Quranic Empowerment RECAP, Videos, and More! + Launch of Qalam Institute

Posted by admin on Feb 21, 2009 in Featured Articles, Media Updates | 7 comments

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Recap of the Event
Launch of Qalam Institute and Special Announcement about Bayyinah Divine Speech Seminar
Comments from Attendees
Photo Album of the Event
Full Video of Talks and CD Quality mp3 Downloads
Interviews with the Imams

To keep up to date on future Qalam Institute events please sign up for our email list (this is different from the masjid list and will only be used for the Qalam Institute classes)

**If you’d like to volunteer and be part of our crew, please email imam/at/colleyvillemasjid.org and let us know how you can help (with your correct email address [it won't show on the website, only to the administrator] – and we will contact you insha’Allah.

A new era was ushered in on February 14th in Colleyville, TX. By the grace of Allah (Swt) alone, over 600 people came out to attend the Quranic Empowerment 1 Day Conference held at the Islamic Association of Mid-Cities. This was one of the biggest crowds to turn up for an academic event at a Masjid in the Metroplex.

The day began promptly at 11am as announced. Before the first talk was even half-way through, the masjid had already filled up and people coming in were accommodated with standing room only. Imam Nadim Bashir started things off with a detailed talk looking at the characteristics of the Qur’an and why the various names of the Qur’an are used in different contexts. The lecture showed the precision of the Qur’an and why words such as Huda, Furqaan, Shifa’, and Kitab are used specifically in different ayat vis-a-vis the other descriptions. Imam Sayid Abdullahi followed this up with an inspirational talk at the role of the Qur’an in our daily lives, how it brings noor into the house, and why it is the source of salvation.

After these talks, Qalam Institute was officially launched.

This project came about after months of planning and assessing how advanced and academic Islamic learning could be revived in such a way that the entire Metroplex could benefit from it. The goal of Qalam Institute is this:

Develop a 1,000 person student body from DFW.

Everything we are doing is working towards the goal of having 1,000 people from our general community coming together and studying the religion at a level beyond what people have normally become accustomed to. The focus is on creating an environment receptive to everyone by holding classes only every 4-6 weeks, and orienting them around the Qur’an and lessons essential to developing our communities and being practicing Muslims in this environment. Qalam Institute will also focus on utilizing the skills and talents of the Imams and scholars within our community.

Along with developing this student body, we hope to develop a volunteer base as well that has a formal system in place for spreading word about these events in a professional manner. To do this we have utilized professional flyers, video trailers, and integration into social media outlets online in an effort to better integrate with the youth [you can see our Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. links on the right side of this page]. It is by establishing this network that we hope to not only integrate DFW into existing national programs, but also take our program national.

It is with that in mind that we announced our Divine Ethics class for March, and made our second big announcement of the day -

The Bayyinah Divine Speech weekend seminar will insha’Allah be held at the Colleyville Masjid on June 5-7th with instructor Nouman Ali Khan. This will be the first of a number of national programs insha’Allah that our volunteer crew will help support and arrange.

After this talk, the organizers had to quickly rearrange the set up of the conference to accomodate for overflow. The atrium of the masjid which was previously split half and half for brothers and sisters was taken over almost completely by the sisters and the brothers moved out into the main prayer hall. One of the most beautiful parts of this conference was the ease in which everyone willingly gave up some level of comfort without any complaint so that they could benefit from speakers’ talks. This exemplified a high level of brotherhood and sisterhood in our community.

Imam Zia elaborated on the different emotions mentioned in the Qur’an and how Allah speaks about these emotions. The talk contained powerful advice on how to use the Qur’an to combat emotions such as jealousy, anger, arrogance and stress.

Qari Abdul Qadir captivated the audience with a beautiful recitation from Surat al-Isra. These ayaat emphasize the importance of Qur’an in our lives. He ended the recitation by reciting the first of revelation, Surat al-Alaq. It was without a doubt one of the biggest highlights of the event.

Imam Yaseen spoke about the power of the intellect. He explained how the whole Ummah still is trying to read the Qur’an and gain an understanding of it, but no one is trying to learn Arabic which is the root to any sort of empowerment in the deen. He emphasized how important education of the Qur’an is, and how perfect the Qur’an is for the purpose of empowering our Ummah intellectually.

Shaykh Ahmed al-Arafi started by expressing his joy at seeing the youth taking move forward with Islamic initiatives. He then discussed idea of a Qur’anic system of education. He outlined the way a child should be educated with the Qur’an to produce a strong Muslim of perfect character who is constantly seeking knowledge and bettering him/herself.

Imam Abdul Nasir Jangda addressed spirituality in the Quran. He passionately spoke about the Qur’ans ability to revive hearts that have died due to the lack of a relationship with Allah. He explained how the Qur’an is a spiritual median between the slave and his Lord.

The conference exceeded the expectations of not only the organizers, but many of the people in attendance.

[It], was, in my eyes, a GREAT Success. People from all corners of DFW came to attend this conference. There were Imams from all over as well. -Br. Mauz, Garland, TX

I left with a feeling of awe at the thought that by just educating ourselves with/from/of the Qur’an, we can attain so much. I hope to attend more in the future Inshaallah. - Sr. Aaminah, Richardson, TX

One of the most important things that I took away from this conference was to make sure I have a relationship with Allah. I can’t wait until the next one! - Saadia Hashmi, Plano, TX

I would attend these Lectures every month if you had something similar. You guys did an excellent job! May Allah bless everyone involved. Please continue to do these events in the future. - Br. Tarek, Ft. Worth, TX

After a long time, I really felt that a program of a large scale had a strong spiritual effect on every participant. It had the numbers of a mini conference but the feel of an intensive. -Br. Riad, Carrollton, TX

To get a small taste of the conference view the slide-show below. The videos and mp3 downloads of the conference follow. At the end are 2 additional videos. The first is a compilation of clips from the conference including some behind the scenes interviews with some of the Imams. The second is a compilation made by one of the attendees of the conference.