UMD MSA hosts charity week, reflects on importance of giving back

The University of Maryland’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) held its first charity week of the 2025 fall semester from Oct. 20 to Oct. 24 as part of a larger initiative in partnership with Islamic Relief and several other Muslim Student Associations at universities across the United States. 

With daily events, charity week highlighted collective student-led fundraising initiatives across campus, according to the UMD MSA Instagram. The week consisted of five community based events including a henna fundraiser, pie and water balloon a board member, “Sweets and Sunnah,” and a pizza fundraiser.

“The way it works is all the universities throughout the U.S. all work together one week to push this out there, [it] just shows how if we can all come together for one week, we can all do this every single week,” said Rayn Ali, vice president of UMD MSA. 

“At the end of the day,” Ali said, “all of these events are for a good cause.”

All proceeds raised from the events went to Islamic Relief USA, a Muslim nonprofit that helps provide aid across the globe. 

One event held during charity week was “Sweets and Sunnah,”  at the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center on Thursday, Oct. 23. The event featured a halaqa led by Imam Sabri BenKahla, from the Dar-us-Salaam mosque in College Park, Maryland, who spoke about the signs of sickness in the heart in Islam. 

Local baked goods business Yana’s Treats, owned by former UMD MSA board member and alumnus Diyanah Musatbir was in attendance, selling baked goods including an assortment of cookies and milk cakes. Half of the proceeds from the sale were donated to the initiatives partnered with UMD MSA charity week. 

Musatbir explained that she aims to integrate community building in her business by donating proceeds to causes such as an orphanage in Bangladesh, adding that these efforts allow her to stay connected with the community. 

“It’s an important pillar of my own business to give back, so [I’m] really happy to be included in charity week as well as help and impact more people,”said Musatbir.

Zayd Mahfuz, president of UMD MSA and a senior information science major, said charity in Islam is not just about money but about helping out and supporting your community. 

“Growing up, we were taught our parents would give us money in our hands, like a dollar or so, and they would push our hands to the donation box. And of course, that gave us the principle of charity and what it is. But, in my school, around my peers, I’ve always thought charity to be just helping someone out, helping the community out, whatever way possible.”

Charity week drew a large turnout for students and community members and raised over $800 from events blending faith, community, and service in campus wide fundraising events at the University of Maryland, according to Ali. 

“Charity is the aspect of giving in terms of anything that you are able to,” Mahfuz said. “That could be knowledge, that could be monetary wealth, that could be a smile, that could be a good word.”

_{Image credits: Cover photo by Amna Tariq/Al-Hikmah.}