 In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Asalaamu Alaikum my dear respected viewers and welcome to the third and final episode of the Islamic Expansion series here on Current Events. I'm your host Ali Jassim. In the first episode, we discussed the expansion of the religion of Islam in general. And in the last episode or the previous episode, we discussed the expansion of the Shi'a sect of Islam. In this third and final episode, we will discuss with our dear guest Sheikh Mohammed Al-Halli what we have to do in order to spread this doctrine and the sect of the Ahlul Bayt peace be upon them. What exactly is our role? Stay tuned, dear viewers, as we answer questions like, what are the most effective methods to publicize the teachings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and his holy household to the whole entire world? And how we are religiously obliged to lay ground for Mahmadi's reappearance, may Allah hasten his reappearance, in terms of making other people enthusiastic to learn more about the true religion of Islam. Here to discuss these issues and many more is my dear guest. He is a prominent Islamic researcher and preacher and teacher of Islamic Studies at a number of universities in the west, the prominent Sheikh Mohammed Al-Halli. Dear viewers, stay tuned. Asalaamu Alaikum dear respected viewers, welcome to the third and final episode of the Islamic Expansion series here on Current Events on Mahmoud Hussein TV3. Last episode, we discussed the expansion of Shi'a Islam. This episode, we will discuss what our role as people in order to help spread this faith. Joining me today to discuss this topic is Sheikh Mohammed Al-Halli. Peace be upon you, Sheikh Mohammed. Sheikh, can we start out by last episode we spoke about the Shi'a expansion? This episode, we would like to focus on how could we help? What is our role in order to help spread this ideology? In the name of Allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful. The discussion we had last time, last episode was with regards to the specific increasing in numbers. Alhamdulillah, the blessings of the Almighty Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala of the Shi'a numbers despite the difficulties they're facing, despite the persecution in many countries. And we attributed this to the presence of mediums such as internet, satellite, but also to the Aqida of the Ahl al-Bait which is rational, which really encourages and inspires people to follow in that line in this day and age where people have many questions and they cannot just simply accept they want to ask even further and to investigate even further. So there's no doubt that today we are seeing an expansion of the school of Ahl al-Bait in many factors in many parts of the world and that definitely brings upon more responsibilities on our shoulders. Yes, Sheikh, in your opinion what segments of the societies would welcome and embrace the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and its holy household peace be upon them? Will the followers of the radical ideologies such as the Saqifah cults or Daesh, ISIS terrorists, embrace the true teachings of Islam and follow the Prophet Muhammad and its family one day? What about the followers of other religions? I think we have to be realistic in saying that there are people who are from followers of other religions but mostly the ones who do not have religion, agnostics, perhaps even atheists and others, who are genuinely seeking for the truth, generally trying to investigate their path and they are finding today with the increasing world of materialism, the increasing aspects of consumerism and the challenges that the modern-day world is presenting, they are looking for that spiritual revival, this spiritual upliftment, this sense of accomplishment so to speak or tranquility. So perhaps to start off with, I think there are people who certainly from other faiths and non-faiths would be more interested and more keen to be understanding of the Shia teachings and the Aqidah but at the same time this does not rule out followers within the Muslim Ummah but not those who have been indoctrinated and have brainwashed, those who are open, those who use the Aqil, especially in the West we have seen, people say you know what I didn't know this, I was told not to read history they say in the past, I didn't know that the Khilafa was taken away in such a manner, I didn't know that you know the daughter of the Prophet was attacked and she was subjected to such cruel methods by the some individuals, they say I was not aware of this so when you open up these chapters it starts to make them think, it starts to make them ask very very important questions which normally they do not find the answers for unless they come to the school of Ahlul Bayt, if they are open-minded. Some of them for example, I present this challenge to them, I say to them you will not find a school like the Shia, school of theology and Aqidah like the Shia in defending the asma and the personality and the character of the holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, they say how I say you look at it for example Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, see how they have mentioned narrations about the Prophet, it is very very painful to read narrations in the other law that the