My Journey with the Qur'an

My Journey with the Quran

I always wanted to learn the Quran. At collage I used to ask my teachers how I could understand it, I used to call ISLAMIC UNVERSITY to ask whether they had some course that I could join. But then I thought ---- just ask ALLAH (SWT). It’s true guidance that I want and Allah would make ways InshALLAH. So I prayed and prayed, after marriage I came here and the TQ course started and I enrolled. Dr Farhat was our teacher. May Allah (s.w.t) give her jazaai khair.

The journey started. Most enlightening. At times increasing the love for Allah (s.w.t) and at other times increasing fear of the Supreme Being. How the Quran purifies hearts is marvelous--the strong words catch us --its impossible to escape and finally one ends up submitting to Allah (s.w.t) and that’s the most beautiful part as one achieves a state of tranquility upon the submission or correction of ones own fault. No doubt, it’s A MIRACLE. The way Allah (s.w.t) makes us think--to use our brains. And as one does so, he ends up glorifying ALLAH (s.w.t.). Although we finished the course but its only through the desire of knowing more of Quran, showing more gratitude and practicing more TO GAIN THE PLEASURE OF ALLAH (s.w.t.) inshaAllah.

SubhanAllah---Quran is the biggest blessing---may Allah increase us in our knowledge. Ameen

- Ayesha Ahmed (Etobicoke)

Memories of Al Huda

The time has come, finally we have to part
I knew this course will end, right from the start
What I did not know, how difficult it will be
To part from the ones, I everyday see
This love between us, is not an ordinary one
For Allah’s sake, I love each and everyone
We smiled and laughed, together in class
We sighed and wept, when we heard the Qur'an
The presence of Angels, for sure was felt
Recitation of the Qur'an, our hearts did melt
Our Tajweed improved, day by day
Alhamdolillah we say baareek e and not anymore a
We open our mouths to read, as never before
Our madds are long, even Jaiz is four
We did Rakooh, as well as Sajood together
We fixed our Salah—I hope for ever
By joining our feet, our hearts became close
We corrected each other, without remorse
Asma e Husna, and Asma e surah of the Qur'an
We recited them together, and became good at last
In our Aqeeda class, we were clearly taught
To depend on Allah, and only his help sought
HIS greatness at all times, in our hearts should dwell
On HIS signs all around us, we should reflect
We benefited, from the Grammar, we learned
We should be grateful, our Teacher was concerned
Don’t be content, with what you have learned
Make yourselves better, for perfection do yearn
Allah gave us the honour, to be HIS ambassadors
Don’t let petty setbacks, make you surrender
We are an army of Muslimas, strong and firm
When it comes to protecting our Deen, we should be Stern
Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala’s name, we have decided to Exalt
Nothing will stop us, we’ll overcome our faults
In any situation, never let go of your Akhlaq
Maintain it always, it should for ever last
Please Sisters, don’t give anyone a chance to say
Are these the ones, who used to go to Al Huda everyday?
The Qur'an and the Sunnah, hold on to it tight
Alhamdolillah, now we understand it, and know wrong from right
Haraam and Halaal, in our minds is so clear
Refrain from Haraam, and only Allah do fear
Honour your dear ones, and any Muslim you meet
As well as Non-Muslims, you might meet on the street
Show by your actions, that Muslims are the Best
Convey with Hikmah, and Allah will take care of the rest
My sisters young, InshaAllah you’ll make a difference in this world
If you’re sincerely committed, to you will people turn
Maintain your dignity, with proper Hijaab and Hiya
In obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala, and not for Riya
This life, can at any time, come to an end
In Akhira, only on our good deeds, we can depend
The blazing fire, or the Gardens Eternal
This Dunya, for the Akhira is a rehearsal
Without the Qur'an, it is so easy to go astray
May we remain steadfast, for this we should pray
We are fortunate to be admonished, while we still have time
I’m Grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala, and Ustazah of mine
The efforts of our Teachers, Group Incharges and the Staff
Was greatly appreciated, InshaAllah with Allah is their reward

This parting is difficult but I hope for the best
In Jannah, InshaAllah, I hope to meet, and forever dwell

- Fakhri Hameed (Ottawa)

My Journey

It all began just over 20 months ago. I was finishing up with exams after completing my second year of university. I had the next four months off and my mother told me that there was no chance that I was going to sit at home while she was going to be taking classes at Al-Huda. Basically I had to join because I had no other way out. I was incredibly nervous because I always hated to attend Urdu lectures and when I heard that the entire course was going to be in Urdu, my mood had gone down the tube!

Once August came around, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to devote myself to the Qur'an fully! But I knew that I had to go back to university and finish off what I had already started. I thought about it for a while, and I knew that if I took the year off from school there was no chance that I would ever go back again. So I decided that I would do the course after I would finish school. Then came our last day before our break and when it came to saying good-bye to our then group incharge Taimiyya, it became extremely difficult to tell her what I had decided, I was really embarrassed. But she said something to me that day that changed me; she said that I shouldn't break my connection with the Qur'an and that I should still continue doing it on the side. That’s what I did; I came back to Al-Huda once the break ended. I was now a full time student at Al-Huda and at York Uni. When people asked me how will you manage it I just replied that I've put my trust in Allah, and I know He will make everything that comes in my way extremely easy. Even the whole challenge of listening in Urdu and translating everything that I heard into English became a breeze!

Alhamdulillah, I finished the course and I'm still in university. Staying in the course was the best decision that I have ever made. The Qur'an is the best thing that anyone can hold on to. Its gives the best advice, the advice no parent can give to their child. It holds all the answers that everyone is looking for. It’s the Glorious Book, the Book of Allah, His words.

I can't seem to thank Allah enough. To Him I am so grateful. He was able to provide one of the best teachers that I have ever come across. He was able to introduce me to the best people I have ever met, and most of all I am grateful to Him the most because now I can understand what He is trying to convey to mankind through His book. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah!

- Fatima Malik (Mississauga)

Dearest Ustaza assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
May Allah bestow great barakat on you, your family, your present and past students and the cause for which you have dedicated yourself, on the occasion of this takmeel-e-Quran. Alhamdulillah, we were with you throughout the night at 26 B, feeling the emotion, the joy and the sorrow that is inevitable when we come to the end of each reading.

Allah’s words fill us with hope and fear, and the only reassurance comes from praying once again that He who is Merciful and Almighty will lead us along this Straight Path again, and again and again till we die, and meet Him with bowed heads and overflowing eyes and hearts, because there is no rest till we return to Him. May Allah forgive our sins and cover us all with His vast Rahmah (Mercy) —Ameen.

Alhamdulillah, the simplicity and normal routine of the class felt so right. The last class is one in which the teacher and staff are, in a way, handing over a burden of responsibility, and the students are overwhelmed by the weight that has been placed on their shoulders. It is such an emotional moment but if it is treated like a “function,” the hustle and bustle of guests and the distraction of organizing places, shoes, food etc. means that many people will be too busy to even say a little prayer for themselves.

I was reading a book called “Even Angels Ask” by Jeffrey Lang which is useful for people doing dawah, because he tells us what converts find disturbing in the Muslim community. But what he writes about the Quran is beautiful. At one point he says that the Quran is that unique Book in which the reader often begins to feel that, in fact, the Quran is reading him. This is so true and Allah’s Words reach each and every one of us in a totally different way. SubhanAllah
After the dua we moved to 2A and had a delicious sehri of parathas and omelettes and other goodies. We stayed a while after fajr prayer till there was enough light to drive home.
May Allah reward you for giving us these memorable moments; I only wish that the time difference had not prevented more people from sharing the experience. But Allah gives whatever He wills to whomever He pleases, and I thank Him for giving me this night.
Please convey my best wishes to everyone. With love and gratitude to you.

Wassalaam

- Ayesha

What I learned from the Quran

There is a lot to learn from the Quran, it teaches all the basic etiquettes of life, the Huqooq-al-Ibaad and the Huqooq-al-Allah (Rights of People and Rights of Allah). I have noticed some changes in me which is what I feel I have learned from the Quran.

Patience, being content with and grateful to what Allah has granted me whether it is against or according to my wishes; sometimes I do go out of the track, respect for parents, importance of Salah - before reading the Quran I used to skip many salahs that I'll pray afterwards, but now Alhamdulillah there is this constant reminder of salah within me- try my best not to engage in useless talk...before I used to find any talk related to Islam or Quran as boring but now Alhamdulillah I can talk about it for hours. I feel that fear of Allah has entered my heart but still have a long way to go to achieve that specific level of fear and love of Allah. Be among the Saliheen, Muhsineen not among the hypocrites - what ever deed we do, our focus should be to please Allah, not people. Tawakul on Allah - I think tawakul has made many things easy for me- I think tawakul and fear of Allah play an important role in increasing Iman therefore may Allah increase our Iman and make us do those deeds that please Him. Ameen

- Sarah Imitiaz (Mississauga)

Bismillah

“Did He not find you lost and gave you guidance?” (93:7)

This verse was revealed 1427 years ago for our beloved Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. But look at it today in the 21st century; apply it on yourselves on this day when you are finishing the first step of understanding the Book of Allah. Every time we read this verse our eyes need to shed tears out of gratitude to our Rabb. And out of repentance for we can never give Him, His due right of respect and obedience.

“They do not render to Allah the homage due to Him; in fact Allah is the One who is All Powerful, All Mighty.” (22:74)

Congratulations to all of you for completing this task for the sake of Allah (s.w.t.). May Allah increase you in beneficial and sound knowledge and increase the taqwaa in your hearts. Ameen. But remember that this may seem like the end of a beginning. But in reality it is the beginning of another end. This is not the last day of your journey. This is the first day of your conscious journey towards Allah (s.w.t.). The only way we can truly show Allah (s.w.t.) our gratitude is by using this knowledge and spirit, which He has given to us, for His deen, Our Deen. We need to own it. We have abandoned this religion for too long. It’s our most valuable possession. By it getting hurt, we need to feel the pain. The pain that will make us do something for the sake of its appraisal. Not like the rest of the ummah unfortunately who either “say and don’t do” or “don’t even say it”.

I wish you all a very successful life in the hereafter and in this world. And for sure, life hereafter takes precedence over the life of this world. Ustazah once sent all the group incharges this hadith. “He who loves his present life, does damage to his Hereafter, and he who loves his Hereafter, does damage to his present life! So prefer what is lasting, to what is transitory.”

wassalam

- Sarah Tajammul

My journey with the Quran

With All Glory, Praise, and Thanks to Allah (s.w.t.), I was able to come from California to do this Taleem-ul-Quran course in Toronto. Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to my parents for raising me with the teachings of the Deen and realization and importance of learning more. It is only with the help of Allah that I was able to manage the course with the four children that Allah has blessed me with. When I arrived they were 9 months, 2 1/2 years, 6 years, and the oldest was 8 1/2 years old. Allah made it possible for my mother to come and do the course along with me.

My mother staying with me helped me out a lot. My husband needed to stay in California, because of work. He came, helped us settle down, visited whenever possible and Alhamdulillah supported me in many ways throughout the course. Allah sent support in many other forms also; my husband's parents, brother and sister watched the 2 older kids for three months until they finished school and supported us willingly when we needed it.

My father agreed to send my mother, and he and my brothers stayed home patiently managing things with out her. My sister took care of the cooking and other things for my father and brothers while managing her own family of 6 and also taking the same TQ course online, Alhamdulillah.

Before arriving to Toronto Sisters Mubeen and Nasreen were both a great encouragement over the phone. When I showed concern about different issues, both of them told me to just take the step and everything will work out, InshaAllah.

During the course Rahat Baji was of great support, as she managed the office with the kids in the same room and encouraged me a lot. Many other teachers and friends were very helpful. The study groups we had were also very beneficial. This really helped me realize that if you intend to do something for the sake of Allah, regardless of your situation, Allah SWT will give you the ability and the support in many different ways to help make it possible.

When I went to the health office in Toronto to get my heath card and told them I was here temporarily to get an Islamic Education, I was asked, "Why did you travel so far to learn about your religion?" My friends often ask me the same question.

To me, there are many things that make this course unique;
1) The main course material comes directly from Allah SWT-- The Quran
2) We are taught to connect ourselves directly to Allah SWT- (not to any leader, teacher, group, organization etc.)
3) The things we are taught are based on evidence from the Quran and Sunnah- (not an opinion of a certain person or group of people)
4) The Quran is explained in the context of our lives, with examples of how we can practically implement it (not just a lot of information to become more 'knowledgeable').
5) There are many other subjects such as: Uloom-ul Quran, Uloom-ul Hadith, Tajweed, Grammar, Aqeeda, Prayer, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj, Comparative Religion and many other things which help you get a good overview of Islam and develop the thirst to learn more.
6) Character building is focused on, as the topics keep coming up in the Quran. The subject Husna Akhlaq, based on the Hadith of the Prophet (saw), is also a great method used to help build character.
7) The special needs of people are taken care of -for example, a separate room is provided for mothers who may need to bring their babies to class. (Without this blessing I wouldn't have been able to come to class)

I learned many things throughout this journey with the Quran:
- I learned the important role the Quran plays in our lives, and the importance of keeping a continuous connection with it.
-I learned the extreme importance of making sure you are doing things to please Allah alone- not for others to appreciate you. Also to do things in the correct way, the way that Allah SWT has taught us through the Prophet (saw)
- I learned to concentrate on my own faults and overlook others' mistakes.
- I learned to not be biased against others, and to not judge people and give them high status because of their wealth, looks, etc.
- I learned the responsibility of practicing the Deen we are blessed with, and sharing it with others.
- I learned the importance of good company/ good friends.
- I learned to think in a positive way about things and leave the negative.
- I learned that we cannot do anything ourselves unless Allah wills and grants us the ability to do it.
- I learned the reality of this life, the hereafter, and of being accountable of every intention, action, saying, etc. which I never realized before, in the true sense.
........ And much more

The Quran has been a great companion on this journey. Many times I would think about asking Ustaza a question about something, and it would be answered in the next lesson or within the next few days. As the problems came up.... the Quran gave the solutions. Most of all, the Quran helped me develop a way of thinking which Alhamdulillah has already helped me go through a lot of situations in a much better way than I would have before. All the confusion inside seems to be more clear. My purpose in life is now clear, Alhamdulillah. These are just some of the many things I learned from the Quran.

May Allah grant Ustaza and her family the very best in this world and the hereafter for all of her efforts in explaining this Word of Allah in a way which has touched our hearts. May Allah forgive all of our shortcomings and give all of us the ability to practice what we have learned and to keep a continuous connection with the Quran throughout our lives. Ameen

- Ayesha Baig (California)

Looking back at the 20 months that I had spent at Al-Huda gaining the knowledge of Quran has shown me that if Allah wills He can join people towards the Quran, Who can show them His path and give them an opportunity to understand the Quran. When this course started in April 2005 my mother asked me if I could join it as well but as usual I made excuses that I have university and I'll be entering the 3rd year and it's going to be hard and I don't want to stay back a year and so on. On the other hand my mother in law also wished if I could join the course and while convincing me one day she started crying so in order to make her happy I decided to join the course only for the summer. But when the summer ended I didn't want to leave the Quran and go back to University. The Quran from which I was running away before, now I was running for it to get most of it.

I feel that Allah made ways for me to stay in the course. During the summer period I had also applied for accounting specialist program because becoming a chartered accountant was one of my biggest dream and passion for a very long time. I worked really hard to get into that program but in Aug when the results were announced I was rejected by 0.06 decimal points. It was a complete shock for me and I spent my entire day crying trying to figure out of what went wrong. At that time I didn't realize that Allah wanted me to understand the Quran which was more important than becoming a CA. If I would have gone for that program then I wouldn't have been able to stay for the course. I was ungrateful at that time but now Alhamdullilah I’m really grateful to Allah that He has given me a great blessing. Then I switched my major to Human resources and alhamdullilah I continued my university along with the Quran course and Allah helped me out from different ways that I didn't even imagine. Many people asked me out of astonishment that how do I cope up with two things - obviously my university grades would have gone down because it's very hard and so on but every single time I replied, Allah helps me out and Alhamdullilah during this period I noticed that even though I was not putting a lot of effort I used to - I was getting good grades in school. With this I felt that my Tawakul (trust) on Allah started to become strong. I used to get tensed up on little things and become impatient but it is the Quran that taught me to be patient and leave things on Allah. Alhamdullilah I’ve seen it that the moment I left things on Allah, the next day things were made easy for me.

Alhamdullilah I completed the course and I didn't lag behind in University but I still feel that I wasn't able to fully commit myself the way other people did in the Quran class. On it's completion I was in a total shock wondering that is it me who has actually completed the journey of Taleem-ul-Quran where as on the other hand I had this fear inside me that I cannot fool around like an ignorant person wasting my time in worldly things. Alhamdullilah I'm grateful to Allah that He gave me an opportunity to understand the Quran and learn from the best teacher and meet such wonderful people - now I have realized that good friends and good company counts the most in shaping a person's personality and increasing his/her Iman- Now since we have completed the course, my only dua is that may Allah give us the istiqamat (steadfastness), make us do the amal (because an aalim is that person who does the amal) and strengthen our tawakal. Ameen

- Sarah Imitiaz (Mississauga)

Walking with the Quran in my heart

When situations don’t turn out the way I like them I remember that it is Allah who is the All Wise and All Knowing


When I yell or laugh really loud I remember that the worst of the voices is of a donkey

When I am too lazy to sit and drink water I remember that if I want Allah to love me and forgive me my sins I must follow His messenger (SAW)

When I have regrets guilt I remember to go seek Allah’s forgiveness and to praise Him

When I get angry I remember what the Prophet (SAW) suggested: “when you get angry, BE QUIET”

When a calamity hits me I remember that I must seek Allah’s help with patience and prayer.

When I am hurt and want to cry, I remembered instead how Nuh (AS) and Ayyub (AS) went and laid out their affairs in front of Allah

Whenever I get a chance of doing a good deed, I remember the prayer of Musa (AS) “O my lord! Truly I am in need of any good that you do send me!”

When ever I receive what I love, I remember that my Lord hears all invocations and I must be grateful.

Whenever Satan whispers to me I remember to seek refuge in Allah

When I fear the tortures of the grave I remember to read Surah Mulk

When ever I fear the dim light on the day of judgment I remember the invocation taught to me in the Qur’an : “O our Lord complete for us our light…”

When ever I am weighed with a burden I think I can not handle I remember Allah never burdens a soul more than its capacity

Whenever a chance to do a good deed comes and I decide to leave it for someone else I remember “The Foremost ones” those who never think twice about doing a good deed.

Quran was sent a guide. Not only for the reward, blessing.

- Sada Mohsin (New York)