Assalamu-Alaykum (Peace Be Upon You)
Eid Mubarak to all of you, the traditional Muslim greetings of Eid.
As we bid farewell to this Ramadan, let us reflect on the Quranic lessons of Ramadan. Ramadan is about rejuvenating God-consciousness and being grateful for the blessings of Allah SWT.
❝ O you those who have believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was for those before you that you may attain God Consciousness. ❞
(Quran 2:183)
❝ Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear Signs for guidance and judgment…. and so glorify Him in that He has guided you; and that you may be grateful. ❞
(Quran 2:185)
❝ We give gratitude because of God’s blessings. “And if we try to want to count the blessings of Allah, we would be incapable of doing so. ❞
(Quran 14:34)
Imam Abu Hamid Al Ghazali says that recognition of Allah’s blessings is central to living a life dedicated to faith and obedience.
So, let me take this opportunity to reflect on the blessings of Ramadan for our community.
When we started the planning for Ramadan in January 2022, we faced uncertainties of COVID. We also did not know the level of community engagement given that we have been sheltered at home for the past 2 years due to COVID restrictions. So, when the first day of Ramadan rolled around on April 1st, we waited in hopeful breadth.
On the first night of Ramadan, the masjid was packed with over 1200 members who come to pray Isha and Taraweeh (night) prayers. This is the most attendance we have ever had until then. Right then, we recognized the blessings of Ramadan had arrived. By the night of the 29th, we had 2500 people for Taraweeh, another record for us. How we even accommodated that many people, I have no idea. Every inch of the masjid was occupied including our most recent expansion. The next day,1600 of our community members had their Iftar at MAPS.
Over the past 30 days, we received much feedback from the community. Here are a few sentences from a moving letter from a sister after her experience on the night of the 29th of Ramadan.
❝ The iqama was called, and the recitation began. I was hooked because I knew the verses, the connection was strong! A feeling of belonging and unity overcame me. I felt like I was in a Muslim country, the feeling of security and kinship. The kind when you’re walking down the street and older people start playing with your kids and kissing them out of love.
Last night was a surreal experience for me and I was moved to share it with you. I hope you had an epic experience too. ♥ ❞
For the rest of my remarks, I will list 10 blessings the MAPS community experienced during this Ramadan.
1. First, we are grateful that Allah SWT allowed us to enjoy the full blessings of Ramadan without any COVID disruptions over the past 2 years. There was looming fear that an outbreak could have abruptly brought everything to a halt! We were blessed with beautiful recitations from Qari Aslam and Qari Abdelkarim during the Tarawih. During the last 10 nights, we averaged over 1000 people praying Tarawih every day, and a similar number stayed all the way to Fajr and ate their suhoor (breakfast) at MAPS in the wee hours of the morning. In addition, our Tarawih broadcast on Facebook and YouTube received about 600 to 1000 views every day. We provided daily iftar to about 300 people during weekdays, and 1000+ during weekends. We also supported Iftar at EMAS and MAYF mosques in South Seattle. These are no easy tasks, considering the volunteers were fasting as well and needed to go to work every day. We were blessed with an amazing group of volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this Ramadan a great experience for the community. These efforts provided the community members both time and space to establish bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood which is vital to creating a vibrant community.
2. Because of your generosity, we paid off the loan on the masjid that we took when started the construction in 2010. Praise to Allah, the Most Glorious! Immediately, after my announcement, I received feedback that we need to start thinking about expansion because the masjid (mosque) has become too small for our needs! This is a full year before Redmond light rail station, a stone’s throw away from our mosque opens and the Marymoor Village transformation takes shape.
3. MAPS Expansion project, which I talked about last year, was completed early in the year with the addition of 5,000 sq ft of space. Every sq ft of it was used for Iftar, Taraweeh, and I’tikaf. Now that we have the space, we cannot imagine how we could have managed to do what we did without this additional space.
4. We launched MAPS Seattle, a campus of MAPS in Downtown Seattle a week before Ramadan. MAPS Seattle campus is 2 blocks from SLU, within walking distance from all major tech companies – Amazon, Meta, Google, Zillow, etc. When we opened, we did know what to expect. MAPS Seattle operation is in full swing with 150 people attending Jummah prayer, and 100+ in attendance for daily Tarawih prayers. What is so exciting is that this was an effort led by our second generation of leaders from the community and most of the attendees are also young, second-gen Muslims who live and work in Seattle.
5. MAPS IOC resumed their Annual MAPS IOC Iftar which was held on April 13th and was the best executed IOC Iftar program in the history of MAPS with a keynote by Dr. Suzy Ismail.
6. We launched Ummah Coffee, a project led by a trio of amazing upcoming leaders Osman, Juned, and Hasan. In their words, Ummah coffee is about creating community connections and providing a co-working space with a little bit of coffee. In the 10 days since the opening, they had served 1500 cups of drink and 700 plates of bakery products. Through our SBRN (our small business network) partnership, our bakery products come from Muslim-owned small businesses – Alida Bakers, Jawahara Café, Diana’s Cake, and Cloud Food Court. If you are looking for a meeting place with a bit of coffee, check out Ummah Coffee. Also, watch out for Ummah Coffee in MAPS Seattle!
7. We had our Ramadan Quran competition in which over 200 kids participated and had our award ceremony on the last night of Ramadan.
8. We distributed $160K in Zakat (charity) to 1000 needy families in the community in the last days of Ramadan. Overall, we have given $425K of your Zakat to needy people in the community this year alone! In addition, MAPS MCRC distributed 2500 Ramadan Food Boxes to needy families. MAPS PCRC is also provided Eid Gifts to over 850 families. For Afghan refugees, this was their first Ramadan away from home. MAPS MCRC arranged for Suhoor and Iftar meals and prayers to make their Ramadan a memorable one.
MAPS also partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital to distribute Eid Toy Gifts to all the sick children in the hospital at 3 locations. The community donated over 350 gifts. This is the first time a Muslim organization has taken such an initiative; a tradition churches provide during the Christmas holidays.
9. MAPS MCOC (a program that celebrates our cultural diversity) held many events with our children celebrating the Muslim cultural diversity of Ramadan and Eid. MAPS Youth held many events with other Muslim youth groups.
10. We had our first new converts Iftar led by Sr. Aisha Aslam in which 70 people participated. We have started a converts networking group that meets monthly. This has been a much-needed service that we are fulfilling.
As you can see, we are more than a masjid. There was a lot going on here at MAPS during Ramadan.
For those of you who are new to MAPS, we extend you a warm welcome to our community. We have a lot to offer to you as well as learn from you. I met a lot of newcomers over the last 30 days and was amazed at the diversity and the skills they bring. If you have a particular passion, we want to leverage your expertise at MAPS. Sign up for our newsletter on our website and follow us on our social media channels to stay connected. We have a vibrant Education program led by Sh Adam Jamal, our Education Director. I am grateful to the community for your unwavering support over the years. I want to close by wishing all of you and your families a blessed Eid Mubarak!
JazakAllah,
Hyder Ali
MAPS President