Hafiz Atiq Taiyab
From Student to Scholar
I remember how one day Mufti Hisham just walked in to our Fiqh and Hadith class and said:
“Find out what box shipping is, which chapter of finance in fiqh it is analogous to, and then based on that, present your conclusion to me on whether it’s permissible or not.”
This scenario from my classes at Darul Qasim is what comes to mind when I am asked a question pertaining to real life situations that I am not well versed in.
It has been a long journey since I started my quest for more knowledge at Darul Qasim. To some, at the end of this academic year, I will now be considered a scholar. To me, I am and always will be, a student. To those close to me, I will be the same son, brother, husband, father, and friend that I always have been. That is not to say that there hasn’t been a transformation.
With the culmination of this journey, I have found in myself three things:
1. The Knowledge Expanded My Horizons
I no longer rush to judgements when I witness things done in a manner that I am not familiar with. I now realize that Islam is much more nuanced than the simplistic version I had held on to when I first started. My academic training at Darul Qasim has played a large role in this; particularly the lessons from Tirmidhī and Maulana Bilal expanding on how scholars of the past reached entirely different conclusions based on the same Hadith.
2. The Teaching Methodology Allows Me to Be Relevant
My education at Darul Qasim has given me the confidence to know that if I understand a situation, I will be able to apply what I have learned at the theoretical level to real-time and real-life situations.
3. The Journey Has Given Me My Bearings
Studying at Darul Qasim has shown me what my mission as a scholar is: To confront the academic challenge of ‘re-presenting’ classical Islam in the western context. I distinctly remember Shaykh Amin calling me into his office towards the end of the academic year to discuss my plans for next year. In that meeting, he explained that the vision of Darul Qasim is to step above the small differences that we have within the community and defend Islam against the larger attacks in the academic arena.
My journey here has transformed me in ways I can not describe and I will always be indebted to this institution for the priceless education and training it has equipped me with.
I now humbly ask you to be a part of the place that turned me from student to scholar.