Yasmin Mogahed – What Was Your Turning Point

Yasmin Mogahed
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The speakers discuss the importance of transformation and learning about Islam in order to achieve personal success. They stress the need to be aware of one's options and seek the source of one's interests, as well as the importance of trusting oneself and educating children about Allah's "ship." They also touch on the challenges of parenting and the importance of trusting oneself.

AI: Summary ©

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			Assalamu alaikum This is your Speedo jacket and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one
legacy radio.
		
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			Today, we have a very special show inshallah, where I wanted to ask this question because I think
that, you know, as we go through our life, we experience a lot of different things. And those
experiences affect us in many different ways. I think that a lot of us have, have had experiences,
which actually profoundly change the course of our life and profoundly change us internally. It kind
of if you if you visualize it in, in my mind, I personally see it like a, like a, like a crossroads,
where, you know, you can imagine someone on a path, you know, a particular path, and they get to a
point where now the path splits or maybe there are many splits to the path. And you know, which path
		
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			that person takes is affected by a particular experience or something that that, that that person
goes through, and it then puts them on a different path. And that different path takes them to a
totally different destination. And it changes it changes people, you know, people, these life
changing experiences also changed us as a person internally. And so I asked this question to you and
I asked, you know, you to share your stories. What are those things in your life that experiences in
your life which changed you? In a sense, what I'm asking is, what was your turning point? And you
know, when we talk about the concept of a turning point, it really brings us to this deep deep
		
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			meaning of the word Toba. Because the word Tova, we usually hear this term in it, and it refers to
repentance. And that's definitely, you know, part of the shades of meaning of the word, the concept
of Toba. But if you go back and you look at the the actual literal meaning of this word, helva,
which we use, you know, to refer to repentance, it means to come back to return. Tell by Is he a
tool is someone who was going in a certain particular direction, and that person then has a pause,
that person stops, and then that person turns around and that person returns and comes back. You
know, we think about this. One way to imagine this concept is to think of us as you know, a lot of
		
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			us who are try to live our lives in such a way where we actually are running away from Allah
subhanaw taala. And Toba is really this, you can just imagine a person running away. And it's, it's
that moment, or that point where you pause, you stop, and you turn around and you come back to Allah
subhana wa Tada. And that is, I think, it's it's more than just saying stuff, but a lot more than
just asking Allah subhanho data to forgive us, which is, which is obviously something we should
continuously be doing. But it's a complete turnaround, it's a return. And it's, it's, it's something
that people go through points in their life where their entire life just changes focus, and the
		
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			orientation completely changes and you come back to Allah subhanaw taala that is a very important
turning point. And it ends up changing us and I want today, inshallah, to read your stories of those
times in your life and what they were, and how how you personally were changed. So, I will inshallah
begin and I asked you to, you know, to also share your you know, feel free to share your stories in
the chat box as well, I will try to get to those as well. You know, you can email me at Serenity and
one legacy radio.com as well as as sharing your stories in the chat box. So one, one listener says,
well, the turning point, had started what I met two people in my life, who showed me the real
		
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			meaning of life. And the real turning point was when they left me Subhanallah is it's just one
sentence, but it is very powerful. So this person is sharing this story where, you know, it was
somebody that you met, or rather in this case, this person met two people who showed them the
meaning of life. And then the real turning point was when they left and you know, I, I think, you
know, two of two of the pieces which I've written which are
		
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			probably end up, you know, they they're probably some of the, you know, two of the most personal,
		
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			you know, writing pieces that I've ever written. And one of them is called Why do people have to
leave each other? And then the second part is people leave, but do they return? And, you know, it's,
it's interesting, because it really gets at the heart of that question is why, first of all, you
know, the the question of, you know, certain people coming into our lives for a particular purpose,
and then, you know, what happens when they leave? And why does that happen. And you know, one of the
interesting things that you'll you'll see is that
		
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			when when things come into our life, and they change us, or maybe they came into our life, and then
when they left, it changed us, it really does help us, it really shows us the, you know, put puts
things into perspective. Because sometimes things are taken away from us, in order to bring us back
to that point where we were supposed to be, we we tend to depend on those gifts that Allah subhanaw
taala gives us and sometimes those gifts come in the form of people in our lives. And sometimes
those gifts are our health family, or, you know, our, our money, these are, these are gifts that
Allah gives us. And sometimes it's when those gifts are given to us, we become so dependent on the
		
