Learning and teaching from heart to heart.

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

5 December 2014.

  Tonight there are many graduations happening all over Cape Town – schools out!  As we walked out of the Islamia Masjid this evening, the night was beautiful; the moon bright in her splendour; the wind had died down and our hearts were light.
 
I still can’t believe that I have been a part of a gathering, an esteemed gathering where students of Al Tanzil graduated who had completed their years’ work and were awarded Sanad (chain of narration) and Ijaza (teaching license).  Some of the students were awarded certification and some completed the Qur’an in different qira’at (methods of recitation). I can just imagine how it felt for them personally, sitting there in an audience of teachers and teachers of teachers and students of teachers, a very esteemed gathering indeed. I mean every time I finish a khatam and as the end of the Qur’an is approaching, the sobs crawl up one’s throat and tears roll. It is that sacred moment that is experienced like no other. It is the proverbial handing of all of one’s verses and pages and chapters of deep dedication and connectedness and lifting it high for the angels to take to Allah. Subhanallah!

It was an especially esteemed evening because a young woman was finishing her khatams to receive sanad and ijaza for ten different qira’at. This is the first time that a woman has completed in southern Africa. It has been done in other parts of the world in different eras but never here. Aisha Abrahams – I’d see a wisp of her flowing garb Saturday mornings when she comes to learn at the feet of her teachers.
This practice, as was explained with such clarity by Qari Ayub, has been executed from the time of the Prophet Muhamad, May Allah bestow peace and blessing upon him, from generation to generation by both men and women as students and as teachers  - men teaching men and women and women teaching women and men. And this was not just the case of the Qur’an I might add, but also Hadith and Fiqh specialist such as Sahabia Rubiyya bint Muawidh bint Afrah (RA); Amrah bint Abdur Rahman; The Caliph Abdul Malik b. Marwan, attended the classes of Umm Darda; Fatima al-Juzdani, a great scholar from Isfahan read one of the great books of Hadith, Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer, and taught it too. And this just to mention a few.

I can’t remember the story that Qari Ayub told of a village in India where daughters of every household learnt ten Qira’at. I can’t even conceive of it, the voices of the Qur’an in solo and in unison that must be something else, right?

So our own Aisha Abrahams did her public ending recitals in ten qira’at this evening and it was a unforgettable occasion for all who were there, participating and relishing in the barakah Alhamdulilah. I like the explanation of the kind of learning that occurs at Al Tanzil, it is from heart to heart and not just from mind to mind.  In a small way we felt a part of all the students’ journeys just being present here in Schaapkraal and to be present in this ceremony tonight, it was an honour.

Imagine a school where the students revise and recite and play and eat from the land (strawberries and veggies to take home). Imagine a school where teachers are dedicated and caring, where they sit outdoors and learn under the shade and in the fresh air

 . Imagine a school where there is no beating just earnestness and laughter, where the students look forward to school and are happy. Imagine a school where there is personal attention for every student. It’s true, it’s happening right here!

 Plant food and listen to qira’at.

Yasmine