In a time when people are uniting in the name of language, ethnicity, color, economic benefits and many other titles, the fifth pillar of Islam (HAJJ) comes again this year to remind Muslims that what unites them is their faith in Allah.

I remember the first night I spent in front of the Ka'bah in Makkah reading Quran softly (not to disturb others around me), when I saw the hand of an elderly man signaling to me to read louder! He wanted to hear the Quran being recited so I raised my voice for him to hear. When the athan for fajr was called we prayed, but when I stood up to leave, he gave me a hug like he was saying goodbye to an old friend he had known for years! With tears in his eyes he pointed to himself and said, "Turkey, Izmir, ziyara."  I understood he was telling me that he was from Izmir in Turkey and if I happen to visit there he would be my welcoming friend!

Subhanallah, I just met him two hours prior but it was HAJJ that made us feel this sense of brotherhood in the most sacred place on earth. Even though I knew that I might never see him again in my life, I still feel that I have a friend and a brother in a town called Izmir in Turkey.

Unfortunately, many Muslims are not able to see HAJJ in the big picture the way it is meant to be seen. We are now more than ever in desperate need to look at HAJJ as the pillar of bringing Muslims together. All differences should melt and dissolve in the spirit of Hajj and especially on the Day of ARAFAH. If people are all in one place, wearing the same simple clothes, saying the same words of TALBIA, facing one direction toward the KABAH and all asking one thing, then they should come back from that place feeling that they have performed their duty to Allah, and connected to each other and are united as Allah wanted them to be. Allah said: [Indeed, this 'faith' -community of yours is one community, and I am your lord, so worship Me.]

For Muslims living in the States, Hajj should help dissolve all social sensitivities between them. Many Muslims are feeling alienated on different levels. Immigrant Muslims feel detached from the western-born generation because they assume they know Islam better! The western-born Muslims feel detached from the immigrant Muslims because they feel that immigrants don't know how to connect to the culture here! Muslims living in the suburbs and fancy neighborhoods feel separated from Muslims living in the inner city and less affluent neighborhoods, while those living in the city feel they have nothing to do with Muslims living in Suburbs! In seeking a marriage partner, you hear all types of prejudices in the name of (Kafa'ah) or equal matching! Yes, it is true that (Kafa'ah) or equal matching is a real concept recognized in Islam, but how many rejections are really and truly based on this concept rather than pre-conceived prejudices!

We do not want stories of the Sahabah to be fairytales only read at bedtime to kids or just as entertaining sessions for adults! We want the stories of the Ansar and Muhajereen being brought together as brothers to be relived and enjoyed over and over again between Middle Eastern, Indo-Pakistani, African-American and all Muslims. These stories are real, and we should read them and learn the valuable lessons our timeless role models recorded for our benefit.  If we know the story of (As-suffa), who were more than 70 poor Sahabah living in the Masjid An-Nabawi and being cared for by other Muslims, shouldn't it trigger the sense of responsibility in us now, among those who are more blessed in wealth in our community, to rush to help those who are in need?  The Hadith of the prophet (PBUH) that said Salman (the Persian) belongs to us (Aal-al Bayt) should leave no place for nobility of race but rather for piety and Taqwa.

We need to be united in responding to the call of Allah. We need to be united to be effective as a community and have one voice. We need to be united to purify ourselves from social diseases. We need to be united to feel the blessings of this great pillar in our Deen. I hope such reminders will keep echoing in our hearts the importance of unity in our community. I pray to Allah to unite us to serve Him the way it pleases Him, Ameen.

Sh. Kifah Mustapha
 

Fall is a busy season at the Mosque Foundation Community Center.  School is in full swing and so are the programs and activities at MFCC.  From its educational programs to its tournaments and special events, there is always a broad spectrum of activities to benefit from.

Parents Open House
Alqaeda Nooraniya, the Quran School, held its Open House for parents recently to explain the benefits of this special teaching method and answer any questions from the parents.  Sh. Zakariya Khudeira spoke about the importance of learning to read the Holy Quran in the correct tajweed, especially for our children.  This program was designed to teach the proper tajweed techniques to Arabic speaking and non-Arabic speaking, and can be utilized for all ages.

Martial Arts for Boys & Girls
Martial Arts are a great way to teach our youth this ancient art of physical and mental discipline.  MFCC has martial arts classes for boys every Wednesday & Saturday from 6:30-8 PM, and for girls every Sunday from 1-3 PM. 

Clean-Up Day
The girls pitched in a hand on Sunday, November 9th, to make our MFCC sparkle and shine!  On Clean-Up Day, all the mops and brooms, buckets and sponges, and LOTS of Windex were in huge demand!  The girls scrubbed the rooms from top to bottom until the combined scents of bleach and air freshener tickled their noses!  All this hard work did not go unrewarded.  In addition to the satisfaction of seeing the results of their efforts, the girls were also treated to pizza and a movie after all the mops, brooms and buckets were tucked back inside their closet.

