Radical Middle Way Transcripts

Moez Masoud
On Radical Middle Way Launch

As-salaamu ‘alaykum warahmatu Allah-i wabaraktuh. Alhamdulilahirabbil

alameen.Wasalla Allah-u wasalam wa mubarak Muhammadin wa ‘alaa aalihi wa
sabihi ajma’een. Allah-umma salli wa salam wabarik wakalim ‘ala hatha an–
nabiy, wasal-Allah-u alayhi wasahbi. Alhamdulilah.

It is a great honour to be here. As Sidi Fuad put it, (Alhamdulilah), I also agree with
him in that I don‘t think there is a better place for us to be as Muslims in Britain,
particularly in London, than here for the obvious reason that we‘re with renowned
scholars. This might also give you hint about why it is difficult to speak in the
presence of such giants. For someone like me, I sincerely mean that I am a pygmy
that is required to speak in the presence of giants. But there must be something I‘m
seeing down there; maybe that‘s perhaps what the jokes for. Alhamdulilah!

So I just tried to ponder over what it is that I could contribute with in such an event
and I tried to chew on this title, ‗The Radical Middle Way‘. Masha-Allah, it really
must have had a lot of thought put into it because I found a lot of immense meanings
imbedded within this title, ‗The Radical Middle Way‘. I would like to start with a
reading from the Qur‘an: {A‘oodhu bi Allah-i min ash-shaytani rajeem. ―wa
kadhalika ja‘alnaakum ummatan wasatan li takoonoo shuhadaa‘a ‗alaa an-naasi wa
yakoonu ar-rasoolu ‗alaykum shaheedaa wa ma ja‘alnaa qiblatal la fikun ta‘alayha ila
bi-maa ‗a lama- mayastabi‘ool mimman mimmay-an taiybu ‗alaa aqeebayy wa in
kaanat lakabeeratan illa ‗alaa alladheena hada Allah-u wa ma kaana Allah-u
liyuDhee‘a eemanakum inna Allah-a bi an-naasi lara‘oofun raheem‖; Surat al-
Baqarah, verse 143}.

Sadaqa Allah-u Al-‗Azeem.

I tried to look at that because of the obvious reason, that the word ummatan wasatah
is in this verse. Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, is saying that We had made you a
middle nation. A justly-balanced nation; people of the middle way, in order that you
may be witnesses over mankind and in order that the Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi
wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, be a witness over you.

Then Allah ta ‗ala mentioned many other things that I cannot go into because of time
and also because of qualification, but according to the little that I have learned is
that; if you look at this, it is not surprising for us to go through these times of
tribulation. This is very natural because when Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, loves us
and when Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, loves a people he tries them. And Allah,
subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, loves this Ummah because it‘s the Ummah of Prophet
Muhammad, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam. Allah, subhaanahu wa
ta ‗ala, loves us very much and because of that he is trying us, and Allah ta ‗ala does
not want to leave us with impurity. But many a time, taking out the impurity from
whatever it is that is impure is painful. That‘s why the word ‗fitnah‘ itself, meaning
tribulation, what we‘re going through is very painful. They used to do it to hadid –
the iron; that‘s what they would do to bring out the impurities from it, and what
would the result be? The pure metal, the pure gold; whatever it is that is pure, and so
we ask Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, to make us endure this pain, Insha-Allah, until
we become pure again.

It‘s very difficult and I‘m gonna give you a little example here that is probably radical,
but again, I am the pygmy here so I can use these nice, little, crude contemporary
examples. When I was younger, my mother would wake me up for school. (Can
anyone relate to this?) So whenever she would wake me up, I would always say, ―five
more minutes, five more minutes‖. I always wanted to go back to sleep because it‘s
very difficult to come out of sleep when you‘re in a deep sleep (that‘s why sleep
experts say you should come out when you‘re in an R.E.M. stage but that‘s too
detailed now). So what would happen is that, eventually when I got up and had some
tea or whatever it was that I would drink, I would feel really grateful that I was awake
– but I would only realise this gratitude and how important it was for me to be awake
to go and do whatever it was (whatever it was that I thought was important and
exciting at that time), after I woke up.

During the process of waking up itself, it was very painful, and Allah hu ta ala alam,
but as an Ummah, we are asleep – a lot of us, at least, are asleep and its very painful
to wake up and many times we chose to remain in the state of slumber that we‘re in.
It‘s very comfortable, but we have to remember we have the Most Noble of
Messengers, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, as our leader. As the
poet put it; he basically bore glad tidings for us: ―bi-akram ar-ruslikun akrama
ummamee‖; that ―with the most noble of Messengers, we became the most noble of
nations.‖

So for a while it‘s going to be painful because we have been asleep—but what we will
experience when we wake up in the life of this world is a spiritual experience that we
can taste in out hearts and then of what we are going to face and meet Insha-Allah in
paradise is that which no eyes have seen and no ears have heard, and has not come
across the human heart.

So Allah is awakening us and we just have to wake up. And I‘m speaking about myself
because when Sidi Fuad was introducing, he mentioned something about my past
and I don‘t like to bring it up much but I have permission from qualified scholars to
just mention very generally things with the intention of reminding myself of Allah,
subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, blessings upon me and to wake others up and myself. And so,
as he mentioned, you know, having been a good student, having a 4.0.and then
deviating from that completely and then entering the lifestyle of excessive partying- I
think when people wrote my bio that what they wrote. We were very young and you
know, when you‘re young, you don‘t know yet. It‘s interesting how they said
‗excessive‘, because that‘s what it is; we follow the nufs all the time and do israaf and
it‘s not middle way.

I really benefited from the speech of Shaykh Hasan le Gai Eaton said earlier about
how consumerism is another form of extremism that we need to go against because
it‘s about being enslaved to the nufs. Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad who is going to
speak next, wrote once that ―the nufs is king of this millennium‖ and everything is
about ‗explore yourself‘, ‗be yourself‘, ‗be seen in a Porsche or at this place or that
place‘ and it‘s not about ‗control yourself‘ like the way it was.

So when we look at this verse, in Surat-ul-Baqarah, and you look at Allah,

subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, telling us that He has made us this middle nation; {―wa
kadhalika ja‘alnaakum ummatan wasatan li takoonu shuhadaa‘a ‗alaa an-naasi wa
yakoonu ar-rasoolu ‗alaykum shaheedaa‖}. ―That you may be witnesses over
mankind‖. When we wake up to this honour and the Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa
alihi wasahibihi wasalam, is a witness over us.

Then Allah gives us an example. Again, it‘s something very difficult when we are
asleep, but for those of us who are awake we realise of the wisdom behind Allah
trying us and testing us.{― wa ma ja‘alnaa qiblatal la fikun ta‘alayha‖}.Allah ta ‗ala
changed the qiblat for the Muslims; they were facing Al-Bait al-Maqdis and Allah
changed it to the Ka‘ba which is what we face now, and for those people who are
worshipping outwardly only, (who may have been worshipping shari‘ah only; who
are doing the outward actions but are not seeking the inward fruits behind them
that), are the very reasons that these very actions have been sanctioned. The love of
Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, tasting that sweetness in our hearts, and the love of the
Prophet, sal-Allah-u alayhi wasalam.

Allah says; {―Inna la Mu‘minoona alladheena idha dhukira Allah-u wajilat

quloobuhum‖; Surat al-Anfaal, verse 2}. That ―true believers are those who when
Allah ta ‗ala is mentioned or when they remember Allah, their hearts tremble, their
hearts weaken‖. That is thowk; that is spiritual experience. That is what these
outward actions are sanctioned for; for us to have the inward fruit, the inward reality.
And so Allah tests people who end up remaining asleep but pleasing their egos and
calling themselves religious people. They‘re still asleep. And so Allah says, ―We only
made this qiblat‖, (this whole story that about the qiblat that‘s changing), this is all
so that We will know who will follow the Messenger , sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi
wasahibihi wasalam. We are to follow him now and to follow his sunna of tolerance;
sunna of wanting good for those that harm you; these different sunna that are
abandoned now because sunna now only means the outward things.

