Lessons learned harshly from an MSA Chair [07/20/2016]
On March 21st to 26th, my MSA (Muslim Students' Association) had the pleasure of holding Islamic Awareness Week. Being on board and on the program team, I had the humbling honor of helping to execute the ideas we had. Dawah on campus has never been so good... and anxiety inducing. Here are a few things I learned from helping plan IAW!
Feel free to laugh at the many things that upside smacked me in the face during the week.
Remember God is the best Planner: This became especially clear when my dawah coordinator’s tire blew out on the way to get carnations for a meeting with a local mesjid youth group. The carnations were going to be passed out with a hadith card attached to it. But that’s no problem right? Well, his phone was also dead so there was no way of reaching him. All in all we ended up being two hours late to the meeting with the mesjid youth group. Alhamdulillah the volunteers still stuck around to help. (P.S. My MSA board members don’t even know this story yet).
1.) Know your limits (aka, when you're on the literal verge of a panic attack). Planning anything is super stressful. And when it's branded as dawah, there's an even greater pressure on us as Muslims to make sure everything goes perfectly and we teach Islam without allowing our human mistakes to hinder teaching. So there's no shame in having to take a breather during a meeting, conference call or google doc date. There's no shame in expressing your anxiety or that you need help with this and that. On the contrary, that should happen naturally as part of a healthy functioning team!
2) Delegate authentic challenges...
As is the case in many leadership roles, delegation is key. On one note, it relieves you or whoever the leader is of a lot of stress and 2) gives someone else an opportunity to flex their skills and challenge themselves. One example is watching my awesome co-chair for student life take on setting up the room for our discussion on Hijaab and female empowerment. I was able to finish an exam and walk into the room beautifully set up with a hijaab table and all! A special shout out to all the volunteers for this event!
3) Breathe through the stress or at least be incredibly awkward during it.
Sometimes, stuff happens. And sometimes that stuff really sucks. For example, when you plan a dinner during IAW and your caterer cancels your order without telling you. And you don’t find this out until 2 hours before the event starts... DON'T panic, breathe, count them. And if breathing doesn't work, be as awkward as you need to so as to not explode in anger or cry. *cue Hana making weird merp noises while on hold with our last-minute caterer*
4) Communicate well:
When assigning a task, make sure you are clear. Allow the task-taker to repeat back what he/she understood. Seems unnecessary but it does a world of good. An example of where this would've worked wonders was when a miscommunication resulted in a flyer for two of our events not being made. Had the flyer requirements been communicated clearly, our awesome communications chair wouldn't have had to spend time on his spring break making a last minute flyer.
5) Grow through what you've planned. After it's all said and done and the events/services are being executed... benefit from them. Sit down, take notes, even if you can only pop in for five minutes as an organizer. I always say community organizing is more for yourself than anyone else!
6) Humble yourself, everything that was accomplished was only done so by the will of God.
Simply stated, absolutely nothing you've done would've been possible had God not willed it and given you the rizq to make it happen. Don't fall into "big shot syndrome" and be sure to renew your intentions.
Feel free to laugh at the many things that upside smacked me in the face during the week.
Remember God is the best Planner: This became especially clear when my dawah coordinator’s tire blew out on the way to get carnations for a meeting with a local mesjid youth group. The carnations were going to be passed out with a hadith card attached to it. But that’s no problem right? Well, his phone was also dead so there was no way of reaching him. All in all we ended up being two hours late to the meeting with the mesjid youth group. Alhamdulillah the volunteers still stuck around to help. (P.S. My MSA board members don’t even know this story yet).
1.) Know your limits (aka, when you're on the literal verge of a panic attack). Planning anything is super stressful. And when it's branded as dawah, there's an even greater pressure on us as Muslims to make sure everything goes perfectly and we teach Islam without allowing our human mistakes to hinder teaching. So there's no shame in having to take a breather during a meeting, conference call or google doc date. There's no shame in expressing your anxiety or that you need help with this and that. On the contrary, that should happen naturally as part of a healthy functioning team!
2) Delegate authentic challenges...
