The Straight Path (TSP) Convention 2019: Flee to Allah

The Straight Path (TSP) Convention 2019: "Flee to Allah"

30-31 March 2019,

@Menara Kembar Bank Rakyat, Kuala Lumpur

Thank you and JazakumUllahu khayran - may Alllah reward all of you with good - to TSP team for the opportunity once again to be volunteering and speaking for TSP Convention 2019. To the main organizers, Dakwah Corner Bookstore (DCB), Yayasan Ta'lim (YT) and Par Ikhsan Solutions, thank you for believing in me and entrusting your amanah upon me to deliver and address to our attendees. The organizing committee took a risk by giving me this opportunity once again, and I really hope I met your expectations, and really apologize for any shortcomings on my behalf, if I did anything to offend anyone or disappoint the team in anyway, if there are any issues.

Many thanks to my fellow team members - the awesome TSP 2019 volunteering team - and also to the audience for your attendance in support of the event. Your very presence alone supports and keeps these events alive and kicking. BarakAllahu fikum.

May Allah keep us all steadfast to Flee to Him, keep us humble and sincere, and may we all be united in Jannatul Firdaus in the company of the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam).

If you would so oblige, for those of you who attended, please do keep in touch and share with me your feedback, on what areas you perceived I did well, and where I need to improve. I know I still have much to learn and a lot to work on, and I really need to hear from perspective of a third party on where you see I need to brush up and improve. I have received a lot of raw honest feedback and I welcome all of them.

Your brother,

Faisal @ Abu Muawiyah

Every year I learn and develop a lot through involvement with TSP, but I think this year was the most challenging and personally fulfilling one, marking a major accomplishment milestone in my life, as it is the very first full-length talk I have delivered to a public audience.

On top of that, the talk "Mark of Muslims: Bravery and Generosity" was undoubtedly the single most challenging speaking assignment I've done in my life, and quite frankly the most life-changing one for me on a personal level, too Alhamdulillah.

It made me really reflect back what it means to be "brave" and "generous" with respect to my role as a believer (mukmin) in Allah and the Last Day, which areas I have been lacking in and really need to improve. And in the weeks leading up to the convention itself, assessing how I can put these ideas into practice in my own day to day life - from my role as a husband, father, colleague, senior, coach, friend, and so on.

Eventually I realized how we need to simplify this topic and scale it down to practical working steps.

Carving the speech was a real rollercoaster adventure in and of itself (more on that later) - but at the end of the day, just the personal journey alone - of self-discovery and implementing bravery/generosity in my own personal & professional life - was a profound life-changing one to me, and for that alone I am grateful to Allah and then to the committee for assigning it. I make du'aa that Allah plants true sincerity, acceptance and barakah in what I have delivered to the listeners. Amin.

This conference marks the 5th year in a row I am assigned as the MC (Master of Ceremonies) and Moderator for the event since the inception of TSP in 2015.

I learn a lot from MC-ing in any event especially for TSP, and this one definitely marks a few exciting new milestones and learning experiences for me. Firstly, we decided to "experiment" the idea of an online live quiz via Kahoot in an effort to include more audience participation and add a new layer of competitiveness and excitement. And boy, was it exciting subhanAllah. Although we had some technical glitches due to internet connection, it seemed to generate a lot of excitement (and as my wife reported after the event, even the mums in the Mothers Room put on their Game Faces and actively particpate, masha Allah).

The Q&A Speakers' Forum as always was indeed a very beneficial learning experience as well, this year in particular because of how systematic the questions were compiled and relayed, and how brief concise the Shuyukh responded to the questions.  We managed to go through almost 20 questions within just over an hour, masha Allah barakah.

TSP was in fact my very first MC-ing experience at a convention. Reflecting back at the origin of my MC-ing the reason I got myself into volunteering as MC for Islamic events was upon the realization there was a severe shortage of Malaysian brothers who had English MC-ing capabilities. Although I was introvert in nature and didn't really have a 'natural talent' of speaking, I decided to give it a try, to train myself and step up with in the intention  to fill in that void, to be the change I wanted to see.

Of course, it was a flawed effort that needed much improvement, but ever since then, I was determined continuously put conscious effort towards improving my delivery in that role. I would learn and take inspiration from every form of public speaking I can observe around me, ranging from Islamic lectures, professional trainings, management presentations, television hosts, TED talks, podcasts and wedding ceremonies, and I have much to learn as I continue to hone my craft in this area.

Looking back at my humble origins, I realized and I want others to realize : if I can do it, so can you. It's just a question of "how badly do you want it?:.

