Seminar: God is Not Dead — Islam's Response to Nihilism (2021-10-24) ​

0:00:02 brothers and sisters i hope everyone is
0:00:04 well inshaallah
0:00:06 so in today's
0:00:09 seminar session we're going to be
0:00:11 looking at
0:00:12 or we're going to be covering
0:00:14 the topic god is not dead
0:00:17 islam's response to nihilism and more
0:00:18 than a response guys i want us to see it
0:00:21 today
0:00:22 as
0:00:23 islam's solution
0:00:25 to nihilism
0:00:28 because islam absolutely is a solution
0:00:30 to this problem
0:00:32 that we're facing today and that many
0:00:33 people are experiencing and
0:00:35 unfortunately many muslims are
0:00:37 experiencing too
0:00:38 um a type of nihilism although they're
0:00:40 muslim and we'll probably touch upon
0:00:42 this at some point
0:00:43 during this live session inshaallah
0:00:46 so that's the topic today and let me
0:00:48 start off
0:00:50 welcome salaam to be high patton let me
0:00:52 start off by
0:00:56 making a
0:00:58 another proclamation because we're going
0:01:00 to be looking at a specific proclamation
0:01:01 by a specific philosopher
0:01:04 um
0:01:05 in a little while but
0:01:06 let me start off with a proclamation and
0:01:08 that is that god is not dead
0:01:10 god can never die
0:01:12 and one of the reasons at least for this
0:01:15 is because we as human beings are in
0:01:17 need of god
0:01:18 we can't function without god society
0:01:21 cannot function without god the world
0:01:22 cannot function without god
0:01:25 the idea of god has been central to
0:01:27 humanity throughout history without god
0:01:30 there has never been a civilization
0:01:32 and there never will be a civilization a
0:01:34 godless a purely godless civilization
0:01:39 and the reasons are simple i mean i've
0:01:40 covered this many times in in many other
0:01:42 lives and we don't need to get technical
0:01:44 with this the reasons are simple without
0:01:45 god we can't make sense of the most
0:01:48 fundamental things
0:01:50 that we require as human beings to make
0:01:52 sense of us and the world around us we
0:01:54 can't make sense of ultimate meaning we
0:01:57 can't make sense of objective morality
0:02:00 we can't make sense of the world around
0:02:02 us
0:02:03 the purpose of our life and our life
0:02:06 within this world we can't make sense of
0:02:08 any of these things and without these
0:02:09 fundamental things
0:02:11 you can't have civilizations you can't
0:02:13 have
0:02:14 flourishing societies you can't even
0:02:16 have an individual that grows and
0:02:18 flourishes
0:02:20 you have nothing
0:02:21 and we're going to explore this a bit
0:02:22 further inshallah
0:02:24 but let me just shift the screen so you
0:02:27 guys can see the slides as well
0:02:28 inshallah and what we'll do guys once
0:02:30 we've gone through this it's about half
0:02:31 an hour of the presentation then we'll
0:02:33 do an extensive q a challah because the
0:02:35 whole idea of these
0:02:37 live seminars is to make this as
0:02:38 interactive as possible insha'allah and
0:02:40 to get
0:02:41 your questions and engage with them we
0:02:43 by the way we've done a recorded
0:02:46 series
0:02:47 on this very topic inshallah which will
0:02:48 be coming out over the next couple of
0:02:50 weeks so keep an eye on that on the
0:02:51 sapience
0:02:52 institute youtube channel
0:02:54 uh and before i continue welcome slam to
0:02:56 everyone that's joining us now so let's
0:02:58 start with
0:03:00 this particular statement
0:03:02 god is dead who knows where this is from
0:03:05 or who said this
0:03:09 who can tell me let's see in the
0:03:10 question in the comment section
0:03:12 who made this specific statement
0:03:16 i'm sure all of us have heard it
0:03:18 many atheists
0:03:20 refer to this
0:03:25 anyone
0:03:32 so
0:03:33 abu
0:03:34 jackson
0:03:36 is correct
0:03:38 niche made this specific statement
0:03:42 and said much more
0:03:44 but we normally focus in on this
0:03:46 specific statement in the gay science in
0:03:48 his parable
0:03:50 of the madman he made
0:03:52 or we recall this statement where he
0:03:54 said god is dead and normally what ends
0:03:56 up happening is atheists
0:03:59 many atheists take this statement
0:04:02 and they
0:04:03 are very proud
0:04:05 uh get very excited
0:04:07 and
0:04:08 you know
0:04:09 highlight this as if look niche is
0:04:11 stating god is dead nietzsche was an
0:04:13 atheist
0:04:14 okay that's there's no doubt in that he
0:04:16 was an atheist and he died that way
0:04:19 however nietzsche was i would say an
0:04:22 intelligent atheist right he was someone
0:04:24 that actually thought about the question
0:04:25 of god and thought about the
0:04:27 significance of believing in god or
0:04:29 denying the existence of god
0:04:31 and the impact that would have on
0:04:33 humanity he actually gave these things a
0:04:34 lot of consideration and we're going to
0:04:36 look at this in a in some somewhat you
0:04:38 know some detail in a few moments
0:04:40 but when he made this specific statement
0:04:45 he was not making an atheist
0:04:48 proclamation you know as as an as a
0:04:50 proud atheist today for example richard
0:04:52 dawkins or sam harris would turn around
0:04:53 and say god is dead you know it wasn't
0:04:55 he wasn't making this statement in this
0:04:57 particular way if we
0:04:59 look at that specific passage and spend
0:05:01 some time a few few moments of really
0:05:03 going over this
0:05:05 and this is a section of the particular
0:05:08 parable of the batman from the gay
0:05:09 science
0:05:10 there are some very interesting things
0:05:12 in this passage now
0:05:14 as a preface to this consider and keep
0:05:16 in mind guys that
0:05:18 nietzsche was someone that who was an
0:05:20 existential philosopher existentialist
0:05:22 philosopher he was someone
0:05:24 who really focused in on the meaning of
0:05:27 life
0:05:28 nihilism
0:05:29 you know how there is no meaning to life
0:05:31 if you acknowledge his position which he
0:05:33 maintained as an atheist that he didn't
0:05:35 acknowledge that there was a god or a
0:05:36 creator behind all of this so he was
0:05:38 someone that thought about these things
0:05:40 he really thought deeply about the
0:05:42 implications of not believing in god and
0:05:44 this was evident throughout his works
0:05:45 now considering all of this
0:05:47 when we read this passage something very
0:05:50 interesting comes across
0:05:52 and let's just go through it now so in
0:05:54 this passage he starts by saying where
0:05:56 has god gone he cried
0:05:58 i shall tell you we have we have killed
0:06:00 him
0:06:01 you and i
0:06:02 we are his murderers but how have we
0:06:05 done this
0:06:06 now here's i want you to pay attention
0:06:08 specifically to this sort of bolded text
0:06:10 here
0:06:11 how were we able to drink up the sea
0:06:13 who gave us the sponge to wipe away the
0:06:16 entire horizon now straight away we can
0:06:18 see
0:06:19 that there is an element of removal here
0:06:21 which has been emphasized
0:06:23 you know removing removing something god
0:06:26 is dead we have killed god but this is
0:06:28 also leading to us removing something
0:06:30 it's removing something from us and then
0:06:32 it continues what did we do
0:06:34 when we unchained the earth from the its
0:06:36 sun now this is a very interesting
0:06:40 statement or question
0:06:43 what do we do when we unchain the earth
0:06:45 from its sun so it's almost because if
0:06:47 you think about the idea the planets in
0:06:49 our solar system are held within or
0:06:51 maintain their position because the
0:06:53 gravitational
0:06:54 pull of the sun itself so the sun is
0:06:56 that center the gravitational center
0:06:58 and it keeps the planets within the
0:07:00 orbits now here is an idea of the the
0:07:03 earth being unchained separated from the
0:07:06 sun
0:07:07 now obviously the passages to do with
0:07:08 god and i i believe that this son he's
0:07:10 referring to he's he's it's almost
0:07:12 representing god here
0:07:14 and the earth may be representing human
0:07:16 beings
0:07:18 now the idea that's coming across and
0:07:20 think about it what would happen if you
0:07:22 were to
0:07:23 if the earth was to leave its orbit and
0:07:26 fall out of the gravitational
0:07:28 sphere or or area of of influence of the
0:07:32 sun itself what would happen the earth
0:07:33 would
0:07:34 flow around in in space in empty in in
0:07:37 space you know in any direction without
0:07:39 any
0:07:39 you know uh
0:07:41 control it would just be it'll just
0:07:43 float around in empty space literally
0:07:45 without up you know without any specific
0:07:46 direction and this then he elaborates
0:07:48 further
0:07:49 so he says
0:07:52 how were we able to drink so how are we
0:07:54 able to drink up the sea who gave us the
0:07:56 sponge to wipe away the entire horizon
0:07:58 what did we do
0:08:00 when we unchained the earth from its sun
0:08:03 whether is it moving now whether are we
0:08:06 moving now
0:08:07 away from all suns
0:08:10 away from all sons are we not
0:08:12 perpetually falling backward sideward
0:08:15 forward in all directions and he's
0:08:17 asking these questions and again when
0:08:20 you read these points away from all sons
0:08:22 are we not perpetually falling backwards
0:08:24 sideways forward this is emphasizing a
0:08:26 loss of direction this is emphasizing a
0:08:29 loss of control
0:08:31 losing your bearings as we would say
0:08:32 this is what he's emphasizing here and
0:08:34 this is linked to the idea of the death
0:08:36 of god the the idea of the death of the
0:08:38 idea of god itself
0:08:41 and then he says is there any up or down
0:08:44 left
0:08:45 has it not become colder
0:08:47 is it not more and more
0:08:49 is it not more and more night coming oh
0:08:52 sorry i think there may be a uh
0:08:53 something missing is it all isn't there
0:08:56 isn't there not more and more night
0:08:58 coming
0:08:58 on all the time
0:09:00 must not lanterns be lit in the morning
0:09:03 now
0:09:04 i've specifically highlighted this
0:09:07 particular
0:09:08 part of the passage must not lanterns be
0:09:10 lit in the morning
0:09:11 so the idea of darkness is
0:09:14 this darkness is creeping in you know
0:09:16 the way it's getting cold it's empty
0:09:18 it's
0:09:19 that without direction you know we're
0:09:21 losing our bearings this is the ideas
0:09:23 that you know this is the idea that
0:09:24 comes across from this partic particular
0:09:25 passage and then he says must not
0:09:27 lanterns be lit in the morning
0:09:29 almost as if suggesting
0:09:32 should don't we need to replace
0:09:35 space of the sun now
0:09:37 don't we need to replace that with la
0:09:39 and what's the best we could do lanterns
0:09:40 these little devices that give us
