Dear Esteemed Deans, Faculty, and Staff, As the spring semester begins, I write to share information about Ramadan, one of the holiest months in the Islamic calendar. My hope is to support clear communication, foster understanding, and ensure that our Muslim students, faculty, and staff are able to observe their faith traditions while continuing to
Arabic Calligraphy with the word “Muhammad” written In most lectures inside and outside Chapman, I take a moment to inform the listening audience, those who dare to listen, of the profound significance of the Prophet Muhammad’s life. His life embodies the Islamic dimensions, which are both internal and external, with the latter articulating the former.
In the Name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Bestower of Mercy We have entered a new year of Ramadan! What a feeling! Let me, the Chapman community, talk with you about a few things regarding Ramadan. There are several devotional actions of worship a Muslim performs, and the most pronounced are praying additional
June 18 began the final month of the Islamic calendar, Thu’l-Hijjah. In Islamic teachings, the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, informed the Muslim faithful that the performance of good deeds during the first ten days is the greatest and most beloved to Allah (God). The only thing more beloved is struggling for Allah’s cause and dying
June 18 began the final month of the Islamic calendar, Thu’l-Hijjah. In Islamic teachings, the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, informed the Muslim faithful that the performance of good deeds during the first ten days is the greatest and most beloved to Allah (God). The only thing more beloved is struggling for Allah’s cause and dying
Linguistically, “Eid” comes from a verb meaning the return of something time after time. The word itself means a time of returning joy. There are two Eids in Islam, one on the first day of the beginning of the 10th month in the Islamic calendar, “Shawwal,” and the other on the 10th day of the
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is an Arabic word. According to many Muslim scholars of the Arabic language and Qur’anic exegesis, it is derived from a verb meaning “severe heat.” When fasting, people experience a severe sense of internal heat from thirst, a burning sensation. Metaphorically, according to Islamic theology,
The United States of America recently experienced mass shootings throughout California, followed by yet another Black man murdered because of entrenched racist policies. People of various religious and secular backgrounds have conducted vigils, grieved, sought answers, and tried to make sense of human-to-human death. What happens, however, when death is not because of humans but,
Spiritual Wellbeing Is Mental Wellbeing More than 50% of Americans will experience a mental health crisis at some point in life. Unlike with the COVID virus, there is no vaccine to immunize us against mental illness. I know this from personal experience. As a college student and later as a young adult, I struggled with
When you enter the Interfaith Center you might be taken aback by the vastness of the chapel, the way the walls feel like they are floating, or you might find yourself feeling calm, swaddled in the warmth of sunlight and quiet of the space. For everyone on campus, I can imagine the Interfaith Center takes