Modern Challenges, Timeless Faith: Imam Ishaq Majeed's Perspective

In this episode of the American Muslim Podcast, host Imam Tariq El-Amin speaks with Imam Ishaq Majeed, a second-generation Muslim from Atlanta. The discussion covers a variety of topics, including Imam Ishaq's upbringing in a close-knit Muslim community, his extensive career in cybersecurity with a focus on empowering minorities, and his experiences traveling and engaging with Muslim communities worldwide. They also delve into the importance of a physical community in Islam, the role of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a model for Muslims, and the significance of the Fayda Tijanniya. Imam Ishaq introduces the Fayda App, a digital platform offering books, audio, and lessons on Islam for everyone. Additionally, they talk about a viral social media clip of Imam Ishaq reciting the opening chapter of the Quran at a presidential inauguration event. The episode concludes with a call to support Bayan Islamic Graduate School and the Muhammad Ali Scholarship.

00:00 Introduction to Bayan on Demand

00:57 Welcome to the American Muslim Podcast

01:10 Guest Introduction: Imam Ishaq Majeed

02:30 Formative Memories and Early Influences

03:41 Community and Upbringing

07:47 The Importance of Physical Community

10:58 Teaching and Spreading Islam

19:20 Travel Experiences and Cultural Observations

23:11 Challenges of Practicing Islam in Western Society

24:06 Personal Commitment and Responsibility in Faith

25:13 Community Support and Spiritual Guidance

27:57 The Example of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

31:07 Martial Arts and Spiritual Discipline

31:49 Reciting Quran at the Presidential Inauguration

34:47 Introduction to Fayda Tijanniya

38:25 The Bayan Experience

41:18 Closing Remarks and Future Endeavors

Links from our guest:

https://thenationsmosque.org/donations/capital-campaign/

The Fayda App for iphone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fayda-digital/id6450007889

for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.faydadigital&pli=1

bayanonline.org

Subscribe to Bayan on demand at https://shorturl.at/wlQl7

Donate to the Muhammad Ali Scholarship at https://pages.donately.com/bayan/campaign/2028-endowment-campaign/donate 

Cover Art & Intro Music - Tariq I. El-Amin @ImamTariqElamin

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May the peace that only

God can give be upon you.

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Welcome to the American Muslim

Podcast presented by Bayan on Demand.

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I'm your host, Imam Tariq El-Amin

and it is my pleasure to continue

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bringing to you a new conversation

each week with a different leader.

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We speak with leaders from across

the nation who serve in a variety

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of capacities, and today we

have the pleasure of having our

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dear Brother Imam Ishaq Majeed, he

is a second generation Muslim, born

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and raised in Atlanta's West End and

Atlanta MA of ALA communities.

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He's a graduate of Muhammad Schools

of Atlanta and received a BS in

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mathematics from Morehouse College.

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You can check his complete

bio out in the show notes.

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I should also mention he earned a master's

degree in Islamic studies from Bayan

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Islamic graduate School, where he was

honored to be a Muhammad Ali Scholar.

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this brother also has 25 plus years of

experience in information technology

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and cybersecurity, starting his

own firm, Kubra Cybersecurity, with

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a goal of expanding cybersecurity

opportunities for minorities.

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so we welcome you to the podcast Brother

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and Ramadan Mubarak to you.

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Imam Ishaq: Ramadan Mubarak

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Imam Tariq: we invite you to

be as open, as transparent.

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However, much you are comfortable being.

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however much you want to reveal.

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we are here for it.

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we say that because we know there's

a blessing, there's a benefit in

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these stories that people may be

able to connect to and draw some

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inspiration from, some direction from.

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So that said, I'm gonna put the

question to you a bit differently.

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where are you right now,

and how did you get here?

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Imam Ishaq: where am I right now?

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That's the kind of broad question.

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Physically right now I'm in

Washington, DC on the DMV area.

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Yeah.

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I'm actually sitting in,

master Ham's Community Center.

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Okay.

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in dc.

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as you may know, master Muhammad

is going through a renovation.

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a very large renovation.

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and, for anybody

listening, please go ahead.

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Go and donate on the

Nation's Mosque website.

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I had to do a little plug,

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Imam Tariq: lessons involved in that,

we'll put the link in the show notes,

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Imam Ishaq: So that's

physically where I am,

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Imam Tariq: And, where you are

right now, and throughout the

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course of this conversation, people

will get a better understanding of

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the work that you're engaged in.

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But before we get to this present moment,

what is the first formative memory or

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event or conversation that you can look

back and say, this is the thing that

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influenced the trajectory of my life.

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Imam Ishaq: So

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I was born Muslim, second generation,

and, I grew up in a Muslim community.

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Which is maybe unique

or rare in our context.

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When I say Muslim community, we

hear the adhan five times a day.

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We walk to the masjid Muslims in

the neighborhood, and so I didn't

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know anything other than this land.

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My, in my formative years,

that's all I knew, Islam.

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And as I got older, we know

that they're more than just

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Muslims, other people as well.

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Of course, even my extended

family is not Muslim.

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Imam Tariq: Mmm

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Imam Ishaq: I didn't know that at a

very young age, it didn't dawn on me.

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That didn't really dawn on me

until I was a little older.

