The Message Vol.1 - An MSA University at Buffalo Presentation by Shoaib Alam

Our First Issue!

CONTENTS con·tent [kon-tent] –noun 1. Usually, contents. a.the subjects or topics covered in a book or document.

04. Letter from the president 05. ISLAM 101 06. OUR BELOVEd PROHeT MUHAMMAD 07. Sunnah the ways of the prophet 08. Famous Quotes about Prohet Muhammad (PBUH) 09. Prophet muhammad in various world scriptures 14. The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets 15. pearls of wisdom from ummar bin khattab 16. Islam and modern science 20. behind the viel 21. dealing with domestic violence 22. famous muslims 24. say your prayers 26. the islamic way - ghusul & wudhu 28. death and afterlife 30. the importance of plurality 31. thoughts and reflections 32. why are we here *** 34. The importance of marriage and family life in islam *** 37. choices *** 38. kind behaviour towards others *** 40. our ethnicities may differ, yet we are all one 42. 2010 pakistani floods 43. Muslim & Jewish Students Co-Sponsor Award-Winning Film 44. halal food on campus 45. snapshot & events of 2010 47. playtime

INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

BY Sikander Mohammed Khan

AN MSA Presentation

BY Sikander Mohammed Khan

BY adil sarfraz

BY Sikander Mohammed Khan

BY shoaib alam

BY adil sarfraz

an msa presentation

by shoaib alam

Imani Choudhury editor Sikander Mohammed Khan

BY ferihan abdallah

editor in chief

design & layout

BY april arman

Shoaib Alam (shoaibalam.com)

an msa presentation

Hassan Shibly Nikita Sidana Nofa Abdallah Sunny Salman Jamil Shoaib Alam Sikander M Khan

MSA Executive Board 2010 - 2011 PResident Sikander Mohammed Khan external vP Aziz M. Chowdhury internal vp Hazirah Nurafiqah Sabuddin Treasurer Fahad Sherwani secretary Adil Sarfraz MSA University at Buffalo 320 Student Union Buffalo NY - 14261 tel: (716) 645 - 2950 www.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim The views expressed in the The Message do not necessarily reflect those of the MSA executive committee. Permission to copy must be sought from the copyright owner, being either MSA or its authors. Muslim Students Association (MSA) at University at Buffalo, has been serving the Muslim students in UB since its formation. The Message is a new publication started by the club, in an attempt to spread the message of Islam, clear any misconceptions and bring about harmony between Muslims and people of other religious believes.

by hoda ahmed

an msa presentation

BY hoda ahmed

BY hassan shibly

show me your passport by nikita sidana

SCHOLARS CORNER

Adil Sarfraz April Arman Ayyaz Tufail Enid Bloch Ferihan Abdallah Hoda Ahmed

MUSLIM WORLD

Contributing Writers

by mufti nazim magera

by imam muhammad salem agwa

by Dr. mohammed sadiq

BY shaikh ibrahim memon madani

BY nofa abdallah

by ayyaz tufail

MUSLIMS IN BUFFALO

Dr. Mohammed Sadiq Mufti Nazim Magera Shaikh Ibrahim Memon Madani Imam Muhammad Salem Agwa

ISLAMIC TEACHINGS

Contributing Scholars ***

by enid bloch

by Sunny Salman Jamil

an msa presentation

We thank Student Association and SBI for their constant help and support in making this magazine a reality.

LETTER from the

PRESIDENT As-Salamu Alaykum brothers and sisters,

he Muslim Students Association here at UB has been one of the most influential clubs that ever existed. We are one of the largest and most diverse organizations at this school, with people coming from many different cultural backgrounds, age groups, majors, and life perspectives.

We are in and of itself a big community who looks out for each other, and I’m proud to be part of that. There is an enormous amount of dedicated students who love to help out at our numerous events that we have throughout the year, including our Ramadan Iftaars (dinners) that we provide each year, our weekly jumu’ah (sermons), our lectures and speaker series, fundraising bakesales, etc. We also love to reach out to other clubs and be integrated with the rest of SA. College is the most important time in one’s life to meet new people of different backgrounds in all aspects and to interact with others, essentially getting an idea of the real world. I found that experience being a part of this great organization. I would like to extend my gratitude first to Allah, and then to all of the hard-working people who made this club come to be. We have made this magazine to reach out to not only the MSA members, but to the campus as a whole. We want you to know that we are here, and you are always welcome at our events. Our website (wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim) is very informative, and will have updates of upcoming events, as well any other information you might want to see. Please feel free to contact any of our board members regarding questions about events, as well as where the prayer room is on campus, and anything else for that matter. Please keep a look out for our fliers that we’ll have all over campus advertising our events, and we hope to see you all there! Take care and God bless. Sikander Mohammed Khan President, Muslim SA at UB

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ISLAM 101 An MSA Presentation

slam is a Semitic religion, which has over one billion adherents all over the world. Islam means "submission to the will of God". Muslims accept the Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an, as the word of God revealed to His last and final prophet, Mohammed (peace be upon him). Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of Unity of God, and accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and continuing with Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John and Jesus amongst many others (may peace be on them all). Unlike other beings, man has the tendency to think that anything that is organized must have an organizer. Islam simply applies the same natural logic to the universe and the environment around us which has so many amazing and well organized inter-related systems that witness of the existence of a powerful creator. It is in this direction that Muslims believe in an unseen ultimate creator, source of all the physical and spiritual power that exists in the universe. We know about this creator not only through the powerful evidence of how organized the universe is, but also through a line of prophets, including but not limited to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed (may peace be on them all). They came to draw our attention to him so that we may make the choice to believe by responding to an inner instinct (that is confirmed daily) that all that is organized must have an organizer and that this universe is the creation of the ultimate organizer: God the One, the Eternal, the Creator, the Fastest Who Calculates, the Light, the Originator, to list only a view of the names and attributes of the one God as outlined in the Qur'an. Accordingly a Muslim faith is pronounced in the format of admitting the existence and oneness of the Creator as follows:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I witness there is no God, but one God and that Mohammed is his prophet.â&#x20AC;? There are five major pillars of Islam which are the articles of faith. These pillars are: 1. The belief (Iman) in one God and that Muhammad (may peace be upon him) is His messenger, 2. Prayer (Salat); which are prescribed five times a day, 3. Fasting (Siyam); which is required in the month of Ramadan, 4. Charity (Zakat); which is the poor-due on the wealth of the rich and 5. Hajj; which is the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if one can afford it physically and financially. All the pillars should be of equal height and strength in a building in order to give the building its due shape and proportions. It is not possible that one would do hajj without observing fasting or without practicing regular prayers. Now think of a building which has pillars only. It would not be called a building. In order to make it a building, it has to have a roof, it has to have walls, and it has to have doors and windows. These things in Islam are the moral codes of Islam such as honesty, truthfulness, steadfastness and many other human moral qualities. Thus in order to be a Muslim, one should not only be practicing the pillars of Islam but should also have the highest possible attribute for being a good human being. Only then the building is completed and looks beautiful.

Reference: www.introductiontoislam.org & www.irf.net VOLUME 1

Our Beloved Prophet

MUHAMMAD

(peace and blessings be upon him)

By: Sikander M Khan

e was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social and political reforms, established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come.

"HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD" May Peace of God Be Upon Him He was born in Arabia in the year 570 C.E. (Common Era), started his mission of preaching the religion of Truth, Islam (submission to One God at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three. During this short period of 23 years of his prophet hood, he changed the complete Arabian Peninsula from paganism and idolatry to worship of One God, from tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, from drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety, from lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living, from utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or since - and IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES. The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were one sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two field, such as religious thought or military leadership. The lives and teachings of these great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time and place their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or failure that is impossible for

06 THE MESSAGE

humanity to reconstruct accurately the lives and teachings of these men. Not so this man. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) accomplished so much in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior in the fullest blaze of human history. Every detail of his private life and public utterances has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity of the records are so preserved that they are vouched for not only by the faithful followers but even by his prejudiced critics. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father - all in one. No other man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these different aspects of life - but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to achieve such incredible perfection. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite humanity on the worship of ONE and ONLY ONE GOD and to teach them the way to honest and upright living based on the commands of God. He always described himself as, 'A Servant and Messenger of God' and so indeed every action of his proclaimed to be. Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Mohammed's (peace and blessings be upon him) followers, but the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.

SUNNAHProphet By: Adil Sarfraz

the ways of the

“Follow Me, Allah Will Love You” (3:31)

verything we do in our daily life, whether it be eating, sleeping, working, or playing, is all ultimately for one goal: peace of mind. Although everyone is in search of peace of mind, Allah (s.w.t.), who is the Creator of everything tangible as well as intangible, has told us the true source of inner satisfaction: “Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!” (13:28). If we want the purest form of contentment, we need to go to its source: Allah (s.w.t.). Prophet Muhammad (s.aw.) was sent to teach us how to worship Allah (s.w.t.). Allah (s.w.t.) has said, “Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” (3:31). In this verse, the love of Allah (s.w.t.) is connected with following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). This shows that if we want Allah (s.w.t.) to love us and imbue contentment and satisfaction into our hearts, just loving Him is not enough; rather, we need to follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). However, just hearing and accepting this as a part of faith isn’t enough; we need to believe this. Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, one of our Pious Predecessors, wrote: “A pious elder has remarked that if the kings came to know of their [those who are loved by Allah] tremendous inner wealth, they would attempt to snatch it by waging a war with swords, saying, ‘Give us your wealth.’ By Allah, it is indeed the case that kingdoms are of no value compared to the wealth of the wali [one who is loved by Allah]. This is not poetic speech, but a judgment based on actual events...” This is just one account of how following the Sunnah can grant us the real treasures of this world. With that said, it needs to be made clear that “following the Sunnah” does not mean that starting this moment we all must start wearing turbans and niqaabs wherever we go; no, this isn’t the case. There are many sunnats that we can follow by just slightly altering many of the things we already do every day. Just the mere thought that “I am doing it this way because Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) did it this way” will yield large amounts of rewards and will ultimately bring the love and mercy of Allah (s.w.t.). They are many books and websites that provide these. (It is better to say these in Arabic, but to say them in English is still fine.) Initially we may need to consciously remember to say

“Bismillah” or use our right hand or whatever, but eventually it will become second nature and we will do these sunnats without even having to think about it.

A Few Sunnahs!

• Before entering your car, entering your house, eating, drinking, undressing, or anything else that doesn’t involve dirt, say “Bismillah.” • When eating or drinking, use your right hand. • When giving or taking something, use your right hand. • For anything that could involve dirt (e.g. cleaning, picking up shoes, etc.) use your left hand. • When putting on your shoes, put the right shoe on first; when taking off your shoes, take the left shoe off first (and do so sitting down if possible). • Enter the masjid with your right foot and exit with your left foot. • Enter the washroom with your left foot and exit with your right foot. • When going to bed, lie on your right side (at least initially). • When combing your hair, start from the right side. • When getting dressed, put on the right sleeve/pant first. • If you see something blocking the road or the hallway, move it to the side. • When you see your Muslim brother or sister (respectively), smile and be the first to initiate salaam. • Stay on good terms with all family members. Try to keep in contact with them even if they ignore you. • Learn the various masnoon duas for sleeping, eating, etc. They are many books and websites that provide these. (It is better to say these in Arabic, but to say them in English is still fine.)

At some point Shaitan may whisper to us, “What difference does it make what hand I use? It is just one sunnat.” In that situation, it would be beneficial for us to remember that the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Do not disdain any good deed, even your meeting with your brother (Muslim) with a cheerful face.” It is important that we never belittle any good deed, because even a small deed done consistently can bring much reward. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “The most blessed of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is a minute one.” Lastly, we ask Allah (s.w.t.) to grant us the love of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and the taufeeq to consistently follow his Sunnah. VOLUME 1

Famous Quotes about

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

By: Sikander M Khan

His complete biography has been authenticated and circulated amongst scholars around the world starting while he was still alive and continuing up until today. Here are some famous quotes about his life and teachings: "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level." [Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, page. 33.] "Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was pope without the pope's claims, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a Right Divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without instruments and without its support. He cared not for dressing of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life." [Reverend R. Bosworth-Smith in “Mohammed & Mohammedanism” in 1946] "Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?" [Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277.] "He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness." [George Bernard Shaw, The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936]

"The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Muhammad the Prophet. There is Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the Statesman; Muhammad the Orator; Muhammad the Reformer; Muhammad the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad the Judge; Muhammad the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero." [K. S. Ramakrishna Rao, an Indian (Hindu) professor of Philosophy, in his booklet “Muhammad the Prophet of Islam”] "I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind... I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life." [Mahatma Gandhi in Young India] "How one man single handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades." [Thomas Carlyle in ‘Heroes and Hero Worship’] "Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him" [D.C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta, 1935, p. 12]

“I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN APOSTLE OF GOD’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.” [Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54]

"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother." [Sarojini Naidu, Ideals of Islam, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169]

“He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as Divine Law and not as a book of a human being, made for education or entertainment.” [EWolfgang Goethe, Noten und Abhandlungen zum Weststlichen Dvan, WA I, 7, 32]

“Prophet Muhammad... a mass of detail in the early sources shows that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were likewise honest and upright men.” [Britannica Vol. 12]

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Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH) in Various World Scriptures By: Shoaib Alam “Say: ‘O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; That we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah’. If then they turn back, Say ye: “Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah’s Will)”. (Qur’an Chapter 3 Verse 64)

slam makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and continuing with Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John and Jesus amongst many others (may peace be on them all). This Article highlights the mention of our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Christian, Hindu and Jewish scriptures.

Reference: This article is a transcription of Zakir Naik’s speech on the topic. For more information, please visit www.irf.net.

