Bursts of Light: Evening of Reflection on Imām al-Jazūlī's Dalāʾil al-KhayrāMercy Community Center Masjid Al-Qur'an
The Dala'il Al Khayrat (also known as Dalailul Khairat, دلائل الخيرات) is a compilation of salawat, or sending of blessings and peace upon the Prophet. The extended title of the book is Dala’il Al Khayrat wa Shawariq Al-Anwar fi Dhikr al-Salat ‘ala al-Nabi al-Mukhtar (The Guide to Goodness and the Advent of Blazing Lights in the Remembrance to ask for Blessings upon the Chosen Prophet).
Soon after it was written, the Dala'il al Khayrat swept across the Islamic World, from North Africa to Indonesia. All well-to-do homes had one; princes exchanged magnificently embellished copies of it and commoners treasured it. Everyone who read it found that barakah descended wherever it was recited, in accordance with the Divine command: Verily Allah and His angels bless the Prophet: O you who believe, bless him and grant him peace (Qur’an 33:56). Millions of Muslims from East to West recite it, alone and in groups, in homes and mosques, utterly spending themselves in the Blessings on the Most Beloved. Join our beloved Ustadh El-Hajj Hisham Mahmoud for an evening exploring this wondrous text and its blessings and gifts. PROGRAM 7 PM - Dinner at Bijan Restaurant (all welcome) 8 PM - Program Begins (workshop) 10:30 PM. - Program Concludes EL-HAJJ HISHAM MAHMOUD has studied theology, hadith, legal theory, jurisprudence, ethics, Qur'an recitation, and Arabic with scholars in Morocco, Mauritania, and Egypt. He has taught for more than a decade at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, then left the Academy to institute LANTURNA, an educational initiative that intends to establish learning collectives throughout North America. He continues to read with scholars and students in the United States. |
The Exemplars of Our Time - Michael Sugich in ConversationHouston
Risala Foundation is honored to welcome internationally acclaimed author Michael Sugich to Houston insha Allah.
Sidi Michael Sugich joined forces with Peter Sanders to produce Exemplars For Our Time, a set of illustrated biographies of some of the most influential and inspiring Muslim sages in our time - profiling the lives of Sayyida Fatima Yashrutia, Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj, Muzaffer Ozak Efendi, Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib, Sufi ‘Abd Allah Khan, Sayyid ‘Umar ‘Abd Allah Mwinyi Baraka, and Shaykh Salih al-Ja‘fari - may God be pleased with all of them. Join is for a special night - Michael Sugich in conversation as he discusses his amazing life journey, reflects on the sages of our time, reads from his works and shares wisdom of the ages. MICHAEL SUGICH is a native of Santa Barbara, California and studied at UCLA and the California Institute of the Arts. He has studied with spiritual masters across the Arab and Islamic world. He lived for 23 years in the precincts of the sacred city of Makkah Al Mukarama where he kept company with many men of knowledge and illumination. He currently lives in Turkey. He is the author of Palaces of India, Living in Makkah, Signs on the Horizons: Meetings with Men of Knowledge and Illumination, Hearts Turn and now, Exemplars of Our Time. He also wrote documentary films on the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah (1990s); and Faisal: Legacy of a King (2012). |
The Illuminated Prophet ﷺ - Risala's 10th Annual RetreatCamp Cullen
We are thrilled to announce that we will be commemorating our 10th Retreat alhumdulillah - October 27-29 at Camp Cullen near Trinity, TX.
To mark this milestone, we have a special set of guests: *Dawood Yasin* bringing his love of the outdoors and love of the Rasul (s) *Hosai Mojadeddi* a teacher whose lessons on faith and family enlighten and uplift us *Fiyyaz Jaat* bringing a special program for our youth based on his years leading MYNA camps *Usthman Ames* whose songs of devotion move our souls and announcing: *Native Deen* - to celebrate 10 years, we will have a special Saturday night campfire. They’ll also be special guests throughout the Retreat teaching classes. This event is special and a great way for families and friends to recalibrate. |
Abdel-Rehman Malik x Dr Alan Mikhail - The Ottoman Empire & the Making of the Modern WorldHouston, Tx
The Ottoman Empire was a hub of intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the height of their authority in the sixteenth century, the Ottomans, with extraordinary military dominance and unparalleled monopolies over trade routes, controlled more territory and ruled over more people than any world power, forcing Europeans out of the Mediterranean and to the New World.
Yet, despite its towering influence and centrality to the rise of our modern world, the Ottoman Empire’s history has for centuries been distorted, misrepresented, and even suppressed in the West. Alan Mikhail presents a vitally needed recasting of Ottoman history, retelling the story of the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470–1520). Drawing on previously unexamined sources from multiple languages, and with original maps and stunning illustrations, Mikhail’s game-changing account challenges readers to recalibrate their sense of history," adroitly upending prevailing shibboleths about Islamic history and jingoistic “rise of the West” theories that have held sway for decades. Whether recasting Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the “Americas” as a bumbling attempt to slay Muslims or showing how the Ottomans allowed slaves to become the elite of society while Christian states at the very same time waged the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, God’s Shadow radically reshapes our understanding of the importance of Selim’s Ottoman Empire in the history of the modern world. Dr. Alan Mikhail will be in conversation with Abdel-Rehman Malik. ALAN MIKHAIL is widely recognized for his work in Middle Eastern and global history. He is the Chair of the History department at Yale University. He is the recipient of many awards and author of several books. His latest book is God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. ABDEL-REHMAN MALIK is an award winning journalist, educator and cultural organizer. In June 2019 he was appointed Lecturer and Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Divinity School. He also serves at the Program Coordinator at Yale University’s Council on Middle East Studies, Abdul-Rehman is a frequent journalist for BBC Radio, offering contemporary perspectives on contemporary spirituality. He is host of the podcast “This Being Human”, which will explore kaleidoscope of contemporary Muslim experience and identity. |