Mercy Mission Malaysia Newsletter Issue 4: October-December 2012

Malaysia Edition

Issue 4

OCT - DEC 2012

The Salaf and Seeking Knowledge New Muslim Care: Invitation to National Da’wah Plan (PDK)

A Night to Remember

Mercy Mission Charity Dinner

Twins of Faith Family Festival 2012 A festival where everything stood out!

From the Same White Cloth A

ssalamualaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh,

Brothers and sisters, as I write this message to you our faithful readers, I can’t help but have a weird sensation in my head. For the first three issues of the Mercy Mission Magazine, I was working day and night putting it together and worrying about every single thing that concerns the magazine. And now, here I am writing this as the new National Manager for Mercy Mission Malaysia. Takes some getting used to. On the bigger picture though, I am ever so grateful to Allah ’Azza Wajjal for giving me the honor and the opportunity to further contribute to the work of His Deen, gaining knowledge while acting upon them and I pray that I am worthy of that.

In the last few months it was a huge learning process for us all involved with Mercy Mission, as always. We conducted one of the newest AlKauthar courses called Worst of the Worst, we increased the frequency of food rescue and delivery through Charity Right from weekly to daily and held a fundraising dinner to help grow the project even further, we launched the New Muslim Care (NMC) project and published the NMC packs to be given out for free, started Quran and learning classes for children at the Madinah Centre, launched our media arm here called Mercy Mission Media or M3 and of course, held one of the biggest Islamic conferences in Malaysia the Twins of Faith Family Festival 2012.

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In the work of da’wah, it is never easy. We always encounter problems, issues and challenges trying to do what we love to do for the sake of Allah (SWT) alone. But as they say, nothing good comes easy. Our beloved Prophet (PBUH) as well as all the Anbiya of Allah (SWT) encountered many challenges and tests whilst propagating and inviting people to Islam. He will put those who he loves through tests, trials and tribulations but when your intentions are pure, He then rewards you beyond belief, as His Mercy and Bounty are endless. It is this reward that we at Mercy Mission seek, it is this energy that our team members thrive upon and it is with this hope that we do what we do so we can see His blessed Face in the Hereafter.

On that note, I am reminded of an advice that my mother gave to me when I was small. It was very profound even then and it is one of the reasons why I do what I do today. She said, “Everyone can wear the most expensive of clothes and designer wear, but when we die, we will all be wrapped in the same white cloth.” SubhanAllah.

Your brother in Islam,

Aizuddin Othman National Manager - Malaysia

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Doing The

RIGHT Thing

A Message From

Sheikh Tawfique Chowdury

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An evening of knowledge and action Towards giving basic needs to humanity

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midst the wonderful setting that is the Sime Darby Convention Centre, close to two hundred and fifty patrons of a just cause sat together with most of the speakers and performers from the Twins of Faith, which concluded just days earlier.

It was to be an evening of light-hearted moments and reflection. The cause that was campaigned for however, is of a more serious nature. Mercy Mission’s first ever Charity Dinner was intended to help drive the nationwide expansion of its community development project, Charity Right.

Charity Right was established to provide the basic rights of people for the needy: food, clothing and shelter. Since its establishment last Ramadhan, the initiative has contributed greatly to the impoverished community in Klang Valley, feeding over 25, 000 people so far, maa shaa Allah. Even in its infancy, Charity Right shared the award for the Most Promising Project with New Muslim Care at the recent Mercy Mission Annual Summit awards ceremony.

The speakers, namely Sheikh Abdurraheem Green, Sheikh Omar Suleiman and Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chao gave moving speeches about the

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importance of giving charity and not wasting food. The food served was simply put, fit for the occasion and guests were duly entertained by performances by Omar Esa, Faisal Salah and Muslim Belal. Omar Regan kept the crowd going at a leisurely pace with his brand of light humour.

