We are now approaching the 4 month mark of our stay here in Egypt! I’m ecstatic that we’ve made it thus far. In the beginning, I was worried about how time would pass slowly and the days would feel so long, and how being away from home would be unbearable. However, I’ve found the opposite to be true. Although the days may feel long now that we are in Ramadan, they are truly flying by. I still miss home like crazy, but Allah has put so much ease in our journey that I can’t help but be grateful.
Despite being happy that time is passing and I’m getting that much closer to visiting home, I worry about how much I’m retaining. Sometimes our studies feel like a marathon. With 22+ hours of study every week it’s been quite a struggle to keep up with revision. We typically do two weeks of study and then review what we just learned, a test then follows. Although this is sufficient for the actual passing of the test (and ultimately the class), I really have to be conscious of what I want this knowledge to do for me in the years of study I have ahead of me. I have to remember that I’m not doing this for the sake of passing a test (even though that’s an amazing feeling), but for my future. I don’t want to come out of this year only being able to read basic texts and to translate, I want to be able to understand and to speak and to start to formulate analysis on my own.
With that being said, revision is necessary, it may even be more important than the actual studying itself, and I’m beginning to understand that. Especially when it comes to the Qur’an, it may be easy to attain, but to retain is the difficult part.
With it now being Ramadan it’s seems like the perfect time to recalibrate and really work on solidifying the foundation we’ve worked so hard to build in the past 4 months. It’s the perfect time to reconnect to Allah and to remember that no matter what, this is ultimately for Him. Everything I study, memorize, and attempt to understand is my means to get closer to Him.
I’m grateful to be in a country that offers continuous reminders, as we’re always in need of them. The call to prayer made 5 times a day, the masajid on every corner, Muslims walking down every street, and now during Ramadan, the mercy that fills the air, it’s all so beautiful.
With time passing, alongside our studies it’s those little things about being here that I’m enjoying most.
