Tour of Madinah university

[Leila25]

Also please clarify how does ones social status affect their interpretation of the deen?

Your social status determines partly your frame of mind, i have observed that for example white middle class converts in the UK tend to read various books on Islam, from history, different school of thought and generally learn with with an open mind (independent from influence of others). However that is not the case for majority of converts in the UK who are black, they have the gang mentality which is us and them, so they involve themselves in endless salafi v sufi debates, they will not approach certain books, they only take knowledge from Saudi scholars and interpretation is rigid and literal without appreciation for the society they live in.

[Hyperactive]

Leila now i understand where are you coming from but it's not class or social status.

as prophet asw said : kahiru kum fil jahiliya, khiaru kum fil islam.
which means the one had good akhlaq and conduct before they convert to islam are also the best in islam. illen akhlaq da ma badal meyso qofka ku dashay.

if you see one swearing and screaming and loud to make a point about deen that's ignorednt one who have no akhlaq to begin with and hiding behind the deen to get status and respect..

[Galmeygaag]

Nobleman

thanks for the video, if the application does take a long period i might apply and just hope i finish my studies before i get an offer

bro, is applying at the University the only way to have temporary residence in the city ?

Heh, that's my old school. I'm feeling nostalgic...

Definately there's lot of good there, no doubt, but still the level and quality of education and university as a whole is going down year by year. It's not anymore like it used to be.

First off, new post 9/11-mentality is getting stronger in the school every year. Before uni was strictly islamic, but now they adding lot of stuff about nationalism, anti-jihad and praising the rulers. Of course there are some very great teachers there, but same time some others are just straight up nationalists. When I started there, posters and billboards in the uni area were islamic reminders, but when I left the place ALL of them were either praising the country, the king or the national day. One of the tawhid teachers taught students that islamic jamaca mentioned in many ahadith is nowadays saudi-state and that is the right group and if you live abroad you can still hold on to that group by promoting saudis in every place and if you hear someone talking negatively about them you have to refutate them etc. Also once in a while some princes come to talk to the uni about saudi-arabia and terrorists and it's basically obligatory for you to go there and personnel might come to check the dorm rooms and if they find someone there same time when the prince is speaking his bulls**t that guy might get some problems if he's not a good liar.

Also when I was there every year about 10 to 20 students were arrested by suspicion that they are ideologically supporting mujahidin somewhere in the world. Most of them were just in a wrong place in wrong time or guilty of knowing some wrong people. Some of them were released without any charges after being in jail for 1 year or more while some others I never heard about them since. In the last few years several somali students have been arrested when fighting started in Somalia against TFG/ethiopians/amisom.

Other thing I hated was the lack of freedom. When you go there you lose your passport and you can't travel on one month-holiday between the semesters without writing applications and having your family to fax you in arabic that they wan't you to travel back home etc. And still they might refuse your application. Also if you want to travel to some other country but the one you came from, you have to lie to them because otherwise you won't get your passport and you can't travel.

At evenings you have to be back at the uni before certain time or otherwise guards won't let you in from the gate and you have to climb over the wall and sneak in, and there is other same kind of ridiculous things that you thought ended when you were 6 years old. Some of the teachers and personnel in administration are straight up xaasidiin who treat students like garbage and sometimes you really lose your cool with them. Saudi mentality is very hard one to cope with, basically it's rough and ignorant beduin mentality (lil' like somali, except they are not as sociable ). Alhamdulillah there's still lot of good people, but unfortunately the bad ones affect you more.

If you are married I suggest you study in Egypt or some other country where you can bring your wife and children easily. In KSA it's already next to impossible and every year they make it more harder and difficult with new rules and regulations.

Then the good things... Basically it all comes down to the fact that being a student in the uni gives you a chance to live in a blessed city of Madina. You can pray every day at Prophet's masjid, you can make cumra as often as you like, for example every weekend if you feel like it. You can make hajj every year easily and cheap (regime said that everybody from inside KSA who want to make it must buy tasriix for some thousands of riyaals, so without it you have to sneak past the checkpoints through the desert on your way to Mekka like a secret agent )

Also in Medina there are some very high-caliber shuyukh that you can study with. Person who studies only in school gets maybe 5% of the benefit that people who study outside the uni get. Some of the best tullaabul cilm I knew were basically skipping a lot of classes and getting bad numbers because they made themselves busy with studying with the shuyuukh outside and didn't concentrate at their uni studies at all.

