Chicago Ijtima 2025 - Post report by Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Chicago Ijtima 2025 — A Post-Ijtima Reflection

I respect you, brothers, elders, friends, dear Muslims. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

I would like to dedicate today's khutbah to a reflection — just my experience and the experience of many others who had a chance to spend the past weekend at the Rose Bowl Convention Center at the World Ijtima. And you will hear reflections from all those who attended, and I encourage you to ask those who spent the nights there and the days there. There are too many for me to share here at this moment without making it too long.

And I ask Allah to inspire me to say those things which are most relevant, most beneficial for all those who will be listening to this.

The Human Being Is Like a Rubber Band

One thing I understand is that Allah has given a human being amazing talent and amazing abilities. As long as he's pushed in the right direction, he can keep going.

And I remember when I was studying in Pakistan one year — I attended one of the Tablighi bayan addresses one day at the beginning of the year. And he told us that a human being is like a rubber band. The more you stretch it, the more you can stretch. And if you let it go, it will just be an inch. But if you stretch it, it will go for many inches.

We saw that happen this weekend in the preparation of this Ijtima. You have people — average brothers from all walks of life, all different backgrounds — in 95 to 100 degree temperature. We had about 200 or so brothers cooking food daily for about 8 to 10 thousand people, outside on these huge pots. And they are from all different walks of life. They don't know each other. They have just gathered together. They were told: here, there's an opportunity to volunteer, come through.

SubhanAllah — they were able to cook about 8 tons of rice and 40,000 pounds of meat for the weekend. That is an amazing spectacle. And then on top of that, 375 homes provided food on Saturday to be able to accommodate the extra demand on Saturday night for the meals. This entire effort — families, men, women working in absolute harmony at this scale — is nothing short of a miracle.

When We Move Our Hearts, Allah Sends His Power

And it's nothing short of Allah showing that whatever has not happened, hasn't happened because — number one, you didn't try hard enough; and number two, I didn't allow it to happen. But when you try hard enough — and when I say try, I don't mean just moving our hands and feet. I mean moving our hearts. I mean moving our du'a. I mean moving in our qiyam al-layl and our dhikr.

When we combine all of those ingredients, then we will have the mercy of Allah and the power of Allah and the qudra of Allah with us — that will allow us to see miracles.

And so we saw this weekend that within two days, 300,000 square feet of area was prepared — within two days. 300,000 square feet — that's a massive amount of space that needed to be set up, from speakers to tarping to bathrooms and everything else.

And I watched this weekend as the police officers and security were just literally marveling at 2:30 a.m. — people praying Tahajjud salah. And I literally saw one officer just watching, as if to say: what in the world am I witnessing? It's 2:30 — when did these guys sleep? And it's true — no one slept. It was interesting: Isha ended at 1:15, and after that was dinner, although dinner was open before that, so many had dinner way before that. But Isha ended at 1:15, and Fajr jama'a was at 3:40–3:45.

So we had basically — it was an amazing sea of people who, I could say probably, maybe one of the largest crowds — if not the largest crowd — of people who prayed Fajr and Isha with the same wudu. Definitely, I think, the largest crowd here in this part of the world who prayed Salat al-Awwabin after Maghrib. A crowd that had a large attendance of people who were performing Salat Qiyam al-Layl individually. A group of people who, after spending maybe only half an hour falling asleep while sitting doing dhikr — that's all they got.

But after Salat al-Fajr at 3:40, they say there's a bayan — a talk. No problem. Bismillah, we're sitting. How long? Not too long — but 30 to 40 minutes still. And now after that, breakfast needs to be served. Alright, we're there.

Belief in the Akhirah Moves Mountains

Meaning — the way people were pushed, our volunteers — whoever they are, they're not "ours." They're just random brothers from all across the United States who came to help. You realize that when Allah puts something in your heart, and you have belief that you're going to get rewarded from the Akhirah — in the Akhirah and in this dunya from Allah — then you are able to do things that no matter the highest paid position in the world will never get you to do. Seriously. No package in the world, no paid position in this world can make you work the way belief in the Akhirah can make you work.

And when that enters into the heart, that's exactly what you saw in the Sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'in. When you look at them, the munafiqun said they are sufaha — they are fools. And that's exactly what I would think — that when you look at the brothers who've been working so hard for the past week, endlessly. And after the Ijtima was over, again: cleaning, serving, cooking, security. Young brothers, elders, subhanAllah — people who are suffering from various sicknesses doing khidmah. Cleaning.

Ulama and muftis — no one knows who they are. And a general kid comes up: "Hey, I want some roti quick, man — there's not enough meat in my biryani." Okay, sir. Nothing. Now imagine a scholar who's serving, and someone says: "There's not enough toilet paper in the bathroom." No problem, I'm on it. This brother is a CEO of a company. That person is a founder of a company — and he's being called upon because there's not enough toilet paper. Okay — this is the ummah, we don't know who they are, we'll serve for them.

That level of humility and humbleness that gets created through working and serving the ummah — honestly, it reminds you of the environment Rasulullah ﷺ created.

100 Years of This Effort: From Mewat 1925 to Chicago 2025

This effort of Dawah and Tabligh started in 1925. I was just looking at the Wikipedia page this afternoon. Interesting — it says from Mewat, 1925, and in 2025 we have this Ijtima in Chicago. This is an honor for the city, an honor for all of us to have hosted something as grand as this. And when I say grand, I don't mean in numbers only, but I mean the fact that it is a momentous occasion in this part of the world — something unthinkable — that in a convention center you can have thousands of people sleeping and eating on the floor.

The security staff, the cleaners, everyone was just like: what's going on? And subhanAllah, many high-ranking officials — the mayors, and even much higher-ranking than that at a governmental level — came to visit. And they were shocked. The owners of the venue said: "Please, we would like you to hold this conference here every year."

And I knew this was going to happen. I knew — because this is exactly what the a'mal of Dawah do. The a'mal of Rasulullah ﷺ's masjid — wherever you do it, it will bring change; it will change the hearts of the people. How could they not say that? That the blessing you have brought to us — we will enjoy it till next year. But we want you to come here every single year.

And they saw, subhanAllah, that not one of their workers was needed. They said: "We have a whole janitorial crew." I was there when they were speaking to the owner of the janitorial company. "Brother, no thank you. We've got 20,000 to 30,000 people here — alhamdulillah, we have our own volunteers. We'll take care of mopping the floors, we'll take care of the toilet paper, we'll take care of the garbage." Really? This comes free? "Well, okay, you can come — but you're not going to be able to keep up with what we have going on here. We have our own set of volunteers, alhamdulillah, doing that." That left an impression.

Amongst many, many other things that left an impression on the hearts of the Muslims as well as non-Muslims who attended.

The Ijtima Is Not the Purpose — It Is the Fuel

Now, as the Ijtima ended, and many of the brothers are from out of state and out of country — mashAllah — sitting in this audience, going back to their homes tomorrow: I want us to realize, my dear friends, the Ijtima is not the purpose. It's not the purpose. You and I are supposed to be inspired from it and do something with it. If we just listen and go back and fall asleep, that was not the purpose of this gathering.

It's to take what we learned, what we got inspired by, and run with it. It gave us fuel. You don't go anywhere by just filling up your gas tank. You have to actually now push the pedal to the metal and go somewhere. Now our gas tanks, mashAllah, are filled. Now we've got to go.

Every Masjid Must Become a Maktab and Madrasa

There are many things to do. One thing is that every single masjid of ours has to become a maktab and a madrasa. Every masjid across the entire nation and beyond needs to be a hub of learning. For anyone who walks into that masjid, there should be someone to receive them. There should be someone to teach them the kalimah. Someone to teach them the basics of the deen. Someone to answer their questions.

SubhanAllah — you will be surprised if you just spend one day here. How many people entered through these doors who've never come here before and, more than likely, will never come again because they happened to be driving by. And many of them are lost — not just in the directions of this life, but in the directions of Akhirah. They don't know. They're so confused. They come to the masjid because they want direction. But if our masjids are empty, if our masjids don't have leaders, if our masjids don't have guides, if our masjids don't have people to welcome them — subhanAllah — if the masjid becomes empty, then what's left?

Let us make niyyah — whichever part of the world we're in — to populate our masjids not only with people who perform salah, but people who teach the deen. People to welcome others, to listen to their problems, to answer their questions to the best of your ability. Connect them with someone else who might be able to do a better job.

Our masjids need to have ulama. Our masjids need to have an imam to serve the needs of the people. Before you get that bathroom renovation, before you change that carpet, before you add some new lights, before you get your parking lot paved again — make sure we have a proper imam. There is nothing more needed. Get two imams, get three. There is nothing more needed than that.

We Have a Spiritual Trauma Center

I'm thinking about the crises — and which one are you going to save? Because there are too many. But imagine there's a shortage of doctors. And we're sitting there discussing what flavor of ice cream we like, while we're seeing someone screaming: there's a trauma center that is overloaded, we need doctors to come. And we're arguing about which ice cream flavor is better. It would be regarded as heartless, senseless, emotionless, empathy-less.

My dear friends, the reality is — and not only are we bleeding — those Muslims who are being oppressed: inshAllah, inshAllah, inshAllah, we have this full conviction that they are not dying. That they are actually tasting the real life. And that Allah will raise them with the shuhada, the siddiqin, the salihin, and the prophets. And that they will never be regarded as dead, as Allah Himself says:

Do not ever think that those who have been killed in the path of Allah are dead. Rather, they are alive — ahya — with their Lord, being provided sustenance.

However — every single boy and girl, man and woman, who does not know the rules of hijab, who does not know the rules of buying and selling, who does not know the rules of how to use the restroom, how to do wudu, or who does not know the proofs of the existence of Allah and hence is becoming an atheist or agnostic — born Muslim, leaving Islam — which is now happening in the thousands. Tell me: do we not need doctors for this? We have a crisis. That crisis is going to be fulfilled by scholars. We have a massive crisis.