Prophet Muhammad in Christian Scriptures Old Testament: Prophet Muhammad, prophesized in the Book of Deuteronomy: Almighty God speaks to Moses in Book of Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

The Christians say that this prophecy refers to Jesus (pbuh) because Jesus (pbuh) was like Moses (pbuh). Moses (pbuh) was a Jew, as well as Jesus (pbuh) was a Jew. Moses (pbuh) was a Prophet and Jesus (pbuh) was also a Prophet. If these two are the only criteria for this prophecy to be fulfilled, then all the Prophets of the Bible who came after Moses (pbuh) such as Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist, etc. (pbut) will fulfill this prophecy since all were Jews as well as prophets. VOLUME 1

However, it is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who is like Moses (pbuh): o Both had a father and a mother, while Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention. [Mathew 1:18 and Luke 1:35 and also Qur’an Chapter 3 Verses 42-47] o Both were married and had children. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not marry nor had children. o Both died natural deaths. Jesus (pbuh) has been raised up alive. (Qur’an Chapter 4 Verses 157-158) Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of Jews. Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac (pbut). The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac (pbuh). Words in the mouth: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unlettered and whatever revelations he received from Almighty God he repeated them verbatim. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” [Deuteronomy 18:18] o Both besides being Prophets were also kings i.e. they could inflict capital punishment. Jesus (pbuh) said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36). o Their people accepted both as Prophets in their lifetime but Jesus (pbuh) was rejected by his people. John chapter 1 verse 11 states, “He came unto his own, but his own received him not.” o Both brought new laws and new regulations for their people. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not bring any new laws. (Mathew 5:17-18).

It is Mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18:19 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not harken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

New Testament Al-Qur’an Chapter 61 Verse 6: “And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said, ‘O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me

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and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed.’ But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, ‘This is evident sorcery!’ “ All the prophecies mentioned in the Old Testament regarding Muhammad (pbuh) besides applying to the Jews also hold good for the Christians. 1. John chapter 14 verse 16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” 2. Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 26: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” 3. Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 7: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”. “Ahmed” or “Muhammad” meaning; “the one who praises” or “the praised one”, is almost the translation of the Greek word Periclytos. In the Gospel of John 14:16, 15:26, and 16:7. The word ‘Comforter’ is used in the English translation for the Greek word Paracletos that means advocate or a kind friend rather than a comforter. Paracletos is the warped reading for Periclytos. Jesus (pbuh) actually prophesized Ahmed by name. Even the Greek word Paraclete refers to the Prophet (pbuh) who is a mercy for all creatures. Some Christians say that the Comforter mentioned in these prophecies refers to the Holy Sprit. They fail to realize that the prophecy clearly says that only if Jesus (pbuh) departs will the Comforter come. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit was already present on earth before and during the time of Jesus (pbuh), in the womb of Elizabeth, and again when Jesus (pbuh) was being baptized, etc. Hence this prophecy refers to none other than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). 4. Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 12-14: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me”. The Sprit of Truth, spoken about in this prophecy refers to none other than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). NOTE: All quotations of the Bible are taken from the King James Version.

Prophet Muhammad in Hindu Scriptures Bhavishya Purana 1. According to Bhavishya Purana in the Prati Sarag Parv III Khand 3 Adhay 3 Shloka 5 to 8. “A malecha (belonging to a foreign country and speaking a foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be Mohammad. Raja (Bhoj) after giving this Maha Dev Arab (of angelic disposition) a bath in the Panchgavya and the Ganga water (i.e. purifying him of all sins) offered him the present of his sincere devotion and showing him all reverence said, “I make obeisance to thee. O ye! The pride of mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have collected a great force to kill the Devil and you yourself have been protected from the malecha opponents.” The Prophecy clearly states: i. The name of the Prophet as Mohammad. ii. He will belong to Arabia. The Sanskrit word Marusthal means a sandy track of land or a desert. iii. Special mention is made of the companions of the Prophet, i.e. the Sahabas. No other Prophet had as many companions as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). iv. He is referred as the pride of mankind (Parbatis nath). The Glorious Qur’an reconfirms this; “And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character” [Qur’an Chapter 68 Verse 4] “Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah, a beautiful pattern (of conduct)”. [Qur’an Chapter 33 Verse 21]

sorts of sins. Here the prophecy implies that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sinless, i.e. Maasoom. 2. According to Bhavishya Purana in the Pratisarag Parv III Khand 3 Adhay 3 Shloka 10 to 27 Maharishi Vyas has prophesised: “The Malecha have spoiled the well-known land of the Arabs. Arya Dharma is not to be found in the country. Before also there appeared a misguided fiend whom I had killed; he has now again appeared being sent by a powerful enemy. To show these enemies the right path and to give them guidance, the well-known Muhammad (pbuh), is busy in bringing the Pishachas to the right path. O Raja, You need not go to the land of the foolish Pishachas, you will be purified through my kindness even where you are. At night, he of the angelic disposition, the shrewd man, in the guise of Pishacha said to Raja Bhoj, “O Raja! Your Arya Dharma has been made to prevail over all religions, but according to the commandments of Ishwar Parmatma, I shall enforce the strong creed of the meat eaters. My followers will be men circumcised, without a tail (on his head), keeping beard, creating a revolution announcing the Aadhaan (the Muslim call for prayer) and will be eating all lawful things. He will eat all sorts of animals except swine. They will not seek purification from the holy shrubs, but will be purified through warfare. On account of their fighting the irreligious nations, they will be known as Musalmaans. I shall be the originator of this religion of the meat-eating nations.”

v. He will kill the devil, i.e. abolish idol worship and all sorts of vices. vi. The Prophet will be given protection against his enemy. Some people may argue that ‘Raja’ Bhoj mentioned in the prophecy lived in the 11th century C.E. 500 years after the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and was the descendant in the 10th generation of Raja Shalivahan. These people fail to realise that there was not only one Raja of the name Bhoj. The Egyptian Monarchs were called as Pharaoh and the Roman Kings were known as Caesar, similarly the Indian Rajas were given the title of Bhoj. There were several Raja Bhoj who came before the one in 11th Century C.E.

a.The evil doers have corrupted the Arab land. b. Arya Dharma is not found in that land. c. The Indian Raja need not go the Arab land since his purification will take place in India after the musalmaan will arrive in India. d. The coming Prophet will attest the truth of the Aryan faith (Monotheism) & will reform the misguided people. e. The Prophet’s followers will be circumcised. They will be without a tail on the head and bear a beard and will create a great revolution. f. They will announce the Aadhaan, i.e. ‘the Muslim call for prayer’. g. He will only eat lawful things and animals but will not eat pork. The Qur’an confirms this in no less than 4 different places:

The Prophet did not physically take a bath in the Panchgavya and the water of Ganges. Since the water of Ganges is considered holy, taking bath in the Ganges is an idiom, which means washing away sins or immunity from all

In Surah Al-Baqarah chapter 2 verse 173 In Surah Al-Maidah chapter 5 verse 3 In Surah Al-Anam chapter 6 verse 145 In Surah Al-Nahl chapter 16 verse 115 VOLUME 1

“Forbidden to you for food are dead meat, blood, flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah”. h. They will not purify with grass like the Hindus but by means of sword they will fight their irreligious people. i. They will be called musalmaan. j. They will be a meat-eating nation. The eating of herbivorous animals is confirmed by the Qur’an in Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 1 and in Surah Muminun chapter 23 verse 21

Atharvaveda 1. In the 20th book of Atharvaveda Hymn 127 Some Suktas (chapters) are known as Kuntap Sukta. Kuntap means the consumer of misery and troubles. Thus meaning the message of peace and safety and if translated in Arabic means Islam. Kuntap also means hidden glands in the abdomen. These mantras are called so probably because their true meaning was hidden and was to be revealed in future. Its hidden meaning is also connected with the navel or the middle point of this earth. Makkah is called the Ummul Qur’a the mother of the towns or the naval of the earth. In many revealed books it was the first house of Divine worship where God Almighty gave spiritual nourishment to the world. The Qur’an says in Surah Ali-Imran chapter 3, verse 96: “The first house (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkah (Makkah) full of blessings and of guidance and for all kinds of beings”. Thus Kuntap stands for Makkah or Bakkah. Several people have translated these Kuntap Suktas like M. Bloomfield, Prof. Ralph Griffith, Pandit Rajaram, Pandit Khem Karan, etc. The main points mentioned in the Kuntap Suktas i.e. in Atharvaveda book 20 Hymn 127 verses 1-13 are: a. Mantra 1: He is Narashansah or the praised one (Muhammad). He is Kaurama: the prince of peace or the emigrant, who is safe, even amongst a host of 60,090 enemies. b. Mantra 2: He is a camel-riding Rishi, whose chariot touches the heaven. c. Mantra 3: He is Mamah Rishi who is given a hundred gold coins, ten chaplets (necklaces), three hundred good steeds and ten thousand cows. d. Mantra 4: Vachyesv rebh. ‘Oh! ye who glorifies’.

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The Sanskrit word Narashansah means ‘the praised one’, which is the literal translation of the Arabic word Muhammad (pbuh). The Sanskrit word Kaurama means ‘one who spreads and promotes peace’. The holy Prophet was the ‘Prince of Peace’ and he preached equality of human kind and universal brotherhood. Kaurama also means an emigrant. The Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah and was thus also an Emigrant. He will be protected from 60,090 enemies, which was the population of Makkah. The Prophet would ride a camel. This clearly indicates that it cannot be an Indian Rishi, since it is forbidden for a Brahman to ride a camel according to the Sacred Books of the East, volume 25, Laws of Manu pg. 472. According to Manu Smirti chapter 11 verse 202, “A Brahman is prohibited from riding a camel or an ass and to bathe naked. He should purify himself by suppressing his breath”. This mantra gave the Rishi’s name as Mamah. No rishi in India or another Prophet had this name Mamah which is derived from Mah which means to esteem highly, or to revere, to exalt, etc. Some Sanskrit books give the Prophet’s name as ‘Mohammad’, but this word according to Sanskrit grammar can also be used in the bad sense. It is incorrect to apply grammar to an Arabic word. Actually shas the same meaning and somewhat similar pronunciation as the word Muhammad (pbuh). He is given 100 gold coins, which refers to the believers and the earlier companions of the Prophet during his turbulent Makkan life. Later on due to persecution they migrated from Makkah to Abysinia. Later when Prophet migrated to Madinah all of them joined him in Madinah. The 10 chaplets or necklaces were the 10 best companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) known as Ashra-Mubbashshira (10 bestowed with good news). These were foretold in this world of their salvation in the hereafter i.e. they were given the good news of entering paradise by the Prophet’s own lips and after naming each one he said “in Paradise”. They were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubair, Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf, Saad bin Abi Waqqas, Saad bin Zaid and Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be well-pleased with all of them). The Sanskrit word Go is derived from Gaw which means ‘to go to war’. A cow is also called Go and is a symbol of war as well as peace. The 10,000 cows refer to the 10,000 companions who accompanied the Prophet (pbuh) when he entered Makkah during Fateh Makkah which was a unique victory in the history of mankind in which there was no blood shed. The 10,000 companions were pious and compassionate like cows and were at the same time strong and fierce and are described in the Holy Quran in Surah Fatah:

“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.” [Qur’an Chapter 48 Verse 29] This mantra calls the Prophet as Rebh which means one who praises, which when translated into Arabic is Ahmed, which is another name for the Holy Prophet (pbuh). 2. Battle of the Allies described in the Vedas. It is mentioned in Atharvaveda Book XX Hymn 21 verse 6: “Lord of the truthful! These liberators drink these feats of bravery and the inspiring songs gladdened thee in the field of battle. When thou renders vanquished without fight the ten thousand opponents of the praying one, the adoring one.” a. This Prophecy of the Veda describes the well-known battle of Ahzab or the battle of the Allies during the time of Prophet Muhammed. The Prophet was victorious without an actual conflict which is mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah Ahzab: “When the believers saw the confederate forces they said, “This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us and Allah and His Messenger told us what was true.” And it only added to their faith and their zeal in obedience.” [Qur’an Chapter 33 Verse 22]

b. The Sanskrit word karo in the Mantra means the ‘praying one’ which when translated into Arabic means ‘Ahmed’, the second name of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). c. The 10,000 opponents mentioned in the Mantra were the enemies of the Prophet and the Muslims were only 3000 in number. d. The last words of the Mantra aprati ni bashayah means the defeat was given to the enemies without an actual fight. 3. The enemies’ defeat in the conquest of Makkah mentioned in Atharvaveda book 20 Hymn 21 verse no 9: “You have O Indra, overthrown 20 kings and 60,099 men with an outstripping Chariot wheel who came to fight the praised one or far famed (Muhammad) orphan.” i. The population of Makkah at the time of Prophet’s advent was nearly 60,000 ii. There were several clans in Makkah each having its own chief. Totally there were about 20 chiefs to rule the population of Makkah. iii. An Abandhu meaning a helpless man who was farfamed and ‘praised one’. Muhammad (pbuh) overcame his enemies with the help of God.

Prophet Muhammad in Jewish Scriptures Book of Deuteronomy

descendants of Isaac (pbuh).

