Fundraiser for Imam Siraj Wahhaj

http://www.mujahideenryder.net/


MR's online fundraiser for Imam Siraj Wahhaj from MR on Vimeo.

May 8th, Imam Siraj Day

From Imam Suhaib Webb: Asalamu alaykum, Last week the Muslim youth in America pulled off an amazing fundraiser for Imam Siraj Wahhaj. While 26 K. was donated we are still well short of our goal of $125,000. The Idea: Muslim organizations could call for "America's Imam Day" designating a Friday where funds could be raised for the Imam across the country! It would be awesome if others such as our brothers in the U.K got on board as well. Let us all write, call and encourage our organizations like ISNA, ICNA, MAS, MSA,MAP, RIC, MYNA, AlMaghrib, Seekers Guidance and Zaytuna to make this call together. I'm willing to fly to the states for one day, give the khutbah for the Imam and fly back for my exams in Egypt. I say this brothers and sisters because of my love for the Imam. By Allah I love him and hope and pray that we can moblize for the sake of Allah to help him. The ball's in your court.... SDW

May 8th, Imam Siraj Day MSA National is proud to join our fellow brothers and sisters in designating Friday, May 8th as Imam Siraj Day. The goal is to raise $75,000 to help Imam Siraj Wahhaj pay for his cancer treatment. As college students, we struggle to raise a few hundred dollars to support our own MSAs. While fundraising is sometimes difficult, here is a man who raised millions of dollars for our communities, built masjids, traveled to our campuses and MSA conferences, and gave his time for the sake of others. We believe small amounts raised by the many can have a huge impact. Join the effort and contact cstf@msanational.org for more information! Are you participating in Imam Siraj Day? If so help us track the money raised by reporting your fundraising efforts! Visit http://www.msanational.org/imamsiraj/ for more info. June 20, Concert Fundraiser with Sami Yusuf for Imam Siraj Wahhaj On Saturday, June 20, Preacher Moss and the "Allah Made Me Funny" Company, Native Deen, Sami Yusuf, Da'wah Ensemble, and myself will be presenting a benefit roast and concert for our beloved leader, Imam Siraj Wahhaj and his family. This is scheduled to take place at the famous Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Georgia. The bookkeeping for this event is being handled by Masjid At-Taqwa in Brooklyn, New York, which as you are aware is the 501(c)(3) institution that Imam Siraj established and still leads. Won't you please be so kind as to help us prepare for this historic occassion, by becoming one of the sponsors for this event, and choosing a category below. We will also make available for you event tickets to coincide with your sponsorship contribution, in addition to listing your company or organization in our promotional material, which will begin within two weeks from today, insha Allah t'Ala. Platinum Sponsor - $2,000 Gold Sponsor - $1,000 Silver Sponsor - $500 Bronze Sponsor - $250 Checks can made payable to Masjid At-Taqwa, and mailed to Bilal Hinson, c/o Masjid At-Taqwa, 1266 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Please however, email me at mana.events@gmail.com to confirm your support and submission of sponsorship contribution. Your Brother, Imam F. Qasim ibn Ali Khan, Director of Events & Fundraising Please visit www.mana-net.org

Return to Wholeness

Return to Wholeness

As Salamu Alaikum, Dear Brothers and Sisters!

I am happy to announce that Allah, Most High, has blessed me tremendously in my battle with hypertension and prostate cancer. Treatment for the cancer is going very well; my hypertension is very much under control; and I feel strong and invigorated. Alhamdulillah!


I am so thankful to Allah for all the support I've received from so many Muslims, as well as some non-Muslims. I am a firm believer in the power of du'a (supplication). The Prophet (pbuh) has encouraged us to make du'a for one another, and I can definitely feel the effects of your du'as. It truly works! I know how badly I was feeling not so long ago, and I how GREAT I am feeling now. Subhan'Allah! In addition to your du'as, I am also very humbled by and appreciative of the contributions many of you have sent for me and my family. I feel a real connection to all of you. Every time I eat a morsel of bread, drink a sip of water, take medication or receive treatment, I feel that part of the reward will go to all those who have so generously helped me. And you, the Ummah of Muhammad (s), will share in the reward of my return to good health, insha'Allah.

I want to share something with you that has been constantly on my mind. Allah mentions in His Qur'an: "laa taqtuluu anfusakum", i.e., "do not kill yourselves" (4:29). My advice to the Muslim Ummah, (as well as to others), is "Let us stop killing ourselves". The most surprising thing to me when I first visited Mecca in 1978, was to see how many Muslims smoked cigarettes. According to the World Health Organization, if the nations of the world do nothing, as many as one billion people will die as a result of smoking cigarettes in the 21st century. That is an obscene number of preventable deaths! Without a doubt, cigarette smoking is HARAM and is absolutely prohibited in Al Islam! (See Fatawa Islamiyah)


EVERY doctor who will ever examine you will ask you three questions: 1) Do you smoke cigarettes, 2) Do you drink alcohol, and 3) Do you take drugs? If we practice our Islam, we should at least be free from these "suicidal" drugs. I hope to go on a Jihad in the very near future to help eliminate cigarette smoking in our Ummah, insha'Allah. But, while cigarette smoking, alcohol and drugs are more obvious vices, there are other subtle ways in which we are killing ourselves. One way is by what we eat, and therefore, it is imperative that we become more conscious of our eating habits. It is no accident that the first sin of our father, Adam (pbuh), is something that he ATE! We are literally eating ourselves to death. Diabetes, hypertension and many other diseases are the result of our diets. Insha'Allah MANA, as well as other organizations, will advance initiatives that promote healthy eating and healthy living. How do we prepare our foods? How much do we eat? What do we eat? These are all questions that we have to answer. I now feel compelled to help in any way that I can to bring experts to help inform us of what is best for us. Insha'Allah, more to come about that in the future. A word of caution: many people will be upset to learn the truth about the poor quality of foods we've been eating for so many years. Most of which, nutritionally speaking, does not qualify to be called "food".

In closing, while I do feel invigorated, I have to remind myself, as well as others, that I am still is the process of healing and must take it easy. Although I have recently done a few khutbahs and taught a few classes, I must take time away in order to focus my energy on healing and restoration. Please know that I look forward to getting back to work in a regular capacity because I belong to you-the community-no doubt about it!


Insha'Allah, in future MANA newsletters you'll hear from our Deputy Amir, Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, a true soldier and servant of Allah. Once again, thank you for supporting me and my family, and for your ongoing support of MANA. May Allah, Most High, guide and protect us all. JazakAllah khairan!


Your brother in faith,

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

UPDATE: Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Religious Randomness...

1. I guess its the newest NYC fad: because its so cold, many NYC women wear stockings, spandex, or other various skin-tight material on their legs. Its not like normal stockings....its like spandex or some type of skin-tight nylon. They were it under skirts or just by itself! I'm just reminded of the hadith:

"... women who are naked even though they are wearing clothes, go astray and make others go astray, and they will not enter paradise nor smell its fragrance, although it can be smelt from afar." (at-Tabarani)

2. Snoop has joined the Nation of Islam....i'm sorry....no comments on this one. :-/

3. Since when did wearing a kufi become mandatory? I'm having a conversation with a brother after Jummah, and he starts scolding the khatib about not "knowing the deen". He said that it was the sunnah of the Prophet (saw) and his companions to wear something on their heads. I, myself, had a kufi on at the time and of course I said, "You are right dear brother, but..." and I preceeded to explain to him what Imam Nawawi has explained so elequently:

"... the actions of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, were done for different purposes. There were actions which he, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, would do haphazardly. There are things he, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, would do because of the custom of that time. These actions were not done by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, for the purpose of ibadah. We too should not do these actions for ibadah - our intentions should match the intentions of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam. The following are some examples:

• At the time of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, the men used to have long hair - it was not done for the purpose of ibadah. So if anyone wants to keep long hair today, it should not be done for ibadah.
• The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, used to open the top buttons of his shirt - this was because it was hot and not because for the purpose of ibadah.
• The turban, at the time of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, was worn because it was the custom then.
• Some hadiths mention the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, using a stick. Again this was not done for the purpose of ibadah."

