While True Podcast
Engaging conversations, expert interviews and practical tips that’s what we will be discussing in the Misfits
While True Podcast
Youth & ISLAM
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From social media and career pressures to evolving family dynamics and questions of faith in a fast-changing world, the Shaikh shares powerful, practical insights rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah. We discuss:
🕌 What “modernity” really means from an Islamic perspective
📱 Balancing religious commitment with digital life and pop culture
🧠 Mental health, doubt, and seeking knowledge as a young believer
🌍 Navigating Western or secular environments while staying grounded
💡 Practical advice for parents, educators, and community leaders
Whether you’re a young Muslim trying to find your way, or someone who wants to better understand how Islamic tradition engages with contemporary challenges, this conversation is for you.
How can the youth today be cool but also be good Muslims?
SPEAKER_01Allah alone can measure who is a good Muslim and who is a bad Muslim. Can I use this social media in a way that will serve me to becoming a better person, a better Muslim, a better human?
SPEAKER_00Social media is the same thing. It's a tool. The way you consume it depends on why you're there in the first place.
SPEAKER_01How can I grow my relationship with the Quran, with this economy, with this everything going around in our lives?
SPEAKER_00That's a very good question, you know. On how can you grow a relationship with the Quran? But we tend to forget that the Quran is the light that will make these things successful. Successful, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Assalamu alaikum wahatala barakatu. It's Muhammad again, and uh today I'm starting the first episode of uh the podcast, and today I'm honored to welcome our brother Mr. Hatim Aladdissalam. Uh it's a great pleasure to have you here.
SPEAKER_00First of all, alaikum salam raqullah wa raqatu, and uh the honor is mine. I'm very happy to be with you. Uh maybe I I I I can pose the first question to you. Yeah, what made you invite me?
SPEAKER_01I actually invited you. Um I I've been following you in the background. Maybe I've watched uh quite a few interviews of yours, and I followed you on Instagram for a long time and I said, Oh, I really want to sit with him, and here we are.
SPEAKER_00Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah. I'm I'm really privileged to be sitting with you, and um I don't think you expected that uh I would respond to you.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I mean this is a miracle. I uh I just did it as uh as uh I say let me just shoot my shirt and my short uh you never know. Uh but I didn't expect to have you here ever. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well I think um uh to make it clear uh to to your audience um you know people when they start their career, yeah, especially on social media, sure, they start very small and they need others to to grow. Yeah. And once they are up there, they are successful, they are famous, they tend to forget about the people who uh who played a big role for them to reach that status. So they don't respond to their messages, they are very picky and choosy, sure. Um they don't go, you know, on any show. Sometimes they even ask uh for for payment against you know being on on a show. But uh I think uh people need to humble themselves because uh the same way you started from from scratch, you need to support other people as well to grow and to learn and to have this experience. And that's why I'm here today.
SPEAKER_01It's a great uh it's a great honor to have you because uh what you said right now is what I like it's the foundation of my podcast. Uh I remember um six to seven years ago, I was somewhere, I was a young boy, no experience, no nothing, no connections. And I really wanted somebody to hold my hand and just to show me the way. And when I got here, I saw the struggle I went through. I I am not successful, I'm not where I want to be in life, but there's somewhere somebody somewhere who wants to be like at least where I am right now. And I said I'll do my best to reach out to those who might be in the place where I was back then. And this is a great gesture uh you've shown me that there are some people who are out there who are really willing to help those young people, those who are still struggling to reach their their goals, their ambitions in life, and support them. It's um a really great sign and I really appreciate it. I can't believe the other I'm sitting here.
SPEAKER_00The other reason, uh, why uh I'm doing this is that when I was younger and starting my journey, yeah, I did not get that support. And I struggle. I took the hard way. Yeah. So I don't want young people today to go through the same uh, you know, long journey. Yeah, if we can facilitate and make it easy for young people to learn and have an experience and support them, then uh that is our our duty and our role.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So um today I'm inviting you as somebody who who like uh you love the youth and you like uh supporting the youth. That's why uh I said you are the perfect uh kind of a person I would like to have here. Uh I mean this is the beginning of my podcast, and it's not go it's not going to be a religious kind of podcast, but I believe uh everything you can do, you need to have a religious background in every aspect of life you are into. A religious something you carry on with you. So I said, let me get somebody who know how to deal with the youth who's uh already knows the I'm very sure that you know much about the youth than like anyone else I could have uh chosen. So my uh the topic of the podcast today is it's it's gonna sound controversial, but you know the youth. How can I be a good Muslim but being also like a cool, a cool person? Yes, because nowadays, including me, myself, and a lot of the youth, we are putting a lot of effort into being cool, catching up with uh with the trends, the technology, everything that is training us out there. But at the same time, we we have a duty as Muslims or anyone who believes in God, you have boundaries and you have somebody who's gonna ask you for how you spent your youth. And uh I've caught myself spending a long a long time, a lot of time, a lot of energy into trying to be cool, to fit in what the society and everything, and forget about being a good Muslim. So uh how can the youth today be cool but also be good Muslims?
