Brother please, yeah, don't judge him yeah? Don't judge him
I haven't even started the video yet.
Look brother, please- yeah- don't judge him yeah?
-Who are you brother? Who are you? -you're right "Who am I?" but I haven't started the
video bro... it seems like you're judging me.
What? err tha...tha... is that my phone ringing?
-Hello -What? I don't anything.
Err I gotta take this call.
Hello mom how are you? Sorry can you give me a minute please?
Harris J was a famous musical nasheed artist. He won a competition and was
signed by Maher Zain's label at around 12 years old. He had a very innocent
religious image- Till he did a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus flip which confused
and angered a lot of his fans. He did a very honest interview with Adam Saleh
and Slim which we can learn so much from.
Asalaamu Alaikum guys and welcome to another episode of smile2jannah.
All right guys so, as people we are becoming so quick
to condemn people without asking why or delving a little deeper.
Knock, knock, knock, hello is the real Dr. Cox in there?
And that's the main reason that our relationships,
our families and friendships are falling apart.
What a depressing way to start a video right?
Just like any other good or bad thing that happens in our life,
there are always reasons why. And not practicing their religion or leaving
their religion is not exempt from this. You know what, let's see how youth have it today yeah.
First of all we're surrounded by concrete, plastic and iron. We breathe
polluted air, eat fake and processed foods,
we're addicted to social media which gives us a dopamine release like drugs,
validates us, gives us an escape and in return makes us Entertainment junkies
and narcissists, who constantly compare themselves to others, leading us to being miserable.
I really hope this video cheers up because I'm getting
depressed just by being in it .
And we got games, movies and music which have
billion-dollar budgets and Harvard and Oxford professors that are competing for our attention.
You know what? That actually makes you feel quite important and a little be worried.
And if that's not all, the first ten years of our lives which
are the most vital when it comes to upbringing: our parents are too busy at
work, on the phone, cooking or watching dramas, so we're left at the mercy of the
colonized curriculum and the television. And that's like employing Satan to be
your babysitter just because he's cheap. And that's not to mention our two hours
a day madrasaa, or weekend madrasa if even that's stretching it...
which we have of course reserved for the most important thing in our life: Islam.
Where we read the Qur'an in Arabic, after a long day at school
and have a teacher that, most likely, we can't relate with. So it's
after all of this upbringing of ours we adorn the hijab- if you're a girl
yeah I have to make that clear because we've got morons that watch some of
these videos to be honest- and go to school or are on the internet and have
to defend our religion from people who want Islam's head on a stick, when all
these kids want to do is fit in with the image that they've grown up watching on
television. Now bearing all this in mind let's rejoin Haris J. At the vital years
of his life he was going through some stuff at home yeah
at the time like I said I was going through a lot of bad things, like
personally, and and like a lot of negativity was in my life and
I was really really unhappy with a lot of things that were happening.
Now this clearly wasn't resolved, and then he won the competition...
it was like... it all happened like I said it will happen so fast like, I won that competition just
as I was turning 16 and I was finished high
school and then and then they basically just offered me this big contract.
And because of that he started touring, you know doing all these nasheeds
and receiving so much adoration for it. But naturally from a small age he
didn't have that connection with the religion so he admits himself:
when I was younger and I was signed to Awakening I was doing
traveling I was going to Malaysia, Indonesia and just released my album,
I was not praying bro, like I was not... I was not... I was so out of touch with my deen
because there was... I was so, that I was just going through so much crap and I
felt so distant from God.
And the fact that he was doing some crazy stuff but
still maintaining a practising image just for the sake of his label.
There'll be times yeah... where I would be like... I got arrested and then from the
police station I'd have to fly to the airport and go and do and do like a concert in
like Malaysia and just smile and pretend like my whole life was happy and sing
-about like the prophet and Allah. -Yes to people it seemed like he was on the
Islamic side and then he went to the dark side.
-And naturally they were cheesed off. -Bro I swear to God in real
life people was calling me Dajaal. But to himself he knew he wasn't really
about that life anyway. But Dajaal? Really guys? I don't think
Dajaal's gonna be entering singing competitions when he comes and graces
us with his presence. Now of course we all have our journey and we make our
mistakes. And it does make sense Islamically and even logically that when
we are making these mistakes we don't make them publicly yeah. We don't
show them off to the people like it's some sort of thing to be proud of yeah.
Oh I'm just showing people that (you know) it's okay to be a human
being and you do these things. Hey people already know this yeah we got plenty of
other examples. Harris J mashaAllah, he's a intelligent boy (you know I'm saying?)
he was plunged into that test when he was young and was still a bit confused
but now mashaAllah he seems to be finding out more about himself and
-becoming more in touch with his religion. -The one thing that I'm most sure of in
this world yeah... on my life I'm most sure of on this world is that you can't be
happy without God, you can't, you can't... if I've learned anything in my in my years
of living that's that's the one thing so, no matter no matter what I sing about
and no matter what I kind of do in my life or the music I make, or the places
I'm in and stuff like... I would never...
He still feels that he wants to pursue music and that's up to him, you know I'm saying.
What I do want to give him props for is that he is not justifying his acts in
the religion of Islam and that is very important. Some people do wrong things
yeah and yeah you can say that's a human thing to do, but to then justify within
Islam no no no no you can't you can't be doing that.
Now guys I really do want to say that it's important that we help our young,
and also our elders as well to
experience the religion rather than making it just about the acts. A very good
example of this is: we ask our kids if they've prayed, but we never asked them
how they felt or what they experienced. Yeah from a small age if you ask them
questions like this, it gets them thinking as well. And that's not to
mention from a small age we tell our kids "Don't do this otherwise Allah will
get angry with you" and we tend to only mention "Allah is watching" them when
they're doing stuff wrong. I mean we've got the balance so wrong, just look at
the 99 attributes of Allah, only a couple of those attributes are about punishment,
pretty much the rest of them are about love,
compassion, mercy... how comes we get the ratio wrong when we're advising other
people; when we're upbringing our own children?
So yeah guys don't make people
your role models other than the prophet (s.a.w) or the people who
are passed away yeah because all of their life is documented in front of you.
But somebody that's alive they could be one way today,
and then they may join the dark side down the line.
And let's get a bit psychological on this because some people,
look for role models because
something or someone was missing when they were young. And they are now
projecting that on other people which is unfair on other people because you're
expecting a pristine and perfect image. Of course like I mentioned we have a lot
to do to help our youth but let's just start with nurturing them from a young
age by giving them your time; time is very important for young kids.
Being firm but fair with them and not just using Islam to scare them. And when they grow
up don't use the same tactics as you do when they're young, when they grow up
you gotta let them make their mistakes and be more understanding and don't
leave their side. Don't tell them to get out. Don't tell
them that they're not part of the family anymore... any of that business for God's
sake please. And more importantly when you do make mistakes turn to Allah and
ask forgiveness for Allah will never leave your side. All right guys
let's leave it there for now until next time
Asalaamu alaikum