Ustadha Dr. Rania and Hafidha Suzane Derani
Rania Awaad – Ijaza in Ten Recitations of Qur’an
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The speakers discuss the importance of making the intention with oneself and not leaving the Quran too big, finding the right partner, and learning to read and memorize the Quran. They share stories about women who had to visit medical treatment facilities in Michigan and how they felt like they were just part of the community. They also talk about conversions to Islam and the importance of staying healthy and finding the right partner. They share their experiences with their family and work schedule, and express their desire to study and become a doctor. They also mention their upcoming vacation to San Jose and visit a clinic.
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Where does one start? When it comes to the journey
as Pamela I, you know, when I think about my journey through the Quran, I think about my mom,
you know, she, she provided for me or paved the way for me something that she herself did not have. And
she would drive me to all the different Hold on, you know, classes in Michigan, I grew up in Michigan, and
okay, and, you know, her daughter, and her, you know, sleepless nights, hoping I make it through my teenage years.
And I'm not non rebellious fashion. That didn't work. And not because of her, but because of me. And
I think it was really the the moment that I was able to go to Syria at the age of 13. And be around people that their hearts are connected to Allah. And
they gave the Quran with all their souls. And I felt that
and
I didn't even know what the tweet was. I had never heard that word until I was 15. And they said, you're going to you're going to learn as you eat, I said, at the edge of what I actually didn't even know what it was. And I said, okay, so they paired me up with the teacher, and
I don't even remember how it happened. But I fell in love with it. And I felt like, this is how the Quran is supposed to sound. This is how
it was given to us in the dunya. And if you think about it, the Quran is the only speech on this earth. That's not from here. And it's Allah's words. And what I learned about the Quran is that it's a journey that carries you through your life, it's something that you don't just start and leave, but it's something that you start and hopefully inshallah we take with us to our graves. And I truly, truly believe from my heart that without the Quran,
there's zero happiness. And that's, that's just from my own personal experience in life, and any trials or tribulations that anybody is going through, if you have the Quran with you, it will carry you through that. It's like being in a ship.
And the Quran is just writing you through that storm. And the dunya is a storm, it's not supposed to be a place of comfort, or ease. So we're just passing through it. And if we have the Quran with us, as that guide and companion, then in sha Allah will never feel sadness. It's impossible, especially if we try to internalize the Quran and hopefully live by it inshallah.
So, it's a lifelong journey. And I would just say, three things that my teachers instilled in me and that I try to practice myself and hopefully Inshallah, if I can
possibly give that as advice. The first is to make the intention.
Make the intention with the Quran, no matter how lofty it is, and start small, don't don't assume that you can't do it. The Quran is not for AlDub it's for everybody. The whole iron is not for young people. It's for everybody. And I've seen countless stories where people of all ages have been able to memorize the Quran, live by it and take it as their companion throughout their lives. So intention, the second thing is to always come with a clean heart. So a lot of the different talks that you've heard tonight, as well as in other nights, have emphasized the importance of purification of the heart. And I know that here, mashallah, in this community, there are many talks
that are given about that. It's that important if we don't refine our hearts and work on our hearts constantly. The Quran will have no space in our heart. We can't have both we can't have sinning and the Quran together in our hearts. We have to make room for the Quran and for Allah.
And then the third thing is do
ask Allah for ease. The Quran is a rollercoaster ride. It's not going to be easy. There are going to be times when
where it's gonna be challenging and you're gonna want to throw in the towel, but don't. And just keep making dua to Allah, that He grants you openings and don't feel. And in sha Allah we can all take the bull on as our companion for our entire lives so that in sha Allah, it can be our companion in our graves and it can be a light for us and so that we can inshallah pass that down generationally in our families and in our communities. In Shoba
elevada
spell out of mana Rahim masala love not sad number 101 audios of mine.
I'm going to start crying. I know I am trying really hard to get through this.
Like Suzanne said, Warszawa where do you start in the conversation of put it on and as our dear on site.
