By Farah Mashhur Ali

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

This article is a sharing to my beloved juniors, to all whom I treasure deep down in my heart, and especially to those who have and will always be blessings to me... Wallahualam.

Dearest friends, brothers and sisters in Islam, Peace be unto you.

Read and reflect on this article as a personal letter from your sister, who does not quite know how else she can share with you on how NUS has been a meaningful experience for her, except through this writing. In brief, my intention in penning down my thoughts and feelings is just to tell you that university life has been for me a blessing, and that I pray that it will be so for you too, Insya Allah.

Counting the days to graduation, it saddens me deeply to think that my journey in this place, this gift bestowed by Allah, will soon come to an end. I remember after receiving our posting results in 1995, a group of us sat along "Orchard Road" (outside old RBR) asking one another questions like, "Are you sure we got in? How come ah?" These people (and more of us now), are the very same people who have traveled closely alongside me to unravel the answers to those questions. These people, whom I never thought could be my close friends, have become my soul-mates and companions dearly loved because of Allah. The discovery of true friendship is just part of the gift I have received in NUS. It dawns onto me that Allah is indeed the best of planners as He brings people together by choice so that we may strive to do something about that brotherhood.

This is the journey I want to share with you; the journey of finding myself, my friends, my purpose in life, and most importantly, the journey of finding my Creator. As I recall all that has happened in the past three years, I can only express sincere gratitude to Allah for having even considered me as one of His creations. It can be nothing except immense "syukur" to Him who has developed me from someone who is "jahil", ignorant and unsettled, to one who is more aware of my role as His servant and trustee and having greater self-knowledge, Alhamdullillah. After five weary years of searching for a direction in life, an assurance in the Truth and comfort in my existence, I now believe that all those trials and tribulations are means whereby Allah lifts me in spirit and strength. It is truly amazing how He keeps His promise of creating us in the best of moulds, and yet, we can be the lowest of low too, if we just forget to be humble for awhile. In my first year, I often felt inferior to my friends because of their knowledge and confidence. But I gradually learnt that this inferiority complex was a problem of perception I myself created. Only when I chose to draw from their strengths did Allah pave the way for me to grow.

NUS is like that � the opportunities are open for you, but you can only benefit and develop if you accept the treasures and responsibilities bestowed upon you; and unless you try and be humble in that effort, you will never know the blessings that lie ahead of you. This is why I truly believe that NUS has been a great gift to me, because nowhere else can you have such autonomy over your time, your youth, your energy and primarily, your life. For me, that expedition of "trying" began with an Ithaca for Peace (journey in search of peace), skipping classes, testing friendship and wearing different versions of headgear, to things like discovering the many facets of my identity and the people I love. NUS is a place where I learnt what it means to be a Muslim, a daughter, a student, and most importantly, what it means to love and to hate because of Allah.

NUS is a reality Allah laid before me and for many of you too. It is like a package with many keys to the doors of this world and the hereafter. It was entirely my choice to pick the keys I wanted at each crossroad. In making those decisions, I seem to have encountered more failures than successes, but Alhamdullilah, in each failure, there was the hikmah. It is true that with every difficulty, there is ease for those who place whatever little hope they have in Him.

To me, NUS is "a place of many firsts". It is here that I first climbed a mountain, attended an international conference, accepted and rejected responsibilities, had dengue fever (I thought I was going to die!); the first time I failed an exam because I did not wake up on time for it; the first time I felt really old and of course, the many other firsts meant only for my memory. With these little experiences, it is quite impossible not to give thanks to Allah for the many lessons of humility, modesty and sincerity He has taught me.

Now that the journey has almost ended, I wonder whether Allah will grant my friends and I the mercy and grace to comfortably move out into the brave new world. If you think about it, when one journey ends, another inevitably begins... I recall what a senior once told me; she said that whatever happens, you must pray that on the day of your convocation, what you are holding in your hands is not merely a piece of paper, but that which is blessed by Allah. You see, it does not matter how much or how little we have done to get closer to Allah; what matters is whether He considers us to be part of His mercy. It is a scary thought, but what keeps me going is the hope and assurance in Him and the belief in the power of supplication, Insya Allah. As they say, "Muslims never die", even if you die, you die fighting (shared by a brother of mine).

To be honest, my greatest fear is that the idealism that I aspire to here in NUS will not stand the test of time beyond campus grounds, Allah forbids. As another brother reminded, it is more of your actions and what you have done with the little knowledge you have that will be judged by Allah on the Day of Judgement. All this in place, I can only remind myself, especially, and all of us, to make doa to Allah to continuously give us the strength, the faith, the energy and the commitment to live and die as Muslims, Insya Allah. Let us pray for one another to be reminded of our role on this earth, to carry it out and that we will have husnul khatimah (a good end), Insya Allah.

As I take my humble leave, I seek forgiveness from each and every one of you, especially those with whom I have work and from Allah, for all my weaknesses, more so in writing this article. So to all my cherished juniors, please make full use of your time in NUS because indeed, it is a gift and if something is a blessing from Allah, we should love it, treasure it and never take it for granted, Insya Allah. May our hearts unite in faith and though apart, may the rope of Allah binds us together always, Insya Allah.