Abdullah Oduro – Iman Cave – Shaykh Puts His Son To The Test
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Being a male is a matter of
life of uncomfortability
as a key to improvement,
risk as the key to reward,
and pain as the key to progress
is a man in the making.
Just as Allah made a boy running and
playing without a care,
Allah prepares you to a man that produces
and provides with care.
Woah.
Okay.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Welcome
to Imancave Monthly. We're here at another location.
I don't know if I wanna tell you
what it's about, but
it's a place to where you can see
we're outside
pondering over Allah's creation. I mean, my son
literally said we're around 4 different types of
animals within a 10 step radius and we're
there for a reason. You know what? I'm
gonna tell you what it's about. The subject
today is concerning rites of passage, RITES
of passage. What are those events
that changed the boy to a man? That
some would term it, killing the boy and
bringing life to the man. And there's many
different definitions of it. We're going to look
at today what I would assume and predict
is an Islamic
rites of passage.
An event
that marks the time to where the boy
chooses to be a man or it's an
event
to where he says to himself, I have
to face that fear. I have to face
that trial or tribulation because I know that's
firstly what pleases Allah, and secondly, that which
will
cause me to be 1 that faces something
that I never would have faced as a
boy.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
2nd form of creation. Mohammed.
Athena.
We got our modern day cowboy. Welcome. Welcome.
What's going on? How you doing? How you
doing?
You probably remember him from the Why Me
series? Hamdulillah.
Muhammad, he was the father.
That's my son.
How long have you had
your newborn? I've had him for 7 years
now. I've had him since he was some
newborn baby. Wow.
Nice, nice, nice. Riding him for a while.
We have a few other horses here. This
property, Sheikh, is actually a Masjid.
So they bought it as a farmhouse. They
wanna have a place for the community. Mhmm.
And I just happen to be 1 of
the people taking care of the property and,
of course, the horses. I get to keep
my own, and we have a few others
here. What's up? So I bring my friends,
you know, I have Athena. Nice to meet
you. German shepherd and, of course, the party
animal over there.
Look at it. He's he's jamming. He's so
happy. He's ecstatic. It's 8. Oh, yeah. He's
been partying since, you know, last night.
And his name's Goose. Goose? Goose. Not parrot?
Not parrot. Parrot? Okay. He makes goose noises
all the time. He makes goose noises. He's
got an attitude like a goose.
I'm really glad you were able to make
it out here, Shay. Glad to be out
here. As we came here before, man, it's
important to get involved with the nature. And,
you know, it reminds me of the statement
of Umar Khattab that someone associate to him.
He says, be rough. Get rough for verily
niceties and pleasure will not continue. This important
that the young man in particular has a
state of roughness and uncomfortability
and it's symbolizing this day of Eid on
the day of Eid al Adha where 1
takes an animal, particularly that of a sheep
and even of a camel, and they sacrifice
it for the sake of Allah. So in
these this beautiful day, coming in touch with
nature, it's important for you young men, miles
of these young men, to get them out
into nature and to face that rough part
of life. Because when they grow up, they're
gonna face rough elements in life and they
have to know how to deal with it.
And that's what we're talking about with rites
of passage. So we're gonna continue,
inshallah. Follow us.
Go back. Sheep ran off. She ran off.
Sheep are hiding. Look at the sheep hiding.
Hiding from the dog.
Look at that.
This tree Has been here for at least
50 years. 50? 50.
And, you know, since before we even had
this property. And we had a tornado come
hit in Texas. We had some crazy winds.
Mhmm. And it brought down the entire thing.
And we came down, and we're all kinda,
like, freaking out, you know, and we were
just thinking about, like, like, the wind push
it down. And we're just thinking about how
difficult it's gonna be to remove this.
And, you know, the property owner, he actually
mentioned a very interesting point. He said, you
know, Alhamdulillah.
Of course, we right away said Alhamdulillah, but
it was a half cooked Alhamdulillah, like, Alhamdulillah,
but this is still a lot of work.
Yeah. Why would Allah do this to us?
Yeah. And he said, Alhamdulillah, it fell that
way. Imagine if it fell this way. That's
all I was thinking. We could have bought
down this whole structure very easily. And we
had our horses put up in the barn
for the tornado.
It came down that way. You know, the
goats had a great time feeding on it.
