 All right, so now I know what's going on. We back at it again. You already know how he goes is the how I learned Epic stories Episodes kind of thing. So today we have our brother Aboubakar, Imaduddin straight out of Brooklyn, New York Alaykum As-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. How are you? How are you? It's been a long time. Last time it was in Egypt The How did everything everything everything is well everything's gonna my side gonna my end. How's everything with you? Hamdulillah, man. Let me ask you something. Do you think Egypt is just it's literally almost dunya Like you meet brothers that you would never be anywhere else Now I actually believe that Okay, how many how many nationalities can you count that you met in in Cairo? Well, you're Indonesian Malaysian Chinese Lebanese Korean French Italian Russian Um, what you call it Canadian What you call it? Brothers from Iceland, so I'm a ten that's right and the list goes on is everyone And that's like we are like the weird nationalities, but you have like the main, you know, French American UK Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's crazy man Like, you know his brothers that I met in Cairo that literally if it wasn't because of Omen dunya I wouldn't never Okay, so Uh, let me pull up the questions man Professional but you know, we always we was Mess it up. But anyways, man, that's what we want in this channel. We want the organic role kind of content You know, I mean, you know, we want to keep it give it to people in a natural way. So So first of all, hey, give us a little bit of context about you know yourself and how you learn Arabic and how you got to Egypt even All right, so what happened the law salat with Salam on our Rasulillah There was a bucket maddening 20 years old my journey in Arabic started when I was Subhan Allah at a very young age when I was seven we could say I started to learn how to read Arabic from like my Mother and father they started teaching me like encouraging me to learn Arabic at a young age and You know from age seven, I believe I went to Yemen Before I went to Egypt Now, so I was steady now. I was in which we call it. I was a son. Okay for a little bit And then we moved to the match. I'm not sure you heard about of the match She's more than she gave her a jury. So I was what you're studying. Oh That was in 2005 Okay, okay Now so it was in those times and then you know mashallah led up to that You know I learned Arabic so I came back to the States probably like around ten maybe nine Well, I know and you know my parents don't but hey listen Why don't we think we should go to Egypt say you to Egypt? You know, it's like the thing You know the new trend. So it happened that you know, we went to Egypt and you know And that's when I can really say like the journey studying Arabic really started really hit me You know like you hit me in a ribs like because I could I could literally remember times where It was hard for me to any how you say to have a monotheistic, you know, hard to me hard to have a conversation and Well, I am an ever since I studied Arabic, you know, I think of I think that a lot of you know doors open for me No, just a society, you know, meaning different people networking with different type of people And Arabic is universal English because you know without Arabic. I wasn't able to learn a call and No, no, no, no, so You know, I played a big role played a big part in my memorization of the Quran No, so, you know, Alhamdulillah, you know, and then also my parents. So, you know, I should go to them I think them, you know, I should go home and you know, I think Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you know for help We get there, you know I'm still, you know, we could say an amateur in Arabic studies in Arabic, which you know I plan on in the future, you know, to, you know, insha'Allah, go back and study Arabic, you know, if Allah wills it No, insha'Allah, so We can say that basically you and this how I perceive you like even before we're in Egypt It's how I used to look at you. You kind of learn Arabic in a natural way kind of thing You know, you can say that because you used to go to classes and stuff But it was like all the time I heard I heard you speak Arabic was Amiyah And I think it was Yeah, you can say that because I could because I used to go to Be'ooth So that right there was like a different type of ball game because we didn't really get the classical Arabic as much You know how the Egyptians are, you know, you you can say a Qibha like he gonna be like Amelie And I said that you like Amelie. Yeah, so it was like it was like kind of clash between, you know Classical Arabic and she Arabic. So, you know, mostly she Arabic is basically like survival In a sense, survival instinct. Yeah, I said because half don't really understand what's how they don't want to understand They laugh at you like, oh you speaking you speaking problem. Yeah, get that out of here Like it's like it's like in America. It's like in America, you know We speaking proper English or you get a good example is when Lahualam you be sitting on a train Yeah, and you start speaking, you know, and everybody you can be able to oh, are you sound like a white person? You know, we saw you so much used to slaying. So