Iran Camp - Day 2

Madinah al-Ilm: Day 2 (Boys)

The holy city of Qum in the sacred month of Sha’ban – the statement itself just holds a status like no other and Alhamdulillah it is a blessing to be present and experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In the very first days of the trip there is so much to write about and describe the series of events that took place that it might take a whole chapter if not a book to really cover everything.

Twilight Session

Our second day at the course: fajr namaz is at around 4.30am. We are fortunate to pray in the Haram of Bibi Fatema Masuma-e-Qum. We thus start the day with the Ziyarat of this holy lady. How can anything ‘wrong’ happen to anyone with this kind of start?

After the Ziyarat, the students went to a nearby park for their “Twilight Session”: a time where one can contemplate and focus on the inner self and search for the answers to some very difficult and unique questions. The question posed to us during this particular twilight session was: “What is your purpose in life?” We were given several minutes to sit alone and contemplate on this matter. The group then reconvened to share their thoughts and receive some feedback.

The next event was an exercise routine outside our Madressa, where we went through ten minutes of running and about hundred squats – we were dead beat by the end of it. Light breakfast was then served with some laughter and friendly talks amongst the students.

The classes also began today and they all were successful. Subjects taught were Quranic Principles, Aqaid, and Akhlaq by different scholars and sheikhs. After the classes we had “Sleeping Time” then Salat-ul Zohr at around 1:30pm followed by white rice and spinach for lunch.

During the hours of 2:30 – 5, we have “Free Time” where the students are free to do anything they like in matters of sleeping, reading, relaxing, or surfing the net. Our room was indulged in a discussion about various topics including Shia-Sunni debates, the Value of Ziyarat, a summary of the classes, and just enjoying chocolates!


Funeral of Ayatullah Kashani

At 5pm we had scheduled a guided tour of the Haram; however, this did not take place, instead, we all attended the funeral of Ayatullah Kashani.

Arriving upon the streets of Qum, it was packed with thousands of people all gathered for the funeral of this great personality. It took about two hours to complete including the Burial and the Namaz. The Namaz-e-Mayyit was recited by Ayatullah Khurasani, and by the grace of the Almighty, we got the opportunity to not only attend this funeral, but also pray behind this great scholar. Upon leaving the haram we headed to Masjid Jamkaran – the masjid built for, and upon the request of our Holy Present Imam Mahdi (aj).
We were all eager to arrive at this holy place. Reports suggest that reciting Dua Tawassul every Tuesday for forty nights will result in seeing the Imam. Just understanding the status and position of the place, and mosque, it is a real blessing to be present Alhamdulillah.

We arrived at Masjid Jamkaran at Maghrib and the place was beyond full. The mosque had no space inside, and there were more then two hundred or more people outside praying. Further back, people had set up mats and blankets facing the Masjid preparing for Dua Tawassul. Similarly, we set up our mats and went to pray. Then we were briefed on the history of the masjid, some miracles that have occurred and how our Holy Imam is present and always helping us.

After completing the Am’al, we all gathered back and started Dua Tawassul. Dua Tawassul infront of Masjid Jamkaran on a Tuesday night in the month of Sha’ban was just a miracle in itself. Shortly after we had dinner and left the Masjid at around midnight.

The last stop was at the house of Marhum Ayatullah Kashani - the personality we buried this evening. We were invited and we went to pay our condolences to the family members. During our visit there, we were introduced and provided with information regarding the life of this holy scholar by Sheikh Nadir.

Alhamdullilah, all of us learnt a lot and hope to implement some of these lessons in our own lives InshAllah. After that it was Hawza-Sweet-Hawza, and we slept at 2am. Not forgetting we have to be up by 4Am for Fajr!
Everyday is not as busy as this but the events are in similar time frames. Going over all the events that transpired, one truly can appreciate the blessings we all receive from our Creator. With that I pray to Allah to grant all believers the experience the holy city of Qum including the holy Ziyarat, Masjid Jamkaran, the presence of so many renowned scholars, and much more – ameen. InshAllah, if and when opportunity strikes, I will write another diary.

By: Irfaan Bhimji of North America

Bab al-Ilm: Day 1 and 2 (Girls)

After Fajr prayers in the Haram of Bibi Masuma, we had our first group discussion which was an eye opener for all the girls. They shared their deep thoughts to each other for the very first time, briefing their purposes and what they wanted to achieve from this trip.

The daily classes started with three different great scholars, all of them teaching at the Hawza. In one of the classes the lecturer cautioned that our biggest enemy is our own self, together with Shaitan.

The girls are beginning to adapt to this new lifestyle Alhamdulillah, even though the culture is quite different to what they are used to back home. After prayers and lunch the girls rested in the afternoon.

In the evening we had the honour to meet the representative of Ayatullah Seestani: Sayid Mohsin Hashimi. The girls used this precious opportunity time and asked a various different Fiqh questions and also said their prayers behind him in Jamaat.
Masjide Jamkaran

The day ended with a trip to Masjid-e Jamkaran with Dua – E – Tawassul with tears in their eyes. All of them went back to Jamia satisfied after a dinner of burgers.

By: Zainab Ladha, of Trollhattan Sweden, mentor for Bab al-Ilm

Bab al-Ilm: Days 1 & 2 (Girls)

After setting off from Heathrow on Sunday evening by the grace of Allah (SWT) we arrived in Qum early on Monday morning. After praying Fajr at the airport, with a buzz of excitement in the air the girls made their way to Jamiah-az-Zahra. After the girls had their first Iranian breakfast and received their chadors, they rested and settled in at the Hawza.

Later on in the day was the opening ceremony, marking the start of what has been an amazing journey so far. After a beautiful Quran recitation, we were all inspired as to how blessed and fortunate we all are to be invited to be the zawar of Imam Reza (A.S) and Lady Masuma. The students were given advice on how to fulfil their true potential on this important and life-changing journey, and learned what to expect over the coming weeks.

We then made our way to perform Salaat and our first Ziyarat at the Haram of Lady Masuma. We were fortunate to have a short talk on the etiquettes of Ziyarat and the philosophy behind it, enabling us to perform our first Ziyarat in this holy city of Qum with better insight and understanding.

As our first day in Qum came to an end, the atmosphere amongst the girls was one of contentment and excitement as they looked forward to what the next day has in store for them.



Haram of Bibi Masuma: the group’s first ziyarat

Having arrived in Qum and felt the air of this blessed city, the group felt relieved to rest after a long journey.

The opening ceremony was one that brought to life the unique and honourable opportunity we have all been blessed with, not only to be the zawar of Imam Reza a.s. and his sister Lady Masuma, but to be on a journey for which the angels have laid down their wings, the journey of gaining knowledge.

For everything in life Allah has prescribed for us an example of it at its best, so the best of mankind is the Holy Prophet, the best of the months is Shahr Ramadhan, the best nights is Laylatul Qadr, the best stone is Hajr Aswad and the best of books is the Holy Quran – while we come together to mark the initiation of this journey we are reminded that our ultimate goal is to be the best soldiers we can possibly be for the Imam of our time as he has selected us to be in this city to mark his wiladat.

Before we all paid Salutations to Lady Masuma one of our teachers enlightened the group on the concept of offering Salaam, its etiquette and the transformational role it should play in our lives.  This really helped the girls to connect to the Ziyarat moving away from a mere ritualistic offering but one that came from the depths of their heart which left no dry eye in sight.