1) «I dreamed of a sip of water»
Hajj 2018. Day of Arafah, all Muslims had to stay within the borders of Arafah and make Dua and Dhikr all day. I was exhausted, as was everyone else. Most of the time, we walked under the scorching sun, waiting a lot because in one place there were about two million Muslims, so we were patient and did what was necessary.
Praise be to Allah, I was so happy; I made a lot of Dua. The feeling of joy overwhelmed me because I thought that Allah was praising us before the angels. When the sun was setting, everyone went to Muzdalifa, the place where we were supposed to spend the night. Basically, everyone spent the night on the ground, as this is the Sunnah, and it was a region with a lot of mountains, so hundreds of thousands of Muslims would lie, rest, and sleep in sleeping bags.
There was a lot of noise, and not everyone was able to sleep. We felt the thrill of being in such a place, surrounded by Muslims from all over the world. There was a feeling of brotherhood inside.
I was very thirsty, but I had no money. One boy was selling water not far from me. God bless, at that moment I could only dream of a sip of water; all my thoughts were focused on water. I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to ask for money either. I had to think of something, but it was all in vain.
Before I sat down to rest, the guy next to me returned with five bottles of cold water and gave me one. At this moment, I was moved to tears. I realized that it was help from Allah, a manifestation of His mercy to me. It may seem like a small gesture, but it shows that Allah sees what we need and gives it to us if we ask Him for it and create reasons.
2) "Why so much?"
After I entered the university, my parents paid for my studies, not immediately but in installments. Every three months, we paid a certain amount. Year after year, praise be to Allah, neither the parents nor the dean's office had any problems.
We had not just faculties but entire separate institutes, and inside there was already a division. And the institute itself was new; every six months—a year—there were changes, from the location of the classrooms to new teachers, new directions within the institute, and a complete change in the format of education.
During my studies, I did not officially work; I translated articles, videos, and even books, so I had a periodic income, albeit a small one. With this money, I could afford to pay for housing, travel, and a minimum set of food on my own, without the help of my parents.
And so I switched to the 4th year, intensively looking for a job, but because of the pandemic, problems arose. And one Friday, sitting in the mosque, I received a message that I owed the institute 90 thousand rubles. The reason was the delay. At first, I did not understand anything and demanded a clearer explanation. I was told that the payment date had shifted, and I had to pay for the tuition a month earlier. But no one warned us about this; in fact, we were confronted with the fact of payment.
At that time, my parents didn’t have a stash; I didn’t officially work; didn’t know what to do. The only thing I could do was to make a Dua. I asked Allah to ease this situation for me and help me with my work. On the same day I took more material for translation, the money should have been enough to pay half the amount.
There was only a week left before payment was due, but there was still no money. I took my younger brother to extracurricular activities and waited for him. The person I worked with was aware of my problem, and he wrote about the payment. I asked him to send the amount to my mother immediately. You could say it was a miracle. My mother called me and asked in surprise, "How much should have been transferred?". I said that about a quarter of the amount. They sent 86 thousand. I was in a state of panic, surprise, and joy, so I wrote to my employer to find out what had happened. It turned out that a stranger had found out about my situation and given this amount as sadaqah. Who was that? I don't know. But after this experience, I stopped despairing in any situation. No matter what happens, I always make Dua and try to create causes.
Hajj 2018. Day of Arafah, all Muslims had to stay within the borders of Arafah and make Dua and Dhikr all day. I was exhausted, as was everyone else. Most of the time, we walked under the scorching sun, waiting a lot because in one place there were about two million Muslims, so we were patient and did what was necessary.
Praise be to Allah, I was so happy; I made a lot of Dua. The feeling of joy overwhelmed me because I thought that Allah was praising us before the angels. When the sun was setting, everyone went to Muzdalifa, the place where we were supposed to spend the night. Basically, everyone spent the night on the ground, as this is the Sunnah, and it was a region with a lot of mountains, so hundreds of thousands of Muslims would lie, rest, and sleep in sleeping bags.
There was a lot of noise, and not everyone was able to sleep. We felt the thrill of being in such a place, surrounded by Muslims from all over the world. There was a feeling of brotherhood inside.
I was very thirsty, but I had no money. One boy was selling water not far from me. God bless, at that moment I could only dream of a sip of water; all my thoughts were focused on water. I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to ask for money either. I had to think of something, but it was all in vain.
Before I sat down to rest, the guy next to me returned with five bottles of cold water and gave me one. At this moment, I was moved to tears. I realized that it was help from Allah, a manifestation of His mercy to me. It may seem like a small gesture, but it shows that Allah sees what we need and gives it to us if we ask Him for it and create reasons.
2) "Why so much?"
After I entered the university, my parents paid for my studies, not immediately but in installments. Every three months, we paid a certain amount. Year after year, praise be to Allah, neither the parents nor the dean's office had any problems.
We had not just faculties but entire separate institutes, and inside there was already a division. And the institute itself was new; every six months—a year—there were changes, from the location of the classrooms to new teachers, new directions within the institute, and a complete change in the format of education.
During my studies, I did not officially work; I translated articles, videos, and even books, so I had a periodic income, albeit a small one. With this money, I could afford to pay for housing, travel, and a minimum set of food on my own, without the help of my parents.
And so I switched to the 4th year, intensively looking for a job, but because of the pandemic, problems arose. And one Friday, sitting in the mosque, I received a message that I owed the institute 90 thousand rubles. The reason was the delay. At first, I did not understand anything and demanded a clearer explanation. I was told that the payment date had shifted, and I had to pay for the tuition a month earlier. But no one warned us about this; in fact, we were confronted with the fact of payment.
At that time, my parents didn’t have a stash; I didn’t officially work; didn’t know what to do. The only thing I could do was to make a Dua. I asked Allah to ease this situation for me and help me with my work. On the same day I took more material for translation, the money should have been enough to pay half the amount.
There was only a week left before payment was due, but there was still no money. I took my younger brother to extracurricular activities and waited for him. The person I worked with was aware of my problem, and he wrote about the payment. I asked him to send the amount to my mother immediately. You could say it was a miracle. My mother called me and asked in surprise, "How much should have been transferred?". I said that about a quarter of the amount. They sent 86 thousand. I was in a state of panic, surprise, and joy, so I wrote to my employer to find out what had happened. It turned out that a stranger had found out about my situation and given this amount as sadaqah. Who was that? I don't know. But after this experience, I stopped despairing in any situation. No matter what happens, I always make Dua and try to create causes.