Hear the word sunna and think about what you think of- the first thing that comes to
mind is usually outward. Where is the sunna of when you are dealt with, with
animosity and enmity and ignorance and zealousness, and then you are increased in
your forbearance? That‘s a sunna. People joined Islam because of that sunna. Where
is that sunna? So Allah is saying we want to know who is really on the sunna, who
really follows the Messenger , sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, ―min ya
man kaliboon ‗ala akhlil-bait‖, to tell them apart from those who turn away and
leave. {―wa in kaanat lakabeeratan illa ‗alaa alladheena hada Allah-u‖}.And it was a
grave thing, a great thing to change, to wake up and follow the Messenger, sal Allah-u
alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam. To go against your hawa, to go against your
desire; it‘s difficult - {―illa ‗alaa alladheena hada Allah-u‖}- except upon those whom
Allah has guided. {―wa ma kana Allah-u liyuDhee‘a imaanakum‖}. Allah will not put
to waste your iman (your faith), your prayers that you have prayed earlier in the
other direction (because they asked about that also). But there‘s a general meaning;
that Allah , subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, is not going to put to waste all of this endurance of
whatever it is that we are faced with in this world like the one that we are in now.
Many times the nufs whispers to us and says things like, ―What‘s my patience gonna
do?‖ We were not commanded to look at results. We are not ordered to look at
results; we are supposed to simply do what‘s right and let Allah, subhaanahu wa ta
‗ala, do what He wants. And then look again at the verse in the Qur‘an, the meanings
of which is open to those who have open hearts. Allah says; {―inna Allah-a bi an-
naasi lara‘oofun raheem‖}. That Allah is Merciful, Allah is Compassionate to all of
humanity. This is a meaning we need to remember; there are many meanings
imbedded in there, but one of them is that this Mercy, this Compassion, if we have
open hearts, it will be the tool that aids us to put through whatever it is we need to
put ourselves through in the world today. We have a lot to put up with, and so I just
wanted to mention that the idea of doing religion outwardly only is never going to
help us in the time we live in today us and we need to start looking for the inward
fruits, the inward truth; the love of Allah , subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala. The love of his
Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam. We need to experience
verses like; {―Qul in kuntum tuHibboona Allah‖.}

―Say, if you love Allah, {―fattabi ‗oonee‖} then follow me, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi
wasahibihi wasalam. Allah will love you {―yuHbibkumu Allah-u‖} and forgive you for
your sins, {―wa yaghfirlakum dhunoobakum‖} and Allah is indeed the Oft-Forgiving,
Ever-Merciful {―wa Allah-u ghafoorun raheem‖}.‖

Again, you look at the very reason these people are getting up to follow the
Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam. What is the reason? It‘s
because they love Allah. That‘s why they‘re doing the outward actions - they love
their Maker, they love their Creator, our Creator. Then what do they do? They follow
him sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, seeing him as the one who has
loved Allah ta ‗ala the most. Seeing him as the one who has spent from what he loves
the most, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam.

Allah says; {―lan tanaaloo al-birra Hataa tunfiqoo‖}- ―by no means shall you attain
birr,(goodness, righteousness) and virtue {―Hataa tunfiqoo mimmaa tuHibboon‖;
Surat al-Imraan, verse 92} until you spend from that which you love‖; until you bring
it out for Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala. In the sleep example it was getting up. We
love sleep at that moment, so it could be applicable to the salat al-fajr. Salat al-fajr
could be a very perfect example of spending from what we love for Allah, subhaanahu
wa ta ‗ala. Praying that fajr, not just saying, ―I‘ll just wait, it doesn‘t matter? What
affect will I have; it‘s just me. It‘s my individual salvation‖. We don‘t think like that as
Muslims – we are al-Ummah al-wasatah (all together).

{―wa maa tunfiqoo min shayin fainna Allah-a bihi ‗aleem‖}―And never do you spend
anything (anything – little or big), except –surely Allah has perfect knowledge of it‖.
And it‘s very important to realise that tomorrow morning, that one fajr has an affect
on the state of his Ummah and on pleasing the heart of the Prophet, sal Allah-u
alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, and on our relationship with him when we meet
him at his fountain. Our relationship with him, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi
wasalam, is contingent in many a way upon tomorrow‘s salat-ul fajr and us taking it
seriously and looking for the inward fruit. {―in kuntum tuHibboona Allah fasta bi-
ooni‖}. ―Follow me‖, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, ―the one who
truly lives‖-{―qul inna salaatee wa nusukee wa maHyaaya wa mamaatee lillahi rabbil
alameen‖}. ―Say my prayer, my ritual sacrifice, {―wa maHyaaya‖} my living, my life
{―wa mamaatee‖}-(it could have sufficed to say my life, {―wa mamaatee‖}); even
when I die my very death is all for Allah, Lord of all the worlds‖. {―la sharika lahu
wabi dthalika umirtu wana awwalu al-muslimeen‖; Surat al-An‘aam, verse 162}. It‘s
very important to look at that.

Now again, when the nufs is sleeping, it looks at it as obligatory, as chore like, as do/
don‘t do, but when the nufs is awake and realises how we are infinitely indebted to
our Maker for creating us, we owe Him forever and ever. Then we realise, the
scholars say, ―When you know what you are seeking then you can belittle the things
you have to spend‖. Then we realise that Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, is worth a lot
more than simply us spending from our five or ten minutes of sleep because it feels
good. We choose Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala.

This is the lesson that I learnt in my life; that it‘s ok to be pleased, but not at the
expense of displeasing the One Who made you. The One Who gave us our very ability
to be pleased. We can‘t even be pleased had it not been for Allah – pleasure is in
something that Allah created because the greatest pleasure is in knowing Him.

