an-nur: volume 4 - issue 3 (november 8, 2002)

Hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters

of all different backgrounds, races, and ages

took to the streets on Saturday, October 26, as

they marched around the White House de-

nouncing the impending war on Iraq suggested

by the Bush Administration.

"We think this was extremely successful," said

an organizer of International A.N.S.W.E.R.

(Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). "It

shows that when Bush says America speaks

with one voice, and it's his voice, he's wrong."

The rally began adjacent to the Vietnam Vet-

erans War Memorial. Concurrent rallies were

also being held in San Francisco and other

(Continued on page 6)

Iraq Rally Attracts Over 200,000 to D.C. By Muslim Link Staff Writers

“ A L L A H I S T H E P R O T E C T O R O F T H O S E W H O B E L I E V E . H E B R I N G S T H E M O U T F R O M D A R K N E S S I N T O L I G H T . ” [ H O L Y Q U R ’ A N ]

Ramadan 1423 November 8, 2002

Due Dates

Articles:

November 27, 2002

Distribution:

December 6, 2002

We look forward to

receiving your benefi-

cial submissions for

the next issue sent to

[email protected]!

How Islam Eradicates Terrorism

2

MWM Social 3

A Warning to My Mus-lim Brothers and Sisters

4

FAQ About Ramadan 5

MSA Members Impact Iraq Rally

6

The State of MSA/MWM 7

MIST Comes to D.C. 8

Da’wah Committee 9

And much more...

Inside this issue:

AN-NUR - THE LIGHT

The newsletter of the Muslim Students‟ Association & the Muslim Women of Maryland Volume 4, Issue 3

Contact Us!

Please send your creative

submsissions, comments, and

suggsestions to [email protected]

Hosam Haggag sits atop Anan Said as he leads hundreds of both Muslim and non-Muslim pro-testors in anti-war slogans and shouts of takbeer

and shahadah. Photo by Abdullah Valanzola

MSA and MWM Activities During Ramadan By Naser Jaleel

With the approach of the blessed month of

Ramadhan, the Muslim Students' Association

(MSA) and Muslim Women of Maryland

(MWM) have planned several activities on the

university campus. There will be iftaar/dinner

every weekday in the Musallah (Cole Field

0204) immediately after Maghrib. In addition,

we are planning several other activities to real-

ize our goal to bring the campus community

closer to Allah. We eagerly anticipate your

support and suggestions to make the activities

we are planning a success, insha'Allah.

On November 27, there will be a Muslim com-

munity event on campus through the coordi-

nated efforts of Masjid Dar-us-Salaam, MSA,

MWM, Pakistani Students' Association (PSA),

and the Organization of Arab Students (OAS).

Not only will there be iftaar and dinner, but

through arrangements with Masjid Dar-us-

Salaam there will be Taraweeh prayers for the

entire community. Insha'Allah, the event will

serve as an excellent opportunity to experience the

unity in the Muslim community.

Also, the MSA and MWM are planning a commu-

nity service activity, in which Muslim students will

go to a soup kitchen to feed the hungry and poor.

The Dawaa committee has come up with a unique

way to involve the non-Muslim students to partici-

pate in this event. Keep an eye out as we announce

more details about this event. Please contact Br.

Farhat Noor ([email protected]) to learn more

and participate.

The MWM has planned several activities for the

sisters. Throughout Ramadhan, the sisters will have

a 10-minute tafseer session before the iftaar. In-

sha‟Allah, please contact Sr. Maha Ezzeddine

([email protected]) to volunteer and obtain more

information. The MWM is also planning a dawah

event to teach the campus community about the

Islamic month of Ramadhan. Please contact Sr.

Maha to learn more.

An-Nur Volume 4, Issue 3

on earth is owned by 15% of its inhabitants.

Terrorism and the World Order: The

present world order that started to shape at

the beginning of the past century has caused

two world wars and numerous other wars

that consumed tens of millions of lives. The

super powers cared only for their own inter-

ests, and that created terrorism and loss of

security. The Qur‟an stresses the role of the

Muslims as a power that must run the world

order aiming to achieve supreme values

such as establishing prayer, collecting char-

ity, enjoining the good and forbidding evil.

Islamic resolution on Terrorism: Finally,

the speaker summarized how Islam Re-

solves the problem of terrorism with the

following measures:

Eradicating Despair by linking this life

to the life in the hereafter.

Raising the value of the human soul to

equate it with the life of all people in

the world; thus prohibiting unjust per-

secution of human life, and placing a

severe punishment for those who vio-

late the main principal of human life,

that is the right to continue life without

interruption, as the following verse

mentions: “The punishment of those

who wage war against Allah and His

Messenger, and strive with might and

main for mischief and corruption

through land is: execution, or crucifix-

MSA Activities

How Islam Eradicates Terrorism

By Abdel Salam Sayyad

This was the title of a lecture delivered by

Dr. Muhammad Malkawi at the University

of Maryland at College Park on October 24.

In the lecture, Dr. Malkawi stressed that he

would depart from the usual approach of

defending Islam and disassociating Muslims

from terrorism. The purpose of the lecture

was to illustrate how Islam provides the

comprehensive solution that inhibits the

growth of terrorism in the first place, while

the present world order is a fertile soil for

such phenomena.

The meaning of Terrorism: The speaker

started by broadening the sense of terrorism

by highlighting the end result of it, which is

the loss of security. As he explained, the

society can lose security in many ways,

including economic insecurity, health inse-

curity, and political oppression. In these

cases, the individuals and the society are

terrorized even if direct acts of violence are

not committed against them. The Prophet

(saw) said: “Whoever starts his day owning

food for his day, health in his body, and

security among his people, then he has

owned the whole world.”

Terror also spreads as a result of secret evil

plotting. The clear example for that is the

intelligence organizations in all parts of the

world, terrorizing innocent people. This has

been happening in totalitarian regimes and

in the third world, and is now apparent in

the West under the pretext of fighting terror-

ism.

Causes behind Terrorism: Dr. Malkawi

then summarized the causes behind terror-

ism as the lack of food, health and physical

security, and falling victim to oppression.

By presenting numbers and statistics from

Western researchers, the speaker was able to

demonstrate the graveness of such problems

as food insecurity, lack of economic growth,

short life expectancy, the rise of child mor-

tality, and illiteracy in most parts of the

world including many U.S. communities.