Insha Allah, I have future plans of compiling some content with fellow local speakers on how we can develop and groom our youth towards this role; perhaps compile a short course, podcast channel, etc.

Let me know your thoughts on how best we can achieve this, and also do let me know if you have any feedback/comments/suggestions on how I did as whole.

New Muslim, Jon Lian - the best person in the whole convention, hands down.

Alhamdulillah, The Straight Path convention 2019 witnessed brother Jon Lian becoming Muslim, as he took the Syahadah (declaration of faith) onstage with Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem.

SubhanAllah, the experience of witnessing any great act of conversion is such an overwhelmingly emotional one - to see a fellow brother enter the fold of Islam and become our family. Profession into Islam erases all of ones sins prior to that, but retains all of the good deeds he has done prior.

And so on that day, in the sight of Allah, Jon is the BEST person amongst the thousands who were at the event. Allahu Akbar what an amazing feeling!

And it's so exciting watching the event unfold, as flocks of people gathered backstage to meet brother Jon to congratulate him, shake his hand, give him a hug and share some love - it was a truly spectacular sight! Beating any 'celebrity meet and greet' (you don't normally hug celebrities whilst in tears).

It was such a warm atmosphere... Sheikh Assim was there as well, but this time, the one in the lime light was the companion of Sheikh Assim.. brother Jon Lian.

I also met brother Derek (a.k.a. Sulaiman) who was responsible to bring Jon to the event. Apparently brother Derek has been bringing Jon to islamic classes for about 1 year, and finally made the decision to take his syahadah in this event. Man, now EVERY good deed that Jon does will go into Derek's account in the Hereafter. BarakAllahu fikum!

Let's all play our role to support him to ease his way as part of our family. 

May Allah keep him steadfast on iman until the day he meets Him.

Meet my Gym Buddy

This picture shows the registration form to the gym at the hotel we stayed. After my talk on Day 1, because I was so tensed up and relieved at the same time, I went back to the hotel and immediately headed for the Gym.

But something interesting happened. A few minutes after I walked in, another man signed in, and it seemed to be a person by the name of  "Assim"

Yes, QaddarAllah - I was actually working out with Sheikh Assim at the Gym. And here I want to highlight two major points.

Firstly, despite over past years being involved with many islamic events and meeting so many different Shuyukh and speakers from all over the world, people who I truly love and respect for the sake of Allah and feel immense honor to be meeting them, I NEVER take selfies with shuyukh, out of my immense respect towards them.

Especially if it's relatively private times which I think they may feel uneasy if others were to share publicly; such as in this case, the gym, where Sheikh Assim was in his gym attire working out, with his biceps/triceps popping out (more on that later). But I never once took advantage of the private opportunity of a photo, even to "steal" a shot. Granted, I can always provide reassurance that I will NOT share them on any social media platforms, but it might still bother them and make them feel uneasy. How can you live with the thought that you made your fellow Muslim brother uncomfortable with you, let alone a Sheikh you benefit knowledge from?

And here I would also like to address the issue of treating Shuyukh (i.e. Sheikhs) like celebrities. In my years volunteering I have found that people are always swarming to take pictures with Shaykh so-and-so. This is not something that they are comfortable with and is NOT something they want. The salafus-soleh (righteous predecessors of the past) constantly reminded the ummah not to love fame and glory, and our Shuyukh never wanted this for themselves : all they ever wanted was to deliver knowledge to people, and if people benefit from it, WAlhamdulillah, all good is from Allah.

What people need to understand is, people of knowledge are still human beings. When many people come swarming them to take pictures with them, this may have a detrimental effect on their ego, and shaytan will whisper all sorts of wrong ideas - and eventually become a fitnah (test) for them. What I find sad is that people just take picture and then walk away - no sincere greetings or conversations with the Sheikh; just get their "celebrity pic", post it on social media hashtag #Alhamdulillah and leave. It's a very selfish, hollow and superficial interaction. And this kind of defeats the purpose of your attendance; you go to learn, not to tell the whole world how "enlightened" you are simply by being in the presence of sheikh so-and-so.

Treat your Sheikh like a human being - not a trophy to boost up your instagram page.

Greet them, have a good conversation with them, make du'aa for them, give them gifts.

If I had the chance, I would much rather establish a good private connection with the Shaikh and let them know he is appreciated and that I love him for the sake of Allah. That is way more substantial and impactful to him than two thousand people swarming for selfies with them but have no connection whatsoever.

These are human beings too and that feeling of being appreciated at a personal level is something they really treasure and appreciate.

