What does the schedule of a student of knowledge at the Islaamic University look like?
Posted Oct 31, 2009 by Aboo Thaabit with 27 Comments
I often get asked this question, and to be honest, although my day to day schedule changes from time to time, I have certain things that I just have to accomplish during the day; if I don’t, then the rest of my day goes badly and I generally feel down.
First thing first; Qur’aan! How can people say that they are serious students of Islaam yet they have almost no Qur’aan in their hearts? Similarly, if you read many of the biographies of the past scholars they usually always say, that the scholar was born and shortly afterwards he memorised the Qur’aan [sometimes it might actually say he memorised the Qur’aan and then he was born! But I am pretty sure that is an editing mistake] As a result, I spend my early mornings going through my Qur’aan.
Usually, I wake up an hour before fajr and combine the night prayers with my reading of the Qur’aan. This is because – to be honest – the most rewarding part about memorising Qur’aan is being able to stand before your Lord in the middle of the night and recite with ease. It was once mentioned to Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal regarding a student of knowledge who didn’t stand up for the night prayers; the Imaam replied, “What an evil person he is!”
After we pray our fajr prayers in the masjid [in the university] I do one of two things; I might take out my mus-haf and read my daily manzil [about five juzz] or I might sit down with one of the brothers and we would read two juzz to eachother. More often than not I tend to do the latter. When we are finished, it is usually time for breakfast and then our first lesson in the University starts. At this time, it is about 07.30am and we sit in class up until the athaan for dhuhur prayers is called which is about 12.00pm.
Sometimes I go to the Haram [the Prophets masjid] to study straight after dhuhur but normally I go back to my room take my qayloolah [midday nap; call it siesta if you want] and wake up with the athaan of asr. The University provides transportation to and from the haram, the buses from the university leave after asr until a little before magrib and they bring you back home from the haram after isha, all free of charge.
Once I reach the haram the sittings with the scholars start; the masjid is literally filled with scholars and teachers in general. The scholars usually sit on chairs and the students sit around them on the floor. I spend my time after asr studying Fiqh under one of the scholars from the Shaafi’ madhab.
After I am done, I usually make my way to my Shaykh for Qur’aan to whom I read for an Isnaad and Ijaazah, and he corrects my tajweed etc [and mind you, he never opens a mus-haf but knows it all like surah fatiha]. When that is finished, the athaan for magrib is called and I am always delighted when Budayr leads the prayer.
The masjid really starts buzzing and comes alive when the Salah is over, you can barely take a step without hearing a shaykhs voice in the speakers saying “And Allah the Most High said!” and you take some more steps and you hear the next Shaykh saying “And the Messenger of Allah said!” Even though you really want to stop and sit down in all the circles, you have to keep focused and make it to your lesson in time.
I rush to get a good place so I can sit in what perhaps is the biggest study circle in the haram: It is taught by Shaykh Abdul-Muhsin Al-‘Abbad the Muhaddith of Madeenah, and you cannot take your eyes off this man because he is simply so amazing! You know the mental picture you have in your mind of how a scholar should be? Well this Shaykh is better! You cannot look at him and not love him; it is like love just enters your heart when you see him. May Allah reward the Shaykh.
He goes through the six books of hadith with the chain of narrators and everything. Sometimes you lose track of reality and think to yourself that this must have been how studying with Imaam Bukhaaree and his likes would have been like. What I enjoy the most though is when the dars is finished, the Shaykh gives a few minutes for questions and answers, and this is the best, in particular during Hajj when people ask very beneficial questions and everyone benefits from the answers of the Shaykh.
I usually rush towards my Aqeedah class afterwards where I study the classical books of Aqeedah with a student of Shaykh ‘Uthaymeen, and it is impossible to sit with this Shaykh except that you understand and if you have problems in understanding he will MAKE you understand, one way or another. His class is less formal and he does not sit on a chair but on the ground like us, and the groups he teaches only consist of 10 students at a time, so you can’t get away daydreaming!
The Isha salah with Shaykh Huthayfi marks the closure of yet another busy day and we make our way back to the university and our beds. This is when I get in touch with family and friends, they always complain that I am too busy! This is also when I remember I haven’t eaten all day, but please do not tell my mother!
Written by: Isma’eel bin Muhammad Nur
Mashaallah
very nice study in very nice place
Asalaamu alaykum warahmatulahi walbarakaatu;
Did you say you pray Isha behind Shaykh Huthayfi?!?! The man who leads prayer in the Prophets SAW Masjid?! Masha’Allah. Truly you are blessed~!
Your scheduale seems hard, but very much worth it. Your time is not wasted, May Allah place barakah in everything you do Insha’Allah.
Salaams
Wa alaikum assalam warahmatullahi wabaraktuh
And Budair, amongst other Imaams.
In arabic we have a saying, ‘Man jadda wajada, wa man zara’a hasada’ Whoever strives hard will find [whatever he is striving for] and whoever sows he will harvest. If you want knowledge you have to sacrifice alot.
Ameen, may Allah grant you a drink from salsabeel and the chance to see both the Prophet of Allah and Allah Himself.
subhaanAllaah!
Akhi may i ask for a favour please?
Assalaam o alaykum,
ok u know i just read this again, walaahi im truly feeling tht im there!
Akhi, PLEASE could u do me a big favour? well i applyed to madinah uni last year but didnt get in and now i applied again… and i read somewhere that if u really wanna get in u need to ask people there to go to the admins desk and see how far ur application has gone and stuff… u know like put in a good word & stuff….
akhi, may Allaah bless u and ur loved ones with the highest of all stations, and companionship with the anbiyaa & ‘ulamaa…
Bro cud u PLEASE do me this favour for me?
Jazaak-Allaahu khaira.
Wassalaam o alaykum,
Akhookum: Omar Ali Hussain Bin Mazhar Hussain Bin Muhammad. ana min high wycombe, inkultara ( i think i sed thta right!) bro just email me if u wanna ask for my details.
JazaakAllaahu khairun once again bro!
Wassalaam o ‘alaykum,
Akhook
Wa Alaikum Assalam Warahamtullahi Wabaraktuh
I will try my best brother bithniAllah. Meanwhile make dua since everything is in the hands of Allah.
May Allah reward you in this dunyah and the here after.
BaarakAllahu Feek
Assalaam o alaykum,
JazaakAllaahu khairun akhi, walaahi i mean it. i have too many sins on my shoulder which make me way too shy to ask Allaah ta’alah and raise my hands up towards Him (subhaanahu – Perfect is HE, and how unpure i am). walaahi i feel too too embarased, too shy and i just feel like a little pathetic fool in asking, as i do many sins.
Bro, imagine if i were to swear at u and cuss u and then ask u 4 a favour?! Hell no would u answer me…. BUT, in spite of this mountain of sins on me… walaah u know im too embarased to ask Allaah, tho i still do.
anyways, akhi, may Allaah bless u
wassalaam o ‘alayakum
Akhook: Omar
p.s im sayng i do some shirky method of dua, like going thru some dude, na na, i know my aqeeda! for every1 else readng this msg, u may wana read “tawasul, its types and rulings” by “Sh. albani”
p.s im sayng i do some shirky method of dua, like going thru some dude, na na, i know my aqeeda! for every1 else readng this msg, u may wana read “tawasul, its types and rulings” by “Sh. albani”
sorry that shud b “im NOT saying i do shirky methods….”
Assalaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullaah!
SubhanAllaah I had to read that twice because it was so beautiful! May Allaah swt grant us all the opportunity to share such an amazing experience! Ameen!
Wa Alaikum Assalam Warahamtullahi Wabaraktuh
Ameen, Mu’aad bin Jabal said [with a weak chain of narrators] Seek knowledge for verily seeking it is ‘ibaadah (worship) and teaching it to those who do not know it is sadaqah (charity) and studying it is dhikr.
May Allah reward you in this dunyah and the Here after
Assalaam o alaykum,
also akhi, u mentioned it was a week hadith, so whats the ruloing of mentioning week hadiths? i know that there r 3 opinions on this… bukhari, yahya ibn ma’een, the zhaahiri school of thought, and from the contemporaries, albani & ahmad shakir say u r NOT alowed to use them whatsoever. i think most of the fuqaha say u can, and then u got the hanbalis saying use them over and above qiyaas…..
could u plz shed some light on this issue plz.
May Allaah reward u with the best of this life and the next.
subhaanAllaah i cant believe a sinner like me is applying! akhi remember us in ur du’as…
Love u for the sake of Allaah bro
Wassalaam o alaykum
Akhook: Omar
assalaam o alaykum,
also (sorry lastly) what is the ruling on me…. am i sinning in not doing dua? i think it is isnt it? but then again, its not tht i dont want to, i jst feel as if Allaah is looking at me and think “What YOU!? Your asking?!” so i feel … cant describe it…. i feel like a hypocrit. i sin then ask allaah for such and such?! wheres the logic here? thgis nothing but pure hypocricy is it not? as soon as my hands go up, i put them back down again. i drop my head… silly sins dragging me to hell. i remmbr the hadith where the prophet (saw) said how a person wud do good deeds of the ppl of jannah and whn there is 1 step between him and it, he does the deeds of the ppl of hell, then he falls to his destiny!!!! (au kama qaal) walaaah i fear the fire, but then my actions show otherwise…. so im ahypocrit…!? ya Allaah me life of sins of a headache. may Allaah forgive me…
remember me in ur duas bro. Walaah if i get in i will sacrifice my whole life (day and night) to his service…. just 2 b forgiven…. wait who am i tlkng to? ya Allaah, anyhows… oh right. the ruling… wusup am i sining by not doing dua?
basicaly i raise my hands ask for ONE thing thn feel like ‘whts the point, im jst looking like a fool’ its not tht i dnt believe Allaah is ar-rahman, or tht he is not samee’ ad-du’a…. bruv whts wrng wth me?
i ear many lectures where the students of knowledge say ‘still ask’ but how can i? my sins r WAY too much…
Bro, if u cud plz get back to me.
jazaakAllaahu khara
Love u for the sake of Allaah and may Allaah raise ur status in jannah and raise ur honor here, ameen (subhaanAllaah i do dua for others yet not for myself!)
help me out bro…
Assalamu Alaikum Warahamtullahi Wabaraktuh
First of all akhee I am not a scholar and I want people to understand that, I am only a student of knowledge and I can not give legal verdicts. Secondly you touched on a very important issue that many of us face. The simple truth is that you have fallen for the plan of Iblees dear brother, Allah says over and over again in the Qur’aan that Allah wants to forgive us yet Shaytaan wants us to go astray. If you do a sin you are supposed to repent but what Shaytaan does is to come to you and whisper who are you? A pathetic sinner! Are you trying to fool Allah!? Who do you think you are! Put your hands down! etc and shaytaans only aim is to make you carry on sinning without repenting.
Just ponder upon the fact that Iblees himself made dua to Allah and Allah accepted his dua, imagen Iblees! Are you worse then Iblees my dear brother? And by not making dua your actually indirectly questioning Allah’s power to forgive yet we both know that Allah forgives EVERYTHING even shirk [within the life time] so do not despair in the mercy of Allah, raise your hands cry and ask for guidance my dear brother and even if you fall into sin again keep repenting and do not give up.
As for your question about weak hadith it is a very deep topic, in short the best thing that has been said regarding it is that it should be avoided as much as possible and if one has to use it then one should not use it for rulings etc.
May Allah grant you Tawbatan Nasuuha and keep you steadfast upon Islaam dear brother I can sense sincerness even through your writting may Allah reward you.
Assalaam o alaykum,
JazaakAllaahu khairun for getting back to me… and jazaak-Allaah for all u mentioned. Masha-Allaah iblees’ dua was answered. forgot all about tht… i do do dua for forgiveness, but its just hard to do dua for other things. i feel as if other people are comming into the court of Allaah with boxes full of good deeds, while i am comming in the court of Allaah with nothing… (in the dunya-ly sense its like going to a job intreview with no qualifications, wearing tatty cloths, just got out of prison, untidy hair etc, how will this guy get a job?) how embarasing one feels… anyhows, akhi, jazaak-Allaah for ur reply. i really appreciate it, thank u so much. may Allaah reward u well. Please give my salaams to shaykh abdul muhsin bin hamad al abaad (if u can). how i would love to be where u r…walaahi akhi u shud consider urself lucky.. everywhere u go, ppl r doing good deeds… no dunya-ly distractions… remmber me in ur late night duas, may Allaah also allow me to study in madeenah uni…subhaanAllaah, that’ll b a dream cum true… eveywhere u go ppl r praying, readng quran, studyng the deen, AllaahuAkbar what a scene! plz do dua i get in, oh plz if u could speak to the admins and see how far me app. form has gone (i forgot all about tht) plz.
sorry to bother u akhi,
wassalaam o alykum
akhook: Omar
As-Saalam Alaykum. Akhee. I am Yanal from LI.
Masha’Allaah..may Allaah bless you brother. Make dua for me and my family..
Any other forums you post on(besides LI)?
PS are you:Isma’eel bin Muhammad Nur?
Wa Alaikum Assalam Warahamtullahi Wabaraktuh
You are in my duas.
Currently I am only at LI.
And yes I am Isma’eel bin Muhammad Nuur also known as Khaldun
Assalaam o alaykum akhi,
Allaahu Akbar, akhi could u please do me a favour? i had a dream the other day that i was in masjid an-nabayi praying in that ‘garden-from-jannah’ area in the masjid (u know, that green-carpet place between the prophet(saw)s house and the mimbar).
i never ask about my dream interpretations, but akhi plz cud u ask someone about this? basically, i was praying and my teacher (student of knowledge) was on my left(& for some unknown reason a deobandi/muhajirun bro on my right), then one guy from the front row moved away and i grabbed the oportunity to move forward to go to the first row…..
Akhi, plz cud u interpret this dream for us. if u dnt know that can u plz ask a shaykh there in madinah, maybe after ur classes or something?
im jst amazed tht i got a dream tht I was in masjid an-nabawi….Allaahu akbar, ME, in the place where the noble men of this ummah teach! Allaahu akbar! wht a dream.
remember me in ur dua’s bro,
jazaak-Allaahu khairun,
I would ask about this dream to students of knowledge here, but considering u know my (sinful) state, i guess it be better for me to ask u (as the interpreter shud also have knowledge of the guy who had the dream)
jazaak-Allaahu khairun once again,
also, did u get chance to speak ot the admins?
walaahi akhi im sorry if im bothering u or putting u off from ur studies.
may Allaah bless u in all u do and grant u and ur family the highest of all places with the noble of all companions, ameen
Wassalaam o alaykum
Akhook
Wa Alaikum Assalam
I had a similar dream before I got accepted to the uni myself. I dreamt that I was sitting in a study circle and the teacher was no other then Shaykh Uthaymeen himself. Upon waking up I was confused and told myself but the shaykh has passed away! So I thought to myself who can I tell this dream to, but not just anyone. It would have to be a person who loves and cares about me. And who loves a person more then his own mother? So I went to my mother and asked her, and she said perhaps this shows that you will go to a land and study Islaam underneath the students of the shaykh. And Yaa SubhanAllah! That is what actually did happen!
InshAllah your dream is a good dream. It shows you being in a blessed place and moving forward, away from misguided sects etc. If you do not get a chance to study in Madeenah your future still looks bright bithnilAllah. You will get the opportunity to study Islaam.
Remember to be sincere and try to avoid telling alot of people this good dream because they might plot against you, verily the shaytaan is is to man an open enemy.
As for going to the admins, it is proving more difficult then I thought but do not worry dear brother I will keep trying.
Assalaam o alaykum akhi,
jazaakAllaahu khairun for ur kind words. May Allaah bless u abundantly, ameen.
MashaAllaah what a beautifull dream u had, studiying under ibn uthaymeen? Allaahu akbar. Actually u remind me of a sililar dream i had about 3/4 months ago. but since u said dnt tell a lot of people i guess i shud jst keep it within me…
i had another good dream long ago, but i dnt understand as i didnt get accepted into madinah for ramadhan 2009…. Walaah i was so ashamed of myself. nothing but sins, dragging me down….
May Allaah help me to stand up and throw the burden (of sins) off of me, ameen.
And jazaakAllaah for the admin thing… i just read ur other post (Life in Madeenah)… Allaahu Akbar bro, ur making me so jealous…. Walaahi that is THE land to be in. Pray that i get in… May Allaah help me (and everyone else tryna get in) aneem.
plz let me know if/when u do get a chance to speak to them.
JazaakAllaah for ur generous help, may Allaah help u in this life and the next, and may He thru His Love and Mercy, bless u and ur loved ones,ameen
Love u for the sake of Allaah bro!
Wassalaam o alaykum,
Akhokum: Omar
Wa Alaikum Assalam
AhabakAllahu alathee ahbabtanee lah
When it comes to dreams you should only inform a beloved person to you or a person with knowledge. That is why I told you what I said. Also it is the advice of Prophet Ya’quub to his beloved son Yusuf.
Ameen to the supplications brother.
Assalaam o alaykum,
Allaahu akbar akhi, i just keep getting good dreams! Alaahu Akbar! Allaahu Akbar!
May Allaah bless u bro!
Love u for the sake of Allaah…
assalaam o alaykum,
p.s, this is m the same me (omar bin mazhar)
wassalaam o alaykum
Mashallah what a way of living. Wherever you go you hear the name of allah… Wherever you go you see people doing something for the sake of allah subhanallahu…
beautiful read- Barakallahu feek.
….
Akhi omar mashallah from ur comments i can see your sincerty brother. If only were all like you when we sin we realise what we’ve done but no some of us sin yet don’t care… I pray that your dream comes true, I pray that you go to madinah and be a student of knowledge and keep you always steady fast upon islam. Aameen
Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullah,
“Are those who know equal to those who know not? It is only those with understanding who will remember” [39:09]
“A person who follows a path for acquiring knowledge, Allah will make easy the passage to Paradise for him.”
May Allah (swt)reward you for all the good that you do sincerely for His sake only. Jazakallah khayr for sharing with us all these beneficial reminders. Especially, the university’s schedule subhannallah, it makes us compare how much of our time on daily basis do we dedicate it to Allah (swt).
If you have the time I was wondering if you heard of Princess Noura bint Abdurahman. I was looking for a good school to learn more of the deen. If you have the time I would appreciate if you let me know if there are good schools for women. I don’t wish to put this as a burden for you so if you don’ reply back I won’t take this to the heart.
May Allah (swt) give us the understanding of the deen, Ameen.
wa alaikum assalam warahamtullahi wabaraktuh
may Allah reward you for your kind words.
Maybe you havent checked out the post entitled ‘for sisters eyes only’? Perhaps you’ll find it beneficial?
Just curious how much Hadeeth’s are memorized in the Faculty of Dawah ?
Jazakallahu Khair
Also if so are the memorized with the isnad?