Thursday 5 June 2014

Your Cooperation Required


Dear Friends
Hope you all are fit, fine and hearty. I am back with a great news. Masjid started by Afzal Community Empowerment Movement (ACEM) is nearing completion. Construction work has been completed, and interior finishing and fixtures are in progress. We intend to start first prayer session in the masjid with start of Ramazan.

We are facing some financial difficulties due to scarce funds available in hand. At this juncture I invite my friends and family members to come forward and donate so that we could make it functional with start of Ramazan.

Besides I would request all my friends to please donate, may be a portion of your Zakat and Sadqat to Afzal Community Empowerment Movement, which will be utilized for initiating a skill development school for girls and boys seperately in rural areas of Narowal District.

Hope you will not delay and send your donations for Masjid fund as soon as possible.

Lt Col Saadat Ullah (Retd), TI(M), TBt
Afzal Community Empowerment Movement
H-No. 188, Street 3, Sector – C,
Askari – X, Lahore 
Cell: 0321-5696811



Sunday 23 February 2014

Thanks Allah - Structure Work is Completed


Front view of the Masjid from road.
Sorry for a prolonged absence. I thought that this time I should come to you with some concrete work to show my friends on ground. So here I am with the progress on our first project, CONSTRUCTION OF MASJID. The structure is complete and now finishing work in ON. I would like to thank all those who supported us and hope that others will also come forward to participate in a noble cause. Very soon our finishing work will also be completed and furnishing work will start. I require help of my friends and supporters to complete furnishing work and hope that my friends will come forward to donate for the noble cause in cash or kind to complete the project.
Friends of ACE Movement are requested to join us, to make the prayer environment of the Masjid congenial for the Worshippers. Funds are required for furnishing of the Masjid. Come Forward and donate generously for the noble cause.  

Next projects of ACE Movement are listed for the information of our well-wishers.
  1. Skill School for Girls and Boys
  2. Primary Education
  3. Health
  4. Aid to Help Poor Families and orphans in Marriages
  5. Legal Aid to Poor & Needy 
  6. Any other requirement which pops up
Request to the Donors: Please explicitly mention the sphere of work for which donations are made so that your donation money is routed to that specific head of accounts.

Pray that we as a society continue to help the poor and needy and develop our society in the light of Islamic principles.

Donate generously and earn many fold rewards for Allah SWT.

Contact afzal.movement@gmail.com if you wish to donate ZAKAT, SADQAAT and CHARITY and keep visiting http://ace-movement.blogspot.com for updates on the progress of our projects.

Monday 2 September 2013

Food for Thought

Spending Rs. 100 as Donation for a Masjid seems too big but 
Spending Rs. 100 for shopping appears too small

Spending an hour in Masjid for supplications seems a long time but
Spending three hours watching a movie appears very short

Listening to a cricket match commentary for a day long is joyful but
Sermon of Jumm’a, if prolongs for a while disturbs us


Ask yourself WHY…. And let me know the answer

Thursday 15 August 2013

Foundation Work for Masjid Completed


It is to inform the well wishers that construction work at Masjid site has started. Foundation work and earthwork to raise the level of Masjid polt has been completed. In my next visit I will initiate the survey for the site selection for Skill School for girls at Village Daud. I hope that my friends and family will keep supporting me on the projects I have envisaged to empower my community leading towards self sustainability and earning of respectful livelihood.

The sphere of work for ACEM has been increased on the demand of friends and following areas have been identified for the work:-

1. Construction of Masjid
2. Skill School for Girls and Boys
3. Primary Education
4. Health
5. Aid to Help Poor Families and orphans in Marriages
6. Legal Aid to Poor & Needy
7. Any other requirement which pops up

Request to the Donors: Please explicitly mention the sphere of work for which donations are made so that your donation money is routed to that specific head of accounts.

Pray that we as a society continue to help the poor and needy and develop our society in the light of Islamic principles.

Donate generously and earn many fold rewards from Allah SWT.

Contact afzal.movement@gmail.com if you wish to donate ZAKAT, SADQAAT and CHARITY and keep visiting http://ace-movement.blogspot.com for updates on the progress of our projects.

