Coupling knowledge with action
So the real test has begun in terms of what we can carry on in the U.S. after somewhat hardcoring it in Madinah and Mecca. You say somewhat hardcoring it? I hear what we went through at the Rihla is nothing!
Here's a look at what a typical schedule looked like in Jeddah and Madinah:
Jeddah-
Tahajjud in your own time
5 AM Fajr jamaat (praying in congregation)
daily dhikr of Imam Haddad's wird and Surah Yasin
6AM Imam Zaid session on Discerning the Eyes' Delight (we went through a book written by Imam Abdullah Siraj-ud-Deen that details the Prophetic characteristics)
8 AM breakfast
10 Session 2 with Shaykh Abdullah al-Kadi on the Wives of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) It was really cool because he integrated using Google earth with his sessions so we could actually see the historical sites he alluded to in his classes. I have to say this shaykh is soooo humble, no one could ever know how big of a man he is in Saudi.
11:30 Session 3 with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi was not able to make it to Jeddah because of visa issues, so Shaykh Hamza got to teach us a class on The Alchemy of Happiness by Imam al-Ghazali. This text isn't even translated into English, but subhanAllah it TOTALLY needs to be!)
We then had dhuhr and lunch and a break to nap in (and you better believe I napped!)
3:50 `Asr
4:30 Session with Shaykh Abdulillah bin Bayyah who taught classes on Seerah as well as Usool al-fiqh (these were some DEEP classes!)
7 Maghrib, dinner, isha
9 session with Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
Alhamdulillah the sisters also got a list going to do a khatam of the Qur'an while we were in Jeddah.
It was difficult getting over the jet lag while really trying hard to stay awake in these classes because they were such amazing classes. I thought that alhamdulillah we would be able to get to sleep after the last session which would end at like 10:30 or so, but I soon found out that people like to party at night in Jeddah. My first night there, I awoke to a loud, thumping sound-- I thought I heard techno music, but I thought, wow I must be really tired. But then I thought, wait a minute? Why would I be imagining hearing techno music when I don't even listen to music? By this time I heard Sami Yusuf playing, and I realized that there was a wedding going on downstairs. I tried really hard phasing the music out, but hey when you can actually feel the music, it's pretty hard to catch some zzzs. The next day I realized everyone else who was on my side of the hotel also didn't catch any sleep because the Saudi women apparently put their children to bed, leave their homes, and start their weddings at like midnight and don't end until fajr... I guess that's their way of ensuring they stay awake until then. Unfortunately, we also found out that there would be a party at the hotel every night during our stay in Jeddah. I don't think this actually ended up happening, or maybe i was finally so exhausted that I no longer woke up to the music-- I don't really know.
Our schedule in Madinah:
3 AM Tahajjud at Masjid Nabawi
450 Fajr
5:30 daily field trips
9/10 (depending on how long it would take for us to get back) breakfast
12:30 dhuhr
1 lunch
3 sometimes we would have classes
3:50 asr
5 session with Shaykh Yaqoubi on Shifa of Qadi Iyad
7 maghrib
730 dinner
9 isha
9:30 session with Shaykh Yaqoubi
(this would also be the time when we would sing nasheed!!!)
so basically here's some things I wanted to share of what types of things we could implement in our daily lives that keep up with the things we did there:
1) try waking up for tahajjud at least once a week, then increase.
2) pray on time
3) do morning and evening dhikr
4) pray doha
5) read surah Yasin after fajr, sura Mulk after maghrib, and Surah Waqia after isha. Try doing a khatam of the Quran once a month.
the above are simply forms of ibadah that honestly I can say I feel have really helped put barakah in my time. With the help of Allah, anything is possible. We think time is going by fast, we think we don't have time for things, but really- we do, inshaAllah. And, Allah is with those who patiently perservere. Keep trying!
Here's a look at what a typical schedule looked like in Jeddah and Madinah:
Jeddah-
Tahajjud in your own time
5 AM Fajr jamaat (praying in congregation)
daily dhikr of Imam Haddad's wird and Surah Yasin
6AM Imam Zaid session on Discerning the Eyes' Delight (we went through a book written by Imam Abdullah Siraj-ud-Deen that details the Prophetic characteristics)
8 AM breakfast
10 Session 2 with Shaykh Abdullah al-Kadi on the Wives of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) It was really cool because he integrated using Google earth with his sessions so we could actually see the historical sites he alluded to in his classes. I have to say this shaykh is soooo humble, no one could ever know how big of a man he is in Saudi.
11:30 Session 3 with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi was not able to make it to Jeddah because of visa issues, so Shaykh Hamza got to teach us a class on The Alchemy of Happiness by Imam al-Ghazali. This text isn't even translated into English, but subhanAllah it TOTALLY needs to be!)
We then had dhuhr and lunch and a break to nap in (and you better believe I napped!)
3:50 `Asr
4:30 Session with Shaykh Abdulillah bin Bayyah who taught classes on Seerah as well as Usool al-fiqh (these were some DEEP classes!)
7 Maghrib, dinner, isha
9 session with Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
Alhamdulillah the sisters also got a list going to do a khatam of the Qur'an while we were in Jeddah.
It was difficult getting over the jet lag while really trying hard to stay awake in these classes because they were such amazing classes. I thought that alhamdulillah we would be able to get to sleep after the last session which would end at like 10:30 or so, but I soon found out that people like to party at night in Jeddah. My first night there, I awoke to a loud, thumping sound-- I thought I heard techno music, but I thought, wow I must be really tired. But then I thought, wait a minute? Why would I be imagining hearing techno music when I don't even listen to music? By this time I heard Sami Yusuf playing, and I realized that there was a wedding going on downstairs. I tried really hard phasing the music out, but hey when you can actually feel the music, it's pretty hard to catch some zzzs. The next day I realized everyone else who was on my side of the hotel also didn't catch any sleep because the Saudi women apparently put their children to bed, leave their homes, and start their weddings at like midnight and don't end until fajr... I guess that's their way of ensuring they stay awake until then. Unfortunately, we also found out that there would be a party at the hotel every night during our stay in Jeddah. I don't think this actually ended up happening, or maybe i was finally so exhausted that I no longer woke up to the music-- I don't really know.
Our schedule in Madinah:
3 AM Tahajjud at Masjid Nabawi
450 Fajr
5:30 daily field trips
9/10 (depending on how long it would take for us to get back) breakfast
12:30 dhuhr
1 lunch
3 sometimes we would have classes
3:50 asr
5 session with Shaykh Yaqoubi on Shifa of Qadi Iyad
7 maghrib
730 dinner
9 isha
9:30 session with Shaykh Yaqoubi
(this would also be the time when we would sing nasheed!!!)
so basically here's some things I wanted to share of what types of things we could implement in our daily lives that keep up with the things we did there:
1) try waking up for tahajjud at least once a week, then increase.
2) pray on time
3) do morning and evening dhikr
4) pray doha
5) read surah Yasin after fajr, sura Mulk after maghrib, and Surah Waqia after isha. Try doing a khatam of the Quran once a month.
the above are simply forms of ibadah that honestly I can say I feel have really helped put barakah in my time. With the help of Allah, anything is possible. We think time is going by fast, we think we don't have time for things, but really- we do, inshaAllah. And, Allah is with those who patiently perservere. Keep trying!
posted by Ruby at 7:48 PM
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