Men's Ping Pong Tournament
Men are fierce competitors in sports, and that was evident on Saturday, November 8th, at the MFCC's first Ping Pong Tournament.  After the best out of 16, prizes were awarded to the top three.  Abdullah Matari emerged as the Ping Pong champion, with Tarik Ideis following in 2nd Place, and Wisam Sarhan in 3rd Place. 

Boy's Basketball Tournament
The MFCC Boys Basketball teams played against other Islamic Center teams from Detroit and Milwaukee on Saturday, November 15th in the Universal School Gym.  Detroit took home the trophy for the 14-16 year old division, while our own MFCC team took the trophy in the 17 years & up division.  Suhaib Rahima was named MVP.

Staying Safe in a Dangerous World
The sad reality is that the world we live in is sometimes a very dangerous one.  While we read about victims of crime in the newspapers everyday, we want to protect ourselves and our families from becoming another crime statistic.  Josephine Johnson, a lead speaker and trainer for America Crime Fight, shared important tips for staying safe during the Safety Workshop, Saturday, November 15th.  Simple things such as always locking the car doors immediately upon entering the car, or leaving the outside house lights on at night can be a huge deterrent to would-be criminals.  Installing steel deadlock bolts on all outside doors, and carrying a military grade chemical spray were also effective defenses Ms. Johnson recommended.  "The key is to always be aware of your surroundings, stay alert, and educate yourself," Ms. Johnson said.

Diversity of Christian Denominations
For those of us involved in interfaith dialogues, questions inevitably arise in our minds about certain seemingly major issues, such as 'why do some Christians follow the Pope while others do not?'  As Muslims, we are taught the importance of educating ourselves about the world around us, and so in following that tradition, the Mosque Foundation invited three prominent Christian scholars from our local area to give us some insight into this mystery.  Professors Scott Alexander, Michael Shelley, and Mark Swanson, all actively involved in Christian-Muslim relations, were our honored guest panelists, Saturday, November 22nd at the MFCC.  Each professor presented an interesting, mostly historical, view of the main roots of Christianity and its split into various branches, or denominations.
 

The Mosque Foundation recently completed a two year grant project in coordination with Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and Community Memorial Foundation. "The Mobilizing Diverse Faith Communities to Promote Mental Health Project" grant was previously given to various Christian churches in the area with a successful outcome, and this was the first time this grant was awarded to the Muslim community.  The Mosque Foundation of Bridgeview and the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park participated in the two year project through a series of workshops and presentations aimed toward educating faith leaders about various types of mental health issues and counseling strategies which are in harmony with Islamic teachings.

Why not learn Arabic? My name is Lena Hasan and I am a sophomore graduating as a junior at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School. I have been taking Spanish for the past two years, and I had read about how other public schools had offered Arabic as a language credit. When I had read about how there are government funds for the teaching of Arabic at public high schools, I became very curious as to why we couldn't have Arabic offered as an elective at our school. I began to ask about having Arabic offered at our school and found, that the masjid has also been curious, so I attended the meetings and had students who wanted to take the class fill out a paper with their information. I collected at least 40 signatures myself not to mention the other students who were collecting signatures.

We had as many as 200 signatures collected but yet, the District 230 denied our proposal. The District's reasons for not having Arabic offered as a class next year was because there is a process that needs to be followed, and they had also taken a survey of the students in the elementary schools and the feedback for Arabic wasn't promising. Even though the district denied our proposal, I am still working on finding a way to have an Arabic Class at Stagg in the future. The reason why I am fighting for this class is because if it was offered at our school I would be able to receive credit for learning Arabic, and it would also look superior to other applicants when applying for colleges and jobs. Also, the language of Arabic is the sixth most known language in the world. Arabic is derived from the language or literature of the Arabs and pertains to the alphabetical script used for the writing of Arabic since about the fourth century AD. Arabic is a major source of vocabulary for other languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Berber, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Swahili, Urdu, Hindustani, Turkish, Malay, Rohingya, Bengali, Tagalog, and Indonesian, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken. These are the many reasons why Arabic is essential to the curriculum at District 230 and I hope that one day in the future District 230 will realize that Arabic is a need in their schools but for now, I will continue to fight to make that happen.
 

It's important to remember that time is not equal. Though seconds, hours, and days pass at the same pace, there are days and months that are "special," a word that has lost some of its meaning in the modern, corporate, and materialistic world.

The Hajj, or Pilgrimage, is an obliged rite of worship. But it occurs in a sacred month, 29 or 30 days which hold immeasurable blessings for anyone who seeks them, whether you plan on going to the Pilgrimage or not, whether you are in Makkah or in Chicago. 

This is especially true for the first 10 days of Dhu'l-Hijja (the name of the 12th month of the Islamic lunar year). In the Quran, God Himself (the Exalted and Gracious) makes an oath by these nights so that we may be reminded of their immense blessings. "By the dawn, and the ten nights, and the even and the odd, and the night when it passes away-there surely is a mighty oath in this for mindful people" (Quran, 89:1-5).

