into the the nas the the mahkum right of
the Montauk which is the the nas de la
da de da de da de chartres ability
and then the demo foam which is the
Moapa and the mahadeva and then he goes
into the the problems of you have of the
MoBay in the mode what's what's
clarifying what's needs to be
interpreted the Haas the arm what's
specific what's general the Millea the
mukluks what's what's absolute and what
is constrained at Amida when a he the
commands and the prohibitions the Cooley
and the jewsí the universal and the
particular right the Mojave and the
machete kick the one that corresponds in
the one that puts doubt the most Derrick
and the motive things that have shared
meaning and then things that are
synonymous so these are all the D that
that have to be learned by the scholar
before they can really navigate the the
texts and this takes it takes work it's
hard work but it's certainly possible so
I think they're gonna show you the film
and then I'll just make a a plea so go
ahead if you want to show that we're
living at a time where people associate
Boko Haram with Islam we're living at a
time when people don't think of Imam
al-ghazali or fucka being or Ozzy
or all of these great giants of went
before us they think of ignorant people
and they and many too many people
believe that this is Islam and that's
why we're here that's what this is about
this is about restoring the centrality
of knowledge to our religion the
centrality of knowledge to our religion
[Music]
education doesn't just educate the
intellect no education czar much more
dynamic and holistic integrity thing
it's an integrative process that helps
to integrate the various parts so if an
education does not have anything to do
with the spirit of the human being it
has nothing to do with the psyche of the
human being then it's not according to
Mark Van Doren really education this
course is to help them map the next four
years of their education and to think
really deeply about that I've never
really been able to tap into this course
and that this school has allowed
daddy come weapon well and why don't you
leave say Toretto phil heartman that can
have a body and ability in a shot
attack me too Marton an astronut early
civil eyetality hunting the essence
right the this hold the foundation the
basis of the divine decree is God's
secret within creation this is all my
secret you know how is it that I can
choose on my own accord but that's in
perfect harmony and alignment with a
pre-eternal decision God's preached own
decision it's a secret it's a la secret
and we cannot we're not privy to it we
do not have access to that but the mind
has limits and this is well beyond the
limits of the human intellect you have
to do such that with the putter does
that make sense the mind has to make a
such duck after taking theology 1 and
theology - it makes complete sense fly
compare religions it's the third thing
that you take because you get there you
get yours you want the others - to gain
a strong grounding your own beliefs and
then taking not taking that and running
with it and then setting but Hinduism
and Confucianism
you really realize how similar a lot of
them are but how unique your own
tradition is I can look at the other
traditions I can take whatever wisdom I
mean but at the same time be strong in
my own in my own faith and it's an
angelic being so let's say managing a
job would be when you would say no what
is it no is it no no it isn't yes it is
well obviously you're not gonna solve
that you're not gonna resolve that are
you there on the street but you will say
okay no human being is an angelic
creature so what are you doing you're
saying absolutely no member of the
species man is an angelic creature so
you're separating actually separating
the predicate angelic creature from the
concept man this whole idea of being a
better person or a better individual or
we're finding our souls it's not just in
Islam it's in so many other traditions
that came before and I think we cut like
we just don't you know we're not exposed
to it and so I think it's amazing cuz
that's where you get your philosophy
classes are in philosophy class comes in
that's where your body class comes in
all the Western tradition is so
important because it's there it's
similar to our tradition
I think that's saying a lot is that you
don't just reject things and don't know
because you don't know what could be in
that that it's good for you so many
questions I have about certain things
you know Western philosophy doesn't have
the answers to but if you understand I
Lena if you underst
Islamic scholarly tradition of theology
and you want to share those arguments
then all of a sudden some of those
