Imam Sabri relays the life of Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal at Muslim Youth DMV Council’s and Diyanet Center of America’s Young Adults’ latest initiative
Muslim Youth DMV Council is a local non-profit founded and run by area youth, including many Al-Huda School alumni and Dar-us-Salaam Youth members like Arif Kabir, Ibrahim Khan, Adnan Zaber, Moussa Haddad, and Zain Nisar. Widely known for its Night of Unity event every Ramadan which brings in Imams from various masajid to lead one joint community Taraweeh, Muslim Youth DMV Council’s work has always leaves a powerful impact, especially for the young Muslim population.
As part of their mission to expand their work, Muslim Youth DMV Council recently collaborated with Diyanet Center of America’s Young Adults to bring us Four Imams: One Ummah, an inspiring evening about the stories and lives of the four great Imams to get the community together into the spirit of Ramadan. Four Imams from various DMV masajid came to present on the lives of each of the great Imams.
“The idea of holding this event was developed due to Ramadan approaching. We wanted to do this Four Imams conference because: 1. It will bring people from different madhahib together, and 2. Our speakers here were from different masajid,” said Adnan Zaber. “Moving forward, we really hope to have more of these events that unite communities across masajid, and ultimately encourage people to pursue knowledge.”
The evening began with Imam Youssef Slitine from PGMA talking about the life of Imam Abu Hanifa, followed by Imam Sami Zaharna from Muslim Family Center relaying the story of Imam Malik, then Imam Hassan Mohamed of PGMA presented the life of Imam Shafi’i, and finally Imam Sabri Benkahla from Dar-us-Salaam spoke about the impact and legacy of the life of Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal. The night concluded with a series of Q&A with the Imams about the lessons we all could take from the lives of the great scholars, and the importance of tolerating and accepting the validity of the differences of opinions that exist within the Muslim Ummah amongst the four madhahib, so long as they are based on evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
“The stories tonight have been full of emotions: amazement at what the great scholars have done, and sadness at what they went through,” reflected Ibrahim Khan, who was the emcee for the night, on stage. “Sheikh Muhammad Al-Shareef once said: “Seeking knowledge makes you happy,” and this is why we do these events. We want to encourage people to seek knowledge and make the community happier with the correct knowledge of Islam.”
“Our vision is to eventually have bigger events like sisters’ conferences, but we need to work towards that and have momentum,” said Arif Kabir. “When we were first established over ten years ago, the other local youth groups asked us to help them get more established first before having these events. So Br. Ibrahim focused on DUS Youth, and MCC grew theirs, as did ISWA, Dar at-Taqwa, and others. Our thought was always: let’s help them first. Now all these youth groups have grown, Alhamdulillah, but we still need to bring the Imams together to talk about topics the youth care about.”
“Alhamdulillah, this wonderful event regarding the four Imams, talking about their lives, was just such an amazing experience that I cannot describe it in words! I really want to thank the Muslim Youth DMV Council for organizing such an event. We had so many attendees, and it was wonderfully programmed,” said Ikram Mujaddidi, one of the attendees and Dar-us-Salaam community member. “SubhanAllah, just hearing them speakers talk about the Imams’ zuhd, their asceticism, their ‘ibadah, and their worship was an incredible experience, and I wish, and in shaa Allah, in the future that they will do more events like this. I will surely, in shaa Allah, come again.”
“Alhamdulillah, tonight was an amazing event. I loved every bit of it!” said Talha Muhib, another attendee and Dar-us-Salaam community member. “I loved hearing about the four Imams and the summary of their life experiences, especially learning about Imam Shafi’i, how he traveled from Gaza to Mecca, then to Medina. I loved hearing about little things like that. I can’t wait to come back here again at Diyanet for Night of Unity, in shaa Allah on March 15th! Can’t wait to see what Muslim Youth DMV Council has in store for that, in shaa Allah. So, see you guys then!”
Muslim Youth DMV Council’s annual Night of Unity will be held on Saturday, March 15th at the Diyanet Center of America, in shaa Allah! We ask Allah to bless them in their efforts, and make their work full of impact for the youth of the Ummah.
