Dar Al-Hijrah Times Vol. 2 No. 5

dar al-hijrah times VOLUME 2 NO. 5

ST. PAUL | MInnEApOLIs

MAY 2009 | JUMADA AL-AWWAL 1430

WWW.DARALHIjRAH.COM

How Much Do We Know About God?

by Abdikadir M. Ibrahim abdikadir@daralhijrah.com

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n the world we are living in, it is almost impossible in these days to live without being insulted regarding of one’s dignity, his/her religion or God. We are living in a time, in which everything has been and will be criticized.

It does not matter how these values are noble, holy, or sacred and important to others. In this era, God is being questioned, creation is being doubted, and faith is being criticized. Therefore, how much do we know about God depends on who you are explaining to. However, there should be some common sense to everyone whether they believe in God or not. Through His signs, such as His creations including human beings, many things can be known about God though there are some limitations of how much we know about Him due to our limited capability of understanding about His power and miracles. The word “God” is being defined in almost all dictionaries, books, and major monotheistic re-

ligions as Deity, omniscient powerful, perfect, originator, ruler, and creator of the universe. Therefore, for this definition shows the existence God. However, it might not be convincing enough to some individuals. The word “sign” is defined as something that suggests the existence, or presence of a fact, condition, or quality.

From the definition in which it was defined to both God and sign will help us to elaborate our knowledge about the creator- God. Everything in this world has origins and base, in which they have originated from its first place. For example, this beautiful building that we are sitting in consist of many different elements including woods, bricks, concretes and iron/metals, which themselves were brought from other places and have been put together. These objects have not just come randomly together and formed themselves this helpful and useful beautiful building. Architectures, engineers, economist, and other well expert individuals have come together to make it what we see as a building today. These experts planned and calculated how many bricks, woods, metals, and money would be in this building. After all these plans and calculations, it became a very useful place that we are using for study,

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Unemployment:

Racism: Not Black & White

A Rising Tragedy

by Fahima Mohamud fmohamud@daralhijrah.com

by Mohamed Samatar msamatar@daralhijrah.com

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conomy, immigration, terrorism, war, abortion, and many other issues are hitting the face of America harder than ever before. Many skeptics are standing behind the lines about ready to declare another Great Depression but this time only worse.

The biggest issue affecting all ranks of class today in America is unemployment believe it or not. The unemployment rate in America is soaring at an unimaginable level and thousands if not millions of citizens are getting laid off within a blink of an eye. Since the recession began in the economy the United States government has lost more than 2.55 million jobs pushing the unemployment rate to a towering 7.2%. Pfizer, Caterpillar, Sprint Nextel, Honeywell, Microsoft, and many other American companies are just a few to name that have been laying off employees in the range of thousands. Just last week Microsoft announced that the company would cut more than 5,000 jobs before the end of February. Imagine The Role Model:

that more than 5,000 individuals will be jobless within moments; the affects of unemployment are greatly affecting Americans in more ways than just money. The American issue of unemployment is striking harder on families and college students more than other subjects because these components are what make up the backbone of America in general.

Without a doubt unemployment is an issue and an issue which has thumped all 50 states.

What would the United States economy be like without people spending? What would products be like without people buying? And finally what would people be like

Prom vs.

4A Zeynab Al-Ghazzali 4A Islam

DAHICC

5A Updates

acism is not just an issue of black and white or brown and white.

What is racism? Racism by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and those racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. People with racist show stereotype-based on prejudices towards individuals and groups of people according to their race. In the case of instituting racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment. Racial discrimination typically points out differences between different groups of people, even though anybody can be a racialist, independently of their differences. According to the United Nations conventions, there is no distinction between the term racial discrimination and ethnic discrimination.

Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics.

We sometimes believe that race is a borderline between Black and

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Poem: Sacrifice

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White. Or is it? I personally believe that there is more into it. In the past, the label of racist was reserved for anybody, black or white, who used superficial distinctions of race in relating to groups or individuals. The key was not whether the distinction is negative, or indicative of anything valuable, but rather it was made all and there was no distinction. Except for personal preferences, like socializing and going to church, race-based discrimination was off-limits, out of bounds, morally, ethically, and legally. Now let is talk about today’s real world. I imagine racism to be something that white people inflict on their non-white fellows, or black people inflict on their non-black fellows. As the Commission for Racial Equality has recently conceded, racism is not an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health that infects only white or black people. This should be remembered by those who so readily refer to our living in a “multi-racial society.” Regrettably, we do not but instead we live in a racially-divided society and that is a very different proposition

Kids Corner

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Islam to Kids

Dar Al-Hijrah

Times

A Bilingual Press of Religion, Culture, Community, Education, Health, & Opinion

Letter from the

EDITOR

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful CHAIR: FARTUN AHMED ‘QODOW’ fahmed@daralhijrah.com VICE-CHAIR: AIDROUS ALI aali@daralhijrah.com SECRETARY: MOHAMED SAMATAR msamatar@daralhijrah.com TREASURER: MARYAN YUSUF myusuf@daralhijrah.com SSU MAIN BRANCH 504 CEDAR AVE SUITE #2 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55454 612.227.8374 / 612.481.4423 sj@daralhijrah.com

