Name: #ConfidentMuslim Ryan Harris on Cherishing Your Muslim Identity
Uploaded: 2017-09-15T14:18:20.000Z
Channel: Yaqeen Institute
Description: Ryan Harris built a successful 10 year career as an offensive tackle for the NFL, and became a Super Bowl Champion, while cherishing his identity as a Muslim. At this year’s #ConfidentMuslim session held at ISNA Chicago, Harris spoke about how to stay confident in your faith despite the obstacles...

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Confident Muslim

 I wanted to introduce to you all a very near and dear friend of mine, and he truly is a brother.  And I don't just say that, he really is a brother to me. We are extremely close and it's been such a privilege to know him  and to be with him as he was guarding Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, starting left tackle for Peyton.  And he's been through this journey in the NFL. My dear brother and friend, Ryan Harris, has been an inspiration to Muslims, mashallah,  for holding proudly to his Islam, but also being just such an amazing person in those contexts.  So, Ryan's probably the only person who's my size in this convention.  So if you walk around together, you'll probably think he's my bodyguard.  So if you see me walking behind him, using him for his offensive lineman skills, let's do that.  But why I think it's so significant to have Ryan here is because Ryan shows us, like so many others that have succeeded,  that Islam can be a source of inspiration and you don't have to compromise on your deen to be great in all of these different contexts.  I'm going to welcome Ryan Harris up, mashallah, to share a few words with us.  Thank you. Round of applause for Sheikh Omar. Unbelievable man, isn't he?  He's such an inspiration. I told him I'd give him five dollars if he introduced me like that.  So he did. Salam alaikum. How y'all doing? I'm going to treat y'all like football players for a second. Is that all right?  All right. We do something called stand up, shake it out. When I say stand up, shake it out, stand up, move your shoulders and elbows.  Ready? Stand up, shake it out. Get up a little bit. Yeah, yeah. Get some of that breakfast.  Anybody get the pancakes too this morning like me? Subhanallah pancakes. Sit on down.  Ever since Ramadan, I can't get enough pancakes and waffles. I'm so happy to be here with you.  Thank you, Sheikh Omar, for introducing me. Thank you to ISNA for having me.  I'll be here again later this evening. And thank you all for coming. Thank you all for coming.  Give yourselves a round of applause. Coming near and coming far.  I'm going to be real brief with you guys, but I do want to share some things that help me be confident as a Muslim in case possibly some of you face times and obstacles in your life where you're not as confident as you can be in your Islam or even in your job and the things you want to do.  Does that sound all right to you all? All right. The first thing I want to talk to you guys about, we all believe in Allah. Right?  Subhanallah to Allah. Believe in yourself as well. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself. Right?  There will be times in life where you will have to believe in yourself before anybody else does.  And anybody heard of Muhammad Ali, world champion? Yeah.  He has some amazing quotes, doesn't he? One of my favorite quotes besides Rumble, young man, Rumble.  Right. My favorite quote of Muhammad Ali is he said, I called myself the greatest before I knew I was.  Think about that. I called myself the greatest before I knew I was. Even the greatest champion in athletics that we recognize had doubts about his ability.  Even the greatest champion in the world that we recognize had doubts as to whether he could accomplish his goals.  But even if you don't believe in yourself as that, you're being the best Muslim that you can be, that you're being the best doctor or student or parent or child that you can be.  Tell yourself you are. Tell yourself you are. We all go through a journey in Islam.  You're not you're not born and automatically the best Muslim you can be. And if you are, subhanallah, you are the only one.  Right. What's DJ Khaled say? The one, the only one. Right.  But one of the phrase, a few of the phrases that helped me at these times were the following phrases. And I want you to say with me, I am. I can. I will.  And we add inshallah. I am Ryan Harris. I can overcome three back surgeries to help my team win a world championship.  I will. Inshallah. Right. But who are you? What is that for you?  And we had a student yesterday is going into high school. He's very nervous about being Muslim in high school.  If you're that kid, you say, I am a freshman in high school. I can be Muslim and be a good student.  I will. Inshallah. I encourage you to use this in your life when you face obstacles, both in the dean and the dunya.  Right. Use positive self-talk to get you through the journey that we all are on. Believe in yourself.  Part of another tool to believe in yourself is meditation. Right. Subhanallah.  We all know Mohammed, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was meditating when he received the word.  How many of us meditate? Right. Not enough. Not enough hands.  It's sooner. Right. Find some calmness in your life. Find some calmness each and every day that you can to find your priorities,  to recommit to your priorities, right, to recognize distractions in your life.  Believe in yourself. Use I am I can I wil…

Confident Muslim

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