Friday 2 August 2013

Construction of The Masjid Starts

Its heartening to announce that work on Masjid at village Bhoda Dhola, Tehsil and District Narowal has started and Insha Allah very soon people will be able to offer prayers there. Many many Thanks to my mother who donated the piece of land and special thanks to my family who provided their share of funds to initiate the work. If this spirit continues Insha Allah we will be achieving the targets before time, with the help of friends and sympathizers. Allah's reward becomes manifold during holy month of Ramazan therefore we all should spend maximum in the cause of Allah during this holy month.
Afzal Community Empowerment Movement has been launched to help the poor and deprived component of society by empowering them with the knowledge and skills so that they could improve their life.
Donate generously and earn many fold rewards fro Allah SWT.
Contact afzal.movement@gmail.com if you wish to donate ZAKAT, SADQAAT and CHARITY and keep visiting http://ace-movement.blogspot.com for updates on the progress of our projects.
Stay Blessed! Always

Thursday 1 August 2013

Come Forward, Donate for the Noble Cause

Dear All

Assalam-o-Alaikum
I have initiated a social empowerment program named “Afzal Community Empowerment Movement (ACEM)”.

The aim is community empowerment with objectives of Construction & maintenance of Masajid, Free Primary Education for the Poor and Skill Development initiatives for the youth.
The initial projects will be launched at my native village; gradually moving to other deprived areas of District Narowal and finally spreading it country wide.

You are invited to become part of it by registering yourself as a donor or beneficiary. Donations are categorized as Charity for building Masajid, Zakat and Sadqaat for imparting primary/skilled education to the poor and needy.
I invite you to come forward, donate for the noble cause and earn heavenly rewards.

Looking forward for your participation

Lt Col Saadat Ullah (Retd), TI(M), TBt
Afzal Community Empowerment Movement
H-No. 188, Street 3, Sector – C,
Askari – X, Lahore
Cell: 0321-5696811

