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Preface
TEAM Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and all that exists
between them, may His Peace and Blessings be upon
Yusuf Omoloja Muhammad, his household, his companions and whoever
Lead Publisher follows them. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship
but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Muhammad Basheer Ishola is the messenger of Allah.
Assistant Lead Publisher
Of all the beauties that exist in the world, a glorious time and
AbdulHameed Joye Shonubi effort is required to achieve them. Efficiency leads to success,
ICT Officer and efficient writers are those who constantly practice
without relenting, even when the words seem to just fall out
Fawaz Yussuph of place.
Public Relations Officer
The writer must continue to enjoy the rigor of finding words
Fatimah Bint Abdil Alim to describe anything, but even more important is that he
Managing Editor develops a keenness to investigate the thoughts of others
and their representation of these thoughts in writing. This
Khadijah Ikaki nature would drive him to find new treasures of intellectual
Non-Fiction Editor benefit.
Fareedat Raji The society is appreciative of good talent and excellence;
Fiction Editor
Islam also advises its followers to seek excellence in what
they do and calls towards rewarding those who do well. But,
Jameelah Umm Amaarah Islam also encourages the reward of those who strive. I
Poetry Editor
apologize that I shall not be quoting examples because of the
available space for this preface. However, it is with this
Qazeem Akinlotan motive that the contents of this year’s issue were collated.
Proofreader
Samiat Ishola It is not a pleasure that the pages are so few and not
Assistant Proofreader overflowing with words written by dedicated hands. I hope
that next year, in shaa Allah, many writers would come out to
Mubarak Babslawal share their stories and imaginations in the most creative
Assistant Proofreader ways attainable. We shall not grow into what we hope to
become if we would not try as much. And how fine is the
mark of an attempt! Thus, I have added to this issue a list of
CONTRIBUTORS links I pray would be very useful to you.
Gareth Bryant All praise is due to Allah who has continued to make this
AbdulGaniyu Azeez Owolabi publication a success without any power or might from us.
Ajimoti Selim On behalf of the executive members of Muslim Writers and
Poets (MWAP) Inc., I thank everyone who contributed to the
development and completion of this issue, as well as our
SPECIAL THANKS TO readers. May Allah make it beneficial. Aameen.
Sharp-sparks of my psycho-emotions…
…spilling out to my feet-forming oceans.
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Grace
Abdulganiyu Azeez Owolabi
What a grace!
Humans struggle,
Struggling on the race,
Quite opaque to be won and eerie in reality.
Yet he keeps on winning eventually.
Has he ever pondered for a jiffy?
Wondered how he keeps surviving?
Is he the fittest among the creation?
Or the sagest amidst the imperfect!
Man needs not be overwhelmed.
He needs not be in dire thought anymore!
It's the infinite grace of that Creator (God).
Being grateful and having more.
That's the nature of reciprocity.
Because His grace is quite amazing!
healthy-forages.
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Abdulganiyu Azeez Owolabi
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I sometimes view life as a puzzle, a test that always
leaves me so perplexed about what we are doing here
anyway (on Earth). If you leave it unsolved and
persistently waiting for its inherent changes without
doing a thing, I guess you have to wait till this world
ceases to exist because your life will be stagnant like that
of an aquiclude with no appreciable transformation!
However, if you don't want to be forgotten as soon as
you are rotten and dead in a shallow grave, you want to
be remembered by your generations to come as
someone who laid the exceptional foundation for their
livelihood. We should rather view challenges in life as a
periodic entity, series of layers that occur one after the
other. However, you need to have a purpose to live for, a
goal that will keep you on the race no matter what the
odds throw at you. Your purpose would be the belief
that will be your sensor when the road seems so hectic;
the hope that will remind you that tomorrow, the
moment you have been dreaming passionately to
realize.
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country", you are the architect of your own doing
whether good or bad because you and the society will be
affected immensely from that actions. Being prolific and
critical in thinking, working tirelessly, praying earnestly
(major key) together with unflagging commitment and
unyielding beliefs always are the contributing factors in
propelling you to learn more, experience more and be
more hopeful about the realization of that long-awaited
tomorrow.
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Hafiz Akinde
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As more websites are being created and new businesses
taken online, the demand for writers keeps increasing.
As at January 2019, there were over 1.94 billion
websites on the internet and approximately 380 new
websites were created every minute. This goes to show
that there’s a huge opportunity out there for writers
including those who want to make a career out of it.
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I recommend freelance writing for stay-at-home moms
who want to make productive use of their time.
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agencies.
1. Passion:
This is a no brainer because it’s what keeps you going,
so even if you’re not earning enough money at the initial
stage, you’d still have a thousand reasons to hold on to
your dreams. If you aren’t getting enough jobs from
your clients yet, and you’re passionate, you would still
continue writing for the love of it. On the other hand, if
passion is lacking, chances are that you would get
overwhelmed and give up the struggle altogether.
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2. Discipline:
It takes discipline to succeed as a writer, especially when
you have to work remotely. There won't be anyone to
monitor you but you must ensure that you deliver your
client’s work on time. Your level of discipline is what
would keep pushing you and ensure that you do your
work diligently.
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- 5pm” jobs. The biggest challenge for freelance writers
is getting writing gigs on a consistent basis.