As is the case in many leadership roles, delegation is key. On one note, it relieves you or whoever the leader is of a lot of stress and 2) gives someone else an opportunity to flex their skills and challenge themselves. One example is watching my awesome co-chair for student life take on setting up the room for our discussion on Hijaab and female empowerment. I was able to finish an exam and walk into the room beautifully set up with a hijaab table and all! A special shout out to all the volunteers for this event!
3) Breathe through the stress or at least be incredibly awkward during it.
Sometimes, stuff happens. And sometimes that stuff really sucks. For example, when you plan a dinner during IAW and your caterer cancels your order without telling you. And you don’t find this out until 2 hours before the event starts... DON'T panic, breathe, count them. And if breathing doesn't work, be as awkward as you need to so as to not explode in anger or cry. *cue Hana making weird merp noises while on hold with our last-minute caterer*
4) Communicate well:
When assigning a task, make sure you are clear. Allow the task-taker to repeat back what he/she understood. Seems unnecessary but it does a world of good. An example of where this would've worked wonders was when a miscommunication resulted in a flyer for two of our events not being made. Had the flyer requirements been communicated clearly, our awesome communications chair wouldn't have had to spend time on his spring break making a last minute flyer.
5) Grow through what you've planned. After it's all said and done and the events/services are being executed... benefit from them. Sit down, take notes, even if you can only pop in for five minutes as an organizer. I always say community organizing is more for yourself than anyone else!
6) Humble yourself, everything that was accomplished was only done so by the will of God.
Simply stated, absolutely nothing you've done would've been possible had God not willed it and given you the rizq to make it happen. Don't fall into "big shot syndrome" and be sure to renew your intentions.
1o THINGS YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR MSA SISTERS FOR RIGHT NOW
BY HANA ALASRY
Your time at a university is one that will both liberate and jail you. It is liberating because you generally find an independence you’ve never had before, making choices about your future. And it’s a jail because, hey, hours of studying and all-nighters aren’t the most freeing thing.
But what makes the Finals week beat down a bit better is ladies like you. Because friendships that further you… spiritually, emotionally and intellectually are gifts from God. And here is my rendition of “10 Things You Should Thank Your College Best Friends For Right Now”.
Here are 1o THINGS YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR MSA SISTERS FOR RIGHT NOW
1) Thank you for showing a compassion that cannot be compared to:
Let me highlight just a few moments that prove the beauty of this. I remember being sick and in the Reflection Room on campus. A simple post in the MSA sisters group and without fail, two MSA sisters show up, one with tea and the other with a snickers bar (King’s size nonetheless).
Another moment, I remember seeing a post in that same group, of an MSA sister needing someone to look over her essay for her, and even though it’s easy to ignore that boring task, especially when you yourself have your own work to focus on, our lovely English and Journalism majors came to the rescue. And lastly, every drive in my car with an MSA sister results in conversations that are a true testament to a beautiful, selfless and loving nature each one of these ladies has adopted that I am so grateful to be a part of.
2) Thank you for all the hilarious stories:
Tears in my eyes, abs hurting, trying to hold back the laughs so we don’t scare the brothers kind of hilarious. Whether it’s the embarrassing things that have happened on our way to the reflection rooms, tripping at MSA events or funny family stories, I love moments that remind us… we can be so dumb sometimes! But it’s okay, because it gives us something to laugh about.
3) Thank you for offering your talents for the sake of Allah:
To all the ladies who totally beat out the guys when it comes to volunteering, as an MSA board member, I have a very special love for you. Because seriously, without YOU we wouldn’t be able to get anything done to the degree of excellence that we do. THANK YOU for being the photographers at our events, thank you for bringing your tasteful eye for décor, thank you for helping plan events, for marketing, for setting up, for cleanup, for your presence. MSA isn’t MSA without people like you giving their time and talent for the cause.
And a very special thank you to my Outreach Committee. Girls, if you’re reading this, you all occupy a very special place in my heart for taking on work and dealing with me. You do so much (throwback to Fawakih Institute Seminar). I honestly love you all.
