Remember Me, I will remember you [2:152]

Supplications in Islam while being a means of communication with our Creator are not only significant for fulfillment of needs and desires but also to enhance one’s spiritual nature towards Allah (SWT).

Inspired by Quran and hadith that lay great emphasis on integrating supplications to the Almighty in one’s life, the Duas.org team has made an earnest effort to provide easiest access to the enormous treasure of supplications from our holy infallibles (as)! The supplications are presented from very reliable sources such as books from great scholars as well as Sahifas of the infallibles (as) themselves; namely – Sahifa al-Alaviya, Sahifa al-Zahra, Sahifa al-Kamila, Sahifa al-Razaviya, Sahifa al-Mahdi and duas from our tenth and eleventh Imams (as).

Every supplication on the site is made available in Arabic language along with English transliteration and translation. Along with the basic html version for each dua, there are PowerPoint slides, PDF and MP3 versions made available for every supplication – thus making it very convenient for e-readers and Amazon Kindle users to recite supplications at their own ease.

Not only does the site provide access to supplications but also informs about recommended deeds (amaal) during important days of the Islamic year. Supplications for everyday life, after every prayer and specific purposes such as, marriage, studying, cure for health problems etc. are also available on the site.

Informative articles and books on various important subjects are also present for readers to improve their knowledge and understanding about a particular event or topic. For instance, if the supplications for seeking Istikhara are mentioned the reader is simultaneously suggested to read a book on the detailed concept of Istikhara and its relevance to one’s situation. Similarly there are several books related to the topics of marriage, death and various other issues.

The Duas.org apps for Android, iPhone/iPad and other smartphone users are free to download.

One can merely thank the dedicated team at Duas.org for providing such wonderful and easy access to the precious gems from the holy infallibles (as)! As you enjoy reciting supplications from their site, please remember the team in your prayers so that Allah gives them best in this life and the next.

Al-Itrah Foundation is an Islamic organization that was established in October of 2002. Although the organization is based in Dares-Salaam – Tanzania, its activities are definitely a great inspiration to Muslims worldwide. Below is a brief interview with the founder of Al-Itrah Foundation, Br. Mahboob Somji, who has enlightened us about Al-Itrah and its activities.

1) What primary goals does Al-Itrah seek to achieve?

Our primary goals are:

• To promote divine values.
• To spread awareness about the Holy Prophet (saw) and his progeny to Muslims as well as non Muslims.
• To bridge the gap between Muslims and non Muslims.

2) Please enlighten us about Al-Itrah’s main activities that are currently running.

The main activities of Al-Itrah Foundation are:

• Translating Arabic & English resources into Kiswahili language; we have so far translated more than 200 books into Kiswahili and recently translated the first Shia Tafsir of the holy Quran into Kiswahili.
• Educating and promoting Islamic awareness through the media and specifically through Al-Itrah’s own TV channel: IBN Television
• Spreading awareness through Maarifa Radio channel.
• Running a full time library in the local area in the city which is known as Maktaba Mustaqeem.

3) Please tell us something about IBN television. What programs are broadcasted through it?

IBN television is the first Islamic channel in Tanzania that broadcasts in three different languages, mainly Kiswahili and English. Various kinds of programs are broadcasted through it, such as, talk shows, Islamic lectures from renowned scholars, highlights on the current political situation of the Ummah, interfaith programs and various other programs related to social life, health and general lifestyle.

4) Although Al-Itrah is based in Tanzania, does it also send out books throughout the world or does it only seek to serve specific areas/regions?

Yes we do ship out books that are ordered through our website (http://alitrah.info/) around the world, however it also depends on the number of orders.

In addition, we distribute free books in Kiswahili to more than 50 centers in East Africa. Only sample copies are sent to Qum for the authors to have copies for their archives. We do send copies of all our publications to National Libraries in Tanzania and Universities

5) What are some of Al-Itrah’s future plans?

Future plans are to expand the media resources (ie IBNTV and Maarifa Radio) to reach the entire country of Tanzania so that everyone has access to IBNTV. We also intend to start Kiswahili Newspaper known as Kipambanuzi which will be published on a regular basis once we have successfully stabilized the ongoing projects such as IBN television and Maarifa radio.

6) What obstacles or major challenging aspects (if any) does this work entail? Please feel free to share your experiences.

Major challenge for us is to find human resources in the field, but Alhamdulillah, whatever progress you see is due to Allah’s mercy, and we hope this to continue inshaAllah. Another setback is that we have not publicized this institution to outside world and due to this reason we lack financial support from the donors. InshaAllah as we grow further, and along with the help of our dedicated board members, we will start making improvements in these areas.

9) A message that you would like to share with the Ahlulbayt DILP team?

DILP team is doing wonderful job mashaAllah! I don’t have any words for their commitments and dedication, they are doing a superb job. My only wish is that if we can develop same Al-Islam.org with all the Swahili resources so that in the long run when internet is easily accessible to every individual in this part of the East African population, these will be very helpful and it will promote the True Faith in this area easily. Let’s hope this can be achieved.

10) A message that you would like to give to our readers at Al-Islam.org?

Our message is that all our resources globally should be working in developing the True Islamic System based on Wilayah in all the areas, be it political, social, economical, educational, cultural, spiritual etc. Allah (swt) has given us time, resources and opportunity and I feel we should take full advantage of such opportunities and continue developing ourselves and our communities in all areas.

My other humble advice is that all those working for Al-Islam.org take some time out to read the articles and resources available on the Mashrabe Naab website. I hope that we will continue education ourselves to learn about the true teachings of Islam as taught by the Holy Prophet (s) and his progeny (as).

The Al-Islam.org Blog will be featuring Islamic websites that are carrying useful content for its visitors. Islamic Insights is the first website being featured in this series of blog posts. Please contact us to suggest websites to be featured.

