IN HIS NAME THE MOST HIGH
ABSN HOLDS WOMEN’S DAY IN HONOUR OF LADY FATEMA ZAHRA (AS) AT RASUL AL AKRAM.ACADEMY. LANGATA.
Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Salaam un Alaikum,
Over 360 sisters and children from many parts of Kenya joined ABSN in
celebrating the Birth Anniversary of Lady Fatema Zahra (as).
The program started with a dua from Ustadha Fahima from Madrasa tul
Ahlul Bayt (as) Riruta Muslim. Sister Yasmin welcomed all the guests and
thanked them for coming from afar. Our MC was Sister Halima.
Sister Fahima spoke about Lady Fatema(as).
Her birth “Fatema (as) was born in Makkah on 20
th
Jamadul Akhar.She is one of the most
honoured women during and after her time.
She was born at a time when the girl child
was considered a curse and girls were buried
alive or they were deprived of their rights.
When Fatema (as) was born Prophet
Muhammad (saw) changed all that.
MC Halima
Her Youth.
After her mother’s death she cared and loved her father such that she was
given the name Ummu-Abeeha meaning the mother of her father. Prophet
Muhammad (saw) used to teach her about religion and also worldly affairs,
hence she became the best scholar of Quran and Fiqh.
Her Generosity
Lady Fatema (as) lived together with her maid helping her in all the chores
and work in the house. Sometimes she used to do more work than her maid
such that you would not differentiate her from her maid.She used to give
Sadaqa until one day she gave out a necklace which she was given to her on
her wedding day.
Her Motherhood.
She brought up her children according to the Quran and Islamic sheria,
encouraging them to always speak the truth, to give sadaqa and to maintain
their brotherhood and her two sons became the leaders of the youth of
paradise. She was given the name Ummul Aimma meaning mother of the
leaders.
As a wife
She was married to Imam Ali(a).She lived with her husband a very simple
life full of worshiping Allah(swt).giving sadaqa and educating people
between right from wrong.
As a politician.
She used to tell the maswahaba
that she had a right to posses the
land which her father had given
her (the land of fadak).She used
to stand for her right whenever
injustice was done to her. She
also used to stand for her
husband’s right. She used to
speak in the open to remind
people of her right which was
taken from her.
As a good leader.
She was destined to be a leader
from a young age and brought all
women out of slavery to become
independent.She represented all
the women in hard times when
non- Muslims striked in the land of Hazrat Abu Talib (as).
She also represented women to the swearing debate of Najran and Muslims
known as Mubahila.She also invited women to the event of people who are
pure known as Hadithul-Kisaa.
Ustadh Fahima concluded by urging all the women to seek knowledge so
that we can follow the example of Lady Fatma (as). KASWIDA BY MADRASA TUL AHLUL BAYT(as )RIRUTA MUSLIM.
“Yaa Fatema yaa Zahra.”
A poem about Fatema(as)
“Have you ever had a daughter who was called her father’s mother?
No but she was!
She was an exalted wife and understanding one.
She treated her maid like her sister and did more work than her.
She is a light we can all pray for and follow in her footsteps.”
SISTER ZAHIDA -ABSN. She recited a
verse from the Holy Quran 51:56 and
said that God created humans and Jinn
for only one purpose and that is to
worship Him.
She welcomed all to the celebration of
the birth of Lady Fatema (as).
“Islam is a way of life and Allah (swt)
has sent us here as an exam, We are
here for a temporary life of 60 or 80
years, later we spend the rest of our
time in the Hereafter. We should
thank Allah (swt) because we are
Muslims .As human beings we make mistakes but it is up to us to rectify
them.”
She talked about the sacred holy spiritual months,
“Rajab is a month of Allah (swt) and that there are 3 things we are
emphasized to do in this month.
1 People should try seek forgiveness (Tauba ): Astagfirulah.
2. Fasting: A person who fasts for one day will be far away from hell fire.
3. We should give sadaqa and sadaqa does not mean giving money only,
even looking at your sister with a pure heart and a smile is also sadaka.So
people should try as much as possible to do good to others.
