Ilm Summit 2010 (AlMaghrib Institute) Recap: July 23

Recap Posts:

• July 23
• July 24-25
• July 26-27
• July 28-29
• July 30-Aug 1

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

I arrived at my hotel after a peaceful and surprisingly enjoyable 27 hour bus ride from Chicago to Houston.  I've had mixed feelings about this year's Ilm Summit – one week less, Shaykh Yaser Birjas on paternity leave, and Wisam Sharieff MIA until Monday.  Would Ilm Summit III captivate me the way the previous two had?

At this point, it's hard to say.  Maybe my role in this year's Ilm Summit contributed to my complicated feelings.  There was no Belal Khan this year to capture our days in high def.  Instead, there was just me with a 5.0 megapixel Droid camera, which makes for an awesome phone, but a terrible memory keeper.

Fast forward to  6:00pm, more than a full hour before the first session and already, the competition for front row has begun.  And as maddening as the competition can be, it was a good sign that Ilm Summit 2010 would continue it's tradition of pushing the students and teachers to give their best, leaving it all on the table, come what may.

Opening Act:  Shaykh Uthman Khan of al-Shatibiyyah Institute

Whoa, no Ustadh Wisam yet, but Shaykh Uthman?  Sweet!  We began with a recitation of the Qur'aan by Shaykh Uthman and alhamdulillaah, the opportunity to experience hearing his recitation is a special blessing of its own. Check out the video at the end of the post to enjoy some of it, insha'Allah.

The Class Welcome:  Shaykhs Yasir Qadhi and Waleed Basyouni

It's easy to underestimate the value of traveling for knowledge, but our teachers would not let us forget the significance of our travel.  Can you imagine being mentioned in the same breath as those great scholars of the past who traveled seeking knowledge?  I certainly can't, and we could never be compared in significance to what those scholars achieved with their travels, and the benefit they brought, but we nonetheless, we were reminded that we are seeking knowledge, and that the blessings of such an undertaking were tremendous.

Who's Teaching This Year's Ilm Summit?

If there was ever a time to turn into an absolute head-over-heels islamic studies teacher fan boy, this is it.  Besides the teachers I've already mentioned, we have Shaykh Jamal Zarabozo visiting us to teach 10 classes on Fiqh al Buyu' – transactions, investments, and money matters.  And if you want to add more fan boy awestruck geeky wonder upon geeky wonder, Shaykh Salah as-Sawy will be in the house, covering the Constants and Variables of Islamic work, insha'Allah.

More to come this tomorrow, insha'Allah.  Check out the photos and video below: