Dear Brothers and Sisters, Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah,
According to the Fiqh Council of North America, the first day of the month of Ramadan for this year will be Thursday, June 18, 2015. I would like to congratulate our community on the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadan, may Allah make it a month of forgiveness and mercy for all of us. Let us all work hard during the month of Ramadan to enhance our love for Allah and his messenger, increase our faith, strengthen our sisterhood and brotherhood in the way of Allah, and establish unity and tolerance in our community. The best and most important thing we need to do in welcoming this blessed month of Ramadan is to purify our hearts from any type of animosity, which might have found its way between some of us during the course of the year, and forgive each other for all shortcomings and misdeeds. Let us all fill our hearts with love and kindness towards everyone in our community, so Allah would cast his love and mercy upon us all. I pray to Allah, for our community, to obtain the highest levels of physical and spiritual benefits from this blessed month, insha’Allah.
This Ramadan we will be performing the Taraweeh prayer, 20 Rakas, every day in Ramadan starting today, Wednesday, at the Elzahra Islamic Center, right after the Isha pray-er, insha’Allah. We are pleased to have Hafiz Dr. Abdullah Sharaf leading the prayer. We’re planning to recite half of the holy Quran during the Taraweeh prayer, and the rest will be recited during Itikaf, Qiyam, and before Maghrib, Insha’Allah. We plan to offer an optional baby sitting program during taraweeh to encourage the whole family to attend. We will be having a short reflection after the first 4 Rakats during Taraweeh, and a short lecture after Fajr prayer every day insha’Allah.
We will also be having Iftar meals every weekend during the month of Ramadan, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, insha’Allah. Anyone who would like to sponsor an iftar on any weekend, or even on weekdays, can contact Sheikh Moutaz Charaf (201-675-0516) to participate in this great opportunity. We look forward to seeing you all with your families at our weekend Iftars and for our daily Fajr and Taraweeh prayers. Our Ramadan Iftar Calendar will be posted on the website and on our Facebook page as it is updated. Let’s all support and frequent the new Masjid with our families and friends. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Elzahra Islamic Center Prayer Time Schedule for Ramadan available on the website and at our center. We appreciate and recognize your continuous commitment and support.
Assalamu Alaykum and Happy Ramadan,
Sheikh Moutaz Charaf
