you see the hundred thousand dollar cars
you see a lot of diamonds you see
you know for men for the sake of men you
see a lot of females and they think that
this is you know this is a life because
i just actually
visited him in california not too long
ago
they got all the same things i was
exposed to in my lifestyle lamborghinis
jets boats and everything so you know
and then you get kidnapped in brussels
tell us about that he said guess who
takes shahada
guess who takes shahadah guess who takes
a shot this is actually your first like
exclusive interview sit down
interview absolutely here on the dean
show where follow us
and this has been long overdue you guys
been asking
you guys been sending the emails the
requests where's our brother where's our
brother amir
where's he at formerly known as loon
well he's here finally with us
here on the dean show
you know words can't really express you
know the gratitude that i feel
that allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala chose me
to endure a trial that only
contributed to growth i remember the
last time i was on this
show i was very very new to islam
and what allah had instilled in my heart
of understanding tohit and understanding
my purpose
of creation or my purpose of being
created
i was able to speak
a very profound statement that started
on this very show
is that we're paying for the disease but
the cure is fig
is free and that just
only spoke to my state at that time
void of any other you know knowledge of
islam
to a you know certain extent but that
right there
and you gave me this platform you know i
mean i reward you to express
what was in my heart at the time and
what resonated as my state
as a muslim at that particular moment so
i mean we've had some some uh sneak
peeks of you here and there you popped
up but this is actually your first like
exclusive interview sit down interview
absolutely here on the dean show
reference
this is this is from allah because you
know everything else
was you know under the conditions of
covet
you know a lot of these interviews were
virtual you know
like when i first accepted islam i fled
with my religion
you know saying out of fear of the
environment that i had left behind
and the people that i had left behind
because what i had found was pure what i
found was the truth
so i removed myself from the environment
that would contradict or combat with
that truth and that purity
and i moved to egypt where i had an
opportunity to study
you know in several miraculous as far as
the language and i had just signed
before i went in may hodge
and my return from hodge i remember
coming home to egypt dropping off
everything that i had purchased for my
family
and getting on the plane to go to
belgium to give a talk at the university
and i'm just getting back right now from
belgium
pretty much let's make a timeline i want
to go back a little bit for those people
who kind of bring them up to speed you
got some people who are going to be
turned out to this
uh named loon for the first time to uh
amir for the first time many uh fans of
the show
they know you uh you've been with us you
know
years ago but i want to start off with
just kind of bringing people up to speed
about
and then just in a nutshell just like we
did kind of the last time and people go
and watch that program
that we did but you you started off a
kid from harlem yep new york born and
raised in harlem new york city
and usually a kid from harlem what's he
aspire to be what's he want to be just
kids in general growing up they want to
live the american dream
they want to do what achieve what what's
what's on the minds
children all over the world they are
inspired by what they see
so growing up in harlem i was actually
exposed
to you know the local drug dealers
you know guys that were influential in
the streets
there wasn't really too many outlets
that were
you know attractive so to say they were
present but wasn't as attractive as
either playing basketball or you know
indulging activities in the streets so
this was common for you know the youth
in harlem to be exposed to these things
and later to either be affiliated or
involved to the extent
to where you can actually reap the
consequences that come with either your
affiliation or your involvement so
that's my origin and then the only
escape
at the time was the music business you
know saying the music business offered
me an escape of what i thought was in
this game
which actually became a more intensified
aspect of what i had already you know
uh endured through the streets
and then fast forward forward you hook
up with uh
uh people such as mace tommy boy
uh yeah somebody's p diddy uh puff daddy
then you hit it big yeah fast track to
that how does that all happen
in pursuit of that escape which was me
pursuing a career in the music business
i started off as a ghost writer
which is a person who writes music
without actually being
seen so you're actually contributing to
other
people's careers and it was kind of a
back seat type of thing
where i'm able to make money writing
songs collecting royalties and
publishing
from writing songs for people and not
really pursuing to be in front of the
camera
so that started in like 95 i was writing
for shaquille o'neal
the basketball player basketball player
i got a deal
at tommyboy records in 96.
