Thursday Night Programs

A beloved weekly fixture for the Western student community — Dua Kumayl, lamentations, an English lecture and dinner together.

Initiated by some of the senior Western students during the 1990s, the Thursday Night Programs have become a beloved fixture, giving families an opportunity to come together and build connections within the Western student community.

These weekly gatherings typically include the recitation of Dua Kumayl, museebah (lamentations and eulogies), and an English lecture, followed by dinner or light refreshments together. They are usually hosted in students’ homes, but as numbers have grown, SIOS has become one of the main venues — with brothers gathering upstairs in the prayer hall and sisters downstairs in the library. Children are welcome and free to play on the middle floor, though supervision may be limited.

More than a weekly routine, these programs serve as a valuable platform for spiritual enrichment, community bonding and intellectual exchange — and are often one of the first places new arrivals find their feet socially.