# Night-Life to Islam! - "Money & Girls, Nothing Made Me Happy!" @IBOTHEPRO

- Language: en
- Published: 2026-08-26
- Canonical: https://blog.towardseternity.com/en/blog/night-life-to-islam-money-girls-nothing-made-me-happy-at-ibothepro
- Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kimFYxWNcaE
- Channel: Towards Eternity

This is the cleaned transcript of the source video. The speech is unaltered.

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Money and women, and alcohol, power. I used to have a God-like complex. I used to think I was better than people. Honestly, I used to think nothing can touch me. I used to think I had some sort of significance. The older I get, the higher the levels got, and the more I get. I could have all the money in the world. I'd have ten women around me. I'd have a big pile of cash behind me. Nothing would make me happy. I had a failed relationship. She wanted me to stop going to the clubs and drinking and, you know... And I kept going there, and I'd kept going there. Very selfish. She left me. I lost my son. My father passed away. I lost my father. I lost everything.

I go, "Avengers 2 movie is coming out next week." We like Marvel. He loves Marvel. I feel like he knew that he was going to die. And like, he told me, he told me, yeah. You know, my life suddenly changed. From being with my dad, then going through that, doing all this. I ended up becoming homeless. And I ended up stealing. No ID, no job. I couldn't, like, progress. So I'm homeless outside Birmingham. I've got little turtleneck on, you know, I've wrapped the turtleneck over my head. It's like winter. I'm freezing. I've managed to, like, get the whole turtleneck over my whole body and I'm shivering, man.

A man called Mohsin, he had approached me and he's seen me on the floor, and he said, "What's up?" And I said, "Bro, please just leave me alone." I said, "Leave me alone." You know? He said, "Come stay with me." And I said, "Why, why, why?" And he says, "For Allah, Allah." And that was the first time in my life that from the bottom of their heart, that someone, you know, wanted to help me because they just wanted what was best for me. Like, why me? I was very happy. Assalamualaikum brother Ibrahim. As Towards Eternity, we are very happy to have you with us. I want to start by asking who is Ibrahim Fatih? Can you tell us briefly about your life? Waalaikumassalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

My name is Ibrahim Fatih, formerly known as Joseph Johnson. I was born a Christian in the north west of the United Kingdom in Blackpool. Growing up, I was always getting into trouble. I got kicked out of the high school. I never went to college. I'd drink, party, smoke, take drugs. I was very, very lost, very lost. I reverted to Islam in 2018 and generally just become a better person, a better father, a better human being. And Alhamdulillah, that's how it all started. So how was your life in regards to faith? What was your beliefs? As a kid? I was a Christian. I got baptized, my Holy Communion, my confirmation, and you know, I did believe in God. Even as a kid, I've always believed in God.

I was never God-fearing when I was a Christian, but I believed in God. I believed in the Prophets. But growing up, I never believed that Jesus was a messiah. So even through school, I had doubts. Even through high school. So it got in one ear and out the other. So the things that didn't make sense to me in Christianity was Jesus being a God. I did not believe in this. I was practicing when I was a child growing up. Yeah, we'd go to church on a Sunday. So, Christians only go to church on a Sunday and they go for themselves, Sunday mass. And you know, you go there and you go, go back home. You know, there's not much discipline in Christianity. You know, pray once a week, then go back.

Most people just sin and then go back on the weekend, you know, go back on the Sunday. Most of them believe that He will forgive you for anything no matter what you do, and you'll go to heaven. It's very... How was your, you know, teenage years? The teenage years for me was quite hard because, growing up, I thought these things would make me happy. Going out, partying, drinking, girls. When I got to the age of 18, I was absolutely climatized by money and women and alcohol, power. I used to have a God-like complex, and I used to think I was better than people. Honestly, I used to think nothing can touch me. I used to think I had some sort of significance. And it was very, very wrong.

I really hated who I was. I used to think these things would make me happy because I couldn't be happy. Nothing made me happy in this world. I was never happy. I could have all the money in the world. I'd have ten women around me. I'd have a big pile of cash behind me. I'm not happy. Nothing would make me happy. Nothing would make me happy no matter what I'd done. And the older I get, the higher the levels got and the more I get and the more I wouldn't be happy. So, you know, it got even worse because I thought, if this can't make me happy, nothing's going to make me happy. And I was miserable. I was absolutely miserable. I was lost, I had no guidance.

I would drink myself to death on the night. No one was there for me when I was down and out, and no one was truly there for me as a friend, you know, they'd only want me to go down with them. We all go down together. And what I used to think was a friend was not a friend at all. I know that now. I have a son. I had a failed relationship. She wanted me to stop going to the clubs and drinking and, you know, and I kept going there and I'd kept going there. Very selfish. She left me. I lost my son. My father passed away. I lost my father. I lost everything. You know, my father made me happy. My son made me happy. And I used to think all these materialistic things would make me happy.

Can you take us to those moments where you lost your dad? How did it happen? So, my father passed away when I was 20 years old. You know, he just died suddenly. He was my best friend. I was at my girlfriend's house at the time, and... Yeah, I was at my girlfriend's house and my son was around about two months old and my dad was at his house. My sister lives there. She rang me up saying, like, dad's collapsed. He'd had a stroke. Half of his face wasn't working. So half of his face is, you know, it was like, drooping down. And she's really, really worried. I didn't think nothing of it. My dad used to go in and out of the hospital all the time.

He had diabetes and he didn't used to look after himself. Like sometimes missed his injections. I thought nothing of it. And I'd gone to the hospital. He'd gone to the hospital. They'd injected him with a... you know, to make him pass out, anesthetic. I just remember him coming... All the sisters and brothers came. There's loads, there's like six of us. And then he got us in a room and he was just like, "I don't know how to tell you this. My mom died of the same thing." And I go, "What are you on about?" Father's had a brain haemorrhage. I remember just everyone just crying straight away. It took me a while to process what happened. You know, and he was on the hospital bed.

And I remember that night, like all my sisters... All my sisters had, like, work the next day and they'd gone home because they had children. And I was just left in the hospital, man, You know, on my own. And I was just walking around the hospital all night in circles, you know. And I stayed in the bed with him, you know, and I just looked at him for the last time. And sometimes I regret doing that, because... Not staying with him. And sometimes when I look back as well, I just get, like... Images of his face, you know. So I thought I was doing a good thing by staying with him all night and then... But I think I tortured myself. That 24 hours felt like a year. And he died the next morning.

He flatlined. Yeah. He was conscious? No, the last time I'd seen him conscious, he rang me two weeks before we fell out and he rang me up saying, "I love you, you know?" And I said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said, "I just want you to know that I love you so much." I said, "What are you on about?" And he was like, saying, "I'm proud of you." "I'm proud of you. You know, I'm proud of my grandson." And then I go, "Shut up. What you on about?" I go, "Avengers 2 movie is coming out next week." We like Marvel. He loves Marvel. I feel like he knew that he was going to die. And like he told me, he told me. Yeah, and he was going to die. Without any symptoms or signs. He felt that. He felt it.

He felt it. I think he might have gone to the doctors a few weeks before, and like, he knew, he just didn't want to tell us, you know. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready for the world. You know, when he left, I wasn't... In my head, I was like 20, but I was still like 16 in my head at the time. You know, I did really struggle after he left. I didn't know how to live. I didn't know how to do the mortgage, the rent. That's why I say, like, I'd go out with my friends and I'd get into trouble and I'd do other things. You know, I ended up becoming homeless and I ended up stealing. Not off the shops or people, but... You know, I did really struggle after he left. I didn't know how to live.

I didn't know how to do the mortgage, the rent. That's why I say, like, I'd go out with my friends and I'd get into trouble and I'd do other things. You know, I ended up becoming homeless and I ended up stealing. Not off the shops or people, but... You know, I'd go to, like, places like Harrods or something like that where it's not going to affect anyone, only a millionaire. I didn't have a passport, I didn't have a bank account at the time, and I had no ID in my own government, country. So I was stuck in the system, no ID, no job, I couldn't, like, progress. And I didn't have money to get a bank account.

