Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Syllabus for Members Usratul Maria (Jan. – march 09)

The Theme:
 3:159 And it was by God's grace that thou [O Prophet] did deal gently with thy followers: for if you had been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from you. Pardon them, then, and pray that they be forgiven. And take counsel with them in all matters of public concern; then, when thou have decided upon a course of action, place thy trust in God: for, verily, God loves those who place their trust in Him.
 21:107 We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.
As we enter the New Year, let us make these ayahs the focus of our own tarbiyah as well as our buddies by inculcating these noble qualities which are indispensable for a da’ee.
The concept of shura (mutual consultation) should be the basis of all our planning and conducting of our activities.
After the decision is made, placing our trust in Allah swt and being steadfast on it will insh’Allah give the desired results.
Education and training:
 Recitation of Quran: Recite one section (Ruku’) or 10 Ayahs daily with tajweed and meanings.
 Tafseer: Ponder over the Ayahs you recited with looking up root words, word-to-word meanings and tafsir. Those sisters who are attending tafsir class should revise their previous and read ahead their future lectures with the help of different tafsir books.

 Hadith: Riyad-us-Saliheen Vol 1. Read One Hadith Daily (Hadith # 994 - 1084 ).Write below any one hadeeth or the meaning which you would like to share with others:

 Literature: Read & Discuss the book “Islam In Focus” by Dr.Hammudah Abdalati. The book is easily available in Islamic book stores and can also be downloaded from the following link: http://www.sultan.org/books/islam-in-focus.pdf


 Memorization of the Quran: Make your target to memorize/revise Suratul Annaziyat. If you already know this one, memorize at least 20 Ayahs or one new Surah, let your Nazima and buddy know which surah you are at.

Relating to Allah:
 The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Fasting the day of `Ashura' (is of great merits), I hope that Allah will accept it as an expiation for (the sins committed in) the previous year” (Muslim).
 Ibn `Abbas also quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “If I live next year, I shall also fast on the 9th day.” (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, hadith 2002)
 The month of Muharram apart from being made a sacred month also was the starting point of the Islamic calendar. Hijrah [migration for the sake of Allah] is a corner stone or the turning point of the process of the Islamic Movement for the establishment of Allah's Deen. The Hijrah is teaching us and calling upon us to: unite in every sense, to hold fast to the book of God and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), and make a migration to God by letting go of all the ill-deeds, by moving from the false [about our selves and each other] to the truth. The Hijrah of the prophet (PBUH) was not only a physical migration but of iman & thought, will & patience, love & care for each other.


 Continuing with our goal of getting closer to Allah swt by pondering and reflecting on His names and attributes, try to focus on the His names Al Haleem ( The most forbearing), Al.Kareem (The most generous) & Al Wadood (The most loving).

Character Building:
 'A'isha R.A reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whenever kindness is in a thing it adorns it, and whenever it is removed from anything, it disfigures it." [Muslim]
Our striving can never be successful if we do not possess these basic qualities. We must try hard to ingrain these to the extent that they become our very nature.
Removing flaws: Ibnul-Qayyim said, ‘There is nothing that Allah has enjoined, but Shaytan has ways of dealing with it, either by inclining (people) towards falling short and being negligence or excessive and exaggeration. His aim in both cases is to steer both of them away from the straight path, one by not letting him approach it or come anywhere near it, and the other by making him go too far and overstep the mark.
Laziness & procrastination are the tricks of shaytan to cause negligence in our duties
Hadeeth recorded in Saheeh al-Bukharee from Abu Hurayrah (radhi allahu anhu), who said that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said,Shaytan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and exhales the following words, ‘The night is long, so stay asleep.’ When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot is undone, and when one prays the third knot is undone and one gets up energetic with a good heart in the morning; otherwise one gets up lazy and with a mischievous heart.’
Dua: Allâhumma innî acûdhu bika minal-ajzi wal-kasli wal-jubni wal-harami wal-bukhli, wa a'udhbika min adhabil qabri, wa a'udhubika fitnatil mahya walmamat.
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, anxiety and sorrow, and I seek refuge in You from the torments of grave, and I seek refuge in You from the trials and tribulations of life and death.
Dawah (Inviting towards Allah):
English dawati halaqas have started in most of our cities & regions. Let all your friends and relatives know about these halaqas and help them to join in.
All members should have information about the various halaqas and on line classes and if you don’t have it pls. do ask your nazima about it.
Sisterhood (Unity): Work on making good use of your time. Do not waste your time. Always try to bring about some benefit from your social gatherings. If you see people talking about fashion, movies & useless talk, think of ways of how you can divert this vain talk into more meaningful discussion. Share tips with each other on how best we can address this issue.

Buddy System: Our buddy system is an excellent tool for us to overcome our own weaknesses and help each other in strengthening our faith and nourishing our characters.
Try to follow up with your buddies on the various points from the syllabus.
Activity: With an eye on your own shortcomings, plan how you can help your buddy to rectify any flaw you see in her with sincerity, love and gentleness.
Working Together: (Tanzeem)
 UM tarbiyah seminar will be held InshAllah in Dallas in the first week of April. Plan to attend it and also remind other um sisters to attend it. It provides an excellent opportunity to not only learn but also to develop close sisterhood and love between us for the sake of Allah swt. Make the most out of it by involving yourself in the various committees.
 The pattern for the members meetings has been given in previous syllabi. Pls. refer to it while planning for it.
 ALL UM individual report forms must be handed to the Unit President who will then forward it to the UM Tarbiyah Dept. the EFAX number is_1-201-604-9770 or if emailing the address is tarbiyahum@gmail.com. NO HARDCOPIES, please!

 Upcoming Usratul Maria National Members Meeting will be held in February insh’Allah. The exact date will be announced soon.
MCNA:

• An on line book club has been started for children 11-15 every other Saturday of the month. Pls. check the MCNA web page for more details.
• Encourage your kids to write for “The Companion” magazine and send it to mcnanl@yahoo.com.
• MCNA has a quarterly syllabus for kids which should be used during their classes and activities.