I attended the East Zone conference for the first time this past weekend, and the whole thing was just a learning experience. I mean to be in such a depressing place like New Jersey and to have fun takes some skills so good job with that but it should come back to New York-everyone knows New York is better.
I had a great time hamdulillah, the organizers did a good job but I must say that they weren’t really all that organized-but in the end we have to remember that it’s a bunch of college kids who put this together and for them to make to put something this big together is pretty amazing. The theme was Faith, Family and Community which I think is something that the Ummah today needs to keep in mind- we spend so much time thinking about differences between each other instead of trying to look beyond our differences and realizing that we need to be there for each other because without unity there is no strength.
I took notes so below is some of my notes that I took while I was at the conference. (*Please note*If there are any mistakes in the notes below they are my own mistake and may Allah forgive me.) I hope that they will be of some use and help to you.
Friday:
So I got there late Friday night. We got there but forgot what the name of the hotel was, and then we couldn’t find the creepy parking lot that they placed us in and then when I finally got there they couldn’t find my name and then after all of that drama I was finally able to drop off my bags and made my way to the main ballroom where the last main session of the night was taking place, The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection: Following the Prophetic Model. I walked in towards the end and Imam Hisham Mahmoud was spaking, subhanAllah! This was my first time hearing him speak and was so happy that I got to hear him.
Imam Hisham Mahmoud: He talked about how it is easier to claim our piety on the outside than it is on the inside, meaning how it’s pretty easy to “play the part of a Muslim” on the outside like having a beard or whatever but the real challenges we face are having to change ourselves on the insides like our characteristics. He reminded us about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was- how Hazrat Ayesha said, “He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to be constantly in the service of his family.” He also made note of the problem that we have today is that when we hear things like this we go, “Oh mashaAllah,” and then that’s it, or we say “Oh but that was the Prophet (pace and blessing be upon him).” We need to get out of this mindset and start remembering what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I wasn’t sent for any other reason except for beautifying morals and character.” He advised us to go learn more about the Prophet (peace an blessings be upon him), because you can’t truly love someone that you don’t know. We need to learn how to forgive and forget, like during the Danish cartoon fiasco-we were claiming that we were “defending the Prophet” (peace and blessing be upon him) but we were acting in a matter that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would never approve of. He told us that the we should remember the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and how we shouldn’t say that he is in the past, he (peace and blessings be upon him) is with us, here, all the time. He advised us to embody the knowledge that you have already been taught. To study the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in full detail. To draw closer to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And to increase salawat (he said about 100x’s a day). While doing the salawat he advised us to sit down in a place of total silence, close your eyes and try to draw closer to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), be in silence and continue repeating salawat. He actually gave us a homework assignment which I thought was an amazing idea- he told us to write a letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The ulema usually write poetry, but we should write a letter- try to add to it each day- and perhaps this will be the first time that you truly look deep within yourself and reflect upon yourself.
Afterwards we had a sisters only entertainment session and that was well, sisters only.
Saturday:
I was really interested in attending the Project Downtown talk but missed it, but for more information about Project Downtown go here. I went to another session called “Pleain’ the 5th/ A Journey for Peace.”
Omar T. Mohammed: He was the first speaker for “Pleain’ the 5th/ A Journey for Peace.” I thought this was pretty informative, he talked about cases and gave us information about how we need to start standing up for our rights. Today our country makes it seem like you can either have security or freedom but we need to remember that we can have both. He reminded us about how we have a right to court, a right to justice, and in the end justice will win. We need to defend our rights and stand up as a group to defend justice. We need to make this a better place for our future generations, we should keep in mind that we are sacrificing for the generations to come.
Magdy Mahmoud: He talked to us about Imam Quatanni. The Imam came to the United States in 1996 and he devoted his whole life to make a difference and to help out this country. He is loved by many in the community and was one of the first Imaams to issue fatwah’s against terrorism. But the problem is that they are not granting him a visa or something like that and he might be deported. He is basically a prisoner here, he’s been trying to go to Hajj for numerous year but has been denied the right to go to Hajj. He had many family members who passed away and a family member that got married but he was still denied the right to go visit them. I had to go for a bit so when I returned I missed Imaam Quatanni’s address.
The next main session was “Creating Community: Unity Beyond the University.”
Khalid Latif: Khalid Latif told us about how we shouldn’t be pushing people away. He made note about how in MSA’s today we have groups, we shouldn’t have these little groups-we should accept and be welcoming to everyone. We need to embrace diversity within the Muslim community. He reminded us how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to bring in people that others (such as the society) would consider outcasts. He brought up such an amazing example, Hazrat Bilal (RA). Hazrat Bilal (RA) was looked down upon in society, he was a slave and he was looked down upon all because of the color of his skin. Islam looks beyond little things like skin color, and Hazrat Bilal (RA) went from being a man who was abused and neglected in society to a man who was elevated and has such a high status in Islam. He became the first Muadhin in Islam, he would pray behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was given the news of paradise, and during the conquest of Makkah- he was literally elevated above everyone because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told him to go on top of Kabah and give Adhaan. We need to keep in mind that unity does not mean uniformity. We need to realize the strength in unity. If we look at our Ummah right now, we should be so ashamed- we don’t talk to one another over little things- how are others supposed to look at us when they see us act in such a behavior? If we imagine society where everyone’s the same-then we will not thrive. We have a religion where we can be ourselves as well as follow the truth.
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: I think from the moment that I found out that Shaykh Faraz was coming I was waiting to hear him speak. I took a class with Shaykh Faraz on Sunni Path called “Living Islam-Hanafi,” it was a really good class and Shaykh Faraz is an amazing teacher, so hearing him in person was such an amazing experience for me. Shakykh Faraz talked about mercy, how our actions are based on mercy and how we should be merciful to others so that Allah can be merciful to us and reminded us that our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “None of you believe until they like for others what they like for themselves.” [I always keep this in mind when I am buying a gift for someone, when I get them something that I truly want, then I know that I have done a good job.] We have to keep in mind that ultimately, in the end, it will just be you and Allah. We have to be very careful with our lives, it is really nothing more than just a series of breaths, and with each breath we’ve lost a moment that we can never get back. He reminded us about, Ad deen nun nasihah. He also made note about how if our community is lacking good then we will be lacking good as well. He gave us some advice like:
1. Don’t limit yourself with activism on campus-get involved with you communities as well. He told us that we can’t “divorce” or abandon our communities.
2. Seek the good in your community. Respond in a manner that you think is most beloved to Allah-try to block off your emotions , it’s not about how you feel but about what is the most pleasing to Allah. We should remember our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and look at all of the hardships he was faced with and how he reacted.
He ended by saying that before we do anything we must stop and think: “What is the most pleasing to Allah?” and “How would the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) act?”
Shaykh Yaasir Qadhi: He started off talking about how akhlaq (manners) is the first thing someone sees in you, and the only way to learn about the best akhlaq is to look at the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And as he talked about this I couldn’t help but to smile to myself because in the beginning of this semester (Spring) the President of my school (SUNY Old Westbury) was talking to the members of the Student Government. My friend is part of the Student Government and she told me how the President told the students that they could learn a thing or two from the Muslims on our campus, he told them to look at the way we interact with one another, how they are so nice, loving, helpful and caring to cone another, and he wants others to act like that as well. Hamdulillah, it shows that manners really are very important and truly do make an impact, and subhanAllah someone like the President of our school [who is also a reverend] to make note of that and to advice others to start behaving like the Muslims on campus is just amazing subhanAllah. Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) captured a chief who was pretty much an enemy of Islam. When the chief was capture the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him “What should I do with you?” He said if you kill me I have a nation behind me-meaning that he has followers that will come to seek revenge. If you ask for money I’ll give it to you, and if you forgive me you’ll be returned with kindness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tied him to the masjid, he was taken care of and such but he was tied to the masjid. The next day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked “What should I do with you?” and the man again answered with the same three answers and then after 3 days the man was cut loose. After he was cut free he left the masjid, took a bath, put on nice clean clothes and took shahadah-he became Muslim! Why? How? The man saw the characteristics, the akhlaq of the Muslims and how they interacted with each other. This should make us realize that we need to be mindful of our characteristics and our actions. When the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would give Dawah he would first go and introduce himself and learn about the people he was talking to, and then he would ask “May I speak to you?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was so humble, that the people would have to ask “Who amongst you is the Prophet?” because he would blend in. Think and compare this to any other ruler or famous person. The Ansaar said that when Abu Bakr and the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Madinah, they were trying to firgure out who was who and it wasn’t until Abu Bakr shielded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the sun that they figured out which one was the Prophet. Having akhlaq brings someone to the level of someone who constantly prays and fasts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No mu’min is deprived of Akhlaq,” he also said “Allah loves Muslims with good manners,” and that “Nothing is heavier on the scales on the Day of Judgment than good manners.” He told us about 3 types of Akhlaq:
1. Akhlaq of Allah-loving Allah.
2. Akhlaq with your fellow men.
3. Akhlaq with yourself-your body, your health, your looks, your appearance all has a right over you.
He ended by reminding us what the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I have only been sent as a prophet so that I perfect all noble akhlaq.“
There was a small session called Embracing Change: The Path to Improvement,” by:
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: I thought it was very beneficial. He talked about how the righteous concern themselves with not simply what they do but with the excellence in acting for the sake of Allah. He reminded us that the reward of your actions is to the extent of what you intended. He constantly reminded us that anything you do, your intention must be for the sake of Allah- you should always be seeking the protection and happiness of Allah. Anything you ever do, stop and make a proper niyyah primarily for Allah. Always begin with bismillah, pause for a second and consider why you are doing what your are doing. We had a discussion about struggling for Improvement and someone brought up how trying to change one’s habits is hard. We talked about how difficult this truly can be and how we must not rush into things but rather take it one step at a time-be gradual, take on only what you can. We discussed how when we try to change our habits, to prevent ourselves from going back to our old habits we begin dhikr and that usually helps us get back on track. Skaykh Faraz told us what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said which was, “Let your tongue be moist with the remembrance of Allah.” He also told us that we should try to remain with righteous company. He reminded us that our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A person is on the religion of their close friends.” [When I heard this chills went down my back because up until this year I have always been friends with Non Muslims, I went to a school where I was the only Muslim and I live in a town where there is absolutely no diversity and there is maybe a couple of other Muslims families but not much. When I started college I began to be acquainted with more Muslims hamdulillah but sometimes things get frustrating and I would say I never had this problems when I was friends with Non Muslims, khayr I got my answer in this conference-being with a Muslim community may be hard but we need to learn how to get along with each other.] The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “Don’t keep the company of anyone other than a true believer.” He told us that a friend should have two things, iman and taqwa. He also reminded us that the hadith is not only referring to people, we must have good company in everything such as: what you’re listening to, what you’re watching, what you do on the internet, what you read etc… we must be mindful of all these things. We talked about how we should get together to gain knowledge, and whatever we take in we must think-“How will this benefit me?” He advised us to be very good with our daily Salahs, he told us that we should prepare for it. He said that we need to consider this time so sacred because it is with Allah. We need to think of each Salah as an opportunity to communicate with Allah. As an opportunity to reflect on what it means to turn to Allah. To reflect on yourself, we don’t realize what a blessing it is that Allah has created us- we need to constantly be thanking Allah. He told us to think about what we owe Allah- just the very fact of our existence is something that we don’t think about but something that we need to be thankful for. Which brings us to how a true believer must never be depressed. When we are faced with difficulties we must remember all of the Prophets and all of the hardships that they went through. When we are faced with hardships we shouldn’t complain, whatever the problem may be it can always be worst and through it all we must still be thanking Allah.
I didn’t really go to the “Finding Mr. and Mrs. Right,” one and then after that there was the Entertainment session which was pretty good. Also there were many deaf Muslims that came to this conference, subhanAllah they all just amazed me, they asked us all to join a facebook group to help support them so if you have a facebook join this group, Global Deaf Muslim.
Sunday:
The first main session of the day was called, “Bringing it All Together: Holding Steadfast to the Rope of Allah.”
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: He talked about how this world is an interplay between darkness and light, and every time you turn away form the light-Allah- you will be restless, not at rest, not at ease… In order to find Allah in our lives we must seek him. One seeks Allah in life by turning to Allah, what is the key to this?- la illa ha illallah. It is not just saying these word but you must understand what it truly means- you msut accept it, you must follow it. If someone asks you why do you believe in God what will you say to them? You must explain to the them why you believe in Allah. We need to remember that Allah did not just create us but he also sustains us and everything at every moment. He talked about Ayat-ul-Kursi:
اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِي
Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, Al -Haiyul-Qaiyum La ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm lahu ma fi as-samawati wa ma fil-’ard Man dhal-ladhi yashfa’u ‘indahu illa bi-idhnihi Ya’lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum wa la yuhituna bi shai’in min ‘ilmihi illa bima sha’a Wasi’a kursiyuhus-samawati wal ard wa la ya’uduhu hifdhuhuma wa Hu wal ‘Aliyul-Adheem
“Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they compass Aught of his knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens And on earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them, For He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory).”
[Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]
He talked about how Ayat-ul-Kursi is pretty much the greatest ayah in the Qur’an because Allah defines himself for us. He told us how when we read the Qur’an we should sit and ponder about it. He talked about how when seeking Allah is in a way like waking up to reality-how we need Allah for everything, and that need will be fulfilled as we continue to seek him and “Verily in the Remembrance of Allah Hearts Find Rest.” [When I heard this I thought of Talib al Habib's Songs of Innocence.] Allah is the most immediate reality, you must turn to Allah. Allah knows best where to put his message, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would reflect upon what was happening and that’s how he would make his choices. Continue to remember Allah, continue to seek knowledge and inshaAllah we will achieve the pleasure of Allah.
Imam Hisham Mahmoud: He started off telling us how Allah wants to be known to us as Ar-Rahman. Ar-rahman is for his essence and ar-rahim is for his action. He talked to us about how we are surrounded by mystery, how we are nothing but a walking figure that looks through two holes, listens through two ears, eats through a hole-and if we think about ourselves that way then we are really pretty funny creatures. The human being is so weak, we sit around and complain so much, what do we have to offer to the world? What do we have that makes us so special? We have the breath of Allah! If you think back to the story of Prophet Adam (A) and how we was created, Allah breathed into him, and that breathe is with us-thus we have possible potentiality-thus our mercy is possible. Humans must realize that there are signs within us. We need to be more awake. If you look at yourself there are signs of death all over us. Some people have grey hair, some people are losing hair, our skin begins to wrinkle, our nails get clipped and then they are nothing but a piece of dad shells etc… “We are alive and dead.” We must draw closer to Allah because time is slipping away. We can draw closer to Allah in so many ways, just by making du’a we are inviting Allah to come into our lives. He talked about how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Let none of you say that I’ve called upon Allah and I’ve called upon Allah and he did not answer me.” Our du’as can get answered in one of three different ways: 1. It gets answered the exact way we asked for it. 2. It gets answered better or 3. It gets altered in a way but protects you from something in the future. He told us to serve Allah as if you can see him and if you’re not able to maintain this state then remember that Allah is always watching you and he is always with us. He closed off by telling us to choose du’as that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say and we will immediately get closer to Allah. He also told us to pour your hearts out to Allah when making du’as to him, as if you are having a conversation with him, just tell him everything that is in you heart.
I had to leave early, so right after this session I left because my brother goes to a majlis every week and I was able to witness how important it is to be able to be involved with such a thing. It was so beautiful, they were all like one big family, the children were so well behaved mashaAllah and this one little girl knew all of the du’as subhaAllah she amazed me.
East Zone is different for everyone, as long as you go in with the right intentions and try to gain as much knowledge as you can then I think that it is a good conference to attend, but I can’t really say if I will be attending anymore East Zone conferences (unless if my brother is there again) I like to stick with my ICNA conventions, 3 days of thousands and thousands of Muslims everywhere [and you can also walk around outside for a bit even at night time and not be scared that you're gunna be shot-crazy Jersey.]
So I hope these notes helped you and if you went to East Zone I hope you had fun and took advantage of all the amazing speakers there.
Now finals are coming up and the semester is almost over! I can’t believe how fast time goes by and I truly need to stop procrastinating and get my work done.
Take care inshaAllah.
-radf