Highlights of the event included the auction of Mohammad Ali’s four paintings, which was formerly the ‘cube’ used for the exhilarating ‘Cubizm’ act. A teaser video showing part of the amazing ‘Cubizm’ act was shown to the audience to fully appreciate the value of the paintings. The paintings managed to raise RM25, 501 for Charity Right. The night ended on a positive note and may Allah accept it from us.

A Night To Remember...

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Twins of Faith Family Festival 2012

A festival where everything stood out!

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n the weekend of 29 & 30 December 2012, thousands of people, including: speakers, performers, shuyookh, men, women & children from all walks of life, gathered at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) for one of the biggest Islamic festival of the year: Twins of Faith Family Festival 2012. Alhamdulilah the event was a huge success and for this, we first and foremost thank Allah (SWT), ArRahman, Ar-Raheem. Verily it is only with His help that we were able to pull off an event of this large scale. Next, we would like to thank all the attendees and sponsors, including our Official Media Partner: Raudhah TV9. May Allah (SWT) reward you manifold for your support and feedback and may they continue giving us the motivation to soldier on, jazakumAllah Khair.

We wish there was a single thing we could pick out and say: “Yes, this was the highlight of the weekend�, but, the reality is that everything stood out! We cried together with Sheikh Daood & Sheikh Tawfique, we laughed along with brothers Omar Regan & Uncle Jawad, smiled together with Muslim Belal, were inspired by Sheikh Omar Suleiman, Sheikh Abdurraheem Green and Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chao, awestruck by Mohammed Ali & everyone involved with Cubizm, entertained by the artists and last but not least, we benefitted immensely from our respected mashaikh. On top of that, we also had unique and amazing zones such as Zone X and Artists Zone.

And who can forget the money you helped us raise for our New Muslim Care program? Brothers and sisters, make no mistake, your money will directly benefit hundreds, if not thousands, of new Muslims all around the world, in shaa Allah. May Allah (swt) reward every single person for whatever amount they contributed, and may He (swt) make it a form of sadaqa-e-jariyah.

Brothers and sisters, if you benefitted from the event, then, a large portion of gratitude is due to the tireless work and effort of hundreds of volunteers. Some of whom survived on less than three hours of sleep each day from Friday night to Monday morning and had little to no food

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throughout. It’s hard for us to express in words the dedication and effort put in by the team. May Allah (swt) reward them all abundantly. If you were inspired and want to be part of the Mercy Mission team, then please do drop us an email and we’d love to have you onboard.

With every event there is bound to be shortcomings. We sincerely apologize and hope that you will find it in your hearts to forgive us and that you will make du’a that Allah (swt) grants us the ability to eliminate these mistakes in the future.

Once again, jazakumAllah Khair and we hope to see you at our next event!

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Be amongst the best by knowing the worst

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ould you attend a course with a title of this nature?

A good complement to our Best of the Best course, the first ever Worst of the Worst course in Kuala Lumpur was a really unique and innovative course, maa shaa Allah. Taught by Sheikh Furqan Jabbar from Australia, it was a study of the three worst fitna ever to hit mankind: Shaytaan, Fir’aun and Al-Dajjal. The instructor really pulled off one of the most innovatively delivered AlKauthar courses with clever use of visuals, slides and multimedia.

A total of 288 students attended this course held at MAHSA University College, Petaling Jaya. It is one of AlKauthar Institute’s newest courses and one of its unique points was the engaging delivery and savvy use of multimedia which provided for a better understanding through visuals and audio.

More interesting points included the study of Fir’aun’s life and the dismissal of conspiracy theories that have been running rampant over the World Wide Web. Why should we study about Shaytaan, Fir’aun and the Dajjal?

It is to increase one’s imaan and knowledge about our Deen so we are aware of the fitnah that each of these characters bring and we know how to protect ourselves from them.

