The Muslim Voice: Petite Edition

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The Muslim Voice Magazine (TMV) The Muslim Voice (TMV) is a non-profit magazine published by the Muslim Students Association at the University of Toronto. All the writing, artwork, and editing is done independently by the student-led team of TMV. 2019 is the year of TMV’s Silver Jubilee. For our 25th volume we wanted to create something special and meaningful all the while giving back to the community that raised us with such love and acceptance. TMV noticed the niche in Muslim children’s publications and created a magazine centered around Islamic themes and messages for the younger generation.

In this special issue designed for children, we explore the themes of generosity, forgiveness, and humility. The stories have been carefully selected to present kids with messages of hope and love, giving them the courage to grow as Muslims.

Finding a way to keep the children engaged while reading was our biggest priority. Throughout the magazine, there are various activities for kids such as word searches, coloring pages, and crafts. A new comic series was written on the importance of mothers in our lives and our religion. We did everything to the best of our knowledge, and hope this magazine piques an interest in Islam as kids journey through the pages.

Written By Salwa Iqbal Oswa Shafei Hafsah Siddiqui Edited By Usama Ansar Sara Galal Hafsah Siddiqui Illustrated By Maha Abbas Afsah Ali Jubair M. Aziz Farwa Mumtaz Patriceia Yu

For more resources, please visit tmv.uoftmsa.com/petite.

Muslim Students’ Association, University of Toronto, St. George The Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Toronto was founded in 1965 and was the first MSA to be established in Canada. We serve and represent the Muslim students at the university. What started as a club to facilitate prayer for some 20 students has now grown to a club that is at the forefront of community service, social justice, faith practices, academic support and campus social life. One of the MSA’s community lead projects is the publishing of The Muslim Voice Magazine: Petite Edition. This, along with all the other important work we do, can only be done through the help of donations from the Muslim community.

If you would like to donate and support initiatives like this, please go here: tmv.uoftmsa.com/donate.

You can also make cheques to “Muslim Students’ Association at University of Toronto” and drop off at or mail to our address.

21 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 1J6 | tmv@uoftmsa.com | www.facebook.com/themuslimvoice | www.tmv.uoftmsa.com

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| THE MUSLIM VOICE PETITE EDITION | JANUARY 2019

DID YOU KNOW? 1

Keplar 16-B is a planet 200 light-years away from the

Earth that orbits two stars. This means that no matter where you are on the planet, you will always have two shadows.

2

Due to high atmospheric pressure on Saturn and Jupiter it rains

G I B

,

Until then, it is not considered a planet.

4 A bird called the

Albatross

can fly up to four years above the Pacific Ocean

SO

it takes

an entire year

for a wave to travel across it.

6

You could fit every continent into the Pacific Ocean with room for another

Africa.

5

It will complete its first orbit in 2178.

PACIFIC OC EA N

has never orbited the Sun.

IS

pluto

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3

without landing.

JANUARY 2019 | THE MUSLIM VOICE PETITE EDITION |

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the whale, the man, and the sea L

ong, long ago there was a town called Nineveh, in the country we now call Iraq. Nineveh was full of people who had forgotten the word of Allah, and did many things that were forbidden and wrong. Prophet Yunus (Peace be Upon Him), one of Allah’s beloved prophets, was sent to Nineveh to remind the people of Him and His word. However, they continued disbelieving in Allah’s Oneness, and instead committed many haram acts, like worshipping and praying to false idols and statues. “Our grandfathers and fathers worshipped these statues for years,” they told him. “Why should we change our beliefs now?”

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| THE MUSLIM VOICE PETITE EDITION | JANUARY 2019

The Prophet Yunus became frustrated and upset with the disobedience of the people of Nineveh. Therefore, even though Allah did not give him permission to abandon his mission, he decided to leave the city and give up on the people of Nineveh.

“You will soon see the wrath of Allah,” he warned, “And I will leave you to it!”

He decided to travel far away and boarded a ship for voyage across the sea.

Prophet Yunus’ ship was sailing in the middle of the ocean when a fierce storm suddenly began. Waves pounded the sides of the ship from all directions. The crewmen were terrified and worried that the ship was too heavy. They decided that they must throw some of their cargo overboard. They threw over all of their extra furniture and belongings.

Still, the storm continued fiercely. They decided to throw a man overboard, hoping the lighten the ship’s load. However, they did not know whom to throw. They decided to cast a vote, and overthrow whoever’s name was chosen.

JANUARY 2019 | THE MUSLIM VOICE PETITE EDITION |

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Three times, without fail, Prophet Yunus’ name was chosen.

The crewmen knew he was honorable, and a prophet of Allah, so they did not want to throw him overboard, but his name was picked again and again.

The prophet realized that his name being chosen was Allah’s punishment for abandoning his mission. He threw himself overboard, pleading Allah’s mercy.

As soon as he jumped into the water, however, something remarkable happened. A giant whale, commanded by Allah, swallowed him wholly within seconds..

The Prophet Yunus was trapped inside of its huge, dark stomach. Although he could not see or escape his situation, it was a marvel that he was alive. He realized this was his punishment by Allah for his impatience with the people of Nineveh. He allowed his heart to be moved by repentance to Allah and prayed loudly and steadfastly within the stomach of the whale.

The whale, who understood he had been commanded to swallow a prophet, participated in the praises of Allah. Soon, other fish and sea creatures also heard the prophet’s invocations, and they all gathered to worship Allah, each participating in their own language, showing that the power and beauty of Allah can be understood among all of His creatures.

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Allah heard Prophet Yunus’ sincere repentance and prayer. He commanded the whale to spit him out, and the whale obeyed, swimming to a nearby shore before releasing Yunus safe and sound. He was weak, and the strong sun rays of the day burned his skin, but it was a miracle that he was even alive. The land on which he had landed had absolutely no plants or buildings to provide him with shade. Seeing that Prophet Yunus could barely move, Allah created trees and vines to shelter him from the sun’s harsh rays.

Gradually, the prophet regained his strength, remembering Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala all the while. He eventually returned to the people of the Nineveh, to finish his mission once and for all.

He learned that shortly after he had left, Allah had decided to show the people their wrongdoing by turning the sky into a fiery red color. The clouds appeared to be in flames; it was clear that Allah was angry with the people for rejecting His prophet’s message. Repentant, they began to remember the words Prophet Yunus had told them and threw away their idols and statues, and Allah forgave them when He saw their hearts had softened in belief of Him. The people of Nineveh were happy to welcome the prophet once more, and he was overjoyed to see they had stopped their wrongdoing and come to believe that Allah was One, the Exalted.

Together, Prophet Yunus and the people of Nineveh led a prayer thanking their Merciful Lord.

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activit y: l e t’s e x p lore

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ac ti v i t y : c o lo u r th e pag e

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1 Base of the Mosque (hexagonal prism)

i. Cut along the blue solid line ii. Then fold along the red lines (and the tabs that stick out) iii. Glue the tabs to the solid walls adjacent to the tabs. To make the box tuck the tabs behind the walls. iv. Glue the top tabs to the bottom base. The base of the mosque should be completed

2 Minaret

i. Cut out the Minaret along the blue line. ii. Fold it in half along the red line, and glue the minaret together. iii.. Using the tabs, stick the minaret into a corner of the base mosque (squeeze the tab into a corner without using glue)

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3 Dome of the Mosque i. ii.

Cut out all 10 dome pieces, and then cut along the dashed lines The dome will be built by sliding the pieces into one another, match the slits to their numbers and colours in the dashed lines. • Slide A2 into A1; B1 into A1; B2 into A1; C1 into A1; C2 into A1; D1 into A2; D2 into A2; E2 into A2; E2 into A2

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GLUE

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Check out our step-by-step instructions at tmv.uoftmsa.com/petite

Instructions

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ac ti v i t y : b u i ld wi th m e

Me and my little Mosque

A1

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A2

Umar’s Best Eid Ever Umar woke up feeling super excited, Just last night the Eid moon had been sighted.

He wore his new shirt and brushed his hair, The family was going for the special prayer.

At the masjid he met all his buddies, And the kind elders gave him some Eidi.

The Imam told everyone to be generous to the needy, Hamza agreed, he knew it was bad to be greedy.

His older sister took him to the shopping mall, He wanted to get a cool hoop for his basketball.

In the parking lot sat a poor, unhappy man, Umar decided to lend him a helping hand.

He gave the man all of his money, And it made him feel so sweet, like honey.

Umar’s sister was very pleased, “But how will you buy the hoop now?” she teased.

His parents were so proud to hear what he had done, And he was even praised so much by everyone.

His family surprised him with a basketball hoop, And Umar let out a great big whoop!

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day, Tomorrow he is going to play, yay!

Umar was happy he gave the poor man his money instead, Smiling from ear to ear, he went off to bed.

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WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS DO?

DOCTOR!

LAWYER!

MY MOM DOES NOTHING. SHE STAYS AT HOME ALL DAY . . .

HOW WAS SCHOOL TODAY? OKAY. WE SPOKE ABOUT WHAT OUR PARENTS DO FOR WORK. I SAID YOU DID NOTHING.

I’LL MAKE SALMA’S FAVOURITE FOOD TODAY! IT’S A LITTLE DIFFICULT, BUT HER FAVOURITE!

MAMA, I CAN’T SLEEP. SHOULD I TELL YOU A STORY?

YES PLEASE! SALMA CAN NEVER KNOW WHAT I REALLY DO . . .

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prohphet musa (a.s.) was adopted by a kind and loving queen, who raised him to be a fine young man . . .

P-PLEASE, I DON’T HAVE ANY!

GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!!

SAVE ME!

DON’T WORRY I’M HERE NOW!

YOU LOOK LIKE SOMEONE’S MOM! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STOP ME?

i’ll sew it on for you.

THANK YOU for saving me!

mama the bow from my favourite hair tie came off! my hero!

no problem, moms are stronger than you think!

heaven lies at the feet of mothers for a reason. moms are superheroes in many ways. give your mom your thanks and love!

JANUARY 2019 | THE MUSLIM VOICE PETITE EDITION |

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A Tale of T wo Ga r de ns There was once a rich man who owned two beautiful gardens, Day and night he bragged of his wealth until a poor man begged his pardon,

He said, “Sir, you have so much: fruits, rivers, and flowers, You should thank Allah, for it is He who has Almighty power!

Your wealth comes only by His mercy, and by His grace you own this land, So I fear, good sir, if you do not repent, your fortunes will not seem so grand!”

But the rich man was arrogant, and he only replied, “I am the owner of these gardens, it is only I who provides!

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My riches give me strength, and they will protect me forever, In this life and the next, bowing to God I will never!”

So the poor man went away feeling sorry for his neighbour, For the very next day He knew God would smite him in anger.

And sure enough, the sun came up and revealed only dry earth, Burnt crops and trees, and no signs of life where there’d once been much worth The man fell to his knees as the gardens were no more, God had taught him a lesson: the once rich man was now poor.

“Allah is generous,” he admitted through his tears, “It was He who gave me those riches, It is God I must fear!”

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0 | THE MUSLIM VOICE | NOVEMBER 2016

PHOTO // JOHN SMITH

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