1 on 1 with Imam Omar Suleiman

Bilal Assad

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The speakers discuss the diversity of their culture and the importance of learning and staying true to their beliefs. They share personal experiences with religion and express their desire to study religion together. The rise of Islam and the importance of protecting identities and privacy are emphasized. The need for people to be strong and engaged in politics is also emphasized. The virtual summit covers personal matters, including COVID-19 and a recent trip to China, and the success of their recent trip to Hong Kong.

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Salam Alaikum Amen are we close to

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recover? Yes How are you? Good how long lost brothers alive actually common handler now found that handled in smooth let

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me nearby Let me shake Dr. Omar Suleiman you never called me

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my brother

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and I sat and it's a pleasure to do this always interview with you. I've always been waiting for my brother,

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Dr. Omar Suleiman.

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Let's start

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well first of all, masha Allah, you're well known and renowned around the world for Hamdulillah.

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And you're very influential figure, an important figure for this ummah, have seen a lot of your work. Wherever there has been a community problem. You've been there the first one

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and you've been there about as I've seen you to,

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you know, extinguish any fire that would harm the community that will, whether it's in the US or anywhere around the world.

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We always see you in the forefront. Michelle,

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make me to your good opinion, Jana.

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So many people get inspired by my friend,

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Dr. Omar Suleiman.

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Tell us about your background. Where are you from?

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What's your ethnicity?

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So I think resources for all the beautiful words

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don't deserve them. But may Allah bless you they come from a beautiful heart so I'm Jamal, Al Jamila illegitimate Zack Allah her beautiful person so you see beauty and last pass I bless you and continue to protect your heart and protect your tongue and guide you always along I mean

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you know it's interesting I always had a long was like racially ambiguous my entire life I was racially even as a de racially ambiguous it was it's like followed me my entire life. So my parents were Palestinian that have been an honor but I mean, mother, may Allah have mercy on hers from Nablus

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from the family of Hashem, she's actually a direct descendant of Jaffa, I'm gonna be talking about the water and also she had the, the wings of Jaffa over her bed and then like going all the way down to her from Sudan, Rasul Allah, from the village of the Prophet sallallaahu says my mother and she resembled she had Grace Subhanallah that was unreal. So it was it was beautiful knowing that from my mother, may Allah have mercy on her. Her grandfather was the last Mufti under the earth money and fellow steam of the money, passion. And Rahim Allah wrote many books,

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and Mufti Muneeb has is one picture online. There's a lot of Haber,

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in his nature,

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inspired a lot of all and people, my father may last pass out preserve him, was born Hamdulillah, before the State of Israel existed five years prior to Israel's establishment in Philistine is still alive, he's still alive, but Allah preserve him and continue to grant him goodness he is from an area from the outskirts of food come from a very famous famous family of America, which also impels us back in the West Bank.

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But his lineage you know is very racially diverse as well so much I'm a lot of you know, Philistine is made up of multiple peoples over time, right the accumulations of lineages and and people that have settled the land that handed them over centuries. So my father has a very rich background. I think people are confused sometimes when they see Palestinians because like, even in my family, I have cousins, brother and sister were one cousin, you know, is he looks functionally like an African American in the United States with an afro and his sister would be a redhead with blue eyes. Amazing. So there's a lot of richness in his lineage that have the law in terms of the diversity of

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it. So I'm

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sorry to cut you off. That's an interesting point. So your father his indigenous Palestinian? Yes. But he's got African in him? Is that what you're saying? Or all sorts of African and all sorts of things? Yeah, when I when I did my DNA test, it was like, do parent one parent two and like his was like all over

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all over a lot of African and Middle East and 100. But my mother was was like, very, like a tiny area sees Xiaomi through and through, you know, so because we were talking with my friends and we can see a little bit of African look in you. Not too much. But a little bit. We all some of us thought you probably African American, but that's so so from his side, there's actually that's why I always like joke with some of the brothers from Africa. So 8%, Senegalese for Somali, Senegalese, Mali, Sudan, and I was in my childhood, my second family was a Sudanese family. But where it gets funny is that now first of all, in Faustina, you know, that's, I mean, you're in Lebanon as well.

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You'll find like I said that whole spectrum right of Palestinians and stuff like that. But I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. And if you read about New Orleans, Louisiana, you'll read about a people known as the Creoles.

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The Creoles Creole, so if you search up what creels are,

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I and my brother look like your average Creole in New Orleans. So growing up, no one ever thought I was anything but a Creole

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growing up in schools in Louisiana, so I went to public school my whole life.

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Like I didn't stand out as an Arab American or anything like that I grew up as a typical New Orleans kid, a typical Louisiana kid. In that sense, so Creoles would just be light skinned African Americans, that's how they'd be called right or whatever it is, okay, there's a French influence there. It's an interesting setup, right? So it was just perfectly meant for me Subhanallah in New Orleans, but my mother, may Allah have mercy on her and my father, may Allah preserve him, they were always very, like, quick to assert that Palestinian identity, which was very important. So I remember having an argument, an elementary school. My mother was really popular when she was

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healthy. She would always be very elementary because I'm from Australia. So what's elementary primary, your primary and secondary, right? So Elementary is primary. We have elementary, middle and high. Okay. Yeah. Right. So you went like Alicia, like primary school, fourth grade. Third for that 989 10 years. So my mother was the one that you started, like, make sweets for school and like, bring all sorts of things and like be very involved. So, you know, I was just known as the guy that's from where Jesus is from.

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Where Jesus is from, I would say, Omar, Omar is from where Jesus is from. So Omar, Omar, Omar Omar is from where Jesus is from that was kind of the but it was like, Yeah, whatever, Louisiana everyone's kind of there was a lot of racial ambiguity. It wasn't really a big deal.

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So you know, a lot of the racism that that you know, because it's also historic in terms of racism, like I've seen if you've heard of the kk k, I've seen Klan rallies growing up like I've actually actually got beat up by the Klan. When I was in middle school, wow, just for existing I was walking with with my best friend, who's obviously black, and we were, we were beat up just going to the grocery store to pick up like chips and salsa and stuff like that. And walking back to his apartment is beat up brass, Knuckles stomp on everything. So it's kinda like I knew that reality and I also knew the reality of the Palestinians.

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With my parents, my parents were both very active on Philistine so my dad is professor, Distinguished Professor mashallah and amazing professor, professor in what he was specifically a professor in chemistry but he's an encyclopedia he knows he literally someone who could talk religion history, anything within he's taught multiple subjects. I shall intelligence in your academic.

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I'm not even a fraction. He still makes me look silly, you know, while preserving but Subhanallah he he used to just say, I don't like cutting people off. Because I forget a little bit. And that's that's interesting, because when you saying Palestinians, I always look the Palestinians that highly educated people. They really make sure that they stay on the ball. They don't. Yeah, so I think any country, you know, their own country, they can build it within a few weeks and be one of the most advanced special, it's in the DNA, right? Like where most Indians have to fend for themselves. And there is a strong emphasis on learning. You're learning your subjects with proficiency.

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And you know, if you really want to go down a tangent with my father, he actually taught in Madina Munawwara before the jammer Islamia was there, okay. And he was teaching in schools, all the schools at that point were named after Sahaba. So he taught in Osama bin Zayed you know, they didn't have it and he lived right next to hurt. And he was teaching a wide range of subjects and he was 1920 years old.

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60s went to hedge every year. New shoe, Mohammed Amina Shin PT Yes. Hello Sherman bows, Rahim Allah knew, I mean knew them studied within his very close to shekel name and Iraqi Malanga last Imam was a drummer who passed away not too long ago. He was just a genius mashallah, he is a genius. May Allah preserve him I still ask him questions still no, and he was your first teacher of Dean and Islam, everything. morals and character everything now and he was very hard on us with our education. My mother, may Allah have mercy on her

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was the the poet's she was the

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you know, she had an angelic presence. She struggled with a lot of sickness. He struggled with cancer, she struggled with multiple strokes. She went into a coma, you know, sometimes for an extended period of time. unresponsive she still came back Subhanallah multiple times in our childhood. And this woman was the most selfless you

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human being I've till today ever met in my life. I don't remember my mom ever having an FC moment. You know, like a moment where it was about her. I don't remember it. You know, how do I actually sometimes thing is like, oh, everyone talks you know has these glowing stories? He's, you know, at the end of the day you're talking about your mom like, okay, when I talked to people that knew my mom like I've never known a human being in Santa like that, like that never backbite it would never talk about people would never be about herself was always committed to something greater than ourselves. She would sit and she would pray and she would, you know, write these poems about Bosnia,

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about Philistine about Kashmir. In Arabic. She was a poet actually guess where she graduated from UB? Beirut.

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Okay. She was actually a graduate in Arabic literature and poetry from Beirut. And then she graduated in finance in the United States of America law. So she had two degrees, her first degree was actually in the middle of the shot was shared from Beirut, and she would write all this poetry, which I'm translating right now, you know, I'm working on translating, translating a mother's work, yes, to leave a legacy, the first poem

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that I found in her book, I opened it up just to start translating.

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Recently, the first poem was called a file for listing

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which will just tell us so working on it right now, can you tell us a line or two way it can run in the air or, you know, I've quoted Subhan Allah, the the, another poem, another line, that really fits the moment and she's talking about a file full of steam that's not in that particular type of steam. And I'm an OB philosophy in about two, or three equivalent oral disorder to where he can imati Allahu Akbar, so that

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so that idea of the Palestinian diaspora were rooted in Palestine. The Palestinians are everywhere, but they only bout to allow it. They only prostrate themselves to allies, they found the Great, the great obstacles that people have promised them. They have not submitted themselves to the supposedly mighty enemy, they submit themselves to Allah subhanaw taala.

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I read a poem from her. I said April in Bosnia, I went to Bosnia two years ago,

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actually read it. And it's online. I read it in Arabic, and I translated it at a genocide tribunal in Bosnia two years ago.

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She was someone somehow who was dedicated to South Africa dedicated to poetry,

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activism, everything. I mean, she was just about everything but herself, despite great pain that she suffered, as Pamela was like, it was as if she was never suffering, but she was always connected to other people's suffering. And that's when I kind of really understood the idea that if you're so committed to other people's suffering, then Allah subhanaw taala gifts you with the reduction of your own. If you live that life of constantly curing others, then you actually heal in the process. So even she was going through trauma and turbulence her whole life. I mean,

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I don't know a woman that was more test its power, just test test test, another health issue, another stroke and other I mean, she lost her ability to see she was partial in hearing, partial and speech at some point.

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had difficulty walking had I mean, just one point she's walking in, she can't see, you know, like, how long was one after the other after the other. But she was so connected to other people suffering that it was like she was never suffering. It sounds like that. Most of your life, you've witnessed your mother going through sicknesses and whole childhood. So your whole childhood, this is how you know your mother to be.

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And yet

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she

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continued to think of other people suffering. Yeah. That's very interesting show Hamid because right now we can see so many people due to the plights of our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

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They are now reading the Quran, because they want to know what is the secret about you people? That despite all the suffering,

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you're extremely strong and you can still see hope and you see victory and life in a different way to the rest of the world. Why did your mother

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feel she needed to look after other people when she herself was suffering? Getting a cause a doubt

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about anything?

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It was a combination of things number one and a laugh about her connection to the Quran was absolutely amazing. You know, like she actually wrote about this as well and I spoke about how much she finished on her last time alone. She finished the 14 times she was doing half the pot on a day to medical her her connection to the Quran was out of this world.

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I remember my mom in hijab more than I remember her outside of hijab because she was in her salon clothes almost all the time.

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Reading making your HERSA lotto How was like to have like there's a lot of the haunted city gophers a lot to do house like an hour

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Word felt like you know, it was like just long prayers that she had.

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And there's definitely something that Allah has that opened in her heart.

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That was that was just divine opening for her. In essence, there was gratitude. She didn't take a day for granted. So how was she because she was supposed to have died so many times when we were kids, that she was just so grateful that she was able to live to see us grow. And that was what

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she feels like it's an extension on her release of life.

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Subhanallah even I mean, I think I know, I told you this before.

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But you know, even me being born, you know, when people say you'd be grateful for your life, he said, 100 enough for your own life?

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Yes, you know, even me being born was not supposed to happen. So how am i because she was at that point, having health complications, and she was told after my brother only had one sibling after my brother was born, that she'd never be able to have kids again. How many siblings? Have you got just one, I'm the only ones and a brother older brother, your brother's still alive. I'm the older brother, some 101 that

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I don't want to give up his identity.

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I'm trying to

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Yeah. But um, you know,

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the doctor told her in the hospital

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or in one of the checkups, subsequent checkups, you'll never be able to have kids again.

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A lot. He, She laughed in his face. And she said, You're not got

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I got goosebumps. And the

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amount that was when her she says I was whether, you know, I thought that she lost her mind. I thought she was kind of you know, like, shocked by the amount that by the moment. And she didn't you know, she was just reacting irrationally. But she said, she said it with such peace and conviction to the doctor, she left us if you're not God, you're not gonna decide. And then she got pregnant with me. And then once she got pregnant with me,

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she lost a lot of blood, she had a blood transfusion after blood transfusion after blood transfusion. This is the 1980s where you're not able to scan blood. HIV scares all sorts of things, right? So the thought was, even if I was born, I was going to be born with all sorts of diseases and Hamdulillah. Till now, nothing has ever been discovered in my blood or any type of disease that was transferred through that, despite the amount of blood that was pumped into her just to make the pregnancy work. So when I say it hamdulillah

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like, it holds an entirely different meaning for me, because I'm like, I'm alive because of the conviction because of the opinion of my mom. I live because of the opinion of my mom, right? Allah made the opinion of my mom the means by which I was brought into existence here. So when I think about purpose, when I think about like, gratitudes, and how am I gonna go back to that?

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I'm like, like, like, that's what that's what when they get to like, anomala right for her husband, or my little Mahananda, where Zuckermann hyphenator said when we have to look at our level of high school, or to what good was unreal.

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I watched her my whole life.

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Struggle, just struggle. It was half half, half the time was in the hospital. And she never wanted us to feel like we didn't have a normal life.

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She forced to smile even during chemotherapy. And like no, like, it was just an she had a smile that was like

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when you say someone who always smiled. I mean, she always smiled. Always had that woman always smiled. There isn't a single picture I have with my mom for not smiling smile even when she was as fine as some of the old black and white pictures and there is not a picture of her that exists. That has huge smile on her face. And it was infectious. You know? Subhanallah and it was it was a little she was pleased with the loss of hundreds on and actually had someone like was having these debates like like this debate and was like Do you think your mom was an angel? I don't think she was an angel. I think people It wasn't an infectious also hereditary because you always have a smile on

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your face.

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Not always not like her not like her but somehow I mean if I if I do have any natural tendency to smile, it's definitely from from my mom. That was her her natural response to of how old was she? When she passed away?

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56 And how old were you?

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I was just

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I was just at 21.

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She passed away she between

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my my cats of Kitab and my wedding.

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So we performed on a car in my wife

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and

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our wedding was supposed to be like we performed on a cow in February wedding was supposed to be in January coming up.

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And she died in September suddenly and

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Me and my fiance at the time, my wife at the time, we're on our way home to pick her up, to take to take her to go out wedding dress shopping, and she collapsed in the closet and died.

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You know what the Prophet sallallaahu Selim says?

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Either method no Adam, aka Pamela limitless. When the Son of Adam dies, actions are cut off except for three things and one of them is a righteous son, or righteous child

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who supplicates for them.

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You know, I'm looking at this, almost this divine miracle that the doctor tells her you're not going to have any children.

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Everything about her from a human perspective will say to you that there's no chance.

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But it's as if Allah as if subhanho wa taala.

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As if he was saying, yes, but not yet. There is someone that needs to come into this world

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that's going to be of benefit and through my favor. So Allah works in great wisdoms.

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Honestly, when I feel like sometimes I'm like, you know, I'm a mediocre version of my mom and my dad handed it out with the combination I hope of some of it I hope I can do in Charlottetown some good but

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neither their standards and Allah bless them both. Subhanallah I was I was blessed shift like, I know a lot of people have to find what righteousness looks like I have I have the treasures in my home. I have it all in front of me. And all by me. I didn't have to struggle.

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Wanting to make an amazing legacy she left behind.

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Do you have children of your own? 100 103? Three? Yeah.

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And

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we named our oldest after after.

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She's a spitting image of her of your mother. Yeah. My oldest is me.

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And she's 14 now. 14. I love preserved by American three daughters.

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Two daughters one boy. I've made for these. And we have Abdullah Abdullah nominee you mentioned before Allah, Allah make among the righteous

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Sheikh Amara,

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the youth of today, you were raised in a western society. You were raised, people thought that students thinking that you are. What did you say was quite real Creel?

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Was there a point where students and friends around you noticed, okay, or realize that where your actual ethnicities from your religion is? And after that, what changed? What did anything change? So it's interesting some how long I think whoever like talk through this in an interview, so I'll kind of I'll divide it between elementary and middle school, okay, primary, secondary, so up until fifth grade, and then my middle school years, which are six to eighth grade.

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My elementary school it was, you know, when I was really young,

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something that I bring into the picture. So I, you know, my mom would come she'd be involved. My father, may Allah bless him would chaperone on trips when my mom was in the hospital, he did not want us to feel like we were left out. So he dropped his work and come and like, take a field trip to like, the milk factory or something like that, you know, it'd be the only dad that was there. Everyone else had their mom and he would come because my mom was an auto, just enough, so we didn't feel deprived. So they were very active, right, and my life in that sense.

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Also, in my elementary school, and I had a few schools, I moved a few times. But every one of my elementary schools was racially diverse.

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So I brought it in, and I was still at that point.

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You know, really proud of my identity as a Muslim proud of my identity as a Palestinian and whatever it is. My middle school years, my entire school was African American. So it wouldn't have made sense to make myself an outcast. Alright, so I didn't really talk about it. People ask that told them people knew my dad, they knew my mom, and people come to my house and stuff like that. But it wasn't like something that I wasn't wearing like a Palestine hoodie or something like that. So, Creel, whatever doesn't matter. I just didn't want to talk about that. Because at that point,

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I wasn't proud to be a Muslim.

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I wasn't proud to be a Muslim. I didn't want people to even know I was Muslim. I didn't care about my Islam at that point. I was angry because my mother was sick. And I was trying to figure out like what was happening and I was questioning a lot in middle school, unfortunately.

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So I was a basketball player. I actually show you pictures and like

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But I was I was in I was in a basketball, I was in the sports I was, you know, Hamden, I was

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socially not awkward. I was fine. But the Islam part and by extension, the Palestinian part was just kind of something like, I'm gonna leave that at home. And I didn't really care much for it. So people just assume he's another he's another creole or biracial kid is not the nets. And as you said, is that because of not making sense of the suffering? I couldn't Yeah, I was I was, I was very numb. At that point to like the idea of God and religion. I didn't really need to think about it. None of my friends were Muslim schools like

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so that's why I'm big proponent of Islamic school, by the way, I went to public school Oreos, because I'm like, I know what it's like. I mean, you literally can just become one with your environment. You know,

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not worry about it.

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I was I was a pretty overgrown teenager. So I'll give you

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what that means. Is that in sixth grade, yeah, I was five to no five for iPhones. Do you guys use feet? What's your map that we use centimeters? So you're gonna have to do the conversion rate is five feet four.

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And then within that same year,

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I grew up and became six foot two, masha Allah in grade six. Yeah. So I grew up all my clothes, was great for basketball six foot, like, I was like, my, I looked like a grown man.

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Like 11 centimeters. Yeah, it was it was like I shot up. So it worked. Well worked great for basketball. And my dad wasn't too happy about me outgrowing all my clothes all of a sudden, like, completely changed all my clothes out, right? Because I couldn't fit anything anymore.

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And

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seventh grade, I started, like, asking questions about religion started asking questions about faith and God seventh grade. I was a weird 1213 year old at that point. Because I was 13. I had facial hair, and I was six foot two.

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If you met me, you would have thought I was 18. So I'm not going to talk about how I drove a car at 13 years old. But I did.

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You know, people, people assume that was 18. I talked

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at a higher level than my age. And my grade. I would I would debate. The custodians, you know, in the school about religion and faith and like what was happening in life, I remember talking to my assistant principal, spending a long time just hours just talking to him on like, faith and culture and history and Palestine and stuff like that, at that point. I'm starting to like come into like this argumentative mode and like trying to find myself right. As a teenager.

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My best friend from first grade brother named Joshua.

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Joshua, my height. All right, he's a football player. I'm the basketball player. He's big guy. You know, he's like a tank machine, you know, also looks way older than his age. So he and I decide to start looking into religion together. Joshua's uncle's a pastor. Uh huh. We're like, let's look into religion together. Of course, my dad has no idea any of this is happening. And we're like, alright, let's read into Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, whatever. Like, let's just see what's out there. Let's study together without telling people because we want to, we want to make sense of the world around the site. So Mattawa dini? Halevi like had an amazing a literal effect on me. Yeah.

00:28:32--> 00:29:09

person is on the religion of a friend. Yeah. So we were like, Alright, let's do this together. So we're, we read the Bible front to back. I'm gonna do that hemo wash. If I miss. Yes, we will remember how I did that. Rama Talalay. Okay. You know where his famous debate with Jimmy Swaggart was Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I was going to school at the time. Okay. All right. Did you attend that name is that my father, my father in law, part of the organizers of that debate between Swaggart and I had to do that at Louisiana State University. LSU. Yeah, so I was still too young to really grasp what's happening in the world. It was barely born when this is happening. And

00:29:10--> 00:29:20

I get I get the choice, which is like a compilation of his books and stuff. I have that book. It's called the choice of choice. Yeah. So I'm like reading the Bible front to back. I'm like reading the books.

00:29:22--> 00:29:35

But I did that in the 80s. I grew up on him is what I what some people used to call him the Elvis Presley of comparative religions is very famous, the popstar of that Yeah, yeah, or himolla.

00:29:36--> 00:29:53

Um, like, you know, getting really serious about not religion, stuff like that, and what am I going to do and how do I make sense of the world? So Malcolm X movie comes out around that time to like when x came out, like it was popular to be Muslim, and African American communities like in black communities, people were wearing the X

00:29:54--> 00:30:00

chain X clothes. They had the flea market, which is like an outdoor mall.

00:30:00--> 00:30:18

market using the term flea market in Australia now just like an outdoor market, in Louisiana, people are buying X chains. Malcolm is very popular now. So it's like, Alright, everyone wants to be Malcolm X now, right? So it's like, alright, let's read about Malcolm X Autobiography of Malcolm X incredible book to read, even at that age. So,

00:30:20--> 00:30:22

to make a very, very long story short,

00:30:23--> 00:30:25

Joshua and I decided to become Muslim

00:30:27--> 00:30:27

as eighth graders,

00:30:29--> 00:30:30

and that's from reading the Bible.

00:30:32--> 00:31:08

Looking chorusing questions Bible, alchemist comes at that. Yeah, we're like combination, a combination of electrical locks. So my parents don't know any of this is happening. They just know that Josh was my best friend. I'm always at his place. He's always at my place. Joshua becomes use of Alright, so you're both in what grade? Again? We're in eighth grade at this point. Yeah, you're right. Yes. You're about 1314 years. Yeah, exactly. So Joshua becomes muscle with me. And I kind of renew them my interest in some but I also feel this burden of like, I've got to be the best person possible for use if I've got to teach him how to write so like, I've got to become like a chef. No,

00:31:08--> 00:31:11

no, so I've got it. I've got it. We've got to change our whole lives around.

00:31:13--> 00:31:29

And hamdulillah Youssef is a brother to me till now. Like he's our third brother me still a Muslim? Oh, yeah. We just did. We just did Amara together last month and Hamdulillah he and his wife looked into STEM together he becomes a Muslim you obviously embrace Islam. Brother Yousef is my brother. So he's,

00:31:30--> 00:32:08

he has a brother to my brother as well. And my father looks at him like a son. I mean, he calls my my dad pops, like, one of us. Amazing, amazing, because I've got a similar story. And I was in year eight. Same thing happened to me except not as deep as yours. Mine was, I just flipped the coin in the model. And then my friend Craig. He says tails, and I said, tails, and then I got it right and guessing it about 10 times. And then I thought, I can use this as a fake miracle. I said to him, I can guess it anytime you want. And then when I guessed that it really worked, he said, How do you do it? I said, Well, that's because I'm fasting. And I believe in God and He's giving me this power to

00:32:08--> 00:32:16

show you that Islam is right. And he became a Muslim. But instead of like your friend uses for all this time, he became Muslim for about three days.

00:32:17--> 00:32:20

Updating folks didn't swear and then he goes

00:32:21--> 00:32:49

Subhanallah there's difference how it was also Allah Salam shakaama, he at a young age reminded me that as if when Allah subhanaw taala wants to bring goodness out of someone from a young age, they mature very quickly. That's how the Prophets when Hamas was Selim at the age of seven, age of nine. And you in as young as you write this remarkable thing happened to amazing, not many young people, but what do young people doing these days I see graders and I'm like,

00:32:50--> 00:33:20

like, I'm pretty sure like Subhanallah at that time, I was, you know, thinking in a different way in that kind of stuff. And obviously the generations but you know, there aren't 100 on and it teaches me not to diminish your discount, you know, when you see someone who's young and who shows a particular type of inclination don't belittle that person you don't know what's there like there's there might be some kid that's a 1314 year old and I think what do they know but exactly all right. Exactly. Look the intelligence match on what you read. continuously check on a labor clicker, so we

00:33:22--> 00:33:23

so use it becomes Muslim.

00:33:24--> 00:33:30

And hello, Arbonne obviously becomes a lot stronger, a lot closer, tighter. And then,

00:33:31--> 00:34:09

you know, he really becomes a member of the family and have done that till now a member of the family and over this time, Masha, Allah, Islam spread through his family as well. After some resistance, his aunt Rahim Allah became Muslim, that while she had cancer, and while she was dying, she was only Muslim for a few days, basically, just Harlem and Allah gifted her with a slice of Harlem, his mom, who I love dearly, you know, it's like an auntie, obviously. But she became Muslim, and he was an ombre with us as well. So we're talking decades later, we're still doing all that together. And there's families are one and have been another by me. And so really proud of him. He's

00:34:09--> 00:34:19

a brother to me. So at that point, you asked about, like, where the identity part comes. So suddenly, in eighth grade, we're like, both like, we're like, we're gonna be like Malcolm X, we're like going down to the whole school.

00:34:21--> 00:34:36

Here's the part where you might not want me to name people. But the school that I went to was famous for rappers, a lot of the famous hip hop artists today. I went to school with in fact, a guy played basketball with became an NBA. first round draft pick. Alright, so

00:34:37--> 00:34:43

we started giving Dalits everyone, some of the famous rappers today took shahada with us when we were 14 years old.

00:34:44--> 00:34:47

I mean, I don't mind if you name them, it's up to you. No, no, no, no.

00:34:48--> 00:34:59

Because I don't want to direct people that some of the music is completely out there. And some of them are not publicized or some some of them have in the hint that in their music, but and he would take shahada with us at that point. So shake the school with that young man

00:35:00--> 00:35:16

Yeah, 14 years old. We're like giving that we became a downward train in the school. Like he and I are like the only two Muslims were just given down right and left and of course, again, the Malcolm X feel. It's also if you ever read about a person who was very influential in my life, and I think is one of the most

00:35:18--> 00:35:22

underappreciated Muslim figures in Western history, Imam Jimena. I mean,

00:35:24--> 00:35:36

Imam Jamil, I mean, his name was h rap Brown. They say rap was named after him. H. Brown H ROM was was the leader of the Black Panther Party in the United States. He was part of Martin Luther King Junior's,

00:35:37--> 00:35:47

SMC SNCC before that his organization, he was one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America. Right, and then again, the Black Panther Party, he was the head of it.

00:35:48--> 00:35:51

And he became Muslim. Imam Jamil, I mean,

00:35:53--> 00:36:23

the school that I went to was the school that Imam Jamil went to, and he's in prison now may last patata grant him a way out on false charges of murder the person that that that committed the murder that he's in prison for, it's just part of the outrageous system in the United States. The person that committed the murder that he's in prison for has already confessed to that murder and a separate case. But they tried to frame him and this was before he was even Muslim because he was the head of the Black Panthers, which became an outlawed organization, a militant black organization. I knew Imam Jamil as a kid. My school was named.

00:36:24--> 00:36:40

Or he went to that school, the team name where the Panthers because he went to that school, the Black Panthers, the Panthers, there's the Imam Jamil sentiment, as well that existed in our school. So it's it's a pretty historic if you look up if you look into McKinley,

00:36:42--> 00:37:09

middle McKinley High and Baton Rouge is pretty historic schools. You'll see a lot of the famous again, hip hop artists and celebrities went there growing up and you can you can do the calculation estimation of devices where you were among these types of people. Yeah, and SubhanAllah. Again, we just went full into that mode. And that's really where like I was, I had really embraced my whole identity like with with full force, you know, subhanAllah I remember how you said in the beginning that

00:37:10--> 00:37:58

you kept your religion and identity aside because of the suffering. Yeah, which you couldn't make sense of. And at what point do you think or what made you change from that to finally coming to terms with it being so motivated? How did you deal with this completely unrelated but I'll tell you exactly when my conviction came into me I was paddle on that it handed it up. Never lots that happens a lot anyway. It was actually no syllabus a lot and some Slauson hell no doubt this not as profitable not Mike I read about him sell a lie or something. I connect to people other human model, right. My favorite genre to read before I studied Assam was biographies and autobiographies, they

00:37:58--> 00:38:10

all have artists or not connects. The car was so deeply transformational, and I was like spell this beautiful. And then that added the bullet proofs of Tophet

00:38:11--> 00:38:17

at just the character level amount, I was like, There's no way this man is not a prophet of Allah, Allah, Allah has

00:38:18--> 00:38:35

just his, his struggles, the amount of times he had an opportunity to take the easy way out that if he was insincere. So I'll tell you exactly what my thought process went now, at some point reading about the prophets of Allah and assembler,

00:38:36--> 00:39:12

I first came to the conclusion, this man who really believed it is salt was summoned what he had, whether it's from God or not as the second layer, but there is no doubt that he was sincere Solahart himself to this belief that he believed that what he was getting was from Allah Now the second part was establishing that it is indeed from Allah. And that's where building did the new board approach should prophethood era does report and miracles of the Quran and then comparing her answer what else? So it's like, no, this is this is from Allah subhanaw taala He is also the last several marks and so it was it was just a complete conviction. Who it was a little luck. So the love it was seven.

00:39:12--> 00:39:34

And I fell in love with him, but his thoughts with Sudan, and I've been in love with him ever since the whole hour. And honestly, like, I was like, this is this is it. This is what I felt like, I almost felt like the prophets I saw them had come to me in the hospital and talk to me next to my mom's bed and made sense of everything. And like told me, like, you know, you know, I remember when I'm there, it's six inches.

00:39:35--> 00:39:59

I remember you know, as you all started feeling like I was having a first person conversation with the Prophet signs and then it really started to feel that way like he's talking me through his own tribulations and how the Prophet slicin That was able to still continue so everything just fell into place once I once that piece of the puzzle assault are already believed that one God by the way, hallelujah. So, Toby, he never left even where I was angry, bitter. I believe that

00:40:00--> 00:40:34

Gotta still understand what's happening. I was like, I don't know about religion alone. I don't know about the dogma, you know, agnosticism is is a cop out. It really is kappa. So like you there's probably a god, but I don't know what he does. But Newmar. For us, it's a cop out. It's a convenient way of saying, clearly, there is something. But that same god that's capable of creating all of this didn't bother December's guidance at a tavern, dark 10 That's a very lazy cop out and I took the cop out. Because I was young, and it was the, the copper, or the timer, I thought would be the comfort of the time. Hallelujah once it was like very clear to me.

00:40:35--> 00:40:46

Like that was the missing piece of because also the law school license was the missing piece of the puzzle. And once that piece was their home, they didn't look it now and get it. Now it all makes sense.

00:40:48--> 00:40:50

You had a connection within

00:40:53--> 00:41:00

I can relate to that Sheikh Ahmad, you know, everybody knows, the same thing happened to me.

00:41:01--> 00:41:04

And what what helped me stand on my own two feet.

00:41:05--> 00:41:28

I was inside the grave as he was opened, and baring my son, and the same thing. Rasulullah sallallahu sallam was in the grave burying his own son. And he said, the eyes tear and the heart misses you but will only say what pleases Allah with our tongue. It's amazing that all of us are silent did say if any of you go through grief or pain, suffering, then take on my suffering to make you feel better.

00:41:30--> 00:41:37

That's why Allah says, We have sent you a prophet who is merciful to you, whatever happens to you is a big deal to

00:41:38--> 00:41:41

Layla in law school, very glad to know.

00:41:42--> 00:42:27

So how long was from there, your transformation happened? Well, and, you know, that's where the idea of profits lysosomes death. So leaving the greatest calamity on the profit slice on the saying that when you suffer any tragedy, remember your tragedy in my death channel, coming to that place that as much as the death of my mom hurt. It doesn't hurt more than the death of the prophets myself. It is a worst tragedy. And prophets lies on Dying is worse than us losing our loved ones. And that's a hard reality. I think for a lot of people to to grasp its power. Like I love my mom, I knew my mom i There are days that she's the only driver that I really feel like I have.

00:42:29--> 00:42:30

But

00:42:32--> 00:42:38

you read about the prophets lice on them enough and it's like he actually loves you more than your parents love you.

00:42:39--> 00:42:57

He actually was really, you know, to us and that's a panel on like that Stuart and what the implications of his death and then it's how he saw SallAllahu Sallam and how we see him in response. It's like, now this craving, I got to live with my mom, I didn't get to live with the prophets.

00:42:58--> 00:42:59

I was like this craving

00:43:00--> 00:43:16

what would it be like? You go to Medina and you can still smell it in the air you can still feel it the spirit of the prophets lies on being there was like what would it have been like to be able to walk with Him to salaam to be able to sit with him have lunch with him? So like

00:43:17--> 00:43:28

I got that those moments with with my mother may Allah have mercy on her now. But I really like that that part of it there is no greater tragedy so Pamela than having missed out on that.

00:43:29--> 00:43:53

With the messenger slice Honestly, my lies which would grant that to us both Inshallah, that time, and many people don't understand this deep divine connection we have with our Creator, and why we love our Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam so much, and all the prophets before Him. Many people don't understand that until they actually become Muslim and read about him and truly immerse themselves in the life of the prophet tonight and where they start to understand why

00:43:56--> 00:43:59

something very special, only Muslims have this, about their messenger

00:44:00--> 00:44:01

Isha Homer

00:44:04--> 00:44:08

saying that you're from Palestine, and we all know currently

00:44:09--> 00:44:11

the atrocities that are happening

00:44:12--> 00:44:29

the Muslims of the world, in fact, not just Muslims, Muslims or non Muslims of the world. They've seen images that have never been seen before, on such a large scale and such clarity and live real time by different people, normal people, by children by

00:44:30--> 00:44:40

men and women. No one representing them, no spokes person, just normal people showing us these images affected billions of people around the world

00:44:41--> 00:44:43

and we feel helpless.

00:44:44--> 00:44:52

I know that you've been one of them, one of the most active people that we hear about in the world in this cause,

00:44:54--> 00:44:59

and you haven't rested one day. We're here in the UK together and I can see from the moment you you came here

00:45:00--> 00:45:19

wasn't the jetlag wasn't anything you want mentally tired, and exhausted, yet you continue to persevere and lead us in that way. May Allah Spandana strengthen you and give you the sincerity and the ability shakaama what advice can you give us? In these times? What can we do?

00:45:20--> 00:45:25

What can we not do? What can we anticipate? What is the hope? Any words from

00:45:29--> 00:45:30

Viadrina ad hoc,

00:45:31--> 00:45:46

they are clearly upon the truth. Yeah, do we have hiding a thorn in the side of their enemies lie a little harder when I'm in hydrophone. They're undeterred by those who have betrayed them, and those who have leads who are upon them.

00:45:48--> 00:45:54

And they will be that way until the command of the lock comes home chaotic and will remain that way.

00:45:55--> 00:46:04

Until a few days ago, I was thinking about this. It was the first time I thought about this hadith this way. And perhaps it can be some benefit if I can be coherent about what my thoughts are here.

00:46:05--> 00:46:47

It's like, what if I could have those qualities? If they have those qualities? If that's what's making them so special while they're holding the fort down there? How do we manifest those qualities while hitting eyelid help? unambiguous right now in the truth, this is not a time shift. This is not a time to be coward. This is not a time to be cowards. This is not a time for us to mince words, this is not a time for us to you know, oh yeah, we just want peace. And no, this is a time to insist that enough is enough. And to not mince words at all about our dedication to the freedom of our people. And I say our people because any Muslim, any anyone who cares about Philistine as a

00:46:47--> 00:46:59

Palestinian right now, it's not this is not something by nationality. You're just as Palestinian as I am, when your heart is connected to it this way. So this is not a time for us to, to mince words, or to

00:47:01--> 00:47:39

be ambiguous about where we're coming from. In regards to this whole thing. The idea we have guiding our enemies want us to get tired. That's not just true for those that are bombing our brothers and sisters, that's true for those that are trying to suppress our voices for them. They really want us to stop the idea we can fighting. And I want to disturb them as much as possible, and let them know that we're not going to stop like I know that. You know, somehow there was a quote that came from the White House. You know, Biden said that they'll fall in line about the Muslims like eventually they'll forget because that's usually what happens. We get really emotional time will come the

00:47:39--> 00:47:42

elections will come. I mean, it's me against Donald Trump.

00:47:44--> 00:48:19

Choice is pretty clear. They'll fall in line. It's like we're going to stay the course and Shawn Watson this time has to be different. This has to be different than every other thing that's happened to us in our lives. I actually do believe that this is a change in history. This is a moment in history for all of us. This is a moment that's going to be significant on your record when you meet Allah subhanaw taala What did you do when this happens? This is a moment for us because our enemy seeks a complete erasure of our people. I mean, Netanyahu is very clear in Hebrew and even sometimes in English what he wants to do this is a time where we have to be steadfast if they're if

00:48:19--> 00:48:36

they are the I do him targeting for annacone I do we are heading what I do we are doing my enemies there and I'm going to continue that course now your literal and how that holophone undeterred by those who betrayed them, and by those who hurt them, those who are their enemies.

00:48:40--> 00:48:44

You and I have spoken because we're, you know, we have that relationships panela

00:48:46--> 00:48:56

sometimes it's annoying. It's like why other Muslims? Why are people hurting? I'm trying to do something good here. I want I really want to be focused on that. No.

00:48:58--> 00:49:37

Why are you putting a knife in my side? And then my back like, let me go. Let me focus. I don't have energy. I don't want to fight Muslims right now. I really don't have any energy for this. I've gotta go this way. And so this is part of that test laying a little room and hang around. Well, I also need to be that way. You know, so how long were you tell me this all the time? Keep going. You actually use those words all the time. Keep going, keep going. Don't worry about it. Keep going Keep going. Someone says something nasty. Keep going someone that hurts. We're human beings. But when your Muslim brother attacks you and tries to twist something inside of you. You know how does keep

00:49:37--> 00:49:59

going? So liable Roman haram, forbidden it Tada. We won't be harmed by those who who hurt us, even from within our community. Now, what are those that are outward enemies? So we're not afraid or intimidated, nor are we deterred? So it was just kind of a realization a few days it was like you know what we need to manifest those qualities. We can't keep praising Reza for it.

00:50:00--> 00:50:21

qualities without trying to implement those qualities in our lives in whatever proportion we can, that Allah Subhana Allah has given to us. They're not like these people just to be admired. They're nice people to be followed. You know, there's something there, there's a special ingredient. Like chef, these people are ODM. These people are only, I mean, who can look at this man so how am I will be a

00:50:22--> 00:50:32

real hero. You know who very does granddaughter and not say like that's, that's That's not. That's these people are only the one who looked at his granddaughter and said, she is the soul of my soul.

00:50:34--> 00:50:39

It's amazing what kind of an impact just that one man has transformed

00:50:40--> 00:50:46

a long history of a stereotype against that particular look.

00:50:49--> 00:50:53

To a human look into a peaceful look into a man of leadership and

00:50:55--> 00:51:32

faith and power and strength, justice. I would love to see that man read Quran. Love to lie in his living room when he's bringing it on with it. Yeah. I'd love to like see what he's been doing all these years to generate that because that's something special. Like you don't even have to guess you know that man is a man of PM, you know that man's a man of Quran you know, that man's a man who was connected to the massage and before they were destroyed. I heard from some of the brothers even there and because of that he was the new data data where he would be someone that would go and call people to them all the time, like Tom comforting them as comforting them as, like, I would love to

00:51:32--> 00:51:42

get a sneak peek into that. But I see the product and it's pretty obvious what some of those ingredients are. So it's like how do we bring those into our lives? So you know, look, am I tired? I am.

00:51:43--> 00:51:47

Yes, I'm tired. Am I hurting? I'm extremely hurt.