To begin to wrap it up Insha-Allah, what I did is I tried to look up the meaning of the
word radical so that I could try and find some meaning. I found it very pertinent
that‘s why I really liked the choice. The word radical has at least three meanings. One
of them, (and this is the one I just learned today, actually), is ‗something that has a
deep root in it‘s source; something that is essential; something that is deep rooted in
terms of where it connects to its origin‘. This is very, very important because this
middle way is something we shall not achieve with outward actions alone.

This middle way needs to have its deep roots in our hearts that love Allah,
subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, that love Prophet Muhammad, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi
wasahibihi wasalam. More importantly, also, to get it from the scholars; something
that I‘ve learnt in my life. I had confusion even after I started practicing Islam. I had
a lot of confusion – ―Well, who do I follow, with all of these different opinions and all
these different ways of looking at things?‖ Until Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, guided
me to realising that there are scholars who have an unbroken chain of transmission
to the Prophet, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, in their respective
fields.

You want to learn about the deen according to Hadith Jibriel, (alayhi salam)? It has
three main elements, three main principles upon which it‘s based; islam, iman and
ihsan. You want to learn about Islam, which is the science of fiqh, the knowledge of
fiqh; you have to learn it from people who have an unbroken chain of transmission in
understanding fiqh to the greatest faqih, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi
wasalam. Iman and aqidah (what we believe and have conviction in); again,
unbroken chain of transmission all the way back. Allah is never going to put to waste
our iman nor the sources from which we can get our iman. Ihsan, the science of
tazkiyyah, the science of purification and worship; what we are so direly in need of.
Again, tazkiyyah is a science that is deeply rooted all the way back in an unbroken
chain of transmission all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad, sal Allah-u alayhi
wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam. The Sahaba learnt it from him and they‘ve been passing
it down and so have the family of the Prophet, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi
wasalam.
And that‘s why in one of the verses, Sayyidina Ibrahim and Sayyidina Isma‘il,
alayhima salam, in Surat-ul Baqarah (verse 128), were asking Allah, subhaanahu wa
ta ‗ala, while they were rebuilding the Ka‘ba, that Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, gives
them and gives them and they ask for many things and then they said, ―Oh Allah,
make us both submissive to you, {―muslimain ilah‖}, and of our progeny, an entire
Ummah, (we are this Ummah, by the way), that is submissive to you.‖ And they went
into so much specificity; they specified, alayhima salam, {―Rabbana waj ‗alnaa
muslimayni laka wa min dhurriyyatinaa ummatan muslimatan laka wa arinaa
manaasikana wa tub ‗alaynaa innaka anta at-tawwaabu ar-raheem‖}. Look at the
yaqeen they had; they were asking for an Ummah. It hasn‘t even been created yet,
and now they‘re asking for a Messenger to come to this Ummah; they had such
certainty that the Ummah would be created. Oh Allah, not only make an ummah but
send amongst them a Messenger from among their own souls so that he may recite
onto them and upon them Your verses {―al-kitaaba wa al-hikma‖}and teach them
The Book and wisdom and purifies them.

One of the scholars said something amazing; that a few verses later in that chapter,
Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, responds and answers the du‘a of Sayyidina Ibrahim
and Sayyidina Isma‘il, alayhima salam. He‘s speaking to us now, the Ummah which
has been created and the greatest Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi
wasalam, has come from our own souls and He, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, is telling us
and recounting His favours and He says; {―kama arsalnaa fikum rasoolan minkum‖}.
―Just as We have sent from you a Messenger from amongst your owns souls‖, (that‘s
the first part of the du‘a); {―yatloo ‗alaykum aayaatina‖} ―Who is reciting Our verses
onto you‖; (the second apart of the du‘a); {―wa yuzakeekum wa yu‘allimukumu al-
kitaaba wa al-hikma‖; Surat al-Baqarah, verse 151}. ―Who will purify you and who
purifies you and who teaches you The Book and Wisdom. What‘s amazing; the
scholar said that the order in the du‘a of Sayyidina Ibrahim and Sayyidina Isma‘il,
alayhima salam, was that he recites the verses, he teaches you The Book and hikma,
and he purifies you. And then Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, changed the order and
said, ―He recites Our verses onto you, he purifies you, and then teaches you The Book
and Wisdom {―al-kitaaba wa al-hikma‖}. The importance is on purification in a time
like this.

I know that, Insha-Allah, we have about a minute left. I just wanna say that when you
ask the Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, ―Ya Rasul Allah,
what is it about the time we live in?‖ By looking at all the different narrations, you
will see that the summary of all these problems is ‗hubb a-dunya‘—the love of this life
and of this world and hating to die which entails hating to meet Allah because we
want to stay in this world which is not what we were made for.

