With the power of A.I. how can you verify your loved ones are alive?

Sarah Jeong from The Verge:

The persistent cry of “Fake News!” from Trumpist quarters presaged the beginning of this era of unmitigated bullshit, in which the impact of the truth will be deadened by the firehose of lies. The next Abu Ghraib will be buried under a sea of AI-generated war crime snuff. The next George Floyd will go unnoticed and unvindicated….

We briefly lived in an era in which the photograph was a shortcut to reality, to knowing things, to having a smoking gun. It was an extraordinarily useful tool for navigating the world around us. We are now leaping headfirst into a future in which reality is simply less knowable. The lost Library of Alexandria could have fit onto the microSD card in my Nintendo Switch, and yet the cutting edge of technology is a handheld telephone that spews lies as a fun little bonus feature. 

Having AI to alter photos is great for when you take a family photo so you can remove some inappropriately dressed people in the background.

Like all new technologies though, the most obvious danger that Sarah alludes to is using AI to start new wars, cause mass distrust from people, and just the overall mass speculation of society about anything.

Who can you trust, when any image can be created and altered to your narrative?

Here are some sample photos from the article, in order to avoid looking at some of the impermissible ones:

Could AI be the next thing that brings back old-school lifestyles, where people will cherish having the in-person experience, versus assuming a video or a person they are talking to is a real individual?

Will we reach a point where actually traveling to meet your loved ones will be the only way we can verify their existence?

With how false chatGPT can be in giving you answers about Islam, will you trust any AI source with your religion?

There are just so many questions that need to be answered, but no one can deny that living the experience will be something people will cherish more than anything.

Having a mufti that you study under will be more valuable than a remote experience.

Visiting family will be a reassurance that yes, they do still exist, and they are alive!

The wonders of technology will make us once again “regress” to old ways of in-person experiences, and perhaps to a certain degree, that may be a good thing.

The path to that point however, might not be so easy.

Less than 1 percent of what you say can change people’s lives forever…

Last weekend, I was driving and watching a YouTube video, and I got a notification from my substack app. I don’t remember exactly what the notification was, but all I remember was that the notification banner mentioned something about...istighfar.

I realized at that point that while I am alone in the car, with no one to talk to, now would be a good time to talk to Allah and ask for forgiveness. Surely you can never ask for too much forgiveness, since we are perpetual sinners!

It also reminded me of the blessings of istighfar, one of them being that it will increase your wealth. That is exactly what the people of Nuh (AS) were told, that forgiveness will give you abundance:

I said to them: “Ask forgiveness from your Lord; surely He is Most Forgiving. He will shower you with abundant rain, and will provide you with wealth and children, and will bestow upon you gardens and rivers.”

Surah Nuh (71:10-12)

Subhan Allah, look at what forgiveness can bring your way!

All these thoughts were going through my head, all from just a quick banner notification that I dismissed so quickly so I could continue to watch YouTube.

Even though I dismissed the notification as fast as I could, I saw the notification long enough that it made me pause the video, take a few minutes to be as genuine as I can about my sins and ask Allah for forgiveness, and then continue with my day.

I am not even sure who wrote the substack post because I can’t even find it 🙃, but it just shows us that as long as we have a sincere intention to please Allah and to bring people closer to Allah, we can get rewarded for those small actions.

This person who wrote this post got good deeds from JUST the notification sent to my phone, without me even reading the article in detail, and allowed me to write my own post about istighfar and its benefits!

Most of what we say online, or even to our families, may be dismissed and not even seen by most people, but there might just be that 0.5% of what you say that touches someone a certain way, and that causes them to make a small change in their life or just reflect and connect with Allah for a few minutes.

Those are the moments that will matter at the end of the day, because if we have helped someone come closer to Allah even for just a few moments, Allah will take note of that.

If Allah has liked what you have done, it doesn't matter what kind of engagement your post gets, because the one who can change your life has already liked what you have done!

The like of all likes!

You’re not wasting time if you’re doing stuff with your kids.

Yesterday, I had a plan.

I was going to workout after work, no matter what.

I just had to.

It has been a few days and I knew I needed the workout.

Did I want to do it? Of course not.

But it has to be done.

After Asr prayer, it’s time to hit the “home gym.”

I got back home later than usual from work, and the next thing I know, my driveway has turned into a giant bike repair shop.

My 7 year old’s training wheels weren’t working properly, so I had to fix them.

My 12 year old’s bike handles were loose and swinging up and down which should not be happening, but we were able to tighten them up with a simple Allen wrench.

My 10 year old didn’t have any serious issues with his bike. Yeah, his rear brakes are completely shot, but his front brakes worked well enough to compensate. It’s not like he’s running the Tour de France anyway.

Anyway, he wanted to put on new brakes for his rear wheel, and he got me involved in this project. I thought this would be a good father and son time, fixing things together, and it was.

Did it take exceptionally longer than expected?

Of course it did.

There were moments where I just wanted to stop and tell him to just forget about it right now, but I wanted to show my son that quitting isn’t an option, especially when it is something that is achievable. We kept on pushing and running into roadblocks trying to find the right balance between the brake spacers and the length of the brake wire, but after what seemed like a few hours, we finally figured it out.

There were moments where my son had to hold onto the brakes at a certain angle while I tightened the bolts, but his grip was not strong enough to keep the brakes in place and we would have to keep making adjustments. I could see the expression on his face, that expression of wanting to accomplish the goal, but also not wanting to disappoint his father who has told him several times to hold the brakes in place.

Seeing that expression on his face just made me calm down a few notches, and gave him more encouragement to keep pushing and having him feel that sense of accomplishment after we finally solved the problem.

It was great teamwork from the both of us to finally get the brakes on correctly, and he had a test drive to confirm it was a success.

We both had a nice bonding moment, just working together and fixing the bike.

Was it a waste of time? Of course not, because I was hanging out with my son, and I was able to help my daughters have a good time riding their bikes in this nice fall weather.

After all was said and done, it was Maghrib time, and I just didn’t feel like working out. I was exhausted from my 9-5 (or 8-4 in my case), and I just hustled out 40 pushups so I can say that I at least did some physical activity.

Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them, but you can always turn a chore into a learning and bonding session with your kids.

Lessons learned:

1. Don’t give up when it comes to things that are actually achievable. Struggling is a part of life, and will eventually lead to success.

2. Don’t always assume a new project will be over quickly. Always budget extra time.

3. Be patient with your children. They look up to you and want to please you, so don’t let your anger ruin those special moments and turn them into regretful memories.

4. If you can’t do a full workout, do something quick and fast to get some physical activity in for the day.

Reaching the delegation point in your family life.

You need to prepare for your kids Islamic lesson, but you also need to buy groceries.

What do you do??

You do both, at the same time.

Use the power of delegation, especially for eager kids who want to do the shopping for you.

I was able to prepare our family lecture, while the kids made the shopping list (which I had to approve of course), and the 7 and 10 yr old went together through the store on their own and got the items on the list. My son gave me a report of what he was not able to get because of height limitations on his part 😁.

It was also an act of discipline for me because I knew I had to finish prepping my lesson before they got back to me.

It was a moment of hyperfocus for me and for them.

And a reminder to not belittle what our kids can do, especially if they are eager to learn and do it on their own.

Remember, when you start teaching your kids, it will be tough and they will make many mistakes,

But this is exactly how the early Muslims learned about Islam.

The Prophet ﷺ taught the sahaba, and he had to be patient and endure the mistakes of his people. 

Follow his example, follow his sunnah, and be the best teacher to your kids. 

Will you have this regret when you are gone?

We have all seemingly missed out on so much.

We didn’t give any importance to cryptocurrency and especially bitcoin, and we were not able to capitalize on it as much as we would have liked, when it was only literally pennies for bitcoin.

How about the housing market? Maybe we were tempted to buy a house with a riba based loan, but we said NO, and now that opportunity to save in cash for a house keeps dwindling away since the prices are out of control. We “missed out” on that opportunity.

We could have bought a car for much cheaper before the pandemic, but now car prices are just ridiculous. We missed out on that opportunity.

There are just so many opportunities that we have seemingly missed out on, but we have to remember one thing:

When we are in our graves, the only opportunity that we will care about at that time is:

Did we miss out on our Islam?

Did we miss out on our religion?

Did we miss out on our real purpose in life?

We as Muslims already have the best thing that no dollar, no house, no bitcoin, no exotic car can buy.

We have la ilaha il Allah.

We have Allah on our side!

We have the truth!

We have guidance to Paradise!

There will be so many people who would have wished they had Islam, crying to the point where they would be willing to sacrifice everyone they know and all the people in the world in order to save themselves.

“To save himself from the torment of that Day, the culprit shall wish to give his children, his wife, his brother, his kinsfolk who gave him shelter, and all the people of the earth, just to save themselves.”

(Surah Ma’arij 70:11-14)

They will be crying with so much regret that they didn’t invest in their REAL life!

They will cry, “I wish I had sent forth ˹something good˺ for my ˹true˺ life.”

(Surah Fajr: 89:24)

Whenever you feel like you’ve missed out on something, or an opportunity has passed you buy, then always remember that you still have the best gift of all.

Islam!

The earlier you start, the better.

The earlier you start something, the quicker you will get better at it.

This is especially true with homeschooling.

When you have just one child, it is very easy to homeschool them, and you can accelerate their learning since the teacher to student ratio is 1:1.

Or even 2:1 if both parents get involved!

Just like you adjusted your time and priorities when you got married, and again after having your first child, you can adjust once again by homeschooling them.

When child #2 comes along, you can adjust again, and prioritize your time differently.

It is a gradual process and you will notice how much you can actually accomplish.

You will even look back at when you only had one child, and how “busy” you thought you were with just one brain to feed 😅.

If you already have 3 kids that are in public schools, and now decide to start homeschooling them, it can still be done, no doubt about it, but the challenges and initial shock will be much more difficult.

This is what keeps people from even getting started, until it gets far too long in the tooth and the opportunity has passed you by.

How boys and girls think differently about money.

The other day, my daughter comes up to me, very nonchalantly, and just tells me,

“Papa, I think I lost my money.”

There was no emotion or panic in her tone whatsoever. I was more in shock of how calm she was because I knew she had a decent chunk of change for a 12 year old (about $500 from gifts and Eid money).

So naturally I asked her, “how much money? Do you mean your purse?” Her purse usually has like $20-$40.

I was like there was no way she lost ALL her money.

She replies again in her casual voice, “No. I lost all my money.”

So now I’m a bit concerned and freaking out a bit inside, and we go on a mission to backtrack her steps and search her room, and eventually she finds it fairly quickly.

Once she finds it, it’s just a, “Oh there it is.” and there’s just the tiniest sign of relief on her face.

After this ordeal, I was just taken aback by her attitude and how losing the money didn’t make her freak out. When I thought about it more, it didn't really surprise me.

We have been homeschooling them since the beginning, and we have been teaching them proper Islamic principles, including how a household is run, who is in charge of what, and who brings home the “dough,” and who cooks the dough.

It’s a system that Alhumdulilah works amazingly well, and brings benefit to everyone.

My wife doesn’t have to worry about money, and naturally, my daughter has picked that up from her. Having a lot of money isn’t a priority for my daughter, and being thrifty with money is one of her qualities.

Frankly, it should be a quality for all of us.

Her carelessness with money isn’t spending too much, but just misplacing it in her room 😂.

My son, on the other hand, is the opposite. He is much more meticulous with money, always trying to find ways to earn money, mainly because he tends to spend more money. If he had lost his wad of cash, he would have turned the whole house upside down trying to find it. He would definitely have been in a more panicked state. 

The way my son and daughter react emotionally to money is part of their fitra that is inside all of us as Muslims, and something that our house has reinforced:

Men are the providers of the household and have to worry about money and providing, while women are the maintainers of the household and have to worry about caretaking and maintaining. They are different roles for men and women, but in the eyes of Allah, they are noble and equitable positions that can take you to Jannah. 

Someone who stays home isn’t a worse person because they take care of the home vs the one who has to go out and work.

If your kids grow up without the influence of social media, and without the influence of anti-Islamic lifestyles that they see all day and are fed through the school systems, they are more likely to grow up on the fitra and you will have to spend less time trying to detox their minds.

You will see the fitra flourish in the actions of your kids, from the obvious to the more subtle, like finances.

Good news for New Yorker bound international flyers.

Gaby Del Valle from The Verge:

"A federal judge in New York ruled that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can’t search travelers’ phones without a warrant. The ruling theoretically applies to land borders, seaports, and airports — but in practice, it only applies to New York’s Eastern District.

That’s not nothing, though, since the district includes John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, the sixth-busiest airport in the country. Nationwide, CBP has conducted more than 230,000 searches of electronic devices between the 2018 and 2023 fiscal years at land borders, seaports, and airports, according to its publicly available enforcement statistics."

The Headline is a bit misleading, but for now this only applies to New York's Eastern District, which includes JFK and I would assume LaGuardia. Of course if you're Muslim, this is good knowledge to know, unfortunately.

Doing the bare bones consistently, can lead to Jannah?

The Prophet ﷺ said:

وَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ

Whoever travels a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.

This translation doesn’t do justice to the word that is used for “seeking,” which is “iltimas.”

I’m no Arabic scholar, but I was watching a Righteous and Rich episode, and Br. Imran explained the word “iltimas.” It is commonly translated as “seeking,” but it actually means someone who does less than that.

How much less? It is one of the lowest levels of seeking knowledge, where someone might spend once a week, or even once every two weeks, trying to seek just a little tiny bit of knowledge.

No rigorous studying, but very passive knowledge. 

Even for THIS person, the one who isn’t trying hard at all to seek knowledge, but if he is consistent, Allah will make a path to Paradise easy for him. 

Allah hu Akbar!

After hearing this, there really isn’t any excuse for us not to seek knowledge. Even if it means reading a post on social media (that is authentic), or watching a few short videos (dare I say reels or shorts!), this could be your ticket to Jannah.

Consistency is key though!

Of course we should always strive higher than the bare minimum, and the benefit you will get from seeking knowledge will literally change your life. 

Not only your life, but the lives of those you are responsible for.

Your children, and your spouse.

Imagine spending just 5 minutes a day teaching your children about something you learned. It doesn’t even have to be directly related to Islamic knowledge, but maybe something happened in your day, and you can relate it to your kids by showing them how such and such a situation was a blessing, how that incident was a trial, how this situation reminded me of the Prophet ﷺ during this phase, etc. 

These 5 minutes will add up over time, and they will organically lengthen the conversations you have with your children. They will ask you questions, and the conversation will keep going while you bond with them. 

The knowledge discussions will be something they will actually look forward to, and before you know it, these discussions will become longer without seeming like a drag. 

And best of yet by Allah’s will, your path to Paradise will be easy!

Check out the video clip here.

A Sunnah we can all do and need.

One of the easiest Sunnahs that we can all do today is also one of the Sunnahs that we all need today, arguably more than ever:

‎Smiling in the face of your brother.

‎At-Tirmidhi (1956) narrated that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

‎“Your smiling at your brother is an act of charity.”

‎With all the carnage that is happening out there,

‎With all the hardships people are enduring,

‎With all the trials that we are facing,

‎With all the degeneracy that we see is happening,

‎Let us uplift one another with a smile.

‎It will make you feel better, and it will make your brother feel better.

‎Not that we need anymore validation as Muslims because the Prophet ﷺ is validation, but smiling is also scientifically proven to make you feel better.

Authoritarian vs Authoritative Parenting

I discussed Permissive parenting in a previous post, but now I want to talk about Authoritarian Parenting. This is probably something many Muslims are familiar with, since it has the qualities that we grew up with, and by consequence, we have now inherited those same tactics for our own kids. 

So what is Authoritarian Parenting? Here is what Abigail Shrier says in her book:

“The "authoritarian parent" values a child's obedience as a virtue, holds the child's behavior to an absolute standard, works to keep the child in his place, restricts his autonomy, and does not ever encourage a give-and-take discussion about her rules.

Does this sound familiar? Absolute obedience to the “establishment,” meaning your parents, no matter what. The obedience itself is virtuous. There is no room for discussion at all. This kind of parenting doesn’t just last when the child is young, but it goes on all the way to adulthood. 

“You need to be a Doctor, or else you won’t get a good job.”

“You can’t get married until your other siblings get married first.”

The amount of control can be surprising, and the worst part is when this absolute obedience to parents leads to the disobedience of Allah. 

Allah was never in the picture, and you, the parent, were the authority to be pleased. 

There is no room for creativity or alternative suggestions to satisfy both parties. 

This will psychologically damage your kids, and they themselves will not be effective leaders. 

Remember, “authoritative parenting,” is the best balance of control and love. Follow the Islamic model and the example of the Prophet ﷺ and you will find that middle ground of authority, love, and guidance for your children.

Hack your brain and think positive.

So there I was, driving down the road through some twisty turns, and I noticed that the neighborhood I was going through was a very wealthy neighborhood. It was the American dream in real life: big houses, big green landscaped yards, and 2 or 3 cars in each driveway, all secluded and distant from each other. 

I remember a similar scene but it was in a different scenario. I was at the Smoky Mountains and I took a helicopter ride, and I was able to see the beautiful scenery of the green mountains and the giant homes in that area. 

All of this made me feel happy for a reason, even though I don’t own a house and am not a fan of taking a mortgage for obvious Islamic reasons. 

