After a little over 2 months we had all become comfortable with the way the class was progressing. We were making some real headway in all of the books we had been studying in class; day in and day out the workload seemed more and more manageable. Everyone in the class got top marks on our first Fiqh exam regarding the Hanafi opinion on taharah (purification), all the brothers had successfully given Khutba without crashing and burning, the Sisters’ Halaqa was really picking up traction with the local daughters of the community we had become a part of, and we made it through what would probably be one of the toughest texts we would be studying this year, Zamakshari’s famous tafseer, Kashhaf.
Things were really starting to look up, and we made the mistake of relaxing and letting our guards down. Sheikh with his infinite wisdom (yes, sometimes it’s okay to be a suck-up) realized that it was time for him to up the ante, and move into the next phase of his plan to educate us and raise us to fulfill our potential. Or to ruin our lives, depending on how you look at it. So in our last class, he let us know that in the next few weeks each of us would have to give a khutba or halaqa on a weekly basis. We all know this isn’t something we can talk Sheikh out of, so there’s nothing left to do except to batten down the hatches and prepare ourselves for what’s to come. Other than the fact that it’s pretty scary to talk in front of other human beings, being put in a position like that can really get to someone’s head, even more so for those of us who are at the tender ages of 18-21.
But this is our crucible and we must stand strong.
So I ask of you, fine reader, to make dua for me, my fellow students, Sheikh Abdul Nasir, and his family who have made a huge sacrifice in sharing his time and presence with the rest of the community.