Hamza Masjid’s Youth Retreat: The Tales of Trials

Hamza Masjid (Valley Stream, NY) ran their yearly youth retreat yesterday, this time on “The Tales of Trials.” It was a really good program mashaAllah, fully loaded with extremely knowledgeable scholars. The program was done by Mufi Farhan’s organization, Children of Adam. I love their idea of full day “retreats,” because they provide a solid overview of one topic.

The day’s topics included stories of Surah Kahf, People of the Cave, Prophet Musa (as), Dhul Qarnayn, as well as discussions on halal and haram and the trials of wealth, youth, and power. All of the lectures can be viewed here: http://www.livestream.com/masjidhamzany or http://www.youtube.com/user/masjidhamzany

Here are some random quotes to give you a glimpse of the talks:

“Today we will eat anything, anything is an excuse for us to eat something. A friend just has to say ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s ok’ and we eat it.”

“Benefits of halal: Clean and sanitary meat, accepted dua, blessed life, spiritual efficiency, rewards, accepted salah…Jannah”

“Will you choose McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell, or will you choose Allah?”

“Value yourself and value the orders of Allah” 

“Who is the man who apologizes for something definitely knowing he is right? A husband” (haha)

“The greater the test is, the greater the reward.”

“Today we ask people for dua so cheaply, ‘Oh, make dua for me.’ The elders used to say, ‘Don’t ask for dua, earn it!'”

“Every word, every syllable, in the Quran ties into our purpose” 

The thing about Hamza Masjid that I must point out because it is a cause for concern is their two large televisions in the women’s section that show the male speakers. Just like men, women too, have been commanded to lower their gaze. By putting up TVs, isn’t the masjid transgressing the lines of modesty established by the Quran?