Ali Dawah - March 16, 2022


COUPLE ACCEPT ISLAM BEFORE MARRIAGE - PICCADILLY CIRCUS

Hosted by
Mentioned
“I’M GAY & STILL LOVE ALLAH” - AMAZING CONVO MUFTI MENK VS PUNCHBAG

Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

202.63

Word count

3,086

Sentence count

380

Harmful content

Hate speech

24

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, I chat to a man who shares his story of how he came to Islam and how it has changed his life. He shares his experience of growing up in a religious household and how he went on to become a Muslim.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 You know what bruv? Open the Qur'an in a random place. Let's see what God's got to say. But before
00:00:05.180 you do, do a little prayer to God, yeah? In your heart, give me a sign, yeah? And open the Qur'an
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00:00:56.600 Oh, yeah. How you doing? How's life? I'm good, I'm good. That's good, man. It's nice meeting
00:01:00.580 you. I get the positive energy, you get me? So I'm charging myself right now. Okay, how
00:01:04.720 old are you? 25. Tell me a bit about yourself. What do you do? So I work in IT, a developer.
00:01:11.460 Yeah, I play tennis, coach a bit as well. Oh, tennis? I like badminton. I'm not bad at
00:01:16.120 badminton. Yeah, yeah. It's still a good sport. I like it. Injury prone, but yeah, so I play
00:01:20.980 tennis regularly and yeah, boxer, ex-boxer. Oh, I like it. I used to do boxing as well.
00:01:25.540 Oh, good, good. Yeah, not professionally, but I liked it for the sport. Oh, I see. Very
00:01:28.360 hard. Yeah. I hated every session, but I still go back. That's good. It is good. Mentality.
00:01:32.800 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see. I can see. Okay, that's good. So obviously you was going
00:01:36.540 past with wife Timmy and you said basically that I asked you what religion do you adhere
00:01:41.760 to and you said you're thinking of reverting. Yeah. Okay, tell me what's led to that point.
00:01:47.440 So for me, I've always kept religion in a back burner my whole life kind of, you know,
00:01:54.240 as you're young, you go to church, you do the normal things, parents want you to do stuff.
00:01:57.920 I did it all and then came to the country. I moved from Portugal and I was like, I don't
00:02:03.080 know what religion really is. Do I feel anything? Do I understand it? And I kind of just put
00:02:06.760 it in the back burner the whole time. And for the last three years or so, I kind of thought
00:02:12.100 about, oh, I actually need to take my time and go into it fully. And not just logically,
00:02:17.720 that's what I used to be, into more spiritually, think outside of the norm, outside of science
00:02:22.920 and the rest. So, and then when I met my girlfriend and several people, actually my friends and
00:02:29.140 stuff, and I always, I would call it admiration for commitment to a religion. So anyone who did
00:02:35.400 and to me, I always thought people within Islam had something that I wanted to have.
00:02:42.620 What's that?
00:02:43.380 And that's the thing I'm trying to pin and I still don't completely understand it, but
00:02:46.800 there was an aura.
00:02:49.480 I don't know if it was an aura, sort of.
00:02:51.520 Before I came to Islam, I've been a Muslim for about nine years, going into 10. So I had
00:02:55.860 that feeling. I know what you're saying. You know, when you look around, to me it was
00:02:58.400 specifically how the woman used to wear the hijab and the bayah. I really, it caught my
00:03:02.200 attention. Because I used to live a lifestyle of partying and girls and all this kind of
00:03:05.480 stuff. When it comes to a certain point where you're just like, you know, girls that are 0.98
00:03:09.080 dressed half naked, et cetera, you're just desensitized to it now. Do you get what I'm
00:03:11.940 trying to say?
00:03:12.360 So to me, I found it really beautiful. I found it really modest, et cetera. So there was
00:03:15.660 something about them that really attracted me. I don't know if it was a way of life.
00:03:18.740 I don't know if it was something that they live by. Like, I think it's Malcolm X.
00:03:21.920 He said, if you don't stand up for nothing, you'll fall for anything. So it's as if I felt
00:03:25.660 like a lot of religions were falling down the route of going with the norms. But Islam was the only religion 1.00
00:03:30.880 which was like, no, these are principles. We're not letting go of that. That was to me.
00:03:34.420 Obviously, it changes with...
00:03:35.620 I do definitely agree with that. I think there was sort of principles that people led by or
00:03:39.520 they were living with. And it shows. It actually shows. It's as if there was a sort of all
