iqra newsletter issue 6 volume 3

7/29/2019 Iqra Newsletter Issue 6 Volume 3

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Assalamu Alaikum,

Spring Semester is upon us and the weather outside is both frightfuland fantasticdepending on the hour.

Many university wide events will be going on this month, includingTaste of OSU (Feb 22nd), which is the most unified multi-cultural eventon campus. So attend that, if possible. There will not be an MSA GBMthat day due to that event.And with midterms and papers coming up always remember,

Allah provides.

Allah lifts.

Allah loves.

Allah forgives.

Allah guides.

Allah blesses.

The first of His names and characteristics that we learn arear-Rahman and ar-Raheem: the most Gracious and the most Merciful.

So remember me; I will remember you. [2:152]

IqraIssue 5: Begin Everything With BismillahFebruary 2013

Inside this Issue

The Ohio State Universitys

Partition in Mosque

#MSAStand13 Top

My God, My God

Upcoming Events

2/15: Medicine and Islam

Lecturer: Malika Haque

6

8

7

11

Is MSA a hook-up spot?

-Mushtaq Dualeh | Iqra Newsletter Director


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IQRA Newsletter Issue 5: The Last Stand

2

MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS

THE LAST STAND


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IIQRA Newsletter Issue 5: The Last Stand

I ask forgiveness from Allah, the Great, the One except Whom none

has the right to be worshipped.He is the Living, the Ever-Lasting, the Oft-forgiving of sins, the

Owner of Majesty and Honor.

I return to Him in repentance fromall sins, disobedience and offences;

from any sin that I have committed

knowingly or unknowingly,openly or secretly,

by word or act,in all my movements and my thoughts;

from the sin which I know,and the sin I am unaware of,

I ask for forgiveness as many timesas the number of what is contained by knowledge,

included in the Book,and written by the pen;

and as the number of what has been created by the Power,and intended by the will;

and as the amount of the ink of the Words of Allah.

I ask for forgiveness that is suitable to the Majesty and Perfectness

of the Countenance of our Lord, and in the way our Lord likes andis pleased with.

Amen, Ya Allah.


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4

Q&A with Zak

If you are interested in watching a show askZakaria about it. He probably watched it, is

watching it or is considering watching it.

If you had to buy him gifts I wouldsuggest food, lots of food.

Zak is a dude that can be super serious andmega hilarious in a split second. Its prettyweird. But awesome.

Sorry, Mr. President.

Q: What's your favorite movie/book line?

Cloud Atlas: "...from womb to tomb, our livesare not our own..."

Q: Your favorite book/movie?Pandorum

Q: Favorite Food?I like shrimp. And calamari. Seafood ingeneral.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?I'm going to be honest: I catch up on myshows.

Q: If you were a super hero what powerswould you have?Stop time. Not time travel. That never endswell.

Q: What is your most essential appliance?Microwave. It can do everything.

Q: Which is your favorite Pokmon?Cyndaquil.

Q: Do you have a favorite Surah? If so, what isit? Why?No. They're all my favorite.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world,where would it be?Socotra

Q: What was your favorite comedy growingup?Full House/the Fresh Prince of Bell Air

Q: Do you have any strange phobias?Suffocating.

Q: Who is the funniest person you know?I'm hilarious. If you don't know me... your loss.

What do YOU have to say about Zak?

Co-President

Zak likes to harass. He is stingy.Hell take half your Chipotle.

He really likes these Somali desserts calledQumbo (coconut bars basically). So, if youever need to appease him or get on his goodside..


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Q&A with Shine

Shine use to scare me when I wasyounger. She use to be the bullyon the school bus. Now shesnicer

I heard her cooking is horrendous.Actually, no I didnt.

Shes not as intimidating as

she seems.

Her name is actually pronouncedSHA-NAY. So be sure to say itcorrectly next time.

Q: If you were a super hero what powers would

you have? A: Power of invisibility

Q: Do you have a favorite Surah? If so, what is

it? Why? A: Surat Yasin because it has so many

amazing metaphors, analogies, and comparisons.For example, Allah S says that we start fires with

water, meaning we use wood, which is grown withwater, to start fires that used to keep us alive.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world,where would it be? A: South Korea, it is hasforests, beaches, mountains, multiple climates,

valleys, and amazing megacities.

Q: What was your favorite comedy growing up?A:The Simpsons (my parents assumed it was

ok for kids to watch since it was an animation)

Q: Do you have any strange phobias?

A: Falling off a high cliff into an ocean

Q: What's your favorite movie/book line?

A: We all are [on our way out]. Act accordingly. -

Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"

Q:What do you do in your spare time? A: I loveto cook, watch Korean TV shows, and reorganize

drawers

What do YOU have to say about Shine?

