Is culture and knowledge a path to finding the greatness of Quran?
My name is Daniel, from Stockholm and I’m a school principle.
I studied Economics at Stockholm University and Philosophy, History, Religions, and Languages; I speak 8 languages
I converted to Islam 15 years ago
And now I live in Stockholm with my wife
I love reading, especially old books..and the reason for this is that my mother used to work in a library
Other than the Quran and religion books, I like to read historic books, poetry, drama and classics
He fell in love with reading
And the main reason for this was his mother
He was told as a child that Islam is the religion of the poor
So he decided to find out by himself
Daniel was fascinated with beauty, and he found it in Islam
and he converted to Islam
Shaikh Daniel, how was your life before Islam?
And which religion did you believe in?
First of all, I came from the suburbs.
Before Islam you lived in the suburbs?
Yes, yes
I lived in the North of Sweden,
In the suburbs
in a farm
Before Islam I didn’t drink alcohol
and I never ever ate pork either
Why?
This is not because of my religion, and I wasn’t a Muslim!
But it’s because of living in the suburbs!
And my father always told me “Don’t drink alcohol!”
because it’s not good for your brain!
And pork is not good for your heart or your body or health..
living pure
and that’s from God’s mercy on me before Islam..
I was born in a knowledgeable family..
And I was fascinated by Art
In old times, Art was very beautiful
From his reading and his fascination with Art, Daniel noticed that Art is becoming less beautiful..
I found beauty in nature
In everything that God created..
In our bodies and faces, there’s beauty
How did this research convince you with Islam? and how did you reach Islam?
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) said “Allah is beautiful and he loves beauty.”
And this Hadith affected me very much.
because I understood that beauty i from Allah
When humans forget Allah, beauty fades away..
In our modern time, beauty has vanished..
How did it get you to Islam?
At the critical moment when I realized that there’s creatures then there must be a creator.
Daniel is a perfect example of the smart, hardworking Muslim youth
I hope that he becomes a role model for Muslim youth
He is a very hard worker..and you can find that he can speak many languages..he can speak about 9 languages.
amongst them, Arabic.
and about 7 of these languages he learned at Stockholm university
All of them certified by Stockholm University.
Like French, German, Russian, Arabic and English..all of them are very important languages
And he’s very humble, kind and friendly; loves people and people love him
I walked into the library and bought a translated Quran
And that was the first time I read the Quran
In some cases, people fall to the ground from the power of its words and the greatness in its Ayas..
And Allah said “We will give you some very heavy words.”
meaning the effect will be very powerful.
The prophet Mohamed (PBUH) told us a story in Al Bukhari which supports what you just said, the prophet was reading Ayas from the end of Surat Al Najm
And the nonbelievers were listening to these Ayas from the prophet (PBUH)
And he was reading “Would you then marvel at this speech (of Allah and question its truthfulness)?”
“And would you laugh (in scorn), and not weep (as you should)?”
“While you are wasting your time in vanities?”
Rather prostrate yourselves before Allah, and worship (Him before it is too late)!”
so the prophet Mohamed (PBUH) bowed to the ground
and the Muslims followed
and from the greatness of these Ayat, the nonbelievers followed them and bowed
and Abu Jahl was amongst them
And Ibn Abbas says in Al Bukhari, humans and jinn bowed from the greatness of these Ayas
It was a great shame for the nonbelievers to bow!
Their bodies believe but their tongues don’t
And he became closer to Islam..and decided to say the Shahada
after a long time from reading and researching
From all the new coverts I’ve met, they tell me that it is the most important moment of their life
When we said “I believe in one God and that Mohamed is his messenger.”
When Allah changed my life from one state to another.
How was that moment? and how did it feel for our brother Daniel?
Of course I was very happy at that moment..
but it wasn’t the most important moment in my life..
I’ve been searching for the truth for a very long time
And the Shahada was a new beginning..
and the end of my search for the truth! because Islam is the truth
And I always felt that I must read the whole Quran before I become a Muslim
You felt this!! you believed that you must read the whole Quran!!
