Ramadan 2020 with JHUMA

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

Assalamu-Alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak,

As Assistant Chaplain of Muslim Life at Johns Hopkins University, we have the charge of providing spiritual support for the Muslim students here. SubhanAllah with the pandemic COVID19, we are facing an unprecedented Ramadan. Potentially spending the entire month of Ramadan physically distanced apart from our communities. The spiritual and social bonding is a powerful part of this pillar of our faith.

Allah has tested humanity with a virus that is truly beginning to flatten the curve of the artificial hierarchies and socioeconomic constructs human beings have devised to elevate one above another as all human beings are susceptible to this public health pandemic regardless of stature or wealth. As so eloquently expressed in Surah Al-Kahf (47), Allah is indeed leveling the mountains and putting us on the same accord.

While this is an amazing and powerful sign from Allah, we are still charged with the responsibility of leading, teaching, and dispensing the jewels of wisdom we have been blessed to receive on our journey to the ummah. Our ummah of Muslim students on our now virtual campus is displaced and uncertain. We went from planning our signature event, the Spring banquet and Ramadan activities, to being given 72 hours to leave campus. Seniors have found out they are not graduating in-person, but virtually. Students hoping to boost their GPAs this semester have been told that this semester is now pass/fail with all classes being held on-line. School budgets are being cut faster than a zabihah slaughter. Life is abrubtly adjusting to a new normal day by day. The faith, spritual, physical, and mental health of the entire ummah is being tested in ways that many have never been tested before.

In response, after conferring with other chaplains and utilizing our resources, we put together a modest Ramadan program for the students at Johns Hopkins University. We are providing 21 Weeknight Ramadan Sessions for Spiritual Enrichment in a 1-hour zoom call format with 18 different scholars, teachers, and spiritual guides to help provide an enriching Ramadan and provide support for the Muslim students here at Hopkins.

-Sincerely, Imam Tariq Najee-ullah
Assitant Chaplain of Muslim Life

Ramadan Announcements:

We are excited to present the first day of our Ramadan 2020 series featuring Imam Yahya Abdullah! See the attached flyer for Imam Yahya's bio. Please join us on Zoom at 9:30 PM Eastern for our Ramadan sessions.