Successful and Well-attended Seerah Conference in Folsom, California
By Ras H. Siddiqui

The Muslim Community of Folsom (MCF) started off in 2011 as a Mosque, catering to the spiritual needs of a growing community, followers of the Islamic faith in and around the eastern part of Sacramento County in California. But today it is doing a whole lot more as it has expanded its services to include a Sunday School, marriages, counseling services, cub scouts, youth, women and senior programs, and assistance with funerals, to name a few.

MCF has now become a real community center and is quite a popular place for immigrants from diverse backgrounds, especially people from the Middle East and South Asia (from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and lately Afghanistan), who are drawn to Folsom, a regional technology hub with great public schools. The MCF congregation has grown under the capable leadership of Imam (now Mufti) Aamir Nazir who is from South Africa with family roots in South Asia.

Mufti Aamir is a religious scholar, a cricket fan and player (he strongly supports the  South African national team) and has a better command of Urdu language poetry than many immigrants who came here from where the language is spoken. He comes from a family of accomplished Urdu poets and was exposed to the language at a very young age. Imam Aamir has recently started teaching classes on the poems and philosophy of Allama Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet and one of the finest that the Urdu language has ever produced. The classes are being taught in both English and Urdu so please check them out if you reside in the area.

Mufti Aamir Nazir hosted the MCF’s 6 th Seerah Conference at its facility on Saturday, January 14, 2023 which drew quite a large number of people from many ethnicities and  backgrounds in the Sacramento region.

A Seerah is essentially the biography of a person, and a Seerah Conference is an event during which one studies and reads the biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and travels through his life by reviewing the example that he has set. The conference here was inspired by Mufti Nazir’s late father, and we are all glad that we can continue to benefit from it. Mufti Aamir elaborated on the topic during his short introduction. We are here today to learn from the Prophet’s life, he said. He also gave reasons why it is important to learn from the Seerah of the Prophet of Islam.

It can be quite challenging to report on a four-hour conference held in at least three languages (Arabic, English and Urdu), but let us attempt to present some short highlights here starting with the other speakers since we have already introduced our host.), There was a very inspiring Qur’an recitation from Imam Abdullah (MAS-Elk Grove) and speeches by Dr Mohammed Najeeb (Masjid Annur, Sacramento), Imam Yousef Hussein, Mufti Mudassir Awais and Imam Ammar Shahin (Davis). And besides the speakers we had some excellent Urdu Naat presentations by Hafiz Tulaib and its Arabic equivalent, Nasheed by Dr Najeeb.  . 

Dr Mohammad Najeeb was requested to speak in Arabic. He shed some light on the life of the Prophet which Imam Ammar translated. He said that Allah (SWT) sent us not an Angel, but a human being whose example we should follow in this world. He added that the Sunnah of the Prophet is a moderate example to lead us and is not extreme in any way. The Prophet’s emphasis on good manners was also highlighted.    

Imam Yousef Hussein spoke in English. He explained why the Prophet’s Seerah is so important to Muslims to learn from and understand. He specifically focused on the Prophet’s fairness and justice in dealing equally with others. When Islam had just a handful of followers a person asked the Prophet “Who follows you?” The Prophet replied that both a free person and a slave. At that time Abu Bakr (RA) and Bilal (RA) were amongst the few followers of the Prophet. By the end of his life more than 100,000 people were following him and the religion of Islam. During the time from a handful of people to the thousands that followed him the Prophet did not change in his humbleness, his treatment of people and his simple living, said Imam Yousef.

Mufti Mudassir Awais spoke in Urdu. He asked for Allah’s blessings on this event and on us who are participating. He added that this occasion should instill in us a greater love of the Creator and his Prophet and that we should be grateful for this gift of Seerah, which we are lucky to have with us. Mufti Awais shared some examples from the life of the Prophet which drew people to him and Islam. He said that the Prophet’s behavior never generated hate between people and that is certainly something that we can all learn from today. He highlighted the interaction of the Prophet in public gatherings and his conduct within his family as examples for us to emulate. For those that understand Urdu, the Mufti’s speeches can be really inspiring as his deliveries in the language are a joy to listen to.  

Imam Ammar Shahin delivered the closing speech. His topic was how the Prophet handled different forms of jāhiliyyah or ignorance and ignorant practices during his life.  Speaking in English he explained how ignorance can be countered and how the Prophet dealt with it. The Prophet kept the good and left the evil during the time of jāhiliyyah, he said. And from amongst the many issues faced during that time, such as the ill treatment of women and racism, the Prophet took a revolutionary approach to change them. The rights of women came early in Islam, which should not be confused by the (wrong) practices of some Muslims today, he said. The Prophet said that the best amongst you is who is best to his women, to his wife. He also valued the opinion of women. On racism Ammar added that it exists even in our time. He said when the Prophet was asked who is the most honorable among the people, he replied that it is those who are the most pious (not social status or the color of your skin). The Prophet elevated Bilal (RA), a former Abyssinian slave, and asked him to give the call to prayer (Adhan) while standing on top of the Kaaba, the most sacred of our holy places.

Our host for this Seerah Conference Mufti Aamir also spoke on many issues and one can close here by offering our congratulations to him on holding a very successful and well-attended event. And we hope that this annual tradition will continue at MCF. Also, to be thanked here is Br Rashid Thomas for providing the video and pictures that helped greatly in compiling this report.