In the name of Allah the Gracious, the Merciful:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way, the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray. (1st chapter of Quran)

All praise be to Allah; we thank him and seek his assistance. We seek his forgiveness;
we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. He whom Allah guides can never be led astray, and he who through his own ill will goes astray will not find guidance (other than Allah). And I bear witness that Mohammed is Allah’s messenger (May Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him) and his servant.

So, in brief, these guests have come upon us unannounced. They informed us of their purpose, or why they have been going around. They explained their objective. They came here to the market and informed us why they have come, and we said that it was not a bad thing. Then they requested to sit with us to seek some information
about Islam, among other things. For they are strangers, as they have said, hailing from America. And in America there are various people: from Ghana, Nigeria, Niger and Senegal, Arabs, Egyptians, Tunisians and others. Then some people claimed that Islam is a religion of terror, a religion that does not promote peace, a religion that
creates confusion among people, a religion of terror, a religion that incites aggression; while on the contrary it is never like that.

Also, some Egyptians have been informing people according to their knowledge of Islam… They have been explaining according to their understanding, saying that indeed because they are Arabs, and the religion also came from them, they could indicate what is right in it.

She then said, what could be done is that they should get some witnesses who should accompany her around, for when she goes around alone and gathers any information people might not believe her. But if she is accompanied by witnesses from America, and they go to Africa, particularly to Ghana, where she claimed she had lived among some Muslims, they would also observe and bear witness to it. This is the reason why we have sat with them, after they sought our permission to set up video cameras in order to record our speech and pictures. When they return, they will explain, and when people see this in pictures they will believe.

Although we are speaking in Hausa, she has assured us that they could get people who would translate what we have said from Hausa for everyone to understand. I hope people have understood me. Now, now we will proceed to talk a bit about what they wish. All that we have said so far is just introductory. I hope you have understood the purpose of this sitting; that is the reason.

Imam Alhaji Rabiu Aubakr→ English Translation of Hausa Sermon In the name of Allah the Gracious, the Merciful: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way, the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray. (Ist chapter of Quran) [1.15] All praise be to Allah; we thank him and seek his assistance. We seek his forgiveness; we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. He whom Allah guides can never be led astray, and he who through his own ill will goes astray will not find guidance (other than Allah). And I bear witness that Mohammed is Allah’s messenger (May Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him) and his servant. [1.51] So, in brief, these guests have come upon us unannounced. They informed us of their purpose, or why they have been going around. They explained their objective. They came here to the market and informed us why they have come, and we said that it was not a bad thing. Then they requested to sit with us to seek some information about Islam, among other things. For they are strangers, as they have said, hailing from America. And in America there are various people: from Ghana, Nigeria, Niger and Senegal, Arabs, Egyptians, Tunisians and others. Then some people claimed that Islam is a religion of terror, a religion that does not promote peace, a religion that creates confusion among people, a religion of terror, a religion that incites aggression; while on the contrary it is never like that. [3.07] And this servant of Allah claimed that she has tried to explain to these people, to her American compatriots, that the way they have understood Islam is wrong. This is because she has lived in Africa before, specifically in Ghana, in the city of Kumasi, in a neighborhood called Kotiya Line. She said she has lived there among Muslims. She has observed their way of life, their conduct and behavior. Their actions showed nothing more than peaceful coexistence, caring for one another and good feelings and good will towards one another. However, these thoughts they have about Islam, she cannot find any basis for them, or for what they have been seeing being perpetrated by some people. For example, in some Arab countries with hard views, a person carries a bomb on his body, and goes and sets it off among his enemies where it will result in deaths, in the market or on trains or other means of transportation such as planes, etc. So they believed that it was Islam which taught people to do that, but she said to them that it was not like that, and that Islam does not condone that people perpetuate evil acts. She had lived in Ghana, in Kumasi, in a neighborhood known as Kotiya Line, where she came to understand that Muslims do not behave like that. She tried to explain to them, but however much she explained they refused to believe her. Her American compatriots would reject it and say they didn’t believe her. [4.50] Also, some Egyptians have been informing people according to their knowledge of Islam… They have been explaining according to their understanding, saying that indeed because they are Arabs, and the religion also came from them, they could indicate what is right in it. She then said, what could be done is that they should get some witnesses who should accompany her around, for when she goes around alone and gathers any information people might not believe her. But if she is accompanied by witnesses from America, and they go to Africa, particularly to Ghana, where she claimed she had lived among some Muslims, they would also observe and bear witness to it. This is the reason why we have sat with them, after they sought our permission to set up video cameras in order to record our speech and pictures. When they return, they will explain, and when people see this in pictures they will believe. Although we are speaking in Hausa, she has assured us that they could get people who would translate what we have said from Hausa for everyone to understand. I hope people have understood me. Now, now we will proceed to talk a bit about what they wish. All that we have said so far is just introductory. I hope you have understood the purpose of this sitting; that is the reason. [6:05] In short, so, I have made a brief introduction where I have indicated the purpose of them sitting with us. On their part, they are seeking information about Islam: what Islam is and what it entails. We will now begin, God willing. [6:34] Islam, what is meant by Islam is submission, the act of submitting one’s soul and body and everything to God … submitting body and everything to God. When something happens to you, you should know that it comes from God. Whatever it is, it is caused by God. In whatever you do, you must put God before you. That is what is meant by Islam: peaceful living and peace of mind and comfort. And not you alone living in peace nor having a peaceful mind or your comfort only; no, including also the peaceful living of your neighbor. If you are living in peace, you must also make it possible for them to live peacefully; if you live in comfort, let them also live in comfort. Because the prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him [APBUH]) said: “By God, he is no believer; by God he is no believer; by God he is no believer.” They said, “O messenger of God, who is that person?” He said, “He whose neighbor is not safe from his calamity.” [7:41] I will now explain what I have said. This is a saying of the prophet Muhammad, a hadith. One day people were seated with the prophet Muhammad (APBUH) when they heard him proclaim, “By God he is no believer; by God he is no believer; by God he is no believer.” Then the disciples (May God be satisfied with them) asked “Who could that be? We heard you proclaim, ‘By God he is no believer; by God he is no believer; by God he is no believer,’ three times. Who is that person?” Then the Prophet (APBUH) said, “It is no one else than anyone who lives with a neighbor, but he does not allow his neighbor to live comfortably, and neither is he free from his evil acts.” The meaning of this is that he brings every evil deed upon his neighbor. He brings harm upon his neighbor; he thinks evil about his neighbor; while you are supposed to live in mutual respect and kindness with your neighbor if you have one, whether that neighbor is a believer or a non-believer. Islam does not discriminate. If you are living with a person, whether he prays or not, you are supposed to show him good behavior. [8:53] Look, here is another illustration. Yet again, the prophet Muhammad (APBUH), one day he was sitting down and he said to himself; this neighbor of mine, I don’t think he is well. Why? No, let me just go and find out; I don’t think all is well. So the prophet Muhammad stood up and went to visit him. He came to find that he was sick. He greeted him and asked about his health, and greeted him just how a person visiting a sick person would offer him his sympathies. Then he asked the prophet “How did you know I was sick?” Then he said, “Yes, the reason is that every day when I wake up, I find that you have thrown rubbish in my compound, and every day when I see that, I rise and clean it up and arrange the place. This has been going on every day. Then one morning when I looked, there was no rubbish. I said to myself, I don’t think this neighbor of mine is well. If he were in good health, there is no doubt I would have found rubbish in my compound. Let me pass by to see him; I don’t think everything is well with him. So that is why I have come by to see you and found you sick. Then this man felt uneasy; in short, he felt ashamed of himself. Then he realized that he had been harboring hatred against the prophet without any reason. He also realized that Islam is a religion that promotes peaceful coexistence. [10:28] Look, if we are to talk about Islam, there are so many things to say. Islam, as we have said already, is a word that signifies peaceful coexistence. And Islam has begun from the first prophets, from Abraham. It started from him; it means worshipping Allah. When you have submitted wholeheartedly to Allah, and submitted everything to Him, it is then that you worship Him. Before Abraham, Noah was sent; Noah was the first messenger. [11:00] In the beginning, Allah said (After seeking refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast, in the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful): I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone. I need no provisions from them, nor do I need them to feed Me. GOD is the Provider, the Possessor. (God the Almighty has spoken the truth.) [11:21] Allah the most high has said in the glorious Quran, in the chapter (51) of “Drivers of the Wind,” I, God, I didn’t create men and jinns except to worship me. I did not create them only to work and feed themselves, or to gather sustenance for me. No, no, I God, I am the one that feeds them and I am their sustainer. All that I expect from them is to worship me. So, you see the origin of worship? When Allah created men and jinns to worship him, he also made an arrangement. This arrangement is that He chose some people from his creatures, who are true servants of Allah. He purified them very well and then sent them to their people, one after the other. Starting from Noah; Noah was the first of the messengers. Allah said to him: “Go to your people and tell them, I have created men and jinns to worship me, but there they are, they have turned to worshipping idols. Go to them and call them to worship Allah. Because I am God, I have prepared in the hereafter, that whoever did not come to me with faith and did not worship me as he should, I will surely punish him and throw him into hellfire. However, Allah is just; how can Allah throw you just like that into hell, without warning you? Allah will not do like that. So he started by sending messengers, beginning with Prophet Noah, who went among his people and preached to them. He struggled for many years, for nine hundred and fifty years; that is how Prophet Noah struggled. He was always calling his people to worship God alone. Then what happened? Instead of accepting and welcoming him, and knowing that he has come with mercy, they turned away from him, and they tortured him and showed him hatred. [13:44] I will shorten it and say briefly; only a few people answered the call of Prophet Noah and followed him. Those who did not answer his call became enemies of Prophet Noah. Man is such that, if somebody has come to him with goodness, many a time he would not have the patience to wait and see what he has come with. Or instead of him taking his time to welcome him very well, even if he would not like what he has to say. Perhaps if he would listen to what he has to say, he might benefit from it. You would find that, because this person has talked about something he does not like, he would start to hate him. So you see, anyone who is like those who showed hatred to Noah, they would say that any religion brought by Noah is a religion of hatred, while in truth it is not a religion of hatred at all. So why did they hate him? Because he told them that what they were doing was wrong, and they should stop it. That is foolishness and madness. So you see they hated and stopped speaking to Noah. There is no way they would believe in his religion and follow him. Only some few people followed him. When Prophet Noah passed away, after him Allah went on to send prophet after prophet. Because Allah had said: [15.31] (After seeking refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast, in the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.) We have sent to every people a messenger, to tell them to worship Allah and turn away from idols. [15.42] Truly, we have sent to every people a messenger. What is the work of a messenger? To tell those people that they should worship me and worship me alone. That is all they have to do, and they should turn away from idols. And when the Prophets come to their people, all that they say is that there is no deity worth worshiping but Allah; Allah is one only. Stones should not be worshipped, trees should not be worshipped, water should not be worshipped, sun should not be worshipped, angels should not be worshipped and nothing should be worshipped other than Allah. Then you will find that this Prophet who has come to the people, some of these people worship the sun, some of them worship the angels, some of them worship fire, some of them worship stones, some of them worship a tree shaped in the form of a human being. He sets it up and starts slaughtering chickens to offer to it, and other animals and offering the blood, claiming that it is his god. Then the Prophet will come and struggle with them, and tell them to stop this. However, they have become used to it. Instead of them studying what he says to them and contemplating on it, so perhaps they would come to understand it; no, they do not do that. Because he has started criticizing what they do not want to hear, immediately they start hating him, and say that he is the one who does not like to live in peace, while in truth he is rather the one who wants peace. Because whoever sees you falling into evil, and comes and holds your hand and says “No, don’t go there, because where you are going is evil; come here instead. If you come here, you will be guided and benefit, both in this world and the hereafter.” How can such a person be considered an evildoer? How could it be said that he is a person who does not want to live in peace? No, you who said he has brought evil, out of ignorance or ill-luck, you say he is an evildoer; while you are rather the evildoer, not him. That’s all. [18:00] Then Allah made a promise that “those prophets I sent I will surely enquire from them.” “We shall surely ask those to whom we have sent the messengers and we shall also ask the messengers. We shall surely inform them from our knowledge, for we had not been … negligent … absent from it.” [18:19] Those to whom we have sent messengers, we will ask them in the hereafter, as well as the prophets we have sent to them, saying “We have sent messengers to you, what did you say? Did the messengers come to you? “ They would be asked this. At one side some people would say yes; at the other side some people would say no; because in the hereafter people are arranged in groups. Then the prophets would be asked in their turn, “We have asked you to go to these people. You, did you go to your people? And you, such and such a prophet, did you go to your people? Yes, I went.” Noah would say to his people, I went; Moses would say I went; Jesus would say I went. David, Solomon and all the prophets, whoever is asked would reply that “Oh Lord, we went.” Then God would say, “Now, who or what is the evidence (to prove) that you truly went to your people?” Then they would say, “Well, as much as we are concerned, we went. Our witnesses are the people of Muhammad (PBUH). They are going to bear witness that we went.” Why? Because our stories are in the Quran that was revealed to them. It is here that Allah spoke in one chapter of the Quran, and asked the prophets to bring witness, and Prophet Muhammad will also bear witness for you. When these prophets said what they would say, then Allah would ask us, the people of Muhammad, “These prophets said you are going to bear witness for them. How did you know that they had sent the message I gave to them?” We, the people of Muhammad, will say yes, truly the Quran that you sent, it is in it that we have seen, and that is enough for us as witness. We bear witness that they really went. And the Prophet Muhammad will also in turn come and bear us witness. So from here, those who have turned away from God and refused to follow these sayings of the prophets, that day they will have nowhere to turn. All that they will have is hardship, a hardship that is not like that of the world. It is a terrible punishment, which is hellfire, into which they would be thrown. At that moment, they would be crying and saying, had they known. They would say, if only we could be taken back into the world to change our ways for the better. They would be told “No, when one comes here, one never goes back.” So for God’s sake, how can a person who invites you to avoid hardship, how can such a person be said to be one who does not want peace? Or is it not that person who wishes you evil and hatred; is he not the one who does not like peace? Therefore, Islam is a religion of peaceful coexistence. That Islamic religion is the one that has been preached by all the prophets, until it came to the turn of Prophet Muhammad (APBUH), just as Allah says in the Quran. “We have sent prophet after prophet. One prophet will come and preach his message and go. Then after a while, another prophet will come and preach his message, and also go away. It continued until it came to the turn of the Prophet Muhammad. And the Prophet Muhammad, just as Allah has prepared him, Allah made him so that he was the best of all the prophets. He is the first and the last, because no prophet has a status as high as the Prophet Muhammad. That is why Allah made him the last prophet. And because he was the last of the prophets, his people are more than those of any of the prophets, and the religion that he came with will overwhelm all the other religions which were preached by the other prophets. [22:19] Maybe someone will ask: Didn’t I say that Islam was the religion preached by the first prophets? How can I now say that the Islam that the Prophet Muhammad brought will encompass all the religions of the other prophets? What I meant by that is this: the Islamic religion is one; from the time of Adam to the end of the world, there is and would only be Islam. What I mean by the religions or messages of the other prophets is this: I mean that they are the same, but the laws they contain differ. You will find that in one religion, gambling is lawful, while in the religion of another prophet it is illegal. As a short example, you will find that in the religion of Solomon it is lawful to cut out idols and sell them, but this is forbidden in the religion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Even cutting wood and molding it into a shape you find delightful and putting it in your home for decoration has been forbidden by the Islamic religion. But you see, if it were in the time of the religion of Solomon, it was lawful. Thus you see, and then Allah said: [23:36] “For every one we have organized a way and a system.” Meaning, all those prophets we have organized for each of them their own laws and system, laws that are appropriate to the situation as we have foreseen it. [23:55] Islam is a religion of peaceful coexistence. Islam consists only of five pillars. I mean by pillars, they are what the English language means by pillars, that is, pillars or support. What is meant by support is anything which is set up to serve as support for a weight. For when that support gets broken, whatever it is bearing falls down. So Islam consists of five of these. [24:33] First, To bear witness that there is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger; then establishing prayer, and paying the tithe, and fasting during the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to the “House” [Mecca] for those who are capable. [24.48] Those are the five pillars. That is Islam. First is to bear witness that truly, what is worth worshipping is Allah. Secondly is the prophet Muhammad, as we happen to be in the end of time, and we are among his people. The Prophet Muhammad is the prophet Muhammad. You must believe in Allah - that Allah is one and there is nothing worth worshipping but Him. Then we have believed that the Prophet Muhammad is truly the messenger of God; he was sent by Allah. If it were the era of Noah, the people of Noah, when they say “There is no God worth worshipping but Allah,” they would say “Noah is a messenger of Allah.” There is nothing worth worshipping but Allah, and Noah is a messenger of Allah. [25:34] I should be brief, eh? OK. Let us shorten it. They say the time is going. The fact is they have come upon us without warning, so whatever we can we will organize it for them. [25.44] If it were the era of Muhammad, or the era of Yusuf (Joseph), they will say “there is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Yusuf is a messenger of Allah.” Meaning that I bear witness and believe that God who must be worshipped is one, and Yusuf is a messenger of Allah.” If it were the era of Musa (Moses) you will say “there is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Moses is a messenger of Allah.” If it were the era of Isa (Jesus), they will say that “there is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Isa is a messenger of Allah.” I believe there is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Isa is a messenger of Allah. He, Isa, is the one that some call Jesus; Christians call him Jesus. And Musa is the one the Jews call Moses. And I think that the problem with Islam arose because of the misunderstanding about those two prophets, or let us say those three prophets. Those two prophets, meaning Moses and Jesus, their followers and the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the conflict arose from those two, those Jews. Why? The Torah, which was given to the people of Moses, and the Injil [New Testament] which was given to the people of Jesus, both of them spoke about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), of his coming. And when he comes, that prophet, this is how he is and this is how he is. They have knowledge of that. So, before he came, they thought he was going to appear among them. He did not happen to be a Jew or a Christian; thus spite and envy and arrogance prevent them from following the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In short, I will stop here. Islam teaches nothing but peaceful coexistence. Remember when Muhammad was sent, he was sent to invite people. His city was Mecca; listen to that, his city is Mecca. A person with his own city is chased out to another city. He is forced to go somewhere else, and then he is accused of not loving peace. He went to Medina and was welcomed. It was there that the religion became established. But then he is accused of not loving peace. They chased him and brought war to him, and they killed his people. But he kept quiet until Allah gave him permission: “now if they kill you, retaliate.” Then he said, “When retaliating, if that person raises his arm and says, “There is no God worth worshipping but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,” then leave him alone.” But then, you see, those unbelievers say that our religion is a religion of the sword, and people were forced to convert to it, and they converted against their will. It is not so. They were killing the Prophet and Allah said, “Now if they kill you, you must retaliate; but when you are retaliating, anyone who raises his hand and says I follow Allah and the Prophet, then leave him alone.” That is what happened. So I will make it short. [28:24] Allah’s peace and blessings be upon you. People, I hope you have understood us. This speech, we have made it without organization. They came to us without preparing for them, and we had to talk about the issue in such a brief and unorganized manner. When any mistake is discovered in it, we pray that you correct it for us. We are also praying to God to forgive us. Our wish is to say the right and appropriate thing. It is not our wish to say a lie about the religion so that it becomes good. Peace and blessing be upon the Prophet. [28:52]