Shahzad Malik, General Secretary, Ireland
On 12 March 2023, Lajna Imaillah Ireland held its first in-person post-Covid-19 National Tarbiyat Seminar, at the Maryam Mosque in Galway, which was attended by 62 Lajna members and 20 nasirat from all over Ireland. Alhamdulillah.
The event began formally with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by a poem. Secretary Tarbiyat then introduced the programme, which included interactive workshops, informative videos, question-and-answer sessions, and group discussions. An online interactive tool was also introduced to make the workshops more beneficial. All participants were urged to participate actively and engage with one another throughout the meeting to make the most of the opportunity.
The first workshop, “Keeping up the Pace”, was aimed at educating Lajna members and nasirat about common social media apps and their hidden dangers, followed by the social, physical, and psychological effects associated with their inappropriate use. Additionally, the advantages and proper uses of social media were discussed, including the function of parents and the value of cordial family conversations. An audio-visual clip of Hazrat Amirul Momineen’saa guidance on how to safeguard ourselves from the negative effects of social media was also presented. Various ideas were introduced on how to spend leisure time beneficially, including short videos introducing MTA programmes for all age groups.
This workshop was followed by a sideshow of the artwork sent by nasirat.
The next workshop, “Precious Pearls”, was based on the concept and importance of modesty and purdah as prescribed by the Holy Quran. Various aspects of purdah including modesty in gaze, shaking hands with the opposite gender, and online purdah, were discussed, along with modesty in different situations like in schools, universities, the workplace, gatherings, and weddings. All of these were explained in light of the sayings of Huzooraa.
The last workshop was about “The Islamic Marital System”, in which the rulings of Islam regarding marriage and choosing a match were explained. The importance of preferring spirituality was highlighted with the help of Huzoor’saa guidance and current statistics on marriage outcomes in the modern world. This was followed by a session on the key to a successful marital relationship based on the guidance provided by Huzooraa on various occasions.
In the afternoon session, all members were divided into groups of married Lajna members, student Lajna members, and nasirat groups for question-and-answer sessions. The nasirat group also undertook a short prize-based quiz on various topics, including the concept of modesty, and group games, and wrote letters to Huzooraa.
Lajna members as well as nasirat thoroughly enjoyed the whole event while increasing their knowledge and confidence in a spiritual environment. A mother-only meeting also took place during the second session. Mothers had the opportunity to engage with Sadr Lajna Imaillah Ireland on a variety of matters related to Rishta Nata and the education of the future generation in this regard. A daughter-only session was also held with the student Lajna members by the secretaries for Talim, Tarbiyat and Student Affairs.
The centenary souvenir stall arranged by the Ishaat Department was also very popular among all age groups.
In the final session, Sadr Lajna Imaillah Ireland addressed all members. She highlighted the importance of keeping the pleasure of Allah as our ultimate objective and the significance of prayers in every aspect of life. The seminar ended with a silent prayer.
The feedback from all the members of different age groups was very positive, and many expressed how much they learned and appreciated all the workshops, especially the incorporation of the live interaction tool and research-based audio-visual spiritual videos in this year’s event.