Ali Ataie – Zaytuna College Commencement 2024 (highquality)
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Welcome to the new Kajani Family Gardens.
We will now begin the program
with a Quran recitation
from Surah Al Maida
recited by
Belaha.
That will be followed by an English translation
read by graduating senior
Hafsa Munira
Yacine.
In the name of god, the most gracious,
the most merciful,
relate to them in truth, oh prophet, the
story of Adam's 2 sons,
how each offered a sacrifice.
Abel's offering was accepted while Cain's was not.
So Cain threatened, I will kill you.
His brother replied,
Allah only accepts the offering of the sincerely
devout.
If you raise your hand to kill me,
I will not raise my hand to kill
you, because I fear Allah, the Lord of
all worlds.
I want to let you bear your sin
against me, along with your other sins. Then
you will be one of those destined to
the fire, and that is the reward of
the wrongdoers.
Yet Cain convinced himself to kill his brother,
so he killed him,
becoming a loser.
Then Allah sent a crow digging a grave
in the ground for a dead crow in
order to show him how to bury the
corpse of his brother.
He cried, alas,
have I even failed to be like this
crow and bury the corpse of my brother?
So he became regretful.
This is why we ordained for the children
of Israel
that whoever takes a life, unless punishment for
murder or miss in the land, it will
be as if they killed all of humanity.
And whoever saves a life, it will be
as if they saved all of humanity.
Although our messenger already came to them with
clear proofs,
many of them still transgressed afterwards through the
land.
Mahdi Yamin
will now sing Talaal
Badru Alayna as the processional members take the
stage.
And we
always
to show gratefulness
where the call
is to
Oh,
you
were raised amongst
us.
Coming
with a word to be obeyed.
You have brought
to this
Miss Mila Rahim Al Rahim,
on behalf of the board of trustees, the
faculty, staff, and students,
I'd like to welcome you all to the
commencement ceremony
of our graduating class of 2024, which has
now begun. So please be seated.
This is
always a blessed occasion,
to celebrate accomplishments,
and, certainly, college is one of the
major accomplishments
of our,
civilization,
of our species.
Learning,
and education
is what we believe really cultivates our humanity.
It's not for nothing that traditionally
the qualitative side of these
studies was called the humanities.
In Arabic, they were called adab,
which is related to a beautiful word
which has to do with courtesy and comportment
and civility
and discipline.
The prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam was reported to
have said
adebani rabbif ahsina taddibi.
My Lord has cultivated me, and what a
beautiful cultivation
I was given.
To just begin with some advice,
from a much
greater
scholar and
one of our majestic masters.
He ended a book which he called
with this advice. So I wanted
to read it for our students
and for myself.
He says,
He says, oh intelligent one,
person of reason.
Direct your energies to what concerns you. Be
content with your your time of life.
Be a source of peace for people of
your age.
Be acclimatized to the customs of your time.
Be accepting of those whom people prefer them
to you,
and compassionate
to those whom people prefer you to them.
Neither isolate them by avoiding them,
so that they hate you.
Nor oppose them until they aggress upon you.
For there's no real life for the odious
one,
and no repose for one aggressed upon.
Remember the poet's words,
if everyone is content with 1, but one
among them disagrees,
their agreement seems to mean that it is
the one who is a bad judge.
Make the sincerity of your soul the treasure
of your intelligence.
Don't cajole yourself into hiding your faults or
making excuses,
such that your enemy is better at controlling
himself than you are when he condemns you
and exposes you,
despite his points being of direct import to
you,
especially given you've deluded yourself with all your
excuses and dissembling.
Indeed, it's enough of a calamity that a
man benefits his enemy by harming himself.
Ahmad al Farahidi said, rectify yourself for yourself's
sake, and you'll find people behind you.
Another said, whoever rectifies himself subdues his enemies,
and whoever sets to work with seriousness will
achieve his desires.
Another said, whoever knows his faults
doesn't find fault
in those who fault him.
That's worth repeating.
Whoever knows his faults
doesn't find fault
in those who fault him.
Remember well the poet's words.
Diverted are his eyes from his own faults,
yet if another's faults appears,
so clearly he sees them.
So, polish well, oh human one, that soul
of yours by rejecting your faults, and treat
your ego
like you'd treat an enemy.
If you don't exhort yourself,
exhortations won't help you. May God help you
in word and
deed and with a sincere acceptance.
God will suffice and God is our protector.
There is no strength or power save with
God. So this is how Imam al Mauredi
ends his famous book.
One of the great gifts
that god has given us is existence itself.
We tend to forget that.
It's a very fragile thing.
It doesn't last for a very long time,
but it's our time. Other people have been
here.
One of the greatest,
intellects to come out of Russia was Fyodor
Dostoevsky.
And
this actually came to me this morning because
I was talking
a little bit before Fudger with Tobias Tubbs.
For some reason, he sent me a, tweet
that said, don't catastrophize your problems.
And,
so I just called him because he he
was awake.
He sent it at about 4:30,
I think. And he said, I'm on the
beach thinking
about Allah.
And then I said to him, you know,
your story, in some ways, it's like
Yemo Dostoevsky's, and then I I read him
this,
and he said, you have to send me
that right now.
It was just what I needed to hear.
So
I thought, in light of that, I'll share
it with you. Dostoevsky came face to face
with his death,
something that happened to me when I was
17 years old in a head on collision.
And more than once, I've been faced directly
with death.
I spent
several weeks in a very horrible jail in
in
in,
in, Niger,
and we didn't know what was gonna happen
to us.
The person that put us in that jail
accused of of being spies
from Libya,
of all places.
And we didn't know what was gonna happen
to us, so we spent that time in
in in a very interesting state of mind.
I was 19 years old, and my friend
actually kept a diary. So he sent me
a few years ago the diary of that
time. It was very interesting to read it,
what we were thinking about.
But Dostoevsky,
he when he was young, he joined a
revolutionary group. It was actually a study group,
but they were disseminating
books
that had dangerous ideas
that were challenge challenging czarist Russia,
And so he was arrested and charged as
a terrorist and sent sentenced to death.
As a kind of cruel joke, they placed
him and his comrades
on these stakes in a public square in
Saint Petersburg
in front of a very large crowd,
and
they let them, talk to the priest, orthodox
priest. Some of them declined because they were
atheists.
And then the officers raised their guns, and
they said, ready, aim. And at the last
minute, somebody came with a piece of paper,
the czar has pardoned them.
And it was to it was it was
really a PR,
what they used to call propaganda, and now
they call public relations.
It was a propaganda technique
to display the largesse
of the czar.
So Dostoevsky
got the great gift
of thinking about what he
would think about in the moments before his
death.
A few hours later, when he sent back
to his cell, he wrote to his brother,
Mikhail.
Brother,
I'm not despondent, and I haven't lost heart.
Life is everywhere.
Life is in us, not outside.
There will be people by my side,
meaning in Siberia because he was sentenced to
4 years of hard labor in a Siberian
prison.
There will be people by my side, and
to be a human being among people and
to remain 1 forever, no matter what the
circumstances,
not to grow despondent
and not to lose heart. That
is what life is all about.
That
is its task.
I have come to recognize that. The idea
has entered my flesh and blood, the head
that created,
live the higher life of art, that recognized
and grew accustomed to the higher demands of
the spirit that has already been cut from
my shoulders, but there remain in me a
heart and the same flesh and blood that
can also love,
suffer,
and pity, and remember, and that's life too.
Can it be that I'll never take pen
in hand? If I won't be able to
write, I'll perish.
Here's a moment of despair.
Better 15 years of imprisonment and a pen
in hand.
I haven't lost heart, brother.
Remember that hope has not abandoned me. After
all, I was at desk door today. I
lived with that thought for 3 quarters of
an hour. I faced the last moment, and
now I am alive again.
If anyone remembers me with malice,
if I've quarreled with anyone, tell them to
forget about that if you manage to see
them. There is no bile or spite in
me.
I would
I would like so to love and embrace
at least someone out of the past at
this moment. When I look back at the
past and think of all the time I
squandered
in error and idleness lacking the knowledge I
needed to live. When I think of how
I sinned against my heart and my soul,
then my heart bleeds.
Life is a gift.
Life is happiness.
Every minute could have been an eternity
of happiness.
If youth but knew.
Joy entered his heart at that moment. He
had a lot of tragedy in his life,
but the Quran reminds us,
Say with the grace
of God, the fafal of God, the grace
of Allah
and Allah's mercy.
Most of our commentators, Imam Al Qortubi, says
the fadl is the Quran, the Rahma is
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Because in another verse, Allah says don't,
don't let
In other words, don't
rejoice over the empty vacuity
of the stuff of this world.
Rejoice in something much greater, which is faith.
These are what we're told to rejoice in.
Happiness,
sa'ada, is one of the greatest things. The
philosopher said it is the end of life.
It's the reward of virtue. You studied,
raga binispehani,
and the importance of happiness.
Happiness
is not easy
in this world,
but happiness is a duty, as a wise
man said. It's a duty because nobody wants
to be around unhappy people.
Happiness is an achievement of distinguished people.
There are those who think the world is
too full of misery for anybody anyone to
be happy, But truly happy people know all
the reasons why they shouldn't be happy,
but they are nonetheless.
