Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasoolillahi salallahu alayhi wasallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. To all the brothers and sisters tuning in at home to another episode of Ahabad wa Sabeelin. Today I'm honoured to be in the presence of brother Ya'aqoub.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Wa alaykum assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillah.
Thank you for joining me. I know it's just been a very short time since we met, maybe a few days ago. But I just wanted to grab this opportunity to do an episode with yourself.
And I just want to provide some context to the people who are watching at home about what we're going to talk about today inshallah. So, coming from the UK, as both of us do, generally there's a lot of people who express an interest to seek knowledge. I want to be a student of knowledge.
I want to seek knowledge. And many of them look at options of studying abroad. And really, within that capacity, there's two main places that people think about.
And that is the University of Medina, where many want to go. And the issue with that is that they have quite strict conditions in terms of their application process. You have to be below a certain age.
And even then, many, many people apply, but not many people get accepted there. So, a lot of people also look at the option of studying in Egypt. And you yourself have been in Egypt for, is it three years now? Yes, around three years.
Around three years, right? So, I wanted to grab this opportunity to really talk about seeking knowledge in Egypt. Just in case there's anybody at home who kind of wants to do a similar thing, is thinking about doing it. What are the pros, what are the cons, what is your experience been like? Is that okay with you? Inshallah.
I really appreciate you doing that in the episode. My pleasure, my pleasure. I know you're a little bit reluctant, but I just wanted to convince you.
No, no, my pleasure, my pleasure. So, you were born and raised in the UK? No, I was born in the UK. Okay, fine.
I was raised in the UK. I was raised, most of my life was spent in the UK. It was, in fact, maybe perhaps, I would say I traveled before, like in the first country that I've been to in Africa was Egypt, in fact.
Oh, really? The first country in Africa was Egypt. Yes. So, Alhamdulillah, we've been there for a while.
There's a lot to mention about Egypt. Like, and you're right when you say that Egypt is one of the places that brothers and sisters even, they consider when it comes to studying. Like, because countries like Saudi, you can't just go.
You know, you apply and then you wait for the application, whether you get confirmation or not. Whereas Egypt is more open. It's just what is preventing you from going is that decision.
If you decide not to go in Egypt, you can go. There's not really many things that can prevent you from. Okay, tell me about your thought process three years ago.
So, obviously, you were in the UK at the time, right, before you went to Egypt. Nah, nah. And you thought of, obviously, Egypt as an option? Nah.
I would say I was similar to most of the brothers and sisters, mainly brothers that decided on studying. The first idea that comes to mind is Saudi. And I would say that perhaps is maybe because of closed-mindedness where people are not really open to other opportunities.
You know, so I followed the same procedure. I applied. Medina? Medina.
Just Medina first time. Medina, Medina, you know. From the get-go.
In fact, I remember a time where a brother that I know accepted me to the Jamia and I messaged him. And I said, Ya Akhi, Allah Mubarak, you've been accepted. This is a while back.
We're talking years ago. So I said, Ya Akhi Al-Karim, make dua that Allah also gives me a place in Medina. And he said something ajeeb.
He said to me, Ya Akhi, I'll make dua that Allah gives you what is good for you. I wasn't happy with that response. I went to Medina specifically.
I didn't say it to him, but he said, why is he being a little bit stingy with the dua, you know? Later on, I realized, Subhanallah, you don't know where the khair is. Allah Azzawajal is saying in the Qur'an, Something that you may feel that is good for you, perhaps, is not what Allah Azzawajal planned. As time went by in the UK, I became very attached to the Arabic language.
And if I try to think back, we had an Egyptian khateeb in our area back in the UK. And I would be very fascinated in how he gives the khutbah. No paper present in front of him.
Very eloquent, mashaAllah. That's where the love and the passion of the language actually started to seep in. Time goes by, I realize, you know, the religion, you can't really understand the religion if you don't really know the language.
You will always be a foreigner to the language. I've been hearing these kind of statements. And why not, you know, how long would you want to be away from understanding the Qur'an directly and always rely on English translation, for example, you know? So these were some of the things that actually pushed me to actually try and study the language.
Yeah, I've heard, you know, that point about a lot of brothers who really are fixated on Medina rather than anything else. It's very, very common. It's very common.
And a lot of them actually confuse their means with their end. I don't know what I mean by that. Their end is basically seeking knowledge.
But their means, they're just restricted to one place. Whereas in reality, there's many universities, even within Saudi Arabia. There are a lot outside.
SubhanAllah. It's why you constantly hear, you know, Medina and Noah's really exposed to other opportunities where they will apply and they will say back. If they don't really get anything, they'll say, I tried.
My opportunities are limited. But that's not the case. Alhamdulillah, I've been introduced to Egypt.
A few brothers actually recommended it. Alhamdulillah. In fact, I'll go further and say, if a person really wants to study the language, Allah knows my experience is limited, of course.
I've only been to Egypt. But from what I've been hearing, it's maybe perhaps even one of the best places to study the language. I'm talking about the language.
Even for those that go to Saudi, they always mention that they find that their language is quite limited because they don't really have that same, you know what I mean, the same approach. For example, the jamiat is like a lecture base where the sheikh is giving a lecture to hundreds of students in front of him. So you won't really have a direct contact with the teacher.
Your practice becomes limited. Whereas Egypt, the focus is Arabic. The classes, if you go to the classes, for example, you maybe find ten or less than that, five, six students in one class with the teacher.
You're constantly speaking to the teacher. You're practicing the language. So when it comes to practice and speaking, Egypt is more of a better approach when it comes to that.
Okay. And did you have any experience? Let's go back now before you went to Egypt. Did you have any experience of seeking knowledge in the UK, Arabic, Quran? Alhamdulillah.
From the community, I've been exposed to lessons here and there. But I would say most of the lessons that we had used to go in our first language, Somali, by the way. So I would study books in the Somali language.
English lessons was quite limited to an extent. Alhamdulillah, we benefited. Arabic, mainly within, if you look at the Somali community, we focus on the grammar more so than the actual speaking.
So we would study books of grammar, the famous book Ajrumia. We had classes here and there regarding that. But speaking is very difficult because you're in a society where the language is not spoken.
So you will always, you will not find the opportunity to actually practice what you learn. That's why you find a person may study, but his speaking is quite low. Because you don't really have the opportunity like that.
That's what actually pushed me, you know, to go out. I remember I would listen a lot. And that's one of the, maybe we can get into that, what actually helps a person to enhance their language.
From that is listening. So I would actually, I remember SubhanAllah, I would start listening to videos, but I wouldn't be able to listen to more than five minutes. I would lose touch.
Arabic. Arabic, Arabic I'm talking about. I would find clips, you know, the small two minute clips you find on YouTube.
I would watch that, on top of that it has English subtitles. You know, so I would stick with that. If I find a longer video, I would lose focus.
But then you find that the videos become longer and longer. You're able to actually concentrate, you're able to focus. Why? Because whilst you're not aware, your vocabulary list is increasing.
Subconsciously. Subconsciously it's increasing, yeah. SubhanAllah.