00:03:44.420 around it. And I had people close by at work and I could just... I was drawn every single
00:03:49.340 time. And that's why I thought, let me actually look into it. And I've been looking into it
00:03:53.200 further. Try to read a bit. Try to understand where it's coming from. I say a story, but it's
00:03:58.460 more of a... I don't know what to call it. Yeah, that's my...
00:04:01.460 That's beautiful, man. So have you had a connection with God before? Like, have you always had
00:04:05.040 that connection with God? Or has it... You know, it was in the back burner. Was religion
00:04:08.200 in the back burner or was God?
00:04:10.440 So to me, I put anything to do with faith in the back burner. So that went with religion 0.64
00:04:14.620 and everything. So as soon as I allowed myself... I literally had to allow myself to feel.
00:04:19.820 And that's where you kind of start to feel more things. And just things are connecting
00:04:24.000 and it's making sense. So that's why you see me happy because I actually... I can feel
00:04:27.340 it. It's weird.
00:04:27.880 Alhamdulillah. That's right, man. May Allah always keep you happy. So God was always in
00:04:32.160 the picture?
00:04:32.980 Yeah, yeah.
00:04:33.640 Okay, good. I was like that as well. So God was always in the picture, but religion wasn't
00:04:36.560 for me.
00:04:37.160 Yeah.
00:04:37.720 Okay. What's... You said you're on the verge of accepting Islam. What's stopping you?
00:04:43.860 I think it's myself. I think it's taking accountability for the things I do and respecting, I think,
00:04:52.200 others to not my standard, but to a full standard. Okay. And I think that's probably where I'm
00:04:58.680 asking myself.
00:04:59.120 Okay. Now, if you came and said to me, Ali, I'm still not sure if the Prophet Muhammad is
00:05:03.460 the final messenger. I'm not sure if I believe in Allah. I don't know if Quran is the final
00:05:07.360 word of God. I will say to you, you know what? Let me give you some material, look into
00:05:11.280 it. But you're telling me that you believe in Allah. God.
00:05:16.480 Yes.
00:05:17.200 Okay. Do you believe the Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger?
00:05:20.960 Yes.
00:05:21.260 Do you believe the Quran is from God?
00:05:25.180 Yes.
00:05:26.020 Okay. You are technically a Muslim. It's like, what's your favorite food?
00:05:31.960 Lasagna.
00:05:32.700 Lasagna. I had it yesterday. My wife does the best lasagna of her. If you get married, I'm
00:05:37.900 inviting you.
00:05:38.380 Okay. Good.
00:05:38.960 Trust me. You're going to love a lasagna. Okay. Now, when I asked you that question, you
00:05:43.900 said lasagna. What you did is you proclaimed what you already believe inside. So I said to you,
00:05:48.920 what food do you like? You knew inside lasagna and you said to me, I like lasagna. The Shahada
00:05:53.960 is a bit like that. Not compared to lasagna. It's a big, big, it's a big claim. But most
00:06:00.080 of the times what happens and what happened to me is I was looking into Islam about two,
00:06:04.380 three years. For about a good year, I knew Islam was the truth. But because I have bad 1.00
00:06:08.300 habits, I used to think, let me fix them. Then I'll accept Islam. But it actually works 1.00
00:06:12.160 the other way around. You have to accept Islam for it to fix it. It doesn't work the other 1.00
00:06:15.580 way around. Do you get what I'm trying to say? So some people come and say, I'm a bad
00:06:19.040 person. I commit sins. Once I fix them, then I'll start reading the Quran. Once I fix 0.71
00:06:23.400 that, I'll start praying salah. Salah means a fiber. And I say, no, no, no, you got it
00:06:26.760 wrong. You have to pray and you have to read the Quran. And that is what will stop you 1.00
00:06:31.540 sinning. Not the other way around. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Because that's
00:06:35.620 what is God's word. God's word is going to penetrate the heart. When you pray in front
00:06:40.000 to God, that is what's going to cause you to leave the sin. Don't twist it because Satan
00:06:43.960 came to you and says, you know what? Nah, nah, nah, you're still a bad guy. He comes and
00:06:47.340 tricks you. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Obviously, I don't want to keep it too
00:06:49.180 long. I know why. Oh, she's bounced. She's like, forget this guy. So what I would say
00:06:55.800 is, bro, I'm not the type to, I wouldn't say force, but encourage, force people to take
00:07:01.880 their shahadah if they're not sure. But you're telling me you already believe 0.97
00:07:04.340 in Allah. You believe the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. You believe the Quran.
