We all know how much of a mess the recent grad trip was. Filled with mismanagement, fights, and disputes to mention some. Instead of being an expedition full of pleasure, enjoyment, and relaxation, it turned out to be a very stressful experience in the end for many.
Anyways I don’t want to go on a rant about the grad trip, but instead, I want to present an alternative trip, which was not only calming, and full of tranquility and relaxation, but also added much more value to all of us that were a part of this trip. The “grooming” that my institute never gave me, was given to me by this trip. Plus, it was a real enjoyment in the company of my friends. How this trip empowered me to live life with a meaningful vision and also care for others on the way.
Spiritual Trip
As soon as the semester ended, one of our friends posted in our Whatsapp group: “We should spend some part of our vacation in the way of Allah.. Let’s go for 3 days starting from xx, December”. Personally, hearing all sorts of negative things about these trips I reluctantly replied: “Ok I’ll think about it”. However, seeing my other friends ready for this spiritual journey, I preferred to accompany them.
On the decided date we gathered in a pre-decided location and started our journey towards our appointed masjid. In all, we were about 12 IBA students plus some other friends.
Tableeghi Jamaat
For many of who don’t know how the Tableeghi Jamaat works, the model is very simple: Different groups(jamaats) are sent to different locations(tashkeels) all over the world to spread the peaceful message of Islam; the group stays in the local masjid of that location, and meet people all over the locality, explaining to them the essence of Islam and calling them to the house of Allah.
Moreover, people can spend from one day to one year on this path. Trying to fulfill the commandment of Allah, which is: To benefit mankind by enjoining good and forbidding evil. The purpose of sending these groups to Muslim localities(like here in Pakistan) is to remind them of the final abode and to make them understand their responsibility with regards to spreading Islam.
There’s generally a stigma about religious organizations that I personally had in mind as well. Firstly, the fact that they promote “extremism” and “violence”. But in the case of Tableegh, this isn’t the case, since this organization is founded on the example of our beloved Prophetﷺ, who would stand anything from abuse to being pelted by stones for the sake of Islam, but would never retaliate or take revenge, rather, pray for their guidance.
Secondly, the myth about them being cut off from the world and taking refuge in mosques leaving behind their families. However, what I experienced was completely different. All the hard work done was to take us out of the individualistic mindset we’ve inherited from the capitalistic society and start genuinely caring and sacrificing for others without having any greed of worldly benefit.
Our Experience
We had many friends in our jamaat who were going for Tableegh for the first time. Many of them probably had weird ideas in their minds about what was to come next: I can’t sleep on the floor! What am I gonna do without pizzas and burgers? This’ll turn out to be a boring trip…
Anyways, our appointed location(tashkeel) was in a locality outside Karachi: Gulshan-e-Hadeed. The masjid we stayed in was the biggest masjid of the whole society. We arrived there on Friday morning.
Our schedule for each of the 3 days was similar:
- Wake up → Pray Fajr
- Small talk by one member of our group on the foundation of Islam and our responsibility of spreading its message.
- Nashtaaaa(:D)
- Sleep(qailulah) till Zuhr.
- Pray Zuhr → Understanding/Learn a hadith or ayah(Taleem)
- Lunch
- Sit together and discuss different aspects of our religion and try to learn more.
- Pray Asr → Go out into the locality and meet people and remind them about their duty towards Allah, and call them to the masjid.
- Offer Maghrib → Small talk in the masjid by a member of our group(Bayan).
- Pray Isha → One story from the lives of the companions of the Prophetﷺ.
- Dinner
- Sit together, share experiences about the day, and plan for the coming day
We would also go out into the locality at other times to meet people. We cooked our own food on the first day( and boy was it tasty!) and on the second and third day people from the locality didn’t allow us to cook our own food, instead, they got it for us(Very hospitable people MashaAllah).
One of our friends said that Tableegh is → Eat, Sleep, Dawah, Repeat.
Reviews on Tableegh
The 3 days went by like a flash and none of us was either bored or tired. We were thoroughly enjoying our time, and we didn’t want to go back: learning Islam ourselves and reminding others about it too, away from the hustle-bustle of our daily lives and in the company of our friends, in this stressless environment, getting closer to Allah every moment. For many, this was the experience of their lives. Nobody faced any sort of difficulties nor did anyone feel burdened. It was a spiritual awakening without any pain or strain.
When we took reviews from everyone on the last day, everyone felt glad and satisfied from this spiritual trip and all of them wanted to come for a longer period next time.
Grooming in Tableegh
Along with the general sense of satisfaction and spirituality we all obtained from this trip, for me, the value of this trip also lied somewhere else: the learning/grooming part. In the three days, we all had to, at some point, wash our clothes, wash the dishes, cook our own food, give talks publicly in the masjid, meet different people in the locality, and one of us had to lead the whole group. The value addition of this trip was invaluable(pun not intended) to me personally but probably also to my other friends.
Conclusion
All in all this trip was a very wholesome, enjoyable, spiritually strengthening, and learning experience and I would certainly like to go again whenever I get the opportunity, and I would recommend every one of you to taste the satisfaction and tranquility of the path of Allah too. As Junaid Jamshed famously said: ”The peace I was longing to find in music and concerts was attained by me on the floors of a mosque in the mountains of northern Pakistan”.
…Truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace. (Surah Rad:28)