This is accompanied by the injustice in dis-

tribution of the wealth where 80% of wealth

ion, or the cutting off of hands and feet

from opposite sides, or exile from the

land: that is their disgrace in this world,

and a heavy punishment is theirs in the

hereafter (Quran:5:33)

War on Poverty: Prophet of Allah, Mu-

hammad (PBUH) said: “Allah breaks

covenant with any group of people liv-

ing in a close vicinity, whereby one of

them goes to bed while hungry”

Conclusion: It is the responsibility and the

duty of the people of the world to examine

Islam with serious and sincere scrutiny, in

order to consider it as the only viable alterna-

tive to capitalism.

Dr. Malkawi answered the questions of the

audience in a clear and straightforward way,

avoiding any apologies or defense in the face

of usual accusations. For instance, when he

was asked to comment on the saying

“Terrorism is done by evil people who

should not look for excuses,” he answered:

No human is evil by nature. No one is born

terrorist. If we don‟t look for the reasons of

this issue then we‟ll catch one terrorist today

and have to deal with another tomorrow.

The speaker also answered broader questions

on the Islamic alternative to the Western

system in the political and economic aspects,

and about the methodology of change that the

Muslims should follow to resume the Islamic

way of life.

One of the premier sites for news around the globe from an Islamic perspective. The site

also contains a wealth of other features, including fataawa, live discussions, views & analy-

ses, and much more. The site is available in both Arabic and English versions.


pray. Two sisters stood on either side of the

convert and constantly corrected her

throughout the salat. It was entertaining to

see the sisters trying to show the new sister

the right way to fold her hands during salat.

The sisters went as far as placing a glass of

water on the new sister‟s back while she

made rukuu so as to ensure that her back

was straight! The whole point of the skit

was to illustrate that sometimes, out of our

enthusiasm, we give our new sister‟s a huge

load to carry.

After the skit, we played the second round

of Jeopardy. After several questions had

been asked and answered and the points

totaled up, the Sophomore/Senior team

came out victorious with a lead of 30 points.

The evening ended with some sisters sing-

ing popular nasheeds. One group sang Zain

Bhikha‟s “Fortunate is He”. Two sisters put

MWM Activities The MWM Social: A Fun-Filled Evening with My Sisters

By Mwanatumu Mbwana

Thursday, October 31st. I cannot remember

when I have had as much fun as I did on

that evening. More than 20 sisters sat

around the tables set up in the Nanticoke

Room of the Stamp Student Union to par-

take in the MWM social event of the semes-

ter. The minute I walked in the door, I could

feel the excitement of my fellow sisters. I

think I speak for most of the sisters when I

say that the MWM social event (held most

semesters) is one of the highlights of the

semester. It provides a welcome relief from

all the tensions of exams, papers, projects,

homework and any other stress associated

with school.

The event started at about 4.45pm with a

Quran recitation. This was followed by a

brief welcome to the event and an ice-

breaker in which sisters introduced them-

selves and gave an account of something

mischievous that they had done. After this

we played “Islamic Jeopardy”. The sisters

were divided into two teams, Freshmen &

Juniors vs. Sophomores & Seniors. The

“Islamic Jeopardy” categories included

hadith, seerah, geography and Quran,

among others. It also included a

“miscellaneous” category that asked ques-

tions not necessarily related to Islam (e.g.

one question required the sisters to identify

the name of the phobia in which a person is

afraid of crossing the street.).

We played until Maghrib time and then,

after salat, we munched on pizza, drinks and

doughnuts. While the sisters were enjoying

the meal, there was a short presentation

about the MWM weekly halaqas (held on

Mondays at 5pm in 1226 Jimenez). The

presentation gave a brief overview of topics

covered during the halaqas i.e. the benefits

of sisterhood, and ways in which we can put

humility, trustworthiness, ihsaan, loyalty

and hayaa into practice.

Following this enlightening presentation, 4

sisters sent the audience into fits of laughter

with their amusing skit. The skit involved

teaching a new convert the “proper” way to

their language skills into practice and sang

Raihan‟s “Syukur” (the song is in Malay).

And finally, one sister sang Dawud

Wharnsby‟s “Ya Ummati” and urged her

sisters to help her raise money for a worthy

cause. She is trying to raise money for Kind

Hearts (a non-profit organization). For $150

the organization will provide iftaar to a fast-

ing Muslim refugee in Palestine this Ramad-

han*.

All in all, the event was a success. There was

great attendance, great food, and great enter-

tainment. It was an evening well spent for

those who found the time to attend.

*A donation box will be placed on the sis-

ters‟ side of the musallah until Monday, No-

vember 11. Contact [email protected] for

more information.

Leaving their worldly concerns behind, it

was a time for the sisters to build the

warm bond of sisterhood and come closer

to Allah (swt). Many of the sisters felt

heavy when leaving and regretted having

to go back to the normal routine of their

lives.

Nevertheless, the Saturday was a rejuve-

nating one, an enriching experience that

would nourish their spiritual selves for

weeks to come.

Sister’s Qiyaam

Anonymous Contribution

What kind of answers would you get from a

sample of college students when asked,

“How did you spend your Saturday night?”

If it were posed to some of the MWM sis-

ters last week, they would proudly answer:

qiyaam ul-layl.

Alhamdulilah, on Saturday, October 19th,

some 15 sisters gathered for the monthly

iftaar/qiyaam ul-layl event organized by the

Muslim American Society-DC Youth Com-

mittee. The program began with nightly

supplications and breaking of the fast. It

followed with salaatul maghrib and a short

khaatirah. The rest of the night was spent in

praying tahajjud, remembrance of Allah

swt, and a short nap that allowed the sisters

to continue their prayer a little before the

break of dawn. The program ended with

salaatul fajr, another short khaatirah, and

finally breakfast.

mailto:[email protected]

attention and I would, out of fear, ask Al-

lah's forgiveness and mercy for the sins of

my day. But I inside I knew I would fail

again if given the chance. I recognized the

fact that my Muslim friends could make me

happy and give me whatever it was that I

knew I was not getting from the computer.

But they also made me uncomfortable. I

recognized the feeling after awhile as guilt.

Whenever I saw the purity of their smiles

and their happiness to see me, my heart

pounded a little faster and swelled with joy

to see them. And when I left them, my heart

sank, disappointed that I did not stay. Later,

I began to watch them, to study their actions

and words, questioning their sincerity and

speculating which of them had the same

problem as me. I grew certain I was alone.

