by Anum Ali 7th century Arabia was a hellhole of social, economic, and moral decline. Pagan Arabs buried their newborn daughters in hatred for females, women were sold in street bazaars, adultery was the norm, tribes fought for the interests of self-created idols that they worshipped as gods, business frontiers were plagued by fraud and deception, atrocious slavery was in full swing, the poor were exploited by the rich, and the law and jurisprudence system were rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. Muhammad salAllahu aleyhi wa’aleyhi wasallam (SAWW) (peace on him and his progeny) was a heroic prophet who rose from this very doomed system of evils and changed its course towards a revolutionary, prosperous Arabia. His vision was to spread a Godsent, comprehensive, and correctional religious philosophy; Islam, to all corners of the world. Those who understood it, evolved as the Muslim nation, and those who remain in misunderstanding continue to do so up till date. The ongoing negative propaganda about Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) is not entirely universal. He has been acknowledged by global non-Muslim scholars as a positive, revolutionary leader similar to Gautama Buddha, Dalai Lama, and Confucius. American author and astrophysicist Michael H. Hart in his book, ‘The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History’, ranks Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) 1st [1]. American bestselling author, public speaker, and physician Deepak Chopra in explanation to why he wrote his bestseller, ‘Muhammad: A Story of The Last Prophet’ says that: “Muhammad appeals to me

By Manahil Ashraf Alhamdullilah now that we know the significance of learning the prophetic supplications let’s get down to the serious business. How to? Well, this is how I did it. I pray that you’ll find these seven tips useful as well in sha Allah. 1. Get the booklet In case you do not already have a Hisn ul muslim at home, it’s time to visit an Islamic bookstore. I believe that every Muslim should have his personal copy of the Mushaf and Hisn ul muslim. The booklet is easily available at Darussalam in the language of your choice. Small and convenient to carry around as it easily fits in your purse. You know what it means? It means now you can memorize duas even when you’re in college, at work, while commuting etc. 2. Download the app This step is five star important. If a Muslim does not have the Hisn ul muslim app, his smart phone should be confiscated. Kidding, but seriously the app is a must have. In case you’re thinking “I just got the booklet now you’re telling me about the app, great” By no means I am undermining the significance of a hard copy. However you can forget the book at home but never your cell phone, do you? Let’s face it in today’s time the only thing that we have on us 24×7 is our phone. Sometimes just the guilt of having duas only a ‘touch’ away is enough to make you read

By Zaki Imtiaz Today I want to tell you a story. Story of a group of people who used to live like animals. They had norms in their society which were detestable yet acceptable. They paid no heed to the poor, their rich were fools, their hearts were satisfied on which they drooled. Their women were treated like waste thrown in the dustbin, their daughters; they buried once they get in. There was economic exploitation in the society, the social system was corrupt, their religion was merely the worship of idols and stones, calling them in case of need, only bones of stones. Apart from all this, there were some good people too, who were but very few. Who realized the realities of life, who used to contemplate on their lives. They were so close to human nature, their soul used to cry out on the immoralities of the society, the swept off moral values of their own houses, on the harsh treatment of the poor and the conduct of their own wives. They had jet fuel in their hearts ready to burn with ashes of their immoral character, they seeked ignition ready to accept the reason for that behavior. They were fooled, ridiculed, sad and rejected. Yet they were good not bad, noble and felt happy. You know why? Let me tell you why… In the following year, there came a man, who had that smile no one could withstand. A beautiful face with noblest character. From the

By Manahil Ashraf I just couldn’t get my brain to retain all those prophetic supplications. It was, simply put, too hard for me. And the trouble wasn’t quite in committing to memory a sentence or two since I had a little knowhow of the Arabic language already. The real issue was to recall and articulate those supplications on the right time. You are probably familiar with the dua to be said after one wakes up in the morning? I would always remember it an hour or so later, on my way to the class, as if my mind secretly confessed that it was actually now that I woke up! Flipping through the pages of a dua booklet have you ever wondered why there are so many dua’s taught to us by the Messenger SAW? A different dua for each and every little thing that a person does in a regular day and of course not to miss the special occasions! I used to wonder about it, trying to find the big reason behind it since I knew that anything and everything in this beautiful and perfect way of life – Islam – has logic behind it. And the little things that we are recommended to do, fit perfectly in a bigger picture. And yes, after much reflection I found the answer Alhamdulillah. The reasoning behind all those little sunnah supplications is to gain Taqwa i.e. to keep Allah swt in our mind. Now we all know the importance of

By Maryam Qadeer End of school year. Teenage over-emphasized. New best friends. Birthday party in its complete glory. Suddenly, talk turns to the darker of subjects; term results. It is not that I was a bad student – far from it – but I had had my school changed recently, and I was still struggling to gain my balance. We did not have the greatest physics teacher, and the final exam had been a rocky ride. I do not know how you see it, but my gut feeling is pretty trustworthy. In fact, if ever I dismiss it, that usually spells a harsh lesson. As everybody talked of their exams, I was suddenly gripped with a fear so acute, it nearly choked me speechless. I feared I’d fail physics and never make it to the next grade. Raised up by typical Asian parents, with good positions and laurels most of my academic life, the prospect was my ultimate nightmare. How shall I ever face my family? What will my brothers say? How will I show my report to parents? Will I have to forge a signature? Oh Lord, I will not have to repeat the school year, will I? Am I worse than ruined? The intense fear, stupid as it seems now, clawed at my insides. Thankfully, it was time to leave soon. All the way home, I chanted a fervent prayer to my Lord: Help, ya Allah! I cannot fail! You are the most Merciful, please grant my

By Mariam Riaz As I lifted my pen to write his praise Words failed me, my heart did race If only the world understood his place Insignificant am I, what’s my worth? Yet he prayed for me before my birth The kindest man to have walked this earth The moon did fade to his beauty Despite it, an emblem of modesty And the highest example of honesty What would I give to have him here now, Striking those around him with awe? What crowds would his presence draw! The Message he was sent to preach More liberating than “freedom of speech” Sent from Heights our minds can’t reach His Honour came from the skies It cannot be snatched with their lies For his mention was only meant to rise His praise resonates across the world #WhoIsMuhammad, peace be upon his soul My teacher, my mentor, beloved above all.

By Fareed Ahmad “One of the techniques of learning , is that you start writing a book on that subject”, says Dr. Atta ur Rehman, one of the leading Pakistani scientists, in his interview. Indeed, writing about something or practicing it regularly does strengthen that capability in you. Thus, I felt a need on writing a note on a ‘lack of resources,’ one of the aspects that really demotivates people in doing Dawah. Many genteel teenagers, and passionate Daees, feel, that they don`t have enough resources to run a Dawah Campaign, or arrange a lecture on a higher level, or distribute free copies of Quranic cds and dvds. Though having resources, and a proper platform is important, but what is even more important than that, is having absolute trust in Allah along withpersonal competency. Competency in doing dawah covers a man’s passion, determination, knowledge management and the utilization of proper time and money in the best possible manner. Many a times, we see big organizations with a lot of resources, but very low competency levels thereby wasting all the resources, which could have been utilized in best possible manner.. On the contrary, all of us know the example of a very well known company-Apple. In the 1980s, after it split from IBM, it was on the verge of the its death, and no one knew where it existed. However, with limited resources, but extremely competent people, it penetrated again and today we see it, above several other companies. Coming

By Nayab Imtiaz Out on the roads or inside our homes, On the news or in the depth or our souls, We see chaos every where Chaos that leads us nowhere. Always in search of peace, trying to create harmony, There’s intolerance that shook souls, And the cruelty that make hearts bleed, But we’re still not sure how to revive peace. Unity is strength and together should we bow, There’s something we should all know, though, What binds us is stronger than what divides us, Together we grow, Together we can enlighten the world Together we can inspire peace. All we have to do is to bow down to rise. Let’s join hands and take a step, A step towards reviving peace, A step towards faith and unity.

By Bisma Mukhtar Our sahaba always struggled to increase the number of Muslims and to spread out a religion that lead to a path of peace and purity. They dedicated their whole lives for the sake of Islam and succeeded in making it the most powerful and influential religion back then. Due to their effort, the barakah of Islam had spread and brought together everyone who experienced the most beautiful virtues of love and brotherhood. But the question arises….. What about now? We have everything that our ancestors had…we have advanced so much in every field of life…made a lot possible… We have the Quran, the same teachings…then what has let us down? Although Muslims are more in number today, yet their essence is less. One of the reasons for this is the lack of honesty and dedication. We just pick out a few things that we find easy enough to follow and assume as if we have accomplished a lot. We just change the rules according to our own convenience and find different reasons to follow religion in our own way. In fact, in a way, we just create our own religion. We change our physical appearance that would label us as a Muslim but neglect all other important aspects like amaal (actions) and akhlaq (behaviour) etc. We are just like the hypocrites. We have embraced Islam and it’s principles but when our lifestyle and preferences are challenged, we fail in Islam. The difference between a true Muslim

By Ayesha Nasrullah قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ “Successful indeed are the believers.” (surah al-Mominoon, Verse 1) A place no eye has ever seen, a place no heart can ever perceive, shouldn’t we all long for such a place? It is indeed a place worth yearning for, the eternal abode of Jannah. So who are these Mumineen destined for success? and not just any success – falah: never ending success. Those worthy of owning mansions and gardens beneath which rivers flow. Allah (swt) mentions all those qualities characteristic to these believers, the dwellers of Paradise, in the opening verses of Surah Al-Mumenoon. The foremost of them being Salah. Allah says: “Those who are humble in their prayers. “ (Al-Mumenoon, Verse :2) The ayah mentions those believers who have khushoo’ in their prayers. But we are living in unfortunate times where most people don’t even pray let alone having khushoo’ in salah. Salah is the second fundamental of Islam. It is something we are being reminded of since childhood. A numerous amount of times we have been taught about the merits of salah. The fact that it is a distinguishing factor between a believer and a disbeliever. The key to paradise is prayer, and so on. But the irony of the matter is, we find it very cute for a three-year old praying beside his father, but the sight of an eighteen year old praying in the masjid only earns him the title ‘Maulvi’. We think of salah as more of a