“Indeed, the number of months ordained by Allah is twelve—in Allah’s Record1 since the day He created the heavens and the earth—of which four are sacred. That is the Right Way. So do not wrong one another during these months. And fight the polytheists together as they fight together against you. And know that Allah is with those mindful ˹of Him˺.”

(Surah At-Tawbah,36)

As Allah says in the Holy Quran, there are 4 sacred months which means haram. These are Dhul – Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Al-Muharram and Rajab. Since the beginning of time, it has been forbidden to fight in these months. The reason for this was to protect the pilgrims who are going to Makkah in Hajj season and in the Umrah season, before Ramadan.

Rasoolullah (saw) said: “Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha’ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah.” (Suyuti) Can you imagine how honored you are that Allah (swt) accepted you to His month as a Muslim to benefit from it immensely.

The most important event to take place in this month is Al-Isra’ wal-Miraj! Rasoolullah (saw) was ascended to heavens and 5 daily prayers become fardh for all the Muslims.

As NEED Charity, for the 1^st day of this sacred month of Rajab, which was on 12^th of January, we opened a Masjid appeal. There are hundreds of unfinished masjids in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Local people gather and start to build these masjids, but they cannot finish since they cannot find enough funds. That’s where we, NEED Charity, step in to complete these masjids. We wanted open this appeal because if we start on time, this masjid will be opened in Ramadan, inshaAllah.

May Allah allow and help us to spend this month in the most beneficial way possible. Let’s remember the dua Rasoolullah (saw) made during this month: “O Allah, bless us in Rajab and Shaban and allow us to reach Ramadan.”

What is an orphan? A child who doesn’t have his mother or father, and sometimes, unfortunately, neither. Orphans mostly cannot get the attention and the love they need from their family. In developed countries, they might get the care they require to be a good person of the society, but in under-developed countries, the orphans mostly need to work to earn the money their family need. So, life is more than difficult for the orphans in under-developed countries.

As NEED Charity, we strive to help the orphans in every way possible. Our orphanage in Afghanistan is the proof for it. It has a capacity of 300 children. The children come in the morning and go at the evening to their homes because we don’t want them to feel abandoned by their families, and still get to see their family members every day. They learn Quran in this orphanage, they also learn math, English language, tailoring, and carpet weaving so that they will have a job after they graduate from this facility, and even if they cannot continue their education, they will be able to earn their own money (we would prefer they continue their education, though).

And now as NEED Charity, we will be starting our 300 Orphan Sponsorship campaign for 2024, in the next couple of days as we did last year. Thanks to your support, 300 orphans and a few of the poorest children were able to attend our orphanage. Now, it’s time to renew their sponsorships. We know that with your support we will be able to continue to take care of them. If you also want to sponsor an orphan, all you need to do is to reach us and we’ll send you the details about the orphan you will sponsor. May Allah accept from everyone who contributes to these children’s lives.

Don’t forget, The Rasoolullah (saw) said: “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together. May Allah allow us to be one of these people.

The winter is nearing and the weather is getting cold. Some of us have been waiting for winter from the beginning of the summer. These people love the cold so much that they might be having cold showers in summer to simulate the cold weather and they must love wearing thick clothes while still feeling cold.

Although not everyone is a fan of winter nor summer, everyone has to make some preparations for the winter. We should prepare our thicker clothes, coats, boats and scarves. We should not hesitate to turn on the heaters and to use our thick and warm blankets fort he night.

However, not everyone has these opportunities, like the winter clothes or proper heaters. Even if they have, their clothes are either old or torn down and their heaters don’t have enough fuel to be used. Even some of them don’t have homes, instead they have to live in tents. Maybe you understand whom we are talking about. The people in Syria and Afghanistan. They lost their homes due to conflicts and natural disasters. Now they try to live in tents with their families, maybe with their new-born children.

As NEED Charity, we wanted to start our Winter Appeal as we do every year to distribute needed clothes and fuels to those people. We know that we cannot do this without your support. Our aim is to reach as many people as possible and to distribute coats, boats, scarves, coal, wood and fuel for heaters. We know you, our generous donors, will not leave them alone and as NEED Charity we are very happy to be the brigde between you and the needy.

Let’s start the Winter Appeal together and reach as much needy people as we can with the help of Allah. We know that we cannot change the season of the weather but we can help them survive this cold, as well. Let’s keep the Ummah warm together!

Last Saturday, a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake followed by strong aftershocks struck western Afghanistan. Unfortunately, more than 2500 people died and 10000 were injured. 300 houses were partially or fully destroyed in the earthquake. According to the information we received from NEED Charity teams on the ground, people are still buried under the rubble. Rescue teams along with local men are struggling to pull out the dead and injured trapped under the razed houses. With communications down and many roads blocked, rescue workers are struggling to reach remote areas. Additionally, an estimated 300 families are reported to have been displaced to Herat City where they are living in abandoned buildings.

Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, where there are a number of fault lines and frequent movement among three nearby tectonic plates. Afghans are still reeling from recent quakes, including the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in March that struck much of western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

As NEED Charity, we reached the earthquake region on the second day and determined the most necessary things for the earthquake victims. We launched Urgent Relief Campaign for our brothers. We will urgently distribute food, water and blankets.

As you know, Afghanistan is already struggling with poverty, hunger, and water shortages. NEED Charity started to help to our people. Now they need you more than ever.