EDITOR in CHIEF: ABDIKADIR M. IBRAHIM aibrahim@daralhijrah.com DESIGNER: KAAMIL HAIDER khaider@daralhijrah.com MULTIMEDIA: AIDROUS ALI aali@daralhijrah.com SPONSORED BY DAR AL-HIJRAH ISLAMIC CIVIC CENTER SUPERVISED BY DAR AL-HIJRAH YOUTH COUNCIL (DYC) dyc@daralhijrah.com

©2009 | All rights reserved The Dar Al-Hijrah Times is published every month throughout the year and edited and produced by Salahudin Student Union, a young aspiring students from elementary to college levels. The newspaper discusses current issues within the religion, culture, community, health, education, and opinions. The publication does not necessarily represent the views of advertisers or personal writers outside of the DTimes or Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Centerstaff. Any pictorial or cartoon usage are solely for the purpose of conveying the message of the article presented. DTimes prohibits all aspects of denigration involving, but not limited, race, religion, gender, age, or culture.

Letter of Policy Dar Al-Hijrah Times encourages its readers to voice out their opinions on issues related and mentioned in the publication(s).

Letters submitted to DTimes can be either typed or handwritten, making your hand writing legible, within the range of 300 words, signed, and included all the necessary documents with the letter. Letters can be sent to the following address: Dar Al-Hijrah Times, 504 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454.

Advertising Ads are accepted two weeks prior the print of the publication with cash or checks. We offer special and standard ad displays. The followings are the statistics of the publication: Circulation: 2,000 Readers: 3,000 # of Pages: 8 Frequency: Monthly Distributor: Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center Price: FREE For more detailed information about ads, please contact us via 612.227.8374 | 612.481.4423 | ads@daralhijrah.com. Donations are always encouraged and welcomed to help the printing of the newspaper.

Supscriptions The Dar Al-Hijrah Times publication is available through subscription with additional specials from Dar Al-Hijrah Media at a rate of $75 per year.

All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Exlated, for guiding us to the path of Islam. Many thanks also go to the writers, editors, founders, designers, organizers, and sponsors of Dar Al-Hijrah Times.

The world we are living in, it is almost impossible in these days to live without being insulted regarding of one’s dignity, his/her religion or God. Religion is the most talked about issue in the world as people either become reluctant to believe in God or seek answers beyond our comprehension. We are living in a time, in which everything has been and will be criticized. It does not matter how these values are noble, holy, or scared and important to others. In this era, God is being questioned, creation is being doubted, and faith is being criticized. Therefore, how much do we know about God depends on who you are explaining to.

However, there should some common sense to everyone whether they are believers of God or not. Through His signs, such as His creations including human beings, many things can be known about God. There are infinite opportunities for human beings to become aware and know certain signs of God. Even though there are some limitations of how much we know about Him due to our limited capability of understanding about His power and miracles. As humans we have been given an ability of reasoning, thinking, and understanding capability that give us a sense that this building did not erect itself.

One example would be enough for us to think for a moment about the existence of God. The miracle of human being’s creation is of what we are made of originally; the tiny gushing water that is placed in the female’s womb, the unification of the egg and sperm, the development of heart, lungs, legs, hands, skin, muscles, blood, the five senses etc.

We hope you, whether you are a Muslim or not, take a heed from this theme and incoporate into your own life to take a lead towards bettering this world and its inhibitants.

Till our next issue, we leave you with peace from Dar Al-Hijrah Times to wherever you may find yourself.

Editor in Chief

Would You Like to Place Your Ads Here?

Please call us at 612.227.8374 to place ads or dtimes@daralhijrah.com

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Upcomings:

Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430

Closer Look At Dar Al-Hijrah’s Programs

All-Inclusive Summer Programs: Date:June 15 to August 14, 2009 Time: 2:00pm - 6:00pm Days: Mondays to Thursdays Ages: 7 to 25 ___________________________________________________

Study Areas: • Islamic History • Prophets, caliphates, companions, seerah of the prophet, tabi’een, imams, etc.

• Islamic Studies • Fiqh, aqeedah, da’wah, hadith, etc.

