49. Use whatsapp etc. to promote events. 50. Controversial: speakers mustn't behave like Joe public. Avoid slang and acting like a joker on stage. Yes, it'll get you more young followers but what you're subconsciously doing is promoting such behaviour.
nowadays, you'll be lucky if the organisers even tell you that a guest won't be coming. i went to a jalsa recently where the organisers knew the guest speaker won't be coming but they didn't tell us this.
- Posters should be created in English as well. - Posters should simply list the names of scholars rather than full titles. - Speeches should be less focussed on refutation (needs to be mentioned) and more on enlightenment. For example, every year I hear the same argument over and over again during Milaad programs. Okay, we are the ones actually celebrating Milaad there'll be 1% or 0% of the listening public who actually disagree with Milaad so why spend the whole hour on refutation? I would have liked the main speech touching on one aspect of the life of our Beloved Prophet (SAW) so we could benefit and implement the same within our lives. - International visiting scholars, just like the naat khwans should be given itineraries so that they visit the main UK cities and reach as many people as possible. Some coordination is desperately required. I would suggest a coordinated calendar for each region whereby clashes do not occur and every masjid gets a fair chance of events. I mean there were 2 main Juloos programs on Sunday which you would class as 'national events'. On any given weekend there should only be one national level event so that people are not asked to choose. - We need to attract our Turkish/Arabic and non-sub continental brothers to our events more than we currently do.
this thread is pretty old but i'm sure we got to 50. anyway: 43. i think it's totally unprofessional for the stage secretary to stand half way between someone's na'at or speech. before the speaker begins, the time they are to finish should be announced. there are two scenarios that make them stand:a. if the speaker exceeds their allotted time, the stage secretary stands to indicate to the speaker to finish. this is the speaker's fault. b. if the time is not allotted at all, the stage secretary stands for the same reason but this is now their own fault for not agreeing an end time. 44. the public should exercise common sense when meeting guests. it is not fard or wajib to shake hands with the guest as he enters. this does delay and disturb the gathering. meet him afterwards. he should be allowed to proceed to the front promptly. 45. if there is room, then the stage/place where ulama sit should be segregated. perhaps a gap between them and the public. 46. not every zayd and bakr should be allowed to go upto a speaker, during their speech, and take a photo on their mobile. this is disturbing the gathering once again and from a fiqh point of view, have you got their permission? 47. perhaps the masjid can organise for paper and pens to be given to the youth for taking notes. perhaps only teenagers and no-one younger so anyone who won't just make paper planes out of them. it is crucial to take notes. mufti akmal stressed this recently. 48. a group of elder youths must ensure younger kids are in the masjid when there is an english speech. they hang about outside thinking it's just another urdu speech.
Unfortunately our awaam are fed with speeches by molvis who fall in the latter category. They don't like speakers like Mufti Akmal and the attaris who are more hosh than jazba. I don't mind scholars who shout like Munazir-e-Islam Syed Irfan Shah who often raises his voice in defence aqaid e ahle sunnat. However what i dislike is those speakers, i won't call them 'ulama as in some cases they are not formally qualified, who shout merely to incite the audience.
I guess it varies between geographical locations, but part of the idea behind limitting Naaras is Adab with the speaker, perhaps. In Dar al-Mustafa, for example, in the speeches after the Mawlid the "Sallu `Ala an-Nabi"s are done just before the speaker begins and is kept minimal. During the speeches itself, only on rare occasions is it performed, presumable out of Adab with the speaker. This is unless it is a Jumu`ah Khutbah, after Salawat is done by the Khatib the audience recite in unison "Allahumma Salli wa Sallim `Alayh", and "Radhiyallah `Anh" after the names of the Sahabah.
I would rather be in a majlis where a true Sunni aalim is speaking with jazbah (like Hadrat Ghazi al-Millah or Hadrat Pir Saqib Shami or Hadrat Mufti Akmal or Hadrat Allama Rashid Madni al-Attari--whose jazbah is there but Hadrat Allama Rashid Madni is quieter and calmer-- or Hadrat Allama Asrar Rashid, etc.) and there are naara and people are actively participating and showing participation by saying "subhanAllah" than be in a boring gathering where the speaker is stuttering, making statements which show absolute ignorance, and more or less causing boredom to their listeners.
