In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Beneficent. Peace and Blessings be upon our Master, The Most Noble Prophet Muhammad
It is but a great honour for me to be among you all today, a great honour that you’re attending this gathering and I would like to thank you all for it. I would like to thank all those who took part in arranging this gathering to give me the chance to present my first lectures in
My memory takes me back to the first time I came to this country when I was 20 years old, still knowing nothing of the world. I never imagined at that time that the day will come when I’ll be back here to study for my PhD or to give this lecture now. Yet these are but some of the blessings the All-Mighty.
This gathering reminds of a particular Hadith of the prophet (PBUH) in which he says, “Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, filling that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven. He (the Prophet, Peace and blessing be upon him) said: Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing
about them: From where have you come? And they say: We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (saying, Subhan Allah), exalting you (saying, Allahu-akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (saying, La-ilaha illa-llah), praising You (saying, Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favors] of You. He says: And what do they ask of Me? They say: They ask of You Your
I would like to congratulate you all for that heavenly blessing that you’ll all get for attending this gathering, Allah has forgiven you all. He Has forgiven us just because we attended this gathering. You might ask; did Allah forgive our deeds for this year or the previous year or the following one? Frankly, I don’t know and it was never mentioned, yet I can tell you that each of you will be forgiven as much as his/her intentions and purpose from attending this gathering.
I have here a few points that we need to contemplate and reflect on. These points might seemingly appear to be a bit unconnected, yet in fact they all convey the very same essence.
These days, while we are almost 3 weeks away from Ramadan, I would like to remind you about a particular Hadith that the prophet (PBUH) used to say during Shaaban. The prophet (PBUH) used to say this Hadith a lot, “O Allah, Bless this month of Shaaban and let us live long enough to witness Ramadan”. Never before has the prophet (PBUH) at any instant asked to live longer, for any reason whatsoever. He never asked Allah to let him live longer, for instance, to see his grand children grow up or to see the Muslims victorious. This was the only time he asked Allah to extend his life. It was like he was asking Allah, who has let him live till Shaaban, to extend his life just a bit longer till Ramadan ends. O prophet of Allah! Are you so anxious for the Thawab of Ramadan? So anxious when you’ve been already forgiven? If that was the prophet, then what about us all?
What about the Thawab of Ramadan? à Fasting Ramadan
Forgiving all the bad deeds: Narrated by Abu Huraira, “The Prophet said, Whoever established prayers on the night of al-Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”
Salvation from Hellfire: Every night of Ramadan Allah shall save some of his servants from Hellfire. Imagine someone who was bound for Hell yet Allah has chosen to save him in one of the nights of Ramadan. Once you’ve been set free from Hell you will never be captivated or thrown into it again. Allah is generous, He would never go back on such an act of generosity. We all know that a generous Arab would never take a slave into captivity once he has set him free. So imagine Allah, who is the most Generous and the most Bountiful of all.
You might say that you will sin after Ramadan. Of course, you will sin but with the amount of good deeds you have, you will overcome your bad deeds. He will give you the Thawab of a thousand months of worship in just one night. One thousand nights are almost 84 years, which is a whole lifetime. Allah says, “the night of al-Qadr is better [than the worship] of a thousand nights”. So if you witness that particular night, it will be better than worshipping Allah for 84 nights. Can you imagine the immensity of your Thawab if you witnessed that night? As if for 84 years you’ve been praying, supplicating, reading Qur’an, giving Sadaqa, being dutiful to your parents, being beneficial to your society… all of this for 84 years, non-stop. Yet, we might all wonder as to why would Allah give all that amount of Thawab in just one night! Because He is Generous, He loves his servants, He’s Merciful and he loves to satisfy His servants. This is Allah.
