Speakers: Kairi Al-Amin
Pam Africa
Jalil Muntaqim
Hena Zuberi
Jihad Abdul-Mumit
El-Hajj Mauri SaalaKhan
Imam Abdul Ali
DC artist LIL WAP WAP
Zaynub Abdullah
Bilal Sunni Ali
Imam Issa Abdul-Kareem
Nkechi Taifa
Dr. Kokayi Patterson
Amr Khalid Samad

Learn More at www.muslimmatters.org/imamjamil

The post A Community Under Siege: H. Rap Brown/Imam Jamil, Political Prisoners, the Entire Black Community appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Questions like:

…am I praying or am I not?

…can I touch the Quran or can I not…?

…did that man really just say that because I’m a woman, I can’t do this, or wear that, or speak up?

Every ​question,​ every ​concern,​ every ​misconception on​ Women’s Fiqh… What if you had the answers?

Women’s fiqh has a reputation for being complicated. However, the reason why is because nobody has given it the full attention it needs in the context of Muslim women living in the West today.

I propose we end that confusion, stop the misuse of Islamic texts, and reclaim the knowledge. This applies to the men, as well. Men will want to learn about this as well – not just because they have women in their life (a mom, a sister, a wife or a daughter). But because knowing the fiqh specific to half of the world’s population saves everyone from making dangerous mistakes.

The answers to your questions and the knowledge you’re looking for comes in a complete, online guided course:​ Complicated?:​ ​The A-Z of Women’s Modern Fiqh.

It’s titled with a question mark because it really isn’t that complicated. This is the complete online course that covers every stage of a woman’s natural lifecycle. From newborns, puberty, and education, to marriage, old age, and the eventual janazah.

 Plus, it covers modern fiqh questions about topics like careers, public speaking, fashion, social interactions and textual misconceptions.

Here’s what past attendees have to say about this course:

The post Complicated?:​ ​The A-Z of Women’s Modern Fiqh | Sh Waleed Basyouni appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Sarah Sultan is a licensed Mental Health Counselor and has a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Sarah is currently working as a therapist at a residential treatment center for teens in crisis, where she works with adolescents dealing with suicidality, trauma, self-harming behaviors, aggression and a variety of other issues. She is also an instructor with Mishkah University, where she teaches a course about the intersection between Islam, psychology and counseling.

Read more of her work here:

7 Tips to Overcome Anxiety and Worry

Dear Mama

Timing is Everything

https://muslimmatters.org/author/sarah/

The post TDC Speaker Feature: Sarah Sultan, LMHC appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Omar Husain attended the University of Illinois at Chicago on a tennis scholarship, and graduated with a degree in Information Sciences.  He further graduated from the College of Islamic studies and Arabic Language at Al-Azhar. He is currently the Religious Director at MCECC San Antonio, and is pursuing a masters degree in counseling.

Read more of his work here:

Food and Fitness: No Seconds Please!

3 Things Your Imam/Shaykh Wishes You Knew About Them

The post TDC Speaker Feature: Shaykh Omar Husain appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Unbeknown to me, after a long day, he asked one of the other volunteers why the campaign didn’t have a website. He was told that we didn’t have one because this was a volunteer run project and we still didn’t have anyone with the skills to make one. He didn’t say anything.

A few days later, he sent a text to me with a web address. When I clicked on it, I found a fully developed website ready made by him. I was blown away. He saw a gap, an opportunity – and he took it. I messaged him back, full of gratitude, and we agreed to meet soon. I wanted to thank him in person.

Just over a week later, I received another text from a mutual friend. My heart sank as I read it. The brother had died in a car accident.

He was only in his twenties, with so much left to do: family, friends, career, dawah work, hobbies and volunteering.

His story should end there, with the tragic car accident that took his life and closed his book of deeds. Instead, there was at least one chapter of his book that wasn’t finished yet.

The project that he had built a website for and volunteered for – Charity Week – continued to grow. Sustained by a team of colleagues and a vision that focused on unity above all else, Charity Week spread across London.

 

It went from 11 institutions when he was involved to nearly 300 now. It went from raising $50,000 to more than $1 Million – in one week. It went from helping 160 orphans in the first year to hundreds of thousands of orphans and needy children – every year.

We never met, but I pray that he gets the ajr for everything that has happened in this project from then till now – and beyond. For every penny raised, every child helped, every new institution that comes on board, for every person that gains new skills that they might never have and for every bond of unity strengthened.

