October 23, 2024 • 55 mins
In this episode of 'The Family Ties: A Prescription for Society,' co-hosts Frank Abdul Shaheed & Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown engage with two inspiring young minds, Nadia Thorton Mohammed and Adam Wallace Mohammed. Adam, a 21-year-old physics major at Georgia State University focused on astrophysics, and Nadia, a 22-year-old computer science major with aspirations in aerospace engineering, share their journeys and the pivotal role of family and community support in their successes. The discussion delves into embracing unique personal traits, overcoming educational challenges, respecting individual paths, and the importance of seeking help and forming supportive peer relationships. They also touch on the wonder of the natural world and the impact of technological advancements, like the James Webb Telescope and SpaceX, on space exploration. The episode concludes with reflections on nurturing children's talents, the power of staying true to oneself, and fostering environments that cultivate future leaders. The hosts express pride in the achievements of Adam and Nadia and look forward to future conversations.
00:00 Welcome to The Family Ties
01:15 Introducing Our Special Guests
02:53 Early Fascinations with Science
07:57 Parental Support and Overcoming Challenges
16:53 The Role of Community and Education
22:20 Navigating Academic and Career Paths
27:50 Navigating Peer Relationships in College
30:11 Building an Ethical Army
31:00 Adam's Perspective on Social Challenges
32:57 The Nature of Goodness and Community
34:52 Embracing the Natural World
40:38 Technological Advances and Space Exploration
48:33 Advice for Younger Selves
51:07 Closing Remarks and Reflections
This podcast is about family life as a means to address current problems in American society. A scripture based African American perspective.
Welcome to The Family Ties, a Prescription for Society.
Through this experience we invite you to join us in an exploration of the concept of family ties as a prescription for society.
YOUR HOSTS: Frank Abdul Shaheed &
Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown
This episode was edited by Darryl D Anderson of AMG - Ambassador Media Group visit https://www.ambassador-mediagroup.com/
__________________________________
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Back Home by Ghostrifter Official | https://soundcloud.com/ghostrifter-official
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Copyright 2024
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Frank (00:17):
Peace be upon the family, as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:28):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:36):
Sister Farida.
Once again, we are back togetherdoing another wonderful episode,
I believe of this family ties,the prescription for society.
And in this particular episode,we have been honored to have the
presence of some young peoplewho are doing some major things.
things for our future.
(00:59):
So we talk about the past andthe importance of the past.
And we talk about presently whatwe need to do in the day and age
that we're in right now to makesure everything is good today.
But we also need to know thatall of that is designed for our
future and what that futurelooks like for us.
So we are honored today to havetwo special guests.
Faridah (01:18):
Yes.
So joining us today, I, we arehonored and we are excited to
share with our listeningaudience Just a glimpse into a
future that looks so bright forus.
Yes.
And so I have the pleasure ofintroducing one of our guests.
His name is Adam Mohamed.
He is 21 years old.
He's a member of the class of2025 at Georgia State
(01:39):
University.
Adam is a physics major and hisinterest is in pursuing
astrophysics.
And so we are excited to embarkupon this conversation with Adam
as a member of the panel becausethe considerations of the
natural world and the spacebeyond give us so much insight
(02:00):
into not only the family andsociety, but also what we need
to do to secure the future.
Frank (02:07):
Absolutely.
Welcome, Adam.
Faridah (02:09):
Thank you for
Frank (02:09):
having
Faridah (02:09):
me.
Frank (02:10):
And our other esteemed member of this panel is Nadia
Thornton Muhammad, who is 22years old.
She is a senior.
At Georgia state university withher graduation date being spring
2025.
She is a computer science majorand she looks to venture into
(02:33):
engineering and aerospace,aerospace engineering.
Once again, we both of ourguests have a very interesting
invitation to the natural world,and they are responding
naturally to that natural worldin their pursuits in their
majors.
So welcome, Nadia.
Nadia (02:50):
Thank you.
I'm happy to be here.
Faridah (02:53):
And so both of you have expressed an interest in the
natural world or the naturalsciences.
So if we could just open up justbriefly can you tell me Can you
remember how young you were whenyou first began to express an
interest in either the space,the moon, the sky, any aspect of
(03:13):
the natural world, or evenengineering?
And Nadia, can you take
Nadia (03:18):
that question?
I can, actually, because I thinkabout it a lot.
Ever since I was little, I wouldalways read, like, these, like,
super big encyclopedias for kidsand stuff.
And I always gravitated towards,like, the space ones.
So I, as far back as like maybefirst or second grade, I've
wanted to be like an astronautor do something involving space.
(03:41):
And by the time I was like eightin third grade, that was when it
was like solidified.
And then when we moved down toAtlanta around 11 ish or so
years ago, that was when itsolidified into aerospace
engineering to like design therockets and making them instead
of like being in them.
So it's just a bit
Faridah (04:02):
too dangerous.
Wow.
Well, we'll return to thatstatement you just made a little
later in the podcast.
I promise you not yet.
How about you, Adam?
Adam (04:12):
For me, it's been as long as I can remember.
I have pretty poor eyesight, soI'd always find myself really
squinting at very small thingsbecause that's the thing I could
really see.
And so I took fascination in thethe grass and the ants and
things I could tangibly pick upand look close to.
And then at night, the onlything being visible during that
(04:35):
time would be the glowing ballin the sky.
That would be like, what isthat?
The only thing illuminating upthere.
So for as long as I canremember, this, this natural
world has fascinated me.
And then throughout school.
And as I got older, my interestsfluctuated going from material
with chemistry and anatomy, andthen finally settling on
(04:57):
astronomy, which has always beena passion of mine and
integrating
Frank (05:01):
physics
Adam (05:01):
with
Frank (05:01):
that.
Awesome.
Awesome.
So I want to give Adam and Nadiaa little bit of background of
myself.
I am a graduate of Morgan StateUniversity class of 2003.
With a degree in biology.
So I am one who was veryinterested in the natural world
himself.
So I just want to let you know,there's nothing but scientists
(05:22):
on this panel today.
So this should make for a verygood conversation.
Faridah (05:26):
I must say, I will not be sharing my great.
date of graduation to datemyself on this program, but I am
a graduate of LincolnUniversity, another historically
black college here in theNortheast.
I know Maryland Morgan State isin technically in the South, but
we'll, we'll claim proximity toone another.
Okay.
(05:47):
But.
Anyway, I, I majored in physics.
I have actually a BA.
I did all the requirements forBS, but I also minored in
Chinese.
So I got the, the bachelor ofarts designation, but my
fascination too, as it soundssimilar to the both of you in
the sense that science and thenatural world have always piqued
my interest.
So I am very excited abouthaving this conversation with
(06:10):
you all today.
Frank (06:12):
So I want to kind of go.
To the left a little bit on ourpattern to take us to the
destination excellence.
So I just wanted to say this.
So without dating anyone, SisterFarda I remember when the
parents of Nadia presented herto me.
(06:32):
When she was born and I rememberthe joy of the parents, her
father specifically, and even ofher mother of knowing that they
had something that was a promisefrom God having a brand new
child and their interest wasthat they were going to do
whatever they had to do toensure that this child would
have a good future and we wouldtalk about it all the time and I
(06:57):
would say that You know, talkingto sister Nadia currently I
think their parents kept theirpromise, but not only did they
keep their promise as a, asparents, but I believe that
sister Nadia kept her promise asa, as a daughter of the two and
whether or not it wasarticulated or not.
The sense of the soul itself wasmoving in that direction for
(07:20):
obedience and it was moving inthat direction for having great
expression.
And I just want to sayspecifically for her that we are
all proud of you.
The community itself is veryproud of you.
And we shared that samesensitivity when you were first
prevented presented to thecommunity many, many years ago.
And I don't want to date you,but many, many, many years ago.
So just want to say, you know,we're very proud.
(07:42):
And for our audience, we justwant to let them know that.
We have some very special gueststoday.
Faridah (07:47):
Yeah.
So that's, that's a, a glowingrecommendation from brother
Frank, but I'd like to delve alittle bit into something you
said earlier, Adam, about yourinterests.
And I think it may be helpfulfor other young people as
they're trying to determinetheir, their role, their purpose
on this earth and what isavailable to them.
(08:07):
You mentioned that you had.
poor eyesight growing up, andthat caused you to look more
closely at the things that wereclose to you.
And those happened to be in thenatural world, like the grass
and the ants.
And so I really would like you,if you can, to speak a little
bit to the, the idea thatsometimes particularly as young
people, we can feel disheartenedby the things that seem like
(08:30):
they are handicaps.
But it seems as if you took whatseems like a handicap and you
allowed that to narrow yourfocus in a way to some, some
direction that Allah was leadingyou to.
So would you mind discussing alittle bit that you know, how
that awakening happened and whattype of insights you may have
gotten to the world based onthat closer look?
Adam (08:52):
Yeah, of course, an interesting like stance to take
is a lot of people take theiryou can call them inadequacies
or necessarily, and they willsee that in a bad light, but
it's important to traversethrough life.
And when you look for yourpurpose and to take into
consideration Everything thatmakes you essentially.
And so those what people couldcall inadequacies or uniqueness.
(09:15):
Those are important to take intoconsideration as they are a part
of you.
They're not a negative ordownside.
They are intrinsically one ofyour traits.
So for me I had noticed inaccordance to my peers back in,
I think it was an elementaryschool.
And I could see that I had tosit very close to the board and
initially it was kind ofembarrassing because like I was
(09:36):
all the way up here with theteacher and not and while
everybody else was in back and Ifelt singled out and excluded.
But I took interest andfascination with how much detail
I could see.
So when bringing things close tome, I could make out things that
you could easily pass over as ifthat was the only thing I could
see.
So looking at things closely andtaking into what I could
(10:00):
actually helps shape myappreciation for detail, goes
into, I have another interest ofart as well.
And I would always draw thingsvery intricately even if the,
whatever I was copying orwhatever I was looking at was
particularly simple, alwaysfound interest and fascination
in the sheer amount of detailthat can be found in things.
(10:21):
So, I would say that forindividuals who aren't to, are,
may feel themselves excluded bywhat they are born with, or what
may have happened, or what theymay take as downsides to
themselves, I would say thatthey should instead utilize them
for pursuing what they wish to.
Faridah (10:41):
Thank you for that insightful response.
I think that will be veryhelpful, not only for young
people, but for every humanbeing, you know, that's, that's
a very insightful response.
If I could ask one follow upquestion before I toss it back
to Frank is did your, it soundsto me as if this was something
that that God put in yournature, you know, there's a
(11:03):
sensitivity that was developedin you, but did your parents
play any part in helping you tosee this as just another pathway
for you that was unique asopposed to being you know, a, a
drawback or downside?
Adam (11:16):
Yes, I would certainly say so.
So while, you know, there's, youcould take in, or the individual
can receive the, the appearancebeing there and attributing to
that is very important.
Quite A juxtaposition.
My mother was the one who tookme to get my glasses.
And so, before, I could only seesmall details of what I could
(11:39):
hold close.
When I received my glasses forthe first time, it was like a
brand new world opening up forme.
I can see everything now.
So yes, and that, and then aswell as the parents being the
guiding hand in correcting or tosteering you in the correct
direction.
I would say is very important.
Faridah (12:00):
Wonderful.
Thank you so much.
Frank (12:02):
So for Adam, I just want to say in the same breath, in
the same spirit, I spoke aboutNadia your parents, when you
were born, your parents havingthe The excitement of
understanding this new birththat comes to now extend their
interests and extend the thingsthat they have been working for
(12:24):
and the excitement that theypresented you to our community.
Firstly, by just naming you,Adam, and the fact that Adam was
the first picture that we see ofthe thinking man in creation and
him having a natural dispositionwith the creation to study the
creation and to engage it.
That's putting all of us on thatpattern of having natural
(12:47):
scientific inclinations to buildthe life, to build the life of
society, to build the life offamilies and, and, and, and all
of those pathways.
So your name, as we were taughtby your parents to the whole
community about how special Adamwas.
So Adam Muhammad himself had aspecial place in our hearts and
in our community because theysaw that our future would be
(13:11):
secure.
Through this particularindividual and through this
particular sensitivity.
So I just want to say on behalfof the community themselves,
that we are very proud that AdamMuhammad is living to the name
that he was given andunderstanding the weight of such
a name and the weight of suchexpectations.
So I just want to say thank youfor that, Adam.
(13:31):
So for Nadia, I want to ask youthe same question that we gave
Adam about You know, what, howyour parents helped you develop
into this natural sense ofwanting to engage the natural
world the way you have.
Nadia (13:42):
So they were actually really integral in me staying on
track because I bounced schoolsaround a lot.
I moved from place to place.
So it, and I'm starting torealize that that process kind
of sort of ruptured myrelationship with.
(14:04):
other people my age, but the onething that stayed consistent
was, well, you know, I, I alwayslike science.
I always like looking up at thestars in the sky and I always
want to find a way to get thereand understand more about it.
And so they, when I was, youknow, You know, tease for it in
school, my parents were alwaysconsistently encouraging and
(14:27):
saying, you know, you're goingto go to a place where other
people just do not have the mindto understand.
And yeah, they're just alwaysencouraging and they were
always, they'd never, they neverlost faith in what I was able to
do.
And even now that's very warm tothink about.
(14:48):
Like I, I.
I'm happy and grateful that theyhave always been there for me.
Faridah (14:54):
So I wanted to follow that up.
I, I.
It sounds as if both of you areconscious and aware of the the
role that your families played,your parents in particular
played in supporting thedevelopment of what was placed
in you intrinsically, theinterests and the sensitivities
that were given to youinherently.
(15:14):
So I wanted to ask you a similarquestion that I asked Adam, and
that is for him, it was hisvision.
For you, it sounds like themoving around and having a
rupture of sorts with peers andthen having the experience of,
you know, being teased or, youknow, in, in some respect for
your interests.
I, it sounds as if you gainedsome type of internal strength
(15:38):
that was fortified by yourparents in terms of this being a
strength of yours and notnecessarily something to look at
negatively because your peersdid.
Could you speak a little bitmore to that type of strength
you developed?
Nadia (15:50):
Yeah.
I mean, I don't, I'm, I'mgrowing up and getting older and
realizing that it is a strengthto prevail with the dreams that
you have despite having abillion hurdles along the way.
And It, it hurts it that thedream that you would want to
(16:12):
have is a lot harder to maintainwhen there's tons of other kids
in your ear telling you thatit's boring or that it's too or
it's just you, the things thatkids want to do aren't the
things that you want to do andit, it makes you waver in what
you want to achieve and I'm,I'm, I'm I'm starting to realize
(16:36):
that, like, despite all of that,I never broke.
So, I never changed, I nevershifted my ideals to be
something else.
So, that is something that I'm
Faridah (16:49):
grateful for.
So, yeah.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
You're, you're defining, and Ithink for our listening
audience, I hope that we're allpaying close attention to these
voices because this is ourfuture and what you just
defined, Nadia, in terms of yourintegrity, your personal
integrity that was supported inyour development by your
(17:10):
parents, but it's something thatis necessary for all success.
You know, that's thisrecognition that difficulty is
part of the path, but you werewilling to endure the difficulty
in spite of the discomfort orthe pain that it may have caused
you.
So we indeed not having beenthere at your introduction to
the community, I must say,indeed, I am proud of what you
(17:31):
are sharing with our listeningaudience today in terms of the
character that you'redemonstrating and the wisdom.
that is coming from the mouthsof 22 and 21 year olds.
Frank (17:41):
Just listening to them present themselves in a very
articulate way we, we realizethat there are processes in our
environment that will stunt thatgrowth.
Part of the educational systemis, is part of that part of our
just culture in general, thegeneral popular culture
sometimes stunts these levels ofgrowth, doesn't give a lot of
(18:03):
interest to, to specifiedPathways for a child to have
their best life and to have thebest life.
We see these hurdles all aroundthe society.
Is it anything that you thinkand we'll, we'll get their
perspective, but is it anythingthat you think we should be more
sensitive to when it comes tounderstanding how unique.
(18:28):
Every child is, and as we knowthat we are taught in the
Qur'an, that every child ishonorable.
Is it anything that we can doas, as adults, as, as leaders of
families as people in society tocreate clearer or cleaner
pathways to give more support tosuch specified circumstances for
(18:50):
children to be, young adults tobe, college students to be their
best selves?
Faridah (18:55):
Oh, well, you know, that's a big ask, but no, I, I
do, I do think that God tells usin the Quran and the scripture
of the Muslims, he tells us thathe is the one who gives to
individuals and that we're notto be jealous of, of the degree
of greatness that he might givea different individuals.
The only time that we should bejealous of, of others is.
(19:17):
in their piety, that we want toattain their level of closeness
to him.
But in every other sense, what Ithink that adults can do, what
parents can do, and what we cando now now that you two are, are
young adults, is walk along withyou and advise you and guide
you.
And is that when you see aninterest that your child has,
(19:38):
that you recognize it, yousupport it, and you invite
everyone else in your, with notjust in the family unit, but
also their teachers and othersin their community to respect
the the unique interests of thatchild and recognize that we
should not prioritize onechild's intelligence over
another.
So today we are speaking withtwo highly intelligent young
(20:01):
people whom it is clear basedupon the virtues, not just the
area of interest, but based uponhow they have expressed
themselves today and the insightthat they have as to what is
necessary for accomplishment,what what goes into the
successful individual.
It is, a parent that they havebeen singled out by their Lord
for leadership in one capacityor another.
(20:23):
Every child is not necessarilygoing to be singled out for
leadership, but every child issingled out by God, the creator
of mankind, for somecontribution to be beneficial to
mankind.
And so it is up to us as parentsand other adults in that
community to recognize what itis that your child what special
interest or sensitivity thatyour child has and to support
(20:45):
that.
And so if one child is, Adammentioned that he's an artist
along with his interest in thesciences.
Nadia talked about her lifelonginterest in the sciences and
space and then how it shiftedfrom being an astronaut and
being Designing, desiring toalign that interest with her
personality.
So she doesn't want to be thewoman who goes into space, but
(21:06):
she wants to be the woman whodesigns the crafts and the
systems that take a person intospace.
And that's a result ofrecognizing who she is and what
her strengths are.
And so I think you might havethe child who is connected to
nature.
You might have the child wholoves to cook.
You might have, oh, who mightwant to be a chef.
We are in the, in the, business,I think, in our society of
(21:27):
saying one endeavor isinherently or intrinsically more
valuable than the other.
Well, I think that's where we,we lose the ability to support
our children in the best mannerpossible.
It is to recognize, to payenough attention to our
children, to identify theirinterests.
And it sounds like both of theseyoung people's parents
(21:50):
witnessed, understood, and didwhatever they could to open up
pathways for these young peopleto pursue their dreams, no
matter what their peers weresaying, or no matter what other
type of barrier might have stoodin the way.
And to also support them insaying, well, if you want this
dream, we'll support you ingoing after it.
So I think the importance is torecognize, recognize the, the
(22:13):
sensitivities of your childrenand do whatever it takes to
support them in pursuing that.
Frank (22:18):
Beautiful, beautiful.
So Adam, I would like to ask youthis question.
So in your pursuit of physics,what has been some of the
wouldn't say barriers, but whatchallenges, I'm sorry, what has
been some of the challenges thatyou faced in And in your pursuit
in this, in the, in this fieldof physics that you, you either
(22:40):
are wrangling with, or you mayhave possibly overcome, or
you're possibly want to see asituation where you can actually
use physics to actually improvesomething or improve a process.
Adam (22:50):
barriers.
So when it comes to what'sactually interesting, I've never
really had a difficulty when itcame to understanding the
natural world and the scientificprocesses that are described in
it.
But physics in of itself, I findit is, I guess the most natural
(23:10):
of them as physics is the studyof motion between not just
particles, but human beings,animals to celestial bodies.
And it's something that'sentwined with everything with
reality itself.
Okay.
And so I find the both intricatenature and the broadness of it,
the challenging aspect, it'slike learning a different
(23:31):
language.
So when it comes to physics isthe, material itself and just
how the, that not, well,everybody lives in it, but not
everybody can't.
Teach it or understand it fully.
So to try and learn it in ofitself, I find is the most
difficult and the hurdle thatI've had to come over the most.
Frank (23:54):
That's interesting.
My son, my oldest son, who is ahe was a, he graduated with a
math major.
He very, math came very easy forhim, but the thing that
challenged him was to createlanguage to help those who
didn't understand math,understand math.
So on one hand, it became verysecond nature for him to be able
(24:14):
to use computations and movestuff and be able to understand
what that language looked like.
But it was another challenge forhim to now put it in a language
that now the person who didn'tunderstand it could now actually
understand it.
And then gave him an evengreater appreciation and a
greater depth to understand thelaws and logic of math of
mathematics.
So I can definitely understandexactly what you're saying in
(24:36):
that in that in that function.
So, so Nadia same question foryou.
Has there been any challenges,any barriers or anything in your
processes of learning computerscience and wanting to actually
move towards the aerospaceengineering field and, and, and
what you can do to kind ofimprove that.
Circumstance and that type ofendeavor.
Nadia (24:58):
Yeah.
So a problem, the first, and Ifeel like the biggest issue for
me was that I started college in2020, which means that if, yes,
I started during the pandemicyear, and in hindsight, I would
have told myself, wait, wait outa year.
So you don't have to forceyourself to try and basically
(25:19):
teach yourself the fundamentalsof code.
And so I kind of had to start.
from scratch and kind of likeAdam, where it's like, you know,
a lot of maths and sciences cameeasy to me for a long time and
coding languages and rules aretotally different.
And it's like a completelydifferent ball game.
So I'm still to this day,struggling with telling myself
(25:42):
that it's okay that I don'tknow.
Yeah.
The answer to this codingproblem out the gate.
It's okay that it might take acouple hours on top of the fact
that GSU does not have anengineering program.
So I tried to force myself andscramble to go to another school
that did.
And when that didn't work out, Iwas super upset.
(26:06):
I wanted to give up.
I was aimless and it just.
I was just not okay.
So the other half of this isdefinitely telling myself, Hey,
there's other options.
The path to success isn't alwayslinear, and it isn't always in
the direction that you thinkit's going to be in.
And that there's nothing wrongwith, you know, taking your time
(26:30):
or graduating a little bitlater, as long as you know the
material and you understand whatyou're doing.
It's okay, you're doing theright thing, and it's also okay
to ask for help, too.
That's
Faridah (26:43):
That's, that's very important to understand at your
age, you know, and at this stageof your growth is that asking
for help is not a sign ofweakness, that it is indeed the
way that questions are answered.
And, you know, for us asMuslims, the Prophet Muhammad
prayers and peace be upon him,he encouraged questions.
He always wanted people to askand be certain rather than to be
(27:03):
uncertain.
So along those lines, in termsof Figuring out where you are
and and what I heard from you atthe tail end of what you were
sharing is that telling yourselfthat it's okay if you're, you
know, not necessarily followingthe schedule that our society
has set out, right?
You know, Oh, I'm a year behind,or I'm doing this a year late.
(27:25):
So it sounds as if you'refollowing the timetable that
will get you to yourdestination.
And you're pretty, even thoughyou might have doubts sometimes,
it sounds as if the both of yousound pretty confident in the
fact that this is something thathas been with you, an interest
that's been with you, thatyou've acknowledged that God has
(27:48):
put in you.
from a young age.
And so you have to pursue it,whatever the cost.
So my question is for you.
And then for Adam is you'vementioned a little bit, you've
alluded to how your peers haveresponded.
Sometimes, especially I'mguessing middle school and high
school to your area of interestand how that might set you
apart.
(28:09):
And I'm wondering, where do yousee yourself now in terms of
your peer group, in terms ofwhat you want to study and how
that connects to.
your path for your life.
Do you see any significantdifferences?
And if so, can you share with,with our audience, especially
the young people in ourlistening audience, you know,
what, what type of thinking doyou have to do?
(28:31):
What ways do you have to supportyourself, especially being a
college student with being okaywith being different?
Nadia (28:37):
Yeah, I had a lot of issues with just friends in
general for a really long time,but I can confidently say that
my friends that I've met incollege now are, they may not be
Muslim, but they are stillaligned with, you know, Islam.
Wanting to strive for stabilityand making the right choices and
(28:58):
not doing like irresponsiblethings like all of my friends
are majoring in either biologyor computer science or even the
more liberal arts students stillwant to focus on their education
and focus on the right thingsand keeping themselves on track.
And another thing is that withthe fact that they're not
(29:20):
Muslim, they still respect thefact that I am.
And that's something that Ivalue and cherish very dearly
because I went through a lot offriend groups where that wasn't
respected.
And I would, back then I wouldessentially put the Islamic part
(29:41):
of me to the side to appeaseother people.
And as an adult, I realizedthat's fine.
Not a good thing because youknow, I, I want to be Muslim.
I like, I love being Muslim.
So it's like, I, I don't want togive that up just because some
people don't understand why I'mnot doing this thing or, you
(30:01):
know, or something like that.
But the friends that I have noware the ones that I cherish very
dearly and I am grateful forthem very much.
So.
Faridah (30:11):
It's so heartening to hear this because if you're not
aware, with the podcast whereour aim is not just to have a
conversation or to hearourselves speak, or even to just
hear our illustrious guests,such as yourselves, to hear you
all speak, it is to, to build amovement toward establishing an
ethical army.
(30:32):
And that means an army of, ofhuman beings, in particular, the
American context of peopleacross faiths.
who are looking for the goodlife, the best life, and are
willing to stand up in societyand do what it takes to work
together toward that vision.
So it sounds like you are wellon your way toward finding not
(30:52):
just friends, but to help usbuild that ethical army.
by joining with other people whowant what is best in life.
So I'll throw that question overto you, Adam.
A similar question in terms ofhow you see yourself in terms of
your peers.
Has it been a challenge?
Do you see yourself in a uniquesetting?
What is it like for you to be orwhat advice do you have to help
(31:15):
young people grapple with beingokay, being different.
And then also similar to what ifyou could wrap up with what
Nadia said You know, who, whoare the people that you've
gathered around you?
And have you found it difficultto do so?
Or what does that circle aroundyou look like?
Adam (31:30):
Interestingly enough the social aspects of college and
life in general have been moreof a challenge for me.
So I can't quite say that I havea group of peers that I'm close
to.
I could say, I can't say that,but I have found that While
solitude does help certainthings in terms of pursuits of
(31:54):
interest, working together withother individuals do make things
easier, especially it isimportant to surround yourself
with people who are Notnecessarily similar, but are
more so oriented in the same wayyou are.
Some people are goal oriented.
Some people have dreams, otherpeople just want to mess around.
(32:16):
So it's important to surroundyourself with people that are
think similarly in terms ofwhere they want to go and to
surround yourself with peoplewho are better.
To so as you can see a way toimprove upon what you have and
where you can go forward to sothere is a difficulty in both
(32:37):
avenues of being both solitaryand having a group of differing
opinions or differingbackgrounds or pursuits, but
it's important to know thatthere is.
Good in both in both doingthings to your for yourself
doing things for others andhaving others help you forward
Faridah (32:55):
the balance
Adam (32:56):
Yes
Faridah (32:56):
a balance.
Thank you.
Frank (32:57):
The nature of goodness is It's expressed in people Coming
together to display it.
I, I can't be good by myself.
There is no proof of me beinggood all alone or being by
myself.
So the nature of goodness isthat we are coming together
community forming, if you wantto use that term to express our
(33:19):
goodness to one another.
And that goodness oftentimes ischecked in a sense with, with a
regardfulness andaccountability.
On that sense that the thingsthat I do, I'm gonna be
accountable for what I doultimately, because I want to
give something so I'm not givingit to you because I want
(33:39):
something in the, in the, inreturn, I'm giving it to you
because my soul is expressingthat I must give, I must create
these environments for you toaccept the charity that I'm
giving you.
So we see.
College for our youngsters, ouryoung people as an opportunity
for them to now go into theworld, the working world to be
(34:00):
able to make a contribution intothe working world.
And ultimately, thatcontribution is to move us
forward.
So we give these steps in oureducation to be able to give
them the tools that they need tobe able to go forward with that.
And we hope that in, in thempursuing these.
Interest that people will begravitated towards them to give
(34:22):
each other support because theyall in that that womb like
situation in college is really awomb in college.
You learn things that you'venever, ever learned.
Before about yourself whenyou're in college and it has
absolutely nothing to do withwhat you learn in the, in the
classroom.
So it gives you a differentsense of life and it prepares
(34:42):
you for the next steps in the,in the, in life.
So we really applaud, you know,our young people who are
actively pursuing the thingsthat come very natural to them.
Now when I was a young man,well, even younger than that
Comets was something that I wasalways fascinated about, and it
(35:02):
just so happens that aparticular comment was close to
entering our, our solar system.
And because my mother sensitizedme to the natural world you
know, every time we walkedoutside at night, she would
always make me look up to lookat the stars, look at the sun.
Let me look at the moon and, andhow the moon reflect the phases
of the moon.
So.
(35:23):
When this particular comic wascoming, my mom brought me this
really expensive telescope.
I had no idea how much she paidfor it at the time, but it was
really expensive because sheknew I had a fascination with
the stars, with the sky, withthe heavens, the heavenly bodies
and God's creation in general.
And interesting enough, when thecomic came, it was cloudy.
So I never got a chance to seethe comet.
So you know, but hate to pop theballoon on that one, but
Faridah (35:48):
was that Haley's comment?
Frank (35:49):
Haley's Comet, yes, yes, yes.
Haley's come.
Yes.
So but I was able to fortunatelysee two other comets after that.
But that particular comment, butthat was as a young.
Mind that was engaging thenatural world and wanting to
answer the call to respond tothe world to see who I was and
what interest had for me.
That was just like one of myfirst calls and my mom, you
(36:11):
know, introduced me to that.
And scripture tells us to lookinto the stars and observe the
heavenly bodies and how they runtheir course and also look at
them and see that there isnothing holding them up.
Do you see nothing?
actually holding them up, excepttheir obedience to the creator
who created them to be in theirnature.
So so as we are going throughthis episode of this podcast you
(36:35):
know, we want to stronglyemphasize to our audience, our
audience, our wonderfulaudience, that the natural was
natural for us to have adisposition towards the natural
world.
And unfortunately, thecircumstances we live in today
has taken us away from ournatural.
Disposition to the naturalworld.
We don't even have anyengagement with it anymore.
(36:55):
So I just wanted to highlightthat to say how special our
guests are today, that they havethis natural urge to just go
right to the natural world.
And that's what we will findour, our salvation.
That's what we'll find ourdevelopment.
That's what we will find ourcreativity for us to build these
bonds, these family bonds thatultimately lead to a good social
(37:18):
life.
Faridah (37:19):
Hi, I agree.
I have a question for each ofyou.
Maybe I'll start with Adam thistime and then go to Nadia.
And that is, can you tell usabout a time or whoever would
like to answer it first about atime that a natural, as Frank
shared with us just now that anatural phenomenon excited you.
And you know, either meaning youtruly were enthusiastic about it
(37:41):
or it excited something in yourthinking or or woke, awoke
something in your, your, thethinking of your heart.
Was there something eitherrecently or in your childhood,
some natural phenomenon thatreally caused you to think
deeply or become very excited?
Adam (37:59):
And a recent memory Or at least in one particular
instance, I've been blessed tohave seen not one but two solar
eclipses.
So those are, as a singleinstance, are definitely
something I would put as a verystrong tipping point into the my
(38:20):
interests.
But the good, or at least theThe thing about being a person
attuned to the natural world andthe natural sciences is that
even the smallest things and thething that many people may look
over are the things thatfascinate me the most.
Simply asking questions as towhy does the truck salt the
(38:42):
road?
Or why does the sky look thiscolor at this time of day?
Small, Everyday occurrences likethat are the things that entice
me the most because those arethe things that you see the most
often and understanding thatevery day's phenomena is what
truly inspires me to continueforward.
Faridah (39:02):
Wow, I feel exactly the same way, Adam, about the
everyday natural phenomena.
Nadia, is there anything you canthink of?
Yeah,
Nadia (39:11):
I have to, I have to piggyback on the two solar
eclipses.
That I have been blessed to seebecause but well, I have a lot
of things, but but mainly thetwo solar eclipses are like the
phenomena and I'll never forgetthat time we were in 10th grade
and school literally stopped tolet all of the kids walk out
(39:34):
onto the field to look up at thesolar eclipse with the
protective gear, of course.
So but I remember everyone inclass was so excited and we were
all talking about just howstrange and how dark it got and
how cool that was.
And But it's also thediscoveries that we're making
(39:54):
with advancements of technology.
So like the James Webb telescopebeing launched out and taking
beautiful in depth pictures ofplanets within our own solar
system and how clear and crispthey are and and discovering
pictures of black holes andstuff.
And so it's just, it's so muchthat we've.
(40:15):
that we're able to see with theadvancements of society and
technology.
And it just makes me so excitedto want to eventually be a part
of that.
So,
Faridah (40:26):
yeah, I can feel your excitement.
I, both of you, and I know youboth have different modes of
expressing yourself, but I canliterally feel, you know, the
enthusiasm that both you andAdam just shared.
And, and I like that you wereable to connect it to the
technological advances because alot of times we can you know, in
our, as adults, we recognizesometimes the, the harms of
(40:50):
technology, and we recognizethat sometimes technology may
separate us from the world.
from appreciation of the naturalworld.
But what you're returning ourattention to is the fact that
and like you, the James WebbTelescope, I look at these
pictures and it's like art.
And I don't know if youappreciate it in that manner,
Adam, as well as an artist.
(41:10):
But some of those pictures ofthe universe and the planets
that you mentioned, Nadia, theyare, I mean, it's Gorgeous.
You can't find anything morebeautiful in the Louvre, you
know, than, than these picturesof space.
So it, it is amazing.
And so I, I wanted to maybe makethat connection.
I have another question for youall, but Adam, is there anything
as an artist that connects toyou in terms of the perception
(41:34):
of beauty or definitions ofbeauty that you find in this,
your appreciation of naturalphenomena or the natural world
itself?
Adam (41:43):
Yes, I certainly can.
Just the notation of the theimages that the James Webb
telescope has taken in the blackholes and galaxies and
everything.
In my personal opinion, I findanything, anything that humans
can create is in a palecomparison to the.
The space itself in the two lawscreation, the images that have
(42:06):
been taken by these telescopesto that detail our universe, and
not only the ways that we cansee, but also in the spectrums
that we can't are.
is almost indescribable.
Their sheer, the scale of themis something to truly behold.
And to understand thesemovements, the shapes that they
(42:26):
take, and trying to replicatethat onto paper is something I
found difficult because I've,I've tried.
So it is certainly something tomarvel at and to appreciate both
from a scientific standpoint, anartistic standpoint, and just a
existing one.
Faridah (42:48):
Wonderful.
Yeah, that was kind of, it's a,just a sunset every day, you
know.
So like you said, thosepictures, you try to replicate
that and we can't even comeclose, you know, it's, it's,
it's amazing.
Frank, did you have a question?
No, because I know I haveseveral more, but I
Frank (43:04):
No, I'm, I'm gonna let you get with the questions, but
I just wanna say the greatconjecture.
Is that what It's conjunctureconjecture.
I can't show, I can forgot theterm of it, conjuncture, but
when we was able to see Saturnand the lining, I think it was
Jupiter and Saturn or something,not too long ago, I can't think
of the name, I'm sorry.
But you can actually seeSaturn's rings without any
telescopes, but the naked eye,you can actually see it.
(43:25):
And that really just kind ofblew me away with that.
So.
Faridah (43:29):
Yeah, I mean, there's, there's nothing quite like it to
witness the beauty of, of God'screation and to understand that
it can awaken something in you.
So I have a question for youall, and it's a little bit
related to you know, what's inthe news today.
So what are your thoughts onSpaceX rescuing NASA astronauts?
(43:49):
You know, what, in terms of yourunderstanding, Nadia, both of
the the potential that'sAvailable to us in terms of just
the the technological innovationthat happens in the private
sector a lot.
And then how that affects ourendeavors as human beings to
gain knowledge that's not justbeneficial to one country or one
(44:14):
company, but for mankind.
You have any thoughts on that?
I
Nadia (44:18):
have
Faridah (44:19):
a
Nadia (44:19):
lot of thoughts about this whole subject as a whole,
because I remember seeing somuch discourse about SpaceX
existing as a whole, and I'm ofthe opinion of it is not okay
that it is being run by greedy,mongrel, billionaires.
But however, the concept ofpeople using resource, the
(44:43):
abundance of resources that theyhave to progress the
astronomical industry in thefirst place is really, really
important.
So SpaceX going, using theirresources to save astronauts is
fantastic.
I'm so glad that they're finallygetting out of there because
they've been stranded for, youknow, More than a hundred days,
(45:05):
I want to say, and It's justthe, it's important to recognize
that we need to use, we need tosee that people are using are
having resources and with thoseresources, we can collaborate
with them and kind of build ourown team.
(45:28):
innovations along with theresources that come from not the
most desirable of places.
So yeah.
Faridah (45:35):
Yeah.
No, thank, thank you.
I, I think that's veryinsightful speaking to the
resources that, that God hasmade available to all of mankind
and using them to benefit all ofmankind.
So your point is very welltaken.
Adam, do you have any thoughtson either the recent
developments with SpaceXrescuing the NASA astronauts or
in general?
(45:55):
this idea of privatization anddo you have any thoughts on, on
where, where we are going as, asa nation and as humanity with
regards to space exploration?
Adam (46:06):
Yes, a few the interesting thing about the, the the
stranding of the astronauts is atestament to two companies, one
being interested in trying tosave them and the other one that
put them up there in the firstplace.
Not to name any names of aBoeing, but the it is important.
The privatization of.
of exploration in this expanseinto this field can be looked at
(46:30):
negatively.
It's, and it's understandablethat to have this so much
influence so, so centered aroundus in a single individual.
But it's important to, toremember that these, Leaps in
technological advancement andscience, scientific exploration,
it starts from an individual,from one person who's taken
(46:53):
interest in this world and wantsto use either what they have or
to collaborate with others toinitiate it.
Now, are the certain individualsthe most perfect people?
Not necessarily, but It'simportant to see what they've
contributed with the resourcesthat they've been blessed with
and to take advantage of it, tobe along with it and to give
(47:16):
feedback and opinion onto whereit can go.
Because with technology,technology is nothing more than
a tool that humans have accessto.
And there's individuals who canuse it for whichever way.
So it's important to voice youropinions, voice your, the,
context of it and to integrateyourself with your, with what's
(47:37):
being developed.
So it may be used to where itneeds to.
Faridah (47:41):
Well, we hope to see future endeavors and
corporations started by peoplesuch as yourselves.
We may one day see Nadia andAdam at the helm of a company at
era, you know engineering and,and aero astrophysics research
and development that willbenefit humanity because as you
said it is the result of humanbeings going into the earth
(48:03):
going into the material realityand drawing out benefit for all
of us and sometimes it's not thenicest people doing so but the
principle remains the samenonetheless so we are looking
forward to the day when AdamMuhammad and and Nadia Thornton
Muhammad they are are working toestablish this for the good of
all humanity and and gettingsome material gain in the
(48:26):
process to benefit themselves,their families and society as
well.
So we look forward to that day.
I would like to know if you allhave any in closing as we wrap
up this episode and head towardthe end, I'm wondering, would
you have any advice either, foryour younger sisters and
brothers, if you have any, orfor your younger self, what
(48:47):
would you say to Nadia, youknow, who is seven years old?
What advice would you have forher?
And, and Adam, what would youhave, what advice would you have
for yourself as a young man oryour, your siblings?
And who, Nadia, if you could gofirst, that would be great.
Nadia (49:04):
It's so funny that you mentioned what I would say to a
seven year old me because Iliterally can see a picture of
seven year old me across theroom.
I keep it next to my bed.
But I would just tell her thatshe should never stop being
herself.
You know, she, you, everyone ismade with a very specific flavor
(49:27):
in mind.
And, and.
That is very unique and specialto who you are and nobody else
can do the things that you do.
Nobody else can make the thingsthat you make.
And there's a reason you've beenput here and that reason is
valuable.
That reason is important and youshould keep moving forward.
(49:50):
Keep.
the dream in mind and never letit go, you know, no matter it'll
tweak, it'll change, it'llshift.
But that initial dream that youwant to lock into should never
fade away.
Adam (50:03):
Beautiful
Faridah (50:06):
indeed.
Yes.
Adam (50:08):
For me, I would say that to not be swayed by if other
people aren't like you.
I was aware to find otherindividuals who took the same
interest or similar interests asI did, and I would tell my
younger self to not feel theneed to be like other people,
that you are put here for acertain reason, and it's up to
(50:29):
you to find it.
When you find it, to not give itup, to always hold firm to your
beliefs, to what guides you, andto make sure you follow it
through.
There's many opportunities thatI've had doors closed because of
either shyness or feeling thatmaybe I shouldn't do this or
(50:50):
this isn't really me, maybe Ishould do this instead.
But to really affirm that, justto stay focused, I would say, to
experience different things butknow where, what caused you and
to keep on to that no matterwhat.
Faridah (51:07):
Wise words from our two guests.
That's excellent advice.
Excellent advice.
May, may God reward you in thislife and the next.
May he keep you steadfast, youknow, connected to him, turn to
him always and continuing to dogood.
And I would just add, the onlything I can add to that is that
for our listening audience isthat this is the job of parents
(51:30):
is to create the environmentthat nurtures.
Produces Adam and Nadia.
Yes.
This wisdom that they canexpress so articulately at 21
and 22 years old.
This, this happens because Godsecures it and makes it possible
and because we create theenvironment.
That allows it to flourish as itwas intended to do so.
Frank (51:53):
Yes.
And as a reminder to, to the, tothe parents out there, this
should be the standard of howall of our children communicate.
This shouldn't be something thatwe look as, as an outlier or
just a unique situation, theexception.
We should work diligently witheverything we have to make sure
that this is the standard andnot the exception.
(52:14):
But just as a form of correctionto correct myself.
It was the great conjunction ofJupiter and Saturn that I was
mentioning earlier that we wereable to see Saturn.
So I wanted to correct myself onthat one as well.
So Adam and Nadia, you aretaking the motto of the great TV
show Star Trek, and it would sayto boldly go where no man has
(52:38):
gone before.
That type of determination andstrength is something that is in
our soul and you both areexpressing it.
Truly with, with, with the Godconsciousness in mind and, and
taking it as far as you canpossibly take it, which is
farther than we could ever evendream.
So once again, I want tocongratulate you both and let
you know just how much of acommunity we are proud of you
(53:00):
both.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Faridah (53:02):
Yes.
Nadia (53:02):
Thank you.
Faridah (53:03):
And we would just like to let, let you know that you
are welcome back anytime thisconversation could have gone on
for hours, but we hope that youwould accept our invitation to
join us again on the podcastbecause you have much to offer.
Frank (53:18):
Well, Farida, the praise is for God always.
We have moved one step closer todestination excellence.
Faridah (53:26):
Until next time, let us remain conscious of our Creator,
of the sacred relationship ofparent and child, and of the
family ties that bind us.
Subscribe to the podcast andcome back next time for a new
episode of The Family Ties.
Frank (53:40):
From Frank Abdul Shahid
Faridah (53:43):
and Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Peace.
Peace
Frank (53:49):
be a upon be
Faridah (53:50):
upon
Frank (53:51):
the family, the family.
Peace be upon the family, as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:28):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:36):
Sister Farida.
Once again, we are back togetherdoing another wonderful episode,
I believe of this family ties,the prescription for society.
And in this particular episode,we have been honored to have the
presence of some young peoplewho are doing some major things.
things for our future.
(00:59):
So we talk about the past andthe importance of the past.
And we talk about presently whatwe need to do in the day and age
that we're in right now to makesure everything is good today.
But we also need to know thatall of that is designed for our
future and what that futurelooks like for us.
So we are honored today to havetwo special guests.
Faridah (01:18):
Yes.
So joining us today, I, we arehonored and we are excited to
share with our listeningaudience Just a glimpse into a
future that looks so bright forus.
Yes.
And so I have the pleasure ofintroducing one of our guests.
His name is Adam Mohamed.
He is 21 years old.
He's a member of the class of2025 at Georgia State
(01:39):
University.
Adam is a physics major and hisinterest is in pursuing
astrophysics.
And so we are excited to embarkupon this conversation with Adam
as a member of the panel becausethe considerations of the
natural world and the spacebeyond give us so much insight
(02:00):
into not only the family andsociety, but also what we need
to do to secure the future.
Frank (02:07):
Absolutely.
Welcome, Adam.
Faridah (02:09):
Thank you for
Frank (02:09):
having
Faridah (02:09):
me.
Frank (02:10):
And our other esteemed member of this panel is Nadia
Thornton Muhammad, who is 22years old.
She is a senior.
At Georgia state university withher graduation date being spring
2025.
She is a computer science majorand she looks to venture into
(02:33):
engineering and aerospace,aerospace engineering.
Once again, we both of ourguests have a very interesting
invitation to the natural world,and they are responding
naturally to that natural worldin their pursuits in their
majors.
So welcome, Nadia.
Nadia (02:50):
Thank you.
I'm happy to be here.
Faridah (02:53):
And so both of you have expressed an interest in the
natural world or the naturalsciences.
So if we could just open up justbriefly can you tell me Can you
remember how young you were whenyou first began to express an
interest in either the space,the moon, the sky, any aspect of
(03:13):
the natural world, or evenengineering?
And Nadia, can you take
Nadia (03:18):
that question?
I can, actually, because I thinkabout it a lot.
Ever since I was little, I wouldalways read, like, these, like,
super big encyclopedias for kidsand stuff.
And I always gravitated towards,like, the space ones.
So I, as far back as like maybefirst or second grade, I've
wanted to be like an astronautor do something involving space.
(03:41):
And by the time I was like eightin third grade, that was when it
was like solidified.
And then when we moved down toAtlanta around 11 ish or so
years ago, that was when itsolidified into aerospace
engineering to like design therockets and making them instead
of like being in them.
So it's just a bit
Faridah (04:02):
too dangerous.
Wow.
Well, we'll return to thatstatement you just made a little
later in the podcast.
I promise you not yet.
How about you, Adam?
Adam (04:12):
For me, it's been as long as I can remember.
I have pretty poor eyesight, soI'd always find myself really
squinting at very small thingsbecause that's the thing I could
really see.
And so I took fascination in thethe grass and the ants and
things I could tangibly pick upand look close to.
And then at night, the onlything being visible during that
(04:35):
time would be the glowing ballin the sky.
That would be like, what isthat?
The only thing illuminating upthere.
So for as long as I canremember, this, this natural
world has fascinated me.
And then throughout school.
And as I got older, my interestsfluctuated going from material
with chemistry and anatomy, andthen finally settling on
(04:57):
astronomy, which has always beena passion of mine and
integrating
Frank (05:01):
physics
Adam (05:01):
with
Frank (05:01):
that.
Awesome.
Awesome.
So I want to give Adam and Nadiaa little bit of background of
myself.
I am a graduate of Morgan StateUniversity class of 2003.
With a degree in biology.
So I am one who was veryinterested in the natural world
himself.
So I just want to let you know,there's nothing but scientists
(05:22):
on this panel today.
So this should make for a verygood conversation.
Faridah (05:26):
I must say, I will not be sharing my great.
date of graduation to datemyself on this program, but I am
a graduate of LincolnUniversity, another historically
black college here in theNortheast.
I know Maryland Morgan State isin technically in the South, but
we'll, we'll claim proximity toone another.
Okay.
(05:47):
But.
Anyway, I, I majored in physics.
I have actually a BA.
I did all the requirements forBS, but I also minored in
Chinese.
So I got the, the bachelor ofarts designation, but my
fascination too, as it soundssimilar to the both of you in
the sense that science and thenatural world have always piqued
my interest.
So I am very excited abouthaving this conversation with
(06:10):
you all today.
Frank (06:12):
So I want to kind of go.
To the left a little bit on ourpattern to take us to the
destination excellence.
So I just wanted to say this.
So without dating anyone, SisterFarda I remember when the
parents of Nadia presented herto me.
(06:32):
When she was born and I rememberthe joy of the parents, her
father specifically, and even ofher mother of knowing that they
had something that was a promisefrom God having a brand new
child and their interest wasthat they were going to do
whatever they had to do toensure that this child would
have a good future and we wouldtalk about it all the time and I
(06:57):
would say that You know, talkingto sister Nadia currently I
think their parents kept theirpromise, but not only did they
keep their promise as a, asparents, but I believe that
sister Nadia kept her promise asa, as a daughter of the two and
whether or not it wasarticulated or not.
The sense of the soul itself wasmoving in that direction for
(07:20):
obedience and it was moving inthat direction for having great
expression.
And I just want to sayspecifically for her that we are
all proud of you.
The community itself is veryproud of you.
And we shared that samesensitivity when you were first
prevented presented to thecommunity many, many years ago.
And I don't want to date you,but many, many, many years ago.
So just want to say, you know,we're very proud.
(07:42):
And for our audience, we justwant to let them know that.
We have some very special gueststoday.
Faridah (07:47):
Yeah.
So that's, that's a, a glowingrecommendation from brother
Frank, but I'd like to delve alittle bit into something you
said earlier, Adam, about yourinterests.
And I think it may be helpfulfor other young people as
they're trying to determinetheir, their role, their purpose
on this earth and what isavailable to them.
(08:07):
You mentioned that you had.
poor eyesight growing up, andthat caused you to look more
closely at the things that wereclose to you.
And those happened to be in thenatural world, like the grass
and the ants.
And so I really would like you,if you can, to speak a little
bit to the, the idea thatsometimes particularly as young
people, we can feel disheartenedby the things that seem like
(08:30):
they are handicaps.
But it seems as if you took whatseems like a handicap and you
allowed that to narrow yourfocus in a way to some, some
direction that Allah was leadingyou to.
So would you mind discussing alittle bit that you know, how
that awakening happened and whattype of insights you may have
gotten to the world based onthat closer look?
Adam (08:52):
Yeah, of course, an interesting like stance to take
is a lot of people take theiryou can call them inadequacies
or necessarily, and they willsee that in a bad light, but
it's important to traversethrough life.
And when you look for yourpurpose and to take into
consideration Everything thatmakes you essentially.
And so those what people couldcall inadequacies or uniqueness.
(09:15):
Those are important to take intoconsideration as they are a part
of you.
They're not a negative ordownside.
They are intrinsically one ofyour traits.
So for me I had noticed inaccordance to my peers back in,
I think it was an elementaryschool.
And I could see that I had tosit very close to the board and
initially it was kind ofembarrassing because like I was
(09:36):
all the way up here with theteacher and not and while
everybody else was in back and Ifelt singled out and excluded.
But I took interest andfascination with how much detail
I could see.
So when bringing things close tome, I could make out things that
you could easily pass over as ifthat was the only thing I could
see.
So looking at things closely andtaking into what I could
(10:00):
actually helps shape myappreciation for detail, goes
into, I have another interest ofart as well.
And I would always draw thingsvery intricately even if the,
whatever I was copying orwhatever I was looking at was
particularly simple, alwaysfound interest and fascination
in the sheer amount of detailthat can be found in things.
(10:21):
So, I would say that forindividuals who aren't to, are,
may feel themselves excluded bywhat they are born with, or what
may have happened, or what theymay take as downsides to
themselves, I would say thatthey should instead utilize them
for pursuing what they wish to.
Faridah (10:41):
Thank you for that insightful response.
I think that will be veryhelpful, not only for young
people, but for every humanbeing, you know, that's, that's
a very insightful response.
If I could ask one follow upquestion before I toss it back
to Frank is did your, it soundsto me as if this was something
that that God put in yournature, you know, there's a
(11:03):
sensitivity that was developedin you, but did your parents
play any part in helping you tosee this as just another pathway
for you that was unique asopposed to being you know, a, a
drawback or downside?
Adam (11:16):
Yes, I would certainly say so.
So while, you know, there's, youcould take in, or the individual
can receive the, the appearancebeing there and attributing to
that is very important.
Quite A juxtaposition.
My mother was the one who tookme to get my glasses.
And so, before, I could only seesmall details of what I could
(11:39):
hold close.
When I received my glasses forthe first time, it was like a
brand new world opening up forme.
I can see everything now.
So yes, and that, and then aswell as the parents being the
guiding hand in correcting or tosteering you in the correct
direction.
I would say is very important.
Faridah (12:00):
Wonderful.
Thank you so much.
Frank (12:02):
So for Adam, I just want to say in the same breath, in
the same spirit, I spoke aboutNadia your parents, when you
were born, your parents havingthe The excitement of
understanding this new birththat comes to now extend their
interests and extend the thingsthat they have been working for
(12:24):
and the excitement that theypresented you to our community.
Firstly, by just naming you,Adam, and the fact that Adam was
the first picture that we see ofthe thinking man in creation and
him having a natural dispositionwith the creation to study the
creation and to engage it.
That's putting all of us on thatpattern of having natural
(12:47):
scientific inclinations to buildthe life, to build the life of
society, to build the life offamilies and, and, and, and all
of those pathways.
So your name, as we were taughtby your parents to the whole
community about how special Adamwas.
So Adam Muhammad himself had aspecial place in our hearts and
in our community because theysaw that our future would be
(13:11):
secure.
Through this particularindividual and through this
particular sensitivity.
So I just want to say on behalfof the community themselves,
that we are very proud that AdamMuhammad is living to the name
that he was given andunderstanding the weight of such
a name and the weight of suchexpectations.
So I just want to say thank youfor that, Adam.
(13:31):
So for Nadia, I want to ask youthe same question that we gave
Adam about You know, what, howyour parents helped you develop
into this natural sense ofwanting to engage the natural
world the way you have.
Nadia (13:42):
So they were actually really integral in me staying on
track because I bounced schoolsaround a lot.
I moved from place to place.
So it, and I'm starting torealize that that process kind
of sort of ruptured myrelationship with.
(14:04):
other people my age, but the onething that stayed consistent
was, well, you know, I, I alwayslike science.
I always like looking up at thestars in the sky and I always
want to find a way to get thereand understand more about it.
And so they, when I was, youknow, You know, tease for it in
school, my parents were alwaysconsistently encouraging and
(14:27):
saying, you know, you're goingto go to a place where other
people just do not have the mindto understand.
And yeah, they're just alwaysencouraging and they were
always, they'd never, they neverlost faith in what I was able to
do.
And even now that's very warm tothink about.
(14:48):
Like I, I.
I'm happy and grateful that theyhave always been there for me.
Faridah (14:54):
So I wanted to follow that up.
I, I.
It sounds as if both of you areconscious and aware of the the
role that your families played,your parents in particular
played in supporting thedevelopment of what was placed
in you intrinsically, theinterests and the sensitivities
that were given to youinherently.
(15:14):
So I wanted to ask you a similarquestion that I asked Adam, and
that is for him, it was hisvision.
For you, it sounds like themoving around and having a
rupture of sorts with peers andthen having the experience of,
you know, being teased or, youknow, in, in some respect for
your interests.
I, it sounds as if you gainedsome type of internal strength
(15:38):
that was fortified by yourparents in terms of this being a
strength of yours and notnecessarily something to look at
negatively because your peersdid.
Could you speak a little bitmore to that type of strength
you developed?
Nadia (15:50):
Yeah.
I mean, I don't, I'm, I'mgrowing up and getting older and
realizing that it is a strengthto prevail with the dreams that
you have despite having abillion hurdles along the way.
And It, it hurts it that thedream that you would want to
(16:12):
have is a lot harder to maintainwhen there's tons of other kids
in your ear telling you thatit's boring or that it's too or
it's just you, the things thatkids want to do aren't the
things that you want to do andit, it makes you waver in what
you want to achieve and I'm,I'm, I'm I'm starting to realize
(16:36):
that, like, despite all of that,I never broke.
So, I never changed, I nevershifted my ideals to be
something else.
So, that is something that I'm
Faridah (16:49):
grateful for.
So, yeah.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
You're, you're defining, and Ithink for our listening
audience, I hope that we're allpaying close attention to these
voices because this is ourfuture and what you just
defined, Nadia, in terms of yourintegrity, your personal
integrity that was supported inyour development by your
(17:10):
parents, but it's something thatis necessary for all success.
You know, that's thisrecognition that difficulty is
part of the path, but you werewilling to endure the difficulty
in spite of the discomfort orthe pain that it may have caused
you.
So we indeed not having beenthere at your introduction to
the community, I must say,indeed, I am proud of what you
(17:31):
are sharing with our listeningaudience today in terms of the
character that you'redemonstrating and the wisdom.
that is coming from the mouthsof 22 and 21 year olds.
Frank (17:41):
Just listening to them present themselves in a very
articulate way we, we realizethat there are processes in our
environment that will stunt thatgrowth.
Part of the educational systemis, is part of that part of our
just culture in general, thegeneral popular culture
sometimes stunts these levels ofgrowth, doesn't give a lot of
(18:03):
interest to, to specifiedPathways for a child to have
their best life and to have thebest life.
We see these hurdles all aroundthe society.
Is it anything that you thinkand we'll, we'll get their
perspective, but is it anythingthat you think we should be more
sensitive to when it comes tounderstanding how unique.
(18:28):
Every child is, and as we knowthat we are taught in the
Qur'an, that every child ishonorable.
Is it anything that we can doas, as adults, as, as leaders of
families as people in society tocreate clearer or cleaner
pathways to give more support tosuch specified circumstances for
(18:50):
children to be, young adults tobe, college students to be their
best selves?
Faridah (18:55):
Oh, well, you know, that's a big ask, but no, I, I
do, I do think that God tells usin the Quran and the scripture
of the Muslims, he tells us thathe is the one who gives to
individuals and that we're notto be jealous of, of the degree
of greatness that he might givea different individuals.
The only time that we should bejealous of, of others is.
(19:17):
in their piety, that we want toattain their level of closeness
to him.
But in every other sense, what Ithink that adults can do, what
parents can do, and what we cando now now that you two are, are
young adults, is walk along withyou and advise you and guide
you.
And is that when you see aninterest that your child has,
(19:38):
that you recognize it, yousupport it, and you invite
everyone else in your, with notjust in the family unit, but
also their teachers and othersin their community to respect
the the unique interests of thatchild and recognize that we
should not prioritize onechild's intelligence over
another.
So today we are speaking withtwo highly intelligent young
(20:01):
people whom it is clear basedupon the virtues, not just the
area of interest, but based uponhow they have expressed
themselves today and the insightthat they have as to what is
necessary for accomplishment,what what goes into the
successful individual.
It is, a parent that they havebeen singled out by their Lord
for leadership in one capacityor another.
(20:23):
Every child is not necessarilygoing to be singled out for
leadership, but every child issingled out by God, the creator
of mankind, for somecontribution to be beneficial to
mankind.
And so it is up to us as parentsand other adults in that
community to recognize what itis that your child what special
interest or sensitivity thatyour child has and to support
(20:45):
that.
And so if one child is, Adammentioned that he's an artist
along with his interest in thesciences.
Nadia talked about her lifelonginterest in the sciences and
space and then how it shiftedfrom being an astronaut and
being Designing, desiring toalign that interest with her
personality.
So she doesn't want to be thewoman who goes into space, but
(21:06):
she wants to be the woman whodesigns the crafts and the
systems that take a person intospace.
And that's a result ofrecognizing who she is and what
her strengths are.
And so I think you might havethe child who is connected to
nature.
You might have the child wholoves to cook.
You might have, oh, who mightwant to be a chef.
We are in the, in the, business,I think, in our society of
(21:27):
saying one endeavor isinherently or intrinsically more
valuable than the other.
Well, I think that's where we,we lose the ability to support
our children in the best mannerpossible.
It is to recognize, to payenough attention to our
children, to identify theirinterests.
And it sounds like both of theseyoung people's parents
(21:50):
witnessed, understood, and didwhatever they could to open up
pathways for these young peopleto pursue their dreams, no
matter what their peers weresaying, or no matter what other
type of barrier might have stoodin the way.
And to also support them insaying, well, if you want this
dream, we'll support you ingoing after it.
So I think the importance is torecognize, recognize the, the
(22:13):
sensitivities of your childrenand do whatever it takes to
support them in pursuing that.
Frank (22:18):
Beautiful, beautiful.
So Adam, I would like to ask youthis question.
So in your pursuit of physics,what has been some of the
wouldn't say barriers, but whatchallenges, I'm sorry, what has
been some of the challenges thatyou faced in And in your pursuit
in this, in the, in this fieldof physics that you, you either
(22:40):
are wrangling with, or you mayhave possibly overcome, or
you're possibly want to see asituation where you can actually
use physics to actually improvesomething or improve a process.
Adam (22:50):
barriers.
So when it comes to what'sactually interesting, I've never
really had a difficulty when itcame to understanding the
natural world and the scientificprocesses that are described in
it.
But physics in of itself, I findit is, I guess the most natural
(23:10):
of them as physics is the studyof motion between not just
particles, but human beings,animals to celestial bodies.
And it's something that'sentwined with everything with
reality itself.
Okay.
And so I find the both intricatenature and the broadness of it,
the challenging aspect, it'slike learning a different
(23:31):
language.
So when it comes to physics isthe, material itself and just
how the, that not, well,everybody lives in it, but not
everybody can't.
Teach it or understand it fully.
So to try and learn it in ofitself, I find is the most
difficult and the hurdle thatI've had to come over the most.
Frank (23:54):
That's interesting.
My son, my oldest son, who is ahe was a, he graduated with a
math major.
He very, math came very easy forhim, but the thing that
challenged him was to createlanguage to help those who
didn't understand math,understand math.
So on one hand, it became verysecond nature for him to be able
(24:14):
to use computations and movestuff and be able to understand
what that language looked like.
But it was another challenge forhim to now put it in a language
that now the person who didn'tunderstand it could now actually
understand it.
And then gave him an evengreater appreciation and a
greater depth to understand thelaws and logic of math of
mathematics.
So I can definitely understandexactly what you're saying in
(24:36):
that in that in that function.
So, so Nadia same question foryou.
Has there been any challenges,any barriers or anything in your
processes of learning computerscience and wanting to actually
move towards the aerospaceengineering field and, and, and
what you can do to kind ofimprove that.
Circumstance and that type ofendeavor.
Nadia (24:58):
Yeah.
So a problem, the first, and Ifeel like the biggest issue for
me was that I started college in2020, which means that if, yes,
I started during the pandemicyear, and in hindsight, I would
have told myself, wait, wait outa year.
So you don't have to forceyourself to try and basically
(25:19):
teach yourself the fundamentalsof code.
And so I kind of had to start.
from scratch and kind of likeAdam, where it's like, you know,
a lot of maths and sciences cameeasy to me for a long time and
coding languages and rules aretotally different.
And it's like a completelydifferent ball game.
So I'm still to this day,struggling with telling myself
(25:42):
that it's okay that I don'tknow.
Yeah.
The answer to this codingproblem out the gate.
It's okay that it might take acouple hours on top of the fact
that GSU does not have anengineering program.
So I tried to force myself andscramble to go to another school
that did.
And when that didn't work out, Iwas super upset.
(26:06):
I wanted to give up.
I was aimless and it just.
I was just not okay.
So the other half of this isdefinitely telling myself, Hey,
there's other options.
The path to success isn't alwayslinear, and it isn't always in
the direction that you thinkit's going to be in.
And that there's nothing wrongwith, you know, taking your time
(26:30):
or graduating a little bitlater, as long as you know the
material and you understand whatyou're doing.
It's okay, you're doing theright thing, and it's also okay
to ask for help, too.
That's
Faridah (26:43):
That's, that's very important to understand at your
age, you know, and at this stageof your growth is that asking
for help is not a sign ofweakness, that it is indeed the
way that questions are answered.
And, you know, for us asMuslims, the Prophet Muhammad
prayers and peace be upon him,he encouraged questions.
He always wanted people to askand be certain rather than to be
(27:03):
uncertain.
So along those lines, in termsof Figuring out where you are
and and what I heard from you atthe tail end of what you were
sharing is that telling yourselfthat it's okay if you're, you
know, not necessarily followingthe schedule that our society
has set out, right?
You know, Oh, I'm a year behind,or I'm doing this a year late.
(27:25):
So it sounds as if you'refollowing the timetable that
will get you to yourdestination.
And you're pretty, even thoughyou might have doubts sometimes,
it sounds as if the both of yousound pretty confident in the
fact that this is something thathas been with you, an interest
that's been with you, thatyou've acknowledged that God has
(27:48):
put in you.
from a young age.
And so you have to pursue it,whatever the cost.
So my question is for you.
And then for Adam is you'vementioned a little bit, you've
alluded to how your peers haveresponded.
Sometimes, especially I'mguessing middle school and high
school to your area of interestand how that might set you
apart.
(28:09):
And I'm wondering, where do yousee yourself now in terms of
your peer group, in terms ofwhat you want to study and how
that connects to.
your path for your life.
Do you see any significantdifferences?
And if so, can you share with,with our audience, especially
the young people in ourlistening audience, you know,
what, what type of thinking doyou have to do?
(28:31):
What ways do you have to supportyourself, especially being a
college student with being okaywith being different?
Nadia (28:37):
Yeah, I had a lot of issues with just friends in
general for a really long time,but I can confidently say that
my friends that I've met incollege now are, they may not be
Muslim, but they are stillaligned with, you know, Islam.
Wanting to strive for stabilityand making the right choices and
(28:58):
not doing like irresponsiblethings like all of my friends
are majoring in either biologyor computer science or even the
more liberal arts students stillwant to focus on their education
and focus on the right thingsand keeping themselves on track.
And another thing is that withthe fact that they're not
(29:20):
Muslim, they still respect thefact that I am.
And that's something that Ivalue and cherish very dearly
because I went through a lot offriend groups where that wasn't
respected.
And I would, back then I wouldessentially put the Islamic part
(29:41):
of me to the side to appeaseother people.
And as an adult, I realizedthat's fine.
Not a good thing because youknow, I, I want to be Muslim.
I like, I love being Muslim.
So it's like, I, I don't want togive that up just because some
people don't understand why I'mnot doing this thing or, you
(30:01):
know, or something like that.
But the friends that I have noware the ones that I cherish very
dearly and I am grateful forthem very much.
So.
Faridah (30:11):
It's so heartening to hear this because if you're not
aware, with the podcast whereour aim is not just to have a
conversation or to hearourselves speak, or even to just
hear our illustrious guests,such as yourselves, to hear you
all speak, it is to, to build amovement toward establishing an
ethical army.
(30:32):
And that means an army of, ofhuman beings, in particular, the
American context of peopleacross faiths.
who are looking for the goodlife, the best life, and are
willing to stand up in societyand do what it takes to work
together toward that vision.
So it sounds like you are wellon your way toward finding not
(30:52):
just friends, but to help usbuild that ethical army.
by joining with other people whowant what is best in life.
So I'll throw that question overto you, Adam.
A similar question in terms ofhow you see yourself in terms of
your peers.
Has it been a challenge?
Do you see yourself in a uniquesetting?
What is it like for you to be orwhat advice do you have to help
(31:15):
young people grapple with beingokay, being different.
And then also similar to what ifyou could wrap up with what
Nadia said You know, who, whoare the people that you've
gathered around you?
And have you found it difficultto do so?
Or what does that circle aroundyou look like?
Adam (31:30):
Interestingly enough the social aspects of college and
life in general have been moreof a challenge for me.
So I can't quite say that I havea group of peers that I'm close
to.
I could say, I can't say that,but I have found that While
solitude does help certainthings in terms of pursuits of
(31:54):
interest, working together withother individuals do make things
easier, especially it isimportant to surround yourself
with people who are Notnecessarily similar, but are
more so oriented in the same wayyou are.
Some people are goal oriented.
Some people have dreams, otherpeople just want to mess around.
(32:16):
So it's important to surroundyourself with people that are
think similarly in terms ofwhere they want to go and to
surround yourself with peoplewho are better.
To so as you can see a way toimprove upon what you have and
where you can go forward to sothere is a difficulty in both
(32:37):
avenues of being both solitaryand having a group of differing
opinions or differingbackgrounds or pursuits, but
it's important to know thatthere is.
Good in both in both doingthings to your for yourself
doing things for others andhaving others help you forward
Faridah (32:55):
the balance
Adam (32:56):
Yes
Faridah (32:56):
a balance.
Thank you.
Frank (32:57):
The nature of goodness is It's expressed in people Coming
together to display it.
I, I can't be good by myself.
There is no proof of me beinggood all alone or being by
myself.
So the nature of goodness isthat we are coming together
community forming, if you wantto use that term to express our
(33:19):
goodness to one another.
And that goodness oftentimes ischecked in a sense with, with a
regardfulness andaccountability.
On that sense that the thingsthat I do, I'm gonna be
accountable for what I doultimately, because I want to
give something so I'm not givingit to you because I want
(33:39):
something in the, in the, inreturn, I'm giving it to you
because my soul is expressingthat I must give, I must create
these environments for you toaccept the charity that I'm
giving you.
So we see.
College for our youngsters, ouryoung people as an opportunity
for them to now go into theworld, the working world to be
(34:00):
able to make a contribution intothe working world.
And ultimately, thatcontribution is to move us
forward.
So we give these steps in oureducation to be able to give
them the tools that they need tobe able to go forward with that.
And we hope that in, in thempursuing these.
Interest that people will begravitated towards them to give
(34:22):
each other support because theyall in that that womb like
situation in college is really awomb in college.
You learn things that you'venever, ever learned.
Before about yourself whenyou're in college and it has
absolutely nothing to do withwhat you learn in the, in the
classroom.
So it gives you a differentsense of life and it prepares
(34:42):
you for the next steps in the,in the, in life.
So we really applaud, you know,our young people who are
actively pursuing the thingsthat come very natural to them.
Now when I was a young man,well, even younger than that
Comets was something that I wasalways fascinated about, and it
(35:02):
just so happens that aparticular comment was close to
entering our, our solar system.
And because my mother sensitizedme to the natural world you
know, every time we walkedoutside at night, she would
always make me look up to lookat the stars, look at the sun.
Let me look at the moon and, andhow the moon reflect the phases
of the moon.
So.
(35:23):
When this particular comic wascoming, my mom brought me this
really expensive telescope.
I had no idea how much she paidfor it at the time, but it was
really expensive because sheknew I had a fascination with
the stars, with the sky, withthe heavens, the heavenly bodies
and God's creation in general.
And interesting enough, when thecomic came, it was cloudy.
So I never got a chance to seethe comet.
So you know, but hate to pop theballoon on that one, but
Faridah (35:48):
was that Haley's comment?
Frank (35:49):
Haley's Comet, yes, yes, yes.
Haley's come.
Yes.
So but I was able to fortunatelysee two other comets after that.
But that particular comment, butthat was as a young.
Mind that was engaging thenatural world and wanting to
answer the call to respond tothe world to see who I was and
what interest had for me.
That was just like one of myfirst calls and my mom, you
(36:11):
know, introduced me to that.
And scripture tells us to lookinto the stars and observe the
heavenly bodies and how they runtheir course and also look at
them and see that there isnothing holding them up.
Do you see nothing?
actually holding them up, excepttheir obedience to the creator
who created them to be in theirnature.
So so as we are going throughthis episode of this podcast you
(36:35):
know, we want to stronglyemphasize to our audience, our
audience, our wonderfulaudience, that the natural was
natural for us to have adisposition towards the natural
world.
And unfortunately, thecircumstances we live in today
has taken us away from ournatural.
Disposition to the naturalworld.
We don't even have anyengagement with it anymore.
(36:55):
So I just wanted to highlightthat to say how special our
guests are today, that they havethis natural urge to just go
right to the natural world.
And that's what we will findour, our salvation.
That's what we'll find ourdevelopment.
That's what we will find ourcreativity for us to build these
bonds, these family bonds thatultimately lead to a good social
(37:18):
life.
Faridah (37:19):
Hi, I agree.
I have a question for each ofyou.
Maybe I'll start with Adam thistime and then go to Nadia.
And that is, can you tell usabout a time or whoever would
like to answer it first about atime that a natural, as Frank
shared with us just now that anatural phenomenon excited you.
And you know, either meaning youtruly were enthusiastic about it
(37:41):
or it excited something in yourthinking or or woke, awoke
something in your, your, thethinking of your heart.
Was there something eitherrecently or in your childhood,
some natural phenomenon thatreally caused you to think
deeply or become very excited?
Adam (37:59):
And a recent memory Or at least in one particular
instance, I've been blessed tohave seen not one but two solar
eclipses.
So those are, as a singleinstance, are definitely
something I would put as a verystrong tipping point into the my
(38:20):
interests.
But the good, or at least theThe thing about being a person
attuned to the natural world andthe natural sciences is that
even the smallest things and thething that many people may look
over are the things thatfascinate me the most.
Simply asking questions as towhy does the truck salt the
(38:42):
road?
Or why does the sky look thiscolor at this time of day?
Small, Everyday occurrences likethat are the things that entice
me the most because those arethe things that you see the most
often and understanding thatevery day's phenomena is what
truly inspires me to continueforward.
Faridah (39:02):
Wow, I feel exactly the same way, Adam, about the
everyday natural phenomena.
Nadia, is there anything you canthink of?
Yeah,
Nadia (39:11):
I have to, I have to piggyback on the two solar
eclipses.
That I have been blessed to seebecause but well, I have a lot
of things, but but mainly thetwo solar eclipses are like the
phenomena and I'll never forgetthat time we were in 10th grade
and school literally stopped tolet all of the kids walk out
(39:34):
onto the field to look up at thesolar eclipse with the
protective gear, of course.
So but I remember everyone inclass was so excited and we were
all talking about just howstrange and how dark it got and
how cool that was.
And But it's also thediscoveries that we're making
(39:54):
with advancements of technology.
So like the James Webb telescopebeing launched out and taking
beautiful in depth pictures ofplanets within our own solar
system and how clear and crispthey are and and discovering
pictures of black holes andstuff.
And so it's just, it's so muchthat we've.
(40:15):
that we're able to see with theadvancements of society and
technology.
And it just makes me so excitedto want to eventually be a part
of that.
So,
Faridah (40:26):
yeah, I can feel your excitement.
I, both of you, and I know youboth have different modes of
expressing yourself, but I canliterally feel, you know, the
enthusiasm that both you andAdam just shared.
And, and I like that you wereable to connect it to the
technological advances because alot of times we can you know, in
our, as adults, we recognizesometimes the, the harms of
(40:50):
technology, and we recognizethat sometimes technology may
separate us from the world.
from appreciation of the naturalworld.
But what you're returning ourattention to is the fact that
and like you, the James WebbTelescope, I look at these
pictures and it's like art.
And I don't know if youappreciate it in that manner,
Adam, as well as an artist.
(41:10):
But some of those pictures ofthe universe and the planets
that you mentioned, Nadia, theyare, I mean, it's Gorgeous.
You can't find anything morebeautiful in the Louvre, you
know, than, than these picturesof space.
So it, it is amazing.
And so I, I wanted to maybe makethat connection.
I have another question for youall, but Adam, is there anything
as an artist that connects toyou in terms of the perception
(41:34):
of beauty or definitions ofbeauty that you find in this,
your appreciation of naturalphenomena or the natural world
itself?
Adam (41:43):
Yes, I certainly can.
Just the notation of the theimages that the James Webb
telescope has taken in the blackholes and galaxies and
everything.
In my personal opinion, I findanything, anything that humans
can create is in a palecomparison to the.
The space itself in the two lawscreation, the images that have
(42:06):
been taken by these telescopesto that detail our universe, and
not only the ways that we cansee, but also in the spectrums
that we can't are.
is almost indescribable.
Their sheer, the scale of themis something to truly behold.
And to understand thesemovements, the shapes that they
(42:26):
take, and trying to replicatethat onto paper is something I
found difficult because I've,I've tried.
So it is certainly something tomarvel at and to appreciate both
from a scientific standpoint, anartistic standpoint, and just a
existing one.
Faridah (42:48):
Wonderful.
Yeah, that was kind of, it's a,just a sunset every day, you
know.
So like you said, thosepictures, you try to replicate
that and we can't even comeclose, you know, it's, it's,
it's amazing.
Frank, did you have a question?
No, because I know I haveseveral more, but I
Frank (43:04):
No, I'm, I'm gonna let you get with the questions, but
I just wanna say the greatconjecture.
Is that what It's conjunctureconjecture.
I can't show, I can forgot theterm of it, conjuncture, but
when we was able to see Saturnand the lining, I think it was
Jupiter and Saturn or something,not too long ago, I can't think
of the name, I'm sorry.
But you can actually seeSaturn's rings without any
telescopes, but the naked eye,you can actually see it.
(43:25):
And that really just kind ofblew me away with that.
So.
Faridah (43:29):
Yeah, I mean, there's, there's nothing quite like it to
witness the beauty of, of God'screation and to understand that
it can awaken something in you.
So I have a question for youall, and it's a little bit
related to you know, what's inthe news today.
So what are your thoughts onSpaceX rescuing NASA astronauts?
(43:49):
You know, what, in terms of yourunderstanding, Nadia, both of
the the potential that'sAvailable to us in terms of just
the the technological innovationthat happens in the private
sector a lot.
And then how that affects ourendeavors as human beings to
gain knowledge that's not justbeneficial to one country or one
(44:14):
company, but for mankind.
You have any thoughts on that?
I
Nadia (44:18):
have
Faridah (44:19):
a
Nadia (44:19):
lot of thoughts about this whole subject as a whole,
because I remember seeing somuch discourse about SpaceX
existing as a whole, and I'm ofthe opinion of it is not okay
that it is being run by greedy,mongrel, billionaires.
But however, the concept ofpeople using resource, the
(44:43):
abundance of resources that theyhave to progress the
astronomical industry in thefirst place is really, really
important.
So SpaceX going, using theirresources to save astronauts is
fantastic.
I'm so glad that they're finallygetting out of there because
they've been stranded for, youknow, More than a hundred days,
(45:05):
I want to say, and It's justthe, it's important to recognize
that we need to use, we need tosee that people are using are
having resources and with thoseresources, we can collaborate
with them and kind of build ourown team.
(45:28):
innovations along with theresources that come from not the
most desirable of places.
So yeah.
Faridah (45:35):
Yeah.
No, thank, thank you.
I, I think that's veryinsightful speaking to the
resources that, that God hasmade available to all of mankind
and using them to benefit all ofmankind.
So your point is very welltaken.
Adam, do you have any thoughtson either the recent
developments with SpaceXrescuing the NASA astronauts or
in general?
(45:55):
this idea of privatization anddo you have any thoughts on, on
where, where we are going as, asa nation and as humanity with
regards to space exploration?
Adam (46:06):
Yes, a few the interesting thing about the, the the
stranding of the astronauts is atestament to two companies, one
being interested in trying tosave them and the other one that
put them up there in the firstplace.
Not to name any names of aBoeing, but the it is important.
The privatization of.
of exploration in this expanseinto this field can be looked at
(46:30):
negatively.
It's, and it's understandablethat to have this so much
influence so, so centered aroundus in a single individual.
But it's important to, toremember that these, Leaps in
technological advancement andscience, scientific exploration,
it starts from an individual,from one person who's taken
(46:53):
interest in this world and wantsto use either what they have or
to collaborate with others toinitiate it.
Now, are the certain individualsthe most perfect people?
Not necessarily, but It'simportant to see what they've
contributed with the resourcesthat they've been blessed with
and to take advantage of it, tobe along with it and to give
(47:16):
feedback and opinion onto whereit can go.
Because with technology,technology is nothing more than
a tool that humans have accessto.
And there's individuals who canuse it for whichever way.
So it's important to voice youropinions, voice your, the,
context of it and to integrateyourself with your, with what's
(47:37):
being developed.
So it may be used to where itneeds to.
Faridah (47:41):
Well, we hope to see future endeavors and
corporations started by peoplesuch as yourselves.
We may one day see Nadia andAdam at the helm of a company at
era, you know engineering and,and aero astrophysics research
and development that willbenefit humanity because as you
said it is the result of humanbeings going into the earth
(48:03):
going into the material realityand drawing out benefit for all
of us and sometimes it's not thenicest people doing so but the
principle remains the samenonetheless so we are looking
forward to the day when AdamMuhammad and and Nadia Thornton
Muhammad they are are working toestablish this for the good of
all humanity and and gettingsome material gain in the
(48:26):
process to benefit themselves,their families and society as
well.
So we look forward to that day.
I would like to know if you allhave any in closing as we wrap
up this episode and head towardthe end, I'm wondering, would
you have any advice either, foryour younger sisters and
brothers, if you have any, orfor your younger self, what
(48:47):
would you say to Nadia, youknow, who is seven years old?
What advice would you have forher?
And, and Adam, what would youhave, what advice would you have
for yourself as a young man oryour, your siblings?
And who, Nadia, if you could gofirst, that would be great.
Nadia (49:04):
It's so funny that you mentioned what I would say to a
seven year old me because Iliterally can see a picture of
seven year old me across theroom.
I keep it next to my bed.
But I would just tell her thatshe should never stop being
herself.
You know, she, you, everyone ismade with a very specific flavor
(49:27):
in mind.
And, and.
That is very unique and specialto who you are and nobody else
can do the things that you do.
Nobody else can make the thingsthat you make.
And there's a reason you've beenput here and that reason is
valuable.
That reason is important and youshould keep moving forward.
(49:50):
Keep.
the dream in mind and never letit go, you know, no matter it'll
tweak, it'll change, it'llshift.
But that initial dream that youwant to lock into should never
fade away.
Adam (50:03):
Beautiful
Faridah (50:06):
indeed.
Yes.
Adam (50:08):
For me, I would say that to not be swayed by if other
people aren't like you.
I was aware to find otherindividuals who took the same
interest or similar interests asI did, and I would tell my
younger self to not feel theneed to be like other people,
that you are put here for acertain reason, and it's up to
(50:29):
you to find it.
When you find it, to not give itup, to always hold firm to your
beliefs, to what guides you, andto make sure you follow it
through.
There's many opportunities thatI've had doors closed because of
either shyness or feeling thatmaybe I shouldn't do this or
(50:50):
this isn't really me, maybe Ishould do this instead.
But to really affirm that, justto stay focused, I would say, to
experience different things butknow where, what caused you and
to keep on to that no matterwhat.
Faridah (51:07):
Wise words from our two guests.
That's excellent advice.
Excellent advice.
May, may God reward you in thislife and the next.
May he keep you steadfast, youknow, connected to him, turn to
him always and continuing to dogood.
And I would just add, the onlything I can add to that is that
for our listening audience isthat this is the job of parents
(51:30):
is to create the environmentthat nurtures.
Produces Adam and Nadia.
Yes.
This wisdom that they canexpress so articulately at 21
and 22 years old.
This, this happens because Godsecures it and makes it possible
and because we create theenvironment.
That allows it to flourish as itwas intended to do so.
Frank (51:53):
Yes.
And as a reminder to, to the, tothe parents out there, this
should be the standard of howall of our children communicate.
This shouldn't be something thatwe look as, as an outlier or
just a unique situation, theexception.
We should work diligently witheverything we have to make sure
that this is the standard andnot the exception.
(52:14):
But just as a form of correctionto correct myself.
It was the great conjunction ofJupiter and Saturn that I was
mentioning earlier that we wereable to see Saturn.
So I wanted to correct myself onthat one as well.
So Adam and Nadia, you aretaking the motto of the great TV
show Star Trek, and it would sayto boldly go where no man has
(52:38):
gone before.
That type of determination andstrength is something that is in
our soul and you both areexpressing it.
Truly with, with, with the Godconsciousness in mind and, and
taking it as far as you canpossibly take it, which is
farther than we could ever evendream.
So once again, I want tocongratulate you both and let
you know just how much of acommunity we are proud of you
(53:00):
both.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Faridah (53:02):
Yes.
Nadia (53:02):
Thank you.
Faridah (53:03):
And we would just like to let, let you know that you
are welcome back anytime thisconversation could have gone on
for hours, but we hope that youwould accept our invitation to
join us again on the podcastbecause you have much to offer.
Frank (53:18):
Well, Farida, the praise is for God always.
We have moved one step closer todestination excellence.
Faridah (53:26):
Until next time, let us remain conscious of our Creator,
of the sacred relationship ofparent and child, and of the
family ties that bind us.
Subscribe to the podcast andcome back next time for a new
episode of The Family Ties.
Frank (53:40):
From Frank Abdul Shahid
Faridah (53:43):
and Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Peace.
Peace
Frank (53:49):
be a upon be
Faridah (53:50):
upon
Frank (53:51):
the family, the family.
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