Volume 19 ● Issue 3 ● December 2011 ●Muharram 1433

Winter Wish lists What’s on your agenda this break?

Rise and Shine Using break for a spiritual awakening

Reflecting this Winter Prioritizing Responsibility, Minimizing Distraction

The Winter Wish list Edition

Contents

3

The Winter Wish List Edition

6 5

Co

ve

r b

y Z

oe

ya

Sa

lee

m

& S

ofi

a B

eg

; in

sid

e a

rt b

y M

eh

ree

n R

ash

ee

d

5

6

7

8

10/11

12

13

True Life of the Soul Part 2

By Mohammed Shaikh

Hadith of the Month

Feature

Winter Wish lists

From Various MSA Members

Winter Blossoms, Rising Sun

By Mariam Eltoweissy

Unveiling Muharram

By Rushain Abbasi

Lifestyle

Silent Mourning

By Fatimah Waseem

Events A closer Look at Undercover as a Muslim

Woman

By Sarah Mostafa

Spirituality This Winter, Dare to Reflect

By Arif Kabir

Creative Writing

Alumni of the Month: Karam Hijji

By Mai Salem

Message From our Advisors

By Sr. Sahar Khamis

Alumni/Advisors

13

Spirituality

Staff

Assalamu’alaikum!

It’s that time

of year again! Insha’Al-

lah I pray that all of

your hard work and

study habits have paid

off this semester and

these final exams are

easier than expected!

As this semester draws

to a close, I’d like us all to reflect

on goals we’d like to achieve

during our time off. This winter

break, take up a new hobby!

Read books and strive for better

habits Insha’Allah! In this issue

we have compiled some of the

MSA & MWM members’ Winter

Wishlists, where you

may also find yourself

pondering on the same

goal!

Alhamdulilah, I

am happy to say that Al-

Nur has continually got-

ten better because of

YOUR input! Starting

next semester, there will

be a new editor-in-chief,

Zeynep Karakas, who has many

great ideas and will really allow Al-

Nur to blossom Insha’Allah!

I wish you all a blessed

and safe break!

Bushrah Rahman

Msa.nur@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief:

Bushrah Rahman

MSA/MWM Liason:

Mai Salem

Editors:

Layout Designers:

Writers/Contributors:

Sofia Beg

Meher Kachwala

4

A Special Thanks to:A Special Thanks to:A Special Thanks to:

Ibraheem Khan

Fatimah Waseem

Rushain Abbasi

Mariam Eltoweissy

Arif Kabir

Sahar Khamis

Sarah Mostafa

Mai Salem

Mohammed Shaikh

Fatimah Waseem

President: Noha Eshera

Vice President: Tara Mohammed

Secretary: Mai Salem

Treasurer: Hafinah Dasti

Public Relations: Safia Latif

President: Muneer Zuhurudeen

Vice President: Osama Eshera

Secretary: Tara Mohammed

Treasurer: Saad Rehman

Masjid Affairs: Omari Sefu

Public Relations: Youssef Elnabawi

VP of Sisters’ Affairs: Sheima Gimie

Somaya Albadawi

Sofia Beg

Mefruz Haque

Mai Salem

News

It takes guts to stand out. Mad props to Jewish men who wear yamakas, Sikhs who wear turbans, and girls who dye their hair pink. Everyday, thousands of students on campus chose to wear their identity and are will-ing to be targets of people’s preconceived notions. But in my opinion, no other garb on campus is as tragically misunderstood as the hijab. It has come to be a sign for “political Islam,” female oppres-sion, or the hilarious idea that Shariah law will one day overthrow the con-stitution.

