I had heard of Ustadh Usama Canon, even facebook-friended him. But I had not yet had the privilege of hearing him speak. And what a privilege it was. His style of delivery is captivating, engaging, inspiring. His charisma (and there is plenty of it) stems from his unmistakable devotion to and passion for Islam/Muslims/humanity and the breadth of knowledge that he has managed to acquire in just 15 years. Mashallah. Mashallah. Mashallah. Its very hard to adequately convey the ambience that he managed to create within moments... I know its cliche but you really just had to be there.
The italicised writing below is quoted/paraphrased from his talk, as understood by me. It was delivered to an eager audience last night at the In Pursuit of Happiness: Prophetic Guidance Towards Wellbeing workshop. There is a lot missing, because I was too busy taking it all in, too moved to move.
He said...
Realise your uniqueness. But do so with humility. Do not fall into the trap of narcissism. Overcome yourself. God does not consider your appearance. God only considers your heart and your deeds.
Its all About Allah (God). Allah is reality.
Know Allah, take on His attributes to the extent that is humanly possible. Allah is merciful, so you should be merciful. Allah is just so you should be just etc...
Be kind to your children. Dont say hurtful things to them. Do not be too punitive with them. Do not break their hearts.
To break the heart of a believer is greater with Allah than to destroy the Kaaba brick by brick. So be mindful of this.
The same applies with your siblings. Do not call them names, do not be hurtful. It will crush them. It will damage their self-esteem. And they will carry those scars into adulthood.
Watch what you say, even to yourself, because your subconscious is listening and recording.
Dont always think about yourself. Remember God abundantly. Talk about Him all the time.
One of the best ways to combat depression is to serve. Give your time to the service of others. Volunteer. Spend time with your elders.
Consider the company that you keep. It is an undoubtful truth that if you keep the company of questionable people, you will be influenced by them. Similarly, it is an undoubtful truth that if you keep the company of your betters, you will be influenced by them.
We are obsessed with people who are obsessed with themselves. This is not beneficial.
Dedicate yourself to the regular, routine study of Islam. It does not need to be extensive, even if its one lesson per week. Check online for courses.
Benefit from the wisdom of your elders. Spend time with the youth. Be someone's mentor.
Let your tongue be moist with the rememberance of God.
And of the youth, he said...
We need to rethink the Islamic discourse on youth. To do that, we must consider how difficult it is to be a young person in today's society... in reaching our youth, we need to convey the deen in a way that provides clarification. It is all about communication.
The youth inherited this mess. Consequently, they are often forced to enact multiple modalities of cultural expression, which can be very taxing.
Our greatest threat is apathy. It the Í don't care' attitude.
Sadly, many of our youth are suffering from compound ignorance: Being ignorant of their ignorance. We need to help them overcome this ignorance by reaching out the 90% of Muslims who aren't attending the mosques regularly, who aren't attending gatherings like this. Remember, the essence of a human being is in knowledge and piety.
We want to be pious for God. He wants that for us.
and finally, something that will stay with me always...
If you don't believe in God, what do you do with gratitude?