What is the solution to getting the dunya out of our hearts? Tazqiyyah (purification).
And so the first part of the meaning of the word radical is to have a deep source, and
if we go back to the scholars of tazkiyyah and fiqh and aqidah, we will be radical in
that beautiful meaning and therefore, be on the middle way.

Another meaning is naturally entailed, which is ‗to affect great and revolutionary
change in something‘, and how much is this world in need of revolutionary change;
to bring it out of self-worship and back to the worship of Allah ta ‗ala again? We will
be able to do that and be radical in the second sense, when we truly purify our souls
and remove the love of the world from our hearts.
The last meaning was also ‗something extreme‘, of course, as we know, but also
something that deviates very much from the ordinary and customary. Something that
is not normal and usual, and if we can be lights, be lamps of light among the world of
darkness by removing the love of this world from our hearts we will also be radical in
this third sense because people will be wondering, ―What is it that is driving them?
What is it that is driving them in this world of self-worship and following the nufs
and obeying the hawa, and hating even, not loving for your brother what you love for
yourself?‖ A world that is anti-thetical to these teachings. Again, you would be radical
in that positive sense. In the sense that people would look at us and wonder, ―What is
it about these people?!‖ It‘s Sayyidina Muhammad, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi
wasahibihi wasalam. That is what it is about those people. (As one of the people as
one of the enemies of the time, went back to his people and said, ―Ya Qaoum. I‘ve
entered into the najashi and seen the king and seen how his people deal with him.
I‘ve seen Kisrah, I‘ve seen these different rulers of the time, ―wa ma ra‘aitu ahadan
ya‘adhimu ahadan kata adhimihi ashabin Muhammadin muhammadah‖, sal Allah-u
alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam‖.

This love of the Messenger, sal Allah-u alayhi wa alihi wasahibihi wasalam, is really
what it‘s about and I just wanted to leave off there.

Anything correct that I said is from Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, and anything
incorrect is from my own soul and I beg Allah, subhaanahu wa ta ‗ala, that I was
sincere in what I said and that I embody these meanings and everybody here Insha-
Allah. As-salaamu ‗alaykum warahmatu Allah-i wabarakatuh.
About Moez Masoud

Founding Director of "Al-Tareeq Al-Sah" Institute

Millions of viewers in the Arab world tuned in to watch Moez Masoud host his first
Arabic show, "Al-Tareeq Al-Sah" (The Right Way) in late 2007. Masoud filmed on
location in Cairo, Jeddah, Istanbul, London and Madinah, an unprecedented feat for
a religious TV program. The twenty part series tackled poignant youth-related issues
like drugs, alcohol,and gender relations. It also dealt with sensitive issues like
homosexuality and the roots of terrorism. The show manifested Masoud's strong
grasp of both traditional Islam and post-modern philosophy and lifestyle, eradicating
the many difficulties and misconceptions that arise when amateur attempts are
undertaken to marry the two. Almost instantly the episodes were uploaded onto
YouTube and other websites, and were downloaded over 1.5 million times by fans
worldwide.

Masoud's initial media appearances sought to invite Muslims to live a successful

contemporary life while embodying their religion's core spiritual teachings. He began
by hosting two English programs, ―Parables in the Qur'an" and "Stairway to
Paradise". The shows have received much enthusiasm as they addressed Muslims
living in the West who struggle to understand and apply the traditional message of
Islam in its most contemporary form.

Upon graduating from the American University in Cairo, Masoud began a career in
media production. His 15-minute directorial debut on the need for mutual
understanding between people of all faiths was viewed online over one million times
and was praised for its conciliatory efforts. Masoud's efforts have attracted critical
acclaim and sparked healthy and much-needed dialogue between activists all over
the Arab world regarding the need for Muslim religious discourse to absorb much
more of the contemporary world than it currently does.

In parallel, Masoud underwent an intensive study of Islamic sciences under

renowned traditional scholars for over 5 years. His studies have taken him to many
cities in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries in search of the purest and most
authentic sources that convey the inner, esoteric spirit of Islam as well as the
orthodox understanding of its Sacred law.

Masoud is regularly invited to give lectures and lead workshops and his travels have
taken him from all over the United States and the United Kingdom to Malaysia and
Australia. His various efforts worldwide have attracted substantial coverage by both
Western and Arab media. Recently, Masoud was invited to join the distinguished list
of panellists on the 'On Faith' online forum, hosted by The Washington Post and
Newsweek, to participate in regular discussions centred around faith and religion.

For more information about this speaker or event, please visit

www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk