Friday Night Revive: How to Love
by Sayyid Ali Nasaruddin
DISCLAIMER: I am a very sappy, cheesy, wordy and overly and unnecessarily emotional writer. But you know what, FNR is just that real to me that it brings out those qualities in me against my better judgment.
Ustadh Usama Canon always mentions that even those who are born Muslims usually find a time in their life where they either re-commit themselves to Islam or decide not to practice anymore. Personally, I always tried to re-commit myself. This constant effort has led to a lot of overzealousness and behavior that I still regret to this day. But I was desperate. I needed a way to make Islam real to me and in the process I hit many speed bumps. I praise Allah for all of my experiences though because it’s thanks to all of it that I was able to grow.
On my path to finding a way to re-commit myself, or at least begin to (Allah makes it easy for us and guides and keeps us on the right path. Everyone say amin), I couldn’t find a way to make religion really matter to me. I used to see uncles crying when they read Surah Fatihah or prayed one of the five daily prayers and I never understood how I could gain that. I desired so much to be able to have Allah become a reality in my heart to at least that extent. The teachers, mentors, and beloved friends that helped me begin to tread the path of re-commitment taught me that we can’t dive into religion. We all need stepping stones, otherwise (God protect us. Everyone say amin) we risk tumbling down all the way back to the bottom every time.
My teachers who helped me begin to re-commit by pacing myself and taking it a step at a time focused on one thing: the Prophet (S). Lady Aisha (R) says that the Prophet (S) is a walking and talking Qur’an. He is al-Mu’allim, the teacher, Khayri Khalqillah, the best of creation, Habib Allah, the beloved of Allah, and so much more. The Prophet (S) is our role model and we learn from him in every aspect of our lives. My teachers stressed that developing a relationship with the Prophet is one of the most important initial steps that we should take. They said that first you must know who the Prophet is; because once you begin to do that you take the most important step, which is to love him.
But love is indescribable. I was too used to hearing everywhere that we should love the Prophet more than anyone and I had turned it into a lip service where if I said it, it meant that I felt it. I told my teachers that I didn’t understand how I could come to love someone in the truest sense of love. I told them that I keep on reading and learning about the Prophet (S) but I can only digest so much information. Their solution was simple. They asked me what I would do if I was in love with someone whom I could see. The first thing that instantly came in my mind was running around a tree and singing a Bollywood song.
Surprisingly enough that’s the answer that my teachers were looking for. They told me a Hadith about how the Sahabah expressed their love for the Prophet (S) besides the obvious of following his footsteps. Love cannot be contained to only one form of expression and Alhamdulillah, Allah gives us the permission to express love in different ways with only a few parameters for us to follow. They told me about how the sahabah would sing and dance (obviously not in the way that comes to our minds in today’s increasingly corrupting world) and express their love for al-Mustafa, the chosen one, (S). My teachers essentially told me to express whatever feelings of happiness and gratitude to Allah in a way that was real to me. I had spent my whole life unnecessarily overly restricting myself in the name of being careful and was unsure as to how I could do this. So, I attended a few nashid sessions with Ustadh Usama Canon and Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah at the monthly CMC gatherings and saw how everyone sang along praises of Allah and the Prophet(S) in a halal, permissible way. It’s amazing how much my relationship with Allah and the Prophet (S) has become stronger than a couple years ago. All of a sudden, I find myself inclining towards prayer rather than merely attempting to complete it. I find myself being more present when I recite the Qur’an in ways that I didn’t know my short attention span and lack of knowledge of the Arabic knowledge could handle. I found what I had been looking for but I wanted to have it more than just once a month.
So my friends from UIC, Zamaan Sohel and Asif Mazhar, decided to get together once a week at the Loyola musallah. Friday Night Revive began immediately second semester last year and Alhamdulillah it has been through a lot as have I. Unfortunately, I won’t be continuing my classes at Loyola for a while and won’t be able to participate. But, Alhamdulillah, my intention of wanting to share my experience and embark on the journey of love with all my friends manifested into people becoming transformed because of these gatherings. Although I wasn’t prepared for FNR to have to go on without me so soon, I’m confident that as long as this intention of just trying to get closer to Allah and His beloved servant (S) lives on in the hearts of those on campus, FNR will continue to benefit our community. May Allah accept, everyone say amin :).
6
dance (obviously not in the way that comes to our minds in today’s increasingly corrupting world) and express their love for al-Mustafa, the chosen one, (S). My teachers essentially told me to express whatever feelings of happiness and gratitude to Allah in a way that was real to me. I had spent my whole life unnecessarily overly restricting myself in the name of being careful and was unsure as to how I could do this. So, I attended a few nashid sessions with Ustadh Usama Canon and Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah at the monthly CMC gatherings and saw how everyone sang along praises of Allah and the Prophet(S) in a halal, permissible way. It’s amazing how much my relationship with Allah and the Prophet (S) has become stronger than a couple years ago. All of a sudden, I find myself inclining towards prayer rather than merely attempting to complete it. I find myself being more present when I recite the Qur’an in ways that I didn’t know my short attention span and lack of knowledge of the Arabic knowledge could handle. I found what I had been looking for but I wanted to have it more than just once a month.
So my friends from UIC, Zamaan Sohel and Asif Mazhar, decided to get together once a week at the Loyola musallah. Friday Night Revive began immediately second semester last year and Alhamdulillah it has been through a lot as have I. Unfortunately, I won’t be continuing my classes at Loyola for a while and won’t be able to participate. But, Alhamdulillah, my intention of wanting to share my experience and embark on the journey of love with all my friends manifested into people becoming transformed because of these gatherings. Although I wasn’t prepared for FNR to have to go on without me so soon, I’m confident that as long as this intention of just trying to get closer to Allah and His beloved servant (S) lives on in the hearts of those on campus, FNR will continue to benefit our community. May Allah accept, everyone say amin :).