AL-MAQASID WEEKLY | APRIL 1, 2024

The Prophet ﷺ would exert himself in worship more in Ramadan than in any other month, and he would exert an even greater effort during the last ten nights of Ramadan. He ﷺ would have devote himself to spiritual retreat (i'tikaf) in the masjid and stay up the entire night in worship. He also taught us ﷺ that the Night of Great Worth (Laylat al-Qadr) occurs during the last ten nights.

To take advantage of this immense opportunity, we invite you all to join us for our Qiyam program during the last ten nights, consisting of night prayers, guided reflection, interactive sessions, and a study of the book Heaven Explored by Sayyid Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki.

Date: Monday 4/1/24 - Tuesday 4/9/24

Time: 2 hours 15 minutes before Imsak (Monday 4/1/24 at 2:41 AM)

We will have a community Suhur on Sunday 4/7/24.

contribute TO THE SUHUR

﷽

As-Salaamu ‘Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

We pray that you are benefiting from the spiritual breezes of the mercy of the All Merciful in the remaining days of this blessed month. We are pleased to announce that Eid al-Fitr prayer will be held at Al-Maqasid.

We will conduct the moon sighting on Tuesday evening 4/9/24 and announce by 11:30 PM if Eid will be on Wednesday 4/10/24 or Thursday 4/11/24 Insha Allah.

We will pray outside behind the Green Barn across the creek weather permitting; if it is raining then we will pray in the Ribat Musalla Insha Allah. Below is the schedule for Eid day:

Takbirat - 9:30 AM

Eid Prayer - 10:00 AM

Community Eid Brunch - 11:00 AM

We will have fun activities for the children & families; bouncy house, ice-cream truck, and more Insha Allah!

*We encourage everyone to carpool as much as possible and bring prayer mats!

Please consider contributing to the Community Eid Brunch.

brunch sign up

ON CONDUCT IN TRAVEL | APRIL 19-21

We are excited to announce our upcoming Weekend Retreat, which will be held on April 19-21 titled On Conduct in Travel, a study of Book 17 of Imam al-Ghazali’s masterpiece Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences).

According to Imam al- Ghazali, a traveler is either seeking something or fleeing from something, and it could be for an outward or inward reason. Indeed, in the Quran, Allah encourages travel for a variety of reasons: for example,

“Say [Muhammad], ‘Roam the earth, and observe how He originated the creation.’” [Quran 29:20], and “Have they not journeyed through the land, and seen the outcome for those before them?” [Quran 40:82]

While traveling has both worldly and spiritual benefits, it has hardships as well. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Traveling is a torment because it deprives a traveler of his food, drink, and sleep.” Accordingly, Allah in His All-Encompassing Mercy affords a traveler certain concessions to make the journey easier.

In Imam al-Ghazali’s On Conduct in Travel, he discusses the different types of traveling, the etiquettes of traveling, and six legal mitigations granted the traveler.

We welcome you to join us in exploring this often overlooked, but important, issue in what we pray will be a weekend filled with abundant blessings as we acquire knowledge and spend time in devotion together.

cOMMUNITY IFTAR

Weekly Community Iftar - Friday 4/5/24

Please join us for our next Al-Maqasid weekly catered Iftars which will be on Friday 4/5/24. Please register online by using the link below so that we can make the proper arrangements for catering in sufficient amounts. Alhamdulillah Jazakum Allah Khayra

click here to register

Battle of Badr Commemoration

“Indeed, Allah made you victorious at Badr when you were outnumbered. So be mindful of Allah, so that you may be grateful. ˹Remember, O Prophet,˺ when you said to the believers, ‘Is it not enough that your Lord will send down a reinforcement of three thousand angels for your aid?...Allah ordained this only as good news for you and reassurance for your hearts. And victory comes only from Allah—the Almighty, All-Wise.” [Quran 3:123-124, 126]

The weekly Jumua, or Friday, Congregational prayer is live streamed from Al-Maqasid from 1:15pm-2:10pm.

