HalfDate.com is inspired by the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and prayer be upon him) where he called us to be part of the solution even if our contribution is as small as half a date.
Each month, you will suggest a specific cause (specific goal, amount of $, and due date) and HalfDate.com will feature it as a DateDrive.
Photo by Fairywren
In early 1996, an entirely free health clinic opened its doors in South Central Los Angeles. A project initiated by Muslim American students, and now run by a dedicated staff of all religions and races, UMMA Community Clinic is indeed something special.
Click here for other winners
Via Rickshaw Diaries.
We feel angry and frustrated about the problems that the Ummah faces, and often complain about them. Nobody listens, which leads to yet more frustration.
But to complain alone is a mistake. To solve a problem, we must not stop at pointing it out. Rather, we should offer a solution and work on it. Thus the following is a humble attempt at offering such a solution, based on the advice found within the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The future of the Ummah? [Source: dlemieux]
Another exclusive Editor entry written for the readers of Ijtema. Sorry it’s been a while since the last one. Insha’Allah, we’ll try to be more regular in the future.
As Muslims, we believe in the power of prayer. That Allah hears our silent whispers; our pain-filled cries. Night or day. In public or in private. He hears us, and He helps us.
But sometimes we forget. Not even out of a sense of despair, but rather, due to a misunderstanding of the manner in which prayers are answered. Sometimes, we expect it all to be very black and white: you pray for a promotion, you get the promotion. You pray for a child, you’re granted a child.
But what happens when you don’t get what you want?
Austrolabe suggests alternative methods for raising money for Islamic charities:
It is interesting to see the extent to which Web 2.0 technologies are being used for charitable purposes… As is well known, charity plays a pivotal role in the faith of every Muslim — being, as it is, zakat, one of the five pillars of our faith — so it is surprising to see that there hasn’t been a similar innovation in terms of how we give charity.
Abdul Sattar urges us to take the message of Islam to the streets:
There are countless thoughts on the Quran, and society, and life, and death, and poverty, and social reform. [...] It is time that these thoughts, reflections, ideas, and conclusions no longer sit within the computers and notebooks of the activists, students, and scholars. That the fire of passion that burns for the Deen no longer sits as a protected candle in the hearts of a few people. But rather, that we fulfill our obligations as Muslims, by taking this message out. How many of us have volunteered at our local hospital? Not as a member of this org or a student of that Shaykh, but as a servant of Allah. How many of us have volunteered at a soup kitchen on our spare time? How many of us mentored community youth or spent time cleaning the streets with volunteer groups? How many of us have taken a step back and thought to ourselves of what the Prophet (saw) would have done if he knew there was a homeless man not more than two blocks from us?
Livinghalal has produced a video explaining the many benefits of peforming DIY udhiya for Eid-ul-Adha, rather than delegating the sacred duty to someone else.
