BLOCKED ON INSTAGRAM, HER FATHERS ACCEPTANCE & HOW SHE CAME TO ISLAM - INTERVIEW
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Summary
In this episode, we are joined by the sister who is behind the post on social media which went viral in Russia, Amira. She shares her story about how she became a Muslim and how she dealt with her family's initial reaction to her decision to become a Muslim.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
You are the sister who is behind the post on social media,
00:00:05.700
Up, you know, there was two messages that you sent.
00:00:08.100
When you sent those, I knew at that moment of time,
00:00:13.420
I don't want to, I can cut this bit out if you want, yeah?
00:00:19.780
He was like, Ali Drama, always got some drama going on.
00:00:26.360
that's something that a nickname they've given to me,
00:00:35.540
But do you see, subhanAllah, look where you're now, sister.
00:00:43.900
So when I first became Muslim, my dad was actually okay.
00:00:51.600
If you want to live like a Pakistani religion, it's up to you.
00:00:53.880
My dad always had this view of a Pakistani religion.
00:01:26.100
Long discussions, but topics come up and we do it.
00:01:37.960
And it's good to have a sister's perspective on it as well.
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I don't know if you've seen these videos before.
00:01:59.100
Firstly, may Allah bless you, inshallah, for taking the time out.
00:02:02.980
The reason I wanted to do this is because, personally, I kind of related to your story.
00:02:08.120
And you are the sister who is behind the post on social media, which went quite viral.
00:02:14.460
And if I'm not mistaken, I just saw on your story that in Russia, it's been shared.
00:02:21.520
But someone who's got a big Russian channel, they basically translated it into Russian.
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I actually woke up this morning with, like, hundreds of followers from Russia.
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I put it into Google Translate and it was Russian.
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And I was like, and then I realized, literally this afternoon, that it went viral in Russia.
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So, I have no idea how it got there, but it did.
00:03:00.820
And I've seen on your story, mashallah, beautiful kids memorizing the Quran, reciting the Quran as they walk in.
00:03:09.300
Can you tell me, let's start from the beginning in the context of...
00:03:27.120
So, there's quite a lot of us in our family, which is quite strange.
00:03:29.820
You don't usually sort of find the whole sort of family of reverts.
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But, yeah, 2012, he's the one that sort of introduced me to Islam.
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And, you know, with the breakers today and everything.
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So, the bond has got stronger due to Islam as well.
00:03:49.700
When anyone comes to Islam, I tell them, like...
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If you think about it, they're like the ambassadors of Islam.
00:03:54.260
I believe, genuinely, Allah picks them for them to spread Islam into their family.
00:03:58.860
You know, that's why you see a lot of revert people coming to Islam.
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The reason I mention this is because a lot of them are afraid.
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Yes, those struggles are there, which we're going to talk about.
00:04:18.480
Because you might be the reason that the very family member that hates Islam might come to Islam.
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So, tell us what made you come to Islam, firstly?
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And he just used to basically talk to you about Islam.
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Obviously, when you know you're new to Islam, you're very passionate.
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And even though I didn't agree with, you know, the religious views they had, I really respected her and liked her as a person.
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And they were just very sweet and they were just very kind in the way they, you know, talked to me about Islam.
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And they used to always tell me, like, the positive things.
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And then, yeah, my brother would always try and give me some books and stuff.
00:05:01.920
And I'd say, you know, I'm not really a reader.
00:05:03.780
So, then what he would do is on a Friday night, he would order a takeaway and say,
00:05:07.340
why didn't you come and sit in our room with us and just watch something?
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I thought he was going to put on a movie, but he put on an Islamic lecture.
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I think it was, maybe it was Ahmadida or something like that.
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And, yeah, and I was just sat there watching it just to be respectful for, like, five, ten minutes.
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And then the following week, I ended up doing the same thing.
00:05:37.240
So, it became like a tradition almost that every Friday, if I didn't go out with my friends,
00:05:41.460
I would sit in the room with them and have a takeaway and we'd watch these Islamic lectures.
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And my group of friends, they were, you know, found it a bit strange.
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We were going to Ayanape, which is like a party resort, you know, in Cyprus.
00:06:03.660
And I actually felt like I didn't go because I had this feeling in me like, oh, it's wrong.
00:06:08.940
And when I actually got there, my brother had put a Quran into my bag.
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So, when I got there, when I opened my suitcase, I opened my suitcase and saw Quran as Allah.
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And it literally, it really hit me at that moment that, you know, this is, I want to change my life.
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And it was only actually standing on the balcony there.