1. God Almighty speaks to Moses in Book of Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18:

4. Words in the mouth: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unlettered and whatever revelations he received from God Almighty he repeated it verbatim. Deuteronomy (18:18): “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” 2. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is like Moses (pbuh): i. Both had a father and a mother. ii. Both were married and had children. iii. Their people accepted both as Prophets in their lifetime. iv. Both besides being Prophets were also kings i.e. they could inflict capital punishment. v. Both brought new laws and new regulations for their people. vi. Both died a natural death. 3. Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of Jews. Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac. The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the

Book of Isaiah It is mentioned in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12: “And the book is delivered to him that is not learned saying, ‘Read this, I pray thee’; and he saith, ‘I am not learned’. “When Archangel Gabriel commanded Muhammad (pbuh) by saying ‘Iqra’, he replied “I am not learned”. All the prophecies mentioned in the Old Testament regarding Muhammad (pbuh) besides applying to the Jews also hold good for the Christians (Qur’an Chapter 61 Verse 6). VOLUME 1

The Scholars are the inheritors of the By: Adil Sarfraz

Prophets

any times we think to ourselves, “If Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) were still alive, I would do anything to be with him!” The Prophet (s.a.w.) knew that there were going to be people like us, people who came later and who would love to be with him but could not. So for us the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets” (ibn Majah). Although we cannot be with the Prophet (s.a.w.), we can be with his inheritors (i.e. the scholars). However, at times Shaitan may whisper to us that we do not need to spend time with the scholars. It is important that we realize that this notion is truly from Shaitan. Allah (swt) says, “Oh you who believe! Fear Allah and be with the Sadiqeen” (9:119). Allah (swt) is ordering us to keep in good company. (Sadiqeen, in the light of the Quran and Sunnah, doesn’t only mean “The Truthful People,” but rather it means the most righteous people.) The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:

“The difference between the scholar and the worshipper is like the difference between me and the lowest of you” (ibn Majah). Of course, the difference between Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the lowest of the Companions (r.a.) is more than we could ever imagine. Likewise, the difference between a scholar and a normal Muslim (such as ourselves) is also immense. So, the same way that the Companions (r.a.) would sit with the Prophet (s.a.w.) in order to learn the deen and to benefit from his company, we should sit with the scholars (who are the “inheritors” of the Prophet (s.a.w.)) for the same reasons. Shaitan may whisper to us that we know enough about Islam, and so we do not need to ask them. However, Allah (swt) says, “Ask the people of knowledge [i.e. the scholars] if you do not know” (21:7). So, if an issue regarding the religion arises, we need to ask the scholars. Even if we feel that we can come to the right decision on our own, we should remember that the Blessed Prophet (s.a.w.) said:

“Whosoever in interpreting the Quran says therein anything of his own opinion commits a mistake even if he is correct” (Majma-ul-Zawaaid). 14 THE MESSAGE

SubhanAllah, even if he is correct! The Prophet (s.a.w.) also said, “Sometimes a man utters a word without giving it any regard and that word will land him in the fire the depth of which is more than that between the east and the west” (Bukhari). If we were to say something regarding the religion without proper knowledge, we could be accumulating much sin without even realizing it. This shows us just how very important it is that we refer to the scholars when we have questions instead of simply doing or saying whatever we think is right. Furthermore, we need to remember that Shaitan will do anything he can to turn our hearts away from the scholars. After all, the Prophet (s.a.w.) said:

“The scholar is stronger against Shaitan than one thousand worshippers” (Tirmithi). Of course, there are many scholars, and not every scholar has the same exact opinion on everything. So, even if we come across a scholar that we disagree with on a certain issue, at the very least we should keep our tongues and hearts clean towards him/her. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Whoever bears malice towards Allah’s wali (friend), Allah will declare war on him” (Bukhari). He (s.a.w.) said in another narration, “Jibreel relays that Allah (swt) said, ‘Whoever ridicules my wali (friend), challenges Me to a war. My anger in this matter is like a furious lion’” (Durri Manthoor). Abu Hanifa (rah) and Imam Shafi (rah) said, “If the jurists and the scholars are not auliya (plural of wali) of Allah, then nobody is a wali” (Sharhul-Muhazzab). Could anyone win in a war against Almighty Allah, who is al-Qawi (the Strongest) and al-Mateen (the Forceful)? It would certainly behoove us to have taqwa in this matter and to be very careful about what we say in regards to the scholars. We need to refrain from making comments like, “Such-and-such scholar said this statement, how ridiculous.” Regardless of how many other good deeds we may have, with these types of comments, we are only filling our own graves with fire. Finally, we ask Allah (swt) to forgive us of our sins, shower us in His Infinite Mercy, and grant us the taufeeq to keep our hearts and tongues clean towards the illustrious scholars of the religion.

Pearls of Wisdom from

Umar bin Khattab

An MSA Presentation

hen someone transgresses upon your rights (and in doing so disobeys Allah) the way to 'revenge' is to obey Allah in dealing with him. (use reason/rules instead of anger) When something comes to you from your brother, accept it as something good, unless you have overwhelming evidence against it. (hush dhann- thinking good of people) Don't take the word of a Muslim as ill. When there is a way of seeing it positively, take it that way. Find one good interpretation out of 10. Avoid positions that will make others doubt you. (ie disobey Allah publicly, hang out with ppl who don't care, at all time and places) Do not blame others. When you have a secret, its under your control, but when you tell someone else, that control is not yours anymore. People fall under different factors and pressures, so do not blame others. Always take care of the brothers and sisters of truth. Be with them always. They will protect you. They are always a beautiful ornament. In good times you will have ease, and in time of difficulty, you will have protection and support. Be strict and careful in choosing your friends.

(peace be upon him)

Don't ask about that which didn't happen. You already have enough to deal with, be practical, deal with immediate problems not the future of ghayb. Don't ask for your need to be fulfilled from someone who wouldn't like your need to be fulfilled. Try to be self-sufficient as individuals and as an ummah, Muslims of early generation were poor but didn't lower themselves. Always be with dignity. Don't be neglectful or careless in swearing by the name of Allah. Otherwise, Allah will bring punishment for you. Don't be in the company of fajaar (those who commit major sins openly and don't care) You WILL be affected. Your own behavior changes little by little. Be in the company of people who remind you of Allah. Be aware of your enemy. Be careful, alert, and prepared. Remember death. Visit the graveyards, try to be in kushuu'. If you can't cry, force yourself to. Try to be humble in front of the Creator, the One who gives life and takes it away. Be HUMBLE in acts of obedience to Allah. No one will protect us but Allah. Seek protection from Allah in Allah.

Always be with the truth even against your own life.

Seek tawbaah (forgiveness). Immediately, be determined, have resolve.

Don't indulge in that which is meaningless. Every moment of our life is meaningful- use it to worship Allah subhanawat'ala (be He Glorious and Exalted).

Consult in your matters those who have kashiyaah (fear of Allah and always conscious of Him), because those who have kashiyaah are the ones that truly have ilm. VOLUME 1

By : Sh o

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aib A

lam

ver since the dawn of human life on this planet, man has always sought to understand Nature, his own place in the scheme of creation and the purpose of life itself. In this quest for truth, spanning many centuries and diverse civilizations, organized religion has shaped human life and determined to a large extent, the course of history.

"God then rose turning towards the heaven which it was smoke ..." (Qur'an Chapter 41 Verse 11)

In recent years, man has made leaps and bounds in the fields of science, and his understanding on the working of the universe. However, it is unfortunate that with this progress, it has become common belief that religion and science do not go hand in hand. This is against the teachings of Islam.

According to modern science, the separation process resulted in the formation of multiple worlds, a concept which appears dozens of times in the Qur'an. For example, look at the first chapter of the Qur'an, al-Faatihah:

Scienctific education and knowledge is not only stated in the Qur’an, but also highly encouraged in Islam. Our beloved prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: “The difference between the scholar and the worshipper is like the difference between me and the lowest of you” (ibn Majah). And Allah (The Almighty) in His infinite mercy has filled The Qur’an with scientific facts, for us to discover. The following are very few of the large number of scienctific facts stated in the Qur’an;

Creation of the Universe: The Qur'an informs us concerning the existence of an initial gaseous mass (dukhan), as well as descriptions of the elements, which although at first were fused together (ratq), they subsequently became separated (fatq). These ideas are expressed in chapters Fussilat and alAnbiyaa:

"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), then We split them apart?" (Qur'an Chapter 21 Verse 30)

"Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds." (Qur'an Chapter 1 Verse1) These Qur'anic references are all in perfect agreement with modern ideas on the existence of primary nebula (galactic dust), followed by the separation of the elements, which resulted in the formation of galaxies and then stars from which the planets were born.

The Big Bang Theory: The universe came into existence billions of years ago with a tremendous explosion called "The big bang." This is clearly mentioned in the Quran in the following verses: “Have not "those who disbelieve" known that heavens and earth were of one piece, We parted them and, We made every living thing of water will they not then believe?” (Qur'an Chapter 21 Verse 30) The discovery of "The Big Bang" and that of "The aquatic origin of life" was made by the non-Muslims, ("those who disbelieve"). When the universe began all matter and space (heavens) was at one point (one piece). Then everything was separated in what the physicists describe as "The big bang." The evidence that the universe began in the "The big bang" is so overwhelming that it is now considered a fact and not just a theory. References: Various. “IslamiCity.com - Islam, Qur’an & Science.” IslamiCity.com - Islam & The Global Muslim ECommunity. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. <http://www.islamicity.com/Science>

“ With the onset of scientific discoveries and as science catches up with the knowledge preserved in the Qur’an, the Word of God has not been and will never become irrelevant. "

Moore, Keith L. “A Scientist’s Interpretation Of References To Embryology In The Qur’an.” The Journal of the Islamic Medical Association 18 (1986): 15-16. Print.

VOLUME 1

The Expansion of the Universe Chapter ath-Thariyaat of the Qur'an alludes to one of the most imposing discoverises of modern science, the Expansion of the Universe. "The heaven, We have built it with power, Verily We are expanding it." (Qur'an Chapter 51 Verse 47) The expansion of the Universe was first suggested by the general theory of relativity and is supported by the calculations of astrophysics. The regular movement of the galactic light towards the red section of the spectrum is explained by the distancing of one galaxy from another. Thus, the size of the universe appears to be progressively increasing.

Orbits of Heavenly Bodies Today, the laws governing the celestial systems are well known. Galaxies are balanced by the position of stars and planets in well-defined orbits, as well the interplay of gravitational forces produced by their masses and the speed of their movements. But is this not what the Qur'an describes in terms which have only become comprehensible in modern times. In chapter al-Anbiyaa we find: "(God is) the one Who created the night, the day, the sun and the moon. Each one is travelling in an orbit with its own motion." (Qur'an Chapter 21 Verse 33)

Embryology in Islam Embryology is a science, which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage. Statements referring to human reproduction and development are scattered throughout the Qur'an. It is only recently that the scientific meaning of some of these verses has been appreciated fully. The long delay in interpreting these verses correctly resulted mainly from inaccurate translations and commentaries and from a lack of awareness of scientific knowledge. "He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness." (Qur’an Chapter 39 Verse 6) "The three veils of darkness" may refer to: (1) the anterior abdominal wall; (2) the uterine wall; and (3) the amniochorionic membrane. “Then We placed him as a drop in a place of rest.” (Qur’an Chapter 23 Verse 13) The drop or nutfah has been interpreted as the sperm

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or spermatozoon, but a more meaningful interpretation would be the zygote which divides to form a blastocyst which is implanted in the uterus (“a place of rest”). This interpretation is supported by another verse in the Qur’an which states that “a human being is created from a mixed drop.” The zygote forms by the union of a mixture of the sperm and the ovum (“The mixed drop”). “Then We made the drop into a leech-like structure.” (Qur’an Chapter 23 Verse 14) The word “alaqah” in the verse refers to a leech or bloodsucker. This is an appropriate description of the human embryo from days 7-24 when it clings to the endometrium of the uterus, in the same way that a leech clings to the skin. Just as the leech derives blood from the host, the human embryo derives blood from the decidua or pregnant endometrium. It is remarkable how much the embryo of 23-24 days resembles a leech. “Then of that leech-like structure, We made a chewed lump.” (Qur’an Chapter 23 Verse 14) The Arabic word “mudghah” means “chewed substance or chewed lump.” Toward the end of the fourth week, the human embryo looks somewhat like a chewed lump of flesh. The chewed appearance results from the somites which resemble teeth marks. The somites represent the beginnings or primordia of the vertebrae. “Then We made out of the chewed lump, bones, and clothed the bones in flesh.” (Qur’an Chapter 23 Verse 14) Indicates that out of the chewed lump stage, bones and muscles form. This is in accordance with embryological development. First the bones form as cartilage models and then the muscles (flesh) develop around them from the somatic mesoderm. “Then We developed out of it another creature.” (Qur’an Chapter 23 Verse 14) Implies that the bones and muscles result in the formation of another creature. This may refer to the human-like embryo that forms by the end of the eighth week. At this stage it has distinctive human characteristics and possesses the primordia of all the internal and external organs and parts. After the eighth week, the human embryo is called a fetus. This may be the new creature to which the verse refers. “And He gave you hearing and sight and feeling and understanding.” (Qur’an Chapter 32 Verse 9) Indicates that the special senses of hearing, seeing, and feeling develop in this order, which is true. The primordia of the internal ears appear before the beginning of the

eyes, and the brain (the site of understanding) differentiates last. “Then out of a piece of chewed flesh, partly formed and partly unformed.” (Qur’an Chapter 22 Verse 5) Indicates that the embryo is composed of both differentiated and undifferentiated tissues. For example, when the cartilage bones are differentiated, the embryonic connective tissue or mesenchyme around them is undifferentiated. It later differentiates into the muscles and ligaments attached to the bones. “And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term.” (Qur’an Chapter 22 Verse 5) Implies that God determines which embryos will remain in the uterus until full term. It is well known that many embryos abort during the first month of development, and that only about 30% of zygotes that form, develop into fetuses that survive until birth. This verse has also been interpreted to mean that God determines whether the embryo will develop into a boy or girl. The interpretation of the verses in the Qur’an referring to human development would not have been possible in the 7th century A.D., or even a hundred years ago. We can interpret them now because the science of modern Embryology affords us new understanding. Undoubtedly there are other verses in the Qur’an related to human development that will be understood in the future as our knowledge increases.

