Letter From the President
Assalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters,
While all of us live through this unprecedented time of isolation, change, and widespread fear, we must turn inward and have patience. We are blessed with so much and yet we have been taught by our Creator and His beloved Prophet (PBH) that we will at times be tested. Tests are decreed by Allah (SWT), and how we respond to them is where our iman comes in. And so in this moment where the greatest minds on the planet struggle to find a solution, all we are left with is our faith in our dua. Even as we take every precaution recommended by our doctors and leaders, we continue to find true solace and hope in our firm belief in Allah's protection and mercy.
Allah (SWT) has commanded us to come together to worship and extol Him on Jummah. In these rather surreal times, that has become impossible. But that does not mean that we can allow ourselves to fall short in serving Him in other ways. We must continue to worship, to give dawah, to give sadaqah and to practice all facets of Islam. In fact, by rising to the occasion and strengthening our iman, inshallah, we hope to walk out of this test as better, stronger Muslims.
As we work to not just maintain but exceed our usual level of taqwa, we must also remember to not only continue but exceed our support of Masjid al Noor. As I mentioned in my last email, the masjid depends heavily on Friday collections, which have not been available for the last few weeks. In additon, Ramadan serves as the other major period of fundraising in the masjid. It is almost a foregone conclusion that there will be no Ramadan related activities in the mosque this year and that means a major portion of the masjid's annual income is at risk. We started this year with big plans to expand sponsorship rolls, introduce new programming and services, start new fundraising initiatives and level up in general.
None of that is possible in the near future. Allah (SWT) had different plans and He knows best. We are left with trying to think of new ways to ensure the masjid's financial health and I ask all of you to help us. Please continue your habit of donating to the masjid every Friday. Look for the "Jummah Box" at the bottom of this email to make your donation. Make sure you renew your sponsorship and urge family and friends who have not done so already to become sponsors. I urge all of you to consider what you have given to the masjid in the last year, and increase it by 10% this summer.
It is predicted that this pandemic will bankrupt more people than it will kill. Please don't allow our masjid to become collateral damage.
Jazakallah,
Pashmina Rashad
|