Assalamu Alaykum and Ramadan Mubarak dear Community Members,

 “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).”

Abu Huraira (ra) related that the Prophet (pbuh) said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).

It is with much joy that we welcome the blessed month of Ramadan.  We will start our 1st taraweeh prayer from Wednesday, June 17th 2015. We thank Allah, The Merciful, for giving us an opportunity again this year to seek His favor and His forgiveness during the holy month. Despite the long summer hours, our community feels very excited this month to renew our commitments to Allah and His Deen, to reconnect with the Prophet (pbuh) and his teachings, to rejuvenate our souls and spirits and to rekindle our family and social bonds. At MAPS, we have been busy preparing for the Generous Month.

During this month when the Qur’an was revealed, we have a number of programs planned to deepen our spiritual attachment to Allah, The Almighty. We will be having Taraweeh prayers nightly and Qiyam-ul-Layl in the last 10 nights. We are having a Qur’an memorization competition. Ar-Rahmah Academy will start a Qur’an intensive course on June 23rd for several age groups. Precious Hearts will start a Ramadan Enrichment class for ages 4-10. And many more. Please visit www.mapsredmond.org for latest programs and information.

During this Month of fasting, we will be having daily Iftaars for singles, Friday and Saturday Iftaars for the whole community and one inter-faith Iftaar for our non-Muslim friends and neighbors. The mosque will be opened for long hours and on many days for 24 hours. To that effect, we are preparing the building nicely. We have been accelerating our projects to put two commercial grade playsets on the east side of the building, to open up a state-of-the-art library and to construct a modern coffee lounge and shop. We are also repainting and recoating the mosque, cleaning up the landscaping, setting up the lounge area and redecorating the halls.

Let us all strive to reap the best rewards during this month. Let us all make an effort to fast, increase our prayers, do good deeds, stop our bad habits, ask for Allah’s forgiveness, beg for His mercy, forgive those who may have wronged us, thank those who have helped us, reconnect with our parents and relatives, assist those in need and establish our mosque and community. More specifically, I am asking all of our community to do 3 + 3 things this Ramadan:

Personal 3:

1. Encourage your kids to fast, even if for a few hours, and have some Iftaars with your family

2. Memorize one Surah of the Holy Qur’an

3. Spend some time praying alone in the middle of the night

Community 3:

1. Attend at least a few Taraweeh and Qiyam-ul-Layl prayers at MAPS

2. Attend at least one community Iftaar at MAPS

3. Donate some money to MAPS for the poor or to upkeep and grow our mosque; fulfill your pledge

I pray that Allah, The Most Glorious, will accept all of our efforts and fast and will forgive all of our shortcomings and sins during this month. I look forward to seeing and meeting all of you at MAPS this Ramadan. Please remember all the board members and volunteers in your duas during this month. They have been the backbone of our community to deliver to us excellent experience.

Jazakumu Allah Khairan

Mahmood Khadeer

President

MAPS