The American Muslim Market is Rich, Educated, Growing Fast
The untapped $200 billion market of Muslim Americans is extremely wealthy and educated; and for a marketers and manufacturer’s dream: growing exponentially each and every day! To acquaint to you some background data, please refer to of these wonderful research pieces and media reports, complete list available at American Muslim Consumer Conference:
- New York Times video clip, Selling to Islam – Overture to an Untapped Market, April 28, 2007 [6-7 million, $170 billion buying power]
At least someone is trying to capture the market, as seen here:
Problems faced,
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American-Muslims And The Advertising Agency Dilemma, October 21, 2006
What next?
American Muslim Consumer Conference
Media and blog coverage:
- NorthJersey.com: Soliman: Marketing to the Muslim-American consumer
Find them on these Social Network sites:
As an Online Partner, American Muslim Mom strongly supports the conference, and we believe you should too.
- The American Muslim Consumer Conference provides useful insights, information and opportunities to allow businesses and executives to understand and access the American-Muslim Market. Hear from leading marketing professionals, entrepreneurs and investors describe and discuss this fast growing, educated and affluent market segment. REGISTER NOW
Organizer
Knowledge/Marketing Partner Social Media Partner
As always, we’re curious what your thoughts are. Please share below.
Community Service in the Life of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq
Before you read on, digest this simple truth: Abu Bakr As-Siddiq remains one of our heroes and superstars till the end of time. This is a fact, Oh Muslims, not a fallacy.
May Allaah be pleased with him, put himself at the forefront of community service to the people before his reign as the khalifah. The recipients of his benevolent services were single mothers whose husbands had died or were martyred while defending Islam. He ran some house errands for them such as preparing dough and milking their goats.
However, when he was elected to be the Muslims’ leader after the death of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe was salam, the single mothers had apprehension and anxiety. Their concern was that this new position would become a stumbling block, thus preventing him from continuing his services for them. One time, he overheard one widow say: “Now, no one will milk our goats for us,” to which he responded, “No, by Allah I will continue milking your goats.”
And so, off he went to the woman’s residence. At the entrance of the door was the woman’s young daughter who exclaimed with joy, “Mum, the goats’ milker is here!!” Abu Bakr becomes the renowned goat milker. For whom? The widows, the weak, and the orphans. Subhanallah!
Truly, this is community service 101. This is a description of a selfless community service for the less privileged and underserved. In our present days and times, when the weak, the poor, the destitute, are looked down upon, and their basic rights are unfulfilled by those in authority; when wealth and riches have become the order of the day for our Muslim leaders, and pride and arrogance have beclouded their judgments to acknowledge the rights of those under them. From this story, we can all learn from the life of Abu Bakr As-siddiq. Despite his reign as the khalifah and his ultimate success as one of the top ten chosen Muslim men promised paradise by Allaah subhana wa Ta’ala, he didn’t get carried away with these positions. In reality, he got carried away by being at full service to his community members, fulfilling their basic needs, one widow and one orphan at a time.
By Maryam Funmilayo
MashaAllah, May we all strive to obtain the knowledge, confidence, will-power and dedicated to follow-through in our participation in serving our communities more. Ameen,
Please share how you and your families are serving your community; not out of arrogance, but as a means of helping all of us find more means and opportunities to give back to those in need more than others.
Eid Mubarak from American Muslim Mom
Eid Mubarak (Congratulations on your Feast/Festival) my dear brothers and sisters in Islam. As reported by Abdullah Ibn Masood, radiallahu anha, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) made the following Du’a for both Eids’ translations in English follows after the Arabic in the below video:
To best prepare for Eid al-Fitr and Eid prayer, as well as fasting six days in Shawwal is detailed nicely here.
Also a nice piece we encourage you to read as we begin our month of Shawwal is Du’a Of Last Night, Zakatul Fitr and Sallah Celebrations written by Al-Amin Ciroma. For more details on with his section about Zakat al-Fitr can be found here.
Muslim American Perceptions Hardly Changed – Still Facing Discrimination
As Muslim moms, dads, grandparents, family members and community members, it’s critical to arm our children with the realities of what typical Americans “perceive” us to be, who we are, what we do, and how we think.
