“O Allah! Bless us in the day of our Eid and our fast breaking and let it be the best day that has passed over us”
Imam Ali Ibn Hussain Zainul Abideen (A.S.) – Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful
My Dear Community Members,
As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh.
All praise is due to Allah (s.w.t.), the most Beneficient, the most Merciful by whose grace and blessings, we bid farewell to the blessed and glorious month, its beautiful days and its fragrant nights. We thank the Almighty for granting us the inspiration and strength to complete the holy month of Ramadhan peacefully, in good health and with elevated spirits of spiritual nourishment. May He accept all our ibadats, our charity and good deeds and forgive our sins and shortcomings that we have committed, Ameen.
We are in the second year of navigating through the difficult times being faced globally following the serious outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic in January 2020, this continues to remain the main focus of the community as nearly every member has been affected in one way or the other. This Holy Month we have witnessed the devasting outbreak of the second wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic in India which has crippled their complete health system resulting in a large number of deaths, our community in India has also been badly affected, we at Africa Federation extended financial assistance to India Federation to enable them to assist their members with financial and medical support, we also appealed to our community members in our Jamaats in Africa to donate for this noble cause.
On the other hand, it is encouraging to see that a number of Jamaats have managed to arrange for vaccines for their members, the Secretariat is working with the Jamaats in our region where this has not been possible due to varied reasons, we are hopeful that together we shall be able to have the whole community in Africa vaccinated by the end of this year. Our covid team is in constant touch with Jamaats and their respective Covid Coordinators. Situation and Covid cases are being monitored and exchanges of information between Jamaats on regular basis is very helpful. Equipment and financial support has been given to Jamaats to help in this challenging times, this will continue.
Presently, Africa Federation is working closely with Lady Fatimah Trust of the U.K. and with Dar es Salaam Jamaat to import Oxygen Concentrators to be positioned in our Jamaats in the event of emergencies, so that First Aid Help can be provided rapidly to our members.
It is with deep grief and shock we received the news of the recent criminal bomb attack aimed at Sayyid al-Shuhadda’ Girls School in Dasht-e-Barchi located in western part of Kabul, Afghanistan. The heinous crime carried out by the ruthless extremists’ groups killing over 60 female students and injuring over 100 in the holy month of Ramadhan is heartbreaking and shocking – the world must stand together and condemn these horrible cowardly attacks on innocent people and children, mainly of Shia minority. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the bomb blasts and pray to Allah (s.w.t.) to grant the parents, families and the peace-loving community in Afghanistan patience and courage to withstand and fight these atrocities and criminal acts. We pray for the injured victims for their swift and full recovery, Ameen.
Africa Federation is appealing to our community members to assist in whichever way possible towards the oppressed Shia community in Afghanistan who have become victims of the criminal attacks. Africa Federation will also make financial contribution towards this fund. All funds can be channeled through the constituent Jamaats or Africa Federation Secretariat in Dar es Salaam.
Like every year, Africa Federation with assistance from the World Federation of KSI Muslim Communities and other generous donors distributed Ramadhan Relief Funds to Jamaats and Institutions in mainland Africa, Madagascar and Reunion aimed for the needy and underprivileged families thus making the holy month of Ramadhan somewhat comfortable for them too.
On the Federation growth, it is pleasing to see our membership growing, in 2019 we welcomed Lilongwe (Malawi) as a new member of the Federation and in December 2020 at the 82nd Supreme Council Session held in Dar es Salaam, Kigali (Rwanda) Jamaat became a new member of the Federation. This is aligned with our Aims & Objectives towards uniting our Khoja Community in Africa and strengthening our Institutions and bonds.
The Housing Development Board successfully completed the Amira Apartments which consists of 40 Residential Apartments in Upanga, Dar-es-Salaam, the Opening Ceremony was held on Wednesday, 17th March 2021. The new home owners have started moving in and it is anticipated that by June 2021 all owners would settle down. The other two projects of AFED currently in progress are the AFED Business Park, a commercial project along Julius Nyerere Road and AFED Tower in the city centre, both these projects are expected for completion before the end of this year, Insha’allah.
There has been remarkable progress and development in the restructured management of Bilal Muslim Mission in Tanzania – our External Tableegh Institution has thrived and excelled in several areas of operations and propagation of the Madh’ab of Ahlulbayt (‘A). The construction of the Bilal Tanga Branch Girls Hawza building which was undertaken by the AFED Housing Development Board is completed and the official opening will be performed on Wednesday, 19th May 2021. Several other projects including the expansion of Bilal Boys Hawza in Dar es Salaam are in the offing to improve the standards of External Tableegh activities and education with increased focus on human resources enhancement, economic development & learning.
Africa Federation Boards who are working in collaboration with the Media Team have made full use of modern technology available by holding regular online (virtual) programs on various topics and with different scholars whereby the community continues to benefit during this current situation of the pandemic and lockdown. We appeal to our members to take full advantage of these sessions which covers several topics and avenues for spiritual upliftment and acquiring knowledge and information.
As we observe this day of Eid, with happiness and joy having offered our deepest gratitude and thanks to Allah (s.w.t.) for His countless blessings, let us remember the plight of millions of less fortunate people, who include those impacted by poverty, hunger, conflict, disease, injustices and victims of human rights abuses wherever they are in this world.
I wish to appeal and remind all our community members on the importance of Charity and benevolence towards the less fortunate members of our community, whose numbers are increasing each year. Centralization of collections of Hukook, Zakat, Sadaka and General Donations are important so that we can manage the utilization of the funds properly. Due to the Pandemic scourge and economic slowdown donations for our community is very much needed.
On this auspicious occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, I extend to you all Eid Mubarak and pray that our homes are filled with happiness and tranquility. I wish to convey my warmest wishes and heartiest greetings to each and every member of our entire community.
On behalf of all our community members, we send our Eid Greetings to our Marjae-Taqleed, Ayatullah Al Uzma Al Sayyid Ali Hussaini Al Seestani, and pray to Allah (SWT) to grant him and our Ulemas good health, long life and protection from all calamities, Ameen.
In closing, I would like to extend heartfelt condolences to the families of Marhum Ebrahim Kassam, Marhum Mohamedraza Khamis, Marhum Mohamed bhai Dhirani, Marhum Syed Hassan-Abbas Naqvi, Marhum Murtaza Jivraj, fondly known as Murtaza Kerbala and Marhum Azadali Rossanaly Molou who passed away in Ahmedabad recently. Let us remember them and all the Marhumeen especially those who were with us last Eid, and are no longer with us today with a Sura-e-Fateha.
Stay Safe & Please wear your Face Mask
Shabir Hussein Najafi
1st Shawwal 1442 A.H. (May 2021)