who introduced you to
Islam um first of all it was my brother
my brother my oldest brother he came he
became a Muslim about 4 years before me
and that's the the first time I heard
anything about Islam to be honest uh he
used to speak to me every now and again
and the little things he did say used to
be um you know they were very I'd say
they were very interesting and I felt
you know it makes a lot of sense but I
wasn't too interested in religion if you
get what I mean at the time when I was
playing football I was at Wigan I was
scoring goals I just wasn't interested
in playing at all I mean into any
religion really I was brought up as a
Christian
so I knew a little bit about
Christianity but um it wasn't
until I met a who's my wife now and she
was a Muslim but she was born in a
Muslim family but she always knew that
she couldn't be married to anybody but a
Muslim and um I met um who's my wife now
and I was speaking to her about Islam
and and she said she was Muslim and I
said my brother was Muslim also and you
know a few things that he he said to me
were you know made sense so um
that was one of the reasons when after
speaking to her and she was explaining a
few things about you know they don't
believe Jesus Is God and I said I don't
believe that either and um you know it
kind of led me to a stage where I got
interested in wanting to know whether
religion was actually true whether my
religion that I was brought upon was
true or Islam was true or no religions
at all were true so I decided to go
online and basically do a whole load of
research of my own and see if I can make
any sense of what's real what's not the
true from the false so that's what
happened when you expected Islam did you
get any
criticism um at first when I first
accepted Islam people would obviously
have their opinions and they would say
things that I couldn't answer at the
time because I didn't know much about
Islam I just knew that if you believe
these things you're then you you're
basically a Muslim so when I I went
through the list and I was like okay I
actually believe these things so okay
I'm a Muslim so I made the Declaration
of faith and I became Muslim but I
didn't know anything at the time all I
knew was that I believed in Allah and I
believed in all of the prophets as
people as human beings so um yeah it was
I did get a bit of criticism and you
know people saying negative things you
know about why they don't believe in
religion and I couldn't say anything
back to them but um over the years as I
learned more and more I'm able now to to
talk back to people and explain stuff
and people you know they Now understand
a lot more things which they didn't
before and uh I find it you know it's
it's nice when I can you know clear
their understanding you know make change
their
misconceptions until and show them the
Real Islam and what it's really all
about and when they really when they
hear what is really about they don't
have anything to say you know when you
give them an answer to one of their
thoughts that they have they don't
really have anything to say they kind of
accept it and if you obviously you spend
more and more time with them then
inshallah they'd become Muslim as well
over the years a lot of people have
become Muslim also what was
your
like um I'm not sure you want to hear
that no no I wasn't I wasn't you know I
wasn't too far astray I'd say but um I
did used to you know go out every now
and again um with with the players and
stuff like that
uh I used to drink minimal alcohol never
been drunk before anyway in my life
never had any tattoos or anything like
that but um I just lived my life you
know tried to be as as good a person as
I could be to my own set of rules if you
get what I mean and um yeah I
just compared to a lot of other people I
was I felt like I was one of the best
people there was but um it wasn't until
obviously hearing about Islam and how
you're really supposed to be when I had
to change but that's the thing I didn't
really have to change too many things
because I wasn't too far away from what
was right if you get what I mean so
dropping alcohol wasn't difficult cuz I
didn't really drink much anyway if I
went out I used to drink you know one of
the sweet drinks that taste like Coke
anyway and then I'd drink water the rest
of the night so it was basically only
because maybe because other people were
drinking and um what else it's just uh
obviously I didn't pray I never I didn't
pray I didn't know that you had to
pray um yeah I just basically lived
lived to play computer games miles of
the day and um I actually woke up went
to training come home had a nap I would
play computer all day with my friend
stop for food play some more and go to
bed and go to training that was
basically my days and uh
um and then I would travel back down to
London cuz most of my family and my
friends used to live in London so I was
from London I used to live in Wigan so
these are the things that I used to do
on a weekly basis not you know knowing
the reality of life and not knowing what
I was my direction really what did a
teammate think when you accepted
this um some people they think I'm not
no longer interested in football because
of it's Islam um some people think
nothing of it so there there's you know
there's there's a whole range there's
one end and the other end some people
you know they think it's okay it's not a
problem and then you've got some people
who see it as a negative and you know
they just they like to talk and say
things negative about Islam but that
that comes with being a Muslim and being
on the truth so that's what
happens it's given me direction I know
now why I'm here you know I know why
what the purpose of life is I didn't
