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00:11Religions are like pure rain, falling on earth and nourishing life. It brings about beautiful
00:17flowers, trees and vegetation. In the same way rain is necessary for life, religion and
00:24morality are necessary to maintain peace, serenity and hope.
00:30A Legacy of Peace is a documentary presentation that depicts the true nature of Islam and its
00:36relationship with the beliefs of other religions. Its primary goal is to clarify some of the
00:42misconceptions about the Islamic faith and set the stage for understanding and tolerance
00:47among all people and all religions.
00:50The components of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's affirmation of Judaism
00:56and Christianity, Muhammad's rational approach to life as a whole will be discussed.
01:01The documentary will also speak about the issue of state versus religion, what jihad means,
01:08Muhammad's use of marriage to end tribal strife and how Islam reformed the status of women's
01:13rights and their role in societies. These are some of the topics that will be discussed
01:18in this long-awaited film.
01:22To better understand Islam and how its philosophies evolved, we will walk you through many of the
01:27events leading to the rise of this faith, and more importantly, bridge the perceived gap
01:33between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
01:37Just as Judaism turns to Moses for their teachings, and the Christians believe that Jesus was sent
01:42by God, the Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad received the revelation of Islam. In the early
01:49600 AD, in the city of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula, Islam was born to continue the religious tradition set
01:56out from the dawn of mankind. The Prophet Muhammad was from the Hashem clan of the Koresh tribe that ruled
02:03the city during that time. In the early seventh century, Arabia was a harsh wilderness inhabited
02:10by people who mostly worshipped idols and were torn with endless tribal wars. Survival was mostly
02:17possible by tribal dominance. Nobody would have dreamed that this violent and terrifying region
02:23was about to give birth to a world religion that would soon bring about peace and create strong
02:29spiritual, intellectual, social and political reforms. In her book, Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet,
02:38Karen Armstrong stated, when Muhammad brought his revelation to his people, Arabia was outside the
02:45civilized world, and its political and social order was disintegrating. There was an urgent need for a new
02:52political solution, and in the seventh century, such a solution would inevitably be religious.
02:59From an early age, Muhammad was known to be passionate, trustworthy, and spiritually gifted. He would
03:06often reflect and withdraw to a cave near Mecca called Cave Hira to ponder and meditate. At the age of
03:1340,
03:14during one of his retreats, Muslims believe Archangel Gabriel appeared to him with a message from God.
03:20He said to him, O Muhammad, read. Muhammad was terrified. He said, I cannot read.
03:28Archangel Gabriel repeated, O Muhammad, read. Muhammad replied, But I cannot read.
03:35Then he took Muhammad into his arms and recited, Read, in the name of your Lord, who created,
03:42created man from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen,
03:49taught man that which he knew not. Thus started Islam's revelation with the word read, and the
03:57revelation continued to occur periodically over a period of 23 years, which formed the Holy Quran.
04:04As a result of this revelation, rationality, spirituality, trade, science, and art thrived in the region to
04:13create the Golden Age of Islam. Out of this Golden Age of Islam grew the seeds of the Renaissance,
04:19the beginning of Europe's escape from the Dark Ages, where reason and knowledge were rejected.
04:25I was told to use intellectual capacity. It means reason. Use your reason. So that had such, I mean,
04:34can you imagine the impact if we knew today that in religion we're supposed to use reason. In the
04:39matters of faith, if we don't use our reason, we'll be lost. That's the contribution that Islam gave,
04:45and that's why it changed civilization. No one before said, use your reason. Before it was repression
04:52based on the priesthood or the hierarchy, the church. Whoever was in control didn't want the
04:58common people to learn about things. They wanted to protect their interests. During the great Muslim
05:05empires, the Christian world was going through its Dark Ages. And this shifts tremendously when the
05:15Christian world comes out of the Dark Ages, because indeed the Christian world looks to that great
05:21Islamic heritage and past to learn about the great philosophers of the West. In many ways it was the
05:27Muslim sages that passed on knowledge of Greek philosophy, and not only passed on that knowledge of
05:33Aristotle and Plato and Plotinus, but actually passed on and enhanced and developed form so that it then
05:42becomes possible for the great sages of Christendom, whether it's Aquinas or Bonaventure or Albert the
05:47Great and many others, to in fact be seen as building on, if you will, their Muslim masters, their Muslim
05:54teachers.
05:55The Arabic word Islam is related to Silm and Salam. It means peace and a wholesome surrender to God.
06:03It is in the Quran that the religion is Islam, we translate this to English, that the religion with
06:10God is to surrender to God. The submission to the will of God is profoundly natural and is in harmony
06:16with the divine laws of existence. Muslims believe everything in the natural world, including man,
06:24submit to God. Animals, flowers, trees, winds, oceans, fish, earth, moon, and heavens do not have a choice
06:34about whether to submit to God or not. Muslims believe man alone was given the faculty of choice.
06:41Those who choose to submit to God willingly, their submission comes in harmony with nature. But those
06:47who repulse the guidance of God will be returning to Him in submission and death, despite their
06:53unwillingness in life. Muslims believe that all heavenly religions have sprung from the one
06:59fountain of Almighty God. And with this deeply held belief, Islam enforces the beliefs at the core of
07:06Judaism and Christianity. Say, we believe in God, and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed
07:14to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and to the
07:23prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims submitting to Him.
07:35Islam is the culmination of the Abrahamic religions. We Muslims consider that Islam is the continuity
07:45of the previous Abrahamic religions in this final form of Islam. To Muslims, Muhammad is the last prophet,
07:56prophet, continuing the message of Moses and Jesus Christ. Muhammad emerges as, within Islam, as the
08:05final prophet. His example is such within the Muslim community that popularly he is often referred to as
08:12the living Quran. That is, he is the model, his practice, his sunnah, what the prophet said and did.
08:19The Arabic word Allah is the proper name for God, Lord of the creation, maker and sustainer of this
08:27universe and beyond. God or Allah has many attributes. Some of these attributes are, the grantor of peace
08:35and mercy, the patient, the pure, the forgiver, the compassionate, the judge, and the wise. Muslims believe
08:45from the unity of God comes the unity of the universe and the unity of religion. From this unity stems
08:52the
08:52fraternity of all people and all beliefs. Everything is created by the one God, and so for Muslims,
08:59the idea is that all people come from the same roots. Prophet Muhammad said, none of you will be a
09:06true
09:06believer unless he loves for his fellow believer what he loves for himself. Although Islam was born in the
09:14height of recorded history in the early 600s, it is one of the most misunderstood religions. There are
09:20many unfound myths surrounding Islam that cause fear, confusion and misinterpretation. Some believe the
09:28reason for this misunderstanding comes from the fact that most of the other religions do not teach Islam
09:34in their sermons and vice versa. I am a bit taken aback to discover that I'm 53 years old and
09:43I've been an
09:44ordained minister in the Christian church for 19 years and my education about Islam is beginning today.
09:53That all through my lifetime and all through my life as a Christian and my training to be an ordained
09:59minister, I did not have exposure to the Islamic tradition, the Islamic faith, the sacred texts of
10:08Islam. I had very little opportunity to interact with people who practiced the Muslim faith, and so I feel
10:15like I'm at a beginning stage. The Koran is a complete code of guidance and the source of spiritual nourishment,
10:23healing and mercy for all believers. It stands today as it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in its original
10:30state. All three of the major religions have a book that helps them interpret the will of God.
