Youth Matters

Brother Wisam Sharieff is a popular instructor for Bayyinah Institute, which specializes in Arabic Education in North America.
Follow his Blog: “Knowledge Travels” for bite-size vidoes on studying abroad, arabic, tajweed, quran etc.
you can follow his blog here:  Knowledge Travels

Assalaamu Alaykum,
My name is Wisam Sharieff, I’m currently in Alexandria, Egypt and studying at Qortoba Institute for Arabic Studies along with a group of students from North America. Welcome to my blog ” Knowledge Travels”, come and join us as we Travel on the quest for Knowledge.

from Bayyinah Arabic Institute
Wisam is the lead instructor at Bayyinah for the Essentials of Tajweed; a sub-division of the Qur’anic Arabic track of study. Additionally, Wisam is also in the midst of preparing Bayyinah’s online Arabic Reading for Beginners course.   He is by far one of the most creative and energetic instructors of the subject around.  Students rave about the energy and enthusiasm in his courses and he has quickly become one of the most popular instructors at Bayyinah.  He completed memorization of the Noble Quran by the age of 16 at the Islamic Institute of Education in Chicago, Illinois and went on to study the science of Tajweed formally at Al-Fajr Institute in Cairo, Egypt. Upon his return to the United States, he taught the science of Tajweed, Islamic history and Hifz for 2 years. Thereafter his quest for Islamic knowledge lead him to Quran Academy in Lahore, Pakistan where he earned a Bachelors in Arabic & Islamic literature. Returning once again to the States, he dedicated himself to teaching a very successful and popular Tajweed & Hifz program in Long Island, New York. He developed a unique curriculum for letter recognition, writing and fluid reading, that upon execution, displayed remarkable results among young & old alike. His second area of concern became Tajweed instruction where again his innovative curriculum helped hundreds of students in the New York area acquire an in-depth knowledge of the science in a relatively short amount of time.

Ever wondered whats life like for Saudi women? Never thought about it? I bet you’ve wondered if they ride camels to work. Don’t feel bad, I’ve wondered the same thing. Then again, I continue to believe people in Texas ride horses and use the word ‘mosey.’

Two videos along the lines of MTV CRIBS Saudi Edition, but done in a slightly more tasteful manner. I emphasize the word slightly. Whoever made the program (is it Dutch?) is in need of some serious diversity training classes. The kind that teaches one not to ask stupid questions. Aside from practically inquiring if Saudi women take showers with the abaya on, the orientalist interviewer and ‘rare species’ Discovery Channel style cinematography in the beginning was a bit annoying, to say the least. Thankfully Susan’s charming and engaging responses overshadowed the interviewer’s insipid and unintelligent questioning. The videos are definitely educational, entertaining, and informative, despite being interrupted every so often by an interviewer with the mentality of a 19th century European imperialist. Makes one question who exactly is close-minded.
See accompanying Notes
(made while viewing the videos)

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED: Videos May Painfully Shatter Preconceived Notions

|Notes|

- Okay, first off it is quite brave of the young lady to allow the world into her home. I can imagine talking to a camera crew from my room: *points to unidentified pile of clothing* “…and these are in-between ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’.” Don’t Ask. It’s a college thing.

- Popular to contrary belief, Cotton/Nylon/Fabric does not hinder cognitive ability or creative talent. Let’s try that one more time. Dressing Modestly Does Not Mean Your Stupid.

- Ever heard of an oppressed nun?

-They watch TV? Wait, they HAVE TVs?

-They have malls?! Wait, they HAVE buildings?! Aw, no tents?

- One must consider this is a video of a middle to upper class citizen. Not every Saudi national owns an oil well. However, they’re uncle might. (jk)

- Contrary to poplar belief, femininity doesn’t always involve outer appearances.

- Pretty neat camera shots during the shopping mall scene. It’s official, women can never have enough shoes.

|Notes|

-Where on earth is Oprah not?!

-You know you want a driver. Shh….you know you do.

-Despite the interviewer’s loaded question regarding the status of Saudi females ‘having to be resilient,’ Susan delivers a profound statement: “I think women all over the world have to do that.”

-Sometimes, people don’t want to accept the answer you’re giving them. Even if it’s the truth.

- Susan’s answers makes you wonder who really took journalism classes.

-Fact: No matter what country your in, visiting the Gynecologist is disturbing. Especially for the guys.

Sometimes, it’s refreshing to get a classic beat down. The kind that brings you to your knees begging for mercy. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Recently, we had the blessed opportunity to sit and recite Quran with a person knowledgeable in the art and science of tajweed—proper Quranic pronunciation. We didn’t know the brother, but before we started he mentioned, ‘I want you to know that I’m a student as well.’ We quickly found out that his definition of ‘student’ was not exactly congruous with ours. In fact, it couldn’t have been more off.

Boy he let us have it. I started reciting Surah Ar-Rahman, and got stopped/corrected around 40 times. That’s a conservative estimate. I started questioning my own hearing. I did get very little sleep last night….apparently lack of sleep has a dire effect on the pronunciation of the letter ‘kha,’ I consoled myself. Oh, I forgot to mention I didn’t make it past verse 10.

I’d like to draw some lessons from this somewhat painful, yet valuable experience.

First, as a community we should remember what real standards are. These days, there is a reluctant complacency when it comes to learning about Islam. Since when has going to Juma’a prayer equaled ‘ a passing grade?’ “Brother, as long as he is praying…what’s the problem?” Or the dreaded “Brother…he believes in the kalima that’s what matters.”

Thankfully, the scholars of the past aren’t here to see this. The earlier generations’ primary school kids would have a field day with our present efforts and knowledge. And what do we have as excuses? Technology? Oh gosh, all this instant connectivity and blazing fast access to knowledge all around the world, at the tip of my very finger is too much. I think I’ll go make a sandwich. Is the game on TV yet? I wonder if someone commented on my Facebook….

In no way am I speaking down to anyone. In fact, I just made a sandwich. On behalf of my generation, however, I know we can do better.

Let me put it this way, Imam Bukhari once stated himself: “To seek knowledge, I traveled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at the Hijaz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithin (scholars of Hadith).” Can you imagine if there was access to the internet in those days? Scary thought. Oh, and lets not fool ourselves into thinking Imam Bukhari was old when he traveled to seek knowledge. At eleven he had such a good retention of the text and chains of transmission of Ahadith, that sometimes teachers got their corrections from him. He was eleven!

My point isn’t to criticize or rant about the standards these days. I’m not even concerned with the lack of effort, which is a big problem. What scares me the most is the acceptance of this attitude.

Second, there is a wealth of benefit to be learned in failure and struggle. In high school, we had a tennis coach who was emotionless when it came to wins. It’s almost as if he would be disappointed when we won a match. One match, my partner and I fought tooth and nail, and practically every game went through multiple deuces. The scores however hid our noble effort. They read something like 6-1, 6-0, and 6-0.  Yeah, I know. As we dragged our feet across the court, our coach was beaming with pride. He grabbed us and stated: “If you guys always win, you’ll never learn anything! That was probably the best match you’ve played yet!”

Best match? They made us look as if we literally had holes in our racquets.

To sum up, we should remember it’s our duty to seek the knowledge of our deen. It’s not an option. It doesn’t get more basic than reading the Quran properly.

Next time someone compliments you on your Quran recitation, perhaps you should double check your temporary moment of pride. Or, as my tennis coach liked to say in reference to practicing with my teammates, “Stop picking on people your own size and go for bigger and better.”

Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Quran will be with the honorable and obedient scribes (angels) and he who recites the Quran and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have a double reward.”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

May Allah preserve our Scholars and Teachers.

Tajweed link

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