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

02:03

05:36

07:51

15:52

18:38

22:14

24:13

25:15

26:45

27:01

31:09

32:29

37:25

40:06

40:57

42:56

46:00

49:21

51:06

53:37

56:45

59:11

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

02:46

02:59

05:54

07:30

11:08

15:52

18:03

21:06

26:30

29:15

30:24

33:13

35:28

36:12

39:15

43:06

48:49

54:11

54:51

55:34

“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

01:36

07:30

10:52

21:38

27:42

33:49

39:02

41:04

42:52

46:24

50:32

51:24

56:11

“Every now and then life says

If we’d only open our eyes

There’s gold in them hills

A word or two, my friend

There’s gold in them hills”

– From Gold in Them Hills by Ron Sexsmith and Chris Martin

Tracklist

00:00

04:56

10:34

14:07

19:43

25:24

29:09

30:22

35:19

39:48

42:39

46:56

50:40

56:24

01:02:36

Let your spirit soar on the wings of “bluebird of happiness.” Featuring my all-time favorite chillout song: Ulrich Schnauss’s remix of Mojave 3’s 2003 masterpiece of the same name, this mix is the sonic embodiment of that mythic bird, whispering secrets of joy. No feathers required – just hit play. 🎶✨

Tracklist

00:00

03:43

10:32

16:29

21:57

31:22

37:04

42:45

46:52

49:27

54:35

57:57

01:04:46

01:10:03

Allow me to take you on a journey with the upbeat symphony of Entwinement: a meticulously crafted 30-track chillout mix that explores the theme of shared destiny and how intricately entwined we are on this planet. As the music unfolds, contemplate the beauty of our collective journey, and the importance of embracing our similarities while celebrating our unique paths. Let’s open our hearts, connect with one another, and build more bridges towards love and understanding.

Tracklist

00:00

01:48

02:43

04:23

05:28

07:52

08:57

13:02

14:43

15:33

17:38

20:17

20:34

24:16

25:55

26:32

32:04

33:11

34:40

35:03

38:16

40:05

41:47

43:46

44:39

47:56

50:02

52:46

55:49

58:07

“In the mindset of a traveler, there is a natural detachment that comes with the realization that something is only temporary. This worldly life, the dunia, is just like the ocean. And our hearts are the ships. We can use the ocean for our needs and as a means to get to our final destination.

Of course, detachment does not mean that we do not own things or interact with this world. On the contrary, we build this world and give back even more than we take.

The essence of detachment is that of the heart. It’s the realization, and manifestation, of what dunia really is: a means to an End.”

― from The Ocean of Dunya by Yasmin Mogahed

Tracklist

00:00

06:26

11:05

13:12

14:47

20:36

25:48

28:53

32:22

36:04

38:31

41:40

47:05

52:21

56:07

Zane Callister, the man behind Young Collective moniker, is an artist whose music resonates with me. After featuring him in several mixes, I decided to do him justice by dedicating an entire mix to the gift he brings to this world.

More than a composer, he is a storyteller. He uses music as a medium to create immersive and emotional experiences for his listeners, something I aspire to do in this show as well.

In this interview, Zane describes his creative process when scoring films or creating sync licensing pieces. I watched the interview after completing this mix, and it was a pleasant coincidence to hear him speak of how he would score a scene from one of my favorite TV shows, This Is Us. In this mix, you’ll hear Zane’s song, It Started With Silence, mixed around 2 pieces from the soundtrack to that show, which also happens to be one of my favorite soundtracks of all time too created by the brilliant Siddhartha Khosla.

Check out Zane’s Young Collective music wherever you get your music. If you have a film project, check out his sync license music on MusicBed.

Spotify • Apple Music • Amazon Music • MusicBed

Tracklist

00:00

01:57

04:55

05:33

12:00

14:22

15:58

18:37

22:31

26:06

29:45

31:49

35:32

36:55

37:56

42:12

43:46

51:33

53:43

I recently re-watched the record-setting supersonic, freefall jump that Felix Baumgartner performed in October of 2012 from 39 km high up in space. The words he uttered before taking the leap of faith resonated with me:

“I know the whole world is watching, and I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.”

I started thinking about the type of everyday moments that we just might look at differently if we could see them from “space”. Then I came across this inspirational post by Sahil Bloom that succinctly put my thoughts in words:

“Important Rule for Life: When in doubt, zoom out. Being perpetually zoomed-in creates two challenges: struggle feels bigger than it really is, and growth feels smaller than it really is.

I hope this mix inspires us to appreciate the bigger context of our everyday moments and to “time travel” to the past or future to observe the present through that new lens. Perhaps that would reveal the manageable nature of our struggles or the impressive nature of our growth.

Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews, rated and supported the show. Special shoutout to Alaeddin for joining the Uplifting Pills Superfan club ❤️

Tracklist

00:00

04:06

10:48

14:22

20:20

23:34

27:44

33:26

36:34

40:24

47:53

52:10

“There is a place nothing compares to but we only know

― from Purple by Hollow Coves

Tracklist

00:00

02:24

03:44

04:28

07:57

10:36

11:56

15:29

19:47

22:12

24:46

29:34

30:49

35:26

37:00

42:50

44:31

46:22

51:58

56:03

01:00:18