0:09:42 temporary light for for a little bit and
0:09:44 then they go out and if they're old
0:09:46 lanterns as soon as the oil runs out the
0:09:48 lantern goes out these temporary little
0:09:50 lights
0:09:51 that yeah if you think about lanterns if
0:09:52 you go back in olden days you know you'd
0:09:54 use lanterns they're people use lanterns
0:09:56 to you know navigate their way at night
0:09:58 when there were no obviously no street
0:09:59 lamps at the time
0:10:01 and it was very
0:10:02 small amount of light which will come
0:10:04 from these lanterns they will go out so
0:10:05 what are these lanterns i want you to
0:10:06 keep this in mind for a second we'll
0:10:08 discuss these lanterns why i believe
0:10:09 it's being referred to as lanterns
0:10:11 alternatives
0:10:12 to god
0:10:14 so
0:10:15 and obviously then you see in blue god
0:10:17 is dead that is what we normally hear
0:10:18 about that's what we normally focus on
0:10:20 so essentially if you really take the
0:10:21 time to study this passage
0:10:24 what comes across is that nietzsche
0:10:25 wasn't really making this sort of proud
0:10:27 boastful atheist proclamation that god
0:10:29 is dead he was actually warning people
0:10:32 this this madman in this parable is
0:10:34 actually warning people
0:10:37 of this
0:10:40 really
0:10:42 difficult situation that we're about to
0:10:44 face
0:10:46 because we've killed god we've in other
0:10:48 words we've turned away from god because
0:10:50 we've rejected god and we've turned away
0:10:52 from god our faces away from god
0:10:54 we are heading towards some really
0:10:56 difficult times times we will have no
0:10:58 clue as to what's going on we would lose
0:11:00 our bearings we'll look for alternatives
0:11:02 small lanterns anything that will give
0:11:04 us some light some direction
0:11:06 this is what he was highlighting and he
0:11:08 was essentially
0:11:10 pointing people or reminding or telling
0:11:12 people warning people that there is
0:11:13 because we've turned away from god and
0:11:15 this whole turning away from god without
0:11:17 getting into too much detail this is
0:11:19 something we cover in the recorded
0:11:20 course
0:11:21 you can say really
0:11:24 began to be put into practice at the
0:11:26 time of the enlightenment where there
0:11:28 was a shift
0:11:29 in the thinking of people the thinkers
0:11:32 of the time what they wanted people do
0:11:34 to do was to focus
0:11:36 on the material world as opposed to the
0:11:38 hereafter
0:11:39 uh professor leo damorosh for example in
0:11:41 his one of his courses on the
0:11:43 enlightenment he highlights that this
0:11:45 was where people were
0:11:46 shifted you know they
0:11:49 they
0:11:49 focus was shifted
0:11:51 from the vertical plane to the
0:11:53 horizontal plane
0:11:54 so people were turning made to turn away
0:11:56 from the idea over hereafter and working
0:11:58 for a hereafter and attaining paradise
0:12:01 and were made to now focus on the here
0:12:03 and now
0:12:04 and they were given a new objective a
0:12:05 new purpose which was to you know create
0:12:07 paradise on earth
0:12:09 you know have this type of worldly
0:12:11 utopia
0:12:12 so people were given a new objective in
0:12:14 the enlightenment and although as you
0:12:16 know many of the academics of the
0:12:17 knowledge if you were to go to the
0:12:18 enlightenment philosophers and thinkers
0:12:20 and ask them are you an atheist do you
0:12:21 not believe in god most of them wouldn't
0:12:23 say this most of them would acknowledge
0:12:24 god and we're talking about the 18th
0:12:26 century here they would acknowledge god
0:12:28 but they were shifting away from the
0:12:29 sort of traditional concept of god and
0:12:32 you know religion as in particular
0:12:34 christianity and we're moving towards
0:12:35 what they refer to as natural theology
0:12:38 so they and hence they were you know the
0:12:39 scientific revolution took place at the
0:12:41 same time and the early scientists
0:12:43 those behind the scientific revolution
0:12:45 were also people that believed in god
0:12:47 however they didn't again believe in a
0:12:50 traditional concept of god they believed
0:12:52 god has created everything
0:12:53 and god has created everything with
0:12:55 order and we are simply simply our job
0:12:58 is to study this order that's the right
0:13:00 so initially there wasn't a complete
0:13:03 rejection of god but it laid the
0:13:04 foundations for what we now see as new
0:13:07 atheism naturalism materialism etc now
0:13:10 at the time of nietzsche by the time he
0:13:12 comes around obviously atheism and you
0:13:15 know godlessness and naturalism and all
0:13:17 of these philosophies were more rampant
0:13:20 so
0:13:21 he was someone that studied this and
0:13:22 understood this and he saw the adverse
0:13:24 effects of this the consequences of
0:13:26 people turning away from god and focus
0:13:28 and becoming more materialistic
0:13:30 and nihilism was an inevitable
0:13:32 consequence
0:13:33 of this reality and we're going to go
0:13:34 into nihilism and discuss nightism a bit
0:13:36 more but if you before we do that
0:13:38 i want to draw our attention to a very
0:13:40 powerful ayah of the quran
0:13:42 this is found in the 59th chapter verse
0:13:45 19 where allah says
0:13:50 allah says and do not be like those who
0:13:52 forgot allah so he made them forget
0:13:55 themselves it is they who are the truly
0:13:58 rebellious
0:14:04 this is a very powerful brothers and
0:14:06 sisters allah subhanahu wa is telling us
0:14:08 here
0:14:09 don't be like remember this is over 1400
0:14:11 years ago right this is not 18th century
0:14:14 17th century 16th century 14 over 1400
0:14:16 years ago allah is informing us and
0:14:18 telling us
0:14:19 don't be like those people who forgot
0:14:21 allah
0:14:22 and because of them turning them they
0:14:25 turning away from allah allah made them
0:14:27 forget themselves they lost their own
0:14:29 sense of awareness who they are what
0:14:31 they are
0:14:32 and they are the ones who are truly
0:14:33 rebellious now this ayah can be there
0:14:36 are many things we can take from this
0:14:37 the scholars the mufasirin when they
0:14:39 have comment into this ayah something
0:14:41 predominantly they mention is well
0:14:43 what's obvious well if you don't know
0:14:44 who allah is if you don't know who your
0:14:46 creator is and you turn away from god
0:14:48 well then you don't really know who you
0:14:49 are what your purpose is why you're here
0:14:52 what the objective is there's no way of
0:14:54 understanding what the human is
0:14:56 you'll just end up concluding well
0:14:57 you're just a more
0:14:59 highly evolved animal but regardless an
0:15:02 animal
0:15:02 and you know you would not know who you
0:15:04 are what the objective of this life is
0:15:06 what we're doing here in this 18 90
0:15:08 years that we have on this earth we
0:15:09 won't know so you won't know and
0:15:11 therefore you won't fulfill the purpose
0:15:12 of your life and you will be you you'll
0:15:14 lose yourself completely
0:15:16 um but what's really interesting here
0:15:18 another point which i found which was
0:15:19 very interesting is that the word nasir
0:15:21 itself that's used here in this
0:15:22 particular ayah
0:15:24 the word nasir nun seen yao nun sin wow
0:15:27 it's a very interesting
0:15:29 forgetting you know it's it's the type
0:15:32 of forgetting
0:15:34 which is deliberate
0:15:36 that's what it signifies it's it's
0:15:38 almost it's the type of forgetting with
0:15:39 someone one is deliberately consciously
0:15:42 turning themselves away from the truth
0:15:45 or something trying to forget something
0:15:47 that they that they know is there it's
0:15:49 not the sort of innocent type of
0:15:51 uh you know you know you just forgot
0:15:53 something we're forgetful as human
0:15:54 beings it's not that type of a game
0:15:55 where you just you know had to remember
0:15:56 something forgot it and that was that
0:15:59 this is a deliberate type of forgetting
0:16:02 and even if you look at for example
0:16:03 lane's lexicon
0:16:05 and even in the mufrada uh the sheikh
0:16:08 mentions this too but this is a very
0:16:10 interesting point he's in in the lexicon
0:16:11 we find that it's a type of pretending
0:16:13 that you know he had forgotten it or he
0:16:18 constrained himself to dismiss it from
0:16:20 his mind so it's it's a deliberate
0:16:22 intentional
0:16:24 turning away and this is very
0:16:26 interesting considering the fact that we
0:16:27 know and you guys have probably covered
0:16:29 this in many other seminars
0:16:31 considering the concept of the fitra
0:16:33 that the belief in god is natural it's
0:16:35 innate it's there
0:16:37 now if the fitra is there and we have
0:16:39 this innate recognition of the creator
0:16:41 which is acknowledged by many
0:16:43 psychologists today justin obaro oliver
0:16:45 petrovich that you know we have this
0:16:47 innate almost wiring to believe in god
0:16:49 in a creator or cause
0:16:51 then obviously when we try when we turn
0:16:53 away from god we have to make some
0:16:55 effort it's not going to be easy it's
0:16:56 not natural so i thought it's very
0:16:58 interesting this very precise use of
0:17:00 words here that allah uses it's a
0:17:02 deliberate forgetting it's a it's a
0:17:04 conscious forgetting it's so it's almost
0:17:06 like you know it's
0:17:07 if you had a toothache
0:17:09 and you wanted to forget it because you
0:17:10 can get on with your day that's the type
0:17:12 of getting it's inside your mouth you
0:17:13 can't get out get rid of it it's there
0:17:15 it's inside you so that would be that
0:17:17 would be nasir where you're trying to
0:17:18 turn away from that toothache and trying
0:17:20 to deliberately forget about it so it
0:17:21 doesn't ruin your day
0:17:22 as opposed to say you you know you had a
0:17:25 uh you had to make a call and you forgot
0:17:26 it's something external other things
0:17:28 happen you've got but the toothache is
0:17:30 within you it's inside so that would be
0:17:32 nasiya so it's a deliberate turning away
0:17:36 and dr assara ahmed made a very
0:17:37 interesting point in his death of this
0:17:39 particular ayah as well he said
0:17:41 what is what is meant by someone
0:17:42 forgetting themselves
0:17:44 it's not
0:17:45 that they're forgetting to take care of
0:17:47 themselves i mean because even atheists
0:17:49 know this he mentioned that you know
0:17:50 non-believers would know that they have
0:17:52 to feed themselves and they have to you
0:17:54 know wash themselves and they have to
0:17:55 take care of the physical bodies and
0:17:57 exercise so when allah is speaking about
0:18:00 that they were made to forget themselves
0:18:02 it's not that they were made to forget
