For most of us, this is the largest stretch of free time we will ever be given. No deadlines. No 9-5’s. Once you graduate, a break like this doesn’t come back. So the question is how we’re going to utilise this precious time
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.” — Sahih Muslim 2699
Sort your intention before your schedule
Before you download an app, buy a book, or sign up to anything, sit with yourself for five minutes and answer one question honestly ”why do I want to learn this?”
Because there are other reasons that may creep in, such as, sounding knowledgeable in a debate, to win an argument with a relative or to be known as the one who has knowledge. None of those will carry you past week two of studying, and as we all know, actions are by their intentions.
The intention that lasts is much simpler, such as: “I want to know Allah better, and I want to worship Him properly.” Renew it every time you sit down to study and you will see how Allah will facilitate the path of knowledge for you.
Start with what’s already obligatory on you
There’s always a strong pull towards the interesting stuff. The 20 vs 1 Muslim YouTube debates or what the different schools of thought say for a particular legal ruling. It feels productive, and some of it genuinely is.
However, there’s an order to this. There is knowledge that is personally obligatory on every Muslim and this comes first. That means the basics of your belief, how to purify yourself properly, and how to pray correctly. Most of us learned these at eight years old and never revisited them.
Ask yourself, could you explain the conditions of a valid prayer right now? Do you know what invalidates your wudu? Could you describe who Allah is to a 5-year old?
Where to start you may ask? Our Essentials online course is built exactly for this. The foundations of faith, worship and the life of the Prophet (PBUH) taught in a way that assumes you’re starting fresh.
Pick one thing, and actually finish it
The most common way a holiday period of learning dies is not laziness. It’s picking too many things and not finishing any of them.
You start a seerah series, get four episodes in, then see a tafsir playlist and switch. Then someone recommends a book on the diseases of the heart, so you buy that. By August you’ve got six half-finished things and the sense that you didn’t get anywhere.
Choose one thing. One book. One course. One surah to study properly. One collection of forty hadith. Then finish it before you touch anything else. Finishing one small thing builds something that starting ten never will.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.” — Sahih al-Bukhari 6464
Learn from people, not just from screens
You can learn an enormous amount online without a doubt. Throughout our history, knowledge has traditionally been passed from person to person, and there are things a video simply cannot give you.
However, a teacher can tell you when you’ve misunderstood something. The comments section can’t. A teacher knows what you should learn next, and what you’re not ready for yet. A room full of people studying together does something to your motivation that a playlist never will and studying alone means nobody notices when you quietly stop and lose motivation.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: No people gather together in one of the Houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, and mercy envelops them, and the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them amongst those who are with Him. — Sahih Muslim 2699
Build a routine that survives after the break
The trap of free time is thinking you’ll utilise it to study for four hours a day. You won’t, and when you inevitably don’t, you’ll feel like you’ve failed and stop altogether.
After Fajr: 20 minutes of study.
After Asr: review one page or hadith.
Before Isha: 30 minutes of study.
One page. One hadith. Anchor it to a prayer you’re already praying, so it has a fixed time in the day rather than floating around waiting for you to feel motivated.
And take the mornings seriously. There is a specific blessing in them.
The Prophet (PBUH) made this du’a “O Allah, bless my nation in its early mornings.” — Sunan Abu Dawud 2606
The routine you build over eight weeks is the one you’ll still have when lectures restart. That’s the real prize here, not how much you got through in August, but the new habit you’ve developed that continues into the months after.
Act on it, or it doesn’t count
Every time you learn something, ask yourself what changes do I need to make. You studied the rules of prayer, so fix the thing you’ve been doing wrong for years. You read about backbiting, so leave the conversation next time backbiting is involved. You learned one of Allah’s names, so call on Him by it in your du’a tonight.
Final thoughts
You don’t need to spend the whole holiday studying. Rest is not wasted time, you’ve come out of a gruelling year of uni and you’re allowed to recover. So see your family, relax and enjoy the break.
But somewhere in these weeks, give Allah and your religion the time it deserves.
Twenty minutes a day for just a month is roughly ten hours of knowledge. That’s a book finished. A course completed. A part of your prayer finally understood and it’s the difference between arriving back on campus the same person who left, and arriving back with something you didn’t have before.