• Tarbiyah • Islamic manners, • Qur’an • Memorization and tajweed • Arabic Literacy __________________________________________________

Activities: • Fieldtrip • Competition • Workshops • Lectures • Awards • Group Discussion • ...and many more For more information / Wixii warbixin dheraad ah: 612.227.8374 / 612.987.2601 / info@daralhijrah.com Location: Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center 504 Cedar Avenue | Mpls, MN 55454

[Programs] To seek knowledge is a sacred responsibility and binding action upon every Muslim, female or male. Being part of a Muslim community that resides within a non-Muslim nation, a great responsibility rests upon every Muslim's shoulders to understand and convey the religion of Islam in the noblest way that has been taught and preached by our great teacher prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Therefore, Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah has established programs on Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays. These weekly programs focus on people from any educational level including students, the principle that guide fellow Muslims in their daily lives and the essence of Islam. The programs include: Salahudin Islamic School is one of the Dar Al-Hijrah‘s Islamic schools that currently service students of all ages. Its curriculum includes memorization of the holy Qur’an, Islamic Beliefs (Aqeedah), reading and writing Arabic, Islamic manners (Tarbiyah), Islamic history (Seerah), prophet’s way of life (Hadith), jurisprudence (Fiq), and remembrance of Allah (Thikr). It is has been serving the Muslim community in Minnesota for a number of years. It has passed through different level of situations that has encouraged its staffs, students, parents, teachers to double their efforts to promote for the wellbeing of the societies. Now, Salahudin School reached a level which its students established to form a Salahudin Student Union. To enroll please contact us (612) 227-8374/(612) 298-3021 or info@daralhijrah.com Dar Al-Hijrah Youth Council (DYC) shall welcome any Muslim youth in the state of Minnesota to enhance their religion and culture, expand their educational level, strengthen between families and youth ties, and establish non-violent methods for peace, institute integrity, and work for better future. To work with or become a member, please contact us 612-644-3864 (612) 481-4423 or chairs@daralhijrah.com Salahudin Student Union (SSU) is a student organization that helps youth get more involved in Islamic activities and to get Muslim youths involved in the community and keep their Islamic values. SSU is a branch of Dar Al-Hijrah Youth Council that deals with younger students. It works closely with students in elementary and middle school, operates a bi-yearly journal, holds Islamic events, workshops, and producing documentaries regarding issues in our society. To work with or become a member, please contact us (612) 226-0134 ssu@daralhijrah.com Salahudin Journal is published by Salahudin Student Union; a group of youths from Salahudin Weekend Islamic School. It is produced bi-yearly, and this is part of the community that promotes education and knowledge. Every issue discusses current affairs in the community, Islamic, health, science, education, literature, entertainment, and many more. To become a columnist (Somali/English) or subscribe, please e-mail us sj@daralhijrah.com Dar Al-Hijrah Times is a newspaper that is published monthly by SSU officials and members of Dar Al-Hijrah. The newspaper discusses current news both in the world and community at large.

Karmel-AlHikmah Islamic School (KAHIS) is a private Islamic school based in South Minneapolis, offering high quality academic and Islamic instruction. It is an elementary school for children 3 to 5 years of age. The school intends to grow by adding a grade each year insha’Allah. To enroll please contact us (612) 227-8374 Tajreed Sareeh (Sahih Bukhari): Being one of the six major Hadith collections, Sahih Bukahri is the most authentic book after the Quran. Written by the Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, this book covers almost all aspects of life in providing proper guidance of Islam such as the method of performing prayers and other actions of worship directly from Muhammad.

General Information: Instructor: Imam Sharif Mohamed Email address: halaqa@daralhijrah.com Phone Number: 612-481-4423/612-226-0134 Day(s): Fridays Time: 7-8:30pm Location: Sisters’ section @ Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah Type of the Program: Teachings of Bukhari book (Hadith) Qisasul Ambiya: Muslims regard those individuals chosen by Allah as the divine Prophets of Islam. All Prophets brought the same basic message of worshipping one God and abstaining from any form of idolatry. Allah has also mentioned in the Quran several times “And whoever obeys God and the messenger, these will be [in paradise] with the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous, upon whom God has bestowed favors", thus Qisiul Ambiya will not only teach you about the stories of the Prophet’s but also the untold stories of History. Starting from Prophet Adam this book will take you all the way to the common era of the 21st century. Many unrevealed questions of today’s society such as division, land, and even war will become as clear as crystal because the Prophets of Allah not only held lessons they held history.

Instructor: Imam Sharif Mohamed Email address: halaqa@daralhijrah.com Phone Number: 612-481-4423/612-226-0134 Day(s): Saturdays Time: 7-8:30pm

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Closer Look At Dar Al-Hijrah’s Programs

cont’d

Location: Sisters’ section @ Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah Type of the Program: Teachings of History of Prophets Life Making 101 : In today’s world where everything is being flipped from it is original aspect, Islam and Muslims are going through several major changes. Therefore, in this program we will put Islamic Education into practical skills and practices of everyday life inshAllah. Our intention of this program is for it to be a model to follow by placing everything in its original place instead of flip flopping it from its innovative site.

The program will consists of lectures, discussions, specific study cases, research in particular topics and of course learning from one of the profound Islamic author’s book ( Mukhtasar Saheh Bukhari~ Abijamra). Just as many other courses in life require significant policies we intend to make our polices ones that will evolve directly from the teachings of this program, in other words teachings will involve an itinerary of actions that will prolong through an individuals lifetime inshallah.

