NYC Christian Singer Converts To Islam! - “I Sang in Churches… Until I Found Islam” - video Dailymotion

Towards Etirnity

 Assalamu aleikum brothers and sisters, in today's video, discover how NYC opera singer Noor Saadeh embraced Islam, her journey to Shahada, and what led her to faith.   Intro   Who is Noor Saadeh? Can you tell us briefly about your life?   Can you tell us what were you believing in?   You started your singing career in New York City. How did that happen?   So how did your journey to Islam begin?   How did you feel?   What did you want to do when you became Muslim?   And how did your family or your close circle react to...   Did you leave your music career?   What would you say to a person who would say, "why did you leave the team of Jesus and left Christianity?"   What do you say to a Christian that says, "I find spirituality and feel connection with God when I pray. I don't need any other new thing, new religion?"   Were there some interesting experiences that you had when you were singing with, in synagogue choirs or church choirs?   And what about the Sirah of the Prophet? What impressed you the most about him?   If you could watch one day of the Prophet's (saw) life, which day would you want to watch?   There are many people who accept that, Islam is the true religion but they are hesitant to take this step to become Muslim. Why?   Is it a legitimate concern for someone considering Islam, especially in the West, to fear losing their name, culture, and identity?   There are people maybe women thinking that I am not ready to go into hijab, wear hijab. And so that's the obstacle for me to become Muslim. So, what would you say to such a person?   If you had the chance to speak directly to all the non-Muslims in the world, what would you like to say to them in just a few moments? #NYC #ChristianSinger #ConvertsToIslam #Islam #FaithJourney #MusicTransformation #SpiritualAwakening #SangInChurches #FindingIslam #ReligiousConversion #Inspiration #Muslim #NewBeginnings #CulturalJourney #Interfaith #Vocalist #FaithInFaiths #PersonalTestimony #TransformativeExperience

Transcript

00:00In a career path as a professional singer in New York City would be a large

00:05orchestra maybe a chorus of 100 people and four soloists so I would be part of

00:09that and we got talking he said by the way I'm a Muslim and I said I'm embarrassed

00:14to tell you I don't know anything about your religion tell me and he started

00:18explaining the monotheism of Islam and I was shocked really shocked like what and

00:23I sort of decided after a Thursday night rehearsal I can't do this I think I'm

00:27Muslim one woman said to me oh you're gonna become Muslim you're ashamed of

00:33your body you want to cover it and then the guys were saying oh he's gonna take

00:37you and put you in a slave market in Egypt like huh that's you know 1989 guys

00:41hello I went into the coffee shop and I told my friend okay I'm ready to do it

00:48he said to do what I said to whatever I have to do to become a Muslim and he

00:51kind of laughed and he looked he said she's a performer I said no no I'm

00:54serious I wanted to go to the top of the Empire State Building and shout down to

01:00the people get a hold of the Quran and read it you just don't know just don't

01:04know

01:11As-salamu alaykum Mr. Nur Sa'dah thank you so much for accepting our invitation we are

01:15very happy to have you with us I want to start by asking who is Nur Sa'dah can you

01:20tell us briefly about your life my name is Nur Sa'dah grew up in a small

01:26Midwestern town in the United States ended up in a career path as a

01:29professional singer in New York City I sang classical music opera and concert

01:33music can you tell us what were you believing in what I believe in before you

01:37know we weren't not that we weren't a practicing Christian family where we were

01:40I was raised Christian but we were not churchgoers very much and maybe that's a

01:43blessing in the long run because I didn't have all that Trinity to get through

01:46and those types of things but we very much mentioned God in our home and I

01:50found God revealed himself in music a lot to me especially classical music

01:54because a lot of it was divinely inspired my mother was a religious person I think

01:57my dad found religion in the duck blinds when he was hunting and fishing but we

02:01were not churchgoers I even had some Christian friends tell me later like we

02:04were never much of a Christian I said why because I didn't go to church I think I

02:07follow the Sunnah of Jesus but a lot of people would say to me you weren't that

02:12practicing perhaps I wasn't you started your singing career in New York City how

02:17did that happen well you go the usual route you do a lot of inter regional

02:21sort of singing you sing wherever you can for whatever money they give you so

02:25you can practice the pieces that you'll sing eventually professionally a lot of

02:29times singers would join a church choir they'd be part of a professional

02:33group of a quartet of voices that would kind of beef up the choir section in the

02:36church or a synagogue later on I was also in a very nice job that was the paid

02:41professional choir the New York Philharmonic in New York City and we

02:44were like one of the top five 100 young singers in in New York City and we sang

02:49with all the great conductors great orchestras a great soloist so how did

02:53your journey to Islam begin and when I was seeing in New York City I liked

02:56coffee a lot and I was looking for new coffee shops and one opened in my

02:59neighborhood and I walked in it was run by an Egyptian and I was always curious

03:03about people who were different than me and I was like okay tell me about Egypt

03:06tell me about Pharaoh tell me about pyramids and we got talking he said by the way I'm a

03:11Muslim and I said I'm embarrassed to tell you I don't know anything about your

03:14religion tell me I don't know anything about Islam sadly I don't know how but I

03:17didn't and he started explaining the monotheism of Islam and the various

03:22prophets that I knew from my Christian upbringing were also in the Quran and I

03:25was shocked really shocked like what it's Judeo-Christian that's it there's no

03:30other how would I not know there's another monotheistic religion in a very

03:33monotheistic religion in the world how did I not know that I was in my 30s I

03:37traveled a lot I sang all over I read quite a bit like how did I miss that and

03:42he said it's no there's I made the funniest question like are there a lot

03:47of you like a billion and a half like oh okay but he started to just inform me

03:53because I was curious I will tell me more and he started to inform me and start to

03:57explain about the Holy Quran and about the succession of prophets and he said

04:01something that's really stuck with me that I never heard anybody else say it's the

04:04religion Islam is like the three C's it came to concur agree with what came

04:09before the people of the book Judaism and Christianity it came to correct what

04:14people had mistakenly changed out of their own ideas their own ego whatever and

04:20it came to conclude with prophet Muhammad as the last prophet that this has all

04:23been the same revelation but this is the last person we're going to send to you

04:27to conclude everything and it's like the lights go off and the puzzle pieces fall

04:32together it made so much sense it made sense out of religion it made sense out

04:35of history it really made sense out of religion hearing from the Jews and

04:39Christians were made in God's image whereas Islam said we are nothing like

04:42Allah nothing at all so it settles you I think as a human being that there's a

04:47purpose in life for example and that there is just one very beautiful way to

04:52follow God that still incorporates all these other people so I would go back for

04:56repeated cups of coffee and information and the more I learned the more it just

05:01seemed to me this was really hawk as we say and the truth it was very clear for

05:06me it made immediate sense out of history out of religion that God has one unique

05:12message God alone is one being omnipotent knowing all seeing all hearing created

05:18all of us and that he sent one message to mankind but it's people were a little bit

05:22contentious and argumentative and thought they had a better way so they would change

05:26things but out of his benevolent mercy he would send another prophet to relay the

05:31same original message to that particular group of people and this one on and on

05:34and on from Noah to Musa to Issa to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and it just

05:40made sense made sense of the history of the world it made sense why there were so

05:43many religions and people arguing and over what's right what's wrong why

05:48Christianity never made a whole lot of complete sense to many of us that how can

05:52there be a triune God for example how can Jesus be God and the Holy Spirit be God

05:56and so forth and when you would talk to Christians over the years things didn't

06:00add up I was thinking to marry a Catholic man at one point and they said we'll go

06:04and study Catholicism and when I asked questions about worshiping Mary and

06:08statues and things like that they were like how'd you go out you go either you

06:12believe or not I said well this doesn't make sense no one can really tell me when I

06:16have a question they can't answer me but yet when I would ask the Egyptian

06:19questions he would say yes here's an ayah from Quran a verse of Quran that

06:23solved that issue and it made sense as towards eternity we need your support

06:27we are a charity organization that aims to spread the message of Islam to the

06:30entire world in ten languages with your support you can help people convert to

06:35Islam give up harams start praying wear hijab learn to read the Quran and so on

06:40and get your share from all these good deeds insha'Allah donate to towards

06:43eternity and don't miss this golden opportunity

06:46I think just after reading so often and going back for coffee and conversation

06:51and asking a lot of questions I was in a church a Unitarian church would accept it

06:56all beliefs for example so we could sing anything we wanted didn't have to be

06:59religious but we are coming up on the Christmas holidays and Unitarians are a

07:04little bit strange they saying well the congregation's complaining we talk about

07:07God too much and it's Christmas time so all the songs we're singing about God we're

07:11going to switch the word God to love love did this and love did that and what

07:15what kind of nonsense is this and I sort of decided after a Thursday night

07:19rehearsal I can't do this I think I'm Muslim I think I have to take my Shahada

07:23and quit this this is nonsense so I went in for the Sunday service and I sang the

07:28service did my job and I said well guys I think I have to quit because I took I'm

07:32gonna take Shahada and become a Muslim and this stuff you're talking about is

07:35nonsense you know I just I went into the coffee shop and I told my friend okay I'm

07:39ready to to do it he said to do what I said to whatever I have to do to become a

07:43Muslim and he kind of laughed and he looked he said she's a performer I said

07:46no no I'm serious tell me what I have to say and I struggled through all this

07:50Arabic which I had you couldn't wrap my mouth around and that was it in a coffee

07:54shop and yeah 90th and Broadway in New York City I never did take it in a mosque

08:01or anything because as far as I understood I took my sheds between Allah and me

08:05so yeah and how did you feel I think to the whole process it was just I was euphoric

08:11about it it was I was learning something that was so amazing and I'm telling

08:15everybody about it and they were looking at me like I'd grown two heads seriously

08:19one woman said to me oh you're gonna become Muslim you're ashamed of your body

08:23you want to cover it I said no but I don't know how to make you understand

08:27because I don't have I'm too new at this to be able to explain to you I know it's

08:30right and I know what you're saying is silly and then the guys were saying oh he's

08:34gonna take you and put you in a in a slave market in Egypt like it's you know 1989

08:39guys hello this kind of nonsense so maybe we can tell you know this euphoric

08:45moment what did you want to do when you became Muslim I wanted to go to the top

08:50of the Empire State Building and shout down to the people get a hold of the

08:54Quran and read it you just don't know you'll you'll know everything there is

08:57to know about the world if you just read this book seriously and how did your

09:01family or your close circle react to well the closer the singers like huh she's

09:05crazy and so I just kind of shut the door and just stayed home and read the

09:11Quran a lot in English I knew what I was doing was right but I didn't have the

09:14vocabulary or the background enough in it to really explain to them I just know

09:18it's right I knew to the core of me that what I'm doing what I'm believing in is

09:22right initially I started to dress more modestly but it was a journey it was a

09:25one by one by one I mean I was on stage and the beautiful concert gowns and all the

09:29hair and makeup you can imagine I had to sort of work my way out of that too

09:32gradually so I didn't become impoverished not having an income and then wonder

09:37what to do after that but yeah my family was another story they didn't mind I

09:41think my mother my father passed away many years ago my mom didn't mind the

09:45religious change so much as she was appalled that I would start to dress

09:48differently and what would people say like what is she doing now she became

09:52Muslim she's covered you know like oh boy and of course she got flack from her

09:56friends too that I wasn't privy to but they would come and complain to her my

09:59brother complained bitterly to my mom yeah it wasn't it wasn't easy and I

10:03think most of us face that too and I think it's sort of a test a lot puts us

10:07through like how serious are you about doing this this is not going to be an

10:11easy life from here on in right so then did you leave your music career I did

10:16gradually because went to some of my conductors and said I'm going to have to

10:20leave you out left my church job my synagogue job things like that I wanted to

10:24just embrace the whole of it I really did and I also wanted because I'm sort of a

10:29message person I wanted to share with everybody that I'm Muslim I even to change

10:33my name you know I wanted to dress like a Muslim I wanted to talk about Islam I

10:37wanted to change my name so okay talk to me what was the reaction um different

10:42reactions um my Christian friends got very annoyed and in the minute I foolishly

10:47tried to read them sort of loss called allahu I had one of my friends got so angry what what you know

10:53you know God is three Jesus is this and so forth and I should have known better

10:57because they were sort of very religious Christians and I should have known better

11:01than just to dive in with this particular sort I should have been you don't know

11:05at first you don't know how to do dawah you just you just jump in and start

11:08talking and what would you say to a person who would say why did you leave the

11:12theme of Jesus and left Christianity I think it's mostly that's an easy answer we

11:16didn't leave him we didn't leave him at all and I think for us we have a

11:19better understanding of who Jesus was that you know Jesus was a servant of God

11:24as was Abraham as was Moses Jesus prophet Muhammad all the prophets were

11:28servants of God they submitted to God everything in the Bible shows Jesus

11:32submitting you know this is the father blessed me with these miracles and so

11:35forth he's not saying he never says I'm God worship me there's never one single

11:39ayah which a lot of Christians will argue that I'm gonna go back and fight in the

11:42Bible and show it's true he never says I am God so worship me if that's the main

11:46aqidah or the main creed of Christianity why doesn't he repeat it over and over

11:50and over in the Gospels in the Injil we know Allah is one Allah is one Allah is

11:55one Allah is one over and over and over in Quran it's it's the most repeated

11:59thing Allah is one Allah is one and and Muhammad is his messenger this is the

12:03shahada that we say morning noon and night in our prayers it's in the adhan it's

12:07reiterated it's the creed of Islam it's our main belief if that's not what you're

12:12saying then how is that your belief system it's all played with it's like oh it's

12:16inferred what do you say to a Christian that says I find spirituality and feel

12:21connection with God when I pray I don't need any other new thing new religion

12:24someone made a nice comment about this online just the other day which I liked

12:27which is true they said the Jews were connected in a very intellectual way to

12:31their religion the Christians became very emotionally connected to their

12:34religion Islam is both Islam appeals to the intellect and Islam appeals to you

12:38emotionally it talks to the brain don't you hear don't you see don't you think

12:42think think think think think ikra read learn study it appeals to the intellect

12:47but it also appeals to you emotionally and that's the balance we talk about

12:51being a balanced umma a balanced nation what I like about Islam it's not extreme

12:55in one way or another it's very balanced were there some interesting experiences

12:59that you had when you were singing with you know in synagogue choirs or church

13:03choirs there was a lot of music in in the synagogue a great deal of music

13:07particularly in their high holy days and one thing I found interesting is that we

13:11were never the non-Jews were never allowed to stay and listen to the sermon

13:14or the chutbah and I never found that to be true in a Christian church you were

13:17never people were never asked to leave like you can't hear what Christians are

13:20saying and even before I was Muslim I used to wonder what are they saying we

13:24can't hear about I mean why would they usher us out and say it's break time go

13:27have coffee donuts and I said well I want to listen it's like well you can't go

13:31have a break so I thought it was very strange that got me thinking and of

13:35course now that I've seen what's happening in Israel and Palestine you start to put

13:40things together and what about the seerah of the prophet what impressed you the

13:44most about him oh the character of Muhammad the character his character these

13:48people that I read about in the Quran this is this kind of mannerism this kind

13:51of that this to be kind to be generous to be to forgive people to be merciful those

13:57are all things I really believed in as a person you know not to gossip not to

14:01slander someone talks against you you just cut us you forgive them that kind of

14:06thing you make up things and I really love that kind of character I thought these are the

14:09people I've been looking for all my life if you could watch one day of the

14:13prophet I said was in his life which day would you want to watch so many I know I

14:18thought I had prepared for that one well I said before that I'd like the story when

14:22he was given the revelation and he ran down in terror don't down to his beloved

14:27wife which is a beautiful thing to do he ran to his wife who cover me cover me I

14:31don't know what happened to me and she was just this beautiful support system and I

14:35just I can see the room I can see this glow over the candles or the lights and

14:39everything and he's under a blanket trembling and she's comforting with

14:42these incredible words there are many people who accept that Islam is a true

14:46religion true belief system but they're hesitant to take this step to become

14:49Muslim and they know that there are flaws in the Christian belief system so what is

14:54the reason for that do you think I think just like the early companions the

14:57prophet it's not difficult to go back to your family when they're they don't know

15:01about Islam and they're so opposed to it and then fortunately the media the

15:05movies and everything for portraying it in a very long way for almost the whole

15:10life of Hollywood for example so it's not easy I I've often said if someone was

15:15so entrenched in the American system and in Jesus and in Christianity if they

15:20really understood the truth about Islam it would probably destroy their world in

15:25a way can you imagine I've been somebody who's so close to it like I've been

15:28wrong all my life my belief systems been wrong the person I've been

15:32worshipping all my life is not correct what would facilitate that for for such a

15:37person I think number one just continue reading the Quran in whatever language is

15:40your original language I'm making dua to Allah to strengthen your hearts and guide

15:45the people around you of course also I think just reading about the stories of

15:49the sahaba and what they had to go through I think is really helpful like a

15:52lot of times the communities annual as we said before you know get married wear

15:56hijab do this pray five times a day fast Ramadan boom boom boom boom boom boom

15:59whereas the community of the Muslims early ones that everything was gradual so

16:02I think we can go easy on some of these people and say just take it gradually try

16:06to do your prayers try to do what you have to do the the main pillars of Islam

16:10keep your belief belief system correct inside stay tight with the Quran read it

16:15as much as you can the Quran of course will give you strength it's shifa it's

16:18healing it's furqan it's criterion it's guidance I mean how else do we know what's

16:23right and wrong how else do we know what's truth and what's falsehood it the

16:26Quran makes those things very clear but also just looking at the the history of

16:30the sahaba they didn't go through an easy time not at all you're going through

16:33what they went through it and they became the best people of all time for a

16:37person who is considering Islam living in the West in particular sometimes they

16:41have fear like if I become Muslim I have to change my name I have to abandon my

16:45entire culture I have to become something a different person is that really

16:49legitimate concern I don't think so I don't think so it's everybody has that their

16:53own personal journey and I see that from knowing so many converts in my life even

16:56at the syrah of how people embrace the religion according to Muhammad sallallahu

17:00sallam everything was easygoing even the alcohol took a while to get rid of right

17:04things didn't happen all of a sudden people didn't put on hijab all of a sudden

17:08people didn't have all the manners and adhab and all these things that came way

17:12later in Medina they were how many years in Mecca where they were just getting the

17:15basic surahs of who Allah is and that type of thing I consider some born Muslims

17:21almost like converts because they they leave their surroundings they leave their

17:25home countries and they come to America and they have nothing but Allah so they

17:29turn to Allah they really become serious Muslims as if they take shahada in a real

17:33true way there are people maybe who are thinking as women thinking that I'm not

17:38ready to get and go into hijab I wear hijab and so that's the obstacle for me for

17:45me to get in to become Muslim so what would you say to such a person it's not easy it's

17:50really not easy it's not easy for you to start covering I think and also the

17:54people around you are going to give you a hard time for sure I think you should

17:57try to strive for it because something that Allah asks for it and it will be a

18:01benefit to your life the one comment I hear from women across the board is they

18:05feel safer they feel safe when they put this on which talks a lot about what we

18:10feel coming from us from all directions for men which I felt in New York so much it

18:14was very annoying this fact that I can call you and make noises at you and approach you

18:20without an invitation I put hijab on that I'll stop if you had a chance to speak

18:26directly to all the non-Muslims in the world what would you like to say to them

18:29in just a few moments I think like I said when I wanted to go to the top of the

18:32Empire State Building just pick up the Quran and read it it's not going to bite

18:37you it's not going to make you deviate and there's so many stories wonderful

18:41stories that you know people felt the Quran calling to them and they're like I'm

18:44avoiding it I have so many friends I'm not going to read that book I'm not

18:47going to read that book well I need to read it so I can convince the Muslims

18:49they're wrong and they finally pick it up it's like and they're afraid they're

18:52actually afraid to pick it up and I think some of the other religions teach

18:55you that like oh don't go to don't go to mosque don't go into church don't you

18:59know don't don't enter into somebody else's religious space it can't hurt even

19:03if you don't become Muslim there's so much wonderful guidance in the Quran I

19:06always feel so sad when I hear Americans they refer back to the Bible all the

19:10time or the Torah the Bible the Bible the Bible like could we just mention the

19:13Quran there's a wonderful beautiful eye about what you're talking about that

19:17makes so much sense just infuse the world with Islam it's not going to hurt

19:21anybody we're not coming to take over that's not the intent but there's so

19:26much to be benefited from knowing about Islam so much benefit

19:30I think it's so much for sharing your story and may Allah reward you Allah allow

19:36you to insha'Allah enter Jannah thank you for allowing me to tear my share my

19:42story and insha'Allah it's a light enlightening to people insha'Allah

NYC Christian Singer Converts To Islam! - “I Sang in Churches… Until I Found Islam”

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