Cork Mosque Fund Raising Project

Cork Mosque Fund Raising Project

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Personally I am very lucky to get into the University of Nottingham. Why? It is one of the best school of Pharmacy in the UK (If not in the world), it is big, it has great scenery and photogenic places, it has great access to halal food supply, it is located in the midlands (ie middle of England) and last but not least, it has a great Islamic Society and community here.

I am so lucky that we (the ISoc of Uni of Nottingham) managed to get 2 prayer rooms (let me call it as a masjid). One is located in the Portland Building of University Park Campus, the other is in Amenities Building, Jubilee Campus. These masjids were the results of previous committees of striving and asking for it from the university. By having proper masjids, we are free to perfom solats, halaqahs, iftars and qiams. What a bless from Allah SWT.

A simple study circle carried in Uni of Nottingham Mosque.

And as result, it becomes a responsibility of the current ISoc to maintain the mosque and the Muslims, to ensure the University does not "harm" us and to stand up for the rights of the Muslim students here. Sounds challenging to me, especially when the mosque is full with people during Solat Jumaat but the number of people who are willing to give commitment to the ISoc is maybe around half of it.

Have you ever thought about how hard it is for the pervious people to get a masjid in their place? No matter whether it is just merely a prayer room in the Student Union, or a proper building itself. What I am very impressed in the Muslim community here in the UK is they are so hardworking in getting a mosque. They even fund raise in many ways to get sufficient funds to buy a building which later on refurbished into a mosque. This includes abondoned churches. Subhanallah, I can't imagine how many reward (pahala) comes into the account of people who strived for it! It will continue as long as people make full use of the house of Allah.

Alhamdulillah right now I have the priviledge to "feel" the hardship of getting a mosque. Recently, a group of friends in Cork organised a project, which is Cork Mosque fund raising project. The aim is to gather fund in to buy an unused church to be converted into a mosque in Cork. However, the downside of the plan is they require a sum of 1.6 million euros in order to buy that building. That is enormous!

Therefore, let us all participate in this project, donate as many as you can.

Think about it. Imam Ibn Kathir left behind his books, so did Sayyid Qutb and other scholars in the past. These are the asset they left behind and will be the assets in the hearafter in front of Allah. Think about as long as a person read their books and teach to others or at least increase their understanding about Islam, how much rewards did these authors of books get from Allah? In the end, we are left alone in the hereafter, we look after ourselves. A pregnant mother will give birth instantly and forgets about her child, a child will forget about his family, relatives will runaway from one another, all this because of they only need to care about themselves. Because when we face Allah SWT, Allah will count and ask everything we did one by one and individually. On that day we can not rely on others, apart from our own deeds.

Our time is short, but the price of Jannah is expensive. Do you think you can obtain Jannah easily? People in the past paid with their lives, paid with all their wealth and time. How about us? How about yourself, Ibn MuSa? Who knows your time might come soon? Maybe today? Maybe tomorrow? Maybe in the next 5 minutes? If it does come, how much amal jariah we have left behind to be continue supporting us till the Day of Judgement comes?

Palestinians carrying coffin of Sheikh Ahmad Yasin

The remaining of Allahyarham Sheikh Ahmad Yasin's wheelchair and his blood in front of the mosque where he was assasinated by the Israeli.

How expensive the price of Jannah is...

According to a hadith of Rasulullah SAW which its meaning discussed about the connection of sons of Adam with this world has stopped when they die, apart from 3 things. A soleh child (a very pious child always making doa for their parents), continuous chain of useful knowledge and sadaqah jariah. Lending a helping hand in providing fund to buy a mosque, maintaing the mosque or even by just buying a carpet or sound system for the mosque will be a way of sadaqah jariah as long as the mosque, equipment and carpet are still be used for people to worship Allah and to learn about Islam. Therefore if people like Ibn Kathir has left their knowledge behind, what are you waiting for?

I ask again, do you really want Jannah? Do you really want yourself to settle down in Paradise in the hereafter? If the answer is yes, then rab the opportunity to make sadaqah jariah, by banking in your sadaqah jariah into this account:

Account Name: Tabung Satu Hati
Reference: Cork Mosque
Sort Code: 40-10-06
Account No: 52226200

May Allah grant us with Jannatul Firdaus insyaAllah.

Wallahuaalam.

Ibn MuSa
Dunkirk 2009

(Photos taken from Aljazeera.info)