General Information: Instructor: Abdikadir Ibrahim Email address: lifemaking101@daralhijrah.com Phone Number: 612-227-8374 Date: Saturdays & Sundays Time: Instantly after Fajr- 8:00 AM Location: Sisters’ section @ Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah Type of the Program: Lecture, discussion & teaching of Bukhari book Dar Al-Hijrah Health Screening Service: DAHHSS is a free and accessible health service provided

by Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center for the community in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, where memebers of the community can check their blood pressure, diabetes, weight, height, and child and teen check ups.

New Dar Al-Hijrah Masjid(mosque): This masjid is currently open and serves for four (4) prayers including Friday sermons starting at 1pm with morning and afternoon Islamic schools (dugsi). It is located at Cedar Ave. and E. Lake St. 3015 Cedar Ave. S. | Minneapolis, MN 55407 | 612.226.5661 | info@daralhijrah.com Yearlong Children School: This new program is on Mondays through Thursdays from 3:30pm-6:30pm at the center. Contact for more information at 612.227.8374 | 612.423.5401 Sh. Ali Sufi: Islamic weekend school on Saturdays and Sundays | 2pm - 5pm Iftin: Islamic weekend school on Saturdays and Sundays | 8am - 12pm

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The Role Model: Zeynab Al-Ghazzali

by Fartun Ahmed ‘Qodow’ fahmed@daralhijrah.com

“The next moment the door was locked and a bright light switched on. Now their purpose was revealed; the room was full of dogs! I could not count how many! “Scared, I closed my eyes and put my hands to my chest. Within second the snarling dogs were all over me and I could feel their teeth tearing into every part of my body.” (Ayyam min Hayati, by:

Zeynab al-Ghazali)

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sychological torture is far more crucial then mental torture, due to the fear and anxiety experienced by our minds. This memoir is taken from Zeynab alGhazali’s book Ayyam min Hayati which is also entitled Return of the Pharaoh in its English version. Zeynab al- Ghazli is a prominent Muslim writer who also held a teaching position in the Muslim Brotherhood organization. She was born January 2, 1917 in Egypt where she also grew up. Zeynab al-Ghazli is by far one of the most profound Muslim women of the 21st centaury arguably the most famous among the Muslim nation. Her father being an Azhar educated gentleman had encouraged her to follow the role of an inspirational Muslim companion of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) Nusaybah bint Ka’ab al-Maziniyah, a woman who had fought adjacent with Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) in the battle of Uhud. Zeynab al-Ghaazli was a member of the Egyptian Feminist Union; her membership didn’t last for a long time due to the fact that she had found it to be an erroneous path for Muslim women. In 1936 when she had turned 18 she become the founder of the Muslim Women’s Association so that she could facilitate Muslim women to go about there daily activates with an Islamic perspective.

Around the same time the Muslim Brotherhood which was also a very prominent Islamic organization asked Zeynab if she would help to create a division that was entitled to women, the organizations leader and founder Hassan al-Banna wanted her to incorporate her Muslim Women’s Association so that she would head the two divisions as one. She in return rejected his offer politely and instead promised cooperation. The connection didn’t end there soon after the offer the Muslim Brotherhood was raided by the government and abolished in 1948, Zeynab took this as an opportunity to fulfill her promise to Hassan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood she strived to achieve the most by running an orphanage for the children of the members who were either arrested or sentenced to death by Abdul

Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430 Nasser’s regime. She also provided them with food and schooling. She gave a personal pledge of allegiance and thus had to support Hassan al-Banna and his successors. Zeynab helped the organization extensively through out Abdul-Nasser’s regime which in the beginning had abolished them due to a scarce of being over thrown. Suddenly Hassan al-Banna was assassinated and Zeynab took the role of regrouping all of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood in her own house. Do to her help with the Muslim Brotherhood Zeynab was thrown into prison in 1965 where she was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor, this sentence was later drop when Anwar Sadat become president in 1971. (The description of her prison time is explained in the memoir in the beginning of this autobiography.)