questions that were so perplexing before
now you have a clear answer and it's not
like it's a dogmatic answer it actually
makes sense rationally the most
important and difficult thing is to
continue to preserve the authenticity of
Islamic rules
I would not mean only by that the daily
prayers that's very very important of
course I do not mean by that on the
Islamic ethics that's also very very
important but I mean awed by that also
to preserve a mental ambience which is
Islamic in which the reality that Islam
can be breathed if we don't have
committed knowledgeable and fearless
Muslim youth we don't have Islam we have
some perversion of Islam so this is the
torchbearer
here say tuna let there rise among you
right a group rejoining good and
forbidding wrong let them start here
they start here in say tuna and then
they spread so that's the to me the
ultimate benefit of say tuna is that it
it is the vehicle for sustaining the
life of the human spirit
[Music]
so miss Meena we that have indeed uh we
started this college really with a lot
of trust and we did it in many ways in
the reverse way in which colleges are
started because colleges usually start
with a endowment and they build from
that endowment we did not start with an
endowment so we're trying to build an
endowment but one of the issues that we
face on a constant basis is budgetary
restrictions and crises so that's the
mode and inshallah were very close to
accreditation we had a glowing WASC
report that's going to be put up on the
online because we have the site visit
they have 39 criteria that you have to
fulfill to get accreditation what
accreditation means if we get it and
shala we're hoping to get it this year
or next year or on the verge of 2015 but
it means that we can take Canadian
students we that they can get the visas
that they need to study student visas we
can take foreign students even from the
Muslim world because we've had many
people from Turkey even from the Middle
East that have wanted to study there so
we we're expanding and we need a lot of
help to build this but this has to be
seen as you know it's it's it's it's a
it's a project that concerns the OMA
because we do not have an academic
address in the West Muslims do not have
an academic dress in the West
so it's accredited because one of the
things that we get when we're credit is
is an edu we get an actual academic
address for the Muslims which is to get
the edu org which is an educational
email that Harvard has so if you get a
letter from a Harvard professor it's
usually on
you dot org right at Harvard so that
that is a major step I think for our
community that we need to fulfill but we
need your help we have a program which
is 12,000 strong taken from the hadith
that prophet said 12,000 people with
working with one heart won't be defeated
for lack of numbers if the if they're if
they don't succeed it's for other
reasons but it won't be for lack of
numbers so we're asking for 12,000
people we've probably got about 1200
some of you already how many people in
here already doing that so hum do that
there's some people but a lot more is
needed and we're really hoping that
people will step up we're asking for a
dollar a day give us a couple years
commitment four or five years whatever
you can do if you're able to but it's
literally you know it's less than a
latte you know people go everyday spend
four dollars on a latte or something
like that it's you know we're asking for
a little bit of sacrifice or help from
our community it's not much that's
really all we're asking for is dollar a
day if you want to give more that's fine
but we're asking for a like a $30 a
month commitment to you know do every
month so that that's the hope that
people will do that there's a booth at
the bazaar if you want to sign up but I
really hope that you do that I I think
it's a it's an excellent project that we
hope to develop more I mean I literally
just had a major Foundation come to me
they asked for a meeting with me the
major foundation and these are people
they're not Muslims and they said we
want to help say tuna you know it's
amazing so they're reaching out to me
from a major foundation they said what
you're doing is really important there's
a lot of ignorance about Islam you know
we're in a multicultural civilization
and people have to have a better
understanding so we'd really like to
find ways that we could work we'd like
you to write grants you know if we can
help with certain things now this is a
foundation that that has it's a
multi-billion dollar foundation
philanthropist did and they had they
have to give out a certain amount of
money every year so they actually
sometimes they'll all have to give it
