I want to begin by quoting one of the greatest of our modern scholars, Ml. Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi in his address to Muslims living in the UK and US. I have paraphrased some of what he said in my own words. The advice is beyond price. I hope I do it justice. He said, ‘Allahﷻ has given you a gold mine. Actually, it is more than that. It is a diamond mine. The mine of restless souls, agitated minds, and hearts, seeking peace and closeness to Allahﷻ. This is something that the great scholars and pious people of old dreamt of and begged Allahﷻ for, but Allahﷻ in His Infinite wisdom gave it to you. Don’t squander it. I ask Allahﷻ to give you the New World in a way that you will discover the new world. Here you are living in a new land under a new sky. Don’t import your sectarian disputes, your petty hatred, and conflicts into this land. Create a new reality for yourselves based on the wisdom of Rasoolullahﷺ with which he formed the Ummah and made strangers, brothers to one another in a way that we can only marvel at today. In this world make your lives, your dealings, your relationships, your organizations, your Masaajid, your Madaaris and schools, your society, everything you say or do, a means of Da’awa.’ I remind myself and you that people listen with their eyes. They don’t care what you say, until they see what you do. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘Your actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying.’ As they say, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ I say, ‘An action is worth a million.’ Actions create experience. Experience creates memories. Memories change attitudes. Attitudes result in actions. That is the cycle. Whether we want that to be a virtuous cycle or a vicious one, is our call. He said, ‘Remember Spain. Their Masaajid were a thousand times more beautiful than yours. Their Madaaris produced the likes of Ibn Hazm, Imam Shatibi, Ibn Rushd, Al-Zahrawi, how many more do you want me to name? But remember that when sectarian differences and religious violence started, the Masaajid became desolate and the Madaaris were abandoned, and Islam and Muslims were all but wiped out. Their glory, learning, highly sophisticated society, their libraries, and scholars couldn’t save them. The reason was an exclusionist, insular lifestyle where others didn’t benefit from them and didn’t understand what they had. By all means distance yourself from the beliefs of the non-Muslims, but not from the people. Learn their language so that you can communicate with them fluently. Words don’t just enter the ears. They go directly into the heart. The best example of that is the Qur’an. It came as a spoken word. Which changed the lives of people. Rasoolullahﷺ used to recite Qur’an when people asked him about Allahﷻ. There is a special power in the Word of Allahﷻ. But there is power in all words. Just see what happens to you if someone curses us. You know what he is saying is false. But his words have a measurable physiological effect on us. Communication is critical to building relationships. Ml. Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi said, ‘If you continue to live insular lives, engaged in your Salah and Saum, living behind the closed doors of your Masaajid and homes, not meeting and building relationships with your neighbors, then remember that what happened in Spain can happen here.’ I ask Allahﷻ for His Protection. Even more importantly, we live in a country where they have opened all doors for us to study, work, health care, politics, government, even the White House. The only requirement is the willingness to do what it takes. Imagine a time which will come to all of us without a doubt where we will stand before Allahﷻ and these people ask, ‘Ya Rabb, we gave them everything but they didn’t introduce You to us. If You are going to throw us into Jahannam today because we didn’t worship you, what is Your decision about them?’ We know. If we don’t tell them, we will answer to Allahﷻ.