Diary of a Sunnah Kid
Day 1
Brothers and sisters gathered outside the Masjid, huddled, segregated by gender, listening to the amir give a short, but oh so sweet introduction to the camp.
Grazed by the fajr fog, we stretched our legs, eager to begin our cross province drive. The morning chill is warmed by the rising sun as we collected the bags in a pile by the parking lot. The car pulled in as we began to realize that the trip has begun.
Shaheer gathers us into a halaqa as the sisters listen from the side. Calling our names off the attendance list, the brothers respond with all sorts of childish japes. Shaheer pays it no heed, knowing all too well that the Sunnah transformation doesn’t occur immediately. It requires two 14 hour drives, five early mornings, and 50 brothers from across western Canada before it kicks in.
The whole ride to white rock was a series of conversations pertaining to nothing important; Beyblade, Digimon, tuition fees, yet not a word about Islam.
At White Rock there was a delay before we were let out of the van to see our fellow southern campers. The volume of their voices had not decreased but the quality of the conversation had. After a few minutes of useless banter, Mohammed Zainal came to open the door for us, letting us free to embrace our brothers.
Once again we were given an orientation followed by a final full group attendance, only this time, Shaheer commanded respect using only the tone of his voice. Not a single jape was made.
After our group was split into three vans and infused with a bit of southern love, the cars fell silent into an uncomfortable sleep.
The first stop was in a quaint little town at the foot of a desert mountain called Kamloops. The second we stopped, the door opened and spilled the 14 bodies that were fitted snug within the car for 4 hours.
It was made clear to us that we had 15 minutes to use the bathroom, stretch our legs, and buy snacks if need be. The familiar smirk on Shaheer’s face made it clear that he did not expect us to meet that deadline, and after buying drinks and resting our back muscles, we made it back to the van in 21 minutes.
With everyone energized from the break, the vehicle lit up in an uproar of conversation. However useless it may have been, there was always the one brother trying desperately to link the conversation to the Sunnah, a story of a prophet, or just about anything remotely related to Islam. One in every 5 times, he would succeed.
The next stop was the last and longest of them all. We were informed that it would be a salah/dinner break so immediately the brothers began making wudu and gathering by the vans. After everyone was ready to pray a combined Duhr and Asr, the sheets were set on the ground, and the Iqama was made. Yahya made takbeer as it began to drizzle slowly, building into a thick pelting rain. Nobody moved a muscle.
The last segment of our trip was the most beneficial. After discussing our goals for the week we conversed on the linguistics of the Quran the founding of Pakistan, and we finally got the uncle in the front seat to share some of his wisdom with us. We continued speaking until the moment the car parked and the doors to camp Sunnah opened to us.
The arrival to the campsite was as warm a welcome as anyone could ever ask for. The brothers we knew from previous years embraced us fondly while the new brothers eagerly waited to meet us At the peak of the excitement, we were told to make wudu for Maghrib/Isha. The Iqama was made and every single person in the camp and dropped what they were doing and organized into rows in the common room. Muhammad Baghaffar stepped up, made takbir, and recited the sweet words of Surat al-Fatiha, filling the room with the echo of the Holy Quran.
Day 2
The brothers woke to be sent upstairs for fajr salah. Using his first words towards us, Sheikh Yaffa reminded us to pray 2 rakats Sunnah, and then proceeded to lead the prayer. After salah, we were given another reminder about the conservation of water whilst making wudu.
After a few more hours of sleep, they woke us with a countdown to breakfast. Hungry from the journey yesterday, everyone woke up on time. As per camp Sunnah tradition, the brothers who had experienced it before waited for everyone to have food before starting their meal. The new brothers had no idea what we were doing.
After a few introductory speeches, the division of clans, and a short game of “In the Pond, Out the Pond”, which resulted in an uproar when Omar Salem defeated 50 other brothers, we went upstairs for Duhr. After praying we got ready for our first lectures of the week by Imam Abdullah and Shiekh Yaffa. Many of the new brothers dozed off from time to time while the veterans kept it together in order to lead by example.
Hungry from the lectures and leisure that followed it, we poured into the mess hall, and waited for dinner. The group of brothers who sacrificed their leisure time for the dinner setup were embraced in appreciation by everyone. The smell of the dinner filled the halls as we patiently awaited the descent of the main course for the kitchen upstairs. Not only was the food as good as it smelled, but the entertainment was exceptional as two brothers beatboxed their way to and from the dorms, telling the brothers to prepare for the lecture after dinner.
At the end of our first full day at Crowsnest Pass, we convened to watch group 1 and 2 compete for the best skit. Once again, we failed the sisters challenge, but after Maghrib and Isha, we were finally allowed to rest our heads for the night, reflecting on the lessons learned, and preparing for new lessons tomorrow.
Day 3
The second full day at the camp is always one of the most momentous. It is a time when the campers come upon the dual realization that this camp will drain the life out of them, but will also form brothers, lessons, and stories that will last a lifetime.
We prayed Fajr in the prime moments of the morning and followed it with a session of Quran recitation and tafseer. The hum of 40 brothers reciting surah Mulk at 5 in the morning left the building in a softened harmony.
The contrast of the following exercise sent our Quran riddled blood surging through our veins. As we gathered facing the amir in the dew ridden field, we took part in the most refreshing exercise in what seemed like exactly a year ago.
Energized and ready to go, we sat in the lecture hall and listened to a series of lectures. This was always the biggest test for us, because while we were full of energy moments ago, the devil fought us as he shrouded our heads with a cloud of sleep, slowly denying our retaliation efforts of bobbing our heads up and down as our chins touched our necks.
After Duhr, we were permitted to take a 1 hour nap as per the Sunnah. Funny as it seems, this was a time when nobody was tired, but we slept anyways after a few giggles in the dorms.
The next thing many of us recall is the bite of the glacier lake waking us up after rising from our beds and taking a leap of faith off the dock. After which we found ourselves in the lecture hall, only this time, the blistering cold lake kept us awake till the lecture finished and we made our night prayers, waving salam to our brothers who so valiantly sacrificed their own sleep to keep watch over us during the night.
Day 4
The night watch woke us around 5am. We immediately woke, made wudu, and brought our notes upstairs for the tafseer lessons. One of the guards slept through his watch and ate breakfast with a grim look about him. When asked why he was so sad about it, he replied saying that the eye that watches over his brother at night will never see the hell fire. This camp veterans response left the table in awe and envy of his ability to look at the situation from a different perspective.
The lectures today gave us a deeper look into the life of the sahaba, for their lives were – in so many ways – essential to the Sunnah. These lectures had a huge impact and it was seen when at lunch, brothers gave their seconds to each other when they saw that some of their fellow campers were getting less food then others. One brother decided to eat 3 whole burgers but immediately felt guilty for his actions and took the initiative to mop the floor without anyone asking him to. In the end, that was what camp Sunnah was all about – knowing that we are all sinners, and repenting for it.
Once again the brothers found themselves praying Duhr and Asr in the heat of the afternoon, only this time we decided to pray outdoors kissed by the breeze and draped in sunlight. I am almost sure, judging by the stillness of the salah, this was the first time many of the brothers felt Khushu’.
After another Kaylulah nap, we found ourselves in the lake once again. The only difference was that the sun heated the lake today to a whole degree higher than yesterday, which meant that we could spend a grand total of and extra 5 minutes in the water before risking hypothermia. We all stayed in past that time.
Another day was over and as we gathered in the hall for salah, the most amazing thing happened. Omar Khan, a first year camper stepped up to make athan. These small milestones in the campers lives meant as much to them as it did to everyone else. We live to see our brothers overcome petty fears and take the brave initiatives they always seem to do. We live to overcome our struggles, whether it is alone, or with 60 other brothers.
Day 5
It was horseback riding day in Alberta today. After praying Fajr and reciting the powerful words of Surah Mulk, we left for the provinces most beautiful national park. On the drive there, we discussed as a group what our goals for after the camp are. The feeling of releasing personal information to brothers you love for the sake of Allah is next to one – having them release the same information to you.
The horseback riding experience is a whole new level of self-actualization in a world where natures greatest beauty takes a huge toll on the technological progresses it has made. From the moment you get on the horse and you feel your mind and body linked to the beast, responding to its fluid trotting, and its response to your instinct, knowing where you want to go before you make the move, till the moment you dismount the beast, knowing that no friend could ever be as loyal, reliable, or beautiful.
The following ilm session took place after a long awaited nap and a nice and warm meal. The segment titled, “Halal vs. Haram” raised many questions, leading to a shortened leisure time, and a late dinner, however nobody seemed to dislike this idea. The fact that camp Sunnah was nearing an end was slowly becoming more of a reality, as brothers participated in team sports for the last time. The distant banter of the volleyball players faded farther and farther behind the basketball game that became more and more heated. The spectators played a pivotal role as they called out plays and suggestions, as well as spoiling the other team’s plans.
After a long day of productivity and fun, we prayed Isha and fell asleep; knowing tomorrow would be our last full day at the camp. We put our heads on our beds and thought of all the things we had accomplished.
Day 6
It was all coming to an end now. Today, everyone woke up on time and we prayed Fajr immediately. After our last morning workout with Dr. Syed, we convened for breakfast. Every salah today proved fruitful for the Jamaat. We prayed Duhr and Asr outside, embracing the heavy wind that swept our scarves away in the final rakat.
At the end of the day we all got together for the finals of the creative challenge reminder. We started with Fursan al-Haqq, who delivered and emotional ode to the struggles of living in the west, versus the east. The skit resulted in a single takbeer, followed by complete silence. The Mujaddidun followed with a hilarious rendition of just about everything. Last but not least, Auyliya al-Qaniteen finished with a powerful and encapsulating fantasy that could possibly be the beginning of a series of camp Sunnah lore.
We then removed ourselves from our comedic creative reminder state to stand before Allah for Maghrib and Isha. As we gathered and aligned our rows, the brothers felt the trauma of realizing this was going to be our last night prayer together. Shiekh Yaffa began to recite Quran, picking his verses with utmost wisdom, filling our ears with the words of our lord. The entire jamaat, teary eyed, began sniffing, holding back those sweet tears. The hall filled with the sobbing of a Nation of Young Muslims.
Why Society Hates Muslims
First of all I want to make it clear that this is a reminder to myself before anyone else.
Probably the most controversial religion of all time, Islam has always been a topic of heated debate all over the world. We who follow the religion do not seem to understand the reason we have been targeted aggressively over the past 1400 years. The laws of Islam dictate peace, wisdom, and respect in all manners of being yet we have been labeled as violent, spiteful degenerates by so many. You can blame it on others ignorance, or pride, or other notions of deceitful jealousy, but in reality, we have to look to ourselves before we blame others.
Take a look around you. Look closely at your brothers and sisters in Islam. What do you really see? I don’t know about the rest of you but what I see is a nation of restless conformers. All of us have fallen victim to a revolutionary movement called “The American Dream”. Whether you want the land, or the cars, or any other material possessions of this world, we all want something. So why is it we can’t all want the same thing. I won’t get into philosophy here but we all know that everything comes to an end. Money is only as useful as its usage and too many of us are using it for useless purposes. The fancy car you buy will only last as long as it retains its value. Sooner or later, it will lose 100 percent of its value and fade to nothing. So why is it we feel the need to buy material items that hold no real value? Why do we not use money to buy ourselves a place where everything is everlasting?
As a result, we have failed to separate ourselves with the rest of the people of the world. We are no longer a nation of independent values, but slowly, we have merged into popular culture. Whatever country you are from, you fit in. Now I understand there is nothing wrong with fitting in, but how are we supposed to set an example if we do not embody the greatest example ever to walk this earth?
This dream of wealth and success has created a miserly youth who spend their time at night clubs, and other more vile gatherings. We have begun to believe that acting successful by popping a bottle and dropping hundreds of dollars in one night will eventually lead to our actual success. The definition of success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”, so I ask you, what is your purpose? Why are our youth not stepping up to take charge of situations that require our immediate attention? We cannot keep blaming others ignorance on the perceptions that others have of us.
We are all required to represent Islam to the best of our capabilities. When Muslim countries are engaged in civil warfare, it is only natural that people think of us as a violent people. If Christians, Jews, or any other faith were at war with each other, we would think the same thing. We can’t keep lying to ourselves by pointing fingers at others.Unfortunately we cannot change what is happening in other parts of the world in one day but it is about time we represented ourselves in our own communities. It is about time we took charge of our image and stopped telling ourselves that only God can judge us when it is his judgment we should fear the most. The era of our ignorance has lasted far too long and it needs to end today. Our character is what defines us and we need to embody a character that shows the world what Islam really is. We are blaming society, yet we are society. In order to make it a better place, we must change ourselves first.
Again, this is a firm reminder to myself before anyone else.
Has feminism gone too far?
Photo by Steve Rhodes
The simple fact that God created man and woman different is blatantly obvious. While men carry traits of strength and vitality, women possess more of an intellectual and emotional superiority. Aside from the physical characteristics that both genders seem to differ on, the biology of man and women are almost dichotomous. The Venn-diagram of man and woman is almost empty in the intersection. So what is it that makes feminism such an acceptable movement in today’s list of viable social struggles? The truth is, the validity of the argument is practically non-existent. When John Gray so boldly stated that “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”, he wasn’t lying.
This is not at all an attack on feminism. By all means, women should have the right to vote, and attend schools and have every right that man has. We are not a superior gender by any means. Men and women have coexisted peacefully for thousands of years and will continue to do so till the end of time. It is not a codependent relationship where the women must squander for simple rights like standards of living and the right to educate themselves, while the man must feel the need to adhere to certain standards of romanticism in order to be considered a viable candidate for marriage or be manipulated into believing that he must be a perfect human to get what he wants. Relationships are not about taking control of the other. Independence is the key to successful gender role execution, but not if it is taken too far.
Independence requires a certain degree of compassion in order to work smoothly. It is not about doing whatever you want, rather an attempt to please others while not conforming to selfish desires. The recent feminist movements across the world are seriously lacking true independence. Women have made it less about political and social equality and more about their own insecure superiority complexes. When women rally for the right to vote and attend educational institutions, I will rally with my sisters, but when they push the boundaries, it is a bit irritating. Women need to realize that it is not so much about their rights any more, but they are pushing a movement that is changing norms that have existed since the beginning of time.
Chivalry is a noble set of rules that men have no obligation to practice. Yet we so willingly consider these ethics when around women. A real man will never hit a women but when a woman is violently assaulting a man in a domestic setting, how many options do we have? We either take the hits and live with the humiliation on the unfair grounds that if I assault back or defend myself I will forever be a wife-beater, or you choose the latter and live with a whole different kind of shame. If women have the right to hit a man, then why should man be forced to just take it? Is this an informal confession from feminists that women are weaker than men? Or has this become a global superiority complex rather than a sociopolitical movement? Either way, men have been taking the heat for far too long. Man and women need to learn to coexist as they were meant to. It really doesn’t matter who has the upper hand when both genders learn the others strengths and weaknesses to apply these in order to complete separate tasks.
In truth, feminists need to sit down and relax for a while. Think about the progress you have made since the early 1900’s and really compare rights. Do men have more of a chance to succeed in this society than you do? Has equality been achieved and what are you really fighting for now? Is your activism paying off, or brewing an innate hatred between the two genders? And last but not least, has feminism gone too far?
The Global Village
Coined by the writer Marshall McLuhan in his books “The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man” (1962), and “Understanding Media (1964) The Global Village has been described by understanding that “the globe has been contracted into a village by electric technology and the instantaneous movement of information from every quarter to every point at the same time. In bringing all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion, electric speed heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree”.
What I would define the global Village to be is a sense of worldwide community that adheres to standards and motions set forth by all variations of culture, norms, and lingo.
What I have described is the internet.
The internet is a key factor in the community that is the Global Village. Its communication reaches all walks of life, while other classical forms of media such as books, music, and newsprint reach only a localized audience. In “The Book of Probes”, Marshall McLuhan states that “The Book is a more passive form than radio – it is a more completely packaged form of information”. We understand through this statement that while being passive, the book is restricted in manners of globalization and culture. With culture comes understanding and the book is a form of understanding that cannot be comprehended by all.
We know that the Global Village is an idea created by Marshall McLuhan that allows us to understand the impact of globalization, without a negative connotation. The Global Village is a revered idea which in many ways is a variation of globalization. McLuhan again introduces a whole new aspect to the violence attached to a unified world. In the book, “War and Peace in the Global Village”, he says that “The agony of our age is the labor pain of rebirth”. The global village is a form of worldwide metamorphosis that is in its hostile stage right now.
Karen F. Evans contradicts McLuhan’s ideologies on the Global Village. She says in her book “Maintaining Community in the Information Age” that the revolutions in transport and communications have brought men into closer contact with each other and bound them in a new way; the division of labor has made them more interdependent; tremors in one part of society affect all others. Despite this greater interdependence, however, individuals have grown more estranged from one another”. McLuhan however, has followed through with not only the repercussions of these traumatic times, but the overall outcome of an era of violence.
In an interview by CBC featuring McLuhan, he describes the communication like “a continuously sounding tribal drum, where everyone gets the message”. He uses the world tribal in the sense that the world is forming into one tribe, where media is the beating drum.
Many positive effects have emerged as a result of globalized media. One example is the removal of culture from music. In the article “Ambiguity of Identity in the “Global Village”: Ellington, McLuhan, and the Afro-Eurasian Eclipse.” McLuhan with Ellington outlines the impact of jazz music on a global scale. It is stated in this article that music has surpassed religious, cultural, and economic boundaries set in stone by former inhabitants of the land. We see it in today’s music, where all sorts of races are playing music that belonged to another race less than 50 years ago.
The Global Village is a variant of a less hostile globalization. Technology has created a new era of understanding and unity for people all over the world. We force ourselves through this violent era in faith of a reborn world. This rebirth may not take place in our lifetime, but we see this Global Village as a hope for unity. This metamorphosis is a learning stage which is necessary in order to understand one another. McLuhan says “The human family now exists under conditions of a global village. We live in a single constricted place resonant with tribal drums”.
Bibliography:
Evans, Karen. Maintaining community in the information age: the importance of trust, place and situated knowledge. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print.
Mcluhan, Marshall. War and Peace in the Global Village. Corte Madera: Ginko Press inc. , 2001. Print.
McLuhan, Marshall, David Carson, Eric McLuhan, William Kuhns, and Mo. Cohen.The book of probes: Marshall McLuhan, David Carson.. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press, 2003. Print.
“Global village (term) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_village
McManus, L. (2012). Ambiguity of Identity in the “Global Village”: Ellington, McLuhan, and the Afro-Eurasian Eclipse. Jazz Perspectives, 6(1/2), 179-196. doi:10.1080/17494060.2012.721294
“Marshall McLuhan – The World is a Global Village (CBC TV) – YouTube.” YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeDnPP6ntic>.
McLuhan, Marshall, Stephanie McLuhan, and David Staines. Understanding me: lectures and interviews. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press], 2003. Print.
Keller, Suzanne. Community: pursuing the dream, living the reality. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print.
The Pleasant Surprise
There is only one real serendipity. It’s when your righteous actions create a ripple effect that echoes through generations of predestined lives. Picture oblong slabs of concrete in the middle of a pond. On the shore are a multitude of characters tossing pebbles that create ripples. Each ripple washes against the bare blocks, creating impressions while continuing to travel through the water and creating more and more instances of impressions. Eventually, the blocks form figures that are unique, yet incomplete. These blocks are living versions of you and when you die, you join those on the shore and create ripples of your own. You toss pebbles, creating ripples that will eventually mold others. Will your pebbles be as powerful as the ones that molded you? Will your impression last and change others for better, or for worse? What we do with our lives could possibly echo until humanity lasts. Your ripples could be a form of evil, or its retribution. Think carefully before you decide to throw a pebble into the water. You never know what it could mean to someone else.
SpeakOutAhmed 