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I remember very clearly that I was standing on the balcony in the hotel room.
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And there was lots of people, you know, drinking and smoking.
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And I remember seeing one woman being sick everywhere.
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And there was all this, you know, you can imagine going on in a party place, you know.
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I thought, this can't be the way that we're supposed to live and end.
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I just thought, for one moment, Islam must be true.
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You know, the creator who made everything has given us an instruction to live by.
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Allah lifted the veil of my eyes at that very moment.
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And that's when I rang my brother and said, do I want to take shahadah?
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Mashallah, he must be a very beautiful brother to, you know.
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He's very dedicated for, you know, doing a little sly way of giving dawah.
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Like I said to him on the phone, like, I want to do it now.
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And all of a sudden, the things were going for my mind.
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So, I was just panicking, you know, thinking I just want to be like, I just want to be a believer, you know.
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But I just wanted to come back and do it in a masjid anyway.
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And I got like a revert certificate thing and everything like that.
00:08:03.160
And from then, that's just sort of how the journey's been.
00:08:26.040
So, can you tell me, you know, when your brother accepted Islam, because we know the whole story
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that's going viral on social media is that your dad didn't speak to you for five years.
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Did he know about your brother accepting Islam as well?
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So, when we were very close to my father, when my brother became Muslim, my dad just thought
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Like, my brother married a white revert sister.
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My dad just thought, you know, he just loves this girl and he's just done it for this girl.
00:09:01.200
They're just, you know, they're not really doing anything different.
00:09:04.760
It was only when I became Muslim that at first he was a bit...
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So, when it was your brother, he was okay with it.
00:09:15.260
But when it was you, that's where he was like, okay.
00:09:18.860
Now, maybe the thing is, in his mind, he's thinking, okay, as a man, he's done it for this girl that he wants to marry.
00:09:24.800
But as a woman, maybe he believed that you're being oppressed, you know?
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So, that's why, in his head, maybe he didn't like it.
00:09:32.100
Now, how did he find out that you accepted Islam?
00:09:35.680
And how did your relationship deteriorate from there?
00:09:37.640
So, when I first became Muslim, my dad was actually okay.
00:09:46.540
If you want to live like a Pakistani religion, it's up to you.
00:09:48.880
My dad had this view of the Pakistani religion.
00:09:52.120
He was like, if you want to live a Pakistani religion, it's up to you, you know?
00:09:54.580
So, he was actually, he was all right at first.
00:09:57.460
And I remember he just didn't like the fact that I wouldn't go to the pub with him anymore.
00:10:02.200
I wouldn't go to his barbecues with his friends anymore.
00:10:05.460
It was these things that he started to find a bit he didn't really like.
00:10:18.500
We were very on good terms for at least three years.
00:10:21.900
Even when outside with me with naqab on, you know, naqab and everything, he was fine for a good three years.
00:10:27.040
It was only when he left my mum, separated from my mum, and he met a new woman who was part of the EDL.
00:10:33.660
And this is how this would be, that he began his journey with the EDL.
00:10:41.240
So, how was his treatment deteriorating in the context where first he was accepted, then he got divorced and remarried, and this person he remarried was involved with the EDL.
00:10:53.260
Well, it started off with him just sending me messages in the nighttime, like strange messages, like what's going on in Syria, or what are muzzies up to in Afghanistan, and things like that.
00:11:06.940
He started saying things like muzzies and stuff like that.
00:11:09.480
And I'd say, you know, I don't know what happens in Afghanistan.
00:11:16.320
And I'd be like, why is my dad sending me things like that for?
00:11:19.180
Like, you know, I didn't think he was ignorant.
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But he would never verbally, he would never vocalize it, sort of thing, you know.
00:11:38.780
But for him to start vocalizing these things, it was very strange.
00:11:42.640
And then obviously I would try to say to my dad, like, you know, I don't know what's
00:11:51.100
And then he's like saying, you know, if someone should punch you in the face, if they see
00:11:55.360
a bin bag on your face, like that, you know, things like that.
00:11:57.700
And I was, it was just, it deprecated me that my own father was saying things like that.
00:12:01.680
And I would be like, you know, try and call him and message him and be like, dad, like, why
00:12:07.160
So, and yeah, and basically I found out that he was going to a specific pub where they
00:12:14.480
And basically they'd found out my dad has Muslim children.
00:12:18.140
So it become like my dad had to now show that he's basically not with us.
00:12:25.480
He's completely against my veil, against everything, you know?
00:12:30.740
Like, would you say, obviously we know that your story is that after five years in boycotting
00:12:36.400
So you guys went and went to get something to eat, got dessert.
