As a side note, no one can sustain attention for that long. You cannot inspire people if you’ve put them to sleep. Take a TED talk for example, the length of it is 18 minutes. Why? This was chosen based on strategy and neuroscience. 18 minutes is long enough for a speaker to be able to expand on an idea, but short enough that a listener can actually take in, process, and understand all of the key info.
60. Sorry, but our ulama need to learn tajwid. Great "allamahs" who don't read Quran properly in speeches. Nah. I ain't having it.
59. If someone wishes to give adhan, then they should learn to do it properly. It's off putting to our youth that some Sunni masjids have an adhan out of an Indian village and wahabi places have adhans that sound like haramayn.
58. Allot at least the agreed duration to guest speakers. E.g. if you've initially told the guest speaker 60 minutes, then give him at least 60 minutes! He's spent days/weeks preparing a 60 minute talk off the back of your agreement. How's he meant to scrap that at the 11th hour and speak now for only 20 minutes?! If you must make time cutbacks, do it with those disco na'at khwans who come and spoil our gatherings and diminish the barakah.
Good point by brother Aqdas, however I don't see many youngsters taking the initiative to organise conferences or events either. Those that we do have are but a few and they often lack substance. The desis are the ones who are predominantly giving us our events and conferences. If the youngsters lack enthusiasm and are not showing any eagerness in setting up events, then I can't see how else the elders will be convinced to hand this responsibility over.
57. select the right guest speaker(s). this seems an obvious one but it's not always straight forward. Not every orator who is considered a good muqarrir can deliver a useful talk on every topic. Consider your topic first and then decide your shortlist. E.g. if it's urs e Alahazrat, then choose from those who have a certain depth of study in Rizwiyāt.
56. it's about time the organisation of events was handed over to the youth. dates, times, guest list, schedule, topics, food, posters - everything! Here's your budget, go do it! Alas...
Good on paper but its practically difficult or not possible when schedules of shuyukh are finalized or made on the last minute, which is what I see, at least in the US.
55. Don't know if this has been mentioned before but every gathering should have a specific topic announced in advance and scholars should speak on that topic.
54. i think ALL speeches should either be in English OR all those ulama or mashaikh who speak in Urdu or Punjabi or Arabic etc. should have their speech translated live by a brother who can understand the language. So the speaker says a few sentences. Then the translator translates. Then the speaker continues. You see this happening when the Habaib come from Hadramawt and someone (usually another English-speaking scholar) does a live translation. This will also attract non-desis to our Sunni gatherings. Perhaps they can even pay a token sum to the translator (or a small salary if a translator is good and is always used).
Was talking to a brother earlier, about names on posters. Some speakers may complain that their name isn't first on the list. An easy way to do away with this is having names in alphabetical order. This obviously excludes akabir whose name will certainly appear distinct.
I saw the great Ulema of Shaam Sharif may Allah protect Them teach using books. There is less room for error especially when the Science of Hadith is taught. Allah knows best
I remember that! If I remember correctly I think it was the first time this scholor attended that masjid. Its strange really. Its a no win situation in both cases. If they bring books with them they are attacked. When they do not bring books they are then attacked for not providing evidence.
Ala Hazrat (despite his vast knowledge) would sometimes read from a book when he was asked to deliver a speech.
@Jonaid202 @abu Usman will know what I'm talking about. a great scholar came to our masjid a few years back and he read from a book at times. this worked against him in the eyes of the organisers who seemed to think, 'if he's just going to read from a book, then any of us can do that. what's the need to invite him?' these scholars don't bring and read from a book because they are incapable of delivering a speech without them - rather they do it so that they can quote verbatim and the public sees for themselves that these quotes exist and it also acts as an aid to stop them going off at tangents. the book forces them to stick to the plan and not deliver a speech on the fly.
53. speechmakers: stop complaining you've only been allocated X mins. I cringe when a speaker mentions that I had so much to say but I've only been given 10 mins. this is bad manners towards the organisers. ok, if you've travelled a long way and are an invited guest, you shouldn't only have 10 mins and it's your right to complain. but a local guest who wasn't a guest speaker should stop being childish.
52. events must be advertised at least a few weeks in advance. it's highly frustrating to learn of an event during the jumu'ah announcements and the event is happening in your own masjid tomorrow! i.e. one days notice.
51. it's not a matter of life and death who speaks first and who speaks last. granted, ulama may prefer to speak later on when there are more people in the gathering but don't make a fuss over it. go with what the organisers have decided and don't be a dictator.