Zakat: An Islamic Perspective on Giving

Assalamu Alaikum,

We are very excited to have a new facility in the Triangle. This new facility will help us organize more events and fundraisers for the community and will help us reach our goal in the future.

As we are approaching Ramadan, I would like to talk about the importance of Zakat. Zakat refers to the purification of a muslim's wealth and soul. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, which means that it is mandatory for muslims to follow. In Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 274, the Quran states "Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve." This means that Allah will repay our efforts of Zakat by protecting those who do Zakat. 

One of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SWS): "Do not withhold your money, (for if you did so) Allah would withold His blessings from you."

Lemonade Stand - by: Eesa R.

Service to Others

While there are many great hadiths about helping others, I would like to share a quote from a Muslim who died only two years ago, Muhammad Ali:

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth."

You can pray and fast as much as you want, but helping others is also a form of worship. If you live your whole life in a selfish bubble, then there is barely a point to it at all. We all like to have fun, acquire money, enjoy material things, and participate in other human activities, but no one should occupy this earth without "paying rent" by helping their fellow human beings who may not be as fortunate. 

How do we begin to create a life of service that will give our lives meaning and touch the lives of the ones in need? The first step is to turn our good thoughts and intentions into actions, and then the rest will follow. 

Spring Fest

The spring fest was a blast and was lots of fun. It was a very successful gathering and we made lots of money to help the orphans. All of the stands were great and all the people that came had loads of fun. The stand that I was part of wasn't as successful as we thought it would be. We thought that doing the things that we like to do would attract others to come to the stand. But next time we should be more considerate on what others like and not just the things that we like. Next time we will focus on something that all ages would like and come to.

Helping others

Assalamualaikum My name is Haleema Sadiya. What is helping others? Is it donating money for an orphan? Is it hosting a fundraiser for the needy? In my opinion it is doing what you can for another person without asking for anything in return. This is what we do at the 99 orphans team. We do fundraisers, ask for donations, cook meals, but we never ask for anything in return. The smile on the persons face or the fact that we helped another person is enough reward for us. So take my advice and help others and you will get a reward without asking for it.

Orphans in NC by Hasan Khan

If a person sees a small, thin child on the side of the street, they might think "Oh my god! There is a poor hungry child on the side of the street!", or "eh, that child is not my problem", and then they will just walk right on.This is wrong! These orphans need our attention, especially the attention of those who are fortunate enough to have the basic necessities. According to newsobsever.com, there are more than 10,000 orphans in North Carolina. This is the same state that we are living in right now, and many people here consider orphans to be a minor issue.  This means that our duty is not done, and we have to continue to help these children in every way possible. Some ways to help these children, are to raise funds for orphans, and/or distribute food and clothing to the area that these kids are living in. We can also adopt some of the orphans, or build orphanages for these poor young children.

Poverty in NC

Imagine a starving child, on the side of the road, begging for food, shivering due to the frigid temperature. You may think this is the story of someone in a third world country, but it is actually happening right here in North Carolina. This is the reality for thousands of children and their parents in the state. According to raleighrescue.org, here in Wake County, there are approximately 3,000 students that have experienced homelessness, and about 1 in every 30 kids in Wake County will experience homelessness. Each night, there are about 15,000 people living on the streets in North Carolina, a place where you would expect homelessness to not be an issue. There are many ways in which we can help to eradicate this issue that nobody should have to deal with. We can raise awareness about this issue by spreading the word to our friends and family and also by blogging about it on the internet to reach an even wider audience. Many people are in the dark about how many people are suffering from homelessness in a place like North Carolina, where they expect everyone to be living normal lives. By raising our voices, we can educate others and get more people to join the cause and help solve this issue. Another thing we can do is donate money to or volunteer for groups that specialize in helping homeless people. I hope this has inspired you to donate some of your time towards a worthy cause that needs all the help it can get.

Squishy table!

Salam! My name is Meryem. On March 18 we had a spring fest. My friends, and I had a table, where we taught people how to make their own squishes! But before the event, we had to prepare for it.We made a huge poster, we spent a lot of time on it. I cut out 50 shapes, 25 donuts, and 25 circles. We got different colors of paints, and other supplies, such as bowls, and gloves. When we arrived there, we set up our table and made it look nice. We had a box for the tickets we got. Every squishy, was 5 tickets. So many people came and they all had so much fun. Our table was super busy throughout the whole event! We all enjoyed it so much, and I was so happy that we were able to raise $225 for the orphans!

Spring Fest: 🍹Smoothie Table 🍹

Alhamdullilah last Sunday the 99 Orphan team had a successful Spring Fest at Apex Masjid which pooled in over Five Thousand dollars. One of the booths, The Smoothie table, was a hit and raised almost $300 (which is half of how much it takes to sponsor an orphan 😊) and sold approximately 150 cups of two flavors: Magnificent Mango and Triple Berry. Everyone on the team worked together and made fresh smoothies-to-order for our customers. We want to thank all of you for taking the time out of your day to come to support our cause and our effort.

Thanks,
Smoothie Table Team
Tawfiq, Aadil, Maaz, Abyan, Hasan and Nihal

The History of Henna

The History of Henna

          As you might already know, our 99 orphans team held a spring fest not too long ago. We had many stations, of which included a henna table. We have all seen henna on someone's hand (or on your own) at some point and thought, wow that's pretty! But have we ever wondered about the history behind this beautiful tradition? Well, there's actually a pretty interesting story behind the origin of this art.

          Henna (also known as Mehndi) is a plant which grows in the tropical climates of Africa, northern Australia, and southern Asia. Since it contains a pigment that causes its staining quality, it's used for dying hair and body art designs.

          The art of henna designs go back to 5000 years ago in Pakistan, India, Africa, and the Southeast, but there's records of it even going back to 9000 years ago! It all started when people found out about the cooling properties of this plant that would cool the body when it was applied. Because of this, in hot places, people smeared it all over themselves to keep cool. Then, instead of just spreading it on themselves, they'd make it into intricate, beautiful designs, which soon became to have more meaningfulness.

         Henna is traditionally used for special occasions like holidays, birthdays and weddings in Africa, Pakistan, India, and the Middle East. It was also proven to have some medical benefits, too. Henna is considered an herb, and has long been known to have healing qualities. In ancient times it has been used for headaches, stomach pains, burns (including sunburns), open wounds, as a fever reducer, athlete's foot and even the prevention of hair loss. It is also a sunblock and has been used on the noses of animals to prevent them from getting sunburnt.

Now that you know about the story of henna, spread it around and share this with someone else!

 

Hunger

1. Can you imagine how it feels when your stomach is growling and you don’t have anything to eat? Fasting in Ramadan is supposed to make us sympathize with those who are suffering from hunger every day, and make us want to alleviate their pain. That is the life of 22.6% of children in North Carolina, who live in households with “food insecurity”. This is the term for households experiencing limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods. That’s almost 1 in every 4 kids in our state starving. This is simply unacceptable and must change. According to statistics, North Carolina is the 8th hungriest state in the US. Instead of taking our blessings for granted, we should reflect on what we are doing to help our fellow countrymen and women. In the Quran (76:8-9), Allah says “The righteous are those who feed the poor, the orphan, and the captive for the love of God, saying “We feed you for the sake of God alone, we seek from you neither reward nor thanks.”Even if we can’t dedicate a lot of time and energy to helping these unfortunate people out, we can at least donate a little food or money to them for the sake of Allah. As Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
2. Reminder: Please come to the 99 Orphans Spring Fest tomorrow, and spread the word to your friends and family. It will be at Apex Mosque from 3-6 PM. 

Help the orphans

       Losing one’s birth family and being placed in an orphanage, regardless of the age it occurs, it is a traumatic experience. Can you imagine being an orphan? Helpless and alone. Well, there are thousands of orphans who don't have anything. Barely clothed children from all over the world suffer every day. If we can help these orphans just the slightest bit that might make all the difference. Help the orphans today! And, maybe you will make the difference, maybe you can make an orphan smile, and brighten up his/her world.

                                                          Thank you

Henna Table ~ Spring Fest on March 18!!

Looking for something fun and exciting to do on the weekend? The Spring Fest is almost here! From drinking delicious smoothies to getting your henna done, this is the perfect opportunity for you to have fun with your family and friends.

Come to the Apex Mosque from 3-6 this Sunday to get any of the following beautiful designs:

They cost only 5 tickets!!

By purchasing tickets online early you will get 15 tickets for the price of 10. What are you waiting for? The deadline for early tickets has been extended all the way to this Friday, so hurry up and buy your tickets now! I'm looking forward to seeing you at the henna table this Sunday!!
Eventbrite link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-fair-to-benefit-orphans-tickets-42749631298

Homeless people in North Carolina: Who Are They and How Many Are There?

AssalamuAlaikum. My name is Towfiq Aziz and I'm going to be talking about homelessness in and around North Carolina, who they are and how many there are. Many homeless people start out with jobs and stable residences,but then social and economic factors intervene, causing a rapid change in their living situation. according to last year, there were 884 homeless people in Wake County and even more homeless veterans in NC, a rise from 2016-2017 888 to 931 veterans.Data from 2014 in NC, According to the NCCEH data, "Children make up 22% of North Carolina’s homeless population and another 13% are their parents. Single men make up nearly half of the homeless population (47%) while single women are 17%. Statewide, veterans are 10% of the homeless population." In Wake County, there are 1,170 homeless people, which is 0.12% of the population in that county. While Durham County has 758 homeless people which is 0.26% of the population in that county. And Orange County has 108 homeless people which is 0.08% of the population in that county. We need to figure out how to help them. I hope and pray that this has inspired you to at least make Dua and donate some money to homeless people in and around NC, or anywhere! Allah (SWT) is going to help us if we try InshaAllah. AssalamuAlaikum.

The Government Isn't Doing Enough to Help These Syrian Refugee Orphans

These days in the news there is a lot of press and attention gravitating towards lots of war-torn Middle Eastern countries like Syria. We see pictures of kids with dirty and ripped clothes, families with nothing to eat but scraps and leftovers, and houses destroyed by the war. Many of these families know that they don't have a future in the country, so they flee and try to seek refuge in other countries, some countries are happy to home them and take care of them but many also shy away from the opportunity to save these peoples lives. This is not the case for kids who have lost both their parents in the war, they are lonely, homeless, and starving. America has taken in 17,000 refugee families but of those 17,000 families, only one has been an unaccompanied minor. This is a very big problem. The government makes it seem like people aren't ready or are scared to house a refugee from a middle eastern country but is absolutely false. Countless Americans from all over the country reached out to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service begging if they could adopt or foster an orphan in need of a family from Syria. Although the US has an Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program which started after the Vietnam War, they have only accepted 13,000 minors since then and only take in 200 minors a year. This program has lots of potential because they fully support the kids they educate them and help them understand the culture, but is this really the best we can do. In conclusion all though we have the ability to fully support these refugee orphans we don't. We are waiting on people in the government who see the pictures and videos of these kids and families suffering and aren't using their full potential or ability to help the kids.

Come get a smoothie at the Spring Fest!

Do you want a delicious, ice cold smoothie? 

Assalamualaikum, I am Nasi Rahman. If you do want a smoothie while playing games and spending time with your friends and family then come on down to the Spring Fest. For the smoothie table we will have two smoothie flavors, the Magnificent Mango and the Triangle Triple Berry Smoothie. We will give out a a free smoothie to the first 3 customers, so come quick to get our refreshing smoothie for free. We wil be selling our smoothie in quantaties of 8oz. If you come out and buy a smoothie it is a win-win. You get to enjoy a smoothie and all the money raised is donated to the orphans. Thank you and I hope to see YOU at our smoothie table! For more information: Spring Fest Information

Hunger in NC

Hunger in NC

Kids everywhere suffer from a lack of food. In North Carolina, almost 1 in 4 children starve. NC is one of the top ten states with the highest percentages of citizens experiencing food shortages, with over 1,764,000 suffering. Greensboro, HighPoint, and Winston-Salem have the highest levels of food insecurities in the US. However, fortunate citizens fight to lower these numbers and about 160,000 people receive emergency food assistance. But even these families don't know when their next meal will be or where it'll be from. Food pantries struggle to gain enough food to support families and often have to turn hungry people away. More than a million people have to choose between paying for food or paying for living expenses like health care, medicine, heat, or homes. These people who struggle day in and day out aren't strangers either. An estimated 22% of them used to serve in the military and about 6% are currently serving. They are protecting us and in return we let them starve. Before we take advantage of how blessed we are, we should take a moment to step back and observe the horrible conditions our neighbors and friends are subjected to. How hard would it be to spare some money or food? Any small amount of help may seem insignificant to us but for them, it could be the difference between life and death.

Foster Kids in North Carolina: Who are they? How many are there?

AssalamuAlaikum, my name is Towfiq Aziz. Today I'm going to talk about foster kids in NC, who are they, and how many there are. So first of all, who are foster kids? They are kids between the age of  2 months old babies to 21 year old grown adults. They are kids who have been abused, neglected, medically neglected, incarcerated, abandoned, truancy, whose parents have died, voluntarily placed, juvenile offender, or are runaways. How many are there though in North Carolina? There are over 11,000 foster kids just in NC. In Wake County there are almost 700 foster kids, for absolute numbers, it is 687 foster kids. What are ways to help? Well, there are lots of ways, but the main way is by making Dua. Alhamdulillah, we have been blessed with great living circumstances with our family. There are also other ways like adopting a foster kid or donating money to them. InshaAllah, this has inspired all of us to at least make Dua. Don't forget to share this and spread the word, AssalamuAlaikum.