Alhamdulillah, we just completed Ramadan and I pray that Allah accepts from us all and allows us to have the blessing of another Ramadan. One of the signs of an accepted Ramadan is that we change for the better, even if that change is seemingly small, any change is a sign that we have used…
Welcome Ramadan!
Welcome Ramadan! You bring with you an energy that revives every dead heart and every neglectful soul. You give me strength to do the impossible; controlling my own desires. You make me generous with my time and money even if I have little of it. You give me a willpower that I never thought existed….
By Sadia Salman
Love me, I won’t remember Hurt me, I’ll fall down Leave me, I’ll stand up Forget me, I’ve grown I won’t remember, love me I’ll fall down, hurt me I’ll stand up, leave me I’ve grown, forget me Forget me, I won’t remember Leave me, I’ll fall down Hurt me, I’ll stand up Love me,…
Nazuuk
In my mother’s tongue, girls are nazuuk– frail and fragile beings with thin limbs and glass bones. Within this predestined definition, we live by a certain set of rules, a code that preserves our ‘delicate’ nature: We are sought after to be as white as the moon, waxed fresh and new. To be like dandelions,…
9/24/15- I told him it makes me sad how there’s no love with him. It’s robotic. He doesn’t even say ily… all he does is curse at me. He said it’s hard for him to hold his tongue and show emotion, but he promises to say it more. The words “I’m sorry” didn’t slip from…
I have been molded By all the power of this universe. There are galaxies Trapped underneath my skin. The moon and stars Live in the whites of my eyes. There is gold and silver Flowing in my veins. I am not as simple as beautiful. Beauty is where I begin, But where I end is…
Malala
Malala Yousefzai is a girl who defied social norms and became an emblem for women’s empowerment around the world. Malala is the brave girl who stood up for girls’ education at the cost of getting shot by extremists who do not believe in educating women. As harsh as it may seem, it is more common…
Women keep it real, That is how I really feel, My mom cooks my meals. By Anonymous
By Zahra Bukhari
Daadi (Grandma)
Daadi, you don’t know what you mean to me, Your impact is greater than any eye can see, Every word, every action, every meal, The amount of times you made my stomach, heart, and soul feel, So full inside, filled with love, Always reminding me, of The One Above You would yell at me when…
Women Rise
Using a warrior metaphor, this poem is an ode to women’s efforts and progress regarding breaking the glass ceiling. We fight while maintaining grace and strength during the infinitesimal bout against injustices. May we all continue to establish the equality Allah (SWT) intended for us and truly commemorate women during Women’s History Month and beyond….
Today is My Mother’s Birthday
Today is my mother’s birthday. I found a picture of her From 30 years ago In between the flaps of an old wallet. Her eyes now rimmed with circles, etched remnants of toil. They shine the same blue, A gaze of gentle peace. I look at her hands, Calloused and toughened From years…
Muslim Women
By Sarah Attalla
Congrats to You
It’s Women’s History Month. Most of the time when we think of women to celebrate, we think of famous women in history. Or our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. Well today, to all the beautiful women I know out there, I want you to celebrate yourself. Society has instilled in many of our minds that as…
Her Complaint Was Answered
One of the customs of pre-Islamic Arabia was Zihar, which was an act of divorce that would forbid a wife to a husband as a mother is forbidden upon her son. They would do this by saying, “You are unlawful to me just like my mother.” A woman by the name of Khaulah Bint Tha’labah…
Flesh
Graphite and relief print on toned paper with lace cut out This piece is about the labeling of “flesh” as a peach colored pencil tone. By Usra Attalla
For a Daughter, By a Daughter
By Anonymous
Women’s History Month
﷽ In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient…
All Thanks to Allah’s Will
By Sadia Salman If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece, please fill out this form!
The Merciful
By Mahmud Helal If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece, please fill out this form!
By Mahmud Helal If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece, please fill out this form.
Donald Trump
By Bara Elhag Demand wallflowers to stay silent Onyx lies glitter darkly as New Age slavery keeps Awakening old age Laments, we did not prepare eulogies Death, we always thought, was far Tickets to our pain show are selling out Reuse racism, recycle hatred, remove Us out of the fabric of US Maybe…
Medium: Intaglio Print/Etching By Sarah Attalla If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece, please fill out this form.
Aleppo: Here, There Is
By Talyah Basit A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the United Nations building. After meeting with representatives from two European countries, we were offered a tour of the premises. The tour guide, a slight woman from Madagascar with a penchant for irony, explained the layout of all the important meeting rooms…
Getting to Jannah Without Judgement or Punishment
By Ghayoor Arshad After fajr I make it a habit to try and learn something new, whether it’s memorizing Quran or watching a lecture. I recently watched a video regarding the people who will be spared from any judgement or punishment on the Day of Judgement. I was in awe that there was even such…
A Comprehensive List of All the Presidential Candidates’ Policies
By Hira Shahbaz Hello, future voter! It’s that time of the decade again where the good citizens of the United States of America collectively decide on who should be our new leader, and seeing how this election season has been one giant crazy bus that has no idea that brakes are an invention, it’s safe…
UNFILTERED
By Puja Trivedi “We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known” -Brene Brown One of the saddest moments that happens to me, quite frequently, is when a close friend, someone who I truly admire and love with all my heart, tells me how they’ll…
By Sadia Salman If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdprJDE8mYSbeYgF…/viewform…
WHICH SHURA MEMBER ARE YOU?
Want to know more about your Shura (E-Board)? Ever wondered which Shura member is most like you? Well now is your chance! Take the Buzzfeed quiz here to find out which Shura member you are! If you would like to get more involved with Submissions or would like to submit a piece please fill out this…
A Weird Female’s Thoughts on Marriage
By Kausar Ahmed Once Upon A Time, I came to the stage in my life where I couldn’t help but notice that everyone around me was getting married. It’s even harder when you go on a Muslim bridal page on Instagram and see all the beautiful brides with their handsome husbands and beautiful smiles. Often…
Faces of Syria: I’m With Her
Graphic Design -Sarah Attalla
Suburbia and its Discontents
By Talyah Basit Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I came across a picture of a childhood friend hosting a dinner party. My friend stood poised in an embroidered Pakistani dress, the very figure of generous hospitality. She was framed in a spacious and well-lit house, which would have been meticulously prepared for the weekend dinner party,…
Letterpress on Paper
-Zahra Bukhari
I’m Bad with Words
I’m bad with words 20 years, 3 languages, And I still have yet to find, A pen for my script, To make it legible and crisp. I’m bad with words, I wish they were polished and ordered, Like strung pearls, Buffed and smoothed like sea glass. I’ll try again, But this horizon doesn’t know…
Literacy in the 21st Century
By Zeeshan Qureshi (Inspired by Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges) ”I will never let my schooling interfere with my education.”- Mark Twain We are often told we live in the Information Age, and it’s true. Very true. First it was the internet, a whole wealth of information was available at the touch of a few keys on a keyboard. Then…
The Dream of a Fish in a Bowl
The Dream of a Fish in a Bowl, Intaglio print, 2016 By Usra Attalla
Made (Make) Up
If I lived in a perfect world, I’d get rid of every pimple and blackhead on sight I’d permanently shave the little hairs that dare to appear, I’d set a foundation so perfect, That I’d be ready to face the world If I lived in a perfect , I’d find an eyeliner and draw the…
By Sadia Salman
Egypt—The People behind the Pamphlets
(Photo Source: Reuters) Iridescent in its own little way, his smile shows off a set of– well, mainly yellow teeth. I’m not sure which have been colored by the turmeric in the rice his family eats and which are yellow by neglect. He looks strongly into my eyes, still. His little hands crease more and more…
The Turmoils of the Self
I was asked a few weeks ago if I would be willing to pen a small piece on “the state of the Muslim Ummah.” I gladly obliged. Recent victims of terror include those in Istanbul, Baghdad, Dhaka, and Kabul. Places like Syria, Palestine, Yemen, and Kashmir are living through occupation, war, and instability. Our sisters…
My Ummah, My Blackness
I am Muslim. I am Black. I am a woman. I like to call it the triple threat, though more often than not, it simply means that my experiences in America are compounded thrice over, for better or for worse. I experienced hope in seeing the nationwide mourning of Muhammad Ali, then fear as…
5 Ways to Add Weight to the Scales this Ramadan
“Ameen…Ameen…Ameen,” The Prophet (PBUH) said while climbing the steps of the mimbar before giving the Khutbah. The companions ask him, “Oh Messenger of Allah, why did you saying Ameen 3 times when climbing the mimbar.” He (PBUH) answered, “Angel Jabriel came to me and said 3 duas and I said Ameen after each one.” One…
Moments of Peace
The door closes behind me and I feel immediate peace. It’s no surprise the DCC houses no more than a handful of people cramming for a late-night study. Certainly no Muslim would be caught in the prayer room, ten PM on a Friday night. I set my backpack down by the far wall. Walking slowly,…
Rutgers Jummuah: A Narrative History
Disclaimer: These are my personal thoughts, reflections, and feeling. The aim of this post isn’t necessarily to be historically, proportionally, or chronologically accurate, but to instead give an overall feeling of what Rutgers Jummuah has meant to me for the past four years, why I think that it’s important, and what I believe the most…
On Elections
“It’s not about what the MSA can do for me; it’s about what I can do for the MSA.” These were a few of the first words I recall hearing during the first RU-MSA elections I attended my freshman year, and ever since, they’ve powerfully shaped my understanding of MSA. To many of you, MSA…
By Zahra Bukhari
Good Muslim Girl
Six Disclaimer: The following is an expression of my thoughts and feelings pertaining problems with the society and mentalities that I am surrounded by. The following in no way is what Islam preaches and should not be taken as a representation of the religion. Hello. I am good Muslim girl. I wear long skirts and…
Crying to Allah (SWT)
By Kausar Ahmed I remember crying my eyes out one night because a kid that I knew when I was younger was killed. I remember crying one night because I was so fed up with everything going on around me, that all I could do was cry. I remember crying because I felt so useless…
On Endings
By Anonymous Oh Turner of Hearts, grant me the power to resist To Resist the change that surrounds me Change, like the death of trees during the fall, Leaving nothing but carcasses behind. Oh Turner of Hearts, help me resist Resist change With the same fire as those who resist oppression Resist change…
