On the 9th of November, I, along with the around 88 other Muslim sisters, completed a 10km hike in Hastings in the name of Charity Week! Charity week is an international movement headed by Islamic societies across the world, which unite to raise as much money as they can for those in need. We each had a £300 target to fundraise for the charity Islamic Relief.
This year all the money will be donated to four deserving causes:
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Cancer Care for Gaza
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Health Care for Pakistan
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Education for Niger, Afghanistan and the Middle East
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Emergency for Syria, Sudan, Southern Africa, Asia
So, here is a run through of how the day panned out from start to finish!
5.40: We all had a very early start to the morning! In my case I had to wake up at 5.30 in order to shower, brush my teeth, get dressed and pack all of my remaining stuff for the trip. I managed to grab a quick breakfast biscuit to eat on the go.
6.45: By this time I had arrived at my local station. Luckily I had my big fluffy jacket and an extra scarf around my neck because it was really chilly outside and still dark, as it was before sunrise. I was all wrapped up and ready to go to Hastings! But first I needed to make my way to Guy’s Campus at KCL so I could be there on time for the coach, which would take us straight to Hastings. Along my tube journey, I double checked I had everything I needed for the hike and then read a book for the rest of the journey. Although I was physically on the tube my brain was still half asleep and lying at home in bed! It was way too early for me on a weekend!
7.25: I finally arrived to Guy’s Campus, just in front of the Shard, with good time. I reunited with all of my friends, said my Salaams (a greeting of peace) and gave a big hug to all of the sisters I know. The organisers then took our register and put us into teams, each with a different coloured wristband. We were given some fun activities to do along the hike such as: make a human pyramid, sing ‘Forget You’, hide a rock in another team member’s bag etc.We were told to try as much as possible to get photo or video evidence of all the activities we did, so that we could earn team points and win the competition. Including one of my favourite challenges, which was to try and photobomb other teams when they are taking their photos which would earn our team extra points.The team with the most points by the end would win!
9.16: We were on the coach and ready to set off for Hastings! The coach ride was so much fun and was actually what got everyone really pumped up for the Hike! Although we were all still very tired from such an early start, we managed to liven up our spirits along the journey! We first read our travelling dua for a safe journey and renewed our intentions for doing charity (which is a big fundamental aspect of Islam.) We then sang some nasheeds and Disney songs to keep us all awake and alive!
11.44: After a two hour coach journey, we had safely arrived in Hastings! And, boy, was it beautiful! We came across some very picturesque sites as we made our way to the main hiking station. We even spotted a few boats and colourful houses! (which reminded me very much of Balamory)
12.08: We made our way up the hill to our hiking starting point. The views we saw along the way were stunning and the landscape was incredible! The weather was also very surprisingly sunny at this point! We walked up and down the hill, skipping along the way and ‘Naruto’ running through the grass! By this point we were extremely excited and ready to get started!
12.30: We carried on walking for about half an hour until we reached the peak of the hill. We then had a quick stop to pray Zuhr (one of the 5 daily prayers) along the grass right in front of the fantastic view of the sea. It was really cute that we all had our matching, colour coded, water-proof prayer mats and were able to all come together to pray. It was one of my favourite moments of the whole trip because it really defined our unity and bond as a Muslim Ummah! (community)
13.16: By the time it had reached 1:00 it began raining and this is when the mud became really difficult to walk through. A lot of us slipped or (almost) fell straight into the mud. Our trainers especially fell victim to the mud and it was really hard to even lift them up and out of the ground, because they were so far covered into the ground.
14.56: We then took a short break to eat our lunch and pray Asr. We then got back to walking our final little part of the hike!
15.53: WE MADE IT! Alhamdulilah, we completed the hike and returned to the beach. Here we prayed our Maghrib namaz next to the shore and watched the sunset. Some of us went inside to escape the cold with some warm hot chocolate and then we were called back to return to the coach. After a long, long day we made it back home to London and completed the hike! I am so proud of each and everyone of us!
The love and support I felt with all of my amazing Muslim sisters on this hiking trip was absolutely phenomenal. The sisterhood is so tight and close, Alhamdulillah, that it made this event so much fun to be a part of! One of the freshers, Jannath shared this sweet message in regards to the hike:
“I just wanted to thank everyone for being such a great support system, after climbing those flights of stairs my asthma got the better of me and I was willing to give up there and then. A sister gave me her asthma pump and a few medics came to my rescue (May Allah reward them for taking such good care of me, they were absolute lifesavers.) Thanks to them I realised I couldn’t give up and Alhamdulillah (Thank God) I surprised myself and completed the hike!”
Jannath went on to recall that when the mud became really thick and squelchy, sticking to our shoes which we referred to as ‘live-action stuck in the mud” she “ended up holding hands with so many different sisters” to avoid sinking into the mud and slipping…”I couldn’t even get their names.” She also said “Praying together was also a beautiful experience. Everyone was such great company during this hike.”
Noor Mansour, a third year student, said that the hike was “one of the most beautiful days of my life! Just seeing us all together – different colour, ethnicities and studying different courses, coming together as one Muslim ummah (community) made my heart swell.” said she “loved every part, especially praying together and even the mud because that’s when the true sisterhood came out.”
For me personally, I ended up almost slipping into the mud several times. If it wasn’t for my friends and even random strangers who I had just met, grabbing hold of my arm when I couldn’t stop rolling down the steep hills or literally couldn’t move my foot out of the mud, I don’t know what I would do! Even when I needed to do my wudu (cleansing process, I met the kindest sister who was willing to help me hold all of my belongings until I was completely finished – what a blessing, Alhamdulilah!
Overall, it was such a great experience, I had such an incredible time! The hike was such a lovely bonding experience and I made so many memories in my first year of university. I hope we can use the money we have raised to really make a difference in the world and I pray that Allah accepts our work in the name of charity. (Ameen)