[ISNRV] Ramadan Announcement 1445, Activities and Remembering Gaza this Ramadan

Asslam Alaikum Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We hope everyone is in good health and is excited about Ramadan! Ramadan in our community will, insha'allah, start the evening of Sunday, March 10th and the first day of fasting this year will be Monday March 11th. These dates are based on the calendar put out by the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) which uses calculations to determine the first days of Ramadan.

Pre-Ramadan Activities

Masjid Ramadan Decoration, Saturday March 9th, (12-3 PM): The youth group (5th grade and up) are meeting at the masjid at noon to decorate for Ramadan. Please come ready to help prepare the masjid for Ramadan this year and get the community ready for a monthof Worship and devotion insha'allah. If you have children who would like to join the youth group, please email [email protected] for more details or come to this event insha'allah.

Kids Pre-Ramadan Activity: Saturday March 9th, 4-6 PM: To prepare and excite our children for Ramadan, there will be stories from the seerah and crafts and masjid decoration. These crafts are to take home and to stay at masjid to decorate for Ramadan. The event is intended for children from preschool to 4th grade.

Moonsighting Activity, Sunday, March 10th@ 6:30 PM, Kipps Elementary: We will try and sight the new moon after Maghrib on the night before the start of Ramadan. We will meet at Kipps Elementary at 6:30 pm to try and get a clear view of the new moon insha'allah. Bring binoculars or a telescope if you have them. This activity is weather-dependent.

Regular Ramadan Activities

Regular Iftars for Singles and Students: We will provide an iftar at the masjid Monday-Friday during Ramadan. If you are single and would like to sign up to receive an iftar, please follow this link. Families and others who are interested in either cooking for iftar or sponsoring a day, please sign up at this link.

Community Potluck Iftar, Each Saturday of Ramadan: we will hold a community potluck iftar. Bring your favorite dishes and join us for this community potluck dinner.

Taraweeh Prayers, Nightly Khatira, and Tahajjud: Insha'allah we will hold a taraweeh prayer nightly starting five minutes after isha prayer. There will also be a short khatirah after the first four rak'ahs of the taraweeh prayers. We are thrilled to welcome sheikh Amr Desouky to our community who is avisiting imam and hafidh with ijaazain multiple qiraat of the quran. Sheikh Amr also grew up in our local community and started memorizing the Quran when he was a student here at Virginia Tech.

Youth Group Itikaf Night, Sunday March 31st: This event is for middle school and high school and is an opportunity to stay in the masjid overnight and enjoy a mix of fun and spiritual activities insha'allah. To participate, please contact [email protected].

Quran Competition: For all who would like to participate, we will hold a quran competition. This is a great way to stay connectedand challenge ourselves to memorize more Quran during this month.You can sign up for the Quran competition using the following link insha'allah.

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Gaza In Our Hearts and Duaas This Ramadan

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With Ramadan upon us, this is an opportunity to renew our commitment to improving ourselves and maximizing our efforts to help our brothers and sisters in Gaza as much as we can. Insha'allah we encourage our community members to engage in some (or all!) of these community initiatives to helpus to maximize our time this Ramadan.

You can (anonymously) sign up to completeany (or all) of these efforts throughthis link. This will be a personal commitment to yourself insha'allah.

-Iftar and Fundraiser for Gaza (Saturday, March 23rd)- We will have a community iftar, followed by a talk about the events in Gaza, how we can help, and a short fundraiser for the humanitarian aid to our brothers and sisters suffering there. More details on this event will be shared as we get closer to the date insha'allah.

-**Breaking our Fast with Gaza (March 29th)-**This year, muslims in Gaza and other parts of the world will be fasting and breaking their fast without enough food to eat their fill. On March 29th, we encourage everyone to break your fast (and with your family) on only a small amount of food to better appreciate the reality of Ramadan for our muslim brothers and sisters in Gaza and around the world.

-**Khatm for Palestine and Daily Recitation-**This is the month of the Quran and is an opportunity to amplify the impact of our duaa, sadaqa, and activism for Gaza. The duaaupon the completion of the quran has a special likelihood of acceptance. Upon completion of your daily recitation of the Quran and upon completion of the Quran, send dua for our brothers and sisters in Gaza.

-**Daily Recitation and Duaa Before Singles Iftar-**We encourage those who are coming to the singles iftar to come 45 minutes early to individually complete some quran recitation (especially if you are participating in the khatm) and then make duaaat the breaking of the fast, which is a blessed time and duaa is when it is more likely to be accepted.

- Tahajud for Gaza, Each Saturday (1.5 hours before Fajr Iqama): Each Saturday we will hold a tahajjud prayer for those suffering in Gaza insha'allah. It will be 1.5 hours before the adhan of Fajr prayer to allow time for a light suhoor insha'allah.

We ask Allah to bless our community and efforts during this blessed month insha'allah.

Baraka Allah Feekom,
ISNRV Executive Board

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Islamic Society of New River Valley (ISNRV) Inc.
1284 North Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 961-5210