East Cobb Islamic Center 1111 Braswell Rd. Marietta GA 30062

ec-ic.org NEWSLETTER: JUNE-AUGUST 2016 Assalamu Alaikum,

We hope and pray this newsletter finds you in the best of your health and faith.

A lot has happened in the last three months at ECIC. We welcomed Ramadan and did our best to earn Allah’s pleasure. Some of the activities included a program by Hafez Inayatullah to prepare us for Ramadan, Imam Siraj Wahhaj was a guest speaker/Jummah Khateeb, Youth night with a panel of great youth speakers, Food Drive for refugees, and surely daily Taraweeh by Hafez Arshad was the pinnacle of worship. On the lighter side, the com-munity really enjoyed the tent, lighting, sports activities for the children and the daily iftaar throughout Rama-dan. The community came together to raise funds for masjid projects including the cemetery initiative. We fol-lowed Ramadan with our regular activities which include Imam Sulemana’s daily hadith/fiqh lesson after Isha’, Dr. Anjum’s weekly urdu halaqa and sister’s urdu halaqa. We also had Ustadz Muhammad Jabal Alamsyah hold a lecture in Indonesian language. ECIC values the diversity of its community members and caters to its needs.

Everyone who has applied for 2016 membership should receive a response by September 3rd. If you have ap-plied for membership and do not receive a response by this date, please contact Br. Mugees or Br. Vajee.

Due to a strong community support and volunteering response, Alhamdulillah ECIC Sunday school program en-rollment is growing, Free Clinic is successful, historic Cemetery project is moving along, and much more to feel excited about. Last Quarter’s financial statements are displayed on the masjid notice board. Our financial contri-butions are steadily up over the past four quarters - thanks to your generous support. May Allah reward every-one’s support, efforts and contributions. ECIC Management

The ECIC Free Clinic and Laboratory continues to serve the com-munity at large. The Clinic is open every Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm. Our Clinic is mentioned in County Commissioner’s newslet-ter, East Cobber magazine, and in neighboring Church publications. We have a solid team of doctors/volunteers who are dedicating half a day every week for the sake of Allah to help those in need.

Dr. Karim Gani and Dr. Ayisha Gani commit a lot of their time at the clinic. Other notable physicians that help consistently include Dr. Mohsin Hisamuddin and Dr. Seema Hisamuddin. Dr. Aamer Rahman and Dr. Samina Fakhr have stepped in and helped as needed. Dr. Maged Awad has been generously providing access to his lab services free of charge. Sr. Anum Gaffar leads the patient triage area and has plenty of consistent support from young sisters like Anya Khan and Heba Khan who take care of patient registration and eligibility verification. Sr. Saleha Taufiq, Sr. Fariha Azam, and Sr. Victoria Ratliff help with the lab services as Phlebotomists. The Clinic is providing a great opportunity for medical students and soon to be certified physicians such as Sr. Mahfi Khan, Sr. Reja Emran, Sr. Rugaya Abaza, and Sr. Lubna Khan to shadow our seasoned physicians while gaining invaluable work experience. Br. Vajee Uddin has spent countless hours on configuring software program that would enable a paperless patient record system. Thanks to a host of people who perform so many tasks in making this initiative a success.

For volunteer opportunities at ECIC Free Clinic, please contact Br. Saleem Khan at saleemkfour@gmail.com

Message from Imam Sulemana AlHassan

All Praise be to Allah Who has created times and seasons and has made some times and seasons

better than others, when rewards are multiplied many times, as a mercy towards His slaves.

Brothers and sisters, the month of Dhul-Hijjah starts soon. It is one of the Sacred Months and the

last month in the Islamic Calendar. The first ten days of it come with great virtues and rewards and

the opportunity for Muslims to reap great rewards and draw themselves closer to Allah, the Al-

mighty.

Allah, the Almighty, has preferred the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah over all the other days of the

year. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more

beloved to Allah than these ten days." These ten days are better than all the other days of the year,

with no exceptions, not even the last ten days of Ramadan. But the last ten nights of Ramadan are

better, because they include Laylat al-Qadr ("the Night of Power"), which is better than a thousand

months. Thus the various reports may be reconciled. (See Article 1699: Virtues of the Ten Days of

Dhul Hijjah by: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid).

The virtues of these ten days are based on many things which include:

Allah swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance

and great benefit. Allah says: "By the dawn; by the ten nights" [al-Fajr 89:1-2]. Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn al-

Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten

days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: "This is the correct opinion." (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).

It was in the first ten days, on the day of Arafah, that the verses of the Qur’an that described Islam

as a completed religion was revealed. Allah Says: “…This day I have perfected for you your religion

and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion…” (Surah Al-Maa-

idah 5:3)

Some recommended righteous deeds in these blessed days include:

Much remembrance of Allah (Dhikr-Allah) as Allah says: “That they may

witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known

days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So

eat of them and feed the miserable and poor. “(Surah Al-Hajj, 22:28). The

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recommended us to

recite a lot of Tasbeeh ("Subhan-Allaah"), Tahmeed ("Al-hamdu Lillaah")

and Takbeer ("Allahu akbar") during this time. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him

and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There

are no days greater in the sight of Allah and in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Him

than these ten days, so during this time recite a great deal of Tahleel ("La ilaaha ill-Allah"), Takbeer

and Tahmeed." (Reported by Ahmad, 7/224; Ahmad Shakir stated that it is saheeh)..

First ten days of Dhul-Hijjah

Fasting. Fasting is one of the best of deeds. Allah has chosen fasting for Himself, as is

stated in the hadeeth qudsi: "Allah says: ‘All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except

for fasting, which is for Me and I am the One Who will reward him for it.’" (Reported by al-

Bukhaari, 1805). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast on the

first nine days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. It was narrated from Hunaydah ibn Khalid from his wife, that

one of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast on the first nine days of Dhu’l-Hijjah

and the day of ‘Ashoora’, and three days each month. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 4/205 and by

Abu Dawood; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2/462.

Qiyammul-Lail (Night Prayers) – It is one of the righteous deeds and is encouraged in these

blessed days. Saeed Bun Jubair reported that Ibn Abbas used to put a lot of efforts in the

night prayers during the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

Eid Prayers- According to Ibn Taimiyya and his student, Imam Ibn Qayyim, Shawkani, and

others, Eid prayer is Waajib. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never

abandoned Eid prayer. “The Prophet would pray the two Eids in the outskirts of Medina

and he never prayed it in his mosque, except once and because it was raining” (Al Say-

yid Sabiq, Fiqh Us –Sunnah page 148).

Al Udhiyah (Qurbaani) –It is one of the righteous deeds for the season. The Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be upon him) used to slaughter two sheep for Udhiyah. One sheep for him-

self and his family and the other for the rest of the Muslims who could not afford the sacrifice.

And he advised that when the month of Dhul-Hijjah starts, any Muslim who intends to do the

sacrifice must not trim/cut hairs, nails, and any skin of his/her body.

Hajj and Umra- Hajj and Umra are the most righteous and the most meritorious deeds for

this season. Hajj is a pillar of Islam and a duty that a Muslim owes Allah for those who can af-

ford the journey. Allah Say: “ And Hajj to the House

(Ka’bah) is a duty the mankind owes to Allah, those

who can afford the expenses, and whoever disbe-

lieves, then Allah stands not in need of any of His

creatures” (Aal Imran 3:96). The excellence of per-

forming Hajj cannot be overemphasized. Abu

Hurairah says The Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah be upon him) said: All sins committed in be-

tween the performance one Umrah and another Umrah are expiated and erased, and the re-

ward of accepted Hajj is nothing save Paradise”.

Brothers and sisters the above are some good deeds (not all) that are recommended for this

blessed season. Other good deeds that are also important include asking for forgiveness, giving

sadakaat, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, strengthening the bond of kinship, etc. So let us

take this opportunity to draw closer to Allah and reserve a lot of reward for the hereafter.

Fall 2016 Islamic Studies Program Off to a Great Start

Record number of students have registered for this increasing popular Islamic Studies Program (ISP). With 84 students already registered so far we are anticipating this number to reach 100 this semester! We thank all parents and volunteers who make this program successful.

Cemetery Construction Update The construction of cemetery on Macland Road is in full swing. We are about 60% complete with phase 1 which included all the infrastructure such as driveway, park-ing, and detention pond etc. The design and permits of phase 2 and 3 were com-pleted recently and construction of these phases is also underway now. It is im-portant to complete all these phases at this time for various reasons which include big savings on construction costs and to avoid any risks associated with implemen-tation of future phases. Neighborhoods around the cemetery continue to be opposed to the cemetery as is evident from the website www.nocemetery.com. They have engaged an attorney and initially threatened to bring about a lawsuit. Through our attorney we have had meetings with the opposition to provide information and understand any reasonable concerns that can be addressed. We have received a list of demands that severely restrict our ability to use the property and we can not agree to those conditions. Our goal is to be good neighbors while protecting our right to use the property. We need to raise about $250,000 to complete all phases of the project. Please help us with your generous donations. If we can not raise this amount in a short period of time, we will be taking some loans to complete the work.

Contact Us: Br. Mugees or Br. Vajee

info@ec-ic.org (678)-528-1414