DEAR P ARENTS ..........

1
AlHUDA ISSUE 3 Fri day 30t h April , 2010
15t h J umady Al Awwal, 1431

NASHEED .................. 2

TRIVIA ‘ L HUDA
Q UIZ 3 ..................... 2

THE WONDERS OF GENIUS

............................... 3

S ISTERS’ P AGE:
L IGHT IN THE DARKNESS
............................... 4 ALHUDA
MUSLIM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

PA R E NT S
f cus
D E AR
s here in NZ are
t the majority of Muslim
am sure you know tha stern societies like

I
proble
overseas migrants. The
NZ are indeed much
m is tha t wh
rai
en
se
you
cultural beliefs in We
different to the one you
, the parents, emigrate
your own children in NZ
were raised in. The
from your own Mus-
, bringing with you you
r
co un trie s to de velop be-
lim l eventually
upbringing, friction wil
customs and Islamic r. Be ing much older, you have
d you r son or daughte and
twe en yo u an of what Islam means
tur ed wit h a cle ar, precise understanding en, the y live in
ma ur childr
be ing a Mu slim en tails. However, for yo ho me ve rsus From the
what es: Islam at
wo rld s of co nflicting morals and attitud res po nsi ble for eyes of our
two models
ste rn sch oo lin g. As parents, you are role an d ba sic ally
Muslim
We , teach
r kids; to shape, guide Youth…
the upbringing of you ers wh o are firm in their belief
pe cta ble young believ s
bu ild , stro ng, res be underestimated. Thi
rents, your duty cannot
in All ah SW T. De
I believe is one of the
ar pa
major burdens you ha
live in a West ern co
ve ultima
un try.
tely for ced up on
Page 3
yourself in choosing to

“ Patience in advising your childr

you must show. Be prepared to.
en is what
..teach
them what they don’t understan
Dear parents: The sin
children. If you lose or
daughter. You have to
gle most valuable ass
are unable to harness
et
this trust, you
d.
”
you have is the trust
of your
realise that your childr have simply lost you
to the world you may en are growing r son or
think you have sheltered in a world that is very
you, but in school – pa them in. I am different
rticularly intermediate sorry to burst the bu
very thorny environm school onwards bble for
ent of poor morals, dis – children are surrou
ues. The TV in itself is respect of parents nded by a
something else. More an d elders... and the list
deeper into your childr likely than not it is contin-
en, teaching them, for engraving such harm
authority. Can you see instance, how cool ful ideologies
the contrast? You we it is to challenge an
able, if not unthinkable re raised in a Muslim d dispute parental
. Meanwhile, your childr environment, where su
pressure and correct the en are under immense ch behaviour was unacc
se errors. pressure, and it is you ept-
Trust r responsibility to uplift
is the key. When your this
child approaches you
thoughts and actions wit h iss ues the y feel are perplexing,
– be it cross-gender frie which are consuming
days, and so on – you ndships, joining in act their
MUST listen to them an ivities such as parties
d not be overtaken by an d bir th-
in your own childhood shock or anger, becau
you never had to discu se
your son or daughte ss such topics. In the
r has fallen into sins, most extreme case, if
unleash then the worst
The Winner of the last Trivia ‘l solved!! your anger and spite onto them, because this leamistake you can make is to
(cont. next page) ves the original proble
HUDA Quiz was ALI AMAN! m un-
Well done Ali!
Ifide to
home,
n fact, you will have als
you and your children
you
an d
the
yo
ir
u
tro
wil
ub
l be
les and
equ
o initiated a cold distan
– a barrier. They will no
difficulties they experi
ally unable to advise
tive avenues for help,
ce between
longer con-
ence outside the
them any longer.
such as Youth-
I sit and
Suffering
Corrupti
And the lo
This rem
ponder a
from ign
on and d
ss of iden
inds me o
bout the
orance an
isunity,
tity.
commun
d poverty
ity,
–

ort to alte rna f a hadee

So they ma y res nues would only SAWS, th of An-N
suc h ser vic es. Of course, such ave abi,
line or oth er Islamic and are The Prop
vic e ba sed up on mo ral values that are non- To his Co
het (SAW
S) once m
offer ad Muslims. entioned
what we believe in as mpanion in sincerit
completely contrary to “The nati s about th
must show. Be pre- ons will g e future o y,
vis ing you r children is what you Like peo ather aro f society,
Pa tien ce in ad them what they do ple eating und you –
to the m, guide them and teach The Saha from one
pa red to list en ildren to develop in ba asked p late; all g
together with your ch needy?” , “are we reedy,”
not understand. Work them an appreciation then few?
character and instil in “You are A re w e
them a strong Muslim questions with them: many in n
Go through some key of the sea u mber, bu
of Islamic etiquettes. different something to , t weak, li
this and that? Is being He (the) ke the foa
Why should we avoid h is extremely effective
, Almighty m
on. Such an approac Hearts of w il l remove r
be proud of? And so ething , the n they will your ene espect fro
e your children of som Allah (SW my, m the –
for if you can convinc is pre cis ely wh at you r T) w ill pla
ir own free will. That nation”. nt Wahn
do it out of out of the up your chi ldren. into the h
eart of th
of bringing “What is
aim should be in terms Wahn, O e
en he was ap- Prophet
exa mp le of the Prophet SA , wh
WS “Wahn is
the love o o f A ll ah (SAW
Let us tak e the it adultery.
that he wanted to comm And the h f this dun S)?
ma n wh o sai d atred of d ia,
proached by a asking him if
WS qu est ion ed him using simple logic, eath.
The Proph et SA red “No.” The By Tea
cep t it for his ow n sister. The man answe Brothers m Gitmo,
he would ac replied, “No.”
S ask ed , “Fo r you r mother?” The man ’ Camp
2010
Prophet SA W or mother?" the
can an yo ne ac cept it for his sister
"Then ho w convinced the
WS ask ed. Th is qu ickly and effectively
Prophet SA
man. en to your children,
pa ren ts, be go od role models and be op
De ar
ir problems with you.
and they will share the op a strong Muslim
together you can devel
EnshaAllah, by working ons to come, by the
serve Islam in generati
family, which will pre
Allah SWT =) By Waseem Maan
Grace of the Almighty

Answers to
Quiz 2: 1. There are 15 major ethnic groups that are native to this country, in which the
official language spoken is Amharic.
1) Portugal
2. Who obeyed the Prophet SAWS and spied on Quraysh in Ghazwat AlAhzaab and
2) Waraqah bin Nawfal
3) Surat AlBaqara,
was thus guaranteed Paradise?
V.282—deals with 3. What was the reason behind the revelation of Surat AlKaafiroon?
debts, loans, money 4. Who was the only Companion to narrate the hadeeth on intentions?
issues 5. Complete the following Suduko number square: (every row, column and rectangular minigrid;
4) Southern France there are 6 minigrids—shown in RED; must contain the numbers 1 through 6)
5)
Answers can be emailed directly to: the_tiny_teddy@hotmail.com or written on
a separate paper (Suduko square must be copied and completed), along with
Name, Contact Number, and Email Address, into the labelled box in the
mosque foyer; no later than Thursday 6th May. Winners will be notified by
email/text and announced after Juma’a on Friday 7th May.
The Winner* receives a Voucher, along with a Certificate.
*ALL Questions must be answered correctly

2
 g regularly for
Sunday School has been runnin
Alhamdulilah, the Islamic 45 -50 students,
roximate student roll of
around 13 years, with an app haAllah, it’s
this much involvement, mas
and about 9 Teachers. With means...
of what Sunday school really
great to capture a glimpse es...
ng Muslim student perspectiv
Not only that, but direct you

ding
I love rea “I like
and writinplg.ayMying,favoreuraditineg…
am az in g because
hool is
“Sunday sc e Quizzes
.”
lso like th rul, 11
part is
Prophet Molehaarmmniadng (SabAWouS)t ”the
the Q uran ; I a - Aisha Khai

“ Sunday School is not like normal

school...we learn lots and best of all,
– Ayub, 8

”
we have fun together. -Tusmi, 12

slim.
n how to be a good Mu
think Sun day school is a great school to lear ran. It's eas y
“I from the Qu
and listening to stories
I enjoy doing activities g.” - Asm a Kha iru l, 12
should do it all year lon
and fun and I think we

“We make friends at

“I like lear
stories of the Sunday school” ning abo
wh en we read about the – Ahmed, 7 the alpha ut
it all)” – Ainin, 9
“I lik e bets of
op he ts (p ea ce be upon them Quran” –
Mona, 8
Pr

“I like Sunday schoo

arning abou
t l because it’s really
our time le n, 7 fun because we can entertaining for me
e take R ayya do stuff like drawing, . It’s
“W us busy” – at and
Islam… it keep s things. It’s also fun
because we work
colouring and other
fun “Sunday school is a gre
together, read Qu how to
together and read
books. We also ge ran amazing place to learn
'Student of the We t a chance to win reading
“The teachers are fun. I ek' prize and get coo the read Quran. I love
like the colouring in” other fun stuff! And l stationary, books
that’s why I like Sund and – Gullu, 11
– Ali, 6 ay school” – Arina, Quran”
12

fun
y school is a really “I like reading Qu
“I think that Sunda ds of fun,
ran and the
se I can lea rn loa stories in the Q
place to go becau I also uran” - Jinan, 5
things about Islam.
new and interesting in Arabic, and
like to play games wi
th the oth er Mu slim “I like writing
- Yasmin Johnston ” – Adam, 7
studen ts in my cla ss” the colouring.
:)

THE WONDERS OF GENIUS

3
 By Maryam
Unfortunately, as most people do, I turned to Allah SWT and Islam during the hard times of my life. It's the sad fact of life. life.
When we are happy and life is good, we don’t feel obliged to turn towards our Deen (religion). It's all about living the moment.
moment.
Later on, after I had returned to Allah SWT, I approached a friend in a casual manner, trying to encourage her to also turn
towards Islam. Her reply chilled my blood. "Right now, my life is good; I'm happy and I don't need any change."
I thought to myself, better bite your tongue. I wanted to shake her and say, "Would you really want to fall victim to some tragi agicc
tragi
event before you wake up to Islam?" How on earth anyone in his or her right mind would want such a thing I do not know, but sub- sub-
consciously, I feel everyone does.
happened.. N
Funnily enough, I was no exception to that. I was on the brink of depression, as a result of a series of events that happened Now ow
looking back, it wasn't much, but being a teenager who had lost her sense of identity and purpose in life it was the monster of all
crises.
I had been separated from my best friends, snatched away from my life and placed into what was meant to be home. It was hard,
and I was suffering. Yet I used to find comfort, lying awake at night and staring at the stars, amazed at the fact that these were
were the
same stars I stared at when I lived on the other side of the world.
My family, alhamdulilah, had all returned to Islam in recent years. No one forced me to wear Hijab, however, and I didn't sim simply
ply
because I believed I wasn't ready. Nevertheless, they expected me to dress modestly and most importantly, to offer the obliga obligator
tory
tory
5 daily prayers.
My aunt used to take me to some Islamic classes held nearby, and I went when I could. I was in pain and I didn't quite understan
understand
tand
why. It so happened that once, the particular topic addressed in class was on the reasons we experience pain and suffering.
The teacher explained that human beings are put through hard times as a test, a trial, from Allah SWT
n
so that He sees how we cope with it. Whether or not we will turn towards His Siratul Members - $ 12/perso
AlMustaqeem (His Straight Path), or deviate from it. rson
Non-members - $15/pe
It was on that particular day that I learned how every bit of pain we endure, both emotional ckage -
and physical, alleviates us from punishment in the Hereafter. It was then that I started Group or Family pa
or
truly understanding the reality of this life; how everything that happens has a purpose $12/person (for 3 people
and that I was supposed to learn from experience.
t the Ameera:
It's been almost two and a half years since the period of my For more info, contac

“happy,
life aforementioned. It took me a year and a half to actually 2525158
Shahirah Hassan- 021
start changing. I knew Islam, but I did not prac-
supposed to. I thought I was happy, but deep down
I thought I was tice it the way a Muslim is
inside I knew I was not.
I was a hypocrite, and as much as I tried denying it, I but deep could not. It sank in and I
accepted it and prayed to Allah SWT that He
My conscience was not dead, but I had muted it. In
down… I knew I guide me to the straight path.
the past, I used to get the
urge to wear Hijab, but I used to fight it. I performed
ously that the next time my conscience cried out to
it, but I would immediately seek to obey it.
was not..
”
not.. Umrah and I prayed continu-
me, I would not only listen to

Late one night in Ramadan, my conscience called out to me and simply would not go away. I told myself I was not ready, that ther there
here were duties
attached to Hijab that I may not be able to fulfil, but with the right words from supportive friends I told myself that if I didn't
didn't start now, I would
never start. And I believed that 200%.
So alhamdulilah, I finally put on my Hijab on December 31st, 1999 at the age of 18, and have been wearing it ever since.
After a month or so, I realised that Hijab was not as big a deal as I had thought. It was not difficult in the least. To this day
day there has never been
a moment that I regretted my Hijab, and for that I am so grateful to Allah SWT. I immediately found many friends who also wor wore
e their
their Hijab.
These friends and my own family were the greatest strength for my new found Iman (faith).
I occupied myself with more Masjid-
Masjid-oriented activities and attended more classes to increase my knowledge of Islam. I am grateful,
grateful, alhamdulilah,
that I put my foot down and decided to wear Hijab then and there, because had I not, who knows how long it would have taken me me to
to make that
life-
life-changing decision.
How do I remember Allah SWT and live Islam?
When I step outside and marvel at the beauty of Allah’s Creation; the Heavens, greenery, birds of every song and colour. When I stop to ca-
ress a baby and ponder on how perplexing, yet perfect, the precious cycle of life is. When I go out, and other sisters in Islam,
Islam, proudly and confi-
dently adorned in their Hijab, stop to say Assalam Alykum to me. When I read Qur'an and study the Sunnah of our beloved Proph Prophetet
Mohammad (SAWS) and how perfectly and completely it encompasses our lives and faith. Everything directs me to Allah SWT, the Al-
mighty, and I can feel my love and duty towards Him. Indeed, he is the most Merciful and Forgiving.
Alhamdulilah, for the Ni’mah (Bounty) of Islam.
Source: missionislam.com MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

AlHuda Mosque
21 Clyde St, Dunedin
Phone: (03) 477 1838
Fax: (03) 477 1840
Contact through OUSA: OTAGO MUSLIM
MUSA C/O OUSA, P.O. Box 1436, ASSOCIATION
Dunedin DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

4 E-mail: admin@muslim.ousa.org.nz
Website: P.O Box 6288 Dunedin
http://otagomusa.wordpress.com