The Hershey Centre will be holding a hockey tournament, an event and motorcycle training on their premises. As such, they expect parking to be busy, so they will be using the masjid parking lot as an overflow lot.  We ask that you park as close to the masjid as possible, as the Hershey Centre will be primarily using the unpaved area for parking, but could overflow into the paved area, depending on the volume of cars that arrive.

Staff photo by Iain Colpitts

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It`s been 4 days since our brother, friend, and companion, Br. Kashif Ghori, suddenly moved on to Allah, leaving behind a bereaved wife, 3 young children, parents, brothers, sisters, other family memebers, and hundreds of friends, colleagues, and volunteers in the community whose lives were touched by him.

We beg Allah to grant him the highest level in Jannah, to pardon his sins, and to fill his grave with Noor and glad-tidings, Ameen.

It`s still so hard to [...] . . . → Read More: [A message from GTA Muslim Leaders] Remembering & Supporting Br. Kashif Ghori]]> Assalamu alaikum,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It`s been 4 days since our brother, friend, and companion, Br. Kashif Ghori, suddenly moved on to Allah, leaving behind a bereaved wife, 3 young children, parents, brothers, sisters, other family memebers, and hundreds of friends, colleagues, and volunteers in the community whose lives were touched by him.

We beg Allah to grant him the highest level in Jannah, to pardon his sins, and to fill his grave with Noor and glad-tidings, Ameen.

It`s still so hard to believe that Br. Kashif is no longer with us, as so many of us have expressed. However, as I begin to think about his intense involvement with and contribution to DawaNet, UIA, MuslimFest, and so many other community projects, it`s even harder to comprehend how big of a loss his death is to the work of our Deen in Canada.

As I met countless people at Br. Kashif`s Janazah on Friday (Dec. 23, 2011) and after, here is what I kept hearing from people of all ages and backgrounds, over and over again (including those how met him only once):

“Everytime I met him he would greet me a bright smile.” – “I have met him only a couple of times, but his personality immediately made me fall in love with him.” – “He has never said NO to anyone in need. He would offer to help people even before they asked for help.”

Personally, I have yet to come across a person and leader who exhibited this level of sacrifice and love for others. He lived for others. And his wife, sister, brother-in-law, are the first to testify this. He was an exceptional husband, father, friend, colleague at work, leader and community activist.

He hated fame, positions, and spot light. Despite the fact that he was leading Understanding Islam Academy (UIA) as a volunteer and was one of the key board members of DawaNet, he prefered doing the most difficult, unwanted and menial tasks, such as picking garbage, camera work, vaccumming the centre, adminitration, and countless unknown herioc deeds (which many of us may discover later).

We can go on and on about this exemplary human being. But it`s now more important to talk about how we can help him.

On behalf of Br. Kashif`s family and close friends, firstly, we would like to sincerely thank everyone who attended his Janazah and / or burial, and / or visited the family after, and / or asked about ways to help the family.

May Allah reward all of you for your time and thoughtfulness! I can`t believe how many you in the community have asked about contribution to and helping the family in some capacity! This is truly heart-warming.

1- Next Sunday, January 1st, 2012, the family and friends are organizing a brief gathering to reflect on Br. Kashif`s life and legacy, as well as to hear a much-needed reminder about our journey to the next life.

Here are the details:

Date: Sunday, January 1, 2012
Time: 4:45 pm to 7:00 pm (Maghrib-Isha Prayer)
Location: Islamic Center of Canada (ISNA)
2200 South Sheridan Way
Mississauga, ON L5J 2M4

At this event, you may also meet the family of the deceased and offer your condolences. Moreover, you can learn about specific ways you can assist the family Insha Allah.

2- Those of you who would like to visit the family or want to mail them something, here is the home address of Br. Shaheen (home of Br. Kashif`s sister and brother-in-law, where his wife and kids are also curtrently staying):

5942 Bermuda Drive
Mississauga, ON Canada
L5M 6Z1
Home: (905) 363-6723

3- Alhamdulillah, over the last few days many people have been contributing food. If you are interested in bringing or dropping off food for the family, feel free to do so.

4- In the days, weeks and months to come, Br. Kashìf`s family may need more help from you. Keeping in mind Br. Kashif`s wife doesn`t drive, here are a couple of ways you can help:

- driving his wife to doctor`s appointments in Oakville (as you may know, they are expecting another child in about 3 months time Insha Allah)
- taking care of kids and giving mother a break
- any other chores they may need help with

5- Numerous people have asked about financial contribution to the family, both short-term and long-term. There have been many suggestions made.

At this time family is quite overwhelmed with the tragedy to make a decision on this matter, specially in what form and for what purposes they can accept such contributions.

Insha Allah, if you attend the program at ISNA on January 1st, 2012, we will have more concrete information on this matter. In the meantime, we will keep you posted on any other developments Insha Allah.

6- Lastly, but most importantly, you can help with your Duas for this great helper of Muslim community, as well as for his entire family! If you make commitment to remember them in your duas every night, just imagine the impact it can have on their lives and their Akhirah, Insha Allah.

With graititude and grief,

Your brother,
Taha Ghayyur

Imam Nafis will be on vacation after Maghrib Dec. 28th, 2011 and will return for dhuhr salat on Sunday January 8th, 2012.

During his absence, we will have the following coverage:

- Daily prayers, covered by Hafidh Abdul-Qayyom Fareedy - Jumuah Salat (First) – December 30th, 2011 – Hafidh Umar Farooq from Qur’an Academy – January 6th, 2012 – Dr. Nadwi - Friday English Tafseer (after Salat al-Isha) – December 30th, 2011 – Syed Asif Shah, student of [...] . . . → Read More: Programming schedule during Imam Nafis` vacation]]> Assalamualikum,

Imam Nafis will be on vacation after Maghrib Dec. 28th, 2011 and will return for dhuhr salat on Sunday January 8th, 2012.

During his absence, we will have the following coverage:

- Daily prayers, covered by Hafidh Abdul-Qayyom Fareedy
- Jumuah Salat (First)
– December 30th, 2011 – Hafidh Umar Farooq from Qur’an Academy
– January 6th, 2012 – Dr. Nadwi
- Friday English Tafseer (after Salat al-Isha)
– December 30th, 2011 – Syed Asif Shah, student of Dr. Zakir Naik
– January 6th, 2012 – Qari Imran, Methods of Tajweed

Sunday Urdu tafseer (after salat al-Dhuhr) by Hafidh Abdul-Qayyom Fareedy proceeds as normal.

Second Jumuah salat proceeds as normal, by Hafidh Syed Nadeem Ahmed Hashmi