Issue 1

July. Juillet. 2014

In this issue

Question of the Month
Sacred Thought by Hidayet Abbad
Le Ramadan en Bref by Imam Ahmed Limame
The Point of Ramadan by Sheikh Hesham
Crossword Challenge #1
Sheikhs Corner & Editors Note
Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem
@ uomsa
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2 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14
would have accumulated
over the previous year on a
piece of paper and would
observe how my behavior
would change as this
blessed month neared and
then departed. This would
allow me to see which faults
are coming from the
whispers of Shaytan (Satan)
and which are coming from
my own Nafs. Perhaps, the
most interesting side effect
of this change in
atmosphere and behavior is
the liberation of the mind.




I recall listening to one of my
favorite speakers talk about
oppression and its ability to
destroy our spirituality as it
imprisons our thoughts.
Under oppression and abuse
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
And remind, for indeed,
the reminder benefits the
believers.

- Quran, 51:55
Sacred Thought
By Hidayet Abbad

A married man who is fasting begins his prayer.
Once he reaches his first salam, his salah is no
longer valid. When he reaches his second salam his
fasting has become invalid. After his prayer the
man looks before him and sees that his wife
becomes instantly divorced. How did this happen?
Answer will be revealed in next months issue inshaAllah!
Send your answer to communications@uomsa.ca with the subject "Question of the Month", your name, and
phone number. A prize will be awarded to a winner every month!
As the days go on, you
become immersed in this
spiritual space both online
and offline which allows you
to grow in this Deen
As Ramadan approaches
I find it intriguing to
observe this common shift
in behavior and habits
within my entourage.
Many of us, I am sure of it,
have already noticed that
as soon as the first of the
month hits, the Facebook
profile pictures start
changing. The statuses
become more and more
focused on Quran and
Islamic reminders, the posts
are generally more
beneficial and overall
everything takes a turn
down the outwardly pious
lane. As the days go on, you
become immersed in this
spiritual space both online
and offline which allows you
to grow in this Deen and
focus on moving forward
towards the improvement of
ourselves.
And so, I have always
indulged myself in writing
down all of the bad habits I
3 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14
use of this blessing.
Personally, I use that
feeling of closeness to
God as a source of
motivation to keep it up
throughout the year. God
knows how hard it is for
many of us to stay in that
liberated state of mind.
Whether it be thoughts of
career, school, injustice in
the world, marriage or
whatever else, it becomes
easy to be engulfed in
such matters to the point
of neglecting our spiritual
health and distancing
ourselves from God.






Although this is nothing
but a reflection, there is
profound advice first and
foremost to myself and
then to our readers to try
and take advantage of
the Ramadan spirit to
form habits which will
allow us to continue
progressing after this
important month and
most importantly to
maintain that
consciousness of God
which is essential to
anything that we do in this
religion.

caused by the Nafs when it
is invested in its own
satisfaction rather than the
satisfaction of its Creator.
When the majority of our
thoughts are directed
towards something that is
neither God nor for the sake
of God it leads us on this
never-ending quest of
relentless fighting. Yet, when
Ramadan arrives, a lot of
these battles cease and
you are left with this sort of
peace of mind: one that
cannot be described
accurately and demands to
be experienced in order to
be understood.
We might be focused on
the hardships of fasting,
keeping up with prayer,
helping the community and
all other Islamic duties but I
believe the beauty of
Ramadan is in being able to
realize the peace that is
brought by fulfilling these
religious obligations. Not
only do we get to see our
actions and intentions
change from pre Ramadan
to post Ramadan period
but we also start having
these feelings of nostalgia
when this month leaves us.
The idea that a month of
not eating leaves us with
the need for more would be
completely strange to any
other but the one who has
experienced its benefit is
truly amazing.
This is why I believe it is
important to make good
When the majority of
our thoughts are
directed towards
something that is neither
God nor for the sake of
God it leads us on this
never-ending quest of
relentless fighting.
all you can think of is the
abuser or the oppressor and
nothing else. You are
consumed by such thoughts
day and night, before you
sleep or when you wake up,
your mind is entirely invested
in thoughts which should
otherwise be invested in God.
It led me to think about the
less obvious forms of
oppression: the oppression
4 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14
Au nom dAllah, le Tout
Misricordieux, le Trs
Misricordieux. Le Prophte
paix et salut lui, accueille le
Ramadan avec joie :
Allah, soit lou son Nom, nous
offre des saisons bnies o
nous rcoltons des
belles rtributions
innombrables et indites.
Dans ces saisons privilgies
Allah aussi nous permet de
nous rivaliser dans
lapplication des bonnes
uvres. Le Ramadan est
parmi les priodes de lanne
quAllah a privilgies. Ce
mois est en effet honor par
Allah plus dun titre. Il fut le
mois o Allah a rvl le
Coran; Allah dit : Le mois
de Ramadan est celui au
cours duquel le Coran a t
rvl pour guider les
hommes dans la bonne
direction et leur permettre de
distinguer la Vrit de
lerreur. Le Ramadan a aussi
lhonneur dtre la priode
o seffectue un acte
dadoration qui constitue un
des cinq piliers de lIslam, le
jene, et une occasion
dabsolution de pchs. Il est
aussi honor par la nuit de la
Destine, En vrit, Nous
avons rvl le Coran dans la
nuit de la Destine. Et quelle
merveilleuse nuit que la nuit
de la Destine ! Une nuit
Le Ramadan en Bref
By Imam Ahmed Limame
dont la prire (nocturne) vaut
plus que la prire pendant
mille mois : La nuit de la
Destine vaut plus que mille
mois runis !
Le Prophte, paix et salut lui,
montrait une grande joie pour
lavnement du Ramadan, et,
comme le mentionne al-Sahih
(le recueil authentique) dal-
Boukhari, il partageait
cette bonne nouvelle avec ses
compagnons en disant :
Chanceux serviteurs que vous
tes! Vous avez loccasion de
vivre un mois bni o les portes
du Paradis sont ouvertes,
les portes de lEnfer sont
fermes et les dmons sont
enchans . Le Ramadan est
un mois de pardon par
excellence; Allah pardonne
chaque nuit et absout des
pchs des humains et les
sauve de lEnfer, et, vers la fin,
on assiste la nuit dabsolution
et de la rdemption, cest la
dernire nuit de Ramadan o
Allah, soit lou son Nom,
pardonne tous les jeneurs,
femmes et hommes.
(continued)
Le Ramadan est galement
une occasion de pardon des
anciens pchs, on lit dans
le hadith : Celui qui aura
loccasion de vivre le mois de
Ramadan et nobtiendra pas
la rmission de ses pchs
(par le biais des bonnes
uvres), quil pleure sa
ruine! . Alors, nous devons
nous prparer pleinement
pour accueillir ce mois bni;
nous devons chercher
savoir ce que le Prophte,
paix et salut lui, faisait
durant ce mois et comment il
le faisait, on ne sait jamais si
on va vivre jusquau
prochaine Ramadan ou non,
un nombre de personnes,
comme vous savez, ont jen
avec nous lan pass et ils ne
sont plus avec nous cette
anne! Alors, accueillons le
Ramadan avec des curs
tranquilles et
pleins denthousiasme,
comme faisaient nos
prdcesseurs bien-aims qui
priaient Allah durant six mois
de leur donner longue vie
pour pouvoir jener le
5 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14
Ramadan et bnficier de ses
innombrables tmrites et, aprs
le Ramadan, priaient Allah
daccepter les bonnes
uvres quils auront
accomplies durant le
Ramadan.
Les Compagnons du Prophtes
constataient un changement
clair dans le quotidien du
Prophte qui se montrait plus
actif dans ladoration et plus
rigoureux comme le raconte
son pouse Acha Qu'Allah
l'agre : Quand la dernire
dcade de Ramadan
commenait, le Prophte avait
lhabitude de passer les nuits
en prires et veillait les
membres de sa famille, afin
quils ne ratent pas les
bndictions et les
misricordes qui y descendent
flot, redoublait defforts et
serrait son Izar
(pagne). Lexpression serrer
son Izar (pagne) signifie quil
sappliquait et luttait
intensment dans l'adoration. Il
est aussi dit que cela signifie
qu'il se retirerait des femmes.
La plus importante bonne
uvre durant le mois de
Ramadan est bel et bien le
jene; Allah dit : Le jene vous
est prescrit comme il a t
prescrit aux peuples qui vous
ont prcds, afin que vous
manifestiez votre pit.
Ensuite, il faut commencer par
viter ce que Allah ordonne
dviter, car ceci est plus
important que daccomplir ce
que Allah ordonne
daccomplir, alors il faut de
toute vidence viter les
pchs durant le mois de
Ramadan, et veiller ce quon
soit parmi ceux qui auront
approfondi leur pit et ranim
leur foi et acquis davantage la
certitude dans les versets
dAllah et Son Livre. Le
musulman doit en effet rompre
avec les banalits et les
turpitudes de ce monde-bas et
satteler et se concentrer sur la
rcitation, lapprentissage, la
mditation et la
comprhension du Coran.







Il faut dire que celui qui se
prpare au jene, il le fait en
rompant avec toute chose
qui dvie son attention autre
chose que les actes
dadoration et qui perturbe
sa concentration, car il doit
jener corps et me, le
Prophte dit : Le jene est un
bouclier. Lorsque lun de vous
jene, quil ne prononce pas
de paroles obscnes et quil ne
se mette pas en colre. Si
quelquun linsulte ou lagresse,
quil dise : Je jene deux
fois. Il dit aussi : Celui qui
nabandonne pas le
mensonge et les mauvaises
actions, alors Dieu na pas
besoin quil abandonne sa
nourriture ni sa boisson. Un de
nos prdcesseurs disait :
Attention de navoir de ce
mois de Ramadan que la soif
et la peine corporelle durant la
nuit, mais soyez de ceux qui le
raniment et y raniment leurs
mes.
Nous devons alors profiter du
mois de Ramadan pour
ranimer nos mes et non,
comme certains jeunes font,
passer les nuits sur Youtube et
Facebook, et les jours sur
les lits, et ainsi ne pas faire la
prire prescrite qui est le
deuxime piler de lIslam et
plus importante que le jene.
Notre jene doit tre un
vritable jene en bonne et
due forme, un jene qui nous
donnera un lan spirituel
durant toute lanne, et de
quoi nourrir nos mes.

Les bonnes uvres durant le
mois de Ramadan
comprennent les actes et les
abstentions; les actes
accomplir comprennent, mis
part le jene, la prire
durant la nuit,
la frquentation des
mosques, la rcitation du
Coran au complet et la
souvenance abondante de
Allah et la charit; les
abstentions, elles,
comprennent la rupture avec
tous les dsires banals durant
le mois de Ramadan. Ceux-l
sont des plus
importants lments qui
doivent jalonner notre
quotidien durant ce mois
bni.

Je prie Allah que
la connaissance dont Il nous
honore nous soit bnfique
et de faire don de la
connaissance bnfique, et
de nous permettre de jener
le Ramadan avec en bonne
et due forme, dans la foi et la
sincrit et qui sauve notre
chair de lEnfer. Amen.

Allah pardonne chaque
nuit et absout des
pchs des humains et
les sauve de lEnfer
6 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14
Naturally we prefer specific
days, months and seasons,
albeit for different reasons.
Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom,
has decreed that some times
and places are preferred over
others. While our preference
to certain times is generally
tied to special
occasions, certain weather
conditions or even economic
reasons, Allahs preference to
specific places and times is
always tied to His Mercy,
Forgiveness and Generosity
As Muslims seeking the
pleasure of Allah, we know
that we consistently fall short
of our duties to Him. Even if
we were to exert all of our
effort and energy, we would
soon realize that no volume of
actions could truly compare
to Allahs bounties over us.
Attempting to enumerate
such bounties will prove to be
futile. Allah is Most Generous,
and there is no doubt about
that. Yet, out of His Infinite
Generosity, He has also
decreed special seasons
where rewards are multiplied
beyond human
comprehension. How could
the worship of a single night
be worth that of a thousand
months?
Ramadan, by far, is the most
special of the divinely-
ordained seasons. It is our
annual spiritual getaway; our
spiritual retreat and boot
camp for our bad habits and
actions. It is not merely about
refraining from food, drink and
other invalidators (this is the
easy part and even children
engage in it). The key
challenge is to go above and
beyond being thirsty and
hungry. Dieting is not the goal
of Ramadan. As Allah, the
Exalted, mentioned in the
verse of fasting, the goal is to
achieve Taqwa. Taqwa is
often translated as fear. While
this definition is correct in
certain contexts, it is not
entirely accurate especially
not in the context of the verse
of fasting. It is hard to find
one word to describe Taqwa,
even in Arabic. It is said the
great companion Ibn Masood
(may Allah be pleased with
him) described Taqwa as to
submit to Allah so that He is
not disobeyed, to remember
Allah so that He is not
forgotten, and to thank Allah
so no ingratitude is shown to
Him. In other words, Taqwa is
be dutiful to Allah in all sense
of the word.
In examining the Prophetic
traditions about fasting, we
find the narrations about
abstaining from the physical
(food, drink, etc)
invalidators. In addition, there
are other narrations speaking
of maintaining good
conduct, remaining peaceful
and serene and not
engaging in malice acts and
speech. While we are
requested to fast and
increase our prayers, charity

Ramadan, by far, is the
most special of the
divinely-ordained
seasons. It is our annual
spiritual getaway; our
spiritual retreat and boot
camp for our bad habits
and actions.
and reading of the Quran;
there is still a great
emphasis on purifying
ones soul and drawing
closer to fellow human kind
as well. Ramadan is a
revolution against all vice
and a promotion of all
virtue. This should be kept
in mind as we prepare for
the special season.
And speaking of
preparation, it is customary
in Muslim-majority countries
for people to prepare for
Ramadan by buying and
consuming more food and
a more variety of it. The
irony! Others use the time
in this month to follow
game shows and sitcoms.
For Muslims in the West, we
are kept busy by the
moon-sighting debates. All
of these are distractions
and detractors. We have
to focus and recognize
that it is only 30 days. If we
do not make the most of it,
we will have to wait for
another year if Allah wills.
An added challenge for us
this Ramadan (and for the
True Point of
Ramadan
By Sheikh Hesham
7 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14












next few years) is the long and hot days. This requires more attention and care on our part. Needless
to say, every second counts until the very last second of Ramadan. Everyone must have a plan going
into Ramadan. You know your limitations and resources, so plan accordingly.
It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allahs peace & blessings be upon him) came out one
night to inform his companions of the actual night of Layltul Alqadr and because two companions
were involved in an altercation, he was made to forget it. Therefore, we must overcome the diseases
of the heart such jealousy, hatred, pride, insincerity and the actions they lead to if we are to truly
benefit from Ramadan. Let us welcome Ramadan with peace, harmony, forgiveness and generosity.
Carry this on until the end of Ramadan and inculcate this into our daily lives thereafter.
May Allah bless us and accept from us all. Amen.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
6. A prophet that was thought to be
God
8. The first doctor in Islam
10. The shortest Surah in the Quran
11. The book of Dawood
12. The name of the prophet's first wife
13. Impurity
14. The first Khalif
18. The Qiblah resides in this city
19. The night of a thousand months
Down

1. The duty of the prophets
2. uOttawa SITE
3. Name of Uomsa's President
4. The day of judgment
5. The prophet's city
7. The key to Jannah
9. Forbidden
14. The language of the Quran
15. He who leads a prayer
16. Middle Salah
17. The colour...
20. The sunnah of breaking fast is
to start with this
22. Struggle
23. All of the Muslims
26. Associating with Allah
28. What bees produce
29. The prophet's cousin
30. The name of Main Mosque's
Imam
31. Mandatory
33. Friday
21. Innovation
24. The mountain that loves Muslims
25. The end of life
27. The chapter of the Quran
31. A salah that angels witness
32. Interest
33. Made of Fire
34. Verse
35. What Muslims engage in during
Ramadan
36. The number of Khalifs
37. Islamic Rulings
38. This life
Across
8 Issue 1 :: 01/07/14

Editors Note
Salamoualaikoum dear readers! Welcome to the first issue of the UOMSA Times. As you can
see, this is going to be a wonderful addition to uOttawa's MSA, inshallah. That being said, we can't do
this without you! We are looking for sister and brothers who are interested in writing articles, poems,
and personal pieces or even including art work every single month.
Each month will have a new theme in which you can base your work, or if you would like to
simply submit work regardless of theme we can publish them as needed. Next month's theme will be
"Post Ramadan". Please send in all work to my.chalati@gmail.com.
Inshallah this can be an excellent way for all of us to learn and develop, not only as Muslims,
but as brothers and sisters, students and members of the community.


- Lynn Chalati

Sheikhs Corner
Some of the most difficult parts on living in Western society as a young Muslim student
are having questions and a lack of, or even, no answers. Weve found a solution! In a section
of UOMSA Times, you can anonymously send in questions and have local sheikhs and imams
answer your questions!
Please send in all your questions to communications@uomsa.ca.

Jazakom Allah khair.
Wassalaamu alaykom wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh