We sit there, staring out the window, with hundreds of cars bustling around us. We squirm in impatience and sometimes fight the drooping of our eyes. We clutch the steering wheel in anticipation or grasp the pole in irritation. We mumble our colorful vocabulary or just groan when no words can be found, thinking we’re…
Our Quest to Success
Self worth cannot be defined with a number nor image A picture is worth a thousand words That is the sentence depicted every time I look at an image of another. Click, flash goes off, Another picture Another face Another image filtered by insta. As comments roll in, All forced smiles and polite comments drag…
Fall Fad
By Hamail Iqbal The autumn tree is a spectacle. Its cool toned, uniform base Holding unique, uneven stripes Lines out a bold figure Against the dipping sun’s space. Its bright leaves once strewn Now sit at its feet In a gradient of velvety amber And a leathery maroon. Its branches now…
Haikus for thought
subtle wind blowing serenity around me wake up to nightmare time is fleeting fast take it for granted today then full of regret soap used for cleaning water bottles waste away at subway eat fresh constantly seeking money knowledge and power the thirst never quenched time is a construct hour for…
By: Sadia Salman
Misplaced Desires
Stuck in a state of limbo She dreamt of long ago When she never quite heard The cry of an unspoken word And although her skin was a fragile tan She never did yearn for the mother-land Only when she missed the broken ground And the poetic-like whisper sound Where she never heard…
untitled
A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet (PBUH) said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man…
I’ll Be Counting the Seconds Part II: I Stopped Counting the Seconds
I might be counting the seconds, but I now remember how my mother would tell me, “Time Heals All Wounds”. The scars on our hearts from all those love-at-first-sights we’ve been stricken ill by, eventually fade. With every passing second more new loves form and old loves die. But, with time, everything passes. Every dark,…
Alhamdulillah
The Prophet(pbuh) said, “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer.”(Sahih Muslim) Many times, it’s hard to see the good in everything, especially the blessings disguised in our hardships. Like many people, I couldn’t see it right away. On Friday, February…
I’m Counting the Seconds
I’m Counting the Seconds by Zak Kahn They say love lasts forever. That it’s some strong bond that can keep you at peace eternally. Maybe, they’re right about it lasting forever, but I imagine it differently. I’d say both pain and love last forever together in a symbiotic bond. Love is like the rose that…
Winter Trees
Winter Trees by Mahmud Helal
Sisyphus Isn’t Real
Sisyphus Isn’t Real by Bara Elhag My arms, air and even hair sometimes feel dipped in hardship a stygian river surrounds me trying to sucking me in I’m making dua more air comes into my lungs clean air, i want to breathe air, the people of the deen air I want to dream air that…
Devil’s Oath
Devil’s Oath by Ibrahim Salman Another day for you to fear Another day and I am near To extend my leg and make you slip Anything to make you fall Any whisper from my lips To make you hear my wretched call And fulfill my father’s ancient vow The bitter shame you cannot fathom When…
Remember Me
Forget me? You’d have less trouble Forgetting your own name. Of course, you can’t forget me. How could you forget the ocean whose waves constantly surrounded you? Constantly ensured your wellbeing and peace. How could you possibly forget the ocean that so easily could have drowned you, but chose not to and instead…
Muslims of MSA: Shameen
Shameen Shameen is a freshman here at Rutgers, who is currently navigating life and becoming more introspective with her experiences. She reflects often, pulling from and immersing herself in memories that evoke feelings of gratitude and elation. When asked what her most treasured memory is, Shameen explains how it is too difficult to pick…
A Note to 13 Year Old Zaire… by Zaire Ali
A note to 13-year-old Zaire… “If someone told me all the things I know now I would’ve thought they were crazy – but listen, remember those times because they’re going to make the journey easy.” Those hard times were just training camp to get you ready to fight life, the undisputed. Those hard times made…
// Goodbyes and Hellos
December 31, 2017 6:49 PM Say goodbye to the past year and welcome the new year from the lessons 2017 and all your previous years have taught you. appreciate all of the good times reminisce on the memories and protect them give thanks to the people who walked into your life and were a huge…
Lost At Sea
I am an ocean made up of countless, boundless waves. I manipulate my water the same way you manipulate other people. Don’t get me wrong, you have some water in you too. But your water is that of a lake, yet somehow you managed to convince yourself — and me— that you’re an ocean. Perhaps it was the way …
Fight
Surrounded by enemies. Death is inevitable. They haunt you with the look in their eyes. They mock you as every second goes by. You’re alone against the foe. Everywhere you look, defeat stares you right in the eye. It’s hopeless. You can’t win. There’s no point. That’s what they say, but you don’t believe them….
My Thoughts During a Late Night Study-Session
My Thoughts During a Late Night Study-Session by Bara Elhag 1:00 am Friday Screech, silent night, or Do something other than let me think this hard through hard- ships sail away from the oceans of Nubia in my mind and back to my homework— I am resonating between organic molecules and inorganic thoughts…
To The Convert
You are the backbone of this religion. After all, the companions were not born followers of the Prophet. You left behind the world you knew since your first breath, for one that was foreign, And traded it for the eternal garden. You studied in depth and came to this religion with conviction, Which is more…
A Withered Flower
It’s crazy How in the scope of one year A person can change so much He walked with humility and kindness A kindness that I could not find in others He never spoke without smiling The beauty he exuded was unparalleled But as all beautiful things, He quickly collapsed He became infatuated with…
Syed Mahmood
FOR FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE: Full Interview Meet Syed Mahmood, a sophomore studying biology. He hopes to one day become a sports medicine doctor for a team. He’s indifferent about insurance companies. He comes in at 6’4, but its not all fun and games. One tragic night he hit his head against a door frame, and…
Are You Okay?
Are You Okay? I’m fine, okay, alright, better. I’m anything positive that my mind can come up with when someone asks “are you okay?” I’m fine. I’m okay. I’m alright. I’m better. Trying to say the words so that the person in front of me, piercing their eyes in my soul, is convinced. “I’m…
Autumn
By: Amr
A Love Letter
Assalamu Alaika Oh Messenger of Allah(ﷺ), You(ﷺ) entered your house one day so cheerful that Aisha(ra) said, ask Allah to forgive me and you(ﷺ) so sincerely replied, “Ya Allah, forgive Aisha her previous sins and her future sins and her public sins and her private sins.” She was so overjoyed that she fell into your(ﷺ)…
Ya Allah, Ya Raheem
By Sadia Salman
This is Not Me
S croll away there’s P robably a video I can watch, an E asy, quick halal drug I can laugh through A high-way to laughing like everyone, my pain isn’t real, my pain isn’t pain, my uncried tears aren’t making me melt into stone, my brain isn’t fazed, I am UnFazed on Weeknds, and smiling…
Dear Mom
Dear mom, Three years ago is the last time we spent a mother’s day together. We were at overlook hospital, all I could remember is how much I wanted you to get better and come home before I left for my summer job in Pennsylvania. This mother’s day is special to me because recently I…
Calligraphy
By Mahmud Helal
Leaving an Impact
A couple weeks after I entered Rutgers, someone asked me how I was doing. Even though, I got lost so many times and went on the wrong bus that ended up taking me around Douglass twice, I simply said, “Alhamdulillah, it’s not bad”. He then asked me if I was active in the community and…
Reflections in Rhyme
When we bow, are we truly praying or are we doing some hipster new age yoga? When we recite Quran, are our hearts in it or are we trying to spit like Hova? When we strive for the halal and stay away from haram, is it to please Allah or so everyone will look at…
Commuter’s Guide To Podcast
If you’re like me and you get sick of listening to music on repeat on your daily commute, then you’d appreciate the world of podcast. My obsession started with podcasts when I was introduced to them originally on Soundcloud. It was this talk about hair parting and how the reflection of the mirror shows the…
Summertime Friendships
During the summer you meet many types of friends, the ones who are in your life only during the summer and those who are your friends all year round. You meet those who experience life with you for one day and then you never see them again. You have those who only hit you up…
Withered
By: Meherunisa Nawaz
How to Seize the Week of Eid-Ul-Adha
If you are reading this piece, you may be aware that there are five more days until Eid. But what you may not be aware of are the virtues of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Dhul-Hijjah is an eventful month, but for more reasons than the pilgrimage of Hajj. Dhul-Hijjah is jam-packed with important…
MSA ThankOff
Many of my life experiences have been highly influenced by years of constantly moving homes to chase the best school system, no matter where in the garden state it was. Since I was continuously moving, there was always that fear that whether I liked it or not, I was going to lose some people on…
A Red Summer
By Mahmud Helal
Insomniac
The ink in the pen of my thoughts never dries It writes about what was, is and could be, But is never fixated on its current disposition Just once do I wish I could concentrate on the now Without contemplation On my own reality By, Ammaar Ahmed
Bismillah
By: Sadia Salman
Keep Treading
Every single day of our lives, we go through a multitude of situations that cause us to feel a plethora of different emotions. Some of these emotions are fleeting, while others seem to stay with us a bit longer. However, one of the greatest characteristics a Muslim can possess is being able to subconsciously…
5 Insights in 5 Days
Every person we meet, every place we visit, every encounter, every moment in our life is not a coincidence, but a divine wisdom. There’s no such thing as a coincidence, everything happens for a reason. About a week ago, I went back home to Egypt to visit my family and for my brother’s wedding. From…
Are we really gonna talk about Modesty?
If they tell you that your clothes are not modest enough, If they tell you to cover because the way that you are covered tempts others, because the way you dress, does not impress, your Muslim mothers, and your Muslim brothers, ask them why, Why they tell you to cover before they tell their own…