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Do you think anything that you may have done that may have in his mind be like, you know
00:12:48.400
Of course he would think that, but you know, would you say you gave him dawah?
00:12:53.280
Let's talk about something which is important because we do know that just after we discuss
00:12:58.520
this point, we're going to be discussing the traps reverts fall into.
00:13:04.420
You don't want me to mention, and I'm not going to mention because I was in a manner.
00:13:06.780
Um, and you was heavily influenced with them so much so that I actually blocked you.
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Uh, we had a, and this is how Allah changes things around.
00:13:18.580
Um, and, and I was, I was looking for you when this, your story went viral.
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I was looking for you and I was like, why can't I find an account?
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And I realized that I had blocked you and then I unblocked you.
00:13:28.960
And then you mentioned to me, and we're going to come to that later.
00:13:32.360
But, um, what would you say, for example, um, do you think like your manners, was you
00:13:40.840
Like, you know, some people go through this phase where they're like, yeah, you know,
00:13:43.760
this kofar and this kind of attitude, or was you gentle?
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What made you, do you think you played a role in your dad coming after five years?
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Or do you think it was just his own experience where he joined the EDL and he thought, you
00:13:55.240
And he may have come across some DAO videos, whoever it may be, from whoever, and that
00:14:01.360
What do you think played a role in your dad doing a U-turn?
00:14:04.760
So, um, I don't want to take all the credit for it because obviously like his experience
00:14:08.460
with the EDL, I think it's what solidified his turning away from them, which I can talk
00:14:13.100
But, um, I would say that with my father, like I used to always buy him things that he
00:14:17.460
So he, when he started to turn a bit strange with me, I'd always buy him oranges.
00:14:20.960
He loves oranges and that's such a small thing.
00:14:23.160
But my dad used to love these oranges from this Turkish shop.
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And my dad always liked you to say, you know, when you, cause I used to live near this Turkish
00:14:28.700
shop and he'd say, whenever you go by there, could you get them for me?
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So I was always like buying him these oranges and I'd text him, even if my dad was saying,
00:14:34.360
oh, you know, are you ever going to take that, um, that black bin bag off your head?
00:14:38.040
I'd respond and say, dad, do you want any more oranges?
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Like, I didn't actually respond to his like sort of insults.
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I was just saying, no, dad, would you like me to buy these for you?
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Like, and I remember once my dad was like, oh, I'm so tired.
00:14:55.580
And he was like, you know, um, but, um, are you, when you have your baby, is your baby
00:15:01.620
Which he already knew my kids were Muslim, but he was like, are they going to be a Muslim
00:15:05.260
And I said, oh, dad, would you like me to come and clean your flat for you?
00:15:08.540
So like, I would respond to him as nice as I could.
00:15:11.740
And I always offered to do things for him that I know he needed help with.
00:15:15.160
Um, so yeah, I would say like, I did try and keep that, that going, even when he, I didn't
00:15:21.200
I'd always send him an email, like, hi dad, how are you?
00:15:23.620
And especially during lockdown, when the, when the pandemic came, I was locked down.
00:15:34.640
Like I was worried that my dad might have COVID, you know, you know, you don't know.
00:15:38.140
Um, so I said, dad, look, if you have, like, if you have any symptoms, like make sure you
00:15:41.820
go to doctor, like, please like message me, call me.
00:15:44.300
I was like frantic, sending him a lot of messages and I didn't get any response.
00:15:48.000
And it literally was just two months ago, his response to me.
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And it was just like, I'm okay now, you know, I'm fine.
00:15:53.420
I'm not, I've not got COVID and I was all right.
00:15:55.240
And he was just basically like, I'm sorry for everything I've said, everything I've done.
00:15:57.940
And I made a big mistake with my life and I, and I've wasted basically five years
00:16:03.460
So I would say it was a part of me being gentle to him and being understanding and also just
00:16:14.660
You know, if we think about it, you know, the prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, if
00:16:17.600
we look at him, you know, there was sahaba who accepted Islam without seeing miracles in
00:16:23.620
that context because they knew him to be the truthful.
00:16:25.680
I was reading a book, um, the eternal challenge, actually, Muhammad Ijah recommended it.
00:16:29.840
And if you think about it, if I would recommend anyone to read it as well, and they believed
00:16:34.540
in his message because they knew him, it was his character.
00:16:40.780
It was his character that they said, there's no way this person is lying because we know
00:16:49.360
So his enemies, the Quraysh would leave their belongings with him.
