as'salaamu alaykum,
I hope you all are doing well and had a blessed Eid. It was so nice to see so many of you on Sunday and Monday for our Islamic Center's Eid Prayers and Brunches. Thousands came out mashallah - the largest Eid gatherings we've ever had. For those of you who celebrated elsewhere, you were definitely missed. I pray it was a joyous and beautiful Eid for you and your loved ones.
I wanted to send a quick note of thanks to you for joining our 7 charity campaigns this Ramadan to help people in their time of need. You've helped us help so many - may Allah make you a continued source of benefit for His Creation. Ameen.
With your help we were able to raise:
That's a total of $6,448,354 from 50,177 donors alhamdulillah or an average of $128.51/donor. And the donations are still coming in mashallah.
This was in addition to us holding nightly iftars and prayers, regular halaqas and programs, and so much more alhamdulillah. I'm so proud of this community and am grateful that my last Ramadan here at ICNYU was as memorable as it was.
A part of the du'aa I made at our Grand Qiyaam on the 27th night:
"These months of Ramadan are unlike any other. So many good people frequent this place. We are grateful for their friendship, their fellowship, their companionship and their presence. This place is for them as much as for anyone else, and regardless of whether our journey goes past this night, this month, or simply this moment is the only time we will be in their presence, help them to always remember there are people here who love them and pray for them and their well being every day."
It's difficult to not be together as we were just days ago, but even where our physical bodies are separate our hearts can stay fully connected. I know that I carry each of you in my heart, as always, and look forward to the next time that we are together inshallah. If you happen to be in NYC, feel free to join us for our nightly halaqas that have resumed or Jummah this Friday. It's also "Fried Chicken Friday" so we'll be having our community lunch afterwards open to all - it would be great to see you there inshallah.
I hope that this Ramadan was replenishing for each of you and pray that each of us moves forward from it acting on all we learned about ourselves. If you slip, be kind to yourself and get back up. Make an effort to not be alone. And if you need anything at all, please don't hesitate in reaching out.
I love each of you, am grateful for the blessing to be in service of you and this community, and am looking forward to continue building with you and for you inshallah for as long as Allah allows me to.
May Allah bless you and your loved ones and accept from all of us. Ameen
- Khalid
Imam Khalid Latif
University Chaplain | Global Spiritual Life at NYU
Executive Director | The Islamic Center at NYU
Senior Fellow & Co-Founder | Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership
Adjunct Associate Professor | NYU Wagner
212.998.4712