YouSaid · the spoken record

Omar Suleiman

lines on the record: 194
first: 2023-01-17
most recent: 2023-01-17
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“She was very supportive. Obviously, there was a moment of shock. I'm like, kids were like, wait, what? And I said, look, remember what we talked about this morning We can't be indifferent to the stuff. We still go back and revisit that day. It's crazy how it was all falling into place. It's not an accident, right? I dropped them off at home and I started to drive to Colleyville. Called the Irving Police Department and I asked them to call the Colleyville Police Department so that they could kind of know that I'm coming down there. I called some of the faith leaders in the community to see if they could put me in touch with those on the ground so that I wouldn't get shot when I showed up there.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“For us, and a lot of discussion, deep discussion we're having as a family. And then some of our community groups, we get this message that there is a synagogue that's been taken hostage. A rabbi and his congregation taken as hostages and go to this Facebook link and it was the feed of the synagogue and you could hear the gunmen shouting. And it became apparent very early on that it was a man that was claiming to be Muslim, that was holding them hostage. Now all these synagogue massacres, all these places of worship were not attacked by Muslims, right? This is A different type of situation, but. My first instinct was. Like all that happened this morning was not random? So I told my wife, and I told my kids I'm going to go down there. It's a collieville.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The Collieville synagogue situation, it's kind of surreal that we're coming up on a year of that. I'll actually tell you exactly what happened that morning. I was out with the family. That morning, I kid you not that very morning I was telling my kids the story of Muhammad Ali talking that man out of committing suicide off the roof and I showed them the YouTube video my wife pulled it up on her phone kids were sitting in the back seat We talked about that that video and talked about that importance of helping people. We also went to visit a loved one in the cemetery that day and we went to breakfast. So we're out as a family that day, right? And there's a lot of meaning that's sort of coming together.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To the world around them, but I think that we can never do enough of holding ourselves accountable to the message that we hold dear to our hearts and trying to be the best representatives of that message and of that messenger to the world around us.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Now that does not excuse bigotry, that doesn't excuse the prejudice against Muslims, but it's important for us to sort of take it as a responsibility as Muslims to channel our faith in the most beautiful of ways. God describes faith in the Quran and the chapter of Abraham Peace be upon him as a tree with firm foundations, the firm foundation being the testimony of faith, the oneness of God, so the tree of monotheism with firm foundations, and then branches high in the sky, providing shade to everything and everyone around you, and producing fruit at all times, the tree of faith of a Muslim is not seasonal, so you should be producing with your faith at all times good works and things that people can actually experience, and I think that Muslims have historically contributed to the world around them. And I think that Muslims today are still contributing.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But on a deeply personal level, You know, it's important for us to be representatives of the Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him in a way that makes Islamophobia impossible. I tell people this, it's very hard. You mentioned the United States of Hate, the documentary and the one man, the protester who met me and sort of changed his worldview. It's very hard for people to believe what they hear about Islam if they see you live it.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think what that means is that we have a responsibility to Teach and live our faith in the most beautiful of ways. Its values and ideals are not just expressed by you but experienced by everyone around you. And so what I often teach my community is that look if a Muslim is in the area, what are they? What are your neighbors experiencing of you? What are people experiencing of you? You know, there's statistics to Muslims being the most charitable communities in America where a community of great service, a community of volunteering, a community that greatly enriches the world around us. I think that oftentimes people forget the history of Muslims being at the forefront of contributing in the areas of medicine and science and all sorts of ways education, really changing the world through their commitment to faith.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Through that deprivation, and it's actually the point, you know, it all ties back together when you talk about even tests and trials, that God does not deprive us of anything except that he gives us something greater in return. And you do not deprive yourself of anything for the sake of God except that he gives you something greater in return. And so fasting is an exercise and patience that unlocks an infinite sense of gratitude and a greater connection to God.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, as Ramadan goes on, your acts of worship increase. So in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, there is an intense period of prayer throughout the night. So every night in Ramadan, we have something called the Tarawiha prayers. The Tarawihah prayers are about an hour, hour and a half of prayer outside of the five daily prayers. So the mosques are packed every night in Ramadan. The last 10 nights of Ramadan, people will engage in prayer throughout the entire night. So the only sleep that you're probably getting is actually a couple of hours in the morning before you go to work. So everything sort of puts together the disruption of schedule, the disruption of diet, the physically exerting yourself. But the way you feel Is unmatched. I mean, you feel so fulfilled.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You probably can't wait for this month to be over, but in reality, you talk to Muslims, their favorite time of the year is Ramadan. You feel amazing. You feel absolutely incredible because you taste a different type of consumption. You feed your soul for a change. And in that process, you connect with God in a way that you simply could not without the distractions of the day-to-day throughout the year. Now, it's good that it's one month of the year because it's honestly physically taxing, right? So it gives you a chance to experience it for that one month, but then you're encouraged to fast a few days of the year as well outside of the month of Ramadan to keep that connection.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Take sips of water, we eat what we can, we snack. When you're abstaining from that, you become so much more grateful for that sip of water, so much more grateful for that bite of food, so much more aware of the one who provided those blessings to you, so much more aware of those that don't have the same access to those blessings that you have. So you also develop sense of empathy for the poor that don't have access to those blessings on a regular basis, that can't help but fast. And on top of that again, spiritually you are engaged in extra reading at that time people are listening to more lectures. People are engaged in extra acts of devotion, extra acts of charity. Muslims are most charitable in the month of Ramadan. So you just feel great. And it's hard to explain to someone that doesn't do it because it sounds like torture to people, right? What in the world are you doing four o'clock on a hot Texas day, not eating or drinking? You're probably dehydrated and cranky. Have a caffeine headache.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So instead of being focused on consumption, constant consumption, you are consuming words of remembrance, words of prayer, you're to be hyper conscious of not doing anything that would spiritually validate your fast, just as you would physically. So just like you won't eat or drink, you certainly won't engage in sin, though you shouldn't engage in sins throughout the year, but you're not going to speak words of evil. You're not going to gossip or slander. You try to fast with your eyes, not look at things that are not praiseworthy. So you try to engage in a wholesome act of disciplining yourself with a consciousness of God. But then channel that into engaging the soul instead, exercising the soul instead. And what you'll find with Muslims and this act of God consciousness, where they reduce the consumption, is they become far more grateful for the blessings of God because throughout our lives we just”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Period and no intimacy as well. So you would abstain from intimacy with your spouse as well in that time. No food or water, no bread, no nothing. You don't eat or drink even if you live in Texas where you get these long hot days in the summer. And of course, Islam is on a lunar calendar, so it moves every year, about 10 days earlier. During that time ye restrict the intake to the body so that you can focus on the intake of the soul.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“of God. That's the first pillar. It's the actual testimony entering into Islam. Then it's the five daily prayers, practicing the five daily prayers at least as a bare minimum obligation, the mandatory charity, which is called the Zakat that Muslims have to give at least 2.5% of their retained earnings to specific categories of charity, then it is the fasting of the month of Ramadan, the mandatory fasting of the month of Ramadan. And then it's the Hajj if you can do so, the pilgrimage if you can do so once in your lifetime. So those are the five pillars of Islam. So Ramadan is a month in which Muslims engage in this incredible spiritual boot camp. Now, fasting can mean different things to different people. When we fast, we fast from before sunrise to sunset for an entire month, and there is no food or water.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Creed of Islam. So belief in God, belief in the angels, belief in the messages, belief in the messengers, belief in the day of judgment, and belief in divine decree. So these are the six articles of faith. Belief in God, belief in the angels, belief in the messages being the scriptures, belief in the messengers being the prophets, belief in the day of judgment and belief in divine decree. That's what you have to believe to be a Muslim. You have to believe in those six things, right? And then you go to the pillars of faith, the five pillars of faith are sort of, or they make up the structure of those articles of faith, the practice of the Muslim. So to be a Muslim, you testify that there's only one God worthy of worship and unconditional obedience, and then you testify that Muhammad is the final messenger.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Solom has, I think it'd be good to maybe lay this out for people, the articles of faith in the pillars of Islam. So the articles of faith, or six articles of faith, and this kind of lays the foundation for.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The first 13 years of that was primarily belief in God, belief in the hereafter, and things that surrounded the core creed of Islam, and then legislation, law, stories of the prophets came down in accordance with the unfolding events, as well as prophesying some of the things that were to come and speaking about some of the things that just happened. And it is completed in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon it memorized and then communicated to generation after generation after generation so that we have it in its pristine fashions.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There are Muslims around the world that are named Isa, that are named Jesus. There are Muslims around the world that are named Ibrahim, Abraham. Muslims around the world named Musa. And they learned of these figures through the revelation that came to the Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him. Noah, Mariam, one of the most popular names in Islam, Mary. Peace be upon her. Whole chapter in the Quran named after Mariam, which is actually what I was reciting in the prayer was the chapter of Mariam, the chapter of the story of Mary. Peace be upon her. So the Quran contains the stories it contains. Legislation and law, but primarily it was revealed over twenty three years, so it actually was coming in accordance with some of the events that were unfolding in the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It confirms what came before it, but it's the document and preserved word of God to be recited throughout time. So it confirms much of what came before it. And it resides amongst us and within us for the rest of time. And through it, we honor those revelations that came through the prophets of old because the essence, the core of what came through those revelations is preserved in the Quran and with us. I tell people this all the time, that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, introduced Jesus, peace be upon him, and even Moses, peace be upon him to much of the world.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“However, there's still some truth that remains even in those scriptures. And so there are still things that line up, especially with the Old Testament and Islam. There are still many things that line up between the two. The Bible as well, the New Testament. Now, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it's different because these are not original scriptures. These are testimonies that were obviously collected around the entire phenomenon of the coming of Christ, but the authors themselves, the biographies, the documentation, even of those original testimonies and gospels, what made the cut in terms of being included within the Gospels and what didn't, because there were many Gospels at the time in that sense, is different from what we believe was scripture communicated to Jesus. Peace be upon him. The Quran is different in several ways, but”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, like I said, so you've got the original revelations of those scriptures, but there are so many versions of those scriptures, and there are times throughout history where there have been changes just from an objective perspective What is the original scripture that was given to Moses? Peace be upon him. And what was initially communicated to Jesus, peace be upon him. Those things have changed over time.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And so when I'm reciting the Quran, if I say or e or a differently, an Ethiopian Muslim, a Chinese Muslim, a Yemeni Muslim can correct me, an eight-year-old kid in any one of those countries can correct me because they will know that this is not how it's memorized. And so it was memorized from the start committed to memory in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and preserved in writing and passed down and memorized by millions and millions of people around the world. And it's 600 pages. You can't go to a city in America, a city in the United States of America, and not find at least one person or a group of people that memorize it, that have committed it to memory. And so there's an emphasis on committing it to memory, as well as understanding it and applying it and practicing it as much as we can.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The Quran, and this is what distinguishes the Quran in many ways from other scriptures. So as Muslims, we do believe that God has sent divine revelation prior. We believe that the original scriptures, prior to the multiple versions and the changes and revisions throughout history, the original scriptures that were given to the prophets, whether it was the Torah to Moses or the Gospels were all original divine revelations, but they have been changed over time. The Quran is the word of God with a promise that he will guard it for all of time. And it's probably one of the greatest miracles because in 1400 years we have the Quran preserved through oral transmission and through written transmission. And there are almost 2 billion Muslims in the world. And they all recite this book the exact same way. And there's only one version of it.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“complete guidebook through his example where we have the Quran which is the word of God and then you have the biography of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him which is a living manifestation of that word that has been documented for us to live by until the end of time”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A difference. Someone will say, well, Noah did this and David did this. As Muslims, we don't believe, we don't hold many of the stories that have been attributed to these prophets to be true. We don't believe that the prophets are capable of major sins. We believe they're exemplary human beings and that they kind of give us a manifestation of the scriptures that they were sent with of how to live noble lives. And the most documented human being in history is the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. We know everything about him, his family life, his day-to-day, the way he would greet you, the way he'd look at you, everything about his physical appearance. It's documented in immaculate detail. And Muslims have a standard that they then seek to live up to with how to treat your family, how to be in your community, how to be in your worship, how to be in your social interactions, how to carry yourself with your neighbors. It's a full...”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And that God has sent messages and scriptures to ultimately guide people back towards him, and that all of the prophets are equal in the sight of God there is no distinction between them, and that we are to live our lives in accordance with the message as best manifested by the messenger. And so the prophets are exemplary human beings. And this is where we kind of sometimes maybe have.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The message and the mission of all of those prophets, and it fits perfectly into a singular string of thought where you don't have to reject Jesus peace be upon him, but Islam also astonishes the idea of a trinity, the idea of a begotten son of God, that all of the conceptions of the Messiah, and there were many claimants of the Messiah prior to Christ, peace be upon him. None of them included an idea of Trinity or of him actually being a part of God himself, a begotten Son of God, but rather a great and mighty prophet that would restore glory on earth. So he really captures theologically, or rather we would say God captures through him theologically, a coherence and a unifying message of all of the prophets, that there is only one God.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Way that this is still, you know, he's born in the sixth century, there is still great debate about who Jesus was, the council of Nicaea happens in the fourth century, where you kind of have a standardizing of Western Christianity, but then you have Eastern Christians that are still maintaining very different theologies and very different conceptions of Christ. There is no Arabic Bible at the time. And he kind of brings together”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Professor at an Ivy League university and you know a person who maybe even illiterate this idea of one God that sent many prophets and all of the prophets had a singular message worship one God and respond to the messages of that one God through his messengers so Adam through Muhammad you have many of the prophets that are mentioned in the Old Testament Moses peace be upon him being the most spoken about prophet in the Quran in fact Abraham Jesus peace be upon him many of these prophets that are familiar to people all of them are considered prophets and Islam the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon and being the last of them he comes at a time where there was still a lot of confusion about what the world had just encountered in Christ and Jesus Christ peace be upon him so you got to think about it this way”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the descendant of Abraham peace be upon him through Ishmael. God promises Hagar and Ishmael that he will make of him a great nation. And so there are prophets that are descended from Isaac and then from the brothers of Isaac comes the prophet Muhammad. And he is the final prophet of a long line of prophets. And we do not distinguish between the prophets in regards to their role. And so Islam has a very accessible theology. It's something that resonates with”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely. So it's part of our tradition that when we say the name of a prophet, at least the first time in the conversation, we say peace be upon him. And then afterwards, it's still praiseworthy to say peace be upon him. So if you're reading an Islamic article and you see in parentheses PBUH, peace be unto him, or peace be upon him. When I was in high school, I often tell this story. I wrote an article about Jesus, peace be upon him in Islam and Christianity. And my teacher comes up to me and she says, you can't do that. And I said, what? And she like slams the paper on the desk. She says, you can't say Jesus. And I said, no, no. PBUH, peace be upon him. So that's what it means, and something that we reserve for the prophets of God, and we honor them with.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That God keeps them grounded and protected, and together, and that they maintain that beautiful spirit. Because even if you just watch the lead up of the last fight with Islam, just the way they carry themselves, their day-to-day, you know, they never relinquish their prayers. They never relinquish their family ties, the things that make them who they are to be better fighters because they don't see that they have to let go of those things. In fact, they attribute all of their worldly success to that faith. And so a beautiful example. And I think that it's good for young Muslims to see themselves in that and it's good for other people to see Islam through that as well.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, not at all. And that's actually, I think, the most beautiful part when I met him. I found him to be as humble as he is on screen. And that's always very endearing. And all of the stories of the people that have been around him for a much longer time. Very humble man. I pray for him. Honestly, I pray for Islam. I pray for that family.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And look how everyone around Habib talks about him, right? No one ever says he's a jerk. No one ever says he's mistreated them. They've all got stories, right? And that's what a beautiful Muslim does, a beautiful human being. You treat the people in such a way that all these stories come out later of how good you were to everyone that came into contact with you. And Habib was that person. He is that person. He does a great job of treating people a lot of respect. Obviously, no one is perfect, right? I mean, imperfections are for everybody, but. I definitely think that he did a beautiful job representing his faith in those moments beyond punching people in the face. That's kind of a different subject, smashing faces. Not the smashing faces part. The prostration part and the humility.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Whole Moroccan team beautifully prostrates, even when they lost, they prostrated out of gratitude, they honored their mothers. So I think sometimes athletes are able to demonstrate some of these beautiful values of Islam in a way that the world can maybe see them in a different light.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Know there is a lot of Islamophobia in this recent World Cup episode. You know, a lot of the criticism of Qatar while no government is beyond reproach, certainly no government is beyond reproach, but had very obvious blatant Islamophobic undertones. And then with Morocco rising being the first African Muslim Arab team to get that far in the World Cup, what did you see beyond the consistent honoring of Palestine? You also saw the honoring of the mothers every single time the game would end. They go into a prostration of gratitude. So just like we prostrate in prayer, a prostration of gratitude. And then they go and they kiss their mother's foreheads, dance with their mothers on the field, hug their moms, and honor their moms. That's Islam for you. Habib, after his fight, what does he do? He prostrates, he points up to the heavens. It's God, and then he prostrates.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Consistence, principled, you know, attachment to his religion. It really is inspiring. Grown up, we had Hakimalajwan in the 1990s, basketball who was fasting in the NBA. I think Habib is that for a lot of people, a lot of young people today and people in general. And I think beyond that, the values, how he honored his father and how he honors his mother, and how he continues to put family first. That's a beautiful part of Islam. That's a beautiful part of our value system. We have a lot of emphasis on family. Family is central to Islam, and his honoring of his father was so beautiful. And again, what he's willing to do for his mother, you know, it's just so beautiful. And I think that we saw it, frankly, even with Morocco and the World Cup.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think Habib. First of all, he is a great person, you know, humble person. He's shown, and now Islam as well, kind of following in that. They're really showing the beauty of faith in their lives, their culture, their values. Everything from the way that he carried himself in a principled way. You know, like every Muslim kid grew up in a public school cafeteria before Islamic schools were a thing in the United States, not eating pork, for example, and kind of being the odd person out. So when you got a fighter in the UFC scene and doesn't drink alcohol, kind of maintains like a very...”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And everyone had come out to wave to him. And so he's running around jogging and waving to everybody in the streets of Louisville, Kentucky. Then he gets to the cemetery and he says he flies into the heavens. So his dream, and he had this dream years ago, I mean, if you look at his funeral, it's such a beautiful... You can't make it up. It's such a beautiful moment where it seems to come to reality because everybody in Louisville just comes out and just waves by, says Casket. And then when he gets to the cemetery, the gates close and he goes off to be with his Lord. And we pray that it's a good place for him.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely. And that's the thing, right? It was so obvious that despite everything that had happened to him. He never loses himself, neither to the fame nor to the fear. He always Stays himself. He's authentic. You know, when I went to his funeral and it was one of the most beautiful things that ever seen because everyone in Louisville, Kentucky had a story with Muhammad Ali, right? The guy that he saves from committing suicide, the school kids, the hotel shuttle driver, the gas station worker, everyone has a story of Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. And when he When he passes away, everybody comes out and stands in front of their homes and they take the casket and they drive around the streets of Louisville. And he had this dream. I'm very close to some of his children, incredible people, by the way, just incredible human beings. And he had this dream that he shared with them that he was jogging around the streets of Louisville, Kentucky.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And chooses to live a life of giving, a life of service, a life of using his platform. Bring up issues of importance and to champion the rights of others. So he wasn't satisfied at any point in his life with simply being a boxing great, a boxing champion. He uses it for so much more. And so he goes down as one of the most famous Americans period of the 20th century, one of the most transformative Americans period of the 20th century, not just American Muslims. And a lot of people that loved him when he died would not have loved him if they were around in the 1960s and the 1970s. You know, they said they loved him when he couldn't speak anymore. You know, many of those who celebrated him at the time of his death would have been his greatest opponents at the peak of his career, and when he was taking the stands that he was taking.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think Muhammad Ali, his quotes on Islam are precious because he talks about how he sought the wealth of this world and he found it in Islam. He found a greater meaning and he attributes everything that he became to his faith, his sense of strength and commitment, the willingness to take a stand for the truth. When it was extremely unpopular. On the basis of his faith and on the basis of his integrity, I think that he inspired people with his confidence and that His coherence. I mean, he was incredibly eloquent. I mean, poetic. Just unwavering seemed unbreakable, so as relentless as he was in the ring, he was even more so outside of the ring. The man could not be broken. And everything was stacked up against them, but he perseveres, and he does so then through Parkinson's.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of Malcolm X, and see hope for themselves to come out of the darkness of being imprisoned not just by the bars in front of them, but also by what they thought to be their own worth prior to that moment. And so Malcolm climbs out of that, and he goes through multiple phases. So Malcolm dies as an Orthodox Muslim who does not believe in the superiority of one race over the other finds great tranquility in the practice of the Hajj, great clarity. And I think you read his letters from Mecca and he talks about his change, his transformation in particular. And it was a process. It's a process for him. But he inspires the likes of Muhammad Ali to become the person that he becomes. Many other people till today to really see themselves and see the world differently in light of that understanding of monotheism.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think reading his autobiography is. Extremely important for anyone that wants to understand him, right? So you read him in his own words. Malcolm lived the tragedy of being a young, disenfranchised black man in America who went through all of the difficulties that were posed in a nineteen fifties America towards him. I mean, he went through the system and it was awful for him and he had to pull himself out of that and make himself into an incredible orator, an incredible leader that suddenly had a pretty empowering vision and a calm and nonetheless courageous, but a calm presence. Black people in America, to believe in themselves. Young men in America and prisons in particular will read the autobiography.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Vision of just beauty when you see people in unison standing, bowing, prostrating, and you don't know who the person next to you is. And that's where Malcolm X, you read about the history of Malcolm X when he went a hajj. That's where his entire worldview shifts. Not just his previous baggage, but The dream that he then had, the possibilities that he saw for people to be able to overcome some of the false distinctions that we have, race and class. And to see God as one and to come together. And worship him alone and also seeing each other equal participants in that worship.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We do seven rounds between Safa and Marwa, the two mountains, where Hagar, when she once ran between those two mountains, Between the two mountains of Safa and Marwa to express that trust in God and to follow in that way. And these are ultimately, these are the rituals that Abraham himself engaged in, in our tradition and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, engaged in. And so we engage in the exact same rituals. And there are divine wisdoms to them that we may not even be able to unpack and reflect upon. But it really is in that place where you find the most beautiful global expression of Islam. You see people from all over the world, people that don't speak the same languages, people from all sorts of backgrounds, and they're all doing the exact same thing. And in a matter of seconds, when the call of prayer comes, in a matter of seconds, two, three million people get arranged in perfect rows for prayer, right? And it just looks like this perfect optical, you know.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Iteration of the pilgrimage in And it's an incredible practice. It really is a place where You feel like you're no longer in this world. I mean, it's incredible. So we all go there, donning what's known as the Haram garb so the men will wear just these white garments, which are resembling, or they resemble the garments that we will be buried in. And whether you're a king or a prince or a peasant in classical terms, whoever you are, whatever distinction you have, you're all the same and the women will wear a simple garment as well. So you go there, you relinquish all of the pretensions and concerns and superficial barriers and distinctions that exist in this life. And we do what's called the waf circle around the Kaaba symbolically putting God at the center of our lives.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Give a miracle to Hagar and Ishmael, that they can sustain themselves from, as they're not left in the desert, so Ishmael being the firstborn son of Abraham is given a place, and there is a story and a history that's going to unfold from that place of Mecca. And then Isaac is born, peace be upon him thirteen years later, and there is a story and a history that comes from that. But ultimately, Mecca is the center. Mecca is where we turn towards. For prayer, Mecca is where we perform the pilgrimage, the Hajj pilgrimage once in our lives at least if we can, physically and financially, if we find ourselves capable, we at least perform the Hajj pilgrimage once in our lifetimes. But there are other pilgrimages throughout the year. You can go at any time of the day, anytime of the year. You will find people that will be performing the pilgrimage.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So Mecca is our Qibla. It's our place of direction. When we are alive and when we are dead. So actually we pray facing towards it when we die. We are also faced towards it in our graves. And it kind of gives us that unifying spirit. So this is the valley of Bekkah also in the Bible spoken about the value of Bekkah and where other biblical scholars would also mention Mount Peran. And it is the place that Adam in the Quran, Adam, peace be upon him first had a place constructed there as a place of worship. from the angels towards God, and then when Abraham settles, Hagar and Ishmael in Mecca. They build this house of worship, and that is where the gushing springs of Zemzum are mentioned, where God sends an angel to the”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So Mecca is the home that Abraham, peace be upon him, built along with his son Ishmael, peace be upon him And it gives the Muslims a unified direction of prayer. It's sort of at the center geographically of who we are. And when we pray towards it, It's not that that's the only place that you can supplicate turn towards, but it gives us a unified sense of direction. It gives us a unified sense of prayer.”
2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source