Partly why the world is so bad
is there's so many unhappy people in it.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasalam was called AbbaHaq,
is one of his names,
the one who smiled all the time.
His laugh, we know, was a smile, and
he said to smile at another is an
act of charity.
Because something is given, a subtle joy is
transmitted in smiling at another
as if you are saying,
your presence brings joy to me,
which in turns brings joy to that source
of your joy.
Happiness is not a kind of glib grinning.
There's a solemnity to happiness.
Happiness can reduce us to tears,
what we call tears of joy.
1 of the wisest people I've ever known,
and most certainly the brilliant, the most brilliant,
was doctor Thomas Cleary.
He lived a quiet life toiling away at
night.
He spent several years between 3 and 6
in the morning translating the Quran. He said
it was the only time he could translate
it.
And he had many openings in doing so.
One of the most extraordinary classes at Zetuna
Institute
before it became the college was his art
of war class, something that the students that
were in that class
still after a quarter of a century later,
recall it.
He wanted to teach
Muslims to think deeper about how to navigate
these tempest tossed times
intelligently,
strategically,
effectively.
He wrote in the introduction
of his own translation of The Art of
War by Sun Tzu.
In sent and I called him on on
September
11th because
this is 2,001 he taught this class. I
called him on September 11th.
He had a class on the art of
war
the next day at Zaytuna.
And we didn't know at that time anything
about all we knew was what had happened
in New York. But I said to him,
do you wanna cancel the class? He said,
cancel the class?
All the more reason to have the class.
So he says in his introduction, in Sun
Tzu's philosophy,
the peak
the peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy
is to make conflict altogether
20
In the 29 military expeditions that our prophet
actually engaged in, fighting occurred in only 11
with minimal casualties.
He never instigated battles,
but in Medina, he and his community were
finally given sanction to defend themselves when aggressed
upon.
His greatest victory, which is enshrined in the
chapter of the Quran called al Fattah,
the
victory, was his truce at Hodeibia,
which avoided conflict and led to his people
entering into Islam in droves.
His own companions initially displayed their great displeasure
at his compromises with the aggressors,
and with the exception of Abu Bakr, even
questioning his judgment at the time.
Only later would they see the great wisdom
in his decision.
In these dark times, with so much suffering,
trial, and tribulation,
it's wise to remember our prophet's constant struggles,
but his hopeful and positive perspective
that never flagged
and never wavered.
To allow the world to get you down
is to forget to look up.
The sky is always above us.
We all prayed
for good weather today
because we were worried we've had
a couple of really cloudy days, and it
was freezing yesterday.
As Mark Twain said, the coldest winter he
ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.
So
we all prayed, and there's more important things
than weather to pray for.
But Ibn,
Al Hajj in his Madkhal says, if you're
going to the market,
pray that you find the things that you
need because the gratitude of unanswered prayers is
a great one
of answered prayers is a great one.
I've taken off from San Francisco countless times
on very cloudy, gloomy days,
and I always
am struck by the plane's penetration of those
gloomy clouds and the mournful fog,
only to reveal a bright sunny day
above those clouds.
This is the task
to rise above the doom and gloom of
Kufr's cloud cover
and literally
discover
the sun of glory
that's always present above them. As Emily Bronte
really brilliantly put it,
no coward soul is mine.
No trembler in the world's storm troubled sphere.
I see heaven's glory shine
and faith shines equal arming me from fear.
Doctor Cleary in a private letter to one
of his students from Zetuna who had expressed
her grief over some of the wars raging
in the early 2000,
wrote, it's no use mourning for a self
destructive world.
It just increases the toll of victims
and the devil's triumph.
Keep your sanity where the world can't reach
it.
Celebrate the humanity that is within you.
Be grateful that it hasn't been lost.
Graduating senior,
Nabil Zaman,
will now read the poem titled,
September 1,
1939
by W. H. Auden.
September 1,
1939
by w h Auden.
I sit in one of the dives
on 52nd Street,
uncertain and afraid as the clever hopes expire
of a low, dishonest decade.
Waves of anger and fear circulate over the
bright and darkened lands of the earth, obsessing
our private lives.
The unmentionable odor of death offends the September
night.
Accurate scholarship can unearth the whole offense from
Luther until now that has driven a culture
mad.
Find what occurred at Lin's, what huge Imago
made a psychopathic
god.
I and the public know what all school
children learn.
Those to whom evil is done
do evil in return.
Exiled Thucydides knew all that a speech can
say about democracy
and what dictators do,
what the elderly
rubbish they talk to an apathetic grave,
analyzed all in his book, The Enlightenment Driven
Away, The Habit Forming Pain, Mismanagement,
and Grief,
we must suffer them all again.
Into this neutral air where blind skyscrapers
use their full height to proclaim the strength
of collective man,
each language
pours its vain competitive excuse.
But who can live for long in an
euphoric dream?
Out of the mirror, they stare,
imperialism's
face and the international
wrong.
Faces along the bar cling to their average
day.
The lights must never go out. The music
must always play.
All the conventions conspire to make this fort
assume the furniture of home,
lest we should see where we are. Lost
in a haunted wood,
children afraid of the night who have never
been happy or good.
The windiest militant trash important person's shout is
not so crude as our wish.
What Mad Nijinsky wrote about Diaghilev is true
of the normal heart.
For the error bread in the bone of
each woman and each man craves what it
cannot have.
Not universal love,
but to be loved alone.
From the conservative dark into the ethical life,
the dense commuters come,
repeating their morning vow.
I will be true to the wife.
I'll concentrate more on my work,
and helpless governors wake to resume their compulsory
game.
Who can release them now?
Who can reach the deaf?
Who can speak for the dumb?
All I have is a voice to undo
the folded lie.
The romantic lie in the brain of the
sensual man in the streets and the lie
of authority whose buildings * the sky.
There is no such thing as a state
and no one exists alone.
Hunger allows no choice to the citizen or
the police.
We must love one another or die.
Defenseless under the night, our world in stupor
lies.
Yet,
dotted everywhere ironic points of light flash out
wherever the just exchanged their messages.
May I
compose like them of Eros and of dust,
beleaguered by the same negation and affair,
show an affirming flame.
Thank you.
Zaytunah alumnus,
Youssef Seyal,
will now read the poem,
if I must die by Rafat
Al Arieir.
Alright.
So this is a poem written by Rifat
Al Aireer.
He was a professor of English literature
at the university at the Islamic University of
Gaza,
which was destroyed along with 10 other universities
and colleges there.
Sadly, Rifaat himself was killed at his home.
May Allah
have mercy on his soul.
Amen. In the translation of Tarajama is by
Sinan Anton.
So, If I Must Die by Rafat Al
A'ir.
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story,
to sell my things,
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
make it white with a long tail,
so that a child,
somewhere in Gaza,
while
looking while looking heaven in the eye,
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze,
and bid no and bid no one farewell,
not even to his flesh,
not even to himself.
Seize the kite.
My you made,
flying above,
and thinks for a moment an angel is
there,
bringing back love.
If I must die,
let it bring hope.
Let it be a tale.
President Hamza Yousef
will now introduce
our commencement speaker.
Alhamdulillah.
The,
just one thing about the that poet,
you know, it it was enough of a
crime
that the
Nazis killed Edith Stein,
and I think it's
it's enough of a crime that
that that man was killed.
Really happy to invite doctor Angel Adams Parham.
She, is an extraordinary woman that I was
really fortunate to meet
at the,
she actually contacted me, but but we met
through the classical learning test.
She is an associate professor of sociology and
a senior fellow at the Institute For Advanced
Studies
in culture at the University of Virginia. She
works in the area of historical sociology, engaging
in research and writing
that examine the past in order to better
understand
how to to live well in the present,
and to more wisely envision
the future.
She's the author of American Routes, Racial Palempsest,
and the Transformation of Race, a winner of
a number of awards in sociology and social
science history.
She is also active in public face facing
teaching and scholarship, where she provides training for
k through 12 educators
who are looking to better integrate black writers
and black history into their teaching.
She coauthored with doctor Anika Prather, another really
extraordinary lady,
the black intellectual tradition,
reading freedom
in Classical Literature, published by the class of
academic test as part of it this effort.
She serves on the editorial board for Cambridge
Studies in Historical Sociology,
a new series housed at Cambridge University Press.
She's a great advocate of the liberal arts,
and she's also an associate editor of Principia
Journal of Classical Education. So please give her
a very warm welcome.
It is an inestimable
honor
to be here with you on this very,
very happy occasion.
So much thanks to president Sheikh Hamza Yousaf
for, the honor of this invitation to address
you on such a beautiful occasion,
and I hope that my words will be
an encouragement.
Beauty.
If you remember nothing else from today's commencement
speech,
and I'm aware of how forgetful many such
speeches are,
Remember beauty,
as this will be my first and last
word.
Among the transcendentals,
beauty is often left for last.
Truth, goodness,
and beauty.
It's often given less attention or actively avoided
because it's perceived to be frivolous at best
or
dangerously
seductive
and deceptive at worst.
But beauty has a transformative
power
to heal and to lead us toward truth
and goodness
when other means have failed.
We must not therefore underestimate the life giving
importance
of beauty.
Let me tell you a story.
Here's the portrait that I want you to
paint in your mind's eye.
There are abandoned lots, weeds growing with abandon.
Old tires are tossed here and there.
Black blights on the neglected lawns. There are
children playing in the streets, a bit bedraggled,
but full of energy,
still filled with hope and delight in the
smallest things.
As you walk down this street with me,
you will see that it's quite a different
matter with the adults.
Many of them look back or look down
with a darkened gaze.
Some are desperately hungry, hunting for more of
what they shouldn't have
on streets too eager to give them what
will destroy them.
Others are stronger and healthier, but bowed down
and discouraged by hard work
over many long years, work that seems to
get them nowhere.
What is needed in such a desolate landscape?
Jobs are needed. Yes.
Better schools with better funded programs are needed.
Certainly.
Opportunity
is what is needed. This cannot be denied.
But who, walking down these streets,
seeing the portrait I am painting for you,
would say that what is also urgently needed
is beauty.
I hope by the end of my brief
time
with you here that you will share my
conviction that beauty is inseparably connected to flourishing
and that the education you have received here
at Zaytuna College
uniquely prepares you to share this life giving
source so necessary
for the kind of place we are visiting
in our minds.
But please know that this place that I'm
describing is not confined to the space of
the mind.
It is a real place, the neighborhood where
I and my family lived for 12 years
in a difficult part of New Orleans,
where life's struggles are played out in the
very public ways on the street,
as well as in the homes of the
children I was graced to work with.
It was there that we built a house.
It was there that our church worked to
be a life giving presence.
And it was there that I and a
group of my intrepid college students worked for
several years to bring beauty to young people
in the form of classic stories, art, and
language.
The same kinds of classic stories and literature
so prized here at Zetuna.
For what we did was to translate that
rich literature
into a form that young children would delight
in.
In the midst of a community hurting in
so many ways, we read The Iliad and
The Odyssey,
we recited poetry and studied art, We ate,
drank, and sang together.
Much as Zetuna weaves classic traditions together, bringing
the best of Western and Islamic learning and
literature into conversation,
we wove together Western classics with African, African
American,
and other diverse materials to create something beautiful
for the children.
The youth pastor,
realizing that our young people had to walk
past tempting video games and booming popular music
to read Homer
with college students,
wondered aloud
how it was going.
He was right to inquire,
as we live in an era of aggressive
amusements that lure our young people
into distracted and sometimes deadly oblivion.
The seductive dangers of amusement
led Neil Postman to write the book Amusing
Ourselves to Death,
a meditation on the damage we do to
ourselves
as we give into the shining lights that
seek to divert our attention
from what can really nourish and sustain our
souls.
But, instead of giving into the shiny lure
of amusement, the children came to us after
school where they listened to stories and wrote
poetry.
And we placed the poetry with art into
small booklets that made the children proud for
they had become authors and they marvelled at
their own ingenuity.
And as the work has spread beyond New
Orleans,
new children in other difficult places in Houston,
inner city Philadelphia, and Uganda, difficult places in
Houston, inner city Philadelphia, and Uganda
have laughed and smiled and discovered and created.
I do not relate these stories naively.
I do not ignore the powerful forces of
social and economic injustice,
oppression, and violence
that mark the lives of these young people.
I have visited homes where children are forced
to care for themselves.
I have rushed with my own children to
stay clear of the windows while bullets are
flying outside.
So no.
I do not speak of the power of
beauty lightly or naively.
I speak of it because I know the
power that beauty, and sometimes beauty alone,
has to inspire a life giving, life saving
vision for the future.
It is the same yearning for more that
many black writers of the black intellectual tradition,
so often weighed down by sorrow and suffering,
have responded to generation after generation,
inspired to creative action by the beautiful vision
of a more just world.
It was this yearning for the beautiful vision
that led Phillis Wheatley,
a young girl kidnapped from the West Coast
of Africa in the 18th century, to petition
the poetic muse
to inspire
her writing in the cause of liberty during
the American Revolution.
It was this yearning for the beautiful vision
that powered Frederick Douglass'
fiery, incisive critique and oratory of the 19th
century.
It was this yearning for the beautiful vision
that led Anna Julia Cooper,
born into slavery, but destined for freedom,
To bring the liberal arts of literature,
history, and philosophy
to black working class men and women in
the 20th century when the rest of American
society declared them undeserving
and unfit for such an education.
I believe that what you have learned here
at Zaytuna College has formed in you the
capacity
to do infinitely more in your own lives
than all of these great minds combined.
Because you have gotten early on a kind
of education and formation
that most can only dream of having at
your age.
You have read widely and deeply across traditions,
the epic of Gilgamesh and Aristotle,
Sophocles and the Psalms of David,
the Analects of Confucius
and the Bhagavad Gita,
Cicero and Al Kindi,
Ebencina,
Al Ghazali
and Aquinas,
along with too many more to name.
In all of this, your minds and imaginations
have been filled with the good things
that equip you to counter culturally
live the way of beauty, which draws others
around you to aspire
toward goodness, truth, and justice.
As you do this, you'll be following in
the footsteps of many people, both great and
small, who have modeled for us the way
of beauty in dark times.
Here, I lay out for your contemplation
three lives, which embody the transformative power of
beauty and a broken world.
You'll see that they go from the world
renowned
to the everyday.
So there's a place along this continuum
for each of you to make your unique
contribution as well.
The first is Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Solzhenitsyn
was a Russian writer whose family defied the
Soviet government's repression of those who refused to
leave the Russian Orthodox Church.
Though he turned away from his faith as
a young man, the courage he learned from
his family stayed with him.
And he was condemned to 8 years in
prison for writing a private letter in which
he spoke out against the government's violent oppression.
But what the government meant for his defeat
turned into a triumph of the spirit.
For it was while he was in prison
that he turned to philosophy and back to
faith.
He then poured his energies into writing, producing
literature which shaped the imagination of a new
generation,
calling them to freedom of mind, body, and
spirit.
When he won the Nobel Prize for Literature,
he devoted his speech to, of all things,
beauty.
He begins by sharing Dostoevsky's
oft cited quote, beauty will save the world.
What sort of statement is that, Solzhenitsyn
wondered?
When, he continued, in bloodthirsty history did beauty
ever save anyone from anything?
These are entirely reasonable questions and he pondered
them for a while before concluding
that the power of beauty lay in its
unconquerable
truth.
Political speeches and social programs may be based
on mistakes or manipulations,
but a true work of art is never
false.
Instead, he argues,
those works of art which have scooped up
the truth and presented it to us as
a living force,
they take hold of us, compel us, and
nobody ever, not even in ages to come,
will appear to refute them.
And this is why he concludes that even
when truth and goodness are crushed,
cut down, and forbidden
by violence and oppression,
to push through the soil that seeks to
nourish them,
the unexpected
stems of beauty
escape, spread their tendrils,
and bring her sister's truth and goodness with
her.
Sojnitsa
knew the power of beauty.
The next slide we'll consider is that of
Marva Collins, an African American woman born in
1936
in Monroeville,
Alabama.
Anyone who knows something about US history
knows that to be born black in 19
thirties Alabama
meant there was a struggle ahead for you.
But Marva had the privilege of being born
into an educated,
fairly prosperous family since her father owned a
funeral business.
She was nourished on great literature,
beginning with the Bible stories her grandmother read
to her.
It was her aunt Ruby who introduced her
to Shakespeare
when she was 9 years old.
She walked into the room when Macbeth was
being read aloud, and this is what she
heard.
She should have died hereafter.
There would have been a time for such
a word.
Tomorrow
and tomorrow
and tomorrow
creeps in this petty pace from day to
day.
While she didn't understand what it was all
about, the words swirled in her mind, and
she got hold of the book to read
it for herself, taking delight particularly
in these lines,
double, double, toil and trouble,
which announced the worrying prophecy Macbeth would live
out in the play.
Many years later, while living in a different
Black community in Chicago, a place of struggle
where the children were muted and their eyes
were dull,
Collins would remember the sparkle great literature had
brought to her own eyes, And she embarked
on the great work of creating a school
that would fill the young people in that
Chicago community
with beauty and hope.
They came to her literally
mute.
Some had been so profoundly
affected by trauma that they did not speak.
Others were assumed to have low IQs,
but those whom others had cast aside
became Marva Collins'
intellectual
wonders.
In the book commemorating her life, she explains,
I was constantly reminding the children
that some of the greatest people in history,
Socrates, Milton, Galileo,
Einstein, Edison, and Columbus,
were ridiculed and told they would never amount
to anything.
Every day, I put a different quotation on
the board.
Speak the speech trippingly on the tongue.
Shakespeare.
Cowards die many times before their deaths. The
valiant never taste of death but once.
Julius Caesar.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet
desperation.
Thoreau.
And, quite provocatively,
the proverb,
he who eats my bread does my will.
This last was meant to remind the children
that they did not have to live down
to the low expectations others had set for
them.
Marva Collins steeped her young pupils in literature
and philosophy,
took them to libraries and museums
and 20 years later, the formerly mute spoke
eloquently
and those who had been swept aside like
dust were lawyers and accountants.
Marva Collins knew the power of beauty in
dark places.
And finally,
we consider an everyday hero,
someone much closer to your own stage of
life,
a 1st year student of mine at the
University of Virginia.
Her name is Saman
Akbarzada.
Though quite young, Saman has endured what many
would find to be unendurable.
She lived between bouts of violence in her
homeland, going to school never knowing when the
next blow might be struck.
Then one day,
the combatants bombed a school,
killing more than 60 young girls very much
like herself.
In mourning their lives, Symone wrote poetry.
You load your guns,
we'll turn the pages.
You pull the triggers,
we'll press our pins.
Stain us with blood,
we'll paint crimson roses.
What comes across
in these devastating lines is a fierce determination
to learn and flourish,
to live life defiantly
in the midst of death.
As she was writing poetry,
she also completed a novel and secured a
publishing contract as a teenager.
This novel tells the story of a widow
who lost her husband to government violence.
Then just as it was due to be
released,
Saman received word that her life was in
danger because of her writing.
A phone call in the night at 10
PM gave her just 5 hours to pack
up and leave the country.
As she has sought to make a new
home in the US, she has continued to
write, publishing a book of poetry in 2022.
For Saman,
the cultivation
of the poetic imagination,
both for herself
and for those who read her work,
is as necessary
as breathing.
As she reflects on the power of writing,
she explains,
what is poetry but a moment of weakness
and what is art if not finding pleasure
despite one's suffering?
There is an eerie beauty in pain.
Like all other art forms, literature
is not only for comfort, but also for
coping with the atrocities
of dear life,
forcing us to crawl under our skin
until it feels right
and we can breathe again.
I aspire for this book of poetry to
be a sanctuary.
Saman's desire is to become a trauma informed
psychologist
and to continue writing in order to put
the ineffable
and the agonizingly
painful
somehow into words that help us to make
something redemptive
out of suffering.
Saman knows the power of beauty in the
midst of sorrow.
What each of these three exemplars demonstrates
is the power of beauty as it exists
in the form of the moral imagination.
Iris Murdoch
describes the moral imagination
as that capacity we humans have to make
pictures of the good life
while coming to resemble those pictures of the
good that we have breathed into being.
We struggle
often against great obstacles to bring this good
into being.
But where do these images of the good
life come from?
They come from story.
They come from poetry.
They come from art.
We fill our minds with these treasures
and bring them out to empower,
to inspire,
and to heal.
Zetuna graduates,
you have it in you
to show the way of beauty in a
world that is thirsty for it.
For we live in a world where the
good,
beautiful, and true are more and more firmly
crowded out by entertainments
and distractions
that keep us from the deeper sources that
have the power to refresh and inspire.
You have been equipped with ways of seeing
the world through philosophy,
literature, and faith
while so many others perish
for lack of them.
As you go forth now into the world,
illuminate
the path that leads to truth,
shine a light on obscured byways that lead
to goodness,
and point the way to the stepping stones
that bring us closer
to justice.
Do this by living a life that is
a testament
to the transcendent
and transformative
power
of beauty.
Thank you.
Amina Safa Hafiz
will now give the BA student remarks.
Thank you all for being here to celebrate
this joyous occasion.
Prior to Zetuna, I spent a year at
a STEM focused public university in Detroit.
Despite the academic rigor, I felt that my
education was devoid of a connection to the
divine that I so deeply
Wa
Alaihi
During a session, we delved into the lineage
of our prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
tracing it back 21 generations to Adnan.
The depth of our Sira tradition left me
awestruck. SubhanAllah, I thought to myself.
How blessed must one be to memorize the
lineage of our beloved?
Fast forward to 1 year later, after having
transferred to Zaytuna,
I witnessed my dua being answered
the moment I submitted a quiz in Sheikh
Faraz
class in which we had memorized the lineage
of the prophet
My time at Zaytuna has been a journey
of discovery,
blending Eastern and Western traditions on our stunning
campus
with wonderful companions.
One of my biggest takeaways here has been
the deep friendships I've been able to make.
These friendships exemplify the ultimate type of friendship
Aristotle describes in his Nikomachean Ethics.
The type of friendship in which both both
people admire the good in one another and
encourage one another to pursue it.
Our friendships and connections here at Zaytuna are
no doubt motivated by the good we see
in one another.
Although we all come from different backgrounds, we
are united in our mission of seeking the
ultimate good, the pleasure of God.
I pray that he reunites us all in
the best of gatherings in this life and
the next.
Aside from our study inside the classroom, the
the class of 2024
was notorious for our love of enriching experiences
outside of the classroom, which helped us solidify
the knowledge we had gained.
We sing classical Arabic poetry while hiking in
the hills,
discuss Imam Ghazali's views on philosophy over late
night Taco Bell,
observed the motion of the heavens while reclining
under the pitch black skies of Big Sur,
and celebrated the end of each finals week
with overpriced ice cream.
Though we will miss each moment dearly, we
will cherish these moment memories for years to
come.
As we stand on the cusp of our
future,
let us remember the words of Soren Kierkegaard.
Life can only be understood looking backwards, but
it must be lived forwards.
In hindsight, the challenges we have overcome during
our journey have only strengthened us in our
pursuits.
We can easily recognize the amazing ways God
has answered our prayers and has gifted us
with uncountable blessings.
In moments of constriction, let us realize the
openings that are constantly present around us.
I ask us all to open our hearts
to see Allah's gentleness and generosity
constantly manifesting around us.
The prophet
said, you cannot think Allah without thanking people.
On behalf of my cohort, I wanna thank
our founders for paving the path to knowledge
for us and for shaping the curriculum and
environment that has molded us into the graduates
we are today.
Thank you to our teachers for generously and
patiently pouring their energy and wisdom into teaching
us. Thank you to the supporters of Zaytuna
College. May God reward you for enabling us
to ax access this rich tradition.
Thank you to the incredible Zetuna staff for
feeding and nurturing us, and ensuring our every
comfort.
We couldn't so we could focus on our
studies.
Thank you to my peers and cohort for
making these past 4 years the most treasured
years of my life.
As the Arabic proverb states,
friendship colors. You have all colored my soul
in lasting and impactful ways,
and I am truly grateful for that. Last
but not least, I thank our parents and
families for sending us from all corner corners
of the world to seek sacred knowledge.
May God shower you with mercy as you
have been merciful to us, And may God
reward you generously as you have given generously
of your resources, love, and support.
And all all praise is ultimately due to
Allah, the most high.
Oh God, teach us that which benefits us
and benefit us by that which you have
taught us, and increase us in knowledge and
accepted actions.
Oh god, we ask you to give relief
and victory to the Muslim suffering all over
the world, especially in Palestine,
and for you to enable us graduates to
use the knowledge we have been given to
serve the
Sahal Musa Varwani
will now give the BA student remarks.
One pleasant Friday afternoon last fall, I crossed
paths with an elderly Singaporean gentleman visiting Zaytuna
College after he had met Sheikh Hamza after
a deck over a decade ago.
After a brief conversation, we parted ways,
but that encounter
encounter stayed on my mind.
I later realized that he reminded me of
an adib,
which is the Arabic word for a man
of letters with good character and excellent conduct
or adab.
The adib puts things in their proper places.
By mastering language,
which is a uniquely human phenomenon,
he reigns the passions and strives to abandon
vice and acquire virtue.
Educated holistically,
the adib gives knowledge its due by acting
upon it.
In my brief meeting and a later conversation
on the phone,
I felt the Singaporean gentleman was someone seeking
adab,
which is what an education at Zaytona College
aspires to give its students.
Attracted by the fragrant flowers of this garden
of Zaytuno,
my classmates and I arrived here in search
of tettib
or the cultivation of mind, body, and soul.
Between sunnah sports in the mornings, classes throughout
the day,
colloquia in the afternoon, and prayers in between,
not to forget home cooked meals prepared with
dhikr and love, our days were filled with
learning.
Studying the foundational sciences of the Islamic and
Western traditions, which have much in common, has
taught us to syncretize all beneficial knowledge into
healing for the soul.
We are like bees who benefit from every
source.
The great Persian luminary, Rahib al Aswahani,
who was a master of Qur'anic studies, ethics,
and adab
exemplifies this perspective on knowledge.
In his ethical treatise,
he quotes Quranic verses, Arabic poetry, and Aristotle's
Nikomachean Ethics to discuss how the human being
can realize his potential.
He gives each source its due, drawing proff
drawing drawing profound connections between sciences and contextualizing
them. For example, he touches upon lexicography,
psychology, and metaphysics to explain the human intellect.
Our comprehensive education at Zetuna has prepared us
to similarly recognize the intertwined nature of the
sciences and connect the dots between them.
As the adib manifests adab with words
by sup by supplying opposite remarks from a
fund of literary knowledge, the scholar gives knowledge
its due by treating it holistically and contextually.
Since Edeb transcends knowledge, some of our most
profound lessons occurred outside the classroom.
Our liberal arts training taught us to seek
benefit from every book,
and the world is a cosmic book that
we read from last summer when teachers,
students, and community members attended Sheikh Hamzaz Eid
sermon on campus and shared a meal afterwards.
Through their excellent conduct, our teachers demonstrated
how to translate knowledge into action during times
of joy.
Since knowledge divorced from action is futile, that
lesson was my greatest aid gift.
Such occasions gave us experiential knowledge of what
we learned in class and taught us the
grammar of navigating times of prosperity
and adversity.
Looking back at the past 4 years, it's
plain to see that this education has truly
been a gift.
By cultivating our minds, bodies, and souls,
it it has taught us what it means
to be human.
We actualize our humanity by living with or
putting everything in its proper place.
Like the bee, after a busy day collecting
pollen, we stand ready to share the knowledge
our teachers have have imparted to us.
Well aware of the inadequacy of simply thanking
president Hamza Yusuf, vice president Aisha Subhani,
our deans Adi Atai and Mashook Yamach, and
our faculty,
all of whom tirelessly nurture this garden, I
offer a prayer.
May the flowers of Zetuna College continue to
perfume the West so long as a lavender
rustles the leaves of olive trees.
Unable to adequately express my gratitude to my
dearest parents and family for preparing me to
enter this garden,
I ask God to grant you felicity in
his garden.
To the staff and our supporters, we can
only hope to serve as stewards of the
garden you help cultivate.
May you taste the sweetness of its fruits
for eternity.
To my fellow students,
may you spread the celestial sense of this
garden far and wide.
I have benefited from you in unimaginable ways.
May God keep us sincere on the path
of higher learning and service.
Let us be like the bee, small in
size, but great in ambition and service.
Emily Dickinson once wrote, to make a prairie,
it takes a clover and 1 bee.
One clover and a bee and reverie,
the reverie alone will do if bees are
few.
May we all go forth and do our
part to help heal humanity through knowledge.
Ahmed Youssef Soleiman
will now give the MA student remarks.
Dear president, president, founders,
board of trustees,
distinguished guests,
esteemed faculty and staff,
proud families,
my fellow graduates and students.
As we gather here today on this auspicious
occasion
of
Zaytuna 2024
commencement,
I am filled with a deep sense of
gratitude and humility.
1st and foremost, to Allah
for granting us the ability in tawfiq
to seek the path of knowledge.
I am reminded
of the statements and words of our beloved
prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
where he says,
Whoever
takes a path
seeking therein knowledge,
Allah
shall ease his path to Jannah.
So let us never forget the sacredness of
this journey that we have embarked upon.
A journey that not only leads to intellectual
growth,
but also
to spiritual fulfillment.
But this journey of knowledge is not one
that we can ever truly complete
nor is it an easy path.
As Imam
states in a beautiful poem,
He says
that, my dear brother, you shall never attain
unless you have 6 things,
and I shall explain what they are.
Intelligence,
desire,
diligence,
resources,
the companionship
of a teacher, and a long, long time.
The first four,
intelligence,
desire,
diligence,
resources,
these are things that are expected
for on the behalf of a student.
However, when it comes to the latter 2,
competent, loving,
righteous teachers
and a long, long time
spending spent with,
these are things not so easily obtained,
especially the former.
Finding righteous, loving teachers is not an easy
task.
And I'm confident that my fellow graduates here
would agree with me that at Zaytuna College,
we find abundant,
loving, righteous, competent teachers.
The Islamic tradition underscores the importance of sitting
at the feet of wise teachers,
and the faculty here have played an instrumental
role in this never ending journey of knowledge.
So on behalf of my cohort,
I would like to extend a heartfelt gratitude
to our dedicated faculty and staff,
especially those within the MA program.
Your steadfast commitment to our education
has served as the bedrock
for our time
here. Your passion for teaching and relentless dedication
to our growth have not only inspired us,
but have set a shining example
for us to emulate
even as you walk quite far ahead of
us on this path of knowledge.
I wish to seize this moment
to express my appreciation to my esteemed teachers
in the philosophy track of the MA program,
Sheikh Ma'Shuk, doctor Jawad, Sheikh Talal, and Sheikh
Hassan.
For some time, I had been in search
of a scholarly
sanctuary
that would deepen my understanding
of the Islamic
rational sciences
of Kalam,
Falsafa,
and Montag.
Sciences that are increasingly important
but not easily obtained.
In this vein, I'm extremely grateful
to Allah
that I found this treasure trove here at
Zaytunah
embodied in the wisdom and guidance of these
distinguished scholars. May Allah
increase them in and increase all scholars in.
And lastly, and definitely not least, I'd like
to thank
my parents and our parents for being our
first teachers and increase them in Khayr. Was
Allah
to accept us. Was Allah, ajal, to accept
this institution, this college, and to accept all
the teachers and faculty here and allow us
to be students of knowledge till the day
we meet our Lord.
Samira Akhtar
will now provide a statement of gratitude.
When words don't suffice, we say it thrice.
Most of you drove up Marin Avenue to
get here.
Unless you took the scenic route from Grizzly
Peak that takes its name from the bears
that roamed majestically,
perhaps on this very lawn,
in the 1800
until they were hunted out of California.
By 1900,
almost half of the state's population was living
in the Bay Area.
The Dobbins, a Presbyterian family, built the home
behind you in 1930
and lived there for 20 years.
They sold it under a $100,000
to the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1952,
which was one of 5 seminaries that founded
the graduate theological union.
After about 60 years, the Cal Lutheran University
acquired the seminary,
and eventually, in 2017,
sold this property to Zaytuno College.
Under the leadership of president Chris Kimball,
and 2 years later, we met him again.
But this time, as a retired president
and the chair of the WASC peer review
team, to review us for reaffirmation of accreditation,
which we received for 8 years.
The seminary their seminary is now in downtown
Berkeley
on the very block
of Zetuna's
first office space,
where we were transitioning from a seminary to
a liberal arts college.
Alhamdulillah,
this is my 13th year at the college.
Anyone who's built an enterprise or raised a
child
can imagine the first steps,
the missteps,
the milestones,
the miracles.
Lest we forget,
we are not alone in this collegiate space.
We congratulate
Dar Al Qasim College for its new campus,
and the American Islamic College for its recent
accreditation,
both in Chicago, where I'm also from.
And as they rise,
we also grieve for Al Aqsa University,
the Islamic University of Gaza,
and every single university and school that has
fallen from the senseless ruin
inflicted upon our Palestinian brothers and sisters.
Next month is Lulhijjah,
bringing us the days of sacrifice
of Hajj and Eid al Adha.
It's also the month of Zetunah's
15th
anniversary.
It's mile it's a milestone that comes with
a sober reminder
of the real sacrifice,
utter humility,
and unmatched trust in God.
Institution building
and rebuilding
requires love,
patience,
and strategy.
For all our favorite products and gadgets, we
owe it to a visionary.
They're often battling
against limited resources,
doubtful critics, and competing priorities.
For our founding president,
doctor Sheikh Hamza Yousef,
this is more than 15 years old, Zaytuna
College. This is a lifetime, really.
The Quran offers a clear formula and winning
strategy to build.
If we are grateful,
God will protect and increase our blessings.
Nowadays,
gratitude has become a strategy to combat depression
and increase joy with gratitude journals to remind
us of our blessings,
to ultimately transition from statements of gratitude you
write down, to a state of gratitude.
As we experience trials and tribulations,
injustices and wars,
it becomes harder, actually, to maintain a state
of gratitude.
Perhaps this is why
the dua for turning 40 in the Quran,
which is verse
15,
You should actually gift yourself before turning 40
and memorize this.
It's a du'a that does not simply make
a statement of gratitude, oh Allah, I am
thankful.
Rather, it is a dua that says, oh,
Allah, I ask you
to offer gratitude.
Let's go back to a critical meeting of
Zetuna's accreditation journey in 2013.
He was also in Zal Jinja.
We invited the WASC vice president, doctor Richard
Osborne,
to see us in full transparency,
meetings, tours,
classroom visits, and we had to ask him
one question.
Do you think we're ready to submit our
application?
He looked at us
and said,
there's a new process,
So
you can take as little or as long
as you need. There's no more minimum visits,
no more maximum visits,
so but it would take a miracle.
So what do you think that
Imam Zayed
immediately said?
Miracles happen every day at Zaytuna.
Alhamdulillah, we are grateful for the sustained support
and prayers of the community that fill this
campus, fill the air, fill the halls with
unmentioned prayers, well wishes, and sacrifices.
There's more to this college than meets the
eye.
Like those special glasses to see the eclipse
or those fancy camera settings that you had
to do for the recent northern,
lights.
Many of our angelic investors
of Zaytuna have not even set foot on
this campus.
They haven't seen the campus, but they've seen
the idea.
The majesty
of these daily miracles and the intensity of
the of these duas that fill the air
can feel so weighty on us,
such that one staff member once famously said,
I just want a regular day, man.
A final word for our beloved graduates.
You know that fountain at the end of
Marin Avenue?
It was meant to be a grand entrance,
as part of a plan in 1907,
to shift the capital of the state of
California from Sacramento
to Berkeley.
Marin Avenue is so steep and straight because
of the original proposal
was to build a funicular railway that would
connect these ascending and descending trolleys with a
system of haul ropes.
Although they didn't build the railway, and the
capital didn't move to Berkeley
oh, there it goes.
I'll tell you what happened.
The
the ropes are not there. The ropes are
still there. It's okay.
The ropes are still there, and I want
you all to.
I was actually thinking that could have possibly
happened, but,
it happened to someone.
They didn't build a railway, but the ropes
are there.
You have to look closely.
So for John, go up those steep hills,
go through those gates,
find every prayer space you can, end up
in the in the garden, insha'Allah, ultimately,
and may we find the rope of Allah.
Hold firmly to the rope of Allah
altogether.
Do not become divided and remember the blessings
upon you.
President
Hamza Yousef will now begin the conferral of
degrees for the BA
and MA class of 2024.
Mister?
It is my honor and privilege to present
to you the Zaytuna College graduating class of
2024.
The following students have earned a bachelor of
arts degree
in liberal Islamic studies with a minor in
Arabic.
We will proceed alphabetically.
I'll read each graduate's
thesis title
as well as some sentiments
from faculty members toward each graduate.
Please hold your applause until you see the
graduate approach the stage
to receive his or her degree
from our college president.
Let
us begin with the permission of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala,
graduate Bilal Ismail Asevedo.
Bilal's thesis title was finding consensus by disproving
difference.
How knowing the conditions for disagreement helps in
determining when consensus has occurred.
1 professor said, the prophet peace be upon
him said,
half of knowledge is good inquiry.
When Bilal raises his hand, expect a thoughtful
question.
Doctor Esma Senkal said Bilal has consistently impressed
me with his deep critical thinking
and his reluctance to accept ideas without thorough
examination.
His unique ability to discern
hidden connections among various concepts
makes our discussions rich and enlightening.
Bilal's thoughtful skepticism has made our classroom encounters
memorable,
highlighting his potential as a future philosopher.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, a young man seemingly
committed to challenging nearly every truth claim.
Inquisitive
and incredulous,
may Allah keep you balanced.
I would only reiterate these sentiments about Bilal,
given his sharp intellect
and uncanny ability to spot a potential flaw
in a given argument,
I'm just glad Bilal is on our team.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Cicero, Illinois,
graduating * laude
with distinction,
Bilal Ismail Acevedo.
Graduate, Musaab Ibrahim Ahmed.
Musaab's thesis title was the demon of distraction,
Isidia and Rafala,
in Christianity and Islam.
I rather enjoyed Mus'ab's thesis colloquium.
I appreciate and find it very scholarly when
a concept of some sort
is examined,
when a concept of some sort is examined
through lenses of different traditions.
To see convergence and divergence is very enriching
enriching.
And this is what Musa'aab did.
Father Francisco Nohoy said, 5 years ago, I
was impressed that Musa'ab would have turned down
an offer from Oxford to come to Zetuna.
Now I can't imagine Zetuna without him.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said often hiding in the
back of the classroom,
Mus'ab made still made a remark from time
to time.
As happy as any Brit,
he didn't go unnoticed.
Ladies and gentlemen from London, United Kingdom, graduating
* laude, Mus'ab Ibrahim Ahmed.
If you don't see me applauding, it's because
I don't want my papers to fly away.
I'm holding them down.
Graduate Hala Amin.
Hala's thesis title
was Islamic Ethical Teachings as Remedies for Mental
Health.
Father Francisco Nuhoy said, Hala's work
Hala's worked hard these past 4 years,
and the effort has produced excellent results.
We wish her all the best.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, quiet,
bashful,
a contemplative learner convinced that Islamic practices contribute
to overall mental well-being.
Your silence in class will be missed. Smile.
For me, Hala was a student who would
always rise to the occasion
at the perfect moment.
She's resilient
and goal oriented.
She will thrive in her future endeavors,
Hala is also a very kind, generous person.
Of course, if you know her, you already
know that.
May Allah
reward her in both worlds for her kindness
and generosity.
Ladies and gentlemen from Chicago, Illinois,
graduating * laude,
hala Amin.
Graduate
Ali Ahmed Rafiq Choudhary.
Ali's thesis title was the emergence of the
racial self, an analysis of the role of
race in Identity.
Father Francisco Nojoe said, according to Choudhary,
Freud himself suffered from the repression of his
true feelings.
Father continues,
ouch.
That's gotta be a HIPAA
violation right there. So I googled that.
I I believe that's the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Is that
one? Okay.
So this requires doctors to protect sensitive patient
health information, apparently.
Doctor Cindy Ausek said, Ali was the president
of the pre health club.
And as the advisers as the club's adviser,
I was able to see his leadership and
people skills.
Ali arranged opportunities for Zetuna students to volunteer
at local food banks.
He organized the events and managed the volunteers.
It was a pleasure working with him.
Another professor said, Ali is a man of
devotion and dignity with a gentle demeanor.
Imam Tahir Anwar said that, the child of
a Bay Area based family,
bringing his impeccable adab to Zetuna.
Having known him as a young child, it's
great to see his talents in adab being
used for a purposeful
education.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, it amazes me how
some people can bear enormous burdens
and still excel in all that they do.
Ali's discipline is impressive.
We thank god for such talent
and wish him the best.
Like Iman Taher, I've also known Ali for
many years.
My 2 older girls and Ali and Ali
siblings
attended the same co op as children,
Ilm Tree School in Lafayette.
His wonderful father, mister Hassid Chaudhry, is a
friend of mine.
Years ago, probably 10 years ago, I was
asked to speak to the boys
at Elm Tree about the profession of teaching,
and Ali was there.
And I just remember very vividly that he
stood out among his peers,
even back then,
his demeanour, his adab,
his maturity,
his intelligence.
I was very impressed
and hoped that he would come to Setuno
one day.
I like to think that he's here because
Allah answered my dua.
Ladies and gentlemen from Berkeley, California,
graduating summa * laude with the highest distinction,
Ali Ahmed Rafiq Choudhary.
Graduate Amina Safa Hafiz.
Amina's thesis title was Deficient in Intellect and
Religion,
an attempt to understand the Hadith
as it was originally intended.
Father Francisco Nooy said, Amina will be an
awesome educator
one day soon.
Imam Tahir Anwar
said, extremely respectful
of her colleagues and peers.
Doctor Obrala Ali said, a truth seeker
with a passion for reconciling faith and tradition.
Stay alert and proud.
I think doctor Abdullah, he hit the nail
on the head.
Amina is a truth seeker.
She's a reconciler
of reason and revelation.
She's quite tenacious in her quest for this
reconciliation.
I always look forward to Amina attending my
office hours
because I knew that I was going to
have a very high level conversation,
and yet Amina always embodied respect,
intellectual humility,
and grace.
Ladies and gentlemen from Canton, Michigan,
graduating magna * laude with great distinction,
Amina Safa Hafiz.
Graduate Javeria Tarek Khan.
Javeria's thesis title was differance and the divine,
an analysis of Muhammad Arcoon's deconstruction
of the Quran.
Father Francisco Nahoy said, who knew Javeria was
a budding rare books and manuscripts collector?
Doctor Cindy Ausek said, Javeria showed her determination
to succeed during her freshman year when she
would review her papers via Teams because of
COVID-nineteen.
It has been a delight to watch her
grow and her writing improve.
She still visits the academic support center,
and her upbeat attitude and caring nature are
always welcome.
Doctor Jawad Qureshi said, Javeria is the only
Zetuna student with whom I could have multiple
conversations
about Jacques Derrida
and deconstruction.
Another professor said Geveria modeled grace and comportment
throughout her Zeituna Sojourn,
her multilingual
background and passion for poetry,
were a source of enrichment for all.
Imam Tahir Anwar said freshman year for this
young sister was spent taking classes
while it was nighttime in Pakistan.
And there she was, class after class.
I'm sure all her sacrifices
have paid off.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said,
it gives me immense joy whenever I feel
a student
taking work seriously and excelling.
Juveria is one of those people.
Keep smiling.
In my opinion, Juveria's
thesis colloquium was one of the best of
her cohort.
It really spoke to one of the major
challenges of our present age. I thought her
research wonderfully exemplified
the mission of Zaytuna College.
And like Imam Tahir, I must also praise
her for her patience and perseverance during her
difficult freshman year being overseas.
She stayed focused,
and she prevailed with Allah's help.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Islamabad,
Pakistan, Javeria Tarek Khan.
Graduate Sofia Rahman.
Sofia's thesis title was a Hynological Approach to
Knowledge, the Unitary Aspects Role in Taxonomizing
the Principles of a Science.
Sophie's thesis was so advanced, so
technical that very few people during the colloquium
could even formulate a question.
I'm still trying to figure out what he
said.
Sheikh Meshouk, who is the dean of the
MA program and arguably the smartest person of
the college, even he was impressed with Safi's
work.
Father Francisco Nojoy said, because his freshman year
was entirely online, no one had any idea
how tall Safi really was.
Doctor Sydney Ausick said Sophie is passionate about
philosophy,
logic, and kalam.
He's also very generous with his time and
has volunteered to tutor these 3 subjects.
Because he often used the academic support center
for his tutoring sessions, I had the pleasure
of listening
and learning from him as well.
Another professor said, Safi is a true devotee
of sublime poetry and classical texts.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, a lover of logic
and nasheed,
a man who walks with the comportment of
a sage.
May you one day embody all that you
learn.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Fremont, California,
Safi Rahman.
Graduate William Jonah Rudolph.
Jonah's thesis title was a critical
verification
of the extent to which modal propositions admit
of rational division.
Jonah was chosen by Harvard University to present
his brilliant thesis
at the 2nd annual Zetuna Harvard Symposium last
March.
Father Francisco Nohoy said, Jonah is one of
our more diligent and intelligent undergraduates
ever.
Doctor Youssef Ismail, he said, Jonah is a
deeply reflective and retrospective young man.
He thinks deeply about matters of importance, and
by that has great insight.
Doctor Phil Cheng, he said you can always
depend on Jonah
for an engaging conversation.
Few students match him in zeal, acuity,
love of truth,
and humility.
He is a genuine philosopher.
And that is high praise coming from doctor
Phil Chang.
Doctor Esma Senkal said, Jonah's exceptional time management,
skills set him apart.
His distinctive style of questioning
and commitment to deep understanding have greatly enriched
our class discussions.
Jonas' approach to learning and critical thinking not
only enhances our collective journey, but also ensures
that every conversation we have is profoundly impactful.
His dedication and meticulousness in balancing his commitments
are truly commendable.
Imam Tahir Anwar said, having spent a lot
of time with Jonah, sometimes I don't know
if he was a student or a teacher.
Someone who wants to master the original texts
in the original Arabic language.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, Jonah is a type
of student who keeps you sharp as a
teacher.
He came with a lot and will undoubtedly
excel wherever he goes.
Godspeed.
I can only echo all of these sentiments.
Jonah is very gifted.
He taught himself how to read
Greek. That's impressive.
On the last day of apologetics class, just
a couple of weeks ago,
I was teaching the class how to read
Hebrew.
And as I was preparing for the lecture
the night before,
I tried to anticipate the high level questions
that I would get specifically from Jonah.
And lo and behold, he asked those questions,
forcing me to smile during the lecture.
Ladies and gentlemen from Fort Collins, Colorado
graduating, summa * laude,
William Jonah Rudolph.
Graduate Tarek Louay Richard Smallman.
Tarek's thesis title was Imam Al Haddad's Conceptualization
of the.
Father Francisco Nuhoy said, Tarek promised all Zaytuna
faculty a detailed a detailed tour of the
battlefields
surrounding Abbey outside of Hastings,
and I, Deo Valente,
plan one day to collect.
Deo Valente, by the way, means
in Latin.
Another professor said, a friend indeed of those
in need.
When altruism calls,
Tarek responds.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said,
you should change his name from Tarek Smalman
to Tarek Smileman.
The class wouldn't have been the same without
the sound of that British accent.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Hastings, Sussex, United Kingdom,
Tarek Lou A. Richard Smallman.
Graduate Hannah Fardin Utama.
Hannah's thesis title
was In the Court of God, an Analysis
of Rashid Vounucci's Popular Sovereignty.
Father Francisco Nojoy said, Hannah has tremendous leadership
potential.
Doctor Cindy Ausek said, Hannah is a regular
visitor to the academic support center.
She's always smiling and full of energy.
Even when facing adversity or problems,
she finds a silver lining and remains upbeat.
Hannah came to work in the academic support
center a couple of weeks ago.
In 1 hour, with an office full of
people participating
in side conversations,
she wrote and proofread a 3 page paper.
It was amazing.
Another professor said Hannah's creativity was an inspiration
to all.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said too guarded to think
of anything greater to say about her than
delightful.
Character means a lot,
and Hannah is exemplary.
Ladies and gentlemen from Las Vegas, Nevada,
Hannah Fardine Uttama.
Graduate Noreen
Valapila Purael.
Noreen's thesis title was aiming for the mark,
archery and cultivating the sunnah of well-being.
Father Francisco Nohoy said, it has taken me
5 years to learn how to properly pronounce
Noreen's surname.
I was practicing back there, by the way.
Another professor said, Noreen pursued excellence
in the liberal arts with the concentration
of a skilled Marx woman.
In class, she was pensive and wholly attentive.
Doctor. Abdullah Ali said always eager to learn
more, a joy to have in class.
Best wishes to you and your family.
When Noreen was a freshman,
she worked, as hard as any student
I've ever seen.
That was my first impression of her. It
was very impressive. She continued to exemplify
a very strong work ethic throughout her entire
program.
Noreen's assessment scores in all of my classes,
including seminal ancient texts and comparative theology,
were some of the best ever.
Her thoroughness and attention to detail, as well
as her writing style, were truly inspiring.
Ladies and gentlemen, from Kerala, India,
graduating magna * laude,
Noreen Vallapilapurayil.
Graduate Sahal Musa Varwani.
Sahal's thesis title was with rhyme and reason,
Omar al Kharbuti's logical, rhetorical,
and dialectical reading of Imam al Busiri's Burda.
Along with Jonah, Sahal was chosen by Harvard
University
to present his brilliant thesis at the 2nd
annual Zetuna Harvard Symposium last March.
They call it the Harvard Zetuna, but I
say Zetuna Harvard.
Father Francisco Nohoy said,
Sahal's adab is off the charts.
He sets a standard for Zetuna students that
will not be easily met in future cohorts.
Doctor Youssef Ismail said, in all of my
time of teaching at Zaytuna,
I do not think I've come across any
student
who could match Sahal in adab and refined
character.
He always greets whomever he meets with a
genuine smile.
His love of the prophet
is
evident in how Sahal carries himself.
The campus will lose a true gem
when he leaves.
Doctor Cindy Aussig said, Sahal regularly tutors for
the Arabic department.
He really impressed me by taking charge of
the tutor tracking, setting up the forms, and
sending out tutoring announcements.
Sahil is always willing to help when I
need additional information or assistance.
Another professor said,
Sahal honored knowledge
and every facet of the college.
A man of letters, he pursued adab with
every fiber of his being.
Doctor Esma Senkal said, Sahal stands out not
only for his deep knowledge and command of
language,
but also for his remarkably respectful and sensitive
demeanor.
His gentlemanly conduct and moral integrity are as
impressive as his academic achievements.
I greatly admire Sahal's constant eagerness
to seek further information, which has been invaluable
in enriching
and benefiting our class discussions.
His contributions
have not only enhanced our learning environment,
but have also set a high standard of
character and scholarship for his peers.
Imam Tahir Anwar said, I first met Sahal
at the summer of Rehla at Zaytuna some
years ago.
He was always studious and extremely kind to
those around him.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, easygoing,
deferential,
diligent,
intelligent,
a man whose future looks promising.
God be with you.
For me, and I think the entire faculty
and founders will agree with me,
Sahal Varwani is the ideal Zetuna student.
If you look up Zetuna student in the
dictionary,
you'll find a picture of Sahal.
I wish I could just clone Sahal
a few dozen times for the incoming cohort.
I was glad to hear recently that Sahal
plans on continuing his education,
getting a doctorate, and getting into teaching.
We need more teachers like him.
I certainly look forward to learning from him
one day. I've already learned from him.
In the meantime, I think we should send
him on a nationwide Zaytuna fundraising tour
just to show him off.
Look what we produced.
You too can be like Sahal.
Ladies and gentlemen,
from Dallas, Texas,
graduating summa * laude,
Sahal Musa Varwani.
Graduate Wajeeha Taqwa Wohid.
Wajeeha's thesis title was
Beyond the Mind's Eye,
Prioritizing
Islamic Insights in Psychology.
Father Francisco Nojoy said, in her sophomore year,
Wajeeha wrote a great essay on al Farabi's
Falsafa Madaniyah
and the difference between the Platonic
Kalipolis and the ideal city from a distinctly
Islamic point of view.
That's that's the whole Zaytuna ethos in a
nutshell.
Another professor said Wajeeha has a way with
words.
We will fondly remember her opposite puns and
spontaneous witticisms.
Doctor Bula Ali said, honest and funny, Wajeeha
was great at making us laugh even when
she didn't mean to be funny,
but resilient enough not to be broken.
Stay strong and relatable.
Ladies and gentlemen from Dallas, Texas, Wajeeha Taqwa
Wohid.
Graduate Hafsa Munira Yassin.
Hafsa's thesis title was Divorcing Marriage of Feminism,
On the Incompatibility
of Modern Feminist Principles and Healthy Marriage.
Father Francisco Nohoy said, Hafsa has definitely made
her mark at.
Just ask Mariam how many times I've called
her by her older sister's name.
Imam Tahir Anwar said, always working hard,
contemplating,
making her parents proud.
Doctor Abdullah Ali said, a committed believer,
a defender of womanhood.
Hafsa has promise.
May Allah keep you happy.
I was Hafsa's thesis advisor.
It was truly a joy and an honor
to work with Hafsa,
being both the daughter of scholars and a
devoted pursuer of knowledge,
her interests, her areas of research,
and her passion for defending the tradition
are very encouraging,
and I greatly look forward to her work
in the future.
Ladies and gentlemen from Austin, Texas, Hafsa Munira
Yacine.
And last but certainly not least, and you'll
see what I mean,
graduate Nabil Zaman.
Nabil's thesis title was a ring of pearls,
Quranic coherence,
and Father Francisco Nojoy said, freshman year,
Nabil told me that words are like animals.
I'm delighted to learn that Nabil will continue
its etuna in the MA program, because I'm
still waiting to hear what the heck he
meant.
Doctor Cindy Aussig said Nabil was a regular
visitor to the academic support center.
His position as the Olea Press editor
led us to talk about the editing process,
interesting grammar rules,
and the challenges of reviewing papers.
It was enjoyable to have someone to commiserate
with.
Another professor said, as a student of martial
arts and chorionic studies,
Nabil spent his time at Zetuna training his
mind, body, and soul.
Doctor Esma Senkal said, Nabil's rapid academic progression
has been truly impressive,
and equally admirable is his moral integrity
and gentlemanly demeanor.
He has quickly reached remarkable levels of achievement,
demonstrating his intellectual prowess.
Nabil's deep understanding of theoretical aspects and his
eagerness to master language
are profoundly respectful and worthy of admiration.
His presence has consistently enhanced the learning experience
for all.
Doctor. Abdullah Ali said inquisitive,
critical, and hardworking,
as clever and noble as the name given
to him.
May God preserve you.
Nabil is truly gifted.
In fact, and this is big, I've confirmed
with doctor Abdullah Ali, who is the director
of the Zetuna honors program,
that Nabil has successfully completed all honors memorization
and testing requirements.
By the way, this is quite rare. This
does not happen very often.
Only 6 students prior to Nabeel
have have accomplished this. He's the 7th.
To complete the honors program, a student must
memorize multiple texts across an array of subjects,
such as Tajweed and Hadith and Jurisprudence,
legal theory, logic, and theology, not to mention
additional Quranic passages
on top of the standard memorization requirement.
This is a remarkable
achievement.
To quote doctor Abdullah Ali,
Nabil has made us proud,
especially knowing how difficult such a task is
with his other work workload.
May Allah
protect, guide, bless, and bring benefit through him.
Ladies and
gentlemen, from Saginaw, Michigan,
graduating summa * laude, Nabil Zaman.
Thank you, doctor Eliatai.
Sheikh Mashook
Yamach
will now call upon each of the MA
graduates for the class of 2024.
Ladies and gentlemen,
esteemed faculty,
families, and graduating classes of 2024,
Today, we celebrate the achievements of the MA
class of 2024,
each student graduating with honors.
Your hard work and dedication have brought you
to this moment,
and we are proud of you.
As we prepare to confer your diplomas, we
extend our heartfelt congratulations
and best wishes for your future endeavors.
Your journey has been one of the perseverance
and determination,
and we pray that you will continue to
excel in all that you do.
Without further ado,
it is my honor to call each graduate
forward to receive their degree in alphabetical or
order by by their last name.
Muhammad Umrah's teachers
describe him as an embodiment of wisdom and
focus,
delving into the depth of his studies with
a seriousness that commands respect.
He is quiet,
observant,
and carries himself with the utmost adept.
It has been a pleasure for all of
us to see him grow over the past
2 years,
and we are confident that
he will make for he will make for
a formidable
intellectual and teacher of the Islamic sciences.
His thesis his thesis is titled From Dialectic
to Demonstration,
Exploring the Umar Ammeh
and Their Impact on Later Kalam.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please join me in welcoming Muhammad
Omer
from Gastonia,
North Carolina.
She always participate in classes with excellent questions
that reflect her deep understanding.
She she has the mind and approach of
philosopher
at heart.
Her passion,
composure,
skull scholarly compartment,
and expertise were on on full display of
on,
on of the best clock this year.
Her thesis is titled The Anthology of a
Human Soul,
Tracing Theoretical
Evolution Evolution
from Early Late Karam Periods.
Ayubu Kemal Duniva comes from Tara's Kazakhstan.
Please join me welcoming her to the stage.
Maryam Muslim Qazi
completed the BA program in in 2021
and completed
her MA this year.
However, due to COVID 19,
this is her first in person commencement.
She is described by her teachers as swirling
with ideas and insights
at full volumes.
Although it was not
means required to do so, Maryam presented a
remarkable thesis
entirely fluent Arabic.
We appreciate her hard work and seriousness to
learn as such as possible
and encourage her to continue learning.
So so we may one day see her
as one of the great female scholars
like those witnessed in Islamic history.
Her thesis is titled the role of the
principal
in determining textual indications.
Please join me in welcoming Mariam
from the San Francisco Bay Area to the
stage.
Yousef's teachers
agree that he committed himself to study of
the rational sciences,
immersed himself in academic research,
and cultivated his own voice in academic writing.
As a result, he he has set a
standard for future students
by having the earliest thesis submission
and defense
in the MAE program's
short history.
His teachers believe that he has a promising
future as he continues to the next phase
of his scholarship,
and we will we look forward to his
contributions.
His his thesis is titled typologizing
tahqik,
illustrating the multifaceted
acts of verification
in
literature.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome Yousef Suleiman
from Miami, Florida.
Congratulations.
Daniela's teachers describe her as a detective with
a magnifying glass,
meticulously
examining
every idea and argument that comes her way.
She also completed the the BAA program
in 2021
and completed the MA program this year
and has her first in person commencement
today due to COVID.
She is intelligent,
curious, and asks questions that benefit the entire
class.
With a sharp eye for detail and a
keen eye for analysis,
she is a true seeker of knowledge.
Her thesis title is preventing harm and promoting
liberty through a synthesis of Islamic ethics and
law.
Please join me in welcoming Daniel
Nicole Swan
from Portland, Oregon to the stage.
Kashafah's teachers describe her as a quiet powerhouse
of academia.
She's our 3rd graduate today
that completed the BA program
and has now completed the MA program.
Her curiosity,
focus, and excellent writing skill propel her forward
on her journey of intellectual
discovery.
Her dedication,
attend attention to detail, and effort were always
apparent in her coursework.
Most importantly,
Kashar practices what she has studied and brings
it to life.
Her thesis title is Beyond Incoherence
and Albertrariness,
Fakhr Islam Al Bezdawi's
Conception of Isti Hasan.
Kashar Zaman from Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Please welcome her to the stage.
Thank
you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the MA class of 2024.
We now ask the BA and MA graduates
to please rise
and to turn to the audience.
Allow us all to celebrate your achievement.
Imam Zaid Shaker
will now offer a supplication for the graduates.
First of all, we'd like to thank
all of the families,
donors,
our president,
Sheikh Hamza,
our honorable,
speaker,
doctor Angel
Parham,
faculty, staff,
our lord,
first and foremost, for blessing us with a
beautiful day
and a beautiful place
with very beautiful people.
We've heard a lot about beauty
today,
and we pray that the beauty
that you see on display in all of
our graduates, that that beauty remains with them,
that it continues to adorn them,
and that it serves as a light,
a beautiful light,
and the descending darkness all around us.
We pray that our
our graduates,
teachers, faculty, staff,
families,
donors, supporters,
detractors,
all
remember
at all times,
the beauty
is beloved to our lord.
As all of the Muslims here know because
of the
brevity
of the prophetic statement,
In Allahha Jameel,
yihidbu Jammal,
that almighty god is beautiful and loves beauty.
May he bless us to all remain
every day that we spend on this earth,
and for eternity
after we leave it,
lovers
of beauty,
lovers of beauty,
and those
who our Lord
is pleased with.
We've heard a lot about love today,
and this prophetic statement combines
both of those qualities.
Verily almighty God is beautiful,
yuhibbuljamal,
and loves beauty.
So may this combination
dwell forever in all of our hearts,
love
and beauty.
May
we love
for the sake of our Lord,
a love that transcends our passions,
our prejudices,
our imperfections.
May we love
when everything
in the world might be pushing us towards
hate.
May we love
with the love that conquers hate.
May we love with a love that transcends
the sources of hate.
May we love with a love
in light of our human
imperfections
and weaknesses,
a love that aspires
to be a reflection
of the Lord of our love, of the
the love of our Lord
for us
and loving good for us.
May we love
with a love
that cannot truly be described
in human terms.
For indeed, our lord is incomparable,
and his love
can never be described
in human terms.
May we
love
all of those struggling,
suffering
people wherever they may be.
We know of the suffering of the people
of Gaza,
increasingly
the West Bank,
the hardships they've been forced to endure.
May we love them
and the love that pushes us to do
everything in our power,
starting with our prayers,
which you know human being can limit.
To live
lives of dignity
and freedom.
We love those whose struggles
aren't so well known
for various reasons.
We love the beautiful people of Sudan,
whose lives have been similarly torn like the
people in Gaza.
Afflicted with displacement.
Death
went in destruction.
The looting
of their natural resources
starting with their gold,
but their golden smiles, their golden hospitality,
no man can take.
No man will ever be able to take.
May they too know and be blessed
to live in peace and
dignity
so that their beautiful
quality of hospitality
that also qualifies the people of Palestine.
Shine upon this world.
For in all of these places
and others,
Ukraine,
Russia,
all of these places. They're filled with beautiful
people
who only want to live beautiful lives,
to raise their beautiful families,
and to try to make this world a
more beautiful place.
As our graduates,
as you go out into the world,
be motivated
by beauty
and love
to do your part
regardless of where you end up in academia,
law offices,
classrooms, or
if you just simply be a butcher, or
a baker, or a candlestick maker,
that whatever you do,
you do it out of love.
And you do it
motivated
to contribute
something beautiful
to this world.
We love you.
We appreciate your beauty.
May you be blessed
all of the days
that you spend
on this earth.
Please remain seated for the recessional
as Mahdi Amin sings