Family Night

Any night with your family is a night well spent, especially when it is at the masjid where the whole gang can retain a lot of knowledge about Islam together. The families gathered at the masjid and listened to a short, but very inspirational and eye opening speech by Fahad Tasleem. All of the families learned lessons of the prophet Ibrahim's death took these lessons from the lecture. You can always say you'll change later, because you never know when death can come. Death comes out of nowhere, and as they always say, life is very short! After the very inspirational lecture about death (we should always be prepared for it) that lead the crowd to tears, the families left to pray with an eman rush. The families came back from praying Isha with delicious food waiting for them to eat. The food was phenomenal and everyone left full, happy, and most importantly changed. Everyone left with a goal in mind. All they had to do was try to follow that goal before Shaytaan (satan) came to them first. It's a hard thing to do, but with the right kind of family support, an accessible thing that would make a big difference in the long run.

Honor Roll Breakfast

The results for the semester were in. Teachers throughout the building were shocked. Was it truly possible that all their hard work had finally paid off? By some miracle of Allah, had the majority of the student body really gotten Honor Rolls? ALHAMDULILLAH! It was true! Most students had passed with averages above 80! Excitement was in the air. Surely such an event should be celebrated? It would seem that our principal would agree. A letter was sent out informing parents of the Honor Roll Breakfast. Student Council immediately went to work, setting up the community hall with tables and chairs, and bringing food for the hard working students. The next day, students were ecstatic as they entered the cafeteria. Their faces were lit up as they saw their reward. Delicious breakfast items were piled on the tables. Chocolate milk, tea, doughnuts, croissants, bananas, oranges, apples, cereal, and more. Could there possibly be a more scrumptious breakfast? The students lined up and were served their food. They sat at the tables with their friends enjoyed their breakfast together. As a reward, teachers even let them off the hook and students were allowed to lay back and enjoy the day. Being rewarded really opened their minds to continue trying to do their best.

Cubs Becoming Cougars

As young adults we often tend to look for something or somewhere to help us find ourselves. It is said that the best place to do that is college. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines college as a building used for educational or religious purposes. After visiting a real college campus, the students of Darul Arqam learned that it is much more than that. The juniors and seniors of Darul Arqam loaded a big yellow school bus on January 7, 2010 to visit the third largest university in Texas, University of Houston, home of the Cougars. Most of them already knew that this was their college of choice but the visit definitely sealed the deal. A tour of the large campus was given to the students by a Cougar herself. The vast campus was the main attraction. Coming from such a small school, the students were fascinated. With an enrollment of 37,000, UH is the 23rd largest school in the United States. U.S. News & World Report also ranked UH second among national universities for Ethnic Campus Diversity. This rank itself was a breath of fresh air for the young ethnically diverse visitors. As the students roamed the college grounds they learned some interesting things about student life as well as history and traditions at the university. Fun facts about the college and famous alumni also intrigued the students. They snapped photos with a sculpture of a cougar as they learned that the official mascot for the university was first adopted in 1947. Founders named her Shasta. Shasta the fifth, who arrived at UH in 1980, was the first mascot to pass away on campus. The others simply got old or, in the case of Shasta the fourth, was put to sleep. Shasta the fifth died of kidney failure in June 1989. After learning about the different course options and the large number of available classes, the students seemed sold! Many of the students asked questions and seemed legitimately interested in what they were being told about the opportunities offered to them by the college. The diverse students, open campus, and fun and exciting traditions really seemed to shine a light on the student's opinions about the college. The few that weren't planning on attending made it a point to consider applying. The trip was definitely successful in helping the students understand that college is a big place with many opportunities for them and a perfect place for them to explore themselves and their options.

Giving Thanks

Everything we have, from our health to our wealth, was given to us by Allah. Every breath we take is a blessing and we must always thank Allah for it. There are many ways of thanking Allah, including thanking him through words and prayers. Another way of thanking Allah, though more difficult, is showing him our appreciation through actions…which is exactly what the students of Darul Arqam intended on doing when they volunteered to help at Al-Nisa's Women Shelter. The shelter is an all women's shelter staffed by Muslim sisters who want to make a difference in the community. The shelter is open to Muslim sisters who are struggling with housing or are in need of assistance or stability. Many of them are refugees, while others came to the shelter to get away from abusive relationships. Upon hearing this, many of the MSA girls were brought to tears, and together, they decided to do whatever they could to make the women at the shelter feel more comfortable in their temporary home. The girls decided to make gift baskets for the women, complete with lotions, shampoos, loofahs, and scented candles. While making the baskets the girls contemplated and discussed how lucky they were to have a safe home and loving families they could come home to everyday. Blessings like these are often taken for granted, and helping the omen at the shelter made them realize how fortunate they were. Volunteering at Al-Nisa's was a humbling experience. It made the girls appreciate and value the small blessings which are often overlooked in life. Another blessing that we often overlook is our health. While we've all gotten the flu every now and then, many of us have never suffered from a major disease or ailment. However, many people, including children, are not as fortunate. The Texas Children's Hospital is full of children suffering from incurable diseases such as cancer. In order to show their sympathy and care, the MSA students made cards. Equipped with colors pencils, glitter, and markers, the students got together after school and designed over a hundred cards. In addition to the cards, the MSA students bought several hundred coloring books and toys for the children. During the first weekend of their Spring Break, the students called several different hospitals, including Texas Children's Hospital, St. Luke's, and MD Anderson's, and with a group of ten students, they went and distributed the cards and coloring books. The children were overjoyed, and the MSA students felt as though they had accomplished something great. Seeing the children, as young and sick as they were, helped the students appreciate their health so much more. The experience was truly enlightening. "Whoever relieves a believer of distress in this world, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Resurrection. Whoever makes things easy for those who are in difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and in the next. Whoever conceals (the faults of) a Muslim in this world, Allah will conceal him (his faults) in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah will help the slave so long as the slave helps his brother." [Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 1/71, hadith no. 204.]

Bleeding Pink

On February 9th, the halls of Darul Arqam were filled with students dressed in pink. Girls were sporting pink hijabs, and even the boys had pink ribbons pinned to their shirts. Though the cause was for women, the boys knew it didn't matter who was in need; what mattered was they contributed. It was pink hijab day, also known as Breast Cancer Awareness day, at Draconis Academy. Everyone was wearing something pink; either a pink scarf, a pink ribbon, or a pink bracelet. Some MSA members were dressed in pink from head to toe; a long pink abayas, a sparkly pink hijab, and multiple pink pins, ribbons, and bracelets. Some boys sported pink ties, or shirts-or even hats. Those who had forgotten what day it was were rushing about, looking to see if their friends brought any extra pink scarves or ribbons. As usual, a handful of girls came with their backpacks stuffed with extra pink accessories for those who had forgotten to dress for the occasion. At lunch, the MSA members sold cupcakes frosted with white and decorated with twisted pink frosting in the shape of ribbons. You could also buy pink ribbons to pin to your shirt. After they sold every last cupcake, the MSA members counted their profits. They had raised over $300, mashaAllah. We hope this will be beneficial to the foundations research and treatment to those inflicted with breast cancer. Proceeds were donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation along with a letter and pictures from the event.

Breaking the Habit

As humans, we aren't perfect, and thus we all have bad habits. Whether we talk with our mouthful, or bite our nails, we have habits that aren't always good for us. On February 24th 2010, Br. Shariq Abdul Ghani, an active administrator of Crescent Youth, came to Darul Arqam to give the students a motivational speech about change. He told the students about his own bad habits, and after passing out fliers, he encouraged the students to write down their own bad habits and steps they could take to change them. He briefly explained the importance of change and how we could better ourselves if we took simple measures to become better people. Changing is easy once you know how to change and better ourselves. That's what he taught us; he taught us to change for the better. Brother Shariq passed out a card and a paper to every MSA member. The paper had questions like, "What steps do you take to improve?", "How can you achieve your goal?", and "How can you refrain from repeating the mistake?" These questions got the MSA students thinking, and after a good twenty minutes of brainstorming and jotting down ideas, everyone's paper was full of motivational quotes and proactive steps. Everyone knew that the workshop was a success when, after the session ended, students shared their goals with their friends and promised to help each other achieve them.

Spring Festival

What is the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon? At a carnival, of course! The smell of popcorn was in the air. Excited shouts could be heard everywhere. Children happily enjoyed all the outdoor activities, which included moonwalks, a blow up obstacle course, and a train ride for younger children. Inside the community hall, MSA girls were supposed to be enjoying the bazaar together. However, this Sunday, they decided to volunteer for their annual Darul Arqam Fundraising Carnival, proceeds of which always went to helping out the masjid. They set up food stands and called up Muslim store owners to set up booths for the parents to enjoy. These MSA girls also took 1 to 2 hour shifts watching over each stand and even looking over the needs of the Muslim community by serving them. Outside, the Muslim boys watched over the children and made sure of their safety, while also making sure they had as much fun as possible. The parents, stress free from not worrying about their children for once, sat down and ate with old friends. They were even free to shop around for Islamic, decorative, and beautiful clothing. These volunteers really put a lot of effort into making this year's carnival a successful one. They were offered free items all around the carnival, but instead of taking advantage of their freebies; they decided to allow the Muslims to purchase as much as possible so more money would be raised for the masjid.

Reaching Out: Hands for Haiti

It was a Tuesday, January 12th, 2010. The day was like any other. People got up in the morning to go to work, or school, consumed by their daily lives. And then, around four o'clock in the afternoon, the world underwent a shudder that left many people homeless and distraught, unbeknownst to the people in Houston, who were sipping their afternoon tea. The earthquake that hit Haiti reached a catastrophic magnitude of about 7.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was near a town called Léogâne, which is approximately 16 miles west of the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. By the 24th, about fifty-two aftershocks were recorded, all reaching 4.5 on the Richter scale or even higher. Death toll ranged between 220,000 and 230,000 and about 300,000 were injured. One million civilians were left homeless. Landmarks like the Presidential Palace and the Port-au-Prince cathedral were damaged, and many more commercial buildings were destroyed. As of February 12th, an estimated three million were assumed to have been affected by this natural disaster. Communication systems, hospitals, electrical systems, and transport facilities were down, making aid incredibly difficult for those desperately in need of help. Morgues overflowed, and tens of thousands of bodies were buried in mass graves. Resources tapered off, and things were looking grave. However, many countries dispatched responses to humanitarian aid, dispatching rescue and medical teams and engineers or pledging funds-anything they could do to help. Darul Arqam students wanted to help as well. Not only the MSA members, but the middle schoolers, who were touched by the devastating and heart-wrenching stories they'd heard or watched on the news. Grades six and up placed empty boxes in classrooms and organized a can and toy drive to see which class could raise the most. They placed empty boxes around the masjid, asking community members to donate any items they could; toiletries, bagged or boxed food, cans, and anything else they could afford. Also, they continued to ask for donations every Friday after Jum'ah prayer, and remind people that the community hall was open, and if members of the community had any clothing in good condition they could donate, to please do so. Students fundraised and collected throughout the whole month of January. On January 22nd, United Nations declared the emergency phase of Haiti to be over, but help was still sent, well throughout February. On February 6th, MSA members, along with the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders who'd helped organize the clothes drive arrived at the community hall, ready to donate their weekend to packing up all the donations. First, they sorted through the clothes, making sure there were no torn or stained items. Then, they organized them into categories: boys', girls', men's, women's, shoes, etc. Then, they boxed up all the clothes donated. In the end, Darul Arqam students had raised over $2,000 in donations and over thirty boxes of clothes and food. InshaAllah, our contribution helped many people. Thank you to all who participated.