Stories of Israeli Jewish Converts Embracing Islam | Dr. Sh. Yasir Qadhi

in alhamdulillah nama don't wanna stay no humanists el faro when inaudible aji mnsure durian Faustina women say Yadier Molina man phenomenal ela romo un homme à la da da da da da la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah one muhammadan abduhu Morris or oh yeah you holla Dena I'm an otaku la haha kata-kata voila de Mouton in LA wa anta Muslim une Johannes otaku Rebecca melody Holika common MC Waheeda wahala common hazard raha wah bottom in Houma DJ Allen kathira wa Nisa what taco la holiday Tessa noona be he well or ham innallaha karna la cumbre liebe am a bird Maria brothers and sisters in Islam the majority of us sitting here the vast majority are those whom allah subhana wa ta'ala blessed to be born into muslim families our parents were muslims for by and large our mothers and fathers taught us the faith we went to the massage it with them as children our parents arranged for us to learn the quran our cultures by and large have been islamic surrounded by Muslims and I speak right now of those who are born into Muslim families and I know that a hamdulillah some amongst us have converted to the faith the majority of as we know were born into it have you ever wondered if you hadn't been born into a Muslim family have you ever imagined if the world were a different place and Allah Scudder upon you were different than what it is if you had not been gifted Islam as a baby a childbirth would you ever have discovered it for most of us brothers and sisters we've never thought about that question for most of us we take Islam for granted we take it as a birthright we take it as if it is a part in parcel of exists since and so we take it for granted and what you take for granted by and large you do not appreciate for most of us we have never wondered what if I didn't know this faith what if I was born into a different religion a different civilization would my intellectual curiosity been so strong that I would have questioned my own faith would my courage and bravery my conviction be so much that I would have stood up against my own relatives would I have challenged the status quo would I have been brave enough curious enough courageous enough to actually go against what my family what my society what my culture had taught me if I knew that the truth was in other than what my society had and this question brothers and sisters is one that I have been thinking about for a long time and I want you as well to think about this because if you do not appreciate the gift of Islam if you do not understand how blessed and fortunate you and I are to have simply been born into this faith then subhanAllah we will take this faith for granted and that is why brothers and sisters those who convert to the faith those of you in this audience who were born in other traditions and you are now sitting here our prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said they shall get a double reward double of anything that we have done because obviously their whole lives they have had to change they have had to cut off they have had to stand courageously our Prophet SAW son said that person will get a Jew to hold their fan double reward because the what person that he has done or she has done the courage that they have shown is something that we can only wonder would I have had that courage or not and Allah subhana WA Ta'ala reminds us in the Quran hole before lillahi wa birra ma t he forbid like a failure FRA who who Ohio memory maroon tell them with Allah Sobhan and Rama let them be happy even Abbas said the of Allah is Islam and the Rehema of Allah is the Quran who will be fought lillahi wa birra if a banana carefully of Rahu say with Islam and the Quran this is what they should be happy about this is what their forest should be based on they should be happy that Allah blessed them with Islam that Allah gifted them the Quran forbid re Cavalia Fratto who are higher on miyajima oon the happiness of islam the happiness of the quran is a greater happiness than any other happiness that they can gather any money and he experience any joy who a high roman mmah Yoji maroon and brothers and sisters these emotions of happiness of sadness of joy of anxiety they bring out the reality of our inner thought and I was somewhat amused two weeks ago if you remember we had the storm this winter storm you know the the the schools were shut down for a week as you know Subhan Allah as you know for six seven days our children did not go to school by and large I know my children were very happy and I'm sure yours were as well very happy they don't have to go to school and I met one of our brothers who owns a business he was very sad because he's losing business for those six days and I thought subhanAllah the same thing the same issue it brings out what is the reality what is actually these children don't want to go to school they're just so happy I'm did Allah we don't have to go to school and the other brother his Lisp is dependent on people coming to his office they shop and because everything is closed there is notice for those days and so his sadness comes out and this also made me reflect Subhan Allah do we really have that happiness for Islam do we really have that that joy that we should have and Allah subhana WA Ta'ala reminds us in the Quran well hola hay alaikum wa rahmatu who muzaka min come in ahead in ibadah y lacan allahu use a key Menasha it is a las blessings on you it is a la swaddle a las gift to you a las generosity I didn't earn Islam you did not deserve Islam well Ola fog low llahi alaikum wa rahmatu who were it not for Allah as father and a law's mercy no one amongst you would ever have been purified and forgiven why lack in the law I use a key Manisha but it is Allah subhana WA Ta'ala who