"I Don't Care If I Die! I Have to Become Muslim!" - British Rapper's Inspiring Convert Story!
Published on
In the dream, I was sweating, I was panicking that I'd got shot. I'm in the back of an ambulance, the paramedics are trying to hold me down and they're saying "Don't worry Mr. Chin, we'll be at the hospital soon, don't worry." I don't care if I die, I just wanna go and take my Shahada first. I can't die unless I'm a Muslim. And they're saying "Stay down, stay down." "We'll be there soon." And I'm saying, "Look!" They're saying "We'll be there first." And I'm saying, "You can't hear me!" Because in the back of my head I'm hearing "Don't die unless you die in a state of Islam." Assalamu alaikum brother Belal, thank you for accepting our invitation. We're really happy to have you with us.
I want to start by asking who is Ashley Belal Chin and can you tell us briefly about your life? Well Ashley Chin is my birth name. I was born and raised in London, in United Kingdom. And I was raised as a Christian. Spent most of my childhood in South London, on a council estate. And then I converted to Islam when I was 19. And that's when I chose the name Belal. Growing up, I was always into music and then I ended up building a career out of that. Found myself on stage from the age of 14, winning competitions on the mic. But now I find myself on stage talking about my life and my experiences, the things I went through as a youngster. I say that I turned all my mess into my message.
So I'm on stage all around the world now, talking about my life and my experiences with the hope to, not teach anyone anything but inspire people who can relate to my journey. Yeah, and I'm a spoken-word poet. Can you tell us about your previous life? Your life before Islam, how was that? Life in the streets, if you will. So life before Islam on the streets is sadness. This is my earliest experience of sadness, like... Why don't we have this? Why don't we have that? Why is my mom crying? Why is my mom so angry and upset? How are we gonna get out of this mess? And I remember... And this is one of my most unique stories from my childhood. There was a guy, major mental health, called Glen.
We used to call him Mad Glen. And he used to smell funny, his clothes were bad. And he used to come through my estate and all the kids used to run when he was coming. "Ah, Mad Glen's coming!" and we used to run off. Because he just looked crazy, like, he was on medication. But my mom, as poor as she was, she always used to invite him in our house. And she used to invite him in the house, and she used to offer him, like, "Oh, do you want some dinner?" And she'd tell him, my mom was, like, very straight to the point. "Glen you smell bad, have you had a bath today? Have you showered? Are the people not giving you..." Because he lived in a mental home.
And my friends used to wind me up, and laugh at me and say, "Ah, why is Mad Glen in your house? Is that your step-dad? Is that your mom's boyfriend?" And I used to get angry, like, "No he's not," this and that. So I used to get angry at my mom. "Why do you keep letting Mad Glen in the house?" Until, every time he's leaving, he used to say to my mom "Oh, have you got any money? Can I have two pounds to just buy a drink? Can I have one pound for this, can I have 5 pounds?" And my mom, as broke as she was, she used to always be like, "Ah, Glen." Look down the side of the sofa, see if there's any change. And she'd give him whatever she can. Anyway, there was a day when our electricity ran out.
And my mom was in the house, months later, she's crying, she's drinking. She's slamming the cupboards. And I used to get scared when she's like that. Because she's drunk. And I remember she said, "Only God can help us. You better pray to God because I don't know how you're getting to school tomorrow, we've got no money for dinner. You better pray because only God can help us." It's like, "We're gonna die like this. I'd rather we just died." And I'm like, "Mom? Why is she saying she wants to die?" So at that point, I started praying. And I remember praying for my mom, like, "Help my mom, God." Like, "Just help her not be like this. Help us have some money." And then the door knocked.
And when the door knocked my mom used to say, like, "Don't answer the door straight away." Because she owes people money. It could be anyone. So I used to go to the window and I'd have a look. And I used to see who it is first and tell her like, "Oh, it's this person." So I looked. I said "Mom, it's Glen. It's Mad Glen" She said, "Ah, not today." She owed many things. So she opens the door, she's like "Glen, I ain't got time today. I've got no food in the house, nothing. I got nothing to give you." And he said, "No, wait!" She went to shut the door. He said "Wait, I wanna give you something." And she said, "What?" And he goes, "I got money." "I got money. They gave me 80 pounds.
And I remember you always help me, I wanted to give you 20 pounds." So my mom was like, "Ah, Glen. Give me a hug." And she gave him a hug. And he gave my mom 20 pounds. But I remember thinking I just prayed. I said "God help my mom, give us money." And then the door knocked. And I wrote one of my poems called "Signs" where I said, "We was broke, prayed for money then the door knocked. We was scared, prayed for safety and the car stopped." It's so much weight behind it. I'm thinking about that time, like, that was the first time I experienced wow, I prayed, and the door knocked and we got money. That was an answer. So I had a tight relationship with God from then on.
I used to talk to Him all the time as a youngster. I wasn't a Muslim but I knew God existed. I went to the church. Did you know anything about Christianity, or you were praying directly to God, the One God? So, as a Christian going to the church every week... At Friday prayer, I'll never forget, we used to take turns to lead the prayer before we eat, she used to feed us. And I was like, 11 years old. I used to like breaking rules. So when it was my turn to lead the prayer once, instead of doing an exact prayer the way we're meant to, I've done like a little rap or rhyme, and just... You know, being silly as a kid. I'm trying to make people laugh, so I'm like "Thank you God for the chips.
Thank you God for the beans. Thank you God for the..." and I'm trying to make people laugh, and then I got told off. When I got told off, I tried to be cheeky and said "What's wrong with that?" I said "Thank you God for the food, the chips, the beans." She said "We're meant to say, for what we're about to receive, in Jesus' name, that..." I said "Yeah, but I thanked God for everything, so it's the same thing." And that's when I realized she's arguing saying Jesus' name. I said "Why? But I thanked God." And I think I said something silly, trying to be smart. But then I started thinking I've got a point. Because I said, okay, but is God not... And I said, "Alright, so you made the food.
But I'm gonna thank the other lady for it." How does that make sense? I'm just gonna go straight to the lady and say thank you to her. Why do I have to go to you? And I told my mom about this. And it was like, you know, Jesus, the Trinity and... And I started getting, saying "I don't know, I just believe in God." So I left the church from young, what, 13 or something, and I was in a place where... I don't know. I just believe there's a God. That's one thing I don't need convincing about. There was uncertainties around everything else. That was really fascinating. So you didn't know about Islam back then. So how did your journey to Islam begin? There was a guy in that conversation.
That guy I had a conversation with. He's someone I used to look up to on the streets, when I was on the estate and we didn't have much. This is that guy that used to drive a convertible with a big chain and the gold teeth. And he used to come on a motorbike, doing wheelies and us kids would be like, so surprised, like, "That guy is the coolest!" I used to even lie and say, "Yo, that's my cousin, that's my cousin!" And everyone's looking like, "Don't lie!" He's not my cousin, but he was so cool I wanted him to be my cousin. Now, I started my music studio with his younger brother. So we've got a studio in the loft of his mom's house.
Now, I hadn't seen the older brother, the one who used to drive the motorbike and the cars for years. And one day, we're in the studio, we're older now, we're 18 years old, we've got motorbikes now. We've fulfilled our dream. "But where's your older brother, I haven't seen him for years?" And it was one day he said, "My brother's downstairs." And then he comes upstairs. And he comes, knocks on the door. Opens the door, and he's like... He looks at us, and I'm expecting him to say "Yo, you look alright. Whose motorbike is that outside?" Blah, blah. But he just says to his younger bro, "Turn down the music, please. Five minutes," and leaves.
Then he comes back in and he's like, "Yo, turn down the music, five minutes, please," and leaves. And he does that a few times throughout the day. But he doesn't come in and address us much. He's distant. I didn't know what he was doing but now years later I know why he was telling us to turn down our music. His older brother had become a Muslim. He's downstairs, praying. And he didn't wanna hear the doof, doof, doof while he's praying his Salah. And then one day, how I know he's a Muslim, he comes in the room and he addresses us. And now we're young men.
And there's a transitional period that early stage of our life is ignorance, but we get to a stage where we have to decide what are we doing? Like, why are we here? What are we living for? So he's saying, "What are you lot doing?" "What's your purpose of life?" So I took that question quite serious. And he said, "You lot don't believe in God?" I believe in God. I'm saying, "Yeah, I believe in God. Of course." And he says, "You come from a God." "When you die, what do you think happens?" I said, "You won't know. It'll be black." He says, "You come from a God, and after you die, you're gonna return to that God.
And you're gonna have to stand and account for everything that you've done while you were here. So right now why are you here? You're being judged. You're being tested. It's like the angels are writing down everything." And when he was telling us that, I'll never forget this part where he said that "Angels are writing down everything you do. What you do in public, what you do in private. So what's your Day of Judgment gonna be like when you're called to account for that which you've done? You've done this, you've done that. You've done this, you've done that." I'm saying "Boy, my day is gonna be mad." I just wanted to clean it up a bit. And that was the beginning of my journey to Islam.
Then how did you come closer to Islam and accepted it finally? The guy said to me, "Now that you're taking these steps towards Allah, Allah is gonna come running to you." I didn't understand what he meant at the time. But over the next few months of my life, everything he said made sense. I said, "I just believe in God." The guy said to me, "Look in the dictionary what a Muslim is. You sound like a Muslim. Just believe in God." The final message from Muhammad (saw) is "Go back to the original state. Worshiping God alone. And if you accept that as your religion, you are Muslim." So I realized that's what I'm closest to. A religion I knew nothing about was now everywhere all around me.
Everywhere I turned, I was just seeing Islam, Islam, Islam. It's like the signs were just coming to me. I'd go to park my motorbike, I used to ride my motorbike sometimes outside to shop, and I'd say to the guy I always see there "Can you watch my bike for me, I'm just going to the market?" But today he says to me, "Yeah, I'll watch your bike but do me a favor. Take this." And he gives me a pamphlet, "What do you know about Islam?" I said, "What's this? Are you a Muslim? He says, "Yeah, I'm here all the time." I thought he just sold those sticks that smell nice. But he had a whole dawah store. My first time I engaged with him. So I took it and I said, "Yeah, I'm learning about this.
I'm interested." I was driving in my car. And there was music I used to listen to. And these MC's that used to rap. I used to listen to them all the time. But now, I heard one of them was saying things differently. He was saying, "Inshallah we reach the Jannah, never drive in the Devil's car, Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah" And I started saying, "I heard this so many times, but I didn't know what he was saying." But now that I've spoken with this old Muslim, I'm under... So now I'm driving and I'm listening. I'm kind of, "Ah, he's speaking, like..." Then I realized he's a Muslim. So now I'm starting, it actually was everywhere. It was all around me, this religion.
And then I started to research it more and more. And I'd go back to that same guy and speak to him. And to be honest with you, I didn't need much convincing. Because as soon as I understood that I was created by God, and I accept that. I also accepted that whoever created me must know what's best for me. It's very simple. Like, if we have a camera here, I just think, I buy that camera, so I own it. But it doesn't mean I know better than the person who made it. So even though I own it, I might be like, "Yes, mine, I'm gonna do whatever I want with it." Of course. But if I don't follow the instructions, I'm not gonna get the best out of that camera. It's due to break.
Now the worst I see in life is we're breaking down. We're all breaking as humans. But we're complaining. Why am I going through this, why am I going through that? But we're not following the instructions of the person who created us. So I'm saying, if God created me, He's instructing me on how to live my life. I don't see these as rules, I see these as instructions that I should follow if I want to get the best out of this life. Because I don't make God any greater. I don't make Allah greater by following these rules. It's for myself, it's for my own benefit. He's saying "Do this!". I'm saying, you know what? If I was created by Allah, how I worship Allah is by following these instructions.
It's better for myself. And then I get the best of this life and the best in the next life. And every rule, I see the benefit in. Whether it's to sleep on your right side you see the benefit. Whether it's to eat with your right hand, you understand. Pray five times a day, fast in the month of Ramadan. They're not a burden. They're actually things that are better for you. So some of them I found hard but I realize, you know what, if God created me, and He's saying this is the best, our way is not working. My way is not working. I made money, I've done films, I've done this. There's an emptiness inside. Something's missing. Everyone, I look at humans, everyone's carrying this emptiness.
I saw a quote that says "We're a nation of sad people with happy pictures." And I see that's true. It's like, everyone's sad. Why? Because we're all trying to figure out life ourselves. So these type of things, after reading the books, made me say "I want to become a Muslim." "I want to submit to the will of Allah." What was the last thing that happened that you finally decided to take the Shahada and how was your Shahada? Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters. We realized that 80% of our audience, including this video, are not subscribed to our channel. As you know, we are a non-profit organization and advertisements are disabled on our videos.
Towards Eternity is not just a YouTube channel, but also a madrasah. Here we try to educate ourselves and the youth Islamically. So the only reason we are asking for this, is to spread the truth. It may seem like a small act, but Inshallah it will help us reach millions of people. Now let's click the like and the subscribe buttons, and let's together walk Towards Eternity. What was the last thing that happened that you finally decided to take the Shahada and how was your Shahada? So I believed that Islam was the true religion, but I was, like, scared to become a Muslim. I know now Shaitan was whispering in my ears. I was thinking, maybe I'm not ready. Do I know enough?
Maybe I'll become a Muslim and not be a good Muslim, like... I don't wanna do it and not do it properly. So I was taking long. But I knew it was the true religion. And brother used to always see me and say "Are you ready?" And I'd say "Soon, Inshallah." And you know, I'd say "Soon," and he'd say "Say Inshallah!" I'd say "Inshallah, Inshallah." He goes, "That means if Allah wills." And he kept saying, "Death comes anytime. Angel of Death could visit you everyday. And one of those times Allah is gonna say "Be!" and it will be." So this is scaring me. And he goes, "Do not die, unless you die in a state of submission. And don't die unless you die as a Muslim.
This is Surah Imran." So I'm saying, "No, I'm gonna do it soon. I'm gonna do it soon." And then I got some big reminders. That studio we were at? Our manager got killed. And she's not even involved in crime. I think death was so close to home I remember having a dream that I got shot. And it was like, in the dream I was sweating. I was panicking. I thought it was so real. I'm in the back of an ambulance, the paramedics are trying to hold me down and they're saying "Don't worry Mr. Chin, we'll be at the hospital soon, don't worry. Stay with us." But I remember in the dream saying "I don't care if I die, I just wanna go and take my Shahada first." I can't die unless I'm a Muslim.
And they're saying "Stay down, stay down." "We'll be there soon." And I'm saying, "Look, can you hear me? I need to become a Muslim first. Can we go there before we go to a hospital?" They're saying "We'll be there first." And I'm saying, "You can't hear me! I need to become a Muslim!" Because in the back of my head I'm hearing "Don't die unless you die in a state of Islam." I'm thinking, "No! I'm gonna die, but I haven't done it yet, I haven't done it yet. I've been waiting too long, I'm gonna die." So I woke up. And when I woke up from the dream, you know you have that moment when you're like, "It's just a dream! Ah, that felt so real." I'm sweating, and I'm so relieved that I'm okay.
I never got shot, it was a dream. And then I had a shower and I got on with my day, driving in my car. But I remember I went to my studio, and I spoke to the older brother. I said, "I had a dream, you know? I got shot." Man, and I was telling him about it, and he said "When you were in that dream, you were panicking. You were sweating. You thought everything was on the line." I said, "Yeah, a hundred percent." And he said, "When you woke up, you just said 'Ah, it was just a dream.' Yeah, you just showered and you got on with your day." I said, "Yeah.
Exactly that." He said, "That is how this life is." He said, "Right now when you're in this life, all the things you're worried about, you're panicking about, you're stressed about, you're getting all worked up about, depressed about. You know when you go to the grave an angel's gonna come to you and ask "How long were you in that life?" You'll say a day, part of a day, that's it." He says, "The person in the grave looks back at this life the same way the person who wakes from a dream looks at a dream." He said, "This life is nothing." I said, "You know what? Why am I taking so long? I'm ready to become a Muslim now. I wanna do it today. I wanna take my Shahada today." He said, "What?
Today?" And I said, "Yeah. Today. I'm ready." He said, "Let's go. Yasser's house is always open. Let's go there and you can take your Shahada there." So he phoned brother Yasser and he said "Uncle Yasser, assalamu alaikum. I have a new guy who wants to take Shahada." He says, "Bring him! Bring him!" So we go there. And they were all excited to have me there. And he brought this food and all these little experiences of... I'm sitting next to a brother and they've brought this big silver tray of food and said "Come closer, let's eat, let's eat." They wanted to share the same plate. They wanted to eat together. They wanted to, like, be one.
After we ate, they said "Are you ready now?" And the brother sat opposite me, like this, and he's like "Give me your hand." And then I repeated after him. And I just remember the look on everyone's eyes when I said those words, it was like they're in Jannah. I've done something amazing. They stood up and they all hugged me. And like, I'd never hugged a man before that. These are hugging guys. One of them, Yasser, I remember he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek like "Mwah!" It's like, love. Welcome. Allahu Akbar. You're now a Muslim. And a brother said, "How do you feel?" I said, "You know what? I feel different. I feel, like, so different.
I feel pure, like, fresh." He said, "Go home, take a shower." And they were like, "So this is what you have to do. You have to start praying 5 times every day. Do you know how to pray here?" And it was like everyone was coming at me. And I was just so overwhelmed. And so I was learning, then one brother was writing it down for me so I've got it on paper. And I remember carrying that paper around for a week, taking it into bathrooms, putting it on the side, looking at it. Hands, all that, and it got water on it. The ink was smudging.
And I remember writing out how to pray and I'd draw stick men next to the thing And I used to put it on the floor And I'd read it and go, "Raise hands to air, Allahu Akbar, put arms across the chest, say Alhamdu..." And I used to read it. And then after about 5 days, I realized I don't need the paper anymore. I know it, because I was doing it. They said "You have to pray 5 times every day." And maybe sometimes we're too lenient but because they said "You have to," I didn't see it as an option. And I know, like, sometimes, today... I spoke to people and they say "Ah, I don't pray. I miss my prayers." And I say "Oh, you speak, you say it like it's an option." You can't do that with prayer.
And many... None of us are perfect. No one is perfect. But one thing I say is, you see, the prayer, that's gonna save us. That's the one where we're asking Allah to guide us to the right path. Don't see that as an option. So how was your family's reaction and since you're so grateful to Allah for guiding you did you try to preach Islam to them as well? I think naturally when you find religion it's like you've won the lottery. So I was happy. First thing I've done is I went to the Islamic shop. I bought a head wrap, I tied my hair. I bought a gown. 6 months into my Shahada, walking around like I just graduated from Madinah University.
Walking in my house, my mom's looking at me, saying, "He's dressing like he's from Afghanistan now." And I'm talking to my mom. "By the way, did you know there was a person and this happened, and that drink that you're drinking is gonna take you to the fire," and blah, blah, blah, dawah... And my mom's saying, "What's that?" And I'm even speaking with an accent, because it was like, I'd been listening to so many talk, I've been putting on this Arab accent. And my mom's looking... "Why are you speaking like that? Like you're fresh off from abroad." I think sometimes you lose your identity and you just go in, like, wrah! It wasn't working.
I think my mom was probably a bit scared and it was like, "What's he doing?" And I think, when you don't know so much, you like to speak too much. I don't know anything. I'm new. I just had a few classes and I'm acting like I know everything and I'm giving everybody dawah and I'm correcting everyone when they're doing something wrong. And I'm telling everyone, "This is bad, this is bad." And my knowledge is so small. But it's like, you can tell how much knowledge someone has by their character. By their manners, by their wisdom. So my manners was all over the place. I've almost got an ego. I'm acting like I'm better than people because I've got this. And I'm almost speaking down to people.
It doesn't work at all, so... To be honest, my mom wasn't interested. My sister wasn't interested. And then the more you learn, is the less you say. And the better your character becomes. So I hardly teach my mom anything. I hardly try to correct her wrongs. Now I've got a conscience. How's that gonna make her feel if I say that? So I was less, learned more, said less. And it was at that point when my mom was more interested and more curious. Because the best dawah is in your actions. So she's seeing the type of man I'm becoming and she's saying... I remember we used to clean the house every Sunday and it'd be, like, Reggae music playing. But now I'm playing an Islamic talk in my room.
