Personal Reflections with Khilafat

Such a powerful and inspiring letter to introduce the Magazine with. We had full faith thereafter that Allah would no doubt bless our every effort in helping Hazuraba spread his vision of empowering Waqf-e-Nau girls with wisdom through this publication. At this point I would urge our readers to go back to Issue 1 and re-read that letter by Hazuraba. I have only highlighted a few points, but I am certain when you read the whole letter, it will most certainly convince you to renew your efforts as Waaqifaat-e-Nau.

copy to printers, deciding which pages would be printed in colour and which ones would stay mono due to the limited budget at the beginning. The team at Raqeem Press, Islamabad, were very patient and helped us through this process immensely.

These were all collective tasks and without teamwork, prayers and most importantly the guidance from dear Hazuraba, none of it would have been even the slightest bit possible. Alhamdolillah, over the years the team grew and work was divided more effciently.

Most members of the team have not worked on a magazine before, they are not writers or proof readers etc. by profession. They are all volunteers who came forward to dedicate their time to learning new skills and pushing their boundaries to produce content that will be useful and inspiring for their fellow Waaqifaat, while balancing studies or work alongside.

This is the essence of Waqf-e-Nau, to come forward and help in whatever capacity, when it is required of you and Allah indeed is the best of helpers.

May the team grow from strength to strength to continue producing informative and interesting content for Waaqifaat-e-Nau. Ameen.

The Team and Roles

Now it is only fair to mention a little bit about the team that work so hard behind the scenes to put all this content together for the beneft of readers, who Alhamdolillah are benefting from Maryam Magazine, not just nationally but also around the world now.

At the outset, the mere handful of people in the team were all involved in different tasks in the project, at times overlapping one another’s duties to ensure a magazine with engaging content would be produced and printed each quarter.

Overseeing the production side of the magazine from fnding writers, assigning work, researching and writing the articles, designing and page setting and fnally talking with the printers about the layout of the pages were some of the tasks that had to be undertaken for each issue. There were at times struggles before sending

Content and Expansion to Online Platform

One of the earlier editions that was particularly enjoyable to work on must have been the second edition (April-June 2012, Issue 2) that focused on the theme of Khilafat, where we got to ask our audience what their favourite memories of Khilafat were. Younger readers told us how much they loved meeting Hazuraba and receiving chocolates from him, and the older age groups sent in their contributions relating their precious unforgettable moments connected to Khilafat. It was a super inspiring read that connected Waaqifaat from across the country under the single umbrella of Khilafat.

What is so special about this magazine is that you can fnd a wide variety of content in it,ranging from FridaySermon summary,focus on books of the Promised Messiahas, faith inspiring incidents of devotees to Arabic lessons, children’s stories that carry moral lessons, and puzzles for kids, not forgetting the frst-hand accounts of Waaqifaate-Nau serving in their dedicated fields.

Alhamdolillah over time, both Ismael and Maryam Magazines saw progress as more Waqf-e-Nau were contributing and teams were expanding. Both magazines were soon made available online at Alislam.org. Now, every issue gets uploaded to the Waqf-e-Nau website, waqfenauintl.org, in both Urdu and English. I moved from the UK to USA a couple of years ago to help serve the Jama’at here alongside my husband who is a Waqf-eZindagi and I am pleased that members like myself can benefit from the magazines remotely.

It is our duty as Waaqifaat to inspire the next generation. Khilafat for a Muslim woman is an embodiment of empowerment. We not only have the freedom to educate ourselves (a right that was granted to us by The Holy Prophetsaw), but we have the rights and duty to empower the next generations.

We have the best role model in Hazrat Maryamas to follow. In understanding the sacrifice her mother made by dedicating her unborn child in the way of Allah, she herself manifested faith, resilience and strength in raising a Prophet through testing times.

May all Waqf-e-Nau inculcate the same essence of sacrifice by recognising the dedication of their parents and come forward to serve the Jama’at in their respective fields. I pray dear readers continue to contribute and enjoy benefiting from all the wonderful articles printed in this magazine Insha’Allah.