Updated 19 August 2008
By the grace of Allah, 60 community youths, boys and girls, from countries including Kenya, United Kingdom, Bosnia, America, Tanzania, Sweden, Canada, Sri Lanka and Burundi, returned to their homes safely after having experienced the journey of a lifetime. They were the lucky participants of the Madinah and Bab Summer Short Courses run by The World Federation.
The feedback and positivity has been overwhelming, in arguably the most successful year since its inception. The reforms and changes that were made for this year have thus shown excellent results.
Some final reflective diaries:
Anisa Rajbhai, Birmingham, UK:
The spiritual high and the motivation to better ourselves as Muslims are feelings which will inshAllah remain with us for a very long time after this trip. The closeness to Allah (SWT), the constant remembrance of our living Imam, Imam Mahdi (AJFS) and Islam being at the centre of our daily lives are aspects of life in Iran that we will inshAllah try to implement now that we are back home.
Kumail Remtulla, Portsmouth, UK:
Living at the Madressa Imam Khomeini whilst in Qum was an experience of its own. Attending classes on Aqaid and Qur’anic Principles helped maintain and solidify our belief in Tawheed (The Oneness of Allah), a key part of our religion; and gave us a new insight as to the benefits and power the words of the Qur’an can play in our day to day life respectively. The visits to the Ayatollahs were an inspiration to all, with their advices being relevant to how we can better lead our lives. Whilst living at the Madressa, one will never forget praying jamaat namaaz at the masjid and the recitation of the Rajab Dua, which makes our hairs stand up and hearts tremble in yearning for nearness to Allah (SWT).
On the whole, the knowledge gained cannot be measured by any means, the friendships made cannot be broken by any means, the memories gained cannot be forgotten by any means, and the spirituality obtained will be remembered and stay for a lifetime.
Sheikh Abbas Ismail commented, "I would like to applaud the efforts of the entire team for making this course one of the best, if not the best, in its history. The regions, AFED, CoEJ and NASIMCO, did fantastically well to select students and support the preparations. The student helpers worked very hard to ensure the well-being and spiritual development of the participants. And the WF Qum Office delivered a high quality, inspiration-packed and spiritually charged course for both Madinah and Bab. The community now has a course that it can be proud of and reflects the ongoing strive for excellence within Islamic Education."
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