On our second morning, we gathered along the beach to sit with a remarkable religious scholar, a man of some 70 years and a lifelong surfer. The plan was to sit in prayer and remembrance, dhikr in the Islamic tradition, before getting on the water. But some of the men were excited. They were already in the water, paddling against the current to catch what they could before the wind kicked up.
“Nevermind,” said the grizzled scholar, pointing to the waves. “That is dhikr.”
What is remembrance except to contemplate our place in the vastness of time and space? And where is that vastness more apparent than in the dark and roiling sea, where our insignificance and vulnerability are so viscerally obvious? And when is our seeking for balance and direction more triumphant than when we have timed and matched the velocity of a surge of water that has traveled thousands of miles to break on our shores with us dancing upon it?
Two days prior we gathered at camp, a group of nearly 20 men spanning two generations, some with prior surfing experience and others who were brand new to the sport. D&T Grom is our annual collaboration with Muslim surf club Kooks and Kahunas. These are men who surf together and have established an admirable brotherhood, one with God at its center. Last year they expressed a willingness to mentor others who would like to learn about surfing, how to do it and what it means in the life of a Muslim.
That was our inaugural Grom adventure.
And like last year, we started with the basics. Just before our sunset dinner, we covered water safety and communication. As we gathered around the campfire, we discussed the anatomy of a wave, the construction of a surfboard, and the importance of balance and feeling our way.
Those introductory remarks are sufficient for understanding the existential significance of surfing.
There is no spirituality without safety. Abraham Maslow taught us that in 1943 and it is obvious even to those who have not studied psychology. Nourishment and security are requirements before we can court transcendence. It is not until we have been duly embraced by our community that we can begin to wrestle with forces outside our control and comprehension. Through these basics of food, warmth, and tender solidarity, we prime ourselves to work with the things we cannot change.
Our mornings started with the predawn prayer followed by coffee and a snack before heading to the beach. Water and weather conditions are variable and this was the next important lesson: we can only prepare and hope for the best.
However, practice and time on the water expands the opportunity for optimizing circumstance.
This was not a point that was lost on the beginners and they stuck closely to the more experienced mentors to learn what they could. The courage of the newcomers and the compassion of the mentors in supporting them cannot be overstated. Surfing is physically taxing and mentally exhausting, all the more so for those already anxious about being in the water.
But it is only through struggle that we rise. And it is only through shared struggle that we thrive.
Our way is not meant to change who we are. Islam is a forum for us to express the unique attributes and aptitudes that our Creator has secreted within us. The rites of prayer and fasting and almsgiving are not the point. The point lies in how each of these things might refine the essential self, the person who shows up within and beyond the rites.
None of us is an accident. Some of us are fighters and advocates. Others are intellectuals and mystics. I know men and women who are teachers and healers and you know people who cannot help but to create beautiful things.
And some of us are surfers. To use the words of one participant, “It’s not a long walk to see how surfing is a need.”
God does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
Q5:6
Every Dust and Tribe experience includes ample time for reflection and conversation. Through this disclosure it becomes immediately apparent that we are all markedly different in so many ways, but united in our hope to draw closer to our Creator. What a beautiful thought that He might have given us the means to do so through the very passions that he has inspired within each of us!
With all praise returning to God, we were all blessed to witness the growth and progress of the participants, nurtured and embraced as they were by their Kooks and Kahunas mentors. But their service did not stop there.
The Kooks and Kahunas donated all funds raised by the D&T Grom surf camp to the Edhi Foundation flood relief campaign. Torrential rains have flooded Pakistan, killing hundreds and displacing tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters. We are exceedingly proud of our association with men so wise and gracious as to leverage our joy on the water to support those terrorized by the same element.
With gratitude to God Most High, we hope to meet again next year. We’re looking at a parallel program for women and even the possibility of international surf trips as we mentor one another into higher and higher levels of proficiency, insha Allah.
Do you surf? Tell us why in the comments below.