You find that you don't know if you're progressing, but in reality you are progressing. And you will only find the progress after perhaps a long time. And it's like a building, you know, you're just building blocks.
And SubhanAllah, it's not really difficult, yeah. So would you say then, someone who's thinking about going to Egypt, do they have to have some kind of grounding before they go? Or can you literally be a complete beginner and go to Egypt and you'll find things at your level? No, no, you can be a complete beginner. You will find a place that is suitable to your level of understanding.
But I wouldn't also recommend that. If you're able, if you decide on travelling, make use of the place you are right now. You at least have the understanding there.
Try to expose yourself to any opportunities that you may when it comes to the language. Like I mentioned, listen. Listen a lot.
But if you decide on leaving, and you do make that move, and you're really a beginner, don't be pulled down. You will find a level that is suitable to your level. The Marrakesh, if you mention a bit about the Marrakesh in Egypt, it has levels.
There's a level for someone that is a complete beginner, as in he has no knowledge of the language. There's a level for you, no problem. And you gradually move up, Alhamdulillah.
When it comes to accomplishment, it varies from a student to a student. Perhaps we can touch upon that. Go for it anyway, there's freestyle everywhere.
When you look at Egypt, you will find all walks of life. A lot of students are there from different parts of the world. And they're all doing the same system.
But the question is, why is it after the end of the journey, the levels of the students are different? We'll find this person, Allahumma Barak, is eloquent. This brother may have stayed in the country more than this brother, but then his language is not really as eloquent as this one. Why is that? Even though they actually follow the same curriculum.
No matter what curriculum you follow, eventually it comes back to the student at the end of the day as well. What do you do outside of the Marrakesh? The Marrakesh is there to give you the tools. But using the tools is down to you now.
When you leave the Marrakesh, how are you using those tools? So you find someone that's taking the extra step. Every opportunity he gets, he speaks. At home, maybe he's living with someone that doesn't know their language.
So you're forced to speak to them in the Arabic language. They make that extra move. I remember when I was in the country around six, seven months.
Still a beginner. The first six months, I wasn't really stable because I was moving from a place to a place. I wasn't really fully settled in.
Six months down the line, I met a brother. I believe he was from Russia. You know, those countries.
Uzbekistan, those places there. Province there. When I was equated with this brother and we started speaking, I figured that he was in the country at the same time as me.
Due to the level of his language. It wasn't really too good. After a while, I realized that the brother was in the country for almost two years.
In fact, he graduated from one of the Marrakesh. Why is that? SubhanAllah, what's the reason? I find out that it's simply because he's not really well into speaking. Outside, he's not really out of his comfort zone.
Passing the Marrakesh level by level is not really too difficult. You know, that's the same for every single exam, right? You just revise maybe perhaps prior to the exam. You work hard.
You memorize a few words here and there. You maybe try to do paragraphs here and there. And then you pass, inshaAllah ta'ala.
But that's not so. A measurement, the measurement shouldn't really be passing from a level to a level. You're playing yourself, if that's the case.
You will actually gradually graduate with a certificate along the way, but then maybe perhaps your level is not where it should be. How to overcome that? Speak no matter where you speak. My teacher used to say, one of the three things that actually improves your language is speaking.
There's no tricks to it. It's how we all learn English. I guess across all the languages, it's the same.
Speak, you know, take it to the street. There's no point being shy. Speak, make mistakes, no problem.
Did you ever feel embarrassed or shy to make mistakes? You will feel that, no doubt. You try to overcome that. You try to overcome that from the means of not being studying or not being able to actually learn things is being shy.
I believe there was a statement of the Prophet ﷺ, two types of people they don't learn, the arrogant one and the shy one. We all know that you're here to study the language. Why be shy? The person that's next to you is also learning the language.
The teacher knows that you're studying the language. So what was your level of Arabic before you went to Egypt? My speaking was, I would say, almost close to zero. But my understanding was there, alhamdulillah.
Because I would listen a lot. I wouldn't want anyone to undermine the aspect of listening. I would listen a lot, subhanAllah.
In fact, I reached a stage where listening to English was not even actually satisfying. Listening to a one-hour lecture in English, that's not really my thing. Gradually, subhanAllah, it increases.
So if the understanding is there, I guess the next step is speaking. Because you have all the information there, you just need to now learn how to put it into sentences and go ahead with that. So we spoke about the pitfall, obviously, that some people they really focus on one particular, whether it be Medina or whether it be somewhere else, but they focus on one particular place or institution.
Another pitfall is when people think, you know what, I'm not going to seek knowledge, but when I go abroad, I'm really going to go in hard. But you're saying that actually you started, even before you went to Egypt, you started listening to Arabic lectures and things like that. Having that kind of mindset, in fact, subhanAllah, it could actually become your downfall.
For a person to feel that he will only study when he goes. As if you're restricted to seeking knowledge to a specific place. You can seek knowledge in your home, yeah.
You know what I mean? It's open for you. Why are you restricted to a specific place? A person that has that kind of mindset, what usually happens is, when he does leave, he won't learn anything. Because it's not what he has expected.
He doesn't know, he hasn't, he didn't get used to that kind of experience. He doesn't know how it works. You will go, you have that adrenaline there, you have that passion there, you have the motivation there, but motivation dies, you know.
The motivation will forever not be there. When you go to a country that you are a stranger to, you face hurdles, boundaries, maybe the living lifestyle is not for you, you have to get used to it. All of this stuff is actually going to bring you down.
So if you don't have the discipline, you will eventually burn out. Because you're only relying on your motivation. Motivation will take you so far, and then you'll burn out eventually.
So get that discipline. If you're not able to leave automatically, one year perhaps you have, perhaps you're trying to save up for that, start learning. There's a lot of institutes back home.
There's a lot of places one can actually study. Can you study the language in your home? Yes, you can. Try to actually be open-minded when it comes to that.
And then you'll definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely be more productive once you fly out. So I'm going to just really try and get a bird's eye view of kind of where you were at before you went over there, inshallah. So you spoke about the Arabic language.
What about Quran? Had you done anything with the Quran before? In Egypt or prior? Prior to Egypt. Even Quran, alhamdulillah. We had study circles, we had teachers who was never from young.
As growing up, I was always in that, alhamdulillah. I was always in a community where that service was provided. So I wouldn't say that I was completely void of these opportunities, Quran-wise.
In fact, you know of the area, especially the Sunnah. You're definitely very aware of that neighborhood. That's where I was kind of raised.
So alhamdulillah. I wasn't really, Quran, if you come to Quran, Egypt as they say, they say Egypt is like Qibla to Quran. It's the direction of the reciters.
Some even say that the Quran was revealed in Mecca but it was read in Egypt. Because of the fact no one... It's so proficient. It's so proficient.
All the mashayikh that we know, the legends of our time, Manshawi, Khalil Hussary, Abdul Basit, they're all from Egypt, right? So you won't be disappointed. If your intention is also to study the Quran in Egypt, you will definitely not be disappointed. There's a lot of marrakesh, a lot of teachers.
