Abdur-Raheem McCarthy – AbdurRaheem McCarthy- How I became a muslim (Pt 33)

			Ramadan in America, I miss it as well. It just has it has a different, you know, flavor, I guess you
say?
		

			Very nice. It does indeed. Okay, we make inshallah maybe we'll get a chance to come back today. Now.
Alright, so you've become Muslim Hamdulillah. So now you make a move to learn more about Islam and
you go and up into Saudi Arabia. So what made you decide but you left specifically to learn more
about Islam? Yeah. So tell us about that experience and we're obviously I assume you're talking. I
mean, um, you learned or in school in Medina? Yes. But what before I got to Medina, I was a trip
before I got there. I went to Sudan, first of all, okay, what happened is that, you know, I guess I
was 18 years old. And like most Americans, we don't have a lot of knowledge of what's going on on
		

			the way around the world just is true. I'll tell you a funny story about that. My friend from Sudan.
He told me that when he would meet people, he would tell them from Sudan. He say no, to the the west
of Saudi Arabia to the south of each every Egypt. Yeah. Because they didn't know where Sudan was. So
he told one that he said he's in a library and his university we were studying and he told the the
clerk they're working in library, and she didn't know that she's I'm not from America. I'm European
senators who then wow, Americans, you know, for us, the world is 50 states. We don't even know what
the 50 states and we don't even know all of them. Exactly. This is the world that's the worst for
		

			most America don't know what's going on in Canada, and south and Mexico. And this is quite tricky.
So what I became Muslim and I don't know anything was going on in the world yet. But I got told you,
I found love for the Sunnah. And I wanted to learn more, but why Sudan? Okay, I'm coming to that. So
I want to go out to seek knowledge. My friends at that time in the mosque were were mostly
originally from from Pakistan from India. Yes. So they, you know, the only advice they could give me
was to go to where they knew which is in Pakistan or India, but I sat back and thought about it, you
know, to learn Islam through a language other than the language of the Quran, sunnah being Arabic,
		

			you know, it's not something I want to do. Particularly if you're going to leave your home to do so
you may as well go to exactly an Arabic speaking country says that will help me out greatly. I'll go
to an Arabic speaking country and learn, you know, I said, if I'm blessed to learn one language is
enough. And I want to learn as the blessing there is the Arabic language obviously, so I can
understand the Quran and the Sunnah. So I didn't know where to go. I'm obviously heard of Saudi
Arabia, you know, maybe it's difficult to get there are different reasons. What have you I was
looking for maybe another country will be easier to go to. And what happened is, I was in Baltimore,
		

			and the Imam there in the month at a time he's literally a mom in Virginia as womb. He came to the
mosque and he was wearing his Sudanese attire at the big idea and the turbine or what have you. And
		

			I asked him, I saw him I said, Okay, I'll go to Sudan. I don't know anything about Sudan. Never even
heard of the place. And this so I became Muslim, you know. So I said, I'll go to Sudan. And I'm
thinking like any other country in the world regular you know, yes. I didn't know and I was, you
know, was much more events now these days. But before it wasn't. So what I said as I want to go
through them, and he gave me some recommendations. And I got on the plane with these recommendations
didn't have any, any there's no phones there that time very
		

			limited amount of phones around the hearthstone at that time. So that's it, I wouldn't know where to
do it today, you know, without making sure someone's gonna be there at the airport. And you went
alone. I went alone had had my, my papers, recommendations, he gave me some university, they would
have you. And the funny thing was, is I was given the whole buffer Joomla. And Sudan about maybe
about six months ago. From from this time from now. Yes, six months ago. And after I prayed, I saw
the same email. He's got a little older now. I guess it isn't. Laters is in the late 60s, maybe I'm
assuming if not is early 70s. So I saw him. And I gave him salons. I said, I'm so and so. I said,
		

			You are the one who sent me here to Sudan. Wow. Oh, the same American from America. He was there. He
was there in Sudan. And He actually prayed in the masjid where I used to be the foot before I came
to Emirates here. Yeah, I was a believer of a masjid. The Coop was in English. So I gave him the
hook. But I see him there. So he didn't remember, you know, like I said, he said, Honestly, I'm
sorry, but I don't remember that I sent you. I said whatever it is, the less everything I do now,
all the study I did 10 years in Medina, and all the you know, the lectures, I gave him the whole
best and you get the adulation for it.
		

			So he's very happy about that. So this is you know, what, just for no reason, there's a reason I saw
this guy and I decided I want to go to Sudan. So I went to Sudan. And I stayed there for a little
over a year and ended up getting married there. Sunni sister after about six months, so I guess you
know when your father Yes, you know, and there was been any in your destiny when it was what that is
and decided for you. That's why I was sent there so I can get married. Inshallah. I'm still married
today from there and then with our kids and everything, so that's why I know I have going there.
Later on the brothers there. They informed me that
		

			If you want, you know, very good quality knowledge and you want to be able to find better
opportunities to learn, yes, we advise you to go to Saudi Arabia. So that's when the past started
towards Saudi Arabia to. So how long were you in? So you're in Sudan for how many years? Altogether?
Then because I went back there after I graduated Yes, for about four years altogether, but in the
beginning, about a year old, a lot of young. Okay, so you went to Saudi Arabia? Obviously to Medina
first, that would have been I mean, as far as the study is concerned, or no, actually, it didn't. It
wasn't that easy. Awesome. What happened is that my, some of my teachers there and my friends, there
		

			were some of them were from the students of chiffon Bezer Rahim Allah. So during that time when I
went there, and first I couldn't get to Riyadh where he was because he wouldn't have to travel
during those days. I mean, now it's easier, but you couldn't do in those days. So one time when the
ship he came to Mecca, it was I was in Mackay, it hurt and I went there a second time. And to meet
the ship, with this recommendation I had for him from his students in Sudan. So when you heard the
recommendation, and it's actually a very interesting story, what how it happened is because when I
went in, and the chef who was very helpful used to love to help people. So ramola, so he used to
		

			come. And when I when I was at the scene, there was this guy sitting there with all these papers
about this, you know, stack. No, no, no, I'm not joking is this big? And remember, he was talking to
a sister from France. She was getting on the phone asking about different questions he would answer.
So when he finished, you know, the guy would talk was talking to me, we read the letters to him. So
what happened is, I was hesitant. I said, if I give him a paper, he will read it for two weeks. As I
said, I'm just not going to go, I started to go back. And I said, just try it. And then maybe we'll
read it. You know, maybe not. It can't hurt. Yeah, exactly. So I went in, I gave the paper. And she
		

			had he really loves it's an easy thing to ship with medica, both from Sudan, he really the best, he
really loves him. You know, he used to be his driver, and one of his students would have you. So he
has a very close relationship with Him. The guy took the paper that I had from Sudan, he took it and
he put it on the bottom like this. I mean, the stack is Yes. After ship got off the phone, he took
it from the bottom, Allahu Akbar. And he said to him,
		

			you know, ship with mine from the Sudan. And he read the he read the tisski of the recommendation.
And I really believe that, that maybe the recommendation is a little, you know, embellished, as we
say, yeah. I didn't really deserve it was in there. But the shift if you saw him Rahimullah, his
face lit up. Yes. And he started smiling, but I've never seen him smile as big, you know, all my
lessons. I've seen him you know, I've never seen him smile this big. And he said, No, and where is
he? Where is he? So I said, this is I'm here. And I came back and I kissed him on his forehead. And
he said, you know, also one of the things he would do, he would write the recommendation or help
		

			you, but he would have to come back maybe a week or two later, because there's a lot of people in
front of you. So he wrote the recommendation right there as everybody else was waiting. Wow. He told
me No way. Now, I'm Della. And he started to write it to Dotto Hadith and MIPCOM. Because that's
what the guy from Sudan thought was a good idea. And I said no chef, actually, I said, I want to go
to the University of Medina and Medina. So So what he did during that time, is he
		

			wrote immediately to the head of university that time when she started our booth, that time he wrote
to him a recommendation. And for me to get accepted into the University of Medina.
		

			When he did this, I took it there, the chef said something to me. And I said that he said, If you
don't, it doesn't work out for you there. He said, Come back to Marriott and I will make a visa for
your residence visa. So you can see now is with me and Rihanna. And I said I wish I had done that,
you know, because these that would have been Yes.
		

