I would like to dedicate this project to two people.
I am grateful to Allah for my Mother. Without her influence, I would not have taken the directions I have taken in my life. May Allah’s mercy be upon her.
I am grateful to Allah for Imam Siraj Wahhaj. From the first time I heard him – as a sixth grader listening to him speak on the “Importance of Righteous Conduct of a Muslim” – his messages penetrated my heart. He has always had a deep impact on my thinking and understanding of Islam. Not only on me: he was instrumental in making a whole generation of suburban Muslim kids proud to be Muslim in the early 1980s.
We looked forward to his visits to our local community in Teaneck, New Jersey and University campuses. We made efforts to meet, be inspired and learn from him. At the MYNA camps, it was great to see him play sports and “thump” some of the trash talkers amongst us.
As the course material for this project was coming to completion, I thought deeply on who impacted my life. After my Mom, Imam Siraj came to mind first and foremost.
Dear Imam Siraj: Jazak Allah Khair for your inspiration and teaching throughout the years. Please know that we were not only captivated by your eloquence, knowledge and contextualization of Islam, but we were actively listening.
The Omar RA series is a monumental achievement in Islamic media. We are grateful to the producers for their work. Here, we have developed a curriculum on the series to take the lessons to humanity. Imam Siraj, we would not have been able to envision, and develop this curriculum without the inspiration you provided to us as young Muslims.
May this project be a Sadaqa Jariya for my Mom and Imam Siraj.
May Allah accept these efforts from us.
Ameen.