I didn't have accounts to get money at the time, so I had to do these things I didn't want to do. Then they put me in a hostel, and hostel is where they put people who's like, got no place to live or jail leavers. But I remember they put me in William Booth in Hull City. Why did you have to leave your house? Didn't you have a house? Because it was a mortgage. The house was mortgaged, and, you know, it got sold off, really. And when he died, I ended up in debt. We actually ended up in £5,000 in debt. All of us. My dad owed money to the thingy. So we had to pay it. So your home was sold. Sold. It was sold within a week. - And then you became homeless? - Yes. As an entire family?

My family, um, they have their own homes. I lived with my dad, and they had boyfriends and children and, you know, ego, pride. I'm not going to go intervene. I didn't want to jump in with my sisters, so I chose to just try and help myself. They ended up chucking me into Willie Booth. It's a bad place and then I ended up just getting passed around hostel to hostel, you know? And that's when I started to go decline downhill, because I started spending time with, you know, just some different kind of people, you know? And my life suddenly changed from, like, being with my dad, then going through that, doing all this.

Then eventually I'd start going to the clubs because I just wanted to get out of there, and get a bank account and get some ID, which I did. So I didn't even really use to drink. I did start drinking a lot, when my dad passed away because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired like, you know, I was hurting, and it got progressively worse. And then other things came in as well, you know, started to go partying and doing other things, started going to the club. That's what I mean. I started to, you know, I don't like to say it, but I mean, you know, I started to do other things than drinking, that's all I will say, when I was in the club. Did you ever, you know, sleep on the streets?

- Yeah, yeah I did. - How was that experience? Not nice, man. Not nice. So, Blackpool's my local town. I'm from Cleveleys and there's no hostels for, like, people who are homeless, because it's quite a nice area. So I found myself being homeless, like, full on. And then my government, my council, they wouldn't, like, help me, accommodate me. So I moved to Birmingham. So, in Birmingham it was even worse. I'd go to the Willie Booth in Birmingham, the hostel and Washington Court, and it's a different ball game in Birmingham. You know, the big Lions, you know, the guys there, they're not, some of them are not very nice. Get myself out of this hostel. I just stayed outside McDonald's.

I just don't want to be around that for... I've been around people like that. That's in the past. I'm not doing it anymore, and I want to help myself. So I'm homeless outside Birmingham. I've got little turtleneck on, you know, I've wrapped the turtleneck over my head. It's like winter. I'm freezing. I've managed to, like, get the whole turtleneck over my whole body and I'm shivering, man. You know, I've got my head on concrete. The bottom of my spine is hurting in the morning. Aching, aching. And I was outside McDonald's in the bullring in Birmingham. A man called Mohsin, he had approached me.

He was a Pakistani Muslim, and he'd seen me on the floor, and he said, "What's up?" And I said, "Bro, please just leave me alone." I said, "Leave me alone," you know? And he said, "No, no, no, no, no no, no, no, no." I said, "You shouldn't be here." He looks at me. He said, "What are you doing?" And then I tell him the story about my father, you know, and about the house, and Alhamdulillah, he said, "Come stay with me." And I said, "I don't really know you." I said, "You can have your own house." He said, "I've got a house." "We help a lot of homeless people." There's a house and they put, like, people in need in each room.

There was an empty one with no one in there, and he'd let me stay in it. And I said, "Why, why, why?" And he says, "For Allah, Allah." And when he said that, it made me smile. And I didn't understand at the time, because people I've been around in my life don't ever do anything unless they get something in return, they'll never do anything off the kindness of their own back. You know, just it was very, very nice. And that was the first time in my life that from the bottom of their heart someone, you know, wanted to help me because they just wanted what was best for me. Then what happened that you took further steps towards Islam? Yeah. So I didn't know much about Islam.

I studied Constantinople in high school. My brother Mohsin, he didn't mention Islam for about a month when I was there. People say I was groomed, which means I was pressured and manipulated into joining Islam. Or people think you've been in jail. You know, it's it's very wrong. But the brotherhood, they just started picking me up, building me back up. And just building me up as a human being. Not about anything about the Quran. They didn't mention it once, I swear. Wallahi they didn't mention it once. And they just built me back up, get me back in the gym and just, you know, just... Because I was, at this point when they found me, you know, I was always very mentally strong.

But I was shattered, I was broken, I was in bits. So getting me in the gym just boosted my confidence, really. And then the brothers start taking me out slowly in Birmingham. I was going down Hodge Hill, Handsworth, and all the brothers, like, they know me and I'm not even a Muslim yet. And they're calling me brother, they're giving me hugs. It's like I've got a family and Mashallah it was amazing, it was beautiful. All my life I've just wanted to hug, man, you know? And then I found that in Islam and the brotherhood, you know, really drew me to Islam. I never felt the brotherhood like I had within the Muslim community. I never trusted any of my friends.

You know, my friends would always try to do dirty on me. Don't get me wrong, Muslims are not perfect. But you know, the majority, the God fearing ones. We started talking about religion and I love debates, religious, philosophical. I love having debates, which is beyond human comprehension, whatever it may be. We're talking about Christianity. We're talking about religion. It's like having our own little Speaker's Corner. And they started to tell me to watch Ali Dawah, and Hamza's Den, Mohammed Hijab. I'm trying to tell them why the Bible is authentic and I can't say anything. And, you know, Alhamdulillah. I cannot say anything. - You know, I agree. - You were trying to defend the Bible?

I wasn't trying to defend it, but I mean, they were trying to like put the Quran on me. I mean, at that time, you know, and I tried to come up with some sort of defense because at the time I was still a Christian, but I couldn't say anything. I agreed with everything that they said. Before Islam, I did not know that we believe in the same God. I did not know we believe in the same Prophets. Really, I thought they'd believe in something else. And when I started to watch the dawah, everything started to make sense to me. And you know, and Mashallah. It was such a beautiful feeling that we believe in the same Prophets.

I was very surprised and shocked, like, how was this kept secret from me my whole life? How do I not know this? And I'd been lied to my whole life. Wallahi I'd been lied to my whole life, you know, from social media and propaganda and listening to what other people are saying. I was very ignorant and very misguided, and I started to make my own mind up. And, you know, I found truth in the Quran for one reason, one reason only. This is where I found the truth in the Quran, where I could say, right, "This is authentic, it's the truth." Hafiz memorization. If someone tries to change the Quran, the Muslim will know.

You ask one Christian to start reciting pages, you know, of the Bible, you know they won't be able to do it. So the love and the passion, the true protectors of the Word of God, through the Hafizs you know, and for me, personally, it was the Hafiz, you know, that give me proof that these people have so much love for this Word, this Book. They'll memorize it and dedicate their life to it, you know? And for me, that was a big, big authenticity. I started to meet other brothers and I started to watch dawah, and then I started to go to learn, go to pray in the masjid and learn to pray. And this was before becoming Muslim. I wanted to like, experience and see, like, you know, I was interested.

You don't have to be Muslim to go into a masjid. Anyone's welcome. You can be a Christian. Anyone's allowed in, it's fine. Alhamdulillah. And I just wanted to go see. I was very nervous the first time I went to the masjid. I was scared. I was nervous because I was afraid that they were not going to accept me. And when I went in there, people come and hug me and kiss my head and they just hug me. They say, "Salaam." Were you hesitant about your looks that they... I was at first with the tattoos because obviously I'd heard that in Islam the tattoos are not allowed. I was thinking, how am I going to be accepted as a Muslim? It's going to be hard for me.

I was thinking the Muslim might make it hard for me, but it was not true at all. Straight away they say "al-Ghafoor, ar-Raheem." Allah (swt) is the most forgiving. It doesn't matter what you do before. If you revert to Islam, you're like newborn baby. You're brand new, clean slate, all sins forgiven. I met a lot of men who was ex drug-dealers, ex criminals, ex murderers, and they'd come out and they repented and turned back to God. And these were born Muslims, and Wallahi, these guys were so passionate to me. I was, you know, I had a big passion. I listened to them through mutual understanding.

You know, in the UK we all come from the same place, a lot of us, and these men who have reformed their lives through Islam, that's what appealed to me as well. I've seen people go through rehabilitation, mental counseling so many times. I've seen people try these forms of rehabilitation, whether it be mental health, whether it be drugs, addiction, none of it works. My personal experience is Islam is the only proven form of rehabilitation that I've seen to change a man, to bring him out of a dark place like that and change him from the heart, genuine. And just fill it with love. And Wallahi, Alhamdulillah. And I'd never seen that before. And these, you know, Mashallah. Mashallah.

I'd never seen that. It impressed me massively. At this time, I'm watching Doctor Zakir Naik. I'm wearing my topi. I've got the jubba on. I'm not even turned into a Muslim yet. I'm listening to Maula Ya Salli Wa Sallim You know, I'm listening to everything, Alhamdulillah. And I say, "Mohsin." He had his son, Zakaria. I said, "I want to do the Shahada, I want to become a Muslim." And then you decided to take Shahada, and then... Take my Shahada I go to... I remember it like yesterday. I go to Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham. I choose Mohsin's son to take the Shahada with me because he loved me like a brother. And like I'm his protege. He's teaching me the things that his dad's teaching him.

He's teaching me about Islam and the Quran. And I love him. He's part of my deen. So I got in there and I swear to God, Wallahi... When I was in the Christian church, when my dad died, after after I'd done all these bad things, and I say they're bad, I tried to repent and like, you know, "Oh, God, help me, put me in a situation where I can get out of this and do some good." And I tried to repent and say confession. I'd gone to confession once, and telling my confessions to some man in a box next to me. And I thought, this is not right. This is not right. I did not feel forgiven by God. I did not feel God. I didn't feel like God answered my prayers. And when I did my Shahada...

ashhadu alla ilaha illallah, wa ashhadu anna muhammadarrasulullah You know, I felt forgiven. I felt solace. When I did that, I felt newborn. I felt rejoice like a newborn baby. Mashallah, Mashallah. And I felt so much love. And all the brothers, you know, they come hug me. But most of all, I truly felt forgiven. And that is what I was searching for. And I felt forgiven where I could start a new slate, where my past is not going to creep up behind me and torture me. You know, torment me, you know. Because Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt), most forgiving, most merciful. How was your family's and your close circle's reaction for your reversion? At first my mom rang me. My sister rang me.

They thought I was going to become a terrorist. She didn't understand it, so, at first she wasn't supportive. Not in a negative way. My sister as well. But now they're all, Wallahi... They're all, like, pushing me, and my mom is saying how proud she is of me and Mashallah that's all I've ever wanted. You don't know how nice it is, like, for your mother to say she's proud of you and your family wants to be with you, you know? So Alhamdulillah, through Islam and the Quran, I've got my family back and my family loves me. How do people react to your tattoos after you became a Muslim? So it's mixed opinions. Now, a lot of people, al-Ghafoor, ar-Raheem, very good perception.

They've got a good understanding of the Quran and the attributes of Allah (swt). Al-hakam is the judge. Nobody can judge. But sometimes when I go to Umrah, you get the aunties... And I go, "Auntie, I'm sorry. Astaghfirullah." You get the uncles and they go... But, you know, some of the aunties and the uncles, they do that, but when I tell them I'm a revert, they go, "Mashallah, Mashallah, Jazakallah khair." I say, "Look, you shouldn't do that though." Because I'm a revert. If it was a born Muslim, who had made a mistake. "Come on," I said. "Al-hakam." Was it difficult for you to give up your old bad habits after becoming a Muslim?

Do you think a person who wants to become a Muslim should not do so unless he or she is willing to give up everything bad in their lives? So, for like, reverts or non-practicing Muslims who was thinking of coming back to the deen, take it baby steps. Don't think about things like this. You know, you'll learn as you go along. You know, you're awarded double for trying. So yes, 100%. And for me personally, a big, big lifestyle change. It took a couple of years. And to adjust to, you know, doing things sunnah. Music. There's a lot of little things. There's a lot of little things, okay? But don't be too hard on yourself, you know, just do it from the intentions.

And slowly by slowly, little by little, you'll get there. There's different levels of Mumin, believer. So it depends where you want to be. Everyone's got a rank. You know, everyone. It can be easy. It can be easy. You can make Salah five times a day and you can go do your thing, and Alhamdulillah you can say, "Oh, I've done loads of good deeds Inshallah I'll go to Jannah." One of my friends told me that you will... None of us are going to Jannah based on good deeds. But Allah (swt)'s mercy. And you know, the more that we fall in love with the Prophet Muhammad (saw), you now, the more better people we become in time. But that comes in time.

So all I will say, even if you have tattoos, Islam is for everybody. It's reserved for the people who need it. It doesn't matter where you're from, no matter what you've done in the past. Even if you're drinking, doing... Just make pray and say Astaghfirullah. And in time, if you really want Jannah, Hereafter, and you're taking it, you know, Islam is not a joke. So when we're making Salah and the more we study the Quran, you will fall in love and you will want to do this for Allah. So don't worry, even if you're drinking, I'm sure slowly Allah will guide us Inshallah. Have you ever experienced an extraordinary event where you felt that you had a special connection with Allah?

Um, one of the extraordinary events was, last year I was very, very alone. I was in Hull City. I'd moved to Hull, and I started going to the mosque in Hull. And then I made a video just saying like, "I'm a Muslim" on TikTok about a year ago now, nine months ago. And then I remember just waking up and getting like 100,000 followers on TikTok, and then it went viral and I felt so much love. My world opened like so much love from the ummah, and I was still afraid that people weren't going to accept me. And you know, and I also wanted to like, try and... I was very passionate about Islam. I wanted to try and show other people as well that Islam is peaceful.

Since I've come online, you know, I had thousands of people blessing me about the tattoos and that just... It just gave me more strength and, you know, more solace in the heart. And since then, I've had over a thousand people mail me saying that they took the Shahada because, you know, because I've made the videos and I've shown them that Islam is peaceful, and then seeing it live and direct, it's helped them. It's helped them. So since I first made that video, over a thousand people across my medias have have messaged me who are non-Muslim, who have took Shahada or have bought the Quran and are studying Islam.

They wanted me to try and teach them, so I've guided them to these revert servers. I want Allah (swt) to save them and if I can have any part to play, to try and be there for them, Inshallah, I'm there. You've been to Umrah many times, but when you went to Umrah for the first time, what was the thing that affected you the most and why? When I went to Masjid Al-Haram. So many people in one area, all races, all colors, every single country. And I knew this was the answer. The people were here for the pilgrimage, for Allah. Not like the Vatican. The people there to see the Pope or ... But they were there for God. These are true pious believers. And it was a cure, an answer for racism.

It's world peace. And that was the big moment for me. Islam is a cure for everything. It's an answer to every problem. It's a guide to life. It's a way of life. I remember my brother Anas, I love him, he's from Dagestan. He used to call me from Mecca, the Swiss Hotel, and start calling me and show me the Kaaba. "This is the Kaaba, I made dua for you. I'm going to perform Umrah for you." I just remember he took me to Medina first. So we did like the Hijra in reverse. We went to the Masjid al-Nabawi but we did our intentions in Medina and then drive all the way. And just that car journey.

I'll never forget that, you know, going to all these places, you know, going to like all the pit stops and stuff and we'd just like, talk about, just telling me how to do the supplications. You know, it was very special, like, that first time I felt like, why me? I was very happy. What was your purpose in your life before Islam? And what is it after Islam? You know what my purpose before Islam was? I didn't have one, didn't have a goal. I didn't know where I was going in life. I didn't even know what to do. When I woke up, I didn't know how to be. I didn't know how to think. I didn't know how to be around people. I'd woke up. I was so lost. I didn't know what to do.

You know, I was very, very, very lost. Very lost. But now, inshallah, I want to slowly get rid of the tattoos. It's going to take time. And I've been traveling, so when I go back to Indonesia, I'm going to be settled. I'll get them lasered. I want to be a hafiz. I want to recite Quran. I want to be an imam one day and I want to give dawah. I want to give dawah with Ali Dawah, with Akhi Ayman. So I'm going to study inshallah. And may I go to Speaker's Corner and give dawah. I want to be a hafiz , I love the Quran.

When I first made TikTok, my brothers, the imams from Saudi, so many places, Iraq, they'd come on my live and they'd recite Quran to me, to make me fall in love with the Quran, to show the beauty, you know. And they'd slowly start reciting to me and I'd fall in love. Surah Yasin, and I started to read all the surahs and Surah Yusuf... And I'd start reading the Quran anyway. But I mean, I start to fall in love with the Quran. That's a different story, you know? Inshallah.