Shaaban is the month of the Prophet Muhammad(saw).
People should decorate their souls and also do cleanliness in order to
be ready for the following month, She gave an example of when you know a
visitor is coming you clean and tidy up every where to be ready for the
visitor. In Shaaban people prepare themselves for Ramadhan.
Ramadhan is the month of Ummat Muhammad(saw).
When you recite one verse of from the Quran you get reward of reciting the
whole Quran. In this month we get spiritual
benefits food to our hearts and to make dua and be
kind to everyone. As women we are the center
point. We can guide our children and husbands too.
Women can make their houses unpolluted because
only a woman can keep a house how she wants it to
be.”She also urged the mother’s to guide their
children and pray to God to help them fight against
shaitan. SHEIKH SALIM.-ABAK REPRESENTIVE
He welcomed all to the fuction and
praised them for the good work. He
also reminded us to always remember
to praise Prophet Muhammad (saw)
and follow his teachings. He then
translated Sister Zahida’s speech. POEM BY MADRASA TUL-DARUL
HIQMA-RIRUTA SATELITE.
“Quran kitabu changu. Quran mwongozo wangu, Quran mwombezi wangu, Quran fundo langu.”
SAADA ABDI -ABSN. Medical account at Al Gadhir.
“As mothers we are really busy, but we have sacrificed our work and time
and energy to be here today. ABSN has
decided to help the members by opening an
account at Al-Gadhir. Members will be
required to give out their details like identity
card, address and phone number.”
“If you need to go for treatment you will be
treated and given medicine if it is less than
3,000 ksh, but if it is more than that your
case will be discussed by the committee to
see how they can help. The treatment is for
members only for now but other family
members will be discussed later.” She also
urged the members not to misuse this opportunity and instead to utilize it
well in order to help each other.
ZAHRA HASSAN ,RIRUTA SATELITE.
She thanked ABSN for the opening of a
medical account and said that many
members were suffering because of lack of
money to go to the hospital.She also talked
about registration and that people should
register in their respective places in order to
avoid inconvenience. She also insisted on
other groups to follow the footsteps of
Majengo because they are doing very well.
ALI FROM KIAMBIO -ORPHAN
“I thank ABSN for the help they
have been giving me and my
siblings after the death of my
parents. We are orphans and we live
with our grandmother who is a
widow and jobless. She could not
afford to take care of us. I thank
ABSN for assisting in opening a day
care for my grandmother which now
helps us to get little income.”
HAFSA MASUD BENEFICIARY ABSN.
“One who does not thank others does not know
how to thank Allah (swt).”She thanked ABSN
for helping needy children who could not afford
to go to high school after primary school due to
lack of school fees.She promised to work hard
so that in the future she will be able to help
others in her community.
HALIMA SAIDI -BENEFICIRY,ABSN.
When she finished primary school, her
mother did not have money to take her to
high school and she thanks ABSN because
they helped her and took her to school and
she is now in form two. She promised to
work hard and never to let them down.She
appealed to them to continue paying her
fees until she finishes school, Inshallah.
MAIMUNA
KIBWANA -
MAJENGO.
Their group
started a year
ago, it is
registered and
they do
handwork. Every
time they meet
they give 20 ksh
each which they
keep in their account.Their work has helped people from low income to cater
for their need.This type of work was copied from India to Kenya and was
introduced to the slums. It was introduced by an N.G.O (St John’s
Ambulance).It was introduced in Majengo in 2006. They joined the group in
2009 and one year ago they joined ABSN.
ASHA MUSTAPHA -LUKUME.
She started by thanking ABSN
for the invitation. They started
with 15 members, now they are
30.They started with rearing of
chicken and now have 30. They
intend to sell them and buy
each member a cow.They also
do farming.They have a store
for beans which they use in
case of emergencies when they
do not have money.They meet
on Sundays to study religion
and also discuss their problems.