Now, as optimistic, fun-loving, and open-minded as I am–since birth, I have often scared people because they thought I was naive to think the world is so rosey and peachy-keen. Now, I never assumed people to be as blissful (which is a good thing, mashaAllah) and ultrusitic as I, but I don’t think this world is all doom and gloom either…and remember my babies and I lived in a war zone for over a year!
So, despite 9/11 and all has occurred with Muslim hate crime, I continue to live my life optimistically only because I have no fear accept to please Allah by living by the Glorious Qur’an and striving my best to live by the Sunnah.
But,regardless how I feel, it’s my duty to protect my daughters and the number one way is with education and building our self-confidence based on the truth surrounding them.
So, when I was first exposed to the first set of research below by introduction of Ben of Mediacurve.com (comments to the CNN media request), I sat all my girls down to read and discuss each and every single slide, also linked below.
Hijabis in America are seen as Different
MediaCurves.com – What a Difference a Shawl Makes – Perceptions Differ of Woman With and Without a Shawl on her Head (January 2008)
Not surprisingly, nothing has changed a year later.
Muslims still face overwhelming amount of discrimination
Muslims Widely Seen As Facing Discrimination – Pew Forum (2010 surveyed)
- Views of Religious Similarities and Differences
- Views of Islam and Muslim
- About the Survey
- Full Report: Views of Religious Similarities and Differences
MUSLIMS WIDELY SEEN AS FACING DISCRIMINATION (PDF version -24 pgs.) - Topline questionnaire (9 pgs.)
While there’s much for details to go through in the Pew’s detailed research above, it is imperative that I also take the time to go through each and every page with my young daughters as well.
Will you arm your children with knowledge, regardless of their age?
Our girls are 6, 8 and 9 years old.
I’m eager to hear what you have to say. Please comment below.
Learning the Qur’an for Free Online – QuranExplorer.com and HarfKids.com-Quraan Review
My entire family (Mama, Baba, and our 9, 8 and 6 year old daughters) completely endorse QuranExplorer.com/Quran and HarfKids.com/en/Quraan as easy-to-use, easy-to-learn, easy-to-navigate, fun, interactive sites to learn how to read and recite the Qur’an based on the rules of Tajweed, while learning its meaning at the same time.
1. Qur’an Explorer – Review
Why we love Qu’ran Explorer:
- Tajweed color rules can be turned on or off,
- Multiple shaikhs to pick; such as Mishary and Abdul-Basit,
- Two different Arabic scripts to pick, Usmani and IndoPak,
- Different English translators, such as Dr. Mohsin, Yusuf Ali,
- Translations in multiple languages are also available, such as Spanish and Indonesian,
- The entire Qur’an is available,
- You can choose to search by Surah, Juz, Hizb, or verse (ayat),
- Advanced Options include,
- Verse Repetition [How many times you want to play the verse before it goes to the next one],
- Intervals Between Verse ["Continuous Play" means there are no pauses in between each verse, or "Duration of Verse" means how long it takes the shaikh to say the verse and it pauses that long, or you choose how many seconds you want to "Wait" for the pause in between the verses],
- Auto Play, and
- Colors.
- Audio sound and mute option,
- An option to bookmark the verse range where you are studying oo return back to the exact place you left off,
- Zoom text size, and much more.
- For a wonderful tutorial, click the “Help” button.
2. HarfKids.com Quraan – Review
While HarfKids.com Quraan is not nearly as complete as QuranExplorer.com it comes in a very close second at our home, especially for young children just beginning to memorize our Glorious Qur’an, for the following reasons:
- Everything is on one single screen,
- There is not an “Advanced Options” button to click and review,
- It’s colorful, more fun to look at, and has cuter buttons,
- For a verse translation, you click on “Explanation” for a pop-up box in English,
- Just like in QuranExplorer.com you can determine which verses you want displayed, and if you want a continuous play of the reciter or pause in between each verse,
- Shaikh AbdulBasit is the reciter,
- Made for those just starting to memorize the Qur’an, it lists Surah An-Nas (114) to Al-Qiyamah (75)
CONS
- It often locks up, and sometimes we can not even get it to work at all, and
- Since the Qur’an learning option is only one section of the large HarfKids.com website, the above navigation toolbar and bottom buttons are distracting, especially because they flash and scroll in real-time.
We’d love to hear your experiences with either of these two sites, but if you know of other helpful sites, please share them below.
