Tahir Anwar – MCC Online Fundraiser Nurturing the Spirit of Ramadan in Every Month
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AI: Transcript ©
My dear community members, brothers and sisters, Ramadan
Mubarak from all of us here at MCC.
I welcome you to join us today in
our Ramadan fundraising on behalf of the MCC
board of directors.
I wanted to give you a little,
background on why we are gathering here tonight
online
in these unprecedented
time.
As you know, our Masjid, our Muslim community
center has been closed
since the start of shelter in place for
us to congregate for prayers,
but
this community center
is still working behind the scenes in ensuring
you are provided with amazing online programs
like talks from different scholars,
Quran and Tafsir classes.
Our pantry is serving more than 150 families
every week, and many other services,
which
in a few minutes, you will see our
board president, Badr Shahid, go over, then Inshallah,
Imam Tahir will follow,
with with asking you to support MCC
and we will then have a small talk
by Imam Said Shaker. But first of all,
let me please,
welcome Kari Amar in doing starting us tonight
with recitation of holy Quran.
Yeah.
Everyone.
My name is Shahid Constantino. I am part
of the board of directors here at MCC.
I wanted to start off today,
thanking every single one of you for taking
time this afternoon to come to to the
fundraiser.
I know many of you have supported us
throughout the years,
in many of the in many of our
wadans. We've asked for for donations. And here
we are again, like sister Hamir said in
a bit of strange sit situations. You know?
But may Allah reward you for and and
your families for all the contributions you've made
before,
and we're hoping that you'd be able to
do get in the same today.
Past from the dawns, when we've done run
fundraising, we've basically asked the community
for,
Zakat and construction funds. Obviously, Zakat are the
funds that we collect, and we give out
locally to to folks that are in need
in our community.
And the construction fund is is the fund
that we use to enhance our building.
But today, we're doing something a bit different
and something we haven't done at MCC for
for quite a while, and that's to ask
for for operations funds. These are the funds
that we use
for most of the day to day
activities and services,
that you see at MCC.
And by far, probably the most popular of
those activities and services we have at MCC
that applies to most people are our classes
and or holocaust.
Interestingly
enough, this is also the area where we
need the most help.
Our programs are very popular. They're
very well attended.
Our afternoon programs
and classes have over 200 people that attend
them.
If you've ever been to MCC on a
Friday night
you know that the MCC Navigators programs for
the boys
is is is very popular, and also our
building also holds the Rahmah program for the
girls as Ramban and Bahamur Foundation.
It's it's a busy happening place, but
it takes some some some funds, to keep
that going. And then we we've been able
to do that, A big part of that,
is to be able to hire the right
teachers and the writers and the right staff
to make these programs happen.
It takes a lot of dedicated folks, a
lot of planning, a lot of, you know,
coordination
to make these classes happen and to to
to to make these these programs happen almost
year round.
Our current program our current classes run about
10 to 11 months per year.
The navigators program also runs pretty much throughout
the entire school year,
you know and and when these programs run
you get you know some mashallah some amazing
and beautiful benefits if you look at the
picture in the bottom right that's Kari Ahmed
there with us presenting a certificate to one
of the students that graduated from our hips
program
and there's very, very no. There's a lot
of much and very beautiful and and heartwarming
stories that come out of these programs. A
lot of the youth and a lot of
the students that are in these programs build
a real attachment and a rapport with the
teachers.
But in reality is is that most of
these programs are subsidized. So what that means
is is that we do charge for the
programs,
but on the back end, MCC does
support the programs with with subsidized funds. So
we take donations from the community,
and we we make these programs happen.
A lot of that is through is through
subsidized funds.
Another area that's heavily subsidized at MCC is,
a lot of the services that we provide.
There are a lot of services that we
provide at MCC to the broader community, to
folks that have
all different sorts of needs.
Folks are in all different sorts of situations,
when they had need a place to go
to, when they need a number to call,
when they need help with a specific matter,
a delicate matter, can even be something like
a burial. We have somebody at MCCU who's
a staff member whose responsibility is to
help community members go through the step when
a loved one passes away.
Again, those are all those are all staff
members and and and folks that we have
to take our operation funds and and and
staff MCC with in order to be able
to do things like that. One of the
very interesting things and very amazing things
that we've been able to do in the
past couple
couple of months, past few months, actually, but
past couple months very actively is our food
pantry.
Anybody that's been involved with the food pantry
has seen it kind of start from a
very small closet at MCC where we had
just a handful of boxes of food,
and we had folks from the community come
every once in a while to pick up
to the operation where we have today where,
I think most,
the the the large room in the back
area at MCC adjacent to the fire exit.
If you were to go at MCC, I
don't have a picture to show to share
with you in the slide, but I've been
there and I've seen it is is pretty
much full with food.
And we've been able to, in this Ramadan,
deliver food to over 700 families. So
to put together a program like that, to
be able to run a pantry like that
consistently
and, you know,
with professionalism.
Every weekend, we deliver food, and we allow
folks to come and pick up food at
MCC. We did that in the month of
Ramadan.
It takes a lot of coordination, a lot
of time, and a lot of effort. We
do have, a lot of volunteers with help
that help us with this, and we're very
grateful to all of them, especially a lot
of folks have stepped up during this time
of need and helped us with the pantry
program.
But, again,
it needs a higher level of coordination up
front, and we can only do that with
with with paid staff. And there's many, many
other programs that
some of the most of the community members
don't take advantage of, but they are there,
and they're very important. We have our youth
counseling sessions, spiritual counseling sessions where Sheikh Rami
that youth can sign up for. I mentioned
the burial assistance.
We also do a variety of community programs.
Sometimes you've you've you've you've might have seen
in the MCC newsletter, interfaith programs. MCC is
also a voting site, and then in the
past election, we we were a voting site.
So there's many things that we do at
MCC
that require
constant staffing, constant effort,
and we can only do that by by
supporting that from our operations side.
On the flip side, the perhaps the most
popular
and attended programs are MCC that you might
be familiar with are lectures
or workshops or events.
We've hosted many
local scholars that live in this area at
MCC.
We've also hosted quite a few international scholars
that come to MCC.
To be able to keep hosting in these
events, we have to invest in them. And
the investment that we've made in these events
in the past has again come through our
operation sun.
Sometimes we get questions from the community. Well,
you know, why why do we need to
invest in these events? You know, these events
have a charge associated with them.
