MEXICAN OFFICERS STORY TO ISLAM - HATE LED ME
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
205.59346
Summary
In this episode, we meet a Mexican-American security guard, Jose Palacios, who shares his story of how he came to Islam and how he became a Muslim. He is also the first person I have ever met who has come to Islam.
Transcript
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And it translated, there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger.
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I was like, oh, is that what they say before they blow up?
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And that's just, that's just my thinking, because I don't know any better.
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So I just Google it, like, oh, okay, like, what do they say before they blow up?
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As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, brothers and sisters and dear friends, we are in California.
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He hasn't given me the full story, but even from the beginning, it's a beautiful story.
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He's also a security guard, quite dangerous, with a pistol.
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You can follow me from here, in the car, or up there.
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He seems like a very, very good brother, mashaAllah.
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Actually, I think he's the first Mexican I've ever come across.
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So, we're going to find out exactly how he came to Islam.
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He's going to tell me how to pronounce that right.
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We're going to find out, inshaAllah, full of us inside the car.
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May Allah bless you, inshaAllah, for your time.
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He said to me, Hosea, because as far as I know, Joseph is Yusuf.
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Yeah, so instead of just, instead of translating Yusuf to Joseph, you're just translating Yusuf
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So, now, obviously, I know a lot of revert stories and stuff like that are done in a
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But, tell me, firstly, what you was doing before Islam.
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What was your first occurrence with a Muslim and your first occurrence with Islam?
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So, before I was Muslim, I grew up in a diverse neighborhood.
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I didn't really come across too many other people besides a few white people and, like,
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But, you know, alhamdulillah, like, my family was never, we've always been kind people.
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Never grew up with any prejudice against anyone.
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So, whenever I saw people of any other, like, culture or anything, I never thought, like,
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This is why I just saw them as another human being, basically.
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And, I knew a couple of Muslim people in high school, but I just, I never classified
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They were just my friends who just happened to be Arab or Middle Eastern.
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So, I didn't learn anything about Islam or anything like that from them.
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It was through my own, through my own research and studies that I found it.
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But, so, leading on, you know, as life progressed on, you know, before, you know, the days of
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I was kind of just going life, you know, one day at a time.
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So, I was just focusing on, you know, work and school.
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You know, I had, I grew up with religiously Catholic.
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Some of them will be Christian, but at the end of the day, it's kind of almost the same
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But, ever since I was little, I always had my doubts.
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My question was like, okay, why are we doing this?
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You know, like, why are we praying to Jesus if he's the son of God?
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You were saying there was an instance in your house where there, you said there was a picture
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of Mary, the mother of Jesus or something like that?
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So, I was saying, like, how come she's covered up and, like, the other people aren't supposed
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I was like, you know, why is she, why is she, uh, lightly skinned, complected?
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I was like, if she's from the Middle East, she'd be, like, dark.
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But, um, yeah, just those instances that, uh, so it's not that I didn't believe in God.
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I just became more agnostic to kids as a higher being.
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I feel I just wasn't sure what the right path was.
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So, some of the brothers said that they knew you before you used to work somewhere.
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Yeah, so I used to work at the grocery store over, uh, Save Mart, what we have over here.
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And, uh, so I guess I always say I had Muslim friends that I've known growing up here.
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Um, so they taught me a few phrases like, As-salamu alaykum.
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So, whenever I saw, like, a Muslim person, it was mostly the women, because obviously
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I can tell that they're Muslim, aside from the men.
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Uh, whenever I walked down the aisles, I'd be like, Oh, As-salamu alaykum.
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I would kind of, like, go out of my way just to, just to go say hi to them.
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Because I, me, myself, personally, the way I am, like, I like communicating with people.
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I like making people feel good about themselves.
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Yeah, because, like, when I see, like, you know, because our job is, like, then, go salute,
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But I noticed some other co-workers, when they saw them, they were kind of a little hesitant
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I'll go say hi to them, see if they want any help with anything.
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So, it's just a couple of different instances where I would do, I would study one topic or
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So, this might sound a little, like, awkward or bad point of view to get it from, but I
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And so, in Black Hawk Down, they would have transition scenes to where they would play
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the call to prayer, like, you know, the adhan between scenes.
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Whenever I'd hear, I was like, man, like, I don't know what this is, but it sounds nice.
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Like, because I felt, like, calm and peaceful about it.
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Maybe one of the points of the video was to vilify a certain group of people, but look
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So, then, and then another time, too, like, so the same instance, they, because you know
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how there's YouTube videos that are shared, like, on Facebook, and it's, I believe it
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was, like, during Ramadan, it was, like, and they were, they were all praying, and that
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And then, so the user who posted it was saying, look at these Muslims of God, they're talking
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about, like, killing us, or something like that, and the prayer.
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But I'm sitting there, I'm actually, I'm actually taking the time to actually read the actual
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But just stuff like that, you know, I never, you know, I never went in with any prejudice
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I never went in with hate or anything like that.
