And so it began. The next day after settling into our hotel our lectures were underway. To be able to sit with our beloved scholars and take from them was overwhelming to say the least. What topped this off was the amazing amount of love they showed us. To meet them- a dream come true. To receive so much love from them was surreal. They made so many dua for us. The sincerity of their love and care for us was ultimately humbling. These are the inheritors of the Prophets alaihum salaam. They have the highest status of royalty in the world. Here we are straight from the streets, just out of jahiyliyah, drenched in dunya, fresh from the fly life, high on lies and filth- here we are, in the presence of the most civilized and most noble of all the inhabitants on earth, receiving love. Take a moment to let that sink in.
I don’t know about my fellow classmates but I have quite a past. I grew up in the inner city of the Cleveland, Ohio. I was a Christian in a not so Christian home. I did what non-muslims do, that is, I strove for this world. I always believed in The Creator but I didn’t know my purpose in life. I didn’t know how to have the correct relationship with my Lord. I didn’t know that He was in control of everything. So with the weight of the world on my shoulders I strove to be my best but also to satisfy my desires at the same time. From this I was eaten alive. In the dunya (this worldly life) there was no one I could trust, there were no true friends, there was no true love. After so much pain and loss I longed to take my life, this world was not for me. My Lord Most Merciful showed me the way out just in the nick of time. Allah made manifest to me that death was not the way out of this world but turning to Him was the way out of this evil dunya. By his Mercy I accepted. I am still unpacking my bags of jahiliyah. I wish I could have left them at the door, but we all come with luggage. It’s what makes us who we are. Beneficial knowledge is what makes us who we should be. Our Lord Allahu Rahmanir Raheem, Al Hayyum, Al Qayyum, Al Wadood blessed us little people to have a taste of this ilm through this seminar. And through this I was able to lighten my load and leave more of my dark past behind. Besides knowledge of the religion we learned so much about manners and etiquette and of course love. We experienced true, unadulterated, purely for-the-sake-of-Allah love, all natural no additives or preservatives just 100% authentic wholesome pure love. It’s the love I felt when I first embraced Islam. It’s the love that attracted me to this deen (religion of Islaam). It rekindled the fire I had when this deen was still new to me. It tore down the barriers I’d built from being hurt so much. It washed away the residue that this dunya, shaitan, and my nafs had left upon my heart. What I experienced was absolutely life changing.
