Monthly Archives: February 2009

Fiqh of Salaah – Islamic Prayer

Prayer at DAH

http://www.scribd.com/doc/4439940/Fiqh-of-Salah

Check it out, its an e-book on the topic.

Mother’s Advice to her Daughter

Park in CT

This is a translation from Arabic, of a vintage poem or story about a mother giving advice to her daughter that got married and was leaving to live with her husband. Although people may see this as backwards and that a woman is being told to put herself in a position lower than her man, the truth is that when these basics are fulfilled there is more of a chance both parties will be content.

O my daughter, if it were deemed unnecessary to give you this advice because of good manners and noble descent, then it would have been unnecessary for you, because you posses these qualities, but it will serve as a reminder to those who are forgetful, and will help those who are wise.
O my daughter, if a woman were able to do without a husband by virtue of her father’s wealth and her need for her father, then you of all people would be most able to do without a husband, but women were created for men just as men were created for them.

O my daughter, you are about to leave the home in which you grew up, where you first learned to walk, to go to a place you do not know, to a companion to whom you are unfamiliar. By marrying you, he has become a master over you, so be like a servant to him, and he will become like a servant to you.

Take from me ten qualities, which will be a provision and a reminder for you:

The first and second of them are: be content in his company, and listen to and obey him, for contentment brings peace of mind, and listening to and obeying one’s husband pleases Allah.

The third and fourth of them are: make sure that you smell good and look good; he should not see anything ugly in you, and he should not smell anything but a pleasant smell from you. Kohl is the best kind of beautification to be found, and water is better than the rarest perfume.

The fifth and sixth of them are: prepare his food on time, and keep quiet when he is asleep, for raging hunger is like a burning flame, and disturbing his sleep will make him angry.

The seventh and eight of them are: take care of his servants (or employees) and children, and take care of his wealth, for taking care of his wealth shows that you appreciate him, and taking care of his children and servants shows good management.

The ninth and tenth of them are: never disclose any of his secrets, and never disobey any of his orders, for if you disclose any of his secrets you will never feel safe from his possible betrayal, and if you disobey him, his heart will be filled with hatred towards you.

Be careful, O my daughter, of showing joy in front of him when he is upset, and do not show sorrow in front of him when he is happy, because the former shows a lack of judgment whilst the latter will make him unhappy.

What do you think?

Tips to Market a New Non-Profit

Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

In order to market the new non-profit I would use several methods including PR, fundraising and marketing.

Starting with the PR, I think there is no better way to get the word out to the local area than through cosponsoring an event with a local well-known NP. This allows the new NP to access their client base and possibly recruit them as members or volunteers. This is a likely pool to recruit from since they are already involved with a non-profit of similar nature. In addition, offering tables and booths to other local non-profits in our area to promote relationship building between the new NP and the existing ones.

Fundraising is the next step after the organization has recruited members, piqued the interest of donors and gained the recognition of having a worthy cause. The NP can contact local churches, mosques, and synagogues and request to address their congregations about the cause. Then the religious institutions could serve as a liaison with the local community to recruit them to volunteer for the cause and donate. This would also include partnerships with these institutions and co-sponsorship of events and projects.

Marketing begins with a website. The NP needs a website and an official portal for information and communication with the non-profit. A professional site with lots of information on how to contact, interact, join, help, and donate to the non-profit. After the site is up, it would be included anywhere people can see it, from business cards to brochures, t-shirts and other promotional material.

Which brings me to my next point, promotion of the non-profit. The NP needs to invest in promotional material that can get the word out and make room for the NP in peoples mind. Another example for promotion would be for the NP to create simple advertisements about its services and request that they be aired on public access stations.

Non-Profit Information Systems

There are several aspects of Information System design that ensure a successful system is put in place. An information system must be able to handle information in the following areas, customer information, volunteer information, accounting information, and marketing information.

 

Customer or client information is very important to the non-profit, as they are the main source of funding though donations. Client information should be kept up-to-date and needs constant management and maintenance. In addition, clients can be categorized by their levels of activity and involvement with the non-profit. This information can be useful in the short listing of individuals for special events, such as a Donor’s appreciation dinners and awards.

 

Volunteer information management is important to non-profits, since they form the organizations workforce.  Information systems can be used to store biographical information about volunteers and when and where they volunteer. Some volunteers serve from a corporate or association background, these volunteers can be sorted according to their corporate identity, displaying the relationships between volunteers and their respective corporation, foundation, civic group, or agency. 

 

Accounting or Financial information is one of the most important to any organization. An Information system would incorporate the donations, grants, gifts and any other inbound funds with their respective donors. This would allow the organization to track its donations and account for the sources of its funding. In addition the system would facilitate the production of financial reports for filing with the IRS or other decision-making bodies.

 

Last but not least, Marketing information would also be managed by the information system. Marketing information would use the client information for mailing campaigns, e-mails, invitations to events, etc. This would allow the NPO to determine the effectiveness of its marketing techniques and adjust them accordingly. Although Marketing is often considered a function of for-profit organizations it is essential that NPO’s embrace the importance of marketing to build recognition, recruit members and volunteers and spread awareness about the non-profit.

Using People

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It seems as though it is human nature to use people for what you need them for. They are worth as much to you, as the benefit you get from keeping them around.

It is something we all do.

We all have the friends that listen when we have to vent, and the ones that we listen to when its their turn. We keep some because they make us feel wanted, needed, and important. Others because they are the ones who we need, and probably they thrive on the significance we give them in return for their attention and time.

Why does it bite when you loose your status with one of the users? Why does it hurt when they take that “petty” “superficial” attention away from you and give you a cold shoulder?

I guess I would have to say its a reflection of our own petty superficiality.

Open and shut case Johnson.