Prayer Times: January 19th, 2018
Fajr: 6:30 am
Zuhr: 12:30 pm
Asr: 3:00 pm
Maghrib: 5:05 pm
Isha: 8:00 pm
Day: 16 January 2018
Dear SNMC patrons,
As-salamu Alaikum
Opportunity to donate for SNMC maintenance
All of us together gave our time and money to build this $8M masjid and centre complex.
We have the opportunity to donate for masjid maintenance and prepare for any failure of heating and cooling in extreme weather.
Please donate online at www.SNMC.ca by PayPal, MC or visa $1,000, or $500 or $250 or $100. It is our masjid, our legacy. You can pay online, by credit card or by pledge form at www.snmc.ca
Let us remember charity does not decrease wealth. Also, Allah (swt) will return 10 times every dollar we donate in this life and many folds in the life hereafter. May Allah (swt) accept our effort, time, and money. We will be successful if Allah (swt) accepts our efforts.
Let us seek His forgiveness and pray for His acceptance of our efforts.
Eight Initiatives in 20 Years, Dr. Emdad Khan
A group of volunteers in the Barrhaven area started SNMC and developed eight initiatives along the way starting from 1998.
- Muslim Family Gathering of Ottawa (MFGO): In summer 1998, after intense efforts with few families, the volunteer team formed first of eight community initiatives, MFGO held the monthly gatherings, rotating in different parts of the city, including a community hall – use the Canadian concept of Potluck lunch. Held yearly picnic, iftar gatherings and celebrated Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. After 10 years, we discontinued MFGO in 2008.
- Muslim Community Services of Ottawa (MCSO): The same group of volunteer realized that immigrant children needed educational supports and immigrant families needed to learn how to conduct a job search and start home-based small businesses. In summer of 1999, few education-minded persons formed a registered non-profit organization, 2nd entity, MCSO. Ms. Asma Khan, one of the volunteers would organize annual (1999-2007) pre-Eid Bazaars before Al Fitr and Eid Al-Adha to support small home-based businesses in city community halls.
From 1999 to 2009, MCSO organized tutoring for High school students in Math, Science, English, French, Physics, Chemistry, etc. by renting city community centers. We hired university students as tutors and students would be charged $60-$100 per month for twice weekly two hours sessions. We held monthly family potlucks in Bayshore for parents and students which also provided an opportunity for everyone to socialize and gain ideas on education, job search, and family issues. We also organized job search and lectures on job, education, and family issues.
By seeing the benefits of tutoring, few parents donated extra money to MCSO and some tutors donated back their pay. Tutoring services were provided by volunteers. After discussion with team members, the extra funds were used in two ways – offer free studentship (tutoring) to selected students, each $100 and offered scholarships to graduating high school students, $600. In 2009, we stopped MCSO, and absorbed the tutoring and scholarship programs under SNMC (www.SNMC.ca).
3. South Nepean Muslim Community (SNMC): In June 1998, with few Barrhaven Muslims, we started SNMC as, our 3rd, and first registered non-profit and charity organization. We rented the city community center, at 3131 Jockvale Road from the city of Nepean and city of Ottawa. Then, we started to run under MCSO tutoring for high school students and under SNMC, from January 2000, Quran and Islamic studies.
We continued to pray weekly 2 prayers maghrib and Isha at Jockvale until 2003. In 2003, we started Jumah salah with 25 musallees until 2008, when we started 2 shifts with 150 people on each shift.
In 2007, SNMC formally became a Canadian registered Charity organization and first fundraising dinner was held at Centurion Hall with 500 plus multi-ethnic Muslims with Sk Ahmed Shehab as keynote speaker. In 2007, overall SNMC was able to raise over $300, 000 for the masjid and community centre project. In March 2009, SNMC by open bid purchased the 3.2 acres of land at 3020 Woodroffe Ave.
SNMC focused on youths, sisters, seniors, and families and became a leader in organized sports, educational, social and spiritual programs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for all segments, and ethnicities. The place is always full of kids, youths, sisters, brothers, and seniors in all activities. SNMC is fully multi-ethnic, and multi fiqh, service-oriented masjid and community centre.
The vision of having the community centre and masjid was multifold: to bring kids, youths, sisters, and brothers into masjid, adding more than spiritual activities, only sports, events and education along with spiritual will glue the community to masjid. Also for Friday Jumah and Ramadan Taraweeh, a large masjid may be formed by combining the community centre with the existing masjid, other times in the year the community centre can be used for sports and family-centric community events.
In June 2013, we started the construction of SNMC centre and masjid. The community received the occupancy permit on 17 December 2014 and held the grand opening ceremony with 2,000 Muslims on January 5, 2015. The project cost $8.5M.
From June 1998 to January 2016, as the founding president, we spent 20 years of our life, did numerous fund-raising trips out of town with volunteers from diverse backgrounds. We were project managers and did all the jobs from cleaning, leading salah, to giving Jumah khutbah. My wife and children together with the community volunteers held over 100 community potlucks. We have overcome hundreds of internal and external obstacles in funding, projects, and community issues. We consider it to be equivalent to 20 Ph.D. projects.
…to be continued!
Muslim Scholars: Abu Dawud Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath: known as Abu Dawud, was a Persian scholar who compiled the third of the six “canonical” hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, the Sunan Abu Dāwūd.
Abu Dawud was born in Sistan, eastern Iran and died in 889 in Basra. Many Scholars believe he was born in Baluchistan and later moved to Khorasan. He was primarily interested in jurisprudence, and as a result, his collection focused largely on legal hadith. He chose 4,800 for inclusion in his work.
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SNMC Spiritual: Learning the Quran
يركم من تعلم القران و علمه, The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it
We can learn by listening, reciting to a shaikh/self, reading word by word meaning, understanding explanation, explain to others, and teaching.
| SNMC JUMA PRAYER January 19th, 2018 (Two Khutbahs):
1st Khutbah 12:00 pm: Khateeb – Imam Muhammad Abuelezz, the Imam of Kitchener Masjid 2nd Khutbah at 1:15 pm: Khateeb – Shaikh Youssef Berrada |
| SNMC Friday Night Lecture on January 19th — with Hafiz Dr. Atif Kabir – Juz ‘Amma Tafsir
WHAT: Lecture/ Discussion: Juz ‘Amma Tafsir WHEN: Friday, January 19th after ‘Isha prayer (8:15 pm SHARP) WHO/SPEAKER: Hafiz Dr. Atif Kabir WHERE: SNMC Masjid/Mosque We all want to understand Islam as intended by the Creator. The best way then is to understand it is by understanding the Book of Allah (His speech). Dr. Atif will present to the community the Tafsir of the Last Juz ‘Amma, again this coming Friday, Insha Allah. All are welcome! |
| A FEW EXAMPLES OF JUSTICE IN EARLY ISLAM
Islam’s greatest contribution to social justice was the example it set in according to honor and respect to all people — weak or strong, kings or commoners – whether in family circles, social life, positions of power, or in government. By the same token, no one is above the law. Here are only a few examples of incidents illustrating justice in the history of Islam: 1. Ali ibn abi Talib, the fourth Caliph, lost his coat of armor. One day, he saw a Christian of Kufa selling the same coat of armor. This case was brought to the Qadi (judge) Shurayh bin al Alharith. Ali went to his court as if he were a commoner. Since he was asked by the judge to produce two witnesses, Ali brought forward his son Hasan and his servant Qambar. The Qadi rejected the evidence of Hasan on the grounds that it is not appropriate for a son to testify in support of his father. Thus Ali, the reigning Caliph, lost his case. However, the Christian of Kufa was so impressed at the Muslim judge’s display of such equality, that he himself admitted Ali was the rightful owner of the armor. (Azmath-e-Sahaba, pp. 32-33). 2. Once during the reign of ‘Umar Faruq, the second Caliph, Amr ibn al-Aas, who was then governor of Egypt, arranged a horse race in which his own son, Muhammed ibn Amr, was to participate. But when his son’s horse lost to a young native Copt, the enraged son lashed the Copt boy with a whip, saying, “Take that! That will teach you to beat the son of a nobleman!” The Copt youth complained to the Caliph in Medina, who called an inquiry. When it was found that the beating was unjust, he immediately sent an emissary to summon the governor and his son immediately from Egypt. When they arrived, Caliph Umar Faruq handed the Copt boy a whip to flog the guilty party, just as he himself had been flogged. Thus in the presence of governor Amr ibn al-Aas, the Copt boy whipped his son, stopping only when he was satisfied that the punishment was sufficient. Then the Caliph himself addressed the governor, saying: “O Amr, since when have you enslaved people who were born free? (Azmat-e-Sahaba, pp. 40-41) 3. During the Caliphate of the same ‘Umar Faruq, Palestine was conquered and the Caliph thus had to travel there to sign certain agreements with the conquered nation. When he left Medina, he was wearing rough clothes and had only one servant and one camel. He said to his servant, “If I mount the camel and you go on foot, it will not be fair to you. And if you mount the camel while I go on foot that will not be fair to me. And if we both sit on the camel’s back, that will be an injustice to the camel. So, it would be better if all three of us took turns.” So, taking it by turns, ‘Umar Faruq would ride and the servant would walk, and vice versa, and then both would take a turn of walking so that the camel should be spared. Traveling in this manner, they reached the gates of Palestine, where the inhabitants gaped at the sight of the Caliph going on foot while his servant rode the camel, for it was the latter’s turn to ride as they approached their destination. In fact, many Palestinians failed to make out who was the Caliph and who was the servant. (Taamir ki Taraf, pp. 56-57). In effect, Islam generated an intellectual and moral revolution based on its radical renewal of justice-based principles and their practical applications to daily life throughout virtually the entire known world of that time. This revolution was so powerful that its effects were still being felt a millennium later. After the earthly passing of the Prophet, came Sahaba (or era of the Prophet’s Companions), followed by Tabi’in (era of the Companions of the Prophet’s Companions); together these periods are known as the Golden Age of Islam. But the effects of the Islamic ethical revolution lasted far beyond this time, continuing to leave their imprint on human society through succeeding centuries. It is unfortunate that today’s leadership in Muslim majority countries do not consider these noble examples and too often act contrary to these examples. |
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Weekly Verse
Almighty God gives plenty of hope to the believers in the Qur’an. Let us make this verse the guiding light in our lives through 2018 and as long as we live:
God Almighty said: “Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of God. Indeed, God forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Az Zumar 39:53) |