This tongue is the gateway of the heart and carries messages of the heart. It is thus the only vehicle by which the heart can express its thoughts.

The Declaration of faith which a person says and thereby enters Islam, remembrance of Allah, His Glorification and greeting are all words uttered by man which have a positive impact on him and society. On the other hand, ascribing partners to Allah, false testimony, backbiting and slandering are all words uttered by man having a negative and devastating impact on him and society.

The Prophet [Peace and blessings be upon him] said, "A slave (of Allah) may utter a word which pleases Allah without giving it much importance, and because of that Allah will raise him to degrees (of reward): a slave (of Allah) may utter a word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-Fire." [Al Bukhari]

Speech is a huge responsibility on man and he should thus be very careful and aware of what he utters. More especially one reflects on those who utilize media in transmitting speech to millions of people across the globe affecting the wellbeing of communities.

Let us look at a very basic definition of a Muslim, given by the Prophet [Peace and blessings be upon him].

?A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand others are safe?. [Al Bukhari]

Today we see how a single word uttered by man causes the breakup of a united family. A small word but its impact is huge. A single word, but it causes tears to flow and hearts to be hurt, turning a happy home into a sad one. The word of separation, the word of Talaaq. How many a mothers, sisters and daughters have not experienced and listened to this word Talaaq, which is indeed on the increase.

The Messenger of Allah [Peace and blessings be upon him]. said, ?Calmness and patient deliberation is from Allah and haste is from Satan? [Tirmidhi].

Man, always regrets when he makes hasty decisions, so let us not rush but rather take our time and seek advice in order that we make sound decisions in life for which we will ultimately be held accountable.

?He does not utter a word except with having a constant recorder?. [Qaf:18]

May Allah Almighty guide our speech Ameen. And Allah knows best.

Edition 9, Mar ch 2018

All praises are due t o Allah, t he

Cher isher and Sustainer of t he

universe. Peace and salutat ions

upon t he Prophet Muhammad, his

family, his companions and all

t hose who follow him.

Allah Almight y has gif t ed us wit h

speech in order t hat we are able t o

communicate wit h each other.

Allah Almight y has ordered us t o

speak wit h well guided speech.

"O you who have believed, fear

Allah and speak words of

appropr iate just ice" [Al Ahzab:70]

I t is our speech t hat expresses our

feelings and for t his reason Allah

Almight y had gif t ed us wit h a

t ongue.

Goodwood Islamic SocietyNewsletter

EFFECTS OFSPEECH

FROM THE MIMBAR TO YOUR HOME...

By Sheik Ebrahiem Tofa

A BIG, BIG THANK YOU !

Without your suppor t,

input and feedback,

this newsletter would

not be as continuous

and engaging as i t is

today.

Your suppor t and

enjoyment mean the

wor ld to us, so a huge

thank you to al l of you.

I t?s just as impor tant,

however to share i t

w i th others ?

So share this copy of

the newsletter w ith

your neighbours, other

Goodwood residents

and those whom you

care about.

Let?s spread the love and

know ledge.

On the ver y last page of

this edi tion is an emai l

address, we encourage

each and ever y one of

you to use that address to

send us your great ideas

and feedback - good or

bad.

Enjoy this newsletter !

Zahraa Schroeder

"I was happiest when my aunty got married. I was happy because she found someone to love

her."~ Kaut har , Gr .7

"On Eid, I played with my cousins in the dark when we were kids. The food was awesome."

~ Raniydh, Gr .4

"Experiencing going to Makkah with my family and with dear ones who are no longer with us."

~ Am m aarah, Gr .11

"When I was 5 years old, I had a costume birthday party - I was a princess. And we got to

hit a pinata."~ Zia, Gr .4

"On the night before Eid, me and my sisters stayed up lit late at night. We were laughing so much, and it reminded me of the tight bond we

share."~ Layla, Gr .7

"I was in and out of madrassahs and when I came here I started in the surah. But Aaliah

taught me how to recite Quraan, and I read a page on my own!"

~ Thaak irah, Gr .10

"I always wanted younger siblings - because I?m the youngest. I wanted to know what my older

siblings experienced. Then my nephew was born, and I was happy."

