The Power of Words: Hedaya’s Writing Journey

In this episode, we sit down with Hedaya Peterson, a talented Muslim copywriter and writer, to explore her inspiring journey through the world of words. Join us as we delve into her creative process, the challenges she’s overcome, and how her faith influences her writing. Discover the power of storytelling and the unique perspective Hedaya brings to her craft.


Visit Hedaya on:

• Her Website: http://dayapetecopy.com/
• Her Newsletter: https://dayapetebooks.com/
• Her IG: @dayascreativecorner

The Book she referenced: 

• https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Copywriter_s_Handbook/q0JZm4Qu8R0C?hl=en&gbpv=0

Chapters

• 0:00 The Power of Writing for Impact
• 7:57 Discovering Copywriting and Marketing Passion
• 15:49 Embracing Discomfort for Growth
• 18:49 Embracing Failure for Success
• 24:31 Faith in Writing and Business
• 37:54 Navigating Fear and Respect in Writing
• 50:29 Book Publishing Experiment and Creative Corner

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Like copywriting is all about, you know, getting people to click, getting people to sell. Ultimately, it's like the goal is to sell things to people through words. Basically, right, Because you know there's the whole thing, oh, build it and they will come. No, they won't, like you were just saying. You know there's the whole thing, oh, build it and they will come, though they won't, like you were just saying. You know, especially in this digital age, there is like a million different choices and you know we have what is it we struggle from? Analysis, paralysis.

Speaker 2: 0:39

As-salamu alaykum everyone, and welcome to Muslimah's Emotion Professional Pursuit, where we celebrate the achievements of young Muslim women in tech, entrepreneurship and beyond. Welcome to today's episode. In this uplifting episode, we sit down with Hidayah, a talented Muslim copywriter and writer who has harnessed the power of words to make a meaningful impact. Hidayah shared her incredible journey, from her early love of writing to the challenges she has faced and overcome in her career. We delve into her creative process, the influence of her faith in her work and the unique perspective she brings to the world of storytelling. Today, we're going to hear Hidayah's insights on writing creativity and the transformative power of words. As-salamu alaykum, hidayah. How are you? Wa alaykum as-salam, I'm good. How are you? Alhamdulillah, I'm doing good, all right.

Speaker 2: 1:28

So thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me today. I know it's kind of hot outside and a lot has been going on, but I'm still very grateful for the opportunity to talk to you today. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Well, thank you for inviting me. I'm really, really honored and really excited to get into the meat of it. Oh, no worries, I really seeing you as a professional and seeing your working process really inspired me, so I figured you know your story definitely deserves to be shared, I feel anyways. So you know, let's get started. So, first things first. Before I get into it, there's always a question I like to start off with, which is if you're on a deserted island and you had to bring three things, what are the things you would bring?

Speaker 1: 2:15

Oh Lord, that is a loaded question. I didn't really think about this. Like three things only yeah, only three things, Sorry. So like three things. Does family count as one thing?

Speaker 2: 2:30

Well, I could. Let's think about it like this you were on a boat and the boat crashed. Ideally, you just had three things.

Speaker 1: 2:38

I mean, I guess family could count. Well, honestly, definitely my favorite Quran, because it is absolutely beautiful and on a deserted island, I would definitely need um Quran, Um my phone. For many reasons, but mainly, uh, because, like I can, you know, communicate with people on the outside. Call for help, Um, I don't know what. The third thing would be SubhanAllah, Um, I don't know Well what if your Sopranol. I don't know Well what if your phone didn't have signal. Well, my phone didn't have signal. At least it would still have the compass. That's fair. I like that, yeah, yeah. And it also has, like you know, ways to take notes and write and things like that. What about a charger? That's a great point. If I have a phone, I can't have a charger, right, I mean that could be the third thing, like a portable charger, solar powered.

Speaker 2: 3:32

Anyways, don't let me influence you, actually Go ahead and think of it as your own.

Speaker 1: 3:36

No, I never thought of it. Probably a good book too, honestly, because I would have time to read.

Speaker 2: 3:41

finally, Do you have any books that you're reading right now that you like I?

Speaker 1: 3:44

would have time to read. Finally, do you have any books that you're reading right now that you like? Um, currently I am reading. Well, I have a few series that I'm um interested in. Uh, but at the moment, let's see what am I reading. At the moment, I don't want to like give the fictional the fictional one, because um, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Books is books.

Speaker 1: 4:02

Yeah, but um, actually I'm currently reading uh like for helpful, like uh for um expanding my career. I'm currently reading um a cop. What is it? A copywriter's hand, the copywriter's handbook by Robert uh W Bly, I think that's what it's called. Um, I bought it a while ago and I did not actually get around to reading it until like yesterday, so I'm enjoying that at the moment. So that's pretty much what I'm reading.

Speaker 2: 4:31

Have you learned any valuable lessons from that book so far?

Speaker 1: 4:35

Yes, I have. Can I remember them? That's the real question. But you know, like, okay, so marketing is all about to sell. Ultimately, ultimately, it's like the goal is to sell things to people, um, through words, basically, right. So you know the ultimate goal when you are writing. You know sales copy, ad copy, any type of like, copy that with that end goal, um, it's not about writing the most beautiful words, it's about writing the most impactful words that are going to get people to actually do the action that you want them to do. And I think that's like the number one thing that I learned from, like just like the first little bit that I read yesterday. And I think it really took a lot of the perfectionism out of me, to be honest, because I'm a perfectionist and I tend to go on and on and on and on about things. I'm very purple prosy. I can be very purple prosy.

