An-Nur: Volume 5 - Issue 2 (December 5, 2003) by Al-Nur Literary Magazine

“ALLAH IS THE PROTECTOR OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE. HE BRINGS THEM OUT FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT.” [HOLY QUR’AN]

Shawwal 1424 December 5, 2003

“The Light”

An-Nur

The newsletter of the Muslim Students’ Association & the Muslim Women of Maryland

Inside this issue: MSA Activities

MWM Updates

The Ummah is a Sign of Mercy

“Three Strikes”

Fast-a-thon cont’d

Winter Activities

Creative Writing

Fast-a-thon Pictures

Islamic Puzzles

MSA History Founded in 1969, the Muslim Students' Association is an organization dedicated to serving the Muslim students on campus and educating the campus community about Islam and Muslims. We carry out Islamic activities, sponsor social, community service, and charity events, and strengthens relations and understanding between Muslims and nonMuslims.

MWM

Muslim Women of Maryland

Volume 5, Issue 2

Fast-A-Thon — Getting Hungry for Change by Chancey Gannett ―I think this was amazing! It was such a great cultural experience, and I was truly enlightened...This was wonderful.‖ Such was one of the many enthusiastic comments made by non-Muslims who participated in this year’s Ramadan Fast-a-Thon. A truly innovative idea, the Fast-a-Thon encourages non-Muslims to ―Get Hungry for Change‖ by fasting one day in the month of Ramadan. MSA’s across the United States and Europe participate in this event with the promise that, for every individual who fasts, a certain number of homeless people will be fed by the MSA. On November 12, 2003, the MSA at UMCP hosted their second annual Fast-a-Thon, which turned out to be more successful than many of its organizers had imagined. The UMCP-MSA garnered the most number of Fast-a-Thon participants and most money donated in the entire country. The truly awe-inspiring success of this event would have never taken place were it not for the grace of Allah (SWT) and the hard work of many dedicated individuals. The arduous task of planning the Fast-aThon and bringing it to life was taken on by MSA’s Da’wah and Outreach committees, headed by Sisters Jannah Yirka and Fasiha Khan. Each committee assumed different jobs in order to make the event a reality. The Da’wah committee took on advertising; Yirka commented that it was a very essential part of the Fast-a-Thon: ―Without all of the brothers and sisters who dedicated so much of their time to advertising, the event would have been unsuccessful.‖ Brothers and sisters posted fliers all over campus, e-mailed list serves, and stood long hours at the Da’wah Table, encouraging non-Muslims to sign-up to fast on the 12th. Sister Sommer Abdel-Wahhab, head of the Da’wah Table committee commented that the da’wah table advertised Fast-a-Thon every day for a week prior to the event. She said that brothers and sisters did not just stand behind the table and wait for people to come; instead, many volunteers walked around asking people individually to sign up. The committee also

A glimpse of the Grand Ballroom of the Stamp Student Union on the evening of November 12, with a full house of hungry students, faculty, staff, and outside guests who participated in this year’s Fast-a-Thon. Nearly 1200 non-Muslims participated this year, the most in North America. utilized a unique advertising method that included three stages of fliers. The first set of fliers was meant to spark interest and only had the word ―Hungry?‖ on them. The next set of fliers was distributed a week later and said, ―Get Hungry for Change.‖ Those who advertised hoped that the phrase ―Get Hungry for Change‖ would call to the hearts of students and prepare them for the last flier, which contained all of the information about the Fast-a-Thon. All of the hard work truly paid off in the end, resulting in 1,172 non-Muslims signing up to participate in the Ramadan Fast-a-Thon, more than triple the amount of people who signed up last year. The University of Maryland, College Park got more people to sign-up than any other campus in the United States. Sister Fasiha Khan and the Outreach committee took on the task of calling businesses to sponsor this event. It was decided that for every non-Muslim who fasts, four homeless people would be fed at S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat), a food shelter in Washington, D.C. In order to accomplish this, a (Continued on page 6)

