‏﷽ It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There are seven whom Allah will shade with His shade on the Day when there will be no shade but His…” among whom he mentioned, “a young man who grew up worshipping Allah.”( Bukhaari, 1423); (Muslim, 1031). When I was nine years old my parents sent to an Islamic after school program at the masjid. I would go to the masjid everyday after school to attend this program and attain beneficial Islamic knowledge such as stories of the sahaba, the life of the prophet, how to preform wudhu, and etc. those stories and the minuscule knowledge I attained as a child opened my eyes to the beauty of Islam whereas my eyes were blinded by the darkness of western culture. At the age of twelve my parents enrolled me in a Quran memorization program. There were many obstacles and challenges that I faced, yet by the will of Allah I became a Hafiz by the age of eighteen. I was still attending school full time while memorizing the holy Quran. My schedule would be occupied completely and I would only get 2hrs of break through out the day besides sleep. But this experience and all the adversities I faced during it helped instill beautiful qualities in me, qualities that the best Muslims to ever live had. People sometimes assume that just because someone follows Islam to the best of their ability, they become pious and righteous. As a Muslim born and raised in America, it is extremely difficult to follow Islam completely and not fall into the traps of the devil. We all have to try our best to follow our religion and remember that if we mess up Allah says in the Quran that surely Allah is the most forgiving and merciful. My identity as a Muslim has helped me become a young scholar who is constantly yearning for knowledge. Our beloved prophet said “ Seeking knowledge is mandatory on every single Muslim” and I like to live by this quote and constantly be a student of knowledge. If I attain this scholarship, I will be saved from taking out loans that accumulate interest and I will be able to focus on my studies with full commitment and dedication. In Islam we are not supposed to give or take interest, Allah says to stay away from interest, hence the best way to follow this commandment is through amazing scholarships such as Youssef University's Muslim Scholarship Fund. If Allah wills I will attain this scholarship and continue to build on my self and focus on my academic education, and with the will of Allah I will be one of the Muslim leaders of this generation, helping to guide all of my fellow brothers and sisters. جَزَاكَ ٱللَّٰهُ خَيْرً