But, again,
after the event takes place, when we crunch
up the numbers, most of the time, the
vast, vast majority of time, the events don't
break even don't break even. We're not, quote,
unquote, making a profit on these programs.
We have to invest in them. We have
we do take some funds from the community
for registration for the events, but we also
have to put in a good chunk of
funds from our operations funds in order to
be able to hold these events.
Indirectly, I think it is important to know
when you're support by coming to these events,
coming to the lectures, coming to the events,
We not only supported MCC, our community, but
you're also supporting some of these scholars that
come to MCC.
Lastly,
I don't wanna take too much of your
time, but at the backbone of it all,
last but not least, is the building itself
and the associated date of the expenses.
Everything that we've talked about up to now
requires that the building be run professionally, and,
you know, we again, we have staff at
MCC that do a great job of making
sure that our building is run professionally.
You see there on the slide and a
little sticky note on the slide, some of
our typical expenses. I mean, our expenses are
upwards. These are just day to day expenses,
you know, things that we can't get away
from, utilities, HOA fees, cleaning, landscaping.
We've tried as much as we can to
cut down some of those costs,
but it's some of those costs never go
away. I know. Good luck to us or
to anybody trying to not pay property taxes.
It's something it's or HOA fees. It's something
that's not gonna happen for us. Right? There's
literally no way around some of these
expenses. And that's why, we're coming to you
today with with an urgent need.
The need is urgent for us because like
many of them, Sajid, in the Bay Area,
we have seen a steadily and very, very
sharp decline in donations to our operations fund.
Most of the donations that we got for
the operations funds were walk up donations, folks,
or on the spot donations, folks that come
to Jumah or come to MCC,
drop off a check, or use one of
the terminals there, the the credit card swipe
terminals at MCC to to place a donation,
put some money in the drop box.
Little by little, that added up to quite
a significant amount of money that helped us
to every month keep going with our operations
funds and replenish our operations funds, and, unfortunately,
that's not there anymore.
To add to that,
our tenant, the school next door, who we
collect rent from every month, has been severely
impacted by the shelter in place order and
by the lockdown.
They are a they are a not only
a school, but also a day care facility.
They're a Montessori school, so they also have
classes under kindergarten,
and they haven't been operating for a while.
And I can tell you that, you know,
we felt that. We've seen that reflect in
the in the rent that we get from
them. So not only have our donations significantly
declined,
but also we're not getting income from the
folks next door, from our our our tenants.
And only Allah knows how long this is
going to continue.
You know, I think
folks that have watched the news have tried
to keep up with the news a little
bit just so I know what's going on.
Most of the time when I see coverage
about religious institutions, they mention that these religious
institutions are classified under stage 3, and stage
3 will happen in, you know,
Lord, and only Allah knows how many months.
So we might be in this situation for
quite a few months, so that's why we're
coming through today because we have an urgent
need
to raise a $125,000
this Ramadan.
What are we planning to do with some
of that money? That's a lot of money.
What we're planning to do with that money
and do is is do a lot of
planning and a lot of budgeting to make
sure that all the funds that we collect
in Ramadan
are used equally and evenly as needed throughout
the year. We're trying to build a buffer.
We're trying to keep our programs, our classes,
our services,
trying to keep the building running
by doing some planning, allocating some funds throughout
the month so we can keep going.
I'm coming up on a 10 minute mark,
so I'm gonna I'm gonna end quickly and
turn it over to Nam Tahir in a
second.
How can you donate? The easiest way that
you can donate is go to mcceastbay.org/donate.
Some folks ask us, is it safe to
donate? We don't even we don't even run
the donation website, to be quite honest with
you. It's run by a payment processor called
Forte. It's one of the most well known
and secure payment process that are out there.
When you put your credit card on the
MCC website, nobody actually sees it. You don't
have access to it. You can feel secure.
You can, you know, feel safe and secure
that you can go to the MCC website
and donate. If you have other means of
donation, if you'd like to donate stocks or
assets like a car or you wanna make
some sort of alternate donation
alternate
arrangement for regulation, you can use our pledge
form that you can find at mcceastbay.org./pledge.
One last thing for everyone in the call,
if you can, please try to contribute as
you've contributed to us in the past.
And if
things are tough and you you find you
can't able to contribute, like, you can contribute
in the past, we humbly ask that for
every family that's watching, if you can contribute
$250,
that would be great. But, again, that's not
really our starting point. We're hoping to get
folks to to contribute and help us meet
that $125,000.
So with that,
I will turn it over to Inim Tahir,
Inshallah.
Once again, salaam alaykum warahmatullah.
It's,
it's it's a pleasure, being in all of
yours company by the father of Allah
I am, reminded
time and again by friends when I do
my tafsir, oh, we see you every day.
And I said, well, it's beautiful that you
get to see me, but, I unfortunately do
not see you. I,
staring into a little camera, into a little
hole.
But I see all of you with my
heart,
as I am being reminded that I'm speaking
to the MCC community. Honestly,
the image the image that comes, to my
mind and to my heart
is that of me,
walking into the masjid,
in Ramadan,
a little before Salatul Isha.
And for those of you that may recall,
and when I would come there, I used
to have this little spot on the right
hand side on in the second or third
row in the corner,
and I'd just sit there and then to
my left I'd see the people,
coming into,
the masjid
and, filling,
the masjid until salatul Isha,
would begin and salatul tarawi would, you know,
happen after that.
Again, we're being reminded,
you know, our dear sister, Homaira,
reminded us a little while ago, brother Shahid
reminded us a few moments ago, the reality
is that this Ramadan is very, very different.
For some, this Ramadan has been very challenging.
They've been alone.
They have been out of many, many supplies.
And for others,
this Ramadan has been an amazing one. You
know, just being able to be able to
spend time with family,
making a thought at home every day, not
having to commute to work. Situation is different
for everyone.
But,
we are alive.
Life continues.
We remain in gratitude to Allah
for the iman that He has given to
us,
the shelter that we have,
and many of us in the Bay Area
who
have, tech jobs,
you know, we're working from home.
It's it's a blessing from Allah.
The houses of Allah
remain closed,
probably unprecedented
in history
that every masjid on this earth, for the
most part,
has not been able to open up to
full capacity.
It might have been you know, this might
have been the situation in a certain area,
in a certain country, in a certain region,
but in the entire world, probably unheard of.
