Salaam Alaikum - Advice Sought insha'Allah.

[Ahmad al-Afghanee]

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

as Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh:

I hope this message finds you all in the best state of health and imaan.

I am a new member who just registered to this beautiful and beneficial site. I am also registered for the upcoming Umar bin al-Khattab Seminar insha'Allah.

First let me say, thank you sincerely to all the brothers and sisters who have posted on the message boards with their experiences in the first seminar. They have truly been beneficial to me. Every single one of them brought tears to my eyes. I have no idea why, but just imagining the feeling of what you all must have went through was overwhelmingly beautiful. Also, just reading about your experiences reminded me of how merciful Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) truly is to grant me the opportunity for a trip like this because everything happens ONLY by Allah's will. I pray that I am alive and well to fulfill this opportunity as well. Ameen!!! Please keep me in your du'as insha'Allah.

I just have some basic questions, which I am hoping the admin, and/or some of you may be able to help answer for me in regards to this site in general as well as the Seminar insha'Allah.

1- Can someone please explain to me about how I should go about surfing through the site to maximize on benefitting from the ilm that is available? (I'm sure I can explore it on my own, but as in most cases, I think it would be nice to have a teacher or someone who can give you a few helpful tips to maximize from all the beneficial information on this site, insha'Allah)

2- I would like to know from those brothers who attended the last seminar with their spouses, wether anyone took children along with them and if so, is it recommended? I ask because initially I registered for Seminar for only myself, but after reading some of the experiences by the "revert" sisters, it made me realize how important this opportunity would be for my spouse who is also a revert. However, we would not be able to leave our newborn child and 3yr old child, for anyone if we both decided to go. So this is why I would like to know if first, it is permitted to take children, and If so, secondly is it recommended, especially since the schedule is so intensive.

3- Can someone please explain to me the ettiquettes for sitting, speaking, and meeting with the Scholars?

4- How does the "ijaza" which will be given at the end of the Seminar work, as I am curious since I have very limited knowledge and am basically like a newborn in this beautiful minhaj? Can such a person be given any type of ijaza and if so, for what exactly?

5- What are some things I can do to prepare myself physically, mentally, and spiritually for the seminar insha'Allah?

6- Lastly, as the schedule sounds to be very intensive for the seminar, can someone give me a detailed timeline of what an average full day was like in both Madeenah and Makkah? (For ex. How much time was spent from the day towards lectures, free time, lunch, breakfast, dinner, visiting historical sites, et...) I hope you get the idea of my question insha'Allah.

Jazzakum Allah Khair in advance.

May Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) shower, Br. Zahid for organizing such an event, all of you, and all those who are on the path of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), with mercy and blessings. May He grant all of us beneficial knowledge and success in this world and the next and make us amongst those who will be closest to Him and His Messenger in the Akhira. Ameen!!!

[ABU DUJANA]

Bismmilah walhamdulillah
WaalykumAsalam Akee
Mashallah you sound very eager and ready to learn and I ask Allah that this be from his granting you success to be guided seek knowledge for his sake. For the one who takes a path of seeking knowledge, his path to jannah will be made easy. There is no doubt this is an excellent opportunity for any student of knowledge, and all success is from Allah. Anyhow, I will attempt to help you out with some of your questions.

3- Can someone please explain to me the etiquettes for sitting, speaking, and meeting with the Scholars?
There are great books that have been written concerning this subject. One I recall that is translated into English is called “The etiquettes of the student of knowledge” or something close to this title authored by Sh. Ali Al-Halabi.
I will point out though a few advices for sitting with our teachers and scholars
- Pay attention to them and focus all attention on them. A problem many will have is as soon as someone walks through the door a noise is made all attention turns toward that thing. It is from the manners of the student to not be concerned except with the class while it going on and not let distractions affect him or her.
- Speaking or signaling while the scholar is speaking is also another common rude action some of us fall into. This is not befitting when sitting in the circle of knowledge with a person of knowledge.
- Spreading of the legs if there is no need to. If there is some type, of need to do so the feet should not be facing the teacher nor should the legs be crossing in front of him, or any of the other students. A good idea would be to sit in the back, in such a case it is necessary to extend your legs.
- Frequently leaving and entering into the room is from the manners of the circle of knowledge.
- When questioning the Sheik on a subject matter or statement he made, you should state the question in the form where you are not singling him out such as saying “you told us” or “you said” but rather the questioner should word it in such that is not confrontational nor hostile. One should say, “we have said” or “we went over such and such”
- It not from the manners to contradict the Sheik after the class.
- When confronting the Sheik with a contradictory opinion to his, the individual that holds that contradicting opinion should not be referred to by name rather it should be said, “We have heard of such an opinion”.
There are many etiquettes that we should all learn when sitting in the circles and sitting of the scholars. Those before are noted to have spent the first part of there seeking of knowledge sitting and watching the students of knowledge learning from them the etiquettes and then actually sitting in the circles of knowledge themselves. We ask Allah to forgive us our shortcomings.

4- How does the "ijaza" which will be given at the end of the Seminar work, as I am curious since I have very limited knowledge and am basically like a newborn in this beautiful minhaj? Can such a person be given any type of ijaza and if so, for what exactly?

The Ijaza will be a certificate testifying to your attendance to the seminar. The ijaza can be helpful when applying to and Islamic university because it testifies to your credentials as student of knowledge.
Ijaza can differ some are for hadeeth, some are to be able to relate a science or book from a teacher and some are for the recitation of the Quran, and there are others. I believe this one is to testify to your attendance at the sitting of the people of knowledge. And Allah knows best.

5- What are some things I can do to prepare myself physically, mentally, and spiritually for the seminar insha'Allah?

-I advise myself and you to develop our taqwa of Allah, as Allah said “Itaquw (fear or be conscious of Allah) and Allah will teach you.
-The night prayer and supplication at that time will benefit you greatly. Asking Allah to teach you that which is beneficial and to benefit you from that we he has taught you.
-Starting to develop your reading time (make it longer) and memorization from now will help inshallah, when you are sitting for long periods listening to the knowledge you are receiving. They seem to work like muscles the more you work on them the better developed they become.
- Try to eat little if you can, this here is just personal experience, but you may perform better if you are neither full nor hungry.
- The brothers you will meet are most likely to be from the best and the cream of the crop based on my past experience at the last seminar. Do not hesitate to benefit from them or to benefit them.
- Before going make a list of knowledge-based questions concerning issues you may have researched and having a hard time finding an answer to. This way you will attain the greatest benefit.
We ask Allah to guide us to what he loves and accepts

6- Lastly, as the schedule sounds to be very intensive for the seminar, can someone give me a detailed timeline of what an average full day was like in both Madeenah and Makkah? (For ex. How much time was spent from the day towards lectures, free time, lunch, breakfast, dinner, visiting historical sites, et...) I hope you get the idea of my question insha'Allah.

I don’t remember everything and I am answering only to let you know the last schedule was very focused on and the majority of time was spent in the classes. But I think it is from the barrakah (blessing) of time over there that there was more than enough time to talk to brothers, visit the sites, go on short trips, food- breakfast lunch and dinner. I tried that when I got back here but it did not workout, I was lucky if I could two of those things in for the whole week.
Inshallah some of the other brothers and sisters can add to my comments.

And Allah knows best, and from him was ask the best. I ask Allah to bless you and give you and the rest the brothers and sisters success here and in the here after.

[AbdulHasib]

Bismmilah walhamdulillah
WaalykumAsalam Akee
“The etiquettes of the student of knowledge” or something close to this title authored by Sh. Ali Al-Halabi.

...

And Allah knows best, and from him was ask the best. I ask Allah to bless you and give you and the rest the brothers and sisters success here and in the here after.

WA'laikum Assalaam wa rahmatAllahi wa barakaatuhu ya akhil kareem,

May Allah ta'la reward you and multiply your deeds for a very effective and beneficial nasiha.

One small correction:
The book is The ettiquettes of the Student of Knowledge" by Sh.Bakr Aboo Zayd hafidhahullahu ta'la.
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/talkislam_1895_266347715 (javascript:LargePics('http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/talkislam_1895_266273756','The Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge (Shaykh Bakr Aboo Zayd)'))













http://onlineislamicstore.com/b7347.html
Which I recommend highly

And this beneficial treatise by Sh.Saleem al Hilaalee entitled "The Manners of the Scholar & Student of Knowledge (from Hadeeth of Jibreel)"
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/talkislam_1894_48916835

available here: http://onlineislamicstore.com/b3218.html

And this lecture in audio available for free by our shaykh Abu Ammar Qadhi: http://www.audioislam.com/category.asp?CAT=Knowledge

Also this nasiha of sheikh Saalih Aal Ash Sheikh hafidhahullah we find greatly beneficial.
http://www.troid.org/articles/ibaadah/knowledge/introductorymaterialconcerningknowledge/essentialandanecdotal.pdf

There are many more, but we conclude with some of the virtues of knowledge from Mukhtasar Minhaj Al Qaasideen by Ibn Qudamah rahimahullah, found here: http://webpages.marshall.edu/~laher1/ilm.html#fadail

WAllahu A'lam
WAssalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatAllah

[AbdulHasib]

WA AsalAllahu ta'la anyaghfiralaka wa anyarfaadarajaataka wa anyajzeeaka al ajra wath thawab.

And I ask Allah ta'la to forgive you and increase you in rank/station and multiply your rewards and deeds.

I don't know whether you speak farsi or pashtu but both is fine for now -):

Farsi: Allah baret aasaan kuna kate niyyate pak wa kate qalbe ikhlaas biyadare kiram.

Pashto: Zma gran wroora, Allah tala sta-te dagha masala asaana ki wa duay de qabool ki, wa sta-te barakat w-ar ki.

Ameen.

We, afghans, are in such dire need for students of knowledge. May Allah ta'la rectify our people and ummah through your and our hands and work, making if not us but our offspring among those mentioned in the hadith "the black flags marching from al Khurasaan" to be with the victorious khalifa with al Mehdi.

WAllahu A'lam
WAssalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatAllah

[Umm Na'eema]

Bismillaah walhamdulillaah wassalaatu wassalaamu ‘alaa Raroolillaah

Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh,

Akhee, I am happy to hear that you will be going with your family. This is such a great opportunity and it would be a shame if your wife and children were to miss out. To be in the two holy places, perform ‘Umrah, and learn firsthand from those great scholars is truly a blessing.

I attended the previous Aboo Bakr AsSiddeeq Seminar, and it was such an experience that I would wish for every Muslim. Furthermore, I was fortunate to be able to go with my family- my wife. Like you, I considered going by myself but that notion quickly subsided and I knew that my wife deserves to go and benefit and not be deprived from the great blessings of being there, performing worship specific to the Haram, reaping its great rewards and from being taught by the ‘Ulamaa and Tullaabul ‘Ilm. How could I leave my Family behind?

This is a great opportunity for sisters who are able to go. Rarely do they get the same opportunity in traveling for ‘ilm as us brothers so I’m glad you’re going with your spouse. It’s so important for the sisters to gain the proper knowledge since they are with the children most of the time, while the brothers are most likely out there struggling to make a living. Being a father, I’m sure you’ve thought of this as well.

Only two other brothers and myself went with their zawjah and Alhamdulillaah, things went very well for us. As soon as we arrived in Makkah, we performed our first ‘Umrah together and right after we completed it, we were brought straight to the hotel where the Seminar was being held and sat down for class right away. After classes, we were able to compare notes, review the lessons and study together. Subhaanallaah, we were getting ‘Ilm from the Mashaa’ikh and we were doing it together! Never in our lives have we experienced such a thing. Inshaa’Allaah, your experience with your family will be similar or greater.

Like your spouse, my wife and I are reverts to this beautiful Deen, and Allaah guides whom He wills to the Truth. I don’t know how I deserved the guidance that led me to Islaam and I truly reflected on this when I was in the there. I couldn’t believe I was there performing the ‘ibaadah there, sitting and eating with the Scholars, and simply just being there, and being there with my best friend (the wife, of course)! I felt truly blessed. I am excited for you akhee, and I’m very happy that you will have such an experience and you and your family will gain much benefit from this inshaa’Allaah.

My wife occasionally reminds me of the time we spent there and how amazing and overwhelming it was. We didn’t want to leave at all. She told me how one sister there told her that it was like Allaah invited her to Makkah and Madeenah, and she had the honor of being a guest in the Holy places. We often wonder if we were going to be receive such fortune to be invited again, and now INSHA’ALLAAH with the ‘Umar Ibnul-Khattaab Educational Seminar, it’s like our invitation is renewed. Allaahu Akbar!. Just thinking of the great things that await us in this next trip, we are once again humbled and wonder how we could have deserved such an opportunity of a life time. You might have read our posts her post in this same forum about our experiences in the last seminar.

This time I will go with a slightly larger family. Like you, I will be going with a baby, my maashaa’Allaah beautiful daughter. I know you will go with your two children, may Allaah reward you well. Maybe our children will be playmates there. I remember one of the students of knowledge who was translating for the Shaykhs would occasionally bring his children. Maashaa’Allaah, children are always a pleasure, even at gatherings of knowledge. Inshaa’Allaah, they’re being there is the beginning of their journey to being future tullaabul ‘ilm.

I know you’re concerned about the Seminar schedule and how you‘ll handle your time while being busy tending to your family. I advise that you work out a schedule where the childcare responsibility is shared so that you both achieve the maximum benefit from the classes.

An example of our daily schedule for the Aboo Bakr Seminar was the following:

5:30am – 6:45am Sharh Ad-Durar Bahiyyah – Sh. Muhammed Bazmool
7:15am – 8:30am Usool Tafseer – Sh. Ahmed Bazmool
9:00am – 10:30am Nukhbatul Fikr – Sh. Waseeullah Abbas
11:00am – 12:30pm Sharh Usool At-Thalatha – Sh. Muhammed As-Subayyal
‘Ase –‘Eesha AL HARAM…Memorization of Part 30 and 5 Hadeeth
9:00pm – 10:30pm Questions & Answers – Sh. Muhammed Al-Banna

This should give an idea of the time restraints and inshaa’Allaah it will help out with your planning. As you’ll see, the classes are very intensive and take up a huge amount of our days and nights there. Alhamdulillaah, we get many opportunities to gain ‘Ilm from the Mashaa’ikh. We spent most of our time studying, reviewing notes and learning ahadeeth and soorahs that were assigned for memorization. We were tested on them along with the final exam. We had to take in a lot due to the vast amount of topics which were covered in such a short amount of time. I advise that you prepare yourself by reading and studying beforehand. We were more familiar with some of the subjects taught like Tafsir, Tajweed, Fiqh, and Seerah, while others were new to us and had a more difficult time with like Sciences of Hadeeth. Jazaakallaahu khair akhee, I hope this helps you in some way and I am looking forward to seeing you and spending time with you there. Wassalaamu ‘alaykum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh.

Your Akh,
Aboo Na’eema Idriis

[asyed]

SubhanAllah that does seem very intensive may Allah make it easy upon all of us. I hope InshaAllah that i will swollow this knowledge

An example of our daily schedule for the Aboo Bakr Seminar was the following:

5:30am – 6:45am Sharh Ad-Durar Bahiyyah – Sh. Muhammed Bazmool
7:15am – 8:30am Usool Tafseer – Sh. Ahmed Bazmool
9:00am – 10:30am Nukhbatul Fikr – Sh. Waseeullah Abbas
11:00am – 12:30pm Sharh Usool At-Thalatha – Sh. Muhammed As-Subayyal
‘Ase –‘Eesha AL HARAM…Memorization of Part 30 and 5 Hadeeth
9:00pm – 10:30pm Questions & Answers – Sh. Muhammed Al-Banna