Seeing all these beautiful things that I wanted made me realize that in Jannah, I can have all of this plus much more! 

Forget about just one huge house, how about huge palaces that would make these houses look like monopoly homes in size?

2 or 3 family cars in the driveway? How about the most exotic sports cars that I can summon my way into at just the thought of it happening!

Green landscaped backyards? How about a yard as far as the eye can see, with rivers, fruits, and your family and friends nearby? No landscaping costs involved!

When we see what others have, let us remind ourselves that even if we can’t get those things in this life, we still have an opportunity to get them in the next life. 

Not only that, but this life is only an infinitely small fraction of our total existence! 

Don’t put all your eggs in the dunya basket.

Remember the Hadith Qudsi:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah said, ‘I have prepared for My righteous slaves (such excellent things) as no eye has ever seen, nor an ear has ever heard nor a human heart can ever think of.’ ”

What is the best parenting style?

Abigail Shrier from her book, “Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up,” regarding parenting styles: 

After studying the ways parents attempt to control the behavior of children, Baumrind discerned three general approaches: permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian. 

The "permissive parent" assiduously avoids punishment. She affirms the child's impulses, desires, and actions, and consults the child about family decisions.

She makes few demands on the child with regard to responsibilities and orderly behavior. "She presents herself to the child as a resource for him to use as he wishes, not as an ideal for him to emulate, nor as an active agent responsible for shaping or altering his future behavior," Baumrind explains.”

“The "authoritarian parent" values a child's obedience as a virtue, holds the child's behavior to an absolute standard, works to keep the child in his place, restricts his autonomy, and does not ever encourage a give-and-take discussion about her rules.

Neither approach produced particularly happy or successful adults.

The "authoritative parent," however, is loving and rule based. She attempts to direct the child's activities in a rational manner, encourages a give-and-take with her child, but "exerts firm control at points of parent-child divergence." Where her point of view on a household rule ultimately conflicts with that of her child, she wins. She maintains high standards for her child's behavior "and does not base her decisions on group consensus or the individual child's desires."

In studies that still manage to chagrin therapists, Baumrind found that authoritative parenting styles produced the most successful, independent, self-reliant, and best emotionally regulated kids; it also produced the happiest kids— those less likely to report suffering from anxiety and depression.

This is a remarkably sturdy research finding: kids are happiest when raised in a loving environment that holds their behavior to high standards, expects them to contribute meaningfully to the household, and is willing to punish when behavior falls short. And it flies in the face of virtually everything therapists and parenting books now exhort.”

If you look at this from an Islamic perspective, it is quite remarkable how authoritative parenting falls in line with how the Prophet ﷺ used to be with not only children, but also with adults. You have a degree of freedom in your life and there is give-and-take within the religion, but at the end of the day, there are certain boundaries that we just cannot cross in Islam.

Later on in the book the author also tells us how most parents think they are the good “authoritative” parents, but they are actually slowly turning into permissive parents.

This is because the goalposts of what is right and wrong, of what is accepted or not, keep moving.

If you don’t have a rule book to live by in your life, the rule book of Islam, then your values will ultimately become what society decides. That is why Islam is such a great way of life. It actually makes things easy by letting us know what is right and wrong.

It helps you be a better person, and it helps you be a better parent.

Pleasing Allah through Cars and Coffee.

My son and I enjoy cars.

He might be a bit more obsessed than I am. Probably because he doesn’t have to worry about costs and maintenance like his dad does.

It is a great way for us to bond together in our shared hobby, and we went to our first cars and coffee yesterday. We had a great time, and we saw some cars we were not expecting to see in our small town:

1. Nissan R34 GTR

2. MK4 Toyota Supra

3. Lotus Esprit

These were probably the highlights of what we saw, but there were tons of Porsches, some GTIs, and some really old classic cars.

There was even a Civic with his exhaust coming out of his engine bay, and he had to skurry on home since it started raining and he had no engine cover for his car 😆.

We had to get up early at 8AM, and it was not something I was initially looking forward to do. I had just come off working 8 straight days of the graveyard shift (1am-9am), and I needed this Saturday to re-calibrate my body back to normal.

Of course that did not happen, but the second part of this event made things much more bearable.

Coffee!

I don’t normally drink coffee (maybe once a week), but when I do, it really kicks in and does it’s job. It is a medicine for me, and not just a social, “Look at me, I’m cool and important and spend $8 on coffee,” type of experience.

