Podcasts about allah god

TRANSCRIPT Gissele: [00:00:00] Gissele: hello and welcome to the Love and Compassion podcast with Gissele. We believe that love and compassion have the power to heal our lives and our world. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more amazing content. Today we’re talking about extraordinary acts of forgiveness and love. Today’s guest is Abdul Munin. Gissele: Sombat Jitmoud, an educator faith leader and father whose response to unimaginable loss stunned the world in a courtroom in Lexington, Kentucky. After his son was murdered, Dr. Jitmoud publicly forgave the man responsible, embracing him. In choosing mercy over vengeance, what could have been a moment of rage became a living testament to faith, courage, and radical compassion. Gissele: Abdul Munin. Gissele: Sombat Jitmoud, Was featured in the National Geographic documentary, the series, the Story of God with Morgan Freeman. Since then, he has traveled internationally speaking [00:01:00] across faith and cultures about forgiveness, healing, and the transformative power of love in the face of violence. Please join me in welcoming Sombat. Gissele: Hello. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Good morning from Thailand Gissele. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: my make-believe daughter of the century, 21st century. Thank you. Thank God so much, Allah Almighty, to give us a daughter that have been waiting for 75 years. Gissele: thank you so much. Thank you for being on the show and for the incredible message that your act has done. Gissele: I was wondering if you could tell the audience a little bit about the loss of your son and how you came to be in the courtroom that day. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Yes. I like to go back to, when I marry righteous wife, her name Linda. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: her father from Greece and her mother [00:02:00] are from Germany, so she born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. I came from Thailand from further of my higher education and I earned all of my degree, bachelor degree, master degree, EDS degree and doctorate degree in one of the university. I met this young lady, she’s also the minister of the Christian Church and she feel sorry for me for, she said Sombat, you are so nice person. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And you, talk so much about God because, at that time I was reading the Holy Quran is my friend, because as a foreign student, you don’t have many friend quickly. So the friend I have on my life is I, I read the holy [00:03:00] Quran, the word of God Almighty. And then she said that I feel sorry for you, that you are such a nice person. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: You are very kind and you’re very helpful to me as a college friend. But, I’m sorry to tell you that you will go to hell fire. She said, I said, Linda, why you said that? We just met and become good friend, college friend because you don’t believe in Jesus Christ our Savior. So as a Muslim from Thailand, Buddhist society, I start to share my faith for a few words because we just first met, we just met a few days. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: She said, Linda, actually as a Muslim, I believe in Jesus Christ, but not as God or Son of God. I believe Jesus Christ is one of the great prophet of Allah who came before Muhammad over [00:04:00] five, 500 years. She was stunned that I believe in Jesus Christ. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: After that, we didn’t see each other. for some time she went to the bookstore and start, reading the Holy, holy Book of Islam, quran in English. She, because she tried to find a mistake in holy, to come and convince me that you see, Gissele: yeah, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: your holy Quran has a lot of mistake. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: But she found none, finally one day, one 19 of Ramadan, actually, she came to us in the mosque near the campus, Truman State campus in northern Missouri. She said that I want to become Muslim. So my friend and I. Invite her and give her shahada that Morgan Freeman love this word shahada. All I [00:05:00] bear witness that no one will of worship except Allah Muhammad and Prophet Muhammad much is the servant and the messenger of Allah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: If you can see I have this, in the background here. That’s what Ilan, so she became Muslim. So we thank God for that. And then she start to learn more Islam. And then a year later I asked her to marry me. So not marry right away because she is become my sister in faith, but I nurture her along the way. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: She ask question. And of course, I left to pursue my PhD in Indiana. And then sometime we keep on communicating. And finally we met again and I asked her to, to marry [00:06:00] me and with her righteous nature, God give us six son. And Salahudin was number five, who passed away, with a murder case as you introduced. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And, go back. on the February 15, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: three o’clock, I was in St. Louis City, to be the principal of biggest Islamic school. In the morning I was sleeping. The phone woke me up, so I grabbed the phone. And the message said that, are you Dr. Jitmoud? I say, yes. your son is dead. I was really shocked. First shock. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I was this a dream or I has a nightmare. So I pinch myself pin the back of my hand. It’s hurt. I said, oh, I’m still alive. I awoke. So I said The word that the holy [00:07:00] register, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: the meaning we all belong to Allah, the creator. And until Allah, we all return back to him. I, it is calm as the first shock of the news. Then I said, if this real happened, I said, oh, Sadahudine, my, our dear son, you belong to Allah now. Allah called you back to him. I have to accept this. It is calm me down. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then I think of what the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing me upon him do in the situation like this. In his life. We studied the life of mohamad. He, when he have a shock like this, he would pray. He didn’t go to the bar, he didn’t go crazy. He went and to make [00:08:00] abolition. And he start bowed out to Allah. Pray Lady. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I said, oh, I have to do what Prophet Moham used to do. I went to the bathroom and make Ablution wash up lady, wash myself real good. That’s the most ablution, the hardest one in my life because my mind was, my son is dead, but I have to pray. I have to pray to God. So I finished and start bow down to to Allah almighty, as prophet we used to do. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then I woke my son, Musa sitting with me right now. Let’s go to the mosque. We need to pray with the community. And we have to take seven hours to Lexington, Kentucky from St. Louis, to prepare for the funeral. And at that time, we didn’t know how he died. What? We learned that he’s dead. can I move on just a little [00:09:00] bit then? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Of Gissele: course. Yeah. That’s, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: this how Allah Mercy, his mercy was hidden in my crisis life. Crisis. that’s one, one verse, in Quran appear into me, it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. But tonight, it’s like a reveal to me. May I decide in Arabic? Gissele: Okay, of course, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: this in, surah, in Surah nine. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And, um, I verse verse number 51, before I move on, I just go like this amazingly, uh. I check the holy gra it, it’s miracle. After that, I said number nine and verse 51. You know what happened in my life? I’m number nine in birth ranking in my family. My mother, my [00:10:00] father in Thailand, in rural Thailand, they have 11 children. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I happen to be number nine. And in my passport, it just, my birthday was 1951 and this was 51. So I was amazed. I thank God, wow, God reviewed these words. 1400 years ago applied to me in 21st century. So I bowed out to God again. Thank him for like a. Help me to calm myself down at the time of crisis. So that’s what, um, the, the God said that[00:11:00] Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: is really comfort me so much. He said, oh, Muhammad, tell all mankind nothing happened to us by accident. All happened by the decree of Allah. It had been written, has been ordained before. Anything to happen. Let the believer put trust in Allah and Allah is the best of friend and put trust in Allah and Allah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: The most forgiving, the most merciful, forgiving at the time of shock there was of Allah at the end of verse said the most forgiving. At that [00:12:00] time, I don’t know what, our son died, how he died. There were forgiving and mercy came side by side, like a twin tower. Then we went to the mosque, we pray, and I called the school. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: My principle too, manage the school for me because I have to drive seven hours to Lexington to prepare the funeral. Then I asked the imam if I can say a few would about the death of our son, and then I didn’t know anything. I said, please pray for our son. He was dead last night. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I have no idea what he, how he die. And then Musa, my son, a man, a good friend of mine, asked him what on my way out to put the shoe on in Islam. You know when you enter the moss, you take the shoe off, put the shell on the shell. So I went ru rushed [00:13:00] going out. This gentleman, he, I will mention his names, alio. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: He asked my son what happened with your brother? And then my son said he, he got. Murder. Why? delivering pizza, very innocent, uh, honest earning. Then he suddenly, he ran after me, Dr. Chimo, congratulation. I said, I just announced you to the community that my son just got killed. We just on our way to, to prepare for funeral possession. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Okay? I’d like to thank you for congratulating me. What for? he said, you are the father of the righteous death of your son. Comfort death. He said, because it fits what God said in Quran and what Prophet Muhammad [00:14:00] said in his teaching. That’s another the comfort Gissele. My dear daughter, Allah comfort me at the time. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I don’t know what happened yet. So we drove off, to Lexington, Kentucky. Then I communicate with community in Lexington because I was the principal there for seven year. They communicate with me, we body. He said that Dr. Chen will at this time with, the ambulance took him to the Frankfort, the capital of Lexington, for the exam. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So his body about 50 miles away from Lexington. So, okay. Thank you. And then we keep on driving. So I told my son live in different state. They all met. We gonna meet in Lexington for. So finally we met each other halfway. I said, we have to pass [00:15:00] Frankfurt. Let’s stop by to, to see the doctor where the body of Saudi is there. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So I stopped by. The doctor asked me, are you the Saudi father? I say, yes. We just came from St. Louis City, my son in the bank. well, can you tell us about s She said, I have been practicing, this is my career over some year. He’s a very noble, doctor, and he start to, swallow, swallow his, saliva, compose himself from crying. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: he is a big man. Crying in front of the stranger is something, but he said, I feel so sorry for your son surrounding. I stop here sunshine. What happened? Because I didn’t know what happened. He said, uh, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: somebody slit his throat. I said, oh, and then before anything he said this, [00:16:00] you know what? The knife that somebody used to slit your son throat is so sharp. I say, to praise God. I thank God that because Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing say in his teaching, before you slaughter animal, make sure you sharp the knife because when you slaughter the cow or goat and sheep or chicken so that the animal will not feel so much pain. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then that’s what I say, Aham all praise and thank me to Allah. And he said, and then he followed it how Allah comfort me on this crisis harm. He said. However, your son probably have very few moment of pain because the knife is so sharp. I thank God and all our son in the back [00:17:00] a sigh of relief. This probably the beginning of forgiveness come to play in the role because number one, the man in Saint Louis where you are the father of the righteous son who have a noble death now. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: The doctor gave me all this and then asked, may I see his body? He said no. Um, the body has had been chief back, to Lexington for the Islamic funeral, tradition. I thank God again my daughter, Gissele, because I thought that the body gonna be, in the refrigerator, right? Because a murder case like this probably will exempt, the body cut the body and thing, but in Islam, not, uh, not permit to have anybody cut without [00:18:00] necessary without telling God already. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Tell the doctor that, this is enough for this young man, 22 years old who got killed. So the bodys already in Lexingtons. So we drove off, with comfort and the community in Lexington said, Dr. Jitmoud we cannot pray to Saudin in the mosque. because. Hundred upon, hundred people came to honor Saudin because, uh, people know me after seven year of principal in the, I know the mayor, I know the chief, the police, they all become my good friend during my service of community. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So people came upon hundred or become thousand, uh, before I even arrive. Gissele: Wow. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: then said, I want you to go to cemetery, because that’s what we are gonna, we gonna pray. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So I went directly there when I ride the street into the [00:19:00] cemetery was packed. Cannot drive in, so we have to walk in. To get to, to the grave sign when I arrived there. Hundred upon hundred two. Lie of male and female male, one lie, female other lie they want to come to, to comfort me, but I arrived late. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So I thank them and they were crying. I comfort them and tell them not to cry because this happen happened by the will of Allah. We all believe in Allah, right? They say yes, so don’t cry. And it’s not accident. God ordained this to happen. By the time I look up way, by the main street, I saw eight men carry the coffin of, Saudin I asked the, the guest who visit me, may I, excuse me, I have [00:20:00] to, receive my son. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Usually I. I carry the c oftentimes in, in Thailand and in America, because it is in Islam, it is rewarding to do the good deed of honoring the person who live this world. So when it came close to me, I went to the left side for, to support the coffin. Like this, it flew away. So I ran in the other side to grab on this side. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: It flew away. Again, it remind me of the teaching of Prophet Muhammad, that a righteous person see how Allah comfort me again. And our sons, the righteous person. He will request a. In Arabic. K. Hurry me. Hurry me to the grave. My knee bul [00:21:00] because he don’t care anymore about this world. So at the time I heard, four men in the back complain to the foreman in the front, why you pull so fast, so hard? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And the foreman in front said, no, you are the one who pushed so hard. I come to the teaching of prophet moment, the angel, he’ll carry the casket. Gissele: Mm-hmm Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Hurry me, hurry me, hurry me. Finally, I was able to catch up. with the coffin they put down by the grave and the leaders said, open the face from the cloth, the white claw, that cover, because when they have, uh, they wash the body, they have to put, they come to the teaching of Islam, white claw to the whole body, including face. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So they said [00:22:00] they carefully open the place and after to here, they don’t want me to see the neck that the doctor after to here, oh, Gissele, when I open, when they opened the face, I saw him smiling. a dead person got killed by the sharp knife, but smiling face. And like a happy dead person. So when then I, I saw something dark on his forehead, which is, is about the coin dark spot. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Uh, then I, remind me of the holy ground. God said Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: this dark spot is a mark of prayer. So he’s [00:23:00] 22 years old. His mother, Dr. Linda Jamila, she, she’s a new Muslim for 34 years before she die. She has spot two. She pray so hard because she thank God that, uh, she became Muslim and she has a wonderful. Family and she pray. Thank God the best way to thank God is to pray in Islam. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Now our Saudin has like his mom who passed away a year ago and they love each other. My wife love our six son so much, and then we saw, we found the dark spot Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: prostration and the forehead on the ground. I kiss him the last time I ever kissed my son in this world. I kiss on his dark spot and I said, oh my dear son, I love [00:24:00] you so much. I, I say it to you. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I love you so much for the sake of Allah, me, Allah is a prayer. Now me, Allah reunite us with your mom and you and all of us in the high is paradise. Oh my son. We meet you soon in Shaah, God willing, then they start closing the cloth over his faith. That’s the last scene I saw of him Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So the our four son, his big brother and young brother ine, went to the grave to receive his grave site to receive his coffin. And the community also came down to receive. They said that his body is very light. you believe in Angel? my daughter? [00:25:00] Yeah. Christian, Judah. We are these three about Abrahamic faith. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: We have very similar faith and we believe in the angel unseen, but God create the angel. They said as we carry and now we carry him to the resting place. His body was so light Gissele: Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So make the people who do the service very, very comfortable that he is a good man. So after of course we pray the imam, of the community. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I have to mention his name because he my best friend also, he, the Imam who lead our prayer and he the leader community for 30 some years in Lexington. And he used the lesson to, to teach. Hundred of people who came to pray. He said, and he cry. He said, look at this young man. He’s my friend [00:26:00] now. I miss him. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I pray for him. But this a young man that I adore because I have been the imam and pray the funeral, pray for many years I knew. So people come to honor his departure from this world in the ude of the prayer, and he cry and he will, he say, live yourself in the righteous, life and you’ll face the happy ending of this world, just like this young. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And he, and then we put the dirt over him. So I stop right here. You just a good listener. Gissele: thank you for sharing that. if I heard you correctly, one of the things that I’ve gotten from your story was that you had received signs along the way of the need for forgiveness and mercy, even before you knew what had happened, and [00:27:00] also that your son had a righteous death. Gissele: is that correct? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: uh, he is a righteous son. Gissele: Oh, okay. Well, the reason why I mentioned that is because, your son is a hero. He saved a woman’s life, right? Like there was somebody else who was supposed to go on that pizza delivery run who was afraid. is that accurate? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Oh, yes. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: let me, cross right here. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Okay. all this information came later after after offender opposition. We bur him and everything and pray. Last time, so the community announced that Dr. Jitmoud and his family will be in an Islamic school, Lexington Universal Academy. That’s why I used to be the principal, to receive condolences, please come to the school, after evening prayer. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So a lot of friends, hundred of them came to condo, me and my son. Then out of that, [00:28:00] a friend from Pizza Hut. Because they know the Saudi father work here So he came, he start, one of them start telling the story with Saudin delivered pizza not his order because he came back. Okay. He has a young brother named Nurodine, calling him at home about 10 o’clock. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Says it’s raining very hard. that night, the young brother said, Baba, is rain so hard? I worry about My brother Saudin So I called him. He answered right away. He said, uh, sa uh, um, it’s almost 10 o’clock. You’re supposed to be home by now. And it’s raining too. When you gonna come home? He said, I’m delivering the last pizza. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then I will be home soon. So when he deliver little pizza, he went back to Pizza Hut. The young lady pulled [00:29:00] out the order slip and saw the address. That’s her turn, to go. And she said, no, I’m not going to this place. These are section eight. You know, section eight, a housing, complex. I’m not going. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: It’s raining and dangerous. So Saudin just walk in. He said to his coworker, he said, don’t worry, I’m on my way out. my brother just called. I’m gonna stop by and I will come back and give you a tip. tomorrow. So he went, see how Allah ordained that he gonna die. The lady will be safe. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So the lady allow him to go. And when he went, it’s a fake address. He just look around to look for the receiver. I know, I’m sure, know for sure that he didn’t see who behind him. He’s a big tall man and s above my side. Gissele: [00:30:00] Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Probably he just lock him and then, finished the job and he took pizza, took Saudine`s purse and, then he even finished the pizza too. He must be very hungry. the murderer. And then that’s what it is, the story that the lady was saved. Now God want us to save the man who killed You want me to, uh, Gissele: uh, yeah, you can, you can keep going on the story for sure if you want to. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then what happened? next morning, the police team of the police above and detective came to our house. I still in have a house in Lexington. he said that, Dr Jitmoud, we’re gonna take you, to see the crime scene that your son got murdered yesterday. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I was so happy. So we went, when we went through the Section eight complex, a lot of neighbor [00:31:00] came running is no more rain. Last night was raining, before I forget, Gissele my daughter in Islam. when the righteous soul passed away from this world, the nature will cry. When we, because missing a person who worship a lot day and night, that’s one of the side that will lead to forgiveness because start to evaluate already our son have the righteous soul. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: We so many signs. Then when we arrive to the complex, the police, says, this is the place. And we look at this is the, his body lean on the wall. when we came to investigate all the blood was, wash up a few spot, still there, but pretty much clean now. Can I take a little break on the rain and the blood? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So [00:32:00] what happened while during the night, the police knocked on the door off. Iraqi family who just moved in about a month ago on this first floor. And, I need to mention his name because I want God to reward him and his wife, his name sad, and his wife name Amina. When the police knock on the door started open the door, and Amina came along too because he know that, something going on in front of her house because that is, 10 o’clock or plus. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Why police asking her husband about witnessing Amina looked through the door she saw Saudin lean against the wall and has one finger stick up like this. And then he has, he wear a cap at the piece of delivery. [00:33:00] So he said, oh. This man got murdered and his hand got cut off. His finger got cut off except one. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Whoa, poor guy. So she’s know that he’s a Muslim. Yet Now this is God honor Amina to see the finger. You know what has a finger in Islam before you die. If you say with the finger up, as I told Mr. Morgan Freeman, there is no God worthy of worship except Allah. That person will enter paradise. Prophet Muhammad reassure then next miracle happened in front of Armina. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: the wife. Why police talking to her husband? She said that because of the rain, the rain water brought. The [00:34:00] blood to her door because she was the first floor. The blood was so red and clean. On top of that, she smelled perfume from the blood. Not ugly smell, but perfume. This other side of the righteous soul who passed away. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I was being comfort after we bury him yesterday. I was comfort, so comfort of all the neighbor. The neighbor came crying apart, condolence. Sorry for the loss of your son, all the thing. But this family give me comfort and Gissele: yeah, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: so let me share with you this. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Two years and seven months later become the story of courtroom that we forgive the man because it’s stack up of righteous deed before death and after death. I share that with [00:35:00] you. Gissele: Yeah. Thank you just one of the things I wanted to touch on is the fundamental teachings of Islam of humanity and love and compassion that are often not emphasized in Muse. Gissele: AndI wanted to for you to talk a little bit about the fundamental beliefs, of Allah in terms of the unity of people, the oneness of people, and how you were able to see the perpetrator as somebody not separate from you. You talk a little bit about that. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Yes, yes. of course, as a Muslim, have to refer to the statement of God, Allah Almighty, himself in the holy Quran first of all, God say that whoever killed one innocent life he killed the whole humanity, then God follow Allah, follow his whole statement. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Whoever saved the life, saved the soul. One [00:36:00] soul, he saved the soul, the whole humanity. This is leading to forgiveness. After Saudin, we call about 15 righteous side. Within, uh, a short time after his death, he said, our son. People witness, we didn’t say it. The people who know us just said, um, Shahied, shahied, shahied. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Shahied means the righteous death, the word Arabic we just said in holy gra and the haddi of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing we are one he said. Then I think to myself, have not informed our son yet because they were angry because he loves Saudin. and people ask me, especially the student ask me, Dr. Jitmoud, is he the one who killed Saudin is your enemy? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: He said, no. he’s my friend, but he just misguided guy friend. he’s my [00:37:00] nephew. he’s like my son and my nephew, but he have been misguided by satan chatan, okay? Gissele: Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And then he asked. You have any enemy? I say, yes. Who? The devil. They said, whoa, the man who killed your son? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: still you call him nephew? I said, yes. He just like us. Only that because of drug, because of he, he robbed by the misguided guy friend. So all taking drugs and the money ran out. So he and his team plan to kill someone. they didn’t know that they’re gonna kill Saudin. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: They want to kill someone that robbed the money and take Pizza too. Enjoy then. That’s what it is. So all this happened, that’s why I said it not accident, had been ordained by Allah. Allah love Saudin. Allah [00:38:00] want to know that soul to return to him in the righteousness. And another thing, Gissele, my daughter, as at that time in America, Islamic phobia was high hate Islam, afraid of Muslim terrorist, all these thing, God with his wisdom chose our son to show the world that not what Islam being portrayed on media. Gissele: Mm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Islam forgive. Then I go back to Prophet Muhammad. He was 13 years in Maka. People want to kill him. Then God said, I want you to migrate to Medina and you’ll establish the city Medina so that Islam will be spread. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Islam established in Medina, eight years later, he came back and conquered, maka his [00:39:00] birthplace without a single fight, without a single life being lost. On top of that, he forgave all of those who tried to kill him. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Who am I? I’m not a prophet, but I should learn from my prophet of Allah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I said, son. Allah say this. Can I say the statement that finally change the family, the history of the world Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I seek refuse with Allah from the shaan said the curse, the Allah God. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So have to [00:40:00] forgive the one who cause harm to you. Command from God while just and overlook his shortcoming. His shortcoming was drug friend. And Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: an environment that he was raised, not friendly to him. And then God said, don’t you love that? Allah shall forgive you? And Allah is the most forgiving, the most merciful. I told my son this a lifetime opportunity to be forgiven by Allah. No one can go to paradise when you have sin within us. Even one spot of sin you have to go to serve time in this like jail, right? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So in next year, you have to go to hell fire for some time to erase the sin. So they all forgive [00:41:00] except the youngest one. Ludin, because he’s the one who received bad news that night. And we have a few minutes already left. Let’s go back to Ludin about, three o’clock. Lexington time was ahead of Sunday time. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: One hour Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: after he called his brother, he wait and he slept on the sofa. he heard somebody knock on the door. he afraid to open right away. So the police, the one who knock on the side, uh, can you open the door? We are the police officer. So he opened the door. Slowly, he saw three police officer it, this resident, he say, yes, I’m his brother. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And he, I’m waiting for him since 10 o’clock. And he’s not here yet. I dunno what happened with him. He’s 18 years old, so the, uh, Saudi not [00:42:00] coming home anymore. He’s got murdered. We just came to deliver the bad news for you and they left. Poor guy, home alone. Mother passed away. Older brother live far away. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Me musa live in in St. Louis, seven hour drive. So he was really, Gissele: yeah, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: shocked Yeah. then. When come to the courtroom he didn’t want to forgive. And the police, the chief of police chief will not ask him to stay in the hotel. They prepare everything fine. He said, you have to stay here because tomorrow it’s gonna be hard for him. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So the morning come, he said, Baba, I want to go, uh, to the courtroom. He said, so we took him with police, one side and one side grab his hand because the murderer just walk in. The last one, everyone waiting for him. He’s [00:43:00] the very, or man, of course, only on his third, every eye poke focus on him. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: He walk in, we look. Then in the process of court testimony, he cry, right? I give the tissue to him and he came, walked to him. I walked halfway. And he grabbed the tissue right away. I grabbed his hand and pulled, and I hug him. Nolin said, Baba right in front of Nolin. Nolin said, Baba. He’s not a monster. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: He’s a human being like him. He’s the misguided guy. So I forgive him right away, Baba. I say all praise and thank you to Allah. I am my family. That is your family. 100%. Forgive the man who murder. That’s what it is. So come back to forgiveness, prophet moment. Forgive the one who tried to murder him [00:44:00] also. So who am I? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Uh, not to forgive. Seen Aah. Offered opportunity to earn his blessing and mercy to go to paradise in the life he after. Gissele: I just wanted to mention the fact that, you said so many fundamental things. One being that there, there really is no evil. Gissele: Like most people are just misguided. Right? if they really truly understood how interconnected we are, if we really, truly understood that we are all made of the same God source energy, Allah or whatever God they believe in, they would understand that whatever they do impacts them as well. Gissele: We’re so connected. but I think many people have a hard time with forgiveness. I think because of the way they view death. I think many people view death as final and they don’t see it as a return to God. They see it as this is the end, there’s nothing else. Mm-hmm. And so in those circumstances, I think it can be hard to forgive and people’s [00:45:00] fear of death is quite strong Gissele: the fear can be overwhelming. did you have anyone that was. I didn’t really understand your ability to be able to forgive something. So monumentous, as a mother myself who has two children, being away from them, despite my connection to God would be really difficult. Which is why your behavior is so extraordinary. Gissele: and your connection to God is so extraordinary because I think, maybe my listeners might have a hard time saying or understanding the importance of needing to forgive for ourselves. Right. And for each other. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Yeah. Because I’m a very personal person Gissele. So before we move on, I have grandchildren in Canada too. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I pray now to Allah Almighty God. To, protect you from harm and to, and you. Amen. My [00:46:00] grandchildren and your, of course your son and your family from this trouble world, and I want you to be safe. And so live your life. with safety and security come back. I need to tell you also the teaching of Islam has three choice in term of the first degree murder, like this is mentioned in the holy Quran. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Also, one, if this man were to be seated in the electric chair, it’s okay for my family because life and life or life. Is okay because Islam allowed it. Second one say that the two family can negotiate blood money. Okay. Blood money. Uh, then [00:47:00] Allah and Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be upon himself. The best is to forgive. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So my family chose number three. Forgive because we feel that if the man have to be seat in electric chair with a few moment and die, we gonna feel guilty. We the cause of the man sitting electric air. Right. All in the life sentence in the dark room for forever. Gissele: Mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So we don’t want to cause that. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: To happen to him. We want to save this young man so that he can live. I told him that when you are in the prison, I want you to bow down to Allah of God Almighty. He’s created to you and he creates Saudin. So I want you to thank God that you able to breathe a few [00:48:00] more years, and I want you to grow up in righteousness. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Prison is a good place for you now to reflect upon your life. And I want you to think positively about your life. And I pray that may God keep your life safe in the prison. Prison is not always safe, right? Mm-hmm. So I pray for him. Yeah. And then I said that I am this age, and the judge. reduced his time from 36 years, through 31 years. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And I am this age, I don’t know if conceived that long. When I told him before we hug each other in the private room now, I said, if God Allah gave me life longer, I will come to the prison door to with your parents so we [00:49:00] can welcome you to the free world. Okay? Because this last, when you say, wow, I have to go back. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Last January, the year before my family went to Lexington to visit Saudin. So we in communication with his father. Okay, so we contact him that we are gonna visit Saudi. Can you come and meet us? So we invite him to have lunch with us. So he came, his father, and they said, when I come back from Thailand and we gonna go visit your son together in the prison, he was so happy that, and you will talk about his son or you, his, your son. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I blame nobody but satan the devil. That’s what I blame for. So that’s what in Islam, we choose the best choice for a human being and he have a good chance to live a good life. I say when you come out, be a good [00:50:00] citizen of our land and be productive citizen of the society because time for you to pay back to the community that raise you. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Even though put you in a tough time. Yeah. So this, I don’t know if I answered the question. Gissele: Yeah, you did actually. Um, and you raised some important things in terms of, there’s a lot of trauma and there’s a lot of environmental things that people have been raised with and they carry that trauma and they hurt other people, which is really difficult. Gissele: Do you know how he’s doing in prison? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Okay. these are often asked question when I travel to give at talk. even his father have a hard time especially during, COVID-19. Father not able to go. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Mm-hmm. And also he had been moved from jail to jail, but, we cause, tight security. Mm-hmm. Because he’s, first degree murderer. But now that’s why when I met him during [00:51:00] invitation for lunchtime with my family in Lexington, he said, I’m able to visit him, but I have to, declare, my identification even as a father, but now able to visit maybe once a month, something like that, or once a week based upon my availability. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: That’s why I said, let’s go together so that we can help comfort your son and make sure that he has hope outside the prison. So this what, we need to tell the world that everyone. In your life being sent by God Almighty. A good person is for you to live and care and be thankful to God. A person who give you hard time is also the test from God. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: That you have to be patient and you have to understand everyone, not alike, but we have to work together. And we have to understand that [00:52:00] if I teach the thousand of students in America, along with our six son, you have if you see somebody not good to you, you pray to God, to guide you for to be righteous and to guide the man. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Woman to become righteous as God, to be good citizen of the world because God create everyone the same God who, create the animal and birds and everything in the universe. So be good to everyone, especially the one that cause you harm. This is the challenge because you pass the test that all pays upon you because life is a test. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Life is journey to the hereafter. And our destination is paradise. In our, in Quran cause it general to And can you say Janna? Gissele: [00:53:00] Janna Gissele: Sah, Allah. Sorry. Because. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: It’s like I pray for you and me to go to this. the highest has seven rank, need the highest rank with the righteous, with the prophets. Okay? So that’s why we pray for the one who harm you with the best of prayer. And the angel will say, may you receive the same, we come back to the angel again Gissele. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Uh, yeah, Gissele: yeah, for sure. May you receive the same. we see right now the world that is so divided, and I know you travel a lot to give messages to people. my listeners are from all over the world, and some people are involved in war. Other people are, in different circumstances and seeing what’s happening.[00:54:00] Gissele: What’s one thing that I think you would like our fellow human beings to know and understand, about your experience and how maybe what things we could do to come closer together to one another instead of be more divisive and more hurtful towards one another? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Okay. Uh, my daughter Gissele. I have to go back to the words that I mentioned to you earlier in the program. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Yeah. Oh, Mankin. Along create all of you from the single and male and female, Adam and Eve. The purpose is for you to know each other, cooperate with one another in peace and harmony. the best among all of you, mankind that Allah create is the most righteous of you. My righteous wife. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Linda, she live righteous wife, righteous life, and our sonin live righteous life. And that’s why [00:55:00] in the criteria of Allah, the best of you, Allah want everyone, you and me and your two children to grow up in Righteous Way. And the best among you is the one who provides service to others. Right now you are performing, a program, podcast, right? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: This gonna go to a few viewers and this is a service you are doing for the humanity who will listen to your program. And of course, everyone has, God creates the rationale to think, to evaluate a situation. What good and what not so good. Which one is toxic situation we able to identify? And your program, I hope and pray that people will understand, the usefulness of your program and always think of you in the positive possible [00:56:00] contribution that you from Canada have done to the humanity. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: So we together, and my thinking is that you as my make-believe, daughter have a joy reward from Allah Almighty because you spread good word, not violence, because God want us to be harmony, work together and know people are alike. But you have to overlook. Remember God said, you have to forgive the man who killed your son and overlook his shortcoming because everyone has strength and weakness. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: That’s why as wife and husband, when you look at your wife, look for her strength. And when she has weakness, overlook, don’t emphasize on the weakness because, you forgive her weakness. Okay, but strengthen. Oh, [00:57:00] Charla. Um, my dear darling, you are just a good mother. You’re just a good wife you are. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Cooking is so delicious. All the positive thing. If she didn’t wash the dishes, overlook her. You do too. Because I help my wife wash the dishes too, wash the clothes, do everything because how the Prophet Muhammad will do, be example for us, And of course the c Korean Indian is in Arabic in holy gra, Ana Africa Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: please us Bucket upon bucket of patience when you are a patient and Allah little patient. That’s why we don’t have enough patience. Somebody step on our toe. We just, just Right. We have to. Excuse me. Oh, no problem. Are you okay? [00:58:00] Be gentle, be quiet, be humble In Islam, whoever humble before God, I make you and humble before his. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: His creation. You are his creation and a lot will raise our rank very high because we live up to his test because life is a test right now. A lot test you and me because we are sometime don’t think alike, but we have to respect. You don’t have to agree, but you have to respect a person who you disagree with. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Then in Shaah, God willing, with the help of Allah, the world will be a better place to live. And my grandson, which is behind you, should be a better the world that we left behind. Am I correct? We should establish environment for our grandchildren, great-grandchildren, more than we are within moment right now in Shaah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: That’s why the war [00:59:00] going on. I pray so much what’s going on in Middle East and how America react to the situation. Pray that, oh, Allah, God, by the please save the world. And, everything within it with your mercy because you are the most forgiving, and the most mercyful. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Oh, Allah, forgive the oppressor and then, and reward the oppressed because you know best in your wisdom. Who is best among your servant, the one who lived the righteous way. the one who live in the righteous life. That’s your criteria to judge who is the best. So we ask your kindness, your mercy, to judge your servant, with the best judgment in your wisdom. Gissele: Thank you for that. your life is a testament of how love can transform, and forgiveness can transform not only the young man who was involved in your son’s murder, but also the [01:00:00] inspiration that other people have gotten from your story and their willingness to forgive and through those actions, thus bringing the world closer together. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I love you. I love you too. I, I love you for the sake of Allah. May I say in Arabic one more time? I’m sure a lot Arab. Gissele: Yeah, of course. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: My friend. I have a hundred of Arab friend too. Yeah. And I plan on going to, oh, I need to tell you the, I need, I will go to Pilgrimme, after the court case, I went to Maka, performed Pilgrimme by the Kaba, GABA, right? Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: the house of Allah that the Muslim pray every day face this house we pray for, the one who murder Saudin, to be guide, to be safe from all the harm may happen to him. Because, and we ask a lot to accept our [01:01:00] forgiveness. during this, hour, also with conversation. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: You know that I never mention his name. Yeah. Because I have to honor him. Gissele: Yeah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Because he’s not here to defend himself. Gissele: Yeah. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Okay. So I went to, of course, when I went to gaba, I present his care to Allah. So I mentioned his name, but because the angel would write down the name Gissele: mm-hmm. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: That, oh, Allah, please forgive him. And let him, grow up to be righteous. And we went to harsh this coming harsh season, which is in. May I will go to H again. So I will be praying for him to my righteous wife, Linda, and then, and I will pray for you too. and you are children. Gissele: Thank you.[01:02:00] Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Please, hug them for me Gissele: Well, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: and convey my love to them for the sake of God. Gissele: Thank you. Same. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Yeah. Gissele: You extend to our family and thank you. thank you so much for sharing your story and your wisdom. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: Thank you. Gissele: and your love and all the work that you do for humanity Gissele: Helping us come closer together. So appreciate it, appreciate you. and thank you for those who tuned into another episode of Love and Compassion podcast, with Gissele Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I pray that, uh, your program will be further of success in the future endeavor. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: And I pray again that may almighty God, give you a healthy, good long life and stay in this world, to serve God for his pleasure. And may God guide you. Grant you the most happiest life in the life [01:03:00] hereafter And may God look after you, after your family and your friends. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: The friend of your program here, may God also have mercy upon them all and has a happy life and good long life forever. Okay, lemme thanking to you, lemme pray in Arabic to close. Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: We ask God to forgive us in the word that we express you are to may not. Uh, please with each other, may God forgive us and everything. Forgiveness is the greatest gift of charity in Islam. My Islam. And in the, Abdul-Munin Sombat Jitmoud: I know, good life [01:04:00] in Canada and good late morning in Thailand.