00:07:07.120 Bro, I'm telling you, whatever's stopping you is Satan. I'm telling you because there
00:07:11.960 is nothing. If you came and said to me, I'm not sure if the prophet is a prophet. I would
00:07:17.740 say, you know what? Let's talk about that. I can try to maybe convince you. But you already
00:07:20.920 believe those things, bro. Don't let it stop you because you don't know if you're going
00:07:25.200 to, God forbid, die today or tomorrow. Do you know what I'm trying to say? So I would
00:07:29.260 say, bro, shahadah is a big thing, but don't think it's something where it's like,
00:07:33.760 oh, if I take it now. No, no, no. Bro, it's just the first step. You know what shahadah
00:07:36.980 is? It's a key to the door. You open the door. Your journey begins. All it is, is a journey
00:07:43.280 beginning. You're going to fall short. You think I don't sin? Don't I sin? You think
00:07:47.300 I don't have shortfalls? I have shortfalls. But what Islam, God Almighty is telling you 1.00
00:07:51.620 in the Quran is just know that you have a law that's forgiven. Repent. That's it. You 0.97
00:07:58.760 know what, bro? Open the Quran in a random place. Let's see what God's got to say. But
00:08:03.420 before you do, do a little prayer to God, yeah? In your heart, give me a sign, yeah? And
00:08:08.720 open the Quran wherever you like. And pick a random verse if you want. Whichever verse?
00:08:23.720 Which one? 69, yeah? Okay. This is Surah Naml. Okay. Okay. Say, O Muhammad, proceed, travel 0.66
00:08:33.680 through the land and observe how was the end of the criminals. And give, and give not over
00:08:39.140 them, over them, or be in distress from what they have conspired. And they say, when is the
00:08:45.980 fulfillment, the promise, if you should be truthful? Say, perhaps, it is closed, it is
00:08:51.640 closed behind you, very near. Some of that, some of that for you, which is, which are
00:08:57.640 impatient. And indeed, your Lord is the possessor of the bounty for the people. But most of them
00:09:02.580 are not grateful. And indeed, your Lord knows what, what breasts conceal and what they declare.
00:09:08.940 Okay. That's a deep verse. Because what God Almighty is saying, He knows what's inside you
00:09:13.640 and what you declare. Okay? Because what we're talking about here, what's inside you, which
00:09:17.700 is Islam, and what you declare. And at the beginning, here it's talking about, if we go
00:09:21.400 maybe in context, it's talking about nations before this. Because when Allah talks about 0.97
00:09:26.960 in the Quran, He talks about nations that He destroyed before, yeah? And these are nations
00:09:30.820 that God doesn't destroy. God is not, people make God as if God is this monster that is looking
00:09:36.400 to destroy people. God wants mercy and paradise. Like, that's what He wants. But there's nations
00:09:40.640 who have sent messengers and messengers. So God is saying, reflect upon the nations
00:09:43.700 before. And these nations, you know what they used to say? To the prophets, if you're truthful,
00:09:47.700 let God send this destruction. Let's send, God send this destruction. And God doesn't work
00:09:52.120 on their, like, oh, if you say, I'll do it now. God gives them time. Sends the messengers.
00:09:55.880 Until they keep being arrogant, then God sends the punishment. But what is very interesting
00:10:01.260 here, is what God is saying, is that anything can happen any second, kind of stuff. Do you
00:10:06.200 get what I'm trying to say? For these nations. But what's interesting here is God Almighty is
00:10:10.380 saying, He knows what internally you have and what you declare, yeah? So it's just
00:10:15.100 as if God is saying, look at the previous nations and learn lessons out of it. But that
00:10:19.040 verse, which is very interesting, that says God Almighty knows what you conceal and what
00:10:23.620 you reveal, yeah? Look, God knows inside that you have embraced. Do you get what I'm trying
00:10:27.520 to say? And for you to, from there, then we come to this verse. I think, bro, like for
00:10:32.340 me, personally, I would say, don't let it stop you. You know why? Because it's just a journey,
00:10:36.380 man. Once you take a shahada, it's just a journey. And it might be a reason, bro, that you stop 1.00
00:10:41.100 today. So I'm going to leave that at you, but if you want to take a shahada, bro, there
00:10:45.180 is nothing stopping you and you've got nothing to lose. Tell me one good reason that you can
00:10:49.140 take a shahada. One good reason. 1.00
00:10:51.000 There's no reason. There's no reason to not take it.
00:10:53.940 Okay. If you want, bro, we can do it together. It's totally up to you. I'm not the type to
