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Part ofFaith & Certainty
Well, this live broadcast is different from everything before—it’s closer to a joke, and I’ll make you laugh a little this evening. You may know that yesterday I posted a comment about our brother Adham Al-Nabulsy, and the media picked it up, sparking varied reactions from people—some of which are quite funny, as you’ll see now.
Yesterday, I was busy with several university tasks, da’wah (Islamic outreach), and other matters. So I decided to leave a comment to encourage our brother, lift his spirits, and support him. I wrote a summary of what I meant: that he should imagine the joy of God the Exalted with his repentance, and that God honors him so that his repentance may be complete. I advised him to delete his past works so that these could be counted as good deeds in his balance, turning his sins into good deeds. I also mentioned that some people would bother him, but that we are all with him and that those who lack certainty should not belittle him.
Minutes and hours passed, and suddenly the media picked up those two words and published the news in several newspapers under the headline: "Dr. Iyad Quneibi Demands Artist Adham Al-Nabulsy Delete His Past Works." Regardless of whether the media intended the word "demands" or what they meant by it, the reactions came from many people—some of whom had kind and beautiful responses, while others mentioned me in a joke about "the fabric seller."
What is the fabric seller joke, my brothers? This is a joke my late father told me years ago: A man took a piece of fabric to a tailor and said, "Peace be upon you." The tailor replied, "And upon you be peace." The man then said, "My dear brother, I’d like you to make me a suit from this fabric. We have an occasion this Friday, so sew me the suit and I’ll come back on Thursday. But God honor you—don’t tell me to come back tomorrow and say, ‘Come later.’ May God suffice me! May He destroy your homes! Can’t you see that people have appointments, tasks, and occasions? How can you delay me once, twice, or even a week or two? I’m telling you—I’m the one who brought you this fabric in the first place! May God suffice you!" Then he took the fabric and left!
Meanwhile, the poor tailor didn’t say a word. He just stood there, wondering, "What just happened? I only greeted him with ‘Peace be upon you and God’s mercy’—nothing more!" But this fabric seller man, it seems, had painful past experiences, so he unloaded all his frustration on the tailor, saying a lot of things—while the tailor did absolutely nothing.
This is what happened with some of our brothers yesterday. When they saw the news phrased as "Quneibi demands Adham Al-Nabulsy delete his past works," some of them started commenting, saying: "Demands? Oh, so you consider yourselves religious scholars? You issue forgiveness certificates? You’ve distorted Islam! You’ve driven people away from religion! You’re backward, extremist, fanatical, and backward-worshipping reactionaries! You and you… May God suffice you! Leave the man alone!" The original commentator may have posted his comment and moved on, but these people "blew up."
I just wanted to comment or advise these commenters: "Don’t take it too hard." My accountant—no offense—studied pharmacology and treatments and has experience with heart and artery diseases. If you have arterial constriction, this kind of talk could cause a heart attack (myocardial infarction), a cardiac arrest, a stroke, or spike your blood sugar if you’re diabetic. So "take it easy," my friend.
Because people who comment like this often have psychological complexes and painful experiences, so when they see a word, they blow it out of proportion. Meanwhile, God the Exalted says:
"The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, establish prayer, give zakah, and obey God and His Messenger. God will have mercy upon them. Indeed, God is Exalted in Might and Wise." (Quran 9:71)
And He says:
"You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in God." (Quran 3:110)
So this is Islam—it includes advice, whether you like it or not. This is Islam, no matter what you say about "personal freedom" or anything else.
As for your statement, my dear brother: "You think you have indulgences for forgiveness," let me make it clear that I dislike being called "sheikh." In fact, the most repeated thing I’ve said in my life—because I’ve been in this situation hundreds of times—is to tell those who address me as "O Sheikh": "My brother, do not call me Sheikh. I am your Muslim brother."
In Islam, there is no clergy, no "men of religion" and "men of the world." There is no such thing as "you are a sheikh, and I am an ordinary person." If someone says to me, "No, this is out of respect," I reply, "Thank you, but I do not want this respect." I respect you, and you respect me, but do not give those with a religious appearance a special title, for this creates a kind of division. It’s as if you are saying, "You are the people of Islam and Sharia, and we are ordinary people."
How can we be ordinary, my dear? Did the Quran descend only upon "sheikhs" and Islamists, or did it descend upon all of the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him? When the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded, for example, the growing of the beard, did he command it only for the sheikhs or for the men of his nation? (I am not speaking now about the ruling on the beard, but the point is the idea behind it.)
Therefore, I do not see myself as a "man of religion" who grants indulgences for forgiveness. I advise Adnan Al-Nabulsi, and if Adnan Al-Nabulsi ever advises me on something, it is "on my eyes and my head." I advise any brother of mine, and I advise my Muslim sister who wears revealing clothing, and if she advises me, it is "on my eyes and my head." We advise one another; we do not have "personal freedom" in the sense of "you have no say in my affairs, and I have no say in yours" when it comes to religious matters.
So I wanted to clarify this, and I remind those who make such comments not to be like "the owner of the cloth" who has psychological complexes from past experiences and vents them onto others.
Of course, forgive me. Ninety-nine percent of those who follow this broadcast are our beloved brothers and sisters who love us and whom we love, and they do not comment with such remarks. But because such comments keep recurring—"You are... you are"—who are you? When I wrote the comment, I was alone in the room, by the way, and I am not even overweight to the point where you might think I am a "3-in-1" (referring to a product), meaning you see me as three or four people! My weight has never reached seventy kilograms, so "let’s drop the ‘you are’ business." Each person is accountable for themselves and their deeds.
Do not vent your complexes, my dear brother, by projecting some stored scenes from your memory or what the media has stuffed into your mind—here, we’ve even put on glasses for you—onto every bearded person. In the end, you are responsible for this beard, you are responsible for carrying the banner of the Sunnah and calling to Allah. If you see people like Iyad and others betray this trust—let’s assume they are not up to this responsibility or representing the religion properly—then go, my sir, and raise the banner of the religion. Go and defend the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. But "drop the ‘you and us’ mentality." And Allah knows best.
This is the first time you are seeing me do a live broadcast in this format. Usually, I like to prepare more, but I have an appointment where I am waiting for my daughter to take a specific test. I am waiting for her to finish, so I said, "I will pour out my heart to you" and speak with you in this broadcast. I hope to meet with you, God willing, tonight to discuss an important topic I have promised you, which is: "Examples of what is permissible and what is not permissible in quoting or embodying the Quran," and again, a warning against mentioning it in jest or mockery, with examples.
May Allah bless you and reward you with good. If you like this approach, let me know, because honestly, I always like to prepare and measure my words "with a scale" so that we do not "mess up." But I think breaking the barrier is good so that I do not postpone too many things I have wanted to say for a long time.
May Allah open the doors of good for you and reward you all, my brothers, and may Allah bless you. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.