Why I started Islam with Ayoub

Assalamu alaikum. I’m Ayoub, and I started these live sessions because I wanted a place where people could ask about Islam without being made to feel stupid.

What made me want to go live

When I watched religious discussions on TikTok, I sometimes saw Muslim hosts invite Christians, Hindus, and people of other faiths into conversations that became uncomfortable to watch. A guest would get caught out by a question, and their embarrassment seemed to become part of the entertainment.

I can’t know what was in anyone’s heart. But what I saw troubled me. I worried about what someone unfamiliar with Islam would take away from it, and whether the person asking questions had actually learned anything.

I kept thinking about the way Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, tells us to invite people to Him. Quran 16:125 calls for wisdom, good advice, and discussion in the best manner. That’s the standard I want to hold myself to when I speak about Islam.

So I started reading the Quran live. I wanted us to open it, read what it says, and take people’s questions seriously. Someone who comes with a sincere question deserves patience, even when we disagree.

I’m learning too

These sessions also give me a reason to keep studying. I’ve started reading Riyad as-Salihin, often translated as The Meadows of the Righteous, live as well.

If you’d like to read along, download the abridged and annotated English PDF of Riyad as-Salihin.

Imam al-Nawawi’s collection brings together hadith on belief, worship, character, and everyday conduct, with Quranic passages throughout its chapters. I want to study these teachings with scholarly explanations, rather than treat my first impression as the answer.

My goal is to help people understand the fundamentals of Islam while continuing to learn myself. When a question goes beyond what I understand, I need to take it to someone with the knowledge to answer it properly.

Where I want to put my time

When I have free time, I want to put my work into something that matters. I want to help people learn about Islam and come to know what I believe is the truth. A hadith narrated by Uthman gives me something to aim for. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Learning is part of that too. I want to share what I understand, keep studying, and help people find sound answers when I don’t have them.

A handbook for life

What I want to share is guidance we can live by. Quran 16:89 describes the Book as guidance and mercy. I want that guidance to shape my whole life: my business, my relationships, my prayer, even the way I eat. I also want people to explore the bigger questions with me: why we’re here and where we’re going. Quran 51:56 speaks of our purpose in worshipping Allah, and Quran 2:156 reminds us that we return to Him.

Being Muslim doesn’t make life’s difficulties disappear. We still have to learn. But I think of Islam as a handbook: guidance to keep returning to when I need to understand what to do.

When things are difficult, I want to remember to trust Allah and be patient. Quran 65:3 teaches reliance on Him, and Quran 2:155–157 speaks of trials and the blessings and mercy awaiting those who patiently endure them. When I fall short, Quran 39:53–54 reminds me not to despair of His mercy, but to turn back to Him.

The Prophet ﷺ also described Allah as more merciful to His servants than a mother he saw caring for her child (Sahih al-Bukhari 5999). That gives me hope. Quran 67:1 reminds me of His power over everything; I can ask Him for help without assuming that every answer will look the way I expect.

To me, being given understanding and the ability to act on it is an immense blessing. In Sahih al-Bukhari 71, the Prophet ﷺ teaches that Allah grants understanding of the religion to someone He intends good for. I want to use what I learn to do what pleases Him.

I keep coming back to the hope described in Quran 98:8: Paradise, with Allah pleased with His servants and them pleased with Him. That’s what I want to work towards: becoming more righteous, seeking Paradise, and being content with my Creator. When I put these things together, I feel that Islam is the best thing I could share with someone.

Why this website exists

During a live session, I’ll mention a book, a place to read a translation, or another resource that helps answer a question. Those references can be hard to find once the live ends.

I made this website so the link in my TikTok bio could take you to one place with the resources we discuss. You can find the books I’m reading, Quran translations, recordings, and links to keep learning at your own pace. Where providers offer free copies, the links explain their eligibility rules.

Whether you’re Muslim, new to Islam, or exploring another faith, you’re welcome to read along and ask questions.

Putting what we learn into practice

I think of this as time spent learning, time spent sharing what we understand, and time spent applying it. Those parts overlap. I don’t want to become so busy explaining something to other people that I forget to work on it myself.

Quran 61:2 and 61:3 warn believers against saying what they do not do. I take that as a reminder to examine my own actions before becoming comfortable with giving advice.

There’s also a story I remembered about a preacher who delayed speaking about freeing slaves until he had freed one himself. Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan recounts it on SeekersGuidance, attributing it to Hasan al-Basri. In that account, he waited several Fridays until he could afford to buy and free an enslaved person, then encouraged others to free theirs.

This is a story attributed to Hasan al-Basri, not a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. I haven’t verified its chain of transmission, so I wouldn’t use it as proof of a religious ruling. What stayed with me was the reminder to take my own advice seriously.

I don’t mean that we have to become perfect before encouraging anyone else to do good. I mean that I need to acknowledge my shortcomings and keep working on them. I hope these sessions help me stay accountable, and that we can remind one another with kindness.

What I hope to do next

I’m planning a podcast where I can bring together questions from the month and discuss them with my local imam or other guests with sound Islamic knowledge. I want people to have time to hear an explanation, ask follow-up questions, and understand where an answer comes from.

For now, I’ll keep reading, sharing the resources we use, and working on what I learn. May Allah keep my intentions sincere and help us put beneficial knowledge into practice.

Ayoub