May 4, 2021, the 23rd Night of Ramadhan: Laylat al-Qadr Program for Jamats in North America

Ismaili Muslims observe Laylat al-Qadr on the 23rd night of Ramadhan, which falls on Tuesday, May 4, in 2021. Jamati members across North America are cordially invited to participate in a special Laylat al-Qadr program that will be held in three sessions as highlighted in the poster below (click on image for enlargement).

Please also click HERE for the institutional events page, and click on Laylat al-Qadr to read Simerg’s piece on the Night of the First Revelation of the Holy Qur’an.

Laylat al-Qadr programming poster for 2021, May 4, 23rd of Ramadhan
Please click on image for enlargement

Date posted: May 4, 2021.

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Must Participate: Links to live streams to Laylat al-Qadr programs organized by ITREBs of UK, France, Portugal, Canada and USA

Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT
(Publisher-Editor, Simerg, Barakah, and Simergphotos)

Jamats around the world must participate in this unique venture undertaken by Ismaili Institutions for this most extraordinary night commemorating the revelation of the Holy Qur’an

There is a very impressive array of programming organized for the night of Laylat al-Qadr by the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Boards in the UK, Canada and the USA. Each jurisdiction has its own set of presentations and Simerg urges everyone — wherever they be — to avail themselves of outstanding recitations, sermons, interviews and stories as well as participate in quiet reflective moments that have been designated at specific times. A lot of effort has been put into this programming catered to every member of the Jamat, young and old alike.

Since this is an on-line presentation, viewers will be able to toggle to watch specific programs offered outside their own regions. Please click on the following images or links to see what the ITREBs in North America, the UK and Europe are offering on this truly auspicious and holy night of Laylat al-Qadr. The program can also be seen — for all jurisdictions — on a staggered basis on the website Ismaili TV, where time-zones are common, for example Canada and USA.

UNITED KINGDOM AND JURISDICTION, PORTUGAL AND FRANCE

Laylat al-Qadr UK Simerg
Please click on image for link to Laylat al-Qadr UK., France and Portugal

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CANADA

Laylat al-Qadr Canada Simerg
Please click on image for link to Laylat al-Qadr Canada

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USA

Laylat al-Qadr USA Simerg
Please click on image for link to Laylat al-Qadr USA

Date posted: May 15, 2020.

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Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.

The Echoes of Nature

By NAVYN NARAN

Cave of Hira, Saudi Arabia

The echoes of Nature
Bring us back to the cave
Wherein spirituality harkens the soul
Hush
What is this ?
To “Read”?
Not yet.
First to calm down
Slow down the thoughts
And attend the Divine Intellect
That which emanates within each of our souls
Within the bear of this Magnificent body
That is all too human
But never humanly created.

The echoes of Nature
Bring us back to the cave
To will the calm.
Creating space to calm the Will.
The physical jamat Khana is closed today
The spiritual space wide open
The windows to spring invite us in
To quiet the mind for moments within

The echoes of Nature
Light our world
Let fresh air be a gift to enjoy.
Within the chaos we must remember our Peace
The time is given
To slow the rat race.
Echoes of Nature
Harken the soul
Can you hear?
Perhaps outside in nature
Or your child’s face asleep
Or the eyes of a pet by your side

Pause
Come in.

© Navyn Naran. 2020.

Date posted: May 14, 2020.

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Dr. Navyn Naran

About the author: A regular contributor to this website, Dr. Navyn Naran was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Anaar (1936-2017) and Badrudin Naran (1930-1979). She is currently in Toronto working in pediatrics and volunteering at the Aga Khan Museum.

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We welcome feedback/letters from our readers. Please use the feedback box which appears below. If you don’t see the box please click Leave a comment. Your comment may be edited for length and brevity, and is subject to moderation. We are unable to acknowledge unpublished letters.

Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.

Devotion Through Dhikr

By ROXANA JAFFER

Heart in a pulsating mode; in rhythm with the breath
Mind reaching its zenith; as thoughts meet their death

Gratefulness taking over; Conveying lightness to the body
Entire body in smiles; Perhaps the spiritual light in embody

All because of the Dhikr, the constant chanting
His attributes in tempo, energy in sync; all else negating

Dhikr:
What an effect on the waves of the Gamma and the Theta
Both leave defeated, allowing the take-over by the wave of
relaxing Alpha

Dhikr:
Bringing an awareness of His elements; so many …..Ninety-nine
An inner need arises; to ascribe, to impute these traits divine

Dhikr:
My heart is in a pulsating mode, in sync with the mind
Now there is total unity; as mind, body and soul are totally entwined.

Date posted: May 13, 2020.

Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.

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Editor’s note: We welcome Roxana Jaffer as our new contributor. Dhikr, penned by her in March 2020, is the first of her several poems we will be publishing in the coming weeks.

Roxana Jaffer, Simerg

A Kenyan born girl, brought up in the UK and now residing in UAE, Roxana Jaffer has many awards to her name including “Global Inspirational Leadership Award”, “Best Best Woman in Hospitality UAE Award”, and “The Most Influential Women Leader  Award 2019”. She was also recognized as one of the “Indian Super 100 Women Achievers in the Middle East & Africa”. She partners with UN World food program, and her endeavours have managed to feed over 460,000 hungry children in the world. She is instrumental in Holiday Inn Dubai attaining the coveted  CSR Arabia award, four years running out of 13 Arab countries.

An Accountant by profession she has an MBA from University of Liverpool in Leadership and is a scholar of the Harvard Business School for Executive Education.

Roxana epitomises the best in human endeavour -– fun, laughter, hard work, creativity, caring for others, leading with a social conscience and above all, striving to make the world a better place and is the founder of the NGO -– ‘abc: an Advent for Building human Capital’ (see www.myabcfoundation.org) which accords English to the unemployed in Hunza and Delhi, resulting in a 70% impact as youth get growth.

Her creativity is taking a different turn as she expresses spirituality through poetry she pens.

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We welcome feedback/letters from our readers. Please use the feedback box which appears below. If you don’t see the box please click Leave a comment. Your comment may be edited for length and brevity, and is subject to moderation. We are unable to acknowledge unpublished letters.