00:11:00.820 pressure, but genuinely, I'm looking for a reason. I can't find one, bro. I don't think
00:11:06.280 there's a reason not to at all, yeah. Do you want to take it with me? Like, should
00:11:10.220 we do it together? It's up to you.
00:11:14.680 Should I take another one?
00:11:16.560 Your wife here, if you want.
00:11:18.680 Sister, don't worry. I was just talking to him, yeah? So I'm just trying to convince
00:11:23.320 him, but I'm not someone that pushes people to the shahada, yeah? Because what I usually 0.96
00:11:27.460 do is, I try to assess. So I spoke to him, I said, do you believe in Allah?
00:11:30.820 He says, yes, I do. I said, okay, do you believe in the Prophet Muhammad? He said,
00:11:34.820 yes, I do. Do you believe the Quran is the final word? Yes, I do. Internally, he's a 0.93
00:11:38.640 Muslim. He opened the verse, I told him, make a prayer and open the Quran in a random 1.00
00:11:42.580 place. He opened the verse where it talks about God, how he destroyed nations, but
00:11:47.480 then there's a verse where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, indeed, God knows what you
00:11:51.000 conceal and what you declare, yeah? So all I'm just saying is, sister, there's nothing
00:11:55.600 stopping him. Do you know anything that will stop him taking the shahada? There is 0.99
00:11:59.200 nothing. So I'm saying you can maybe ask the wife his permission, yeah? But maybe take
00:12:03.660 a shahada, like with us, because it's just a journey. I took my shahada nine and a half
00:12:07.460 years ago, yeah? And I know how it feels where you have this moment where you're like, oh,
00:12:11.520 I'm still sinning or maybe I'm not perfect. Allah doesn't want you to be perfect. What
00:12:15.800 God wants you is to acknowledge you have a Lord and repent to him. And it's just a
00:12:20.260 journey, bro. Do you think I'm perfect? None of us are perfect. God doesn't want us
00:12:23.440 to be perfect. So there's nothing stopping him from taking the shahada. What do you say? 0.95
00:12:28.240 I think it's up to him when he feels ready. But yeah. You do feel ready? You talk to
00:12:36.960 me. Forget us. Forget us. I think, I do definitely, I think, no one, I guess no one's perfect. I
00:12:44.340 definitely, it's something that I, I see no reason not to do. I just keep kind of stalling
00:12:49.440 myself to do something. As your brother, your brother in humanity, and I want to be
00:12:54.840 a brother in faith as well, yeah? I have to give that little push. You know why? Because
00:12:58.580 you, you believe internally. I told him, I said, what's your favourite food? He goes,
00:13:01.360 lasagna. I said, tell me you love lasagna. He said, I love lasagna. I said, the shahada's 1.00
00:13:04.940 a bit like that. You internally believe it and like it. It's just declaring it. So it's up
00:13:09.020 to you. You can repeat after me. I think it's, I think you've actually, I feel like
00:13:16.400 you've, you're, you're showing me a good direction to go to. And that is something
00:13:20.760 that I, even in the right now, I'm thinking, yeah, like there's no reason not to. Okay.
00:13:24.800 Repeat after me. Okay. Just repeat after me. Yeah. Don't worry. Could this be off camera?
00:13:31.060 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. If, if, if you want, it can be off camera.
00:13:41.960 This is what makes our day here at Salaam, guys. You know, it's very amazing that, you
00:13:45.920 know, I've been trying to hear, trying to stop people, trying to stop people to like
00:13:48.540 talk. Nobody wanted to talk to me, you know. Hi there. Would you like a free Quran?
00:13:52.040 No. Okay. No problem. So it's very interesting. You know, they, they, they, you know, he's,
00:13:57.200 he was not a Muslim. His, his, his, his wife to be is a Muslim, but he came here and I genuinely
00:14:02.960 asked him, what is stopping you? And there was nothing stopping him. And because of that,
00:14:07.040 I did give him that little push because we know shaitan comes here and there. He accepted
00:14:09.980 Islam. Inshallah, they're going to get married soon. And with our new Salah project, Salah Plus, 1.00
00:14:13.820 where we teach new Reavers and born Muslims, how to reconnect back to their Lord via Salah.
00:14:19.860 Inshallah, we invited him to that, Inshallah. May Allah bless every single one of you guys
00:14:22.940 that are watching and supporting Salaam. And yeah, may Allah keep him firm. And Inshallah,
00:14:26.860 they're righteous children. That will be their Sadaqa Jari, Inshallah. Till next time, 0.96
00:14:30.720 from Salaam Corner at Pikidiri Circus. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
00:14:43.820 And inshallah.