Taken from Khutbat al-Jumu`ah 08/10/2001 and later talks Audhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem Bismillahirrahman irraheem We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months. At length, when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years he says, “O my Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Thy favor which Thou hast the bestowed upon me and upon both my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as Thou mayest approve; and be gracious to me in my issue. Truly I have turned to Thee and truly do I bow (to Thee) in Islam. [46: 15]. Alhamdulillah, nastighfirahu wa nasta`eenahu wa nastadee bihi wa natawakallu `alayh Wa naudhu billahi min shurruri anfusina wa min sayyi’ati `amaalina Man yahdillah, fahua al-muhtadi, wa man yudlill falan tajida lahu waleeyin murshidan. Wa ashadu ann laa ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu laa shareek lah, wa laa matheela lahu fee `uluwi sha’nihi wa `adheemi sultanih wa ashadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebahu wa rasuluh, arsalahu Allahu ta`ala min arjah il-`arabi meezaanan wa afsahahum bayyaanan Wa awda` at-tareeqa wa nasah al-khaleeqa salla-Allahu ta`ala `alayhi wa `ala alihi wa sallam wa `ala khulafa’ihi ar-rashideen al-mahdiyyin min ba`dihi wa wuzara’ihi al-kaamileen fee `ahdih hadaraati Abi Bakrin wa `Umarin wa `Uthmanin wa `Alee dul qadril jalee, wa `ala baqi`attis-sahaba wat-tabi`een ridwaanullahi ta`ala `alayhim ajma`een ayyuhalmuminoon al-hadiroon ittaqullah wa ati`yyuh inna Allaha m`a alladheena at-taqaw, wa-alladheena hum muhsinoon O Muslims, O believers! Alhamdulillah is a word we must repeat at every time and every moment.. Ya rabbana laka al-hamd kama yanbaghi li-jalaali wajhika wa `adheema sultaanika, ya Allah! Ya rabbi laka ash-shukr. O Allah all praise belongs to You for making us Muslims and followers of the Prophet (s). As we said many times, this dunya is coming to an end. If it takes one year or one hundred years or one thousand. Whatever time it takes, Allah knows best, but one day it is going to end. Today's scientists say that there were once different kinds of huge creatures inhabiting the earth - dinosaurs. If we accept what they say, that yesterday dinosaurs lived on earth, then we must ask, “Were are they today?” Did they not come to an end, did they not vanish? Are they not no longer existent? If they were living on this planet - going by what the scientists tell us – then where are they today? They ended, became extinct. Allah took them. As to how He took them – did they die and other creatures came in their place, that is outside the scope of this address. In any case they are no longer here. If they were in existence, how then did they disappear suddenly? They are now only able to find some of their bones. Their sudden disappearence is also something beyond the ability of scientists to understand. Some pious ulama say that they were present on earth, and Allah changed their physical characteristics, reducing them in size (al-maskh), as a punishment for their incessant horrific fighting and destruction. They were criminal in their cruelty to each other and they were reduced in size and power as punishment for their fighting and harm. If so, then that is one possibility, one that still means they disappeared. Let us look at this from the aspect of probability and possibilities. That is a subject which is one of the most complicated in the world, for only very brilliant students can learn and understand this subject and take a degree in statistics from top universities. If we want to take a scientific approach to the question of man’s life on earth, in terms of probability, there is a probability that the human race will end. Scientists might say “no”, and continue making plans to go on for hundreds of millions of years. It may be the dinosaurs did so as well, for even among the dinosaurs there might have been intelligent ones, saying “we are going to exist for millions of years.” They faced that probability and their existence ended. Scientists say that five massive extinctions took place in history. They blame volcanoes, they blame climate, they even speculate about a comet or meteor causing these creations to disappear. As in probability and logic - if we go with what they say - as dinosaurs and huge races of creatures came to an end, so too is there is a probability that the human race will end. It might be a small probability. It might be one in ten thousand. Now modern scientists are saying and fearing that as many as half of all living species will become extinct within this century. So human beings - are they not also a living species? Does that probability not also apply to them? Probability can be one (1) or it can be zero (0). Zero probability means there is no possibility whatsoever that was-salaat was-salaam `ala ashraf al-mursaleena Sayyidina Muhammadin wa `ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma`een