then from there i did a group project
called harlem world with mace
then after that i signed as a solo
artist to aristo records
and then from aristo records i went to
bad boy records and then my career
you know took off is shaquille
but when i speak to him he gives me
salams you know i'm saying i'll return
the salams
without you know investigating humbly
like gets allowed you know
is the right of a muslim to return this
time so because we hear we hear that
shaquille o'neal i believe he is you
know i know his best you know saying
i have spoken to him one time since i've
been home and he actually had contracted
covet
yeah he told me he wasn't feeling well
and you know i just recently seen him
pop
up in the interview so you know
inshallah i'm gonna reach out to him and
maybe that'd be a conversation with
having death and for those people that
don't know i mean
muslims simply one who has submitted his
or her will to the creator that heavens
and earth
yeah so you know these are things that
constitute a person to enter the fold of
islam
by way of testifying that none has the
right to be worshipped with the law and
then muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasallam is the messenger you
know and what follows
is you know implementation of that
understanding
so you went now from being a ghost
writer behind the scenes
and now you get up on the mainstream
right you hit the big
it's a big deal right that's like the
main like
the top where you can make it mainstream
singing with the
you know the the mongol mogul himself
he did how did that how did you break
through into that
well i actually it was ghost writing for
him
i started off writing songs for him as
well
that means they're you're they're you're
the original uh person behind the scene
who's making up the words that he's
gonna say
absolutely so you know you have
some artists that are writers but then
you have some artists that are
performers
and the ones that perform may require
you know songs from writers
so that was how our relationship started
and then it actually propelled into me
having
a solo career as an artist at bad boy
records
so you know it all
basically was me evolving from one
position
to ultimately like you said getting to
the point
uh or the pinnacle of what is
you know required of success in the
music businesses
become you know artists who does a
couple hit records
so i was able to do a couple hit records
i was able to write
numerous hit records and i solidified my
position in that business
as an artist and a songwriter
and then from there that that
relationship with puff daddy and
everything that went on for
several years for for a long time yeah i
mean actually
there was a moment of separation
no for professional reasons never
personally because i just actually
visited him in california not too long
ago
and it was it was a great reunion
because
you can't overlook the fact that you
know we've accomplished a lot of things
together but at the same time
only by law's decree had i not been in
that business or had i not
been successful or exposed to the
lifestyle and everything that came with
that business
i wouldn't be sitting on this couch
right now now in the last and then we we
met
from there when all that happened how
many years later
until we actually met we actually met i
believe in 2009
because i had i believe you um
interviewed me or freeway first how's he
doing freeway freeway's doing great
actually i haven't spoken to him yet
since i've been home but i spoke to him
a few times when i was incarcerated
and you know me a lot you know preserve
him and and increase him and good
he had a actual health scare
you know and i believe he had a
successful
you know saying a treatment or surgery
that you know by law's permission
has you know restored his health and
he's out you know pretty much doing
what he was doing you know prior to that
so you know
the fact that he still humbly lies
muslim
and you know we look to you know that
which is a parent
opposed to that which is not apparent so
you know he's my brother in islam we
made omar together my first victim
you did hi gentlemen all right at the
high jam why the ombre first yeah
and then
invited me to his house twice so you
know
there's no way to describe the gratitude
that comes with being able to
establish that fifth pillar in islam
which i believe every muslim
aspires to do and i pray that every
muslim insha allah
gets the opportunity to go to you know
saying
you know obey it's allah i mean so then
we meet in 2009
and i remember we were talking about
your story and then
in that in some of those questions you
were talking about the the different
perception that you are getting from
meeting muslims
being around muslims the hospitality and
some of these things
absolutely the same hospitality you
showed me just today you come
in you know and i it's funny because i
tell a lot of um
you know um brothers and even you know
brothers that never really experienced
you know the hospitality of the muslims
and i have a friend of mine that
actually
you know i've known for 20 years we
worked together and i invited him with
me to go to a yemeni brother's house
yeah and i told him before we left i
said listen don't don't eat no food
i'm telling you right now if you go to
this place you better go with the
appetite because the muslims are going
to try to put a whole limb in your body
they're going to feed you over 300 dates
you're going to drink
like 14 gallons of tea and kahua and so
on and so forth
you know and jokingly is is funny but at
the same time it just shows you that the
hospitality of muslims
is something that's foreign to people
because you know in certain
areas of the world to extend yourself
like that means
it has to be something that's 20 years
and standing like something i have to
you know that comes from a lengthy
relationship
but that's something that the muslims
just do on first sight
so your perception before you entered
into the fold of islam
of islam itself was it negative no it
was never negative it was just
ignorant i never knew no sin and
i fought some of the muslims in my
community
who didn't take the initiative to call
some of us who
they were aware of our struggle and our
plight
in the streets and not invite us or call
us to islam
so you know it was never hatred because
in my community we all coexisted and we
all you know
you know utilize the space that we were
in for example like
most of the corner stores they were
owned by some of the yemeni brothers
even some
lebanese brothers and so on and so forth
then the taxi services before uber and
lyft
you know you had the taxi service was
dominated by western africans you know
what i'm saying from senegal
cote d'ivoire places like that and then
you know the pharmacies were
particularly dominated by pakistanis and
indian bengali people as well so it's
like this was the extent of diversity
that i knew
in my area in new york city and
basically you know there was never no
call
it was just okay they got they think and
we got our thing
you know what i'm saying so
i guess you know become
becoming muslim and then that
brotherhood being extended based upon
that acceptance of islam it just showed
me that there was a world i was missing
there was a brotherhood i was missing
there was a lot of things i was missing
you know so you know anyone that's
