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Date: August 26, 2020

Assalamu Alikum WaRahmatullahi WaBarakatuhu, As we approach the end of 2015, we’re humbled to be able to serve the community through Alim’s comprehensive platform. We first thank Allah SWT, who has enabled us so that we can carry on this work of Da’wa. Secondly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous donors for their continuous support and encouragement. This past year, Alim Foundation has achieved many milestones, including improved web portal with added functionalities and new contents, new translations, new Tafaseer, as well as , new versions of Android and Apple apps to name a few. We were able to do many of these enhancements because of donors like you. Take advantage of the tax break before the year end, please donate(https://www.alim.org/donate/) generously to help us continue this noble work. Alim.org is a non-profit 501 c organization, and your donations are tax deductible. Act before December 31st 2015 to take advantage of 2015 tax break. Please visit us at www.alim.org(/) to donate and support us! Wassalam Walaykum WaRahmatullahi WaBrarakatahu The Alim Team

Precious Gifts a Person Leaves Behind

"The best of what a man leaves behind are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, ongoing charity the reward of which reaches him, and knowledge that is acted upon after him."

Sunan Ibn Mājah

Angelic Daily Prayers for Generosity

"Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,' and the other (angel) says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser.'"

Sahih Bukhari

Related Blogs

Baba; My Soul and My Guide

Hiba Masood a writer, speaker and a story teller talks about her Baba's influence in teaching Quran and its holy threads in her wonderful opinion piece "Baba, The Quran and Me". When she was in her younger age, she had to recite Quran every day, that her Baba taught her to do so without fail. She memorizes her childhood experience in the holy month of Ramadan as well as her Baba's powerful Ramadan experiences. Her Baba looked after all his children with extreme care. She had not faced poverty or any other means difficulties in life. Baba used to talk about his life and his days spent with his eight brothers and sisters used to look like. They were like in abject poverty, splitting one bowl of food for Iftar amongst a family of eleven and so on. Baba used to say that once all the work is done, you should recite Quran in every single possible minute. Every letter you recite during Ramadan has 70 times the regular reward? That means every letter, like saying Alif, gets you seven hundred good deeds. Years passed and with all the impetuous, rebellion of youth, of spending my days in smoke-filled rooms, strategizing with socialist/activists, and my evenings protesting against the Iraq war on the frozen streets of Toronto. Of not praying at all, of not so much as glancing towards the dusty shelf where my Qur'an sat the entire year. Next year Hiba got married and her brand new husband got astonished by her behavior and activities. She never proper placed her shoes and she always misplaced her cell phone. And she blessed with a baby boy just before the month of holy Ramadan. And there have many, many more years filled with anxiety, scary financial strain and a stormy marriage of sickness and grief. Years passed with no changes. Hiba recited Quran verses just as a routine, or just like fasting in the month of Ramadan without knowing the rewards of reciting. At last wisdom came to her brain at the age of thirty and she started to settle in life. Slowly, as an enthusiastically expected reconnection, she started reciting Quran well to Allah to the Qur'an to her childhood, to her father and to herself. Now her beloved father is aging and sick and she is in great agony by thinking about her sick dad. She used to caress his dad's grey hair, press her cheeks to his. She says that she misses him a lot and she is afraid of the future. But most of all, she whisper her gratitude. Gratitude for gifting her so freely all the things, all the lessons, all the beliefs, all the forces of habit and inspiring stories and abiding, enriching traditions that have blessed her life. Ultimately he was the lighthouse when he was able.

What is Hijra?

The Arabic word Hijra means migration. It marks the beginning of the new year in the Islamic calendar and refers to the migration of Muhammad (SAW) and his companions, from Mecca to Madina. The Hijra was a great historical event marking a significant change in Islamic history. The early Muslims gained a position of strength and authority following the Hijra. The Hijri calendar was adopted during the Khilafah (successorship) of Umar Ibn-Khathab (RA). Umar (RA) rejected many other suggestions to start the Islamic calendar, including the birth and death of the Muhammad (SAW). He stated, "The Hijra has separated truth from falsehood, therefore, let it become the Epoch of the Era" (Fath Al-Bari, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani). Muhammad (SAW) publicly preached Islam in Mecca for more than a decade when the opposition was at its peak. The believers were harassed, abused and even cruelly tortured. Afraid for their safety, Muhammad (SAW) sent a group of Muslims to Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia) where the Christian ruler extended protection to the Sahabahs. Shortly after that, Muhammad (SAW) sent seventy others to Yathrib (later re-named Madina) with the hope of establishing a new beginning for Islam. When Muhammad (SAW) set off for Yathrib with his closest friend, Abu-Bakr as-Siddique (RA), the leaders of Mecca decided to have him killed. They put a bounty on his head and sent people in pursuit. Muhammad (SAW) and Abu Bakr (RA) hid in a cave where Allah protected them from their assassins. Allah says,�"_It does not matter if you believers do not support him, for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out of Mecca, and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion,�'Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us'. So, Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you believers did not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise."_ (Quran, 9:40) The early Muslims made great sacrifices to move to Madina (Hijra) to begin the first ever Islamic community. Allah says,_"As for those who emigrated in the cause of Allah after being persecuted, We will surely bless them with a good home in this world. But the reward of the Hereafter is far better, if only they knew."_ (Quran, 16:41) Muhammad (SAW) and his followers were joyously welcomed by the people of Madina (the Ansar or "helpers"). Muhammad (SAW) established a concept of brotherhood among the Muslims and unity with the non-Muslim communities, including the Jewish tribes. The Hijra from Mecca to Madina marked the Muslims' transition from one stage to another on several different levels. They went from a position of weakness to one of strength. In Mecca, they were humiliated and abused at the hands of Quraysh, in Medina they were the ones with power. They went from spreading Islam individually in Mecca, to converting whole nations at a time in Medina. From implementing Islam individually in Mecca, to implementing a full, comprehensive, political, and economic system that governed a nation in every aspect of life. From being a small group of believers in Mecca to, becoming the heart of an Islamic nation encompassing Muslims in multiple countries. The Alim Foundation: NPS / NH; September 29, 2020

Salah (Prayer) and its Scientifically proven benefits - Part 2

Part II Scientific Benefits of Prayer Fajr Do you know what are the benefits of first prayer of the day? Let’s have a look. If one wakes up without cleaning his face and has his breakfast, then the bacteria in his mouth will go down the belly and produce sicknesses, stomach upset, irritation and ulcers. Zuhr Your job and similar daily schedules may give pressure and stress to you. But the zuhr prayer can calm you down and relieve the stress. Asr During the time of Asr, the speed of the circumambulation of the earth, lessens, influencing the 5 senses. Here, a person begins to consider the affairs of the evening and hurries to complete his work of the day, meaning at this time the stress is building up which has an effect on the body. Offering the Asr prayer provides more energy to the devotee. Maghrib Maghrib is the time in which a devotee conveys thanks to his creator through actions for the sustenance. The efforts and job completed through the day has supported him with his family and kids. When a Muslim wishes to thank Allah, he should sit with his partner with peace and love. Children have a character of imitating or copying the actions of their parents. Principally, if the prayer is offered at its given time, then the children will be inclined to be respectful towards their parents as it is the prayer that makes a person modest. The prayer should make the child to listen to the parents and obey them. Isha Desire is the natural instinct of a human. When a person comes home after work, he would be in a desire to eat to his full to quench the desire for food. If he lies down on a full stomach, there is a fear of many illnesses and the mind will not be at peace. Here comes the need of Isha prayer. When one is offering the Isha prayer, he can find peace and the tiredness will disappear and sleep peacefully. Taraweeh Prayers... During the holy month of Ramadhan, additional prayers are performed after Salatul Isha called Taraweeh prayers. After breaking a full day long fast, the blood glucose level continues to increase from the food consumed. The blood glucose and insulin levels are at their lowest level just before the Ifthar meal. After having your Ifthar meal, the blood glucose and plasma insulin will increase. Liver and the muscles take up the circulating glucose. The blood sugar reaches to its normal levels in an hour or two and the benefits of Taraweeh prayer comes into effect. The blood glucose will be metabolized into carbon dioxide and water during the time of Taraweeh prayers. Hence the Taraweeh prayers helps in burning the additional calories and expand suppleness, direction, and scale back stress. Continued – Part III Content Sources: