INVITATION TO A WEEK-LONG RETREAT TO STUDY THE REALITY OF THE MODERN AGE
viewed in the light of the Qur'ān and Ahādīth of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
Trinidad and Tobago
(Shawwal 11th to 18th 1430 / September 30th to October 7th 2009)
This is your brother Imran N. Hosein. I have been receiving requests from different parts of the world from those who have expressed a desire to come to my native Caribbean island of Trinidad to spend some time with me in order to pursue studies in Islam under my guidance. They are particularly interested in studying with me subjects such as:
- Islam and the End of History,
- An Islamic Response to the Modern Feminist Revolution,
- Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ,
- Gog and Magog in the Modern World,
- An Islamic View of the Return of Jesus ('alaihi al-Salam),
- Imām al-Mahdi and the Return of the Islamic Caliphate,
- Jerusalem in the Qur'ān,
- The Prohibition of Ribā,
- The Gold Dinār - Islam and the Future of Money,
- The Strategic Importance of Islamic Spirituality,
- Establishing the Muslim Village, etc.
There are in Trinidad other scholars of Islam who are more learned than myself, but in His Kindness Allah Most High has blessed me with some special insights into these subjects, and hence the interest in studying with me. It has been difficult however, for me to accommodate those requests because writing takes up so much of my time. Since my return to Trinidad in February 2008 from my last year-long lecture-tour I have been continuously writing. 'The Islamic Travelogue 2007-2008: Traveling through the South in the Mission of Islam' was written shortly after my return and is now on my website. It is an interesting document that you will enjoy reading. Alhamdu lillah a second book entitled 'An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern World' was also completed and is now being printed in Malaysia. It is also available for download on my website. I believe that it is the first book of its kind to have been written in the modern age. I am now working simultaneously on two more books with the hope that I can complete them both within the next year or so Insha' Allah. They are entitled 'An Islamic View of Dajjāl the False Messiah or Anti-Christ' and 'The Life Works and Thought of Maulānā Dr Muhammad Fadlur Rahmān Ansāri (rahimahullah)' who was my teacher. When these two books are completed, Insha' Allah, I plan to travel again for at least two years.
May Allah Most Kind bless Sister Hājjah Karīma Rashīd, an African-American Muslim sister, who requested permission to come with a group to Trinidad from San Francisco, to visit me and spend some time learning from me. They came three weeks ago and spent a week with me and I was so happy with their visit that I decided to organize this week-long Retreat to which a much larger group could be invited. This seems to me to be the best format with which to respond to the requests I have been getting.
I have learnt from the story of Mūsa ('alaihi al-salam) and Khidr ('alaihi al-Salām) in Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur'ān, the difference between those who see with 'one' eye and those who see with 'two'. The former are a people who judge the modern world on the basis of its 'appearance' and conclude by recognizing it to be the best of all worlds. Those on the other hand who see with 'two' eyes – namely the 'external' as well as the 'internal', recognize this to be the worst of all worlds. They recognize universal political and economic oppression, dictatorship, slavery and the financial theft of the wealth of mankind through the bogus and fraudulent monetary system of paper currencies. They recognize the unprecedented moral decadence and decay descending upon mankind and the spiritual vacuum that has made possible that moral collapse. They recognize the universal Kufr and Shrik of this essentially godless age and long to live in the company of those who sincerely call on Allah Most High mornings and evenings while seeking His very face.
Our Retreat is meant for such latter people. We will share with them our insights into the subjects mentioned above while listening to views expressed by those who have similar or even more advanced insights. At the end of the week-long Retreat we should all emerge with a greater understanding of the reality of the modern age and with a greater capacity with which to respond individually and collectively to its awesome challenges.
I write to invite to our Retreat all those who would like to come. All that you would have to do is to pay your travel expenses. The Retreat takes place in my native Caribbean island of Trinidad (in the twin-island State of Trinidad and Tobago) on the dates mentioned above. On arrival in Trinidad, you will be guests of the local Muslim community Insha' Allah.
We expect you to arrive on or before Wednesday September 30th 2009- which would be about 10 days after Eid Al-Fitr. You would be free to depart on Wednesday October 7th unless you choose to holiday for a while in our enchantingly beautiful sister-island of Tobago. I can try to get discount rates for you in a Muslim-owned hotel in tobago. We can travel from Trinidad to Tobago by air or by ferry. The distance is very short.
If you would like to come to the Retreat but cannot afford the travel expenses, do please contact me so that I can at least make an effort to raise funds in your local community to meet your travel expenses.
I look forward to hearing from you wherever in the world you may be (but particularly if you reside in nearby South America). You can write to me at firstname.lastname@example.org. If you write and do not get a response (since some emails have a mysterious way of never reaching me) please keep on writing again and again until you get a response. We will eventually contact all those who would like to come in order to get information about you necessary when organizing an event such as this.
A program of lectures, other events and activities of the Retreat is now being prepared and would be sent to those who are interested in participating.
Do please pray that Allah Most High might bless our efforts with success and protect our Retreat from those now waging unjust war on Islām. Amīn!
Imran N. Hosein