Hint: Iqbal!

[Hamad Wajid]

Assalamu' Alikum wa-Rahmatu[A]llahi wa-Barakatuhu,

All righty, so the da'wah meeting yesterday could've obviously gone better. All my fault (sorry!) since I was half asleep and everything and didn't clarify things as I should have. 

Kheir in sha Allah - hopefully we managed to get at least some benefit out of it.

So, we'll make up for the lack of stuff in the last da'wah meeting with this thread in sha Allah. First and foremost, a review question: what have we learned thus far, or what have we gone over in the past meetings? 

[Dina Sayedahmed]

Reciprocating a question...example: someone asks you why do you worship God; ask them why don't you worship God?

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[Hamad Wajid]

Awesome! Alhamdulillah, we're on the right track.

Here's a question: what should you say before you start a da'wah conversation? (hint: du'a of Musa alayhisSalam)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 2:23 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

We also spoke about the last ayah of surat al kahf where if you reach the end explain to the person you are not but a man like them and speak to them with humility.

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 1:59 PM, Rasheed, Omar <or...@njit.edu> wrote:

Surah Fussilat is our Dawah 101 surah, it teaches us exactly how to give Dawah, and how to become better Da'ees. Aya 33 in Surah Fussilat is THE main Aya of focus. It pretty much sums up Dawah in one statement:

33. And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."

On Sunday, November 17, 2013, Noor Aly wrote:

We learned that we should use the quran as the backbone of our dawah. Always bring a conversation back to Tawheed. And don't forget, Allah promises that the reward for doing dawah is jennah. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 16, 2013, at 1:36 PM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Assalamu' Alikum wa-Rahmatu[A]llahi wa-Barakatuhu,

All righty, so the da'wah meeting yesterday could've obviously gone better. All my fault (sorry!) since I was half asleep and everything and didn't clarify things as I should have. <33A.gif>

Kheir in sha Allah - hopefully we managed to get at least some benefit out of it.

So, we'll make up for the lack of stuff in the last da'wah meeting with this thread in sha Allah. First and foremost, a review question: what have we learned thus far, or what have we gone over in the past meetings? <1A5.gif>

--
Omar Rasheed

or22

[Hamad Wajid]

Yay!

Okay, next question: what are the three points of the Methodology of Da'wah? (hint: Sr. Noor already said two of them)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 5:35 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Rabbi ishrahli sadry we yasirly amry we ahlil 3okdatan min lesany yefkahaho kawly

[Hamad Wajid]

Yaaay! Ma sha Allah, very nice!

Okay, so here's the thingy before I mention the next question -- the three people between now and the next da'wah meeting (Nov. 22nd) with the highest participation, in terms of quality and quantity (so you can't just say random things!) will win one Halollywood Chocolate Bar each, ONE of which will contain a Golden Ticket! 

With that being said, here's the next question: who are the two tribes Allah SWT mentions in the Qur'an repeatedly? (hint: Surah Fussilat, Ayah 13)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 5:51 PM, Rasheed, Omar <or...@njit.edu> wrote:

The three points of the Methodology of Da'wah are Tawheed, being positive and motivating in our Da'wah, and using the Quran as our MAIN source.

--
Omar Rasheed

or22

[Hamad Wajid]

Awesome! An additional point: even when someone else has already answered the question, you can still jump in and say it again!

Next question: One reason the tribes of 'Aad and Thamud were mentioned repeatedly is because the Arabs were familiar with them (hint: True or False?)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 6:12 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ád and Thamud

[Hamad Wajid]

AWESOME ma sha Allah! 

Come on, the rest of youse are gonna have to do better than that!

Next one is a little tricky: what lesson can we extract from this (that 'Aad and Thamud were mentioned repeatedly because the Arabs knew of them)? (hint: The tornado-BMW scenario was mentioned as an example)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 7:07 PM, Noor Aly <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

True, Ad and Thamud were relatable to the Arabs because they were all wealthy and prosperous. 

Salmah, you're answering too quickly!!!

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 17, 2013, at 7:00 PM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Awesome! An additional point: even when someone else has already answered the question, you can still jump in and say it again!

Next question: One reason the tribes of 'Aad and Thamud were mentioned repeatedly is because the Arabs were familiar with them (hint: True or False?)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 6:12 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ád and Thamud

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 6:08 PM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yaaay! Ma sha Allah, very nice!

Okay, so here's the thingy before I mention the next question -- the three people between now and the next da'wah meeting (Nov. 22nd) with the highest participation, in terms of quality and quantity (so you can't just say random things!) will win one Halollywood Chocolate Bar each, ONE of which will contain a Golden Ticket! <360.gif>

[Hamad Wajid]

You guys are on fire!! 

Next one: when someone is being an anti-da'ī, or your da'wah is met with negativity, you respond with _____? (hint: Surah Fussilat, Ayah 6)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 7:24 PM, Rasheed, Omar <or...@njit.edu> wrote:

I feel like because the two tribes were mentioned so often, and because the Arabs knew them, it served as a warning to the Arabs; it brought the knowledge to a more personal level and advised the Arabs not to repeat the actions of the two tribes or else... Bringing knowledge and information to a personal level is much more effective than laying down facts and expecting others to feel and act the same way about it as you. This ties back to giving motivational and inspiring Da'wah. 

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 7:12 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Basically when you make dawah, relate it to the person infront of you. Find out their majors and give examples through that. 

--
Omar Rasheed

or22

[Hamad Wajid]

You guys are BEYOOOND awesome ma sha Allah!!

Okay, so we're going to branch off here and start with some questions. Make sure to keep in the back of your mind everything that was mentioned above!

Scenario: you're at a da'wah table with free cotton candy (or any food) and someone approaches with said food in mind; the theme is Islam in general. The survey question is, "what is Islam?"

1) What is the first thing you do? (hint: du'a of Musa alayhiSalam -- but don't say it out loud!)

2) What is the first thing you say to the person? (hint: open ended - go wild!)

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 9:40 PM, Rasheed, Omar <or...@njit.edu> wrote:

Say (O Muhammad ): "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah), therefore take Straight Path to Him (with true Faith Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him, and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al-Mushrikun (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, polytheists, idolaters, etc.)

Also, this might not be so relevant, but depending on the degree of negativity, you teach them that Islam teaches us to respect other people's views and be patient and calm, and not be so rude (we went over this two meetings ago when the devil's advocate was being very harsh).

And no matter how harsh they are, we discussed that nobody's worse than Fir'aun. When Musa was ordered to speak to Fir’aun, the worst human being to ever exist, Allah ordered him to speak softly and calmly because you might ‘touch his heart’. So make sure you tie it back to Allah and be polite, nobody’s worse than Fir’aun.

On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 9:31 PM, Aly, Noor <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

What Salmah said. Also, in ayah 34 of Surah Fussilat, it says to "repel a bad deed with what is better." So we know that even when we are met with negativity, we should stay both humble and positive.

--
Omar Rasheed

or22

[Hamad Wajid]

Awesome, Alhamdulillah! Okay, so I'm pretty sure you guys have figured it out but the point of having that specific question was not so much as garnering answers (although the ones that came out were stupendous!), but to reiterate that we should always keep the du'a of Musa alayhisSalam in mind, and use it!

That being said, next one (and this is directed towards us, the du'āt): what is Islam?

