Jummah Mubarak!

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stand next to a tree on Fridays. Someone (from the Ansaar) said: “O Messenger of Allaah, should we make you a pulpit?” He said, “If you wish.” So they made a pulpit for him, and when the next Friday came, he was shown to the pulpit. The tree cried like a small child, then …the Prophet came down and hugged the crying tree until it calmed down.” The Narrator (Jaabir) said: “It was crying because of the dhikr (remembrance of Allaah) that it used to hear.”

(Bukhaari, 3319)

GO GREEN MUSLIMS CAMPAIGN 2010

It is our pleasure to invite you to this year’s Earth Day Celebration:

a Go Green Muslims Campaign Grand Launching with A thousand (1000) Good Deeds.

In conjunction with Earth Day on April 22nd 2010, ISSA is officially launching its Go Green Muslims Campaign 2010 which will be officiated by our distinguish guest of honour, Yang Berbahagia Puan Seri Salbiah Tunut, the wife Selangor's Minister.

Up coming events:

April 21st, 2010

Go Green Muslims Campaign Grand Launching

and

Hands-on Gardening Workshop

by Jabatan Pertanian Daerah Gombak, Petaling

A Green Adventure Walk

to Botanical Garden, Shah Alam

April 22, 2010

ISSA, Islam and Earth Day Celebration

so we have lots to look forward to, may Allah SWT make all events smooth running for us Inshaallah, ameen.

A Trunkful of Knowledge!

Assalamualeikum everyone! Coming up next is our Go Green Adventure. Inshaallah on April 28th, 2010 we will be going on a green adventure trip to Kuala Gandah, Pahang. Click on the link below to learn more about little Ms. Elly

Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre

The Malaysian Elephant
Class ; Mamalia
Order ; Proboscidae
Family ; Elephantidae
Genus/species ; Elephas maximus
Status ; ENDANGERED & TOTALLY PROTECTED
Estimated population ; About 1,500 to 1,800 in the wilds of Peninsular Malaysiamainly concentrated in
Taman Negara, Pahang/Terengganu - Taman Negara Endau Rompin, Johore and Royal Belum Forest, Perak
and Sabah, East Malaysia.
Malay nicknames ; OBJ - Orang Besar - Tok Gajah

MAWAR - female - Johor @ 8+ years old
Rescued from the nearby jungles of Felda Mawai, Johore in 2001

Habitat
Elephants favour riverine vegetation zones in the dry season of late May to late September. During the wet
seasons, they prefer tall grasses and deciduos forests areas while short grass and scrub forests are used
for the months of September to December.

They are also regular raiders into oil palm and fruit plantations in the states of Pahang, Johor, Terengganu,
Kelantan , Kedah and Perak. Incidentally.." Kedah " is Thai language for elephant trap!!!

Physical Characteristics of young adult & mature adult elephants
a) Average weight of between 2,500 kg to 4,500 kg of newly born elephants is 90kgs

b) Average height at the shoulder is 2.4 metres

c) The thickest skin is found on the back and head areas. The thinnest skin is around the mouth, anus and the
back of the ears.
The elephant's gray skin is only 0.8 to 1.6 inches thick, and sparsely covered with hair.
The skin does become pinkish white with age.

d) The heart weighs an average of 15kg, about 0.5% of body weight. The average heart rate is 28 per minute
standing up and 35 per minutes lying down.
The pulse will increase when an elephant is lying down and slowest at a standing position.

e) Typically, there are 5 nails on each front foot and 4 nails on each hind foot.

f) The most prominent adaptation of the trunk is that of the upper lip and the nose into the trunk. This functions like a hand and in the Asian elephant has one finger-like projection on the top.

The trunk has the ability to suck and spray water, manipulate objects and grasp and hold large, heavy objects. Elephants sometimes beat the earth with their trunks as a sign of anger, too or as snorkels when crossing waterways! Subhanallah!

And like every kid.....they just want to have some fun! :)

Wildlife are Very Affected by Plastic Bags!

Wildlife have a tough time getting out of plastic bags. They can get caught around their bodies, suffocating them quickly. Some animals mistake plastic bags for food, causing deadly internal damage. If you have plastic bags, bring them back to the grocery store! You can recycle them there. Look near the can redemption room, or ask the service desk where you can place them. They want your bags! They recycle the bags into new plastic items. The next time you go shopping, don't forget to bring your very own grocery bag! Let's take care of this little creation of Allah SWT too!!

Remember, wildlife are very affected by plastic bags!

Coming Soon. . .

My Earth Hour 2010

"Earth Hour is a symbolic event and is meant to unite people, companies and governments around the world through the very simple act of flipping a light switch. We hope that through events like Earth Hour, a growing number of people, governments and businesses will be aware and concern enough about the climate crisis to start making the necessary changes to be more carbon-efficient.