00:16:53.000
And if you look at it, his character played such a massive role that when he said that
00:16:57.780
he's receiving revelation, they couldn't doubt that they couldn't say, you know what?
00:17:08.760
And I believe this is a fundamental because you, I believe played the massive role in him
00:17:13.420
coming because in his head, he's going to be thinking, and this is where I relate with
00:17:17.220
your story because I can remember times when my dad would open TV and see Bin Laden and
00:17:22.640
He would literally say, look, these are your friends.
00:17:24.440
And he would, you know, say these remarks all the time.
00:17:28.200
And yes, sometimes you ignore it, but sometimes it gets to you, you know, so I understand where
00:17:32.480
And I tried my best to fight that hate with love, you know, and I would sometimes go and
00:17:39.520
just like, you know, kiss him in the head and say that, you know, like I'm still me in
00:17:43.680
And I believe, and I saw, and I saw in him that this, this armed him every time he was
00:17:48.340
aggressive towards me verbally, there was only one time he was like physically once
00:17:53.500
he was, you know, but the thing is verbally, anytime he was like aggressive towards me,
00:17:57.960
I realized that the love and the kindness that I showed him disarmed him.
00:18:03.440
And I can remember a point in my life when my, when he was saying certain things to me
00:18:07.240
and my mom came and said, you know, like, what do you want from him?
00:18:11.120
Look, look, I mean, look how you insult him 24 seven.
00:18:16.460
So when you asked your dad, dad, like what happened, you know, after five years, did
00:18:25.040
He just said basically that he had a lot of problems with this specific group he was with
00:18:33.240
And there was a lot of fights amongst the people because they're drinkers, you know, they go
00:18:36.340
to the pub, they go have a drink, you know, things get wild.
00:18:42.460
So they were getting into these altercations and, you know, fighting each other.
00:18:47.000
And my dad said, you know, some of them were making comments about your children are Muslim,
00:18:53.260
And actually one thing that stood out to my dad was that basically they were ready to
00:19:00.020
So they were like, you know, if we see this person, we see this.
00:19:02.340
And my dad is not, my dad's not for hurting women and children.
00:19:07.120
And that's when my dad thought, this is not right.
00:19:09.900
Because my dad would say, you know what, we need to get, my dad would say, you know
00:19:14.240
We need to get the ones that are basically trying to infiltrate this country, right?
00:19:17.600
But when it came to, let's go and hurt that woman with a bin bag on her head.
00:19:27.380
So I think that's what kind of was a turning point.
00:19:30.500
And obviously my dad must have remembered, you know, my treatment towards him and, you
00:19:35.460
And it's someone like me that they would actually start on, you know, someone like me.
00:19:40.040
I think, you know what, sister Amira, I believe your dad is, I believe, inshallah, your dad
00:19:46.180
I can see it because I don't believe that he did not attack woman in hijab because he
00:19:53.140
I don't think he didn't do that because of that.
00:19:55.080
I believe he genuinely didn't do it because that's who he is.
00:20:01.880
And from what you've told me about him, he's gone through that.
00:20:05.840
And like, we know, like Omar ibn Khattab, like he was on his way to kill the Prophet, peace
00:20:11.840
And I know there's some people say it's a weak story, but the thing is, he was on his
00:20:19.060
And the Prophet ï·º made dua for him that made one of the two be guided.
00:20:23.340
And Omar ibn Khattab, with his hate and vengeance, but deep inside, when you have an atom weight
00:20:28.600
of justice in your heart and you know that, you know, this is the truth, he changed.
00:20:33.840
And I believe, like, personally, inshallah, we make dua to Allah because Allah is the one
00:20:39.700
I believe your dad will come to Islam, inshallah.
00:20:41.880
And me, myself, hijab, we are at your service if your dad would like to speak, sit down,
00:20:49.680
If anything's needed, your brother, my son, there's an amazing dao.
00:20:51.800
I'm sure your husband can do an amazing dao as well.
00:20:54.380
But if there's anything you need, we're at your service, sister.
00:20:57.260
Now, and that's a good way of, you know, like, Dino, what you mentioned about how you
00:21:01.060
treated him is a brilliant way for reverts who have come to Islam, the best way to deal
00:21:09.900
They, they don't want to learn anything from you.
00:21:11.800
But there's one thing that they can learn and have no choice but to learn is to observe
00:21:15.720
you because that's not something you can, it's not like, oh, I don't want to watch them.