On this episode, my guest is Hasan Kerim Güç. Kerim graduated from Istanbul High School in 1992 and from Yildiz Technical University in 1996. Between 1997-2004, he completed his master's degree in Information Systems and Business Administration in Baltimore, USA. He returned to Turkey in 2010. Realizing that the treasure he had been looking for for 14 years was right in his own home, he took the position of Chief Editor at Nefes Publishing House in 2014. Kerim nourishes his business life with Sufi studies and is pursuing a doctoral degree from the Usküdar University Institute for Sufi Studies. He has published four books.Show Notes* Rejecting the American Dream* Anatolian and Sufi Hospitality* Sufis and the Ottomans* Tanri misafiri (“God's guest”)* Togetherness, and the roots of Religion* When we welcome suffering, we make honey out of pain* Submission, servants and the prophet Mohammed* The Conference of the Birds / Stories from the Thirty Birds* Limits to hospitality in the Islamic world* Bereket / Baraka* Rumi's Guest HouseHomework* Kerim Vakfı* Stories from the Thirty Birds* Cemalnur Sargut: A Sufi Life of Love, Suffering, and Divine Union* Cemalnur Sargut Books* Kerim Guc - Instagram* Kyoto University Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies* Ken'an Rifâî Chair of Islamic Studies at Peking University* University of North Carolina (UNC) Ken'an Rifâî Chair in Islamic StudiesTranscriptChris: [00:00:00] Welcome to the End of Tourism podcast, Kerim. Hoș geldiniz.Kerim: Thank you very much for having me.Chris: Yeah, it's my pleasure. Thank you for joining me today. Perhaps you could tell our listeners, where you find yourself and what the world looks like there for you.Kerim: Well, first of all, I'm an immigrant also. I was an immigrant. I lived in the US for a while, and then I came back to to my own country. And things are very different here than there, than it is in US. From the perspective of what I did... I was actually an engineer, and I was working in the IT fields, and I was living the American dream, and then I realized that there was some kind of an emptiness, and this whole thing, and I decided to go back to Turkey and [00:01:00] study Sufism, and since my mother was actually a Sufi teacher. She decided to actually move this whole Sufism into academia. So, she basically established an institute in Istanbul - Üsküdar Istanbul - at the University of Üsküdar. The difference between this institute and the other schools, the people like myself, like engineers, coming from different disciplines, including lawyers and whatnot, they were not able to do their masters or PhDs in Sufism, because in other universities, they require for you to actually have theology backgrounds. But with this new establishment, we were able to educate people from all different disciplines and, [00:02:00] so we basically concentrated on ethics rather than the religion itself.So, a lot of people coming from different areas, especially the white-collar people, living this, like - how do I say that? - it's a world of money and materialism and all kind of that stuff. They're coming to our institute and realizing that money or career is not the only goal for life.And we started to concentrating on things like spirituality more than the materialist world.Chris: Thank you. Well, I'm very much looking forward to exploring these themes with you and a little bit of the work that you do with Kerim Vakfı.Kerim: Sure.Chris: And so for the last season of the podcast, I'm very much interested in focusing on different hospitality traditions and practices from around the [00:03:00] world, as I mentioned to you. And, one of the key themes of the podcast is radical hospitality. Now, the word “radical” comes from Latin and it means “rooted,” or we might even say “local” or “living.”And so. I'm curious if there are any radical hospitality practices that you think are unique to your place, to Istanbul, or to the Sufi community that you might be willing to share with us today?Kerim: Well, Istanbul, actually, is a very metropolitan city. So like the other metropolitan cities, we kind of lost that - what we call the hospitality of Anatolia. Anatolia is basically the Eastern part of Istanbul. And in Istanbul, we have, right now, 25 million people in a very small area. And in older days when the population was smaller, [00:04:00] we were able to show our hospitality, because the Turkish hospitality is very famous, actually. In this area the hospitality is very famous, including the, you know, Greek and Arab hospitality. Usually, it's a little bit different than the western countries.For instance, we welcome people - we used to, and probably still, in the countryside - the people coming from other cities or countries or whatnot. The locals actually helped them out as much as possible. They even invite them to their own houses and let them stay for how long they want to stay. And this was kind of like a regular thing in the old days. It's still going on very much in the eastern side of Turkey, pretty much in the countryside. [00:05:00] But Istanbul, like other cosmopolitan cities, we kinda lost that. You know, neighbourly things. We have a lot of neighbours and we we have always good... we used to have a lot of good relationship with them, but nowadays, again, because of this material world, we kind of lost this hospitality.So from the Sufi point of view, hospitality is very important. It's interesting that you mentioned the “radical.” You were talking about where “radical” come from, but you didn't talk about where “hospitality” comes from. See, there is a relationship between the hospital and the hospitality and the way the Sufis look at things is very much like the illnesses in our body are our guests. So, we don't think that they're bad for you. They're actually [00:06:00] the guests of our house for a time being. So we show them the hospitality as much as we can, and then hopefully we say goodbye to them.Chris: Wow. Wow. That's fascinating. I do know that the term “hospitality,” hospital is part of that, and hospital historically came from these notions of hospitality. I mean, in the western world in, and at least in the Christian world, there's a kind of unauthorized history in which a lot of this hospitality, as you mentioned, that was offered to the stranger, was done by the families or the individual houses or homes within a community. A stranger would come and they would ask for hospitality, ask for food and shelter, and the family would have to decide whether to do that and how to do it. [00:07:00] And then at some point, the institution of the Church kind of stepped in and said, “you know what? You don't have to do this anymore. When the stranger comes to the community, when they show up at your door, just send them to us. Just send them to the church and we'll give them what they need.”And so this did a number of things, but the two most obvious ones, I think, are that the family, the individuals in the family and the community on a grassroots level, slowly ended up losing their ability, their unique kind of familial or personal ability to host the stranger. And at the same time, of course, the church used this as a way to try to convert, the stranger.Kerim: Right.Chris: And so I'm curious if there's anything in that realm that you see in the Islamic world, maybe in the Sufi world... you mentioned that, since the [00:08:00] imposition of modernity and the industrial Revolution in the world, we see less and less possibilities for small-scale, grassroots hospitality between people, in part, because there's so much movement, and of course, because the hospital has its brothers and sisters in the sense of the “hotel” and the “hostel.”Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: So, I'm curious if there's anything like that that comes to mind for you in regards to the Islamic world.Kerim: Well, one thing is about like the Ottomans. The Ottomans, when they were coming from the Anatolia and then started conquering all those places in the Balkan area, Greece and Bulgaria, Hungary and all those places, after they actually conquered, they sent Sufis to those places. And, like in Hungary, there is a person, his name is [00:09:00] Gül Baba, which means “Rose Father.” That's what they call him. He actually has his own tekke (tekke is like a church for Sufis). And this place, it's like a school more, more like a school, but it's a religious school.And in this tekke, he actually finds all those people with needs, and he pretty much helped them out with all those needs. And the people coming from different religions, they actually started liking people like from the Turks' point of view, because the Turks were symbolized by these Sufi movements. And instead of, you know, pushing people to convert or demolishing the churches and rebuilding mosques and stuff. Instead of that, they actually [00:10:00] welcomed people from all over the world, or all over the place, basically, to stay in the tekke, to eat and to get education in the tekke. So this was a great strategy of Ottomans. That's how they actually stayed in Europe for almost like 600 years. So that was very much like, you know, their strategy, I think. And in a good way.Chris: Yeah, you know, in my research I found out that there's still Sufi orders in the Balkans a group called the Bektashi.Kerim: Right.Chris: And of course, with the very little historical understanding that I had, I was very surprised. I had no idea. But of course, when I eventually went to visit the regions that my father is from, I saw churches, synagogues, and mosques, all in the same little neighbourhoods.[00:11:00] So, quite an impressive kind of understanding that the major religions in those places could coexist for so long. And that in the context of someone who grew up in North America, who thought it was the opposite (previously) and such things are so difficult.Kerim: Right. Right.Chris: So, Kerim, a mutual friend of ours has told me, that in the Turkish language, there is a phrase (and excuse my pronunciation). The phrase is tanri misafiri.Kerim: Right.Chris: Which translates into English as something like “God's guest.”Kerim: Right.Chris: Or “the guest sent by God.”Kerim: Right. Right.Chris: And so I'm wondering if you could speak about this phrase, maybe what it means to you and where you think it comes from?Kerim: Well, in Anatolia, it's a very famous phrase. And like I said previously, you know anybody coming from somewhere else, who comes into somebody's [00:12:00] house, is allowed to stay in the house as “the guest of God,” because we believe that God has sent that guest to us and we try to... you know, it's more like making that guest happy means making God happy. So, that's the understanding of older generations.In today's metropolitan areas, I don't think it's possible because of the security problems and everything. But like I said, in the countryside, people are very welcoming when it comes to this, because it is very important that knowing that person is actually coming from God, from Allah, so we have to take care of that person as much as possible to please God, actually.So that's how it is. I still see that in many cities in the [00:13:00] more eastern side of Turkey or south side of Turkey, or even north side of Turkey except in the bigger cities. But in the smaller cities, people are much more welcoming, again because of this specific idiom, actually.Chris: From tanri misafiri?Kerim: Right. Tanri means “God” in our language. In the original Turkish language, it's tanri, and, misafiri means “ the guest.”Chris: Yeah. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us.Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: And so when guests arrive in a home, you know, in English, at least in, in the context of the older traditions, it is said that the guest or the potential guest, the stranger, asks for hospitality. They don't necessarily say “ they ask for food,” which we can imagine that surely they [00:14:00] do. They don't necessarily say that “they ask for shelter” or “accommodation,” which we surely we could imagine they do. But the literature often says they ask for hospitality.And so, when we think of hospitality today, we often think about people sitting around a table eating food together. And so I'm curious if there's a shared understanding among Sufis or at least the community that you live among and in, about the importance of both eating food and eating food together.Kerim: Togetherness is probably one of the most important things in the Islamic religion. Because like even our way of worshiping God - Allah - we try to do that in a union as much as possible. It is very interesting, the words that “religion” comes from.[00:15:00] Re- means “again,” and legion means “union.”So it's almost like “religion” itself means “to recreate the union,” “to reshape the union,” “ to have the union back,” because we have the tendency to be alone. And even you can imagine that in the western countries, in the western world, a lot of people want to be alone.Like, there's a lot of individuals rather than a group of people. And in the eastern world, it's a little bit different. We are more like family-oriented people. We try to do things together. I mean, there are advantages and disadvantages obviously, but there is a difference between them.So, we always had this [notion that] “the more is better,” basically. You know, more people is better. So, we help each other, [00:16:00] we understand each other, we talk about our problems. When we try to solve them, it's easier together. And if there's pain, you know, the pain actually, can be eased with more people, easier, I think, compared to have this pain alone. So, again, we're more family-oriented people.And the Sufi are very much like that. The Sufi always pray together, and they think that it creates a n energy, basically. It produces an energy that basically helps all of them at the same time, in a union.Chris: Hmm hmm. And do you find that sitting down for a meal together also creates that kind of union, or recreates as you were saying?Kerim: I think so. Doing any kind of activities, including eating... eating is basically the most common activity [00:17:00] that we do in our daily life and getting together, to talk about our things together, and discuss things together, all those things - togetherness, when it comes to the idea of togetherness - I think, is beautiful.Chris: Hmm, hmm. Amen. Yeah, I very much agree with that, Kerim.And so, when we think about hospitality, and we think about food, we often imagine big banquet tables and as you said, this sense of togetherness and celebration.But there's also, you know, from what little I've read, there's also this important aspect of the religious life in the Islamic world, and perhaps in the Sufi world as well that points to, maybe not the absence of food, but a different way of being fed, and a different way of feeding that doesn't [00:18:00] include the food we're used to, the kind of material food. And we often refer to this as fasting. And so, there's a beautiful video that you sent me, Kerim, of your mother speaking, and she recalls a phrase in that video from her own mother who said that “when we welcome suffering, we make honey out of pain.”And so, this is a question I very much want to ask you because I've fasted myself quite intensely. I'm curious, what is the honey that comes from fasting? Or, what do you think is the honey that comes from fasting?Kerim: Right? First of all, yeah, fasting is in our religion. So, we basically do that one month in the whole year. It's called Ramadan. In some cases, we actually do that because our Prophet Muhammad, when he [00:19:00] lived, he was fasting every Monday and every Thursday. So it was like a common practice for some of the religious people. And at least we do that one month in the whole year.And obviously, that month is a little bit difficult, you know, because we not only stop eating, we also stopped drinking and all that stuff. In theory, we should not be lying, we should not be telling bad things to other people or gossiping and all that stuff, but usually we do during that time. I mean, in theory, we should not be doing that.So it's like a whole discipline thing - the whole fasting. And at the end of the thirty days, you become a really, really different person. And first of all, one thing that [00:20:00] I feel, is that you understand the people who do not have food. We still have people in the world, unfortunately, in Africa, and all those places, the people, having less access to food as we do, and we feel like, oh yeah we don't actually thank God for all those things that he's giving to us. And this is the time that you start thinking about the reality and start thanking God for actually giving us all that food, twenty-four hours, seven days [a week]. And when you are fasting during that time, you are understanding the feeling of these people, who are like poor and who cannot eat.There are people now, in the social media, we are seeing people, who never had [00:21:00] chocolates in their life. The people living in these countries or in the cities or metropolitan cities, we never think about these things.So, we take these things for granted, and during that time of fasting, you start thinking about these stuff and then you become more thankful, and that's basically honey itself, after the suffering. And I wouldn't say “suffering,” because we don't suffer as much as they do, honestly.And we're just telling our egos, “just stop for a day to do bad things and stop eating,” and all that stuff that ego wants to have. And again, it's at the end of the thirty days, you become a new person because now you have a different mentality. Now, in the other eleven months, you still forget about these things, but [00:22:00] again, it comes through. It's like a cycle.Chris: Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree with you that, you know, gratitude is the honey and...Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: ...I remember the fasting that I did over the course of four years, and I don't know if it was as intense as the fasting that happens during Ramadan, but doing that fasting and trying to feed something other than myself for a time imbued a degree of hospitality and gratitude that I don't think I had ever felt before. And it sticks to me. It sticks to my bones to this day. And it's something that, like you said, I also have to constantly remind myself of those moments when I sit down to eat a meal, because it's so easy to forget.Kerim: Absolutely. Absolutely. And one thing is [00:23:00] basically during that time of fasting, you basically stop feeding your ego, and start feeding your spirit, basically. That's what I think.Chris: That's beautiful. Yeah. I absolutely understand that. Thank you, Kerim.So my next question is around the word “ submission.” So, translated into English, the word “Islam” means “submission.” Now I've read that this word can also be translated to mean “servants of God.” Servants of God.Now in English, the word “servant” can be synonymous with “host.” A servant and a host. Now, there's a book by an author named Mona Siddiqui called Hospitality in Islam. And in that book she writes, it's actually a quote, but she writes,“'What is faith?' The Prophet replied, ‘the giving of [00:24:00] food and the exchange of greetings.' He ends on a most dramatic note saying, “a house which is not entered by guests is not entered by angels.”Kerim: Perfect. Yeah.Chris: And it seems that in this phrase, the Prophet is suggesting that the way we are with guests and strangers has something to do with how we are with the divine, which I think you kind of alluded to a little bit earlier.And so I'm curious, is this something that you've seen in your own days or in those of others that you know? Is hospitality a practice that connects us to the divine?Kerim: Absolutely. Because reaching God, you need to reach people first. To be able to reach God... when I say “reach God,” meaning be in communication with Him, is basically being in a communication [00:25:00] with the people he created. So, to serve the people is basically serving him from the Islamic point of view.So, and that's a hadith that you mentioned in the book. It's a hadith of Prophet Mohammed, like you said. And Prophet Mohammed always... it was a common practice that he was hosting maybe, you know, 10-15 people every night. And he was a poor person, by the way. I mean, he doesn't have much money, much food or anything, but they share. There was a time that... there's a story that somebody, actually, one of his apostles rather, asks him to visit him for a dinner. So he invites him to a dinner.But during his conversation, Prophet Mommed said, “can I bring my friends too?”[00:26:00]And the apostle says, “of course you can bring your friends.” And he brings hundreds of people. Now, the host only have some bread, and maybe a little bit meat, and a little bit rice in the cup.So, he was ashamed because he doesn't have any money, and the Prophet Mohammed is going to bring all those guests together, and he didn't know what to do. But he uses submission, basically.He said, well, if Prophet Mohammed is coming, then something is going to happen. And as he was thinking all those things, Prophet Mohammed puts his hand on top of the rice holder. And every time he was putting rice onto the dishes, the rice never ends, the meat never ends. So he served like 200 people during this invitation and the food never ended.[00:27:00]So he was happy for his submission, basically.Chris: Wow. Beautiful. Thank you, Kerim.Kerim: Of course.Chris: You know, you have this beautiful book - that is still in the mail, unfortunately I haven't got my hands on it yet, but I'm very much looking forward to it - called Stories From the Thirty Birds, which I understand is inspired by The Conference of the Birds, this incredible book from I think the 1300s.And I'm curious if you could tell us a little bit about that book and what, if any inspiration or maybe teachings around hospitality that come from both, The Conference of the Birds and how you've employed it in your book.Kerim: Right. The Conference of the Birds is really a beautiful story of Farid ud-Din Attar who lived in Nishapur, which is in Khorasan, in Iran, today. And he was one of the very famous [00:28:00] Sufis at that time. He was the teacher of Rumi. A lot of people know Rumi. And he wrote this book about birds, millions of birds, who are in the process of going to their king, which is the phoenix (or what we call it simurg). And during that time, during that travel, they go through seven valleys, and in each valley some of the birds get lost, because the valleys actually symbolize things.Like, the first valley is the valley of intention. So, a lot of birds actually don't have the intention to reach their king. The king is basically symbolizing Allah (God), and the birds are symbolizing us very much, and we are getting [00:29:00] lost during the time of life. Like, our intention is basically this world. If our intention is staying in this world, then we stay in this world. And that's the valley of intention.And a lot of birds, like half of them, actually, get lost in this stage.And the second valley is the valley of love. And the birds that get lost in this valley are the ones that actually think the beauty is in this world, rather than they don't see the beauty of God himself. So they see the shadow of that beauty in the world, but they're content with that beauty, and they don't really want to move on.And again, the third valley is the value of wisdom. And the birds that get lost in this valley are the ones who think that knowledge, [00:30:00] in this world, is more important than anything else, and they don't realize the source of the knowledge is actually their king.So on and so forth, they go through the seven valleys and at the end of the seventh valley, only thirty birds remain. And the thirty birds, they're ready to see their king, and they go through this mountain called Qaf, where the  simurg, the phoenix lives (behind the mountain). And it's very difficult to get there, basically. When they get there, they can't find the king over there. They only find a mirror. So, they realize the king is themselves, but more specifically, the union of thirty birds. So simurg - the [00:31:00] phoenix - in Iranian, in Persian means “thirty birds,” actually. Si is “thirty.” “Burg” is “bird,” actually.So from what we understand is, the union of ourselves, what we are seeing, is our reflection, because the king is actually a perfect mirror. But we don't see ourselves, only, we see the union of thirty birds together. So there are birds that we don't think live together. For instance, a hawk doesn't live with a smaller bird together, but in this union, they live together. There in one. And they use whatever advantage they have together. So it's almost like being one and using the characteristics of every single bird [00:32:00] itself.Chris: And I imagine that someone growing up in a culture like that, whether back then or more recently, and hearing this story or hearing it multiple times throughout their life or maybe once a year, that that notion also might arise in the way that they are with others, the way they are with strangers.Kerim: Right.Chris: And so, I have one final question for you, if that's all right?Kerim: Absolutely.Chris: So, before we say farewell I'd like to ask you about Istanbul, and I'd like to ask you about the limits to hospitality. So, last year, on a trip I took to the city I met a friend of a mutual friend of ours, and for a couple of hours we walked around the Karakoy neighbourhood and he spoke to me about how the city has changed quite a bit over the last decade.For many people who grew up in Istanbul, the city [00:33:00] might now appear to be very difficult to live in. He said that the cost of living has skyrocketed. The rents, the rent prices or costs have doubled. And much of this is a combination of tourism and gentrification in the city.Now it seems that many religious traditions speak of the importance of welcoming strangers and offering them hospitality, but they also speak of the limits to such hospitality. In one particular, hadith or saying of the Prophet Mohammed, it is said that “hospitality is for three days. Anything more is charity or sadaqah.”Again, excuse my pronunciation.Kerim: No. That's perfect pronunciation.Chris: And so I'm curious, you mentioned a little bit earlier, in the Sufi community and perhaps in the Islamic communities, there is this notion of togetherness, but also that “more is better.” And so I'm [00:34:00] curious in the context of what's happening in Istanbul and what's happening in many places around the world, do you think there should also be limits to the hospitality that is offered to the guest or stranger?Kerim: Well, of course. I mean, of course we have financial issues here, and it's very difficult for us to actually serve other people as much as we want to. But again, when we are together, even if it's very difficult to live in the city, it's still something, you know?What I see: the rent went up, like you said, so the people try to move into their family houses, the houses there of their families and everything. And in western countries, it's difficult. You usually don't do this kind of stuff, but in our community, it's much easier to do these things. And, you know, the families welcome the children [00:35:00] more than other countries. So that's something I think that's a positive thing.But to the strangers. What do we do for strangers? Obviously, we do as much as possible. We may not be able to serve them as much as we used to, obviously, before this inflation. And we have the highest inflation in the world, or probably the second-highest inflation. So again, it's difficult, and Istanbul became probably one of the most expensive cities in the world. But even that, again, we may not be able to take them to dinner every night, but we serve what we have in the house, like in the Prophet Mohammed's story.Whatever we have, we share. And, we call it bereket, as in Arabic baraka, they call it. Baraka is something [00:36:00] like... we use it for money. It's not “more money.” That's not important. How do I say that? I don't even know how to say it in English, but it's more like “the luck of the money, itself.” Basically, you may be able to buy more stuff with less money based on your luck. That's basically what we call it. Bereket. So the bereket is much more important than the amount of the money or the financial thing. And the bereket always goes up when you share it.Chris: Beautiful. Yeah, I love that. I mean, in English, not to reduce it at all, but in English we say, quality over quantity.”Kerim: Yeah, absolutely.Chris: And you said that, in order to offer hospitality or the hospitality that we would like to offer to our guests, sometimes maybe that means not doing it all the time, [00:37:00] because one simply cannot. Right. It's not possible.Kerim: Right.Chris: But yeah, it's a really beautiful point.Kerim: Rumi is a very important Sufi, probably known by many Americans. Even the world knows him. He wrote a poem, which is about the guests. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna read that, uh, it's called the Guest House and it goes like:This human life is a guest house. Every dawn, a new visitor arrives.A gladness, a sadness, a pettiness, a flash of insights all come knocking, unannounced.Welcome them all. Make room even if a band of sorrows storms inand clears your rooms of comfort.Still honour every guest.[00:38:00] Perhaps they empty you to prepare you for something brighter.The gloomy thought, the shame, the bitterness,greet them at the door with a smile, and lead them inside.Be thankful for whoever comes, for each is sent as a messenger from the beyond.So that's a poem by Rumi, and I think it pretty much explains the whole hospitality thing.Chris: Yeah, that's a gorgeous, gorgeous poem. I love that. I'll make sure that's up on the End of Tourism website when the episode launches.And so finally, Kerim, uh, I'd like to thank you so very much for being willing to join me today, to be willing to speak in a language that is not your first, or mother tongue, and to share with us some of the beauty that has touched your days. Before we say goodbye, [00:39:00] perhaps you could tell our listeners how they can follow and learn more about Kerim Vakfı, Stories from the 30 Birds, your book, and any other projects you might want them to know about.Kerim: We have a Sufi centre in North Carolina, at the University of North Carolina. We have a centre in China, Beijing University, and another center in Kyoto University in Japan. And my mother's book about the commentary of some Quranic verses is the one. For instance, Yasin is available through Amazon and my book Stories from the 30 Birds is available on Barnes and Noble and all that other places in US.Chris: Beautiful. Well, I'll make sure that those links are all available on the End of Tourism website and on my Substack when the episode comes out. [00:40:00] And on behalf of our listeners, tesekkur, tesekkur.Kerim: I thank you. Get full access to Chris Christou at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe

The Power of Tears | Shaykh Muḥammad Sāqib IqbālThe video, "The Power of Tears" by Shaykh Muhammad Saqib Iqbal, emphasizes the significance of crying out of fear and love for Allah (God) in Islam (0:30).Key points from the video include:Forgiveness of Sins: The video highlights that tears shed in fear of Allah can lead to the forgiveness of sins (0:47-0:51) and can even save one from hellfire (2:26-2:32). A narration mentions that if all believers with sins as vast as mountains were present, their sins would be forgiven due to the tears of one crying person (1:09-1:17).Angels' Prayers: It is stated that when a person cries in devotion, angels also weep and pray to Allah to accept the intercession of those crying for those who are not (1:32-1:44).Protection from Hellfire: The speaker shares a belief that the parts of the body touched by tears shed in fear of Allah will not be touched by the fire of hell (3:19-3:27).Courage and Fearlessness: Crying out of fear of Allah is presented as a sign of courage, making a person fearless of worldly concerns and people (3:51-4:00). The speaker emphasizes that fearing Allah leads to the world fearing you, while not fearing Allah leads to fearing everything else (4:00-4:03, 4:16-4:25).Importance of Ramadan: The video also briefly touches upon the importance of Ramadan, suggesting that tears come more easily during this holy month (3:45-3:49).Preserving Tears: Mawla Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is quoted advising against wiping tears from the face, as these tears will be present on the Day of Judgment and lead to Allah's forgiveness (2:48-3:00). #shaykhsaqibiqbal #ramadan #islam#shaykhsaqibiqbal #ramadan #islam

