Issue One - March 2012

Al-Qalam
University of Melbourne Islamic Society

Welcome to
The University of Melbourne

Islamic Society

www.facebook.com/contactUMIS

THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE ISLAMIC SOCIETY

Contents
In this Issue:

3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11

Upcoming UMIS events Mentoring Officer Welcome Mentoring Events How to Study Productively Purification of the Heart Additions to the UMIS Library Information about the Musallah (Prayer space) Meet the 2011/2012 UMIS Committee

Upcoming Events
February 2012
Tuesday, 28th February

Annual Welcome BBQ

Whether youre a returning student or have just joined us this year, come down to South Lawn and join us for free sausages, drinks and henna! Time: 12 2pm Where: South Lawn

March 2012
Tuesday, 13th March

Sisters Lunch
Relax on the lawn of Lincoln Square and enjoy a free lunch Time: 12 2pm Where: Lincoln Square

Friday, 23rd March

Brothers Soccer
Bring a few friends and join us for some great outdoor soccer matches Time: 2 - 4pm Where: Hockey Field, Uni Gym

Skype Lecture Series

Every Monday (starting from the 12th of March Week 3) at 1 2pm there will be a LIVE streaming Skype lecture series with Sheikh Aslam. Entry is completely free. Location: Alan Gilbert, Level 1, Theatrette 2 (Room 109)

Mentoring Officer Welcome

Assalamu-alaykum (Peace be upon you), First and foremost, congratulations on making it into the University of Melbourne for the first year students, and welcome back for the rest. We at UMIS (University of Melbourne Islamic Society) would like to welcome you and wish you a smooth and enjoyable course, and for that, we have a mentoring program in place for first year students, to assist them in integrating into university as fast as possible while at the same time introducing them to fellow first year and older students in the same, and a variety of different courses, which should assist them in gaining insight on what to come and what to expect. So, what exactly is the Mentoring Program? Basically, it will involve assigning you and a number of other students to an older student in the same course. This older experienced student will serve as a mentor, and will help facilitate the assimilation of the new students into the university community while at the same time showing you around, helping you out with your study, and introducing you to more people, as theres nothing nicer than walking around in university and recognising a whole bunch of different people. There will also be activities spread throughout the year aimed at the mentor/mentee teams which should help them get to know each other more. I would also like to take this chance to mention that by no means is this program aimed at Muslims students only, and that everyone is invited to participate in this program. Sincerely,

Enes Bendak
Mentoring Officer

What is the Mentoring Program?

The Mentoring Program, introduced as part of the Granada Project, aims to empower Muslim students by providing a support base for them in first year that will help them integrate into university while maintaining their identity. UMIS is committed to implementing this aim of the Granada Project and this is why we carry out a Mentoring Program every year to help first year students in their transition period from high school to university. UMIS is dedicated to make your first year journey an enjoyable and enlightening year through the Mentoring Program. Students are provided with a Mentor who will be a senior student in a similar area of study as the first year student. Mentors are also members of UMIS, so they are a great point of introduction for new students to the friendly and supportive network of Muslim students on campus. They are sure to make your academic journey on campus a memorable one!

Want to sign up?

Simply email us at contactumis@gmail.com or the Mentoring Officer (see page 11) to get started!

Upcoming Mentoring Events

When you join the Mentoring Program, we find a compatible mentoring group for you based on the details youve provided us. Then you will be contacted to attend the events weve organised for the Mentoring Program. Some of the events weve organised for the Mentoring Program this year in 2012 are:

Mentoring Information Session

This is an event mainly for students whove volunteered to be Mentors for the UMIS Mentoring Program in 2012. The event outlines the role of a Mentor and whats expected of one. Although this event is aimed at potential Mentors, Mentees who wish to attend are also most welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

Wednesday 29th February: (1 2pm)

Alan Gilbert, Level 1, Room 121

Mentoring Romp (and Mentoring Program Inauguration)

This event is held to inaugurate the Mentoring Program where well spend a few minutes introducing the program. Afterwards, therell be a Mentoring Romp held as an ice breaker event to enable Mentors & Mentees to interact. The event will involve contestants racing to certain locations with tasks to be completed at different landmarks.

Tuesday, 13th March: (12 2pm)

University Square

Pizza Lunch
The Mentoring Lunch is an event annually held through UMIS to help improve the Mentor/Mentee relationship by providing a space to interact. The Lunch is an event Mentors and Mentees look forward to every year! Oh yes, and theres free food!

Tuesday, 20th March: (1 2pm)

Lincoln Square (Sisters), University Square (Brothers)

How to Study Productively

Make duaa for success in your studies and for gaining beneficial knowledge. Make duaa for guiding you to utilize the knowledge in halaal purposes. Implementing the preceding tips is not sufficient if you do not seek Allahs Help. Purify and renew your intentions everyday. This is good for maintaining determination. Keep your brain sharp through mind exercises (such as puzzles, mathematics, or memorization). Lead a healthy lifestyle so that you do not fall sick and miss classes. A healthy lifestyle may also contribute to a sharper brain. Therefore, sleep well, have a balanced diet, exercise regularly, drink enough water, etc. Also, avoid spending too much time online as this dulls concentration. Keep righteous company. This will ensure that you look up to the right people for inspiration and advice. If you spend too much time with people who are not serious about education and the duties towards Allah and His creation, then you will gradually become like them. However, continue being cordial with them. Volunteer/participate in extra-curricular activities to gain experience on team-work, leadership, confidence, etc. Do not consider unpaid jobs futile. These are great for gaining experience. In fact, these activities often help to get jobs quite easily. Enjoy the whole process of learning. Remember that education is not just about jobs, grades, certificates and memorizing. It is also about gaining real-life experiences, implementing the knowledge, understanding the concept, and gaining moral lessons. Everyday, you will have a learning experience not only from course lessons, but also from social interactions. You will learn how to adjust to different situations, and how to maintain humility and patience at all times. Even a few marks may change your grade drastically. Therefore, do not trivialize exams, assignments, or presentations, which carry fewer marks. Aim to do the best in all of them. At the end of every exam, assignment and presentation, remember to check your marks and keep a record of them. Examine your scripts after they have been checked and returned to you. Teachers are humans and they may make mistakes in counting/distributing marks. Moreover, if you have any questions, you may clarify them with the teacher. Do not forget your teachers after you have finished the courses. Instead, thank them for their contribution and give them gifts. Read books and carry out research during your spare time. This will build up your knowledge and hence, help in your studies. Always dream big. Aim for the highest grade, so that even if you do not achieve that, you will still be better than the average inshaAllah. Moreover, you will be working harder. Be prepared to work under pressure. Wherever you study, the pressure and the competition will be there. Therefore, practise patience. Do not fall into jealousy or despair, and do not give up. There are a few students who give up even before trying and say Whats the use? We are going to fail anyway! I would advise such students to avoid negative assumptions because you really do not have knowledge of the unseen and therefore, cannot predict (or condemn!) your future this way. Avoid jealousy and comparison. Competition will exist everywhere and we need to take this in a healthy manner. You will get only that which Allah has decreed for you. Compete for the Hereafter instead, and remember to want for your brother or sister what you would want for yourself so be happy at their success as you would celebrate your own.

Balance your course load. Many students take a lot of subjects at a stretch and hence, end up getting bad grades. Be independent. Do not ask your tutor to do your home assignments. Do not resort to plagiarism. Do not skip classes or daydream in classes thinking that you will copy the lecture notes from others. You can ask others for advice only. Otherwise, you will not learn anything for real. Do not compromise on your moral obligations, such as respecting seniors, advising juniors, deterring bullies, maintaining discipline, etc. Do not lie, cheat, plagiarize, lose your hayaa (modesty), neglect your prayers, etc. Failure is not the end, but actually a means to reaching greater heights. If, even after trying your best, you do not get a good grade, do not be disheartened. This only means that there is room for further improvement. I was rejected twice before making it to one of the best universities in my country. That helped me to recognize and overcome my weaknesses. I studied harder, and the knowledge that I had gained during that phase will stay with me for a long time inshaAllah. Therefore, if you analyse, you will realize that you do not have anything to lose from failure. Furthermore, grades are not the only indicators of your skills. There have been many students with poor grades who were able to contribute greatly to the society or to get excellent jobs. Sometimes, many students fail due to the incapability of the teacher or due to an illness. Therefore, do not be too harsh on yourself if you get bad grades keep it in perspective, after all, our grade on the test of life is the one that really truly counts. May Allah make it easier for everyone to excel in their studies. Ameen. By Khadeejah Islam

Dua before/during studying:

Allahumma infanii bimaa allamtanii waallimnii maa yanfa unii

O Allah! Make useful what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me.

Dua after studying:

Allahumma inni astaodeeuka ma qaratu wama hafaz-tu. Faradduhu allaya inda hagati elayhi
O Allah! I entrust You with what I have read and I have studied. (O Allah!) Bring it back to me when I am in need of it.

Purification of the Heart

By Marissa Setyabudhi

Assalamu alaikum,

This writing is based on Shaikh Abdulbary Yahyas lecture on Purification of the Heart. This is a reminder to myself and to my fellow brothers and sisters.

Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. And behold, it is the Heart. (Bukhari)
The heart is a source of God consciousness, Taqwa (fear of Allah), and this is what Allah looks at, He looks at our hearts and our deeds, not our appearances or wealth to determine our position. Taqwa is from the word Waqiyya, meaning to protect. When you say Itaqullah, it means to protect yourself from the Hell Fire by doing all the deeds that Allah has told us to do and leave all that is forbidden. We need to be conscious of Allah all the time, and this abstinence of evil through this fear, consciousness and awareness of Allah ultimately develops ones love of Him. Furthermore, the two wings of a believer is hope and fear. We need fear of Allahs punishment to avoid committing sins. We need hope in Allah, in His Mercy to increase in good deeds. It is through Allahs Mercy that we enter Paradise. We do the good deeds so we achieve His Mercy. So fear and hope go together in order to purify our hearts. And always remember that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to his companions a man who will be from the people of Jannah. How? Because every night this man cleansed his heart by forgiving those who wronged him, and erased jealousy/hatred from his heart. Ask ourselves this question: Do we forgive others that have wronged us? The people who enter Paradise are those with pure hearts. Learn to let it go, leave it and purify your heart by forgiving the people that hurt you. Our sins are the causes of sick hearts and forgiveness is an important factor to purify our hearts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) use to repent to Allah day and night over 70 times. How many times have we asked Allahs repentance, for His sustenance and help? Indeed we are in more need of repenting to Allah. The scholars have said that istighfar is what you say with your tongue and what you ask of Allah to forgive you. Tawba is acting upon istighfar, changing yourself change actions, leave sins behind and do good deeds. For many of us unfortunately when we commit sins we dont feel it because our hearts have become dark. Ask yourselves, How much do you spend reading the Quran? Keep up with the reading of the Quran, with the prayers, because these deeds will purify our hearts. Let us all remember that we need to have fear and hope, we need to keep learning about our deen and act upon it. We need to keep steadfast on the Quran and on the Sunnah of Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him) and always remember the akhirah. We need to continue doing good deeds; we need to repent sincerely to purify our hearts and actions. Remember to make dua for one another and I ask Allah to guide us all to the straight path and make us those who purify our hearts. Aameen. Marissa Setyabudhi

Additions to the UMIS library collection

New books have been included in the library collection this month! 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'- collaborated with Alex Haley 'Does My Head Look Big In This?'- Randa Abdel Fattah 'Weather; the truth about the health of our planet'Anthony Smith 'Amusing Ourselves To Death; public discourse in the age of show business' - Neil Postman The Musallah library has been relocated into the gap between the Brothers' and Sisters' prayer areas. Brothers will have access to the browsing and borrowing books from the library area on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while the sisters have similar privileges on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Books can be borrowed for 3 weeks at a time. Jazakallah khayr,

Alaric Indranada
Musallah Officer

The Musallah
The Musallah is the prayer space provided for the Muslim population on campus. UMIS operates the prayer space and all events organized by UMIS are advertised at the Musallah. It is located on Little Pelham Street (near the Law building). For swipe card access, please forward your FULL name and student/staff number to: islamic-space@unimelb.edu.au.

GRATTAN STREET

PELHAM STREET

The Law Building

The Prayer Space is on Lt. Pelham St (which can be accessed from either Leicester St or Bouverie St. )

Want to be in the next issue of

Al-Qalam?
If you have an article, story, poem or anything interesting you would like share, please send it to:

alqalam.umis@gmail.com

Committee 2011/2012 UMIS UMIS Committee 2011/2012

President
Ahmad Siddiqi Email: afgani_59r@hotmail.com Mobile: 0431 102 005

Musallah Officer (Brothers)

Alaric Indranada Email: alaric.indranada@hotmail.com Mobile: 0434726388

Vice President
Amira Salma Haruwarta Email: amira_haru@hotmail.com Mobile:0422 288 975

Sponsorship Officer
Bernard Setyabudhi Email: bernardset@gmail.com Mobile: 0411754977

Treasurer
Hani El-Rafehi Email: elrafeih@hotmail.com Mobile: 0401 175 687

Publications Officer
Yunus Hassan Email: yunus.h@live.com Mobile: 0434497308

Secretary
Fahim Zafar Email: ffahim@hotmail.com Mobile: 0422 630 807

Activities Officer
Hakim Elmi Email: hakim.elmi@gmail.com Mobile : 0413 229 931

Sisters coordinator
Zakia Haque Email: zakia_02@hotmail.com Mobile: 0479 042 526

Activities Officer (sub - committee)

Kabir Mosaddiq Email: kfmos9@gmail.com Mobile: 0422 996 510

Dawah Officer
Marissa Setyabudhi Email: marissa.dewi@hotmail.com Mobile: 0413 022 413

Activities Officer (sub - committee)

Suliman Altaleb Email: suliman467@hotmail.co.uk Mobile: 0423539199

Mentoring Officer
Enes Bendak Email: ebendak@live.com Mobile: 0406 186 340

Social Welfare officer

Sofia Wahab Email: mz_sofia@hotmail.com Mobile: 0421 472 214

Mentoring Officer (sub - committee)

Shazmin Shahim Email: shazminshahim@hotmail.com Mobile: 0422 659 507

Social Welfare officer (sub committee)

Natasha Taneja Email: n.taneja@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au Mobile: 0421 955 209

Musallah Officer (Sisters)

Adilah Haque Email: adilah_rose@yahoo.com.au Mobile: 0404 221 214

I.T. Officer
Shady Rafehi Email: shadyrafehi@gmail.com Mobile: 0402 656 792

For all the latest UMIS news and events:

www.facebook.com/contactUMIS umisonline.org.au contactumis@gmail.com

Proudly sponsored by:

'The University of Melbourne Islamic Society is always looking for voluntary donations and will be approaching businesses for sponsorships. If you wish or know anyone who wishes to donate or sponsor please get in touch with us inshAllah through contactumis@gmail.com

The University of Melbourne Islamic Society (2012)