From the Root to the Fruit (DVD)

A lecture in which Shaykh Khalid Yasin focuses primarily on the youth, taking them back to the heart of Islam — believing in the oneness of God and fearing Him wherever they may be. He also advises young Muslims on ways to improve themselves and possibly become the defenders of Islam.

The lecture also includes a short talk from world champion boxer Hajj Naseem Hamed.

Why the Title

Root and fruit is the argument of the whole lecture. What a young person produces — his conduct, his choices, what he becomes — grows from what he actually believes, not from the rules he was given.

That reframing tends to land with an audience that has spent years being told what to do without being told why.

The Naseem Hamed Segment

Worth noting for its effect on young male audiences in particular. A world champion speaking about his religion carries a weight with teenagers that a scholar alone does not, and its inclusion here was a deliberate choice.

About Shaykh Khalid Yasin

Shaykh Khalid Yasin, a former Christian, is the Executive Director of the Islamic Teaching Institute (ITI), an organization dedicated to the work of da'wah. He studied Arabic in Madinah and in Cairo, and had many mentors and teachers who tutored him in Fiqh us-Sunnah, Fiqh us-Seerah and Islamic history, as well as in the memorization and recitation of the Quran.

He is what is known as a da'ee — someone who speaks publicly about the Islamic faith in order to invigorate the spiritual and moral conscience of his listeners, and to educate and inform people about Islam. He has spent most of his working life doing exactly that, and he is among the most widely heard English-speaking speakers in the field.