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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Prayer as our right |
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| Abdullah |
| 12/14/02 at 01:13:01 |
| [slm] I felt good today... I had an econ exam with like a thousand (probably more) people writing with me... I knew my exam would be right through Asr and so, although the obvious thing is to pray it, as far as I know, no muslims at my university have ever been allowed to read salaah during an exam. Most of the muslims in the room were expecting to make quada, and I asked myself why no one asserted themselves to pray when time came, regardless of the rules of examination laid out. Once a prof asked me if people could pray in their desks and I replied "not if they can stand up". So I asked to go to bathroom, and the prof escorted me, and midway i told him I was a muslim and I would have to pray... he hesitated but allowed me, watchfully. So he stood there while I made wudhu and then went to the multifaith room and he stood there while I prayed. He later remarked that this was "his pleasure" to take me to pray and to facilitate in my catching salaah. After the exam, the multifaith was rammed with students getting in their Asr qadha and Maghrib, and I felt good that I had prayed, and also that a non-muslim actually got to see it from the beginning to end and respected Islam for its diligence in remembering the Creator. I just asked myself, why was I never asserting this right, this right to worship my Rabb, before, even if it wasn't previously done in our system? What was I and others afraid of? Everyone just goes, "You prayed Asr? I didn't know we were allowed to do that?" Or is it that we didn't even try? I had to share this cause I think its a step forward for me and my university. salaam |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| WhatDFish |
| 12/14/02 at 10:00:28 |
| alhamdulillah, keep it up bro! may Allah reward you! |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| Barr |
| 12/14/02 at 11:27:30 |
| Wa'alaikumussalam warahmatullah :-) MashaALlah, akhi... when we strive for ALlah, He will help us and make our steps firm. :) Just a 'lil suggestion from me. I'm not sure whether this has already being done or is currently in progress with your uni's MSA... Perhaps, you can team up with the MSA to work with the students union and ask for the Examination Board to consider having examinations that do not clash with prayer times. This includes Friday prayers as well. If your uni has an Equal Opportunities Department, you may also, together with the MSA bring this issue up and discuss how to solve this amicably. InshaAllah, not only you will be able to perform prayers and not miss any of them, but also the rest of the Muslim students. And if it doesn't work for your batch, inshaAllah, with continued efforts, Muslims in the future would receive this consideration. And graduation would be more then a piece of paper... for you would have created a legacy, with continous reward from Allah even after your death, as long as there is someone who is able to do his exams without the expense of his prayers, inshaAllah. This suggestion can/may be done in some universities in the west such as the UK and the like, though a different approach may be needed in other places. Please do discuss with those around you for a suitable strategy... for my suggestion may not work.. but at least, I do hope that a more collective effort can be made for the benefit of a larger group of people, inshaAllah. Hope this helps, inshaAllah. Take care, akhi... hope you and your family r doing well... haven't been seeing you around :) In my du'as, :::Barr::: [i] Verily those who say, "Our Lord is Allah," and remain firm (on that Path),- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. Surah Al-Ahqaf 46:13 [/i] |
| 12/14/02 at 11:30:58 |
| Barr |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| theOriginal |
| 12/14/02 at 12:51:00 |
| [slm] Wow, MashaAllah that's amazing. Gives hope to people like me, who skip Jumuah (attitude = 'it's not fardh for women anyway') because I'm worried about my boss yelling at me. Which is a highly STUPID thought, because he wouldn't do that. Now, on a tangent: The Mulitfaith? 'Econ' exam? And I think you said in another post that you're in Toronto? Oh my my, do we have a Ryersonian on board? (UofT/York Students do not say "econ" they say "eco"... thought you might be interested ;) ) If you're majoring in econ, and you need textbooks, let me know :) If you're a business student, don't take FIN601 (lol), and if you're an ITM student....bahhh!!!! (no comment) Oh and if I'm wrong, howz about you ignore me, k? One more question....the professor escorted you? Amazing opportunity for da'wah. I hope you did well on that exam. (Okay i'll admit it, I'm an econ freak) Thanks for the post...lifted the spirits. Wasalaam. |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| Anonymous |
| 12/16/02 at 18:33:48 |