For me, the naara shows the exictement and the jazbah of the awamm. Unless it goes against shari`i aHkam by saying something totally inappropriate, I find nothing wrong in it. However, I do think it should be limited in order to keep the gathering organized.
I don't see what your disagreement is. what you said and the anecdotes you gave pretty much agree with what I say. I too am talking about the common people and the junior maulanas who do this for various reasons. Some scholars might not stop them, and others like Madani Miyan, as you mentioned, correct them. My rant was aimed at common people.
Sayyidi abdul qadir, i must very humbly and respectfully disagree --- most of what you refer to as "shaksiyat naara" is done by the general public or by other `ulema who become excited or do so out of love. the `ulema of Ahl`e Sunnat do not give themselves titles but are given naaras and titles by other `ulama or by the general public . for example, i remember a student of hazrat`e allama rashid madani saying that hazrat allama rashid madni doesn't allow his students to call him "ustadh". simillar case is with hazrat shaykh asrar, hazrat shaykh yasin chisti, and hazrat sher-e-ahle sunnat allama sayyid irfan shah. Hadrat Shaykh ul Islam Allama Sayyid Muhammad Madani Miya was called a mujjadid in the early 1990's in a program he attended in India by an Islamic Scholar based on the work Hazrat had done against the Wahhabis and Deobandis/tablighi jamaat, Jamaat e Islami etc. Hadrat Shaykh ul-Islam Allama Sayyid Madani Miya told this scholar not to say such things and said something along the lines of 'son, small mouths should not say such big things' . This claim also got published in a newspaper and in response Hadrat Shaykh ul-Islam Allama Sayyid Madani Miya ensured that a correction was put into this paper by saying that he was not a mujjadid and had never claimed to be one and the claim had been made by over enthusiastic followers.Some years later Hadrat Shaykh ul-Islam Allama Sayyid Madani Miya was given a well decorated and polished stick as a gift with the words 'mujaddid of this era' engraved on it. Hadrat Shaykh ul-Islam Allama Sayyid Madani Miya kept the stick but had the words mujaddid removed from it by having it extensively polished. Hadrat Shaykh ul-Islam Allama Sayyid Madani Miya has also written that he doesn't deem himself worthy of the dust that Mujaddid's walk on let alone being a mujaddid.
I totally agree with you bro Aqdas. Did you attend the Walthamstow Mehfil yesterday? It was awesome and quite rightly Mufti Akmal Sahib was beautifully succinct and to the point. Makes such a difference because you don't lose the essence of the speech. TIMING..............such a big issue.
42. for me, khutbas at the start of a speech are sometimes way too long. To be fair, i think they have become shorter than times past but there is still the odd occasion where it literally takes over 2 mins to complete. The barakah of just saying the words instead of tarannum is the same and it leaves more time for the speech. Plus, our kids may be turning off right from the beginning. I think the speaker should say a brief hamd o salaat and get straight into his speech asap. I heard mufti akmal yesterday and this is what he did. We need to move away from the mentality that the longer the khutba, the more learned the speaker.
Went to the annual mehil Naat at Victoia Pk masjid last night. Programme due to finish at 2AM bt went on til 5. The thid yr in a row yet orgainses have still failed to address the issue. Started at 3.30PM the pevious day and consisted in the main of very average recitors from Pak who spent their time shouting down the mic. We had some Pir from Ajmer in some flash clothes and a small beard sprinkling dollars on the naat khwaan. There was also Pir Munawar Jamati whats with his hat it's huge. At least he made some kids laugh. Mufti Akmal did a good speech on the background of naat as did Allama Misbahi. All in all this programme could have been maybe 4-5 hours with just the good naat khwaan and speeches. They should also do a speech on encouraging the awaam to rectify their basics like namaaz and practising the sunnah. I regret having gone because we had enough by half 3 and got home for 5. As u can understand Fajr wasn't easy but I'm really losing faith in the motives behind organising such grand programmes. I don't see how these mahafil are benefitting sunniyat. I mean 13-14 hours is a lot of time but it could have been used in a much better manner.
41. stall patrol: there must be at least one person from the organisers who monitors all the stalls. i have seen many sunni gatherings where the stalls outside are selling wahabi books. some sunni gatherings have had big stalls of sulah kullis. they would never let us come to their gatherings, why do we let them?
There should always be a place for women. Those mosques which have space for women always have young children running around disturbing everyone so there should also be like a nursary for them.
We should also have more conferences on problems relating to teenagers where youngsters like myself can stand and ask questions to the `ulema-e-Ahle sunnat in English.
As for the naaras, it's inveitably part of my experience as an Indo-Pak and I tend to enjoy the naaras more than a lot of others. But yes, it can get too long. We should make it. Naara-e-Takbeer... Allahu Akbar Naara-e-Risalat...Ya RasulAllah Naara-e-Tehqiq...Haq Chaar Yaar Naara-e-Haidari...Ya Ali Naara-e-Ghausia...Ya Ghaus-e-Azam Faizan-e-Raza...Jari Rahega. Is that good or is it still too long? If it is...I'd say Takbeer, Risalat, Tahqiq, and Haidari. The naara of "Faizan-e-Raza" is one used a lot by our Da`wat-e-Islami mubalighin, may Allah bless and protect them.
Very valid point. Unfortunately get caught up in this frenzy of were true ushaaq byt the reality is a lot the recitors rarely practice the sunnah. This is the case of the majority but we do have te likes of Owais Raza who isn't afraid of speaking a few home truths: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuh60KXhZxs
38. we've talked of punctuality and related is late finishes. i am always slightly annoyed when a poster says something like 'asr till late or sometimes no end time given; it just says beginning at 'asr! we must state precise start and end times and stick to them. i went to a large gathering recently which was due to start at 7pm. the main guest arrived after 10pm and the whole thing ended after 2am. when i complained to someone close to him, he asked me: when was it due to start?! organisers must respect that people have other commitments and their time is valuable. to make sure maximum attendance is achieved, gatherings must finish before 9pm. even this is quite late. exempt are of course those gatherings that are on special nights like shab e qadr that do go till fajr; at least the organisers tell us this is advance. for such gatherings though, we must ensure that we don't disturb neighbours. people on streets after 10pm should keep noise levels to a minimum. 39. about langar sharif: we want the maximum number of youths to attend and for them; fast food is the order of the day. i have been to a few gatherings up north where chicken and chips and pizzas are served instead of chapattis and curry. i think it's a clever and logical move. and it's easier: just give everyone a box of chicken and chips each instead of handing out paper dinner plates, then bowls, then spoons. it may even work out cheaper. the elders may not agree, but who would you rather please? 40. sisters' attendance: make sure there is a separate entrance for them. there are many mosques that don't. if you don't have the right facilities such as wudu, then it may be best not to invite them rather than causing them discomfort when they do attend. the organisers should try their utmost to make the sisters' presence so discreet that brothers can't even tell whether they are present. and the stalls: at some gatherings, stalls are seen as a genuine reason for mixing. they're not. the organisers on the sisters' side must enforce this.
35. another controversial one: na'at khwans that are given invites must outwardly appear to follow the shari'ah. i believe it could be very damaging if we begin to develop a culture whereby we think that as long as one loves the prophet sallAllahu 'alaihi wasallam, outward appearance is inconsequential. mawlana abdul hakim sharf qadri has written about this too. na'at khwans are preaching to us that we must love the prophet sallAllahu 'alaihi wasallam and are infact meant to be personifications of true ashiqs. what will a child of 12 years old think if he sees all and sundry praise a na'at khwan as an ashiq e rasul and he doesn't have a single hair on his chin? invariably, it will be that as long as you love the prophet, you don't have to follow his sunnah. ahlu's sunnah really need to move away from this way of thinking. i may not agree with the style that na'ats are recited by some people, but i am pleased that there are many young na'at khwans that wear a turban and have proper beards according to the hanafi school. it is a good example being set. 36. na'at conferences must have speeches too. at least one urdu and one english speaking scholar should speak for at least half an hour each. 37. speaker settings: the volume and echo etc. must be set according to the size of the masjid/hall and the number of people present. i'm sure the brothers in the UK will know what i'm talking about. a masjid that can house 50 namazis shouldn't have a sound setting that would befit a national stadium. yes, the organisers want to create the feel of an important event, but we'd rather be able to hear the speech instead of deciphering it!
