“Getting Closer to Him” – Student Testimonial
Before I share my experience at Zahraa Institute with you I will need to give you a bit of context of my life and what led me to studying the Qur’an.
Redefining Success
If you met me when I matriculated high school you would never have thought that I’d end up studying at an Islamic Institution. At the time, I was extremely focused on getting a degree from university and starting a career. To me that was the definition of a successful life.
After Matric, I did exactly as I planned. I went to university, got my bachelors degree in Architecture and started my career. Throughout this extremely gruelling process, I always felt like there was something missing because I never felt content no matter what I did. I never felt that feeling of success that I was striving for at the beginning.
So last year, I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to continue working or whether I wanted to do my postgraduate studies. Neither of those options felt right and I made lots of du’a for Allah to guide me.
I eventually began researching Islamic Institutions as a back-up plan and then I remembered the Unveiling Conference co-hosted by Zahraa Institute that I attended a few years ago. I remembered how inspiring those women who spoke were and how happy and content they were with studying the Qur’an and that’s exactly how I wanted to feel.
Alhamdulillah, this led me towards making my decision to come to Zahraa.
Something I had never ever done
At the beginning of this year I was extremely nervous because it had been about 10 years since I last went to any formal Islamic school and I had heard that we had to write in Arabic which was something I had never ever done.
But Alhamdulillah, when classes began and when I met my fellow classmates and Mu’allimas they made it feel like the most natural transition of my life. The Mu’allimas at Zahraa are so welcoming, so knowledgeable and inspiring – I instantly felt at ease and motivated. Everyday feels like a breath of fresh air. Alhamdulillah.
Read: “What truly broke my heart” – Student Testimonial
As soon as classes began and we started learning how to understand the Qur’an I felt extremely overwhelmed because there was this drastic shift happening within me. I no longer found myself attached or interested in the same worldly things as I did before. After every surah that we cover in class, I have these moments of introspection where I realise that I need to constantly renew my intention. The Qur’an truly changed my perspective on my everyday life from the way I deal with challenges, how I deal with the various relationships in my life and even just my daily routine.
What I have learnt from my experience at Zahraa is that you can go through life doing all these worldly things, but without the constant remembrance of Allah you will always feel a little bit lost.
So when I look back to all those moments of confusion and all those late nights stressing about what I was going to end up doing, it was just Allah Ta’ala calling me and drawing me closer to him. SubhanAllah.
So to all those of you struggling to figure out what you want to do or whether your’e unsure about your next step, trust in Allah’s plan because Allah is truly the greatest of planners.
Shukran.
