IN HIS NAME THE MOST HIGH ABSN HOLDS WOMEN S DAY IN HONOUR OF LADY FATEMA ZAHRA (AS) AT RASUL AL AKRAM.ACADEMY. LANGATA. Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Salaam un Alaikum, Over 360 sisters and children from many parts of Kenya joined ABSN in celebrating the Birth Anniversary of Lady Fatema Zahra (as). The program started with a dua from Ustadha Fahima from Madrasa tul Ahlul Bayt (as) Riruta Muslim. Sister Yasmin welcomed all the guests and thanked them for coming from afar. Our MC was Sister Halima. Sister Fahima spoke about Lady Fatema(as). Her birth Fatema (as) was born in Makkah on 20 th Jamadul Akhar.She is one of the most honoured women during and after her time. She was born at a time when the girl child was considered a curse and girls were buried alive or they were deprived of their rights. When Fatema (as) was born Prophet Muhammad (saw) changed all that. MC Halima
Her Youth. After her mother s death she cared and loved her father such that she was given the name Ummu-Abeeha meaning the mother of her father. Prophet Muhammad (saw) used to teach her about religion and also worldly affairs, hence she became the best scholar of Quran and Fiqh. Her Generosity Lady Fatema (as) lived together with her maid helping her in all the chores and work in the house. Sometimes she used to do more work than her maid such that you would not differentiate her from her maid.she used to give Sadaqa until one day she gave out a necklace which she was given to her on her wedding day. Her Motherhood. She brought up her children according to the Quran and Islamic sheria, encouraging them to always speak the truth, to give sadaqa and to maintain their brotherhood and her two sons became the leaders of the youth of paradise. She was given the name Ummul Aimma meaning mother of the leaders. As a wife She was married to Imam Ali(a).She lived with her husband a very simple life full of worshiping Allah(swt).giving sadaqa and educating people between right from wrong. As a politician. She used to tell the maswahaba that she had a right to posses the land which her father had given her (the land of fadak).she used to stand for her right whenever injustice was done to her. She also used to stand for her husband s right. She used to speak in the open to remind people of her right which was taken from her. As a good leader. She was destined to be a leader from a young age and brought all women out of slavery to become independent.she represented all the women in hard times when non- Muslims striked in the land of Hazrat Abu Talib (as).
She also represented women to the swearing debate of Najran and Muslims known as Mubahila.She also invited women to the event of people who are pure known as Hadithul-Kisaa. Ustadh Fahima concluded by urging all the women to seek knowledge so that we can follow the example of Lady Fatma (as). KASWIDA BY MADRASA TUL AHLUL BAYT(as )RIRUTA MUSLIM. Yaa Fatema yaa Zahra. A poem about Fatema(as) Have you ever had a daughter who was called her father s mother? No but she was! She was an exalted wife and understanding one. She treated her maid like her sister and did more work than her. She is a light we can all pray for and follow in her footsteps.
SISTER ZAHIDA -ABSN. She recited a verse from the Holy Quran 51:56 and said that God created humans and Jinn for only one purpose and that is to worship Him. She welcomed all to the celebration of the birth of Lady Fatema (as). Islam is a way of life and Allah (swt) has sent us here as an exam, We are here for a temporary life of 60 or 80 years, later we spend the rest of our time in the Hereafter. We should thank Allah (swt) because we are Muslims.As human beings we make mistakes but it is up to us to rectify them. She talked about the sacred holy spiritual months, Rajab is a month of Allah (swt) and that there are 3 things we are emphasized to do in this month. 1 People should try seek forgiveness (Tauba ): Astagfirulah. 2. Fasting: A person who fasts for one day will be far away from hell fire. 3. We should give sadaqa and sadaqa does not mean giving money only, even looking at your sister with a pure heart and a smile is also sadaka.so people should try as much as possible to do good to others. Shaaban is the month of the Prophet Muhammad(saw). People should decorate their souls and also do cleanliness in order to be ready for the following month, She gave an example of when you know a visitor is coming you clean and tidy up every where to be ready for the visitor. In Shaaban people prepare themselves for Ramadhan. Ramadhan is the month of Ummat Muhammad(saw). When you recite one verse of from the Quran you get reward of reciting the whole Quran. In this month we get spiritual benefits food to our hearts and to make dua and be kind to everyone. As women we are the center point. We can guide our children and husbands too. Women can make their houses unpolluted because only a woman can keep a house how she wants it to be. She also urged the mother s to guide their children and pray to God to help them fight against shaitan. SHEIKH SALIM.-ABAK REPRESENTIVE
He welcomed all to the fuction and praised them for the good work. He also reminded us to always remember to praise Prophet Muhammad (saw) and follow his teachings. He then translated Sister Zahida s speech. POEM BY MADRASA TUL-DARUL HIQMA-RIRUTA SATELITE. Quran kitabu changu. Quran mwongozo wangu, Quran mwombezi wangu, Quran fundo langu. SAADA ABDI -ABSN. Medical account at Al Gadhir. As mothers we are really busy, but we have sacrificed our work and time and energy to be here today. ABSN has decided to help the members by opening an account at Al-Gadhir. Members will be required to give out their details like identity card, address and phone number. If you need to go for treatment you will be treated and given medicine if it is less than 3,000 ksh, but if it is more than that your case will be discussed by the committee to see how they can help. The treatment is for members only for now but other family members will be discussed later. She also urged the members not to misuse this opportunity and instead to utilize it well in order to help each other. ZAHRA HASSAN,RIRUTA SATELITE. She thanked ABSN for the opening of a medical account and said that many members were suffering because of lack of money to go to the hospital.she also talked about registration and that people should register in their respective places in order to avoid inconvenience. She also insisted on other groups to follow the footsteps of Majengo because they are doing very well.