My mom is downstairs, cleaning. And she can hear the talk. She said, "Oh, what's that?" I said, "Islamic talk." She goes, "But I heard them talk about Jesus." I said, "Yeah?" "So wait, do they talk about Jesus in Islam?" I said, "Yeah!" Like, "There's all these stories from the Bible and the Quran as well, you know?" She goes, "Let me listen to that one, then. Bring it down there when you finish." Alright, so I gave it to my mom. I used to hear her always listening to this tape. The one tape I gave her. Every time I come home, my mom's got the tape on, "You're right!" And then sometimes she's cooking, she's playing the tape, I say, "You playing that tape again?" "Yeah, I like it!
It's really interesting what he's saying." I said, "Okay, I've got another one if you want." And I was thinking of the tape that I wanted her to watch. I said, "Here's one you can watch!" And I went and got it. It's Ahmed Deedat, he's debating with a Christian, is the Bible true word of God? But the way the debate was, I remember letting my mom watch it and she's watching it, watching it, watching it. And she's like, hmm... Yes, she's just getting her Bible out and listening, and she's saying, "Wait, no." "Yeah, he's right. He's right." And she's getting angry at the TV. "No, he didn't say... Yes, yes." I remember, I see my mom crying. She's talking to God, talking to God crying.
My mom's got a lot of pain in her. A lot of pain, things she went through in her life. She was abandoned as a child, no family. And she's saying, "He's right." And I could just, I could see she's just agreeing with the Muslim, it's true. I went upstairs to my room. Prayed, made two Rak'a, made dua to Allah "Allah, just guide her. I can see her, She's coming, please, Allah, guide her." And you know what, I'll be honest. I remember I went to the office and my teacher is the one who gave them Shahada. I was learning with this teacher in private.
And I honestly believe, you see, when Allah says, "Remember me, and I'll remember you." When really and truly, if I just focus on my relationship with Allah, Allah will take care of all your affairs. Now through these classes, we were doing them and we were doing them. He's the one who said, "You learn well in this room, but I feel like you're distracted outside. Why don't you go to Egypt? That's where I'm from. And I can get you a teacher there, you'll have no distractions." So that's how it came about that I'm gonna go to Egypt to study.
So when I thought like, for being on that path, I'm going there, and studying, and learning, and making that big step to say, "You know what, I'm gonna go to Egypt to study and leave everything." I feel like it was a reward, like... I hadn't even been speaking to my mom where it was just like, "Yeah, they both wanna take Shahada." I'm sitting in that same office with that teacher. And he's saying, "You're booked for Egypt tomorrow." I'm saying, "Yeah, but here's my mom. Here's my sister." And he gives them Shahada, and they're sitting there with headscarves on. It's like, it's like I honestly see. You remember Allah, Allah will take care of your affairs. They both took their Shahadas?
They both took their Shahada. -Subhanallah. -Alhamdulillah. So why did you choose to rap? The rap and the poetry wasn't planned. When I was living in Egypt, it was my first time traveling. So I felt so far away from everything I knew, and everything I was comfortable with. And I remember standing on my balcony of this cheap apartment and just thinking, "Wow, I'm in Africa. How did I end up here? And I'm learning Arabic." And I just felt, like, quite emotional that I'm so far from my mom, I don't have a mobile phone, I'm just alone, but I feel at peace. And when you feel like that sometimes, you feel like all you have is Allah.
And I remember, like I said, when we were on the streets and doing stuff, writing was like our therapy. That's how we let out what we were feeling. So I was... When I was there, I didn't write in order to perform it. I was just saying it. "I found myself in the other side of this world, all for this religion, all for Allah revealed, Look at Belal in a small flat by myself, Quran in between my knees books piled up on my shelf. As I read, memories flash me in my day. Everything looks different, so many things have changed. Said Belal, now this world doesn't look the same. All the things I used to like I can't even like again." So this is what I started doing.
I'm just doing it in the flat, you know, in my spare time. And it's like I'm just going through my feelings and my journey. So anyway, fast forward when I came back to London, we went to the Masjid in Lewisham on Eid. And the Imam there, he said "You went to Egypt, how was it like? You should share your story in the Mosque." I said "No way." I said "No, no, no, no." He says "Come, come, come, come. I'm gonna bring you to the front." And I'm thinking, no way. All these elders, uncles, what are they gonna think when I go to the front of the Mosque and talk? Took my arm, "Assalamu alaikum everyone! You know brother Muslim Belal?
He's gonna now tell a story, and a nice poem and stuff." So I was on the spot. I was like, aah. "I found myself in the other side of this world" And I told my story. I remembered it, I rhymed it, and I kept going. And I remember how engaged everyone was. And honestly that's just how it happened. I never really had a plan, like, "Oh, I wanna be a nasheed artist or a poet." It was more personal, and if someone asked me to do it I'd go and do it. And I'm still the same now. That's why I say, I always say to Allah "If it's good for me, just keep it coming, if it's bad for me, stop the phone from ringing." And that's it.
Can you share your favorite lines, rhyming, and can you explain it to us, what it means? So I was actually in Malaysia, performing. And I'd been there a few times to perform. So I performed a chat called "Brother", and it's like, "Brother, do you want for me what you want for yourself? Brother, do you pray Allah gives me strength and health? Brother, do you gossip about me like I'm a star? Brother, do you love me fi Sabilillah? Brother, do you want..." Because I was thinking, only the true believers will end up in paradise, and you're not a true believer unless you love for your brother what you love for yourself.
"So, we're true, Belal." And I was thinking, "But what I see amongst brothers is, do we really love each other? Do we really want for each other what we'd want for ourselves? Or do we enjoy, like, yeah, pointing the finger at each other, putting each other down. Is this the real love? Are we the true believers that want paradise? Or are we caught up in the bubble, the world, do you understand?" So I made that one, "Brother, do you want for me what you want for yourself?" And it went quite well. And then I heard someone shout, "What about the sister?" So I said... I was on the spot. I was like, "Sisters, what can I say?" And I remember the post, an argument that I witnessed on Facebook.
And a sister who, like, you can't see their picture, said something like, "Yeah, but all you brothers are so interested in the girls who show everything." I remember thinking "No, that's not the truth. That's not how it's like. It's like..." "Sister, I can't even see your face. Sister, I don't even hear your voice. Sister, I don't even smell your scent. You must be the one Allah sent! Pious sister, I don't even..." So I just went into that straight after. And what that was is to give upliftment, to say, look, don't ever feel, just because you're, like, 'Oh, they prefer that.' You're pious. Like, be comfortable with what your... The way you act.
