Asalaamu Alaikum guys and welcome to another episode of Smile to Jannah (paradise).
So in this episode, I'm going to discuss an Instagram post that was posted,
I think a few days ago by an actor/musician- I mean he's got so many accolades- but I know him:
As Tyrese, from Fast and Furious.
Yeah you going homie I got this. This is done.
In this Instagram post I was actually very pleasantly surprised at his bravery,
his honesty, because he is seen as a devout Christian.
And he's very proud of his Christian faith,
so for him to post this out there, I was actually very surprised.
So let's let's have a little look at the post.
He mentions that he's been going to the Middle East for many years
and it's actually shaken his faith based upon what he's seen there- in a positive light.
If you look at the pictures they are primarily based upon his visit to the mosque
and he talks about how he went to the mosque without any guide or anything,
just so they could experience the mosque, just naturally.
And he talks about that experience and then he goes on to say that he's genuinely putting this
out there, and he wants to know if people have converted between the faiths as well.
And he is somebody that questions.
And I thought this was brilliant, yeah because this is definitely
starting a discussion that needs to be had.
The first thing that he really truly delved into
was the fact that he felt as if he was doubting his faith.
I wouldn't necessarily package it as doubting your faith Tyrese-or other people like Tyrese
that are watching- it is actually something called the Fitrah, which is the innate disposition.
It's like the default settings on your human body, in your human body yeah...
I was seeing if I could salvage that grammatical slip, but there's no point.
What do I mean? What's the default position?
The default position is believing in the one true God: Monotheism.
As we know Christianity believes three in one yeah.
You've got the father, the son and the holy spirit. They are three,
but they are in in essence one.
And to be fair my bro it actually shows that you are a sincere individual yeah because if
a person is genuine and sincere, Allah will surely show him or her to the correct path.
This actually reminds me of an article that I saw in the Sky
newspaper which was talking about how the planet that we're living on planet Earth...
for those of you that needed me to explain
that detail... again I thought I could salvage that but nope no I couldn't uh.
So those of you that um... I've lost my train of thought now.
Cut the shot! Very good!
Yeah so this article mentioned how Earth is perfectly adapted to sustain human life
and how scientists,
or whoever they're referring to believe we are very lucky.
What!
Now this actually goes to show the extreme lengths that certain people will
go to disbelieve in a God yeah, that they are willing to pit their entire existence and the
one of the biggest fine-tuning examples that we have, on sheer luck.
So yeah Tyrese, believing that three gods are in essence one God,
or believing as soon as you open up the bible and you read Genesis:
God getting tired yeah, God needing a rest on the seventh day.
Then you go on to see God wrestling with another Prophet.
Then God (allowing his own son and) sacrificing his son for a sin yeah or for a consequence
he is not responsible for.
And then giving the entire humanity something that they are "responsible for" "Adam's" sin.
And let's be frank, this does not sit well with anybody.
And how do people reconcile this with their daily acts of worship?
They're told- just believe.
Other aspects like celibacy, not getting married. This is something that
is against the fitrah (this is against the nature of a human) and that's why
you see the scandal that's happening in the Catholic church; abusing children.
And even if we look at the dress, the worship and the language of Jesus.
And we see that as Christians you don't do any of those.
You dress unlike Jesus. The language that he spoke was Aramaic, you don't speak that language.
And Jesus didn't sit in pews singing.
And Tyrese if we're being honest, stuff like this doesn't sit well with people.
It's difficult to reconcile
and that's why some people just close their eyes and they just believe yeah.
Now belief needs to make sense yeah, there's one type of intelligence Allah (God) has
given to everybody and that is logic/common sense and this is where we really should...
and I'm glad that you are questioning because other people should also be doing so.
Those people that say- look, no, this is something that you just believe in,
look as Muslims, you have "this/that", you have to just believe in.
Look. The fundamental aspects need to be clear.
Who is your God? How many of the Gods are there?
This needs to be clear. If this is wishy-washy and cannot be explained
by (well, properly by any priest) there's a big question mark on this frankly.
And I know my friend you have gone through divorce and heartbreak
very recently. It is at times like this that a person truly introspects and you
know heartbreak is no joke and it can shake a person to the core.
The foundations of an individual can be shaken, and this is a very
very good time to check if the foundations that you have are actually secure,
or are they crumbling under the pressure.
And the three main advices I'll give you is number one: Tyrese, ask God.
Yes. Say "God if you're there, I'm lost, I'm confused,
I think this is the right path, please guide me."
Number two: Tyrese, watch other debates and discussions.
Type in 'speaker's corner Hyde park'.
In the UK: Muslims/Christians/people of other faiths, come together and they have debates.
And number three this was something that you were
interested in: convert stories yeah (or revert stories as we call them)
YOLO, You only live once. Let's do it.
Believe it or not I genuinely have your best interests at heart yeah.
I don't have anything to gain from you.
I have done two jobs today, it's the evening, I'm supposed to be putting my feet up,
relaxing, but I'd rather be doing this because honestly...
if I didn't believe in this guys, I would not be sitting here
in my living room speaking to a camera.
I wouldn't be doing it I'd have my feet up chilling.
I've got some nice, sugar-free ice cream (you know) it's got the
natural sweeteners but what's more important than all of that,
is you guys, yeah, and your happiness and contentment .
For Allah tells us in the Qur'an
that: "it is only in the remembrance of your lord will your hearts find satisfaction".
Yes and remembering your lord how as he ought to be remembered, according to his attributes.
And his main attribute is Monotheism: him being one/alone.
Until next time; Asalaamu Alaikum.