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In this edition: Welcome backs, board intros, lookaheads and more!͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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In this edition: Welcome backs, board intros, lookaheads and more!
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السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatu MSA Family!! We are so excited to have you all back, alhamdulillah! We hope everyone had a joyful and memorable summer and is ready to take on this new year of school, inshaAllah.
To start the year off, let’s refresh on what the mission of the MSA is, as stated in our mission statement: “The Muslim Student Association at the University of Kentucky aims towards fostering a diverse and inclusive community for Muslims and non-Muslims alike through social, spiritual, and service events. The MSA strives to uphold Islamic values through education, outreach, advocacy, and altruism.” The board is committed to carrying out the MSA’s mission, and we strive to do so while always remaining in remembrance of Allah (SWT). We have established two themes of the year that we hope will provide us with direction and purpose for everything we do. These themes are taqwa and tawakkul. Taqwa is the principle of being intentionally mindful of Allah (SWT) and tawakkul is the principle of having complete trust and reliance in Allah (SWT).
May Allah increase us in our taqwa and tawakkul and guide us to serve the MSA for His sake. May Allah bless the year ahead of us. Ameen. Without further ado, your president and vice president:
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President AsSalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatu! My name is Iman Hassan and I am the president of the MSA at the University of Kentucky this year, alhamdulillah. I am a senior and I am studying Human Health Sciences on the pre-PA track. This is my third year in the MSA, and my second year on the board. The last two years were beautiful years with the MSA and I am super excited for everything the future has in store for us, inshaAllah! As president, I am the chief executive officer and official representative of the MSA. My responsibilities include nurturing the intercampus, community, and administrative relationships the MSA has, as well as fostering and building new interactions and relationships. May Allah provide me with His strength and guidance to allow me to serve the MSA to the best of my ability. Ameen.
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Vice President Assalamu wa alaikum! My name is Elaf Ghoneim AKA your VP for 2023 (and’24 iA)!!! I am now a senior studying neuroscience and pharmacology and have been a part of the MSA since my freshman year. As the vice president, my tasks include helping the president and managing the passionate, ambitious, and incredibly hardworking board as we strive toward cultivating an environment of spiritual and personal growth for all. Make dua that Allah (SWT) blesses our efforts and continues the success of those before us. May we all have a fantastic year Ameen! |
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As-Salamu Alaykum! My name is Amel Kredan and this is my third year at UK! I am majoring in human nutrition with a minor in biology. Volunteerism and community service is a big aspect of my life so I’m honored to serve as this year’s community service chair.
"وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَانِ "(سورة المائدة “ And cooperate with one another in goodness and righteousness, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression.” (Surat Al-Maidah, 5:2) Be on the look out for announcements from me regarding LUA tutoring, SHARE Lunch, Charity Week, and more! I’m looking forward to seeing you guys at some of these events :)
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Service opportunities this September: SHARE Lunch SHARE Community Garden This past year, the SHARE Center has been working on a community garden to provide local residents a space to reduce food insecurity, build community, and learn about sustainable living. I’m excited to announce that the SHARE Community Garden will be hosting its grand opening event on Saturday, September 16 in collaboration with the SHARE Lunch! More information regarding times and volunteer opportunities will be sent out to the MSA Reminders group chat so be on the lookout!
LUA Tutoring For those of you who don’t know, Lexington Universal Academy (LUA) is the local islamic school. For the past few years, MSA has provided a volunteer-led tutoring program for the middle school and elementary students at LUA. I have been working closely with the staff and faculty to improve and plan the program for this year. Inshallah tutoring will start back up in October, so if you are interested in becoming a tutor, email or text me at atkr225@uky.edu, (859) 576-5080)
Charity Week I am very excited to announce that the UKY MSA will once again be partnering with Charity Week! Charity Week is an international non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for orphans and children in need around the world. Charity Week partners with several organizations around the world who all host their own unique fundraising events during one week in the year. This year’s Charity Week will take place from October 23rd-29th. Those who participated last year remember how fun and rewarding it was, so make sure to be on the lookout for Charity Week fundraiser announcements on our GroupMe and instagram (@ukymsa)!
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Asalamualaikum, my name is Junaid Ahmed and I am a senior neuroscience student on the pre-med track. I have been a part of the MSA for a few years now and I am very very exceedingly tremendously excited to be the campus outreach chair this year. If anyone has any suggestions for possible collaborations with other student organizations on campus, HIT MY LINE. InshaAllah this school year will be lots of fun and full of blessings. |
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Reaching out to the campus! Campus Ruckus Fall involvement fair Other upcoming events The Student Activities Board is hosting Labor Stay which is a 4 day long program with over 20 events! This is going to be campus-wide from Friday, Sept. 1st through Monday, Sept. 4th. Below is a link to find the information for all of the upcoming events:
https://uky.campuslabs.com/engage/event/9213504
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AsSalaamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu! My name is Areeda Aftab! I am a junior at UK working towards a degree in public health Insha’Allah! Alhamdulillah I am the halaqa chair for this school year. I look forward to working with everyone to make this school year beneficial for us all insha’Allah. MSA has helped me progress in my journey with my deen, so I hope to continue in keeping it a source of inspiration for everyone else. We hope to educate and encourage what’s within our capacity by the will of Allah. May Allah SWT help me do right by this position and may He make this year a wonderful and beneficial year for us all, Ameen! Stay tuned for our upcoming events, we can’t wait to see everyone there Insha’Allah! |
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If you missed the last Khutba, here’s a recap! "The Khutbah discussed the importance of Muhasaba, taking your nafs (inner self) to account. It tells the story of two men; one who was kind, generous, and honorable but died without Isam another who was a lifelong pagan but took time to reflect upon his life and embraced Islam right before dying in battle for the Muslims. It then concluded with a call to action, by a quote from Ibna Qayim rA, stating the most beneficial thing a Muslim can do before they go to bed is to take themselves to account and seek forgiveness for their wrongdoings for the day." ~Sudeys Saman Don’t forget, starting this week, Jummah prayer will take place in the MLK center on the 2nd floor of the student center Insha’Allah! If you need help locating it, contact a board member!