He died in the car accident, but you still live. We are still writing in our book of deeds. When we leave this world, every chapter in this book will be closed – except those chapters on sadaqah jaariyah. Those chapters continue to be written, by your former team members, your project that continues after you and the people whose life you transformed.

This January, in your book of deeds, start writing the chapter that might never finish.

If you want to build your legacy, to help save hundreds of thousands of lives, to develop unity… and to inshaAllah continue this sadaqah jaariyah long after you’re gone, we’re recruiting at www.charityweek.com

The post The Fatal Car Accident That Could Save Your Life appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Earlier this year we were noted as the most read English media website in the Global Islamic Digital Economy Report 2015-2016 by Thomson Reuters and Dinar Standard. We were also listed as the #6 top Islamic website in the world across all categories. In addition, our wonderful readers once again expressed their support by nominating and voting us as the Best Muslim Blog at the Brass Crescent Awards 2015. We are grateful for your vote of confidence and hope to continue striving for excellence.

MuslimMatters has some great news to share. We have wanted an offline presence where topics that we discuss online are amplified. With that in mind, we have acquired the rights to the Texas Dawah Convention (TDC) and will host a national convention on December 24-27, 2016 in Houston, TX. More information on registration, programming will follow. MM played a vital part in planning the diverse and dynamic #TDC2015 ‘To Things That Matter the Most’. It was a great chance for #MMFamily to meet each other and plan for the next year. All #TDC2015 videos will be uploaded to the Muslimmatters Youtube Channel.

Several of our scholars and writers spoke at the Annual ISNA Convention in Chicago- the largest gathering of Muslims in the United States. Our Editor in Chief Hena Zuberi spoke about the work MuslimMatters has done as a Muslim media organization to shape the narrative of Muslims.

2015 saw ISIS rear up its ugly head, trying to pass off the Khawarjite ideology as as a representative of Islam. Whether it was attacks in Beirut, Paris, or San Bernardino, Muslims were left scrambling as they faced the backlash stemming from these attacks in the form increased xenophobia and Islamophobia. We also saw an increased amount of hate in our comments section, and while we tried to give room to all voices, we sometimes had to censure the two extremes to ensure the majority still felt comfortable to comment.

So it is no surprise that our top 11 articles for the year included coverage on Paris, ISIS — and what defines extremism — and the ever increasing pressure to condemn all acts of lunacy as “not Islam”. Here are are the most read articles of 2015:

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What Muslims Are Saying About The Paris Attacks

by Hena Zuberi & Muhammad Wajid Akhter

Following the brutal Paris attacks, our writers compile a collection of tributes, condolences and reactions from Muslim scholars and leaders all over the world on social media.

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What is “Islamic”? A Muslim Response to ISIS and The Atlantic

by Daniel Haqiqatjou & Dr Yasir Qadhi

Graeme Wood’s “What ISIS Really Wants,” published in the March 2015 edition of The Atlantic, has quickly become the most widely read article on the militant group. Indeed, it is becoming the most read article ever published by The Atlantic.

Popular as it is, Wood’s essay is deeply flawed and alarmingly tone-deaf – dangerously so. What is so objectionable about Wood’s essay is encapsulated in his statement: “The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic.” While Wood acknowledges that “nearly all” Muslims of the world reject ISIS, ultimately his thesis is that the atrocities committed by the group have a theological basis in Islam. In support of his thesis, Wood cites Princeton academic, Bernard Haykel, who not only agrees that ISIS is “very Islamic,” but even goes so far as to say that those Muslims who denounce ISIS as un-Islamic are either ignorant about Islam or are simply being politically expedient by deliberately whitewashing the legal and historical dimensions of their religion.

By characterizing ISIS as Islamic, Wood and Haykel in effect, if not intent, attribute cruel beheadings, wanton massacre, and all other manner of savagery to Islam. In their minds, such an attribution is neither factually incorrect nor particularly damaging to “nearly all” Muslims who reject ISIS. But are Wood and Haykel too naïve to understand that by making such attributions to Islam, they ipso facto implicate and foment suspicion about all those who subscribe to Islam?

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10 for 20 at 40 – Ten Pieces of Advice I’d give to my Twenty-Year Old Self Now that I’m Forty

by Dr Yasir Qadhi

Forty is a special age. It’s the quintessential age of mid-life. It’s older than ‘young’, but younger than ‘old’. It’s an age where one has typically finished jumping all the hoops that society and education and starting a family require, and where one now looks forward to thinking about the major accomplishments of life, and the legacy that one wishes to leave.

