November 27, 2024 • 36 mins
In this episode, co-hosts Frank Abdul Shaheed & Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown delve into the complexities of modern society, discussing the importance of maintaining moral integrity and disciplined behavior amidst confusion and progress. They highlight the impact of environments, such as Senegal, on personal peace and societal contributions. The episode examines the concept of freedom as obedience to divine guidance, the role of family, and the challenges of prevailing cultural influences like hookup culture. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on achieving destination excellence.
00:00 Welcome to The Family Ties
00:37 Efforts and Aspirations
01:59 Life in Medina Baye
03:18 The Quest for Peace
05:51 Historical Reflections
08:07 Universal Challenges
10:45 Responsibilities of Freedom
12:52 The Role of Family
16:18 Leadership and Society
19:07 The Nature of Man
23:16 Freedom and Obedience
34:05 Conclusion and Next Steps
This podcast is about family life as a means to address current problems in American society. A scripture based African American perspective.
Welcome to The Family Ties, a Prescription for Society.
Through this experience we invite you to join us in an exploration of the concept of family ties as a prescription for society.
YOUR HOSTS: Frank Abdul Shaheed &
Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown
This episode was edited by Darryl D Anderson of AMG - Ambassador Media Group visit https://www.ambassador-mediagroup.com/
__________________________________
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Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Copyright 2024
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Frank (00:16):
Peace be upon the family as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:27):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:37):
Once again, we're back.
On this wonderful podcast that Imight say is wonderful.
We put a lot of effort andenergy into this introduction
and this presentation, becausewe want to make a mark in the
world.
You know, we are wanting to beof the people who stand at a
time in which there are goodpeople.
(00:58):
Is confusion and yet at the sametime, there is progression.
So welcome back to thiswonderful podcast.
If I may say, Sister Florida,how are you today?
Faridah (01:09):
I am well.
Thank you so much for asking.
I pray you and your family arewell.
You know, I join you.
I know that we, we do work hard.
We put in a lot of time behindthe scenes, you know, really
discussing and working towardmaking this podcast have an
impact and an influence, likeyou said, in a time of
confusion, there's great promisein this time, but there.
(01:31):
There are great stressors on thehuman being and the human
family.
And so working very diligentlyto remake our sensibilities,
remake our sensitivities, andremake the world in which we
live.
Frank (01:47):
Yes.
And the very thing that we cando The very first step we can do
is influence those around us.
So having said that, how are youand your family?
Faridah (01:59):
We are well, as you know, we are joining you from
the the, the sunny and balmy, Ishould say 97 degrees day here
in Medina Bay.
in Senegal, you know, so myfamily and I are still here.
My dear husband, of course, isback in the States.
We miss you dearly.
But you know, two of ourdaughters are here with us and
(02:22):
my sister and her children andour daughter's friend uh, here
as well.
They're here studying five youngwomen here studying at the
African American Institute ofKnowledge of Islamic Studies
here in Medina Baye, and they'restudying the Quran.
So I am here as a help for them.
I'm doing work here, but I am,I'm mainly serving as a source
(02:43):
of support and guidance for themwhile they're here.
And I hope to be back in theStates you know, within the
month.
So you'll hear the sounds of ofthe the Qur'an.
You'll hear the sounds of thecall to prayer for those in our
listening audience who may notbe familiar with that.
You may hear melodic tunes, youknow, joining us at any point
during our conversations.
(03:04):
And so you'll know that that isis part of the the the blessing
of being here in a space wherethere is a focus, you know, in
some ways.
In some manner on the word ofGod.
So that's what you will, youwill be hearing.
Frank (03:18):
If, if I may add for the audience you know, you're
speaking about being in a placethat's a little different than
where we are in America, and itmay be very unfamiliar to anyone
who may not have left.
The shores of North America togo to another place in the
world.
You know, what is what is yourimmediate environment look like?
Does it does it suggest to youlevels of peace or does it
(03:42):
suggest to you that there issome identification that
Something has to change or theenvironment needs to be
influenced in a way to be ableto bring about a level of peace
for you to have your, yourspace, your sanity and your
input into the influence ofsociety, you know, what does
that look like for you?
Faridah (04:02):
Wow.
That's an excellent question.
You know, there's, there is alevel of peace, you know,
there's, there's a level ofpeace on one level that I feel
very safe, you know, walking thestreets.
There's the exchange of thegreetings of peace between
believers and even those who,you know, practice other faiths,
you know, who are Christian ormay not practice any religion at
(04:23):
all.
They, they still exchange agreeting of peace.
The, the greeting here in Wolofis Basically, something's akin
to how are you?
And the response to that.
There are a few responses thatI've learned thus far, but one
is money fee, meaning I am here.
One is my new T jam, meaning Iam here and I have peace.
(04:47):
And so that's, it calls to mindbeing very present in one's
surroundings.
And so the word of God is heardmany times throughout the day.
There's the call to prayer, andthen there will be a recitation
of the Qur'an which is thescripture revealed to Muhammad,
the prophet, prayers and peacebe upon him.
And, and that brings a sense of,of wellbeing and peace.
(05:09):
But, In the materialsurroundings I think there is
much that lends one, or at leastmyself and I know my children
when, when we arrived, it there,there is a sense of dis ease.
There's a sense of that there iswork to be done, that there is
assistance needed from those whoare witnessed and testify to the
(05:35):
power of, of the creator tochange circumstances and bring
life out of death.
And when I say that, that's,that resurrection story is
available and is witnessed forall of mankind in, in scripture.
And the scriptures that camebefore the Quran and in the
Quran itself, but it ismanifested in the people in the
(05:59):
African American people inparticular, and the experience
that we had coming from theshores of this land and in
places like the Senegambianregion, you know, where I am
currently now living for, forthe present time, you know, this
very region supplied many of ourancestors who came across the
Atlantic or brought across theAtlantic and experienced chattel
(06:20):
slavery.
And out of that process, a newpeople was born whose very
existence is a testimony toGod's promise to a people who
are forgotten, who are abused,who are oppressed, and who are
denied their human their human,rights and their right to
develop their human potential,that God himself intervened and
(06:41):
created a new people and made acovenant with them.
So I think coming out of thatexperience, a people up from
slavery, a people witnessingGod's ability to resurrect
mankind to resurrect ideas, toresurrect society and
civilizations, that that impetushas, I carry that with me on the
airplane over the Atlanticreturning.
(07:02):
If you will, from America backto the continent or the
motherland as, as we sometimescall it.
And in this space, I believethat our understanding of the,
the Quran and of scripture thatcame through this very
experience is necessary.
In order to bring a wholesomeand a balanced picture, there's
a term in our, our faith thatit's a Salihin.
(07:25):
It's, it's, it's a descriptor ofthe believers, the righteous
ones.
And that's a description that isnot limited to the the Muslim.
It's the, the Christian, the,the Jew, the people of faith,
the believers who believe in Godand believe in the last day,
that they're the people who are,who are, are working
righteously.
And in that space, in this spacethat I witness around me, there
(07:45):
is much room.
for the righteous people tobring about a just order that
does not currently existanywhere in the world, including
where I am today.
So yeah, so much work to bedone.
I guess that's my answer to yourquestion.
Frank (08:03):
I greatly appreciate that.
And the audience appreciates itas well.
So as you leave, as you havelaid out, About the terrain, the
environment, the sensitivitiesof the people that you are
currently witnessing there inAfrica and Senegal we, we, we
tend to look at the world andwhen we want to do a comparison
(08:25):
analysis of what the world lookslike, and often we'll draw this
conclusion that what has plaguedman in Senegal.
Is the same thing that hasplayed man in South America,
which has played man in Europe,Asia and all of the continents
of the world that this is auniversal war against man's
(08:50):
innocent and man's ability thatthese things are universal.
So how is it that we now candraw from these pictures to
determine, you know, goingforward, you know, how should we
address these things and notonly how do we address it?
How do we handle theresponsibilities of them?
(09:10):
You know, what's where?
What are signs for us to let usknow that there is a pathway?
Through this to take us to thedestiny.
And we often mentioneddestination excellence here on
this podcast.
What, what are the pathways thattake us to the conclusion?
So often we look at confusion inthe world and there was a a
(09:31):
historian, I would say, who usedto comment about.
A time when newspapers, physicalnewspapers were the main
influence of information,specifically worldly
information.
So this particular historianwould say, when I received my
newspaper, the first sectionthat I would go to is the sports
(09:52):
section.
And someone said, well, why isit that you go to the sports
section?
His response was because Iwanted to celebrate man's
achievements.
Before I look at the other partof the paper and, and have to
reflect back on man'sdestruction and man's influence
that has taken us away from thevictory that the sports would
(10:15):
tend to lead us to and he wasreferencing, you know, just
world events and, and how manhas interacted and primarily
man's interest in handling andhis responsibility of material.
in the world, his management ofmaterial in the world.
And that is our, that is ourcall as humans.
(10:36):
That's called, that's our callas people.
That is our call from ourcreator to engage the physical
world, to be able to managethese resources.
So what we would like to do inthis particular discussion is to
just, just look at those, lookat that theme in man and man's
existence in the arc of man'sexistence.
(10:57):
On earth, how in his efforts tomanage these resources, he
creates an environment thatsometimes looks very confused.
Looks very challenging and howman works himself, how man sets
themselves and, and orientshimself to be able to go in and
(11:20):
manage these resources to bringus to destination excellence.
Now, part of that resource isthe human resource.
And I think That that is themost important resource.
And I think that's the primaryor the priority resource.
How do we handle the humanresource?
Because with that, we're able tohandle every other resource in
(11:41):
the world, because then we wouldknow it's true purpose and its
role in our lives.
So we want to look at the humandisposition towards these
resources and look at some ofthe things that may have
affected our disposition towardsthem.
Some of the things that haveinfluenced us to move away from
its true purpose.
And while we're dealing withsuch a confused circumstance in
(12:03):
2024, as we see today I'mlooking out of my window now and
you talk about a balmy 97degrees I'm looking out of my
window and I'm seeing jacketsand scarves and, and hats and,
you know, knitted hats and, youknow, people wearing outerwear
to try to protect themselvesfrom the elements of the, of the
environment.
So although it may look a littledifferent out of my window, as
(12:26):
far as the climate is concerned,weather wise, the climate of
the, of the world currently isone of confusion and one of
anxieties and one of not havinggood leadership to refocus or
reorient us on handling thesematerial resources.
So we want to talk aboutreaffirming our purpose as a
people, as a family.
(12:47):
to, to access these resourcesand manage them properly.
Faridah (12:52):
You know, that's a, I love how you give the
description of this, the varyingclimates in which we are
currently situated and how theyreflect this moment in human
history.
Interestingly enough, in thecountry of Senegal, they
recently held elections, as wedid, this past Sunday, November
17th, I believe was the date,and they had legislated, held
(13:16):
legislative elections andessentially there was a They
have a new president and ayounger gentleman.
He came in on promises offighting corruption and really
establishing a greater sense ofself determination for the
Senegalese, Senegalese people,particularly the young, those
who are looking for you know,ways to support themselves
(13:38):
economically to manage theresources as you referenced
earlier.
And his party was able to, theyhad a victory.
in the past election.
So God willing, he and his teamwill be able to implement some
of the changes that they believewill be beneficial, most
beneficial to the people ofSenegal.
(14:00):
We as an American, you know, Iam currently in Senegal, but as
an American who did voteabsentee ballot you know, during
this, this past recentpresidential election and in the
congressional elections as well.
I understand that in ourcountry, we are facing a moment
of great anxiety and confusionparticularly in the wake of the,
(14:22):
the election results.
And.
This manifests itself in anumber of ways, and of course,
the election is just a sign ofwhat was what was already
existing in the body, the bodyof the people.
So there, there were people whowere so frustrated that they
decided to vote for a felon.
(14:43):
They were so frustrated withwhat they believed to be you
know, some of the challenges tofamily life with regards to
rewriting and re understandingand policymaking that does not
respect the, the picture ofhuman life that God has created
in terms of, of, of the male andfemale and that the
complementary and beautifullyexcellent natures of both and
(15:06):
the necessity of both to, to beable to live the, the, the,
Excellent human life and reachthe destiny.
Some of them were so frustratedwith that.
Element within our, our popularculture.
And that has reached the hallsof, of the legislative offices
and the legislative bodies thatthey decided to forego.
(15:27):
You know, a lot of the interestthat we think we all have in
common in terms of establishinga free society that they that
they decided to vote for afelon, someone who does not have
the interest of of the of thebody of the country of the
nation.
And so because elements on, onthe other side, we're not able
(15:49):
to answer or speak in an, anymeaningful way to that concern.
Also, some of the concerns aboutyou know, what is happening in
Palestine and Sudan and theCongo and other places in the
world where human suffering andhuman oppression has reached
epic levels.
You know, we haven't found anymeaningful way to, to move
forward on that.
There have been consequences.
(16:11):
Some of us, you know, may or maynot agree with the decisions of
our, our fellow Americans, butwe are where we are.
And as a result You know, thatwe are in a place where people
are feeling afraid, they'refeeling anxious, and they're
confused about their role in asociety where you know, the
leadership is what it is, it'spoor leadership, it's defunct
(16:34):
leadership, it's morally corruptleadership, and we are all going
to have to move forward withinthat space.
So I think the question is, thequestion that you've asked in
terms of reaffirming the purposeof a people, the purpose of
humanity, and putting intofocus.
in particular you know, AfricanAmerican community are, are we
fit to handle theresponsibilities of freedom?
(16:56):
You know, we, we, as a purpose,like you said, we speak a lot
about destination excellence.
And really what we're referringto is the destiny of mankind,
that there is a purpose formankind that involves serving
the creator.
And realizing the potential thatthe Creator gave us to go into
the material world and to beable to establish a just order
(17:17):
and a just society based on thatservice to the Creator and the
management of resources in thenatural world.
And so based on that, that'swhat our, our, our, our purpose
is.
So if we understand that to bethe purpose of mankind, then we
have to ask ourselves, are wefit to handle those
(17:38):
responsibilities?
One, to fulfill the purpose ofserving God, which means
bringing about a just society asociety that affords everyone
the opportunity to develop hisor her full potentials and
abilities.
Required for that, a requirementfor that is freedom.
And when we understand freedomfrom a scriptural perspective,
(17:59):
we're talking about thedeclaration of a new mind that
is free of the troubles of theprevailing thinking in the
world.
Yes.
And so what we have to do isstep back when we ask ourselves,
are we as as Americans?
Are we as an African Americancommunity?
Are we as humanity around theworld?
(18:22):
Are we prepared?
Are we fit to handle theresponsibilities of freedom and
to manage those resources?
So I throw that question at you.
If, if that freedom requiresbeing free from the troubles of
the prevailing thinking, we haveto ask ourselves, what, what is
the prevailing thinking?
In our community, in ourculture, in our society, and how
(18:44):
may that be affecting orinfluencing our fitness for the
responsibilities of freedom andself determination?
Frank (18:53):
Big, lifelong question.
And this question has been thequestion of man throughout his
age, ages.
As I said, the arc of man'sexistence.
This has been the prevailingquestion.
Are we fit so let me, let mejust draw a picture if I, if I
can, and we'll look at the, thelifespan of man himself just,
(19:18):
just as an, an individual man,not, not man as a concept, just
an individual, physical, mortalman.
So man is brought into thisworld.
Is birth into this world andbirthing in a sense is an
awakening to something.
It's a new wreck is arecognition of something is,
it's being able to isregistering something.
(19:39):
And from that, something comesfrom that.
So the birthing of a child intothe world is a sign of Innocence
in the world that man'sbeginning began in innocence and
man is designed to engage thevery thing that he comes from is
(20:01):
his mate.
That's his mate.
The earth is man's mate.
So he comes from that mate.
So naturally he has thedisposition, the that's built in
his soul, built in his nature tofor that.
Introduction to his mate toinfluence him.
So as man in his innocence ispresented to his mate, a man
(20:27):
engages in it and comes acrosssituations sometimes that may be
overwhelming to him.
But as a help to him comesguidance to help man manage.
His disposition and theinfluence of the mate, because
the mate is really only designedto strengthen man for the role
(20:49):
of being the one who can managethese responsibilities and these
resources.
So man grows, child grows intoadulthood to be able to be one
who can now what manageresources.
That that's what an adult's jobis.
You're an adult because you canmanage these resources.
So man goes through life and hemanages these resources.
(21:11):
He reconciles the things thatgiven him trouble in the past.
He puts things in motions.
He opens up pathways to securethat level of management for
that, to carry on through thelife of this particular
individual.
So when he gets to the pointwhere his, his life comes to an
end, that whole picture has beentaken care of because of his
(21:32):
responsibilities.
So now when man now leaves thisparticular physical.
Existence, the material stayshere.
It just goes back to the sourcethat it came from the material.
And then now someone else canuse that material, but there's
another constitution of man thatdoesn't stay here.
(21:54):
It goes into another reality.
And that's, that's man's soul.
That's his nature.
That's his soul.
So our life doesn't just meanmaterial resources.
It doesn't just mean thatdoesn't begin there and it
doesn't end there.
It doesn't end there within thematerial resources is a
component that's designed tohandle it.
And the picture is that it goesin with an innocent disposition
(22:17):
and it gets trouble, but yet itgets complimented and it gets
helped to be able to manage it.
So when it comes to itsconclusion, it is now sitting
upon these resources as a personwho can handle these levels of
responsibility.
So yes, we are fit to handle itby our very creation.
We are fit to handle these,these responsibilities, but the
(22:40):
disconnect is the nature and thesoul and its recognition that it
has been introduced to a matecalled revelation or revealed
knowledge of revealed scriptureto be able to have man to
handle.
This level of responsibility inthe world is confused now,
(23:03):
because we're looking at thingswholly as a resource of material
versus the spiritual andscriptural influence of the
material to take us to theproper destiny.
So we see confusion.
We see lack of good leadership.
We see, and you talked aboutfreedom and a free, how can
freedom come from a felon?
That's, that's a contradiction.
Felony means that you have beenlocked.
(23:25):
You've been, you've been put ina situation because of guilt,
because of a, of a misstep or amiss, you know appropriation
your disposition wasn't correctthat you put yourself in a
situation where now you are haveto be confined because of guilt
because of guilt upon yourself.
But yet you're the one who'sgoing to introduce to me what
(23:46):
freedom looks like.
So that level of contradictionis what causes confusion in the
minds of the people.
So we looking for materialexistence in this world, but we
don't have a real connection tospiritually.
What that looks like for us tobe able to manage these, these
resources.
So we just look at man to, to,to summarize this.
If we just look at man's life,we see that his life itself is
(24:10):
a, is a description on ourconfidence in us to be able to
handle these levels ofresponsibility.
So for those who are in asituation where they can't
understand what the next moveis, they have to adjust their.
Disposition and then from thatadjustment, the nature gets
(24:30):
revealed upon with guidance toshow you what leadership looks
like for us to handle and managethese responsibilities.
So, yes.
We are fit.
Faridah (24:42):
So I think I'm going to push back on you a little bit
here.
So this might be you know, wemight have room for discussion
because I agree with you that weare, we possess the nature to to
accept responsibility.
and to assert our selfdetermination and to bring about
(25:07):
change for ourselvesindividually, our families,
establish them in suchexcellence that they are living
models for how we function inthe greater family of man and to
begin to address those, thoseissues that are as, as large as
genocide and as particular asyou know, what is happening on
(25:32):
the streets of our neighborhood,
Frank (25:34):
but
Faridah (25:34):
when we say fit it, if you think about Fit in terms of
the word fitness, you know, thatthere is a one of the meanings
of fit as an adjective, youknow, one is what you addressed,
you have a suitable quality, astandard or type to meet the
required purpose.
So the structure, the design asthe creator has given it, the
(25:55):
design is fit for thisresponsibility.
But what happens when we letthat design go, when we abuse
that design, when we neglectthat design to develop it?
So you know, we come into theworld fit, but sometime between
there and our adulthood, we haveto work on maintaining fitness.
(26:17):
Right.
We have to eat properly.
We have to rest properly.
We have to address ourpsychological and our emotional
cells.
We have to address the, the, thephysical needs of our bodies.
in order to maintain that stateof fitness.
So I guess what I would say isI, I think in our journey up
(26:37):
from slavery as a people, andthis is only in the context of
our, our primary identity ashuman beings.
So everything that I'm sayingabout the African American
people is true for humanity.
In general, because that's thefirst picture.
But what I would say is on ourjourney up from slavery, we have
been influenced.
(26:58):
I would say up from slave life,we've been influenced and
affected by the spirit of thetime.
And as a result, I believe we'resuffering from a corruption of
that spirit.
Right.
And, and I think that's becausewe have neglected.
the moral picture of ourcommunity life.
And so when I look at fitness, Ithink, yes, in, in our inherent
(27:23):
nature, we are fit as humanbeings, but have we maintained
that fitness?
Have we done what is necessaryto maintain the optimal state of
the human body both in itsmaterial sense and its spiritual
sense that you address?
And I'm going to go on record assaying, no I believe that the
(27:43):
discipline that's required assomeone, you know, I, I'm on a
health journey right now,myself, you know, trying to
bring myself back into balanceand, and my, my physical body
into the best shape that it canbe so that I am fit for the
tasks that are at hand that Godhas given me.
So that requires beingdisciplined in my eating.
It requires being disciplined inhow I move my body and making
(28:06):
the choices that are going tostrengthen.
myself as opposed to weakeningit.
Frank (28:12):
And
Faridah (28:12):
I believe that our collective community spirit,
because we have abandoned orneglected the moral picture of
our life, we've invited ininfluences that have weakened us
and weakened our capacity fordisciplined action.
And so going back to the basicsof family life, which is the
foundational concept on whichthis podcast rests as, as a, as
(28:35):
a prescription.
for all of the other issues insociety that we want to address.
If we go back to the basics offamily life, we're looking at
fundamentally the union, theresponsible union of man and
woman.
And so when I say that when Iunderstand that freedom requires
a mind.
that is free of the troubles ofthe prevailing thinking in the
(28:57):
world, then I have to askmyself, am I living my life
according to the prevailingthinking?
And what is the prevailingthinking?
And so if we go to the mostbasic level of the human family,
which, which tells us a lotabout what's wrong in our
economy, in our education, inour cultural life in, in our
(29:17):
political life.
I'm looking at a fundamentalbreakdown of the, the, the
responsible understanding ofthe, the, the coming together of
man and woman.
One of the prevailing thinkingis that freedom means
licentiousness.
Freedom means permissiveness.
And in that fundamentalrelationship, we're looking at
(29:39):
something that I think might bereferenced as hookup culture
that has Invited us to a alooseness and a permissiveness,
a lack of disciplined behaviorwhen it comes to the
responsibilities and the beautyof, of man and woman coming
together.
So you know, I, I'm interestedin hearing your thoughts on
(30:00):
that.
Frank (30:02):
Yes, that's, that's very popular.
So I, I agree with you but I'mgonna give you a little
pushback.
On the statements.
So, so we both are seeing andperceiving these pictures that
we both painted on this episodeabout the nature and whether or
not we are able to manage theseresources, our created selves.
(30:26):
Are fit to manage it ourconscious self that lacks the
moral interest in what we wantto do is not fit to manage it
and we have to bring the twotogether.
So we're talking about talkingabout situations that come in
between.
That good moral state of man andhis design to have that as a
(30:47):
compliment to the nature ofhimself, so he could be fit to
manage these things.
These are the influences thathave come in.
And you talked about the hookupculture.
Yes.
And I would say that this typeof influence has come in and it
weakens the ties ofrelationships by stripping the
(31:08):
natural progressive, the naturalprogressions.
In these interactions.
So they are natural progressionsthat we have when we naturally
interact with one another.
Did they just naturally happen?
But the hookup culture itselfare designed to strip.
Those natural progressions andnow take away the morality of
these interactions and take awaythe focus of the building of
(31:31):
these particular interactionswere designed to build something
we're building, you know,building blocks.
You're talking about Fitness.
Once again, having a little,little bit of biology
background.
You know, proteins are buildingblocks for muscles.
Everything builds.
Something has to build uponsomething else in order for it
to extend and establish itself.
(31:53):
But when we have influences thatare designed to take away the
building blocks, then that is ahindrance to society.
And it's also been presented tous As a good thing, because
ultimately we are looking forfreedom.
We are looking for freedom.
And if it is presented to usthat this is a level of freedom,
(32:17):
then we are naturally, we willbe influenced by it.
And it will take us to our owndestruction.
Now you set the table earlierabout what freedom is.
Freedom is obedience.
It's obedience to, to ourcreator.
He created us and he designedus.
And in our obedience to him isthe ultimate.
Form of freedom, but theinfluence is challenged us to
(32:38):
take us away from that moralstance.
And now we thinking that these,this new thing that's called
hookup culture, that's sopervasive in the world today,
because we're fighting forexpression and our expression is
what expression of freedom.
Freedom to be able to determinefor ourselves what our life
should be, the selfdetermination, but even in the
(33:00):
context of self determination,it is a pathway of a group who
has, who has in their ownconstitution, self governance.
Which means government, whichmeans that you're able to manage
your own determination andmanage your own levels of
resources, which means that itbuilds and it affects society in
(33:21):
a way that it builds it to itsbest picture.
Now, does the hookup culturebuild anything?
I would say it doesn't.
It takes away versus itbuilding.
So are we sensitive enough toknow that this influence that
has come in and we don't knowwhere the influence came from.
We just know it's pervasive.
(33:41):
Does it actually build our life?
And if it doesn't, then we needto immediately identify it as
something that goes against thegoodness of our determination to
handle and manage theseresources and be fit for this
constitution that God hasalready created for us.
I don't know if that waspushback.
Was that pushback?
Yeah.
Faridah (34:01):
Look, whatever it was, it was good.
Let's put it like that becauseyou know we grow by, by
challenge, you know, and so Iwant to return in the short time
that we have left.
And I, I pray that we cancontinue this conversation, but
in the short time that we haveleft, I'd like to return to the
idea that you just shared whenyou, you went a little bit more
(34:24):
deeply into the idea or conceptof freedom.
Frank (34:27):
And
Faridah (34:27):
you said that freedom is obedience.
And for many people that soundsoxymoronic, you know, freedom is
obedience.
No, freedom is my ability todetermine for myself, what, what
I will do and what I won't do,what direction my life will take
and what it won't take, who Ichoose, what my, and so if this
is your idea of freedom, then Ithink it's, it behooves us to
(34:50):
to, to explore that definitionthat you gave a little bit more
and of freedom being obedience.
How do we find our freedom inobedience?
And because we are short on timetoday, I'm hoping that we can
continue this conversation in anext episode.
Frank (35:10):
I would certainly agree.
And yes, freedom for us is theability to, to look with a new
mind.
Absolutely.
At what the design should be.
Well, Farda, the praise is forGod.
We have moved one step closer todestination excellence.
Faridah (35:29):
Until next time, let us remain conscious of our creator,
of the sacred relationship ofparent and child, and of the
family ties that bind ustogether.
Find us, subscribe to thepodcast and come back next time
for a new episode of the familyties
Frank (35:45):
from Frank Abdul Shahid
Faridah (35:47):
and Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Frank (35:51):
Peace be upon the family.
Peace be upon the family as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:27):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:37):
Once again, we're back.
On this wonderful podcast that Imight say is wonderful.
We put a lot of effort andenergy into this introduction
and this presentation, becausewe want to make a mark in the
world.
You know, we are wanting to beof the people who stand at a
time in which there are goodpeople.
(00:58):
Is confusion and yet at the sametime, there is progression.
So welcome back to thiswonderful podcast.
If I may say, Sister Florida,how are you today?
Faridah (01:09):
I am well.
Thank you so much for asking.
I pray you and your family arewell.
You know, I join you.
I know that we, we do work hard.
We put in a lot of time behindthe scenes, you know, really
discussing and working towardmaking this podcast have an
impact and an influence, likeyou said, in a time of
confusion, there's great promisein this time, but there.
(01:31):
There are great stressors on thehuman being and the human
family.
And so working very diligentlyto remake our sensibilities,
remake our sensitivities, andremake the world in which we
live.
Frank (01:47):
Yes.
And the very thing that we cando The very first step we can do
is influence those around us.
So having said that, how are youand your family?
Faridah (01:59):
We are well, as you know, we are joining you from
the the, the sunny and balmy, Ishould say 97 degrees day here
in Medina Bay.
in Senegal, you know, so myfamily and I are still here.
My dear husband, of course, isback in the States.
We miss you dearly.
But you know, two of ourdaughters are here with us and
(02:22):
my sister and her children andour daughter's friend uh, here
as well.
They're here studying five youngwomen here studying at the
African American Institute ofKnowledge of Islamic Studies
here in Medina Baye, and they'restudying the Quran.
So I am here as a help for them.
I'm doing work here, but I am,I'm mainly serving as a source
(02:43):
of support and guidance for themwhile they're here.
And I hope to be back in theStates you know, within the
month.
So you'll hear the sounds of ofthe the Qur'an.
You'll hear the sounds of thecall to prayer for those in our
listening audience who may notbe familiar with that.
You may hear melodic tunes, youknow, joining us at any point
during our conversations.
(03:04):
And so you'll know that that isis part of the the the blessing
of being here in a space wherethere is a focus, you know, in
some ways.
In some manner on the word ofGod.
So that's what you will, youwill be hearing.
Frank (03:18):
If, if I may add for the audience you know, you're
speaking about being in a placethat's a little different than
where we are in America, and itmay be very unfamiliar to anyone
who may not have left.
The shores of North America togo to another place in the
world.
You know, what is what is yourimmediate environment look like?
Does it does it suggest to youlevels of peace or does it
(03:42):
suggest to you that there issome identification that
Something has to change or theenvironment needs to be
influenced in a way to be ableto bring about a level of peace
for you to have your, yourspace, your sanity and your
input into the influence ofsociety, you know, what does
that look like for you?
Faridah (04:02):
Wow.
That's an excellent question.
You know, there's, there is alevel of peace, you know,
there's, there's a level ofpeace on one level that I feel
very safe, you know, walking thestreets.
There's the exchange of thegreetings of peace between
believers and even those who,you know, practice other faiths,
you know, who are Christian ormay not practice any religion at
(04:23):
all.
They, they still exchange agreeting of peace.
The, the greeting here in Wolofis Basically, something's akin
to how are you?
And the response to that.
There are a few responses thatI've learned thus far, but one
is money fee, meaning I am here.
One is my new T jam, meaning Iam here and I have peace.
(04:47):
And so that's, it calls to mindbeing very present in one's
surroundings.
And so the word of God is heardmany times throughout the day.
There's the call to prayer, andthen there will be a recitation
of the Qur'an which is thescripture revealed to Muhammad,
the prophet, prayers and peacebe upon him.
And, and that brings a sense of,of wellbeing and peace.
(05:09):
But, In the materialsurroundings I think there is
much that lends one, or at leastmyself and I know my children
when, when we arrived, it there,there is a sense of dis ease.
There's a sense of that there iswork to be done, that there is
assistance needed from those whoare witnessed and testify to the
(05:35):
power of, of the creator tochange circumstances and bring
life out of death.
And when I say that, that's,that resurrection story is
available and is witnessed forall of mankind in, in scripture.
And the scriptures that camebefore the Quran and in the
Quran itself, but it ismanifested in the people in the
(05:59):
African American people inparticular, and the experience
that we had coming from theshores of this land and in
places like the Senegambianregion, you know, where I am
currently now living for, forthe present time, you know, this
very region supplied many of ourancestors who came across the
Atlantic or brought across theAtlantic and experienced chattel
(06:20):
slavery.
And out of that process, a newpeople was born whose very
existence is a testimony toGod's promise to a people who
are forgotten, who are abused,who are oppressed, and who are
denied their human their human,rights and their right to
develop their human potential,that God himself intervened and
(06:41):
created a new people and made acovenant with them.
So I think coming out of thatexperience, a people up from
slavery, a people witnessingGod's ability to resurrect
mankind to resurrect ideas, toresurrect society and
civilizations, that that impetushas, I carry that with me on the
airplane over the Atlanticreturning.
(07:02):
If you will, from America backto the continent or the
motherland as, as we sometimescall it.
And in this space, I believethat our understanding of the,
the Quran and of scripture thatcame through this very
experience is necessary.
In order to bring a wholesomeand a balanced picture, there's
a term in our, our faith thatit's a Salihin.
(07:25):
It's, it's, it's a descriptor ofthe believers, the righteous
ones.
And that's a description that isnot limited to the the Muslim.
It's the, the Christian, the,the Jew, the people of faith,
the believers who believe in Godand believe in the last day,
that they're the people who are,who are, are working
righteously.
And in that space, in this spacethat I witness around me, there
(07:45):
is much room.
for the righteous people tobring about a just order that
does not currently existanywhere in the world, including
where I am today.
So yeah, so much work to bedone.
I guess that's my answer to yourquestion.
Frank (08:03):
I greatly appreciate that.
And the audience appreciates itas well.
So as you leave, as you havelaid out, About the terrain, the
environment, the sensitivitiesof the people that you are
currently witnessing there inAfrica and Senegal we, we, we
tend to look at the world andwhen we want to do a comparison
(08:25):
analysis of what the world lookslike, and often we'll draw this
conclusion that what has plaguedman in Senegal.
Is the same thing that hasplayed man in South America,
which has played man in Europe,Asia and all of the continents
of the world that this is auniversal war against man's
(08:50):
innocent and man's ability thatthese things are universal.
So how is it that we now candraw from these pictures to
determine, you know, goingforward, you know, how should we
address these things and notonly how do we address it?
How do we handle theresponsibilities of them?
(09:10):
You know, what's where?
What are signs for us to let usknow that there is a pathway?
Through this to take us to thedestiny.
And we often mentioneddestination excellence here on
this podcast.
What, what are the pathways thattake us to the conclusion?
So often we look at confusion inthe world and there was a a
(09:31):
historian, I would say, who usedto comment about.
A time when newspapers, physicalnewspapers were the main
influence of information,specifically worldly
information.
So this particular historianwould say, when I received my
newspaper, the first sectionthat I would go to is the sports
(09:52):
section.
And someone said, well, why isit that you go to the sports
section?
His response was because Iwanted to celebrate man's
achievements.
Before I look at the other partof the paper and, and have to
reflect back on man'sdestruction and man's influence
that has taken us away from thevictory that the sports would
(10:15):
tend to lead us to and he wasreferencing, you know, just
world events and, and how manhas interacted and primarily
man's interest in handling andhis responsibility of material.
in the world, his management ofmaterial in the world.
And that is our, that is ourcall as humans.
(10:36):
That's called, that's our callas people.
That is our call from ourcreator to engage the physical
world, to be able to managethese resources.
So what we would like to do inthis particular discussion is to
just, just look at those, lookat that theme in man and man's
existence in the arc of man'sexistence.
(10:57):
On earth, how in his efforts tomanage these resources, he
creates an environment thatsometimes looks very confused.
Looks very challenging and howman works himself, how man sets
themselves and, and orientshimself to be able to go in and
(11:20):
manage these resources to bringus to destination excellence.
Now, part of that resource isthe human resource.
And I think That that is themost important resource.
And I think that's the primaryor the priority resource.
How do we handle the humanresource?
Because with that, we're able tohandle every other resource in
(11:41):
the world, because then we wouldknow it's true purpose and its
role in our lives.
So we want to look at the humandisposition towards these
resources and look at some ofthe things that may have
affected our disposition towardsthem.
Some of the things that haveinfluenced us to move away from
its true purpose.
And while we're dealing withsuch a confused circumstance in
(12:03):
2024, as we see today I'mlooking out of my window now and
you talk about a balmy 97degrees I'm looking out of my
window and I'm seeing jacketsand scarves and, and hats and,
you know, knitted hats and, youknow, people wearing outerwear
to try to protect themselvesfrom the elements of the, of the
environment.
So although it may look a littledifferent out of my window, as
(12:26):
far as the climate is concerned,weather wise, the climate of
the, of the world currently isone of confusion and one of
anxieties and one of not havinggood leadership to refocus or
reorient us on handling thesematerial resources.
So we want to talk aboutreaffirming our purpose as a
people, as a family.
(12:47):
to, to access these resourcesand manage them properly.
Faridah (12:52):
You know, that's a, I love how you give the
description of this, the varyingclimates in which we are
currently situated and how theyreflect this moment in human
history.
Interestingly enough, in thecountry of Senegal, they
recently held elections, as wedid, this past Sunday, November
17th, I believe was the date,and they had legislated, held
(13:16):
legislative elections andessentially there was a They
have a new president and ayounger gentleman.
He came in on promises offighting corruption and really
establishing a greater sense ofself determination for the
Senegalese, Senegalese people,particularly the young, those
who are looking for you know,ways to support themselves
(13:38):
economically to manage theresources as you referenced
earlier.
And his party was able to, theyhad a victory.
in the past election.
So God willing, he and his teamwill be able to implement some
of the changes that they believewill be beneficial, most
beneficial to the people ofSenegal.
(14:00):
We as an American, you know, Iam currently in Senegal, but as
an American who did voteabsentee ballot you know, during
this, this past recentpresidential election and in the
congressional elections as well.
I understand that in ourcountry, we are facing a moment
of great anxiety and confusionparticularly in the wake of the,
(14:22):
the election results.
And.
This manifests itself in anumber of ways, and of course,
the election is just a sign ofwhat was what was already
existing in the body, the bodyof the people.
So there, there were people whowere so frustrated that they
decided to vote for a felon.
(14:43):
They were so frustrated withwhat they believed to be you
know, some of the challenges tofamily life with regards to
rewriting and re understandingand policymaking that does not
respect the, the picture ofhuman life that God has created
in terms of, of, of the male andfemale and that the
complementary and beautifullyexcellent natures of both and
(15:06):
the necessity of both to, to beable to live the, the, the,
Excellent human life and reachthe destiny.
Some of them were so frustratedwith that.
Element within our, our popularculture.
And that has reached the hallsof, of the legislative offices
and the legislative bodies thatthey decided to forego.
(15:27):
You know, a lot of the interestthat we think we all have in
common in terms of establishinga free society that they that
they decided to vote for afelon, someone who does not have
the interest of of the of thebody of the country of the
nation.
And so because elements on, onthe other side, we're not able
(15:49):
to answer or speak in an, anymeaningful way to that concern.
Also, some of the concerns aboutyou know, what is happening in
Palestine and Sudan and theCongo and other places in the
world where human suffering andhuman oppression has reached
epic levels.
You know, we haven't found anymeaningful way to, to move
forward on that.
There have been consequences.
(16:11):
Some of us, you know, may or maynot agree with the decisions of
our, our fellow Americans, butwe are where we are.
And as a result You know, thatwe are in a place where people
are feeling afraid, they'refeeling anxious, and they're
confused about their role in asociety where you know, the
leadership is what it is, it'spoor leadership, it's defunct
(16:34):
leadership, it's morally corruptleadership, and we are all going
to have to move forward withinthat space.
So I think the question is, thequestion that you've asked in
terms of reaffirming the purposeof a people, the purpose of
humanity, and putting intofocus.
in particular you know, AfricanAmerican community are, are we
fit to handle theresponsibilities of freedom?
(16:56):
You know, we, we, as a purpose,like you said, we speak a lot
about destination excellence.
And really what we're referringto is the destiny of mankind,
that there is a purpose formankind that involves serving
the creator.
And realizing the potential thatthe Creator gave us to go into
the material world and to beable to establish a just order
(17:17):
and a just society based on thatservice to the Creator and the
management of resources in thenatural world.
And so based on that, that'swhat our, our, our, our purpose
is.
So if we understand that to bethe purpose of mankind, then we
have to ask ourselves, are wefit to handle those
(17:38):
responsibilities?
One, to fulfill the purpose ofserving God, which means
bringing about a just society asociety that affords everyone
the opportunity to develop hisor her full potentials and
abilities.
Required for that, a requirementfor that is freedom.
And when we understand freedomfrom a scriptural perspective,
(17:59):
we're talking about thedeclaration of a new mind that
is free of the troubles of theprevailing thinking in the
world.
Yes.
And so what we have to do isstep back when we ask ourselves,
are we as as Americans?
Are we as an African Americancommunity?
Are we as humanity around theworld?
(18:22):
Are we prepared?
Are we fit to handle theresponsibilities of freedom and
to manage those resources?
So I throw that question at you.
If, if that freedom requiresbeing free from the troubles of
the prevailing thinking, we haveto ask ourselves, what, what is
the prevailing thinking?
In our community, in ourculture, in our society, and how
(18:44):
may that be affecting orinfluencing our fitness for the
responsibilities of freedom andself determination?
Frank (18:53):
Big, lifelong question.
And this question has been thequestion of man throughout his
age, ages.
As I said, the arc of man'sexistence.
This has been the prevailingquestion.
Are we fit so let me, let mejust draw a picture if I, if I
can, and we'll look at the, thelifespan of man himself just,
(19:18):
just as an, an individual man,not, not man as a concept, just
an individual, physical, mortalman.
So man is brought into thisworld.
Is birth into this world andbirthing in a sense is an
awakening to something.
It's a new wreck is arecognition of something is,
it's being able to isregistering something.
(19:39):
And from that, something comesfrom that.
So the birthing of a child intothe world is a sign of Innocence
in the world that man'sbeginning began in innocence and
man is designed to engage thevery thing that he comes from is
(20:01):
his mate.
That's his mate.
The earth is man's mate.
So he comes from that mate.
So naturally he has thedisposition, the that's built in
his soul, built in his nature tofor that.
Introduction to his mate toinfluence him.
So as man in his innocence ispresented to his mate, a man
(20:27):
engages in it and comes acrosssituations sometimes that may be
overwhelming to him.
But as a help to him comesguidance to help man manage.
His disposition and theinfluence of the mate, because
the mate is really only designedto strengthen man for the role
(20:49):
of being the one who can managethese responsibilities and these
resources.
So man grows, child grows intoadulthood to be able to be one
who can now what manageresources.
That that's what an adult's jobis.
You're an adult because you canmanage these resources.
So man goes through life and hemanages these resources.
(21:11):
He reconciles the things thatgiven him trouble in the past.
He puts things in motions.
He opens up pathways to securethat level of management for
that, to carry on through thelife of this particular
individual.
So when he gets to the pointwhere his, his life comes to an
end, that whole picture has beentaken care of because of his
(21:32):
responsibilities.
So now when man now leaves thisparticular physical.
Existence, the material stayshere.
It just goes back to the sourcethat it came from the material.
And then now someone else canuse that material, but there's
another constitution of man thatdoesn't stay here.
(21:54):
It goes into another reality.
And that's, that's man's soul.
That's his nature.
That's his soul.
So our life doesn't just meanmaterial resources.
It doesn't just mean thatdoesn't begin there and it
doesn't end there.
It doesn't end there within thematerial resources is a
component that's designed tohandle it.
And the picture is that it goesin with an innocent disposition
(22:17):
and it gets trouble, but yet itgets complimented and it gets
helped to be able to manage it.
So when it comes to itsconclusion, it is now sitting
upon these resources as a personwho can handle these levels of
responsibility.
So yes, we are fit to handle itby our very creation.
We are fit to handle these,these responsibilities, but the
(22:40):
disconnect is the nature and thesoul and its recognition that it
has been introduced to a matecalled revelation or revealed
knowledge of revealed scriptureto be able to have man to
handle.
This level of responsibility inthe world is confused now,
(23:03):
because we're looking at thingswholly as a resource of material
versus the spiritual andscriptural influence of the
material to take us to theproper destiny.
So we see confusion.
We see lack of good leadership.
We see, and you talked aboutfreedom and a free, how can
freedom come from a felon?
That's, that's a contradiction.
Felony means that you have beenlocked.
(23:25):
You've been, you've been put ina situation because of guilt,
because of a, of a misstep or amiss, you know appropriation
your disposition wasn't correctthat you put yourself in a
situation where now you are haveto be confined because of guilt
because of guilt upon yourself.
But yet you're the one who'sgoing to introduce to me what
(23:46):
freedom looks like.
So that level of contradictionis what causes confusion in the
minds of the people.
So we looking for materialexistence in this world, but we
don't have a real connection tospiritually.
What that looks like for us tobe able to manage these, these
resources.
So we just look at man to, to,to summarize this.
If we just look at man's life,we see that his life itself is
(24:10):
a, is a description on ourconfidence in us to be able to
handle these levels ofresponsibility.
So for those who are in asituation where they can't
understand what the next moveis, they have to adjust their.
Disposition and then from thatadjustment, the nature gets
(24:30):
revealed upon with guidance toshow you what leadership looks
like for us to handle and managethese responsibilities.
So, yes.
We are fit.
Faridah (24:42):
So I think I'm going to push back on you a little bit
here.
So this might be you know, wemight have room for discussion
because I agree with you that weare, we possess the nature to to
accept responsibility.
and to assert our selfdetermination and to bring about
(25:07):
change for ourselvesindividually, our families,
establish them in suchexcellence that they are living
models for how we function inthe greater family of man and to
begin to address those, thoseissues that are as, as large as
genocide and as particular asyou know, what is happening on
(25:32):
the streets of our neighborhood,
Frank (25:34):
but
Faridah (25:34):
when we say fit it, if you think about Fit in terms of
the word fitness, you know, thatthere is a one of the meanings
of fit as an adjective, youknow, one is what you addressed,
you have a suitable quality, astandard or type to meet the
required purpose.
So the structure, the design asthe creator has given it, the
(25:55):
design is fit for thisresponsibility.
But what happens when we letthat design go, when we abuse
that design, when we neglectthat design to develop it?
So you know, we come into theworld fit, but sometime between
there and our adulthood, we haveto work on maintaining fitness.
(26:17):
Right.
We have to eat properly.
We have to rest properly.
We have to address ourpsychological and our emotional
cells.
We have to address the, the, thephysical needs of our bodies.
in order to maintain that stateof fitness.
So I guess what I would say isI, I think in our journey up
(26:37):
from slavery as a people, andthis is only in the context of
our, our primary identity ashuman beings.
So everything that I'm sayingabout the African American
people is true for humanity.
In general, because that's thefirst picture.
But what I would say is on ourjourney up from slavery, we have
been influenced.
(26:58):
I would say up from slave life,we've been influenced and
affected by the spirit of thetime.
And as a result, I believe we'resuffering from a corruption of
that spirit.
