can happen whether you do something or not. We do not plan miracles. We do not logistically schedule miracles. If Allah wants him to cure, he'll walk up immediately and start running and jumping. Allah will cure him. You do not plan miracles. So, if the doctors, for example, say, "I'm sorry, but he's basically brain dead. It's up to you. Do you want to keep him on life support or not?" Most, in fact, I've all of the fatawa that I have read are basically that if there is little to no chance of survival, if there is little to no chance of coming back to normal, then the better thing to do is to let them go on their journey because now they're in an awkward state between life and death. They're in an awkward state. Nobody, neither can they reach their destination. Fire. What? For down river of down the river of me.