0:18:03 their physical selves and their physical
0:18:05 needs it's that they were made to forget
0:18:07 their essence
0:18:09 they their true selves their inner souls
0:18:11 the love of the human being the essence
0:18:13 of the human being which is the soul
0:18:14 the
0:18:15 the the inner source
0:18:17 you know what really matters so there's
0:18:18 many ways we can look at this but i
0:18:20 think what's very interesting from
0:18:21 today's perspective
0:18:23 considering what we just spoke about you
0:18:25 know nietzsche and his perspective on
0:18:27 you know how turning away from god or
0:18:29 the idea of killing god leads to
0:18:31 confusion and leads to one losing their
0:18:33 bearings and not knowing understanding
0:18:35 anything
0:18:37 this is very interesting
0:18:39 you know allah is is
0:18:42 reminding us of this reality as well
0:18:44 that if you turn away from god if you
0:18:45 forget your creator you will forget
0:18:47 yourself and one way of looking at this
0:18:49 is that you won't know who you are what
0:18:50 is the ultimate thing and let's think
0:18:52 about this now let's do this experiment
0:18:53 now imagine for a second that you know
0:18:56 there is an atheist present amongst us
0:18:58 and he says that there is no god there
0:19:00 is no creator
0:19:02 and that's what i believe that's what he
0:19:03 says
0:19:04 now imagine asking him the question say
0:19:06 you asked him the question what is the
0:19:08 ultimate meaning of your life what is
0:19:09 the ultimate purpose of your life think
0:19:11 about this can he give you an answer to
0:19:13 that question
0:19:14 is there an answer to that question
0:19:16 the answer is no
0:19:18 because and here's why because when you
0:19:20 say there is no creator there is no
0:19:22 cause
0:19:23 what you're saying in other words is
0:19:25 that the entire universe and everything
0:19:27 that exists is one
0:19:29 big
0:19:30 accident
0:19:31 it's just it's a random
0:19:34 phenomenon it's a random occurrence
0:19:35 there's nothing behind there is no order
0:19:38 behind it there's no intentionality
0:19:39 behind it there is no reason for it to
0:19:41 exist it just happened like spilt milk
0:19:44 it just happened
0:19:46 now
0:19:47 accidents don't have a purpose at least
0:19:49 according to their perspective of things
0:19:51 as muslims obviously we believe
0:19:53 everything has a purpose everything has
0:19:54 a reason but according to them
0:19:56 specifically accidents don't have a
0:19:58 purpose if it's one big accident there
0:20:00 is no meaning or purpose behind it now
0:20:01 if there's no meaning and purpose behind
0:20:03 the universe
0:20:04 then that also means that there is no
0:20:06 ultimate meaning or purpose behind the
0:20:07 things within the universe and that
0:20:09 includes you and me and everyone human
0:20:11 beings that means our lives are
0:20:13 ultimately meaningless and have no
0:20:15 purpose
0:20:16 this is an inevitable
0:20:19 an inevitable consequence of denying a
0:20:22 creator god if you are someone that says
0:20:24 there is no god you can never
0:20:27 account for the ultimate meaning and
0:20:29 purpose of life okay now we're going to
0:20:31 explore this a bit further
0:20:33 and really sort of get to the bottom of
0:20:34 this so what is nihilism if i was to
0:20:37 give you a general if you look at the
0:20:38 dictionaries and if you go through the
0:20:39 sort of definitions of nihilism one
0:20:40 thing that emerges from all of these
0:20:42 definitions is nihilism is the idea of
0:20:45 there being no meaning okay there being
0:20:48 no meaning no reason
0:20:51 behind a particular thing
0:20:53 now there are many there's many ways
0:20:55 academics have categorized nihilism so
0:20:58 for example donald a crosby in his book
0:21:01 spectre of the absurd he's categorized
0:21:03 he's given five categories of nihilism
0:21:05 moralism epistemological nihilism cosmic
0:21:07 nihilism existential nihilism political
0:21:09 nihilism but
0:21:12 one thing that comes across is all of
0:21:14 these types of nihilism are interlinked
0:21:17 they're linked with each other and some
0:21:18 of you even said that
0:21:20 moral nihilism political epistemological
0:21:22 nihilism and cosmic nihilism all come
0:21:24 under the umbrella of existential
0:21:25 nihilism they're all linked together so
0:21:27 for example you know some of the links
0:21:29 we can appreciate moral nihilism is the
0:21:30 idea that there is no objective reality
0:21:33 behind morals right there's no objective
0:21:34 truth behind morals epistemological
0:21:37 nihilism sort of suggests the idea that
0:21:38 there is no truth or fact uh you know
0:21:41 so you know there is no you would say a
0:21:44 fact or a truth it's what it's
0:21:46 subjective it's whatever you want to
0:21:47 make it right now you can see the link
0:21:49 between epistemological nihilism and
0:21:51 moral nihilism this crossover
0:21:53 because if there are no truths
0:21:55 or facts well what does that mean for
0:21:58 morals and there's others that link
0:22:00 together as well but the existential
0:22:01 nihilism is is of most important
0:22:03 significance to us because i would it's
0:22:05 to do with the self
0:22:07 you know what is the meaning and purpose
0:22:09 of my existence my life and this is what
0:22:11 the existentialist philosophers really
0:22:13 focused in on
0:22:15 now
0:22:18 here's here's the issue
0:22:21 we live in times
0:22:24 of where people generally deny god and
0:22:28 even if they don't deny god they don't
0:22:29 talk about god god is not a part of you
0:22:31 know public discourse it's not something
0:22:34 you talk to friends about normally or
0:22:35 colleagues about it's not within our
0:22:38 social sphere anymore right we live in a
0:22:40 highly secularized world we we don't
0:22:42 think about the idea of god we don't
0:22:44 most people don't even believe in god
0:22:45 most people recognize themselves as
0:22:47 atheists and agnostics especially in the
0:22:48 west now if this is the case guys
0:22:51 as we've seen godlessness leads to
0:22:54 nihilism this is an inevitable outcome
0:22:56 there is no ultimate meaning to life now
0:22:58 why is this a problem this is one of the
0:23:00 things i want to tackle because someone
0:23:01 may turn around and say well fine there
0:23:03 is no ultimate
0:23:04 you know there is no purpose to my life
0:23:06 there is no meaning to my life
0:23:08 that's it why is it a problem
0:23:12 now here's why i believe it's a problem
0:23:13 because as human beings
0:23:16 we cannot help but see everything
0:23:18 through the lens of meaning
0:23:20 think about your life everything you do
0:23:23 in a day from waking up in the morning
0:23:25 to going to sleep at night we do it with
0:23:27 an objective with meaning with a purpose
0:23:29 waking up in the morning getting out of
0:23:31 bed at 9am as opposed to 10 a.m having
0:23:33 your breakfast brushing your teeth you
0:23:35 know going walking to work or getting on
0:23:37 the bus doing your work coming home
0:23:39 having dinner
0:23:40 whatever you do in your daily life
0:23:41 everything we do we do for a meal with
0:23:44 meaning with a purpose there is always a
0:23:47 reason behind it when we look at the
0:23:49 things in the world around us
0:23:50 we look at things through the lens of
0:23:52 meaning we see we try to understand and
0:23:55 decipher the meaning behind the world
0:23:56 around us and things around us when we
0:23:59 make things as human beings we make
0:24:00 things with meaning with purpose
0:24:02 we can't help but do this this is a part
0:24:05 of our nature as human beings then it's
0:24:07 natural then to ask the question what is
0:24:09 the meaning of my existence why do i
0:24:11 exist
0:24:12 what is the ultimate meaning of my
0:24:14 existence my my life
0:24:16 this is a natural question and what's
0:24:18 even more interesting is that when one
0:24:21 gets to grappling with this question
0:24:22 whatever time that happens in their life
0:24:24 whether it's early or late when someone
0:24:26 gets to that point and they can't find
0:24:28 the answer
0:24:30 it doesn't just mean nothing happens
0:24:31 they just can't find the answer it
0:24:32 doesn't stop there
0:24:34 it leads to a lot of anxiety
0:24:36 what was what's referred to by the
0:24:38 philosophers especially the
0:24:39 existentialist philosophers as
0:24:40 existential angst this type of deep
0:24:42 existential anxiety this deep internal
0:24:46 pain
0:24:47 and this it's very interesting if you
0:24:49 think about it what we i don't i don't
0:24:51 know exactly why this is the case maybe
0:24:52 because it's linked to what i've just
0:24:53 said in regards to the fact that we we
0:24:56 we perceive and
0:24:57 and understand the world and everything
0:24:59 around us including ourselves through
0:25:00 the lens of meaning maybe this has
0:25:01 something to do with it but
0:25:03 it
0:25:04 when you come to the conclusion that
0:25:06 there is no meaning behind my existence
0:25:08 there's no ultimate meaning to my life
0:25:10 that
0:25:12 inevitably leads to a lot of existential
0:25:14 anxiety and pain
0:25:15 and fear
0:25:16 right anyone that's experienced it you
0:25:18 know how difficult that it is
0:25:21 camus spoke speaks about this you know
0:25:23 about the this fixation that one once
0:25:26 they get to this question there's this
0:25:28 there's this deep fixation when one
0:25:31 starts to engage with the question of
0:25:32 meaning and purpose into their own lives
0:25:35 everything else becomes trivial
0:25:37 everything else loses meaning everything
0:25:39 else just almost
0:25:41 dims down and loses color the world
0:25:43 around you becomes trivial life and life
0:25:46 situations become true you go inward and
0:25:48 you can't help it but do this
0:25:50 you that question becomes the most
0:25:52 important thing and not finding an
0:25:54 answer leads to a lot of pain and
0:25:55 anxiety so it's something that needs to
0:25:58 be tackled and addressed
0:25:59 and the reality is because we live in a
0:26:02 world which is generally as a whole
0:26:04 turned away from god and the mood of the
0:26:06 world is godless like not interested in
0:26:08 the question i'm interested in the
0:26:10 material i'm interested in making my
0:26:12 life and making as much as i can of this
0:26:13 world
0:26:14 because we have turned away from god
0:26:17 a lot of people today experience
0:26:19 nihilism on some level
0:26:21 but there are lots of patches you know
0:26:23 that that have been uh put in place
0:26:26 or try to people have tried to put in
0:26:28 place you know things to do with this
0:26:30 what we can refer to as the lanterns
0:26:32 going back to nietzsche was saying you
0:26:34 know don't we need to light lanterns now
0:26:36 right so this this is the lanterns i