that's how it was and And you know, wallahi, you know to be honest actually picked up slain faster and first time Me too. I mean, I don't know. I wouldn't say me too, but he's like Easier to just flows like you can say whatever they understand you and it sounds just like Amiya Yeah, that's how it was for me. No, instead of saying, you know Yeah, uh, I think you have a hood You understand That's what yeah, you understand So it was like it was more of that and you know, I will I said something to what I first came to Egypt I was telling my parents. I'm never gonna learn Arabic This is hard. Yeah, this is hard Listen to the guy the cornerster downstairs that lived from us Well, I actually wanted to cry because I was like, I don't understand what he's saying Yeah, my chips was just like a struggle. I see you understand, you know how to kill them He's standing in the shop for like Rushing me, you know, they used to smash the money out of my head. Like, what are you doing? No, I love so, you know, I can say, you know, Alhamdulillah, you know Arabic head is ups and downs You know, just like memorize the Quran or doing anything new in life. You will have your ups and downs But you know, I like your HD had, you know, if you focus and strive, then, you know, yes, Allah like to kill more Yeah, definitely. Definitely. So Okay, so Amir is easy to learn you just gotta go outside and walk around and talk to people But what about like actual Arabic? How do you know this? For example, what you just said this um What's the word like You know, I like how each they had things like this. You gotta actually see down in a class and Listen to a teacher explain you that. So how did that happen to you? What medicine do you go to? What method do you use? Allah, yeah Alhamdulillah, you know That's a good question. Nobody will be asking that before so I'm trying to answer the best of our ability The maracas, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've I've went to, you know, Alhamdulillah probably three maracas Ever since I was in Egypt One was not far from maracas in nil and high seven the seventh district in Egypt I forgot what the maracas was called But there was a maracas that I went when I initially got there to Egypt. It was called maracas Aroda to fosha, you know, it was a road, you know for fosha and I can say, well, I you know, I was you know, ever since sitting in a class, you know, learning Arabic is You know, it's like learning math for me Because you know You get that a lot the rams because you know after Yeah, so these things were very challenging In a sense for me, you know, and to be able to you know, compare with others and you know, you know ask others Hey, listen, how do I how do I do this? How do I do that? Should I write like this? Should I put? You know, there was a lot of rules and regulations in Arabic And you know, that actually helped me in a sense, you know, because when it came to like studying Quran I didn't really need to go with Tajweed, you know, it was just like an actually thing, you know You know and these things and you know Even with you know, my parents, I would go home and you know, I would write on, you know, some flashcards You know, they're like I would like My dad did something that's so special Like he would, you know, everything in the house, like if you look at everything in the house and well, okay So you take the flashcard, it's the little walls, you know, how did you talk? And then then we'll have a couch and if you write a happy Erika And it's the head that we stick down Postcard that we go Had the uh, Miss Baha, you know, dicker beats were happy. I mean cash chef You know the light so it was like, you know different things. So mostly, you know, Arabic was learned from, you know A visual perspective and also, you know, Oguni, you know by listening to So, you know, I have I have both of good worlds, you know, Alhamdulillah so So would you say, I mean, I just got confused with three questions I want to ask you, I had to write him down So first question I wanted to ask you Is is about your parents because obviously this is a blessing and I know your father He probably doesn't know me We used to I used to look at him as a, you know, the the OGs now you can't talk to these Well, it's like they the OGs that you got to respect them So, uh, would you say that having like parents who, you know, practice and have these Heirs and this here's for, you know, this This, uh, I don't even know how to say here's to be honest in English, but This love for uh, for seeking knowledge. What did that help you? Well, I actually The best support in the world is the support of parents. No That's what I'm gonna say the best support of world Anything in life is the support of parents. No as long as they support you in adventures and the passions that you want Halas, you know Everything is good. You know, I can say, you know, Alhamdulillah, you know, my parents always say, you know, don't give up You know, don't give up, you know, don't don't be a quitter You know, don't get to the finish line. You already see the tunnel and you already quit You know You can't afford to do, you know, you can't afford to do that. You know, you have to grow You know, you have to adapt. You know, it was always about being able to adapt