ALI FROM KIAMBIO -ORPHAN I thank ABSN for the help they have been giving me and my siblings after the death of my parents. We are orphans and we live with our grandmother who is a widow and jobless. She could not afford to take care of us. I thank ABSN for assisting in opening a day care for my grandmother which now helps us to get little income. HAFSA MASUD BENEFICIARY ABSN. One who does not thank others does not know how to thank Allah (swt). She thanked ABSN for helping needy children who could not afford to go to high school after primary school due to lack of school fees.she promised to work hard so that in the future she will be able to help others in her community. HALIMA SAIDI -BENEFICIRY,ABSN. When she finished primary school, her mother did not have money to take her to high school and she thanks ABSN because they helped her and took her to school and she is now in form two. She promised to work hard and never to let them down.she appealed to them to continue paying her fees until she finishes school, Inshallah.
MAIMUNA KIBWANA - MAJENGO. Their group started a year ago, it is registered and they do handwork. Every time they meet they give 20 ksh each which they keep in their account.their work has helped people from low income to cater for their need.this type of work was copied from India to Kenya and was introduced to the slums. It was introduced by an N.G.O (St John s Ambulance).It was introduced in Majengo in 2006. They joined the group in 2009 and one year ago they joined ABSN.
ASHA MUSTAPHA -LUKUME. She started by thanking ABSN for the invitation. They started with 15 members, now they are 30.They started with rearing of chicken and now have 30. They intend to sell them and buy each member a cow.they also do farming.they have a store for beans which they use in case of emergencies when they do not have money.they meet on Sundays to study religion and also discuss their problems. Challenges They do not have hijab to cover themselves. They do not have enough funds to run their project. Their children drop out of school due to lack of school fees,so they are requesting for a Muslim school to be build in order to help them. In the month of Ramadhan Iftar is also hard to get so they need help in that. AMINA ABDALLAH - MALAKISI. She started by thanking ABSN for their generosity. She said in their mosque they are 60 women but some come from as far as 8 km. ABSN has bought for them utensils and they use them to cook in events and they themselves do that work to get some money. They are registered but not opened an account yet.she promised at the end of May they will already have an account. Each time they meet they give out 30 ksh to one person and keep 10 ksh for their account and at now they have 1,000 ksh.they also do farming. They intend to hire a land to do farming and later sell their produce to start a business and cater for their needs.
SAUMU MOHAMED- SAMBURU. She thanked ABSN for the invitation; this was her first time to come to Nairobi. They have a mosque (Imam Jafar(as)), a teacher (Hussein). They have 70 members but they have a very big problem of water. They have to walk for 8km in order to get water so they are asking for assistance to dig them a bore hole.they also need carpets for prayers because they use gunias (sacks), and also hijabs to cover themselves. They have a merry go round; they are 30 members and give out 50 ksh every Friday. After a period of 9 months they started making soap, Aloe Vera soap but they stopped because of lack of water.
KASWIDA MADRASA TUL ZAHRA-NAKURU. Leo ni furaha siku ya mazazi,siku ya raha na mapenzi, Ondosha karaha, ondosha udhia Nifuraha kwetu dada kutujia majlisi yetu kutupambia Rabi Mola tuweke pamoja, siku hii ya mazazi. HAMIDA ISSA. -NAKURU. She started by reciting a Dua.She is thankful to ABSN for their good hospitality and prayed for Allah (swt) to bless them. She said that they need ABSN to visit them. They thank Allah (swt ) because when it comes to religious matters they are okay. They have sewing machines but they are not enough so they need help. They also had a teacher but they could not afford to pay her so she left. She said as women they should stop depending totally on their husbands and that they should also work to cater for their needs. She asked ABSN to help them with a teacher, classes and sewing machines.