The Qur’an mentions forty as the age of reaching full maturity: “Until, when (man) reaches his maturity (ashudd), and reaches forty years of age, he says, ‘O My Lord! Allow me to thank the blessings that you have bestowed on me, and on my parents, and that I perform good deeds that are pleasing to you, and make my children righteous as well. Truly, I repent unto You, and are of those who submit totally to you” [Ahqāf; 15].

No wonder, then, that our Prophet Muhammad actually began receiving inspiration and preaching his message at the age of forty. For forty years, he was merely being prepared for the real purpose of his mission: the call to Allah.

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Debating Homosexuality

by Daniel Haqiqatjou

In light of the recent US Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, we have seen a number of Muslim scholars reiterate the position of Islamic law on same-sex acts. What we have not seen much of, however, is reasoning explaining why Islamic law prohibits same-sex acts. Clearly many people today including Muslims do not understand why Islam or any religion would forbid homoeroticism. As it is often put, if two people love each other and want to consummate their love, what difference does it make if they happen to be of the same sex? What could be wrong about this?

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Get the Muslim iCondemn App!

by Daniel Haqiqatjou

Why don’t we Muslims ever condemn terrorism? This is a perennial question many intelligent, reflective people have asked over the years. Usually these people don’t have a single Muslim acquaintance and don’t know how to use a search engine, but that’s besides the point.

Some have argued that Muslims shouldn’t be required to condemn every single criminal act done in the name of their religion. After all, asking Muslims to condemn terrorism is akin to demanding Muslims assume guilt for the crimes of a deranged few, and that’s just racist. Or so the argument goes.

But I totally disagree.

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Blurred Lines: Women, “Celebrity” Shaykhs, and Spiritual Abuse

by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

Our leaders, particularly those who claim to be spiritual guides, must practice what they preach. Our ‘ulama are not politicians, for whom a wide disparity between public image and private conduct is expected. Yes our ‘ulama are fallible, but they have a responsibility to recognize the tensions inherent in their roles, the pitfalls of the celebrity Shaykh culture, and the integrity of the positions they hold. How can our leaders recite platitudes about women’s empowerment and status in Islam publicly, while privately undermining those very rights they claim to cherish? How is it acceptable to publicly proclaim respect for women, while privately deeming them little more than sexual conquests?

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Intimacy for Muslim Couples

by Haleh Banani, Umm Reem Saba Syed, Hena Zuberi

Intimacy between spouses is a beautiful act of worship. A divine experience that has been mired by anxieties fueled by hypersexualized media, Hollywood movies, many cultural beliefs from the East and misinformed 18th century notions rooted in the West.
It took a year of contemplation for us to publicly address this topic in a broadcast, but the need amongst Muslim couples was so great that we had to put aside our hesitations. The Prophet, sallallahu alihi wasalam and the sahaba and sahabiyaat were not shy to discuss these matters.

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Practicing Islam in Long, Long Prayer Garments

by Umm Zakiyyah

“I suppose it’s natural to feel judged when we know we’re not living right. Our guilty conscience projects on everything around us. Innocent laughter becomes mockery. A fleeting frown becomes scorn. Even dhikr (remembrance of Allah) becomes offensive. But it’s so much easier to just start living right than to expend so much energy complaining about all the people judging us for doing wrong.”

— from the journal of Umm Zakiyyah

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Mental Illness and Ramadan

by Sh Yahya Adel Ibrahim

Although mental health care has improved significantly over the last decades, many Muslims still choose not to seek treatment or quit prematurely. Stigma is perhaps the most significant cause of this. Simply, a person is made to feel that they are disqualified from full social acceptance.

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2 Authentic signs DURING Laylatul-Qadr

by Majed Mahmoud

Those who are keen to capture the reward of Laylatul-Qadr (Night of Decree) seek to learn as much as possible about it. There are two authentic narrations that discuss the signs seen during the Night of Decree, not including the signs that appear after the night. If you were to witness these signs during one of the last ten nights of Ramadan, know for a fact that you are witnessing Laylatul-Qadr.

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Uyghurs in China: We Buried the Quran in Our Backyards

by Hena Zuberi

With the news of China forcing imams to dance in public and to make oaths to keep children away from religion in what is known as Xinjiang, where government officials warned that Muslims “During Ramadan do not engage in fasting, vigils or other religious activities,” effectively banning Ramadan, I wanted to share an interview that I did for the Muslim Link newspaper, with the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, Anwar Yusuf Turani.

