The Setting

Upon arrival, the lecture scheduled between Maghrib and 'Isha was delayed and there was no table present for the lecturer/microphones and recording gear. It seemed at first that the hosts may have had second thoughts, after some time, they came forward and agreed for the lecture to begin on the condition that 'no ill words be mentioned of Aboo Haneefah.' It seems that they were apprehensive that Aboo Haneefah would be criticised by these Yemenee guests, which would never have been the case, may Allaah forgive and reward the late Imaam, Aboo Haneefah (rahimahullah). The speaker (Shaykh Aboo 'Amr) agreed of course, and the lecture was set to begin, although no tables were brought out (after several requests) and the speaker and the translator (Aboo Muhammad al-Maghribee) and the audio equipment/recorder all had to crouch around the mimbar, in addition, the microphone was broken (crackling and low), the power supply on the audio equipment surged and broke and to top it all off, there were many glum faces in the audience, nonetheless our beloved guest speaker's enthusiasm wasn't dampened in the least and he proceeded to give an spirited advice to all those in attendance reflecting his love for Islamic Da'wah and desire for guidance for his brothers and sisters in Islaam.

The Lecture

Shaykh Aboo 'Amr began by mentioning the purpose of creation, the importance of worshipping Allaah upon knowledge and understanding setting the stage for the lecture theme, 'Seeking knowledge is the foundation of giving Da'wah'.

His focus then moved on to studying the Tawheed of Allaah, the efforts of the Prophets and the Sahabah to teach the people this, worshipping upon knowledge, giving preference to learning the Deen of Allaah not simply following traditions without knowledge and proofs from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). He highlighted the way of the Scholars of the Past, their example of going out to seek knowledge in light of the concept of giving da'wah/making calls and abandoning setting out to learn the religion of Allaah.

A spirited and emotional plea, from one brother to another, to give preference to seeking knowledge of this perfect deen of al-Islaam, to set out to understand learning about Tawheed extensively, studying all affairs of our religion with proofs and evidences, not blindly following any group, organisation or movement, being upon the 'Aqeedah of those who came before us, the likes of Bukhaaree and Muslim who were partisan only to the Sharee'ah of Allaah and Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'aah, learning then implementing, spending lifetimes in the pursuit of learning and practising Islaam correctly, seeking the reward from Allaah, the Most High.

The up-tempo talk and equally energetic translation coupled with the beautiful knowledge that was being disseminated to all those in attendance slowly removed all the long faces and replaced them with nodding heads and smiles, one of the most amazing examples of how knowledge affects the heart and how the beauty of adilah (proofs) from the book and the Sunnah can change the feelings of an audience when they are willing recipients. A truly unique and highly recommended lecture.