Sincerely, Yours
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Sincerely, Roohi Tahir
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This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. ShazakumAllahu khair for joining us for another episode of Sincerely Yours. This is Ibrahim Hindi. I'm with the Sheikh. Alhamdulillah. How are you doing Sheikh? Alhamdulillah I'm good. How are you doing? Alhamdulillah. What's going on? Nothing much. It's pretty cold here. Alhamdulillah we're surviving. You know with a millimeter of snow, inshallah we'll make it. Bid'in Allah ta'ala. Insha'Allah. You have like salt everything outside your house? Yeah, they're starting to get hit. You know, they're putting salt in the roads and stuff like that. So I think we're getting better as the years go by. Yeah, Alhamdulillah. Climate change is a real thing. Dallas getting hit with snow. Yeah. We've barely had snow here in Toronto. We had a snowstorm recently. We got a lot of snow, like a few inches for sure. But all year, that was just the only one really. So, maybe the snow is going south now. Going south, yeah. Yeah. Alhamdulillah, we just get it like once a year. That's about it. You know, two days, three days, four days maybe. That's it. So all of you out there, inshallah, we want to hear from you throughout this session. Give us your Sadaam, inshallah, in the chat. And inshallah, during this entire session, we want to hear, inshallah, your questions. Just put them in the chat for all of us. Let us know where you're coming to us from as well. Jazak'Allah khair. So we have a great guest today, Sheikh. We have Ruhi Tahir. She is a research fellow at Yaqeen Institute. She also has a bachelor's degree with honors in computer engineering from Boston University and is a graduate of the BMAIS, Higher Bridge to Master's Diploma
and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Islamic studies from the International Open University. She is also the founder and instructor of Nourish Your Soul, a platform for Islamic education. With that, join me in welcoming Ruhi Tahir. How are you, Sadaam? As-salamu alaykum. I'm doing well, alhamdulillah. I'm just honored to be here. It's a pleasure to be with you all. Jazak'Allah khair. Alhamdulillah. It's great to have you on. It's been a long time. I think we've communicated like a little bit in the past. Yeah, yeah. First time we're kind of meeting face to face, sort of, because we haven't met in a long time. Inshallah soon. Inshallah, inshallah. So alhamdulillah, like these sessions, Sincerely Yours, really it's about connecting people to our scholars and our students of knowledge and people who are giving da'wah, who are active in da'wah. And, you know, we felt like so often people feel this disconnect from the people who give da'wah. And we really want them to feel connected to the people of knowledge and to create that connection with them. And as well to encourage them that, you know, some of the things that they go through in their lives are the same things that we go through in our lives. And, you know, hopefully that that would allow them to gain more courage, inshallah, and be able to overcome some problems in their life as well. Because all of us are human and all of us go through those things as well, alhamdulillah. So we want to get to know you, alhamdulillah. And know your story and know how you started off. And how did you get to where you are, where you started to where you are right now. So maybe let's talk inshallah and start off like about your childhood and what was that like? What was Ruhi Tahir as a young girl? Sure, absolutely. Alhamdulillah, bismillah wa-salaam, alhamdulillah wa-salaam ala rasoolillah wa ala alihi wa ashabihi wa ala murat.
The short version of that is that, so I was born in the West, raised in the West. And alhamdulillah, I was born in England, actually in London. My parents are originally of Indian descent. They were both born in India. And at some point before I was born, they were both, they moved to the UK and lived there for the early part of my life. And then we moved as a family to the United States, living in Boston for several years before I actually ended up where I am now, which is in Chicago with my family. And so the foundation from a, you know, from a deen perspective, alhamdulillah, I was born into Islam. I was born and raised as a Muslim. And deen was really, I would say, always a focal point and the center and foundation of our lives ever since, you know, I can remember back to my earliest days. And education along with that too, just education in general, not specifically Islamic education, but education in general was something that I think as I was reflecting on, you know, being able to talk about this today, I was thinking about it this week. It's really been prevalent in my family for a few generations, alhamdulillah. My grandparents were all educated and were in education, working in education. And so I was brought up to, you know, to really to ask, to ask, to seek, to learn. Islam itself in terms of my practice and as a Muslim, we were alhamdulillah, I was learning through what I think we see in most homes traditionally, which is you see, you learn from your parents, you learn from your grandparents. It was an oral tradition. I wasn't learning out of books other than obviously learning to read the Quran, which is something culturally from the Indian subcontinent. In the Desi community, you learn to read first before you understand, you learn the alphabet, you learn to read the Quran. So those things were happening.
But along with that, it was really an observed and learned through practice kind of an upbringing, I would say, particularly as a child. And the one thing I will mention that I think is foundational to sort of where I am today and we can talk about it as you see fit. But I think the idea of, you know, living in the West, but then frequently we would visit and we would travel and we would go back because as long as my grandparents were back in India, I did have that exposure traveling with my parents as a young child throughout my childhood and really seeing what people are like in different places. So my view of the world, I think, was shaped somewhat by what I was observing of the differences between living in a very Western society as a minority and knowing that I was, quote unquote, different to the people around me by and large, because even though today London is so populated in the UK in general in terms of the Muslim population per capita compared to, say, even where we live today, it wasn't as prevalent when I was growing up there. And so we were very much a minority. But I would see some other things growing up, obviously going back and forth. And that, I think, helped shape my identity very early. And so the foundation was very strong from an early stage, I would say. That gives you an idea. But a curious child. So I asked a lot of questions. Yeah. And I think that that's when the journey sort of began, became formalized later in life, but definitely started then. So when you had a number of those questions as a young girl in Boston. So how old were you when you reached when you when you reached America? How old were you? So, yeah. So I all of my sort of early elementary and middle school in England. And then we came here. So I did all of high school in America, all of university in America.
And, yeah, by the time we got here, you know, I would say that that stage of starting to kind of recognize that I'm not going to be I'm not going to be like everyone around me in, let's say, in high school, in that environment where there's so many challenges. And, you know, it's really the mercy of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala that I think my sisters and I, my parents, we moved as a family, as I said. And we moved because we really do have more extended family here. We were at the time we were living in England. There was very there were a few people who were part of our extended family. We had some close family, of course, but really came here for family. And then when we moved to Chicago, we moved again for the environment. It was going to, you know, create for our family as as raising children, as parents and also for extended families. It's always been for what was wholesome reasons, never really for opportunity per se. And so even in high school, the challenges of just, you know, we're practicing Muslims, but most of the people around us are not doing what we're doing. So banding together and Boston was a smaller community, even more small than it is today. So we didn't have a lot of people around us and I had very few role models. So I had to source it entirely from whatever I could at home and then ask a lot of questions. And that's where I think my grandparents played a real significant role in helping to create that confidence as a Muslim, if you will. Because that was going to be my question. It was kind of you kind of answered them. What was the environment like in Boston at that time? And then you said you asked a lot of questions. Who was who? Who were or was the one that answered those questions for you? Sure. So, I mean, really, I think to know my personality in terms of the drive to learn, it developed from my grandparents, even more so than my parents. My parents were obviously very practicing Muslims, but they're immigrant parents. They're working. Both of them are working.
And we were fortunate that our grandparents would visit often or we would get to visit them. Going back to when I was really young, I remember and I was reflecting on this this week, I have my great, great grandmother's mustaf with me today. That my grandmother, my maternal grandmother used to, I would see her frequently. It's about this big. She would sit and she would be reading from that on a daily basis. And I remember myself at maybe four or five years old, my legs crossed, sitting in front of her, just watching her read, even before I could read properly. Just watching her read and saying, and then I'd say, tell me what you're reading and what does this mean? What is this? So she would start to tell me the stories of the prophets. And so I was starting to get grounded in a lot of, you know, this is a bigger picture here where we're more than just the way we look or what we're seeing around us and the way people around us are behaving. It's coming from someplace else. So everything when it came to character, when it came to worship, obviously learning how to pray, how to read Quran. There was a reason and we were connected to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala very early on that you're doing this for a higher purpose. You're not doing this. We're doing this because we love Allah. We're doing this because this is what will please Allah. This is what will get us Jannah. So I remember stories about Jannah when I was really, really little and the elders in the family talking about, you'll be able to do anything there. See these aches I have, see these pains I have. All that's going to be gone in Jannah. I remember these kind of conversations. And so when my grandmother would tell me these stories and then she'd be literally pointing with her Shahada finger. She's reading the Mus'haf and there would be writing all around it that I couldn't, I probably was able to read English, but that wasn't in English. It was in Urdu, which was her mother language, the language in India where my parents are from. And so I'd be like, no, no, no. What does that say? So to me, it was all about don't leave anything out. Tell me what's going on around there.
So likewise, that goes on within my paternal grandparents and my grandfather, as I mentioned before, he was in both my grandfather's actually master's degrees, very education focused, worked for Department of Education under the, in the state of Hyderabad, which is the state in India that my parents originate from. It's a fairly large place, very Muslim state originally, even today, majority Muslim with everything going on, subhanAllah. But the last king and ruler of that state, the Nizam of India, who was quite famous at one point, I think Time Magazine put him at the richest man in the world or something. But he did a lot for Islam in terms of providing and setting up walks to serve the community and to integrate, to work, to live peacefully alongside the non-Muslim population in India. So my grandfathers were both involved in working for the State Department in terms of education and so forth. And so there, whenever they would, you know, I lost my maternal grandfather early, but my paternal grandfather played a huge part in my life. And so I would sit and talk to him and I would ask him questions, say, well, you know, this is what happened at school. This is what's going on. He'd say, why, why aren't you able to like, let's look at this and let's understand it and figure out, you know, how does this work with who you are and your identity and why shouldn't you be confident in who you are as a Muslim and be able to say, no, I'm going to choose this or I'm going to choose this based on what I believe is right. So he kind of helped me to develop my character at a very, very young age. And that stayed with me, even, you know, I had my grandparents with me until well into adulthood. So I was very blessed to have that influence. But that really helped, I think, you know, we're living in times where obviously we see the fitna around us today, raising as parents, raising kids.
It was there then, too, maybe not to this extent or as a parent, but I can't thank Allah enough for the fact that we had this enough of this foundation that, you know, yeah, mistakes are made, but, you know, it really saved us. I think all of us kids at that time from from straying beyond boundaries that were well set for us. So Alhamdulillah, that was a blessing. Yeah. Alhamdulillah, a huge blessing. How did your grandparents and your parents deal with you being like this inquisitive young girl? And sometimes maybe you're asking uncomfortable questions, something that comes up often, like kids will ask their parents, why should I believe in God or things like that? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I and I did. And I, you know, I think two things that I remember was that especially this is I would say this goes to my dad even more so. But both my parents, they didn't sugarcoat things for us. They really were very and I've used this with my own children as a parent, which is that based on your child's ability to understand and what wherever level and age they're at, what's suitable. And you obviously know your own children the best. But based on whatever I was able to understand, they would always give me and frame the truth within that. And so understand whatever you can and whatever you can. You may not get this fully, but here's what's going on. So my question is, a lot of times I couldn't understand what's going on in the news many times. I mean, obviously, this was before social media. But even just watching my dad or my mom talk about the news, what was going on in world events, things of that nature. If I couldn't understand the vocabulary, I'd stop and say, what does that mean? So this is I think this was my personality. So he would be you know, he would never brush me off and say, that's you know, you're too young to know that. And in fact, I think that that did help me. I mean, there were there were definitely things that I probably, you know,
learned from just observing people around me and obviously from being in a public school environment. I was not sheltered to that extent. We were we were not restricted to that extent, but we were given boundaries. I remember asking my father just around that elementary and elementary. You know, there was a program in England where they stream students based on their ability. If you were eligible, you could go to certain types of schools going forward in your education. So I had an option of going to a really good girls school. And that's what I wanted. I was like, you know, even at that stage, you sort of feel more comfortable anyway. As a young child, you're sort of with people. You're just like you. I wanted to be with other girls. I was like, I want to go to the middle school. That's that's, you know, mixed. And and I remember my parents, my father in particular, was like, you're going to have to learn to live in the real world. And when you do too much of that, you know, when it when it's building, is that every have you noticed next to a boy school is always a girl school. And in the Western realm, that is the case. I'm not obviously in Islamic communities where it's done in the proper way and things are taught in the proper way. It's one thing. But back I'm talking about, you know, growing up in the West in particularly whether it's America or whether at that time it was in England, the curiosity factor. So, yes, we want to keep things proper, but also learn and be aware, be aware of your surroundings so you can navigate better and be able to say, I know what what's appropriate and what's not. And so on, how did that there were a lot of these things were, you know, were blessings at that time, for sure. But they did answer our questions. Yes. And when you're talking, you asked about, you know, things like ask questioning about Allah or the nature of God, the best that they could. They did answer. I don't remember exact questions of that nature to this at this point. But I do remember feeling even as a child, very grateful that I had Islam.