Right.
And, and I think that's becausewe have neglected.
the moral picture of ourcommunity life.
And so when I look at fitness, Ithink, yes, in, in our inherent
(27:23):
nature, we are fit as humanbeings, but have we maintained
that fitness?
Have we done what is necessaryto maintain the optimal state of
the human body both in itsmaterial sense and its spiritual
sense that you address?
And I'm going to go on record assaying, no I believe that the
(27:43):
discipline that's required assomeone, you know, I, I'm on a
health journey right now,myself, you know, trying to
bring myself back into balanceand, and my, my physical body
into the best shape that it canbe so that I am fit for the
tasks that are at hand that Godhas given me.
So that requires beingdisciplined in my eating.
It requires being disciplined inhow I move my body and making
(28:06):
the choices that are going tostrengthen.
myself as opposed to weakeningit.
Frank (28:12):
And
Faridah (28:12):
I believe that our collective community spirit,
because we have abandoned orneglected the moral picture of
our life, we've invited ininfluences that have weakened us
and weakened our capacity fordisciplined action.
And so going back to the basicsof family life, which is the
foundational concept on whichthis podcast rests as, as a, as
(28:35):
a prescription.
for all of the other issues insociety that we want to address.
If we go back to the basics offamily life, we're looking at
fundamentally the union, theresponsible union of man and
woman.
And so when I say that when Iunderstand that freedom requires
a mind.
that is free of the troubles ofthe prevailing thinking in the
(28:57):
world, then I have to askmyself, am I living my life
according to the prevailingthinking?
And what is the prevailingthinking?
And so if we go to the mostbasic level of the human family,
which, which tells us a lotabout what's wrong in our
economy, in our education, inour cultural life in, in our
(29:17):
political life.
I'm looking at a fundamentalbreakdown of the, the, the
responsible understanding ofthe, the, the coming together of
man and woman.
One of the prevailing thinkingis that freedom means
licentiousness.
Freedom means permissiveness.
And in that fundamentalrelationship, we're looking at
(29:39):
something that I think might bereferenced as hookup culture
that has Invited us to a alooseness and a permissiveness,
a lack of disciplined behaviorwhen it comes to the
responsibilities and the beautyof, of man and woman coming
together.
So you know, I, I'm interestedin hearing your thoughts on
(30:00):
that.
Frank (30:02):
Yes, that's, that's very popular.
So I, I agree with you but I'mgonna give you a little
pushback.
On the statements.
So, so we both are seeing andperceiving these pictures that
we both painted on this episodeabout the nature and whether or
not we are able to manage theseresources, our created selves.
(30:26):
Are fit to manage it ourconscious self that lacks the
moral interest in what we wantto do is not fit to manage it
and we have to bring the twotogether.
So we're talking about talkingabout situations that come in
between.
That good moral state of man andhis design to have that as a
(30:47):
compliment to the nature ofhimself, so he could be fit to
manage these things.
These are the influences thathave come in.
And you talked about the hookupculture.
Yes.
And I would say that this typeof influence has come in and it
weakens the ties ofrelationships by stripping the
(31:08):
natural progressive, the naturalprogressions.
In these interactions.
So they are natural progressionsthat we have when we naturally
interact with one another.
Did they just naturally happen?
But the hookup culture itselfare designed to strip.
Those natural progressions andnow take away the morality of
these interactions and take awaythe focus of the building of
(31:31):
these particular interactionswere designed to build something
we're building, you know,building blocks.
You're talking about Fitness.
Once again, having a little,little bit of biology
background.
You know, proteins are buildingblocks for muscles.
Everything builds.
Something has to build uponsomething else in order for it
to extend and establish itself.
(31:53):
But when we have influences thatare designed to take away the
building blocks, then that is ahindrance to society.
And it's also been presented tous As a good thing, because
ultimately we are looking forfreedom.
We are looking for freedom.
And if it is presented to usthat this is a level of freedom,
(32:17):
then we are naturally, we willbe influenced by it.
And it will take us to our owndestruction.
Now you set the table earlierabout what freedom is.
Freedom is obedience.
It's obedience to, to ourcreator.
He created us and he designedus.
And in our obedience to him isthe ultimate.
Form of freedom, but theinfluence is challenged us to
(32:38):
take us away from that moralstance.
And now we thinking that these,this new thing that's called
hookup culture, that's sopervasive in the world today,
because we're fighting forexpression and our expression is
what expression of freedom.
Freedom to be able to determinefor ourselves what our life
should be, the selfdetermination, but even in the
(33:00):
context of self determination,it is a pathway of a group who
has, who has in their ownconstitution, self governance.
Which means government, whichmeans that you're able to manage
your own determination andmanage your own levels of
resources, which means that itbuilds and it affects society in
(33:21):
a way that it builds it to itsbest picture.
Now, does the hookup culturebuild anything?
I would say it doesn't.
It takes away versus itbuilding.
So are we sensitive enough toknow that this influence that
has come in and we don't knowwhere the influence came from.
We just know it's pervasive.
(33:41):
Does it actually build our life?
And if it doesn't, then we needto immediately identify it as
something that goes against thegoodness of our determination to
handle and manage theseresources and be fit for this
constitution that God hasalready created for us.
I don't know if that waspushback.
Was that pushback?
Yeah.
Faridah (34:01):
Look, whatever it was, it was good.
Let's put it like that becauseyou know we grow by, by
challenge, you know, and so Iwant to return in the short time
that we have left.
And I, I pray that we cancontinue this conversation, but
in the short time that we haveleft, I'd like to return to the
idea that you just shared whenyou, you went a little bit more
(34:24):
deeply into the idea or conceptof freedom.
Frank (34:27):
And
Faridah (34:27):
you said that freedom is obedience.
And for many people that soundsoxymoronic, you know, freedom is
obedience.
No, freedom is my ability todetermine for myself, what, what
I will do and what I won't do,what direction my life will take
and what it won't take, who Ichoose, what my, and so if this
is your idea of freedom, then Ithink it's, it behooves us to
(34:50):
to, to explore that definitionthat you gave a little bit more
and of freedom being obedience.
How do we find our freedom inobedience?
And because we are short on timetoday, I'm hoping that we can
continue this conversation in anext episode.
Frank (35:10):
I would certainly agree.
And yes, freedom for us is theability to, to look with a new
mind.
Absolutely.
At what the design should be.
Well, Farda, the praise is forGod.
We have moved one step closer todestination excellence.
Faridah (35:29):
Until next time, let us remain conscious of our creator,
of the sacred relationship ofparent and child, and of the
family ties that bind ustogether.
Find us, subscribe to thepodcast and come back next time
for a new episode of the familyties
Frank (35:45):
from Frank Abdul Shahid
Faridah (35:47):
and Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Frank (35:51):
Peace be upon the family.
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