Dealing with Difficulty #21 Revert Issues

My brothers and sisters,

it's not easy to be a revert.

The challenges faced by reverts and the difficulties

they have to deal with

are unique. Each one has a story to

tell.

Sometimes

sit

and listen to some of these stories

in order to show you

how privileged you are. And in order to

help you

realize how to reach out to these brothers

and sisters of ours,

all from different backgrounds,

from different families. They love their families too.

In most cases,

they have communities.

It's not easy

when you know, I'd like to say my

shahada. I'd like to be, for example,

a Muslim

revert to Islam.

It's not easy.

Don't take it for granted when people have

done that. Congratulations

to you.

We apologize

for not being able to be there for

you the way we should be for you.

But

Allah Almighty will guide you and help you.

There are 2 or 3 different aspects of

this particular topic. 1 is from the revert

himself or herself.

Don't expect people to help and assist.

Lower your expectations

from community and from people around you. Secondly,

people may bombard you about what you need

to change so quickly,

whereas they won't think about where you were

and how far you've come.

So Allah

appreciates

what you've done.

You know what? Block your ears from the

noise that people are making. Otherwise,

you will become disheartened

and perhaps in their excitement to see you

do the right things.

They don't realize

your scenario, your situation,

who you live with, your circumstances.

Allah alone

knows

exactly

what you're going through.

So deal with this difficulty

by seeking the help of Allah alone.

Really, we as human beings

and we as Muslims.

In many instances, we have failed the reverts

because we go too hard on them, and

we tell them too many things, especially in

this age of social media

without understanding

who exactly the person is.

Where they came from. What about their family,

their parents, their siblings, their

their condition, the situation they're in. They could

be alone. And now that they've reverted, they

might be even more alone.

It's not easy for a revert to go

to the masjid sometimes

when everyone is going to just look and

wonder. But when they wanted to say the

shahada people were quick to Mashallah Allahu Akbar,

Takbeer and so on.

My brothers and sisters,

sometimes on the day of Eid, it might

be a bit lonely. Try to look for

different Eid parties perhaps that are compliant with

what Islam teaches us, but cater for rebirths.

Many cities do have, or if you have

a small circle of friends, maybe you want

to spend Eid there, you might want to

join some people for Ramadan. It's not easy.

Ramadan is a month where people are busy

sometimes.

But if you have a good circle of

friends, inshallah,

even if it's small,

it will be very helpful.

Don't have a big circle because sometimes people

begin to judge. They become judgmental.

Like I said, without knowing where you were

and how far you've come.

I know practicing Muslims

who've hardly moved an inch in the last

so many years in terms of their growth.

And I know people who were weak and

they've moved kilometres

over years. And yet some of those who

were practicing still belittle them. But who did

the movement? You know, Subhanallah,

this is Allah. And sometimes people go backwards.

May Allah protect all of us. So that

Ramadan

and Eid, sometimes when there's a death in

the family,

you may have to attend depending on who

it is. Certain do's and certain don'ts.

And some people will be so hard on

you and they'll tell you you're not allowed

to go. But that's my mother. You are

allowed to go.

It's my father. I loved him so much.

You are allowed to go. You should go.

And you should, you know, offer them a

good word of condolence and sympathy.

And subhanallah,

you may cry too. It's normal. That is

a natural love. The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam

shed tears as well at certain times. And

he was saddened in certain times when his

uncle Abu Talib passed away. He was sad.

He was very sad. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So

some of these challenges

not so easy to go through with the

help of Allah.

And Inshallah,

today I'm calling on the other side. Those

who are practicing, those who are born Muslim

or those who have been Muslim for a

while and you're in a circle.

Try and look out for those who have

reverted. Help them get married.

Help them

in to understand the deen. Don't go too

hard on them. Make things easy for them.

Talk to them. See their circumstances.

I know of a brother who told another

brother he's got to quit his job.

And,

when that brother left his job thinking this

is what's needs to be done, he was

homeless. He lost everything. And this other brother

never, ever

even asked him a question when he was

once told that, you know what? I don't

have a job. I'm looking for a job.

That was the end of it.

So you first, if it is really a

job that you need to get out of

first, look for another one. You get you

secure another one and then come out of

this one and get help and guidance from

those who know. And they've been dealing with

rivets for a long time.

Find an organization or find a masjid where

they have

a department that they deal with reverts in.

And Insha'Allah, you will enjoy the journey by

the will of Allah. I know some countries

are different from others.

Like I say, it's not going to be

so easy, but take it in your stride.

Connect with Allah. We're fortunate. We're living in

an age of social media where you're going

to be watching this video too.

And like I said, I apologize honestly

for not being able to stand up for

you and to be there for you.

Really, the way we should be there for

you.

So accept that apology and inshallah,

that's the reason why I'm saying what I

am saying today. It's dealing with difficulty.

We're dealing with difficulty on this side and

on that side, where

the people going through the problem

need help. And they just need a nod

of appreciation,

a little bit of an understanding, some explanation

sometimes,

a little bit of inclusion, include them in

the community,

in the society. Like I said, get them

married when they're unwell. Visit them. Care for

them. Think about them when they're struggling. Help

them.

That's what the deen is all about.

And on the other hand, we have people

who are Muslim already.

And what do they deal with?

They consider it sometimes a difficulty. Oh, you

know, this person is too much. They're not

proper Muslim because

they're not practising fully. I mean, I know

a ton of born Muslims who are not

practising fully. I mean, who is practising

perfectly? None of us. We're all a work

in progress. Every single human on earth today

is a work in progress. Yes. Some are

doing much better than others. Some Allah has

facilitated for them by giving them an environment

that makes it easy for them to practice,

whereas others have a sword literally

on their necks.

How are they going to fulfill their prayer

and fast

and live eating halal food and so on?

The challenge they go through just to achieve

that little,

Allah alone knows it. It's easy for you

and I to say, get out of there.

You can't. What alternative did you provide them?

That's the thing. If you haven't provided an

alternative, please, by all means,

let them navigate their path between them and

Allah. You don't even know a fraction of

the challenges that they are going through. So

pray for them. Make du'a for them. And

my beloved brother and sister revert,

call out to Allah, connect with Allah.

Excuse these people and Allah Almighty will give

you the strength. But don't give up. Don't

give up because of the failure of people

like myself

when it comes to reaching out to you.

Don't give up because of us.

We

have indeed been weak. But Insha'Allah, we'll try

to conscientize the people much more. And we'll

try our best to do better. And we

will continue to talk about it because you

are us

and we

are you.

And I do know that everyone,

like I said at the beginning of this

episode,

everyone is going through different types of challenges.

Everyone has a different

situation. Unique. You know yours

slowly, step by step, baby steps. We will

get there. We will learn to walk. Soon

we will be walking properly. Then we learn

to run and soon we'll be floating by

the will of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And

I know so many who've come out with

beautiful stories. And this is why I say,

brothers and sisters, take a time.

Take a moment

to search and listen to the stories online.

Whatever platform it may be of reverts and

how they turn to Islam and what challenges

sometimes they're going through. Just to appreciate, see

do you make it worse?

do you make it worse?