And eventually, when its time comes, we're gonna
just chop it up, you know, make something
out of it. And that's the roots of
the tree? This is the roots of the
tree. It's amazing. This entire space. Coming in
touch with nature, man.
And you could see that. And the 1
thing that I really, like, was impressed with
is just all the dirt that's comes through.
Trees are very important for the environment. Mhmm.
People don't really understand, but erosion is a
very serious problem in a lot of areas.
The tree's roots
kind of hang on very well for them.
A bet.
Very, I think. But they hang on to
the dirt and they keep it in place.
You get rid of all your trees. Nothing
is gonna stand. We talk about strength and
manhood and masculinity. This is real strength, you
know. You have to have a foundation
and from that foundation,
you'll sprout and grow and bring benefit. And
that's what hit us. I mean, we were
complaining about the work that's gonna take to
put this all in, but we realized with
the tree removed, they kinda give us a
bit more space for the animals, which is
an advantage.
Hey. Perhaps you may hate something that is
better for you. Absolutely.
So, Sheikh, production requested that, I do something
specific. Mhmm. I'm gonna actually time you to
find out how long does it take you
to catch your sheep.
As you see, the weeds grew quite a
bit. We couldn't get the mower in here
in time. The sheep are all hanging out
over there. But there's a sheep there, the
biggest 1 with the biggest horns. Mhmm. And
that one's for you. So how do I
catch it? With your hands. So the goal
that I always suggest is if you want
to try to grab it, grab its leg
Mhmm. Right, that's usually enough or grab it
by the horns.
Sometimes, you gotta take life by the horns.
Oh, I like that. Sometimes, you gotta take
life. This is literally where that saying comes
from. You gotta take life by the horns.
The boys,
there's 2
Mhmm. Cheap. Yep. There are 2 white rams.
Okay. Easy markings.
Those are for you guys. The 2 white
rams. Okay. The 2 white ones? Yeah. 2
And they got the little horns on them.
Why are they running away? Oh, they're going
anywhere that you're not gonna be.
Alrighty.
Did you name them yet or no? So
I don't name the sheep that we're gonna
slaughter. We do have 3 goats.
There's 2 females and 1 male. Uh-huh. The
first female is Christina Rinaldina.
Okay. The second 1 is Kobina Bright. Kahalak.
And the third 1 is the male, and
his name is not Tom Brady. Oh, what's
up?
Yeah. You're gonna have to do much better
than that.
Hey. Start the stopwatch. This is gonna be
a task, brother.
I suggest making this a team effort, spreading
out with your boys. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Let's do it. Let's go.
Yo. This is gonna be a task.
Alright.
Whew. Gotta make this a smaller field.
Come on, man. Don't make it difficult.
Gotcha.
Gotcha. Gotcha.
Yo, you gotta really tackle that joint NFL
style, man.
Is there a certain reason that they're running
like a pack? It's actually a safety mechanism.
Okay. It makes it a lot harder for
a predator to choose which 1 that they
he want like, the predator wants to hunt.
Okay. So the same way when you guys
are going after them right now, you don't
even know which 1 to grab. Oh, they
went inside. Confusing.
They went inside? Yeah.
That is cheating. They cornered themselves.
Oh, they cornered themselves. Yeah.
I'll show
them. Didn't officially catch you guys, but I'll
be left. Otherwise Take your life right away.
So here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna
grab his legs, the ones that are closest
to you. Uh-huh. You're gonna grab him from
across. So you wanna stick your arm Mhmm.
Not from around Mhmm. But from through. Grab
this leg and this leg,
and use it to put him down on
his side. Okay. Lean him on your body
to to cushion them. So both my hands?
Yeah. So I got to put him switch
by 1. 1 by 1. Okay. Okay. So
you can hold on to his Alright.
This 1. There you go. Mhmm. And you
utilize that. You could use your knee, your
right knee to kind of lift them up.
Unit. Okay.
Alright.
There you go.
That's how Yes. So sometimes you make where
you go? A bismuth. Relax, relax, relax. So
now you wanna put a bit more push
you can Can I put money on the
set? Yeah. Yeah. So I would suggest putting
over here. Put your right knee down over
there. That's much better. Mhmm. And this is
not considered cruelty to the animal. Allah has
created the animal as such to be
subjugated for us. Absolutely.
And the main thing is, of course, there
are ways that can be done that are
harming the animal. Mhmm. This does not harm
them. Such as? So, for example, some people,
what they do is they'll tie them by
the foot and they'll leave them like that
for months. Months? Oh, yeah. They'll tie like
1 foot in time to like a tree.
Of course, if you don't feed it or
give it water. Mhmm. Right now, obviously, the
animal is not gonna be super excited. But
as you can see, it's kinda calmed down.
Okay. So here, now you wanna just bring
in this leg and you wanna tie the
white part to the white part.
So below the, I guess, knees always. Yeah.
That's always where you wanna tie up. Knees.
Right? Mhmm. I'll eat this end real quick.
Alright. Any of you that like to eat
goat, this is a process that has taken
place.
Know that any meat that you eat know
that there were people, there were real men
someplace in the world that had a place
similar to this and they had to go
through this process. There's no other way. Yep.
Okay. I like a jug oh, I like
it. Oh, he caught him. He caught him.
Yeah. Nice. Standing by the horns. Look at
that. Guys, those those those are my pet
goats. Can you please Oh, this right? This
one's domesticated, bro. Oh, yeah. Hey. Easy 1.
He thought it cost out too. Joel yeah.
You're lucky I didn't get to work on
it.
Okay, sir. Remember how you laid on my
side? Bring him over here. Back back on
the bottom. That's what she uses to So
here,
grab this leg
and then smack the What you wanna do
is you got it? Come on. Okay?
Come on. Hand up.
You don't move, man. Make sure it's tightly
cut. You're rough. You gotta be rough with
him. Gotta be rough. Oh, you're rough with
him. Yeah. Uh-huh. So chinning on his neck.
You got the Mhmm. Tighter than that. Tighter
the front too? Necessarily make too much of
a difference. Yeah. But that's just kind of,
like, the sequence that I find to be
easiest. Oh, easiest. Oh, come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on. It was there. That's
the that's the that's the That's the other
guy that was, like,
That's exactly what we're talking about. Stay down.
Stay down. That's what I'm talking about. Stay
down.
See. He's saying sorry, man. He's saying sorry.
He's saying sorry, but Allah has created him
for him.
Alright. Now we are about to go and
sacrifice the animal. We're about to do
the, which is sacrificing the animal, which is
a symbol or a reenactment of what Ibrahim
alayhi salam did with his son in the
Quran. And I'm actually about to do it
with my sons, and I hope that you
do it with yours. There's a couple points
I wanna mention here. Firstly,
it's important for the man to be uncomfortable,
especially in nature,
which it's unfortunate that when we're amongst nature,
we're uncomfortable.
Look at this grass. 1 may some may
say it's not mowed. What's going on? There's
no pesticides,
insecticides, none of that stuff. You are dealing
with nature now realizing that this is the
foundation. This is the basis where you see
grass like that. We see the horses. We
see the dogs. This is nature. This is
where the meat that you eat and consume
comes from in these types of environments.
Secondly, I'm holding in my left hand a
knife.
And this knife is what we're going to
use to sacrifice the animal. I'm holding it
in a safe way because I was taught
that way. And that's how young men need
to be taught. I have a scar here.
When I was 7, my dad gave me
a knife to cut something, and I cut
myself. And I still remember it. I have
scars all on my shins where I used
to ride my bike.
And these are all parts of rites of
passage, where it's facing danger,
making mistakes, getting hurt.
All of this is parts of rites of
passage where you're facing your fear. You're exposed
to certain dangerous activities, so you have to
have to make a choice. We'll see in
certain tribes that you have to bring the
head of a mule back. And if not,
you're not considered a man yet. There are
some tribes where you have to lay in
beds, a bed of fire ants. And if
you scream, go back to mommy.
Even though it may be different today, we
see within the Deen of Islam, it's made
within its Sharia,
A portion of your life to where you
sacrificing an animal
is worship. And Allah tells us consistently throughout
the Quran, this grass, everything was created. The
wind that blew is created.
It's created and subjugated for you. So everything
we're doing
is worship.
And that is what is important, to know
that this is worship of Allah, which makes
the Muslim man a strong, honorable,
genuine, solid man of purpose that is transcended.
So what do y'all think about this sacrifice?
And I mean, what what's what's your what's
your take on this so far? I mean,
now that you see it lying down, it's
ready. It's been tied up for almost about
an hour. You ready to do it? Yep.
I'm ready. I'm ready. So what goes through
your mind? Who's there? What goes through your
mind? I mean, it's Allah. You're taking a
life, you know. But, you know, you have
to do it. For it's you're supposed to
sacrifice. You gotta do it for Allah's sake.
So you realize that the process is gonna
be fairly simple and straightforward. Mhmm. You know
what I'm saying? It's just 1 strike and
and that's it, but it's for it's for
a great greater cause. Mhmm.
And this is really a beautiful concept in
understanding the purpose of mercy, Mike.
Mercy is not only confined to what we
think mercy is. It may be something beyond
what you understand what mercy is. Mhmm. And
that is the part where you're really practicing
your aqid, your faith. Even though we may
see, you know, the blood and and and
and and some of the flesh, but that
is mercy from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And
that's when, you know, Abraham, when he was
sack ordered to sacrifice his son, Allah literally
replaced it with with a.
Mhmm. And we ransomed him, Ishmael, with
with this ram, with the ram. Keep in
mind, you're doing the sheep a great honor.
Yeah. And you're making its life very much
worthwhile. So let's get started, sirlah. So you
wanna get down on your knees, firstly.
Make sure that you cover the eyes cover
his eyes with his with his with his
ear. Got it. It does anything but darkness.
Got it. And the most important thing is
this jaw here,
you wanna stretch it. So here you got
that. You could probably there you go. And
then cover.
Stretch the jaw. So you want it to
be tight.
K.
Alright. Okay? Mhmm. Alright. I appreciate you guys
the upper just to anchor you right here.
Up here? Yeah. Putting your knee on the
animal is not being, you know, you yeah.
It's mercy. It's just securing it. Just securing
it. So I'm gonna do it right next
to you, and I also have a blade
just in case you missed something I can
get really quick. But I know for a
fact you got this. Gotcha. Alright.
So
remember,
say.
I
thought I had a blade.
You got it? Here. You got this, man.
This one's not along with pressure.
Push down as hard as you can. There
you go. Alright.
Perfect.
Okay. So Alright. Alright. Don't it's okay. Don't
psych yourself out. So you wanna start right
here. Mhmm. Push down and go. Alright.
1. There you go. Oh, quick, quick, quick.
There you go. There you go.
It's fluid. So you got both arteries, and
you got the windpipe. Well done. You can
let go.
Go.
Not shallow. Not shallow. So how you feel?
I'll take the sheet. Feels good. Feels good.
I mean,
it was kinda hard doing it, like, looking
at him, but, I mean, if it's for
the sake of a loss, so once you
think about that, it's just it's just easy
to do. You can complete. Were you nervous
in the beginning? Yes. I was. A little
bit. Yes. Pulled you through? I mean, why'd
you just think about it. Just just don't
let it don't let it struggle. Just think
about how Ibrahim had to do this for
his own son, so just doing this for
a girl shouldn't be that bad.
And that's that's that's what's important in life,
man. You're gonna face times where it may
look difficult, but you push through Mhmm. And
you'll see the results. As long as what
you're doing is for Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
you know the results will come inshallah.
It's not up to you when they come,
but you have surety that they will come,
and that's what's most important. You face something,
and that's what's beautiful about the is that
there may have been a fear in the
beginning, but you pushed through. That's what kills
the boy and brings life to to the
man. You push through on your exams. You
push through on your job interview. You push
through when asking for someone's hand in marriage.
You push through and you face your fears.
That's what solidifies you as a man. And
I personally feel that the is a poor
an Islamic rite of passage and no better
way and time to do it than on
the day of Eid, spending it with your
with your son.
Horseshoe.
I wonder if these are expensive. These these
like the Jordans or these like the Pro
Kids or whatever the cheapest brand is that
I can do with. Walmart brand. We're gonna
do Walmart. Let's do Target. You understand what
I'm saying? We like to keep our horses
comfortable with their horse shoes. So those are
more like the Crocs. Is there like a
certain part on any horse that you shouldn't
touch? I just watch their heads, if it's
a horse I'm not used to or familiar
with, and then I also watch their feet.
Okay. They don't kick that well from the
front. They can swing and kinda but they
don't really do that. What they like to
do is use their back. Back like that.
They'll donkey kick you. You know, and I
mean, it's a horse. It's pure power. Yeah.
