But the universities in
Now there is no doubt, that initially there
was an extraordinary, resurgence of that , especially
during the Mutazila period, because to the emphasis on
rationalism, and on the intellect itself.
And that began to die down, and I think that …there’s
very sound explanations on why that happened. And there’s no doubt that
the, two emphasize strictly on the religious training, and to neglect the
aspects of these other sciences, is very dangerous to the balance of a society.
But what I would say, that the Muslims,
view these sciences as inherently sacred in themselves, as a “Fard Khifaya”. In other words, mathematics and all these, are religious sciences, so Islam does not separate
from the secular and the sacred, in the same way as the Christian has done.
Somebody asked in here, explain how a
Muslim can have the qualities of a Jew or Christian, you mentioned in the
beginning.
Now, if there are any Jewish or Christian
people in the audience, I just want to say , again,
I’m talking at a archetypal level, not about individuals.
And, basically the Quranic
archetypes it presents for the Jewish archetype, is that of people that know
the truth but don’t act according to it.
And the other aspect is is gross
materialism. And part of that is due, that the dominant Judaic tradition was that there was
no afterlife.
In other words, the purpose of the Judaic
tradition was the historicity, of the community itself. That the community was
maintained historically. And the continuity of the Jewish tradition. This is why in the Jewish tradition, the
sacred rituals, actually the sacred rituals, are historical rituals. Like the Passover, and these types of things,
celebrating the exodus.
So, what happens when that is taken to extremes, is materialism.
And in a sense, Isa Alahissalaam,
was an antidote, to materialism, because he was pure, spirituality. In fact, he was called Ruh-Allah,
<laughing>, that’s his name. If
you don’t get the point…you know.
Uhm…He didn’t have, a place where he put his head. The man was a complete aesthetic. He had left the world completely, and that
was a cure. And sometimes medicine has
to be an extreme, in order to cure the social sicknesses.
So he came, with a cure. This is why his teaching is not complete in
itself. It must be taken into historical
context. In other words, the Christian aesthecism,
must be seen in the light of the material extremism of the age, when he came.
And to take it out of its historical
context, perverts it.
And so what happens is you get the other
thing, which is the extreme leaving the world. So, In other words, the Christian went astray
by completely ignoring the world, and eventually the world came back with a
massive, Now they’ve gone to the opposite, which is
pornography everywhere, it’s a complete indulgence, in the sensual.
And a, a complete forgetfulness about
the Akhira. Which is Surah ur-Rome…
<aside> Yeah,
Inshallah.
Surah of the Romans, That Allah says, <Arabic from the Quran>,
“They know the outward of this world, most
people don’t know anything.
And then Allah, he negates their knowledge,
then he confirms their knowledge, by saying, they know the outward of this
world. But, as the next world, they are
in heedlessness about it.
So, What happens, I
think, is that when Muslims neglect although they know the truth, they neglect
the religious traditions, and emphasize the materialism, or material aspects,
this is that archetype that deviates, which is the Hebrewaic
deviation. And when they go to the
extreme of the other worldliness, and forget the concerns of this world, then
they deviate in that other matter.
So, and then the Magian,
in the sense, is an interesting, dichotomy of the two. Believing in the two Gods
of the … The God of light of the next world, and the God of Darkness in this
world.
So, the ideal is to be a balance between of
the two.
<Question> What
happened to the golden age of Islam, when the Muslims were at the forefront of
Mathematics, Science and Literature?
Some blame the Mualim, who focused on
ritualistic practice, while staying away from secular subjects, do you agree?
<Answer> Again, to just blame,
I mean, the point is.<Arabic>,
The nature of civilization is to rise, and
to fall. And what the Quran is, is an articulation of Sunnan, of why that happens.
Because, the Quran
is trying to teach us, “Why”, not so much, “how”. Because we can
learn the how.
But
the why is the important thing, why do nations…?
And Allah gives us very clear reasons for
that. And certainly
not due to emphasis on Ibadaat. <laughing> I guarantee you, and that’s one of the
reasons civilizations get Tawfeeq, or benefit, from
Allah.
So the emphasis on Ibadaat, is not what is the
cause of the Muslim decline. I think,
part of it is, actually is the Kibir, or the
arrogance, that began to manifest in the Muslim societies, where they saw
themselves as superior to other societies, and some of the letters the Muslim
rulers began wrote to write to Christian
rulers and other rulers, were so denigrating.
I Instead of, the Prophet, who use to write letters
like <Arabic>, to the Great Emperor of the Romans, as a way, because he
wanted to make dawah to them.
Whereas, you know, less then 500 years
later, you have the Sultan, you know, sending a letter: <Arabic> From the
Dogs of the dogs of
So, I think that has more to do with it,
then other things. And
also a descent into the world, and leaving Jihad. And leaving the struggle,
that Allah demands for people.
Anyway, I, there’s a lot of question, and I’m
actually starting to collect questions.
<Aside> What’s
that?
Oh alright, great…
Moderator (
I’m afraid this is the end of the Question period. Really I hope you will understand, there are so many questions, wonderful questions, that we just can’t entertain…
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf(
They’re actually very good questions
Moderator (
Yes, wonderful questions really, On a
positive note, I hear we have a sister outside, who wants to take shahadah, so it will be a wonderful thing for us to close
this session this evening with a Shahadah.
So may the person, just, come upfront, Inshallah?