This post is a part of the Mission: Ramadan 1430H project. For 29 other articles about our Glorious Qur’an, please visit ProductiveMuslim.com today!
Major Misconceptions of How, What and When to Pay Zakat al-Fitr
Understanding our rights and responsibilities for zakat al-fitr is important for all practicing Muslims. However, there are many misconceptions as to how, what and when we should pay its due. Therefore, we listed below multiple fatwaa based on authentic ahadith. The misconceptions are listed in no particular order.
1. FALSE: Zakat al-fitr is a monetary sadaqah that can be given to other causes besides feeding the poor and needy.
TRUE: Zakat al-fitr must be paid to feed poor and needy, as shared in the following fatwaa,
Zakaat al-fitr should be given to the poor Muslims in the land or city where it is given, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr, to be paid in Ramadaan to feed the poor…” It is permissible to send it to the poor of another land whose people are in greater need. It is not permissible to spend it on building a mosque or other charitable projects.
2. FALSE: Zakat al-fitr can be made monetarily with money.
TRUE: The Sunah of zakat al-fitr to to pay with staple foods of your local community as shared in the following fatwaa,
It is not permissible to pay the value in money, according to the majority of scholars, and the evidence for this view is more sound. Rather it should be given in the form of food, as was done by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) and the majority of the ummah. We ask Allaah to help us and all the Muslims to understand His religion and adhere steadfastly to it. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
It was narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr upon the Muslims at a rate of one saa’ of dates or one saa’ of barley, and he commanded that it should be given before the people went out to pray – i.e., the Eid prayers. In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “At the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we used to give it at a rate of one saa’ of food, or one saa’ of dates, or one saa’ of barley, or one saa’ of cheese, or one saa’ of raisins…” A number of scholars interpreted the word ta’aam (food) in this hadeeth as referring to wheat, and others explained it as referring to the staple food of the local people, no matter what it is, whether it is wheat, corn or something else. This is the correct view, because the zakaah is a kind of help given by the rich to the poor, and the Muslim should not offer help with anything other than the staple food of his country. What must be given is a saa’ of all kinds of food, which is four times the amount scooped up with two hands, which is approximately three kilograms. If the Muslim gives a saa’ of rice or some other staple food of his country, that is fine.
3. FALSE: Zakat al-Fitr can be given during any of the Eid days.
TRUE: Zakat al-fitr must be paid before Eid prayer.
As stated in this fatwaa,
Zakaat al-fitr must be paid before the Eid prayer, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood (1609) and Ibn Majaah (1827) from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene talk, and to feed the poor. Whoever pays it before the (Eid) prayer, it is accepted zakaah, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is (ordinary) charity.
Additionally, it is detailed that is begins the night of Ramadan 28th,
It first becomes due on the night of the twenty-eighth of Ramadaan, because the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to give it one or two days before Eid, and the month lasts twenty-nine or thirty days.
The latest it may be given is at the Eid prayer, but it is not permissible to delay it until after the prayer, because of the report narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever gives it before the prayer, it is accepted zakaah, and whoever gives it after the prayer, it is a kind of charity.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
4. FALSE: It is permissible to give zakat al-fitr to a poor person in the street stating they are poor.
TRUE: It is best to find truly poor, needy, practicing Mu’mininyn to give zakat al-fitr too, detailed in this fatwaa.
Zakaat al-fitr should be given to poor Muslims even if they are sinners so long as their sin is not something that puts them beyond the pale of Islam. What is meant by poor is those who appear to be poor, even if they are in fact rich. The one who is paying the zakaah should seek out good poor people as much as possible. If he finds out later that the one who took it was actually rich, that does not affect the one who gave it, rather he has discharged his duty, praise be to Allaah.
5. FALSE: It is permissible to give zakat al-fitr to kufaar.
TRUE: Three fatwaas details that
It is not permissible to give zakaah on wealth or zakaat al-fitr to kaafirs, and it is not permissible to give zakaah to any kaafir except the one who is inclined towards Islam, in the sense that you hope that he will become Muslim if you give him zakaah.
Additional noteworthy fatwaa, includes, the responsibility of those delaying paying the obligatory zakaat even if its the Imam of a particular community, one must pay zakaat al-fitr even if he has debt, and the ruling of distributing monthly zakaat to the poor in fear of their mishandling the money is permissible but the giver must pay the zakaat al-fitr in full for the year at its prescribed time.