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MSA Activities Looking to the Past and Planning for the Future by Mohamed Abutaleb The fall semester of 2003 draws to a As the semester draws to a close, we also close here at the University of Maryland, direct our attention to the future. We ponder gone and never to return until the Day of over what this organization stands for and the Judgment. The angels have written the good values it seeks to promote, and come to the deeds we have put forth and the evil that has inevitable realization that our work is totally come from us, the pens have been lifted, and and entirely too valuable to stop just because the pages have dried. We ask Allah the school has. Thus, we firmly set our Almighty that He may accept our good intentions from now that this MSA will be a deeds and pardon us our sins, and enter us vibrant and active organization through the among His righteous servants through His duration of the winter break to carry us right mercy and compassion. into the spring semester. At junctures such as this one, it is very Inevitably, the winter brings challenges important to pause to look back at what we that were not present during the fall, but none have done, bring ourselves to account, and of these challenges are beyond our capability English-speaking world do the same. Every extract lessons to guide our future actions. to overcome. Some of us will be working, accomplishment—from the informational This practice is critical on both the some of us will be far from school, some of material distributed on campus, to the weekly individual and collective levels. As Umar us will be on trips or vacations that take us to discussion and learning gatherings, to the (ra) said, ―Bring yourselves to account the other side of the planet – but that does not newsletter that you hold in your hands is a before you are brought to account (on the mean that each of us can not still contribute testament to the bounty of Allah and the Day of Judgment).‖ actively to the well-being of our organization. tireless efforts of those volunteering their Of course, this newsletter is not the Remember first and foremost that time, energy, and money, may Allah reward appropriate mechanism for individual anything you do to help yourself over winter them all abundantly. Indeed, all praise is due accountability, but I do remind myself and break will be invaluable to the MSA come to Allah and there is no change except by His all of the readers of the importance of spring semester. When you promise to read leave. ensuring that this is done. through the entire Qur’an during the winter, As we look back, however, we should be In addition, please be aware that our in Arabic or English, that means that you are humbled rather than proud. As we look back, MSA is actively reviewing its progress and going to return a more complete and powerful we should turn a critical eye to see how we making plans for the future by looking back person next semester. When you wake up a can improve and do even better in the future. at the past. It is truly humbling to see how few minutes before Fajr and pray night much Allah the p r a y e r s Almighty has regularly for Whether you are learning calligraphy, purifying your soul, reading a book, honored this the first time in or working directly on MSA winter initiatives, you can and will have a organization by your life, you positive impact on this organization if you firmly set your intention to do so. blessing it with so will come next many opportunities semester as a to serve Him, our community, and person with more blessing in their time and A critical step in this direction will be our ourselves. Through His blessings and the increased capacity to work for the MSA/MWM meeting on December 5, to be hard work of many individuals, this MSA organization. Whether you are learning held at 2:30 p.m. in the Musallah. We are held the largest Fast-a-Thon in the United calligraphy, purifying your soul, reading a always open to your suggestions in person or States and fed over 4,600 hungry people. book, or working directly on MSA winter in writing, directed to Through the mercy of Allah, our MSA initiatives, you can and will have a positive umcp_msa@yahoo.com. Remember, opened one of the first fully-functional impact on this organization if you firmly set however, that with every problem we are Islamic libraries in North America, with your intention to do so. looking for a solution; we hope that when you automated circulation and querying In addition, there are a number of MSA bring forth a suggestion, you do so with your capabilities, and is now launching an projects, both new and existing, that will be sleeves rolled up ready to help us improve outreach component to help other masajid, vibrant and fully active for the duration of the rather than admonishing from a distance. MSAs, and Islamic institutions in the (Continued on page 3)

