July 2013 - Issue 4
Ramadan TV: In Search of Taqwa
Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury
What If This Is My Last Ramadan? Ramadan: A Time For Perfecting Morality Strengthen Your Resolve and Organize Your Ramadan
www.mercymissionworld.org
Newstouse June 2013 Announcements & Upcoming Events Pure Matrimony mobile app! - UK
Madinah Canada
PM is working on a mobile app which will have all resources such as radio show, webinars, videos, Facebook, Pinterest updates and blog articles in one place. Users will also be able to register to PM through the app. Their front-end re-development of their website is also well underway and is estimated to be completed by Eid InshaAllah. Ramadan Campaign - Pure Matrimony in conjunction with the National Zakat Foundation is proud to bring you ‘30 Days Of Mercy - Your No Nonsense Fast-Track Guide To Your Most Productive Ramadan Yet! Includes a 30 day calendar style guide, duas, check-lists and the beautiful names of Allah SWT. Simply click here to get your free guide.
Summer program for Moms & Kids: Starting July 3rd - August 28th 2013. Includes circle time, story time, nasheeds, duas, arts&crafts and free play! For Registration please call us at 1-855-MADINAH (623-4624) or email info@mercymission.ca. Registration fee for 8 sessions: $40/child, discount fee for 3 kids: $100 Counselling Services: Alhamdulillah we handled 10 cases in June. 80% of the cases were domestic issues and the rest of them were Youth Issues, dealing with anger management and drug abuse.
National Zakat Foundation - UK Reminder that NZF (UK) have a partnership with Morrisons Supermarkets PLC, which is the 4th largest grocery retailer chain in the UK. Morrisons will be supporting NZF throughout Ramadan and Eid via a range of initiatives including raising funds from the sale of selected Halal products, organising events in store and working on joint media campaign. For every product purchased, Morrisons will donate 10p to the NZF. NZF also took part in an event called ‘Iftar on the Thames’. The event was organized by Wharfma in association with Emerald Network, sponsored by Musiad - in support of NZF.
National Zakat Foundation - Canada Did you know there are at least 200,000 people who are homeless across Canada tonight? This Ramadan the National Zakat Foundation is launching a campaign focused on bringing awareness to the most vulnerable in Canada. So far, the National Zakat Foundation in Canada is dealing with sisters facing homelessness and a brother previously tortured in Iraq. Help us this Ramadan to provide a lifeline for local deserving recipients by becoming a Champion.
Mabrook • Sr. Sarah (Women’s Shelter India) got married on June 7th, 2013. • Sr. Wafiza (Women’s Shelter, India) got married on June 17th, 2013
Students Guild The Guild students will be on a break for 6 weeks for Ramadan and Eid and next term will begin again in mid August InshaAllah. After Ramadan, SG UK students will be starting their last year of the guild, InshaAllah.
Dua’a request Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon. Please make dua’a for Sr. Miriam’s (AlKauthar Vancouver Ameerah) Grandmother who passed away. Please also make dua’a for Br. Awale’s (AlKauthar Montreal’s first Ameer) father who passed away.
Guardian School - India Guardian School re-opened on Monday, 17th June, after vacations with a new renovated look and with more students joining in Alhamdulillah! Parentsteachers meet a day prior to the opening saw close to 40 families attending and interacting with 7 teachers. Alhamdulillah, more inquiries are coming up each day. Some of the pictures of the new school, day 1 are below:
Ramadan Has Arrived welcomeansaaris
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message from Sheikh Sajid Umar
“When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.” [Bukhari] I write to you all this first day of Ramadan to congratulate you all for being from among the chosen to witness a ‘season of worship’ which indeed is a great blessing from Allah Almighty. Our Shariah nurtures us to be thankful and not wasteful of any blessing, and thus do not ever forget to thank Allah Almighty for allowing you a part of this month. I am sure we know of people we enjoyed Ramadan with last year, and cannot do so this Ramadan due to their passing. So thank Allah Almighty and perhaps He will increase for you. Ramadan is a month of many pearls and wisdoms, many of which you may have heard over the past few weeks via the different adult and children based development classes. From these pearls is the revitalisation of our hearts and souls and the reattachment of them both to hereafter. YES! As our bodies starve, our souls are fed – Allahu Akbar! So be sure to look after this revitalisation process and ensure that our implicit dimensions fast as well, by looking after our speech, moods and actions, just as our explicit dimensions fast by staying away from the desires of our daily worldly lives. Also dear brothers and sisters, please remember to be comprehensive with your dua, and allow it to include your parents, children, spouses and family and ummah- especially our brother sand sisters in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. I pray Allah Almighty writes us from among the forgiven, the successful and the freed from the hell-fire with the passing of this month. I pray Allah Almighty inspires us to ”BRING IT” and be the best we can be – Ameen. I love you all for the sake of Allah, and please remember me in your dua. Your brother Sajid Umar
We are pleased to announce that there are many new volunteers and employees joining Mercy Mission from around the globe. May Allah give them great success with their endeavours with Mercy Mission and allow their efforts to be a source of great blessings. Ameen.
Sr. Khadeeja Balkhi Writer, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Rabia Ali
Writer, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Zaima Khaliq
Writer, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Kamila Khalid
Moderator, Pure Matrimony
Br. Mohammed Aftab
Moderator, Pure Matrimony
Br. Hafiz Saif
Moderator, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Asiya Karim
Moderator, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Fathima Farooqi
Moderator, Pure Matrimony
Sr. Sarah Nency
Counsellor of Women’s Issues, Women’s Resource Centre, Canada
Sr. Ateeqa Butt
Madinah Kids’ Program Coordinator, Women’s Resource Centre, Canada
There are over 40 new volunteers joining New Muslim Care from around the globe MashaAllah.
Ramad Ramadan TV: In Search of Taqwa
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ne of the challenges of the long summer fasts is the ability to remain productive. The Messenger ‘alayhi wa salatu wa salam said: Maybe a person fasts, but all he gets is hunger and thirst. [Ahmad]. Whilst we know that Ramadan is our opportunity to reenergise and re-boot, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing only on keeping hunger and thirst at bay. Whilst the temptation to find activities to simply ‘kill time’ is all too great, the primary objective behind fasting is to attain Taqwa or God Consciousness. [2:183]. Taqwa is more than a concept; it is an ongoing struggle. Even the companions of the Messenger, may Allah be pleased with them all, would never feel complacent in this regard. Abu Bakr and Hanzala came to the Prophet ‘alayhi wa salatu wa and said: ‘Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you remind us of the Garden and Fire and it is as if we could see them with our eyes. When we leave your presence, we attend to our wives, children and estates in a state of great heedlessness.’ The Messenger of Allah, ‘alayhi wa salatu wa, said, ‘By the One in whose hand my soul is, if you were to remain in the state you are in when you are in my presence and in the remembrance of Allah, the angels would shake hands with you on your bed and in the street, but Hanzala, different times are not the same.’ Three times.” [Muslim].
One of the lessons we can derive from this is the iman boost we get from being in righteous company. This is something that we may have felt when attending Islamic conferences, study circles, standing in tarawih and listening to amazing recitations of the Qur’an, etc. More often than not – these things tend to happen outside of the home. The rush we feel is when we are connecting with Allah azza wa jal outside of the home. So the question begs, how do we bring a piece of the outside, in? Ramadan TV is a unique channel designed to help you to do just that and moreover encourages you to remain productive at the same time.
TUNE IN LIVE
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It is a channel designed specifically for the Muslim viewer in the blessed month of Ramadan, with a diverse schedule of quality programmes which reach out to Muslims from across the ethnic, social and religious spectrum. This year’s programme schedule will see the return of some family favourites as well as new bespoke content to give you a Ramadan to remember, including: • Little Explorers to keep your young ones entertained after school • Culinary programmes to provide you with inspirational iftar ideas.· The ever popular Q + A Show for all of your important fiqh questions • Perfecting your Manners – to help us to conduct ourselves in the best way everyday • Glimpses of the Quran – Juz by Juz, sharing bite size lessons and morals to take from the Qur’an, and • Première viewing of the workshops filmed at the phenomenally successful Twins of Faith conference Ramadan TV has also become a celebrated platform to raise awareness of many smaller charities too, including African Development Trust, Nour Domestic Violence, Pennies Appeal, and others. This year we have has also teamed up with Anthony Nolan and Macmillan Cancer Care to raise awareness of some wider social issues and mainstream campaigns. From the 5th July 2013 Ramadan TV will be broadcasting on SKY Channel 192, Freesat 402, and streaming live on www.ramadan.tv. Be a part of something special this Ramadan and tune in to Ramadan TV! By Sister Merina Sikandar
An Update From Br. Kashif Shabir Assalamu alaikum Dear brothers and sisters, I pray that this month is going well for you all and Allah accepts your fasts in these long days as a means of forgiveness and bringing you closer to Him. Ameen. MashaAllah tabarakallah Ramadan TV is in full swing and with all its challenges and sleepless nights and YOUR hard work we have already delivered hours of authentic, Islamic programming and raised almost £100,000 for charities. This means we have fed at least 25,000 orphans, cured blindness for at least 500 people, secured a place of education for at least half a dozen impoverished children and more... What other opportunity would have allowed you to partake in THAT level of reward in FIVE days? It truly is a blessing that Allah has bestowed on us and we are not even 1/4 way into this noble month. SubhanAllah. As believers we do not want to stop here... we want to do this till the end. Allah promises us His Help if we stay sincere and put in the effort. I need you all to continue doing that in whatever ability Allah has bestowed upon you. Specifically by doing the below: •
Continue spreading word about the channel, Sky 192, Freesat 402 and online on Ramadan.tv. If you are not telling people then unlikely others are.
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Please call in and give your support in the live shows: Little Explorers, Islamic Q&A and the Charity Appeals. The brothers in the studio and on the screen are sitting for hours and that time goes so much faster if people are calling in and there are enough people on this mailing list to keep those phones ringing so please call in.
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Studio volunteers - we are still short on people to help us with Audio/Visual in the studio. If you or someone you know could help out at the studio and share the reward of some of what has been happening we would be happy to compensate with what we can and provide Suhur and Iftar.
This Article was taken from AlKauthar Blog
If everyone who saw Ramadan TV online were to give us $20 per month, we could make RamadanTV run 24/7 all year long. Click here to donate now!
Please forward this to your mailing lists, lets try and make this second week more successful then the first but we can only do this with your continued support, everyone of you can do something, please don’t wait. Jezakallah khair Kashif
Ustadh yahya ibrahim Fasting & Sabr (Patience): Patience inspires him to be tolerant, control his anger, endure the harms that he receives from others, to be forbearing and deliberate in his decisions. It motivates him to be gentle and not to be rash or hasty. ‘Iffah (Chastity) & Fasting: Chastity, inspires us to avoid every imprudent characteristic, whether in statement or action, and encourages us to have a sense of modesty and integrity which is the epitome of all good. It prevents the desire from lewdness, fornication, stinginess, lying, backbiting and spreading tales to cause separation and discord between the people.
From The Quran “Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” - [Al Qur’an 97:1-5]
A great month “Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer’s sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all.” [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]
Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury
What If This Is My Last Ramadan?
ramadanreminders Strengthen Your Resolve and Organise Your Ramadan
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ome of us find it difficult to follow our spiritual plan in Ramadan, despite our true desire for change. In this article, I will share a new planning scheme that might be helpful in planning your Ramadan from Sha’ban and to practice it in advance. Each year when Ramadan comes, we start thinking about the glory of this month with many ambitions and plans. Unfortunately, on the last night of Ramadan, some of us look back and feel dissatisfied by what we have done. We find that we did not do what we planned or what we did fell short of our plan. We might wonder why! Our desire to improve ourselves spiritually and socially during Ramadan goes poof with the winds despite the fact that demons are locked up and cannot be blamed for our failure! Sometimes bad feelings push us to question our faith and commitment to the religion on the
night of Eid. In fact, the reason is simpler than we can ever imagine. In my opinion, the problem lies in the fact that most of our plans are done without mindfulness. We make promises only in our minds and resolve to fulfil tasks during the holy month only in words. But what we really need is an organised, written plan that goes
in tandem with TRAINING. Yes, I do mean rehearsing. Any successful event in the world needs preplanning and training: any speech you’ll be giving, any meeting you’ll be attending or even any gathering that you will be going to. So what about the great month of... This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.
Ramadan: A Time For Perfecting Morality
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t is that time of the year again when Muslims all over the world will be united in abstaining from food, drink, nourishment and sexual relations from dawn to dusk. I can reminisce when I was at school, my non-Muslim friends would be filled with pity and
sympathy. I was often asked: “How can you survive without food or drink for so many hours?!” No doubt fasting can be difficult and tiring, especially in the long summer days, but this is the challenge that is meant to strengthen the willpower. It is important to understand that fasting does not only consist of certain abstentions. I think that sometimes people tend to forget that fasting has a much deeper meaning and purpose and that is to develop and refine one’s character and relationship with God. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is an obligation for all adult Muslims to fast. Nevertheless, there are some... This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.
alkautharco
A Successful Launch in Qatar!
A-Z of Love & Mercy, Perth
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Being a fist-of-its-kind Islamic educational programme for...
With over 80 attendees, students were very eager to learn about fulfilling half their deen. The majority of these...
This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.
This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.
lKauthar Institute arrived in the Middle East by launching its first ever two-day course titled ‘World of the Unseen’ in the state of Qatar – the pearl of the Middle East. Being its inaugural programme, the course attracted 150+ participants including students of all ages and from other regions who were taken on a journey of reflection to the World of the Unseen and belief in the last day.
he countdown for AlKauthar’s premiere course in Perth, Western Australia had begun. Ticket sales increased rapidly as the date was approaching. With enthusiasm and humour, Sheikh Bilal Ismail took us on a journey which everyone desires to embark on; a journey which leads to a life filled with joy and blessings.
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Colombo’s 1st AlKauthar course!
The Heart of The City of Karachi
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n May 18th 2013, AlKauthar Institute launched its first course in Sri Lanka, Best of the Best with Sheikh Bilal Ismail, in Colombo.
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Alhamdulillah, the course went very well. The turn out exceeded our expectations and we almost ran out of folders! The feedback received from students was positive; many commented on how beneficial their course experience was and masha’Allah it was great to see a large number of ...
With a strong and dedicated team of 4 sisters and 8 brothers...
This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.
he city of Karachi was even more buzzing than usual this year. AlKauthar Institute launched in Karachi with one of their best courses, ‘Heart Therapy- the Purification of the Soul.’ Karachi is the commercial hub of the country, often dubbed as the city that never sleeps; its inhabitants lead extremely busy lives. AlKauthar’s first 2 day intensive weekend was a much needed break for the city. This article was taken from AlKauthar Blog to continue reading this article please click here.