Memoirs of an American Muslim V.02

Visit Seven 8 Six’s Official Website at www.seven8six.net

The name SEVEN8SIX (or 786) is a popular numeric shorthand for the Islamic bismillah,or saying, “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,the Merciful.” The talented singing group consists of Shahaab Quraishi, Omar Razzacki, Zafar Razzacki, Muhammad Saadullah (Saad), and Muhammad Saeedullah (Saeed). These five guys come together to share a single stage with a single voice. SEVEN8SIX is the definition of harmony.

SEVEN8SIX first began in the summer of 2001 in the suburbs of Detroit. The group began as the guys unknowingly came together to sing at a friend’s wedding. They received such a positive response to their performance that the five decided to stay together as a group and direct their talents towards delivering an Islamic message. The group performed as SEVEN8SIX for the first time at the 2002 ISNA convention in Washington, DC. Most of the group’s subsequent public appearances have been at large concert events organized by Muslim groups, including major events co-sponsored in part by the Islamic Society of North America and other community organizations around the United States. Omar is currently studying at the University of Michigan in preparation for law school. Saad, who plays the tabla during performances, graduated from Eastern Michigan University, where he is a double major in Economics, Fine Arts, and is in the process of going to dental school. Zafar has a B.S.E. degree in Chemical Engineering and an M.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering. He currently does research at the University of Michigan and is planning to pursue an MD and a career in medical research. Shahaab, who attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn, majored in Economics and minored in Computer Information Systems. After working for a prestigious consulting firm, Accenture, he now does marketing strategy at Ford Motor Company. Saeed is a pre-med student at Eastern Michigan University and plans to pursue a career in medicine.

This group is working far and wide to please Allah (SWT). As Shahaab says, “We are using SEVEN8SIX as a tool for propagating Allah’s message. Although we all love to sing, that is not the reason for the group. It is something we do well together and share a passion for, but more importantly, we share a passion for being Muslim and spreading the message of Islam. None of us claims to be perfect, or that we do everything correctly, or even try to preach to others. We just want to open people’s eyes to what Islam truly is about and to tell the youth of this country that we know what you are going through and simply…we understand.”

SEVEN8SIX has grown tremendously since their first performance. Not only have they grown as singers and performers, but also as people. Each member of SEVEN8SIX is extremely thankful for everyone’s support and dua’s. “Insha’Allah, we look forward to a lot more together as a group and hope that everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, can share in all that we put out. Ameen.”