Tying your camel: Preparing for difficulty before difficulty
Course Description:
We find ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented experience, where our professional, social, educational, ritual, and family calendars have been completely turned upside down. Forced indoors, spending the month of Ramadan in solitude, forgoing Eid celebrations, canceling travel plans, working remotely, and even shopping from home have compelled us, in unexpected ways, to reckon with how we became accustomed to spending our time in a pre-COVID world and how many opportunities for khayr we took for granted. As 2020 winds down, there is no indication we will be able to return quickly to the world we knew before COVID. How do we process this strange new world, marked as it is by the transience and fragility of life? Where should our focus lie? Where do we start when we feel so overwhelmed? How do we find himmah—spiritual resolve when we feel confused, anxious, worried, frightened, or depressed? And how do we prioritize our relationship with Allah Most High, manage our time, and integrate taqwā into every aspect of our lives? This specially-designed four-session class will provide practical tools and spiritually-grounded advice for navigating the challenges of this strange new world. God willing, we will learn how to increase in mindfulness of Allah Most High and how to worship Him properly, thereby increasing in nearness to the divine, and drawing greater satisfaction from life and being of good cheer to those around us. The course will be led by Zaynab Ansari, an instructor at Tayseer Seminary with over fifteen years of experience in the field of Islamic education and da’wah. The sessions will be conducted via Zoom and Google Classroom. Students will be able to engage with the teacher and students beyond the lesson within Google Classroom. Weekly notes and recordings of the class will be provided. A reading list and further information will be provided after registration, inshaAllah.
All classes are recorded and available to the registered students during the course and for 6 months after.