37th post - thank you to the enquirer "Unknown" for your question. it is always a good moment when i get to stop and breathe my Tareem memoirs back to this current moment. one can get so caught up in the busy of life.. the heartbreak of disappointments.. the state where you could only say Allaaaaaahhhh... then HE sends an Unknown to remind you of the sweetness that life could offer.. Tareem was and still is (in my heart) a sweetness i carry but sometimes forget.. SubhanAllah.

Unknown said...

Is Tarim safe to travel these days? It seems like you've been there at the height of the war. So from your experiences, what was it like?
November 24, 2018 at 5:55 PM

dorayuana said...

safety is something nobody can guarantee.. honestly who could. 

i assure you, though in literal words it seemed the phrases such as, "war", "detained at Oman borders for 3days", "a night spent in orange hued skyline of sandstorm & whatever heavy thumped sound in the ground that was", "histeria of buses arranged by concerned countries to get their citizens out", "detained at singapore airport for an hour just to wait for an officer to question what were you doing in Yemen"... i would still firmly say my journey was something i would treasure in the path of seeking sacred knowledge. the phrases might sound dramatic but having gone through it, it really was not at all what it hyped up to be.

for one, amongst all the histeria, Tareem was still calm with nothingness.. and we still had exams going on.. my ustadha still waited for me to come up to her for my day's worth of Quran memorisation.. so much for "war" lah. 

i was safe, always fed well and taken care of no matter what situation i might have been in.. do note i have asthma and even when i got sick.. medical attention was always around alongside pure Yemen honey and seemingly a lifetime supply of habbatusSauda'. 

i have never known what a privilege it was being a woman in Islam until i set my path to Tareem and i never knew the beauty of a muslim man's heart that exudes in character until i got to know Tarimis. sincerity is an understatment.

yes life was hard there in comparison to norms and conveniences of the western world but nowhere else have i ever witnessed pure hearts so attached to the deen. i make du'a everyone of us will get to witness it so much so we get to a point of clarity and go, "huh? what do you mean war?"

these are my personal experiences. it may sound airy fairy or downright delusional to most (i assure you i am the last person to be airy fairy about the deen.. im too practical of a person to ever be that).. but i assure you it is the best decision i made to "halt my normal life" for 3years in pursuit of the gems in Tareem. istikharah.. istisharah (where i got my parents' -read, MOM- blessings).. and tawakkal.

honestly when i got back to Singapore i jumped right back to where i was before.. only much more fulfilled as a human being (and weirdly albeit my absence, i was given a better position and better pay upon my return). i went Tareem not concerning myself of the validity of a certificate from the "not-recognised-by-Singapore-standards school" so i was not expecting any "returns" career wise upon my return. 

much to my amazement mashaAllah, Allah gave me much more.. not only the sacred knowledge i thirst for but in my career as well. Allah is THAT generous YaKareem.

i finally knew my purpose.. i finally knew Allah has always been the one taking care of me.. of everything.. and that my dear enquirer.. is an assurance that everything can go wrong.. but it is actually just about right. go figure.

Allah make ease for you.