Competitions
Readers Poll: Your Favourite Ramadan Short Story – $100 Top Prize!
*Poll ends midnight a week from now, midnight of Saturday, 10/25/2009*
This week, MM has been dominated by the announcement of the winners of the Ramadan Short Story Contest ’08, as voted for by the staff and shayookh.
But now, as AbuAbdAllah had suggested in one of his comments, it is time to express YOUR opinion about who you think should have clinched first prize, by taking part in our readers poll! We urge you to vote with responsibility, i.e. the authors deserve that you read their stories before casting your vote. So, please try reading all stories before casting your vote. In fact, that is one of the purposes of creating this poll, the opportunity for these great stories to be read!
First, a reminder of the six finalists:
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“Of Love, Parents, and Ramadhaan” by Sadia
“A Word in Passing” by Bint AbdelHamid
“Whomsoever Allah Guides…” by Amira Khan
“Cancer in Ramadan” by Khaled elMassri
“Sadaqah” by Azra Tashfeen
“Look, it’s a Giant Bubble in Louisiana!” by Shirien Elamawy
So, which Ramadan Short Story did you like the best? Vote now using the widget below (please make sure to use the scroll bars to see the full list). The most popular entry will win a cool hundred dollars!
[memedex: pollid#488141#450#450]
Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah
Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.
The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.
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AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
October 19, 2008 at 5:50 PM
bismillah. may Allah accept from each of the writers, including those whose work has not been highlighted or accoladed. without doubt my favorite submission was the first one posted on MM, “Of Love, Parents, and Ramadhaan” by Sadia.
it was not just an imanrush, but it was well-written, too. a fine bit of short story writing, mashaAllah. my unequivocal vote.
AmatulWadood
October 19, 2008 at 6:12 PM
hmm it seems people can vote twice if you refresh the page (or come back and visit). I hope people vote only once inshaAllah.
Amad
October 19, 2008 at 6:14 PM
Actually, you can “vote”, but it doesn’t count it. I think there is an IP protection.
I hope that for such a competition, people will not cheat inshallah :) So don’t even try :)
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
October 19, 2008 at 6:59 PM
bismillah. so what you’re saying is that if this were an Acorn registration drive, the situation might be [expletive]UBAR? hmmm. there is a small group of voters who do have an incentive to vote multiple times here… but if there is at least IP-tracking in the votes, then the whole list of votes cast be copied to excel and then sorted by IP column. that should discover quickly whether the doubles are harmless (like the Acorn registrations) or nefarious (like the GOP wants you to believe about Acorn).
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
October 19, 2008 at 7:11 PM
bismillah. maybe it’s just on my computer, but the “ballot” shows 5 of the 6 candidates. you have to scroll down to get to the sixth candidate. and in another example of GOP vote blocking, Obama is NOT even on the ballot, not even as Osama! first it was butterfly-ballots! what’s next? will Scalia and his cronies weigh in at the end to put in the final fix for… oh, sorry, that last sentence was a rant for another day… good thing none of our entrants is names McCain or Palin. i might not have been able to reel myself back in.
Amad
October 19, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Abuabdallah, u’re taking this far too seriously. Next you will start challenging voters based on IP mismatches, and demanding recounts, and arguing about hanging electronic chad. :)
IbnAbbas
October 19, 2008 at 8:44 PM
I think Cancer in Ramadhaan was the top one mashallah. My 2nd choice is Of Love, Parents and Ramadhaan
Amy
October 19, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Salaam
I really thought that the best story I read (and I did read all of them) was the one about praying Qiyyam. Of all the stories, it was the only one that really allowed me to identify with the writer, and the only one which inspired me to action… which is, in my opinion, true inspiration. The other stories were lovely but in my eyes the story “A Word in Passing” just excelled them all.
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
October 20, 2008 at 12:12 AM
bismillah. you almost had me fooled, “amad,” if that really is your name. do you know how you gave yourself away? amad – chad, see!?!?!?!? [parts of this rant endorsed by rabid-response republicans for robust radical repatriation and real revolution reform, and by people who drink too much coffee]
but i should note that now the widget appears to be larger than it did before… ballot stuffing anyone?
…sorry, that slipped out… :) but the sixth entry still does not appear without scrolling.
aside from being rant-fodder, and seriously hurting the Louisianian-sister’s chances, where a name appears on a ballot can have a dramatic effect on votes cast.
early voting starts Monday in many parts of the country, including Harris County, here in Texas. if you see ANY irregular polling activity, or what you think is a fishy or hard-to-decipher ballot, especially at the Presidential end of the ticket, please let MM and your local political parties know. amad, maybe we need an article with things that people should watch out for? or at least an open thread for people to report their positive and negative (or simply bored) voting experiences.
AbuAbdAllah, the Houstonian
October 20, 2008 at 12:51 AM
bismillah. amy, i really liked that story, too. if we get to rank votes, 1 stands as i have already voted, and 2 goes to the Qiyam story. especially because its impact on people may have been to adopt one of the most beneficial mustahab acts, for Allah comes down in the last third of the night to show the importance of making dua then, and it is one of the times when duas are most likely to be accepted.
indeed i was taught that if a person truly has/recognizes a need — and every person is needy before Allah — then there is no way he can sleep peacefully through the last third of the night, not if he has any inkling of what he is giving up.
Reem
October 21, 2008 at 9:05 PM
why don’t you post all the stories.. not the winners, i mean the other ones that didn’t win… that way they won’t feel bad. :)
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