Fall 2021

Theme: Beginnings

Elementary Winners

1st place - Selina Tokhi from Grade 3

The Beginning of Salah

The beginning of salah happened during the night journey of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to the heavens known as Isra’ and Miraj. In the heavens, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) saw all the prophets who came before him. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) walked from the first heaven to the seventh heaven. As he walked, he saw Adam, Yahya, Esa, Idris, Harun, and Musa. In the seventh heaven, he saw Prophet Ibrahim, who was resting against the side of Al-Bayt-Al-Mamour. Then, Angel Jibreel took out three containers to Muhammad (SAW). One had milk, another had wine, and the last one had honey. Muhammad (SAW) chose the one with milk.

Jibreel said, “Your followers are following.”

Next, Jibreel took him to a place where Allah commanded pens to write that all followers had to pray fifty times a day. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) accepted this and started walking back when he passed by Prophet Musa.

Musa asked him, “What has Allah commanded for your followers?”

Muhammad (SAW) replied, “He commanded them to pray fifty times a day.”

Musa said, “Go back to Allah and tell him to lower it.”

Musa said this because he did not believe that his followers would complete 50 prayers each day. Muhammad (SAW) went back to Allah, and asked Allah to lower the number of prayers. Allah reduced the number to 45. When Muhammad (SAW) walked back to Musa, Musa told him to go back and ask Allah to lower the number (because his followers could not bear it) over and over until Allah said to pray 5 times a day. Muhammad (SAW) went past Musa again, and Musa told him to ask Allah to lower the number of prayers. This time, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was too shy to go back and ask Allah to lower it again, so he refused. Salah was gifted to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for his followers to pray five times a day. This is the story behind the beginning of salah. This story is very important because salah is a gift from Allah to Muslims all over the world, so they can speak out of love for Him five times a day.

2nd place - Sameen Khan from Grade 3

The Beginning of Jane and Lily’s Journey

Lily and Jane live in a forest all by themselves. They got lost at the age of 3. Lily and Jane are twins. They are like sticks, they never move from each other’s side. One morning Jane saw 2 elves casting magic at Lily. When Lily fell onto the grassy ground, the elves disappeared in the blink of an eye. Lily got up after 3 days had passed.

She asked Jane, “Why is everything so dull?”

Jane realized the elves took away Lily’s power to see color. Jane’s heart was broken. She knew she had to go to some land that would get her sister’s color sight back. Jane saw a book at the corner of their little wooden house. She opened it, and found the information she needed. She had to go to the Netherlands, but first she had to go to a far away place called Golden Winter. Jane needed something that would go in the sea, so she made a boat out of wood. Jane and Lily sailed on the boat to Golden Winter. After they arrived there, the next step was to go to the queen. Jane asked the queen to give her a magic carpet and a potion. The two sisters hopped onto the carpet and went up into the clouds to the Netherlands.

When Jane and Lily entered the Netherlands, they saw so many trolls and elves. They went all the way up to a palace high in the hills of the Netherlands. There in the palace, they saw 2 elves sitting on the throne.

Jane asked the elves, “Can you give my sister her color sight back?”

The elves replied, “We can’t.”

Jane said, “There has to be a way, or else I’ll pour this potion that the queen of Golden Winter gave me!”

The elves said, “The only way is if you give your power to see color to your sister, and see everything in black and white.”

Jane replied, “Ok.”

After they exchanged her color sight, Jane saw everything dull. Suddenly, a fairy appeared!

The fairy said, “Oh Jane, you have a kind heart. I have a special spell that will make you both see color.”

In a blink of an eye, they both were able to see. They celebrated after they went back home. Animals, fairies, and trolls were invited to the party. Jane and Lily lived happily ever after.

3rd place - Alta Srdanovic from Grade 4

Beginning of a Peach Tree

My story is going to be about a peach tree. First, in spring, the peaches start growing little by little. Then, a few weeks later, it’s going to turn green and hard. Then, a few months later in summer, it’s going to get softer, yellow, and reddish, but that’s good! It needs to grow with lots of water. It takes almost 4 years for the tree to grow bigger, but only takes a few months for the peaches to grow. You need to pick them on time, or else they will fall on the ground and get mushy. But, sometimes the ones that fall on the floor are sweet as honey.

Middle School Winners

1st place - Reetaj Mohamed from Grade 6

The Beginning of Wearing Hijab

I woke up and thought, “Today is the day.” I brushed my teeth and went to my mom’s room to grab a pink hijab. A feeling of joy came over me when I went to the mirror and put on my hijab. I went to my closet. What should I wear? I looked through my clothes and found a flowery long sleeve dress that touched my toes. I went downstairs, my mom was surprised by my decision, but said she was proud of me. I hopped in the car happily.

