The Air was Qāsimiyy

Far from its campus, old and new, the Naperville area was graced with the presence of Darul Qasim for its Benefit Dinner on Saturday, September 9th. The venue was transformed by the Darul Qasim volunteers and organizers into an environment of blessing, worthy to receive the company of angels who, by Allah’s fadl, no doubt covered this auspicious gathering dedicated to Allah (ﷻ‎) and His Messenger (ﷺ‎).

We began with the Qur’an, and Allah’s words were recited by a Darul Qasim student, to remind us all that every seeker begins his or her quest with Allah and ends in Allah. We continued to hear from students who reminded us that the first institution of learning, the “Suffa” was established in Medina and how the institutionalization of learning and its academic nature was inherent to Islamic education and civilization. We were taken through examples of how scholars like al-Nasafi developed the discipline of aqidah to defend the tradition against arguments like those that originate from atheism.

We heard from aspiring Muslima students who reminded us of the rich contributions that women have made to the Islamic intellectual tradition, beginning with our mothers, Aisha (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا) and Hafsa (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا), and the daughter of the Prophet (ﷺ‎), Fatima (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا). Moreover, how that contribution continues to the modern day, whether in academic study or philanthropy. My daughter was very inspired by these presentations, and saw them as an invitation to join this great legacy.

Of course, we were then treated to the words of Imam Omar Suleiman. He reminded us so eloquently of how the Prophet (ﷺ‎) sent ambassadors to the rulers of other nations, and how these ambassadors were specially chosen for their qualities to represent Islam. He shared his confidence that the students at Darul Qasim would be those ambassadors in this society, and would be up to the responsibility that such a position holds. It is perhaps no accident that the analogy of ambassadors was chosen for this evening, as the pinnacle year of study at Darul Qasim is called the ambassador program.

We were then treated to a dialogue between Shaykh Amin Kholwadia and Imam Omar Suleiman. Shaykh Amin reminded us that we have a tremendous role to play in this society, by engaging with the mainstream, in order to benefit it from our Islamic civilizational values. We can uplift society by using our intellectual tradition to solve the problems of society. This is the universal aspect of our tradition, it can be applied to any context, and we must be of benefit in our American context.

We are also reminded that Darul Qasim needs our financial support to make this reality come true. The vision of Darul Qasim College is to become a university in the next five years, with the 7 departments of Darul Qasim becoming its 7 colleges. With Allah’s fadl, we can begin to normalize the Sunni orthodoxy and use the platform of Darul Qasim to restore Islamic civilizational values and the relevance of the Islamic intellectual tradition to the American, and insha’Allah, the worldwide context.

We ended with the Darul Qasim anthem, a poetic reflection about Darul Qasim and the environment of scholarship from which it originates, and which it hopes to promote. It was indeed a night where the air was Qāsimiyy.

May Allah (ﷻ‎) bless Darul Qasim College, its founder and faculty, its staff and students, the board members, donors, and all its well wishers with every success. May we all continue to benefit from the shade of this willow tree. Ameen.

The Darul Qasim Anthem

Darul Qasim College · The Darul Qasim Anthem

Performed by Ali Keeler • Lyrics by Javeed Chida • Inspired by Shaykh Mohammed Amin Kholwadia

We come, these weary travelers
To sit beneath the willow shade
The journey may be long, but who
Can wither an intention made

We rest against the willow trunk
And feel the fall of willow leaf
The journey may be long, but how
Can hardship pass without relief