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Iftar Invites for Da'wah- CAIR has made it easy for us!

By Humanitarian
 
 

Iftar would be a good time to not only invite Muslims but non-Muslims. Food is a universal common lure : ) With such incredibly prevalent negative views of Muslims bombarded in the media, we can tell them something unique, and non-threatening about us. Something they would have a positive curiosity about.



If you are interested in inviting non-Muslims to your iftar at home or at work, CAIR has put together a package. They intended a larger gathering at a masjid with publicity, but I think we can use this package to suit our own capabilities. You can print the CAIR hand- out information about Ramadan for them. It is a good opportunity for them to ask you questions about something as non-controversial (phew) as Ramadan : )



The CAIR website is:


www.cair-net.org

Specifically pages 7-11 could be used as handouts that you can leave in a pile for people to pick up IF they are interested (they will be).



You have to judge for yourself the situation at work, ie can you reserve a room at iftar and have food catered, announce it to people several days before, and then leave this handouts on the table without 'any issues'? Or is it too sensitive to have something semi-religious at work, and would you do it better without hassle OUTSIDE of your work, ie. at home, the masjid, reserved room elsewhere... There are countless opportunities but there is not much time left in Ramadan.



Remember, we may be the only Muslims your friend, co-worker etc ever interact with! If each of us brings 'Izlam and Moslems', this esoteric religion and people they hear about misconstrued in the media, 'home' to people who we interact with everyday, it could go a long way towards breaking down misperceptions and creating not only tolerance, but being welcomed inshallah.



CAIR has really made things easy for us, alhamdulillah by going through all the effort to put this together. Now we just have to take it out to our community.



For those who want to know more about the great work CAIR is doing for us, and want to donate online, their website is cair-net.org



Reminders:

Remember when coordinating and preparing for iftars etc, let it not distract us too much for our main objective in Ramadan which is to take advantage of the extra blessings offered in this special month. We should not be preparing at the risk of missing prayers. There is reward in feeding others in Ramadan in the way of iftars, but we shouldn?t excessively spend time in cooking etc b/c the precious hours of Ramadan will slip us by. Everything must be done with balance.

 
   Comments: 16     Raters: 10     November 1, 2004 at 9:00am         
 

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Daredevil (November 2, 2004 at 8:23am)
Had Iftar with my neighbors yesterday. It went well. Trying to reinforce the point.
 
Humanitarian (November 2, 2004 at 4:53am)
jak for the comments. just hope to spread the idea out there. mixed iftars are nice for dawah. we need both, some 'alone time' to build brother and sisterhood and sense of community, and once we fortify ourselves, we can share food with others and use it as an opportunity to share something nonthreatening about ourselves. DD- thanx for the info. Sobia- the CAIR website lists all the iftars nationwide that have informed them on their website mentioned in the JE. near me there was one with siraj wahhaj at the nyit
 
RabiaFL (November 2, 2004 at 12:06am)
yep it is always nice
 
Daredevil (November 1, 2004 at 2:28pm)
It is a wonderful idea. While in college our MSA's were very much involved in similar acitivities. I tihnk it is a great way to spread the message of Isalm, share food with others, and create a for of outreach to all life forces around us. Marcia Hermmansen has written in her work,Muslims in the Performative Mode: A Reflection on Muslim-Christian Dialogue Marcia, Iftar is very much a community process for interaction. With Iftar Non-Muslims as well as Muslims we don't know living near us become a means for external communication. I know my family in Hyderabad used to do the same with their Hindu, Christian, and definitely Muslim neighbors.www25.brinkster.com/kneworld/islamholiday.html I think the same can be seen in different nations. sacbee.com My belief is such practices can become a great for of service in American society. fastathon.com My understanding is that similar interfiath actions are performed in Africa, Asia, Latine-America. So why not here? Nice for CAIR to come out with the idea. beaconnewspaper.com
 
mahs (November 1, 2004 at 1:11pm)
YOu know that is a really good idea. I love mixing East and West. Especially when you open the papers and you find that three more people were kidnapped by some stupid militant group in Iraq or Afghanistan. Go us!!! :)
 
SHAYuwSUKAR (November 1, 2004 at 12:49pm)
Subhan Allah indeed the more nonmuslims we would invite and bring to an iftar with us the better... Insha-Allah ... Jaazaki Allah Khairan for the post.
 
aubrietia (November 1, 2004 at 10:41am)
You Go Hum: I can't agree more with you that how much equally important it is to *bring islam to the muslims*, as u so corrcetly phrased mashaAllah....desis n arab immigrants alike, who are otherwise sooo immersed in the secular environment!
 
oasis_asu (November 1, 2004 at 9:59am)
I totally agree with you....as Allah(swt) say's in Qur'an
"Remind,Indeed reminder benefits the believers'"
 
Humanitarian (November 1, 2004 at 9:51am)
thanks for sharing all these references re: dawah bro. important point is that we must speak with 'kindness' in all our interactions with non-muslims AND our own. dawah IS important but we must work on both fronts. sometimes it seems we are expanding ourselves but our foundation is weak, ie. that 'muslims' are not themselves practicing what we preach and we know the best form of dawah is by good example. we ourselves are confused, unaware, and disunited. how can we help others when we are in so much need ourselves? ideally we have to work on both aspects. at my hospital i am now focused on bringing islam to the muslims there, who are otherwise immersed in the secular environment.
 
oasis_asu (November 1, 2004 at 9:34am)
Calling people to Allah also means completing our own worship, the reason for which we are created. It is one of the noblest acts that entails a high reward.

"And who is better in speech than he who invites to Allah and does righteous deeds, and says: 'I am one of the Muslims.'"

With regards to the reward, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) has said: "Whoever guides to a good deed will get a reward similar to the one who performs it." Also, "By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you it would be better for you than the best type of camels."
 
oasis_asu (November 1, 2004 at 9:26am)
The obligation is further emphasized by the following verse which explains that not conveying the message - hiding knowledge - is disobedience to Allah that causes Allah's curse to descend upon such people, which shows that such a sin leads to the Hellfire.

"Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers."

In the same connection, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) has stated, "Whoever hides knowledge, Allah will brand him with the branding iron from the hellfire."
 
oasis_asu (November 1, 2004 at 9:24am)
An important matter for Muslims to realize is that da`wah is an obligation upon them.

Allah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'aan:

"Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided."
 
Humanitarian (November 1, 2004 at 9:19am)
oasis- glad to hear u already do this mA. Aubs- yeah i hope pple can use this info in what time we have left. i'm gonna print out the handouts to give to the other muslims in our hospital even to help them better answer questions about ramadan. when they ask us why we're not eating, it's a perfect opening to go into a lil bit more about the benefits of it. yesterday was a success regardless, re: feeding pple during iftar has its own reward. and we always wish we could've done more. Ramadan is something we have to plan for weeks before it descends on us, just as xians prepare for xmas all year long.
 
aubrietia (November 1, 2004 at 9:14am)
i mean ...i wish i had all this info be4 yest though, since i'd been meaning to invite my christian neighbors at yesterday's iftaar at masjid as well...but kinda felt shy as well as unprepared, specially while being busy with all that cookin n stuff :(
 
aubrietia (November 1, 2004 at 9:12am)
JAK Hum...will iA how much i can utilize even now :)
 
oasis_asu (November 1, 2004 at 9:08am)
jazakallah khair for reminding..Alhamdullah that's what we do at our place...