Barrier Between Seas (Sweet & Salt Water) “He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together: Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress.” (Qur’an Chapter 55 Verses19-20) Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and density. There is a slanted unseen water barrier between the two seas through which water from one sea passes to the other. But when the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristic and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters. This phenomenon is also mentioned in the following verse of the Qur’an: “And made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water?” (Qur’an Chapter 27 Verse 61) This phenomenon occurs in several places, including

the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at Gibraltar. A white bar can also be clearly seen at Cape Point, Cape Peninsula, South Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier. “It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: one palatable and sweet, and the other salty and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, and a partition that is forbidden to be passed. (Qur’an Chapter 25 Verse 53) Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt-water meet, the situation is somewhat different from that found in places where two salt-water seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.” This partition (zone of separation) has salinity different from both the fresh water and the salt water. This phenomenon occurs in several places, including Egypt, where the river Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea. These scientific phenomena mentioned in the Qur’an was also confirmed by Dr. William Hay, a well known marine scientist and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, U.S.A Interest in explanations of the verses of the Qur’an is not new. People used to ask the prophet Muhammad all sorts of questions about the meaning of verses referring to human reproduction. The Apostle’s answers form the basis of the Hadith literature. These are very few of the many scientific explanations and facts in the Qur’an. The scientific evidences in the Qur’an makes it a miracle in itself. No human could have produced a book, 1400 years ago, that would contain profound scientific facts, to be discovered by humankind centuries later. The Qur’an is truly the Word of God. The message of Islam, the teachings of prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and the Qur’an is for all times. And it remains relevant to every age. There are things in the Qur’an which modern science has been able to prove, and others which it hasn’t. But Alhamdulillah, nothing in the Qur’an has ever been proved wrong. Thus we see that with the onset of scientific discoveries and as science catches up with the knowledge preserved in the Qur’an, the Word of God has not been and will never become irrelevant and will go hand in hand with science. And Inshallah, this knowledge will help mankind to come closer to the Word of the Almighty. VOLUME 1

“ She is beautiful for who she is, not just for her appearance. ”

Behind The Veil

By: Ferihan Abdallah

he beauty of a woman does not exist only in her physical features, but rather in her personality, piety and character. As mandated in the religion of Islam, Muslim women cover their hair with a long garment and dress in modest clothing as where none of their body can be described, exposing their face and hands only. This is also known as Hijaab.

“O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed...” (Qur’an 33:59) A woman who covers in Hijaab is making a statement about her identity and is easily recognized as a Muslim. This has been enjoined upon women as a protection against abuse and temptation. Her mind and inner qualities are exposed rather than her beauty/sexuality, which are concealed. People’s attention is naturally aimed towards her ideas, thoughts and words. She is treated in a manner where people look at her for who she is and not for what she looks like. Her attire also portrays her commitment to God and protects her modesty, integrity & intelligence. She is beautiful for who she is, not just for her appearance. “Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and God is well acquaint-

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ed with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands...” (Qur’an 24:30-31) A common misconception of Hijaab is that women are forced to wear it by parents and/or male family members. Many Muslim woman who were interviewed, agree that this has absolutely nothing to do with why they are wearing it and that Hijaab itself is of great benefit to them. Unfortunately, being a Muslim and wearing Hijaab has become very difficult for many Muslim women. People are very harsh in their false accusations about Muslim women and how bad they are treated. It becomes hard for them to find work, further their education without ridicule and enjoy a simple evening outside of the home with their families. Instead, the world should stop and note that it is not the hijaab, or God (Glory be to Him), or the men of their families that are stopping or oppressing them; but rather it is the stares, the intolerance and inconsiderate actions by people of ignorance who are oppressing their success, education and liberation. Muslim woman can face the world with graciousness during the events of any struggle that they may encounter wearing the Hijaab because they know that they are working for a home in paradise. The Hijaab is not a responsibility, rather it is a right given to Muslim women from their creator.

Stop Talking About Being Muslim and BE Muslim Dealing With Domestic Violence

By: April Arman

ho would have thought that the entrenched practice of smoking would be banned from public places? Likewise today, driving while intoxicated has become an act that is not only looked at with disdain, but there are strict legal ramifications, including incarceration for driving drunk. Why cite these two examples? Because drinking and smoking were accepted as normal behavior in the not so distant past. These behaviors may have been seen to have unfortunate consequences, but were pretty much accepted and condoned by society. How does this relate to the occurrence of domestic violence in our society? It shows that when people organize they can willfully effect change through education and advocacy. Isn’t it time that violence against women (and yes men) became unacceptable? Isn’t it time as Muslims that we admit that domestic violence is a widespread problem in our community and take a stand against it? One in four women are victims of domestic violence – that is our sisters, our mothers, our wives, and our neighbors that are being affected. In Islam, we all share the same social status, and we must acknowledge that every human being is equal in the sight of Allah. We are all Bani (decendants of) Adam, created from one soul and as such we are all inherently holders of dignity and integrity, regardless of gender. The defining characteristic of Islam is Haya; the belief that we must have modesty in front of Allah (SWT) because He sees everything that we do. Knowing this, how can one individual abuse another? Knowing that this takes place in our community we need to realize that Allah will ask us why we didn’t do anything to stop this injustice. Every faith tradition posits that we should want for others what we want for ourselves. How then can we live with the reality of knowing that many of the women in our community are victims of abuse? Suffering silently because we really don’t want to know what’s going on? Who will believe me, she asks herself? How will I support myself? I can’t speak the language, leaving would affect the marriage prospects of other family members back home, I love my husband and I just want the abuse to stop. That’s just part of the culture or wanting to keep her family intact so that the children have a father no matter how bad things get. These are just some of the reasons why women stay in abusive relationships. As a community we need to educate ourselves. We need to make our mosques a source of refuge where victims (women and men) can go to and receive help. We need to

hold abusers responsible for their behavior, insisting that the community will not tolerate their abuse. However, it is not simply enough to say that we will not tolerate abusive behavior, we must have a system in place to deal with this issue. Individual counseling for victims and their children, financial assistance, shelter, a means for holding the abuser accountable, etc. If our Masajid are not able to offer the assistance needed to help victims of domestic violence than we need to develop networks with other social service agencies to provide these supports until we can develop our own. But the bottom line is that abusers abuse their spouses simply because they can with impunity. If Allah (SWT) forbid oppression for Himself then as His community we need to forbid oppression from occurring. We need to educate and motivate ourselves in emulating the sunnah of our beloved prophet (SAW) and how he dealt with his family. We need to promote justice in our families based on Islamic principals. We need to offer marriage counseling to facilitate dialogue and understanding before a couple gets married. We need to have timely recourse for women who need protection or who after suffering years of abuse want to end their relationship, In my experience the large majority of women are inherently nurturing and are willing to give so many second chances, hoping to keep their family together, even after enduring many years of physical, emotional, verbal, financial or even spiritual abuse. Instead of asking “what did she do?” (to deserve the abuse) we need to start asking “what did he do?” We need to stop talking about being Muslim and BE Muslim. Recently, Imam Yassir Fazaga, of American Open University said, “ if what we believe does not affect how we behave than what we believe in is not important – it is simply an abstract philosophy.” If Islam is meant to be a way of life than each of us has to ask ourselves what we are actively doing to rid our society of this injustice. Where there is a will there is a way, once an issue is taken seriously change on a societal level can occur but as Muslims we must work from the inside out – starting with our own community and than inshallah being an example for the larger society. Our beloved Prophet (SAW) who had the most sublime character, stated in his last sermon to his community, “take care of your women” and the best of you is the one who is best to his family and I am the best of you to my family. Let’s follow his (SAW) example. VOLUME 1

famous

Muslims An effort to introduce people of all Faith, Colour, Gender and Age to the Famous personalities of the Muslim Community.

Muhammad Ali

A former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time.

Malcolm X

Jawed Karim

Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens

Keith Ellison

An African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. He has been described as one of the greatest, and most influential, African Americans in history.

An English musician, singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.

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The co-founder of the popular video sharing website YouTube. Many of the core components of PayPal, including its real-time anti-fraud system, were also designed and implemented by Karim.

The U.S. Representative for Minnesotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5th congressional district. He is the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress. He is also the first African American elected to the House from Minnesota.

Frank Bilal Ribery

A French football player who currently plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Abdul Qadeer Khan

A Pakistani nuclear scientist. Khan built and orchestrated Pakistan’s gas-centrifuge program

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Hasan Askari

Muhammad Yunus

Hamza Abdullah

The 11th President of India. He was popularly known as the People’s President and the Missile Man of India. He played a key role in the first original nuclear test of India.

Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner. He is an economist and founder of the Grameen Bank

The hero who defended Walter Adler, a Jewish man who was being attacked by a gang of ten on the New York City subway

An American football safety. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

VOLUME 1

say your

PRAYERS

By: Hoda Ahmed

o as one of the 5 pillars of Islam, we know Salat (prayer) is mandated upon us and required for us to be considered Muslims. But, why? Why is it that we have to pray 5 times a day, other than the fact that Allah has commanded it? “Observe the Salat for it prohibits evil and vice.” [29:45]; “I am God, there is no other God but Me, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me.” [20:14] There’s two reasons right there. Praying with full concentration will block out any intentions to do evil and will remind us that Allah is watching us always. Also, since Allah has created us to worship Him, prayer is our way of doing this, as there are other ways too. We ask Allah for forgiveness and help during prayer and we thank Him for what blessings we have. That is why we pray. By praying, we are guaranteed to be successful. “Verily, those who recite the book of God, perform As-Salat and

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spend (in charity) out of what We have provided for them, both discreetly and openly can hope for an investment that never loses. He will recompense them generously and will multiply His blessings upon them. He is Forgiving, Appreciative.” [35:29-30]; “Successful indeed are the believers, who are reverent during their Salat.” [23:2] It seems so easy, yet people have become so lazy and ungrateful to their Lord that praying is a chore now, and it comes lower in the list of priorities. We need to remember that though we are to have a life, consisting of work or school or anything, worshipping Allah is our main goal. Why is it that we become frantic when we’re late for class, or an exam, or an appointment? Are we just as worried to fulfill our prayers at their prescribed times? Praying is our chance to get closer to our Creator. Allah says in the Qur’an: “Call on me and I will answer you. Those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell abject.” [40:60]

Another mistake we make is when a calamity or misfortune befalls us, we seem to run to Allah asking for help and relieve us of whatever pain we are going through. When Allah Almighty takes the hardship away, we are ungrateful most of the time and decrease our calls upon Him. This very example is in the Qur’an: “Man never tires of praying for the good and if evil touches him, he despairs and loses hope. But if We let him taste mercy from Us after he has suffered hardship, then he says, ‘This is my due. I do not think that the Hour is going to come. And if am returned to my Lord, I will definitely find the best reward with Him.’ But we will inform those who disbelieve of what they did and make them suffer a ruthless punishment. When we grant blessing to a man, he turns away and draws aside but when any evil touches him, he is full of endless prayers!” [41:49-51] Thinking about it, how shameful could it be for us to deny the Most Gracious, Most Merciful our devotion? Praying is so important, it can be the determinate of whether we enter Heaven or Hell:

“In Paradise, they will ask one another, About Al-Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, disbelievers) (and they will say to them): ‘What has caused you to enter Hell?’ They will say: ‘We were not of those who used to offer the Salat (prayers)…’” [74:40-43]

I remind myself first, and everyone else, that we must be mindful of our prayers. Not only completing our obligatory prayers, but even starting to pray Sunnah prayers. To pray on time, with no delay. Without a reasonable excuse,

it is as if we are committing shirk by doing something when the time of prayer has called and we have ignored it, continuing on with what we’re doing. It is like this action is more important than serving our Lord who is most deserving of our sincere worship. So let’s not be one of those who just prays once a day, or every Friday, or even only on Eid prayers! Let’s not be those who pray all their prayers late. Let’s not turn to Allah only when we need something. Let’s be close to Allah, in good times and bad, asking for help, forgiveness, blessings, guidance, wisdom, etc. At the end of each prayer, we should feel pure and refreshed, if we concentrated and prayed sincerely with all our heart. This feeling, which is difficult to obtain because of all the distractions in our minds about the worldly life, will give us a boost of confidence and deter us from committing any sins. Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet (pbuh) said: Allah SWT says: “I am in accordance with the thoughts of my slave about me; and I am with him, when he remembers Me. If he remembers me in his heart, I also remember him in my heart. If he remembers me in a group, I remember him in a better group (i.e. angels). If he draws near me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by a cubit. If he draws near me by a cubit, I draw near him by the space covered by two hands. If he walks towards Me, I go to him running.” Let us show our gratitude to Him and always be conscious of our actions. May Allah guide us all to the Straight Path, accept all of our prayers, and be with us always. “O you, who believe, seek help through steadfastness and the Contact Prayers (salat). Allah is with those who steadfastly persevere.” [2:153] VOLUME 1

the

Islamic

way

Ghusl (Ritual Bath) Ghusl

is an Arabic term referring to the full ablution (ritual washing) required in Islam for various rituals and prayers.

he method of ghusl: 1. The person should begin in the name of Allah, make the intention of ghusl, and wash both hands up to the wrists. 2. He should remove any najaasah (impurities) from the body. 3. He should wash the private parts (even if there is no impurity on them). 4. He should make wudhu. 5. He should wash the body three times, starting from the head, then the right side of the body, then the left side, till the toes. (He should rub the body the first time.) The faraaidh of ghusl are three: 1. To gargle water in one’s mouth is such a way that water reaches everywhere. 2. To wash the nose up to the soft bone. 3. To pour water over the entire body. • It is necessary to wash off any najaasah (impurities). • There is no harm in using soap and the like during ghusl. • Supplicating or facing the qiblah (towards the Ka’ba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia) during ghusl is disliked. • It is important not to waste water, as it is sinful. • Care should be taken in washing easily-forgotten areas, such as the ears and navel. • Even if an area equal to a hair’s breadth is left dry, ghusl will not be complete. • If after having making ghusl one remembers that a particular area was left dry (e.g. forgot to wash mouth or nose), then only that area needs to be washed. It is not necessary to repeat the entire ghusl. Conditions when ghusl is obligatory: 1. Discharge of semen out of excitement (whether one is awake or asleep) 2. Entry of the male organ into the female organ 3. At the end of menstruation 4. At the end of nifaas (bleeding after child birth)

Wudhu is the Islamic act of washing parts of the body using water.

