The Surah that Melted Omar’s Heart (Taha 20: 1-2) | Season 3, Episode 1

Has reading an ayah in the Quran ever stopped you dead in your tracks as if it were talking directly to you? In the first episode of season 3, Imam Magid and Dalia Mogahed are joined by Hajj Hisham Mahmoud* to discuss the opening of Surat Taha and the heart it transformed from enemy to intimate companion and eventually Commander of the Faithful in eight short verses. S3:E1: The Surah that Melted Omar’s Heart (Taha 20: 1-2)You will learn:📖 How the revelation of Surah Al-Taha marked a turning point in the mission of Islam📖 The complex conversion story of Umar ibn Al-Khattab📖 The power of faith to inspire courage 📖 How to experience the Qur'an as a living text📖 The mysteries of the seperate letters in the Qur’anIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed We are very excited to introduce Hajj Hisham Mahmoud as a contributing scholar on Quran Conversations.  El-Hajj Hisham Mahmoud studied theology, hadith, legal theory, jurisprudence, ethics, Qur’an recitation, and Arabic with scholars in Morocco, Mauritania, and Egypt. He taught for more than a decade at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, then left the Academy to institute Lanturna, an educational initiative that intends to establish learning collectives to carry forward the legacies of our greatest luminaries. He continues to read with scholars and students in the United States and abroad. Learn more at Lanturna.com Listen anywhere you get your podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and now YouTube (link in bio).

In this bonus episode, Dalia Mogahed shares her inspiration for creating this podcast, as well as her journey of healing through the study of Surah Yusuf.  She discusses the main lessons from the Surah as a bookend and prequel all in one.  You will learn: 📖 How our family of origin shapes our self-worth📖 The power of drawing parallels between the stories in the Quran and our own lives.📖 The main lessons from Surat Yusuf---If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt. For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed Listen anywhere you get your podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this culminating episode on Surat Yusuf, Imam Magid and Dalia Mogahed discuss the final ayas of the surah and draw out the overarching themes and lessons of this epic story.  You will learn: 📖 The power of clarity in dawa📖 How dawa is a means to deepen one’s own faith📖 How to never give up on our children📖 Reconciling Divine help and human effort ---If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt. For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed Listen anywhere you get your podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

When was the last time you stopped to admire a tree or flower in awe, or watched the sun rise and reflected on Allah’s mercy? In this episode, Dalia Mogahed and Imam Mohamed Magid explore the themes of vulnerability before God, making God the center of  life’s orbit and balancing Trust in Him and awareness of one’s fragility. They discuss the importance of noticing the miracles all around us, as well as the dangers of “New Age Spirituality."You will learn: 📖 The beauty of everyday Miracles📖 The dangers of believing in a God that demands nothing of you📖 Modern paganism and “manifestating”📖 The power of positive thinking in faith📖 The illusion of self-sufficiency📖 Balancing awareness of our fragility and trust in GodIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed Listen anywhere you get your podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Educating others about Islam can be one of the mostrewarding acts of worship we can engage in.  But how do we approach itwith courage and confidence rather than compromise and people-pleasing?  In this episode, Dalia Mogahed and ImamMagid delve explore how Surat Yusuf teaches us about dawah (inviting) people toGod, as well as how this very Surah is proof of Muhammed’s (s)prophethood.  You will learn:  📖 How tointerpret the hard times of our lives. 📖 Why‘converting’ people is not the goal of sharing our faith. 📖 Whycomparative religious literacy is beneficial to understanding the Quran. 📖 HowSurat Yusuf is proof of Muhammed’s (s) prophethood.  If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on yourpodcasting platform.  It helps more than you know.  @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an onlinelearning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start yourjourney in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.org We hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journeywith the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflectionprompt.   For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at@daliamogahed

How do you tell the story of your life? Are you the victim of circumstances, the self reliant survivor, or the receiver of God’s infinite bounty in different forms? In this emotional episode we discuss the culmination of the story of Yusuf (s) when he reunites with his father and embraces him, when his brothers prostrate to him and his dream as a child is realized.You will learn: 📖 The biggest challenge facing great leaders📖 Parenting lessons from Prophet Yaqub (s)📖 Balancing respecting parents and guarding against the abuse of power. 📖 Reframing our life narratives📖 Parallels in the story of Prophets Yusuf (s) and Muhammed (s). If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed 

When’s the last time you heard some good news? How did it feel to receive it?  And were you ever in a situation where everyone around you doubted you, but you stayed certain of your viewpoint? Were you proved right in the end? In this episode, we open a conversation about the moment when the shirt of Yusuf (s) is brought to his father, Yaqub (s), the truth is brought to light, and Yacub (s) regains his lost sight. You will learn:📖 The significance of clothing as a symbol📖 Examples of Allah’s promise being fulfilled📖The difference between physical and spiritual senses, and academic and experiential knowledge📖 The stages of forgivenessIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed

Have you ever been asked to forgive someone who hurt you deeply? If you forgave them, how did it make you feel to show forbearance? If not, what was missing in the request for forgiveness.  Have you ever asked for forgiveness? In this episode, we do a deep dive into the process of healing and grace as modeled in the story of Yusuf (s) and his brothers. You will learn:📖 One of the most difficult acts of piety📖 “The Golden Rule”  according to Islam📖 The ultimate demonstrations of love 📖 The benefits of forgiveness for the one who forgives as well as its recipient. If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed

How should we grieve? Is there an expiration date, or one right way to feel our sorrow?  Is “getting over it” the healthy option? How should we treat a grieving family member? Are there spiritual benefits to grieving?  In this episode of Quran Conversations, Imam Muhammad Majid and I explore how Yaqub (s) models grieving and parenting children who have committed a grievous act of transgression.    You will learn:📖 How to support a grieving loved one.📖 How to continue to hold space for children who behave in ways you don’t approve.📖 What it means to see grief as a pathway to nearness to Allah.📖 Why taking action to correct a wrong is necessary in seeking forgiveness. If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.orgWe hope this podcast encourages your own reflective journey with the Quran. Make sure to stay until the end to hear this week’s reflection prompt.  For more spiritual insights, follow me on Instagram at @daliamogahed If you’re enjoying this podcast, please review it on your podcasting platform.  It helps more than you know. @Quran.Conversations is sponsored by Fawakih, an online learning platform for Quranic Arabic which I myself use.  Start your journey in unlocking the language of the Quran.  Go to Fawakih.org

Have you ever had to earn back trust after losing it? How did you do this? Have you ever restored trust in someone after it was lost? What are the building blocks of rebuilding trust after betrayal in a relationship? In the first episode of season 2, Imam Magid and I discuss Yusuf’s (s) brothers’ stark difference in tone and content when they are hoping to regain credibility with their father compared to their deception at the beginning of the story.  (12:80-84)You will learn: What characterizes truthfulness? The prophetic model for holding a positive opinion of God even in the face of great loss and grief. The difference between a sin inspired by Shaytan and one prompted by our own self (nafs).  The deep connection between beautiful patience and maintaining hope.