 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم والحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة على أشرف الخلق وعز المرسلين بالقاسم محمد وعلى آل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين وصحبه المنتجبين one of the important influences of Islam upon a human is taking care of his rational thinking the way to analyze things, to look at things from different angle to make you more educated, more aware of what's going around you to think, to use your intelligence in Islam as a human you do not just dig into that spiritual metaphysical dimension in Islam we do not just talk about heaven, hellfire, we do not just talk about spirit and soul we do not just talk about the unseen things, unseen creation in Islam we do not just talk about the stuff that I cannot touch that beyond my senses in Islam you do not decouple yourself from your body, from your materialistic dimension one of the ways to know Allah is through your rational thinking so that's why Islam was against ignorance not against the question against ignorance, not against knowledge against ignorance, not against understanding and searching for the truth and that's why Islam encourages analytical and rational thinking and it builds such kind of personality as you know even in Islam if I want to believe in God you do not say I believe in God because my parents believe in God you have to prove it to yourself you have to prove it yes I might go to the scholar to explain to me to get from him what he derived from what he understood from an Islamic verse what we call a tfetwa he understood he or she understand something and I do not know whether it is right or wrong I have to go to a scholar because he has more time to search and ask him about it and I'm not talking about the core values of Islam because there are no questions about them you have to know them you have to seek them I'm not going to talk to the scholar asking is lying حلال or حرام for sure it's حرام now I'm talking about the details there are certain details I need certain questions certain answers about them you go to a scholar because if you have more time go big and search in order to get the proper answers if you have the proper knowledge and proper time in Islam there is nothing called I am a scholar you are not everyone in Islam is a candidate to be a scholar and the job of this scholar is to find solution for your problem and answer for your question and that's why Islam encourages what questions not trivial ones in a way they are illogical it's like a person comes to Imam Ali asking him how many hairs are in my ... who cares about this question you ask something does not make does not waste my time or waste your time something is going to improve you educate you, enlight you and how did Islam do this first as I said Islam did not detach you from this materialistic life did not tell you this materialistic life does not exist as some philosophers might argue no sense philosophers might argue and Islam did not tell you oh I just God created you do not ask how no Islam in Surat Al-Ankabut قل سيرو في الأرض فانذرو كيف بدأ الخلق when I read in Islam when I read in Quran when I read in the tradition of the Prophet and his purified household these words think and analyze rationalize watch meditate all these words are a powerful keys to build rational thinking so many ayat so many verses in Quran pushing us to rationalize things one of the biggest ayat that in our subject here important ayat in our subject is this ayat قل تاهم محمد تاهم you are the messenger تاهم قل سيرو في الأرض go in this universe on this earth inside the earth outside the earth on the surface in the water in the ocean oceans in the rivers wander around walk travel فانذرو كيف بدأ الخلق go take a look how did we start the first creation it's a big challenge it's a big challenge because in order to see this creation I have to have tools I have to have sciences I have to have rational thinking I have to analyze things and that was a call from Islam to be rationalized and also we see this even in the time of اي بهم عليه السلام الله سبحانه وتعالى gave us a very good image of this rationality analyzing seeking evidence objectivity in the story of Abraham قال أولاً تؤمن didn't you believe Abraham hasn't you believed in God what Abraham said yes I did قال ربي أرني كيف تحيير الموتى Abraham is talking to Allah telling him oh God I would like to know how do you resurrect creation الله asked him didn't you believe aren't you a believer what did Abraham said he said yes I am a believer ولكن ليطمئن قلبي but I want to be more satisfied I need to know how you do it I need to know the ways you use so I can explain it to people so I know the cause and the fact so I know the reason and the consequences of this reason so I know the action and the action and that was a door from knowledge from Abraham عليه السلام and God gave him materialistic evidences and he told him to cut certain birds into pieces mix them and put them on the mountain and God showed him the resurrection but because he was questioning God because he was wondering how the creation is or it would be so this ayah come to this ayah قل سيرو في الأرض فاندرو كيف بدأ الخلق some people they challenge us you Muslims you are dumb isn't it why because you believe in God you invented the idea not just Muslims in general believers you invented an idea called God so you can understand this universe you are weak that's why you believe in a creator like some atheists nowadays while as we prove to you according to their statement that everything was by chance as they say God is the master of it's a great gambler by chance we get those carbon atoms some molecules through so many probabilities and millions billions of years we start having a living cell or bacteria start evolving after billions of years millions of years whatever you want to call it we start having this creation and you believe in God because you Muslims especially and believers in general you are not allowed to think you are not allowed to rationalize things you are not allowed to analyze so therefore you created invented an idea called God to make you understand such kind of complicated images in this universe that's wrong for so many reasons it's not the time for it otherwise this this lecture would be more scientific but I can tell you this Islam is not against evolution brothers and sisters Islam is against Darwinism there is nothing wrong to say God made certain beings and gave them the power to evolve they're still under the supervision of God but what's wrong is to say God was not aware of it or God was not capable to stop it or it was not under the supervision or the design of God if I want to use these new terminologies it is wrong to say God was not aware that if this and you react with that I will have this kind of substance this is then not Islam but to tell me that there are certain stuff evolves yes definitely they evolve now the only big question did we evolve from monkeys or we evolved from different path that's a big subject to us we say as Muslims the first human on earth was Adam في الارض خليفة the successful on earth is Adam that's the first human how did Adam look like I do not know but I know for a fact he was not