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You can really see the difference.

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the first memory,

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Ooh,

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man, that's a good question, brother.

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Got me thinking.

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Imam Tariq: Take your time.

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Imam Ishaq: one of the things

that, 'cause we have so many

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influential people in our lives.

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I remember khutba's.

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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Imam Ishaq: I remember going to the

masjid for fajr we grew up in the Muslim

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community going to the masjid for fajr..

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I could literally walk out my door, walk

across the field and be at the masjid

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and sitting in the masjid and for those

that don't know, the West End Community,

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the Imam, there was Imam Jamil Al-Amin.

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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Imam Ishaq: And sometimes

at fajr in those mornings

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He would be in there, 'cause

we had a wood burning, stove.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: Where you actually open

the door, you put some cardboard in

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there, you put some wood in there.

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And I remember those days.

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Sometimes it would be just he and I.

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And he's stoking that fire.

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And we would just be

talking, how you doing, man?

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Everything good.

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I remember, in his khutba's, almost

every khutba that he would say the

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narration of the prophet ﷺ where one

of the people asked the prophet ﷺ,

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so why do you pray five times a day?

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He said.

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If a man were to bathe in a river five

times a day, how much dirt would be

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left instead of no significant amount?

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He said that is like an empty prayer.

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I don't remember a khutbawhere

he didn't say that.

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Imam Tariq: Mm.

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Imam Ishaq: And Imam Jamil

salat was his thing.

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Praying, in salat praying in congregation.

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that was his thing.

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and then I also remember 'cause I

went to Muhammad schools, Sister,

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Clara Muhammad schools Warith Deen

Muhammad High School in Atlanta.

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And I also remember the khutba's of Imam

Pasha, or Sheikh Pasha, Ibrahim Pasha.

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And

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Imam Plemon El-Amin

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that we grew up on.

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I remember, Imam, Pasha had a very

unique way, he would set up his khutba's.

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He would set it up and hit you with

The main point after the setup.

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Imam Tariq: Right.

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Imam Ishaq: It

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was a very unique way making this point.

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I remember that

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those good feelings the good

environments that I was raised in,

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I didn't see a possibility of being

anything other than this muslim.

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It just didn't make sense, for me.

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there were, Christians in the neighborhood

and everything when they would do

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Christmas celebration and come out

with their gifts, we said, that's

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cool, but we have eid that's three

days and we have it two times, right?

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Mm-hmm.

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and things like playing basketball,

we'll be playing on the basketball court.

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The adhan comes on and the

non Muslims say, oh, it's time

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for you Muslims to go pray.

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Y'all gotta go pray.

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sometimes when we're playing soccer

they say, oh, y'all gotta go pray.

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so there was always positiveness around

being Muslim around pleasing Allah

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Around loving the messenger of Allah.

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so Allah raised me in this environment,

I don't know if there's, any other

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way that would make sense for me.

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Imam Tariq: the question was

already answered for you.

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Imam Ishaq: Alhamdulillah.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: And we gotta

be thankful to Allah.

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Because there were influences.

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There's always influences.

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But I truly believe that because we

heard the adhan five times a day, not

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from our cell phones, but from an actual

person on a loud speaker, that had a

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great impact on solidifying Islam in us.

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Imam Tariq: So with your upbringing and

a lot of what you said resonates with

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me as a second generation Muslim, as

a sister Clara Muhammad School alumn,

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here in Chicago, and the way that the

community had such a huge impact on me.

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You had the benefit of being able to,

as you say, walk across the field to

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the masjid for fajr prayer and living

in a community with other Muslims

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Do you feel like that's something

that's shaped your expectation of

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what communities should look like?

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Even though we are a minority in

the United States of America, Mm,

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Imam Ishaq: definitely, definitely.

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And that I gotta step back a little bit to

the previous question, if you don't mind.

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Can I do that?

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Imam Tariq: Go right ahead please.

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Do

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Imam Ishaq: my father, he would reinforce,

what we were learning in school, meaning

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we had to re I, I remember doing Ramadan.

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We would, he would have us all sitting

on the couch reading, Qur'an In English.

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We would read it.

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We didn't like it at the time.

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we wanna go play and do all, but

that was foundational, we had

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different version of the bible.

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then you had encyclopedia

Brittanica that whole row, right?

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But he would say things about the

stories, doing comparative analysis

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of the stories in the Quran and the

stories of the prophets, the stories in

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the Quran and the stories in the Bible.

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there was also that, And of course, my

mother who would teach at the school.

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And also she would cover

and everything like this.

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So all of that is just foundational.

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but as far as the

question about community.

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yes.

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I believe one of the things that,

we are lacking today in some

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areas is a physical community.

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Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

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Imam Ishaq: we have a spiritual

community, but in many areas, we

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just don't live next to each other.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: We don't walk to

the masjid with each other.

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We have to drive to the

masjid and things like that.

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sometimes we can't even

make it to the masjid.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: that physical community,

a lot of the aspects of it, Islam,

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that become almost, and I hope

this doesn't get taken the wrong

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way, but it almost becomes passive.

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Or subconscious if you will.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: Right Where you are

walking around, you may not hear this.

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Oh, there go the adhan So, you

know what time it is for school.

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what the times are because you heard

the alarm go off at the same time.