Earth Hour is not a long-term solution to mitigate climate change. However, it is an important first step to generate awareness, interest and concern over the global threat of climate change. People will only be motivated to take effective action against environmental threats like climate change if they are first made aware of the issue through campaigns like Earth Hour. By participating in Earth Hour, you are agreeing that strong action needs to be taken to find a solution to the climate crisis.

Earth Hour is an important first step. WWF hopes that people will continue to demonstrate their concern about climate change by taking steps towards achieving energy efficiency and avoiding wasteful consumption. WWF will continue to work with communities, governments and businesses to find ways to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change." - WWF

EARTH HOUR 2010

EARTH HOUR 2010:

is at 8:30PM on Saturday 27th March 2010 around the globe.

Choose to vote and switch off and appreciate

Allah SWT bountiful mercies and favours

without electricity for 1 hour.

WHAT CAN YOU DO:

· Make sure you rechargeable batteries are on for your digital Qur’an

· Have sharing moments with family, candlelit dinner, bbQ

· Create your earth hour lantern, play some games, get into family circles, read or memorize Qur’an and dhikir

· Go outdoors just to look at the sky and stars and

say Mashallah! Subhanallah! Alhamdulillah!

“And the Earth—We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused (life) of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner”

KID'S EARTH HOUR

Lets visit to learn more!

CLICK www.earthhourkids.org/

Good Morning!

Assalamualeikum everyone!

This little birdie is here to give its Salaam with lots of love

it's been quite busy for us here

and we hope you've had a wonderful and fruitful holiday break Inshaallah!

Hang in there, more coming up soon!!!

Welcome Back To School!

A warm welcome to ALL NEW STUDENTS

of Integrated Islamic School Shah Alam

and Mabruk to all ISSA students for attending the very first day of school :)

Let's get into gear for a new lesson everyday. The classes are listed as below

Year 1 Ibnu Sina (Teacher Zuraifah)

Year 1 Ar-Razi (Teacher Lily)

Year 2 Al-Baihaqy (Ustaz Safwan)

Year 2 Al- Khawarizmi (Teacher Faziana)

Year 3 Ibnu Battutah (Teacher Zuraini)

Year 3 Ibnu Nafis (Teacher Sofea)

Year 4 Al-Farabi (Ustaz Hakim)

Year 5 Al-Chemy (Teacher Kawther)

Inshaallah we will have a very busy and exciting year in store for us!

Community Service In The Life Of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq remains one of our heroes and superstars till the end of time. This is a fact, Oh Muslims, not a fallacy.

May Allaah be pleased with him, put himself at the forefront of community service to the people before his reign as the khalifah. The recipients of his benevolent services were single mothers whose husbands had died or were martyred while defending Islam. He ran some house errands for them such as preparing dough and milking their goats.

However, when he was elected to be the Muslims’ leader after the death of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe was salam, the single mothers had apprehension and anxiety. Their concern was that this new position would become a stumbling block, thus preventing him from continuing his services for them. One time, he overheard one widow say: “Now, no one will milk our goats for us,” to which he responded, “No, by Allah I will continue milking your goats.”

And so, off he went to the woman’s residence. At the entrance of the door was the woman’s young daughter who exclaimed with joy, “Mum, the goats’ milker is here!!” Abu Bakr becomes the renowned goat milker. For whom? The widows, the weak, and the orphans. Subhanallah!

Truly, this is community service 101. This is a description of a selfless community service for the less privileged and underserved. In our present days and times, when the weak, the poor, the destitute, are looked down upon, and their basic rights are unfulfilled by those in authority; when wealth and riches have become the order of the day for our Muslim leaders, and pride and arrogance have beclouded their judgments to acknowledge the rights of those under them. From this story, we can all learn from the life of Abu Bakr As-siddiq. Despite his reign as the khalifah and his ultimate success as one of the top ten chosen Muslim men promised paradise by Allaah subhana wa Ta’ala, he didn’t get carried away with these positions. In reality, he got carried away by being at full service to his community members, fulfilling their basic needs, one widow and one orphan at a time.

Now children,

what community service have we to offer our community, our school and our Ummah?

Story is by Maryam Funmilayo

All the Best!

Dearest Beloved Students of ISSA,

"To accomplish great things,
We must not only act,
But also dream,
Not only plan but also believe"

Goog luck and we pray for your very best

may you succeed with FLYING COLOURS

Bittawfiq Wannajah!

with love,

TEACHERS of ISSA

"Rabbi Zidni Ilma"

May Allah help to increase us

with knowledge that benefits

Ameen.

Here are various Du'as for studying:

اللَّهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلَّا مَا جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلاً وَ إنْتَ تَحْعَلُ الْحزْنَ إذَا شِئْتَ سَهْ

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja'altu sahla, wa 'anta taj-alul hazna idha shi'ta sahla

O Allah! There is nothing easy except what You make easy, and You make the difficult easy if it be Your Will

[Ibn Hibban]

اللَّهُمَّ الْطُفْ بِىْ فِىْ تَيْسِيْرِ كُلِّ عَسِيْرٍ فَاِنَّ تَيْسِيْرَ ; كُلِّ عَسِيْرٍ عَلَيْكَ يَسِيْرٌَ

Allahumma Tufiltuf bi fi taysiri kulli 'asirin, fainna taysirra kuuli 'asirin 'alaika yassirun

O Allah! Make easy for me every difficult thing, with Your special favour and Kindness, for it is easy for You to make every difficult thing easy

أللِّهُم النّفَعنِي بِمَا عَلَّمتَنِي وَ عَلِّمنِيِ مَا يَنفَعنِي

Allahumma infa'nii bimaa 'allamtanii wa'allimnii maa yanfa' unii

O Allah! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me.

اللهم اني اسالك العفو والعافية

Allahumma inni as'alukal 'afuwawal-afiya

O Allah! I seek your forgiveness and well being (meaning in examination, memory, and concentration etc)

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا , وَ رِزْقًا طَيَّبًا , وَ عَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّلاً

Allahumma inni as'aluka 'Ilman naafi'an, wa rizqan tayyiban, wa 'amalan mutaqabbalan

O Allah! I ask You for knowledge that is of benefit, a good provision and deeds that will be accepted.

[Ibn Majah and others]

اللَّهُمَّ اِنِّى اَسْئَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّه عَاجِله وَ اجِلِه مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَ مَا لَمْ اَعْلَمْ

Allahumma inni as'aluka min al khairi kullihi 'ajilihi wa ajilihi, ma 'alimtu minhu wa ma lam a'alam

O Allah! I ask You for all the good which is in the present or in the future, which I know and which I do not know

[a comprehensive du'a taught to Aisha by the Prophet (saws)]

HOME: Where The Heart Is

These days, there are many Muslim homes that, although they are occupied with people, they are in fact,dead. This is because there is no remembrance of Allaah, as mentioned in the following hadeeth.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The likeness of a house in which Allaah is remembered and the house in which Allaah is not remembered is that of the living and the dead, respectively.”

We must make our homes places where Allaah is remembered in all kinds of ways,

whether in our hearts,

verbally,

during prayer,

by reading Qur’aan,

by discussing Islamic issues,

by reading different kinds of Islamic story books,

or even when we are playing games and having fun.

InshaAllah, these are things that should occur on a consistent basis so that the Angels will come to the home and bring Allah’s blessings to us and our families ameen.

Now let's click here to find out the meaning of Allah's 99 Most Beautiful Names.

Signs of The Creator

Isn't it amazing how Allah made birds fly in the air?

and say

!سبحان الله

"All glory to Allâh"

The Arabic root s-b-h can certainly mean to praise or to glorify, but in a deeper sense, this root also points toward a sense of swimming in something, or being immersed in something, or to be be floating in something, or to have something spread out in front of you as far as the eye can see.

Armed with these insights, we have a whole new vision of this word subhân... a delightfully expansive view, as though one is immersed in a vast sea which spreads out infinitely in all directions, a vast sea that one is floating in and the one is totally supported by. Oh, that is so beautiful!

What a powerful and magnificent metaphor this is for our existence in Allâh, portraying the vast Ocean of Allâh, and our utter dependence upon Allâh for all of our support.

The deepest loneliness arises when we forget that we are immersed in this Magnificent Ocean. The Ocean is not something to seek. It's already here. The challenge of life is to become aware of what we already have.

!سبحان الله

Recycle, Precycle, Which Cycle Is Best for You?

We all know by now what the term "recycle" means. Everywhere you go you seem to hear the term and see the symbol. But, better than "recycling" is PRECYCLING!

Precycling is a good way to reduce the amount of recycling you have to do. It's a simple concept that came out of the seventies, when the whole earth movement started. The idea is this: If you take a little action before you buy items, you won't have as much waste!

Today, packages are getting smaller and smaller to keep costs at the same level. That means a lot more recycling has to be done. Not to mention, the exorbitant number of water bottles and convenient "single packs" available for people to use daily. It all adds up to more recycling. But you can end that cycle of trash by practicing a few precycle tips. Precycling is not just good for earth but can also be healthier for living things!

Here is a simple list from planetpals.com with some precycle basics to help you be more earthly wise:

1. Bring reusable bags to the store with you. Cloth or paper will do!

2. Buy Large Quantities. If you buy products in bulk or in large sizes and quantities, you can put them in smaller containers as you need them and this uses less containers.