inclined to islam will learn these
things as well inshallah
yeah let's take a step back in history
and we're going to just
quickly react i want you to this is you
and me doing that interview in 2009
and some things now that you're gonna
hear do you remember some of these
things that you said let's uh
see your action after we listen to uh
some of these words of yours how's that
for the most part i think that a lot of
people you know
mainly you know preferably the youth you
know we all share
kind of the same common desires and
temptations
and i think the music business kind of
breathes these things and it gives
people
that video which video is just i need a
girl you know
mostly the perks and the best and
i think that you know the youth by being
so inspired all around the world you
know saying being so inspired by this
lifestyle a lot of them
who have been born into certain faiths
you know saying like islam
and things of that nature you know they
try to incorporate this lifestyle into
something that's so beautiful you know
saying islam is just so beautiful and
i've
been seeing over the years how you know
this this business and this lifestyle
has affected so many of the youth
and myself you're talking about the
lifestyle traveling the world
people admire they look like they live
in this consistent pattern of doing so
many sinful things
you know they come with the business you
know we actually you know have the
opportunity to make songs
that might not be so vulgar might not be
so you know
you know negative but the reality of it
is there's a lifestyle that comes with
it
and that was the thing that really
plagued my life because
what you're propelled in based on the
success
you know is a lifestyle that just
becomes so repetitive and so consistent
you find yourself being removed further
and further away from a true further
further away from peace further away
from anything
that was pure about you before you
entered the business so
like i said you know on the outside
everything looks good you see the
hundred thousand dollar cars you see a
lot of diamonds you see
you know for men for the sake of men you
see a lot of females and they think that
this is you know this is a life
this is this is like you know paradise
right here on earth
but the reality of it is you know i
couldn't purchase peace
you know i would probably able to buy a
car buy a house buy a chain
couldn't purchase peace and the reality
of it is
while we're sitting here while i'm
sitting here constantly paying for the
disease
the cure was free paying for the disease
paying for the disease the cure is for
cure is free right there
so we talked about you talked about the
beauty of islam
let's start from there so what had you
was what was
so beautiful about islam that finally
had you accept it
the beauty to me was you know
simply allah's guidance because i wasn't
looking for islam i had never had no one
talk to me really about islam i was
never invited to any talks any
conferences or anything
just my travels which i was trying to
salvage my
career when i left bad boy was my goal
but my first stop where i
first got inspired was when i went to
senegal
and i visit you know glory island the
first slave house is there
and i learned quickly
from someone who understood the history
of that place
that this was something that was
pinnacle
in removing my previous attachment to
black nationalism or you know just
nationalism in general
or you know the things that we hold onto
as african americans to restore or
protect
our dignity our pride our sense of
belonging and so on and so forth
when it was explained to me that 60
million slaves had passed through there
but six million never left the soil
because they fought and they died
meaning they fought and they died
because they would not submit to no one
other than allah
so they died on the very soil then the
ones who were weaker any man
and those who were overpowered by those
who oppressed them
they became victims of the transatlantic
slave trade
so that experience alone stripped me of
nationalism
and it gave me a a heightened sense of
understanding
from just that space then next i visited
kazakhstan
you know which is middle eastern asia
and
that is when i experienced a different
form of diversity
as far as the muslims because like i
mentioned i only knew of three
particular groups or
you know nationalities or ethnicities
that shared this comment you know saying
understanding of islam
but i goes to kazakhstan and i learned
that
this is even more widespread than i ever
imagined
and then third because i became muslim
in abu dhabi
so visiting the uae at the time
where you know you know may allah make
us better it's not a
place that you know kind of like you
know
you know oozes with islam or you know
things of that nature
but shows you that this is a law's
guidance
because at first i was going
i was going to reject the invitation
because of everything that i was
taught in this country about the muslims
the misconceptions the propaganda and so
on and so forth so i was a victim of
understanding
from one particular
dynamic that the muslims were these
excessive people
but then you go to this place it's like
this is the exact opposite
these people were living you know i'm
saying a lot has favored them with
wealth
they got all the same things i was
exposed to in my lifestyle lamborghinis
jets boats and everything so you know
this pretty much brought it home for me
so
i believed that that was allah guiding
me without
statement without words without
interaction with other muslims no
invitation nothing just a statement that
the prophet saw is telling
so whomsoever allah chooses to god none
can lead them astray and whomsoever
allah leads a straight nun can god
so i remember the first time i
heard hudbata hajid and i just knew like
subhanallah
this is the very thing
that clarified my experience
that this was guidance so you know so
now you're what you're watching yourself
in 2009 and then the epic statement that
you made i'm paying for the disease
while the cure is free
what do you what are you thinking now
now everything you went through
and are you as profound as that
statement was then is the same now
because i believe that from my
experiences and my travels of talking to
the youth around the world
and seeing the commonality and the
things that you know they're attracted
to and what takes them away from the
memories of the law
and what makes the man abandon the
islamic identity and so on and so forth
this is just another means of
paying for the disease but ultimately
whether you're a person that knows or
don't know
the cure still remains free so even for
the muslim who's born
who allah favor to come from the loins
and the wombs
of believers and to be exposed to things
that deter them or
you know take them away from the members
of allah
no a sincere repentance
becomes the cure and it's free
but the more we continue to indulge in
these things
we're only paying for the disease and
that which puts us on a path for gradual
destruction
and for the non-muslim who's ignorant
or unaware of this
cure which is free then they too
until allah guidance reaches them or law
changes the condition of their heart
they remain upon a path where they're
constantly
invested in a disease that will only
lead to
their demise not only in this life and
