no big deal, its just u***h

WARNING : If you suffer from short-fuse syndrome, please refrain from reading this post. Also not for people allergic to a high concentration of D&T terminology. Please keep your arms and legs inside your seat at all times.

"Usrah? that's so old fashioned. Those people only stick to themselves. And every time its the same old thing."

Sounds familiar? It is!

The topic of this post is "why i choose to subscribe to the usrah system". After all, there are a lot of ways out there to do D&T:
- some people choose to give open lectures
- some people choose charity work and community service
- some people go into politics and work on islamic governance

So why usrah?

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Okay, maybe the reasons above are valid. But we must do something because we understand and believe in it. So this is why i chose to follow the usrah system.

I believe that Islam, as a religion, is sent down to be the guiding principle behind every single system in life. Not only in 'religious' matters. A financial system must follow the principles of islam. A political system. A social system. Every institution, every facet of human existence, must have islam as its driving force. 

And who builds institutions? People. You and me.

But the people who build the foundations for these institutions must be people with a deep understanding of their religion. We can't have people who are 'sekerat-kerat' (half-cooked). 

And how do we build this deep foundation in people? That's where usrah comes in.

اسرة - family

Your weekly circles are not usrah. 

That's right. No one gets left behind. 

Usrah begins with tasbih kifarah and ends with al fatihah. It's what we do outside those weekly circles. Its the nucleus of the movement to restore islam, where each of the members in the usrah functions to help the others attain a degree of perfection. Perfection in belief. Perfection in worship. Perfection in character. Perfection in organisation. 

I've been with my usrahmates for more than a year now. And i can honestly say that they're a lot different to a few years ago. If i lie, you can cut my fingers. 

So we are building the people who will become the vanguard (frontline) and the pillars of the islamic renaissance. And throughout history, great revolutions started small, with a nucleus of like-minded men.

Ever heard of James Watt? He was the inventor of the steam engine. He was also part of a 'circle' called the Lunar Society, which promoted the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin had his own usrah. They were called the Bolsheviks and they met and discussed Marxism until they developed it into Leninism. 

And the greatest example is of course, Rasulullah. From the earliest days, he had his usrah in the house of al-Arqam bin Abi al-Arqam, instilling into the Sahabah a deep understanding of the religion and a deep love for Allah 'azza wa jal.

his usrahmates changed the course of history.

Some people accuse the usrah system of being too slow. "we want action! we want results!"

Of course its slow. 

What we're doing is planting the seeds. No one looks at seeds. They're almost invisible from above ground.

But once the seeds grow, you'll be amazed at how big and strong the trees are.