			I found a lot of hair later in Medina, they obviously I got accepted with the scheme from this year,
from the fall of last month and bust of a loss of Panama Thailand. I can accept the University of
Medina, what program did you enter there? Okay, when I first went, I was able to speak Arabic and
understand Arabic very good, I'm there because my wife is and for her experiences in Sudan and
Sudan. I traveled around the Arab world so my Arabic was not bad when it came to understanding and
it came to reading excuse me, I came into standing speaking, reading and writing I was very weak
with so I started from level one in the Arabic program there and what I did
		

			I some of the steps that just start from Level Two because you are because it's too good for level
one. I also one of my goals is not just my reading and writing to become strong. Perhaps in the
future if I want to teach this if I go back to America as you learn from level one, it's much easier
to teach obviously certainly I've studied so I say level one all the way to the end and there was a
way to prolong even for 30 years it was a two year program we could prolong a third year to get a
fifth level in and that's what I did so I took three years at the beginning and I studied Arabic
there and I'm dead some Arabic good enough and I was always you know with the and the circles of the
		

			mushiya for the other scholars in the prophets masa, Lisa to Salaam and him and other places in
Medina. So did you receive a certificate or some we they call it a diploma. We considered an
associate's degree which is in Arabic or first of all learning Arabic as as a
		

			as a second language, that's the first thing I got. And then I went to the College of Hadith after
that.
		

			I was sick in the beginning for like the first year and a half there. So when I went back to the
normal fee, I was singing bass was dead at that time I came along. So I went back to New Movie I
wanted to change because they said you can't change after one week, and I'm a year and a half. Yes.
So I went back to New move to shake up the disease on a shift. And I looked up to him, and I
requested from him, that he helped me on what to change now to explain to him the reasons for the
change. So he wrote to me also to the same shifts, I did, I bought the same header at the University
for me to change to the to the college. So then I made the change to another college. So I could
		

			start with a fresh start from the College of Dell on a solid Dean. So I graduated from there from
the college that was the dean
		

			with a BA, Islamic Studies from there. And then that was a nine years after the two colleges and the
Arabic program. I was there for nine years. I want to stay for an extra year. So I could finish some
of the classic or classical texts of fifth and what have you, outside of the university. So I stayed
with some of the scholars there and I finished different things there for them. So I actually stayed
in Medina, for 10 years during this time. I'm there for Hamdulillah. So now, since that time, and
since you're, you know, 100 are seeking of knowledge in Sudan and in Saudi Arabia, in the Medina,
what kinds of briefly because we're about to run out of time. Okay. Dao activities that you've been
		

			involved in, okay. When I graduated, I was you know, reluctant where do I go back to America or to
Sudan? And my whole family went to San started Arabia, yes, but I want to go somewhere, we'll be
closer to one of our families. So we decided, you know, that America might be difficult because, you
know, when it comes to raising children there, even though Tao was you know, being between a place
where I'm from, you know, and helping the Muslims there, I'd be much more effective obviously, I
know that yes. But my children don't speak English by the way the Arabic because the mother took the
mother's language and we're trying to wish now but their main tongue is Arabic. You know, it's
		

			easier in this part of the world to raise the children so we decided to go to Sudan. When I was in
Sudan, I started teaching there in a school Islamic studies in English and also it's not mysterious
Arabic and some of them no school so I taught in two schools there and I was giving a lot of
lectures in Arabic Okay, with an Arabic and both English right and also I was given a whole bunch of
Joomla I have their television shows their students TV station Very good. All right. And we're for
sure about out of time now a producer is telling me but right now are you in the Emirates you also
teaching Islamic Studies and Arabic and one of the schools here i ticket okay, what's going on? I
		

			decided to make a change I want it to be easy for my family to come from the US it's easier for them
to come here to the UAE so what did I decide to take a job here I had an offer to teach Islamic
studies in English
		

			almost with teaching some classes in Arabic and at a school here in debate. So I've been here now
for about four months doing that Islamic studies in English at school. Brother Thank you very much.
It's been a fantastic story and a very fascinating story. May Allah reward you and strengthen you in
in your life and in your future. I
		

			really will. I will hate you out of time because I'd like to continue this more, but on behalf of
Sharjah TV and now programming Sam Today we would like to thank our guests brother Abdul Rahim and,
and myself I'm Muhammad Newby as Salaam alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh