He is in control. Sometimes we think that we are in control, but Allah is in control. Nothing happens in His domain without His will. Coronavirus has no will. It is all by the will of Allah. With all the knowledge that humanity has accumulated, we are still unable to defeat a very small creation of Allah. He is the King. Stay connected to the King and be reliant on Him alone, and difficulties will turn into positive factors in your life (as the prophet says that with patience and gratitude, even difficulties will turn into good for the believer).

Prayer is the first and the last. This virus will not go away, except when Allah wills that it goes away. Pray. Pray often. Pray hard. Pray with sincerity. Pray with tears. Pray with focus. Pray with emotion. Pray collectively. Pray at night. Pray in the day. Pray with your body. Pray with your heart. Pray to Allah to remove the difficulty. Remember that when the Prophet was faced with difficulty, he would first resort to prayer. Prayer is not an afterthought; it is the most important element for alleviating difficulty.

Oh Allah: we ask you by all your beautiful names: We ask you for your Mercy, Love, and Protection. Oh Allah, please guide us to the right path; Oh Allah forgive us, accept our repentance, grant us honor in this life and the hereafter; accept our deeds, bless our families and communities, protect us from all harm, evil, sins and diseases ; help us overcome our shortcomings ; help us be a light to ourselves and to others ; bless our mosques and scholars and leaders ; grant us your paradise ; make us patient and loving and forgiving ;  help us be steadfast in our responsibilities and our prayers. Ameen

The Prophet (pbuh) tells us that charity heals the sick and removes Allah’s punishment. Your mosque needs your donation today more than ever. The Friday collection is not happening today. Continue donating generously to your mosque. We humbly suggest donating to MAS Detroit so that we can increase our programming to the community. Donate with the intention of purifying yourself and for Allah to remove the difficulties.

Reflect and be thankful for what Allah has provided you. You may be able to work remotely – others cannot (and hence may not get paid, especially hourly workers). You may be able to buy extra food to stock up – others cannot (since they live paycheck to paycheck). You may be able to withstand this shock for a few weeks – others cannot (for example small businesses that may go bankrupt without steady sales for several weeks). We may be enjoying different levels of privilege. Let us acknowledge that, and be thankful to our Lord for that which  He has blessed us. Let us help those who are not as fortunate.

Do not isolate yourself emotionally, even if you must maintain social distance. Call, text, and stay in touch with others. We need each other more than ever these days. We encourage all our community organizations to find ways to connect with the community virtually. Allah tells us to persist with the believers (Al Kahf 15:28). For every hand that you don’t shake, make it a habit to pray for this person, and to connect with them virtually.  

A family that is close to God is one of the foundations of a healthy society. Stay close to your family and increase the communication so that all members feel less anxious in these difficult times. Engage in good work together and use the fact that many will be home more often to reignite love between all members. Read together, help others together, think together, reflect together, plan together, eat together, pray together, and play together. One simple suggestion – after every prayer, ask family members to share one reflection.

Allah tells us that we must stay united and hold fast together to His rope. Bigger challenges can only be addressed by a united community. We see how a lack of unity plays out in national politics to the detriment of the whole. As a community we should look  at this situation as an opportunity to become more united, better serve ourselves and have more positive impact on the broader society.