Alhamdulillah, you'll benefit a lot. You come with that mindset, you come with that intention, you come with that plan of yours, and then you go ahead. MashaAllah.
So first step obviously, seek as much knowledge as you can from where you are at. You make use of the time that you have. Make use of the time you have.
Ya'ani, you've decided to study, right? You've made that decision, right? It starts from the moment you've decided that. The minute you've decided to study, you study a lot more. And Alhamdulillah, the internet has a lot of benefits.
A lot of benefits. The same way it has a lot of disadvantages and problems, it also has a lot of benefits. Make use of that.
Make use of the tools that have been provided to you, you know? I would say the other mistakes that I've seen, and a lot of us fall into when they travel, specifically to Egypt, they're very undecisive of where to go, how to study, what routes to take. And what causes that, perhaps I would say, is they seek a lot of advice from different sources. And they get conflicted opinions.
They get conflicted often more. And that actually brings the person down. He will start a market, for example, a market is mentioned to him, he will start that market, as he goes, maybe it's not as he wanted it to be.
So he will jump from that market to another market. Bear in mind that there's not a market out there that is 100%. I definitely want to talk about the markets.
Yeah, we can mention the names of the markets. The most famous markets in Egypt, perhaps I would say Fajr. Because Fajr, which is the oldest of the markets out there, the oldest, one of the first markets that we opened in Egypt.
There's Fajr, there's Lisan Arab, there's Furqan, there's Ibana, and there's also Market Nile. I don't know much about Market Nile. You've never heard of it, I'm guessing.
It's not really as popular as the four that we mentioned. There was another market called Market Kalima, but it's not functioning right now. These four markets, now you'll find the student, he will be advised to go to a specific market, he will go to that market, he will stay there for a few months, he will find, it's not really my cup of tea, as they say, and he will jump to another market.
After a period of time, you ask him, how is Lisan Arab going, for example? He'll say, bro, I'm in Ibana. Ibana is this one. Allahumma barak, may Allahumma barak in that market.
After a while, he'll come back to that, saying, brother, what's going on? How's Ibana going? How's the Arabic? Ibana wasn't the best one. I'm back in Fajr. So after a period of time, this guy actually went through all the markets.
After a period of time, you realize that he hasn't really learned much. Why? Because he hasn't stuck. Don't look left and right.
They say, they say, imshi guddamak wala tiltafid. Ya'ani, go forward and don't look left and right. Try to seek the correct advice from a person that you trust, make a decision through that advice, and stick with it all the way.
Believe you'll find the results, inshaAllah ta'ala. Even after time. Don't be, you come across a lot of brothers, a lot of different groups.
That will actually, subhanAllah, it will deviate you in so many ways. And it will just make you unproductive. That's one of the biggest boundaries that I find.
And I want to go into that boundary a bit more later on, because I actually want to talk, I mean, obviously everything you say is just based on your own experience. But I want to know about the different marakehs and how you apply, what you've heard about, and stuff like that. But before we do that, just thinking about that now, you're in the UK, you've done a bit of study, you want to go to Egypt.
What's the application process like? Is there an application process? Is there anything you just get on a flight, and you get there, how does it work? Do you have to apply online? No. Each application, each markeh that we've mentioned, there is an application form you can apply online. But it's not really necessary.
You can literally book a flight and go. The most, the biggest thing that a person needs to worry about is the place of living. And I guess we should touch on that as well.
If he has the accommodation sorted, he goes. And in that first week, or the first month even, give that time to actually find a place to study. I would recommend that he actually decides on everything before travelling.
But, it's not really something that you need to actually apply online. There's no form of application. It's not really essential.
It's not mandatory that you apply, you wait for an acceptance, then you fly there. You can go and then you take it from there. It's very easy.
Every markeh that they have, they start in their calendars there. Online, you'll find it online if you write the name of the markeh online. So, you try to fit your time of travel to the time when the new mustawa, each level starts.
And then, you go, you sign up on the spot, you get accepted. Amazing. So, you recommend getting there.
So, let's just say the calendar starts in January, for example, you recommend getting there a month early. A month early. Because you can get your apartment and everything set up.
You get comfortable. Really settled in, so you can start the same time as all the students. Because otherwise, what you're doing is you're starting a new institute and you're trying to solve that.
And that will probably leave you missing one month of studies. And you will start a monthly. Sure.
Where it was a bit of waste. I think that's really good advice. MashaAllah.
Okay. So, even with, do you know if COVID has changed anything in terms of? It did, it did, it did. There was, the marakehs were closed for a long time, I think over a year now.
But now, alhamdulillah, everything is back to normal. The country is literally back to normal. Okay.
So, literally, someone can actually go, get their visa. Do they need a visa from the UK? Do you go to Egypt? Oh, that's, subhanAllah, that's something definitely we need to touch on. That's a whole, that's, eh, one of the things that students find problems with.
Visa? Yes. Visas, or renewing visas whilst you're there. Getting into the country, you're able to get a two-month visa, entry visa, perhaps.
As a tourist, as a tourist visa. You get into the country with a tourist visa, once that visa expires, there's places to go where you can renew it. In Egypt? In Egypt, in Egypt, ah, in Egypt.
Maybe you find difficulties, it's not really easy going, or there's roughness regarding that topic, where you be, you know, rejected at times. But, it comes with the gig, The full package, you take everything, you know. But there's ways, there's ways.
You renew it, once it finishes, you renew it. There's some that stay without iqamah, without visa, but that has its own problems as well. You can get away with it, and pay a penalty fee when you're travelling, depending on how long you overstayed your visa, or you actually pay off.
If not, you may cause issues, yeah. And to renew your visa, is it expensive? Let's talk about the visa process. What I want to do, before you get to Saudi, is really take it step by step, with someone like, you know, getting a flight, then the visa, and things like that.
So, to renew your visa, expensive or not expensive? How much it costs? If I speak, I don't know. Because when I ask a question, it's like, what, did I ask a wrong question? No, no, because I'm trying to connect it to my experience, what I've done, and also what is done. You know what I mean? It's kind of different.
That means you did something different to what is normal. I haven't renewed the visa, you know. I stayed without a visa the whole time I was there.
And you just paid the fine? And I paid the fine when I was travelling. How much is the fine? Which was a bit steep. Right now, when I was coming here, they took from me 4,500 of their money, but I remember really not, I completely, I completely, the conversion, divided by 20.
4,500 of their money? Of their money, yeah. That's about 225,000? 225,000. A guy that lives in the country, that's very steep.
Okay, but that's for three years? No, no, no, no, no. I travelled, right now I'm in the country, one year, three months without a visa. I was in the country one year.
So every time you travel, you just pay the fine? And then you get renewed, fresh start, basically. Okay, I'm with you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So one year, three months, I paid 4,700. That's an option, but I would definitely not recommend that. That's funny.
I would not recommend that. I would not recommend that. Normal people, normal, sorry, I don't mean normal people, but normally people would renew They'll renew it.
They'll go to, there's a base where you go. Oh, sorry, it's not online, is it? No, no, no, it's not online as well. There's a base, you go and you renew it.
Okay, and that's cheaper to do that? And it's cheaper, yeah. It's cheaper and more relaxing. Because once you get that visa, you're relaxed now.
Alhamdulillah, you can even go to places, if you don't have the Iqamah, you're always restricted. You're always worried, I'm not going to get stopped. You know what I mean? Oh, okay.
You can get randomly stopped on the street. If you get stopped on the street without Iqamah, that causes a lot of problems. You might even get kicked out.
And not allowed to come back in. And there's so many things you wouldn't want to do that, you know? Right. So yeah, renew it.
Renew it. It's better to renew inshallah. Okay, okay, inshallah.
And, okay, what's next then? So you got there, so you've done the flight, you've done the flight, you have the visa now, alhamdulillah. Entry visa is easy. Entry visa is easy, alhamdulillah.
You get it from your embassy. Even the flight, like you just, you just turn up, you just sign up. What if you come to an institute and they say we're full? Did they ever say that? If you come at the start, it won't be full.
Because you're following the calendar, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's impossible for it to be full if you come before the start date. If you come, like a week into the, that month you're studying, and you say, listen, I'm running late, I want to sign up, they may say, there's no class right now, wait for the next month.
Possibly. But, I mean, you will always find, even like I said, the only thing preventing you is that decision. You decide, you go, that's what it is, literally.
You decide, and you keep moving. And everything is just open, subhanAllah. Quran, everything is there.
It's a very easy going country. A very easy going country. MashaAllah, so now you've just landed in Egypt.
Was it a culture shock for you? No, it wasn't. It wasn't, subhanAllah. Me, I actually loved Egypt.
Really? Straight away, or did you have to get used to it? I got used to it, because the love was there before even seeing the country. So when I went there, I was just an excited guy, you know. And that excitement stayed with me throughout.
Some have the different experience where, in fact, there was a brother I was living in, from the UK as well, he actually had a culture shock, where he even planned on actually what? Leave off and go back. But he held himself, and he was composed, and alhamdulillah, it worked out. Homesickness happens, all of that will happen.
It will happen. The food may actually, you know, make you sick. And the water, you know, we're not really used to actually just always drinking from bottles.
Tab water back home is okay, right? Yeah, obviously in the UAE, you know, we do not drink from bottles. In the UAE, you don't do that. So we're used to it as well.
I didn't even consider, I didn't even think about it, because I'm already one. Did you have like a water system in your home or something? yeah, you can fix a filter in your kitchen. But usually what we do, we just buy bottles from the shop.
So cheap, very cheap, very cheap, very cheap. So yeah, some may not know that. They will go directly to the tab water, get sick a lot.
You know, food, we have the main dish that the Egyptians know is a sign called ful. Beans, you've heard of ful, ful, kushri, kushri is basically mixed of different types. Pasta, rice, beans, I don't know.
So stuff like that, maybe it's not really your cup of dish, it's not really your dish, you know. And that can actually make you sick. For some, it did make them sick and they had to leave.
Sickness can happen due to that and weather change and all that stuff. Those are things that may happen. But can you find like, like your western kind of luxuries, can you get like a burger and chips in Egypt and stuff? Can you get that stuff? You can of course, McDonald's, halal McDonald's.
Halal McDonald's, There's a McDonald's on the top of the McDonald's in the gym. You just, you know, you go upstairs, you burn it. So yeah, obviously for you, Alhamdulillah, it works out okay.
But you know some brothers who really found it hard. Yeah, there's a lot of it. But the advice is stick with it and you're going to get used to it.
Because I remember I did the same thing here. I mean, Tobias, there's nothing It's an upgrade. That's what I'm saying.
But I think when I came here, I was without my family and it was a new job and a new everything. You just need to be patient because you came with an agenda. I nearly went home, I think.
SubhanAllah. After one month, I was like, I'm so glad I stuck it out. What I mentioned, what I mentioned is, when stuff like that does happen, you remind yourself of what's the reason.
Why did you come in the first place? Maybe for some, they came across a hadith where the Prophet says, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... The journey of seeking knowledge was never meant to be easy. So, if you're gonna give up just like that, maybe this whole thing is not really for you, you know? And everyone I have seen who staged with something like moving to a new country, for example, they always get use to it. It just becomes home.
After a while you will get use to it. That period of that start, just be patient. It's a testing period.
It’s a testing period once you surpass that level... The country’s going to welcome you, no doubt. Know that I’m here to come across someone who has been in Egypt for a long period of time, and they said, "Ah, Egypt is not the place." You might find someone like that, but then, if you actually ask, who was in a country maybe one month, maybe less than that, or three months, of course, you can have that, you know, they weren’t patient enough. Now, you’re there, you’ve settled, you’re good, you know what to do with the visas, you’re going to sign up for an institute.
One question I had actually: We hear a lot about the Qur'an and other Islamic sciences you can study in Egypt. Are there other Islamic sciences or is it only usually the main focus for most students of Arabic and the Qur'an? We have Al-Azhar University (جامع الأزهر) – for those who plan on going to Al-Azhar, it is quite simple to apply for Al-Azhar, for those interested. If you’re not really trying to go to university, other sciences are quite limited. In fact, they are very limited. That’s one of the things that Saudi Arabia or other universities outside of Egypt have more of an advantage in compared to those studying in Egypt. I’d say the focus in Egypt is literally just on the Qur'an and Arabic. You might find teachers in Egypt, but it depends on what governs you—your pocket. That’s what it is. What governs you? If you have money, if you’re financially very well-off, finding teachers is very simple. But when you say financial, I don’t mean a lot compared to UK money; I mean if someone has a lot of money in Egypt, how much do they have? Come on, I’m talking about those who also want to study other sciences. Right, there are fixed prices; you can actually plan ahead. The market prices, the apartment prices, all of that is fixed. You can pre-plan. When it comes to your food, though, you can’t really advise someone on that because it comes back to the person. When it comes to how many lessons you want to study, it depends on the person. Maybe you want to study different sciences from different teachers, and these teachers would want their own salary. So you can’t really put a price on it, and for some teachers, they actually charge a lot.
Generally speaking, if you're financially not worried about your pocket and you’re well-equipped in that regard, you can actually benefit from the country more. So how much does it cost to rent an apartment, for example?
The area called Madinat Nasr (مدينة نصر) is where most of the students go. Madinat Nasr is a city within Cairo, and it’s divided into different divisions, so you have Hayy Sabi’ (حي السابع), Hayy Taseh (حي العاشر), Hayy Asher (حي العاشر), division 9, 10, 4.5 – different divisions, each one known for the quality of that area. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Starting from the cheapest, we’re talking about 2,000 Egyptian pounds (EGP). I’m using their money; we need to divide that by 20, which equals 100 pounds per month. For one bedroom? No, no, for a two-bedroom apartment. Yeah, 100 pounds, and then you're not alone. You’re sharing with brothers, so it’s cheap. That way, that 100 pounds is for the entire two-bedroom apartment, but you normally share with a brother. It could be 50 pounds maybe less, maybe you have two brothers in your room. That’s like a meal over here—a piece of cake. Yeah, it’s very cheap. So, starting from 2,000 EGP, but like I said, that’s in a division where the area might not be very good. The apartment itself may not be in good quality. If we go up a little bit, to the peak, we’re talking about 6,000 EGP (about 300 pounds), and that’s a large, three-room apartment, very wide, very nice, in a nice, quiet area, very close to the market. No comparison. The houses in Egypt, if you look at the houses in Egypt and compare them to the houses in London—the small ones in Egypt, the small ones compete with the bigger houses in the UK.