And I say that because just the society around me, even then, I just I felt like a sense of comfort that I've got something that is going beyond just what's in front of me here, which is, you know, at times it's good. At times it's not good. There was something there that just made me feel connected deep at a deeper level. And I really used that. I think maybe we were just connected to prayer a lot earlier in our lives or something, something of this nature that really helped me to stay grounded. But I do remember this even at 10, 11, thinking, I'm so grateful that I have a lust for Allah. I wish all these people knew about that. That's what I remember thinking. And it sounds strange today to say that, but I do remember that. And that carried me, you know, perhaps in the lowest points as well as the highest points. So, yeah. So what kind of activities? I mean, you're saying 10, 11 years old. MashaAllah, a lot of the work that you do for Yaqeen is really tied and linked to spirituality, such as your Tawakkul paper. And, you know, it deals with the actions of the heart towards Allah subhana wa ta'ala. At that young age, I mean, were there some key friends that were there? I mean, I'm talking about on the school environment and this is in Chicago, right? Or is it Boston at this time? No, Chicago is definitely my adult life. We came here once I was married and with children. But we moved to Chicago just to give you a reference in 2003. OK, OK. This is before that. So, yeah, I mean, you know, in growing up, I actually I would say that I always had a few close friends, but that was it. I was never one of those kids who probably in elementary school, middle school, even in high school, I'd be one of the nerdy kids. That's what we labeled as one of the kids is always studious, studying, buried in whatever. You know, I had hobbies and interests outside of school, but we were very family oriented. And Alhamdulillah, wherever we lived, like I said, we gravitated towards family. And the good the good part of that was that across my family, extended family, even to this day, Alhamdulillah, we're really blessed with it.
People are practicing Muslims. So that was our safety net. And playing with cousins as a child, growing up with them. And I wanted that for my kids, which is why I'm in Chicago. To be honest, it was the matter of having close family close by, and it was probably the best decision we made. I know it's not possible for everybody, but wherever you can find like minded people, even if you're not related to them. So in Boston, particularly as we were growing up, you know, there wasn't a lot of that. As I said, there were very few families in the beginning. And once I sort of reached that adulthood, went to that late sort of teens adulthood, going to college, even in college. I'm trying to find other people like me. And sometimes I would find friends that were not necessarily Muslim, but their moral compass was. And so two girls I was really good friends with were Greek Orthodox twins. And they were in a lot of my classes and I picked a discipline where there weren't a lot of women. I picked a discipline where there weren't a lot of women. I wasn't the reason I picked it, but it just so happened that I've kind of been through that route before, too, where you're relatively speaking in a man's world. I just really liked technology and engineering and computers. And so I was in this field and there weren't a lot. So few of us that were there kind of banded together. But those were the people I would relate better to. So whether they were Muslim or not. And Boston University is a big university. It's very cosmopolitan. There were a lot of people there. And sometimes I remember my mother having conversations with me. Well, why don't you find, can't you find other Muslim friends? There are a lot of Muslim friends. It wasn't just about the name for me. It never was. It was about the people. Because to me, at the core of it, and as I said, I think the influence I had from my grandparents was all about what's on the inside is more important and the character. And that's what's going to drive you and take you wherever you go. So that with the very basics were really what carried me through a good part of that stage of my life.
I started to take courses even in college. I was interested, but I hadn't committed, per se, that deliberate effort to say I'm going to drop everything else and really pursue being only. I wasn't in college. It was after that, shortly after that, and once I got married. But before, even in that young adult age, I was taking courses on religions of the West, comparative religion, Islam, not because I was doubting religion, but because I really wanted to understand better what my own religion is for my own sake, as well as to communicate it to those who were asking me around me. So, you know, we would be as Muslim students, as a few Muslim students would be fasting in school and, of course, people asking us about it. So today you've got all these things like wonderful things like hijab day and, you know, and fasting on campus type fastathons. We didn't have that. So. All right. So there was no MSA at the college? You know, if there was, it was probably there wasn't much scope for it. I only wanted to be with Muslim women, let alone, you know, there were a lot of there were other Muslim men on campus. But quite honestly, a lot of them had come from overseas or were involved in their own thing or they weren't necessarily part of my immediate circle. So and I was a commuter. I never lived on campus. I went with my father. He dropped me off. He'd go to work across the river. You know, this is we're talking about Cambridge, Massachusetts, this university town. I'm on one side at the university. He's working on the other side by MIT. You know, pick me up at the end of the day and go home. And so, yes, there were some friendships there. But for the most part, it wasn't until even Arabic. I'm taking Arabic as a student. And now I look back, I was like, I was interested. You know, I took maybe three, some of my electives, which are not technical classes, I'm filling up with religion and Arabic to try to learn and try to get ahead. Anyway, get married. And then I this was a conscious and just decision that, OK, we're going to set our goals around making sure we're educated so we can raise a family. And that it really hits you when you start to gain that sort of step into adult life that I've got to get this right.
