Lecture

(Duration – 1 hour and 21 minutes)

 

Qirat… JazakAllah Khairan. Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rehmatullahi Wa Barkathu.

 

Dr. Zakir: Alhamdulillah was salaatu was salaam ala rasoolillah wa ala aalihi wa ashaabihi wa ajma’een, amma baad. 

 

A’uzu billahi minash shaytan nir-rajeem, Bismillah hirrahman nirraheem, 

 

“Iqra bismi rabbika allathee khalaq

Khalaqa al-insana min alaq

Iqra warabbuka al-akram

Allathee allama bil qalam

allama al-insana ma lam ya’lam”

 

Rabbish rahli Şadri Wa Yassir Li 'Amri Wa Ahlul `Uqdatan Min Lisani Yafqahu Qawli  

 

My respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters, I welcome all of you with the Islamic greetings, "Assalaamu Alaikum, Wa Rahmatullahi, Wa Barkatahu", "May Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah (swt) be on all of you".

 

It’s a pleasure for me to be once again back to London especially Harrow after a span of 8 months. The topic of this evenings talk is ‘Seeking Knowledge in the Light of Islam’. Your children are an Amana. Give them the best education for both the worlds. It is a long topic but it basically dealing with seeking knowledge in the light of Islam and that your children are an Amana so give them the best education for both the worlds. 

 

Allah (swt) in the Glorious Qur’an the first guidance that he gave to the whole of humankind it was not to pray, it was not to fast, it was not to perform Hajj but the first guidance given by Allah (swt) in the Glorious Qur’an to the whole of humankind was Iqra, it was to read, it was to recite, it was to proclaim. And I started my talk by quoting few verse from the Qur’an from Surah Iqra ch. no. 96 verse no. 1 to 5 where Allah says 

 

“Iqra bismi rabbika allathee khalaq

Khalaqa al-insana min alaq

Iqra warabbuka al-akram

Allathee allama bil qalam

allama al-insana ma lam ya’lam”

 

Which means Read, recite and proclaim in the name of thy Lord who has created, who has created the human beings from something which clings, a leech like substance. Read! The Lord is most bountiful, He who has taught the use of pen, has taught men that which he knew not.

 

Though Allah (swt) has given us the first guidance in the Glorious Qur’an that we should read but unfortunately we realize that the Muslims, in the Muslim community everyone does not read and those Muslims who are involved in acquiring knowledge in reading they don’t read as per the guidance of Allah (swt). Allah does not say only read, Allah says “Iqra bismi rabbika allathee khalaq” “Read in the name of thy Lord” so when we read, when we acquire knowledge, we should acquire knowledge in such a way that we come closer to our Creator, Allah (swt). If the knowledge does not bring you closer towards your Creator, towards your Rabb then that knowledge is not useful for the Aakhira.

 

And our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, it’s a Sahih Hadith which is mentioned in Ibn Maajah Hadith no. 224, our beloved Prophet said “Talbul ilmi” “Seeking knowledge” “Falidatun ali kulli Muslim” “is obligatory on every Muslim”. Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim, man or woman. Its compulsory that every Muslim should acquire knowledge and it is the duty of us Muslim to see to it that we acquire knowledge. Many of us, we think that knowledge is only what we study in schools and collages and universities. Education and knowledge starts at home and the best teacher is the mother. It is the duty of the parents to see to it that they properly educate the children, see to it that they give them proper education because the child when he or she is born they are not responsible or the environment in which they are born. It is the duty of the parents to see to it that irrespective of the environment they give them proper education. 

And today we find that there are various societies and there are various ways of life in these societies, we have the Islamic way of life, we have the western way of life and we have a variety of different ways of life. As far as Islam is concerned, Islam is a complete way of life it caters both, to the spiritual aspect of the soul as well as the physical aspect of the body. 

 

And Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Maidah ch. no. 5 verse no. 3 

 

“On this day have I completed your religion for you and have completed my favour for you and I have chosen for you Islam.”

 

So once Islam is completed, nothing new can be added or subtracted from it, Our Deen is complete. So as far as the way of life is concerned, Islam is a complete way of life.

 

When we mix Islam with the other societies and other ways of life and other cultures whichever culture you are living in if that part of the culture is not against the Islamic Shariah, is not against the Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith we do not mind following or agreeing with that culture but if that culture, if that society goes against Qur’an and Sahih Hadith, we should not follow it. Islam is no. 1. And now we find that many a times while up bringing our children, we have a problem because of differences of society and cultures and we are aware of the western society as many of the Muslims, they are living in the western society and we find that though the western society, it is advanced in science and technology but as far as moral values are concerned, they are declining. 

 

We find in the western society that alcoholism is on the increase, drug addiction is on the increase, obscenity is on the increase, adultery is on the increase, rape is on the increase, crime is on the increase, while educating our children we should see to it that we give them a proper Islamic education and while we up train them and up-bring them in a western society or any society in the world it may be an eastern society also also, we should see to it that we should make them a good Muslim i.e. one who submits his will to Allah (swt).

 

Islam comes from the root word Salam which means peace. It is derived from the Arabic word Silm which means to submit your will to Allah (swt). So Islam means peace acquired by submitting your will to Allah (swt) and any person who acquires peace by submitting his will to Allah (swt), he is called as a Muslim. While educating your children we should see to it that we should not get so much impressed by the western society, we should only take the correct values from the society, we don’t want our children to become alcoholics, to become drug addicts, to become adulators, to become rapists; we want them to be good Muslims who submit their will to Allah (swt). 

 

And our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said that every child, he is born in Deenul Fitr. Deenul Fitr means the innate religion; every child is born as a Muslim. He submits his will to Allah (swt). Later on the elders, the parents, the teachers, they influence the child. He may remain on the straight path or he may become a fire worshiper, he may become a idol worshiper and then he may go outside the fold of Islam but every child initially irrespective whether he is born in a Hindu family, whether he is born in a Christian family, a Jewish family or a Muslim family, He is born as a Muslim. He submits his will to Allah (swt) later on by the influence of other people, parents, teachers, elders he may go on the wrong track that’s the reason whenever any non-Muslim, he accepts Islam the more appropriate and correct word is revert he was on the straight path, he went on the wrong track and then he came back on the straight path, on the straight track. So the correct word is ‘revert’. 

 

And we have got proof and evidence that every child, he is born on Deenul Fitr. There were researches done on 2 tribes, the Kapaku tribe and the Australian Aborigine tribe. These 2 tribes did not come in contact with modern civilization till as late as 1950 and later on when researchers went and tried to find out what was their way of life, it was everything of Islam but in name they did not call themselves Muslims but they believed in one God, they believe that God did not have any idols or images, they believe He was not begotten. When they worshipped the God, they did the Sujood, they prostrated, they were following the basics of Islam but they didn’t call themselves Muslims. So if we let a child after he is born if we do not influence him with any of the teachings that child will grow up to be a Muslim. That is the Deenul Fitr, innate religion. 

 

It is the duty of the parents that once the child is born they should see to it that they give that child a proper environment to live and continue life. It is the duty of the parents that they should see to it that they give proper education to the children and many of us we are worried about the education of our children. I would like to ask you a question that when is the time you should start thinking about educating your child? What is right time? Can anyone give the answer that which is the right time? When do you start thinking what you want to make your child or what you want to make him, what should he be in life, which is the right time? Which is the right time? Right from the beginning, as soon as he understands… sorry? When he starts to think to get a child, He may start thinking after 10 years. Which is the right time? 7 years old, 2 years old, when he can understand, when he is born, 1 year old? 1 year old…. Fine here we have different options here someone is saying 3 years old, 3 years old? Someone is saying 3 years old, someone is saying 2 years old, someone is saying 1 year old, someone is saying when he is born. Islamically the time to think of educating your child… the latest you should think, latest haan... maximum is when you choose your life partner when you choose your life partner is the time… you have to think about educating your child because the parents are the best teachers especially the mother that’s the time if you want to make your child Islamic, you should see to t that you have a spouse who is Islamic. If you don’t have an Islamic spouse how would you expect your child to be Islamic?

 

So depending upon how you want to up bring your child is the time you start thinking when you choose a life partner that does not mean that already those who are married should choose a new life partner. Some people ask me now I am already married, what should I do? It is better late than never. You can start molding your life partner into that style no problem you can do Da’wah with your life p[partner. So you should realize that the best time to start thinking about educating your child, the latest is when you choose a life partner. 

 

As I a was saying our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, it s a Sahih Hadith which is mentioned in Ibn Maajah Hadith no. 224, our beloved Prophet said “Talibul ilmi” “Seeking knowledge” “Faridatun ali kulli Muslim” “is obligatory on every Muslim”. 

 

Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim, man or woman. Now when we give knowledge to our children we have to see to it that we give them proper knowledge.

 

Knowledge can be broadly divided into 2 types one is the basic knowledge of Islam and second knowledge what is required by the community. It’s the duty of every parent that he should educate the children with the proper Islamic knowledge. No. 1 most important is Tawheed that believing in one Allah (swt) and we should not associate partners with anyone to Allah (swt). Allah (swt) should not be associated with anyone else. Tawheed no. 1. Then all the pillars which most of us know but we should impart it in the right way to our children about Salaah, about Zakaat, about Hajj, about fasting is very important and but natural knowledge of the Qur’an. This Qur’an is the last and final revelation of Allah (swt) which was reveled to the last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). 

 

Yesterday in Bradford I had a talk on ‘Al Qur’an, should it be read with understanding?’ and I told there that the best gift that a parent can give to the child is the Qur’an and make the child understand the Qur’an. Most of us Muslims we teach our children to read Arabic, they can read Arabic but they can’t understand. If we teach them the language of the Qur’an, Arabic as a language that is the best gift you can give and InshaAllah towards the end of my talk I will deal and discuss with that in detail. 

 

The second type of knowledge is the knowledge required by the community. Knowledge which makes a person a doctor, makes a person an Engineer, a Lawyer, a Scientist, an Agriculturist this is too required for the betterment of the community, for the betterment of the society but when we are acquiring the second type of knowledge we should see to it that when we acquire scientific knowledge when we learn about mathematics, geography, history this knowledge should get you closer to Allah (swt), should not take you away from Allah (swt). If this knowledge takes you away from Allah (swt) that knowledge is not correct knowledge, its not correct education. It should bring you closer to Allah (swt). 

 

For example when we learn medicine, we learn how to save the lives of thousands of human beings but in that same medical knowledge when we learn how to do abortion, there are youngsters who are doing Zina and then they want to abort. So using this knowledge for activities which are wrong, we should abstain from that. Abortion for saving the life of the mother if she has a health problem, Islam gives permission. 

 

Otherwise Allah says in Surah Isra ch. no. 17 verse no. 31 and Surah Anam ch. no. 6 verse no. 151 that 

 

“Kill not your children for want of sustenance”

 

Killing of children is prohibited. So whatever knowledge you acquire, it should be for the betterment of humanity and get you closer to Allah (swt). Whatever moral values you are learning we should see to it that when we put our children in the school that school should up bring your children properly. Imagine if we put our children in the convent school many of those values don’t match with the values of Allah (swt). It is like we are tying the hands and legs of our children and putting them in water and asking them to swim. How will they swim? So when we put them in a school see to it you put them in a proper school. If the culture and society and the school teaches you manners, it should be good Islamic manners. 

 

Nowadays we find that in the western culture they say that manners is building old age homes. Islam has got no place for old age homes because Islam believes that we should love and respect our parents and there are several verses in the Qur’an Surah Luqman ch. 31 verse no. 15, 

Surah Ankaboot ch. no. 28 verse no. 8, 

Surah Anam ch. no. 6 verse no. 151 several verses which say that

 

 “we have enjoined on the human beings that to be kind and good to your parent”

 

And our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said it’s mentioned in Sahih Bukhari Vol no. 8 in the Book of Aadaab ch. no. 2 Hadith no. 2 there is a person who approached the Prophet and he asked him that who deserves the maximum love and companionship in the world so the Prophet said “Your Mother” the man asked after that who? The Prophet again repeated “your mother” the man asked “After that who?” again the Prophet said the third time “Your mother” The man asked “After that who?” then the Prophet said “your father” 75%, ¾ of the love and companionship goes to the mother, 25%, ¼ goes to the father in short mother gets the gold medal, she gets the silver medal as well as the bronze medal. The father has to be satisfied with the mere consolation prize. So Islam teaches that we have to love our parents and especially as far as the companionship is concerned the mother gets 3 times more. So in Islam there is no place for old age homes so whatever manners and etiquettes that we teach our children it should be in line with what our Creator, Allah (swt) wants. 

 

And we find today that Muslims are in the firing line. We find that Muslims have become backward as far as science technology is concerned, as far as education is concerned and the main reason is because we have gone away from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Previously from the 8^th to the 12^th century it was called as the dark ages, dark for whom? Dark for the Europeans, the amount of advances the Muslim Arabs made it is phenomena. And if we read history, what we read in school, I myself have passed in a covenant school, a Christian missionary school, I have got my education from there. Its later on afterwards I realized that what I read in school and in my medical collage, I being a medical doctor many things is something different. We are taught in school that the blood circulation was first discovered by William Harvey. In fact if you read the Qur’an, Qur’an speaks about the blood circulation in Surah Nahl Ch. no. 16 verse no. 66 how does the food enter the stomach then from there it goes into the intestine from the intestine via the blood stream to the various organs of the body including the mammary glands which is responsible for the production of milk. It speaks about the production of milk and about the blood circulation in a nutshell in Surah Nahl ch. 16 verse 66. 

