Hosai Mojaddidi – When I Judged a BarelyClad Woman at Oakland Airport
AI: Summary ©
The speaker describes a time when they were practicing for a while and were asked to wear a certain clothing. They describe their experience as being on the right path, practicing in a black and white clothing and being embarrassed by their peers. They also describe their experience of feeling embarrassed by their peers and feeling like they were just playing guessing.
AI: Summary ©
You know, I was practicing for a while, and I was all about form. I
used to wear, like, you know, it was, it was fun, um, at that time
was, was very much about how you looked, you know, so not only did
you have to wear hijab, January correctly, and then you had to
wear you know, it was very, I don't know, it's just a different
message than about looking very Muslim. So I used to walk around
all black, like, everywhere, you know, that job, and I would have
no makeup on. And I was just like, you know, like, nothing, no smile,
no, actually put intentionally I would not smile. I'm not kidding.
And I had friends who say, Why do you walk around like this? Because
I was on college campus. And I'm just like, and I would say, you
know, I don't want that far to know. I'm not afraid.
That's how I used to walk around with that kind of energy. Can you
imagine how, how honest, that really is when you start to
understand. But I just thought that was it was a very interesting
way of practicing back then. So I used to walk around like that. And
I used to judge people all the time for how they weren't dressed
the way that I thought that she does. And I'm someone you know,
again, I was I thought I was on the right path. And I thought,
This is what Islam is. One day, I was at Oakland airport. And I
shared a story just to show you again, how this hit me. I was an
Oakland airport, and I was waiting for a ride. This car pulls up and
this lady walks out. She's like, you know, typical white American
woman. And she's wearing like a tank top and shorts, like short
shorts. And of course, I'm sitting there in my gear to the bed and
I'm just like,
I've got like, daggers coming on my eyes towards this lady, you
know, I'm like, looking at her. Like, I was just dressed like,
what is this ridiculous, I have all these terrible thoughts in my
mind. And I swear to you, this happens. She, cuz she's, she's in
her, you know, she's has a trunk open, and she's moving stuff in
her car. This is where all these thoughts are coming. She sees me.
And she like, looks right at me. And I was like, oh, de, you know,
like, my thoughts out of my head. Like, are they? You know, she's
hearing my thoughts. Like, it just felt very awkward to see this
woman that I'm thinking about all these terrible things, looking at
me because there's so has, you know, a bustling airport. A lot of
people, you know, a lot of traffic, but she looks right at
me. And then she closes her trunk. And she walks like, directly
towards me. And I was like, Oh, my God, like I my heartbeat was like,
boom, boom, boom, like, what is gonna happen now. And she this,
this is what comes out of her mouth. Somebody comes.
And she's like, I know, I don't look like a Muslim. I'm actually
really embarrassed the way that I look right now. I converted to
Islam. And she started telling me her story. And she's just like, so
humble, so timid, and just really feeling, you know, shy, but she's
like, I felt compelled to talk to you. Because, you know, I'm
raising my, my son, Muslim, and I don't have any information. And I
saw you and I thought it was like a sign from God, that maybe I
should come talk to you and ask you for books, like references for
books. And you can imagine what's going on inside of me, right? So
this is what I call this, you know, life changing moments.
Absolutely. Like, I felt like I just got hit in the face. Because
from the outward, just looking at examining the two, you know,
people would assume a lot of things about me and assume a lot
of things about her but the realities are so far right. Here's
she is someone who's seeking who's humble, who's coming with that
soft, gentle heart and here I am on my high horse thinking I was
something you know, so it really did wake me up. And that was a
turning point for me to realize, like all these years, like you've
been worrying about this, this this. So that's why this intention
matters so much because it's all for naught. You know, it's all
means nothing if it's not done with the right intention. So we
have to remember that every day, every single day. So we started