Dear Ayesha and Tayyba,

            There is a saying of the Prophet (pbuh) that if you take steps to Allah walking, Allah will come to you running.  This camp was a complete embodiment of that principle.  I chose to come to the camp, not really knowing how much it would affect me this year. I was thinking that last year was just a shock and this year wouldn’t provide anything new.  Boy was I wrong.

            All it took was for me to make a little effort to come to the camp and once I did that Allah took care of the rest.  The quality of my prayers, my contemplation about Allah and His signs and my Ilm all increased a great deal.. I didn’t do much to deserve this – my entire summer has been spent wasting time and not making an effort to Allah. But Alhamdulliah, after coming to the camp, Allah gave me the gift of greater iman and tranquility in the heart.  This blessing now puts a very personal connotation to Al-Rahman Al-Rahmeem (written in Arabic) when I read it in Surah al-Fatiha. Allah has been most merciful and compassionate to me, and this camp was His vehicle to for providing that mercy.

            Insha Allah, I am gong to make dua that you come next year. Not only do I think that this camp will change you guys forever and bring you close to Allah, but it will give us a new dimension of love in our relationship.  This new love will be based upon our personal love for Allah and I know that this will bring us closer than anything else ever has.

            I love you greatly and pray that you start planning for this experience right away.

                                                                        Your brother,

                                                                        F. A.