Born Joshua Asare and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Jae Deen of Ghanaian descent converted to Islam from Christianity at the young age of 15. He converted to Islam while still attending his Catholic high school.
Jae Deen reflects on his personal journey through Islam and music, the role of Muslim influencers and their responsibility, and finally the inspiring Quran project that he undertook.
“Our mission is way beyond music…it’s to change our youth. Muslims need to feel inspired, to have an alternative way to have faith.”
He shared his accomplishment of being able to read the entire Quran in Arabic. It didn’t stop there, he actually wrote down the whole Holy Book with his own hand and translated all the 114 surahs. This took him 6 months to complete.
“Alhamdulillah. In January I did not know much Arabic at all, I was struggling to even pronounce a few words. So I decided to learn the language all by myself, studying grammar textbooks multiple hours a day, then began the Quran during Ramadan. There were times where I broke down mentally, cried and even contemplated quitting because it was really hard in the beginning. But with Allah’s help He allowed me to keep going. Now for the rest of my life I can finally understand Allah’s words, I can finally understand the Imam when he recites the Quran in prayer. I hope my journey can be a means of inspiration for all of you to do the same. I’m a convert to Islam with no background in Arabic. If I can learn the entire language and read the whole Quran, I know you can, too. May the Quran be a companion for us all to be closer to Allah and His Messenger. Thank you all for supporting my journey”
Allahumma ameen. What an amazing fellow!
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Credit to Jae Deen’s instagram and The Muslim Vibes