0:26:38 believe that they that that people have
0:26:40 tried to put into place realizing and
0:26:42 understanding that we live in a godless
0:26:44 world and turning away from god in a way
0:26:47 is good for material progress and that's
0:26:48 a whole other topic we won't get into
0:26:50 now but the video course if you watch it
0:26:52 we'll get into detail on that there
0:26:54 but they realize that okay nihilism is
0:26:56 going to be a problem we can't escape
0:26:57 this nietzsche predicted this
0:26:59 you know we could see we can understand
0:27:01 the logic of why this is going to happen
0:27:03 let's try to patch this and people have
0:27:04 tried to patch this over the past over
0:27:06 the decades and centuries so start with
0:27:08 the 19th century existentialists the
0:27:10 existential philosophers they tried to
0:27:12 deal with this this meaninglessness
0:27:14 emptiness how do we deal with this many
0:27:16 attempts you know jean-paul sartre for
0:27:18 example spoke about taking
0:27:20 responsibility being under once you come
0:27:23 to the realization that life is
0:27:24 ultimately meaningless take
0:27:27 responsibility be a responsible
0:27:29 human being
0:27:30 and he just tried to justify this in his
0:27:33 own way but again it didn't deal with
0:27:34 the fundamental issue which was that
0:27:36 ultimately at bottom there is no
0:27:38 ultimate meaning to your life what he
0:27:39 was suggesting you do and what most many
0:27:41 of the other
0:27:43 existentialist philosophers suggested
0:27:44 you do was
0:27:46 acknowledge and realize and come to
0:27:48 terms with the fact that there is no
0:27:49 ultimate meaning and purpose to life but
0:27:51 then at that point start making up
0:27:52 meaning for yourself that's what you
0:27:54 have to do you have to give yourself
0:27:55 meaning you have to make it up for
0:27:57 yourself
0:27:58 right so this was a lantern they tried
0:28:00 to light at that point and it was an
0:28:02 interesting one because it caught fire
0:28:04 the lantern right it lit up and it lit
0:28:06 up things around them and it was the
0:28:07 best that they had but i think soon
0:28:09 people started to realize well one it's
0:28:11 very difficult
0:28:12 to
0:28:14 you know develop a a upright moral
0:28:18 character
0:28:20 in a world which at bottom is
0:28:22 meaningless and in a world where not
0:28:24 everyone else around you is not doing
0:28:25 that and in a world where you don't have
0:28:27 any intrinsic motivational drive or
0:28:30 underlying motivational drive for you to
0:28:32 do this because you live in a world
0:28:33 which is without god and without any
0:28:35 ultimate meaning so it was something
0:28:36 very difficult and i think people also
0:28:39 realize that this is making things up as
0:28:40 amazon says lying to yourself playing
0:28:42 games essentially you know why why live
0:28:45 responsibly okay it sounds good
0:28:48 why not live
0:28:49 recklessly
0:28:51 instead you know and that is how we we
0:28:54 escape this nihilism and that is what
0:28:56 people have started to do especially
0:28:57 over the past couple of uh especially
0:28:59 the past century hedonism you know this
0:29:01 idea of
0:29:03 do whatever you want go enjoy yourself
0:29:05 have fun fulfill your desires
0:29:07 you know this is what life is all about
0:29:09 this yolo mentality only live once go
0:29:11 and have fun
0:29:12 you know explore
0:29:14 um fulfill your desires whether they're
0:29:16 sexual whatever they are just go and do
0:29:18 whatever you want you know and that's
0:29:20 and and that worked again that was
0:29:21 another lantern that was lit yeah it
0:29:24 helped people in the short term led to a
0:29:26 lot of pleasure happiness you know
0:29:28 people we live most people around us
0:29:30 engaging in some you know a type of
0:29:31 hedonism today you know do whatever you
0:29:34 want and it leads to this short-term
0:29:37 spike in pleasure you may get a dopamine
0:29:39 kick but then afterwards you're left
0:29:40 feeling empty again you know you and and
0:29:43 you know this again now
0:29:45 some of it links to consumerism
0:29:47 consumerism ties in with hedonism here
0:29:48 as well because consumerism
0:29:50 is
0:29:51 very interesting from a few different
0:29:52 perspectives
0:29:54 but this is another way that human
0:29:56 beings especially in this secular world
0:29:58 today are encouraged to overcome
0:30:01 meaninglessness
0:30:02 is they're told and we're taught that
0:30:05 you are to find meaning in the world
0:30:08 around you the acquisition of the world
0:30:10 around you go and buy whatever you want
0:30:12 to buy go and amass as much as you you
0:30:14 can amass and try to outdo your neighbor
0:30:16 you know try to outdo your friends you
0:30:18 know try to have a little bit more
0:30:21 you know this is this is the world that
0:30:22 we live in and it's interesting because
0:30:24 you know i mean this will suit the
0:30:26 agenda if you like or some people some
0:30:28 people because
0:30:30 consumerism
0:30:31 you know is is one of the biggest
0:30:32 drivers of the economy it's one of the
0:30:35 biggest driving factors of the economy
0:30:37 you have you know the consumer society
0:30:40 because the more you buy you know the
0:30:42 the more that means that there is demand
0:30:44 the more products that are produced by
0:30:45 businesses businesses grow
0:30:47 businesses grow more employment
0:30:49 employment grows more people get jobs
0:30:51 and this inevitably increases the
0:30:53 economy right so there's another link
0:30:56 here as well but consumerism is another
0:30:58 way and it's it's a way that's
0:30:59 encouraged because of this very reason
0:31:01 you know this is where to find meaning
0:31:03 and happiness and again consumerism
0:31:04 doesn't work brothers and sisters
0:31:06 because
0:31:06 there's a lot of research on this now as
0:31:08 well tim casa in his book the high price
0:31:10 of materialism highlights well there is
0:31:12 no you know there is no uh
0:31:15 uh how do you how would you say it
0:31:18 there is no link between
0:31:20 material possessions and wealth and
0:31:23 well-being to a certain degree a level
0:31:26 if you have you know you may increase in
0:31:28 your material
0:31:29 items and possessions and and your you
0:31:32 know the amount of money you have
0:31:33 or how financially secure you are and
0:31:35 that would lead to
0:31:37 well-being to a certain degree but at a
0:31:38 certain point
0:31:40 that stops happening you know well-being
0:31:42 would level out and and no matter how
0:31:44 much more if you keep getting more and
0:31:45 more and more fixating more and more and
0:31:47 becoming more materialistic your
0:31:49 well-being is not going to increase with
0:31:50 this if anything it starts to dip that's
0:31:52 what they've noticed it starts to dip
0:31:53 off because the more materialistic you
0:31:55 become the more depressed you become and
0:31:57 the more anxious you become and it
0:31:59 affects
0:32:00 you know your family relationships and
0:32:02 ties you know it affects your psychology
0:32:04 affects your self-esteem because now you
0:32:06 start defining yourself through your
0:32:08 material possessions you know and if you
0:32:10 don't have something well then you feel
0:32:11 really depressed and sad
0:32:13 so it's it's it's a really sort of uh
0:32:17 you know it's it's it's a very dangerous
0:32:19 thing to engage in and it's not solving
0:32:21 the problem because it's a temporary
0:32:23 patch you get this momentaris you know
0:32:26 state of happiness
0:32:28 um and you may
0:32:30 become a materialist as you know adopt
0:32:33 materialism as a way of life not
0:32:35 materialism as the philosophy which is
0:32:36 that you start believing that you know
0:32:39 the the purpose of your life and meaning
0:32:41 comes to your life through the
0:32:42 acquisition of certain things within
0:32:44 this world
0:32:45 right but when you don't get them when
0:32:47 you can't get them what's going to
0:32:48 happen then and realizing that when you
0:32:50 die you're not going to take any of you
0:32:51 with you well what does it then mean in
0:32:53 the grand scheme of things right and who
0:32:55 told you that that is the ultimate
0:32:56 meaning of your life was that always the
0:32:58 ultimate meaning of everyone's life
0:32:59 throughout history because if you go
0:33:01 back 100 200 years you know the things
0:33:03 that we have today most of us have today
0:33:05 were only accessible to the rich and the
0:33:07 elite they weren't accessible to the
0:33:09 majority of the world so what was their
0:33:10 meaning of their life then
0:33:12 so they i mean it's it's just that it's
0:33:13 again it's a fix
0:33:15 temporary solution which doesn't work
0:33:17 causes more damage
0:33:19 and then there's different types of
0:33:20 escapism you know
0:33:22 drugs alcohol especially amongst the
0:33:24 youth the younger people you know
0:33:26 partying drugs alcohol they're trying to
0:33:28 escape reality and gaming is another
0:33:29 thing today
0:33:30 you know people especially youngsters
0:33:32 they're losing themselves they rather
0:33:34 live on a virtu in a virtual world right
0:33:37 this virtual sphere
0:33:39 as opposed to living in the real world
0:33:40 and it's if you look at games they're
0:33:42 designed in a very interesting way
0:33:44 because most games all games have levels
0:33:47 you have an objective you have a purpose
0:33:49 within the game and you have to overcome
0:33:52 each level and grow
0:33:53 through the game right so it's it's
0:33:55 almost like it's a fix it gives you a
0:33:57 dopamine kick because it appeals to your
0:34:00 nature as a human being to you know but
0:34:02 but it's a game it's not reality
0:34:04 you know so and we're trying to run away
0:34:06 from reality and just live in these
0:34:08 games and we've seen how attached people
0:34:10 become to these games you know i've
0:34:12 heard some there was this crazy uh story
0:34:14 in one of these uh i think indian
0:34:16 newspapers where apparently a and this
0:34:18 is not an isolated case where
0:34:21 uh a boy killed his father because he's
0:34:23 prevented him from playing the game one
0:34:24 of these games pubg i think it was this
0:34:26 this shooting game he literally killed
0:34:28 his father and and these crazy stories
0:34:30 like this right because it shows it's
0:34:32 almost like we're we're we're we're
0:34:34 vampires but
0:34:37 that are trying to suck meaning from
0:34:38 wherever we can get it right but we
0:34:40 can't find it and then we're trying to
0:34:41 find it in all of these things but
0:34:43 they're not satisfying us so these are
0:34:45 huge problems and these are these are
0:34:46 the type of solutions that people have
0:34:49 tried to propose these lanterns they've