SPEAKER_00That's a very interesting uh question there, and I think um I also had that question when I was in my teens. Um and it it's interest it's it's interesting how you put it because um you know when we ask a question and say who is a good Muslim? Yeah, you need to have a definition and a way to measure. The definition of a good Muslim is someone who follows the commands of Allah and who stays away from what Allah has forbidden. This is the definition of a good Muslim. Now, the second part of it is who can measure who is a good Muslim and who is a bad Muslim.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Allah alone can measure who is a good Muslim and who is a bad Muslim. Sure. So if Allah alone is the one who measures who is a good Muslim and who is a bad Muslim, we will never find out.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_00Yeah?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So the way forward is for us to continue doing good until the day we go back to Allah. Yeah, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us the roadmap, which is the Quran and the Sunnah. Yeah, everything is clear. The things that Allah has allowed us to do are almost 90% of the things in the world. The things that Allah has forbidden us from doing are only 10%. So within that 10%, we need to take it first of all gradually. You know, no one is perfect. We don't have you know, people cannot claim and say that they are like angels, they are perfect, they don't do mistakes. Everybody does mistakes, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expects you to do mistakes because Allah says He loves those who repent and go back to Allah. Yeah, He He has used the word Munib in the Quran, He has used the word Muniib. It means the people who repent and go back to Allah. So, how will you repent if you don't make mistakes? Yeah, yeah, so you have you will do mistakes for you to repent and go back to Allah. So Allah is expecting you to do mistakes, but the severity of the mistake is the issue. How far do you go? You know, are you doing the mistake because you know you're unable to stop doing it or you're doing it intentionally knowing that you are displeasing Allah? So the life of the Prophet is also guidance to us. By the way, the Prophet was a very cool guy because peace be upon him, he was very friendly to his companions, he joked, he smiled, and he even he even had fun. He used to race with Sayyida Aisha. You know, do you know that? He used to race with Sayyidah Aisha, he used to joke with little kids, yeah, he used to joke with his companions, he was very easy-going and smooth the way he speaks, the way he presents himself. So if the Prophet was a cool Muslim, why is it difficult for us to be cool Muslim? But within the boundaries of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you have criteria, for example, do not miss your prayers. Yeah, yeah, that's a red line. You know, you are really not cool if you're not praying. No matter how cool you think you are, yeah, you would do so many things, but if you don't pray, there is no point. So don't pray, you know. Sorry. So do pray. Okay, and then you have like the major sins that Allah has forbidden us, like consuming alcohol, drugs, stealing, fornication, usury, all of these big uh sins, try and stay away from them and live a simple life. And young people are energetic and you know, uh such as yourself, are very enthusiastic, they want to try new things, yeah. But make sure you try things that will benefit you in your life and your faith. Don't be just a blind follower of everything that comes out. You know, they they tell us about uh modernity, yeah, and we think that modernity is only one way. The way we were told that oh, you have to dress up in a certain way, you have to speak in a certain way, you have to behave in a certain way, then you're modern. Yeah, but no, who says that? Yeah, I am modern, I am modern, I'm educated, I speak several languages, okay. I travel around the world, I do all sorts of activities, so I'm modern, but I don't have to be in a certain you know package to be labeled as modern uh as others want me.
SPEAKER_01So you don't have to embrace everything that is there to be to fit in. Yeah, so uh now the youth uh somebody's gonna come to tell you, like, oh why is everything haram, haram? And we tend to to to to judge young people who are trying to um to practice their religion, they're doing their best, but sometimes we'll we look up on them or we discourage them because maybe he's dressing a certain way or maybe he hasn't adopted something. So how to go easy on our brothers or sisters who are trying to um to practice or doing their best to come because you can't just be perfect uh like in the blink of an eye. So um am I allowed to judge somebody because he's not at a certain level of uh you know Islamic uh way, or maybe I say him is he didn't pray today and judge him, cast out him out of the deen or something.
