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Note: all the images presented in our Islamic Art feature are copyrighted to the original producers. Do not reproduce them without seeking their prior consent.

Islamic phrases include:
• 'alayhis salam –
• rahimaha Allāh –
• rahimahu Allāh –
• rahimahum Allāh –
• radiallahu 'anha –
• radiallahu 'anhu –
• radiallahu 'anhum –
• sallalahu 'alayhi wa salam –
• subḥānahu wa ta'āla –

Both black and white versions of each graphic are provided.
Romanized text and the English translation can also be inserted to assist readers who do not know Arabic, as shown below:

Click here to download the plugin for free – please don't forget to rate it. :)

Updates:
• 1st Feb 2012: version 1.1.0 – Options page added under Dashboard > Settings > Islamic Graphics. Now you can choose to display images with or without accompanying text, set the default image height, and default colour.
• 23rd Jan 2012: version 1.0.7 – Alt and title text added. Hover your mouse over an Islamic graphic to see the transliterated version of the phrase, as well as the meaning in English.
• 14th Jan 2012: version 1.0.6 – New images added! Rahimahullah, rahimaha Allāh, rahimahum Allāh.
• 13th Jan 2012: version 1.0.5 – Changes made to improve image quality. JazakAllah khair Saqib for the recommendations.

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Note: all the images presented in our Islamic Art feature are copyrighted to the original producers. Do not reproduce them without seeking their prior consent.

Unemployment Series

Being out of a job does not equate to being out of work. There are plenty of opportunities out there to keep yourself busy while you search for a new position, allowing you to gain valuable skills, and even earn yourself some ākhirah points.

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2008 was a very good year and a very bad year for me. It was the year I completed my PhD in Molecular Biology and officially became a 'Dr'. It was also the year I started my 18 month stretch of unemployment.

I wanted to be a scientist since I first learned the meaning of the word. But after four years of stress, tears, and broken dreams, the only conviction my PhD left me with was that nothing on Earth could make me go back to the lab. Job hunting was a major chore, as most Bio-sector openings were for postdoc positions in research. In the end, my period of unemployment was extended by a complete lack of direction; for the first time in my life, I had no idea what to do next.

Depression began to creep in as I felt the weight of societal expectations on my shoulders: that of my parents, my family, my neighbors, and even strangers I met at weddings. It was so embarrassing to admit that after eight years of higher education, I had failed (FAILED in big, bold letters) to do what most school-leavers have achieved: to get a job.

Alḥamdulillāh for me, the story did not end there; rather, it was the lowest point from which the only way was up. My situation began to improve when I launched my first social media initiative, SignLabs.org. It was the catalyst that rapidly converted my time of aimless thumb-twiddling into a time of self-discovery, proving to be one of the most productive and creative periods of my life so far.

There were many positive consequences to working on SignLabs: first and foremost, I was helping the community – that's always a win, māshā'Allāh. Producing the promo videos reawakened my love for film-making, an activity I hadn't engaged in since I was a teenager. I also learnt that as much as I loved it, I wanted media and film to remain a hobby, and not a career.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was this same confidence that allowed me to break societal norms once again: in March of 2009 I made the somewhat controversial decision to go back to university, to study for a government-sponsored Masters in Bioinformatics. Yes, a Masters after a PhD (!). As much fun as I was having with social media, I missed my first love, the sciences, and wanted to give them one last try to see if we could work past our differences.

Alḥamdulillāh, we did. Twelve months of hard work and copious amounts of pleading with Allāh led to my first, official, full-time job as a newly qualified Bioinformatician in 2010. I literally walked out of university one day and into my new work place the next. That is the power of du'ā'.

I am still benefiting from my 18 months as an un-employee. I am now less phased by positions of responsibility, both in and outside of the work place, and continue to collaborate on a number of community initiatives, māshā'Allāh. I also really, really enjoy my new job – a job that I only found having had the time and space to re-think my career path. Verily, after hardship comes ease, alḥamdulillāh.

A large part of the negative emotion we experience during unemployment comes from believing that we have let the world down somehow. That we are failures, and not worthy of success. Volunteering your skills, and indulging in creative pursuits during this trial can help you to feel useful and productive once again, whilst earning the blessing of Allāh through your efforts to serve Him. Use this time away from the usual 9-5 routine to improve yourself for the benefit of everyone. It is a silver lining that you cannot afford not to mine.

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Britain in a Day is an extraordinary project to create the definitive self-portrait of Britain today, filmed by you, inspired by Life In A Day.

On Saturday 12th November, Ridley Scott and director Morgan Matthews invite you to capture the reality of your day and to upload it to YouTube.

The resulting film and online archive will be a powerful and moving snapshot of the UK today, premiered in cinemas and broadcast on BBC Two for a general audience, ahead of the London Olympics.

This is your chance to express yourself. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, your footage will feature in our online archive, and the more memorable your recording, the greater the chance of your material being included in the final film.

Get involved – film your UK on one day – and be a part of our nations' story.

[Excerpt and image from the Britain In A Day website]

You can start filming from midnight GMT on November 12th, which is just a few hours away!
Check out the Britain in a Day website for more information and instructions on how and what to film. Submit your footage via the Britain in a Day YouTube channel.

This month's feature is a focus on architecture-related images. How does the modern compare to the classic?

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1. What are you listening to?
2. What are you reading?
3. What are you watching?
4. What technology are you rocking, Mac or PC? Kindle, iPad, Android phone, etc?
5. What's the best piece of advice you've received or an advice you have for MM's readers?

In this week's WIYE, iMuslim interviews Sh. Alaa El Syed – Director of Public Relations at Mercy Mission, and an instructor at the AlKauthar Institute.

