Editorial
The early months of the year 2023 have been rocked by controversy and media headlines, beginning from the BBC documentary and its fallout and the Adani-Hindenberg affair. Recently, the ghastly killings of Junaid and Nasir in Haryana, who were burnt alive by ‘cow...
Women, Arise and #EmbraceEquity!
The concept note states that, “Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA…Equity means creating an inclusive world…Each one of us can actively support & embrace equity within our own sphere...
Face to Face with Nasira Khanam
Nasira Khanam, who hails from Hyderabad, is a senior member of Jamaat e Islami Hind. She has led the Women’s Wing at the state and national levels for many decades. On the occasion of Jamaat e Islami Hind’s 75th anniversary, Aura spoke to her about the participation...
Midnight Mi’raj
Every night is a Mi’raj night! when breezes froze, sand dunes slept palm leaves perched, Zaytun branches dozed Falcon feathers flaked, upon fallen fig leaves the musallas murmured merrily, listening the lonely love letters of a wearily weeping worshipper. Every night...
A Season of Bliss
Ramadhan, a month of peace and light, A time for reflection, devotion and might, Fasting from dawn till dusk with grace, Purifying the soul and seeking Allah’s embrace. The Quran is read with fervor each night, As believers gather to pray with all their might,...
The Forgotten Scent of Mercy
“When the month of Ramadhan arrives, the doors of mercy open”- Prophet Muhammad (SAW)Has there been anyone to feel belonging in this world? Perhaps not, Surely it is beautiful to look at, think about, But the beauty of it is sure to bring you down with no gain Or...
Budget 2023-24: Failed Promises Towards India’s Children
On investment in ECCE, the report of Save the Children and CBGA suggests that government institutions spend 1030 INR per child and private institutions spend 12,834 INR per child. The analysis of the same report suggests that “the total resource requirement to provide...
The Adani Empire is Falling, Brick by Brick. Here’s Why You Should Be Concerned
Had it been only Adani’s money, nobody would have cared. But in this fiasco, the common public is also a stakeholder , which makes the rise and fall of Adani Enterprises very important. Two major public sector investors in Adani enterprises are the SBI and the LIC....
Hysterically Yours…
Unfinished business everywhere You can’t blame the woman ‘if’ she feels crazy Can you be at two places at once? Two vessels are always full, I wish it was our bank account or pantry but lo! Tis the kitchen sink full of dishes and the Laundry bag full of clothes Both...
Let’s DIY and Decorate our Home!
Disposable Cups Wind ChimeMaterials Needed: Plastic (or any disposable) cups Paints and brushes Woollen yarn Glitter and anything available at home to decorate Scissors and glue Cardboard Procedure: Take a plastic cup and paint the two halves with two different...
Short Stories in the Hadith
Did you know the meaning of Hadith? These are the sayings or actions of our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم .Let’s learn a beautiful lesson taught to us by our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.Prophet (ﷺ) entered the garden of a man from the Ansar. A camel saw...
Flash Fiction
“Don’t go. You will suffocate. That’s not the place for us. We are created to live here.” Said the Mother Fish. But Little Fish was very adamant. “No! This is not fair. Look at the birds. How happily are they flying in the sky! Can’t I go to the beach and enjoy the...
If it Bleeds…
There is something uniquely horrific about the injustice being forgotten: mass graves in warzones, numbers instead of names in gas chambers, the idea of not only stripping someone of their autonomy and their life but also their memory, the legacy they leave behind. In...
Consumer Rights & Class Consciousness
Allah swt states in the Holy Quran, an instance of the Prophet Shuaib (peace be upon him) who beseeches his people: “O my people! Give full measure and weigh with justice. Do not defraud people of their property, nor go about spreading corruption in the land.” (11:85)...
Editorial
Women’s education, since time immemorial, has been suffering the consequences ofdifferent modes of discrimination and injustice, the recent one being the Hijab Ban ateducational institutions. This ban has curbed the right to education for many girls, especiallyin the...