So they'll send you all the way to
Connecticut with 1 kick.
So let's pull them into the pasture,
and then I will walk you guys through
the next steps.
So right now, I expect the horses to
give us full cooperation because they've just been
fed. Go this way. This way. This way.
This way. This way. This way. Way. Both
these horses do have a lot of go
to them. Now, how do you ride a
horse? Mhmm. This is kind of what we
all came here for. Right? Yep. There's a
few things to look out for. 1st and
foremost,
horses, they kinda show you when they're unhappy.
Their ears pin backwards. This is pointed backwards.
Angry means this. Mhmm. Right? Or timber. Okay.
Mhmm. He will possibly toss his head a
bit because he doesn't like the bit part.
It's not hurting him. It's just he's usually
ridden without the mouthpiece. Mhmm. But he it's
time for him to graduate
to the next steps. Now, whenever you are
trying to control a horse,
right, Jack, again, he's very easygoing. You know,
he just kinda wants to have his little
fun. So in a mountain, it's like getting
on a bike. Left foot, left
hand. He might try to move, so you
can always just pull it. If the horse
is walking, it's not a big deal. These
horses don't take off with riders on them.
Okay. And I'll explain to you guys how
to avoid that just in case you're ever
on a horse and that happens. But you
get your left foot
straight up, swing your foot over, and you're
in. So whenever you're putting in your, stirrup
Mhmm. That's the foot part.
You don't put your full foot or half
your foot. It's just the toes. Just the
toe. Okay. Just the toes. If your horse
takes off, you fall off or something like
that, you do not want your foot getting
stuck. Oh. So you just use your toes.
To stop the horse, you never just yank
it back.
You just add pressure. It's kinda like pushing
the brakes on a car. You just pull
the brakes on the horse. Beautiful.
To get him to turn, you don't just
pull 1 into you. You pull it out
wide. You kinda turn his head. Mhmm. Right?
So to get a black set to go
that way, I'll pull it out and then
pull it. Same thing, pull it out and
then pull it in. Now to kinda get
him to go, you just you hit him.
Right? You just tap him. It doesn't hurt
him. This guy has pure muscle. He's chilling.
Mhmm. And And he's also trained to respond
to sound. So if I go the clicking
sound, that's also a way to kinda get
him to understand what you're trying to do.
Now, let's say a horse is going crazy
full speed. It's just not listening. You're pulling,
you're pulling, it's not working. You pull tight,
and you bring his head in like this,
and you just hang on to it. A
horse will go where its head is pointed.
They can't run that way if his head
is pointed this way. Dismounting is the same
thing. It's like a bike.
Got your reins.
Just loop around your finger. Don't ever loop
them like this. If the horse takes off,
you don't want him to get caught up.
Grab your horn,
right, or anywhere in the front of the
saddle, but the horn is the best for
starters.
Stand straight up. Other foot right here. I
mean, other hand right here. Grab it, and
just hop right off. Sound good? Yep. Who
wants to go first?
Good. Good. You locked down your ring, bro.
You
say to be a man, you gotta pull
up your britches.
1,
2,
3.
There you go.
Shout out to the brothers in Ghana. Sheikh
Malam.
That's when I rode my horse last time
in Ghana. They do polo over there, like
like, regularly. Oh, polo. Alhamdulillah. Yeah. That takes
real skill. People underestimate that sport. I read
a lot got a lot of respect for
them. Okay. Now, you're gonna pull with your
left hand towards me.
Pull outwards and pull it tight. More tighter,
tighter, tighter. Make him turn. There you go.
And then tap with your feet so he
knows to come.
Pull it tight and kick.
Yeah. He's doing the thing. So he's gotta
be more dominate. Let's try this. I'm gonna
I'm gonna help you with the jump start
and the battery life. Alright. Alright.
Alright. We're good. Alright. Alright?
So now Jack's just gonna follow me. Mhmm.
How are you feeling? Good.
He's very easy.
He's a shorter horse, so he's low to
the ground, so you have less distance to
fall, which is, good. Less distance. Oh, my
shell. That's for sure.
Now, here's what I want you to do,
Shay. Yeah. I want you to add pressure
until you can get him to back off
of me, and just stay off of me
by, like, 2 feet. Add pressure. Okay.