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So, you said, did you say you searched any specific, I don't know, I can't remember,
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did you say you searched something in Google, like, you heard something from the Adhan, or
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So, just different things like that, I would look up, like, what is the noise, like, just
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the, what is that noise that comes during the movie, like, I would say noise.
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And then, like, another movie called The Kingdom.
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That was, you know, a part where the guy blows himself up, but before he, he does it, he says
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And this is before I knew it was the Shahada, but, you know, I had to put the subtitles on in the
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movie, and it translated, there is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger.
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I was like, oh, is that what they say before they blow up?
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And then, that's just, that's just my thing, because I don't know any better.
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So, I just Googled it, like, oh, okay, like, what do they say when they, before they blow
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And, like, and then, you know, some tough stuff came up, and then, like, I started,
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I'm like, oh, that's not what it's supposed to be used for, but then, you know, just learning,
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and then, as, yeah, I know, but as I kept going, like, finding more stuff, obviously,
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like, you know, YouTube-related videos, three hours later, you know, something else.
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But, yeah, I just, I started watching all these videos that came across, like, Ahmed
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did that, and all that, and then I was like, and then also, Khalid Yassin, yeah, yeah, all
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those, and then from there, I was just like, wow, like, there's a lot more similarities than
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And then, as I started watching more and more videos and doing my own research, I was like,
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you know, this, this makes more logical sense, since this answers the questions that I've
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had, when I look at these, I see no, like, contradictions or anything, and, you know,
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I feel like this is something for me, this is what I've been looking for, because before
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then in my life, you know, everyone, no matter where you come from, you know, you have your
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ups and downs, you go through similar things, like, I had a lot of close friends at a young
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age die in different instances, like, either in a drunk driving accident, or they got hit
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by a car, or just, you know, some freak accident, you know, so, like, my aunts and my uncles,
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and stuff like that, you know, it makes, when things like that happen, you really start to
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wonder, like, you know, what's gonna, what's after this?
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And I really started getting concerned about, like, you know, my soul, kind of thing.
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That's interesting, my similar story is where I had a lot of people who were like, you
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know, commit suicide, pass away, and that, yeah, that gives you a big reflection
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of that, you need to change. Okay, so, then what happened? Because there was a, one of
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the brothers said that, they said that you want to take your shahad, or something like
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that, I can't remember, did you, how did, how, how did, when did you realise and say,
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look, this is the truth, I want to accept this damn, or, you know, and there's an amazing
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story coming up as well, we're gonna come up, but, how did that happen?
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Yeah, so, it's like I said, I found out all these things, like, I was amazed by it, like,
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I was so infatuated with, you know, the whole culture, but it never dawned upon me,
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like, like, like, to become Muslim, because for me, like, I don't know why, but in my
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head, I was like, oh, like, this is for them, like, I'm like, oh, they're so lucky, like,
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they have this, I wish I was that, but, so, I was still over at Save Mart, and then one
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of the brothers here, Omar, mashallah, his family, may Allah continue to bless them, they
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were, they were coming to the chair God stand again, and then, same thing, as-salamu alaykum,
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how are you guys today? As-salamu alaykum, are you Muslim? And I was like, oh, no,
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they're like, why not? I was like, oh, I don't know, I was like, I was like, oh, I
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don't know, and then, they're like, oh, why don't you come over, we live just around the
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corner, they say, what time are you off? I'm like, I'm off in an hour, like, oh, please,
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please, come over, and I was like, oh, okay, like, you know, because I thought, like, man,
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these people are so welcoming, like, of course, I'm not going to accept their invite, and
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so, you know, before, when I got off, I was like, man, what do these people, like, like
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to eat? So, I mean, I go, I go over to the deli section, like, let me get a plate
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of hummus, and some bread, so I take it over to them, yeah, and some chickpeas, yeah,
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some chickpeas, yeah, so I go over there, and then, so they sit down with me, and they
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just start, you know, asking me questions, okay, like, what do you know, like, do you
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have any questions, and they go, like, do you, like, what brought you here, and I'm
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telling them all these things, and they're like, wow, you know so much, like, how come
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you don't become Muslim, and I was like, I don't know, yeah, they're like, why don't
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you come, like, come and take the shahada, and I was like, you people usually do it,
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like, on Fridays, right, when there's more people there, and it was a Monday, and I was
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like, I was like, I don't, I don't care to, like, wait for Friday, if I believe now, I'm
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going to do it now, so we went, we went that night, yeah, and it was worship prayer, and
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then when we came here, I prayed, and then, and I took the shahada, and then, from there
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on, that's amazing, man, it just shows you, you know, some people are ready, they just
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need a little push, yeah, that's amazing, man, and so, what's more beautiful, my shahada,