In the exceptional cases that I do take private photos with them (such as the Shaikh in the other photo in this post), I won't do it during the event itself (when I am worried I will trigger a 'trend' for others to request the same) - I will do so in private meetings when I meet them at hotel lobbies, and so on. Even that, I will inquire them as politely as I can for their permission first, and that the photo is really more with the intent of memories that we have established a personal connection and friendship, not "just" as a "claim to fame" that 'I met Shaykh so-and-so'. And I'll get others to snap it for us - not selfies. There's just something.. off-putting.. about selfies. But that's just my opinion.

Second Major point:

My oh my masha Allah. Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem is one seriously BUFF and BUILT sheikh. This guy pumps some serious iron, and take it from me, he's got some serious guns, Allahumma barik.

"The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer" 

And how can i forget to shout out the unsung heroes - my team members and colleagues - the committee of TSP 2019. Awesome work guys 🏼. Not much recognition goes out to the team working behind the scenes, so on behalf of the organizers, speakers and audience, we can only make du'aa that Allah accepts and rewards all your deeds, jazakumUllah khayran 🏼.

Pictured togther are my awesome "speaker buddies", brother Hisham, brother Naqiyuddin and brother Syafiq who helped keep me company and transport us throughout the event. BarakAllahu fikum. Recognition also to the Dream Team Social Media Duo brothers Anas and Ahmad Tahqeeq for their great work on their social media, and their work for the crazy Kahoot quiz; Stage Manager Hafiz, and security strong-man Abuzar, Logistics coordinator Siddiq and Mokhire, and not to forget the Captain of the ship, conference manager Luqman Ramli and his team at Par Ikhsan Solutions.

And of course to everyone else involved. Apologies to the others whom I failed to mention out of my own weakness and ignorance, though I might have forgotten, but Allah never forgets - and I make du'aa that Allah accepts and grants barakah to all your efforts and becomes a valuable investment on Yawmul Qiyamah.. amin!

It was an honor to be working with you and I Wish I could have spent more time with you. Keep up the great work, keep improving, stay humble and stay ikhlas. Looking forward to work with the team again. I love you all for the sake of Allah

Preparing for one of the greatest challenges of my life : "Mark of Muslims: Bravery and Generosity"

Embarking on this challenging journey required a conscious strategic approach. So I asked a simple question:

What do I want to achieve in this talk? What is the result I want?

It all boiled to one simple hope/aspiration : "Strive to inspire. Not to impress".

I am not there to blurt out Quran and Hadith for the sake of showing off how knowledgeable I am, or to prove anything to anyone. In fact, quite the opposite: I consciously recognized that I was the least knowledgeable person in the speakers' lineup. So I have another purpose.

Being fully aware of this, I laid out the following guidelines for my Approach and Strategy in my speech draft :

• Talk is ~45 minutes only, not aimed at giving a comprehensive lecture or study on subject matter

• Main objective : to empower and motivate Listeners and audiences to have tawakkal in Allah and believe in themselves that they can make a difference to change themselves – one step at a time – in particular, with regards to becoming brave and generous for the sake of Allah

• My role : not as a shaikh, scholar or “person of knowledge” – rather as a regular person who relates to the people with the hopes that they can be inspired to take one step forward to change themselves, others around them, and subsequently the ummah as a whole

• Storytelling emphasis. Use relatable, practical stories and examples: personal ones if you have to. Be authentic! As long as it has an impact that others can relate to. Try to minimize avoid hyperbolic examples which people find hard to relate to in today’s times and context (e.g. extreme bravery/generosity which may result in detriment if not balanced)

• Contemporary, non-Muslim examples may also be used if it makes it easier to connect to the audience on a more personal level, to reconcile a balance between ‘modern’ knowledge of 21st century

• Minimize jargon and complicated language, keep it simple

I find it fascinating that someone commented publicly about me that "to me he is just a motivator". Putting aside the condescending manner in which it was said, in hindsight, looking at the guidelines above which I prepared weeks before the event, that was in fact what i was trying to achieve: to motivate others.

I spent dozens of hours researching the subject, and gradually realized how challenging it was because there isn't that much material specifically on the topic of bravery. So I just kept digging and digging - reading, listening, enlisting personal help from other friends, family members, and ustadzs to help me with the content. And Alhamdulillah i managed to gather quite some substantial content.

I went overboard with the research, as my final draft for the speech script blew up to a whopping 53-page Word document.

Little did I realize, gathering content was only the beginning of the challenge. Editing and trimming: now that was tough!

Now, even if i manage to deliver one minute per page, i will go over time. But since each page requires about 4 minutes each, this was definitely impossible. I had 2 options: Either
(a) I needed the Karamah to bend the physics of space and time; or

(b) i needed to severely chop down the content

I went with option (b) and finally came to a massively trimmed down version, and only about 30% of the draft made the final cut: which was only finalized after Fajr on the morning of the event, after Fajr.

SubhanAllah that was close.

I also learnt that for a talk of this length, cue cards were very important to make sure we don't miss our points or go overboard.

Alhamdulillah, it was a thrilling ride nevertheless - one that I am grateful to Allah to have the privelege of undertaking. Insha Allah I will share the whole notes for others' reference, both the "final cut" and the full 50+ page draft outline.

It was suggested that perhaps with more polish, examples and content, I might be able to publish it into a small book, if it would be beneficial to others.

What do you reckon?

Dr. Ali Albargouthi

This year marks the first time that Dr. Ali Albargouthi is speaking for TSP, and I had the privelege to meet him for the first time, starting from the dinner.

I found him to be a very soft spoken, humble individual, and such a pleasant and authentic person to talk to - very fatherly and encouraging. Everytime he met me at the Hall venue, he would say such empowering words of encouragement.

I remember on the first day, his talk was after mine, and when i walked offstage he came to me and said "akhi you did such a great job.. you're making it difficult for me to follow up on that".

On the second day, on way to the podium to give his lecture, he personally told me how "i love how you have a wonderful energy and connection with the audience" - a statement that he repeated in a personal WhatsApp message. 

Even in the gatherings outside of the conference, every chance I met him was a beautiful experience. Even though we only spent a few minutes with each other, i felt it was always impactful - perhaps this is a sign of barakah from Allah.

And Alhamdulilllah I managed to catch him before checking out from the hotel to exchange numbers, and give my salams before i flew back to Miri - and get his signature for his book, "Heart Therapy".

It reads:

إلى أخي العزيز وصديقي الشيخ فيصال حفظه الله ووفقه لكل خير. نفع الله بك وجعلك من أهل الفردوس

"To my respected brother and friend, sheikh faisal may Allah protect him, and may Allah grant you His taufiq, and use him in service of His deen, and may He make you from the people of al-Firdaus."

May Allah preserve him, grant barakah to the knowledge he possesses and shares to others, and keep him steadfast until he meets Him. Amin.

Thank you to everyone who helped me out throughout, and prior to the event - especially to my awesome wifey who really provided much understanding, space and care towards supporting me in my role, barakAllahu fikum

And definitely to those who helped me behind the scenes in providing the content and feedback for my talk. Specifically I would like to mention about this one brother in particular who - masha Allah - went to such great lengths to help me out, that he provided written feedback (pictured here) on some suggestions from my script draft, invited me to lunch just to explain the feedback, AND paid for the lunch!

It was such a moving gesture of generosity and compassion

After much consideration, I have decided not to expose his identity so Allah can amplify the deeds he did in secret out of his love for his fellow Muslim brother - and thus I request all of you to make du'aa for this anonymous awesome brother, Allahumma barik lahu.

My parents : Abdul Latif Mohd Som and Zahurin Mohamed

Just a quick note of gratitude dedicated towards my parents, may Allah preserve them. Masha Allah every year for TSP they make a commitment to come and give me support. They have been a great source of support and encouragement for me behind the scenes (with Prof Mama's thesis-reviewing expertise being borrowed to help proofread and assist my script 🏼).

All the good deeds that I do is a direct result of the blessings (barakah) of Allah in their efforts to raise and educate me.

But beyond that also, Alhamdulillah Masha Allah I'm so grateful that Allah granted me such awesome parents who have been an amazing source of inspiration to me in what they do, especially when it comes to their generosity (which is the theme of the talk).

As I was composing the script of the talk, it was so easy to think of real life examples of generosity. From their contributions in charity organizations and volunteering work for feeding the homeless, cancer support groups, volunteering for giving da'wah as local masjid tour guides, to their efforts upholding ties of kinship, spending time and resources for family members, always smiling, being optimistic for others, and providing encouragement and support for them. 

Despite their busy schedules, work commitments, in addition to the classes they attend, and their efforts of memorizing Qur'an (both my parents memorize Surah Al-Kahf recently as they are over 55 ما شاء الله ).. On top of all that, they MAKE TIME to consistently commit themselves towards these acts of generous work, they spend their money, knowledge, and time for the sake of Allah. Continuously improving themselves, continuously upping their game.

Every time i consider taking a break, slowing down, I'm about to tell myself to "take it easy brah", I snap out of it when think about these two people. At 60 years old, they are not showing any signs of slowing down.. Pull yourself together, mate. There is much to do. Get back in the game.

And now as a parent myself, I'm thinking that's one tough act to follow to groom and inspire our little Muawiyah .

May Allah preserve them both and grant them the highest levels in jannatul Firdaus