chooses whom he wants to purify and to forgive we need to understand and appreciate these blessings these gifts that Allah subhana WA Ta'ala has given us because it is a large choice that he has guided us man you did Allah whoever Allah subhana WA Ta'ala wants when you read allahu and ya dia who whoever Allah wants to guide yatra who lead Islam he is the one who opens his heart to Islam woman unit and Jolinda who and whomever Allah wants to misguide then Allah Azza WA JAL will take him to another path it is Allah scudder that I was born into a Muslim family it is Allah other that my neighbor was not born into the same type of family yes it is true that this is a gift that Allah has given me the least that I can do is to appreciate that gift because when someone has gifted you something you do not appreciate it then you are showing a type of Cofer a type of rejection of the generosity of the one who gives you a gift how about the gift of Islam and how about the generosity of the creator of this world Allah subhana WA Ta'ala reminds us in the Quran that a group of people think that they're doing us a favor by embracing Islam no llamó noon a lake and Aslam oh this is the group of the hypocrites the group of the munafa kun they embraced Islam and they boasted to the prophets of Salaam they walked into the Masjid puffed up with pride and they said yes we have accepted Islam your religion we follow it and they were trying to show that this is a favour they're doing to the Prophet to Islam ya Mon una alayka and Aslam o they think they are doing you a favor by accepting Islam no bad allahu yamuna no alaykum and had a complete Imani in kuntum söderling no that is not the case that is not the case rather Allah is the one who is doing you a favor Allah is the one who is showing you mercy that he has guided you to Islam if only you are truthful and sincere it is not any favor that I have done to anybody it is not something that I have managed to do la hawla wala quwata illa billah it is Allah subhana WA Ta'ala who has gifted and blessed us in the Battle of the trench the battle of azaab the Sahaba their conscious of who they are their conscious who their enemies are they were digging the trench and they began to sing poetry and the prophet sallallaahu Alesana went into the trench and he's singing that poetry with them he's singing that chant with them and what was that poetry wallahi la ilaha medina what a sad dr. Wallace el wallace Elena well la he were it not for Allah we would never have been guided and we would never have been found this Islam were it not for Allah we would never give charity and we would never ever pray look at the Sahaba they appreciate the blessing this this this poem is not in the Quran Allah didn't tell them it's coming they're the ones they're thinking about Islam they're thinking about guidance they're thinking about Hidayah and as they are surrounded by ten thousand men the Battle of the trench as they're gonna be cut off for one month their spirits are happy because at least they have Islam well la hello la la the Dana well-muscled what else Elena what else Elena well I saw dr. Wallace Elena were it not for Allah we would not have been guided we were not to prayed we would not have given charity and our prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself is reminded that even he does not have the power to guide whom he wants it is Allah who chooses whom to guide our Prophet sallallahu aleyhi wa salem is told in the Quran in Nakata demon habita you do not guide those whom you love when a keenan ilaha demon Isha but it is allah subhana wa ta'ala who guides the one whom he wants have you ever thought brothers and sisters that the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam so much wanted about Allah Hadiya and yet abu talib was not blessed with Hidayah and here we are blessed with that that we never had that strong desire before our existence it wasn't something we wilt have you ever wondered a Brougham alayhis-salam how much he made throughout to Allah for his father's idea how much he begged Allah ibrahim el him so much so until allah tells him this one thing don't do it your father is gone now you cannot make dua for him you cannot pray for him now but he kept on praying praying praying because he wanted he daya for his father and here we are and Allah Azza WA JAL chose that hidayah for us he gifted us that he daya so the least that we can do brothers and sisters is to thank allah and appreciate that blessing upon us brothers and sisters many of you might know I have returned from a trip from from Palestine and I went to Masjid al-aqsa and I want to share with you some of the most amazing stories that I have come across in my life when it comes to converts and we all as Muslims born into Islam one of the reasons we love when people convert one of the reasons it's so exciting we all become happy is because it reaffirms our own faith in our tradition it makes us feel at home Dalila that's something we might not have appreciated but this person has appreciated and we feel and we should rightfully feel we feel a sense of pride that al hamdulillah somebody has found what we have taken for granted and there's no problem in and being that happy and whatnot but you should be happy at your own Islam by the way right you should be even happy that Allah has guided you to Islam and there's it's good to reaffirm our faith through the stories of Converse and that's why our convert brothers and sisters they know every time they're in a Muslim gathering the first question after they find out they're Muslim oh how did you convert that conversion story it is really powerful for us born Muslims we love to hear it because it reaffirms our faith it makes us feel so good it makes us feel a sense of pride and I want to share with you stories that I myself have interviewed and witnessed because for me and allah azzawajal has blessed me to see many and interact with many converse but this group for me was the most bizarre and the most moving for me and this is one of the reasons why this question even though I've been thinking about for a long time it really became very powerful in my mind for the last few weeks I'm gonna only tell you three stories I met a group of of Converse all of these converts are Israeli Jewish converts to Islam all of them and it was truly the most strange stories of Converse that I have ever met the first of them I'm gonna quickly summarize the three stories because each of them is very powerful that it really moved me the first of them I actually got an email many months ago last year and I unfortunately don't have time to answer to all of my email but sometimes were just blesses and I'm able to an email came to my public account and it was a lady from Israel and she literally starts off that I was born into a Jewish family I'm from a western country I cannot give too many details by the will understand why and I migrated to Israel for religious regions it's called the Aliyah Hydra I made hit zero to Israel as a young girl I abandoned the West she's in the this part of the world I abandoned and I moved there and over the last few years I grew agnostic now I'm looking for the truth and I've read the Quran and I'm you know and I came across your lectures online and I'm interested etcetera etcetera so obviously this is very interesting of course it's a bit strange as well I mean very rare to find that type of person so began a series of emails and whatnot then I said you know what it was I then emailed her in like in late November so you know I'm coming in January why don't we meet up in aqsa we meet up she had never been to Oxford because she's not allowed to go because she's obviously from another background she had never meant to master Luke's law so we agreed to meet up and subhanAllah to make a long story short she was not exposed to Islam via Dawa tables via pamphlets that doesn't happen in that land it does not happen rather she felt a sense of emptiness and she did not find that peace in her own faith of her tradition she didn't find it in Christianity she looked at Buddhism other religions and in the end out of desperation she picked up a on she didn't think she'd find anything in it and she said this is the book I have been taught is full of hatred this is what she told me my whole life I have been taught this book teaches to kill other people hatred of other people and she goes I read it and read it and read it and I found nothing but peace I found nothing but peace and so she went online looking for lectures she found my lectures listen to some of them and subhanallah my lecture about hadiza was the one that really moved her a lot about her listen up she said I wanted to be like Khadija I wanted to be like Aditya and subhanAllah brothers and sisters she gave her Shahada in Masjid al-aqsa with our group and gathering there I gave her the Shahada she said the Kalima and she accepted Islam in Masjid al-aqsa and we were not able to record because she said she cannot be public about this she cannot tell other people or else is gonna cause issues for her and her family that obviously she has to keep it under the you know keep it under the cover and I gave her Islamic name of Aisha so we called her now and our sisters that were in the group are in touch with her and Subhan Allah she's now active online that WA believe it or not but anonymously she's giving dower anonymously online now when I was in aqsa I met a brother there who knew me from online and say look I need to introduce you to a group but you cannot take any pictures you have to be on the load don't come with anybody just yourself in masjid aqsa and i said who are these they said he said we are giving that wa to some of the yahood but we're doing it not publicly because if you do it publicly there's gonna be a huge trouble so I said there are actually converts here in this land and he told me this brother we estimate at least 1,000 people have converted we know around three four hundred and from those three four hundred we know that there are others the majority of them are not saying anything to anybody they come and learn what they need to and then go back to their daily lives a few of them a few of them are public and a few of them have had to flee from their families and homes and come and find shelter in Muslim lands and they have heard about who they want to meet you and and and they would want to situation of course my pledge of my honor to meet with them so after Surat al-fatiha created a masjid aqsa we went to one of the offices inside the the complex and we met like five or six of Israeli Jews who had converted to Islam none of them had converted by one-on-one Dawa none of them because that doesn't really happen you know in America we have this this freedom you go in a booth and you give that way you'll get pamphlets you know you knock on your neighbor's house what not there as you know there's a lot of religious segregation there's no public preaching per se even though theoretically it's legal but you know what's gonna happen if they actually do this right so each one of them they had been guided to Islam on their own like just research and internet and and and buying pamphlets or or doing this and that and then they're contacting you know Muslim families until finally there is this a small group of brothers that they're giving that in Hebrew in Hebrew and so eventually they're all connected to to this group and I just want to mention two more stories that really moved me one of them was a sister she's now 19 years old once she was 16 when she was 16 she wrote an email to this group her