So since Jared, she asked me to talk a little bit about the journey, the journey of getting to this point. And for me, it starts far ago long ago. But we'll start from where you started from to where I'm at you will show law.
I had grown up on the East Coast. And when I was about 13 or so I moved to Michigan to the same community or half of us as I'm had grown up.
And it was in that community. I want to share with you you'll hear from me a series of different women who their
their dedication to the poor and and to Islam and to the Dawa is actually what allowed for the doors of the path for so many of us girls to be able to study the Quran.
When I got to Michigan, I had some foundation in Arabic and in the Quran. But I wasn't quite at the level of the girls that had been in this community and Masha Allah that had been studying Arabic and put it on for some time with a woman, masha Allah who had been really dedicated to teaching the girls of the community.
So the first summer I arrived, there was about, I guess, 13, I imagine. And I attended a summer camp and I thought, Oh, this is nice. And at the end of the summer, all these girls came back from Syria. And they were talking about there's this buzz and excitement that they all had received an E jazz and I thought what's just kind of like you with what's in each Aza, but what's that word even mean? And there's all this excitement and they said, Oh, they finished reading the Quran, or they finished memorizing the Quran. And they had a ceremony for them. And in this beautiful ceremony, they crowned them. And they kept them. And they honored them with the Quran. And I remember being this little
girl going, Wow, I want to do that. And that's why I wanted your daughter's here tonight. Because you don't know September final law, when you see something like that, and you feel like it could be possible. You don't know when that's going to enter your hearts, Panama. But it was seemed really far, because I wasn't Syrian. And I didn't know how to get to Syria like the rest of the girls. And I didn't have the kind of very strong foundation they did. And I'm going to share these things with you. Because for anyone who says they'll put it on isn't for me or for my daughter, I don't know when I'm not a native Arabic speaker and I'm not sure I can do this, but put it on as a miracle. And
the ability to read put it on and to memorize the Quran, even by non native Arabic speakers, and sometimes not even fully understanding it is a miracle of Allah subhanaw taala.
And so the story goes, and there's many women as I mentioned, I have to feel indebted to really share their names tonight. Subhan Allah. So in brief, the first one I want to share is what I was in that first year in Michigan, there was a che ha, who had come to Michigan to visit. We didn't know at the time Subhanallah that she was actually there for medical treatment that she was ill. All we knew was there was all this excitement that there was the ship from Syria, who was visiting Michigan and all the woman who were attending classes in her for the period of time that she was there.
And her name was encephalon
lady.
And then one day she said call the girls of the community over, I want to meet them. And so all of us girls went into this house and we all kind of sat there and a holiday but I can't even tell you exactly what she was talking about. All I know is that I was in tears the entire class. And I went home that night and I said to my parents, wherever she's from please send me there. I thought what happened is I told my parents that night I want to go to Syria and they said the Muslim parent thing in sha Allah
Subhanallah the backstory were the teachers of our community, and some of that and as such a mana How does I know that I'm naming them Subhan Allah because there's so many women who are part of the story in the background, who apparently for that entire year went to my parents and kept knocking on their door and saying, We want Rania to go to Syria. And my parents are like, in sha Allah
and they couldn't find
Other than sending me as a young girl to a country they're not from and by myself and how long story short, Allah will that humbly law that I would get there that summer of my 14 year. And I was ecstatic. I was so excited to be there. And I wanted to do the put and think that all the girls are doing that I shared with you
that when I got there, I was still kind of
I want to be very honest and somewhat vulnerable in these discussions, because it's very true the story of how Subhanallah it doesn't matter. And I'll tell you, and I don't know where it was. So the federal go, but anyhow, she had a picture she was going to show you. But there was a we went that first summer and it was one summer. And all the girls were studying and the very first thing their teachers did to us is they handed us a massage.
And they said if you want to unlock
Islam, and you want to work in Dawa, and you want to understand Islam, the key is the Quran. Without it, you can't do anything.
