We are surrounded by blessings, so much so that we can develop a kind of spiritual numbness. God’s Mercy is so ubiquitous that we forget about it.

Choosing discomfort does not seem at all sensible to our animal instincts, but we have found no greater medicine for warming the heart back into a fuller realization of Divine Compassion than to set comfort aside, at least for a time.

It was a tremendous honor to spend this past weekend outside with the young men and women of Islah LA. We asked them to leave behind their air conditioning and their showers. We asked them to forgo the company of neighborhood companions. We asked them to leave behind expectations of how this trip might turn out.

Because we were inviting them into the wild, a place where illusions of control are shattered. We could not promise them clear skies or warm nights. We could not promise that they would feel safe. We could not promise them that they would enjoy themselves.

All we could do was remind them that we would all be together. Whatever the outcome, it would be shared. We could promise them solidarity and the benefit of our experience.

As it turns out, that’s all anyone actually needs.

Identifying the ties that bind us to one another and firming up the linkage through camaraderie and mentorship is central to the human experience. We are social animals. Some of us may be hardwired to spend much or even most of our time alone, but not exclusively. We need one another to freshen our perspective, to balance our weaknesses, to offset our deficiencies, and to pass along hard-won wisdoms.

We started our weekend on the water.

Our morning was spent along the coast of Santa Barbara where the Islah LA students received basic instruction on paddle boarding, surfing, and sea kayaking. It was a brisk and invigorating start to a powerful weekend of transformational opportunities. One must be willing to capitalize on such opportunities when they arise, however, and on this point the young men and women of Islah LA did not disappoint. They were ready to quite literally dive into adventure!

After a picnic lunch on the bluffs overlooking the water, we offered the ritual prayer before making our way into the Los Padres National Forest where we made camp, enjoyed a fireside dinner, and tucked in for the night.

The next morning we went on an exploratory hike. The intention was to bring the participants into a wild place and let them discover it for themselves. Equipped with emergency whistles, they were asked to set off on their own and to regroup at a specified time to report back on their discoveries. For those less inclined to venture off, an art lesson featuring water colors was facilitated by two of our amazing volunteers.

After several hours, the students were called back in to report their findings. Many had practiced skipping stones in the clear, freshwater pools. Others had climbed higher than they ever had before with the help and support of friends. A group of young men discovered a cave large enough that eight of them crawled inside where they spent the next hour talking with one another. A circle of women spontaneously formed along the banks of a creek and they shared a number of personal challenges in strict confidence.

Little of this was structured. Dust and Tribe will not take you places just so you can hear us talk about how to live your life. We’re still working on figuring that out for ourselves.

Rather, Dust and Tribe invites you to participate in the collaborative human experiment of learning to live better together. Islam is our framework and the wilderness our teacher. And to learn, we must explore, like turning the pages of the holiest of books, each line of text a message from God Most High into the hearts of His believing folk.

Toward the late afternoon, the clouds had begun to gather and the winds were kicking up. A light rain fell followed by intermittent cloudbursts that moistened the earth just enough to awaken her fragrance as we made our way back to the van.

Once at camp, two of our volunteers ran a short workshop on wilderness and tactical medicine, giving our young people just enough information to address an emergency situation with some level of confidence.

We prepared for dinner and enjoyed roasting hot dogs and s’mores over an open fire. We had planned on a night hike after our meal, but God had other plans. We got another dousing of rain from heavy clouds that blotted out the waning gibbous moon. Instead, we gathered under the canvas of a pop-up shelter and prayed together, enjoying the baritone recitation of one of the Islah LA students.

Once the rain had eased, we met up at the fire where we continued our recitations from the Qur’an. This was a new experience for me, as people took turns reading from and translating Ya-Sin, the 36th chapter which reiterates God’s sovereignty as exemplified by His creations through signs from nature.

We woke the next morning to break camp and offer gratitude in our Closing Circle. It was remarkable how many of the young people singled out the fireside recitation as a trip highlight. It is a testament to the work of Islah LA that their youth find such delight in the audition of the Holy Qur’an.

Dust and Tribe does not do a lot of youth-oriented work. Too many of us in the Islamic community relegate the work of parenting to institutions and it becomes a case of too little too late. Time in the wilderness demands maturity, humility, and a deeply internalized sense of responsibility, or else the risk of harm will greatly outweigh any potential benefit. We cannot risk taking people into wild places that do not embody these prerequisites.

And without exception, the young men and women of Islah LA were ready.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the administration and parents of Islah LA whose work is very clearly bearing fruit, masha Allah. May God continue to bless you, your children, and your community.

We would further like to thank our amazing volunteers whose contributions of time, money, energy, creativity, and expertise elevated our work to levels not previously achievable, al-hamdu lillah.

We are all truly better together.

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