ISOCDMU
Islamic Society · De Montfort University

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Wherever you are on your journey, you're welcome here.

Muslim, curious, brand new to Leicester or just looking for somewhere to sit, ISOC DMU is open to everyone. Learn, ask anything, meet people and grow at your own pace.

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Creating Unity in Times of Division

Next prayer

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All times & qibla
Quick links
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Reminder of the day

“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.”

Surah Ar-Ra'd, 13:28

More reminders →

What's on this week

All events →
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Sisters' and Brothers' Corners

Two spaces, one society. Each has its own circles, socials and people to talk to.

Room 00.27

Sisters' Corner

Halaqah, socials, a sisters only space with ablution next door, and someone to sit with on your first day.

Open the corner →
Room 00.31

Brothers' Corner

Halaqah, football, Jumu'ah duties and the room that stays busy between lectures.

Open the corner →

Latest from the blog

All articles →
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Read →

Guides for students

All guides →
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New here?

New to ISOC, new to DMU or new to Islam, you are in the right place. No question is too basic and nobody is judging your journey.

Start here
Donate

The iftars run on what students give.

Two pots, kept separate: one for the prayer room itself, one for everything ISOC puts on. Three pounds covers the tea at a halaqah, so nothing is too small to bother with.

Both ways to give

Join the WhatsApp group chat

There are two group chats, one for sisters and one for brothers. Send us a message with your number and we will add you. Event announcements, reminders and the occasional bad pun.

Sisters

Sisters' group chat

Message the Instagram with your number and a sister on the committee will add you in.

Message to be added →
Brothers

Brothers' group chat

Message the Instagram with your number and a brother on the committee will add you in.

Message to be added →

Your number is only shared with the group you ask for, and you can leave at any time.

Gallery

Moments from our circles, socials and spaces on campus.

The End of Term ISOC Trek poster, a view over the Peak District with De Montfort Islamic Society and Leicester ISOC logos
End of Term ISOC Trek, Peak District
Students sitting along a long spread of food for iftar
Iftar in Ramadan
A Roots Academy slide on the antidotes to doubt during a class
Roots class
A packed hall at the Anchored event in Leicester
Anchored, with Shaykha Dr Rania Awaad
Sisters praying in jamaah in the prayer room
Sisters' jamaah
Hundreds of students seated for the Jumuah khutbah in the prayer room
Jumu'ah khutbah
Students queuing outside the prayer room entrance at the rear of Portland
The queue for first jamaah
The committee presenting a thank you plaque to the Imam at the Eid lunch
Eid lunch
A table set up with paints and brushes for a craft evening
Craft evenings
A bouldering wall at a climbing centre
Climbing socials
A football match projected onto a wall at a social
Match nights
Prayer

Today's times, the qibla, and where to find the room.

Calculated for Leicester on UK time (Europe/London), so they are right even if you are reading this from another country.

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Prayer Begins Jamaah
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Beginning times use an 18° dawn, a Hanafi Asr and Isha at a seventh of the night, matched to the DMU Prayer Room timetable. Jamaah times are set by the room and change through the year, so take the exact minute from the monthly timetable.

Avoid praying during
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Qibla from Leicester
N S W E

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Roughly south east. Line your phone compass up with this if the room is full and you cannot see the mihrab.

Ramadan

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Finding the prayer rooms

Lower ground floor of the Portland Building, Newarke Close, Leicester, LE2 7GZ. The entrance is at the rear, from Newarke Close through the car park.

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Brothers · ablution 00.31b · all three Jumu'ah jamaahs

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Sisters · ablution 00.20

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Open in Maps →

The entrance is at the rear of Portland, from Newarke Close through the car park, then down one level.

Walkthrough video on @dmuprayerroom →

Masjids, prayer rooms and halal food nearby

Leicester is one of the easiest cities in the country for this. A few starting points within a short walk or bus ride.

Prayer rooms

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Know another one?

Shopping centres, hospitals, workplaces and other campuses often have a quiet room that is not advertised. If you find one worth sharing, send it over and we will add it here.

Tell us about it →

Masjids

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Halal food

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Ramadan

Nobody should be breaking their fast alone on this campus.

Free iftar every evening, taraweeh with the local masjids, and a programme through the last ten nights. Open to everyone, member or not.

Where we are now

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Iftar and suhoor timers appear here once the month begins.
Students sitting along a long spread of food at iftar

Feed someone this Ramadan

£10 covers a hot meal for four students at iftar. The whole month runs on what people give.

Donate

What runs through the month

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Getting through it with deadlines

Ramadan lands in assessment season more often than not. A few things that help.

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Read the full Ramadan guide →

Help us run it

Every year it takes more hands than we have.

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Get in touch →

Dates, rooms and taraweeh details

Everything for the month is confirmed a week or two ahead and announced on Instagram and in the WhatsApp group chats.

Follow @dmuisoc →
New to Islam

You do not have to know everything before you begin.

Whether you took shahada last week, last year, or you are still thinking about it, there is no test to pass before you are welcome here.

Five first steps

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Who you can talk to

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Things people worry about

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Ask anything, anonymously.

No name, no email needed. The questions people are most embarrassed about are the ones we get asked most often.

Ask a question
Marriage & family

Half the deen, and nobody explains how it actually works.

This is not a matchmaking service. It is the process, the paperwork and the parts where people get hurt, set out plainly.

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How the process usually goes

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Read this part twice

Where people actually get hurt

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Where to get real advice

For anything specific to your situation, speak to a qualified scholar rather than a website. These are free and confidential.
Support

If something is wrong, you should not have to work out who to tell.

Who to ask by topic, a form for reporting a concern anonymously, and what we do to make sure our events work for everyone.

Who to ask

If you need Who How
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Report a concern

Harassment, something said or done at an event, a safeguarding worry, or something that just did not sit right.

This form is completely anonymous. It does not ask for your name or email and it does not record who you are. Say as much or as little as you want. You do not need evidence, and you do not need to be sure it counts.

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Open the anonymous form →

Would rather not use a form? You can message @dmuisoc, email muslimchaplain@dmu.ac.uk, or go straight to DMU student support without involving us at all.

If you are in danger right now

Do not use this form. Call for help.

Police: 999
DMU Security: 0116 257 7642

You can also go around us

You never have to report through the committee. These are independent of us and of your course.

What happens next

Reports go to the president and welfare lead only. Nothing is shared more widely without your say so, unless somebody is at serious risk, in which case we have to involve the university.

Accessibility

What we already do, and what to tell us if it is not enough.

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Alumni & mentorship

Someone who did your course five years ago knows things no careers service does.

We are building a list of graduates willing to answer a question, read a CV, or tell you honestly what a job is like.

What you can ask for

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Tell us your course and what you want to know, and we will find someone. No obligation and no awkward networking event.

Request a mentor →
Graduated?

Come back for the next lot.

Somebody did this for you, or you wish they had. Here is what signing up actually involves:

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Sign up as a mentor →
Noticeboard

Lost something in the prayer room?

Lost property, room notices and the handful of things that keep the space usable for everyone.

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The board in the room is the first place anything is posted.

Closures, room changes and jamaah time changes go up there before they go anywhere else. Instagram is the same day.

@dmuprayerroom →
Islamic calendar

The year, the way we actually count it.

Twelve lunar months, about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, which is why Ramadan keeps moving through your exam timetable.

Today

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Calculated by the Umm al-Qura calendar. Local moon sighting can shift a date by a day either way.

Coming up

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The twelve months

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Every month has a story behind its name.

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Try this

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Community

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What runs here

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Your space

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Sisters standing in rows for prayer in the DMU prayer room
Rows of brothers standing shoulder to shoulder for prayer

Who to speak to

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Message @dmuisoc →

First time coming?

Tell us you're coming and someone will meet you at the door so you are not walking in alone.

Let us know
Search

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Guides, answered questions, events and pages.

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Nothing matched that.

Ask us instead — the Q&A is anonymous and someone will actually answer.

Ask a question
Events

Come and sit with us.

These are the things running every week right now. Socials, sports and speaker events are announced on Instagram and in the WhatsApp group chats as they are confirmed.

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Jumu'ah and halaqah calendar files follow the current timetable. Check @dmuisoc if a room changes.

What a year with us usually looks like

Examples from previous years rather than a fixed schedule. Dates get set as the term goes on and go out on Instagram and the WhatsApp group chats. The filter above works here too.

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The End of Term ISOC Trek poster, a view over the Peak District
End of year trek

Seventy students in the Peak District.

Our end of year trek, brothers and sisters together. This is the kind of thing that gets announced a few weeks ahead, so keep an eye on Instagram if you want to be on the coach next time.

Watch the trek video on @dmuisoc →

Everything else is announced as it is confirmed.

Rooms, speakers and dates go out on Instagram and in the sisters' and brothers' WhatsApp group chats first. Join one and you will not miss anything.

Follow @dmuisoc →

Find us

Almost everything happens at the DMU Prayer Room in the Portland Building, Newarke Close, Leicester, LE2 7GZ. Brothers are in Room 00.31, which is wheelchair accessible with an induction loop and ablution in 00.31b. Sisters are next door in Room 00.27, with ablution in 00.20.

Directions and prayer times →

Suggest an event

Got an idea you would actually turn up to? Tell us and we will try to make it happen.

Send us your idea →
Learn

Start where you are, not where you think you should be.

Quran, hadith, courses worth your time, weekly reminders and honest writing from students who are figuring it out too.

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New to Islam, or coming back to it

Five small steps. Take them in any order, at whatever pace suits your week.

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Courses and study partners

Structured study run alongside and outside the society, including one we run in collaboration. More will be added here as the team confirms them.

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Visit →

Apps and platforms

The ones students here actually keep on their phones. None of these are ours, and none of them replace sitting with someone who knows.

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Free book library

Classics and beginner friendly reads, all free to read online or download, including a shelf of full PDFs hosted here. Filter by where you are up to.

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These are hosted by the publishers and open libraries, not by us. If a link breaks, or there is a book you think belongs here, tell us and we will sort it.

Suggest a book →

Stories of the Prophets

All twenty five prophets named in the Quran, in the order they are usually listed. Not bedtime stories: people tested harder than we are, who held on anyway.

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Stories of the Companions

The first generation, most of them young, most of them broke, and none of them comfortable.

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Women in Islam

Scholars, teachers, businesswomen and fighters, alongside the honest conversations about rights, culture and pressure that get skipped too often.

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The conversations underneath

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Written and reviewed by the committee. If something here is missing, or you want to write a piece for it, tell us.

Tell us ->

Weekly reminders

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Articles and blog

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Read →

Still stuck on something?

Ask it anonymously and the team will come back to you with a proper, checked answer.

Ask a question
Q&A

No question is too small, too awkward, or too 'you'll judge me'.

Ask anonymously and we will come back with an honest, well checked answer rather than a guess. The form does not record who you are, so answers are shared in the WhatsApp group chats and published here.

Ask anonymously

Our question form asks for nothing that identifies you. No name, no email, no login. Ask the thing you have been carrying around.

Genuinely anonymous. We cannot see who sent a question, so nobody on the committee will know it came from you. Answers get published below with no reference to who asked.

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An Instagram message is not anonymous, since we can see your handle. Use the form if that matters to you.

Answers go out on WhatsApp

Once the team has researched your question, the answer is shared in the group chats before it appears here. Join one so you actually see the reply, since we have no way of contacting you back.

Message us to be added →

Who answers these?

Questions go to the educational team first. We research using reliable sources, and anything sensitive or complex is reviewed with the DMU Chaplaincy Imam before it goes up.

A quick disclaimer

Answers here are for general understanding and are checked against reliable sources. For personal rulings or complicated situations we will always point you to a qualified scholar.

If you need support today

Some things need a person, not a web page. These are free and open to every DMU student.

Already answered

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Get involved

Whether you've got five minutes or five hours a week, there's a place for you here.

Writing, organising or simply showing up. Every bit of it keeps ISOC running.

Membership

Become a member

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Sign up via the SU
Volunteer

Help run it

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Tell us what you'd like to do →

Student discounts

Places around Leicester that give DMU ISOC students money off. Show them you are with ISOC when you order, and check with staff before you assume it applies to a promotion they are already running.

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Offers are set by the businesses, not by us, so they can change. Message @dmuisoc if one is no longer honoured, or if you know somewhere that would join the list.

Stay in the loop

Weekly reminders, event announcements and the occasional bad pun. We are @dmuisoc on both.
Guides

The things nobody tells you in the prospectus.

Written by students who have already been through it. Practical, honest and specific to DMU and Leicester.

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Read the guide →
Freshers pack

Everything a new student needs, on one printable sheet.

One printable sheet: prayer room locations and times, the halal food map, what runs each week, who to contact, and the support services worth saving.

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Open the pack →

Been through something we have not written up yet?

Placement, a course nobody warned you about, a housing nightmare. Write it up with us and save the next student the trouble.

Write a guide
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Students queuing at the rear entrance of the Portland Building for first jamaah
Students sitting along a long spread of food at a campus iftar
Sisters standing for prayer, the board showing 18 Ramadan

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Worth knowing

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Checklist

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Donate

Two things worth giving to.

One keeps the prayer room running. The other keeps the society running. They are separate pots with separate people looking after them, so pick whichever matters more to you, or give a little to both.

Option one

The Prayer Room

The Ramadan iftars, plus the mats, Qurans and upkeep of the space itself. This goes through the university's official donation form, so it is card or Apple Pay and you get a receipt straight away.

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Donate to the prayer room →

Official DMU donation form, hosted by the university.

Option two

ISOC DMU

The events, the trips and hikes, the snacks at every circle and everything else we put on through the year. This one is handled by us, so speak to the treasurer for your side and they will sort you out with the details.

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How to give

Let the sisters' treasurer or the brothers' treasurer know and they will give you the instructions. Message the Instagram and say which one you need, or catch either of them at any event.

Message the treasurer →

Small and regular beats big and rare.

Nobody is expecting a fortune from a student. Three pounds covers the tea at a halaqah. If forty people gave the price of one coffee a month, the next trip would be paid for before anyone was asked to chip in.

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“The most beloved deeds to Allah are those done consistently, even if small.” Whatever you can spare, given quietly and often, is the kind that lasts.

Where ISOC money goes

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Every penny sits in ISOC's own society account, held by the Students' Union rather than any personal or external account — that's a DSU rule, not just our preference, and it's what keeps things transparent and above board. The balance updates monthly rather than in real time, nothing goes out without a receipt or invoice, and the only way to raise money for the society is through the official SU channels. The accounts are read out at the AGM. Prayer room donations are separate and handled directly by the university. If you need the account details or have a money question, message the treasurer on Instagram and they'll sort you out.

Sadaqah, zakat or a one off

Tell the treasurer if your gift is zakat and we will keep it separate, since zakat can only be spent on those eligible to receive it.

Give something other than money

Dates, water, prayer mats and Qurans are always needed, especially in Ramadan. Drop them at the prayer room or message us first.

Message @dmuisoc →

Sponsor an iftar

Families, alumni and local businesses sponsor a full evening in Ramadan. Speak to the treasurer, or email the chaplain and he will pass it on.

muslimchaplain@dmu.ac.uk
About & contact

A student society, run by students, open to everyone.

ISOC DMU has one job: make sure nobody at De Montfort feels like they are doing university on their own. Muslim or not, practising or nowhere near it, you are welcome at almost everything we run. Bring your questions.

Everyone is welcome

You do not need to be a member, know anybody, dress a certain way or know a single word of Arabic to walk into one of our events. Most people arrive on their own the first time.

If you are not Muslim and you are curious, come to a discussion night or just ask through the Q&A. Nobody will try to convert you and nobody will be annoyed by the question.

See what's on →

Get in touch

Instagram messages get the fastest reply, usually the same day. For opening and closing times, DMU Security are on 0116 257 7642.

Something serious or private

If you are struggling, or you want to report something that happened, you do not have to go through the committee.

What we do through the year

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Want to help run it?

Committee roles open at the end of each year, and volunteers are needed all year round.

See the roles