But,
you know, our iman is in our heart.
We find Allah wherever we are. Right? Wherever
we are, we find Allah
We see Allah. Allah sees us wherever we
are. Our ibadah.
Right, the the earth has been made a
masjid for us, so wherever we are, we
are worshiping Allah
And the same rewards, brothers and sisters, the
same rewards that Allah has been giving to
us for attending the masjid regularly,
Insha'Allah,
He is giving to us for being at
home. Now with that said, brother Shahid so
beautifully reminded us,
that the programs at our masajid,
and MCC
specifically
continue.
And,
unlike some other masjids, MCC has actually been
very, very busy,
during the course of this month of Ramadan.
And
unlike many other masajid which, you know, started
a lot of online activities,
prior,
sorry, during Ramadan or after the shelter in
place, MCC happens to be one of those
communities that has that has been, you know,
ahead,
in, in terms of, you know, just everything,
comparatively
speaking, that, you know, they've had online programs
all the time.
Personally, many of you know I'm not comfortable
with online programs. And Munir,
may Allah bless him and reward him and
grant ease to his father,
Amin,
Munir would always, you know, when I'd walk
into MCC or when I'm when I'd go
to MCC and if he's not there, he
would specifically instruct, you know, the people that
he'd, you know, volunteers and say, well, when
Imam Tahir does his kudba, make sure the
recording is not on. He doesn't like to
be recorded. And then once every few months,
he'll kinda very nicely, Imam Tahir, are you
sure you don't wanna be recorded? There's people
who wanna you know? And and so this
was this was MCC. MCC has been recording.
MCC has been sharing life for so you
know, for well, well before all of this
had even begun. So MCC is I wouldn't
say light years ahead. That would be an
exaggeration, but
ahead of the curve in terms of other
institutions
and doing a lot of amazing things.
Brother Shahid reminded us, and it's no, you
know, it's, no secret
that,
during the month of Ramadan and at other
times, people generally walk into the Masjid. When
you walk into the Masjid, you're inclined to
drop a 20 in the box, a 100
in the box. You've had you know, you've
heard an announcement. You've heard a lecture. You
go to the mohid screens and drop in
500 or a1000.
Being in the Masjid,
the vibe is, of course, very different than
us being at home.
And so,
we're naturally, the Masjid is struggling.
And, you know, we were just reminded a
little while ago and myself earlier on a
phone call that the tenant next door has
not been able to, pay the full rent,
either. And and, you know, that may continue
for the next month or 2 or maybe
even longer. And so MCC, brothers and sisters,
is an institution that we call home.
Our children find
solace there. Our children's
Islam and Islamic identity will be built through
this institution.
So with that said,
and I want to begin and I don't
wanna take a lot of time because Imam
Zaid is waiting and he is going to
speak after me, Insha'Allah,
do we have our 1st donor or contributor
tonight
for $10,000?
I'm not I I'm not exactly sure how,
if you want to make a contribution, how,
you are going to share,
your contribution.
I I have a I have a point
person that will be telling me whether the
contributions are coming in or not. I'm assuming
they're making the donations online, brother Shahid, brother
Salman. Can you help me out with that?
That was one clarification that I missed,
and that's my fault. So my apologies.
But do I have our 1st
donor of $10,000
tonight? Yes. I am gonna be doing a
fundraising style.
This is how it works, and believe it
or not, it works.
Insha'Allah.
Insha'Allah. It
works. Now, of course, the onus is on
all of us to be as generous as
we can. Do we have our 1st contributor
tonight for $10,000? We need our first donor
tonight for $10,000. Allah
reminds us in the Quran,
Right? Those that have are are in the
front are always in the front. And if
if we are in the front, if we
are amongst those who are first, insha'Allah,
our du'a to Allah
is that may Allah
always make you amongst the first. May Allah
always make you amongst the first. You know,
there's an individual
who was just very recently sharing a story
with me, and he said that I would
go to all these fundraisers,
and I could only donate a $100, and
I'd see all these people raising their hands
at 5025.
And he goes, every time I go to
a fundraiser, I'd make dua to Allah and
say, you, Allah, I want to be one
of those people.
I want to be one of those people.
And and he said, subhanAllah, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala answered
my prayer, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made
me amongst those that gets to be one
of the first few, if not the first
ones, to raise their hands at a fundraiser.
And and it only came from a du'a.
So on this blessed day,
at the time of Iftar, insha'Allah, we make
du'a to Allah
that our first donor happens to be 1
our first few donors at $10,000
apiece, insha'Allah, happen to be ones who are
always the first at every,
fundraiser, insha'Allah, and that Allah returns their favor
back to them. I'm being reminded that, all
donations are being monitored.
I will let you know as soon as
the donation or pledge comes in.
Do we know where the pledges are going?
Is there a specific phone number or something
on a screen? I'm I'm assuming that happens
to be the case that I'm just not
able to see, but, I'm hoping that there's
a centralized place.
Pledges. Okay. Thank you.
Pledges please announce that pledges can be made
by going to mcceastbay.org/pledge.
So if you were to go
to mcceastbay.org,
masjidwebsite,
slash pledge, you can make a pledge there
or you can make a donation.
Do we have our first individual at $10,000
tonight, Insha'Allah?
We need our first individual
at $10,000.
Right? Allah
reminds us. Right? We we we are a
blessed community, Insha'Allah.
We are in a blessed time, in a
blessed place, and Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he
reminds us, and this was one of the
we do have 1. We have 1 takbir.
Say Allahu Akbar. Say Allahu Akbar, brothers and
sisters. We have 1, takbir. Allahu Akbar.
Reward that individual and that family who has
given. Do we have I'm gonna keep a
little count here myself. And I I I
I I apologize.
You know, this is kind of new to
me myself. I have my phone here. I
have my notes here. I've got my little
pencil here. I've got my camera camera here
and computer here, and I'm, you know, I'm
not used to doing this. I'm used to
seeing people, raise their hands. So we're I
I'm learning myself. Do we have our second
individual
at $10,000?
2nd individual at $10,000.
Allah
reminds us.
I was just sharing this in the tafsir
last night in my tafsir sessions that Allah
says that when you give something in the
path of Allah
the word caliph in Arabic means to be
right behind you, like right behind you. Literally,
as soon as you donate, it comes right
behind you. Do we have our second individual?