The idea of hijab being a woman’s personal and private choice, a function of her spiritual journey, and only one aspect of her relationship with God has practically been erased in many people’s minds. The idea that modesty is meant to empower both men and women is even harder to come by. In the Muslim community, hijab is now a meter by which we judge a woman’s Iman. In the minds of some non-Muslims, hijab is an indicator of a woman’s foreignness and outdated mentality. And this is why Undercover as a Muslim Woman was born. Because what better way to shatter stereotypes than to immerse people in them? When the idea was first pitched to the MSA and co-sponsors, we were uncertain how many girls would be willing to participate. 25? 30, if we were lucky. There was the bigger concern of how people would perceive the event. Would they think it was just another session teaching women how to properly wear hijab? Would they think this event would bash women who don’t dress a certain way while completely leaving off any mention of men? Alhamdulilah, for reasons beyond our expectations, people were willing to give the event a chance. Even before the flyers were put up, the sign-up requests poured in every day. Within just a few weeks, over one hundred girls from dif-ferent majors and backgrounds signed up to wear the headscarf. In the most unlikely of places on campus, among the most unlikely of people, the event was being talked about and shared. That is powerful. To me, it is a reminder that for every depressing and ignorant comment or inflammatory advertisement about Muslims in the newspaper, there are hundreds of people with open minds and hearts that truly want to learn more. I wish there was space to share the beautiful stories and memories we had with the ladies who signed up. Some women loved wearing the hijab so much, they asked where they could buy more and said they would wear it after the event. Some women commented that they felt “different” and were more conscious of their thoughts and behaviors dur-ing the day. One girl, who is not Muslim, said she wore hijab for 8 months before being pressured by friends to take it off; this event was especially emotional for her. Almost all the ladies said they felt a powerful feeling of unity and sister-hood with Muslim women. One young man even tried the kufi during the day and shared with everyone the specific challenges that Muslim men face. None of this would have been possible without a wonderful group of people who worked behind the scenes. I want to give a special shout-out to Ali Al-Ashram, who handled the event marketing from A-Z, Areeb Quasem and the group of brothers who made the food magically appear in front of people Tuesday night, Safia Latif, Anisah Imani, Dania Shafei, Hagar El-Gendi, and Kadija Koroma who developed the program and handled logistics, and Mariam Eltoweissy for making the girls feel beautiful and special during our Monday hijab walk-ins. And of course, our committed MSA and MWM cabinet for providing the support and resources that made this event possible. Jazakum Allahu Khairan! May Allah add this to the scale of your good deeds. It is our hope that this event will be the first in a campus-wide long-term series on how empowering modesty is as a way of life, for men and women. Please keep Undercover as a Muslim Woman in your duas.

A CLOSER LOOK AT Undercover as a Muslim Woman

WRITTEN BY SARAH MOSTAFA

5

THIS WINTER, DARE TO REFLECT WRITTEN BY ARIF KABIR

In our day and age, it has become difficult to reflect without disruption. Even during our summer and winter breaks, we stay forever dazzled with the reds on our Face-books, the greens on our checkbooks, the blues on our iPhones, the yellows on our Flintstones. We live in a monotony of cacophony, where constantly our phones ring, our sets sing, our bells ding, our clocks ting, our chats ping, our friends cling.

Never once are we left alone. Never once can we hold our own.

Solitude has become so hard to come by, to the point where we are now embracing a sedentary lifestyle of little thought. While in school, we loudly clamor for multiple-choice tests in lieu of essays requiring critical analysis. For our conversations, we eagerly invite entertainers and reporters to supply the focal points of our daily dis-cussions. We willingly wear shackles of headphones to cover our ears, dilute our minds, and entwine our necks. We hungrily eye the glass screen‟s definition of beauty and then make that the standard for our own bodies. We happily strut around as corporate billboards branded from head to toe. After all, we have to „just do it,‟ since we were told to. Thoughtless living dictated by unsavory forces has been in place since time imme-morial. From the gladiator matches in ancient coliseums to the football matches in modern stadiums, these crowd-rousing spectacles have constantly occupied the worker from thinking on his only days off. From music, to lewdness, to beer and wine, these have all deadened the hearts and senses for centuries. What has really changed from the past, however, is the unprecedented level of penetration of these

distractions into our lives.

Whereas before these contrivances of disruption were mainly geared towards the working class, we now see that everybody is absorbed in their own petty share of pretty toys and gadgets, from the children on their televisions, to the teenagers on their phones, to the adults on their laptops, and even to the elderly on their tablets. Instead of fulfilling its role of making our lives more efficient, these devised devices have only made us more distracted than ever. We now find ourselves constantly switching between the essential and non-essential – all under the guise of multitasking of course – as we keep multiple tabs of social media, news feeds, videos, and chat windows open whilst we write our reports and presentations. Our quantity of work increases with these devices, granted, but it comes at the expense of quality

since we have let our minds become invariably distracted in the midst of much flitting about.

It is indeed a dreary reality that we find ourselves in, but not one without hope.

All we have to do is dare to reflect.

This winter break, if we just dare to break through the confines of distraction and begin to tread upon the snowy mountain path of reflection, a whole new world filled with personal insights and realizations will gradually reveal itself to us. We will quickly realize how much of our lives we wasted in aimless wandering. We will see our past mistakes and then receive the opportunity to rectify them, or resolve to never make them again. We will be able to look within ourselves and crush our deepest fears and remember our most beautiful years. We will gain a newfound sense of appreciation of each and everyone around us. We will understand that everything in this world has a purpose and contains something

we can learn from. We will be given the opportunity to increase in our gratitude for the blessings and bounties bestowed upon us by Allah.

In order to enjoy these benefits, it will require much sacrifice and determination on our part this winter break. It will need us to purge all worldly distractions from our hearts and firmly clasp them in our fists. It will necessitate that we become less impulsive, that we choose to think before we act. It will impel us to find and cherish times of personal solitude instead of constantly craving commendation and clamorous company. It will en-tail us to leave our groupthink of endless liking and sharing and to instead think and speak of our own accord. It will force us to steer away from mundane matters and to rather engage in meaningful and intellectual discourse. It will require us to regularly reflect on our mission in life and on

the bigger picture, instead of remaining inundated with life‟s distractions.

In the midst of our well-deserved break, let‟s also make it a time of reflection. Let‟s not forget the words of Peter Drucker, when he said: “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” Make this a winter break a time of reflection,

so that by the time the spring semester comes, you are rejuvenated and roaring to go!

In our day and age, it‟s true that it has become much more difficult to reflect without disruption. However, it makes it just that much more worth-

while.

May Allah (subhānahu wa ta‟āla) make us amongst those enjoy themselves in a way that is pleasing to Him, and make us servants that reflect

and engage in beneficial work. Ameen.

6

News

The True Life of the Soul (Part 2) WRITTEN BY MOHAMMED SHAIKH

If we examine the close relationships we have, we will see that we are dealing with beings

who have different feelings or nature, among other things . It might be a relationship between people from different generations like in a parent-child relationship, different gender like a wife-husband rela-

tionship, or for the believers it will be a relationship between them as a creation and their Creator. It is essential that you get to know the other in order to enhance these relationships. This

clearly requires us to learn and to admit that we need to be taught. You will find that you need to do

some actions which might not mean anything for you but you need to do it because of what it means for the other. It simply means that you need to look beyond yourself. For example, In a hadith, the

prophet - peace be upon him - said: ( there is no one who loves praise as Allah does, and for that rea-son he praised himself) . That is, Allah loves someone to glorify him and to declare his greatness, to

praise him with his great names and attributes. Being consciousof this meaning will indeed change the taste of the worship and your relationship with Allah, and even our relationships with others.

In Reality, these types of behaviors are not easy to do. We need to train ourselves and strug-

gle to make them habits in our lives. In specific, building these new behaviors might require us to de-stroy other behaviors we love and feel comfortable doing. Allah, the all knowing, knows how hard it is

for someone to leave anything they love. He, the most generous, promised that if anyone leaves something for his sake, then he will reward them with something better than what they had left.

Brothers and sisters, it is not a promise made by anyone. It is a promise made by Allah. You have to

leave it first for Allah’s sake – out of love, fear and hope- not for other reasons, and He will give you something that is better than what you left. We do not know when, where or what it will be, but we

should be certain of it. In the last few weeks I was reading an article about some Muslims who are facing problems

practicing their religion in public. Some of them sadly gave up after being harmed by other

people. Yes , these people who gave up the struggle gained something they love. They gained

comfort and no more problems, but they lost the pleasure of taking this opportunity to get

closer to Allah. To ask him to provide us with strength to continue on the path because we, as

humans, are weak. At the time when someone feels hardships all around them and prostrate in

submission to Allah asking for help , they will feel close to Allah in a way they never felt be-

fore (Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes

evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remem-

ber. ) Surah 27, verse 62 .

The Messenger of Allah said: "The most beloved

deeds to Allah are the continuous ones, even if

they are small" [Bukhari and Muslim]

The Holy Qur’an—image taken by current MSA student

of the Month

7

HADITH

Spirituality

Winter Blossoms, Rising Sun WRITTEN BY MARIAM ELTOWEISSY

Winter break, a concept nearly synonymous with relief for the average college student. We work our

ways through term papers, projects and final exams knowing the light at the end of the tunnel is almost

within our reach. Upon the commencement of break, we hunker down with our favorite shows and/or seek

out the friends we had forcibly neglected as a consequence of our workloads. Relax, recuperate, and revive

we tell ourselves, the three R’s, we deserve this.

Brothers and sisters, while we do indeed deserve it all we must not let our breaks go to waste, we

must take part in a fourth R, and that is to rise. Rise like the sun on snowy terrains warming the frozen

lands. Flow like the melted water quenching the hard dry earth. Blossom like the young seeds fighting the

natural cycle, budding in the harsh winter environment anyway. Let us allow our hearts to grow with internal

warmth instead of remaining docile and dormant. Let us use this period of time as an internal spring, defy-

ing any previously laid back approaches towards personal enrichment and replacing them with a renewed

vigor for self betterment. ‎However, we must also realize that self betterment is a process that extends be-

yond ourselves, for it is within the successes of others that we realize our potentials and find our own suc-

cess. In the famous words of John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you

can do for your country.”

Instead of letting our breaks slip by in a comatose state of non-action, let us take heed of the tools

available to us. After reflecting on our surroundings and renewing our intentions let us seek out internships

that are relevant to our interests not only our career paths. Network with individuals, professionals and non-

professionals, to establish mutually beneficial relationships. Engage in voluntary commitments to aid indi-

viduals and organizations so that they may achieve their goals. Use the four R’s- relax, recuperate, revive,

and rise- to reach our own goals. Instead of having the light at the end of the tunnel signify a simple six

week break, let it embody our ultimate goal, Jannah. By the end of break spring will be on the horizon, let us

be sure that we have sowed the seeds by then, ready to blossom in full force.

L I F E S T Y L E

Unveiling Muharram WRITTEN BY RUSHAIN ABBASI

“Husayn is from me, and I am from Husayn” (Bukhari, Ahmed). Who is Husayn? Why was the Prophet (saw)’s family massacred at Karbala? Why does it even matter? Most Muslims following the “Ahl us Sunnah” have absolutely no idea of our own history. We tend to romanticize the early Caliphs and focus on the Golden Age of Islam where the arts and sciences flourished. We limit our knowledge and pat ourselves on the back for the tolerance of Islamic Spain and the early Islamic mathematicians ignoring the huge and obvi-ous flaws that existed in the Post-Muhammadan era. Frequently, it is to promote an agenda and in the Muslim case, this is exactly what is occurring. A few people with a misunderstanding of Islam in its current context are watering down the religion in order to promote their limited interpretation of our religion. The “Yazidi” line of repression and delusion carries on through our ignorance and dismissive attitude towards of our own past and the reality of the Ahl al Bayt in our tradition. We belong to the Ahl al Bayt, and they belong to us. All of us. We must learn about them and gain respect and love for them if we are to be true Muslims.

Sixty-one years after the Hijra of the Prophet (saw), on the soil of Karbala, thousands of believing Muslims who attested to the Shahada, prayed their prayers and paid their psalms slaughtered the grandson of the Prophet (saw) along with his wives, children, and grandchildren. This tragic event is a reminder to all of us of the universal and timeless struggle between the forces of good and evil. The significance of this particu-lar event is the struggle within Islam between those who stand for the Haqq and those who only veil them-selves with the cloth of Islam. Imam Husayn stood up for justice when he denied his bay’ah (oath of alle-giance) to Yazid, a man known for his drunkenness and cruelty. Imam Husayn knew that the people gave into the evil forces oppressing them and even his “supporters” who gave him their word were nonexistent when the swords were raised. He knew that it was his destiny to fall in battle, but he became the true victor. He planted the seeds of Haqq that would spread throughout the lands of the world. His sacrifice for Allah has been the source of fervor for centuries of Muslims fighting for truth and justice. The Indonesian Muslims, the world’s largest population of Muslims, owe their Islam to a small group of the descendants of the Prophet (saw) who taught them the “deen” without ever lifting a sword. Anyone from the subcontinent would be foolish to believe that their ancestors became Muslim from someone other than the Ahl al Bayt. Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Awliya were all Husayni descendants and brought Islam to hundreds of thousands of people in India. Knowing our history is the key to our progress. How can we go anywhere if we don’t understand where we came from? There are forces at hand that are deliberately hiding the narrative of Husayn and his family. The question we must ask is, why are they doing that? People become suspicious when the Ahl al Bayt are discussed and they toss around accusations of deviancy. This attack on the supporters of the family of the Prophet (saw) is in line with the ways of Yazid, the tyrant who massacred the “pure family” at Karbala. When-ever an oppressor wants to control a people, they hide the truth and mask it with a veil that most people will not be able to perceive. The foods in the supermarkets are advertised as “farmer fresh” but the reality is that they’re inhumanely factory produced. The financial system has no foundation and is on the verge of collapse but it’s concealed by the swipe of each card. Similarly, the Ahl al Bayt has a lot to teach us about sacrifice and standing up for justice but they have been veiled with the term “Shi’a”. In the Quran it is stated “the most honored among you before God is that one among you who is the most conscientious.” In this time of immense injustices and social ills, we must inherit the legacy of Husayn. We must be aware of the realities around us. Allah warns us of those whose hearts are blind; those people who turn their backs in the face of power. We must be like the family of the Prophet (saw) who sacri-ficed everything to protect the message of Islam, the connection to the Divine, from being harmed. Those promoting a distorted version of Islam, one with a body but no soul, need to be fought in order to keep the truth from being veiled by darkness. We must also not be afraid of “failure”, because in reality, although Husayn died, his legacy changed the world. The tree of “La ilaha illa Allah” has been irrigated with the blood of Husayn and his family. We too must water that tree of Haqq especially in these dangerous times when it seems as if we are the last tree left standing in a vast desert of spiritual darkness. Imam Husayn flipped the letters on the veil of evil. Even though he was murdered, the message persevered. He showed us that even in death, one could live.

crea

tiv

e w

riti

ng

cr

eati

ve

wri

tin

g creative writing

SILENT MOURNING WRITTEN BY FATIMAH WASEEM

“We‟re leaving,” they said. The door snapped shut. Our home plunged into silent mourning. My mind sealed itself into a labyrinth of words spilt in the heat of anger and the coldness of heart.

Earlier that morning, I had told my mother to let me be. I had told her that my disheveled closet was my own, and thus, I could do with it what I pleased. My voice had risen. My shame had dropped. Now, they were gone. My mother had said nothing. A glimpse of hurt flashed across her eyes, a shooting star that lacked the joy of a star and contained the pain of a shot. My words, my tone inflated with annoyance over a thing so small floated in the room, forming a dark haze over my eyes, convincing me that my annoyance was justified and her silence an act of surren-der. How can I tell you how wrong I was? Silence is loud. It is powerful. It has the sword‟s pierce and the arrow‟s poison. It has the uncontested ability of bringing its victim upon her knees, begging for degrading curses, sorrowful wishes, and fierce punches.

It is the everything of nothing. Tiny droplets of rain pattered against the thin barrier that separated in from out, heat from A/C, and mine from theirs. The silence, however, was still there.

Tiny droplets of rain pattered against the thin barrier that separated in from out, heat from A/C, and mine from theirs. “We‟re leaving”, they said. The door snapped shut. Our home plunged into silent mourning. The rain was already crying, the winds already sighing. There are times in life when you feel doom right around the corner. No matter how far your smile stretches, or how often you bring your head to the floor in sujood, you feel it there. That is the power of the word „cancer‟. Words blur before my eyes. “Kingsolver uses the motif of birds and animals in order to accentuate…” I lift my fingers over the keys but I cannot unlock the words. My report is due in a few hours. Again, I try. Again, I read. “Kingsolver uses the motif of cages and birds in order to accentu-ate…”

The hospital entrance had a bird. It was sprawled against the white washed walls, a splash of color meant to enliven the atmosphere. Birds, I had learned, symbolized freedom and life. But this was a place of death. The bird‟s yellow may have seemed bright and sunny for someone else, but it was ugly and uninviting for me. I walked through the entrance to my mother‟s ward. It was on the far end of the hospital, probably because hope was so far away. The doctors said she had a few months. I entered the room and she smiled. I returned her smile, my heart knowing this smile was only temporary - a smile that would flip into a frown sooner than I knew. She was only thirty-three. And she was expecting. I looked up, expecting. I heard the familiar grrrr and crack of my garage door opening. Leaving my computer, I looked to see if my parents had returned. The garage door was shut. The world outside was on a video‟s replay, looping forever in the same twenty second sequence. The rain showered on. Our motor cracked away, cackling to itself for fooling me with its sounds. They had cracked. Her legs were now but shattered pieces of bones. The nurses said she had had a seizure. Her screams, however, were lost in the dead of the night. They had given her pills to lessen the pain. They had tied her legs down with bricks. My father cried. He cried because of the necessity of his absence. He had to work. We children had to be fed. But we did not know any better. My younger brother, a toddler then, would threaten to remove the bricks that kept her shattered body in place. My mother would give him the money he wanted. He would smile and run away. My younger sister was the only one who was there. She would sit by my mother‟s side. She reimbursed the many days our mother had spent changing our diapers. After those days, she never ate with a spoon. She had used it to take the food my mother‟s body no longer needed out; now she couldn‟t use the same thing to let food in. I return from the window, back to my computer. The page before me is still white. I read the words about Kingsolver and her use of motifs again. “Kingsolver uses the motif of birds and animals in order to accentuate…” But I am caught in the ellipses. Its dots send me into the past. I remember the times I rolled my eyes behind my mother‟s back, the times I lamented my misfortune in having such strict parents, the times I listened but did not hear. The page before me does not seem as white as I previously thought.

They laid the white sheet over my mother‟s body. My father would soon follow. Both of my parents had left this world. Mother and father en-tered. I looked up and smiled. I looked up and smiled and cried and regretted and enjoyed. They laid them in their graves. I lifted the grocery bags from my mother‟s arms. I looked in her eyes and said, “I‟m sorry”. I‟m sorry. I‟m sorry for not spending the time I should have with you. I‟m sorry for everything I did and said. I‟m sorry that I never got the chance to say how much you meant to me. My mother took me in her arms, the same way she did when I was a child. Now, I return to my computer screen. I open a new document. My words fly out like birds ready to cherish the freedom of flight. I think of the ayaat commanding us to be good to our parents. I think of what they have done for me and what I should do for them. I think of how we never know a good thing till it‟s gone.

My parents, however, are here. Their presence renders my house a home. Alhamdullillah. Alhamdullillah. Alhamdullillah. This word tumbles out of my mouth again and again. But one day, they will leave forever. Just as my mother‟s mother left. But before they leave, before I leave, I will take every chance, every opportunity to make them smile, to comfort them, to guide them, to become a blessing, rather than a burden for them. Life is too short for garrulous grudges, torturous tensions, and belated apologies.

So now, I write. “We‟re leaving”, they said. The door snapped shut. Our home plunged into silent mourning… My mind sealed itself into a laby-rinth of words…

creative writing cr

eati

ve

wri

tin

g

creative writing cr

eati

ve

wri

tin

g

12

13

Graduation Year: 2010

Degree: Material Science and Engineering

What you're doing right now: Examining Patents; trying to keep

in shape; making films What were your favorite MSA activities? Sports on Fridays and

random shenanigans

A memorable MSA moment? Spring Break in Solomons Island How did the MSA help you while at school (spiritually, aca-

demically, socially)? Gave me a venue to meet individuals

who shared similar values and really looked out for your

best. From your experience, what are some attributes of individuals

who are most successful in their undergrad ca-

reer? Lightheartedness, motivation, consistency, and a

sense of humor What advice would you give to undergrads? Get out of your

comfort zone, whether that be living on campus, studying

abroad, or being part of groups that don’t have the letters

M, S, or A in them. What is something you didn't know as an undergrad that you

wish someone had told you? You aren’t allowed to nap on

the sisters’ side. Take classes that you are actually inter-

ested in not just to get A's and credit. Spend your sum-

mers and winters doing something of value like volunteer-

ing abroad.

“Tell me who your companion is and I can tell you who you are”! This is a famous Arabic proverb which signals a very important

rule, simply the great impact that a friend could have on one’s life, either positively or negatively. Almost every culture has a

similar proverb about friendship and its potential impact, albeit in different wordings and different languages, of course! The

very famous English proverb “birds of a father flock together”, which is also found in Arabic, is another good example. The com-

mon denominator between all of these proverbs about friendship is signaling the fact that it can be a “double-edged sword”.

On one hand, it can be a great “blessing”, if one is lucky enough to find the right companion, who can set a good example, pro-

vide sincere advice, give moral support, and alert one to any potential harm or danger. On the other hand, God forbid, it can

also be a “curse”, if one ends up with the wrong friend, who doesn’t meet any of the above criteria, and who instead points to

the wrong direction and misguides others.

The importance of friendship in a person’s life could never be undermined. Since our very early days of childhood, we feel the

need for making friends and spending time with them. This need grows with us in every stage of our lives, but our friends also

change over time, as we grow older, mature, get married, have children, travel, etc. While these changes are a perfectly normal

and acceptable part of life, what should never change, however, are the fundamental principles according to which we choose

our friends, namely: having good hearts, sound morality, and refined spirituality.

That’s why our Prophet Muhammad (the peace and blessings of God be upon him) taught us that we have to carefully pick and

choose our friends and companions, due to the huge influence they could have on every aspect of our lives, most importantly,

of course, our morality and spirituality. To put it in one simple sentence: “finding a good companion could very well mean find-

ing your true self”!

ALUMNI OF THE MONTH: KARAM HIJJI INTERVIEW BY Mai Salem

Because Brother Tarif Shraim is currently traveling, he was not able to submit an article for this issue.

Please keep him in your duas for a safe trip insha’Allah!

Finding a Good Companion=Finding Yourself!

BY SISTER SAHAR KHAMIS

14

15

HAVE AN AD YOU’D

LIKE TO PLACE?

CONTACT US!

You can find this issue and more online!

www.issuu.com/alnur

The Submission Edition

Volume 19 ● Issue 3 ● December 2011 ●Muharram 1433