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E ditorial Every few years the democratic institutions run an election to select some people to run for the government or leading bodies. Every one of us know what an election is and why we do it. MCC (Muslim Council of Calgary) is also an organization which requires to elect the representatives for it’s governance. Last year we went through city elections. Next year we will go through provincial and federal elections. This way governance remains fair and democratic. TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS, HOW IANWC RUNS, READ BY-LAWS.
What is the purpose of election and how does it relate to us? How do the responsibilities of the governing bodies and the decisions that they make, directly affect us? Do their spending and by-laws shape the way we live or do things? Absolutely! The governing bodies, whether an Islamic organization or a governmental one, the decisions they make or actions they take, affects us in greater ways than we think. Few years back, City of Calgary changed by-laws around school zones, making all school zones into playground zones. This might be easier way to remember the zone, but driving in dead of winter when sun has set few hours ago, seems odd. That’s why our opinions matter. If in case people are not taking active part in the process, democracy fails. There would be stagnation of opinions and innovativeness would become desolate. Moreover, the governing class might take the burden of generating fresh ideas for few years and then settle into complacency, thus causing corruption in affairs or governance. As an individuocratic society, or not, we have the institutions. able with the and waste our tion day by not them, we are in the deterioprocess. As a
al, living in a demwhether we like it Allah's Messenger ))ﷺsaid, "Help your brother, whether he a duty towards all is an oppressor, or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O If we are comfortAllah's Messenger !)(ﷺIt is all right to help him if he is people governing oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" opinion on elecThe Prophet ))ﷺsaid, "By preventing him from oppressing participating in others." Sahih al-Bukhari 2444, Book 46, Hadith 5, Vol. 3, Book 43, Hadith 624, https://sunnah.com slowly taking part ration of this fair human we have 2
ُ ُ ُ َ َ َّ َ ُّ َ َ ْ َ َ َّ َ َ َ ُ ْ ْ َونوا َق َّوام ن آمنوا ّلِل ولو يا أيها ال ِذين ك ِ ِ ي ِبال ِقس ِط شهداء ِ َ ْ ُ ُ َ َ َ ً َ ْ َ ًّ َ ْ ُ َ َْْ َ ْ َ َْ َ َ ن ٰ الو ِالدين واْلقر ِبي ۚ ِإن يكن غ ِنيا أو ف ِقيا عَل أنف ِسكم أو َ َ ُ َّ َ ْ َ ُ ْ َ َ ُ ْ َ َ ٰ َ َ ْ ُ َّ َ َ َ َ اّلِل أ ْو ٰل ِب ِهما ۖ فَل تت ِبعوا الهوى أن تع ِدلوا ۚ و ِإن تلووا أو ف َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َّ َّ َ ُ ُْ تعرضوا531:4 - اّلِل كان ِب َما ت ْع َملون خ ِب ًيا ف ِإن
the potential to understand what is right and what is wrong. Besides, if we haven’t developed this faculty yet, it is time to do so. We tend to judge people for everything - from buying goods to relationships to friendly BBQ. So why not use these skills to find good people to run, rather than supporting those who fulfill our ego, or empty desires? Or on the other hand, being complacent by sitting and not taking part in them. Each of us has needs and these governing body must fulfill them. If we do not select the team wisely they will make decisions which will come to haunt us for our generations to come.
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So, follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.
Do keep informed, listen to everyone but cross examine. Do think why and what of the ideas you are shared with. Collect info and find out its background. If you see certain people coming in the institution repeatedly or in the middle of the term, find out why and do not take a generalized answer. Take part in, go to meetings and see what is happening since no democratic process is decided behind the closed doors. No institutions should be granted permission to exclude its members from informed decisions. No democracy allows back door politics. May be your inclusion can
None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) 3
change the process and fill in with people who are sincere and wise. People who see this with conscientiousness instead of their political upgrade or launch. Who are good in making decisions and not thoughtlessly throwing them on the community. Who are accepting of all people with different backgrounds, including women. Life is hard, who said it was easy. But Allah has not put any burden on anyone more than they can bear. So, even though MCC and IANWC elections have passed, still there is next year. Find out and do not rest until you are satisfied not with your egos but with your conscious mind and heart. It is our job as Muslims who have been given a set of rights and wrongs and in between given to us 1400 years ago to leave our desires and consciously give our best to the community in any way possible - whether by accountability, compassion, or wisdom.
