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

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

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

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

Yet, in my experience, this is a mirage.

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

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

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

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

Tracklist

00:00
widx. ― calling

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

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

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

15:52
Salt Of The Sound ― In Quietude

18:38
Siedd ― Calling to You

22:14
HoKø, Lucie Cravero ― Little Mew

24:13
Adam Taylor ― Theme for Judith

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

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

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

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

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

37:25
Siedd ― Repentance - Interlude

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

40:57
Sami Yusuf ― Grounded - Karaoke Version

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

46:00
Sami Yusuf ― Fire

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

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

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

56:45
Montmartre ― Hope (Edit)

59:11
vesky, Nadav Cohen ― Endless Love

This passage from one of my favorite books, Love & Happiness by Yasmin Mogahed, speaks true to my spiritual transformation over the last 5 years or so, and is the inspiration for this mix.

I have been through some dark times in my life and I have had to make some very hard decisions. But I'll tell you what I’ve learned...

Life isn’t supposed to be miserable. It isn’t supposed to be excruciatingly painful. It isn’t supposed to suffocate or drain you.

Are there parts of life that will make you feel this way? Yes. Absolutely. But, why? We must ask why. Why do we go through these things? Is it so that we stay still and bear it stoically? Is it to passively endure and call patience?

Absolutely not.

In fact, we go through misery, pain, and suffocation for the exact opposite reason: To push us towards change. Movement. Growth. Patience is not standing still. Patience is not being passive. Sabr is the endurance necessary to make the change needed to move one step closer to where Allah wants us to be.

God created pain, in both the physical and spiritual world, as a wakeup call. As a motivator and accelerator towards action, movement, and change to alleviate the pain.

When a person has an infection, they feel fever. When a person's heart is clogged, they experience chest pain, or heart attack. A person can ignore fever or chest pain and call it “patience.” But if this pain is ignored and just numbed long enough, the sickness only increases. Until it actually kills us. Pain is a warning. A smoke alarm for the sleeping soul.

If you feel suffocated, it’s probably because you're not getting enough oxygen. It works the same spiritually and emotionally as it does physically.

Be brave enough to dig deep, to be honest. And then to take the action and change necessary to save your life.

But, be careful. Never, ever take this action alone. Seek strength and guidance in God. Only then will you never drown or get lost.

Alhamdulillah.

Tracklist

00:00
Bliss ― Letting Go (Edit)

02:46
Kilometre Club ― I Earn Mating (Excerpt)

02:59
Test Card ― (Seventeen guitars and one piano)

05:54
Human Is Alive ― There Will Be a Light

07:30
Coldplay ― Everyday Life

11:08
Kollen ― Stellar

15:52
Elskavon ― Absent Regrets

18:03
Test Card ― Still The Field Is A Pleasure Pasture And Space So Softly Was

21:06
Siimon ― Bitter Sweet Symphony

26:30
Acqua Panna ― To Love Somebody

29:15
Ren Avel ― Kimi ni Todoke (Kimi ni Todoke)

30:24
John Andre ― New Beginning

33:13
Coldplay ― Sunrise

35:28
Craig Armstrong ― Ivan's Painting Revealed

36:12
Lighthouse Family ― Lost In Space (Edit)

39:15
Brique a Braq ― Maison

43:06
Young Collective ― You Are the Magic

48:49
Project AER ― you are the only one who can save you

54:11
Siddhartha Khosla ― Arsenio Hall (Unhinged)

54:51
Vuxxer ― And All Shall Be Well (Excerpt)

55:34
The Daydream Club ― Mightier

"Every moment is its own universe. Each moment brings with it a new birth, a new opportunity to live, to turn back, to renew. Each moment is a new chance to get it right.

And with each moment is also a death. Let the past die. If you messed up yesterday, that universe is already dead and gone. Right now is your new reality. Capture it, before it dies."

Poetry by Yasmin Mogahed, from her book Love & Happiness

Tracklist

00:00
Intro ― Space Shuttle Launch Audio

01:36
Lemon Jelly ― Spacewalk

07:30
Brian Eno ― Becalmed

10:52
Envio ― Touched By The Sun (Rusch & Elusive's Chill Out Mix)

21:38
El LCD ― Snö På Hissingen (CBL Carbonator Remix)

27:42
Alpha Wave Movement ― Suspended In The Hanging Garden

33:49
Longview ― Can't Explain (Ulrich Schnauss Vocal Remix)

39:02
Enigma ― The Cross Of Changes

41:04
Bliss ― Blissful Moment

42:52
ATB ― Stars Come Out

46:24
The Light Of Aidan feat. Zia Williams ― Snowbird

50:32
Mark Knopfler ― Whistle Theme

51:24
Mark Knopfler ― Going Home

56:11
Honeyroot ― Freeway