The Beauties of Hijrah: A Personal Story

Mashallah. It is a big step for most of us to actually leave America, after all the time taken toplan for it, supposedly save all this money for it, buy stuff to take that we think that they won’t have where you are going, talking about the idea, thinking about the idea, the possibilities,in addition to the fears of what is to come, the fear of leaving what you know, the fear of what is to come, leaving family and friends, etc…

There are SO many benefits to being in the land of the Muslims!, mashallah. Some are apparent and you can expect and some you have to look “between the lines” or come by surprise! One of the best ways to see the benefits is to look at the how your children or someone else’s children that have made hijrah. My children’s lives have changed so much since I have been in the land of the Muslims.

It is a majority modest place, where you do not see much skin. The girls see as examples,covered women out in the street, in cars, in stores, in the masjids, working in different typesof professions. The boys see beards & thoubes, and men praying their prayers in the Masjids. We hear the call to every prayer and do not have to look at clocks to know when to pray orbreak fast. Men that wear their thobes to do almost any task! Women that wear theirabayas/jilbabs and even cover their face to do almost any task! And in America we feel it hampers us physically. We are the majority so it is normal to look the way we look where everwe go.

My daughter has become more modest at an earlier age without even talking to her or askingher, or pleading with her and even checks me! Sometimes more than I would like On a hotlong day out,…”mommy your niqab, there is a man…” We can just go to stores and not searchor order by mail and buy a jilbab and khimar, thobe pants, thobes, kufis, etc. My sons are gaining a ‘gheerah’ that they should have over their mom and sister and other family. We can go to the malls, furniture stores, baby stores, hospitals, clinics, even some large parks,and fun fairs and there will be a masjid or prayer place there for you to pray.

There are masjids in every neighborhood. Some things I have taken for granted, or I guess I can say gotten used to seeing so much. I thought one day, My children can actually SEE the construction of a Masjid being built! What a blessing it is inshallah to the one who decided to spend to build a house of Allah. Most of uscome from places where basically it is just one struggling masjid that we can go to.

We are so much more ‘Free’ here than in the Land of the Free. There are women only places and times, so it is the opposite of what the media and kuffar teach you that women are oppressed! You are free to cover correctly and as much as you like and not be embarrassed, ashamed, out of place, stared at, remarks made. Womens parks, womens resorts, womens beaches, womens pools, womens times for museums, womens branches and sections of banks, womens centersfor learning, womens fitness centers, womens days for outdoor fun fairs. Women only salons.You can go to any salon and not have to schedule a special time or cover the windows or onlydo it at home. There are certain areas of the city that you will find women walking for fitness.If you step out on the curb to cross the street or even step your foot out into the road, cars ortrucks with slow down put on their hazard lights to allow you to cross, it is a sign of respect tothe fully covered woman.

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It really touches my heart to listen to my children stand up and want to recite all the Quranthat they have learned mashallah. In America we had our children learning the Fatiha andthose short surahs in the back of the Quran (Juz Amma), here the effort is just so much easierand easier to attain to them learning Quran. We have easy access to Hafith(memorization)tapes for each Juz'(part) of the Quran. They sell small Juz’ booklets in alot of places to use toread along. The radio has two stations that is just for Quran. They hear the Quran and takeQuran Everyday. My children have learned so much of Juz Amma, and now they are on the first 25 ayat of SurahBaqarah! in the first and second grades!. This is impressive to ME. They know more than me now, and I learn from them just hearing them recite over and over again.

When we first started out, one of my children was shy to recite with their other sibling side by side because theydidn’t catch on as fast. Now they race! and compete in the car to recite! My younger childrenthat stay at home, are learning from their older siblings and are reciting as well. Even the babyis reciting in his, what we can tell is his “Recitation Baby Talk”. It is so “Cute” but really Itmakes me want to tear up and cry mashallah. But I hold back most times and just make sure topraise them so they will continue to want to keep doing those good things. You want this for your children.

When I put my children into free Quran classes given at a local masjid for one month, I saw their self confidence RISE so much. Now the shy one will even ask others “can I recite for you?” We have struggles many a night with trying to complete Arabic homework or just translatingwhat the assignment is. (lol) I am proud of them, as they also deal with being some of the fewAmericans and English as a first language speakers in the classes and at their ALL Arabic schooland they continue to have satisfactory and also high marks(grades).

Other moms here have encouraged me to keep them in Arabic school, they say “you’ll see…” Inthe first semester I wondered how MUCH are they learning??? And on hard nights and slowmornings I had second thoughts of keeping the gusto going, or letting them miss, but then whenthe first long break came after the Eid, I saw the children playing and “having school” in Arabic.They started to use Arabic terms with me and asking, “when can we go back to school?” I would not see this potential where I in America. I would not have the option to send mychildren to a fully operational school, a school run by Muslims for Muslims, with a completecurriculum already set to teach Islam and the other subjects In the Arabic Language.The children are easily encouraged to fast at a young age in Ramadhan because the lunchtimeis shortened and many children fast, so they want to as well. The children are easily encouraged to pray at a young age because there is a musallah at the school.

I see a potential in my young sons capacity of his memory of Quran impresses me, and the way he pronounces those Hard Arabic letters and words to the American tongue. Now I can imagine him being a Hafiz maybe, or a student of Knowledge, a “sheik”. It touches my heart that at firstgrade level, I can now include my children in to Quran reading times, because They Can Read Arabic! mashallah.

I guess I could go on and on, but this is what I wanted to point out.The possibilities are endless for the Good that can come of this, IF we as the parents still continue to keep them on the better path, sometimes the path of the minority, which we allknow Salafiyyah is, but the Haqq is the Haqq even if we are alone in it.

And inshallah, Allaah will grant us patience and ease in our situation, allow for hijrah, allow those of us to stay thathave made it, and for our children to be a benefit for the ummah ameen.

Wa alaikum salaam.

The sister and her family are currently in the UAE