It is God's prerogative to give prominence and nobility to whatever He wills. And it is by His endless mercy that God invites His creatures to gather these blessings while life remains and as time dwindles down for each of us.

The Prophet (God's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are no days during which good actions are more beloved to God than those ten days" of Dhu'l-Hijja. The ninth day, or the day of Arafah, is a particularly great day and opportunity for Divine forgiveness and great reward. God forgives the sins and misdeeds of the past year and the coming year for those who fast on this day.

People of religion use the word "blessings" a lot. But what are they? Essentially, blessings are those things (seen or unseen) that bring our lives into closer harmony with God's will. Religion asks two things from us: that we believe in Truth, and that we conduct our lives (that is, make choices) such that Truth remains important to us. A blessing can be material, such as provisions from God, safety, and more. Success is acknowledging that these blessings are from God and that we feel grateful. But the greatest blessings are those that come in the form of God's reward and pleasure, which ultimately will be of tremendous benefit in the Hereafter, when we all shall stand before God.

Again, in modern times it has become more difficult to appreciate what all of this means. For many, it becomes too abstract, so they ignore it. And for many others, they participate only because they've heard someone talk about them. What we need to do is revive the long sacred tradition that helps us to actually "feel" and "perceive" what these blessings are. And this begins by participating in what these special times invite us to do.

Imam Zaid Shakir sums up nicely those things that help us to gather the best of these best of days:

1. We should try to fast as many of the first nine days as possible. We should make an extra effort to fast the Day of 'Arafah. It is related in Sahih Muslim that the Noble Prophet, Peace and Blessings of God be upon him, said, "I anticipate that Fasting the Day of 'Arafah will atone for the sins of the previous and coming year."

2. We should carefully monitor our speech, what we listen to, and what we allow our gaze to fall on during these days, again, especially on the Day of 'Arafah. The Noble Prophet, Peace and Blessings of God be upon him, said, "[Concerning] the Day of 'Arafah, whoever controls his hearing, gaze, and speech on that day, he will be forgiven."

3. We should be excessive in repeating the declaration of Tawhid, with special emphasis on the phrase, "La ilaha ilallah, Wahdahu La Sharika lah, Lahul Mulk, wa lahul Hamd, biyadihi Khayr, wa Huwa 'ala kulli Shayin Qadir: There is no God but Allah. He is alone without partners. His is the dominion, and unto Him is all praise. With Him is all good, and He over all things has power." Imam Tirmidhi relates that this was the supplication that the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of God be upon him, repeated more than any other on the Day of 'Arafah.

4. We should pray for forgiveness and liberation from Hellfire during these days, especially the Day of 'Arafah. Imam 'Ali, May God be pleased with him, related, "God liberates people from the Hellfire everyday. And there is no day when more people are liberated from the Hellfire than the Day of 'Arafah."

Finally, whenever we remember God or perform a rite of worship (whether it is obliged or voluntary), we should keep in mind that ultimately it is by God's grace that these rites have meaning. What we "do" cannot grant us salvation or generate grace. This is God's right, and no one but Him can bestow grace or blessings. So when we act, let us also ask that our deeds are accepted. And we have every reason to hope for God's acceptance and, in fact, look forward to it.
 

I remember the first time I ever prayed Taraweeh prayer in the Mosque Foundation during Ramadan.  I had never seen the prayer hall completely filled with so many women before, with our rows reaching all the way to the back stairs.  I remember hearing thunder during that first night of prayers, yet I was puzzled to see clear skies when I exited the masjid.  The second evening of Taraweeh, I heard the same thunder, but I exited the mosque yet again to see clear skies.  I think it dawned on me the third evening after I heard the same sound of thunder, that there was no storm anywhere in the forecast, and the sound I was hearing was not thunder at all, only the sound of a thousand men prostrating in sujood at the same moment upstairs over my head!

That realization impacted me in such a way that years later I am recalling this story to you.  It was the moment that I truly felt the unity of prayer.  We know that praying together in a group brings more reward than praying alone, 27 times more in fact.  Yet, if you think about it, we are never really praying alone.  Maybe we might be alone in a room, but you can be certain that there are always dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of Muslims somewhere in the world praying at the same time.  We are all facing the same direction, we are all making the same movements, and saying the same words in the same language!  Even if we are separated by a few walls, or even mountains and oceans between us, our hearts are focused on the same thing at the same time, the worship of One God.

Prayer is the essence of worship, the personal connection to our Lord, and it's so amazing that Allah in His infinite wisdom has prescribed this beautiful form of worship which not only allows us to maintain our connection to Him, but also allows us to maintain a connection with every other Muslim in the world, whether we are conscious of it or not!  That must be the ultimate unity!

I am always reminded of our unity whenever I hear that sweet thundering noise above my head during prayer.  It's the warmth and security of belonging.  For although we are many nations and tribes, we are only one Ummah.