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Islam Isn’t Just Therapy | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine
Israel is Losing - and They Know It | Imam Tom Live

Israel is Losing - and They Know It | Imam Tom Live

How to Fight the Israeli Backlash | Imam Tom Live

How to Fight the Israeli Backlash | Imam Tom Live

On the Gaza Ceasefire | Imam Tom Live

On the Gaza Ceasefire | Imam Tom Live

Courage in the Face of Israeli Censorship | Imam Tom Live

Courage in the Face of Israeli Censorship | Imam Tom Live

How To Become A Strong Muslim Leader | Imam Tom Live

How To Become A Strong Muslim Leader | Imam Tom Live

How to Develop Better Habits | Imam Tom Live

How to Develop Better Habits | Imam Tom Live

Does Protesting Work? | Imam Tom Live

Does Protesting Work? | Imam Tom Live

Michigan Mosques Say NO! | Imam Tom Live

Michigan Mosques Say NO! | Imam Tom Live

Musk's Take, Columbia's Skunk Surprise, Islamic Unity, and India's Ram Revelation | Imam Tom Live

Musk's Take, Columbia's Skunk Surprise, Islamic Unity, and India's Ram Revelation | Imam Tom Live

The Lives of Imams, Hate Crime in Texas, Israeli Humiliation, Ceasefire Resolutions | Imam Tom Live

The Lives of Imams, Hate Crime in Texas, Israeli Humiliation, Ceasefire Resolutions | Imam Tom Live

Israel Bombs Rafah During Superbowl, that Biden Tweet, and Constructive Conversations | Imam Tom Live

Israel Bombs Rafah During Superbowl, that Biden Tweet, and Constructive Conversations | Imam Tom Live

What Will Ramadan be Like in Rafah? A Conversation About Sha'aban and Leadership | Imam Tom Live

What Will Ramadan be Like in Rafah? A Conversation About Sha'aban and Leadership | Imam Tom Live

Unveiling Truths: Aaron Bushnell, NYT's Agenda, & Stopping Military Aid to Israel | Imam Tom Live

Unveiling Truths: Aaron Bushnell, NYT's Agenda, & Stopping Military Aid to Israel | Imam Tom Live

Biryani Diplomacy: The Illusion of Political Influence & the "Flour Massacre" | Imam Tom Live

Biryani Diplomacy: The Illusion of Political Influence & the "Flour Massacre" | Imam Tom Live

Live Revolution: The West Rallies for Gaza | Imam Tom Live

Live Revolution: The West Rallies for Gaza | Imam Tom Live

University Raids, Fake Negotiations, Holocaust Remembrance? | Imam Tom Live

University Raids, Fake Negotiations, Holocaust Remembrance? | Imam Tom Live

Do Influencers Owe their Followers Advocacy? | Imam Tom Live

Do Influencers Owe their Followers Advocacy? | Imam Tom Live

Israel's Ceasefire Rejection, Nurse Fired for Gaza, and the Law of Sacrifice | Imam Tom Live

Israel's Ceasefire Rejection, Nurse Fired for Gaza, and the Law of Sacrifice | Imam Tom Live

Muslim Influencers Profiting from Apartheid | Imam Tom Live

Muslim Influencers Profiting from Apartheid | Imam Tom Live

The Real Guise of 'Islamophobia' | Imam Tom Live

The Real Guise of 'Islamophobia' | Imam Tom Live

What France & UK's Electoral results mean for Muslims | Imam Tom Live

What France & UK's Electoral results mean for Muslims | Imam Tom Live

No Limits: Israel’s Growing Atrocities and Global Indifference | Imam Tom Live

No Limits: Israel’s Growing Atrocities and Global Indifference | Imam Tom Live

Falsehood is Bound to Vanish | Imam Tom Live

Falsehood is Bound to Vanish | Imam Tom Live

Hypocrisy at the DNC | Imam Tom Live

Hypocrisy at the DNC | Imam Tom Live

Empowering Student Activism | Imam Tom Live

Empowering Student Activism | Imam Tom Live

Remembering Aysenur's Courage | Imam Tom Live

Remembering Aysenur's Courage | Imam Tom Live

Muslim Votes Swing 2024 | Imam Tom Live

Muslim Votes Swing 2024 | Imam Tom Live

All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation | Imam Tom Live

All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation | Imam Tom Live

Oct 7th Changed Everything | Imam Tom Live

Oct 7th Changed Everything | Imam Tom Live

Allah Will Ask: What Did You Do With Your Freedom? | Imam Tom Live

Allah Will Ask: What Did You Do With Your Freedom? | Imam Tom Live

Surah Al-Kawthar & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Live

Surah Al-Kawthar & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Live

Atomic Habits: Why Most Quit Early | Imam Tom Weekly

Atomic Habits: Why Most Quit Early | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah An-Nas & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah An-Nas & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Why You Can't Resist Cravings (and How to Take Back Control) | Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Why You Can't Resist Cravings (and How to Take Back Control) | Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah Al-Ikhlas & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah Al-Ikhlas & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah Al-Masad & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Surah Al-Masad & Atomic Habits | Imam Tom Weekly

Why Reps Matter More than Time | Imam Tom Weekly

Why Reps Matter More than Time | Imam Tom Weekly

What Does Trump's Second Term Mean for Muslims? | Imam Tom Weekly

What Does Trump's Second Term Mean for Muslims? | Imam Tom Weekly

The Islamic Cure for Overconsumption | Imam Tom Weekly

The Islamic Cure for Overconsumption | Imam Tom Weekly

Doomscrolling is Rewiring Your Brain | Imam Tom Weekly

Doomscrolling is Rewiring Your Brain | Imam Tom Weekly

Trump Wants to Take Over Gaza | Imam Tom Weekly

Trump Wants to Take Over Gaza | Imam Tom Weekly

Will Celebrity Muslims Save Us? | Imam Tom Weekly

Will Celebrity Muslims Save Us? | Imam Tom Weekly

Why Don't Muslims Just Leave? | Imam Tom Weekly

Why Don't Muslims Just Leave? | Imam Tom Weekly

When Did Ramadan Become a Festival | Imam Tom Weekly

When Did Ramadan Become a Festival | Imam Tom Weekly

Muslims Are a People of Principle | Imam Tom Weekly

Muslims Are a People of Principle | Imam Tom Weekly

The Dark Truth About Secularism | Imam Tom Weekly

The Dark Truth About Secularism | Imam Tom Weekly

The Secret Cost of Individualism | Imam Tom Weekly

The Secret Cost of Individualism | Imam Tom Weekly

How Islamic History Was Frozen and Forgotten | Imam Tom Weekly

How Islamic History Was Frozen and Forgotten | Imam Tom Weekly

The Ummah or the Nation? | Imam Tom Weekly

The Ummah or the Nation? | Imam Tom Weekly

Debunking the 'Islamic Dilemma' | Imam Tom Weekly

Debunking the 'Islamic Dilemma' | Imam Tom Weekly

How Music Impacts Your Brain | Imam Tom Weekly

How Music Impacts Your Brain | Imam Tom Weekly

Malcolm X's Legacy We Forgot About | Imam Tom Weekly

Malcolm X's Legacy We Forgot About | Imam Tom Weekly

Hajj is the Great Equalizer | Imam Tom Facchine

Hajj is the Great Equalizer | Imam Tom Facchine

The Multi-Million Dollar War on Islam | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

The Multi-Million Dollar War on Islam | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

How Islam Completed what Christianity Began | Imam Tom Facchine

How Islam Completed what Christianity Began | Imam Tom Facchine

Why the Islamic Calendar Matters | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Why the Islamic Calendar Matters | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Colonialism Hijacked the Muslim World | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

How Colonialism Hijacked the Muslim World | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

What Activism Is Missing Today | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What Activism Is Missing Today | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How to Stop Chasing Validation | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How to Stop Chasing Validation | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Representation Isn’t Working. Here’s Why. | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Representation Isn’t Working. Here’s Why. | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Is This Da’wah or Entertainment? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Is This Da’wah or Entertainment? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Islam Isn’t Just Therapy | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine
Playing

Islam Isn’t Just Therapy | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

The Hidden Bias in Every History Book | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

The Hidden Bias in Every History Book | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

How Your Victim Mindset is Destroying You | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Your Victim Mindset is Destroying You | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Modesty Is More Than What You Wear | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Modesty Is More Than What You Wear | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Will Recognition Help Palestine? | Snapshots by Imam Tom Facchine

Will Recognition Help Palestine? | Snapshots by Imam Tom Facchine

Israel’s Link to U.S. Anti-Terror Policy | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Israel’s Link to U.S. Anti-Terror Policy | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Living Up to the Prophet’s ﷺ Final Speech | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Living Up to the Prophet’s ﷺ Final Speech | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Should We View Gaza’s Celebrity Support? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Should We View Gaza’s Celebrity Support? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How to Stop Falling for Fake Mahdis | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How to Stop Falling for Fake Mahdis | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Columbus Wasn't Just After Gold – He Wanted Jerusalem | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Columbus Wasn't Just After Gold – He Wanted Jerusalem | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Why Some Scholars Critique Resistance | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Why Some Scholars Critique Resistance | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Why You Can’t Escape Organized Religion | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Why You Can’t Escape Organized Religion | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Kings Chased Thrones. He ﷺ Chased This Instead | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Kings Chased Thrones. He ﷺ Chased This Instead | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What Islam Reveals About Socialism and Capitalism | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

What Islam Reveals About Socialism and Capitalism | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

What Real Masculinity Looks Like | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What Real Masculinity Looks Like | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Amazon's Kill System & the Network Behind Sami's Detention | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Amazon's Kill System & the Network Behind Sami's Detention | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

The Truth About AI’s Intelligence | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

The Truth About AI’s Intelligence | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What the Qur’an Says About Christianity | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What the Qur’an Says About Christianity | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Does the Qur’an View the Bible? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How Does the Qur’an View the Bible? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What ‘Allahu Akbar’ Really Means (And Why It Scares Them) | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What ‘Allahu Akbar’ Really Means (And Why It Scares Them) | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Debunking the Myth of the ‘Oppressed Muslim Woman’ | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Debunking the Myth of the ‘Oppressed Muslim Woman’ | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Why Not Every Seat is One Worth Taking | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

Why Not Every Seat is One Worth Taking | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine

What Sharia Law Actually Means | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

What Sharia Law Actually Means | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Does Islam Actually Oppose Science? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Does Islam Actually Oppose Science? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How ‘Taqiyya’ Became an Islamophobic Talking Point | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

How ‘Taqiyya’ Became an Islamophobic Talking Point | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Who's Your Real Enemy? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Who's Your Real Enemy? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

The Promise and Paradox of the Islamic Republic | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 1 |  Imam Tom Facchine

The Promise and Paradox of the Islamic Republic | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 1 | Imam Tom Facchine

Iran vs. Saudi Arabia: Who Represents the Ummah? | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 2 |  Imam Tom Facchine

Iran vs. Saudi Arabia: Who Represents the Ummah? | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 2 | Imam Tom Facchine

Should We Show Solidarity with Iran? | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 3 |  Imam Tom Facchine

Should We Show Solidarity with Iran? | Deep Dive: Iran Ep. 3 | Imam Tom Facchine

Unforgettable Stories From Hajj | Imam Tom x Shaykh Elshinawy

Unforgettable Stories From Hajj | Imam Tom x Shaykh Elshinawy

Epstein and the Double Standard of Justice | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Epstein and the Double Standard of Justice | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Imam Tom Live

Islam Isn’t Just Therapy | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine

Are you using Islam to simply feel better, or to genuinely change for the better?

Imam Tom Facchine speaks on the rise of therapy culture, including how it can reduce Islam to simply a self-help tool.

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
One of the things that we should be concerned about in the age of social media, in the age of self-help gurus, in the age of the proliferation of therapy and therapy culture, and we're not saying anything is wrong with therapy, but therapy culture, is the reduction of Islam and the instrumentalization of Islam.
And Islam simply becomes a tool for some type of thing that you're after in the dunya. Whether it's healing, it could be good things in and of itself. We can call it the yogification of Islam. People just show up and they do these things and they talk about these things that are in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah, but we're only using it to reduce stress. We're only using it to heal from a trauma. We're only using it in this way. That cheapens it. That takes it away.
We actually put ourselves in the driver's seat in that scenario, and that's not literally Islam. Islam is submission. Right? Which means that you are allowing Islam to transform yourself. That's the difference. That Islam, genuine Islam, is that you are going to change. You're not going to be the same person.
You're one person right now with your comforts, with your needs, with your addictions, with your hurt, with your pain, with your experiences. If you're only trying to use Islam and stay the same person, just being a little bit less stressed or something of that nature, then perhaps you are instrumentalizing Islam in this way.
Rather, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said that everybody has to enter Islam, according to one interpretation, with their whole selves. Or as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, when it came to my life and my death or my living and my dying, it's all for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So be careful. Everybody has to understand, especially in today's culture where we are skewed towards emphasizing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's mercy.
And some of that has a historical common sense reason because there were other people, perhaps the previous generation, perhaps the place that we're living, that overemphasized Allah's wrath. Absolutely. That happened. But the solution is not to go to the other extreme. The solution is not now to just everything is lovey-dovey, Islam cuddly, Islam cute, and that it's just about feeling good.
A good coach or a good teacher or mentor is going to be able to find that sweet spot where you are being affirmed and challenged.
I was just in a masjid in New York City and they had a, mashallah, very, very nice gym. Everything that you could want to do. And they go there regularly. Great, mashallah. Health is important. But if you had a personal coach who said, you know what? You can bench this much. That's good enough. You can do so many push-ups. Why don't you stop there?
We don't want to hear that from a trainer or a coach. We want motivation. Like, come on, you can do more. You can do more. It's a push ourselves because we want to change. We want to transform. But nor would we want someone who's only going to challenge us. So if you have a personal trainer or coach, you're worthless. You're nothing. You can't do anything like that. That's the opposite extreme, right? We need someone who's going to be like, good job. Push through a little bit more. Come on, let's try to do 20% more than last time.
And so that's how we should expect things to be with Islam. Islam is not going to tell you that you are fine. Everything that you're doing right now and everything that you think about everything and everything that you feel is completely valid and fine. No, it's not going to. It's going to challenge you. Like, you might feel a certain way about this, but you know, you're wrong. That you have to submit yourself to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants. But then it's not going to be like that for everything.
There's going to be things that align with who you were or who you are or your, you know, whatever your history or experience, there's going to be other things where it departs. That's exactly the work to do. The work to do, it's a dirty word in today's society, is conform. Islam is about conformity. Yes, it is. It's about conforming yourself to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants. That's the meaning of Islam.
Al-Fatiha.