On the way to school I started thinking, would my friends recognize me? What would people think? I rested my head against my hand and leaned on the window. When I got to school, I waved bye to my mom and went inside the building. I took a deep breath and tightened my hijab. I had butterflies all over. I walked down the hallway, and came face to face with my classroom door marked “Grade Seven.” I took one more deep breath, then opened the door and walked in. I wasn’t sure if anyone was looking at me when I went and sat in my seat. My friend was whispering to me, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I took my math book out of my bag and listened to whatever the teacher was saying. Well, I was kind of listening, but it was hard to focus when I was nervous.

At lunch, I knew I had to explain why I was wearing a hijab to my friends, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want them to assume anything, so I told them that I wore the hijab to represent my faith. After that, I felt pretty relieved, but the day wasn’t over yet. I did get some questions, but I used them as an opportunity to teach people about the hijab. I told people it was a form of faith that symbolizes strength and pride. For example, if you see someone wearing a hijab in public you know that the girl or woman is Muslim. Modesty lets people know to treat you with respect.

After that, things went back to normal, and my friends realized I’m the same person I was before wearing the hijab. Knowing that I’ve done something good made me feel closer to Allah (swt), and made me watch my actions, as I am now a person that has to represent Islam.

2nd place - Sarah Tokhi from Grade 6

The Beginning of a New Era

Once when he was 40 years old, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) began remembering the time when he was in the open fields tending his uncle’s sheep. He was no longer young, and couldn’t go back to become a shepherd again. So he went looking for a place where he could sit alone, and think about his life and the meaning of it. He heard of a cave high in the mountains. The cave was called the “Cave of Hira.” He would sit in the cave and meditate. He would think about why he was alive and what life was about.

But on a Monday evening in the year 610, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) extended his stay in the cave. Out of nowhere, a blazing light filled the cave.

From the light, a loud voice said, “Iqra!,” which means read. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was startled. All he could think of was that he couldn’t read because he really couldn’t read or write. Suddenly, he felt a pressure squeezing his chest until he felt his lungs would collapse.

Then, the voice said again, “Iqra.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was distraught. He said, “I can’t read.” The squeezing happened again and Muhammad (SAW) thought for sure he was going to faint.

The voice was even louder, “Iqra!”.

In order to save himself, he replied, “What should I read?”.

There was no painful squeezing or pressure on his lungs this time. The voice continued, “Read in the name of your Lord who created people from something that clings. Read, for your Lord is most generous. He taught people with the pen things they didn’t know before.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) repeated the words and all was still. He didn’t know what happened, and was really scared. He was going back home, when suddenly a light came again and filled the sky. The Prophet (SAW) heard the voice again coming from the sky. When he looked up, he saw a perfect man. The man filled the space between the Earth and the sky.

The voice said, “Muhammad you are the Messenger of Allah and I am Jibreel.”

A moment later, the light disappeared, and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ran straight home to his wife. He burst through the door and cried, “Cover me! Cover me!”. Khadija held him long into the night. Her heart ached for him, and she didn’t know what to do. He lay trembling in her arms. This event was the beginning of a new era in which the Prophet (SAW)’s was the Messenger of Allah (SWT).

3rd place - Shifa Qureshi from Grade 8

The Beginning of Islam

Islam is one of the most major religions in the world, so here is how it all began. Baby girls were being buried alive. Women and girls were taken as property. People were killing each other just because their camels and horses would be drinking water from the other tribes’ water wells. And at the same time, the house of Allah was surrounded by wood and clay statues. People would go to the Kaaba in inappropriate clothes. To cut it short, all the Arabs were drowned in the ocean of darkness and ignorance.

Thus, that was the time when Allah(swt) sent Prophet Muhammad (saw) as a lighthouse to this dark inhuman ocean, who brought the light of Islam, and the light of peace.

Then Allah (swt) told Gabriel to tell Prophet Muhammad to announce the message to everyone and invite them towards Islam. But some of the leaders of the Arab tribes became prophet Muhammad’s enemies because of his invitation towards Islam. They opposed the new religion because it was changing people’s thoughts and made them lose money. They started torturing muslim slaves and workers. They would take away their basic needs of life such as water and food to starve them to death. The beginning of Islam is full of these incidents. Ammar, a young man converted to Islam with his parents secretly. The landlord found out and tortured Ammar’s old parents to the extent they couldn’t bear it anymore. Their bodies were so beaten down they passed. Bilal the slave was beaten to death, he was laid down on the hot sand, with a heavy rock on his chest with no shirt on. He still laid there uttering “Ahadan, Ahad, only one god.”Even the prophet when through things like this. The prophet went to Taaif, rocks, and pebbles were thrown at him so much that his shoes were drenched with blood.

One time he was praying, as he was going for sujood the nonbelievers put the digestive system of a camel on his back. Also when the muslims would pray, the non-believers would whistle and clap so that they can distract and bother them.

The beginning faced many hardships and turmoils, but when the Arabs made a plan to assassinate the Prophet, Allah ordered the beloved prophet to move to Medinah secretly in the dark so that the people of Makkah couldn’t harm him anymore. On the other side, the people of Madinah were very welcoming. They opened their hearts and house to welcome the Prophet and his companions who brought the message of peace and brotherhood. People started converting in groups and this led to a glorious and prosperous journey that is still going on after hundreds of years towards its final destination.

High School Winners

1st place - Duaa Qureshi from Grade 10

The Beginning of the Kaaba

It all began with Allah telling the Angels,“ I am going to make a human.”

The Angels then asked, “O Allah (SWT), aren’t we enough to praise You? Why would You want to create a creature who will fight with You and destroy Earth?”

The historical and glorious reply was, “I know what you don’t know.”

Then Allah made the very first human, Adam, who was later sent down to Earth.

Now, there are many narrations about the construction of the Kaaba, the house of Allah. Imam Zarqani, the narrator of Tibri, writes that the Kaaba was first built by angels and that they indicated to Adam where the Kaaba was to be made.

Allah says in the Qur’an, “The first sanctuary ever constructed for mankind was that at Bakkah (an old name of Makkah), a fortunate location and advice for mankind.”

According to History of Ka’aba by Muhammad Salih bin Ahmad, Ibn-e-Jareer, writes about a tradition in which Adam took stones from the following mountains: Mount Hira, Mount Zeeta, Mount Seena, Mount Lebanon and Mount Joodi.

And then history tells us that Prophet Ibrahim and Ismael rebuilt the Kaaba. They laid the foundation of the Kaaba on the same spot where Adam had once built it. Ibrahim was constructed it and Ismael was brought the stones. Ibrahim ordered his son to bring a stone on which he could stand and erected the walls of the cubic building. Jibrael brought a stone from Jannah, the black stone, which was placed in one corner of the Kaaba. They raised the walls of the Kaaba to nine yards and the compounds to thirty yards.

As Allah says in the Qur’an: “When Ibrahim and Ismael raised the foundation of the home (Kaaba), ‘Our lord accept from us. You are The Hearing, The Knowing!’”

After that construction, the Kaaba was demolished and established thirty-five times until the Quraish tribe rebuilt it. It is reported that a ship was broken down on the beach of the city of Jeddah and the people rushed towards the beach to grab planks of broken wood. There, they met a carpenter whom they brought with them to Makkah to help rebuild the Kaaba with that wood.

Initially, the height of the Kaaba was low, but later the people of Makkah extended the height by a few more yards. An authentic tradition of the Kaaba is when the Kaaba is burnt down a few times before another construction. When the Quraish tribe decided to rebuild it, Waleed bin Mugheera destroyed it. It was decided that two men per tribe would each bring a stone to be placed in the wall. Muhammad (who was not yet declared a prophet) and his uncle brought stones from Aiyad.

Then, a controversy erupted about who will replace the black stone, but later it was mutually decided that whoever first enters the courtyard of the Kaaba in the morning will place the black stone. And by Allah’s will, it was Muhammad who first entered the courtyard. But instead of putting the stone himself, he asked the people to provide him with a sheet of cloth. Then he asked the leaders of all the tribes to hold onto the corners and sides of the sheet with the black stone placed in the middle and carry it close to the wall of the Kaaba. Then, Muhammad picked up the stone and placed it in the corner of the Kaaba.

The reconstruction was nearing an end once again. But even today, renovation and construction of the Kaaba are still ongoing. The first tribe to place a covering on the wall was Bani-Asad. Then it was the Abbasids, and then kings from the Ottoman Empire who ordered coverings with ayats of the Qur’an printed on them to be placed on the holy building.

Qusai from Makkah did all the work. He had two sons. The eldest was Abdul Dar, who was given the flag and key of the Kaaba by his father. Abd Manaf, the youngest, was given the job of hospitality to the pilgrims. The key of the Kaaba remained in the custody of Abd-ud Dar. Once the prophet took the key from his descendant, Usman-bin-Talha, and gave it back to him while saying, “The custodianship will remain in your family forever. None would take it away from you except a transgressor.”

The current key bearer is Al Sheikh Abdul Aziz. And by Allah’s will, the key will most likely remain in the possession of this family. The renovation and cover-making will go on until the Day of Judgement. This was just the birth of the Kaaba and now we are all on the journey to a beautiful and successful destination.