Practical dawah by having outdoor taraweeh is how Masjid Baytullah aims to reach out to new community members, neighbors, as well as interested Muslims from other communities who are looking for homes near an active masjid.
Deep in Baltimore City, the Masjid Baytullah is located on 200 South Calhoun Street with a street entrance of West Pratt Street.
The building is fairly large?Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation says 17,000 sq ft and is attached to a historical police station. Used as a school and then left in despair, it was bought in 2011 by Muslims determined to spread the Quran and Sunnah, led by Imam Abdul Razzaq formerly of Masjid ul Haqq.
Committed to creating a safe zone in the midst of the violence in Baltimore, the masjid leadership has been involved in removing blight from the surrounding area. Some of the congregation has bought and renovated homes. ?We would like to revitalize the community. Muslim brothers own houses around the masjid; we would like to community to be involved in painting and cleaning up,? says Bilquis Bint Yusuf Golden-Hussein, chair of the Women's Committee at Masjid Baytullah.
Aside from the 5 daily prayer classes, the masjid offers weekend school for the children, as well as daily after Fajr study circles, evening classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and family nights every Saturday.
Led by Head Imam Abdur Razzaq from Jordan who is the former imam of Masjid al Haqq and Asst Imam Abdul Baari Hussein, the congregation is diverse.
Adhan is called out everyday.
The Husseins (Bilquis is married to the Asst Imam Abdul Baari) have lived in New Jersey and seen a lot of different masajid ?[This] community is diverse, it is [a] mix, we have every nationality covered.?
?Our focus is new Muslims as [new] shahadahs are usually female,? says the head of the women?s committee and wife of the assistant imam. She moved here from Tennessee in September and has become an integral part of the community. The couple have made a difference in a masjid that was hard-pressed for resources last year.
There have been many changes in the past year and the women?s committee is active, especially in catering to new Muslims. They offer new shahadah classes, a clothes bank that provides new and gently used abaya and hjabs for Muslimahs in need.
?We start out with certain things as [new Muslims] need to know conditions of La illaha illah, basis of shahadah and then we go to other topics, for example salat.
?The President of the board is African American and the rest of the members are diverse. The leadership says that they are welcoming, ?if you are African American, you are welcome and if you are from any race or culture, you are welcome.?
Assistant Imam Baari does the majority of the teaching.
The most part ?One thing we notice in Baltimore is the violence ? the murders were really very heinous. There is also a blight [problem],? she said. The leadership reflected on the verse in Quran when Allah gives the example of a man who passed by a town which had fallen in ruins and said ?How will Allah bring this to life after its death?? and decided to do something for the neighborhood. ?We believe our efforts in this event will bring solutions for the community Insha Allah,? says Hussein. People can contact the masjid if they need help moving into the area.
Close to the Baltimore parkway, not far from Washington Blvd, the masjid is near different amenities, such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Giant and Shop Rite supermarket. According to Hussein, there are several Muslim owned business around the corner from the masjid as well as Muslim businesses in the area. Hussein says that people who own property in the area can contact the masjid and they can help rent it out, help renovate and paint it to make it livable.
Flyers were handed out, e-mailed, tweeted and other masajid, the police and media in the area were invited.
A lecture is planned between Maghrib and Isha prayer by Imam Aquil Ingram of the Masjid Ahlul Quran wa Hadith who was the guest speaker from Washington DC. A dawah table and outside speaker system were set up.
Ramadan is a month of peace, when we become closer to Allah and [it] keeps us grounded to do good to others, says Hussein. ?These are our neighbors and we want good for our neighbors,? she says.
Comments powered by CComment