I use my car for those types of experiences😁.

All jokes aside, I mainly did it for bonding with my son. To create memories that he will have later on in life. To make him one day also want to make similar memories with his own kids.

To fulfill the ties of kinship.

Initially we were going to go to Tuner Evo in Philly next weekend, but I had some work issues that came up and couldn’t go. Plus we decided that Tuner Evo was not as family friendly because of the excessive “car girls” that events like that are known for having and showing off their "engine bay."

That would have been a whole weekend since Philly is about 8 hours away, but we were able to stay local and have just as much fun. Not only did I save money, but we were able to follow the Cars and Coffee with some high-revving mountain driving that was quite satisfying.

Most importantly, we found a way to have fun and to also please Allah subhana wata'aalah by avoiding the questionable Tuner Evo spectacle.

And fun doesn’t always have to be a spectacle. 

Sometimes fun can just be peace in your heart.

Too many medical diagnoses in children?

Too many kids get a medical diagnosis for something that isn’t worthy of a medical diagnosis: ADHD, depression, anxiety, etc.

Too many kids then believe that something is wrong with them when in reality, we all go through anxious moments and depressive times. 

Too many kids are then constantly reminded in the schooling system about their diagnosis, and they are coddled through the years. 

How will this child grow up to deal with the realities of life? They never experienced the fact that tough times and how we handle them are what makes us stronger.

What will you tell your kids on your deathbed?

This verse gets me every time.

It’s a stark reminder that we will eventually leave this world, and our children will be left without us.

The question that goes through every Muslim parent’s mind, who worries for their children, should be this question that is in Surah Baqara, Verse 133:

Or did you witness when death came to Jacob? He asked his children, “Who will you worship after my passing?” They replied, “We will ˹continue to˺ worship your God, the God of your forefathers—Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac—the One God. And to Him we ˹all˺ submit.” (2:133)

Jacob or Yaqub (AS) didn’t talk about the worldly worries:

“Do you have enough money to survive?”

“Is your job stable enough so you can support yourself?”

“Here are all my passwords to my accounts so you can calculate the inheritance.”

On his deathbed, Yaqub AS only had one worry for his children. Something much more precious than the luxuries of this world. He wanted to make sure his kids knew what their real purpose was.

“Are you going to worship Allah, or will you forget about your Lord when I am gone?”

A magnificent question from Yaqub AS, and a question we need to be asking our children before we reach our deathbeds because one day, we will be gone, and they won’t have us as a fallback for life’s concerns. Plus we have no guaranteed that they will be around when we are on our deathbeds.

If we train our kids properly and bring them up in a house of Islam, then in sha Allah they will have an answer that is just as amazing as the question. Look at how Yaqub’s children respond:

“We will ˹continue to˺ worship your God, the God of your forefathers—Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac—the One God. And to Him we ˹all˺ submit.” (2:133)

Subhan Allah, look at that beautiful answer. They didn’t just respond by saying, “We will worship Allah.” They responded by saying that we will worship your God, the one true God, the God of your forefathers, AND to Him we will all submit.

Let’s break this down for a bit.

This comprehensive answer means that Yaqub (AS) didn’t just teach his kids that Allah is one and call it a day.

He taught his children about Allah, he taught his children about the Prophets who were alive before him (who were his ancestors), and he taught his children that the main goal in life is to submit to Allah.

In essence, he would teach them the “Qur’an and Seerah” of his time. The Qur’an being the Scrolls of Abraham, and the Seerah being the lives of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac.

He taught them the formula for success, which is to learn first and foremost who Allah is, and then to follow the teachings and examples of the Prophets in terms of how to worship Allah.

We have the same formula in Islam. We teach our kids about who Allah is, and we also have to teach our kids the Qur’an and Seerah of our Prophet salal. The Seerah is linked with the Qur’an directly. You can’t possibly study the life of the Prophet and not encounter the Qur’an in it.

Now let’s also look at it even deeper. When someone asks you a question, whether you know the answer or not, you will reply as simply as you can. When Yaqub AS asks his kids this question, they reply back in such an impressive manner that it makes you think, “Did Yaqub ask them this question even before he was dying,” because no one can answer in such an impressive manner unless you were already reminded and coached about this constantly throughout your life.

And the answer to that is YES, they were coached throughout their lives about the purpose of their life. If we look back at the verse right before this one, we will see what Yaqub tells his children:

And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], "O my sons, indeed Allāh has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims." (2:132)