Dear readers, we are in sura 79 Alnaziaat, The Forceful Chargers النازعات. Which means the angels that carry out the orders from God (here and there) , through the unseen realm! What a beautiful sura its verses are powerful, the questions make a space for us to reflect? ( which is harder to create ; you or the sky ?) How do we get to know our Maker? Through His creations , Through His words , Through His names and Attributes. So dear readers what are the names of God in this sura? Rabih ربه Lord, Rabak ربك Your Lord, Allah الله God.

Dear listeners, we are in sura 89 Alfajir Daybreak الفجر. What names of God are used here? Rabic ربك Rabih ربهRabi ربي all translated as your Lord. Also the basmalah : In the name of Allah /God the Lord of Mercy the Giver of Mercy has Allah's names بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The Mercy , The Giver of Mercy . It is said before every sura ( except one) . So how do we use Allah's 99 names in our daily lives. Before we do anything we use the Most Merciful the Giver of Mercy. As we start our day use His name Alfatah الفتاح translated as the The Opener as well as The Victorious.

Dear listeners, we are in sura 110 AlNaser Victory/ Help النصر . What are the names of God used in this sura? Allah الله : God and ربك Rab : your lord. These are the two references to Allahs names in this surah. Help and victory come from Allah, the religion is Allah's. Praise and glorify Your Lord and ask for His forgiveness. To succeed and get help and Victory in your life. Ya Allah guide us and give us victory and forgiveness

Dear listeners , we are in sura 112 Aliklas Purity of faith الإخلاص. The Oneness of God. Who is God? He is One, He is like nothing we know , and He does not have human qualities of birth child partner parents and there is nothing like Him. There are 99 names and attributes for Allah. 3 are in this short sura 1- Allah: God -2-AlAhad الاحد which means the one, the one and only , the one like no other , oneness . 3-AlSamad الصمد which means the perfect , the sustainer , satisfier of all needs. Q. So how do we use His names? In Duaa :

Happy Ramadan! In this episode I am talking all about the lessons that you can gain from Ramadan and I am also giving you a 30 day ramadan challenge! The lessons Slowing down Being intentional  Human responsibility  Discipline  Belief in Self Less judgment  Breaking bad habits  The Ramadan Challenge: Add in 2 new positive habits and ditch 2 “bad” habits  Wake up early by 9 am max  First thing in the morning say Good morning to yourself and God  Read one chapter of the Quran/ 10- 20 pages of any book Move your body for a minimum of 30 minutes  Break your fast with hydrating foods (fruits/ vegetables/ water/ soups) Reduce screen time by half  Connect and Talk to God Act of Service  End night journal prompts: What am I proud of myself for today ? How did I connect to Allah/ God/ the divine today? What did I learn today? What would I like to forgive myself for? What am I grateful for ? Thank you for tuning in x Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and rate this podcast. I appreciate YOU so much! ----------------------------------------- Get My Guide: https://www.ro-hik.com/books/p/28-days-to-home-a-guide-to-your-soul ----------------------------------------- Follow me on: @andbeyondpodcast For health coaching: @rohikbynoor  @noorkaawach --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chaosintheattic/support

It's all about prayer [salah]. We'll get into our first encounter with prayer, how to learn the salah and tools you can uses in order to get close to Allah[God]. 

It's all about prayer [salah]. We'll get into our first encounter with prayer, how to learn the salah and tools you can uses in order to get close to Allah[God]. 

In episode 2 Chapter 5 "Inspiring Stories", host of The Heart Matters podcast Louis (Ibn Leon) Morris, shares his story of how Allah (God) guided him to the way of life Islam while in prison. He shares how he had reverence for the Qur'an due to a childhood experience, and then how the Qur'an inspired him to become Muslim in young adulthood. Also, Louis is looking for Muslims who want to come on the podcast and share their inspiring Islamic story. If any Muslims are interested, please email Louis at: spiritualcoaching.150@gmail.com Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member so we can continue to bring you content and interviews that nourish the mind and heart. It is our mission to bring good to the world by educating ourselves and others from the inside out. Truly, the heart matters. https://plus.acast.com/s/the-heart-matters-with-life-coach-louis-morris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you ask a muslim, “Who is Jesus?” he will say, “Jesus, peace be upon him, is a prophet of Allah.” And while Christians will agree, He is a prophet of God, He is not merely a prophet of God. And of course when they use the term Allah (God) they mean a very different thing than we do. If you ask a Latter-Day Saint, “Who is Jesus?” they will say, “He is God the Father's firstborn spirit-child in heaven and the spirit brother of lucifer. He was begotten on earth by God the Father by natural means, not by the Holy Ghost and is now one amongst many millions of other gods.” If you ask a Jehovah's witness, they will say, “Jesus is not God almighty, he is God's son. Jesus is God's first creation, inferior to God the Father. And Jesus is actually Michael the archangel.” Like any lie, satan prefers to sprinkle truth in amongst falsehood so as to feign authenticity. Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is a prophet of God, but He is not created. His origin is one of eternity, begotten of the Father. He is the firstborn of all creation, but this is a title of preeminence, not descriptive of a point of time where he came into being. Like the person of the Father, the son has eternally existed. And so when Christians are asked who is Jesus, we recite the Athanasian creed.

A Revolutionary breakdown of "The Divine Matrix", how Muslims are the sole Key holders to unlocking it.How to become a successful Muslim spiritually and physically. Allah (God) has placed us in a Matrix. Can we make our way out? We as Muslims have the key to unlocking that Matrix, finding the riches of the world and even achieving spiritual super powers! Only On The Ansari Podcast

Season 4 of Ti Time Podcast by Atiya J is all about Conquering Fear. We have the right to live with freedom. justice, and equality...overall peace. Fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) is what I've identified as the major factor in stopping us from living a peaceful, purposeful, fulfilled life. So let's conquer it! Enjoy the Ti! Episode 5 I approach the big lies they tell about The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan with my Bro. Tre X (you've seen him before)! We conquer fear by addressing the popular false narrative of our beloved leader, teacher, and guide, who we believe to be The Messiah in our midst today, the Divine Light guiding us towards oneness with Allah (God). Tune in Live! SUPPORT THE PODCAST: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/titimepodcast/support PODCAST MERCH: ⁠byatiyaj.com/titimepodcast⁠ SUBSCRIBE HERE: ⁠⁠patreon.com/titimepodcast⁠⁠ WATCH HERE: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@byatiyaj⁠ LISTEN HERE: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/titimepodcast⁠ PODCAST SUMMARY: Ti Time Podcast is your moment to tune into the frequency of you. Be You! That's what I support and I select uncomfortable topics in hopes of creating conversation and discussion that will help us be more aware of who we are and what we do. Like, Subscribe, Share with your friends & Thank you for supporting The People's Favorite Self-Help Spiritual Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/titimepodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/titimepodcast/support

In Islam, the concept of attaching one's happiness primarily to people is approached with caution and balance. While human relationships and connections are important, Islam teaches believers to place ultimate reliance and attachment on Allah (God) rather than solely depending on human interactions for their happiness. The Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad  PBUH emphasize the importance of putting one's faith in Allah and finding contentment through a strong connection with Him. Islam encourages believers to strike a balance between forming meaningful relationships with others and maintaining a strong connection with Allah. While people can bring happiness and support, attachment solely to them can lead to disappointment and instability. By focusing on faith, personal responsibility, gratitude, and reliance on God, Muslims aim to find lasting contentment and joy while navigating the complexities of human relationships. This episode discusses a few personal tips in how to avoid attaching your happiness to people. Anas reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Leave the world to its people. Whoever takes from the world more than what suffices him, he has taken a portion of his ruin while he is unaware.” Source: al-Firdaws lil-Daylamī 363 ☆ This episode is sponsored by Rabata. We worked with Rabata for last school year & we are working with them again to remind you guys that the Fall 2023 registration will be open from August 15th and classes will start September 11. They offer online courses to ladies ages 17 and up in sira, hadith, fiqh, aqida, tajwid, Arabic, tafsir, purification, history, and more. They have different level classes as well so you can find the perfect fit for you. Use the link below to register http://rabata.info/islamicfeelings --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/islamicfeelings/support

I Am More Than My HIV | Marcus Muhammad Healing With Angelica Podcast With Guest Marcus Muhammad Episode: 67 On this episode we will be discussing Marcus Muhammad journey with being born with HIV and how he's been thriving despite the diagnosis. Guest Info: Marcus Muhammad is an Entrepreneur, Author and Inspirational speaker. Marcus was born in July of 1993 in Washington DC and was diagnosed HIV positive at birth. He is a husband and a father of two. Marcus strongly believes that Allah (God) has him on the journey of being healed of HIV. As a student and follower of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Marcus sees himself using the teachings to heal, inspire and elevate many across the globe. One of his missions in life is to share his story as a testimony of the love of God, Gods miraculous healing powers and the power of faith and overcoming adversity. More info about The Host, Angelica X Website https://linktr.ee/healwithangelica Are you ready to heal? book a 1 hour 1 on 1 consultation call with me that will include a complete guide to start your personal healing journey, my ebook “HEAL YOURSELF” for FREE and so much more. . . LINK BELOW TO BOOK https://calendly.com/healingwithangelica/healingwithangelica_ Including a guide to healing ebook ”Heal Yourself” Ebook ⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://payhip.com/b/PK23F Heyyyy! Would you like to advertise your business or product on my podcast and YouTube channel to reach more potential clients/customers? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Email: healwithangelica@yahoo.com Also remember too. . . Subscribe to podcast: (Available on all podcast streams) https://anchor.fm/healingwithangelica Subscribe to Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGGovfyBC92zSj1GITVnUIg Support this podcast with a small donation to help sustain future episodes! & If you have generous heart please donate what you can afford, to continue the support of this platform to get the message out to those in need of healing. ❤️‍

Interested in hearing a Somali poem? Here is a Somali poem. The poet is essentially exhorting everyone to do their best effort. Just Listen; don't worry about understanding everything. Insha'Allah (God willing), I will endeavor to locate and translate some excellent poems for you in the upcoming days. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/learnsomalilanguage/support

In this enlightening episode, Dr. Shazwani Kamarudin sees the light in the hours of darkness. HE dives into the term referring to the ‘cold light of the night' or ‘heatless light' also known as the ‘light of the moon' in seeing the light between life and death experience for her newborn and the struggle behind her journey of premature childbirth. She reflects on the story of motherhood and hopes for a miracle through powerful prayers, especially from the moments of survival. The horrifying yet miraculous incident has taken a new meaning to her divine purpose in life. In the spirit of faith, her trust in Allah (God) has restored a deep sense of His love for finding insight, tranquility, and acceptance to shine the light in any situation.

Muslims fast for the entire month in gratitude to Allah~God for His final revelation Which is the Quran, the scripture that Muslims follow and is believed to be the last revelation. Muslims,  restrict their appetites during daylight hours, pay attention to their spirituality, work on mindfully, eating, praying, practice patience, avoid disputes and arguments, devote more time to prayers, and reciting and understanding the Quran and its message. One of the most significant objective of the fast is to realize, remember and restore the purpose of our lives that is the centrality of God or Allah in our lives. Ramadan is a period of practicing extra awareness our spirituality and discipline our ego that usually causes us trouble. And to take all this practice and training through out the year. We work with greater dedication excel in kindness, patience, and forgiveness in Ramadan and to carry it through the rest of the months.   Healthy adult Muslims fast frp, before sunrise to sunset. During this Muslims cannot drink (even water), eat, or be in any intimate situation.  Muslims maintain the standard five daily prayers and strive for additonal nightly prayers.  I hope you have enjoyed listening to all this very important, interesting and beneficial information. For more details, visit my website: LightupwithShua.com and I will share some useful links and information on this subject. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who is the founder & Owner of LightupwithShua Podcast and LUWS ACADEMY LLC ? visit: lightupwithshua.com I am a student of knowledge of multiple disciplines, a mentor, and an intercultural & Interfaith practitioner, who wants to help heal and solve problems by bringing awareness for conscious living and conscious parenting to people with flexible mindset. Currently hosting a weekly podcast on LightupwithShua podcast on conscious living and parenting. Additionally, actively conducting Self - Healing & Transformation Training Workshops in Pakistan and in the USA. For more information please inquire through email or phone. You can connect with me here: Shua@lightupwithshua.com *Remember to LIKE, SHARE, RATE and REVIEW. Thank you. Shua - شعا ع https://linktr.ee/Shuakhan Copyright © 2017-2022 LUWS ACADEMY LLC & LightupwithShua Podcast All Rights Reserved Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseLightupwithShua

On this episode of the Somali Nomad, Shiro and Hamza join the podcast for the first time to discuss their Islamic insights on the Dunya (Life), materialism, social media, 2022 controversies, attachment to Allah (God), distractions of Shaitan (The Devil) and how Muslims in the 21st century should hold themselves accountable.

Have you ever wondered what's life after death. How can I get closer to my maker and creator. This episode we go over basic way to become more focused on the eternal life which is the hereafter. Lets focus get more devote to God Almighty. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diyaeelddin-judeh/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diyaeelddin-judeh/support

Four seasons: Gu' (spring) Xagaa (summer) jiilaal or diraac (diraa') (winter) dayr (fall or autumn) Spring is really a season of celebration for the nomads. However, people in the rural area don't really care about alternating weather conditions. They can have their celebration anytime they want. The way we calculate someone's age is based on how many springs they've lived. weird, right? I will talk about this in another episode insha Allah (God-willing) Keep learning, Keep having fun! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/learnsomalilanguage/support

