Shadowing Practice: Our Limits Point Back to Allah - Learn English Speaking with Video
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49 sentences
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Because the world is always going through change, and you and I are always going through change,
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it dawns on us that actual unchanging perfection can only belong to who?
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It can only belong to Allah.
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It's actually in our own imperfection that we recognize Allah's perfection.
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We're supposed to be changing creatures.
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Because perfection is for Al -Kamalu Lillah.
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My favorite ayah that describes this concept
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Is Musa alayhi salam when he spoke to Allah He had a stutter
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He had a speech impediment
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And he also suffered from some anxiety
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He said يَدِيقُ صَدْرِي وَلَا يَنطَلِقُ لِسَانِي My chest becomes tight and my tongue stops moving
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Because of his speech impediment
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Every time he had anxiety
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His speech impediment, his stutter would get worse
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He asked for support who did he ask for?
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Harun alayhi salam.
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And when he said, reinforce my back with him, make him a partner in my mission, make Harun a partner in my mission.
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He said something so beautiful.
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He said, make him a partner in my mission so we can both declare how perfect you are.
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Because I can't do what he does and he can't do what I do.
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We're both imperfect, but together we will try and together in this struggle, we will acknowledge that perfection only belongs to you.
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Subhanallah.
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He's recognizing his limitations and in the same vein, he's saying, ya
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Allah, this is so we know that perfection is only for you.
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I can't do a perfect job by myself.
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He can't do a perfect job by himself.
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And both of them play a crucial role.
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It's so amazing in the story of Musa alayhis salaam that Haroon basically never speaks in front of Fir 'aun.
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Musa does all the talking.
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But in Musa's own admission, he cannot do the talking unless his backbone is reinforced.
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And who's the reinforcement of his backbone?
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You know, it's like the, I'm speaking to you, but I can't speak to you if the sound crew's not helping with the mic.
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There's got to be a support system in place.
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There's got to be management in place.
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There's got to be people that set up the venue, usher the crowd, set up the hall, Make the arrangements, pay the fees,
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all that other stuff, right?
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So it's not a one -man team.
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But you see Musa presenting and you don't see the person behind the scenes.
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But together they make a team and together they're able to do this.
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That's tasbih because no one can do everything by themselves.
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Everything else has a dependency.
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Only Allah has beyond dependency.
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Only Allah has tasbih.
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And the lesson here is the skies.
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Everything in the skies is codependent.
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There's gravitational forces and fields between everything.
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The earth, the ecosystem is interdependent, interlocked.
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Everything depends on everything else.
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Everything is connected to everything else.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Our Limits Point Back to Allah”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Allah, perfection, Musa, alayhi, impediment. This video has 49 sentences and 475 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:58. The speaker talks at a natural 160 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfection noun | /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/ | The quality or state of being perfect or complete, so that nothing substandard remains; the highest attainable state or degree of excellence. |
| belong verb | /bɪˈlɒŋ/ | To have its proper place. |
| anxiety noun | /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/ | An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event. |
| reinforce verb | /ˌɹiː.ɪnˈfɔːs/ | To strengthen, especially by addition or augmentation. |
| backbone noun | /ˈbækˌboʊn/ | The series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that encloses and protects the spinal cord, and runs down the middle of the back in vertebrate animals. |
| dependency noun | /dɪˈpɛndənsi/ | A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| crucial adjective | /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/ | Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important; vital. |
| dawn noun | /dɔːn/ | The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise. |
| arrangement noun | /əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒmənt/ | The act of arranging. |
| venue noun | /ˈvɛnjuː/ | A theater, auditorium, arena, or other area designated for sporting or entertainment events. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| acknowledge verb | /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/ | To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 10 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, we're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: perfection /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/, crucial /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/, admission /ədˈmɪʃən/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/, usher /ˈʌʃəɹ/
- Long words — get the stress right: anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, dependency /dɪˈpɛndənsi/, ecosystem /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/, impediment /ɪmˈpɛdɪmənt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like perfection, belong, anxiety.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.