Bismillahirahmaniraheem. Over the last few years, I have attended countless Islamic events in an effort to increase knowledge of my deen and among these events, I found NYM INK’s Training Day to be one of a kind. I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect at first and there were many questions in my mind that were actually making me hesitant to attend. Is this an event I really NEED to attend? Am I not already doing my job as good Muslim by practicing my deen openly in the western society? What is their approach going to be? Will they be lecturing us to inconsiderately push people towards Islam? Or would this be yet another event where the true essence of it would be lost in an effort to make it comical so the youth wouldn’t get bored? Can I afford the risk of spending the whole weekend on this course and not catching up on school? These were honest questions that I’m sure went through the minds of most of those who attended as well as those who didn’t attend.
After a bit of persuasion from my friends who were part of organizing committee, I decided to attend. To my relief, most of my questions were answered in the first day’s introduction. The importance, responsibility, and need of dawah in our society were clearly laid out for us. Day Two moved on to “Preparing the Da’ee”, this was the core of the course, and it covered everything from a Da’ee having moral excellence to the challenges in the path and the reward. The lessons taught to us were some of the most beneficial ones we have ever been offered. After an intense day of focusing on the character, the attendees were ready for the dawah techniques. The second part of the course covered how to deal with and approach different people, how to have an effective conversation without imposing, and how to present Islam with confidence. The approach was one that was honest and mature and what made it so powerful was the fact that every lesson was packed with proofs and examples from the Quran, the Sunnah, and inspiring stories of the Sahaba and Scholars.
Personally, I had always resorted to the more silent form of dawah because I have strong belief in my religion. However, I was always hesitant to speak to non-Muslims about Islam directly and I didn’t want to sound arrogant or pushy or as if I didn’t respect their views. I hoped that just by seeing me practicing my religion, they would find interest in Islam and want to learn more about it. Every once in a while a classmate or co-worker would ask a question and I would answer it to the best of my ability, but that’s about as far as it would go. At times I would find my self struggling to answer their questions which were based on so many different aspects of life and trying to answer each one separately,iIt felt very haphazard. Although, it was better than them being completely ignorant about Islam, it didn’t feel sufficient or productive to just be teaching them some random bits of Islam. Identifying this type of problem and dealing with it was just one of the many dawah techniques I learned at this event. Also, the case studies we engaged in were also very relatable for the attendees and it was a relief to learn that there were effective and practical ways of dealing with such situations. I found that the event gave us much more than just dawah techniques it presented to us a whole new path of learning and the motivation to follow that path. It raised the bar greatly for the level of excellence that we strive for in every day life. I would recommend anyone and everyone to make an effort to attend.
Amina R.
To see pictures from Training Day Vancouver 2009, please click here…