00:51:50--> 00:52:13

Am I finding it hard to not break down and cry multiple times? And just random times throughout the day? Yes. But you know what? hamdulillah they're persevering. So we should persevere and Charlotte's out. I want to meet those people. On the Olympia. Some of them are gone. shakiness of hammer, some Boudicca? Who was the cameraman of why did they do how's this watching the interview he's having with his

00:52:15--> 00:52:20

or they were having with his son, salvage cameraman. So why do very

00:52:22--> 00:52:27

so was what was shot, he was struck, and that's why his arm is somewhat impaired now.

00:52:29--> 00:52:36

His cameraman was shot, and they left him out to bleed. He bled to death. Six hours in the Israeli snipers would shoot anyone that would go try to help.

00:52:38--> 00:52:55

And they were interviewing his son. And his son was saying my last conversation with him was he was telling me, please keep up with your prayers. I want you to pray on time. Please keep up with your prayers. His son is telling his father that his son is saying that, that his father was telling him that the last conversation he had with his father,

00:52:56--> 00:53:00

his father telling him, Do not delay your prayers.

00:53:01--> 00:53:09

Now, I think one of the things that you and I have probably learned and anyone that's in the field, are aware that sometimes the only art don't look the part.

00:53:10--> 00:53:34

Yes, they're not they're not bearded in it, though. They're not. They don't fit the image sometimes. Definitely. Yes. All right. But they truly Subhanallah like, why did they do? If? You know, if you were to see him before this all went down? Maybe you wouldn't think he's that great of a Muslim. Right. But you will hear it looks like a very average, typical, typical, right, like very typical.

00:53:36--> 00:53:36

What's the ingredient?

00:53:38--> 00:53:44

So this is an opportunity that allies are just giving to each and every single one of us to try to

00:53:45--> 00:53:47

cook up in our hearts what's clearly

00:53:48--> 00:54:07

been cooked up in their hearts, not to try to inculcate those ingredients in our own lives. And Charlotte's out to be something special, like the special people that we're seeing, Oh my Why do you think they feel victorious? Despite what we see in them to us, we see them failing, but to them, they see victory in Manasa, or Shahada.

00:54:09--> 00:54:13

That's the motto it's either victory or martyrdom. You can't you can't lose.

00:54:15--> 00:54:49

Atlanta for general Catalan comfort, not ours, there is a higher purpose than just me and land and soil. You can't lose. You cannot lose. When you believe in this, you can't lose. You can't contain the people in a small part of the earth that believe in agenda that's more vast thinking beyond this world. You can't beat those people. That's they can not lose. That is the secret. That is the saint can't lose. Even in all of our lives, you had losses, I've had losses Muslims and non Muslims people have had losses. And the thing about our hope is, well, for me, for example, since I'm sure it's the same for you.

00:54:50--> 00:55:00

We know there is a hereafter we know this is only the first chapter. This is just a short life, but there's something else. So it's not the end. And we don't know

00:55:00--> 00:55:09

McHale hearts onto a temporary world, this temporary world is going to betray you. It's been set up to break your heart. So why follow it as if it's a paradise?

00:55:11--> 00:55:12

shakaama?

00:55:15--> 00:55:33

Are you in line? Do you encourage, for example, there's Muslims and non Muslims around the world, we're talking about Muslims a lot. But non Muslims around the world are hurt as well. And they're feeling that pain and that mercy, justice and injustice is a moral principle of every human being.

00:55:35--> 00:55:47

And many of them have gone out in protest. And do you support these protests? Do you think they're working? Do you think? Because you're talking about voices? So protests and social media,

00:55:48--> 00:55:52

advocacy? For Justice? Do you think it's all really working?

00:55:53--> 00:56:00

Sure, if the only thing that came out of these protests were that the people of Philistine did not feel alone. And to me, it's worth it.

00:56:01--> 00:56:04

I'm so serious Panama, like the fact that I live as I

00:56:06--> 00:56:20

think the rest of the world for going out in the streets and say, Please keep it up. I need your solidarity, the fact that they don't feel alone, feeling alone is a miserable feeling to feel isolated and your pain to feel like people have forgotten you.

00:56:21--> 00:56:29

And when we look in the seal of the prophets, like Selim, this is a profound concept. Like you're not forgotten.

00:56:30--> 00:56:31

You're not alone.

00:56:32--> 00:57:10

Subhanallah I was I was reflecting on this, actually, in some talks I just gave and I don't even remember which convention I think it was the mass convention. I just came from Chicago. shifflett It was interesting. And like the loneliest episodes of the Prophet slice of them. It says if there's one person that's there, always so a suffer. When everyone turned their backs, it was little it all the a lot of time. Right. So the others will live got you. You know, I'm with you, Jana Sonoma, said allowing us and Emanuel de la on who was there and thought of as alone as he was, Allah put Xavier on the line it was even had to go was there. When they dumped the the guts on his back so long, he

00:57:10--> 00:57:10

was

00:57:11--> 00:57:51

hard to model the law. And even though it's painful, she was there. Right? There's always just like one person, there's like, I want to be that one person that's there for the people who as if it's even one person's Pamela. But just even if they know, through us, that they're not forgotten that we're going to do everything we can even if they feel the solidarity, to me, that's worth it. But it is worth strategically any, any political analyst would say that this has been a strategic nightmare for Israel. It's been a PR nightmare for them. And the public opinion is shifting rapidly around the world, especially with young people who are less hostage to legacy media outlets and traditional

00:57:51--> 00:57:57

forms of media that that are much more suppressive in regards to the Palestinian narrative.

00:57:58--> 00:58:40

So our strength is in our numbers it is taking to the streets, it is in the boycotts. It is in these multiple forms of little advocacy. We don't have the super lobby the super PAC, but we do have the super numbers. And so the little efforts accumulated are clearly leading to a massive shift in the global sense, inshallah Tada, for the Palestinian people, and being the night out are a step closer to complete liberation. You think everyone's standing up your Shahada? It's not just Muslims, non Muslims, everybody who haven't seen this on such a large scale. I mean, why do you think they're all standing up? What are they trying to? What's moving them? So like you said, there's fitrah right now

00:58:40--> 00:58:43

and adult mercy and justice, and they'll see injustice in the house.

00:58:44--> 00:58:57

And so they can see, you can't compete with 20,000 Dead people you can't. Like you can say, all the lies in the world. You can't keep pulling the cover over people's eyes

00:58:58--> 00:59:04

and hiding all of these atrocities. People are not stupid people see it.

00:59:05--> 00:59:42

And you keep discrediting yourself with the lies and the IDF is probably the most discredited body in the world at this point. In fact, the entire Israeli government, right? I mean, just it's a discredited body. I mean, they've lied so many times now and been caught in their lives, even to where like New York Times and Washington Post are like doing investigations like these are outlets that used to just pair IDF propaganda without any type of critical insight. Now, they are actually doing investigations on the claims lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. But you know, it's definitely true. Are these dead people? You're starving a population of over 2 million people. white phosphorus bombs,

00:59:42--> 01:00:00

Hellfire missiles, dumb bombs, they call them indiscriminate bombing on civilian populations. It's probably you know, when I really knew the narrative had turned, I'll tell you exactly where it was WOLF BLITZER, who designed this there, you know, journalists at CNN. I don't know if he claims to be a Zionist but but I

01:00:00--> 01:00:32

All I'll just say I mean, his coverage has always been extremely sympathetic to the Israeli narrative. And he's interviewing an Israeli commander and they had dropped a missile on a refugee camp. I forget which one. It's what 2am. Here, where we are right now some homeless, I forget which which refugee camp it was. But they dropped the missile on a refugee camp, killed over 400 people. And, you know, the IDF commander says thinking that not you know, he's not going to be challenged. He says, Yeah, well, there may have been a Hamas commander there.

