بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Dear Respected Parents & Guardians
I hope this message reaches you all in the best state of health and eemaan.
Firstly, I would like to say Ramadan Mubarak to all our parents, carers, students and staff at the Lewisham Islamic Institute. May Allah (swt) accept this blessed month from us and make us from those who make this a month of change.
Moving forward, I would like to mention that students generally did very well in their January exams and continue to progress well. Alhamdulillah, it has been a blessing to see students who had entered the madrassah not knowing how to read, now able to read parts of the Qur’an, and those pupils who previously could not read with tajweed, now applying tajweed rules to their recitation and even teaching them to others.
I was happy to meet a number of you on Parents’ Evening and become further acquainted with the varying needs of our students. Our goal is to ensure that all students are given the tools to build their Eeman, and sometimes this is more than just theoretical learning. However, this does not mean that the theory should be neglected. This is why we reiterate the need of consistency in revision of the Complete Qaidah, Tajweed, Duas and Islamic Studies books. The Ramadan break will be an
extended period of time and students will forget as quickly as they have learnt, so it is imperative that all parents ensure their children have a Ramadan revision plan which they adhere to over the break.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, then the Almighty Lord will say: See if My servant has any voluntary prayers that can complete what is insufficient in his obligatory prayers. The rest of his deeds will be judged the same way.”
In light of this hadeeth, we have provided all students a prayer planner as we believe this is pertinent to their spiritual development. Unfortunately, many of our students fail to pray both inside and outside of Ramadan. The salah tracker is simple to use, and will influence them to keep to their prayers, in sha Allah. This tracker allows students to tick off all the prayers they have completed in Ramadan, and we ask that students return this to their teachers filled out honestly and correctly after the Ramadan holiday. Despite this, do remind your child/children that the salah is not a mere tick-box exercise, but rather a genuine connection and conversation with Allah (swt) which is a gift bestowed upon us. I would like to mention that every class should know how to pray, and we have ensured that teachers have taught or revised Surah Fatihah and the Tashahud. Please be assured that the core curriculum consists of teaching the prayer comprehensively, but if a student needs assistance with any part of the prayer, parents can contact us during the break and we shall make time to aid them in learning parts they may have forgotten.
We would like to wish everyone a blessed Ramadan and a wonderful Eid, and look forward to welcoming our students back for the final term of the year.
JazaakAllah Khair
Lewisham Islamic Institute
Looking Ahead to Term 3
Within the upcoming term, Lewisham Islamic Institute will be addressing key issues and challenges faced by our older students at the madrassah. Our topics will include peer pressure, puberty and modern notions which conflict with Islam. We wish to work in tandem with parents and endeavour to be completely transparent in regards to our teaching materials/curriculum. For those of you who desire to know in detail what will be covered, please take a look at page 77 – 100 of Safar Publications Islamic Studies: Textbook 7.
We advise parents and carers to have initial conversations with their children regarding the topics covered in these aforementioned pages before the term commences. This will allow students to come to class prepared with questions and engage in discussions that will greatly benefit them, in sha Allah.
Moreover, we are also happy to announce that we have included a new module to the curriculum, consisting of modern financial literacy. Students from Year 5 upwards will have a dedicated lesson based on money management inspired by the Prophet Yusuf (developed by Learning Roots and
Wahed Investment). This module will take place in the form of a small workshop and will be beneficial to both children and adults alike.
Uniform
We are delighted to announce the launch of a fantastic new addition to our madrassah uniform. We have partnered with Bailwood on Lewisham High Street, who have designed an embroidered navy-blue fleece possessing the Lewisham Islamic Institute logo and reflective patches to ensure additional visibility at night. This uniform must be worn with a thobe/abaya and is compulsory. We wish for students to possess uniformity in their appearance when attending the madrassah, and hope this will be a lifetime reminder that they were a part of the masjid community. We also hope to be able to conduct class photos in the near future with all of the students in their new uniform. More importantly, for our older students a uniform acts as a role of responsibility and representation. Several students attend the madrassah in their school uniform, trousers, and sometimes even pyjamas. This should not be done, and students should adhere to the official uniform policy as they would do anywhere else. Therefore, we shall soon be setting a strict deadline for purchasing the uniform. In the first week of term 3, we will be asking teachers to mark down sizes required for students in their classes and will subsequently contact parents to verify sizes and payment, in sha Allah.
Price: £18:99 per fleece
We have pushed the suppliers as low as possible in regards to the cost of this customised and tailor-made uniform. This is for the sole benefit of the students to possess a sense of belonging to the masjid and to enhance their appearance when attending the madrassah. We ask parents and carers to confirm clothing sizes and make payment as soon as possible. Once we receive your payment, we will place your child’s order immediately, in sha Allah.
Charity Project Update
Our charity project is in need of a huge boost for us to finish off the year strong and reach our target. This is the month of Ramadan, the best time to give and be part of this noble cause which will enable us to establish a masjid for the sake of Allah (swt).
Alhamdulillah, the students have done an excellent job thus far by raising close to £2,000! However, we are still quite a distance away from our target and we need all students to raise a minimum of £50 this upcoming term to reach our goal. If that is not possible, anything they can afford this Ramadan will greatly assist our cause and enable the children to achieve a sadaqah jaariyah whilst still early on in their studies.
Bank name: HSBC Bank
Account Name: Lewisham Islamic Centre
Sort Code: 40-04-15
Account Number: 72294060
Reference: (Please state “Masjid Project” and use your full name )
Hadith of the Term
“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. Whoever stands in prayer during the Night of Decree due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven”.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
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