Here’s what to look forward to! Dr. Palmer Hadith Class Dr. Palmer will be offering FREE classes about the 40 hadith by Imam An-Nawawi. The classes will be held every other Thursday in Whitehall Classroom Building RM 237 at 5pm. Join us on September 7th for the first class of this series!
Fajr and Folgers
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AsSalaamu Alaykum everyone! By Allah’s mercy I am proud to serve as your social chair for the ‘23-‘24 school year. I am a senior at UK this year, studying public health. I am super passionate about public health and am looking forward to graduating in the Spring inshaAllah. As social chair, I am responsible for planning and carrying out social events such as the Back to School Picnic, Fall Bonfire, Culture Night, and many more exciting events inshaAllah. I have found a community/family through the MSA, and social events have played a huge part in that. I hope for social events to be a break from the stress that school can cause and an outlet for building friendships that can benefit us in this life and the next, inshaAllah. |
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August General Body Meeting We had our first general body meeting of the academic year! This meeting featured board introductions, a look ahead at upcoming events, a rock-paper-scissors tournament, in which the winner will have the opportunity to pie our president in the face at the Back to School picnic!
Coming up this September Back to School Picnic Our annual MSA Back to School picnic will be held at Jacobson Park TODAY, Friday, September 1st from 6:00PM-8:00PM. There will be Halal burgers and hot dogs along with some other yummy food! There will also be volleyball, corn hole, and other fun games! We hope to see you there! *Address for Jacobson Park is 4001 Athens Boonesboro Rd., Lexington, KY 40509, we will be at Shelter 1 inshaAllah. We want to see everyone there so if you need a ride please send a direct message to Instagram account @ukymsa,
Beads and Bonding We also have a combined halaqa/social event this month called Beads and Bonding. We will listen to a halaqa about Friendship in Islam, while making tasbeehs, bracelets, or whatever your heart desires! The event will be in Rm. 203 in The 90 at 5:30PM. We highly encourage new members to join us so that we can get to know everyone :)
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AsSalaamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. My name is Najma Amarkhail and alhamdulillah I just began my fourth and final year of college (cannot believe I’m saying that subhanAllah)! Insha’Allah, I will be graduating with a psychology degree in the spring. It is my pleasure to serve as the PR Chair for our MSA one final time. I learned a handful of important lessons during my time as the PR Chair for the fall semester of ‘22-’23 school year. It is my hope to carry the lessons learned throughout this upcoming year insha’Allah. I look forward to presenting new and exciting ideas insha’Allah so be on the lookout! 😎👀 May Allah (SWT) guide me to make the best of decisions in this capacity and keep my intentions pure as I embark on this journey one final time, Allahumma Ameen. |
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Asalaamu Alaikum, my name is Zohaib and I will be your Secretary this year!! I am a junior neuroscience major and have been involved with the MSA for the past couple of years. I’m supes excited for this coming school year and iA it’ll be the best one yet (obv cuz I’m on the board so psssht)!! In all seriousness, I really am looking forward to interacting with y’all and working to help put on amazing events for everybody iA and if you have any suggestions for any events or think I suck let a brutha know‼️‼️ |
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Notes from the Secretary: Subcommittees If you haven’t already, make sure to fill out your subcommittee applications https://forms.gle/XKcML7XooHijgEoK7 If you want to be more involved and interact with the board this is the perfect way to do so!! DUE ON SEPTEMBER 17TH‼️
Halal Food on Campus Jummah Salah/ Friday Prayer T-shirt and Merch Design Contest To stay involved and updated join the MSA reminders groupchat on groupme, follow us on Instagram, and check out our bbnvolved page and website!!
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Asalaam Alaikum Warahmatullahe Wabaraktuhu, I am Ahmed Khan and for this year I will be the treasurer for the Muslim Student Association at the University of Kentucky. I have been a member of this organization for 3 years, and this is my first year on the board. I am a senior Pre-Med student majoring in Neuroscience, but I have an interest in studying Arabic. My job as treasurer is to ensure the financial security and growth of the MSA so that we as a board can provide adequate services and events for Muslim students at UK. Reminders from the Treasurer: Remember to pay your dues to help financially support the MSA, especially if you are an active member. It is 20$ to register as a member until the midterm of the fall semester, which is October 23, and after midterms, it is $25. Dues can be paid through cash to any of the board members, or through PayPal and Venmo, which is @ukymsa
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Dr. Aiyub Palmer has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky since 2015. Before that, he was a graduate student at the University of Michigan where he studied Islamic Studies with Professor Sherman Jackson. Aiyub also has a masters in teaching Arabic as a foreign language. In total Aiyub has lived in Jordan for three years and studied Arabic there as well as other Islamic disciplines. Currently, Aiyub lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and five children. He is involved in numerous masajid in the Lexington area. |
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Thank you for following along and supporting our MSA. We look forward to seeing you all at our future events, inshaAllah! Join our GroupMe and follow our instagram (@ukymsa) to stay up-to-date on all upcoming events and opportunities! Until next month, Wa alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatu! وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته
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