As-Salamu Alaykum,
Almost 7 years ago; Allah subhana wa ta’ala rewarded us with a Masjid. This Masjid gave our community its own space. We mainly used it for Jumu’ah/Eid prayers and for occasional community get-togethers. Since the Masjid’s inception, we always wanted to hire an imam so that we can utilize the masjid to its fullest potential. Due to our geographic location, finding an imam who is willing to move to this area was not an easy task. Nevertheless, our search efforts have been rewarded and (Alhamdulillah) we found our first part-time imam for ICLP. After thorough negotiations between our new imam and the ICLP board, we came to an agreement with Imam Atir Rashid.
Brief introduction to brother Atir:
Became Hafiz Al-Quran, from Darul Uloom Al-Madania (Buffalo, NY)
Obtained Alim Degree, from Darul Uloom Al-Madania (Buffalo, NY)
Studied Hafs and Tajweed, from Darul Jannah (Alexandria, Egypt)
Obtained Arabic Language Certificate, from Qortoba Institute of Arabic Studies (Alexandria, Egypt)
Currently, he is studying to obtain M.S. degree in Islamic Banking and Finance
Brother Atir came to our ICLP and gave us an introductory Jumu’ah Khutbah on February 26th (the recording of the khutbah is available on ICLP Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/iclpmd/videos/792890441313840/)
In-Sha-Allah brother Atir Rashid, will be starting as a part-time imam with ICLP on April 1. As a part-time imam, brother Atir will be responsible for the following:
Daily Maghrib Prayers
Daily Isha’a Prayers
Weekly Jumu’ah prayer and khutbah
Weekly Halaqa
Weekly 2 hour Quran classes for children
During Ramadan; nightly tarawih prayers
The hiring of an imam has increased ICLPs recurring financial responsibilities. To meet this recurring financial responsibility, we need to establish ways to collect monthly recurring donations from our community. To make the recurring donation setup process easy for our community. We are working on a pamphlet; that will list multiple ways to establish an automatic recurring donation. The pamphlet will be sent out soon. So that the ICLP masjid can meet its increased monthly financial obligations, in a timely manner.
May Allah assist us with every step of the way; to make ICLP a fully functioning masjid; Ameen.