Once Zeynab was released from prison she started up her work right of the bat, she began teaching and writing to Muslim women. She immersed them to become educated themselves while at the same time being obedient to there spouses and governing there children. Being an exceptional writer she ended up writing in the Muslim Brotherhood’s magazine Al, Dawah, she held the position of editing the women and children’s section. Zeynab always held high regards for the responsibilities of Muslim women although she disregarded divorce as an evil deed she herself had gotten divorced. She boasted about being “blessed” because of not conceiving children which many didn’t consider a blessing. Her first husband was a rather rich man granting her servants to do her house work this gave her an escalating amount of time for her Dawah. Eventually she got a divorce from her husband due to his interference with her Islamic Dawah this interference also broke there marriage contract which Zeynab had him sign before they were married “If that day comes [when] a clash is apparent between your personal interests and economic activities on the one hand, and my Islamic work on the other, and that I find my married life is standing in the way of Da’wah and the establishment of an Islamic state, then, each of us should go our own way. I cannot ask you today to share with me this struggle, but it is my right on you not to stop me from jihad in the way of Allah. Moreover, you should not ask me about my activities with other Mujahideen, and let trust be full between us. A full trust between a man and a woman, a woman who, at he age of 18, gave her full life to Allah and Da’wah. In the event of any clash between the marriage contract’s interest and that of Da’wah, our marriage will end, but Da’wah will always remain rooted in me.” (al Ghazali 2006) The end of her first marriage was only the beginning of her second marriage with her husband that was much more understanding, he undertook the role of assisting her in writing, he also promised to never condemn her of her activism. From her book Ayyam min Hayati she explains how her second husband cared for her a lot by worrying about her but he supported her all they way and in return she never neglected her husband or her duties to him. When her second husband died she recognized that she had fulfilled her duty in marriage and felt that she was free to donate her time and energy to her Dawah. Extraordinarily in 1962 she met Sayyid Qutb while he was in prison, Sayyid Qutb was a member of the Brotherhood and he had taken over the leadership when Hassan al-Banna was assassinated he had been imprisoned due to false charges of him wanting to over throw the Egyptian government and planning to assassinate the President Abdul Nasser. He gave her sections of a book that he was writing in prison titled Ma’alim fil Tariq (Milestones) She held secret meetings in her house with the members of the Muslim Brotherhood where she gave instructions from the Quran and Sayyid Qutbs book Ma’alim fil Tariq. She helped to develop an order in which there would be an extensive Islamic training program for 13 years equal to the preaching of the Prophet (pbuh) in Mecca before he had immigrated to Medina. Zeynab and the other members of the Muslim Brotherhood decided that once the 13 years had ended a survey would be taken and if 75% or more of the Egyptian population voted for establishing a Islamic state they would call for one and if it wasn’t voted for the extensive studying and training would continue. This never occurred due to government suspicion and imprisonment of both the Muslim Brotherhood and Muslim Women’s Association.

Zeynab al-Ghazli continued to preach for an Islamic state at the end of her imprisonment where many were assassinated. She believes that there is no Islamic state in the world today including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia due to the fact that all the states that claim to be Islamic are not bound with the Shari’s and implementing it fully. Zeynab al-Ghazali supported the Iranian revolution enacted by Ayatollah Rouhoallah Mousavi Khomeini, she hopes that it will strive and help solve internal and external difficulties. Zeynab al-Ghazali wrote in her book Ayyam min Hayati (Return of the Pharaoh) how she was accused of planning the assassination of Abul-Nasser which undoubtedly was false, in other words her torture was unnecessary. Zeynab al-Ghazali died in 2005 at the age of 88 May Allah bless her soul.

From Zeynab al-Ghazali we can learn that regradless of the generation we are in we can still act upon the preaching’s of Prophet Mohammed.

Zeynab al-Ghazali took the women companions of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) as an example and struggled to fulfill her actions for the one and only Allah she had sold all she had to Allah to gain in return the pleasure of Allah and Jannah. Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur’an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. “Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme” (9:111)

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Prom vs. Islam

by Luulay A. Osman losman@daralhijrah.com

D

ear Muslim Ummah, Saturday, May 2nd 2009 is Edison High School’s Prom night. I attend Edison Senior High over Northeast. I am a senior who is proudly not going to prom. There is couple of reasons why I am not going but the main one is, I am a Muslimah who

5A fears Allah and do not want to forget Allah. Because May 2nd is a night you forget about Allah, a night you disobey Him, and a night that you may die.

What is prom and the concept behind it? Prom is a professional gathering and important dance for seniors.

It is a last event that you might be with your friends and for some teens it is an ultimate event of their teen lives. Just for one night there is a slight chance you might spend over thousands of money, well depending on the person. Wearing expensive dress, rent limousine for girls and tuxedos for boys. Dresses are not less than two hundred dollars, shoes are like a hundred, and lets not forget about jewelry and make-up. I cannot even estimate that. The prom ticket is about 60 dollars, but since Edison wants more people including our Muslim sisters to go, they decreased the money to 50 dollars instead of 60.

What happens at prom? Come on now! Parents are not allowed to be near the building, and teachers cannot say anything to any student. It is not a graduation party, but instead it is very dangerous for the youth, especially our Muslim Youth. Just this night you get drunk, take drugs, and mostly drunk driver happens. What scares me the most is how Muslim sisters show their body and hold the opposite gender’s hand. Is that haram or halal? They say its only one night what damage can it bring to us?

It is haram that is one damage, second damage is you disobeying Allah, third is you harming your own soul, and etc… I can continue all day about the damage it brings. One step that you take today changes your whole life. For some people may think it is positive for that moment but the end of the day it is negative for everybody. You might not like alcohol, but since you were pressured to drink it on that night you might become addicted for the rest of your life.

