And then he ended up getting exposed to
Andrew Tate.
Islam fixes a lot of the problems that
men are currently facing. Islam fixes
all of them.
Catholic upbringing.
Did you say that Andrew Tate helped
bring you to the door of Islam?
I didn't know anything about Islam, but
I knew I was trained to dislike Islam
and to be against Islam because
churches in the United States have been
very racist places. And that's why that
Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. have been
described as the most racist hour in
America.
And we didn't just have an average
person accept Islam. We had the legit
hoist Gracie.
Ashu
Ashu alah
Most of you out there know our brother
Habib. Now before Habib, there was Hois
Gracie because if there wasn't a Hoy
Gracie, there wouldn't be no UFC. What's
the moral of the story? That if we can
have people like Hois Gracie, the
legendary Bruce Lee of our time, come
and visit the Dean Center and not only
visit but take his shahada. Imagine all
of the other people who know zero to
nothing about Islam who will able to
come in and learn and inshallah go from
being Abu Jah to potentially Abu Talibs
or even like Ho Gracie accepting Islam.
And that's where you guys come in. Help
us to get up open and running.
Time for the
people. Are you ready for the for the
[Music]
Angel.
[Music]
Alhamdulillah. Assalam. Greetings of
peace. My next guest grew up in a
Christian family, was baptized as a
Catholic, attended Catholic school. He
would go to church regularly. He was
taught the Christian beliefs and values
throughout his upbringing.
He had no Muslim friends, no Muslim
family, and his interaction with Muslims
was rare. The only perception that he
had about Islam was through the media
until high school when he began seeking
a higher purpose in life. And then he
ended up getting exposed to Andrew Tate.
Islam fixes a lot of the problems that
men are currently facing. Islam fixes
all of them. If I had to bet on one
religion as if I were betting on the
stock market for the future, you have to
bet on Islam.
What happens next? All that and more.
Here with my next guest, Nico. Asalam
alaikum.
How are you doing, Nico?
Alhamdulillah. Happy to be here.
Alhamdulillah.
It's nice to have you here on the
program. You have a fascinating story.
People don't know what happened. We
didn't give them the uh the news yet.
We're going to work into that all the
way until you get exposed to Andrew
Tate, what happened there,
and let's talk about you, your
beginnings,
your family, how you grew up.
So, yeah, I grew up in St. Louis,
Missouri. Um, my dad's family is Mexican
and his family is Catholic and my mom's
family is Dutch and they are Protestant.
Um, I grew up in a Catholic I grew up
going to Catholic school. I was baptized
in a Catholic church and from preschool
all the way through high school I went
to Catholic school um in middle in like
from preschool to 8th grade we'd go to
church every Friday through school um
had regular religious classes so yeah
grew up in a pretty conventional um
Catholic upbringing. Um, but when when I
was in high school, I was
kind of not really sure like like why am
I Catholic? Um,
cuz the the ide beliefs like I didn't
feel like it was chosen by myself. It
was I was born into the religion and
that's what all I knew, but I wasn't
really exposed to anything else. So when
I saw people of my own religion not
really following it, just believing that
oh Jesus died for your sins so you can
do whatever you want like or oh you just
you go to do some haram and you go to
the you go to the priest and he'll he'll
forgive he'll say say a few hill Mary
say a few our fathers and then oh your
all your sins are forgiven. So that
didn't really feel like a very objective
morality and also like rules like oh
this that was for that time and this is
for this time and the pope can change it
and the pope receives direct revelation
and speaks with God directly like that
that didn't make sense to me because the
pope is not a prophet. There's a new
pope every x amount of years. So we're
we're supposed to believe that this this
guy is speaks with God directly and
receives knowledge from God directly and
he's not a prophet. Like that all of
that just did not make sense to me. So I
kind of was looking for a higher purpose
on like way to live life like the best
way to live life and um how to live a
more like structured and disciplined
life. So that kind of brought me into
the red pill manosphere kind of area and
I was consuming a lot of content and
that related to that uh especially from
people like Andrew Tate because they are
presenting this image of like oh a
strong man who is successful and wealthy
and has a lot of like women around them
and stuff like that. But that then I
realiz realized that was that was all
dunya that was all life that was not any
higher purpose. But he but something he
talked about was uh being around Muslims
in places like Dubai. He was like oh
when I'm in when I'm in Romania I'm
Catholic. This is
he was talking about, oh, when I'm in
Romania, I'm a Christian and when I'm in
Dubai, I'm Muslim and uh the Muslims
have such great character and they have
they're soos hospitable and um their
their countries are so safe and they're
so serious about their religion. So that
kind of even even though he wasn't at
the time Muslim himself, him just
talking positively about Islam um opened
my mind to it because at the time like I
had not heard any like I didn't grow up
with Muslim friends. Um I did not I
hadn't been I've never been to a Muslim
country before. my like my classmates in
school were all Catholic or Christian,
not never Muslim, never Muslim
classmates, understandably cuz I only
went to Catholic school. I didn't go to
like a public school or anything like
that. Um, so that just I I had only
received the portrayal of Islam from the
media who is like Islam is so backwards.
Islam is this, Islam is that, Islam is
not compatible with the West. Islam
wants to kill us. They want to do that.
like all these things that would want
you like would push you away from Islam
if especially if you don't know any
Muslims and you don't know anything
about Islam. Uh that that would just
give you a horrible image of Islam. So
hearing someone who I was following at
the time actually talk positively
positively about Islam. Yeah. Injurate
talk positively about Islam opened my
mind to it. So I started seeing da'wah
videos and it just made the actual
religion of Islam like not just the
character of the Muslims mashallah which
is very steadfast upon the religion very
serious about the religion and actually
practicing a religion on a daily basis
like praying like fasting like
anything that is obl even even the just
just doing the obligations that's way
more than that than a Christian does on
their on their daily basis. So um
hearing dah da da talk about um Islam
and the actual message of Islam like how
Allah is one. How Allah doesn't have any
kids. He doesn't have any wife. He
doesn't have any baby mamas. He doesn't
have there's not more.
He doesn't have what
baby mamas.
Okay. That's I've heard that. Yeah.
He doesn't have children out of wedlock.
Yeah. But that's a good way to put a
baby.
Because was he was was the was the
father married to Mariam?
Nope. We don't see any kind of wedding
covenant, but he's supposed to be the
son. So, are they saying he's a son born
out of wedlock? He's is he if he's fully
the son, then he's fully born out of
wedlock.
Like,
and there's an ayah and there's a the
verse in the Quran that Allah is saying
the same thing. Does where's if you say
Allah had a a son, where where's his
wife?
Exactly. Because
I mean that's just ridiculous to think
about that Allahh would create like
would commit a heinous act like adultery
and to that resulted in a child like
this is the creator of the world. This
is the most perfect creator. This is the
it's mindboggling like how they think
how they think a creator could um do
something like that because like Allah
is all just like he's the most just.
He's the most just. He's
uh he's not he's not someone who would
commit like a heinous act like that
because that that's not who our creator
is. That's not who gives us our
morality. someone who would do do things
like tell people to like in the Old
Testament tell people to commit a
genocide like promote um like killing
Muslims like in the Spanish Inquisition
or in the Crusades like killing people
like non-combatants women and children
and ethnically cleansing them and like
that is not that is not from a creator
who is who is the most just and they say
oh he's the most forgiving he's the most
or he's they say he's all forgiving he's
all this all that
But their actions and what they believe
is not the same as what they're saying
about him.
Is all of this now information you're
getting is this before you accepted
Islam? We already got and gave it away.
You gave it away with already uh some of
the things that you've said. So people
probably figured it out. We were going
to surprise them. But all right, the
cat's out of the bag. So are these
things and is it are these things
everything you're saying the knowledge
you you started to gain before
even before some like um And did can it
is it rightfully so. Would you say that
Andrew Tate helped bring you to the door
of Islam?
Yeah, I would say that. So I would say
Andrew Tate opened my mind to it as
before I was completely like I didn't
know anything about Islam, but I knew I
was trained to dislike Islam and to be
against Islam because if you don't know
anything and the only thing you're
taught is to be against it because of
this or because of that, then that's
what you're going to believe because you
don't know anything. But once I actually
heard something positive then my mind
was opened and alhamdulillah my heart
was also open. So when I received the
true message of Islam about oneness of
Allah about like we said before he
doesn't have any partners or associates
along with him. Um
now you're learning now. So he helps
bring you Andrew helps bring you to the
door and now you now you're in the door.
Yeah. Now I'm watching the dao videos
from
now you shift and now you're going to
people who have some knowledge
like man like brother I'm the warner
brother Muslim lantern Muhammad Ali um
uh so these guys mashallah they explain
it so clearly they talk about the
evidences for Islam so clearly for
example the Quran being preserved um not
just through text we have manuscripts
dating back to the time of the prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam uh
and we have um
and what's even more impressive than
that is just the memorization chains. We
have millions and millions of who follow
around the world who have memorized the
entire Quran and have a chain of
narrations of they learned it from this
person who learned it from this person
who learned it from this person who
learned it from this person who learned
it from this Sahabah who learned it from
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
Like that is no other religion will ever
be able to match that. and both having
the textual preservation and the written
preservation. And on top of that, we
have the hadith which is immaculately
preserved through uh through narrators
who we have the exact biography. So even
if we only have one chain of narrators,
we have the exact biography of who this
person was, what they did, when they
heard it from this when they heard it
from uh who they heard it from and when
they heard it from the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And like
these people like even if someone
someone was to yell across the street
then they would not be taken from as a
authentic narrator. Like there the
specifications for these narrators to be
authenticated. It's it's mind-blowing.
So these this is the uh the area of
evidence and proofs for Islam. So it's
not blind faith. But before you even get
to that, before we even get to Andrew
Tate, you're you're becoming delusioned
with the followers of of Christianity.
And but how about Christianity itself?
At what point be we can see many uh fake
Christians, right? People aren't really
following. But is there any true
Christians that you're going to that you
see like hold on they're really pious?
And then you start to discuss theology,
trinity, uh God dying for your sins. Did
you get into any of these discussions?
How were they answered, purpose of life,
etc.?
So my discussions really started more
after I accepted Islam. Um because at
the time like I would just see I people
debating like that's the main thing like
I didn't go to I wanted to discover it
for myself. I didn't want to be because
then they could just cuz a lot of things
that Christians do is just like like
they go into preacher mode. Like we see
this all the time when people try to
speak with like chickman or try to speak
with other Muslim brothers like just
preacher mode and then that's how you
get misguided because you're they're not
presenting any evidence. They're not
saying, "Oh, this is one this is the
early earliest manuscript of the Old
Testament. This is the ear manuscript of
the New Testament. This is how we know
this is what is you don't want a nice
sugarcoated story. You want evidence.
I want evidence." And I know that they
won't bring me evidence. So, I want I
want the evidence presented. And the
best way to see evidence presented is
someone actually presenting. Like, for
example, in a debate, you have to
present the evidence otherwise your
claim is not going to be like brought
up. So like Christians trying to defend
their religion and trying to debate and
try to go against like debate against
Islam like they can't bring anything in
terms of evidence and then they talk
about oh there is this Islamic dilemma.
Oh the
we uh you have we you the Quran talks
about the gospels. So that means the
four gospels that are biographies
written after the time of Isaam which
are that that's what the that's what the
injil is or that's or the Torah means
this book that came thousands of years
after Musa Alisam like that that is not
that is not a dilemma that is not
something we even have to deal with
seriously because it came so is the
revelation is not someone's
autobiography like the Quran is not the
autobiography of it is like the actual
speech of Allah
like that
the creator god. Yeah.
So it is it's not even it's not even
comparable what what what they bring
against is either quoting from weak or
fabricated narrations um taking things
out of context or just completely like
spinning a meeting
or or a lot of insults. We'll start
or insults and insults like it's just
that's not that's not a way to approach
this kind of topic.
Yeah. They'll uh attack the character of
Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be
upon him uh with anybody if you sit with
a sincere Muslim educated Muslim and
look at the context of certain
situations very easy to debunk
many of these things very easy but for
the layman the person just hears much of
this propaganda the lies they end up
hearing it so many times and many people
don't go investigate exactly
like you did so you investigate it and
take helps bring you to the door of
Islam you get into the door you start
looking into it, you start uh I mean I'm
impressed. You start talking about the
authenticity of the Quran of the the
statements of prophet Muhammad u any
prophecies miracles you know all these
the preservation the authenticity this
is very powerful this uh how many people
millions who have memorized the entire
Quran like no other scripture you cannot
do it there's not one person's memorized
uh the Bible for example
the the the people I know personally who
are around my age I think it's more than
I can even count on both hands
say that again the people around your
age
around my age that I know personally
that I am friends with that have
memorized the Quran is more than I think
I can count on my own hands like it is
subhan Allah like and they learn it at
such a young age and like you can ask
them about any surah they right off the
top of their head they got it
any chapter of the Quran
I think uh who we got here in the room
do we got somebody we even have somebody
in the room here who's memorized the
Quran alhamdulillah
so anywhere you go you turn you got a
memorizer of the Quran
and and people get into uh I did an
episode with one of the um scholars of
Islam and he said because they get into
much of the um the text and that which
we also have preserved but there you can
kind of you know try to mislead people
it go but the main thing is it's been in
the hearts and minds that it's memorized
literally memorized
and especially if you're translating it
because you can translate something or
take a terrible translation and spin it
as however you want and if someone like
pretends they know a little bit of
Arabic they can be like oh this is what
this means that's not how taps works of
the Quran like you have to have like
actual knowledge of Quran you have to
have knowledge of the Arabic language
you have to have no like you we can't
just on our own interpret the Quran you
you have to go to what how the under the
companions of the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wasallam understood
this we have to go to how the the the
classical scholars of Islam like there's
this whole scholarly tradition of Islam
who their teacher learned it from this
teacher who learned it from this teacher
who learned it from this tab who learned
it from this tabby who learned it from
this sahiba.
Yeah.
Like it is
it's it's mindboggling how these people
who think they can um slander Islam and
like interpret the Quran however they
want because that's just that's just not
how the Quran works. That's just not
like it's a clear text. It is a clear
text. So the way it is understood by the
people who were there at the time they
had the most clear understanding. So the
people later on or people who are
against Islam are the ones who deviated
away from the clear understanding that
we have preserved of how the prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
explained it or how the companions or
how the pious predecessors explained it
who had the the best understanding
because it was not mixed in with a
little bit of nonsense and a little bit
of philosophy and Greek philosophy and
this and that. It's a clear preserved
understanding and we have that. Uh did
you have problems growing up because you
used to attend church frequently
educated on the theology. Did you have
problems where you question the trinity
and do you still have people family
members or others that they're kind of
in your the dilemma you were at but
they're not going far beyond that.
They're just blindly accepting it.
So at that time so when I was growing up
I blindly accepted it. Um I had people
try to explain it but I was like it like
it really hurts your brain to like try
to make sense of it because it does it
doesn't make sense. And that's not how
your theology should be. Something you
have to blindly accept and it doesn't
make any logical sense. Like for
example, like the the father and the son
being equal, but the the son is a finite
dependent human being who eats and
sleeps and goes to the bathroom and
doesn't know things. And
um like for example, he like Isaam in
the well allegedly we obviously we don't
know because this is not some the
eyewitness. This is this is not the this
is not the in this is some autobiography
or not autobiography this is a biography
written by people who did not even meet
Isaam but um in the Bible it says that
of that day and hour of which no one
knows not even the son but only the
father um
Mark 13:32 I believe
he he is he is saying Isaam is saying
himself he does not know the hour. So,
how can you be God and not know
everything? Even though the Christian
doctrine is that he is fully God and
fully man, which is a like how can you
be fully infinite and fully finite?
That's a contradiction and does not
work. You can't have a square circle.
Yeah. We're trying to get people to
think. We're not trying to bash or
insult anybody, but you are thinking
man, young man, and you were thinking
and you were asking God, I'm sure, to
guide you.
And now you're really looking at the
evidence. You want evidence. You want
You don't want people to go into
preacher mode like you.
Exactly. Like and even even Christian
scholars have talked about like you
cannot derive a trinity from the Bible.
Like the closest thing you can derive is
benitarianism which is like the father
and the son as one. But you it's you
that's you have to really really stretch
it and do mental gymnastics for that to
even happen because like we just said he
he doesn't
know everything because he isn't God.
Like only God knows everything. So if
he's saying he himself is saying that he
doesn't know everything then how can he
be God and he he himself says that the
father is greater than him. So if
they're co-equal then how is the father
greater than him?
Very powerful point very powerful aha
moments for someone who's sincerely
seeking the truth. I want to get your
reaction to this uh video by a Christian
pastor. Jesus was a poor Middle Eastern
Palestinian
Jewish peasant who lived in the first
century. That means he had darker skin,
that he was Middle Eastern, and that he
was both Palestinian and Jewish. That
that is Jesus's identity. We know that
Jesus is portrayed as a refugee.
Jesus in the text is marginalized in
pretty much every way. Why do churches
not describe Jesus in that way? Racism.
Churches in the United States have been
very racist places. And that's why that
Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. have been
described as the most racist hour in
America. We want to make Jesus in the
United States this white Jesus.
And so I have compared this in articles
to uh the white nationalist Jesus versus
the historical Jesus.
And the white nationalist Jesus which is
continuing to gain momentum right now.
You might also call it the MAGA Jesus.
You know is the Jesus who has blonde
hair and blue eyes. who cares about
everybody being rich, who doesn't want
any outsiders in this country, who just
wants uh people to to be able to to to
make money and live a comfortable life
compared to the historical Jesus who
welcomed absolutely everyone who was
brown and who said that the last shall
be first and the first shall be last. He
was talking about a radical social
order. And so I think one of the things
that churches need to do is do a much
better job of talking about who the
historical Jesus was because one thing
we can say for sure is that he wouldn't
want
Oh, it's uh refreshing to uh see this is
a Christian pastor. What did you take
from that?
