A Memorial Reading

His Voice

— and theirs.

Selected passages from the final video interview of Amin Abdullah, killed defending the children of his masjid. With the witness of his children, who carry his words forward.

AMIN ABDULLAH · 51 · FATHER OF EIGHT

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“Indeed to Allah we belong, and indeed to Him we return.” — Quran 2:156

This is a selection — chosen for reading aloud, for halaqah, for the memorial program, for printing and passing along. His voice carries the document; his children’s voices, given after his death, complete it.

Light editing has been applied for the kind of clarity any spoken testimony needs on the page; the substance of every passage is exactly as it was given. Audio recordings remain the canonical source.

Part One

His Voice

◆

PASSAGE I

The Hidden Question

◆ 00:00:26

“I was born and raised as a Christian throughout my childhood, and I really didn’t understand the concept of the Trinity, but I hid that within my heart. I was afraid that if I asked the pastors, they would say, ‘How dare you question this?'”

“So I hid it. And Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the One who knows the hearts. So He knew I had that secret all those years.“

PASSAGE II

Only One Boss

◆ 00:01:35

“The concept of Islam — believing that there’s only one God, one Being responsible for everything — I was like, wow, this means so much. I don’t have to hide anymore.“

“You know, it makes so much sense. A person only has one boss, one CEO. So the human beings only have one Creator.”

PASSAGE III

The Walk-in Freezer

◆ 00:04:29

“I figured no one sees me. But I went into the walk-in freezer and I took a bite of the sandwich. Keep in mind, the environment is frozen. Everything is frozen. I took a bite, and for some miraculous reason it started to get hotter in my mouth. And I’m like — what’s going on here? Should be cold.“

“I said, well, let me just swallow it. I tried to swallow it, and it became so hot I was forced to spit it out. And here’s the strange thing — I knew what Allah was about. Allah was saying: ‘Stop playing. You believe in me. I know your heart. Come to Islam.’“

PASSAGE IV

From the Top of My Head to My Feet

◆ 00:06:13

“I said the testimony of faith, the Shahada. And by the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies in between, the feeling I got — you cannot put it into words.“

“From the top of my head to my feet, I had a feeling which no drug, no beer can ever match. This is called in Arabic, Sakina — tranquility. A heavenly peace over your soul.“

PASSAGE V

His Mother’s Shahada

◆ 00:03:05

“My mother had a dream. And I told her, ‘You know, Mom, you should come to Islam. This dream is a warning from Allah, your Creator, that only He should be worshipped.’ And I wasn’t forcing her, just suggesting.”

“And she said, ‘You know what? I’m ready to take Shahada.’ So I gave her Shahada that morning. And since she’s been Muslim until now, she’s been praying her five times salah on time. She gives da’wah. Alhamdulillah, Allah guides whom He wills.“

PASSAGE VI

The Sun in My Right Hand, the Moon in My Left

◆ 00:07:25

“If I were to be offered the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand — ‘I will give you this if you leave Islam’ — I will say, never. By the permission of Allah, never will I give it up.“

“You can have whatever worldly title you have, be it president, king, you name it. Have everything. Eventually you still have to die, as we all will die. So then the question arises: what happens when you die? How is that going to benefit you when you go into that dark rectangle in the ground called the grave?“

PASSAGE VII

The Peace the Kings Would Fight Us For

◆ 00:09:00

“In Islam, we say tawhid — the oneness of Allah. He is one, has no partners, no rivals, no children. He does not resemble His creation in any way. Stick to that. Inshallah, you’ll find yourself happy in this life.“

“You may not be rich, but the heart will be happy. If the kings of the world knew the peace we have within our heart by submitting to the one Creator of the heavens and the earth, they would fight us just to get that peace out of our heart.“

PASSAGE VIII

YOLO. YODO.

◆ 00:08:23

“There’s a saying: YOLO. You only live once. Well, in Islam, we say YODO. You only die once. Once you have your enjoyment in this world, when you die, you’re going to be recompensed for whatever you did or didn’t do.”

“Sometimes you want to fit in. You want to kick it with the homies. You want to have a rep. But that’s not going to benefit you. The real rep should be — what does my Lord think of me? The One who’s going to call my soul back to Him.”

“Do I want to be amongst those who were admitted into Paradise for eternity, never to come out? Eternal retirement, so to speak. The real 401(k), so to speak, that doesn’t end.“

PASSAGE IX

Even If Your Sins Reach the Sky

◆ 00:10:25

“Allah says, ‘O My servant, O son of Adam, even if your sins were to pile up to the sky, to the heavens, and if you were to ask Me to forgive you for what you did, I will forgive you, and I would not care what you did.’“

“That is a reminder for myself and all of those who have ears to hear. Don’t matter what you’ve done. Come back to your Creator before it’s too late.“

“It’s never too late until it’s too late. And what is too late? Too late is when you see the angels coming to take your soul.“

PASSAGE X

The Quran That Answered Without Being Asked

◆ 00:13:35

“I went through some things where I’m alone and I needed guidance. So what did I do? I opened the Qur’an, which had the English translation. I was inspired to just open it randomly.“

“And the miracle thing is — when I opened it randomly, it answered the question that was in my heart. The verse was, in meaning: ‘Verily, it is Allah, the One who accepts the repentance of His servants.'”

“I had to cry in my car. Who else was around? Who else would know what I was feeling in my heart?“

“The Qur’an is a living miracle till the Day of Judgment. Allah knew at that day, at that time, I would be going through that situation, and He inspired me to open the Qur’an randomly. So it wasn’t random. It was by His plan.“

PASSAGE XI

The Night He Dedicated to His Lord

◆ 00:15:36

“Before I actually took the Shahada — I said, ‘You know what, God? I want to dedicate this night to You.’ I had my bed all prepared, getting ready to go to bed. I would always get on my knees and say my prayers before I went to sleep.“

“I opened the Bible and I started reading. And I came across where Jesus, peace be upon him, said, ‘Who will be my helpers in becoming the fishers of men?’ And I felt in my heart — ‘That’s cool. I wish I could do something like that.’“

“And Allah, He knew that feeling in my heart, and He blessed me to come to Islam. And that’s what I’m trying to do — whatever may be, in a good way, to invite people to Islam, to come back to their Creator, and to make sure that they don’t leave this world except as knowing that they have submitted to the one who created them.”

◆ His Final Sentence on the Recording

“We ask Allah to bless all of humanity at large and guide us all to the truth.”

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

“And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings.”

◆ 00:18:01 · HIS LAST RECORDED WORDS

◆ The Day That Came

He recorded those words on an ordinary day. The day that came — Monday, May 18, 2026 — was 1 Dhul Hijjah 1447. The first day of the greatest ten days of the entire year. The season for which he had spent his whole adult life preparing. He stood between the children and the harm. He did not return home. And then his children spoke for him.

◆ Part Two

And Theirs.

◆

◆ The Verse His Daughter Chose

When Hawaa Abdullah stood to speak about her father, she opened with the bismillah — and then she recited the verse below. She chose it. Read it knowing she chose it for him.

مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا

“Among the believers are men true to their covenant with Allah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow, and among them is he who awaits — and they have not altered their commitment in any way.”

◆ QURAN 33:23 · AL-AHZAB

— RECITED BY HAWAA ABDULLAH IN MEMORY OF HER FATHER, AMIN

WITNESS I

“He was my teacher.”

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“My dad was a role model. He was my best friend. He was the best dad in the world. He was my protector.“

“He was my teacher. He talked to me about the world, about my faith — Islam. He taught my brothers how to be young, Black Muslim men.“

WITNESS II

The Credential He Could Not See

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“He was all about education. He got his high school diploma, and he encouraged more of us to move forward and get more of an education. He encouraged us to become scholars.”

“Following his teaching, I got my teaching credential last week. Unfortunately, my father was not able to make it because he was working.”

WITNESS III

“I Had a Feeling It Was Your Car”

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“I would sometimes leave school to sneak up on him. I would come here, drive by these very streets. He would be so vigilant in protecting the masjid, protecting the children.“

“He would see my car. I would pull up, and just inside the masjid he would walk up to me and he would be like — ‘Hey, I had a feeling it was your car that passed by.’ Which meant he took his job seriously.”

“So seriously to the point — sometimes he didn’t even want to eat. He wanted to save his food until after he left the job, because he was afraid that if he went on break, something bad would happen.“

WITNESS IV

“As One Door Closes, Another One Opens.”

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“As of right now, my family is together, supporting one another. As one door closes, another one opens.“

“All the community help and support we have received shows us another door has been opened. Even though he’s passed, and he’s not here right now to be with us — you being here, having all these people here to support us — that’s another door that I believe got opened for us.“

WITNESS V

“Stand Together as One. Human to Human.”

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“My brothers and my sister — we’re all now living up to his legacy. My dad was the number one advocate for safety and keeping our communities safe. He stood against any form of hate. He took his job seriously to protect everyone here.”

“He would want our community to stand together as one. That’s exactly what he would want. I hope in this moment we can all come together, be kind to one another, and remember who he truly was.”

“Regardless if you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish — or you have no faith — he didn’t care. He would treat you human to human. He would smile at people he did not know.”

WITNESS VI

“That Was My Best Friend.”

◆ HIS SONSON

“That was my best friend. He’s the kindest person you’d meet. Ask anyone, based on any small interaction — they’d have nothing but good things to say about my dad. You’d see from the videos: he’d be greeting people with smiles. It’s the best dad you can ask for.“

“When I learned what happened, I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t feel real. I was in shock. But when I learned that his actions saved all the kids in the school and deterred them from even going to the kids — I felt proud, and I felt comfort, because that’s exactly how my dad would have wanted to go out: protecting people.“

“Calling him a hero is the least we can call him. But besides that — he’s always my hero, too.“

WITNESS VII

“Live a Life of Service. Have a Clean Heart.”

◆ HIS SON

“My message is to live your life serving others, because that’s how my dad lived his life. Serving others. His life serving others — it inspired me. So that’s my message:”

“Live a life of service.
Be kind to everybody.
Have a clean heart.”

“The world would definitely be a better place if people lived like that.”

WITNESS VIII

The Children’s Closing

◆ HAWAA ABDULLAH – DAUGHTER

“We are so grateful for the community pitching in to support our family right now.”

“And we truly hope, from the bottom of our hearts, that we can continue to live our father’s legacy — and to make this world safer, better for children, better for all of us. No matter our orientation.“

May Allah accept Brother Amin Abdullah — and Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, who fell beside him that day — among the shuhada. May He raise them in the highest stations of Jannat al-Firdaws, gather them with the Prophet ﷺ and the righteous. May He console their families, protect the children they stood between, comfort his daughter Hawaa, his sons, his widow, and his mother — and may He let his children fulfill the legacy they have promised to carry. Ameen.

SOURCES: HIS FINAL VIDEO INTERVIEW · HAWAA ABDULLAH’S MEMORIAL ADDRESS · HIS SON’S TRIBUTE

COMPILED BY MANA COMMUNICATIONS · DHUL HIJJAH 1447 / MAY 2026

FOR COMMUNITY READING