Boonaa Mohammed – What the Fiqh – Ep 02

Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah Salam alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh when they come so now what a

long time. It's been a pleasure. What the fuck? What the fifth is the question? That's the name of the podcast, by the way, don't freak out. It's called what the fic okay.

So that's what I like I like controversy a little bit. I like to make a little bit of fitna, you know, you gotta sometimes you gotta, you know, boil people's blood a little bit to get the good thing, Goodness, goodness out. But this is a podcast, that's, I think, very unique in the sense that I want to talk to people who are involved in a lot of different fields, whether it be arts, culture, knowledge, you know, you name it, and you're a person that I think, like, intersects in almost all of those different things. So you know, Mashallah subotica law, from fashion to Islamic like theology, you know, to obviously TAO to art, you know, you're you're very,

you know, I would say, representative of many different fields, right.

I want to talk to you about a few things one is the the first time I met you, was when I met you in was in Philly, not know before Philly, we met Margaret. We met at where Margaret in Texas. In no in Dallas now, Houston. Remember we did both? Oh, was it the conference conference? Yeah. The big conference they do m summit M. So m r m fest infest infest? Okay, I think that was the first time I was the first okay. But I but I knew you from online. Yeah, exactly. I knew you from online. And I was like, Alright, who's this? But then I'd always see your name. And at that time, it was like Seth, but I always read it as safe map who call me safe? Yeah, right. I read it as safe. I'm like

safe, Ella. freaky. Am I this is dope. This is not about Africa. Yeah, I'm like his home. He's home. He's holding it down, you know? So I'm like, Alright, that's dope. And then I learned more about you. And then I think one was the I remember the first time I have like, a clear recollection is

why no, obviously we performed together at that time in Philly. And you actually came along with me, we did a bit of a tour kind of East Coast tour. That was that was that was cool. That was fun. But I always remembered that, you know, you were like a serious slam poet, which I respect because I didn't know many Muslims that were also really into the slam scene. I think slam poetry itself is a it's a different pedigree. You know, there are a lot of Muslim poets who are just out there you know, we're handing out awards of all great Mashallah, you did a great job. You know, Mashallah. But like to be a slam poet in the real world is like you really, you know, you put yourself under there

and talk about your slam poetry experience, because I'm really interested in like, I know the scene and Philly's real dope as well, as tough to Yeah, I started slamming in 2000 and spend like 10 years now. 2008 2008 Okay, a little bit more. So maybe 11 years, almost 11 years? Yeah. And in 2009 I one brave new

competition, the one the number one in the tri state area. So out of Philly, Jersey, you know, the area I want. Number one I don't like about I think at poets and that's that's a big competition as well. Big Man. Yeah, a lot of people. I love you. I don't know if it's as popular now. Is it still as popular? Oh, really? Okay, still heavy. Because that was a times of like def poetry, jam, and all that kind of stuff. You know, that was like a different world at that time. That's when poetry was really being put on a pedestal. And I don't know, retrospectively, if I see it as popular today, or if it was more popular than it feels like it was more popular than I grew. And I feel like there are

a lot more poets today. sure if that makes any sense. I don't know if it means like today's much more saturated, or what it is. It may be I don't know. No, I remember that.

I remember my first year slim and polish even when I first came on the scene, I started off like, you know, doing poetry in Islamic school. So you know, Islamic school.

You know, took me exactly everybody. You know, I thought I was the guy bro.

I wanted this lamp thing, man. And I got zeros, Bro. Bro, zeros on the handles off. So I'm saying bro zeros. So I got out there all swagged out talking about

man and they were like, Nah, they're saying that the content delivery the gym. So I remember having to humbling myself and I haven't spent a year grinding working on my craft. Sometimes I would go to my mentors house from 3pm to 3pm 3am every day writing doing workshops, you know, practicing. I did that all summer long, just working on my craft. And when I came back, I went from, you know, being last dead last to finishing first. And I remember when I made the team, because there was some internationally known poets like Philly is a place where if you get slammed in Philly, that's what I'm saying. They call it fear of failure. Everybody fearful enough.

So when I finished number one, I remember like there was a buzz all around the country who was this guy? That'd be j nine. That'd be and when they'd be all these people. And then they would like because I did the podcast, something in the water. They was like, is this something in the water boy like, he's like, you know, he's trying

He's gonna be on a team. They saw that performance. Right, right. So I really had to come to the trenches and work my way up and really earn my spot on the spoken word scene. So, so coming from Philadelphia, such a rough scene, I remember people will perform, and it will ball like paper, Rob metodo on stage, off stage, I am like that wasn't friendly at all. So if you can make it happen to the brotherly love man

on stage, yeah, we there was this movement called unliterary, whatever, they're trying to clean the city up of trash. And if somebody poem was bad, they would just scream unliterary, bro Philly, different. That's cool. That's cool.

So coming up affiliate, I felt like that gives me the confidence to go anywhere around the world. And I could spit like no nostril with the best of them.

And I know like, for example, obviously the slam scene. And then you have like nationals you'll have like so in Canada, we would have an example we have. We have a few big competitions. We have one which is called tips, Toronto International poetry slam. I competed in that when I was about, I think I was like 18 years old. And I know I wasn't even old enough to get in the club. I was like, I was mad young. And that was my first time slamming ever. And I remember I came in third. Yeah, it wasn't bad. And you know, what was crazy is that all the people who won we're all like the first and second were Americans. Right? And so I was only one rep in Canada. I was from Toronto. And I

remember that by the end of it. And I was so young. And the crowd was just chanting my name. And even when they brought up the first place winners like nah,

boy, right. And I remember going home that night, and and just being so excited, and I woke up the next morning, I was still shaking. Are you serious? nerve racking, man? No, Bro, I was high. I had such No, but I had such an adrenaline rush. You know, being in front of people, because you're in a very vulnerable situation. Yeah, I'm saying you feel like you're really like putting ever you're naked in front of the audience. And you're like, hey, judge me, right? And you put everything out there and you but to me, it was like the biggest Hi, after that I was hugging him. And I'm like, this is the best feeling. I could never stop. Then I really got addicted to the stage just being out

there. Competition. I think this is one thing I find about Muslim talent is I feel like there is not enough competition. We're just kind of filtering everybody in. It's kind of like, Alright, what's your last name? Or your cool coming here in the club? You know, you want to do open mic? And like, if you ask me my honest opinion, there are a lot of trash Muslim artists, of course, like whatever you guys were doing in Philly, you know, we need to start.

Nice. We're nice in Canada, by far, but I mean, in general, can I travel? And I like I'll do for example, open mics in different cities. By the mama, come on. And it's rough. What do you say though? Do you check some? I mean, do you want to be that guy every time? Well, I have to be. So this is the problem is that my personality is such that like, I can't let it slide. Like I really feel like and the thing is, I don't I feel like if I don't tell you you're not gonna get better. I'm gonna benefit like how does it benefit you like just and I know other artists like it is good sometimes you gotta balance it out. You have the brother who's very encouraging the other brother

who means just I ruined dreams, you know? And I do it because I'm like, Look, if you're not good, save us all the times to like do something else do become a scientist or like an engineer like you know, save the world. Like don't don't do this because you're just gonna saturate what it is we're really trying to do. And we want to create quality right? Not quantity. I feel like that's a problem is there a lot there's quantity we have a lot of people and it's almost like I don't know if it's rebellious a lot of kids who you know their parents want them to do the right thing you know go to become go to school and they don't like your African parents tell you go to become the medicine

Yeah, exactly. Like it medicine. You know, law if you're lucky and then maybe like engineering or something like that generous or it man is it okay, it is out the window. Oh, damn, that was like,

engineering man. There you go. Right. And I think the kids who are like, you know, anti that maybe they want to get into arts, they want to do whatever. But how do we cultivate real talent? Because if we're just kind of letting you know, everyone slide in, and we're like, Alright, cool. We're just handing out participation, ribbons, how do we really cultivate any talent in our community? I think it's definitely doing writing workshops, exposing them to different you know, different cities, different places, taking them outside of the Muslim community, the Muslim we have this this bubble.

And if you only exist in that bubble, you would think it don't stink, but you're the guy but when you go outside, where people are unapologetic, you know, tell you that Yo, that was trash, like or, you know, that really, it builds it humbles you, but it also you know, sort of builds that that competitiveness in you and you know, it reaches you sometimes by being exposed to other people. You realize that Yoda saying that now I remember being the first time I ever went to a slump poet, a slim there was like Joshua Bennett, like, you know, taught by some of the best, you know, the leader bad. Yeah, yeah, Jadon Woodard, Alicia Harris like skrill like some of the best lampposts in the

world at the time, like, you know, international champions,

you know, ranking 123 in a world that's my first time ever been exposed to poetry, slam poetry, and I remember sitting in the crowd like you

What are they saying

humbled you to humble me and I at that time I almost it humbled me such that I almost didn't want to do it anymore. Like I'm I went to school I have been lying to me.

Nobody told me I was trashed. Brothers how long delay is the truth? Yeah, but I went home and I got my stuff together. Because you know, sometimes when you feel like I'm writing something that's so personal, so intimate, you have to like, it has to be good. My truth. That's not the case, though. Yeah, we can respect that we can appreciate you speaking your truth, but doesn't mean that the writing is good. The lyricism is good, the delivery is good doesn't mean that Well, I think there's also the aesthetics of it, right like that. Sometimes, like, you know, something can be like you said, it's your truth or whatever, but it it doesn't feel right doesn't feel good. Like, I don't

enjoy listening to it.

So, and I know, obviously, you know, you've I'm sure you've done writing workshops in the past as well, I get invited you do writing your workshops, you know, you teach kids whatever.

Should we ever point any point, tell them it's bad? What do you think I do tell people their work is bad. How do you what do you do? How do you deal with that? If you do say that should be you should be able to qualify that. Okay. So just saying is bad is not constructive? And you say like this, will you need to work on these particular aspects? Well, this delivery, when this writing was, you know, capability of delivering stories in a way that's aesthetically pleasing. This would be some sort of constructive criticism where they can take it and get better. And then some people are just aren't good at all. For those people.

You know, there's a way to tell him, I never tried to crush dreams, like y'all just don't do it at all. But I'll tell you if you're writing, isn't it, you know, that will help you more than my friend al Bashir always says that. If I lie to you, it may feel good in the beginning, right.

But in the end, it's gonna hurt you. Yeah. But if I tell you the truth, I met her in the beginning, but in the end is gonna be good for you. Yeah. So it's good to be honest, but not break people's dreams. See, I don't know how to do that. I like to break dreams.

You know what it is? I don't know if they'll get better. It's true. Because I think that you touched on it earlier. I think there's a big thing which is missing, which is competition, competition, people are wrong, and they have no real like, you don't have something to compare yourself to that on the spot. You can like, once you lose enough competitions, you'll know you figure out what's wrong, you'll figure it out. You know, but unless we really put people in that situation, like I've constantly have to explain to Islamic organizations whenever I'm like, yo, forget the open mic. Let's do it. Let's make it a competition. Yeah, you know it let's put some money up for first place

you get this amount of money Game Changer video, then the real the real dogs come out, you know, because everyone else right now is just, you know, and how many lights good and I'm, I'm completely fine with fostering talent. And I know a lot of you know, young kids or whatever, they need that space. They need that that practice. That's another thing I think we're missing is we don't really have any spaces to get better. Right? Like people ask me brother asked me today, you know, he is for his daughter and Mashallah, she was she performed today? And he's like, Alright, when's the next one? How do I get her more experienced?

But I'm like, Hey, I don't know. Like there's nothing else but that's the thing. If you look at any skill in any field of skill, I think anybody can be cultivated into at least good or you know, average, right? If you look at basketball, boxing, you know, sometimes remember going to the gym starting boxing, and you look around and dude's like oh, this dude is trash being with the right coach of the right mentor if the right peers just by being around the circle of influence, you're gonna get at least okay or good? You know, so I think that very seldom you'll find people that just are this all around the board hopeless Hmm You know, sometimes the people who you see that that do

look like that can turn out to be the best you know, cuz when you hit rock bottom has nowhere to go. can't get any worse. can't get any worse. I for me, like it was it was one person that night when I got zeros that pulled me to the side like, yo, Listen, man, you know, you got bad scores, not because you're bad, but you just need to be developed as a writer and the style of poem because I chose to give a tribute to another poet, and he now remade his poem and all the people who were judges or his peers like they were with him when he was writing the poem and producing it and it just didn't meet their standards. So that just a little bit of encouragement really made me go home

and write but if I left there in this boot up I probably would have never wrote again I am so sometimes it's good to have balance Yeah. Oh dope. So now I want to transition to another part of your you know, your complex kind of worlds, these intersections that you revolve around which is fashion fashion, and I see now Mashallah, you driven heavy out here, man, you got it going on B and I remember the time that we did spend together, you took me hunting. Yeah, you remember, that's my favorite thing to do, man. And I was bro. I learned some lessons that day. Because I never really wore a suit before. You know what I mean? I never really I never remember the last time I wore suits

probably like my grade seven graduation. Yeah, never really. That's not how I never really got down like that. And I like the way they look. I just didn't know how to properly put things together and it's a whole science the science Yeah, yeah.

I mean, explain to me how did you really get into fashion? I mean, how is that something that crossed your path? I remember vividly me growing up my father. My parents are from West Africa. So, you know, growing up in America, like the kids are brutal, and they would tease you over everything. Oh, yeah. So I So growing up, I would get teased for being West African, right. And I had parents once they found out that I remember my first grade graduation, my aunties, uncles, they came, you know, all dressed up. My dad had to talk goofy.

You know, those kind of parents coming to America? Yeah, right. On my graduation, my Auntie's like laying on the ground, like their, you know, their garments, so I can walk to the I mean, it was just first grade like, dang, I'm not graduated Harvard, right. But because of that experience, like I was the guy No, coming back the next year, this guy African booty scratcher, your password? That was the one nobody used to say African. Or I don't know who made that up. I don't even know what that means. African booty scratcher like what does it use? Like just scratch your booty the African booty? I never really got it. I don't get it. I used to get you know, because I'm East African. We used to

get just like oh man we used to get starving Marvin Starburst up South Park. Remember that character? Yeah, yeah, really? We had to fight man. They used to you know that I had one joke that I heard which was very insulting, but was actually very funny. Because like, oh, what do Ethiopians do my friends from Ethiopia? from Ethiopia. What What do Ethiopians eat? And like what? Oh, whatever the helicopters dropped from the sky. No, man I'm like, You know what? I give you points for creativity. But there's no other way I'm saying But okay, go on. So you see the names and all these things will come along I saw had those parents. But what they would do is they would instill in me

in a very young age to be proud of where you come you come from so they were always vibrantly dressed my mother, different colors put different things together and no, it was like really, you know, influential to watch her like on Friday, Saturday nights go to weddings and put these different garments together my father would do the same thing they will have matching garments. I mean, my dad had like, alligator shoes. Here Cheetah Cheetah skin pants and the cheetahs can belt like mo level stuff, bro I get so hung on my uncle Moosa. He passed away my La Raza so they will have competitions. They were wearing all these like, you know, you know, flower printed suits and