Contents Feature Articles Jinn Power Of Positivity
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Book Review Where Jasmine Blooms
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Sports Corner World Cup
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Youth Corner Eid –ul-Adha
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Quran Word Puzzle
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Programs Women of Jannah
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Henna Night
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Johnston Canyon
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Our Team Editor-in-Chief Shaista Khurshid
Editors Afshan Habib Shazia Aamir Rabia Khan Beenish Khurshid
Contributors Ahsan Ayoub Misha Ayoub Talha Tariq
Layout and Cover Shaista Khurshid
Submissions, Comments and Advertising: Email: newsletter@ianwc.ca Š Islamic Association of NW Calgary
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The Jinn are the creations of Allah, created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind. The Arabic word Jinn is from the verb 'Janna' which means to hide or conceal, that’s why they are called Jinn, because they are concealed from the human eye. Allah tests us by concealing the Jinn from us. Jinn can be seen by animals. They cannot be seen in their true form.
In Riyad as-Salihin Ayesha RA reports that Prophet SAW said: "The Angels were created from light, the Jinn from a smokeless flame of fire and Adam was created from that which you have been told" The Jinns were created before mankind. Allah SWT fashioned Jinn from the finest mouldings of fire. They are created of smokeless flame or the edge of the flame. They are not fire. Just as Adam AS was created from clay but humans do not look like clay. Same are Jinns, they don’t look like fire. Jinns are very similar to us. They have genders. Before Islam the pagans thought that Jinns were all men and considered them brothers of Allah and angels as women and were considered as daughters of Allah. The Judaea Christian thought is that the Devil and his companions are fallen Angels.
There are things you cannot imagine but you can comprehend. Things we can comprehend but cannot imagine are things like energy or gravity. You all know that humans can see in three dimensions. The fourth dimension can be time. But how do we know there are not more than 4 dimensions. There could be 5th or 6th dimensions. So for all we know, the Jinn could be living in the 5th dimension. Just as we now know about bacteria, that it multiplies and lives in its own system. Similarly Jinn live in their own world. The origins of the Jinn can be traced from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Allah says:
The Jinns eat and drink. Abdullah Ibn-eMasood narrates that once Jinns complained to Prophet SAW that people clean themselves with bone, dung and charcoal after they go and relieve themselves, thus making it impossible for them to use the bones.
"Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire" (Surah Al-Hijr 15:26-27(
Prophet SAW said that: “When you are clean(Continued on page 7(
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ing yourself you can use sand or stone but never use bones or dung as they are the provisions of your brothers that is Jinns.” (Jami-at-Tirmidhi #350(
also be punished in hell fire. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours, as Allah says: "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Surah Ad-Dhariyat 51:56(
Every bone on which the name of Allah is mentioned is Halal for them. So when we leave the bones for them from our food, we are actually doing Sadqa.
Jinns can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, due to their fiery nature the majority of them are non-Muslims. The non-Muslim Jinns are called Shaiyateen. They are not nice to look at. In the Quran when Allah SWT mentions the tree Zaqqoom in hell fire, He describes the fruits of the tree resembling the heads of Shayateen.
In Jami at-Tirmidhi narrated by Ash-Sha’bi Prophet SAW said: “Every bone on which Allah’s name has been mentioned, that falls into your hands, and every dropping of dung is fodder for your beasts.” We should always eat with our right hands because Shayateen eat with their left hand.
Some Jinns who are evil and are called Shayateen can really harm you. If somehow a human crosses the path of a jinn, their retaliation is very bad. So we have to be very careful. Jinns as a species have a right over us just like the animals have a right over us and Angels have a right over us. We associate evil with Jinns many times , but there are belivers amongst the Jinns. The Jinns fast , they do iftaar. Only the evil Jinns are put away in Ramadan. When doing Dawa jinns can accept Islam too. Some of the first believers were Jinns. In Taif when Prophet SAW went to do Dawa, the humans rejected his dawa. A group of Jewish Jinns were there from Yemen . They accepted Islam then and there and went back to their people and invited them to Islam. One night, Prophet Saw was nowhere to be found. He was reciting the Quran to the Jinns. Prophet later told his companions that the Jinns response was better than the humans. Prophet Saw recited Surah Rahman to them. In Surah Rahman Allah SWT
The Jinns marry, have children and they die. They have Janazah. They have cultures and different languages. Jinns have animals too. The droppings of our animals are the food for their animals. Allah SWT bestowed us with clothes. Jinns do not have clothes. Like humans, they too are required to worship Allah and follow Islam. It has been established that Jinns are more evil than humans. They have more abilities than humans. Like us, they will also be subject to a Final Reckoning by Allah SWT. They will be present with mankind on the Day of Judgement and will either go to Paradise or Hell. There will be greater portion of Jinns on the Day of Judgement who will be punished. Now you’ll have a question about how Jinns will be punished from hell fire if they are created from fire. My answer to that is if you try hitting someone with a stone you will hurt that person. So if we are made of clay then we shouldn’t get hurt by the stone, but we do get hurt if hit by a stone. Same with Jinns they will
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mentions two gardens, one for humans one for Jinns. In Jennah, Jinns will be in a different form and we will be able to see them.
can cause a lot of mischief and corruption, like in markets. That is why the Prophet, (saws) gave advice to one of the companions, saying: "If possible, do not be the first to enter the market nor the last to leave it. It is the battleground of Shaytan and he raised his barrier there.�
Jinns from the area of Tigris came to Prophet SAW and complained that people in the desert area urinate in random holes. Holes in the ground are habitats of Jinns.
Types of Jinns
In Sunan Abi Dawud Abdullah ibn Sarjis narrates that: Prophet SAW prohibited to urinate in a hole, Qatadah (a narrator) was asked about the reason for the disapproval of urinating in a hole. He replied: It is said that these holes are the Habitat of the Jinn
There are several types of Jinns Amar ul Bayut: These Jinns live in our houses. Sometimes we can hear the sounds made by them. We are not supposed to interact with them and we should avoid their realm. We shouldn’t be afraid of them they will never cross our paths. They live in their own world. The only advantage they have over us is we cannot see them but they can see us. That is why when we are changing clothes we must always say Bismillah so the Jinns cannot see us naked. Saying Bismillah creates a wall in front of us. Also when entering our houses we should say Bismillah so the Shaiyateen cannot enter with us. Also when eating we should say Bismillah so the Shaiyateen do not share our food.
Also, when throwing a stone always say Bismillah as it might hit a Jinn. Not a good idea to cross a Jinn! Jinns are more fluid creations. They can assume many different shapes, animal or human. Prophet Saw and Abu Hurera, one of his companions encountered Shaytaan as a human. The shaytaan also came as a human to stop Hazrath Ibrahim at the place of Jamaraat to stop him doing the sacrifice Prophet SAW in one of his Khutbah said that if you see a harmless snake or Al-Awamer in your house do not kill it right away. Arabs lived in the desert and snakes and scorpions were usually found in the yards. So if you see a snake, ask it three times that if you are jinn leave the house after that then you can kill it. Jinns cannot take the form of a Cobra, rattle snake or a bald snake with two dots. Treat them as snakes. The Jinns live all over the earth, although they are found mostly in deserts, ruins, and places of impurity like, bathrooms and graveyards.
In Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Jabir reports that Prophet SAW said: 'When a man mentions the name of Allah on entering his house and when he eats, Shaytan says to his troops "you have no place to spend the night and no supper", When the man mentions Allah on entering but does not when he eats, he says "You have supper but no place to spend the night". If he
They are frequently found in places where they
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does not mention the name of Allah when he enters, Shaytan says, "You have got a place to spend the night and supper.
Allah he is called Iblees. He was so pious that as a reward Allah SWT raised his status and he lived in the heavens among the angels, he was even given the shape of the angels. Ibn-e-Omar says some 2000 years had passed after the war of the angels and jinns, Allah SWT decided to make Adam AS from clay. The angels protested because they had seen the bloodshed caused by the jinns on earth before. Then Allah said I know which you don’t know. From this species of humans will come all the Anbiya, Prophets, Saliheen, Saddiqeen, and the best of them, our Prophet SAW. No Prophet came among the Jinn species
Arwah is a word used for the Jinn that appear to children. Ifrit is a jinn of special qualities. He can fly and is very quick and he is very strong. Prophet SAW once caught an Ifreet but then he released it. Shayateen Every Shaitaan is a Jinn but not every jinn is Shaitaan. These are the non-muslim Jinns. All these non-Muslim Jinns form a part of the army of the most famous Jinn, Iblis- The Shaytan.
When Iblis saw the clay model of Adam (AS) he flew in and out of the model and was very arrogant and jealous of this new creation. So when Allah SWT ordered everyone in heaven including Iblis to prostrate before Adam (AS) Iblis refused to prostrate. We all know what happened after that.
Long Long Ago The Jinns were created long before man. They had become corrupt. Whatever species of animals were on earth, the Jinns were given control over them. One of the crimes of the Jinns was they didn’t treat the dinosaurs well. In the end all good Jinns were gone and only the worst of them remained. They lived on earth and caused destruction and they became so corrupt that Allah SWT sent an army of Angels to destroy the evil. Iblis was a very pious jinn and he used to worship Allah a lot. He helped the angels in fighting the Shayateens. The army of angels pushed the Jinns to Jazah-ul-Bahoor, the corners of the ocean. They were taken off land, put in pockets in the oceans. The pious jinn whose name some say was Al-Azeer (before he became a Kafir). After disobeying
The throne of Iblis is in the sea. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal relates that Jabir said that the Prophet said: ‘Iblis places his throne on the sea. Then he sends forth his armies. The nearest of them to him in rank is the greatest in sedition (corruption of a state(. One of them comes and then another comes and says, “I did not leave him until I split him from his wife.” He brings him near-or clasps him-and says, “You did well.” Iblis is the head of all Shaiyateen. He has a huge army of Shayateen. The Shaiyateen whisper to (Continued on page 10(
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us and give us nightmares and have unlimited access to us to misguide us from the right path. Just fighting Shaitaan is an act of worship. Iblis’s throne is somewhere under the ocean. It can move from one place to another.
the jinn (devil(. They (the Companions( said: Allah's Apostle with you too? Thereupon he said: Yes, but Allah helps me against him and so I am safe from his hand and he does not command me but for good.
Jinns Abilities
The companions of the Prophet asked the Prophet SAW if he had a Qareen. The Prophet Saw said yes even I have a Qareen but Allah SWT has made him submit to me and he does no harm to me.
The Jinns are limited in their abilities. The Shayateen run away from the believers. They are limited to this earth and the sky above us. Before Quran came to this world the Jinns used to fly above our immediate sky. After Quran came to this world the Jinns are trapped in the skies of this world. If they fly too close to the sky they will be burned. They try to get information from the heavens but are warded off by the angels. The Shaiyateen become very weak like a wilted flower when they hear Azaan. They cannot take the shape of Prophet SAW in our dreams.
Jinns are involved in magic. The people who do magic do so on unclean things like blood etc. You might have heard of fortune tellers. These fortune tellers by doing magic can talk to their own Qareen. So what happens is when a person goes to the fortune teller, the fortune teller’s Qareen asks the person’s Qareen about the past and tells it to the fortune teller. The fortune teller then tells it to the person in front of him saying such and such happened in the past. This innocent person gets very impressed by the true information. Now what happens is the fortune tellers fabricates information about his future and tries to get as much money as he can. We know that only Allah knows what is in the future.
In Shamail Muhammadiyah Chapter 55 Anas RA reports that Prophet SAW said: “The one who sees me in a dream has really seen me, because the Shaytaan cannot impersonate me” They cannot uncover the covered foods. The Prophet SAW said that Shayateen have the ability to run inside us as the blood runs in our veins. This might be news to some of you but there is a Jinn with us 24/7. This Jinn is called Qareen. Just like we have an angel to protect us 24/7. This Qareen misguides us and tries its best to make us do bad things.
When a child is born, the Shaytaan pokes the new born out of hatred. The Jinns have great animosity. They take revenge. The jinn among the Shayateen can possess a human. They can cause physical or psychological damage. The chemical imbalance in the brain can be caused by them. In the Quran when Allah SWT mentions in Surah Baqarah that a person who takes interest on money will be like someone possessed by a Shaytaan on the day of Judgement. So possession is possible. People who have dealt with those possessed by a Jinn will tell you incredible stories.
Hadith - Sahih Muslim 6757, Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, similar narration 6759 by 'Aisha, r.a., Prophet SAW said: There is none amongst you with whom is not an attache from amongst
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Most of the Imams know this. Jinns can actually speak through human beings. It’s a very frightening experience. Easiest way to be possessed by a Jinn is to deny Allah SWT. Or when you do something major like leaving the prayer or consume usury or sell Haram things. Doing these things allow the protection of Allah to leave you. The angels leave you if you are doing a major sin. So now you are surrounded by Shayateen Jinn. A lot of anger, lust and being unclean makes possession easier. That is how one gets possessed by a Jinn. So don’t offend the angels, they protect you.
has given us lots and lots of duas to ward off evil and Shaiyateens. We must not take these things lightly. Evil eye can be given by a jinn or a human. The Prophet himself asked protection of the evil eye. Also for his grandsons Hassan and Hussain. Not every envy can turn into evil eye. You can give evil eye to yourself or your children. Evil eye can come from good people.
Some signs of possessions are:
The last two Surahs called Muazzatain are called Ruqya. Prophet SAW used to recite them and blow on his hand and wipe over his whole body. Surah Baqarah helps remove Shayateen from the house, especially Ayatal Kursi from Baqarah.
1) Person will feel terribly tired 2) Will refuse to pray 3) Will speak weird languages 4) Will feel crawling of insects on his body
The Surahs for Possessions Are3
5) Will feel cold and at the same time perspire.
6) Sometimes weird things will come out of his body like needles. If you fulfill the duties of Allah SWT, do Zikr Allah, follow the rules of cleanliness, say Azaan, these will ward off the Shaiyateen. Don’t listen to the whispers of Shayateen. Even after a bad dream say Tauz (Auzubillah minash shaitan rajeem(. Shaytaan puts Waswasah (The whispering of the shaitan) in you so sometimes people do wudu 5 times. When Shaytaan starts pestering you say Tauz. Always say this dua first thing in the morning for your protection for the whole day:
It is not for nothing that Prophet Mohammad SAW 11
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Lecture by Shaikh Waleed Al Basuni (AlMaghrib)
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Sheikh Omar Sulaman
Positivity is a powerful force even as we live in a world of fake news, fake profiles, and made up lives. We are in an enormous pressure to perform from media and surroundings. Social platform, whether real or digital, is so powerful, that personal animosity can be turned into mass global genocidal campaigns. Where oppressor can pose as oppressed and masses can follow them like pied piper. Where doing good has become a show-off. Sensationalized images and stories are shared and discussed widely. Where we browse through hundreds of world news about corruption, wars, oppression and genocides everyday. A lot of news is digested daily, some real, some fake.
All this affects our brain in one way or another. Negative environment harbours negativity. It’s compelling, even when we think we are unaffected by it. It creeps into the minds like an unknown trojan and spread like wild fire. It destroys our self worth, shakes our confidence and overloads our minds with fear. It’s a lens which fitted into our eyes, that gives distorted images. Nothing you see through it makes sense in the real world. It alienates us. Isolates us from the crowd. It is only comprehensible to the people who have the same version of reality as us. Alienating their pain and voices from the rest of the world. These negative images, news, thoughts, if not filtered, can gradually cause the mind to become negative. Sometimes, such negativity can overcome the brain, that it becomes hard for the mind to see even a single positive in anything. The gauge of that negative mind is always negative. For this mindset everything passes through that distorted lens to be registered. Friends and enemies are likely to be determined, and enemies are rejected immediately. This negativity shuts off all the positive thoughts and positivity seems alien and overly odd. Positivity seems to be the work of those who don’t understand the pains of life - those who think that this world is all play and not work. Alienation ruptures relationships one after the other, thus leading to isolation. Negativity breeds negativity while positivity breeds positivity. Negativity is the tool of Shaitan where he tries to persuade people to become hopeless from Allah, thus deviating them from the straight path. “Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” Ever wonder why some people are happier and more content than others. They offer a lot to the world despite their short comings and disabilities. Positivity is the answer. People, environment, media, social media, news, and more, sometimes gives you negative aspects if life. It’s hard to understand what is real and what is fake. If we are good at filtering the good from the bad, the oppressions happening around the world make us unhappy and hopeless. It is hard to focus on positive with all such dooms day scenarios around us. It’s real struggle for a person especially an empathetic one, whether to feel sad or feel positive. So, what should we do? How do we train our brain to see positive, think and hear positive? To tread (Continued on page 13(
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positively in this life, we need some strong and workable strategy. We Muslims believe in Qadr. We know nothing moves or happens without Allah’s command. We also know that Muslims are moderate nation, they don’t believe in any extreme. They believe in giving rights of others. They believe that whatever they have, is granted by Allah and to be content with it. They keep themselves in moderation whether it’s their manners, conduct, speech, hearing, spending, earnings, giving and thoughts. It is the power of our thought which is the key to positivity. Thinking clearly can only happen when we start counting our blessings. Literally. Understand that Shaitan wants us to be hopeless, un-thankful, arrogant and judgmental. Thinking positive about our blessings, whether it’s within us or our surrounding, is the key to train our mind. Kindness, empathy, love, care can be propagated and spread only by a positive brain. It’s not that a negative mind doesn’t do good deeds, don’t get me wrong. But a positive mind does things with clarity, understanding and thankfulness which comes from the core. How do we create positivity in this negative world? •
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Whenever you see the negative or sad things, find the reality, get the facts. Sometime the media or any source wants to evoke an emotion within you. (we don’t know whether this is beneficial or detrimental). Finding facts will help you make clear decisions about it Verifying facts doesn’t just end at media, it also can be used by religious items or sayings, verify the ayah and hadith and understand the context. (Copy and pasted material are thrown in the media to distract or serve some other purpose which is not necessarily helpful to anyone.) Reserve your energy to real conflicts. Understand yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. Work around them, don’t push yourself into eliminating your weakness, since we are fallible species. Instead replenish your strengths and try to use it to help someone. Literally, put a smile on someone’s face. Whenever negative thoughts come, try to negate them by thinking about at least five positives. That could be very small things like smell of fresh cut grass, sound of rain, or morning coffee or a flower. Keep a journal where you write everyday about something positive about you or anyone or anything. Read on the biographies of people, who gone thorough the difficulties of life. Read at least one Seerah( Prophet Muhammad’s (saw( biography or life achievements'( book. Keep yourself fed with positive news and people. Talk to real people about real things even it’s about weather or even an allergy season. Find your median, your core inner-self and your inner peace. Tap into your consciousness and find your Soul and understand its necessity (its necessity is to remain aligned with Allah’s commands and love Him consciously). Keep asking Allah to keep you on straight path and help you to do goodness with conscious mind. Allah has discussed three types of Nafs in Quran, nafs-e-ammara, nafs-e-lawwama and nafs-emutmainna. Try to strengthen Nafs-ul-Mutaminna. Be moderate in your daily activities. Try to give time, energy and money to one who has rights on you. (Continued on page 14(
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Take time to think about this world and all in here, meditate about how creator has created or fashioned so much. Clear your heart everyday with things which you cannot get, aspirations you can never meet, people you wanted to inspire never happened or desires you have. Be content. Purposely think good about some things, people, world, creations, and be mindful.
There is a lot of sound advise you can get about this topic. Try to find and create your positive self. This positive self is very worthy, constructive and sincere. A Muslim who is positive can be very strong. He creates positivity around himself, thus transferring this positivity to others. He is conscientious and understands reality. He filters the malicious, perpetuates goodness, propagates happiness. He understands the mindset of enmity and friendships and propagates love through his conduct. He understands that he must work through that negativity around him and keep working on peaceful co-existence. He knows that this world and what is in it belongs to his Creator who has also fashioned many others to happily co-exist with him.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
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https://www.goodreads.com
https://www.goodreads.com
“Where Jasmine Blooms” by Holly S. Warah, is a book about understanding relationships and their importance in one’s life. It is about the expectations one holds from others and how far one goes to get them met. This book is written in the context of cross-cultural marriages in which people of different faith and cultures join themselves in matrimony and thereby
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This highly readable story is so unique and compelling that the reader wishes to know what happens next. The story encompasses the realization of what is important and how to get it without leaving what one must live with, thus providing a lesson in mediation and reconciliation between two opposing parties.
simultaneously start a new set of struggles as they try to negotiate and bridge their cultural differences. Though the narrative speaks about the toils of the couple and their families based on the protagonist’s opinion, yet it manages to cover the emotions of others very beautifully. The protagonist is a western woman who has been bred and brought up in the states and is married to an Arab man who is the eldest among seven siblings. As such, being the eldest makes him responsible for the well-being of his family and take on his father’s role after their father dies. He also must take care of his widowed mother, who is having a hard time adjusting to her western daughter-inlaw’s western customs. The desperation of characters to retain their cultural identities while not offending the other is exhilarating.
The struggles and expectations of all the characters with others are baffling yet very real. Many of you might not think that the ending defines what the modern world requires- a world that favors the individualistic self over giving to others- however, the ending is well worth it as it satisfies the emotional needs of all its well drawn characters and helps them become better, more giving and more generous persons. This book gives an excellent introduction to what a blended family really is. The love at first sight scenario can only extend if the couple works for it because if circumstances change and situations are not dealt with wisdom or compromise, relationships can easily fall apart. The key lies in being compassionate, having empathy for each other, doing good to others and understanding that it will require tons of sacrifices to carry on with life in order to be successful in relationships. Anyone who is interested in interfaith or cross-cultural marriage must understand what they are getting into. This book might provide an eye-opening glimpse for them.
The cultural difference amongst intercultural and interfaith couple is thought-provoking as well as the struggles of how to blend them together. This difficult cultural difference raises several questions. When to carry on and when to give up? This can cause stresses and breakage in relationships. The cultural practices carried out for hundreds of years are not easy to blend and hard to understand even after living together for twenty years. To blend is like saying that one has no connection to one’s history and ancestors. So, what do we do? Should we bend or let it be? What will be the result on the next generations? How would they turn out? What will happen to them when pulled towards two strong opposing cultures and faiths from both sides?
I think it’s a beautiful read for everyone, and a must read, especially for married couples.
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Sports On July 15th 2018, France defeated Croatia by four goals to two in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. A total of thirty two countries competed over a period of one whole month in sixty four games for the trophy. The tournament cost an estimated USD 14.2 billion, making it the most expensive football world cup in history.
er sporting tournament, this World Cup brimmed with upsets, for example, Mexico defeating the defending champions and the number one ranked Germany by a goal, and Germany getting defeated again by South Korea, this time by a bigger margin with a score of 2-0. The biggest upset, however, was undoubtedly when Croatia defeated England in the semi-final to face off France in the final.
At least six of the thirty two teams participating nations were predominantly Muslim, including Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Senegal, with several other Muslim players competing in other teams, for example for France, Nigeria, and Germany. The most prominent Muslim players in the world cup were Mohammad Salah from Egypt, Paul Pogba from France, and Mesut Özil from Germany.
The concluding match, unlike the rest of the tournament, went off without much drama and, as expected, France defeated Croatia 4-2 to win their second ever World Cup. Belgium was the second runner-up, with England coming in the fourth place. England’s Harry Kane scored the most goals of the tournament and was awarded the Golden Boot with six goals. Croatia’s Luka Modrić was deemed the best player of the tournament.
The 2018 football World Cup was a massive event, with an average attendance per match upwards of three million people. Much like any oth-
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Long ago in a barren valley, nowadays called Makkah, a man named Ibrahim visited this place. He than by the will of Allah rebuild Ka’aba. By the will of Allah (SWT) Ibrahim had been made a Prophet. One day when his son was old enough to walk alongside him he said: "O my son! I have seen in a dream I was slaughtering you (offer you in sacrifice to Allah), so look what do you think!" he said "O my father! Do which you are commanded, Insha-
Allah, you will find me of the patient." Then when they had both submitted themselves to the will of Allah and he had laid him to prostrate on his forehead and We called out to him: "O Ibrahim (A.S) you have fulfilled the dream! " Verily! Thus do We reward to those who perform good deeds totally for Allah's sake only. Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial- and we ransomed him with a great sacrifice (a ram) and we left him for a good remembrance among generations to come in later times. "Salamamun (peace) be upon Ibrahim (A.S)!" thus indeed do We reward the Muhsieen (good-doers). Verily, he was one of Our believing slave. (Sura Saffat (37) 99-111). Today, Muslims around the world observe Eid al-Adha to understand the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim and his son. The moral to take away from this story includes the following points: •
Priority of Allah's Command.
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Allah tests the devotion of his slaves.
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Greater tests lead to greater rewards.
Insha'Allah this Eid al-Adha we should all aim to understand what Prophet Ibrahim (A.S) and his son did! By: Talha Tariq
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Women of Jannah Ladies council of IANWC organized a lecture by Professor Maimoona Murtaza Malik. The lecture called “Women of Jannah” was held on August 18th on the women’s side in the Musallah. Professor Maimoona talked about raising awareness on how Muslim women can fulfill their religious duties while living in the Canadian Society.
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Across
Down
1. Elephant
1. Iraq
2. Uzza
2. Babylon
3. Seven
3. IrAaq
4. Azar
4. Asiya
Photo by Darren Nunis on Unsplash
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The board of IANWC decided to hold a first ever Henna Night on August 19th 2018 for the women and girls of NW Calgary in the Youth Centre. Previously ladies had to go all the way to the NE to get their hands done with Henna for Eid. Another big plus was that having your hand done with henna was free of charge. The Henna cones were provided by IANWC. The event was very successful with a packed house. There was a bake sale to raise funds for the NW Musallah. There were chicken patties, red velvet cup cakes and brownies for sale along with pop, tea and chips. There were games for the kids. We raised nearly $800 for the Musallah The volunteers who were putting henna worked tirelessly from 4-7 pm. A big shout out for these great volunteers. The decoration of the hall, the bake sale, the set up and clean up all done by dedicated volunteers. Thank you Northwest, you are a beautiful community!
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The Ladies Council of Islamic Association of North West Calgary organized a fun-filled day trip to the beautiful Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park. Around 40 people attended with families. Some people hiked to the lower falls while some others hiked to the very top. After completing the hike, people shared and enjoyed snacks and tea provided by IANWC. This was a great activity to encourage the Muslim community of the NW to get outdoors, take in the breathtaking beauty of the Banff Rockies and socialize with each others. We hope to organize other such events in the future to bring the community closer.
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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Photo by Juliana on Unsplash 34
