[Talibah]

The Rahmah Foundation

is pleased to announce its


2010 Annual Rahmah Ramadan Prep

Please join us for these free online sessions for sisters

What is it?

An incredible opportunity for sisters to brush up on their knowledge of fasting with our Pre-Ramadan Intensive, stay focused and get the most out Ramadan with our Ramadan Intensive, then keep up the momentum of Ramadan with our Post-Ramadan Monthly Seminars!! All of which are free and online!! It's super easy: decide which classes you are interested in joining below, click on the link, and fill out the registration form below. We will then email you a special invitation with the links to the classes you choose. Simply click on the link and it will take you directly to the online classroom to join the teacher and other sisters like yourself around the world who plan to make this Ramadan their best! It's simple, convenient and beneficial, inshaAllah!

Register today to reserve your spot!



Pre-Ramadan Intensive:

Review the Fiqh of Fasting before Ramadan starts! Don't find yourself in the dark! Both new and seasoned students of fiqh are welcomed and encouraged to attend! Classes will be offered for the:

Hanafi Madhhab (Ust. Shamira Chothia Ahmed)

*Please note that students who are unsure of which madhhab to choose are recommended to sign up for the Hanafi madhhab*

Date: Tuesdays, Aug 3rd and 10th

Time: 6:30-7:30pm PST (9:30-10:30pm EST)

To register: http://spreadsheets....0NqNHc6MA#gid=0

Maliki Madhhab (Ust. Saira AbuBakr)

Date: Sunday, Aug 8th

Time: 10:30am- 1:30pm PST (1:30pm- 4:30pm EST)

To register: http://spreadsheets....E9haGc6MA#gid=0

Shafi'i Madhhab (Ust. Rania Awaad)

Date: Wednesday, July 28 and Aug 4

Time: 6:30-8pm PST (9:30-11pm EST)

To register: http://spreadsheets....WI0WXc6MA#gid=0

Note: We are pleased to announce that Ustadha Rania will continue teaching Intermediate level Shafi'i fiqh classes for sisters post-Ramadan. She has been teaching Shafi'i fiqh since 1999 and has conducted her classes via tele-conferencing for the last 7 years. We are excited to announce that she will now be transferring her weekly Shafi'i fiqh classes online for the benefit of more sisters! Please indicate your interest to continue studying Shafi’i fiqh after Ramadan on the registration form.



Ramadan Intensive:

Keep up with Ramadan!! No backsliding allowed!! Join Ust. Rania and Ust. Shamira (tentative) every Wednesday of Ramadan as they enlightens us about what we should be doing during each week of Ramadan. In this very unique 5-part series they will discuss:

· The common Ramadan pitfalls of each type of woman: the student, the housewife, the career-woman, the busy mother, etc. and offer solutions on how each type of woman can reap the full benefit of this blessed month.

· How to make the most of Ramadan even if we are menstruating, pregnant, breast-feeding or just "very busy" with daily life responsibilities.

· How to strike a balance between enjoying Ramadan and our family duties and obligations.

· The thirds of Ramadan: The Days of Mercy, The Days of Forgiveness and the virtues and blessings of the Last Ten Days of Ramadan

· How to make this Laylt-ul-Qadr (the Night of Power) our best

· There will be a special session dedicated to teaching us how to perform 'itikaf (spiritual seclusion) as women.

Dates: Every Wednesday of Ramadan!

Aug 11, 18, 25 and Sept 1 and 8

Time: 12- 1pm PST (3-4pm EST)

Registration: http://spreadsheets....C1Vdnc6MA#gid=0

These special classes will keep you on your toes and help you reap the most out of this incredibly special month!



Post Ramadan Monthly Seminars:

Are you prone to losing all or most of the momentum you built up during Ramadan?? Then these free monthly online seminars are for you!! Join The Rahmah Foundation for these immensely important seminars taught by a beautiful host of female teachers and guest speakers. Featured topics will include everything under the sun that we as Muslimahs living in the West need to achieve full understanding of our Deen. You are guaranteed to love and benefit from these sessions, inshaAllah!!

Date and Time: TBD. Please visit our website www.TheRahmahFoundation.org for updates.



