Carving the belief in the heart creates connection

By: Fouzia Usman

I attended a dinner that Brendon Burchard organized for the ULTRA community, of which I am a part at the beginning of the month. These dinners are lavish, akin to wedding celebrations, and alcohol is served. Naturally, I chose to drink water and noticed another Muslim doctor who did the same. I found myself reflecting on the fact that no one would find out if I took one or two sips of the alcohol being served. Yet, my mind didn’t even waver. The thought of trying it, even once, never crossed my mind. It felt like an unwanted thing. This isn't just an isolated incident. Even when we go grocery shopping and pass the aisle filled with fancy alcohol bottles, we joke about it, calling it the "doorway to Jahannam."

This unwavering stance is because that belief is deeply carved in our hearts. It is the result of our solid connection to the Deen.

This strong connection to the deen is what we strive to instill in the children at Muslim Nation Builders (MNB) and what we encourage parents to cultivate.

A few days ago, I called for an MNB students, staff, and parents meeting. We discussed various topics and gathered feedback on why they like MNB and what aspects they appreciate the most.

Toward the end, I posed some "real-life scenario" questions to the students. One question was, "You have graduated from college and have been looking for a job for quite some time but couldn’t find one. You get an attractive job offer from an alcohol store. What would you do and why?" Subhan’Allah, from the 8-year-old to the 15-year-old, had different answers but the same conclusion: "No and Never." I didn’t stop there; I asked follow-up questions to understand their reasoning. Their responses demonstrated how strong their connection to the deen is.

Just imagine if our children grow up with such a strong connection to the deen that by the time they hit 20, their roots in Islam will be deep. No matter how high they climb in their career or profession, Ihsan will shine in everything they do. They will adhere to Islamic principles in all aspects of life.
These children are also developing the traits necessary to become tomorrow’s nation builders. They will, InshaAllah, change the trajectory of this Ummah. By nurturing their faith and character today, we are preparing them to be the leaders, innovators, and visionaries of tomorrow. They will be equipped to face future challenges with a strong moral compass and a deep connection to their deen.

This is what we, as Muslim parents, should aim for. Our goal should be to raise children who have a profound and unwavering connection to their faith, enabling them to navigate life's challenges while staying true to Islamic values.

At Muslim Nation Builders, we are dedicated to nurturing this connection. Our programs are designed to strengthen the Deen in the hearts of our children, providing them with the tools and knowledge they need to practice Islam with conviction and passion. We focus on holistic development with spiritual growth, ensuring that our children succeed in this world and in the hereafter.

If you read about the conversations I had with the students, you will understand what I am talking about.

Question: "You have graduated from college and have been looking for a job for quite some time but couldn’t find one. You get an attractive job offer from an alcohol store. What would you do and why?"

Hamza (12): " Its haram. If its haram, I am not going to do it"

Fouzia: "Why? May be you can work there for 6 months, save and later quit"

Hamza: "I can save up doing something else"

Fouzia: "Why would you do that?

Hamza: "Its haraam and after I make that money when I think about it, oh i can't even use it anyways as its haraam money"

Fouzia: "But your friends are saying, dude, you are broke. Go work, make some money"

Hamza: "Are my friends Muslims?"

Fouzia: "I dont know. But they might say and pressure  you."

Hamza: "If you have a friend who wants you to do bad instead of good, first of all thats a bad friend." 

Mustafa (11): "It is haram, and your selling something that is haram and that would cause harm to the one whom you are selling. That money is haraam, and that sin will stay with me until I die."

Fouzia: How about for the short term?

Mustafa: No. By selling the haram stuff in one day, I can earn thousands of sins.

Fouzia: What's going to happen if you do something haram?

Mustafa: I will bear sins upon me until I die

Fouzia: Whats going to happen when you have sins when you die?

Mustafa: I might end up going to Hellfire

Fouzia: But you will have a long life and you can do more good deeds to offset your bad deeds?

Mustafa: What if I don't have a long life?

Zakaria(11): I would not work at a liquor store, as it's haram. When you commit a bad deed, it's always on your record until the day of judgment, and then Allah decides if He wants to forgive you or not. If you work there thinking you can offset it later, you never know if you are going to do good deeds later or not. You could get addicted to doing bad things, like selling and working at a liquor store, and not have any good deeds at all.

Fouzia: You're just not having good deeds, but you can get more money. It's fine. 

Zakaria: To get money, you could just get a loan from the bank.

Fouzia: Okay, the loan is another different thing. Let's not go there.

Zakaria: I think you can get a halal loan without paying interest.

Aleeza(12): I wouldn't choose to sell at the liquor store because, obviously, it's haraam. But what if someone buys the alcohol, and then they get drunk, they are driving, and they get in a car crash, I sold them that liquor, so obviously it would kind of, like, partly be my fault. So, like, a lot of bad things can happen with alcohol and stuff

Fouzia: yeah, but you're broke You can get some easy money.

Aleeza: If you look, you can find many other jobs. Why can’t someone get another job?

Abdullah(11): I also wouldn't sell it because, it's really bad, and it goes against you on the day of judgment.

Fouzia: What if it goes against you on the day of judgment? What happens?

Abdullah: Then if I get more sins, then I won't go to Jannah.

Fouzia: Oh, so you want to go to Jannah. What do you need if you want to go to Jannah?

Abdullah: Good deeds. Like, more good deeds. 

Fouzia: So you are okay even if you're broke in this world so you can go to Jannah?

Abdullah: Yeah, that's better than anything. Jannah has a lot more value than money. 

Fouzia: What's got more value?

Abdullah: Like good deeds. 

Fouzia: Good deeds? I can't even see the good deeds. Who said they have a lot of value? Money—we can see the money; it's tangible—$10, $5, $20. We can't even see the good deeds.

Abdullah: Yeah, well, you can’t go to Jannah with a lot of money. But money won't mean anything there.

Fouzia: That's the point. That's the point. Even if someone is a millionaire or a billionaire, would they put the bank account inside when they bury him? Would they put the dollar inside? What goes in there?

Abdullah: Good deeds and bad deeds.

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Did you see how the kids responded? Do you see how strong their faith is? MNB has a part to play in this transformation.

Parents, enrolling your children in MNB means investing in their future as strong, faithful Muslims. It means giving them an environment where their faith is nurtured and their values are respected, surrounded by mentors and peers who share their commitment to Islam.

But MNB isn’t just for children; it’s a community for parents too. By joining MNB, you become part of a supportive network of like-minded parents dedicated to raising their children with unwavering faith as tomorrow’s nation builders. You gain access to resources, workshops, and support to help you in your parenting journey.

Together, we can create a future generation that upholds the principles of Islam in every aspect of their lives. Let us work together to build a strong, faithful Ummah. Let us ensure that our children grow up with a deep connection to their Deen, ready to face the world with confidence and integrity.

Join us at MNB and be a part of this vital mission. Together, we can make a difference. I invite you to enroll your children in our upcoming summer programs that are crafted especially for them.