You were a person who feared Allah, and you went to prom because you were told it was fun and after that night you become someone who was known all over the streets

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How Much Do We Know God? from page 1A

sleep, relax, and our daily affairs. Thus, there would be no doubt about the creation of this building, if you ask anyone; they would tell you the same thing. If you say this building just evolved and became the way it is, they will laugh and look at you as crazy, idiot, and unthinkable person. They do not say that you are ignorant because how obvious is the process. They assume that even an ignorant person can know this building does not just come out of the blue but instead, it was constructed and built by knowledgably group of people. As humans we have been given an ability of reasoning, thinking, and understanding capability that give us a sense that this building did not erect itself.

From that basic example, we, humans, are able to understand that this building was made, and it was made for a purpose. On the other hand, we see heaven, sky, humans, and water; to name a few, but still reject the presence of God. One example would be enough for us to think for a moment about the existence of God. The miracle of human being’s creation is of what we are made of originally; the tiny gushing water that is placed in the female’s womb, the unification of the egg and sperm, the development of heart, lungs, legs, hands, skin, muscles, blood, the five senses etc. Each one of these organs or systems in our body is designed to do a specific job.

For example, the heart starts beating immediately after the unification of the egg and sperm and continues beating till we die. If the heart stops beating for a minute or so our life will be in danger and our existence on earth will come to an end. The life in the womb, and birth would be a miracle itself. The intelligence we develop during our life, creativities, and ability to run the whole world are other things to consider. Almost all other creations are here in the world for our benefits. For example, we use horses, cows, camels, sheep, and goats for useful gains. We also benefit from rain, seas, and oceans even though they are God’s creations. Therefore, we are given the authority of the world’s affairs to use everything in it and the intelligence to construct the buildings that we have described above. We have the intelligence to know a simple thing as a building cannot just come by itself and the fact no one can claim it as the creator of the building, but instead we give names and credit the architectures and engineers who built it. How can we not know and understand the engineer and Creator of our own selves? I think one is contradicting him or herself when they claim that they know this building

Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430

was built by a group of people but to not know God’s creation (i.e. their own body).

From this fact, we indeed understood the existence of God. For the reality of His creation we know a lot about Him because He taught about himself to us through His messengers. Given the fact that we need to have laws to govern ourselves to keep us out from deviation and misguiding, God chose individuals amongst us and sent to us with guidance, which allows us to maintain justice and fairness amongst us and to govern the world on behalf of Him. He knows us better than we do. Therefore a religion is God’s law to humankind and way to know Him. A religion is God’s words and explains about Him that He created all the creations from nothing and gave the following attributions to Him. Based on this fact, we know about Him a lot even though, the knowledge about God may vary between individuals. Since we see all the signs including our own creation and have His actual words (religion), we have enough knowledge about Him. For example, if you are told about someone, but you have not seen this writer, political figure, mathematician, etc. Physically, but you have seen his or her books, letters, and saw a lot of stuff that this person did including his or her buildings, roads, bridges etc, you know as a fact that this individual existed because you know all of what he or she did. Therefore, you cannot ignore about the fact that this person is existed. In addition, you know the character of this individual, for you had his or her writings before. Logically, everyone will accept the practical evidence of this person, when you give them his or her books, and show them all their actions, arts, and works he or she did. Even though they have not seen him or her physically, they kind of see him or her mentally. Therefore, they will have in their mind about the images of this person.

Thus, we know God subjectively, for we have seen His signs, and read His words. One has enough knowledge about Him but there are some individuals who know God more than the rest. These individuals are the scholars and experts of His religion. In normal life, there are always some individuals whose knowledge exceeds the rest. For example, if you read the writings and biography of someone called Gate, you probably know more about him than the rest of us who did not read about him but heard. In this case scholars of religion have big roles in educating people about God. On the other hand, objectively, our knowledge, about God is limited. There are some margins that we cannot pass. Physically, we do not know about God, and there is no need to know about Him regarding His physicality. As same as we do not know a person, whom we read about his or her writings, saw his or her actions, designs, but we never truly see him or her physically. Overall, we know a lot about God, for we have witnessed numerous of His actions, know His religion, and finally read His words

greater community the west bank community and Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center made a positive initiative of interfaith coexistence.

The second Open Mosque which was held on April 16th was an amazing insightful evening. The program started out with Imam Sharif Mohamed addressing the crowd about justice, tolerance, and love in Islam. The theme of the night was a heavy concentration on Somalia and understanding the Somalis, which was done through many slides prepared and presented by Abdisalam Adam, director of Dar Al-Hijrah. As the lecture and presentation went on the crowd once again asked their set of questions, it was a combination of Islam, Somalis and Somalia 101.

As we reevaluate the past two Open Mosques we can proudly say we succeed in giving the community what they needed. The basics of Islam, Somalis and Somalia were really executed and well understood by all the attendees. Both the Open Mosque events were insightful and a new approach in creating an interfaith community dialogue.