~ Mogam m ad, Gr .7

"Making it for High Jump at the Champ of Champs in Grade 6. And playing FIFA World Cup

with my cousins."~ Asheeq, Gr .8

"On completing my hifthz. It was the best feeling, I had a celebration with my family and peers."

~ Ham m aadah, Gr .11

"My 4th birthday party because I had a Hello Kitty birthday cake."

~ Aneeqa, Gr .4

"Coming to this madrassah and making friends with awesome guys - Nabeel,

Siddiq, Ridha, et cetera."~ Am ir , Gr .10

"Making the A-team rugby team at my school, Rondebosch Boys? High School."

~ Daniyal, Gr .8

"Playing video games on my PlayStation. Building with Legos."

~ Salm aan, Gr .4

"When my sister was born. I was 9 years old, and up until then I was a

single child. Now I had a friend to play with."

~ Aaliah, Gr .10

"My mommy was away on a business trip. I saw my daddy was alone when he went to sleep, so I slept by him to

keep him company."~ Suaad, Gr .11

"The day my baby brother was born. I was 6 years old, and I was so happy, because now I wasn?t gonna be alone

anymore."~ Im ran, Gr .7

"Being in Mualimah Zuabaida?s class in Grade 1. She would give us lots of

sweets."~ Alm aaz, Gr .4

"Receiving the highest average percentage in the whole of Gr.6E2.It made me feel the happiest ever!"

~ Aisha, Gr .7

"Teaching Amir how to recite. When we were at madrassah I would teach him

how to recite the Quraan more fluently."

~ Nabeel, Gr .10

"When my cousins came down from PE. We went to the beach at 7 in the

morning and we played volleyball."~ Zaeem , Gr .4

"The one time I got together with all my friends. Previously our other plans fell through, but this time we got to come

together."~ Nishaadt , Gr .10

"We did a community service project, with our school at the fire station. We got to go to the animal shelter and to

the beach as a reward."~ Alm aaz, Gr .11

What is your

HAPPIESTmemory?

The Kids Are Back !Dur ing the week I v i si ted Madr assah Tul -Akhlaaq, the

m adr assah of the l ocal Goodwood Mosque. I i nter v iewed the students w i th som e bur n ing quest i ons, her e?s what

they had to say:

what ar e your wat er - sav ing t ips?

gr ade4

Dogs! You can play fetch with them. I want a husky and name her Nushka.

~Qaid

Dogs, because they are fluffy and cute. I want a puppy.

~Zaid

Cats! Yes! I want one because they are fluffy and cute.

~Fateeq

I love my mommy?s chicken. She makes it like

Kentucky. My favourite piece is the boujtie.

~Sulaim an

I like to eat healthy vegetables. It makes me feel

good and gives me lots of energy. I love to eat it

with chicken.

~Rum ana

My mommy?s spaghetti bolognaise is the best. It?s

delicious because there are balls of meat in it.

~Bahsier

Pomegranates are the best. I feel happy when I

eat them because the ?pop? ?pop? in my mouth. I

also love eating avocados with salt and pepper.

~Zahr ah

GRADE 2Your

FAVOURITEfood?

CATSvs

DOGSCHECK THE NEXT EDITION ON MORE

COMMENTS FROM THE STUDENTS...

Alhamduli l lah, as we moved into second gear of the new Gregor ian year we saw the opening of al l schools and ter tiar y insti tutions. Soon thereafter we saw the opening of Madrassatul Ahlaaq and Goodwood Madrassa where we exper ienced an inf lux of learners par tial ly due to the fact that Sheikh Di lawer Baba of Masjid Sulaimanie in Anderson Street left and took up a new post as Imaam at Masjiedul Munowar in Square Hi l l , Retreat. Alhamduliel lah, we also exper ienced a healthy increase in the number of attendees at al l our adult classes which star ted in the month of Februar y. We make dua that the numbers w i l l r emain constant and grow even bigger so that we can become a community of on-going and l i fe-long learning by fol low ing the prophetic injunction of seeking know ledge from the cradle to the grave, Ameen.

