Into the Mirror: Spiritual, Intellectual, and Personal Development Seminar

by Noor H. Salem

Often, one will never reach their true potential until they truly know themselves. In the seminar hosted in Farmington Hills, Imam Suleiman Hani shared incredible and heart-moving methods of knowing oneself, in order to grow spiritually, intellectually, and even personally.

Whether it was tips to have a passive income, or having a vision in life in order to maximize productivity, Shaykh Suleiman Hani covered it all. “If you don’t truly know yourself, you will never truly reach your full potential,” he said. Shaykh Suleiman struck the core of many with constant reminders of Jannah being one’s goal, and how one must truly strive to reach it. For, your decisions every single day define where you will end up.

If Jannah is your goal, what are you doing every single day to make it there? It was a weekend with insight on self-development and key tips to unlocking your full potential. Throughout the weekend students were able to discover all that you can do to take things to the next level. The discussion included how to maximize what you can do for the sake of Allah (swt), to leave behind a massive, beneficial legacy. It was all about discover who you are and what you can become, simultaneously including the incredibly dynamic speaker, Shaykh Suleiman Hani. Various activities, including one incredible one that incorporated mirrors, were truly enjoyed by the students, as the laughs and smiles on their faces said it all.

“People remember how you made them feel, not what you said.” -Shaykh Suleiman Hani

Qabeelah Ittihaad Michigan, Al-Maghrib’s chapter of Southeast Michigan, was founded in 2005. Respect, integrity, manners, optimism, and helpfulness are all qualities of Qabeelah Ittihaad volunteers. As of today, the Qabeelah has hosted more than 70 seminars and one-day seminars. Their mission is to help their communities by providing them with opportunities to seek Islamic knowledge in a fun, engaging, and extraordinary way. It’s more than just sitting in a classroom and taking notes- bonds are built, memories are made, and seeds of friendship are planted. They’ve had more than four students complete the Al-Maghrib degree audit to its entirety, two of which are now Al-Maghrib instructors themselves.

The Qabeelah hosts seminars on various topics, covering Qur’anic Tafseer, pillars of faith, beautiful patience, Fiqh of marriage, modesty and clothing, ethics and manners in Islam, history, and many more heart-warming courses. Other than hosting seminars several times a year, Qabeelah Ittihaad’s volunteers get together to put their knowledge into action: they give back to their community. Of the many projects conducted, they’ve made almost 300 personal hygiene packages, brought hot food to a homeless shelter, helped pack clothing for the needy, and much more. They work as a team, strive as a team, and experience the incredible fruit of their efforts as a team, alike.

Imam Suleiman Hani is a lecturer and author, hailing from Dearborn, Michigan. At the age of 14, he completed a 10-month Qur’an memorization program and shortly thereafter began his intensive studies under local and global scholars, completing throughout his studies hundreds of classical and modern texts and gaining ijazat (licenses) in the six books of hadith from multiple scholars, as well as a Master of Arts degree from the University of Jordan’s College of Shari’ah, ranking first in his class.

Suleiman has served as an Imam and youth director since the age of 19, lectured at conferences and workshops around the globe, authored numerous books and articles, and has recorded several comprehensive series with the largest Islamic TV stations worldwide. Imam Suleiman currently serves as an instructor, adviser, and researcher at various educational and humanitarian institutions, the CEO of several business ventures, and an Imam and Religious Director in Michigan. His most recent hobbies include mixed martial arts, skydiving, archery, and traveling.

One student, Sabeen, had the following thoughts regarding this seminar:

“Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah!  My name is Sabeen, I am an Al Maghrib student from Qabeelat Mass, Bradford, UK. Alhamdullilah we just had Sheikh Suleiman Hani in town last weekend to teach INTO THEMIRROR.  The shortest summary I can give of this seminar is mind-blowing, SubhanAllah. This weekend has altered my perception of the dunya around me and put this temporary life in to perspective by exploring various ahadith from Sahih Muslim. Not only was it an intellectually stimulating class, but it also made us delve deep in to our souls, finally asking ourselves all those difficult questions. Through answering them, we were able to rediscover ourselves. The class contextualized the ahadith, allowing us to learn more about the stories of the Prophet (SAW) and the sahaba. Sheikh Suleiman also covered the biography of Imam Muslim and other great scholars from our history.  The course is basically a brilliant mix of hadith studies, some Tafseer and Islamic history, whilst being personalized to apply to your life the whole time! Sheikh Suleiman explained the material in ways to suit our diverse audience and he answered related questions clearly and completely over weekend. His teaching style was very interactive and engaging! I strongly recommend that you all to attend this class in a city near you, especially with Ramadan on its way!” -Sr. Sabeen, Bradford, UK 

It was a beautiful weekend that was wrapped up with a discussion on Jannah, and how one would feel reaching their goal after hardship, trial, and strife. While the class unfortunately ended, the majority of students will never look into the mirror the same way again!

Noor H. Salem is an author, speaker, and Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, from Michigan. Noor works with clients in better understanding their bodies and healing with natural foods through her wellness practice, Holistic Noortrition. She presents various workshops, school lectures, group coaching classes, and community lectures on the topic of holistic health. Noor recently published her book, SUNNAH SUPERFOODS, a culmination of life-changing recipes and remedies, with a foreword by Dr. Waleed Basyouni. Her book consists of prophetic hadith, modern research, and delicious recipes, and is in the process of being translated into other languages.