Being an IPIP student while doing my full-time national service has certainly put me through a process of spiritual growth to be a better Muslim filled with internal struggles as well joy.

A struggle that is probably common to many students in IPIP would be the challenge of trying to find time to revise and study on our own while having work or being a full-time student. For me, there were times when it was hard for me to open the book and study especially those which require me to memorise such as hadith. Putting away the training time, the free time I have has left me between opening the book or to rest. Thus I had to allocate time for revision. This reminded me to appreciate the time and how I can manage it and that we can make time for things.

On the flip side, being a student of knowledge has definitely benefited me as well as the people around me. From the point of learning the basics of fiqh, getting introduced to the basics of khuf and jama’ solat or the combination of prayers has certainly eased the way I am able to perform my ‘ibadah while in camp or during training. This also applies to other situations outside the camp as well. Knowing that it was possible for me to make wudhu with boots and pray with it as well as fulfilling each prayer time by combining zuhr and asr due to the uncertain training times showed me that I can still practice Islam in various situations. In addition, this knowledge, although basic, is not commonly known among many Muslims and they might not be familiar with its process. Hence, aside from it benefiting myself, it also benefited the Muslim comrades around me as I spread the knowledge through practising it.