Our community was once again honoured when our ver y ow n Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa delivered the English Khutba at the Salaatul Istisqaa Program at the Siddiqui Masjied in Elsie River that was cal led for and per formed by the Islamic Counci l of the Nor thern Suburbs (ICONS). Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa delivered a dynamic khutbah in which he essential ly challenged us to r ef lect, r e-dir ect and re-bui ld our r elationships and obligations that we should be per forming in grow ing closer to Almighty Allah (SWT).

He took this a step fur ther by br inging the oppor tuni ty to our doorstep wherein he challenged the mussallees to f i l l the masjied for Fajr Salaah on a dai ly basis. Thereafter we should star t to work on the other awkaat, slow ly but consistently so that the masjied becomes al ive w ith mussallees show ing their immense

grati tude and appreciation towards Almighty Allah for the uncountable bounties and innumerable favours that He continues to bestow upon us. Alhamduliel lah we have seen an increase in the number of fajr mussallees where we consistently have 2 saffs w ith the numbers r eaching between 40 and 50 on a dai ly basis. We have recently seen the formation of a 3 r d saff and we make dua that i t grows to a ful l 3 r d saff In-Sha- Allah.

The City Counci l?s dreaded Day Zero scenar io has become the talking point over the enti r e Western Cape, nationally and even internationally w ith the prospect of Cape Tow n becoming the f i r st major ci ty in the wor ld to r un out of water. Alhamduliel lah we saw this coming 3 years ago where we instal led r ain water har vesting tanks w ith the assistance of Awqaaf SA. Due to the ser iousness of the si tuation we instal led water r estr ictor s on al l our w udu taps and we even acquir ed spray bottles for usage on a Fr iday to cater for additional mussallees needing to take w udu. One of our mussallees posi tively identi f ied where water could be located on the masjied premises and we are just waiting for a company to do the dr i l l ing to instal l a borehole. Alhamduliel lah since we made the cal l for donations towards a borehole, we were inundated w ith

donations from near and far which w i l l cover al l the costs for the f i r st phase of our project. On the spir i tual side we are making qunoot dur ing ever y maghr ieb salaah and we are praying for beneficial r ain dur ing ever y waqt on a dai ly basis.

After the successful SONA, we have seen a wave of posi tive energy sweeping across the length and breadth of our countr y. I t is

imperative that we as a community must not be left behind by just standing on the sidel ines, looking for faults and becoming nay sayers. We should rol l-up our sleeves and become involved in al l community and social forums where we can contr ibute in making a posi tive di f ference to society in general. We had f i r st-hand exper ience where we could see the di f ference that our community members made when they became involved in the School Governing Bodies. We once again cal l on the community to suppor t this ini tiative whole-hear tedly when the national elections for the new 3 year term of SGB?s kicks off w i th national elections in this month. The Goodwood Ratepayers Association also had is bi-annual elections r ecently and after we were made aware of this we had qui te a few of our members who attended. Alhamduliel lah we are proud to announce that the new chairman who w i l l be ser ving for the next 2 years is Faizal Peter sen. We w i l l be working closing w ith this association to increase our r epresentation so that we can once again become posi tive par ticipants who can contr ibute to make a di f ference in the l ives of one and al l in the community In-Sha- Allah.

Mogam ad Safedien, Chairperson

f r om t he Qul oobul moemieneen commit t ee

But blame does nothing to assuage the pain, is often misplaced and enti r ely ignores the probabi l i ty that there is simply no blame to assign. You can ?do ever ything r ight? and sti l l meet w ith tr agedy. One of the tr ue facts of l i fe is that even the best people exper ience disappointment and fai lure.

The point actually is: ?Do people think they will be left a lone saying: ?We believe?, and not be tr ied? And cer tainly we tr ied those befor e them so Allah will cer tainly know who ar e tr ue and He will cer tainly know the liar s.? (29:2-3)

What w i l l def ine you and your l i fe more than anything else is l ikely to be how you handle disappointment or fai lure. El iza Tabor once w rote, ?Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to bur ning metal; it str engthens, temper s, intensifies, but never destr oys it.? Although you might hope to be someone remembered for a success, what w i l l make or break you is how you l ive your darkest hours. Hard times are coming to you, to al l of us ? that is par t of l i fe.

I t is tr ue that we w i l l not get ever ything we aim for in l i fe. But none of these w i l l bar you from contentment or a br ight future. The only thing that robs you of ei ther of these is hopelessness.