0:34:50 tried to light but they've gone out you
0:34:52 know as a lantern is supposed to go out
0:34:54 it's gonna go out inevitably so how is
0:34:56 islam the solution
0:34:57 and i believe islam is the solution
0:35:00 fundamentally because islam makes clear
0:35:03 to us that there is a creator
0:35:05 you know you have a creator allah allah
0:35:08 created you he is one he created you but
0:35:10 he didn't create you for no reason
0:35:11 because he created you for a purpose
0:35:14 so even there fundamentally
0:35:17 nihilism disappears because as we've
0:35:19 seen it's the removal of god as a
0:35:22 conception which leads to nihilism as
0:35:23 soon as you you bring god back into the
0:35:25 picture nihilism disappears but what's
0:35:28 really interesting is that islam
0:35:31 really fills out you know the the gaps
0:35:34 it it leaves no stone unturned as far as
0:35:37 addressing nihilism conclusively and and
0:35:40 and once and for all
0:35:42 not only does islam tell us that there
0:35:44 we have a creator but allah informs us
0:35:46 that he created us for a very specific
0:35:49 purpose
0:35:50 as allah outlines in the quran that he
0:35:51 did not create us in the 51st chapter
0:35:54 verse 56
0:35:58 they did not create us for any other
0:36:00 reason except to know him and to worship
0:36:02 him
0:36:03 this is the purpose of our existence our
0:36:06 lives this is why we were created
0:36:09 right
0:36:10 so it's clarity now we know what our
0:36:12 purpose is not only this
0:36:14 god further outlines in the quran for
0:36:16 example in surah mulk chapter 67 verse 2
0:36:19 where god says and now he specifically
0:36:20 is highlighting
0:36:22 our
0:36:22 existence within this material world
0:36:25 right allah says and he created he is
0:36:28 the one who created death and life
0:36:30 in order to test which of us is best in
0:36:32 deeds
0:36:33 right so we're here in this world we're
0:36:35 going to worship our creator that is
0:36:37 that is the objective and but this world
0:36:40 is going to present us with challenges
0:36:41 we're going to face hardships we're
0:36:43 going to face trials we're going to face
0:36:45 you know difficulties we're going we're
0:36:47 going to be tested we're going to be
0:36:49 tested
0:36:50 right we're going to may have to make
0:36:51 choices
0:36:53 and i mean even ace even if you've
0:36:55 asked an atheist i mean think about life
0:36:57 right
0:36:58 what we're doing every moment of our
0:37:00 life every moment's a choice
0:37:01 if you think about it it's a choice that
0:37:03 we have to make so in another in in one
0:37:05 way it's a test every moment is a test
0:37:07 we're being tested you know what's
0:37:09 another thing that's going to be tested
0:37:10 is which of us are truthful in the claim
0:37:12 that we worship god
0:37:14 you know
0:37:15 i mean allah says the quran just because
0:37:17 you say you believe you think you're
0:37:18 going to be left alone no you're going
0:37:20 to be tested that claim is going to be
0:37:21 tested
0:37:22 do you truly believe you know it's easy
0:37:24 to say when things are comfortable but
0:37:25 when things get tough what are you going
0:37:27 to do then
0:37:28 are you going to you know come through
0:37:30 why are you going to turn away at the
0:37:32 first sign of a hurdle you know so we're
0:37:33 going to be tested this life is a test
0:37:36 now further in the quran
0:37:38 and this is something i'm going to go
0:37:39 into a lot more detail in the next
0:37:41 session next week on saturday where we
0:37:42 really sort of explore further
0:37:44 um you know uh
0:37:46 niches nietzsche in particular in his
0:37:48 contention to the religious solution if
0:37:51 you like to nihilism it's going to be
0:37:53 it's going to be a very interesting
0:37:54 session because we look as the idea of
0:37:55 true worlds and you know why he believed
0:37:58 that they weren't
0:37:59 an adequate response to nihilism etc but
0:38:01 we'll cover that then but then allah
0:38:02 here i'm going to mention here as well
0:38:04 what's important to realize is that not
0:38:05 only does allah tell us what our purpose
0:38:07 is and what our objective is within this
0:38:08 world allah outlines the link between
0:38:13 our existence in this world
0:38:15 and the hereafter right and this is a
0:38:18 very important lick brothers and sisters
0:38:20 i want you to keep this in mind because
0:38:21 what this when we go over next week's
0:38:23 session and we see nietzsche's
0:38:24 fundamental problem with you know uh the
0:38:27 the true world solution of religions to
0:38:30 nihilism you will see how
0:38:32 islam
0:38:33 his contention
0:38:35 does not apply to islam if anything
0:38:37 islam does away with his his issue with
0:38:39 with the idea of true wills
0:38:41 but here allah outlines in the quran for
0:38:43 us very specifically
0:38:44 that it's what we do in this world the
0:38:47 actions we do the choices we make which
0:38:49 have a direct bearing on where we end up
0:38:51 in the hereafter
0:38:53 so this life it's not the it's not the
0:38:55 case as in for example christianity
0:38:57 where you believe in in in the in the in
0:39:00 you know in the crucifixion of jesus
0:39:02 that he died for your sins and you're
0:39:03 just now waiting you know for your time
0:39:05 to come so that you can cross over and
0:39:07 go to heaven forever
0:39:08 it's not like that from our perspective
0:39:11 every moment in this world is going to
0:39:13 be accounted for that we live
0:39:15 every action that we take every choice
0:39:17 that we make we're going to be accounted
0:39:19 for it
0:39:20 you know so if we do good we'll be
0:39:21 rewarded for that good if we do bad
0:39:23 we'll be punished for that bad so
0:39:24 essentially what we're doing in this
0:39:26 world is like a springboard to the
0:39:27 hereafter you know we're working here to
0:39:30 build what we're going to get there
0:39:32 so it's there's a very clear and concise
0:39:35 link between this life and the hereafter
0:39:38 so this life is extremely meaningful and
0:39:40 like i said we're going to a lot more
0:39:41 detail in this uh in regards to this in
0:39:43 the next session and as for example as
0:39:45 an example allah says in the fourth
0:39:46 chapter of the quran verse 124 and
0:39:48 whoever does righteous deeds whether
0:39:50 male or female while being a believer
0:39:52 those will enter paradise and will not
0:39:54 be wronged even as much as even as much
0:39:56 as this the spec of a date seed so again
0:40:00 clearly outlining the link between this
0:40:02 world and the hereafter so islam
0:40:04 clarifies
0:40:05 you know
0:40:06 what our purpose is what we're doing in
0:40:08 this world and how
0:40:10 what we do in this world and our time in
0:40:12 this world links to where we end up in
0:40:14 the hereafter very clear right
0:40:17 so
0:40:18 to conclude
0:40:21 and here's something i want us to see
0:40:22 today you know mashallah if you guys
0:40:24 have read the divine reality and if you
0:40:26 haven't i encourage you to read the
0:40:27 divine reality
0:40:28 you know it it clearly outlines the
0:40:30 strength the intellectual strength of
0:40:32 our deen our tradition you know
0:40:35 it's we don't just say it's you know
0:40:37 iman is not just blind faith right it's
0:40:39 based on something solid it's something
0:40:41 that gives you stability and if you look
0:40:43 at it from intellectual perspective we
0:40:45 have
0:40:46 amazing powerful arguments you know
0:40:48 which
0:40:49 can which can lead to the intellectual
0:40:51 conviction of a person that islam is the
0:40:53 truth right
0:40:54 we have we have the understanding of the
0:40:56 fitra that the belief in allah is
0:40:57 natural it's there you can't run away
0:40:59 from it we've also touched upon this
0:41:00 earlier today
0:41:02 but what i want you to do is i want you
0:41:03 to look at the strength of it islam from
0:41:06 the perspective of utility how useful it
0:41:08 is for human beings not only is god not
0:41:10 dead and this is what i want us to
0:41:12 understand
0:41:13 but we need to realize that we are dead
0:41:15 without god
0:41:16 you know we we can't we can't function
0:41:18 you know we can't function if we really
0:41:20 understand the predicament of secular
0:41:22 modernity we would realize that we are
0:41:24 in desperate need of god and islam in
0:41:27 particular right it's the achilles heel
0:41:30 nihilism is the achilles heel
0:41:32 of the 21st century of this modern
0:41:34 western civilization you know and there
0:41:36 is a lot of work patchwork being done to
0:41:39 sort of prevent people from completely
0:41:41 losing themselves you know because it's
0:41:43 almost like keep it brushed under the
0:41:44 carpet your life is ultimately
0:41:46 meaningless keep it under the carpet
0:41:48 don't worry about this you just focus on
0:41:50 this life in this world and and making
0:41:53 you know the most of it
0:41:55 but every so often people over and over
0:41:57 again and especially after covid a lot
0:41:59 more people have been thinking about the
0:42:00 meaning and purpose of their life and
0:42:02 when you when you engage these questions
0:42:04 brothers and sisters you will very
0:42:06 quickly the non-muslim the one that
0:42:08 doesn't believe in god would very
0:42:10 quickly come to the realization that
0:42:11 their life is ultimately meaningless and
0:42:14 that's where that black hole opens up
0:42:15 and they start falling through that and
0:42:16 there is no end to this pit you know and
0:42:19 until they find answers
0:42:20 you just can't escape that you can't run
0:42:22 away from that
0:42:24 so people today the world today is in
0:42:26 need of god you know and and and we
0:42:28 let's be a bit nuanced
0:42:30 and it's important to clarify this as
0:42:31 well
0:42:33 what pushed people what really pushed
0:42:36 one of the things that pushed people
0:42:37 away from the idea of god especially in
0:42:39 the 16th and 17th and 18th centuries was
0:42:42 just the way the church
0:42:45 implemented itself at the time and the
0:42:47 way it oppressed people oppressed free
0:42:49 thinking
0:42:50 and so on and so forth right
0:42:52 islam never had this issue
0:42:54 islam encouraged people to engage in the
0:42:57 study of this world allah throughout the
0:42:59 quran read the quran you see god says
0:43:01 have you not seen the camel and how it's
0:43:02 created indeed in the creation of the
0:43:04 heavens and the earth
0:43:09 indeed in the creation of the heavens
0:43:11 and the earth and the alternation of the
0:43:12 night and they are signs
0:43:14 you know there are signs within the
0:43:15 physical world god is encouraging us to
0:43:17 study the physical world what you could
0:43:19 what we call today science essentially
0:43:21 the study of the physical world right
0:43:23 muslims never had this issue and that's
0:43:25 why we saw the amazing development in
0:43:27 the sciences biology chemistry medicine
0:43:30 mathematics within the muslim world you
0:43:33 know
0:43:34 when at the same time in the west it was
0:43:36 in the dark ages and christianity was
0:43:39 you know ensuring that no one got got
0:43:41 away from this no free thinkers got away
0:43:43 and and explored and understood the
0:43:45 world how did how did
0:43:47 how did the christian the the european
0:43:49 world rediscover
0:43:51 the classical tradition
0:43:54 a lot of they came through the muslims
0:43:55 because they preserved or preserved the
0:43:56 writings of the greeks
0:43:58 you know so if islam has a lot to do
0:44:00 with the enlightenment that the west
0:44:01 experienced and experienced in the 18th
0:44:03 century but is the issue was what
0:44:05 happened was because they had
0:44:07 they saw it was almost like a reaction
0:44:08 an adverse reaction the church was
0:44:10 oppressive therefore god is oppressive
0:44:12 therefore religion as a whole put it all
0:44:14 in the same basket is oppressive so
0:44:15 let's completely turn away from religion
0:44:17 but was interesting they didn't just
0:44:18 turn away from religion completely they
0:44:19 took some of the good bits you know the
0:44:22 ethical and moral foundations they tried
0:44:23 to keep hold of them although they
0:44:25 couldn't account for them anymore but
0:44:26 they try to keep because they're
0:44:27 necessary to build a civilization you
0:44:30 know those ethic that ethical and moral
0:44:31 framework is necessary to build a
0:44:33 civilization however if you really
0:44:35 question it there is no grounding there
0:44:37 is no objective grounding to ethics and
0:44:39 morals you know what's right what's
0:44:41 wrong etc and we're seeing the
0:44:42 degradation of morals within society
0:44:44 today why because well fundamentally we
0:44:46 live in a society a world that doesn't
0:44:48 acknowledge god and therefore there's no
0:44:50 anchor
0:44:51 so islam never had this issue and what
0:44:54 people need to start discovering islam
0:44:55 today because it has utility for human
0:44:58 beings it provides you with answers to
0:45:00 those fundamental questions that you
0:45:02 have and not only this it allows you and
0:45:03 encourages you to continue to discover
0:45:05 to
0:45:06 engage with the physical world to have
0:45:08 your share of the physical world but
0:45:10 within limits within boundaries to not
0:45:12 lose yourself at the same time you know
0:45:14 reminds you you you define yourself
0:45:16 through your relationship with your
0:45:17 creator not through your material
0:45:19 possessions although you can have them
0:45:20 but use them as a means to allow you to
0:45:22 be grateful to your creator you know so
0:45:24 there's a beautiful balance here islam
0:45:26 has a lot to offer
0:45:28 the west and and you know
0:45:31 just the world as a whole subhanallah
0:45:32 and this is something we should think
0:45:34 about especially from our prospective
0:45:35 brothers and sisters
0:45:37 realize the world that we live in
0:45:39 realize the problems of the world that
0:45:40 we live in and then provide the antidote
0:45:43 the islamic antidote you know to these
0:45:44 problems and issues and nihilism is one
0:45:46 of the biggest issues that we're that
0:45:47 we're facing today you know so
0:45:50 i'm going to stop there inshallah we go
0:45:51 to q a
0:45:53 let's open up to
0:45:54 question and answers inshallah
0:45:57 let's keep that on the screen
0:45:59 okay
0:46:01 so i'm gonna what i'm gonna do if you
0:46:02 guys have any questions now put them in
0:46:04 the chat section
0:46:06 um
0:46:07 i'm gonna flick through
0:46:11 i'm gonna flick through the questions
0:46:14 that you guys have probably sent in
0:46:15 while i was presenting
0:46:18 and see if there's anything there that
0:46:19 we could start with
0:46:29 okay
0:46:36 so i'm looking to everyone that's joined
0:46:37 us and is on this live
0:46:45 from existential nihilism to islamic
0:46:48 theism yeah i mean that is the solution
0:46:50 if only people start to
0:46:52 you know
0:46:53 put down decide to put away the baggage
0:46:55 and start to look into islam
0:47:08 okay
0:47:13 some of you guys have summarized what we
0:47:15 were discussing in in really nice chunks
0:47:17 mashallah
0:47:36 yes i think hello is what you're getting
0:47:38 at
0:47:40 is if for atheists there is no meaning
0:47:41 to life this is the only life to you
0:47:43 know that they live then why
0:47:45 do they live it or why do they you know
0:47:47 promote and and become proponents of
0:47:50 certain ideologies and you know
0:47:52 uh groups like humanism for example
0:47:55 right there's a clear contradiction here
0:47:58 um that's something we should ask them
0:47:59 you know because i think it's because
0:48:01 it's to do with human nature
0:48:03 you know it
0:48:05 deep down inside we realize
0:48:08 that there is good and bad you know
0:48:10 allah mentions this in surah shams in
0:48:12 the quran that he inspired
0:48:14 the soul with an understanding of its of
0:48:16 good and bad so there is a baseline
0:48:18 understanding we we know there are
0:48:20 certain things that are wrong and
0:48:21 certain things that are right
0:48:24 and they recognize this because they're
0:48:25 human as well just because they deny
0:48:26 allah it doesn't mean they're not
0:48:28 created by allah anymore right that
0:48:30 allah didn't create them
0:48:31 with the nature and they don't have the
0:48:32 fitra but they can't account for it so
0:48:34 they're literally expressing a
0:48:35 contradiction when they do these things
0:48:43 okay
0:48:59 okay see
0:49:16 so hello is mentioning again mashallah
0:49:17 there's a survey continuous battle that
0:49:19 seems to be going on within people
0:49:21 between the fitra and
0:49:25 their ideologies and worldviews that
0:49:27 they hold
0:49:37 many of them just blame god and say why
0:49:42 i think yeah the problem with evil it's
0:49:44 it's you know it's an interesting topic
0:49:46 but obviously i think there's a really
0:49:47 there's this there's definitely some
0:49:49 really good uh sessions on that on this
0:49:51 channel
0:49:52 um and maybe even
0:49:54 there's
0:49:56 definitely something written on this on
0:49:57 sapiens institute.org
0:50:00 so you can check that out there in
0:50:01 charlottesville
0:50:09 okay
0:50:25 okay i'm sure there's some good
0:50:26 discussions that have been going on
0:50:29 hamdulillah
0:50:38 okay let's go right down to the poem
0:50:40 what do you say when someone says
0:50:44 okay this is a good question
0:50:46 so
0:50:49 this
0:50:49 what do you say when someone says i am i
0:50:52 am spiritual but why would i need
0:50:54 religion
0:50:55 i have
0:50:56 an answer but really want to hear what
0:50:58 you with the device yeah you know what
0:51:00 you guys this is another thing so this
0:51:02 is another lantern that they're trying
0:51:05 to light today which is
0:51:07 of uh
0:51:08 this new age spiritualism there's loads
0:51:10 of people that would say they're
0:51:11 spiritual you know that they practice
0:51:13 some sort of spirituality
0:51:14 uh it's i think it's referred to as
0:51:16 idolism
0:51:18 uh because a lot of people they they
0:51:19 link this with the idea of
0:51:22 that consciousness is everything
0:51:24 you know
0:51:25 and so so they as opposed to the
0:51:28 materialist that says look
0:51:30 there's the physical brain that produces
0:51:32 consciousness
0:51:34 which is an illusion essentially and we
0:51:36 perceive the world around us the
0:51:38 the idolist returns turns around what
0:51:40 they say is well this consciousness at
0:51:42 base bottom is consciousness and
0:51:44 everything emerges through this
0:51:45 consciousness and some of them even
0:51:47 appeal to a the you know a core
0:51:49 consciousness right that everything else
0:51:51 is linked to um and they're so based and
0:51:53 then they bring in some other spiritual
0:51:55 ideas and link it to this i've come
0:51:57 across many people like this as well
0:51:58 they believe in soul consciousness
0:51:59 spirituality you know and they say well
0:52:01 what's the need for
0:52:02 religion that's a good point but again
0:52:05 it's
0:52:06 if you just claim to be spiritual
0:52:08 and say you're firstly what does that
0:52:10 mean how do you know in most cases these
0:52:12 people are redefining what they mean by
0:52:13 spirituality right uh they have their
0:52:15 own conception of spirituality maybe
0:52:17 it's a good feeling
0:52:19 or
0:52:20 you know when they're meditating they
0:52:21 consider this to be is spiritual
0:52:24 what do you mean by spirituality that's
0:52:26 one thing right and second the second
0:52:27 thing is well where did you get these
0:52:29 ideas from
0:52:30 you know in most cases it's it stems
0:52:32 from one's own understanding or way
0:52:35 something that they want to practice and
0:52:36 do a lot of people link spirituality to
0:52:38 meditation these days a lot of people
0:52:40 are trying to meditate
0:52:41 you know um and and engage in meditation
0:52:44 that's what people like the guru for
0:52:45 example
0:52:46 you know they're very clever they uh
0:52:49 they realize the
0:52:51 needs
0:52:52 or the demand
0:52:54 of the world today
0:52:56 which is spirituality without
0:52:59 baggage that's what they want they want
0:53:00 spirituality without god they want
0:53:02 spirituality without submission to a
0:53:04 higher being they want spirituality
0:53:06 without
0:53:07 order
0:53:08 you know without dictates without you
0:53:11 know to do certain you know a way of
0:53:13 living they want to they want to con and
0:53:15 and you can see where this is stemming
0:53:17 from because this whole you know
0:53:19 society liberal society it's all based
0:53:21 on you know individual liberty you do
0:53:23 what you want to do you choose to live
0:53:24 the way you want to live as long as you
0:53:25 don't harm the you know anyone else in
0:53:27 the process you you you be your own god
0:53:29 basically you know you are your own god
0:53:31 you do what you want to do and you
0:53:33 create your own reality
0:53:35 okay and people have become accustomed
0:53:37 to this and they've got a taste for this
0:53:39 now so it's very hard for someone like
0:53:41 that and that type of psychology to
0:53:43 submit to another being
0:53:45 you know
0:53:46 so
0:53:47 but at the same time they realize they
0:53:48 need spirituality
0:53:50 so
0:53:51 what's the best thing to do let's make
0:53:53 up our own type of spirituality which
0:53:54 doesn't come with god or religion you
0:53:56 know let's just as long as i can get a
0:53:58 bit of a dopamine fix and be a part of a