 

After I did research I came to know that the first human being who first described the blood circulation was Ibn Nafees, 600 years after the Qur’an was reveled and 400 years before William Harvey. But when we read in our text book, we are told about William Harvey how many of us know about Ibn Nafees? How many of us? Hardly anyone knows that Ibn Nafees was the first person who described the blood circulation. We learn about Geography but the person who drew the first world map Geography was Al Idrusi in 1154. What we study the digits in school, you know what’s it called? It is called as Arabic numerals the 1,2,3,4 that we use for writing 1, 2, 3, 4 it is called as Arabic numerals. The other is Roman numeral, The Indians were the people who first discovered about ‘Zero’ and the Arabs took it from there and made it famous to the world by adding a decimal that’s how we have this system today. 

 

We learn in mathematics about the Pythagoras Theorem that the square of the hypotenuse in a triangle is equal to the sum of the square of other 2 sides. The Pythagoras Theorem that we learn in school it was first discovered by Al Tusi. So we know that Muslims few centuries back, they were advanced in science and technology but when we read in our text book today, they are hardy mentioned. Who is the father of trigonometry? It is Al Biruni. Have you heard of Al Khindi? Al Khindi wrote 200 works in mathematics, in geometry, in logic and at a time when Galileo, Descartes and Newton when they said that all physical laws are absolute, he said that it was relative. Later on Albert Einstein did more research and he propounded the theory of relativity. When we read history we come to know that Mohammad Ahmad and Hassan Shakir, these brothers, they measured the surface area of the earth by measuring angles at the red sea at a time when people thought that the world was flat. We learned chemistry and we were told that Gebber is the person who discovered alcohol. It is Jabir ibn Hayyan, Jabir. When they write in our text books it is Gebber, Gebber sounds like a westerner Gebber it is Jabir ibn Hayyan. So when we read, we think it’s a westerner Gebber, Gebber. And Jabir Ibn Hayyan, he discovered alcohol and the word ‘alcohol’ comes from the Arabic word ‘Algul’ meaning evil sprit. 

 

When we read history we come to know about Mohammad Zakariya Ar Razi, he was advanced in the field of medicine and he even wrote books on measles and small pox. When we read medicine we know that Ali ibn Abbas, he wrote 20 volumes on practice and theory of medicine. We are told about Avicena, Avicena, the Aristotle of the East it is Ali Ibn Sina he was called as the Aristotle of the East.  He was a philosopher, he was a mathematician. So when we go back to history and we see that we Muslims we were on top of the world. The reason we were on top of the world at that time is because at that time we were close to the Qur’an and Sunnah now we have gone away from Qur’an and Sunnah and that’s the reason we are in the firing line. We should see to it that we up bring our children close to the Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith. It is the duty that we give our children proper education that’s the reason I say that your children are your Amana. See to it that you give them proper education for both the worlds. 

 

And this was a dilemma that I faced may be 8 years back and though Alhumdulillah I used to give talks on education and I did take time to choose my life partner because I wanted the right life partner and finally Allah gave me, Alhumdulillah. And when the children were born… my eldest son is 12 years old and I always had that thing that we should have a proper school which has a striking balance between the Islamic education and the formal education. I don’t call mathematics, science as secular education because secular by definition means nothing to do with God. I believe science believes in God Mathematics is Islamic subject. So therefore when I talk about the other conventional subjects, I call them formal education. Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, English we call it as formal subjects. So I always had the dream to have a school which has the striking balance between the Islamic subjects, Islamic education and the formal education because Mathematics, science history according to me are part of Islam and that made me tour the world and I did a survey Alhumdulillah of most of the Islamic schools at that time that was about 6 to 8 years back in a span of 2-3 years, MashaAllah, I went to most of the best schools of the world in America, in Canada, in UK, in South Africa, in Australia, in Malaysia and I visited hundreds of schools and when I observed that in the western countries, most of the Islamic schools almost all, they were more of a Muslim managed school. Muslim managed school means, the management was Muslim but I would not call them as Islamic schools. Because we realize that in the western world there is a fear of alcoholism, of drug addiction, about obscenity so in these schools we found that the dress code that the students wore they were Islamic Hijaab, MashaAllah. They had a time for prayer, for Salaah, Alhumdulillah. There was no alcohol, there was no drug Alhumdulillah. So that was what was called as Islamic school. 

 

Where back in India most of the Muslim managed schools, they have the Islamic dress code, you can offer Salaah, there is no alcohol, there is no drug so I did not find something new. But Alhumdulillah considering the western country where drug addiction is common, alcoholism is common, obscenity is common, it is an achievement which I was happy but what I came to search for that when or children go to school, they should get the best of knowledge, I could not find in any of the schools. What we wanted that we have now, the Muslim Ummah, rather divided into 2 types of education one type of education when we have secular education they acquire... the so called secular education which I called as formal education they are acquiring knowledge of mathematics, science, history, but they are far away from the Deen on the other hand when you go to our Madrasas which teach about Qur’an, Hadith, Shariah, Fiqh; Alhumdulillah, may Allah give them reward but they are unaware of mathematics science, history geography so we wanted a balance between the two. To have the best of both which when we visited most of the schools that I visited. Now the thing is changing in the past 6 years I have realized that some schools have become slightly close Alhumdulillah to the concept that I had. But most of these schools they may be having may be 3 periods a week on Islam or may be one period a day. Maximum I came across was 2 periods a day on Islam and what was the main objective that a child when he passes from school he should have the knowledge of Qur’an Hadith, Shariah, Fiqh and science, etc. that I could not find though I have been to the best of schools in America, in South Africa which is suppose to be very advanced in this field of Islamic schools. UK, Australia, Malaysia, etc. so that we thought that lets make an effort and with Allah’s help, Alhumdulillah we in Bombay, Alhumdulillah, about approximately 6 years back or rather 5½ years back, we launched our own Islamic school by the name of Islamic International School because for my children we had to do it. Though I was prepared to se to it to gear up my child though putting in a convent school by giving all the so called education at home but then we thought that we should make a sample school. And Alhumdulillah, suma Alhumdulillah we ventured with this project in Bombay and Allah helped us and with Allah’s support we launched the school and Alhumdulillah from Day 1 the response that we received from the people of Bombay, from the Muslims of Bombay was tremendous, MashaAllah. The response was such that though the school was absolutely new we hardly publicized it we decided to start the school there was only 3 weeks publicity, MashaAllah. But immediately when the school was launched the amount of response we got was phenomenal. 

 

And it was overwhelming that ministers they phoned our school to see to it that some of their friends get admission to the school. It was good, MashaAllah. You will hardly find a minister phoning a Madarasa and telling that you know I want a seat in your Madarasa. We find that in a convent school. In India most of the convent schools the ministers phone and they try and use their influence but Alhumdulillah we are very strict as far as admission criteria is concerned. We are very strict with the guidelines and unless a person fulfills our guidelines let him be a minister son also we won’t give admission Alhumdulillah.

 

The difference that is there that we appreciated that the movement that was started before the philanthropist and education through out the world, it was a good movement giving them and environment of Islam so I was really happy that in the western countries whether it be in U.S.A, U.K., there were schools in which a child could practice Islam. When the school that we launched, here a different system we had that I wanted a striking balance that when a child passes the 10^th standard he should become atleast an average Alim when he passes from Darul Uloom as well as be able to compete with the bets of convent schools in that city that was the aim and with that target we started the school and we did many unconventional things which people told it’s not possible but Alhumdulillah with Allah’s help we did it. 

 

The timings of our school is quite long, it starts from 8’ O clock to 4:30 for nursery it is less, we started the school from nursery from the age of 3 and the first year we had nursery, junior KG, Senior KG and 1^st standard only four classes, only four grades and the timings from 1^st onwards 1^st upwards is from 8’ O clock to 4:30 and the people said that the timing is too long, student wont be able to take it Alhumdulillah we divide the day into 12 periods each of 35 minutes on an average 2 periods everyday are for extra curricular activities, martial arts whether it be Taekwando, Judo, swimming whether it be computers and all the extra curricular activities on an average 2 periods a day, every child it’s compulsory should learn swimming, Taekwando, Judo, martial arts for the boys football etc. and the balanced 10 periods, 5 periods are in English and 5 in Arabic. 

 

Our school has dual medium of instruction English and Arabic. Arabic is the language of the Qur’an it’s the language in which the last and final revelation was revealed, we realize, I realize the drawback that because our parents did not think it important that we should learn Arabic as a language we know it’s a drawback even today so we want to see to it that our children our next generation they should know Arabic as their mother tongue. So 5 periods in Arabic and 5 are in English but natural the 5 periods are there in Arabic, they are Islamic whether it be Arabic language, whether it be Hifz, whether it be Tilaawat, whether it be hadith, whether it be Qur’an Tafsir and all the Islamic studies that we have when we give the Tafsir of the Qur’an, it’s not in English or Urdu like back home in India, Pakistan we have Islamic studies in Urdu, in the western countries we either have in Urdu or we have in English, there we have in Arabic, Arabic to Arabic.

 

So the child from the age of 3 when he joins Nursery school he starts learning Arabic, when we teach him A for Allah, B for Bismillah along with that Min Alif Asadun, Min Baa Baitun, Min Taa Tufahun, so from the age of 3 the child is ingrained with the Arabic language and in the Arabic period the children cannot speak English they should only speak Arabic, in the English period only English no Arabic and most of Arabic teachers they have gone to Saudi Arabia and they have graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah so that even he pronunciation is correct besides the Arabic period that is there the 5 periods in English 1 period everyday is Islamic Studies in English that’s for Da’wah because a child when he does Da’wah with the non-Muslims it will be in English he cant do it in Arabic, there are very few Arab non-Muslims. So one period is Islamic studies in English, the balance 4 periods on an average is Maths, English, Geography, History, Science etc. and though the period if you analyze that 5 periods are in English is very less but we have been able to achieve this because the ratio of our teacher to student is very low in Bombay on an average on an average in Bombay one school each class has 50 students, some have got 60, some have got 80. The good schools have got 50. Very few schools have less than 50 and for every 2 classes there are average 3 teachers that means each teacher, the ratio of teacher and student is about 30 to 35. Every 30 to 35 students have got one teacher in Bombay and in India, if you go in the villages it is much higher means every one teacher has got 50 students on an average and the international standard says that it should be 1:20. The good private schools in UK, USA, they have every teacher has got 10 students on an average, good private schools. We in Bombay we have every 5 students one teacher. Each class has got 20 students on an average. Some have got 18, some have got 19 but at times for example when there are classes of Hifz so in that class of 20 students there will be 5 Quras coming in, Qaris so each batch will have about 4 students. So when we have certain classes it breaks up so that the Hifz is better, the concentration is better so the child can learn faster. In our school Hifz is compulsory till standard 3. Till standard 3 the child in nursery, Jr. KG we start Yassarnal Qur’an he does the Nazirah of the Qur’an in Sr. Kg starts doing Hifz in Sr. Kg on an average Sr. KG he memorizes half Juz. 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd every year one and a half Juz so by the time the child completes standard 3 he memorizes at least 5 Juz, some may memorize 6, some 7, some may even do 4 after that Hifz is optional. Those people who feel I have got a good memory, we select them may be 25% ¼ to 1/3 of the students and we call them 1 hour 15 minutes earlier. So instead of coming 8’ O clock in the morning from 4^th standard, they come at quarter to 7. 

 

Now when the Hifz class in the morning is conducted after 3^rd standard for one Qari there are 2 students maximum. So the ratio of the Qari and the students in the higher classes is reduced. One Qari – One student or one Qari - 2 students maximum and only because he comes 1 hour 15 minutes early in the morning, does Hifz for one hour 10 mins, in a year on an average that child memorizes 5 Juz. So by the time he completes the next 5 years, at the end of 8^th standard, he memorizes the complete Qur’an. To so far MashaAllah we are in the 6^th standard, in the 5^th standard according to our normal course the child should memorize 15 Juz but many students MashaAllah at the end of 5^th standard have memorized 18 Juz, some 19 some may even 20. So my son who is now in the 6^th, he’s hardly 12 years old, MashaAllah, he knows more Qur’an than me. He knows 20 Juz, I don’t know that much. I am not Hafizul Qur’an. His Qirat is better than mine, he can understand Arabic better than me, he can understand the Qur’an directly, I can’t. So we want every child in our school to be better that what I was when I was in school and InshaAllah minimum, minimum every child in our school minimum is 100 times better than what I was when I was a child. We want every child in this school, should be multiple times like me, I am not the target, I am not the aim, I am not the sample, we want them to be multiple times better. So what we could not get in our childhood and with Allah’s help, Alhumdulillah, whatever we achieved we feel that if we educate our children in the right way, right from the childhood, InshaAllah, InshaAllah, you will find a change in the next generation. 

 

We always had a target that if we have to change the society we do projects that are short termed, we have short term Da’wah courses in our foundation, Islamic Research Foundation which is a crash course for 40 days where we train students from different parts of the world, we have international Da’wah training programme for 40 days where we select the best people, one from UK, one from USA, from Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia etc. and we give them a comprehensive training course. But this schooling of 13 years is a full fledge Da’wah training programme according to me. And in our school MashaAllah, we see to it that when they are trained not only do they learn Qur’an and Islam, they are even told about Christianity, about Judaism, about Hinduism, about Buddhism, InshaAllah, when our child passes school he will be far superior than an average Christian what he knows about Christianity, what average Hindu has knowledge about Hinduism, what an average Jew has knowledge about Judaism. The main aim of the school is to make Da’ees and see to it that they follow the commandments of Allah (swt). So in our school MashaAllah though main 2 languages are English and Arabic, we also start Urdu from the 4^th standard, 3^rd standard is Hindi, 4^th is Urdu and 5^th is a local language of the state i.e. Marathi. These Children, MashaAllah, they are trained in a way that they know the values of life and we find that many a times, MashaAllah, these children they put us to shame, they put us to shame. When you go out and the children MashaAllah, they are Masoom and that reminds me that once I had gone to meet a very big businessman, a top business man in Bombay, very big businessman and when I met him, I had my son with me, that time he was in second standard and the businessman was smoking so my son said “Uncle, smoking is Haraam” finish! I would think 10 times. You know, though I am a Daee, to say directly you have to see for the situation and we see whether what is right time, they should not feel hurt etc. we will think 10 times how to say, when to say, what to say and a young child said and the person put off his cigarette immediately, easy. So, MashaAllah, we should see to it that we should have vision of how do we want our children and what they should become. We have a concept that on an average when we have 4 divisions, if 100 students pass out in a year from one school, 50% may go in the main stream, may become doctors, engineers, lawyers but when they become doctors they will be true Muslim doctors, having knowledge of Islam. True Muslim engineers, true Muslim businessman, 50% may go in the Islamic field, may become a Da’ee, Muhadith, Muffasir, may take up teaching, Islamic teaching, Alhumdulillah. So in this way can we change the next generation, we can’t keep on cribbing about what’s happening we should make a beginning and in this way.