SPEAKER_00So okay, so your your question is split into two things. The first thing is why do the youth feel that everything is haram? To verify this, yeah. First of all, um it's a misconception that everything is haram. That is not true. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made so many things lawful, and the little things that Allah made haram, if you ask yourself logically, if you research these things, you will find out that they are for your own benefit. So Allah is not benefiting whether you do them or you don't. Allah is not benefiting, but Allah has forbidden you from doing certain things because He created you, He knows you better, and He knows that this thing will harm you. We take an example Alcohol. It's forbidden, right? Yeah, it's can anyone prove that alcohol is beneficial for you? And you can look at the societies that are indulging in consuming alcohol. What is the status of these societies? They fought they they fight in pubs, they are abusive to their family, they uh drink and drive and kill other people, they waste resources, their money, their savings on alcohol consumption, and they behave lower than the animals when they are intoxicated. So when Allah says to us, do not consume alcohol, then yes, it is harab because it is beneficial for us, and not the other way around. It's not like it's something good and Allah wants to deprive you. No, it's never that. Yeah. The other part of the equation is that maybe some of the traditional uh people who propagate faith, they lack the emotional intelligence of how to deliver the message to tell the youth about the harmfulness of these things. So they are very direct, they're very blunt, they're straightforward, they may be a bit rude in their approach, a bit scary, you know, when they talk to young people, they are not diplomatic, they are very straightforward. That this is forbidden, don't do it. Now, there is a huge difference between our generation and your generation. Our generation, when we are told not to do something, we don't do it. We we don't ask why. But now, when you're dealing with this generation, you need to be more intellectually interactive with them. Speak to them, explain to them, take them stay step by step so that they understand why Allah has made this forbidden. So I think there is room for improvement in the area of first of all clarifying misconception to young people. Not everything is haram. And also the people who are propagating faith, they should also, you know, develop their skills in explaining these things. Now, the second part of your question was judging other people. Well, what I know from what I understand from my faith, no one has the right to judge you. Because only Allah will judge us. Yeah, yeah, so as human beings, on the day of judgment, we will all be standing in the same place, in the same condition, waiting for Allah to judge us. So we are full of mistakes, you know, we're not perfect.
SPEAKER_01No, we're not.
SPEAKER_00So when we look at someone and we see the faults in this person, we tend to forget that we also have mistakes. Yeah, and sometimes what appears outside is not necessarily the reality. You might see someone from the outside, he looks like a good Muslim. But internally, he has diseases of the heart. He has envy, he has hate, he's cheating, he's lying, he's back biting. You see?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So the appearance of that person from the outside is good. You find another person, he might not look like someone that prays.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm practice.
SPEAKER_00But maybe he's never left Al-Fajr prayer. He prays the entire night, he re memorizes the Quran. You know, yeah, and I give you a story. Yes, I think this is uh uh a fiction story. I read it somewhere, it's it's it's not a true, but it is said to give an example, there is a person who is clean-shaped. Okay, yeah, he went to apply for a job as an imam. So that body or that organization that recruits imams said, How can you be Imam? You don't have even beat. So the man responded and he says, I memorize the book of Allah. He says, An a half of the kitabillah, I memorize the book of Allah Kinni Shah bun Amrad. But I am a person that hair does not facial hair does not grow on my face. Oh, yeah, you have people in this world, men, yeah, who have a symptom that there is no facial hair that grows on their face. So before judging a person, he whether he is suitable to be an Imam or not, just because he doesn't have a beard, you know, you can't judge. And the other thing I wanted to say is that the more time you spend in finding the faults in other people, the more time you're wasting on rectifying yourself. Because at the end of the day, I want to go to Jannah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Before everybody, I want to go to Jannah. So if I want to go to Jannah, first I focus on myself. I need to be safe to make sure I will go to Jannah. Once I rectify my personality and my attitude and my behavior, automatically other people will be influenced by my actions. And that's what the Prophet did. He hardly directly told per a person, don't do this and don't do that. He made sure his character was like the Quran, and people were attracted by that character, and they followed him. You see, that's that's that's the way how it should be done the end.
SPEAKER_01That's uh great. Uh yeah. One more question is uh we are on social media a lot. We're on social media a lot and I have seen we are so consuming social media in an I'll say unhealthy way. Especially the youth. We are depressed than I think uh 20 years ago, 10-15 years ago, the youth were more active outside, they're doing different activities, but now we are on social media, we are idealizing the lives of others. And most of the youth now we are depressed, we are living a life like we we are not satisfied with the life that we are living. We want to live like those whom we see on social media. Yes, and uh I was wondering like how can I do to consume this social media in a way that is going to um to be healthy for me too, like in a positive way for me. But I don't know if uh maybe you are familiar with the algorithm stuff, and yes, they are pushing uh the agenda. Specific uh content, sure. And you can ignore it today, tomorrow, but they're gonna cut you someday, and you're gonna end up consuming those unhealthy contents and everything. So, uh how can I uh maintain my boundaries? How can I use this social media in a way that will serve me into becoming a better person, a better Muslim, um a better human, other than going for uh for whatever they're pushing there or whatever is available on social media?
SPEAKER_00Well, in regards to social media, it's like um everything else, uh it's like everything else, it's a two-edged sword.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I give you an example. If I take an apple and eat it, is it halal? Halal, right? If I steal the apple, what happens? Can I eat it? It becomes haram, right? Becomes for forbidden. Yeah, social media is the same thing, it's a tool. The way you consume it depends on why you're there in the first place. Yeah, we are judged by our intentions and actions. So yes, I would say previously social media was a way to distract young people. Uh you if if you see young people, there is a there's a there is uh a mechanism on your phone to check your screen time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You would see that the majority of young people, not less than six to eight hours or maybe ten, twelve hours a day, screen time. And if you compare that time that you spent with the benefit that you get, yeah, you will see that there is no match. Nah, not at all. It's mostly scrolling and entertaining and also curiosity, wanting to know what other people are doing.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_00If you take that time, which is every single day eight hours or six hours of screen time, yeah, and you put it in developing you yourself and your skills as a person, how many steps will you go ahead in your life?