Finally on April 25th a guest speaker showed up at the steps of Dar Al-Hijrah. Iyad Al-Nachef, ISNA’s youth coordinator spoke to a room full of both youth and adults. He addressed these two different groups in an understandable manner, all together it was an amazing lecture. As he discussed “Lessons for the Youth” Iyad touched on various different points including detailed examples of Muslim youth in Islamic history. He also mentioned trusting and acceptance for youth. He advised to the older generation to be patience, respect, trust, and support for our youth. As for the youth he mentioned that youth are not too young to make changes in this world, he also reminded us of our full potential basically saying that it is never be too late to do something with our potential. Finally he discussed will, purpose, and understanding within our community; both the youth and the elders.

In conclusion the month of April was memorable month for its diverse events. All in all the events were great and once again change was made. Special thanks to our guests, supporters, and coordinators for an outstanding month

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I will sacrifice to make my faith stronger

Dar Al-Hijrah Updates: April 2009

by Fartun Ahmed ‘Qodow’ fahmed@daralhijrah.com

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s the gloomy winter days finally pass us by, we at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center look forward to a breezy summer. April was quite a month for many of us and for those who could remember the many different faces, people, and faiths that entered through the door at the launch of the first Open Mosque day which was on April 2. For the first time this year, Dar Al-Hijrah held its first Open Mosque in collaboration with the West Bank Community Coalition (WBCC), the Open Mosque was nothing but a success, filling the entire first floor of the center. Beginning with an ethnic east African dinner, the guests enjoyed tasting Somali food with a banana to accompany every variety.

The Open Mosque included guest speakers and council member Cam Gorden, WBCC president Benjamin Marcy, Imam of Dar Al-Hijarh Sharif Mohamed, African Development Center president Hussein Samatar, director of Dar Al-Hijrah Abdisalam Adam, and many other speakers. After about an hour of speaking the crowd witnessed the enjoyable acting of the Dar AlHijrah youth portraying typical stereotypes of Muslim youth. Through dialogue and cooperation from the

Poem: Sacrifice

by Aidrous Ali aali@daralhijrah.com

I will sacrifice in the way of Allah I will sacrifice to make people happy I will sacrifice to prevent pain on my face and others too I will sacrifice like our prophets sacrificed for us to have this faith of Islam I will sacrifice to hide my pain and tears from others I will sacrifice for Allah and for the sack of Jannah (Heaven) I will sacrifice because Allah Promises those whom you love will be with you in Jannah I will sacrifice for the humanity I will sacrifice to put smile on peoples face I will sacrifice for Allah and Allah Only! 

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Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430

another question “Aabo manta waxxaan iskoolka ka bartay xisaab, aniga waxxa aqaanaa1-20 illmahaa kale waxay yaqannayan 1-10. Is it because I am Somali? His dad looked up again from his work irritated and finally spoke NO SON ITS BECAUSE YOUR INTELLEGENCE. Oh said his son well then he had even more gut to ask one last question he spoke. “ Aabo maanta waxxaka samayni Barritankaa caaffimateka Illmahii kale waye iga gabanyahane aniga wan ka darri . Is it because I am Somali? The boys father looked very mad and said “ NO SON ITS BECAUSE YOUR 31 YEARS OLD NOW LEAVE ME ALONE” Okay dad you should have said that and the little boy walked away happily.

Kids

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Asalaamu ‘Alykum

Hi my fellow brothers and sisters, this is a shout out coming from JSSU. I am proud to announce “Houston we are at the moon,” just kidding just trying to make you laugh. This is the real news as you can see JSSU has more things and proud people who are mentioned in the Kids Corner than usual. Here are lists of things that are in the Kids Corner in this issue of our own DTimes.

1. Bilingual Jokes (hahaha funny believe me) 2.

Couple of Shout out Articles from JSSU. What we want are the students of Salahudiin Islamic School to participate in the “Race to Compression.”

We want to see how many of the students at the school are capable of conveying their message through writing since everything depends on writing and our Dar Al-Hijrah Times staff offered that opportunity to us.

We will be holding a contest for the students to write their own poems, make their own comics, make their own jokes, and write five things about each article and shout out, or you could give us an idea for the Kids Corner.

If you have any questions or concerns visit one of the fellow and friendly JSSU members or just send us a shout out at JSSU@daralhijrah.com Peace out and GOOD LUCK ~ JSSU

Bilingual Jokes by Fartun Elmi 1.Do you know from your qado qalocan oo qiyamo oojado?

2.Do you now from your face babaro basto karineso?

Islam to Kids by Raqiya Mohamed Islam to a kid is a life long loving dream. It is like you wish you were born all over again. It is like an unimaginable experience to me and it is not just me but to all Muslims. All Muslims have to go through the holy blessing (Dugsi) where an adult reads and teaches Quran to you. But sometimes we do not appreciate and we complain “OMG my mom is making me mad.” However, the prophet (pbuh) said “Paradise hides underneath your mom’s feet”. This is one reasons of why kids love Islam.

I love Islam because it gives me so many things to explore. As a child you will not be required to pray, fast, do thing that would be required to do as a Muslim before the age of puppetry. If you make a mistake or commit a sin it is okay because Allah is Al-Ghafar, the forgiver. Janah (paradise) awaits those who shut the door of satan and open the doors of the righteous.