Any dawah gathering I go to, any khatm al-Qur'an, any wedding, any waleema — I get grabbed by someone. "We need to do something, we need to increase — I need someone." I go there. I mean literally yesterday, today, and I'm sure tomorrow. What's the problem? "We need an imam." "I need two for this much time." Okay — that happens every day. Literally every day. Today it happened, and yesterday it happened, and I'm sure it will happen tomorrow. There is such a massive need for ulama. Ulama don't grow on trees. You have to work, you have to invest — now.

Invest in Our Youth for the Study of Deen

And so this is the call for all those who are listening: please invest the best of our youth for the study of the deen. And ensure that inshAllah they graduate as scholars and ulama to guide the community.

I'm telling you — we have a trauma center. We have thousands and millions leaving the fold of Islam — not only in this United States of America, but within Muslim countries. If you talk to the right people over there, they'll give you the right news. Do not get impressed by big pictures of a packed Jumu'ah. The amount of people who are not at Jumu'ah is way, way, way, way more than those who are. SubhanAllah.

So where does the solution come from? It requires ulama. This effort of Dawah and Tabligh of Mawlana Ilyas — where did he come from? He came from a dar al-ulum. He is a graduate of a madrasa. And Allah then inspired him to do what he did. And the same thing — every single one of us sitting here listening to this, whatever state, whatever country you've come from — please go back to your own areas and make a firm resolve tonight that we must establish a dar al-ulum. We must establish — not one, but many — makatib and madaris in our own states.

Otherwise, subhanAllah, we will be held responsible for not having done what we should have done. It is not sufficient to say: "I live in such-and-such part of the country and we don't have an imam, hence it's not my fault everyone became atheist here." Wallahi — there's a doctor in my community here who I know from childhood. He was telling me: "I went back to my masjid and I cried on the carpet. Because every single one of my friends is now a non-Muslim, an atheist." He lives here now, but he moved from about 3–4 hours away. He said, "I went back and I just cried in my masjid. All my 35–40 year old friends — they're all atheist."

How can we just sit back and watch and relax as we see all across the globe this is happening? This is not news to you. It should not be news to you. This is a daily thing that's happening. All of us should realize that.

Three Actionable Commitments

1. Make Our Masjids Active

Make a niyyah of establishing a maktab and madrasa in our own community. And make our masjids active.

2. Establish Madaris and Dar al-Ulum

Invest in our youth for the study of deen. Ensure they graduate as ulama who will guide the community. We have a spiritual trauma center, and scholars are the doctors we need.

3. Welcome and Serve Those in the Path of Allah

Last but not least — subhanAllah — whether you're able to go out in the path of Allah right now or not, whenever jamaats come, whenever brothers from whichever part of the world, whichever part of the state come to your area: welcome them. Join them for even an hour, half an hour. Walk with them. Drop them off wherever they need to go — just a little bit.

We have these huge parties at home — rich people inviting richer people. How does that help? Instead, serve the poor, and serve those who are out in the path of Allah. You love to cook — your wife loves to cook, your mom loves to cook — whoever loves to cook, mashAllah. You love to do a barbecue? No problem. But serve the guests of Allah as well: the tullab al-ilm and those who are on the path of Allah. And then say: "Please make du'a that Allah gives me also the ability to follow in your path."

A Du'a for the Ummah and for America

So these are a few points that, subhanAllah, came to my heart today. I ask Allah to make every masjid like the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ. And I ask Allah to allow this weekend's historic event to truly go down in history of America as a life-changing experience that will inshAllah change the tide of deen in this country.

And there is a hadith that says the Day of Judgment will not come until the sun rises from the west. One interpretation has been that the sun refers to the deen — that the deen will rise from the west. I hope that this weekend's Ijtima will be one of those factors which will lead to, inshAllah, the deen rising from this country. Just as we export everything from culture to everything else — may Allah make America the exporter of deen across the entire globe.

Jazakumullahu khayran.
Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Announcements

For those brothers who are visiting — inshAllah — tomorrow morning, if you're still here, the summer intensive is continuing, alhamdulillah, at 8 a.m. So you can join us right here at 8 o'clock and attend a class. Those of you from out of state — stay back tomorrow morning, inshAllah, 8 o'clock. There are sessions for sisters and brothers — obviously sisters in a completely separate section. Brothers here: 8 a.m. inshAllah, we have the summer intensive. I'd love for you to join.

And secondly, if you have not gotten a tour of the library, the gymnasium, or the seminary, make sure that you don't go back to your communities until you see that — to inspire you, inshAllah, to build similar institutions in your own areas.

Last but not least, please don't forget this institution in your du'a as well.

A Daily Practice: Surah al-Kahf

We have a simple amal here — that we recite Surah al-Kahf for protection every single day, as mentioned in a hadith: whoever memorizes Surah al-Kahf — the first ten and the last ten ayat — Allah will protect him from the fitna of Dajjal. Try our best to memorize this. Have every member of our family memorize it. And the best way to memorize it, of course, is by reading it every day.