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So now you recognize it even

when you are away from that area.

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man, it's time for salat.

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and this is Before cell phones in

your pocket, we would be at the

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malls or hey, it's time, for salat.

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But this physical aspect of where

our children get to see how,

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men and women interact, little

simple things like this, right?

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How older brothers dress,

How they treat each other.

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how Muslim women interact so forth.

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the different ways that people dress,

the different ways that people speak and

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treat each other adab things like this.

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or even, just like walking

to the masjid right?

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Imam Tariq: What

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Imam Ishaq: do you do

when the adhan is called?

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this physical community is something

that I think would help our

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communities grow exponentially.

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Exponentially.

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Imam Tariq: So you are a

student of Islam, a teacher.

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Can you talk a bit about the

importance of the physical

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expression of God consciousness.

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Of Allah consciousness that would have

somebody stop in the middle of the day.

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pull over to the side of the road,

pull out a prayer rug in a space

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where there are other people who

are not Muslim looking Can you speak

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to that from a, a teacher's lens

and, what do you see as the impact?

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Imam Ishaq: this is the example

of the prophets ﷺ People

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knew his character first.

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They knew him for 40 years.

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they saw how he spoke.

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they saw that he was trustworthy.

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that he was manly.

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They saw all of these things.

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They saw that he cared for

the people around them.

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This is the same for a physical community.

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They may not know my name, but

they know that this guy when that

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prayer called, he gonna go to that

green building in the West end.

229

they know that they may not know

what we're doing in the building.

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They know when they hear that call.

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I remember there was an

interview, a news interview

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Of some of the Rastafarian people

that lived in our neighborhood.

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And what I remember from that interview

is that when the news person asked

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about, the call to prayer, It's like

when we hear that call to prayer.

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We know that we are safe because

the Muslims are still here.

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Imam Tariq: hmm.

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Ma Shallah.

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Imam Ishaq: being that example of

good character, That example of,

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you know, Allah uses word in Qur'an,

qawimoon, he use it in regards to women.

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Right?

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rijal, qawimoon wa nisa Right.

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Mm-hmm.

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qawimoon are those who stand up,

Who have a standard of being.

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will always provide, will always protect.

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how can they see this?

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how can they know this?

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People can put that on For certain

events, but in a community where

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they see you all the time, it's no

way to turn it off and turn it on.

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And I'm not saying people do that.

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people will always, they'll see

your character before they know your

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name, they'll see your character and

they will know what you believe in.

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They see your character and they will

know if they can trust you, they don't

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even have to say anything to you.

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This is part of the benefits of a

physical community to non-Muslims.

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To fellow Muslims, they

see the same thing.

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I believe in surah tul-Kahf Where Allah

says, turn your face to those who seek

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Allah in the mornings, in the evening.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: How you would know that by

observing people's character, right?

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Not by what they say but their character.

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So that's, I think that's

the first part of education.

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You know,

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Malik, his mother said before you

learn his fiqh learn his adab,

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learn his character, take from his

character before you take from his

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fiqh and all that type of stuff.

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That's the first part of education.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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That's beautiful.

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I did not read your

entire bio, but I feel.

270

it's important to share this piece.

271

as a preface to this next question.

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as I mentioned, you are passionate

about spreading the message of Islam

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through increased knowledge, love, and

salutations of praise on the prophet

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Muhammad ﷺ, you routinely give Islamic

talks organizers dhikr circles with

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permission and authority of a sheikh

gives weekly classes and works with

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others in charitable activities.

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Now, as I said, dear family who are

listening, you can go to the show

278

notes and see the biography without

break, and get a little bit of

279

insight into who this brother is.

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when you are introducing Islam,

especially when you're introducing,

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the, prophet Muhammad, ﷺ, to people,

is there a particular, strategy

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or methodology that you use?

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because it is different when we

are talking with other Muslims

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as opposed to somebody who is not

familiar, or who's on the periphery.

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Imam Ishaq: the strategy

is to be truthful.

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That's the strategy.

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: and to depends

on who you're speaking with.

289

I was listening to a talk by sheikh

Hassan Cisse And he was being

290

interviewed and he tells this story

of a non-Muslim lady who, says, can

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you tell me something about Islam?

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Or tell me something that the

prophet ﷺ said his response.

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. Was something in regards to

women, the rights of women, right?

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And so there's not, I don't

think there's a set response.

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It depends on the person we're talking and

sometimes we might not even mention the

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prophet ﷺ But we might mention something

that he did, because some people aren't

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ready to hear even the word prophet.

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they misunderstand or have been,

wrongfully taught, I guess you could say.

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What a prophet is.

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Right?

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but what people do appreciate

is truth, honesty, and goodness.

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And the best example of that is the

prophet Muhammad ﷺ and it's, it's, Man,

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if you gimme to talk about the prophet ﷺ

you might not talk about anything else.

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he's the example,

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: He's the

most beautiful example,

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Imam Tariq: Yeah.

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Imam Ishaq: He's

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the mercy to all the worlds.

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Imam Tariq: ameen

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Imam Ishaq: and the prophet ﷺ is for

every person, every human being, any

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human being that walks on this planet,

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the prophet ﷺ has something that is

appealing to that person about him.

