our Halaqa: August 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Zakat Al-Fitr ~ 'Eid Al-Fitr ~ 'Eid Prayer Time and Place ~ Sunnah of 'Eid

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Masjid Ibrahim
To: masjid_ibrahim@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 1:58 PM
Subject: [Masjid Ibrahim] Zakat Al-Fitr ~ 'Eid Al-Fitr ~ 'Eid Prayer Time and Place ~ Sunnah of 'Eid

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.

In this digest:

Zakat Al Fitr this year
Quran Competition :: Deadline is drawing near...
Eid Announcement and Prayer facilities :: Will be announced soon inshaAllaah
Some Sunnah with regards to the day of Eid

Zakat Al Fitr this year

This year the zakat at fitr would be $3.50/per (or any amount above that) head approximately. Depending on what you want to give, it can be as high as $15.00/per head or more. A point to remember is, the price goes up and down depending on the quality of staple, non-perishable food you want to distribute. We have calculated a sa'a of cereal to be approximately $3.50, but if you want to give very good quality food (i.e dates/olive/nuts), the amount of zakat-al-fitr can go as high as $15.00 or more. If you can find any type of food, a sa'a of which is less than $3.50, then you can donate that amount too inshaAllaah. This assumption [$3.50/head] is only an approximate amount and Allaah knows best.

1 sa'a = 4 handfuls of any food material (when the hands are cupped together). In the time of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), there was a container that was known as the sa'a of the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). It is a measure, not a weight. So, a sa'a of wheat will weigh different than a sa'a of barley/dates/olives etc... We should go back to the sunnah to collect the food and distribute it amongst the fuqara and masaakeen. Wa lillaahil hamd, we have plenty of them around the world. Many organizations distribute this amount in the form of general sadaqah for any purpose, please be aware of them and make sure you donate to only those organizations who distribute this amount in the form of food only before the 'Eid prayer inshaAllaah.

Masjid Ibrahim distributes the zakat al fitr in the form of food before the 'Eid prayer. We usually try to find families/individuals who are in need in our town first and then we sent the left over money to overseas through a US-government approved organization who distribute the amount in food to poor and needy people.

You can physically stop at the Masjid Ibrahim center and donate your zakat-al-Fitr before the Eid prayer. [depending on the moon-sighting this year 'Eid is either on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 or Wednesday, August 31 inshaAllaah]

Quran Competition :: Deadline is drawing near...

Those of our noble brothers and sisters who have registered, we request them to finish their competition by this weekend inshaAllaah. Sheikh Omar is testing the brother and the children, you can reach him at 864-444-4485. The sisters are tested by Umm Ibrahim, you can email admin@masjidibrahim.org to schedule your test with her.

May Allaah accept all of our siyaam, Qiyaam, recitation and memorization of Quran inshaAllaah.

Eid Announcement and Prayer facilities :: Will be announced soon inshaAllaah

Depending on the moon-sighting this year 'Eid is either on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 or Wednesday, August 31 inshaAllaah

Regardless which day it is, the venue and time remains same:

Eid Prayer Place
Soccer Zone South
9501 Manchaca Road
Austin, Texas 78748

Time of the Prayer: Prayer starts at 9:00 am

CORRECT SUNNAH WITH REGARDS TO EID TAKBEER: The sunnah regarding the takbeer of the ‘Eid al-Fitr is that it should start from home and should continue all the way to the musallah and should stop when the Imam stands to start the prayer. It is not sunnah to make this takbeer in unison. ‘Allamaah Sheikh Mohammad Saleh Al-Uthaymeen said: “In some Masjids, a Muath-thin says the takbeer of eid on the loud-speaker, and people echo what he says, this is a bid’ah, because it is known from the Prophet’s guidance in regard to dhikr that every person should mention Allaah by himself. It is not permitted to depart from the guidance of the Prophet and his companions. [see Asilatun wa ajwibatun fee salat-al-‘eedayn pp31-32]

Similar thing was mentioned by Al-‘Allamaah Sheikh Mohammad Naasiruddin Al-Albaanee (‘alayhi Rohmatullaah) in Saheehal vol 1a, p331 “Saying the takbeer in unison, as many people do, is not permissible. This applies as well to any other dhikr, whether it is supposed to be said aloud or silently.” companions. [see Asilatun wa ajwibatun fee salat-al-‘eedayn pp31-32] Another common mistake about the takbeer of the ‘Eid is that the organizers of the Eid announce “Takbeer starts at such and such time.” This is not sunnah, takbeer doesn’t start at the Eid musallah, it starts from the individual homes. And to Allaah we complain of the strange time we live in.

THE WORDINGS OF TAKBEER: There is no authentic narration with regards to the takbeer of the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). However there are many authentic narrations regarding the takbeer of the companions. We mention here the most famous one, and that is the takbeer of Ibn Mas’uud (RadiAllaahu ‘anhu) which is : Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar, Laa Ilaahaa illaallaahu Wallaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar – Walillaahil Hamd.
[authentic chain, recorded by Ibn Abee Shaybah and Daraqutnee, see Irwa 125/3]
It is not permissible to add to this: “walhamdulillaahi katheeraa, wa subhanallaahi bukratawwa-aseelaa….” Although the meaning of all these are good but there is evidence from the salaf with regards to these addition, and we ask Allaah to keep us on the path of the salaf…
IMPORTANT NOTES:

Please use restroom and make wudu before coming although there are restrooms in the prayer center
Zakat-ul-Fitr must be paid to the needy before Eid Prayer. Zakat Al-Fitr can paid in a range from $3.50/per person to $20.00/per person
Carpooling is highly recommended

Some Sunnah with regards to the day of Eid

Recommended to take a shower in the morning before going to Eid salah.
To eat something before going to the Eid prayer on the day of Eid Al-Fitr.
Wear the best dress, use perfume (for men only, not for women).
Start from home with takbeer saying it loudly.
When you reach Musalllah, there is no sunnah prayer before or after the Eid prayer.
Keep on saying the takbeer and don’t repeat in unison, this is a bid’ah. Takbeer should continue until the Imam comes and starts the prayer. The correct wordings of Takbeer are: Allaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar, Laa Ilaahaa illaallaahu Wallaahu Akbar, Allaahu Akbar – Walillaahil Hamd.
The eid prayer is an obligation and it is two rakat.
First rakat has 7 additional takbeer right after the takbeer-atul-Ihram, the second rakat has 5 additional takbeer before the recitation.
During the Eid takbeer, the sunnah is not to raise hand and not to say anything in between the takbeerat.
If you miss the eid prayer for any reason, just pray two rakat in the form the Eid prayer is prayed and it should suffice inshaAllaah.

This is in short some of the sunans of the Eid, and remember the celebration of Eid is an act of worship, so don’t spoil by listening to music, haram mixing of men and women, movies etc…

Masjid Ibrahim
1701 W. Ben White Blvd Bldg 3
Austin, TX 78704

512-MY-DAWAH (693-2924) | admin@masjidibrahim.org | www.MasjidIbrahim.org | Directions to the Masjid | Make a Donation

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fitrah reminder

As Salamu Alaikum!

Friends, do not wait until the last moment to give out your fitrah.

Per ICBC the fitrah amount is 8 dollars per person in your household. I have not found any information oon Masjid Ibrahim/NAMCC/ICGA websites.

Jazak Allahu Khairan!

Wasi

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Structure proposal for our halaqa

Assalaamualaikum. Here is what I like to propose for the structure of our halaqa. Please feel free to comment.

Goal of each halaqa:

1. Studying Hadeeth (15 - 30 minutes)
2. Book on a particular topic, or Tafseer al-Qur'an (15 - 30 minutes)
3. Follow-up on a previously discussed topic, or Q & A session (based on reference from Qur'an and Sunnah only, not any general discussion based on opinions.) (10-15 minutes)

General Guidelines:
1. We will follow the Sahih Muslim as our text for hadeeth, but also refer to the Sahih Bukhari time to time, Inshallaah.
2. At the end of each halaqa, let's try to pre-determine the next halaqa topic.
3. Let's maintain the time.

I am including the index for Sahih Muslim below. On our next halaqa, let's determine what topics to prioritize and focus on. We have already studied a lot of topics. Some of them do not need repetition and if we want we can always repeat them on our own. Topics like Tauheed,
Shirk, Bid'ah, Manhaj (clear and manifest way based upon Qur'an and Sunnah) need frequent clarification and reminder. We will go back and forth between these topics, Inshallaah. It will also help us build a foundation to understand the rest of our religion, Inshallah. May Allaah guide us to the straight path!