MUWAKHA ICNA SISTERS TARBIYAH DEPARTMENT 2015

Definition and importance All our efforts are directed towards forming amongst our members the Muwakhah or Buddy System (Brotherly relations) like that of ‘Bunyaan-e-marsoos’ (A steel-reinforced, strong wall). This way we can help strengthen each other’s Iman (faith). To take full advantage of this system, we need first open seerah books and learn from the life of Prophet’s and his companions’ example. The way they were paired up by Muhammad (SAW) and then that friendship helped them in their character building and implementing knowledge and self-accountability for their actions.

Such buddy pairs should be made on subunit level. The buddy system is a practical and easy way to implement approach in the learning chain. The buddies are two sisters who operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other. Buddies exchange weekly and monthly goals, critique each other’s work, share information, celebrate, and give each other support and encouragement in getting closer to Allah (swt). The buddies can communicate in several modes like via phone call, e-mail or a physical meeting.

Islam lays great importance on good companionship. The connection between believers is based upon faith and sincere brotherhood. Be aware against taking bad companionship.

“And remember the day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands, He will say, O would that I had taken the path with the messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken ‘so and so’ as a friend! He indeed let me astray from me the reminder (The Quran) after it had come to me. And whosoever turns away from the remembrance of the most Beneficent, we appoint for him Shaytan to be a Qareen (intimate companion) for him. [25:27-29]

So all the physical togetherness that we see around us, which is based on other than faith will be wiped away on that day and it will be source of misery and torture for them. Allah says: “Friends on that Day will be foes to one another except the pious.”

Prophet Muhammad (saw) also said “A man follows the ways and conducts of his friend.”

He also said: “Whoever conceals the fault of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults on the day of judgment.” (Abu Dawood)

Therefore, a good buddy, upon noticing any weakness or fault in her buddy, would wish to remove it rather than exposing it to others.

The reason for having a buddy system is to help one another to worship Allah in the best manner and to establish Islam in one’s life. We find a good example in the story of Prophet Musa (as), when Allah (swt) sent him to Pharaoh, he said,

“Appoint for me a helper from my family, Haroon, my brother; increase my strength with him, and let him share my task (of conveying Allah’s message) and We may glorify you and remember you.” Musa (as) wanted his brother to support, protect and accompany him. This is what believer buddies do for each other in the establishment of Islam.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: “There are three characteristics whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith: (1) that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anyone else, (2) that he loves a person and does not love him except for the sake of Allah (swt) and (3) that he would hate to revert to unbelief just as he would hate to be thrown into the fire.” (Bukhari)

Definition and importance Ref: The Sealed nectar pages 86 to 89

http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/MATH/sdkhan/ARCHIVE/Prophet%20-%20History.pdf

listen to the recording of muwakha…….

From seerah we get following steps

1- Making of committed members so subunit is strong; example of Madni Ansar who took first Aqbah pledge (read the promise Mohammad SAW took from them what they should and shouldn’t do)

2- On reaching Madina First step build the Mosque (place of salah ,gathering ,education and social gathering) we do the same to communicate with people.

3- Taking care of refugees with in days,. Creating Muwakhah among muhajareen and ansar. Point to remember is both were different personalities, different backgrounds and professions (yes it can be done)

4- First thing Ansar did was to make them comfortable and balance the basic needs like living, jobs, food and health.

5- Muhajreen and Ansar both showed compassion and set examples of tolerance for each other because everything they did was to please Allah sunhanatalla.

How we implement these in our organization.

1- We make our subunit based on certain number of our members.

2- We connect ourselves with the mosque and Muslim community (for sake of expanding our work though non Muslim community is there but focusing on expanding our work force)

3- We invite sisters through Quran to become our new members.

4- We need to know about them a lot before making any demands , their timings, their family their special abilities etc

5- We need to welcome them and make them regular in our members meeting and comfortable with our work methodology by either giving them few tasks or keeping them with us in few of them.

6- Showing them love compassion & understanding .

Liten to recording for Buddy system muzakarah

Steps to buddy system flow chart

Explanation of the steps. STEP A

If we divide the whole process into 3 big steps then it should go as following

In making members we should not hurry but keep potential people engaged till they are ready to committee. They should understand the concept being witness unto mankind, collective effort and ICNA methodology.

Mean while we need to keep reading seerah to refresh our memories of what is important in doing so. The chapters in any seerah book from the last Makkan phase to the first Madni phase will give us huge tips how to stabilize our subunits and do tarbiyah of our new members.

(recommended books are Sealed nectar Urdu &English, the messenger by Tariq Ramadan or mohsan-e-insaniaat in Urdu)

We create in first phase the task of fulfilling 6 rights of Muslims mutually. Ne members as well as old ones for each other call them towards members meeting as that’s the best platform for their tarbiyah right now.

Learn how to make an effective agenda for that meeting so that is truly their memorable experience.

STEP B Now a year has passed and their regularity should be more than 50 % in members’ meeting.

Proper buddies are made. Please make sure by now they understand all the tarbiyah tools and their use & importance (use Members’ manual or meray emman kay sathee) so the tarbiyah is done on equality bases even if old or new pair up, both have to learn and teach at the same time. Each has to correct other and evaluated other for Allah’s sake. Be like a mirror to each other.

In this phase a common mistake is thinking of paring up of that sister for sake of some responsibility. Which is wrong if the senior sister thinks she cannot learn from her junior and this is not muwakha in its spirit so result will be negative half of the time.

Specific training for a certain responsibility comes in step C and we use the term “leadership training” (or afraad ki taiyaree) for that purpose.

Now character building starts we start adding stuff so far we have to continue 6 rights of Muslims upon each other and start discussing with our buddy about tarbiyah tools like report, syllabus etc, plus we need to again go to seerah and read and reread the chapter in Sealed nectar

“A CHARTER OF ISLAMIC ALLIANCE , & THE IDIVIDUAL ROLE IN THE SOCIETY”….(PAGES 229-236)

From “the messanger” by tariq Ramadan read page 84-89 The exile, the settlement, the covenants.

STEP C

After successfully implementing the 2 steps (meaning the person is still committed and ready to work with you)

Now the leadership training starts you can put them in dept and or subunit shura or use them as mudaraseens according to their abilities….

Now you can assign specific sisters for their improvement or afraad ki tyari because even when this part is more technical than ethical the person knows that they are improving their skill and have been paired for this reason.

Now is the time of preparing them through our organizational forums such as shura dept meeting, LTC (unless specified otherwise) they are ready for central dept etc.

ADVICE TO ALL SISTERS: read seerah, Read Seerah! And READ SEERAH!!!!! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN !!!! So that we all learn and remember .

JAZAK ALLAH KHAIR.