There you go. He's gonna toss his head,
but keep that pressure until he does what
you want. Oh, he stopped. There you go.
There you go. He stopped.
He went again. So you gotta find that
sweet spot. You don't want him to completely
stop. You don't want him to completely go.
Uh-huh. There you go.
Nice, man. Just
think back then, this was the also, Like,
there were no
cars. It's in the wilderness,
in touch. I mean, like right now,
with the horse, with the dog. Relax. Relax.
Relax. He's gonna keep tossing his head because
he wants to get closer. This is the
tree, by the way, Sheikh. This is the
1. He likes to take riders to visit.
I guess that's the significance of the cowboy
hat. Right? Just tuck your head down. Oh,
yeah.
Everything has its functionality,
Alright. Give him slack. Can I say, kya?
You can try it. Kia.
Alright. Now pull him the other way, though,
because he's gonna go straight pull him pull
him tight.
Yeah. Yeah. He's trying you, but you're doing
good.
Alright. Take him for a loop, Sheykh, and
I'll be right behind you. Take him for
a loop, mashaAllah. You said it so simply.
Put it Bismillah in. Bismillah, let's go.
Oh. That's okay. That's horse politics.
Horse politics. Yeah. That was broken broken broken
calf politics right there. My leg was about
to be chopped off in between 2 booties
of of horses. Alright. Alright. Let's go.
Oh. Yeah. There. Settle down. Settle down. Settle
down. Just throw. Trust in the law, brother.
How did love?
When I'm able to train,
I can somewhat maintain
because I hold the rein.
I hope it doesn't rain.
Good stuff,
shit. He's handling her really well.
That's solid.
Good? Yeah. I'm good. You wanna pick up
the pace a bit?
Bismillah.
Alright.
So there's different settings on a horse. Right?
Uh-huh. This is a walk.
Okay. Walks are pretty simple. Okay.
Now, when you pick up the speed a
bit Uh-huh. You get into a trot.
Okay. Those are the worst. Those are the
worst? That's the worst.
Because that's when you see people, like, the
horse is just going slightly faster,
and you're just bouncing like crazy. Woah.
You okay? I'm good, but I I don't
know if I'm ready for that trot shake.
Here it is.
Jack.
If all else fails,
1 hand on the horn. Hand on the
horn? Yep. And 1 hand on the reins,
and you just pull them both.
I didn't hear that last part. That's probably
the most crucial part to save my life.
What was it? Alright. Ready? Let's go.
Alright. Stop.
Okay.
Yeah. You can't put all your weight on
1 side. So you can kinda Oh, it's
kinda like this. Right? Yeah. There you go.
Good stuff, Chef. Keep yourself centered. Pull pull
him pull him to stop if you ever
feel like he's too much. I got you.
Alright. You get my equilibrium.
Okay. Nice. Nice.
Alright, Jake.
Let the young Easy.
Easy.
Yep. Let the young 1 get on.
Okay.
I went fast. It was good.
Good boy. And that wasn't bad. Jack, the
homie.
Alright. You ready? Come on. Let's go.
I don't
know.
He ain't gonna do too bad.
And so this is the rights of passage,
baby. Approaching those fears.
Facing comfort comfortability.
That's killing the boy and bringing life to
the man. Facing that fear for something that
he knows is beneficial for him, and this
is definitely facing the fear of getting on
a horse Can I hold your horse for
a second? Which is definitely beneficial for him
No, man. To get in touch with nature.
It's good. So you're gonna put your left
foot in. Yeah.
Grab on and go straight up, and swing
your right foot over.
This middle.
Boom. Got it done.
Alright. Is this is this good? Yeah. So
you wanna hold them. That's actually quite good.
And you wanna give them slack? Don't get
scared and just keep pulling all the time.
So it's kinda like the way you wanna
drive like, you know how you add
to go faster? Mhmm. He's just built to
go fast, so you add to go slower.
Okay. It's all about sensing and connecting with
the horse. So he's gonna follow me by
default. Yeah. That's just his his factory settings.
Mhmm.
And we're just gonna walk.
I've seen a lot of things running down
field, but a huge built a ship was
the first time.
Being out on the ranch has taught me
so much more
than, you know, just kinda sitting down and
listening or reading. Right. And not in the
sense to discredit, you know, like, the lessons
that you learned. Of course. But it's more
so you kinda see it firsthand. It's easier
to believe.
