In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
My first summer abroad was in the company of some elder brothers (may Allah bless them ) in dersane in Istanbul. I was totally enchanted by their hospitality, affection, and care –which was beyond my imagination- and whole-heartedly surrendered and finally convinced myself that, “if these people alone live on earth, Allah will turn it into paradise in an instant”.
The blessed month of Ramadan saw me leaving Istanbul and transferring to the admirable city of Akhisar where I started my dersane life and enrolled in HILALIYE EGITIM VAKFI ( its course consists of both QUR’AN memorization and Risale-i Nur studies). I was again impressed by the same love and care, and that impression and affection I have of my sincere brothers in dersane lasts to this very day even though I am several thousand miles away from them. May Allah protect us all and our families!
Dersane is to me a home of learning (madrasa). Learning because my personality and character improved through practical proper living manners and ethics such as proper communication, relationship with brothers, cleaning, improving one’s practical skills, and living for the sake of Allah. Home because of the brotherly care and fatherly affection for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) that fills the dersane.
In this light-filled home, I realised and discovered the importance of a believer gaining happiness in this life and hereafter not just for himself but for the others as well, just as our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) reminds us, “The best of you is he who is beneficial to others”. In here I witnessed the importance of the messenger (PBUH), his teachings, and his practice and I hope my brothers are among those the Prophet (PBUH) refers to when he said that, “Whoever adheres to my practices when my community is corrupted shall receive the reward of a hundred martyrs”
Alhamdulillah, after several headaches and sleepless nights trying to put the Qur’an in memory, we were so blessed to have finished the course in 2009 within three years.
I am indebted to my teachers, advisers, agabeys (elder brothers), family and friends for being my hands and the feet that propelled me to succeed in this challenge. May Allah, the Most Merciful fill their hearts with light, guide all of us to the straight path and let us meet in the day of resurrection with our beloved prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Amin.
Raffie Usman / Philippines (Click for original article)