00:21:26.400
They can stop you from talking, but they cannot stop you from being the true Muslim you are
00:21:31.280
and observing your akhlaq and adab and character, because that's something they
00:21:36.500
And once that, once they see how Islam has made you amazing character and they've seen
00:21:42.440
the Tawheed because Aisha has said the prophet peace be upon him was the walking, talking
00:21:47.880
They saw Tawheed in him because we have a lot of people and I'm going to slowly go to this
00:21:58.100
And if you think about it, you know, there's this emphasis on, you know, Tawheed, Tawheed,
00:22:03.780
you know, this person is misguided or this person is a kafir or whatever it may be.
00:22:07.880
It's that people think that Dawa is something that is verbalized in the context of there's
00:22:15.240
certain phraseologies of phrases that you have to repeat over and over again.
00:22:19.600
And I believe the best form of Dawa, like the prophet peace be upon him said, he said,
00:22:23.680
I came for nothing but to perfect good adab, you know, and the Salaf would say, the Salaf
00:22:28.780
would say, I would rather my son read a chapter on good akhlaq than 70 chapters on knowledge.
00:22:34.780
We know Imam Ahmed, when he used to give a talk, some say, you know, it might be exaggerated,
00:22:38.260
30,000 people would come to listen and one fourth or no, three, about 75% of people who
00:22:47.940
came, they came to observe his good akhlaq, good manners.
00:22:50.260
And if you read Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, you will see it.
00:22:54.300
Now, I just want to mention this because this is really important because you're a reaver,
00:22:57.920
And I kind of had a rubbed shoulders with this, these kind of group of people.
00:23:07.700
And can you just briefly tell me if you're okay with it?
00:23:10.120
Because I know you said you're not comfortable.
00:23:11.880
And the reason you're not comfortable is not that you want to, you don't want to warn other
00:23:15.260
sisters or brothers, but it's because you're, you're feared that they might bully you or
00:23:29.180
Looking back now, what would you advise a reaver that's watching this who's come to Islam
00:23:33.980
new and they are actually being invited by this cult?
00:23:41.620
So I would say that like, when you become Muslim, there's lots of different people.
00:23:45.260
People are trying to grab your attention at that time.
00:23:47.860
There's well-known groups, there's groups that are not really well-known.
00:23:50.720
And some of them are upon the truth, some of them are not.
00:23:52.920
Some of them, you know, some of them are just normal people.
00:23:54.760
They just want to get you, they just want a reaver, they just want to get you in.
00:23:57.280
And a lot of them probably mean well, but a lot of them sadly don't.
00:24:00.880
So I'd say, yeah, when I first became Muslim, some of the types of people that I met at
00:24:06.140
the time were like, you know, you need to come to this, you need to come to this mosque.
00:24:08.560
You need to come to this mosque and this is the mosque of the truth.
00:24:10.960
So you're like, okay, it's the truth, you know, I have to do it.
00:24:13.000
So you go to this mosque and you get there and everything's very, there's rules for everything.
00:24:19.440
A lot of people, when they first become Muslim, some reverts have actually been at the lowest
00:24:26.120
So some people are coming to Islam with mental health issues.
00:24:28.360
Some people come to Islam at a really low point.
00:24:30.460
They're not ready to be forced into a whole life of rules and stuff.
00:24:33.560
They know that God is one and that he has messengers, you know, and they've accepted the truth
00:24:37.860
of the oneness of Allah and all these messengers.
00:24:40.000
Just to touch upon what you said, Aisha had said, if the Quran was to come down with halal
00:24:48.140
This is so important because we do things the opposite way.
00:24:54.940
Once iman enters the hut, that person would leave the haram himself.
00:24:58.980
And, but these people, they're a whole different level, but carry on sister.
00:25:03.780
Some people come to Islam and they're still in a relationship.
00:25:06.260
Some people come to Islam, they still got addiction.
00:25:13.280
There's all these rules and regulations you have to follow.
00:25:14.720
And if you're not, you're going to be kicked out.
00:25:16.240
And basically we're going to let you know that you're kicked out and you're not going
00:25:18.400
to come back here and we're basically going to make your life hell.
00:25:20.280
So that's the sort of thing I experienced personally.
00:25:24.080
And it's like, it's, it's not, it's not fruitful from my experience and all the sisters that
00:25:29.600
I've come into contact with over the eight, nine years, it's not fruitful at all.
00:25:32.700
And you find that a lot of people who join this very, very strict way, they actually can't
00:25:37.440
live their own rigid, the way they're trying to teach other people to live so rigid, they
00:25:44.580
And the prophet peace be upon him said, if you overburden yourself, you basically, if you
00:25:51.240
Basically it would, it's like carrying a big mountain on your shoulders.
