[Music]
miss menorah Nam Rahim I now declare the
Zaytuna College commencement begun
please be seated alhamdulillah was sawed
off to a cinema daughter sweetie now ah
daddy he woman wada hamdulillah welcome
everyone
were privileged and honored to have all
of you here to celebrate this
commencement the graduation of these
remarkable students for the students
today commences a new phase in your
lives we celebrate the commencements
with teachers and fellow students to
remind us in some way that this is a
send-off of bon voyage of sorts into a
mysterious and sometimes dark place we
call the world you were born into
families with parents or caregivers who
held a sacred trust to nurture and
protect you but also to initiate you
when appropriate into the life of the
mind which makes you uniquely human that
initiation began with stories with songs
learning the alphabet memorizing
important things like the times tables
from there we move on to the more
complex problems attempting to penetrate
the mysteries of diagonals or the fact
that it's a self-evident truth that
there are no diagonals in a triangle or
turn circles into small straight lines
to measure circumference --is these
quantitative components of our education
often vexed us to no end the reason for
learning them was often not clear and
then language the mysteries of the
sentence weren't which comes from a
Latin word meaning to feel or from the
Arabic word Joomla which means what is
gathered and it's related to the term
Jameel meaning beautiful in coming to
Zaytuna you entered what we hope was the
beginning of your residency and
citizenship in the Republic of Letters
the Republic of reason today we're
issuing you certificates of citizenship
that you've resided in this Republic
with us obeyed its laws such as the law
contradiction also respect for truth
looking both ways before you cross a
dialectical Road this Republic has no
illegal aliens everyone is welcome with
the caveat that they seek the truth to
reside here means to love your neighbors
and fellow citizens irrespective of
their faith their color or their Creed
if they too are committed to that same
truth we have caused to live peacefully
within the borders of this republic our
religion when properly practice has
always honoured the denizens of this
Republic
Musha amid Mamoon the great Jewish sage
studied with a very wheeze in Cordova
and neither of them winced at the
other's presence this example starts
with the prophet sallallaahu said him
himself who sat with Jewish rabbis in
the Midrash is of Medina discussing
faith or the Christians of Natron
talking of the Trinity who when prayer
time came they were honored with a place
in his mosque to pray citizens of this
Republic take seriously his dictum seek
knowledge even unto China or wisdom is
the lost property of the believer
wherever he finds it he or she is more
has more right to it in other words
knowledge without revelation is
dangerous but revelation without
knowledge is also dangerous in order for
a republic or a democracy to function
its citizens have to foremost first and
foremost be citizens of the Republic of
Letters the philosopher Hobbes who you
studied here had a great suspicion of
democracy he feared it too easily can
degenerate into an oligarchy of orators
recent history seems to support this
point people who studied rhetoric and
understood its uses and abuses are not
easily swayed by fear as they have read
the chapter on emotions and understand
auditors manipulate pathos to their own
ends
as the poet Alden said exiled Thucydides
knew all that speech can say about
democracy and what dictators do the
elderly rubbish they talk to an
apathetic grave analyzed all in his book
the Enlightenment driven away the
habit-forming pain mismanagement and
grief
we must suffer them all again Alden was
a citizen of the public of letters not
fooled by the elderly rubbish dictators
talk in his Republic persuasion not
violence is our means to desired ends
the single most important means of
preserving the Republic of Letters is
honouring language the debasement of
language means its people are debased
the majesty and grandeur of language is
our greatest human possession without it
we are mere brutes Aldon himself said
quote as a poet there's only one
political duty and that is to defend
one's language from corruption and that
is particularly serious now it is being
corrupted when it's corrupted people
lose faith in what they hear think fake
news and that leads to violence the
merciful ar-rahman Halima Quran
Halliburton's an Alamo holiday on the
merciful who taught the Quran created
man and instilled in the human being
perspicuity by an clarity perspicuity
from the Latin to see through to be
clear to be lucid the Sun and the moon
are in perfect reckoning why does that
follow right after the declaration of
language because language needs to be
precise in order to function the Quran
says by N means clarity and as a
technical term all scholars chose it to
mean rhetoric perspicuity comes from
that to see through clarity when a
civilization loses clarity and loses its
poets it loses the ability to express
meaning in its most profound sense
hence confusion people make with
prophets and poets as a mere powder al
Jazeera pointed out in Tim be hello -
Mara Lemna who Cheryl Miami Gila we did
not teach him poetry nor was it
appropriate for him because a revelation
is not inspiration and yet the
who are easily confused we have
attempted in these four years to give
you tools of two great languages but
this is a commencement for a reason your
journey is far from over
guard your tongues beeper speak
perspicuous and perspicacious celebrate
subtle distinctions of our language
Arabic like a crown sits atop others in
its nuances vastness and weightiness
keep learning from her cherish her honor
her love her she will return you many
fold the liberal arts are an education
in human language as Van Doren said st.
Agustin paid his education the highest
compliment in saying that as a result of
it he could read anything that was
written understand anything he heard
said and say anything he thought perhaps
the most troubling sign of a language
debasement can be seen in the popular
entertainment of a people one need only
look at the rapid decline of television
which was already declared a wasteland
in the 1960s never insult your minds by
exposing them to filth or vulgarity that
dresses itself up as entertainment
art should mirror the world the artist
has an obligation to put mirrors up to
others
Aristophanes was a genius in the Greek
tradition at this just as Baudette was a
man or a momenta Beauty excelled in
revealing the hypocrisy z' of their
respective times especially amongst
religious leadership but to have a
serial killer as your protagonist to
never show the wages of sin is death
such so-called artists are liars shun
them liberal education to quote Strauss
said is liberation from vulgarity the
Greeks had a beautiful word for
vulgarity a Pyrrha Kalia lack of
experience in things beautiful this form
of education supplies us with an
experience in such things God is
beautiful and God loves Beauty the
people of asan which is ultimately what
the denizens of the Republic of Letters
are always make things beautiful they
strive for beauty Muslims of the
has adorned everything their dishes are
now museum pieces their architecture the
envy of the world India ruled by Hindus
uses the Taj Mahal in its brochures for
tourism just as Israel uses the Dome of
the rock and Spain uses the Alhambra
Palace to entice people to come visit
their lands calligraphy never reached
the heights in any language that it
achieved in Arabic carpets from the
Muslim world adorn the houses of the
wealthiest people the food nothing is
more colorful than our Muslim food a
Pakistani spread a Turkish breakfast or
a Palestinian feast
even the food nothing was devoid of asan
the prophet sallallaahu said i'm said
rectify your homes and in one meaning is
rectify your your saddles absolutely
holy haddock Oh adorn your clothes so
that you might be a beauty mark among
humanity what an aspiration for surely
God loves not vulgarity and found us is
the end of that hadith in the LA later
but flesh what to foul
Imam al-ghazali might see the
rectification of your homes is your
inward states and the rectification of
your clothes as your outward States in
other words beautify the inward and the
outward why in order to be a beauty mark
among the body of humanity the Quran
tells us come to Muhammad an illusion
Denese you were the best people that
came forth for humanity why Maronna bin
Maru what an hona and a moon car because
you call - what's beautiful - what's her
son - what's Hassan you call - what's
decent and you condemn what is foul what
is moon car what is vulgar again our
reiterates honor Arabic that you've
learned by learning more and using it to
understand the truths of its revelation
in its prophet his Sunna is eloquence
it's a Sunnah of the Prophet to be
eloquent he relished beautiful language
and wept upon hearing the poems of Al
honza
honor your writing write well and write
often God taught with the pen the Angels
write unceasingly observe use your
senses cherish each day live life fully
do not be silly frivolous or foolish
people be serious people life is not a
joke our modern world has become the
fodder for stand-up comedians who reduce
everything to the brunt of a joke
our prophet sallallaahu centre who had a
marvelous sense of humor and on occasion
told a joke warned us that too much
laughing hardens the heart imam mahdi
said preempt death and it's Agony's by
preparing it before it arrives take
provision before death journey begins
don't fall into collectivism condemning
a whole group of people for the actions
of some or even most of those people
always allow for individuals to reveal
themselves through the content of their
character the Prophet said to Nicodemus
ivenna be jihad the son of perhaps his
worst enemy when he became Muslim he
said to him I always knew good would
come from your father
what magnanimity what graciousness imam
mattock once judged a poet who was sent
to him by the governor and he judged
against him when he announced his
judgement the poet said to him the Emir
wasn't expecting this in other words you
should have judged for me imam malik
says it doesn't really concern me what
the emir expected or didn't expect i'm
judging but i do what I deem is true at
that point the poet said well laa I'm
gonna Flay you alive with satirical
verses and Imam Malik said to him you've
just revealed yourself to be a very
petty person because anyone anybody's
capable of that can I tell you something
that if you do it you'll achieve what
men have lost their heads and attempting
