Dear Student! Rise and Make Your Mark!
By Ml Mohammad Seedat
Bismillahirahmniraheem
Dear Student
All praises are due to Allah Ta’aala. Peace and Salutations upon the Seal of Prophets Muhammed, Rasullullah (SAW).
The Covid 19 pandemic had changed the normal functionality of the world overnight. Death, sickness, challengers and restrictions has become a daily sound to the ear. With shocking news reaching us daily and with the demise of many Ulama, influential people, family and friends has sparked great sadness in our hearts. A Muslim never loses hope in the mercy of Allah Ta’aala rather rises to confront the challengers of his/her time.
Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani (1372–1449) was one of the most influential thinkers of the 15th century and a prolific scholar. He contributed significantly to the study of hadith (Prophetic traditions). Drawing on autobiographical texts and contemporary accounts, Ibn Hajar’s RA has a rich life history from his orphanhood, education, survival through plague, civil war and foreign invasion, and his strategy for negotiating the political strains that marked the late Mamluk period (ca. 1382–1516). After loosing 3 daughters in a plague, Ibn Hajar RA wrote an encyclopaedia on all related matters in dealing with plagues. This is an example of a scholar rising to a challenge of the time in answering the questions related to plagues.
Dear Student! Rise and make your mark. This is your time to develop true scholarship.
Dear Student! Navigate your path with the Ulama and teachers that are around you.
Dear Student! Do not allow yourself to waste time with the “extra” time you may have on your hands due to the pandemic, sometimes only prioritising on PlayStation, Netflix and mobile phones. Your distinction will be when you rise amidst the pandemic to educate and empower yourself. To work with your teachers and Ulama and take their guidance. This decision and initiative can only be taken by yourself. You are living through a very difficult period in history but Allah Ta’aala brings upon humankind tests. Only those who realise will rise and understand the situation to change their own situation and find an opportunity to do good, to educate themselves and to assist wherever and whenever possible. It is easy to slip away into futility and unproductivity during this period.
Dear Student! You have come far and the year 1442/2021 is your turning point. Let the Qur’an and Sunnah be your pillars so that you may navigate a path and start a new generation of thinkers that will have the capacity to apply the in-depth wisdom and knowledge that lies within the Qur’an and Sunnah of Rasullullah (SAW).
May Allah Ta’aala protect you.
May Allah Ta’aala grant you beneficial knowledge.
May Allah Ta’aala make you a true Ambassador of Islam.
Ameen.