Sincerely, Yours
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. for joining us for another episode of Sincerely Yours. This is Ibrahim Hindi. I'm with my co-host Sheikh Abdullah Aduru. Sheikh Abdullah, how are you doing? Alhamdulillah, Sheikh. How are you doing? Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. Really excited, happy to be back, right? Of course, of course, of course. Alhamdulillah. We've had some great sessions and you know, today is going to be another one, inshaAllah. We want to hear from everyone, you know, some of the point of these sessions and us coming together and having these lives is so that we can connect with the audience. So those of you who are joining us, let us know where you're joining us from. If you have questions, you know, please feel free to put it in the chat. We want to hear from all of you, inshaAllah. We want to connect with all of you. We want you to learn, you know, more about our scholars and our teachers and get to connect with them better, right, Sheikh? Yes, definitely. Alhamdulillah. That's the beauty of this and that's what distinguishes it is that we get to see the human side of them and it's all a reminder for all of us when we look into our lives and see subhanAllah the similarities and some of the differences that allows us to appreciate one another. Absolutely. We have people from all over the world, Alhamdulillah, joining us. Sister Nasreen from Australia, salamu alaykum. Nala from California. We have Brother Ahmed from Calgary, which is where our guest is coming from. Calgary, I believe. InshaAllah. Salamu alaykum, Brother Ali from Ottawa. So let us know, inshaAllah, where you're coming from. We want to hear from all of you and let us know if you have questions for our guests. You know, really this is an opportunity for you to get to know the people that you learn about Islam from, right? You watch the khutbah, you read the articles, you're engaged in their video series and you want to know who that person is, where they're from, what their story is. This is your opportunity. This is what these whole sessions are all about, inshaAllah. We have Sister Latifa from Maryland, salamu alaykum. Brother Rafiq from Pakistan.
It really amazes me, Shaykh, you know, from all around the world there's just people tuning in and wanting to connect and makes us feel connected to the ummah in this way. No, no, inshaAllah. I appreciate all of you for tuning in. I mean, that shows that you appreciate the work of Yaqeen. You appreciate the individuals that are doing the work. You appreciate just the movement, right? Just the mission of this work. And every time you tune in, we read the questions, we read the comments, and it means a lot. It's not something that's just written. We don't look at it. It means a lot. We even actually have a Slack group, you know, of like shoutouts and, you know, people that mention certain things and thanking all of you and making dua for all of you, inshaAllah, tabarakAllah. So, jazakumullah khairan. Yeah, absolutely. Actually, there is a link in the description of this video. If you go into the description, there's a link there. And that's for people to give us feedback. So, if you want us to, you know, change something or to add something or to invite someone or to ask something different, you know, that's for you to give us feedback. There's actually some feedback that we got in one of the messages that we're going to implement today. And I'll just leave that for later. This is just a bit of a teaser, inshaAllah, for everyone, including our guests and including Sheikh Abdullah. It's just something we'll be throwing in, inshaAllah. But let us know where you're coming from and let us know what questions you have for our guest, inshaAllah. And with that, I will introduce our guest, Sheikh Naveed Aziz. He completed his associate's degree in commerce and social studies before heading to the Islamic University of Medina. He went on to complete a diploma in Arabic language as well as a bachelor's in Islamic law with a specialization in fiqh and in usul al-fiqh. He is currently the director of religious and social services for the Islamic Information Society of Calgary. He became the first ever Muslim chaplain with the Calgary Police Services in 2015. Sheikh Naveed is also Al-Maghrib's director of public relations and instructor
dedicated to reviving the Muslim mindset on spirituality, morality, education, and mutual respect. With that, I'd like to welcome our guest, Sheikh Naveed. Sheikh, how are you? Alhamdulillah, I'm doing very well. JazakumAllah khairan for having me. Alhamdulillah, it's been a minute since we've seen each other. Yeah, subhanAllah. You know, we were just talking before this started that now we measure time in terms of decades. You know, as you get older, you're spending time in decades. It's no longer days, weeks, months. It's decades, really, subhanAllah. May Allah make it easy. May Allah make it easy. Actually, I didn't know, like we just talking right before we came out live, that both of you were in Medina at the same time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we were in Medina at the same time. We got accepted in the same year. And it was the best years of my life, man, subhanAllah. Absolutely the best years of my life. Allah hu Akbar. Yeah, those were the days. I got to mention this, Sheikh Muhammad. I remember, see, I check Sheikh Muhammad already. Exactly. You know, see, we knew him, even if you ask Sheikh Tahir, Sheikh Tahir Wyatt, we knew him as Muhammad Kennedy. Yeah. That's how we knew him, like Kennedy from Canada, right? So I remember when I came back one summer, and this is when you started with Al Maghrib, and your first, I think it was your first dars ever was on The Life of Bukhari. That was way before Al Maghrib, bro. That was 2004. That was with Elmquest. Elmquest, yeah, Elmquest, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I heard the CD because in the Dawa house in Houston, remember? Yeah, exactly. I used to go there with Khalil and the brothers, right? So I'd go there to hang out. And he was playing the CD. I'm like, I know this voice. He's like, that's Sheikh Naveed. I'm like, nah, I'm not Sheikh Naveed, man. He sounds just like his brother, Muhammad Kennedy. And then Khalil was like, Muhammad Kennedy? No, this is Sheikh Naveed. Yeah. And I was like, what? And then I said, this has to be Muhammad Kennedy. That's when I found out. Yeah, somehow. You know, it was, as you know, every Desi parent needs to name their son Muhammad something, right? So even though we don't refer to ourselves as Muhammad out of respect, we use our middle names.
But in Medina, it was such a mission getting my name right, because when they made my application, the brother that filled it out would fill it out with his hand. So he put three dots on top of the fa as a V. So then when I got to Medina, the brother is filling out my application on the computer. He's like, there's no fa with three dots. So I'll do the next best thing. I'll put two dots on top. And that's how I became Muhammad Naqeed. I don't know if you remember that. And for like six and a half years, I'm going as Muhammad Naqeed. And it's just too much of a mission to get it changed. And the only time I bothered to get it changed was when I finally graduated and got my shahada. You know, I had to go back a second time to get it fixed. And then they put a fa instead of a qaf. So then I became Muhammad Naqeed. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Who knows what Naqeed is? Like another jazz version of naqid. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Exactly. Oh, man. Yeah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. So like let us know, how did you get started on this path? Like before you got to Medina, you know, what was it that got you interested in learning about Islam and taking that step of going and pursuing knowledge overseas? For sure. You know, a lot of it started off with my father, Rahimahullah. I mean, he was very observant of the faith, always prayed, always, you know, in the masjid for Ramadan. And mashallah, he was very, very active when he was alive. But he kept faith very private to himself. So if there was something that he imposed upon us or encouraged us to do, we would just always observe him do that. And then as I got older, my mom's sister's husband, he's like, hey, you know, you should start going to the masjid with your dad. You should start praying, start doing this and that. And that's how I got involved. So then when I was 13, we were on our way to Pakistan to just go on vacation during the summertime. And during that trip, we had a stopover in Dubai, and we stayed with some of our relatives. And that's when I got introduced to Sheikh Abu Aminah Billah Phillips. And I want to say this was the first time in my life that I heard an English khutbah.
We went to the Filipino embassy in Dubai, and Sheikh Abu Aminah was giving the khutbah over there. And that's when I first met him. And then I went back the following summer, met him again, and eventually we invited him to Montreal. And we kept in touch till I guess around 15, 16, I started learning Arabic. And then eventually I went to the summer camp. This is going to be really funny. This is where I met one of your previous guests, Sheikh Yahya Ibrahim, at the Troy summer camp. Really wild stuff, man. I couldn't make this up. And I have some crazy stories about that summer camp, which I'm not going to bring up right now. But then I met Sheikh Yahya, and I met Abu Samad Zahabi. And I think Abu Samad Zahabi, you know, Hafidhahumullah, they had a very profound impact in wanting to go and study Islam and take it to the next level. And they really encouraged me to apply to Medina, even though I didn't know at that time really what Medina University was. I just knew it was some university in the Middle East and in Saudi Arabia. Then I turned 16, and my father takes me for Umrah in Ramadan. And that's when I met Sheikh Ibn Thaymeen, rahimahullah ta'ala. Again, I speak very basic Arabic, and he's giving classes after Salatul Fajr in the Haram in Mecca. And I'm trying to pick up whatever I can, and there was this Pakistani brother that, mashaAllah, barakAllah, he would always encourage me to go and always try to help me with the translation and help me understand. And I think that solidified the decision that I wanted to study. I just didn't know where. And back then, you know, you had one of two options, at least one of two options that was presented to me. Either you went to Yemen to study in the Madj, or you went to the Islamic University of Medina. Those were your two options. So one summer, this is probably the summer right after, a friend of mine is like, hey, there are teachers from the Islamic University of Medina here in Montreal, and, you know, let's go apply.
And it's a very funny story, because at that time, I didn't connect the dots. That when he's like, I'm going to go apply to a university in Saudi Arabia, I didn't click that it's the Islamic University of Medina. So I was like, sure, you know, I'll come tag along with you. And he was my ride home from the Arabic classes. We went into the application, and it was the funniest thing, because the brother at the door, as soon as you enter the masjid, he's jotting down everyone's names. And I thought he was recruiting people for Jama'at Tabligh. He's trying to send people to take him off of Furooch. So I gave him my right name. But I don't think I gave him the right phone number, because I'm like, I don't want you showing up at my house. Are you calling me? Like, I don't want to be a part of this thing. But eventually, they started calling people out by their last names. And I was like the second or third person on the list. And Abdullah, you're going to get a laugh out of this. But do you remember Musa from Ottawa? Yes, of course, man. That's where Musa from Ottawa applied as well. So he eventually came later the next day, but I didn't end up meeting him there, subhanAllah. SubhanAllah. So I did the interview. The interview was very easy, man. Like, he asked you a couple of Fikr questions, a couple of Aqidah questions. Even though I got the vast majority of them wrong. Like, I know that for a fact. But he was so easygoing. He's like, recite whatever Quran you know, you know, do whatever you want. And I think where things got really interesting was at the end of the interview, he's like, hey, I need four pictures. And I'm like, what do you need four pictures for? And I'm like, look, I've been on Jama'at before. No one's ever asked me for pictures. Oh, man, subhanAllah. And he's like, what are you talking about? This is what Islam University has. And I was like, what? And I was like, whatever. I was like, okay, I'll go get these pictures. And I still have my, like, they eventually mail you this beat up letter. It's not even printed on the laser printer. It's printed out on those, like, digitized printers from like, way back in the day. Oh, man, that's so true. And I still have that and it has my picture. And I have, like, this serious slash frown on my face. And every time I tell the story, I'm like, this is why I was angry.
Because I didn't want to do this, and he was forcing me to do this. Like, go and get the pictures. So I come back, and then nine months later, eventually I get this acceptance letter. And that was, like, some other drama in my house. Because at that time, my mother, she's practicing, but not, like, totally practicing. And she sort of freaks out. She's like, what is this Islamic University of Medina? Why did you apply without telling me? Like, mom, it's a wild story. You're not going to believe what happened. But then eventually there was this brother. And, Bill, I'm not sure if you're going to remember him. Faisal Shafiq. I'm not sure if you remember him at all. He was probably in third year of Sharia when we got there. Third or fourth year of Sharia when we got there. And he was a translator for Dar es Salaam, but he was from my locality in the south shore of Bursar in Montreal. And my mom got in touch with his mom, and his mom was like, yeah, you know, Faisal came back so obedient, so subservient to his parents. Amazing. And my mom had a change of heart. She's like, OK, you got to go. This is what you got to go do. I'm like, Allahu Akbar. And then, you know, she had a change of heart. And Alhamdulillah, I went for my first year. And I remember on the plane ride there, I arrived into New York City. And I met Sheikh Tahir White for the first time on that plane ride before I even got to Medina. Obviously, I didn't know who he was, and he didn't know me. But that story always replays in my mind at that time that he was the first Medina student that I saw before I got there. And then it's a wild story what happens thereafter. Just to summarize it, they lost my luggage. They kicked me off the plane. I had to take the bus to Medina. And getting to Medina, I was sleeping in the masjid for like three days because I didn't have my acceptance letter with me. And they didn't accept my password as identification of me being a student there. So the first couple of days, I was sleeping in the masjid. And then that's where I met Sheikh Yasser Qadhi for the first time at Jumma.
Like he saw me in my Western clothes. I had these Allen Iverson basketball shoes from way back in the day. So that's how he identified me as North American. And he's like, hey, American, come here. I'm like, who's this guy that keeps calling me American? And it's none other than Sheikh Yasser Qadhi. And for me, that was a very surreal moment because I had just bought his introduction to the science of the Quran that very summer. And I'm like, man, Yasser Qadhi is an Arab. And you don't look Arab, dude. Don't tell me you realize that. So yeah, that was just an amazing experience, man. Allah hu Akbar. I could share a thousand stories from my time there. But yeah, that's how it all began, inshaAllah. So I'm indebted to my predecessors is what I can say. Alhamdulillah. JazakAllah khair. SubhanAllah. It's kind of one of the questions I was going to ask was that at that time, the dawah scene wasn't so built up. There was no yaqeen. There's no al-nazrib. There's no all these things. And going into dawah was kind of like, well, how are you going to earn a living? And are you going to go study four years? And then you're going to come back and have to figure out how to get another job. And it must have been pretty difficult making that decision, taking that step. And was that something that came to your mind? Was that something that made your parents maybe a little worried about you going? And how did you deal with that? What's really funny is I remember this incident where these three, and I'm going to emphasize this, Desi aunties came to my mom's house. And they're like, how is he going to buy a house if he goes to Medina? And then everyone, like that was a big thing. Like, how are you going to buy a house? And I'm like, dude, I'm not concerned about buying a house right now. But then they planted the seed of doubt in my mom's mind that don't you see how the local imam is treated in our locality? And in my head, I'm like, you're the ones that treat him like that. You're the ones that do this. But I wasn't confrontational. And to give you context, this is a really serious panel of how badly imams are treated in certain parts of the world. He was paid under the table.
And it's like peanuts on the dollar. And he's basically encouraged to take welfare and any extra money that he needs, the much is going to top off on top of that. That's how the imam was pretty much paid. So that planted a seed of doubt. But the positive thing that really came out of this is that when I got to Medina, as I mentioned, this brother, Faisal Shafiq, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make things easy for him. He was a translator for Dar Es Salaam. And he was like, yeah, you can translate and you'll get by. And then eventually I saw brothers that were teaching English during the summer times. I went and got my TESOL certificate. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala provided through that. And then I guess one of my funnier incidents was even discussing this with Sheikh Yassaf Hadi. Like his big thing was he wanted to finish and then he was going to get his Microsoft certification at that time and do something related to like coding or tech or something like that. That's what his plan was, because as a Medina graduate, there weren't many prospects for you that, yeah, you'd go back and be an imam. But for most people, that wasn't enough to survive. It really was not enough to survive. So you had to come up with a side gig. You had to come up with a main source of employment. And then this the teaching and the imam ship is something that you do on the side. But Alhamdulillah, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala had a plan for all of us. Right. That the Da'wah seemed drastically changed while I was even studying. So by the time I got back, it was completely different. And, you know, it almost went in the other direction. SubhanAllah. Like the whole celebrity culture really started to kick in just around 2009, 2010. And I just got back in 2008. And SubhanAllah, you know, every reaction creates an equal or greater reaction. So the dua'at and imams went from like extreme poverty to almost like a thought-like following on social media as it started. SubhanAllah.