The loneliness inside me grew in proportion

to my sins. My grades inevitaby suffered as

I turned more and more to the computer

screen that could google me away from

reality with a click of a button. At night I

tried to drown out the incessant nudge of

my conscience with my fantasies, and there

was my struggle. I tossed and turned nearly

all night, terrified that I might "wake up in

the grave" and wishing it would all go away

by turns. I got a meager bit of sleep out of

the deal.

Why not just remember Allah‟s Mercy, you

might well ask. I was suffering so much that

I couldn't concentrate well on anything,

loading my mind with and force-feeding my

heart junk. Why not just put myself out of

my misery and repent? The human mind

and heart are a very odd part of creation,

when influenced by the devil. To my current

thinking, my way was the easier way and I

felt I could not bring myself to "give up" the

fake pleasure I was getting from my secret

shell of a life. My sins kept me from re-

membering that that I could always turn to

Allah and ask Him to forgive me and lift my

spirits out of their depression. I became half

afraid that Allah would never forgive me

because I kept asking with a sincerity not

backed by actions. But something inside me

still wanted goodness. I starved during

Making the Most of Ramadan

A Warning to My Muslim Brothers and Sisters

Anonymous Contribution

My dear brothers and sisters, I want to warn

all of you against doing what I did.

I entered Ramadhan on a low wave of Iman.

Since the beginning of the semester, I'd

been spending far too much time on cam-

pus, a regular 10 hours a day, sometimes 12.

It made me feel important and grown-up to

be by myself in the "world"; I had yet to

spend so much time away from home alone

anywhere. As night came on, I was left feel-

ing slightly alone as all my Muslim friends

went home at around Maghrib or so.

It always looks and feels as if one has

something to do if one sits in front of a

computer screen. So I started going just

during breaks between classes whenever I

was close to a computer lab. It built up to

the point where I was on the computer for at

least 3 hours a day, sometimes more. My

surfing habits were not healthy, since they

were born of boredom. They became even

less so as I began venting some of my fanta-

sies by living them on the computer. I fre-

quented romance sites, and it became an

addiction. I planned my day around the

computer, and the hours I used to spend in

the musallah socializing and relaxing began

to taper off.

I was still friendly and enthusiastic around

my friends, who all showed me the sweet-

ness of Islamic sisterhood. I loved them, and

I loved feeling loved by other Muslims. But

I admitted to myself that I no longer truly

wanted the company of the friends I knew

could help raise my Iman. It came to me

then that I didn't want to raise my Iman. The

consciousness of that feeling, when it came,

scared me so badly that I tried hard not to

examine my nafs more closely for a long

time. If I raised my Iman by reading Qur'an,

keeping the company of good people and

really praying for forgiveness, I knew it

would cause me to stop doing what I knew

was wrong.

And I didn't want to stop. At night, some-

times my conscience would slap me for

Ramadhan although the days of restraint

were short. I fasted on the outside; I prayed

in congregation as often as possible, and at-

tended Islamic classes and lectures that, if I

truly listened, could only intensify my guilt. I

never ate or drank a drop of food during the

day's fast. But I wasted away on the inside

and left Ramadhan with nothing but a mem-

ory of hunger and a deep, cold misery. The

misery was my heart, crying and growing

thin and dark for having not been fed for a

month.

After I lost Ramadhan, my inner depression

intensified. I lived very much like a soulless

being, eating, drinking, sleeping, ritually

praying when necessary. I was unhappy, rest-

less, shiftless spiritually. I thought maybe this

was Allah's punishment for my missing

Ramadhan. I wanted very badly now to do

better. But I seemed not to have the will. I

peaked on my bad habits, even with the

growing sense that I could hide only so much

from my family and friends. I looked in the

mirror every day with the very real fear that I

might see a monster. Was I growing more

haggard outwardly? I worked hard to make

sure no one else could see any difference..

But now my darker intentions could no

longer give me even the fleeting sense of

enjoyment I used to get. I knew they were

illusions now. But I continued to ignore real-

ity, so what was my world now but illusion?

I cultivated a very peculiar sense of empti-

ness that I attributed to a liberating lack of

responsibility. I never missed a prayer, even

when alone, but never really prayed. I stayed

far from the Qur'an with a detachment that

was not only physical. I did not want to think

about Allah, because for me He was the sum

of my fears. Yet often, during my sleepless

nights, I would sit up and reach for the Book,

open it to any place, and read the two facing

pages just to soothe my pain until the next

day. I knew that the Qur'an, like my good

friends, could cure me completely. But I de-

nied my heart the treatment for just a little

longer. The pain inside grew to a physical

reality, a vague throb that I ignored easily

during the day but not so easily at night. I

tried to convince my desperate self that I

would have time to repent, later. But mostly,

I didn't use the time I had.



How does fasting help a Muslim come

closer to success?

In Islam, the definition of success is the

multitude of infinite rewards that are to be

had in the life Hereafter. This success is

limited to those who earn Allah‟s mercy and

Divine Pleasure. Bodily success can be a

good thing, but it is not real success. Real-

ity is something transcendent, and therefore

beyond time, space, and the mere appear-

ances of things. A Muslim should see any-

thing and everything as the signs of Allah,

with his or her heart. In so doing, it be-

comes important to be able to distinguish

between needs and wants, and to refrain

from dangerous extremes.

Does Ramadan affect the rest of the

year?

In short, yes. Ramadan is a spiritual boost

that should last for the entire year. It is a

time of preparation and behavior modifica-

tion, like a yearly spiritual check-up. Every

second in Ramadan is precious. In this time,

Muslims learn how to gain control over

desires. There is a drive to engage the signs

of Allah, to see them in a state of active

dhikr, and to be in a state of prayer. It is

possible to read the signs of Allah in His

Introduction to Ramadan Frequently Asked Questions about Ramadan

By Omar Nawaz Khan

Br. Omar Nawaz Khan compiled some of

the most frequently asked questions about

Ramadan and answered them in this concise

introduction to the month of mercy, forgive-

ness, and pardoning from Hellfire.

What makes Ramadan so special in the

hearts of Muslims?

Ramadan is the month in which the Quran

was revealed. On Laylat al Qadr, or the

Night of Power, the Quran descended from

the highest heaven to the lowest heaven.

This night occurs during one of the last ten

nights of Ramadan. The ninety-seventh

Surah of the Holy Quran is called Surat al-

Qadr, and is a comprehensive teaching of

this Night of Divine Decree and Knowl-

edge.

Why do Muslims have the duty and

honor of fasting during the month of

Ramadan?

There are infinite blessings to be enjoyed

and utilized during the month of Ramadan.