Why did the prophet say in his Hadith, “O Allah Bless the month of Shaaban..”? Because if Allah Blesses Shaaban for you, you will find yourself propelled to perform supplication, read the Qur’an and pray during Shaaban and hence you will proceed into Ramadan till the night of al-Qadr, when Allah will choose you and set you free from Hellfire. That’s why Shaaban is so important for those who seek the night of al-Qadr. In Ramadan, most Muslims would usually be seeking to be close to Allah, yet those who start as early as Shaaban are not so many, that’s why they deserve a totally different treatment.
You will ask me now; so what do you want us to do? What if we did something in Shaaban that would make us welcome Ramadan while Allah is Satisfied and Happy with us? What if Allah chose us to be amongst those whom He will save from Hellfire at the night of al-Qadr, even before Ramadan starts? But how? you will ask me.
Repentance:
Why don’t we repent of all our sins starting now and start a totally clean slate? Each one of you has his own sins that were concealed by Allah, yet we persisted with them. Allah has given us the month of Ramadan for forgiveness, yet we still persisted in sinning. We all have sins that have left our souls so weary and heavy, sins that have angered Allah from us, so why don’t we all leave this hall now, and before Ramadan comes, with all our sins forgiven!!
Do you remember your sins? Do you remember those prayers you’ve left out? Do you remember how disobedient you were to your parents? All these sins have been piled up over this past year, in your balance of bad deeds. Sometimes small sins can pile up more than big ones. Do you remember this major sin? Do you remember that immense sin? Do you remember Allah’s blessings? Do you remember how negligent you were and unobserving? For years He has been Generous with you, protecting you and keeping you safe.
If you seek His closeness after all that, would He accept you? Let us all see how Allah would accept the sinful back into his forgiveness:
Allah says what can be translated as, “Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (TMQ, Az-Zumar: 53) (2). The prophet (PBUH) has never been happy with any verse like he was with this one.
Allah says what can be translated as, “…For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” (TMQ, Al-Baqara: 222).
But what does Allah Wish for us? Allah says what can be translated as, “Allah doth wish to forgive you..” (TMQ, An-Nisaa: 4).
Listen to this tender verse about repentance, “Know they not that Allah doth accept repentance from His votaries..” (TMQ, At-Tawbah: 104).
Let’s hear the prophet’s Hadith about repentance:
The Prophet said, “Ask the forgiveness of Allah and repent from your sins, I ask his forgiveness but 100 times a day”.
The companions of the prophet said that they used to count the times the prophet was asking Allah’s forgiveness in every gathering, till they would reach over 70 times on each occasion.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?” (3).
The Prophet said, “Non of you shall make Wudu (ablution) and perfect it, then go to pray two Raqa’as, then ask the forgiveness of Allah, except that Allah has forgiven him”.
The Prophet said, “Allah has created a door to the West as wide as a seventy-year walk. This door was created the very same day, the heavens and earth were created.” The prophet was asked, ‘and what is this door O prophet of Allah?’. He replied, “This is the door of repentance, it shall never be closed till the sun rises from its direction”. See how wide the door is? What are you all waiting for?
The prophet said, “Allah extends his hand during the night so that the day sinner would ask His forgiveness and He extends his hand during the day so that the night sinner would ask His forgiveness”. It’s like Allah is saying to us, if you come to me at night I shall accept you and if you come to me in the daytime I shall accept you too. Allah says in Hadith Qudsi, “.. if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed..”
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) say: Allah the Almighty said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.”(4)
Allah says in Hadith Qudsi, “I appreciate even the slightest effort, I forgive even the biggest sin, my mercy precedes my wrath and I’m merciful to my servant than a mother is to her newly born child”.
The prophet said, “When Satan committed his sin he vowed to tempt us as long as our souls are in our bodies. So Allah the All-Mighty said to him, ‘I shall forgive them as long as they ask my forgiveness’”. After all that I’ve told you now, why aren’t we repenting?
Allah inspired Dawud (David), “Had those who are far from me known how much I value their closeness and their repentance they would but melt from their affections towards me. This is how I feel about those who are far from me, so how would you imagine I would feel about those who are close to me.”
