I am taking an Arabic 1 class taught by Hafidth Abdur Rahman al Khattab at M.E.C.C.A. Center in NYC. Several times in class he will go off on tangents, exemplifying aspects of grammar using history and poetry. One day he told us a funny story, about how a gang of men threatened to physically attack a scholar of Arabic grammar. The scholar told them, “Go ahead, for every plural is feminine.” (I am not trying to reinforce the stereotype of femininity being mellow and weak). However his example made us laugh and reinforced the concept that regardless of the gender of a word in its singular form, once it becomes plural, it becomes feminine.
Then as usual my thoughts became sidetracked. This experience is reminding me so much of my time spent in Brother Nouman Ali Khan’s Arabic Grammar class that I attended in high school. Brother Nouman used to go off on A LOT of tangents as well, which only served to show us the depth, vastness, and beauty of the Arabic language. Which brings me to my next epiphany.
Every field of knowledge in this universe is a vast and endless ocean. Whether it is music, grammar, language, art, history, anthropology, genetics, astronomy, etc. It is impossible to become a thorough master in all fields of knowledge. This is why we must search deep into our souls and find the passion that ignites energy in us, and choose to swim in that ocean.
My friend who used to be a Music professor before she became Muslim told me about the different methods and techniques to improve voice, (which is a lot). She used to be an Oprah singer. Listening to her speak only solidifies the fact that knowledge of Music is an ocean itself.
Even within the Islamic Sciences there is a multiplicity of oceans to choose from: language, tajweed, hadith, tafsir, seerah, aqeedah, fiqh, tasawwuf.
My last and final epiphany (and hypothesis) is this: A successful and happy marriage will occur when both partners choose to swim in the same ocean of knowledge. When one partner tires of the characteristics of the other, they will never tire of their mutual passion for their ocean of choice. I have seen couples at Stony Brook University where both partners are professors are in the same field, and this is absolutely beautiful. They can stimulate each others’ minds with the same body of knowledge. Their combined passions will have a synergistic effect and give birth to a source of energy for the community and students, God-willing.
Now the point to be taken home: Which ocean will you swim in? And how will you share it with others?