I mean what I took from that is why are
you debating over the race of your god?
Like
that's Yeah.
Where
are you why are you debating over the
race of your god?
Like that how is your god going to be
one race and not like that? That's just
that just seems like I I can't even make
sense of that. Like obviously Isaam was
from the region of Philistine and he was
ethnically Jewish as well. So he was a
Jewish Arab. But what does it matter
what race your god is? This is like you
portray your god as a white guy, you
portray your guy as a black guy. You
portray your guy as Arab guy. This is
you're portraying your god as a finite
dependent human being and you're
debating over his skin color. like that
just this is this is your this is your
hereafter this is your this is this is
and you
have just having trouble making sense of
Islam makes uh things clear now that God
is not a man he doesn't have a date of
birth a skin color a nationality it puts
it all the rest now you don't have to be
uh getting into these kind of debates
and you don't have to worship a Jewish
man
yeah I mean Allahh says in the Quran
there's nothing like unto him like he he
does not have any sons. He does not have
any he's not a human being.
Why did he have daughters?
Why did he why did he have daughters?
Why did he why why only men? Why? Like
you can get into that whole conversation
then, right?
Yeah. Why why only one son? Why not like
it it just does not make sense. It
doesn't make because this is your
creator and this life is finite. This
life this life will end. This entire
universe will end. this um like even
this world is just like the amount of
time this world has been a lot like it's
so small compared to everything like I
our lives are just like a like a tiny
tiny speck of sand in a massive desert.
So, and this is what you're getting into
like
debates with about what your skin color
of your god is or believe like why why
would why would your god who who is the
creator of every single thing need to
have a child who dies who he has to
sacrifice to save you the all powerful
creator the all in your their attribute
that they talk about the most is all
forgiving but how are you going to be
all forgiving if you have to kill a like
a the Like they believe he is perfect,
sinless, born without sin.
Innocent man.
Innocent man. A prophet. We believe he
is a prophet. We believe he is the
Messiah. We believe he is born of a
virgin birth. We believe he did
miracles. We believe he'll come again
and defeat the antichrist. But why? So
why would this person who is a powerful
amazing prophet one of the like the
Muslims who actually follow him and pray
like he prayed and put our heads on the
ground like he prayed and fast like he
fasted. Like why would why would your
allforgiven god sacrifice that perfect
per like and you're you're you say he's
a perfect person without sin.
The the devil hijacked the whole story
the whole mission and deceive people.
That's pretty much it. And I think
people who with a sincere heart and mind
and who are using their intelligence and
common sense the things that you just
said we believe that he's the Messiah.
We believe he's a prophet, a messenger.
We believe that he was born of a virgin.
the Immaculate Conception. We believe
that he'll return, defeat the
Antichrist. They're like, "Man, that
fits. I I believe that." So, here's your
uh your answer to your prayers. If
you're asking God alone, in the Lord's
prayer, often I get I get kind of blown
away. It's like in the Lord's prayer,
you don't see any intermediary between
you and God saying, "Oh, our father who
are in heaven, hallowed be our Lord, the
creator." You can say, "Yeah, you're
just praying to God." There's nobody in
that prayer. So, do that prayer. Ask God
to guide you directly and alone
and
and uh things will happen like they did
for you.
Yeah. And I'd like to just add like once
you have that if you have that belief
that oh because someone else was
sacrificed unjustly for myself then I
can then oh I if I as long as I believe
that then I can do whatever I want. That
creates so many problems for both
yourself and for other people.
Did you see that on the university
campuses?
Yeah. So that's a big issue on
university campuses and especially and
for Muslim parents watching like this is
something you need to take into account.
So, um, on especially if your child is
not super knowledgeable or like you
would say they're not super practicing,
this is going to be a big issue because,
um, first of all, like if they're not
someone who already knows to not mix
with women, not who knows to lower their
gaze, who knows to not be like joking
around and flirting with women and stuff
like that, that is going to be a big
problem for them because like non-Muslim
women do not behave the same way as
Muslim women. like they are more open to
mixing more more open to be friends more
open to be in relationships and
obviously we're Muslims so we know the
relationships that we have with people
who are not our direct family members
are like of the opposite gender are zero
like we're not you're my teacher I'll
ask you a question related to the topic
and or you're my classmate if I'm
assigned to work on this project we're
working on the project and that's it
we're not joking around we're not
flirting we're not hanging out after
class we're not and these other things.
But people who do not have a firm
understanding of the religion are
susceptible for that. Like I saw myself
people who identify themselves as Muslim
stop praying and start drinking and
start being openly in haram
relationships and
because they they they succumb to the
fitna.
They succumb to the because if if you're
if you're only around non-Muslims and
your friends are only non-Muslims and
you yourself are not super religious,
then that's what you're going to fall
into. you you are a product of the
people you are around. Like if you're
around pious Muslims that are always in
the masid, you're going to be with the
pious Muslims who are always in the
masid. But if you're around non-Muslim
people who go to the bar every every
night or go to the or all have
girlfriends and all party and do that,
then that's that's what you're going to
be doing because otherwise I mean most
people don't want to have no friends. So
you're going to be a product of the
people you're around and you're going to
be upon what the people who are around
you are upon. So like sending your kids
away to go live at campus like
alhamdulillah my campus had a masid on
the campus. So for myself who like
besides just because there's so much
baraka like I enjoy being at the mid I
enjoy being around people at the mid
because they're they are the nicest
people. They have the best character the
most they're the most honest and the
just the comm like the community and the
environment is the best community to be
in especially if you care for the dean
and you you want to be away from Fitna.
But if someone is not going to the masid
before they go to university and then
someone is not really interested, then
they're not going to be at the masid.
And what's what's not at the masjid? All
the people who are all the non-Muslim
people, the non-Muslim people who are at
the bars and hanging out and joking
around with girls and going on dates and
doing things that they shouldn't be
doing, those are the people who are not
at the masid. So if your kid is already
not going to the masid, then um and your
kid's already not super religious, then
your kid's at big risk of falling into
haram, like major haram. I'm sure you
know I've spoken to many Christians and
those with values those who want to live
a god-conscious life you know they don't
find these things in what in
Christianity of today they because it's
they're following liber liberalism
y
uh but what you're saying is like they
can identify I don't want my my when I
send my kids you know my children down
to the campus I don't want my girl
dating boys hitting flirting on my girls
partying, drinking, but you don't have a
strict code. You don't have what you
have in Islam. So, what you're looking
for, many,
you know, they are not going to find
that in that way of life. You find that
strict moral code, the pure monotheism,
everything in Islam. I agree.
You just got to get past all the the
hype and all the lies and the
misinformation
because that's where the devil wants to
keep you away from the truth. And that's
why that's why the government wants us
to assimilate into western culture and
western values because that will break
down our religion and we'll just all be
the same. But then we lose our values
and who we are as Muslims who are upon
these firm values and are upon what the
prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wasallam taught and upon the we what we
know is the truth because we have the we
know it is the truth because we have the
evidence. We're not believing it
blindly. We're not believing something
that does not make sense logically.
Go ahead. Liberalism. Liberalism is it's
it's even it's out the playing field of
Christians and Jewish.
That's the religion they're following.
But that's the religion that's that's
the religion they're following. That's
what um that's what they want us to
follow because then that then we can
integrate in their society and they can
control us better.
But if you look back at I always give
this example. If you go back uh in time
and you look at earlier in American
history, you would have these qualities
that Muslims are exposing. It seems they
were closer to Islam. There wasn't this
dating, take my daughter for a test
drive, you know, men just binging and
you know, drinking who are who are I
mean, you had things like this going on.
People living immoral lives, but people
who are trying to be God conscious. Uh
this is how they were more inclined to
and that you just have lost that. And
how do you get that back? You just find
that in submission and surrender to God.
That's one word. That's Islam. Have you
seen that video? It's an older one. I
always bring this up when we talk about
college and men and boy, men and women
that the uh student, he's on a college
campus and he's asking women and men,
can men and women be friends? He's a
non-Muslim and across the board, the men
were like, no. The women were like, uh,
yeah. What what are your thoughts?
Yeah. So it's it's all too common and
the the steps of thean are from the gaze
and then from the speech and then it
goes further than that. So if you if you
already have the mindset that oh it's
fine with being friends with men it's
fine with talk hanging out with men
talking to men then or if you're a man
who believes the same with women then
you're going to be susceptible to that
or or you're going to be approached by
someone who is upon that. So maybe you
yourself might not be involved with
that, but you're approached with that
and then the the right girl that you
think is so like so pretty and stuff
like that and says the nice words comes
along and then you get involved with
that. Then you get involved with haram
because you're susceptible to that. So
that's why the best thing to do is keep
good company and lower your gaze and
stay away from them and if you're having
like a lot of fitna then fast. That is
that is a secret weapon cuz you're when
you're fasting you're mindful of Allah
tala at all times and first of all you
don't want to break your fast and second
of all you're fasting so you don't want
to commit haram to decrease the values
of your fast. So that is both super very
like super important. But just like that
the it's tough on a campus because
you're going to be approached by people
and you're going to be talked to by
people in settings that should be
professional about things like about
like having jokes like people trying to
crack jokes and people trying to flirt
and people trying to
That's how it starts, huh?
That's how it starts. That's how it
starts. It starts with the jokes. It
starts with the gays. It starts with the
immodest dress. If if you're if one is
not strong in their iman, then they will
fall for the haram. And that's that's a
big problem especially like Muslim
parents who are concerned you're
spending your money for your kid to get
education or if you yourself are like
paying for your college you yourself are
spending your money to get a to get a
education not to engage in haram and
like have seek the displeasure of Allah.
What do you advise for for Muslim
parents? Um many who come to this
country they're kind of naive to many of
these things. Right. So they send them
and people go to college many for the
experience. Exactly.
Frat parties, uh, fraternities. It's
just a party lifestyle, isn't it?
It's lost years, they call them. Like
many people are in college, they're
lost. They're trying.
I met Muslims that are in Frats that go
to parties. I met like it's it's
terrible and because especially if
they're doing it openly because the
people who are not upon that will be
like will be normalized to that. So it
is is a huge problem. So I'd say the
best thing to do is send your if you
inshallah have um a university in your
city then send them there because then
they can just return home. They don't
have to live at the campus.
So do not send them to the campus.
Do not send them to the campus and make
sure like already from a young age like
many massagid have all kinds of programs
if they themselves are not super
interested in h of the Quran or if
they're not interested in like Islamic
studies like at yet cuz you can't force
someone to be interested in that. But
you can obviously encourage and put them
in a program. But Masaget have programs
where they can play sports with their
friends and they can go on retreats with
their friends and do a bunch of stuff
with good company like chaperoned by
scholars and chaper owned by good Muslim
brothers from the masid
and then they are already involved with
things that they enjoy and don't feel
the need to be involved with haram
because they already are having a
fulfilled life with what they are
already doing.
Mhm. the manosphere when you switched
over to that how long were you involved
with this? You were
I mean I wasn't Yeah, I was just
watching it because uh
Fresh Fitna
Fresh Fitna uh Injutate um because they
present like this ideal man's life for
someone who is not religious. It's not a
it's not a religious life. It's not a
morally grounded life. It is a life of
desire and like enjoy this this world as
much as you can because you never know
when you're going to die. But that's the
same reason you have to since you you
never know when you die when you're
going to die. That's why you have to be
conscious of when you're going to die
and your actions because there is a here
hereafter and every religion or every uh
Abrahamic religion holds that there is a
hereafter and many other religions hold
that there's some kind of like Buddh
Hinduism has karma and other religions
have other things like your actions have
consequences. Um, so why would you do
things that you know are bad for in this
life? Because your if you know your
actions are going to have consequences
for the next life. Like
uh it doesn't make it doesn't make sense
to me and it didn't make it didn't make
sense to me which is why I was like I
just saw it at the at the time as like
it it looks appealing at first but it's
it's like it's like a cardboard cutout.
