WEBVTT
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.279
Hi, and asalam alaikum.
00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:20.719
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of While We're Here, a podcast exploring the human mind through the lens of Islamic thought, reflection, and meaningful conversation.
00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:35.600
This journey started with a curiosity about psychology, and the deeper that curiosity went, the more it led back to Islam, learning how much of its wisdom speaks directly to the mind, the self, and how we grow.
00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:45.600
While we're here together, we'll explore psychological topics like identity, meaning, and mental well-being, and how they connect to Islamic thought.
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:52.079
And whether you're Muslim or simply curious, you're invited to reflect, learn, and grow.
00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.320
Thank you for being here and enjoy the episode while we're here.
00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:09.359
Hello and welcome back, listener.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:14.799
Thank you so much for tuning into today's first episode of the renamed while we're here podcast.
00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:22.879
This is your host, Robert Andalus, and today's episode, we are continuing to study psychology through an Islamic perspective.
00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:24.079
Continuing with Dr.
00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:34.079
Aisha Utsa's book, Psychology from an Islamic Perspective, we'll be questioning our agency, relating that to some of our anxieties, and more.
00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.120
So today it's just you and I.
00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:42.799
But before we start, may God increase us in knowledge to benefit ourselves and accept it from us.
00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:43.680
Amen.
00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:47.680
With that said, let's go into the Ruch Report.
00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.359
In the Ruch Report, we gather the latest news of psychology that is going on in the Muslim world.
00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:01.280
In today's report, renowned neuroscientist and theologian Dr.
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:09.520
Francesca Boka Al Dakre is scheduled to begin teaching her next fully online cohort this Sunday, September 13.
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:22.240
Boka Al Dre's program explores Ilm al-Nafs or the Islamic Science of the Soul that bridges Islamic history with contemporary clinical scientific practices.
00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:31.520
You can find more information at their website at www.bloggingtheologyacademy.com or click the link in the show notes below.
00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:32.240
Following Dr.
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:45.039
Boka Al-Bekr, the United Kingdom's Cambridge Muslim Colleges Islam and Psychology Postgraduate Certificate is set to start its course on Tuesday, September 15.
00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:48.000
If you're looking to apply, I'm very sorry.
00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:59.360
The admissions are closed, but you can visit their websites at www.cambridgemuslimcollege.ac.uk and look out when those admissions reopen.
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:01.120
The link will also be in the show notes.
00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.360
Now that does it for today's Rook Report.
00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.360
Now let's get into our recap with what have we learned.
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.719
In what we have learned, I want us to revise our knowledge for future episodes.
00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.400
I want us to remember that Dr.
00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:29.120
Ots went through 250 theories of secular psychology and claimed that none provided clear understandings of human nature.
00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:39.120
Her argument is that Islam offers clear and comprehensive views of what it means to be human, and that constant submission to God can help us achieve sound and mental health.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.560
With that said, let's dive into today's discussion.
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.560
Today we start off with the Islamic concept of God being the owner and master of the universe.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:07.199
In relation to psychology, his control also includes genetics, experiences, thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.680
Now hold on, you might be thinking, okay, I have free will though.
00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.280
I could do whatever I want.
00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:18.879
Or you might be saying, Okay, so if I jumped off a cliff, would that be the will of God?
00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.319
That's not the point.
00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.160
As humans, we know we have the ability to choose.
00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.079
And in the Quran, God emphasizes this fact as well.
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:34.000
But the point is not about the actions being limited, but the choices themselves being determined.
00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:47.120
On page 33, Ots claims that the human realm of influence on the course of events is relegated to the mental choices of options that are shown to us along with our behaviors related to those choices.
00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:58.480
In other words, we don't control the menu that is given to us, but we choose the things that we want and how we act within those choices made.
00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:05.680
For example, we might walk into a restaurant and choose what food we want to eat, but we don't control what's on the menu.
00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:11.040
If we choose to eat a salad and it's placed before us, that was written for us.
00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:17.680
But if God had willed otherwise, that path would have been closed before we would have ever reached it.
00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.399
Now, how does that work, you might ask?
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.639
Or you might be asking yourself, well, where's my agency in that?
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.839
What if I wanted pizza or the chicken fajitas?
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.120
And that's a fair question.
00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.839
But this is where faith in one God can play a role.
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.160
In Islam, it is believed that God is the most compassionate and the most merciful.
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.480
If he blocked you from having something, we have to believe that it was for our own good.
00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.480
No matter how much we wanted that pizza or chicken fajitas.
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.800
You have to ask yourself, what if that pizza would have given you a stomachache?
00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.879
Or what if God knew that I wouldn't like those chicken fajitas?
00:05:53.199 --> 00:06:00.079
So when we're satisfied with what God has prescribed for us, then the more peace can enter our hearts.
00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:06.639
And Utz carries this notion by citing a very common saying in chapter 18 of the Quran.
00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.959
In chapter 18 called the cave, Allah says this.
00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.279
So if you don't know already, many Muslims say insha'A Allah.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:40.560
And if you're not Muslim or aren't familiar with the term, it simply means if God wills.
00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:46.639
With this concept, Oots claims it can relieve a significant amount of stress related to our lives.
00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:52.079
But that's only if we believe that Allah alone can benefit and harm us.
00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.079
So imagine this for yourself.
00:06:54.319 --> 00:07:06.000
When something stressful happens, say you read a hateful comment or lose money or face a rejection letter, our instinct is to fixate on that human effect, no?
00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.439
We ask ourselves, why did they say this?
00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:11.600
Why did I lose that much money?
00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.439
Or what did they think of me?
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:20.879
Instead, we can pause and ask ourselves, who allowed this person the power to affect me at all?
00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.720
Who allowed me to quote unquote lose all this money?
00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:29.920
And who are they compared to the most merciful who is the creator of the universe?
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:37.920
In doing this, we can recognize that the comments, the financial difficulty, or the rejection letter was but permitted itself.
00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:41.199
And at the end of the day, that's what was meant to be.
00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:50.000
But wait, that's not to validate that hatefulness, to welcome that financial stress, or internalize that rejection.
00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:56.720
But when we realize that it was permitted, it takes away this illusion of the subject having this ultimate power.
00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:02.240
In the Quran, it states in chapter 39, verse 38, and Ots puts it in her book.
00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.080
Who created the heavens and the earth?
00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:07.519
They would say God.
00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.919
Say then have you not considered what you worship besides God?
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.600
And if God intended you harm, who could remove it?
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.120
And if he intended you mercy, who could take it?
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:24.240
The same reliance on God is exactly what secular frameworks strip out.
00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:26.480
And that raises a harder question.
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:34.879
How many theorists in psychology have denied God's attributes and abilities and have taken their own theories as true judgment?
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.279
Ud stresses chapter forty five, verses twenty three of the Quran.
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:28.480
And what does this do to their own patience?
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.919
So think of the last thing that stressed you out.
00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:44.320
Now ask yourself honestly, the person or thing you were afraid of or hoping would save you, could they have removed it without permission from something greater than themselves?
00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:55.679
And if you knew that the only thing that could truly help or harm you was God, how would that change how you carried out your problems day to day?
00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:04.960
And that does it for this episode of While We're Here.
00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:12.559
If something from today's episode gave you a new question to sit with, or a moment of reflection you didn't expect, Alhamdulillah.
00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:13.919
Praise be to God.
00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:20.240
Life isn't about arriving at answers quickly, but about slowing down enough to actually look and understand them.
00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.399
And we are lucky to slow down with you.
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.440
If this episode resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who might benefit from it.
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:32.159
And follow along on Instagram at while we're here.pc for more.
00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.440
This podcast is made possible by listeners like you.
00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:41.200
If you'd like to support the show, you can do so on Kofi at Kofi.com slash while we're here.
00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.000
Every bit helps us keep these conversations going.
00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:48.159
Until then, keep reflecting, keep learning, and keep growing while we're here.
00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.279
Asalamalaikum, peace be upon you, and thank you.
