Filters, selfies, hashtags, highlight, snapchat, contour insta- gram and duckfaces; these are a few words that we didn’t know a few years ago, but has since become second nature. Social media and posting of our lives have become this gen- eration’s great obsession. Think about it, how many times do you open your phone a day, how many times have you stopped your family in a panic as they begin to eat the food because you have not yet snapped it, how many times do we end off a trip with a picture because “if there’s no picture, it didn’t happen”, and how many times do we take a mini pho- to shoot before we go out for our “OOTD” (Outfit Of The Day) post? Yes, we laugh and take it lightly, but we should ask our- selves... how much is too much? And what is our place in all of this as Muslims? The greatest ill, I’ve come to believe, is the obsession with perfection, or rather what we define perfection as. Back in the day people strived for greatness. Greatness in education, in akhlaaq and deen. Today however we strive to be “on fleek” and “on point”. Oh you laugh but it’s real, people. The pressure of showing off, whether it be looks, body or blessings, is all around us; but did you know that this com- pletely goes against the teachings of our Prophet (SAW) (even if we follow it with hashtag blessed) where he says “Every religion has a character and the character of Islam is modesty.” Recent studies also show that the obsession women have with trying to be like instagram models, and how many ‘likes’ we get, all lead to great depression and anxiety. The copying of this fake “perfection” leads to thoughts of altering our sacred bodies, and sadly many times these thoughts lead PICTURE PICTURE ON MY FACEBOOK WALL... BY DUREYAH ABRAHAMS CONTENTS Letter from the editor……..………...3 Identity crisis.……………………………4 Crisis of knowledge………………..….4 Poetry……………………………………...8 Social Media…………………………...10 How we Answer Our Own Duas..12 Humor page………………..…………..14 IQRA’ CONTRIBUTORS Editor—S.A. Moronell Co Editor—Aisha Hamdulay Writers: Dureyah Abrahams, Yaseen Kippie, Chevaan Davids. UCT MSA: Muslim Students Association Steve Biko Students’ Union Level 5, Societies Desk Upper Campus, University of Cape Town Rondebosch, 7701 Fax: 021 650 2904 Email: [email protected]Views expressed in the col- umns of IQRA’A do not neces- sarily reflect those of the IQRA’ Editorial Committee or the UCT MSA Executive. Letters to the Editor or if you want to write for IQRA’ , email [email protected]Facebook: UCT MSA Twitter: @UCTMSA Instagram: UCT MSA July 2016
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PICTURE PICTURE ON MY FACEBOOK WALL CONTENTS · said, do not trade in your modesty for anything, ladies- even if that hijab-less selfie bombs. Hold on to your deen, flick that hijab
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
gram and duckfaces; these are a few words that we didn’t
know a few years ago, but has since become second nature.
Social media and posting of our lives have become this gen-
eration’s great obsession. Think about it, how many times do
you open your phone a day, how many times have you
stopped your family in a panic as they begin to eat the food
because you have not yet snapped it, how many times do we
end off a trip with a picture because “if there’s no picture, it
didn’t happen”, and how many times do we take a mini pho-
to shoot before we go out for our “OOTD” (Outfit Of The
Day) post?
Yes, we laugh and take it lightly, but we should ask our-
selves... how much is too much? And what is our place in all
of this as Muslims?
The greatest ill, I’ve come to believe, is the obsession with
perfection, or rather what we define perfection as. Back in
the day people strived for greatness. Greatness in education,
in akhlaaq and deen. Today however we strive to be “on
fleek” and “on point”. Oh you laugh but it’s real, people.
The pressure of showing off, whether it be looks, body or
blessings, is all around us; but did you know that this com-
pletely goes against the teachings of our Prophet (SAW)
(even if we follow it with hashtag blessed) where he says
“Every religion has a character and the character of Islam is
modesty.”
Recent studies also show that the obsession women have
with trying to be like instagram models, and how many
‘likes’ we get, all lead to great depression and anxiety. The
copying of this fake “perfection” leads to thoughts of altering
our sacred bodies, and sadly many times these thoughts lead
PICTURE PICTURE ON MY FACEBOOK WALL...