3. Buy products with the least amount of packaging or none at all. Items packed in multiple containers may look nice, but they are a waste!

4. Buy products packed in recycled packaging. If you have to use a container, it might as well be green. Additionally, you help support green corporations. (Important: make sure you look for the recycled symbol)

5. Don't buy disposable items (plates cups, diapers, batteries, etc.) They only fill the landfill more. It's a little more work, but worth the effort.

6. Buy less paper towels and napkins or none at all. Use cloth ones!

7. Buy long life and concentrated items (batteries, bulks , etc.) This saves on packaging as well as product.

8. Don't purchase anything made of styrofoam or packed in styrofoam. It contains polystyrene, which is the most difficult material to break down in our landfill and is considered a hazardous waste.

9. Buy items in cardboard. aluminum, steel, glass, and plastic containers marked 1 (PET or PETE) and 2 (HDPE). These containers can be recycled more easily.

10. Read labels for ingredients. Stay away from chemicals that harm our plant and animal life and poison our land.

Get lots more ideas at Planetpals.com about recycling, precycling and saving earth. Not just for kids!

EID MUBARAK!

Assalamu 'Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

All Praise Belongs to Allah (swt), and May the Salah and

Salam of Allah (swt) be upon our beloved Messenger

صلى الله عليه وسلم

EID MUBARAK!!

"TaqabalAllahu Minnah wa Minkum."

May Allah accept our Ramadhan, guide us to continue striving to do the good deeds and worship all year round, and bless us to see another Ramadhan, Ameen.

Have a joyous Eid,

warm regards from the entire ISSA family

1st of Shawwal 1430

:)

WHAT IF!!!!

What if . . . . .

Laylatul-Qadr is tonight?

It's been my experience, I don't know if you've noticed it as well, that when the last ten nights starts, many people are slow to realize it. Masjid Taraweeh attendance doesn't normally pick up until the 24th of Ramadan.

Why Do We WAIT?

A reminder for myself and you: WHAT IF!!!

Laylatul Qadr is tonight? Will we be ready?

I want to take advantage of every night of the last ten nights!

It's too precious - the reward of 1000 months is too great!

Make lots and lots of DU'AS everyone!

With best wishes and may we succeed at the highest level InshaAllah ameen.

5 Easy Ways to I'TIKAAF

Here's a quick I'tikaaf overview

I'tikaaf is to seclude oneself in the Masjid for the purpose of worshipping Allah.

Rasulullah Sallallahu'alayhi waSsallam, did it in Ramadan for the last 10 nights. This was the general practice of the Holy Prophet.

It means to seclude oneself in the Masjid for the last ten days of Ramadhaan. And as for a woman, she may observe I'tikaf at the masjid or in her place of seclusion at home.

Here are 5 quick tips:

1. The meaning of 'I'tikaaf' is to seclude oneself at the place of Worship, with the express intention (Niyyah) of 'I'tikaaf'.

2. Leaving the Masjid (without valid reasons) breaks one's I'tikaaf.

3. I'tikaaf is meant for worship.Do not talk or entertain yourself. One must speak only what is virtue or what is necessary. We can make Nafl Salat, Tilawatul Qur'an, Zikr, Istighfar and permanent Zikr in general throughout the duration of I'itikaf.

(No little monkeys, remember from your Ramadhan Journal?)

4. You can do I'tikaaf for any period of time, any time of the day.

5. In a year, when else will you dedicate time for Allah like this?

Come on, lets try to make I'itikaaf!

Bonus: If you can't do it everyday, try weekends or at least some days.

With best wishes and may we succeed at the highest level InshaAllah ameen!

The Last 10 Days for LAYLATUL QADR!

WILL TIME TELL?

We never know when death chooses to approach us.
Today? Tomorrow? The day after? Only He knows.

"I want to pray, I want to fast and I want to be a better Muslim; but I don't know when."
A common statement made by many Muslims I know.
They have the niyyah to practise but is that enough?

They wish to be guided but do they make the effort to ask for guidance?

"but I don't know when."
Why not now? Do you need a time to make tawbah? Do you need Allah to personally tell you; "My servant, it's time you pray"?

What has He not blessed you with?
Body, Soul, Mind & Heart - it's all in.

He's blessed you with a body - awaken it.
He's blessed you with a soul - liven it.
He's blessed you with a mind - purify it.
He's blessed you with a heart - cleanse it.

Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny? (Surah Ar-Rahman [Chap 55] )

O Allah Please protect and bless the sick and the weak in their struggle to please you, and O Allah please guide our children that they may grow up to be strong believers

"O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation."

May we use our spare time to make the MOST of Laylatul Qadr Inshaallah kheir.