I‘m back!

A somewhat long, but heartfelt, and borderline important message ahead

The activity on my YouTube channel has been declining, as you have noticed. There are several reasons for that: I returned to my hometown to spend more time with my families (and so less time for channel maintenance); I embarked on a bumpy journey in pursuit of memorizing the entire Qur’an (reached Juz’ 19 at the time, still a long way ahead), which demanded some degree of focus and dedication; My main social media platform for sharing Islamic content in China (a WeChat official account) was banned permanently in November 2021, which was quite a setback; I’ve been feeling the increasing pressure of needing to settle a direction for the next stage of my life (applied for some PhD programs, for instance); Other kinds of pressure from the social environment for a Chinese young Muslim, which I guess I do not need to explain much for those who understand; and, to be honest, laziness and lack of proactivity should be counted as a part of the reason, perhaps even a major part, too.

Despite all of this, however, I regularly receive messages from viewers who express appreciation for some of the videos that I posted in the past and encourage me to continue. I am humbled by and grateful for such sparkling positivity, especially in an era where it is increasingly rare on the internet.

Two thoughts often prevented me, perhaps reasonably, from trying to produce and publish more videos. Regarding English content, I often think, there is so much high-quality, inspiring, and beneficial English Islamic content produced by very competent and qualified people already, why should I bother with my awkward and immature inputs? Regarding Chinese content, I often think, the majority of Chinese-speaking people have no access to YouTube, posting Chinese content here is probably not of much worth. You are welcome to tell me your responses to these thoughts of mine in the comment section.

Some friends have shared their opinions with me personally. A graduate from Madinah university told me that I should continue sharing messages from the deen, even if the simplest and most well-known things, because one never knows whom such messages will reach, and how they might impact them. A Chinese expatriate told me, since religious content has less and less room for existence in the Chinese web sphere, many Chinese-speaking people are eager to find such content on international platforms (on a side note, the number of Chinese Muslims living overseas is steadily growing). These and other suggestions are giving me renewed motivation for making good use of this platform to convey whatever good I’m capable of.

(Important Paragraph If You’ve Been Skipping!) I will, in shaa Allah, start uploading the Chinese content that I produced before to this channel, hoping that more Chinese brethren might benefit. I will also try to resume the making of English videos (topics are much welcome). I will try to be more responsive on the various related social media platforms (FB page, IG) as well, though cautiously (keeping personal well-being in mind).

Again, I am super thankful to all the people that supported me in so many ways. I heard once that nothing worth doing is ever easy. So be it. Kindly keep me in your du’a. May Allah grant me the vision, wisdom, and strength to work in ways that please him and benefit people.

Your brother Isa Ma,

2023/5/8