E Khuda Aaj Ye Faisla Karde,
Use Mera ya Mujhe Uska Karde.
Bahut Dukh Sahe He Maine,
Koi Khusi Ab Toh Muqaddar Karde.
Bahot Muskil Lagta Hai Usse Duur Rehna,
Judai Ke Safar Ko Kam Karde.
Jitna Duur Chale Gaye Woh Mujhse,
Use Utna Qareeb Karde.
Nahi Likha Agar Nasib Me Uska Naam,
To Khatam Kar Ye Zindagi aur Mujhe FANAA Karde

Dil k rishtey bhi kitney ajeeb hotey hain,
Door reh ker bhi kitney qareeb hotey hain,
jo log aapko roz dekhtey hain,
woh log kitney khush naseeb hotey hain.

Naseeb Khan gives a khutbah on October 16, 2009 at Nur-Ul-Islam masjid. He speaks on the topic of mediocrity and how it seems to have become accepted in the Muslim community. Being late to events, halphhazard planning and accepting less than the best are issues discussed.

a J.A.K. production ( http://bit.ly/jak-video)

Dawah Gear Productions

NOTE: To see more about the production of this video, see the producer’s blog post here.

WORK TIME: 1 hr.

FINAL PROJECT TIME: 26min. 21sec.

CAMERA: Sony HDR-UX10

EDITED WITH: Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9

This is a Khutbah (Friday sermon) given by my father, Naseeb Khan, on October 16, 2009 at Nur-Ul-Islam masjid. In the Khutbah, he speaks about the topic of mediocrity and how it seems to have become accepted in the Muslim community. Being late to events, halphhazard planning and accepting less than the best are issues discussed.

SET-UP:

I finally found my tripod, after it had been missing for a long time. This, like many of my videos are unfortunately turning out to be, was a bit rushed. I got picked up from school to go to Jumu’ah, and my sister and I had to pick up our nephew (from my other sister) to take him to Jumu’ah, and there, I borrowed my sister’s camera. Then we went to Jumu’ah. I took a corner in the back left of the Masjid, right in front of some chairs (awkward spot when people began to sit in those chairs). Initially, I was going to sit and have the tripod at half-height, but within seconds of my dad walking up to the minbar, a brother stood up to pray, so I pulled up the tripod to full height and re-adjusted the camera in a matter of moments. In the first couple minutes I’m still moving the camera (which is why the introductory titles seemed kind of long).

Then, my camera would auto-focus, and there was a very sunny window next to my dad’s head. Whenever I placed my dad on the left side of the screen, he became dark, and the windows was in focus, so most of the time, I had to put him on the right side of the screen, even though his hand gestures and such were moving further to the right.

EDITING:

Sony Vegas. For one of the first times, I tried my hand at basic animation in Vegas. It wasn’t too flashy, just a rotation and growing of the title text. I also wanted to bring out a “shock factor” with the title and its text. I used different fonts and rotated it to emphasize it. “Medocrity EXPOSED!”

I used some b-roll to cover up for the guy praying. It’s funny, as my dad began talking about how some Muslims can be rude when we are supposed to “act well towards people” (Hadith), the guy prayed right in front of the camera. How rude. (I forgive him for the sake of Allah, no worries).

I’d originally exported this out at HD, but when it first uploaded (and it was about 1.13 GB, large file sizes) it had some problems and only showed the first three minutes. So, I had to go back and re-render about four more times, testing and trying different formats for smaller file sizes. I ended up just rendering it out as a measly, non-high-definition 640×360 pixels. Oh well, still looks good Alhamdulillah.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I might begin to develop this into a bit of a project with my father’s Khutbah’s. He doesn’t regularly give Khutbah but he does do it quite often. As he’d said a bit earlier just today, he might begin to write an article to accompany his khutbahs, and I was thinking I could post them up on his website along with the video or audio of the khutbah. I don’t know. Just another possible project in the works.

YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS:

So, how was the video? Any thoughts, concerns? Want to speak directly to the speaker, do so in a comment and I’ll try to get him to respond.

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A khutbah given by Naseeb Khan on October 2, 2009 at Jamaat ul Muttaqeen on the topic of Muslim Women. The audio below began recording late into the khutbah, so it’s introduced by brother Naseeb making up for the content lost.

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Asalam alaykium

So I haven’t posted in a while cause I haven’t had any new adventures (or “steeze” as one of my friends says) in Islam, so I’ve been lax in checking on the blogging and such. So… my bad.

My was doing some social networking cleaning and I was checking out my previous note entries on my MySpace. Yes, I am one of the idiots who still has a MySpace page – shut up.  Although it’s pretty dormant, it still holds past clues to my current state and, insha’Allah, my future.

During my most active state on “The Place for Friends,” I was blogging on the site frequently. This was the time that I was interested in her (the girl in the “My road to Islam” page at the above right, FYI). This was a virtual sounding board at the time; the place where I could convey my thoughts to my friends – real and virtual.

In reading the past posts about me and her, I was so full of hope and fear, joy and confusion, happiness and impending doom. I guess the Pygmalion effect was in full effect for me.

It’s frustrating to type this, thinking and remembering what I had which is now someone else’s Mrs. and not mine. Wack steeze.

In looking back to the past, it’s giving me a better sense of what I need to do in the future when the next one comes along, insha’Allah. I’ll tell her what I need to tell her early and often and not flee when it’s time to fight. “Experience is the best teacher,” Guru from Gang Starr once rapped in one of my favorite songs “Above the Clouds.” Truer words were never spoken.

Peace.

By Kashif Hafeez | HamaraPakistan1947

There are two types of extremisms which are moving side by side, parallel to each other. One is well known due to the Swat issue and the behavior of Taliban, i.e.,‘Religious Extremism’. On the other hand there is “Liberal Extremism”—an enormously fatal and dangerous one in its own kind.

This liberal extremism is the output of the liberal, materialistic and secular (read anti-religion) Western education system. The primary objective of this system is to produce mentally & ideologically slave generations which will not only be helpful but also become tools in spreading their own Western agendas.

This generation is definitely good in English but unaware of Muslim values and culture. It seems that insulting and abusing religious people is a fashion for them.

When Liberal Facists Are Challenged:

After reading several English newspaper articles and internet blogs, I have noticed the following stereotype aproaches with minute differences whenever these liberal extremists are challenged:

• I am an expert of ‘Pakistan History’.

• I have God gifted understanding of Jinnah’s views the knowledge of others about Quaid-e-Azam is doubtful.

• I have all the rights whatever I want to write but YOU are not allowed to disagree with me.

• I have the right to use whatever abusive language about YOU because you deserve it.

• I am a certified patriotic and YOU are an enemy of the country since maulvis opposed Jinnah before Partition.

• I am open minded, liberal, enlightened and YOU are closed minded, backward Mullah

• I am champion of secularism and YOU are a religious fascist

• I am at peak of intellectuality and YOU have even no intelligence.

• I know everything and YOU know nothing.

• I am an authority on all subjects if YOU dare challenge me then you are an idiot.

• If an Ahmadi officer dies in Swat Operation then he is a hero. For the several Muslim soldiers who got martyred, it was simply their duty.

• Irshad Manji (a lesbian), Asra Noamani (a lady having son without wedlock), Ayan Hirsi Ali (an atheist –co-producer & writer of film Fitna), Amina Wadud (who lead the mixed gender prayers drama) are their icons whereas Dr. Israr Ahmed and Jamaat-e-Islami people are criminals and can’t be tolerated at any blog.

I am reading and observing the above again and again from liberal & Ahmadi mouthpieces for the last few years and the fact is that now I am sick and tired of all these bhashans. Liberals and Ahmadies are living in their own utopia and fool’s paradise.

The Real Issues of Pakistanis:

They have no understanding of common Pakistanis’ problems. They always want to raise non-issues for their own vested interests and want to malign Pakistan’s image internationally.

What do you think what are the real issues of common Pakistanis, Blasphemy laws? Hudood Ordinance? Religious extremism?

No sir, a common Pakistani is facing the problems of day by day increasing Inflation and price hike, law & order, less salaries, lack of education, discrimination in education system, political instability, US intervention in Pakistani politics and state affairs, etc.

The problems which are portrayed by these so called “Liberals” are their own“mental blocks”. No common Pakistani has any concern with them. In the latest IRI survey religious extremism not even amongst the top 5 problems faced by the common Pakistanis. But these drum beaters always shout like a crow.

These liberals are short sighted people and just want to present and discuss what they want. They don’t give a damn about what others think and believe. They have no interest in common Pakistanis’ miseries, troubles and problems. They have their own agenda.

This “Mummy Daddy – Burger Group” tries to present themselves as intellectuals. Their hidden agenda is promoting vulgarity amongst Pakistani and Muslim youth. The evident example is www.naseeb.com where they developed the villages of Gays & Lesbians – Shame on them! This website is a mutation of so-called Liberalism and Ahmadiyat.

They have zero level tolerance against criticism. The use of abusive and indecent language is common by these liberal fascists and interestingly they believe that their opponents deserve this language, which shows their sick state of mind.

Ahmadi Propaganda

In the name of human rights they become Ahmadi mouthpieces. They even used Gojra incident in favor of Ahmadies. They portray that every practicing Muslim wants to kill Ahmadies but the fact is that every Muslim is in favor of protecting their rights under the Constitution of Pakistan and unanimously approved resolution of the national assembly in 1974, where they are protected as minority.

If someone wants to call them Muslim on the name of human rights then it’s not acceptable under the Constitution and for us, the people of Pakistan. Ahmadies are clearly non-Muslims but we believe that they should enjoy each and every right as a minority.

The mutation of Ahmadiyat and Liberalism is also evident from some blogs which could not be considered as mere ideological garbage centers. In these blogs and websites they promote all those values and norms which are against the teachings of Islam. Even some “poor couple” raised the questions like why Pig is haram? Why one should keep a beard when Gillette exists.

They want to prove themselves as champions of “Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan as an inclusive, liberal and secular state” but totally ignore the Quaid-e-Azam view of Pakistan become a test lab of Islam. See Quaid-e-Azam views about relationship of Pakistan & Islam in my following post [Quaid-e-Azam Ka Pakistan In His Own Words].

In Conclusion: Respect The Opposition

My submission to these mutants of Ahmediyat and Liberalism is that now kindly stop calling your opponents as terrorists, mullahs and fitnas. There is a need to develop an atmosphere of tolerance. We can live and tolerate each other in a civilized way. Both sides can visit each other blogs and post healthy comments and criticism.

Shayad kai utar jai, teray dil main mari baat

About Author: Kashif Hafeez writes at his english blog Kashifiat and this post was originally published at his blog on August 28, 2009.

Asalam alakum

I’ve been so busy with work that sometimes I’ve missed going to masjid to break fast with my brothers and sisters in Islam. But breaking fast with the homeless has been a good trade-off.

This Saturday, instead of going to the masjid ten minutes away from me in Hampton, I instead go to the one across the water where I took my shahada – the Islamic Center of Old Dominion University in Norfolk! YAY!

With school being back in session, the parking situation was terrible. The center has no parking lot so we park along the street. Plus with it being Ramadan, the ratio of cars to available spaces was low. But a parking space in front of a fraternity house was found.

Anyways, I got in the masjid and I saw new and familiar faces. The first face I saw was one who witnessed my shahada and welcomed me back warmly. “Brother Eric, you made it just in time for fast-breaking.”

Broke fast, had some good conversation, iftar was SOUL FOOD!, and peeked inside the women’s section – naughty boy…

All was going well until isha prayer. During the second ra’kat, something hit me big time.

Waking up alone, going to masjid alone, praying alone, reading Qu’ran alone, keeping my feelings bottled up and wanting to share it with someone, having no one to hold at night – sucks.

I started to cry begging for Allah (SWT) to take the pain away. I was done for the rest of the night. DONE – for reals.

I know my naseeb is out there… where is she? Come out, come out where ever you are; a good man is looking for you…

Seven days down, 23 to go…

Will the world ever stop resigning women to life’s circumstances and making excuses to justify their misfortunes? I wonder out loud in this story.

Kahan Aa ke Rukay Thay Rastay ! Kahan Morde Tha! use bhool jaa
Wo jo mil gaya use yaad rukh jo nahi milla use bhool jaa

wo tere naseeb ki barshien ! kisi aur chat pe baras gaien
dil bekhaber mery baat sun ! use bhool jaa ! use bhool jaa

main to ghum tha tere hi dhayan main teri Aas tere ghuman main
Saba kah gaye mairay kaan main , mere sath AA use bhool jaa

kahien chak jaan ka rafoo nahi kisi Asteen pe laho nahi
ke shaheed-e-rah-e-malal ka nahi khoon baha! use bhool jaa

kion Atta huwa hai Ghubar main , gham-e-zindagi ke Fashar main
wo jo durj tha tere bakhat main, so wo ho gaya ! use bhool jaa

By Naseeb Khan

Arrival

This weekend I was privileged to attend a youth seminar organized by the National Islamic Association (NIA) in New Jersey. It was truly an amazing experience. I arrived at the Newark Airport via Charlotte from Florida and was not quite sure what the weather would be like. Much to my delight it was actually as warm as Florida. I took this as a second good sign that I was about to have a wonderful trip. The first sign was when the plane landed before the scheduled time. A rare event these days! Brother Nyron and family picked me up at the airport. I felt special. It is not often one gets picked up by an entire family. May Allah bless them for this kind deed! I thought that this was a third good sign that I was going to have a truly wonderful weekend. Nyron dropped me off at the Sheefa Pharmacy where I met brother Nazil. Visiting this pharmacy is one of those (must do) pleasant protocol that one has to follow when visiting Newark. This is so, despite the fact that the pharmacy is really not in Newark at all.

Jumu’ah

From there we then went to the Masjid where I was given the tremendous task to deliver the Khutbah. I was to trying to fill the big shoes of Brother Daud, the Imaam of the Masjid and one of my teachers. Thankfully it was just for one Khutbah. I tried to do the best I could under the circumstances. After the Jumu’ah, I was able to meet so many of the brothers who I had not seen for many, many years. I was really happy about this.

The Train

After the Jumu’ah I embarked on a really exciting adventure. I took the train to New York. To those living in that area this might seem as a pretty mundane and boring event. To me it was truly exciting. You see I had not traveled on the subway for about twelve to thirteen years or so. Also I had never traveled from Newark to New York ever before on the subway.  I started my journey at the Park Avenue station. Immediately, I was in trouble. It was one of those stations where you have to know which direction you were going in so that you can decide which side of the street to enter the subway from. I had a fifty-fifty chance of getting this right and of course, I got it wrong. Fortunately for me, I asked the lone passenger who was waiting there if I had this right. She indicated to me I was on the wrong side. I quickly went back into the street and corrected the matter. On the other side, I watched what the other passengers did and followed suit. To get a ticket was a two step process. You go to a machine and get tickets and then validate it for that day. I arrived at Penn Station in Newark and then to Penn Station in New York and finally to Queens. I was able to do so by consulting series of cops, official looking people, and fellow passengers.

Friday Night

In Queens, I visited my brother in law and his wife. I then traveled back to New Jersey by car with my sister and her children. We would be spending the night at my other sister who lived in New Jersey. This we did and had a truly wonderful time. We sat, ate, laughed (again and again) and reflected on our childhood days and memories. My two sisters’ children sat with us but they must have been thinking that we were truly crazy as they watched us laugh at jokes that they probably did not understand at all. They, however, were very polite and gracious and tolerated us for as long as they could. As for me and my sisters, this was a rare and wonderful moment for us where we were able to put aside all the trials and difficulties of life for a brief moment, and really bask in the unfathomable and immeasurable glow of sibling connectedness. I was thankful for the opportunity.

Saturday – Seminar Day

The next day, Saturday, was the seminar. This was what I really came to take part in.

We arrived at the Masjid at about one o’clock. The participants had already begun to arrive. The organizers were running around trying to put everything in place. Round tables with fancy table cloths were assembled and arranged. A food area was set up. The whiteboard and also a flip chart (with easel and all) were put in place. An overhead projector and laptop was connected and tested. One could sense that we were about to make history here. I basked in the moment. The youths who were arriving must have watched and wondered what they were getting themselves into. Some of them had the look of quiet apprehension while others were smiling and bursting with anticipation. The Ameer informed everyone that we would be starting at about 2:15 pm or so. I was also becoming excited. I watched as youth after youth began to show up. This continued until it reached about thirty in number. They sat at these magnificent round tables which could comfortably hold about 8 to 10 people each. The scene was great. I watched the faces of those who had come for the Zuhr Salaah and saw how surprised they looked. They must have asked themselves if they were in the right Masjid or not. The scene was alive and surreal.

Beginning

It was now the moment. The Ameer began the program. Each participant was asked to introduce themselves and also say something new that was happening to them. As they began this process, one saw a common threat slowly being weaved. They were almost all in either high school or college or just finished. They indicated to us how passionate and proud they were to be pursuing their studies. Some of them were married, others were getting married soon and still others had this as a distant dream. Their warmth and rambunctious exuberance permeated the atmosphere and created a wonderful feeling of togetherness and brotherhood. I was impressed. I thought to myself that this was another good sign of things to come. The Ameer then laid out the program for the weekend. It was a really packed one but I was ready. I parked myself on a small table (my table was rectangular as only young people were entitled to the round ones). The young people, when they came in, chose to sit next to their close friends or families. However this did not last very long. The Ameer and his assistant immediately began to move them around to other tables so that the talent on each table was balanced. Each table was to become a competing group with individual names and all. Friends were forced to abandon their best friends and move to another table to become competitors. They hesitantly did so and the grimace on their faces conveyed their displeasure. As for the older people, they were relegated to one of six other options. The first option was to sit on the mimbar steps (which was hard and uncomfortable). The second was to grab a chair without any table. The third was to sit on the on the floor and try to look over the towering round tables

(which was not very easy to do). The fourth option was to sit on some steps that led to the next floor of the building. The fifth option was to stand up and brace a wall. The last option was to ask my permission (and hope I give it) to sit at my special rectangular table which had a place for only one other person.  Despite this, everyone found a place and it was time for action.

The First Session

The first session was done by Brother Daud, the Imaam of the Masjid. It was a session designed to set the tone and to lay the foundation upon which all the other sessions would be built on. He dealt with our relationship with Allah. He was thorough and went into great detail trying to get the young people to understand what it means to have a relationship and why the most important relationship is with Allah. He gave examples of how this can be accomplished and provided so many techniques of how to cultivate, grow and maintain this connection with Allah. He laid out the benefits of such a relationship and the consequences of not doing so. I watched these bright young people as they intently tried to gather and understand what was being conveyed. At the end of this beautiful session, a special moment came. Each table\group had ten minutes to find six points that they had learnt from the lecture and then present it to everyone. A winner would be chosen at the end. Guess who had to judge their presentations. Yes, you guessed it, yours truly. I mean, I was just enjoying myself on my small rectangular table when suddenly I was thrown this curve ball. I quickly grab my pen and paper and started to pay attention. At the end of the presentations, two winners emerged. I then pointed out some tips of how they could better their presentations. I encouraged them to speak loudly and clearly, use visual aids, drama, creativity and confidence. I said those remarks and something strange happened. Those youths sat there but in each of their hearts they must have said, “We will show you”. I had created a monster as I will relate later. My comments had given them the tacit permission to go ahead and be themselves. This they did and it was truly remarkable to watch and enjoy the turn of events that took place after this.

The Second Session

It was time for the second session. This was my turn. I had to deal with the identity problems facing the Muslim youths. I spent time trying to get them to understand what kind of identity Allah had given them and how the forces of society works and inevitably change and mould them to become who they were today. I tried to get them to understand how they could begin their journey to get to the place that Allah wanted for them. After the session, we had the second presentation and this was where things got crazy in a good way. Thankfully I was not the judge for this presentation. I just went back to my rectangle oasis and enjoyed what was to follow. The young people came out and began to present their six points. We saw Power Point presentations, skits, drama, posters, comedy, art work, professorial lectures and songs. This intensified with each new presentation. They demonstrated their confidence and competence. They showed their ability to absorb the lectures and analyze the content of the lectures. They showed they understood how to practically apply these principles and teachings in their lives. I usually feel young but at that point I felt younger. I thanked Allah quietly for giving me this opportunity.

Games\Dinner

After these two sessions, there was a moment for games, Salaah and dinner. It gave everyone a chance to meet and greet each other. Brother Muhammad Ali and his associates prepared the meal which consisted of wonderful yellow rice that was decorated with an assortment of green and red vegetables. Added to this was a chicken stew that had a generous supply of soft delicately prepared potatoes which melted in your mouth as the yellow rice gently soothed your pallet. It was special and plentiful. All the participants and those visiting to make the Salaah were invited to eat and take part in this blessing. I also had a moment play some table tennis. I had not played this game for years and it was not easy to go up against such stalwarts as Nazil and Nyron. Two players who had mastered the art of both spinning the ball and also smacking it at will. My partner Asif (who must have been frustrated with my play) was gracious and accommodating. As soon as the game started we were scrambling to keep up. Asif quietly encouraged me. At the end of this game which went not only to deuce but beyond it, myself and Asif somehow emerged with a win. I was, however, not sure if the other team actually lost or was just trying to be neighborly and generous. We began a second game but the unexpected early call of the Adhaan saved us from an almost certain defeat.

The Third Session

This was done by Brother Daud again. This time it was to try to get the youth to understand the concepts of Da’wah and Jamaa’ah. He indicated the compulsory nature of being involved and gave detailed explanations about leadership, obedience, shuraa, and such rules. The youths were given a comprehensive handout that would serve as a future reference for them. Of course following this was the presentation session by the youth which had fast become a huge hit. It was during this session that “jama’aah in a bottle” was born. I really do not have the words to describe this to you. It was just one of those moments that you just had to be there.

Night

In almost all the youth programs I have attended, night has its special drama. It is usually played out between the Ameer and the participants. The wise Ameer wants the youth to sleep at a reasonable time so that they can be fresh for the next day. The youth want to try to wake up for as long as they can so that they can play, chat, eat and laugh. The drama unfolded at this seminar, too. The Ameer was there insisting that everyone must sleep or else!  The youth was not fazed by this. Even if they had to pretend to go to the bathroom ten times, they would find a way. Finally, as usually happens, the Ameer eventually went to sleep and the youth just kept awake. The casualties among the sleepless would be counted the next day as we saw some of the young people either passing out or nodding or looking listless during the sessions.

Sunday

The morning began with a soul stirring tafseer by Brother Daud, who chose some of the verses of Sura Saf dealing with the bargain Allah wanted the believers to go into. He detailed out its benefits and why we needed to do so. Of course, to our surprise, tea was served to us by one believer who understood the rewards of service and was able to indeed add to his scale, a multitude of rewards for his kind deed. After the tafseer, the youth was given a brief moment to rest again. It was a kindness I think they appreciated very much.

The Physical exercise session and breakfast were both big hits. I spent my time chatting with some of the youth who were remarkably frank with me. They helped me to get an insight into their world. They told me some of their frustrations and also some of their ideas. I treated the information they supplied as confidential even though they did not ask me to. Finally it was time for the next session. This was done by Nyron. He had the difficult job of giving them perspectives about life as a whole. He showed them the gamut of their lives; how to define the end game; set up a life plan; how to process and understand their issues; how to separate the pressures from society in relation to their goals. He was able to connect with them and it was truly a remarkably interactive and lively presentation. The presentation session that followed was again off the hook. You just had to be there.

My Session

It was then time for my final session. It was about the challenges and pitfalls facing the American Muslim youth. I tried to get them to understand firstly the theoretical concepts behind why we get challenges and tests from Allah and how to approach them. I then went through a list of the various challenges they would face and how to deal with them.

I concluded by thanking them for the opportunity to present to them. I then encouraged them to use their talents to serve Allah and make a positive difference in America.

The Final Session

The Ameer, brother Nazil, then delivered the final presentation. It was the culmination of all that had been presented before. The session was to get them to understand the present Islamic situation in New York and New Jersey. Nazil and Waqar (forgive me if I spelt your name wrong here) did a wonderful presentation. They gave a history of the NIA and explained in detail the vision and mission. They were able to clearly identify the roles of the youth in this process as they go forward. Each of the youth was asked to put on paper two things that they feel they would be willing to be involved in. These would be collected and analyzed and put into an action plan. As I looked at the youth, I did see a transformation. When they had arrived on Saturday, they were casual and disconnected. On Sunday, they were animated and seemed more excited. I saw that they were slowly getting the realization that it was up to them to really make the changes needed. I hoped that they were able to recognize that this seminar, in a way, represented a transition point where the baton was being handed to them. This was the actual point made by Brother Daud, who had the deserved honor to make the final remarks to them. He eloquently indicated to them that it was now up to them to move the agenda to that new place.

Final Remarks

The seminar was, in my view, both timely and successful. The abundance and quality of the food, the potential of the youth and the hope of the organizers all added up to make this a history making event. The drama did not end there. We were informed of the death of a brother and his wife who were killed in a car crash. They had left children behind who were members of the Madrassah and now were orphans. The announcement were greeted with a quiet stillness and the watery tear ridden faces told the story of how much this had impacted those who heard of the tragedy. Everyone made their dua’ quietly for them.

I cannot end this short essay without mentioning another joyous event that occurred for me. I was able to meet so many of my close friends and bask in their brotherhood. Brother Ameer, Wajid, Waqar, Ali and so many others who I met allowed me the unique privilege of listening to their wisdom and taking inspiration from their passion and zeal. Wajid even gave me a tour of Newark on my way to the airport. As I left NIA and then New Jersey, I thanked Allah for the chance to be present and participate in such a history-making moment. Despite the fact that one of my luggage was left behind by the airline, I could not be fazed or daunted. I was too far in cloud nine. I returned to Florida with a renewed feeling of hope that the youth of New Jersey and New York had been given a gift from Allah this weekend. I ask Allah to give them the insight to recognize this gift and to truly benefit from it.

Khutbah (Islamic Friday sermon) being given by Brother Naseeb Khan at Mutaqeen Masjid in south Florida, USA on January 30, 2009.

If you can’t see the video above, try below:

By Naseeb Khan

The Problem

I have been told by so many brothers and sisters that when they leave the Friday Jumu’ah prayer, they are troubled by a feeling of uneasiness. They feel slightly upset. They feel cheated. They say they do not understand why this is so. After all, they do recognize that they should really be happy to be given a chance by Allah to attend the prayer at all. They know that they should have been grateful to Allah for the opportunity to just listen to His words. They should have felt thankful for seeing and meeting so many fellow believers. Yet, they report that they feel troubled. I began to try to figure out why they were having these feelings. I examined the whole situation and came to realize that the problem was due to the Khateeb (the one who delivers the Friday Khutbah).  He had not done a good job in delivering a message that was cogent, relevant and inspiring. This could have been overlooked as a one time only situation but the reality is that the problem seems to be widespread. We have, in so many masaajid, brothers who take to the steps of the mimbar and speak to us, when in fact they should not have been allowed to do so at all. This is not intended to be a harsh criticism from the sidelines as I too give Khutbahs and I know first hand the serious nature of this responsible task.

The hour

This hour in fact is in my view, the most critical hour for the Muslim community in North America. This is so because the Jumu’ah Salaah occurs in the middle of the work day and as such only the believers who have really strong Imaan (faith) will make the decision to leave their jobs and come to the Friday prayer. They do so because they understand the compulsory nature of Friday’s prayer. This of course comes from their understanding of the Deen. They know that Allah says in the Qur’aan:

“O’ you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to Prayer on Friday hasten earnestly to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off business. That is best for you if you but knew.” (Surat Al-Jumu’ah (verse 9),

They know that in the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions the following:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. On that day Adam was created, he was admitted to Jannah, and he was expelled therefrom.”
[Muslim].

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “If anyone performs Wudu’ properly, then comes to the Friday prayer, listens to the Khutbah (religious talk) attentively and keeps silent, his (minor) sins between that Friday and the following Friday will be forgiven, with the addition of three more days; but he who touches pebbles has caused an interruption. ” [Muslim].

They understand from the many, many other ahadith the critical importance of coming to this prayer. Thus they leave their jobs which itself is a trial. They have to face the discrimination and harassment that accompany this decision. They may have to work extra hours to compensate for the time given to them. They have to then travel great distances and face the traffic woes. Even after they finally reach the masjid, they are faced with issues such as finding a suitable parking space. Yet they come week after week. This is a sign of strong Imaan and clear understanding of their responsibilities to Allah.

The strong Muslims

Thus what we see each Friday is a collection of the best of our community arriving to make their prayer and listen to the Khateeb. This is repeated each Friday for the whole year. This gathering is unlike the ones for ‘Eid. The ‘Eid occurs twice a year and even though there is a larger crowd, it is a mixture of the good, the bad and the indifferent Muslims. Since it is only twice a year, its effectiveness is not the same as the Jumu’ah which occurs week after week. The Jumu’ah Khutbah is truly an opportunity to address the best of the Muslim community and to provide them with the knowledge and information that can change their lives. So often, we see those who have problems go to a psychiatrist once a week to get counseling for their issues and problems. Imagine the opportunity that the Friday Khutbah provides to give counseling and change lives. The Khateeb has the honor of speaking before an audience who is not only the best of the community but who have made a great deal of sacrifice to get to that carpet. On that carpet sits believers who are there waiting with attentiveness, hoping to be inspired and motivated.

The wasted opportunity

Unfortunately, this opportunity becomes wasted when the Khateeb fails to recognize the historic nature of the moment. This opportunity gets squandered when the Khateeb treats it like a regular gathering and does not thoroughly prepare his presentation. Within five minutes of the Khutbah, the audience can detect if the Khateeb will do justice to the event or if it will be a missed chance. The audience can detect when the Khateeb begins to jump from one point to another without any logical connection. They know right away if the Khateeb is prepared or not. It cannot be hidden from them easily. This unfortunate scenario (which occurs more often than not) leads to a terrible consequence. We see believers slowly closing their eyes in disinterest. They begin to nod their heads and then some fall asleep. Occasionally one may even hear someone snoring during the Khutbah. What a tragedy this is! We, as a Muslim community cannot afford this to happen at our masjid any longer. Our community is very busy and it is very difficult to get them to come out to programs or activities. Here, Allah has created for us the mandate for them to come and they do. Allah has made it such that one is not even allowed to speak when the Khateeb is on the mimbar. It is now our responsibility to ensure we do not waste their time. The worst crime will be if we let this critical event become one that we find distasteful and unappealing instead of being beneficial and pleasant. Our youth will not develop the desire and love for the Jumu’ah prayer and Khutbah, as they will see it as just a meaningless ritual that has no relevance to them and their lives.

The question that we must address is how to fix this problem. Firstly we must ensure that all our Khateeb’s are properly trained. It is not enough to say that just because someone is the Imaam of the masjid, then he is also automatically qualified to deliver the Khutah. This may be the case in some countries but in North America, this half hour and moment is too valuable for us to misuse it. Our Imaams and Khateebs must be highly trained in all the skills and nuances of oratory and communication. The passion and love for the Deen that they hold in their hearts must be projected in their words. They must not accept anything less for themselves if they will be successful in delivering an effective and motivating message. This goal of training such people is well within our capability but it needs to be recognized as a priority and be given the necessary resources. We cannot any longer just sit, scratch our heads after each Jumu’ah khutbah and say “well, there is nothing we can do about it.” We must work actively to ensure that Friday is a day when we can go to our masaajids and receive a gift of motivating advices that touch our hearts and inspire our spirit

To accomplish this task, we must run training seminars to train our Khateebs. Here are some of simple points that our Khateebs must follow in order to be effective. The training seminars will of course give more details.

The importance of the moment:

The Khateeb has to first recognize the importance of the task at hand and really see how big a responsibility this is. It is not just some regular lecture. It is a moment to create lifetime changes in the Muslim community. He must therefore prepare his presentation very well and deliver it with passion and zeal. The Khutbah being delivered must be able to have the following characteristics. It must be educational, motivational, inspirational, relevant and practical. What a tall order this is! To accomplish this, the Khateeb, when preparing the Khutbah, must be clear about four things.

The Main Message

The first step is to define in about 25 words or less what is the key message that he would like each believer to leave with at the end of his Khutbah. Secondly he must say what new piece of knowledge or information, about the Deen, he would like the believers to acquire and know about. Thirdly, he must elucidate what new action or behavior he is recommending to them to adopt and practice. This is the homework that they are being given to do. Lastly the Khateeb must answer the question of how can I motivate them enough, that they feel inspired to share the message of the Khutbah with others. An effective Khateeb will accomplish all of the above. Of course in an article of this size it is difficult to explain in detail all the procedures and also all the necessary tools that are needed to be acquired for the Khateeb to be effective. This is what the training seminars will do.

Understanding the audience

In these seminars, the program should cover many things. It will teach the Khateeb to understand that they must be aware of the nature of the believers who will be listening to the Khutbah. It is important to know their nationality, status, educational level, culture, Islamic level etc. This will allow the Khateeb to properly prepare a relevant Khutbah.

Topic selection

So often, we see the Khateeb choosing a topic about how to pray and make Wudu to the audience. We already indicated that the Jumu’ah crowd is usually at a higher level of commitment and knowledge than this. We should not spend time discussing these things in the Khutbah. What happens frequently is that the Khateeb does not give enough thought to topic selection and thus falls back on the same old worn out topics that have already been dealt with so many times. In the seminars, they will learn that generally, we want to discuss ideology and foundational Islamic concepts in the Khutbah and also practical challenges facing the community and providing solutions. Our topics must be creatively expressed and presented. We should not just repeat ideas with the same old examples. The issues of Fiqh are best taught in classes and it does not make for good Khutbahs to try to teach Fiqh from the mimbar as no matter how much detail one speaks about this topic, the audience will still have many unanswered questions and have more uncertainty about what is right and wrong. If anything said contradicts what they are doing, they will become confused as to what is right and wrong. This leads to discussions of mazhab etc. I know this from years of experience giving the Khutbah. Others may feel different.

Biases

It is very important that the Khateeb be aware that in any audience in North America, the believers sitting on the carpet may be from 10 to 15 different countries. These believers may also be following different schools of thought and be of varying levels of Islamic bent and knowledge etc. Thus when he delivers his message, he must be careful not to advocate his point of view as the only valid one, if other opinions exist, he must say that this is what he recommends but that there are other equally viable opinions on the issue.

Audience-centered Khutbah

The Khateeb has to learn how to deliver audience-centered speeches. This is to speak from the point of view of understanding what the audience relates to. For example, the Khateeb should not just say what he feels like but he has to understand how to present this in a way that the audience can connect to and identify with. This is especially difficult if one is trying to connect to the youth. This takes practice and experience.

Over-Quoting

There is something as too much quotations. Quotations from Qur’an and hadith give authenticity and authority to the points being made, but when too many quotations occur, they can take away from the points themselves. This happens as the quotation may not be fully applicable to the point itself. Also the language of the English translation of the Qur’aan or Hadith may not be easily understood by those for whom English is not their native language. A few well chosen quotations can make a speech much more effective than just giving a laundry list of quotations.

Reading from Paper

If the Khateeb is going to have notes then he should not read wholesale from them. This undermines the respect for the knowledge of the Khateeb and leads the audience to be less attentive. Reading wholesale causes the Khateeb to loose eye contact and create all sorts of communication snafus.

Use of stories

It is important for the Khateeb to realize the power of stories and use them to illustrate his message. Stories, when told well, can capture the imagination of the audience and really give them a chance to connect emotionally to the message.

Voice

This is very important and whole volumes have been written on the use of voice. What is important here is modulation. The lack of voice modulation is what puts the audience to sleep. You can have a wonderful message but if you speak in a monotone, it will put the most energetic believer to sleep. Our voice must bring out our passion we have for the topic and provide the humanity in the message.

We can go on and on but will stop here with one final point. We must avoid the fire and brimstone type of khutbahs. This method of delivering the Khutbah by trying to point out all the faults and mistakes of others has never worked well. The first problem with it is that we indirectly send a message that says “I, the Khateeb, am better than all of you.” It also makes people feel disrespected. Everyone is very intimately aware of their shortcomings and they have not traveled from their jobs to come, sit and be told why they are bad people. What the job of the Khateeb should be is to encourage. A human will respond better to the call of “you are good and here is how to become better”. They will not react very well to the call when it is expressed as “you are bad and here is what you need to do to become good again”.  The seminars that will train the Khateebs will be able to go into much more detail on these and other such points.

Conclusion

These are just some of the issues regarding the preparation and delivery of the message.  The point is that we need to encourage our youth and others to become excellent Khateebs but we cannot afford the luxury of just putting any person to do the job. Too much is at stake. The task of giving the Khutbah is not for everyone. We all have different talents and skills. If we cannot do this job, then we should not just go and try to “wing it”. Rather we should let others who are trained and qualified for this task take the lead. In North America, we really have a very limited opportunity get a receptive audience to listen to a message. We must all work very hard to ensure this one is fully utilized as it can change our community permanently for the better. We ask Allah to produce from among us effective Khateebs who will inspire us and our communities to become closer to Him. May Allah accept from us our strivings, for His Pleasure.

Amjad Khan was an Hindi film actor. He is famous for his negative roles. Still so many know him as Gabbar Singh which was his character’s name in Sholay. In later years he worked as a director.

He appeared as a Pakistan pilot for first time on screen but went to unnoticed. In 1973 he acted in all time block buster movie Sholay as a villain. With this movie he received critical acclaim and became an icon for negative roles. He became one of the best villains and played negative roles in many movies. Not only Indians even English directors approached him to act as a negative character in their films.

In the movie Sholay he acted as a bandit Gabbar Singh in the Chambal valley. The complete story revolves about this character only. Catching him  is a challenge to the police. He successfully overcomes all the problems from all forces who are trying to catch him. But fails to defeat two ordinary thieves and dies.

Naseeb is another good film. In this film he had acted as a very selfish person Damu who even kills his own friend for the money. In the entire movie he appears like a gentleman and behaves like a very soft person.  Before this movie in Bollywood villain mean a cruel personality with a big moustache and some particular costumes. But this movie changed villain characterisation.

Vikram is a Tamil film in which Amjad Khan acted as a King of Salamia. He acted opposite the legendary actor Kamal Hasan. In this high budget movie he acted with different shades. In this movie the length of his role is very less. But as a cruel hearted king he did a good job.

In Ram Balram he acted with Amrish Puri and Ajit. In this movie he appeared as a smuggler. His character enters into the movie at a later stage. Ajit who was the best villain in Indian films appreciated him for this movie.

He acted in an international movie The Perfect Murder. He did different roles but he got fame with his villain roles only. He acted in nearly 50 negative roles in his career .

Ansoo bhar aye ankh main her ik hasee ke baad
gham ban gaya naseeb maira her khushi ke baad

nikla tha karwaan muhabbat ki rah main
her mordh pe nufrat khardi thi her gali ke baad

socha tha payar ka main sajaonga Gulisitaan
her phool jal gaya maira ban ker kali ke baad

chahat ki bebasi ka yeah qisa hai mukhtaser
dil nien sakoon na paya kabhi dil lagi ke baad

ab rakh hi samaitta hoon ashiyanay ki
khud hi jala diya tha jisay aajuzi ke baad

suntay hain baad mernay ke milta hai sab sila
dekhain gaye kia mile ga humain zindagi ke baad

So I’ve never been on a flight that has offered so many video selections. I mean, let me compare this to the Air India flight I took over to London. One project screen, barely visible if you’re my height and sitting in the middle row some aisles back. You sleep through Mama Mia of course because, I mean, its just bad. It looked worse without sound though; however definitely sounded better this way.

Then you’ve got the after musical, musical of some Bollywood film that began as your regular rich guy spurns father and meets young girl who doesn’t give him a chance. Here’s where I fell asleep on the guy next to me who I didn’t actually know or ever talk to. Now cut back to me waking up here and there catching glimpses of the screen. And low and behold the film hasn’t changed but has added the interesting sub-non-plot of time travel. Yes, time traveling bollywood stars with robots that now drastically differ the film I started to watch but ended up falling asleep instead. But this is okay because even at half way through any Bollywood flick, you’ve still got an hour and a half for further plot development or the sheer failure of plot. Voting for the failure in this case.

Now we’re back to just last Saturday. Talk about time travel! When I get onto a much nicer looking Air India flight and sit down next to the window to watch the airplane wings raise and lower those steel feather contraptions that somehow contribute to the flight of a massive metal cylinder. Can you tell I didn’t take physics? So though my headset is having problems, I check out the film listing. Its all crazy remote control like and I’m automatically impressed. It even takes me a moment to figure out how to use it. For your film selection you can choose “English” “Hindi” or “Regional” I scout out the regional films but they all look, well, old, 80’s and just bad bollywood. If you can picture that. It looks something like a massive Indian wrestler dressed in tight leopard print spandex rolling barrels of flaming gasoline about to explode onto the safari-dressed young male hero who manages to save the girl but not the mother. The mothers always die. It’s tradition.

And trust me. I’m telling you about a real film I watched. Its in the Bollywood textbooks. I’ve got witnesses. Puja took place during the film screening. Hard green metal chairs for 8 rupees or sit on the ground for 3.

So regional films I pass by. I scroll to English which lists current English films, Classic English films and German films. Yes, german. Under the heading of German is. Hold your breath. 10,000 BC and Dan in Real Life. Because of course these are german films. What the heck? The Classic English films don’t look much better – Spartacus and Ben Hur. Its all Charleston Heston-esque spectacle bible based films. These Indian film viewers are particular about their films. Religion and spectacle. Some signing, dancing and chariot racing.

Now, under Current English films, there are quite a few. Many of them just look bad but I come to “Grace is Gone” and its got John Cusack so I stop. He’s great, funny, and easy to look at. I can kill some time here. Less than a half hour in I’m in tears on the plane. I remain in tears for most of the film and I’m sure I’m keeping the people up around me. “Grace is Gone” is this beautifully sad story about a family where the mother is in the army.  And the film is about a socially graceless John Cusack who, upon finding out his wife has been killed in battle, tries to find ways to avoid telling his two little girls about their mom’s fate.  Tears. Tears. Tears. They go to a theme park all in new dresses and I’m just thinking: Crystal Bartolovich’s class – here we are trying to escape reality by entering Enchanted Wonderland. It was brilliantly well done. The whole film really is. So if you need a good cry, watch it. Really quite beautiful and brings this whole terrible war into a personal perspective.

John Cusack in Grace is Gone

Now in contrast, I still had several hours left on the flight so I looked through the Current Hindi films. To be honest, they were pretty terrible even for my very open and accepting view of Bollywood films. Did I mention I taught myself a class on Bollywood? So, I had started to watch the Bollywood version of Casper with Amitabh Bachchan as the ghost and Sharakahn as the dad (that covers two of the three main Indian actors, anyone know the third? There may be a prize!). But after the 2cd grader goes to school and there’s a 15 min long dance of little kids dressed as gansters and cheerleaders and street whores in the playground. And they’re suppose to be little thugs when in fact they’re less than 10 yrs. old. That just turned me off. And they’re putting in every sort of materialistic culture they can find from fast cars to gold chains, I’m about ready to throw up (that would be #5!) but don’t. Instead I change to Classic Hindi films.

I’m on an Air India flight. I really should be watching some “Angry Young Man” films. I’ve only seen a few with the great Bollywood God himself in them. So I turn into Naseeb. Its 5 mins in and its about a waiter and a group of friends who buy a lottery ticket from a guy who can’t pay for his meal. I’m thinking: yes, waiter. This isn’t Amitabh (who is advertised as being the waiter in the film). I pause, I double check. I start watching again. Still confused. Where’s my Pen Guy?! Then a half hour in, it hits me. This was just the opening scenes! So in the first half hour, two of the friends group have ganged up on the other two and murdered one of them. They set it up so the one that gets away is framed with the murder. The two surviving friends who really did do the murder get the winning lottery ticket and set up a hotel. Each of these four men have sons. (This is a total bollywood film plot structural thing, its a must.) One of the wives dies in a natural disaster. (again, typical bollywood). And the boys of man who was framed for murder end up working for the two gentleman who did the actual killing.

Bollywood God

I’m realizing how pointless it is to describe this about now. But its so classically Bollywood that it seems like it should be easy to describe! But let me try to outline it the best I can:

Sons of framed man must prove their value in society by being the good guys, avenging their father (who comes back and oddly represents all three major Indian religions – again typical Bollywood plot structure). Then they have to conquer some religious or social or other issue that involves why they can’t get together with the woman they love. Of course, there’s some elaborate scheme that involves them sacrificing their love for some larger concept. This of course pays off because they get the woman anyway. The woman have to provide some way for getting their men out of a mess. There are always couples and no one ever gets left out. In this case one for each religion. Like Amar, Akbar and Anthony. I can’t believe I just referenced that like it could be part of a normal conversation. Anyway, then the bad guys have to be killed in a way that is appropriate for bad guys but not by the hands of the good guys because then they wouldn’t be pure good guys anymore. So this generally involves natural disaster. And then somewhere in there one of the bad guys has to kill a mother figure. This is a sheer must as it demonstrates ultimate bad guyness.

So yup, that was the plot. Just like any other plot of the time  period. If you watch Bollywood film from this period, just keep your eyes pealed. (what sort of metaphore is that anyway: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-kee1.htm) because that’s what you get!

So that’s the flight back. A girl who can watch a bollywood film and still watch a regular flick after? This is dedication to the art of the movie.

Jis chahat ke khatir thukraya humne jahaan,

Woh chan lamhoon ka tha mehmaan!

Kuch pal hi sahi…..

Naseeb hui woh bahaar,

Zindagi mein aur koi nahi tammanna!

A content heart is hard to come by. We, the human species are extremely ungrateful and almost never satisfied. But sometimes, one will feel this satisfaction of the heart with Imaan. And it is profoundly beautiful. So beautiful, that the reality could be the worst possible scenario, but your imaan filled content heart will make it seem easy.

I’ve felt this sweetness of Imaan in my heart. And once an individual feels it, they fall in love with it. What made the companions of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam so strong and steadfast one might wonder? What made them sacrifice so much for the sake of Allah? It is this same imaan.

The Scholars of Islam say Imaan fluctuates. And this is the truth, you’ll notice, your Imaan will never stay the same. It will either go up or down or only stay the same for short periods of time. This is the will of Allah. A person must stay in a constant struggle to keep their Imaan tank full.

There are various things that make ones Imaan fall. Sins, actions which go against the shariah, your environment, circumstances, it could be anything. With me, the minute my imaan is on a low-down I can feel it and sometimes, I know the reasons behind it.

I’ve been so stressed for the past month or so and my Imaan wasn’t exactly anywhere where I’d once had it. I’d mentioned previously on my blog that I had a very good Job offer from somewhere and I was considering it. This consideration literally made me go crazy. The reason was because, at the beginning of the year, I’d made the intention of dedicating this year to doing nothing but study the deen – to gain knowledge and to study, learn and implement the Qurán. I’d signed up for a one and a half year Quran course and I was in my second month of it when I got this Job offer.

And I considered it. Maybe it was a test from Allah, but it was amazing how this particular job was exactly tailored around my needs and wants. It was my perfect place to work. A nice environment, a field which I’m involved in, a position in the government, and they were absolutely okay about any sort of strict shariah pardah – it was amazing. But the only thing was, it was clashing badly with my Qurán classes. The timings were nearly the same.

I felt a mountain load on my chest for the past month or so not knowing what decision I should make. I made myself believe I could do both, Qurán and work. I would do the Qurán as correspondence, there was an option about that and I could work at the same time.

But I’d been doing isitkhaarah, and even later on, I just felt so stressed about the whole issue, I didn’t know why but my heart was not content. It kept on telling me something was wrong. I guess I knew I couldn’t handle it, that this was the wrong thing for me to do.

And so… after agonising over it for nearly a month and loosing sleep over what to do, I finally made the decision today. I wasn’t going to take up this job offer. It felt so good, subhanAllah. My heart felt so light after I thought it through. I felt such immense peace and a feeling of being content.

I called up my Mom and Sister [Who are still in Pakistan] today and I spoke to them again for a second opinion. And alhamdulilah, they were supportive of the decision I wanted to make. I opted out. I felt so good. As if a huge burden was lifted of my chest, I wanted to cry with happiness after I made the decision.

Falsa e-mailed me this hadith sometime back, and I remembered it again when going through this time of ‘thinking over’.

Wabisah bin Ma`bad (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I went to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he asked me, “Have you come to inquire about piety?” I replied in the affirmative. Then he said, “Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and
again.” [Ahmad and Ad-Darmi].

Sometimes, at the back of our heads, in our hearts, we know what is right. Our heart is there to guide us, to tell us what is wrong and right. Especially when it comes to matters of religion, but we’re stubborn. We think we know whats right. And Shaytan is always there to increase that stubbornness.

Alhamdulilah, I’m so happy now.

This is a little video I made recently. It is entitled “Letter” and was inspired by Brother Dawud Tauhidi. The Muslim Teachers Association held a teacher’s seminar talking about the Tarbiyah Project. Watch the video and read after to see why and how it inspired me.

“Letter”

A short film by Jawaad Ahmad Khan (JaKaTTaK Industries in association with Dawah Gear Productions)

Many of us have already received this letter, while others have yet to receive it.

**This video is meant to be metaphorically literal.

CONCEPT AND PRE-PRODUCTION

Brother Dawud Tauhidi talked in his speech about how our educational systems in the Islamic schools is not reaching its full potential with the current system of teaching. He spoke about how we have to wholistically teach everything together, including Islam as a main subject, not just an add-on elective. He spoke of his school up north and how successful they were with the implementation of having Salah as a privelage and other systems set up. A sister asked him if his school was “accredited” and he responded by saying that he “don’t [didn't] know what that means.” He said that we shouldn’t be worried about being accredited and worry about having our kids taught academic values as a primary feature. He said we shouldn’t have our main aim to have our kids go to Harvard and Yale, but rather Jannatul-Firdaus. That’s the part that hit me.

In this video, I wanted to create an element of surprise at the end where the viewer would wonder at how peculiar that is and afterward realize that it really shouldn’t be peculiar. A young man is agitated and highly nervous to receive his letter, comparable to which hand Allah will give us our book of deeds on the day of Judgement (right or left). You think that he’s wants to go to one of the best colleges, but he wants to go to the highest heaven, Jannatul-Firdaus. You see him in the past, looking like he’s studying from textbooks and such late at night. But if y0u look closesly, it is the Qur’an that he is reading, and when he gets up, he is holding a Salah mat, going to pray and practice the verses he’d just memorized.

The other reason I made this video was because for a very long time I’d been reading online and studying film-making and I wanted to finally produce something! On Facebook, I even made a note with a lot of people tagged, making them testify that they were acknowledged that I was going to make a video before the end of the year. If not, they could write a bunch of nasty things on my wall. But Alhamdulillah, thanks to my brother, I was able to finish it in a day. It was shot with one Sony HDR-UX10. If you want to see it in full HD, go to the original video on Vimeo, and make it full screen.

InshaAllah, I hope this video lets us (Muslims, especially in high school) see what success truly is. We should work as hard as we can to be the best in school and strive for Ihsaan (excellence to the best of your ability), but we keep our Deen of Islam as the highest priority.

So…what do you think about the video? (make a comment…go ahead, make my day)

Har mukaam ko thukradein hum,

Agar aap sang na ho!

Rukhi pad jaye zindagi,

Jo saath aapka naseeb na ho!

Jee rahein hai hum is vajah se,

Ki, mar gaye toh aapse mil na sakenge!

Muhobbat kartein hai aapse yun,

Ki, chah kar bhi aapse nafrat kar na sakenge!