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			gifts themselves, that we actually forget the giver. And this happens a lot with human beings, we,
you know, God gives us money, and we start to depend on the money, instead of on Allah subhanaw
taala, as the provider, we start to put our trust and dependence on the money itself to provide for
us or, or our job, or our boss. And we forget that it is Allah subhanaw taala, who's actually
protecting us and who is actually providing for us He is
		
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			it isn't the money, and it isn't our job, and it isn't our boss, but we become dependent on those
things. And those are called false dependencies. So what happens is, sometimes those things are
taken away from us, the false dependencies are taken away, so that we can depend on the true
dependency. And that's the source, which is Allah subhanaw taala. It also happens with other gifts
in our lives, for example, the people in our lives, it's very easy to become dependent on the people
in our lives.
		
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			When you have a friend or you have a spouse, or your parents or your children in different ways, we
start to depend on these people in the sense of ultimate dependency, right? We, we, we feel like we
need those things, otherwise, we can't continue or we can't do certain things in our life.
		
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			What happens then sometimes is that those also those false dependencies are taken away from us. And
as you see in, you know, in the story,
		
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			that this listener shared it, you know, her turning point was when these people were taken actually
away from her when they left, that they're almost as though these gifts they serve as they serve a
certain purpose. They are not the ends themselves, but they you know, it's more like a tool in a
means into enable us to get where we need to be. And sometimes that requires people coming into our
life, and sometimes it requires people leaving. Sometimes it requires getting the gift and sometimes
it requires taking the gift. Another story that someone shared, go ahead and read this in the summer
of 2006, I was at an extremely low point in my life, lost and confused. I turned to an older cousin
		
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			of mine who I trust for advice. He suggested I get away for a while and change my scenery. So my
little sister and I took a vacation to Lebanon, things were going very well until war broke out
between Lebanon and Israel. It was at that time that I learned how to pray, how to fast with my
whole being. And not only my stomach, the beginnings of good character, and my whole the beginnings
of good character, and many other principles of Islam. I left like a newborn baby. All the while
there was a war going on besides beside us. And we had to evacuate through Syria by bus. We had been
lied to by the ticketing agency thinking we had tickets from Syria to the US. We were actually on a
		
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			hopeless waiting list behind dozens of families that were sleeping on the floors of the airport.
This was one of the biggest blessings in my life. My aunt and uncle in Abu Dhabi flew us out to stay
with them until we could find a flight home. My uncle May Allah bless him and preserve him, taught
me many ahaadeeth and sharpened by understanding you
		
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			Further, when I returned to the US, I was like a new convert to Islam, I started attending Holocaust
classes, and blessings, and blessed gatherings that taught me so much. I spent one week in Africa
during the last 10 days of Ramadan and realize that I learned more in that one week than in the nine
months I had spent in a behavior modification program in Mexico years before that
		
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			Subhanallah another, you know, inspirational story about how an event in one's life that no one
would ever wish for, right? This is, you know, this is being this is a situation that, you know, if
you think about it, you would never wish for such a situation or to be in that type of difficulty.
But it actually ended up changing the course of this, of this of this person's life. And, you know,
had it not been for these things that Allah subhanaw taala had planned for this person, they may not
have changed internally and had had gotten the opportunity to learn more about their faith. And, you
know, final, this is a, you know, a deeper lesson that
		
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			the things that sometimes bring us back to a law, this whole process of towba, and return are
sometimes things that they are not, in and of themselves enjoyable things, you know, you think about
you go to the doctor, and it there's always this fear, a child goes to the doctor, and like, I took
my kids to the doctor, and like, every two seconds, they're asking the doctor, we can get a shot,
you know, there's this fear of this, of this prick of this pain. And yet, it's like, that shot right
from the, from the parents perspective, is intended to strengthen the child, right? It's called a
vaccine. And, and but, but from the perspective of the child, it's just a prick, right? And it's
		
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			painful. And so and so the child is just terrified of it. And and, and yet it it ends up being, you
know, supposedly for their own good and, and to strengthen them. And, you know, this is the way we
are as adults, as human beings, we're so afraid of the prick. We're so afraid of these things that
that are not pleasant. And yet these things end up being what save us or what cure us, and what make
us stronger. inshallah, what I'll do now is I'll take a short break, and when we return, we will be
opening the phone lines, and I'll give you the number that now the number is 714-988-8182.
		