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they may reject it, but they can't

deny they, they have to admit it.

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Even his main enemy.

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Abu Jahl had to admit that, yeah,

we know he's telling the truth,

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but I just can't deal with it.

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Imam Tariq: He's bad for business.

319

Imam Ishaq: He's bad for business,

But this is, the prophet ﷺ is

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the most beautiful in any aspect.

321

any way you want to take that

he's the most beautiful, the

322

most knowledgeable, the most

approachable we try to model that,

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we try to, that's, that's

what we try to model,

324

Imam Tariq: So we're always

looking for connections.

325

And I think this is something, I don't

know if it is unique to Muslims, it

326

probably is not, but my anecdotal

experience makes me feel like we are

327

always looking for ways to relate whatever

we're doing back to the qur'an and sunnah.

328

And, with that, when you

think about your work in it.

329

Founding, cybersecurity, company Kubra.

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When you think about that, what

are the ways that you see the

331

connection between your identity

as a Muslim, your, commitment to

332

modeling, the prophet ﷺ and so on.

333

what is the intersection?

334

Imam Ishaq: So

335

whatever field that a person

is in, we should strive as a

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Muslim to do it with excellence.

337

Imam Tariq: That's right.

338

Imam Ishaq: And then once we have

that level of excellence, we should

339

want to share that, and bring other

people into that level of excellence.

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I found that this was a way for me.

341

To be able to take care of

my family, which is a duty

342

on every Muslim man, right?

343

in this field, I've been able to take care

of my family now for 25 something years,

344

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

345

Imam Ishaq: I wanted to give

other people the opportunity to

346

be able to do that as well, who

may not have an avenue into that.

347

I don't know if that fully

answered the question or not?

348

Imam Tariq: No, no.

349

I think, there is an

element of zakat, in that.

350

Imam Ishaq: Mm-hmm.

351

Imam Tariq: Right?

352

Providing access and resources

for those who, for whatever the

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reason is, don't have those things.

354

it is to say that we want for our brother

or sister, what we want for ourselves.

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Imam Ishaq: Exactly.

356

Imam Tariq: that's what I took from that.

357

I hate to ever speak for anybody,

but I couldn't see how anybody would

358

not be able to make that connection.

359

I think you hit it right there.

360

So you have had the opportunity

to do some traveling.

361

Imam Ishaq: Yes, sir.

362

I have a bug, right?

363

A traveling bug.

364

I like to see the world.

365

And, Allah says, travel

through the earth and see, what

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happened to the other peoples.

367

the first time I traveled

outside of the country Was in

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our senior high school trip.

369

We went to one of the

islands called Aruba.

370

And it was so different from

Atlanta I wanted to go in

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North Texas, so alhamdulillah

I did travel, with my family.

372

We've traveled to Jordan.

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we lived in Jordan for a year.

374

We've traveled to Egypt, Morocco, Senegal,

uk, some of the oth other islands.

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so we've traveled, Malaysia, we've

traveled to a number of places.

376

Yeah.

377

Imam Tariq: What was something that

you found to be consistent in all

378

of the places that you've traveled?

379

And give me one thing that you found

that really stood out as a difference.

380

Imam Ishaq: So when, I travel,

even in non-Muslim countries, I

381

Try to find where the Muslims are.

382

And what is beautiful.

383

Being African American Muslims, in

America I would say the standard

384

bearer of Islam in America.

385

Everywhere that I went, people

had their own unique stamp

386

on how they practice Islam.

387

It was still the same.

388

It's still the same Islam.

389

You still pray five times every

day fast, you modestly dressed,

390

but they had their own stamp on it.

391

where it was unique to their

society for their culture.

392

and it was beautiful.

393

It's beautiful.

394

We went to, Senegal, the most recent

one is, in this particular place, in

395

Senegal, also in Dakar the Capital and in

396

One of the places I visit alot Madina Baye

397

these are people that are.

398

enriched in, in rhythm,

first of all, poetry.

399

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

400

Imam Ishaq: tasawwuf You might be walking

down the street in Dakar, you pass a

401

masjid and you hear them in there doing

their dhikr and their very Rhythmic tone.

402

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

403

Imam Ishaq: oh, they're praising Allah.

404

Just sending praises on the prophet ﷺ.

405

And you go to Medina Baye you'll see

groups of kids having cipher, right?

406

They're saying, who can

praise the prophet ﷺ the best.

407

Imam Tariq: Wow.

408

Imam Ishaq: And so, this is

refreshing to see that, right?

409

you go to Malaysia, they have the

wraps around the sarong, right?

410

the man wear sarong.

411

We went to Juma, I remember this.

412

And they had showers in the masjid.

413

Imam Tariq: Really

414

Imam Ishaq: rows of shower.

415

So the people can, if they're,

you know, physical laborers and

416

they can come to the masjid.

417

Take a shower at the masjid come

out with the nice clothes on.

418

Right.

419

Go in.

420

After salat they put back on their

clothes and they go back to work.

421

You know?

422

it's making it easy for

those people to come to jumah

423

Imam Tariq: mm-hmm.

424

Imam Ishaq: and Egypt, it's hot.

425

the people are a little bit more,

high tempered, but at the same

426

time, they're very generous.

427

the Arabs in general, most of them,

that I visited, they're very welcoming.