So, when you say three-bedroom, you’re actually talking about a big place? Yeah, a big place, and for just 300 pounds, which you’re sharing with two other brothers? Do you have to share with brothers? What if someone says, “I just want to go on my own?” Again, it’s your pocket. You know what I mean? Some families with wives and children aren’t going to be sharing with brothers. They’re going to have their own house, and they can’t live in the district I mentioned for the 2,000-pound price. So, they aim for the 300-pound one. Even that, they can handle easily. So that’s nice living for 300 pounds. Nice living, nice living, Allahumma barik. The houses I’ve seen... No, you know what I mean, the houses are amazing, mashallah. The houses go either way: they’re furnished or they’re not furnished. So, you have to buy all the furniture. That costs, of course, if you're staying for a long term, it’s recommended to buy a house that already has all the furniture. Because the furniture, to some, may be considered old, you know what I mean? So, yeah, buying an empty flat and furnishing it is actually a good way forward if you're staying for a long time.
Okay, what about a car? Did you drive a car? I have no information. What about food, like in terms of cost? Again, food in general is very cheap. It’s very cheap. Is it cheaper if you cook? That’s open for argument, you know what I mean, instead of taking food every day? I guess those who are able to cook find it more manageable regarding their finances. If they’re able to cook, but generally speaking, it’s very cheap. It depends on your way of eating, how much you eat; it varies from person to person.
We’re talking now... okay, let’s say someone decides to live in a house where it’s 2,500 EGP. We’re talking about 150, 1000. You're speaking monthly, spending almost 300 pounds monthly. 300 pounds. That’s not just your rent, that’s everything—food, electricity, bills, everything. The bills, everything, studying as well, the madrasa (المدرسة), the tuition fees as well in the madrasa (المدرسة), all of that included. 300 minimum per month, that’s if you're alone though. I’m not talking about a person with a family, you know? Because you’re spending about 50 pounds. We calculate this: 50 pounds for a room, right? The madrasa (المدرسة) takes 70 pounds, 75, 80 pounds. Really, now, the most expensive madrasa (المدرسة) is the Al-Banna (البنّاء). Right now, the most expensive madrasa (المدرسة) in Egypt is the Al-Banna (البنّاء), and it takes around... if I’m not mistaken, 2,500 EGP. Divided by 20, that’s the most expensive madrasa (المدرسة) out there. And that’s for everything, all the Qur’an, Arabic that you want, or is it only for the Qur’an and Arabic? How’s it work? You get access to everything—everything. Wow. And I’m talking bare minimum, yeah? Bare minimum. Maybe you want to get another private teacher on top of all of that. Maybe you want to get other classes running in your home, you know? So we’re talking about bare minimum, where you just stick to the madrasa (المدرسة) for the Qur’an class at home. Wow. So it’s very cheap, very cheap.
Is there anything out there that’s like... what’s the biggest expense that we haven’t mentioned? We’ve obviously mentioned the essentials. Is there anything we’re missing, basically? Anything we forgot? No, no, no. People are going to get surprised... No, no, no, no. Wow. The only thing that’s missing is what others decide on doing on top of that. Yeah, of course, the extra stuff. The bare minimum is mentioned. The very minimum that a person will do is pay their bills, go to a specific madrasa (المدرسة), and have a Qur’an class on the side. Fine, all of that, and you're keeping your intake of food very limited. You know, you're actually... But even if you eat full, I get the impression food is not really too much. But I’m talking about what type of food you're taking. Are you trying to keep it very simple, eat like the average Egyptian, or are you trying to eat like a person from another background? Two different things there now.
Okay, you said you didn’t have a car. So, how did you get around? Is it public transport, taxis? What did you do? Now, there are taxis, buses, and they have their small cars. Tuk-tuks (توك توك) are good, I think. I’m sure the little... the little... I don’t know, I don’t know... There’s a little car they use where it takes you everywhere, it goes through alleyways and all of that, and you pay less than a pound. What’s that? What’s the currency? And it just repels... Guinea (جنيه). Guinea (جنيه), like... okay, like guinea (جنيه). Guinea is the dialect, the dialect, yeah.
So, it’s very, very low, very low. When it comes to the Qur’an, there are madrasa (مدرسة) that actually teach for free. Oh, really? Now, there’s a famous madrasa (مدرسة)—famous madrasa (مدرسة) called Kharamain (الحرمان) where they teach for free. In fact, they give you lunch as well, and it’s open for both brothers and sisters. As you apply, you wait for acceptance; it may take some time. Once you’re in, that’s your Qur’an sorted. You know, you stick with that and do Arabic on the side. Alhamdulillah (الحمد لله), you have the full package. I think they teach, I mean, not just this madrasa (مدرسة), but generally in Egypt, even if you don’t know any tajweed (تجويد), you’re brand new, you’re a beginner, you can still find stuff. But you don’t find stuff on your level—you’ll find stuff on your level.
Okay, and so we’ve spoken about that now. One question I wanted to ask you: You mentioned sisters. If a sister wants to travel with her husband and she wants to seek knowledge as well, for example, are the classes available for sisters just as much as brothers? Exactly the same as the brothers? We mentioned the madrasa (مدرسة), it has, of course, classes for sisters. The Qur’an classes I’ve mentioned right now cater for sisters as well. You know, is it as very open as for brothers? Maybe they may find some limitations, perhaps, I’m not really too sure on that regard, but it’s open for them as well. Opportunities are always there, you know? There’s no issue with that.
If you’re already married and want to take your family, you get a family visa, or is it just individual visas? Individual visas, so it’s basically the same for you, but just multiplying by two or three if you have kids. If you have kids and you decide to stay there long-term and actually admit them to Al-Azhar University (جامعة الأزهر), then you get a visa automatically, and the family gets a visa. Is there any limit to how long you can stay as a UK citizen? Like, do you keep renewing your visa online? No, that’s the thing. You can only renew the one-year visa. But after the one year, you have to leave. There’s stuff you can do low-key. You pay someone, you pay a middleman, as they say. They can sort things out, but if you try to do it the legit way, you can’t stay in the country for more than a year. But once you leave and come back, and you’re fresh, you come back in a week later, you’re okay. Fresh.
So really, there's no limit to how long someone can seek knowledge. You know, there's no limit. They just have to go to the UK. There's no limit whatsoever. There's no limit. Okay, let's talk about the different marākiz then. I don't know which ones you have experience with.
I have experience... Okay, we mentioned five, right? Yeah, and marākiz which doesn't really function right now. Yeah, and they kind of the same because they teach the same book, they have the same manhaj.
