Episode 15 AI It Up Exclusive with Tabassum Abubaker

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Watch Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548

Episode 15: AI It Up Exclusive with Tabassum Abubaker

Sunday 14th December 2025 / 23rd Jumada al Ukhra 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)

 

Listen to Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548

Episode 15: AI It Up Exclusive with Tabassum Abubaker

Sunday 14th December 2025 / 23rd Jumada al Ukhra 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)

 

Transcript

 

8 seconds
To dear listeners, it's just past 2:00 p.m. here in South Africa and it's our favorite day of the week, Yomul Aad.
18 seconds
And it's the 23rd of Jamad Uhrah, which corresponds to Sunday the 14th of December, 2025.
29 seconds
I'm Zad Plachis and with me are my co-hosts Nabia and Issa Plachis. Welcome to Level Up where we listen, learn, and
38 seconds
grow inshallah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance and we break down the week's news and talk about what really matters to young Muslims today.
48 seconds
Our WhatsApp line is open. The number is 0727861548.
54 seconds
You can call in on 0185472 or you can DM us on iilz.com. That's I
1 minute, 4 seconds
loo e zoom m.
1 minute, 10 seconds
So today we are going to sit back and let a do the whole program.
1 minute, 18 seconds
The look on Nabia and Issa's faces were priceless.
1 minute, 22 seconds
But this is a reality um we are facing where everyone is worried that AI will take over their jobs and people fear
1 minute, 30 seconds
that AI will do it better than they are currently doing their job.
1 minute, 35 seconds
I wouldn't mind AI doing the the housework and the cleaning and the cooking.
1 minute, 40 seconds
Well, I that's what I always said that once AI actually reaches that level, then I know that we've made a breakthrough that they can do tasks that
1 minute, 49 seconds
we don't want to do. We don't want them to um be voice over artists. We don't
1 minute, 56 seconds
want them to run um radio stations. We don't we don't want them to design stuff for us or write our articles for us.
2 minutes, 6 seconds
Yeah. Because we want to show our creativity.
2 minutes, 10 seconds
Exactly. We want them to clean our bathrooms, make up our bed, uh cook us dinner, you know, those type of things.
2 minutes, 19 seconds
So when we reach that stage and um you know that that becomes part of our daily lives and I know that we've made an
2 minutes, 27 seconds
actual breakthrough in in AI. Um but uh we're going to talk about AI today. Uh
2 minutes, 35 seconds
we're going to look at how we use it in our daily lives at the moment. um how we should be using it or how we can use it
2 minutes, 44 seconds
to better our lives and uh what we are currently doing at the moment that we don't even know is AI.
2 minutes, 53 seconds
Okay.
2 minutes, 54 seconds
Yeah. There's lots of things that that we use in our daily lives that we don't even know is powered by AI. Okay. Um
3 minutes, 2 seconds
we're also continuing with what to do during the holidays in South Africa. So after the half hour we we will be
3 minutes, 9 seconds
hearing from sister Tabasum on what to do in the free state. Issa will also be sharing the six T's for the holidays a
3 minutes, 19 seconds
little later inshallah. But right now let's take a look at the news.
3 minutes, 24 seconds
Okay. So in the news, a recent tech expo in Iran went viral after attendees made a surprising discovery. The events
3 minutes, 34 seconds
highly promoted advanced AI robots were actually actors in elaborate costumes.
3 minutes, 42 seconds
The performers wore white suits decorated with one ones and zeros and answered visitor questions using
3 minutes, 50 seconds
entirely scripted lines. Officials later clarified that this peculiar stunt was organized by a private company and was not an initiative of the expo itself.
4 minutes, 2 seconds
The mixup quickly sparked a massive online debate and generated widespread amusement, highlighting the humorous gap
4 minutes, 9 seconds
between public expectations and the reality of current robotics even as real AI technology continues to advance globally.
4 minutes, 20 seconds
Wow. So, we're not at that stage yet then if they are busy using humans to um pretend to be robots.
4 minutes, 32 seconds
Well, there are there were a few robots that were created recently that we saw at the Singularity um expo. Well, one robot that we saw.
4 minutes, 43 seconds
Yeah. But it was still it was still um manned, if that's if that's the word that you
4 minutes, 50 seconds
can use. So, it's still operated by a person. They still have a remote control. they use it um like you would a
4 minutes, 58 seconds
drone um you know so it's similar to drone technology where you would have a remote control and you would um you know
5 minutes, 7 seconds
guide it into the direction that it needs to go well I have to say it would be scary it would be the scary part of life if a
5 minutes, 15 seconds
robot can move on its own when we come to that point where a robot can move on its own and do things on its own and speak on its own and walk on its own.
5 minutes, 27 seconds
But I think that that is that is the point of it because I mean how you don't want to still be telling it how to make
5 minutes, 34 seconds
your bed and how to cook dinner. You want it just to do that and you want it to fulfill tasks that um you don't want to do.
5 minutes, 45 seconds
It's not it's not taking away jobs or anything. I think that it will free up time for a lot of people to do other
5 minutes, 52 seconds
things. I mean, we I think we spoke about it in one of the other episodes where um there's always jobs that we
6 minutes, 1 second
didn't know that we would have. So, 20 years ago, there was no social media
6 minutes, 7 seconds
managers, you know. Um and the there will be jobs that we don't know that we can have in the future. So if this
6 minutes, 16 seconds
technology will come in and there are robots then it will free up time and we would have stuff time to to look at
6 minutes, 25 seconds
serious issues like uh everybody says world peace and you know um making the planet greener and looking after our
6 minutes, 34 seconds
planet and you know all those things things that matter spending time with our family quality time more Islamically so that we have proper
6 minutes, 43 seconds
dini knowledge Yes. To impart to to to to practice on.
6 minutes, 48 seconds
Exactly. So I think that I don't think it will be scary because I mean if you
6 minutes, 54 seconds
think about it now um already your you don't have to even think about it and an
7 minutes, 3 seconds
ad pops up on when you go on social media or on Google or whatever and it's already there of what you're thinking
7 minutes, 10 seconds
about. M I went to a store the other day. I bought a product and um
7 minutes, 17 seconds
I I didn't uh you know like I didn't search it. I didn't um what's the word
7 minutes, 24 seconds
speak about it or anything and the ad came up for that product on social media when I went on.
7 minutes, 32 seconds
How is that possible? Yeah, I often wonder about that also because um I also think about things or I think about
7 minutes, 40 seconds
saying something and it all of a sudden pops up when I open up um any type of app on my phone.
7 minutes, 48 seconds
Um, I know this one part where you wrote down a person's name from that was a
7 minutes, 56 seconds
manager or something at a store that we bought a product from and then you went on Facebook and it was that same person that you wrote down.
8 minutes, 7 seconds
Yeah. So, that was that was just like in my notes and I hadn't even gone on like you know like phone them or done
8 minutes, 16 seconds
anything. Yeah, I just wrote their name down and it came up as a suggested for you.
8 minutes, 19 seconds
This one you wrote down their name on your phone that which is weird because you wrote it on notes. You didn't write it in any app. You didn't call them. You
8 minutes, 27 seconds
didn't search them or whatever. You wrote it on the notes. But the other things about where you just go and buy something without searching, without
8 minutes, 35 seconds
checking, without saying anything about it or when you thinking of stuff that is very crazy.
8 minutes, 41 seconds
Exactly. So then if you that's already scary. So I think just having that in a robot form is not going to be that scary.
8 minutes, 52 seconds
Well, speaking of um having things, you know, in robot form but doing things on their own, I I believe there are cars nowadays that that can drive on its own.
9 minutes, 4 seconds
Yes. Yes, they are.
9 minutes, 5 seconds
So Isa is going to tell us about a news article that he read um regarding a vehicle. Okay.
9 minutes, 13 seconds
Robo taxi service Whimo released data indicating that its autonomous cars have fewer accidents than human drivers.
9 minutes, 26 seconds
Their data suggests a 91% lower rate of incidents causing serious
9 minutes, 33 seconds
injury compared to human drivers in the US.
9 minutes, 38 seconds
Yes. So, Whimo is a um service provider in America. I think they they're in San
9 minutes, 46 seconds
Francisco or Los Angeles somewhere. Um but they have a lot of these um I think it's a Jaguar IPACE or something that's
9 minutes, 55 seconds
selfdriving and you'll see these videos and people get into the car and they're like, "Where's the driver?" And we've
10 minutes, 2 seconds
even seen like uh um people of older generation they love to do tests on them. they get.
10 minutes, 10 seconds
Um, so there's someone who's probably our generation takes someone takes I think there was an a video that we saw,
10 minutes, 17 seconds
isn't it? That they took two older um people, let's call them seniors, put
10 minutes, 23 seconds
them in the back seat of this car and the comments that they were saying, they
10 minutes, 31 seconds
were like, "Where's the driver? I need what do I do? How is it going on its own?" Yeah. and and and you know like normally
10 minutes, 40 seconds
when you're driving then the older generation the seniors will tell you how to drive. They'll say turn here, break
10 minutes, 47 seconds
here, uh do all these things. Now they're trying to tell a driver that's not there. And it's just so funny. But
10 minutes, 55 seconds
um that that's that's one of the things that we use every day is our cars. We don't realize that there's a lot of AI
11 minutes, 2 seconds
technology in the cars. Um most of the cars come now with autonomous uh level two driving. You have the adaptive
11 minutes, 11 seconds
cruise control. So basically what happens is uh you set your cruise control and if there's a vehicle in
11 minutes, 18 seconds
front then it will lower the speed. If uh the vehicle moves out of the way then the speed will will will increase. So,
11 minutes, 25 seconds
there's stuff like that that we're using on a daily basis and we don't even know that um we're using it.
11 minutes, 35 seconds
