On the weekend of January 11, 2019, I was blessed to be hosted at Darul Qasim in Chicago. The most striking thing about this institution is the way that it connects its deep focus on traditional religious sciences with the contemporary crisis affecting Muslims in the West.
The scholars that I met with and learned from in that short period combined excellence in traditional scholarship, refined and Prophetic character and manners, and a deep understanding of the Western context. I also spent time with students who were the fruit of Darul Qasim’s methodology, young men whose personalities reflected the wisdom and blessing in the seminary’s approach. These men reflected the Sunnah in a way that is rare, with a devotion to their families and an emphasis on neighborliness, benevolence and service to the broader community.
After my visit, I am left with no doubt Shaykh Amin Kholwadia and the other scholars at Darul Qasim have, with Allah’s blessing and mercy, created an institution that will not only be a means of preserving Islam in the hearts, tongues, and limbs of the Muslims in America, but that will also prove to be a mercy and healing to America as a whole. After this visit my faith has been strengthened, my hope has been renewed, and my desire to study my religion has been rekindled. May Allah continue to give the men and women of Darul Qasim success and increase them in this life in the next.
– Ismail Royer