out and if they don't get enough grants
they go looking for people to give but
it's very ironic for me that people
outside of our faith come to ask if they
can help us and it's like we've got
billionaires in the Muslim community
like where are they
it's a very strange time and it's really
sad but I'm not counting on the
billionaires I'm counting on the
thousand Aires series I think there's a
lot more Baraka and just getting a lot
of small donations from people that work
hard for their money and the money is
halal you know I had which is a true
story I had somebody who was in
derivatives and a hedge fund that came
they wanted to help as a Muslim I didn't
want the money didn't take the money cuz
I I don't want money from you Zuri from
armaments from alcohol pornography I
don't want I don't want that money in
the lot by even whatever loved by you
but allows pure and he only accepts
what's pure so I'd much rather have
small donations from a lot of sincere
Muslims that want to see the succeed for
for the Ummah really I think you know
it's a it's a lighthouse for people give
them some hope and some pretty dark
times the Muslims you know they're
gutted all over the world Muslims are
really gutted you know they just okay
what's next so anyway whatever you can
do to help Jews are coming off pattern
somebody said I felt a wave of joy
mingled with sadness when you mentioned
that chef I'm Bella van Bayer got his
PhD in Tunisia
I'm Tunisian I find it heartbreaking
that we don't learn about our legacy
what were his advisers you know I don't
know they drives back in the early 60s I
would also like time in another crisis
changing accept of our kids I you know
if you smile at kids they don't smile
back you know if they're little they're
very often shy which is a good thing so
that they're just shy that's a normal
thing for children over friendly little
children to strangers is not
healthy time when you have so much
stranger danger and so but children by
their nature are sanguine you know if
you know about the humoral theory their
children are happy by nature it's the
world that will make you sad the world
that we've created not that allow
created but in terms of Tunisia Tunisia
has one of the greatest legacies of
scholarship in Islamic history I'm in
the same to know we named between after
this a tune of of Tunisia I mean it's
taken from the piranha that's where they
named they got from Ottoman Shahada to
maracas it's from a blessed tree neither
of the East or the west in other words
of both according to one tough seal so
and I had some of my teachers were
Tunisian she said that a knife was a
great man great malachy scholar a really
true truly great one of the last
great scholars of Tunisia she demanded
how a MIDI beautiful scholar that I knew
I actually met also the Imam of the
Halloween Shihab Rahman clave another
amazing man
so yeah
Tunisia may Allah restore Zaytuna and
bring it back to greatness in the lie
ahead out of the bottom ot huh Allah can
bring a dead earth back to life so you
know solid fill Israel and v not as
important as tip itself to inculcate the
octave personality we need for the next
generation of intelligent
odama is it time to change the model of
how we teach and actually train the next
generation of scholars to meet the
challenges of the likes of the
transhumanists shouldn't we teach a fool
you know food is very important and you
should always learn food what before
also so it's it would seem in some ways
it's putting the cart before the horse
because the O's tool is really the horse
but it's it's not in that food what is
is what we practice it's very important
to trust the scholars we don't need any
new med hubs what we need is is she had
from within the Med hubs there's there's
nothing new that is needed we don't need
this renewal of all swollen v to rewrite
all sorted fit we couldn't do it first
of all I mean these people had
intellects that God bestowed upon them
in that early period that are beyond
comprehension in some ways and they came
all at the same time so we don't need ro
food is very rich our traditions
extremely rich and everything's in there
but it has to be it has to be accessed
and that access means training and that
training takes a long time unfortunately
it's hard work and it does take a long
time in and learning Arabic mastering
Arabic is is one of the major keys and
that in it of itself takes a long time
dr. Nelson yesterday chided me for not
learning Persian and and God knows I
have actually tried to learn Persian on
several occasions trade image entities
here and he can tell me he can tell you
that that's true I actually had a great
Persian scholar who offered to give me
lessons and everything but I told dr.
and all sort of that my problem is I got
dove into the sea of Arabic because you
have the Arabian Sea and the Persian see
there's kind of a debate about what it's
called is that I don't in to the Arabian
Sea and I've been drowning ever since so
it's just I haven't been able to get out
because I always think when I'm trying
to learn something gals I could be
learning more Arabic because Arabic
doesn't end it's just it's just does not
end and the subtleties of air that go on
and on
but it's Arabic takes a long time to
learn sort of is very difficult now is
actually reasonably easy it's it's a
it's pretty logical and it's it's
actually the irregularities of naku are
not that many it's it's it's very
logical and and you can learn it there's
not that many concepts in now but sort
of is a whole issue pop and sort of this
that's a whole other and then also fit
Aloha learning the meanings of words and
the meanings of words in context I mean
if you just look at all that you're
audible has so many meanings it just has
so many meanings in Arabic and and they
mean very different ways on you know
face has many meanings it's used for
many different meanings
it can mean aspect it can mean you know
equality lots of things and then they
have a lot of idioms that take a long
time to learn like mad watch you know
the water of the face which is you know
it doesn't make any sense on the face of
it no pun intended
but you know mad you know of Habana I
would watch hehehe you know the Arabs
say he he dissipated the water of his
face which is something that happens to
people when they live bad lives they
lose a type of clarity in their faces
the the reflection that water enables to
happen something bad happens to their
faces and so that's an idiom of Arabic
that they use you know that America
shadow and up here you know and you'll
see these come up in in books so that
takes a long time but I would say you
know the Arabs the Arabs the more
Italians they say aha moment for a homo
ha Eden tomorrow one too so often were
added to be a shorter one the most
important in in knowledge is that peda
that's the most important and I Peter
has a lot of metaphysical foundations
like if you study in the Quran you will
find a lot of metaphysics
and when you get into sophisticated
theology there's a great deal of
metaphysics and all of our great
theologians were masters of metaphysics
all of them tough touzani though see I
mean truly great metaphysicians and when
you get into their books we have many
people at the level of Aquinas in in the
West we have several with the kidney
moon that are at the level of Aquinas
and my father who knows Aquinas very
well when when when I did a film on
Ghazali and he watched the film he got
intrigued and he wanted to read some
books he said is he translate I said yes
he said could you get me some of his
book so I got him several of Gasol's
books and he read through them and then
he said to me the West never produced a
Ghazali and and I know his knowledge of
the Western canon is very very strong so
that statement to me holds a lot of
weight but that's what he said he said
that the West never produced a ghazali
and and it's sad that now people
disparage imam al-ghazali's name it's
just tragic
it's the ignorance of the time and the
prophets said the end of time won't come
until the later part of this community
curses the first part of it so that's
one of the signs at the end of time is
that people will curse the earlier
people so so you have to learn a Kyi's
and then you have to learn for 1/5
before o Sole also it is not it's a 45
but for what is for dying and then you
have to learn tasawwuf means Allah I
mean there's two types of two souls
there's a metaphysical to solve which is
very complicated and and it's it's like
it's like quantum mechanics you're
entering into a realm that just it to be
able to read those books and understand
them takes a long long time but the the
tussle that we need is that the soul of
a holic and our ethics is generally in
the books of the self
I mean that's where the ethical
tradition ended up in us
so you learn to have even apps how to
rectify the fault of the self I think
she thought her mother always been
talking about these things from the icon
and and and these think this is really
that a lot of of Islam is in the books
of tussle wolf and and and nobody
disagreed about that even Tamiya even a
bit of a hob all the people that they
use to bash to solve all of them except
that that aspect of to solve what they
were against was metaphysical Sufism so
Inman Tamiya was against metaphysical
Sufism even Umberto Wahab was against
met if that's true but they were not
against ethical to solve that that's
absolute fact so that's the soul of
Allah and the soul of an earth walk
those are the two types of tussle
you know the experiential tasawwuf which
is about States and stations of the
heart and the other one is about
refining your character so nobody
disagrees about that and even a layman
josiya wrote a famous book on to sew
wolf which is his commentary of Abdullah
on Saudi khawaja abdullah onslaught his
famous book amenaza de set 18 right
madad is just a tea keen so the this is