Don't ever feel, 'I have to do more to fit in with that,' you know? So lastly, if there was a chance to speak to all the non-Muslims in the world, what would you like to say to them? I'd say, as a people, we need to learn how to think. So, we get so caught up in living, that we don't think much, like... What are we living for? And why are we living? And sometimes you have to pause life and stop and think. Don't get influenced just by your heritage. It's like, because I'm born in England, the Church of England, I'm gonna be a Christian. And that means if I was born in Israel, I would have been a Jew. So it's not about what's the truth, it's just about what I inherit.
I don't feel religion should be an inheritance. We should search for the truth, like, and we should research.
I want to start by asking who is Ashley Belal Chin and can you tell us briefly about your life? Well Ashley Chin is my birth name. I was born and raised in London, in United Kingdom. And I was raised as a Christian. Spent most of my childhood in South London, on a council estate. And then I converted to Islam when I was 19. And that's when I chose the name Belal. Growing up, I was always into music and then I ended up building a career out of that. Found myself on stage from the age of 14, winning competitions on the mic. But now I find myself on stage talking about my life and my experiences, the things I went through as a youngster. I say that I turned all my mess into my message.
So I'm on stage all around the world now, talking about my life and my experiences with the hope to, not teach anyone anything but inspire people who can relate to my journey. Yeah, and I'm a spoken-word poet. Can you tell us about your previous life? Your life before Islam, how was that? Life in the streets, if you will. So life before Islam on the streets is sadness. This is my earliest experience of sadness, like... Why don't we have this? Why don't we have that? Why is my mom crying? Why is my mom so angry and upset? How are we gonna get out of this mess? And I remember... And this is one of my most unique stories from my childhood. There was a guy, major mental health, called Glen.
We used to call him Mad Glen. And he used to smell funny, his clothes were bad. And he used to come through my estate and all the kids used to run when he was coming. "Ah, Mad Glen's coming!" and we used to run off. Because he just looked crazy, like, he was on medication. But my mom, as poor as she was, she always used to invite him in our house. And she used to invite him in the house, and she used to offer him, like, "Oh, do you want some dinner?" And she'd tell him, my mom was, like, very straight to the point. "Glen you smell bad, have you had a bath today? Have you showered? Are the people not giving you..." Because he lived in a mental home.
And my friends used to wind me up, and laugh at me and say, "Ah, why is Mad Glen in your house? Is that your step-dad? Is that your mom's boyfriend?" And I used to get angry, like, "No he's not," this and that. So I used to get angry at my mom. "Why do you keep letting Mad Glen in the house?" Until, every time he's leaving, he used to say to my mom "Oh, have you got any money? Can I have two pounds to just buy a drink? Can I have one pound for this, can I have 5 pounds?" And my mom, as broke as she was, she used to always be like, "Ah, Glen." Look down the side of the sofa, see if there's any change. And she'd give him whatever she can. Anyway, there was a day when our electricity ran out.
And my mom was in the house, months later, she's crying, she's drinking. She's slamming the cupboards. And I used to get scared when she's like that. Because she's drunk. And I remember she said, "Only God can help us. You better pray to God because I don't know how you're getting to school tomorrow, we've got no money for dinner. You better pray because only God can help us." It's like, "We're gonna die like this. I'd rather we just died." And I'm like, "Mom? Why is she saying she wants to die?" So at that point, I started praying. And I remember praying for my mom, like, "Help my mom, God." Like, "Just help her not be like this. Help us have some money." And then the door knocked.
And when the door knocked my mom used to say, like, "Don't answer the door straight away." Because she owes people money. It could be anyone. So I used to go to the window and I'd have a look. And I used to see who it is first and tell her like, "Oh, it's this person." So I looked. I said "Mom, it's Glen. It's Mad Glen" She said, "Ah, not today." She owed many things. So she opens the door, she's like "Glen, I ain't got time today. I've got no food in the house, nothing. I got nothing to give you." And he said, "No, wait!" She went to shut the door. He said "Wait, I wanna give you something." And she said, "What?" And he goes, "I got money." "I got money. They gave me 80 pounds.
And I remember you always help me, I wanted to give you 20 pounds." So my mom was like, "Ah, Glen. Give me a hug." And she gave him a hug. And he gave my mom 20 pounds. But I remember thinking I just prayed. I said "God help my mom, give us money." And then the door knocked. And I wrote one of my poems called "Signs" where I said, "We was broke, prayed for money then the door knocked. We was scared, prayed for safety and the car stopped." It's so much weight behind it. I'm thinking about that time, like, that was the first time I experienced wow, I prayed, and the door knocked and we got money. That was an answer. So I had a tight relationship with God from then on.
I used to talk to Him all the time as a youngster. I wasn't a Muslim but I knew God existed. I went to the church. Did you know anything about Christianity, or you were praying directly to God, the One God? So, as a Christian going to the church every week... At Friday prayer, I'll never forget, we used to take turns to lead the prayer before we eat, she used to feed us. And I was like, 11 years old. I used to like breaking rules. So when it was my turn to lead the prayer once, instead of doing an exact prayer the way we're meant to, I've done like a little rap or rhyme, and just... You know, being silly as a kid. I'm trying to make people laugh, so I'm like "Thank you God for the chips.
Thank you God for the beans. Thank you God for the..." and I'm trying to make people laugh, and then I got told off. When I got told off, I tried to be cheeky and said "What's wrong with that?" I said "Thank you God for the food, the chips, the beans." She said "We're meant to say, for what we're about to receive, in Jesus' name, that..." I said "Yeah, but I thanked God for everything, so it's the same thing." And that's when I realized she's arguing saying Jesus' name. I said "Why? But I thanked God." And I think I said something silly, trying to be smart. But then I started thinking I've got a point. Because I said, okay, but is God not... And I said, "Alright, so you made the food.
But I'm gonna thank the other lady for it." How does that make sense? I'm just gonna go straight to the lady and say thank you to her. Why do I have to go to you? And I told my mom about this. And it was like, you know, Jesus, the Trinity and... And I started getting, saying "I don't know, I just believe in God." So I left the church from young, what, 13 or something, and I was in a place where... I don't know. I just believe there's a God. That's one thing I don't need convincing about. There was uncertainties around everything else. That was really fascinating. So you didn't know about Islam back then. So how did your journey to Islam begin? There was a guy in that conversation.
That guy I had a conversation with. He's someone I used to look up to on the streets, when I was on the estate and we didn't have much. This is that guy that used to drive a convertible with a big chain and the gold teeth. And he used to come on a motorbike, doing wheelies and us kids would be like, so surprised, like, "That guy is the coolest!" I used to even lie and say, "Yo, that's my cousin, that's my cousin!" And everyone's looking like, "Don't lie!" He's not my cousin, but he was so cool I wanted him to be my cousin. Now, I started my music studio with his younger brother. So we've got a studio in the loft of his mom's house.