Of course the brother argued with me ...but Allah knows best. Moving on....

4. Please keep Imam Siraj Wahhaj in your du'a. His health is not good and he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Imam deserves our du'a at the very least.

5. Yo! How do certain superstitious things creep into our religion like this : the hand of fatima ?? For those that don't know, many wear it or keep it around as a talisman to ward off the curse of the "evil eye". I'm a familiar with the hadith where the Prophet (saw) says that the influence of the evil eye is real...and goes on to forbid tattoos. But to start getting all spooky on us with this --------->

We have to do better Muslims....seriously.

6. I saw this over at Mujahideen Ryder and I just HAD to post it ....a must see...Hilarious...but not funny at the same time.

Imam Siraj Wahaj's health Status

Please keep the Imam in your du'a. He works tirelessly for this deen.

Challenges and Opportunities

As Salamu Alaikum, Dear Brothers and Sisters!

It is well known now that I have been suffering from hypertension. Al Hamdulillah, I have been working with it for a while now, and insha'Allah it's pretty much under control. As a result of being thoroughly checked by the competent doctors in Atlanta , I have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Al Hamdulillah, inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. (All Praise is for Allah. Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.)

My diagnosis is not as bad as it sounds on the surface. Many men have been cured from prostate cancer. My doctors are very optimistic about my cure, and so am I. Insha'Allah the treatment should last about two months. But you and I know that the cure is in the Hands of Allah. If Allah heals me, I will be very grateful. If Allah doesn't heal me, then I will be patient and happily accept my fate. This is the way of the Believers. I am looking forward to full recovery and getting back to work in the not-too-distant future, insha'Allah.

Many people will ask the question, what can we do? Don't waste your time feeling sorry for me. Make du'a. But don't just make du'a for me. There are a lot of Muslims, men and women, with cancer (and other diseases). Make du'a for them also. There are so many among the elderly, who need our help, make du'a for them. There are so many Muslims who have lost their jobs, lost their homes, make du'a for them! Beyond the prayers, go visit the sick, those in prison, and others in need.

Get involved more with Islamic work. Support organizations like MANA, ISNA, ICNA, MAS, CAIR, SIFCA, the community in association with Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, the community of Imam Jamil Al Amin, etc. Support good brothers and sisters, like Mauri' Saalakhan of the Peace and Justice Foundation. Support Islamic education and schools. If you want to help Imam Siraj, then help support his Masjid, Masjid At-Taqwa, in Brooklyn, New York and all the other struggling Masjids throughout America.

Every challenge we face in life presents us with many opportunities for growth. With a heightened awareness and sensitivity about health-related issues, I will feel better when we, as an ummah, learn more about our health. We have to be very careful about the foods we consume! I urge all of us to cultivate healthy appetites such that we begin to love and crave foods that are good FOR us and eliminate foods that are not. I intend with Allah's help to share information with you in the coming weeks about our health.

On behalf of MANA, I encourage you to lend your support to our growing Organization. Every MANA project is structured to strengthen American Muslim communities. The SHARE Centers, Healthy Marriage Initiative, Community Reentry Program, and Healing and Reconciliation Project all need input and active service urgently. Please contact the MANA office to find out more and look for regular updates in our newsletters, insha'Allah.

In closing, I am humbled and very thankful for all the prayers, and well wishes of the Muslims, and am very appreciative for all the help extended to me and my family in the past. Alhamdulillah! I am also overwhelmed with gratitude that a number of you want to lend financial support, and have asked how you can do that. Online donations can be made here, or feel free to correspond with me directly at Siraj Wahhaj, P.O. Box 312264, Atlanta, GA 31131.

Thank you kindly. May Allah guide and protect us all.

Your brother in faith,

Imam Siraj Wahhaj