Right? Yeah. Like, 1 of the biggest lessons
I've ever learned while being out here is
that life is not fair, and you gotta
just kinda play the cards
that you're dealt. Alright. It's important for you
to get out
and
you know, to go and seek the provisions
of Allah, but in that process
you're gonna be tested. You know what I'm
saying? Absolutely. And it's not gonna go quote
unquote your way. He's
gotta go a little alright. Here's what we're
gonna do. I'm gonna stay on foot, and
I'm just gonna jump.
Alright. I'm just gonna jump. I'm just gonna
accelerate this part right here. Just grab He
just wanna go fast. Don't
jump off. Don't jump off. You stay on
no matter what. They'll like, when you ride
by yourself and you're doing competitive stuff, they'll
teach you to jump off. Mhmm. Trust the
horse. He's not gonna run into anything that's
gonna hurt himself. Mhmm. And I'm here, like,
inches away. Okay. Alright? So you gotta trust
me. Trust the horse. Gotcha. Don't trust your
instinct. Never bail. Yeah. What's the rule? Never
bail. Never bail. Gotcha. Not right now. Eventually,
you'll have to learn how to do that.
Yeah. Are you ready? Yeah. Alright. Come on,
Jackie.
Not bad, Yeah.
Okay.
Feel him some slack?
Come
on. Yeah.
Come on.
Alright. Here we go.
Come on, Jack.
There.
Come
on. Woah, Jacky. Black man on black jack.
You're good, bro. You hit the brakes pretty
good, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I really wanna get
him to do a,
a better run. You wanna do another 1?
Are you good? Why not? Let's do it.
1 more. Okay. Alright. You ready?
Give him slack. Here we go. Here we
go, Jack. Come on. Come here, gal. Yeah.
Okay. Here we go.
Not better.
Come on, Jack. Let
him do that.
Come on.
Come on, Jack.
Come on, buddy.
You did all the time yourself, man. Yeah.
You did great. Much love. Well done. Thanks,
man. Thanks, man. Thanks, man. Thanks, man. Thanks,
man. Thanks, man. Thanks, man. Thanks, man. Thanks,
man. Thanks, man. Thanks, man.
How's that feel? Good. It was great. I
like it. I like it.
Ain't nothing like riding a horse then. Yeah.
I think. Okay. How does that feel, guys?
Oh, that was beautiful, man. I got to
get a taste of horsepower, man. I don't
know, so I don't know if I'm gonna
go back to the Camry.
Ride them all the way home. Yeah. Yeah.
It's been ride a lot. What about you?
How's it how's it for you? It's my
first time riding a horse, so it was
a bit scary in the beginning. But, like,
you you as you said, like, when you
gotta, like, control the horse. So the more
confident you are with the horse, the more
he'll listen to you. What made you break
that fear? Like, because you said no in
the beginning. Mhmm. What made you say mister
Mandulek?
I think
just that little part where you're controlling him,
he's not controlling you. Mhmm. That's what made
me feel like I'm in control of him.
So he's like, I'm not gonna get injured
if I'm taking control of him. Having that
sweet spot is definitely very important, building that
relationship. I think whenever you kinda rode him
a little bit, you gotta feel for him.
You know what you're dealing with. Yeah. I
gave you the confidence to even go fast.
Not many people could do that on their
first ride. Wow. So that was You're galloping.
I don't think I galloped. I don't know.
It look you look smooth on it too,
far away. You look like you had control.
If I walked in, I saw you, I
mean, I wouldn't know what a newbie looks
like for this. You know what I'm saying?
But, yeah. I felt it, man.
It's time to get your own horsepower, right,
Shay? Yeah. That was my own time, my
lasso soon, inshallah.
Alhamdulillah, man. This was beautiful. Alhamdulillah, it was,
a great experience. I think, you know, again,
when talking about rites of passage,
you know, I always ask myself sometimes,
why is this abnormal to me?
Getting on a horse,
catching a goat. Okay. I'm a I live
in the city. I understand the technological advancements.
But does that mean I should deprive myself
of these,
dare I say, liberties? Because
there's nothing like coming in contact with nature,
and nature means literally the foundation of where
it all started.
So you come in contact with nature, it
reminds you of the essence of your of
your foundation,
of the connection with all forms of creation.