01:00:33--> 01:00:58

So Wolf Blitzer responds, even he gets shocked. And he goes, so you're saying you dropped the bomb on 400 civilians? Because there might have been a Hamas commander? You're not even sure. Like, this is getting so ridiculous, that even the traditional outlets of ridiculousness are starting to question how ridiculous it is coming from them. The narrative is shifting. It's working. We're putting pressure on him that

01:00:59--> 01:01:34

we can't let our governments just continue to operate business as usual. Wherever you are, you have to do your part. You have to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct, no one can go back to business as usual, while genocide is unfolding, you will be asked about this. You'll be asked about this, you know, what did you do this was happening in front of your own two eyes. If you just pretend like nothing was happening, just go to work and live your life. We have to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct until it stops in Charlottetown. So our strength is in our numbers in the night on it, and hopefully in our resilience to keep it going on. Thank you, hallmark for giving us such hope, and something to do and

01:01:35--> 01:01:37

continue. So Shere Khan Mario,

01:01:39--> 01:01:45

what is your daily routine? How do you look after yourself? What do you do in your life to keep yourself going? And

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how do you how do you develop self? What's your daily routine?

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Try to start early in the day.

01:01:53--> 01:01:58

You know, I always feel like the most unproductive days when I sleep after fajr so I tried to start early in the day.

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Try to definitely spend time with the family Subhanallah like my happiest moments, feel like there's something that just triggers in the brain, no happiest moments when I play with my kids. Sincerely, subhanAllah those are the happiest moments in my life. Have these are who's my four year old?

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If I pick up my phone, and she sometimes she wants to play very randomly, right? So let's go build something together. Let's, let's draw together. You know, let's play with these dolls together. Whatever it is right? But she just wants to in fact, if I pick up my phone, she actually says put up your phone, baba, baba put up your phone bubble put up your phone. So she like screams at you know, she's the she's the baby in the house. So she has to assert herself. They teach us things. Yeah, Baba put up your phone. All right, ha ha ha that I put up my phone.

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And so Hanalei just especially now in this moment, where you see again, like

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and I know this is especially you've lost your son, may Allah protect your children that are alive, have mercy on your son and unite you all y'all up for dosing Ida Subhan. Allah chef, like just spending time with with the kids, that is

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the happiest time we talk about how to take care of myself, even now. Head back to the room, FaceTime, just a few minutes, like just that dose that re energizes you.

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I'm in love with my kids. So they're, they're incredible. Each one of them plays a very special role.

01:03:25--> 01:03:37

Of course, my wife is also very special have a lot of run into so don't get myself in trouble. But I do mean, of course, I mean, we all know that you love your wife or you're an amazing husband and you're wrong. I don't know about that work. I think you are

01:03:38--> 01:03:39

an amazing

01:03:40--> 01:04:06

guy that as well. Chroma Kamala, but that's sorry, Subhan Allah, Allah puts these people in your life, Allah puts these these things in your life that you know, I think, trigger something in your brain, which is necessary for you to be able to keep going. And seeing right now you know, our families and Philistine. I think that's just you got to take it for granted. You went through this on a personal level, you got to not take it for granted. You went through this on a personal level.

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And Pamela, that's what it is. So I try to have lunch with the kids every day. So one meal a day. That's actually when people ask me like, What do you do to take care of yourself? When I'm not traveling? I eat one meal a day. 331 meals a day, one meal a day? Are you with my kids at four o'clock? 334 o'clock when they get home with your kids? Yes. And that's a lot of something that we've left out in family seven we don't eat with our kids or our kids don't eat together with us. As a family we all eat you know, we try to all eat together vertical. All of us eat together wife and kids try to no phones at the table. No nothing at the table. I'm not I'm not saying I always succeed

01:04:43--> 01:04:59

at the no phone part. I'll be honest with you Subhanallah like this last few months, I've lost every personal discipline that I had, you know, subhanAllah because of understandably so. I was very disciplined. I'd gotten to a point where I was very disciplined on how much social media I use.

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I'm in now suppose like first thing I do when I wake up last thing I do for sleep, checking the news, checking the news, checking the news, right? But Allah azza wa jal, this kind is still just those moments during the day we get pulled away, you know,

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we're Hadiya forces me or I get to hang out with my oldest daughter who's like my counselor, I may use my counselor just like my mom. Or Abdullah, who's my, just my, my buddy, my boy. And when we need to have a break, we need to have a break in order for ourselves to breathe and to benefit more if we

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as you said, Allah sends us our children to force us for a break we don't love doesn't want us to deteriorate.

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You should see what bag I have, you know, my little daughter Maryam, she's 10 I've got a little orange bag. And they've sent me this little orange bag. It's really cute and cuddly and it's got these little cartoon figures on it with her name on it. I carried her on the aeroplane everywhere I'm going in myself. It's really kids daughters do something different to you that they did something special in your house. I'll let you in on a secret that leads us old enough to be like oh, that's what he was doing. But I just ordered my gifts in advance now. So to get to the house before I get home because I don't want to carry them in my bag so sometimes give you huge stuffed animals

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and just make sure that the box is put to the side as soon as I get home. Pull up my suitcase pull out the box. When you get home what do they do they come in jump all over you. They need to let it of course now the older kids you know how this you know teenager teenagers that point but now at least is needed jumps definitely. But she also says where's my heavier I want to get you noticed

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especially on the long trips, so after this trip, I bought her like this humongous unicorn

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stuffed animal. Like you know what? Why not such a long trip. I've been away for a while jumping. My daughter Owens wants dolls I said boy, but you're 10 years old. He can't keep buying little dogs go and look after babies. How about those $9 ones in the airport? She wants to $60 one oh by

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the way with those $9 have any adults of panelists motherly nature in his panel Shikamaru It was a pleasure. Hi everyone. I'm so glad to be here in the UK we are in this

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event with Light upon light. And always a pleasure. It's been a year it's like it's kind of like yesterday that's why when I ran in and saw you I had already said to them why they want to move the bank and the rest that people didn't see just look mostly make we love move the main you have to keep a positive emotion in the house. There is a beloved and armored connection.

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Now we love more females obviously and he's made it you know how he's one of the most when I tell people about him, and anyone that knows him can testify he's like that off camera right like this just loving huge personality.

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It's always increasing always that way you know Subhan Allah even off the camera.

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So we'll make sure to include in the next video with like a three way hug. We will insha Allah with that.

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Hi baby, my brother just pay for your time. Economic Allah, Allah, Allah Subhan Allah bless you and your family. I'll keep you strong keep us all stronger.