The Echoes of God’s Word

The Echoes of God's Word

Opening Greetings

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, our schedule is really tight tonight. So I'm hoping that I only have to say this once. (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - As-salamu alaykum)

Beautiful, mashallah, thank you so much. I'm Amna Anwar, I'm the former vice president USA of MSA National and the current ex officio. Our amazing programs task force has arranged a phenomenal lineup for all of you tonight.

Before we get started, I just wanna let you know that the Adhan from Maghrib will be at 7:45 and Maghrib will be held in Main Halsey.

Quranic Recitation

We begin with recitation of the Quran by brother Abdul Basit.

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.

And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah and be not divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies and He brought together your hearts and you became brothers by His favor, and you were on the edge of a pit of fire and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His signs that you may be guided.

Allah Almighty has spoken the truth.

JazakAllah khair.

Introduction of Speaker

Our first speaker for tonight, you all know him and love him, Imam Suhaib Webb.

The Beauty of This Gathering

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the master of the first and the last, our beloved Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

This is a lot bigger stage than what I've been used to the whole weekend. This is kind of astounding, mashallah. It's very beautiful to see so many people in the audience. May Allah reward ISNA and MSA for this effort that they're doing.

The Energy and Promise of Muslim Youth

My whole weekend basically has been with MSA and I just want to share with you something that Dr. Tariq Ramadan alluded to yesterday. When you are mixing with these young energetic people, seeing the dynamism that's amongst them, the incredible combustion of creativity meeting with spirituality, you're reminded of a very beautiful prophetic narration of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which all of us should hold dear to our hearts.

And the scholars would label this hadith under what's called Mubashshirat, meaning those hadith which grant good tidings to the community of the Prophet, peace be upon him. And he said:

The Prophet said that goodness will be in my community till the end of time.

The days of an apocalyptic theology, what one of my teachers called (تَسْوِيرُ الْحَيَاةِ - tasweer al-haya) (turning life into nothing but a dismal reality) are over. These very talented, focused young men and women who represent the Muslim Students Association have at least proven to me in my interaction with them over the last few months that change is coming in America. How we run our organizations, how we run our non-profits, how we run our masajid, how we interact with Muslims as well as non-Muslims is going to change. And that change is for the better.

A New Generation of Leadership

So I give you the glad tidings of a young generation (جِيلٌ رَبَّانِيٌّ أَوْ جِيلٌ جَدِيدٌ - jeel rabbani aw jeel jadeed) (a divine generation or a new generation) of Muslim leadership which is being sparked by the efforts of the Muslim Students Association.

That being said, as a convert to Islam of almost 19 years ago, a father of two, an imam in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, I just want to share with you a few important points and then I need to run as always as you know to catch a plane. We're always catching planes.

The Age of Institution Building

Number one, that this is an age of institution building. The model of the Mehdi syndrome, the Superman syndrome, the one man show or one woman show should be over. But what we need to look forward to now is not only building individuals but building individuals who are going to be able to work together to serve the cause of goodness in all levels.

Ya'qub said to his children:

Enter into many different doors when you go into the city, not one door.

Advice for Parents: The Sun and Moon Relationship

For that reason as parents, and I'm a parent, I'll give you just a few advices. Number one, your relationship with your children is that of the sun and the moon.

Yusuf said in the Quran, Joseph:

He said that I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon prostrating to me. The sun and the moon are your parents in relationship to the children. So a few points.

Be Advisors, Not Supervisors

Number one, we should be advisors, not supervisors. The challenge of parenting is to help maneuver the creativity, the genius and energy of our children without stifling that. So my advice to you is to encourage your children to think outside of the box.

Engage your children, young adults, to think in different ways. Conventional methods of thinking are not necessarily what's best now. But original experiences with you and the creativity that you can help spawn.

Nurturing Future Leaders

Maybe you will be a mother who will gift to this ummah the likes of Imam Malik. Maybe you will be a father who will give to this ummah the likes of Dr. Muhammad Yunus. But in order to do that, we cannot suffocate in the name of culture and piety, the creativity that Allah has bestowed in the breasts of our children.

And that's why Umar bin Khattab, when his son said to him, I knew the answer. I knew the answer. And he said, if you would have said that answer in front of the Prophet and his companions, it would have been more beloved to me than everything in this world.

Advice for Young People: You Are the Canvas of America

Number two, for the young people, you are the canvas of America. What are you going to paint remains to be seen. But I'm very optimistic at what we hope to see.

But I will just share with you a few points. Number one, is to move beyond thinking about yourself. My son is only 8 years old. I named him after Malcolm X. And he asked me one time, Father, how can I be a good man? This is a great question for a young child to ask his father. I said, transcend yourself. He said, tran... what? I said, clap out the syllables. Transcend yourself. Live for others. Live for other causes.

Learning Community Service and Engagement

In a madrasa that I helped run, one of my students who's memorizing the Quran in Boston, he asked me, he came the other day to class, he said, I'm ready to read. I said, stop reading. He said, what do you want me to do? I said, go volunteer for the Obama campaign and come back after November.

Go learn. This is not an endorsement for Obama, although I do ride a donkey. And I've never thrown peanuts at a human being or compared them to an elephant. And oppression is very real in this country. We see it. But the point was, go and learn how to serve the community.

Go and learn community organization. Because if you have all the Quran in your heart and you are ill-equipped to speak the language of the people of this country, it will serve you very little. Till now, these conventions are very internalized.

Engaging America Beyond Ourselves

What would be incredible is that we offered subjects and ideas and discussions that engaged America, not simply Western Muslims. So I encourage you as young people to think deeply. To utilize your experiences through MSA. To think outside of the box. And if the community doesn't agree with you, then occupy your community. Because the days of being bullied and threatened, whether because we are women, whether because we are young, whether because we are converts, are over.

Reinvesting in Our Communities

And the way that that will end is not by clapping. Clapping is wonderful. But the way that is going to end is to reinvest in our communities. Not only financially, but with our genius and with our talents and with our creativity. There should be a reciprocation between imam and congregation. Without you, Suhaib Webb is nothing.

Without you, Suhaib Webb doesn't have a playground to ball on. But with that interaction, that dynamic that we share as a community, and we learn from each other, and we admit our mistakes, and we grow and refine for the

sake of Allah, then we will be, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, the mutqineen, those people who have perfected their effort for Allah. And that is a sign of ihsan.

Moving Beyond Personal Narratives

So as I finish, learn now to move beyond a personal narrative of your life. If everyday you think about your life, it's my pad, it's iPad, it's my space, it's my face. We say:

We worship You together.

Remind yourself that your career, your profession, your success will be polished if you're able to invest that back into institutions and change the nomenclature and the dynamics of institutions in this country. Till now, we as converts experience a social depression no matter how large the mosque and the community center is.

Conclusion: Building an Inclusive Community

We will not feel comfortable until we see mashed potatoes, grits, pot roast, and biscuits for iftar.

Peace be upon you.

JazakAllah khair, imam sahib.