Shubhan Allah it was a successful conference as always n I agree wit the above comments.. I think there should be a varity in the different Shaikhs tht will be speaking.. And also if we had different topics to listen to.. I mean in today...'s society topics such as Dawaah, youths, married couples, drugs (and the fact tht it is haramm, more emphasis on the other haraam things tht some of our youths are busy doing and destroying their lives in the pleasures of this dunya, how to prepare for the Hereafter, music which is also haram, how to bring up ur kids in a non- Muslim country ie: most ppl don't know tht they shud enroll their kids in Islamic school etc. Have various and creative advertsing for the event both should target Muslims n non- Muslims.. So insh'Allah we can reach the non Muslims...
Please read read this newspaper South Asian Focus.. A letter published in this newspaper by a Hindu was has ill thoughts about the perspective of Islam n he writes tht how zakir wudnt enter.. The name of the article is A Journey of Faith?? Jazak ul Allah ul khairun I hope u get to read this rubbish article n tell the editor this shuolnt hv been published .. See More

Asalamu alaykum, definately agree with the above comments, and mainly on the pricing and seating. The previous years pricing and seating plan were definately fair. Also the salaat area, there needs to be a division between the men and women.... It makes it hard for those who wear a niqaab to pray without praying with one on; due to the men walking around where the women pray. Jazzahkula qheyr.

Also the male and female intermingling was too much, was not much of a division.See More

thanks for asking.

1) I believe we may want to come to the seating arrange same as last year.

2) If we can afford, we may run buses from areas like pickering/oakville etc. TTC is accessible but it does not go everywhere. ( depends how ma...ny ppl want it too).

3) Also, if you sit at the back there is often noise coming from Bazaar. Can it be prevented? It happened last year and this year too.

everything was mashAllah good. I will post again if I think of anything. and just want to mention and thank the organizers on providing the water container for the washrooms. It was very thoughtful of whoever thought about it.
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JazakAllah for asking.
1. Lesser importance should be nasheed events, as they took up *a lot* of valuable time--Not to mention the grey area that nasheeds get into when it comes to Islamic rulings. Here is an entertaining take on "Islamic" ...nasheeds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpPGdyjkc_E&feature=PlayList&p=93C5AC1C31CFF5BD&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

2. A live Q&A session with the audience (just like the one last year).

3. An attempt to call speakers such as Dr. Bilal Philips, Sheikh Khalid Yasin, Sheikh Abu Usaamah at Thahabi, Sheikh Assim Al Hakim and Nauman Ali Khan.

This year's conference was amazing. InshaAllah next year's will be even better. JazakAllah for listening to my input.See More

it was a great conference. i was especially pleased with the mothers room, even though my kids are big enough to sit in the conference, it was a place i could relax and take off niqab. so i hope you continue with the mothers room, maybe ev...en a sisters room separate from the mothers room so sisters who want privacy can also hear the lecture well.
the #1 thing for me that if you can provide next year, i would be very happy with.... healthy food choices!!! carrying around our food all day is no fun, but living off biryani and shawarma all weekend is kinda sickening, so if you can invite someone to sell real food, like cultures (i think thats the name?) or even just market stuff like fruits, cut up veggies, sandwiches,salads, etc. that would b great. See More

New seating plan was good. Some of these comments are being overtly conservative, the second u step out of the convention centre ur exposed to way worse things, so relax..

English translation of Arabic nasheeds would be good. Also, some... female scholars would b a welcome change.

The posters were totally unappealing to anyone besides "practicing" Muslims. A poster with pictures of 20 bearded men, is not going to attract anyone to come. The posters should have been simple with words to make curious n interest to non-Muslims.

Keep up the good work organizers, and keep working towards making this conference an even bigger event, Inshallah See More

Assalam-o-alekum wa rehmatuAllah wabarakah...

1) It would have been nice to pay for only the day you are coming in for, but the pricing of seats going higher when closer you get to the stage is kinda shady.It automatically implies to a nor...mal mind (like myself) that it doesnt matter if you have special needs, or you are thristy for knowledge and need concentration rather than side-convo, you need to have money for the luxury.

2) Although it was optional, what was the purpose of asking for "ethnicity" in the registeration form? Is Islam ethnical? No!! So?

3) I totally agree with the Q&A session..there should be more of them , infact every lecturer should open some so that it let others assess their questions in the light of the lecture to help them understand if how much info they have actually gathered from the lecture.

4) There should be some small classes dedicated to non-Muslims with free entry who just want to get A,B,C of Islam. I brought my non-Muslim friend in last years convocation and despite of me trying translating few commonly used terms and concepts, she thought speakers were using too much Arabic (lol)

5) Free admission for Non-Muslims should be advertised to the attendees (as I think it was the case this year)

6) Bring Zakir Naik!

JazakAllah for organizing such an amazing event every year :)See More

alsam alaikum,

My friend suggested that may be we can try to conclude the conference at maghrib because it will be much convenient for those sisters and brothers who take public transit and are coming alone. Going home at 11-12 is very lat...e especially for sisters who take transit and go alone. Its a stress for their parents as they are concerned about their safety. we could start a bit early, say 8 or 9. It is possible because most of us go to school/work at 8 or 9. and then we can conclude at maghrib. See More

Asalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu,

Jazzahkula Qheyr for the brother above who mentioned the Nasheeds. Something I left out. Not to say nasheeds are haraam, but we must always remember that the shaydan will make a person do a 'permi...ssible' deed of less importance in comparison to a greater deed. There are many rulings and conditions in regards to Nasheeds, and our main goal should be keeping the conferences and lectures on the Haqq, and sunnah of the Prophet - (saw), There are many saheeh reports that the Prophet (saw) and his noble companions enjoyed poetry;

It was narrated in saheeh reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his noble Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) listened to verse, recited it (as nasheed) and asked others to recite it, both when they were travelling and when they stayed at home, in their gatherings and whilst they were working, individually, as in the case of Hassaan ibn Thaabit, ‘Aamir ibn al-Akwa’ and Anjashah (may Allaah be pleased with them), and in unison, as in the hadeeth of Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) which describes the digging of the ditch (al-khandaq). Anas said:

When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw how exhausted and hungry we were, he said (in verse):
“O Allaah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansaar and the Muhaajireen.”
And they said in response:

“We are the ones who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad, to make jihaad for as long as we live.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3/1043)

So its not to say that they are impermissble, but let's remember the shaydan and his attempt to drive us away from reciting quran but more into listening to nasheeds. Nasheeds must not have you sway to a tune and resemble the kafirs. Subhannallah - Not to be rude or anything, afwaan if it comes off like that, but the 'entertainment' section; felt like a concert. We have clapping. AND that needs to be addressed, because clapping is not of the sunnah after the lectures.

Clapping during parties is one of the actions of jaahiliyyah. The least that can be said about it is that it is makrooh (disliked), but the evidence suggests rather that it is haraam, because the Muslims are not allowed to resemble the kuffaar. Allah says describing the kuffaar of Makkah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Their Salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e. the Ka‘bah at Makkah) was nothing but whistling and clapping of hands”
[al-Anfaal 8:35]

The Sunnah is, when the believer sees something that he likes or dislikes, to say ‘Subhaan Allaah (Glory be to Allaah)’ or ‘Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great),’ as was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in many ahaadeeth.
Clapping is prescribed specifically for women if something alarms them during the prayer, or they are praying with the men and the imaam makes a mistake in the prayer. In that case they should draw his attention to that by clapping, whereas men should do so by saying ‘Subhaan Allaah’, as was narrated in the saheeh Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). From this it may be known that clapping on the part of men implies imitation of kaafirs and women, and all of that is forbidden. And Allaah is the source of strength.

We had clapping with the nasheds to a beat, following after the songs, subhannallah it honestly felt like a show. Let's go along with the conference title. The Divine Manual - we should have had more quran recitation, rather than nasheed singing. It was too long, and took up valuable time that another lecture of more importance could have been discussed. The amount of money being paid is honestly not to listen nasheeds, it's to get naseeha, for the non-muslims (May Allah guide them) to receive dawah and gain guidance in this wonderful deen.

So insha allah, these are just a couple of things that could be changed for the years to come, If ive said anything offensive - please forgive me - that was not my intention at all! If ive said anything incorrect, afwaan - anything correct comes from the wording of Allah(swt), and that incorrect from the shaydan. I only write this in hopes to get change implemented.
Nasheeds are beautiful, but let's remember that which is much more pleasant which is kallamallah - the words of Allah (swt). The Prophet (saw) said that a person gets 10 hasanah for every letter you recite. Not alif lam mim as a letter but alif is a letter lam is a letter and mim is a letter. How much Hasanah do we get from listening to nasheeds?

Definately need to go with the previous ways the conference was. Year 1 - masha allah was the best out of all of the 3.

Jazzahkula qheyr and Asalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu.See More

Thanks for asking.
1. I think that the prices for the seating were a bit excessive. If you think about it, near $200.00 seats for a family of three or four is an unreasonable amt to ask. I'd hope that you can lower the prices for the up...-front seats drastically.

2. Yeah I agree a lot of the topics strayed from the Quran, albeit I was there on just Sunday. I didnt feel any more connected with our 'manual for life' after the conference.

3. As for the nasheeds - come on people, the Prophet permit music at weddings and celebrations (depending on the content of coursE). Lets not be rigid without basis. Based on what we know about the Prophet, I dont think he would dislike people singing about Allah. He let little girls sing about the victory of his battle. But yeah I thought it was a bit odd that nasheeds were being played during pryaer :)

4. I was totally looking forward to a Q and A and had a question prepared. I was surprised there wasnt one. I think there should be a question and answer session at least 3/4 through each day to break things up a bit and for people to have specific concerns and questions addressed.

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!See More

‎@Shereeza:
Regarding nasheeds, the fact that you say "lets not be rigid without basis" leads me to believe that you have not seen my evidence presented above :)
In regards to what you said, there are EXCEPTIONS given to weddings and eid ce...lebrations *but* with a few conditions that you have not stated. I do not want to misquote them, so here they are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAq7XfEEYN8&feature=PlayList&p=93C5AC1C31CFF5BD&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1#t=6m49s (pls watch the ending of part 5 and all of part 6)
I urge you to see the whole lecture, so here it is again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpPGdyjkc_E&feature=PlayList&p=93C5AC1C31CFF5BD&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1See More