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.279
Hi, and asalam alaikum.
00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:20.719
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of While We're Here, a podcast exploring the human mind through the lens of Islamic thought, reflection, and meaningful conversation.
00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:35.600
This journey started with a curiosity about psychology, and the deeper that curiosity went, the more it led back to Islam, learning how much of its wisdom speaks directly to the mind, the self, and how we grow.
00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:45.600
While we're here together, we'll explore psychological topics like identity, meaning, and mental well-being, and how they connect to Islamic thought.
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:52.079
And whether you're Muslim or simply curious, you're invited to reflect, learn, and grow.
00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.320
Thank you for being here and enjoy the episode while we're here.
00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:09.359
Hello and welcome back, listener.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:14.799
Thank you so much for tuning into today's first episode of the renamed while we're here podcast.
00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:22.879
This is your host, Robert Andalus, and today's episode, we are continuing to study psychology through an Islamic perspective.
00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:24.079
Continuing with Dr.
00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:34.079
Aisha Utsa's book, Psychology from an Islamic Perspective, we'll be questioning our agency, relating that to some of our anxieties, and more.
00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.120
So today it's just you and I.
00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:42.799
But before we start, may God increase us in knowledge to benefit ourselves and accept it from us.
00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:43.680
Amen.
00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:47.680
With that said, let's go into the Ruch Report.
00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.359
In the Ruch Report, we gather the latest news of psychology that is going on in the Muslim world.
00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:01.280
In today's report, renowned neuroscientist and theologian Dr.
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:09.520
Francesca Boka Al Dakre is scheduled to begin teaching her next fully online cohort this Sunday, September 13.
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:22.240
Boka Al Dre's program explores Ilm al-Nafs or the Islamic Science of the Soul that bridges Islamic history with contemporary clinical scientific practices.
00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:31.520
You can find more information at their website at www.bloggingtheologyacademy.com or click the link in the show notes below.
00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:32.240
Following Dr.
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:45.039
Boka Al-Bekr, the United Kingdom's Cambridge Muslim Colleges Islam and Psychology Postgraduate Certificate is set to start its course on Tuesday, September 15.
00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:48.000
If you're looking to apply, I'm very sorry.
00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:59.360
The admissions are closed, but you can visit their websites at www.cambridgemuslimcollege.ac.uk and look out when those admissions reopen.
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:01.120
The link will also be in the show notes.
00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.360
Now that does it for today's Rook Report.
00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.360
Now let's get into our recap with what have we learned.
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.719
In what we have learned, I want us to revise our knowledge for future episodes.
00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.400
I want us to remember that Dr.
00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:29.120
Ots went through 250 theories of secular psychology and claimed that none provided clear understandings of human nature.
00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:39.120
Her argument is that Islam offers clear and comprehensive views of what it means to be human, and that constant submission to God can help us achieve sound and mental health.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.560
With that said, let's dive into today's discussion.
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.560
Today we start off with the Islamic concept of God being the owner and master of the universe.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:07.199
In relation to psychology, his control also includes genetics, experiences, thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.680
Now hold on, you might be thinking, okay, I have free will though.
00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.280
I could do whatever I want.
00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:18.879
Or you might be saying, Okay, so if I jumped off a cliff, would that be the will of God?
00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.319
That's not the point.
00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.160
As humans, we know we have the ability to choose.
00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.079
And in the Quran, God emphasizes this fact as well.
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:34.000
But the point is not about the actions being limited, but the choices themselves being determined.
00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:47.120
On page 33, Ots claims that the human realm of influence on the course of events is relegated to the mental choices of options that are shown to us along with our behaviors related to those choices.
00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:58.480
In other words, we don't control the menu that is given to us, but we choose the things that we want and how we act within those choices made.
00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:05.680
For example, we might walk into a restaurant and choose what food we want to eat, but we don't control what's on the menu.
00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:11.040
If we choose to eat a salad and it's placed before us, that was written for us.
00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:17.680
But if God had willed otherwise, that path would have been closed before we would have ever reached it.
00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.399
Now, how does that work, you might ask?
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.639
Or you might be asking yourself, well, where's my agency in that?
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.839
What if I wanted pizza or the chicken fajitas?
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.120
And that's a fair question.
00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.839
But this is where faith in one God can play a role.
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.160
In Islam, it is believed that God is the most compassionate and the most merciful.
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.480
If he blocked you from having something, we have to believe that it was for our own good.
00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.480
No matter how much we wanted that pizza or chicken fajitas.
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.800
You have to ask yourself, what if that pizza would have given you a stomachache?
00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.879
Or what if God knew that I wouldn't like those chicken fajitas?
00:05:53.199 --> 00:06:00.079
So when we're satisfied with what God has prescribed for us, then the more peace can enter our hearts.
00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:06.639
And Utz carries this notion by citing a very common saying in chapter 18 of the Quran.
00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.959
In chapter 18 called the cave, Allah says this.
00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.279
So if you don't know already, many Muslims say insha'A Allah.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:40.560
And if you're not Muslim or aren't familiar with the term, it simply means if God wills.
00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:46.639
With this concept, Oots claims it can relieve a significant amount of stress related to our lives.
00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:52.079
But that's only if we believe that Allah alone can benefit and harm us.
00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.079
So imagine this for yourself.
00:06:54.319 --> 00:07:06.000
When something stressful happens, say you read a hateful comment or lose money or face a rejection letter, our instinct is to fixate on that human effect, no?
00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.439
We ask ourselves, why did they say this?
00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:11.600
Why did I lose that much money?
00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.439
Or what did they think of me?
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:20.879
Instead, we can pause and ask ourselves, who allowed this person the power to affect me at all?
00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.720
Who allowed me to quote unquote lose all this money?
00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:29.920
And who are they compared to the most merciful who is the creator of the universe?
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:37.920
In doing this, we can recognize that the comments, the financial difficulty, or the rejection letter was but permitted itself.
00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:41.199
And at the end of the day, that's what was meant to be.
00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:50.000
But wait, that's not to validate that hatefulness, to welcome that financial stress, or internalize that rejection.
00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:56.720
But when we realize that it was permitted, it takes away this illusion of the subject having this ultimate power.
00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:02.240
In the Quran, it states in chapter 39, verse 38, and Ots puts it in her book.
00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.080
Who created the heavens and the earth?
00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:07.519
They would say God.
00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.919
Say then have you not considered what you worship besides God?
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.600
And if God intended you harm, who could remove it?
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.120
And if he intended you mercy, who could take it?
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:24.240
The same reliance on God is exactly what secular frameworks strip out.
00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:26.480
And that raises a harder question.
00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:34.879
How many theorists in psychology have denied God's attributes and abilities and have taken their own theories as true judgment?
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.279
Ud stresses chapter forty five, verses twenty three of the Quran.
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:28.480
And what does this do to their own patience?
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.919
So think of the last thing that stressed you out.
00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:44.320
Now ask yourself honestly, the person or thing you were afraid of or hoping would save you, could they have removed it without permission from something greater than themselves?
00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:55.679
And if you knew that the only thing that could truly help or harm you was God, how would that change how you carried out your problems day to day?
00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:04.960
And that does it for this episode of While We're Here.
00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:12.559
If something from today's episode gave you a new question to sit with, or a moment of reflection you didn't expect, Alhamdulillah.
00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:13.919
Praise be to God.
00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:20.240
Life isn't about arriving at answers quickly, but about slowing down enough to actually look and understand them.
00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.399
And we are lucky to slow down with you.
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.440
If this episode resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who might benefit from it.
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:32.159
And follow along on Instagram at while we're here.pc for more.
00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.440
This podcast is made possible by listeners like you.
00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:41.200
If you'd like to support the show, you can do so on Kofi at Kofi.com slash while we're here.
00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.000
Every bit helps us keep these conversations going.
00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:48.159
Until then, keep reflecting, keep learning, and keep growing while we're here.
00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.279
Asalamalaikum, peace be upon you, and thank you.