The main purpose of the ordained fasting is

for Muslims to strengthen their connection

with the Creator, the Sustainer, the Power-

ful, and the Most Loving, the One and Only

Allah. In order to strengthen a connection

with the Divine, it is essential that servants

of Allah indulge less in physical desires. In

a sense, there is a lessening of the connec-

tion with the body and an increasing of the

connection with the heart, which is the seat

of the soul.

What impels a Muslim to wake up early

for the pre-dawn meal, or suhoor?

As the human heart makes all decisions, the

decision to wake up is also made by the

heart. While the soul (or Rooh) constantly

strives to be close to its Divine Originator,

the animal body aspect of the human being

is always dragging a Muslim down. The

heart must decide whether it will follow the

light of the soul (i.e. wake up for suhoor and

fajr), or merely succumb the desire for two

extra hours of sleep that the animal body

demands.

Book (the Quran), and to read the signs of

Allah in the book of His creation. “Kun fa

yakoon.” “Be and it is!”

What does saum mean?

Saum is the Arabic word for fasting. The

Arabs used to train horses by taking them

into the desert during fierce sand-storms in

order to toughen them up, and so that they

would be able to ignore the fierceness of the

desert wind during the time of a battle. This

practice was called saum. This is the time in

which the Muslims are toughened by devel-

oping the ability to ignore, confront or con-

quer their lower desires and therefore strive

for a higher Ideal.

What can be done during Ramadan in the

sphere of self-advancement?

During Ramadan, Muslims must strive harder

than ever to think the way Allah wants us to

think. Old habits must be broken and good

ones must be developed, insha‟Allah. The

ability to concentrate with both mind and

spirit must be developed, as opposed to being

enslaved by the sensory organs (which too

are the mercy and bounty of Allah). Perhaps

it will help to consider the following ques-

tion: “What if I die at this very moment?‟

Rabbana atina fi dunya hasanatan wa fil

akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhab anaar!

still striving, but it gives me a sense of

purpose to turn down the urge to follow

my nafs. It makes me feel happy, upright,

and alive. But I am still afraid. I am some-

what afraid that Allah may not accept my

repentance, as perforated as it has been.

That fear is diminishing as I become

stronger against conscious sins. I am

afraid to go to libraries or log on to the

internet alone for long periods of time.

But mostly I am afraid I may not live to

see another Ramadhan...

Warning (cont.)

One night I lay sleepless and rubbed at my

breastbone, trying to soothe the throbbing,

and realized I was tired. I was paranoid,

afraid, depressed, unhappy, restless, shift-

less, and I was now tired. I didn't want to

live forever like this, but I saw now that I

was being dragged into forever by my ac-

tions. I sat up in bed reached for the Qur'an-

hesitated, and lay back down. Tomorrow, I

thought, I'll read. Many tomorrows and

many backward slides later, I am writing

this warning. I feel better, freer in spirit than

I ever did during that period of time that

seems like years but was only months. I am

(Continued from page 4)



cars?”

Kai of Harlem, New York, agreed with

Cousin Sammy, saying, “Bush is trying to

maintain control of Middle Eastern oil.”

When approached by Muslim Link reporters,

D.C. Police refused to answer any questions

regarding the rally. One paramedic stated

that there was no trouble, only to be cut

short by his chief not to answer any other

questions.

Sixty to seventy students and faculty from

Montgomery Blair High School of Silver

Spring, MD, came out to voice their opinion

about the potential war on Iraq. Nathaniel

Pancost, representing a Blair organization

called the Students for Global Responsibil-

ity said, “It‟s a stupid idea; we‟re doing it

MSA in the Community MSA Members Impact Iraq Rally by Rallying Crowd (Iraq cont.)

locations around the world. Organizers say

an anti-war demonstration this large has not

happened since 1969, five years after Con-

gress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

which gave President Johnson authority to

launch a war on Vietnam. Recently, Con-

gress passed a very similar resolution giving

President Bush the authority to declare war

on Iraq.

By noon, the lawn was packed with people

listening to a variety of speakers, including

Reverend Jesse Jackson, Susan Sarandon,

and former attorney general Ramsey Clark.

Muslim speakers included Imam Mahdi

Bray of the Muslim American Freedom

Foundation and Ahmed Al-Awazza of the

Muslim Students Association, among oth-

ers.

“If we launch a pre-emptive strike on Iraq

we lose all moral authority,” Jackson told

the crowd.

“We must not be diverted,” he said. “In two

years we've lost 2 million jobs, unemploy-

ment is up, stock market down, poverty up.

It's time for a change. It's time to vote on

November 5th for hope. We need a regime

change in this country.''

After the speakers finished, the march began

on 21st Street and Constitution Avenue.

The protesters then circled the White House

and returned to the original starting point.

Massive crowds of people filled the streets

for several blocks. In fact, the march was so

large that those in the lead had to wait for

demonstrators at the end of the march to

pass in front of them before they could re-

turn to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Several Muslim Link reporters had the op-

portunity to speak with many different pro-

testers during the rally about the impending

war on Iraq. “Why make war on people for

oil?” asked Cousin Sammy, one of the older

protesters at the rally. “Why can‟t we have

cars run off of bio-diesel or have electric


for the wrong reasons. It‟s Vietnam all over

again. We went in that war not knowing

clearly why, and the same is happening

now.”

Two Vietnam War veterans told Muslim Link

reporters that they stand in solidarity with all

of the other protestors at the rally. “We‟re

against what‟s been going on the last few

years,” said Mark McVay, who fought in

Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. “George Bush

is selling fear. He wants everyone to be

scared, and we‟re not buying it.”

Len Funk, another veteran who fought from

1969 to 1970, told reporters that there is “no

compelling reason and no evidence” that a

war on Iraq is necessary. He said that CIA

reports show that Saddam Hussein will only


Although media coverage of the event often cited the number of protestors as “thousands” or in some cases even “hundreds”, anyone present at the rally would be quick to disagree. Rally organizers estimate that the attendance was more than 200,000.

Even in this small glimpse of the rally, protestors can be seen as far as the Washington Monument in the upper right-hand corner. Photo by Yasser El-Haggan


together non-Muslim freshmen and mem-

bers of the MSA/MWM. Sadly, only 5

MSA/MWM members showed up (2 sisters

and 3 brothers). If I felt as disappointed as I

did, then how did the organizers of these

events feel? How did they feel after putting

so much of their time and energy into the

planning, only to face such disappointment?

Student Advice & Perspectives The State of the MSA and MWM

By Mwanatumu Mbwana

Once upon a time, there lived a family of

ten; eight children and their two parents.

Since they were the only Muslim family in

the neighborhood, they felt it was their duty

to educate their neighbors on Islam. The

parents felt that the best way to initiate a

good relationship with their neighbors was

to invite them over for a dinner. Their hope

was that this dinner would lead to more

interactions through which they could teach

their neighbors about Islam. So the parents

busied themselves in preparing for the din-

ner; cooking, cleaning, etc. They were con-

fident that with the help of their eight chil-

dren, the whole neighborhood would get to

hear about the dinner. However, on the day

of the dinner, no one showed up. Only one

of the children had joined her parents in

waiting for the guests. Upon questioning the

children, the parents found out what had

gone wrong. Only one of the children had

attempted to inform the neighbors about the

dinner; everyone assumed that someone else

would do it. Since she was the only child to

publicize the dinner, she didn‟t do a very

effective job. As for attending the dinner,

each of the children had an excuse. One was

busy doing homework, another assumed

that the other siblings would go and so her

presence would not be missed. Another

simply felt that the dinner was none of her

business because her parents were the ones

who had planned it.

Okay, so you‟re probably wondering what

this corny story is doing in An-Nur, right?

Well if you haven‟t already guessed it, this

story is representative of the current state of

our MSA/MWM. After attending more than

one less than successful MSA event, I won-

dered what the problem could be. For exam-

ple, when I showed up for the showing of

“The Message”, only 2 other sisters and the

brother who had organized the event were

present. Due to this dismal attendance, he

was forced to postpone the event to the next

week. Even then, only 3 sisters, 4 brothers

and 3 non-Muslims attended. Another ex-

ample is the bowling event organized by the

Dawah committee. It was meant to bring

It‟s very easy to point fingers and say that the

advertising committee is not doing a very

good job. But how can we expect 2 brothers

(yes, at last count I was told only 2 brothers

are on the committee) to shoulder this re-

sponsibility alone? How can we expect the

MSA/MWM cabinets (plus a few other indi-

viduals) to take on the responsibility of orga-

nizing events, getting people to attend the

events, and then attending the events them-

selves? These people are not “super people”.

They‟ve got classes just like the rest of us;


and the loss of innocent lives, Haggag was

also able to get both Muslims and non-

Muslims alike to repeat the takbeer and

shahadah. Haggag was later hoisted up on

the shoulders of several Muslim brothers,

and as he paced the crowd with a variety of

slogans, an interactive approach, and timely

encouragement and humor, a gap formed in

front of the Muslim banners as more and

more people followed Haggag‟s lead behind

the Muslim banners.

Unfortunately, the presence of Muslims in

general at the rally was very small in com-

parison to the Muslim attendance at the rally

for Palestine last spring, and the vast major-

ity of demonstrators were clearly non-

Muslim. Many attendees cited their disap-

pointment at the lack of attendance, espe-

cially with such a large Muslim population

living in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Rally organizers said over 200,000 people

in total came to voice their disagreement

with President Bush and his determination

to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

This rally was unique because it came be-

fore a possible war on Iraq, while past pro-

tests usually came after the start of war. In

fact, protests against the Vietnam War only

gained momentum after the war had been

going on for eight years. John of the Paper

Hand Puppet Intervention thinks the rally

can, “definitely make a difference. It can

stop the government from [passing] many

bad policies.”

Iraq Rally (cont.)

use his weapons when attacked. Funk

claimed that America is “creating terrorists

by the actions of our government.”

When asked what could be done after the

rally to continue efforts to stop the war, both

veterans said that Americans just need to

keep on organizing and showing that

“people of all walks of life, ages, races, and

ethnicities” are against this war. They also

cited the importance of the media in getting

the word out that what they feel is the ma-

jority of America is against the war.

Pancost, agreeing with the veterans, said we

should “just keep organizing and getting

more people.”

Aside from being among the rally organiz-

ers and contributing several speakers, Mus-

lims also made quite an impact during the

rally itself. The call of adhan and the Zuhr

prayer attracted the attention of many pro-

testors - some even took pictures of the

prayer. Earlier in the morning, several Mus-

lims passed out da’wah materials to others

in the rally.

During the march, local resident and Uni-

versity of Maryland student Hosam Haggag

was able to rally hundreds of marchers be-

hind the MAS (Muslim American Society)-

Maryland Chapter and Islamic Center of

Maryland banners as he led them in the

chanting of slogans. Aside from repeating

several slogans denouncing the war on Iraq


judges. All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners

will receive trophies that they can display in

their school trophy case. The overall indi-

vidual and team winners will receive schol-

arships and awards.

The most interesting award that we can

make public is the award for the Extempora-

neous Speaking event. IslamiCity.com will

feature the 1st place winner‟s speech on their

website, islamicity.com, which gets over 25

thousand hits a day from over 100 countries.

Also, the winner will receive the IslamiCity

Life Time Membership Award which in-

cludes free gifts and services. This award is

valued at $500.

Let‟s say you‟re not the competitive type

and the Community Service Project event

doesn‟t interest you. Why should you come

to MIST? Well because MIST is not just

about competitions. It‟s also about net-

working, having fun, and meeting new Mus-

lims. We are also hosting some exciting

and interactive workshops that include:

“How to form an MSA at your school”,

“How to overcome bias at your high

school”, etc. All workshops are interactive;

no lectures are allowed!

Community Events MIST Comes to D.C. - Featuring Workshops, Skits, and Native Deen

By Rasha El-Haggan

The Muslim Inter Scholastic Tournament

(MIST) will be coming to a university near

you! This year, the DC MIST board is ex-

cited to announce that MIST will be hosted

at the University of Maryland College Park

on February 28th to March 1st of 2003.

For those of you who don‟t know what

MIST is, it is a tournament similar to speech

and debate but with an Islamic concentra-

tion. MIST is open to all high school stu-

dents in the Maryland, Virginia, and DC

area. MIST staff has been working very

hard with businesses in the area in order to

provide professional trophies, monetary

scholarships, and attractive gifts to the win-

ners of each event.

MIST is comprised of 4 categories. Each

category is contrived of a number of events.

We have a competitive event for anyone out

there. For those of you who are thirsty for

knowledge, we have the test events which

basically allow you to read a book we spec-

ify and take a test on it. We also have the

Islamic Scholastic Bowl for those of you

who really like team competitive events.

Not only that, but we have something for

those of you with artistic inclinations. We

have the 2D and 3D Islamic events, the po-

etry event, photography event, and even an

MSA/Islamic Club scrapbook event.

For those with serious competitive edges,

we have the Skills category which includes

events such as the Extemporaneous Essay

and Extemporaneous Speaking events. We

also have Prepared Essay and Research

Project Presentation events. Finally, for

those of you who know how to read the

Quran, there are Tajweed events.

Last but not least, we have the Community

Service event. This event helps students

fulfill their community service hours for

graduation purposes. To learn more about

this or any of the other events, visit us at

www.dcmist.com.

All events are judged by a panel of 3

The most exciting thing that MIST is featur-

ing is Native Deen! The hot Islamic rap

group will come and entertain us on Saturday

evening during the Award Ceremony!

So, in short, what does MIST offer? Com-

petitions, networking, having fun, work-

shops, skits, food, AND Native Deen!

To register with MIST, all you have to do is

email MIST at [email protected]. Someone

will then email you back and direct you to

your school contact. Registering is so easy

and the first school to register 10 students or

more will get 10 dollars off the registration

fee, that‟s $100 or more in savings! Remem-

ber though, registration ends on December

10th.

For those of you who are not in high school,

make sure to spread the word to your broth-

ers, sisters, cousins, and friends who are in

high school! Help us make this event a suc-

cess!

DARE TO BE CHALLENGED! GET

MISTIFIED!

pay attention to the emails sent out by the

MSA/MWM. Several upcoming events

are usually announced in these emails. So

if you see an event announcement, let

others know about it (both Muslim and

non-Muslim). Make plans to attend these

events. And if you see flyers that need to

be distributed on campus (usually left on

the table on the way out of the musallah),

take a handful and put them up around

campus. Put them up in the buildings you

pass through everyday, hand them out to

people you pass on your way to class.

Second, take the time to help out with a

committee*. I always see the same faces

at the Dawah tables. Why? Are they the


State of the MSA (cont.)

they have papers due just like we all do. But

because of their love for their deen, they

make time to spread the message of Islam

on campus through the MSA/MWM.

The MSA/MWM does not belong to a spe-

cific group of people. Just because you are

not on the cabinet, it doesn‟t mean that you

have no responsibility towards the

MSA/MWM. Remember, there is thawab

(blessing) in doing work for Allah‟s (swt)

sake. Do we mean to say that this blessing is

reserved for only those on the cabinet? No!

There are several ways that we too can earn

this blessing. First and foremost, we need to



http://www.dcmist.com/


Buddy System in which we have non-

Muslims who are interested in Islam pair up

with Muslims who can answer questions

and tell them about Islam on a personal and

regular basis. In order to get this program

started we need a list of non-Muslims who

are interested in Islam (and believe me on

this campus you can find many), and a list

of friendly Muslims (I'm almost sure there

are some of those) who would be willing to

be "buddies" of these non-Muslims in order

to invite them and give them information

about Islam.

Fishing for Freshmen is a series of events

mostly geared towards incoming freshmen.

The goal of these events are to educate and

build bonds with freshmen exploring the

endless possibilities on campus. In each

event it is important to show that Muslims

are willing to help and speak with them on a

personal and social level in order to make

them feel comfortable and build better rela-

tionships in the future. These events need to

be planned and organized as well as effec-

tively advertised where freshman usually

roam, throughout the semester.

Lastly, the MSA's Da'wah Committee is

setting up lectures for the public where the

general campus community is invited to sit,

listen and learn about Islam. Again, we

need advertisement in the "Diamondback"

ahead of time, as well as speakers and topics

as often as possible.

Committee Spotlight The MSA Da’wah Committee

By Maryam bint Dawuid

Inside the MSA there are many committees

that help to make it run and bring to you as

well as the campus the true essence of Is-

lam. One of the largest committees in the

MSA is the Da'wah Committee. The

Da'wah Committee was set up to invite non-

Muslims to Islam and to promote Islamic

awareness among the general student body.

Alhamdulillah, there are many different

programs within the Da'wah Committee that

take place every week, and this is just a

brief highlight of those programs.

The da'wah table is by far the most popular

activity, set up every Tuesday outside the

Stamp Student Union, and it seems that the

brothers and sisters of the committee have

made it like a second home (at least from

the looks of the congregation surrounding it

every Tuesday). The da'wah table (I bear

witness) is out rain or shine, from 9AM to

4PM. There is da'wah material such as

pamphlets, books and CD's and usually

more than one brother/sister available to

hand out materials and answer questions

about Islam. There is also a sign-up sheet

for Muslims who would like to be involved

with the MSA, and one for Non-Muslims

interested in Islam. Tables need to be re-

served and set up, and of course, you can

always make yourself at home handing out

information about Islam at the da'wah table.

Also, every Tuesday, from 5-7PM there is a

movie presentation in Hornbake Library on

the fourth floor. The movie currently being

shown is "The Message". This presentation

was set up in order to educate non-Muslims

about Islam (so please invite your Non-

Muslim classmates). In order to continue,

rooms need to be reserved ahead of time,

the video must be approved by the MSA

president (Brother Farhat Noor), and at least

one brother/sister must be there during the

entire movie session and afterwards to an-

swer questions. Also, advertisement is criti-

cal to the success of this event.

Another really nice program that the

Da‟wah Committee has set up is the Muslim

The Da'wah Committee has been an excellent

committee for the campus and the student

and staff body at large, and although you

may feel as if the MSA is already run by

invisible but effective forces who don't need

any help, that is most definitely NOT true.

The MSA at large welcomes you (if I may

speak for it) and your ideas and active sup-

port. The Da'wah Committee is setting up a

Fast-a-thon during Ramadhan which will

focus on informing as well as encouraging

non-Muslims to fast one day by asking them

to fast to feed the poor, and then having a

huge iftar at the end of the day. Also, with

regards to advertisement, you can't expect

one person, or even a few people to organize,

advertise and run big programs like these

alone, they have done an excellent job doing

so far, but I hope and encourage you all to

offer support in publicizing the MSA‟s

events. You never know what small deed

might save you from the Hellfire, on a day

when there will be no shade, but the Shade of

Allah (swt) and may Allah grant us this on

Yaum ul Hisab, Amin. If you have any

questions, comments, concerns or help/ideas

to offer to the da'wah committee, please con-

tact Brother Raef Haggag, president of the

da'wah committee at msa_da3wah@-

yahoogroups.com. May Allah forgive me

for any mistakes I have made in writing this

paper, and continue to shower upon us His

blessings and mercy forever, Amin.

energy planning an event, only to have

one or two people attend? Brothers and

sisters, this is our MSA/MWM. Let‟s take

the time to make it what it should be; the

most effective organization on campus.

* For more information how you can help

out with the MSA, contact Br. Farhat at

[email protected]. To help with the

MWM, contact Sr . Maha at

[email protected]

State of the MSA (cont.)

only ones allowed at the table? Of course

not. We should help out whenever we can.

Remember, the ummah can only be as

strong as its weakest member. Do you want

to be personally responsible for the failure

of the MSA/MWM in achieving its goals?

Do you want to be responsible for an unsuc-

cessful event? Put yourself in the shoes of

those dedicated to the MSA/MWM. How

would you feel if you put all your time and



http://www20.ureach.com/91000K0yE4/cgi-bin/msgc?func=cp&r=msa_da3wah%40yahoogroups.com.

http://www20.ureach.com/91000K0yE4/cgi-bin/msgc?func=cp&r=msa_da3wah%40yahoogroups.com.




me in the right direction, but there was no

compulsion in faith, as Islam should be. I

was 7 years old when my mom read to me,

“O ye who believe, fasting is decreed for

you as it was decreed for those before you;

perchance you will guard yourselves....The

month of Ramadan is the month in which

the Qur‟an was sent down, a guidance for

the people, and clear verses of guidance and

criterion” [Qur‟an: Chapter 2, 183]. Since

then, I have fasted. No questions asked. If

Allah All Mighty tells humanity to do some-

thing, then we should do it. But let me tell

you, it‟s been an interesting experience.

I am sure all my brothers and sisters out

there can relate. Going to public school in

America is hard enough. Try fasting for the

first time in your life, and BAM, it‟s like

everything is an obstacle. You can‟t eat.

Creative Writing Reflections on Fasting

By Nabeel Babaa

No food? No Drink?

Take time to think, for life can be taken

away in a blink.

Starvation and malnutrition have always

plagued mankind. But there have never been

as many starving people on our earth as

there are now. Between l5 and 20 million

people are starving in the world. 40,000

children die every day because they have no

food to eat. Want to know how that feels,

having nothing to put in your stomach? Try

fasting.

Fasting is something all Muslims are re-

quired to do, and well, I was never forced

into it. My mom always told me that when I

was ready, I should begin. I respect that

about my parents. They never forced me to

do anything. They taught me and pointed

You can‟t drink. And you have to close your

mouth outside when its raining because your

afraid of the water getting in. Well, maybe

that‟s just me, but you get the point. And you

know how sometimes you would uninten-

tionally go to the water fountain and drink,

and then realize that you broke your fast. Oh,

the good old days of being a child. Now

Ramadan is something I actually look for-

ward to alhamdulillah. Because subhanallah,

the heart weakens and yearns for faith when

the body is deprived of food and water. It‟s

that time of year for Muslims to reflect on the

past, and look forward and pray for the fu-

ture. You just never know when the end will

come, so do yourself a favor and dust off

your Qur‟an, and read. Ramadan is the per-

fect time to start if you haven‟t done so al-

ready.

Poem: Lose Not Hope for Victory is at Hand

By Omar Nawaz Khan

Salaam!

There will come a time when peace is the norm

And light in the sky when love takes a form

The suffering ones embraced by the warmth

The Way that is just shall fill hearts with bliss

Haqq!

Which of the great favors will you dismiss?

Of a Lord Most High who fulfills your Wish

All laws prostrate before the One, Unique

The rich and the poor, the mighty and weak

Noor!

Strengthen our conviction and stop the leak

Halal and haram bow down to Allah

There is no real “other” except Allah

The Truth is Laa ilaha illa-allah!

Hayy!

He is the One, Who makes our dreams come true

The Ink overflows from oceans of blue

We must bind our hearts with some Super Glue

Beware of the wicked, who try to deceive

Wadood!

In the masjid they come and shout out, “Leave!”

There is a refuge from what people weave

In a Book that defines that which is Right

He separates Night and Day with Twilight

Hakeem!

And removes from the poor their wakeful plight

And Day from Night with a beautiful Dawn

You can flip the switch, and turn your heart “On”

In this reality which is near gone

Allah!

Praised is the One who listens to the poor

Those who love to knock on the Divine Door

Rich is the One, Who gives freely, with ease

Erase our sins every time we sneeze

Astaghfirullah!

Possessed with Quran are the hearts that sing

Enshrined in a lamp or a diamond ring

Thoughts that purify servants of the King

The Green Fire will burn in a mind that thinks

Fattah!

And diseased ones shall have their chains and links

With hues of orange and transcendent pinks

There is a Path that leads to man‟s delight

We must humble ourselves and bow to Might

Laa hawla wa laa quwata illah billahil-„Aliyyu Al-„Adheem!


Within My Major Physics is Phantastic

By Mohamed Abutaleb

Have you ever wondered if those cartoon

characters who lay on beds of spikes can

really do that without severe injury? Or if

a bowling ball falls faster than a golf ball?

Or what building blocks the universe is

made out of?

Physics provides the answers to these and

countless other questions. It lets us know,

for example, that it is possible to lay on a

bed of spikes, and that it is easier to lay on

100,000 spikes than it is to lay on 1,000

spikes - but that‟s a separate article.

Physicists are in the business of under-

standing the universe and everything in it.

Needless to say, this is an incredibly ex-

pansive and often overwhelming task, for

the universe which Allah (swt) created is

full of complexities, complications, and

phenomena beyond our understanding and

comprehension. Yet, amidst all of this

complexity there is an underlying order

and balance which Allah (swt) has created.

Albert Einstein, among other prominent

scientists, was propelled more and more to

the belief in a Creator and in an underlying

order in the world around him as he got

deeper into his studies. One of his most

famous saying is, “I can not believe that

God would choose to play dice with the

universe.”

Because the universe around us is so com-

plicated, one of the most important strate-

gies that physicists learn to implement is

the abstraction away of irrelevant details.

The set of tools physicists have to describe

nature is very limited; thus, physicists are

always looking to simplify problems by

considering only the most relevant compo-

nents. Although this sounds, easy, the

human tendency is to do exactly the oppo-

site; to consider anything and everything as

part of the problem. That is why the most

difficult part of physics is not the solution

of the problem, but the initial approach and

setup.

Due to the central role of logic and abstrac-

tion, mathematics becomes the natural lan-

guage of physics. This immediately turns off

most people, thinking that physics will for-

ever by hopelessly difficult and incompre-

hensible. This is far from true. Richard

Feynman, considered by many to be the

greatest American physicist, used to pride

himself on being able to explain physics to

anyone at any level. He nearly threw a fit

when an elementary school teacher taught her

students that a wind-up toy ran on energy; he

knew that the students were too young to

fully understand the complexities of energy,

but he did not want them to walk away with a

flawed understanding. Even if you don‟t

read Arabic, you can still appreciate the

beauty of the Qur‟an, although you are im-

peded from becoming an expert on the sub-

ject. Similarly, you can love and appreciate

physics without being a mathematics guru.

But who cares about physics anyways? Ac-

tually, physics has an unbelievably profound

impact on your lives and probably your pro-

fession of choice. Physics is the foundation

of all science - in the movement of atoms in

chemistry, the dynamics of plate tectonics in

earth science, the motion of the cell‟s various

parts in biology, one finds a common link

back to physics. Physics studies matter, en-

ergy, and the interactions of the two, and no

scientist or engineer can claim to study some-

thing not related to these concepts.

Surprisingly, physics also has a profound

impact on completely non-technical fields.

Many popular science and philosophy books

written for general, non-technical audiences

are authored by physicists such as Richard

Feynman, Stephen Hawking, and others. For

some reason, physics also seems to be great

preparation for a career in administration.

Our own Senior Vice President for Academic

Affairs and Provost, William W. Destler,

graduated with a degree in physics. Many of

you may also be unaware that two former

Chancellors of the entire University System

of Maryland have offices in the Physics

building on campus, including John S. Toll,

whom the building is named after.

Many of you probably have this picture in

your minds that a physicist is an old person

with hair flowing in all possible directions

who can‟t relate to the rest of humanity.

This is actually not true. The majority of

physicists are experimental physicists,

designing machinery and running experi-

ments in the laboratory much like engi-

neers. These people are hands-on workers

who study their findings and try to develop

the basic research that eventually turns into

new technology and tools for society.

There are also a group of theoretical physi-

cists, who make predictions about physical

phenomena and future experiments using

logic and mathematics. Albert Einstein,

Stephen Hawking, and the famous equa-

tion E = mc2 are all products of theoretical

physics. Again, just because it is theoreti-

cal and can‟t be touched doesn‟t mean that

you can‟t understand it; I worked in theo-

retical physics over the summer, and I can

explain what I did to you.

Allah (swt) has summarized beautifully for

us the benefit in Imaan that we get from

learning about the world around us. In

Surat Fatir, where He tells us, “Those truly

fear Allah, among His servants, who have

knowledge” (35:28). In Surat Ali „Imran,

He decrees, “Behold! In the creation of

the heavens and the earth, and the alterna-

tion of the night and day, there are indeed

signs for men of understanding - men who

celebrate the praises of Allah, standing,

sitting, and lying down on their sides, and

contemplate the (wonders of) creation in

the heavens and earth, (with the thought):

„Our Lord! not for naught hast thou created

(all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salva-

tion from the penalty of the Fire.‟” (3:190-

191). We understand from these verses

that contemplation about the world around

us is not a luxury, but rather an obligation

in Islam. So let us go forth, engineers,

journalists, mathematicians, doctors, edu-

cators, physicists, businessmen, and mem-

bers of all other professions, and join

hands in the exploration of Allah‟s beauti-

ful, wondrous, flawless creation.

University of Maryland at College Park

P.O. Box 44, Stamp Student Union

College Park, MD 20742

Email: [email protected]

WE’RE ON THE WEB!

WWW.MSA-UMD.ORG

T H E M U S L I M S T U D E N T S ’ A S S O C I A T I O N

MSA Officers

President: Farhat Noor

Vice-President: Hisham Abdalla

VP, Sister’s Affairs: Sali Mahmoud

VP, Masjid Affairs: Harris Khan

Public Relations: Raef Haggag

Secretary: Naser Jaleel

Treasurer: Mabroor Mahmoud

MSA Chaplain: Ali Darwish

MWM Officers

President: Maha Ezzeddine

Vice-President: Haleema Rehman

Secretary: Naimah Khalifah

Treasurer: Aminah Shahid

Public Relations: Sali Mahmoud

SGA Liaison: Coniqua Abdul-Malik

Newsletter Staff

Editor-in-Chief:

Mohamed Abutaleb

Staff Writers:

Mohamed Abutaleb

Nabeel Babaa

Taqiyyah bint Dawud

Maryam bint Dawud

Naser Jaleel

Mwanatumu Mbwana

Omar Nawaz Khan

Contributing Writers:

The Muslim Link

Rasha El-Haggan

Abdel Salam Sayyad

2 Anonymous Contributors

Copy Editors:

Saman Ahmad

Taqiyyah bint Dawud

Hosam Haggag

Islamic Puzzles


E S U O R E N E G A Y M R R A ABSTAIN

E N D Y A L L S A B D H E D B DATES

L I I A E S S U Y S E O W A U DISCIPLINE

R F D L T A S H T T E E A Q P EIDULFITR

Y J K U P E L O D A N C R L I EXCESS

P U K O L I S O U I S A D U F FOOD

V H S Z T F C R E N S F M T T GENEROUS

W V A C X J I S S M E O Q A A IFTAR

W K R D N A D T I J C O X L R LAILATULQADR

R A M A D H A N R D X D N I J NEEDY

K O R Q I Y Z P A N E V P A T QURAN

P U C R B E Z G Q V E O N L W RAMADHAN

Q Y N U V E W C C X J Y Y Q M REWARD

R R U E G D F A V I B L W L B SUHOOR

K J D V D K R M H V C P F J S

YOU WILL SEE A MESSAGE IN THE LEFTOVER LETTERS:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Ramadan Mubarak Word Find

By Taqiyyah bint Dawud

Q1. What is the original meaning of the word Ramadhan?

Q2. In which year was fasting in Ramadan made obligatory?

Q3. In which year the 1st Eidul Fitr was celebrated?

Q4. Is your fast valid if you lie or use foul language?

The first person to submit a set of complete, correct answers to both the quiz and the word find will have an interview featured in the next newsletter and become eligible

for a special prize. Please direct your submissions to <[email protected]>.

An-Nur Islamic Quiz

By Taqiyyah bint Dawud

an-nur: volume 4 - issue 3 (november 8, 2002)

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