The prophet said, “Allah would be happy with the repentance of his servant the same way a traveler in the middle of the desert who would loose his camel with his food and water. Then, he would go so hungry and desperate, that he would dig his own grave waiting for his death, only to find his camel at the very last moment. At that instant he becomes so happy that when he starts thanking Allah, his tongue slips and he would say, ‘Allah you are my slave and I am your lord’ only because he was so spellbound by happiness. Allah is even more happy with the repentance of his servant than that traveler at that moment of great happiness.”
Do you know the reason for all this? I will give you an example; imagine a mother who has a very ill-mannered son who always treats her badly. She gets so angry with him that she throws him out of the house. So he takes heedlessly to the streets till nighttime until he misses his home and his mother. He then decides to return home and, for fear that his mother might never forgive him, he sits at her doorstep. Imagine if his mother were to open the door and find him sitting out there, what would she do? She would take him into her arms and forgive him, she definitely will.
Do you know why Allah is happy with your repentance? Who would be more happy with your repentance, you or Allah? It is Allah, because Allah is Generous, and he who is generous would be happier giving than taking.
If I ask you about the happiest day of you life, you might say it is the day you got married, the day you passed your exams, the day you started your first job or the day you saw your first child. Believe me the best day of your life would be the day Allah forgave you.
There’s a story of a Sahaby named Kaab Bin Malek. He committed an immense sin and Allah was angry with him for 50 days. After these 50 days Surat At-Tawba came down revealing that Allah has forgiven him. He said that multitudes of people came to congratulate him, till the prophet (PBUH) came to him. Thee smiled at him and his face shone like a full moon and said, “I’m bringing you glad tidings that this day is the best day you’ve ever witnessed since you were born. Allah has forgiven you”.
Why don’t we all repent now, just 3 weeks before Ramadan?
Repentance has three conditions:
Feeling remorse. Even after all these years of persistence.
Intention to cease committing the sin. Right now.
Vowing never to do it again.
All these three should come from the heart. Right now… one of you, sitting now with us, might be satisfying all three of these conditions. He or she will be walking out of this hall a newly born person.
Let’s take a look at the state of Muslims worldwide. Needless to say that the reputation of Islam all over the world has reached the extent that the word “Muslim” for many people would spell out; “terrorism” and sometimes “backwardness”. Many of them avoid us out of fear:
A hundred years ago, the number of Muslims in Britain was not very much (at least much less than now). Maybe there were no Muslims at all, I’m not sure.
At that time, anyone who wanted to learn about Islam would learn it through the few orientalists that there were. Some of these orientalists used to convey the correct image of Islam, yet most of them used to convey a totally distorted and twisted image claiming that Islam has prevailed through the power wielded by the sword. But did Islam prevail through force? So what then is the name of the battle that introduced Islam to Indonesia? Indonesia is a country that has three million Muslims now, how did Islam prevail there? How many of you know that the main reason behind the Muslims’ conquests in Egypt, the Levant and Iraq was due to the fact the Romans and Persians who had occupied these lands, had exceeded the limits of oppression and injustice? Hence, these countries were looking forward to oust them. So when Islam came, it did not come to prevail through force but it came to conquer the oppressors and free these occupied lands.
Now, and after all these years, the number of Muslims in Britain has reached a large number and this means that the English people need to see the true face of Islam.
Unfortunately, and because of the latest incidents that took place at the hands of some Muslims, the image of Islam has been distorted again in front of the English people.
We are back again to square one, and even worse, because this time what happened to us was not at the hand of outsiders, but at our own hands, at the hands of Muslims.
This whole affair places a huge responsibility on our shoulders. We need to restore the true face of Islam once more in front of the people of England. This is our duty and we should take care of it.
Islam was introduced into Europe three times so far. The first time was when it was introduced into Andalusia, the second time was during the Ottoman Era and right now we are witnessing the third time. The first two times, Islam faced many obstacles in trying to portray a real image about itself to the Europeans, because these attempts were introduced through military action. This time, however, we came to Europe as citizens, so that projecting a real image about Islam can be much easier, if only we exert a little more effort.
The Muslims now have reached the extent whereby they need large campaigns to restore their lost image and that of Islam. Our priority has now become, “what we should do to regain the respect of the world”. Whether what happened was because of our own deeds or because of others who are driving us to do them, the result in the end is the same. The fact remains that we are not exerting any real effort to restore the image of Islam worldwide.
We have the world’s best methodology, a methodology named, “We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures” (TMQ, Al-Anbiaa: 21). The whole world now doubts this “mercy” and believes it to be nothing but destruction and demolition. Yet it is a mercy indeed. A mercy for the Muslim, for the Buddhist, for the Christian, for the Jew and for all other faiths. Whether they accept it or refuse to believe in it, still it would be a “mercy” in the way in which it presents better ways of living and in the way in which it spreads justice all over the world. Allah says what can be translated as, “..and do good; that ye may prosper.” (TMQ, al-Hajj: 77) Notice that the first verse in the Qur’an can be translated as, “Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds” (TMQ, Al-Fateha: 1). It didn’t say Lord of the Muslims. Also, the last word in the Qur’an can be translated as, “Say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of Mankind” (TMQ, An-Naas: 1). So it is a religion of mercy for the whole of humanity even if they didn’t believe in it. This was how the Muslims were when they went to Abyssinia at the dawn of Islam. Nowadays, we need very practical things that we could give to humanity and to the whole of mankind, to tell them that Islam is indeed a “mercy”.
The problem is that Muslims are only talking amongst themselves, saying that our religion is a religion of mercy and justice, instead of conveying this to others.
I’m assuring you again that we’re not exerting enough effort to improve our image in the world. This image will never be improved save through positive integration while preserving our own identity. This integration has many advantages that would greatly affect the whole of society. Here are some examples of those who have preceded us to positively enhance the image of Islam and their impact on gaining the respect of the whole of mankind (whether they be Muslims or non-Muslims).
You have to realize that you all represent Islam in this country and that everybody sees Islam through you. You embody the Qur’an that the Scotch, the Irish, the Welsh and the other minorities that share our religion in this country, have heard about. They understand it when they deal with you. We all know the prophet’s Hadith, “Halal is obvious and Haram is obvious and between them there are some uncertainties. Those who avoid the uncertainties have avoided Haram”. Here you must avoid the uncertainties even more than the Muslims living in the East, because here you embody Islam.
I will tell you a story about a taxi driver who passes every Friday through an area where Muslims gather to pray Jumua’a. This taxi driver drove a Muslim from that area to another place. When he reached his destination the taxi driver gave the Muslim an extra 10 cents with the rest of the change. The Muslim hesitated a moment whether to take it or not because it’s a very small amount. Yet at the end he decided to return it. At that moment the taxi driver told him that he did that on purpose to see what a Muslim just coming out of Jumua’a prayer would do. The Muslim who told me this story said that he thanked Allah that he never took those 10 cents. So this was how just 10 cents restored the image of Islam.
The prophet (PBUH) was in Makkah while there were great problems between the Muslims and Quraysh. They harmed and hurt him badly, particularly Abu-Jahl, who was always keen on harming the prophet (PBUH) in every way. Then one day, a Bedouin Arab (who was kaffer – disbeliever) came to Makkah. Abu-Jahl had borrowed from this Arab some money and he was stalling paying him back. Both were kuffar, the Arab and Abu-Jahl. So the Arab came looking for someone from Makkah to assist him in his cause with Abu-Jahl to help him get his money back. He came upon a group of kuffar from Quraysh sitting by the Ka’ba, and asked them, “Who would direct me to someone who could help me to get my money back from Abu-Jahl?” Please don't forget: the Arab is kaffer, Abu-Jahl is kaffer and the group is a group of kuffar. So please concentrate with me on the fact that they are all kuffar. Has the prophet (PBUH) got anything to do with this cause? Have Muslims got anything to do with it? The group from Quraysh wanted to have some fun. So they asked him, “Do you want someone to help you in getting back your money?” He answered, “Yes”. They said, “Do you know who the best person to do that would be? Go to the man standing and praying there!” Who did they point at? The prophet (PBUH). The Arab didn't know what this was all about. They wanted to have some fun by creating a problem and watching what happens, so they directed him to the prophet (PBUH). So if you were in the prophet's position what would you've done? You would've said, “They are all kuffar let them all rot in hell…” Am I right? Isn't this the way most of you would think? You would've said, “What have I got to do with them? They want to have some fun by making me a part of a fight in which I have no actual role!” So, logically, the prophet (PBUH) would've said, “I am up to my ears fighting with Abu-Jahl. Why should I take anymore of it? Why don't I go somewhere else and leave them all?” Isn't that right? So the Arab went to the prophet (PBUH) saying, “These people back there are saying that you're the only one who can get me back my money from Abu-Jahl”. The Prophet (PBUH) looked at the group he was pointing at and saw they were some kuffar ; he understood that it was all for fun. Yet, the prophet (PBUH) answered, “Yes. let's both go to him”. The prophet (PBUH) took the Arab and went knocking on the door of Abu-Jahl. Abu-Jahl opened the door and found them both standing, the prophet (PBUH) said, “Did you take any money from this man?” So Abu-Jahl said, “Yes”, whence, the prophet (PBUH) answered, “Give him his money back”. Suddenly they found Abu-Jahl vanishing inside and then coming back shortly after with the money which he gave back to the Arab. Not once did the prophet (PBUH) ask the Arab to declare his Islam.
When the Muslims were badly harmed at the beginning of Islam, the Prophet (PBUH) advised them to go to Abyssinia, which had a Christian ruler. They stayed there about 14 years, yet nobody knows exactly what took place during these years. 80 men and women went there and came back in two large ships, with a group of Abyssinians. They didn’t go there to become isolated, they went there and reclaimed the land. They taught the Abyssinians trades they never knew before, they gave them hand-made presents and invited them over to their homes so they could get to know each other. All the Abyssinians loved them despite the fact that they came to them at the beginning poor and frightened. Yet they knew how to gain their respect.
Have you forgotten the Hadith of the prophet, “The Believer is like abundant rain that becomes useful wherever it falls”.
Another excellent model of Islam is Yusuf (Joseph) AS. Allah put him amidst a disbelieving society. Not just that, but they badly wronged him. Yet, somehow he managed to change this society’s image of him. So Surat Yusuf should be a model for every Muslim living under the same circumstances. At his time the Egyptian society were all non-Muslims. They imprisoned him unjustly and he stayed in prison for a long time. When the King saw a vision and no one but Yusuf could’ve interpreted it, he knew that the vision prophesied an economic crisis and a serious famine for the whole middle east, that wouldn’t last for less than 7 years. If you were in his shoes, would you have helped? Here are some options you would’ve chosen from:
Ask them to declare Islam first, and then tell them.
Ask them to get you out first, and then tell them.
Ask them to get you out first, then, when you are out, tell them the exact opposite of the true interpretation and live the rest of your life taking revenge on them.
Someone who’s very stubborn might say: I don’t want to be released and I won’t tell them anything.
Yet the Qur’an tells us that Yusuf told them the whole interpretation for the vision while he was still in prison. Because this would benefit the whole of humanity and save it from famine, regardless of how powerful or weak he might be.
Not just that but Yusuf also implemented the plan himself. Yet, did the people of Egypt declare their Islam after all that? The Qur’an never mentioned it, for fear that people might misinterpret it as a condition for helping one other. The real purpose is that the Muslim should be respected and that he should be the one to present the best in any society. Allah says what can be translated as, “O ye who believe! Bow down, prostrate yourselves, and adore your Lord; and do good; that ye may prosper.” (TMQ, Al-Hajj: 77)
These were some models of Muslims who have mingled in a beneficial way with other societies and faiths, they interacted with such societies and portrayed the true image of Islam.
Let us now put this concept into practice to enable us to restore the image of Islam and gain the respect of others. We want to initiate a project in Britain, in which British Muslims would take a part in implementing what we’ve just talked about. We want to achieve positive integration, but at the same time preserve our pride in Islam and perform our duty towards our religion.
The objective of this project may be: 1) integrating with the British society, 2) restoring the image of Islam 3) at the same time keeping our children proud of their religion. How can we achieve this and what could that project be?
I have a project that I would like to present to all of you now. This project will require a long-term effort that would at the end turn into a reality.
What’s this project?
Help Britain win the 2010 world cup in football. One quarter of this team’s best and distinguished players will be British Muslims. Is that the project? Yes, and please don’t laugh at me or underestimate the project. Let me explain to you further:
Firstly:
Britain is the world’s best country in football and its team is the best among those of the whole world.
The British people love football and they love the football players.
The British football players are the best and the most loved all over the world.
Hence, this would be the best and quickest way to the hearts of the people here, especially that these players would be both excellent in their skills and temperaments, which would depict the greatness of Islam as a whole.
Secondly:
Sport is usually an excellent means of getting different people together. The idea of the World Cup was originated by a French lawyer who didn’t particularly have football in mind, but rather he was thinking about how to get the countries close together. The World Cup was a means to achieve that purpose. Subhan Allah, the Muslims should’ve been the ones to think about it. It is in our Qur’an that Allah says what can be translated as, “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other” (TMQ, Ad-dhariat:13). So the World Cup originated from that notion; if you want to bring people together, do this through shared sports.
Personally, when I meet with someone who’s all cooped up, I take him out so we could watch a football match. Do you know how I got this idea? I was at the Arsenal Stadium watching a match between two teams; Arsenal and Everton. I thought to myself: it looks like I’m the only Muslim in the whole Stadium! I found myself asking: what if there were Muslim players here? What if they were cheered now with the rest of the team? Everybody would know that they are Muslims, that they pray and perform their worship and would still be cheered. Wouldn’t that be a way to respect Islam? Wouldn’t that make other Muslims proud? Wouldn’t that make our youth more connected to Islam? What if one quarter of the spectators were also Muslims? What if they were cheering these English teams zealously with the rest of the British people, without forgetting about their duties towards their religion?
Thirdly:
This project has the advantage of being void of conflicts, it needs no large capital and it’s not impossible. Furthermore, it will bear its fruits during this century for the following reason: if we take a young boy, who is say 14 years old, and imagine that he started in this project right now, after seven years he will be 21 years old and would succeed.
Fourthly:
It’s an original idea and nobody has thought of it before us.
The Muslims in Britain built a lot of mosques and have generated charitable societies to serve the Muslims; we can see now that Britain is full of places of worship for the Muslims. Yet it misses very simple and smart ideas that could regain the image of Islam. This idea is innovative, very effective and will have a great impact.
What would be the impact of such a project?
Imagine what would happen if we put such a project into practice!
Imagine if there’s a Muslim in very British football match (Manchester – Arsenal – Chelsea) compelling the crowds and the Muslims to go there, cheer them and commend their integration and behaviour.
Imagine if Britain won the World Cup in 2010 through the effort of our players.
I will give you an example to help you visualize what I’m saying. It’s about an Egyptian Judo athlete (Muhammad Rashwan) who is very distinguished both in his ability and manners. He was playing a match for the golden medal at the 1994 Olympiad finals. His opponent was Japanese and had sustained a knee injury. Throughout the game Muhammad never once tried to take advantage of his opponent’s injury or hit him on his bad knee. For that reason he lost the match and got the silver medal. But after the end of the match, the spectators cheered him kept echoing: “Muhammad – Muhammad – Muhammad”. Even the Japanese player carried him and circled the hall while carrying him.
