Topics of Study

Seerah

Studying the life of the Prophet in a new way: Analyzing the different roles the Prophet played in his life:

• The prophet as a role model: loving the prophet, following the sunnah, different kinds of sunan (related to usul al-fiqh), the prophet as a role model for the muslim individual.
• The prophet’s spirituality: reflection/meditation before prophecy, the prophet’s method and approach to zikr, qiam, quranThe prophet in his home: relations with wives, kids, neighbors.
• The prophet in society: helping people, sharing concerns, personal characteristics (truthfulness, patience, generosity, etc).
• The prophet as a leader: leadership qualities, how a leader deals with his group.
• The speaker will collect incidents of the seerah and the hadeeth of the prophet pbuh under the topics above to be delivered sometimes as lectures sometimes as open discussions.

Usool ul Fiqh

o         Covers the basics of usool al fiqh, sources of tashree in detail

o         mazahib (schools of thought in fiqh) and ijtihad. What this means for us today, especially living in America

o        adab of ikhtilaf, and manners with the scholars

Purification of the Self

• The individual is the basic unit of change (evidence from al-quran and sunnah of the importance of self-development, including characteristics of the heart). Changing oneself is the best way to change the ummah.
• What does it mean to be a muslim in general (belief, worship, behavior), with a focus on the importance of behavior in this life and the hereafter.
• Characteristics of the heart that are related to belief in Allah swt but have an impact on the way a believer deals with life, like yaqeen (certainty), patience, reda (contentment), thankfulness, tawakul (trust/reliance), etc.
• Giving up bad characteristics and gaining good characteristics: Going thru the bad characteristics (for instance, diseases of the heart and tongue with a discussion of how to get rid of them) and going thru the good characteristics related to the heart/nafs and how to obtain them.

Gender Relations

• How does gender relations fit into the Islamic social scheme, haya (modesty), Islamic adab, and into the bigger Islamic picture?
• On campus, in daily social life, in society: interactive workshop with actual scenarios and case studies of interactions in the MSA for example.
• Using Islamic sources, learn the actual restrictions and guidelines, what is the gray area. Are there different standards? Different levels of conservatism/liberalism that are acceptable?

Dawa Track

• Addressing and answering difficult questions about Islam with regards to
  • Relations between Muslims and non Muslims (Individual, community, state relations)
  • Questions raised around the life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH (Marrying more than four, Jihad, relations to people of other Faith, etc…)
  • The Quran
• The Role of the Muslim
  • The Role of the Muslim Student  in the US
  • Between Individualism and collectiveness.
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Purpose of Life and Applying Islam

• The bigger picture on a civilizational level of why humans exist.
• Purpose of life from al-quran, the meaning of worship, istikhlaf and other purposes of creation of mankind.
• How to fulfill these purposes. Importance of not separating Islamic activism from the other activities that we get involved in during school years or after graduation (career, marriage. etc).
• The role of the Muslim ummah towards mankind, the role of the individual in fulfilling the ummah’s role, and the means to do it.

Personal Development

• Analyzing yourself, your Islam, the concept of muhaasabah.
• Coming up with a systematic plan for your development and implementing it.
• Starting by spiritual development (characters of a sound heart and how to develop and maintain it).
• Brotherhood, naseeha, and cooperation for obedience, the concept of mentor.
• Concept of gradualism.
• The baseline that one should not go below.
• Causes of al-fotoor and how to treat it.
• Keeping a balance between self-development and activism for the sake of both.
• Jihad an-nafs and the obstacles.