Challenges
They do not have hijab to cover themselves.
They do not have enough funds to run their project.
Their children drop out of school due to lack of school fees,so they are
requesting for a Muslim school to be build in order to help them.
In the month of Ramadhan Iftar is also hard to get so they need help in that.
AMINA ABDALLAH - MALAKISI.
She started by thanking ABSN for their
generosity. She said in their mosque they
are 60 women but some come from as far
as 8 km. ABSN has bought for them
utensils and they use them to cook in
events and they themselves do that work
to get some money. They are registered
but not opened an account yet .She
promised at the end of May they will
already have an account. Each time they
meet they give out 30 ksh to one person
and keep 10 ksh for their account and at
now they have 1,000 ksh .They also do
farming. They intend to hire a land to do farming and later sell their produce
to start a business and cater for their needs.
SAUMU
MOHAMED-
SAMBURU.
She thanked
ABSN for the
invitation; this
was her first time
to come to
Nairobi. They
have a mosque
(Imam Jafar(as)),
a teacher
(Hussein).
They have 70 members but they have a very big problem of water. They
have to walk for 8km in order to get water so they are asking for assistance
to dig them a bore hole.They also need carpets for prayers because they use
gunias (sacks), and also hijabs to cover themselves. They have a merry go
round; they are 30 members and give out 50 ksh every Friday. After a period
of 9 months they started making soap, Aloe Vera soap but they stopped
because of lack of water.
KASWIDA MADRASA TUL ZAHRA-NAKURU.
“Leo ni furaha siku ya mazazi,siku ya raha na mapenzi, Ondosha karaha, ondosha udhia Nifuraha kwetu dada kutujia majlisi yetu kutupambia Rabi Mola tuweke pamoja, siku hii ya mazazi.”
HAMIDA ISSA. -NAKURU.
She started by reciting a
Dua.She is thankful to ABSN
for their good hospitality and
prayed for Allah (swt) to
bless them. She said that they
need ABSN to visit them.
They thank Allah (swt )
because when it comes to
religious matters they are
okay. They have sewing
machines but they are not
enough so they need help.
They also had a teacher but
they could not afford to pay her so she left. She said as women they should
stop depending totally on their husbands and that they should also work to
cater for their needs. She asked ABSN to help them with a teacher, classes
and sewing machines.
HALIMA OTHMAN -KISUMU. They are very few but they need a madrassa so that
their kids can learn. They keep poultry, meet once a
month and give 1,000 ksh each which is given to one
member and the person gets 20,000 ksh and 50 ksh
is for food. She thanked ABSN for their support.
FURAHA MOHAMED - SAGANA.
She thanked ABSN and Sis Nazneen for their
support.They have registered their group and
they are 20 members but some do not
attend.They intend to keep poultry but they
have money problem.They have a merry go
round,they contribute money and give it to
one member.They need assistance to sewing
machines because they have a big place to
keep them.
REHEMA RAJAB -RIRUTSATELITE.(PORRIDGE).
She started by thanking BCT and ABSN for
the porridge programme because it has helped
to boost the children moral.She said that the
children come to madrasa early and they are
also working very hard. “Prophet Muhammad
(saw) has said, if a person does any good to
you then re pay them and if you cannot afford
to pay them back, then pray for them.”
AMINA MUSA - RIRUTA MUSLIM.
She started by thanking ABSN and BCT
for their support. In their group they are
28 members.They meet every Sunday
and they each contribute 50 ksh .
20 ksh is for their account and 30 ksh is
for the owner of the house where the
meet who is also a member. They have
1,000 ksh in their account.
At AL GADHIR.-BCT SPONSORED.
We are taught Quran and Fiqh and I am
proud to say that we can now read the
Quran and also those who have
converted to Islam benefited a lot. We
were also taught to sew clothes and they
can now make school uniforms and also simple dresses on their own. We
also do embroidery. ”
She gave an example of Syeda Fatema (as) and how she used to work more
than her maid and that they should follow that example.She also said that
education is for all and that age is not a hindrance for learning and that
everyone should seek for knowledge until the time of leaving this world.
