AN ISLAMIC CENTER OF NORTHLAND PUBLICATION Volume 5 Issue 1 Rabi Al Thani 1439 January 2018 May Allah swt fulfill your duas. May Allah swt forgive your sins, a sublime forgiveness that leaves no trace. May Allah swt forgive your transgressions of His commands and any violations of the rights of people. May Allah swt grant you strength and the resolve to overcome your shortcomings. May Allah swt accept your duas, ibaadah and good deeds. May Allah swt help you to attain khushu' and ikhlaas in your ibaadah. May Allah swt make you love your Prophet (pbuh), your Deen and the Holy Quran, the way they deserve to be loved. May Allah swt increase your Iman, your tawakkul and your yaqeen. Aameen. With duas, best wishes and heartfelt thanks from the members of the Board of directors, Islamic Center of Northland, KCMO. 1
Volume 5 Issue 1 2 January 2018 The Countless Blessings of Allah (SWT) (Chapter 16, Verse 18) The blessings we enjoy are innumerable. This verse reminds us of that and makes us reflect as to what is the best way to express gratitude to those blessings. (*By Sheikh Salman al-oadah(islamtoday.net) [edited byislamreligion.com]published on 02 Nov 2015) And if you were to count Allah (SWT)'s favors, you would not be able to number them; most surely Allah (SWT) is Forgiving, Merciful." (Quran 16:18) Our lives are a continuous succession of Allah (SWT) s gifts. Many people, due to their outlook on life or their circumstances, fail to see that they are receiving Allah (SWT) s bounty. Allah (SWT) has made it clear that we will never be able to count all of His blessings upon us, since they are innumerable. This statement is found elsewhere in the Qur'an, emphasizing humanity's ungratefulness and heedlessness of Allah (SWT)'s blessings: "If you were to count Allah's favors, you would not be able to number them; most surely humanity is very unjust, very ungrateful." (Quran 14:34) Consider the human body. It is made up of one hundred trillion cells. Each cell is a blessing from Allah (SWT). But this does not mean that there are only one hundred trillion blessings in the human body. There are far more, since Allah (SWT) s blessings manifest themselves within each one of those cells in innumerable ways. Moreover, each cell is exposed to an incalculable number of potential threats, from viruses to cancer to a variety of malfunctions, and Allah (SWT) through His mercy protects the cells from all of these. Therefore, we can never begin to enumerate the blessings that Allah (SWT), at every moment, bestows upon us within our bodies. Even if we entertain the idea that the blessings Allah (SWT) bestows upon any one of us is some finite number, that number would not take into account all of the misfortunes that Allah (SWT) withholds from us, though He certainly tries some of His servants with those misfortunes. Then there are all the blessings Allah (SWT) has bestowed upon our predecessors, our contemporaries, and our descendants and on the incalculable aspects of creation upon which our lives depend. Allah (SWT) reminds us: "And whatever good thing you enjoy, it is from Allah. Then, when misfortune reaches you, you cry out to Him for help." (Quran 16:53) Continued on page...3
Volume 5 Issue 1 3 January 2018 Continued from page..2 We should look at ourselves and the way we behave towards Allah (SWT) s blessings. Do we use them in obedience to His commands? Do we realize that Allah (SWT) has a right over us in everything that He gives us? If we are blessed with wealth, the poor have a right in it. If we are blessed with health and strength, the weak and the infirm have a right in it. If we are blessed with knowledge, then those who are in want of knowledge have a right in it. For every ability that we are blessed with, those who are unable have some right in it. We must praise Allah (SWT) for empowering us to do that which others are incapable of doing. Part of the thanks we owe Allah (SWT) is to give something of whatever we are blessed with to those who cannot do for themselves. We should remember that every blessing we enjoy will inevitably come to an end. Either we will lose the blessing some day in our lives, or we will depart this life and leave that blessing behind. Another part of our gratitude to Allah (SWT) is to serve Him with what He gives us and to use what we have in ways that are lawful and pleasing to Him. We should not be like Qarun (Korah). Some wise people advised him: "Do not exult. Surely Allah does not love the exultant." (Quran 28:76) Qarun (Korah) replied: "I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have." So Allah (SWT) tells us: "Did he not know that Allah had destroyed of the generations before him those who were mightier in strength than he and greater in assemblage? And the guilty need not be asked about their sins." (Quran 28:78) We often do not notice a blessing that we have until we lose that blessing or are threatened with its loss. How many of our faculties, our limbs, and our talents do we take for granted? These are but some of the blessings in our own bodies. How many blessings surround us, in our families, our friends, our work, the status we enjoy, the connections we have, even our hopes and our dreams? Even the world in which we live is a blessing, how it possesses everything needed for life to thrive. How many other worlds do we see and are still discovering in the heavens, some approximating our Earth in size, some smaller, some many times larger, but we find them to be sterile, hostile, unaccommodating worlds. Praise be to Allah (SWT), who possesses all things and who gives without measure.
Volume 5, Issue 1 4 January 2018 A FEW SNAPS FROM THE MOSQUE INAUGURATION
Volume 5 Issue 1 5 January 2018 Y O U T H M E E T I N G
Volume 5 Issue 1 6 January 2018 What is the Quran? An intriguing article about the Quran that compels one to explore its teachings. By onereason.org as published in IslamReligion.org There have been many incredible works of literature, such as Shakespeare s plays and fantasy epics like Lord of the Rings. What ties these works together is that they are the product of great human minds. As amazing as these works are, can you imagine how much more amazing a book would be if God Himself authored it, surely it would be the greatest book ever produced. Moreover, imagine that God answers all the important questions that human beings have about life, such as why we are here and what happens to us after we die. Finally, imagine if God authored this book with you in mind, a book that addresses you as an individual. Wouldn't you want to read such a book? The Qur'an is exactly that book. The word "Qur'an" is Arabic for "recitation". Indeed one of the many things that make the Qur'an unique is that it claims to be the literal speech of God. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was dictated to Prophet Muhammad, may God s peace be upon him (or pbuh for short), by God Almighty through the angel Gabriel over 1,400 years ago. The Qur'an was not revealed all at once but rather gradually over a period of 23 years during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It may surprise readers to learn that the Qur'an contains the same core message as other divinely revealed Scriptures, such as the Torah of Moses and Gospel of Jesus (peace be upon them) and Muslims believe that in their original form, Continued on page...7
Volume 5 Issue 1 7 January 2018 Continued from page..6 these previous Scriptures were also sent from God. The Qur'an informs us that Muhammad (pbuh) is the final Messenger in a long line of Messengers that God sent before him, such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus. This is another of the unique aspects of the Qur'an; it acknowledges all of the Abrahamic faiths and all of the Prophets sent by God. The Qur'an is also unique in history in terms of the revolutionary impact it had on society. Pre- Islamic Arabia was not a very pleasant place to live in. Given the tribal structure of Arab society, any disputes often led to blood feuds between tribes that would consume whole generations. Slavery was an economic institution of the Arabs. Male and female slaves were sold and bought like animals, and they formed the most depressed class of the Arabian society. Arabia was a maledominated society to say the least. A man could marry any number of women and when a man died, his son "inherited" all his wives except his own mother. Women, as a general rule, had virtually no legal status: fathers sold their daughters into marriage for a price and women had little or no property or succession rights. The most powerful class of the Arabs was made up by the capitalists and money-lenders who took 100 per cent interest on loans. Infanticide, particularly the burying alive of female infants, was a norm. Finally, illiteracy was common among the Arabs, as were alcoholism and adultery. I think you can appreciate why this period of Arab history before the dawn of Islam is known as the period of ignorance! Can you imagine being tasked with reforming such a society? Have a think about how long it would take one person to cure all these social ills. One generation? Perhaps several generations? You may even view it as an impossible task. Just to give you an idea of the scale of the challenge, let's look at an attempt in recent Western history to eradicate just one of these social ills, alcoholism. In 1920 the United States government passed a nationwide law to ban the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages for moral and health reasons. This is commonly known as Prohibition and although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased and led to other problems such as corruption and organised crime. The law was repealed in 1933. The failure of one of the most powerful governments in the world to tackle just a single social ill should make us reflect on the Qur'an. The Qur'an managed to completely reform not only alcoholism but all the social ills of Arabian society in a single generation, just 23 years! This was a revolution the likes of which the world has never witnessed. The impact of the Qur'an on the world is not just historical. What must be noted is that although the Qur'an was revealed in 7th century Arabia, its message is meant for the whole of mankind. In fact there are over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today because of the Qur'an. Just to give you a practical demonstration of just how many Muslims there are in the world, at any given moment on any day someone, somewhere, is praising God by reciting the Qur'an in their prayers. You must be wondering to yourself, what is it about the Qur'an that has made such an imprint on the hearts of over a billion Muslims?
Volume 5 Issue 1 8 January 2018 Please remember that every time a head bows in sajdah in this house of Allah, Allah swt will shower His blessings on you and your loved ones for posterity. Please do not loose this opportunity to earn everlasting blessings. Please donate generously, every dollar counts. Sadaq e Jariah does not depend upon the number of dollars but on your niyah.
The Islamic Center of Northland, Kansas City, MO.. Our Board members 1. Br. Shahbaz Sikander President (816) 786 6686 2. Br. Khalid Hussain Vice President (816) 922 0120 3. Dr. Laeeq Azmath Tahirkheli Secretary (908) 723 1078 4. Br. Ashar Charolia Treasurer (361) 455 5636 5. Br. Arfan Paroya Director (816) 682 5535 6. Br. Mohammed Mohsin Khan Director (816) 885 9598 Our address: P.O.Box 28476 Kansas City, MO 64188. USA. Email: icnorthland@yahoo.com Website: www.icnkc.org 7. Br. Nisar Sheriff Director (816) 734 0011 The Islamic Center of Northland, Inc. P.O. Box 28476, Kansas City, MO 64188 DONATION / PLEDGE CARD Name:.. Address:.... Phone No: ( Home )..( Work )... ( Cell ) Email:... One time donation: Cash [ ] Check Enclosed [ ] Charge Credit Card/Bank [ ] Contact me [ ] Amount: $. Monthly pledge: Amount per Month: $. Number of Months: Starting From:.././2017.. Payment Method: Credit Card [ ] Bank withdrawal [ ] Checking A/C #...Routing #... CC #...Exp. Dt. Signature:..Date:...