MCNA YMj Companion

Companion Issue# 0220

DEEN & DUNYA 2 A Balanced Life is a Happy Life 3 Balance Between Deen and Dunya 5

Trendsetter vs Trend Follower

Editorial Assalaamualaykum young Companions, We are here again with another issue of Companion to warm your hearts in these cold months. We received numerous submissions this time and may we say, we are impressed! Please continue to grace us with your wonderful work.

Speaking of wonderful here's a wonderful riddle for you. You see them at your school, at your local masjid, at your youth club meetings. Though very, very rare, they are quite easy to spot. They stand out among the rest. Who are they?

They are, what we tend to call, over-achievers. They excel in their studies, actively volunteer for good causes, keep up with their religious studies and duties, uphold friendships and family ties effectively, and still manage to hit the gym at least twice a week to stay ďŹ t.

Wait! Are we talking about actual people here? Yes, we are.

These people are different from most of us. They have found the key to a successful life.... a balance in all their pursuits, in both Deen and Dunya. Our beloved Prophet (S) once told a companion (RA), who chose to fast all night and pray all day, that this was against his sunnah. Throughout his life, Rasulullah (S) excelled in all religious and spiritual pursuits while ensuring that all his worldly obligations are taken care of in the best manner as well. He displayed the most perfect balance in Deen and Duniya.

But does this balance come easy? Of course not! It requires hard work, patience, and numerous sacriďŹ ces. But that is what we are designed to do. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran, "We have certainly created man into hardship." (Surah al-Balad, ayah 4) So we know then that the harder we work to achieve this balance in our lives, the happier we will be in this world and the next. We will, In Sha Allah, have no regrets in both Duniya and Aakhirah. Therefore we should aspire to achieve this balance in life where we can excel in the affairs of this Duniya without compromising any obligations and teachings of our Deen.

In this issue we will explore ways to live a balanced life and get practical tips and ideas from fellow companions who have been striving to do the same.

Please don't forget to give us your valuable feedback. We look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Reading!

Was salaam.

Rania Ahmed.10 Yrs.Gainesville. Virginia

Are we spending too much time on our devices? Yes, we are. How can we balance this in our daily lives?

We can set limits for ourselves and break up our time properly. What are some side effects of overuse of technology? If you use technology too much, you can just get addicted and won’t stop. Another side effects is if you keep using it you can get distracted easily and waste time. You can use your time for things that are better than using devices like doing your chores and helping your parents. Share some ideas and tips of how we can balance our use of technology? We can pray our namaz, we can read Quran, and fast during Ramadan. Some other ideas are we can follow the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, and we can also please and obey Allah (swt).

If we keep on using our devices we can waste our time, or we can do something more productive than playing games. We also learned that we can break our time into parts like 30 minutes on your computer 45 minutes of studying, and not wasting our time. And if we are done with our chores then don’t just sit on our devices, you can read Quran or you can pray, obey and please Allah (swt). And that’s how we can have a balanced and happy life.

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Hamza Mohammed.4th Grade. Aldie. Dulles Virginia

ch’s and makes new ideas.

A trendsetter is someone that resear ows a trend setter. A trend setter A trend follower is someone who foll e a trend follower is just following is better than a trend follower, becaus le, a any researchon their own. For examp other people they do not think or do idea a cool car without thinking and has no trend follower is someone whobuys then actually researches about the car and ter set nd tre A . ng doi is she or he at wh buys it. are this topic that not following all trends I would add something about Islam in ow people would go head over heels to foll bad. At the time of the prophet (saw), t a “trend”. Following trends and setting tha l cal ’d you ys ada Now . did he at wh on what it is. trends can both be good depending

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I would not want to blindly follow people.

Warm

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drive

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THE BACKPACK STORY Inayah fakhruddin , 7, Chicago IL

MORAL/LESSON The lesson that I learned is: 1. spread happiness by giving your stuff to someone who will like it more.

2. Be patient

I am from Chicago. We went on umrah in March 2019 (When it was my spring break) with our close friends. After Umrah we went to Madinah for 3 days.

