Arrival in Madina

Alhamdulillah, the students arrived today in the blessed city of Medina. Before departing, everyone was excited as they prepared to leave for the City of Light, where the Best of Creation resides, peace and blessings of God be upon him. The classes in Jeddah had prepared the students for Medina and for visiting the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him. As Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah said, in order to love someone you must know him. The classes served that purpose perfectly. Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah’s Seerah classes which Shaykh Hamza translated, Shaykh Abdallah al-Kadi’s Wives of the Prophet classes, and Imam Zaid’s hadith classes were all very helpful in increasing the students’ longing and love for the Prophet, peace be upon him. In addition to these classes, Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah taught special sessions on a topic to which few western students have access: Objectives of the Shariah, which Shaykh Hamza translated. Finally, Shaykh Hamza’s class on Imam al-Ghazzali’s Alchemy of the Heart served to help students know how to purify their inward states.

After a week’s worth of intensive study in Jeddah, the students were looking forward to the next section of the program—spending time in Medina. As the bus arrived at the Medina hotel, it was close to sunset time, and most students rushed to catch Asr prayer at the Prophet’s Mosque. Seeing the masjid was breathtaking, and the students were overjoyed.