So this project would bring us:
Respect and love of the British people to our players and hence to Islam. These players should depict the very spirit of “mercy” in Islam.
Improvement of the image of Islam without any need to speak.
The pride of our Muslim youth of these players and hence pride of Islam.
Useful integration and coexistence that would mean more harmony and compatibility for our societies.
Our players, with their quiet and serene manners, would inspire the crowds here to develop a better attitude towards opponents and hence would help solve another problem that’s been facing other countries.
Football is highly loved by the British, more than any other sport here. That’s why it would be a good entry point for implementing similar projects in other sports in Britain.
Another very important aspect would be the fact that the Muslim sportsmen would be the personification of exceptional manners. These sportsmen would be highly regarded by the whole of society and their mannerisms would establish the means to solve many problems in British society. This project could be a good motivation towards helping solve the problem of drugs and narcotics. It would be one of the ways “Right Start” will use to protect this society against the hazards of drugs. “Right Start” will introduce many new ways in dealing with the problem of drugs, not just the traditional ways that we all know. That’s why it will depend greatly on training the youth, educating them and using sports to create an atmosphere that would fend off the hazards of drugs.
How to implement this project?
It’s a seven-year project but, before anything, I want to point out something very important:
We don’t want a football team that would only be for Muslims. This idea is totally wrong and it’s the exact opposite of what we’re looking for. We are looking for peaceful integration, otherwise it would turn into a battle, not a football game. Whether we win or loose the British spectators will bombard us with empty bottles. We want to integrate and gain more relations. On each team (Manchester – Arsenal – Chelsea), we want at least one British Muslim.
So how, then, do we implement it?
We want to initiate an idea called (Youth Centers). Everyday we want the green parks to be filled with youth playing football. This should all be under our own supervision. These centers will be an addition to British society, since it lacks them and maybe that’s the main reason why Britain hasn’t won any world medals since 1996. These centers will constantly introduce new sportsmen from the youth in all the sports that they will be dedicated to.
Why don’t we organize a tournament in Ramadan, something like the 10th grade tournament, between the Muslim youth living in Britain? It would take place in all the cities and districts of Britain. We could have voluntary referees, administrators, businessmen to finance such tournaments.. etc. This is where the real talents would be discovered. This tournament would be comprised of two divisions: one for [under 16 years] and one for [over 16 years]. What’s important is the age under 16. These tournaments wouldn’t be just restricted to Muslims, all non-Muslims are most welcome to join, but the organization will be ours. Our website http://uk.amrkhaled.net will present this idea. Access the website to register your names in the Ramadan Tournament. Let us discuss more ideas about how to implement this project and the names of proposed volunteers. You can access the website right now and tell this idea to all the youth; I’ll be with you all Insha’ Allah. The purpose of this tournament would be to show the very refined manners of Islam. I’m proposing this to you as an original idea. Many original ideas have been introduced in sports like the one minute that we stand in mourning when a sportsman dies and the opening ceremonies … etc. That’s why I’m proposing new ideas for all the Muslims so that our youth would be stars in the biggest teams but at the same time wouldn’t get lost by the fame and success they achieve. Some of these ideas I’m proposing are: a five-minute speech about a Qura’nic verse depicting the real manners of Muslims and their pride in their religion, reciting Qur’anic verses talking about the same ideas or in case a moral misbehavior is committed, the offending team would be penalized a point … etc. All these ideas are new and they can be significant to the Muslims in Britain.
Where’s the role of the parents in this project? Give your sons some moral guidance. This isn’t just a game; your sons will be the ambassadors of Islam.
Where’s the role of the women? Soon I will introduce, in our next gathering, a new project for women so wait for it.
As I said before these are just thoughts that may be unconnected. But repentance is success with Allah in our afterlife, whereas coexistence is success with mankind in this life. This proposed project, would help us both ways.
I thank you all and please let’s start our Dua’a.
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(1)It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).
(2)TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.
(3)It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).
(4)It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.
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