I don't wanna be spending a lot of
time here. I I need to move on.
Do we have a second individual at $10,000?
Okay. We have a second individual at $10,000.
Say
takbir. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Matiman fiqhan
Khalafa. Say a mean. Say a mean. Alhamdulillah.
We have our second individual
at $10,000.
Do we have our third
at $10,000?
Just bear with me for the sec for
a second. I'm, in the middle of sending
a message as well. Do we have our
3rd at $10,000?
You know, the Nabi,
reminds us that there are 10 promised paradise.
While all of the Sahaba inshallah will go
to paradise, there's 10 of them that the
Nabi
specifically mentioned
and said that these 10 will go to
paradise.
We are hoping that between our tens and
fives, we can get through our 10 and
then make a specific dua for these individuals
for them to go to paradise. Do we
have
a third individual
at $10,000?
Alright. I'm being reminded once again that please
go to mcceastbay.org/pledgetomakeapleg,
or go to mcceastbay.org
to make that donation and contribution
as well. Do we have our 3rd individual
at $10,000?
We need our 3rd individual, insha'Allah,
at $10,000.
Say Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Brothers and sisters, say
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Times are tough. I know
it's not easy. I know that it's it's
a difficult time, and we wanna make sure
that, you know, we wanna we we want
to do the right thing. Do we have
our 3rd individual
at $10,000? We need we need a third,
insha'Allah. We need a third individual. We need
one more individual.
Open your heart, brothers and sisters. You can
make it happen, insha'Allah.
Allah will reward you back in return.
Whosoever brings 1, Allah will give them, a
10 in return, and that's the bare minimum,
inshallah.
If there's a $100,000
payment that you have to make, if you
wanna make a $100,000
payment on your mortgage, if there's something you
wanna buy and it's close to a $100,000,
give that 10,000 for the sake of Allah
and for that 10,000,
right,
For that $10,000,
Allah
will bless you. Allah will bless you, and
that 100,000, that need of yours for a
100,000
will come through inshallah. I'm, again,
okay. I'm I'm being told go to /
donate for online donations,
and,
slash pledge is for stock donations,
mail in checks, and assets,
asset donations such as cars.
Okay. No we're by the way, please, we're
all learning through the process. Okay? No one's
at fault here. No one at no one's
at mistake here. We're all, learning through the
process.
Do we have I need a third individual.
Brothers and sisters, we have our Abu Bakr
tonight. We have our Uth Umar tonight. Do
we have our Uthman tonight?
Do we have our Uthman? I need one
more 10,000 before I move on to the
5. My time is running out, by the
way. I only have about 7 or 8
minutes left. So I really need your help.
Okay, Khair. Insha'Allah, we will make this a
little easy and move on. Do we have
our next do we have our first at
$5,000
Insha'Allah?
Please, please go online,
make that donation, make that payment,
and then we can, go from there Insha'Allah.
Do we have
that first $5,000
tonight Insha'Allah?
1st individual,
1st family at $5,000.
We need at least 2 or 3 individuals
if you can. Now, by the way, the
reason I'm moving on is because my time
masha'Allah, takbir. Allahu Akbar. Takbir.
Allahu Akbar. Takbir. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu
Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu
Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu
Akbar. Allahumati Munfiqan Khalifa. Say amen. I was
just told that we have our 3rd $10,000
We have our 3rd $10,000,
alhamdulillah.
We have a 3rd individual
at $10,000
Do we have a number 4 at $10,000?
Do we have a number 4 at
$10,000?
Right? Do we have a number 4 at
$10,000?
We have our Abu Bakr. We have our
Umar. We have our Uthman. We need our
Ali. We need our Ali. We make du'a
to Allah for the next individual who gives
us $10,000.
May Allah
make their home like that of Ali and
Fatima, radiAllahu anha. May they have harmony
like that of Ali and Fatima, radiAllahu anha.
May they have children,
the likes of Hassan al Hussein,
who served the Ummah and who did amazing
things for the Ummah and who were remembered
and who will be remembered until the end
of time, who were beloved to the Nabi
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. We need a 4th
individual. Brothers sisters, I'm sorry, but we need
a number 4 at $10,000.
We need our Ali tonight at $10,000. May
Allah make your family like that of Ali
and Fatima,
May that you know, we we make duach
to Allah
We need a number 4 at $10,000.
We can make it happen. Someone there can
make that make that pledge, make that contribution
of 10,000
because they want their home and their family
and their children to be successful and to
succeed with Allah
I know you're probably already making that contribution.
I'm going to move on. You're probably typing
in your credit card details, so please continue
to do so so that we can see
that pledge and we can see that contribution
come in. We move down to $5,000
Brothers and sisters, I don't want to spend
a lot of time here. Do we have
1 or 2 individuals at $5,000?
Can you please go ahead and go online?
Mcc.org/,
donate, was it? I can't remember. If you
go to the MCC's website and go to
the donate tab, you can make that contribution
there. We need a we need our first
first few individuals
at $5,000.
First few individuals
at $5,000.
Right? The masjid is only coming out to
you because it needs your help. Right? Generally,
the masjid doesn't come out to us for,
you know, for,
for funds to run the masjid. Right?
Normally, it's for other things. So, you know,
we're we're we're coming out to you so
that you can be as generous as possible
for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Takbir. Takbir. Say Takbir, brothers and sisters.
Say Ameen. Say Ameen. We have 2 pledges
for
$5,000. We have 2 pledges for $5,000.
Do we have one more, insha'Allah?
If we get one more, we'll get the
odd and then we will move on insha'Allah.
If we can get one more, I just
need to get one more text message that
says we have a third individual. By the
way, these tens and fives, we are still
within the category of the 10 promised paradise.
Allah
reminds us. In fact, this was what I
was just as I was reciting my Jews
a little while ago to my son,
Right? Allah this is Allah says whoever gives
a loan. Right?
For the sake of Allah
will multiply it for them multiple times. Right?
Allah, right, Allah wants a loan from us.
Right? This is this is Allah saying that,
you know, give me a loan and I'm
going to give you paradise in return. Right?
I'm gonna give you paradise in return. Right?
