So, what university should I go into?

[Samiun]

:sl: I think it has come to that point of life where I need to make a decision to go to a university. This will all need some planning of course, but I don't really know where to start. I like computer stuff like programming and at the same time Islamic Studies. I want both at the same time which is impossible so I have to wait until I get my masters or something then I'll be given permission to study Islam in-depth. The problem with that is no one knows when death will come and take our soul so I wanna be prepared to answer Allah S.W.T. during the day of Judgement. Also, is it better to go to a non-muslim or a muslim university? Europe, America, Asia or my own country? Please advise! :)

[crimsontide06]

First figure out where you want to be. Will it matter if you are close to home or not? Do you have the resources to go to another country and study? Then look deep into what you want to study, specifically. See what classes you must take before the classes for your major.You can find out also, if those prerequisite classes will transfer to another university. Good luck

[Cabdullahi]

The university of Burundi

[Muhammad]

:wa:

I like computer stuff like programming and at the same time Islamic Studies. I want both at the same time which is impossible so I have to wait until I get my masters or something then I'll be given permission to study Islam in-depth. The problem with that is no one knows when death will come and take our soul so I wanna be prepared to answer Allah S.W.T. during the day of Judgement.

It's not impossible to study Islam at a smaller scale whilst you are studying for your university course. You must at least study the basics so that you can perform all your obligations and stay away from what is prohibited, and this is what would be blameworthy if a person did not try to learn it. You could go further and begin memorising Qur'an and learning Arabic, as these are two things that every seeker of knowledge has to learn. So by the time you finish your university course, you will have made good use of your time and will not have to start from scratch when you pursue in-depth Islamic Studies Insha'Allaah.

Moreover, if you make a good intention for doing the university course, you will be rewarded for that and it will be counted as worship Insha'Allaah. So you will not lose out, Alhamdulillah. :)

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[Ramadan90]

:wa:
It's not impossible to study Islam at a smaller scale whilst you are studying for your university course. You must at least study the basics so that you can perform all your obligations and stay away from what is prohibited, and this is what would be blameworthy if a person did not try to learn it. You could go further and begin memorising Qur'an and learning Arabic, as these are two things that every seeker of knowledge has to learn. So by the time you finish your university course, you will have made good use of your time and will not have to start from scratch when you pursue in-depth Islamic Studies Insha'Allaah.

Moreover, if you make a good intention for doing the university course, you will be rewarded for that and it will be counted as worship Insha'Allaah. So you will not lose out, Alhamdulillah. :)

:wa: brother!

I am in the kind of same situation as OP, I study in university right now and I want to learn islam as much as I can and I do(memorising quran, duas etc), but I wonder how I can learn arabic as good as I can by myself? Are there selfstudy books you can recommend?

[Muhammad]

:wa: akhee,

Masha'Allaah, that's good to hear. The madeenah Arabic books are often recommended, and they can help. There is actually a free series of videos that go through these books which you might find helpful here:

http://www.abdurrahman.org/arabic/lqtoronto.com.html

Some people have criticized the structure of these books, but they can still help with learning the basics, Allaahu A'lam.


Another book which I have heard recommended is Al-Arabiyya Bayna Yadayk, which also has free videos on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTKlv...feature=relmfu


Aside from these, there are a number of courses online, some requiring fees and others offering scholarships, if you want to research any of those.

The main thing is to make a start and be consistent Insha'Allaah!

[Samiun]

It's not impossible to study Islam at a smaller scale whilst you are studying for your university course. You must at least study the basics so that you can perform all your obligations and stay away from what is prohibited, and this is what would be blameworthy if a person did not try to learn it. You could go further and begin memorising Qur'an and learning Arabic, as these are two things that every seeker of knowledge has to learn. So by the time you finish your university course, you will have made good use of your time and will not have to start from scratch when you pursue in-depth Islamic Studies Insha'Allaah.

:sl: bro muhd, so you're saying that it is okay to learn a course that is not directly related to Islam but at the same time memorize the Qur'an and learn arabic during my course? After that, then it would be better for me to pursue in-depth Islamic Studies? I don't know, I gotta a feeling I wounded my heart somewhere after reading so much things about Islam I do not know of and feel really responsible to teach it to others. Deep down, I know I'm desperate for that knowledge. Every minute in school is spend with the feeling of regret of not studying Islam because I'm blameworthy for not doing enough to get that Ilm. Although I'm still at high school, I'm certain death would come knockin on the door at any minute..

[Futuwwa]

Go for programming.

This ummah has plenty of religious scholars already, many of whom would be perfectly qualified to work full-time in religious capacity, but don't since there's no money in it. We need people with incomes who can fund putting our existing scholarly resources to use. And that requires secular education.

[True-blue]

I think it will be better to learn through Islamic online university. I mean go for online studies. Google regarding this, Insha'Allah there are many ways to learn through internet.

[tango92]

Go for programming.

This ummah has plenty of religious scholars already, many of whom would be perfectly qualified to work full-time in religious capacity, but don't since there's no money in it. We need people with incomes who can fund putting our existing scholarly resources to use. And that requires secular education.

hmm, i agree and disagree

money is not vital to the ummah, we have all the oil - the problem is corrupt governments having it for themselves

what we need is quality people who can make change and inspire change in others. iA

for this a "secular" education is important to nurture your undertanding of the world, but more important is sincere islamic knowledge which will put you on the road to paradise as well as give you an aim and purpose in this life.

[Muhammad]

:wa:

:sl: bro muhd, so you're saying that it is okay to learn a course that is not directly related to Islam but at the same time memorize the Qur'an and learn arabic during my course? After that, then it would be better for me to pursue in-depth Islamic Studies? I don't know, I gotta a feeling I wounded my heart somewhere after reading so much things about Islam I do not know of and feel really responsible to teach it to others. Deep down, I know I'm desperate for that knowledge. Every minute in school is spend with the feeling of regret of not studying Islam because I'm blameworthy for not doing enough to get that Ilm. Although I'm still at high school, I'm certain death would come knockin on the door at any minute..

If you're thinking about this from a duty perspective, then as above, not all knowledge is obligatory for you to know and so you need to consider what would be blameworthy for not knowing about. If there are particular things that are troubling your heart, perhaps you can go to an Islamic scholar and get them clarified. But in general terms of having to have a secular education and wanting to know more about Islam, there are options open to you to learn Islam alongside your secular studies.

[GuestFellow]

Consider this university:

http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/

[Futuwwa]

hmm, i agree and disagree

money is not vital to the ummah, we have all the oil - the problem is corrupt governments having it for themselves

Well, money that's off-limits to us is money we don't have, so my point stands.

what we need is quality people who can make change and inspire change in others. iA

for this a "secular" education is important to nurture your undertanding of the world, but more important is sincere islamic knowledge which will put you on the road to paradise as well as give you an aim and purpose in this life.

Yet, God has put is in this world as a trial, so who are we to ignore it?

[Ramadan90]

Just because you are professional in a secular area does not mean that you cannot be deeply knowledgable in Islam. You can actually have both of the best worlds depending how you utilize your time and focus. I would say it takes a great deal of hard focus, time and effort to be really good at both. If you want to be a scholar that will take a lot of years too and upon that you will be much more responsible for your great knowledge. For example, it is a well-known fact that many high-level scholars will enter the Hellfire in the next life due to their being held responsible more than the common man. Thus, the scholars in the Hellfire (and there will be quite a few of them) would have been better off not knowing so much.

I think in these times we need programmers, doctors and all other intellectual professionals that will benefit our ummah. But we can as well learn our deen deeply. Again, it is all about time and effort.

[Ramadan90]

I am personally afraid that if I choose to become a scholar that I would just do it for glory, that is what fears me the most. It is really important to purify ones intention ALL THE TIME.

[Orn]

The university of Burundi

I really hope you were kidding.....

[Muhaba]

think what you want to do in the future and what you can do with each of those two options. for example, what can you do an islamic studies degree and do you like to do those things? for example you can teach. what else?

if you prefer to do programming, to other careers, doing something else will make you feel stuck in something you don't like and it will be hard to progress in it.

in such a case, it might be better to study programming and at the same time, study islam. you can hear lectures online, get a commentary of the Quran that you study on your own daily, attend weekend lectures at masjid/islamic center, etc.

you don't need to study all the subjects studied in islamic study programs. some of them are really unnecessary. studying commentary should be the first thing and the most time should be given to it, and you can very well study it along with your programming course.

[Futuwwa]

I think in these times we need programmers, doctors and all other intellectual professionals that will benefit our ummah. But we can as well learn our deen deeply. Again, it is all about time and effort.

Yes, we need everything. But when you need everything, the solution is not to do everything, for then you might easily end up with too little of anything to make a difference. We only have a finite amount of time and effort to invest in learning things.

So the critical question when it comes to learning anything is not "Is this useful?" but rather "Is this the best possible use of the effort, or would using the effort to learn something else be even more useful?"

It's called opportunity cost, an often overlooked aspect of decision-making.

[*KB*]

Peace to All

Hey hey, it's amazing to hear you are thinking and wanting to go university! Brilliant news and I am very pleased for you Brother Samiun. I've nearly completed my first year; got 3 exams left...! :heated: Ahhhh :hiding: :hiding: :hiding: :hiding: +o( lool :p
I don't really have any brilliant advice other than, where ever you decide to go, you are bound to have fun :) it is an amazing experience; one to definitely do!

Insha'Allah Allah keeps you blessed and makes the decision easy :) AND COME TO THE UK! It's sooo rainy ;D but still coolio!