A STUDENT WISHLIST FOR THE FUTURE
Recently, the news came that CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology,Kerala) was implementing menstrual leave provisions for its students, which was along-running demand of the Union. Then, it was announced that the policy would beimplemented across the...
Face to Face with Flavia Agnes
1) A lot of new laws are being discussed in the media and the public sphere - particularly, yet again, the Uniform Civil Code and religious conversion laws. Let’s start with the first one. Do you see the UCC as a possible process towards gender justice, or does...
THE BEAUTY OF FAMILIAL LOVE
Introduction: A family life based on the dictates of Islam is an ideal lifestyle that will never fail you. In light of the Sunnah, here’s some light on the critical aspects that will ensure a happy and stable family life amidst the challenges our modern society faces....
SUCCESS STORIES
SANA ALI SHATTERING THE SPACE CEILING. BHARTI RUNS…AT 80! KHADIJA ABDALLA BAJABER WRITES THE FANTASY NOVEL WE ALL DREAMT OF AS KIDS AMANJOT KAUR, CRICKET DEBUTANTE, IS PROOF GIRLS CAN ACHIEVE BIG WITH FAMILY ON THEIR SIDE Sana Ali Shattering the Space Ceiling T Sana...
FACE YOUR FEARS
Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the HeartAs humans, we all have fears. Almost everyone has a varying degree of irrational fear. However, for many of us, our irrational fears can impact the quality of our lives. The most...
ORGAN DONATION: ISSUES AND CONCERNS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
According to transplantation ethics, organ donation is founded on the basis of altruism and utilitarianism where the only causes for concern are the consent of the donor and establishing the definition of death. In both respects, the implications are quite...
Children’s Corner
Flash Fiction
Poetry
My Veil is No ShameI wear my hijab like a crown, Different days, different colours red blue or brownWrapping it around my head with dignity & pride, Self-reliance oozing from inside, It reminds me that I am a confident Muslimah, One who is trying her very best to...
One
One Life, One God, One Truth, One Death.Yesterday, I kept a flower on your grave, God, take a look at my eyes and notice the love that I crave,I’ve been thinking a lot, and haven’t slept or eaten in days,Oh God, when are these days going to end When will I be finally...
THE HIJAB DEBATE…. & MORE
Women and education and the intersection thereof are topics that are eternally of significance in the world we live in. Amidst the laws of culture and propriety, education often is given the backseat when it comes to women. Now more than ever, it seems significant to...
Editorial
The year 2023 has dawned with the gift of a new beginning and a bundle of new hopes and opportunities. Here is Aura with all its freshness presenting a beautiful lineup of various topics for its enthusiastic readers. It brings forth glimpses of the past year, mostly...
Women’s Rights in 2022
The Karnataka hijab case occupied the news waves in the first half of the year. Finally, the Supreme Court offered a split verdict offering little respite to the petitioners, and it will now be read by a larger bench.In the first issue of the calendar year, Aura...
Face to Face with Dr. A Suneetha
Dr Suneetha is an independent researcher based in Hyderabad, working on diverse issues such as higher education, civil liberties, gender and religion, Muslim politics in Telangana, etc. Aura spoke to her, reviewing political and social issues that have cropped up over...
Global Family Day: What is It?
Celebrated every year on January 1, Global Family Day starts the new year with a positive message of unity to the world. Yes, believe it or not, we are all one! Cultures and religions across the world may be different but, the truth is, all of mankind is a large...
Global Family Day:
Indeed, “the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.”Last month, the world witnessed the remarkable saga of the FIFA World Cup. Within a span of a few weeks, historic alterations have been made in the...
MANF, Pre-Matric Decisions Shockers
When the ruling dispensation has always claimed that Muslims, by nature, due to orthodoxy or just plain distractedness (a penchant for terror, love jihad, religious conversion…you pick), are uninterested in education, it sure is ironic that scholarships and...