And I was fortunate to end up on the right side of the road. But I really pray that I need to make the effort to do that for my kids. And that was really where the deliberate effort started. And so that was the beginning of the journey, so to speak. That was, you know, now the foundation was there. So it was really the first story. Yeah, I actually have this like thoughts throughout the Quran. Allah, when he refers to children, he refers to them as a gift like Hibah, Wahabda. And I was thinking about that and a friend of mine was talking about as well. And you kind of mentioned like when people have kids or when they're about to have kids, it forces them to think about how am I going to raise this kid? And it forces them to think about their religion. And so that's like a huge gift that Allah gives people, like the opportunity to think about, hey, who am I and who do I want my kids to be? So I thought that's interesting that that's kind of like where you're making that conscious decision. Absolutely. And it was before. And I remember it with each of I have two children. Alhamdulillah, my husband had two children. We have our we have a daughter and a son. They're older now, older than I think both of your kids probably I would imagine. But before they were born, you know, I was like, OK, I need to, you know, eat with each one. I think during each pregnancy, I was listening to the entire Quran with, you know, whatever meanings, translation, whatever I could do. But it was just like, I'm going to just absorb this for myself and hope that and keep making du'a along the way that at some level, you know, Allah what the child is hearing inside me or what is going on. But that was so important to me that that that foundation that this child is born into an environment that is focused around our purpose as Muslims. And so it was a conscientious decision on the part of my husband and myself that this is how we were going to do it.
And so for that, there was obviously work ahead for all of us, you know, in terms of making sure we solidify that. So how was your decision? And I use this word deliberately because I think you kind of mentioned it. This is the beginning of your journey in seeking knowledge. So you graduate from computer science with a bachelor's degree in engineering. So when was it that you said, OK, I've got I have a lot of these classes, supplemental classes for my major from Arabic and religious studies. After you graduated, what did you do to embark upon studying? Yeah. So, I mean, you know, when it when it came to that stage of like settling down and having, you know, having kids and the thought of even starting a family and so forth. So I'm starting to I'm kind of looking for myself. And it was really it was selfish in the sense that while it was for my children, I knew that this was my responsibility. And for me, it was about, you know, this is the path to salvation. And and yes, Alhamdulillah, I'm blessed to have had the support of family, grandparents, parents, everyone. May Allah reward them all for their efforts. But I've got to find out things for myself and I've got to learn for myself. And it's not out of a mistrust over what I was taught. But as I said, growing up, I had seen so much I had seen, you know, from from just Western culture and society to where you do what you want, be what you want to. Obviously, again, we've got the boundaries within our home, but then we're traveling back and forth as a child. And I'm seeing poverty and I'm seeing immense wealth when I'm going to India because it's the privilege, the haves and the have nots are more clear and visible to me. I'm seeing prejudice and racism rampant, whether it's in Britain or whether it's, you know, even after coming to just the history of Boston is there, too, in the history of the United States is there.
So all of these things are in me and questions are there about I want to make sure. And then even within the Muslim community, small though it may be, you see differences in practice, you see difference. And I don't have the answers to all of this. You know, it's not a simple case of why are people arguing over what day is, why are people why are why two masjids doing two things so differently? So I needed to learn that. And this is just as the Internet is really starting to to get going. But we didn't have those kind of resources. So to answer that question, like everybody else, I think a few other guests have said this. But yes, I've got Imam Siraj Bukhari tapes, cassettes. I'm listening to those. We're going to the to the fundraisers or the or the occasional. I mean, the big conferences were not in multitude like this. And I wasn't able to. My circumstances weren't going to allow me to travel overseas to go to the Middle East or anywhere else to study. So I'm trying to grapple whatever I can. Dr. Farah Kashmi cassettes, which were I don't know if you're familiar with her work is obviously all in Urdu. But she has a student for and this was like a treasure trove for us back in those days because it was translated into English. And I understand the Urdu. I actually heard a lot of all of the seer of Buran in Urdu completely. That was my my first love for the Arabic language, I think really just jumped leaps and bounds from just learning it as a language, which is how it's taught. It was taught in the university to learning the nuance in the language when it comes to understanding Buran. And, you know, started to to want to deep dive into this. But I didn't have the books. I didn't have the teachers in front of me and our community being small. I've got the Masjid Imam, who's a scholar, Masha'Allah, the local scholars that were there, but very few. And also the access, you know, the access of it's a small community masjid. We barely got facility for the women downstairs. So like buddy, my husband, like, OK, can you ask the sheikh after Salah? Can you ask him this for me? Can you find him and get his email address? Can I can I ask him this question?
I really got this burning question about this like thing, and I don't know the answer. So all of this is simultaneously happening. We go to a fundraiser. Imam Siraj is a speaker. We go there just to just get something, hear him, you know, listen to him. It's a fundraiser for a school. We haven't even had our children yet. And it's a fundraiser for a school, for a big school, that the Islamic school, one of the first ones in the area. They have a little preschooler come up and she recites the Quran into the microphone. And my husband and I both look at each other and we said right then and there, we make dua. We want a daughter that's able to do this and go to a day one. SubhanAllah. I mean, I still remember her little blue uniform. And, you know, lo and behold, just short time after that, we have our daughter, our first child. And the first preschool in the area. And we're ready to drive thirty five, forty miles each day to take our daughter to that school. But Alhamdulillah, something opens up in our area, a brand new school right around her first day or second day as a preschooler. She's three years old. Nine eleven happens the first day or the second day of her second day of her preschool. But Alhamdulillah, we you know, we get through that. The support of the community, this small school, I get involved to start, you know, volunteering just to be able to. I need to be there with my child. I need to also know what's coming ahead. I need to make sure it's being done properly and I want to be involved. So I start to get involved as a volunteer, along with learning and trying to find resources. I'm going online. There's not much available still at this point. So I'm like, OK, I'm listening to stuff. I'm going to start a halakha. Just moms, new moms, other people with kids like me that are toddlers, even if the kids don't understand anything, we're doing it for us to get together, strengthen our iman. I'm not qualified to teach yet. So, of course, we're listening to whatever we can. We're trying to read whatever we can. That's how it really started for me to, you know, tell. But I was just that's where the hunt began.