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			Santa Monica, this is yes, mean Mujahid and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one
legacy radio, we are talking about turning points and those points in our life when life experience
changes us forever, that changes us eternally changes the course of our life. And I'm asking date,
to hear your stories. We do have the lines open. The number again is 714-988-8182 we really want to
hear from you we want to hear your voice, inshallah do call in again, that number is 714-988-8182.
And the question that we're working about today's we're sharing the stories about turning points,
the idea of, of, of coming back to Allah subhanaw taala or just any, you know, that that that sort
		
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			of life altering change that happened, what was the spark for you? What was that experience, that
that really, that really changed you. And so we're sharing stories today.
		
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			And one person wrote in the chatbox that let's see,
		
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			my turning point was getting married nine years ago and then going through the hardship of
infertility only then I realized people can be so mean and judgmental towards suffering. I survived
them with the help of a law and the love of my husband.
		
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			May Allah subhanaw taala make it easy on you and and reward you for your patience. You know,
sometimes you do find in a ship of who really has vac and a lot of times you know you you'll find
when there's no one else that can can carry you right you'll always you'll see that Allah subhanaw
taala was there all along? Our problem is that there are many veils over our eyes and the the sight
of heart is covered by these are distractions and these other false senses of security again, you
know, if you're if you're, you know, you're you're standing somewhere and you need to have you have
to hold on to something you're looking for a handhold and and there may be the true handle that
		
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			isn't going to break. But what happens is you get distracted these false handholds
		
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			Right, and and because sometimes the other false handholds actually are decorated, and they look
really appealing, we hold on to those and those come in different forms, they, they may be our
friends, you know, maybe the friends who let you down, maybe money or your cost of, of status or is
that we think is going to hold us up that we think is going to make us happy and support us. And
then what happens is, those things break and, you know, eventually Allah Subhana Allah allows us to
be brought back to the only sturdy handhold that never breaks allowed what to do with oil and
phenomena. This this, this is the study had that never breaks. The last panel that has felt called
		
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			is stem seca below to what to call and for salmonella, from sort of the Mahara, that the one who you
know that Allah subhanaw taala is the only study handhold that never breaks and everything else,
naturally, if you put too much weight on it, it breaks, it lets you down and I and I asked that, you
know that this hardship for you will continue to be a blessing and be a means of getting you closer
to Allah subhana wa Tada, a friend of mine Actually, she, she went through like a very intense or
deal with her with her son, who was just a baby. And they found out that he had
		
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			a disease in his eye where he actually had to get a false eye, like the whole eyeball had to be
taken out. So panela and, you know, just hearing her talk about this, this story in this experience,
and how it actually ended up being a blessing for her family and how it, you know, brought her
family closer together and her and her child was then, I mean, it was given an artificial eye, but
it really didn't even look artificial and he was able to, you know, continue to to be you know, live
a normal healthy life and, and how it ended up bringing them closer to each other and closer to
Allah subhanaw taala. And, you know, these are things that you know, you could never plan you could
		
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			never imagine that they would turn out in this way, but it does happen, you know, Allah subhanaw
taala is the one who takes care of us in ways that we sometimes could never imagine. Again, and you
know, your stories are ones that we want to hear and we want to share and inshallah inspire others.
The number again is 714-988-8182 that's 714-988-8182 we just want to hear your, your stories and you
know, what are those things in your life that changed you and what were your turning points?
inshallah. So, another story that one of the listeners shared, says that
		
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			the only turning point in my life was my divorce. And it was only during the tough phase of saving
my marriage that I learned more about Islam, I learned about pleasing Allah and display and this
what displeasing him is about it was during the last five months of my marriage that I started
wearing hijab, my parents protested against, but I stood firm. And for this was very grateful for
one person, a well wisher who Allah sent to me to help me recognize the importance of hijab and
Salah. From that time I started praying my five time my five daily prayers, I strove to please Allah
and kept praying. I don't wish to say my divorce was bad since it was since it made me a better
		
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			Muslim and hamdulillah.
		
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			So, you know, again, this is, you know, may Allah subhanaw taala continue to to make it easy on you
and to bless you. And we ask Allah that, that everything that happens to us even the hard things and
even the things that we consider blessings, we ask that all of the experiences that we go through in
life, end up being a means to get closer to Allah subhanaw taala. That's, you know, because that's
the ultimate objective is to get closer to Allah subhanaw taala another person shares. I know a man
who lost his parents but refuse to be called an orphan. man enough to love a strong woman years
older, years older than him, worked for her and made her stronger, opened his heart to her, shared
		
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			his fears with her clean, cleaned after himself, sold his clothes and was faithful to her till his
lat till her last breath. He was good looking courageous and fearless. He never judged anyone on
their past or looks and was moderate, open minded and tolerant. his neighbor was Jewish and his
cousin in law was a Christian priest. He was beaten and exiled, when he was helpless, was merciful
when he became stronger, intelligent, wise and a hard worker built a nation out of rivaling tribes
in the last 20 years of his life. He loved his daughters, and granddaughter and grandchildren. His
last will was one of equality, piety and good action. This man is the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu
		
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			alayhi wa sallam, a man worth looking up to sal Allahu Allah who said them. Thank you.
		
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			for sharing that, that, you know,
		
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			one of the, the, you know, when you when you read about or you learn about the the story of the
Prophet Muhammad Sai send them, I think there are parts of his his story that really,
		
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			you know, affect us. And I think that there's there's certain aspects of his life which, which speak
to each of us differently. And I think that, you know, growing up for me, we learn about the life of
the prophets, I sell them and I think one of the hardest things for me was
		
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			the the concept of how do we depict our profits? How do we depict these inspirational, amazing, you
know, examples from the past the companions and the profits and, and I think that one of the, the
mistakes I believe, that we do in depicting them, is we depict them as being almost superhuman. And
I think that, at least for me, personally, that makes it harder for me to connect, when when they're
depicted as superhuman, but the Prophet sallallahu send them and all the prophets were actually
human beings. And yet, Allah subhanaw taala, you know, allowed, made the Prophet Mohammed Salah, the
example for us all sorts of Hashanah. But, uh, you know, it's interesting how some people, you know,
		
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			they relate differently to, you know, and are inspired differently. And I think, for me, personally,
I found that anytime I read about the, the, how he overcame his hardships, or how he was tested in
the times of, you know, that one of the most moving aspects of the prophets I send them life and,
you know, was, was one of the most powerful for him, was the year of sadness. And I mean, for me
personally, it's, it's that aspect of his life that I really connect to, and, and, you know, you
can, you can see, like, what he went through, and yet his concern at the end of the day was always
the same. And that was, as long as Allah is not displeased with me, then I don't mind, you know,
		
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			after everything he had been through, you know, in the year of sadness, he lost Khadija, Ilana, he
lost his uncle. And these were the two, you know, his two greatest supporters, he lost both of them
in the same year, and then after that once a fall if and was treated so badly, and was bleeding and,
and after all of that, his.is if as long as you are not displeased with me, then I don't mind. And
Neil that in and of itself is is such a powerful lesson for us. You know, no matter what he went
through, that was his focus and his concern. And even when, you know, there was a that at the very
beginning when there was a gap in the revelation. And he was worried, you know, maybe that that
		
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			something that Allah was displeased and Allah, you know, hid the comfort that Allah gives him is
what the * well, Lady either such as malwa, dakara, buco, amalco Allah, you know, Allah is
comforting him and telling him that your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is he displeased with you.
Allah knew that this is the the primary concern of the prophets I send them regardless of what
happened to him that was his focus. You know, in the profits I sell them is a beautiful example for
for all of time. And we asked Allah Spano Tata to allow us to truly embody his sadhana. You know,
and, and, and and really live by it. And, you know, when when we realize ultimately, that anyone who
		
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			tries to insult the prophets I sell them can never succeed because the prophets I send them will
always be honored and Allah subhanaw taala you know, has perfected has has protected his message. So
no matter what anyone tries to do to his, his his image or even if you know people try to change his
son, Allah will always protect it, and the prophets I send them will always be honored sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam
		
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			inshallah, we will take another very short break now, and returning we will continue to share
stories about your turning point and those life experiences that really changed you.
		
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			Salam Alaikum This is Yasmin Mujahid and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one legacy
radio. We are sharing today stories about
		
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			profound life experiences and how they changed us. What was your turning point and I asked you to
share your stories you can call in the radio station at 714-988-8182. Or if you feel
		
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			more comfortable you can share your stories in the chat box. we you know we we want to share it, we
want to hear you. We want to hear your stories.
		
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			So, let's see the chat box someone shared.
		
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			Someone wrote heartbroken by my ex boyfriend I learned no matter how big your worry and your sin is,
is still Allahu Akbar, meaning God is greater. His forgiveness is bigger. His way out is much more
beautiful. Thank you Allah. He can just he guided me He is the one who could Allah Spano tala is the
one who chooses to guide and you know, this, this is
		
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			it's an important lesson and thank you for sharing it, that no matter what it is, no matter what
were you have, or no matter what sin you have committed, Allahu Akbar, Allah is greater than it. And
that is, that's an important turning point is the realization of that.
		
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			This person says, My turning point was in 2003, when giving birth to my second child, during the
labor, I had so many complications, and many times they lost the baby's heartbeat, and handed it lab
baby was born fine. But I ended up in a wheelchair, my legs stopped working and I was in pain. for
over six months, I turned to a law.
		
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			And isn't that the way we are subpanel law when we are when we're comfortable. When we're when we're
on the boat, in the middle of the ocean, everything is according to plan. We don't realize that we
need a law. And as soon as you know, we those things are taken from us. The storm hits the boat
isn't working, it's breaking, there's nothing to hold on to. Even an atheist will turn to Allah in
that situation. And it's it's it's it's sometimes it's this human nature, this need actually to turn
to something higher than ourselves, and to depend on it. And so you know, this is this is not an
unusual story that when you are put in that situation, that's when you turn to Allah and
		
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			we ask Allah subhana wa tada to purify us.
		
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			And to make our difficulties a, a means of getting near getting closer to him, and a means of
elevation and a means of purification. I mean,
		
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			another listener shares that my turning point was coming to Morocco four years ago, because my dad
got remarried, I had to go to a French school, I was bullied. And I had so many problems at home,
people disrespected me because I wasn't beautiful enough. I found inner beauty and a law on my
search for outer beauty.
		
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			Wow, that's, that's a beautiful story. You know, sometimes, you know not having something makes us
search. And in that search, we find Allah soprano data. Another listener writes, my turning point
was coming.
		
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			I didn't rather I didn't want.
		
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			My turning point was when I gave birth.
		
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			And then though this is another story actually, similar my baby being born with a severe heart
condition. Then passing away last month, you really learn that we hold on to things that was never
ours. Our family health, wealth, are loans from Allah, and I learned it was never ours. That is
powerful in any lucky way Nayla Hello, Joan. We really truly belong to Allah and to Him we return.
Everything that we have, everything that we have doesn't belong to us, it belongs to Allah and it is
a loan that Allah subhanaw taala has given us, Allah gives us these things. And then when Allah
chooses to take them back, we say in that Illa he were in Malay, you know, Joan, may Allah subhanaw
		
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			taala make it easy on you to bear this loss and May Allah make this loss a means for you to reach
the highest level of gender. I mean, we are told that those people those children that learn that
die in childhood that they wait outside of Jenna for their parents, inshallah and wait there until
their parents come in, they enter together in gender and we ask Allah Spano Tata to make your child
and you among those mean
		
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			this listener shares the turning point in my life was the day I took my Shahada. I always believed
in God. But up until the day I became Muslim, I did not understand what believing in one God really
meant. accepting Islam as a way of life has changed everything I believe in and hamdulillah
		
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			You know, it is
		
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			You know, Allah subhanaw, taala says, tells us to enter into Islam wholeheartedly. This, even just
the meaning of Islam. You know, we, we use this word a lot, but I don't think we fully sometimes
absorb what it really means and the the very root of the heart of the of the meaning the root.
		
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			You know, it's it's submission, that Islam Muslim is someone who submits. And this is why the
Prophet, for example, so the line of Selim says that every single human being is born as a Muslim.
The reason is that every child is born in a natural state of submission to its creator. And then
it's only as the child grows, that, that that child's parents raised that child in one way or
another change that, that natural throw that natural inclination, that natural way of being in a
state of complete submission to God. This is also why we refer to a person who converts as actually
a revert, because that, that, you know, that individual taking the Shahada is not coming to
		
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			something new. But it's actually returning to the original state, the original natural state of
fitrah. And that is to be submitted completely, and entirely to the one single God. And this is our
natural state, and it's how we were born. So when we when we leave that natural state and come back
to it, we're actually reverting, coming back to La ilaha illa Allah, the Shahada that really truly
submitting ourselves to only one God.
		
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			So we are we're still opening up the lines. We have the the lines open at 714-988-8182. We have the
chat box open. We want to hear your your stories. What was your turning point? What are your
experiences that that that profoundly changed the course of your life?
		
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			someone shares in the chat box everyone please pray for me. I'm totally broken these days, people
are discouraging. And everybody is pointing and it seems that everything is getting close me living
an aimless life, I am not worthy to anyone, please guide me and pray for me.
		
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			May Allah subhanaw taala protect you and guide you and, you know, be your source of support and
inspiration always. May Allah subhanaw taala bless you in this life in the next. I think that a lot
of people go through points in their life where they feel this way. And it is only Allah subhanaw
taala who guides It is only Allah subhanaw taala who protects there's a hadith that says that all of
us are missed all of us are are unclothed except for those who Allah close, all of us are hungry,
except whom Allah feeds. All of us are are in this state of complete, you know, misguidance right,
we're all lost, except those whom Allah guides. So, we we are no different than you we are all in
		
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			that same boat of complete need for our Creator. He is the the one who guides He is the one who
protects He is the one who clothes and feeds and, and and provides for so we ask Allah subhanaw
taala to make your path easy and to make all of our paths easy to Allah subhanaw taala and to keep
our, our feet firm on his path. I mean, one of the doors that the prophets lie Selim made most often
was the mo parlodel kulu kulu benalla denecke alternative hearts, keep our hearts firm on your deen
on your way on your faith. And we ask Allah subhanaw taala to always do that for us to keep our
hearts firm, to keep our feet firmly planted on the straight path and mean
		
00:34:11 --> 00:34:39
			another listener shares I am a revert to snam and I accepted Assam when I was around 14 it was my
faith and desire to be close to a law that actually helped me throughout that phase. I knew nothing
about Assam except that I had read sorted Fatiha and the index of the Quran when I knew that this
message is true, a lot of luck. But, you know, this story reminds me of another very powerful story
of a woman who was born Muslim. And
		
00:34:41 --> 00:34:59
			she she was born Muslim but she you know, she wasn't practicing. She didn't really know much about
Islam. She hadn't read the Quran and she went through her life kind of looking for the truth in
different religions. She She spent some time as a Christian, she investigated other religions and
eventually, I think when she was in her 30s she opened up the
		
00:35:00 --> 00:35:44
			And for the first time, and she just read sooner than Fatiha just read through the fact that the
sooner that we read at least 17 times a day, if we're just praying the photo Ed, and she said that
she actually fainted, like physically fainted after reading Fatiha. And at that, after that she
absolutely knew that this was the truth. And it just it just, you know, shakes you because what she
read and sort of Fatiha again, something we read all the time. But she found in that one sutra, and
those is the answer to the questions that she had been asking her entire life. And it was such a
powerful experience for her. That was her turning point. It was such a powerful experience for her
		
00:35:44 --> 00:36:30
			that it actually she actually fainted. She physically fell, fell down. And you know, it's panela
this is this really, really shows us that there is a very, very powerful message that we have, but
we have neglected it we have we have put it aside on the shelf. And it isn't transforming us as it
should be. These same verses came down to the companions of the Prophet sallallahu Sallam and turn
them from camel herders. And people who would very girls alive to the best, you know, the best
people that walk the earth, the greatest, you know, some of the greatest human beings, those who are
promised Jenna, that transformation. It wasn't, you know, wasn't a magic potion. There was no, you
		
00:36:30 --> 00:37:18
			know, it was it was no miracle that happened. It was the end, it was the same exact words that we
still have today. And it transformed them like that. These words are extremely powerful, but we've
neglected them. We don't. We don't. We don't really, you know, we don't really try to understand we
don't really even when we read the words of Allah subhanaw taala. We don't read it in the right way.
We sometimes go to the end, with a heart that's not really ready to accept with a heart that's not
really looking, or a heart that's really preparing to submit. That's what it means to be a Muslim is
that we, we want to know what is God's saying? So that we can say, truly, we hear and we obey semana
		
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20
			altana, we hear and we obey.
		
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			This is how we need to approach the words of Allah subhanaw taala how we need to approach the Quran.
But if we don't approach in that way, it just becomes something that we decorate our walls with, or
we put on necklaces. And we really have to transform the way that we we approach the Quran and the
way that the end affects us and affects our lives. We will take another short break. When we return
we will continue sharing your stories about your turning point.
		
00:38:12 --> 00:38:43
			Santa Monica, Jasmine which I hit and you're listening to serenity streaming live on one legacy
radio. We are sharing some more stories today about what was your turning point? What was that
experience in your life that changed you and we have a number of you know very powerful stories we
we may not be able to get to all of them but one of them reads said I'm on a call. I didn't always
understand the power of Islam until surprisingly, it wasn't from fear of *, etc. but rather it
was a beautifully
		
00:38:48 --> 00:39:34
			beautifully explicit description of Jenna which brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of the
blessing of my Lord and changed me at hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen that is that is a that is a
beautiful story you know sometimes as children we are taught so much about fearing Hellfire you know
and you better do this or you're gonna get punished or you know God's gonna get you and it's it's
it's too bad that we teach our children in this way because it isn't the way that Allah teaches us
about himself philosophy. No Donna says that my mercy prevails over my wrath and how Allah subhanaw
taala describes himself as how we should teach about Allah subhanaw taala Yes, Hellfire is true, and
		
00:39:34 --> 00:40:00
			Jenna is true but Allah subhanaw taala as mercy prevails over his wrath, who we need to teach about
the mercy of Allah subhanaw taala we need to teach our children specifically from from a very young
age to love Allah subhanaw taala and not just, you know, this instilling this concept of fear,
because I think it's very hard for a child to love see, as adults, I think we become more safe.
		
00:40:00 --> 00:40:18
			sophisticated not understanding in our thinking. And we can conceive of the idea of fearing and
loving someone at the same time. But as children, I think it's very difficult to, to conceive of
that, that you're, you know, you're afraid of someone and you love them, you know, someone who's,
who's, who's potentially going to do these, you know,
		
00:40:19 --> 00:40:46
			these very, you know, drastic things to me if I'm bad, I'm also going to be very attached and I'm
going to love it's hard for a child to understand that and, you know, as adults, we can, we can, we
can have more sophisticated understanding, but as children, we really just need to instill the, the
feeling of love for Allah and the feeling of, of desiring Jenna, you know, that children can
understand these concepts at their level, they can understand that, you know,
		
00:40:47 --> 00:40:48
			in this life,
		
00:40:49 --> 00:41:27
			they have to first eat their vegetables before they get candy, right or they have to, you know, the
ether their dinner before they can get ice cream, but you know, agenda, they can just have the candy
and ice cream without the vegetables. I mean, this is a concept of very, very elementary concept
that will make a child who want to quote agenda and I can tell you that from from personal
experience, every child has some something they wish for, you know, that maybe they can't have in
this life, tell that child you know, in general inshallah, you'll have those things, that child will
want to go to Jenna. And as that child grows, we'll always remember that there's this place, right
		
00:41:27 --> 00:42:07
			where I can have whatever I wanted, it isn't Chuckie cheese, and, you know, it's it's not
Disneyland, but it's something so much greater. That's how we, we really build that attachment in
our children to Allah subhana wa Tada. And that's something that grows and remains in the child,
unlike in the concept of just trying to scare your child until vain. Unfortunately, as the child
grows, they just oftentimes rebel. This, you know, there were these, it's when it's not about love,
and it's just about chains, you know, and rules. A lot of times the child you know, becomes a
teenager and becomes an adult, and now just wants to break out of that and just wants to rebel
		
00:42:07 --> 00:42:49
			against all of it. And unfortunately, that's the trend we see. We need to change the way we're
teaching our children in Sunday school and in a ceramic school. That that that this obedience to our
Creator, is an obedience out of love. It is an obedience that is directly born out of love. When you
love someone, you naturally want to be close to them. When you love someone, you naturally want to
please them and be and do what they want you to do. This is a natural feeling that we have, even
towards human beings. And so a child will be able to you know, that as that person grows, will
naturally have that, that desire to please, if they really really love Allah subhanaw taala and they
		
00:42:49 --> 00:43:16
			desire Jenna, that's really such an important aspect that I think we need to really focus on in the
way in which we educate our children about Allah subhanho data. So thank you for sharing your story.
And I think there's a lot of people who can relate to that type of you know, that that type of
upbringing and we need to really make a change in Shaolin in in how we conceive of Allah subhana wa
tada and and of his Deen.
		
00:43:17 --> 00:43:43
			This person shares that my turning point was when my businesses were doing badly, I gave them up
because they were hot on I did it for 15 years, I stuck with a law. I had nothing left but I turned
to Allah and begged to make me a true slave. In one year, I went for aamra came back and now work
for an Islamic charity serving others Allahu Akbar. It's a beautiful story. We This is
		
00:43:44 --> 00:44:32
			a real life example of what Allah subhanaw taala tells us, mainly of tequila yadgir Allah who
Maharajah whiterose Oklahoman highflyer, whoever has fear of God, who has that consciousness of God
and know and obeying Him and staying away from those things that he prohibits. Whoever has taqwa of
Allah subhanho data Nage Allah who Maharajah Allah says that we will make for him a way out. When I
was Oklahoma in high school I gotta save and we will provide for him from places that he never
imagined. These are words of the Creator. So they're not just cliches, right? I was a villa Allah
speaks a word Allah means that right? Allah always keeps his promises. Allah is saying that if you
		
00:44:32 --> 00:45:00
			really really fear Him, and you do what is right, even if it means giving up a business, which is
displeasing to him, or giving up a relationship which is displeasing to him. Anytime you do that,
out of fear of God and out of love of God alone will make a way out for you and then on top of it
will provide you from places you never imagined alone will not only get you out of that battle.
		
00:45:00 --> 00:45:13
			Situation help you to, you know, to make a make an opening out of it but will also provide for you.
And from places you never could have thought. This is the promise of Allah subhana wa tada and a lot
always, always keeps his promises.
		
00:45:17 --> 00:45:28
			someone writes, I am worried about not finding a righteous husband, knowing that I never had
relationship with guys, as I believe that such relationships should be through marriage and nothing
else. How can I kill such worries?
		
00:45:29 --> 00:46:18
			This is a worry a lot of people have just like people worry about, you know, how are they going to
provide for their families? Or how are they going to, you know, keep keep a roof over their heads.
This is another form of risk. Our our children, our our spouses, these are also considered risks
from a law provision. And the way to kill the worry is through Amen. You know, the opposite of amen
is this anxiety in this war, amen is when you, you know you, you have that faith, but you have that
security, you know that Allah is the one who provides the only way to to reduce or kill the anxiety
and the worry about your provision is to see that it was up. So the only, you know, the only way
		
00:46:19 --> 00:47:05
			that you're going to kill the fear. Or the worry about your risk, is to see the animals app, if you
see the provider, you're not going to worry about the provision, if you really know that a law is
the provider, and you focus on that if you and when I say See, I mean that your heart sees him that
your heart knows him that your heart realizes that a lie is the source and a law is the provider. If
you if you see the provider, you're never going to be worried about the provision. And if you know
and you know that your spouse is a form of provision, your money is a form of provision, your health
is a form of provision. A law is the source. If you seek the source, you never worry about it. So it
		
00:47:05 --> 00:47:47
			really has to do with to hate, it has to do with this focus of the heart knowing where everything
comes from, again, the concept of in nearly Lehi, we're in La Mirada own. Everything comes from a
large children, our spouses, our money, our provision, all of it comes from Allah, and all of it
returns to Allah subhanho data, so you seek it from him. And that's key, it's very important that
you realize that none of these things come from the creation, your money doesn't come from the
creation, your career, your job, your spouse, your children, your health, none of it comes from the
creation. And so you make sure that you're not seeking these things from the creation, but you seek
		
00:47:47 --> 00:48:34
			it from the source. Does that mean you can't seek the help of the creation? No, the creation, of
course, Allah subhanaw taala has made these things as as means. And s Bab are things that we use,
for example, I have a headache, I take a Tylenol, right? That's a means that's a tool that Allah has
created, I'm hungry, I eat an apple. You know, those are things that we use to fill our hunger or we
use the medicine to take away the pain. But ultimately, we know that Allah is the one who cures and
Allah is the one who feeds, we can use these these tools and we can engage in the means but it's
very important to understand the source and to know where the sources of the spouse that you want.
		
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			So ask Allah subhanaw taala and make to realize Allah is the source. And ultimately also know this,
that Allah wants what's best for you. If Allah subhanaw taala chooses not to send you exactly what
you're asking for, in the form that you're asking for. Know that Allah has something better for you.
And that's very important that trust has to be there. You have to have that that level of trust with
a law that if a law is withholding something from you, it is for your own good. It's in your best
interest a lot only has your best interests in mind. So have that trust in him, ask him for what you
want. But know that Allah always has your best interests in mind, even if the result isn't exactly
		
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			how we ask. We have firm faith that it's what is best for us, including Cody Heather was stopped for
a lolly welcome. innovaphone Rahim subhanak Hello but samdech in a shadow and that Allah Allah and
Mr. Spiro Kona to Lake was salam o aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa barakato