Find more pictures of the Fast-A-Thon event on Page 9

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MSA Activities (Continued from page 2)

winter insha’Allah. We literally have projects that can consume 10 minutes a day or 8 hours a day from volunteers, and everything in between. If you’ve been looking for work and haven’t been able to find it, you will find an array of unusual and quite challenging tasks and projects available at the MSA. Even if you need a paid job over the winter, don’t leave the MSA off the list – get in contact and perhaps an arrangement can be worked out. We are currently anticipating four major projects to be in full swing during the winter break, as follows: (1) LIBRARY OUTREACH. A joint initiative of the Library and Outreach Committees, the Capital-Area Islamic Library will be looking to take its accomplishments to a national level starting this winter, insha’Allah. The Library will be seeking the publication of a book to assist Islamic organizations throughout the English-speaking world insha’Allah so that others can benefit from the work that was done in establishing this local library. In addition, the Library will assemble an outreach team to serve as consultants for local masajid and MSAs desirous of starting their own libraries. These volunteers will help with planning, collection development,

material acquisitions, training, and other tasks associated with starting a new library insha’Allah. Contact: Jeav33@yahoo.com (2) WINTER TRIPS SERIES. The MSA in cooperation with area youth groups will insha’Allah be pursuing a regular series of trips throughout the winter for brothers and sisters. These trips will seek to foster a comprehensive understanding of Islam as a way of life by bringing together youth from throughout the area to learn, develop, grow, and have fun in a halal environment. We hope to have these trips include sports, educational seminars and workshops, social opportunities, and personal development activities. Contact: hkhan@wam.umd.edu (3) MUSALLAH IMPROVEMENTS. The wonderful improvements made to the Musallah in the summer and fall semester will be intensified and continued in the winter. Among existing plans are brothers’ and sisters’ reading/media rooms to couple with the Capital-Area Islamic Library, new shoe racks, a book return, and other structural and organ izat ion al i m pro vements. Remember that the environment has a massive impact on those using it. Contact: hosamh@wam.umd.edu (4) TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. In preparation for the spring semester, the MSA will be seeking to train and develop

volunteers in an array of critical areas needed to make the organization capable of taking on new and more difficult projects. Areas of training range from desktop publishing to furniture construction to web design to library cataloging automation. Participants will learn skills that can benefit them for their entire lives. Contact: abutaleb@wam.umd.edu As you can see, our MSA is blessed to be able to offer a wide array of opportunities for individual development and community service this winter for volunteers with any imaginable skill or talent. The only prerequisites you need in order to be able to make a contribution are good intentions, energy and motivation, and a willingness to work hard while having fun. Remember that one book you place on a library shelf could be used by hundreds for years to come; one nail that you drive into the wall might carry the events calendar that the MSA will use for the next three decades; and one call you make might pave the way for a trip that over a hundred people benefit from. With the right intentions, you can get the rewards for all of this and more. So set your intentions, roll up your sleeves, lower your head, and get ready to plunge into a winter full of service to the Almighty with the Muslim Students’ Association. Please feel free to contact us at umcp_msa@yahoo.com for more information.

MWM Updates by Sarah Boyle Subhan’Allah, the MWM events for this fall semester have been great events and learning experiences. We want to put this new knowledge directly into action and what better way to do this than to have events for the upcoming winter and spring semesters! Winter Trips MWM in conjunction with the MSA is planning some outings during the winter break. These could include ice skating, winter trails, skiing, and more! Black History Month We have the capacity to have an event in the month of February for Black History Month. If you have any suggestions email them to MWM email insh’Allah.

Women’s History Month: Women in Islam Teach-In This event will insh’Allah be during the month of March. It will entail a panel of diverse sisters and small, prepared talks on topics pertaining to women in Islam. The majority of the event is question and answer with the audience. Islam Awareness Month This is our annual event, or sequence of events. We are planning this event with the MSA and insh’Allah hope to reach out to many of the non-Muslims on campus. Classroom Presentations Insh’Allah the WMST teachers will be

asking MWM to come and talk to their classes about women in Islam. This usually happens at the end of the semester. Also, if you are in a class that could incorporate such a presentation, talk to the professor and let us know! Contact MWM if you would like to participate and we will keep you updated. Graduation Dinner This year we will be holding the Graduation Dinner during the spring. All Fall and Spring graduates are the guests of honor. Keep posted for the details! If you have ideas you would like to share or would like to participate in planning

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Self-Development and Purification The Ummah is a Sign of Mercy By Taqiyyah Bint Dawud There is a man who will be judged on the Day of Accounting, who will have done nothing to his credit in his life except that he would always forgive his debtors, and say ―let him off.‖ Because of this Allah will say, ―I am more worthy of this (mercy) than he. Let him off.‖ Another man to be judged will have been very righteous, having done good works all his life. He will come to be judged, and Allah will say, ―Let him enter Jannah (Paradise) by My Mercy.‖ The man will become disappointed and ask, ―Lord, judge me by my works.‖ Allah will dismiss his request, saying, ―Let him go by My Mercy.‖ Still, the man will continue to ask, and Allah will agree to his request and put the sum of the man’s good works in his lifetime on a scale and put the single blessing of sight that He had given to that man on the other side of the scale. The gift of sight will far outweigh all that the man had ever done in his entire life, well-meaning as it may have been, and Allah will say, ―Let him enter the Fire.‖ The man will plead and beg, ―by Your Mercy, my Lord, by Your Mercy!‖ and Allah will forgive him and allow him into the Jannah. Such mercy is quite humbling, and to us seems extreme. But we are limited and inept, and Allah is unlimited and adept. Those men will surely consider themselves of the Blessed, and of the Forgiven. Brothers and sisters of this Deen of Truth, Allah could forgive a man for an entire life’s worth of wrongdoing, even if He had given him the gift of sight- which completely outbalanced the life's work of the righteous man- because of his attribute of mercy toward those at a disadvantage. The fact that Allah's boundless Mercy is required in order to grant a very righteous man entrance to Jannah- that all the worship and sacrifice performed for our Rabb was not even worth the gift of sight- shows how extraordinarily, infinitesimally minute we truly are relative to anything. And yet, Allah can forgive us.

We may not be able to ―just get along‖, as the saying goes, even among our own Muslim brethren- in fact, it is impossible for humans to remain in a state of perpetual peace and contentment with anything in this world. Allah says in the Qur’an, ―Verily, We have created man into toil and struggle.‖ (90:4). It is part of our nature to disagree. But as far as we can stretch the sentiment of compassion and forgiveness in our hearts for each other, the more worthy we may be of Allah’s Mercy, as the Prophet (SAWS) said, ―Allah is Kind and loves kindness, and grants to kindness that which He does not grant to harshness, nor to anything else other than kindness and tenderness.‖ Kindness consists of pure intent, pure intent lives as merciful action, and merciful action results in ease of difficulty. All of this was behind the rich man’s forgiveness of his loans, and it saved him from the Fire, by Allah’s Mercy. How shall we save ourselves? When a healthy human body comes under attack, the affected part literally sends out a call for help to the rest of the body, however remote the rest of the body might seem in terms of locale or function. And help always comes,

in such a swift and overwhelming force that by the time our consciousness registers the signs of illness we have already begun the healing process. Unfortunately we Muslims perceive ourselves only as individuals, each affecting only ourselves and our own aakhirah by our actions. This nearsightedness is why our brotherhood is now a wounded, distorted and bleeding mass that cannot heal itself no matter how loud the cries for help or how near is aid to the various affected areas. Muslim hearts have not heard those cries. The reason is that a heart does not have ears. It houses emotion and intent. If there is no forgiveness, mercy, or sincerity at the heart of the Ummah, aid will never come for the Ummah, even for its own well-being. Events are showing time and again that there seems to be no such sincere love for the sake of Allah. There are very few among us who ―…believe and put their trust in their Lord… and those who, when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them, help and defend themselves‖ (42:36-39). Most of us will have no answer for Allah's interrogation as we continue to add to our illness, because the ―waHn‖ the love of this world and fear of death of which the Prophet (SAWS) spoke drives away sincerity, compassion, and forgiveness. All become conditional to the access we have to worldly things, and we are hesitant to walk a (Continued on page 5)

Available in both English and Arabic, Islamway.com has a wealth of articles and audio files. You can listen to Quranic recitation by a variety of recitors or hear a lecture by speakers like Siraj Wahaj or Muhammad AlShareef. Islamway.com is an excellent source for new-Muslims; it features a flash presentation on ―The Right Way to Pray‖ and has a comprehensive section for non-Muslims.