Right? Allah
will expand the risk for whomever he wants
and Abdullah will withhold it for whomever he
wants. We want Allah to expand his risk
for us. We want Allah
to expand his risk for us. We're reminded
to the hadith of the Nabi sallallahu alaihi
wasallam. Allah
says, spend and money will be spent on
you. Spend and money will be spent on
you. Do we have, insha'allah,
one more we need one more individual at
5,000. We're still waiting for that 10,000, by
the way. The the dua of Ali and
Fatima
for that 10,000. We're still waiting for that
10,000.
We have 25,000.
We're still waiting for 1 more 5,000 insha'allah.
I'm going to move on to the
$25100 mark. I know my time is running
out. If someone can send me a text
message and remind me and let me know
how much time I have, I'd appreciate it.
We, Insha'Allah,
are moving down to $25100.
We need a few individuals
at $25100.
Allah reminds us in the Quran.
Oh, people,
remember the blessings of Allah upon you.
Is there any creator
other than Allah
who gives risk
from the heavens and the earth? Is there
anyone but Allah? Is there anyone but Allah
that gives risk? Right? Is there anyone but
Allah that gives risk? I I'm I'm receiving
a text message that says we have a
matching $5,000
donation, which I'm gonna assume means that we
need one more 5,000 in order to get
that $5,000.
So we need one more $5,000
inshallah. We have 1. We need we still
need one more. We still need one more.
Allah
reminds us,
Right? It is shaitan who reminds us of
poverty
and towards lewdness,
right, towards fahash. Brothers and sisters, don't let
the shaitan speak to you. If you are
worried,
hey, if you are worried
that things are not gonna work out, that
you may lose your job, this tonight is
your security.
Tonight's security is for the sake of our
children. How many a times do I get
to come to Sunday school and the masjid
is full? I mean, that's the life of
the masjid. Your children and my children regularly
at MCC learning, not just learning Islam,
but living Islam.
This is their identity.
You know, I was telling my children, and
I've shared this story before, a few not
too long ago once I was leaving the
masjid,
after Salatul Jumu'ah, and I was telling my
children that you have no idea,
you know, what a role, what a great
role this masjid has played in your life
and continues to play in your life. And
the amazing khatibs that show up week after
week. Right? And that costs the masjid money,
by the way, the amazing khatibs that show
up at our mosques week after week. My
children
get to go to the MCC
for the chutba, and they get to listen
to a chutba given by a renowned
scholar, a national internationally
renowned scholar who has il, who has piety,
who speaks to them in a language that
they understand, who speaks to them in an
accent that they understand, who uses,
you know,
phrases and who uses examples that my children
can understand. Do you know what that means?
That means that, insha'Allah, my children and your
children are gonna be Muslim for life. What's
the price for that, brothers and sisters? What's
the price for that? I was telling my
children that you don't you will you won't
appreciate for a very long time what this
means. You won't appreciate this, but someday you
will because I look back at the masjid
and the masjids that I grew up in,
the community that I grew up in, and
what a positive impact those mosques have made
in my life. Right? Those mosques and those
communities and those people have made in my
life. Do we have anyone at
$25100? It is kind of difficult. I'm not
able to see the donations come in. So,
if you are making those donations, please, please
continue to go online and make those donations.
Allah says, we haven't attained any goodness until
we spend out of fact which we love.
Right? Give. You know, I was talking
I'll I'll share 2 examples, and then I'm
going to move on. And if someone from
MCC can text me and remind me how
much time I have left, I'd appreciate it.
I was talking to a brother,
last,
a I can't remember. In this last week.
It was Monday or Tuesday evening.
And,
I happened to run into him somewhere.
And, he has a very small start up,
and may Allah reward and bless him in
his start up.
I asked him. I said and and he
happens to be in a service related business,
and, times were tough. In fact, it's so
tough that there was, you know, talk of
maybe even,
you know, not shut down, but just the
the start up not doing too well. And
so I asked him, I said, even how
are things? You know, just as a conversation.
And he said, you wouldn't believe it, but
because of COVID, our business has doubled. And,
you know, I just sat there
just gobsmacked.
Like,
Allah
gives risk, brothers and sisters.
And when there's people struggling during COVID for
risk, but Allah says,
if I want to give someone double their
risk during COVID, I can do that. That's
my job. That's my domain.
Right? That's my domain from Allah subhanahu wa'ala.
That's my domain, Allah subhanahu wa'ala.
I was talking to someone else, and this
was just 2 days ago, 3 days ago,
on Friday, I think. And he said, you
know what? I'm sitting at home, and I'm
making more money sitting at home than I
do when I go outside because because because
he goes, I'm more focused.
Right? I'm more focused.
And I'm like, subhanallah. He goes, you know
what?
And this is him telling me this. He
goes, this is when you learn that it
is Allah's
job to give risk.
It's our job to make an effort, but
Allah doesn't need for us to run around
to give us risk. Allah can give it
to us in any which way possible.
And so put our trust in Allah
Put our trust in Allah
Do we have anyone at $25100
Brothers and sisters, you know, if there's
one thing that I'm feeling,
really, really, okay, jazakallahu alaihi. I was told
10 minutes. Okay.
If there's one thing that I'm just really,
really saddened about,
and and honestly, it it pains me.
Usually,
when,
usually, when Asif Pai texts me or Parvez
Pai,
They text me and say,
we want you to
raise funds today for a bathroom project.
You know what that means. Right?
That means I'm coming to the mosque.
I'm coming to the mosque,
and I get to see all of your
faces.
I get to see my beautiful brothers and
sisters.
I get to see my alfrani uncles. You
know the place where I sit at the
mosque in MCC for Isha? There's a few
alfrani uncles around me. You know, they probably
don't even think I remember them. But if
you're watching this or if you're if you're
the child of one of those al Qurani
uncles or grandchild, tell them you remember them.
You know, they sit there,
and I'm reciting my Quran and Islam each
other. And they lay out their shawls and
ramals, and
I get up after Isha,
and I talk to people. Right? I talk
to people.
I get to see your faces. And believe
it or not, brothers and sisters, you know
what's really, really painful in all of this?
I am sitting in an empty room at
home with a camera in front of me,
and that hurts
because that's not how I envisioned
how things would happen. I'm grateful. Don't get
me wrong.
But I'm sitting in an empty room. I'm
literally in an empty room right now. There's
a laptop up here, and there's a camera
here.
I'm staring into a camera,
like I'm literally speaking to an empty room
right now. Of course, there's angels here from
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
And I wouldn't be here right now if
our masjid didn't need us. Brothers and sisters,
I need everyone that happens to be online
right now
to go and make at least a $1,000
donation.
