Light Upon Light

A bit of departure from mixes you hear on Chill Pills podcast: this is an Islamic songs (nasheed) mix infused with some lo-fi and ambient. The mix is a personal reflection of a defining journey I’ve been on for the past 4 years and going strong.

For the longest time, my heart was shackled by attachments to worldly pursuits. I sought perfection in an imperfect world. I grieved losses, including the deaths of close friends. I wrestled with cognitive dissonance, as my actions sometimes strayed from my values. My moral compass wavered, and with it, my priorities and sense of identity shifted constantly.

But God had a plan for me—one that, in hindsight, I can now clearly trace through the defining moments of my life. That plan granted me the greatest gift of all: guidance back to His light, back to the Straight Path.

I have found true freedom and contentment in complete submission. It may seem paradoxical. Prevailing "wisdom" equates freedom with the ability to chase every whim and ambition, promising that with enough "luck" and "hustle," happiness is within reach.

Yet, in my experience, this is a mirage.

Submission to His divine will has liberated me from the anxiety of the endless chase and the inevitable disappointments strewn along that path. For the past four years and counting, I have been striving to empty my heart of false idols and fill it solely with the love of what is pure: the love and reliance on Allah.

The closer my actions brought me to Him, the more I felt His presence and innumerable blessings. One of the greatest transformative blessings was getting married in 2024—a milestone He made effortless in ways I could never have imagined.

This light, His guidance, and walking His Straight Path have transformed me in every aspect of my life—as a son, a husband, a friend, a professional, and, most importantly, as a human being in a world that desperately needs more humanity.

All this to say, dear listeners: my heart has been filled with light upon light, and I fervently wish for you to experience it in your lifetime. When all else has disappointed you, when nothing has filled that relentless void crying out for "love," "more," and "what's next," why not open your heart, even just a little, to this transformative light? A light that will not only grant you the contentment you seek in this world but also an eternal happiness in the next.

---

---

Tracklist

00:00
widx. ― calling

02:03
Siedd vs. Project AER, v i v ― Not Alone I'm Here For Your Journey (Uplifting Pills Mashup)

05:36
Be Still the Earth ― Making Sense of Things (Edit)

07:51
Sami Yusuf ― The 99 Names - The House Concert

15:52
Salt Of The Sound ― In Quietude

18:38
Siedd ― Calling to You

22:14
HoKø, Lucie Cravero ― Little Mew

24:13
Adam Taylor ― Theme for Judith

25:15
Siddhartha Khosla ― Jack's Theme (Three Sentences)

26:45
Andrew Lahiff ― The Dream Lives Forever (Excerpt)

27:01
Ilyas Mao, Isam B vs. Dark Winter, Yuforia ― Heavenly Love and Quiet Dreams (Uplifting Pills Mashup)

31:09
drifting / sleeping vs. Sami Yusuf ― Dreamlands, Let Us Not Forget (sh Nasr) (Uplifting Pills Mashup)

32:29
Ilyas Mao, Boonaa Mohammed vs. Gerhard Trinkler ― Back Home, Venus (Uplifting Pills Mashup)

37:25
Siedd ― Repentance - Interlude

40:06
Jupi/ter ― His Brother (Excerpt)

40:57
Sami Yusuf ― Grounded - Karaoke Version

42:56
Amin Davis, Boonaa Mohammed, Ilyas Mao, Essam ― Celebrate Humanity

46:00
Sami Yusuf ― Fire

49:21
Human Is Alive, Kieldfal ― There Is Always Hope

51:06
Dear Gravity ― Finish, Remember, Begin Again

53:37
Siedd, Safe Adam ― Alhumdulillah Ala Kulli Haal

56:45
Montmartre ― Hope (Edit)

59:11
vesky, Nadav Cohen ― Endless Love