Okay, because they have their own curriculum, they have their own syllabus. I'm talking about now, okay? I'm talking about syllabus now. Marākiz in their syllabus, whereas Ibāna for example, they have their own syllabus, they have their own curriculum, they have their own books that they've authored. Okay. Furqan is the same. They have the same, they have their own books, but they cannot follow the same curriculum as Ibāna. As in the mindset or their way of teaching is kind of the same, it's just cheaper than Ibāna. So, a person that wants to study the way that Ibāna is teaching but he can't afford Ibāna, he tends to go to Furqan. Those that want to follow the same syllabus, as in fajr then, he has the option of choosing Fajr, which is the most expensive one. Lisan al-‘Arab is a cheaper option. It's like that, you know what I mean? If you start with Fajr and Lisan al-‘Arab, they teach the famous book, globally recognized, and it has 15 levels. 15 levels starting from Level 1, a beginner, someone that cannot read, write at all, is completely a foreigner, a stranger to the language. They even ask you, they say, “Have you studied previously? Do you have any knowledge?” If you say no, they're not even going to take an entry exam, they say Level 1. No. If you feel that you know stuff, then they do an entry exam, and through the exam, they can allocate the level that is more suited to your need.
What do they focus on more? Why do people go to Furqan or Ibāna rather than Lisan al-‘Arab? From what I've noticed, Lisan al-‘Arab and Fajr focus more on speaking. Their speaking as well is more than when it comes to grammar or writing stuff like that, whereas Ibāna is completely the opposite. You'll find that their speaking is quite low because they focus more on grammar, stuff like that.
So now, it comes down to the student. Now, do you want to focus more on speaking or do you want to focus more on the grammar side of things? If you decide the latter, then you go to Ibāna. If you can't afford Ibāna, you go Furqan. If you decide on working more on your speaking because you feel that, well, I'm in this country, I'm trying to learn how to speak, grammar is not really my... I'm not... that's not really my focus right now, then you go to Lisan al-‘Arab.
My humble opinion, for those that are only in the country a limited time, or for those that don't really know much about speaking the language in general, I advise that the avenue that I took focuses more on speaking. Because you're here in the country, limited time, speaking. Once you go back to the country you came from, you're not really going to speak. So, you have that one-time opportunity where you can actually study the science behind speaking, what you need to know, how to actually get the tabira together. You know, grammar you can learn it anyway, sure, you know what I mean? You can find the teacher back home even. You have the source. Whereas speaking, you may not find that thing.
So that's where the recommendations come. If someone knows Arabic, he can speak, alhamdulillah, his level is decent, I would recommend him to go to Lisan al-‘Arab or Fajr for that matter. I would actually advise him to go to Furqan or Ibāna, where he can focus more on his grammar side, grammatics.
That always depends on, amongst other things, there's other issues, but that's secondary for those that actually want to study the Arabic we're talking about now, Arabic. What do you want to study more? Speaking within the country. You can even find teachers that teach you grammar. You'll find someone that, for example... and this is generally speaking, I don't know specifically, that's not always the case, generally speaking, you'll find some of the graduates from Ibāna, but maybe perhaps, he doesn't really have that much confidence when it comes to speaking, because it is what it is. He hasn't spent much time on it. On the other hand, you'll find some of the graduates from, for example, perhaps you'll find even if he makes so many mistakes in his speaking, he has that confidence because he spoke a lot in the class.
I've asked numerous students that study at Ibāna, they don't really get that same opportunity to speak in class because there's a lot of students in one session, from what I've been told, you know. So, your speaking, the time that you speak, is limited in comparison to those that study in Fajr. Therefore, you're more exposed there than here. Does that make sense?
Now, do you find some of the graduates from Ibāna, they're very solid in everything regarding... and also speaking? Yes. Do you find some other graduates from marākiz and they're very eloquent speaking at the very same time, very good when it comes to the written skills of grammar? The answer is yes.
Eventually, it comes back to the student. Yeah, eventually it comes back to the student. Yeah, depends what you do outside, depends what you do outside the classes. They all come back to the student.
Okay, what are the kind of structures like? How many lessons, how many hours do you study a day? If I speak more about the curriculum of Fajr, because that's the avenue I took, so I can give it from first-time experience, you know. They teach, there's five days, five days in a week, and it's around 2 hours and 30 minutes, 2 hours 30 minutes, broken up or you just go there to like, back to back? Back to back? They give you a 15-minute break and then boom. How long is each lesson or each 2 hours and 30 minutes? It's just one period for the whole day. You don't really come back and continue, like every day you get 2 hours and 30 minutes. So, imagine you're only there studying 230 minutes, how many hours you go after that? A lot of hours, subhanAllah! That's what I mean, the marākiz are there to give you the tool. If you only rely on the marākiz, believe me, you're not going to reach far. You have the tools, you have the information, just do the homework, quick one. You're not really going to reach far. So, you have to now go out there. They gave you the... In fact, some of them are... some of the Quran places, they actually ask, "What level have you reached?" They'll say, "Come back to us when you reach Level 5," for example, because now you're able to what? And construct sentences, you're able to speak in them.
So now, 2 hours, 2 hours 30 minutes, maybe perhaps get a 15-minute break. The Salah time depending on what the time the Salah comes in. And what they usually do, once a week is a day for speaking.
So the sheikh actually gives you a topic to prepare, you come, you stand in front of the class, and then you speak. I actually studied up to level 10 in the marākiz. I used to study in Marākiz Kalimah. If I speak about myself, Marākiz Kalimah, when it got shut, we completed our studies at home. We took a teacher, and we did private lessons. So that's another option, yeah? That a brother or sister should be exposed to. You have the option of studying privately, but that's—uh, is that on Zoom or something? No, no, private as in the teacher comes to your house, and the teacher comes to you one-on-one. That is also an option, or one-to-three.
Oh again, now you're governing the situation, now you have full control over the situation. If you're studying privately alone, one-to-one, I don't really recommend it because the whole purpose of studying in marākiz is because you're able to affiliate with other students. You're able to practice with them. They say knowledge is actually within students; it's not really from a student to a teacher. You're going to practice with the student, maybe there's a mas'alah (issue) you don't understand, you take it to the classmate, you know? So if you decide on studying privately, I would still say try to find a group at the very same time. Maybe the speed of the marākiz is not really to your liking, maybe you're trying to speed things up more. No problem, but try to find a like-minded student, team up, and do it at home. But to do one-on-one for the whole duration of your stay is not really recommended. Your benefit is going to be very limited, very limited.
So what we've done was we were a group. In fact, it was like four of us. You went together? We went together. When the marākiz got shut down, we didn't really want to change the whole scenery or go to another marākiz, so we decided amongst us that we would take the teacher that we liked, who used to teach us in the marākiz, and we would take him home to continue our studies there. And alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), it was the best choice.
More from that, once a person finishes the 15 levels, it doesn't really end there. In fact, that's probably the first step. That's like all of that you can say is a foundation. The entire journey... Arabic is an ocean. Arabic is an ocean. You actually start to appreciate the language once you reach a very advanced level. You know, they say that when you start seeking knowledge, you realize you don't know anything. When you study a little bit, you become arrogant, you think you know everything, but if you don't stop and you continue, you realize you don't know anything. So, you're back to school, and that's basically the stationary point that should never change now. No matter where you reach in level, you always realize that there's still more to learn. Arabic is like that. It's an ocean with no shore, you know? You continue, you continue.
So, what the curriculum, what they have set in place, is once you finish the 15 levels, you go to the second stage. The second stage is where you actually study more literature. You dive deep into all of that. They focus more on literature, where you read other texts. You know what I mean? So, you enhance your vocabulary.
How to memorize a lot of stuff? Like that, you just continue growing and climbing the ladder. Now, that’s an option—taking it home and studying privately. It’s a little bit more expensive, perhaps, but again, even with the tuition fee, you mentioned 2500, which is the highest, and that’s in Egyptian money, so it’s about 125 per month.
What are the other options? Ebana is six weeks. That’s a difference. Each level takes six weeks, not one month. Okay? And there aren’t really 15 levels in Ebana, I believe. To my knowledge, there are 10 levels. So that money actually lasts for a month and a half. So that’s for six weeks. Yeah, six weeks.
The other one, Federal, for example, or all the other Marrakesh institutes, is one month—four weeks. Federal is just under Ebana, just under Ebana, maybe. Just under Ebana, not really that much. Whereas, um... is like 900, June? We’re talking 70 pounds, 60 pounds, like that—60, 70 pounds.
So, let’s say you’ve got 125. We’re going with the highest. We’re really increasing the cost here. 125 for tuition fees. You’ve got your apartment, which, if you’re living in a really decent average, you know, humble type of setting, you’re spending—you're sharing, you’re paying 40 to 50 pounds now.
And then you’ve got the outside classes. You said you have to pay more for them, obviously. You bring the teacher home. How much is that on top of studying at the institutes?
Yeah, you know, you said that you go to the institute, but then also you did... No, no. I’m talking about those who decided not to go to the institute and completely... No one mixes and matches. They go to insure and they bring the teacher home. They can, if they want to, completely, but it’s not normal. You either stick with the institute, or you go private full-time.
Full-time private, or maybe you do full-time institute, and you need the extra backing, extra help. So, you get a teacher to help with your homework, you know what I mean? I’m talking about if you get a group and you’re studying together at home, then you go full-time business. Wow. So, that’s... yeah. So, you don’t have to pay the tuition fees at the institute anymore, but instead, you just pay the teacher directly.
And how much is that roughly? That’s one thousand five hundred. So, similar to Ebana as well. It’s even less than Ebana. I like that. No, it’s less than Ebana, but that one thousand five hundred is just for you, or is that for the three of you?
So, that’s what we’re paying. You may find the teacher more expensive than that. You may find the teacher less than that, you know what I mean? It varies. Just like 75 pounds, 75 pounds, 80 pounds, 10... So, what you’re saying is 75... so let’s round that up to 100. Let’s round that one.
So, 100 for your studies. Okay. And accommodation, you said 50, 50, 150. Okay. And give 50. Okay, that’s 200. That’s 200. What about bills—electricity, all that stuff?
Bills, electricity, water are very, very cheap. Again, like in the car, that’s not really fixed because it depends on the use, of course. Alright, any average idea? 20? Okay, electricity, water—we’ll say 300, but I shared. On top of that, when you said 300, which 300... I was like, “Oh, I got it.” That’s where the money goes. Absolutely. My mind says the action registered to her.
So, 200 is like 15 pounds. 15 pounds, and that’s between the brothers living in the house. So, we don’t even calculate water or electricity. Let’s leave that. We don’t even calculate it.
Okay, what about food shopping? Food shopping, I know it can vary. It can vary. On average, I had to give 100, but that will remain in 100. Give it for transport. You know, maybe you want to go places. You want to go to a prestigious place from here and there—100 for your transport. Your food for that month can’t be more than 100, I doubt it.
So, 300 tuition for Arabic, 100 pounds 50. That’s private tuition as well. Let’s say private, but that’s if you’re going full-time private. I’m not talking about those who are trying to combine both. Yeah, I’m with you. I’m with you. I’m with you. 50 for accommodation each. Pounds 50 for Quran. 50 for Quran, and then you’ve got 100 left in there, which is just for everything else, including bills, food, and transport. And that’s roughly a rough calculation—limited rough calculation, I know.
So, we took the upper... we tried. We added 300 pounds for everything that you need for an entire... Now, for those who are going alone, no family, otherwise, if a person takes a family, speaking 300 is going to get difficult.
The country in general is very cheap, subhanallah. Okay, mashallah. Okay, very cheap. Very cheap.
So, we spoke a little bit about the institutes now. We spoke about the timetable. That timetable—how is it? Is there only private teachers, or is there an institute you can go to?
There are institutes, such as the one we mentioned, Al Harameen, which is mostly where brothers go. That takes two years to finish. The way it’s structured, there for those who are maybe past beginners.
Okay, the way it’s structured, it may take two years. So, why do I mention two years? Yeah, it’s a long-term thing. So if you’re not really there for two years, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you don’t feel that you’re able to stay the full time and you’re trying to finish the Quran, perhaps Harameen is not really an option. There are other options.
Why does it take that long? It’s a full, big institute with a lot of students. The amount that you read to the sheikh is limited. You know what I mean? There are exams in place, and there’s also the option of getting private teachers, where a lot of students actually go for. You find a teacher, you pay, and you don’t pay much, subhanallah.
And that’s one of the other things I’ve noticed—not all of course, but most of the teachers I’ve encountered are very, very, very down-to-earth and very humble when it comes to payments. Some even say, "Pay what you can." I don’t really... That statement actually puts you in harm's way. But it’s those ones where they actually mean it, you know? Yeah, you know what your budget is, you know how much you can handle. They know that students vary, and their situation varies from one to another. So, they won’t give you a budget. They won’t give you a price because that price may be easy for this one, but difficult for this one. You give what you can, but at the same time, trying to help the teacher as well.
Yeah, now, so you have the option of bringing a private teacher. The question that a lot of students ask is: how do you actually combine studying the Qur'an and studying Arabic? The Qur'an requires time, Arabic requires time. Can I combine the two? That's a very good question. Should I focus on Arabic and put the Qur'an on pause, maybe continue with the Qur'an later, or should I focus on the Qur'an at the beginning and then go to Arabic? These are some of the questions that brothers actually ask. Can you combine the two? Of course, you can. In fact, you should actually fill up your timetable, because if you now say, "I'm just doing Arabic," we've noticed that the Arabic you're studying in the morning is 2 hours and 30 minutes—2 hours and 30 minutes out of the 24 hours. If you calculate, subhanAllah, when it comes to timing, that's actually something we need to touch upon. How do you actually manage your time? That's where things literally go wrong. SubhanAllah, you're studying for two hours and 30 minutes and, give or take, let's say you give two hours for homework, extra work at home, while you're doing the remaining time, you know what I mean? If you don't fill up the time with something productive, the time eventually will be filled up. But maybe you fill it up with something that's not really good, you know what I mean? Fill it up with that which is productive before it actually gets filled up with things that will waste your time.
So, can you combine the two? Of course! And that's your preferred advice: instead of doing one, you should combine both. The Qur'an is a completely different journey. It won't actually take away from your Arabic. SubhanAllah, you actually can manage it, depending on how you allocate your time. Maybe after you set a time to memorize the Qur'an, you can focus on Arabic the whole day, and in the evening, you can come back to the Qur'an. How do you manage your time to come back to that? While you're able to combine both, you should combine them, rather than just sticking to one. If you say, "I'm trying to stick with the Qur'an alone," how long are you in the country? Maybe you're here in the country for one or two years. This is the only opportunity you may have to learn Arabic, but the Qur'an is a life-long journey. You know what I mean? It's not just limited to the time you're here in Egypt. Perhaps Arabic, you may not get the same opportunity again. Keep that in mind as well. No, I'm just going to do Arabic because now you're going to have a lot of empty slots in your schedule, and that can actually waste your time. So, now, you should combine the two.
And in terms of students there, what's the atmosphere like? Are there a lot of people who really want to be productive, or do you get some time-wasters? How does it work?
I mean, amazing question. SubhanAllah, you know we always say it's very important to have good friends, good companionship. That's a good point, but also, now you go a step further and say having a good friend is not really the only thing that you should look out for. You may find a good friend, but at the very same time, that good friend of yours may not really be productive with his time. So, don't only look for good companionship, because eventually, the fact that you actually traveled means that everyone you meet is, Allāhummā bārak, there to study Islam, right? You know what I mean? They have no doubt about it. So, don't just make that the criteria. Now, go a step further. I go a step further—look for someone who is actually very productive with his time. He's able to manage, he's very driven, and he has the discipline when it comes to studying. Accompany that kind of person, because that's going to rub off on you.
If you're living with a person who works very hard and does his work on time, praises the Salawat in the masjid, and is always around the corner, you know that's going to rub off on you. Maybe you're not really that kind of person, maybe you didn’t come from that kind of background, but it's going to rub off on you. You're going to end up doing exactly what the brother’s doing. But if you accompany a brother who maybe lacks that discipline, then you’re going to lack it as well. So, look for someone who is productive with their time. You’ll find a lot of people who have been in the country for many years, but haven’t reached the level they should have by that time. Keep that in mind. You’re here for a limited time, and time is of the essence. You’re trying to get as much as possible in the little time you have, so you don’t really have time to waste. Find a person who has that kind of mindset and stick with him. You'll go a long way after that.
Now, okay, we've covered quite a lot. We've spoken about the institutes. Is there anything else that you want to mention in particular that you wanted to speak about but haven’t covered yet?
Now, the importance, in general, of seeking knowledge. Seeking knowledge, subhanAllah, is something that is very honored in the sight of Allah. Very honored. Those who have learned and those who haven’t learned are not the same. Those who have learned, are they really the same as those who haven’t? The answer is no. So, appreciate the fact that Allah has blessed you with this mindset of actually going out of your way to study the religion of Allah. For that reason, Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will never forsake you. Allah will never forsake you, no matter where you go, no matter where you end up, be it Egypt or any other place. Have that intention, rectify your intention, and remember that intentions actually change as you go along. Perhaps the intentions may not be the same as when you first started the journey. Keep that in mind and rectify your intentions always. Allah, azza wa jalla, will show you the results at the end.
Any experience, maybe not yourself but any of your friends with families, moving families out there? How did the sisters and the kids find it? Is it a big change for them? Any idea or not really?
I’ve met a lot of brothers who moved with their families. Their way of living—I’m not really too deep into it, so I wouldn’t know. But has it been done? Is it being done right now? Of course, there are a lot of families that actually move. Some have even made hijrah and decided to settle in Egypt. These are all subhanAllah options. But all these things you won’t really know unless you see the country. So, if you have the idea of actually leaving, bismillah, leave. Go see it for yourself. Everything—there are a lot of people who speak about Egypt and studying in Egypt—it’s all good, but the one who has seen it is not the same as the one who has only heard about it. You know, you have an idea, you have a rough idea of the place. Bismillah, go see it and then decide for yourself once you go.
I think what shocks me is how easy it is—the visa, the entry requirements, the finances. What about safety? A lot of people say, “Is Egypt safe?” What do you think?
Alhamdulillah, the period I was there, it was very safe for me. As far as safety is concerned, you should keep to yourself and not put yourself in places where you shouldn’t be. Then you’ll be safe. You’ll be safe. Even the houses you live in—depending on the district, they have a guardian. They call it a “watchman” who stands by the house. Should you trust everyone? That’s not the case. But then that’s the same for everywhere. Same with the UK. You can’t really trust anyone. Keep yourself to yourself, stick to the plan that you came with, and insha’Allah, you’ll be safe.
I’m going to end with two final questions. What’s the thing you’ll miss most about Egypt? It can be anything, it doesn’t have to be an institute. And I’ll ask the second one after you answer.
The first thing that came to mind is brotherhood, subhanAllah. That’s one thing I will miss—the faces, the brothers that are on it. Those are no doubt experiences that we may not cross paths again, but the experiences we had together, that’s something I’ll definitely miss and cherish all the way.
The second question: the biggest challenge that I faced? A lot of challenges, but the biggest? SubhanAllah, nothing comes to mind, really. You’re making it so easy. I’m sure there’s something, but I didn’t really realize how easy it was until speaking to you. So, for anyone who’s thinking about going—don’t miss the opportunity. Arabic is not an easy subject to study, and it really helps you build a foundation. Then you can come back and continue your studies, building yourself from there. It’s better than just waiting to go to Saudi or somewhere else, and you waste three, four, or five years. In fact, there are a lot of brothers who actually applied for universities and went to Egypt. While they were there, their name popped up, subhanAllah. So they actually benefited from the time they were there, and then Allah, azza wa jalla, opened the way for them to go to the university with a better foundation.
What about the ulama? You hear a lot about the benefit of Medina, obviously, with the Haram and the scholars there and such. In Egypt, you have a lot of teachers you can benefit from. Not scholars in terms of the major scholars, but there are a lot of teachers you can take advice from that are hidden and not known. It comes down to connections. It actually comes down to connections. Maybe if you stay in your zone and don’t really speak to people, you won’t know about these opportunities. But that’s the beauty of actually coming out, speaking to people, and not being shy about it. You will be exposed to a lot of advantages you didn’t know existed. There are a lot of mashayikh, of course. If your focus is just on Arabic and the Qur'an, and that’s the initial intention you came with, I wouldn’t really recommend you open yourself up to so many lessons, like Aqeedah classes, fiqh lessons, etc. If you’re not grounded with the Arabic, you might end up touching everything but grasping nothing. So, have that intention, stick with that plan, and no matter what you hear, stick with it and go ahead.
