Yasir Qadhi is the Dean of Academic Affairs at AlMaghrib Institute in Houston, Texas.
On July 24, 2014 Yasir Qadhi delivered a lecture explaining the first chapter of the Quran, Surah Al-Fatiha. The first chapter of the Quran is a mandatory prayer recited by Muslim believers at least 17 times in their 5 daily prayers.
Here are excerpts from Yasir Qadhi’s lecture:
And we notice this in the Quran غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ [the people upon whom anger is shown and the people who are astray] it is as if, and of course this is true, even though the concept of ‘qadar’ [divine fore-ordainment] is deep,we’re not going to fully understand it, much less explain it in a five-minute discussion over an idea [خاطرة]. It is as if the people upon whom anger is shown and the people who are astray, they deserve the anger and they deserve to be astray. It’s not that Allah forced them. It’s not that there’s any injustice being done. There is no Injustice. Those upon whom anger is shown they deserve that anger, but those who are blessed, those who are fortunate, they do not earn that fortune. Allah blessed them with that fortune. Also one could also say, and this is the interpenetration of many scholars غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ, not the path of those whom anger has been shown means multiple entities are angry, not just Allah. Evil people is not just Allah who’s angry with them. The tyrants, the sinners, the people who cheat and steal, the people who caused sedition [فتنة] and corruption [فساد], who is angry with them? Not just Allah. The angels are angry with them, and all of humanity is angry with them. So when we say ‘people upon whom anger is shown’ [مغضوب عليهم] we are saying: Evil people are despised by the creation. Evil people are despised by the creation. And how true is this. We don’t like tyrants. We don’t like people who cheat and lie. We don’t like people who caused sedition and corruption. People upon whom anger is shown [مغضوب عليهم] the world is angry with them. So committing sins earns you the anger, not just of Allah, of the angels and of the righteous and even of all of humanity. Now, Our Prophet [Mohammad], peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, he gave some examples, and he said that an example of ‘the people upon whom anger is shown’ [غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ] are some of the followers of the Prophet Musa [Moses], peace be upon him, and an example of what ‘the people who are astray’ [الضَّالِّينَ] some of the followers of Jesus, Issa bin Maryam. Now, this is, as Imam Fakhr al-Din [al-Razi] says an example that two categories of people ‘the people upon whom anger is shown and the people who are astray’ [المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ] and the Prophet [Mohammad] illustrated these categories by two religions [Judaism and Christianity]. Now what is the illustration? ‘The people upon whom anger is shown’ [مغضوب عليهم] are people are people who know the truth but do not follow it. ‘The people who are astray’ [ضالين] are those who don’t know the truth and they’re trying to follow it sincerely. So the difference between the two is what? ‘The people upon whom anger is shown’ [مغضوب عليهم] they know the truth but for some reason they refuse to follow. They don’t have sincerity. They know what is right and wrong, and an example of this is Shaytan [Satan], and this is worse than what is ‘the people who are astray’ [الضالين], to know the truth and to not follow is worse, as for what ‘the people who are astray’ [الضالين]? They don’t know the truth. They’re trying to find the truth and this is exactly how Allah, May He be glorified and exalted, describes the modern followers of the Prophet Musa [Moses, meaning the Jews] and the modern followers of the Prophet Issa [Jesus, meaning the Christians]. The modern followers of the Prophet Musa [Moses, meaning the Jews] by large they know the truth, and yet they do not want to follow it. And the followers of Jesus Christ in our times they think they know the truth. Generally speaking Allah says: You’ll find them the most sincere people. The true followers of Jesus Christ they’re misguided. They think Jesus taught Christianity, the Trinity. They think Jesus taught whatever they believe he taught, but he didn’t teach that. But they are sincere. They want to follow what they think is Jesus Christ’s methodology. And this is an example our the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said. Now what this means therefore this means therefore is the true Muslim avoids both of these paths. The path of knowledge without action and the path of action without knowledge.
In a lecture few years ago Yasir Qadhi said:
“This is the precise definition of shirk [polytheism] to make a partner along with Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He [GEBH]. And we realize that obviously shirk [polytheism] that is the opposite of tawhid [monotheism] must by necessity and by definition be the the most evil of all evils as Jews and Christians are mushrikoon [polytheists] in our perspective of tawhid [monotheism] as we have studied can understand how, and only the Muslims are upon tawhid [monotheism]. And it is also the ame reason, or the same principle of tawhid [monotheism] which is the first obligation upon every single human being, that he bears witness and he testifies that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah GEBH. And it is because of this same principle of tawhid [monotheism] that the Prophet, peace be upon him, has been commanded to do jihad. Jihad is a means and not a goal of itself. It is a means to establish tawhid [monotheism] on the land. أمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلا الله I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify لا إله إلا الله there is no God but Allah. So the whole reason why Allah GEBH has created us sent the prophets and revealed the books and differentiated us based upon this principle and allowed for jihad, is the basis and is the principle of tawhid [monotheism]. The life and property of a mushrik [polytheist, also identified as Christian] holds no value in the state of jihad. Make no respect. Notice that I said in the state of jihad, not at all times and places. The life and property of a mushrik becomes ‘halal’ [permissible] while in a state of jihad. The prophet, peace be upon him, said, and I quote the hadith before, ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: ‘There is no god but Allah’ [Islamic creed declaring belief in the tawhid [monotheism], and when they say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam], he went on, when they say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam], their life and property become protected for me. Which means if they don’t say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam] their life and property are halal [permissible] for the Muslims. So the Christians do commit shirk [polytheism], they are ‘kuffar’ [disbelievers] and they are mushrikoon [polytheists]. The mushrikoon [polytheists] are najis [impure, filth], they are filthy. Najasa [impurity, filth]. They are filthy, a spiritual filthiness which can only be purified by the purity of monotheism [tawhid]. Allah calls the mushrikoon [polytheists] najis [filthy] which is a very evil thing. When Allah Himself says the mushrikoon [polytheists] are najis [impure, filth], Allah is calling them najis [impure, filth], they are najasa [impurity], a filthy, impure, dirty substance.”
On July 3, 2013 Yasir Qadhi published a “Clarification and Notice” in which he wrote among other things the following:
“Never have I claimed that Christians need to be prevented from practicing Christianity, or that they are filthy. This is truly a preposterous claim, as even the most basic exposure to Islamic law would demonstrate that non-Muslims are allowed to worship according to their doctrines in an Islamic state. Therefore (and I have made this point many times in my lectures), if this is the case in an ideal and theoretical ‘Islamic state’, how can anyone claim that Muslims want to ban Christianity in a non-Islamic land?”