Prophet wanted to commit suicide, three times from the Ghar Harat wanted to throw himself from the, we reject this, we don't have something like this at all in our true Aqidah, yes we have weak hadith but we don't accept these weak hadith, we place them on the Quran and the strong hadith from the Ahlul Bayt and if they do not match then we reject them but unfortunately our brothers from the other schools of thought they have Sahih hadith and they'll take it and so there is a clear difference there, so there are people who are not as indoctrinated and have been brainwashed, these people are also glorious opportunities, there are people who we can speak to in a normal manner and none of us is compelled to make sure we force it and shove it down their throat, not at all, this was not the methodology of the Ahlul Bayt, Ahlul Bayt Alaym Salaam they give the information, the knowledge, their knowledge, the people take it whether they accept it or not it's up to them but it's Hujjah on the day of judgment, it's proof, they have now been given what they need and we support them, we answer their questions but by no means we force them because this forceful conversion or reversion so to speak is rejected, it will not be fruitful, people if they feel if the heart is not convinced one day they'll go back, so they need to be absolutely convinced and we have seen this for many many examples of people who have found the school of Ahlul Bayt, they're absolutely determined and they know what they've truly found the right set of teachings, as for those individuals who have radical so to speak ideologies and are being unfortunately misled, it doesn't mean that they are completely a lost cause, it just means it requires a bit more attention and careful methodology on dealing with them because they are very fixated on certain things and some of them maybe they've just been taught a few things superficially, they have no idea, so you ask them and they say shiaqaafir, shia'ahiratik but why, but they have other Quran, you immediately show them evidence, but why, but there's a habit, okay look at this evidence, this this this and that and so gradually they may become and there are there are people we have seen who are extremists and have gone 180 degrees, again it's to do with the ability of the human being to open up their minds not to just follow like sheep but rather to be inquisitive and to use the rational thinking ability to discover the haqq and the truth, since we are living in the time of Mahdi's disappearance and we are religiously obliged to lay the ground for his reappearance, in your opinion what can we do to make other people enthusiastic to learn about the true religion of Islam, the idea of a saviour, the one who will bring peace and justice around the world is tremendously powerful, non-muslims, even Muslims, every human being desires that wonderful state of justice and righteousness and virtue and so the concept of Imam Sahib al-Asr al-Zaman, Adjara Allahu ta'ala, Faraj al-Sharif, is a magnificent tool for us to be able to speak about in terms of discussing the values of the religion of Islam and that we are building ourselves and our personal lives and our family, society, community to be ready for the reappearance of the Imam al-Asr al-Zaman and therefore what it does is it gives the human beings the motive to work, the motive because this aqida that we have and that is we have to be ready, it's not good enough just sitting at home with a tasbih, Al-Faraj, dua is important but this dua must be translated in action so we must improve our aqida, our ibadah, our relationship with Allah, our community work, the tabligh, the propagation so we must have more of these blessed Shia satellite channels, we must have more publications, we have more centers, we must have more think tanks, we must have more media presence, all this is in the preparation for the reappearance of the Imam so what it does is it see people from outside religion, they see a community busy with bettering themselves, with giving a good image and it's an enthusiastic movement, it's a movement charged with positive energy that gives a good shining example and the Imam al-Assalam is not just standing there and watching no no no Imam al-Assalam is actually supporting and he according to the taqi'at, the letters that he has presented and many other narrations, he supports such initiatives and praise and indeed is very influential in this kind of process although we don't see but definitely he has a big role in this and would like and loves and is very happy to see when we are committed to this path, we are determined on this path and in fact when we look at the narrations, sorry the supplications like du'a al-faraj, du'a al-aha, du'a al-nodba, when we recite these they are giving us a very clear message of the important of positive awakening, this what we refer in Arabic as al-intavar al-i-jabi to be people who like are anticipating any moment the reappearance. I give an example normally to people that when we go to the airport and we are waiting for somebody to come out, maybe they have just landed, we stand outside and then they come, we are waiting and waiting and waiting, one person comes out, two person come out, three, four, ten, twenty, a hundred, you know that they are coming but it is a matter and your