Staples acceptable in America are any canned or non-perishable food typically acceptable in a food pantries, such as rice, dried pastas, flour, canned vegetables, dried fruit, etc. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension compiled this nice list based on the food pyramid.
Our glorious Qur’an states,
And of them are some who made a covenant with Allah (saying): “If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily give sadaqah (Zakat and voluntary charity in Allah’s Cause) and will be certainly among those who are righteous.” (Surah at-Taubah, Chapter #9, Verse #75)
A beautiful family, homeschooling activity and lesson is to deliver your zakat al-fitr to local needy families through a trusted source, making your charitable acts private and unknown to the receiver. There are many blessings in sharing this family obligation beyond the father (in most cases) who pays, and the mother (in most cases) who shops. By involving our children; they too gain the pleasure of Allah (May He be Glorified) one or two days before they begin the celebrations of Eid al-Fitr. In many cases, unless the needy families receive the staple foods, they may not even be able to celebrate themselves.
Our children are involved in this activity by making Eid cards and goodie bags to send along with the food, and help select the foods purchased. It’s more personal when we can find the number, gender, ages and even the names of children of these needy families.
This is one activity that we assure our children partake in, even before they think or consider celebrating or decorating for Eid al-Fitr. Actually, I do not even allow our girls to decorate for the Eid, because my husband and I maintain our focus on seeking the rewards of Ramadan’s important acts of worship. I decorate the night Eid is confirmed for the following day. Fortunately, this dedication to the important month, rather than a few fun days forces the girls to go to bed early (in attempt to get them away from staying up all night for taraweeh and itikaf) as they anticipate my surprising interior designs that I have yet to duplicate.
Our goals should be to celebrate in the opportunity to gain multiple blessings and the rewards during the month of Ramadan–not to celebrate the Eid. Unfortunately, this is a major misconception during this time of year too.
We’ve always pleaded that Islamic schools and institutions should not focus on taking 3 days off for Eid, but to add the last 10 days of Ramadan, or if only one week is allowed then from Ramadan 28th to the end of Eid.
We should not be teaching our children to anticipate the 3-day holiday of Eid al-fitr and consider celebrating unless they too work hard to gain the rewards of Ramadan and actions given during this time, such as zakat al-Fitr. By adhering to the Sunnah, our celebrations can be much sweeter [pun intended 
].
By working towards decorating, gift-giving, feasts, festivities, etc. of Eid al-fitr, we’re simply mimicking the actions of other religions and their religious holidays by putting the holidays as the highlight to our lives rather than emphasizing the blessings Allah (May He be Glorified) afforded us during the entire month of our blessed Ramadan.
We’d love to hear how you and your family assure that you are adhering to the Sunnah of the blessed obligation of zakat al-fitr and focusing on the last 10 days of Ramadan rather than the first three days of Shawwal.
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Do More, Give More!
As a Muslim woman I have noticed that many of us have dreams to do more; many of us want to do things; many of us think about doing things, but few of us actually do them. This is a message to all the Muslims who are stuck between dreaming and achieving their goals. For example, you want to spend less when you shop; you know that there are millions of people dying all over the world, and you want to cut down on shopping, and send more money to your family overseas, or even the poor. You have the heart to do it and you’re aware that even having the intention to do it is a good deed alhamdulillaah, but somehow, you can’t seem to make this happen. Whenever you want to send money, you realize you don’t have much in the bank to do it, so you don’t do it. Then you look at your account statement and realize that almost all the things you purchased were necessities; some things you could live without, but most of them, you really needed. How can you change this cycle and make a difference like you really want to?
1. Purify your intention; that you want to do this for the sake of Allaah (SWT). This alone will help you achieve your goals. Always clarify your intention.
2. Read isthikhara before making any purchases. This will help you decide whether purchasing this product will be good for you or not in terms of this life and the next.
3. Look at your bank statement and highlight where you’re spending money that you could use else where. For example, eating out costs $50.00; maybe you could eat at home, and send that $50.00 a month to a better cause. When you look at it this way next time before you go out to eat, you will enjoy eating your dinner better that night at home, insha’Allaah.
4. Pay them first when you get paid; set up a standing order/direct debit so a regular amount is sent to the charity of your choice every month. For example $40.00, to help with an orphan on the 5th of every month. This way it is like a bill and you have to pay them, insha’Allaah.