I want
I want you to go. You know, if
you have been able if you if you
are still able to make that $10,000
donation, please make that donation.
If you're able to make that $5,000
donation, make that $5,000
donation with the intention
that may you and your family and your
children never be deprived of the house of
Allah If
you're able to make a $25100
donation,
please make a $25100
donation. But right now, I am specifically
asking
for all of us, every single one of
us, despite it being a tad bit difficult
to go online and make a $1,000 donation.
Right? We to make a $1,000 donation. Just,
you know, just whatever it is, put your
trust in Allah
Put your trust in
Allah You know? I I have a text
saved, and I'm not gonna share it.
I'm sorry for being emotional. It's not easy.
I'm not I'm not used to doing this.
Ramesh Bhai just texted me and said, we
are with you. I know you are. All
of you are with me. I know you're
all with me. But it's just weird. I'm
sorry to put it like that. It's just
weird speaking to an empty room. You know?
That's not that's not the message for me.
That's not Islam for me. That's not my
community.
I I just want, you know, I I
want you know, I have a text message
saved somewhere, and I'm not gonna go look
for it, but it's from MCC.
I made I made a fundraiser donate announcement
last year at MCC,
And, you know, a young man made a
contribution, and he sent me this lengthy text
of how Allah
rewarded him within days. This was a student,
by the way. And if you can't make
a $1,000 donation, please make a $500
donation.
Right? Please make a $500 donation. Whatever it
is that you can, we want you to
make that donation. Just bear with me one
second because I have a question, and I
need to ask this question.
I just need to make sure that before
I announce the number that we've raised so
far,
we, we are,
we have the right numbers inshallah. May Allah,
bless you and reward you, And, may Allah,
bless, you know, bless all of us, Insha'Allah,
bless all of us. If you can make
a $1,000 donation, please make a $1,000 donation.
If you're a I know MCC is asking
for every family to make a $250
contribution, brothers and sisters.
Please, at the very least,
generally, I will say give whatever you can
and please do that too. But if you
can,
please, at the very least, if you are
a family that benefits from MCC,
please make a $250,
donation.
With some of the pledges that we have
received so far and with all the numbers
accumulated so far, I'm being told that we
are close to we are just just a
little north of $53,000
raised so far. Takbir.
Say Takbir in your home. Say Takbir with
your families.
Right? Everyone
that has given until now, may Allah
bless them, and may Allah
reward them. Right? May Allah
bless them, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
reward them. It's not easy. I know it's
not easy. And, you know, when we're I'm
sure that there's so many people that are
not attending this online event right now because
it's a fundraiser.
A lot of times, you know, at the
Masjid, on a lighter note, if I may,
at the masjid,
you know, you're almost forced you're there for
taraweeh, so we get you whether you like
it or not. And,
you know, we we speak to you,
and you are generous, no doubt. And even
though you don't wanna be there in that
fundraiser and you don't wanna be seated there,
you're waiting for Qari Amr to begin his
beautiful recitation in salatul salawih,
but because you're so generous and you're so
beautiful, you still give. But sometimes, you know,
when you're specifically being told that this online
event tonight is a fundraiser, you're like, well,
I'm not gonna attend that. And so for
those of you that are attending, may Allah
double and triple and quadruple your rewards simply
for attending. And for those of us that
have been able to give whatever,
we have been able to give until now,
may Allah,
bless us, and may Allah
reward us. You know, with with sadaqah, the
Nabi sallallahu alaihi wasallam reminds us that when
we give sadaqah, Allah,
removes difficulties.
When we give sadaqa, Allah
protects
us. Right? When we give in the way
of Allah Subhanahu and this is the masjid
brothers and sisters, this is the house of
Allah.
If you if anyone is able to give
to the house of Allah
that's not you doing Allah a favor. That's
Allah doing us a favor
by choosing us to give. And the more
we can give, the more Allah
rewards us. Right? Allah says,
Alright. Allah is reminding, it is Allah who
has done you a favor.
That Allah guided you to Islam.
Right? This is if we're able to give,
that's Allah's favor unto us. Right? So please,
I urge every single one of you to
be as generous as possible.
I I know and I apologize to Imam
Zaid. I have cut into his time. I'm
going to stop there, Insha'Allah.
You know, all of you all of you
are are very, very generous. If, by the
way,
if, by the way, you are you haven't
you have not given,
you have not been able to give, you're
not in a position to give. When you
happen to,
be in a position to give, please give
for the sake of Allah
to the masjid. I urge all of you,
to reach out to a few friends and
remind them and let them know that you
gave to MCC this evening and that MCC,
for the first time in a very long
time, is specifically asking for operations funds.
And so please, that, you know, that, you
know, please give to the operations funds. If
in the next few days, in the next
few weeks, and even in the next few
months,
Allah blesses you with a little more wealth,
then please give to the MCC operation funds.
If you wake up one morning and you
decide that it's been a good day and
you wanna give something in gratitude to Allah
or that you have some need and you
want to give sadaqah in advance, please keep
MCC,
our beloved Masjid's operations funds, in your mind,
and please contribute and continue
to contribute towards that. Because when,
you know, we have expenses now,
but when our doors will open, Insha'Allah,
very, very soon,
we will be attending
a beautiful masjid like it has always been,
and, we will continue to reap the blessings
from Allah
May these days and nights be blessed for
all of you and your families.
May Allah grant us his afoot, his forgiveness,
and may Allah
grant us all halal risk,
increased risk, barakah in our risk. May Allah
grant us good health. May Allah grant us
alfia and well-being.
And may Allah
keep us happy,
smiling,
and content
at all times.
Oh, and I apologize.
I, I'm I'm completely
forgot. I was supposed to, when I closed,
ask Imam Zaid,
to join us
and,
speak to us.
Imam Zaid,
we love you.
We miss you dearly. Imam Zaid, for those
of you that don't know and those of
you that do know, is out on the
East Coast with family. He's been there for
a little while. He will be returning soon,
insha'Allah. So, Imam Zaid,
we ask you and I personally ask you
to keep us
in your duas, in your prayers. We love
you. We miss you, and we hope you
can be back with us in our community,
soon and sooner, Insha'Allah. Jazakamullah kayr with us
and imam
Ramadan Mubarak. Won't be able to say that
too much longer,
but may you have a blessed Ramadan.
