Never Trade Authenticity for Acceptance (12:101-104) | Season 2, Episode 6

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. 

Is it ever OK to deceive? What would it feel like to get someone who wronged us to acknowledge their harm? What is the first priority when supporting a victim of abuse? In this episode (20) of Quran Conversations, Imam Muhammad Majid and I delve further into the story of Prophet Yusuf, focusing on the themes of deception, justice, and forgiveness. We explore Yusuf's strategic actions to keep his brother with him, the implications of the royal cup's theft, and the brothers' defensive responses. Our conversation explores themes of safety, authority. (12:70-79) You will learn: 📖How defensive responses can reveal deeper truths about one's actions. 📖Why forgiveness requires wrongdoers to acknowledge past mistakes. 📖The first order of business when supporting a victim of abuse. 📖How Egypt transformed from a nation where the Children of Israel were in places of authority to where they were enslaved.  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 We 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 do we balance relying on God and taking the means? How do we work for the best outcome while not worrying? And what is the responsibility to maintain relations with a family member who has abused us? In this episode (19) we tackle some of the most perplexing questions we face in our families as parents, siblings and children. (12:67-69) You will learn: 📖How to take the means and rely on God 📖When severing ties with family members is in order 📖The Quranic approach to exercising authority 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/ We 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 do we respond when our loved ones must leave our side?  Do we let them go and trust in Allah, or attempt to control them in an effort to feel secure?  In this episode (episode 18) we discuss the impossible task of striking the balance between keeping our children safe by restricting them and trusting Allah and letting them grow even if it means they leave our side.  (12:62-66) You will learn: 📖 How to let your loved ones go even when you are afraid 📖 How  reliance on God is not in contradiction to taking means to keep yourself safe 📖 How the least of us can be the source of our blessings 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/ We 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

It is one thing to be God-conscious in times of hardship, but what do you do when life takes a turn for the better? What happens when tragedy and trauma is transformed into triumph? Is it a chance for cruelty or clemency?  In this episode (episode 17), we discuss a major inflection point in the story of Yusuf (as) when he is put in authority in the land, in charge of the foodstores in a time of drought, and what we can learn by the way he responds when his brothers come to him asking for his help. (12:56-61) You will learn: 📖 How God’s plan for triumph often includes tragedy 📖 Why leadership requires experiencing marginalization 📖 The difference between forgiveness and escaping accountability 📖 How the Quran uses poetic symmetry to teach us about life 📖 How to trust Allah’s plan even when you don’t see the light at the end of tunnel 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/ We 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