About The Rahmah Foundation:

Starting in 2005 with the first Sisters' Deen Intensive, we have been providing sisters with opportunities to study their Deen at the hands of qualified female teachers- all of whom have received certification (ijaza) to teach the Sacred Sciences based on classical Islamic sources at the hands of authentic Islamic scholars from every corner of the globe. The Rahmah Foundation hosts local, national, teleconferencing and online events taught by excellent female scholars and specifically designed for Muslim women. Our aim is to provide a platform for all female teachers who have studied and received licensing (ijaza) to teach the Sacred Sciences to other women. Please join us for our 2010 Annual Rahmah Ramadan Prep Sessions and be ready to reap the blessings of this auspicious month- a task that can only be accomplished by serious preparation!



Teachers' Bios:

Ustadha Saira AbuBakr

Saira AbuBakr has received a B.S. in Biology (California State University at Stanislaus) and an M.S. in Genetic Counseling (Sarah Lawrence College, New York). She worked as a genetic counselor for five years and then as a clinical researcher for one year. She has studied Maliki Fiqh, Arabic, Seerah, and Purification of the Heart at Islamic Studies School (prior to the formation of Zaytuna Institute), CA since 1997 with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Khatri ould Bauba (Mauritanian),Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah and with Shaykh Salik ibn Siddina (Mauritanian). In 2000 she attended an 8 month Arabic intensive at the Fajr and Diwan centers in Cairo, Egypt to study Grammar and Rhetoric. She has a B.S. in Islamic Studies from Zaytuna College (Director Imam Zaid Shakir), Berkeley, CA, 2008. She recently returned from Syria where she spent two years furthering her studies in Aqeedah, Fiqh, Arabic and Tajweed and where she attended classes taught by Shaykh Mohammad al Yaqoubi. During this time she also continued to teach sisters Seerah, Maliki fiqh, Arabic and other subjects in online and private halaqas.

Ustadha Shamira Chotia Ahmed

Born and raised in Northern California, Shamira Chothia Ahmed is an emerging young female scholar of the traditional Islamic sciences. Her studies led her to seek sacred knowledge from scholars on three continents - Africa, Europe, and Asia. In England she completed the five-year, traditional alimah (Islamic studies) program, studied the ahadith collection of the Sihah Sittah and received her ijaazah (authorization) in Sahih al-Bukhari with renowned Hanafi scholars. Thereafter, Ustadha Shamira was able to continue her studies in Damascus, Syria and was later an instructor of Hanafi fiqh for women at the Zaytuna Institute in Hayward, California. She recently earned her Master's degree in Demographics and Social Analysis from the University of California at Irvine with her focus on the identity formation of the Muslim-American population. Ustadha Shamira is both a wife and mother, and enjoys giving interactive and uplifting talks to sisters across the U.S.

Ustadha Rania Awaad

Raised in the U.S., Ustadha Rania Awaad began her formal study of the traditional Islamic sciences when her parents permitted her to travel to Damascus, Syria at the age of 14. Her desire to continue studying the Deen resulted in multiple trips back to Damascus, interspersed between her high school, college and medical studies. She was honored to receive Ijaazah (authorization to teach) several branches of the Shari'ah sciences at the hands of many renowned scholars, including many female scholars. She has received Ijaazah to teach Tajwid in both the Hafs and Warsh recitations from the late eminent Syrian scholar, Shaykh Abu Hassan al-Kurdi. In addition to completing several advanced texts of the Shafi’i madhhab, she is licensed to teach texts of Maliki fiqh, Adab and Ihsan.

She has also completed a medical degree and is currently pursuing medical residency training in psychiatry at Stanford University. Her medical interests include addressing mental health care concerns in the Muslim community- particularly that of Muslim women. She has been awarded grants from the NIH (National Institute of Health) to conduct research on this topic and has presented her findings at several medical conferences. Other on-going endeavors include the compilation of a manual addressing female-related medical issues from a fiqh-oriented perspective as well as a manual on raising Muslim children in the West. She currently serves as the director of the Rahmah Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching Muslim women traditional Islamic knowledge. Ustadha Rania is both a wife and a mother; she has been counseling and teaching women classes on Tajwid, Shafi'i Fiqh, Ihsan, marriage and raising children since 1999.