to achieve be magnanimous be magnanimous
and always maintain your dignity
homer the great Greek poet reveals the
vileness of some of his Greek
compatriots and the nobility of his
enemies we don't know if Hector is is
the noblest man in the in the Iliad or
is it Achilles who is it he doesn't let
us know because he wasn't a tribal poet
he was a denizen of this Republic be
noble be righteous these words have
almost disappeared from our vocabulary
and yet they were the favorite
adjectives used to praise people in the
past
be humble humility from the Greek
houmous of the earth Kulu cumin Adam
were Adam Interop all of you are from
Earth Adam is from Earth and all of you
are from Adam serve others and God will
help you serve yourself and God will
leave you to it they forgot God Nestle
lava and saw him on Folsom they forgot
God and so God caused them to forget
their own selves never forget no matter
what others claim that faith in the one
true Living God the God of Abraham the
creator and sustainer of the heavens of
the earth that faith is a reasonable
faith if you look at the diversity in
the power of this creation you can't see
the Creator behind it but rather believe
that it came into existence on its own
that is unreasonable the fool says in
his heart there is no God your now is a
tunies Zaytuna yoon graduates of our
humble but serious Enterprise carry
yourselves with the dignity that Vice
Gerrans of God are endowed with be
serious people engaged in serious
pursuits don't squander this great
opportunity you've only begun the life
of learning in the Republic of Letters
we've attempted to help you acquire
those tools but it's up to you to use
them to search for truth goodness and
beauty always in to reflect continuously
on those eternal principles make us
proud a wise Greek once said don't ever
describe yourself as a philosopher or
talk much among ordinary
people about your philosophical
principles simply do what the principles
prescribed at a dinner party for
instance don't discuss table manners
just eat nicely keep in mind that
Socrates was so honest in tatius
unostentatious that people came to him
when they wanted him to introduce them
to philosophers and he took them along
so little did he mind being
unacknowledged himself if the
conversation turns to a philosophical
point staying mainly silent since
there's a great risk that you
immediately spew up what you haven't
fully absorbed when your silence is
taken for ignorant and you don't react
then believe me you have made a real
start on the philosophical Enterprise as
even al Qaeda said be like the bee it's
small in size but what great work it
does it produces body honey to heal the
bodies and wax to illumine our homes
you've worked hard in these last four
years and today you're reaping the award
of that work reward of that work
remember one day we finish our school of
life in the Republic of Reason and the
final exam on that great day to which
all creation is moving will be based
upon all of our studies here in this
life and how we acted upon them whether
we pass or fail is up to us alone
according to the hadith knowledge is a
good in and of itself but knowledge
without virtue engenders a world where
the seeking of knowledge becomes
impossible a world in which books are
either hidden or burnt schools
indoctrinate don't teach and leisure is
lost in vacuous entertainment in
conclusion life is monotonous but it
should never be the same ol same ol when
someone says to you what are you up to
beware of replying same ol same ol
nothing new you've missed the point of
the purpose of that monotony the word in
Arabic for monotony is our Taba which is
where
the people of God derived their term for
your daily devotional practices perhaps
even related somehow to our word routine
we make use of the monotony of life by
improving just a little bit each day
inching forward to the perfection that
our Lord calls us to this education
you've embarked upon knows exactly what
to do with the monotony of life it makes
it sacred monotony as if Anitha and I
said had it not been for the constant
repetitive practice of devotion insights
would have never come be patient with
your practice but practice and remember
God says every day God brings forth
something new go and make the world new
again
[Applause]
God's grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins
the world is charged with the grandeur
of God it will flame out like shining
from shook foil it gathers to a
greatness like the ooze of oil crushed
why do men then now not wreck his rod
generations have trod have trod have
trod and all is seared with trade
bleared smeared with toil and where's
man smudge and shares man smell the soil
is bare now nor can foot feel being shod
and for all this nature is never spent
their lives the dearest freshness deep
down things