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Reflection: Madinah & Bab Short Courses 2012
Updated 14 November 2012
In the summer of 2012, The World Federation once again ran its renowned Madinah & Bab short courses in Iran. The courses attracted 60 participants, boys and girls, from across the world.
Sister Fatima Murtaza Nasser of Dar es Salaam Jamaat, Tanzania shares her life-changing experience:
“I am honoured to have been given the chance to write a summary of my experience at this year’s Bab and Madinah Summer Short course in Iran. Just knowing the fact that we were all invited guests of the Imam AS and his holy sister AS was amongst the greatest blessings, how wonderful still that we had been granted this chance in the month of Ramadhan month where all of us were ultimately guests of Allah SWT.
“We arrived in Qum to the hospitality of Lady Masuma AS, and her grandmother Lady Fatimah AS herself, since our home for the time we would spend in Qum would be the center of learning dedicated to her, Jamiat uz Zahra. It was wonderful feeling to stay in a place with people you might have never met in your life before, have people speaking a language you didn’t understand, eat food whose name you couldn’t pronounce and still feel at home. There was something special that brought us all together.
“Alhamdulillah the classes that we had whilst in Qum and Mashhad were truly eye opening to say the least. We covered a range of different topics including Aqaid, Mahdawiyyat, Tareekh (History), Fiqh, Tafseer of Duas and many others. Each teacher brought a new angle to Islam in the way that they presented their topic and the classes really got us thinking. Having a lecture in the Haram or at Masjid Jamkaran just added to the overall experience and made the experience unforgettable.
“The Harams in both Qum and Mashhad were expectedly the highlights of the trip. The Harams were not merely mosques or places of worship, but rather they were places of contemplation and self reflection. Each Haram had its own beautiful aura, a different feeling that would overcome you when you stepped into the vicinity of the place. The tears rolling down the cheeks for everyone wasn’t unexpected, it was just a realisation of the bond that was inherently shared with the personality that we had travelled from across the world to come and visit. It was a beautiful and humbling feeling to know that we had been invited by the Holy Imam AS and his blessed Sister AS. What a beautiful feeling and what a lofty aspiration that being the sinful people that we are, we still sought to build a connection with the Imam AS and take some gems from the abundant treasures, that would help enrich our lives with true Imaan and knowledge.
“Jamkaran was another emotional highlight of our trip. It was beautiful to sit under the starry night and implore Allah SWT through the wasila of the Masumeen. It was a point of self searching, a point where we sought to renew the allegiance with our living Imam AS. It was so comforting to know that the Imam was amongst us, but it was also heartbreaking that the bright star from the family of the Prophet SAWW was hidden from us and far from us despite being so near.
“There were lots of memorable field trips that we made during the trip. We visited places within Qum and Mashhad as well as other cities like Kashaan, Nishapur and Tehran. In Qum we visited places including the house of Imam Khomeini, Bayt un Noor, mount Khidhr AS, Ansarian book shop and the Zareehs of the Imam Zadehs buried in the city. In Mashhad we were fortunate enough to be able to go to visit a hospital for survivors from the struggles upon which the Islamic revolution was founded. We also visited the science centre and had some time to go to the bazaars as well.
“For me, the climax of this trip was in Tehran. It wasn’t something that I would have expected going into this trip, but our visit to Tehran was a point of realisation for me. Having visited Beheshte Zahra AS, the Ebrat museum, the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini, personally speaking to the Jaanbaazan (war survivors) and finally having a chance to pray behind Ayatullah Khamenei, simply tied together the entire trip. It was a strong reminder that sacrifice is always a prerequisite for the establishment of truth, goodness and justice. It reminded me that there are so many who have sacrificed immensely to ensure that Islam reached us the way it has, and that this was merely a few decades ago! It was the swallowing of the painful truth that we have not yet realised the value of Islam overall. We have not sought to establish what our duties are in the Islamic society and how we can prepare ourselves and lay the foundations for the coming of the Mahdi ATFS. In Tehran, I felt I saw Karbala relived on a smaller scale, it was a demonstration that Truth does truly prevail and that it was our individual duty as well to seek to protect it.
“All in all, this trip was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. It has been life changing for me to say the least. I made a lot of friends, people I will never forget. It was an opportunity to look into myself and recognise myself.
“I would like to thank all the organizers, Sheikh Kumail and his team from the Qum office who worked tirelessly as well as our teachers and mentors for all the effort, for all of them are our sincere duas. I pray that we all get a chance to go for such a wonderful trip... Ameen.”
For more information or to secure your place on the course for 2013, or to apply to be a mentor email madinahbabcourse@world-federation.org
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