For questions, please email:

Hanafi Class: Sr. Ameena Ansari: ameena_ansari@hotmail.com

Maliki Class: Sr. Fadwa Silmi: Makhluqa@gmail.com

Shafi’i Class: Sr. Leila Fakira: momoftwins@pacbell.net

Technical Issues: Sr. Jessica Rugg jlynnrugg@yahoo.com

General Questions: therahmahfoundation@gmail.com0clip_image004.gif

We really appreciate your generous donations! These types of programs reach thousands of sisters and can only be made possible by your donations. Please visit www.TheRahmahFoundation.org to donate. Jazakun Allahu kul khair!

[Talibah]

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

As-salamu Alaykum Dearest Rahmah Sisters,

It is with great excitement that we introduce to you The Rahmah Foundation’s newest undertaking:

The Monthly Group Quran Khatim and Du'aa!!

For those of you not familiar with the concept of the group Khatim please allow us to introduce you to this beautiful path of spiritual sisterhood. The blessed Quran is a book that should be read and enjoyed by every Muslim daily. It is recommended that a person try and complete a Khatim (a cover-to-cover reading of the Quran) once a month. It is likely, however, that few of us (no matter how sincere) are able to read through the entire Quran once every month. A group Khatim is a collaborative effort between fellow Muslims to read the Quran monthly. Each Khatim member is assigned a monthly Juz (chapter) that they are responsible for reading. At the end of the month a group du’aa is read by each group member. The du’aa is pre-written by the group leader and is a du’aa for all the members. What an amazing and beautiful way to get 30 or more people to make du’aa for you monthly! The concept of the group Khatim has been a long standing tradition in the Muslim world and something we hope and pray we can bring to our group with love and sincerity.

Please join us in welcoming in this beautiful project by signing up for our introductory Ramadan Khatim. Our goal for the remainder of Ramadan is to read 3-4 complete Khatim (if not more!) MashaAllah, we are sure that as a group we can accomplish this lofty goal! To sign up for your Juz, please follow these 5 simple steps:

1. Click on the following link:

https://spreadsheets...uthkey=CMnRqKQE

2. You will be taken to a Google document spreadsheet titled "Rahmah Khatim". Please enter your name and email address next to the Juz you wish to read.

** note: to keep things orderly, please pick a Juz from the Khatim 1 until all 30 Juz are completely taken. If Khatim 1 is completely full, only then pick a Juz from Khatim 2, etc.**

3. Before you start reading your Juz be sure to read the "Intentions" page by clicking on the following link:

https://docs.google....uthkey=CIXTxZEF

4. Once you have completed your Juz, please return to the "Rahmah Khatim" link above and write YES under the completed column of the spreadsheet.

5. Then please sign up for another Juz!

InshaAllah, we will have our group du’aa for the completion of these Ramadan Khatim on Wednesday, September 8th at noon PST. If you wish, you may add specific du’aa requests for you, your family and loved ones by adding these du’aas on the “Du’aa Requests Ramadan Khatim” page. To do this click on the following link:

https://docs.google....thkey=CMXin_EE.

To help keep everyone on track The Rahmah Foundation will send out email reminders to all of our readers reminding them of the deadline date of when to finish their Juz. The deadline for this month's Khatim is Wednesday, Sept 8 at noon PST.

I pray that you will all join us on this exciting new venture with our most beloved book, the Quran, and pray that this will be an ongoing project even after Ramadan ends. Let us make du’aa that we keep up with all the good deeds we started in Ramadan and make them unceasing habit for the remainder of the year!

If there is in enough interest in this project, then inshaAllah we will continue with our monthly group Khatim and du’aas throughout the year! We hope you will share in our excitement for this project and we look forward to seeing you sign up for a Juz every month!!

If you have any difficulties in accessing any of the above links or adding your name to the Khatim list, please feel free to send any questions or comments to rahmahkhatim@gmail.com

Jazakun Allahu Khair,

The Rahmah Foundation teachers and staff


ps- Please remember us in your donations during this blessed month so that we can continue befitting Muslim women worldwide by our classes, projects and events! To donate please click here:http://www.therahmahfoundation.org/donate.php
pps- Please feel free to forward this to all the women you know!

This post has been edited by Talibah: 29 August 2010 - 04:27 PM