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_00So, yes, the way it was designed as a tool, it it was designed in such a way it's harmful, it distracts you, it makes you focus on areas where they are not important. But I would say in the last few months, yeah, social media has proven that the young people are responsible, yeah, and they used social media to propagate their message, and their message was free Palestine, right? Yeah, I've said it. And just imagine the entire world, mainstream media, was very quiet about what is going on in Palestine and the genocide. But the young people they forgot about the trends, about the the fashion industry, the six packs, and and all of that, and they focused their attention to this cause. And they did tremendous work. They were able through social media to awaken the uh the the humanity in us for the for this noble cause. Yeah. Yeah? So you see, you can use social media in a good positive way, yeah. But it is your choice. Why did we choose now to use social media in such a productive way? Because we chose. Allah gave us as humans the choice what to do. Yeah. So for example, in Ramadan, how can we stop how can we stop ourselves from eating and drinking? Why is it easy in Ramadan and difficult in other months? You just decided, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You decided that tomorrow is Ramadan. I'm just I'm just gonna stop eating and drinking. Your mind is I stop social media, yeah. I stop uh you know going to websites that are maybe not appropriate for Muslims, right? In Ramadan.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00How could you stop? It's a choice you make, right? Yeah, there is no angel like so. At the end of the day, I think all of us should be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves, okay, this is my life. I have maybe 30 years, maybe 40 years, maybe 50 years, maybe 10 years I have to live and I might die. How do I want to present myself to Allah? Do I want to present myself to Allah as a person that spent 70% of his life scrolling on Instagram? Or do I want to present myself as a person who used this tool for something beneficial? And the rest of the time, I did community work, I did social work, I educated myself, I learned skills. You have people now learning from YouTube. The best university today in the world is YouTube. You can learn editing, you can learn how to do a podcast, you can learn so many things. So instead of scrolling things that are not beneficial, like uh the short videos on TikTok, you know, people sing, people dance, people do pranks, yeah, you can spend that time in learning something that will benefit you uh in your life.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. For the past few years when I was in college, uh I was I was like, okay, if I finish, I'm gonna take time, like one year, focus on Quran, try to memorize some surah. And once I finished, I immediately got caught up with I want to go to uni, I want to do this, I want to do that, and then lost time for Quran. And now uh I've seen a lot of my friends that's like okay, I'm just if I if I if I get that job, if I finish this project, I would go for the Quran, I would start reading the Quran, and the years goes by, goes by, and then you've never uh read the Quran. So today, how can I grow a relationship with the Quran? Because I spent like uh after college, I spent like three years. I was very busy into the career, what am I gonna study? What am I gonna how can how do I gonna get a job? And once I was in the car sometimes and I I don't know, balled into Quran recitation and I heard the Quran all the way and I got scared. I was like, how long, how long have I increased like even one verse of the Quran from what I knew before when my grandma used to tell me to go to Madras and I got scared? I got scared and I was like if what if I get this project done, what if I start this podcast and I die after that? How am I gonna come in front of uh the law tell him I was so focused on achieving that, but I didn't get time for the Quran? How can a youth now we have it in our phones, we are going with it to the apps, but I barely open it myself too as well. How can I try to go back to Quran how can uh the youth go back to the masjid at least to uh to cope off with the work because nowadays uh they say okay my manager, if I don't show up, if I don't do these eight hours and it's the weekend is coming, I don't have time, how can I uh like uh grow my relationship with the Quran, with this economy, with this uh everything going around in our lives?
SPEAKER_00That's a very good question, you know, on uh how can you grow a relationship with the Quran? Okay, let me give you a scenario. Yeah, you are an engineer, you work in an oil and gas industry, yeah, and you have a contract with that company for 20 years. And your salary is like 5,000 reals, okay? And during the weekend, you have one hour spare. Yeah, you said, you know, instead of sitting at home, I will get a part-time job at McDonald's and be paid ten dollars per hour, right? Yeah, sure. Now, between the two jobs, which one of them is important to you?