And I really say it that way. I was just scrimmaging for information and knowledge wherever I could get it. It took it took time. It took a lot of time as my kids started to get older. I'm more and more involved in Islamic schools because the early stages they were in Islamic school. We moved to Chicago because we knew because we knew this is where there was more. There were more resources available. The masjid community was more developed, a little bit more further along. We still again, local imams, local shiur, mashallah. Now we have quite a few mashayikh in the community here. But even going back to 2003, when we first moved, kids are really little, but we still looking. So I joined the first halakha I could find. The stable thing throughout all these years has been the weekly halakha. And I can't stress that enough for like anybody wanting to do this. It's the community halakha. It's the sisters. You know, shout out to all the sisters that I've been involved with over the years at the masjid and outside of the masjid. And, you know, that gave me an opportunity to start learning. We just keep going over Qur'an. Doesn't matter who's which, you know, we're reading different, whatever is available. I mean, the Urdu speaking sisters are using mawdudi and ma'rif al-Qur'an and so on. But OK, alhamdulillah, you know, some are using it. There wasn't a lot going on in English even back then that I could access in my local masjid. So I'm going to the local, you know, teachers confirming with the scholars wherever I had questions and building that. Comes to the scene, al-Mawrith. Institutions start. My da'as are answered. I can go to class and sit in the same hall. I can ask questions. I just absorbed it as much as I could. And we made it a family thing. Little kids in tow. I saw my son rolling around the aisles with little cars, you know, but it was like just absorb it. It's OK. Be here. Be here and absorb it. I was surprised by other families who had older kids that were there.
I was like, how did you do this? And, you know, and they would tell me, well, no, we just bring them. I'm like, OK, I'm just going to bring them. And so all these mashayikh, mashallah, who are, you know, I was just watching the al-Mawrith reunion, 20 year reunion. I mean, the big, the Ilmfest, right, this weekend. And I had goosebumps because that was me. They talked about all of you all who brought your kids. You came as young people. You brought your kids. Your kids grew up in al-Mawrith. You know, now we want your kids because they got to think about their kids' future. And sure enough, that's the milestone that we're at today. It made a huge difference, made a huge difference. And, you know, made this way heavy in everyone's scales from Shukran Khan, Mother Sharif to everyone else involved. But these are my teachers, you know, all my teachers. And so I that gave me access to what the textbooks being used. I still I'm going beyond the weekend seminar. I'm taking the seminars, taking the exams. I'm like, OK, maybe this is how I can get my degree. I can qualify. I can, you know, go into my weekly halaqas in the community, still sitting quietly. I don't say a word. A few years I sit like that until they start calling on me and saying, you know, would you like to say this? And all of a sudden they're like, wait, you speak English? You live in the West. You have something to say about this. You have some knowledge. You know, back to back to back years of, you know, just going through Quran in Ramadan, like daily sessions, two, three hours at a time. So like so that's how I started to get involved in teaching as well and preparing. And I'm like, OK, I need access to the to the books, to the you know, I'd watch the teachers. Now, by now, everything's online and I want access to those books. And I got to formalize this. I've got to get into the sciences. I've got it. You know, so that's when I with the advice of Mashallah, the teachers have been really supportive to me. Sheikh Omar and so many others was able to get involved, you know, get into a program that would give me all the structure that I needed to be able to get through, you know, start with the basics and Arabic and then work sciences.
So that's how I kind of started from that. Yeah. And it became a full time thing alongside parenting. Yeah. Yeah. Community parenting and this studying. So I'm very much a student of knowledge. I'm always in classes and I still have a weekly class with I am sure you're familiar with Sharabal Issa. LP big shout out to the LP community. Day one start signed up. Eleven years later, every week I'm in class. So eleven years, eleven years of studying. One text. Was that most like it? Yeah. Yeah. And I just love it because it taught me how to be a student of knowledge. So without having to I mean, I wasn't able to, you know, much like yourself, you know, you all have benefited so much going overseas and studying at a university in Medina, for example. I wish I could do that. But for those who can't, where there's a will, you know, and you pray for guidance, Allah will open those doors. And yeah, there were many, many days when I felt, you know, I wasn't sure how I was going to get there or what I was still on that journey, of course. MashaAllah. Like that commitment, SubhanAllah, like it's rare to find people who want to study to that level, like are willing to show up week after week and take notes and all that. I studied like I started like a small group in our masjid and I'm like, I'm going to teach you guys like usul al fiqh from like a real book. And we're going to go like, you know, week by week. And I thought nobody's going to show up. 20 people, Alhamdulillah, showed up and then over time it got down to like 10 people. But I'm telling them, listen, if you 10 show up, that motivates me. Yes. Right? To do like to make sure that I prepare everything and I'm ready to teach and all of that. And I think like people don't understand, like the students energize the mashayikh so much. Absolutely. Just being willing to show up, like SubhanAllah, studying with Sheikh Abu Isa for 11 years, week in, week out.
