By Fizzah Najm Dear Reader, If I had to put that time in my life into words, I would say that while I lost a parent, I found God. Life is not supposed to be perfect. Everyone battles through life in their own way. And eventually, life moves on. What makes anyone stand out is the way that they handle the fight; the very same fight that brings so many people down… This letter is from a proud daughter to the world- addressing 11 years of suppressed emotions. After eleven years of contemplation and reflection I have come to realise that suppressed emotions do nobody any good. I do not talk about my father very often with people- unless if they are extremely close to me-which is probably why only a few of my most trusted friends know about my father’s death. I always find myself reliving the trauma whenever I talk about it. In the past, I used to fear the situation where someone would ask me about my father and I would break down in front of them; I regretted the fact that I was not brave enough to take my own loss. Now, however, I feel is the right time for me to take a bold step; to share the story of a brave, fearless man who himself didn’t shy away from telling the truth; a man who was firm and tough on the outside, but gentle and kind on the inside; someone who managed to uphold

By Nayab Imtiaz When your heart screams and the pain becomes unbearable, when there’s so much inside you and you can’t take it out, when you feel miserable and lose all hope, when the world unfolds its reality and pierces you to the very bone, when the tears fall and dampen your soul, when you seek comfort but no one’s there, that’s where you have to realize that sometimes you have to wipe away your own tears, find you own motivation and stand up. Stand up and face the world again, with courage and with patience. People aren’t always there, no matter how close they’re to you. Everybody leaves you one day and you’re left alone. Prepare yourself for that day and be strong.   لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا “Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear…” (Qur’an, 2:286).   Let this Quran be your light and let it guide you home. No, the world isn’t your home, it never was. In your tough times, when you see no hope look at the stars and smile, smile because they shine for you. Look at the birds as the fly and how they trust their Lord for sustenance. Look at the rivers as they flow and how they make the way even through the hardest of rocks. Take a deep breath *Inhale* and let it go *exhale*. Let go of all your worries and trust Allaah (swt), like a baby bird does when it takes

By Jawwad Ahmed Maybe you recently came across the #MyUmmah hashtag on facebook, and you were curious. Or maybe, you went to the “Age of Fitnah” last weekend, and you were inspired. Or maybe, you were really really disturbed when Israel was bombing Gaza to bits. Maybe you shed a tear or two as well. The maulvis were saying let’s all make Dua – that’s the least we can do; and you were saying why should we settle for the least – we should do more. But you never really figured out what to do. You do own the Ummah – you have at least some level of relatedness with Muslims throughout the world, but you realize that this is a nation at its nadir. You understand the need for change, and you are wondering how you can contribute. In all honesty, if this is your dilemma, I have no solution for you…because that’s still mine as well. What I can give you, though, is a guideline. One of the aspects of the revolution that spawned at the dawn of Islam was how – despite the unwavering faith in Allah – the companions of Allah’s Messenger (SAW) learnt to take practical steps in doing what they were supposed to do. The Sahabah could have chosen the pray-fast-make-dua lifestyle, but they didn’t. Each one understood – under the tutelage of Allah’s Messenger (SAW) – his or her context, realized his or her own talents, and put them to good use.

By Jawwad Ahmed A couple of years ago, when I was applying for admission in a few US universities, one of the tips I intermittently got, was that my profile should stand out. Your grades should be good and solid, yes, but what will really get you in…is something to which the admission committee says ‘wow’. It turns out that getting them to say these three letters isn’t easy. Again, when applying for a job, one of the tips I got was that, the CV should stand out. This time, the interviewer should say something on the same lines. Again, not always easy. Imaging applying to a university, 100 million times better than Harvard. A job exponentially more rewarding than that of the CEO of Microsoft (additionally where you don’t have to do anything). Do you think that getting into Jannah is going to be a walk in the park? Allah (SWT) asks: أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ “Or do you think that you will enter Jannah without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those of faith with him cried: “When (will come) the help of Allah?” Verily, the help of Allah is near!” [1] Remember, the admissions committee for Jannah…is Allah (SWT).

By Zahra Bint Zaki It was another calamity, another trial – just another news item that described the spilling of blood of umpteen creatures. As Muhammad scrolled throughout the web page to learn about every minute detail of the very incident that took place, numbness paralyzed his fingers and the watering of eyes almost blurred his vision. ‘Calamities upon calamities,’ he whispered to himself. Agitated he shut the lid, grabbed the laptop along with its case and ran towards the exit of his one-bedroom flat, as he hurriedly placed his laptop in its bag, rushing on the way. It was 8:00 am and he was already late for work. “Mr. Muhammad al Fateh”, a voice called out from behind while he stood attentively, waiting to catch a bus to home, after spending long tiring hours of work at the office. “Yes!” He exclaimed in surprise, as he turned around to look for who it was. “Son, guess you accidentally dropped your Identity Card just now,” said a middle-aged man with a deep husky voice. “Assalaamu Alaykum! JazakAllaahu khayran. That was really careless of me. Never mind, Alhamdulillah! May I know your good name?” “Wa Alaykum Assalaam wa Rahmatullah! My name’s Ishaaq. Ishaaq Ahmed.” “I’m pleased to meet you.” “And me too. BarakAllaahu feek, son.” “Wa feekum BarakAllaahu!” “Is everything okay? I mean, I observed that you were pretty occupied with thoughts. I like your name by the way. Next Sultan Muhammad al Fateh, aren’t you? Eh?” “Pardon me. I