And the first thing they would hand us as the Quran is a start here and we'll fill in all the other classes short that they'll put on first. It's when all the breaks and all the classes are put on is going on in the background, all the girls are studying that summer, many of the girls finished their ijazah
we all came back from the summer break, I hadn't. And I share this with you because sometimes you pray for something deeply and you want something intensely.
Forgive
but Allah subhanaw taala knows the time and the place and when it's meant to be.
And sometimes when the dua doesn't seem like it's being answered, it's because you're not ready. Yes. A lot either wants you to have a more sincere intention than the one you've had. Are you need more purification.
Or you simply need more time and he knows you need to bake a little bit longer.
Thank you, Allah, Allah Baddeck, Vicki. And so, in sha Allah, if we come back in the picture that I have for you, is my 14 year old self standing with the other girls and their crowns and hugging them. So excited for the just beaming. Mashallah, and in Arabic, subhanAllah Arabic such a beautiful language because we have words like ellipse, which is positive, good jealousy, not bad jealousy, the kind where you're so happy for everyone else. You want what they have, but you don't want it to take me take it away from them. This is good jealousy. That's what you would see in that picture. Subhanallah and I kept praying to Allah. And I kept saying to my parents, please send me back and
they said,
One summers enough. Syria, what are you doing there? Once enough? I tried my 15th year that summer. They said no. I tried my 16 year they said don't. I tried when spice 17 here.
And they said to me, they had this deal. They said on you.
Here's what you have to do. You graduate at the top of your class with a 4.0 with scholarships to college.
I will send you back to Syria. They thought that all these barriers.
So for the longest time I joke had been when people would say how did you get into medical school? I would say trying to get to Syria.
That's a lot of color. They 17th year I came to them and I said I've done everything you've asked. Please send me back. And they finally did. And on that trip and hunted I received my first ijazah up around in the craw of Hoxton 100. And now Now you all sisters are part of the next part of the story. Because it was soon after that I would actually come to my first trip to California. Now we knew shafr ice like myself and had a face. I had never met a Malachy sister. So when I got to California
I usually Maliki's.
What's this all about was shallow. And the sisters knew that I was teaching put it on tissue eat and they would say come teach us but the garlicky sisters would say but we want to learn a little blush. And I said what dish
and so on the next trip back to Syria, I told another save more women martial part of the story on soft off this time. Another teacher and I said to her the Maliki sisters are asking for cleanup lunch. And she said well we don't we don't we only give each other and helps and then the next one after that you got to do all 10
And I said all right
It took me so many years to do the one will show. The old centuries of a will ask the chef, this is not customary. And they went ahead and they asked a chef
and they said there is this girl from America who's going to California and over there they need to quit.
And the chef's said yes, can you imagine Subhan Allah, but had he had an issue with like a single ijazah of water like that hold on before. And so I worked on that ijazah and mashallah came here. And I didn't know this at the time that I ended up moving here getting married here, marry somebody who was a
Maliki
shots, robotic Allah, and that my children are probably one day the Maliki Subhan Allah. Anyhow, hungry Allah Long story short, when I got here, before the day I received by ijazah, and what is my teacher on South one of the unset she gave me this, this is one volume of six.
And it was hot off the press. And she had a need. It's a big, big thing. And she said, I want you to have this. And I said, What's this? And she said, this is called an bust. The Karate lauscha It's a book published by a shaker called summit in Russia, that you have just a moment I have to tell you about her. Masha Allah like to know that people like this walk today are here in our existence amongst scholars today, a woman Subhan Allah, she had written a book where she took all 10 canonical recitations of the Quran and put them side by side of the entire Masaf.
Now answer summer, when Syria was before the war, she was also the head of the Hadith school for woman. And she had also written a book. She's also a mohawk data, as in to say all the Hadith books she had memorized. And she had written a book and how do you memorize those a hadith with their narrations? That's a lot of Allah Gani that you can't find books like this even a classical tradition. Long story short, this the book The her Her most recent book was this one on national credit.
And on South candidate to me, like the whole six applicants, and she said here, and I said, you're gonna do with this. And she said, One day, one day you'll study it. Now the story takes place, I was in medical school. And if you know anything about medical school, its medical school and residency and fellowship, and then faculty. In the meantime, I was married and one child, second child, and from then on
this book stayed on the shelf.
For years, every year, I would look at it. And I would feel the sense of like, really wanting it like show, like really wanting it and a sense of guilt at the same time. And then this is where if Allah subhanaw taala doesn't give you something immediately, and you keep praying for it. You can't stop making dua for it. And I would say, oh, Allah, I'm so I feel so honored and blessed for what you've given me family career, etc. But I really want this, where's the time for this? Where will it come?
And our teachers would say that if you really want something, but you're not willing to get up for to hedge it to pray for it, then do you really want it at all.
And so we would pray and pray and pray.
And you won't believe how the DeWalt was answered.
You won't believe how the soil was.
I heard of a group of people who were going to be working on that I should have put it out to remotely. And I thought this panela this might work with the schedule. And
they said send in a recording, and I'm going to be very honest and transparent. And if those other assignments still on she's good and wonder why I'm even sharing the story. But just so you know, he said send in a recording. So I sent in a recording. They said it's for people already have each and finish week to work on the ASHA Clara ads. When I sent in my recording, she said you needed a little bit of work.
And I knew that because it had been years since I hadn't had the opportunity to really sit and study and teach this week. And so I thought hum did it now maybe it's not really quite the time but that's not the answer. The answer is keep making two
weeks past and out of the blue literally out of the blue she messages me she says So did you finish your brushing up officially? And I thought Wait, was that an option?
So she said Come on. We're going to start in just three weeks I said I'm going to do all
and so Southern Nevada follow up other one of our locals and beautiful souls mashallah said I said to her Can I read to you? And like I said assignment said if somebody says Can I read to you she just made the time.
She said you're ready, send in your recording and I did. A self assignment said you're ready to join the cohort. Let me tell you something.
My family looked at me. And I looked at them.
I said, I got accepted to do the ASHA put it out. And they just looked at me like
we don't know how and where you're willing to do this. And when someone takes on, put it on, I just want to tell you, it's a family affair of the whole family sacrifices, the whole family works. Because there's time and energy and effort and studying. You take time you borrow literally time, family time, but where was the time? You know how the dog got answered.
The story that I'm telling you, is taking place in June in January and February
of 2020.
At this point in my life,
I'm at Stanford, I'm driving to zaytoun at Berkeley, I'm driving to San Jose for a clinic. I'm driving another day to mount new to another clinic. I'm driving to Pleasanton, for Hala cars, and driving to Union City for another clinic. This is my week, commute, commute, commute, commute, you know how the DeWalt was answered?
COVID
all of those commutes, like that went away. And suddenly
the hours of commutes went up.
I can't even explain it. It's been three years. And that was how the DeWalt was answered. So I'm sorry, I took a lot of time I just want to share in closing this upon Allah.
The lesson learned here, like your three lessons, thank you so much. They're so beautiful Subhanallah
physical health, emotional health, spiritual health. Just like we say to people, you need to stay physically healthy. Sisters, you and I know the gym isn't going to come to us.
Even the bicycle or the treadmill you have in your home, it's not going to come to you.
You have to carve out the time for it. Subhan Allah,
mental health you see the banner for Madison here will law here. If we need the help, it's not going to just land in our labs we have to make the effort to actually ask the people knowledge of our time to help us upon a spiritual health.
dedicating ourselves to Islam into the deen and the plan doesn't happen on its own. Time is carved out. And Allah subhanaw taala says take the first step right tie your camel and our Pinta. Let's
tie your camel and I will do the rest. And that is the story of the Quran 100 Allah Allah al Amin please keep me in your devices please give us I feel like this is just the first step of a long long continuous journeys upon Allah we have a long road ahead of us that like us Association said once one person starts the whole community falls and Sue and I pray that inshallah we'll find from here a whole community of women who do this Phatak Hello fecal
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