Ma’rifa 2025 Conference
Schedule
Ma’rifa 2026 is a three day conference featuring panels, workshops, and interactive elements. Please see a detailed overview of the schedule below.
“He who perfected everything that He created and began man’s creation from clay.” [32:7]
Friday, March 27, 2026
Registration + Dinner
5:30 - 6:45 pm
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Opening
6:45 - 7:00 pm
Qur’an recitation and opening remarks.
Reciter: Mahdi Hammoud
Location: Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
The Garden’s Hum
7:00 - 7:30 pm
A lively night of attendee performances.
“The seven heavens, the earth, and all those in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not glorify His praises…” [17:44]
Location: Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
The Garden Today
7:30 - 8:30 pm
A townhall to discuss current affairs and our role in dismantling systems of oppression.
“And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed.” [4:75]
Speaker: Sayyid Sulayman Hassan Abidi
Location: Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
Garden Blvd.
8:30 - 10:00 pm
Explore our community marketplace of student businesses and organizations.
“The example of those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah is that of a grain that sprouts into seven ears, each bearing one hundred grains. And Allah multiplies the reward even more to whoever He wills. For Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.” [2:261]
Location: Pendleton Room and 2210 ABC, Michigan Union
Wildflower Works
8:30 - 10:00 pm
Interactive activity hour with Ma’rifa team-led tables of art, games, and reflections.
“Every single person who cultivates something, Allah rewards him as much as the fruit produced by the plant.” - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Location: Pendleton Room and 2210 ABC, Michigan Union
Prayer
7:30 - 7:45 pm
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Breakfast
10:00 - 10:30 am
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Qur’an,
Mar’ifa Welcome
10:30 - 10:45 am
Qur’an recitation and the Ma'rifa team welcome.
“So He may admit believing men and women into Gardens under which rivers flow—to stay there forever—and absolve them of their sins. And that is a supreme achievement in the sight of Allah.” [48:5]
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Beauty: An Orientation
10:45 - 11:15 am
An orientation of the concept of beauty in Islam.
“God is beautiful and He loves beauty.” - Hadith Qudsi
Speaker: Sayyid Sameer Ali
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Workshops - In Practice
11:20 am - 12:40 pm
An interactive segment featuring five hands-on workshops for attendees to choose from. Each individual will have the opportunity to participate in one 60-minute long workshop. All workshops will be in the Michigan Union.
1. Living the Story
Reflect on the traditions of storytelling in Islam through creative writing focused on lived experiences and self-expression.
“We narrate to you the best of stories that We have inspired in this Quran, though before this you were among the unaware.” [12:3]
Facilitators: Narjis Sheikh and Sheza Tahir
Location: Pond, Michigan Union
2. Fragments of the Divine
Create Islamic geometric art as we explore the history and importance of art practices in the Islamic world.
“You see the mountains thinking they are motionless, but they will float away like the clouds. This is the Artistry of Allah, who perfects everything. Surely He is All-Aware of what you do.” [27:88]
Facilitator: MadeByAmna
Location: Anderson ABC, Michigan Union
3. Envisioning Garden Futures
Explore and compare Western sci-fi and Islamic futures while learning to see and construct alternative models of tomorrow.
“He strategizes everything from the heavens to the earth, then it all ascends to Him on a Day whose length is a thousand years by your counting.” [32:5]
Facilitator: Mohammad Zaidi
Location: Anderson D, Michigan Union
4. “Speak, for the truth is still alive”
Learn the art of oration and speaking with clarity to authentically tell our personal and communal stories from the heart.
“The Most Compassionate taught the Qur’an, created humanity, and taught them speech.” [55:1-4]
Facilitator: Dua Zahra
Location: 2210 BC, Michigan Union
5. The Gardener’s Oasis
Explore community building and taking care of the world around us through practical leadership skills.
“And We made them leaders guided by Our command. And We inspired them to do good deeds, establish prayer, and give of zakah; and they were worshippers of Us.” [21:73]
Facilitator: Mohammad Cherri
Location: Parker Room, Michigan Union
Lunch
12:40 - 2:00 pm
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Prayer
2:00 - 2:30 pm
Location: Kuenzel, Michigan Union
Workshops - As Concepts
2:30 - 4:00 pm
An interactive segment featuring five workshops for attendees to choose from. Each individual will have the opportunity to participate in one 90-minute long workshop. All workshops will be in the Michigan Union.
1. Narrative as Medicine
Explore the intersection of Islam, medicine, and beauty, with the goal of envisioning the profession of medicine with a holistic lens rather than a corporate one.
“O humanity! Indeed, there has come to you a warning from your Lord, a cure for what is in the hearts, a guide, and a mercy for the believers.” [10:57]
Speaker: Hedyeh Elahinia
Location: Anderson ABC, Michigan Union
2. Transforming the Lens
Examine the processes of media consumption across film and television and reconsider our relationship with media as both consumers and producers.
“So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.” [22:46]
Speaker: Sarah Mokh
Location: 2210 BC, Michigan Union
3. Rooted in Belonging
Learn about the care, training, and planning needed to nurture beautiful communities and the role each person plays in building belonging and collective growth.
“Verily when God, the most Blessed and most High, wants a community to remain and thrive, He endows them with aspiration and good virtues.” - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Speaker: Shaykh Trenton Carl
Location: Pond, Michigan Union
4. Designing with Dignity
Reimagine the field of big tech as one rooted in intention, human-centered design, and ethical practice and explore alternative ways of pursuing success rooted in Shi’a theology.
“...do not contribute to your destruction with your own hands, but do good, for God loves those who do good.” [2:195]
Speaker: Mohammad Khatami
Location: Anderson D, Michigan Union
5. The Garden of Paradise
Take a deep dive into the scholarly commentary of the Qur’an (tafsir) to study the dimensions of beauty and garden as the Qur’an and ahadith define them.
“He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He [alone] has the Most Beautiful Names…” [59:24]
Speaker: Sayyid Sameer Ali
Location: Parker Room, Michigan Union
A Walk in the Garden
4:15 - 5:00 pm
Speaker office hours, refreshments, and interactive social activities for communal theme exploration.
“The true servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly…” [25:63]
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
World Cafe
5:00 - 6:30 pm
Vibrant cafe-style dialogue, where attendees will come together and discuss questions of community and authenticity over round-table conversations and refreshments.
“Speak to him gently, so he may be reminded of Me...” [20:44]
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Cultivating Communities
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Closing panel on the importance of community building in ways that respond directly to the needs of the specific communities we serve. We will focus on practical, actionable steps that we can apply in our own learning to better support everyone around us, especially those on the margins.
“You are the best community raised for humanity–you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah…” [3:110]
Speakers: Shaykh Trenton Carl and Dr. David Coolidge
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Return to the Garden
7:30 - 7:45 pm
A recap of our day, key takeaways, and shared goals.
Announcement of Call for Responses and raffle prizes.
Moderators: Ma’rifa 2026 Conference Team
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Prayer
7:45 - 8:10 pm
Location: Anderson, Michigan Union
Dinner (Grab and Go)
8:10 - 9:00 pm
Location: Trotter Multicultural Center
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Breakfast
10:00 - 10:30 am
Location: Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB 2420)
The Art of Sacred Spaces
10:30 - 11:30 am
Closing discussion on building sacred spaces with intention. Take a deep dive into Islamic design and learn about our role in turning everyday spaces into gardens.
“He is the One Who created everything in the earth for you. Then He turned towards the heaven, forming it into seven heavens. And He has perfect knowledge of all things.” [2:29]
Speaker: Razieh Ghorbani
Location: Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB 2420)
The City
12:30 - 2:00 pm
Interactive activities designed to locate us in the cities of Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan. Each individual will have the opportunity to participate in one 90-minute activity. Shuttle transportation provided.
1. Dream of Detroit
A walking tour of Detroit to learn about the various ways the city as a physical space can become a communal space of gathering, organizing, and taking care of one another.
“On the Day of Judgment, the Earth will recount everything because your Lord commanded it.” [99:4-5]
Facilitators: Dream of Detroit Team
Location: Dream of Detroit Team
2. Islamic Center of America (ICA)
A tour of ICA’s history and building culminating in interactive group activities.
“And let there be from you a nation inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.” [3:104]
Facilitators: Islamic Center of America Team and Islamic Society of Ahlulbayt Board
Location: Islamic Center of America
Shuttle Transport
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Shuttle transport provided for interactive city activities.