Hopelessness is in essence denying the possibi l i ty of that mercy and l imiting your l i fe to the l imits of your ow n imagination. Through disappointments, the myster y of the interplay between fr ee w i l l and destiny r eveals i tself in our l ives. We plan, but Al lah is the best of planners. Your disappointment may just segue to the next great chapter in your l i fe.

As you face disappointment, i t is natural to hur t. But don?t let that pain depr ive you of the hope for a better tomor row ? whether one according to your ow n vision, or one gi f ted to you through the l imitless vision of your Creator. As long as you retain hope, you can f ind peace and contentment in the face of any hardship.

?There is nothing more to add to Masooma?s summar ized eloquence, except maybe to conclude ?? and despair not of Allah?s Mer cy.?

Zeenat Pat el-Kaskar

Or iginal ar t i cl e appear s on:

http://www.islamicinsights.com

/religion/hopes-and-disappointments.html

?

Hopelessness i s the one th ing above al l other s that r obs a hear t of peace. A per son feel s hopelessness when he bel i eves he cannot ex pect h i s condi t i on to im pr ove. Disappointm ent , l oss, and fai l ur e cause r eal pain , som et im es ver y sever e.

Yet , no one pr epar es us to deal w i th th i s pain because they do not teach us that we w i l l f ace i t . Instead, we ar e taught that i f we wor k har d enough and l ive a clean enough l i fe, our l ives w i l l be successfu l and we w i l l be happy. Such al t r u i sm s ar e wel l -i ntent i oned but m isguided, giv ing the im pr ession that on ly people who have done wr ong, not wor ked har d enough, or m ade a ser ious m istake w i l l ever face di sappointm ent or fai l ur e.

They l ead people to bel i eve that i f t hey do ever yth ing r i ght , they w i l l always be successfu l at whatever they t r y. So we ar e sur pr i sed when we fai l , when we ar e tur ned down, or when we m eet w i th l oss, and one of our f i r st i nst i nctsi s to assign blam e, ei ther to our selves, or other s.

HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

Masooma Beat ty

is a resident in

the US and came

to Islam a few

years ago

Hopes and Disappointments

is an article penned by Masooma Beatty that

found me when the bother of

disappointments and the fragility of hope

superimposed itself so strongly on people I

love dearly ? that their feelings became mine

as well. So allow me to borrow from her.

For the benefit of you and I...

GIS plan to set-up a bor ehole at the masjied premises.

This w i l l al leviate long term municipal costs and assist in making the Society self sustainable.

We appeal to you, our r eaders, to join us in r aising funds for this project.

I t costs about R1200.00 per meter to dr i l l a bor ehole.

The project could cost between R80 000.00 and R100 000.00 in total.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE GIS

BOREHOLE PROJECT

BANKING DETAILS

ABSA Bank

Parow (632005)

Islamic Savings

929 283 0610Swift Code: ABSA ZA JJ

Reference - Borehole

Ismail SayedHow long have you been in the ar ea?

I have been in the area for 20 years

What 's your favour i te food?

Curry tripe & tomato sheep trotters

What 's you favour i te spor t?

Rugby

What 's your favour i te team ?

The mighty All Blacks

What i s your favour i te book?

Besides the Quran, Madiba's Long Walk to Freedom

Role i n the com m uni ty?

Serving on the Masjid committee and lately having joined the Goodwood Ratepayers Association, which I

think all of us should join

Wher e did you gr ow up?

Goodwood from the late 50's to early 60's until we were removed from here and moved to Elsies River by

the then apartheid regime

Advice to youth?

Have respect for your parents first and then for everyone else. You will always be successful and will

be respected in return

WHO'S WHO IN THE WOOD?

Feat ur edPer sonof t heMont h

mont hlyS C H E D U L E

2nd

18th

16th

23rd

Jum ua ~ Sh Waseem Abr aham s

Qiyaam ul Layl at 22h00

9th Jum ua ~ Sheikh Tofa

Month ly Khaatam ul Qur an af ter Faj r

Jum ua - Sheikh Tofa

Jum ua - Sheikh Dawood

30th Jum ua - Sheikh Tofa

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