It was a very interesting transition, a very, very interesting transition. Wow. That's interesting you said that. I didn't think of it like that. SubhanAllah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. But I think it helps like in the past when you were going and you didn't even know like are you going to be able to make enough money to support your family. That gave you more sincerity, right? Versus – and that's why SubhanAllah maybe that's why that class of students yourself, Sheikh Yasir, Sheikh Tahir, Sheikh Abdullah, all of you guys, SubhanAllah, have had an impact on your community because you went there really for nothing but the knowledge, right? Yeah, I mean, SubhanAllah, this is directly related to the level of hardship that you face, right? And I believe that the more hardship that you face in your journey to seeking knowledge, the more you're going to appreciate it. And you can apply that to all aspects of life that the more you struggle for something, the more you cherish it. So clearly that was definitely an element where, you know, SubhanAllah, let's talk about the fact that we're in three different cities right now communicating with one another. In Medina, in my first year, there were no cell phones, like cell phones who hadn't even arrived in Saudi Arabia. By the second year when they arrived, you were only allowed putting eight phone numbers into your phone. And those are the only eight phone numbers you can call. If you wanted to make an international call, you had to go to a phone cabin. Now – yeah, exactly, exactly. You remember all of that, SubhanAllah. Internet, do you remember Tayyiba Internet in front of Qibla Tayyib? You were the one that told me about it. I remember that. Exactly, exactly. Like I already had a Hotmail account and I was using email at that time. And we were like 12 people connected to one dial-up connection. In one hour, you would be able to check like one or two emails. And that was your time using the Internet. By the time I left, they had like these dongles that you could bring with you wherever you go. You could even use it in your house. And that's how I eventually got Internet in my apartment.
So all of these struggles of not having Internet, not having direct access to your family, clearly you appreciated the knowledge that you went to go see. So yeah, it makes a huge difference without a shadow of a doubt. Yeah, SubhanAllah. Yeah, you bring back a lot of memories, a lot of flashbacks, man. SubhanAllah, man. Remember the muck stuff? Of course, 100%. Like you're so desperate for food, but you got to prepare yourself to get diarrhea. Those are your choices. You stay hungry, or you eat, but then you get sick. Like... Oh, the cafeteria, the jammie, that was like a death wish. Bro, I lasted four days there. I saw the guy using the mop to clean the floor and then to clean the trays. I'm like, this is not happening again. This is not happening again. Yeah, really well-taught, SubhanAllah. Oh, man, so many memories, man. SubhanAllah. Well, for our listeners, I just want to remind everyone, InshaAllah, if you have a question you want to ask Shaykh Naveed, you can leave it in the chat. InshaAllah, hopefully we'll be able to get to it. And as well, if you have any feedback for us, there is a link in the description for you to add your feedback, InshaAllah. Shaykh, who would you say had the greatest impact in your life? And I know, like when we ask this question, usually people pick their parents. So if it's your parents, that's cool. And tell us if it is. And if it is, then also tell us someone who's not your parents, who's had a big impact on you. I think the problem isn't in the answers that people are giving. The problem is in the question itself. Like we need to specify the question, like impact in your life in what way, right? Because I think if we're talking about a holistic general impact, then nothing is going to replace your parents, man. The fact that they are making dua for you all the time and supporting you, the unconditional love,
that's the reality of the fact that we are where we are through the duas of our parents and the tawfiq of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. But to say, I would say that there are different people that have different impacts on my life from all aspects. So, you know, if I look at fiqh-wise, one of the things I really benefited from when I came back from Medina was seeing how Sheikh Waleed bin Sunni, hafiqallah, answers questions in fiqh. Like he's always called the imam that can make things easy for you. But it's not out of like whims and desires of like wanting to change anything, but it's out of like he sees the hardship that people are going through and his knowledge, based upon the various opinions that exist within Islam, allows him to find the opinion that accommodates to a person's need. So fiqh-wise, you know, I really love that approach that he had. When I look at in terms of not being dependent on the Muslim community, I was very, very fortunate, alhamdulillah, when I came back, you know, the very first year I met Sheikh Muhammad Sharif and Sheikh Muhammad Sharif was just launching Discover You at that time. And I saw that his passion of desire of not wanting to be held captive and hostage within the Muslim community. Right. So that was like a huge learning experience for me that, yeah, you have to learn some sort of independence. So you're not dependent upon the Muslim community for your sources of income. Someone like Sheikh Yasser Qadi, you know, his zeal of going into academia and engaging at a completely different level. That for me is still inspirational. You know, I have a very fascinating story of the multiple attempts I've tried to do a master's and how it hasn't been successful. But that desire of wanting to engage, you know, non-Muslims at an academic level and just educate people on Islam at an academic level. A lot of that stems from what I saw him do. Right. Other students that, you know, like Sheikh Tahir, like Sheikh Kamal, I'm not sure if you remember Sheikh Kamal Abdullah from Australia.
Man, this guy spent like 23 years or something in Medina from like Ma'had Al-Lughah to like his doctora. Like his daughter got old enough that she married a Medina student while he was there. And I was like, man, that is dedication of Talab ul-Ilm. So when I think of like, OK, being motivated to study more and learn more and read more, you know, these guys are an inspiration. So I think in all aspects of my life, I've been fortunate Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has always guided me towards people that inspire me in all of those things. What about some of the shuyukh that you benefited from in Medina? Just give us like three, man. I'll give you two. I'll give you two. Yeah, I'll give you two. One, without a shadow of a doubt, Sheikh Ahmad Rashid al-Ruhaili. Hafizahu Allahu ta'ala. Oh, MashaAllah. Interestingly enough, he's the only one that I still stay in touch with. MashaAllah. You know, till this day, whenever I go for Umrah or for Hajj, he either invites me to his house or I meet him in the Dar ul-Iftar inside Masjid Nabwi. And, you know, what was really fascinating about him, SubhanAllah, was he was my Arabic teacher in the Ma'had Al-Lughah where we're learning Arabic. And he had written the books on Kira'ah for Mustawa Thalith and Mustawa Rabi'a. And those books were so fascinating because you were learning Arabic through basically storytelling. But they had the stories of like the Mihna of Imam Ahmad and the trials that he went through and the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ of the three men that were, you know, tried by the angel. It's like all these beautiful things. And then I think the turning point for me was we were the last year that had something called Mustawa Qamis. And Mustawa Qamis, you know, we were doing Umdah Al-Ahkam, we were doing Tafsir Al-Sa'di, Al-Aqeedah Al-Wasitiyah. And then he was also my teacher for Al-Aqeedah Al-Wasitiyah.
And then as we were transitioning from the Ma'had Al-Lughah, the Arabic Institute, to the faculty of Sharia, you know, there was an element of sadness where I'm like, I want to keep studying with you. So then that's when I started doing Umdah Al-Fiqh and Zad al-Mustaqna with him and then even attending, you know, private classes and just asking questions with him. But the most appealing thing to me was, one, his genuine love that he had for his students. Like you could feel a genuine love that he had towards his students. And the number two was his akhlaq. Like his akhlaq was unparalleled. SubhanAllah, he would see me walking on the streets randomly in Medina. He would pull over to the side of the road to pick me up and take me wherever I was going. And those sort of things, you know, always struck a special place in my heart that he showed love and I wanted to reciprocate that love as much as possible. The ilm that came through him was a benefit of that. So I think that was really, really beautiful. Until this day, you know, anytime I have a question, he is one of the individuals that I reach out to. Then the second individual that I stayed in touch with for a long time, but I would say maybe around like 2014, 2015, the sheikh changed his number, was Sheikh Salih al-Sindhi. Sheikh Salih al-Sindhi was our aqidah teacher in the faculty of Sharia. And he had a background in usool al-fiqh. So I believe his master's was in usool al-fiqh and then his PhD was in aqidah. And the way he was able to bring everything back in aqidah and the way that he had principlized and brought principles in aqidah, for me, it resonated very, very well. Like, you know, it's not possible, at least for me, to memorize every single ayah, every single hadith pertaining to particular topics. But the way he structured everything into principles, where if you memorize these principles, it's as if you've memorized all these ayat and hadith that are all encompassing. So that really, you know, allured me to him, like his logical approach to everything.