SPEAKER_01Of course the first one is your focus, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sure. Now, unfortunately, we as Muslims are treating the Quran as a part-time job. It's not like this is our full-time job, yeah. We should focus, everything else is part-time. Yeah, we tend to forget, we think I need to work, I need to study, I need to get married, I need to, you know, do my projects, I need to do podcasts, and this. And if I have time, then I go to the Quran. But we tend to forget that the Quran is the light that will make these things successful. So you start with the Quran, and Allah will bless your time in doing the other things. But you know where the problem is? Yeah, we are not taught this at school. We are taught in school, you have a syllabus, you need to memorize these chapters in the Quran. But nobody tells you how to deal with the Quran, how to have a relationship with the Quran, how to enjoy the Quran. Look at our condition in Ramadan. It's uh it's a it's a it's a race. Who's gonna finish the Quran reading the Quran from cover to cover? Five times, six times. But if you ask anyone, okay, tell me one wisdom you learned from the five times you read the Quran. Nothing. I'm not saying reading the Quran, you don't get reward, you get ajr. Yeah? But ask yourself, what did you benefit from the wisdom of Allah in the Quran? There's so many gems, there's so many things to learn that if you look at the books that are written explaining the Quran, they are thousands of volumes, if not millions. Why? Every single time when a person dedicates time to study the Quran, he comes up with something new, he finds out something new. So it means this is a treasure, and you can only find the gems in this treasure if you put time. But if it's a side job, this weekend I'm a little bit tired, I don't feel like going to McDonald's, no problem. The ten dollars I can, you know, I if I don't get them, there's not it's not a problem. I will only focus on my main job, then that's how we we treat the Quran. So the Quran has to be number one priority. You have to have something called word. Word means a portion of the Quran that you have to read every day, no matter what happens, even if you're on your deathbed. It can be one page, it can be ten pages, depending on your capacity, and make sure the way to deal with the Quran is learn how to read it, learn how to recite it. Reading and reciting is two different things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_00So learn how to read it, learn how to recite it, understand what it says, implement what you understand, and then memorize. But we are told the other way around. Memorize, memorize, memorize while you don't understand what it says, and you can't implement what you memorize in your life. You find someone sometimes he memorized 10 chapters, 20 chapters, but he's a liar, or he's a thief, or he cheats. Why is this happening? It shouldn't happen that way because the Quran should purify you and make you a better person. So, how come you memorize the Quran and you're doing these things? It's because you have it in your memory, but you don't have it in your heart. When you have it in your heart, then your actions become the Quran. When she was asked, how is the Prophet? She says, His conduct was the Quran. So we should follow the same uh footsteps of the Prophet. So, uh Shaykh, have you ever had to dealt with uh depression? Have I ever dealt with depression? Yes, when I was younger. Uh I believe the main enemy of a human being is emptiness when you don't have anything to do. Yeah. Because when you don't have anything to do or you don't occupy yourself with something useful, the devil comes in. The devil comes in to do two things. First, to distract you so that you deviate from the straight path, you go away from your faith. The second thing, he reminds you how failure you are, how a failure you are. Because he says to you, Muhammad, Salim has a business, you don't have a business. Sleiman has a degree, you don't have a degree. That guy has a car, you don't have a car. So he builds that idea in your mind that you are supposed to be equal to these people, and then you get depressed. And Allah says in the Quran, verily by the remembrance of Allah, the hearts become tranquility or at ease. Yeah. So Allah has told us that remembering Him, remember Him, remembering His attributes, what Allah gave us, the health, prosperity, families, you know, all of these things, the blessings that we have, every time you remember, you say Alhamdulillah, depression will never come to you. And that's why you will find in the Muslim world you have less depression cases than the Western world. Because the Western world has become, you know, uh more atheist.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00They don't believe in God, they don't remember Allah. So what happens? They become depressed, and when they don't know how to release that pressure, they commit suicide. Yeah, but as Muslims, we have the solution. It's in the Quran. Yeah, and Allah says in the Quran, I'll remind you before I end this point, Allah says in the Quran, whoever goes astrays from remembering me, we will make his life. The phrase bank means the the worst feeling ever. You know, it's it's even worse than depression.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So Allah tells you straightforward, you know, if you don't remember me, I'm not part of your schedule, yeah, you will feel depressed.
SPEAKER_01Because uh I can uh a brother can say or sister, I prayed, but I don't find a husband, I don't get married. I pray to get that job. And look at him, he doesn't pray, he doesn't practice the deen, but he's getting everything I wish to get. And look at how she's married, she I kept my hijab on, and I don't find a husband, I don't find this, and uh she was on social media, she was dancing, she was her hair was out, and she got a man. And what what is my prayer for my prayers for? Why don't Allah answer my prayers? And you're doing good, you're on a good path, but you feel uh depressed because you say maybe Allah is not answering me, but they're doing that, and you feel the urge to do like they do, so maybe you can get uh to what uh they have.
