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: iqraa.uct@gmail.com 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 iqraa.uct@gmail.com

Facebook: UCT MSA Twitter: @UCTMSA Instagram: UCT MSA

July 2016

The iqra’ Team is calling on all wriTers To conTribuTe To our quarTerly

newsletter.

To get involved, email us at iqraa.uct@gmail.com 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

MUSLIMS OF UCT REVIEW

DA’WAH DAY—KHAYALITSHA

Identity Crisis

Islamic civilisation,

What is that?

Identity crisis,

I dare say.

The unending need,

To clarify our doubts.

If this is you,

Then this is me!

Look at the buildings,

The art,

The books,

The people who read them.

Can I not convince you,

Of our very existence?

Or maybe you never cared,

It was I who cared.

I was the one,

Who, later in life,

Decided to look back,

And take pride.

But in my pride,

I forgot.

That to look back,

is to walk backwards.

Continuous Assessment

Even when surrounded by the West

don’t forget that Islam is the best.

Lets mould this modern culture

into a compliant Muslim sculpture.

With such a convenient JK,

there’s no need to delay our five a day,

or submit to those astray,

or dress the Kardashian way!

The Quran is our textbook.

Do your best to retract that second

look;

and let us all lower our eyes

to gain rewards toward the ultimate

prize.

Try to pass the simple daily tests,

so you can avoid a future mess.

Because temptation is Real at UCT,

But don’t panic, the Prophet’s teach-

ings are free!

Chevaan Davids

Late Night Chats

People debating about Islamic dating?

Let the scholars ease all the contemplating.

Pure intentions will lead to Halaal outcomes,

but don’t forget the permission of the Maghrams!

Be careful of these late night chats;

a heart can mean a lot, even on Whatsapp!

Have a third party present to oversee

any messages that may threaten the Dean.

An easier issue, no need for head rubbing,

Is how forbidden it is, for us to go clubbing.

The only long street for us to wander,

is the spiritual one, leading straight to Jannah.

Even though one NO should be enough,

there will always be challenges for our nafs.

Praying on time will give you the intuition

To go through the day with Islamic volition.

Consider that prevention is preferred,

So don’t worry about being called a nerd.

The Creator’s judgment is all that matters,

so let’s spend our time as Muslims un-tattered.

Chevaan Davids

SOCIAL MEDIA – FOR BETTER OR WORSE

BY DEENA VEEREN

Social media can be seen as a platform to connect and socialise with people from all over the

world. One of the greatest advantages of social media is its use as a tool to share, create and ex-

change information in a virtual community. We are lucky enough to be part of a religion that ap-

preciates and welcomes all forms of advancements as long as it does not go against the teachings

of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and what Allah Subhanahu Watala has revealed

to us through the Quran. Many of us use social media as a means to express ideas and post cur-

rent events, politics, sports, day to day activities - and religion isn’t any different. The beauty of

Islam is that it’s not just a religion but it’s also our identity; it is part of us wherever we go and

whoever we interact with. Social media, being so entwined in our modern life, can be used as a

medium to express our religion.

My focus will be on Facebook because it is the most popular social networking site, with more

that 750 million users worldwide. Facebook started as a means to communicate with friends and

family from all over the world but over the past 10 years it has evolved into a platform through

which many can share their personal political and religious views by sharing quotes or articles

and videos. Some people in the past have said that Facebook is haraam because of the inappropri-

ate pictures and videos shared, whilst some scholars have said that that Facebook is an ego boost-

er and it invokes thoughts of jealously and envy amongst our “friends”. Personally I agree to

some extent, because in everything there is good and bad - but there is so much good that can be

achieved with Facebook. It can be used as a very powerful tool to share Islamic knowledge and

remind Muslims and Non-Muslims alike of what Islam is all about. It can be a force of change for

the better.

Social media has had a major impact on Muslims in the past 10 years, for many of us have gained

Islamic knowledge from Facebook where pages often share Ayats, Hadiths and inspiring thoughts

and quotes. We can “like” Islamic pages that share beautiful reminders. Also, there are now fo-

rums which grant us the possibility to ask questions anonymously on issues that we may feel

slightly embarrassed to talk about in public and get answers from reliable sources. We are so

lucky to be part of a generation where Islamic knowledge is so readily available, unlike our par-

ents who most of the time remained struggled with gaining access to knowledge.

Social media has indeed changed the way Muslims think and the way others think about Mus-

lims. It has allowed non-Muslims to have a greater insight into Islam. While it is true that as

Muslims we should be allowed to express our faith without fear, the increase of Islamophobia

makes us more mindful of our posts, and we end up taking the art of self-censoring. Having a

Muslim name is sometimes enough to represent Islam in this virtual world, thus we have to think

carefully before we post anything. Thought has to be given before replying to any post so as to not

offend others, even if we are trying to defend our Deen or tackle injustices. Because as soon as

you press enter you are portraying who and what a Muslim is. This may seem as a disadvantage

however it is quite the contrary, because it teaches us a valuable lesson to think before we speak.

Like everything else, social media has been proven to be capable of being as detrimental to our

Deen as it is beneficial, it all comes down to the way we use it. Sometimes there are instances

where a Muslim may post something which is haraam, and our first reaction to it is to publicly

shame that person. We don’t for a second think that it is equally wrong as to expose someone’s

sin in public as it is to sin in the first place. If we do happen to see our friend or family member

posting something inappropriate and we are concerned, we should rather send that person a pri-

vate message or talk to them in person.

Apart from our interactions within Facebook and social media, it is important to realise that it

simply takes up too much of our time. We should try and discipline ourselves properly with any-

thing that is taking up unnecessary amounts of time. As Muslims we should remember that the

time and energy we put in this life will either benefit us or harm us on the day of Judgement. We

should stay clear from replacing responsibilities such as Salaah, school, family among other

things with social media. The same consequences apply to cyber space as does real life, we can

either choose to multiply our sin or multiply our reward. We can choose to use social media to

invite Allah’s blessing or Allah’s anger. So next time we choose to share or post anything remem-

ber the two angels recording us, for surely Allah is testing us.

In psychology, it's a common thing to believe that the first step to positivity

and achievement in anything, is your belief and mindset. We are told, if we

want to achieve something, if we want to be something, we must first have

positive belief in it - to actualize it. The first step is thus to believe it is possi-

ble. If we believe we are going to fail, chances are most or more likely that we

will fail, because it shows an absence of belief and conviction in our abilities,

which will most definitely filter down to our abilities. We all see this at some

or other point in life, when observing people who are extremely confident in

their abilities and thus succeed, in contrast to those who have the same or bet-

ter potential, but their insecurities about their abilities holds them back from

achieving their true potential for success.

I challenge you to try this with your academics, sporting goals or other ambi-

tions you are pursuing in your life. Even though it may SEEM impossible and

easier said than done, to perhaps get a 60, let alone a 50 for a course you need

to pass, gear your mind towards the idea that you WILL get it. By doing this,

you change your whole attitude regarding how you pursue your goal because

your actions are based on a belief, not a chance. You filter out a lot of negative

thoughts, and even if you don’t reach your goal, or perhaps even higher than

the goal sometimes, chances are that you would do way better than you would

have if your pursuit was based on a belief of chance instead of positive belief.

So now, let’s think about when we make dua. Oftentimes, we may make dua

for the sake of it, not really sure if such a dua is possible, or believing that it

can be answered. However, if you believe that Allah is listening, and that He

will come through for you, then in essence YOU are answering part of the dua

you yourself asked for! This is so because your belief itself actually offers you

part of the relief that you are asking Allah for. When we go through hardship,

is when we turn most to Allah. We ask Allah for comfort, and we believe He

will provide it. Just in turning to Allah, it's our personal belief and conviction

in Allah, and that He is listening, that provides comfort to ourselves anyway,

often before Allah even answers our duas in the way we perceive it would be

answered. We don’t feel so helpless, or alone, because we know Allah is listen-

ing, always.

And if that true belief and conviction that Allah can help us is absent, so we

HOW WE ANSWER OUR OWN DUAS – THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DUA

BY AISHA HAMDULAY

t00 will not find that comfort, and we will feel that our duas are not being an-

swered, we will feel helpless and alone, because when we made the dua in the

first place, when we turned to Allah, we didn’t have true faith that it could be

answered, and how can we believe we will achieve or receive that which we

don't believe in? How can we expect to not feel alone, if we believe we are

alone? A true Muslim is never alone :).

The verse “ Indeed, Allah will not change the con-

dition of a people until they change what is in

themselves, “ ( Quran 13:11) comes to mind when I think of this con-

cept. This verse applies to many things, but it so simply also tells us: Change

begins with YOU. Belief begins with you. Relief begins with you. Results begin

with you.

Truly Allah is most gracious and most merciful, and He can answer any dua

made regardless, but the moral of the story is: have tawakkul. It's so im-

portant. And when making dua, the best way to do so is with utter sincerity

and belief in Allah, because that is the first step to having a dua answered for

ourselves, in part BY ourselves! In going forward, I encourage you to attempt

this positive mindset in achieving your goals, and couple it with dua made

with conviction. When you are sad, frustrated, angry, etc., place that trust in

Allah and the helplessness you may feel at the time, won’t feel much like help-

lessness anymore. You begin to help yourself without even knowing it. How

amazing isn’t our Lord, that when we ask for relief, it is granted, all we have to

do is believe. Subhanallah :)

Q: How does a Muslim close the door?

A: Islams it.

Q: Yo, what do Mexican Muslims eat?”

“Inshallahdas”

Q: What do you call a bad Mus-lim eye doctor? A: Asif Eyecare

Q: What do you call a Muslim who loves to shop?

A: Abaya

Q: What do you call a dead member of ISIS?

A: WASWAS

What do you call a Muslim hav-ing trouble breathing ?

Asma Attaq

JUST FOR LAUGHS

Comedy Corner