everything. And I would just sit on the bed and watch my dad. Watch swag. Swag out, man. Watch my mom. Then I have six older sisters to Wow. Yeah, big fan. Yeah, I've watched them too. And they will dress me and I just became, you know, like, really influenced by the way you put colors together different fabrics together, the way people treat you, you know, how you dress, the aesthetics, the emotions and inspires inside of you when you wear a particular garments. So that was my first start, you know, and then it became like a family tradition. We go thrifting Yeah, so this is what we did. Yeah, we went thrifting Yeah, and this was my friend. I'll be honest with you. I had a bit of a

stigma. My mom My mother is Yeah, my mother is somebody who's like, my mother's like a, like an old. Like, she's like a queen in a like an old African woman's body. Like, in our mind, though. She's like, She's like, looks down on people like peasants, like, you know, she would never let us wear like old stuff. You know, like she wants to be like, really, she she makes a point of trying to you know, make herself feel good about like, how we dress and stuff. So my mother, like when I told her I'm like, Oh, I went to a thrift store. She's like,

what did I do? Why did I * she thought she my mother thinks I'm wearing the clothes of a man who died. She's like, some guy died in his closet. You went in and you took the shirt off of him while he was in the in the grave. And this is what you're wearing. Right? But I learned like Yo, like, and, and after that I started I came back to Canada and I started going to all these thrift stores and I started picking and I was like, Man, this is dope. Like you get a really nice name brand stuff, whatever. superduper cheap, but you can also get really nice nice fitted clothing. So you guys used to do that as a family used to go out and kinda used to do it. And what I used to do was,

um, because I always really I like really nice suits like I will see I've been in different places in the space and I've seen men were really nice suits and I'm actually I'm sexually caused by oh this is tailor made its cost at $2,000 all that well. Yep not me Yeah, Becca hmm right. But I didn't like I will wear see h&m suits and I would like feel the inside material and they wouldn't feel good. This is not where it's at. So I will go to the thrift store right and I will get like Burberry suits Christian Dior. Take it to the tailor right and then get it stitch and now we'll go to my show and a Christian Dior Burberry Burberry suit and they look like

you know something like, right yeah.

Yeah, but I was going all the way out in like the suburbs, suburbs and jersey and sometimes I would get suits never worn before. Okay, you're telling me suits that were from England and stuff like that? You know, Brooks Brothers shoes $600 shoes for like $40 right? Yeah. So that's how I like the game like this reputation for myself for being well dressed and wearing suits people who

Nose quality suits they were saying like, Yo, this is different, but I would never tell my secret though like me right? So that's how I got started a man just you know don't fashion and from there once I got overseas I decided to start my own men's line so let's talk about the men's line now because I see the stuff you'd be posting online I'm like, Man this brother he's tempting because I bro everything you post I'm like, man, how do I get that but you look it looks good because you know you've been slim you got a nice body. I feel like if I were that it's gonna look like you know, they're gonna say how many months pregnant is that bro that's that's a little belly and stuff. Big

money buddy brother that's

that's

eating too much has become hot. But so explain to me about your clothing line because I know you obviously you're based in Egypt right now as well. Yeah. So how does that work? Are you getting the fabrics directly from like on the local manufacturers? or? Yeah, yeah, so the beautiful thing about Egypt is that it's like this melting pot in this hub for different countries. And so we have families that come from India fabric that come from China fabric that come from France, from London from the best mills and they all meet in Egypt and you get the best prices and then you have a history of craftsmanship of you know people tailoring suits like some of my tailors tailor for like

4050 years making suits so um you know, you get the best of all worlds in one place. So I started off in Egypt just making stuff for myself like yeah, I went all around Alexandria I went to Aswan I went to Heliopolis just to make stuff for myself because I'm I'm finally going to get some tailor made suits right so I you know, went all around spent money until I found some really good tailors and then estimates that for myself, but because Egypt is such a melting pot, I have friends from South Africa, France, from London, France, from Germany, and they will see me dress like this and they be like Yo, how can I get dressed like that as well. So I will be the guy in class where

everybody's willing to like be in a film and a cool feet. I'm the only one in a three piece suit tie and the middle class this dude and I got a lot of slack from the teachers by the dress of the Kufa and stuff like that and I will come even harder the next day they still they still talk like