0:54:01 community as long as but at the same
0:54:03 time i have to submit to god so it's a
0:54:05 natural you can see the natural
0:54:06 progression there
0:54:07 so i would just engage with them and say
0:54:09 well how did you come up with this idea
0:54:11 you know and
0:54:13 what are the basis for this because a
0:54:14 lot of these new age spiritual movements
0:54:16 are based on
0:54:17 you know
0:54:18 the sort of uh a clustering of loads of
0:54:20 different traditions and some a bit of
0:54:22 hinduism a bit of buddhism a bit of this
0:54:24 a bit of that so they normally make it
0:54:26 up themselves so if it's if it's
0:54:27 something you've concocted well if
0:54:29 you've then given yourself a meaning and
0:54:31 told yourself what the meaning of your
0:54:33 existence is well again it's what we
0:54:35 discussed no different from the approach
0:54:36 of the existentialists just to slightly
0:54:38 package it differently you know
0:54:39 different packaging they're making you
0:54:41 up for themselves you know so how is
0:54:43 that your ultimate
0:54:44 purpose how is it the ultimate meaning
0:54:46 of your life it's just something you've
0:54:47 made up
0:54:48 you know so that's how i would address
0:54:50 them
0:54:53 a lot of muslims are
0:54:55 fascinated horoscopes yes i mean it's
0:54:57 again
0:54:59 this i mentioned this earlier a lot of
0:55:01 muslims we have issues man
0:55:04 especially the youth and we need to
0:55:05 really sort of
0:55:07 figure things out because a lot of times
0:55:09 we're number one living no different to
0:55:11 the way atheists and you know people
0:55:13 that don't believe in god are living
0:55:15 um
0:55:16 number two we
0:55:18 may claim alhamdulillah we do to be
0:55:21 muslim but at the same time we haven't
0:55:23 internalized what islam is teaching us
0:55:25 and therefore we end up
0:55:27 experiencing nihilism
0:55:29 you know i mean we
0:55:31 i've see i've i've i know people like
0:55:33 i've experienced i've spoken to people
0:55:34 like this they are muslim but at the
0:55:36 same time they're experiencing
0:55:38 existential angst anxiety existential
0:55:40 anxiety
0:55:42 and well it's a simple
0:55:44 connection there where you haven't
0:55:45 understood
0:55:46 what the purpose of life is as allah has
0:55:48 told us you know look you if you're what
0:55:50 does it mean to adopt a worldview a way
0:55:52 of life it means to adhere to that way
0:55:54 of life and internalize what it's
0:55:56 telling you and it's it's tenants
0:55:58 now if you don't do this or don't make
0:56:00 the effort to do this what benefit is it
0:56:02 to just have a label label means nothing
0:56:05 you know it's it's have you internalized
0:56:07 okay you we've we're muslim but have we
0:56:10 really tried to internalize the reality
0:56:12 that allah created us to worship him
0:56:14 and have we really allowed this to get
0:56:16 into our sink into our belief systems
0:56:18 into our psychology to the point where
0:56:20 it's yes it's true for us
0:56:22 because if we have well then you won't
0:56:23 have the existential anxiety but if we
0:56:26 haven't then you will have the
0:56:27 existential anxiety so we have to really
0:56:29 look inwards and work from these things
0:56:31 and most of us don't and that's why you
0:56:32 have muslim
0:56:33 nihilists you know
0:56:35 um
0:56:36 it's it's a problem and and this is why
0:56:38 we have muslims that are trying to run
0:56:39 away from the world in reality and life
0:56:42 as are non-muslims
0:56:43 but we have the solution it's just a
0:56:45 case of internalizing making the effort
0:56:46 to internalize that that reality
0:56:51 assalamu alaikum
0:56:53 salaam
0:57:04 so
0:57:06 ahmed says why allah in the quran
0:57:08 threatens us with hell fire
0:57:10 to become muslim god knows millions
0:57:12 methods
0:57:13 other than fear of hell to increase
0:57:16 followers
0:57:17 of muhammad could you use fear
0:57:20 well
0:57:22 i don't firstly i think you're
0:57:23 understanding the word choice of words
0:57:25 is it highlights that you i think you're
0:57:27 understanding this in the wrong way
0:57:29 um you look
0:57:32 first think about our own psychology
0:57:34 carrot and stick this is how we work
0:57:36 this is what your boss will do at work
0:57:38 right if you're not performing
0:57:40 you will get a threat
0:57:42 you know but in the case of your boss
0:57:44 it's he's probably looking out for his
0:57:45 own interests right he's thinking about
0:57:47 if this guy doesn't perform i'm losing
0:57:49 out
0:57:50 he will threaten you so you start
0:57:52 working you know so there will be a
0:57:54 selfish motive there but in the case of
0:57:55 allah there's no comparison allah
0:57:57 doesn't need anything
0:57:58 you know he's free of need but he
0:58:00 created us to worship him
0:58:02 right so he wants us to worship him
0:58:04 because he this is how he created us and
0:58:06 he knows our success lies in worshiping
0:58:08 him in this life and in the hereafter
0:58:10 so
0:58:11 our psychology is you know there's allah
0:58:13 encourages us in some ways imposes in in
0:58:16 in what you not threats for example in
0:58:18 positive ways to do good things so we
0:58:20 can attain paradise allah describes
0:58:22 jannah for us so it creates this desire
0:58:24 within us to want to attain it but at
0:58:26 the same time then with some people they
0:58:28 work with stick they need a bit of a
0:58:29 stick sometimes right so allah then
0:58:31 gives you that stick
0:58:32 yeah and again it's what is the
0:58:34 objective
0:58:35 is so that you wake up and don't land
0:58:38 yourself in hell fire essentially right
0:58:40 it's for your good you know this is you
0:58:42 our psychology so it and it and allah
0:58:45 does use many different methods in the
0:58:47 quran to encourage us to to accept islam
0:58:50 and to follow islam and to adhere to the
0:58:52 truth and to do the best we can allah
0:58:54 tells us the quran what is he going to
0:58:56 get from from punishing us sending us to
0:58:57 the fire nothing allah is not going to
0:58:59 benefit from us
0:59:00 you know
0:59:02 this this ratio of the process
0:59:04 where he said that he when he mentions
0:59:06 that if all of humanity from the
0:59:08 beginning to the end were to gather
0:59:10 together and to i think and i'm
0:59:12 paraphrasing i may or may not be getting
0:59:14 this fully right and was to worship
0:59:16 allah in the most perfect manner
0:59:17 possible it won't increase allah's
0:59:18 majesty in the slightest and if all of
0:59:20 humanity was to turn away from this
0:59:23 it wouldn't decrease allah in any way
0:59:24 shape or form
0:59:26 allah is free of need allah he's free
0:59:28 he's the rich he doesn't need us but he
0:59:31 created us to worship his us him worship
0:59:33 him he wants us to worship him and he
0:59:36 and and therefore the quran is mercy
0:59:38 from allah
0:59:39 it's it's guidance for us
0:59:41 you know to to show us the way make
0:59:44 things easy for us there's encouragement
0:59:46 in there and that encouragement comes in
0:59:47 many different ways
0:59:49 and sometimes it comes in the way of
0:59:50 warning us of the hellfire so we don't
0:59:52 end up there you know it's it's for and
0:59:54 that there is a mercy in that brothers
0:59:56 and sisters
0:59:58 you know something i was thinking about
0:59:59 the other day
1:00:01 barring one surah of the quran every
1:00:03 single surah starts with bismillah
1:00:06 bismuth
1:00:08 right that allah is
1:00:10 the most the excessively merciful the
1:00:12 intensely merciful and
1:00:14 rahim have been understood and be
1:00:16 detailed by the scholars in many
1:00:18 different ways the understanding of
1:00:19 these
1:00:20 names of allah
1:00:22 but allah in every single chapter
1:00:24 borrowing one is reminding us right in
1:00:26 the beginning of his mercy
1:00:29 right in the beginning of his mercy his
1:00:30 loving mercy
1:00:32 you know his unconditional loving mercy
1:00:35 and then everything else comes that you
1:00:37 know we continue to read on
1:00:39 even where the chapters were allah
1:00:41 reminds us of the hellfire
1:00:44 rahman rahimah mentioned
1:00:46 in the beginning it's almost like
1:00:49 the beginning
1:00:51 it contextualizes everything else
1:00:54 it's almost like we should read
1:00:55 therefore everything that follows
1:00:56 through the lens of mercy that this is
1:00:58 from the mercy of allah this is from the
1:01:00 love of allah whatever follows after
1:01:02 bismillah
1:01:03 is from the love of allah and his mercy
1:01:05 even the warnings even the threats
1:01:07 because they benefit us so we should
1:01:09 start seeing this in in the right way
1:01:10 always think good of allah you know we
1:01:12 we just our estimations of allah always
1:01:14 always uh
1:01:17 terrible
1:01:20 so how can we respond to atheists when
1:01:22 they say
1:01:24 they can make their own meaning just say
1:01:26 go ahead go carry on you know
1:01:29 one thing i would highlight to them is
1:01:31 or ask them
1:01:32 okay you want to make up meaning i can
1:01:35 do that you can do that but what does
1:01:37 making up meaning mean
1:01:39 what does making up meaning mean ask
1:01:42 them this question
1:01:44 you're making something up you're you're
1:01:47 lying to yourself
1:01:49 there is no
1:01:50 whatever you make up because
1:01:52 atheist a and atheist b
1:01:54 may both make up their own meaning but
1:01:56 both of them will make up different
1:01:58 meanings
1:02:00 you know one is not necessarily better
1:02:01 than the other in any way shape or form
1:02:03 because they're not objective it's just
1:02:04 something they've subjectively come up
1:02:06 with
1:02:07 it's their idea
1:02:08 therefore intrinsically it's meaningless
1:02:12 because ultimately on atheism everything
1:02:14 is meaningless it has no ultimate
1:02:16 meaning
1:02:17 so the ideas their brains and
1:02:19 meaningless minds come up with are
1:02:20 ultimately meaningless
1:02:22 so it's pointless really i mean if you
1:02:24 want to do it and
1:02:25 you know it helps you carry on you know
1:02:28 go ahead
1:02:36 okay let's see
1:02:37 um
1:02:48 game. says do you know modern if modern
1:02:51 technology has an effect on god being
1:02:53 out of the picture
1:02:55 i there's definitely a link because if
1:02:57 we talk about technology we're talking
1:02:58 about the gaming industry we're talking
1:03:00 about
1:03:02 you know television we're talking about
1:03:04 the internet we're talking about uh you
1:03:06 know all of the things now that we have
1:03:08 digital access to social media
1:03:10 right so all of these things ultimately
1:03:13 are
1:03:14 are a form of destruction
1:03:17 you know are a form of us escaping
1:03:21 reality
1:03:22 temporarily right so ultimately they are
1:03:25 having an effect
1:03:26 you know because we're being occupied by
1:03:28 all of these other things and different
1:03:30 things continuously
1:03:32 so you know
1:03:33 they like patches in a way
1:03:35 so yeah i think it does
1:03:50 do you think science in this day and age
1:03:52 is being used as a religion if they are
1:03:54 ready to bow before science which has
1:03:57 limitations why don't they acknowledge
1:03:59 god who is transcendent
1:04:02 president
1:04:03 yes
1:04:04 well
1:04:05 your point is right uh
1:04:08 science some people some
1:04:10 atheists may knowingly or unknowingly
1:04:12 adopted as a way of life scientism
1:04:15 um
1:04:16 empiricism you know the the the
1:04:20 they
1:04:21 make science out to be more than science
1:04:24 actually is you know i don't think they
1:04:26 take it as
1:04:28 i don't know if you can call it a
1:04:29 religion
1:04:31 um
1:04:32 but in what from one perspective you can
1:04:34 i guess you know they
1:04:36 you could do i think i put it you know
1:04:39 science is their religion
1:04:41 um
1:04:43 and dawkins harry's hitchins all of
1:04:46 these guys are the prophets and uh
1:04:48 darwin is the god in a way i think
1:04:51 that's one of the ways you can look at
1:04:52 this you know it's it's for some people
1:04:55 because but i don't think it's
1:04:57 necessarily a religion but they do make
1:04:58 science out to be more than it is
1:05:00 you know scientism for example this idea
1:05:03 which
1:05:04 originated
1:05:05 uh amongst the
1:05:07 logical positivists in the 1920s
1:05:10 in vienna
1:05:11 they proposed this this idea that look
1:05:14 you know this method that we refer to as
1:05:17 science is the is the only way to truth
1:05:19 any other
1:05:21 quote-unquote truth which may have come
1:05:24 via other means or other roots of
1:05:26 knowledge isn't we don't consider it
1:05:28 it's either false or it's insignificant
1:05:29 it's not to be paid attention to what
1:05:31 comes from the scientific method is what
1:05:34 is true
1:05:35 so you know that is in a way
1:05:38 elevating science
1:05:40 and presenting it something more than it
1:05:42 actually is
1:05:50 dangerous quran stated
1:05:58 okay
1:06:07 and some questions that we should not
1:06:08 relate so i'm not going to
1:06:10 answer those
1:06:17 okay let's see
1:06:26 okay so behind her
1:07:00 so many people don't actually know what
1:07:01 really science really is and how it has
1:07:04 limitations
1:07:05 they just like using
1:07:09 yep
1:07:25 this is interesting the boss says they
1:07:28 use science to find out how they can
1:07:29 overcome nihilistic anxiety mindfulness
1:07:33 and they are able to keep god out of the
1:07:35 pictures yeah this is the new so this is
1:07:36 a new trend especially that's emerging
1:07:38 and i think haris sam harris was one of
1:07:40 its first
1:07:42 proponents he he actually
1:07:45 wrote a book on spirituality without god
1:07:48 i think it's called waking up
1:07:51 and
1:07:51 see he's clever from the he's sharp he
1:07:54 knows that there is a spiritual void
1:07:58 by a very nature as human beings we are
1:08:00 spiritual there's an element of us which
1:08:01 which requires spirituality
1:08:04 now he's trying to fill that gap
1:08:07 something people like dawkins who are
1:08:08 more old school aren't really doing or
1:08:10 aren't interested and there's a very
1:08:11 interesting there's a very interesting
1:08:13 uh podcast between richard dawkins and
1:08:15 sam harris and samaras tries to walk him
1:08:18 through one of these mindful exercises
1:08:20 and dukkin dawkins really doesn't like
1:08:22 it
1:08:23 so he's more old-school
1:08:25 naturalist type tokens but sam harris
1:08:27 he's he's more in you know he's got his
1:08:28 finger on the pulse a bit more with you
1:08:30 know the requirements of the atheist
1:08:32 community
1:08:33 and
1:08:34 a lot of atheists there's many books now
1:08:36 that have come out on this uh are
1:08:38 wanting to are moving towards this sort
1:08:40 of type of spiritualism you know
1:08:42 atheistic spiritualism i don't know and
1:08:44 again i don't know how they make sense
1:08:46 of this
1:08:47 you know i was thinking about this the
1:08:48 other day well one of the things they're
1:08:49 probably having to do is obviously
1:08:52 redefining what they mean by
1:08:53 spirituality
1:08:54 because their conception of spirituality
1:08:56 has to be
1:08:57 one which could be
1:09:01 materialistically accounted for so it
1:09:03 has to be within that framework now they
1:09:06 may see it like for them it may be okay
1:09:08 if we can get to get into a certain
1:09:10 physical state which releases certain
1:09:14 chemicals in our brain dopamine
1:09:16 serotonin you know all of these sort of
1:09:18 happy
1:09:19 endorphins etc then
1:09:22 and that leads to this feeling of
1:09:24 fulfillment and love and happiness what
1:09:27 that spirituality so they may maybe
1:09:30 redefining it like this there's a
1:09:32 totally different conception of of of
1:09:34 what we would what would spirituality
1:09:36 would be how it would be understood uh
1:09:38 traditionally but
1:09:39 so so they've redefined it and again
1:09:41 it's all about pleasure you know in a
1:09:43 way it's just pleasure in this world
1:09:45 okay spiritual word let's try to do some
1:09:47 meditation
1:09:48 you know and and get that fulfillment so
1:09:50 they're moving towards this you know
1:09:53 uh there's there's another trend an
1:09:55 interesting trend which is what you're
1:09:57 seeing there's a shift from you know
1:09:58 there's a lot of interest in people like
1:10:00 jordan peterson
1:10:02 recently especially over the past uh
1:10:05 you know couple of years
1:10:06 and a lot of the atheist community that
1:10:09 was predominantly following dawkins and
1:10:11 these guys the horsemen are now shifting
1:10:14 over slowly to jordan peterson
1:10:16 why and if you look at peterson's
1:10:19 content
1:10:20 what he's focusing on
1:10:21 is essentially
1:10:23 existentialism
1:10:25 you know the the question of meaning the
1:10:27 question of responsibility having a
1:10:29 purpose having an objective all of these
1:10:31 things you know these are some of the
1:10:33 fundamental things he talks about
1:10:34 you know so people are getting from him
1:10:36 what they couldn't get from these
1:10:38 naturalist atheists right
1:10:40 so i mean there's there's different ways
1:10:43 people and people will continue like i
1:10:44 said to light lanterns as we said
1:10:46 earlier you know these
1:10:47 temporary lights which would try to help
1:10:50 them deal with these issues and they'll
1:10:51 keep going out and they'll have to light
1:10:53 other ones
1:10:54 and the solution some people you know
1:10:56 may allah guide them you know some
1:10:57 people will find the ultimate light
1:10:59 you know as allah says the light
1:11:01 he's the light of the heavens and the
1:11:02 earth you know and and through allah
1:11:05 they will understand through islam in
1:11:06 particular they would understand reality
1:11:09 and i mean you know we should be
1:11:11 grateful to allah that he's you know
1:11:13 that he's given us a way of life
1:11:16 you know not only a way of life which
1:11:18 tells us to do certain things which are
1:11:20 good for us but a way of life a
1:11:22 revelation which explains
1:11:24 and answers questions for us fundamental
1:11:27 questions that we have as human beings
1:11:29 that is so powerful brothers and sisters
1:11:32 you know there are people out there that
1:11:33 desperate for these answers
1:11:35 desperate for these answers
1:11:37 and they don't some of these people
1:11:38 never come across these answers in the
1:11:40 entire lifetime but every you know many
1:11:42 of you here right now have got these
1:11:44 answers you found these answers you know
1:11:46 so be grateful and one of the ways of
1:11:48 really showing gratitude is now share
1:11:49 these with other people share the
1:11:51 answers share how is the solutions islam
1:11:53 has to the problems that we face today
1:11:55 with other people that need these
1:11:57 answers inshallah so i guess we'll wrap
1:11:59 up on there brothers and sisters may
1:12:00 allah bless you
1:12:01 all
1:12:02 um inshallah what we'll do is next week
1:12:04 week we have another session
1:12:06 it a part two of this
1:12:09 discussion where we're really gonna go
1:12:11 into
1:12:12 uh the you know um you know the sort of
1:12:15 fodder if you like those that's been
1:12:17 thrown from the other side from the
1:12:18 existentialist atheist side
1:12:20 uh towards the theistic side as you know
1:12:23 when theists provide a answer to
1:12:25 nihilism um we're going to look at
1:12:28 how christianity
1:12:30 try to or and other traditions try to
1:12:32 address the problem of nihilism
1:12:35 referring or appealing to true worlds as
1:12:38 nietzsche called them true worlds
1:12:40 and we're going to look at his
1:12:42 critique of the true world in particular
1:12:44 the christian conception of the true
1:12:46 world
1:12:47 and then we're going to see how islam
1:12:51 breaks down that
1:12:53 critique and how islam's conception if
1:12:55 you want to call it of the true world
1:12:58 is
1:13:00 is
1:13:00 so profound you know and so complete um
1:13:04 that it it you know
1:13:06 that if you know nietzsche understood it
1:13:09 and had studied it i believe he may have
1:13:10 become a muslim you know i really
1:13:12 believe he may have become because he
1:13:13 was he had some favorable favorable
1:13:15 views in regards to islam i don't think
1:13:17 he looked into islam's true world
1:13:19 conception because he wrote a lot on
1:13:20 true worlds and he would have said
1:13:22 something if he had but i don't think he
1:13:23 had he did
1:13:25 and you know even iqbal muhammad iqbal
1:13:28 in in his java dharma he and he was
1:13:30 someone that really studied nietzsche to
1:13:32 uh you know
1:13:34 in depth you know to the i mean there's
1:13:36 a lot of similarity between the
1:13:38 conceptions between nietzsche's
1:13:39 ubermensch and uh iqbal's concept of the
1:13:42 of of the
1:13:43 murder movement this this uh
1:13:47 the the perfect believer the perfect man
1:13:50 um
1:13:51 so this uh he and he said he you know he
1:13:53 he mentioned that you know if nietzsche
1:13:56 uh you know something along the lines of
1:13:58 nietzsche had lived at the time
1:14:00 of the prophet peace be upon him he
1:14:01 would have become muslim you know and if
1:14:03 he had lived at the time of iqbal would
1:14:05 have shown him the glory of god um so
1:14:08 yeah and we'll discuss this next week
1:14:09 inshallah it's going to be an
1:14:10 interesting topic so join us next
1:14:12 saturday insha allah same time 6 pm may
1:14:14 allah bless you guys and i will speak to
1:14:16 you guys soon