“The most excellent fast after Ramadan is Allah’s month, Al-Muharram” (Sahih Muslim 1163a) As Muslims welcome a new Islamic year, we also enter the blessed month of Muharram, one of the four sacred months chosen by Allah (God). While many people see the new year as an opportunity to set goals and make changes, Muharram…
“Invite all to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and kind advice, and only debate with them in the best manner. Surely your Lord alone knows best who has strayed from His Way and who is rightly guided.” (Surah An Nahl, Verse 125) Allah calls upon us to invite others to Islam softly. There…
“Muslim women lack agency”—this is a notion that American and European media have consistently perpetuated. From the objectification of their bodies to the recurring trope of the “liberated” hijabi who must remove her veil to find love or success, Western storytelling has long treated the Muslim female identity as a problem to be solved rather…
Our eyes light up when we hear its name. The heart beats in excitement as we gaze at the sky, searching for our beloved crescent to emerge through the stars. Our souls await its tranquility, yearning to spend the blessed, quiet hours of the night in conversation with its Lord. We’ve approached the end of…
We all wake beneath the same sky. The sun rises without favoritism, spreading its light across oceans, deserts, crowded cities and forgotten villages alike. Yet on this same planet, under the same heavens, people live in entirely different worlds. For some, morning begins with ease: a warm home, clean water, a phone buzzing with reminders,…
Between classes, shifts, group chats and the constant pressure to stay ahead, life can start to feel like a race with no finish line. The expectation is to already know the right major, the right career track, the right timeline. Success becomes a checklist. Progress becomes a comparison. Control becomes the illusion that keeps everything…
The first time I walked down the Tongva Steps, I knew it could also be my last. I toured UCLA for the first time as an anxious senior in high school on Accepted Students Day. My head spun with doubt, yet my heart throbbed with possibility as I contemplated being a UCLA student. The unexpected…
Growing up in Saudi Arabia, the rhythmic hum of oil derricks and the vast networks of pipelines were as much a part of my landscape as the desert dunes. The air, at times thick with the scent of hydrocarbons, carried the smell of prosperity, of progress. My education eventually led me to environmental science, a…
As the leaves turn brown and the wind begins carrying away the last remnants of summer break, the transition between seasons is yet another reminder of the beauty of Allah, the most glorified and the most high “Subhannah wa ta’alla” (SWT)’s, creation. With the 2025 Fall quarter swiftly propelling forward, UCLA’s Muslim Student Association (MSA)…
As the new school year begins and we welcome new members to our Islamic community, it is important to revisit the topic of inclusivity, especially in our tight-knit Muslim Student Association (MSA). In an environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion are values being silenced, it is important for us not to be complicit and instead…