2016 October-November · took--the Israa-wal-Mi’raaj. On this occasion, Prophet (PBUH) ascended into the heavens until he was in the presence of Allah. No other being ever went

October-November 2016

A little piece of the Biography of the Prophet (PBUH) inside!

Let’s meet someone new!

A new year has begun! It’s Muharram of 1438 on the Islamic Calendar!

And much more!

We’re featuring a new poem from Poems Reflecting Islam!.

Should Muslims celebrate Halloween? Learn more inside!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

New Year.......................................................................3

Piece of History............................................................4

What is Halloween?.....................................................6

Let’s Learn a Dua..........................................................9

A Surah’s Meaning.......................................................10

Meet Someone New....................................................11

Islamic Poem...............................................................12

Fun Fact.......................................................................13

Activity.........................................................................14

Bibliography.................................................................15

Find us On Social Media..............................................16

Alhamdulillah! A new year has begun! Now it’s Muharram of the year 1438. Wait, what? 1438? Where did that come from? Well, whether you knew it or not, we Muslims have a special calendar-not the Gregorian Calendar that follows the sun, the Islamic calendar that follows the moon. 1,438 years have passed since our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) migrated to Madinah from Makkah. This is how the calendar started. May we all have an amazing, blessed year of 1438! Ameen!

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PIECEOFHISTORYSpecial Attributes of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Part 2

Continued

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had been given many unique, special characteristics for who he was. Let’s learn about some of them.

The first speciality of the Prophet (PBUH) is that, he is the final Prophet of all time. There will never be a prophet after him. Secondly, Allah planned that the Prophethood of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) even before our father Adam was created! Thirdly, our Prophet (PBUH) is the only prophet who was sent to the entire mankind, and not only that, but he also was the only prophet sent to jinn (genies) as well.

Our Prophet (PBUH) has the largest ummah ever. Ummah means nation or community. We are of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). So that means, we are of the largest Ummah!

Do you know what is the most powerful miracle? It’s the Qur’an! The Qur’an is the most powerful miracle ever, and it was given to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Qur’an is more special than the miracle of the splitting of the sea, the splitting of the moon, or any other miracle that ever took place.

Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) took a trip that nobody ever took--the Israa-wal-Mi’raaj. On this occasion, Prophet (PBUH) ascended into the heavens until he was in the presence of Allah. No other being ever went that high, not even Archangel Jibril (Gabriel).

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PIECEOFHISTORY

Continued

Who is the leader of all humanity? Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the leader! He is the leader of the entire mankind--all the children of our father Adam.

The first person to be resurrected on the Day of Judgement will be Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The first grave to open up will be his (PBUH). He will be mankind’s representative and will ask Allah to start the judgement on the Day. Prophet (PBUH) will also be the first to be clothed on the Day.

Did you know that our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has a pool of water that he will feed his Ummah on the Day of Judgement? And when someone drinks that, that person will never feel thirst again. This pool is called, in Arabic, the Hawd. All the prophets will be given a Hawd for their own nations, but our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be given the biggest. It is extremely large, and it is the source of all the rivers that flow in Paradise.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be the first ever to cross the Siraat (the bridge), the one who will guide his people to the doors of Paradise, and the one who will knock at the door of Paradise. When he knocks, the angels will ask, “Who is there?” Prophet (PBUH) will reply “Muhammad,” (PBUH). The angels will say “To you I have been commanded to open,” and the doors will open. Prophet (PBUH) will be the first human to enter Paradise after our father Adam had left it, and he will guide his Ummah, the largest Ummah, the Ummah we belong to, into Paradise.

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What is Halloween?Halloween is a day in which people believe

that the deceased people arise from their graves and roam around the earth. This celebration is actually called All Hallow’s Eve but is shortened to Halloween. All the rituals happen on the evening of October 31st, the day before All Hallow’s Day, (All Saint’s Day). Many people set out to go “trick or treating”, visit “haunted houses,” etc. We should not be a part of these, because they are superstitious and they are made up by people. None of these ever happened. How do we worship Allah the Glorious with all our heart and soul if we take part in all these man made rituals that Allah is disheartened with? May Allah protect us from these horrible actions.

