Greetings of Peace (al salamu ‘alaykum) dear Friends!
I pray you are well and settling in to the beautiful rhythms of this blessed month, with special prayers for Palestine as we try to process the chasm between Ramadan there and wherever you are. May God help us aid all those suffering around world this Ramadan, and may next Ramadan find us all in a better, not worse, situation insha’Allah (God willing).
First, I am so excited to announce that we will be gathering again TONIGHT to resume The Book of Illuminations halaqas with Dr. Abou El Fadl. As you know, we suspended this halaqa series on October 7th of last year to turn our attention to Gaza. As we approach the sixth month anniversary of the genocide, in reflecting upon so much that has become apparent in our world since October 7th, one thing has become more and more clear - the education needs to continue.
As Dr. Abou El Fadl has emphasized time and again, in our day and age, the most important jihad (exertion or struggle for the sake of God) is that of knowledge and ideas. Those who control the knowledge and ideas will control our world. We know that our world has become ever more Islamophobic because of the well-funded efforts of those who want the fear of Islam to spread. The only way to fight back is with truth, knowledge, and more compelling ideas - on the side of truth, light, and goodness. The Book of Illuminations has been an incredible source of light and I am excited to see it continue.
For us as Muslims, we know that the best knowledge and ideas will emerge from a deep understanding of God’s Book, as we witnessed in our three-year journey with the Project Illumine Qur’anic Commentaries (Tafsir) by Dr. Abou El Fadl. Those who have invested the time in watching the halaqas know that the Project Illumine journey is life-transforming. I cannot count how many times the words “life-transforming” have been used in emails sent to me to thank us for making Project Illumine freely available to be discovered and engaged on our YouTube channel.
At the same time, we know very well that most people will not be able to watch or listen to 500+ hours of Qur’an halaqas. Most people would rather engage with our journey as a published book, or set of books. Thus, we have been working hard to prepare this entire body of knowledge to be published as a multi-volume collection, our legacy project which will take a decade to finish. This is a huge undertaking, yet a priceless contribution to our understanding of God’s Book for ourselves and for future generations.
Thus, I am beyond excited and grateful to announce that we just received one of our first Ramadan miracles! We now have a $50,000 Matching Gift Campaign for publishing the Project Illumine Tafsir, thanks to incredibly kind and generous donors who understand the value of this legacy project and want to encourage others to donate!
$50,000 MATCHING GIFT CAMPAIGN!
TURN OUR QUR’AN HALAQAS INTO PUBLISHED BOOKS!
Link to: Ramadan LaunchGood Tafsir Campaign
Now is the chance to make the Project Illumine publication your sadaqa jariyah (a gift of charity that continues to earn blessings in perpetuity). Every donation will be matched dollar for dollar up to $50,000. Let our legacy be part of your legacy! May God bless and honor our special donors and all who join us in this important project!
For the month of Ramadan, we have created three LaunchGood campaigns:
1. Turn Qur’an Halaqas into Published Books: $50K Matching Gift Campaign:
2. Saving Rare Islamic Manuscripts: www.launchgood.com/manuscripts; and
3. Free A Soul from Human Trafficking: www.launchgood.com/freeasoul
All of these campaigns are Zakat-eligible! If you would prefer to support Usuli at large without specifying a program, please donate here: www.usuli.org/donate (also Zakat-eligible!)
As always, our most heartfelt gratitude for being here with us. Please continue to empower us to do more creative, forward-thinking, and impactful work with your tax-deductible donation. A monthly donation helps us the most!
May God inspire and empower you, and may you do much good in this most beautiful and blessed month! See you online soon insha’Allah (God willing)!
In Peace and Hope,
Grace