EDITORIAL

By Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

The Islamic Lunar month of Rabi ul Awwal is once more here with us; and we thank Allah for enabling us to witness this month and to be able to renew and strengthen our ties and connection with the noble Messenger of Allah - His Beloved (pboh).

Every believer must always keep in mind that true love for the Messenger may not necessarily be to gather and sing Qaseedas etc. but to aspire to be close to him in deeds as well. Perhaps, this is one reason why his Sunnah was preserved; so that we can become familiar with those things that can help us to be a successful person in this life; and be assured of suc-cess in the next, when we follow him, mor-ally, socially and spiritually.

Allah wants us to be close to the Prophet (pboh), and to show love to him more than anything else in this world. He mentions about this in the Holy Qur’an in the follow-ing verse:

„The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves‟. (33:6)

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said: „There is no believer, except I am the closest to him in this world and in the Hereafter‟.

The Blessed Personality of The Blessed Personality of

Prophet Muhammad (saw)Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Sheikh Sa’adis (ra) renowned quatrain

Balaghal ‘ula bi kamalihi

Kashafadujja bi jamalihi

Hasanat jami’u hisalihi

Sallu ‘alayhi wa Aalihi

TranslationTranslationTranslation:

He attained exaltation by his perfection

He dispelled darkness by his beauty

Beauteous are all his qualities

Benediction be on him and his family

PROPHET MUHAMMAD THE PATH TO ALLAH

When the Prophet (s) undertook his Hijra

the people of Madina were eagerly an-

ticipating his arrival. When they finally

saw him approaching the little girls of

Yathrib began singing „ta la al badru

alainaa min tha niyaa til wedaa‟ wa ja

bash shukru alainaa maa da Allah daa‟.

Translated it means; „The full moon has

risen on us from above the hills of wi-

da‟a; gratitude is binding on us as long

as praying people pray‟.

Those who interacted with him testified

to the blessings they experienced while

in his presence/company; e.g. when

Halima held him for the first time, she

was blessed with enough milk to suckle

both him and his foster brother.

We may tend to think that those who

physically lived with him were more

fortunate than us, the Muslims of today.

However we too can also attain benefits

just like they did. Allah tells us in Surah

Ahzab „(such was) the practice approved

of Allah among those who lived afore-

time; no change will you find in the prac-

tice approved of Allah.‟ Whenever Al-

lah approves of something, it is for all

times. Even before the creation of the

universe, Allah’s nature (fitratallah) re-

mained unchanged. Another habit of

Allah that is recorded in the Quran is:

„Verily Allah and His Angels send bless-

ings on the Prophet(s)‟. This is being

done constantly and continuously.

Never forget that Allah has appointed

man to represent Him here on earth, and

as a result He has reserved something

very special for us, which He never gave

to any other creature. Allah has a special

connection with man, and that connec-

tion is through His Beloved, Prophet (s).

There are two kinds of blessings Allah

bestows on His creatures:

Physical sustenance: „How many are the

creatures that carry not their own suste-

nance? It is Allah who feeds (both) them

and you: for He hears and knows all

things.‟ (29:60). He also says ‘Say Who

THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE MARKAZ AL IHSAAN Rabi ul Awwal 1432 / February 2011 Issue 5 / 2011

And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you),

and be not separated among yourselves. (3:103)

CALLIGRAPHY CENTRE

This calligraphy piece by Abu Bakar Abdul Baki is a repe-tition of the word „Ya Gafoor„ meaning „The Pardoner‟. Geometric (and symmetrical) shapes were one context for calligraphic representations, offered by Arabic / Persian / Ottoman Calligraphers.

NEWS

Successful Fundraiser

The Markaz Al Ihsaan wishes to express our thanks to all those who supported and contributed to our bar-b-que fundraiser that was held on 11th

December 2010. The fundraiser was a huge suc-cess, Alhamdulillah. All proceeds will be utilized by the Markaz for its Da’wah projects and operational expenses.

Al Deen Al Qaiyyimu

Tune in to IBN channel 8 for Al Deen Al Qaiyyimu - The upright way, presented by Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed. Every Sundays from 9:00 am to 10:00am.

Zikir Sessions

Our weekly Zikir sessions continues every Thurs-day’s from Margib to Isha, at the Hermitage Masjid. These sessions are conducted by Sheikh Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed.

Essay Writing Competition

Congratulations to the winners of the Markaz’s essay writing competition themed ‘Hajj: A founda-tion principle of Islam’. We wish to acknowledge all participants and in particular the following winners:

Institute of Islamic Theology

11 - 13 yrs

1. Kareem Kissoon

14 - 18 yrs

1. Nabil Ahmad Khan

Over 18 yrs

1. Nazir Mohammed

2. Hakim Mohammed

3. Ibrahim Ghanny

Markaz al Ihsaan, 27 Royal Road, San Fernando, Trinidad, W.I.

Telephone: 1 (868) 653-3546/652-4924 ; Fax: 1 (868) 657-2082; website: www.markazalihsaan.org; email: info@markazalihsaan.org

is it that sustains you from the sky and

from the earth?‟ (10:31)

Blessings on us: „He it is who sends

blessings on you as do his an-

gels.‟ (33:43). This blessing is through

Prophet (s). Physically we see the

blessings people got when he was alive.

However we must understand that he

still has the capacity to function in a

way that scientific reason and logic

cannot explain. In connection to this

Allah says; „and say not of those who

are slain in the way of Allah. "they are

dead." Nay, they are alive, though ye

perceive (it) not‟. (2:154)

What happens to this blessing that

Prophet (s) is constantly receiving? He

distributes to those who connect them-

selves to him. Allah has chosen His

Habeeb to be the distribution centre for

this great blessing. He continues to

assist his ummah by lighting up the

path for us even though he is not physi-

cally present. This is outside the realm

of our limited reason and logic. Possi-

bly this is why he is reported to have

said “Whoever sees me in a dream ac-

tually sees me.”

As his followers we have a duty to-

wards him, i.e. to adopt him as a model,

and to demonstrate our respect and love

for him and to salute him in an honour-

able and dignified manner. If done

properly you will actually see physical

blessings and mercies coming from

Allah. However this must not be the

sole reason for doing so. Do it out of

love for the beloved of Allah.

We should get in the habit of sending

innumerable salaams to our leader on a

regular basis and in so doing we would

be strengthening our relationship with

him and benefiting from the special

blessings that are being continuously

and constantly sent on him. May Allah

always bless the believers and cause us

to rise with the righteous.

POORI

Pooris or ‘deep-fried puffy bread’ are crispy-soft and delicious. They can be eaten with almost all Indian meats, vegetables or pulses (beans). Ingredients:

4 oz sieved whole wheat flour 4 oz plain flour ½ Tsp salt 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (plus more for deep frying) 3 ½ oz water Method

Put both types of flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl.

Mix until the mixture resembles coarse bread-crumbs.

Slowly add the water to form a stiff ball of dough.

Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes or until it is smooth and form into a ball.

Rub about ¼ teaspoon oil on the ball and slit it into a polythene bag.

Set it aside for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough again and divide it into 12 equal balls.

Flatten the ball and roll it out to 5 / 5 ½ inch.

Roll out the remaining pooris and keep them in a single layer, covered with cling film.

Preheat deep frying pan with oil until very hot.

Drop in the pooris (they will sink initially and then rise)

Turn it over and leave for about 10 seconds then remove. Serve hot.

Children’s Corner

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DR. WAFFIE’S Founder and principal of the Markaz al Ihsaan, Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed, recently returned from his Asian lecture tour. His stops included Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Dr. Waffie gave a number of public lectures and classes to members of various Islamic organizations'. Dr. Waffie’s lectures were lauded by all, especially by those brothers and sisters who recently accepted Islam. His presentation and oratory skills were also highlighted with one attendee blogging “we have been following him for 2 days now and are deeply inspired, and what we love best about his style of teaching is his calmness and humility, Sub-haanAllah, it resonates throughout the hall”. Dur-ing a couple of his public lectures Dr. Waffie was able to convert a few brothers and sisters to Islam (through the guidance and mercy of Almighty Al-lah). Pictures of Dr. Waffie’s lecture tour can be viewed at the Markaz’s facebook page. The Markaz team wishes to thank Allah (swt) for making Dr. Waffie’s lecture tour a success and for taking him and returning him home safely. We would also like to acknowledge the management and members of the following Islamic organiza-tions for the hospitable and unwavering support they showed to our Principal and Sheikh;

Darul Arqam (Singpore)

Centre of Islamic Studies (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Islamic Information Center (Sarawak, Malaysia)

It’s almost time for Magrib Salaat!!! Help me

find my way to the Masjid so that I can pray.