Our time in Germantown Yesterday

As Salaamu alaikum wa rahmatulaah

The lecture yesterday in Germantown was very nice Mashaa Allaah, the food, the vendors, the unity of muslimahs and the main reason….the beneficial knowledge conveyed by the speakers.

After we were seated we had some time before the first lecturer, instead of just sitting, we kind of sprung into action towards the vendors and appetizers. That was fun (lol)! Well…we were settled down from that by Hasan As-Somali opening the talk. Now My notes are a little rough, and I tried to take down as much as I could catch. You know they talk kind of fast Mashaa Allaah. I may sound like a rambling kid…lol…but Inshaa Allaah you will be able to benefit from them.

Bro. Hasan As-Somali started off by saying that Our deeds are all that is left in the hereafter and not to worry about the worldly affairs, getting caught up in the gheebah and the likes of.
He said our tongues are a blessing from Allaah Subhaana wa at ala but we must use them correctly, safeguard and preserve them. Our tongue can be a means to elevate ourselves in the deen.
He told us not to be ungrateful for Allaah Subhaana wa ta ala guiding us to Islam and to have this in our heart. If the heart is upright then so are you.
He said it’s important to be affected by the speech of Allaah (Quran) and allow it to enter your heart.
Then he went back to talking about ghee bah and said the things that you say can affect your hereafter and defined ghee bah as mentioning your brother or sister in a manner that they would not like, even if it is true. And mentioned a hadeeth in Sahih Muslim that “The Tale carrier will not enter Paradise.” and to be careful not to backbite and lie because it can affect our time here (dunya) and the hereafter (akhira) and lieing can lead to Jannah (Paradise) or Jahannum (hellfire).
He said this dunya is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the disbeliever. And if we want Jannah, we have to work for it. And whoever strives for Allaah’s sake will be guided.
He talked about spreading secrets/bedroom secrets and such and within that gave us the 3 signs of hypocrisy:
1. The person lies
2. They break promises
3. They are not trustworthy

And to be careful not to carry any of these signs to allow hypocrisy to enter your heart.
He relayed a saying that abusing a muslim without any rights is a sin and fighting him is kufr. And elaborated that not saying that that person will be a kafir but is like imitating the kuffar by fighting a muslim which is a sin as well.

We then went to Q and A.

Someone asked a question about backbiting (not sure exactly how the question went) but he said….The one who tries to remain silent will be safe from backbiting..(lol, but it so true). To be careful of being rude when speaking your mind otherwise remain silent. And it is from Islam to make your sisters feel good about themselves.

Someone asked a question about using face book and he touched on how we should not use it to expose our sins and the likes.

And he also advised us to dress properly, with the overhead abaya and not to show our awrah. That the shoulder abayas show our awrah more that an overhead does. He called the tight shoulder abayas “catwalk” abayas…lol. And advised us to be careful not to show our awrah.

After that very beneficial lecture came to a close, it was time to eat. The food was great and was enough for everyone to benefit Mashaa Allaah. We had a choice of either fish or chicken (both baked) with rice, corn, and mac and cheese and the dessert was either cake or peach cobbler. Yup it was as good as it sounds…lol.

The next lecturer was Bro. Taalib Abdullah which I have even rougher notes  trying to keep up with him, but Inshaa Allaah you will benefit.

He started by telling us sisters to group up according to the month that we were born but to do it without saying a word. Didn’t take us long to figure out how to do it remaining quiet. You saw some sister holding up fingers representing their month, me…I had to write mine down unless I had two extra fingers I didn’t know about…lol. So I held up my “December” sign and everyone began grouping up. He then told us to sit where we are and we proved that we can get things done and make a difference by changing something at the same time being quiet. And my sis-in-law will probably have to help with these notes Inshaa Allaah. But he said we should be kinder and more affectionate towards one another. To remain calm and peaceful and being that way when dealing with the people.
He said lowering our voice (and not being so loud and argumentative) shows self assurance and that you are telling the truth and for us to show proper etiquette to the people.

He spoke about Music (Hip Hop) in particular because it is rapidly becoming the loud, rude voice of society. He talked about how it invites to the hellfire and secretly lures you to join the forces of those who worship the shaitan.

He said if there was any benefit in raising your voices,  the jackass would not be specifically named! That speaking in a normal tone is more rewarding and beneficial.

And he elaborated deeper into those subjects but I could not keep up note wise.

At this point, the event was coming to a close and everyone did their last minute shopping, their goodbyes and gathering their belongings. I was just happy I didn’t have to drive and Abi got a chance to put his van on the road since he bought it. He had it completely curtained for us to be comfortable while he drove. We felt so safe and protected.

Well..walhamdulillaah, Allaah blessed us to have a safe trip to see our sisters and benefit. And May Allaah Subhaana wa at ala allow us to continue to benefit from one another, Aameen.

May Allaah forgive me for anything that I may have relayed incorrectly, Aameen.