Like you're giving him so much energy, like he feels like, OK, I got to do more, put more into this. And I hope just people like who are listening all across the country, they think that they realize the same. Like if you show up, you might energize your imam to be even better, your teachers around you to be better and to want to teach more and to want to give more. InshaAllah. I mean, I think, you know, when you realize that, first of all, it's discipline. I mean, you do have to. It's a commitment. And then commitments aren't realized until you're disciplined enough to just show up every time, as you said. And for me, it was about setting a routine. Your daily routine has to be not rigid, but it has to be consistent. And I think that really helped me. And my kids grew up hearing this. I wanted it and I wanted to be, you know, something was always playing in the house. I mean, literally, it's just that's what we were listening to. That's what we were learning. That's what we made it fun. And we made it something that was motivational. And we have to balance it with everything else. Sure. Enjoy the world, travel, do other things, do whatever you need to do. Sports, everything is there. But this has to be at the core of it and meaningful conversations. And I know Shaka, you asked about spirituality, but honestly, that's the part of me. That's the selfish part, because I feel like the motivation behind it is selfish in the sense that, you know, ultimately that's what's going to keep us in line is when we work on what's on the inside. The outside part will come. The showing up to class will come. The prayer regularity, the fasting, the, you know, being able to sustain and do the things that you need to do, even in times when it's challenging, will come if what's on the inside is sound. And I just feel like that's something we never take for granted. And so thuskia really helps me to make sure that I'm working. It makes me ask the tough questions of myself. And I, you know, I do that with my with my family. I mean, it's a it's a family thing without the support of family, without each other encouraging each of us, encouraging one another.
I don't think it's it's an easy road to take, but we can be there for each other in this way to remind each other. And I think thuskia really is at the root of everything that I kind of connect to. That's the most effective for me personally. No, that's that's subhanAllah. And, you know, that's phenomenal being that, you know, hearing the 11 years, subhanAllah. I remember I think it was Imam Al-Zuhri, the scholar, one of the shuyukh, teachers of Imam Malik in Medina. He said, man ram al ilm al jumlah, zahba anuh al jumlah. He said, whoever approaches the knowledge and takes it all all at once, it will leave him or her all at once. Innama al ilmu yakti bil ayaami wal layali, that the knowledge comes by day and night, day and night, day and night. So you represent a huge demographic of sisters that, you know, like you mentioned, the sisters that go to al maghrib and they want to continue studying. They had the goals and aspirations to go overseas, but Allah will something else. And that message of just continuing on even, you know, mashAllah for 11. So it's one day a week, 11 years. It's one day a week, 11 years, a final exam every year for the entire year. And you really, you know, while the text itself is a book of fiqh, obviously, and it's shaykh Hussain means shah of that. But it's there's so much tarbiyah in doing something like this with regularity. Obviously, you all know, but for anybody out there who is an elder. He's always open for people to jump in. We always welcome people and people come and go all over the world. People are coming and going through that that portal. But I've stayed there because it really taught me how to be a student of knowledge. It gives you the structure and the framework that perhaps you all who've gone to Islamic universities would know that is presented from day one. Like this is your chartered course that you take, even though this is a study of fiqh. There's so much involved in terms of learning. You know, aqidah comes up all the time.
Tazkiyah comes up all the time. You know, there's nothing is independent of everything else. And so different aspects of the soul, so much so that really, when I collectively look at everything I've learned there, it's probably the one course that I've learned the most in that has touched upon everything I've learned in every other class that I take, even through the university today as part of Islamic studies, formal course outline. It's just it's it's quite unbelievable what that course is. And I wish there'd be more like that. And this Koran progression, too, but we need more like this where these teachers are committed to, even if it's a handful of students for the long haul. Right. For the for the listening, I just want to make sure they understand that what she's studying is it's a text in what is called Hambali Fiqh. And Hambali Fiqh is Islamic law. So it's one of the schools of thought of a scholar, scholar from the past, Imam Ahmed bin Hambal. But the actual text is not from him, it's from someone that studies his school of thought thoroughly. And it's probably the most reliable book for beginners or intermediate students for studying this school of thought. It's called Zad al Mustaqnir, which means the provision for the one that wants to seek a level of not enjoyment, but the one that is for the mustaqnir ikna'a, someone that seeks sufi that is enough for them. The provision that is enough for them as a student of knowledge. Right. So you mentioned LP. Can you explain what LP is? And Sheikh Abu Isa, he's one of the main teachers. Yeah, that's Sheikh Abu Isa. He's named the course Logical Progression, and he's got his sort of own inside reason for that. But it is a logical progression. And from from the perspective of all those out there who are listening as potential students, this is a progression in study that will help you to understand what the methodologies of the scholars that what we are looking at, as Shah Abdullah just said, a Hanbali text.
But we do talk about the opinions of the other madahib as well. And what are the proofs and the evidences that went into formulating those opinions and just the nuance behind some of that, that really helps you understand how to approach just any any problem, any issue that comes up in terms of what would be the approach of the scholars to try to determine what is the original text of the Qur'an. And so now everything obviously goes back to how how from that can we extract the benefit and the proper rulings needed for this particular issue. And so in I think there's 30 volumes there which are taken from a series of lectures of Sheikh Hussein, but of those 30 volumes, we've really been kind of we inch along, we inch along. We start with the harad and you know, the salat. And we are in the chapter of prayer, but we are talking about congregational prayer only. You know, that's how far we've gotten, you could say. But so much in 10 years. That's where we're at. So we've got a long way to go. As you said, he's been teaching our grandchildren, too. I think I've raised him so funny. I mean, he's so funny. He makes it fun. He makes it fun. It's a dry subject. It's not. I love it. Yeah. And that's the thing. I want to capitalize on this because, you know, when you say Sheikh Rumi, I always mention Sheikh Yasir Burj Jais. He's my neighbor down the street. But I'm so jealous of him because he got to study with him for a while, for a short period of time. But, you know, I'm so glad you're mentioning that you're getting spirituality from a book of Islamic law, because people will think that Islamic law is so dry. It's okay. Halal, haram. Here's the proof. Okay, let's move on. But there's so much more that you could take from a book of Islamic law. It's a whole story in and of itself. You understand history, contextualization. So and I like how you mentioned also how the sheikh will go outside of the school of thought, especially for the Western mind, because a lot of times we like to ask why, what's the derivative from it or what is this alluding to?
So what is the origin and what is the result? And from that, it really, it really what what what what are some benefits that you've gotten from going through this exercise? So many, subhanAllah, even just as you're speaking, I'm thinking of things that are just popping up. I mean, first of all, just an appreciation for the fact that that it's OK to have different opinions within the valid realm of what is Sunni Islam. And so many of us and then this goes back to some of the questions that we're talking about, you know, issues earlier that when I had those questions, I didn't know what it meant. Why is the 80-20 in Tarawih? Why is that an issue? Like, you know, going back years, obviously, that's happening less now. But there was a time when that was like a hotbed issue or the whole moonsighting issue or whatever it may be. These sound like old things that are being grudged up. But for a lot of people who don't know, these are things that sometimes can cause a lot of confusion and also culturally speaking, what is cultural Islam versus what is actually Islam in reality? And one of the greatest benefits, I have to say, is that if there's something that's going to impact your life, this course probably impacted my life in terms of daily practice to the greatest extent in terms of understanding the ease and the mercy of Allah. We make things more restrictive for ourselves where we shouldn't be and where we should be thinking about what the boundaries are. Sometimes we lose sight of those. So this really helps us to understand that, helps us to understand and appreciate the great work that's been done by the scholars of the past, starting from the imams, of course, the four imams of the four schools. But even just to bring all of this to us today, to where we now can go through such kind of reference material and be able to access very quickly, what are all the, you know, the refinement, the nuance in understanding an issue, you know, be it something, for example, just we're talking about in the chapter of, you know, a congressional prayer. What kind of, you know, what's more important?
Is it more important to to pray behind the imam that maybe some people have a little bit of beef with? Or is it better to to break away from that mosjid and not pray behind him? What's the right ruling for that? So this is controversial issues and questions, but we we don't shy away from asking those questions. But then we answer them, you know, to understand the importance of the unity of the ummah, to understand the importance of, you know, what's really going to benefit the people in the long run. But does that take responsibility of the imam? No, it doesn't. To try to make sure things are aired and clear. So Alhamdulillah, that's just a very brief thing. But we're talking about the wither prayer, for example, we did one of the most beautiful tazkiyah sessions was talking about just the the dua, the sunnah dua from the wither, Oh Allah guide me along with those whom you have guided to how to appealing to and calling upon Allah by his mercy and generosity. What is what is what is hidayah, the realms of hidayah? It's not just getting to guidance, but it's staying on that guidance and knowing what to do. And, you know, what is the realm of it's not just well-being. And it's a holistic thing all around. So so many things we can talk about there. But yeah, benefits have been phenomenal, I would say. So join our class. This is the best the best that they could hope for. Yeah, exactly. But yes, but I would encourage everyone to stay at least with a local halafat, a weekly halafat. Keeps you grounded. And as we're saying, Shadr Ibrahim, I think especially for anybody who is instructing, teaching, it keeps us, you know, it really helps you to to make sure that, you know, for yourself, I think you benefit the most out of that as somebody who's in that line of work. I mean, I I didn't one day wake up and say, I'm going to be a teacher or I'm going to be a writer even, you know, that I'm going to be a research fellow. But subhanAllah, when I look back, Allah subhana wa ta'ala had a plan and he gets you to where you are.
And Allah gives taufiq to to apply ourselves within those roles and our capacity to the best of our ability. Very grateful for that opportunity and weigh heavy on everyone's scales, whatever good that we benefit from our teachers and we try to pass on. All right. I think it's our time now to play rapid fire questions inshallah. Sure. I'll keep it easy. Well, I'm sorry, I'm not going to keep it easy. I'll keep it interesting, hopefully. OK, we'll start with easy. Do you prefer spring or fall? Spring. Spring. OK. Anybody who lives in a cold climate pretty much is going to say spring. Pancakes or waffles? Pancakes. OK. A book or a podcast? Book. Who would you want to have dinner with, but not including, you know, the Prophet and the companions? Not even the companions? Ibn Khayyam, probably. I've said I said I think on double take, I said Imam Bukhari, but any of those amazing scholars that we have taken so much from, I mean, just to, you know, get to know them and how they how they got to where they were, what they were doing with their day to day, how they did it. You know, Allah bless them. OK, what book would you recommend? That's very broad. I mean, obviously, everybody, you know, the Quran is a starting point for everyone. But in terms of the English speaking audience, something that I think can I two recommendations I would have, actually. One is a book of Seerah. It's Muhammad, man and prophet, Abu Salahi. That one doesn't get mentioned nearly enough. I know Sealed Nectar is the go to and Alhamdulillah, beautiful book.
And there are many beautiful books out there. But I just I loved this book. I read it and I felt that it it reads like a just the way it's written. It's just beautifully written. And the English translation is available. And it's just I would recommend that highly because it contextualizes the Seerah to modern society in terms of obviously the Seerah itself. In terms of the way the prophet's life is detailed, but in terms of understanding, maybe in being able to contextualize it better for people of our generation. I think it's a really good book. And don't be sad, Dr. Al-Qarni, La Tahsan, that has been translated into so many languages. I just find that as that's a great bedside book just to keep on your nightstand or something. Anytime I mean, just open it any page. And I've done this. I've done this over the years. Any page you open it to, you will find something meaningful on that page. He just quotes from from sacred texts, from Quran, from Sunnah, but from also from many sayings and experiences of the scholars of the past. But just gives you it's a very uplifting book about how to navigate life. I just think it's a beautiful book. What's your favorite city, but not Mecca, Medina or Jerusalem? Probably Istanbul or Turkey in general, but Istanbul probably for its just the connection to history and roots. You know, even though my parents are originally from India, were event three, four generations only, three, four generations back before that. All of my ancestors came from somewhere either in the Middle East, like from the Arabian Peninsula or Turkey and like Persia. So I connect deeply to that culture. And a couple of times that I've been there, I just feel that there's a presence of connectivity, just the history of Islam itself, which is my own just roots.
