The Straight Path Convention 2015 - most valuable memories

Alhamdulillah.. the Straight Path Convention ’15 was a great learning experience for me, and many others. But the learning and experience extended far beyond the talks / lectures themselves.

Quite a few things happened offline which I found were quite some eye openers, and here are the significant top #7 in my perspective :

#8 Huge Volume of Jemaah Prayer

Put into perspective that “the larger jemaah is more beloved to Allah”, this is an extremely undervalued experience of the event; when over 500 people pray together in jemaah for Asr and Zuhur prayers - an experience one can only witness in Friday prayers or taraweeh in Ramadhan – this is truly something special.

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said

“وَصَلاَةُ الرَّجُلِ مَعَ الرَّجُلِ أَزْكَى مِنْ صَلاَتِهِ وَحْدَهُ وَصَلاَةُ الرَّجُلِ مَعَ الرَّجُلَيْنِ أَزْكَى مِنْ صَلاَتِهِ مَعَ الرَّجُلِ وَمَا كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ فَهُوَ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ”

“A man's prayer with another man is greater in reward than his prayer alone. And a man's prayer with two other men is greater in reward than his prayer with one other man; the more people there are, the more beloved that is to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime."

(Narrated by ibn Majah, graded  “Hasan”)

If a convention like this is what it takes for us to have this excellent degree in addition to the ‘default 27 multiplied rewards’ in congregational prayer - even if it means enduring some warmth due to the air conditioning malfunction - then we could certainly use more events like this.

On a side note, organizers especially Islamic events - should organize the jemaah prayers to allow as much people as possible for the jamaah. Designate an appointed Imam, an iqamah time, a person amongst the jemaah to "echo" The Imam in case they can’t hear, etc.  

If you think about it, why did Allah specifically  reveal the khusuf prayer in times of war? War would be a perfectly legitimate reason to take ‘shifts’ to pray, so that we can stand guard – let alone an event, wedding, or a conference, which no one’s lives will get threatened if you pray in congregation. Yet Allah intended that despite the circumstances, here is a method that can allow you to pray all at once, and stand guard at the same time. Yes, it’s that important.

#7 An Unexpected Surprise Gift

When it was mentioned onstage that “if you want extra good deeds, you can buy pizza for the volunteers – we don’t mind”, that remark was half serious. Half because we would like it, but the other half because we knew people would take it jokingly and probably not expecting to do it.

A few minutes after the announcement was made on the second day, 2 young boys came up to us, aged between 5-9 and handed me a bag of raisins and dates. They said, “We would like to give this to the volunteers. It’s not as good as pizza, but we hope you like it anyway”

Aww… Masha Allah.. so nice!

It gets better. After the lunch break was nearing its end, Lo and Behold – at the volunteers dining area – 2 large pizzas dedicated especially for the volunteers. Allahu Akbar!

Even if they may not consider it as “a big deal”, we couldn’t help but feel touched and very grateful for their contributions nevertheless. May Allah reward you all with abundant goodness.. Amin!

“لاَ تَحْقِرَنَّ مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ شَيْئًا وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ بِوَجْهٍ طَلْقٍ”

“Do not belittle (consider insignificant) any good deed that you do, even if it is to meet your brother with a cheerful face” (Narrated in Sahih Muslim)

Here’s hoping that it starts a chain of inspirational events for volunteers of future events to come. =)

The Prophet said,

“مَنْ سَنَّ سُنَّةَ خَيْرٍ فَاتُّبِعَ عَلَيْهَا فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ وَمِثْلُ أُجُورِ مَنِ اتَّبَعَهُ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْئًا”

“Whoever starts a good tradition/act which is followed, then for him is a reward, and the likes of their rewards of whoever follows him, there being nothing diminished from their rewards.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidzi, graded Sahih)

#6 Reciting Khutbatul Hajah in a Crowd

This one may not seem like much, but it's something very personal and close to my heart. Since i first started to be educated on the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad several years ago, I've always had grown a fondness and liking towards the Khutbat-ul Haajjah - it's the "standard" introductory speech that most islamic lecturers would use, one that was taught by the Prophet to be delivered in the beginning of an important speech.