like you have this this nice picture on
the front and in the back is just
nothing because it it doesn't bring you
anything in life except just fulfilling
your desires and then after that you die
and you have punishment. So
one one of the guys from there he talks
about uh they have that term spinning
plates and you should have spun like
about 50 or so. How what would you say
to that? I would say uh
so he said they say some good things you
know work out have a job uh make this
much income before you get married but
then you got to have 50
yeah partners and before you get married
yeah that doesn't bring you anything and
if you want if you want to marry a good
wife like that's not these people are
not going to be your good wife these
people are going to be people who want
to be involved with haram the best the
way you're going to be happiest is if
you yourself are on on the dean and you
yourself are
involved with seeking knowledge,
involved with being in good company,
working to f like working to please the
Allah and also working to improve
yourself in in the ways that they talked
about like working out, um having a job,
stuff like that. that that's the best
way to get a good spouse because you
will have people who have who have
daughters themselves or um who have
sisters or stuff like that who know who
can count like vouch for your character
and you know this family you can vouch
that you know their family that they're
of good character as well. So you you
know their daughter is a good character
and then you you interview with their
father and you you ask the the like
supervise you ask the questions to the
the girl and she asks you questions and
if you are a good fit on the moral
foundations not like on the oh you're so
pretty I want to marry you or I want to
you're so pretty I want to do haram
stuff with you. If you meet if you marry
on firm foundations then that that's how
you're going to find the best woman.
pious Muslim woman who is upon the dean,
who is who loves Allah, who is who fears
Allah. And if you are you as a man are
trying to seek knowledge, trying to
work, trying to improve yourself
physically, trying to maintain good
relations with your family, that's
that's the best way to find a good
spouse.
And what what advice would you give for
someone people like that? I mean, who
helped get you to the door? Someone like
Andrew Tate now who helped get you to
the door literally of Islam and now
you've kind of taken a different
direction. and you're still not going
down that that path. You've kind of um
are you still following?
I don't follow him anymore. Um, my
advice to him now would just be go back
to what you were talking about before
about how it's like you love the like
how the people in Dubai were so pious
and the like they're so practicing and
it's so safe there and just go back to
what you're talking about before instead
of slandering Muslims because you
yourself accepted Islam because of the
character of the Muslims. So you like I
would encourage you to be around people
who like who um show that character who
are are pious themselves who go to the
masid who will bring you to the masjid
who will take you to gatherings of of
knowledge like having speakers on your
on your platform like that are
knowledgeable to answer your questions
because if you're only involved with
people who are involved in haram and not
being around Muslims then you're going
to be a product of your environment like
we talked about before like the best
thing you can do is have keep good
company and I'd encourage him to just
reach out to good Muslim brothers. I
know he knows a lot of UFC fighters and
stuff like that. There's many good
Muslim UFC fighters like mashallah
amazing fight last night. Mashallah
Khabib other people who who he whose
character he talked about and I look at
their character I'm like mashallah they
are so pious they why why do they
believe why do they believe what they
believe?
Why are they why are they so firm upon
what they're doing in their daily
practices and why are they so
disciplined and then him talking about
their character just I mean for myself
open my opened my eyes because I didn't
know anything about Islam. So go be
around those people who you talked about
and you open the gate to Islam for me.
Um be around those people and obviously
you you yourself were a fighter before.
So you have you have a common ground.
you identify as a Muslim, just be around
those people. Be around the good
company. Get involved. Learn more about
Islam. Stop being around the people who
hate Islam because why are you gonna be
around the people who hate what you're
upon? Like that doesn't make sense.
I'm sure you want the best for him. We
have
the best intention for him. We want him
to uh as he's brought in Imagine how
many people now just like you came to
the door because of
I've met them myself. I met them myself.
You've also met people myself
who because of Andrew Tate. They came to
the door.
Yeah. They saw they saw the discipline.
when they saw him talking about Islam,
they're open, their minds were open and
it's all kinds of people like for
example Sneo, he he himself was in the
same kind of manosphere red pill kind of
world and he was um exposed to Islam. He
read the book from Malcolm X about uh
our brother Malcolm Xim Allah uh about
his trip to Mecc trip to Mecca and it
opened his mind so much and just looking
at the even looking at the examples of
famous Muslims like Muhammad Ali like
Malcolm X like Khabib just their
character and the way they treat people
the way they treat their family the the
way they treat their team it's just it's
so beautiful and you have to see the
reason why they treat them like that is
because they want to please Allah and
why they're so disciplined and why they
don't go to the club and that's why they
they're only focused on like he Andrew
Tate himself said pray train pray train
pray train pray train that's that's why
Khabib was so so successful because he
was not involved with all kinds of
nonsense and he was so focused on
praying and training Islam and his sport
no nonsense no haram relationships no uh
partying no attacking people at buses
like throwing dollies through buses, no
like no crazy stuff. Um, and he was
successful, mashallah, and he retired
undefeated. And we have other Muslim
brothers who are very su successful
because they are disciplined and because
they they know that they have
accountabil they have to take
accountability for their actions as
well.
And for anyone who loves discipline,
order, structure, this is the the
perfect system. Like once you
acknowledge what's in your very nature
that there's nothing worthy of worship
except the creator, the one who created
me. I'm only going to worship God
Almighty. We say Allah and Muhammad is
the messenger. Now you start praying
that connection. How important was that
connection? How long did it take you to
implement the prayer? Because we see
that when people implement the prayer,
they start seeking knowledge. This is
their road to success now. They got the
proper knowledge, understanding, they
keep, you know, uh fueling that and then
the prayer. They're never disconnected.
They make their salat always.
Yeah. So before Islam, I was not super
organized. Um even now I would say
besides my obligations, I'm not super
organized. But having something that you
know you have to do um every like five
times a day, that is so important for me
because that just uh but even if I'm not
like having a super busy day, I know
that it gives me stuff to do and I know
I'm doing a good deed. I know I'm pleas
doing doing something that is pleasing
my creator and I know I'm following what
my creator commanded for me. And
learning to learning to pray was very
easy. I before I even publicly took my
shahada, I had already learned to pray
because I didn't I didn't realize you
have to take your shahada publicly. I
mean, you technically don't have to, but
that's like it's obviously very
encouraged. Like if someone was to like
knew the message of Islam is true and
then took their shahada right there and
then passed away, then they we they'd be
Muslim obviously. But um I I didn't I
established before I took my shahada
because it's so easy. It's like
before you you accepted Islam, you
started praying.