Yeah, I would say those are the two teachers that probably had the biggest impact that I directly got to study with. Obviously, you know, you hear the big names of Sheikh Abdullah Nuh Hussein Abad and Sheikh Muhammad Muqtada al-Shankriti, hafidhahumullah. I attended their halaqas from afar, you know, I was not with their close students. I benefited from what they had to say, but the level of impact stayed very theoretical. But with these other two teachers, spending time with them, practically visiting them in their homes, you know, I think that had a much deeper impact. Seeing how they were with their families, seeing, you know, day to day life, man, that was very, very special to me. Jazakumullah khairan. That's what I didn't even know, Sheikh Hasindi, that mashallah, I didn't know that he had his degree in usul, because, you know, he taught me in Mustawwif, in Qulat al-Sharia, the College of Sharia, Faculty of Islamic Law, I think in our third year. And I remember he was so upset because they were going to take out Tawheed, the class of Tawheed, in the fourth year of the College of Islamic Law. But I'm from the fareek ul-usuliyyin, I love team usul, like the way that they teach, it's very structured, it's very mantiqi, it's very like an academic, philosophical, with lowercase letters approach. Like they categorize it, and then they'll say like, if someone was to say this, what would you say? Well, one would say this, but if this person said this, how would you answer it? And, you know, subhanAllah, him and Sheikh Tariq al-Dawsiri, I mean, these were like, for me, it was really... Sheikh Salih Hasindi, his approach, I mean, if you Google him, he's on YouTube as well, I mean, he has to write in Arabic, I think, but his approach, subhanAllah, is amazing. I mean, you know, so, mashallah. And Sheikh Ahmed, as you mentioned, mashallah, again, he's, mashallah, again, someone that we all benefited from immensely, immensely, alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
So, Sheikh, you know, we like to ask our guests to reflect on an ayah or hadith of their choosing, and maybe this is an opportunity for you to reflect on an ayah or hadith that you can choose for us, inshaAllah. Man, subhanAllah, I remember you had asked me this question, but I don't remember what answer I put. I think it was from Surah Yusuf, if I'm not mistaken. I think so as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Allahu Akbar. You know, I think we can turn this into a beneficial reminder, inshaAllah. Often in life, we don't know which direction our lives are going to go in. So, going back to a previous question you asked me, you know, was there a worry, was there a concern of how are you going to earn your livelihood? Yes, there was a concern, but this concept of tawakkal overrides that fear, overrides that concern that you have. Now, what are the mechanisms and techniques that you develop to increase that tawakkal? And I think these verses in Surah Yusuf that I had suggested are alluding to that. So, firstly, you know, Surah Yusuf begins with Yusuf alayhi salam having this dream of his brothers and his parents as the stars and the sun and the moon. And oftentimes, we don't reflect enough on why does the surah begin with this? And the impact that this dream has is so important on the psychological and emotional state of Yusuf alayhi salam. Because Yusuf alayhi salam, he's thrown into the well, he's separated from his brothers that are, you know, at the very least deceiving towards him. And he doesn't know how his story is going to play out, right? Like, will he ever see his parents again? Will he ever see his younger brother again? He doesn't know that for a certain, but he remembers this dream that he has, right? And that dream has to come true sooner or later. So that motivation to keep on going is there.
And then the second thing is that when he's in this well, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, he tells him, لَتُنَبِّي أَنَّهُم بِأَمْرِهِمْ حَاذى وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ That you're going to remind them of this incident while they are not perceiving, right? Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala inspired him with this feeling and this was revealed to him. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him the special inspiration that a day is going to come where you're going to be face-to-face with your brothers, and you're going to remind them of this incident that took place of being thrown into the well. Now, the reason why I mention this is that when you look at the physical realm, yes, there are no signs that you will necessarily see that will tell you that everything is going to be okay. But in the spiritual realm and through reflection, you can learn so many valuable lessons. Number one is the fact that we're alive today. Alhamdulillah, in our states is a reminder that we are a very resilient creation that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has created. That Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has allowed us to manage to survive all of our trials, right? A traumatic experience is being born where your chances of survival in certain countries are minimal. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala allows people to go through that and they don't even remember. But if you reflect upon it, man, if I could get through that and survive till this age, inshallah, I can get through anything else that I'm going through. Number two is that like Yusuf alayhi salam had this dream as a young child, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala sends us different types of signs throughout our lives, that you are going to be okay and everything will take care of itself. This can come in the form of a dream. It can come in the form of just a vision or an inspiration. You know, it could be anything, but those signs are always there. That Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is always inspiring you with hope from the very fact that, you know, we're in wintertime right now. Springtime comes and those flowers that were dead, the grass that was dead, it turns green and those flowers come back to life, right? Everything that dies comes back to life. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala shows us this on a yearly basis, right?
So there is always that hope that those signs are there, that there's always something to look forward to. And then this last thing of, you know, of him being in the well and being inspired, I think this is like Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala gives those particular signs to whomever he pleases from his close slaves without a shadow of a doubt. But again, that hope and optimism is always there. And for us, you know, we may not be at the highest level. And I speak for myself that, yes, I'm not at this highest level of being that close to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, but through the story of Yusuf alayhi as-salam, that is my inspiration. That I am inspired that the fact that if we look at the story of Yusuf alayhi as-salam for the first time, you don't know how the story is going to turn out. You have no idea. But then when you look at all the signs that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has given him at the beginning of the story, like, man, he's going to be all right at the end. He's going to be all right at the end. And that for me is the inspiration. And then the point we conclude on is, you know, we're told by the Prophet ﷺ that when we get to Jannah, may Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from his inhabitants. Ameen. We're not going to remember any of the hardships and the calamity that we go through. But you see that at the end of the life of Yusuf alayhi as-salam in this world. All he has is shukr for Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. All he has is gratitude. رَبِّ قَدْ عَتَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ Right? All he has is gratitude. And he just asked Allah that, oh Allah, let me die as a Muslim. And I think that is something we take for granted. Allahu Akbar. That dying a Muslim just because you're a Muslim right now is not guaranteed. And we see this from the story of Yusuf alayhi as-salam that the importance of gratitude to Allah for all of his blessings and the importance of seeking to die upon Islam. Because that is the only way your life will have any value. Everything that you went through will be meaningless if you don't die upon Islam at the end. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us hasan al khatmah. Ameen. Ameen. Ameen.
Jazakumullahu khair. Jazakumullahu khair. That's very important, man, because you don't know how you'll end. And it kind of goes back to the masalah, the issue of like, okay, you can't say someone is a non-Muslim and that they're going to hell. Like, for instance, people always ask, well, are these people going to hell? Is this person going to hell? Well, we don't know what their result will be at the very end. So it's not for us to determine that. So that's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful last portion that you mentioned, SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah. I wanted to ask you, you mentioned earlier, and I think it's important for people that are watching, the celebrity status. Kind of like the, I was going to say rags to riches, but I was trying to find Shimon or something. You know, Kutra, Tadani, I don't know. Yeah, yeah. What was your take on that? Like you said, you know, when you came back, that was there. How did you go through that? How did you navigate through it from the outset, looking in and then being inside? And did you come out of it? What did you learn from it? And what would you advise us and the viewers? SubhanAllah. You know, there's a lot of lessons that I have, but I think at the end of the day, you have to do what's most important to you and what you feel is most beneficial. So, you know, everyone, Allah's Messenger ﷺ, he tells us, حَكُلُّوا اِنَّوَ يَسْيُورٌ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهِ That everyone will find the deeds that they were created to do easy for them. So there are certain people that were, you know, created to remind people and to increase their iman and to rejuvenate their iman. There are other people that were created to be authors and write books and create manuals. Other people that were created to be teachers and be in a classroom and teach people. So I remember that when I first came back and I started teaching for Al-Maghrib, there was two things that happened for me personally.