00:25:56.100
It's going to, you know, the thing is here, this is what happens.
00:25:59.180
And like you said, they come to a point, what they preach, they can't do it because it's
00:26:07.680
And the sight of Allah, Allah says it's hateful in the sight of Allah that you preach something
00:26:14.360
Because I believe like they're the cancer of this Ummah.
00:26:16.340
Genuinely, I believe they are the cancer because, and anyone that comes to Islam, I don't
00:26:20.460
know if you've seen anyone that comes to Islam, I specifically tell them, be careful because
00:26:25.180
you know what's sad to me is that somebody who's coming to Islam and seeing the beauty
00:26:29.060
of Islam, joining this cult or joining this group and be like, and some, they leave Islam.
00:26:34.820
Some of them follow the deen, most of them follow the deen.
00:26:37.080
And some of them, they totally leave Islam and they are left with this perception of Islam.
00:26:42.000
Islam, did you feel like you was, when you joined them, did your character change?
00:26:47.120
Would you say you saw changes in yourself or your surroundings?
00:26:51.100
See, the thing is with me, I've always been quite like a strong person.
00:26:54.760
So when I was, when I was in their company and I was sort of going to these masjids and
00:26:58.460
I was hearing these things on the speaker and the chokbah on the Fridays and stuff, I
00:27:08.460
Is this, are we not allowed to, sorry, are we not allowed to go to another masjid?
00:27:13.460
And I was basically, cause they were talking about, and she, and it was the imam's wife
00:27:16.600
and she, and she was sat next to me, his pal, I remember, she said, yes, this is the
00:27:23.480
And I just, I went home that day and I was like, none of it seems right.
00:27:28.100
Why are they screaming on the microphone about other people?
00:27:34.260
And I was like, this is, and so basically I then went to do my research.
00:27:38.460
And I started reading my own thing and doing my own thing.
00:27:43.660
This Muslim area, I'm going to move to East London.
00:27:45.180
So I learned a completely different view of Islam, living in East London, going to White
00:27:49.660
And so when I returned back to where I'm from, Reading, when I returned back, basically
00:27:54.420
they were like, you know, you're, you're now upon misguidance, you're upon Vidah, you've
00:27:58.560
And I was like, well, actually, no, I've gone to study at Tayyib and I've learned, I've
00:28:01.320
learned how to read, I've learned how to read the Quran.
00:28:09.220
No, I went and studied at Tayyib in East London and I, I learned how to read and I learned
00:28:14.900
So I said, I think I'm doing quite well, actually.
00:28:18.820
They're saying to you, are you up on innovation?
00:28:20.780
You went and used that time that you would have been busy calling your innovator, innovator,
00:28:25.000
mobtari, mobtari, too concerned about other people and darkening your heart.
00:28:29.760
You learned to read and that, wallahi, if that's misguidance, I would love to be on
00:28:36.900
Wallahi, if that's misguidance that you're connecting, and I'm not saying they're directly
00:28:40.420
saying that, but you spent your time so wisely that you got connected to the book of Allah
00:28:46.420
I don't want to make, you know, there was two messages.
00:28:51.460
You know, there was two messages that you sent.
00:28:53.180
When you sent those, I knew at that moment of time, I think you was with them.
00:28:58.760
I don't want to, I can cut this bit out if you want, yeah?
00:29:01.260
I don't want to, I don't want to make you like a thing.
00:29:05.080
He was like, Ali drama, always got some drama going on.
00:29:08.820
And when you were, when you were Ali drama, sister, that's, that's, that's something that
00:29:13.980
Like Ali needs dawah, alhamdulillah, and Ali drama.
00:29:17.240
So I was scrolling up and I was saying, why did I block the sister?
00:29:20.860
But you see, subhanAllah, look where you're now, sister.
00:29:23.440
And back then, and we all make mistakes, like don't get twisted.
00:29:28.080
Wallahi, sister, believe me, the moment when I heard your dad's story and that you left
00:29:32.980
them, to me, it's like the moment you leave them, I know your eyes have opened, you know,
00:29:40.380
And subhanAllah, it's, it's, what, how would you, what advice would you give to a revert
00:29:50.060
What would you say, specifically sisters, because sisters, sadly, with these groups as
00:29:57.540
I'm not saying all, I'm going to be just, I'm not going to say they all do that.
00:30:00.440
That's, that's, I have to fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
00:30:02.700
But they, they, some of them are known to marry sisters and divorce them, marry sisters
00:30:09.980
And wallahi, it's as if they are carrying jahiliyyah, what they would do in jahiliyyah
00:30:14.420
into Islam in a halal way of marrying and divorcing.