 

MashaAllah, the main success that I feel of the school is that our interviews are very strict. The interviews we conduct are so strict that the rules that we started, the rules are unheard of. We broke most of the conventional pattern. Normally for the students, we have got 3 interviews, the child and even the parents are interviewed, the father and the mother they have to undergo 2 interviews of an average of one and a half hour each. And the final interview is taken by me. And Alhumdulillah in the second year we had 800 applications, 75 seats 800 applications. So most of the years we have 10 times more no. of applications than the no. seats and let me tell you our school is one of the most expensive schools in Bombay. The fees is yet 25,000 rupees a month which is very expensive average fees in Bombay is 100 – 150 rupees. The good covenant schools, they charge thousand rupees, one and a half thousand rupees. Ours is 25,000 rupees that is 600 US dollars though now there are other schools which are much expensive but Islamic school MashaAllah so not that it is cheap but yet no poor person can say that I did not get admission because I did not have money. We have 25% scholarship Quota. The 25% of the seats, even a person does not pay a single rupee a month, he can get admission. So 25% of the seats have been reserved for poor children so in our school we have MashaAllah parents who are earning more than a crore rupee a month, they may be, millionaires there are, they may be earning million pounds, they earn. There are some students whose parents earn 3,000 rupees but when we give scholarship we transfer that amount of fees into their current account. So when they get the money they come and pay full fees to the cashier so even the cashier does not know who is the scholarship child, It’s only the management. Me, my wife who is the principal and a few others who know who are scholarship children. So even the teachers don’t know who is the scholarship child so we maintain that secrecy. So we transfer the money in their account, they come and pay full fees so even the cashier does not know. So that we have a proper system and equality while teaching. 

 

When we have the formal education mathematics, history, science, geography, we see to it that in this when we teach we incorporate 25% Islam in it. For example when we teach science, we talk about the big bang theory that a few decades earlier the scientists, they discovered how are universe came into existence. First there was a primary nebula then there was a secondary separation which gave life to galaxies, the stars, the planets and the earth on which we live. Then we say this is mentioned in the Qur’an 1400 years ago in 

 

Surah Anbiya ch. no. 21 verse no. 30 

 

“Awa lam yara allatheena kafaroo”

“Do not the unbelievers see”

“Annas samawati waal-arda kanata ratqan fafataqnahuma” 

“that the heavens and the earth were joined together and we clove them asunder.”

 

Now this what the scientists have discovered recently, the Qur’an mentions 1400 years ago about the big bang. So in this way the child comes closer to Allah (swt) at the same time he is being educated about science. We tell them that the first person that described the blood circulation, it was Ibn Nafees later on William Harvey made it famous to the western world. We even teach them Darwen’s theory unlike the other schools, I realized that in some western countries a child goes to a normal convent school, government school in the evening he goes to evening Madrasas. So in the morning he is taught that the human beings have been created from monkey and in the evening he is told that the first man is Adam (a.s.)

 

In the morning he is taught that Riba is very good, interest, you can become a great businessman, a wealthy person, in the evening he is taught Riba, interest is Haraam. So there is dichotomy, there will be confusion in the minds of the children. That doesn’t mean don’t send your children to Madarsa. Madarasa do good work, Alhumdulillah, they should continue. Better send them than don’t send; don’t get me wrong. The Madarasas are very good, MashaAllah. I am for it, I am not against it but we have to keep on improving the standards. So whatever they are doing MashaAllah, they are doing a good work. When I go to Madarasas, I tell them that you incorporate English there, you incorporate the formal subjects. So when there is a different teaching in the morning and in the evening, the child is confused. So when we teach science we see to it that we incorporate and tell them even Qur’anic verses related to that. Qur’an speaks about water cycle, about geography, salt and sweet water. Qur’an speaks about geology, that mountains have got roots and many things which is not mentioned in the text book, the teachers they are trained. They are trained how to teach and in this way out of this normal formal education 25% Islam is even incorporated when we teach them mathematics, science, history, geography etc. we have taken the normal syllabus I.G.C.S.E. following that syllabus and even incorporating the Islamic studies both in Arabic and English. So that when the child appears, he appears for the normal examination that is the central board examination after he passes that, he can take up medicine, take up engineering or become a lawyer or a businessman or come to the main stream of Islamic studies, no problem, he has his choice and what we are doing, we are in contact, MashaAllah with those people who are experts in the world.

As Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Nahl ch. 16 verse no. 43 and Surah Anbiya ch. no. 21 verse no. 7 

 

“Fas-aloo ahlaz zikri in kuntum la ta’lamoon”

 

 that “If you don’t know, ask the person who is knowledgeable”

 

 So we are in touch with the knowledgeable people from different parts of the world. We are in touch with the local experts of Madina University, of Ulmul Qura etc. we are in touch. So that whatever things we want to put in practice in our school we consult with the experts but we are doing many things which are unconventional. Many people told me that Brother Zakir, it’s not possible. You can’t have 2 streams at the same time. It’s not possible. I tell them at least make Dua. At least make Dua, InshaAllah. So what we want to do, we want to give a sample role model to the Ummah that it’s possible though many people, majority said its not possible but Alhumdulillah, Suma Alhumdulillah, if you meet the parents and if you see the Annual Day CD of our programme then you’ll come to know Alhumdulillah that what is the level of education, MashaAllah. So as I was telling, the main thing is the interview, when we interview the parents, we are very strict. We are very careful that we see to it that the parents have the same thinking as the management and we are very strict. In the first year when we started the school, we had a clause compulsory that the mothers should do Hijaab. More than 50% of the mothers in the first year of our school they were not doing Hijaab but within one months time MashaAllah, all of them had to do Hijaab. Now when they want to admit their child, they do field work: Okay if we want to get admission in the Islamic International School we have to do Hijaab. So before coming to the interview, they wear Hijaab, they are trained because they want admission in our school. So they do a survey, what is the requirement of the school. We have got MashaAllah millionaire parents who are businessman, who are business tycoons when they come for the interview we ask them how many times do you offer Salaah. So they tell us “Jummah ke Jummah” so we tell him “Brother then don’t admit your child in this school, go and put him in a convent school” He says “Why” because we will teach your child, its mentioned in Sahih Muslim the difference between Eemaan and Kufr is Salaah, may be your child after 3-4 years will call you a Kaafir therefore don’t put him in our school, put them in a convent school they said no we want admission here. We will offer Salaah, we will offer 5 times Salaah then they give it in writing. 

 

So it’s compulsory that…. 100% of the parents, they give in writing that they will offer Salaah 5 times believe me we did not know that we could actually pressurize the parents or blackmail them, when the Christian missionaries are blackmailing our Muslim children, our Muslim parents in Bombay they are paying 5,000 pounds, 10,000 pounds to get admission and after paying that money as bribe everyday our children are doing Shirk. They are saying Jesus (pbuh) is God. So when the Christian missionaries can force them to do Shirk, why can’t we force to do something which is Fard? And believe me we have been very successful. We know it is not allowed by this government and that government but Alhumdulillah, Suma Alhumdulillah so MashaAllah even the multimillionaire he waits for the interview, we tell him that the interview will take time, be prepared at least 4-5 hours and you will be interviewed for about 1 and a half to 2 hours. And MashaAllah we have a big questionnaire and we explain to them the concept of the school and we tell them that the satellite television is a big Shaitaan so the cable TV, satellite TV should not be in your house. TV is not Haraam but the cable TV, the satellite TV is a big Shaitaan and normally we find that we know that in the western statistics, the average in America a child sits in front of TV for approximately 7 hours on an average, more time than he spends in school. Even in India they spent several hours and what happened you know? When we say if you know if you want admission, you remove the cable TV and MashaAllah, they have to do it otherwise no admission. So because they want, they may not be practicing Muslims but they have that Jazba, they have the Eemaan they want to put in our school. And now it has become a status “O my son got admission into IIS” status, Alhumdulillah. Allah has given us that status. So to get admission means, it’s a status. I got admission in Islamic International School, I passed the interview. So then we realize that once the cable TV is out and its compulsory that the parents, the mother should attend every week our Islamic lectures compulsory, at least once, Father, twice a month compulsory If you don’t have time then no admission. So even the parents are being ingrained, it’s a package. We are not only training the students, we are even training the parents. We don’t want that we train the child and after 13 years the father says okay now go and do business, okay start giving bribe etc. so we want to see to it, we don’t want to pour water over duck’s back. Chances are there 50% we will lose our children because finally the parents control them. So we even change the parents and if we know that the business the parent is doing is not good, we will tell you there are some people who have got businesses may be they are working in Bank. We tell them working in Bank is Haraam, may be your child once after 4-5 years, he will cause you trouble so see to it you change your job fast so knowingly very well yet they want to put their children in our school and the point to be noted here is that after a few months then the husband comes and tells us you know my wife she has stopped watching TV, now she gives me more time. So even the family life improves, we have got stipulated conditions before admission that minimum 20 minutes every day there should be a family reading of the Qur’an along with translation, everyday compulsory. The father should attend twice a month our lectures in which we talk about Islam, the mother once a week. So in this way MashaAllah even the environment becomes Islamic then besides the parents even the other siblings come, even the grandparents come so it is rather changing the society and we found that when we visited the western schools, I had gone to South Africa and I had gone to one of the best schools in South Africa 6 years back, I don’t want to name the school, the principal of the school told me that Brother Zakir we are at the mercy of the parents, we have to force them to come and take admission though our fees is half than the other private schools but then they blackmail us. If you tell us too many things, then we will go to the government school, we wil go to the white school and he told me our students in the 8^th Std., 9^th Std. girls one evening we went to a hotel and we found our girls wearing miniskirts and shorts and dancing. Imagine one of the best schools in South Africa. And the parents were called, the parents are blackmailing, if you get too strict we will take out our children from here. Here in our school we blackmail the parents but natural for the sake of Allah (swt). 

 

Anyway the school is not our business so what fees we take, we are spending from our own pocket. So It’s not a business, please don’t get me wrong. The school… IRF always does everything free, the school is the first thing we are charging money but even those who are paying full fees we are subsidizing the fees. So in this way MashaAllah, we want to create a new society and what we feel that most of the organizations that start, it’s a one man show. After the person goes away, the whole thing goes down. Most of the Muslim organizations you see. It’s a one man show that person goes away, the organization falls down. So we see to it that we require backups. At present in our foundation, Islamic Research Foundation, we have more than 15 speakers, MashaAllah, besides myself and some of them travel in different parts of the world; they have been to UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Africa several places MashaAllah and these children MashaAllah, they are our future generation and if you see the Annual Day that we have, in the Annual Day when we have skits normally most of the other schools they have Fancy Dress where a person may be he’ll dress up like Michael Jackson, he may dress up like may be Sunil Gavaskar or whatever it is. Here in our concept MashaAllah. One person becomes, he imitates Shaikh Sudais, one like Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, you know, in this way MashaAllah we find that the role models of our children, the present age role models for our children they are not these pop stars and pop singers and film actors, they are like Shaikh Sudaish, like Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, Brother Bilal Philips.

 

So here we find that we should ingrain in our children that what should they become when they grow up and MashaAllah if you see that these children, they are taught public speaking right from Junior KG, from the age of 4 they are taught to standing front of the microphone and they are taught how to speak on the microphone. Most of our speakers, I am sorry to say they don’t know public speaking techniques. What should be the distance from the mike, how is the modulation, how it should go up, how it should come down, the gestures, the eye to eye contact. 

 

See when a person gives a speech on the stage the matter he speaks carries only 7% marks. How much? 7%. 93% is presentation skills. How do you modulate, your gestures, your eye to eye contact that’s the reason today… actually I am handicapped, the sound system is not good. It is like you are sending a warrior to a battlefield without weapons. We should be trained that how we should be able to do Da’wah. The children right from the age of 4, they have trained public speaking in English as well as Arabic. So we want that our future generation that they should be trained Alhumdulillah. So this was a vision with which we started the school not knowing whether we will be successful or not. Alhumdulillah, Allah (swt) has been so much helpful and grateful that we got applications from different parts of the world, from different cities in India. We have got applications to start the school in Saudi Arabia, in UAE, in Yemen, in UK, in USA, several applications. So far we have started only one more branch in Chennai and our criterias are very strict MashaAllah. So InshaAllah we feel that every few years we will open one school so that it will be role model for the others. 

 

One thing we have to realize that for success we have to follow the guidance of the Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith and always we have to be professional. 

 

As Allah says in the Qur’an ch. 16 verse 43 and Surah Anbiya Ch. no. 21 verse no. 7

 

“Fas-aloo ahlaz zikri in kuntum la ta’lamoon” 

 

“If you don’t know, ask the person who is knowledgeable, ask the person who posses the message.”

 

We as a policy in our organization, Islamic Research Foundation though we are a very small organization which was started 15 years back. Alhumdulillah we had only 1 employee now we have more than 400 employees fulltime paid employees. We always believe that we should be professional and all the people that we employ MashaAllah, we have a policy that whatever they are drawing in Bombay if they join our organization we give them more. We don’t believe that if you are getting suppose 20,000 rupees so come here for 50% 10,000 rupees for Allah’s sake. If you are earning 20,000 rupees we will give you 25,000 rupees. If you are getting 30,000 we will give you 35. If you are getting 50 we’ll give you 60 but then you work, you strive in the way of Allah (swt). I don’t want the parents phoning me up that Dr. Zakir Naik gave an Islamic lecture and now my son is earning half. If I give him more even the parents are with me. Even in our school, Islamic International School that as far as the teachers, we have got strict conditions even for the teachers and initially I am a nightmare even for the parents, I am a nightmare even for the teachers. We have so many rules and regulations someone called us the Al Qaeeda School. Qaeeda means you have too many rules and regulations and our teachers MashaAllah on an average we interviewed about two and a half thousand teachers and selected less than 25. or point 1% is the selection. Similarly for our Qaris, the Qaris we selected, we interviewed in different parts of India Lucknow, Nadwa, various parts, Surat our crew went and there too we interviewed more than 4,000 Quaras. And now we have about 40 Qaris we have. So our selection procedures it is very strict less than one percent of the people we interviewed we take them as our staff and once we take the staff, the staff we pay them more than what they get outside. We give an open add in the newspapers that if selected we will pay you more than what you’re drawing. The ad says like that. If selected in our school we will pay you more than what you are drawing irrespective of what you are earning in any convent school if you are teaching, we keep only Muslim teachers MashaAllah and here the teachers instead of coming for 5 days, they have to come 6 days a week. 5 days to teach our children, our school works from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday. We have Fridays and Sundays holidays which was very difficult. Everyone objected initially that how is this unconventional, Friday and Sunday no where do we have in the world. I said we have it in IIS and MashaAllah in the long run it was beneficial. Now the children are fresh to study twice a week. On Saturday and Monday in the normal school they are fresh only on Monday. Here they are fresh twice a week. On Saturday as well as Monday and in our school we have got no homework whatever is taught is taught in the school. If there are some children who take late admissions and if they have missed on their Arabic, they have to come on Sundays extra hours from 8 to 1 every Sunday to catch up absolutely free and our teachers they come 5 days to teach from Monday to Thursday and Saturday and on Friday they come to be taught. We educate our educators in our school. Our teachers they get training once a week they have the best of professionals coming to train them. theses professionals they are very well qualified in the field, there may be physiologists, they may be phsycatrist, they may be child councilors, there may be nutritionist, top people Indian, foreigners, there may be people top non-Muslims we pay them through  the noses. We have workshops on Fridays and we train the teachers even in voice and accent. The voice and accent training we give, we spent lakhs of rupees so that they have a neutral accent and in Bombay channel in a non-muslin news channel it came the only school which has voice and accent from junior classes, IIS. So the specialized non-Muslim trainers come and train our teachers, they in turn train the students. So our teachers also MashaAllah, they also work hard, we pay them but they work hard and we are very strict with our rules MashaAllah and we believe in professionalism. 

 

So what happens that by the time they stay in our school, they get trained, same thing with the Qaris, same thing with the Arabic gent teachers, same thing with lady teachers and unless that we are professional in our field we will not get the results. 

 

And if we see the annual day that we had, the annual day and we have shown that annual Day even on the satellite channel. Moment we showed on the satellite channel, the Annual Day of our children performing, we had applications from different parts of the world that we too want to open a similar school. Now just a few months back we had another annual Day which the cassette hasn’t been released, it is 10 times better than the first one and Alhamdulillah there if you analyze, it was for 5 hours and only the children performed no adult, no teacher even spoke a word. All the children from nursery to standard 5, they performed and even they themselves were the compare. They compared their programme professionally, MashaAllah, they were the compare,, they handled everything, not a single teacher even spoke a word… No one spoke… for 5 hours without a break the audience was glued to the seat, glued, 5 hours imagine! Our children from the age of 3½ to 11½ they glued the audience for 5 hours, MashaAllah and what we did? We did not spend a great deal of time. We hardly trained them for 3 to 4 weeks, that’s it and in the first week it was 2 hours a day, second week was 3 hours a day then half a day. Last week was ¾ a day. So they lost about 2 weeks of the school on an average 9 working days but we saw to it that we got professionals, we had professional choreographers. Whatever Islamic step that we had taken and when we had the show we had a Da’wah conference an international Da’wah conference where our students MashaAllah as I mentioned earlier, the Da’wah conference was by the recitation of Shaikh Sudaish so one of the students dressed up like Shaikh Shudaish. Then we had Dr. Israr Ahmed giving a speech in Urdu then we had Bilal Philips coming then other speakers there was Abdur Raheem Greeen then there was a person like Shaikh Ahmed Deedat then my son dressed up like Dr. Zakir Naik the point to be noted was that we had professional people to do make-up from the film industry and the person who had done if you know about Amitabh Bacchan who had done the beard for Amitabh Bacchan in Shahenshah, you know, Shahenshah though we don’t encourage people seeing movies but I was told that the person who did the beard for Amitabh Bachan in Shahnshah, he was a Muslim, he happened to be my friend so we had them, MashaAllah and the make-up if you see, I doubt you may have seen anywhere else that young children of the age 10 years, 11 years the way they performed and my son he copied the speech 5 minute section of my speech which I gave in London last year when I’d come in December for the Global Unity of Peace, the talk I gave at the Excel theatre and MashaAllah we see the same type of beard, same cap, same coat, the actions so the teachers train them, the gestures, the way they walk, the way they come on the mike, the way they adjust the microphone, everything. Similarly with all the other speakers, if the speakers sits and speaks, our children also sat and spoke and there were various skits so if you see the Drama, if you see the full 5 hours you see the children right form the age of 3½ to about 11½ performing and there was one section where a person speaking various languages we teach in the school English, Arabic, Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, you could see in the skit that our children, MashaAllah. So fluent in all these languages that really impresses the people. But one thing you realize that we should believe in professionalism. 

 

And if we see in our school we have all types of Muslims taking admission Hanafi, Shafi whether it will be Salafi, Ahle Hadith, Jamaate Islami, Tableegi, Deobandi, Barelwi but we say in our school we follow Qur’an and Sunnah and we take in writing that we will teach what is mentioned in Qur’an and Sahih Hadith and we make it very clear we do not believe in dividing Muslims in different sects, Islam is against that, Qur’an is against that

 

Qur’an says in Surah An’aam Ch. 6 verse no. 159 that 

 

“If anyone makes sects in the religion of Islam, it is Haraam. O Prophet of Allah, you have nothing to do with him.” 

 

So inspite of this we have the children of the heads of the different Jammats. Jamaate Islami, Tableegi Jamaat, all wanting admission MashaAllah. So we really feel and you see all section of the Muslim Ummah, the rich class, the middle class, the poor class, the different people and people come from far away areas where they even have to travel 2½ hours. They come from length and breadth of Bombay. The school is in central Bombay, people come from Meera Road, from Mumbra, they travel 2½ hours up, 2½ hours down and some of the parents when the child is very young they have to travel 8 hours, 2 hours up and down to drop, 2 hours up and down to pick up. So here we find that once we give quality, people are bound to come to you. 

 

One thing is that Muslim Ummah wants Islamic Education but I, believe me, I would not put my son in any of the Muslim schools in Bombay if my school wasn’t there. Not that I hate Muslims, I like them but I want my child to get proper education. So the only option I had was to start a school. So here we realize that there should be demand and whatever activity we do, we always say that there should be 10 times minimum more no. of people wanting to take part than the no. of seats you have, always. If there is a demand then MashaAllah, you can provide quality and you can get the best out of the people because they know they have got admission out of a great difficulty so what we say, they follow. If you get easy, if it’s a walk through then they take it for granted and to have this model somewhere else there are many people who copied, all our syllabus is absolutely anyone can copy it free, no problem but many people copied hardly anyone came even close to 5% of what we are doing because the main thing is not the syllabus, main thing is the management. Copying the syllabus is very easy you can’t take a syllabus from a good American or a British school and think you can match it. Main thing is how well you control it, how well you handle it, the management is very important, the management, the teachers, the parents all put together, there should be a combination of every thing. Everyone should have faith in each other then only will you really be able to make a difference. And once you have the confidence of the parents, InshaAllah, you can do wonders. So many a times we introduced many things, MashaAllah. Always there has been cooperation. So unless you don’t have quality, you will not be able to achieve what you are opting for and this is the principal of Islam too that you believe in quality anything you do. 

 

So InshaAllah what we want that our next generation, that they should have that love with Allah’s Kalaam. So MashaAllah if their Arabic is strong unlike us, if their Arabic is strong they can understand Arabic directly, they can implement on the message and they can educate the others. Keeping this in mind MashaAllah we started the school and with Allah’s help, Alhumdulillah, we never imagined that we could achieve whatever we have achieved. It’s basically Allah’s help. Whatever we are doing in IRF in Bombay when we look back we could not have dreamt of doing these things. And the best example is myself. During childhood I used to stammer and I was in a medical collage and I could have thought of becoming the best doctor in my dream, in your dream, you can dream of anything. No one can stop you but even in my dream I could not have dreamt of speaking in front of 25 people because I was a stammerer. If you would have asked me what is your name “My name is Za..Za..Za..Za.. Zakir, imagine Allah (swt) with His help what he has transformed in me, it’s a miracle. Now I speak in front of tens and twenty thousand people, hundred thousand people largest audience I have addressed in my life is one million, live. Not on television haan, live, one million. and in India MashaAllah audience is always 40,000 – 50,000 and the way we manage on time we are 500 to 1000 volunteers. Our volunteers and when we call a guest speaker, there you see that when Dr. Israr Ahmed was called not a single volunteer shook hands with Dr. Israr Ahmed, not that they didn’t like him, they are trained. They are trained as Mujahid, they can’t shift away from their duty. They have to do their duty and they know when you get result everyone. We have got volunteers, Doctors, engineers, MashaAllah more than a thousand volunteers we have in Bombay. 

 

So whatever we do, we do professionally that’s the reason in our audiences more than 25% are non-Muslims, more than 25%. When we have 40,000 more than 10,000 are non-Muslim. More than the Muslims can gather here, we have non-Muslims there coming for our talks. Even on satellite, MashaAllah there is a great percentage of non-Muslims watching our programmes and they appreciate MashaAllah so I would like to leave the floor open for the question and Answer session. I would like to end this talk of educating the educators which was the main theme of this conference and I chose Harrow though I am giving talks, on every venue different talks, I don’t believe in giving the same talk every time. So I chose this venue Harrow, the main theme to get the educators in Harrow and we leave the floor open for the question and answer. 

 

I would like to end my talk with the quotation of the Glorious Qur’an from Surah Israa’ Ch. 17 verse 81 where Allah says 

 

“Waqul jaa alhaqqu wazahaqa albatilu inna albatila kana zahooqa”

 

“When truth is hurled against falsehood, falsehood perishes for falsehood is by its nature bound to perish” 

 

Wa Aakhiru Da’waana Anil Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil Alameen!

---

Seeking Knowledge in the Light of Islam

Harrow Leisure Centre, London UK 16^th Aug 2006  

 

by

Dr. Zakir Naik

Question & Answer Session

 (Duration – 1 hour and 8 minutes)

 

Ather Khan: JazakAllah Khair. Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu, May peace mercy and blessings of Allah (swt) be on all of you. Now we enter into the next part of our programme which is the open question and answer session which is the most interesting part of Dr. Zakir Naik’s programme and it’s also very interactive and the audience will get the chance to interact with the speaker and ask questions on what Dr. Zakir Naik has spoken in this talk. 

 

To analyze today’s topic adequately for the audience present here today in the limited time available we would like the following guidelines to be followed during the question and answer session. Kindly state your name and profession before asking the question, you can ask the question on the topic as well as any question on Islam and comparative religion, for your second question you have to go back of the row and await your second chance to ask a question. Non-Muslims brothers and sisters present here in the audience will be given the first preference. Now I will request the volunteers who are on the mikes that please check up if there are any non-Muslim brothers and sisters in the queue then please give them first preference and give them the first chance to ask the question. 

 

We have 2 mikes here, one for the sisters on the right and one for the brothers on my left. May we have the first question from the brothers on mike no. 1?

 

Questioner:  My name is Mohammad Kaba’an I’m an airline student… I know your fashionable specialty is in comparative religion. Now my question is gonna be on Christianity. A lot of Christians say that Jesus is God. Can you also say any evidence is in the bible to refute this claim... Ahm.. Thank you very much. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Brother asked the question that many Christians claim that Jesus Christ (pbuh) is God so can you refute this from the Bible. Before I give the answer I would like to make a few points clear that Islam is the only non-Christian faith which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus Christ (pbuh).

 

No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus Christ (pbuh). 

 

We believe that he was one of the mightiest messengers of Allah (swt)

 

We believe that he was born miraculously without any male intervention which many modern day Christians today do not believe.

 

We believe that he was the Messiah translated Christ. 

 

We believe that he gave life to the dead with God’s permission. 

 

We believe that he healed those blind & lepers with God’s permission. 

 

The Muslims & the Christians, we’re going together but there is parting of ways. There are many Christians or most of the Christians who say that Jesus Christ (pbuh), he claimed divinity. But if we read the Bible, there is not a single unequivocal statement in the complete Bible where Jesus Christ (pbuh) himself says that “I am God” or where he says “worship me”. If anyone, if any Christian can point out to me any single unequivocal statement from any where in the Bible, from any version where Jesus Christ (pbuh) himself says unambiguously, unequivocally that “I am God” or where he says “worship me”, I’m ready to accept Christianity today. When we read the Bible we come to know that Jesus Christ (pbuh) himself said it’s mentioned in the 

 

Gospel of John ch. 14 verse no. 28, Jesus Christ (pbuh) said: 

“My Father is greater than I”

 

Gospel of John Ch no. 10 verse no. 29

“My Father is greater than all”

 

Gospel of Mathew Ch. No. 12 verse no. 28

“I with the sprit of God, cast out Devil”

 

Gospel of Luke Ch no. 11 verse no. 20

“I with the Finger of God, cast out Devil”

 

Gospel of John Ch. No. 5 verse no. 30

“I can of my own self do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is just for I seek not my will but the will of my Father” 

Anyone who says that I seek not my will but the will of All Mighty God he’s a Muslim. Jesus Christ (pbuh), he was a Muslim, he never claimed divinity. It’s clearly mentioned in the 

 

Gospel of John ch. no. 14 verse no. 24, Jesus Christ (pbuh) said that

“The words that you hear are not mine but my Father’s who has sent me” 

 

And its mentioned in the Book of Acts Ch. No. 2 verse no. 22 

 

“Ye men of Israel listen to this, Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God amongst you by wonders & miracles and signs which God did by him and you were witnessed to it.”

 

A Man approved of God amongst you by wonders & miracles and signs which God did by him and you were witnessed to it. So here when we read the Bible you come to know that Jesus Christ (pbuh) he never claimed divinity, he never said he was God neither did he say that he was a begotten son of God but he was one of the mightiest messengers of Allah (swt). Hope that answers the question.

 

Questioner: Thank you very much.

 

Ather Khan: I have got many questions on the chits but Dr Zakir always prefers if people can come to the mike and ask questions and questions written on the papers or paper slips will be given second preference. So please come on the mike and ask question that would be preferable.

 

Questioner: Well my question was that Dr. Naik you live in a predominantly Hindu society, does it affect your work  

 

Dr. Zakir: The brother asked the question that I live in a predominantly Hindu society, does it affect my work. Yes it does. It helps me to strive harder MashaAllah. It does effect, the place where I come from Bombay, it is suppose to be one of the most difficult places where you can do Da’wah. The Bombay city, if anyone knows, one of the most difficult places where a person can do Da’wah. The organizations, the political organization that are there, they are so much against the Muslims but Allah says in the Qur’an in 

 

Surah Ale Imran ch. no. 3 verse no. 160

 

“If Allah helps you then none can overcome you, if Allah forsakes you who is there who can help you, so let the believers let the believers put their trust in Allah.”

 

So if Allah’s help is there, its very easy believe me, in Bombay while doing Da’wah even the life is in danger.

 

Questioner: Brother Bombay is the most prejudice place in India.. against Muslims. 

 

Dr. Zakir: That’s what I am aware of it, that’s what I am telling you that’s what I am telling you, Bombay is the most difficult place where you can to Da’wah, its very difficult yet in spite of living in such a situation with Allah’s help, it is very easy. Imagine I give talks from the past 8 years on the cable TV network, we come on more than one million homes everyday, everyday and in that we do hardcore Da’wah quoting the Vedas, quoting Bhagvad Gita, quoting the Upanishads, Mahabharata, talking about their scriptures and Alhumdulillah when we give talks Hindus also come in large numbers and we train our people MashaAllah and the students that we have and my colleagues even they MashaAllah, can quote Qur’an, Hadith, Bible, Veda, Ramayana even our children in school, MashaAllah. If you see the young children in school in the 5^th Std, 6^th Std they can rattle off chapter no. verse no., MashaAllah, they are trained.

 

Questioner: Are you able to convert anyone to Islam?

 

Dr. Zakir: Brother! Normally you should realize we should follow the rules and the regulations of the question an answer session, it is not a discussion you are having between me and you, fine. You are an elderly person we wanted to get the mike to you ‘Ungli dehn toh pocha nahi pakadna chaaiye’ the thing they say that if someone gives you a finger you should not catch the hand there’s rules and regulations are there, there are at least 15 people standing in the queue there and one question. You could have asked all the three questions together while giving a talk if you interrupt in between this goes against the rules and regulations and a Muslim is suppose to follow the rules and regulations, if you are a Muslim.

 

Questioner: The questions are inter-related.

 

Dr. Zakir: So you should ask together.. yes you should ask together otherwise you should ask one question, go behind the queue and then ask. So you should wait for 15 people to finish and then you can ask otherwise it becomes a dialogue, not that I cannot answer, not I cannot answer. Regarding your last part, because you are an elderly person I am answering. Were we able to convert anyone? We don’t convert anyone, Allah gives Hidaaya. We cannot convert anyone. Allah says in the Qur’an in 

 

Surah Ghaashiyah ch. no. 88 verse no. 21

“Fathakkir innama anta muthakkir”

 

Our job is to deliver the message. Its Allah who gives Hidaaya and Alhumdulillah, Allah has given Hidaaya to thousands of non-Muslims, MashaAllah through the IRF. We have been made the Zariya and if you see, and if you see our video tapes, MashaAllah. I have given a talk on similarities between Hinduism and Islam and MashaAllah when we have in Bombay, we only allow non-Muslims to ask questions. Nowadays, Muslims only listen because the Muslims are our people, they are not our guest, the non-Muslims are our guest so MashaAllah there are son many non-Muslims queuing up that even though we give 2 to 3 hours for question and answer session we can’t complete all the questions. and MashaAllah many of them accept Islam on stage and I was there yesterday in Birmingham, there was a Muslim who told me that there is a Hindu in Lester who is so much impressed with the talk that he wants me to come to Lester, he wants to call all the Hindus of that area, he will finance everything, he wants to keep my talk similarities between Hinduism and Islam and InshaAllah, Allah may give him Hidaaya very shortly so the thing is that we have to convey the message, Allah gives Hidaaya but we should not be afraid, we should be on lines of Qur’an and Sunnah and deliver the message. Hope that answers the question. 

 

Ather Khan: May we have the next question from the little sister standing over there?

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum, My name is Maryam, my question is if someone does something really bad then what does Allah recommend in the Qur’an to give them a punishment? 

 

Dr. Zakir: Sister asked a very good question that if someone does something bad what is the punishment recommended by Allah in the Qur’an. Depending upon the sin done we have to realize that Allah (swt) has got various ways of guiding the person one of them as you mentioned is that if someone does a sin then there is a punishment for it. On the other hand that if you don’t do that sin then there is a reward for you. so one of the aspects is if you don’t do this, if you don’t drink alcohol, there is a reward for you don’t rob, there is a reward for you and the reward will be here also in the Aakhira but the point to be noted depending upon the sin is the punishment given. But Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Nisa ch. no. 4 verse no. 48 and Surah Nisa ch. no. 4 verse no. 116

 

That “Allah (swt) if he pleases, he may forgive any sin but the sin of Shirk He’ll never forgive” Shirk, associating partners with God, Allah (swt) will never forgive any other sin if He pleases, He may forgive. So we as Muslims, what we should do that if we see someone doing sin, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said that “if you see anything wrong, if you can stop it with your hand, stop it with your hand, If you cannot stop it with your hand then stop it with your tongue, If you can’t stop it with your tongue then least you can do is curse in your heart and then you will be the lowest level of Momin, believer.”

 

And Allah says that whenever you see something wrong 

 

Allah says in Surah Ale Imran ch. 3 verse 110 

 

“Tamuroona bil ma’roofi watanhawna anil munkar”

 

That 

 

“Enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.”

 

So if we as Muslims see someone committing a sin we have to do Da’wah and Islah with that person and tell that person it’s a sin, he should not do it and try and convince him with Qur’an and Sunnah and with reason and logic. Hope that answers the question sister.

 

Ather Khan: I would again like to request the non-Muslim brothers and sisters sitting in the audience to please come up to the mike and clarify your doubts and whatever misconceptions you have about Islam. This is your opportunity so please, pleaser, please come to the mike and ask question and again the volunteers standing near the mikes, I would again request them to please check up the queue, if there are any non-Muslims standing in the queue bring them forward so that that they get the first chance to ask their question.

 

May we have the next question from the brother standing over there?

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. Chairman, Br. Naik. I would explain who I am but first thank you very much for your talk and just to let you know that you and Ahmed Deedat are always in my prayers. I always make dua for you and when it comes to public speaking I always try to emulate you and Ahmed Deedat and it has helped ah… with the Da’wah.

 

My name Passan, I am a medical representative for a pharmaceutical company. I am also involved in the political process. I… I stood for parliament last year and InshaAllah I plan to go further in my carrier. My question is related to educating extremists, extremist youth. There is one organization headed by a well known scholar who branded myself as a Kaafir and other Muslims who got involved in politics as Kaafirs. They use a Qur’anic verse which says that if anyone legislates other than Allah then he becomes a Kaafir. They use these Qur’anic verses, they also glorify the 9/11 attacks. The question to you Dr. Naik is how do we educate these extremists who claim to follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah?

 

Dr. Zakir: Brother asked a question that there is an extremist head of an organization who has labeled him Kaafir. They even glorify the bombing even suicide bombing even 9/11 so how do you educate these extremists. 

 

See if you are talking about Muslim extremists then brother I call myself a Muslims extremist. I am extremely kind, I am extremely honest, I am extremely just, I am extremely merciful. What’s wrong in being extremely kind? Qur’an says be extremely honest, I can’t be partly honest. So I am an extremist Muslim. We don’t have to go with the label the western media puts. When they ask me yes I say I am an extremist, extremely honest, extremely kind, extremely just, extremely merciful, extremely kind what’s wrong? And no Muslim can tell me that being extremely honest is wrong the other people are partly honest, partly just so what we have to do that if he is an extremist Muslim, every Muslim should be an extremist but extremist in the right direction, not is the wrong direction. We can’t be extremely unjust, extremely dishonest so if the media is telling that there are some Muslims who are extremists, I say every Muslim should be an extremist. Every Muslim should be a fundamentalist, if you are not a fundamentalist Muslim, then you are not a good Muslim, you are not a practicing Muslim. So what the media gives labels on us, we get apologetic “I am not a fundamentalist, I am not an extremist” So I am an extremist.

 

What you may be talking about is may be fanatics there’s a difference between a fanatic and an extremist. Now I don’t know who you are talking about whether XYZ so my answer may be applicable to that person, may not be but our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said that if any Muslim calls any other Muslim a Kaafir then that comes back to him that means he becomes a Kaafir. Who said? Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws). So if you are a Muslim and if someone calls you a Kaafir the person calling you a Kaafir becomes a Kaafir according to the Hadith of Muhammad (saws) unless you have done an act of Kufr which he can really prove it etc. otherwise the Kufr comes back to him.

 

Coming to the question that how can we educate those people who glorify these attacks, 9/11, London bombing etc. 

 

Allah says in the Qur’an Surah Maidah ch. no. 5 verse no. 32 

 

“If anyone kills any other human being unless it be for murder or for creating mischief in the land, If any person Muslim or non-Muslim kills any other human being, Muslim or a non-Muslim unless it be for murder or for creating mischief in the land, it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity and if any one saves any other human being it is as though he has saved the whole of humanity”

 

So killing any innocent human being is Haraam, its prohibited. We know that in 9/11, in the bombing of the New York twin towers more than 3,000 innocent people were killed. In London bombing more than 50 people were killed last year. Just last month in Bombay, 11^th of July 2006 more than 200 people were killed. Killing innocent people is Haraam anyone having even little bit knowledge of Islam cannot condone, these acts should be condemned it’s Haraam in Islam. But, but there are many Muslims who have said this especially in England and US I have heard in front page but why you are putting a full stop there. We also have to condemn the thousands of people who have been killed in Afghanistan, the thousands of people who have been killed in Iraq the thousand of people who have been killed in Bosnia, in Gujrat, why do we stop there? When I asked a person in America that why are you putting a full stop? “But brother Zakir the situation is such that we can’t continue.” What’s the situation? Who are you afraid of? I live in Bombay MashaAllah, a city and a country which we know that the life is in danger but Allah is there, MashaAllah, to protect me. Alhumdulillah and why do you put a full stop where there is no full stop? Why? More people have been killed in Afghanistan than in London Bomb blasts, more people have been killed in Iraq. Weapons of mass destruction, did you find it? No! so why, so why are you keeping quite? Who are you afraid of? Why? In the same breath we have to condemn it? “No but the time is not right” what the time is not right? So we have to realize what is wrong have to be condemned what happened in Gujrat has to be condemned and if the people who are responsible for any evil act, if you catch that person and punish him, no problem. You can’t catch an innocent person. If someone has killed in Gujrat, you do a bomb blast in Bombay, why? because they are same community. Islam doesn’t permit that. Imagine those innocent people who have been killed in the bomb blast in Bombay or London or New York, those innocent people, their relatives, they will become permanent enemies of those people who have done this. Point to be noted, I am not telling you Muslims have done it, haan there’s is no proof; I have got no proof that Bin Laden has done it. Yet, yet the British government has not found out who did the London Bomb Blast. Yet no one knows who did the Bombay bomb blast, I am not telling you Muslims have done it anyone who has done it whether Muslim or non-Muslim, has to be condemned. 

 

A true Muslim… A true Muslim…. who believes and submits his will to Allah will never do the act. If someone is caught with a Muslim name, he may be a pseudo Muslim may having a name Abdullah, Sultan, Zakir, Mohammad that’s a different question. If it happens to be whether he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim he has to be condemned. If suppose, imagine, if suppose certain Muslims think it is right, the relatives of these thousands of innocent people being killed they’ll become permanent enemies of Islam. How can we condone it? Its haraam what wrong have they done? What wrong have the people who were traveling in trains in Bombay have done? The people who were there in the market place on the tube where the bomb blast took place in London, what wrong did they do? If you really can catch the culprit and punish him, no problem, do it. If you can’t do it then don’t kill innocent people. Islam does not agree with that. 

 

Similarly when I was asked the question, when I had gone to Australia that’s after 9/11, I think it was 2002, the council journal of America based in Perth, the talk was Jihad and Terrorism, he asked me “Do you consider Osama Bin Laden to be a terrorist?” I said see, I don’t know Osama Bin Laden, I haven’t met him, he is not my friend also, he’s not my enemy also. If I have to go with what the media says BBC and CNN, 

 

the Qur’an says in Surah Hujuraat ch. 49 verse no. 6 

 

Whenever you get a message check it up before you transfer it to the next person. I can’t believe what BBC and CNN is saying. So I don’t know whether Bin Laden is good or bad, I don’t know whether Al Qaeda exists or not. And I gave a talk ‘Is terrorism a Muslim Monopoly?’ in Birmingham, NEC and there I have told if you go to the US site, US department of Justice on info please, if you go on that site, there are many terrorist organization, more than 50% are Muslims out of which Ulfa, India had done 749 attacks in last 16 years, more than any other terrorist organization that organization is not mentioned there. Why? Al Qaeda is mentioned 28 attacks, all suspects! None proved. Ulfa 749 attacks, all proven that is not there on their site. I know for sure if I have to call who is the terrorist no. 1, I told that 4 years back that no. 1 terrorist is George Bush. We know for sure the thousands of people he killed in Afghanistan, the thousands of people killed in Iraq, we know that and that time it came in Headlines in Newspaper Australia ‘Dr. Zakir Naik calls himself a fundamentalist and calls George Bush terrorist no. 1’, headlines! Now it is common... Every Tom, Dick and Harry is calling George Bush a terrorist that time it was new. Now you read the papers every Tom, Dick and Harry… and there was a survey done just few months ago that they give three options:

 

No. 1 Osama bin Laden

No. 2 Saddam Husain

No. 3 George Bush 

 

Who is terrorist no. 1? 

 

And do you know the person who took everyone lock stock and barrel, maximum voting went to George Bush non-Muslims, Non-Muslims, non-Muslims. The survey was in different parts of the world and the least rating he got was 73%, highest he got was 78%. He won the elections of terrorists so now it is nothing great, now every Tom, Dick and Harry is calling because they have known. Even the non-Muslims, even the Americans, they realize everything is a gimmick. So who did it I don’t know but if you ask me the question whoever did it, some people say it its inside job. Whoever did it, whoever did these acts, these acts should be condemned; we cannot kill innocent people so you have to realize that whoever is telling that these acts are correct, they are totally against the Qur’an and Sunnah ask them for proof. No where does the Qur’an says… if the culprit is caught and if he is punished that’s fine but you can’t kill innocent people.

 

Questioner: Thank you very much. 

 

Ather Khan: I’m still receiving many questions on the slips from the sister’s side. Let me remind them that if they want their question to be answered by Dr. Zakir then you have to come on the mike and ask these questions. Please sisters come on the mike and ask questions. Thank you. May we have the next question from the sister.

 

Questioner: Dear Brother Zakir, Assalamu Alaikum. I’m greatly honored today that I have got an opportunity directly asking you a question. Although till now I… I am only watching your DVD’s and I am a great fan of your topics. My question is directly related to the topic that is educating our children. My question is that in a proper Muslim education system should any importance be given in teaching our children about the national identity or emphasis should be only in religious identity. Don’t you think that by not teaching our children about their own country’s history that how it was formed and how we got freedom from the colonial powers? They will lack essential knowledge about history of their paternal roots and how IIS i.e. your school which have students from all parts of the world, you are coping with this side of education. Are you teaching only Islamic history or are equipping their minds with ample knowledge about their own respective countries as well? Thank you. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Sister asked the question that in an ideal Islamic School should we even teach about the country, about the national activity, about the national history, about the freedom fight and how are we coping in IIS. As far as the general answer is concerned that in an Islamic school we should even talk about the country, there is no problem at all. We can talk about they laws of the country, we can talk the rules and regulations of the country but.. but we have to realize that no. 1 our allegiance goes to Allah (swt), we should not go against the country unless the law of the country goes against Allah (swt). If the law of the country does not go against Allah (swt), we have to follow each and every law of the country. 

 

As far as India is concerned, I am aware that there is not a single rule in the constitution of India which forces any Muslim to do any Haraam activity neither does it prohibit you from doing anything which is Fard. for example the Indian Government doesn’t say that drinking alcohol is Fard, optional. So they don’t force you to do anything which is Haraam neither do they prohibit you to do something which is Fard, Salaah is allowed, infact they have a separate Muslim personal law so I would say that among the non-Muslim countries in the world, I would put India to be amongst the top, one of the best countries that a Muslim can live. I may disagree with several policies so I say, I am a very good Muslim as well as a very good practicing Indian but if any law of any country whether it be India, whether it be UK, USA, Singapore, if it contradicts with the law of Allah (swt), our allegiance to Allah (swt) is more because He is our Creator, he has given us life. Our country has been beneficial to us, may have given us certain things, job etc. but nothing compared to our Creator, Allah (swt). So our allegiance to Allah (swt) is more so if they don’t contradict, we have to follow all the rules and regulations, if certain rules and regulations contradict that particular thing we need not follow. So we have to teach our children to be good citizens also, what’s wrong? You should be a good Muslim, so he should follow the rules and regulations as long as it doesn’t contradict Islam. 

 

As far as history is concerned, of course. What we do that we see to it sometime, some history which is not relevant, we don’t teach. So then its at our liberty, we teach the history which is required, in our school, Islamic International School, we have children who are actually British nationals but they have parents, parents also British may be the grandparents are Indian, the origin is Indian so we have students from USA, from UK, from Saudi, from other parts of the world but basically all have got Indian origin, all of them so you can call them Indians, or you can call them, many are foreigners but.. but.. but we have selected the world history. We have option of taking Indian history or world History. The world history we felt has got more scope for us for doing Da’wah, it talks about the lifestyle of Muhammad (saws), about Jesus Christ (pbuh), about Moses (pbuh) so it’s 2 in 1. so we selected the world history. We have 2 options world history or Indian history. In world history, part of India also comes. So what is required we teach and as far as the government is concerned of that country, we should be very bold, what is right, we have to agree. We can’t say because it is a non-Muslim government, I am against it, for what? If the policy is against the policy of Allah, we’re against it, if its for, we have to agree even if they are enemies, no problem. We have to be bold, that’s what Allah says in 

 

Surah Israa’ ch. 17 verse no. 81 

 

“Waqul jaa alhaqqu wazahaqa albatilu inna albatila kana zahooqa”

 

When truth is hurled against falsehood, falsehood perishes for falsehood by its nature bound to perish. So we should to that in educating we have to give them world history, what’s happening in the world so that when they go out, they should be aware but something which may not be relevant like some things are taught which we feel will not be useful for them, they will never require it in their full life so that portion we delete. Hope that answers the question. 

 

Questioner: Thank you very much. 

 

Ather Khan: Yes brother. 

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum Dr. Zakir Naik. My name is Ziaullah and I am a worker and I got 2 questions, first of all I gotta tell you that I love you cause the way you are speaking about Islam, its terrific, is very nice and my first question is the place where I am working is like half and half is like Halaal food is selling there and Haraam as well like khinzeer, pig these things. If I’m working there about relating over the money which I am receiving what do you think about that? Is that Halaal for me? Is there any sin on me?

 

The second question is because when I start to see your lecturing I worship in my heart that when I see you face to face I would like to give you a hug, can I come to stage and give you a hug? 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Brother asked the question that he works in a place which serves food, part of it is Halaal, part is haraam and the thing to be noted that is it a business which sells food or are you working in a place, an office which serves food for their staff or employees. So is it a office?

 

Questioner: No, no It’s just a shop. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Yes if you are working is a shop which sells haraam food and Halaal food. If the haraam food is in a very small minority, you know may be the gross turnover, the haraam food may be 1% or 2% then there can be possibilities but if quite a large portion is haraam food then you should not work in that shop. Its haraam, You can’t work in an alcohol shop; you can’t work in a shop which sells pork. If you are working in a 5 Star hotel which has got lodging boarding everything and part… the food is a small portion of their income and in that food may be 50% is haraam then it may be fine working in a 5 star hotel which the main income is lodging boarding, part of it is food, in that part may be pork is haraam, alcohol is haraam etc. so in that case it will be permissible. But if you are working in a shop which sells only food and if majority of the food, more than 50% or even quite a large portion, 25% or 20% I mean there is no percentage per se… but if its selling haraam food and you’re involved in selling that then working in that shop becomes haraam brother. 

 

Hope that answers the question. As soon as possible you change your profession, take a job, InshaAllah, Allah will give you, try and find a better job and that will be better for your rizk also and for your Aakhira also. 

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum, m name is Segal I’m in year 6 and my question is how can we start educating ourselves in the Deen so that we may educate others in the Ummah and what is the basic we should know? 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Sister asked a question that how should we educate ourselves so that we educate others, what should we know basically. But natural knowledge is such a thing that it’s a big ocean but the best book for guidance is the Glorious Qur’an. I would ask you to read the translation of the Glorious Qur’an, that’s the best. This is the best book of guidance, it is a proclamation to humanity, it is the most positive book in the world, it is a fountain of mercy and wisdom, it is a warning to the heedless, It is a guide to the erring, it’s an assurance to those in doubt, It’s a solace to the suffering and a hope to those in despair, the best book that anyone can read for guidance, it’s the Glorious Qur’an.

 

Ather Khan: I have a question from a non-Muslim sister on the slip. Says “I’m a non-Muslim girl and I am considering to revert to Islam but would this mean my God in my religion will punish me? 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: MashaAllah there’s non-Muslim sister who is thinking of accepting Islam. May Allah give her Hidaaya and we welcome you to follow Islam, Alhumdulillah. Her main question is that once she accepts Islam will her God punish her. Sister, in all religions including Islam, God is only one. There is only one same God for all the human beings there is no different God for Muslim and Christian and Hindu and Sikh and Jews. There’s one same God and I have given a talk on concept of God in major world religions and all the religions say that God is one, He doesn’t have any images, He is not begotten, He is all powerful so the God is the same so if you accept Islam and all the religions say if you read most of the major religions, their scriptures say that there is a messenger to come whose name shall be Muhammad whether you read the Jewish scriptures or the Christian scriptures, the Hindu scriptures, I don’t know whether you are a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu but whichever religion you belong to, InshaAllah, most probably even in your religious book it will be mentioned God is one, it will be mentioned that there is a messenger to come whose name is Muhammad and he will guide you to the truth, peace be upon him. So even that God is the same God, there’s not different God, if you accept Islam, Islam means submitting your will to God. So InshaAllah that God will be very happy and He will reward you and InshaAllah in your next life He will give you Jannah. 

 

Ather Khan: Yes brother… 

Questioner:  Assalamu Alaikum, Qamran Kurshi, company director. Brother JazakAllah for coming today. Ah.. my question is that, MashaAllah, you have established a model Islamic school one that I wouldn’t visit in an Islamic state but MashaAllah you have established in today’s world. My question is unfortunately tens and millions of Muslim children will to be so fortunate to go to school like yours. Ah… what do you recommend for our children and all over the world the Muslims we cannot have these types of schools and also all your speeches and details of the school on your website. JazakAllah. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: The brother asked a question that every one will not be fortunate in that school, how can people, millions of Muslims throughout the world, what should they do for children, how can they get a similar school and as far as information of our school, yes if you go to our website irf.net, in that website you’ll see a separate section for Islamic International School. You can go there and you can get the information. 

 

As far as similar schools, there are two options; the first option is very easy that people can come see our school whatever co-operation they want, we can give, they can come and start in their city, a similar school. But the success is very difficult. Because everyone who says he wants to start a school, they may not have that same management skill, they may not have that same passion, all these differ and the main is Allah’s help. So if Allah helps you, InshaAllah its possible so one thing is that you can start a similar school which many people have but so far all those people who have started as I told you that close to about 5%, 6% of what I would consider. We also have franchise but our requirement for franchise is very difficult, very strict. We require land, we require all everything. It should be funded by the local people; the thing should be funded by the local people. Our criteria is very strict, if you want any part anywhere else in India, we want minimum 4 acres land if its on the surb of the city 2 acres, if it is in the heart of the city, we require half the construction cost, everything else we’ll do. Various rules and regulations in spite of that we have got hundreds of offers, we first thought we’ll open one school every year but then we  decided that its difficult. So once we started the school we realized to manage was so difficult we have to fly in and out from Bombay to Chennai, we send our teachers for training, we send our councilors everything so we realized that it’s possible but it is difficult. So therefore we said that every 2-3 years we’ll start. We have plans next time to start in Dubai InshaAllah. There have been offers in Dubai where people said that we’ll give you land. There people even in UK who have told us. There was a person in Manchester who told me I can give you 5 acres land; we haven’t taken the offer yet. We scrutinize the person offering and everything and if we feel its feasible. It’s not a commercial venture.

 

Point no. 1 the person donating that land, we say you give it and forget it. Don’t think of getting a return, in the western countries everyone is thinking if I invest 1,000 pounds, how much will I get? See where ever I go, it’s only in the western countries, in USA, Canada and UK where there is tickets. There is nothing the concept of ticket for talk, how can I have a ticket for Islamic talk. So there is no concept of getting tickets. People call me, they say Dr. Zakir Naik how much will you charge to come? I mean they cannot afford me, believe me. If I am to tell my fees, they cannot afford me. MashaAllah, I come here free, maximum you can pay my air ticket, my crew everything has come absolutely, MashaAllah it was all paid by us, fine. Simple accommodation if you can, if not, we manage it, no problem. My time is more important. So this concept is different. There in the eastern part of the world, MashaAllah, it’s different. So what we do, it is not a commercial venture. So anyone interested if he gives he has to forget it he gives something for the land, for the school we control it, if we have a franchise, we have full control. We also tell in India, the person who donated, he donated a land someone donated a land which cost about 16 crore rupees, it will be how much? May be some million pounds worth of land but we told him no guarantee that your child will be admitted. You can give the land, you can start the school but no guarantee, if your child passes he’ll get admission. There has been cases that people have given us, may be a million dollar donation, one child was refused. I am very strict so our conditions are very… absolutely transparent. 

 

So in such conditions where we scrutinize the person whose doing. When we have a franchise we see to that once our name is attached, if IRF’s name is attached, Finish. We see to it that we keep up to our name. I have a policy when we go anywhere else we tell them don’t put our name. We will come but don’t put my name, don’t put my name as organizer. The moment you put a name as organizer that means there surely is going to be problem for us. So when we go and support any other organization for any function, we support a lot, MashaAllah. But the only criteria of ours is, we’ll help you but don’t put our name because we know, we don’t have 100% control. Even 50% control, we don’t agree, 90% we don’t agree. Unless we have 100% control, we don’t agree putting our name as organizers or sub-organizers. The name comes that means… so if someone.. there are offers, MashaAllah, from different parts of the world for us to start such schools and one thing, when the name is attached, InshaAllah, we are doing to start in Dubai, we’ll keep the fees more than the British schools and American schools, InshaAllah. We’ll compete with them, we’ll keep higher fees than them there are people who can afford when Allah has given them. those who can’t afford we’ll give 25% people, we’ll give scholarship and Dubai InshaAllah is our next target where the fees, there is quite high of the British schools and American schools but InshaAllah we have plans to keep fees higher than them and InshaAllah there will be more people flocking to our school with Allah’s help and main thing is the quality. For other people you can start in your own capacity, whatever you have. I know that here MashaAllah the government funds schools also but we don’t normally take funding from the government because there is too much of interference, not a single penny. Here I don’t know if you can take and run the school, the way we are running, no problem or you start on your own. Start on your own, small way whatever you can, whatever ability you have got, start and make a beginning, whatever you can do at least catch the surface InshaAllah and InshaAllah, Allah will help you and you will InshaAllah be successful. Hope that answers the question.

 

Ather Khan: May we have the next question from the sister.

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum. I have got a question from a non-Muslim sister. She’s asking a number of verses in the Qur’an are cancelled out by others. Can these not be viewed as inconsistency or contradictions? For e.g. Ch 4 verse 15 abrogated by ch. 24 verse. 2.

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Sister has asked the question a non-Muslim sister that there are some verses of the Qur’an which are abrogating or contradicting, it’s cancelled so does it mean that… how can there be a contradiction. If you read the Qur’an, there are no two verses in the Qur’an which contradict. I challenge anyone to point out any 2 verses in the Qur’an which contradict. Allah says clearly in the Qur’an in 

 

Surah Nisa ch. no. 4 verse no. 82, Allah says 

 

“Afala yatadabbaroona alqur-ana walaw kana min indi ghayri Allahi lawajadoo feehi ikhtilafan katheeran”

 

“Do they not consider the Qur’an with care, had it been from anyone besides Allah, there would have been many a contradictions”

 

Now in the Muslim Ummah, I am aware there is a concept of abrogation, theory of abrogation known as Mansook and Nask based on the verse of the Qur’an of 

 

Surah Baqarah ch. 2 verse no. 106 and 

 

Surah Nahl ch. no. 16 verse no. 101

 

which says that “Allah (swt) does not cause any of His Aayats, any of his signs to be forgotten, He substitutes it with something better or similar.” 

 

Now based on this verse there are many scholars who have propounded the theory of abrogation, Nask and Mansook. People may say what is Dr. Zakir Naik talking about that no verse can contradict. The Qur’an says the verse will not contradict, it will not contradict. Any scholar says anything, I am not bothered, Allah is the highest, No.1.

 

Now if you read the verse of the Qur’an, you can analyze the verse of the Qur’an in 2 ways. One way is that the Aayats talking in the Qur’an are referring to the early scriptures may be Taurah, may be Injeel so Allah says I do not cause any of the Aayats, the signs of Allah, the previous verses of the previous revelations to be forgotten but substitute it with something better or similar. Something better and similar is the Qur’an. Now if you agree that the aayat mentioned in the verse is aayat of the Qur’an then too I have an answer. It means that Allah (swt) has revealed one verse of the Qur’an what was relevant for that time and after that He revealed another verse but that verse is not contradicting, it is giving more information and the 2 verses given by the sister of 

 

Surah Nisa Ch. 4 verse no. 15 & Surah Noor ch. no. 24 verse no. 2 though she hasn’t mentioned the translation and by Allah’s grace I know the translation of these verses not that I am Hafizul Qur’an, this is all training, its not Hafizul Qur’an, it is practice that I know what questions are going to come to me so we know the verses MashaAllah. It’s very easy, it’s not difficult. You tell the verses and even our children, MashaAllah, do the same, Alhumdulillah.

 

Surah Nisa ch. no. 4 verse no. 15 says that 

“If any one is caught in fornication, if any woman is caught in fornication then keep her in custody, in house arrest like. Seclude her until she dies or Allah ordains something else”

And then 

 

Surah Noor ch. no. 24 verse no. 2 says that 

 

“As for the fornicator, person who commits fornication, give them punishment of hundred lashes”

 

Now people will think is there a contradiction. If the first Qur’anic verse of Surah Nisa Ch. 4 verse 15 says that put the women in house arrest and a full stop then Surah Noor of hundred lashes would contradict. It says that keep them in house until they die or until Allah gives something else. Now for this, Allah has given 2 options, in the Qur’an for a fornicator there is hundred lashes and in the Hadith of Sahih Bukhari for an adulterer the punishment is stoning to death. So this verse of the Qur’an does say that Allah will give some other punishment later on, If that part wasn’t there would have been a contradiction. So there is no contradiction, it says that this punishment is temporary later on Allah will reveal something else. 

 

Similarly there are scholars who have written that there are thousand verses contradicting, some scholars then came to 500 Suyooti I think came down to 22 another scholar came down to 5. I verified those 22 & 5 also I have answered those also Alhumdulillah and one of them is this. What we realize in Mansook and Nask what happens that Allah in some prohibitions he has brought in stages and the best example I gave is of alcohol. The first verse to be reveled regarding alcohol is 

 

Surah Baqarah ch. 2 verse 219 Where Allah says 

 

“In intoxicants there is loss as well as profit, the loss is more than profit” 

 

This verse of the Qur’an does not prohibit alcohol. It only says in intoxicants there is loss and profit, the loss is more than profit. The next verse to be reveled of prohibition was

 

Surah Nisa ch.4 verse 43 which says that 

 

“Do not pray with your mind befogged”

 

When you are intoxicated, do not pray that means it is a higher degree now. Previously it did not say it was haraam, it only give you guidance. 

 

“In intoxicants there is loss and profit, loss is more than profit.” 

 

Next verse says “do not pray with your mind befogged” 

 

When you are intoxicated, you can’t pray. Now since a Muslim has to pray 5 times a day indirectly he can’t have intoxicants the full day. In night option is there not its saying you should have. The final prohibition came in 

 

Surah Maidah ch. 5 verse no. 90 which says 

 

“Ya Ayyuhal lazeena Amanoo”

“O you have believe” 

 

“Inna Mal Khamru Wal Maysiru”

“Most certainly intoxicants and gambling”

 

“Wal-ansabu Wal-azlamu”

“Dedications of stones, divination of arrows”   

 

“Rijsun Min Amalish Shaytan”

“These are satan’s handiwork” 

 

“Fajtaniboohu la’allakum Tuflihoon” 

“Abstain from the handiwork that you may prosper”

 

Here the final prohibition came, now when this verse was reveled barrels of alcohol, intoxicants thrown on the streets of Madinah never to be filled again then the final Haraam came. 

 

Now if you analyze, many people say that the last verse of Surah Maidah ch. 5 verse no. 90 has overruled Surah Baqarah ch. 2 verse 219, its contradicting. Its not contradicting, it is giving more information. The first verse only told you there is loss and profit, loss is more even today the verse is applicable that verse is even correct today even in intoxicants today there is loss and profit. We as medical doctors know it has profit but the loss is more than profit. The next verse says don’t pray when you are intoxicated, even today that verse is applicable today you cannot pray when you are intoxicated but the last final prohibition does it contradict, it encompasses. 

 

For example I say that I live in UK, fine then next day I say I live in London third day I say I live in Harrow. The moment I say Harrow, London and UK is understood but my first answer I live in UK was a general answer then more specific, I live in London, when I say I live in Harrow, it is more specific, it’s not contradicting my first answer. So the last prohibition that’s the alcohol is prohibited is not contradicting that in intoxicants there is loss and profit. It is yet there It’s is not contradicting Surah Nisa ch. 4 verse 43 that you cannot pray when your mind is befogged, when you are intoxicated. 

 

So this means there is more information the last verse of the Qur’an, if you follow that, the earlier 2 is automatically followed, it’s understood. So therefore according to me and according to Allah (swt) there is not a single contradiction in the Qur’an. If there were any contradiction, this book cannot be the word of Allah (swt). So I disagree with anyone, let him be the greatest scholar in the world and I have challenged anyone whether Muslim or non-Muslim to point out a single contradiction in the Qur’an. They will never do it and never will be able to do it.

 

Ather Khan: Yes brother.. 

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum. My name is Mehdi Ahmadi I am in research and history, political science and I am currently studying in computer science. My question is pertaining to Jadoo or magic or by whatever name you’d like to address it. I won’t go into specifics but certain family member recently found a peace of paper in which was supposedly some elements of negativity which they felt was of this nature and they themselves indulged in similar practices to obtain a remedy for it believing in that this is wrong. I was wondering if you could shed some light on this matter. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Brother asked a question that what we have to say about black magic and what is the remedy. As far as black magic is concerned, there is something like black magic the Qur’an mentions that in Surah Falaq, it’s mentioned in Surah Baqarah, there is black magic, it does exist but we should not involve in black magic, we should not do it, we should have faith in Allah (swt) and as far as the remedy is concerned the last two Surahs, the Mu’adathain, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas were reveled for this. These 2 Surahs are the remedy for black magic. 

Now see one thing is there that normally whenever people think that something has possessed first thing is that Allah says ask the person who has knowledge 

 

Surah Nahl Ch. 16 verse 43 

 

Surah Ambiya ch. 21 verse no. 7 

Go to a doctor, if the doctor doesn’t tell you the treatment or cannot treat the disease, go to a Physycatrist most of the people who claim to have black magic they can be cured by doctors and Physycatrist. There can be possibilities that actually a Jin may have come and black magic may have taken place in that case you can follow the guidance of Qur’an and Sunnah. You can go to a person who is an expert in this field but I am sorry to say most of the people who are experts in this field, who claim, more than 99% are fake, more than 99% according to me haan. It is my analysis more than 99% who claim that they can cure black magic, they are frauds. The moment you realize he is asking from you money that means he is trying to make a fast bug do this, do that, give me so much money 1000 pounds, 2000 pounds, he is trying to make a fast buck out of it. 

 

So there are people who are experts in this fields, I know a couple of them in Saudi Arabia, MashaAllah, they are very knowledgeable. I don’t know of anyone else otherwise. So if he is knowledgeable we should realize that if he gives a treatment from Qur’an and Sunnah, it is right. if you go to a specialist who has specialized in this field, hope that answers the question.

 

Ather Khan: May we have the next question from the brothers over here.

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum Dr. Zakir. My name is Shahid, I am a salesman. Like most people I love you as well. Ah.. just like to ask you a question could you define what Eemaan and Aqida is cause ultimately we’d like to die with this.. in this state and also how this can be attained is it only through Da’wah and if so through which method of Da’wah cause there are so many different efforts?

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Brother asked the question what is the meaning if Eemaan, what is the meaning of Aqida and if Da’wah then which method of Da’wah. Eemaan means belief you can give a lecture on Eemaan for 5 hours or 10 hours. So what I don’t know do you want me to give a lecture on that, I don’t know. What do you mean Aqida means so you have Aqida in Allah (swt), everything. So you can give a lecture on Eemaan, you can give a lecture on Aqida…

 

Questioner: Now the reason is because some people seem to say that Prophet (saws) was more than what he was.

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: So ask the question na… you are asking what is Aqida… Aqida you can give for 10 hours without talking about Muhammad (saws) also. Some people think that Muhammad (saws) is?

 

Questioner: More than a man or…

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Is more than a man? Yes he is more than a man. He is the best human being that we have in the world. He is more than a common man but.. but I know what your question is but he is not Allah (swt). He is a human being, he is far superior than any of us human beings but he is Bashar, he is Bashar, the Qur’an says, he is like a human being, he requires to eat, the required to sleep and he is dead, he was buried in Madinah but he was one of the best exemplary Muslims as Allah says in the Qur’an in 

 

Surah Qalam ch. no. 68 verse no. 4 that 

 

“Verily thou are standeth on the highest standard of character” 

 

Qur’an says in Surah Ahzaab ch. 33 verse no. 21 

 

“Verily in the Prophet you shall find the most beautiful pattern of conduct”

 

So as a human being, he is the best exemplary Muslim, Alhumdulillah but he was a Prophet of God when we worship we have to worship Allah (swt) directly we don’t have to go through anyone, we have to ask Him directly and no one else. 

 

As far as how to do Da’wah, do Da’wah according to the Qur’an and Sunnah as per the guidelines laid down by the Qur’an and Sunnah and if you go to our website irf.net, you’ll find a lot of information on that. Hope that answers the question. 

 

Questioner: JazakAllah. 

 

Ather Khan: I have a question from another non-Muslim brother. His name is Yoginder Singh Maine he seems to be a sikh and asks that can you please tell me the similarities between Sikhism and Islam?

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: I have a Sikh brother, has asked a very important question that what are the similarities between Sikhism and Islam and there are a lot. Time will not permit me to expand on all, I’ll just mention in brief a few things that Sikhism, it’s a religion of 10 Gurus for those who don’t know and it was founded by Guru Nanak Sahab in the late 15^th Century in the land of Punjab, n the land of 5 rivers and Guru Nanak, he was very much influenced even by the Muslims, he was born in a Shatriya family, in a warrior class Hindu family who was influenced by the Muslims, many Muslims. 

 

And the 5 ‘K’s that the Sikh always maintain is the Kesh that’s the uncut hair, 

 

it’s the Kanga, it’s the comb to keep the hair clean. 

It is the Kada that’s the bracelet 

 

The fourth is the Kacha, the long under draws and 

 

the fifth, it is the Kirpaan, it is the dragger. 

 

This is the identity in short. This was a brief about a Sikh so moment MashaAllah you see a person wearing a turban he’s identified. Therefore I always appreciate that the people who keep the label without any fear are the Sikhs. Therefore if you hear my talk on ‘If the label shows your intent’ I tell the the Muslims that MashaAllah the Sikh, he is proud to be a Sikh and even fought with the Canadian government. In the Army, they said you shave off your head, he said no I will not and he fought the case and they won. When I went to Canada the first time in 1996, it came as headlines that a Sikh fights a case with the Canadian Army and he wins the case. But we Muslims, many of us someone tells something, we shave off the beard, why? 

 

Now coming to the similarities between Sikhism and Islam the sacred book of the Sikhs is the Guru Granth or known as Adi Granth and if you read the first chapter of this Adi Granth first Vol. first Ch. first verse is called as Japuji and it says that All Mighty God, He’s called a the true, He is the true, not created, the fearless, He is not begotten and He is free from fear and want. If you analyze He is one, He is not begotten, He is the Creator it is similar to our 

 

Surah Ikhlas ch. no. 112 verse no. 1 to 4 which says 

 

“Qul Huwallaahu Ahad”, 

“Say: He is Allah, One and Only”

 

“Allahus Samad” 

“Allah, the Absolute and Eternal”

 

“Lam Yalid Wa Lam Yulad” 

“He begetteth not, nor is He begotten”

 

“Walam Yakullahu Kufuan 'Ahad” 

“There is nothing like Him”

 

And in Sikhism, Sikhism does not believe in Avtarvada meaning that God has got Avtar, it’s a monotheistic religion. God in the unmanifest form is called as Ek Omkara and manifest form as Omkara and there are various attributes of All Mighty God given in the Guru Granth amongst them is, He is called as Kartar i.e. the Creator same in Arabic as Khaliq, He is called as Parvardigar, the Cherisher same as us Rabb. He is called as Lord, as Rabb. He is also called as Kareem, the Benevolent. He is called as Raheem, Beneficient. He is called as Wahe Guru, one God. 

 

So if we analyze there are many similarities between the concept of God in Sihkism therefore Sikhism doesn’t believe in idol worship, doesn’t believe in Avtarvada, it’s a monotheistic religion. And if we analyze Guru Nanak was very much influenced even by Sant Kabir and you find in the Granth many couplets also of Sant Kabir one of them is 

 

"Dukh mein sumirana sabh karein
Sukh mein karein na koya
Jo sukh mein sumirana karein
 To dukh kaye hoye?"

 

Which means 

 

“In times of trouble, everyone remembers God, in times of happiness no one remembers God, if you remember God in times of happiness, why should trouble touch you?”

 

Same as Allah says in Surah Room ch no. 30 verse   no. 33 that 

 

"When some trouble toucheth man, He cries out Allah (swt), But once when the trouble goes away he associates partners with Allah (swt)”

 

So if you realize that Sikhism is also a religion of one God, it’s a monotheistic religion, does not believe in idol worship though scholars say its an amalgamation of Hinduism and Islam and we realize that in the concept of God, it is quite similar to Islam and for more details you can refer to my video cassette concept of God in major world religions where I have spoken more details on it you can refer to my video cassette Concept of God in major world religions where I have spoken more details on that. Hope that answers the question.

 

Ather Khan: InshaAllah we’ll just have the last 2 questions ah.. due to lack of time, we can’t continue. May we have the next question from the brother over here?

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum. My name is Fahad, I work as a computer programmer…. my question is related to Islamic banking. What is meant when certain Islamic bank says that they’re gonna offer a loan and X% APR, is that not interest, is that not interest? 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Brother asked a question that, he wants to know about Islamic banking, Islamic Bank offers loan and they add a X%, they call it service charge, whatever it is, is it not interest? See basically interest is haraam in Islam there are no less than 8 different places in Allah says interest is Haraam. Allah clearly says in 

 

Surah Baqarah ch. no. 2 verse no. 278 to 279 that 

 

“If you give up not your demands for interest take a notice of a war from Allah and His Rasool” 

 

So interest is Haraam. Now as far as Islamic Banking is concerned as you mentioned many Islamic Banks which give loan, point to be noted that most of the Islamic banks that are there, I don’t know of any Islamic bank which is 100% Islamic. I don’t know, may be, I don’t know. 

 

In fact one of my interest is Islamic Banking but there are many which are MashaAllah quite a lot Islamic. There are many which are frauds also, fine, only namesake Islamic. What we have to note that we as layman if we can check up, check up, if you analyze there is Islamic system of Musharika, profit and loss sharing which is the best, safest. Musharika means you become a partner in it. Now other aspects are there, Mudariba is there i.e. cost plus. In cost plus many a times people falter and many a times its nothing but catching the nose long cut, you know. Aisa nose pakadne ka. You say it is nothing but trying to make a gimmick so we have to analyze and many Fatwas are given on this is allowed, that is allowed which many, which I don’t agree with also. 

 

So when an Islamic bank comes we have to scrutinize, who is on the Shariah board, just by name please don’t go that’s not important what they do etc. so many of the Islamic banks, I wouldn’t call then Islamic, there may be a very small percentage Islamic. Now in the Islamic bank most of them do Mudariba, in Mudariba there is a problem, cost plus which comes. Sometimes it’s possible, Ijara is there i.e. higher purchaces is there which is Islamic; Musharika is safe, safe means if they are following Islamic principals haan… In other parts we have to check up and what we analyze that most of the banks, they falter and because they compete with the normal conventional bank, they keep the same interest, only name is different. Naam ka farak hai, label is different but it’s the same. So we have to be` careful while taking loan but as a layman. If suppose you think it is Islamic and you take it and if they are doing something wrong out of ignorance you have gone so the blame will come on them, not on you. if you know they are haraam and then you go then the blame will come on you. So it is the owners of the people running Islamic banks to check up whether they are following… What happens there are many fatwas in this and Fatwa shopping is very easy. You know what Fatwa you want, you’ll get. So they go and whether in Egypt or Pakistan or India so they take Fatwa which is convenient for them and then they sanction it. So you have to be careful while Islamic banking is there, not that its not possible… possible, very difficult. There are some banks I know which are MashaAllah good yet not 100% and they know its not 100% because unless you don’t  have a central system of Islamic, you can’t be 100%. So the thing that there are many Islamic banks coming up, so we have to check up whether it is Islamic or not If it is there but there is a system in which you can do. So you have to check up the functioning how they do and then you have to decide whether right or wrong. Hope that answers the question.

 

Questioner: JazakAllah..

 

Ather Khan: InshaAllah we’ll have the last question from the sister. 

 

Questioner: Assalamu Alaikum Brother. My question and there is a small comment after it. Should British Muslims develop a body for speaking to the media on Muslim issues? and I asked this question because currently in this environment the media talking about the basic believes in our Deen and they call upon different people who don’t represent any of our views about why we are Muslims, they are talking because we are going to the Mosques and we are teaching our children they think this is an extremist and when they ask the brothers…. the Muslim brothers and sisters who attend on TV these Muslim brothers say that we are moderate Muslims. I am not a moderate Muslim, I am neither an extremist, I am a Muslim and I would like that view that with one voice by the Muslim community not a fragmented voice that’s being confrontment to the norms of the society. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Sister asked a question that should the Muslims have a common body to represent the Muslims of British. Yes they should have a common body for British Muslims, for American Muslims, for Indian Muslims, all the countries and as well as one international Muslim body also, one international which we don’t have. So we should have a voice of our own. Better have one good united force and I believe that you already have in Britain known as MCB, Muslim Council of Britain and I think they are doing a good job. Not in the media? 

 

Questioner: Sorry… I am aware of the Muslim Council of Britain but as you know media is manipulation. They dont talk at the Muslim council of Britain, they individually talk at different Muslims to represent Muslims. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: The sister said that the Muslim council of Britain is there but the media doesn’t talk. So you create your own media.

 

Questioner: That’s what I am saying. 

 

Dr. Zakir Naik: Media will run after you. You know for me in Bombay the BBC ask me to give comments, the CNN; I don’t give for my own reasons. The BBC, the CNN, the NDTV see when someone throws stones on you raise yourself so high the stone should not reach you. They want what Dr. Zakir Naik has to comment but I stay away from it for my own reasons but you should come on the media; I stay away because already Alhumdulillah my programmes are coming in so many satellite channels, MashaAllah. Every day 1 hour, 2 hours, twice a day, thrice a day now I am afraid that when these people take my interview of 5 minutes they may make it short and may change my view that’s the reason I stay away and what I want to say, we have got so many channels showing our programmes, MashaAllah, no problem. So what we realize that we should have our own media not only a body to represent media, we should have our own media, own media and that media should be powerful. So that’s the reason MashaAllah we have launched a satellite channel, if you see this, Peace TV about 7 months back, in the month of January 2006 on 21^st of January we launched our own satellite channel by the name of Peace TV.

 

Peace TV at present MashaAllah it is reaching more than a hundred and twenty five countries in the world, it is covering all the countries in Asia, in Middle East as well as Africa and parts of Australia. The Beam is seen in Europe but it is very weak, you require a big dish, InshaAllah we have plans to come on B Sky B also. InshaAllah within the next few months, InshaAllah we’ll come on B Sky B, it will be a free to air channel. It is a… it’s a first of its kind in the way it’s a English channel which is an international channel. It is not a localized channel talking only about one country. We have speakers MashaAllah from America, from Canada, from UK, from Malaysia, from Saudi, from India, from Pakistan, MashaAllah. Its not a local channel, its an international channel talking about comparative religion, we have programmes of children, we have programmes for family MashaAllah. Interviews, debates, TV Talks and here it is that the channel should be on Qur’an and Sunnah.

 

When I started the channel, the first thing I said I pray to Allah (swt), it was a dream and finally we launched it MashaAllah and I said that please don’t let me do anything Haraam. If I am forced to do something haraam, I better shut down the channel than run it in a haraam way. Many people start a channel, they are good but then they compromise, you know, compromise. First there is no ladies then ladies come with Naqab then without Naqab then without Hijaab then low neck and everything. So we want channels which are… why should we, see we should not run after money, no add will not come. We care a hang for adds… See you should not run after money, money should run after you. You give quality, you should have faith in Allah. Do you want Allah’s help or do you want the money and the pounds and the dollars? What do you want? See Allah is sufficient. Problem is that we have more faith in other things than in Allah (swt). Our channel MashaAllah, to the core, no music, we have sound effects, MashaAllah, Halal sound effects, we have duff, we have natural sound effects and if you see it, it has a great impact MashaAllah. We have graphics but Halaal… We have our own committee and we produce high quality, You see these cameras, we have got 6 cameras from Bombay, normally in Bombay when we shoot with 9 cameras with 50 staff, here we have got only 12 staff, 10 actually, of the camera crew. We have limitation, we have the best of people, best of equipment Alhumdulillah. Now this is the digital Beta Cam, we have got High Definition, High Definition hasn’t started yet. There is no channel in the world which is shooting on High Definition now so we don’t compete with Muslims channels, we compete with international non-Muslim channels and the best so far in religious channels is the God TV, they are on 15 satellites, they are reaching more than 225 countries, 275 million people and we are programming in such a way that it is a spiritual edutainment channel. InshaAllah the next plan is to have a separate channel in different languages English and Urdu and then have even News Channel, InshaAllah but it will be international news, not local news. Not only of Bombay, not only of London international news so that we can voice. How many international media do we have? Do we have any international newspaper of our own? Do we have an international news magazine like the Time magazine, News week, where do we have? We have some magazines taken out by Muslims which only Muslims read either in Urdu or in Arabic or in English only read by Muslims. What we want is that non-Muslims should watch it. So we can at least say that Alhumdulillah, our channel MashaAllah even the programmes that we have that 25% at least MashaAllah of the programmes that I give whether in India or in other parts, MashaAllah. Here I feel more non-Muslims should come. Why, I don’t know so many. Who is to blame? that the publicity should be towards, towards the non-Muslims, MashaAllah. 

 

So even the channel that we have sister we should have our own media, own news papers, own magazines own satellite channels which convey the true picture of Islam so that we can present our view to the world and the Haqq of Islam. Hope that answers the question. 

 

Wa Aakhiru Da’waana Anil Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil Alameen!

 

Ather Khan: I invite brother Yusuf Chambers to give a vote of thanks.

 

Yusuf Chambers: JazakAllah Khair for Dr. Zakir Naik coming tonight and all of you coming tonight, contributing tonight. Remember the educating the educators, it doesn’t stop after tonight’s event. Dr. Zakir Naik will be encraden with us but he never finishes answering the questions, he’s always got the answers, MashaAllah, Alhumdulillah. And I think you should make the biggest Takbeer and all go home. TAKBEER!

 

Audience: ALLAHU AKBAR!

 

Yusuf Chambers: TAKBEER!

 

Audience: ALLAHU AKBAR!

 

Yusuf Chambers: And a third one… TAKBEER!

 

Audience: ALLAHU AKBAR!