428

Want you to come in, drink some tea

with 'em, sit down and relax for a

429

little while, and then joke around.

430

They joke a lot, the Turkish people

and every society that I've been to

431

has a unique stamp, in the western.

432

Societies where Islam is the

minority, you see more of a

433

emphasis on, being, real strict.

434

on the requirements But a real,

firmness in their religion.

435

Firmness in their religion.

436

So it's not always as laid back as

you would go to a Senegal or Malaysia,

437

either where Islam is everywhere.

438

and some of the Muslim places.

439

Yes.

440

When you are with Muslims

or in Western countries.

441

When you are with Muslims.

442

Yes.

443

this is something that I noticed

maybe other people didn't notice.

444

So this is my own reflection.

445

there's no adhan to remind you.

446

In most cities, there's no adhan to

remind you that it's time for salat..

447

Nobody's going say, in Raman brother?

448

Why you eating?

449

you're supposed to be fasting,

450

Imam Tariq: right.

451

Imam Ishaq: No.

452

So you have to be more disciplined

within yourself to maintain

453

your Islam in Western society.

454

You have to be more firm on yourself.

455

and more disciplined.

456

I said that about three times

in Western society, Yeah.

457

But in the Muslim society, it's very

easy and It's beautiful in all of it.

458

Imam Tariq: I appreciate that.

459

I had the opportunity to travel to

Senegal, a few years ago, and was

460

very impressed with the spirit of

the people and being in a space

461

where you were absolutely affirmed.

462

Absolutely, accepted.

463

I feel like being Muslim in

the United States of America.

464

Is such a blessing for the exact

reasons that you mentioned,

465

is that it really is a choice.

466

It is a commitment.

467

It is not being carried

along with the wave, right?

468

everybody's going to the masjid,

everybody's fasting, And not to say that

469

these are not things that we don't want,

we want these things in our communities,

470

but it really takes the personal

commitment and the responsibility for

471

the individual to a whole, other level.

472

And I think there's a

blessing in that as well.

473

even looking at the blessing of being

in a space where you hear the, adhan

474

called, and I've been in those spaces too.

475

it is wonderful, but I could

see how I could end up on

476

autopilot at the same time.

477

and that's not to say that would

be the automatic disposition

478

for people, In those societies.

479

As a matter of fact, I think it could

also work the exact other way, and

480

you become even more sensitized.

481

it becomes that much

more ingrained in you.

482

Imam Ishaq: I agree with you

a hundred percent on that.

483

we being the community for, the Tijanniyah

people, Fayda Tijanniyah people here.

484

one of my teachers, Muhammad Cisse, we

bring him to visit at least once a year.

485

he was talking to a mixed group

of people and, he said, man, I'm

486

making a du'a for you guys because

it's not easy being Muslim in

487

America or in Europe or in the uk.

488

It's not easy.

489

It's easy to some of us.

490

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

491

Imam Ishaq: Because we grew

up here, we don't know any

492

other way of how to be Muslim.

493

but we are bombarded with a whole

bunch of stuff that we think is

494

normal and it's very abnormal.

495

in the hot seasons when people

are not dressed, men and women,

496

they not dressed properly.

497

I heard Shake Hamza, Yusef, he said,

it's haram for people, and I'm not

498

making a fiqh point, I'm just saying

what he mentioned, he says, haram

499

for us to be seeing people's thighs.

500

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

501

Imam Ishaq: How many

people's thighs do we see?

502

yeah.

503

I agree.

504

Being Muslim here, it has

to be a lot of blessings.

505

for a person to be in our environment

and make salat, five times a day.

506

a person who's fasting, trying

their best to be pleasing to Allah.

507

to be pleasing to the prophet ﷺ.

508

I'm sure you've heard of people who

have traveled here from other places

509

Other countries, and they come here,

they said, man, I learned Islam here.

510

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

511

Yeah.

512

I think that spirit matters.

513

it is one thing to be consistent, to

be intentional, to be firm in your,

514

Islam and quite another, to lose

the beauty of it in your firmness.

515

and that's never what we aspire for.

516

we are aspiring for

that, that middle path.

517

And to, but I think there's also something

subconsciously, or maybe consciously

518

that happens when people who are not

born here come here as Muslims they feel

519

like a fish out of water, and they feel

like, they gotta hold onto the little bit

520

of water that they have in their hands.

521

They brought some water back

with them and they're like,

522

I'm not letting this go at all.

523

I'm holding onto this.

524

So it becomes a matter of, you're not

actually able to acculturate yourself

525

to new surroundings in a way where your

Islam actually accentuates and beautifies

526

the culture that you enter into.

527

Imam Ishaq: they don't know

what the water holes are.

528

Right.

529

They don't.

530

it is not like a waterfall.

531

in some of our cities, in the US

532

Imam Tariq: No.

533

No.

534

Imam Ishaq: You have to

go to specific places.

535

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

536

Imam Ishaq: And sometimes you go

to some places, but the example

537

of being firm and still being

beautiful is the prophet Muhammad ﷺ

538

Imam Tariq: yeah.

539

Absolutely.

540

Imam Ishaq: Nobody is more firm

in their deen than the prophets

541

And nobody's more beautiful, than

the prophet ﷺ this is why the

542

prophet, is so important, Because

without him, as an example.

543

We'll probably be very

difficult people to be around.

544

Imam Tariq: That's putting it nicely.

545

Imam Ishaq: if we take our own

interpretation of what we read There

546

would be some serious problem, alright.

547

Even amongst two Muslims.

548

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

549

Imam Ishaq: we have the example of

the prophet Muhammad ﷺ in some of

550

my khutba, I give this, reference

in Qur'an Where Allah says,

551

obey Allah and obey his messenger.

552

Imam Tariq: That's right.

553

Imam Ishaq: and Allah has said

this well over 20 times in Quran,

554

obey Allah and obey his messenger.

555

Obey Allah and his messenger.

556

It says it in different ways, and

in one place it even says obeying

557

the messenger is obeying Allah.

558

but nowhere in the corner

does it say obey yourself.

559

unfortunately we have people who

want to try to exclude that example.

560

But without the example of the

prophet Muhammad ﷺ, we would not

561

know how to follow the Qur'an.

562

We would be following our own self and

our own interpretation of the Qur'an,

563

which will lead to complete chaos.

564

We have this beautiful example

of firmness and beauty.

565

Imam Tariq: Yes.

566

Imam Ishaq: Alhamdulillah,

567

The prophets was involved in a

lot of war and a lot of battles.

568

Badr, Uhud, Second Badr, trench, all of

these battles even later in his life with

569

the Romans and all this type of stuff.

570

But it's only reported

that he killed one person.

571

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

572

Imam Ishaq: And he really

didn't kill that person.

573

This is a man who's fighting battle

after battle, after battle after battle.

574

And some of the sahabah they would

say when the battle got thick,

575

when it got hard, we would get

close to the messenger of Allah.

576

he's fighting these people.

577

and I have trained in martial arts.

578

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

579

Imam Ishaq: And so I'm imagining a

warrior on the battlefield, people

580

that come to attack him, he's swinging

his weapon in a way that will push

581

them back, but it doesn't kill him.

582

Imam Tariq: smacking

him with the flat edge.

583

He smacking

584

Imam Ishaq: him with the flat edge.

585

Or maybe with the hilt.

586

Yeah.

587

Or something like that.

588

And when the battle gets thick, his

companions getting close to him.

589

that's a beautiful example of being

firm strong, but being a mercy at

590

the same time, he's fighting these

people, but he's not killing them.

591

Because why He wants them to come,

he wants them to see this character.

592

Imagine fighting somebody like that.

593

man, every time I get

he just pushes me back.

594

And you do it again, and you do it again.

595

He's like, man, how can, I can't

continue to fight somebody like this?

596

Imam Tariq: That person would likely

think after a while after being

597

rebuffed so many different times.

598

This person values my life more than I do.

599

Imam Ishaq: Look at that.

600

Imam Tariq: Right?

601

Imam Ishaq: Look at that.

602

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

603

That's beautiful.

604

so what martial art do you train in?

605

Imam Ishaq: Alhamdulillah?

606

it's Ike Juujitsu.

607

I started with my teacher Ali Shabazz,

I've been with him almost 22 years now.

608

Training with him.

609

Ali Shabazz he a beautiful brother.

610

He gave a proof.

611

One time he came to class, smiling so

hard, and he starts talking about, I got

612

a proof from the Quran for what we do.

613

He said, really?

614

What's that?

615

He says, 'cause Aah says fighting is

prescribed for you and you may just

616

like a thing that's beneficial for you.

617

Imam Tariq: That's right,

618

that's right.

619

Imam Ishaq: Alright, go ahead then Imam..

620

Go ahead sheikh.

621

Imam Tariq: Alhamdulillah.

622

I would love for you to talk a bit about

the social media clip of you reciting

623

the opening chapter of the Quran.

624

suratul-fatihah at what appeared

to be a gathering of faith leaders

625

and, and maybe more folks around

the presidential inauguration.

626

because it was a beautiful thing

to see this representation.

627

Could you talk a bit about that?

628

Imam Ishaq: So this happened

earlier this year as part of the

629

inaugural, events for the president.

630

this was the craft service that

the, religious community does at the

631

cathedral here in Washington, DC.

632

I was not, supposed to be

the person to give that.

633

I wasn't the person in for that.

634

Imam Talib called me about

two weeks before that.

635

He said he, Ishaq I'm gonna be out town.

636

I need your help with something.

637

I said, no problem, Imam.

638

He says, we have this thing.

639

We need mu'adhan.

640

He said, can you do it?

641

I said, not me.

642

I don't have the best voice.

643

Yeah.

644

and I, I made some recommendations

and we ended up with the brother who

645

gave the adhan,, , Akhutba'sr Sharif.

646

he's actually a third generation

Muslim, He's 90 years old.

647

Imam Tariq: Beautiful.

648

Imam Ishaq: he's the mu'adhan

for Masjid Muhammad gives the

649

design for the Juma prayer.

650

I was going to escort him.

651

It was a very cold day

652

Like I said, he's in his nineties, so We

had to go through security, get security

653

background and all that type of stuff.

654

Brother Dr.

