By Nahirah Rasidik
PAGOH, 16 May 2021: Last week marked the finale of the first-ever programme organised by the Mahallah Representative Committee (MRC) of Mahallah Zaid Bin Harithah which involved participation by all Mahallah in IIUM (Gombak, Kuantan and Pagoh campuses) and a Mahallah in CFS IIUM Gambang.
A successful programme “Mahallat Talk Series: Dear Me” had drawn nearly 1,000 participants throughout the four sessions which were continuously held every Saturday during the holy month of Ramadan.
The first session held on 17 April discussed the topic of ‘Dear friends, a small act can turn into grand gestures’ involving the presidents of Mahallah Zubair, Mahallah Sumayyah, Mahallah Ali and Mahallah Safiyyah as the speakers.
Iman Mustaqim from Mahallah Zubair said, “Being a leader, we need to be rational in any decision making and always listen to others’ opinion.”
In his sharing about kindness Amaly reminded, “We should take this chance in the barakah of Ramadan to always be kind in our life for the sake of the akhirah.”
Aisya defined kindness as an act of generosity and empathy, while Ainul emphasised that being kind to other people is important regardless of social status.
The second session held on 24 April discussed the topic ‘Dear brothers, what makes a good man?’ which was participated by male fellows of Mahallah Uthman, Mahallah Siddiq, Mahallah Bilal and Mahallah Khalid al-Walid.
As defined by Azrul, a good man is someone with a pure heart which reflects his whole action. In addition, Dr. Azuwan claimed a good man is someone who realised his mistakes and is prepared to go back to the thing that he should be.
Hakimi said, “Be good in order to get a good partner” and his view was concurred by Hafifi and other speakers.
The third session on 1 May on the topic ‘Dear sisters, is love essential before marriage?’ drew the highest number of participants. It was successfully delivered by female fellows of Mahallah Asiah, Mahallah Hafsah, Mahallah Asma’ and Mahallah Fatimah az-Zahra who have great experience in the topic discussed.
Wan Surbani advised the women that in choosing the right partner, they need to follow the guideline set by Prophet Muhammad: “Marriage is about love and responsibility, and you are wasting time if you are developing the love before marriage because you don’t feel the responsibility yet. This is what Dr. Salmiah repeatedly said during her sharing.
Meanwhile, Dr. Widya pointed out that if women have been abused by their partners, it means there is no more love in marriage. This point was also supported by Madam Nor Hasni, a fellow of Mahallah Asma.
The last session on 8 May had united the principals from Mahallah Zaid Bin Harithah, Mahallah Nusaibah and Mahallah Al-Zahrawi to share their thoughts on the topic ‘Dear leaders, be the game changer: Dare to be different’.
Many insightful opinions on leadership were shared by the speakers like Izzuddin who said that everyone is a leader to himself. While Khaidir added that a leader must have a clear vision.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shamshina mentioned, “I believe everyone should start being a changer in his or her own personal capacity before he or she can change others.”
The programme ended with the closing ceremony for the Ramadan Shares announcing the top three Mahallah which achieved the highest number of participants for all the four sessions of Mahallat Talk Series. They were Mahallah Al-Zahrawi, Mahallah Zaid bin Harithah and Mahallah Umamah from CFS Gambang campus.***