Shines Experience as Co-Prez

Co-President

Shes a lifesaver. MashAllah.Great Person.

Being MSA president this year has been greatalhamdullah. My favorite part was helping to clear up

misconceptions about women in Islam that many

non-Muslims I met had. I have really enjoyed workingwith the board members in putting on events, like

Fast-a-Thon and the conference, that we thought to

be beneficial to other people. I also loved meeting andhanging out with some of my favorite scholars that we

brought for our various events.


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6

#MSAStand13

Top Tweets


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Truly, Allah will admit those

who believe and do righteous

Surat-Al-Hajj Verse 23

Hadith About inclusion

Reported by Ibn `Umar (RA): theMessenger of Allah (peace be upon

him) said, In the presence of threepeople, two should not hold secretcounsel, to the exclusion of the third.

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Partition in the Mosque

Q: Is it or is it not a must or Sunnah toerect a partition between the men andthe women?

A: It is neither a must nor a Sunnah to erect a

partition between the rows of men and womenin the Masjid because the women used to prayin (Jamaa'ah) congregation in the Masjid at thetime of the Prophet (SAW), and he did not erect

a wall or anything else between them, nor wasthis the practice of the companions.

Q: What is the ruling concerning thepartition between men and women in theMasjid?

A: To our knowledge, there was no partition inthe Prophet's (SAW) Masjid during the time ofthe Prophet (SAW) or during the time of the

Rightly Guided Khalifas. Also there was nopartition made from fabric. The Prophet (SAW)

never ordered it nor did any of his RightlyGuided Khalifas. This is supported by theHadith from Sahl bin Saad when he said, "The

people used to pray while tying their (izars)around their necks."

Because they were very short, it was said to thewomen to not lift their heads until the men werefully sitting because it was feared that thewomen would see the men's private parts. Ifthere was a partition, this fear would not exist.

But if there was a fear of Fitnah, there would be

no harm in erecting a partition between menand women that would not prevent the womenfrom following the Imam in their Salaat. Thiswould prevent corruption and enable them topreform Salaat in the Masjid, which is allowed

for them. Allah's Grace and peace be upon ourProphet, his family and his companions.

Any 'Ibaadah (act of worship) that has no evidence fromthe Book of Allah or the authentic Sunnah is a Bid'ah.For any action that is not in itself a 'Ibaadah, but is

done to improve or facilitate performing a 'Ibaadah

Courtesy of www.themodernreligion.com


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And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli,lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken

me?--Matthew 27:46

My God, my God, why have I forsaken thee?Abdulrahman Al- Ruwaishan | Journalism 15

So Jesus is said, by those who wrote the Bible, to have cried out at his crucifixion. Christians

have debated why Jesus said this; we Muslims have no such issue to deal with, considering theobvious difference in beliefs. These words tell us something different, but still valuable;something not about Jesus, peace be upon him, but about ourselves. About the writers of the

Bible. About human nature.

In our darkest hours we cry out and curse in a dim paroxysm of rage. We rail against theworld and rant at anything that our crazed and fear-addled minds fixate on. We know better

than to do so--or at least we should. But what does knowledge hold to stupid, unreasoningdesperation?

Atheist and believer can agree that the world is a madhouse. We are the inmates. For theatheist, oblivion lies before and without and after. For the believer, God is above and behindall things, and there is purpose in the passing tide, method in the overwhelming anarchy. Butwith a purpose or without, the madhouse is--well, maddening. And humans are weak, and

humans forget.

In extremis, even Muslims sometimes let go of their faith in God.

Sometimes, we forget that God does not test a soul with what it cannot bear. We forget thatto God we belong, and to Him we return. We forget what God said to Muhammad, peace beupon him, in the 186th verse of the second chapter of the Quran:

And if my servants ask thee of me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller (in need) if hecries out to me. Let them then respond to me, and believe in Me, that they might gain indiscernment.

Those who wrote the Bible asked the wrong question; we ourselves, when we are tested, cryout with a misguided query. God has not forgotten us. As Moses said in the 20th chapter of

the Quran, my Lord does not stray, nor does he forget. God has not forsaken us. In the29th chapter of the Quran, God says, And those who strive in Our way, we shall guide them

to Our paths; and indeed, God is with those who do good.


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The 21st century is home to a race of humans in a more socially and emotionally negativestate than ever before. The shift of values from community and family to material things like

wealth, possessions, and status are just a few of the causes. Evidence shows that that the socialand financial inequality that exists, such as the gap between the wealthy and poor, has never

been this wide. Even worse, the gap continues to increase by the day. In 2002, there were over

540 billionaires in the world, over 70,000 people with a net worth in the hundred millions, andclose to ten million millionaires- comparatively higher than any other time in history, even

with a population adjustment. The middle class found itself becoming less wealthy, with the

size of the lower class growing rapidly. (Kalouche 366). As a result, the human race finds itself

more depressed, lonely, anxious, and stressed than ever, even though some of us now haveluxuries and wealth beyond the imagination of our forefathers. (Wilkinson and Pickett 3)

Why does this matter? One leading reason is that it has bred a generation ofmaterialistic populations- and this is now what the lower and middle classes aspire to follow

and imitate. What exactly is materialism? Materialism is defined as The importance a

consumer attaches to worldly possessions. At the highest levels of materialism, such possessionsassume a central place in a persons life and are believed to provide the greatest sources of

satisfaction and dissatisfaction. (Belk) The evolution of the materialistic mindset has been a

result of the domination of capitalist forces in our markets and economies, the proliferation ofimmaterial labor, and the mindset that time is money.

(Kalouch)Due to the increases in wealth and luxury, many people have lost sight of traditional values,thus losing the sense of what make humans emotionally and mentally healthy.

Materialism and Its Effects on Society

Shine Hawramani |Comparative Studies 13


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10

Should Classic languages be allowed to die?

Do you feel it is worth the considerable effort and

resources involved to save endangered languages or

should we just, in the words of one critic, ''Let Them

Die?

Language and speech are the most effective forms of

communication among humans. Although speech initself isnt in danger, the different forms, or languages

are. The importance of preserving endangered

languages is explained: The difference this time is that

with each language gone, we may also lose whatever

knowledge and history were locked up in its stories andmyths, along with the humanconsciousness embedded in its

grammatical structure and

vocabulary. When we lose a

language, we lose the secrets and

knowledge also stored within it.This can be in the words themselves

or in the grammar and sentence

structure.

These languages humans share are

not only essential to humancommunication but to the

preservation of the social

construction of reality. This isdescribed as the process through

which facts, knowledge, truth, and so on are discovered,

made known, reaffirmed and altered by the members of

a society This definition demonstrates the

implications held in language and it's essential qualities,

needed for society to function.

Nonetheless, I see the extinction of some languages asinevitable. Through progressions in technology and

travel, societies and cultures have mixed and merged;

this makes it more difficult to isolate what belongs to one

culture from the other. Since the global economy is

inescapable, interaction with other languages is

inescapable. This makes the stability and isolationnecessary to breed not only abundance, but consistency

and continuity in language extremely difficult to attain.

I dont think it is worth the considerable effort and

resources to save these endangered languages. If

people themselves, dont care about sustaining the

language by passing it on to their children andtrying to resist tainting it, why should someone

else? There are many more areas that could better

use the funding and resources to help those in

need. However, I do believe the knowledge and

wisdom in these languages do need to bepreserved; so funding and resources used to

preserve written translations of the content and

meaning in these languages would serve better.

Forcing people to keep a language will not keep it

alive for long.

For example, when my familyand I moved to the United Statesfrom fifteen years ago; my parents

made a substantial effort to speak

to us only in their mother tongue

to preserve the language. A few of

us can speak it rather fluently but

the language of the youngermembers is tainted with English

grammar and phrases. A negative

of losing these languages and only

saving translations of content is

there isnt the same power behindtranslations. When reading old

poetry, I cant transcribe the

potent feelings and thoughts

without losing some value and feeling in the

translation. The best example of this is in the

Quran. The English translation is incomparable tothe beauty, precision and depth found in each

letter, word and pause.

Another problem with trying to preserve languages

is that it may cause other languages to disappear.For example, in Say No More, the author talks abouthow bringing spoken Hebrew back to life has

caused Yiddish to become endangered. There arenegatives and positives in both saving a language

and letting it die; it's like the human life cycle:

death and change are inevitable.

Hitt, Jack. "Say No More." The New York Times. The New

York Times, 29 Feb. 2004. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Newman,

David M. "Chapter 3." Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of

Everyday Life. Los Angeles [etc.: Pine Forge, 2010. 56. Print.

The difference this time isthat with each language

gone, we may also losewhatever knowledge and

history were locked up in itsstories and myths, along

with the humanconsciousness embedded inits grammatical structure

and vocabulary.

Shamiyan Hawramani | Nursing 15


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She wont go to MSA because she thinks

its a hook-up place. When my friend, the

sisterhood chair at the time, told me her

friend said this I was taken aback. I had

been involved in our universitys MSA and

this came as an insult to the programming

and events I helped to plan as education

chair. How could she say that? MSA is not

some place where you go to hook-up with

guys!

Or is it?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary

a hook-up can refer to an act or an

instance of hooking up; especially: a casual

sexual encounter.1 However this is not the

only way hook-up is defined. In an

anonymous survey2 distributed via

Facebook and Twitter on MSA groups andother Muslim related pages some

respondents described a hook-up place as

a:

Place where you can meet up with other

students and make friends.

place to meet and socialize with the

opposite gender and engage in haram

activity.

place where females and males

actively go in order to attract the

attention of the opposite sex.[Place] where you go to look for

potential spouses.

When asked if MSA was a hook-up

spot 11 responded yes and 7

responded no. It seems that ones

personal definition of hook-up

determined whether MSA is thought

of as a hook-up place or not. Taking

the last definition stated above, what if

MSA were a place to go to meet a potential

spouse? What would be the implications of

this?

MSA National strives to facilitate

networking, educating, and empowering the

students of today to be citizens of

tomorrows community.3 Although a

national organization might have slightly

different goals than those of individual

MSA chapters, it would be safe to say that

most MSAs purposes are to organizeweekly prayers, spiritually uplift, plan

awareness events, educate about Islam and

to foster community among students.

Sometimes the community aspect is

overlooked but it is very important. Where

else will college students go to be around

Muslims and learn more about Islam if a

mosque is not within reach? Strong

communities need to be built and that

means men and women working

productively and cooperating with eachother to better humanity and themselves.

Bonds can be strengthened through charity,

volunteering, planning Islamic events,

educating and helping those less fortunate

together.

Continued on Page 12

Ayat Aldoori

Human Nutrition Graduate Student


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12

Continued from page 11

As a result of the proximity between males

and females involved with doing these

activities you may meet someone you like

and possibly even get married to them. In

the survey, 3 of 9 people who responded that

they were either engaged, married, or

talking to someone potentially for marriage

said they had met the person through MSA.

I personally know of two couples who had

met through MSA and are now married.

When asked whether meeting someone

potential for marriage through MSA events

is ok most respondents answered yes, as

long as it was in an Islamic environment.Some of the responses like the following

stated that it was better to meet someone at

MSA than at a bar:

Both of you are attending the MSA to

increase your knowledge in your deen. I

honestly don't see anything wrong with

meeting a potential partner at an Islamic

event. It's better than meeting someone at

a bar.

Another person responded:

as long as you keep to your

boundaries and dont violate the

rules of Islam. And you do notdrag it out, you let your parents

know and move on from there.

This response brings up an

important point. MSA can be a

good place to meet a potential

spouse, but there needs to be

Islamic guidelines set within the

MSA and its members to make it

a safe and halal environment.This does not mean completely

segregating opposite genders and

doing totally separate activities.

This means doing productive and

purposeful activities like those

stated above while maintaining a level of

respect and good manners. It is all about

intention. If someone goes somewhere with

the intent of doing something haram then

nothing will stop them except themselves.

.It is important that if you do findyourself in a situation where you like

someone you need to take the proper steps

in getting to know them, i.e. letting parents

know and getting permission, never

meeting alone, being serious and keeping

intentions clear.

The reality is that MSA is a hook-up spot.

But under Islamic guidelines it is a halal

hook-up spot. MSA is a great place to meetsomeone with similar interests as you and

passion to do good. But it should not be the

only reason you participate in it. MSA is

much more than that. Working together in

MSA has the potential to better the

community, to educate, and to spread the

true spirit of Islam. If you meet the one

along the way then say Alhamdullilah, it is

all part of Allahs plan after all.


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Always choose to heal, not to hurt,to forgive not to despise,

to persevere not to quit,to smile not to frown,and to love not to hate!

At the end of life, what reallymatters is not what we bought, but

what we built, not what we got, but

what we shared, not ourcompetence but our character, andnot our success but oursignificance.Live a life that matters.Live a life that caresand be Yourself

Mufti Ismail Menk

On the Start of a Revolution

Streets paved with concrete

Concrete over cobblestones

In case the masses get restless and realize

the strength

Of the floor

Rocks through windows

Revolution was built on much less

Sometimes the softness of a voice

Sometimes the heaviness of the silence

Sometimes the staleness of the bread

Thrown casually at the feet of the people

This time the revolution will begin when

we realize

Perhaps out loud

We did not break our backs for your

crumbs

We deserve the fresh, moist taste

Of that freedom

You call cake.

Ilhan Dahir|English and Political Science 15

Nima Dahir | Economics and Political Science 16

Each blinkAn oasisDry eyes.

Dry tongues.Are we alive?


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ARE YOU AWRITER,AN ARTIST,

A COMEDIAN?Iqra is accepting artwork and poetry for the

Creative Corner feature page!

Got Stories, Articles, Commentary, Photos?

Send them in to [email protected]!Subject Line: IQRA Submission

To get involved in the newsletter contact theEditor, Mushtaq Dualeh, at [email protected].

Iqra Newsletter 2013

The Ohio State Universitys

iqra newsletter issue 6 volume 3

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