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Halloween RitualsTrick or treating is basically when we go

from house to house to beg for candy or trick our neighbors. Both playing tricks and begging for anything was very much disliked by our beloved Prophet (PBUH). We should not beg people for anything, as it doesn’t seem like a very nice thing to do. Anyways, there is no reason to beg if you can buy candy from stores anytime you want. At the same time we should not play tricks on anyone, because it is very rude to go up to anyone and scare them for no reason.

People carve pumpkins to make Jack-o-lanterns, but, why? They believe that a man named Jack roamed around the earth with a light in his hand, therefore, people carve out pumpkins and fill it with light to follow the same custom.

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Why do people dress up in costumes and set out to trick or treat? Before people go trick or treating they wear costumes to disguise themselves. The reason is because people back in the day used to“think” that the spirits of the dead would not recognize you if you wore something else to disguise yourself. Really, this is why we are dressing up? Just to make ourselves unrecognizable from spirits? This is not true, spirits do not exist, so there is no reason why we should dress up. What if your friends tell you to? No, we do not listen to our friends either. We should avoid all the superstitions and man made rituals that surround us. Let us all ask Allah (S.W.T) to protect us from everything and keep us in the right path. Ameen.

Halloween Rituals8

DuaDua for Protecting Yourself From Evil:

Recite this du’aa three times in the morning and three times in the evening:

الذي ال یضر مع اسمھ شىء في بسم هللامیع العلیم ماء وھو الس األرض وال في السTransliteration: Bismillaahillathee laa ya dhurru maa ‘asmihee shay un fil ardhi walaa fissamaa e wa huwassamee ‘ul ‘aleem.

Meaning: (In the name of Allah with whose name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in the heaven, and He is the All-hearing and All-knowing).

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A SURAH’sMEANING

Surah an-Nas (Chapter 114 of Quran)In the name of Allah, the Most Kind, the MostMerciful.

1. Say; I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,

2. The King of mankind,

3. The God of mankind,

4. From the evil of the sneaking whisperer (Shaitan),

5. Who whispers in the hearts of mankind,

6. Of the jinn of mankind.

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MEETSOMEONEnew

Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first hijabi Muslim woman who represented the United States of America in the Summer Olympics 2016.

Ibtihaj was born on December 4, 1985 in Maplewood, New Jersey, United States. Her parents found a sport for her to be fully covered while playing--fencing.

At Ibtihaj ’s high school, she joined the school’s fencing team. She continued practicing fencing and was coached by prominent fencers. Ibtihaj Muhammad is in the US National Fencing team since 2010. She is now one of the top-most skilled fencers in the world.

In 2016, the Summer Olympics took place and Ibtihaj Muhammad was in the US Fencing team. She was defeated in the second round by Cecilia Berder from France. Even though she lost, Ibtihaj won a bronze medal along with three other members from the US Fencing Team.

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ISLAMICpoem

Like Poems Reflecting Islam’s page!https://www.facebook.com/Poems-Reflecting-Islam-1460294467596564/

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Fun Fact!

Do you know what we are writing on? Yes, you are right! We use paper everyday to write down important notes, and sometimes to have fun and just draw. Before the thick sheets of paper we write on, there were very thin ones that would easily tear up. Who do we thank, for giving us strong paper to write on and doodle on? Well, it was the Muslims. When Muslims were first introduced to the thin paper, they somehow figured out a way to make them into strong and durable paper.

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CROSSWORDPUZZLE

Instructions:Let’s have some fun and complete this crossword puzzle! One answer has already been done for you!

Muharram

D U A

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Bibliography

Halloween Article:- http://www.islamnewsroom.com/news-we-

need/1046-halloween-haram- http://islam.about.com/od/otherdays/a/hall

oween.htmPiece of History:- http://safeyoutube.net/w/XFE

Meet Someone New: - http://www.biography.com/people/ibtihaj-m

uhammad-071416 Islamic Poem:- https://www.facebook.com/146029446759

6564/photos/a.1460295020929842.1073741828.1460294467596564/1464379377188073/?type=3&theater

Crossword Puzzle- http://afyasactivities.weebly.com/

Fun Fact:

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