As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum / Peace be upon you!
Crescent Moon Muharram 1442 AH
There were verified sightings of the crescent moon by the naked eye at sunset on Wednesday, August 19th, 2020, in Houston, Texas that apply to us in Greater Seattle. Therefore, Thursday, August 20th, 2020 is the first day of Muharram, 1442 A.H. for us.
We ask God, the Most High, for success in performing good deeds and to hasten the Return of Our Master, Imam Mahdi (p) as we also pray to God, the Most Merciful, to bring a swift end to the current pandemic and grant a quick recovery to all those afflicted.
Important Islamic Events this Month:
Muharram Aug/Sep Occasion
2 Aug 21 Imam Hussain (p) arrives in Karbala (61 A.H.)
7 Aug 26 Water cut off from Imam Hussain (p) & companions (61 A.H.)
10 Aug 29 Day of Ashura; Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (p) (61 A.H.)
13 Sep 1 Burial of Imam Hussain (p) & companions in Karbala (61 A.H.)
25 Sep 13 Wafat of Imam Ali ibn Hussain (al-Sajjad) (p) (95 A.H.)
Daily and Friday congregational prayers remain suspended during COVID-19 lock-down.
Weekly Thursday programs, and wafat commemoration will take place online.
IMAN Center Muharram Programs this year will be all online at 7:00 PM daily starting Thursday August 20,2020. Special all day program is planned for Ashura and Sham-e-ghariban. Schedules and events details will be posted on the web site.
Muharram Guest Speaker
Saiyid Hasan Ali Rizvi, a dynamic person, born and raised in NJ, USA, will be our guest speaker for the for the first 12 nights of Muharram. He currently serves as the spiritual advisor for the Husseini Islamic Center in Orlando, FL.
Saiyid Hasan series of lectures, titled: "From Muslim to Mu'min" will discuss the following sub-topics:
Muslim Identity in the West: Muslim American or American Muslim?
Muslim vs Mu'min - What's the difference?
Tawheed - Are the Atheists Right? Is There No Rational Proof for God's Existence?
Justice - Can God be Unjust?
The Problem of Good & Evil
Reason vs Revelation - Why Do We Need Prophets & Messengers if God Gave Us Reason?
Wilaayah in the Contemporary Age
Is There Really an Afterlife?
Saiyid Hasan Ali Rizvi graduated in 2007 from Rutgers College with BA in Political Science and Minor in Computer Science. While in college, he focused his studies on politics and religion in the Middle East and the Islamic World. He studied subjects such as Islamic Jurisprudence, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Democracy & Reform in Post-Revolutionary Iran, American Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Terrorism in International Relations, Israeli Politics, and Islam, Democracy, & Violence in the Islamic World.
Saiyid Hasan began his formal Islamic studies in 2010 at the Imam Ali (a) Seminary in Orlando, FL, and graduated in 2012. He continued his Islamic Education in Qom from 2014-2020 towards BA in Fiqh & General Islamic Sciences and MA in Islamic Philosophy. He completed 2 years of Dars e Khaarij covering subjects that included Internet Law, Gender Differences, Khums, Food & Drinks, etc
Saiyid Hasan has been focusing on a wide variety of subjects, in addition to the traditional hawzah subjects such as fiqh & usool. He has spent time investigating issues & topics related to the West such as democracy, capitalism, materialism, the relationship between science & religion, atheism, postmodernism, etc... especially by examining them through the lens of Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism ('irfaan).
IMAN Center Restart
After careful deliberations, consultations and discussions, IMAN Executive Committee has determined that prudent course for our community is abundance of caution and to continue the suspension of activities at the IMAN Center during Muharram 1442 AH.
COVID-19 Pandemic status will continue to be monitored to help determine when it is safe for us resume congregational services at IMAN.
When IMAN Center resumes as, we will be returning to a new normal per guidelines provided by King County health authorities and other medical experts. Details of this are being figured out and in the process of being finalized.
We need several volunteers to help plan and orchestrate a safe re-start and a new normal. Please e-mail facilities@iman-wa.org if you are willing to volunteer and help with safe re-start.
Supporting those in need
Given that this year's Muharram program is all virtual, only drive through tabarruk at IMAN Center is planned for the day of Ashura only on August 29, 2020. For the remainder of the days, a suggestion has been made to contribute towards helping homeless shelters in memory of Imam Hussain.
There are a couple of ways to achieve this.
One option is to provide food to women shelter which has a total of 100 women. This shelter accepts home cooked meals. Please see information posted at the link: https://sophiaway.org/nourish/ for further details.
Another option is to support tent city in Seattle. Sister Sidra is exploring how we can have Sophia Way can help us coordinate hot meal delivery to tent City.
Sister Sidra has reserved several spots during August to provide meals. She is also considering distributing "Who is Hussain?" labeled water bottles
The month of Muharram, during these these hard times, offers an opportunity for us to all come together and contribute to those in need.
If you are interested in helping, please contact Sister Sidra Naqvi (425) 273 1463 or e-mail iman@iman-wa.org.
Sunday School 2020/2021
It is back to school time of the year. IMAN Sunday School will commence on September 13th, 2020 and will be virtual again. Registration details will be posted on the IMAN Web Site by August 31, 2020.