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Each year the holy month of Ramadan is a sacred time for us as it brings us tremendous hope in the infinite mercy of Allah SWT. It also serves as a yearly reminder to us of our purpose in life on this earth, i.e. to worship Allah SWT. However, there is nothing that we as human beings could do in order to derive the benefits of this month without the Holy Quran having been revealed to us, in this very month some 1400+ years ago. Allah SWT says in Surah Al Baqarah, شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ Translation (Sahih International): "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion..." (The Holy Quran, 2:185) In other words, Ramadan is essentially...

Every culture or community generally has their heroes; those chosen few extraordinary individuals who saw things differently and lived extraordinary lives. They may have displayed exceptional courage, skill, or wisdom, in the face of unimaginable trials or adversities that they subsequently overcame. And undergoing such obstacles successfully earned them the praise of their communities and enabled them to be promoted as the ‘heroes of their time’ and they were cherished and admired for generations to come. Similarly, in Islam we have our own heroes too. However, it’s not just a handful of people but an entire ‘generation’ of heroes; who accepted the oneness of Allah SWT, and sacrificed everything they had and stood firm, believing in the words of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) when his own relatives wouldn’t. These real heroes upheld the ultimate truth despite...

If you are even remotely plugged into any news source nowadays, then you know that there is in an incredible amount of injustice, violence, and wrongdoing that’s relentlessly going on for the past two months, in a small but important particular part of the world. It is not just these past two months; history has it that this has been the status quo of these lands for the better part of the last 75 years. If you haven’t already identified the place we’re talking about, then we’d like you to know that it is the holy lands of Masjid Al Aqsa and its surroundings. Marred by the global Zionist controversies, lies, and propaganda, the holy lands of Masjid Al Aqsa and its surroundings have unfortunately been gradually pulled out from Muslim jurisdiction and cut off from...

Over this past Winter Vacation in December 2022, we at Al Manarat Islamic Schools in Mississauga, had the opportunity to organize our second annual Winter Ilm Nourishment (WIN) Retreat, and with the grace of Almighty Allah (SWT) it turned out to be one of the most enlightening and enriching experience for the participants. About 100 attendees (children and their parents) registered and attended this 3-days’ workshop that was strategically titled: In the Company of the Beloved ﷺ. If you’ve had the opportunity to read our previous blog on the Beauty Revolution 2022, you’d have learnt that, for the Academic Year 2022-23 Al Manarat Islamic Schools are hyper focused on teaching, learning, and implementing the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ in everything that we do throughout the year. We intend to drive home this undeniable concept...

During our lives as teachers and more specifically as teachers at an Islamic School in Canada, we often wonder whether all of our relentless efforts of teaching, training, and enablement of the next generation of Western Muslims are sufficient enough to see us through this ephemeral world? While Allah SWT only wants us to genuinely strive in His path, it is but human to think about the results of our efforts. Seeing all the un-Islamic exposure our students have to unintentionally go through everyday living in the West, we are sometimes reminded of the times of the early days of the Muslims, who were just a handful in number, struggling to hold on to their leader and companion, Prophet Muhammed ﷺ. They faced countless hardships and struggles just to proclaim the oneness of Allah SWT...

Abdullah had just experienced the worst calamity possible as a 12-year-old child. He had just lost his entire family to a brutal and unjustified occupation that had taken over his beautiful island nation of Tooba and turned it into a living hell for its inhabitants. The oppressors waging the war on the sovereignty of Tooba, wanted to ensure total control and domination of the island. Their oppressive ruler certainly made sure no one would challenge his authority, far and wide. He decreed mass killings to ensure the population was under control on the island and pulled out all the stops in his incessant pursuit of wealth, power, and domination. No one in their right mind would have preferred to live in Tooba anymore and Abdullah also found himself wishing desperately to get away from it...

Over the past couple of years, we have all felt the big void of not having a ‘normal’ Ramadan in our lives. The pandemic had made it impossible for us to partake in any Ramadan activities outside of our homes and hence it was only natural for us to yearn for those beautiful days of worship and self-reflection, in a community setting. Alhumdulilah, with the immense blessings and mercy of Allah (SWT), Ramadan 2022 came along and had us racing against time to make full use of it, just like in the pre-pandemic days. Even at Al Manarat Islamic Schools, we have had to keep ourselves on our toes to take advantage of this blessed month and instill its love and importance in our students. Throughout the years, we have always had in-school activities in Ramadan...

When we hear the word competition, some of the first things that come to mind are sports and athletic competitions or other co-curriculars such as debates and elocution competitions or perhaps, even arts and crafts competitions. However, at Al Manarat Heights Islamic School, we have a vision of nurturing our students in the light of the Quran and the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). With this vision in mind, we have developed a broad range of additional competitions for our students that specifically revolve around perfecting our embodiment of Islam. Competitions are a great way for students to experience a host of topics such as, participation, effort, teamwork, excellence, wins and losses; and overall attain a deeper understanding of Islam which is at the heart of each competition. The first of such competitions discussed...