#Uncategorized
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The Night We Seek that Seeks us
Laylatul Qadr and all it Brings By Yusuf Azmi Openings Ramadan brings incredible opportunities for us all to seek. Opportunities for spiritual growth, togetherness and seeking Allah’s (swt) blessings. As we grow closer to the end of this sacred month and enter the final 10 nights of Ramadan, the days become more and more important, none more so than the night of Laylatul Qadr. The night of power is the night that we truly seek, a night where all of Ramadan’s opportunities are open to us. The night of revelation, when Allah (swt) revealed the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhamad (pbuh), is more than a night of historical symbolism to…
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This Ramadan, Food Boxes Matter
Why hunger won’t just go away It’s here With Ramadan quickly approaching, Muslims around the world will fast from sunrise to sunset each day for 30 consecutive days. It is an arduous task, especially as the days have become longer and the weather gets hotter. It is a month where we further develop our spiritual enlightenment, exhibit greater empathy for our most vulnerable populations, and make sacrifices. Ramadan can serve as a monthlong reminder about how much we have…and how, unintentionally, we take food and water for granted. That is why it’s important to keep the populations in mind for whom food is either insufficient, difficult to access, or have…
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The Power of Water
A dispatch for World Water Day By Nabeeha Shah Water makes the world go round World Water Day focuses on the importance of clean water for all. According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people around the world are living without access to safe water. This year, the focus is on groundwater – water we use for drinking, sanitation, food production, and industrial processes. Some areas in the world rely entirely on groundwater for their livelihoods. Safe water allows a mother to feed her child. To quench their thirst. It could mean the difference between life and death. To quench their thirst. It could mean the difference between life and…
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Day of Dignity is Back
Resources, food, and clothing for our neighbors in 2021 Familiar As volunteers filed in and out of Masjids, community centers, and parking lots turned into full on warehouses for resources, the buzz of IRUSA’s Day of Dignity left an aroma in the air. We’d been longing to get the feeling back that COVID-19 interrupted. That feeling was community. It was the feeling of service. And most of all it was the feeling of working together for a better world. Our very own Interim Director of Programs Araif Yusuff mentioned just weeks ago,”They say the happiest people are the people who are in service to others. And when you’re there, all…
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Catastrophe and Uncertainty Blanket Countries
Earthquakes ripple in Haiti, a humanitarian catastrophe looms in Afghanistan, and displacement blankets Ethiopia Cold Reminder of The Past in Haiti On August 14, Haiti experienced a country-wide earthquake causing over 2,000 deaths so far with many casualties still being counted. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake has also vastly destroyed and disrupted countless communities’ infrastructure. Another 53,000 houses were destroyed and nearly 12,268 people were injured. This crisis comes in the aftermath of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July. According to reports by the New York times, Two cities, Les Cayes and Jeremie, located in Haiti’s southern peninsula, have reported major devastation with people caught under rubble and buildings…
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Hot Meals and Hearts
Chicago and NYC feeding programs blast off Ready, set, go We may never know what a “post-covid” world looks like or how the affects this mass interruption of what the world called normal. In the face of all of these new developments of how we live life some sobering facts remain. Hunger in the U.S. is still one of the most daunting challenges we face as a country. According to feeding America, In 2019, 34 million people lived in poverty in America. For a family of four, that means earning just $25,000 per year and before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 35 million people faced hunger in the United States, including more than…
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Dar al-Hijrah Qurbani brings out Community Strong
One of VA’s largest mosques partners to fulfill Udhiyah rites Busy Bees The cars steadily pulled into the gated parking lot of Dar Al Hijrah mosque in Falls Church-Fairfax County. One by one, they navigated the nearly full lot to get something a little different from the usual Thursday food pantry allocations. On this particular Thursday, Aug. 5, people waiting in line were scheduled to receive a 5-pound piece of lamb, a food that aptly symbolizes the Islamic tradition of Qurbani. Islamic Relief USA’s (IRUSA) Qurbani campaign enables people who normally don’t have access to high-quality meat to have a taste of it. In addition to upholding a religious tradition,…
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Tales of the Heart
Why I volunteer By Volunteer Ruqqaya SC As a child, growing up in Texas and raised by a single parent, my mother, could sometimes be a great challenge without a father figure and my mom having to play both roles. Nevertheless, she was pretty tough as well as strict. But the one thing I will always remember was her kind heart. Although we were not financially or materialistically wealthy, she had a soft side and empathy for those less fortunate and always giving whatever she could to help out. Animals (mainly dogs and cats) also captured her heart. She always fed the strays that sometimes wound up in our front…
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Unity in the Ummah
Shifting our perspective to see the beauty in all Volunteer Blog by Mustafa H. Reminiscing about the Golden Era “Arab has no merit over non-Arab other than Godfearingness.” These are the blessed words of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) made history in Arabia by doing away with the old polarizing and divisive tribal system. He made massive strides uniting the Arab people and insisted on unity rather than division. One of my personal favorite stories of the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the story of how the blackstone was placed onto the Kaaba. Every Muslim understands the significance of the black stone and the Kaaba. It is…
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Taking Care of Texas
IRUSA Mobilizes Aid to Texans in Frigid Power Outage An Unexpected Freeze An unusual winter storm sent a wave of freezing temperatures across Texas in the middle of February. On the 14th of the month the state saw multiple locations drop to temperatures of (-18C). Millions were caught completely off guard while witnessing their neighborhoods be enveloped in ice. Since then over 40 people have lost their life and in some tragic cases children have died of hypothermia. The US National Weather Service (NWS) stated that the “Arctic outbreak” flowed in from above the US-Canada border, causing a winter snow storm accompanied by devastating temperatures. Entire districts went without power…
