Alhamdulillah, SimplyIslam.sg is pleased to present a powerful lecture entitled "What You Seek is Seeking You", presented by two internationally renowned Islamic scholars, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and Ustadh Usama Canon.

The lecture will enlighten participants on the spiritual journey of a sincere seeker of God. Shaykh Hisham Kabbani will share his decades of experiences in traversing the path seeking Allah - the path, trials, tribulations and successes. Ustadh Usama Canon will also share his own journey in his own path in Islam and towards God.

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani. A prominent scholar of mainstream, traditional Islam, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani has spent his life spreading the teachings of peace, tolerance, respect and love that are the message of Islam throughout the world. In the United States of America, for more than 2 decades Shaykh Kabbani has continued to disseminate the light and peace of Islam's spiritual dimension to people of every background, ethnicity, race, and belief. Shaykh Kabbani’s areas of expertise include Islamic spirituality, Sufism, Islamic thought and history. He is the founder of several organizations throughout the world dedicated to educating Muslims and non-Muslims about Islamic principles that promote peace, justice, social cohesion and civic responsibility. As the Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), he serves as a guide and teacher to millions of Muslims throughout the world. More about Shaykh Hisham Kabbani [click here].

Ustadh Usama Canon. Raised in California, Ustadh Usama Canon embraced Islam in 1996 and has been a student of the tradition ever since, studying Islam in the USA both at home and abroad under some of today’s foremost scholars in America, Morocco, Egypt and Yemen. During the last decade, Usama served as the Outreach Director and an Arabic Instructor at Zaytuna Institute, as well as a Muslim Chaplain for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He is the Founding Director of Ta'leef Collective, a trailblazing non-profit focused on assisting converts to Islam and creating healthy social and sacred spaces. As a worldwide speaker, Usama is particularly gifted in teaching Islam in a creative and relevant way while being strongly rooted in the Islamic tradition. More about Ustadh Usama Canon [click here].

Event Details

Topic: What You Seek is Seeking You
Date: Saturday 5 December 2015
Venue: Singapore Expo Max Atria
Speakers: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani & Ustadh Usama Canon

About the Topic

"What you seek is seeking you", a line from the oft-quoted poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, who was also a jurist, Islamic scholar and theologian, has an ocean of meanings. Rumi speaks of the reed being separated from the reedbed and the music created from it is its crying and longing to return to its source.

Listen to the story told by the reed, of being separated.
"Since I was cut from the reedbed, I have made this crying sound.
Anyone apart from someone he loves understands what I say.
Anyone pulled from a source longs to go back.”
[Rumi]

Similarly, humans have an origin, and we long to return to our source – the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. While we may think that we are far from the Divine, Allah assures us that He is indeed near, as He says in the Holy Qur’an,

We created man – We know what his soul whispers to him: We are closer to him than his jugular vein. [Qur’an 50:16]

As our soul cries and longs for the Divine, it is often distracted by the disturbances from the nafs (lower self or ego), hawa (desires), dunya (worldly pleasure) and shaytan (Satan) – the four main spiritual enemies of man. Allah also said in the Holy Qur’an,

The love of desirable things is made alluring for men – women, children, gold and silver treasures piled up high, horses with fine markings, livestock, and farmland– these may be the joys of this life, but God has the best place to return to. [Prophet], say, ‘Would you like me to tell you of things that are better than all of these? Their Lord will give those who are mindful of God Gardens graced with flowing streams, where they will stay with pure spouses and God’s good pleasure – God is fully aware of His servants. [Qur’an 3:14-15]

Believers are told that once they embark on that journey to God, the spiritual enemies will also work harder to distract them, as Allah had said,

Do people think they will be left alone after saying ‘We believe’ without being put to the test? [Qur’an 29:2].

In another poem, Rumi says:

“Your calling my name is My reply
Your longing for Me is My message to you
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

The speakers will expound on the four spiritual enemies on the path to God and how we can steer the course safely towards the Divine. The speakers will also speak about listening to the soul's cries and giving the soul its due from the worship and obedience to Allah, performance of good deeds and the remembrance of Allah.