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After celebrating graduations (everything from second grade to university), new babies, marriages and retirements, we welcomed all the first-time conference attendees. The last one arrived a bit late, but it was God’s will that he come. Someone noticed then that we had 19 new submitters on the stage. All of them had their stories of how they had found submission, the true worship of God alone, and how excited they were to be at the conference and meet so many wonderful people. May God make their journeys full of joy and blessings.
As we have for several conferences, we kicked off Friday night with a meditation session. It’s a blessing to share together this commandment from God. It puts our souls in the right frame of mind to truly focus on God for the weekend.
[17:79] During the night, you shall meditate for extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank.
[26:218] Who sees you when you meditate during the night.
Many communities shared their charitable works, reminding us of the importance of charity in God’s system. [2:270] Any charity you give, or a charitable pledge you fulfill, GOD is fully aware thereof ...
[2:274] Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
It was especially fulfilling when we were told of a matching pledge to Charity Water, if we could raise $10,000 in the next week. Within a few minutes, the amount was nearly raised, and the full amount was reached by the end of the day! So the Charity Water campaign for 2024 was off to a blazing start. The campaign continues through October. Visit the Masjid Tucson website if you wish to contribute.
As always, we were presented with many wonderful talks. They help us focus on many aspects of God and Submission. All of His creations are awesome and each speaker brought a unique perspective for the rest of us to consider and enjoy.
One of the wonderful aspects of our conference is that we draw people from so many different cultures, languages and countries. When we started tallying up all the places people had come from, it was amazing to realize that with all this diversity, we were united in one common cause—the worship of God alone.
Another wonderful feature of all our conferences is the zikr sessions every evening. We have so many beautiful voices among us to lead us in fervent commemoration of God. And this year, we were often led by children, some as young as 2, singing with amazing voices and enthusiasm for God’s words. It is truly inspiring to see the future of submission in such capable hands. May God bless these children with a life-long commitment to the worship of God.
At the close of the conference, we adjourned to Masjid Tucson for our pizza / Eegee’s party. The closeness we enjoyed at the conference stayed on with us, with more zikr and commemoration. It’s always a light and cheerful time, where we continue to sing God’s praises. This year more people than ever attended this celebration. And also our Monday trip up Mt. Lemmon. It was wonderful to see so many people appreciating the cool temperatures up on the mountain. The picnic lunch and the hike were thoroughly enjoyed by so many happy submitters.
Monday night was a pot luck feast at the Mosque for all those still in town. It’s always hard to say goodbye, so it’s a delight to have more chances to be together, joining with others to focus on the worship of God and appreciating all His bounties. This sense of unity and purpose keeps us energized for the coming year.
We look forward to seeing you in 2025!
Good manners, courtesy and cleanliness are not merely terms that have to be looked upon but we are enjoined to observe “divine etiquette” as part of our faith.
At the very onset we are commanded to observe the wudu ablution before we offer our Contact Prayers (Salat). Our fasting too in Ramadan is to endorse higher and finer human qualities like self-restraint and moderation in conduct. We abstain from necessities like food, water and wants for a specific period. This leads to self-control and an empathetic approach to the ethics of plenty and insufficiency.
Our conduct is defined with moderation, and also becomes a proof of our submission to the Will of God and we gain merit for the Hereafter. Our patience which is tested and done due to God’s command becomes a part of our character.
Restraint and tolerance are among the better qualities that can be acquired and applied to everyday situations, especially when confronted with making critical decisions. Instead of arguments and clashes these traits would be inculcated. Patience is the basis of better conduct in social dealings. There would be fewer hostilities as part of a self-improvement regime to handle anger. Anger management has been handled by the Quran over 14 centuries ago and there will be little need to go to special classes if we can study the Quran and apply it to our lives. The emphasis is on meeting the requisites of civility, in contrast to being aggressive to those around us.
[25:63] The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.
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