{"id":3639,"date":"2014-01-06T07:18:25","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T07:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/?p=3639"},"modified":"2014-01-09T04:52:10","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T04:52:10","slug":"scholarship-students-in-saudi-arabia-should-reflect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bakkah.net\/en\/scholarship-students-in-saudi-arabia-should-reflect.htm","title":{"rendered":"Scholarship Students in Saudi Arabia Should Reflect"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Ever-Merciful…<\/em><\/p>\n

As\u00a0a recipient of a Saudi government scholarship to study at Umm al-Qura University<\/strong><\/a>, I thank Allaah and ask Him to forgive me and my brothers and sisters who study here on\u00a0full scholarships for not realizing how many blessings\u00a0from Allaah we have overlooked and\/or not properly thanked\u00a0Him for.<\/p>\n

Have we thanked Allaah for granting us\u00a0years of\u00a0peaceful and\u00a0secure living in\u00a0a land of Towheed<\/em> and Sunnah?<\/strong> Some Muslims\u00a0are living\u00a0in fear for their lives and property right now. Some live in countries that do not allow them to practice Islaam. Some live in countries that openly\u00a0promote polytheism and acts of blasphemy. By Allaah, we are\u00a0spoiled in this land. By Allaah, we have not shown enough gratitude for our blessings!<\/p>\n

Have we thanked Allaah for the ability to pray at the two greatest masjids in the world?<\/strong> Muslims around the world save for years to make one trip. Many of them never make it. Many of them beg Allaah in the depths of the nights to make one prayer at\u00a0one of the two sacred\u00a0Harams one day. By Allaah, we are spoiled and ungrateful.<\/p>\n

Have we thanked Allaah for the ability to\u00a0visit and study from\u00a0a number\u00a0of today’s\u00a0greatest scholars?\u00a0<\/strong>Our brothers in Islaam\u00a0dream of the\u00a0chance to meet a scholar one day. Muslims huddle together secretly in lands of oppression to listen to one\u00a0lecture from the scholars whom we have daily access to. By Allaah, we do not reflect, nor do we thank Allaah as He deserves to be thanked!<\/p>\n

Have we thanked Allaah for the many times we\u00a0have been\u00a0able to make Hajj and ‘Umrah, either without cost, along with our university or other government program, or in a relatively inexpensive way?<\/strong> Our brothers and sisters around the world save their earnings\u00a0for their entire lives, begging Allaah for Hajj, waiting\u00a0on government waiting lists for decades in some countries, just to get the chance to make Hajj. By Allaah, we have oppressed ourselves greatly by not reflecting. We have not thanked Allaah.<\/p>\n

\u0648\u0625\u0646 \u062a\u0639\u062f\u0648\u0627 \u0646\u0639\u0645\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0644\u0627 \u062a\u062d\u0635\u0648\u0647\u0627<\/strong><\/h1>\n

“Were you to count the favors of Allaah, you would never <\/strong>(be able to) enumerate them.”<\/strong> [16:18]<\/p>\n

If we could put a price tag on some of the blessings we have received, what would that even look like?<\/p>\n

All costs considered, someone traveling from the West may easily spend\u00a0about $10,000<\/strong> to make Hajj. A student living in Makkah took his wife and walked\u00a0for most of\u00a0the\u00a0Hajj one year, spending about SR 200 (less than\u00a0$55) on food and a few taxis here and there. He complained about\u00a0a taxi driver requesting too much for a trip.<\/em> By Allaah, we are not grateful!<\/p>\n

A student receives a monthly stipend of about SR 900 (about $240), free housing, discounted meals, free health care, and free airfare to his home country and back\u00a0every summer, among other amenities.\u00a0Let us think about what all of that means for a typical American student who spends\u00a0seven years in Saudi Arabia to finish his undergraduate degree (2-3 years for Arabic, plus 4-5 years to finish\u00a0his BA program).<\/p>\n