Sunday 28 July 2013

The Blessings of Spending in the Way of Allah

Spending in the way of Allah is a great virtue. It occupies paramount importance in divine religions. All Prophets of Allah emphatically urged their followers to spend in the way of Allah. In this article, we shall take a brief look at some of the blessings of spending in the way of Allah.
True Attachment with God
    The greatest benefit of spending in the way of Allah is that it establishes a strong bond between a person and his Creator. A man’s heart generally lies where his wealth is. If he hides away his wealth in some secret place, he finds himself thinking about that very place all the time. In case of investment in a business or a company, he cannot help being pre-occupied with the continued viability of the investee. In short, what is evident from practical experience is that man’s heart is affixed to his wealth. Keeping in view the foregoing explanation, it can be asserted that anyone who spends in the way of Allah would find that he is in an everlasting communion with God since he has entrusted Allah with his wealth. In this regard, Jesus (sws) is reported to have said:
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mathew 6:20-1)
Stronger Ties with the Society
    The second benefit which spending in the way of Allah affords the spender is that it helps him establish unfailing ties with his society. A little deliberation here will reveal that this achievement is not of less significance. Rather, it is one of the two pillars upon which the whole structure of religion is based. These two pillars, namely: prayer and spending, are a pre-requisite in order to make a person a true servant of God. The first pillar helps in developing a true relationship with the Almighty. And the second inculcates a deep-rooted connection amongst the members of the society. Hence, both play an unsurpassed role in nurturing and developing the persona conceived by the Qur’an. It is precisely for this reason that Salah (the prayer) and Zakah (alms-tax) find mention in the Qur’an side by side. For example, in the initial verses of Surah Baqarah, what immediately follows the mention of Salah is spending in the way of Allah. 
    As pointed out earlier, these two pillars in fact constitute the foundations upon which the entire structure of man’s relationship with the Creator and His creation is erected. Consequently, one can safely conclude that the fabric of the Shari‘ah too is based upon the prayer and spending. All ancient Semitic religions regard both these pillars as the origin of righteous conduct. Once someone asked Jesus (sws) about the great commandment in the law. Jesus (sws) enlightened him by saying:
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets (Matthew, 22:37-40)
    The best possible way to demonstrate affection towards a neighbor is to sympathize with him and help him out financially whenever he is in trying circumstances. Just as Salah is the only befitting way man can express his love for the Almighty, the only appropriate manner he can exhibit his appreciation for his neighbour is to spend for him whenever he is in need.
    Both things apparently seem distinct and separate yet if are viewed from a holistic perspective the love of the neighbour would appear to be the direct outcome of the love of God. Anyone who loves God would certainly care for His creation since He has analogously regarded the whole mankind as His own children. Man is so created that whenever he loves someone he instinctively falls in love with everything related to him as well. So, when a person loves Allah he surely feels affection for His Creation and this affection ultimately results in spending to ease the sufferings through which the ‘children’ of his beloved Allah may be going. 
    The brimming love that man feels for Allah is the natural consequence of his sentiments of gratitude. When he observes carefully around himself the providence and power of Allah, he finds himself engulfed by the bounties of his Gracious Creator. This realization, on the one hand, gives rise to the sentiments of worship which naturally prompts him to offer the prayer and, on the other hand, induces him to be as much generous as possible to mankind since he has become cognizant of the fact that everything he possesses has been bestowed upon him generously by Allah alone. 
    It can therefore be concluded that the love for humanity is an offshoot of one’s love for God and that both provide a rock-solid base for religion. While the former stands at the core of all human rights, the latter is the stream from which all religious obligations spring forth. Anyone who can willingly spend his wealth for others cannot be assumed to be careless when it comes to discharging other moral obligations. The only person who can be presumed to be the best member of a society is the one who has done away with his undue love of riches, because should this love prevail, it would awfully obstruct the normal flow of righteous conduct. The Holy Qur’an alludes to both situations in the following words:
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى
So, he who gave in the way of Allah and was godfearing and believed in the good outcome [in the Hereafter], We shall, indeed, take him to [a fate] of delight. And he who was a miser and was indifferent and belied the good outcome [in the Hereafter], We shall, indeed, take him to [a fate] of affliction. (92:5-10)
Spending nurtures Wisdom (Hikmah)
    The third benefit of spending is that it is like food and water for all the other religious obligations and creeds. It helps, on the one hand, all those righteous deeds which are yet feeble and have shallow roots in our soul and, on the other hand, it strengthens all beliefs which have not yet gained sound basis in our heart.
    This stability and depth of all virtues and beliefs in a person is exactly what the Qur’an describes as Hikmah (wisdom). From certain indications of the Qur’an we may construe that the key to this wisdom is indeed spending in the way of Allah. At one place, the Qur’an delineates the benefits of spending in the following words:
الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمْ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُمْ مَغْفِرَةً مِنْهُ وَفَضْلًا وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا
Satan threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promises you His forgiveness and bounties, and Allah cares for all and He knows all things. He grants wisdom to whom He pleases and he to whom wisdom is granted receives indeed a benefit overflowing. (2:268-9)
    Only that spending brings this benefit to the spender which has been carried out in order to please Allah alone and to reinforce what is yet feeble in heart. Therefore, the parable described just before the above quoted verses begins as:
وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ وَتَثْبِيتًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ
And the likeness of those who spend their substance seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls. (2:265)
    The part ‘to strengthen their souls’ implies that they spend in the way of Allah contrary to the ill wishes of their heart so that they can overcome all the impediments, which stand in their way to being a Godly person. The reward that God promises them in return is that He will of surety bless them with His bounties and bestow upon them the treasure of priceless wisdom. 
Increase in Wealth
    The fourth benefit of spending in the way of Allah is that it augments the wealth of the spender. The Qur’an says:
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنْبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنْبُلَةٍ مِائَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللَّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: It grows seven ears and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases and Allah cares for all and He knows all things. (2:261)
    The Qur’an sheds light upon this fact in the following words as well:
يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ
Allah blights usury and augments what is spent in His way. (2:276)
    This spending no doubt will bear fruit in the Hereafter but in this very world the person who spends in God’s way enjoys a fabulous increase, for the needy people who are helped pray for their benefactor. And, as these people are pitiful, they much deserve that their prayers be granted by the Merciful Master. From some Ahadith, we find that even the Angels of God pray for such a person:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ما من يوم يصبح العباد فيه إلا ملكان ينزلان فيقول أحدهما اللهم أعط منفقا خلفا ويقول الآخر اللهم أعط ممسكا تلفا
The Prophet said: ‘Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says: ‘O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your cause’, and the other [angel] says: ‘O Allah! Destroy every miser’. (Bukhari: No. 1374)
    It is, however, to be noted here that this ‘increase’ in no way means that the spender would find his safe overflowing with wealth or that his bank balance would increase or that the value of his property would augment overnight. Rather, it implies that the optimal benefit one can attain from the use of wealth is afforded to the person who spends in Allah’s way. The benefit his wealth brings to mankind, others’ wealth cannot undertake to fetch; the contribution his wealth helps make to the welfare of the society, others’ wealth fails to make; how he succeeds to please the Lord, others remain unsuccessful; the profound respect and love he earns in others’ hearts, others obnoxiously obsessed with piling up their riches cannot even visualize and, above all else, peace of mind, the spiritual elevation and satisfaction that he drives from this spending are in fact blessings which have eluded many grand emperors of this world.
(Adapted from Islahi’s Tadhkiyah - i - Nafs)
 
Donate to Afzal Community Empowerment Movement (ACEM)
Send your donation on following Address
 
Saadat Ullah
188, Sector - C, Askari - X,
Lahore - 54810
0321-5696811