Yeah. Wow.
Before before I like fully like took my
shahada in person like I like started
praying what I did is like there's many
videos online with like the steps of the
salah and then the like the Arabic words
transliterated and you just put the
video in front of you and then pray with
the video and um or you there's
mashallah um so alhamdulillah I was able
to give people two shahadas in St.
Louis, a father and a son who
already you help bring other people to
uh the
alhamdulillah yeah refugees from uh
South Sudan. Um and what I got for them
is there's a like a prayer mat that
shows like all the steps of of the salah
and I got both of them that and that is
it's so clear it like for a fork prayer
it says do repeat this this many times
and do this this many times and you just
put it in front of you. You just read it
and then do the steps. It's and or just
watch the video first. you watch a video
first and then like see how it goes. So
then when you read it, you know how it's
going to go. Uh it's it's very easy.
Everything in Islam is very easy. Like
the fasting, they're like, "Oh, it's so
hard to fast all day for 30 days or
Ramadan. It's so hard." Like you you
fast from fudger time, which is like
roughly like hour and a half before
sunset or sunrise all the way to sunset.
No food, no water. But after that, you
can eat, you can drink, you can do
whatever is permissible for you. It is
not It's not hard. It's just it's the
main thing. We don't fast because we're
trying to like do hardships for
ourselves. And that's not and that's not
why Allah commanded us. It's so that we
can be more mindful of Allah. It's the
best the Ramadan is the best time
because it's the most that's when you're
the most mindful. It's when you'll see
the most people in the masjid, the most
people praying, the most people reading
Quran, the most people doing good deeds
because your your your deeds are
increased when you're fasting. And
that's the when the like fasting is a is
a blessing. It's a mercy for us. It's
not nothing in Islam is a hardship.
Everything in Islam is a is a mercy.
Islam itself is a mercy because our
creator sent us down something clearly
through all the prophets and messengers
came with the same message. Pray, fast,
give charity um and worship with God
alone. They all came with the same
message. So, it's just it's it's very
clear and it's a it's a mercy that our
creator is so merciful that he would
give us a step-by-step way to live our
lives day like like how to treat our
families, how to
how to live our lives in general like so
clearly so that we can achieve achieve
immense reward. You mentioned Hamza
Machai Hamza um Chamai Chamay and he
just uh won the championship and we were
we were honored to have him at uh one of
the um Rzovic gyms here in Chicago.
Your brother gym, right?
My cousins. Yeah.
So we were with him there watching him
train and not just him taking the time
after he finished training he goes and
makes salah. He's praying and then we
have a jamaat also with the brothers.
There's many others there. It's time for
MGR. Boom. We all get together. We pray.
You can see the discipline. You can see
the unity. And I think people who want
to follow that path, that path to be, as
they say, spiritual, to be connected to
God. This is the way. All these other
ways out there are man-made. This is
truly a way like you've seen. And we're
very impressed. People going to be very
impressed at such a young age that
you've saw through all the propaganda
through all the fear-mongering,
college lifestyle, all of that
temptation, nightclubs, but when a
person is sincere and they're seeking
guidance, God guides them and they'll be
guided to Islam. whether they're
Christian, Jewish, no matter what
religion, if you really are seeking to
connect with the religion, the way of
life from God in the in the Islam, God
Almighty says in the Quran, there's no
other the the way that is acceptable to
God is Islam. Submission and surrender
to God Almighty alone. No other way.
Yeah. And Allahh also says
he he he speaks the truth and he guides.
He guides you to the truth. So um he
Allah so myself um I I had my own
struggles before that took me a while to
actually take my shad that even though I
knew that it was the belief was true but
I made dua to Allah to remove any
obstacles and any fna from my life and
alhamdulillah Allahh answered the dua
and like within like a week I
established and took my shahada and
everything like that like it was
that's the prayer. So you're praying to
God to help you through these trials. me
remove this remove this these obstacles
and so I can accept Islam and
alhamdulillah Allahh remove the
obstacles and even the people who who
accept Islam and their families are are
struggle like they have hardships with
their families that is experation for
the next life is testing you with that
because he knows you can handle it
Allahh does not burden a soul with more
than that they more than they can handle
like your your if your family kicks you
out of their house that's because Allahh
knows you are of strong character, knows
you are of strong iman and knows that
you can handle this and and it's
important for uh Muslims to um be very
welcoming and to be to follow up with
Muslims who take their shahada because
alhamdulillah like for myself at least
um I had a great support base. I took my
shahada at Muslim community center in
Chicago and they have many good brothers
at the masid that welcomed me and that
treat me treated me so well and they had
and uh one the brother I took my shahada
with helped me um to join like a class
for new Muslims to learn the basics of
the religion and the foundational
beliefs and stuff like that and um
that that was so helpful for me but many
Muslims who take their shahada um and
they're not followed up with a lot of
will actually end up leaving Islam
because they don't they they go through
this hardship by themsel and they don't
have anyone teaching them because they
need someone to teach them to pray teach
them the foundations to uh support them
emotionally because it's a it's a big
jump from especially if you're living a
completely different life before S&M to
live a life as structured and as
committed when your family is like
against you like people people need to
support so it's it's our job as Muslims
to um help people who take their
shahada, support them, follow up with
them. Um, spend time with them, take
them to the masid because these people,
like these people can end up being some
of your best friends. Like I have many
Muslim friends that are reverts as well.
And my friends, my born Muslim friends,
like were so accommodating for them and
so um welcoming for them. Uh it it made
it it made it easy when you have a good
community. It makes it so easy for you
and it's it Islam and the brotherhood
from it that we get from Islam is so
beautiful.