Sister Nazneen –ABSN
She welcomed all for the celebrations of Lady Fatema Zahra (as) .
We also remember a great personality, Imam Khomeini (ra) ,the reviver of
our Islamic values.
“Our monthly gatherings have now
completed about 9 years. Yes time
flies! Most of you are regular and
really have made great efforts to
attend, we pray to Almighty God to be
able to continue. For those who are
far, please try and organize your selves
to hold gatherings in your own areas
and send us the reports as soon as
possible to help us to plan better. For
those who have come from afar , we
will sit and discuss the way forward as
we don’t have enough staff and
resources to reach out to so many .Even if you are only 10 /20 sisters it is
still a start, we started our monthly gatherings with 4 sisters in the very
beginning. Our membership has increased quite a lot since then.
As women we have great responsibilities and roles to contribute in the
society, and we must all work together to see the fruits of your efforts.
Educate yourselves in all fields, and then share your knowledge and
experiences to uplift those around you. We need to give back a positive
image of Muslims as most of the time Muslims are portrayed as terrorists
and women are mostly identified because we wear hijab. We are tired of
being portrayed negatively in the media. Many Islamic countries have
women working in mostly all fields yet we never see all this. Medical,
education, water and sanitation are also the priorities now. We will see
where we can join hands with other organizations where necessary. Inshallah
We are facing more and more challenges as we try to fight for equality in all
areas of our lives and fail to understand our rights as Muslim Women. The
first basic thing to understand is that we are all created equal in Islam. We
have a right to education and work and earn in the Islamic society. This
means helping our families and societies to live in dignity and not to beg all
the time. The Quran also makes it clear that Women and Men are equal in
front of Almighty God, so we should remove this barrier of ignorance and
take lessons from great Islamic Nations whose women are very active in
almost all areas. There are several verses in the Holy Quran about this topic ,
but I end with one:
Bismilla Hir Rah Man Nir Rahim..
“As for those who lead a righteous life, male or female, while believing,
they enter Paradise; without the slightest injustice.”4:124
We must strive for education in all fields so that we may raise and nurture
better future generations who can carry a more positive image of Islam. We
have to take responsibilities for our own actions and not blame others if
something goes wrong. Encourage your children to stay in school. I know
school fees are hindering many just now, but we will do our best to help
through the Al Mahdi Sponsorship scheme. Inshallah. Let them be whatever
they want so as to build a stronger community.
Women can also strive in education if it does not hinder their Islamic
principles. Work and unite together and remove discord and disunity, if a
problem arises, solve it before it gets too far.
Please try and help each other raise your confidence and be proud to be a
Muslim Woman. Thanks to all who have come from far, to our guests and
ABSN staff for their hard work,
Our appreciation goes to the staff from Rasul al Akram academy in helping
with the catering and the management of this school for allowing us to use
the facilities and Mr. Bonnie for video coverage .Annual Quran competition
details will be sent out soon by Sheikh Saleem ,Inshallah.”
We then had a presentation
of prizes to the winners of
Lady Zainab (as)
questionnaire done at the
Ghadir Medical Camp.10
correct entries picked got
the prizes.
Later on ladies from
Kisumu, Samburu and
others were presented with
clothes which were
collected in SAAJ by Br.
Ahmed Khimji and others
dropped off at Aristocrats and ABSN offices.
ABSN sincerely thanks all our well-wishers for this program.
Our future generation……………..
Dua Wahda
Children’s corner
Children were taken care of by Mwanasiti.
There was a meeting to discuss how solar lamps were benefitting them,
which families still don’t have and many other issues after lunch .We had
re-newel of registrations and preparations for the coming home exhibition at
the Sarit Center(14th May – 18
th may 2014), Inshallah.
With salaams and duas Nazneen Karim and Zahida Mohammdali.