• Some semen came out and one therefore made ghusl. After bathing, more semen came out. It will be obligatory to make ghusl again, unless he had (a) urinated, (b) slept, or (c) walked 40 steps. • If, due to some sickness, or some other reason, semen comes out on its own accord, and there was no excitement or desire, then ghusl will not be obligatory (but wudhu will break). • It is not permissible for the one on whom ghusl is obligatory to touch the Quran or recite it. However, it is permissible to take the name of Allah, recite the kalimah, or recite durood. • It is not permissible for the one on whom ghusl is obligatory to enter a masjid (unless there is dire need).

Wudhu (Ritual Ablution)

ethod of Wudhu: 1. The person should face the qiblah, sit on an elevated place, and say “BismillahirRahmaanir-Raheem.” 2. He should wash his hands (starting with the right) to the wrists three times. 3. He should rinse his mouth three times and use miswaak. (If he does not have a miswak, then he can use a thick cloth or even his index finger.) (The fasting person should be careful not to let

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any water go down his throat.) 4. He should rinse the nose three times. (The fasting person should be careful not to let any water go beyond the soft bone.) 5. He should wash the face three times (from hair-line to below the chin, from ear-lobe to ear-lobe). 6. He should wash the arms (starting with the right) up to and including the elbows three times. He should make khilaal of the fingers (i.e. pass the fingers of one hand through the fingers of the other). 7. He should make masah of the entire head (pass wet hands over the head starting from the forehead) once. 8. He should make masah of the insides of the ears using the index-fingers, masah of the back of the ears with the thumbs, and masah of the back of the neck with the back of the remaining three fingers of each hand once. (He should not use fresh water for this, but instead use whatever water was left on the hands from masah of the head.) (Note: it is very important not to make masah of the front of the neck, as this is impermissible.) 9. He should wash the feet (starting with the right) up to and including the ankles three times. He should then make khilaal of the toes using the left hand’s pinky, by starting with pinky-toe of the right foot and ending with the pinky-toe of the left foot. 10. He should say:

“Ash-hadu allaa ilaaha illallahu wahdahoo laa shareekalahoo wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo wa rasooluh. Allahummaj’alnee minat-tawwaabeena waj’alnee minal mutaţahhireen.” The faraaidh (obligatory acts) of wudhu are four: 1. To wash the entire face once (from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin, from earlobe to earlobe) 2. To wash both hands and arms up to and including the elbows once 3. To make masah (to wipe with wet hands) of one-quarter of the head once 4. To wash both feet up to and including the ankles once • Even if one of these four acts is left out, or even if a place equal to a hair’s breadth is left dry, wudhu will not be complete. The other parts of wudhu are either sunnah or mustahab; to leave them out will not invalidate wudhu, but to leave the sunnah without need can be sinful. • “Washing” means that water should drip from the limb (even if it is only a drop or two). • To wash them out of order is still valid, although against the sunnah. • It is necessary to wash the bottom of the chin. If one has a beard, then he should make khilaal of the beard (pass wet fingers through the beard). • If the hair of the face is so thick that the skin cannot be seen (e.g. the beard, eyebrows), then it is sufficient to pour water over that hair. However, if the skin underneath is visible, then it is necessary to wash that skin.

• If there is anything on the skin that does not allow water to permeate it (e.g. paint, nail polish), then it will be necessary to remove that before washing (otherwise wudhu will not be valid). • If one washes these four parts without making niyyah (intention) of wudhu, then wudhu will still be valid. However, one who does not make niyyah (intention) will not get the reward of making wudhu. • If one is wearing a tight ring, then it will be necessary to remove it. If the ring is loose-fitting, then it will be better to remove it, although leaving it on will still be valid. Things that break wudhu: 1. The exiting of najaasah (impurities) from the outer body. Examples of najaasa: urine, stool, blood, water when accompanied by pain, vomit (if it is more than a mouthful), and pus. (If the blood or pus remains on the mouth of the wound and does not flow over it, then wudhu will not break.) 2. Passing air from the hind private part. 3. Vomiting a mouthful. (However, if the vomit is phlegm, then wudhu will not break.) 4. Sleeping when lying down or reclining on one’s side. (If one sleeps cross-legged (while not leaning on anything) with his/her rear firmly seated on the ground and the ankles close to the body and is hunched forward, then wudhu will not break.) 5. Laughing audibly (such that another person can hear you) in prayer (except Salatul Janaaza [prayer for the dead], Sajdah Tilawah [prostration of recitation], or Sajdah Shukr [prostration of thankfulness]). (Laughing such that one can only hear himself will break his salaah, but it will not break his wudhu.) 6. Loss of consciousness. 7. Loss of sanity. 8. Intoxication. 9. Intimate contact between a man and a woman such that the private parts touch directly. Things that do not break wudhu: • Clipping one’s nails, cutting one’s hair, and scratching off the dead skin of a wound do not break one’s wudhu, and it is not necessary to re- wet these parts if one already has wudhu. • Looking at one’s own aurah (private part) does not break one’s wudhu, but it is contrary to modesty. Looking at another’s aurah will not break one’s wudhu, although it is sinful and should not be taken lightly. • If one is in doubt whether he broke his wudhu or not, then the rule is: “Certainty over doubt.” If he is certain he made wudhu but is unsure if he broke it, then he will be regarded as having wudhu (and vice versa). • If one gets some najaasa on his hand (or other body part), then it will be sufficient to wash it off (i.e. wudhu does not need to be made again). • It is not permissible to touch the Quran without wudhu, but it is permissible to pick it up with a cloth. It is permissible to recite Quran from memory without wudhu. VOLUME 1

death &

afterlife By: Hoda Ahmed

eath-it’s a taboo subject, but an inevitable truth. Every human being is going to taste death and everyone knows this; however, are we all prepared for it? As college students, we are young, ready to finish school and take on the career world. All that’s on our minds now is “how am I going to pass my next exam?” or “I have to study hard so I can get an A in this class,” or “I have to complete this many credits so I can graduate by this time.” As this is all fine and dandy to think about, something else should be a priority for us. Are we living a life according to how Allah (God) wants us to live? Have we been worshipping the Almighty and doing good deeds on this earth? After all, we were created for the only reason to serve our Creator and we mustn’t forget our purpose in life. “ Death can come at any moment unexpectedly, whether in a car accident, a fire, a sudden illness, while asleep, or even walking down the street. ” We don’t know when we will die, where or how it will happen. Only Allah (God) knows this because it is already decreed, but the only thing we can do is be ready for it. Allay says in the Quran: “O mankind! Do your duty to your Lord and fear (the coming of) a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true: let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.” [31:33] The best way to be ready for it is to always remember it. “And remind, for the reminder surely benefits the believers.” [51:55] The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “in the evening, do not anticipate the morning, and in the morning do not anticipate the evening” and “be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler on the road.” (Bukhari) Also, if we do not remember Allah, we’ll be without guidance and will surely forget about the

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life’s end. “If anyone withdraws himself from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Satan, to be an intimate companion of him. Such (Satans) really hinder them from the Path, but they think that they are being guided aright!” [43:36-37] Another important aspect about death is what comes next. The afterlife, the REAL life, is our ultimate destination. When we die, we will be in our graves until the Day of Judgment, when we will be destined for either hell or heaven. For those who are destined for hell, their punishment will start in the grave and the angels will be harsh and severe with them (may Allah save us from this). For those who are destined for heaven, the angels will greet them with peace and will show them their place in paradise. We all want to go to heaven, but it requires a lot of effort and patience in order to earn it. However, it’s never too late and it’s best to start right now. “Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous,--Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men; --for Allah loves those who do good: And those who, having done an act of indecency or wronged their own souls. Remember Allah and ask for forgiveness for their sins,--and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.” [3:133-135] This world is filled with numerous jihads, or struggles, so we have to overcome them one by one. This is why reflecting on death is beneficial to us: we can think about how frightful the torment of the hellfire is so we try to avoid it, and how pleasant the bounties of paradise are so we can try to obtain it. The afterlife is ETERNAL. We

should take heed and have priority of our goals. Allah says in the Qur’an: “By the time. Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to truth and recommend one another to patience.” [103:1-3] Mankind can owe their wickedness to an evil companion, Satan. After being kicked out of Paradise for disobeying Allah, “He said: ‘Give me respite till the day they are raised up.’ Allah said: ‘Be thou among those who have respite.’ He said: ‘Because thou hast thrown me out (of the Way), lo! I will lie in wait for them on Thy Straight Way: Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left, nor wilt Thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for Thy mercies).’” [7:14-17] Knowing this, we should be aware that every time we commit a sin, Satan is keeping his word. This, however, does not give us an excuse when we die and try to blame him for our wrongdoings. “And Satan will say when the matter is decided: ‘It was Allah Who gave you a promise of Truth: I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you, but ye listened to me; then reproach not me, but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries, not can ye listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. For wrong-doers there must be a grievous Chastisement.” [14:22] Let’s not get carried away by this life’s pleasures. Satan, our declared enemy, wants us to get distracted from our ultimate goal; he makes what is immoral look pleasing and what is beneficial look unpleasant. This is the struggle we must face everyday so we can keep on track with our deeds. “Know ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and a pastime, adornment and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children. Here is a similitude: how rain and the growth which it brings forth, delight (the hearts of) the tillers; soon it withers; thou wilt see it grow yellow; then it becomes dry and crumbles away. But in the Hereafter is a Chastisement severe (for the devotees of wrong). And Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the devotees of Allah). And what is the life of this world, but goods and chattels of deception? Be ye foremost (in seeking) Forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden (of Bliss), the width whereof is as the width of Heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers: that is the Grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He pleases: and Allah is the Lord of Grace abounding.” [57:20-21] We must stay on the right Path, by relying on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). “’And ordain for us that which is good, in this life and in the Hereafter: for we have turned unto Thee.’ He (Allah) said: ‘I afflict My Punishment on whom I will; but My Mercy extendeth to

all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who do right, and pay Zakat (charity) and those who believe in Our Signs; Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures),--in the Torah and Gospel;--for he commands them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure): He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him,--it is they who will prosper.” [7:156-157] We can only depend on these sources for success in the Hereafter, and praying to Allah continuously to guide us and forgive us. Another point I want to mention is that if you are a Muslim, saying “lailaha illAllah” is not enough to be saved from the Hellfire. We are not exempt from punishment unless we actually obey what we say and truly believe in it. For example, hypocrites, who will be in the bottom of the Hellfire, are those who claim they believe, but their actions of disobedience show they are liars. Allah is the Most Just and will not allow such a person to enjoy Paradise as one who believed and worked hard for the sake of Allah. Hypocrites, those who commit major sins (without asking sincerely for forgiveness) like killing another human being, those who leave their prayers, those who do not follow the way of the Prophet (pbuh) and try to innovate the religion, and disbelievers are warned in the Qur’an: “And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups till when they reach it the gates thereof will be opened and its keepers will say: ‘Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, reciting to you the Verses of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say: ‘Yes,’ but the torment has been justified against the disbelievers!” [40:71-72] If you can remember the time in your life that you were most in regret, then imagine anything that could be worse than that, and how painfully tormenting it would be. “ We have to remember that our time is coming so soon, and we need to be sure we are following the Straight Path to avoid such a regretful feeling to which there are no second chances. ” That day is coming soon, brothers and sisters, let’s be conscious of it. So next time we are preparing for an exam, a job interview, or anything else for that matter, think about this—how prepared are we for the Day of Reckoning? May Allah forgive us all for our sins and guide us on the Straight path. In loving memory of our dear sister Saiba Ansari. May Allah bestow his Mercy upon her and her family and grant for them a great reward. VOLUME 1

The Importance of

Plurality

By: Hassan Shibly

any times we find ourselves all working for the same goals, whether they be in relation to politics, dawah, Islam, human rights, etc. Although we may all agree on the goals themselves, we many times disagree as to which means to utilize to achieve these goals. Sometimes these differences may be so great that individuals, groups, and organizations who use one method may be adamantly opposed to those who use another method—despite the fact that all are working towards the same goal. Often the two methods are deeply counter-opposed to one another. For example, one group may believe the only way to do dawah is indirectly, avoiding any direct verbal confrontation; meanwhile, another group may believe the only way to do effective dawah is directly, through confrontation and debate. One group may believe the only way to secure civil rights is by working with the government, while at the same time another group may believe that the only way is by working in opposition to the governments (via law suites, etc.). Thus, many groups and organizations who, although ultimately are all working towards the same general goal, often have different priorities. Moreover, they may even have the same priorities but have different and possibly contradicting approaches and methods.

It is because people have different personalities. Let’s take dawah for example. Some people may believe dawah can only be effective if given passively, and such people are opposed to confrontational types of dawah. They in turn will attract those non-Muslims who themselves have passive personalities. Others may believe that debating is the most effective way, and thus they are more effective towards people with a more confrontational personality. Because people have different personalities, different methods are needed to attract those differing personalities. Each group alone cannot reach everyone; however, by each group working and using its own methods, all the groups together are able to reach the entire population. Thus, by having different groups with different approaches, the overall cause of dawah is enhanced rather than harmed.

To the narrow minded, these differences can often create conflict, arrogance, critique, and even animosity towards other individuals and groups who use different methods to achieve the same goal. But is this conflict necessary? Furthermore, if the approaches taken by different individuals and groups are counterintuitive, then which methods are the right ones?

However, it is important to keep in mind that the methods utilized need to be in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. If we are doing work for the sake of Islam, then we need to follow the teachings of Islam. There is no point in doing work for Allah Ta’aala in a way that He doesn’t like. Let’s take dawah for example again. To invite non-Muslims to dinner to make them feel more comfortable being around Muslims is a great idea, but to serve them pork and alcohol would be impermissible.

Quite simply—they all are! Each method is important, vital, and necessary for our collective success. “How can this be,” one may ask, “since each method may contradict the other?” But the answer is simple.

In this way, to have different groups taking different approaches towards the same goal is important and necessary, so long as each method is within the confines of the wide encompassing Shariah.

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Thoughts & Reflections

Show me Your Passport By: Nikita Sidana

how me your passport! said the police officer at the Detroit airport to an Arab man who was walking towards immigration. Expecting to do the same, I too got out my passport, ready to show it to the officer. Surprisingly, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to see it and let me proceed into line. A little confused, I kept walking ahead towards immigrations, but looked behind to see why he was only asking certain people for their passports. I finally realized he was only looking at passports that belonged to Arabs, Muslims, and women who wore a scarf. I am not Muslim but I have been brought up around many. It shocks and hurts me to know that Muslims are discriminated against. People are very ignorant and fail to realize that not all Muslims are terrorists and many of them are actually very generous and peaceful. Due to such public discrimination acts, many people who are not accepting of different cultures start generating hatred towards them. Peaceful families living in America and around the world have to face such discrimination in their daily lives. People look at them differently, treat them

differently, they are stereotyped, judged and when a crisis occurs the usual suspect is almost always a Muslim. In the process of unnecessary hatred many people fail to realize that Muslims are one of the most culturally intact people that probably exist today. They are devoted, cultural and still have respect in their bloods. They are giving, as their religion requires them to give 2.5% of their possessions to charity to help the poor and needy. They do not gamble, drink alcohol or do drugs. They are very devoted people who try not to go against the will of god, and submit to him wholeheartedly. Yet, even after possessing such sought-after qualities, they are still discriminated against. As humans we should open our horizons to Muslims and realize that not all of them are ill minded people. There will always be one sour cherry in the basket but this does not mean we will throw away the entire basket and never eat cherries again. In other words, there will always be a spiteful one, but not all of them are like that. Thus, we should be more aware and open minded to Muslims and try to integrate them into our society.

Clean Slate

railment is an inevitable reaction to the darkness that has conquered our hearts through the years.

It all starts with a trivial unclean spot and then accumulates through the years when nothing is done on our part. The seemingly minor default grows as the years go by and as we become more apathetic to our unsanitary hearts. As a result, the hearts become a source of agony, stepping out of our realms of control and becoming our own enemies. The simple untidy spot generates an inexhaustibly stiff and dusty heart that is no longer responsive to a single attempt of redress; thus becoming perpetually indifferent to the strongest detergent brought forth by intelligent minds.

An MSA Presentation s reasonable and sentient human beings, we can never stand wearing notably filthy clothes for a long period of time, especially if we have a sound psyche. The first unconscious response to the realization that our clothes are dirty starts with a mere feeling of discomfort, prompting us to quickly head to the nearest washing machineâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; after all, this is a natural response. When the same happens to our hearts however, a desire to go through the same period of sanitation rarely becomes a natural response. We experience life as it is and embrace the aftertaste of our bitter deeds and actions without realizing that our external de-

Jazakallah Khair.

VOLUME 1

WHY ARE WE HERE? By: Mufti Nazim Mangera

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure many of us have grappled with the question about the purpose of our life at one time or another and tried our utmost to come to a decisive answer.

Prior to answering the most important question of our life, I feel that it is important that we differentiate between purpose and necessity. At times, because we do not correctly discern between what roles our purpose of life should play in our life and what part our needs should play in our life, the two become muddled and consequently, the wrong things are given preference. Instead of our purpose of life being given importance and precedence over our needs and necessities, needs and necessities are given precedence and inevitably, our purpose of life is sacrificed. Let us keep in mind that to achieve any purpose in life, we will have to take care of our needs and necessities but the former should never be sacrificed because of the latter. So needs and necessities can be sacrificed to obtain the purpose, but the purpose cannot be sacrificed for the sake of need and necessity. Because of not clearly defining what our purpose is, many times the wrong things get sacrificed. We are extremely grateful to Allah, that not only has Allah

32 THE MESSAGE

given us existence in this world, but Allah has also defined our purpose of existence in this world. Had the answer to this question been left to the limited understanding of humans, then there would have been neverending controversies and there would have been a multitude of opinions on what our purpose of life is.

“Our lord Almighty Allah states in the Quran, “And I (Allah) did not create the jinn and the human except for the purpose of worshipping me.” [Surah 51: Verse 56] So our lord has not left us in the dark but rather Allah has defined for us and laid down the reason for our existence in this world by informing us that we need to worship Allah and we need to remain Allah’s servants throughout our lives. So our purpose of existence is to worship Allah, and our necessities are education, job, family, children, house, cars, and other similar things. Our purpose of life is not our jobs or our family, or our houses and cars. Such things are our needs and necessities in life to obtain the lofty goal of pleasing Allah prior to our demise from this world. So it would be the height of foolishness if we sacrificed our purpose of existence because of our needs and necessities of life. This can be understood through an example. I am at home with my family and if the time comes for Maghrib prayer and if I do not perform the Maghrib prayer, then the Salat will be missed because of being preoccupied with my family affairs. So I did not carry out my purpose of life, which in this example is the Maghrib Salat, because of my need of life, which is my family. Some of us have made education our purpose of life and have sacrificed everything to achieve it and to continue to progress in it. Many of us have made our jobs or our spouses or our children or our houses and other things our purpose of life and we are ready to sacrifice everything for them. Our purpose of our stay at UB is to obtain that coveted degree and our needs and necessities at UB are food, drink, sleep and similar things. It would be very foolish of us to waste our time in our needs and necessities at the detriment of our studies for which we have enrolled at UB. We should also understand that worshiping Allah is not restricted to our daily

five times prayers, or our fasting in the month of Ramadhan, or our discharging of our yearly Zakat responsibility, or our performance of our pilgrimage and Hajj to Makkah. Rather a person truly worships Allah by making sure that the various aspects of our faith and Aqeedah is correct. Along with that, Islam also requires from us that we interact with others in the best of manners. Therefore, we must act nicely and kindly with our parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors and people living around us irrespective of their religion, creed, gender, race, or color. Some people think that it is enough for me to be punctual with my Salat and if I am, then I have fulfilled my responsibility towards Allah and other than that, I can behave however I want with my parents, wife, children, relatives, neighbors and others I can still be a good Muslim. This is a gross misconception because yes, we did worship Allah by performing our Salat for example, but we were disobedient to Allah when we treated our parents, or our spouse, or our sibling, or our relative, or our neighbor in the wrong way. Islam thankfully provides guidance and lays down rules and regulations for every single aspect of our life. But we do not take these rules and regulations as restrictions and these rules are not there to stop us from enjoying our life in this world. But rather, Allah has given us the pristine teachings of Islam in order that we live a life of peace and tranquility in this world by fulfilling our purpose of life. In this brief stay of ours on planet Earth, we should try to initiate at least one new project so that humanity can benefit from it. That can either be achieved by being in the planning committee to construct a new Masjid or a full time Islamic school, or to initiate a project in your local community to help the needy and the poor and the oppressed. There are many different forms of philanthropic work a person can do right in their own community or in many places across the world. Did you know that it only costs about $20,000 US to construct a big Masjid in a developing country in which 400 people can perform Salat and it only costs about $2,000 USD annually to maintain it? So there are many ways to continue to live out our purpose of life and it is not only restricted to the time spent in the Masjid or for the Masjid. But at all times, we must not forget what our purpose of life is and what our needs and necessities of life are and our purpose of life should not be overlooked and disregarded because of the needs and necessities of our day to day life. Jazakallah Khair. (Mufti Nazim Mangera is the Imam at Masjid Noor on Heim Road which is only a few minutes away from UB. The Masjid website address is: www.isnf.org and Mufti Nazim can be reached by email at nazimm@gmail.com )

VOLUME 1

The Importance of

Marriage & Family Life

in Islam

By: Imam Muhammad Salem Agwa

llah created man to be His vicegerent on earth. Meantime, man is a combination of contradictions. In other words, man is an embodiment of virtue and vice, good and evil, love and hatred. He is on the one hand, the best of creation and Allah’s most favorite creature on earth. That is why the most exalted personages called prophets (PBT) belonged to the human race. On the other hand, tyrants like Haman Qaroon, Pharaoh and Namrood whose atrocities send shiver through our bodies even today, were also born into this race. But Allah did all good for this Ummah (Nation). So, in His infinite mercy, made the arrangement to reform humanity and eradicate sin and vice, just to enable man to lead a clean and purified life on earth, life which is based on Divine guidance in the Glorious Quran and the Sunnah. That is why He sent Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to be the last of the prophets, the Mercy for the world. Allah says: “We have sent you as a mercy for all mankind.” (Q. 21:107) And He revealed to him the Glorious Qur’an which is a complete code of life and a constitution for our guidance. This Qur’an embraces all aspects of human life and regulates man’s life in all its different affairs. Allah, the Creator, the Exalted has made sexual intercourse as a means of protection and perpetuation of the human race. That is why He created the two sexes: man and woman having irresistible charm and attraction for one another. Each one of them is badly in need of the other and is a source of satisfaction for the other and vice versa. The life of one without the other is incomplete and devoid of any purpose and meaning. This is the reason why a man as a complete man cannot do without woman and likewise a woman as a woman cannot lead a peaceful and comfortable life without a man. But there are some people who are rush and hasty in satisfying their sexual desire in an unlawful way. They have proved to be extravagant, even in this respect and consequently have transgressed the lawful

34 THE MESSAGE

limits by living an immoral life. Indeed, such a trend is fatal for humanity and the human race. Just as Islam does not permit man to transgress the lawful limits in other spheres, it does not allow him to deviate form a natural, balanced course in the matter of sex. Thus, a permanent moral code has been given to us so that we may mold our lives according to it. Those who fear Allah and the Hereafter and have love and respect for His messenger (PBUH) will be able to reform themselves by reading the Glorious Quran and following its teachings. Thus, Allah exhorts us to get married and marry those who are not married among us:

“Marry those among you who are single and the virtuous ones among you (female) if they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out of His Grace, for Allah is Ample-giving and He knows all things.” (24:2) It is quite obvious that the subject of this verse is Marriage and that it is important for everybody, male and female. Besides, there are a lot of verses in the Glorious Qur’an including details of the purity and good form of domestic life. Again Allah says: “and Allah has made for you mates of you own nature and made for you out of them sons and daughters, grand children and provided for you sustenance of the best, will they then believe in vain things and be ungrateful for Allah’s favors.” (16:72) (1) Allah created woman to be a mate or companion for man (2) except for sex, of the same nature as man, and therefore with the same moral and religious rights and duties (3) and she is not to be considered a source of all evil or sin as some people claim of her, but rather as a blessing on the favors of Allah:

“And among His signs is this, that he created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquility with them and he has put love and mercy between your hearts. Verily, in that are signs for those who reflect.” (30:21) It can be understood form the above verses that they refer to the wonderful mystery of sex. Children arise out of the union of the sexes. And it is always the female sex that bring for the offspring, whether female or male, and the father is as necessary as the mother for bring forth the daughters. Furthermore, we are clearly reminded that, the main object we should hold in view is our spittle welfare. All our individual, domestic and social life all contribute to our holiness, so that we can get the real success and bliss which is our aim of our spritual endeavor. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in one of his hadith addressing the young men: “O young men! If any of you is in a position to bear the responsibility of marriage, he must marry as this keeps the eyes downcast and safeguards private parts. But one who is not in a position to bear the burden of marriage should fast frequently to suppress untruly passion.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) As a matter of fact, marriage in Islam is a type of worship;

since the intention is to establish a family according to the teachings of Allah. Again, Allah has made an obligation upon the husband ot provide maintenance for the family, it is one of the important conditions of marriage, because of the nature of women. Islam demands that the husband should be responsible for the maintenance considering the physical build-up of a man and his strength. Consequently, man’s position in the family structure is that of a provider, protector, and responsible for the conduct of the family. It is also a duty of the wife to obey him on condition that he does not involve her and her children in the disobedience of God (Allah) and His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Islam does not recognize any sexual intercourse before the marriage, even if the girl will definitely be your wife. That is to say, once the marriage has not formally taken place any pre-marital relationship is considered Zina fornication which is a punishable offense for its own sake. Generally speaking, Islam is a social religion giving attention to family affairs and providing opportunities to mankind to establish a strong and harmonious Muslim society. It is actually harmonious families that make a society well knit and strong. Hence, the duty of parents is to give their daughters training from an early age to be prepared for marriage and childbirth. And it is eminently desirable to emphasize more than we have emphasized in

“ Islam is a social religion giving attention to family affairs and providing opportunities to mankind to establish a strong and harmonious Muslim society "

VOLUME 1

A muslim family enjoying the view of the sea

the past the ideal of matrimony for every girl and boy to a certain age and to bring home to parents that marriage is what they must train them for. Islam has thus made woman an honored partner of man, in raising a family for woman represents the main clue. Meantime, a chaste and virtuous woman is a blessing to her husband and makes her children virtuous in the way of Allah. Logically, all women must appreciate this role and take pride in fulfilling it. Last but not least, there is no denying the fact that when Islam promulgated the rules and regulations concerning moral conduct and behavior, people had forgotten the real purpose and significance of marriage. The peace and happiness which marital life gives to husband and wife are not enjoyed by them. The mutual love and affection which bring the two could and their two families so near and inculcate mutual love and cooperation between them, no longer existed, nor did there remain any good and wholesome influence from such marriage. Even modesty and chastity, which are the essence of marriage, were cast to the winds. Only the custom existed to some extent but the real spirit and purpose of marriage did not exist. To be sure, Islam considers marriage as one of the most virtuous and approved institutions. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) declared “There is no monasticism in Islam.” Again, he says:

36 THE MESSAGE

“Marriage is my sunna, whoever keeps away from it is not from me.” Since the family is the first nucleus of Islamic society or any society, and marriage is the only way to bring families into existence, Prophet Muhammad insisted upon his followers entering into marriage. The family is the first seed of the society, if the seed is good, it will grow up regularly, but if the seed is eaten by evil inside and becomes hollow and unable to grow, then we will not get any advantage. This is happening because of the corrupt ideas and nations that put obstacles in the way of marriage. The religion of Islam prescribes rules to regulate the functioning of the family so that the husband and wife can lead a happy family life based on love, tranquility and security. Furthermore, marriage in Islam is a type of worship; namely, it is an act pleasing to Allah; for it is in accordance with His teachings and commandments that husband and wife love each other by making some efforts to continue the human race and rear and nurse their children according to the teachings of Islam. Prophet Muhammad said in one of his hadith “Whoever marries a woman solely for her power and position, Allah will increase him in humiliation. Whoever married a woman solely for her wealth, Allah will only increase him in poverty. Whoever marries a woman for her beauty, Allah will only increase him in ugliness. But as for him who marries a woman to restrain his eyes, observe cautiousness and treat his relationship kindly, Allah will put a blessing in her for him and in him for her.

