Intimate Conversations

Had the privilege of being in close proximity and having intimate conversations with another speaker currently giving a series of lectures in Singapore: Shaykh Khalil Moore. There were just the very few 'usual suspects' and we had dinner together at a friend's house. After that, the Shaykh shared many intimate and personal life stories - about him coming to Islam, about him discovering Islam (and its many derivatives within), about his life's journeys, his lessons learnt and meetings with many blessed men and habaib in our times. Subhan-Allah!

There were many stories which he shared with us, one after the other - way into the night - till he was prompted by his dear wife that it was perhaps time to return to the hotel :) I have not had the opportunity of hearing his lectures for the past 2 days, but I can imagine how interesting it might have been just from the way I was listening to him this evening. He comes across as an affable man, sincere, energized, animated and yet, poetic - all at the same time. This inspires me to make an extra effort to hear him over the next week he is in Singapore, insya-Allah.

There were many stories and lessons learnt from this evening - and it was information overload. But the nur in his face and the earnestness in sharing what he has, was pleasure enough. And if I had to choose just one, I remembered in one of the stories which he conveyed, the main point he said (not verbatim) was: at times, we always underestimate the value and maqam of a person whom we meet - and that is always a regretful thing that we unconsciously do. Most times, we do not have the opportunity to return and accord due respect and thus learn the knowledge that they have within them. And it is true as I reflect on the many people whom I met when I was 'younger' on this path. Subhan-Allah, Allah has been merciful to me that I have been given so much more opportunities to meet so many blessed men and scholars since then, and learnt so much from them. It has indeed been a blessed day - Alhamdulillah!

For those unacquainted with Shaykh Khalil, here is a little information about him:
Khalil Abu Asmaa (Christopher Moore) was born and raised in America into a practicing Christian family. While on the path to becoming a professional musician, he went through a deep spiritual and emotional journey that led to his conversion to Islam in the summer of 1994 at the age of nineteen.

He later traveled to the Muslim world in search of sacred knowledge and a balanced understanding of the prophetic legacy. He has studied in the blessed city of Madinah (1996 to 1999), the deserts of West Africa, the Atlas Mountains of Southern Morocco, and the Hadramawt Valley of Yemen.

He holds a B.A. in English, with a minor in Religious Studies, from George Mason University (2001) and a M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland (2007). He has also studied Arabic-English translating and interpreting at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.