Weekly Classroom Themes – Secondary

Community Development

Bismillah. How many times have we heard the discussion within our communities: We need to expand the masjid. No, we need an Islamic School first. No, we need to do Dawah ... et cetera, et cetera.

Let us inshaAllah look at the methodology of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):

Upon arriving in Madinah he, peace and blessings be upon him, built a masjid. This set in motion the physical and spiritual development of the community, a place where congregational prayers as well as community meetings would be held. In fact there was no delay in the construction of the first masjid. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Al Madinah and selected the location of the masjid right upon arrival. It is also important to note that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) took part in the building himself.

The second stage of community development in Madinah was the effort to ensure that people attended the congregation prayer. The context of the Madinan situation was that not everyone was attending prayers at the same time. Thus the call to prayer was instituted. In our present context we see that people around the world face great difficulty in attending prayers (even Jum'ah) because of work. Thus let us reflect on how we, as a community, can help one another to ensure we are able, as a community, to attend the congregational prayer.

Following the call to prayer, the Messenger of Allah set out to support those in need in the community. The muhaajiroon were paired with ansar, who provided accommodations. In return the Muhaajir would teach Qur'an to his host, or vice versa. However, as more and more people embraced Islam and came to Madinah there were not sufficient available spaces within the houses of the ansar. Therefore the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, set aside the covered northern area of the masjid for those Muslims in need. Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) personally cared for these people, called the people of as-Suffah. Donations of money and food would be directed, by the Prophet, to the people of as-Suffah. Even gifts given to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would direct them to the people of as-Saffah. He, peace and blessings be upon him, would invite the people of as-Saffah to eat with him, and within his dwellings. He spared no effort to purchase and provide for their needs - peace and blessings be upon him.

Now, I anticipate that there may be a response of: "But! Our children are going non-Muslim school. So, that should be the priority." My response is this: The Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them all) had children. Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) first and foremost brought people to the Masjid, if we make this our goal our children will have role models and examples of piousness. Following that, in doing good and helping the poor our children will see, within the community and within the family, people who are implementing the message of Allah: Muslims who are engaged in making the community a better place. Don't get me wrong - I am not saying schools are not important, rather that we have the best model and there is wisdom in the methodology that Allah's Messenger took (peace and blessings be upon him).

And, Allah knows best.

In this there is wisdom for those who reflect. We can learn immensely from this model, for it speaks volumes and the wisdom it expounds is deep - however, for it to become internalized and implemented takes time, effort and commitment. May Allah guide us and make us among those who strive in His cause, working for His sake.

Questions:

How can we help the people in our communities to attend congregational prayer?

Who were the people of as-Suffah?

How do the children in a community benefit from a community that focuses on bringing the people to the masjid?

Assignment:

Make invitations or write letters inviting Muslims to come out to the masjid.

Week 29

International Development

Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), the second leader of the Islamic State and companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), said: "How can I be concerned for the people if I do not suffer what they suffer?"

Umar said this during the time of famine in Madinah while he was ruler of the entire Islamic Empire. Herein lies a great truth of all development and community work: understand the situation of those whom you are working with.

From personal experience, I can attest that many people and charitable organizations are separated from the people who they have come to assist. Often their actions speak volumes, whereby they are far removed from those they came to help and only remotely aware of the daily struggles and situations faced by their clients. Certainly there are tools that are required for a person to do a more effective job, such as laptops, phones and SUVs - I am not here to speak about those useful tools, unless they are excessive and not required for the task at hand (by that I mean that we do not need the 2010 leather seated Land Rover with built in MP3 when we are driving out to do assessments).

Let us take a concrete example. There is a refugee camp in an East African country (purposely left unnamed) where large, well-known, organizations operate. Due to the severity of the environment in the location of this camp, the refugees are provided with limited daily water rations (which they must use for all washing, cooking, cleaning and drinking). A few meters away, over the high barb-wired wall, there is a swimming pool for "aid" workers.

As good as the intentions may be of some of these workers, their actions nonetheless speak volumes to those, on the other side of the wall, struggle to have enough drinking water each day. How can such workers lavish in the depths of a pool while the people whom they claim to have come to help are parched in the hot desert rationing out their water? There are many such examples.

Let us inshaAllah return to the best of models, that of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who learned from him and followed him (peace and blessings be upon them).

Questions:

Why is it important for us to understand the situation of the people whom we are working with?

Can you give some examples from your community where a charitable organization doesn’t fully seem to understand the situation of the people whom they are working with? How do you think this charitable organization can better understand the individuals that they are trying to help?

Assignment:

Visit a hospital and get to know a sick person. Try to understand what they are going through and put yourself in their shoes. Write a paper about your experiences at the hospital. What did you learn?

If it is safe to do so, visit a less economically developed part of town and observe the living conditions of the individuals living there. Try to understand how their days are spent by putting yourself in their shoes. Write a paper about your experiences. What did you learn?

Week 30