00:30:20.460
It's as if, wallahi, it's, it's as if they literally go and hunt for those who have that
00:30:26.360
Because if you think about it, it's a bit like a gang.
00:30:30.660
It's like they've adopted, adopted this jahiliyyah culture and brought it to Islam and
00:30:36.700
And, and there's many scholars, I mean, many scholars, the grand mufti of, uh, Sheikh
00:30:41.860
Al-Sheikh, um, they've, they've, they've, these people reference them and these people
00:30:50.140
And this behavior is sort of unheard of when you go to the Muslim countries, um, Egypt
00:30:53.940
or Saudi Arabia, these, these people are unheard of and this behavior is unheard of.
00:30:59.820
And this is not something that, um, that they do in Muslim countries at all.
00:31:05.200
Basically, it's not an isolated case, but it's not a group of people doing these things.
00:31:11.280
And, um, Alhamdulillah, I didn't marry anyone that's like that.
00:31:20.340
Let's get away from the negativity and anyone, all the sisters or brothers who have come
00:31:24.440
to Islam, be very careful to being called into groups and all this kind of stuff.
00:31:29.960
Personally, I recommend people to watch people like Sheikh Tahir White, uh, Sheikh, uh, Mufti
00:31:34.960
Munir, uh, you know, they're, they're very balanced and, and let's make it very clear.
00:31:39.240
The Salafi community, we don't want to put all of them in the same bag.
00:31:43.520
Uh, we believe the, the, the methodology of our Salafi brothers is on the haq, um, even
00:31:49.440
though we may differ on certain things, but the thing is that to put all of them in
00:31:53.260
the same basket, I want to make that very clear that they're not the same, you know,
00:31:55.680
you know, and many people, subhanallah, that I recommend to follow, but let's move away
00:32:05.680
One thing that I would say about the revert that are coming to Islam and they're new to
00:32:10.980
Islam, I would say that the best thing for them to do is to independently study.
00:32:15.240
So go to an Institute, study in a reputable Institute, rather than going to a specific
00:32:19.340
group or trying to find which group you should be in, go to an Institute, go to Taibun, go
00:32:24.120
to Al-Madinah college, go to institutes, places that you can actually learn independently and
00:32:28.600
study alongside people that will actually aid you and support you.
00:32:32.740
And they're all there sort of doing the same thing.
00:32:34.380
And you're, you're not there to, it's not about anyone else.
00:32:37.620
So I would say that, you know, becoming Muslim is about self-refinement.
00:32:42.000
It's not about what other people are doing because Allah's not going to ask you about
00:32:45.440
It's actually about yourself and refining yourself and making your, your whole focus in your
00:32:50.380
life should be yourself because it's the same as saying, I always say to myself, when you
00:32:54.180
point the finger, you've always got four pointed back at you.
00:33:01.060
Like, for example, is he, would you say he's close to Islam?
00:33:15.660
Our first meeting, it was quite emotional and it was, yeah.
00:33:21.120
So our first meeting, because my dad hasn't met two of my kids, his grandchildren.
00:33:24.360
He hasn't met two of my children, sadly, because I've had them in the time that he was away,
00:33:40.580
But he definitely wants to in the future, inshallah.
00:33:45.360
I don't know any, any last words that you would give, you know, you know, it's an amazing
00:33:53.780
Um, and I know, and I know how it is, how it feels, you know, to have the fear of, you
00:33:58.120
know, losing them as disbelievers, you know, um, and living with that fear day in, day out,
00:34:02.900
you know, um, I know how it feels, you know, that's why I felt really close to your story.
00:34:11.000
Maybe, I think we have already given, but maybe last words on reverts and how to deal
00:34:19.440
I'd always say like with your family, just keep trying.
00:34:22.000
And like I said, like in the video, like the video that went viral, like it was quite cliche,
00:34:26.500
Never lose hope because if my dad can, like anyone can, like my dad was literally in a group
00:34:31.500
of people who are against the Muslims in his country.
00:34:34.040
Like they're just against everything that we stand for and my dad completely changed
00:34:38.400
And it was actually at that moment when he was alone, like he wasn't with that woman
00:34:47.100
Um, so if my dad can have this reflection moment, like anyone can.
00:34:51.460
So I just say like, always just be kind to parents.
00:34:55.540
My, my daughter's watched Jackie, Jackie and friends.
00:34:57.800
And he always says, yeah, like be good guys and be kind to your parents.