10:37For the Muslims, this book is the Koran. The Koran describes the teachings of Prophet Muhammad
10:43Muhammad in three major categories. The Holy Koran or Al-Khattab, Wisdom, Hikmah, and Inner Self-Purification,
10:53Tezkiyah. These three fundamental categories supplement one another. The first, Al-Khattab,
11:02produces a person with a knowledge that the Prophet wanted to bestow on all Muslims. This knowledge
11:08includes the basis of sciences, the fundamentals of Islam, its beliefs, laws, and the stories and lessons
11:15from the earlier Prophets. The second, Wisdom, functions to produce a people who are successful
11:22in running their lives, affairs, and businesses. The third category, Inner Self-Purification, Tezkiyah,
11:31is an institution whose function is to produce humble and pious people. The three fundamentals combine
11:37to make up the ingredients necessary to make a true believer. The Wisdom is a management tool that
11:43utilizes cause and effect as a guide in producing the desired and just result. It teaches the Muslim
11:50to do what is right and appropriate at the right time and in the right place. Al-Hikmah, the Wisdom,
11:57is to do the right thing, in the right manner, in the right place. To Muslims, at the center of
12:05the
12:05soul and conscience is the heart. God addressed Prophet Muhammad saying that he will accept those who
12:11turn to him in penitence, those who believe, and whose hearts find completion in the remembrance of Allah.
12:18For without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort. In the Quran, talking about
12:25the mission of the mission of the prophets, that their main goal was to teach the book, the wisdom,
12:32and the tezkiyah, the purification of the heart. When the heart is cleansed from all vices and enlightened
12:39by the guidance of Allah, the rest of the body and all the senses will follow accordingly.
12:45Muslims believe that the faith in the heart wears out, just as clothes do, and that thicker,
12:50or the recollection of Allah renews the faith in the heart. The Prophet said,
12:56indeed everything can be polished, and the polish of the hearts is zikrla, or the remembrance of Allah.
13:02Serenity is a result of contemplation in zikr. If we think from our heart,
13:10then our heart becomes our conscience. During the period Muhammad was receiving his revelation on Mount
13:16Al-Hira, he started calling his people to worship the one God, Allah, and stop worshiping idols.
13:23He was rejected just as Moses and Jesus were during their times. Only a few followed his call.
13:30The Prophet and those who did follow him soon became Quresh's targets of attacks.
13:36Humiliation, torture, and persecution. Several Muslims were tortured to death.
13:42Some of the followers of Muhammad's were slaves and servants who were tortured and killed by their
13:47masters. In response to the torture against his followers, Prophet Muhammad did not follow what was
13:53common in Arabia, which was to retaliate with violence. Instead, he and some of his companions
14:00purchased the servants and slaves and set them free. To further minimize violence in a civilized manner,
14:07Prophet Muhammad conducted his meetings with his companions secretly at the house of Ibn al-Arkum.
14:13He asked his followers not to openly proclaim their faith while they were amongst the Meccans and the
14:19Quresh tribe. As a result of several pagans' attacks on the Muslims as they performed their prayers at the
14:27Kaaba, Prophet Muhammad asked his companions to read their formal prayers silently instead of loudly,
14:34so as not to provoke Quresh and cause violence. The evening and early morning time prayers were kept
14:41unchanged since they are mostly performed in privacy. Some believed that Prophet Muhammad modified the form
14:49of worship for the purpose of eliminating hostility and violence. As a sign of reverence for the Prophet's
14:56actions, Muslims all over the world performed their noon and afternoon prayers silently. This simple act is
15:03substantial proof of Islam's policy of establishing peace and preventing vehement actions.
15:10This also shows that he was very careful about the sensitivities of the people.
15:16For the next few years, the Quresh tribe intensified their offense against the Muslims.
15:22The Prophet feared for the lives of his followers, so he started looking for protection and alliances.
15:28The closest to him was the Christian monarch of Abyssinia, King Asmaha Negus.
15:34When Muslims were persecuted in Mecca, the Prophet told his followers that here the life is difficult for you,
15:43but then in another part in Africa, in Abyssinia, there is a ruler who is very just. He's a Christian,
15:54but he's very just.
15:55His name was Najashi or Negus. And the Prophet said, why not migrate there? And you will find
16:02a fair treatment in his state, in his government. And so many, almost 100 people migrated from Mecca to Abyssinia.
16:16And very interesting stories are mentioned that when they came there and the people of Mecca,
16:22they sent some people to pursue them. And they went to the king and they told the king that there
16:28are
16:28people who ran away, some young people, they ran away from their homes, some slaves who ran away from
16:32their masters. We would like that you send them back. The king said, but I want to hear them.
16:37Let them come and speak. And when Muslim speaker spoke on behalf of other Muslims and explained
16:44what the message of Islam is, Najashi said, no, you have every right to practice your religion.
16:49And he allowed them to live there. And Muslims, they reciprocated with loyalty to that king.
16:56They were very loyal to the king. And they helped him in his battles with his enemies,
17:02because they recognized this goodness that he did.
17:07The Koran also speaks about the people of the book, who are Christians and Jews.
17:13Islam holds a special status for them, since they received revelations from God and believe in the
17:20day of reckoning.
17:21Surah number 16, Allah says that when you discuss with the people of the book,
17:26any matters, you discuss with them in a nice manner. Even when you argue with them,
17:30argue with them in a nice manner. In Surah number 3, it says,
17:34O people of the book, come, let us join our hands on common principles, on common values.
17:43This is what it says. In Surah number 60, Surah Al-Mumtahina, what does Allah say?
17:48Allah says, Allah does not forbid you from having good relations with those who do not fight you in
17:53the matters of your religion, do not expel you from your homes. Be nice to them.
18:01Islam emphasizes freedom.
18:04This western society speaks a great deal about freedom. Freedom of expression, freedom of religion.
18:11The Koran says no compulsion in matters of religion.
18:15The Koresh tribal campaign against the Muslims expanded to a new dimension in the form of economic
18:21and social boycotts. Eight years after Muhammad's first revelation, the Koresh tribe imposed a boycott
18:29on the Prophet and his family and forced them out of Mecca to an arid and dry valley known as
18:35the Abu
18:36Talib Valley. The siege went on for 28 long months. During this time, the family of the Prophet was not
18:45allowed to deal, trade, buy, sell or socialize with the Koresh tribe. The siege took its toll on the
18:53Prophet and his family. As a result, they had to eat the grass, insects, roots and shrubs. Due to the
19:02harsh conditions imposed on them, some of his family fell ill. The Prophet's wife, Khadijah,
19:09died as a result shortly after the boycott was removed. Shortly after that, his uncle Abu Talib also
19:16died. Their deaths were a direct result to the long years of malnutrition and hardship in exile.
19:24King Nagus of Abyssinia sent a Christian delegation of 33 people to visit the Prophet and express their
19:31concern about the Muslims' condition. This visit may have been one of the elements that led to the
19:37elimination of the sanctions. When the delegation visited the Prophet in his exile, they were
19:44overwhelmed by the Quran text he recited to them and by his profound wisdom. Koresh tribal leaders,
19:51however, insulted the Christian delegation for showing concern and sympathy for the Muslims.
19:57The delegation abstained from replying to Koresh's insult. For this occasion, Allah revealed these
20:05verses in Surah 28, verses 52 through 55, which read,
20:11Those to whom we sent the book before this, they do believe in this revelation. And when it is recited
20:18to
20:19them, they say, We believed in it. Indeed, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed, we have been Muslims
20:27bowing to God's will from before this. They will be given their reward twice for what they patiently
20:33endured. And because they avert evil with good, and from what we have provided them, they spend. And when
20:41they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, To us, our deeds, and to you, yours. Quran
20:5028, 52-55
20:54The visit by the Abyssinian delegates exposed the inhumane treatment the Koresh tribal leaders
21:00imposed on some of their people that they disagreed with. This visit may have awoken the conscience of a
21:07few of the Koresh leaders who agreed amongst themselves to stop the full act of the boycott and plan to
21:14call
21:14the rest of the people of Koresh and its leaders into a public meeting at the Kaaba for the purpose
21:20of ending
21:20the banishment. As a result of this meeting, the ban was removed. The visit of the Christian delegation was
21:29indeed a good example of the genuine meaning of faith.
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