CHOICES By: Dr. Mohammed Sadiq

“I have been married for seven years. My marriage is still not consummated. My husband is not interested in having an intimate relationship. I would like to have children. I am afraid of committing a sin. I don’t know what to do. Please help me.” “I am an 18-year-old man. I am sexually attracted towards men. I have had these feelings since I was very young. I know this is haram, but I can’t help it. With all the new scientific evidence, maybe I was born gay. I am worried about it. Please help”. “My husband is emotionally and physically abusive. We have been married now for eleven years. I have two daughters. I am afraid for them also, because when my husband gets into a rage, he is uncontrollable. I haven’t told this to anyone. I don’t want to get him into trouble. What can I do?”

ll of these people did not believe that they had any choice in the matter. They felt stuck. Even when they were told that they do have some choice in the matter, they did not see the alternative presented to them as a choice. It is not uncommon for us to feel that we do not have any choice in a particular matter. Having experienced such feelings and having worked with people who have felt extremely stuck has prompted me to give some serious thought on the matter of choices. Do we really have any choice at all? If not, how can we ever be held accountable here on this earth or in the life hereafter for what we did or did not do? If yes, do we have the liberty to make choice in each and every aspect of our lives? After some research and contemplation, the truth appeared to be somewhere in the middle. We do not have any choice in many mattes of our live, yet we do have choices in many others. As a matter of fact, we are faced with making choices all the time in our daily lives. It is crucial to recognize the purpose of choices and their implications and our life here and in Hereafter. The alarm goes off at five o‘clock in the morning. You wake up, reach out for the ‘snooze’ button, hit it, turn

around, and go back to sleep. Eight minute later, the alarm goes off again; annoyed you wake up again, thinking to yourself, “I feel so tired and haven’t had much sleep during the night; maybe I should just keep sleeping for another hour. There will still be time for me to pray Fajr at home instead of going to the masjid right now.” You turn the alarm off and go back to sleep. You just made a choice. You finally get up. It is already late, you pray Fajr in hurry, go to the kitchen, grab something to eat, and run out of the house to get to work. Two hours later, your wife calls in a bad temper telling you that you left the stove on with the frying pan still on it, which got burned. She is quite upset about it. You feel annoyed, thinking to yourself, “Here she goes again making a big deal out of everything; I didn’t do it on purpose, so she doesn’t have to yell at me.” But, you think that there is no point in getting into n argument with her, for it would only make her and you angrier, so you say to her, “Sorry, dear I was in a major rush this morning, I must have forgotten to turn the stove off. I am so glad that you were home and turned it off. Thank you.” You made another choice and a good one. As I mentioned earlier, we always have choices, limited and unappealing as they may appear to be at times, but we do have choices in many aspects of our daily lives. What we need to understand is where Allah (SWT) has given us the liberty of making choices and what He has predetermined for us. It is also crucial to recognize the purpose of choices and their implications on our life here and in hereafter. As a matter of fact, how and what we choose to do or not do may serve as an ultimate test of our wisdom. In summary, we need to clearly understand the concept of choices, the importance of making choices, and their implications in our lives, our freedoms, and limitations in this regard, and how we can best go about making choices. Remember, you always have choice although it may not appear to be so; you are never totally stuck, and above all, not making a choice is also a choice. With an MA and Ph.D. in psychology and clinical psychology, Dr. Mohammed Sadiq has been working s a certified psychologist in Canada since 1975.

VOLUME 1

Kind Behavior Towards Others By: Shaikh Ibrahim Memon Madani

f one were to sincerely look at what underlying teaching of Islam is, what would they find? Without going into any details, I would just like to share the gist of his teachings of the religion (deen) as a whole.

In the books of hadiths, we do not only find chapters on the outward forms of worship (ibadah) like salaah and tahaarah, but we also find chapters on social etiquette, like business dealings and Islamic politics. The reason is because the Blessed prophet (pbuh) taught us about every aspect of the life that people would ever need to deal with. In this article, I would like to share two hadith that present the gist of the entire deen. The first is:

“I have been sent to teach people.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was sent to teach. Allah has told us in Quran, “On this day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [5:3] Allah Most High is saying that He has sent us a teacher who has taught us everything we need to know in order to worship him. This teaching is meant to be utterly comprehensive and perfect for everyone until the Day of Judgement. The other hadith is,

“I have been sent to perfect good morals and behaviors.” Both hadiths have the same wording (i.e. “I have been sent to...”), and each identifies a purpose for him being sent. One is to teach the details of the outward forms of worship (e.g. how to pray salaah, how to perform hajj, etc.). The other is to teach people how to interact with others, which is called akhlaaq. If we learn these two things from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), then we have truly learned how to be benefit from his teachings and how to be his follower. Many times, people concentrate on one point or the other, but to neglect either point is against the teachings of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Remember the hadith when a man asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah! What is the outcome of a woman who does a lot of worship, fasting, and prayer during the night, but she always disturbs her neighbors.” His response was, “She belongs to the Hellfire.” This shows that if a person were to harm others throughout his life, then he will be in the Hellfire, regardless of whatever outward forms of worship he may have done. Reason being, he has neglected the akhlaaq portion of the deen. On the other hand, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) also said, “I swear by God, even if a person believes in the previous books, if he hears my message but dies without believing in me, then he will not make it to Para-

38 THE MESSAGE

dise.” As such, to neglect the outward forms of worship will also land a person in the Hellfire. This is the essence of the entire religion: know Allah and serve Him, and treat His creation with the best character. From the teachings of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), we learn that the meaning of good morals is being nice to everyone only for the sake of Allah. But how many times do we find ourselves behaving well in front of others but misbehaving when we are by ourselves? This is because that good behavior was for people instead of for Allah. This is not true good behavior. From the Shariah point of view, even that good behavior in front of people was not actually good behavior since it was not done for the sake of Allah. The sign of whether good behavior is truly for Allah or just for others is whether that behavior is always shown to everyone or just to people when in public. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says in a hadith, “All human-beings are like the children of Allah, and the dearest person to Allah is the one who is the most beneficial and helpful to the rest of creation” (Musnad Abi Yaa’la). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says in another hadith, talking about the same level of morality, “No one can be a (perfect) believer until he loves for others whatever he loves for himself ” (Bukhari). What type of morality that would be, that we love for others whatever we love for ourselves. We are so far away from such a level of morality. Of course there are many other levels we need to go through before reaching that level, but just here I want to point out the level at which the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) is teaching, the level at which he wants to see his followers at. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) himself was a practical example of this high morality. At the end of the Battle of Badr, the main leaders of the disbelievers were killed and seventy people were taken as captives. One of the Companions says: “At night time, we went to rest, tired from the whole day of working. I was next to the Messenger of Allah, and I saw that he kept turning over and over restlessly and was not falling asleep. I thought I would wait until he would fall asleep until falling asleep myself. After waiting for quite some time, I finally went to him and said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, is something bothering you?’ Tears were flowing from his eyes. I thought to myself, ‘Is today a day to cry? Today was such a great victory.’ I said, ‘Oh Messenger of Allah, what makes you cry?’ He replied, ‘These seventy captives are worrying me. I am not sure if they are okay or not. Ultimately, they are human-beings just like us. I do not know what order I will receive about them tomorrow. I am worried of what they are doing at this time, whether they able to fall asleep or if they are just crying.’ I went to them and returned. I said, ‘I loosened some of their ropes and told them what you had said. They were very happy to hear that you felt this way and said that

they were okay.’ Only then did the Messenger fall asleep.” Subhan’Allah! The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) even cried out of worry for his enemies! Nowadays, even if our friends hurt us we will break off ties with them and forsake them. But the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) would even worry about and take care of his enemies, people who would fight him on the battlefield and kill his friends and relatives. During another incident, Abu Jahl came to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and cursed him. Then when he did not get any response, Abu Jahl even raised his hands to the Prophet (pbuh). When Hamza (the Prophet’s uncle), who was not Muslim at that time, had heard of this, he went to Abu Jahl and struck him. Then Hamza went to the Messenger (pbuh) and said, “I have taken revenge for you. Do not worry; he will not dare to say a single word to you after this.” The Messenger (pbuh) asked, “Hamza, what did you do to him?” Hamza replied, “He was sitting with the other leaders, and I took my bow and hit him on the head so hard he started to bleed.” (If we were in that situation, what would we have replied to Hamza?) Then the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) asked, “Hamza, what did I get from this?” Hamza was silent. Then the Messenger (pbuh) said, “Hamza, what did you get from this?” It was at this time that Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the truthfulness of Islam and became Muslim. In another incident, after the conquering of Makkah, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had gone to the city of Taif. The people of Taif showered the Companions with arrows and then ran into their forts. The companions surrounded the forts for two weeks. Then, the Messenger (pbuh) received news that the people of Taif ran out of food and water. (If we were in that situation, what would we say to our army?) The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) said, “We shall go back.” The Companions said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, we shouldn’t leave now, we just about have them.” The Messenger (pbuh) said, “But this wasn’t my intention. My hope was that their leaders would come out and talk to us, but they did not. Now they have run out of food and water. Do you know that there are women, children, old, and sick people in there? I am not going to make them suffer just because their leaders are too arrogant to come out and talk to us. We are leaving.” At that moment, the Messenger (pbuh) knew that it was only a little while until the people of Taif would have been forced to come out of their forts. However, the Messenger (pbuh) also knew that during that time some of the weak among them would starve. He preferred taking care of the weak people of his enemies over victory. This was his akhlaaq. If any of us want to learn good morals and behaviors, then we have to learn them from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). But what is the method of learning these morals? How do we learn his teachings and implement them into our own lives? We will cover this another time. Transcribed with permission from a lecture given at Cornell University

VOLUME 1

Our Ethnicities May Differ Yet We Are All One By: Nofa Abdallah

“1,571,198,000”

his is the number of practicing Muslims that can be found around the globe today and this number is probably growing in larger quantities. According to the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life in a 2009 demographic study, Muslims of all ages and of differing ethnicities represent 23% out of the estimated world population out of 6.8 billion people. Islam is the world’s second largest religion after Christianity, spreading throughout the five major continents in which humans inhabit.

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2009 Statistics

MUSLIM POPULATION BY REGION Asia and the Pacific: 61.9% Middle East - North Africa: 20.1% Sub-Saharan Africa: 15.3% Europe: 2.4% Americas: 0.3% So why is it that a Westerner generally hears the term “Arab” and automatically thinks “Muslim” and vice versa? There is this general misconception that all Muslims are Arabs and all Arabs are Muslims. Although 20% of the Muslim population of the world does live in the North African-Middle Eastern region, and more than half of the 20 countries and territories in that region have populations that are approximately 95% Muslim or greater; the fact remains that more than 60% of the world’s Muslim

population actually lives in Asia. Country

Estimated Muslim Population (2009)

Percentage of World Muslim Population

Indonesia

202,867,000

12.9%

Pakistan

174,082,000

11.1%

India

160,945,000

10.3%

Bangladesh

145,312,000

9.3%

Egypt

78,513,000

5.0%

Nigeria

78,056,000

5.0%

Iran

73,777,000

4.7%

Turkey

73,619,000

~ 4.7%

Algeria

34,199,000

2.2%

Morocco

31,993,000

~ 2%

* Data for Turkey and Morocco come primarily from general population surveys, which are less reliable than censuses or large-scale demographic and health surveys for estimating minority-majority ratios (see Methodology). As a result, the percentage of the population that is Muslim in these two countries is rounded to the nearest integer.Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life • mapping the Globa Muslim Population, October 2009

The largest Muslim populations in Asia live in the countries of Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh; incredibly, all of these countries are not in the Middle East. It is the country of Indonesia that has the highest population of Muslims, with an estimated population of 202,867,000 people! If you were to simply look at the diverse range of Muslims at the University of Buffalo, you would see the range of ethnicities of people who are Muslim and who make up

the Muslim Student Association. There are Muslims at UB who come from Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and the list continues. The University at Buffalo is a diverse place in itself, ranking Number 12 among 2,700 accredited U.S. universities in international enrollment, according to an annual report released by the Institute of International Education. The university also has exchange agreements with more than 70 institutions in more than 30 countries. (Source: UB Reporter). It is no wonder you find this diverse group of people from different countries practicing Islam, and not only Islam but other religions as well. The beauty of Islam is that all practicing Muslims are viewed as one people in submission. There is no differentiation or advantage in a certain skin color or ethnicity, for we all bow down in prostration towards the Ka’aba in Mecca at the same time five times a day; muttering the same beautiful words every day, “Ashhadu allā ilāha illā llāhu wa-ashhadu anna Muammadan 'abduhū warasūluh.” (I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.) Peace be upon you.

Reference: MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM POPULATION. Washington, DC: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2009. Print.

VOLUME 1

2010 PAKISTAN FLOOD By: Ayyaz Tufail

akistan is passing through one of the most challenging times in its history. The country has been a Front-line ally of United States in the war against terror since 2001 and the war has taken its toll by destroying its economy, spreading poverty and unemployment. The monsoon of 2010 brought with itself a whole new set of problems for the country already in the middle of crisis. In July 2010, heavy monsoon rainfalls through out the country produced the worst flooding in 80 years. The magnitude of the floods was so big that the devastation was more than the Haiti Quake, 2004 Asia Tsunami and 2005 Pakistan Quake combined. At one point ,one fifth of Pakistan was under water, which is about 62,000 square miles or an area larger than England. The United Nations secretary general, Ban ki-moon, who flew over the country on August 15 with President Asif Ali Zardari, said he had never seen such a disaster and urged foreign donors to speed up their assistance. Although more than $1.7 billion has been pledged for Pakistan, the actual aid received is far less than what’s needed to deal with the biggest disaster in country’s history. Despite of being one of the biggest disasters in the recent history, the lack of international media coverage has restricted the amount of aid received by the country. International media gave very small coverage to the flood which left international community unaware of the dire and urgent needs to help and cooperate with the management of such disastrous event.