That's so true. Um I didn't realize that that what's it called? What did you say again? Automatic cruise control.
11 minutes, 43 seconds
Adaptive cruise control. Adapt. I knew the A was for something.
11 minutes, 46 seconds
Okay. So, in other news, uh, a prosecutor is under scrutiny for allegedly using a flawed AI system to
11 minutes, 54 seconds
file court documents with generated mistakes in a case, raising significant questions about the responsible use of AI in the legal and judicial systems.
12 minutes, 6 seconds
Yeah. So, you see the at the end of the day, um, it's all about what the system is being fed and who is monitoring the
12 minutes, 14 seconds
system. So I don't know if initially we we saw that when these large language
12 minutes, 23 seconds
modules uh came out so this Gemini and chat GPT and all that I personally found that they were very
12 minutes, 32 seconds
intelligent in the sense that they would uh do things very quickly. they would be able to multitask
12 minutes, 40 seconds
and um when you gave them an instruction it would happen and I think they were obviously
12 minutes, 48 seconds
given information by the the developers right so high tech information if you
12 minutes, 55 seconds
must like um and or high value information and the the information that
13 minutes, 2 seconds
was fed to them was filtered right now everybody's uploading information on a daily basis. And for some reason, I feel that they've got a little bit dumber.
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I know I said it, but it's it's true because I've created a lot of stuff on
13 minutes, 22 seconds
there cuz I've tested them, right? And um I can see that for example, you ask
13 minutes, 29 seconds
it to create an image, right? And you say, "Please remove this or please add this or whatever it is." and it doesn't
13 minutes, 38 seconds
do it. It gives you it sends back the exact same image that that it's created and it you can ask it a 100 different
13 minutes, 46 seconds
ways and it just sends back the same image. It's almost like it's lazy now.
13 minutes, 52 seconds
And before it would actually make the image better. So you'll ask it to do
13 minutes, 59 seconds
something and it will actually enhance the image. We tried chat chat GPT and
14 minutes, 6 seconds
Gemini on who was the fastest to create an image and um
14 minutes, 15 seconds
Gemini was actually the fastest with like an image and then Gro gives you something totally
14 minutes, 24 seconds
different like um let's say I asked like the one time I asked Gemini
14 minutes, 34 seconds
to well I first asked ChachiBT to create an image and
14 minutes, 41 seconds
of like a image that I took a picture of.
14 minutes, 45 seconds
Okay. What was it of? Was it of yourself? No, it was actually of my little car. Okay.
14 minutes, 52 seconds
And then I asked it to make it like realistic and Okay. Make your car realistic.
14 minutes, 59 seconds
My like little things. Yeah. Okay.
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Realistic and that Chachi BT gave it like something made it like big.
15 minutes, 11 seconds
Okay.
15 minutes, 11 seconds
It didn't like Yeah. And then I tried Gemini and Gemini gave me the same image back.
15 minutes, 20 seconds
The same image that you took. Yeah. Recently. And then I tried it again. Still the same image.
15 minutes, 29 seconds
Okay. And then Grock. Uh, I've never tried that before.
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Oh, you've never tried Gro? But um you were saying uh you and dad tried Gro together and um Grock gave you like a
15 minutes, 41 seconds
completely different image. I think you guys uploaded something of yourself and then it made you look different.
15 minutes, 46 seconds
Yeah. So we did, like I said, um we tried uh the three of them and we
15 minutes, 54 seconds
actually found out that Grock will will give you something totally different. Um
16 minutes
it it's very AI based. It doesn't even re look realistic. Um Gemini was the most realistic.
16 minutes, 10 seconds
Chachi PT used to be quite a good platform to use, but recently it's been slower. It's just um like I said, I feel like they've become a little bit dumber.
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Um and I don't know if that's the right word to use.
16 minutes, 28 seconds
Do you know of any other AI um services or apps that you can use
16 minutes, 35 seconds
besides chat GPT to ask things to to fact check to you know help you with um
16 minutes, 44 seconds
getting some information to create what you need to like besides images. So you
16 minutes, 50 seconds
guys tried chat GPT ask Gemini and um Grock. So those were for images. But in
16 minutes, 57 seconds
terms of um information, what would you try? Is there is there anything besides those three?
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Not that I know of. But that's not that is for information as well. That's not only for images.
17 minutes, 10 seconds
Oh, okay. All right. You can see that I hardly use that.
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Um do you remember the uh AI well Google
17 minutes, 21 seconds
assistant before Gemini where you can ask it many questions and okay clearly you remember that because
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you used to ask it many um I don't I know Apple had this one it's called
17 minutes, 37 seconds
Siri Siri or what is it okay Siri yes so that's what I wanted to say like so in daily lives. We've had Bixby
17 minutes, 45 seconds
on Samsung. We've got Siri on Apple. So, those things have been around for a very long time. And I actually went to
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Google, it's probably about 10 years or more ago, to Google's head office here in South Africa. And they actually said
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that I can't remember the the time span, but they said that there's going to reach a point where your phone or your
18 minutes, 10 seconds
device, maybe it's your watch or your phone, whatever it is that's connected to you, would actually be able to say that your stress levels are high. It
18 minutes, 18 seconds
will book an appointment for you at your favorite uh spa, whatever it is. It will
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book the Uber. or what I think Uber wasn't even around then, but it would book a a taxi for you to pick you up.
18 minutes, 34 seconds
Um, it would then order your favorite coffee or whatever to be delivered or tea, whatever calms you down food wise.
18 minutes, 44 seconds
So all those things it it basically looks at what your favorite things that you do, you eat, you go to, whatever it
18 minutes, 52 seconds
is, and it will do it for you on behalf of you on your card. On your card.
18 minutes, 59 seconds
So imagine you're like, "Oh, someone's treating me to a nice meal and a spa." And then, "Oh, wait, it was me." No, but I think you know that it's you.
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But the thing is it it just from booking for you for yourself, you're not booking it. That's a bit uh scary. What if I I said, "Okay, I don't have enough.
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I'm going to keep this amount for because you know, as freelancers, we don't really get a certain amount every month and we have to make sure that
19 minutes, 28 seconds
certain uh things are paid every month." Now, imagine I have this little bit left, but it's supposed to be for like say next month's rent or something and then it says, "Oh, you you're stressed.
19 minutes, 39 seconds
let me book you a spa treatment.
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Yeah, but obviously it would check your spending habits and I mean if you're not going to the spa as often as you know
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like a person that goes on a regular basis like once a week or once a month.
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So I think it would take into into account all those things cuz it's not going to say oh you need a new phone now let me buy you a new phone type of
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thing. Um so I think the the whole concept is that it would reach a stage where it would become a personal
20 minutes, 11 seconds
assistant not just a voice assistant like we currently have in the sense that it could perform tasks and obviously
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like you have these robot vacuum cleaners that you'd tell it where which area that you want to be vacuumed. So in
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the same way you could have certain settings that it would say you know like I have a limit of how much I can spend.
20 minutes, 35 seconds
Um so don't go and spend this money or you know like uh block your card so that it doesn't do there's obviously going to
20 minutes, 44 seconds
be some settings but I think it's going to be interesting more than scary to see this unfold in the next few years. Um,
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so if you'd like to join the conversation, our WhatsApp line is 0727861548.
21 minutes
You can call in on 01854702 or you can DM us on.com
21 minutes, 7 seconds
on social media. Let's go for a break and when we get back we will hear from Sister Tabasum on what to do this holidays in the Free State inshallah.
21 minutes, 18 seconds
tutoring, mentoring, homeschool assistance, concessions, facilitation, and more.
21 minutes, 24 seconds
Visit After Faj Academy, the dawn of excellence
21 minutes, 34 seconds
and welcome back to Level Up. If you've just tuned in, we have been talking all about AI.
21 minutes, 42 seconds
Right now, we'll be hearing from Auntie Tbasum on what to do in the Free State
21 minutes, 49 seconds
this holiday period. If you would like to join the conversation, a WhatsApp line is open. The number is 0727861548.
22 minutes, 2 seconds
Or you can call in on 0118547022 or you can even DM us on.com.
22 minutes, 11 seconds
That's I L O V E Z A C O M. Assalamu alaykum. So the things to do around in
22 minutes, 19 seconds
the free state for the holidays are um so if you like coming that way, I'm not actually sure that side by Valk and um
22 minutes, 28 seconds
up that side what there is. But in Bethlehem then there is um there's paddle in Bethlehem and then in
22 minutes, 38 seconds
uh Clarence there's the Clarence Extreme. So at Clarence Extreme they have a whole lot of uh things to do
22 minutes, 44 seconds
there. They've got um the um the quad bikes and then they've got rock climbing and they've got paintball.
22 minutes, 54 seconds
They've got all sorts to do at Clarence Extreme. And then um in Clarence as well then at Kiara Lodge opposite then they've got the horse riding and also
23 minutes, 3 seconds
activities to do there. And then there's hikes and um uh painting and all things
23 minutes, 11 seconds
to do in Clarence. And then when you come this way then to Fixburg then in Fixburg then now during November but um
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it's now past November but during November then they've got cherry picking tours and there's the Ionia Cherry Farm that is open throughout the year but in
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November then they have the cherry festival and the cherry picking tours and then they've got um Victoria
23 minutes, 35 seconds
Chocolate House as well. And then um there is um then you go that way to
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Bloomfentane. And in Bloomfentane then there's Jumpers Lane where there's like a bounce kind of a place and there's
23 minutes, 51 seconds
also go-karting over there. There's a whole lot of uh kids activities to do at Jumpers Lane in Bloom Fontain. And um
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in Bloom there's also Josie Kart, the go-karts there at Mimosa Mall. Um they
24 minutes, 7 seconds
also have pottery classes and face painting and um all sorts of other things to do there for kids. And then
24 minutes, 15 seconds
they've also got the botanical gardens um in Bloom Fontain. So those are just some of the things that are available to
24 minutes, 23 seconds
do in the free state. Um inshallah then uh maybe some you guys
24 minutes, 31 seconds
will find something to do in the free state at each stop where you go.
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Alhamdulillah. Shukra and sister Tbasam for this. That is absolutely awesome. It sounds so cool. Um, you can find Tabasum
24 minutes, 47 seconds
on Instagram with the handle at lemon yellow co. She does lovely gifting and printing and shakurers nationwide with
24 minutes, 55 seconds
collection points in Johannesburg and Peter Marisburg. She brought up some lovely things to do in the free state.
25 minutes, 1 second
Not only if you're um going to the free state, but also if you're passing by on your way to somewhere or you want to just do a road trip. She mentioned
25 minutes, 10 seconds
places like Blumfenta and um uh things to do in Fixburg. And Fixsburg I
25 minutes, 16 seconds
actually not recently but like um how long has it been now? Maybe six 15 years
25 minutes, 23 seconds
ago I found out I actually didn't know about the town called Pixsburg and then I found out that we're so close to Lutu
25 minutes, 29 seconds
the border of uh Lutu. Yes, we actually went to Fixburg and then went to Lutu for like a night.
25 minutes, 37 seconds
But um we didn't really go to Lutu. We just went to for a wedding there. But um
25 minutes, 44 seconds
so that was our very first experience and only experience. Was that our only experience there in Clarence? Clarence is a beautiful.
25 minutes, 52 seconds
We actually haven't been to to Clarence to experience it. We do it as we do our road trips where we go like a one day
26 minutes, 1 second
road trip thing where we leave early in the morning go to another province look at the province hardly spend time just
26 minutes, 9 seconds
like what was the Tropic of Cap Capricorn as well we go we go there we see the Tropic of Cap Capricorn and come back to Koen and then same day. So
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that's what we did with Clarence. So, don't say we went there. I would actually love to But it was such a beautiful town from It was beautiful from what we saw while
26 minutes, 26 seconds
driving. I would love to stop by and um hint hint. I would love to stop by and, you know, check out all of these places
26 minutes, 35 seconds
that she mentioned. Um yeah, it sounds it looked very beautiful on our drive there. And yes, it was a very um quick
26 minutes, 44 seconds
drive because it was early in the morning. We left Khoang and then we went there. We and then we came back in the same day. But um yeah, all of those I
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always wanted to go for cherry picking as well.
26 minutes, 56 seconds
Yeah, we always seem to miss it like every year. And I mean November is such an awkward time.
27 minutes, 1 second
It's exam time. So that's why can't the cherries wait till December?
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Um but I think there are some cherries on on special now somewhere. Um we should definitely go have a look out for
27 minutes, 16 seconds
that. So she mentioned that Valkcom is also in the free state but um people uh she hasn't mentioned uh what to do
27 minutes, 24 seconds
there. So if you are from Valkcom give us a shout out let us know what you can do. Isn't it a small town though?
27 minutes, 32 seconds
It is a very small town. We went there also for or one day trip a one day trip just to see what it was like
27 minutes, 40 seconds
but alhamdulillah for that. While on the topic of travel, Issa would like to share something that he saw recently.
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Yes, I saw this at one of the Malas we recently visited on our travels which
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I would like to share with our listeners. It's called the six T's
28 minutes, 3 seconds
for the holidays and it was written by Madrasa Anoir Abra.
28 minutes, 11 seconds
Number one, Tazia selfreformationation.
28 minutes, 17 seconds
That means improving your own character, habits, and behavior
28 minutes, 23 seconds
to become a better person. Number two, taleim, learning and practicing dini knowledge.
28 minutes, 33 seconds
Dawa, recitation of the Quran. Number four,
28 minutes, 40 seconds
enjoining good and stopping evil. Number five, Toba, seeking forgiveness from
28 minutes, 48 seconds
Allah ta'ala. Number six, tawa. Fulfilling the commands of Allah
28 minutes, 55 seconds
ta'ala and refraining from every prohibition
29 minutes, 4 seconds
which is things that are forbidden by law.
29 minutes, 9 seconds
Shukran is those are beautiful reminders for our listeners and something we should all try to do this holidays inshallah.
29 minutes, 18 seconds
So since we have moved to a bit of travel, I wanted to share a tip.
29 minutes, 23 seconds
So most of us when booking a holiday go on these apps like booking.com or leislap, you know those type of apps.
29 minutes, 32 seconds
While those businesses need to make money to survive, a lot of the time they coersse you into taking a room
29 minutes, 41 seconds
by using AI to tell you there's only one room left or someone else is looking at this room or the sale or price ends in
29 minutes, 50 seconds
15 minutes. or if you log off and then come back on, the room is miraculously
29 minutes, 57 seconds
still available, but they will push the price up to show you that you lost out on a good deal, to make you feel bad,
30 minutes, 4 seconds
and that you should book now before the price goes up anymore.
30 minutes, 10 seconds
While this is a very good marketing tactic by these companies, uh my tip is never rush into these bookings,
30 minutes, 18 seconds
especially when it's a holiday because you're going to regret it at the end of the day if you just go and book any room um without properly checking everything.
30 minutes, 28 seconds
So, check the reviews, check the prices.
30 minutes, 31 seconds
Most importantly, ask Allah for guidance and then do the old-fashioned way. Call the establishment. More than 90% of the
30 minutes, 40 seconds
time, the establishment will either give you the same rate that these apps have given or an even better rate. The reason
30 minutes, 48 seconds
is the apps take a huge percentage, sometimes up to 30% as a booking fee.
30 minutes, 54 seconds
The property owner will usually appreciate if you book directly through them because they will earn more from that booking, especially during this
31 minutes, 2 seconds
period. Now, I know a lot of them obviously push their prices up because it's uh peak season, but um a huge chunk gets taken out from these apps and fees.
31 minutes, 14 seconds
Yeah. And it will help it will help in the long run because I mean they obviously need to pay staff. Um they'd like to give them holiday bonuses or
31 minutes, 23 seconds
whatever it is for working over this very busy period. And it's obviously the property that you're going to that needs
31 minutes, 31 seconds
the the money more than the app needs the money.
31 minutes, 35 seconds
Exactly. The app is is good in terms of marketing your your property, right? Um
31 minutes, 42 seconds
which is fair. They should take some some sort of commission for that, percentage for that. But um the the
31 minutes, 50 seconds
establishment itself is doing all the work, you know, like they providing the room, they giving you breakfast or dinner or whatever is included, they're
31 minutes, 58 seconds
changing your sheets, they cleaning your bathroom, all those things. And I mean 30% is a is a bit a bit much to take for just a booking fee,
32 minutes, 7 seconds
you know, unless they're actually doing a lot of work for it. And I have to speak on behalf of our agency also. I mean we do marketing, we do advertising and so you
32 minutes, 17 seconds
know if you're doing the work for it then you should get paid for it.
32 minutes, 21 seconds
No. Well, obviously they are doing a lot of work in terms of marketing the product because I mean even if uh if you look at like for example like Uber uh
32 minutes, 30 seconds
sometimes you wouldn't have that uh money to spend on marketing
32 minutes, 36 seconds
that Uber has you know so putting your uh restaurant or takeaway on Uber Eats
32 minutes, 44 seconds
would actually help lots of people knowing about it you know. So the same thing with like a leaser slap or Booking.com. Lots of people wouldn't
32 minutes, 53 seconds
know about your establishment. Sometimes your um search engine optimization on Google might not be that good. So these
33 minutes, 2 seconds
apps obviously help your place to be seen, right? Um so so yeah, so I think doing that inshallah maybe it will work.
33 minutes, 14 seconds
It doesn't work all the time. uh cuz obviously some establishments can't afford to give you a better rate. Um and
33 minutes, 21 seconds
they feel like they locked in with a booking.com or like a slap or whatever because they have a contract with them as well.
33 minutes, 28 seconds
Um and obviously you've seen the the the the property through that app. So it's only right that you book through that app.
33 minutes, 36 seconds
Yes. And and sometimes also maybe an establishment doesn't do as much for their marketing and expects you know these certain apps to do the the
33 minutes, 45 seconds
marketing for them these certain agencies to do do it for them. So in in those cases I suppose yeah.
33 minutes, 50 seconds
Yeah. So I mean it's just it's just a little tip that I would say you know you can try call the establishment but most
33 minutes, 58 seconds
importantly um check out reviews beforehand ask Allah for guidance and inshallah you have a good holiday.
34 minutes, 6 seconds
Definitely don't rush that tip. Don't rush into anything. Not not just you know accommodation but with anything.
34 minutes, 12 seconds
Don't just spontaneously buy something or you know pay for something. It's it's a lot of money nowadays. And um you know
34 minutes, 22 seconds
economics nowadays is not our finances nowadays is you know there's this post that goes that goes around that says the
34 minutes, 31 seconds
finances nowadays is not like what do we what our parents or grandparents used to live with or um you know something like that.
34 minutes, 39 seconds
Yeah. So the thing is I mean they say that you know there was one income households and they earned this amount
34 minutes, 47 seconds
and it used to pay for everything and but the thing is there's inflation and um we've we've seen it where the prices
34 minutes, 57 seconds
have gone up ridiculously. I mean you're lucky if you can get a place for under a,000 rand a night now. That's true. Yeah.
35 minutes, 5 seconds
Yeah. So, I mean, and and you we're talking not even like a a hotel, a luxury place, like, you know, like
35 minutes, 13 seconds
just something where you just want to stay for a night. You just want to stay for a night. You don't want to eat anything. You, you know, you just need a place to sleep. You basically need a bed
35 minutes, 22 seconds
and you're lucky if you can get it for under a,000.
35 minutes, 25 seconds
And that's even like remote places like places that people hardly go to and then you're like, "But now why is it so expens?"
35 minutes, 33 seconds
Yeah. Um yeah, inshallah everyone who is traveling stay safe and um have a good uh break and rest wherever you are. Inshallah.
35 minutes, 45 seconds
So, you my dad and I saw this post uh I don't know if it was Facebook or
35 minutes, 53 seconds
Instagram, but there was this post where they showed like a picture of an iPhone
36 minutes, 2 seconds
17 charging and the screen wasn't on and they said
36 minutes, 10 seconds
when it reach they say don't let it run till 0% scent cuz it won't turn back on or something like that.
36 minutes, 18 seconds
Oh gosh.
36 minutes, 19 seconds
And um yeah, so try not to keep your phone slow.
36 minutes, 25 seconds
So So iPhone users um have you ever drained your phone right up until 0%? I want to know. And did were you able to
36 minutes, 33 seconds
um switch it back on? You know, like once you put it on charge, does it come back on immediately? Please let us know. We need to know this for if it's true.
36 minutes, 41 seconds
Well, apparently it's the iPhone 17 series that this has happened. So, I think specifically the iPhone 17 Pro Max
36 minutes, 50 seconds
if I'm not mistaken. And um the thing is we going back to I don't know if you can
36 minutes, 57 seconds
remember for those that are uh my age or older uh if you remember when we had to
37 minutes, 5 seconds
charge our cell phones for 16 hours before we used them when we first bought them. So, uh it could be a similar uh
37 minutes, 13 seconds
concept. Um but apparently if you do let like Issa said, let the phone go to 0%, it takes about 2 or 3 hours before it even starts charging again.
37 minutes, 24 seconds
Sure.
37 minutes, 25 seconds
So, um so that's if it goes completely to zero.
37 minutes, 28 seconds
Yeah, I can remember we were told a long you know when we first got cell phones and we first um you know cell phones
37 minutes, 36 seconds
were a thing that you actually shouldn't charge it while it's like maybe um 90 80
37 minutes, 44 seconds
70 60% you should actually let it die and then charge it fully you know that was was that back in the days when it
37 minutes, 52 seconds
was supposed to charge for 16 hours well talking about that I had a battery that actually uh became very swollen
38 minutes
because of that. So if you charge it too often, the battery actually starts to expand. Well, this was like we're
38 minutes, 7 seconds
talking about 15 or 20 years ago. But um the the concept is throughout any
38 minutes, 16 seconds
anything that you're charging, you shouldn't let it go down to 0%. You should uh even like people that have uh
38 minutes, 25 seconds
electric vehicles now it should go down to about 20% and then you charge it up to 80% or 100%. So you shouldn't let it
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you know be depleted to 0% because it's very dangerous and um we should you know
38 minutes, 42 seconds
try a healthy habit to to when it comes to about 20% then then charge it and yes
38 minutes, 49 seconds
don't overcharge it. So don't keep your phone on charge all the time. Um it also wastes electricity to just leave it on
38 minutes, 56 seconds
all the time. Um, so you know like charge it till it's 100% then when it goes down to 20 if you really scared
39 minutes, 5 seconds
you're going out or whatever then for the whole day then yeah and it's on 50% then by all means charge it to 100%. But
39 minutes, 13 seconds
I'm saying on a daily basis don't overcharge it and also don't let it train to 0%. So we've moved away from
39 minutes, 22 seconds
that. We can charge it now while it's still, you know, like even 50%. And and this is not just phones. It's computers,
39 minutes, 29 seconds
it's watches, um laptops, cars, as you mentioned. Yeah.
39 minutes, 36 seconds
Um, I want to say that in other devices that I use around the house, I make sure
39 minutes, 45 seconds
that it's not below 50% cuz once it reaches 50%, then that's when I go and put it on charge.
39 minutes, 54 seconds
Oh, okay. So, you do it until 50%. Yeah. All right.
40 minutes
So, that's a good habit to have also. I think 50% is good for a child um because
40 minutes, 8 seconds
anything lower becomes um then very serious.
40 minutes, 12 seconds
Yeah. Then they continue to use it and then they'll forget about it and um Yeah.
40 minutes, 17 seconds
Yeah. I think that's a good tip also not in terms of travel but in terms of tech.
40 minutes, 23 seconds
Yeah. So one of the other things that I wanted to talk about today was um the fact that you know we're talking about
40 minutes, 31 seconds
AI and Meta AI is also quite big. So Meta who owns uh the likes of WhatsApp
40 minutes, 38 seconds
uh Instagram, Facebook and personally I've noticed that we've been on Instagram for the longest
40 minutes, 47 seconds
time uh probably when it started before it was even bought over by Meta. And um
40 minutes, 56 seconds
what I've noticed was that it can't multitask anymore. it it's almost
41 minutes, 2 seconds
frustrating for me to use Instagram. I don't know if other users find that as well and we hardly post on Instagram.
41 minutes, 10 seconds
Obviously now we we um we on Instagram now to share this these videos and stuff
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of level up but on a normal basis it's it's almost so difficult and it's it's become frustrating for you to use well
41 minutes, 25 seconds
for me to use the app because for example I'll post something right and while I'm posting it I want to tag uh a
41 minutes, 35 seconds
few people or invite collaborators or whatever it is. So I do that and then I go out of that part and I go to location
41 minutes, 42 seconds
and I put on location and then all the tag people are gone. Then I put on then I put the location and then I go back to tag people and now the location is gone.
41 minutes, 52 seconds
And then I want to um I don't know hide the likes or comments or whatever it is.
42 minutes
I change some setting and then that uh uh tag people go away.
42 minutes, 6 seconds
Oh gosh. Then I want to um edit the cover. So I edit the cover and then the
42 minutes, 13 seconds
tag people go away or the whatever whatever settings I do the previous um setting is changed. So what I now have
42 minutes, 23 seconds
to do is like save each setting. So if I want to change the cover, I change the cover, I save it. I go out of it, then I
42 minutes, 31 seconds
edit it again to put the location. then I save it and then I go out of it again and then I uh tag the people and it just
42 minutes, 38 seconds
becomes so frustrating because it could do all those things um you know seamlessly and I'm not sure if there's
42 minutes, 47 seconds
more users if there's too much code I don't know what what the reason is um but like we said the more information
42 minutes, 55 seconds
these things are being fed um the lazier they're getting so I don't think anybody should be
43 minutes, 3 seconds
worried about um their jobs uh or you know anything like that because these
43 minutes, 11 seconds
things are getting lazier by the day and they're not even performing half the task that they're supposed to be doing.
43 minutes, 17 seconds
Um, I also want to say, you know, when like we want to post like a video, it like takes forever.
43 minutes, 26 seconds
Even like when you posted the video in stories, it still takes like forever.
43 minutes, 31 seconds
But the the po the like picture of a post like goes quicker, but the reals takes sort.
43 minutes, 41 seconds
Okay. This is the the frustrations of social media.
43 minutes, 46 seconds
I don't even know. I I don't want to go into it because we'll go a bit too much into it. And I think maybe we should stop for today.
43 minutes, 55 seconds
So, thank you Shukran to both of you for sharing all your tips in terms of AI and tech and travel. And if any more of our
44 minutes, 4 seconds
listeners have any AI tips, travel tips that or places to go in your area or duas that you would like to share, um
44 minutes, 12 seconds
you are welcome to do so during the week. You can do so on our social media pages. Social media again at.com
44 minutes, 20 seconds
I L O V E Z A C O M. We are on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok as well as threads and
44 minutes, 29 seconds
you we also um have a website called iabza.com and Shukran to sister Debbasum for
44 minutes, 36 seconds
sharing her tips on the free state. I think we've mentioned about three provinces now. You can the other provinces I I forgot what they are but
44 minutes, 46 seconds
that we haven't mentioned. You are welcome to send through your voice notes or messages in
44 minutes, 53 seconds
to all our listeners for joining us this lovely Sunday afternoon.
44 minutes, 59 seconds
If you're traveling, travel safely, inshallah. Have a lovely um break if you're having a break. And join us every Sunday, inshallah, from 2 to 3:00 p.m.
45 minutes, 9 seconds
right here on Radio Islam International.
45 minutes, 11 seconds
From myself, Nabiha, from Zad, and from Isa. Enjoy your Sunday, and we wish you a wonderful week ahead, inshallah.
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iloveza.com Accolades:

2021 Winner of Brand South Africa's Nation Pride Play Your Part Award

2018 Winner of Tech Savvy Boss Award at the Roshgold Young Business Achiever Award
 

Nabihah Plaatjes Accolades:

2023 CEO of the Independent Media Association of South Africa (IMASA)

2018 Contributing Author to SAFFRON: A Collection of Personal Narratives

2017 Recipient of Owami Women & Brand South Africa's Play Your Part Award


Ziyaad Plaatjes Accolades:

2021 Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans: Arts, Entertainment, Film & Media 

2020 Contributing Author to There's a Story in Everyone