00:35:01.540
Like, and it's literally, I always say the same thing.
00:35:03.280
Like just be kind to your parents is literally it because there's nothing they could, they
00:35:07.120
could never be horrible to you when you're being so kind to them.
00:35:11.040
My dad's a typical skinhead tattoos everywhere.
00:35:14.700
Um, and you know, he, he now is fine with Islam.
00:35:18.820
He's happy and he's just happy to be back in contact with me.
00:35:28.420
When we left that day, he was really proud of himself.
00:35:32.300
Like he had a car and his boot full of all these boxes of toys and whatever he had.
00:35:38.800
He was like, he said, I've never been able to give them anything.
00:35:43.340
And he's like, look, go home and have Eid on me.
00:35:47.160
Make sure you tell the kids that granddad got this for you, for them for Eid.
00:35:50.700
And he was like, I know they probably don't know me as a granddad and I want them to,
00:35:56.080
And it was just so innocent and sweet because he generally thought that you can have Eid at any time.
00:36:06.400
And he, when I got home, he was saying like, you know, please show me like all their Eid stuff
00:36:09.660
that I've given them, make videos and pictures and stuff.
00:36:12.160
And he's actually got a picture of me on his wall in his, in his living room now,
00:36:15.600
like in my nafab, believe it or not, in my nafab.
00:36:18.720
Yeah, in my nafab and with pictures of my kids with their hijabs on,
00:36:24.020
he's actually got them in his living room on his wall.
00:36:25.740
And he used to say like, the face veil was a bin bag and it's horrible.
00:36:29.540
And, you know, these headscarves are like Taliban cloths, you call them Taliban bedsheets.
00:36:34.620
He said Taliban bedsheets, headscarves and stuff, you know.
00:36:36.900
So it's true, if my dad can change, anyone, anyone can change.
00:36:44.860
I'll be honest, I've got a feeling he's going to accept Islam, you know.
00:36:48.440
If you can see the stuff that he's doing, how he's talking, the stuff you're telling me,
00:36:56.500
And like I said before, sister, if you need, we will travel there.
00:36:59.220
Like Reading, wherever it is, you know, we will come there and sit with him.
00:37:03.920
Just take advantage of this because, inshallah, because I can see like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance,
00:37:08.600
you know, and he's taking that on board as well, inshallah.
00:37:12.200
And yeah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's absolutely amazing.
00:37:18.520
And yeah, may Allah bless you, inshallah, for your time.
00:37:21.080
There's one thing I was going to touch upon, but I totally forgot.
00:37:22.940
But yeah, so what I would say is, sister, may Allah bless you, inshallah.
00:37:29.580
I'm going to send the video to you when we've edited it.
00:37:32.400
You go through it and you tell us what you think, yeah?
00:37:37.420
So brothers and sisters, inshallah, I hope you enjoyed that video, inshallah.
00:37:40.540
As you can see, we touched upon a lot of topics, inshallah,
00:37:43.500
and I hope you guys have learned and benefited from that as well.
00:37:47.940
Alhamdulillah, it's good that we end on this note.
00:37:49.360
But it's that, and this goes with me because I've always learned this as well.
00:37:54.720
Anytime, and because you're saying like, if my dad can change, anyone can change.
00:37:59.960
The reason here is because anytime you doubt yourself,
00:38:04.660
be it that you're committing major sins, you're not praying salah,
00:38:07.680
you're away from Islam, whatever it may be, or parents, whatever.
00:38:12.240
Anytime you doubt yourself, like anytime you say, you know what, I can't do this.
00:38:16.480
Remember who Allah is, because you can't, that's true, you're weak.
00:38:21.640
Allah says we created mankind weak, but never, ever forget who your Lord is.
00:38:26.120
So when you say this to me, when you say, okay, if my dad can come to Islam,
00:38:30.120
It's how magnificent Allah is and how we do not fully fathom that.
00:38:34.160
Anytime you think this person will come to Islam, Allah has created heavens and the earth.
00:38:38.020
Is it hard for Allah to guide your father or my father?
00:38:41.420
So the thing is, anytime we have a doubt within ourself, you know what, my dad won't work,
00:38:46.640
my dad won't accept Islam, A, B, C, D, you know what, refer to Allah,
00:38:55.760
Share with your friends and family, inshallah, and make dua for the sister's family,
00:39:00.180
her husband, her kids, and her father, inshallah.
00:39:02.560
And maybe in a couple of months, maybe she'll do a post and say,
00:39:05.760
you know what, my dad just accepted Islam and we wait to see that day.