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December 4th, 2007, 12:33
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A New Muslim Traveling and Learning with Albaseera
A New Muslim
Traveling and Learning with Albaseera
It all started March 2007, I was an All American New (less than a year) Muslim married to a wonderful East Indian life long Muslim. My wife came home from her Arabic reading class when she told me about this once in a lifetime opportunity. www.Albaseera.org had organized a 3-week Educational and Spiritual trip. This course was to include teachings from some of the top scholars in the world as well as take us on a pilgrimage of Madinna and to Makkah, where we will be able to fulfill every Muslims dream, to perform Umrah. Naturally I was excited, what a great opportunity. Unfortunately the excitement was short lived, the reality of my life started to set in. I work for a large cooperation and asking for 3 conceptive weeks was forbidden. This was not my only problem, what would I do with my kids, pet, plants and what about money? How safe did I feel being a All American heading into a land where I was not sure how well I would be received, the tensions of the recent years of fighting with Islamic countries was not going to help my reception? After struggling with these issues for a few days, I took my wife’s advice. Simply doing what Islam had taught me, let go and trust in Allah. If Allah was extending an invitation to my wife and I to Mekkah then all I needed to do was to have Iman. Once I cleared that hurdle of Iman, everything got easier. I sat down and arranged things with my employer and amazing they agreed to give me the time. Family organized and set up a plan for watching the kids and pets. Even our neighbors volunteered to water the plants. We even received some financial help to make this trip possible. My wife kept reminding me to simply have Iman and everything will work out. Clearly she was right. By the time we were ready fly out of Dulles airport to Jeddah everything was taken care of and I was ready for a trip and learning experience of a lifetime. The only remaining question in my mind was how were people going to react to an All American in Saudi Arabia. The big day had arrived, August 5th 2007. My wife and I set out in a rental car from New York to Virginia, staying the night about 5 miles away from Dulles airport. The next morning we made our way to the airport with ease. Here is where I experienced my first bout of cultural shock. I approached the ticket counter and all I saw were men wearing long white thoubas. I knew this was the traditional wear but I had packed mine in my bag and I was still wearing western clothes. I suddenly felt so out of place in what I had worn my entire life. I even felt awkward considering putting on this attire, I battled in my mind for a couple of minutes and then chose to hold off on making this dramatic change for the time being. The great thing was that nobody in line even gave me a second look. Once we made it to the gate people continued to stream in behind us with the vast majority of them in thoubas and hijjab’s, many with their faces covered entirely. For a life long Muslin that has had exposure to this it wouldn’t mean s much to them, but for me it was intimidating, yet interesting. I knew in my heart that this was the traditional wear for Muslims and a requirement of the Sunnah to wear this but I had not personally embraced this just yet. I figured I would have plenty of exposure in the coming weeks to get used to it. Once we were on the flight all went very well short of the incredibly hard seat. Surprisingly the airplane food was good. After 12 hours in the air we touched down in Jeddah. This is where the fun began. Once on the ground we passed through customs in a flash, we picked up our bags and got together as the Albaseera group for the first time. We were a diverse mix from many nationalities and different parts of the country. The ages of the people ranged from 15 months to mid over 60 years, with the majority of people in there early 20’s. I was celebrating my 40th birthday on this day. There was no question within the first few minutes you could see this was a group of kind and peaceful people. Everyone was eager to help each other out. Once we had our bags together we checked in for our flight to Madinna and then we waited for what seemed to be a lifetime. It was in reality only 5 hours but being very tired but unable to sleep, time could not move quickly enough. When we finally got on the flight to Madinna we no more left the ground and we were landing again. This flight was only 45 minutes. As we approached Madinna you could see the Masjid from more than 10,000 feet. Even at that distance you could see the majesty of the place. The lights were distinctively white in the sky compared with the washed out yellow lights that illuminated the rest of the city. It was at this moment I knew I was in for an incredible experience. We hit the ground, did our prayers and then hit our beds in the hotel shortly after. I could faintly remember when I woke up in the morning how beautiful the lobby of the hotel was. I dawned my new attire, the Thoub; this is a long white cloche that draped inched from the floor. I felt strange for having it on but knew it was the way of the land and the way of the Muslim, so I set out to face the world. When I entered the lobby before Fajr the memory of the beautiful lobby was fuzzy no more. This hotel was beautiful, marble floors and walls, chandeliers of crystal and gold. The best part was that we were only steps away from the Madinna Masjid. Every man I saw was wearing the Thoub and every woman was wearing a hijjab. Suddenly I felt right at home in my new attire. I set out for Prophet's Masjid, For those of you that have not been to the Madinna Masjid it is a breath taking experience. I walked to the Masjid with my wife and newfound friends/guides Umair, Rehan and Muhaimin, the sites of this moment was awesome. The immense size alone was incredible. This facility can hold more than a million people and it is maintained in flawless condition ordained in solid gold, floor to ceiling marble, and minarets reaching into the sky 100 feet. This is the moment I realized the magnitude of the following of Islam. I had been to some large churches in my life but nothing that was even 1/10 the size of this facility. When I entered my heart was beating fast and I felt excited and disoriented. Fortunately the three brothers were there to guide me. My wife had to separate on her own. In this Masjid men pray on one side while the woman pray on the other. As I walked deeper into this incredible facility I couldn’t help but notice that when I looked to the left or the right that I could not see to the end of the building, I could only see 100’s of arches continuing on into what seemed to be infinity. Every archway had meticulous detail and gold lighting fixtures with stained glass. The floors of glowing inlaid marble without a spec of dirt. The ceiling was more than 30 feet high and every inch was finished in fine detail. Even a Non-Muslim would be in awe of this place. We made our way to the front where we could set up for prayer. There was more than 30 minutes before prayer yet there were 1000’s of people already in place. We couldn’t get closer than 50 rows back from the front. Settling down on one of over 10,000 area rugs we began to visit about prayer. This became my first and one of my most valuable lessons of the trip. These brothers started to talk with me about prayers in a Masjid and told me what to expect. Shortly after that the call of the Athan started. Wow, the beauty of the voice traveling though air made me tremble with pleasure. I could feel all my stress melt away and be replaced with a feeling of happiness. I could feel the presence of Allah here without question. For the next week I would repeat the very same feeling 5 times a day and on a couple of occasions 6 times a day. As for the classroom, I came with no particular expectations except I had hoped I would learn enough to feel more grounded in my beliefs. Once the classes got going I was in for learning more than I could every imagined. Our Daily class schedules were extremely intensive. We would go to Fajr At 4 A.M. and from there we would go directly to class starting a 5:30 A.M. We would continue to have classes until 11 P.M almost everyday. The only breaks were for prayer at the Masjid and we would have a mid-day break between Zahur and Asr. This was a 4-hour mid-day break for sleep, study and lunch. When looking at this schedule you need to come prepared to be deprived of sleep. We usually would get 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night and then we would take a 1 to 2 hour nap in the middle of the day. There is no question this was a tough schedule and you could see the fatigue growing on everybody’s faces as the days wore on. It became a battle between will to learn and the will of Shaytaan to put you to sleep during class. At time Shaytan would win. The content of the classes in Madinna were wonderful. Covering important subjects like Fiqh, the tree of Iman, the history of Uthman Ibn Affan, and questions and answers. Classes weren’t given by the average teacher, but by leading Scholars of the world. As a New Muslim being taught about these subjects by top scholars helped instill a confidence on how I can best worship Allah. Even with being a Muslim for less than a year I had already received a number of conflicting pieces of information on how to worship Allah. Being with the scholars is clearing the muddy waters. It’s very reassuring, getting information from people that have spent most of their lives studying the Quran and the Sunnah. I have to admit that at times the information was beyond my understanding but by listening day after day the parts of the puzzle have started to come together. If you are a New Muslim and you are going on your own Albaseera.org pilgrimage, I would highly recommend finding some brothers that are understanding and willing to review classes with you in order to maximize your learning opportunities. I have to say that within the first two days of my pilgrimage the relationships had developed among all the brothers to the point that I could ask anybody a question and they would eagerly address me. I discovered that brothers get extra rewards from Allah for helping and teaching New Muslims. So every time I asked questions, people jumped at the opportunity to help me. Additionally, I had extra help from my wife; she has been an incredible, answering 1000’s of questions over the last year. When my wife wasn’t answering questions my closest brothers Umair, Rehan and Muhaimin would sit in the Masjid and tell me stories of the prophet and give me information about ways to be a good Muslim. This type of time proved to be the most valuable enlightenment of the trip. The greatest thing about these meetings was developing my relationship with Allah while developing my relationships with my new friends and my wife. If all I did for the entire trip was grow these relationships I would have been satisfied, but brother Zahid Rashid was only getting started. He is one of the organizers. Let me tell you he knows how to deliver on expectation and then some. He is continually working very hard at putting together new and exciting surprises on a daily bases and some of these surprises are once in a lifetime opportunities. In fact 99.9% of people in this world will never get to do many of the amazing things I will tell you about later in the this article. The first 5 days in Madinna seemed to develop a fairly consistent routine. A constant rotation of going to the Masjid, praying, back to class with a renowned scholar, grab some food, collapse in your bed for a few moments of sleep only to be back up and going again to the Masjid again. This is demanding but Allah helps give you strength to keep going. Every time you would feel you could not going any more, Zahid would give inspirational comments and reassures that "YES ! YOU CAN DO IT.†Zahid would always give a kind smile with his sentiments. A couple of days I never went to bed at all, I had learned from my fellow brothers that Allah and his Angels are closest to us at Tahajud (around 3:30 A.M.) at this time Allah listens to all of your requests. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of an opportunity like that. I thought I would just sleep in the Masjid until Fajr but I also learned I would loose my wudu if I slept, so I would worship through the night instead. On the 2nd day Brother Rahan taught me about some of the specific special elements of this Masjid in Madinna. There is green rug up front between the area where adhan is done and where Prophet Muhammad (s) is buried in his original Masjid inside the Madinna Masjid. On this green rug is the area where Allah gave a piece of heaven for us to pray on. This area is not more that 20 X30 and with thousands of people competing to pray on this rug it was a delicate balance of making your way to the rug to pray while not injuring your fellow brothers. With patients we accomplished our goal and I have to say I felt very fulfilled having the honor of being so close to Allah. On the 3rd day Umair and I set out on one of our mid-day breaks to meet with his uncle that lives in Madinna. He wanted me to get a taste of the local flavor of the people. This visit turned out to give me a different perspective on how to conduct my life. Umair’s uncle was intellectual, at peace and living very simply, even though he had the means to live an opulent life. No T.V., fancy furniture and yet he continually gave the entire time I was there. He reminded me of the way Prophet Muhammad conducted himself, by giving of himself and his things, keeping his worldly burdens to a minimum while expanding knowledge at all times and caring for his fellow man. It was a refreshing lifestyle in comparison to the materialistic life I have embraced in America. I am hoping I can begin to reshape myself to be more like him. On the 4th day we took a field trip to the official location of King Fahad Complex for printing of Quran , we learned how they make sure that the Quran and all translations are scrutinized for accuracy. This facility produces over 10,000,000 copies a year and over 90% are simply given away. These are beautifully bound books and we were all gifted 3 of them as well as a Quran CD. I had never been happier to own a new Quran. The 5th day was the pinnacle of my trip. Although this day started the same as the ones before it would end in tears of joy and night sweats. After Eesha, organizers had arranged for a very special event. Where we were being lead on a security escorted personal tour of the behind the scenes of the Masjid. This is such a rare and special event that we literally we had people continually trying to sneak in to blend with us so they could go on the tour. We were fortunate the have the security there to control the crowds. We were able to see how the sound system works, the air-conditioning control system, security system and most importantly we were able to get a private personal tour of the Masjid itself. On a daily bases 24 hours a day it is next to impossible to get up the Muhammad original Masjid unless you want to force your way up there which make it hard to concentrate on prayer. This night, security cleared the crowds back and we were able to go up the Prophets Muhammad’s grave location and pray a prayer. During this time my life began to change. I am a 250 pound 6’ 3†All American tough guy. I had not cried for years, but tonight was different. I was blind sided by an emotion that I have never felt. While praying I suddenly felt overwhelmed with joy, release of something heavy, and a trembling thankfulness. Surprised by these feeling I first tried to suppress them but the moment I would begin to pray the tears would stream again. We were then lead over to the Green Rug (the piece of heaven gifted by Allah) where we no longer had to compete for space. We were given the entire space for our group. When I got on the rug and prayed it was a experience that I will never be able to fully explain. It was painfully beautiful, enlightening, euphoric and fearful all at the same time. By the time I was done praying I was exhausted and speechless. Literally I did not and could not have a conversation with anyone. I went home settled into bed and trembled through the night. Waking up the next morning feeling under the weather and with a headache, I wasn’t sure what to make of this experience. The only thing I knew was that is was a big deal and I felt very different. Later this day we were to make our way to Makkah, which included making our Umrah. Umrah was a interesting and exciting event. Knowing the rituals I was about to go through were to forgive all of my minor sins and if I was lucky, I might be able to do some good deeds and then Allah may forgive my major sins as well. We hoped on a bus mid-afternoon and headed out. Our first stop was a battle site where Muslims fought with the Mushreequen during Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime. Then we went into Quba which was the very first Masjid Prophet had built. Shortly after we downed our Ihraam’s and set out to Makkah. The next 4 hours we prayed and slept until we reached the center of our holy land. The Makkah Masjid. Around midnight we started our Tawaaf. After a little more than two hours we had completed our Umrah with the traditional hair cut. This was another moment in life when you feel freed of all your sins. Amazingly at the moment my Umrah was complete I no longer had a headache or an upset stomach. We checked into our new hotel in Makkah and I was blessed for sure. Allah, through organizers www.albaseerah.org who had given us a room on the 8th floor that looked right into the Masjid and we could see the Qibla. What a gift. We could pray right from our room and we were close enough that we were still getting our 100,000 credit per prayer. The majesty of the Qibla is amazing. This Masjid has 10 towering minarets and 3 levels in which millions of people worship. When looking down from the 8th floor on this Masjid is awe-inspiring when you see thousands of people flowing in and out of every door 24 hours a day. The foot traffic never stops and seldom even slows. It is spectacular to see crowds moving in and out of every door as if people were leaving the super bowl and going into the super bowl at the same time but for 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I guess this is the true super bowl of worship for Allah. I am not sure how big this facility is but I know the location in Madinna was 98,000 square meters and could accommodate a million people at once. This location in Makkah had to be at least twice that size. I know that over 3 million people come every year during Hajj. A grand scale is an understatement for Makkah. For the next two days we were allowed some R & R. We slept, studied, shopped, visited and most of all prayed in the Masjid. On the 14th it was back to work. We resumed our 4:30 A.M. to 11 P.M schedule with a mid-day break from noon to 5 p.m. We would generally get lectures from 2 to 4 scholars a day covering almost every topic in the Sunnah and Quran. The Shaykh’s would even hold Question and answer sessions. Some the Shaykh’s in these meetings were more energized and in some case interactive with the audience, which kept you stimulated throughout the day. This daily routine of incredible in depth learning continued without interruption through the 19th. By this time all the brothers were like family. We laughed, learned, debated and prayed together every day. Some evenings we would run down and do Tawaaf’s for family back home. On the afternoon of the 20th organizers were back to their wonderful field trip surprises. We all hopped on a bus and went out to the manufacturer of the fabric that covers Qibla. I was amazed at how hands on this process was, everything is truly hand done even the base black fabric is hand woven. It takes 8 to 9 months to produce a complete new cover for the Qibla. Every new cover contains more that 240 kg.of real gold thread and even more in real silver. Every new Kisvah cover costs more than $20,000,000 Rials and takes more than 240 employees to complete. This program is entirely funded by the Saudi Government. After we were done with this tour we moved onto the Museum of Makkah history. They had hundreds of preserved artifacts that were as much as 1500 years old. The facility was immaculately maintained and once again completely funded by the Saudi Government. Classes continue every day and my knowledge and understanding is still growing. I am starting to feel I have a very solid foundation to build from at this point and that is making me happy. Al-humdu lillah !! The afternoon of the 21st would prove to be another momentous day; we rallied on to the buses and headed out to the land of Hajj. There is a tent city utilized for Hajj and it is truly impressive to see many thousands of ari-conditioned tents for miles. When people come for Hajj they stay in the air-conditioned tents as a courtesy from the Saudi Government. We stopped in to visit with the organizers of the Hajj and they asked us for input on improving the process and answered questions we had. The thing I was most impressed by is that the government here has not commercialized the event. Literally you pay your airfare here for Hajj and you can stay for free. Your only obligation is to feed yourself. In America we would have found a way to make this into a multi million-dollar empire. I was proud of the Saudi government for maintaining the integrity of Hajj. Later this night we would be blessed by Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala again, a Security escorted tour of the inside workings of the Masjid and we had a escorted Tawaaf and then were given opportunity to go in and kiss the black stone one by one without being pushed around. The kissing of the black stone is nearly impossible to do with out either pushing somebody or being pushed yet it is a recommend practice of Tawaaf. To this date I had not kissed the black stone in the name of the greater good. I would not want to risk hurting a fellow brother in the name of the recommended practice. So needless to say then when I was given the opportunity to fulfill the recommended practice without harm to anyone I had the best of both worlds thanks to Allah Aza Wajaz and his servants at Albaseera.org organization. To top off the night at 2 A.M. in the morning, we were lead upstairs to the closed off upper deck of the Masjid and were given exclusive access. The view of the Qibla from here was nothing short of spectacular. The entire evening more than 20 security guards escorted us. We truly had been given the red carpet V.I.P treatment. At this point in the trip I think I should take a moment to regress on the one remaining concern I had when leaving America. Would the people of Saudi be good to Americans? I want everyone to know that I have not once felt anyone be rude to me or disrespectful. If anything, I have been given special consideration and given extra attention because I was new Muslim. I have defiantly had he feeling that Saudi Arabia sees us as the voice for Islam in America. The approach they are taking is very admirable. I find Saudi people to be very educated; understanding the way to change the distorted general opinion in America about Muslims is through education. Ignorance is very dangerous and I personally feel the majority of the American population does not have a balanced understanding of the typical Muslim, primarily because Americans are relying on television Media to educate themselves. The more Americans that get educated about the deen of Islam the less fear and conflict there will be. Saudi’s know the key to success is understanding each other. They showed this by being open, warm and excited that we came half way across the globe to get information about the one thing that is closest to their hearts. Anyway, at this point I am getting pretty fatigued in the trip. Being sleep deprived for most of the 2 weeks. I had to sneak a couple of extra naps during class time. I find I am absorbing more when I have a little sleep under my belt. Allah will forgive me insha llah. By mid afternoon on the 22nd we got on the buses again. This time we were heading into the big city of Jeddah and taking a look at the Red Sea. After a 2-hour drive, several Camel sightings, and one dramatic car crash that included a Semi truck hanging halfway off the highway overpass, we were finally on the shores of the Red Sea. Surprisingly the Red Sea was not red at all. The water was clear and incredibly warm. The only disappointment was that we were not allowed to play in the water. It seems there are some rules about swimming in public locations. After a short visit at the Red Sea we moved on to do a little shopping, praying, eating and historical observation of Jeddah. We prayed in a Masjid that had an original minaret that was 900 years old. The most shocking part of the evening was going to a westernized part of town. In this particular mall there were literally 100’s of youths, none of which were observing the traditional legislations of Islam. It looked more like America than our images of Saudi Arabia. some males had even adorned attire of rappers in the hood, even though this was an extremely wealthy area. The value of this visit was to see that not all of Saudi Arabia lives under the tight Islamic rules. Those that choose to live the life of a traditional Muslim following the deen do, and those that choose to live a more liberal lifestyle do as well. As of this time of this article I am back in my hotel room studying for my final exam. If successful I will receive a certificate of achievement. For me this certificate is not that important, but for those that want to attend college in Saudi it is a very important document. The great thing about the Saudi Universities is it that your entire tuition is paid for and you will be taught to be a scholar of Islam. In summary this has been a life changing experience that I would encourage anyone to attend. You will get more than you moneys worth. You will experience a different culture, make new friends, cleanse your soul and grow closer to Allah. What else can you ask for? Insha’ Allah, you will be able to make this trip. Many applicants are turned down every year. If Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala wills it, you will come. A more than satisfied Muslim, Yousuf H. 
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