It is the speech that would remind me of the lectures that Allah had guided me to the true teachings of Islam - the Qur'an and the Sunnah - because of how consistently this khutbah was delivered in those lectures. 


Whenever i would hear this at a masjid - or anywhere in general - i would surely steal a glance to see "Who" is delivering it. I've always wanted a chance to deliver it myself to a group of people.

So when the opportunity came to start off the event with this, in front of a crowd of thousands, i took the opportunity. And it felt great, walhamdulillah!

The khutbat-ul Haajjah text is as follows:

إن الحمد لله [نحمده] ونستعينه ونستغفره ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا [ومن سيئات أعمالنا] من يهده الله فلا مضل له ومن يضلل فلا هادي له وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له] وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله]

"Verily, all praise is for Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls [and from our bad deeds]. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, [alone and without any partner] and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger."

#5 Volunteer T. K. O

Now one would think that, being a volunteer for an event like this, especially working as an usher or stage crew, that it’s virtually like “getting a free ticket to the event”, right?

Well, not really. This was a typical scene you would see backstage of the volunteers, especially on the first day: They would come in, with the Shaykh/Speaker, they would provide the Shaykh with exceptional hospitality, smiles never leaving their faces.

And when the shaykh finally comes onstage to give the talk, the volunteers finally have time to catch their breath, out of their tiredness, they immediately face a total knockout, and go to sleep; unable to listen/benefit from the lecture.

Many of the brothers I met, the efforts they poured into to make this event a success was just phenomenal; just to allow the audiences for a smooth event, and without earning a single cent doing so, and even depriving their own sleep in the process. 

The work behind the scenes often go unthanked and unremarked, but without these unrecognized efforts, perhaps we’ll never have the polished final product that we see. So let us all make du’aa that Allah accepts all their deeds and blesses them – and that they’ll get to eventually benefit from the lectures via the DVD.

The Prophet said,

من لم يشكر الناس، لم يشكر الله عز و جل
"Whomsoever isn't thankful to the people, isn't thankful to Allah 'azza wajal" (Narrated in At-Tirmidhi)

#4 Participants and Attendees BHD *

You would think that an Islamic event, with Speakers from all across the world, and a 3000-strong large gathering of Muslims, with such modest clothing, that people would have the additional conscience to be on their best character and best behavior, right?

What we experienced was rather unfortunate, as many of the participants displayed some rather poor behavior and attitude:

- A particular soft spoken middle aged brother was told by the usherers to move seats to allow others to come in. He put his fingers to his ears, closed his eyes shut, and said, “I’m not going anywhere! I refuse to move!”

- As the airconditioning system failed on the morning of the second day, several volunteers suffered ruthless complaints and verbal abuse from the attendees; forgetting that contrary to popular belief, these volunteers aren’t trained air conditioning maintenance technicians, or that their complaints would make any difference in helping the situation anyway. So drama.

- A particular sister booked seats despite repeated instructions not to do so; when reminded, she just said “takpe lah”, whatever. Another sister sat in reserved seats, despite not having authorization to do so, repeatedly ignoring all instructions to move.

- At lunchtime, a senior sister waited quite a while for her food to arrive, due to the huge crowds. When the waiter – a Muslim – was carrying some food, she rudely remarked “bring that here – I think I deserve my food after my 40 minutes of waiting”

And these are only a few of the many examples of bad behavior that we witnessed across the event. To put it bluntly, Participants *Buat Hal Doe  (BHD)..

The Prophet said,

“إنما بعثت لأتمم مكارم الأخلاق”

“Verily, I have only been sent to perfect good character” (Narrated in the Muwatta of Imam Malik)

Think about this message: the whole purpose that Allah sent the Prophet Muhammad to mankind – the message of Islam in its entirety – is to perfect good manners and character. Now if we came to an Islamic conference without our behavior being improved, then have we lost the plot?

If we can’t listen to simple instructions of a conference, then how will we have the discipline to follow more difficult instructions, under more difficult circumstances to obey Allah?

If we can’t be patient for some simple matters, how can we be patient during the time that Ad-Dajjal is unleashed upon the Earth – when we are deprived of the basic necessities for survival? Which volunteers will you blame then? Which waiters will you attack now?

If truly strive to be better Muslims in any way, then strive for improving our character – with ourselves, with Allah, and with other human beings and creation of Allah.

#3 Filtering out Questions for Q&A

The Questions and Answers sessions was one of the best I’ve witnessed in a conference such as this, as the organizers worked hard in prioritizing and filtering to endeavour their very best to allow for the most benefit possible to the attendees.

And the whole process was quite an eye opener, as we saw all sorts of questions being asked – it gave you a broader perspective to understand what people’s primary concerns were, and what perspectives they see / like to see things. 

Sure, we have some filler stuff like “Can I please take a photo with Mufti Menk”, but there are also many serious issues that need serious answers.

Some of these questions, most people would be too shy or too afraid to ask, but the anonymous way in which it was conducted made it easy for their concerns to be addressed.

It’s a valuble lesson for organizers to facilitate this the best they can; find the best possible way to benefit the people instead of just delivering what “they feel is the best” – and in this case, allow them to ask the tough burning questions. The Prophet said,

“أَلَمْ يَكُنْ شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالَ”

“Is not the cure of ignorance, to ask questions?” (Sunan Abu Dawud, graded “hasan”)

#2 A Conversation To Remember

If you’ve spent 5 minutes in a conversation with Shaykh Ismail Menk, you would know that Shaykh is a sharp, quick-witted individual. Couple that, with being onstage during a Q&A session with a British public speaker – Abdul Raheem Green – and one would expect some exciting results. And boy, it was:

Question: “I am trying my very best to uphold the sunnah of the Prophet by keeping my beard. However my father is forcing me to shave it off. What should I do? This question is for Mufti Menk”

Mufti Menk : “Actually you should direct this to Abdul Raheem. His beard is longer than mine”

Abdul Raheem : “No, shaykh, yours has much more volume (pointing to the cheeks)”

Mufti Menk: “Volume… no, ya akhi, I don’t have the volume.. it’s in the shampoo”

And in another scene:

Question: “This is for Abdul Raheem Green. How do we answer the argument that Hijab is an Arabic culture and not from Islam?”

Abdul Raheem Green : “That is a very good question, which I will pass to Mufti Menk”

Mufti Menk : (After answering the question). “I will now continue the tradition that was initiated by Abdul Raheem Green by now passing the mic to Muhammad Salah”.

And there are many more memorable moments. Witnessing the Shuyukh onstage interacting was a truly memorable moment; and it’s worth noting that despite some of them having only met each other for the first time and coming from completely different parts of the world, the chemistry they had was amazing, and a genuine warm atmosphere of brotherhood.

#1 Personal Encouragement and Advice from a Da’ee

This is the most personal memory I have from the event, which comes across as rather surprising considering the circumstances. During one of the lectures, prior to going onstage, Abdul Raheem Green sat beside me.

He then leaned toward me and signaled me to come closer, which he said : “You should be a speaker one day. I’ll teach you how”

He then gave immediate tips we can implement to improve our public speaking skills :

“Relate to little children. Tell them stories, stories of the Prophets, stories of the companions, whatever.

Children are the most brutally honest critics ever – if they get bored, you’ll immediately be able to tell from their faces. If they like you, they won’t take their eyes and ears off you. And if you caught their attention, you know you’ve achieved something.

Leading Halaqaat and lessons are good and all, but you are addressing a mature, adult audience, who want the knowledge. They will probably focus on the content more than the actual delivery style, and will listen to you even if you’re bad or boring. So they’ll never give you the feedback you need to improve as a speaker.”

Amazing advice, Shaykh – masha Allah!

#theStraightPath