Insha’Allaah these tips have increased your awareness as to what you can do. Most of the time the problem isn’t that we don’t know what to do; the problem is DOING it. My dear sister/brother, it is time that you change that intention to ACTION! Just make it happen, insha’Allaah. For each good action you take you will see the fruits of it on the Day of Judgment insha’Allaah.
Ramadan is the perfect time for generous charitable giving, sadaqah. So, let us know if any of these tips helped you to “do more, and give more”.
Zohra Sawari, also known as “The Most Inspirational Muslim Woman in America”, is an international speaker, author, coach, publisher, and homeschool mom. Visit her website today and sign-up for her “Five Ingredients to Happiness” free ereport.
Previous articles include:
Ramadan – A Time for Happiness, Not Distress
As stated in the New York Times March 2009 article, Muslim Thriving, but not content ; in which excerpts were previously shared in this post, The only subset with no wage gap between men and women are Muslims, mashaAllah (God has willed), I find it important to highlight some additional interesting quotes below,
A Gallup poll of Muslims in the United States has found that they are far more likely than people in Muslim countries to see themselves as thriving…Yet, within the United States, Muslims are the least content religious group, when compared with Jews, Mormons, Protestants and Roman Catholics.
American Muslim women, contrary to stereotype, are more likely than American Muslim men to have college and post-graduate degrees. They are more highly educated than women in every other religious group except Jews. American Muslim women also report incomes more nearly equal to men, compared with women and men of other faiths.
Muslim women in the United States attend mosque as frequently as Muslim men — a contrast with many Muslim countries where the mosques are primarily for men. American Muslims are generally very religious, saying that religion is an important part of their daily lives (80 percent), more than any other group except Mormons (85 percent). The figure for Americans in general is 65 percent.
“There is still a sense among American Muslims of being excluded from the mainstream,” Mr. Younis said, “and among young people that’s more acute.”
But the perception is far worse among Muslims in England and France, the study found.
Mr. Younis said the finding “reinforces the proposition that the integration process for American Muslims is, on the whole, a much more successful endeavor than it is for European Muslims.”
Alhumdulilah, Praise be to Allah, American Muslims are one of the most well-educated, wealthiest subsets of America who are growing at record pace–yet, we’re not “content”!?
We’re definitely not being Mu’miniyn (true believers) if we are not grateful for our good fortune and well-being.
Aren’t we being hypocrites when we chose to be disappointed because we “perceive” that the majority of Americans are misled by mass media’s depiction of a stereotypical Muslim American, therefore we can’t be proud of ourselves?
By choosing to sit discontent and idle on the side-lines, rather then choosing to do something constructive or even rejoice in our blessings, we’re not being Mu’miniyn.
Are we purposefully preventing ourselves from being proud simply because we’re not confident enough to know that pride is a good thing?
Honestly, I was greatly disappointed when I read this article because I believe that we are NOT being Proud Muslims…Americans, if we fail to be content when we are fortunate enough to have the freedoms and liberties to practice our faith, receive higher education, and assume wealth from our hard work and efforts. Astagfuillah (May Allah forgive us all).
Having traveled in France last year, my family and I witnessed numerous situations which were not favorable to native Muslim French brothers and sisters.
One instance, my then 8 year old daughter and I will never forget.
She asked, “Mama, why are they treating us so differently? We’re Muslim too…” (as she motioned to the Muslims waiting in line).
I replied, “Yes we are; but, they see us as Americans first…” She looked confused. So, I continued, “They see money, mashaAllah”.
Still confused, I continued, “They’re talking to us in English…They see our clothes…(Yes, in full hijab, I’m still obviously very American ). They see how we walk” (We trained our girls to walk tall with confidence. Unfortunately, every Muslim mom and their children that night walked sheepishly, embarrassed or even ashamed.) “We’re Americans”. [I didn't hold a tone of arrogance, I was just stating a fact. Yar Rabb, forgive me if I did not. Ameen].
So, we made du’a for our brothers and sisters who were sitting at the back corner of the restaurant closest to the bathrooms, as we were seated and served. We were sad that they did not even turn our way as my girls were eagerly trying to make salam. Even when we took a bathroom break, not a head (even the children) motioned our ways as the girls were trying to get one toddler’s attention.
I praised Allah, and explained to the girls “MashaAllah, see they are even more humble then us…we should learn to lower our gaze as they are.”
I no longer saw it as embarrassed hunching over away from attention. They were simply enjoying their meals with their families not bothered by anyone else, and present to teach us a lesson too; subhanallah.
The girls still didn’t like that we were we getting food to go, we were attended to before the French Muslims in line. Even when my husband said that they were ahead of us, the French brother said “no, no, no…” and motioned to the worker to go ahead. We said “Merci, Shukran, JazakaAllahkhir, Thank You”, unaware which they’d understand best.
We thanked Allah for all these lessons learned, and asked that He protect us and assure that we were accepting their treatment humbly.
Alhumdulilah, we had an opportunity to give all our left overs to a homeless non-Muslim man sitting outside the door, as everyone else walked by. My eldest was most proud, and before she took a bite of her juicy red apple, she smiled and offered her dessert to him as well. She looked up at me, “That was good, right Mama?…I shared our fortune.” “MashaAllah”, I remarked proudly.
As for England, mashaAllah, the treatment of Muslims as described by my brother and sister-in-law is not great either. Yet, Muslim Brits, mashaAllah, are one of the most dedicated, proud, productive Mu’mininyn in this world, despite living in a non-Muslim country.
So, yes as Muslim Americans we have it much better than our brothers and sisters in France and England; yet they are choosing to their lives completely devoted to Allah, in a state of happiness and pride. So, why are we choosing to be discontent?!
Shame on us, for not choosing happiness. It’s time to stop whining.
We need to do something about our situations and get involved.
Okay, so we’re more educated…big deal if we’re not happy!
We’re making money…so what if we’re not even enjoying the provisions we have for our families.
We’re even more religious than others (so the research says, based on masjid attendance)…Yet, we’re not even at peace with ourselves.
If we were we were practicing our deen (way of life) proudly; when surveyed in a Gallup pool we’d answered in a state of happiness not discontent. Which did not happen.
While I may be stretching what I read to deduce that we’re a bunch of whiners and cry-babies; I’m simply trying to shade light to these information.
But, it did not take my reading this article to prove to me the overall discontent in the Muslim American ummah (community) because if one just steps itno a masajid, Islamic school, or any Islamic institution in America one would witness somewhere state of discontent.
Many times I have to take my girls away from Muslim Americans because all they do is whine and cry usually very loudly, passionately, and unnecessarily. Actually, un-Islamically in many cases too. My non-Muslim parents witnessed unhappiness at their first Eid prayer, my late mother’s first visit to a masjid for our girls Sunday Islamic school. It was and still is very sad to see how miserable Muslim Americans choose to live their lives.
In the Glorious Qur’an, regarding happiness
Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism), and work righteousness, Tuba (all kinds of happiness or name of a tree in Paradise) is for them and a beautiful place of (final) return. (Surah ar-Rad, Chapter #13, Verse #29) But none is granted it (the above quality) except those who are patient – and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion (of happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise and of a high moral character) in this world.
( Surah Fussilat, Chapter #41, Verse #35)Enter Paradise, you and your wives, in happiness.
( SurahAz-Zukhruf, Chapter #43, Verse #70)“Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do.”
( Surah At-tur, Chapter #52, Verse #19)
So, what do I propose!?
- We must let your educated, passionate, believing, positive, happy voices be heard.
- Participate. Volunteer. Offer to help your brothers and sisters in distress.
- Offer to listen, counsel and advise our unhappy brothers and sisters.
- Allow yourself to complain *only* if you follow-through with action steps to change the issues causing you distress.
- Make dawaa (the invitation to Islam) first to our brothers and sisters in Islam, and then to others (non-Muslims). We have an obligation to help our brothers and sisters stay on the straight path by practicing Islam based solely on the Qur’an and Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him).
- STOP using the lack of time, energy, resources, etc. as an excuse!
So, am I angry? No.
Am I discouraged? No.
Have I lost hope? Never!
Do I believe? Forevermore.
So, don’t stop believing either.