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Student Advice and Perspectives “Three Strikes” By Fasiha Khan My teacher in high school was compiling various and sundry written pieces on students’ experiences with stereotypes when he suggested that I contribute. Taking on this task gave me a rare opportunity to wrestle with, chew up and spit out my mangled self-image and identity, to reevaluate myself. Here is what I came out with. I performed it at the Maryland State High School Theatre competition. And won. Three strikes and you’re out- that’s how the game’s played. I have often joked with my friends that in the game of life I have three strikes against me. One, I’m a Muslim-you know, one of those ―camel-riding, always fighting, crazy-type of immigrant‖ as one Muslim so aptly put it. Two, I’m a South Asian Muslim-the kind that comes from dirt villages with half clad children and works at 7 Eleven. Three, I’m a South Asian Muslim woman-the one that cowers in her own shadow, is subservient to any man and exists so the whole world knows how oppressed she is. Indeed, with three strikes against me, I was out before I even tried to get in. Not that I didn’t try -- I made myself out to be the best ―average teenager‖ within my limits. I made sure I had all the right labels with all the right styles. I squeezed myself into outfits one size too small. I spent too much time agonizing over my figure, too much money on accessories to adorn it, and too much energy thinking on either. I made the premadonnas of our age my idols, the celebrities my models, and the glamorous my inspirations. All those confidences I had built up for myself, no one needed to cut down -- I did that on my own. Why aren’t you thin enough? Pretty enough? Cool enough? Why aren’t you enough? I was ten feet above heaven the moment someone ―cool‖ spoke to me. I shot right back down the minute that same person ignored me. What did you do wrong? What did you say wrong? Why are you always wrong? And like a tidal wave…an avalanche of insecurities come hurtling down upon me…faster and faster, more stinging than the ones before -- the questions. I would then race to tally in my mind all the friends I had, all the acquaintances I’d made that would keep me in the game. I viciously envied, you can’t imagine, all those girls with the smooth,

porcelain faces and slender figures. They were beautiful, they were wanted -- they weren’t me. I envied their ability to sprinkle laughter, to command the attention of those around them without effort, to view the world with an aura of indifference. Because I didn’t sprinkle laughter, I muffled it. The attention I commanded was altogether different from that which the objects of my envy commanded -- where they got whistles and murmurs of appreciation, I got growls of mockery and disgust. Attacks on my culture and religion made me wither inside. That’s what made me shrink in a corner, what had me hunching my shoulders. I probably had the stiffest shoulder, you can’t imagine, just walking to my next class. I felt overly aware of eyes narrowed on my back, whispers murmuring my name, bodies too close behind me. My self-consciousness fed my insecurities, and my insecurities

shoved and then kept me on my knees. Somehow trudging through the game on my knees no longer seemed so rewarding. The world is your oyster -- but I was trapped in one. Speak your mind -- if it’s what everyone else is thinking. Rebel -- by dressing and being like every other ―rebel‖. I felt this new sort of disgust of myself -- as if I had stepped out and watched a replay of my pathetic and embarrassing endeavors to fit in. The hypocrisy of my deeds seemed unnerving -self-analysis was harsh and cruel. I figured, better do it myself before someone else decided to do charity work. I guess the build up of my raw tension by me against myself finally let loose the day I was flipping through my scrapbook. Now, I had originally made this scrapbook to remember what I was like as a teen when I got older. As I was turning, only a few pages left to be filled up, I began asking myself what amongst these pages represents me? What I saw was clipping (Continued on page 7)

Ummah (cont.) (Continued from page 4)

path that is difficult, that will bring us out of reach of this world. We are shy to give anything of our lives to bring relief to a single dying man. We refuse to forgive each other’s faults. We disdain even to wish one another peace on the street. Some of us have animals whom we would feed before we’d think to buy food for a hungry child near or far away. Allah does not need even one of us to worship Him. But we will be brought to account. We must give a statement of our potential as well as our fruits. Each of us currently has over a billion and a half Muslim kin. Even as individualistic as we all are, every one of us does exist as part

of an enormous body. And we will be asked, the masses and masses of us, what we did to heal ourselves. To heal someone or something physically or otherwise is a great form of mercy because of the lengths and effort a person or persons may need to go in order to ease a difficulty as minor as a stick in the road or as major as a war. The Prophet (SAWS) has said, ―Be merciful to others and Allah will be merciful to you. Forgive when others wrong you and Allah will forgive you your sins.‖ My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, how shall we save ourselves through this Ummah? How shall we earn Allah’s mercy?

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MSA Out and About Fast_a-Thon (cont.) (Continued from page 1)

team of seven people from the Outreach committee phoned Muslim businesses and asked them to donate a dollar for every individual who fasts. ―They called lengthy lists of businesses for two weeks,‖ Khan said, making sure to add that these dedicated individuals called during school hours from their cell phones, sacrificing daytime minutes for the cause. A total of twelve businesses agreed to sponsor the event, and all of them gave generous donations. The Outreach committee callers received small gifts for their efforts, which were made possible by individuals who donated funds for this purpose. A problem arose during the week prior to the Fast-a-Thon, when more people signed up than either committee anticipated. With the final count being 1,172, that meant that 4,688 homeless people would need to be fed to fulfill the promise of the four to one ratio. The committees realized that feeding so many people would cost more than the amount of money collected from businesses. MSA President, Brother Mohamed Abutaleb commented, ―...the greatest problem by far was raising enough money to feed the staggering 4,688 people. With generous donations of businesses and individuals, we are overcoming this obstacle.‖ Although no one planned on seeing such a great number of participants and having to feed over four thousand homeless people, there are certainly no regrets. Abutaleb continued, ―Alhamdulillah, it was very encouraging to see so many people from the university community coming together to share in a common sacrifice for the good.‖ Khan acknowledges that they were not prepared for such a turn out, but says that, ―The whole purpose of the event was to raise awareness and help those less fortunate. There is no shame in reaching your goals above and beyond your highest expectations.‖ Both the Da’wah and Outreach committees helped in planning an Iftar dinner for the Fast-a-Thon participants for November 12th. It took place in College

A special thanks to the countless individuals who each contributed in their own way to make this year’s Fast-a-Thon a reality - may Allah reward you. Park’s Grand Ball Room in the Stamp Student Union. The event was an immense success; there was not an empty table in the room, which seats 500 people. The majority of people arrived right on time, even the Muslims, who may have been motivated to be punctual because they were fasting. All of the attendees received a free CD of Qur’an with translation as well as some information about Islam, and the Da’wah table was set up throughout the evening for anyone who was interested. The dinner went extremely well, and organizers only dealt with the usual problems of food arriving late and last minute program changes. Other minor problems included oil-spills on clothing, unexpected loss of voice, and rectangular tablecloths for round tables. Next year organizers plan to invest in aprons for food servers, back up Qur’an readers, and round tablecloths. Fortunately, none of these problems greatly affected the flow of the evening. The program began with the adhan by brother Raef Haggag and the long-awaited breaking of the fast. Any tense faces relaxed the moment they got some sugar in their blood system, and the entire room quieted as Brother Raef recited Qur’an and Sister Sarah Boyle read the translation. A short speech by Jim Osteen, director of Stamp Student Union, followed, in which he related to the audience that he himself had participated in Fast-aThon and that fasting was a real learning experience for him. After Maghrib Prayer,

dinner was served. It was catered by AlHuda International Taste and included a menu of chicken, rice, vegetables, and salad. The obstacle of serving food to such a large number of people was made a great deal easier by many volunteer hosts who were assigned to each table and were responsible for getting food for their group. They also were able to answer questions and make guests feel comfortable throughout the evening. After dinner, Dr. Ali Darwish spoke of the relevance of fasting in religions throughout the world. The evening ended with a few words from Michelle Maslov, a representative from S.O.M.E who spoke about the various programs her organization has to offer, including help for battered women, drug rehabilitation, clothing drives, and more. Maslov was then presented with a check for $6,150. Perhaps those who spent weeks organizing the Fast-a-Thon would be able to judge its success best of all. Sister Fasiha Khan remarked that, ―It was very compelling to witness and be a part of an event that was a product of the contribution of so many individuals, masha Allah.‖ When sister Jannah Yirka was asked about the event, she smiled, as if remembering how well it went, and said, ―Alhamdulillah, it was everything I expected it to be and more. I only hope next year’s will be even better.‖

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Winter Activities  MAS-ICNA Annual Convention ―Muslims Citizens of the West: Rights, Duties, and Prospects‖ Wed. Dec. 24th to Sun. Dec. 28 Hyatt Regency: Chicago, IL More Info: www.masnet.org or www.icna.org

 ISNA's First Annual West Zone Regional Conference ―Islam: Guidance and Compassion‖ Long Beach Convention Center: Long Beach, CA December 25-27, 2003 More Info: www.isna.net  Texas Dawah Annual Conference III ―Where Then, Are You Going?‖ Crowne Plaza Hotel: Houston, TX Dec. 24th-27th, 2003 More Info: www.themasjid.org/conference

 Reviving The Islamic Spirit Conference ―We are coming back, bigger, better, and stronger than before‖ Metro Toronto Convention Centre: Toronto, Canada Jan. 2nd – 4th, 2004 More Info:

 Universal Heritage Conference ―Islam for Humanity‖ Campus of the Universal Heritage Foundation: Orlando, FL Dec. 19th-21st, 2003 More Info: http://www.uheritage.org/conf_1203.html

 Al-Maghrib Institute Seminar “Conquest: History of the Khulafaa” Taught by: Muhammad Al-Shareef College Park, MD Dec. 57/12-14; New Brunswick, NJ Jan 9-11/16-18; Houston, TX Feb 13-15/20-22; Fairfax, VA Mar. 12-14/19-21 More Info: www.almaghrib.org

Three Strikes (cont.) (Continued from page 5)

after clipping of the rich, gluttonous, and famous. Individuals with Prozac days and whiskey nights. These were the people I admired? There were clothing labels -this defined me? And as if overcome with madness, I www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com/conference/ began snatching out glued pictures, tearing out the flashing smiles of models with empty eyes, ripping out the snapshots of actors with sunken cheeks -- muttering  6th Annual National over and over again, ―What are you? What Young Adult Conference ―Developing The Model Community are you to me? You don’t belong here, you are nothing to me, nothing!‖ Envisioned By Our Forefathers‖ I had kept nothing that was me and Atlanta, GA th st everything that wasn’t. I was a fullDec. 18 -21 , 2003 fledged liar -- and the best part was, More Info:www.calltohumanity.org/ everyone knew it but me. Well, as you can see, there are no

designer labels on my clothes now. They aren’t even in the height of fashion. They’re serviceable, both to cover and leave my figure undefined. I don’t need to worry about some dirty stranger looking me up and down, because if he is, he can’t see anything. And I’m free. No longer a slave of fashion, to the wants of a society that demands that I wear clothing like a second skin, spend hours biting my nails over my figure, stand in front of a mirror every morning making sure I was perfect. Not knowing for who or what, always knowing never for myself. It was enough to be unobtrusive because I wasn’t chained. And without the shackles, it was enough to be Muslim, to be South Asian, to be woman. It was more than enough to be me.

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Creative Writing An Ode to a Friend by Chancey Gannett This fall semester, 2003 A friend was introduced to me With open doors, I was greeted A gesture that I truly needed To this friend I always run Uphill climbs from Math are fun No matter how my day has been She always seems to make me grin Of Allah, she always reminds me Praying or studying with her you’ll find me

Allah, the Most High, the Most Near

I always meet her before my class Go to lecture . . . I think I’ll pass

by Omar Khan

But toward good she always does lead A good education is something you need! So for a few moments I’m afraid we must part But only until I can get out of art I turn to my friend for a shoulder to cry on And when I’m sleepy, a floor I can lie on Pray your sunnah, and with her, your fard Did my friend give you a library card? If reading’s your thing, she can lend you a book Her microwave’s yours, if you wanted to cook In Ramadan if you’re on campus late This friend of mine will make you a plate And with all of her brothers and sisters you’ll find Such a great feeling that’s one of a kind Even if just for prayer in congregation Come see my friend, it’s an open invitation So when you meet her, leave your shoes at the door She’s Cole Field house, 0204

All praise, all thanks are Yours Open the mystery of Divine doors Creator and Sustainer of everything No greater sovereign, no greater King Possessor of all mercy, Mercy-Giving Master of the Day when believers rejoice Granter of Wisdom, Giver of Choice You alone we seek, a slavery of Love Make easy for us total obedience Like the innocent dove We beg your assistance night and day For those with Your displeasure Will have all hell to pay Protect us from going astray O Beloved, envelop us in Your Mercy Honor us with Your forgiveness Let us be with those most beloved to You Ya Wadood, Ya Wadood, Ya Wadood In this life and the Life to Come Shine though us Light and Wisdom And protect us from becoming Blind, deaf and dumb Ameen, ya Allah, ya Rabb al Alameen

An-Nur

Volume 5, Issue 2 Page 9

Community Corner A Birds-Eye View F-a-T was Phat All photos by Muslim Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association, http://www.msa-umd.org

Above left, members of University Administration, Muslim Chaplain Ali Darwish, seated with campus officials. Above right, So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) representative Michelle Maslov discusses programs of the food shelter.

Left, Dr. James Osteen, Director of the Stamp Student Union and Campus Activities, speaks at the Fast-a-Thon. Dr. Osteen participated in the day-long fast and described his experience to attendees and media. Above, a number of University students who participated in the fast from a variety of religious backgrounds.

An-Nur

Volume 5, Issue 2

Page 10

Islamic Puzzles

THE MUSLIM STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION University of Maryland at College Park P.O. Box 44, Stamp Student Union College Park, MD 20742 Email: msa_umcp@yahoo.com

Islamic Vocabulary

WWW.MSA-UMD.ORG

by Sherihan Youssef

WWW.MWM-UMD.ORG

MSA Officers

5 6

11 12

President: Mohamed Abutaleb Vice-President: Raef Haggag VP Sister’s Affairs: Sali Mahmoud VP Masjid Aff.: Abdullah Valanzola Public Relations: Haris Khan Secretary: Sommer Abdel-Wahab Treasurer: Farhat Noor MSA Chaplain: Ali Darwish

13 14

MWM Officers

President: Sarah Boyle Vice-President: Sali Mahmoud Secretary: Saman Ahmed Treasurer: Asfa Lohani Public Relations: Uzma Faridi SGA Liaison: Aisha Hyder

Newsletter Staff 22

Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com

Across

Down

Nation-Islam

Forenoon

House of Allah

Purification -$

10.

Invitation- Islam

Migration - begins

11.

Peace

7th Month

12.

Mountain located south-east of Makkah Name of Allah - The Mighty

7. 8.

Proclamation of the oneness of God - Arabic Leader

16.

Holiday- the concluding act of pilgrimage (3)

The religious law of Islam

17.

The way of Prophet Muhammed

13.

Prophet Muhammed (_ _ _ _)

19.

Pillar

14.

Akhlaq

21.

Qadar

18.

Covering- protection

22.

One thousand months Ramadan (3)

20.

Struggle in achieving the ways of Allah

15.

Co-Editors-in-Chief: Mohamed Abutaleb (Reporters) Saman Ahmed (Copy Editors) Asfa Lohani (Layout) Staff Writers: Mohamed Abutaleb Sarah Boyle Taqiyyah bint Dawud Chancy Gannett Fasiha Khan Omar Nawaz Khan Sherihan Youssef Copy Editors: Saman Ahmed (Lead) Chancey Gannett Fasiha Khan Page Editors: Asfa Lohani (Lead) Uzma Faridi Kausar Sajjad