In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful
My Dear Community Members,
As-Salaamun Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
The glorious month of Holy Ramadhan has passed leaving behind the trail of wonderful moments of Ibad’at and Isteghfa’r.
I would like to reflect briefly on the state of the community in general and the world at large. We are navigating through turbulent times never witnessed in the recent history. This Holy Month of Ramadhan 1441 will go down in history as one of its kind, a month where not only many Mosques and Centres had to remain closed but also all the Holy Islamic Shrines remained closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. As a consequence, there continues lockdowns and other restrictions in most of the countries worldwide.
Our Community like all others has been greatly affected by the pandemic which has resulted in deaths of a few of our members in different countries whilst some are still under recovery from the virus, we pray to the Almighty to grant the bereaved families patience to bear the losses of their dear ones and full recovery to those are infected.
The ongoing hard times of trials and tribulations represent the defining moments of our lives and the success for these moments also lies in how patient we remain while reposing trust in Allah (SWT) and how amply we exercise compassion for those with less support while seeking the pleasure of Allah (SWT).
The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is one that will take long time to recover. The KSI community with the support of the World Federation of KSIMC once again stood united and worked together to raise funds from the community members globally to assist the Regional Federations in providing support to member Jamaats for the medical emergencies, equipment etc. and also to the deserving families affected by this outbreak.
The highlight of this Holy Month has been to witness the positive usage of communications technology. It is a matter of great satisfaction to see how the Community globally has successfully made use of all facilities available and virtually conducted religious activities that were before being carried out within our Centres. We also witnessed the importance of the role and involvement of our powerful youth and the paramount importance they played to see us through these trying times.
Alhamdulillah, this year again with the support from the World Federation of KSIMC we were able to provide Ramadhan Relief in good time to various Jamaats and Tabligh Institutions under the Africa Federation for the needy and underprivileged families thus making the holy month of Ramadhan somewhat comfortable for them too.
The focus of the Africa Federation during this term continues to be spiritual upliftment of the Community, economic empowerment, higher education and housing development through ownership and the rent-to-own schemes for our members. Alhamdulillah we are making good progress to this end through the respective Boards.
Financial strength is fundamentally important for economic transformation and better future of our Community in all aspects of life, especially for our future generations. On this score, we continue with the commercial development projects of AFED Business Park along Nyerere Road (formerly Pugu Road) and AFED Tower in Dar es Salaam city centre with the objective of income generation making our institution self-sufficient in the coming years, Insha’allah.
I wish to remind all members to pay their religious dues (Khums and Zakat) regularly through the centralized system of Africa Federation. Likewise, I also appeal to you all to donate generously towards the Welfare and Education Funds which are used to assist the less fortunate and needy members of our community in our Jamaats who are desperately striving to live a normal life in this difficult economic environment. Please first help your own institutions and community where you live as a priority over those elsewhere.
May I request you all to pray for the safety, good health and long life of our Marja-e-Taqleed, Ayatullah al Uzmah al Seyed Ali al Husseini al Seestani and the Ulema-e-Deen. May Allah (S.W.T.) hasten the reappearance of the Awaited Imam, Al-Mahdi Al Hujjah (A.T.F.S.).
On this auspicious day of EID, on behalf of my colleagues and myself I extend to you all Eid Mubarak and pray that our homes are filled with happiness and tranquility. While we celebrate the day of Eid, let us not forget our relatives, neighbours and friends for surely, we all are the creation of the Almighty and to care for them is to please the Creator.
In closing, I request you all to uphold Unity and Solidarity. Let us remember with a Sura-e-Fateha all our Marhumeen especially those who were with us last Eid, and are no longer with us today.
Shabir Najafi
Chairman
The Federation of KSI Jamaats of Africa
30th Mahe Ramadhan 1441 AH (24th May 2020)