Being a Muslim is something Allah has blessed us as Muslims with. Being a Muslim might be the best thing that has probably happened to us. If you were smart I would not blow it. There is so much someone can take and you do not know when Allah will stop forgiving your sins and these sins will be used against you on the Day of Judgment. To earn ajar (reward) you will have to pray, fast, and follow the Prophet (pbuh).

As a Muslim child you will learn the many parts of Islam from watching your parents. The rituals of washing and praying will be practiced as soon as the child is old enough to take part. The fasting in Ramadan will be practiced just for a day at the start and building up until by the time the child reaches the age of puppetry. Then he or she make this actions part of their lives, and they can carry out their religious duties in the rest of their lives. If a child goes to an Islamic school then they will learn Qur’an as part of their schooling, if not they will learn it in special classes at the mosque (Dugsis).

3.Do you know from your face warira sakarta sari kaso daya?

4.Do you know from your face?

5.One day two Somalis robbed a cottage, and it was close to Fajir time and the Adan was heard miles away and one robber looked at the other and said WARYAA SOO BAX SALAADA YAY NAGATAGINE. As the robbers were gathering the last of there items they realized that the rush that they were one of the robbers had dropped a Kitab one of the robbers noticed and said ASTAGFURRALLAH AL CATHIIM and SHOUT him down BRBRRRBRBR. One day a boy came home from school and asked his father “ Aabo maanta iskoolka waxxaan ka soo bartay xarafaha, aniga waxaan aqaan kulli, laakiin ilmaha kale ee iskuulka ila dhigto waxay yaqaaniin qayb.” Is it because I am Somali”? his father looked at him annoyed. No son, it is because your intelligent. His looked at his father and with no content he asked a

If you have any questions or concerns visit one of the fellow and friendly JSSU members or just send us a shout out at JSSU@daralhijrah.com

Unemployment: A Rising Tragedy from page 1A

without any job to provide for their spending needs? The issue of unemployment in America is creating much more problems that are harder to tackle in the United States economy. The United States economy thrives on the many citizens, individuals, and people in general who are spending, but if the only source of income is taken away from these people then the focus of spending will not be in tack instead regular individuals will be struggling to meet the basic necessities of life. Not only will the economy decrease with less spending but the government will have to put more money into welfare programs in order to help those who have been unemployed. This will then take more money out of the United States government creating more of an economic crisis because the money being taken out of the government in order to create support programs is money that America currently does not have. All in all the issue of unemployment will without doubt have a great if not the greatest affect on economy than any other source.

Moreover, the issue of unemployment has already greatly affected families in America. When a father or a mother is laid off from work it creates a vast amount of conflicts. Many families in America today are struggling to make ends meet and this is having an immense impinge on the American Dream. From kindergarten until after college fellow citizens struggle to create a life that is centered around the American dream but when ordinary kids grow up in an environment where one or both parents are unemployed this in truth shatters that dream. The affect of unemployment on families also includes meeting basic needs of life including food, bills, and mortgage payments which each require a whole topic alone. Since US companies are not selling enough they cannot keep up with the payroll of the lavishing employees that they have had for years because of this unemployment is rising and families are going back to governmental support programs such as welfare and WIC. All throughout America families are being greatly impacted by unemployment and this is causing an increase in parents having mental problems such as depression. What would you do if you couldn’t even keep up with the month’s groceries? It’s one of the questions that many parents have been asking themselves in the past year.

Finally college students are graduating from school only to find that there is no job for them to be employed into. Majors like history, communication, and even business are getting many disappointed graduates for the reason being these majors are not on the job market. With the original employee’s being laid off what can you expect for a college graduate? Another great point to look at is the fact that many college graduates are graduating without a job but an increasingly high loan which in reality they will not be paying off anytime soon, this is exactly what is draining the US economy. College students do not know where to go when they graduate from college because the United States is not as it used to be guaranteeing college students a job right out of school. Many of these students are working at lower class jobs that can be done even without a high school diploma.

This then gives them very low pay rates enabling them to pay off their college loans. As one can sense unemployment is having a great affect on the growing generation of graduates that cannot even afford to go to graduate school because they cannot even find a job out of a four year college.

In conclusion unemployment is an issue in America and it’s an issue that will be doing quite a lot of damage. With the whole entire world looking at America for each and every step it’s hard to admit that America is struggling as we speak and many citizens cannot determine what the future will hold. The United States economy, families, and college students have been hit rather hard with this unemployment crisis but keep in mind they are the ones who can also revive this predicament. With each and every milestone we encounter in American issues unemployment is still a rising problem and issue

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Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430

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Vol. 2 No. 5 | May 2009 - Jumada Al-Awwal 1430

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Dar Al-Hijrah Times 504 Cedar Avenue Suite #2 Minneapolis, MN 55454 612.227.8374 | 612.481.4423 dtimes@daralhijrah.com www.daralhijrah.com