Striving for Laylat al-Qadr in the Last 10 Nights - Amjad Tarsin

“If someone could see the spiritual breezes and the clouds of Allah’s, subhanahu wa ta’ala, mercy and the rain that’s coming down, people would be wide awake. People would want every single drop of mercy that they could get in these last ten nights that are approaching us.”

As we are on the doorstep of Lailatul Qadr, the greatest night of the greatest month of the year, Amjad Tarsin encourages us to exert ourselves even more in these last ten days, cleansing our hearts of everything other than Allah. This is the night in which every act of worship is greater than a thousand months, a night in which the realities of the unseen are unveiled such that some witness the whole of creation prostrating to Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala.

click here to watch

“When one of you breaks his fast, let him break it with dates for they are blessed. If they are not found, let him break it with water for it is pure.”

— Sunan al-Tirmidhi

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Quran 3:31]

The Sunna of the Prophet ﷺ is the path to Allah’s love. When reflecting on this verse, it teaches us the centrality of love within Islam and that the foundation of the spiritual path is following the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

"They swear by Allah to you ˹believers˺ in order to please you, while it is the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger they should seek, if they are ˹true˺ believers." [Quran 9:62]

In this episode, Sh. Yahya Rhodus points out a beautiful and subtle aspect of the Arabic which shows the Prophet's ﷺ perfect alignment with Allah's will and good pleasure ﷻ. The Companions had a deep understanding of these verses, which is why they sought to bring joy to the Prophet ﷺ, knowing that if the Messenger was pleased with him that it was a sign that Allah ﷻ was pleased with him.

"And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favor upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so, by His grace, you became brothers." [Quran 3:103]

With the coming of the Prophet ﷺ, who is described as Allah's grace in the verse above, Allah miraculously united the hearts of the believers despite tribal feuding that had existed between the Aws and Khazraj for many generations. This verse highlights how the Prophet ﷺ is a blessing for us in all times and that his way contains solutions for even the most complex problems.

The Companions (may Allah be well pleased with them) had the greatest reverence for and understanding of Allah’s Book, which led them to have a deep love and unbreakable connection to Allah’s Beloved ﷺ.

Even after the Prophet's passing ﷺ, the Companions' love remained unwavering. In this lesson, we look at a few more examples of their attachment to the Prophet ﷺ.

"Whoever obeys the Messenger has truly obeyed Allah." [Quran 4:80]

When the hypocrites attempted to criticize the Prophet's exalted rank ﷺ and create discord within the community, Allah ﷻ revealed the verse above. This further confirmed and emphasized His Prophet's authority. Knowing this helps us remain steadfast in following his Sunna ﷺ and protects us from deviating from his path.

Allah ﷻ says, "O believers! When the call to prayer is made on Friday, then proceed ˹diligently˺ to the remembrance of Allah and leave off ˹your˺ business. That is best for you, if only you knew. Once the prayer is over, disperse throughout the land and seek the bounty of Allah. And remember Allah often so you may be successful. When they saw the fanfare along with the caravan, they ˹almost all˺ flocked to it, leaving you ˹O Prophet˺ standing ˹on the pulpit˺. Say, “What is with Allah is far better than amusement and merchandise. And Allah is the Best Provider.” [Quran 62:9-11]

These verses tell us about the special blessings and mercy those with the Prophet ﷺ receive. In this lesson, Sh. Yahya Rhodus discusses ways we can, despite living 1400 years later, be "with" the Prophet ﷺ.

Every believer is called to engage in 'Tadabbur', which is to contemplate the meanings of the Quran. These brief reflections are meant to help us do just that. In each reflection, our teachers share insights into some of the verses that are being recited on that particular night of Ramadan in the Tarawih Prayer.

Ramadan Reminders are daily inspirational videos delivered by Yahya Rhodus and Amjad Tarsin. These videos are broadcast live every night after the 8th Rakat of Tarawih.