I can kind of see a lot of things that culturally played out over the years that we consider to be part of like traditional Indo-Pak or Desi culture. It's rooted there. You can see it. Istanbul is actually very interesting from that perspective, because you go on, there's Islamic history, there's Christian history, Roman history. Like there's so many different peoples who have been there. It connects you to the world and to the past and nothing like that to get grounded in where you are today. I know there's a lot of secularism, too, but alhamdulillah, if you look for it, you could find some good things there. Absolutely. We have a couple of questions from the audience. So here's the first one. So Monica, what tips or advice would you give to someone who wants to start learning about Islam at a deeper level, a deeper, more scholarly level? I think, you know, my story obviously evolved over the last 20 plus years and that things were not, you know, wasn't as easily and readily available in the beginning for me. But as I said, now, alhamdulillah, with what we have available, there's really no excuse for anyone who wants to find it. There's access. And so from, you know, depending on where you live, if you live, I would say start always in your own community and look for scholars and teachers in your own community. So if you're living in a place where there are masajid and, you know, trained scholars that you can trust and go to your own imam, start with that first and at least get a basis, get involved in the masjid, get involved in the masjid classes as a baseline that you can have, you know, just people you need to be with face to face, because I think doing everything online isn't the best either. There is an element, a holistic element of being in front of teachers and in front of other students with other students as well, just to keep them motivated and so on. But the multitude of resources online, if you can't travel abroad or be part of an institute, a formal Islamic institute of higher learning,
then there's so much available online these days through whether it's Al-Mawri Bukhalam or, you know, any of these places will get you going and then obviously formalizing even degree programs. Mashallah, they're readily available now. So that would be and discipline, I would say the personal side of it would be really disciplined, would be commit to it, set time aside. My philosophy in life is always it's final. That's in line with that beautiful hadith that we often quote about just a little bit at a time. Just Allah loves, is most pleased with that, that even if it's small, just just consistent with it, the little deeds that you do consistently. That's really how I've inched along. And I say that it wasn't what you know, these you don't need to to to do something in overdrive where you're going to get burnt out. So stay away from the extremes and stay in the middle. And when you do that, you can still manage your life. So, yes, I chose not to pursue, you know, a career in some other field and and be working that alongside. But how many people do we know who are working doctors, physicians, hafaz of Quran and they're still teaching and learning and imams. So people have different capacities. We are not all that, but we are also hardworking moms and we're hardworking, you know, community members and, you know, involved in service and so on. So whatever your capacity is, set aside a portion of time or day. Nothing like after fajr. I think that's the best time, again, in line with the sunnah. The first hour or two, if you can dedicate when my children were little, I knew those breaks I could get. And so it was like, OK, early morning. That's my time for that's my time for memorization. That's my time for whatever I need to write. And then there's a certain time when you dedicate your time to the family. Then there's a certain time when you again can approach something or, you know, work around that. So hopefully that gives an idea. Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah. This is the next question. I think it's a bit tough of a question, but I thought it might be a great question to end on.
What ayah of the Quran, what's an ayah of the Quran that makes you emotional? Emotional. So there are a few, actually, that I'm thinking of. And, you know, I I often think about this. There are some some ayats. So I don't have one favorite ayat that I can point to. But for example, every time Allah mentions, Fa la khawfun alayhim wa la hum yakhzanoon, that, you know, they will be no fear upon them, nor will they grieve. And this is repeated a number of times in the Quran. There's something there that just kind of, you know, it's a release. It's a sense of that, OK, there's a there's a time coming, insha'Allah, for all this effort and whatever hardships we're going through and challenges we're going through. That when things aren't perfect, that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is going to, you know, give you that ultimate sense of, you know, contentment where you're not worried about the past or the future anymore. That's an example of something that stops me. But I was thinking about it just this morning. And subhanAllah, the exact ayah I was thinking of came in my daily reading. And so I said, you know, if I'm asked this question, I actually I will say this ayah because this ayah makes me stop every time I'm reciting. Where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Ya ayyuha al-nasu, anthum fuqara, anthum fuqaraahu ilallah, wallahu huwa al-ghani wal-hameed, that, you know, oh, humanity, oh, people, it's all of you that are in such desperate need of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're just we are. We are. I mean, we say faqeer in Urdu. We say, you know, and, you know, anybody who knows that, that it's really more of a beg, you're begging before Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. But Allah alone is the one who's self-sufficient, praiseworthy. And that that ayah just to me, it's like we absorb so much toxicity in our daily lives in forms in the form of everything around us that this to me is oxygen.
This ayah. And I do get emotional about it every time I recite Quran, Isistun Fathir, ayah number 15. Every time I recite this ayah, I stop and I think about it, that our need for Allah from the very basics of guidance, even just hidayah. I mean, we can't take that for granted. We can't take anything for granted. We know we need Allah for everything, but it starts with with hidayah. It starts with it is the you know, to me, this ayah symbolizes in many ways just what it is to have, you know, to be the servant of the master. That we're in need of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're in desperate need for anything. He sends our way as Musa alayhi salam pray, using the same word, right? That that we are. And and I think that it speaks to me. It's a very emotional ayah that sometimes will put things in perspective in good times and in times of challenge that rest assured Allah will provide. And Allah is the one that we call upon to ask for everything, including our ability to just function day to day. So. That's a tough question because people ask me that question too sometimes. And I'm like, it kind of depends on my mood. Yeah. And even I have just questions. I often stop at a not that. Like, where are you all going? Where do you think you're going? That stops me every time. And I just stop and I say, OK, get your bearings straight because, you know, we're all going in this one direction. But then sometimes we get pulled aside. That's what she does. That's what I love. So it's those kind of I really do get me. But again, I probably that's getting related. Right. I kind of come back to that at the end. Just like a beautiful and beautiful connection, I think, for all of us to think about. I'm really happy to have had you.
Thanks. Join us and share your story with us. And I hope, inshallah, everybody was able to benefit from it. Alhamdulillah. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be with you all. Really appreciate it. Jazakallah. Give Shaykh Abu Ishaa my salams. He has a nickname for me. Ask him. He'll tell you. Oh, really? Okay, I will. May Allah bless you and your family. Ameen. As-salamu alaykum.
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