 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Diary of Day 4 - Madinah-al-Ilm and Bab-al-Ilm 4 Course |
|
Day 4 - Thursday 26 July 2007
Girls' report: Thursday morning began surprisingly early as the Jamiah had arranged for us to go to the Haram of Bibi Ma'suma al Qum to pray Namaaze Shab and Fajr prayers. This was one of the most uplifting moments of the trip so far because the peacefulness that extended through the atmosphere due to the stillness of the night and lack of people allowed us to feel a greater proximity to this great lady. The opportunity to pray Fajr Namaaz in Jamaat is one that does not present itself regularly back home therefore to do this in such and inspiring and blessed environment helped us to appreciate the experience even more so.
"The unity that was felt during jamaat namaaz increased our love and respect for our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters as we are all brought together in the worship of Allah (SWT)," - one of the students commented after Namaaz.
To see the photos click here
We are slowly getting used to the daily routine of lessons. After being engaged in a morning of thought-provoking lessons, we were fortunate enough to be treated by the Jamiah to an afternoon of swimming. This went down very well with the girls especially as the weather has been extremely hot. Some comments that were heard on the way to Jamiah:
"I've swam in various pools in different places, however, never have I seen such artistic work by a pool side. The walls had paintings of water bodies with fishes, dolphins, swans and other water animals beautifully drawn. Using depth, the artist had created an illusion on the deep end wher one feels the pool is a part of the larger water body. All along I have been trying to observe Iranian art and I must say it was absolutely fantastic." (Sabiha Khimji, Nairobi)
"Just hearing the word swimming I was overwhelmed with excitement. But surprisingly what I expected and what I saw was totally different! Of course different in a nicer way. When we first got there Subhanallah, the sight of so many people and the aqua colour shining on everyone amazed me. The next thing I knew we were all playing and jumping in the pool. The best thing is that we sisters Alhamdulillah are so united that it makes every moment here a lot more fun. We also played games like Marco polo and also dipped into a hot jacuzzi followed by a dive into ice-cold water. I thank all those who organized this program and truly us sisters shall not forget it." (Sakina Jiwa, Mombasa)
Thursday night would not be complete without Dua e Kumayl. This Thursday night being our first one in Qum was especially beautiful. Each and every one of us was truly touched by the eloquent recitation of the Dua in the Haram and it left us feeling very priviliged to have been given this opportunity.
Iltemase Dua.
By: Sajeda Canani
Boys Diary: Today we woke up during the 3 O'clock hour for Fajr Salaat which was especially difficult since the air conditioning wasn't working and no one had gotten any sleep. After Salaat we resumed to "sleep" until breakfast which many of us skipped due to the need for rest.
After much coaxing we woke up at around 8:30 am and proceeded to Akhlaq class and continued learning about behaviour. This included the fundamental differences between humans and animals, that although humans have superior facets, we tend to succumb to our animalistic desires resulting in utmost degeneracy.
Next we had Ahkam class and conducted a brief summary of the previous lesson. We also learned about various Najasat and Taharat, more specifically Ghusl. Moving along we had our Politics class and watched a little bit more of the Hollywood film 300. The Persians were made out to be the villains in this film where the Spartans were the heroes. I noticed the directors used many Shia Principles towards the few Spartans who were greatly outnumbered in combat with the Persian. This along with cutting an individual's arm was not the only subliminal messages from the re-enacted tragedy of Karbala. The villains also approached the Spartans city and requested they surrender with an oath of allegiance however he chose death before dishonour, which precisely defines martyrdom.
We then prayed afternoon Salaat at which point it was lunch time. I really wanted to sleep after being full bellied but it was almost Quran time and so we proceeded to class. We learnt the basics along with so many interesting facts regarding the Quran. For example, the number of times man and woman, devil and angel, benefit and corrupt are equal thus proving the equilibrium of life.
After class we got ready to go relatively close to the Haram and the madresah e Fayziyyah where the focal point of shia learning exists. We were briefed of the historical aspects of the Madrassah and the works of Scholars. We then were moving the towards the very godly Imam Khomeini's room.
We then conducted our evening prayers. Throughout the day I was with my immediate group of friends which were seven in number including myself. Three pairs from Dubai U.K. and Kenya along with my Canadian self. Although it was Thursday night, it was the 40th day after the death of Ayatollah Fadhil Lankarani. We recited the supplication to enter the Holy Shrine of Bibi Masuma e Qum. After entering we recited Salaam and two Rakaat prayers. Briefly we roamed the streets and purchased some black and white checkered scarves, typically worn by Arab Sheikhs. We proceeded to our accommodation and ate dinner at around 10.
After dinner I packed my bag for the next day's excursion. We would be going to Tehran, the nations to capital, where our group would be guests of honour at Friday prayers. I conducted my nightly shower routine and proceeded to bed.
By: Kamraam Jaffer, Toronto
With the alarm clock that Alihusain has, no one could have slept after Fajr! With a light breakfast we were off to our third set of classes - all by brilliant speakers, with a lot of interaction between students and teachers. After an entertaining lesson of watching the movie 300, we were heading straight back to our room to catch up on our sleep. Again with Alhusain's alarm (which keeps going off after 20 minutes, not that I'm complaining) we were awakened for our Quran classes, which were very brilliant with the teachers we had. The echoing voice of Haider and the magnificent recitation of Agha Najafi, was really astounding ands made us realize that the Quran was not only read in a normal talking voice but be read in a beautiful and echoing voice.
Thereafter we went on a tour Madrassah Faiziya and Dar-al-Shifa and we were given an interesting and learned tour guide. We also had a look at Imam Khomeini's room. From here we took a speedy walk to the Haraam through the Bazaar of excellent merchandise. Straight to the mosque where Dua-e-Kumayl was being recited by a tremendous reciter one which will never be forgotten. A speedy journey back to our accommodation of Bajiya and the simplest vegetable curry. Overall the day was very enjoyable, very interesting and most of all very uplifting of our spirituality.
By: Mohsin Hashmani, U.K. |
|
|
|
|
|
Last Weeks Most Popular Items
|
|