And this is not a projection on any of the other instructors or anyone else that has pursued this life. This is my own personal observation of my own life. But I was teaching this class called the Prophet's Smile, which was a Sma'il al-Muhammadiyah. And the last chapter or one of the last chapters is the death of the Prophet ﷺ. Now, the way that was structured for me was, you know, you're traveling from city to city, teaching this class, sometimes three or four weekends in a row. And you're teaching the same subject and obviously knowledge and teaching, it has no value if you're not sincere. So you want to try to retain that sincerity as much as possible. But I remember there was this one moment where I taught the class like three or four times. And by the third or fourth time, when I'm talking about the death of the Prophet ﷺ, because it's been repeated for me so many times, it's as if I became desensitized. And I didn't want to become desensitized. So that was like an awakening for me that, you know what, maybe I'm not doing something right here. Because a believer should not be desensitized to the death of the Prophet ﷺ. And then the second thing that happened for me, again, this is my own personal observation, was I had traveled to the same city like three or four times over a period of like three to five years. And I was meeting the same people. And they were asking me the same questions. And I was giving them the same answers. And by the second or third time, I'm like, you know, maybe I'm tricking myself and deluding myself into thinking that I'm having an impact on these people's lives. Because if that was the case, then how come everything is changing? So for my personal observation, and I think this is amazing the way that Allah ﷻ played out my life for me like that, that the first three years I was in Montreal, the first two and a half years I was in Montreal, I didn't have a full time job. I was, you know, helping out at the local masjid, but Al-Maghrib was my main source of employment. Jazakumullahu khairan.
They've treated me amazingly throughout the years and have allowed me the opportunity to grow and the benefit of me greatly, particularly Sheikh Muhammad and Sheikh Waleed and when Sheikh Yasser Waleed was there and all the instructors. But eventually I learned that this is not for my personality type. My personality type, I need to be involved in the community. I need to be engaged with closer students. And Alhamdulillah Allah ﷻ opened that door for me in 2012 when I moved to Calgary. And that's a whole other story of, you know, what happened and how I ended up here. But Alhamdulillah Allah ﷻ opened up that door for me where I was able to serve a community and educate people. Alhamdulillah. Jazakumullahu khairan. I'm glad you mentioned that because SubhanAllah, you know, the name celebrity, it depends on how you look at it, right? Because people make you that, you don't see yourself as that. Inshallah, you know, that's the, you know, I think that's a very important point. For people and students of knowledge that are currently watching or those that watch whenever time is that to know that SubhanAllah, you know, it's very important for people of knowledge, students of knowledge, like us coming back, we coming back from Madinah to check our knee and our intention. But SubhanAllah, you know, Muhammad al-Sharif, may Allah ﷻ reward him. I mean, he provided jobs for others that came back and they wanted to stay with the ilm and they wanted to help the people. And he revolutionized that, SubhanAllah, in that way that he, the way that he structured it, it was something profound to me when I first came back, just hearing that and seeing that what I loved mostly, like what I love with Yaqeen and all these other organizations is that it's brothers and sisters working together. Man, you didn't see that, especially us students coming from Madinah, you know what I'm talking about Sheikh Muhammad, right, coming back, working together, man, that was profound. I loved it for that. That was the khair. I loved it so much, mashaAllah. May Allah ﷻ worship Muhammad, reward you, you know, and all those that have been involved with that and still are involved with that.
And Sheikh Waleed al-Basiyouni was, you know, when he came to the States, he was one of my teachers, you know, Sheikh Yasir, every time we would come home, I learned from him, SubhanAllah, you know, he's done a lot in the community, establishing the masjid in Houston. To this day, that's the best masjid that I've seen in America. Oh, it's amazing. It's amazing. The stuff and the facilities that they have, Allahu Akbar. Yeah, it is the standard, mashaAllah. SubhanAllah. I think it's interesting too, because when we think about the history of Islam, you know, the Sahaba after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, you know, they had success in terms of conquering so much of the world and so much, you know, they delivered the message of Islam to so many corners of the earth and money began to flow into the hands of the Muslims, even though they themselves, the Sahaba, lived so much poverty with our Prophet ﷺ. And it just shows you, you know, SubhanAllah, like Islam will flourish, but then what happens is the Sahaba start to become worried that the dunya is entering people's hearts, right? And it's kind of the same thing, like the da'wah scene in the West was, you know, very difficult, people on their own working, like our parents, alhamdulillah, they tried to do what they could. And then, like you said, there's this boom and there's this like, quote-unquote celebrity status, but it's kind of a good thing because it means Islam is spreading, but then there's the negative side of like the dunya coming into our hearts and how to prevent ourselves from that. But it just shows us there's always going to be tests, right? The test of being few or the test of being successful, there's always going to be a test. Of course, of course, you know, it's always a test of patience and gratitude, SubhanAllah. And, you know, this is something I want to highlight that we are very critical of celebrity culture within the Muslim community. But those people whom Allah ﷻ tested with that, we don't know how we would have reacted if we were tested with that test. MashaAllah, man. That's very important to keep in mind, that we do not know how we would have reacted if we were in that situation.
It's very easy to be critical when you're not in that situation. But part of our responsibility is to make dua for our brothers and sisters that, O Allah, keep them muflis, O Allah, keep them steadfast and forgive them for their mistakes. Like these people are not bad people at the end of the day. Inshallah, you know, we assume the best of them, but they're being tried with a test that we don't know how we would have reacted if we were tested with that, right? So I think, like, let's leave all the armchair critics behind and do something productive with your time and for your community, for your family, and then make dua for your brothers and sisters. Because at the end of the day, their success is our community's success, and their failures are also our community's failures, right? And we can't keep perceiving ourselves as just as individuals. We're not. We are, you know, ikhwa, brothers and sisters in faith. And, you know, this is how we survive and we get through life together, right? So I just wanted to share that. Yes, you know, there's a time and place to be critical, but that criticism, you know, let's reserve and direct it towards giving them nasiha, making dua for them, and wishing success for them, right? That is what we want to see, inshallah. No, I'm so glad you mentioned that, Sheikh Mohammed. I mean, you know, it's important to dig deep inside of yourself. Every time when you feel something like how you mentioned you stepped down, I mean, you have to dig deep. I'm almost sure because you see, this is not me. It may disappoint some people. It may not go along with the schedules that have been there to go to these other cities. But I had to do what I had to do for my ikhlas, my sincerity, my, you know, how I want to stand in front of Allah, in front of my mother, you know, in front of the community. But I'm so glad you mentioned that because a lot of times people on the sidelines and they say, man, if it was me, I would have done this. You haven't been in that situation, so you have no idea. You know, it's so that's so I'm so glad you mentioned that. Jazakumullah khair, man.
I just want to emphasize that, you know, you may be giving me too much credit for that, but it was the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala played out my life for me. Like it was it wasn't like a conscious decision where I did pros and cons. It was just the natural direction that my life went in that my desire, you know, was in wanting to be in a community and teaching people in the community. And then once I saw the benefit that came out of that, I was like, I love Al-Maghrib and I still want to be a part of Al-Maghrib. I just don't know if I can do the instructor traveler thing. So then I became like the graduate coordinator. I helped the first batch and second batch graduate. Then I was like, OK, let me try other something else. And I had gone back to school for public relations and I was like, man, OK, let me help Al-Maghrib with public relations. And that's what I'm doing right now as well. But like, you know, the brothers at Al-Maghrib, you know, my brothers ancestors at Al-Maghrib, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward them. You know, they've had a huge impact on my life personally and academically and work wise as well. And, you know, I'm indebted to them. So that's why I want to be a part of that organization, inshallah, as long as I can. That's the beautiful thing about organizations, because we sometimes we think, you know, like you mentioned, public relations. You know, we think the names and brands and this brand against this brand, they're doing the same thing. How are they against each other? But no, it's just the manifestation of brotherhood in a fashion that is sustainable and it has integrity. You know, that's that's the thing that I saw when I saw Al-Maghrib we have here in Qalam Institute. You see what they're doing here at Qalam, Sheikh Abdul Nasser, Sheikh Mikael, Sheikh Mufti, you know, these these brothers and sisters, you know, the ukhuwa, working together. You know, that's that's just like in about in about maybe what in about 30 minutes, Sheikh Mikael is going to teach my masjid right now, Risalat al-Musashidin. So it's just, you know, people working together for the khair, you can't that's just something that is just so beautiful, mashallah, tabarakallah.
And that's the beauty I want to highlight of these organizations is that alhamdulillah, I think they've recognized over time through maturity and the way they're established and the people that they've brought in that this is not a competition anymore. Right. This is us filling the gaps in the Muslim community. Like what Al-Qalam is doing, mashallah, tabarakallah, is amazing. The seminary that they've launched, you know, I take pride in the fact that one of the brothers that I was teaching, mashallah, is in his fifth year there now. Right. And he's going through their program. If you look at Yaqeen and the way that it deals with apologetics and the way that it deals with Islam at an academic level. Right. If you look at the way Al-Maghrib started off with their degree program of wanting to give Muslim structure in the way that they learn. Right. They all work hand in hand. Right. We fill in the gaps that exist within the Muslim community. And I love that. Jazakallah khair for mentioning that. Jazakallah khair for being involved in this beautiful thing. So, Sheikh, we got this feedback where one of our viewers sent in the form and they said, listen, like, why don't you guys do rapid fire questions similar to what we do on the Yaqeen podcast, Double Take. So we're going to put you through the ringer. And obviously I didn't prepare you for this. So rapid fire is just like you share the first thing that comes to your mind. Basically. So there's like this or that. And then there's just like questions that you. Yeah, basically. So, give it a shot. We're testing it on you. I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created. Okay. Spring or fall season. Which one do you prefer? Spring. What? Spring. This is the rapid fire thing. You don't like the fall, Sheikh? I like the fall, but I like spring more because it's right after the winter time. And like we've been suffering through winter. You can't wait to get to the spring.
Whereas the fall is like, you know, summertime is like the if you want to call it the epitome, it's like the decline of the epitome. Right. And it's still beautiful, but, you know, there's more to look forward to and enjoy in the spring. So this one I know the answer to, but I'm going to ask it anyways. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, man. Come on. Who has ever said, you know, I like vanilla or I want to be vanilla. No one ever wants to be vanilla. It's always about the chocolate, bro. What was it like when we were in Edmonton and you were like trying to find like some chocolate to eat that night? I don't remember exactly, but you were like, I have a sweet tooth and I need chocolate. I just remember that. I don't think that's far fetched to know. I don't think that's far fetched to know. Oh, let me ask you, when I was on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls, what's the name? Do they call them beaver tails? Yeah, beaver tails. Yeah, beaver tails. Exactly. Yeah. That stuff was good, man. That's only in Canada, right? Yeah, as far as I know, it's only in Canada. Yeah. So they basically just for people that don't know, if you know what a puri is in Indian Pakistani culture, they basically made a version of a puri and then you can put like a whole bunch of sweet toppings on it. Their most famous one is they put Nutella and put banana on it and then you eat it. And it is diabetes on a plate. But if you have it once in a while, Allah protects you all. I mean, I say, say, say your coffee. Coffee, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Mountains or oceans? Oceans. You live in the mountains. I guess you're used to it. I do. I do. SubhanAllah. But there's just something about being close to water, man. There's just something about being close to water. It's true. Okay, this one I had to make it a bit more difficult. But I know you like steak. Yes. So well done or rare? No, this is not even a question. How is this a question?
Or rare? Like no medium rare? No, no. Rare is still within the realm of Iman. Like well done is on the verge of like blasphemy and hereticism. Right? Like Zandaka. That is your equivalent. So I know that's offensive to a lot of people, but you cannot eat steak well done. And I used to be from those people. And I have repented. Alhamdulillah. Allah has shown me the way. Alhamdulillah. When you see like videos of people cooking steak, and I'll click on the comments. And there's still so many comments that are like, there's blood on it. Yeah. And I'm like, dude, that's not blood. That's just the juice from a well done like a properly cooked steak. The fat is dissolving. And that's the color of the meat. Yeah. Yeah. Called myoglobin. It's not blood. All right. What's your favorite city? To do what in? Just your favorite city? Medina. Without a doubt. Other than Medina. I should have seen that coming. Other than Medina? Calgary. I love Calgary. Alhamdulillah. What language do you wish you knew? Spanish. You've been to Spain, Sheikh? I have not. I await the day to go. May Allah make it easy. iOS or Android? iOS. All right. If you could choose a superpower, which one would you choose? Man, this is dark. And you're asking the wrong guy. You're really asking the wrong guy. But for me, I'm all about Professor X. I'm all about Professor X, bro. Mind control? Mind control, mind reading. Like that's the superpower you want to have. Okay. If you could choose to be an animal, which one would you choose?
Great question. I have no idea. A tiger? Yeah. That's a good one. I was thinking a lion. But then if you do lion, then like there's always the younger lion who's trying to kill you and take your spot. Have you been watching Lion King? A lot of pressure on being a lion. There is because you're the king of the jungle. And being king of the jungle comes with a lot of pressure for sure. All right. Here's actually a question someone put in the chat. Favorite board game? And this includes Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah. I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, so I can't really comment on it. But we have like this core group of brothers. We play DC Heroes on Friday nights. And it's not a popular game at all, but it's like a deck building game where you basically have access to heroes and to villains. And you're basically just fighting each other. And I think that is a game we've played so many times that I enjoy the company of the brothers that I play with as well. So it's almost become like a small community that we've created. So then from there, you have the traditional games as well. I love playing Monopoly because I love seeing people react. These are brothers that, mashallah, they're so calm and so loving and so kind in real life. But when it comes to playing Monopoly and trading your properties and paying rent, the vicious dark side comes out. You flip the board. And subhanallah, two weeks ago, I was playing Monopoly with some of the guys, and I saw that come out. And I'm like, this is amazing. And Catan is a famous game as well. But there's a version called Barbarians, which is like you're working together to protect yourself against the barbarians, which I really like as well.
And then last but not least, an academic game, which is very fun to play, is Cranium. So it brings out your artistic side, your IQ side and all that stuff. So Cranium is really fun to play. Those are some of the games that I enjoy playing. This is actually a question from Imad. What are your thoughts on Catan? Yeah, I think Catan is a great game, man. It is definitely a great game. And it's amazing to see how board games have evolved over time. Like we grew up playing Scrabble and Candyland and Snakes and Ladders and then Monopoly came out and Risk came out. And I think from that evolution, we saw games like Catan come out as well. So yeah, it's been great, alhamdulillah, to have some sort of halal fun through board games. It's amazing, mashallah. Yeah, absolutely. And it is good for families. I know some families will do like one night, like they have to stay together, no cell phones or anything like that, devices, and they just like play a board game together so that you're getting that interaction. I've tried it with my kids and Monopoly, but it just takes so long. Yeah, yeah. But there's some great learning lessons in Monopoly, man, how to earn money, how to spend money. And at the end of the day, everything goes back in the box, right? Like nothing comes with you. Right. So those are some great lessons to teach your kids. I like that, man. Oh, man, that's nice. Yeah, that's nice. Yeah, subhanAllah. You know, I like... This person is disappointed. Sorry. Yeah, subhanAllah. As long as I'm having fun, isn't that what's important? Exactly. Yeah. Sorry, Sheikh, go ahead. No, no, no. I mean, like with the kids, it's a play Connect Four, Connect Four, and then also like Uno. Those are the two ones that I play with. Yes, yes. Uno. Man, but you know, for some reason, my kids, either they end up ripping the cards or we end up losing the cards. So like every year we need to buy a new Uno deck to play, subhanAllah.
SubhanAllah. All right, let's take some questions, inshallah, from the audience. Here's a question. When did you meet Sheikh Ali Nasir? This question is from Ahmed Badawi. Allahu Akbar. I met Sheikh Ali Nasir when I went to Malaysia for the first time. So I want to say this was 2011 or so. So just before I came to Calgary, I was in Malaysia and he was studying in Malaysia at the time before he got accepted into Medina. And that's where I met him first. It was at the Jumma Khutba at the IAUM. And then, mashaAllah, we stayed in touch thereafter. And eventually he came back to Calgary in the summertime. Alhamdulillah, now, mashaAllah, TabarakAllah, he's an imam and a sheikh in his own right. And having seen him grow has been a beautiful experience because in my personal opinion, mashaAllah, TabarakAllah, he's like what a youth coordinator should look like. And he's doing a phenomenal job here in Calgary, mashaAllah. Inshallah. Another question. These are personal questions, but I figured it's a personal show. Isn't it true that Sheikh Naveed worked in Dubai one time? Was that before studying in Medina or after? No, that was after Medina. And that was difficult, man. I had gone on this whole, let me try consulting as a consultant. So I was doing like Sharia compliance consulting for various apps and stuff like that. But again, that was like another thing that I tried it out and I realized that it wasn't for me. And then Allah ﷻ put me away from that. Yeah. Okay, this is a question a few people have asked. Sister Fatima says, it's so interesting hearing your experiences in Medina, mashaAllah. What are some ways sisters can also seek knowledge to benefit their communities like you guys did? I think alhamdulillah there are some opportunities now.
I think without a shadow of a doubt that mashaAllah, tawbarakAllah, you have these sisters that are being exemplary role models. Like you had sister Mariam Amir on the show already. You have sister Muslima Permal. You have quite a few sisters, mashaAllah, that they've gone and studied at Al-Azhar or in other places and they're benefiting the communities. But I think what's more important over here is the frame of mind rather than where you go to study. If you have a frame of mind of I need to benefit my community, then we won't even have a problem teaching kids alif ba ta, kids how to pray, adults how to pray. No, you start with somewhere if you really want to benefit the community. And then also benefiting from your local imams and scholars. This is something that again, we have to keep reminding the people that the value of studying overseas will only truly benefit you if you've been benefiting from your local imams and scholars as a starting point. If you're trying to go overseas as a starting point, you've wasted your time already. So benefit from the time that you have with your local imams, your local shiur. And then if Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you that opportunity, by all means, you know, pursue it. But always start off local for sure. This is a couple of people asked the similar question. Sister Christina says, how do we discover what we're supposed to do in life? And this related to the hadith that you mentioned. Yeah. And SubhanAllah, you know, I've read quite a few books on this topic and eventually come to the realization. And this is just an approximate number, but only 5% of people actually know what they're meant to do with their lives. Right. 5% of people, they know from a very young age, you know what, I'm going to go into tech and I'm going to create an app, create a life changing program. And that's they know what they're meant to do. And this can be even for teachers. They go into teaching from a young age. They know this is what they're meant to do. But for the vast majority of people, we live with this pain and this regret of I'm doing something wrong because I don't know what I'm meant to do. And that's wrong.
You know, you have this fundamental core belief that, yes, we are on this earth to worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. If as long as you're fulfilling that, Alhamdulillah, you know, you've done your job. Everything else that comes your way, explore, enjoy, see what you like, see what you don't like. And don't carry this burden on you that you have to know what you're meant to do in life. Right. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala created all of these paths for various reasons for people. And if Allah made you of those people from the 5% that you know what you're doing, Alhamdulillah, that's great. But those that are from the 95%, they shouldn't feel bad because they don't know. And yes, you have to remind yourself of this all the time, that as long as I'm worshipping Allah, everything else you're meant to explore and to see what you enjoy and what you like and what you don't like. Right. There's a wisdom behind why Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala put you in that position. Absolutely. That's real good. Sorry about this, Sheikh Ibrahim. No, go ahead. That's real good advice. What would you add to that for parents? Because like the parents are like, you're going to school for this and I want you to be this, to live on a legacy or, and to that youth that's probably in that, I don't want to use the word conundrum, but I do at the same time. It's like, OK, I want to change my major, but my parents are not going to be happy with that. Yeah, I think this is something that I'm hoping that our generation of parents and those that come after us will change, inshallah. But, you know, the academic criterion that is put in universities and in schools doesn't reflect your child's aptitude and their success or their failure. Like, how many people do we know that have PhDs, but they're jobless and, you know, they're living on the streets? Like, if you look at San Francisco, that's actually a huge thing where you have people with PhDs living on the streets in San Francisco, subhanallah. Whereas you look at other people and these are the typical examples that people share, you know, like the Mark Zuckerbergs and them that dropped out of school, yet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them so much wealth. So how are we as believers meant to define success?
Our definition of success is firstly your Islam and then how are you benefiting the ummah and the world as a whole? Is that contingent upon you being successful in school? No, because we know so many people that they didn't do well in school, but mashallah, tabarakallah, they've held on to their faith and they're being very productive in their communities, right? So it's about changing our understanding of what success is on rather than looking at the mechanisms that we think will make someone successful. Tawfiq is in the hands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. MashaAllah, jazakallah khair. Okay, another question here, this is just saying, during the time of Muhammad ﷺ, the people would fight battles against the non-believers and earn their ranks with God. What do you think the modern day equivalent would be? I fear I won't do enough in my life. You know, I want to say this was like 2011, 2012, Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah was at RIS and I can't even remember what the question was, but he says it so profound that I like to quote regularly. He's like, if you ask people to die for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you'll have lineups of people that want to die for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you have asked people to live for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, no one wants to do it. Like people just disappear all of a sudden. And I think, you know, this question reflects that, that the end only comes as a part of the process, right? If you live for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you live a life of taqwa, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you that death, right? Ya ayyuha alladheena aamanu wa taqwa Allah haqqa tuqatih wa laa tamutunna illa wa antum muslima. Like the life of taqwa and the death upon Islam, they go hand in hand. So similarly over here, don't worry about how you're going to die. Worry about how you're going to live your life. And as long as you're living your life conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, trying your best on a daily basis, what more can you ask for?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't require results from you. He requires effort. The results come from Allah. The effort comes from us, right? So we need to be more effort-oriented as opposed to result-oriented. That's at least my simple understanding and I would love to hear both of you comment on that as well inshaAllah. MashaAllah, you mentioned that. That's beautiful. You know, effort-oriented as opposed to results-oriented, you know, subhanAllah. Enjoying the process. That's beautiful. It reminds me of the verse at the end of An-Kaboot, you know, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says... I love this verse because it's so liberating. You know, I tell this verse a lot to the youth and to converts to Islam. وَلَذِنَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَ لَنَهْدِيَنْهُمْ سُبْلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ That those that strive in our path, we will guide them to our way and verily Allah is with the muhsinin, the doers of excellence. So it's just about giving it your all in whatever you do. You know, إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْإِحْسَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ That verily Allah has written excellence upon everything. Not perfection, but excellence. And excellence is you do the best that you can. You know, as parents, look at your children, they're doing the best that they can. If they made a grade that you didn't want, that's what you have to be proud of is that they did the best that they could. And I, جزاك الله خير يعني, looking at the effort, not the results. I think that's beautiful. جزاك الله خير. Oh, yeah. Okay, here's one more question. Sister Sana says, if a child sets out on this formal Islamic educational path, inshallah, do you think it's better they start in a seminary program at a young age or after high school? Excellent. My approach to this, I think, is maybe a little bit different. But Islamic education begins at home, right? And I think simple things like leading by example, simple things like making sure you're not contradicting the messages that you're telling your children, simple things like making dua for your children, simple things like giving advice and nasiha to your children.