Even during times of distress (from the page):
It is by Allah’s grace that you have dealt gently with them. Had you been harsh and hard- hearted, they would surely have broken away from you. Therefore pardon them and pray for forgiveness for them and consult with them in the conduct of public affairs. When you have resolved about a course of action, put your trust in Allah. Allah loves those who put their trust in Him. (Surah Aal-`Imran 3:159)
…People always need compassion, care, a cheerful face, and patient forbearance which is not exhausted by people’s ignorance and weaknesses. People need someone with a big heart to give them all it can and ask them nothing, to share with them their worries, without burdening them with its own worries. They need someone whom they always expect to be caring, sympathetic, loving, content, and forbearing. Allah’s Messenger had all these characteristics, and these were the distinctive aspects of his life among his Companions. He never took for himself anything of the enjoyments of this world; on the contrary, he gave them all that he possessed with a smile and a cheerful heart. His forbearance, compassion, care, and sympathy were extended to all. Everyone of those who came in contact with the Prophet was full of love to him, because of what the Prophet generously gave him of his love….
Now, knowing we are not having a time of distress…it is our duty to put our trust in Allah, choose to smile with a cheerful heart, filled with love for whatever situation may pass us–even humbly accept our good fortune, and give back for the sake of Allah’s pleasure.
What better time to do this then during the last 10 days of Ramadan?
As always, please share your kind thoughts and opinions in the comments area below.
How To Find the Best College for Your Student
Students often make one of two basic mistakes in choosing a college. Some students believe it is as simple as going where everyone else they know is going. For a few people, this approach works on a basic level but often deprives the student of becoming the person who they might be if allowed to develop.
The second mistake commonly seen are those students who know they want to go to a particular school simply based on the name of the school. This is seen in those students who only want to apply to the “Ivy League” universities. The eight universities that comprise the “Ivy League” athletic conference are some excellent universities but they have vast differences among the eight schools.
So what issues should a student keep in mind while trying to find the best college for their needs?
First, the student needs to decide what THEY want from the college experience. The best school for their best friend or the college where the parents attended is not necessarily the best school for your student. So what should a student look for to find the best college for their needs? A few issues include whether to attend a large or small school, a college near home or far away, or one that is academically focused or more sports oriented. These are just a few of the issues a student might consider. Here is a list of more of the factors that a student might consider in researching colleges.
If a student doesn’t know what type of college might be most appropriate for them, they should visit several different types of colleges to get a feel for the differences. They are not deciding on a particular college at this point but rather deciding what are the important factors to consider.
If you aren’t sure how important this process of finding the best college for your student is, consider this statistic. Overall, fewer than half of the students that start a four year college graduate in six years. Yes, six years. There are many reasons why a student might not graduate in four years but much of it depends on whether the college cares if students graduate on time. Consider similar schools in the Big 10 athletic conference. The highest four year graduation rate is Northwestern at 86%. The highest rate for a public college is Michigan at 70%. The lowest four year graduation rate is Purdue at 36%. Most of the top colleges have graduation rates of 90% or better.
So, your student is twice as likely to graduate in four years from the University of Michigan than from Purdue University. Not only will you need to keep paying for each extra year in college but the student has also lost time from starting work.
Once your student has decided what to look for to find the best college for them, they now need to find colleges that meet their requirements. Two good college search engines are College Navigator and College Board search. These search engines allow a student to put in various criteria and then receive a list of colleges that meet those requirements.
But, we are not quite done yet. For those families for whom paying for college is a concern, and who doesn’t have some concern, then before choosing a list of colleges you should consider financial aid. This is a critical step that is forgotten by most families seeking a college.
You are probably wondering why financial aid is a concern before even choosing a college. I mean, you can’t even file the FAFSA until after January 1 so why worry about aid now? Because the failure to understand how college financial aid works costs many families thousands of dollars each year. The FAFSA is actually one of the last steps in the process. Unless you understand the first steps, you are likely to pay more money than you need to for college. The reason is that each college handles financial aid differently and you need to understand which each school considers.
I don’t have room in this article to explain basic college financial aid but take a look at this article that I wrote on the basics of financial aid.
If you don’t believe you will qualify for financial aid then you need to read the Top 10 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College if You Don’t Qualify for Financial Aid.
If you take these basic steps with your student you will greatly increase the chance of finding the best college for their needs and will probably save yourself some money too. Next month I will be talking about what colleges look for in students and the application process.
Todd Johnson, the college admissions counselor for College Admissions Partners is our College Admission Adviser for American Muslim Mom.
Previous articles include:
As always, we’re curious about your thoughts and concerns. Please share below.
