At Darul-Hijra, we are trying to RECREATE and CULTIVATE the PROPHETIC masjid!
For instance...
How did the Prophet ﷺ nurture the youth and train them?
Quranic Learning: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, a young 13-year-old shepherd enslaved by an evil man who used to throw camel intestines on the Prophet ﷺ while he was praying, was named by the Prophet as the COMPANION of the Quran.
Sports: On a long journey, young Ayesha (RadiyAllahu ‘Anha) was sitting bored inside her camel tent. The Prophet ﷺ asked the caravan to proceed forward and stayed behind with Ayesha. He asked her to race with her. She won the first race and lost the second!
Halal Entertainment: Could you imagine a cultural show in our masjid today? Probably not! But The Prophet ﷺ allowed a group from Habesha (Ethiopia) to perform a show with their spears, while his young wife Ayesha was looking above his shoulders!
Talent Development: The Prophet ﷺ saw the talent of 12-year-old Zaid ibn Thabit in learning languages. He asked him to learn Hebrew to be able to communicate with the Jews of Madina. Zaid mastered the language in just under 15 days!
Islamic Law: The Prophet ﷺ took Abdullah ibn Abbas under his wing as a child, and he emerged at the young age of 13 as “the scholar of this Ummah.”
Youth Counseling: A young man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “give me permission to commit adultery!”. Instead of shouting at him, he gently asked “would you want this for your mother? Your sister? Your aunt?” The man said no to all, and the thought left his mind out of shame. The Prophet never screamed. But he ﷺ appealed to his better judgment.
Matrimonial Counselling: Young Julaibeeb, who was poor and described as far from handsome, came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked to get married. The Prophet ﷺ helped him find a match!
Dawah Ambassadors: One year before the migrating, the Prophet ﷺ sent Mus’aab ibn Umair and 5 young companions to call people to Islam in Madinah before his arrival!
Leadership Training: In a mission which contained senior companions like Abu Bakr (61), and Omar (50), the Prophet ﷺ appointed Usama ibn Zaid, just 17 years old, to the leader!
Just like the Prophet ﷺ has taken care of all youth issues, we at Darul-Hijra want to revive that role of taking care of all the youth needs in our new multi-purpose built center!
In other words, the Masjid was more than a place of worship. The Masjid was the center of all activities for the Muslim community, including:
• Spiritual activities such as prayers, sermons, and lessons
• Educational activities such as Quran studies, humanities, medicine, and world sciences
• Physical activities - as the companions of the Prophet ﷺ used to train and wrestle together, even practicing in the throwing of spears!