~Stairway To Jannah Reflections~

[Melody]

bismillahir rahmanir raheem

asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu-
i pray this message reaches you all in the best health and emanrush! :D

masha'Allah, masha'Allah, masha'Allah. i don't think i can stop saying it. i gained soo much knowledge today, walhamdullilah. both brother mazen mokhtar and brother belal khan were a blessing from Allah subhanahu wata3ala. as for sister mona hassan, i was unable to attend, for i had a prior engagement to attend to. but from previous experiences, im sure, masha'Allah she was also beneficial to the youth of MYGM.

we all make plans and Allah subhanahu wata3ala is the best of planners. no one is perfect and there are many things that we all, including myself, need to work on in order to follow the path of habeebana Muhammad, sallah Allahu 3alyhi wassalam. for these 'things' insha'Allah, are our steps along the stairway to Jannah.

as we all think and reflect upon this blessed day...which will soon be ephemeral within the next 5 minutes...it is important to state any positive or negative reflections in order to better our future events such as the one Allah has blessed us with today.

may Allah bless those who made the event happen....the speakers, the organizers, the attendees. Ameen.

Rabinna yahdina illa sirat al mustaqeem insha'Allah.

wasalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu wa maghfiratu-

~Melody~

[Ingy Alhelawe]

Ameen to your dua's.
AsSalam Alykum
First off, Jazakum Allah khair for all those who attended. And a special Jazakum Allah khair for our speakers. Masha'Allah. All three were Unique in their own way Alhamdulilah. We all appreciate the time you have dedicated to attend and speak at this event. Brother Mazen, was able to keep our attention going Masha'Allah with his enthusiastic way of speaking, his topic of Activism in islam encouraged us all to start on a future event. brother Belal, touched us with many stories that teach us valuable lessons about ones realtionships with others. And Sister Mona Hassan shoke our hearts with hadiths and Qura'anic verses that spoke about connecting with Alllah, and how to imrove one's relationship with Allah (SWT).
I have more to say insha'allah...but let's see first what you all have to say first.
WasSalam Alykum
Ingy

[Al Baraa]

Well...just got home. It was an interesting day today (the 'halaqa' being part of it). I figured it would be a good idea to reflect on the program that was held. Things that we learned, things we can improve on...etc

few points i wanna make...

Mushroom Pizza was good :D
Masjid Amaan Sound System is real cool (it works :))
I saw cows in NJ!

Perhaps a helaqa setting for the 'gentlemen' isnt really the best thing for them. Perhaps something more engaging.

The Masjid Amaan Sisters should join up with YM Sisters since they have a lot of dedicated sisters.

Thas all i can think of for now...

[Ingy Alhelawe]

I learned something on the side today.....Mazen Mokhtar took me to the side, when he saw me gettin ga little frustrated :) and said to me
"Don't make a big deal about things, DEAL with it!!"
something to always remember.
Alhamdulilah

[Melody]

bismillahir rahmanir raheem

The Masjid Amaan Sisters should join up with YM Sisters since they have a lot of dedicated sisters.Masha'Allah...I was thinking the same thing!

My thoughts:
~we definitely needed a brother in charge alongside a sister
~i think the respect our speakers gave us, should have been reciprocated
~i think the time allotted for lunch should have been decreased...too much free mixing outside
~the speakers i heard were amazing...i couldn't stop talking about it the whole way to my next appointment...at the appointment...on the way back...and then at home with those who missed it
~absolutely loved :D all the subliminal messaging for the upcoming Almaghrib class...whenever Brother Belal got the chance...he casually slipped it in...masha'Allah!

but thats all for now
~Melody~

[Al Baraa]

~absolutely loved :D all the subliminal messaging for the upcoming Almaghrib class...whenever Brother Belal got the chance...he casually slipped it in...masha'Allah!
hmm....didnt meant it to be subliminal. I thought i was being pretty blunt about the upcoming classes.

As for joining up with YM Sisters, it would be good to contact sister UrLeigh since they have some YM activity from centeral jersey being formed

[Al Baraa]

Stairway to Jannah Audio:
http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=6931

[XpReSs87]

I think she was sarcastic Belal..lol
hmm..yep it was awesome..
~ mushroom pizza mmm..
~ the way the speakers handled the "children"
~ Brother Mazen helpin put together the B-ball tournament.
~ If Mostafa hadnt warned me..wouldve choked every single one of those guys in the back..
~ yeah..lunch was wayyy tooo long..too much mixing...outside..
~ meeting new brothers..and recruiting new Durbites..lol..
~ chillin with Belal's bro Nihal..and then him tryin to wrstle me later..haha..
~ there is something i m forgettin..lol..o yeah..Ingy givin up on projectin her voice..lol

[Al Baraa]

what are some things that we can do to improve the actual program...?

what are come problems / challanges that we faced?

[Ingy Alhelawe]

Problems:
~Dealing with some of the youth during break, not wanting to come back in for the program, not listening when something was being announced, both sisters and brothers.
~I agree, tooo long a lunch break, i thought that everyone would know better then to "mix" but i guess not, It just allowed to much time for mingling.
~Some were just so eager to leave, it made me surprised that they were forced to come. Once a speaker left the mic, commotion started.

Ways to Imrove:
~more people (brothers and sisters) to actually walk around moderating the youth.
~Have a set place where they could go for lunch, Leaving them to go outside, (which at first seemed like a good idea considering the excellant weather) just caused problems for those who were trying to call them back inside.

just what i picked up so far.......more to come

[Al Baraa]

perhaps having a brother MC would have been better...and having the MC sit at the front while the speaker is there...

....I pick Mostafa :D

[XpReSs87]

yeah he scared the heebee jeebies out of those kids..especially wen he pulled that mace out of his beard..lol

[mostafa]

Asalaamu `alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,

*AHEM* ... let's stay on point with constructive feedback :)

[XpReSs87]

hey it was constructive!!! pple wont mess wit u anymore..knowin u carry a mace..lol

[Ingy Alhelawe]

perhaps having a brother MC would have been better..
There was one subhan'allah.......but they backed out last minute.something came up and they couldn't attend......Alhamdulilah though

[XpReSs87]

yeah very good job ingy..masha'allah..gotta work on projectin ur voice sis.. :)

[Nihalk1]

heh, yea, program was good all together. I think though if there is a sister speakign again, we should make it a sisters' program. Some "children" couldn't show common courtesy toward Sr. Mona Hassan. Yea everything went nice.

-Gobbled down 4 sliced of Pizza
-Seein' Br. Mazen Mokhtar in action
-Seeing Br. Mostafa disicpline the kids...hehe
-Chillin w/ Br. Ali
-Getting to meet more Muslims
-Seeing some people I havn't seen in a while

[Nihalk1]

Br. Ali. IM me at TheGreatNihal. :)

[Ingy Alhelawe]

Stealin one of the brownies.........

[Melody]

bismillahir rahmanir raheem

asalaamu alaikum

since most of the people that were at the halaqa are not on the forums, something to think about if you seek feedback is surveys at the end ... just a thought

meeting new people is always a plus...gotta strengthen our ummah by uniting! also, definitely liked the turnout...masha'Allah...its been the biggest we've had so far...masha'Allah!!!

~Melody~

[Al Baraa]

since most of the people that were at the halaqa are not on the forums,


Are they Durbites?....no?....

....turn them into one :)

[XpReSs87]

hey..who stole a brownie???..

[Ingy Alhelawe]

THE GREAT NIHAL stole a brownie.....

[Ingy Alhelawe]

Are they Durbites?....no?....

....turn them into one :)
About four of the sisters that were at the Halaqa are taking the next TPA class here at Durbah......there were a couple of brothers too. I spoke to many of them about the class, i guess we'll just have to see Insha'allah.

About sisters joining up with YM sisters.......awesome! I'll definetly speak with Amina as soon as i can.

[Ingy Alhelawe]

BTW....that basketball tornament that we were talking about is currently being planned and probably going to happen in early februaury...if it's not to cold.
any ideas?

[Al Baraa]

BTW....that basketball tornament that we were talking about is currently being planned and probably going to happen in early februaury...if it's not to cold.
any ideas?

I would suggest either 1on1, 2on2, or 3on3. Pick one. (more particpants = more $ and more work)
Game up to 11, 7 is shutdown (meaning is score is 7-0 then game is over)
tournament...elimination style. (if there is enough time...do double elimination)
Tell people to come with thier teams
have bout 3-4 games at once
have bout 3-4 age groups (if the rage of participants is large)
charge a participation fee which will go toward the fundraiser
charge for food (gatorade and water...no soda...ur call)
What you need
---------------

refs that wont back down on kid complaints...meanign is able to put his foot down (3-4 depending on # of games happening)
one person taking care of money
2-3 people taking care of scoreboard, and team elimination chart
an anouncer
2-3 people manning food and taking care of money for food payment
court, hoops, and balls
suggestions
-----------

have a prize for the winning team. (trophy, something to hold onto)
if funds allow...have t-shirts for participants
charge somethign like 10-20 bucks...and keep the fundraiser cause as the main focus

[Melody]

bismillahAre they Durbites?....no?....

....turn them into one :)
ummm....how old do they have to be to take this class?

~Melody~

[Al Baraa]

my bro is 13 and hes taking the class....

...but i believe the min limit is 14.

[Yasmine.Gharib]

ingy are u ever gonna make a nother one???????????????????????????????

[Ingy Alhelawe]

ingy are u ever gonna make a nother one???????????????????????????????
O......You have no idea.....of course WE ALL are going to make another one.....every time we have a long break......Insha'allah.
But this time we know what to do and how to do it.

Brother Albaraa....thank you for the suggestions.......I'll keep you all updated insha'lallah.

[Melody]

bismillah

Are they Durbites?....no?....

....turn them into one :)
I just sent an email out to the MYGM list. Insha'Allah everyone should be receiving it soon. Maybe they will feel differently? Allahu ta3ala A3lam. Insha'Allah, if each one of us emails the group until the day of...maybe that will be an impact...instead of just me emailing the group? Lets give it a try!

~Melody~

[Melody]

bismillah

asalamualaikum,
Where are the classes?
jakaAllah kheirun
What classes?

~Melody~

[Nihalk1]

TPA? That's next week, Jan 7. It's going to be taught by Sheikh Abdulbary Yahya for 2 weekends at Holiday Inn in Edison (Raritan Center, Woodbridge Avenue) I believe, bring your own food if you plan to NOT survive on the snacks :)

[Melody]

bismillah

TPA? That's next week, Jan 7. It's going to be taught by Sheikh Abdulbary Yahya for 2 weekends at Hilton Hotel I believe, bring your own food if you plan to NOT survive on the snacks :)
mostafa should be out with the exact time and place insha'Allah within the day...that way no one gets confused...bi'dnillah ;)

~Melody~

[Melody]

bismillah

salaam alaikum sincerity123-
we were talking about 2 different things...sorry
the main purpose of this thread was to get reflections back from a halaqa we held at masjid al amaan in middletown, nj last saturday. (these halaqas are not a set date or time, they just tend to fall on days when most of the people can make...ie. vacations!)
the other topic we brought up was that we placed the reflections on a page that most of the attendees of the halaqa are not aquainted with...so we were trying to make it our mission to have them join the almaghrib institute and become Durbites...of NJ.

im sorry for any confusion
~Melody~

[XpReSs87]

naa they got food Nihal..ya gotta pay tho..YES!! i just registered..lol..hey..im part of this bball tournament thingy..who else is in charge??