the next
but the cure yeah it's still free
so at the time when i said that that was
just my pure sincere emotion of
understanding my current state at that
time
but now as you grow and understand the
religion more and you study more
and you learn all the things that
conform with the knowledge and
understanding of tohit
then you know that allah has provided a
cure for every disease
so there's nothing that we can endure in
this life that allah hasn't provided a
cure for
and the cure is free no matter what the
disease is
the cure for it is free
what's so beautiful about your story and
this is why people are so attracted to
it is because
on one end you have people who are so
fascinated
with these two-minute videos they get
like you know hundreds of millions of
views and people are like
you know just drooling at the mouth you
got the scantly dressed trawl d dressed
women that are being used and abused
really on these uh by some of these uh
artists out there
no shame on what's being said and you
know the language that's used and
this is the true oppression of the women
i believe absolutely yeah
but then people are just so caught up
with that but then to see someone get
out of that and to come out and to
really because even even the kanye west
says and many of those who are in that
lifestyle they
talk about they sing about the
corruption in there you know
uh all the all the evil that's in this
world but then they don't get out and do
what you've done
you know to submit to the truth to come
to the truth you know what i mean
and still not go back and may allah
protect you me all of us from going back
to those days of ignorance you know
so that's what's beautiful you know and
it's captivating yeah someone who was up
at the mainstream like that
and now he's a muslim and not just
someone who's who's because you do have
muslims but then they're shy to come out
like you you're on the breakfast club
not too long ago
and you're asked about music and you're
like you're breaking now why
you know why you don't listen to music
because the lifestyle that comes with
it you're saying subhanallah yeah
because the thing you're saying
alhamdulillah
you're not shy about that well i mean
this is the problem you get what i'm
saying
absolutely where people we know they're
muslim but now they're very timid
they're very scared you know they're
kind of undercover
well see this is this is the
overwhelming presence of
opposition to islam that resides
in the west preferably america you know
the uk
england so on and so forth is that
and then you have media that plays a
very significant role
in placing a particular identity on the
muslims
that's a false narrative so what happens
is
you know the more a person's
heart is inclined to pleasing the law
he'll do it at the expense of the
people's anger
you understand you'll do it at the
expense of the people's anger
meaning i'll rather please allah and
have you angry at me
opposed to pleasing you and having a lot
anger
no say angry with me so it becomes a a
situation of perspective
we say we love allah and his messenger
we testify that none has the right to be
worshipped with allah
and that muhammad salla is his messenger
so with this testimony
right with a pure intention statement of
the tongue
which follows is action of the limbs
these three things have to be synonymous
we can't just have a pure
intention and not speak or we can't just
speak and not act all of these things
have to be synonymous and that's a part
of our ascription to the sunnah of the
prophet saws
you know and when it comes to courage
courage is not measured just by acts of
violence
or implementing aggression
when you know we feel that islam is
attacked or
you know the the religion is being
slandered and so on and so forth
you know
when you come from a place of
understanding
it becomes a lot more easier to
implement wisdom
and the wisdom is a person that stands
for something
is more respected than a person who
stands for nothing so we're men
and this should be something that's
incumbent upon men
not just the muslim but men in general
whatever you stand for stand on it yeah
you know what i mean because that's the
way i was raised in the streets before
islam
is that whatever it is i'm standing on
i'm standing on that
so i love allah and his message i love
what allah loves i hate what allah hates
and this
becomes regulation of my emotions yeah
so when i love what the lord loves i'm
delight my emotions in the right place
if it's something that allah forbids and
he hates it then i hate it
you know i'm saying so why would you not
defend what you love yeah
and this is what uh kunta kinte and
and the the roots of the
african-american people
in that that movie roots he's saying
allah allah so this is not some
foreign god some god of the arabs or
something
and the the injustice that was done to
the african americans i mean you had the
original
the original people who came here what
was it like 30 40 percent
were muslims they were pr you know they
weren't savages living on
they were uh princes and and queens and
people who were
you know having a noble life they were
kidnapped they were muslim though right
so the african-american roots anytime i
speak to an african american
uber or anywhere i try to point them
back to their roots
you know which is islam exactly see the
thing is i just had this conversation
before i
left here i was at the radio station and
i was trying to explain
to you know you know
my my people you know i'm saying as far
as my ethnicity
in this country that the true unified
front
when it comes to establishing good comes
from belief
we unite upon belief this is the unity
amongst the muslims and is the most and
is the unity that should be established
even amongst the muslims so it's not
just the ethnicity thing that takes
place in america this is something
that's widespread
and the only way we get back to a place
of unity
for example allah says in the quran he
says
he said verily the disbelievers are
allies of one another
and if you do not do the same there will
be fitness in the earth and major
corruption
so this is actually the state we're
living in so allah made it clear
that those who disbelieve they share
commonality
the muslims if you do not do the same
the result of that will be fitting in
the earth
and major corruption so this applies
specifically to the believers and also
the methodology of unification applies
generally so when you look at a people
who are oppressed and disenfranchised in
this country for over 500 400 500 years
getting back to this source is what's
going to rectify
the present and the future so if the
source and your origin
come into this country is coming from
islam because even geography
geographically if you looked at those
countries where
predominantly slaves were extracted they
were extracted from predominantly muslim
countries yes so that means that
everything that transpired
everything that was fed to a people that
was incorrect
or was fed to demoralize demean
break down cause discord and splitting
there would have never been anything
that would have been allocated that
would have been of good
other than what was taken which was
islam
so you know this is something that i try
to establish but i do it in the means
respectfully and i try to use wisdom
because you know allah says
there's no compulsion in the religion so
we can't compel people
or force people to accept islam we can
only articulate the truth the benefits
and the virtues of islam and you accept
it
you know i'm saying it's between your
lord
so we took it a little back in history
just give a condensed version
of you coming out of that lifestyle
having it all
you know finding peace and purpose in
islam submission to the creator not the
creation
the way of jesus moses abraham and just
the last of our messenger prophet
muhammed peace and blessings be upon him
all
right so this is not a new religion it's
the same way of life that was from the
first man adam
to all the messengers and we're living
here today
and then you're out there traveling
you're trying to get the youth off drugs
you're trying to share the message of
peace and purpose with humanity
and then you get kidnapped in brussels
tell us about that is that right you got
kidnapped
absolutely i mean but it's bylaws decree
so you're doing good
out there and then you know something
from the
bring us up to speed how why did you get
kidnapped basically
there was a conspiracy that took place
in 2008 with a group of individuals
who i only knew one person and this was
prior to islam i wasn't a muslim yet
so this was me at the very you know
weaning stages of leaving the music
business
my love for the underdog i met a guy who
was
you know aspiring to be an artist and i
tried to
show him a way through the means and
resources that i had
so in my bad judgment he inquired about
something
that at the time you know saying i was
knowledgeable of but i wasn't involved
in
so i actually did something that became
detrimental later is i
introduced him to somebody who they had
a relationship
and they could in a conspiracy revolved
around their relationship and their
dealings
i was free from the matter so now fast
forward
i become muslim and like i said i fled
with my religion
everything i did was public so it wasn't
like i was a fugitive i was running from
anything every talk i gave including
your show everything was transparent
everything was visible
and obtainable now when i get to belgium
i'm told by interpol i got grabbed by
interpol i was told that i had
an indictment in the eastern district of
north carolina in a city called durham
which i never visited
so now this is already a fishy situation
but fighting to make sure my extradition
was not violated or my constitutional
rights wasn't violated i came to you
know
state side and i was sentenced to 14
years
in prison you know for a conspiracy
to possess with an intent to distribute
a kilo or heroin
i never saw herman a day in my life with
lawyer
and the individuals who put me in a
conspiracy i didn't have any real
dealings with these guys you know so so
you introduce
introduce a to b pretty much and
and that became c d e f all the way to z
yeah simple so
that's interesting when you when you
look at um we know it in islam
that a person can go towards an evil
deed right
and then if they might have an intention
but even if they
don't do the evil deed they get the
reward they get the reward right
um or you know they thought about doing
something they were about to do it again
they walked away but here you didn't
even do it yeah
right you you introduced two people
absolutely whatever they did and then
how do you end up going to see the one
thing i've never done through the course
of my whole incarceration is try
to figure out the wisdom behind what
allah had to create
yeah you know and that's something
that can definitely lead to removing
yourself
yeah from understanding what is clear as
far as what the law established
of accepting his divine decree the good
event and the bad of it
so the tangible evidence is what people
struggle with
yeah but the ultimate defining factor is
that this is from allah's decree
so i accepted it and for nine years
i was able to increase in everything i
was
searching for prior to that because you
know trying to study in egypt
at the same time taking invitations
going to other places giving talks it
was impeding my process
i actually learned arabic more in prison
i actually started to
obtain more understanding of the
language the quran
you know the books of the early man and
so on and so forth in prison
i ended you had access to all that yeah
absolutely i had maybe at one time maybe
over
92 books you know saying maybe 80
90 percent of them in arabic and some in
english i met a lot of
strong brothers you know young
palestinian brother named muhammad was
the imam
in one spot he was younger than me i
benefited being around him another
brother named isan
who was from bangladesh younger than me
benefited from him he was a half of
hafez in quran you know i've been in
positions where i've been the imam
and so on and so forth so it's like what
i thought i had very little of became
more of a benefit
in prison so then you started to
understand the wisdom behind what allah
decreed
it wasn't so much about me being this
baby
who just accepted islam it was that
whatever i was exposed to
taught and learned of tahit
and implementation of the understanding
of tohi it became a benefit for
many people in the prison system so
ultimately this becomes
the wisdom behind why things happen
so if i would win another course then my
hairline would probably be back here
stressed out lost weight just looking
weak because
that is the sign of someone who either
rejects
because if you don't accept you reject
the decree of allah
and alhamdulillah allah never placed in
my heart
anything that would have made me feel
like
what he decreed for me wasn't of my
benefit
yeah and then there's there's supposed
to be relief in that there's supposed to
be some solace
the belief is now sitting here with my
brother i mean that cutter
this but when you're in that situation
and you go back on that
right and this is supposed to help you
get through that
absolutely right that's part of it right
because acceptance is
it takes the the the initial burden off
your shoulder yeah
now moving forward you can be clear yeah
or what comes your way
you know the hadith of the prophet saws
said don't say if
i did this or that or the other you know
say it's the decree of allah that's
right
yeah otherwise you drive yourself crazy
yeah that's what i'm saying you know
it's the beauty of us
we live in our hearts you know the the
true believer lives in his hearts
because this is the thing that allah
targets in the quran the hearts
not the intellect you know we have aka
but
there's a place for that yeah but as far
as our ultimate living space is our
heart
yeah you have to live here you have to
reside here in order to feel
in order to understand to comprehend you
know i'm saying and to
act with sound purpose it has to come
from here
and then you were you were kind of
entrapped you were given some options
but those options were like okay it was
like if i go down that right
that route and try to fight for this
justice
i'd lose i'd get life in prison get life
imprisonment what i'm saying so now this
is where the occult comes in now we have
to use our intellect
yeah no saying because what allah says
in the quran
do not kill yourselves right so that
would have been me killing myself
you know what i'm saying even though i'm
the one i'm innocent
but the same token i have you know my
family has rights
you know i'm saying there's people who a
lot placed me in authority over
my wife my children you know saying so
and so forth people who looked at me
as the provider which i provide from
allah's means right so with all of these
things in place you have to make a sound
decision
you have to weigh the benefit versus the
home right so the benefit is okay
i take the sentence there's daylight
with the same token i take the sentence
i make the most of the time
and alhamdulillah allah you know allowed
me to return in
nine years opposed to 14. you know
went from 14 i got the two point
reduction dropped me down to 11 years
and the feds you do 87 or 85.5 however
you wanted
so that would have been nine years
anyway then i get immediate release i
signed for a compassionate release and
got an immediate release
well then today is actually the day i
was supposed to get released
with no relief like with no compassion
and release no filing in court anything
today was my out date i was supposed to
come home
two days to get 11 months halfway house
was there something trump was mentioning
all this was nothing to do with nothing
with trump
trump everything to do with me utilizing
whatever rights is given to me
whatever rights there wasn't
relinquishing during the course of my
incarceration
utilizing those rights to file for
certain motions
and under the law i was granted the
compassion and release and i was
released
immediately masha mashallah right away
alhamdulillah
don't wait can't wait and you're here
with us now alhamdulillah
masha'allah tell us islam in the prisons
how was it there when you came in were
there a lot of muslims
there in the prison yeah me i tell
youssef it's the university of yusuf
alaihissalam
so i've met some of the most
you know inspiring
influential
and strong muslims because
under these circumstances all we have is
islam
all we have is our brotherhood so when
those things become
the things that remain from everything
else that the law has removed
then you either find refuge and soulless
in that
or you incorporate the prison culture
and be lost
so i've been to four different
institutions in the feds and every
community i went to i'll have some
benefit
i learned from brothers brothers learn
from me the brotherhood
like we did things together we worked
out together we played ball together we
had a muslim team for this
and we stayed together we found ways to
always be a part of each other's
struggle
each other's life each other's benefit
each other's education so on and so
forth and
that's something that's actually lacking
in the free world
yeah how was it described to us paint a
picture okay you walk in
to the um the prison is it like okay you
go to the left
and they have this gang people folks
whatever and then you have to start
going
who you're gonna click with neutral and
then over here you've got the muslims
how paint us a picture how does it
actually
you know work well
the thing they command for us to seek
right
you seek the muslims upon arrival
yeah so the first person that you may
engage or the first person you catch eye
contact that look like he might know
something or you stand at me let's start
a conversation and they'll
you know where the muslims at are they
allowed to wear the kufi's absolutely
yeah
we allow them with the cool fees you
know we are allowed to wear athol
or you know shout out to kami's
inshallah allah like in certain spots
just for yomoji moha
not throughout the day but just in
jumuah they got lockers inside the
chapel that you can change in there
and where you're told you know what i'm
saying you could wear any mamma
everything i mean the muslims have
fought
to preserve some of the right to
implement islam
right so to know that we're in a place
where
we're not taking this stuff for granted
it becomes difficult
to see brothers who have the opportunity
and
access to this stuff neglecting it you
know
you know and i just pray that allah
makes us better you know increase us
in that zeal and that strength that we
have when we first knew we was upon the
truth
you know we have to return to that show
how's the dollar in the prisons how how
was it did you have
did you have any experiences were you
able to share with some of the inmates
there and people actually accepted islam
absolutely you know saying by law's
permission i never do any counting
no saying but it was always you know
you got time so when someone shows any
type of inclination to islam you're more
than open to teach them what else i got
to do like where else i got to go
you know i'm saying and it actually
strengthens your understanding
for yourself at the same time you're
teaching and inviting someone to
something that's good
and you know by law's permission i'll
say this
i've never entered a single institution
where someone hadn't accepted islam
so i mean literally i've never been to
an institution
where someone hasn't come to me seeking
islam
and testified that none has the right to
be worshipped with allah in the
muhammad's life selam is the messenger
of allah
in my presence you know what i'm saying
and so on and so forth i speak to a
brother now my good brother his name is
um
you know and pakistani brother martial
tabardo kalai is a beautiful brother i
speak to him all the time
since i've been home he's called me
you know several times telling me about
people that we are familiar with that we
were working on
he said guess who took shahada guess who
takes shahadah
guess who takes shahada it never stops
he's like this guy takes shahadah
subhanallah the guy that was
masha'allah oh guess what guess who took
shahadah
so the brothers is in there calling the
people to islam even during
covet like everyone's locked down
isolated from one another and
everybody's calling each other to islam
we're calling
the no the non-muslim to islam and we're
calling the muslims to return to islam
you know saying this da'wah doesn't just
start or stop with the non-muslims
that's what people have to understand
the call is to also
remind the muslims to return to allah
and then we call the non-muslims as well
to accept you know what conforms with
your natural disposition
i want to take a minute and i want to
share because i'm sure this lady here
used to listen to your songs or maybe
still does
so she's very popular i don't know if
you've heard of this woman uh candace
owens
have you heard of her um
and i want to get your reaction she has
a
a few things to say and i want to see if
we can get a message to her
but i want to start from the beginning
here i want to go back into little girl
candace the first time that i ever heard
about islam
the first time that i ever heard about
you know muslims in the context of a
political ideology or religion
and that was the first memory that i had
was in third grade
and we were reading a book and they were
saying
in this book that muslim being a muslim
is just like being a christian
islam is exactly like christianity is
exactly
like judaism and we were told that the
prophet muhammad
is exactly like jesus christ i believe
this as a child i think that a lot of
americans that are watching this can
relate to this sort of
of the religion of peace it's just like
christianity
um is any of that true
so you you haven't she's very involved
in politics now she's
a person who is very outspoken
and some of these people end up speaking
sometimes
out of their lane she didn't have
nothing here she's talking to a person
who's actually not an imam he's like
someone who's put out there
like uh he's like a fakey mom
help us so uh what would you say like
to someone like her who's probably
listened to your
music from the past for anything but
she's mentioning something so dear to
you
right and she's probably got a lot of
misconceptions in her mind
if you can talk to someone like that
what would you say to her
well i would clarify what
has already reached the of the
connection
between the books that the law revealed
the messengers you know i'm saying in
prophets that allah has consent and
concession
to different nations and that the
prophet muhammad salla is selling being
the seal of all of those prophets
and that their call and their religion
was one
that's the commonality but to say that
they're the same
you know saying would be taken away from
you know a clear perspective and
understanding of what
islam enters right
and i've ran into people like her
and you have to have a certain
sense of concern because one
for a person to even embark on any
understanding of religion
means that they're you know partially
there
you understand as muslims all we're
trying to do is get them all the way
there
you know what i'm saying without no
deception we're not trying to deceive
nobody
we're only here to convey what is
correct so that it doesn't become a
proof against me yomokiyama when i have
to stand before my lord
so to candice and anyone
who's inclined to islam it is our
obligation
to clarify first what is the foundation
is tohit so understanding to he
would definitely dispel any notion
that is the same as christianity as his
practice today
versus the religion
during the time of his messengership
which was islam
which was monotheism same thing with
musa
and so on and so forth so you know we
stick to the usual
the people who ascribe themselves to the
sunnah we stick to the usual
meaning the foundation so the foundation
always starts with tahit
no conversation should start unless it
starts with
tohit the pure monotheism so the the so
the the connection between
jesus moses abraham the last and final
message of muhammad
is that pure mono the tohi right
but now what people are practicing today
of christianity
worshiping jesus you know people uh
who say that jesus is god there's no
evidence to back that up there's no
there's nothing there that jesus ever
said i'm god worship me
but but if the people look into the true
message of jesus
and all the messengers then that would
you know uh guide you to the right
direction
yeah well there's certain texts that's
in the bible that reside today
that many scholars in the past and then
present and being able to point out
we're told he
still exists in the bible
even with all his alterations and the
bible reactions you know and so on and
so forth
till he still remains so mostly when i
talk to christians who identify with
these things and accept them
but then they find something that
contradicts it and think that they're
debating
but you're only really debating with
your own understanding because you just
affirmed
that none has a right to be worshipped
with god and god alone yeah
right it's your first commandment thou
shall not place no other god before me
so we know that linguistically the word
god means object of worship
so now the first commandment makes sense
in the bible thou shall not place no
other god before me
which is synonymous with la ilaha now
you affirm that
but then out of the sake of debating and
arguing you want to find another verse
in the same book that contradicts that
one
so the debate becomes with yourself yeah
you understand
and as muslims we have to use hikmah in
these matters it just you know
allow that to pass and then remain
firm upon what they affirm you affirm
that there's only one god
there's only one creator there's only
one facilitator
arranger sustainer organizer of all the
affairs of creation
we agree so if this unique
ability is only deserving of one
then it shouldn't it be his right and
his right alone to be worshipped
that's simplicity people don't like
simplicity for some reason
like complications confusing you know
saying chaos but
i chose islam for simplicity because all
of the distortions and everything that i
used to think
became simplified with the kelly mateen
rasulullah and what followed
continuously and consistently
was attached to that statement yeah
that's consistency that simplicity
and it's lasting and it never gets old
yeah
so someone like her or anybody else now
in the african-american community we
talked about one
what's beautiful about your life is now
if you're seeking purpose
purpose is not in like you said i can go
get the gold chain i can get the car
the massage and then something comes up
and happens and ruins my whole day and
then another stress
you know i make another society tells
you you know what i'm saying that's not
what allah tells you
society tells you that success is based
upon things you accumulate
allah says success is upon belief yes
dying upon belief
living upon belief that none has the
right to be worshipped with allah the
muhammad islam is the messenger of allah
living upon that implementing that in
your life
and dying upon that that's success
still simple still easy you break it
down simple so you have that
and then you have the roots there and
then you have that connection with the
pure monotheism
do you think what have you heard these
names like dj
uh what else something you call it very
well you know hollywood i just haven't
spoken to him since i've been
you know i'm very very well uh who else
some uh what's what's the name um
french montana i met french
[Music]
a couple weeks ago a couple weeks ago we
talked and humbled me a lot continue to
increase him because he's
definitely trying to implement what is
correct
so for me like i said with all these
people that you named then we probably
gonna name you know first and foremost
we always ask a lot to guide them i mean
guide us purify our intentions our
intentions is pure
going into these things we're not trying
to keep score we're not trying to keep
record
we're not here to say that i'm the
shahada king and all this type of stuff
stuff for the la
vie but we do this solely for the sake
of allah and we want good for the people
no i'm saying because we're supposed to
be the best of the people for the people
so that's a responsibility you know
saying that if we're going to be the
best of the people for the people
meaning by example
you know saying by methodology by
implementation of that understanding and
so on and so forth
inviting to it then this
obligation doesn't rest until we
see the result of allah yeah are you
able to sit and talk
you know many people everybody knows
muhammad ali right
and not only a legend in the ring but
mainly what he did outside the ring
but you know my teacher knew him very
well one of my former teachers who used
to run a
dawah center was was muhammad ali his
his love
for this dean for sharing he used to
give out pamphlets
and who was jesus and what is islam and
he used to actually sign his name and
that's how
he would give the autographs people in
this uh
industry are you able to sit with them
and do you think how much of
impact would they have if because we get
excited you'll see
you see not too long ago we see we saw
um
mike tyson where he was praying in
public yeah and just by praying that
prayer people were getting so excited
imagine you know
how much impact someone like mike tyson
or some of these if they really started
to
you know um change their life for the
better and start to really
implement the tohi implement islam well
the thing is
even whatever it is they do that
inspires they've done
a great justice for islam see the thing
is
like the prophet saw yourself said
taliban foreign
seeking knowledge is obligatory upon
every muslim
so when we see the things that inspire
us to want to learn
more we have to take those inspirations
right attach him to our heart
and then we have to strive to increase
in that which is good
because what happens is for the ones who
do choose to implement seeking knowledge
we want to put the burden solely on
their shoulders you know go ask the iman
yeah
you know what go on youtube pull up such
and such and such
this becomes a lackadaisical effort
of establishing what you may already
know
you know you can't demote your value
because you only know
just the clues you know what i'm saying
you only know the last three sorrows in
the quran
yeah alhamdulillah you know something
you know what i'm saying
and you have to teach that even if you
only know bismillah
you have to teach that and every muslim
need to understand this obligation
and not assume that the burden is just
those who seek knowledge
it's yours as well so when you're
frequenting amongst
you know i'm saying muslims or even the
non-muslims
every time an opportunity presents
itself you're supposed to seize that
opportunity
to teach because when you do that it
becomes a defining factor of what your
presence is going to be around those
people
islam will choose your friends for you
because if every time i
speak about islam i stop playing ball or
go pray and i do all these things you
know what happens you even going to
continue picking me to play basketball
because you respect the fact that i
stopped to do these things or you're
going to distance yourself from me
so i didn't have to make the choice
islam made the choice for me
you understand oh i got to go i got to
get out here i got to pray oh man
you always got to pray i just go through
this in prison sometimes yeah i'm gonna
stop
picking you man cause you all we got
listen while you're playing ball your
head
stop there you go that's a good example
exactly so
the point of the matter is this
obligation is not just
minds it's not just yours it's
everybody's
it's every muslim's obligation to teach
what you know
because if you know islam is the truth
it doesn't matter about your
shortcomings
doesn't matter about your deficiencies
or your flaws the obligation still
remains
if you know aleph bat tat teach it you
know bismillah
rahim you teach it all you know is
al-fatiha you teach it if all you know
is to touch your heart whatever it is
your obligation to teach you remains
until you reach until you meet your lord
so we have to stop abandoning the
obligation
and this is for everybody this is this
is for the names we mentioned we didn't
mention
for for everybody this is just movement
yes
every believer yes
you know this is this is this is what
we're here for yeah
well let's uh we'll end with that it's
beautiful to see you man
beautiful to see you too as well may
allah bless you where could people if
they want to get in touch
you know look up at you got some
documentary coming out yes i'm working
on a documentary so i can actually put
to the side all of the questions about
all of the transitions i feel like if i
share that one time
i can place those things behind me and
that if i'm invited to speak you know
the questions would be relevant to what
you've already saw
or what you've learned about me i have a
book also
i'm trying to you know release and i'm
just
pretty much in the same place i left you
know i love islam
i love the muslims and anything that i
can do to contribute to the success of
the believers in sha allah in this life
i'm going to do what i can
you're going to be in uh visiting both
of jack soon
inshallah i spoke to him i want to go
out there and visit nobody in the
training camp because
i don't think the fight's going to have
an audience and i want to meet mike
again too i didn't see mike in years
inshallah you can lead them in prayer
again this time insha'allah
and uh we can get you on the he can get
you on the mike is the eldest so he's
the ultimate
yeah and don't forget if you see mike
tell him to tune in to the d show
beautiful brother that was our brother
formerly known as loon from bad boy
records that's in the past
he's got a new page in life where he
left
that old life that didn't bring him
peace solace and happiness
and he had all the finer things in life
there's nothing wrong with
enjoying some of the finer things in
life but if it's built on that like he
was saying that to heed
that pure monotheism and that leads you
to your purpose and via b
candace owens via b dj khaled mike tyson
via b
whoever is a p diddy sean john whoever
the case
i mean to get to that it starts with
something very basic
and simple it's actually on my shirt
guide me guide me guide me
if you had a bus stop and you wanted to
get from point a to point b
you didn't have a map you'd ask someone
for guidance
how do i get here how do i get there but
what about what's my objective in this
life
why am i here in this world what am i
living for is it just the dollars is it
just for fame is it just for popularity
i'm gonna be held accountable when i
leave this life he realized that
our brother realized that and he looked
behind the hype
and he found everything based on
evidence and proof
in islam he's living it islam that
complete
submission and surrender to the crate of
the heavens and the earth just like
jesus moses abraham and all the other
messengers
they submitted not to themselves not to
the dollar not the fame not the
popularity
but they called humanity and they did it
themselves they submitted to the one god
the one creator and everybody we say
allah
and the last and final messenger the
prophet muhammad peace and blessings be
upon him
he brought the evidence and everything
you need to know that he was a messenger
and that islam is the truth and it's all
found in the quran read the quran
and do the homework do the homework
because this life is short
i love talking to people like this
who've experienced all that they've
climbed up the ladder
and every step they took up higher and
higher it didn't really find
they didn't really find what you think
you're gonna find when you get up there
they were already up there
you don't find that peace and silence
submitting to the creation submitted to
your desires
you find it submitting to your creator
because truly in the remembrance of god
almighty allah do the hearts find rest
so we end with that guide me guide me
guide me
that's the homework do what he did do
what we're supposed to be doing
asking the creator of the heavens and
earth alone god almighty allah for
guidance
and he will if you're earnestly seeking
facilitate away thank you for tuning in
to the dean shaw hope you enjoyed this
interview
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you