And that wasn’t because of my knowledge but rather lack of knowledge before Islam!
And he read the whole Quran before he converted to Islam!
Then he headed to the biggest mosque in Stockholm which is called Shaikh Zayed mosque
To announce his Shahada there.
How did you say the Shahada? I said “Ashadu an la ilah ill Allah, w an Mohamed rasool Allah.”
How did you say the Shahada? I said “Ashadu an la ilah ill Allah, w an Mohamed rasool Allah.”
After God guided you to Islam, you went to tell your parents
tell me about their reaction towards the news
it was very difficult for me to tell them..
because it is like a story in the Quran..
The story of Moses, when he went back to the pharaoh and he said “Didn’t we raise you among us? and you’ve lived with us for years?”
“And you did what you’ve done and you became a non believer!”
The Pharaoh who was one of the biggest non believers of Allah told Moses that he was a non believer!
This is amazing! It’s the saying of the Pharaoh!
When he said “didn’t we raise you since you were born!”
A brilliant connection between the story of our brother Daniel and the story in Surat Al Shu’ara’
When he said “Didn’t we raise you as a child?” like what you parents told you!
“didn’t we raise you as a child and you’ve stayed with us for years?”
“and you’ve done what you’ve done and become a non believer!”
I pray God for you to keep you strong and help you in your faith! and I believe with all my heart that you’ll be of great benefit to the book of Allah!
After his conversion, our brother Daniel has become a teacher in an Islamic school!
and he made sure of this!
Then he became a counselor then the head of teachers, and now he’s the head of a lot of Islamic schools in Sweden
I was speaking with him and he promised to take me on a tour to the schools
Even though today is a holiday for schools he promised he’d take me on a tour
Let’s go
We took a trip to the schools so I could see the great role Daniel plays for the community in Sweden..
And I was very happy with everything he’s done!
He asked for this job!
And his cover letter was what Joseph said to the king “Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian.”
he said that he’d be a guardian and knowledgable so I liked him!
You’ve been Muslim for 15 years, and you chose the greatest career which is teaching!
How do you find teaching?!
Allah said in the Quran “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.”
And when the students see that I’m Swedish and I converted to Islam..this is Da’wa!
If we wanted to change the future and the status of Muslims in the world, we must start with the children and education!
This is the start and where we should begin!
And Allah said also “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron.”
We would like to show you this room for a simple reason
Here we teach how to use resources and how to cook
They cook here, and we have 12 cookers here
Here they wash the laundry
Washes the laundry, dries it, irons it and places the dirty laundry here
This room is for teaching children how to be a carpenter
Every child gets a safe
his safe
Every thing he makes he puts in the safe
If he wants to take it home he can, if he wants to display it in the school he can
Anything they make in specific?
Yes, there’s a curriculum
Every child knows how to fix a broken chair in his house if it breaks
We also teach them sewing and how to fix there clothes
We’ve seen cooking, carpentry, computer skills and now sewing
All of this is based on a curriculum for teaching
and we start from the third grade
Here with sewing?
Yes here. From the third grade until the ninth grade
We took a tour in this school, and we saw the practical curriculum
The students learn carpentry, sewing, computer skills..they make things with their own hands
What is the goal behind this?
We need a complete human who can work with his mind and his hands also
And we want him to have all the resources and abilities
In everything in his life! Yes!
And even cooking! I was impressed by the cooking part!
A student who can cook!! And reach an age where he can actually cook!!
This is important!
Yes! maybe one day he’ll study abroad!
And he’ll be alone without his mother..
I was impressed by how Daniel cares about the Muslims in Sweden!
And he didn’t only care about education but he established the first Islamic bank in Sweden
It is beautiful to see what Daniel sees in the Quran! and his great attitude makes you feel like he’s applying everything said in the Quran
Do then depend on Allah
The action is very important!
And you must always do and with dedication!