a monkey why because in the beginning before he was sent to earth الله سبحانه وتعالى told us he told Adam so many sources of knowledge and a monkey does not have these capabilities that's one thing secondly we have certain narrations now I cannot say it is our belief because it's just narrations we have to check how authenticated it is and how many they are but we have in our history certain narrations that said before our Adam we had so many Adam that means before our race as a human we had on earth other kinds of creations we do not know how they look like so if you are digging on this earth and you find some skeletons that does not look like us there is a chance maybe there are from different creations because we are not the only people who used to live on earth God did not create this earth just for us it was before us according to certain narrations in Islam which definitely needs more analysis and proves but I'm just giving you certain ideas secondly and this is another important things we have even some narrations when God created Adam out of a clay he left Adam so many years before the soul the spirit the vivid part in the body was set in that body that's another question why Adam if that narration is accurate as I said it needs more studies why Allah SWT kept Adam according to that narration so many years before he had the soul that means so many reactions chemical reactions happening we do not know it to tell me that the human being is evolving but to tell me it's evolving from this to that it needs a proof where is the link prove it to me if you prove it that does not mean God does not exist as I'm saying because I do not know what God the design of God what God wanted but I know as a Muslim has to be under the supervision of God now how he did it it's up to him maybe I can know and this is the ayah here is pushing us to go and search analyze go search do your study and what's so sad that the non-Muslims are answering this ayah when the Muslims are just living in different galaxies because of so many issues and problems so this is a call and this is a big call brothers and sisters to go seek the first moment in this universe or to understand the first recreation in this universe that means you have to have so many complicated labs high tech tools good universities research publications educated people all that and building a society that full of knowledge full of science full of rational thinking full of analysis so this is another proof how Islam pushed you toward that and Islam from the beginning gave us this beautiful simple understanding of the universe something do not just assume it is there oh it is there oh there is a reason why it is there see this ayah and another ayah and so many other ayah أفلع ينظرون إلى الابلي كيف خلقت how did we make this camel how did we create this universe how did we create this earth how did Islam all the time call you this all the time it says أفلع يتفكرون don't they use their intellectual reasoning أفلع ينظرون don't they watch and analyze all this is building a rational personality and so many other reasons another important aspect because we are running out of time is objectivity there is no sense to say I'm a rational guy I'm a good thinker I'm a good engineer I'm a good scientist but you are not objective because if you are not objective that means the data that you are collecting may not be good for you because you are expecting different patterns different outputs objectivity is a key in any rational thinking and that's why Islam made it very obvious that you have to be objective you should not be subjective no matter what's the case even when you are dealing with your enemy even if you hate this guy even if you do not like his race you do not like his color you do not like his class you do not like his shape you do not like his accent you do not like whatever so do not make such do not let such hate make you unjust don't be just with every person even if you do not agree with them even if you do not see what they are talking about even if they do not believe in what you are even if you do not rationalize what they are talking about you have to be just and when it comes to the lab when it comes to scientific evidence when it comes to real life also you have to be objective and that's why we have so many narrations like you know we have this narration one of the colors to be a disbeliever is what to deny God no we have different dimension is when I give you a date to eat when the palm trees not a date no a date fruit and you have this date in your hand you eat it what's left is the seed of it if you know it is the seed and you insist saying no it is a stone or vice versa then you are not a good muslim as a muslim you have to be objective do you see the truth you say it's a truth you see something wrong you say it is something wrong even if you do not like it and that's one of the reasons lying when Islam is not accepted one of the reasons because you are not objective why you lie because you are hiding the truth the truth because if the truth is not good for you you might hurt you you do not say it you hide it and that's why sometimes you lie Islam said lying is not right so rational thinking is there and that's why when it comes to believes in Islam you have to go search and to prove that belief prove the existence of Allah سبحانه وتعالى use your rational thinking افلا ينظرون الى الابل كيف خلقت that's another ayah go watch how we created this ويتفكرون another ayah ويتفكرون في خلق السماوات والأرض they look at the sky they look at the heavens they look at the earth they look around what Allah سبحانه وتعالى what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created and they come to a conclusion ربنا ما خلقت هذا باطلا through their analysis through their watching meditation rational thinking they come to a point they believe in God and they say ما خلقت هذا باطلا سبحانك you are the Almighty you are the Creator you did not create this for no sense and that's one of the big advantages to rationalize things around you is not to be like any other person is not like to be like a leaf that the wind takes it wherever the wind wants no you have to have your set of principles you have to have a doctrine you have to belong to the doctrine you have to belong to the constitution you are a member in this powerful nation that you have to stand up protected and to protect any other human fellow improve the life of the humanity take care of the human as well as nature this is when you become rational you have the stronger belief in God and the bond with the message will be strengthened through that and that's why rational thinking analyzing is important and that's why Islam pushed you to study to get knowledge to get educated not to be ignorant so in this situation you are when you come to this you are you have impunity no one can deceive you and no one can sell you the wrong version of the religion and the wrong explanation of the religion through that and through that we can have better community more productive and through that we can be a good competitors for others when it comes to civilization movements أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم آخر دعوانة أن الحمد لله يا رب العالمين