Ramadan Fast Approaching!
Asalamu’ Alaikum Brothers & Sisters,
I’m sure your all looking forward to the blessed month of Ramadan which is fast approaching. We very busy in our preparation and would like to take this opportunity to remind you all of the projects we are fund raising for. Please take this opportunity to be part of this nobel cause.
We have 4 Projects we are fund raising for:
PROJECT ONE:
Daily Iftaar during the blessed month of Ramadan to feed between 100 – 200 brothers & sisters.
It’s very important that we prepare for the blessed month of Ramadan. Help support our noble projects and please donate for the sake of Allah!
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Every Muslim has to give in charity.” The people then asked: “(But what) if someone has nothing to give, what should he do?” The Prophet replied: “He should work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns).” The people further asked: “If he cannot find even that?” He replied: “He should help the needy who appeal for help.” Then the people asked: “If he cannot do (even) that?” The Prophet said finally: “Then he should perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds, and that will be regarded as charitable deeds.” – Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 524
Please donate generously either on-line via Paypal or call the office for more details on how to donate to our Ramadan Projects.
PROJECT 2:
We are raising funds for our saturday family Iftaar’s x5 during the blessed month of Ramadan. Our aim is to feed up to 450 brothers and sisters every saturday night during Ramadan. This will include – Dates, milk, juice and chicken & rice.
Our Target for this project is £1400 for every saturday
Brothers & Sisters this is an opportunity to gain great reward in contributing towards this noble project. You can pay in full or contribute towards our target figure for this particular project. Please contact the office for further details.
True believer, is The Generous One
One of the door that Allah has opened to His slaves to gain big rewards in the month Ramadan is through sadaqa (giving charity/alms). Islam always advise it’s followers to give plenty of charities, especially during the month Ramadan. And that supposes to be the manner of believers; generous. Allah and His messenger ordered, even gave example to the followers of Islam to be a generous and open-handed person. Know that generosity is one of the attribute of Allah the Exalted, as revealed in hadith below:
إن الله تعالى جواد يحب الجود ويحب معالي الأخلاق ويكره سفسافها
“Indeed, Allah the Exalted is the Giver, He love generosity and noble manners, He detest bad manners.” (Narrated by Al Baihaqi, classed sahih by Al Albani in ‘Shahihul Jami’, 1744)
In this hadith, we can infer that stinginess and tight-fisted are bad manners and are not the characteristic of manner of a true believer. Just as begging for alms is not the characteristic of a believer. But a believer is the open handed person, a lavish giver.
The messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,
اليد العليا خير من اليد السفلى واليد العليا هي المنفقة واليد السفلى هي السائلة
“Upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is the hand of a giver, and the lower hand is the hand of a beggar.” (Narrated by Bukhari in hadith no. 1429, Muslim in hadith no. 1033)
Besides that, if a generous character is supported by a deep understanding in religious knowledge, thus the owner has joined between two characters; knowledgeable, and generous, that will be the highest position ever possessed by the slave of Allah. The messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said:
إنَّما الدنيا لأربعة نفر: عبد رزقه الله مالاً وعلماً فهو يتقي فيه ربه ويصل فيه رحمه، ويعلم لله فيه حقاً فهذا بأفضل المنازل
“The world is only for four persons: A slave whom Allah provides with wealth and knowledge, so he has Taqwa of his Lord with it, nurtures the ties of kinship with it, and he knows that Allah has a right in it. So this is the most virtuous rank.” (Narrated by Tirmidhi, no.2325, he said: “Hasan sahih”)
PROJECT 3:
Qyam-ul-Layl for Girls (Aged 11-18yrs)
Qyam-ul-Layl for Boys (Aged 11-15yrs)
This includes: Food, drinks, quiz & prizes + suhoor for both.
Amount for Girls required is £375
Amount for Boys required is £300
In Islam, every Muslim is obliged to give to charity in whatever form to boost his piety and spread wealth and goodwill among the whole community. It’s no surprise then that the Arabic word tasadaqa (to give charity) is derived from the word “sadaqa” which means tell the truth or be sincere.
Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur’an: “By no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend (benevolently) out of what you love; and whatever thing you spend, Allah surely knows it.” (3:92)
Therefore voluntary charity, or sadaqa, which is different than the zakah – the compulsory alms that are collected each year – should be part of every Muslim’s daily life. Prophet Muhammad (S) said that every good deed is charity – even a smile in the face of others is charity.
Prophet Muhammad (S) said: “There is no person who does not have the obligation of doing charity every day that the sun rises.” Whereupon he was asked: “O Messenger of Allah (SWT), from where would we get something to give in charity (so often)?” Prophet Muhammad (S) replied: “Indeed the gates to goodness are many: glorifying Allah (SWT), praising Him, magnifying Him, saying ‘There is no god but Allah’, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, removing (any source of harm from the road, listening to the aggrieved, guiding the blind, showing the seeker his need, striving as far as your two legs could carry you and with deep concern to give succour to him who asks, carrying with the strength of your arms (the burdens of) the weak. All these are acts of charity which are an obligation on you.” And Prophet Muhammad (S) added: “And your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing of stones and thorns from people’s paths is charity, and your guiding a man gone astray in the world is charity for you.”
Charity, as it is traditionally understood, consists of money or various objects given by the rich to help the poor or by the strong to help the weak. Charity in its tangible, narrow sense divides people into the receivers on the one hand and the givers on the other. This division inspires among the receivers feelings of weakness and even of error, and among those who give feelings of pride and conceit. But the saying of Prophet Muhammad (S), however, takes charity out of this narrow, physical meaning and on to a spiritual plane that opens up a vast and limitless world by emphasizing that every good is charity. And on every person is the obligation of charity. This is a unique concept of charity.
Prophet Muhammad (S) makes us realize the single spiritual essence which lies behind every act of goodness. But Prophet Muhammad (S) does not want us merely to know. Knowledge is not an end in itself. Prophet Muhammad (S) wants to make us return to goodness, goodness which is the very word of Allah (SWT). Prophet Muhammad (S) wants that each of us should move and stir ourselves from within into goodness so that giving would become a habit of life, and that this habit would pass from person to person. The complete Islamic concept of charity which includes all good actions however small they may be, allows every person whether rich or poor, to become givers and receivers on an equal basis. This point to another basic principle of Islamic thought and behaviors that the standard on which life is judged is not the materialistic alone but one based on faith, feeling and sensitivity which form the center of human relations. And from it comes the ties of faith, affection and love to bind hearts.
Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur’an: “And united their (believers) hearts; had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah united them; surely He is Mighty, Wise.” (8:63)
Prophet Muhammad (S) has said: “No one of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”
This is the essence of charity. So begin by meeting your brother and sister with a smile. This would open up locked souls, penetrate to the depths of the heart and exert a magnetic bond on society. Read the hadith again and see how it reaches into the depths of the soul, the essence of existence and creates hearts that are tender, pure, radiant and beautiful.
And Abdullaah Ibn Haarith said: “I never came across a person who smiled as much as Prophet Muhammad (S). Prophet Muhammad (S) regarded smiling with a brother as an act of charity.” (Tirmidhi)
Indeed every act of giving is charity, even a smile in the face of your fellow.
Prophet Muhammad (S) was asked if acts of charity even to the animals were rewarded by Allah (SWT). He replied: ‘yes, there is a reward for acts of charity to every beast alive.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
PROJECT 4: The Last 10 Nights of Ramadan
Amount required for each night approx. £250
Amount required for the 27th night approx. £1000
This is an amazing opportunity to in shaa Allah increase your reward in this life and the next. You can contribute in full or as much as you can afford.
DON’T DELAY GIVING IN CHARITY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once had several coins that he asked his wife to distribute in charity. But due to the Prophet’s illness at the time, she did not have an opportunity to give out the coins. When the Prophet learned of this, he asked for the coins, placed them in his hand, and then said: “What would God’s Prophet think if he were to meet God, who is Great and Glorious, while (still) possessing these?” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 586
The Prophet also said: “Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 589