Help our Masjid please!!

giant24us · #1 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 06:04 PM

Hey salaams guys, i don't post often (it's been a few years in fact) but I am doing so now to kindly ask you guys to help out our Muslim community in Davis, California. We are trying to hire an Imam: Shaykh Nawaz Khan from Fremont, Ca.

We're a small community outside of Sacramento, but we've Alhamdullillah accomplished a lot of big things. This past year we completely rebuilt our masjid:

Islamic Center Of Davis(ICD)

and hiring an Imam is the next step. Take care guys!

Mehdi Khan

IbnMardhiyah · #2 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 06:13 PM

Make your motto "never again".

Never again will our masaajid have to beg for donations. Get into big business, make a fatload of money per year and use it to strengthen your communities' financial backbone.

Say bismillah, go out, and make it happen.

AluQeema · #3 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 06:55 PM

What about the people who just want to earn sawab by donating money

IbnMardhiyah · #4 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AluQeema

What about the people who just want to earn sawab by donating money

they can still do that even if the masjid is fully built and 100% paid off.

AluQeema · #5 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Get into big business, make a fatload of money per year and use it to strengthen your communities' financial backbone

Isn't that donating still?

IbnMardhiyah · #6 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AluQeema

Isn't that donating still?

For the masjid, as well as the community, there is a critical difference between Muslim businessmen handing over five or six figure checks to the masjid without prompting ... and individual middle-class wage earners giving $20, $50 or $100 at a time after much prompting via fundraising dinners and events.

People will always continue to have the opportunity to donate to the masjid to assist with operational expenses, which are much much lower than the initial capital expenses and construction costs. However their reward is not diminished in the sight of Allah - as each person is judged according to what they can bear, or what their ability is.

And the fact is, there is so much money out there for your taking - but 99.9% of the people have no clue that it's there, nor do they know how to get their hands on it.

wheelworks · #7 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah

Make your motto "never again".

Never again will our masaajid have to beg for donations. Get into big business, make a fatload of money per year and use it to strengthen your communities' financial backbone.

Say bismillah, go out, and make it happen.

Have you done it yet? Well if you haven't then Shut up and do it.

Once you've done it, then you can show others how to do it and walk the walk instead of talking the talk etc...donchaknow

IbnMardhiyah · #8 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:20 PM

Yes, I've already done it, and I show others how to as well.

AluQeema · #9 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:21 PM

You know, I believe the biggest problem with the Ummah when it comes to money issue is actually Israaf. If people can stop and cut back on the amount of Israaf they do and use it for things like this, perhaps our communties will start to flourish more.

As far as on the actual topic, I think he was looking for perhaps a more realistic method in the present context.

Quote:

Have you done it yet? Well if you haven't then Shut up and do it.

Why the heck are you guys so randomly rude. Man I've been on so many forums, and then I came here and was posting all decent remarks but then I noticed everyone is busy insulting each other and dissing each other LOL so I kinda' got involved too damn. Bad bois.

wheelworks · #10 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AluQeema

Why the heck are you guys so randomly rude. Man I've been on so many forums, and then I came here and was posting all decent remarks but then I noticed everyone is busy insulting each other and dissing each other LOL so I kinda' got involved too damn. Bad bois.

Welcome to Islamica donchaknow

IbnMardhiyah · #11 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AluQeema

Why the heck are you guys so randomly rude. Man I've been on so many forums, and then I came here and was posting all decent remarks but then I noticed everyone is busy insulting each other and dissing each other LOL so I kinda' got involved too damn. Bad bois.

The case with the object of your query is much more nuanced - if you observe his history of posts you will notice he has an unhealthy obsession with all things me. He wasn't even involved in the discussion but he felt left out so he came in with abrasive comments, interrupting what was a very civil discourse between you and I.

He has self-esteem issues and confidence challenges. Apparently he feels so threatened by me that he complains about me to others and tells them that I was the reason why he turned off his reputation ranking meter - even though, in addition to myself many others were making their disagreement with his antics very much known to him via the rep scale.

Anyways, if you want, we can continue where we left off.

wheelworks · #12 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah

The case with the object of your query is much more nuanced - if you observe his history of posts you will notice he has an unhealthy obsession with all things me.

Atleast I don't have an unhealthy obsession of randomly insulting certain people and those new to the forum...not to mention an over swelled ego

AluQeema · #13 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah

Anyways, if you want, we can continue where we left off.

Well yes, I brought up the issue of Israaf. . .

IbnMardhiyah · #14 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AluQeema

Well yes, I brought up the issue of Israaf. . .

Some of it is relative. Let me give you an example:

We live in Canada, you and I. GTA area. Ballpark figure for an average home is - for sake of argument - lets say $300K. The average household income for the middle class is about $60K - $100K. Keeping things simple, you see here that such a family is paying mortgage [bank or Islamic] on a house that is worth more than what their annual income is.

And that's normal. Its what the majority of people are doing, so its not considered israaf, right?

Now, you drive down Trafalgar, Bridle Path or Mississauga Road and you see freaking $10M homes. There are Muslims who live there too. Is that israaf? I don't think so, because if their annual household income is $3.5M, then they're actually at par with everyone else when it comes to the 1:3 ratio of their household income vs. mortgage value of the house. And if they own their house [or mansion] with 100% equity, well so much the better, and a lot of them have annual household incomes of greater than that ratio of 1:3.

Ergo, I submit that such spending isn't israaf, if you have loads and loads of money. It doesn't matter that you have the same amount of family members as some other middle-class family has. If you're earning 40 times the amount that they are, then you are fully justified in owning a house thats only 30 times the value of their house.

But israaf exists, no doubt. It's just not something that I believe can be changed efficiently. Humans have base desires and they will continue splurging on material gains to satisfy themselves.

I strongly believe that there's a much greater pay-off if you take a group of Muslim businessmen who see the big, global picture and have them leverage their financial base to build a strong backbone for the Muslim community as well as the greater non-Muslim community at large. And if you are part of that group, on the inside looking out instead of the other way around, then it's also more efficient.

Islam was built on money, and sadly people have forgotten that.