Today I gave my first 'proper' sermon, which was on Tolerance and Critical Thinking, as you can tell from the title :P I've included it below, just in case anybody was interested in reading it: Part I:
For many of us, be we new or old to the university-experience, coming to such a place of learning also means coming to a place where there are thousands of individuals, with a whole variety of beliefs, attitudes, and identities. As such, the two topics I’d like to briefly talk about the importance of Tolerance and Learning in Islam.
What is “Tolerance”? In the context I wish to speak about, tolerance means “The ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with.” As I’ve said, university is a place full of individuals with different beliefs, attitudes, and identities. Some people believe in either a god, many gods, or no god at all. Even amongst ourselves here today, some of us might identify as sunni, others shi’a, others sufi, and so on. Everybody’s different. Whether it’s your beliefs, cultural and ethnic background, gender, sexuality, profession, or anything else – we’re all different in some way (just as we all have things in common, too, but more about that later). And that’s okay. These differences are an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and, more importantly, to better ourselves.
Many of us may have strong opinions about various aspects and issues of and in our lives, and when we encounter others who have different opinions on those same things, whether it’s only a slight difference or the complete opposite, there is the risk of being or becoming intolerant. Of course, as Muslims, we make the choice to follow the way of Life prescribed for us in the Qur’an, and for many of us, to implement that way of Life by following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as described in the Ahadith, regardless of our opinions. Even then, though, how we interpret the Message in the Qur’an, as delivered to us via the Prophet [Muhammad] (SAW), still results in differences in opinions and schools of thought. For example, some Muslims may believe it is compulsory for men to grow and maintain a beard or for women to cover their hair, whilst others do not.
However, in addition to differences of opinions amongst Muslims, there are, of course, differences of opinions between Muslims and non-Muslim. Given that we are attending a non-Islamic university in a non-Islamic society, we are almost certain to encounter these differing opinions and ways of Life. Again, that’s okay. Again, these differences are an opportunity to learn more about our Deen, or “Way of Life”[/religion], and better ourselves. Why? Because these differences should make us think “Why?” This is something I’d like to talk more about in the second khutbah, insha Allah.
Going back to the context of us being in an environment where there are so many different, and perhaps conflicting, viewpoints, please remember to be tolerant. Please remember that everybody is entitled to their beliefs. And please remember that nothing is to be forced upon others, even any notion of “Islamic” or “Shari’ah” law, especially when we live in a society that is not founded upon the principles of Islam. I would like to refer you to the following four verses of the Qur’an:
“The duty of the messenger is only to convey [the Message of Islaam]. Allah knoweth what ye proclaim and what ye hide.” (5:99 – Surah Al-Ma’ida “The Table”).
"If then they turn away, We have not sent thee as a guard over them. Thy duty is but to convey (the Message).” (42:43 – Surah Ash-Shura “Council”).
“There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error.” (2:256 – Surah Al-Baqarah “The Cow”)
"Therefore, to you your religion; and to me my religion!” (109:6 – Surah Al-Kafiroon “The Disbelievers”)
To reiterate: our duty, as Muslims, is to convey the Message of Islam, be it by our words or our actions – we deliver the Message of Islam and invite others to it, but no more. Everybody is entitled to their beliefs, and it is not upon us to force others to agree with ourselves, be they Muslim or not. The choice for somebody to identify as a Muslim and take the Shahadah [“Declaration of Faith”] is between that individual and Allah alone.
Part II:
The second topic I’d like to talk about, is the importance of learning and critical thinking in Islam.
What do I mean by “Learning” and “Critical Thinking”? For learning, it can be defined as “the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught.”, and for critical thinking, it can be defined as “the rational, objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.”
So why are these important in Islam? Even before we consider these concepts with reference to Islam, their importance can be established quite readily – without learning, how do we gain any knowledge, be it to do with Islam or otherwise? And without critical thinking, how do we know that knowledge we have acquired, is authentic? People are fallible, we can make mistakes, we can be wrong. As such, anything produced by us, our speech, our actions, our words, may carry those mistakes forward, and so it is important to check the information we receive is correct, especially our own arguments.
Think of it like buying a box of eggs from the shop – say if we see a box of eggs in the shop, pick it up, buy it, and take it home, only to discover two of the eggs were already cracked, and so the box we picked up was a “bad box” of eggs. Instead, what would be better is if as soon as we acquire the box of eggs in the shop, we inspect the box – we check the top, we check the bottom, and we actually open it up and check the eggs themselves to ensure none of them are broken. If they are, we put back this bad box and repeat the process until we find a box with no broken eggs, and we take that “good box”. In the same way with information we receive, whether it’s something somebody just told you, something you read or saw from the news, or probably something posted on Facebook – check that information yourself: is the source reliable, are they unbiased, where did they get the information themselves from, what assumptions are they making, and so on.
So, going back to the relevance of all this to Islam, I’d like to remind ourselves of the following verse from the Qur’an:
“…and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (20:114 – Surah Ta-Ha);
as well as the following hadith:
"Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make a path to Paradise easy for him." (Al-Bukhaari).
Knowledge is something we should actively pursue, and that is certainly not confined to knowledge of the Qur’an, the Ahadith, and Islam itself, but knowledge of Allah’s Creation - arts, maths, philosophy, sciences, and so on! The more we learn, the more we can understand, insha Allah, about our Deen, our Dunya [“this worldly life”], and ourselves. I said earlier that meeting others with different opinions and viewpoints is an opportunity to learn and better ourselves. Why? Because when we come across such differences, we should be asking “Why are my beliefs different to another person’s beliefs?”, “Why do I choose to believe what I do, and why do they choose to believe what they do?”, “Why do I think I’m right, and why do they think they’re right?”. As I said, we need to think critically and inspect the not just the opinions and beliefs of others, but especially, and primarily, ourselves.
Even when it comes to the Qur’an and Islam – not only is it okay to ask questions about them, but it’s encouraged. How else can we learn and understand it better? After all, if we sincerely believe the Qur’an to be the Word of God, then there is no harm to come from critically analysing it, instead, only a better understanding, insha Allah. Of course, there may be things we don’t know and understand, not just about Islam, but other things, too, and it is so important to acknowledge and admit not knowing.
“And do not pursue that of which you have no strong reason to believe; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of feeling in the heart will be enquired (on the Day of Judgment).” (17:36 – Surah Al-Isra “The Journey at Night”)
We shouldn’t speculate about that which we don’t know. Pursuing and spreading false information can not only lead to us making mistakes and committing sins, but also lead to others making mistakes and committing sins as a result of our errors, and so those mistakes and sins will be on our hands, too, subhan Allah.
Learn. If we have the opportunity to learn from the differences of others in a halal manner, then we should do so (though don’t just focus on the differences, of course; realise and remember the things we have in common with others, too!). Learn as much as possible, at every moment possible. We’re at university, and Muslims have a history associated with universities – the first university was established back in the 9th century by Fatima Al-Fihri, a Muslim woman, with the intent to further our learning, as we should. Follow a path of genuine and sincere pursuit of knowledge, and Allah will make it easy for us to enter Paradise, insha Allah ameen.
Everything I have said is a reminder for us all, especially for myself. For what I have said right, alhamdu Lillah, and for anything that I have said wrong, subhan Allah, please correct me and ask Allah to forgive me for my mistakes, if Allah wills it.