You know, my parents always, you know, they weren't they weren't always pushing me, you know In a sense because they know I could do it myself, but you know, they always gave me that reminder Listen, you do it. If any, you can do it, you know, especially my mom. She would push me a lot You know, I'll wake up in the morning. She'll pop out, you know, you tap out of b baini a day Yalla, let's go over to hua. As-salamu alaikum And it's me kevah went it's mcmatha. I'm like, Alhamdulillah. So, you know, it was always that motivation You know, it's had that motivation Especially my father's, you know, my mom was more like arabic side, but that was like one called the island side You know when it came to like support My mom mostly supported me in arabic. Yeah, and my father supported me in quran. Yeah, that's what I wanted to Sorry, I hate to cut you but that's what I wanted to ask you because And I and it came out of my brain Because I remember when I was, you know, when you go to places like Egypt, for example, where there is a like community of Brothers even sometimes even groups kind of thing There is a there was a school of thought that would say Nah, he just you don't know arabic, right? No, just go and memorize the quran. You will gain a lot of vocabulary Or other people they say no no first learn arabic and then go ahead and memorize the quran is going to be easier So what what is your school of thought in terms of this? My school of thought is the second opinion Okay, I actually would say both because I a good example is people who memorize quran without arabic. They're mostly in the west And they have no idea what they're saying I personally experienced that first hand with a lot of quran, you know, right now, Ramadan, you know, Allah has busted with, you know Amazing voices. Do you ask me? I need Ma ma'ana wa allahu yaddu'a wa yilal dadi s-salam wa yahdi min yasha'u ila s-salamu s-salamu s-salim I don't know. I'm like, oh, let me get the tipsy So I actually go with the second opinion because it's more wiser and it's more, you know It's more beneficial. Okay, it makes more sense. Yeah It makes more sense. So now when I get into the ma'ana and quran, I'll be able to understand my ma'ana So I'll be able to understand that More than, you know, reading and trying to guess and, you know, imagine and, you know, figure out in my head What is Allah swt saying? Yeah, and I say, you know, I would say for anyone, you know, if anything if you just learn the quran You know, yeah, learn about the quran But if you're gonna really gonna learn the quran, I suggest you learn arabic first because then you'll be able to Get a better class and then it will be easier. Yeah, definitely. I can relate to that man because I did 10 myself. I did 10 months. I would say 10 months then I left and I came back But I would say one year I focused on arabic then on the second years when I, you know, alhamdulillah going into al azar And the the the importance they give to the quran. I started to actually see how important it is to me write the quran So that's when I went to haramin and now in arabic already. I used to Every page I will read the tafsid. I will read it read the page and then read the tafsid And once you understand One page it was like What it was it? That's it. It's in it. You know what I mean? So and I used to I used to always tell people, you know, a secret to memorize the quran is the tafsid Allah, it is the tafsid if you can pop open You can pop open the tafsid book in english and say, you know what let's go to so it's a zel zela It has a zel zela and you know when the earthquakes happen. I'm saying like if you could just read that You know just read the tafsid a couple of times, you know get a grasp and get an understanding When you start memorizing the arabic verses it's going to become easy. It's going to stick like water Because now you know what Allah is speaking about. So now, you know, it's just by second nature by tongue You know the kelima it's you know, it's like water. It's it's a flow And I said and that's why they always say, you know, I was watching this tv show. I know this is off You know off topic, but it's called the al-muhattal and you know, sheikh shari the judge, you know, or I think abdel azzaq delamin he said, you know If you want to be a qari you must O tafsir If you want to be a qari you must know tafsir if you want to be a qari you must know what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is talking about You must feel it Because in order for the people to feel the quran he must feel it through you because you're the narrator You know what I'm saying the narrator. So you're narrating to the ammati nas and you have to be able to You know Rebuild the quran, you know relate the quran in a sense where you understand what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is talking about And they can understand it through you Yeah, you understand You know, he made that as an important thing that tafsir is important the quran should just be just read You know, like just read You know, it should be you know, if you don't remember the quran or you don't remember the quran You know, so Yeah, that's the that's the key man That's why what I posted yesterday on instagram when I said people who memorize the quran Think that people who memorize the quran that's randomly, you know sent and the thing is Why I say that is because in the beginning without when I didn't know, you know, nothing about Like I didn't memorize no quran For me it was like You know, if I at that time if if you send me something like this, I would be like, well, you're trying to You know, you're trying to show off or something but once you Memorize the quran and you understand the me It's just a different like You know, it's not it's not anymore. Like you understand basically how powerful these words are that you just randomly Read them being the street read reading them. And this is a problem that I had in the beginning. I will be like In the beginning of haramein, I was like, you know, I don't like haramein because you need to read in front of other people And this place with your You know riyadh and this and that but then once you start feeling and you see that everyone is I don't know. It just removes all of these bad you know, uh bad, uh All of this was was sad to your heart But you see I don't I don't even know how to put it in I don't even know if I'm making sense You know, I mean But quran definitely the easiest thing I can I can say to explain that is that quran When you memorize and understand it and and and you are able like you said to to deliver it It's just like it's it's it's life changing man. It's life changing It's like it's like a different level. It's like it's like subhanAllah is like, you know, I say I'm working out You know, I don't know how to do a bicep curl So I go learn the anatomy of doing a bicep curl. So I perfect it So I'm able to feel the results and actually feel it better, you know That's not the best example to computer call. I'm but you know, it's you know, in similarity. Secondly, it makes sense You know, definitely. Yeah. Allahu alam. Allahu alam. No, so What was the the tour in the turning point once you got to Egypt, right? What was the turning point that made you or was it just okay? What was the turning point that made you say, okay? I need to learn Arabic or was it just the You know, having to have the practicing parents I would say having to practice in parents You know, I can't stress this enough, you know without parents, I mean Yeah, I mean without without those Not even parents, just, you know, maybe friends or family or someone closer, you know without that support Yeah, they say without that constant push, you know, Allahu alam, you know I really can't see what really was my turning point because you know My parents is always there So my turning point to have been day one or day eight of day seven No, because I had that constant motivation. I had that constant motivation No, I would buck it. I would buck it do this. I would buck it do that come on at this time We want to do this we want to do that, you know, don't play outside tomorrow. You know come back You know, do you more I do your head, you know, so, you know, I used to hate it You know, but that hasn't got as I Had a person resting and I started Those you know, alhamdulillah. It just stuck with me. You know, definitely That's what I'm saying. Like when I met you, I think it was what 16? 16 17. Yeah. So I met you as a as this year. I didn't make any guy man He comes here play, read his page and leaves, you know, either play it basically So this is why I'm like, alhamdulillah that not many people, you know Not many people can relate to having two parents that will push you to To be, uh, you know there like and this is why one of the reasons why Many young people who alhamdulillah right now, for example, you 20, you have it, you know, Arabic That's a big accomplishment already and you know, it's it's saving you many years if you actually want to continue, you know And and further your your Islamic studies, but other people they actually need to become mature And they need to have kids that makes them mature They need to maybe go through a big musibah in their lives to actually start practicing And then they realize that they need to learn Arabic and they may be already 30 35 You know, I mean, so what I'm trying to say with this is that, you know This should be for us young generations. It should be a a good example and a good Thing to to take abrah of it to take an example of it and and actually become these type of parents You know like like your like your parents because this is how we're gonna save our descendants is, you know, I mean So So, uh, let me ask you a question because we weren't out of time, right? Uh, so you will agree with me Because what what you were saying, right? This is a known thing that when you start getting vocabulary Uh, it helps like having stickers every single Place that you go. Yeah So what you what you what you agree with me that the best way to learn Arabic is the same way every human being has learned a A language in their life, which is basically as a baby you learn first Water and then you learn One water one water and then you learn. Oh, I want water and then you learn, you know Hurts and they oh it hurts, you know, I mean, so will you say that? You know first getting first learning information as in words vocabulary and then Gaining knowledge, which is when you are able to connect all of this and actually construct correct sentences Will you, uh, you know, agree with me that this is the best way to To learn Arabic or what you take the path and school of thought of going first into understanding the grammar and And you know, how these other institutions do Well, I see a good example I'll give you a good example The language any language is universal You know a good statement You understand, so that's a good example. Allah to Adam all the names So when you look at us, we're descendants of Adam and we learn everything by name, right? And you know, I've seen individuals that watch, you know, mussel salat In a foreign language, but I have the tarjima the subtitles at the bottom Yeah So yeah now you can learn a language one way and then you can learn English the grammar way meaning getting into the books Yeah Yeah, you got a call. Yeah Yeah, I got a call. Forgive me. So I say, um learn Getting into the books of Arabic of grammar is beneficial For let's say That's much that Good example someone's learning as hard. Someone's always in jama islamia You understand someone's always in there. That's already in the universe in Malaysia So, you know getting into the the books as you know Already an advanced amateur No, I'm Jidin, but the beginner the rookie He has to adapt Meaning that he has to put himself in a society. He has to put himself in a community He has to put himself in a group of amongst, you know amongst a group of people where he has to learn And the best of learning is to listening and visually, you know, there are people subhanallah that learn languages just by listening Yeah You know, I mean the mama shafiq. He did this and mama shafiq. He did this. We went to qabail to learn, you know from the arab al aqaah The the real pure Arabs just literally just sit down there and listen what they say Now, so, you know, that's like that's like today's shabab. Look at the child, you know, you put an anashid on You know, it only takes him a minute just to you know, listen, or you know, the older generation You know, we put a song from back in the days and hip-hop You know a love and style and whatever, you know, it's just it's just a quick whiff, you know So learning the language, you know, it depends on the individual and depends on yani. How you say, you know that You know, how you say that focus they have in their life, you know However to learn or they don't want to learn because sometimes it just comes naturally, you know Language is it's just a natural phenomenon. People are able to just learn languages off the back Yeah Egypt, you know, the dude kept on saying You know, I'm getting all these people saying So I'm trying to figure out. Okay. That could be welcome Yeah So, you know, he's using his hands And then after that, he's switching up. You're welcome. You're welcome. So, you know Language languages can be learned any way any how and in anywhere. Yeah, the pet society Over you are I mean the What you said of learning through listening and applying and actually forcing your brain to try and understand He's a really good example because we have an an asset of ibn abbas He says, I didn't know what fault it was samawati. Well, I meant until I heard a woman from the arab Use it in a sentence and then I understood that it was but Yeah, I mean by that too Oh, you know that too. So fault it was samawati. I mean bad deal samawati So through listening you might like for example, ibn abbas, he knew fault. He hears faqiru He knows from the quran faqiru, but he doesn't know the meaning once he understood from Once he's seen it used in a sentence. He was okay. So it means this, you know, I mean So this is why as well one of the reasons, you know, uh, I have a arabic program So in the weekends, we do uh, we have a weekly conversational sessions Where I only speak in arabic strictly in arabic. It gets super awkward because the you know, my story is there Some of them they are no Not no Vocabulary, so I try to make you understand through arabic What i'm trying to say and it gets to a point where like, oh, I give up, please. Can you just translate? I'm like, no, I ain't gonna translate man. You gotta you gotta make your your brain work You know, I mean, so that was definitely a good example that you gave Instead of in in in terms of like listening really trying to To understand No, so let me ask you. Uh, what do you think is the hardest part of learning arabic? Or what was the hardest for you? the hardest for me was uh A cat up writing arabic That was the hardest because you know, to me our arabic is like an art You look at calligraphy khatl al arabi. It's an art to that heavy You know, everybody doesn't have the yed for that, you know, so you know writing arabic, you know was a struggle Because you know, I made a lot of mistakes with uh tashkil You know, I wrote the ayns differently. My caps was off. My ellipse was a little too curved You know, so yeah, I could say writing arabic was pretty much a struggle for me because you know I'm not more of a person who has great penmanship You can say my pen my penmanship is not a you know, it's not up to par So that was So today, you know, my journey arabic being a little difficult because you know, I wasn't so much of a good writer in english So, you know, I just got worse when I started writing arabic I was like, I'm out of luck because you know, we write we write on the right side. I think in english Yeah, I mean, I mean then we write on the left side. So that was like a little bit challenging You know, I'm not writing this way. I'm just writing that way, you know from the right instead of left and arabic Right from the left. Yeah. So, you know, I'm gonna say that was pretty much challenging Plus, are you are you left-handed? No, I'm right-handed. Oh, okay So that could be a struggle maybe sometimes for someone. Okay, so let me let's finish this interview by By you giving an advice to the person that knows and acknowledges the importance of learning the arabic language However, he didn't start yet for whatever reason I'll give him the five p's it was though The five p's it was though Prevision prevents poor performance Proper preparation prevents poor performance or you properly prepare yourself. You you know prepare yourself You know spiritually mentally physically, you know in advance before you, you know attack the situation You know, it's gonna, you know, I would do that poor performance You know, that's like, you know saying that, you know Okay, I have a test tomorrow. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna with that kid. I'm gonna go study I'm gonna go learn. I'm gonna review. So, you know, not necessarily saying for someone who's studying arabic They have to review but no, they should, you know, get to know their alibaba taz. Like, you know, someone's coming at American Learn English to know the abc's No, one two threes You know, so, you know, that would be my my advice is that, you know, properly prepare yourself Physically meaning that prepare to, you know, you know, if you're really going to go study Prepare to have some days where you're not going to eat. You're going to be up all night studying You know, prepare yourself mentally and you prepare for that, you know, that mental blockage meaning that That wall that's going to be put in front of you where you're going to want to give up And then prepare spiritually, you know, make sure you have a connection with subhanahu wa ta'ala Because if that connection is severed Then subhanallah, you're going to have a difficult time and you're going to have to make sure that you're a bad Is on point more Because that bad that is going to help with, you know, your studies a good example is, you know A friend of mine who's talking about yesterday and he's saying, yo, I see I sent too much man That's how I felt this exam, you know, anatomy 101. He's, you know, I'm trying to be a doctor That's why I thought I said, yo, you remember when we were a care went to imam shafi And he can play and say i'm a shafi, you know, I have a problem memorizing Memorize i'm i'm a shafi. I him Allah said abandon sin Abandon sin Because verily knowledge is light Knowledge is light and the moon of Allah doesn't shine upon the center You know, the moon of Allah, you know, it doesn't, you know shine upon the center. So, you know, in that sense, you know You know have a stick far, you know, remembering Allah is very important studying Arabic or just studying, you know, in general You know having a connection with Allah, you know, you know being able to, you know, you don't make dua, you know, do your adhqar, you know Straight away from sin. No, you don't kiss sin, you know, it really blocks the barakah Yeah, yeah, you know a good example is in Surat An-Nuh Surat An-Nuh Yeah, what he was that? I would be lame as she called her jim. So now I'm a Raheem You see the Sama'a Come on, you understand So, you know, we oppose you, you know to seek repentance from your Lord because verily it's all forgiven And Allah sends down the barakah and the blessings. So you won't, you know, a lot of people say I'm struggling I don't know what to do. This ain't for me. I'm not learning Arabic no more. Did you make Torah? Yeah, did you ask Allah, you know You know, you know, did you ask Allah, you know, help me out? Allah forgive me Because you know after after that, you know that initial thing you say that, you know, yeah, Allah forgive me and all listen You're really putting your heart out. Allah is going to make a way when may it take a lie to allow him to make a raja Go if there's Allah, make a way for him Where is the go home in a place that I have tested Yes, and give both provisions, you know anything from beyond his imagination When being a towaka la la la for husband, you put your trust in Allah. This is enough for you. You know, so That would be my advice to an individual. You know, number one, takillah number two, you know, prepare And then number three, you know, have a connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you know inshallah And for whoever wants to treat classes, I guess You are around new york brooklyn If they want to find Maybe even we're gonna put your your instagram down below if anyone wants to ask you any question or something like that And uh, yeah, man for all the viewers and watchers and watchers our time is up Uh, I guess we will see you in the next one. Thanks for tuning in and leave leave us in the comments I don't know how to do that man. I always try and But whatever Whatever you want to say about these These uh, these interviews the way you like and how you felt