I get I get every now and then I get talks like that this is the dress of the coup for what they expect you to wear like the like as long but what is it the second the second thing they wear? Yeah the job the job Okay, no, no it like a job and they were like the one on top of that as well. But even as hard is traditionally they are kind of like westernized. So you see a saris in suits, many of our professors wear suits. Oh, so either the sad job today for a sari or they weren't suits. Okay, so yeah, so fashion obviously is a big thing in your life now. So you started this line What does the line called haber. haber okay? Mashallah just men's wear women's wear as well we're working

it into women's wear now. That's where the money's at. That's what our sisters we spending money man when it comes to fashion as a big industry brothers I think a little bit too cheap. You think so? I think I know. So you know, something broke but there's a niche market the brothers who who are used to buying suits they buy and you know, or their wives or buy for them has made a bomb brother you get them together? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, and then and then obviously you're doing suits but you're also doing like what would you call the one that I saw you wearing the other day? The it's kind of like it's not really a thought I don't know what what do you call it like a two PCs? Like the two piece man was African inspired? You know, two piece because in America we start we have trying to find identity. What does the African American Muslim dress like? What does he look like? You know, so what is the culture around black Muslims? You know, you have found the Muslims you know, as soon as you become Muslim, they give you a shadow committee. So they give you a thorough but you know, you have dresses from so many

different places. But what does it mean to be black and American? So in my fashion, I like to express that, that I'm not Arab, or I'm not gonna be you know, I'm not Yemeni, whatever, because these people have distinct dresses, right. You know, you can look at a person's stoled Mattel this person in Saudi, but this person is off to Morocco. Yeah. So you'll find us I mean, a match day we got Shahrukh Musa coupie from Yemen, you know, Juba from Morocco, the whole United Nations on fuse. Yeah, confused and they find it comical actually, you know, they find it comical.

So what I do is I tried to dress like myself, man, you know, be myself and accept my own. So I'm experimenting with what does it mean to be African American? What does it look like? And I want to shout my sister, Leah Fuller. Who's gonna come out with the woman's line. Oh, here we go. Yeah, there you go. coming up soon, shall I? You know what I saw. And I saw she one brother here wearing it. And it's a Philly style. It's like in Ethiopian culture, normal culture. We call it moto. Yeah. Yeah. And I see them wearing it's kind of like a one piece though. Yeah, it's not like, like, a prom where you would actually have to wrap it with one piece with a drawstring. Yeah, yeah, the culture

is one thing I really love about Philadelphia is that we've always been unapologetically Muslim. You know, like I remember growing up I was rocking is our man you know? And that's a lot of life from the Salafi influence man but one thing they did was they made being visibly Muslim cool, right? Like you know, you can wear tobacco. Where is our and nobody's gonna talk to the beer too. I'm a big bear. So funny enough. You have

Muslim culture is such that even non Muslims dressed like Muslims, you know, the capris became a thing, right? I see non Muslim woman and hijab, like, you know, wrapping up my stuff really is. You have some funny stuff too, like, you know, some shorts and a niqab. We got, you know,

a bag with a bomb. Yeah, that's good, though.

I remember actually, one time I was in Philly airport, and I was in transit. And I was going down the escalator and I sneezed. And I said, You know, I said just quietly to myself, like, hamdulillah. There's a lady like, African American lady from far away. And she, this is a naive of me to say she didn't look Muslim. She was wearing Hijab or anything. I didn't say I didn't really care. And she said, Yeah, how about Allah?

She didn't even hear me say Alhamdulillah. But she was on it. She was on the ball. That's feeling Muslim man. I'm saying, Yeah, this whole thing about giving my salaams I feel it, right. Yeah. If you don't give somebody sometimes it's a big deal. They want to hear this a lot. They want to hear that you're Hanako Latina. That's beautiful. Yeah.

So now let's let's go on to the last chapter of not the last chapter. But I should say this other you know, intersection that I think ties in very well, which is your background as well. You're a student known as hot, you know, which is a world renowned Islamic University in Egypt.

How long have you been there thus far? I think this is what what year for you is this this is your third year, third year. Okay. Mashallah. And you have an intention of completing your Is it a bachelor's and then something else after that or graduate school? and shut down?

Okay, so you're the poetic, fashion minded chef in Sharla. You're gonna be the flagship. It's really all about, you know, this from our tradition. And I really, before I was just doing it for myself, right, then I had some teachers, you know, come at me like, why do you dress like that? Are you showing off and you know, stuff like this, I felt bad. So when I first got there, I kind of like I was I will be shy to dress nice, because I didn't want anybody say anything, you know, or talk about my intentions, right? But then I learned about you mathematically. I remember. Last Man, he was freshman, fresh. So he said, somebody came to me one time and they said, you know, foggers garments,

like you can't worship along these clothes. Right? And the guy has some wool on like some, you know, dingy was like, too soft, right? Yeah. So he grabbed this garment. My Malik didn't say you can't worship along those clothes. He said, I look like a lot provides for me, you look like you need some soda.

motto CCO club back. Oh, hello. Bad, okay. So they say in my manic, he said when he saw him dressing. They said he had the presence of a king, he had the heyburn. But you will see him and you will know this person is somebody like, I don't know what he does, what he's gonna say whatever he's gonna say it's important. It's important. So you sat dressed like this, not because of me. But because they're in that I carry that tradition. And then I'm haircutting. So you know, in my mind, like, like, if you would just see him regularly, you know, just regular bone. When it came to mentioning Hadith, he will put the best food on he will put his best garments on like, you will

think that, you know, he was dressed better than alief. At the time. He said this is for Allah subhanaw taala is not for me. It's because what Allah has has given me. So I think that dressing well is a form of

you know, and also I see that when you dress really nicely, it makes people happy, man. Yeah, but you know, how do we differentiate because you know, these, you know, that the soul of people or the you know, the people who, you know, you should be so hard you should, you know, remove yourself from all worldly needs or desires. I don't want to say there is some legitimacy to it. But to a certain extent, we don't want to become, you know, we don't ascribe to capitalism, we don't ascribe to this consistent need for dunya. How do we differentiate the need or the feeling of looking good from you know, some people who are like, I know people who are compulsive shoppers, they need to buy a lot

they spend their money, though they're shopaholics? How do you balance those two worlds? A few things. One thing shikibu me, I said that there are some people who they had dunya right. And they divorce done and they said we're free of doing and some people would have never had done it in the first place. I don't want doing it right. So brother, you've been a bum already. Right? Now you're doing it right. So the brothers are usually talking to you, they got to stand on their toes, like the same dingy when that fight though, right. But for me, you know, and all seriousness, when dressing like this is classic fashion, this is something I'm gonna pass down to my son. You know,

these are garments that you can wear for 1020 years that will never go out of style. For somebody that's excessive shopping, you keeping up with the trends, keeping up with the Joneses, fashion goes out every season, you know, so you may wear something three months later, and maybe out of style, right? But suit will always be in style suit will never ever not being style. So it's something that I'm wearing this garment, I can pass it down to my children, you can pass it down to his son, if his may well, and it will stay in the family as generational wealth. So it's very economical, and it's very professional. So if we're talking about Zoho, you know,

and do you think that and you mentioned before that some people have not criticized but maybe kind of, you know, it might look at you a bit funny. Yeah, if you were

If you were to dress like this on the minbar for example, I've done it you have done I was what's the reaction been? A lot of people they don't expect it. You know, first like, you know, I remember especially when I visit like certain certain masjids right? No, yeah, those people have gone

out okay. Yeah, hasn't done that right. Yeah. You know, I get the uncle's like, yo, you can't you can't get the hot pan just like that. And I'll say what the fuck like, you know what?

I'm sorry. You know, this is what I brought. Like, if you don't want me to put them on my show. I could do it naked. But I don't

mean to do Yeah, but when you have a man when you get up then you drop in a respected man respect it. So the fifth of what a hottie was supposed to wear what constitutes Islamic dress? You know, sometimes I do it just to push back the norms like this your culture isn't Islam. You know, no one culture is Islam. Islam is a law right? So even if you if you're going through the the sort of list of who leads the prayer, if a person has the same amount of Quranic and manifest the same amount Now, one of the requirements is who's just the nicest, who's just a cleanness? Why? Because the person has dressed nicely, that means he takes care of his Tata, he's not going to have netjets on

them. Right. So So part of fit like, those are the things that you learn what are the requirements for a dress was the look of dressing? You know, was talking it was was pure, but whether I want to feel warm? That's not that's not? And do you feel and you kind of hinted at it, but that the the western Muslim, you know, the American Muslim, the Canadian Muslim, the British Muslim? I think there is, as people are getting older now, like, so my parents immigrated to Canada. I'm born in Canada. My kids are born in Canada. Now my kids are what does that make them? Like second generation, like Muslim Canadians? Like? What is their culture? Like, I had something that I'm not

even I'm loosely connected to it, right? But my kids now are just That's it? Like, they're they're Canadian. Right? It? What does that and who gets to define that culture, that American Muslim culture or that Canadian Muslim culture? Who really gets to define? What is our dress? What is our food? Our like, our language clearly is English. But you know what I mean, those parameters of culture that sometimes we hold on to who really gets to define how that looks for these, you know, the future generation. Yeah, so aside, then he is a social construct. So you and I are the people that get to define it, the artists, the teachers, the musicians, those are the people that define

culture, and that's power, you know, as a Muslim man, if I'm giving the the role to define what culture is like when you make somebody a garment, when you see people in the streets, when your clothing as a Muslim, that's a big deal. Because I get to design the clothes how I want to design it, you know, so I know there are certain brothers that like design thobes lbs, right? And what they do is they put like a fold over the jellybeans right from like, the navel down. And I was like, why did you do that to your garments? He said, it's out of modesty. You know, you as a brother, we weren't I thought, right? Okay, if the wind is blowing the wrong way, right. You know, okay, a

little bit more than what they asked for. So he put the crease over the Philips so that it covers your private part. So we are moving to whatever you're still mine. Oh, yeah. intricate details like that, man. I think that's like Kuwaiti stuff. weighty stuff. Yeah. Okay, so you started incorporating his garments and that for me that was that was beautiful because as I'm making my garments, I get to define how I want to dress and also that my Islamic fluency is my knowledge that I get to put that in garments as well. And also I try to make the and stuff like that Bismillah Alhamdulillah so the closing robotic right as you're making it you don't know who's making the

garment that you want to some dude in Chinese pissed off because it's making 75 cents an hour I just love those garments man. All

right, you were well wash at one time and get to swap

it over clothes and where can people find out more about your line and all the different work you're doing so use of Chroma comm y o u s SEFKROMH. com comm net by next month we're going to be releasing those two pieces that you saw. We have about 200 exclusive of those coming out. Okay, when they're done and done, you will never see them again. So we're gonna release those 200 pieces and then after that we're gonna release our fall collection of men's suits and you got to take my measurements before you go out gotcha I'm trying to get fly I'm gonna send you a whole class or else I'm trying to get fly like you I respect man because I you know you put me on to game my shackled fashion and

you know mad love bro I've been following you and you know really loving everything. appreciate everything you're doing. May Allah continue to bless you put on all your work in Sharla you know, hopefully we'll see you again. I guess because I've been looking for for being here and so I'm looking for watching inshallah, stay tuned for another episode of what the fic coming up very soon. until then take care of Santa Monica de la II. Oh, Bye, guys.