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The post Muslimmatters Highlights of 2015 appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

A Marketplace for Spirituality

It is no secret that we live in a highly commercialized society.  Although this commercialization is nothing new, the introduction of the internet and the myriad media associated with it – social media, blogging, streaming videos, etc. – presents an entirely new set of circumstances.  Products are exchanged and marketed at startling rates such that even routine activities (paying bills, accessing ones email, reading the news) exposes one to dozens of advertisements.  In this context, generating demand for programs, activities, or even organizational viability requires a level of marketing that will be on par, if not superior, to what is being offered elsewhere.

And for the most part, this approach has proven effective, at least for its immediate intents.  Scholars who have taken to YouTube are popularized at greater lengths than those who have not.  Those with greater “like” counts for their FB pages, witty tweets, and personalized web sites are deemed ‘relevant’, while those who have chosen to eschew online media are not.  Authority is conferred by influence lists, with people eagerly checking to see where their favorite personalities rank.  But the crux of the problem is this: by marketing scholars, branding organizations, and producing the copious online material we now have, we have created a marketplace for spirituality.

As consumers, we can now select among a variety of options which message resonates for us on any particular topic, or at any particular moment.  Our interest in a particular event or program is not driven by educational interest (though it may factor in, of course) but title, flyer, viral marketing, the organization’s logo, and much more.  Our perception of what an ideal sermon, class, or program consists of comes with a heightened expectation of entertainment, of marketability, and of relevance.  Though the message is important, it stands as a corollary to quality theatrics.

When communities become normalized to religion-as-entertainment, they become incapable of receiving Islam any other way.  And people are coming quite close to that: Prayers are always too long, attendees complain.  Accents are intolerable.  In conferences, the most knowledgeable personalities often find themselves in poorly attended parallel sessions, and over time simply get uninvited.  Masajid are constantly subject to the demands of fun, with communities becoming more recreationally oriented by the day.  Whereas once upon a time people listened to lengthy CD sets and read books, two to five minute emotionally charged, funny, or pithy YouTube clips now go viral.

In addition to more qualified scholars/teachers/du’at, a generation of youth is rapidly joining the party.  My own observation has been that ‘traditional’ volunteer and teaching platforms for youth – things like Sunday school, or local halaqat – are forfeited in favor of more visible da’wah.  From a young age, youth are conditioned to set their sights on a bigger stage where they can command a larger audience.  So now we have under-qualified (and at times, entirely unqualified) youth who don public FB pages as speakers/scholars which they curate aggressively.  Some upload their own YouTube lectures, manage their own websites, and promote their own brand.  And the reality is that if one wants to feign expertise, it’s really not that difficult.

This, to me, is not a sustainable approach for conveying or receiving sacred knowledge.  Teaching and studying the religion were historically viewed as serious vocations, and when one approached a subject of study, the assumption was that they did so with some intent of personal growth and implementation.  Entertainment is designed to make you feel good, to amuse, or to distract.  Religious knowledge is designed to tame one’s nafs, to remove distractions, and connect one with Allah.

A proper program of spiritual growth works to attenuate one’s dependence on being entertained, such that a person would be able to find fulfillment elsewhere.  And the irony of it all is that this is what people need.  In an environment so deeply materialistic, people are desperate for a program of spirituality and education that brings them closer to Allah.

Simple Solutions

A Conscientious Approach to Marketing

It is, of course, easy to criticize and difficult to offer solutions.  So as not to be found entirely guilty of such an accusation, I will attempt to offer two simple solutions as starting points.  Firstly, I believe everyone would benefit from a conscientious approach to how we market and convey religion.  I am not at all hostile to employing new media for outreach so long as that outreach is tactful, purposeful, and situated within a larger program.  It should be justified, and its limitations understood.  We simply cannot afford to ignore, or refuse to acknowledge, the many limitations of entertainment in relation to religion.

The Student-Teacher Relationship

Secondly, we need to engender a culture that appreciates the benefits that come from a student-teacher relationship.  Youth eager to participate in da’wah need tarbiya with a teacher that can shepherd their growth in a healthy way.  I personally have spoken to popular du’at that complain about how their presence in a remote city can garner hundreds of people, but local classes in a masjid produce no more than a handful of regular, committed students.  When local classes and imams are no longer valued, communities rely on visiting du’at, mass-marketing, and controversial topics to appeal to an otherwise disinterested constituency.  We have to commit to a goal of altruism that is above quantity, growth, and expansion.  Our masajid are not Walmart, and we cannot be so indebted to the marketplace that we lose our ability to rise above it when necessary.