Last but not least you will meet lot of great people there from every single country and culture. That's a great place to make contacts all around the world and meet some of the best brothers you can ever have.

I had some rough times there, but afterwards it was great experience and big eye-opener for me about many things.

thanks for the insight bro

i honestly believe you can learn the Diin anywhere, but Madinah is just a great place to dwell for several years and i am sure the environment of the city will facilitate any requirement of a Muslim student or worker

[Salahuddiin]

Narcissistic wrote:

Salahuddin, masha'Allah brother, seems like an invaluable opportunity you've experienced, thanks for sharing.
You've got me nearly wishing I was a guy now so I could go there.

Yeah sis alhamdulillah it was a good experience. If you are interested of studying diin you shouldn't limit your options to one exact place. Almost every muslim country has good islamic schools and lot of them also open for women, so just ask around from people who know more about them and you might find a perfect place for yourself. Also KSA is little bit harder to get in, 'cos you'd need a maxram man to come and stay with you in there. Alone you can't enter and stay.

And yeah there has been talking going on about Medina uni opening a section for women, but based on my experience, what ever is said to happen in KSA you can't ever be sure if it happens and when it happens. If something is supposed to be ready in 2010 don't except it to open until 2015, if it opens.

Nice insight bro. If you dont mind me asking, what sub field did you graduate in?

Def after 9/11 the climate certainly changed. But do they actually promote Saudi nationalism? My friend who studies there told me other wise.

Mashallah either way it is an excellent institution.

Bro I was studying in department of shariica, but didn't graduate. Some things happened and forced me to return to my homecountry before I could finish up and get my diploma. But that's not a big thing. Basically duniyawise the diploma of al-jaamicatul islaamiya is next to nothing at least in the west; most important is that you will gain some benefit for yourself.

Saudi nationalism is already inside the uni, eventhough it makes you wonder why, when majority of students are foreigners. Ask your friend about the signs and posters that uni is filled with saying things like: We renew our loyalty to this great country on national day, or watan is cizzah and pride and the watan has rights upon you etc etc and pictures of king praising him and his regime. In KSA there's exactly the same kind of personality-cult for their dictator than in any other arab country.

Also big factor on what kind of experience your friend had is who happened to be his teachers. You get randomly your teachers and some of them are good, some of them normal and some of them very tacbaaniin. I have dozens of bizarre quotes from the professors I have heard in my own ears like the succesfull sect is KSA, their regime is very close to khulafaur rashidin etc etc... On the other hand there are few who are not big fans of the regime and their policies and they let you know it when you read between the lines of what they are saying and are aware of political realities.

Nobleman

thanks for the video, if the application does take a long period i might apply and just hope i finish my studies before i get an offer

bro, is applying at the University the only way to have temporary residence in the city ?

thanks for the insight bro

i honestly believe you can learn the Diin anywhere, but Madinah is just a great place to dwell for several years and i am sure the environment of the city will facilitate any requirement of a Muslim student or worker

Bro you can also work there if you have good education, and if you don't have then just get some quick diploma for tesl and you can find an ok-paying job teaching english. They appreciate any diploma that's from the west.

University in itself is nothing special, but only 'cos it's in Medina it makes it worth your while. Academically it's bit weak. I've met several people who where studying before in Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt etc and they all said that their old schools were better in learning Islam than Medina uni. The difference is all the different people you get to meet in Medina and al haramain next to you.

[abdalla11]

my cousin has been student there for the last five years and he tells me it is absolutely great. he prays at the prophet's mosque every day.

Masha'allah bro your cousin is very lucky. Walahi i just watched all 3 segments of this tour and it feels like my degree in the UK was a waste of time. Inshallah I would love to study there. In the third episode he interviews students, some from the UK, USA, and a somali brother from Sweden.

Also another good place to study is Dammaj in Yemen, subhanallah whilst doing my A level and degree (5 years), my freind went there and became a hafiz of the quran, fluent in arabic and gained tremendous knowledge in hadith. He recently came back to work in order to return for longer and also the problems between the govt and shia rebels.

Maashallaah,

Personally i prefer medinah and then Dammaaj. Dammaaj is very hard lakiin i think it is in terms of seeking knowlegde much better than madinah for a beginner. A weak student memorizes 60 ahadeeth a weak but the advantage of medinah is the presence of the Major scholars.

Another great place is Mauritania, but the conditions are very, very hard. Check this video, this man talks about his experiences in Mauritania. It containsa three parts

I love they way he acts with his children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd1EgH8G ... re=related

I checked the courses on their internet site , not very much impressed

I think a serious theologian need training in philosophy, anthropology epistemology etc.....

If not how can they formulate any sound critics if challenged by others, or
how can they respond to the legitimate questions from the believers ???

B.

i never met a madinah university graduate, who doesn't have a broad knowledge about theology. There is one big shaykh, who lives a couple of hundreds years ago. He's name is Ibn taymiyyah, this shaykh wrote alot of books about philosophy and theology. One of his books is considered as being one of the most destructive works against the philosophers and their heretic views, that book is called :Rad calaa al-mantiqiyyin, a refutations against the philosophers.

He also wrote a book challenging the christians to answer his questions, it's called: al-jaawabul saxiix liman badala diinal masiix ( An answer to the ones who changed the religion of the Messiah) This book is thought in Cambrigde on the faculty of Theology!

I myself witnessed a debate between a local Imam in Holland and an Iranian apostate, who criticises the islam using Philosophy, and wallahi the local imam crushed him.

our problem is we don't busy ourselves with the classical islamic books about these subjects, we only read the criticise.

[*Nobleman*]

Wow judging by that video the conditions in mauritania seem very harsh.

Laakin seeking knowledge is an obligation on us all inshallah

[Enlightened~Sista]

Masha'allah bro your cousin is very lucky. Walahi i just watched all 3 segments of this tour and it feels like my degree in the UK was a waste of time. Inshallah I would love to study there.

What did you study at uni?

[*Nobleman*]

Accounting.

[Galmeygaag]

abdalla11

two things stood out mauritania and the guy being black, i automatically thought this was Suufi video, but he obviously made it clear it was not at the End of the 3rd clip. i like the teaching method of the macalin but what was the guy talking about with the "Slave" stuff >??

also is his Arabic the same dialect of Quraish, that is the Quranic Arabic ?? i know in North Africa(Libia, Algeria, Mauritania etc) the Arabic is somewhat different to the Sudani and Saudi Arabic.

[abdalla11]

The shaykh was emphasizing that nobody works between dhuhr and casr, not even the slaves meaning when people use to have slaves nobody worked between these two salahs

As for arabic, there are many different dialects, lakiin the classic arabic is called fusxa. Mauritania is known for their good, pure arabic

The qur'aan is revealed in fusxa,lakiin the pronouciation is different for example the riwayah (recitation) of xafs and warsh, the meanings are the same lakiin the pronunciation is different. The hafs reciters say for instance lahum ajrun ghayru mamnoen the warsh recite it like lahumou ajrun...

there are 10 different recitations of the qur'an.

check this video of shaykh cali suufi how he recites the end of surah maryam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1JhxgwoHk

[Galmeygaag]

The shaykh was emphasizing that nobody works between dhuhr and casr, not even the slaves meaning when people use to have slaves nobody worked between these two salahs

As for arabic, there are many different dialects, lakiin the classic arabic is called fusxa. Mauritania is known for their good, pure arabic

The qur'aan is revealed in fusxa,lakiin the pronouciation is different for example the riwayah (recitation) of xafs and warsh, the meanings are the same lakiin the pronunciation is different. The hafs reciters say for instance lahum ajrun ghayru mamnoen the warsh recite it like lahumou ajrun...

there are 10 different recitations of the qur'an.

check this video of shaykh cali suufi how he recites the end of surah maryam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1JhxgwoHk

yes, i knew what he meant by it but i took it as if he had slaves himself which was kind of weird to me. anyway thanks for clarifying it

wasn't the Quraan revealed in more than one dialect but then later confined to the Quraish dialect by the Khulufuraashidiin ?? also isn't Tajweed just style of recitation and not different dialects??

bro, i am not Arabic speaker, can you elaborate on Xafs and Warsh ?

[abdalla11]

SXb go tothis site, this shaykh is better in explaining it than me

http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/97741/hafs

[Lil_Cutie..]

MashaAllah MashaAllah ..

JazzakAllahu Khairen for the video, I really don't know what to say! I'm speechless and full of emotions SubhanAllah. TabarakAllah

[FAH1223]

[Enlightened~Sista]

Accounting.

wax naf ley baad baratay, oo adiga iyo ahelkaaga anfacayaa how can you say all that was a ''waste of time'' ? bal kaalaya yaabka