Ramadan Foods from Around the World
Compiled and designed by Maryam Noor

​We asked our MSA members to share their Ramadan food traditions to see how different places around the world experience suhoor and iftar. We have compiled their responses and challenge you to spot the similarities between the cultural foods of different countries!

“My Mercy Prevails over My Wrath”: How the Way you Teach a Child about Allah SWT Impacts their Belief in Islam
Sadiah Bemat

The first day of Ramadan has passed, and I, like many avid Yaqeen Institute watchers, began the month by watching Omar Suleiman’s Ramadan Series “Allah’s Names,” where the whole month, he will be delving into Allah SWT’s 99 names and explaining their meanings. At the beginning of every episode, we slowly watch a story unfold, where a young Gazan child who has fled the genocide is seeking safety and a new life with his uncle, while his mother and the rest of his loved ones are still stuck and being bombarded and displaced. Each new episode of this series will see the family’s story unfold, and how Allah SWT’s 99 names are invoked under every situation and circumstance, no matter how dire, showing the power of Allah SWT’s 99 names, and what they truly bring to the struggling Muslim. The first episode delves into the names Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful), Ar-Raheem (The Especially Merciful), and Al-Raouf (The Tenderly Merciful), names that invoke and describe the mercy of Allah SWT upon His creation, humankind. 
I was blessed to be born into a religious family, and surrounded by Islam and the beauty of our faith, and it is one of my earliest memories as a child. I have early memories of my father praying Maghrib salah every day in our living room in an aim to set a good example for my siblings and me, and after I turned 7, he made me practice my Maghrib salah out loud for many months to ensure I learned correctly. I have memories of my mother getting dressed for dawats (gatherings) and asking me to help her match her hijab to her dress (I still do this with her). I remember being encouraged to go to the masjid from a young age, and this is where I began my Qur'an lessons, and also where I would go read Taraweeh prayer with my aunt every weekend, spending late nights playing with my friends after the salah was finished, exchanging candies and chocolates, and doing our mehndi (henna) once Eid was announced. 

All of this is to say that I had a very beautiful upbringing in learning Islam, but, while the adults in my life had encouraged and guided my Islamic practices from a place of love, they had grown up in a generation where they were taught to fear Allah SWT before being taught His mercy, and remnants of their childhood manifested in my education of Islam as well. This was not just my parents; it could also be seen in some of the practices my Molana and Alimah (may Allah SWT bless them) taught us about Allah SWT while I attended madressa (Islamic classes) from a young age. While I have always loved Allah SWT, I often remember being taught to fear Him first, and had this fear be the guiding principle of my actions, rather than my actions and deeds being influenced by intentions of seeking His love and mercy.  

See, there is a healthy dose of fear necessary in our faith of Allah SWT. But for a child, who you hope grows up to follow the path of Allah SWT, His remembrance, and steadfastness in His faith, being introduced to Islam through the punishment of the grave, the book of deeds where the Angels record your every actions, and the beast that is Jahannam (Hell) at the age of ten is terrifying. More often than not, you're pushing a person away from Islam, not because they don’t believe in Allah SWT, but because they are afraid of not living up to the standards placed by the Muslim community, or being “perfect” in their practice of Islam. 
While watching Omar Suleiman’s video, I thought to myself about how much his explanation would have helped me had I been taught about Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, and Al-Raouf before I was taught about Allah SWT’s anger. How much easier it would have been for me as a child, how much pressure would have been alleviated from my young and impressionable mind, which did not understand the complexities of Islam. How much stronger my faith would have been if I had been taught about these when I was younger. How much sooner I would have turned to Allah SWT when I was struggling, rather than turn my back in shame. 

Shame.
Shame.
Shame.

I was taught to be ashamed before I was taught to turn to Allah SWT, no matter what I had done. 

It was narrated by Abu Huraira RA that the Prophet Muhammad SAW said “When Allah SWT completed the creation, He wrote in His book with Him upon the Throne: Verily, My mercy prevails over my wrath” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3194, Sahih Muslim 2751).

Allah SWT’s love, forgiveness and mercy come before His anger. That is what a child should be taught first about his Lord. Not how, if you commit a sin, you will be thrown into Jahanam and punished for eternity. In actuality, it is much more complicated than that, and there is a much more nuanced discussion and explanation that a child cannot comprehend about how a person goes to Jahannam. It is only for Allah SWT to know and decide if a person goes to Jahanam. As His creation, it is not for us to tell anyone, or fearmonger them into obeying with what will happen to them in the hereafter, whether they are a child or an adult, because that is not for us to know, and will only push a person away from Islam. 

Oh my inner child, how long it took to heal you. How much fear, anxiety, and shame had built and festered inside of you. It wasn’t until I was older, already finished with my madressa studies when I decided to learn Islam differently, and this time, learn it for myself, that I had truly realized who Allah SWT was, beyond what I had been conditioned to fear. I finally got the answers to my questions, and no longer had to digest the hollow line from adults, “because Allah SWT says so” when I asked why we are commanded to some action and prohibited from others. My curiosity to understand led me to finally understand that Allah SWT only commanded us to do certain actions, and abstain from others because we will benefit, or we will be protected. There are so many benefits for salah, but Allah SWT also tells us why, because it is a gift, where five times a day, while your head is in sujood (prostration), that is when you are closest to Him. Allah SWT has bestowed His mercy in salah, as it is a gift granted to humankind, where you get to speak to your Lord directly five times a day. Five times a day, you can turn to Him when your heart feels heavy, when you are overwhelmed with the dunya (life), and find peace. Allah SWT has bestowed mercy in even the preparation of salah, where every drop of wudu washes away your sins (Sahih Muslim 244). 

While we have the why for many things, there are some that we do not have answers for, but, just know that everything Allah SWT tells us, there is a good reason for it, and it is only in our benefit. That is the mercy of Allah SWT, because He only wants goodness for us, or to protect us from something that only He knows. 

Allah SWT is more merciful to you than your parents. He is more merciful to you than your closest companion. He is more merciful to you than a mother who gives everything to her child and receives nothing in return. If you turn to Allah SWT, He will run to you (Sahih al-Bukhari 7405). He is the Most Merciful.  

A story that exemplifies, and truly shows how merciful Allah SWT truly is, is the story of the Firoun (The Pharaoh) from the time of Musa AS (Moses). He was on the brink of death, and the angel Jibrael AS (Gabriel) came down, and in fear that Firoun would ask for forgiveness, after committing the worst sins, Jibreal AS kicked sand into his mouth because Jibreal knew, as the closest angel to Allah SWT, how merciful Allah SWT is, and that he would forgive Firoun if only he asked (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3107). That is how merciful Allah SWT is. That is how loving He is, so why would He not forgive us if only we asked and tried to do better next time? 

Humans and Jinns were not made to be sinless. We are deeply flawed; we are deeply prone to commit sins. But Jannah (Heaven) is meant for those who repented, not those who did not sin. That is the mercy of Allah SWT.

If you have not already, I recommend following this series and learn the beauty of Allah SWT through His 99 names with Omar Suleiman’s incredible explanation, and see how the story of the Gazan boy unfolds, reflecting on the privilege we have this Ramadan to seek food, spend time alongside our loved ones, and worship Allah SWT in safety and comfort. 

Castles of Worship
Raisa Farhin

O son of Adam,
how long will you remain chained
between the needles of dusk and dawn?

You’re caught in a trance,
quenching your thirst with a mirage.
Will you never awaken?

When the hourglass is empty,
will you lie wrapped in muslin,
buried in sin?

O son of Adam,
why remain the devotee of a temple
in your name?

What is the purpose of worship
that is driven by the hatred
of your own being?

You fawn after a siren’s echo,
carving hollows you refuse to face.

If only you released your fear of the sea,
if only you swept away the shards,
if only you pulverized the pedestal you’ve built,
would you find the sweetness
of turning within.

The Dawn of Imaan 
Raisa Farhin

When the earth is cloaked with darkness, 
and the light within is called to rise, 
I seek my torch, 
but within the hollow,
I find cinders in its place.

The silent shadows suffocate my rooh, 
so I shackle my qalb 
within layers of plaster 
smothered across shards of imaan. 

If only these eyes could find dawn, 
and learn to rekindle the flame.

If only this traveller would trust His decree, 
and let the springs tear apart each seam.

If only this mind surrendered, 
and let His mercy split the stone within this chest.

If only this soul would taste His words,
and let them revive the tarnished embers. 

When will you unlock the chains, 
and let the mountains erode?

Let the tides of His rahmah mend your wounds, 
Let the blessed rain revive the rivers within you, 
Let the nectar of His words melt the fears you store. 

And when the darkness cloaks the earth, 
may you accept the noor He lends, 
and let it shine through.

In mid-January, Muslims in Academia (MIA) had their first event of the year in collaboration with the Muslim Students' Association (MSA). The purpose of this event was to bring together established Muslim women in academia for a panel discussion where they shared their academic journeys, experiences, and advice for younger Muslimahs navigating academia. The four panelists, Salma Sheikh, Alaa Hamid, Rayan Awad Alim, and Labiba Nawar, and moderator Bahja Farah (all pictured seated above), have studied and/or work at the University of Toronto in the fields of STEM, making their stories and experiences incredibly relevant to the attendees!

​For the first part of the event, the panelists responded to guided discussion prompts, with topics including how they experience being visibly Muslim, how they deal with the pressure to shrink parts of their identities in academic spaces, and how their faith empowers them in the face of challenges. This was followed by an open group discussion where the audience was handed mics to ask their burning questions. The atmosphere during the open discussion was incredibly supportive and reassuring, illustrating the power of sisterhood when it comes to building confidence in your identity!

​The event concluded with pizza and a networking session. The pizza was delicious, the conversations were thriving, and LinkedIn contacts were shared. I went around and asked some of the attendees for their key takeaways from the event. One girl responded, “Trust in your identity and don’t change yourself for the position you are in.” Another response was, “The Muslim experience isn’t as isolating as you think, and you’re guaranteed to find someone else with the same experiences if you explore your community.” A few people shared that they really valued the perspective of turning academia into an opportunity for ibadah (worship) by approaching their work with the right niyyah (intention). They also found reassurance through the perspective of how, just because you dedicate two years of your life to studying something, if you find you aren’t passionate about it, don’t feel obliged to see it through because, at the end of the day, you have decades of work life ahead of you. So, take those extra few years to pursue a career you’re actually passionate about! Overall, the Women in Academia panel provided a much-needed safe space for female Muslim students and academics to share their experiences and support each other as they each navigate their academic journeys. In sha Allah, we have more events similar to this one in the future!