And a young man going through that is
very, very important, you know. I think we
mentioned earlier getting your hands dirty. There's numerous
things here that you will have to
you will have to
accept the fact that you are a little
afraid of it, but go through it. I
mean, last, you know, when we were hanging
out,
earlier,
there was a rat.
Right? You saw someone's like, okay, where's the
rat? Okay. You gotta just get used to
the fact, stay sitting, the rat may come
around you, and you have to ask yourself,
is the rat really gonna harm me?
You know? When you navigate life based off
of feelings and emotions, you're not gonna get
anywhere. Mhmm. It's not in its own, has
elements of, you know, feeling and emotion,
but predominantly it's a logical religion. Yeah. Right?
And it's like yani. At the end of
the day, like, we did because of the
story of Ibrahim alaihi sallam.
Emotionally, you don't wanna slaughter and sacrifice your
son. Mhmm. Right? Mhmm. And you saw it
in a dream and, you know, shaitan will
put west west and like, now you're hallucinating
your trip and you misunderstood. Right. Right? But
it's logic. It's like, no. I know that
I'm a prophet.
I know that my dreams mean something. I
know Allah told me to do this. Right.
And even now, I have never met Ibrahim
alayhi wa sallam. Right? Nobody has, but we
never met the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Salallahu alaihi wa sallam. Salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Salallahu alaihi wa sallam. Salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Yeah. But we still follow what he teaches
us because it's logically that makes sense. We
know Islam is a true religion. The endless
evidence is there. So we still do go
through and follow suit. And as we sit
here and enjoy the sun going down,
tomorrow it might might rise from the west.
SubhanAllah.
And all the feelings you had, oh, I
feel bad for the sheep. I feel bad
for this and I don't feel like getting
up to pray. I don't feel It's not
gonna save you. Yeah. And it's important because
even sometimes you let those feelings guide you
through what you kinda don't wanna do. I
mean, you know, the whole concept of fear,
you know,
Musa You know, when Musa said the real
life fear that the people
will transgress the bounds, basically, against me and
this message that I'm sending. And it was
after after, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala told him,
Musa said that I I'm scared. I have
a level of fear. He said, you know,
appoint Harun, you know, my brother Harun to
kind of get prepared to go on with
this responsibility that he knows is the greatest
responsibility,
but he was emotionally intelligent to acknowledge his
fear.
So it doesn't mean that to be a
man, you can't be scared. No, that fear
should push you to go forward,
to face that trial and to fail,
to fall off your horse. We didn't fall
off the horse this time. Alhamdulillah. You know,
alhamdulillah.
But if we fell off, Alhamdulillah. Right? Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
Have you fell off the horse before? So
many times. Really? Oh, absolutely. Okay. But the
thing is even with the horses is if
you fall off and you let it go
with what it like, what just happened, that's
teaching them buck like crazy, throw him off,
and I get a I get I get
what I want. Uh-huh. So you're forced to
get back on every single time. It's a
problem. Even if you don't want to, even
just, like, oh, I can't I was bruised
my rib or whatever. Get it back on.
Otherwise, you risk losing the horse. It's gonna
be an old bad attitude.
I love how the horse is so analogous
with life. I mean, life will
throw you down.
You'll feel helpless. You may be alone. I
mean, you probably felt alone and no 1
else is here. And as you mentioned earlier,
the her the horse came back to see
how you're doing. Life's gonna come back to
see where you are, where you stand, and
what your position is. So falling,
what you feared
may happen, but then you look back, you
say, I got through it. And that's what
I think is beautiful about, you know, this
event here, and particularly, I think it's important
for the mothers in particular, and the fathers
especially, but the mothers in particular because the
father's working a lot of times, that the
mother, you know, if he broke his rib,
if he got hurt, it's okay. Let him
get back up and continue on. If he
runs in the house and he's bleeding
from a bike ride or he fell or
he got in a fight and his nose
broke, okay, get him get him into some
combat sports. Let him learn how how he
has to defend himself.
This is part of rights of passage
of going through a particular
event in their life that transitions them from
a boy
to a man. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
make us of those that are strong and
solid and honorable throughout the process. God
bless you, man. Always good to see you.
Yes. Good to see you as well. See
you again soon, inshaAllah.
Allahu alaykum wa ri faqam wa ri faqam
Allah bless you all. Join us inshaAllah. Leave
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