EP 094 - Atheism to Islam, Translating the Qur’an, Running a Publishing House - Amatullah Bantley

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Rahim Jung who discusses powerful lessons from his life and shares the greatest miracle of his life.   00:00 - Intro 02:58 - Growing up without a Muslim identity 09:18 - What sparked me to come back to Islam 11:45 - Getting the Dunya and feeling an emptiness 14:49 - Happiness vs Contentment 18:33 - Accepting our Qadr 20:19 - Don’t chase fame! 21:44 - Beware of the hidden shirk 23:23 - The powerful example of Umar (ra) 25:18 - How to remain sincere whilst being in the public eye 33:31 - How did you become a TV presenter? 38:00 - Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone 42:41 - Miraculous Sadaqah stories 48:17 - Charity is a means getting all types of du’as accepted 51:04 - How my mother miraculously embraced Islam 1:04:57 - Never give up making du’a

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Ustadh Asim Khan where they share practical tips on how to develop khushu (focus & devotion) in salah.   00:00 - Intro 02:24 - What's the strangest place you've played Salah in? 07:01 - Leading Salah at Masjid Al Aqsa 08:04 - One tip which has transformed Ustadh Asim's Salah 09:24 - The power of Wudhu 12:29 - Should we focus on Fiqh or Khushu more? 13:38 - What is Khushu? 15:22 - Being 'present' with the mind and body in Salah 16:54 - Having reverence and awe of Allah during Salah 20:20 - Avoid praying too fast! 25:46 - How a non-Muslim's Sajdah taught Ustadh Asim a big lesson 29:05 - What does Mihrab mean? 30:00 - Repelling Shaytan's whispers in Salah 31:53 - More top Khushu tips 39:31 - The 5 levels of Salah 47:12 - Does having Khushu mean you don't know what's going on around you? 52:32 - Praying Salah at work 57:04 - Planning your day around Salah 01:03:15 - Tips for waking up for Fajr   Get Ustadh Asim's Elevate Your Salah book here: https://www.elevateyoursalah.com/

Ustadh Shabbir and Ustadh Yahya Raaby share their hifdh journeys and discuss ways in how we can develop a relationship with the Qur'an. Ustadh Yayha also shares tips on how to have a productive Ramadan.   00:00 - Intro 01:59 - Memorable Ramadan moments 05:00 - Leading Tarawih for the first time 08:03 - Ustadh Yahya’s Qur’an Journey 15:19 - The Somali way of revising the Qur’an 16:17 - Ustadh Shabbir’s best days of his life 18:59 - Learning life lessons from teachers 21:59 - Learning Arabic in the UK 27:08 - Don’t think you’re too sinful to open the Qur’an 31:11 - What does it mean to have a relationship with the Qur’an? 32:22 - Who are ‘the People of the Qur’an’? 34:40 - How to reflect over the Qur’an if you don’t know Arabic 40:15 - The power of morning and evening Adhkar 50:00 - Reflecting on the Stories from the Qur’an 51:58 - Qur’an Memorisation tips 56:34 - How to have a productive Ramadan 1:01:32 - Qur’an recitation

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Shaykh Ibraheem Menk where they speak about how to find a spouse and what struggles people go through when looking for someone suitable.   00:00 - Intro 03:45 - Does marriage fix everything? 11:47 - When will we know when we are ready to get married? 19:10 - Negotiables & non-negotiables, making compromises 23:53 - Mature love 25:35 - Don't pin your happiness on others 28:01 - If men get Hoors, what will women get in Jannah? 31:24 - How do I find someone? 32:30 - Asking elders/imams to find someone for you 33:01 - Telling elders you found someone you want to get married to 35:24 - Using marriage apps 38:12 - Directly approaching a sister 42:41 - Asking a sister for her mahram's number 46:27 - Hurdles in finding someone 47:20 - Don't be too picky 48:14 - Don't be shy in telling people that you are looking to get married 49:35 - The importance of having Taqwa

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Shaykh Navaid Aziz where they discuss prophetic emotional intelligence and how we can learn it. 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - What does Islam say about emotions? 05:13 - Masculinity 09:27 - Finding the right balance with our emotions 13:02 - Channelling emotions for the sake of Allah 13:45 - Intelligence vs. emotional intelligence 15:28 - What is emotional intelligence? 16:18 - The Prophet’s ﷺ emotional intelligence 17:30 - The man who urinated in the Prophet’s ﷺ masjid 21:54 - How the Prophet ﷺ won hearts 23:45 - The Prophet’s ﷺ experience of pain & empathy for others 29:09 - No one escapes leadership 30:27 - Can one be soft and strong? 32:43 - Marriage & emotional intelligence 37:34 - It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it 38:55 - Understanding others’ emotions 45:03 - Examples from the seerah of the Prophet’s ﷺ emotional intelligence 50:54 - Social media and our value for relationships? 54:26 - How to develop emotional intelligence 1:01:28 - Final thoughts #IlmFeedPodcast

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf where they discuss what it means to be a father and how to raise righteous children.   00:00 - Intro 01:27 - Which name of Allah resonates with you right now? 03:04 - Why I don't use a smartphone 06:08 - Giving children good names 15:07 - Becoming a dad as a teenager! 21:55 - Practical parenting tips 27:42 - What are you kids watching on YouTube? 32:00 - Why aren't people getting married young? 35:43 - Individualism 38:42 - Learning to sacrifice 43:08 - Your hopes for your children? 46:32 - Challenges for Muslims at University 55:40 - Setting up Roots Academy 58:00 - Final pieces of advice   #IlmFeedPodcast

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Shaykh Dr Haitham Al-Haddad where they discuss the positives that can be taken from what's happening in Palestine. Shaykh Haitham also shares a roadmap Muslims could follow to achieve success both locally and internationally as an ummah.   00:00 - Intro 03:49 - Imani lessons we can learn from Palestine 05:58 - Allah wants this Ummah to lead 08:35 - The hypocrisy of the West has been exposed 09:31 - Don't expect that you won't be tested 11:23 - This is a clash of civilisations 15:54 - People are waking up 16:52 - Only Islam can stand up to imperialists 20:05 - "I am very optimistic (about the Ummah)" 24:19 - The West's intellectual decline 25:40 - Entire families are getting killed in Palestine 28:23 - The West & Israel's biggest mistake 30:46 - How can we avoid losing momentum for Palestine? 33:24 - Islam stops injustice around the world 36:29 - This time, it's different 37:47 - Does protesting help? 39:11 - "The ummah is in need of the entire ummah" - working together with different groups 41:56 - Everyone has a role to play 45:34 - Non-Muslims are standing up for Palestine 46:11 - Creating a strategy to appeal to the masses 47:26 - Avoiding tunnel visions 48:55 - Filling the spiritual and moral vacuum as Muslims 56:50 - The role of Imams & do protests help? 1:06:57 - A roadmap: how the ummah can be transformed 1:18:33 - Du'a

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Dr Asim Qureshi where they analyse some of the media narratives about Palestine and how Muslims should approach this topic.   00:00 - Intro 02:19 - How are you feeling about what’s happening in Palestine? 04:10 - Being available for the Palestinians - what can you do for them? 09:05 - Is it correct to call it a ‘conflict’? 10:42 - Should it be described as ‘complicated’? 12:03 - Can you be Anti-Semitic if you stand with Palestine? 14:01 - Supporting Palestinian resistance 16:15 - Should you condemn? 42:07 - Was Nelson Mandela a ‘terrorist’? 57:00 - How does Israel keep getting away with breaking international law? 1:03:37 - What can we do support Palestine? 1:09:09 - How many books to you read?  

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Shakil Malji who speaks about how losing a child brought him closer to Allah.   00:00 - Intro 01:30 - What was your turning point in life? 04:36 - The blessings of Allah 05:50 - Connecting to Allah 07:14 - Son being diagnosed with SMA Type 1 10:37 - How I turned to Allah 14:57 - Being a driver for celebrities 17:47 - Allah is the best of planners 19:10 - Allah doesn’t test a person more than what they handle 23:06 - People struggling to enter Islam 29:30 - Walk to Allah, He will run to you 33:00 - Starting a charity 37:26 - Why Allah tests us 48:15 - Advise for someone who has lost experienced a loss of a loved one 51:35 - Daughter being diagnosed with SMA Type 1 1:03:26 - Charity work is not a competition

Ustadh Shabbir is joined by Ustadh AbdelRahman Murphy where they discuss the question, 'why do bad things happen?' and share tips on how to endure trials & challenges in life.   00:00 - Intro 01:35 - Translating a book: THe Benefits of Trial & Tribulations 03:00 - You're not alone in being tested 04:30 - Tasting success through tests 06:51 - Reflecting on Allah's names - Ad Dhar & An-Nafi' 08:49 - Ma'rifah: Attaining deep conviction 13:59 - The meaning of Fitnah 15:27 - The difference between a test and a punishment 15:49 - We won't always know the wisdoms behind our tests. 20:51 - Learning to trust Allah 22:42 - Struggles make people strong 23:23 - Lessons from Yusuf (as) 27:09 - Sometimes you'll see wisdoms behind tests 34:10 - Finding sweetness in tests 38:20 - The highest level of sabr  44:27 - The faith of those who are at the end of their lives 47:03 - When a test makes you become a source of comfort for someone else   #IlmFeedPodcast