well known even akadama did a motifs are
of imam al-ghazali's yeah yeah is mostly
he says you have no Kashyap and Mohammed
ah those are the two types of azov mocha
Java Inman mocha Java and aluminum arm
but he said I'm not this book is not
about element of mocha Java
it's about Edmond Muhammad ah so what he
was saying is the idea is not about
spiritual states it's about a clock and
refining the soul the he's got the the
key tab and I bet that right sheet a bit
more I'm a dad and then he's got the
monocot and the moons yet it's four
sections forty books right and at the
heart of it is what book twenty the lap
of the prophets a lot isn't that's the
heart of the area so the architecture is
very impressive
he begins it with the book of knowledge
not the book about Peter the book of
knowledge defining what knowledge is and
defining who the knowledgeable who the
true anima are differentiating them from
recall the motorists amoun the formalist
and then showing you what false ottoman
do one of the things that false Illuma
do is they they attack other Annamma and
belittle them in order to gain followers
that's a sign of false aroma because
true allama work at the level of ideas
and they don't attack people like that
they look at ideas and and they write
and and do that but they don't get up
and slander Muslims and things like that
so so that and then he says add a toombi
hot shoe or a tool that you need to
start with and that's the Arabic
language so that's this tool that you
need to start and that doesn't mean that
you cannot you can learn Islam and
become a very educated Muslim in English
you can learn Islam then come a very
educated Muslim in order do you can
learn Islam become a very educated
Muslim in Turkish or any of these
languages that's absolutely true and
there are many many very learned Muslims
that don't know Arabic but to to to
enter into really the the realm of
defending Islam and moving into that
realm it's to have access to those
primary texts important but the Hanafy
position is you don't need Arabic to
understand Islam and and as an ad you
mean you know Alba Hani who was a Janee
I think to me that's that's the truth
that but the vehicle of Arabic is
extremely important that's the position
of the other three Imams because the
meanings that are embedded in Arabic the
semantic fields that are created by
Arabic the deep dimensions of the
language are extremely important and
there's a reason why Allah chose Arabic
to be the language that he spoke to his
creation through and so that's very
important so but a solid fifth is really
important in order to understand this
religion and I think it's good to have
what we did was just a very basic
introduction to all soon and flip which
is useful to have some idea
of how sophisticated our scholarship is
in that I think there was one other and
with that you know I also want to say to
everybody somebody asked me what course
do I teach I teach ethics that's a tuna
I've taught logic
I've taught astronomy I've taught the
Freshman Seminar and I've taught
prophetic biography but right now I'm
teaching ethics so we have to break but
I want to say I was I'm really very
happy with a dev of this group and it's
really been impressive and I you know we
have to get to a point where we can just
benefit from our people and not you know
and so I was I was just really pleased
with how everybody because I know people
there's people that could you know with
dr. Nelson could have brought up things
that you know just for me would there
there's no point in bringing them up and
and I was really happy that nobody did
that you know because he's somebody that
I feel has just been such an
intellectual powerhouse for our
community and he comes from a different
tradition than I do but he's he's not
and he's not on Rothfeld Lee by any
stretch of the word you know he's not
somebody that speaks ill of Sahaba or
anything like that so it's you know it's
important that that we respect and I not
and in our early period imam niye tabu
Hadi has people from the Shia community
in his Senate there are Shia in soluble
Hadi and this was the early period it
was much more fluid than a lot of what's
happened now with the divisive miss the
Muslim world right now between the
Sunnis and the Shia's and undeniably
there have been atrocities on both sides
so in Iraq there have been Shia death
squads that have gone we've gone out and
and and killed but we're not those this
is not what we're about we're about
intelligence and honoring people and
honoring differences and respecting
different positions so he's somebody
that respects the own amount
irrespective of where they came from or
who they are and that's something that
we really need to inculcate in our youth
just a respect for intelligence and for
intellect and and for achievement in any
field or endeavor and for goodness
people that have a floppin character so
I just want to thank everybody for being
so respectful and and just really
wonderful group of people young people
that it's you know you give me
personally give me hope to see so many
good faces and in our youth and I'll a
bless all of you it's nothing enough