For beginners, getting someone to hand you your first
job is twice as difficult. This is partly because people are
always very careful about hiring a new face whose
writing prowess cannot be easily verified. Generally,
people prefer to work with established writers but that’s
not to say that the “newbies” do not have a chance. The
following are additional tips on how to quickly get
established and build a sustainable writing career:
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biggest of which is time freedom. That’s why some
people prefer to go the freelance route. Personally, the
best advice I'd give to freelancers who’re just starting
out is to get retainer jobs where the client or customer
pays in advance for professional work to be specified
later. While there’s no doubt that getting a retainer can
be very difficult at the beginning, it’s something you
should work towards.
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the services you offer. Basically, its aim is to help your
clients or employees to assess your ability and decide
whether or not you’re a good fit for their job. A good
portfolio should have a ‘hire me’ page, an about page, a
contact page, a service page and samples of your past
work. Your portfolio positions you as a professional and
makes you look like one who is ready for business.
Conclusion
Your success as a writer has a lot to do with your
mindset. This, combined with your skill set especially
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your ability to conceptualize and get results, will
guarantee steady writing engagements. Lastly, and most
importantly, do not write for free – it’s a business, be
hardworking and handle clients' work diligently. These
are the recipes for success and if you walk this path
wisely, the sky will be your starting point.
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Cluster Clear
Aj imoti Selim
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All elephants knelt down coerced
To lift their longish hefty hoofs
Toward the west of Eastern Arabia
Stones of baked clay cast to hit the soldiers
By Ababeelas with their beaks and claws
The birds sent by Allah to counter trespassers
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Gareth Bryant
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tion of the night and the day are signs for those of un-
derstanding}.
(Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt. 3, V. 190).
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as well as how they’re both connected to the mundane
[primal, instinctive, biological/anatomical, etc.] realm
of human existence.
(Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt. 2, V. 30; Chpt. 96, V. 4-5; at-
Tabarī; Stories of The Prophets, Ibn-Kathīr)
a. an-Nafs-ul-Mutama’innah/the Spiritual-Dimension
(Self-Actualization/Self-Esteem Needs);
b. an-Nafs-ul-Lawwāmah/the Psycho-Emotional Di-
mension (Self-Esteem/Belonging-Needs);
c. an-Nafs-ul-Ammārah/the Instinctive/Primal-Dimen-
sion (Safety/Biological-Needs).
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(al-Bahr-ur-Rā’iq [The Calm Ocean], Ahmad Farīd;
Hierarchy of Needs, Abraham Maslow)
An-Nafs-al-Lawwāmah
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mad. And he has already seen Gabriel in the clear hori-
zon. And Muhammad is not a withholder of [knowledge
of] the unseen. And the Qur'an is not the word of a devil,
expelled [from the heavens]}
(Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt. 81, V. 19-25).
Al-Jinn
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and how can they possibly influence/control any human
being?! From the verb Janna meaning, “to be invisible”,
the Jinns are invisible beings, created by Allah with
smokeless fire.
Mental-Illness
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Ikhtilāf [difference] between the two. Just like a Person
can be misdiagnosed for a variety of Bio-Medical ill-
nesses, likewise, a person can be misdiagnosed as being
mentally ill, where they may be Majnūn (Jinn-Influ-
enced/Demon-Possessed) and/or a person can be mis-
diagnosed as being Majnūn, whereas, they may be
mentally ill.
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open. Also, taking note of the requirements for each
competition is very important. I would love to see you
win something. Please, do your best and don’t forget to
share your achievements on MWAP’s facebook group.
BaarakaLlaahu feek!
https://writershq.co.uk/
https://www.dystopianstories.com/
https://ymwa.org.uk/
https://pacificreview.sdsu.edu/PRsubmissions.html
https://muslimwritersawards.submittable.com/submit/
https://carrionblue555.blogspot.com/p/submissions.ht
ml
https://www.writermag.com/contests/
https://www.centerforalcoholpolicy.org/essay-contest/
https://www.afterschoolafrica.com/tag/writing-
competition/
http://shortstorydayafrica.org/the-ssda-prize
https://www.opportunitiesforafricans.com/category/co
ntests/
http://caineprize.com/how-to-enter
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https://winningwritershub.com/
https://www.africabookclub.com/africa-book-club-
short-story-competition/
https://pen.org/pen-hemingway-award/
https://worldscholarshipforum.com/world-bank-
blog4dev-essay-competition-2017/
https://www.goipeace.or.jp/en/work/essay-contest/
https://academicimpact.un.org/archive/scholarships-
and-contests
https://www.currentschoolnews.com/education-
news/essay-competitions-in-nigeria/
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-
competitions
https://thewritelife.com/writing-contests/
https://www.muslimink.com/
https://productivemuslim.com/write-for-us/
http://www.mirakee.com/
https://brittlepaper.com/submissions/
https://www.al-ilm-publishing.com/
https://allpoetry.com/
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https://www.wattpad.com/
https://www.inkitt.com/
https://www.swoonreads.com/
https://www.booksie.com/
https://storybird.com/
https://medium.com/
https://www.authorspublish.com/
https://www.writersdigest.com/
https://commaful.com/
https://www.writing.com/
https://www.quotev.com/
https://iiph.com/
https://www.al-ilm-publishing.com/
http://www.islamicbookstore.com
https://www.sifatusafwa.com/en/
https://furqanbookstore.com/books.html/
https://www.tahapublishers.com/
https://www.hilalplaza.com/collections/islamic-books/
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