42 THE MESSAGE

Situation Facts:

• Nearly 21 million people (1-out-of-8 Pakistanis) affected by the floods • 10 million children affected • $9.5 billion worth of damage; government estimates it will take $30 billion to rebuild • More than 1,750 dead • At least 6 million homeless; estimated one million homes damaged or destroyed • More than 200 hospitals and clinics destroyed • 10,000+ schools damaged • 8 million people at risk for contracting disease • More than 1.7 million acres of farmland uprooted • Waterborne disease like diarrhea and cholera threaten the victims • More than 2,433 miles of highway and 3,508 miles of railroad damaged Pakistan is still in the process of helping the ones affected by the floods and needs your help in the process of rebuilding. The Muslim Student Association has already raised $300. If you would like to help the affected ones in this traumatic situation, you can donate through www.islamicreliefusa.org, which is one of many charities working to help Pakistan through these moments of crises.

Muslim and Jewish Students

Co-Sponsor Award-Winning Film By: Enid Bloch

uslim and Jewish students at the University at Buffalo recently co-sponsored the showing of an award-winning film, Bilal’s Stand. They also arranged to have the filmmaker and director in attendance to speak and answer the students’ questions. More than 100 people attended the event. The idea for co-sponsorship arose first among members of the Muslim Students Association. Weary of negative portrayals of Muslims in the media, they decided to reach out to another group on campus that has had to deal with its own fair share of negative stereotypes. To their delight, members of the Jewish Student Union proved just as excited about co-sponsoring the film as they were themselves. Together the two groups decided to use the event also as a way of giving back to the larger community. Contacting Community Action Corps, they invited Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo to view the film, and over 20 youth from the inner city came to the screening. The filmmaker is Sultan Sharrief, a young man who grew up in Detroit and went on to study at the University of Michigan. At first majoring in sociology, he soon turned to filmmaking as his true passion.

film wherever he could. Indeed, Sultan told the University at Buffalo students, his stubborn faith in the film’s merit actually cost him some friendships, that is, until the day Sundance accepted the film and he and the whole cast headed for Utah. There they met with remarkable success, with the film drawing large numbers of viewers. The story line appeals to people from many different backgrounds, not just Muslims. In fact, the Buffalo students felt it was hardly a Muslim film at all, but the story of almost any inner-city, refugee, or immigrant family whose children are struggling to create a better life. The conflict they feel in leaving their families behind makes up the underlying drama of the film.

“ The filmmaker’s remarkable creativity, determination, and social conscience were evident as he spoke with the UB students "

Bilal’s Stand is based on a true story from the life of Sultan’s cousin, while drawing many elements from Sultan’s life as well. Sultan used only a few professional actors in the film, calling upon relatives, friends, and his old high school teacher to make up the rest of the cast. It took some years to complete the project, for Sultan called the cast together time and again to tape and retape scenes until he was satisfied. Sultan was determined to submit his film only to the Sundance Film Festival, the premier showcase in America and perhaps the world for new work by independent filmmakers. To do so he had to resist mounting pressure from members of his cast, who were growing despondent with the delay, and who pleaded with him to show the

As described in the film’s synopsis, “Bilal is a Muslim high school senior in Detroit, who works long hours to keep up both his grades and his family’s long-owned taxi stand. ‘The Stand’ has been the family’s social and financial hub for sixty years, and now Bilal is destined to carry the torch. Despite a series of setbacks at home, Bilal secretly submits a college application and takes up ice carving in order to win a scholarship. Now he is forced to decide whether to continue running The Stand – the only life he has ever known – or take a chance at social mobility.” The filmmaker’s remarkable creativity, determination, and social conscience were evident as he spoke with the UB students. He plans to continue making films that explore the lives and circumstances of people whose very human experiences rarely make their way into mainstream films.

VOLUME 1

By: Sunny Salman Jamil

hroughout the day, one’s eyes tend to skim through the choices of meals offered in the Student Union. The choice selection of food generally includes meat, which results in many Muslim students rampantly searching for a vegetarian alternative. This was an average Muslim student’s task before the option of having Halaal food at UB. With the support of UB Campus Dinning & Shops, UB SA and the efforts of previous MSAers Halaal food is being finally sold on campus!

“Halaal”; first of all, what does that even mean? In Arabic, the word halaal holds meaning to what is permissible to use in accordance to Islamic law. To its opposite is haraam, which signifies that which is forbidden. Halaal encompasses a variety of aspects in an average Muslim’s daily life, such as: diet, marriage, and worship. The focal point of discussion here will be on Islamic dietary laws. In order to describe what is permissible to consume in the religion of Islam, let us begin by understanding that which is impermissible. In several contexts throughout chapter 2 (Suwratu al-Baqarah), chapter 5 (Suwratu al-Maa’idah), and chapter 6 (Suwratu al-‘An`aam) of the Holy Qur’an, it is commanded that the following substances are harmful and therefore are forbidden for a Muslim to eat: Pork, blood, alcohol, Carrion (carcasses of dead animals), animals slaughtered in the name of anything other than God, the One and Only, food consumed without the recitation of grace, such as “Bismi Allahi ar-Rahmaani ar-Rahiym”(“[I begin to eat] in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”) Following parallel to the list of haraam food is a method of animal slaughter, which excludes much of sea-life. In Islamic law, an animal is halaal to be consumed if, during slaughter, an incision with a sharp non-jagged knife is swiftly performed across the neck. This results in severing the windpipe, the esophagus, the jugular veins, and the carotid arteries while keeping the spinal cord untouched. Consequentially, there is open blood flow out of the body which leads to a quick and painless death of the animal.

44 THE MESSAGE

Viqar Hussain, the former president of Muslim SA (200506) put in a lot of effort to bring Halaal food to the campus during his student years at UB. According to Viqar “For half a decade, Muslim students at UB have united under one common cause: the accessibility of halaal food on campus. Both petitions and e-mails were sent to the FSA, now called the UB Campus Dining and Shops, to accommodate the increasing demand”. Finally the dedicated efforts of MSA Vice-President (2009-10) Abdullah Abu Bakr paid off. In the summer of 2010, he and the SA President Nischal Vasant presented the idea of on-campus Halaal food to the CDS director Jeff Brady and since then there was no looking back. Jeff Brady not only agreed on bringing Halaal food oncampus but also played the pioneer role in selecting the Halaal food vendor, choosing the on-campus location, supervising the food quality and monitoring the prices. Currently, local Halaal food restaurant named Salam-At Market caters on-campus Halaal food with great variety and delicious taste. Students purchase and heat these meals at Putnams’ restaurant in the Student Union. The response of the students has been overwhelming. The interesting part is that Halaal food is being great welcomed by both Muslim and non-Muslim students. “The sales have been great, it has created a lot of awareness amongst non-Muslim students about the Muslim culture” says Putnam’s manager Mary Butler. Current Muslim students at UB immensely appreciate the luxury of on-campus Halaal food in the Student Union, and they also hope that a permanent spot for “hot Halaal food” can be designated at all the CDS food outlets including the student Union and the dining halls. According to the current MSA president Sikander Mohammed Khan “Being one of the most diverse institution of the country UB is obliged to cater to the needs of its diverse student body and steps such as these will make UB one of the most encompassing and pioneer campus by 2020”

SNAPSHOT2010 Here is an overview of some of the successful events and programs organized by The Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University at Buffalo in 2010. It was a very busy and productive year for MSA, as our membership played an invaluable role in making 2010 a success.

VOLUME 1

EVENTS2010

A compilation of all the successful events and programs organized by The Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University at Buffalo in 2010. We would like to thank all our members for making these events successful and look forward to serving the Muslim community in 2011, Inshahallah.

46 THE MESSAGE

PLAYTIME Crossword Puzzle

Playtime [pley-tahym] –noun 1. Time for play or recreation. 2. A time for play or recreation, esp the school break 3. And Remember; All work and no play makes Jahangir a dull boy

Jokes and Laughs

Word Scramble

CLUE: MSA Offered Services and Events: 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09.

YDTHAURS IAHQAA LUHD DAAQ ASDRCE IMET JCORPTE XLEREPO MSLIA EKEW IIMN YMAQI LONIEECT HWAAD LBAEST GTGKIHITNVNSA UMAHUJA

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Eejwdta Cesssal Liamsci Esnaaesrw Kwee Lhlaaa Odof No Aupmsc Oewmn ni Iamsl Ardiyf Thing Lbstalkeab Lussmim Oanrdu hte Ldorw Ew Ecmo ni Peeca Lkaama écfa Uusfy Ssete

01. A man is taking a walk in Central park in New York. Suddenly he sees a little girl being attacked by a pit bull dog. He runs over and starts fighting with the dog. He succeeds in killing the dog and saving the girl's life. A policeman who was watching the scene walks over and says: "You are a hero," tomorrow you can read it in all the newspapers: "Brave New Yorker saves the life of little girl." The man says: "But I am not a New Yorker!" "Oh, then it will say in newspapers in the morning: Brave American saves life of little girl" - the policeman answers. "But I am not an American!" - says the man. "Oh, what are you then?" The man says: "I am a Saudi!" Then next day the newspapers say: "Islamic extremist kills innocent American dog." 02. Muslim Guy 1: Salam, do you know where is the MSA room and on campus Jumu’ah? Muslim Guy 2: Wa-Salam, yeah MSA room is in SU 320 and on campus Jumu’ah is at SU 210 at 1:30 PM Muslim Guy 1: And where are they? Muslim Guy 2: hmm, just follow the Muslim GPS Muslim Guy 1: aaahh, what? Muslim Guy 2: just follow the hijabis! VOLUME 1

EARLYSPRING W

elcome back students to the Spring semester of 2011. All praise to Allah, we have a very vibrant and educational speaker series this semester. Inshaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Allah we will also be hosting many other events which will give the students an opportunity to learn about Islam, get to know their fellow Muslims and have loads of fun. The Muslim Students Association is dedicated to serve the Buffalo community at large. We are organizing numerous projects in conjunction with various on and off-campus organizations in order to serve the community. We hope and pray that may Allah guide us to the right path and accept our efforts. Here are some of the events which are coming up soon;

ONLINE LIVE STREAM LECTURE by SHEIKH IBRAHIM MEMON MADANI on Making Good Use of Time and Youth While We Have It. The live stream will be broadcasted at 107 Talbert Hall UB North Campus on Friday, 28th of January at 7:00 PM.

YOUTH WORKSHOP by DR. MOHAMMED SADIQ, a Clinical Psychologist from Canada on various youth issues. The workshop will take place at 107 Talbert Hall UB North Campus on Sunday, 13th of February between 10:00 AM4:00 PM.

The UB Muslim Students Association cordially invites everyone to listen to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on 29th January 2011 at Center For Tomorrow at 6:00 PM. Imam Rauf will insha’Allah launch the new MSA magazine “The Message” and also talk about “Cordoba House: A Peaceful Vision of Multi-faith Collaboration”.

EVENTS 1 1 0 2

UPCOMING Alhamdulillah, After a very successful 2010. Following are some of the programs and events that MSA has planned on conducting in 2011, Inshahallah. The information about the date, time and venue of these programs will be announced as the dates come closer.

✓✓Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf : Cordoba Movement ✓✓Dr. Mohammed Sadiq: Youth Workshops ✓✓Russ Kamis: Achieving Personal and Professional Goals ✓✓Sheikh Yusuf Estes: Jesus in Islam ✓✓Dennis Black:Lecture on Leadership Skills ✓✓Sheikh Ibrahim Memon Madani: Online Halaqas ✓✓Omar Bajwa: Islamic Awareness Month ✓✓Mufti Nazim Mangera: Gender Relations & Marriage ✓✓George Galloway: Islamic Awareness Month ✓✓Imam Zaid Shakir: Banquet ✓✓UB Muslimahs Night Out ✓✓Bowling Night ✓✓Taboo Night ✓✓Tajweed Classes ✓✓Halaqas ✓✓Friday Night Basketball ✓✓Winter BBQ ✓✓Bone Marrow Drive ✓✓Mosque Cleanin ✓✓General Body Meetings ✓✓Kalaam Café ✓✓Muslims Around the World ✓✓Black Awareness Month: Video creening of “Malcolm X” ✓✓Palestine Awareness Month: Video Screening of Occupation 101” ✓✓Women in Islam ✓✓The Impact of the Headscarves Ban in Turkey on Labor Relations: Professor Dilek Cindoglu To keep updated with your MSA, join our facebook page or visit: www.sa.buffalo.edu/muslim. Jazakallah Khair, Your MSA e-board 2010 - 2011

OLUTIONS Crossword Puzzle CLUE: MSA Offered Services and Events:

Word Scramble

01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09.

THURSDAY HALAQA DHUL QADA SACRED TIME PROJECT EXPLORE ISLAM WEEK MINI QIYAM ELECTION DAWAH TABLES THANKSGIVING JUMMAH

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

TAJWEED CLASSES ISLAMIC AWARENESS WEEK HALAAL FOOD ON CAMPUS WOMEN IN ISLAM FRIDAY NIGHT BASKETBALL MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD WE COME IN PEACE KALAAM CAFé YUSUF ESTES

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE?

For more information: call (716) 645 - 2950 Or visit www.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim or email us: smkhan2@buffalo.edu MSA University at Buffalo 320 Student Union Buffalo NY - 14261 If you have any jokes, comic strips or articles that you want to contribute to The Message and want to have it publicized. We thank you in advance for your efforts. Please mail your entries to: