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Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
As a Muslim student, you should try to set the best example that you can. Always be friendly, generous, helpful and open-minded yet firm about your beliefs. Living in a multiracial and multireligion community one cannot help but to encounter some misunderstandings of some sort especially at school.
Don't worry dearest friends. Take them as challenges and tests from Allah. Be strong and face them wholeheartedly for it means that Allah loves you. Still, here are some pointers for you to take in facing those challenges.
1. DO NOT BLAME THE TEACHER
First of all, remember that in most cases, blaming the teacher is a big mistake. Teachers are overburdened as they are just trying to teach their students, and they do not determine the contents of textbooks.
Take the approach of a helper or contributor, rather than "challenging" the teacher, and you will be far more successful in making changes.
2. RAISE YOUR HAND
Do a bit of your research beforehand, this would benefit you a lot as you can gain more knowledge in the process. Evaluate your world history, world cultures, geography, or comparative religions textbooks' coverage of Islam carefully.
If you find an error or inaccuracy in the textbooks,or if during discussion someone makes an incorrect statement, do not hesitate to raise your hand and offer the proper perspective or correct information. You never know the amount of help that you have done in clarifying the data or information.
3. RELATE YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Whenever you discuss different topics and issues in class, always try to incorporate your own personal experiences into the conversation.
Using a personal approach allows others to see Muslims as human beings, rather than just characters in the media and textbooks. Share what it is like living as a Muslim in the United States, and include both triumphs and difficulties.
For example, you might talk about the importance of daily worship (Salah) or fasting during Ramadan (Sawm) and the difficulties which often arise when Muslims try to perform their religious duties in the course of the day.
4. DO AN ORAL OR WRITTEN ON ISLAM
When Islam is discussed in the classroom, ask your teacher if you can write or orally present a report on a specialized topic related to Islam and present it in class.
In the report, try to incorporate an Islamic perspective on issues pertinent to your age group, for example gender relations, peer pressure, education, etc.Other important topics might be the importance of fasting in Ramadan, the importance of family in Islam, among others. Offer a presentation on Ramadan, and bring special food and sweets to class to celebrate and share the Eid holidays.
Make it a point to use Islamic sources for your report. Collect information from the Quran, books of Hadith, and other books dealing with your topic. Try to make researching the topic an exciting part of the report.
Interview your parents, friends, and other relatives about the chosen topic as well. If possible, contact the Imam or other knowledgeable person from your local Islamic center or Masjid and obtain their insights and information. Also obtain help from Muslim professors and educators.
5. INVITE A MUSLIM SPEAKER TO YOUR CLASS
Invite your parents, older brothers or sisters, or knowledgeable persons from the community to come to your class and conduct a presentation on Islam.
You might also try to establish a local speakers bureau comprised of community members, to provide speakers on a regular basis to classrooms in your area.
6. SHARE A VIDEO
Many videos on Islam and Muslim history have been produced by Muslim organizations, some of which may be suitable for middle and high school audiences. Select an appropriate video and request your teacher to show it in your class as part of the course.
Offer the teacher an opportunity to review the video beforehand. Make sure that the contents do not contain material which might give offence to people of other faiths or traditions.
7. BE CREATIVE
Come up with additional ideas for sharing information about Islam. Consult a scholar and/or knowledgeable Muslim.
Don't worry dearest friends. Take them as challenges and tests from Allah. Be strong and face them wholeheartedly for it means that Allah loves you. Still, here are some pointers for you to take in facing those challenges.
1. DO NOT BLAME THE TEACHER
First of all, remember that in most cases, blaming the teacher is a big mistake. Teachers are overburdened as they are just trying to teach their students, and they do not determine the contents of textbooks.
Take the approach of a helper or contributor, rather than "challenging" the teacher, and you will be far more successful in making changes.
2. RAISE YOUR HAND
Do a bit of your research beforehand, this would benefit you a lot as you can gain more knowledge in the process. Evaluate your world history, world cultures, geography, or comparative religions textbooks' coverage of Islam carefully.
If you find an error or inaccuracy in the textbooks,or if during discussion someone makes an incorrect statement, do not hesitate to raise your hand and offer the proper perspective or correct information. You never know the amount of help that you have done in clarifying the data or information.
3. RELATE YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Whenever you discuss different topics and issues in class, always try to incorporate your own personal experiences into the conversation.
Using a personal approach allows others to see Muslims as human beings, rather than just characters in the media and textbooks. Share what it is like living as a Muslim in the United States, and include both triumphs and difficulties.
For example, you might talk about the importance of daily worship (Salah) or fasting during Ramadan (Sawm) and the difficulties which often arise when Muslims try to perform their religious duties in the course of the day.
4. DO AN ORAL OR WRITTEN ON ISLAM
When Islam is discussed in the classroom, ask your teacher if you can write or orally present a report on a specialized topic related to Islam and present it in class.
In the report, try to incorporate an Islamic perspective on issues pertinent to your age group, for example gender relations, peer pressure, education, etc.Other important topics might be the importance of fasting in Ramadan, the importance of family in Islam, among others. Offer a presentation on Ramadan, and bring special food and sweets to class to celebrate and share the Eid holidays.
Make it a point to use Islamic sources for your report. Collect information from the Quran, books of Hadith, and other books dealing with your topic. Try to make researching the topic an exciting part of the report.
Interview your parents, friends, and other relatives about the chosen topic as well. If possible, contact the Imam or other knowledgeable person from your local Islamic center or Masjid and obtain their insights and information. Also obtain help from Muslim professors and educators.
5. INVITE A MUSLIM SPEAKER TO YOUR CLASS
Invite your parents, older brothers or sisters, or knowledgeable persons from the community to come to your class and conduct a presentation on Islam.
You might also try to establish a local speakers bureau comprised of community members, to provide speakers on a regular basis to classrooms in your area.
6. SHARE A VIDEO
Many videos on Islam and Muslim history have been produced by Muslim organizations, some of which may be suitable for middle and high school audiences. Select an appropriate video and request your teacher to show it in your class as part of the course.
Offer the teacher an opportunity to review the video beforehand. Make sure that the contents do not contain material which might give offence to people of other faiths or traditions.
7. BE CREATIVE
Come up with additional ideas for sharing information about Islam. Consult a scholar and/or knowledgeable Muslim.
Are you one of those people who rarely touch the Qur’an? Or do you read daily, but don’t find it is having the impact on you that it should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can help you connect with the Qur’an.1. Before you touch it, check your heart.
The key to really benefiting from the Qur’an is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allah’s Book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was described by his wife as a “walking Qur’an”: in other words, he didn’t just read and recite the Qur’an, he lived it.
2. Do your Wudu' (ablution).
Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you that you’re not reading just another book. You are about to interact with God, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.
3. Read at least 5 minutes everyday.
Too often, we think we should read Qur’an for at least one whole hour. If you aren’t in the habit of reading regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Insha Allah (God willing), you will notice that those five minutes will become 10, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!
4. Make sure you understand what you’ve read.
Five minutes of reading the Qur’an in Arabic is good, but you need to understand what you’re reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Qur’an in the language you understand best. Always try to read the translation of what you’ve read that day.
5. Remember, the Qur’an is more interactive than a CD.
In an age of “interactive” CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Qur’an is not like that. Remember that when you read the Qur’an, you are interacting with Allah. He is talking to you, so pay attention.
6. Don’t just read; listen too.
There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Qur’an, a number of them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman or your car’s CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in addition to your daily Qur’an reading, not as a replacement for it.
7. Make Dua (supplication).
Ask Allah to guide you when you read the Qur’an. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to Allah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.
Sayyidina Ali (as) while he was a Khalifa was known for his mathematical genius. One Day a person came to him, thinking that since Ali thinks he is too smart, I'll ask him such a tough question that he won't be able to answer it and I'll have the chance to embarrass him in front of all the Arabs.
He asked "Ali, tell me a number, that if we divide it by any number from 1-10 the answer will always come in the form of a whole number and not as a fraction." Ali Looked back at him and said, "Take the number of days in a year and multiply it with the number of days in a week and you will have your answer."
The person got astonished but as he was a Mushrik he still didn't believe Ali. He calculated the answer Ali gave him. To his amazement he came across the following results:
The number of Days in a Year = 360 (in Arabic Calendar)
The Number of Days in a Week = 7
The product of the two numbers = 2520
Now...
2520 ÷ 1 == 2520
2520 ÷ 2 == 1260
2520 ÷ 3 == 840
2520 ÷ 4 == 630
2520 ÷ 5 == 504
2520 ÷ 6 == 420
2520 ÷ 7 == 360
2520 ÷ 8 == 315
2520 ÷ 9 == 280
2520 ÷ 10== 252
In another occasion...
A person was about to die, and before dying he wrote his Will which went as follows...
"I have 17 Camels, and I have three sons. Divide my Camels in such a way, that My eldest son gets half of them, the second one gets 1/3rd of the total and my youngest son gets 1/9th of the total number of Camels"
After his death when the relatives read his will they got extremely perplexed and said to each other that how can we divide 17 camels like this.
So after a long hard thought they decided that there was only one man in Arabia who could help them: Ali Ibne Abi Taalib.
So they all came to the door of Ali and put forward their problem.
Ali said, "Ok. I will divide the camels as per the man's will. I will lend one of my camels to the total which makes it 18 (17+1), now lets divide as per his will"
The Eldest gets 1/2 of 18 == 9
The second one gets 1/3 of 18 == 6
and The Youngest gets 1/9 of 18 == 2
Now the total number of camels == 17
Then Ali said, "Now I will take my Camel back"