Before moving forward, it is imperative to know the basic similarities and differences between each of the three Abrahamic religions—the world's three biggest religions. They are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. All three religions consider themselves monotheistic faiths, as they all claim to worship one God. While Muslims and Jews are indeed strict monotheists worshipping one God as a single, indivisible entity, Christians, on the other hand, while thinking they are monotheists worshipping one God, are not, as they believe in the Trinity. Christians claim they believe in one God represented by or manifests himself in three persons. They claim they do not believe in three individual Gods; instead, they think they believe in one God who manifests himself through different identities, roles, and images: the Father in the Heavens, the Son, Jesus Christ, who came down in human form as the savior, and the Holy Spirit, the Counselor.    Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and God Himself. They believe that Jesus Christ has a divine and created nature. They also believe that each of these personas in the Trinity equally co-exists as God and that each of these entities is eternal and all-powerful. They do not think that each is a separate entity; instead, they believe that God the Father is the God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This, of course, is a contradiction; common logic dictates that there cannot be three Gods at the same time as there is one God. It is either one or three, as one and three are not the same.   Prophets are to be loved and respected, but no form of worship is directed toward them, nor are they treated as demi-gods or intermediaries between humanity and God. Christians appointed Jesus Christ to divine heights he was not entitled to, which eventually became the dominant Christian belief. Jesus Christ was a mighty messenger sent from God, but he was only a mortal human. He was born to a mother; he ate and drank, slept, and used the bathroom; he suffered pain and emotions. This differentiates him from God the Almighty, as God does not need to eat, sleep, or drink. The Prophet Jesus' mission was to confirm the Torah previously sent, make certain things lawful to ease the lives of the Children of Israel, and proclaim and re-affirm the belief in One God. He was only the servant and slave of God. The Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and the concept that Jesus died for our sins are firmly rejected in Islam.    Just like Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was only a created human Prophet sent by God, Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was also a mortal human prophet sent by God after Jesus Christ. Prophet Muhammad PBUH is separate and distinct from Allah (God). God is eternal and immortal; He never had a beginning and was never created. All the powers that Jesus Christ is said to have had were given to him by God. On the other hand, God's Attributes and Powers were not given to Him; they were within Him all along. God's Attributes and powers never knew a beginning, nor will they ever have an ending. He has always been, and will always be, All-Knowing, All-Mighty, All-Powerful. God hears everything from the buzz of a mosquito's wing to the eruption of volcanoes. All His Attributes are infinite.    The three religions worship the same God. The God in the Heavens that Christians worship and refer to as the Father is the same God worshipped by Muslims and Jews. Muslims use Allah to refer to God: Allah translates to God. Allah is not a foreign God, nor does He bear a foreign name. Allah, instead, is the semantic term for God. Regardless of this, some people harbor the mistaken belief that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews and that Allah is the God of the Arabs or the Muslims. This is far from the truth. The word Allah is an Arabic name connoting the Almighty God. Arabic-speaki

In this episode we look at some of the commands of Allah (God) and advice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with regards to the excellent way that Muslim women must be treated

The Ansari Podcast, Mahmoud Elansary and Artist Malik Naim discuss the dangers of a Muslim becoming Arrogant in their Islam. How every Muslim has a personal journey with Allah/God and how every Muslim and all humans commits sins. They talk about the dangers of Muslims judging each other. And why Muslim parents and immigrant parents never have the sex talk with their Muslim kids/children. They talk about Muslims conflicting between their non Muslim friends but also wanting to get closer to Islam and Allah/God. They talk about weed, girls, drugs and alcohol and how we've struggled with it in the past and what its effect is.

Dear listener, this episode our guest is  Saffiyah of Slaya's diary. Together we delve into her poetic journey, we speak about grief and experiencing loss at an early age, of hope, and of how much writing can be a pouring out that can make space for clarity to emerge. You can connect with Saffiyah at https://www.instagram.com/slayasdiary/ The audio transcript of today's episode can be accessed on https://finewordsweave.wordpress.com/?p=2254&preview=true To support Fine Words Weave Podcast you can sign up to patreon here https://www.patreon.com/finewordsweave?fan_landing=true This podcast was edited and produced by Azeezat Adeola ABA. The music used in this episode was produced by SSS

Subscribe to the channel : @muhammadanway Android App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nurmuhammad.muhammadanway IPhone App - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/muhammadan-way/id1244297852?mt=8 Facebook - www.facebook.com/shaykhnurjanmirahmadi Donate - www.nurmuhammad.com/donate Website - nurmuhammad.com TV Show - www.huberasul.net The Noble Naqshbandi Order proudly presents the ancient Islamic teaching and realities of the Prophetic Kingdom. Known as the Muhammadan Reality Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Al Qabbani Representing the Sultan al Awliya of The Naqshbandiyya Order Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al Haqqani Shaykh Sayed Nurjan MirAhmadi student of the way The Seekers of The Heart, The Lovers of the Prophetic Reality As ancient as time itself, seek to be a servant of the light and lovers. Naqshbandi, Qadiri, Chistiyya, Shadiliya, Rifai, Inyat Khan, Alawi and many more All are the Muhammadan Representatives to Creation nurmuhammad.com is pleased to present the Muhammadan TV. Network Donations https://www.nurmuhammad.com/donate to support These works nurmuhammad.com/ Shaykh sayed nurjan mirahmadi

Anyone who believes in Allah (God) and The Hereafter wants to go to Jannah (paradise). But what are we doing to make sure we will get there? In this episode we look at the guidance of Allah and the advice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to increase our motivation and efforts, so we can do the best we can to achieve our ultimate goal.

Allah (God) promises us in the Qur'an that all of us will be tested in a variety of ways. So none of us will live a life free of difficulty. But does that mean that there is nothing we can do when faced with hardships? In this episode we look at how our certainty in Allah's love for us, His constant care for us, will allow us to face life's tests with the firmness of faith that will keep us strong.

In this episode we reflect on the guidance of Allah (God) and the words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which show that with everything a Muslim is asked to do, there is always ease in it for them. We see that Allah truly does not ask us to do anything beyond our capacity and that out of His love for us, He has made Islam a religion of benefit and ease.

Would you like Allah (God) to be generous to you? We all want Allah's blessings, but how generous are we to others? In this episode we look at the unimaginable benefits we gain from spending for the sake of Allah.

How can you use the month of Ramadān to be a better you? In this episode we discuss how Allah (God) has blessed the month of Ramadān, making it easier for us to improve ourselves. We see that by deeply reflecting on ourselves, we can use this month to form new good habits that can stay with us even after Ramadān has come to an end.

This week's Nation Of Islam Sunday Lecture is entitled "Allah (God) Answers Prayers: Its Value, Purpose & Power" delivered by Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad (National Assistant to The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan). Opening inspiring words by Bro. Daniel Muhammad, Student Minister Abdul Muhammad, and Bro. Jair Muhammad. please visit NOI.org & Store.FinalCall.com *To make a donation please visit SupportFarrakhan.com

With only a few days left until Ramadan starts, do you have a plan in place? Have you decided what goals you want to accomplish? In this episode we look at how making realistic and achievable goals, can be the best way to be productive. We reflect on the power of dua (prayer) that we all have at our fingertips. And how putting trust in Allah (God) to answer your duas, you can make the most of your Ramadan.

Why do you cry? For most of us it's usually something important that will make us emotional. In this episode we look at the reasons why the best of all examples , the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) , used to cry. We see that when we improve our relationship with Allah (God), then our hearts will soften. That those whose hearts are soft will cry out of their love of, and hope in Allah. And that it is this characteristic that can keep us in the path leading to Paradise.

We all know that life is never always going to be a bed of roses. In this episode we look at the constant struggle that every believer goes through to live a life that's pleasing to Allah (God). We look at ways to help ourselves and others, when the difficulties and doubts get too much and the struggle to remain in the straight path feels impossible.

This Sundays lecture is entitled "Allah (God) Will Send Saviours" delivered by The Spanish Speaking Representative Of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Student Minister Abel Muhammad. Student Minister Bro. Jeffrey Muhammad & Bro. Tariq Muhammad (student in the National ministry class) open with inspiring words. Lectured delivered from Chicago, IL on March 7th, 2021. Please visit NOI.org to learn more info.

Do you check your intention before you do something? In this episode we discuss how, by attaching good intentions to everything we do, we can boost the reward that we receive from Allah (God)

We all want to be successful, but so many of us feel uncertain whether we will ever reach those goals that we've set for ourselves. In this episode we look at how, by knowing Allah (God) and understanding who He is and what He is capable of, we will be motivated to aim high and not give in to self doubt.

Many times people will judge us not just by what we say, but how we say it. In this episode we look at some of the beautiful characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We see that gentleness and kindness are crucial to the character of every Muslim and that if we want Allah (God) to be kind to us, we need to treat all His creation with mercy and kindness too.

Even on the darkest days, there is always something that you can find to thank Allah for. Whether it's the people in your life or the beauty of the natural world around you. In this episode we look at how the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed his gratitude to Allah (God), and how he taught us that being appreciative of our blessings is the most integral part of a Muslim's character.

We live in materialistic world which has shaped the way people view success and failure. But is that how Allah (God) defines these concepts? In this episode we look the guidance Allah gives us in the Qur'an, which is we can follow, will allow us to be truly successful in this life and the next

With the New Year just round the corner you might be reflecting on the previous year and the experiences that shaped you. Maybe you want to plan so that your next year is better than the one you've just lived through. In this episode we look at how to use the advice Allah (God) gives us in the opening chapter of the Qur'an, to structure and plan our days to be productive, so we can make the most of each day in the year ahead.

Imagine if everything you ever said was recorded and then played back to you. We often say things without thinking which can get us into trouble! In this episode we look at the guidance of Allah (God) and the advice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), reminding us to avoid useless and harmful talk. We see that Allah has allowed us the gift of speech, but that with every blessing comes responsibility. We explore how Allah knows and loves us, and wants only the best for us. So we see that, by aiming to please Allah in all aspects of our lives, we will avoid words that could hurt others, and ultimately ourselves.

Do you want a life full of blessings? We all want a life of ease and contentment, but sometimes it can feel like all we have in our lives is difficultly and hardship. In this episode we look at the true meaning of blessings. We learn that true contentment is not a life full of material possessions, but a life of closeness to our Creator, Allah (God). We discuss how difficultly doesn't mean that Allah has no love for us, but understanding that Allah gives us tests and trials for us to connect and bond deeply with Him, will teach us to trust and love Him. And this is the meaning of true contentment.

Are you perfect? Do you find being Muslim easy? In this episode we look at how Satan tries to convince us that to be Muslim you need to be perfect, and that this is a lie. We are all a combination of successes and failures and Allah (God) didn't create us to be perfect. Struggle is part of living and we see that Allah is always there, ready to help and forgive us and that He never places on us a burden greater than we can bear.

Have you ever felt, that your mistakes weigh heavily on your conscience? It's easy to get stuck in a rut, feeling as if there's no way that Allah (God) will love you. In this episode we look at the beautiful words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We learn that if we think well of Allah, if we turn back to Him when we mess up, then there's nothing that can prevent us from His love and His forgiveness.

The beauty of nature surrounds us. Whether it's a dazzling sunset, multicoloured autumn leaves, or fluffy white clouds racing across a bright blue sky. But how many of us take these sights for granted? In this episode we discuss how, by reflecting on our beautiful world, we increase our love for our Creator. And how everything in nature, is a sign from Allah (God), to help us to understand His love for us.

Life can feel chaotic. Whether it's external chaos or even chaos within our own souls. In this episode we explore how to get closer to Allah (God) so that we feel love for Him and He in return loves us more. We see how the way we spend our time and the things we busy ourselves with, can have a direct impact on our relationship with Allah (God). We discuss, how when our love for Allah (God) increases, then so does the feeling of contentment with everything He has given us. We discover how, by implementing the advice from Allah (God) and His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon), we can endeavour to live with a satisfied heart.

This is part of our Jumuah series --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shadeed-muhammad/support