History

Islamic Insights was founded by a group of young active Muslims in February of 2007 out of concern that there was a need for a holistic news and lifestyle publication inspired by the ideals of the Quran and Ahlul-Bayt. Four years later, Islamic Insights now receives 800 unique visits per day and has a team of writers located all over the world representing the Muslim community. The Islamic Insights team features professional writers and journalists, university students, professionals from diverse fields, and esteemed scholars who hold many years of seminary education.

Originally, Islamic Insights was published in print locally in the city of Dearborn Michigan, home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the West. Eventually, thousands of copies would be delivered across North America. In September 2007, the management of Islamic Insights decided to switch to publishing online only due in order to achieve cost minimization. Today, thousands of readers connect with Islamic Insights through www.Islamicinsights.com and the Islamic Insights group and fanpage on Facebook which are 5000 members strong and growing everyday.

Objectives

The goals and aims of Islamic Insights are unique and have been received warmly by Muslims and non-Muslims alike:

• To create a publication that portrays true Islamic values and principles in the face of wide spread misconceptions and misunderstandings in the media, political, and local spheres.
• To allow Muslims in the West and Muslim countries a forum to find correct, referenced, comprehensive, and modern answers to concerns, issues, and questions they may have.
• Provide for scholars, religious authorities, and clerics an avenue to publish their work, rulings, and articles so that the Muslim community is exposed to the works of a variety of highly qualified scholars.
• To represent the ideals, biographies, morals, and esteemed virtues of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household), Lady Fatima, Imam Ali and the Eleven Imams peace be upon them all.
• To cater to the needs of Muslims with varying age ranges through diverse categories such as Religion, Clergy Corner, Community Affairs, Student Life, Sports, Book and Movie Reviews in addition to others.
• To prepare Muslims for the return of the Awaited Imam (May Allah swt Hasten his advent) by preparing and publishing thorough articles on the Imam, the conditions of his return, and how to improve ourselves.
• Address the social, political, community, religious, local and national issues facing Muslims.
• Publish articles and pieces on neglected media stories and international affairs that take place in the Middle East, United States, Africa, and around the world.
• Allow opportunities for Muslims to become thoroughly informed regarding political, humanitarian, Islamic, social, academic, and community issues at home and at an international level.

Future Plans

The Islamic Insights team works together to achieve these goals with every weekly issue published. As with any organization, the future has many plans, God permitting, that seek to present even more opportunities for growth for Islamic Insights.  Future plans include:

• An Islamic Insights blog to keep readers informed between weekly issues with updates and important information.
• Resuming local printing once a month with a compilation of the most relevant and popular articles.
• Securing more syndication deals in addition to those already held by Islamic Insights in order to further our goals and aims.

Popular Content from Islamic Insights website:

For the past four years, the Islamic Insights team has written a significant number of substantial articles on topics that were pertinent and generally neglected. Below is a collection of only a several of the most popular articles on Islamic Insights

The Imam of Our Time: A Few Common Questions

Desecrating the Signs of God: the Baqi Tragedy

Males and Females – “Just Friends”?

The Ka’ba: What Is It Really?

Understanding Hijab

Followers of the Eloquent Lady

The Truthful One

Are We Self-Sufficient Yet?

The Hijab of Men

Style Watch: In Happiness, In Sadness

Dignity and Meanness

Depression: the Islamic Solution

Why Were All the Prophets Sent to the Middle East?

The Movies We Watch

Hookah: Myth and Reality

Top Media Lies about Iran

Marriage Resumes

Text Title

Text Chapter

Please give us your feedback using the comments section below.

If you’re a Web Designer or Developer and are interested to be a volunteer for DILP to work on Al-Islam 2.0, get in touch with us here and let us know more about yourself & your skills. One of our team members will get in touch with you.

Eid Mubarak to everyone! As part of the efforts towards developing Phase 1 of Al-Islam 2.0, the Ahlul Bayt DILP team is working on a complete re-design of the website. We would like to share with you the following colour Mockups:

Homepage

Category Page

Resource Listing

Please give us your feedback using the comments section below. Inshallah in the next blog post we’ll share colour mockups of the Text Resource. To get an overview of Al-Islam 2.0 and it’s features visit this page.

If you’re a Web Designer or Developer and are interested to be a volunteer for DILP to work on Al-Islam 2.0, get in touch with us here and let us know more about yourself & your skills. One of our team members will get in touch with you.

1. Homepage

The Portal will will server as the home page of Al-Islam.org for an unregistered user.  Registered users’ homepage will be the “Dashboard”.  The purpose of the Portal is to organize the collection of resources on Al-Islam.org, and present it in a way that is easy for the user to reach what the user is looking for.

2. Category Page

The Library category page is accessed from the Homepage.  The above Mockup shows the category page of “History & Biography”. Each of the category pages will be customized to highlight important and popular resources.

3. Resource listing

Listing of resources of a Sub category. The options allows the user to filter the resources by type, preview Table of Contents and view ratings of the resource.
Please share your feedback using the comments section below.

Preview using Mockups

Digital Mockups of Al-Islam 2.0 have been designed to illustrate the functionality of the features being planned, and how the various Projects will function together as a single Web Application. The mockups do not indicate the design and color scheme, dummy text has been used in several places.

Your Feedback

We would like to receive your feedback on these mockups to understand how we can make the new Website more useful for the users. Click here to open the Al-Islam 2.0 Mockups Preview Page, then click on the branches in BLUE colour to launch the mockup for the respective Projects.  Once launched you can submit your feedback for individual mockups by clicking on the “Give us your Feedback“ tab.  You can also share your feedback in the comments section of this Blog Post.  In subsequent Blog posts we will be describing the mockups in more detail for each Project.