And may the end of it be sealed
with musk. We greet Imam Tahir
and it's always a pleasure to be with
Imam Tawhir even virtually.
But the virtual is only our bodies, the
hearts are
actually
in touch with each other.
So the the spirits are
arranged hosts
and that was before we came into this
physical world. So the spirits have their own
ways of communicating
directly
without the need for any sort of virtual
means
in between.
Alhamdulillah,
MCC,
as you know, is the people's masjid
and
it's a very
beloved institution, beloved to my heart. I'm sure
beloved.
As obviously
to Imam Taira's heart, he
shared a few anecdotes
that clearly indicate that it's beloved to the
hearts of everyone who's joining us.
And MCC
is
doing all sorts of work. And not just
there in Pleasanton, the reach of MCC
extends
throughout the Bay Area and beyond. It certainly
extends into Oakland via the various collaborations
that have occurred with the Lighthouse Moss, be
that in Saket Distribution,
be that in
supporting
very generously the, thrift store that the Lighthouse
was running
for a little while, and in many other
tangible and intangible
ways.
I think it's very important for us to
and I'm not going to say anything
until I encourage you to spin some more.
As Imam Taher said, the risk doesn't come
from the economy. The economy in reality
is just an illusion. This is one thing
the coronavirus
showed us, you know. Some of our people,
we won't say who,
were boasting
as late as February.
We have the greatest economy in human history
And the greatest economy in human history was
undone in 2 weeks
by something so small you can't even see
it.
And so, it's it's an illusion.
An illusion of strength.
The reality of the human and the human
condition
is given clearly
to Allah,
by Allah
and and we just mentioned 2 verses, the
many verses
in the Quran.
The human has been created weak.
We are weak. Our systems are weak.
Our economics
are weak. Our politics are weak.
Look how quickly this this country is sliding
into authoritarianism.
Look at the divisions in this country. Look
at the racial divides. On the one hand,
a couple of white guys can
stalk down a black jogger
with a t shirt and
and and short pants on, in broad daylight,
say, it's a murder,
like, no backpack to put the proper stolen
property in,
no crowbars to get into the house, just
a t shirt in short, shoot him in
cold blood and spend 2 months uncharged.
On the other hand, a white mob can
walk into the Michigan
State Capitol with swastikas
and assault rifles rifles
and nothing happens. Now reverse that.
Have have a couple black guys
armed with a shotgun
and a 57357
magnum
magnum
chase down a white jogger in broad daylight
and shoot the the the guy, what's gonna
happen to those black guys? They're gonna walk
around for 2 months
with no charges? They're gonna put them under
the jail day 1 and get a black
mob
or even a Arab mob, or Pakistani
mob
with nice beards, like Imam Tahir's beards,
and get a bunch of assault rifles,
and go into any state capitol,
and threaten
the governor,
what do you think is gonna happen?
They're not gonna, read them their second amendment
rights, I can guarantee you.
But look how it's unraveling.
But Allah is Al Aqawi.
Allah is Al Aqawi. Allah is Al Aqawi.
Allah is Al
Aziz.
Allah is Al Mutakadbir.
Allah is Al Jabbar, Allah is Al Qahhar.
This is this is the reality. So Allah
says the humans created weak
and anything we do is weak.
In reality,
even if it portrays the illusion of strength.
And Allah tells
us not the Muslims, all of humanity.
And tumulfuqara'uillallahi
wala
haniyilhamid.
You are all in desperate need of Allah
and the Allah is free of all need,
worthy of all praise.
That's the reality of our condition. So the
economy
doesn't give you wealth. Allah
gives you wealth.
And Allah
withholds the wealth from whomsoever he pleases.
As Imam Tahir said,
some people are making money hand over fist
in this in this,
coronavirus.
Everyone's wishing they would have bought 3 m
stock. 3 m makes the n 95 masks.
They wish they bought 3 m stock,
like, 3 months ago. Like, why did I
buy 3 m stock?
SubhanAllah.
3 if you if you if you you
have some 3 m stock, your stock is
probably quadrupled.
Allah Allah gives the risk to whomsoever he
please, and he withdraws the risk from whom
I to whomsoever he please. And he says
in a hadith
Spend, oh child of Adam, I will spend
on you. Spend,
oh child of Adam, I will spend on
you.
So our our receiving our risk is conditional
on our continuing to spend.
So you if everyone out there has some
sort of cash flow, they've already given a
lot of those checks and all of your
tax filers. So most of you got a
check
for for, what, $1500
or $1200
and $500
for every child. Give some of that to
MCC, and Allah will continue to give you.
Spend, oh child of Adam, I will spend
on you.
I will spend on you.
And this is Ramadan,
when the prophet
was
exceptionally
generous.
Quran
He was more generous
in Ramadan
when Jibril came to review view the Quran
with him than the free flowing
This is a great opportunity
to get close to Allah
Don't look at
social isolation
as a bad thing.
Look at social isolation
as an opportunity
for
divine intimacy.
The great
sage and scholar, Ibn 'A'la,
in
one of his aphorisms, he said,
Nothing benefits
the heart
like isolation
that enters
the person
along
that enters the person into the realms of
reflection.
So we have a lot of time to
think,
but that reflection should be about Allah,
about the favors of Allah,
about the the
the uncertainty and trials and tribulations of this
world that we will
inevitably
encounter.
This is the dunya.
This is the abode of trials and tribulations.
This is what it is, brothers and sisters.
Don't be surprised by it.
We've just been spoiled.
Humanity's been spoiled. The last time something like
this happened, which was much much worse, was
a century ago, the 1918
so called Spanish flu. So called because it
started here. And our soldiers brought it to
Europe. And then it was derogatorily
attributed
to Spain.
Anyway,
26,000,000
dead.
Coronavirus,
as of right now, quarter million dead.
That's a quarter million too many.
But compare a quarter million to 26
million.
Now before that, the the black plague of
several centuries, many centuries ago, but in recorded
history,
and devastating the heartland of the Muslim world.
200,000,000
dead. Think about that. 200,000,000
dead. Over half of the earth's population
at the time.
Over half of the earth's population
at the time.
Wiped out.