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is that, like, the brothers would say that you would travel 40 minutes on your skateboard,
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oh, yeah, so, what is that about, man, yeah, so, um, so at that time, my car had broken
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down, and so I would, like, bike to work, and, uh, and bike, escape, or whatever I can
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at the time, and then we had moved, because before, we used to live over by St. Mark, and
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then we moved about a few miles by car, yeah, and so, this is, you know, when you first
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start, you're on that hype, you, you want to keep researching and studying, yeah, um, so
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I, I would be up watching, you know, Ahmadiyad videos, and all that, the merciful servant,
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yeah, like, Islamic guidance, and all that, on YouTube, and until, like, 3 a.m., I'm like,
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okay, Fajr, it's an hour and a half, if I leave now, I can make it, so I'll start walking,
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and I'll start walking, I'm listening to Quran, or Adhan, I'm saying it out loud, while I'm
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walking, and inshallah, I'll get there, like, in an hour or so, yeah, and then, sometimes,
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I would walk in, and then, as soon as I'm walking onto the, onto the property, they're
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leaving, I'm like, oh, and I have to turn around and walk back, yeah, but, uh, that's crazy,
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that's crazy, man, what advice would you give to people out there who are maybe right now
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watching this, and they're in the same stage as you are, and they're, you know, in two minds
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about accepting Islam, taking the shahadah, um, first and foremost, don't be afraid to just,
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uh, go talk to Muslims, you know, if you have, if you have any friends, or if there's an Islamic
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center, uh, near you, um, like I said, most of the time, uh, you know, you're more than welcome,
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yeah, anywhere, yeah, um, they're always willing to accept, uh, people to come and ask questions,
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invite them in, inshallah, because, like, honestly, if it wasn't for that family, I probably would have
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never, never took them to the shahadah, yeah, exactly, that's why that was so key, bro, and
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sisters, uh, what's one thing that you love about Islam, like, one thing that you say, you know,
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this, this is, it's absolutely beautiful, um, so one thing that I would like is, because before,
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in, like, Catholicism, we would have to go to the church, right, and you would have to confess
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to the priests, like, the little box and stuff, I like how there's no middleman, like, you don't
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have to tell anyone your business, it's between you and your Lord, that's so powerful,
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yeah, like, that's so deep, man, that's actually so deep, yeah, like, that's so deep, and you can,
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like, you can be, like, anywhere, right, and, like, especially with the lectures, exactly,
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you know, remember, like, if you're thinking, okay, I need to go to this specific place to repent,
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do you get it, and, Allah, you can do it anywhere, do you get it, and, you know, Allah,
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subhanahu wa ta'ala says that, if mankind was not to sin, I would destroy them and bring forth
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another nation who would sin but repent, exactly, yeah, and what that shows is, it shows that Allah
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saying we're going to sin, but acknowledge, this is very important, it's a matter of
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tawheed, acknowledging, I have a Lord that's all forgiven, most merciful, that's a form
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of tawheed, that's worship, that you're in, you're knowing, because that's why shaitan
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comes and says, oh, you're a sinner, you're going to go and do this, he wants to put you
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off of repenting, and repenting is not for everyone, you know, it's not for everyone,
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it's something that Allah gives to him, exactly, does anything else you want to add on,
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or, um, so the same thing, like, for, so for me, you know, I grew up in a little
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rougher neighborhood, and stuff, so, you know, so, some people, not all reverts,
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obviously, we come from different backgrounds, um, so, of course, there's things that sometimes
00:17:03.460
people might do to where, like, they regret, right, they feel like, for me, like, I didn't,
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for me, I almost felt like, oh, for sure, I'm going to hell, like, there's, I've done so
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many things, I've done this and that, yeah, and, you know, there's times where some things
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that I've done, right, and then I just sit there contemplating, like, like, man, like,
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there's, there's no hope for me, there's no way back, I really felt hopeless, because it
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was a whole bunch of things, like, probably even, like, the year before I became Muslim,
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yeah, so, like I said, uh, one of my close uncles had passed away, yeah, and then, uh,
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one of my ex-girlfriends, who I was with for a while, like, we had broken up, so I was just
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on a downhill, downhill slope, you know, I was getting really depressed, you know, I was
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out there drinking, partying, I was trying to fill this void, yeah, you know, I could fill
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it up, that it'd be temporary, you know, I'd fill it up for the night, out at the, at the
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clubs, or anything, but then in the morning, it's back, you know, it's even worse, now I
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have, now I'm depressed, and I have a headache, it's true, you're adding on to your problems,
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exactly, you know, it was, and then now, like, I have, I have so much more to be grateful
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for, so now, like, with Islam, the teachings, like, it's almost, it's hard to get depressed,
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because, like, if something happens in my life, it could be worse, you know, the Prophet
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said, look at those who are below you, instead of those who are above you, and you can appreciate
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you, exactly, that's it, man, brothers and sisters, actually, this was a beautiful story,
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mashallah, may Allah bless him, inshallah, we're in a beautiful state, California, and
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we've got more to come up, come inshallah, we're going to set up a salam, California team,
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yeah, till next time, subscribe, share, like, share with your friends and family, assalamualaikum
00:18:36.360
wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh, from me, and LAPD, alright, alright, alright, alright, alright,