What advice do you have for people who
the new Muslims people who have um
accepted Islam?
I'd say for the new Muslims um go to the
masid inshallah. Um make friends like
meet talk with people tell them that
you're new to Islam. Um if you can't
find like I found my for myself a cla
like class that is local to teach you
about Islam um you can do uh many online
classes there are many groups online
that help new Muslims um to learn more
about Islam. There's many groups online
that um or there's many videos online
that teach the basics of Islam, the
pillars of Islam, the pillars of iman um
the practices.
It's it's very easy um as long as you
put in the effort. So it's it's twofold.
So it's it's the the Muslim's
responsibility to follow up with people
and it's also the new Muslim's
responsibility to put in effort because
the Sahaba themselves, they did not
establish the entire religion of Islam
instantly. But they as it was revealed
to them, they established it and they
accepted it. So it's it's on us to after
we accept Islam to strive as hard as we
can. Obviously, you're not expected to
fast like every single every single
Monday and Thursday right away or not to
fast every single white day, but it's
you are expected to try as much as you
can and Allahh is the most merciful, but
he is also the most just. So, if he
knows that you're not you're abandoning
something that you should be doing,
you'll be held accountable for that. But
if if you're doing if if you're if you
know you're doing exactly what you
should be doing or you you know you're
doing exactly the most that you can be
doing then Allahh will accept that from
you and make it easy for you.
You had mentioned something earlier
about refugees and Jesus in this video
that we saw he was also Palestinian Jew
refugee. He was a Muslim who submitted
his will to God. He wasn't God.
When I was in Bosnia not too long ago,
you had um I saw this video where you
have a Serbian
politician saying that and I was really
taken back that Jesus was a Serb and
that God is Serbian. So Islam just cuts
all that nonsense out. God uh as we
talked about is not his creation, but he
created creation. So what were you um
now involved in also with the refugees?
So yeah, um in St. Louis, alhamdulillah,
I was able to meet with a lot of
refugees, um help them get resources so
that they could get uh uh services
through Muslim organizations that
provide support for refugees. Um, I was
able to go shopping for refugees with
one of my friends and get them their
necessities that they needed. Um, like
pots and pans, um, good food because a
lot of Muslims in the US refu that are
refugees like under the current
administration, a lot of their programs
that they were that they had before that
they that they expected to have before
were cut. So like if you come into this
country and you're you're told before,
I'm going to get this and this and this,
then they're like, yeah, I'm going to
come to this country otherwise all
legal. They all here
legalally legally legally brought into
this country on refugee on I don't know
if it's a refugee visa or what it's
called but legally into this country
accepted into this country from their
home that was destroyed by a lot of
times by the US like for example I met
with Syrian refugees and US bomb them a
lot as along with Russia and other
groups but um like these people come to
the US and they are told they're going
to have there's going to be all kinds of
services and stuff like that and when
they when they come here there's like 50
families living in a a hotel, a single
floor in a hotel, and they all have five
kids staying in the same room with them,
and they do do not have access to
clothes, and they don't have access to
proper food, and they don't have access
to the necessities they need or even
means to get jobs and stuff like that.
Like, many of them don't even speak
English. Like the like the Syrian family
I've met with, they don't even speak
English like at all. So, how are they
supposed to uh you you invite them into
this country, but you want them to
succeed, and you don't give them any
means to succeed. like why would they
come to this country at that point and
then not the US or not the like the UK
or not the Netherlands or not another
country where they have these programs.
So if you're gonna
like we we have to we as Muslims have to
make we can't expect we also can't
expect that the the US government is
going to give them what what they
deserve because that is not the what
we've seen in the past. What we have to
do as Muslims is we have to step up
where the government is having
shortcomings and we have to make sure,
hey, we just heard about this new
refugee family that came. um let's get
in touch with them and see if what kind
of support they need and if they if they
know English yet, if we can get them
involved with a English as a second
language class, if they don't uh if they
have any uh if they have kids, like if
we can make sure that we can do a drive
to get them hygiene products, like it's
very hard for new refugees who don't
have any con connections in the US to
get off the ground. they're they
struggle a lot and they spend their like
their food stamp money and stuff like
that. Not always in the best places cuz
they don't know where to get uh
affordable meals and they don't know
where to get services for their kids and
for themselves. So we have to do more to
go out of our way to uh connect with
refugees and make sure that we are doing
our part as Muslims as to get them the
zaka they need to get them the to do
fundraising and get them the hygiene
products they need to get them the food
they need because we have so many
Muslims mashallah that have the means.
We have many many Muslim doctors, many
Muslim uh business people, many people
who are like a well off but then we have
many Muslims who are struggling as well.
So, we have to make sure we do our best
to close that divide and help the people
who need help in
it's a great reminder. We're going to go
ahead and um finish off here when we
talk about the miracle of the Quran.
We're going to go ahead and this is
every Muslim is striving to memorize
some of the Quran but has to know
certain verses from the Quran to be able
to pray. So hopefully after we do this
little example here, I'll get you a gift
at the end. And this is that miracle
that we talking about just one the
authenticity and how it's been
preserved. So I'm going to start it off
and he's going to take it away. I have
no doubt about it. So
I drink some water first to make sure.
Go ahead. You know when we recite the
Quran, we say,
which means uh we're seeking refuge with
God Almighty Allah from the cursed
devil. So this destroys that argument
that Islam is from the devil. And then
we say,
"Alhamdulillah.
Amen.
Amen. So if you like Thank you, Nico.
Thank you for that amazing story.
Inshallah, this is an inspiration for so
many. Even our brother Andrew Tate, if
he sees this, Andrew, this is somebody
who you helped bring to the door of
Islam. He's got some great advice. Thank
you.
And for you out there, if you like to
see what we actually recited, the
translation, the meaning, and is a
potential book from the creator, we know
it's a verbatim word of God Almighty,
the Quran. I'm going to give it to you
to test it for yourself to read the
translation. Go to the deanshow.com and
get your free copy of the Quran. And
we'll see you next time. Subscribe if
you haven't already to not miss exciting
programs like this one. Until then,
peace be with you.
akum.