Laylat al-Qadr, Night of 19th of Ramadan

🌐 In-Person, in English

Speaker: Sadik Kassim
Lecture: "Stewards of Creation or Servants of Data? Insan as Khalifa in an AI-Driven World"

Date
Tuesday March 18th, 2025
6:45 pm to 11:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
MIT Student Center, 3rd Floor, Twenty Chimneys, 84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Schedule
6:45-7:10 Dua Makarimul Akhlaq
7:12-7:30 Prayer
7:30-8:15 Iftar-Dinner
8:15-8:30 Special Prayer for the Night of Qadr (2 Raka' Salah)
8:30-8:45 Quran Recitation (Surah Dukhan)
8:45-9:30 Lecture and Q&A
9:30-9:45 A'maal of Quran
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:15 Dua Jawshan Kabir
11:15-11:30 Munajat, Ziyarat

- About Speaker (Bio)

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@zekrMIT

Laylat al-Qadr, Night of 21st of Ramadan

🏴 Martyrdom Anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (p)

🌐 In-Person, in English

Speaker: Sadik Kassim
Lecture: "Community in the Shadows of Code: The Social Nature of Insan"

Date
Thursday March 20th, 2025
6:45 pm to 11:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
MIT Student Center, 3rd Floor, Twenty Chimneys, 84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Schedule
6:45-7:10 Dua Kumayl
7:14-7:35 Prayer
7:35-8:15 Iftar-Dinner
8:15-8:30 Special Prayer for the Night of Qadr (2 Raka’ Salah)
8:30-8:45 Quran Recitation (Surah Dukhan)
8:45-9:30 Lecture and Q&A
9:30-9:45 A’maal of Quran
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:15 Dua Jawshan Kabir
11:15-11:30 Munajat, Ziyarat

- About Speaker (Bio)

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا عَلَمَ التُّقىٰ، السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا حُجَّةَ اللّٰهِ الْكُبْرىٰ، السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا خاصَّةَ اللّٰهِ وَخالِصَتَهُ، وَأَمِينَ اللّٰهِ وَصَفْوَتَهُ، وَبابَ اللّٰهِ وَحُجَّتَهُ، وَمَعْدِنَ حُكْمِ اللّٰهِ وَسِرِّهِ، وَعَيْبَةَ عِلْمِ اللّٰهِ وَخازِنَهُ، وَسَفِيرَ اللّٰهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ.

Laylat al-Qadr, Night of 23rd of Ramadan

🌐 In-Person, in English

Speaker: Sadik Kassim
Lecture: "Laylatul Qadr and the Algorithm of the Soul: From Hollow to Whole in the Age of AI"

Date
Saturday March 22nd, 2025
6:15 pm to 11:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
MIT Student Center, 3rd Floor, Twenty Chimneys, 84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Schedule
6:15-7:00 Recitation of Surahs Ankabut and Rum
7:00-7:10 Ziyarat Imam Husayn (p) on Laylatul Qadr
7:17-7:40 Prayer
7:40-8:15 Iftar-Dinner
8:15-8:30 Special Prayer for the Night of Qadr (2 Raka' Salah)
8:30-8:45 Quran Recitation (Surah Dukhan)
8:45-9:30 Lecture and Q&A
9:30-9:45 A'maal of Quran
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:15 Dua Jawshan Kabir
11:15-11:30 Munajat, Ziyarat

- About Speaker (Bio)

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@zekrMIT

A passage from the Dua of Abu Hamza Thumali!

upcoming events, Ramadan Programs, Mar 23-28, 2025

▫️Sun-Wed, Mar 23-26, 9:15-11:00 pm (virtual, in English)
Special Topics, "Saqifa: From Deviation to Rectification", Farhad Ghoddoussi, Wayne State University, Michigan.

▫️Thu, Mar 27, 6:45-9:30 pm (in-person, in English)
Dua Kumayl & Lecture.

▫️Fri, Mar 28, 6:45-9:30 pm (in-person, in English)
Quran Study, Surah Maryam.

visit us:
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Special Topic Lecture Series

🌐 Virtual, in English

Title: "Saqifa: From Deviation to Rectification", 4 Sessions
Speaker: Farhad Ghoddoussi (Bio)
Time: Sun-Wed, Mar 23-26, 9:15-11:00 pm ET

🔻Lecture 1: Quranic view on the succession of previous prophets.

🔻Lecture 2: What happened at Saqifa?

🔻Lecture 3: The religion (din) Ali (p) at the time of the three caliphs.

🔻Lecture 4: The public actions of imam Ali (p) during his caliphate for rectifying the deviation that happened after Saqifa.

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698
Meeting ID: 923 7746 6698

#saqifa
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Project Abstract:
This presentation will introduce Deen, an AI-powered platform designed to transform we engage with Shia Islamic knowledge. Deen addresses major challenges such as misinformation, fragmented resources, and the lack of structured educational tools. As a nonprofit initiative, it is built for the community, by the community—with the goal of making Islamic learning more accessible, intelligent, and authentic.

About Speaker:
Ibrahim Akar is an MBA candidate at NYU Stern with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. Founder and CEO of Deen, a nonprofit initiative leveraging artificial intelligence to make Islamic education—particularly Twelver Shia Islam—more structured, accessible, and reliable. Ibrahim is passionate about bridging the gap between tradition and technology to serve the evolving educational needs of the global Muslim community.

🔸In our program this Friday (March 28), Br. Ibrahim Akar will have a short presentation on an AI-Powered Platform for Shi'i Studies. It will be before Maghrib at 7:00 pm.

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Ramadan Event, Dua Kumayl & Lecture

🌐 In-Person, in English

Date
Thursday March 27th, 2025
6:45 pm to 9:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
MIT Tang Center, E51-395, 2 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02142

Schedule
6:45-7:15 Dua Kumayl
7:23-7:45 Prayer
7:45-8:30 Iftar-Dinner
8:30-8:35 Quran Recitation
8:35-9:15 Lecture, in English, Dr. Ammar Pabaney
Title: “Khushoo (Humility): The Virtue of Believers”
9:15-9:20 Q&A
9:20-9:30 Ziyarat Warith

- About Speaker (Bio)

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Ramadan Event, Quran Study, Maryam [19:56-57]

🌐 In-Person, in English

Date
Friday March 28th, 2025
6:45 pm to 9:30 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
MIT Tang Center, E51-395, 2 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02142

Schedule
6:45-7:00 Dua Iftitah
7:00-7:15 “Deen”, An AI-Powered Platform for Shi’i Studies, Br. Ibrahim Akar
7:24-7:45 Prayer
7:45-8:30 Iftar-Dinner
8:30-8:40 Ziyarat Ale-Yasin
8:40-9:25 Exegesis (Tafsir), in English, Mahdi Saleh
Topic: “Chapter 19, Maryam, Verses 56-57”
9:25-9:30 Q&A

Verses to be Discussed:
(19:56) And mention in the Book, Idrees. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet.
(19:57) And We raised him to a high station.

- About Speaker (Bio)

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/boston?iso=20250329

Partial Solar Eclipse — Boston, MA, USA

Begins: Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 6:31 am
Maximum: Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 6:38 am
Ends: Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 7:07 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWQ78gtGo1A&list=PLRagz8v-1fF4KGgyePWeEuzvu1CDfo7B2&t=1s

"Mary in the Qur'an", Lecture 14 (1/2)
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Feb 25, 2025

Chapters:
0:00 Greetings & Introductory Remarks
0:49 Reading the English translation of the verses Q66:11-12
1:18 Brief Review of what was discussed in the last few lectures.
1:32 List of the Surahs of Qur'an related to the Maryam in the chronological order of revelation and the order with which the verses related to Maryam will be discussed in this series of lectures.
2:07 Summary of the main topic to be discussed in this lecture in relation to verse Q5:116 in which Quran ascribe worship of Mary to at least some christians. Did historically Christians worship Mary besides Jesus? Does Quran, as some Christian polemicist alleged, have considered Mary as part of the Trinity (Father, Mother and Son) instead of the common one( Father, Holy Spirit and Son) ? Does Quran criticism of some christians target their belief/saying or action/practice?
14:15 Reading the English translation of the following Quranic verses Q4:156-159, Q4:171-172, Q5:17, Q5:72-76, Q5:116-120, which all are two Madinan surahs Al- Nisa and Al- Maidah which are sister surahs.
22:32 Reading the translation of the two verses Q9:31 and Q45:23, which are other instances of people taking (اتخذوا) something besides Allah as God (اله).
28:15 Intertextuality of John20:17 with Quranic verses Q3:51, Q5:72, Q19: 36, Q43: 64 in which Jesus utters the phrase "my God(Lord) and your God(Lord)".
29:43 Looking to the commentary of "The Study Qur'an" on Q5:116.
42:32 Looking to the commentary of the Tafsir Al- Mizan on Q5:116. Al-Mizan emphasizes Quran does not say Christians believe or say Mary is God but taking (effectively) Mary as God. Looking to the historical examples of worshipping Mary by christians as they are furnished by the two sunnintadsirs of Alusi (Ruh al- Ma'ani) & Rashid Reda (Al- Minar).
1:05:56 Two important recent articles on this topic 1) Mohagheghian, Zahra (2024) Mariolatry (Marianism) in the Qur'an- A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Western Scholarship in Farsi and 2) Goudarzi, Mohsen (2025)The Qur'an's Cultic Trinity-Marian Piety in Late Antiquity and the Qur'an in English.
1:11:05 Four different approaches Islamic commentaries have adopted in regard to the worship of Mary by the Christians in Q5:116.
1:12:33 A Brief look to the 3 main Christian churches at the time of the revelation of Qur'an:1)The Greek-speaking Chalcedonian Church (Melkite, Chalcedonian, Dyophysite) which was the official and royal church of the Byzantine Empire.2)The Syriac-speaking Jacobite Church (Jacobite, Monophysite, Miaphysite) which was more prevalent in the Levant region (Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, ...) and its branch in Egypt was called the Coptic Church.3) The Eastern Syriac-speaking Nestorian Church (Nestorian) which was common in Mesopotamia in Iraq and east of it and was under the protection of the Sassanid Empire.

#Mary_in_Quran

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWQ78gtGo1A&list=PLRagz8v-1fF4KGgyePWeEuzvu1CDfo7B2&t=1s

"Mary in the Qur'an", Lecture 14 (2/2)
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Feb 25, 2025

Chapters:
1:16:35 Looking to the discussion of Michel Cuypers on Q5:116 in his book The Banquet which is wholly devoted to the commentary of Surah Al- Maidah. Cuypers rejects that Qur'an is referring to the two sects Collyridians and Maria mites. He also rejects any confusion that may have happened between Mary and the Holy Spirit as the 3rd and feminine element of Trinity. He believes the adoption of the official title Theotokos (Mother of God, God-Bearer) for Mary by the council of Ephesus in (431AD) with all ensuing theological misunderstandings & devotional practices & worship is the main inspiration of the Quranic criticism of the Christians in Q5:116.
1:27:34 From another angle Cuypers states that Quran in 5:116 is effectively arguing that a divine Mary is an inevitable & absurd corollary of a divine Jesus, the reasoning being that if Jesus is divine, Mary should also be divine, for “one cannot imagine a human being begetting a divinity!”
1:32:38 Muna Tatari & Klaus von Stosch state that Qur'an in suggesting some Christians divinizing Mary, Qur’an is targeting the promotion of Mary(ع) as a “goddess of war” in the Byzantine imperial propaganda in the seventh century.

#Mary_in_Quran

Inshallah we will be holding an Eid al-Fitr prayer at MIT on Monday March 31st (pending moonsighting). Prayer and Khutbah will be led by Dr. Sadik Kassim. Details will be posted once confirmed.

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Book Review
"Nahj Al-Balaghah: The Wisdom and Eloquence of Ali"
Guest Speaker: Tahera Qutbuddin
Thursday, April 10, 2025, 7:00 pm ET
45 min lecture followed by 30 min Q&A and interactive discussion.

✳️ Please note, there will be some limited copies of her book at the venue which will be sold with special discount for only $50. (The book original price is $300)

Details will be announced.

https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Tahera Qutbuddin (PhD Harvard 1999) is AlBabtain Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford. She taught previously for twenty years at the University of Chicago, where she is now Professor Emerita of Arabic literature. Her scholarship focuses on intersections of the literary, the religious, and the political in classical Arabic poetry and prose.

Please NOTE, This is based on naked eye. One needs to follow their Marja to decide.

The Crescent Moon of the Month of Shawwal, 1446 A.H.
From the Crescent Committee of The Council of Shia Muslim Scholars of North America - Read more here:
https://ow.ly/BnUc50Vp93a

1 Shawwal (March 31): Eid al-Fitr
8 Shawwal (April 7): Destruction of al-Baqee’ Shrine, 1344 A.H.
25 Shawwal (April 24): Martyrdom of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (p), 148 A.H.