2025 Oct OT M 12 Week 5 Oct 5, 2025

Today when I got to the masjid, I was the first one in class but I forgot what to do when you enter the class, so I had to remember outside and wait until somebody did it so I could copy them. Nobody really knew until RB came, but he messed it up once, so he tried again and all he said was assalamualaikum. However, I said assalam, which was the abbreviated form, which was also wrong apparently.

Since none of us did our homework, we had to stand on a chair or sit cross legged for multiple hours. During that time, RB was memorizing surat al falaq, and I was memorizing du’a al Darud. After spending a lot of time in pain for unrelated reasons, I finished memorizing Darud and RB went to be tested. Then, I memorized Ma’un in English, which did not take too long. Food came and we began to eat while listening to lessons from LG, such as the soul is not a physical object, so it doesn’t really have a place, but we associate it with the heart, even though for me it doesn’t make sense, it works in sayings like “listen to your heart.”

We also learned that hoodies can be associated with problems, which I never knew. People think that having a hoodie means you are trying to cover your face before doing something bad, or after doing something bad. It also fits with “wear appropriate clothes,” because if you are a parent going to pick up your kid at school and you are wearing a hoodie and covering your face, people could think you are a dangerous perpetrator. 

If you are at the masjid, you obviously can’t be wearing shorts or other clothing that does not cover most of your skin, especially for women, because that just does not make sense, the whole purpose of dressing modestly is to not show your figure. We also say bismillah to feed our soul, as our soul is not a physical object, and to feed it, we have to do something spiritual in return. Feelings we feel with Allah are not fear and hatred, we love Allah for all He has done for us, and all He will, and we should not fear Allah for not being able to do what He requests, we should be ashamed of ourselves for not being able to do what He requests.

Then, Dr. F came in, he is the president of the Shirley Gates masjid, he came in and he gave us a few very important lessons. When he came in, he asked us to smile. None of us said why so he said he just won’t explain himself. Then I said, “Why?” And he said that it is sunnah to smile. He said that the prophet (PBUH, SAW) was smiling almost all of the time. He said it was because when you smile, it makes you look less intimidating and more friendly, attracting people by gaining their attention.

He also said that when you smile, it helps you become more confident, gaining more of people’s opinions and attention. Another way to become more confident and speak louder is by standing up and speaking. That way, everyone around you knows you are speaking, and you should be listened to. Then, he asked us, who does God want us to love the most?

What human being? I said God because I did not hear the human being part. Then I thought about our parents, but it didn’t quite hit me until RB said Muhammad (PBUH, SAW) it made sense. Dr. F said that Allah asked us to love Muhammad (SAW) more than anyone else, because he saved us from eternal doom by being the bridge of information between us and Allah. It is also good to have time management to be able to get things done quickly and focus on other important things, so that you may have more free time to do other things later.

He also said that it is good to read, to improve our comprehension and our IQ. He also said that everyone is born Muslim, and nobody lies when they are young, because they can’t speak. But, as they grow up, peer pressure and society forces them to do things they don’t want to do, until they get used to it. He said that Allah asked us to speak truthfully, and Allah will forgive some of our greatest sins, which is an incredibly large and important promise that we should all be grateful that it was ever offered. He also said that it is important to have loyal company around you. Friends that you trust, friends that trust you, and people who you know may never betray you.

When he left, we started a long conversation about good and bad leaders. We wanted to know what leaders were good and what leaders were bad. From what I heard, Hitler was a good leader to his people who elected him, but he did not lead people to the right path, so a good leader, wrong path. LG was looking for some examples of good leaders, and I thought of Barack Obama, because he improved our country and made it better for everyone in it, leading people to the right path, and he utilised his speaking skills and positivity to guide people like a good leader. But then one of the other teachers stated that he bombed innocent muslim kids outside of this country, which I was not aware of.

Then I thought about George Washington, he led the revolutionary war and founded this country, but he had slaves. So no matter what, any leader no matter how good or how bad they may seem, how positive or how negative they may seem, or how righteous they may seem in someone else’s eyes, there will always be some bias, meaning some people will choose sides with or without a reason, and will not change their point of view no matter what, and there will always be give or take some bad and give or take some good in a leader, so it is very hard to know which leader is good and which one isn’t. 

Today has been a very informative class as always so hopefully I was able to cover enough topics and reach the word requirement and hopefully anybody reading this likes my essay! Assalamualaikum!