know that before so and I know what I
need to do you know the Quran teaches us
that so um I think it's made me more
patient you know with with trials that
happen in life because you know
obviously what what what the trials are
about so I think it just puts everything
into perspective and puts everything in
the right place and you don't think
think of things you don't go to Extremes
in thinking of things in the wrong way
so like if somebody in your family dies
you don't get upset and stop believing
in Allah things like that you know
people in life do that and when you
watch things on TV or you watch and you
know the media and the way what we're
living in at the moment they make you
think so many different things you know
like you don't walk over drains because
of bad luck and all this nonsense people
they adopt these things in their life
and they don't realize it and I I was no
different I'd do them things you know
don't smash a mirror you get 9 years bad
luck and stuff like that and you
know it what happens is you know the
reality of everything as it is so then
you can say that's nonsense I was
walking the other day um with the team
and there was scaffolding and I was
walking under under Wonder players
pulled me and goes don't walk under
there I said get off me I walked
straight under I was like it's bad said
there's no bad luck so they're the kind
of things you know like that but in
every Walk of Life everything
even even something as small as going to
the toilet you don't know what you're
supposed to do if you don't know Islam
you don't know how you supposed to go to
the toilet according to the way Allah
made us and told us what he wants from
us you know how are we supposed to
worship him
so how you're supposed to be to your
parents that's you know that has made me
more aware of how you're supp how I'm
supposed to be with my parents and the
rights that everybody has upon us you
know feeding people giving you know
charity everything in every area it's
put things in the right place for me and
now I you know I can see clearly I can
see you know the light switched on and I
can see where the direction I'm supposed
to be going it makes things a lot easier
now to be able to obviously try but it's
obviously a struggle you still got your
struggles you still make mistakes and
ask for forgiveness but at at least I
know the direction now so that's the
difference is it a hard time your is it
hard
Ching uh I don't to be honest I feel I
feel I feel okay I think you get into a
mindset where where you know it's weird
if if I don't eat when it's when I'm not
fasting and I go and train so I'll feel
light-headed I'll feel know shaking a
little bit sometimes after training I
think oh I need some food quickly but
for some reason Allah makes it easy for
me like when it comes to Ramadan the
whole month you get your mindset ready
you have your intention right you have
you know you eat for and then
alhamdulillah I'm good all day I train I
do really hard sessions I play a game
and I feel okay I don't feel you know
like I need anything some people don't
um some people struggle but for me I
feel I feel good and um I've been able
to deal with it quite well I
feel was it hard ACL no I think like I
said before when I was reading about
what you have to believe I could tick
each box very easily and I was like and
then I was reading what you have to
believe to be a Christian and what you
have to believe to be a Muslim and when
I went through the list in Christianity
I couldn't say yeah I believe that I I
said nope nope I can't believe these
things but when it came to Islam it was
so straightforward and easy I believe
them I took them on and it said
afterward it says if you believe all of
these things then you're already a
Muslim so just say these words and then
you're a Muslim so I was like oh I'm a
Muslim okay so then it was very easy to
accept Islam for me but even when I
accepted it then I didn't know the full
extent of what what um what what Islam
was it wasn't until I met Taj who I know
you've had lessons with and he taught me
very slowly about Islam and he gave me
the right books and the right CDs to
listen to and then everything became so
clear from you know from getting the
right information that's when I realized
that's when it really kicked in and I
realized that Islam was for everybody
and I needed to give this message and
give da to everybody so um that's what
happened in the
end they think they
are okay the non-muslims
Muslims I think they need to check who
their role models should be really I
think uh if you you want a role model
there's no one better than Prophet
Muhammad wasam so you can't you can't
have people who you know do all sorts of
Haram as your role models and uh
obviously it's it's it's it's sad to see
that that's what the world's coming to
at the moment you know bad is good and
good is bad for some reason and and
everywhere you go that's how it is the
Good's always persecuted and the bad is
seen as the best people in the world for
some reason so um the advice would be
just you know just think about how you
really want to be and do you want to be
a good person or do you want to be a bad
person you know look at it and think is
the rappers are the rappers you know are
they what they're talking about they
don't even do really they don't really
do that stuff so they got to realize the
people that are doing that stuff are the
silly people and they only talk about
that because they know people will buy
it and you know make them rich and then
the other people are doing the stuff
that they're saying and they're the
fools because they're the ones end up
you know unsuccessful in this world so
um change your role
models