Speaker 2: 5:28

I'm sorry not to interrupt, but what is a purple prosy?

Speaker 1: 5:31

Oh well, purple prose is a term used in writing where basically people will write these really beautiful scenes, but they they describe everything too much. So it becomes like all of these beautiful, beautiful scenes, but they describe everything too much. So it becomes like all of these beautiful, beautiful words, but nothing is happening and nothing. The story isn't really moving. So like I like beautiful words and I like expressing things very beautifully, so my copy. If I'm not careful when I'm writing like ads and emails and things like that, I can get really creative, which is not always a bad thing, but sometimes it's like all right, do we really need like that? Many Just like, do we don't need a whole life story to make somebody buy something? So you know, just keep it like short, concise, simple, to the point.

Speaker 2: 6:19

That makes sense. Okay, cool, well, thank you for that insight. Yeah, yeah, that's definitely an interesting perspective because you're right, I mean you could write the most beautiful book in the world, but if nobody remembers it, then like, yeah, really, it's like if, what is it? I mean, I guess in a whole, you know, if we really want to get into that conversation, I guess it does matter, because it's like, yeah, you wrote what you wanted to write or whatever. But if your job is to write copy for a business or, you know, write something like marketing copy or whatever, I think the important thing is making sure people buy the thing that you're selling. So, yeah, that does make a lot of sense. Not all writing is. You know. I don't want to say not all writing is equal, but more so, not all writing is the same, right?

Speaker 1: 7:08

yeah, it's the purpose behind it. When you're writing a book versus like novels, versus short stories, versus novellas, versus poetry, versus sales coffee, it's they're all. The purpose is all different. So that's what guides the way that you write. Like that's when you're trying to write for results, it doesn't have to be pretty writing, it has to be impactful writing. When you're writing for you know, like a book and you know a novella or a short story, you're writing to tell a story and you know you want to write it in a way that keeps the reader going through the story and excited to see what happens next. So it's, it's a lot different than you know they're. They're they're just different, like they're two sides of the same coin. Really, I like that, okay, cool.

Speaker 2: 7:54

So with that, let's get started on to. I guess let's start with why writing? Why, actually, why copy? You know what happened, happened like what brought you to that journey, because, I'm gonna be honest, I kind of didn't realize what copywriting was up until like a couple years ago. So I'm just curious as to how you came to that and what made you.

Speaker 1: 8:20

I guess what, what fueled your passion for it well, honestly, it is kind of like a why writing? Kind of question, to be honest, like because, um, for me, writing has been something that I've just kind of done a lot of my life, and it started with, uh, my mom, who taught me how to read and would always like encourage me to read books, and when I I was a young teenager, she actually used to buy me Nancy Drew books. Shout out to Nancy. Right, shout out to Nancy.

Speaker 2: 8:51

I used to read her books. Like my dad, he would always go to the library like every week or every honestly every week, every other day, to be honest, and then like bring me like a stack of books and then like, whenever I finish those, we would just kind of rotate that is so cool every other day, maybe a week, but yeah, yeah, I'm doing very frequently, yeah, mashallah, yeah, it was great.

Speaker 1: 9:15

Yeah, I love nancy yeah, no, even my aunt she grew up on nancy drew as well. I found that so interesting. Um, but yeah, like, and you know reading all those books, and then you know my mom, all of those books, and then you know my mom pretty much taught me the reading part. And then I had two close friends who used to write and I didn't know that like anybody could just write a book. Like I thought you had to have like these specific, like you know, credentials to write a book, you know.

Speaker 1: 9:40

And I remember I used to read my friend's works and they would like write it just a little pencil and paper and they would fold up the paper and they would write it and they inspired me to start writing, like actually writing stories and things like that.

Speaker 1: 9:55

And pretty much it's my love for writing that kind of led me into copywriting, but it's also my love for entrepreneurship and business. I've done a lot of business endeavors in my life and I feel like the main thing that excited me was actually doing the things that got the results and not necessarily the other stuff. So I kind of thought you know what, like, if I love writing so much and I love business so much and I do like marketing, so why don't I just do like copywriting? Because that's what all of that is Like. I like to write and even though it's not like the you know prose and all of these like you know beautiful, like paragraphs and stuff that you would find in a novel, it's still fun and interesting for me because I get to write these words down and then I get to see how they impact people and you know just kind of learn from that and I just I find it all very interesting.

Speaker 2: 10:53

I like knowing that whatever I created or whatever like I put out, kind of guides somebody or helps them, because it's like it's one thing there's nothing wrong with creating for the sake of creating. But I think it's a special kind of fulfillment to create stuff and know that, okay, this is having an impact on somebody, like I did this because I want to, you know, improve this aspect of this person's life yeah, so.

Speaker 2: 11:22

I do empathize with that Earlier you had mentioned. You know you want to do the thing that actually gets results. I wanted to dive deeper on that. Like, what did you mean by that? You said I wanted to do what, I'm sorry. So earlier you said I like to do the thing that actually gets results. Like, for example, you know the writing, did you?

Speaker 2: 11:45

I'm curious as to what you meant by that, because for me I interpreted it as you know, you can create something, you can have a product or whatever, but the thing is, if nobody's, um, enticed enough to buy it, if nobody knows about it, um, who's gonna care? Because, like, yeah, you can't just put stuff. You know, I think, the old saying, oh, I'll put it out there, people will find it. Nowadays, in the age of distraction and things like that, it's actually not that easy to just randomly find things like or an app or this product that somebody has created no, you have to really put yourself out there, and things like that. So I'm just curious. Maybe my interpretation is wrong, but I just want to know what you meant by that.

Speaker 1: 12:28

Yeah, no, no, actually, I totally understand. But you know, back in my like earlier endeavors, pretty much I've been doing business since I was like 17 I think, and it started off with a blog and very humble beginnings because I originally didn't really want to monetize it or I thought that I would just monetize it like randomly one day. And in you know that first endeavor I learned a lot about marketing because you know there's the whole thing oh, build it and they will come. No, they won't. Like like you were just saying. You know, especially in um, this digital age, there is like a million different choices and you know we have what is it? We struggle from analysis, paralysis, we research. You know different things, different apps, different. You know products and things like that, and there's always a choice, there's always an alternative.

Speaker 1: 13:22

So I actually got really, really deep into marketing. I went really deep into marketing and majority of my you know, self-studies were marketing, were about marketing. You know how to get. You know how to get a customer or how to get a potential customer to onto my website and how to get them to download this. You know PDF and how to get them from the PDF to my course and things like that and as I was kind of doing that, I realized two things.

Speaker 1: 13:46

I realized one that I really, like you know, learning about marketing, about different marketing tactics, but I also realized that, even though I'm not a big math girly, I like analytics. So I like seeing, you know, it is very clear, because it's like you can do. You can write this paragraph, you know, and you can see that it's like you can do. You can write this paragraph, you know, and you can see that people are coming to it and you can monitor, like you know, on a website, like the backend of a website, like I'm sure you know, like on the backend of a website, you can, like you know, go and you can see, okay, how many people visited, how many people bounced, how many people went from this page to that page, to the next page, and I can use that data to tweak and, you know, make it where I can get more impactful results over time, and I actually found that kind of interesting and exciting. So I guess that's kind of what I meant by that.

Speaker 2: 14:36

No, okay, cool, yeah yeah, I think, honestly, now that you mention it, I that's such it's so interesting to me I really want, want to like, I like that, like seeing like the bounce rate and stuff of sites, that's really interesting stuff and then like basically being able to like tweak and kind of move stuff around. I mean, it's almost an art in itself, but I digress. I want to understand, like I mean're, you're pretty, you're young, like relatively, like young adult, you know I would say you know I just want to know, like, when in particular?

Speaker 2: 15:17

um, this kind of like spark of like I want to do this happen for you, because I know a lot of people. They get stuck on the when, and not that the when really matters, but almost it's like I'm just curious to know, right, because it feels like even me, growing up, the thing that you said about it feels like you have to have all these credentials to be an author and all these things. That's how I felt too. So I'm super curious because I know you said you had friends that I felt too. So I'm super curious because, like I know you said you had friends that also wrote too. Do you think that this could have happened at a different time in your life? Or you felt like this was the right time, or you know what about it?

Speaker 1: 15:58

I honestly think this was the right time. I think that I have learned a lot growing up. The way that I did about, you know, just like education and business and things like that, and when it comes to like because you like, my brain is like doing its thing, but when you, when you talk about, you know what brought me here. Honestly, it is just this huge. I want to say amalgamation, but I feel like I'm using that word wrong but it's this huge like result of just all of these different things packed on top of each other. And you know, growing up, my father has always been very entrepreneurial and, you know, very outside of the box. He thinks outside of the box all the time and he encourages all of us to think outside of the box. He thinks outside of the box all the time and he encourages all of us to think outside of the box and to pursue things in life that make us happy and fulfill our, you know, fill up our cups, basically. And I look around and I see a lot of people who don't have the opportunity to do that and I just I feel like I feel like a lot of us are stuck. Like, really, I feel like a lot of us are stuck in the like, when it's like, oh, you know, eventually I'm going to do this one day, I'm going to do this. Or, like, when I'm this age, I'm going to do this, when I get this degree, I'm going to do this. And then there's just this whole thing about, you know, not wanting to step outside of our comfort zone and not wanting to be uncomfortable, when in reality, we have to be, we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and this is like a bunch of like Ted talks and books. Later that I really truly realized it because, um, you know, there are a lot of books I can't name them. There are a lot of, um, you know, speakers that I've listened to that talk about this concept, and I'm like sitting here and I'm like I realized that these people, they didn't start having everything put together at once. They started because they were like I'm just, I want to, I want to do this, I'm going to start. And then they learned everything on the way, and I think that that mindset is where I'm at now. I definitely would not have been here, you know, five years ago, three years ago, not even two years ago. Honestly, this is where I am now and it's truly just because I'm like.

Speaker 1: 18:10

I guess the realization was kind of like I'm 24 and I was just like I'm going to be 30 in like six years, inshallah. So like, let me get on it. Like, let me do what I want to do while I'm still young because, inshallah, I want to you do what I want to do while I'm still young because, inshallah, I want to. You know, I want to be able to have a family and, like, settle down and, you know, enjoy my kids and things like that. So I'm like why don't I just get started now and, you know, deal with all of the discomfort that comes with it?

Speaker 2: 18:35

so I guess that kind of okay, yeah, I honestly I agree, and that's a lesson I kind of had to learn too, because I realized so I I kind of am. No, no, I'm not anymore but like I used to be the kind of person where everything had to, before I pursue a project or anything, I had to have all my ducks in a row. I had to have all my ducks in a row. I had to make sure I knew every inch about the subject, just anything before I began, and if I was just missing one component, I'd be like you know what? I can't dive into this yet because I don't have all the answers. I don't know.

Speaker 2: 19:21

That's such a dangerous mentality to have, because the truth is nobody really knows everything. All the people that you see out here doing their thing and being really good at it, everybody is just learning on the go. Like nobody is sitting here being like you know what I learned? Everything there is to know about systems, uh, systems programming. So now I'm going to go off and create my own software or whatever that's, and be successful, right, like that really just makes no sense.

Speaker 2: 19:51

Yeah, you know, and I think part of it is like fear. The truth is that's all it really is like you're sitting there, you're, you're under the guise of, oh, I just want to be prepared, or speak for myself anyways, but really you're just scared. Yeah, you're just scared of failure. And I had to learn that failure isn't like the end, but it's just a part of the process. And once you become really comfortable with that, you're not as hesitant to just dive in right, because then you know the expectation is failure. There's some things you're not going to be very good at. There's some things you will mess up at. There's some things that you know are not going to go your way 100% of the time.

Speaker 2: 20:35

But it's not supposed to, because if it did, then none of us would actually be improving. We'd just all be sitting there like a bunch of We'd all be rich.

Speaker 1: 20:44

Let's just be honest.

Speaker 2: 20:45

Yeah exactly We'd all be at the top, it wouldn't be as fulfilling, I think, and you know so.

Speaker 2: 20:52

I really admire that, like I, think a lot of us, you know sisters have to realize that it's okay to do things and to be bad at them at first, because that's part of it. Whether you're learning a new skill or a new language or you're just learning in general, nobody is good at anything at the beginning. For a lot of us, whose hobbies have been since we were young, we don't realize that we were kind of bad at things at first because we were young and our memories most of our memories anyway is not that good, non-existent, right. So we forget, like I remember. So, for example, right, I love to cook and people enjoy eating my cooking.

Speaker 2: 21:38

Alhamdulillah, mashallah, mashallah. I remember when I was younger I was trying to do something for my parents, like to be nice. So I said you know what I'm going to make them salad, like there's a specific African salad, that salad that like we have and I really enjoy it and I don't know, my mom would always make it look so easy, right? So I got the vinegar and the kumaji. Kumaji is like a bouillon cube it's like maggie cube.

Speaker 2: 22:10

Oh, okay, I got that. I got some this thing. I just thought it was just kumaji and vinegar first of all. So then I put that together. I tasted it. It did not taste good. Got the salad washed, it cut it. I was like, okay, we're cooking, we're cooking with gas, no pun intended. Then came the egg part. So in the salad there's like boiled eggs, which I love. I love boiled eggs and salad. Yeah, it's really good. Here's the thing, though didn't really realize that they were boiled when I was younger. Oh, just thought it was the egg and I guess in my head I was like you know what, maybe, if I just will it, it'll be like the way it'll be boiled.

Speaker 2: 22:50

I don't know what my expectation was, but to make a long story short, I cracked the egg open and it was raw and it went on the floor and I had to clean it up but hummed a lot right. All right, I tried and that's really what matters.

Speaker 2: 23:03

But anyways, the point of the story is, I mean, yeah, I was younger, but the whole point is I wasn't very good at it, right, but it just took years and years and years of doing the same thing or trying different things and being bad at something, to be good at it and to enjoy it and to love it. So that's just all to say that, like I agree with your point, like we just have to be comfortable with the discomfort.

Speaker 1: 23:26

Yeah and I cannot tell you how many times I have failed in the past month alone.

Speaker 2: 23:31

Like the amount of little failures, it is hilarious at this point people don't even realize that the most successful people are just the people who are comfortable with just failing, just winging it. You know, yeah, and just not being the best at you know the absolute best and you look so good doing something all the time Like you just have to accept that if you really want to be successful, at some point you're just going to have to be bad and you're going to make mistakes.

Speaker 1: 24:03

And that's just part of it exactly, and I think a big part of it definitely comes from our um, our need to look like prim and proper and polished all the time and forgetting that the the focus is not on me, like the focus is not on me as a copywriter. The focus is on my clients. What can I do for them If I am working, doing my absolute best to give them the results that they want? That's what matters. Everything else can kind of fall to the wayside and everything else will kind of come together as I need it, because I mean like systems like you were talking about before systems. I realized that I'm not like the most. I'm like organized, but sometimes I overlook things. I you know some things don't work the way that I wanted them to or they don't do exactly what I thought they would do. You know just things like that, and I've just I've gotten to a point where I'm just like, lol, I just laugh about it.

Speaker 1: 24:53

Honestly, that's the only thing I could do. I just laugh about it because I'm like only thing I could do. I just laugh about it because I'm like you know what and you know that's another thing. Let me take it back, actually, because truly, at the at the core of it, it is belief that allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is going to help me absolutely. He's going to get me through it, and that is something that I have definitely, definitely learned in the past, like year and a half is that, like Allah is going to get me through it. I just have to have faith in him. And then I need to believe in myself and my ability to figure it out and my ability to work through it, because I know that if I trust myself, I'll be able to learn whatever I need to learn. I'll be able to, you know, pick up whatever skill I need to pick up along the way. But the cool thing is when you kind of jump in, like obviously you don't want to jump in completely blind you know you want to.