Then the backpack story happened.

While we were in Madinah my mom bought me a sequence backpack. On the ϐ Ǥ ϐ Ǥ ϐ the petals, then a baby comes over and takes the backpack and starts running around with it. After a while the baby and her family had to leave.When her mon tried to take away the backpack to return to me, she started crying and screaming. I like the backpack very much but then I thought about it, and gave it away. I gave it away because I would get rewards so I could go to Jannah and get it again in Jannah.

Sometimes my mom asks if she can get me the same sequence backpack. I say no because I want to be patient.

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Overcoming Bullying By: Uthman Guadalupe

I am a Latino Muslim, which is still an anomaly here in the U.S. My peers could not make fun of my religion, because they were also Muslims, so they targeted my background instead. Ever since I was in school, all the kids called me Mexican and asked me if I had my visa, and many other racist comments like that. I used to be called names for other things such as the clothes that I wore and the food I ate because I was Latino. I was always the class target of name-calling.

Eventually, I got tired of it and told them to stop. At that time, they stopped calling me names. However, the next day, they started again. These incidents remind me of the quote: “Why try to do right if people will always look at me and assume wrong?”

When I tried to tell them to stop, they made even more fun of me.They even called me a wimp, but in my mind, I knew that I could defeat them if I chose.

They even went as far as verbally insulting my family. I firmly told them to stop again. They stopped insulting my parents, but continued insulting me.

One day I wore a sweatshirt from Jiu-Jitsu school.

The sweatshirt had a slogan on it: “No egos; stay humble,” which to me meant that we should never be arrogant. Ironically, that became the next object of ridicule. My classmates used to say the slogan with a Japanese accent and make fun of Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art. They said that “No egos; stay humble” had become a meme now that I wore it. Despite that, I still wore the sweatshirt with pride.

I tried to take matters into my own hands,I made a drawing of me beating him up. My friend posted a picture of it on social media. We both got in trouble.

From that experience, I learned a valuable lesson: when somebody does something bad to you, do not try to seek vengeance by doing something similar.

Like the saying goes, “Two wrongs do not make a right.” Try to solve the problem without a fight. It is also a good idea to have your parents involved.

Eventually, I got tired of it and told them to stop. At that time, they stopped calling me names. However, the next day, they started again. These incidents remind me of the quote: “Why try to do right if people will always look at me and assume wrong?”

When I tried to tell them to stop, they made even more fun of me.They even called me a wimp, but in my mind, I knew that I could defeat them if I chose.

They even went as far as verbally insulting my family. I firmly told them to stop again. While they stopped insulting my parents, they continued insulting me.

After a while, the bullying ended because the boy who bullied me the most got a very bad haircut. His head was completely shaved. He knew it would be easy for my friends and I to get a comeback by making fun of him. This was divine justice! However, I would not mock him because I never want to stoop to the same level as a bully again. Sometimes when we ridicule people, we end up in a bad situation as a punishment for our bad actions.

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Eating Healthy Rania Ashraf.Age 10.Dulles, VA

Prophet Muhammad was a good model for a healthy lifestyle. That’s why we should follow his ways of eating healthy. I will be telling you about 3 of his favorite foods; watermelon, dates, and honey.

You probably already know that watermelon is filled with 92% water, but you might not know these facts! Watermelon contains nutrients and plant compounds such as potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, B6, B5, and B1. It's also good for your skin and hair. Without vitamin A, your skin can look dry and flaky. While vitamin C makes your skin look supple and your hair strong. And the water in the watermelon helps your digestive tract move smoothly.

Dates are great and healthy snacks, and here's why. Dates are excellent sweeteners because you can replace sugar with dates. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, you can put 1 cup date paste instead.It's easy to add to your diet because you can eat them in SOOO many different ways; salads, sauces, energy bars, plain, with nuts, with soft cheese, etc.It has been proven that food mixed with dates has a significant effect on your memory and learning ability in a good way.

That's why the Prophet Muhammad liked these foods so much. From now on, you should eat these delicious foods too!

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Hafsah Hasher.11 years.

Breinigsville, Pennsylvania

Soda, chips, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and donuts. We all love these foods.

But, are they the best for our body?

When eating we should have a balanced diet. A balanced diet is a diet that contains an adequate quantity of the nutrients that we require in a day.

Our balanced diet should look like this: •30% Vegetables •20% Fruits •25% Grains •25% Healthy Protein •Healthy Oils •Dairy Sometimes we can have a little snack like cookies or ice cream. But, we need to make sure we don’t eat to much of these foods. These foods are called junk food.Junk food isn’t good for our body. It could effect to serious risks.

We can achieve balance in our diet by eating lots of healthy foods. Once in a while you can have a little junk food. This might not looked that balanced, but eating a lot of healthy foods and a little junk food is good for our body.

The Prophet (S) ate a lot if healthy foods such as: •Dates •Figs •Olives •Honey Eat something healthy, eat something yummy!

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DEEN

By Ali Arif.age 11

“By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzala, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer).”

He (the Holy Prophet) said this thrice. – Sahih Muslim.

This hadees talks about when Hanzala (RA) asked Abu Bakr (RA) about balancing life between Deen and Dunya. They both went to the Prophet Muhmmad (PBUH). He then said the words from the start of the article. Let’s talk about the balance between Deen and Dunya. Do not think that you must cut out from this world to earn Jannah. You must do right in this world. If you have good intentions, you will be fine. If you do bad things, Astagfirullah, you will go to the Jahannam. Allah does not want us to not like the life in this world. You can do a lot of things you want to in life, but not bad things. As you do the things in life, you must remember Allah (SWT) and have good intentions.

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By Hashir Raja.Age 9.Anchorage, Alaska

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By Wasif Raja. Age7. Anchorage, Alaska

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About Prophet Muhammad (S) By: B y Hooreb oooo b Imran m an

Prophet Muhammad (S) was born in a city named d Bakkah. His father, Abdullah, died a few days beforee Prophet Muhammad (S) was born. His mother, Aaminah, passed away too when he was only six. Muhammad (S), who was now an orphan, was raised by his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib and then after his death within two years, by his uncle Abu-Talib. Prophet Muhammad (S) married Khadijah (R) when he was 25. Muhammad (S) was a follower and teacher of Islam . Allah (SWT) sent the message of Prophethood to Muhammad (S) through the angel Hazrat Jibril (A). Muhammad(S) taught Islam to mankind. He spread pread Islam pread Isla in Makkah and all over Arabia.

Thenn he he died di d d at at the th t e age a of 63 years.

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THANK YOU

By Noora Shameem. Age 10. Glendale Heights, IL

FOR

FOR

ALL YOUR LOVE AND KINDNESS,

“THANK-YOU”, FOR ALL THE SPECIAL, LITTLE THINGS YOU DO, FOR ALL THE WORDS THAT SOMETIMES GO UNSPOKEN, I NEED TO SAY, “I LOVE YOU, MOM...I DO”.

I

ALL THE TIMES THAT

I

FORGOT TO

LOVE HOW YOU SUPPORT ME THROUGHOUT THE YEARS,

FOR TEACHING ME THE MEANING OF COMPASSION, AND SHARING IN MY TRIUMPHS AND MY TEARS.

AND,

IF AT TIMES,

I

I

MAY HAVE SEEMED UNGRATEFUL,

WANT TO SAY,

THAT NOTHING AND DAY BY

“I

TRULY HOPE YOU SEE,

YOU HAVE DONE HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN, DAY YOU JUST MEAN MORE TO ME.”

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CONTEST WINNERS AGGSS-Adams Greater Gainesville Sunday School organized an essay competition based on Companion’s main theme for this issue.

Group 1 winners (Ages 5-10): First Place: Rania Ahmed Second Place: Salma Jafar Group 2 winners (Ages 11-14): First Place: Ali Arif Second Place: Emaad Ahmed Third Place: Yusuf Shaikh Following are the winning essays

by Rania Ahmed and Ali Arif.

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It was Thursday and Ayah just got out of school, with a whole lot of work to do.

When she got home, she ate and prayed then sat down to do her work. There was a long pause before her mother spoke up.

“Ayah, don’t forget to do your Sunday School work, it’s due this week so finish up soon. Remember, do deen then dunya.” ‘Great’, Ayah thought,’ Now I have to do twice the work than before, Ya Allah, help me’. She started her schoolwork and then stopped.’ Should I do my Sunday School or Prep School work?’.

Ayah heard an inner voice in her saying that…

“Don’t worry about your Sunday School work as your deen doesn’t matter, dunya is more important and matters most, so do your schoolwork and don’t worry about your deen. Just do it later.” As Ayah was about to get back to work, she heard another inner voice that made her remember what her mother had said…

“Ayah, do what helps make you more successful. I’m not saying to ignore your work, I’m saying to make sure you’re able to balance out your dunya and deen instead of leaning towards just one side.” Ayah was very confused by what she had heard and went to ask Allah for help. She also asked her mother and father and both of them said to follow the second inner voice she heard. She finished her schoolwork keeping some time out for her Sunday School work as well. A few minutes later, Ayah realized that it was time for her to get ready for bed. The next day, she turned in her assignments and was very happy. Ayah then realized that she had her Sunday School work in her backpack, so she did as much as she could, then moved on. When she came home she finished the rest of her work before she got ready. After she got relaxed at the party, she reflected upon her week and was happy that she was able to end her week on a good note. She also learned about deen and dunya and how to properly balance it out and how asking Allah for help will guide you towards the right path as Allah is Al-Haadi (The Guide).

By Emaan Syed . Age 10 Frisco, Texas

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LIE ‘’I think we are in trouble’’ Said Isa. ‘’I have an idea!’’ said Isa. ‘’we should make a lie that a bird flew in here and made this mess’’

It is a story of a family of five. There were a mom named Amina and dad Yusuf.They had three kids as well. Isa, Adam and sister Isra.

Later,Isra came back home and saw the huge mess. ‘’OMG! WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO?!’’Isra said. ‘’a bird flew in and did this, we didn’t’’ said Isa. ‘’WHAT! Ok...But don’t tell mom or dad that I left you, ok?’’ said Isra.

One day, mom’s dad got very ill, and was in the hospital. Mom and dad got ready to leave the house.They told Isra to take care of her brothers. ’’ Mom…do I have too!’’ said Isra ‘’ don’t worry Isra’’ said mom ‘’we will be back soon’’. Isra was very annoyed about having to take care of her brothers.No later, her phone rang. It was her friend Bella. ‘’Hey girl, wanna go shopping with me ?’’ ‘’but I have to watch my brothers” Isra said as she looked at her brothers she thought they will be fine at home by themselves. ‘’OK, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes’’ Isra got ready and headed for the door, telling her brothers not to be crazy while she was gone.

Mom and dad came home shocked to see the huge mess. ‘’There better be a reason for this!’’ yelled dad. ‘’ Dad’’ said Isa ‘’A bird flew in and did this’’ ‘’but none of the windows were open when we left’’ said mom ‘’neither are they now’’ ‘’Ok fine, we’re lying’’ Said Adam ‘’WHAT! You lied to me! Ugh… so typical’’ said Isra ‘’ how did you not know they did this?’’ said dad ‘’Uhh… long story, me and my friends…well… Just went shopping while you were away and, I left them home’’ said Isra.

They both then looked at each other, ‘’Are you thinking what I’m thinking’’ said Adam. ‘’ofcourse’’ said Isa. Isa and Adam then started running and destroying things. Once they got tired,they looked at their mess. Then it hit them,how mad mom and dad will get when they come home?

‘’Thank you for telling the truth guys’’ said mom ‘’you know, lying is very bad in Islam. It’s hard to trust someone who tells lies’’ ‘’we are sorry mom, we will never tell a lie again!’’ said all the kids ’’.

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So Many Reasons to Love

NAMAZ

By Faiz Hasan. Age 7 years

When we make wudu we clean ourselves and cleanliness is half our faith.

Namaz teaches us the importance of time.

Namaz lets me talk to Allah 5 times a day.Prayer is like a direct call to Allah.

I get to read the beautiful Quran.

And the best part is the dua time!

Because after Namaz I know that my duas will be accepted.

May Allah give us all the tawfeeq to pray Namaz

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What’s Cooking Banana Bread 4 to 5 bananas 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup softened butter 5 large eggs 1 cup almond flour 1 tablespoon almond extract 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda

1.Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork 2.Add the flour in the same bowl 3.Crack the eggs in the same bowl 4.Add the almond& vanillaextract in the same bowl 5.Add the baking soda 6.Whisk it all until there are no lumps 7.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 8.Wait until it beeps 9.Take it out after 1 hour 10.Top it off with your favorite nuts (if you are not allergic)

Maryam Zaheer

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By Ibrahim Hasan, Age 6 years

Knock Knock Who's There?

Guys Guys Who? Halal Guys - Food Delivery!

Son: "Dad, why do all prophets have the same last name?"

Father: "Really? What is that?"

Son: "Alayhis Salam"

By Karina G, Age 12 years. Frederick, Maryland.

Three people were praying salat in jama'ah.

A man walks by and without knowing they are insalah says "Assalamu Alaikum".

One man in salat says "Walaikum Assalam".

The second person angrily says "Wastagfirullah, you are not supposed to talk in salat".

The third person praying says: Alhamdulillah,I didn't talk."

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Mom &

By Saad Shameem. Age 8 Glendale Heights, IL

One day I got lost in the woods because God was angry that I was being mean to my mom and dad. Now I am living in the woods and really really need to tell them both something. I am having a plan…wait. Please kids or parents do not fake try to do this at home. The plan is trying WR JR DURXQG WKH ZRUOG DQG ORRN WR ˡQG P\ PRP DQG GDG as quickly as possible.

I made dua to Allah from my heart and 15 hours later okay I um hehe um I do….actually not know okay I drums please dumdumdum and dum I found them horayy so that is it or that is that…so be good to your parents bye guys.

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COMPANION Lantern Contest Winners MCNA (ages 6-10) $25 AWARD WINNER Mahnoor Azeem 6 years old (Old bridge,NJ)

YMj (ages 11-14) $50 AWARD WINNER Mantasha Ashraf 14 years (Ashburn VA)

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Bow & Arrow

By Kerem Emre Simsek.9-years.Fairfax, VA

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By Kerem Emre Simsek.9-years.Fairfax, VA

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Chicago MCNA City Level

Story book signing by the author, who also read it to them

Program on Tahara

Ramadan Dawah- Calligraphy

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Twin Cities, MN

Salah Project

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Dallas-Texas

Good Deed/Bad Deed Scale 26

Good Deeds

Brooklyn-New York

End of the year party

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Mahnoor or Ahmed, 12, NY

Ayat at Lari ari, 7, TX

Zahra Khan, IL

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Asiya a Mahmood, 12, WA

Maryam Riaz, 9, SC

Hidayaa Jazbi bi, 14, TX Mahnoor or Asim, 12, WA

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MCNA partnered with ICNA Relief to host a Will and Estate Planning Webinar, partnered with WhyIslam & Gain Peace to host dawah competitions for children, and on-going collaboration with YM for smooth transition of YMj kids.

As part of Muslim Children of North America, Companion is always in need of high-quality stories, articles, and activities with Islam in focus. We accept humorous, playful, and educational stories and articles that kids like you would love to read!

When submitting an entry, please follow the guidelines below: 1.Writers should present their material in a way that is appropriate for kids. Our subscribers are Muslim girls and boys located across the United State (ages 5-14) 2.All entries must be typed. It is preferred to have entries proofread by an adult. Please look for spelling, grammar and format mistakes.

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Recurring Sections FICTION: Short stories. These should be positive and thought-provoking. We welcome material that deals with kindness, love, good manners, family, and friendship MUSLIM HEROES: Real stories from Islamic History leaving a valuable lesson for kids.

OMA Moments: Share some embarrassing, surprising, interesting moments which left you thinking, “Oh My Allah!”

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