updated 8 December 2010
Three students from different rural centres of Bilal Muslim Mission of Kenya,(BMMK)had the priviledge to participate in the Madinah al-Ilm course sponsored by The World Federation of KSIMC and Federation of KSI Jamaats of Africa. The camp was scheduled from 18th July to 8th August 2010.
Below is the first hand information received from the students:
Report by Mohammad Ali Naqi of BMMK - Al Mujtaba Centre, Miamba
I would first of all thank Allah (s.w.t) for giving me the golden opportunity to visit Iran. The trip was good and successful. This trip enabled us to perform Ziyarats, gain knowledge and spiritual Upliftment. We learned Qur’an, Akhlaq and Aqaeed. The lessons were very good and interesting. I was happy to find that some of the lessons taught were the same as the ones we are taught at our BMMK Centre Madrasah.
We were only three Africans out of the 77 campers who were mainly from the west. They were very friendly and socializing, that I don’t have words to express my joy and happiness during the trip rather than pray to Allah (swt) to bless them throughout their life.
It was great pleasure to offer Namaaz, Aamals and Dua’s in some of the biggest mosques. Performance of swala and how people recited dua’s made me feel more spiritual than when I am at home. We used to perform prayers on time.
We were excited to meet and socialize with Muslim scholars. They answered all types of questions that were put forth to them in a very simple language.
It was very interesting and enjoyable to climb Mount Khidhr where, we were told that during the last day of Qiyamah our Imam of the time (Imam Mahdi a.s) will begin his journey from this particular point.
In Tehran we visited the shrine of Imam Khomeini (r.a) and Behish–e-Zahra whereby the martyrs of the war between Iran and Shias were buried. Prison of Savak was also another place that we visited. We saw how the Iranians were tortured and almost cried at the treatment given to them by the Shah was inhuman.
We returned home safe and sound after the three weeks camp. What I achieved from the trip I would be very happy to share it with my friends, relatives and community.
I would also like to thank all the organizers who made the trip to be successful and may Allah (s.w.t) shower them with his blessings.
Reported by Hassan (Ngombeko) Nyawa of BMMK - Al Mahdy Centre, Samburu
Mashallah, how wonderful it is seeing the mu’mineen praying and others doing the Ziyarat at such an early time of the day. This enlivens ones dead soul. Much I can write, however, I feel that I cannot fully explain the liveliness and the strong faith expressed by the followers of Ahlul bayt.
We went round various areas and the most interesting part is when we went deep in a cave for 12 km. It was so cool which was ironical to the outside, which was very hot.
We went for our first Ziyarat in the evening. I was excited to see many people coming for Ziyarat. For the first time I could not touch the shrine and I was very sad, however, the next day I managed to touch it. We were made to practice ziyarats all day at ones will. This continued for the whole week until we started preparing for our departure back home. I was really surprised as I waved my friends who were leaving.
“The trip was very educative and more so it gave us an opportunity to meet and make friends worldwide. This trip I can say; time spent in the camp is time well spent.”
Report by Jaffery Kamanza of BMMK - Al Mahdy Centre, Samburu
Never at any one time had I thought I would ever place my feet on any holy land, but by the grace, power and will of Allah (s.w.t) this was possible. If one ever imagines being in such a place that its environment spiritually welcomes you, then my advice would be the Islamic Republic of Iran. A walk on the streets and roads of this country is enough call and remembrance of our creator Allah (s.w.t).
Having been a group comprising of people / participants from different parts of the world, I didn’t anticipate that there would be very much and fast mingling with different participants. However, the kind of brotherhood, friendship and kindness that developed was absolutely perfect. With time, the bond grew stronger and stronger such that one could not feel separated or lonely.
Learning being the main objective of the camp was allocated three hours in a day everyday. Qur’anic principle, Aqaed and Akhlaq were the main subjects that were dealt with. Very well conducte.d, planned schedule and prepared teachers made the learning program a success. In fact, the most amusing thing I noticed is that scholars who were still pursuing their studies taught us, I could not believe since, the degree of knowledge and facts they imparted to us, you would be well advised that they are done with their studies. Alhamdulillah, we learnt so many new things that we did not know before.
Another important aspect that I learnt of and really touched my heart was the simplicity of the scholars. I believe they emphasized so much on being equal to us to an extent that they didn’t want to be called by the title ‘Sheikh’ instead they preferred to use title ‘Brothers?’ How wonderful it was. One would not believe or notice at once that they were well equipped in terms of attaining religious knowledge.
After fajr Namaz session known as twilight has been very benefiting and played a very important role in terms of equipping one with contemplation skills. As a matter of fact, through this we learnt of different ways of gaining concentration, which would be useful in times of prayers. As Allah (s.w.t), ‘O you who believe, do not near prayers in the state of intoxication until you know what you say! Therefore, concentration is key to attaining nearness to Allah (s.w.t). At a time, we would be asked to gather all our senses to a point that you felt no movement of your limbs, your heart would be in connection with your mind, then you would ask yourself a series of questions such as ‘who am I’ or ‘what is my goal in life’ both of which answers should be from the heart not from the mind. For sure, this led only to one point, ‘the presence of heart in prayers’.
We were lucky to get a chance of meeting some great Ayatullah’s (marji’i) i.e.Ayatullah Wahida Khurasan and Ayatullah Makarimi Shirazi. Alhamdulillah, though they had so little time meeting with us, what they uttered was most important and beneficial that if put into action, one would lead a different life. One most important thing that they emphasized on was the remembrance of our creator, Allah (s.w.t) before undertaking any action. If I must say, they valued Allah (s.w.t) so much and despite having short periods with us, what they advised us was worth it.
15th Shaaban, the day in which the birth of the Holy Imam Zaman (a.s) is commemorated, I found us lucky on this holy land. As usual, on a day like this, ibada was the order of the day. We spent part of the night at Mt. Khizr performing ibada and part of it at Masjid Jamkaran. It was a good experience in that the place which was so live and filled with people you may have thought it is during the day. The extent to which people love Allah (swt) in that country, I had never seen it anywhere despite the fact that all inhabitants of it are Shia Ithna asheri Muslims.
We also had an opportunity to visit the third largest Shia library in the world. Ayatullah Marachi Library named after the owner has about 55000 books with over 30000 manuscripts in 30 different languages. We are told that, he went all over round the world collecting various scripts for his library. The most interesting part of it is that he used to fast Qadhwa on behalf of people out of which he would get funds to develop his library. May Allah (s.w.t) bless him and the work of his hands. However, it’s sad that we are told despite developing the third largest Shia library in the world, he was so poor that he could not make for Hajj during his entire lifetime.
‘Bait al Noor’ house in which Janabe Fatema Masuma took shelter in during time she felt sick when visiting her beloved brother Imam Ali Ar Ridhaa (a.s). She dearly loved his brother that she couldn’t wait to see him, therefore out of love she decided to travel all the way from Madina to Khurasan province in Iran. By then Imam Ali Ridha (a.s) had been into exile by the Abbassid Khalif of the time. So as she traveled, she fell sick at this point Qum and died before meeting his beloved Imam Ali Ridha (a.s)
‘Freedom is not free! A note that welcomes you as you make your way to the prison of Savak. A site where Muslims were mercilessly tortured due to their faith. Great personalities like Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, Ayatullah Seestani among them were subjected to the harshiest kind of torture, but due to the love of Allah (s.w.t), this didn’t deter them since they didn’t give up their consolidated support of Islam. Women too, were also put under the same situation. Worse, it is that their hijabs were taken away. However, due to their love to Islam, they remained strong in faith and due to this Islam still made firm its roots. May Allah (s.w.t) make them among the best of people during the day of Qiyama.
Come to the peak of the programme, ziyaraats. These were the order of the day during the entire period of the camp. Thank God that we were able to visit graves / Shrines of some great personalities in Islam. For instance, Janabe Fatema Masumas Shrine in Qum, Ali Baaqir (a.s) son to Imam Mohammed Baqir (a.s), Imam Khomeinis grave, Sheikh Tusi, Allama Tabatabai, Ayatullah Burjardi, Ayatullah Bahjad among them. Lastly, we visited Imam Ali Ar Ridhaa’s shrine in Mashhad. We were his guests for the entire period. Alhamdulillah, he even fed us. More than a million pilgrime came to visit Imam Ridhaa (a.s) every year and he feeds them. What a miracle. There are lots of pigeons around his shrine but none of them ever flies over Imam’s grave / Shrine. Mashallah. That is a miracle of Allah (s.w.t).
For sure, the trip provided a good basis for spiritual development in a person. Starting from the environment that welcomes you spiritually and reminding you of Allah (swt) every time. That is a place to be in since I feel one would never forget Allah (s.w.t).
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BMMK students who returned from Madinatul Ilm summer course, expressed their appreciation towards the Mission by actively participating in their respective centre activities of Mahe Ramadhan 1431 AH.
One of the report received from Br Mohammad Ali Naqi, who is also an IRE teacher at the Al Mujtaba Centre, Miamba.
“After the Iran trip I was very happy to share some of experiences with relatives, friends and community at large. On 10th Ramadhan the community members gathered at the Al Mujtaba Masjid, Miamba. They were around 80 Muslims who attended this program. I narrated to them my experience and what I had learnt from this camp. I emphasized mostly on importance of swalah and duas, especially Dua Tawasul and Dua Kumail. I also talked on how one should be prepared to meet the Imam of our times Imam Mohammad Mahdi (a.s).
On 15th Ramadhan I visited the community members of the neighbouring Al Husayni centre, Bahakanda to share with them the same experience. There were around 40 Muslims who attended the program. They all appreciated what I said to them.”
The Mission would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Africa Federation Tableegh Board and IEB World Federation for sponsoring 3 less fortunate students from Bilal Muslim Mission of Kenya in the recently concluded “Madinah Al Ilm Summer Camp 2010” and making the difference in their lives.