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Pearls of Wisdom to ponder over: * Evil was created to make us better worship the Almighty God * Syaitaan is to be admired for his consistency, Fir’aun for his determination and Dajjal for his patience to strike. * Musa (alayhi sallam) became the best of people in the home of the worst. * When we get jealous of a person, we unrightfully eliminate all their good qualities. * “...part of seeking knowledge is knowing when to keep quiet .” “Know your limits!” – Sheikh Furqan Jabbar * Beautify the Qur’an through your actions * Hopelessness is linked to Shaytaan * 2 persons: A. Going to the night club. B. Going to the mosque.

Who will be targeted by the shaytaan? Answer: B. * You need to know the enemy (Shaytaan) to defeat them! * Fix up everything in your life before you reach the grave and remember to pray for a good death

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New Muslim Care Invitation to National Da’wah Plan (PDK)

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he New Muslim Care team in East Asia kicked off 2013 promisingly, with an inspiring internal discussion on the rise of new Muslims in Malaysia and the efforts to address issues relating to them in a two-day event organized by Hidayah Centre, a local new Muslim support group together with local state religious department, Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (MAIS).

religion in Malaysia with Muslims enjoying a 0.9% increase from the year 2000 to 2010, followed by Buddhism at 0.7% and Christianity at 0.1%. However, the excitement of the growing number of Muslims is quickly overshadowed with the official figures of those who have applied to leave Islam. An issue that proves to be alarming and is on a steady increase every single year.

The two-day retreat was held at the serene hills of Janda Baik with the aim of gathering representatives from Da’wah organizations and individuals across Malaysia to brainstorm and share ideas in a holistic effort to strengthen Da’wah in the society. Officials from religious departments from across the country such as JAKIM, JAIP and MAIK, together with representatives from local grassroots and Da’wah NGOs, as well as prominent figures in local da’wah such as Ustaz Nicholas Sylvester and Dato’ Dr. Mustapha Ma participated in the retreat.

It is clear that the number one factor that contributes to the rise of this number is the lack of a structured and focused support system for those who are facing problems in their religion especially among the new converts. The personal struggles can range from the lack of proper education and understanding of Islam, from psychological or physical attacks from family members, which often result in financial struggles, and even from the lack of basic needs such as shelter and food as seen in many cases.

The event started off with representatives of Da’wah organizations from each state presenting their findings and observation on all the work and challenges that they went through for the past years. It did not take long to realize the kind of work that is taking place at the grassroots level that has contributed to Islam being the fastest growing religion in the country.

The urgent need to focus on providing a structured and focused support to our new brothers and sisters in Islam could not be delayed any longer and must be at the top list of priority for all religious departments and organizations involved in Da’wah across Malaysia. Insha’Allah with efforts such as this and more discussions between NGOs and government departments, we will be working closer towards the solution, and Allah is the source of Success.

The critical role of grassroots Da’wah is demonstrated in one of the presentations by the decrease in the number of Hindus and Taoist from the Indian and Chinese races, respectively, in the past 12 years. The decrease of these numbers is in direct correlation to the increase of the number of converts to Islam, with the majority coming from the Indian and Chinese communities.

This, together with the proactive support given by the government religious departments such as MAIS and JAKIM, has contributed to Islam being the fastest growing

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Mercy Mission World Annual Summit 2012

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very year Mercy Mission team members from around the world get together to review the goals that were set in the previous year as well as progress within the entire organization. For the third time in a row, the Mercy Mission World team were right here in Kuala Lumpur for the Annual Summit that took place at the Golden Palm Tree Resort at Sepang Gold Coast. Attendees consisted of the Board of Directors, Executive Shura members, National and Project Managers of all the nine countries. Amazingly, the accommodation for attendees was sponsored by a generous individual for the purpose of the Summit, Alhamdulillah.

Our Annual Summit recognizes and discusses the projects done and the projects that are to be launched for upcoming years in all the countries that we are involved in. The National Managers

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from Australia, Canada, UK, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia including our CEO of Mercy Mission, Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury gathered together in this momentous week. We look back and learn from our mistakes, shortcomings and all that has not been done over the year.

We are also looking ahead for this year and the various projects to be launched, new products and new facilities that can channel Mercy Mission to provide Muslims all over the world a platform to meet and improve themselves.

The Annual Summit ran for four days and Alhamdulillah it was a fruitful and moementous event.

We rounded it up with the Summit Dinner and awards were conferred upon many outstanding individuals by Mercy Mission as a way of acknowledging their efforts, inspiring achievements and work performance. Malaysia brought home the Mercy Mission Cup for best performing country overall!

We at Mercy Mission Malaysia are looking forward to an exciting 2013 ahead of us insha’Allah!

May Allah bind all of our hearts together in the name of His Love and make us steadfast upon this Deen! Ameen.

www.mercymission.my

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Sheikh Abdurrahman Murad, the AlKauthar Instructor, and master translator. Sheikh has translated and written numerous works which are in print and he is still currently translating more.

Always leading by example, always polite, his calm and collected manner has made him one of the favourites amongst the AlKauthar Instructors.

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heikh, how did you get involved with alKauthar/Mercy Mission?

Quite an interesting story, while I was in Toronto giving a talk at Masjid Omar al-Farooq (during the Winter Olympics in Canada)

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in Mississauga, Ontario, I had just finished the talk and was approached by Br. Hassan Newaz and Br. Naqib. They both introduced the work of Al-Kauthar...of course before that, I never heard of al-Kauthar, nor was I involved in Da’wah that had a more global approach. So they spoke to me, but I wasn’t on board right there and then... I was later invited to come back to Toronto to attend a course ‘Coolness of the Eyes’ that was being given by Sh. Tawfeeq, afterwards we got together, (Myself, Sh. Hacene Chebbani and a few other brothers) and Sh. Tawfeeq explained the structure and idea of Mercy Mission...I was hooked and simply amazed at the concept and idea, this was more than a simple halaqa, it truly combined the elements of education and application, which quite honestly is lacking most everywhere you go. After that, I guess you know the rest of the story.

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ou just completed the ‘Twins of Faith Family Festival’and ‘Signs of The Hour’ course in Malaysia. What have you learned here?

Well, mashallah, I had such a great time, the thing I love most, is when I see my brothers and sisters from different parts of the globe working together towards a common goal in spite of language, in spite of ethnic differences, in spite of all differences, all were

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working to please Allah and to establish the Deen. What I found simply profound and beyond words was the brotherly love and mutual respect each had for the other. These are life lessons that you cannot simply pick up from reading a book, they are picked up only when you witness things up close and personal! The Twins of Faith conference was truly an ‘Iman boosting’ experience. In terms of the Signs of the Hour, it was a truly humbling experience watching my fellow brothers and sisters interested in their Deen nearly brought me to tears on more than one occasion. What I learnt above and beyond all was a lesson that my sheik, Sheik Walid bin Rashid as-Saeedan, may Allah bless him, taught me while I was in Saudi, do what you can (i.e. what is within your capacity) for the sake of Allah and leave the rest to Allah!

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hat is the correct approach if we want to become students of knowledge?

In my view, it is important that one is patient; knowledge cannot all be infused with one’s mind in a minute or a second...so no matrix stuff! No really, patience is extremely important. Learn each aspect of your faith and apply it. Application is what saves your knowledge and protects it from being lost! As well, its important that one adopt an academic approach to learning, not to read a 100 books and become confused. If you have a question, no matter how funny it may sound, make sure you ask it and always seek clarification when you are in doubt.

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ell us who your favourite Sahhabi was.

I love all the companions and ask Allah that we are all summoned in the company of those whom we love, ok but you asked for a specific Sahabi, I have two, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him.

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ell us an interesting or moving story during your time dealing with nonMuslims or reverts.

Well, there are quite a few...one moving story, that I can never forget is what my father related to me while I was in Riyadh. I actually met the person who this story is about. A brother back home in the Philippines (before becoming Muslim) had a child. The baby was born quite sickly so he rushed from hospital to hospital seeking the best medical opinion, but the child was only growing weaker.