A natural objection to what I’ve written, I assume, will be in regards to the ostensible benefits of attracting large audiences with charismatic preachers. This critique should not be read as a criticism of anyone in particular, but rather about an environment. My contention is that although preaching religious doctrine is imperative for a minority community that routinely finds itself on the receiving end of public vituperation, if we are not careful, we will likely give rise to an environment that is not in the best interest of our community. As I have mentioned above, unless we as a community take a more conscientious approach to how we convey religion, we will inevitably find ourselves grappling with the prosperity gospel, televangelism, and the many challenges presented by religion in an age of entertainment.

It is my hope that the above critique presents itself as the start of a conversation rather than the closure of one.  I’m certain there’s lots I’ve overlooked.  If one wishes to, there is ample opportunity to distort its messaging to fit one’s belief, but believe me when I say that I question no-one’s intentions, nor do I advocate a simple piety that is neglectful of the world around us.  I am merely calling for deliberation, and I pray that this article contributes to animating a more substantial discussion on religion as entertainment.

And Allah Knows Best.

Mobeen Vaid is an activist in his local community, regularly delivering khutbahs and volunteering with Muslim non-profits.  He is a student of traditional islamic sciences, and is a contributing writer for MuslimMatters

The post Mass Marketing Islam and “Edu-tainment” appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

I walked into the meeting late. As usual, I was slightly out of breath so I slumped into the closest available chair in the brothers section. The National Director of Charity Week, Ahmed, smiled as he saw me enter. “Perfect timing,” he said. “We were just about to finish up so why don’t you give us a reminder?”

I stood up and stared at the room full of faces, almost none of which I recognised. For a second I looked down and mumbled to myself. “Is everything ok?” Ahmed asked clearly concerned since he had never known me to be tongue-tied before.

“Everything is fine. Actually more than fine. Let me tell you all a story.”

At the end of the 2nd year of Charity Week, the project had grown exponentially in size. We had nearly doubled the number of institutions taking part and more than quadrupled the amount of funds raised. However, instead of the team growing year after year, it had actually shrunk to a level that meant we would find it difficult to continue operating another day – let alone another a year.

We were distraught at the thought that the project would have to stop, not because it wasn’t good enough, not because we made mistakes, but because there weren’t enough people ready to step up to the plate to get involved. The worst part of all? We had scanned the horizon and could see no source of help coming from anywhere. Everyone we knew had made their excuses. There was little hope.

I called a meeting of the few remaining team members. “I’m afraid we cannot continue any more. We have to fold the project.” The others agreed that should we not get a good enough response at the upcoming annual dinner – that we should dissolve the project and our activities.

At the dinner, one of the scholars scheduled to speak noticed the sense of gloom in our demeanour. Instead of showing sympathy he became almost upset. “You should have more trust in Allah. After all, do you not believe He will help you?” He then recited the following verse from the Quran.

“And whoever is conscious of Allah, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty.) And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine.”

[Quran 65: 2]

It was as if I was hearing these verses for the first time. I felt a calm I had not known for some time.

Fast forward a decade.

“Today, I speak to you strangers who have been organising Charity Week here across the UK for the past year and having just come off a conference call with the team in Toronto. On the way I texted our team in Scotland and emailed our teams in Sydney and Northern Ireland. Half of these places I haven’t even set foot in yet. Today there are more than 100 institutions in more than 5 countries on 3 continents that take part in Charity Week.”

One of the most special attributes of Charity Week is watching the promise of Allah unfold before our eyes. 10 years of inspiring Muslims to work together. 10 years of driving innovation on campus. 10 years of helping tens of thousands of orphans and needy children. 10 years of uniting the Muslim youth upon Islam. 10 years, and with the help of Allah from places and people we could not imagine… insha’Allah, we’re only just beginning.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Charity Week team or starting the project in your school, college, University or city – get in touch. info@onecharityweek.com

The post The Promise of Allah Fulfilled… Spectacularly appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Twitter, facebook, skype, emails, mobile phones… we have never been so interconnected to our fellow man as we are today. With the swipe of a finger, we can be updated about events half way across the world. But all this connectivity comes at a price. The sheer volumes of data available to us leads to information overload.

One of the best examples of this can be found in the charity sector. In the old days, we had to rely on the words of an eye witness who travelled to a particular area and gave us an account. Today, we can see suffering happening… in real time. Our brains simply cannot process the tsunami of pain that comes at us on a daily basis… so it shuts down. We become immune. We become jaded.

In order to prevent this “immunity” developing amongst volunteers and those taking part, each year we organise posters, leaflets and presentations to highlight how the funds raised in Charity Week have been spent – hoping to break past the noise and really move people.

There was the beautiful duaa from a Chechen mother whose children had their legs blown off by a landmine. Charity Week had funded the refurbishment of the only artificial limb centre in the country. She wrote to us saying she made duaa that for every step her children took, everyone involved would get ajar for it.

There was the heartbreaking story of the grandfather from Pakistan who greatly appreciated the funds used to sponsor his orphaned grandchildren. It had meant that he only needed to work one job instead of two.

There was the touching letter from the widow in Baghdad, who wrote that she cried when she saw her daughter smile for the first time in years at a children’s party organised to help arrange psychological and medical support for children like her.

Alhumdulillah, over the years, the barakah that comes from us uniting together has been shown time and time again with the benefit for the orphans and needy children being greater than if we all worked separately.

But despite all this, for those who are involved deeply – fighting the immunity, fighting the feeling that we had done our bit was still a constant battle. I was sitting in the audience for one of these presentations delivered by a friend and colleague of mine called Bilal.  It was heartfelt, poignant and I felt moved.

After he finished,I asked him how he managed to avoid getting overloaded and jaded. He showed me the screensaver on his laptop. It was one of the hundreds of orphans that were being sponsored by Charity Week. “I don’t get it? From the hundreds of orphans – why does this one affect you?” I asked. He paused and smiled.

“His name is Bilal.”

The Prophet (SAW) said to a man who complained of hard-heartedness, “If you want your heart to soften, (affectionately) rub the orphans head and feed the needy.” 

If you are interested in becoming part of the Charity Week team or starting the project in your school, college, University or city – get in touch. info@onecharityweek.com

The post A Simple Cure for the Immune Heart appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Anger, betrayal, despair. These are feelings that will not be unfamiliar to those who are involved in Islamic work. You know what I’m talking about. That sinking feeling deep in the pit of your stomach when people ignore the many positives of the organisation/ mosque/ project you helped build and use the relatively few negatives to discount the whole thing. You successfully lobbied the local council, raised the funds and built a mosque yourself? Well, I don’t really care because the parking facilities are atrocious.

It’s an attitude problem with the Muslim community that has led to countless of its best workers abandoning all attempts at community work. Who has time to do good and be shot down for it? Who wants to be made to feel like everyone who benefits from the work that you do is doing you a favor? No one. So enthusiasm quickly turns to disillusionment. Disillusionment turns to cynicism. Cynicism turns to apathy.

I know. I have been down that road more often than I care to admit.

But there was one day where I felt particularly close to being broken. I remember it well. Even by my hopelessly pessimistic standards this day had been an absolute disaster. Everything that could go wrong did. Suppliers were not responding to phone calls, deadlines were being missed and all this was coming on top of a stressful time at medical school. But what pushed me over the edge were a series of conversations where people said they would no longer be getting involved with the project for reasons that ranged from the trivial to the made up.

No matter how much I tried to explain to them that their relatively minor and debatable points of contention would be dealt with, that they had been misinformed or had misinterpreted, that it wasn’t worth breaking the unity that was being created after so much effort – I couldn’t get through.

Feeling battered and bruised on the last train home, I was lost in my thoughts when someone tapped me on the arm. “You’re the guy from Charity Week right?” he said. When I nodded my head, he proceeded to identify himself as a member of a small Islamic Society outside of London and asked an innocuous question about the practicalities of banking the money.

He then said something that floored me. “You know, I just wanted to say thank you to you all. We’re a small university with relatively going on during the year. Charity Week is not only the highlight of our year, it makes us feel like we’re part of something special – like we’re part of an Ummah. For so many of us, it was the first time we got involved in our Islamic Society. It is literally life changing… But I’m sure that you get people saying that all the time.” With that he gave me a quick hug and got off at his station.

“We only feed you for the sake of Allah; we desire from you neither reward or thanks.” [Quran 76:9]

I felt humbled… and deeply embarrassed. It was as if Allah was telling me “Is this what you wanted? Are you happy now?” I did not deserve that praise and I realised that I had fallen into the trap of letting the reaction of others dictate my feelings towards working for the sake of Allah. The roller coaster ride of emotions I experienced that day taught me a valuable lesson – when you set out to work for the sake of Allah, the only approval that matters… is His.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Charity Week team or starting the project in your school, college, University or city – get in touch. info@onecharityweek.com

The post One Step Away From Despair… and Hope appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.