ISoc2Sick

A classic tip from King's College London graduate, Bushra:

“Seek out your university's Islamic society and SIGN UP! They will be your lifeline out in the scary world of student-hood.”

A lot of ISocs (a.k.a. MSAs for you Americans) have Freshers' (first-year) events in the first few weeks of term for new students. You can contact them before you start via their websites and Facebook pages (Google is your friend). If your university doesn't have an ISoc, try searching for Muslim cultural societies, like Pakistani, Indonesian, Malay, Arab, Somali, etc. Even if you're not from those cultures, they should still welcome you, and at the very least, show you where the best places to pray and eat halal are , inshā'Allāh.

It's also important to remember prayer room etiquette: give salām, smile, be friendly and welcoming to all. Just because someone doesn't seem as pious as you are (note: thinking you're better than others is a sure sign to check yourself!), or they pray a little differently than you, doesn't provide any excuse for you to give them the cold shoulder. You don't want your prickly nature to be the reason why someone doesn't offer their ṣalāh in congregation, or avoids attending circles of knowledge, or even regular ISoc socials, a'ūdhu billāh.

“Don't be judgmental- whether you are super-practicing or not. University will introduce you to many more different characters than those at school and will test your own patience by making you accommodate for these people. It will refine you.” – Bushra

Freeeeedom!

A warning from graduate of Imperial College London, iMuslim:

“Don't let your first taste of 'freedom' go to your head – especially true for those sisters like me, who were rolled up in cotton wool most of their young lives! Suddenly teachers and parents aren't there anymore to keep their beady eyes on you, and Shayṭān's whispers becomes more like Shayṭān on loudspeaker!”

Without raining on your parade, the amazing high of your first few weeks away from home can also be dangerous for your īmān. You don't realize how much of your Islam is dependent on the opinions of family and other authority figures until they disappear from view. Strangers, especially non-Muslims, aren't going to care whether you pray your ṣalāh, or 'eat of the good things'. Now it really is between you and Allāh; time to familiarize yourselves with His Attributes: As-Samee', the One who hears all; Al-Baseer, the One who sees all; and Al-'Alīm, the One who knows all. In conclusion: feel free to disobey Allāh in the place that He can't hear you, see you or know about it. {smile}

However, greater freedom and a strange place also has its advantages:

“Starting uni is a great opportunity to renew yourself. Often school can be a very suffocating place because there is so much peer pressure from your friends – and even the people you dislike! If you've always wanted to start praying, wear hijab, clean up your language, volunteer more, and so on, but your peers were holding you back, uni is the best time to break the chains, wipe the slate clean, and start again with a 'bismillah'.” – iMuslim

Friends Forever

Leaving behind childhood friends can be hard, especially if it takes time for you to make new ones. As lonely as you may feel at times, try not to fill that void in your heart, and the gap in your social calendar with just any company:

“Surround yourself with good people. Not just ISoc members, but also good friends on your course who may not be Muslim, but they live clean, and they respect you and your faith. If you left one bad group of 'friends' behind, don't fall into the same trap again now you've been given a second chance. The Prophet, ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam said: 'A person is likely to follow the faith of his friend, so each one should consider whom he makes his friend.' [Sunan Abu Dāwūd]” – iMuslim

Campus Superstar

With all the fun of new friends, clubs, and societies, you may forget that university is actually for something called, STUDYING.

To help you along, here are some awesome study tips from University of California student, Meena, and University of Washington graduate, Safia:

“Don't give up the work habits that you established in high school. Most people have chiller schedules once they go to college and all forms of self-discipline and timeliness disappear. The hardest workers will do the best. Being “smart” isn't enough. Make iḥsān in everything you do – even school.” – Meena

“Be a known presence, not just in the university community at large, but also in the classroom. It's critical to visit during office hours and get to know your professors more. This is more general academic advice (of course, it's a da'wah opportunity also), but when you familiarize yourself with the teacher, it has many advantages:

• One, they'll know you're a serious student because you went beyond the classroom.
• Two, the more memorable you are to professors, the easier time you'll have getting the critical letters of recommendation that you will need for jobs and grad school.” – Safia

And a bucket load of academic advice from Wharton School of Business MBA grad, Amad:

• Remember why you are at college: to earn a degree. Keep the focus. It's only 3-4 years and if you put your mind into it, you'll reap the benefits
  for the rest of your life. You almost have to treat it as an extremely important investment that may dictate your career, your future family, and where you might live.
• Talk to senior students in your major. You can usually get great advice on professors, classes, and when you need something to lighten the load, professors who repeat the exam questions every year!
• It's not important just to “like” something to make a career out of it. If you want to be bread-earner, then you have choose something that will get you a job after you graduate. It affects what area you might be able to make a living in. For example, if you desire moving to the Middle East at one point in your life, scan the jobs that may be available in the region.

More practical advice can be found in this must-read MM post.

Don't Forget Your Roots

Our EIC, Hena – graduate of the University of New Orleans – keeps it real:

“Call your mom!! Dad, siblings, grandparents, and old friends too – if you call them and keep in touch, it is less anxiety for them and they won't think that you have changed.”

Absence makes the heart grow fonder – but also more forgetful! Don't let the excitement (and stress) of college life make you forget those who helped you to get there in the first place. That goes double for the One who provides for you in every way: Al-Razzāq. Keep in touch with your Creator via your daily worship, dhikr, and regularity of good deeds.

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We hope that our sincere advice is of benefit to you. May you be successful in your studies, and enjoy every moment of this new and unique life experience, āmīn!
Feel free to share your own pearls of wisdom in the comments below.

Related Article: A Message to Anyone Interested in a College Degree

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