text: Islamic Children Studies: Do You Have A Mosque?
  Do You Have A Mosque?
  ASALATU WASALAMU ALAYKA YA RASULLALLAH Sallallaahu 'alayhi WA Salaam
  Dawa starts at the Mosque
  Dawa to Muslims and non-Muslims is a necessity and a tool of survival.
  Dawa starts at the Mosque. (I mean you hear it at your Mosque first, and then we take to our entire homes i.e. tell our families what the Imam said.
  The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam said:
  "...The whole Earth has been made a mosque and pure for me" [Bukhari].
  Do we need more Mosque and Dawa centers? Or should we clean what we got.
  Open a Dawa Center near you.
  Islam is growing and now there are over 2,000 Mosques in UK.
  But, is it the number of Muslims or the number of Mosques which reflects the true parameters in the strength of Islam?
  Unless we build a community around the mosque to support and maintain the Mosque
  And strengthen the community; the mosque itself will not protect the community.
  Building a mosque is a prophetic and Islamic tradition of Muslim Communities.
  One of the first things that the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) did when he entered Medina was to build a mosque, after the mosque of Quba.
  O.K. we have built beauty full Mosques. The question I'm asking is what the community has benefited from it? What the young generations have gained from it? What kind of Dawa the mosque gives? Is it in English? Do you understand Jummah (Friday khutba).Do you like your Mosque? What about your children?
  Big question is what about British Muslims born here? There is no Dawa given from Mosque to non Muslims.
  "Only those shall maintain the mosques of Allah who believe in Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD)
  And the last day, establish regular prayer and practice regular charity and fear none (at all) except God. It is they who are expected to be on true guidance." (9:18)
  Since the main function of the Masjid committees will be to maintain the mosque,
  it is clear that its members should fulfill the three conditions mentioned in the above verse, i.e.
  1) Belief in Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD) and the hereafter
  2) Practice of regular prayer and regular charity
  3) Fearing none but Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD)
  Let me explain these conditions in some detail and see how you can recognize those who fulfill them.
  After reading this explanation, many will probably feel that there is hardly anyone in their community who fulfils the above conditions in their entirety.
  But while this is most likely the case, we should not make it a reason to ignore the Quranic guidance.
  If we cannot find brothers and sisters who fulfill the above conditions in their entirety, we should nominate and elect those who come closest to doing so.
  Those who fulfill the first condition mentioned in the Quranic verse are not primarily motivated by the desire to gain importance or power in the community or by any other similar worldly desire. They engage in Islamic work for the pleasure of Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD)
  (I.e. no pleasure of anything that is not Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD)
  , Only for the pleasure of Allah SWT, Jannah (eternal bliss) in the hereafter and not for their inner satisfaction in this life only.
  A sign of such people is that they will not go after projects whose main attraction is a glamour value, e.g.
  "By Building a mosque whether or not it is the most needed project, only in order to be able to say to the community: "look! We, too, have built a mosque".
  Those who have genuine faith in Almighty Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'aala (GOD)
  And the hereafter will not concentrate on projects whose results can be seen quickly and in tangible form.
  They will go, rather, for the projects that the community really needs.
  More than half the British Muslim population is aged fewer than 25, and more than half of all British Muslims were born here.
  Although mosque attendance amongst young Muslims in Britain is still relatively low, it's on the increase. In the face of this growing demand, there is a real need to develop the kind of mosque that sits comfortably within a democratic, secular, multi-faith Britain and which reflects the greater ownership young Muslims should feel over their local communities and country.
  British-born and British-educated Muslims should take the lead on developing this. Imams are employees of the mosque and they are recruited and controlled by management committees, which are largely dominated by first-generation elders. Mosque religious leadership cannot be addressed without rethinking this. A whole wealth of ideas, energy and experience exists out there, particularly among women and young people, and these needs to be harnessed into reinvigorating mosque life.
  Friday prayer sermons are mostly conducted in a language other than English; it is only the better-resourced mosques that can afford an imam who is proficient in English. Highly mobile though our society is, why should British-born Muslims who feel most comfortable speaking English, converts, or even someone like me who would just like to know more, have to travel outside their communities to larger urban centers for access to religious guidance, when one of Britain's 1,200—1,600 mosques may well be on their doorstep? Young Muslim women suffer two-fold; many mosques, including some of the largest ones in Britain, have inadequate prayer facilities for women at best, or no facilities at all.
  Imams must balance the needs of all members of their congregation, of varying ages and both genders. An imam's role already often extends beyond leading prayers to religious and counseling services, teaching in supplementary schools (madras's) and leading study circles for young people. In short: a highly engaged, more pastoral role than is traditionally performed in the Indian subcontinent. In Britain, imams need to be able to understand and actively address everyday concerns, about both perceived and actual inequalities and discrimination, as well as the mainstream understanding of Islam in this country. They need to deal with issues inside Muslim communities like forced marriage, extremism and language barriers too, as well as concerns that affect all British citizens, ranging from social welfare, to British foreign policy and the credit crunch. Such a role requires a level of commitment to British values and a grasp of British political and social life that many imams simply don't have, because most in Britain today were born and trained overseas.
  Anas b. Malik R.A. reported: The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam came to Medina and stayed in the upper part of Medina for fourteen nights with a tribe called Banu 'Amr b 'Auf. He then sent for the chiefs of Banu al-Najir, and they came with swords around their necks. He (the narrator) said: I perceive as if I am seeing The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam on his ride with Abu Bakr behind him and the chiefs of Banu al-Najjar around him till he alighted in the courtyard of Abu Ayub. He (the narrator) said: The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said prayer when the time came for prayer, and he prayed in the fold of goats and sheep. He then ordered mosques to be built and sent for the chiefs of Banu al-Najir, and they came (to him). He The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said to them: O Banu al-Najjar, sell these lands of yours to me. They said: No, by Allah. We would not demand their price, but (reward) from the Lord. Anas said: There (in these lands) were trees and graves of the polytheists, and ruins. The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam ordered that the trees should be cut, and the graves should be dug out, and the ruins should be leveled. The trees (were thus) placed in rows towards the qibla and the stones were set on both sides of the door, and (while building the mosque) they (the Companions) sang rajaz verses along with the Messenger of Allah The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam):
  O Allah: there is no good but the good of the next world, so help the Ansars and the Muhajirin.
  When Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam arrived in Madinah from Makkah – an exploit called Hijra or migration -- the first and immediate task relating to the built environment, as well as to the community building process, that he embarked on fulfilling was building the city's central mosque, also called the Prophet's mosque.
  Every other undertaking, including building houses for the migrants (muhajirs) who were practically homeless, had to be put off till after the Prophet's mosques was completed. Herein too lays a clue as to the extreme importance of the mosque and the profundity of its message in Islam.
  When the migrants arrived in Madinah, almost all of them were very destitute and virtually homeless. At the same time, furthermore, the aspiring community had no mosques or any other social institutions. While the first problem The Holy Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was able to successfully manipulate and circumnavigate without really abandoning it and so causing any serious harm to the society, the latter predicament, however, could neither be disregarded, even for a short time, nor substituted with another feasible alternatives. Hence, the instituting of a principal mosque in Madinah needed the immediate attention. For the housing of the migrants, a workable alternative had to be found.
  Posted by mishkash at 11:44
  Labels: Ansars and the Muhajirin, British citizens, converts, imam's role, language barriers, mosques, Prophet's mosque