brothers who have a page on Facebook which is in Hebrew that were to Islam she was 16 years old and she says I have decided to convert to Islam and the group emailed back look we can't do anything we cannot do anything you are a minor and we cannot get into any trouble best of luck and goodbye she kept on emailing 50 questions I'll clear the questions and they have two answers just simple questions right she began to pray in her own house in her closet at the age of 16 and she began to get material online from them and I was with the brother who eventually there was a family an elderly man and woman they're living in outside of Jerusalem and they found or the group that is the that were group they found a family that at great risk to them would be willing to take in this this young girl this young girl the night she turned 18 because they said we can't do anything legally we don't any trouble the night she turned 18 she packed her bags went to a phone booth called the brother and said I'm standing here you told me when I'm 18 it would be legal I'm 18 come pick me up I cannot be with my family anymore the brother became very worried what is this a trap what not because obviously is very dangerous right and he went with a group of family sisters what not they found out everything seems legit what not she says I need a place I cannot be at home I'm not allowed to pray they're forcing me to do this and that I need to get out to worship allah subhanho wa taala they made a few phone calls a family agreed with great risk to them to take this young lady in and she's now learning Arabic memorizing Quran now listen in that country when you're 18 do you know what you have to do you have to go to the military an army okay and her papers came and the family said look we're not gonna do anything this is between you and the government cuz again they understand you cannot risk your life right so you know what they did she said fine give me my paperwork and I'm gonna go wearing my hijab and telling them I'm a Muslim she went to the ID if she went to the the military and she and the brother told me the brother is saying yes he will lie an attraction ever because I swear I left her a mile outside I didn't want to go close to the post I just dropped her I said call me when you're done because they're scared for their own lives right so the elderly couple they left him out sir outside she walked to the post wearing hijab she handed the papers of the you know conscription and she goes by the way I'm a Muslim so you should know that before you do anything else and for three months her case went back and forth what could they do until finally they gave her a letter that for reasons for whatever we don't need you to work in the army but the courage she must have had to walk in and to be who she is and now she's memorizing the Quran learning Arabic her Arabic was better than her English when she's talking to me and Subhan Allah just mind-boggling for me to meet somebody like this and the third story and time is short but this third story will I it was very emotional for me and I had to really control my tears because it was very very difficult for me to maintain composure there was one of the people there there was some brothers and four or five sisters as usual there are more sisters who convert even in that society and there was one sister was very quiet she didn't say a single word not a single word while we were there other than set up and we're going around the table what is your store what is your story tell me your story and when it came to her she couldn't speak English she's like third generation now you know living in that land she speaks fluent Hebrew but she doesn't speak English so it was being translated in Hebrew to me by the middle man of the brother there and her story was so traumatic for me that it really it shook me and I almost had to just break down I'd literally compose myself this lady in her 30s she was the wife of a rabbi and she decided to convert to Islam after reading it on her own studying in and what not her husband when he found out of course divorced her threatened her and then took them to court that my wife is mentally insane and she has to be deprived of her children she had three children and the brother the middle man told me and this literally caused me almost to break down she said he said that this mother has not seen her children for three years for three years she has not seen her children because the husband has said that she's dangerous to the kids because now she has embraced Islam for three years and she said to me this lady that wallah he I swear if they threw me in jail I will not give up Islam if they throw me into a cave and abandon me I would not give up Islam and I almost broke down that this was a lady she she voluntarily gave up her three children she did not lie for allah subhana wa ta'ala she did not say an untruth she just said I'm a Muslim and because of that they took her children away from her and it really made me feel so here we are we cannot even give up our sins brothers and sisters you know we cannot give up anything for Islam but here is a lady and she did not even grow up in a Muslim household and she told me if they throw me in jail or they throw me into a cave and abandon me I will not give up Islam and you know you hear these stories from banana bin robot from food and I'm not comparing a stuff for a lot this to that but you know we've kind of sort of lost that level of Iman in our Muslim societies when's the last time you met somebody with that level of Iman we've kind of lost that persecution Iman but to meet these people in the very land that we know is the land of Masha and the land of our birdmobile to meet the people and they said to me their families don't just view them as converts their families view them as traitors they have left the society and they have nowhere to go they're being taken care of by poor Muslims here and there and they're giving up their society their luxury their life and in this case their children for the sake of allah subhanahu wata'ala if that is not going to cause us to appreciate the blessings of islam then what will brothers and sisters let us always remember that Allah subhana WA Ta'ala gifted us this faith without us having to lift a finger the majority of us were born into it and even those who converted yes your struggles are more than ours ours but look at the struggles of those brothers and sisters in that land remember in the Quran we learned that when the people of Jannah enter Jannah what will they say what will they think of they will say as the Quran says were called al hamdu lillahi lady had an ax he had a woman Kuna Lena Headey Lola and had and this is a quranic dua from the people of Jannah even when they get to Jenna what are they thanking Allah for alhamdulillah who has guided us to this idea and we would never have been guided to this idea unless allah subhana wa ta'ala had guided us to it al hamdulillah for the blessing of Islam alhamdulillah for the blessing of the Quran alhamdulillah for the blessing of being of the Ummah of the Prophet sallallahu aleyhi would sell them barakallahu Quran and are lame whenever any welcome be mercy him AIT will decorate Hakeem ahora mattis maroon was tough for a lot of Lima D welcome what he said any Muslim could lead a Memphis tofu in the food alhamdulillah alhamdulillah Hill you are hidden I had a summit alladhina married when I'm unit well I'm Nicola who could when I had Roberto brothers and sisters even our prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa send them and he is who he is is reminded by allah rabbul izza of the blessings of islam upon him so how about me and you even then a B and the mustafa and on a soul sallallahu alayhi wa seldom is reminded by Allah that Allah blessed him with Islam Mukunda a dream al khattab what al-eman you did not know we are a surah law what was the book nor what was a man but Allah Azza WA JAL has given it to you as a nor you did not know what it was whoa whoa Jeddah cabal an Fajada we found you not on guidance we are the ones who gave you guidance even the Nabi is reminded of the blessings of Islam how about me and you brothers and sisters let us never become complacent with this blessing of Islam because understand that with that blessing comes responsibility Allah subhana WA Ta'ala explicitly says in the Quran what entity' well lowest abide ill omen welcome from Malaya kunu I'm a locum if you don't appreciate the gift if you turn away from the gift Allah will gift it to somebody else he will replace you with another group and they will not be like you the purpose of this gift is to bless to be blessed by it to appreciate it to love Allah for it to worship Allah to act upon it brothers and sisters and one of the ways that we can thank Allah is to embody the teachings of Islam and to want others to be guided as well so each and every one of us should become a role model for our colleagues our neighbors our co-workers brothers and sisters I conclude with a beautiful hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa seldom narrated in the most editor covered hack him that our Prophet SAW would make this dua to Allah let us memorize this drop and let us appreciate the blessings of Islam through this door the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would make the route to Allah Allah Muhammad Nabeel Islamic ottoman what fallen e-bill islami pardon what for vaniville Islam erupted and this is the door I want you to memorize it Aloha my father Nabil islami Hyman Allah Muhammad Nabeel islami or Eden Allah Muhammad is Nami or aquaeden oh Allah protect me with Islam as I am standing protect me with Islam as I am sitting protect me with Islam as I am lying down this was a prophetic do I he always remembered I am a Muslim because Allah bless me with Islam so o Allah protect me with Islam guide me through Islam whether I'm standing sitting or lying down always have me covered by Islam we should also make this door and never take Islam for granted for ourselves and especially for our children and grandchildren after us a la moneda and feminine aloha monitored and leather-headed youngbae them and in la oferta well I have Manila for Raja well a Dana in La Caleta well a medieval English a fighter well Aras Iran Elias sorta a llama friendly now what if one in Edina Cebu Kuna been a man one otaku Rubina's really latina I'm a new Robin in the karo for him Allah is al-islam almost I mean Allah is Islam well muslimeen Allah is al-islam I will muslimeen Allah moment or dinner or other Islam all Muslim in Ebisu infinity who benefit what you added me repeated vehicle you yazis about the law in Nevada and Baraka membrane better behave in FC within America the who do see myself become a you Helena Mangini he were in say for called as a mean party no edema in the la Habana equatorial saloon at an abbey yeah you alladhina amanu sallu alayhi wasalam muslima a lot more salli wa sallim wa barik won him up the quran surah muhammad in why the early was obvious marine a better law in the la jolla mood with idly with s any waiter at the harbour way and in fact it was moon casual body yellow comb they'll come to the karoon who the coral logically made Kirkham wash guru here's a telecom political oaxaca optimists wada you

Channel: Memphis Islamic Center (MIC)

Views: 128,332

Rating: 4.8323441 out of 5

Keywords: islam, muslim, quran, koran, prophet, muhammad, yasir, qadhi, memphis islamic center, dr. sh. yasir qadhi, jerusalem, al aqsa

Id: bZgmQ1V0LDQ

Length: 31min 24sec (1884 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 07 2018