Speaker 2: 25:41

You want to know a little bit of what you're doing.

Speaker 1: 25:43

Right, but it's like, along the way I'm going to learn what's important. Yes, I'm not going to be sitting here like okay, like all right, I'm going to start my business, so I need to learn how to code a website from start to finish. I need to learn how to do all this XYZ ABC, all of those things. And then, when you actually start the business, you realize right now you only need like two things, you only need like two things, or you need like maybe three things, but you get to learn those things as you go and I think that that is a huge thing and it's like faith, first and foremost, in Allah and, secondly, you know, in your ability to actually get it done and to learn and all of those you know things that come in between.

Speaker 2: 26:27

And you're absolutely right, and so thank you for taking it to that, because that is such a good point. It's like, at the end of the day, right, one thing is such a good point. It's like, at the end of the day, right one thing, I know two things for sure. You know, allah subhanahu wa ta'ala got me, whatever it is you just, first of all, even this whole podcast thing, I told myself I'm like, listen, I know why I'm doing it and my intention behind it. I'm just gonna make dua that allah makes it a thing that's good and use it as a thing that's good for you know, not just myself, but from you know, my community, for my umma, right, and so you really have to think, right, we can do everything in our power to control things. So, at the end of the day, allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in control exactly, so we can't be, with that being said, right, like being stuck on that. Oh, I'm not very good at this right now.

Speaker 2: 27:22

This again and this can apply to, like life in general sometimes you're just not going to be the best, you're not going to be good at something, or you're going to mess up, or things will happen, or something will happen in your life and you'll be like, oh, if only I didn't do this, if only this thing. No, that's not how it is. Like everything, whether we realize it or not, there's a purpose in it happening the way it did and you just gotta say hum to love. Hum to love when things are good and hum to love twice when things go bad. Yeah, because you don't know what lesson you were being taught, what you were being protected from or anything you know. So thank you for that point.

Speaker 1: 28:01

Yeah, I'm like I need to. I was like, wait, let me pull it back, because I'm sitting here like hold up. Allah is the only reason I have been able to do anything, alhamdulillah you know like Alhamdulillah, yeah, and that's a good point, right?

Speaker 2: 28:31

So don't even worry about it, bro. Yeah. So, with that being said, you know how do your islamic values influence the way that you approach your writing in your business?

Speaker 1: 28:42

well, I think it influences them each one slightly differently. Um, in terms of, I think, let me like try to go for shortest to longest explanation, but, um, I think, for for writing, I've I've been kind of at a battle about this for so many years now because, you know, obviously, like growing up, I read books about you know non-Muslims and you know their lives and this and that, and it's, like, you know, cool, there are some great lessons and you know great stories and things like that. And as a Muslim, I don't have to take what they do and be like, oh, let me do this too. No, that's, that's not the point. The point is, you know, it's a fun story, you know, good time, great. But I'm at a point now where I'm like, okay, I want to write a book and I want it to be help, I want it to be like impactful positively to Muslims. And you know I was for a long time I was like, how am I going to do that? Like, because I'm not a scholar, so I'm not going to sit down and write like you know, like or Marsaliman, or like Yasmin Mujahid. I was like, no, I'm not going to do that, that's a little bit too much for me and I really like writing fiction, excuse me. So I'm like, okay, what can I do? That's going to be like pleasing to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, but also be, like, you know, really fun for me, because for a minute I actually stopped writing because I was like, well, if I can't write about things that are like positive, if I'm going to influence people negatively, you know, like against Islamic rulings, then why am I writing? You know? Because like that's going to count against me the way that I feel is like it's going to count against me on Umul Qiyamah, and I don't want that.

Speaker 1: 30:22

So more recently, I've gotten to a point where I'm like, you know what? We need more books about Muslims. We need more books, not like, not Islam specifically. We do need more books about Islam. We can never have enough. But we need more books about Muslims struggling, muslims, being human, you know, and I like romance. So that kind of led me in the direction of like, okay, well, you know what about romance stories about Muslims? You know you have a Muslim main character, muslim love interest, you know, stuff like that. But like, how would they navigate that as Muslims?

Speaker 1: 30:50

You know, along with life, you know, living in the Western world, you know, combating the kind of difficulties that everyday Muslims have to combat, with, you know, like I and this comes from me personally wanting to read about imperfect Muslims, like trying to get it right, you know, and so that's kind of where I am now in writing books and that's kind of how that is how, like you know, islam is kind of guiding me in that area. And you know, when it comes to business, truly it's just. It's just me being like like I don't know what I'm doing, help me. You know that's like that is that is pretty much it, like I'm not even joking.

Speaker 1: 31:32

But also when it comes to like serving clients and things like that, I'm always asking allah, like you know, let me serve these clients, these people, in a way that is pleasing to you, because I don't want to lose my religion. I don't want to lose my religion in the process of, you know, trying to find the dunya. Like I don't want to do that. So I'm always, like you know, yeah, allah please. Like I'm not perfect to do that. So I'm always, like you know, yeah, allah please. Like I'm not perfect, but like that is one dua that is like always there. That's like Allah, please.

Speaker 2: 32:04

Like you know and let me be thankful as well that is a huge thing.

Speaker 1: 32:06

Like humbleness, yes, gratefulness and, just you know, understanding that all of my rizq comes from him. I don't own anything truly Absolutely's. That's where my like anchor is right now in terms of faith and how it influences my business, and I pray it stays that way forever. Yeah, I mean I'll make it.

Speaker 2: 32:25

so I mean, I mean, I think that's super important and thank you for sharing that, because it's sometimes we forget, right? You want to remember that, you know, and we all protect us from this, but you want to remember that you know it doesn't belong to any of us. That's the important part, you know. Sometimes, you know, you get lost in the sauce. You're like, oh, this bill, I got to pay this bill. And, by the way, let me be clear, I'm not, you know, negating the struggles of anybody.

Speaker 1: 32:57

Yeah, I know, because it's true, it's real.

Speaker 2: 32:58

It is. You know, you don't you know you're worried about so many things. I got to buy this thing, I got to do this thing, but you have to remember who's truly in control, right?

Speaker 2: 33:19

And especially with success and with your business, because that's the thing they say, not just. You know hard times are a test, but the good times are a test too, because you know it's really easy to turn to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the times of the bad yep, but like when it's good. Are you gonna remember him? Are you gonna forget?

Speaker 2: 33:27

yes, you know exactly and so it's a super important reminder and impactful reminder mail I'll award you for yeah, you gotta. You have to remember him, you have to remain human and make that dua to remain humble, because everybody always says like, oh no, it's never gonna be me until it's you yeah, yeah sitting there looking silly looking around.

Speaker 1: 33:48

Exactly how did I get here right? And I'm just like, oh, y'all don't know, please, no, not me. But you know, actually a lot of this is funny. A lot of this comes from living with my grandmother. I've lived with her for about a year now and you know, shout out to my grandmother, shout out to you, grammy, inshallah. I know you're going to listen to this, but this is like something that I've learned living with her.

Speaker 1: 34:07

She is very much like we don't control anything, like there is so much that we don't control, and what you can't control, don't worry about it, because allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is the one controlling it. And if you trust him, then you're, you're good, like, whatever happens happens for a reason and you're gonna and you're able to be content with it. And it's not always easy. That's because life is life and anxiety exists, and you know things like that. You know we're all human, we're all imperfect, we all make mistakes, but that's the beauty of it, because you know allah is the most merciful and he's not going to stop. You know, this is something that I absolutely love. You know about allah, and it's that he's not going to stop giving you blessings just because you make one mistake, or because you have one bad thought, or because you know you slip up just once, like he is going to still keep providing for you. I mean, he is going to keep. You know he's going to keep guiding you. You know, um, as long as it's something that you're working towards.

Speaker 1: 35:06

You know because he loves us so much yeah, and it's just like brings tears to my eyes. You know, like subhanallah, this is like caveat, but like something else that I've been learning, like over the past. I think, like five or so years, few years, is like how to truly love allah, you know, because it's like I think a lot of us are raised on like oh, fear allah.

Speaker 1: 35:28

You know, like if you don't pray, you're gonna, you're going to jahannam.

Speaker 1: 35:31

You know, like, if you don't do this and it's like okay, cool, you know we do we need to fear his punishment, right, like, obviously, you know allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the quran you know what happens when you disobey him. And you know, may allah protect us all, I mean, give us all jannatul firdaus, I mean, but I think sometimes we forget that we're supposed to also love allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're supposed to look for his mercy and for his um, you know, for his mercy and just for all of the goodness that he can give us. You know, it's like a balance and that is something that I have come to like really truly grasp. I mean, I wish I I'm still like imperfect, obviously, but it's like it is something that I have been learning recently, like in the past few years. Just you know how beautiful allah is and how merciful he is, and just this is so much like, it's just so much. You know, subhanallah, but yeah, a little caveat, but felt like I like saying that no, but, as you should, I think it's.

Speaker 2: 36:28

It's important to remember that because, like you said right, we're all raised on fear. You know, don't do this or else do this or else, but, like we think we were, we're reminded, raised on fear. You know, don't do this or else Do this or else. But, like we think, we're reminded of the fear but not enough of the love, because I think people forget, like it's said, that, like Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, he loves us more than our mothers, and do we know how much our mothers went through to, just, not even just to birth us, but to carry us and then raise us, and then, no matter what we do and no matter how annoying we can get, they are still there for us. I mean subhanAllah, yeah, subhanallah. And then imagine a being, an entity that loves us like more than 10 times that, like infinitely more than that, yeah and it's hard to grasp yeah, and when you know, may all grant us all, like you know those of us who are seeking that, like righteous.

Speaker 2: 37:40

You know children and spouses and things, but, like I, I hope one day that I can show them that, that, like you, you can. The fear which, by the way, a lot of times I think the fear is misconstrued as well as just like fear, like, oh, I'm scared of this scary person or I'm scared of this thing that's going to come down on me. I think the fear that they mean by fear a lot is almost, for example, right, you know, when we're young and you might have peed the bed or thrown up, and it's like 1 am and you're kind of like going to your mom's room and you're just like, mommy, I threw up, yeah, and you're just kind of standing there in the doorway. You're not fearing your mom, like she's going to kick you out on the street and you're going to sit there forever. It's more like you're so afraid and sad that you're letting her down and disappointing you or disappointing her.

Speaker 2: 38:48

Excuse me, that you don't want to say. You're saying that more term in terms of like oh uh, you know I'm I'm disappointed in myself, that I displeased this thing that I love and this person that I love. That's the type of fear I think is more akin to when they mean fear allah, not so much the oh like be scared because as a child I wasn't taught that because I would be confused. I'd be like, okay, why are we fearing allah if he's protecting us like what does?

Speaker 1: 39:21

that mean no, actually no, like he provides for us exactly he does so much for us.

Speaker 2: 39:25

Why am I fearing him? But the older I got and the more I realized, oh, and the more I learned, right, like you said, about our beautiful dean and getting closer to him and stuff I was like, wait a minute, not the same view. We are talking about two different types of people. Yeah, yeah, and I think people need to do a better job of explaining that. Yeah, I know, but thank you for that point.

Speaker 1: 39:49

I agree, I agree. I think it's also like it's kind of like it's like respect, yes, yes, agree, I think it's also like. It's kind of like it's like respect.

Speaker 2: 39:58

Yes, yes, you have to.

Speaker 1: 39:58

You have to respect Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, because if you don't respect him, if you don't respect his, his word, his promise, absolutely you don't expect.

Speaker 1: 40:06

I mean, sorry, respect his, you know his punishment. You don't respect his jannah, you don't respect his creations. That's going to be a problem because it's like you know, a lot of time without you know. I actually saw um, I think it was, I don't remember. It's like a video or something on instagram, a few like a little while ago, and it was like someone was basically saying, like it, within the quran, there's not nearly as much mention of punishment as there is of uh, no, no, sorry, it's rules and regulations. I think maybe, like, maybe, maybe I'm wrong about, maybe I'm wrong about that, but no worries, ultimately, like you know, there is punishment. Like a lost parent mentioned his punishment. He doesn't hold back, you know. He tells us, like this is what's going to happen to you, like if you, you know, don't do this, this type of thing.

Speaker 1: 40:52

But he also tells you a lot of times, in the same ayah or in the following ayah, that you know those who repent, those who fear allah, those who worship, those who seek his mercy, those are the ones who are successful, absolutely, because ultimately, I mean none of us are going to get to jannah from our own deeds, not even prophet like we're, we're going to get there from, you know, through his mercy. So it's like I don't know. I feel like I lost, kind of like where I was going with this. But, like you know, pulling back to respect, no, no, you have to respect all.

Speaker 2: 41:26

I see what you're. No, I see what you mean. Yeah, because, at the end of the day, that implies that you actually care. You know, because, obviously, those who are arrogant, those who really don't care and those who are, you know, because obviously, those who are arrogant, those who really don't care and those who are like you know, whatever man, none of this matters anyways. Yeah, you're probably. I mean, a lot of protectors know a lot of those best. You know a lot of those best too. Right, not saying you won't be there tomorrow, but I am saying the likelihood is greater.

Speaker 1: 41:51

Does that make sense?

Speaker 2: 41:52

Yeah, but like those who actually have remorse and, like you said, that respect, because anybody you respect, you're not going to want to hurt them, right, yeah, and you and you, truly, you understand that what they're doing for you is because it's because they love you.

Speaker 1: 42:05

Yeah, it's out of like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants Jannah for us, right? So it's like like I'm like like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants Jannah for us, right? So it's like you know, when you, when you think like, okay, like you know, oh, I made this mistake it's like you, you fear. You fear disappointing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because you love him so much and you respect him so much. But you also, like you have this, like feeling that you're just like no, I need to do better. You know, I feeling that you're just like, no, I need to do better. You know I need to do better for the sake of allah, and then you know, for the sake of my akhira, you know like stuff like that. So, yeah, I think, I think it also really comes down to respect. Like that, you know, fear aspect comes down to also respect. You are correct all right, alhamdulillah.

Speaker 2: 42:49

So real quick. What would you say to somebody who, okay, they're like, okay, yeah, I want to be a writer, I want to start. Well, copy or not copy. Um, what advice? What, like? What's some advice you would give to somebody like, let's say, I wanted to start writing. I'm like, okay, like I see all these people writing, I see copywriters. I'm like, okay, this is something I want to start doing. Um, what's the first step? Like, what would you recommend? Like reading, because I feel like you know isn't it what there's?

Speaker 2: 43:18

a lot of people right, the best writers.

Speaker 1: 43:19

Yeah, exactly um actually fun fact there is, I don't know I don't know, I've never read the books, but there was someone. There's a podcast I listened to ages ago and, um, someone mentioned that there was this author who he doesn't read very much but he writes and apparently I guess he writes good books, you know, because he has a following and things like that. So, you know, I don't think you have to be a super avid reader to be a good writer. I think you just have to have a story to tell and I think you have to just have love for it. And I think you have to just have love for it.

Speaker 1: 43:56

So, someone who is starting to write, whether they want to get into copywriting or anything like that, my thing is do it, just do it, because you don't have to publish what you first write. You don't have to sell what you first write. You know write for yourself first and you know have fun with it and play with things and then also, of course, read your favorite books and you know copy, take from them, yeah, take from them, and you know what, like, actually, there's this exercise that I found very interesting. I don't, I never did it, but and I should because it's, like really nice. But it's like there's a writing exercise where it's like if you find like a paragraph that you really love right, you really love right, you take that paragraph and you write it yourself.

Speaker 2: 44:37

You know, write it, and then I think you take it and you rewrite it like in your own words and things like that.

Speaker 1: 44:39

Yeah, and it's like it's a very interesting thing, because I think that you know, our favorite books are typically what inspire us to write. Like a lot of us, the reason we decided like, oh yeah, I want to write is because we read a book that we really love and it's like well, can I do that too? And then you find out you can and it's like, oh wait, let me try. But yeah, my advice is do it. And then the second piece of advice to that is writing is not easy. I wish, I wish it was so much easier than it is. But writing is not easy because you are and this is not to scare away people so like, if you're running away from the podcast now, please don't, dear listener, please don't. You'll hear what I'm going to say. But, like, writing is not easy. It does take time to get to a point where you feel like you know yourself as a writer, but you know your imagination is very vast, like we all have the ability, we all have a story in us and if you're someone who really wants to tell that story, keep going, even when it's like weird, even when it doesn't feel right, even when you look at all these words and like there's like 12 typos and, um, you know, it's like there's a red line under like every other word and nothing makes sense. I have a copy of a book that I wrote when I was younger and it has the most embarrassing typo that I will not repeat on this podcast, but it was very crude and I was not going for that. So that's the funny thing and it's just like there somewhere. I don't even know where it is at this point. But yeah, like it happens, you know you're going to have good days and bad days, but I would say, keep doing it, because if it's something you really want to do, you'll regret not doing it more than you'll regret like doing it badly.

Speaker 1: 46:19

And, um, I was gonna have like a third piece of advice, but I can't quite remember it, you know, and that's okay. But really, truly, those are the things and, honestly, these are things that I would tell my younger sister, because she likes to write too and she stresses me out, because I'm like, girl, like she's such a great writer mashallah, like her prose, she's very poetic, right and I'm just like, can you please? Like she's like, oh yeah, I'm gonna write. I'm like can you write it? Like, can you actually please write it? Like, please, I'm begging you, she has these amazing story ideas, but then, when it comes to writing, she's like, oh, you know that. And I'm just like, please, write the dang book. Like, just write one chapter. I just want to read one chapter, please. But like, honestly, do it. Honestly, honestly, just do it and have fun. Truly do it and have fun.

Speaker 1: 47:01

Because, uh, oh, you know, another piece of good advice is to actually like, do it even when it's hard, and then keep a record, because even a month from when you start and you look back, you're gonna find that you've improved and you know, keep going. You're going to find that you've improved and you know, keep going, keep going, keep going. Years later, you're going to find that you've improved. And that's one thing that I really regret is not having like a record of all of my writings from when I was younger, because I'm telling you like I would probably be way more confident in my writing if I could look back at like 12 year old Hidaya's writing. That's true, but I guess that's my advice. You know, start it and just keep going, because if you love it, it's worth it, even when it sucks.

Speaker 2: 47:50

Absolutely, absolutely. That's fantastic. All right, so we are wrapping up here. Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful insights. Honestly, it has truly been a pleasure, girl. It's been my pleasure. Thank you, thank you. So I want to ask you what is your favorite, aya, and how does it inspire or influence your approach to your career, your writing or your life?

Speaker 1: 48:10

Okay, so that is a hard question, because there are a lot of ayahs that I really, really love, but one ayah that I always fall back on is the dua of Musa alayhi salam. Wait, wait. I love this dua for many reasons. Obviously, you know it's a great dua because, you know, like, paraphrasing, paraphrasing, but, like you know, musa Alayhi Salaam is asking Allah, subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la, to untie the knot in his tongue to, you know, expand his chest, aka give him, like, confidence, you know, and you know, give him the ability to give, so that other people can understand him.

Speaker 1: 48:56

And we know that Musa, you know, he had a speech impediment, so that was a big thing for him. You know, when he was told to go to Firaun, it was like, wow, like you know, I have to go to this, you know tyrant, and I have to speak to him and call him towards Islam, which he's not going to like. So you know, he's making dua to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, like, help me, you know, help me speak more eloquently, help me, you know, give me the confidence, give me the ability. And I think about that all the time because that's like that's, that's how I feel, that's how I feel about um, like any, any endeavor that I do nowadays. I think back to that, aya, and you know it's so funny because I know as soon as we end this podcast, I'm going to be like, oh, I should have chose another one, cause there's so many, that's a really good one.

Speaker 1: 49:44

Yeah, but that's. That's like one of my favorites Awesome.

Speaker 2: 49:48

Yeah, thank you so much. So how can we find you, or how can we find you?

Speaker 1: 49:54

How can you find me? That's a great question. I might be hiding under somebody's bed. No, how could you find me? Well, you can find me on my website, which, by the time this is over, hopefully I'll have something. Inshallah, yeah, so you can find me at diapetediapete, copycom. That would be d-a-y-a-p-e-t-ecom. Sorry, copycom, my bad, it's been a minute since I've podcasted, don't worry, and the link in the description. Okay, perfect. And you can also find me for book related things. I am toying around with an idea of like doing, like a publishing experiment. So if you want to find me for book related things, I am toying around with an idea of like doing, like a publishing experiment. So if you want to find me for books and for reading, then you can find me at diapetbookscom and you can join my newsletter and just kind of get the behind the scenes of whatever is going on writing wise. Inshallah and um. You can find me on instagram at dais creative corner. So that's, you know, d-a-y-a-s creative corner and um, that's pretty much about it yeah, all right, love that.

Speaker 2: 51:08

All right.

Speaker 1: 51:08

Well, thank you so much, thank you I'm so, I'm so, I feel so honored to be a part of this. Thank Thank you so much for having me. Assalamu alaikum, warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, wa alaikum assalam, warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.