Now, I hadn't seen the older brother, the one who used to drive the motorbike and the cars for years. And one day, we're in the studio, we're older now, we're 18 years old, we've got motorbikes now. We've fulfilled our dream. "But where's your older brother, I haven't seen him for years?" And it was one day he said, "My brother's downstairs." And then he comes upstairs. And he comes, knocks on the door. Opens the door, and he's like... He looks at us, and I'm expecting him to say "Yo, you look alright. Whose motorbike is that outside?" Blah, blah. But he just says to his younger bro, "Turn down the music, please. Five minutes," and leaves.
Then he comes back in and he's like, "Yo, turn down the music, five minutes, please," and leaves. And he does that a few times throughout the day. But he doesn't come in and address us much. He's distant. I didn't know what he was doing but now years later I know why he was telling us to turn down our music. His older brother had become a Muslim. He's downstairs, praying. And he didn't wanna hear the doof, doof, doof while he's praying his Salah. And then one day, how I know he's a Muslim, he comes in the room and he addresses us. And now we're young men.
And there's a transitional period that early stage of our life is ignorance, but we get to a stage where we have to decide what are we doing? Like, why are we here? What are we living for? So he's saying, "What are you lot doing?" "What's your purpose of life?" So I took that question quite serious. And he said, "You lot don't believe in God?" I believe in God. I'm saying, "Yeah, I believe in God. Of course." And he says, "You come from a God." "When you die, what do you think happens?" I said, "You won't know. It'll be black." He says, "You come from a God, and after you die, you're gonna return to that God.
And you're gonna have to stand and account for everything that you've done while you were here. So right now why are you here? You're being judged. You're being tested. It's like the angels are writing down everything." And when he was telling us that, I'll never forget this part where he said that "Angels are writing down everything you do. What you do in public, what you do in private. So what's your Day of Judgment gonna be like when you're called to account for that which you've done? You've done this, you've done that. You've done this, you've done that." I'm saying "Boy, my day is gonna be mad." I just wanted to clean it up a bit. And that was the beginning of my journey to Islam.
Then how did you come closer to Islam and accepted it finally? The guy said to me, "Now that you're taking these steps towards Allah, Allah is gonna come running to you." I didn't understand what he meant at the time. But over the next few months of my life, everything he said made sense. I said, "I just believe in God." The guy said to me, "Look in the dictionary what a Muslim is. You sound like a Muslim. Just believe in God." The final message from Muhammad (saw) is "Go back to the original state. Worshiping God alone. And if you accept that as your religion, you are Muslim." So I realized that's what I'm closest to. A religion I knew nothing about was now everywhere all around me.
Everywhere I turned, I was just seeing Islam, Islam, Islam. It's like the signs were just coming to me. I'd go to park my motorbike, I used to ride my motorbike sometimes outside to shop, and I'd say to the guy I always see there "Can you watch my bike for me, I'm just going to the market?" But today he says to me, "Yeah, I'll watch your bike but do me a favor. Take this." And he gives me a pamphlet, "What do you know about Islam?" I said, "What's this? Are you a Muslim? He says, "Yeah, I'm here all the time." I thought he just sold those sticks that smell nice. But he had a whole dawah store. My first time I engaged with him. So I took it and I said, "Yeah, I'm learning about this.
I'm interested." I was driving in my car. And there was music I used to listen to. And these MC's that used to rap. I used to listen to them all the time. But now, I heard one of them was saying things differently. He was saying, "Inshallah we reach the Jannah, never drive in the Devil's car, Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah" And I started saying, "I heard this so many times, but I didn't know what he was saying." But now that I've spoken with this old Muslim, I'm under... So now I'm driving and I'm listening. I'm kind of, "Ah, he's speaking, like..." Then I realized he's a Muslim. So now I'm starting, it actually was everywhere. It was all around me, this religion.
And then I started to research it more and more. And I'd go back to that same guy and speak to him. And to be honest with you, I didn't need much convincing. Because as soon as I understood that I was created by God, and I accept that. I also accepted that whoever created me must know what's best for me. It's very simple. Like, if we have a camera here, I just think, I buy that camera, so I own it. But it doesn't mean I know better than the person who made it. So even though I own it, I might be like, "Yes, mine, I'm gonna do whatever I want with it." Of course. But if I don't follow the instructions, I'm not gonna get the best out of that camera. It's due to break.
Now the worst I see in life is we're breaking down. We're all breaking as humans. But we're complaining. Why am I going through this, why am I going through that? But we're not following the instructions of the person who created us. So I'm saying, if God created me, He's instructing me on how to live my life. I don't see these as rules, I see these as instructions that I should follow if I want to get the best out of this life. Because I don't make God any greater. I don't make Allah greater by following these rules. It's for myself, it's for my own benefit. He's saying "Do this!". I'm saying, you know what? If I was created by Allah, how I worship Allah is by following these instructions.
It's better for myself. And then I get the best of this life and the best in the next life. And every rule, I see the benefit in. Whether it's to sleep on your right side you see the benefit. Whether it's to eat with your right hand, you understand. Pray five times a day, fast in the month of Ramadan. They're not a burden. They're actually things that are better for you. So some of them I found hard but I realize, you know what, if God created me, and He's saying this is the best, our way is not working. My way is not working. I made money, I've done films, I've done this. There's an emptiness inside. Something's missing. Everyone, I look at humans, everyone's carrying this emptiness.
I saw a quote that says "We're a nation of sad people with happy pictures." And I see that's true. It's like, everyone's sad. Why? Because we're all trying to figure out life ourselves. So these type of things, after reading the books, made me say "I want to become a Muslim." "I want to submit to the will of Allah." What was the last thing that happened that you finally decided to take the Shahada and how was your Shahada? Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters. We realized that 80% of our audience, including this video, are not subscribed to our channel. As you know, we are a non-profit organization and advertisements are disabled on our videos.
Towards Eternity is not just a YouTube channel, but also a madrasah. Here we try to educate ourselves and the youth Islamically. So the only reason we are asking for this, is to spread the truth. It may seem like a small act, but Inshallah it will help us reach millions of people. Now let's click the like and the subscribe buttons, and let's together walk Towards Eternity. What was the last thing that happened that you finally decided to take the Shahada and how was your Shahada? So I believed that Islam was the true religion, but I was, like, scared to become a Muslim. I know now Shaitan was whispering in my ears. I was thinking, maybe I'm not ready. Do I know enough?
Maybe I'll become a Muslim and not be a good Muslim, like... I don't wanna do it and not do it properly. So I was taking long. But I knew it was the true religion. And brother used to always see me and say "Are you ready?" And I'd say "Soon, Inshallah." And you know, I'd say "Soon," and he'd say "Say Inshallah!" I'd say "Inshallah, Inshallah." He goes, "That means if Allah wills." And he kept saying, "Death comes anytime. Angel of Death could visit you everyday. And one of those times Allah is gonna say "Be!" and it will be." So this is scaring me. And he goes, "Do not die, unless you die in a state of submission. And don't die unless you die as a Muslim.
This is Surah Imran." So I'm saying, "No, I'm gonna do it soon. I'm gonna do it soon." And then I got some big reminders. That studio we were at? Our manager got killed. And she's not even involved in crime. I think death was so close to home I remember having a dream that I got shot. And it was like, in the dream I was sweating. I was panicking. I thought it was so real. I'm in the back of an ambulance, the paramedics are trying to hold me down and they're saying "Don't worry Mr. Chin, we'll be at the hospital soon, don't worry. Stay with us." But I remember in the dream saying "I don't care if I die, I just wanna go and take my Shahada first." I can't die unless I'm a Muslim.
And they're saying "Stay down, stay down." "We'll be there soon." And I'm saying, "Look, can you hear me? I need to become a Muslim first. Can we go there before we go to a hospital?" They're saying "We'll be there first." And I'm saying, "You can't hear me! I need to become a Muslim!" Because in the back of my head I'm hearing "Don't die unless you die in a state of Islam." I'm thinking, "No! I'm gonna die, but I haven't done it yet, I haven't done it yet. I've been waiting too long, I'm gonna die." So I woke up. And when I woke up from the dream, you know you have that moment when you're like, "It's just a dream! Ah, that felt so real." I'm sweating, and I'm so relieved that I'm okay.
I never got shot, it was a dream. And then I had a shower and I got on with my day, driving in my car. But I remember I went to my studio, and I spoke to the older brother. I said, "I had a dream, you know? I got shot." Man, and I was telling him about it, and he said "When you were in that dream, you were panicking. You were sweating. You thought everything was on the line." I said, "Yeah, a hundred percent." And he said, "When you woke up, you just said 'Ah, it was just a dream.' Yeah, you just showered and you got on with your day." I said, "Yeah.
Exactly that." He said, "That is how this life is." He said, "Right now when you're in this life, all the things you're worried about, you're panicking about, you're stressed about, you're getting all worked up about, depressed about. You know when you go to the grave an angel's gonna come to you and ask "How long were you in that life?" You'll say a day, part of a day, that's it." He says, "The person in the grave looks back at this life the same way the person who wakes from a dream looks at a dream." He said, "This life is nothing." I said, "You know what? Why am I taking so long? I'm ready to become a Muslim now. I wanna do it today. I wanna take my Shahada today." He said, "What?
Today?" And I said, "Yeah. Today. I'm ready." He said, "Let's go. Yasser's house is always open. Let's go there and you can take your Shahada there." So he phoned brother Yasser and he said "Uncle Yasser, assalamu alaikum. I have a new guy who wants to take Shahada." He says, "Bring him! Bring him!" So we go there. And they were all excited to have me there. And he brought this food and all these little experiences of... I'm sitting next to a brother and they've brought this big silver tray of food and said "Come closer, let's eat, let's eat." They wanted to share the same plate. They wanted to eat together. They wanted to, like, be one.
After we ate, they said "Are you ready now?" And the brother sat opposite me, like this, and he's like "Give me your hand." And then I repeated after him. And I just remember the look on everyone's eyes when I said those words, it was like they're in Jannah. I've done something amazing. They stood up and they all hugged me. And like, I'd never hugged a man before that. These are hugging guys. One of them, Yasser, I remember he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek like "Mwah!" It's like, love. Welcome. Allahu Akbar. You're now a Muslim. And a brother said, "How do you feel?" I said, "You know what? I feel different. I feel, like, so different.
I feel pure, like, fresh." He said, "Go home, take a shower." And they were like, "So this is what you have to do. You have to start praying 5 times every day. Do you know how to pray here?" And it was like everyone was coming at me. And I was just so overwhelmed. And so I was learning, then one brother was writing it down for me so I've got it on paper. And I remember carrying that paper around for a week, taking it into bathrooms, putting it on the side, looking at it. Hands, all that, and it got water on it. The ink was smudging.
And I remember writing out how to pray and I'd draw stick men next to the thing And I used to put it on the floor And I'd read it and go, "Raise hands to air, Allahu Akbar, put arms across the chest, say Alhamdu..." And I used to read it. And then after about 5 days, I realized I don't need the paper anymore. I know it, because I was doing it. They said "You have to pray 5 times every day." And maybe sometimes we're too lenient but because they said "You have to," I didn't see it as an option. And I know, like, sometimes, today... I spoke to people and they say "Ah, I don't pray. I miss my prayers." And I say "Oh, you speak, you say it like it's an option." You can't do that with prayer.
And many... None of us are perfect. No one is perfect. But one thing I say is, you see, the prayer, that's gonna save us. That's the one where we're asking Allah to guide us to the right path. Don't see that as an option. So how was your family's reaction and since you're so grateful to Allah for guiding you did you try to preach Islam to them as well? I think naturally when you find religion it's like you've won the lottery. So I was happy. First thing I've done is I went to the Islamic shop. I bought a head wrap, I tied my hair. I bought a gown. 6 months into my Shahada, walking around like I just graduated from Madinah University.
Walking in my house, my mom's looking at me, saying, "He's dressing like he's from Afghanistan now." And I'm talking to my mom. "By the way, did you know there was a person and this happened, and that drink that you're drinking is gonna take you to the fire," and blah, blah, blah, dawah... And my mom's saying, "What's that?" And I'm even speaking with an accent, because it was like, I'd been listening to so many talk, I've been putting on this Arab accent. And my mom's looking... "Why are you speaking like that? Like you're fresh off from abroad." I think sometimes you lose your identity and you just go in, like, wrah! It wasn't working.
I think my mom was probably a bit scared and it was like, "What's he doing?" And I think, when you don't know so much, you like to speak too much. I don't know anything. I'm new. I just had a few classes and I'm acting like I know everything and I'm giving everybody dawah and I'm correcting everyone when they're doing something wrong. And I'm telling everyone, "This is bad, this is bad." And my knowledge is so small. But it's like, you can tell how much knowledge someone has by their character. By their manners, by their wisdom. So my manners was all over the place. I've almost got an ego. I'm acting like I'm better than people because I've got this. And I'm almost speaking down to people.
It doesn't work at all, so... To be honest, my mom wasn't interested. My sister wasn't interested. And then the more you learn, is the less you say. And the better your character becomes. So I hardly teach my mom anything. I hardly try to correct her wrongs. Now I've got a conscience. How's that gonna make her feel if I say that? So I was less, learned more, said less. And it was at that point when my mom was more interested and more curious. Because the best dawah is in your actions. So she's seeing the type of man I'm becoming and she's saying... I remember we used to clean the house every Sunday and it'd be, like, Reggae music playing. But now I'm playing an Islamic talk in my room.
My mom is downstairs, cleaning. And she can hear the talk. She said, "Oh, what's that?" I said, "Islamic talk." She goes, "But I heard them talk about Jesus." I said, "Yeah?" "So wait, do they talk about Jesus in Islam?" I said, "Yeah!" Like, "There's all these stories from the Bible and the Quran as well, you know?" She goes, "Let me listen to that one, then. Bring it down there when you finish." Alright, so I gave it to my mom. I used to hear her always listening to this tape. The one tape I gave her. Every time I come home, my mom's got the tape on, "You're right!" And then sometimes she's cooking, she's playing the tape, I say, "You playing that tape again?" "Yeah, I like it!
It's really interesting what he's saying." I said, "Okay, I've got another one if you want." And I was thinking of the tape that I wanted her to watch. I said, "Here's one you can watch!" And I went and got it. It's Ahmed Deedat, he's debating with a Christian, is the Bible true word of God? But the way the debate was, I remember letting my mom watch it and she's watching it, watching it, watching it. And she's like, hmm... Yes, she's just getting her Bible out and listening, and she's saying, "Wait, no." "Yeah, he's right. He's right." And she's getting angry at the TV. "No, he didn't say... Yes, yes." I remember, I see my mom crying. She's talking to God, talking to God crying.
My mom's got a lot of pain in her. A lot of pain, things she went through in her life. She was abandoned as a child, no family. And she's saying, "He's right." And I could just, I could see she's just agreeing with the Muslim, it's true. I went upstairs to my room. Prayed, made two Rak'a, made dua to Allah "Allah, just guide her. I can see her, She's coming, please, Allah, guide her." And you know what, I'll be honest. I remember I went to the office and my teacher is the one who gave them Shahada. I was learning with this teacher in private.
And I honestly believe, you see, when Allah says, "Remember me, and I'll remember you." When really and truly, if I just focus on my relationship with Allah, Allah will take care of all your affairs. Now through these classes, we were doing them and we were doing them. He's the one who said, "You learn well in this room, but I feel like you're distracted outside. Why don't you go to Egypt? That's where I'm from. And I can get you a teacher there, you'll have no distractions." So that's how it came about that I'm gonna go to Egypt to study.
So when I thought like, for being on that path, I'm going there, and studying, and learning, and making that big step to say, "You know what, I'm gonna go to Egypt to study and leave everything." I feel like it was a reward, like... I hadn't even been speaking to my mom where it was just like, "Yeah, they both wanna take Shahada." I'm sitting in that same office with that teacher. And he's saying, "You're booked for Egypt tomorrow." I'm saying, "Yeah, but here's my mom. Here's my sister." And he gives them Shahada, and they're sitting there with headscarves on. It's like, it's like I honestly see. You remember Allah, Allah will take care of your affairs. They both took their Shahadas?
They both took their Shahada. -Subhanallah. -Alhamdulillah. So why did you choose to rap? The rap and the poetry wasn't planned. When I was living in Egypt, it was my first time traveling. So I felt so far away from everything I knew, and everything I was comfortable with. And I remember standing on my balcony of this cheap apartment and just thinking, "Wow, I'm in Africa. How did I end up here? And I'm learning Arabic." And I just felt, like, quite emotional that I'm so far from my mom, I don't have a mobile phone, I'm just alone, but I feel at peace. And when you feel like that sometimes, you feel like all you have is Allah.
And I remember, like I said, when we were on the streets and doing stuff, writing was like our therapy. That's how we let out what we were feeling. So I was... When I was there, I didn't write in order to perform it. I was just saying it. "I found myself in the other side of this world, all for this religion, all for Allah revealed, Look at Belal in a small flat by myself, Quran in between my knees books piled up on my shelf. As I read, memories flash me in my day. Everything looks different, so many things have changed. Said Belal, now this world doesn't look the same. All the things I used to like I can't even like again." So this is what I started doing.
I'm just doing it in the flat, you know, in my spare time. And it's like I'm just going through my feelings and my journey. So anyway, fast forward when I came back to London, we went to the Masjid in Lewisham on Eid. And the Imam there, he said "You went to Egypt, how was it like? You should share your story in the Mosque." I said "No way." I said "No, no, no, no." He says "Come, come, come, come. I'm gonna bring you to the front." And I'm thinking, no way. All these elders, uncles, what are they gonna think when I go to the front of the Mosque and talk? Took my arm, "Assalamu alaikum everyone! You know brother Muslim Belal?
He's gonna now tell a story, and a nice poem and stuff." So I was on the spot. I was like, aah. "I found myself in the other side of this world" And I told my story. I remembered it, I rhymed it, and I kept going. And I remember how engaged everyone was. And honestly that's just how it happened. I never really had a plan, like, "Oh, I wanna be a nasheed artist or a poet." It was more personal, and if someone asked me to do it I'd go and do it. And I'm still the same now. That's why I say, I always say to Allah "If it's good for me, just keep it coming, if it's bad for me, stop the phone from ringing." And that's it.
Can you share your favorite lines, rhyming, and can you explain it to us, what it means? So I was actually in Malaysia, performing. And I'd been there a few times to perform. So I performed a chat called "Brother", and it's like, "Brother, do you want for me what you want for yourself? Brother, do you pray Allah gives me strength and health? Brother, do you gossip about me like I'm a star? Brother, do you love me fi Sabilillah? Brother, do you want..." Because I was thinking, only the true believers will end up in paradise, and you're not a true believer unless you love for your brother what you love for yourself.
"So, we're true, Belal." And I was thinking, "But what I see amongst brothers is, do we really love each other? Do we really want for each other what we'd want for ourselves? Or do we enjoy, like, yeah, pointing the finger at each other, putting each other down. Is this the real love? Are we the true believers that want paradise? Or are we caught up in the bubble, the world, do you understand?" So I made that one, "Brother, do you want for me what you want for yourself?" And it went quite well. And then I heard someone shout, "What about the sister?" So I said... I was on the spot. I was like, "Sisters, what can I say?" And I remember the post, an argument that I witnessed on Facebook.
And a sister who, like, you can't see their picture, said something like, "Yeah, but all you brothers are so interested in the girls who show everything." I remember thinking "No, that's not the truth. That's not how it's like. It's like..." "Sister, I can't even see your face. Sister, I don't even hear your voice. Sister, I don't even smell your scent. You must be the one Allah sent! Pious sister, I don't even..." So I just went into that straight after. And what that was is to give upliftment, to say, look, don't ever feel, just because you're, like, 'Oh, they prefer that.' You're pious. Like, be comfortable with what your... The way you act.
Don't ever feel, 'I have to do more to fit in with that,' you know? So lastly, if there was a chance to speak to all the non-Muslims in the world, what would you like to say to them? I'd say, as a people, we need to learn how to think. So, we get so caught up in living, that we don't think much, like... What are we living for? And why are we living? And sometimes you have to pause life and stop and think. Don't get influenced just by your heritage. It's like, because I'm born in England, the Church of England, I'm gonna be a Christian. And that means if I was born in Israel, I would have been a Jew. So it's not about what's the truth, it's just about what I inherit.
I don't feel religion should be an inheritance. We should search for the truth, like, and we should research.