BY DUREYAH ABRAHAMS
CONTENTS
Letter from the editor……..………...3
Identity crisis.……………………………4
Crisis of knowledge………………..….4
Poetry……………………………………...8
Social Media…………………………...10
How we Answer Our Own Duas..12
Humor page………………..…………..14
IQRA’ CONTRIBUTORS
Editor—S.A. Moronell
Co Editor—Aisha Hamdulay
Writers:
Dureyah Abrahams,
Yaseen Kippie,
Chevaan Davids.
UCT MSA: Muslim Students Association Steve Biko Students’ Union Level 5, Societies Desk Upper Campus, University of Cape Town Rondebosch, 7701
Fax: 021 650 2904 Email: [email protected] Views expressed in the col-umns of IQRA’A do not neces-sarily reflect those of the IQRA’ Editorial Committee or the UCT MSA Executive. Letters to the Editor or if you want to write for IQRA’ , email [email protected]
The iqra’ Team is calling on all wriTers To conTribuTe To our quarTerly
newsletter.
To get involved, email us at [email protected] or speak to an msa mem-
ber to assist you.
The only way we can change our current situation is to talk about it. be a
part of the process. Your intellectual contributions would be greatly ap-
preciated.
to action. Allah took four oaths in the Quran before stating that He created you in the best and
most perfect of forms. Yes, your Lord declared you the epitome of beauty, so how dare anyone
make you think otherwise? And what we don’t seem to understand is that we should not kill our-
selves trying to look like “them” because the truth is, they don’t look like that either, so one must
always remember that the presence of another woman’s beauty is not the absence of your own.
The decline in modesty can be linked to the psychological theory of Operant Conditioning, where
a behaviour is increased by its consequences, such as reward. Today, the lack of modesty in one’s
online posts is closely linked to its increases in “likes”. This is a very dangerous problem for us
Muslimahs, because being insta-famous and getting that blue tick almost solely depends on it.
(I’m a bit confused by this statement, please make it clearer in its context) So with that being
said, do not trade in your modesty for anything, ladies- even if that hijab-less selfie bombs.
Hold on to your deen, flick that hijab with pride, shine with noor instead of highlight, and look at
all you have instead of all you don’t , because it’s better to keep up with your deen than the Kar-
dashians. And in a world full of Kim’s, dare to be a Khadijah (RA).
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This issue of Iqra’ is inspired, and targeted at, the idea of modern struggles. In fact, far from being an idea,
modern struggles are living experiences felt each and every day by ordinary people, both Muslim and non-
Muslim.
Of course these struggles vary from place to place, and from one time to another. A Syrian refugee does not
struggle in the same way that a Wall Street banker does, nor can we expect a 12th century peasant to struggle
in the same way as we do. Each struggle is unique – and it is often its uniqueness that defines a person. The
question now becomes, what is it that we are struggling against? As a Muslim, I believe that our struggle is
primarily concerned with conducting ourselves as Muslims in everyday life – being conscious that the All-
Seeing and All-Hearing is guarding over us, waiting for us to impress Him.
Essentially, the idea of continuously struggling against immorality – whether it takes shape in economic,
social, political or spiritual circumstances – is in line with God’s justice. Every person’s struggle is different,
and tailor made for that person. As God says in the Quran, ‘God does not burden any human being with
more than he can bear.’ Thus, whatever struggle you may go through, or piety you may think you accumu-
late, know that it does not make you any better the next person. The very process of struggling against im-
morality is to make you humble, so how does this humility allow you to logically progress to a form of spir-
itual arrogance? God treats every person as equal, and so should you.
Although our burdens are equal in the eyes of God, this does not allow us to forget that there is nevertheless
a burden that needs to be wrestled. God continues in the aforementioned passage and says, ‘Everyone will
enjoy the credit of his deeds and suffer the debits of his wrong doings.’ God’s Justice will be in favour of
those who try their best. And it is not about results either, as long as you are trying your best to make a
change for the better you are on the right path. So do not be afraid of struggling, for a struggle is necessary in
order to gain spiritual upliftment.
This edition of Iqra’ has humbly attempted to address some of the struggles that young Muslims find them-
selves facing. As social media is such a large part of modern life, two articles have been written addressing it.
Other contributions address the modern education crisis and ****. What one gains from these articles are its
emphasis on the spiritual effects of our modern struggles. Our daily struggles have an effect on us, yes, but it
is up to us as individuals and as a community to keep our spirituality and morality firm in the face of them.
And as I’m sure we have all experienced, the core of our resistance is to be found in our moral and spiritual
certitude that there is a God, and that He will indefinitely help us, if only we walk to Him, whilst He runs
towards us.
S.A. Moronell
One of the more fascinating concepts elucidated by the famous American film series, the Wizard
of Oz, came at an apt time for me as I was seeking to analyse the root cause of the misrepresenta-
tion of Islam within the world. It shows a “mindless” scarecrow who is desperately trying to ac-
quire a brain, and he says, “If I only had a brain, with the thoughts I’d be thinking, I could be an-
other Lincoln. If I only had a brain.” Well, he never finds a brain, but at the end, the Wizard gives
him a piece of paper. And he says,” In my country, back home in Kansas, when somebody doesn’t
have a brain, we confer upon him a diploma.” This is very often what happens at our universities.
“Brainless” people are given pieces of paper to convince them that they have a brain. But the reali-
ty of it is, they are actually more ignorant coming out of the university than they were going in.
Because when they went in to the university, they had innocent ignorance. But by the time they
come out of the university, they have this compounded ignorance. And this is, to me, one of the
great crimes of the modern educational institution. This is the Crisis of Knowledge.
The tremendous role of knowledge within our lives is quite simply the most important, not only
as the basis of the human experience, but also as Muslims, because this is the first commandment
from Allah upon us. One of the greatest misconceptions prevalent in the modern world, which has
contributed to the dumbing down of society, is the false dichotomy between the sacred and secu-
lar sciences, especially within the Islamic Tradition. With the vast array of Islamic Literature be-
ing pushed under a huge mat of arrogant ignorance, and with the tremendous Islamic Civiliza-
tional History being bypassed, many have opted to stay comfortable in their manifestation of the
cliché “Ignorance is bliss”, but those vying sincerely to dispel this enormous fallacy have always
known that the divide between Sacred and Secular Knowledge never existed and was clarified in
the very first verses revealed upon the Noble Messenger Muhammad(Peace be upon him): "Read!
In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists). Has created man from clot (a piece of
thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Ever-Generous. Who has taught (the writing)
by the pen. Has taught man that which he knew not. "[Qur'an 96:1-5].
The word Iqra’(Read!) has two linguistic derivations which signify two very notable world views
juxtaposed as the Quranic view on what knowledge is and what it represents. When the Archangel
Jibreel descended upon the presence of the Prophet, he commanded him to Read, to which he re-
plied “I am not a reader”, due to the overwhelming indication that this was the reading of words
on a page, which the Arab Society of the time was not equipped with - but one of the miracles that
Islam came with was that it transformed that society into one of the most literary societies in hu-
man history. Jibreel again asserted that this was not the literal type of reading, but a reading of
the signs on the horizons, reading the symbols of existence. As one of the Poets said,” The Cosmos
is meanings set up in images, and all those who perceive these meanings, are people are inner
core (Ulul albab).” The ‘lub’ is the core of a fruit, which is unveiled when these peoples endowed
with meaning peel off the outer form. This first command to read is the sacred sciences, the read-
ing in the Name of Allah. Yet again we see the command to read: “Read! And your Lord is Ever-
Generous!” Why is Allah the Ever-Generous? “The One who taught the use of the pen, Who
taught man that which he knew not.” This is all the sciences we deem worldly, but that are means
to the All-Knowing.
The Crisis of Knowledge at its root is a crisis of comportment, also known as Adab. Contrary to
CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE
BY YASEEN KIPPIE
popular usage, the word Adab does not refer merely to our character, but to a sense of ful-
filling the correct comportment of each given circumstance. The scholars define it as “To
put a thing in its correct place”. This means that in order to correctly give a thing its due,
you have to know its worth and how to correctly apply it. The same goes with knowledge,
al-Ilm. We need to realize the enormous nature of our responsibility as Muslims, as seek-
ers of truth, especially in this day and age. It is said, “God will have mercy upon a person
who knows their estimation.” With anyone having access to the internet, it’s quite simple
for many to get ahead of themselves into thinking they’ve acquired true knowledge. Unfor-
tunately this has led to many half-baked students. Just as you would not trust someone
who claims to be a doctor after reading a few books on medicine, so too you should not
trust a person who speaks about religious knowledge without having taken it from those
who have taken it with an unbroken chain of transmission back to the Prophet Muham-
mad peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. Islamic scholarship is a serious matter. But
many today have deluded its importance and rendered it as a superficial endeavour that
anyone can do in their spare time. The modern bombardment of people of information has
deluded the presence of people of knowledge. It’s one of the negative externalities of the
information age, where extremism prevails over balance and moderation.
Even within those who share different opinions, we need to hold comportment. Differ-
ences of Opinion in the Nation of The Prophet Muhammad (Salutations and Peace of Al-
lah be upon him) have always been around. With it, life has been made much easier for
peoples based on geographical and cultural differences. Nowadays, these normal differ-
ences in jurisprudence have been overblown and been relocated into what we "perceive"
are theological issues. Even with these issues, Islam is still Islam, the way of being a sacred
human being with the foundation of firm belief grounded in knowledge and excellent
character. Therefore if we really want to unite the Nation of Muslims, this excellent Adab
needs to be implemented within our discussions of differences.
In conclusion, I would like us to see that knowledge, whether sacred or secular, is there to
fulfil a purpose and not simply to be amassed, as a computer can store masses of infor-
mation. This is about transformation and seeking the good for all. Negative treatment of
knowledge is also a danger to the soul, but once it is placed in context, we understand that
all of this is for our benefit. As Dr Hashim Kamali stated, 'Izz ad-Din 'Abd as-Salaam as-
Sulami (d.1262 CE) stated, “the greatest of all the objectives of the Qur’an is to facilitate
benefits (masalih)," and that all the obligations of the Shari’ah (al-takalif) were predicated
on securing benefits for the people in this world and the next. For God Most High is Him-
self in no need of benefit nor is He in need of the obedience of His servants. He is above all
this and cannot be harmed by the disobedience of transgressors, nor benefit from the obe-
dience of the righteous. The Shari’ah is, in other words, concerned, from the beginning to
the end, with the benefits of God’s creatures." I strongly believe that in order for us to be
seen as the tremendous people we are, we must first see ourselves for who we are, and we
must take on that responsibility which in current times are the crises of knowledge and
comportment.
"Balance. That's what my parents and teachers in-stilled in me. The Prophet (SAW) said: "Always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course, whereby you will reach your target (of paradise)." Don't submerge your-self in one aspect of your life while neglecting all the others. Try to involve yourself in activities which take your mind off school (I say "school", not "campus" lol) like sports (my fave), and always always always make time for your Creator. The jk is the best place for some pre/post Thur Quran recitation" -Shakirah Rylands #MusilmsOfUCT
"The verse that keeps me going the most during campus is ال يكلف هللا نفسا اال وسعها It means that Allah does not burden a soul with more than he can handle, so that keeps me going during cam-pus because you always feel like you are flooded with assignments and tuts to hand in. Where sometimes you neglect your salaah to finish one thing, and vice versa. This verse is a reminder that there’s time for everything
and that you can accomplish everything on you plate.” -Zubayr Ismail
"I think the duah/hadith I think about the most is "Wisdom is the lost property of the believer, let him claim it wherever he finds it". I like that our Deen encourages us to learn about, ex-perience and observe life so that we may bet-ter understand others and ourselves" - Aqeelah Idas #MuslimsOfUCT
"My dream is to better myself each day and it connects with an aspect of Islam where we are told that there is always something to work on within ourselves like we don't ever know every-thing. Learning and growth is important and you can always be a better Muslim than you were yesterday." - Ilhaam Kriel #MuslimsOfUCT