As he was waiting in one emergency ward with his child, the child said ‘Allah’ loudly and then died. The father was perplexed. What was ‘Allah’? So he asked the churches in his area, and each turned him away and said this is a word with no meaning, don’t concern yourself with it! So after 15 years he finally got a job in Saudi, and he went, and of course while he was there waiting in the airport, he heard the Adhan, and he turned stiff, stone cold, reminiscing the

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death of his child, that word ‘Allah’ was said so clearly and loudly.

What did it mean? He asked a Muslim brother about it, and he was quite rude. He said if you aren’t a Muslim don’t bother yourself with this word! It wasn’t till afterwards that he was finally able to meet some Muslims from his country that he did become Muslim as well. The lesson here, Allah Akbar, always be a good example, and if someone asks you a question, no matter how trivial it seems, answer it with respect! Who knows you could definitely guide a person to Islam by the will of Allah.

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hat motivates you to do what you do?

I ask Allah to purify our intentions. I do what I do, because I want to give Da’wah and educate the Muslims around me with the proper knowledge. I want to be among those who would be included in the authentic Hadeeth: “Indeed Allah mentions the name of the person who teaches others goodness and good things (of couse from the Deen) in the highest rank of angels, and the angels will make dua for him, asking Allah to forgive him, and even the ants in their holes and the whales in the oceans will ask Allah to forgive the one who teaches people good things!”

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ould you tell us the virtues of volunteering and giving back to Islam.

The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “The dearest to Allah is the one who is most beneficial to people. The dearest deed to Allah is bringing happiness to a Muslim, or dispelling a grief from him, or settling his debt, or feeding him while he is hungry. It is dearer to me (i.e. the Prophet, may Allah praise him) to support my Muslim brother to satisfy his need than to make I’tikaaf for an entire month in the masjid. Whoever controls his anger Allah will cover his faults. And whoever helps fulfill the needs of a Muslim, Allah will make him steady on a day when people will lose their footing.”

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inal Words?

Brothers and sisters, this is an important life lesson...always uphold what you have learnt by putting it into practice. May Allah bless us all. Ameen

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Check out these 8 fantastic and beneficial video lectures and reminders from AlKauthar Institute instructor Sheikh Bilal Ismail!

Let Them Eat - Wisdom of Mulla Nasrudin

Matters of the Heart

Think, Search, Find.

Beard is Beautiful - Ep. 5

(57 mins)

(2 mins)

(35 mins)

When Those we Love Pass away (4 mins)

(3 mins)

Khutbah: A day in the life of the Messenger (SAW) (22 mins)

And catch him LIVE this April during “The Rightly Guided�!

Is Zakat Due Upon Jewellery?

(5 mins)

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I Want to Pray, but...

(4 mins)

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Fundraising Activities Update 2012

Pled RM ges re 1.4 c Mill eived: ion

Amo RM unt re 419 cov 600 ered :

Exp RM enditur 18 9 es: 60.0 0

*as of December 2012

Funds collected will benefit the Madinah Centre

Pled RM ges re 256 ceiv 000 ed:

Amo RM unt re 120 cov 000 ered :

Exp RM enditur 750 es: 0 *as of December 2012

Funds collected will benefit New Muslim Care Pled RM ges re 117 ceiv 000 ed:

Amo RM unt re 85 0 cov ere 00 d:

Exp RM enditur 81 9 es: 00.0 0

*as of December 2012

Funds collected will benefit Charity Right

Accounts for all our projects can be viewed at our office: Mercy Mission Malaysia, 20 Jalan Teknologi 3/3A, Surian Industrial Park, Kota Damansara PJU 5, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

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The Salaf

Seeking and

Knowledge ď Šď °

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mam Ahmad paid Ibn al-Mubarak an honorary testimony when he said: 'There was no-one at the time of Ibn al-Mubarak who sought knowledge more than he did. He travelled to Yemen, Egypt, alSham, Basra and Kufa. He was from the narrators of knowledge and he was well-deserving of that; he wrote from the young and old, he wrote from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi and he wrote from al-Fizari... he has indeed gathered a great matter [Tadhkirat alHuffadh].

It is narrated that Zakariyya ibn 'Adi said, 'I saw Ibn al-Mubarak in a dream and so I said 'What has your Lord done with you?' He said, 'He has forgiven me due to my journeys in search of Hadith [Al-Rihlah fi Talab al-Hadith].

Today with the presense of knowledge at our fingertips, the blessings of seeking it sometimes is not felt, may Allah Almighty protect us all!

Without doubt, there are great benefits that are derived from sitting at the feet of the Ulamaa. From personal experience; even if a word is not spoken - one still leaves that gathering whilst benefitting from the akhlaaq of the sheikh, subhaanAllah... and

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you cannot help but tear at the words of the sheikh without the sheikh doing anything to make his words emotional! This is definately as a result of the light that Allah Almighty has placed in the heart of these true Ulamaa! and by Allah I speak this with certainty after witnessing this first hand at the getherings with our sheikh Sa'd ibn Naassir ashShethry, May Allah Almighty preserve him. Ameen.

This benevolence is not restricted to our sheikh, without doubt, as this and even more is felt when sitting with the Sheikh Abdul Aziz (Grand Muft of Saudi Arabia) or sheikh Saalih alFawzaan, or even when just listening to a recorded session of the Late sheikh ibn Baaz (RA) or sh. ibn Uthaymeen (RA).

So travel O servants of Allah, or at least endevour to bring these scholars to your vicinities, and ensure that you learn wholesale form those things that no book could ever show you... may Allah preserve you all in His obedience.

I love you all for the sake of Allah..

And Allah knows best.

Sheikh Sajid Umar Director of Islamic Development Mercy Mission World

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JUNE 29th, 2013 Saturday, 10am-10pm

WOMEN ONLY CONFERENCE

CAPTIVATING TALKS

l ENLIGHTENING WORKSHOPS l EXCITING BAZAAR

Calendar What’s coming up in the region?

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 6 - 7 April 2013 29 June 2013

AlKauthar Course The Rightly Guided by Sh. Bilal Ismail Being Me - Women only Conference: Divine Liberation

Melbourne, Australia:

28-30 March 2013 Twins of Faith Family Festival 2013 : Islam Uncut 13-14 April 2013 AlKauthar Course Worst of the Worst by Sh. Furqan Jabbar

Sydney, Australia: 30 March-1 April 2013 20-21 April 2013

Twins of Faith Family Festival 2013 : Islam Uncut AlKauthar Course Dawah Power by Ust. Hamza Tzortzis

Brisbane, Australia: 16 - 17 March 2013

AlKauthar Course Tafseer of Surah Taha by Sh. Yahya Ibrahim

Dhaka, Bangladesh: 8-9 February 2013 26-27 April 2013

AlKauthar Course Out of Sight by Sh. Tariq Appleby AlKauthar Course Heart Theraphy by Sh. Ehsan Abdullah

For more information, please contact Mercy Mission Malaysia at +603 6151 5952 or malaysia@mercymissionworld.org or visit www.mercymissionworld.org

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Join Us!

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ltimately great things are achieved with great people, and every single one of us has the innate ability to achieve a level of greatness in something. Mercy Mission is hungry to harness the skills, experience and passion of people who are inspired by the pursuit of the vision of the final Messenger ‘alayhi wasalatu wa-salam.

We are always eager to meet sincere people and therefore if you would like to join us, please send us an email with your CV attached to: ainiah@mercymissionworld.org

LATEST VOLUNTEER VACANCIES • Personal Assistant to COO and National Manager • Project Manager for Seven Skies International School • Marketing Manager (more than 5 years experience)

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Mercy Mission Malaysia (982042-V)

No. 20, Jalan Teknologi 3/3A, Surian Industrial Park, Kota Damansara PJU5 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. MALAYSIA T: +60 (3) 6151 5952 F: +60 (3) 6151 5953 E: info@mercymission.my www.mercymission.my