P.S. We're gonna slow down a bit, since some people have a common on Wednesday (only 1 or 2 questions a day). We'll pick up the pace again, so no worries - those who wanna catch up and increase their chances of winning the Golden Ticket at the next da'wah meeting will have plenty of chances 

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 6:38 AM, Hashmi, Nooruddin <ns...@njit.edu> wrote:

Asalaamualaikum,

first you must recite the dua that was hinted at. Rabbi-shrahli sadri. Wa yassirli amri. Wa-hlul ‘uqdatamin lisani. Yafqahu qawli:  My Rabb! Expand for me my breast, and make my affair easy for me, and release the knot from my tongue, so they may understand my speech. Qur’an: Surah Ta’ha 20: 25-28

after this you will be ready iA to provide the best answer you can.

so one way you can begin to answer this question is by asking the person if they believe in god. I would take their answer and based off of that I would go into surah Fatiha from which I would relate to them who Allah is to me as a Muslim. Then I would explain to them that Islam is a religion in which one completely submits himself to Allah. Allah created us and Him alone do we worship. I would bring up the shahadah as well, relating it as the number one belief that I carry as a Muslim. I would use the shahadah to explain Islam by explaining who Allah and his messenger are.. and so on. 

[Dina Sayedahmed]

At the most basic level, it is a way of life founded on the submission to God. To go more in depth, I would refer to the hadith below:

عن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال : بينما نحن جلوس عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم ، إذ طلع علينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب ، شديد سواد الشعر ، لا يرى عليه أثر السفر ، ولا يعرفه منا أحد ، حتى جلس إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأسند ركبته إلى ركبتيه ، ووضح كفيه على فخذيه ، وقال : " يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام " ، فقال له : ( الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله ، وتقيم الصلاة وتؤتي الزكاة ، وتصوم رمضان ، وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلا ) ، قال : " صدقت " ، فعجبنا له يسأله ويصدقه ، قال : " أخبرني عن الإيمان " قال : ( أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر ، وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره ) ، قال : " صدقت " ، قال : " فأخبرني عن الإحسان " ، قال : ( أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه ، فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك ) ، قال : " فأخبرني عن الساعة " ، قال : ( ما المسؤول بأعلم من السائل ) ، قال : " فأخبرني عن أماراتها " ، قال : ( أن تلد الأمة ربتها ، وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء ، يتطاولون في البنيان ) ثم انطلق فلبث مليا ، ثم قال : ( يا عمر ، أتدري من السائل ؟ ) ، قلت : "الله ورسوله أعلم " ، قال : ( فإنه جبريل أتاكم يعلمكم دينكم ) رواه مسلم .

`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said:
    “As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him.
    He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
    The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”
    The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer.
    Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”
    The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad.”
    The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”
    The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don’t behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”
    “Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.
    The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”
    “Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.
    The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”
    Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?”
    I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.” [Sahih Muslim]

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[Hamad Wajid]

Excellent, ma sha Allah!

Next one is a scenario + question: this person came up to the table and was curious because a few brothers in his class left the room around the same time every day and came back around 5 minutes later, all together. He later found out that they were all Muslims and that they went to pray... fast forward to his question: What is the Qur'an? Is it, like, the Bible is to Christians?

P.S. The scenario right there -- often times, this is the best mode of da'wah. Those who are awake will pay attention, bi'idhni[A]llah. This will come up again later, but recall Surah Fussilat, Ayah 30; don't just do good deeds, but remain steadfast and CONSISTENT with those good deeds!

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 6:36 AM, Rasheed, Omar <or...@njit.edu> wrote:

Islam is a monotheistic religion, it is the belief in the oneness of God, and as Dina stated it is a way of life based on submission to Allah as His slave (one of the greatest statuses Allah can give you). It is the belief that Muhammad (SAAW) was the final prophet and messenger of Allah; their were many messengers sent before him that preached the same message, including Ibrahim, Musa, and Issa, may Allah be pleased with them. As the Hadith states, Islam consists of obligatory acts of worship which include praying the five daily prayers, paying zakat, fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing Hajj, the pilgrimage to the House of Allah, if you are able to.  

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or22

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[Hamad Wajid]

Alhamdulillah, once again, spectacular answers ma sha Allah! 

One more day until the next da'wah meeting, so I wanna bring everyone's attention to the subject of this thread -- "Hint: Iqbal!"

Last meeting, we went over a couplet from one of Muhammad Iqbal's poems in Urdu; what was stressed regarding this particular couplet/distich? (hint: "Tawheed")

Once the answers start flowing for this particular one, I'll reveal why this is the subject of the entire thread, and we'll continue from there in sha Allah! 

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 9:49 AM, Noor Aly <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

The Quran is the Holy Book of Muslims. It is the words of Allah, our one and only God. It is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of a Muslim's life. It tells how to lead a righteous life in accordance with all of Allah's Commands. The Quran is the only book that has never been changed from its original form. It has been translated into many different languages, but never altered. Every Muslim has memorized at least one part of the Quran. 

I would tie in the  fact that it is in the Quran that we are commanded to pray five times a day. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 19, 2013, at 8:36 AM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

First I would explain that those who left at the same time went to go pray and then I would go on to explain the 5 pillars and tawheed and how basically we live to obey and worship Allah swt and do what he tells us. Hopefully by then that would have led to the Quran and I would explain how its a miracle in so many different ways. I would say that it is not similar to the bible in the sense that it was never changed or altered by mankind, hence why there is no book or religion after Islam. The Quran, on the other hand,  is strictly the word of Allah swt, words that no other man, not the best of writers, can recreate. It is full of scientific miracles, which would have been impossible to discover over 1400 years ago. It is more than a book for Muslims. With the sunnah along side (would explain sunnah and the Prophet pbuh), the Quran gives us a way of life with guidelines and examples all for the same purpose of worshipping and pleasing Allah swt for the ultimate goal of Jannah. 

[Hamad Wajid]

Omar basically summed it up nicely, ma sha Allah! To reiterate, we discussed that this couplet alludes to the fact that Tawheed needs to be the very essence of our being - the blood that courses through our veins, the air that we breathe, the life that we live, et cetera - and not just something we discuss in philosophical terms (a couplet from Iqbal's poem -- "The Parliament of Iblees" > will be explained in the next meeting in sha Allah).

Our next question is related to this video; watch up to 2:32 and answer the following: in one word, summarize the snippet you just watched! 

P.S. The frequency of questions will increase hence forth, so those who wish to catch up to Sr. Salmah and the rest can get a chance in sha Allah!

P.P.S. The questions will get harder (sorta) 

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 12:34 AM, Omar Itani <omar.i...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hamad is referring to: http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/zarb-e-kaleem-017-touheed.html

True tawheed refines and defines people, it's not just information. 

For something to change you, it must pass through your mind and enter the heart, else it's just a matter of knowledge.

[Asif, Kamran]

Empathy

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[Hamad Wajid]

Awesome!

Next one (part b of the previous one): elaborate! 

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 4:30 PM, Noor Aly <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

Empathy

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 21, 2013, at 4:06 PM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Omar basically summed it up nicely, ma sha Allah! To reiterate, we discussed that this couplet alludes to the fact that Tawheed needs to be the very essence of our being - the blood that courses through our veins, the air that we breathe, the life that we live, et cetera - and not just something we discuss in philosophical terms (a couplet from Iqbal's poem -- "The Parliament of Iblees" > will be explained in the next meeting in sha Allah).

Our next question is related to this video; watch up to 2:32 and answer the following: in one word, summarize the snippet you just watched! <1A5.gif>

P.S. The frequency of questions will increase hence forth, so those who wish to catch up to Sr. Salmah and the rest can get a chance in sha Allah!

P.P.S. The questions will get harder (sorta) <1B2.gif>

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 12:34 AM, Omar Itani <omar.i...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hamad is referring to: http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/zarb-e-kaleem-017-touheed.html

True tawheed refines and defines people, it's not just information. 

For something to change you, it must pass through your mind and enter the heart, else it's just a matter of knowledge.

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 12:08 AM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Alhamdulillah, once again, spectacular answers ma sha Allah! <327.gif>

One more day until the next da'wah meeting, so I wanna bring everyone's attention to the subject of this thread -- "Hint: Iqbal!"

Last meeting, we went over a couplet from one of Muhammad Iqbal's poems in Urdu; what was stressed regarding this particular couplet/distich? (hint: "Tawheed")

Once the answers start flowing for this particular one, I'll reveal why this is the subject of the entire thread, and we'll continue from there in sha Allah! <330.gif>

[Asif, Kamran]

Not feeling against someone, rather feeling with someone. To walk in their shoes and understand how they feel. Tawheed goes through the brain and into the heart (fitra), so we need to hit their heart with our Dawah.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/runewarkmsa-dawah/CA%2Bds0Ga-gypJ3-CT-hMViufxGoBM8mi%3D5FePGnv_iicZ18w13A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Abbak, Levent]

Is the answer...empathy?

As others have already wonderfully put it, why of course!

Understanding a person through his or her lens is key. We have to understand why they feel the way that they do and comfort them about this, and not blame them for their shortcomings or misbeliefs, per-say. There's a reason they believe in what they believe and this is when we have to start making excuses for them--all the while correcting them in a pleasant manner.

It always helps to remind them that nobody is perfect, including ourselves, and that we're here to help set people straight whilst acknowledging full-well that we are ourselves need work. Their walk of life and your walk of life are different, and there are reasons for everything. When people still appear to be at fault for being the way they are and believing what they believe, comfort is still the way to go--there is no way we can completely understand all the if's and why's and how they reacted to them, so we'll have to make excuses for them anyways in some senses. Besides, belief in the Oneness of God can change all past mistakes and render a person more dutiful and mindful to their surroundings and people around them.

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 6:02 PM, Salmah Elzwahry <salma...@gmail.com> wrote:

A keyword when giving dawah is empathy which is when you feel for and with someone rather than against them. Instead of mainly using clever comebacks, put yourself in the person's shoes and feel what they feel and make dawah through that. And the only way as Muslims we can actually change the world, is to have empathy because faith in Allah swt is processed through the brain but thrives in the heart. 

Empathy makes the dawah genuine, heart felt and not fake making it easier for the person to understand and absorb.

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 5:10 PM, Noor Aly <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

Empathy can be literally defined as being able to share in someone's feeling. It's being compassionate. It is Being able to understand what the person you are speaking with is feeling/ going through in their lives. 

In the video, it is mentioned that belief in Allah,  Iman, goes through the brain and into the heart. So it is important to give dawah so that we can affect someone's heart. Also, I think this notion of empathy ties into the fact that we always want to make our dawah relatable to the person we are giving dawah to. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 21, 2013, at 4:59 PM, Hamad Wajid <hamad...@gmail.com> wrote:

Awesome!

Next one (part b of the previous one): elaborate! <332.gif>

--
New Jersey Institute of Technology 13'
Major: Information Technology
Concentration: Criminal Justice

[Hamad Wajid]

... Jazak'Allahu khayr for that ending, Sr. Noor -- my goal is accomplished (Alhamdulillah)! 

Lemme clarify: everything we have learned thus far, from the first da'wah meeting onwards (be it at the tables, or in the passing, etc.) is a part of a HUGE whole. The point is to think and connect these puzzle pieces, so we can understand the whole at least a little bit better. That, in sha Allah, leads to Yaqeen, which leads to... whoops, almost give away future answers 

Moving onto the next question, which is also 2-part and related to the same video: a) what is the story mentioned? and b) summarize the snippet (hint: watch 5:01 to 6:54)

An advanced notice: did anyone notice that everything being said can be tied back to the surah which we dubbed our "da'wah gold mine!" 

P.S. I'm gonna add our RU-NB peeps onto this as well, to get a higher variety, and because (amongst other reasons) we're gonna go into what was being discussed on the RU-NB Facebook page. (hint: this will come up in a little... tango... at tomorrow's meeting in sha Allah).

[Hamad Wajid]

Okay, so we get the empathy bit, Alhamdulillah.

Moving on, how do we develop that bit of "empathy?" (hint: Surah Fussilat, ayat 30-36)

This one's a bit difficult to see, but I'll leave it open ended for some time before I post the answer in sha Allah!

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 10:21 PM, Omar Rasheed <omar.m....@gmail.com> wrote:

The keyword that the video stresses is empathy. Putting yourself in other people's shoes, rather than judge them as if you have no imperfections yourself. As Hamza said in his video, we need to "turn off our radios" and be understanding with people, have some mercy as Islam teaches us to do so.

The story mentioned in the video tells of a young man who asks the Prophet (SAAW) to allow him to fornicate. Rather than yelling "HARAM" and "KUFR", the Prophet (SAAW) was empathetic and gave him something to think about. He indirectly taught him that what he wants is absolutely wrong by relating that same scenario to the boy's relatives. He engaged himself with the boy in order for the message to go through his mind and penetrate his heart.

On Nov 21, 2013 8:36 PM, "Aly, Noor" <nh...@njit.edu> wrote:

In a nutshell, one of the youth during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) approached our Prophet and asked for something completely outrageous. Instead of being harsh and judging the young man, the Prophet(SAW) was empathetic. He sat with him and showed him reason, allowing the young man to come to the conclusion on his own that what he was asking for was improper.

[Hamad Wajid]

Haha, Sr. Salmah is so excited, she answered the next few questions too. Ma sha Allah! 

Here's the answer I promised you guys: clicky. Watch it from 38:17 to 39:30. 

If it doesn't make sense, do not worry. In sha Allah we will go over why this is the way it is. As a hint though, ALL of us as college students should be able to relate to this - especially us Bio majors! Though that is not to say that the Engineers are exempt - you, too, should be able to come up with a satisfactory reasoning for why the development of the self automatically leads to the concern of the other (or others). Think on this! I have a few examples that I'd be willing to share, but I'd rather you guys come up with your own answers.

So, I will ask again: how do we develop the aforementioned "empathy?" (hint: video. If curiosity not satiated, try this)

P.S. We'll have one more question after this, followed by an announcement, and then the da'wah meeting in sha Allah!

On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 12:14 AM, Elshamma, Jihad <jk...@njit.edu> wrote:

A way of being empathetic with others is through self restraint. This can be done through fasting especially by choice as it teaches great self restrain and a relation to those that do not have access to blessing you have on a regular basis. 

On Thursday, November 21, 2013, Aly, Noor wrote:

We can develop empathy by realizing that even though we know that the beliefs of the people who are being given dawah to are misguided, they see their beliefs/ideals as perfectly logical.

 So instead of being harsh towards these people, we are empathetic as the Prohphet was. We learn from Surah Fussilat to repel evil with good and to remain steadfast in doing good so that when we are faced with adversity, we can be patient and perservere.

[Hamad Wajid]

Cutting it close, but awesome nonetheless, Alhamdulillah! :D

Last question (though sorta late at this point): are you coming to the da'wah meeting?! wasSalamu Alikum wa-Rahmatu[A]llahi wa-Barakatuhu

We're giving away 3 HUGE chocolate bars (and it has taken every tool in my nafs-control-box to not eat them through the week), with one containing the much coveted GOLDEN TICKET!

wasSalamu Alikum wa-Rahmatu[A]llahi wa-Barakatuhu

On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 11:21 AM, Omar Rasheed <omar.m....@gmail.com> wrote:

In order to develop empathy we must do two things. First we must solidify our faith and our Iman so that we are completely and emotionally attached to Allah (SWT), and second we must make sure our good deeds are at the highest caliper, that we not only do many good deeds, but we do good deeds CONSISTENTLY. Once we've reached this point of self development, we will naturally start to be concerned for others.