This is the reality. As most of them
know that,
the the plague of Justinian,
50,000,000 dead. Again, at that time, a large
percentage of the world's population
gone, and the vestiges of that plague
afflicted the Muslims. So you had Taun al
Amwas
Amwas, excuse me, Taun al Amwas
that took the likes of Muad ibn Jabal,
Ubayd bin Jarrah,
and Sharajeel,
and many other of the luminaries of the
companions in present day
Palestine
or,
present day Jordan, the Jordan River Valley.
So this is this is the reality.
This is the reality of the human condition.
We need Allah.
We need Allah, brothers and sisters, whether there's
plague,
whether there's
pestilence, whether there's good times, bad times. We
need Allah more in the good times
than we do in the bad times. Or
we should be turning to Allah excuse me.
We should be turning to Allah more in
the good times than we do in the
bad times. Why? What does Allah say?
Introduce yourself to Allah during the good times,
the easy times. He will know you during
the difficult times.
So the easy times were the times we
should have been we should have been getting
to know Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Introducing our
self. And you introduce yourself through your prayer,
through your fasting,
through
your awrad and your afkar, your supplication, your
invocations.
This is how we introduce ourselves
to our lord. And he already knows
us. But it's for our benefit.
It's for our benefit.
May Allah give us tawfiq. May Allah bless
us to carry the lessons of Ramadan
through the year. And they how do we
do that? By continuing to do the things
we were doing in Ramadan.
Continuing to pray Qiyamalal
or Tahajjud.
Continuing to read our Quran.
Continuing to fast, not continuously
that might be a burden,
but Mondays Tuesdays, the white days, the 3
white full moon days.
So continuing the good practices. As they say,
there's nothing to it
but to do it.
Islam is a beautiful religion, brothers and sisters.
One of the beauties
is that it allows us
to
deviate from our normal pattern but still know
that we're following the prophetic guidance. That's beautiful.
So we have a precedent for not praying
in the Masjid. During the times of heavy
heavy rain, the prophet
he had Mu'addin tell the people, saloofi biyutikun.
And ibn Abbas after him
gave the same order to the Mu'addin in
his time. And when questioned, he said one
better than me who preceded me gave this
order. Pray in your houses
so you don't get muddy and and cold
and you get sick
from the being drenched and soaked in this
heavy rain.
We have the precedent of Tarawi being scattered
many different Jamats.
Before Umar gathered the people
behind Ubay bin Ubayi
bin Kab,
There's a precedent there. It's not the norm,
but these are not normal
times. We have Imam Tawhid said something in
another context, but it's very beautiful. If you
ponder on it,
the whole earth has been made a masjid
for the ummah Muhammad
We can pray anywhere,
and we're in the Masjid.
The entire Earth has been made a Masjid
for the Ummah of Muhammad
So we can pray anywhere and we'll be
in the Masjid.
This is the this is from the beauty
of Islam. This is from the flexibility
of Islam. And we're not comfortable a lot
of times. We're used to the norm.
But getting out of our comfort zone is
one of the great means
and to encourage spiritual growth.
As the scholars of spiritual training say,
To oppose what your soul inclines towards is
the essence of its treatment.
As we get comfortable, go to the Masjid.
It's more social than religion.
We get there. We hang out with the
fellas before Salat. We're having iftar. It's a
it's a big social gathering.
And and the the imam has to break
up the conversations and get us in a
mind,
in a frame of mind to pray.
Just chit chatting, catching up,
chomping down,
masha'allah.
And we get comfortable with that. Then after
the prayer, we're in the parking lot for
another half an hour
chit chatting
after wearing the masjid. And there there's nothing
wrong with that.
My point is, we get used to that
and we get comfortable with that. And when
something comes that disrupts that, it provides us
an opportunity for spiritual growth. Because our and
our become accustomed to something, and they don't
want us to leave it.
But in leaving it,
we
subordinate them.
And this brings our deeper spiritual powers to
the fore.
This is a beautiful thing. This is our
religion.
There's a silver line in every storm cloud
that may darken the sky of Islam
temporarily.
We just look for that silver lining.
Lord, alhamdulillah.
Allah bless all of you. Give you tofik,
give you taysir, give you kabul.
So again, there's nothing too about to do.
Just do the good things you are doing
and try to find someone to do them
with.
Even if it's virtual, just call up. You
know, it's time for
our weird latif that we were doing in
Ramadan and we committed to do it after.
Did you read your * today?
You know,
start a a club like some of the
sisters. Beautiful practice. They finish their Quran every
month. They'll cut them off Quran, then they
read duas. And usually, they write out the
duas so it's a very
specific duas they don't forget. And they they
pray for the people
that ask them for duas.
This and they do this every month.
Every month. And so we need brothers to
start a group like that. We need the
youth to start a group like that. This
is where the good comes from. This these
are the
foundations of good.
Good good is built on a platform, on
a foundation, and these
acts of righteous, pious people
provide that platform. May Allah give us Tawfiq.
May Allah give us Kabul.
May Allah elevate our station. May Allah elevate
your station. May Allah
bless all of the wonderful people working to
make this program possible. May Allah bless all
of the MCC, the board, the teachers, the
staff, the administrative personnel. Wonderful, wonderful people deserving
of your support.
Deserving of your support.
So brothers and sisters, again, I'll end as
I started encouraging you to spin.
Spend, oh, child of Adam.
I will spend on you.
Ramadan and
to all of you who joined
our Ramadan fundraising
event today.
May Allah put barakah in your rebadas. May
Allah increase you in your risk. I am
especially, especially thankful
to Imam Zay Sharqir for leading us in
a beautiful dua and Imam Tahir Anwar who
who showed us that we might be in
quarantine and we might not be able to
visit our mosques, but Allah's
whole earth is our worshiping and gathering place,
and we continue to take his name and
we continue to pray for
for all of us together again at MCC
or at our places of worship. May Allah
increase our teachers, our scholars,
and con and continue to bless us to
be in their company. Amin,
I just wanted to give you a short
update that so far we have raised $64,750,
which
to all of you. May Allah
bless you for,
donating online. But please do continue to spread
the word. Continue to
give as much as you can. Even if
it's a small amount, do not shy away
from it, and
ask your friends, your family members, your community
members to donate because
without your support,
MCC will not be able to do what
it is known to to do, provide you
all these wonderful scholars
and provide
provide assistance to those who
need assistance in their times of need. May
Allah be with you. I bless I wish
you and I pray for you for a
blessed the last few nights of Ramadan.