655

Muhammad Faser, Raheem, was the one

who scheduled to do that, but may

656

Allah bless him and bless his family,

657

Maybe two days before he called

me, he said, I'm taking care

658

of my family in the Carolinas.

659

but I'll be back in time.

660

And so the night before

he, he send me a message.

661

He said, my flight got canceled.

662

Imam Tariq: Mm.

663

Imam Ishaq: I said, okay.

664

He said, but I'm gonna try to

find another flight later on.

665

He said, all the flights are canceled.

666

And so he said, you're

gonna have to do it.

667

I said, okay, no problem.

668

the next morning we show

up and I'm in the spot.

669

So that's how that happened,

Allah is the best, of planners.

670

And I don't know, if it's because of

the honor of him taking care of his

671

parents or some other reason why Allah

decided to make it this case this way.

672

Maybe I love one of him.

673

To be with his parents more than

he wanted me to be, in this place.

674

but that's how that happened.

675

Imam Tariq: I'm sure you got a

lot of favorable responses though.

676

when I looked at it, I said,

man, this is a beautiful thing.

677

Imam Ishaq: one of the brothers asked

me, he said, man, were you nervous?

678

I was like, nah, I wasn't nervous,

but what I did say was I was

679

concerned that, I would do.

680

Something that's pleasing to Allah.

681

Imam Tariq: Yes.

682

Imam Ishaq: Doing something

that's pleasing to Allah.

683

So I didn't want to get up there

and choke Have a bad name, first

684

thing that the news gonna pick up.

685

Oh, this black Muslim got up

there, he couldn't even read.

686

that was my thing.

687

I wanted to, make sure that I was pleasing

to Allah, and doing it in the best

688

way possible.

689

Imam Tariq: Okay, alhamdulillah.

690

I understand that you have another

project that you are working on.

691

Fayda right?

692

Imam Ishaq: so Fayda literally,

means the flood, right?

693

A flood, water, flood, flooding, right?

694

now the tarika that I am a part of is

the the tarika Muhammadiyah a way of

695

the prophet ﷺ, and that specifically

is for knowing Allah and his messenger

696

more intimately than And the fayda

of this tarika was founded by Sheikh

697

Ahmed Tijanni Sharif, who was an

Algerian who, migrated to, Morocco.

698

the Prophet ﷺ gave him the permission

and guided him on this way.

699

ah, he saw the prophet

ﷺ while he was awake.

700

And I'm not talking about a dream,

but while he was awake, there's a

701

reason why that's important, but I

don't want to get too much into that.

702

That's a whole nother lesson.

703

But the prophet ﷺ he mentioned to Sheikh

Ahmed Tijanni Sharif he says that for

704

those who follow you, your murides are my

murides This is what the prophet ﷺ said.

705

and he said some other

things that follow that.

706

which means that in this way, the

prophet ﷺ, is the ultimate sheikh of

707

the tarika Tijanni Just as he is with

some of the other people as well.

708

So the fayda Tijanniya, Sheikh Ahmed

Tijanni said that there will be

709

one of the followers in this Tarika

who will bring a flood, a fayda

710

of people to come into this way.

711

And he said, this person is gonna

be close to the end times and

712

that is Sheikh Ibrahim Yasin.

713

, raheemu'llah Sheikh ul-Islam

and Hadi Ibrahim Yasin.

714

Yes.

715

Islam and Ibrahim, yes.

716

Is Senegalese.

717

he was born in 1900.

718

So a recent shake.

719

He heard radio, he saw tv, he saw

movies, planes, and everything like this.

720

Alright.

721

And that tradition carries on.

722

So that's what the fayda is.

723

The Fayda is Fayda Tijanniya

branch in the Tejana, tarika.

724

So we have an application, an app.

725

He is on your phone, right?

726

our brother, Ibrahim Dempson

Usman Demspon, who are my

727

two partners on this app.

728

And actually they started Fada books

before, and now we have Fayda Digital.

729

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

730

Imam Ishaq: You

731

find it on our app store, but it

has books, in Arabic and English

732

audio books in Arabic and English.

733

lessons, what we call knowledge cast.

734

talking about Islam tasawwuf, tafsir,

hadith poetry on the prophet, ﷺ.

735

Praise the prophet, ﷺ.

736

Ways to bring closest to the prophet, ﷺ.

737

All in what?

738

Knowing Allah.

739

Knowing Allah the only way that we

really know Allah is through the

740

prophets Allah Sheikh Hasan he

once said that, if you want to know

741

Allah, then follow the prophet ﷺ.

742

And this is one of the things

that Allah says in the Quran

743

where he says, say to them,

744

he says, tell the people if

they love Allah, then follow me.

745

Allah will love you and forgive your sins.

746

So loving the prophet, ﷺ is a

way of being closer to Allah, and

747

that's what this fayda Tajanniya is.

748

That's one of the main things of this.

749

fayda tajanniya, being close

to Allah, increase our taqwa.

750

You don't have to be a Tajjani to

download the app, You don't have to

751

take a tarika to enjoy what's on this

app to benefit from what's in the app.

752

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

753

Imam Ishaq: it's for everyone.

754

Imam Tariq: as a Bayan graduate,

what did that experience mean to

755

you as a student of knowledge, as

someone who also continues to teach

756

and someone who understands the

importance and benefit of community?

