بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
I hope this message reaches you all in the best state of health and eemaan.
Having reached the end of term, we wish to share with you our termly newsletter, updating you on the wonderful achievements of our students. We have been incredibly impressed by the hard work and dedication of all students and staff at LII and we would like to thank everyone for being consistent and punctual in attending their classes, despite the challenges posed by recent weather and travel conditions.
Individual Awards
These awards were given to selected students who displayed the best behaviour and highest quality of work in their classes:
Monday & Thursday
Mohamed H (Ustadha Safiya’s class)
Maryam A (Ustadha Muna’s class)
Ana O (Ustadha Subina’s class)
Yahya D (Ustadha Eman’s class)
Esa DH (Ustadha Hooria’s class)
Ahmad A (Ustadha Radien’s class)
Ragae A (Ustadh Aliu’s class)
Jaiyana H (Ustadha Wafia’s class)
Tuesday & Friday
Fadlaan AS (Ustadha Yasmin’s class)
Yasmine M (Ustadha Safiya’s class)
Ibrahim K (Ustadha Muna’s class)
Aishat B (Ustadha Subina’s class)
Samah N (Ustadha Eman’s class)
Irekanmi E (Ustadha Hibo’s class)
Idris B (Ustadh Zulkiflu’s class)
Ahmed P (Ustadh Aliu’s class)
Adji N (Ustadha Wafia’s class)
Wednesday & Saturday
Ayan Y (Ustadha Muna’s class)
Hassan A (Ustadha Hodaiba’s class)
Manha U (Ustadh Aliu/Ustadha Mariam’s class)
Layla Z (Ustadha Subina’s class)
Alina F (Ustadha Eman’s class)
Ranagul Y (Ustadha Layla’s class)
Khadra H (Ustadha Wafia’s class -Arabic)
Child Hifdh
Zakir M (Imam Sabir’s class)
Class of the Term
These awards were given to selected classes who demonstrated the best behaviour
and highest quality of work overall this term:
Monday & Thursday
Secondary Class (Ustadh Aliu)
Tuesday & Friday
Year 3 Class (Ustadha Muna)
Wednesday & Saturday
Year 3 Class (Ustadh Aliu/Ustadha Maryam)
Congratulations to all the students and classes mentioned above, and we greatly look forward to commending and rewarding many more over the next two terms, in sha Allah.
Please do read on for an update on our charity project as well as a few short reminders which we hope will benefit. Finally, please note that term 2 begins on the week commencing 2nd January.
We would like to wish everyone a restful break and look forward to welcoming our students back next term.
JazakAllah Khair
Lewisham Islamic Institute
Charity Project
This term we ran our first charity project of the madrassah. Our aim was to raise as much as we could in order to build a masjid in an underdeveloped country. Moreover, we wished for the students to take leadership of this project in order to establish the principle of implementing what we learn, as knowledge without action fails to reap results.
We are glad to share with you that, through your children’s tremendous fundraising efforts and your generous donations, we have raised a fantastic total of £1,500!
Alhamdulillah, we are really proud of them all and hope for them to continue to reach this goal.
Next term’s target will be for each child to raise £30, in sha Allah bringing us one step closer to our objective of building a masjid.
Contemporary Issues in Society
According to the recent UK census, the number of Muslims currently living in the UK has increased over the past decade. The Muslim population currently stands at approximately 3.9 million, equivalent to 6.5 percent of the total UK population in 2021; an increase from 4.9 percent in 2011.
This emphasises the truthfulness of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) who stated:
“I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Ummah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasure and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and
branch, and my Lord said: Muhammad, whenever I make a decision, there is none to change it.”
However, the number of people who identified as having no religion showed the highest growth overall, increasing from a quarter of the population in 2011 to 37.2 percent last year. This shows the urgent need for Muslims to be representatives of Islam and share knowledge of Islam to neighbours, friends and non-Muslim family members, even if it is a little.
As the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said:
“Convey from me, even if it be an Ayah”
This highlights the significance of Islamic supplementary schools, institutes, mosques, and most importantly, parental involvement. Many of our pupils are surrounded by a diverse society where it is difficult to safeguard children from the challenges of growing up, whether this be social or ideological. However, madrassahs, in partnership with parents, can enable students to utilise their own autonomy rather than being pressured
by their peers and society to conform.
Parking Reminder
As many of you are aware, the madrassah runs from 5.30 pm – 7.30pm Monday to Friday, with the exception of Saturday, where we are open from 10.30am – 12:30pm. However, we must consider that this is not only a busy time for us as an institute, but also for our neighbours who are arriving home from work.
Therefore, please be mindful when dropping and collecting your child/children and remember that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“The best of companions with Allah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neighbours to Allah is the one who is the best of them to his neighbour”.
Moreover, the Lewisham Islamic Centre has plans to re-develop its building in the near future and has been granted permission to begin planning for development. However, during the most recent mosque neighbourhood meeting, concerns were raised by local residents regarding the congestion of cars in the area.
Therefore, please ensure you are parking correctly, causing minimal noise and disruption and not taking from anyone’s rights in any shape or form.
To further facilitate the smooth dismissal of students from the madrassah, we have established a collection and departure system to ensure all students exit the premises safely, quietly and efficiently. Although this may take slightly longer, please be patient and respect one another. We encourage parents and carers to get to know one another whilst waiting in line, as we are one community formed of brotherhoods and sisterhoods with a shared goal to ensure our children possess a genuine love for Islam.
JazakAllah Khair
Hadith of the Term
“Blessed is one who is good to his parents. Allah Almighty will extend his lifespan.”
Source: al-Adab al-Mufrad lil-Bukhārī 22
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Suyuti
Looking at this hadeeth, we can see the significance of being good to one’s parents. One may pause and ponder; how is being good to one’s parents connected to possessing a prolonged lifespan? The scholars explain this hadeeth by mentioning that a son or daughter is good to their parents by sacrificing their money, effort and most importantly, their time.
A point of reflection is to remember that ‘time’ is something great, as Allah (swt) swears by it in surah Al Asr and Allah (swt) only swears by things in order to raise its status and to magnify its importance.
وَٱلْعَصْرِ
“By the passage of time”
As a person will sacrifice his/her time for their parents in order to please Allah (swt) and his parents, Allah (swt) will replace that time by extending the persons lifespan.
This is a small reminder to assist us in being the best to our parents, whether they are alive or have passed away. Our children will treat us the way we treated them, and their children will treat them the way they treated us.
Action Plan:
- Ensure that we set a target to buy our parents a gift the next time we see them and
give them a warm hug. - If our parents are no longer alive, give a consistent amount of sadaqah jariyah
(ongoing charity) on their behalf.
Contact Us
Headteacher: Abdul Majid King
Deputy Headteacher: Seren Erdel
Email: info@lii.org.uk
Phone: 020 8314 0169
Address: 363-365 Lewisham High Street Lewisham, London SE13 6NZ