Connect with us

Islamic Events

Ilm Summit 2010 July 30-Aug 1: Baba Ali, Best Student Khatirah, Yaser Birjas, Photos, and the Entertainment Night

Published

Recap Posts:

Comedy Night

Ilm Summit 2010 had THE BEST entertainment session EVER. Sorry ICNA, ISNA, MSA, and any other conferences, you all just got SERVED.

My roommate Nihal Khan posted that on his Facebook status. And yeah, it was pretty hilarious. Except, you had to have been an Ilm Summit student and really ingrained in AlMaghrib student culture AND a student at this year’s classes to understand the jokes.

Nonetheless, the sheer talent on display, the scripting and special effects, as well as the participation of Shaykh Google himself (who reminded us that the key to being an optimist is to think of the glass as…a glass) made it a night to remember. Unfortunately, the whole event was Fight Club-ish about keeping a tight lid on event details, but I have to say, seeing Shaykh Yasir Qadhi reveal himself to be Shaykh Google definitely made my Ilm Summit (whoops, did I say that out loud?).

A Visit From Baba Ali

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

On Saturday, after we had concluded our final classes with Shaykh Yasir, Baba Ali randomly stopped by, and we asked him to tell us about his new project, so check it out below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gui_M9Z0O8k[/youtube]

Saturday Night Banquet

For the second year in a row, Ustadh Wisam MC’ed the Ilm Summit banquet, and alhamdulillaah, for the first time ever, no shady halls to deal with, either in theory or practice. Awards were given out, poetry was read, upcoming AlMaghrib projects were presented, a video of students stealing shaykh Yasir’s dissertation from his hotel room, and oh yeah, the return of Shaykh Yaser Birjas.

So Shaykh Love Notes broke down how he was able to escape from his wife who was due at any moment to attend one night of Ilm Summit.  He tells us she told him she felt guilty that he was missing out, and encouraged him to go for at least one day. He was, of course, making a cupcake at the time for them to have breakfast. While his heart said, “Yes! I’m outta here!” he replied, “No, I couldn’t do that.”  After his wife insisted he leave, and he put up token resistance to not just cave in so easily, he joined us for the final event of Ilm Summit.

Or so he thought.

The previous year, both Shaykh Yasirs held counseling sessions with students who wanted them, but there were none this year. At least, none until Shaykh Yaser arrived. From 1am to 5am, he ended up holding counseling sessions for 20 or more sisters. And, for those brothers remaining who wanted them, he was willing to give them counseling sessions at 10am, may Allah reward him for it.

Khatirah Evaluations

You may recall last year, students gave short khatirahs that were followed by critiques from our instructors. This program continued, and the final khatirah was given by our good brother Muhammad Ouyoun (from Chicago, represent!) on the importance of salaah (note:  I started recording this a little past the intro with my Droid [shameless plug] phone):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbLCUm8CuQ[/youtube]

And here’s the follow-up evaluation from Shaykhs Yasir and Waleed:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5COpi-xDC8E[/youtube]

Conclusion

What’s more is there to say?  Ilm Summit 2010 was an experience, and for reasons I’ll insha’Allah elaborate on in future posts, perhaps even more beneficial in terms of personal growth than Ilm Summits I and II.  Below are the photos I took and one video I did with brother Shiraz on personal development.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM2QBYFYfRw[/youtube]

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Siraaj is the Executive Director of MuslimMatters. He's spent over two decades working in dawah organizations, starting with his university MSA and going on to lead efforts with AlMaghrib Institute, MuslimMatters, and AlJumuah magazine. He's very married with wonderful children

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Shiraz

    September 14, 2010 at 12:07 PM

    Shiraz, thats me!

    Yeah entertainment night was wild. Some parts just left me speechless.

    Siraaj how could you reveal the secret! Our sheikh wont be please.

  2. abu abdAllah Tariq Ahmed

    September 14, 2010 at 4:14 PM

    Alhamdolillah, it was great!

  3. Amad

    September 14, 2010 at 4:20 PM

    jazakallahkhair Siraaj for capturing the essence of the 10-days.

  4. Kamran

    September 14, 2010 at 4:34 PM

    as salamu`alaykum

    Jazak Allahu Khairan Br Siraaj. Very nice series mashaAllah.

    I also do think they were really beneficial 10 days. I didn’t attend the last 2 so I couldn’t really compare but to be able to:
    * cover a whole chapter on Zuhd of Imam Tirmidhi
    * touch on important aspects of Islamic Finance with Sh Jamal
    * cover the Tafseer of Surah Fussilat with Our Dear Mawlana
    * cover the concepts of Bdia’h
    * Detailed study of Hersiology
    * Have daily tajweed classes
    * and get to enjoy company of some of the most amazing brothers!
    all in 9 days….is truly amazing

    -Kamran

  5. Imran

    September 14, 2010 at 9:38 PM

    As-salamu alaikum!

    It was for real sumfin magnificent, respec!
    So many unforgettable moments and life-lessons!

  6. Bintwadee3

    September 30, 2010 at 6:26 PM

    Jazaak Allaahu khayran Br. Siraaj for your posts. We were all a bit disheartened not to have picto/video memories (I’m still baffled as to why we sisters didn’t think to take our own photos…) like we did last year. Your posts have kept the excitement and nostalgia alive.

    I have to admit that I was *NOT*, in any way, fashion, or form, excited about Shaykh Jamaal’s topic. Of course I was excited about Shaykh Jamaal, having read his books and listened to his lectures, but I’d taken economics in college and came out with “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. I mentioned my concerns to some of the sisters and they felt the same way. Great. This was going to be a huge waste of time.

    Boy were we wrong.

    It turned out to be one of my absolute favorite classes. I couldn’t wait for the class to begin and was sad to have it end so soon.

    The moral of the story is: The shuyookh know what they’re doing.

    -Maymuna

  7. Siraaj

    September 30, 2010 at 6:32 PM

    I think we’ll have those memories, it’s a matter of when they’re produced – remember, we had round the clock coverage this year, and round the class recording too :) insha’Allah, once it’s released, my little bits of unprofessional work on behalf of MM will be long-forgotten (I don’t think anyone actually noticed :))

    Siraaj

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MuslimMatters NewsLetter in Your Inbox

Sign up below to get started

Trending