Sheikh Dr. Khalil Abdur Rashid and Ustadh Samia Khalil Omar Harvard Commencement 2023

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

‎وَوَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿۲۱۶

‎‏

“You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: Allah knows and you do not.” (Quran 2:216)

(Quran 2:216)

Sheikh Dr. Khalil  Abdur Rashid 

By:  Samia Khalil Omar

This verse of the Quran has taught me an important lesson in life: to never say never and to accept what Allah had decreed for me and to trust that whatever happens in my destiny (qadr) will be the best for me.

We as human beings can plan, but ultimately Allah has His plans, and He is the best planner.

This year I was honored to be chosen by the President of Harvard himself to serve as “Chaplain of the Day” and to offer an opening prayer alongside my husband Dr. Khalil Abdur-Rashid. The role of Chaplain of the Day is a distinguished role for a clergy member on the day of Commencement, the most important day at Harvard. But before I share with you my experience that day, let me take you on a little personal journey which enabled me to arrive at this moment.

I just to use the word “never” a lot, like so many people do when they think they are unable to do something or when they reject the idea of doing it.

One of my first “never moments” was back when I fell in love with the city of New York. That beautiful city had a special place in my heart and I decided that I would “never” live anywhere else. One of the things I loved about living in New York was the proximity to water and the diversity of people from all over the world.

However, one day we were presented with the opportunity to move to Dallas. The idea of living in a landlocked place like Dallas was completely out of the picture for me. But after careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that our family would have a better opportunity there than in the Big Apple. I could have “never” imagined that Dallas would be the place where I would eventually bury my child. I “never” would have thought that I would bury my daughter there, which made me form a connection and love with the soil that became the resting place for her.

During our time there, I had the opportunity to pursue my dream of higher education. With the encouragement of my husband and the support of two wonderful women: Mrs. Michelle Mrak (Director of Liberal Studies Program at at SMU at the time) and Nancy Montgomery (Director of the English Language Program and Writing Professor at SMU at the time). Because of them, I was able to enroll in the SMU Masters Program of Liberal Arts with a concentration in Islamic Studies. I was studying part-time while managing duties with the seminary and youth programs my husband and I organized at the time. With everything going on, I could have never even considered leaving Dallas.

During our time there, we organized an Umrah trip through the Islamic Seminary of America, which we established. At the time, our family was facing some personal difficulties, and I clearly remember standing in front of the Kaaba at Hijr Ismeal and praying two rakats asking Allah for a solution.

The same week we returned, my husband heard back from Harvard University offering him the position as a University Muslim Chaplain. At this point I knew that this was the will of Allah, and although I was certain in the decision we were making, I remember the nights I spent crying over this. I knew this move meant that I would never have the opportunity to visit my daughter’s grave every Friday as I used to, and I knew it would be too difficult to continue my education from another state. But as difficult as it was, I knew it was Allah’s plan and I went ahead with this new stage in our lives.

The funny thing about our move is that I clearly remembered visiting Cambridge two years prior for an event my husband and I were invited to. We traveled there in mid March and not only was it extremely cold, but it was even snowing! I remembered the shock our bodies felt from the difference between Texas weather and Boston weather. I even distinctly remember telling myself and those around me that I would “never” come back to this state again.

Yet here we are! We’ve been living in the Cambridge area for the past six years now. By now I should have learned my lesson about “never saying never”. Rather than saying I will or won’t do something, all I can say is “inshAllah” and leave it up to Allah to decide whether something is good for me or not.

To be honest, leaving behind my daughter’s burial city and quitting my education made my first year here a bit difficult, but Allah has been truly generous with His choices for me. At first I was very hesitant about being in a position of community leadership as a Muslim woman, as sometimes it is often rejected by people who hold objections to Muslim women serving in positions of leadership. But with the encouragement of my husband, I applied to be a Harvard Chaplain and to my pleasant surprise I received unanimous votes of approval by the members of the Board of Harvard Chaplains. Since then, they have fully embraced me and my husband and we have only ever known kindness from them. As chaplains at Harvard, we all do our best to serve our respective religious communities on campus which in turn, benefits the greater Harvard community.

Under the leadership of President Bacow, the University has been able to offer the Muslim community on campus a multitude of unique and enriching programs. From the first Harvard University Umrah trip to nightly Ramadan iftar dinners sponsored by the Office of the President, we have been able to offer Harvard Muslim community members the opportunity to connect with their religion and community as well as the opportunity to strengthen their spirituality and relationship with Allah.

These two specific programs changed the lives of students on campus and allowed them to have a positive and special experience during their time here at Harvard. We have been able to have so many events over the past few years and I hope to have the opportunity to talk more about each of them in the future.

The most impactful experience I had at Harvard however has been the opportunity to meet with so many amazing people. I have had the chance to attend classes and learn from great thinkers. I’ve met many well educated, intelligent, and humble people who have taught me many lessons; amazing people who give you the opportunity to bring out the best of yourself, and this is exactly what happened to me during these past years of serving as a Muslim Chaplain at Harvard.

This year, I was unexpectedly asked to offer a prayer not only for Commencement, but also for the Baccalaureate Service as well. Speaking in public has never been my thing. I used to tell my family that I cannot do and would “never” do public speaking. However, it seems as though it wasn’t only my family that believed I could do it, but also the esteem President of Harvard himself, President Larry Bacow and his Chief of Staff, Ms. Patti Bellinger, who believed in me as well.

They honored me by allowing me the opportunity to realize that, yes, I could speak in front of a crowd. But to be honest, whether you’re skilled at public speaking or not, I’m sure that having an audience consisting of two Harvard Presidents (i.e. the current outgoing and incoming Harvard President), along with nearly 40,000 people, and standing next to America’s favorite actor Tom Hanks (no pressure by the way) would make anyone nervous. For someone like myself who isn’t confident in my ability to speak publicly, it was a tremendous obstacle to overcome.

But thinking about how this would positively impact my daughters as well as the Muslim female students on campus gave me the strength to carry out this responsibility.

After this experience, I finally decided that from this moment, going forward, I will “never” say never again. My eight year old daughter always repeats to me what I taught her whenever she sees me getting nervous about attending an event: “believe in yourself and there is nothing you cannot do”, she says. So I think I will take this as the first step forward in building some trust in myself.

I will share the videos of the prayers my husband, and I offered during the Baccalaureate and Commencement ceremonies. I would also like to share one of the many positive reflections I received from the female Muslim graduating students this year, all of whom I am truly proud of. They all have a special place in my heart as all of them graduating this year are the same age as my late daughter Reem would be. If she were alive now, she would be graduating from College too!

I want to conclude with a message for all: always trust Allah most high and know that when Allah gives you challenges and obstacles in life, it serves as lessons for wisdom and courage not as a punishment. There is no way to know your level of courage without overcoming challenges. So I encourage you to find the good and wisdom contained in ever challenge in your life. There are so many gifts you’ll find through patience (sabr) and acceptance of Allah’s will (rida).

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

Kofi Bilal Mahmud Eid AlFitr 1443 A.H.

http://oppressedpeoplesonlineword.ning.com/profiles/blogs/6273430:B...

Kofi Bilal Mahmud

Executive Director

Oppressed Peoples Online Word 

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