| Bismillah Assalam alaikum i want to ask that, if you have the chance to write a letter to...let's say the university dean about the importance of prayer and so what will be the main points in this letter, i mean what should i focus on wassalam |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| sis |
| 12/17/02 at 10:04:03 |
| alsalamu alaykum wa rhmat Allah wa barakatuhu masha'Allah..bro abdallah, may Allah reward you continuously in this life and the next the prayer and exam issue is really important..alhamdulillah the universities where i live (OTT) will let u have a prayer break, its no problem...although at one university ur supposed to let them know before the exam begins...and at the other university, its just a matter of signing out and signing back in ....of course prayers have to be done near the examination room:) i was taking a course at the other university in my city and so i tried emailing the prof before the exam to let him know i would need a prayer break ..and i never received a reply..so during the exam, when 'asr came, i put my hand up and said politely to the exam proctor that i needed to go pray..and alhamdulillah he was practically encouraging me to go..a non-muslim too..alhamdulillah..its true that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will help u if u stand firm.....with hardship comes ease right?:-) i strongly encourage everyone who as an exam during which a prayer may be missed, to ask for a prayer break and take 5-10mins to pray..don't rush it...pray as if its ur last prayer and concentrate...u'll find urself doing better in the examination when u get back....i remember once a brother told me u'll do much better on ur exam if u take time out for ur salah its kind of sad when u see 1st year students, who are worried about their exams, say that they would rather pray after the exam.....its understandable...but without the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, u wouldn't be able to see, hear, write or anything ...its so important to be a thankful abid..no matter what the situation alhamdulillah for ISLAM 8) may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make exams easy for all the bro's and sis's out there:) just remember to purify ur intentions..as with anything else, make sure what ur doing is for the sake of Allah ta'ala and to gain His ta'ala pleasure only i pray there is benefit in these words, anything good is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the bad is from the weakness of my nafs and shaytan pls make dua' for everyone ;) walsalamu alaykum wa rhmat Allah wa barakatuhu ps..i just remembered the question about what to say in a letter to the dean..well here's the few i can think of 1-As Muslims, we are obligated to pray 5 times a day and we need to be accomodated for our religious beliefs 2-Explain that prayer doesn't take any longer than 15mins 3-You don't mind being escorted to pray somewhere |
| 12/17/02 at 10:13:04 |
| sis |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| BlessedToBeMuslim |
| 12/18/02 at 14:54:29 |
| Assalamu Alaikum, Am I correct in understanding that you actually took time out during the progress of the exam to pray? Wouldn't that then decrease your time for the rest of the paper? In my experience every minute has counted in all the exams that I have given. And as far as I know if you're doing something important, like an exam, and it extends over and after the time for a salah, you are allowed to join Salahs (like in travelling). May be not everybody is smart enough to take that much time out of an exam... Forgive if I misuderstood or if the situation where y'all are is different (ive never given an exam in a nonmuslim country for that matter...) Wassalamu Alaikum, Uzer |
| Re: Prayer as our right |
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| Abdullah |
| 12/19/02 at 23:42:36 |
| [slm] Yes, this was in the thick of my exam, and one I was underprepared for. Allhumdulillah, I usually finish earlier than the allotted time, and I find most people do. But I felt that day that intending to miss a salaah was not feeling right... Try finishing early... that should help. In my next exam, I told the invigilator from before that I would leave to pray even when the rule was that half an hour to the end, no one can get up no matter what the reason. I got up because there is absolutely no reason I should be barred from praying my salaah. Then, even a fw marks of my exams would feel worth it- it is my Qurbaani I feel. That's how I felt, and I am usually a perfectionist when it comes to school and exams. Deen is the only thing that has made me see that high marks will come if they are Allah's Will. Last year, I had to really improve my GPA to switch programs, so I prayed two naafil before and after every exam, even when my studying was incomplete and that time could be used alternatively, but I feel they helped and Allhumdulillah I think Allah SWT gave me more peace after I recognized Him. Exams come and go, but our true Final Exam is one we HAVE to pass, with flying colors Insha'Allah! |
| 12/20/02 at 06:25:24 |
| jannah |
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