They will go a lot further than being distant hands off parents and putting them in the best Islamic school. So, I guess the first one I want to mention is don't assume that just because we're putting our kids in Islamic schools and seminaries that they're guaranteed success or they're guaranteed to be believers. That's not the case. But begin at home and do what you can at home. And then see the path that the child naturally takes. If your child is naturally taking the path towards ilm, encourage it and facilitate it as much as you can. And I want to give a big shout out here that we spoke about Qalam, Yaqeen and Al-Maghrib, but even Niftah as a seminary in Michigan. MashaAllah, TabarakaAllah. There are so many that have come out of that program and it's amazing. They take brothers in at a young age, memorize the Quran and then you go through the whole Darul Ulum curriculum. If your child is naturally going towards that path, encourage it and make it easy. But if your child is naturally going towards something else, then as long as they have the basics of Islamic education, allow them that freedom to explore. And eventually, that's what it's meant to be. Even if they're 40, they'll come back and study Islam in detail. This happened with some of our great Imams like Ibn Hazm in the past. They became students of knowledge later on in their lives and it wasn't an early process like Imam Malik or Imam Shafi'i or Imam Bukhari. Let them explore. That would be my advice. Absolutely. You just reminded me of Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Chow. AR Chow. AR Chow. Yes, MashaAllah. He's a phenomenal brother, man. Check him out, man. I don't know if you've seen him on Instagram, but he's really going hard on this. Because he's taught in Islamic schools for a while and MashaAllah, he's very innovative in his thinking and what he thinks should be done in Islamic schools for Islamic teachers and administration. And we know his energy, right?
Allah Akbar. MashaAllah. Very unique, unique brother. I love him for the sake of Allah. JazakAllah khair for that. That's so, so important in regards to the children and where they should go in Islamic schools and etc. And I like how you mentioned because as soon as you mentioned i.e. the passive way of teaching for parents, it reminded me of what you mentioned about your father. SubhanAllah, how he was someone that was always in Ibadah, but you noticed him and you watched him and you soaked it all in. SubhanAllah. It reminds me of myself sometimes. I remember I was talking to my kids and I don't know if you went through this, Sheikh Rahim and Sheikh Muhammad. Sheikh Naveed, I'm sorry. It's okay. I'm trying, man. All good, bro. All good. I remember I was in the car with my son and I was talking to him and I just stopped and I was like, am I giving you a khutbah right now? SubhanAllah. And he looked at me and he was like, yeah. But if you take the advice of Luqman to his son, you would think that's a khutbah as well. But Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala loved it so much, he preserved it in the Quran. So, yeah, it may come across as preachy and it may come across as a khutbah, but at the end of the day, it's about the impact that it has and the sincerity that's behind it. Right. Like no one is going to love you as much as your parents. No one's going to want to fight for you as much as your parents. So, yeah, from time to time, you know, you go into khutbah mode. Right. Let's go. And you know, subhanAllah, like, you know, this, Sheikh, like my parents have been working on establishing Islamic schools and they've established five Islamic schools in the Toronto area or just outside of it. Like two Muslim high schools and three elementary schools. And still, like sometimes they invite me to speak at the school and I'll tell the parents, like sending your kids to school doesn't mean anything if you're not teaching them at home.
Like this is a tool. It helps you. It's good for you. It's good for your children. If you want to put them in a formal Islamic seminary or something like that, if you're not reinforcing it at home, it's just it's not going to work out the way you think it is. You can't just write a check and expect your kids are going to come out good. Right. And so that's something I think a lot of parents have to like, you know, I tell them over and over and over again, like what you teach them at home is always going to have more barakah. Your kids know that you love them far more than a teacher could possibly love them. They like that the impact of what you can do as an example is just a hundred times more than any other teacher, any other school can do. You know, she had brought him. I told you the story about Sheikh Abdullah and I being in Medina together, but she had the lie. I didn't tell you that. I also met Sheikh Ibrahim while I was in Medina, but it was online. There was an online program. I don't know if you remember that was his brother, Farhan Safdar from the UK. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So he introduced me to this online program called Power Talk. And I remember going on to Power Talk and I met Ibn Sheikh, right. And that was our Sheikh Ibrahim Hindi. Mashallah, Tabarakallah. So it was like I'm just thinking about like Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala brought us together 20 years ago when I was in Medina. And now Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala brought us together again, you know, 20 years later while I'm in Calgary. I love it. For those who don't know, Power Talk was like clubhouse. Yeah. Yeah. It was clubhouse basically. Yeah. Yeah. SubhanAllah. Just reiterated it now. But yeah, subhanAllah. Like we live not too far from each other. You've been to Toronto a bunch of times and somehow I met you while you're in Medina, like halfway across the world. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alhamdulillah. Well, Sheikh, those are the questions we have. And, you know, we want to ask you to, you know, help us finish on a note that is sincere advice that we can give the audience.
So maybe a question we can ask you, you know, what's something you want to make sure that you teach your children in this world? I'm going to change that up a little bit. I'm going to really change that up, if you don't mind, inshallah. Like the part about the advice that I would like to give to everyone is that if this pandemic has taught us anything, and this may be more of a Canadian context as opposed to an American context, but it's shown how fragile we are as human beings, how fragile we are as families, how fragile we are as communities, that mental health is a big thing. And we're very critical of ourselves and we lack compassion with ourselves. So the message I want to share is, number one, the importance of having a strong relationship with Allah ﷻ. And what I mean by that is you're constantly speaking to Allah ﷻ that when things are going good, you're praising Allah ﷻ. When things are difficult, you're seeking help. When you sin, you know, you seek forgiveness from Allah ﷻ. Ibn al-Qayyim called these the keys to happiness. And I think that element is very, very important, that strong relationship with Allah ﷻ. Because with that strong relationship, it allows yourself to be compassionate to yourself. We are our worst critics and we are very, very harsh upon ourselves often. And that is something that you need to remember, that Allah ﷻ forgives you so easily, then you need to learn to forgive yourself as well while learning from the mistakes that you've made, while learning from the mistakes that you've made. Number three is that this should also teach us the importance of being more merciful and more compassionate with others. Once we learn our own fragilities and our own mistakes, recognize that people go through so much pain and suffering that we are just not privy to. We don't see it. We don't know it. But it doesn't mean it isn't there. And it doesn't mean that they have to tell us. It just means that the way we treat people should be more compassionate and should be more merciful. And I think these are some of the biggest lessons that as I look at this pandemic and what it's done to our communities and to our societies,
it's really exposed the weak spots. And I think we need to keep reminding ourselves of those things, that we are a support system for one another. We are a loving, dua-making family for one another. And we need to be kind with one another. That's the message that I wanted to share, inshaAllah. JazakAllah khair. Really appreciate your time, Shaykh. Allah is my witness. It was an absolute pleasure to be with both of you today. Brought back so many memories. And it was a trip down memory lane, man. SubhanAllah. JazakAllah khair for having me tonight. Thank you so much. Absolutely. JazakAllah khair. And just a reminder to everyone, inshaAllah, we run these sessions every Wednesday starting at 7pm Eastern Time live. Our guest next week is going to be Shaykh Omar Suleiman. Dr. Omar Suleiman. Allah hafiz. A lot of you have been asking for him, so he'll be here inshaAllah. If you have any feedback, there's a link in the description. You can give us feedback. If there's people you want us to invite, questions you want us to ask, you know, someone wanted a new segment, we put the new segment in. So just let us know what you guys want, inshaAllah. We're open for all of your feedback. JazakAllah khair, Shaykh Naveed, for your time. Really appreciate it. You're a great guest, and I had a lot of fun personally as well. As did I yesterday. Thank you so much. Take care, Shana.
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