SPEAKER_00Okay, let's let's break it down step by step. First of all, about the prayer, yeah, yeah. Uh you hear always they say that you have to have Hushua in your prayer. Hush.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh so many people when they pray, their mind is wandering somewhere else, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Now, there is a formula of four steps, four things that if you focus on them, you will always have hushua in your prayer. The first thing is when you remember the blessings that Allah has given you, and the prayer is the way for you to say thank you. You remember uh during COVID, yeah, people who were inflicted by COVID, they could not breathe, right? Yeah, they had to have oxygen on, right? Me and you are breathing now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Did you ever think that how are we breathing easily? How are we consuming oxygen? Nobody thinks, right? Nobody says Alhamdulillah that I am breathing without an oxygen tank. So when you remember the blessings Allah has given you, when you pray, it's a means for you to say, Thank you Allah for what you have given me. The second stage is Allah says in the Quran that prayer forbids you from doing evil deeds. In na salata tanha anilfa sha iwal munkar. So the prayer helps you to become the best version of yourself. So when you pray, focus that I am praying to become a better person. If I am backbiting others, I pray so that Allah can help me to stop backbiting others. I am praying because I look at women. Allah should help me through this prayer to stop me looking at other women to lower my gaze.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Right? Yeah, so I want to be the best version of myself. Number three is the need. Muhammad, me, you, everybody else have need in this life, right?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Someone needs a job, someone needs a car, someone needs a degree, someone needs a wife, someone needs a house. All of these things, if we don't talk to Allah and tell him our needs through prayers, when are we gonna tell him? So when you pray, you are actually humiliating yourself in the doors of Allah, at the door of Allah, asking him, please Allah give me this, please Allah give me this. Yeah, so that's number three. Number four is pain. It is the test that Allah gives you as a believer. You are tested, you lose your job, you are tested, you get a disease, you are tested, someone you love marries someone else. You are tested that you know you don't have anything to eat, you are tested that someone harms you. How do you overcome these challenges? By prayer, yeah? Because prayer teaches you to be patient, prayer teaches you to accept what Allah has given you. Because every time you go through hardship, Allah erases your bad sins. So it's a blessing when Allah tests me, it's a blessing because He erases my sins, He gives me rewards for being patient. So now, going back to your question about I'm a good Muslim, I pray, I ask Allah, I wear my hijab, but I don't get the things that I want. Yeah, and I see other people dancing on TikTok, doing all sorts of crazy crazy things, and their life is going on, right? Absolutely, yeah, yeah. We have to understand as Muslims on earth we don't have a privilege over other people. Allah, one of his names, is Al-Adli, the just. Allah is just to all human beings, even the person who is atheist, yes, Allah will give him rizq, sustenance, yeah, Allah will give him children, Allah will give him business, Allah will give him wealth. It doesn't mean just because he's a disbeliever, Allah will say, No, I'm not gonna give him. No, Allah gives everybody. Sometimes what we see is not what is the reality. And if the person who is dancing on TikTok and they're married, what makes you sure that they are happy in their marriage? Because what you see on social media is fake. Yeah? And what is reality is totally different. How many celebrities are married? Most of them, they have relationships, they get married, after two months, they divorce, they get another partner, right? Yeah. Is that happiness? Is that success? And sometimes when Allah delays certain things for us, like marriage, like a job, like children, Allah knows what is best for us. Because sometimes you might wish for something, but it is bad for you.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And you might insist, you know. I know young people, they were in love with a certain girl, and they insist and pray, you know, oh Allah, please make this be my wife. And it did not happen. Allah did not make it happen. And after a few years, they come and see that woman, and they say, Alhamdulillah. I did not marry her. I did end up being this 20 years ago, you're upset. Absolutely. You're saying, I asked Allah, I prayed, I did dua, Allah did not answer my prayers. But and then later on, you you don't understand the the wisdom of Allah. But later on, you come understand Allah had wisdom for not giving me a certain thing. So I should be trusting in Allah. I should trust Allah that Allah will give me what is good for me.
SPEAKER_01Sure. So I I've found out that uh if you want to be good at anything, if you want to achieve anything, uh humans we are we are social creatures. We live in groups, we have to live with others. And uh our friends, our peer precious, the the the the the circle of people who are surrounding us, they influence us and out about the decision we make, about how we live our lives. Do you have a best friend yourself? Or how can I find a good company who will remind me of Allah, who remind me of not doing uh what is wrong and putting me back on track. How do I identify? If there is no any I think I'll be depressed if I leave alone because many of us we are scared to to live the lives of our own, and maybe the circle, the company I work in, or maybe the school I'm going to, everyone is pulling me to go to do those crazy stuff and everything. So first question Do you have a best friend, a best friend? That's a very difficult question.