Nusrat Noor, JPSC Topper, 2022-23
1) First of all, tell us a little bit about your background and your academic journey to this point. A.I was born and brought up in Jamshedpur and completed my schooling from there only. Did my 10th from J H Tarapore School and my 12th from Sacred Heart Convent...
Enlightened by the Quran
Open the book and talk toAllahIt’s a book of miracles fromAllahEmbrace Islam and worshipthe LordAllah, the only one adored.It came in Ramadhan,Increased our zeal.Its words are so powerful,Which brings a smile on myface.So powerful, so meaningfulGuides you between...
Learning to Accept Failure
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is the fact of something not working. In simpler terms, failure is the opposite of success.What is a failure, and what does it mean to fail at something? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is the fact of something not...
World War Orphan Day
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund estimates that approximately 150 million children worldwide are orphans, and many of them are so due to deaths caused by war. From a very young age, these kids undergo physical and psychological trauma. At the...
Musings of a A Jamia Mom
Marking three years of the anti-CAA-NRC movement, the musings of a concerned mother. ‘For Each Age, Is A Dream That Is Dying And One That Is Coming To Birth.’The daughter, who left home in pursuit of a law degree, but who along with her peers, has ended up as a pariah...
Flash Fiction – January 2023
Children’s Corner
Some Random Acts of Kindness
The Lone Fighter
Behind her pale face & serene expression,lies an untold story of severe depression;no one had foreseen this catastrophe,they were unaware of her mental atrophy.Her soul must be lurking somewhere nearby, deciphering what these people’s presence implies;I who knew...
Media Roundup
In March, the Taliban had already restricted girls from returning to secondary schools citing reformation in its curriculum. It’s now imperative that the international community at large and the Muslim World, in particular, should intervene and rescue Afghan women...
Editorial
The world will witness the end of yet another calendar year. It's the time to look back and reflect upon the past year, relish the accomplishments, learn from the mistakes and set novel goals to move forward. Here is another issue of Aura with an array of engrossing...
Is the Minority Even Human?
The Holy Qur’an encapsulates, however, the inalienable humanity that cannot be denied to anyone, no matter how vulnerable or marginalized: “Indeed, We honoured the progeny of Adam, and bore them across land and sea and provided them with good things for their...
Face to Face with Nasreen Saiad
Nasreen Saiad is former President, Sisters’ Wing of UKIM and is currently a member of its Central Shura. UK Islamic Mission (UKIM) is a registered charity organization formed in 1962 to “cater for the needs of a new growing Muslim community” in the UK. It works in...
Face to Face with Professor Sukhdeo Thorat, Former Chairman, University Grants Commission
Professor Thorat is a renowned economist, theoretician, professor and educationist. In November, Aura interviewed him on the year gone by and the major issues of social justice, education and policy that need critical attention. Q. How do you look back at the year...
Nabeela Syed
Nabeela Syed is the 23 year old Advocate and a Muslim woman of Indian origin, was elected to Illinois General Assembly in the 2022 United States midterm elections. At her victory speech, she spoke of her historic victory: “My name is Nabeela Syed. I’m a 23-year-old...
B Srimathi
B Srimathi is a 20-year old Adivasi woman from the Irula community of Thumbibettu village in Tamil Nadu. She has become notably the first member of her community to get a medical seat, and she has taken admission in Tirunelveli Government Medical College and wants to...
Ela Bhatt Passes Away
SEWA, the Self Employed Women’s Association set up by Ela Bhatt in 1972 was a trade union of women with dozens of sub-institutions that worked on the principle: “the poor do not need charity, they need an enabling mechanism to strive and come out of the vicious circle...
The Prayer of Maryam (AS)’s Mother
Oh Allah, grant us, by your grace, righteous offspring. Bless us and our offspring with a pleasant upbringing the way you had blessed Maryam (peace be upon her). Entrust us and our offspring the way you had entrusted Maryam (peace be upon her) to the best people and...