IMAN taught me....

In honor of IMAN’s 25th Anniversary Celebration I wrote up a list of ten things I learned from my involvement with IMAN.  I was most involved in IMAN in the early years so that may be apparent from this list.  I chose not to include names of individual  people in this list, but I remember who they are and more importantly Allah knows.  

1. The best crew is a motley crew.

I remember once we were engaged in some act of service in the neighborhood or maybe it was the day we all traveled as a caravan to pray janazah for someone and a brother said “we sure are a motley crew.”  I realized when he said that while I knew the expression I wasn’t sure what the term meant exactly.  I looked it up and it said motley meant something made up of many colors.  It also said that the term started being applied to a ragtag assortment of people, maybe including the crew of a ship as opposed to more uniform groups.  The blessed crew of IMAN was always made up of people of different backgrounds, different histories with Islam, religious understandings and life experiences.  Everybody talks about the blessings of diversity but IMAN was where I really experienced a community emerging out of diversity of every type.

2.  Sincerity bears fruit…but also leads to growth and change.

When I was first involved with IMAN, many of us were filled with the energy and idealism of youth but not much knowledge and experience.  Our tradition teaches us that sincerity will bear fruit, even in such situations.  The blessing of a group is that the sincerity of some can work to the benefit of all, and create a culture that increases it in others.  I remember when we were running the youth camps at the Arab American Community Center (technically before IMAN started but counts as IMAN for me) during the year of the Chicago heat wave and we were just going back and forth across the street to the checkers to buy ice trying to keep people cool in our non air conditioned space.  I remember running  youth groups where fights would break out and I would regularly lose my voice on the bus.  I shudder to think of the mistakes I made but when I see those young brothers all grown up with families of their own we all remember it as some of the best times of our lives and testify to the ways in which it helped us grow or hang on to the deen.  The greatest blessing in my life is that Allah connected me with people when I was young and had energy that allowed me to contribute to something much beyond myself in a way that I can hope to share in the blessings of its work as it goes far beyond what I could have done. So I truly believe that even if you don’t know what you are doing, sincere love for people and acting on it bears fruit. Yet sincerity also requires you to take seriously what you are doing, to learn and get better, to involve professionals and to train people.  There can be sadness in that development because it makes the challenges of sincerity different.  But no truly sincere person or group can stand still without learning and growing. 

3.  Everything in this life is temporary but what is for Allah is forever.

As someone who now  works with college students I know well the bittersweet nature of working with people for a set time, seeing them grow, creating special bonds and then seeing them leave and move on.   Of course this is the reality of this world in general.  When I think of IMAN, I think of that.  Many people are involved with IMAN for a time at such a deep level and then they move on.  Sometimes they might come back and be sad to see that you can’t come back to the past, everything moves on.  Sometimes people even leave with hurt feelings or disappointments of all types.  Yet, relationships that were formed for the sake of Allah and to do blessed work are everlasting.  The Prophet (saw) tells us that these relationships will continue even beyond death, that they will be aids to us on the Day of Judgment, and that the love at the heart of those relationships will reunite people in the Hereafter.  

4. Companionship makes us better and braver.

I will never forget riding around in a car with one special brother and the spirit of how much we believed in what  we were doing at some moments would overtake us.  Our companionship could cause us to push each other to constantly look for opportunities to do good and lose our fears in doing so.  This would go to the point that if we were to see strangers fighting in the street our instinct would be to pull over and intervene in the situation.  I remember visiting people's homes with another brother.  At the time I would sometimes be unsure what the objective of the visits were and certainly my personality would not have me doing this on my own.  Yet, after time I look back and see that the building of relationships, the sacred acts of visiting and listening to people in their joys and in their sorrows, to their challenges and their dreams was the most blessed objective one could have.

5. Every story begins before the beginning.

Every story begins before the beginning.  Even if I try to tell someone’s life story and start at their birth, there is no way to actually understand someone without knowing about their ancestors and their struggles and dreams, about the history and context into which they are born.  Although we celebrate IMAN’s Twenty Fifth Anniversary, the story of IMAN starts way more than 25 years ago.  As I said before, there were programs and activities we ran before IMAN was started that I just see as the preface to IMAN. Beyond that, IMAN always tried to be aware of the ways in which consciously and subconsciously we built on many efforts that came before us.  Honoring the pioneers that came before us, among Muslims and others, was something we always tried to do.  Listening to and learning from those still with us was always seen as vital even as we hoped in some ways to be doing something new.

6. The most beloved people to Allah are those who benefit other people most.

This is a teaching of the Prophet (saw) and something that I saw exemplified all around me in IMAN.  I would always be fearful of the ways in which much of what I might do, whether it was giving a khutbah or speaking at an interfaith event or participating in a board meeting could not benefit as much as someone who could help someone get a job, or figure out how to get food, or those who could make a contribution to keep the lights on.  It really made me more appreciative of practical benefits and the people who bring them to others and realize that engaging such people was key to any organization.  It also made me try to search harder for ways I could contribute, to try not to say no when asked, and to try to do whatever I do in a way that could actually bring benefit.

7. Everything doesn’t have to be for everybody.

I remember when IMAN first became known for its arts programming or association with hip hop music, there could be some controversy about its events in some circles.  We were serious about Islam and I took these concerns seriously.  Although I myself would never be an artistic performer, it was natural to me for IMAN to be involved in the culture in which I found Islam in the first place.  I knew it wouldn’t work to put limits or rules on artistic creativity that came from the outside or from people who didn’t understand an artistic culture.  However, I also knew that it was okay if some people weren’t comfortable with certain things.  I myself, would sometimes support certain things without participating in them or support certain parts of certain efforts while being unsure about others.  I learned to listen to people’s concerns, learn from them, help them figure out what they were comfortable with, and ask them to consider engaging with other aspects of IMAN’s work even if all of it was not for them.  There are also many good things people can do outside of IMAN altogether.  As a broad community Allah has made us with different understanding and preferences and we can facilitate ways for all types of people to be involved with khayr (goodness).

8. Contribute/Sacrifice whatever you can.

We all have gifts to give.  Our rizq (provision) from Allah comes in many forms.  We have wealth, talents, skills, interests, experiences, personalities all of which can make an organization like IMAN work.  Involving different people and not just trying to have any one person do it all will make things work better and Allah will bless and increase the goodness as you involve different people.  Having people involved who are close to Allah will bring enormous benefits as well.  These could be people who are especially pious, or knowledgeable, or people who have suffered hardship, or people who desire to change, or people who are trying their best.  In any work that involves people there will be misunderstandings, hurt and difficulty.  One of the special contributions you can make is to be kind, understanding and forgiving of others even when you sometimes feel hurt by them.

9. Don’t be afraid of disagreement, but discuss when you are tired from serving people.

The culture of early IMAN was, at least for many of us, one of debate and discussion.  As I said, we were very idealistic and full of energy.  Our ambition was not small.  I remember one brother saying as we tried to plan a program we probably were not prepared or qualified to do “I do expect miracles.”  (By the way, whenever I think of that I think of it as both somewhat absurd but also quite wonderful).  We were humble enough to really value the words of teachers and mentors, but young enough that we really thought we were doing something that could change the world.  Some debates were recurring and in hindsight took up much more time than they were worth.  I see the willingness to engage in those as a sign of profound love and respect for each other but the lesson I took with me was what one brother said to me.  Let us talk about this when we are tired from serving people.  Any discussion in that context becomes less theoretical, involves less ego and takes on a whole new perspective.  Unimportant disagreements can be ignored and important disagreements talked about with love in a way that matters.

10. Everyone needs hope and beauty.

One could ask why I committed to IMAN.  Remember, when IMAN started (and even before) no one had any right to expect IMAN would become what it has become.    There were other things one could have done.  The truth of the matter is, I came 63rd and  I experienced moments of hope and beauty.  These inspired me, kept me going.  Made me move with my family, giving up my nights and weekends for years.   The desire for them, and the feeling that anything was worth doing to seek them out.  When I think of IMAN, these are the moments I think of and even the hardships and losses and mistakes I smile at knowing they were on the path to those moments.  Indeed Allah loves the muhsineen.  The people of sincerity and goodness who spread beauty wherever they go.  IMAN has been blessed with such people.  The idea of IMAN is so hopeful and beautiful that it attracts such people.  IMAN has always made room for joy and beauty as part of its work, and I love that, but to be honest the moments I am thinking of are ones no one else noticed.  Quiet moments but ones I see as I drift to sleep, ones I think of when I am tired and I am not sure I can go on, ones I believe give me a glimpse of the garden.