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I Have Finals, Should I Study or take Darkness to Light?
Salaam alaykum,
Do both, insha’Allah, study for your final exams and take Darkness to Light. So I’ve heard a number of people have declined to register for our amazing Darkness to Light seminar coming to Nurayn next week, taught by two of the leading students of knowledge in North America, Yasir Qadhi and Waleed Basyouni, both of whom have specialized in Islamic theology because of upcoming final exams. Has anyone else heard that? Or is that your situation?
I also have final exams scheduled for the Monday after each weekend, May 9th and 16th, but I’m still taking the class. And it’s not because I’m the Ameerah that I’m taking the class or that I don’t also need to study and prepare (read: cram) for my own exams. No, I’m so excited to take this class simply because it’s amazing! Those of us who attended Ilm Summit in 2010 got a taste of the depth of preparation, presentation and organization of the material by the instructors. And some of us had the chance around the time of The Prophet’s Smile class to attend either one or both weekends of this Darkness to Light seminar in Newark, New Jersey with Qabeelat Durbah.
This is a powerhouse course, two single weekend seminars back-to-back with two powerhouse instructors. No prerequisites, you just have to enroll online.
Join us, enroll online, don’t let final exams be an excuse to keep you away from the khayr of being in the gathering of knowledge with your fellow Nuraynies, the instructors, and the angels. Bring your textbooks, we’ll study in the morning, in the breaks, and after class ends, insha’Allah.
Side Note: I attended a wedding for one of my dearest AlMaghribi sisters in Canada this past October. I had an exam in Pharmacology (and pharm is killer) the following Monday. I still went, took my books along, we partied but I also studied (Faiza and Yusra can attest to this) when I had some down time and on the plane (all that commuting to the Shady Grove campus is an ideal time to study :). I made dua and the sisters made dua for Allah to place baraka in my time and studying. Went straight from Dulles airport to my school to take the exam and actually was a few minutes late for the exam due to a flight delay, got there, took the exam, and earned the highest exam grade of the semester. Never underestimate the power of dua.
Hope to see all of you next week, not only for Free Friday but for both weekends of Darkness to Light. And let’s keep the students amongst us in our dua for final exam season is once again upon us.
Jazakum’Allahu khayran,
Ify
What is Darkness to Light all about? In a nutshell, Aqidah! I’m looking at the course notebook as I write this, Sh. Yasir is going to speak about the blessings of Iman, the various definitions of Iman, how we can directly understand and extract benefits and lessons about Iman from ayat and hadith, what actions constitute iman and kufr, factors that take one outside the fold of Islam, modern movements and trends, call it what you will (extremist, jihadi, takfiri, khariji, terrorist, progressive, whatever), major and minor sins, and so much more. Sh. Waleed is going to speak about issues surrounding sunnah, bidah, the status of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), the role of hadith, and more.
One thing I really love about the portions of the class that I’ve taken is how interactive it’s been. The instructors engage and challenge the students to think critically and prove or disprove their statements using the evidences we cover. I remember very clearly at Ilm Summit, Sh. Waleed called on me by name and said “Sr. Ify how do we do that this particular action is an innovation?” And of course I could parrot off some answer but he challenged me to use the evidences we had just learned to answer, which was very helpful and practical example of how we can implement what we learn in our everyday lives.
If Allah has blessed me to be in a position to attend a class with either Sh. Waleed or Sh. Yasir, I would not miss it. I have learned so much from their knowledge and their adab.
Jazakum’Allahu khayran, for the reminder and always encouraging us to be the best we can be, Ify. It is true – I am guilty of juggling the “go” and “not go” thoughts in my head. Mainly because we are always preforming all sorts of tricks to get as much ajar and good out of our time while we are still here. So I always ask myself, dunya or akhira? Or both? Sometimes the choice is difficult – so with a little du’a let’s just take whatever life gives us and perfect what we give back XD So, I have decided to “go” in the end, al-hamdulillah. See you there, inshallah!
Wa iyyaki, excited to see you this weekend, insha’Allah!