HALIMA OTHMAN -KISUMU. They are very few but they need a madrassa so that their kids can learn. They keep poultry, meet once a month and give 1,000 ksh each which is given to one member and the person gets 20,000 ksh and 50 ksh is for food. She thanked ABSN for their support. FURAHA MOHAMED - SAGANA. She thanked ABSN and Sis Nazneen for their support.they have registered their group and they are 20 members but some do not attend.they intend to keep poultry but they have money problem.they have a merry go round,they contribute money and give it to one member.they need assistance to sewing machines because they have a big place to keep them. REHEMA RAJAB -RIRUTSATELITE.(PORRIDGE). She started by thanking BCT and ABSN for the porridge programme because it has helped to boost the children moral.she said that the children come to madrasa early and they are also working very hard. Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said, if a person does any good to you then re pay them and if you cannot afford to pay them back, then pray for them.
AMINA MUSA - RIRUTA MUSLIM. She started by thanking ABSN and BCT for their support. In their group they are 28 members.they meet every Sunday and they each contribute 50 ksh. 20 ksh is for their account and 30 ksh is for the owner of the house where the meet who is also a member. They have 1,000 ksh in their account. At AL GADHIR.-BCT SPONSORED. We are taught Quran and Fiqh and I am proud to say that we can now read the Quran and also those who have converted to Islam benefited a lot. We were also taught to sew clothes and they can now make school uniforms and also simple dresses on their own. We also do embroidery. She gave an example of Syeda Fatema (as) and how she used to work more than her maid and that they should follow that example.she also said that education is for all and that age is not a hindrance for learning and that everyone should seek for knowledge until the time of leaving this world. Sister Nazneen ABSN She welcomed all for the celebrations of Lady Fatema Zahra (as). We also remember a great personality, Imam Khomeini (ra),the reviver of our Islamic values. Our monthly gatherings have now completed about 9 years. Yes time flies! Most of you are regular and really have made great efforts to attend, we pray to Almighty God to be able to continue. For those who are far, please try and organize your selves to hold gatherings in your own areas and send us the reports as soon as possible to help us to plan better. For those who have come from afar, we will sit and discuss the way forward as we don t have enough staff and resources to reach out to so many.even if you are only 10 /20 sisters it is
still a start, we started our monthly gatherings with 4 sisters in the very beginning. Our membership has increased quite a lot since then. As women we have great responsibilities and roles to contribute in the society, and we must all work together to see the fruits of your efforts. Educate yourselves in all fields, and then share your knowledge and experiences to uplift those around you. We need to give back a positive image of Muslims as most of the time Muslims are portrayed as terrorists and women are mostly identified because we wear hijab. We are tired of being portrayed negatively in the media. Many Islamic countries have women working in mostly all fields yet we never see all this. Medical, education, water and sanitation are also the priorities now. We will see where we can join hands with other organizations where necessary. Inshallah We are facing more and more challenges as we try to fight for equality in all areas of our lives and fail to understand our rights as Muslim Women. The first basic thing to understand is that we are all created equal in Islam. We have a right to education and work and earn in the Islamic society. This means helping our families and societies to live in dignity and not to beg all the time. The Quran also makes it clear that Women and Men are equal in front of Almighty God, so we should remove this barrier of ignorance and take lessons from great Islamic Nations whose women are very active in almost all areas. There are several verses in the Holy Quran about this topic, but I end with one: Bismilla Hir Rah Man Nir Rahim.. As for those who lead a righteous life, male or female, while believing, they enter Paradise; without the slightest injustice. 4:124 We must strive for education in all fields so that we may raise and nurture better future generations who can carry a more positive image of Islam. We have to take responsibilities for our own actions and not blame others if something goes wrong. Encourage your children to stay in school. I know school fees are hindering many just now, but we will do our best to help through the Al Mahdi Sponsorship scheme. Inshallah. Let them be whatever they want so as to build a stronger community. Women can also strive in education if it does not hinder their Islamic principles. Work and unite together and remove discord and disunity, if a problem arises, solve it before it gets too far.
Please try and help each other raise your confidence and be proud to be a Muslim Woman. Thanks to all who have come from far, to our guests and ABSN staff for their hard work, Our appreciation goes to the staff from Rasul al Akram academy in helping with the catering and the management of this school for allowing us to use the facilities and Mr. Bonnie for video coverage.annual Quran competition details will be sent out soon by Sheikh Saleem,Inshallah. We then had a presentation of prizes to the winners of Lady Zainab (as) questionnaire done at the Ghadir Medical Camp.10 correct entries picked got the prizes. Later on ladies from Kisumu, Samburu and others were presented with clothes which were collected in SAAJ by Br. Ahmed Khimji and others dropped off at Aristocrats and ABSN offices. ABSN sincerely thanks all our well-wishers for this program.
Our future generation..
Dua Wahda
Children s corner Children were taken care of by Mwanasiti.
There was a meeting to discuss how solar lamps were benefitting them, which families still don t have and many other issues after lunch.we had re-newel of registrations and preparations for the coming home exhibition at the Sarit Center(14 th May 18 th may 2014), Inshallah. With salaams and duas Nazneen Karim and Zahida Mohammdali. Safinaz@aristocratskenya.com Admin@absn.co.ke