Dr. Browns Jihad

Bismillah Alhamdulillah Salaam Alaikum. Peace be with you. I'm your host and you're watching the deen show my next guest who is going to be with us in a second to talk about why when he accepted the truth, he ended up losing not only his wife, but his house, his guest house, and much more. He's going to be sharing his experiences with us. So you all can take the good from it. And it can help you endure some of the tests and trials and you might be going through. You don't want to go No, we'll be right back to talk with our brother. Dr. Lawrence brough Be right back on the deen show.

Is his messenger

Jesus was his messenger.

Why did that maybe? Maybe it's just to break the ice? salami. Cool. How are you Dr. Brown?

Very good. Thank you. hamdulillah. Oh, slow down. He says some Arabic Now would you say oh hum. Did Allah or Praise be to Allah, Dr. Brown, our audience really enjoyed. We got some positive feedback on your show that we did on how you accepted this wonderful, beautiful way of life, the truth that is ordained from the Creator of the heavens and earth, as practiced by over 1.5 billion people from all around the globe, the fastest growing way of life in the world today. People got to benefit from your story. How have you been since the last time we've seen you?

Oh, again? Oh, hamdulillah. No, things are good. Things were good. I'm keeping busy. I'm still writing. I'm still working.

I guess in these days, that's a good thing. We really want to thank you. And I'm sure the audience wants to thank you also for coming back again, here on the show. I'm happy to be here. Okay, Dr. Brown, the world now knows that you former military major doctor surgeon at that has accepted this way of life, the truth, that all the messengers of God lift, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ in the last and final messenger sent to mankind have problem having peace be upon they all live this way, the way that calls you to surrender your entire self, to the Creator, the One God in Arabic, we call him a law, to surrender yourself to his will to strive to be the best human being that you can

be to be in a constant state of self development, self improvement, doing all the good that he's called you to do. You've accepted that truth. Man, now there have been some hardships. Talk to us about some of these hardships that you have to go through and endure. Well. Actually, yesterday, I was just at a conference where I was asked this question.

I, I told my conversion story. And in the question and answer period, somebody asked, what what happened after you convert it? Was it easy was it hard, what happened? And so I kind of went down this laundry list of difficulties. Because

I think it's the typical experience when a person becomes Muslim, they face some difficulties. After I became Muslim, within a period of one year, my now ex wife, divorced me, took, took my children into her custody

took my house wealth, and I dare I say a certain amount of my happiness.

And then at the same time,

there there was just

a difficulty in the transition. So my family my parents took it very hard.

They they basically severed communication with with me and disinherited me. And I remember one particular communication where they just they just told me by letter, they didn't want to see me. They didn't want to hear from me. They didn't want a phone call. They didn't want a letter. they they they basically just didn't want

anything from me any communication. At the same time.

The the people who I had hung out with before my friends basically deserted me. I was no longer the fun person in their minds that that I had been before. Obviously

Muslim I wasn't into what they were into. I wasn't I wasn't into the, the, the drinking, the dancing, the partying, etc.

And that was a change for me. And so, so basically, they deserted me.

My job was no longer compatible with my faith. And the end, I had to leave I was in the military, I was, I had been in the Air Force for

Well, let's see, now it would have been 12 years at that point. I just signed up for another four years. And,

and so

I found out during that period, that really, I didn't feel that my faith was compatible with being in the military,

I effectively became a little bit of a pacifist, and here I was in this in this war machine, that that I simply could not reconcile with, with my faith.

So to make a long story short, within a period of one year, I lost my parents, my friends, my wife, my children, my house, my wealth.

I went from being a

successful doctor, to still being a doctor. But in in pretty straitened circumstances, like the balance sheet. People who accept Islam expect these hardships. Oh, my say, Well, I'm coming to the truth. Why all the hardships?

Oh, yeah. First of all, I think you should accept, expect some hardship. Whenever anybody comes to Islam, they need to expect some hardship. And I think that is the price of sincerity. It's the price and the proof of sincerity. Look, if it were a party, everybody would be doing it is just like any of the other tests of sincerity in religion, prayer, fasting, paying charity, making pilgrimage, all of these things are things where you take from your time, from your wealth, from your energy from other things you you can be doing, to get down, get down on your knees and into prostration. And pray five times a day, to to take time off from eating and drinking too fast for the pleasure of our

Creator, to to pay from your wealth to benefit other people who who need it more,

to make pilgrimage, taking, taking your vacation time and your money to go and do something for the pleasure of our Creator. Instead of going and hanging out on the French Riviera or some other kind of vacation. All of these, all of these things are things that you take from yourself, as a testimony of your faith.

Like I said, if it was a party, everybody would be doing it.

But for those who are seeking, seeking allows reward in the accurate, meaning the hereafter.

There's, there's

How can I put it a price to pay something something, something that you have to you have to expect to put forward for for the for the hereafter. And when you become when you become Muslim, it can be easy for most people. But one thing I've noticed is that, in general, in general, converts to the faith find themselves tested in the beginning. My own impression is that that is a test of sincerity. Because I've seen people I've seen people pass that. And I've seen people fail that I have seen converts to the religion go back to disbelief, because the tests they faced after they became Muslim, were greater than they felt they could bear and it was really sad. I mean, I've seen

people go back from faith for for piddly little things that you would just you just think I mean, how could a person throw their faith away for that? Very sad but So bottom line, yes, when you become Muslim, expect to be tested. Expect expect to have to show some some strength, show some patience and an injury this test because because truly anything that you leave for the pleasure of Allah, He will replace with something better. And, and Allah tells us in the Holy Quran, in a mallow story. After hardship comes ease.

I just described my hardship or a part of it. There was a lot more to it than that because after I got over that hump, there were other hardships that came along.

But as I said, I lost my wife. Allah gave me another wife, I remarried and I have to say I am happier with my second wife than I ever was with my first hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah Alhamdulillah I, you know, I lost my children, from my household, not from my heart, there in my heart, and I hope that I'm in there's we we still get together for vacation every year, we still see each other. But Allah gave me another child, bye, bye, my new wife. I lost my house. In America. I now live in an in, you know, a better situation in the holy city of Medina. Alhamdulillah. I lost my friends, some of my family 100 Allah, Allah gave me the family of Islam, which is worldwide and which, I mean, I

can honestly say, you never feel a brotherhood. You know, you never really know what Brotherhood is, until you're in the Brotherhood of his mom. I have one brother, no sisters, just one brother. He also became Muslim.

What I can tell you is he and I are constantly reminding each other of the fact that we were never brothers. We were never brothers until we became brothers in Islam. You know, we were fighting, we were at each other's throats, we saw each one. We saw the other one as somebody who kind of blocked our desires or, I mean, we were just at each other's throats until we became brothers in Islam. When we became brothers in Islam, then we knew what brotherhood really was.

I told you, I lost my wealth. When I when I became Muslim, I used to live in a country. I don't know if you could really call it an estate. But I mean, it was a house on acreage out in the country.

I used to tell people, I didn't have a guest room in my house, if I had people visiting, I didn't have a guest room. I had a guest house. I had a second house on the property. That was four guests. That's That's how nice the layout was. And that's what I lost. I went from living in that circumstance to living in a pay by week studio apartment. In just, I mean, a really bad area of town.

You get, you know, you would you didn't want to go into the elevator to go up to the floor. Because you know, people were urinating in the elevator. But the stairs weren't any better. You take the stairs and you practically had to hold your nose because people you know, the people were urinating in the stairwells as well. It was that bad. As I said, you know, look, pay by the week. I mean, you know what pay by the week means in America? Where do you Where do you find? Where do you find a rental apartment that's paid by the week? Are we going to hold it right there? We're going to take a break. And we'll be right back. For more with Dr. Lawrence brown here in the Dean's show. No speech

is better than to do that. call people to Allah and to do the word no speech is better. No, nothing is better than that. Is it true that if one person on the Allah giving you the ability to guide someone, the last permission, the creator's permission that is better than everything in this world, but in the whole world and everything that's in it in another narration, it's better than the best of world. But if we really felt that, Eddie, would we not be giving out giving. And this is something that we encourage all the MSA, all the dowel organizations, the machines to get this, we want to create more we give these to the non missus for free for free for free. We want our brothers

in humanity.

So even yourself being in such a respected field, as a doctor, you also endured a lot.

You know, I mean, it's easy to look at somebody who is in a respected field, like as a doctor who has a respected income and so on. And you don't think that they can fall too far. You know, but there's this old saying that what counts is not how far you fall, but how high you bounce. But, but that doesn't mean you don't fall. I mean, at that time, I was saddled with very heavy lawyer expenses because of the divorce.

You know, I had just received a restraining order from my wife telling me I couldn't go within I forget, but it was something like 100 yards or 500 yards of of her of my children of my house and so on so forth. And this will all because you know, in all just for a no contest divorce. She had just gone in and said she wanted a divorce and they said What for? Is he beating you? Is he mistreating you? And they said no. Or she said no. She said, No, I just want out. And they said well, what's he doing? And she said nothing. Nothing. I just I just want a divorce, that's all. So it wasn't it wasn't like I had any history of being a violent person or doing anything bad. She just she just

went to the court and got a restraining order on me. I had to just

See my children. The Court made me hire a security officer to protect my children from me.

For me to see my children when the courts started to allow me to see my children, even though by my wife's own admission, I was a peaceful person. I never I never did anything to to warrant a divorce. Just she wanted out. She was Catholic. I had become Muslim. she just, she wanted out. That was enough. You weren't the cool guy anymore to take around to the social wine tasting parties. What can I say I was no longer the the fun guy.

I used to. I used to brew my own beer before I became Muslim. Okay, look, I'm sorry to say but yeah, I used to brew my own beer. One of the things after I became Muslim that my father complained about was that he missed my beer.

Not me. My beer. Didn't say miss me said he missed my beer. Now, you know, it was a hard time it was a bit of a crazy time. And and, you know, I wasn't the best example of a Muslim at that time. I don't I don't blame my parents for for their reaction because because they saw me go from the person they knew to a person they really did not know or understand. And at the same time, with the media representation of Islam in the West, it creates a lot of fear and uncertainty in people's hearts. And when you see this happen to a loved one, whether it's your son as was the case with my parents or your husband as was the case with my wife, it you know, it bends people's minds. And it takes it

takes time for them to come to realize that you may have changed your religion but you yourself may not have changed that much. How did you grow your hair in a funky way? start listening to rap music get tattoos? Would you dress different? I mean, what made you such an outcast to them? I don't know I didn't really dress differently but but it was just a series of things you know when you become Muslim you clean up your act you you you you know you stopped going to you know you stop going to dances parties, you stop associating with you know, with alcohol. I'm not saying he stopped drinking, I'm saying you avoid places even where alcohol is drunk. Okay, but fruit juice, apple

juice, pineapple non spiked is okay. Well, of course you have any, you know, so many other things that you know, are good for you and that, but but alcohol is out. So, you know, you you stop going to social circles where alcohol is served. You, you know, you're no longer that hug your neighbor kind of a guy, you know, because you don't, you don't even shake hands with women anymore. You don't shake hands with your neighbor's wife. How about a kiss on the cheek baby?

Look, you know, I know this is a shock to predominantly Christian west where you know, you go to a wedding ceremony and you dance with the bride and you kiss the bride and you and

all other things. I mean, the garter belt scene and all this stuff. But look, the bottom line is we're talking Christian, West Christian, what does Christian mean? follow the example of Christ, show me anywhere in the Bible, where Jesus Christ touched a member of the opposite sex outside of his family. Please show me that it didn't happen. He was an Orthodox Jew, Orthodox Jews to this day, do not do not touch women outside of their family. Or if you're a woman, they don't touch men outside of their family. I mean, we know this was his code of contact conduct. Because when we say Jesus, what do we sometimes say, Rabbi Jesus, he was an Orthodox Jew. This was a code of conduct

that was respected throughout the Abrahamic faiths. It's only in modern times that our customers have bent out of shape, according to the desires of the people. So more note on that, Dr. Brown, isn't this a high sense of respect given to the woman when in today's society men are trying to do whatever they can to grope up on a woman and get a cheap feel? Here and there?

We're in Islam. We don't have a right to touch. What's not ours. Someone get offended. Some people get offended if you touch their car. I mean,

women are more precious to us than our cars or any material goods. So Isn't this a respect towards the woman and her husband?

Is it is it an article of respect? Not to touch a woman? Yeah, it's an article respect to her. It's not an article of respect to her husband, to respect that this woman is for this man and you don't you don't

You know, you don't interject yourself into that in the least little bit. But look, don't ask me this question. Ask a woman this question. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States is the fastest growing religion in the world. And most of the converts to religion and to Islam, the majority of the converts to Islam are women, not men. So, you know, we hear these popular sayings that Islam is a man's religion, if Islam is a man's religion, why are most of the people converting women, not men? It's because it's because they see that the rules of Islam, instead of instead of constraining them, the rules set them free. Now that's, that's difficult for people to understand.

And it's best explained by a woman, but it is the fact after hearing this Jihad struggle, because jihad is, what it means is to struggle after hearing about the struggle that you went through, should people be worried about scared about accepting this truth? You know, what I can tell you is I don't, I don't regret anything, I wouldn't change anything.

I've been Muslim now for about 15 years, I can honestly say, I never gave up anything for the pleasure of Allah, except that he gave me what was better. And, you know, an important point is that with all of what I described, that I went through,

despite going through the divorce, losing my kids in my family lose, losing my friends, my and my parents, and so on, that problems at work, the the problems with the prejudice and everything else. The one thing I haven't told you is that during that period of time, when I was facing all those trials, and tests, I remember that time as some of the best days in my life,

all I can tell you is that Allah filled my heart with peace and satisfaction, and showed me what was really a value showed me that this dunya meaning, the material aspects of this life, this dunya is nothing is nothing compared to living upon the path of truth, living upon the path of the religion of our creators design. When when you submit to Allah, and you submit all of your actions to his pleasure, you find that he gives you a level of satisfaction, that makes everything else seem insignificant. And over time, step by step, you find that things just come back to you.

As I said, I don't blame my my ex wife, and my parents, not completely in any case, for what happened, because they saw the change in me, they were suffering, the concerns that they had from how the media portrays the Muslims.

And

they couldn't think straight, they couldn't think straight in their circumstances. My wife was worried that you know, I would abscond with the children, my my parents thought were thinking the same thing, etc, etc. But you know, with time they came to know me again,

my parents and I are back on good terms.

My ex wife and I are, you know, able to, to communicate and in a polite respectful way. My children as I said they've always been

you know, we've we've always been together by telephone and vacations every year. And, and, and my life circumstance improved in so many different ways. One that one thing I can just say from this experience is anybody out there anybody out there who perceives the truth of Islam, and wants to embrace Islam, do not be afraid for a second, do not be afraid of what you will lose. Do not be afraid of what you will face. Do not be afraid of the trials and the hardship. Just pray to Allah to make it easy for you, to give you patience, to give you strength to bear it not to not to test you beyond your ability to bear and to bless you with abundance there in because I can just I can

guarantee you from my experience, from the experience of other converts, I have known I can just guarantee you that after you become Muslim,

a lot will will fill you with such a sense of internal richness that you will realize that everything that you valued before Islam was for nothing. can you ensure defined for our non Muslim audience, for our brothers in humanity who we want to become our brothers in faith? Use some Arabic words Can you define for them? Islam? Muslims, Allah what this means?

Let's start with Allah. Allah is the name of

The Creator.

If you go to the Holy Land, you will find that the Arab Jews, they are Christians, they are Muslims, they all refer to God as Allah.

This is the name that they knew our Creator by in the Holy Land. And remember, these are the people who who are the descendants of the lineage of the prophets. Okay? They're the ones whose forefathers walked the earth.

in the company of the prophets, they should know. You look in the Bible, and you find in the Old Testament, that God is referred to as a low ELO Ah, a low. Now, does that sound more like God? Or does that sound more like Allah yellow?

He's also referred to as a low him, which is the plural, not the plural of numbers, but the plural of respect, plural of respect being a literary device, a way of showing respect? Through through words. Okay. So in any case, in the Bible, you find God called a law. I think it's 128 times and 2500 times 2500 Times called a law him

with an aim at the end. Again, what does that sound more like God or Allah? So that's Allah.

Muslim is more Islam, a person of Islam, Islam being to submit to, to Allah. So Muslim is a person who submits to, to Allah. Brother Brown, Dr. Brown, thank you very much. May Allah the Creator of the heavens and earth rewards you for being with us. And and you and thank you for inviting me once again to the deen show. I sit on what I call what often to life.

And that was our brother, Dr. Lawrence Brown. Thank you, brother for being with us. And everyone who has taken the time to watch this now. I hope you got to benefit from his experiences. We're all going through tests this life is a test. But what's 10 2030 4050 years or maybe a day or two days after you watch this? Or maybe you can go outside right now you might get hit by a car.

You don't know. Death can sneak up on you at any time. So is it worth it that you live according to your whims and desires? And you chase the dollar, that man, that woman and you make that your main priority? You forget about your purpose in life? nor do you even ask? And I'm not talking about asking

Joe, the car mechanic, or Trisha, the hairstylist, I'm talking about asking the one who created you, the one who created this whole universe and everything in it, the one who Jesus Christ, called upon

the one who submitted himself as all the prophets submitted themselves to God, including the last and final messenger sent a man kind of problem having peace be upon him. They all called upon the one who is all knowing, All Merciful, all loving, they called upon him for guidance and direction, the creator, the One God in Arabic, Allah. So we call upon him and we asked him to help us and to guide us. And to help us through the hard times and the struggles we want to show that we're sincere. So we don't want to because, you know, we had a bad day, or maybe something came along that we had to implement. The prayer might be getting in your way. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, we revolve

revolve our life around Islam. We don't try to plug Islam in. So whoever you are out there.

It's tough. It's not easy. Life is a challenge with or without Islam. You're going to be going through hard times. But with Islam, being on the right direction, you got your creators help. And for every hardship that you go through, God Almighty, will recompense you who will take care of you. He will reward you. And you'll have that peace and tranquility. As Dr. Brown did. You see for someone else that might have went through this.

People lose their houses and wives all the time for other things. But he went through this for his crater law replaced it with something better and gave him the strength to endure and the patience and at the end, we have nothing less than paradise if we stick to this way. But what do you got? If you go to the grave and you didn't live life according to how your Creator wanted you to live you lived it according to the society.

culture that you live in. There might not be calling you to good It might be calling you to evil. So we have to be striving to be the best that we can be, according to God's will not our desires, and take from this story and try to stick straight and strong to the right way the right direction. So Life is short. It's a test. All right, nothing to it, but to do it. And we'll see you next time here on the deen show. Until then I Salaam Alaikum peace be unto you