SPEAKER_00I might make a lot of people upset. Yeah. I would say that my best friends are my brothers. My blood brothers.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I remember when I was a kid. Yes, my dad is a very wise man, mashallah. He used to always lecture us about values. And he says, There is no better friend than your brother, your blood brother.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because your blood brother will always stand next to you in whatever circumstances you go through.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Good or bad. Because what? He doesn't want anything from you. There is no benefit, there is no monetary gain. Yeah. So when you are raised with your brother in a very good relationship, then you support one another. You have two ties. You have the blood tie and you have the Islamic brotherhood. Yeah? So you have a very strong tie. While when you have a normal friend, the only tie between you is the tie of Islam or the tie of friendship.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah? So the Prophet he showed us so many examples about friendship, and he there is a lot of hadiths about friendship. One of the hadith, which is a very interesting hadith, is a person known by his friend. So choose the right, you know, friend. The people who you're hanging around with are the ones who represent you. Sometimes young people would say, My friend is smoking or drinking. But I don't smoke, I don't drink. He's a good guy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, and you know, I I was raised well. I'm not gonna smoke or drink, but I like just hanging around with him. You think that eventually you will not follow his footsteps, you will eventually follow his his footsteps, especially if you you don't have a strong faith. If your faith is shaky and he has a strong personality, he will drag you into that road. So make sure, first of all, if you choose friends, make sure the first criteria is deen, is faith. This person will have a positive impact on me in my deen, then I want to be with this person. This person will have a positive impact on me in my achhlak, in my behavior, I want to be with him. This person will tell me when I'm wrong that I want to be with this person. Don't be with a friend that when you do a mistake, he's not gonna tell you. Forget about him. No, that's not a friend, that's an enemy. A true friend, he will tell you when you make a mistake, even if you it will make you upset. Absolutely because he loves you. There is a saying, the person who loves you, he tells you your shortfalls. He says, Muhammad, by the way, you don't pray in masjid, you don't pray in a mosque. And I love you for the sake of Allah. Please pray in a mosque. That person loves you. He's not a bad person, but the person who does not tell you, he sees you smoking, drinking, clubbing, and he doesn't say anything. He says, Oh, well done, very good. Uh when I saw you in the club, you were amazing. That's not a friend, that's an enemy. So either you are strong in your faith and you influence other people, or choose people who are strong in their faith that they can influence you. And Allah says in the glorious Quran, be patient with those who are remembering Allah day and night. Yeah, so we be be patient, staying with them. Yeah, yeah, you know, hang hang on to them, man. Because these people will always be remembering Allah, praying, fasting, doing dawah, you know, advising other people. So if you are a person who is impatient, you'll say, Ah, I don't want to hang around with these people, they are boring.
SPEAKER_01They are boring, yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_00They're just praying, reading the Quran, and you know, they are boring. So that's why Allah says be patient with those people, because those people will hold your hand to Jannah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01So today, uh if I decided today that I am going to be um a good Muslim or I'm going to change my ways, I should cut ties with every single person who who will uh if I want to change, of course, I need to have new majors. I don't have to go to those places where I used to do those bad things. How do I explain to my friends and say, you know what, I'm no longer going this way, but uh not like telling them you're going to fire, you're going to Jahannam. Or how do I just uh in a good way that would maybe be like doing dawah to them? Yes, but not staying there, of course, letting them done going.
SPEAKER_00Well, I don't encourage people to cut ties with others. Yeah, unless this person is really dangerous and will affect your dean. Then I would say stay away from him. Let us start with that category of people. People who are extremely dangerous and they will make you deviate from the straight path. Your job or your duty as a Muslim is to advise them. But when you advise them, make sure you're with someone who is experienced and who has a solid faith. Because sometimes, out of good intention, you want to go and advise that bad friend, and he is more confident than you, more powerful than you, and he drags you into what he's doing. So you have to be very careful. If you see yourself, you don't have the capability to advise him to the straight path, just stay away. As salamu alaikum, wa alaikum salam. Yeah, when you see him say salam alaikum. That's about it. That's your responsibility and duty. Now, the lesser category of friends who are good people, but they're not practicing. They don't pray or they do things that they shouldn't do. I say to them, I say to you, advise them gently, kindly, and not in public. One of the worst enemies of our da'wah is embarrassing people. Don't embarrass people in public. Nobody loves to be told you're wrong. Even if he knows that he's wrong. So if you uh want to advise them, take the method of the Prophet. He was always indirect. You know, you start with a person, mashallah, you're a good person, we've been friends for a very long time, and I want what is good for you because I love you, you're my brother, you know, and if you allow me, I would like to tell you, you know, a piece of advice. Would do you allow me to give you advice? You know, be gentle and polite, and he will listen to you if he is a real friend. So that's how you give advice. But don't go in front of you know your other friends and say, Yaha, you're going to hellfire because you're not praying. That's not the way of the Prophet. Yeah, so advise them, be gentle to them. And if the third scenario is you are strong in your faith, you are practicing, you know what you're talking about. Practice your faith publicly. People will be influenced to you. Meaning, be an ambassador of Islam when you go to the gym, you know, choose the gym where there is no music, there is no mixing with women, you know, wear covered clothes, be decent. People will be attracted. Yachi Muhammad, why is he different? Why isn't he not talking to girls? Why isn't he not on Instagram showing his biceps and triceps? Yeah, they will wonder why you're behaving in such a way. So your behavior as a good Muslim will attract other people to you.
SPEAKER_01So my final question is Yes. I have spent a lot a lot of time uh not practicing my deen, and the worldly life has taken like a good hold on me. Like, how do I come back? How do I maintain the consistency? Uh how do I start little by little and then come back on the on the on the straight path and maintain that consistency?
SPEAKER_00That's a very good question, uh Muhammad. Yeah. First of all, I want to assure you that the majority of people, even if they seem now that they are a perfect Muslim, one day they were in this position. They were not practicing their faith, they were not doing enough for Allah. Yeah? So this is, I want to assure you that you're not alone, and this is not like a unique thing to the young people now. No. We all went through that phase. The good news is Allah accepts everybody to come back. You want to come back to Allah, the doors are open. Allah will forgive you for everything except shirk, which is associating partners with Allah. As long as you are still under the umbrella of Islam, come back to Allah. Come back to Allah, ask Allah to help you in your repentance, in your tawbah.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah? Supplicate. Oh Allah, I know I I wasn't a good Muslim. Please help me to be a good Muslim. You know, every single day, 17 times a day, we say Idina Surat al-Mustaqim, guide us to the straight path. We are going to say that until the day we go into the grave. Why? Because you can't get enough guidance. You have to continuously ask Allah to guide you. So guidance is a journey. It's not like you get up in the morning today, I'm I'm guided. No, it's a journey, and the journey ends when you die. So as long as you're alive, then the doors of forgiveness are open. Shaitan plays a very dirty game. He always tries to convince you that you are a very bad person, you have so many sins, and Allah will never accept you. While Allah does not say that, he says the opposite. He says, Oh those who have you know neglected themselves by doing sins, come back to me. Come back to me. Don't be despair from the mercy of Allah. So Allah is telling you, come back to me, don't be despair, don't worry. Just be sincere, repent, and I'll accept you. But the biggest mistake young people do is they think they have time. How many young people did you see dying? They're just sitting in a coffee shop, they die. They're playing football, they fall, they die. You don't have time. Nobody has time. And Allah made the time of death a secret for a purpose to test us. So the formula for you and everybody else is always to be ready. If Allah decides I want to take hartim today, you're ready. Your bags are ready. Sure. Your bags of good deeds are ready.
SPEAKER_01You're gonna carry those.
SPEAKER_00Don't wait. Don't don't wait until you graduate. Don't wait until you get married. Don't wait until you don't go for hajj and then you become a good person and obey Allah. No, do it now. Because tomorrow might never come. It's not promised.
SPEAKER_01I have had a lot of my friends and me, myself, I was wondering, we see what's going on with our brothers and sisters in Palestine, we see what's going on in uh in Sudan and everywhere around the world. What is the least can we do as uh as a Muslim youth, as a Muslim Omar? We feel the art, we feel the anger to see them going through that. We've learned a lot of uh from them. Me personally, I've seen uh a young man just like me, around my age, he he sang, Hasband Allah when I am a little kid. I went to the supermark to the market to get bread for my family, and everybody's gone now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And as I saw how like the manhood, the the strength and uh the tawakurin Allah he had, and I was like, I was very impressed, and I was like, Look at me, I I think my life is miserable. He's just lost his family, and he's still having that uh strong faith in Allah. So I think uh this is a great uh message that Allah is giving us. Anyone else who's not uh there in those situations, but what do we learn from that and what is the least we can do?
SPEAKER_00I think from uh the incidents that are happening now in Ghazza, there are so many lessons. You know, I can talk for days about Gazza, sure, but the simple thing that I can say when we were young at school, yeah, we used to read the stories of Sahaba. Yeah, and we sit and wonder how how are these people the Sahaba? Their faith is so strong in the battlefield they are firm and they are like superheroes to us, right? Absolutely. I assure you that a carbon copy of the Sahaba today are in Gaza. If you want to know who is a true Muslim, then look at the people of Gaza.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah? They lost everything in life except Allah. And they're still holding on to Allah. I assure you, if it was another nation, not Muslims, and went through what the people of Gaza went through, they would say, Where is this God? Why is he not helping us? Sure. He is seeing us dying, and why is he is he not doing anything? But because they are Muslims, and they are not only Muslims, they are true Muslims who not only memorize the Quran, but they implement the Quran, that's why they're very strong. So the message for me and you and the rest of the Shabbat is let us find out what makes them strong. Sure. And when you research, you will only find one answer. The Quran. You remember your question in the beginning? Yeah. Yeah? You have all of the affairs in your life, you don't have time for the Quran. The people of Gaza, even now with no food, no water, no electricity, no homes, no kids, blood everywhere, they still have the halakha of the Quran. So that is the source of their power. So if we can do like them and hold on to the Quran, nothing can break us. Wow, what can what can we do as Muslim? What can we do? Many people think that the people of Gaza need us. The people of Gaza does not need us, do not need us. They don't. We need them.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah? So if we become better Muslims or good Muslims, as you said in the beginning, we are helping them actually. Because yes, they are being killed in Gaza, but more people are being born like the people in Gaza.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_00So if they kill two million people in Gaza who are Muslims, you have another two billion people like the people of Gaza. That's how can we help them? Nobody can defeat the Muslims. Don't be you know deceived that Muslims can be defeated. They cannot never be defeated, only if Allah wills. So if we become a carbon copy like the people of Gaza in our ibadah, in our relationship with the Quran, nothing can defeat Islam, inshaAllah.
SPEAKER_01InshaAllah Ta'ala. Thank you so much for being here with us. I am very, very excited, and uh I hope next time if you want you, we need you, you will be here to I'm at your service.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I promise you I'm at you at your service anytime, inshallah.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much and uh thanks for everybody. Until next time.
SPEAKER_00Just like Lafiya, thank you.
