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Maheen talks to lyricist and vocalist Khalil Ismail about the work he does with the homeless and victims of domestic violence as well as his creative process and thoughts on self awareness and personal development. 

Highlights from the show:

-“Could you tell us a bit about what has inspired you to do what you do” (4:47 – Maheen)

- “It is always important to have a plan and then know that it is being disrupted...the problem when you just go without a plan is that often times you forget where you started, and you can’t  grow without measuring your progress” (8:09 – Khalil)

- “Could you tell us a bit about the creative process that goes on being your work?” (9:40 – Maheen)

- “You have to look at the reality of the culture that you are in and provide solutions for it, in every way, not just music and art but in every way, but I just so happen to be in music and art...right now that the most powerful thing the West has is the media, we can’t shun it, it is just not reality, you would have to live in a cave!” (12:20 – Khalil)

- “What advice would you give to the average person to open up their awareness as to what is going on in the community” (19:35 – Maheen)

- “I think what happens is that you often have a lot of mismatches...I do think that everyone can help, but the first job is to understand who you are first, and when you can understand this then you can find out how to find how to help best” (28:19 – Khalil)

- “Your relationship with Allah will give you an ability and insight into yourself...bottom line, you are not going to be asked about anyone but yourself, so Allah is saying pay attention to yourself first” (33:12 – Khalil)

-“You are working with various artists, collaborating, community projects...how do you manage it all?” (34:49 – Maheen)

-“Some people would call it ADD, but I just say I have an active brain”(35:30 – Khalil)

For all the links and resources mentioned in the show, plus previous episodes and interviews visit: http://muslimlifehackers.com