heart is beating, maybe you have not seen them for 10-15 years, maybe you have never met them in your life especially if they're family member, you have an incredible anticipation and eagerness to meet and our love for Imam alayhi salam, Sahib al-Asr al-Zamar should be much, much more than that you know in the airport scenario, we know that he will reappear and we ask Allah SWT to make us of the ones who are truly his servants and do whatever it takes to be following him but it requires our 100% commitment and it really within this discussion that we are having it takes a major role in the readiness for the reappearance because the Imam alayhi salam wants institutions, the Imam alayhi salam wants organizations, the Imam alayhi salam wants us to be leaders in the community, to be given the best example to the outside world and to be preparing the groundwork for his reappearance. This is for our dear viewers, there are many well-known books for introducing the Shia Islam to the western world, can you name some of them and where we can find them? Today first of all before talking about this element of the exact books for example, this brings into the discussion the importance of ilm and seeking knowledge, it is all well and good saying Alhamdulillah there is an expansion of Shia presence and numbers in the world but this poses a very important question, are the Shias themselves reading, educating, attending programs and learning? You see Alhamdulillah we are in a better position where we have Majalis of Aba Abdullah al Hussain alayhi salam, we have continuous guidelines from our Marajah, we have continuous encouragement from the scholars and so on. So these commemoration of willada and shahada of the Imam alayhi salam, they are not to be taken for granted. In addition to this Ihiya of Sha'irullah, the reviving of the signs of God, of the purity of the heart, the God consciousness, this also is a chance for us to improve our understanding of the religion and the deen and the school of Ahl al Bayt. So we use these sessions to remind ourselves and get closer to Allah subhan Allah, remind ourselves about the Ahl al Bayt alayhi salam and how we can apply lessons from their lives to our lives. But in addition to this it's sometimes important to understand that personal development is needed through the reading of the books, through attending of classes for example, through one's own means of seeking Alhamdulillah, each person can find their own methods out there today. But the role of the book cannot be underestimated, it is today and it was more in the past but unfortunately today what we find because of the technology less and less people are reading you know and our message to our brothers and sisters around the world, the Shia brothers and sisters is you must make a concerted effort to make this learning a priority and especially for our children when it comes to education, when it comes to understanding the Maqam and the position of the Ahl al Bayt alayhi salam, the teachings of the Ahl al Bayt alayhi salam, Shia Aqida and believe because today we have people coming out and saying the Shia I believe this okay how will you respond? You cannot be only superficial oh no but we don't believe in this okay where is the evidence? They may be taking something out of context they may for example say but this scholar has said this how will you respond? So the more Ailman knowledge we have through reading of these books, Aqida books as well as for example the Seerah of the Ahl al Bayt alayhi salam, the more knowledge and depth we have, the more understanding of the difficult for example areas and then Shubha, their misconceptions for example and so each and every family must have a library of certain books, books which are references as well as important ones to investigate Aqida and belief. There are Alhamdulillah many books that we have so our scholars are continuously authoring and writing many are available in other languages Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and other languages. Some are now Alhamdulillah we have a good collection of books in English and for example we have a category of books which are used to demonstrate the school of Ahl al Bayt and the Aqida of school of Ahl al Bayt in comparison with others just as for example the book Al-Murad Jihad by say Sharaf al-Din, Abdul Hussain Sharaf al-Din very good in terms of dialogue and discussion. We have books for example by Al-Lama Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Muhammad al-Shirazi Rahmatullah al-Alayh which are many and some are translated in English which are also very valuable for Aqida strengthening of the Aqida. We have recent books that are written by ulama who are alive like Sayyid Mustafa Qazweeni which is inquiries about Shia Islam in a very nice because he's a scholar in the west that he has answered these questions in a nice way as well complimenting and so on we have many many others that constitute a very important collection of knowledge and knowledge that would be very beneficial for people. Thank you so much Sheikh Muhammad al-Halif. We have reached the end of the Islamic expansion series here on current events we thank you dear viewers for watching and we thank our dear guest Sheikh Muhammad al-Halif. Until next time, may peace be upon you, and may peace be upon you.