4) Thank you for the silly moments:
MSA Sister 1: I have an orange, but it’s a cutie.
MSA Sister 2: Well, you are what you eat!
Yes… These cutesy little things are what make our day! Thank you for breaking out into random Disney songs with me, discussing the archetypes in the weird Korean dramas we watch, thank you for coordinating colors in our outfits, and thank you for always reminding me that not everything has to be serious all the time.
5) Thank you for making madddd duaa for each other:
I can’t count how many emotional breakdowns I’ve witnessed. Life gets hard. It really does. But as soon as that happens, you know you can count on an MSA sister to wrap their arms around you and remind you that Allah tests those He loves. These ladies can offer words that you couldn’t get through without. And most importantly, they offer words to Allah on your behalf. May Allah keep you ladies safe, happy, strong and blessed.
And when the custodian of the student center addresses you ladies as my sisters, you know what’s up.
6) Thank you for offering your counsel and advice:
Thank you for being there for practical advice when we need it. For the sister that wants to drop pre-med, the sister who is trying to decide her outfit for the MSA dinner, for which classes to take with which class and what professors are nicest… you are literal life savers!
7) Thank you for group salaat:
“Hold on to your salah, because if you lose that, you will lose everything else.” These are the words of Umar Ibn Al Khuttab, and boy, if they aren’t true, I don’t know what is. Thank you for making salaat a priority and for reminding us that our connection to Allah is what will make our connection to each other stronger. There is a peacefulness when we stand in jamma3a and go into sujood together. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
8) Thank you for the food runs:
Sushi… burgers… pad thai…shawarma… whatever it is, if I’m eating it with you, I know I’m gaining more than just a full tummy and a dent in my wallet. Whether, we’re discussing literature, the civil rights movement, a hadith, personality profiles, the food just tastes better with you girls, I swear.
9) Thank you for being awesome study buddies:
You’d think after reading this that we do nothing but hang out, but that’s not true. After all, we’re at a university. And the few hours in a week we get to spend with each other are treasures. But when exam times hit, thank you for studying together and offering that support. Because while you’re crying over your 15 page essay, I’m crying over my 5 chapter exam and we’re both sad and stressed together and it makes it much easier to bare, wouldn’t you agree????
10) Thank you for building a sorority house in jannah:
Wherever life takes you after you graduate, I hope it’s beautiful and I hope you can call it home. We’ve moved mountains with each other (and also defeated those weird squirrels that are just not afraid of humans on campus!). And I make duaa that our final destination is one with gardens beneath which rivers flow and a baller mansion that we can turn into like a sorority house or some stuff. And then we can like have chai or shai or shahee (I’m not debating the name anymore) with the prophet SAW and laugh and smile! YEAH!
الْأَدَبِ الرجل على دين خليله فلينظر أحدكم من يخالل
A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.
-Prophet Muhammad SAW (Abu Dawud 4833)
BY HANA ALASRY
Your time at a university is one that will both liberate and jail you. It is liberating because you generally find an independence you’ve never had before, making choices about your future. And it’s a jail because, hey, hours of studying and all-nighters aren’t the most freeing thing.
But what makes the Finals week beat down a bit better is ladies like you. Because friendships that further you… spiritually, emotionally and intellectually are gifts from God. And here is my rendition of “10 Things You Should Thank Your College Best Friends For Right Now”.
Here are 1o THINGS YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR MSA SISTERS FOR RIGHT NOW
1) Thank you for showing a compassion that cannot be compared to:
Let me highlight just a few moments that prove the beauty of this. I remember being sick and in the Reflection Room on campus. A simple post in the MSA sisters group and without fail, two MSA sisters show up, one with tea and the other with a snickers bar (King’s size nonetheless).
Another moment, I remember seeing a post in that same group, of an MSA sister needing someone to look over her essay for her, and even though it’s easy to ignore that boring task, especially when you yourself have your own work to focus on, our lovely English and Journalism majors came to the rescue. And lastly, every drive in my car with an MSA sister results in conversations that are a true testament to a beautiful, selfless and loving nature each one of these ladies has adopted that I am so grateful to be a part of.
2) Thank you for all the hilarious stories:
Tears in my eyes, abs hurting, trying to hold back the laughs so we don’t scare the brothers kind of hilarious. Whether it’s the embarrassing things that have happened on our way to the reflection rooms, tripping at MSA events or funny family stories, I love moments that remind us… we can be so dumb sometimes! But it’s okay, because it gives us something to laugh about.
3) Thank you for offering your talents for the sake of Allah:
To all the ladies who totally beat out the guys when it comes to volunteering, as an MSA board member, I have a very special love for you. Because seriously, without YOU we wouldn’t be able to get anything done to the degree of excellence that we do. THANK YOU for being the photographers at our events, thank you for bringing your tasteful eye for décor, thank you for helping plan events, for marketing, for setting up, for cleanup, for your presence. MSA isn’t MSA without people like you giving their time and talent for the cause.
And a very special thank you to my Outreach Committee. Girls, if you’re reading this, you all occupy a very special place in my heart for taking on work and dealing with me. You do so much (throwback to Fawakih Institute Seminar). I honestly love you all.
4) Thank you for the silly moments:
MSA Sister 1: I have an orange, but it’s a cutie.
MSA Sister 2: Well, you are what you eat!
Yes… These cutesy little things are what make our day! Thank you for breaking out into random Disney songs with me, discussing the archetypes in the weird Korean dramas we watch, thank you for coordinating colors in our outfits, and thank you for always reminding me that not everything has to be serious all the time.
5) Thank you for making madddd duaa for each other:
I can’t count how many emotional breakdowns I’ve witnessed. Life gets hard. It really does. But as soon as that happens, you know you can count on an MSA sister to wrap their arms around you and remind you that Allah tests those He loves. These ladies can offer words that you couldn’t get through without. And most importantly, they offer words to Allah on your behalf. May Allah keep you ladies safe, happy, strong and blessed.
And when the custodian of the student center addresses you ladies as my sisters, you know what’s up.
6) Thank you for offering your counsel and advice:
Thank you for being there for practical advice when we need it. For the sister that wants to drop pre-med, the sister who is trying to decide her outfit for the MSA dinner, for which classes to take with which class and what professors are nicest… you are literal life savers!
7) Thank you for group salaat:
“Hold on to your salah, because if you lose that, you will lose everything else.” These are the words of Umar Ibn Al Khuttab, and boy, if they aren’t true, I don’t know what is. Thank you for making salaat a priority and for reminding us that our connection to Allah is what will make our connection to each other stronger. There is a peacefulness when we stand in jamma3a and go into sujood together. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
8) Thank you for the food runs:
Sushi… burgers… pad thai…shawarma… whatever it is, if I’m eating it with you, I know I’m gaining more than just a full tummy and a dent in my wallet. Whether, we’re discussing literature, the civil rights movement, a hadith, personality profiles, the food just tastes better with you girls, I swear.
9) Thank you for being awesome study buddies:
You’d think after reading this that we do nothing but hang out, but that’s not true. After all, we’re at a university. And the few hours in a week we get to spend with each other are treasures. But when exam times hit, thank you for studying together and offering that support. Because while you’re crying over your 15 page essay, I’m crying over my 5 chapter exam and we’re both sad and stressed together and it makes it much easier to bare, wouldn’t you agree????
10) Thank you for building a sorority house in jannah:
Wherever life takes you after you graduate, I hope it’s beautiful and I hope you can call it home. We’ve moved mountains with each other (and also defeated those weird squirrels that are just not afraid of humans on campus!). And I make duaa that our final destination is one with gardens beneath which rivers flow and a baller mansion that we can turn into like a sorority house or some stuff. And then we can like have chai or shai or shahee (I’m not debating the name anymore) with the prophet SAW and laugh and smile! YEAH!
الْأَدَبِ الرجل على دين خليله فلينظر أحدكم من يخالل
A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.
-Prophet Muhammad SAW (Abu Dawud 4833)
You can read more about this initiative on the main page of the blog in sha' Allah.