Studying Fusha Arabic in Egypt for 10 months.

It was the year 2014, when I decided to travel to Cairo, Egypt to study Fusha Arabic. Before that, I was taking Islamic courses from my local community (shout out to Masjid Dawah) for some time. However, I wanted to further my learning of the Islamic knowledge and to do that, I needed to know the Fusha Arabic. Fusha Arabic is the language of the Quran and if you want to really understand and study the quran, then you need to know it.

At that time, my aunt was temporarily staying in Egypt with her kids. Having a family there and the fact that Egypt is known for its Islamic knowledge, it was no brainer that I chose Egypt. I talked to my family and then I booked my ticket. It was a quick decision, and Alhamdulillah I did that.

When I arrived in Cairo, Egypt, I asked my aunt and the people my aunt knew about the best Arabic language center to learn Fusha Arabic. Most people suggested Fajr Center for Arabic Language in Nasr city, Cairo. Fortunately, my aunt was living few blocks from the center, so I enrolled there. I was taking Arabic classes for 5 days. My schedule consisted of going to my Arabic classes, doing homework after classes, and reviewing my notes in the morning before classes. I also took some Quran classes, but my focus was learning Fusha Arabic.

In Fajr center, I started from level 0. The teachers spoke Fusha Arabic when they were teaching Arabic. This was not easy of us as we did not know nor understood Arabic but that was their teaching method. The teachers used simple Arabic words, they also used hand gestures and drawings to help us understand them. This helped us learn and understand Fusha Arabic quicker. What also helped us understand Arabic quicker, was that the students were from different parts of the world, so our only option was to communicate in Arabic language only.

In Fajr center, they focused more on the understanding of the language and less on the grammar, especially at the beginning levels. So, we learned new vocabularies and then practice them in conversations. I was doing good in class as it was easier for me. This is because, as a Somali, most of our words are Arabic. However, as I moved up in levels it was getting difficult because of the introduction of Arabic grammar. I felt like they were not doing good job in how they were introducing Arabic grammar and how they were teaching it. I stayed with Fajr Institute for 5 months and I did level 0 to level 3 with them.

Now I wanted to focus more on the Grammar side of the language, so I enrolled in an Arabic instituted called Al Ibaanah Arabic Center. This center was also in Nasr city and few blocks away from me. I started again from level 0 as this center focused more on the grammar side and I really did not know anything about grammar. At the beginning, I felt confident in my ability to speak Fusha Arabic, so I thought it will be easy. Boy was I in for a surprise! First, in this institute, most if not all the students are from France. Students from France are good in Arabic language as most of them come from Arabic speaking Countries such as North Africa and West Africa. Second, Arabic grammar is no joke and Al Ibaanah Center really focused on that. We were learning about nahw (Grammar), Sarf(Conjugation), and the beginning of balagha (Rhetoric). I was out of my comfort and really struggling.

My aunt moved back to Canada and I moved in with a friend from the States. The friend was new so she went to Fajr Center and I was regretting leaving Fajr Center. I made new friends from UK and Canada in Al Ibaanah center and we helped each other. The Uk friend was ahead of us so she advised us and helped us a lot. The Canada friend and I were in the same level, so we were struggling together. Level 1 was really hard for us and after we took our exams, we waited for the results. I remember, the Canada friend coming very early in the morning to our apartment so that we could know if we passed level 1. We were very anxious not passing that level especially for my Canadian friend. We were all sitting in the living room, waiting for the call, when my Canadian friend phone rang. She quickly picked up and after couple of minutes she hanged up and started to cry! I did not know what to do, especially when people cry. Fortunately, my other friend was there, and she quickly went to her and hugged her. Unfortunate, she failed and was very sad about it. Then, I got the call and I failed too(😂)! I am laughing because I find the whole incident to be funny and chaotic. Because I usually laugh in awkward situations and I was laughing after I found out that I failed too because my friend was over there crying and I did not know how to respond! The whole situation was a mess. We repeated level 1 again and alhamdulillah we passed the second time(😂).

After I started level 3, I noticed that I was running out of money and I did not want to ask my family for money and I was also homesick I guess. So I had to come back to the States. I was in Egypt for eight months and those months truly improved my learning of the Fusha Arabic. When I was in Egypt I was so focused on my learning that I did not notice how much I actually learned. The moment that made me realize how much I have learned was when I came back to the states and it was Ramadan. I remember it vividly as I was in Taraweeh prayer and I could understand the Quran the qari was reciting. I started crying(it was happy tears) and

Some Memorable moments from my time in Egypt:

1. Seeing all the different people from all over the world coming to Egypt for the sole purpose of learning the Deen. Mostly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia(Chechnya), France and countries that end in stan such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.
2. Meeting an older Somali lady who was just starting Al-Azhar University and how dedicated she was in her pursued of Islamic knowledge.
3. Halal fast food restaurants and the ability for home deliveries! (discovering Hardee’s Restaurants in Egypt and their halal delicious menu!)
4. Getting off the bus while still moving (that’s the norm in Egypt)!
5. Going to the Cairo International Book Fair and buying books worth $500!
6. My introduction to instant coffee(Alicafe being my fav)