757

Imam Ishaq: was a wonderful opportunity

and a wonderful experience, even without

758

the educational part of it, we had.

759

days years of just discussing Islam

with our brothers and sisters, right?

760

we had to write about it.

761

We had to read about it, even without

the educational part, just being with

762

the Muslims for the purpose of increasing

our Islam is a beautiful thing.

763

with the guidance of experienced teachers.

764

I can't express how wonderful that is.

765

in, a context, that's familiar to us,

766

Meaning the American context.

767

we got to, you and I

were in classes together.

768

we got people from all over,

people who had various levels of

769

Islamic education and experience.

770

Some who were younger than both of

us, some who were older Some who had

771

already gone to universities like Azhar.

772

and studied at other places and still came

because they understood that in America,

773

Islam is different and we need to learn

how to, relate Islam in this society.

774

And I think Bayan does an excellent

job of that, opening people's ideas

775

to better ways and different ways of

776

establishing Islam.

777

In the best way in our society.

778

I think Bayan does that very well.

779

you're going back to the prophet ﷺ, right?

780

We could be sitting in the classroom and

it has people from all over the place.

781

some people may think that since

the prophet ﷺ, was Arab, all

782

of his companions were Arabs.

783

No man.

784

He had people from all over the

place who were around the prophet.

785

So people who had traveled

just becoming people.

786

And so when you're sitting around the

prophet ﷺ you have people who look like

787

you and I but people who are Persian.

788

You have people who are

Roman, you have Arabs.

789

You have Africans.

790

You have all of these people who

are around the prophet, ﷺ and

791

then you come to a class in day

in, it's the same type of mix.

792

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

793

Imam Ishaq: Right?

794

Imam Tariq: Mm-hmm.

795

Imam Ishaq: It's beautiful thing.

796

And who are we talking about?

797

We talking about the prophet ﷺ.

798

Imam Tariq: That's right.

799

That's right.

800

Imam Ishaq: And so it's a beautiful thing.

801

Bayan was a wonderful experience.

802

It actually, reignited the love

of learning about, Islam for me

803

particularly, formal learning,

the teachers are wonderful.

804

The staff is wonderful.

805

The students are wonderful.

806

it's a wonderful program.

807

Wonderful program.

808

Imam Tariq: alhamdulillah.

809

Well, my dear brother Ishaq, I

am definitely appreciative of you

810

taking the time to share a bit

of your insight, your experience.

811

we certainly look forward to

this tool that you've said.

812

It's for everybody.

813

It's not just for Tijanni

814

Imam Ishaq: that's right.

815

Imam Tariq: it's for everybody.

816

That's right.

817

So I look forward to, touching base

with you again and hopefully to talk

818

about some of the components and

how people are responding to it.

819

May Allah give it success

in all of your endeavors.

820

I know.

821

And I think this is the culmination

to had the chance to talk with

822

your wonderful wife, Corey.

823

and really I think the only way to really.

824

One up this is to have you

both back on at the same time,

825

Imam Ishaq: That's gonna be a party.

826

Absolutely.

827

but alhamdulillah, I thank

you for inviting me as well.

828

alhamdulillah, may Allah Bless this show.

829

And, I have to give credit

where credit is due, I know

830

you did some radio work before.

831

And I listened to, the interview

that you did with my wife.

832

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

833

Imam Ishaq: And I said, man, this

brother, he really knows this craft.

834

he knows when to ask the questions.

835

He knows when to, let the speaker

go, you know, alhamdulillah.

836

But also, don't cut this part out.

837

Please don't cut this.

838

If you all don't know.

839

Imam

840

Tariq

841

with this silky voice, nice voice.

842

he has an audio series on YouTube

of him reading alhamdulillah him

843

reading the qur'an in English.

844

Imam Tariq: Yeah.

845

Imam Ishaq: If you haven't heard

that, please go and listen to it.

846

I gotta give credit with

credit may Lord bless that.

847

Imam Tariq: may Allah accept

it as an act of worship.

848

I definitely appreciate you, brother, and

since you asked, I'm gonna leave it in.

849

American Muslim Podcast family.

850

Please check the show notes out you

get all those links, how you can

851

support the work at masjid Muhammad,

how you can also get the Fayda app.

852

Now as we prepare to close, I want

to remind you if you didn't catch

853

it during our conversation, Imam

Ishaq and myself both received

854

the Muhammad Ali Scholarship.

855

Which allowed us to complete

the Master of Divinity.

856

Your contributions to the Muhammad

Ali Scholarship supports those who

857

are endeavoring to support community

life, those who are working on

858

the front lines of community in

whatever capacity you can imagine.

859

So if you go to bayan online.org,

860

You can click on the donate button.

861

And finally, join our community

of learners by getting yourself a

862

subscription to Bayan on Demand.

863

That's Bayan on Demand.

864

We have 30 classes on there, taught

by some of the best and brightest,

865

some of the most recognized and sought

after scholars, and practitioners

866

in the United States of America.

867

And you can have access on your terms.

868

$10 a month, and with that in

Sha Allah, with God's permission,

869

we will see you again next week.

870

I'm your host, Imam Tariq El-Amin

and I leave you as I greeted you,

871

As Salaamu Alaikum may the peace

that only God can give be upon you.