Ibrahim Sa'eed Shaheed
Top Left to Right: Sideeq Abdul Qadir Islam, Ibrahim Sa'eed Shaheed, Rashad Omar Shaheed; Bottom Left to Right: Ayesha A. Williams-Islam & Ameenah Lateefah Shaheed | Masjidul Waritheen Muslim Community Members (Oakland, CA)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ
Bi-smi llāh [with G-d’s name]
Ibrahim Sa'eed Shaheed: As-salaamu ʿalaykum [peace be upon you].
My name is Ibrahim Shaheed of Masjidul Waritheen in Oakland, CA. I'm in the center of the photo above, in the white shirt.
I was asked to elaborate more on grounding oneself in one community versus going from one place to another.
To paint a picture I'll use this.
Imagine I had children with two women and was not with either of them. Still, I see the children often, show up and give presents on their birthdays, take them to different places, and I treat their mothers with respect and kindness.
To the outside world, I am a good or even a great father and man. But I'm not building family the way families should be built. I'm not giving all that I can give, and they aren't receiving what they need, what they deserve from a father and a husband.
So, I feel like when we don't commit ourselves to a particular Masjid or community, we don't dedicate ourselves to the masjids we go to because we don't know the ends and outs of what's going on, of what's truly needed, or we spread ourselves too thin to where our true service isn't utilized.
This is my biased opinion and I know I could be wrong or off the mark a bit. And I say biased because I was born into Masjidul Waritheen. I attended our school from pre-K to 12th grade. My parents are pillars in our community. I grew up seeing most of our members as close family or distant relatives. I understand that my perspective is unique, but this is how I see it right now. But I am still open as always to new information.
So that I can grow and so that we can grow positively in the right direction.
Statement by Rashad Omar Shaheed (Father of Ibrahim)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ
Bi-smi llāh [with G-d’s name]
I recall having a vision or expectation while standing on the playground when I was in 4th grade. I just imagined being married and having a family in a brief moment while on the playground. Sharing the middle position with my younger sister among 6 children, we had 2 older siblings to look up to and 2 younger siblings to look down on. I never saw myself in the future as being anything other than a family man! After coming to [the religion of Al-Islam], the importance of family, staying connected, being responsible and most importantly, preserving the Natural Order that G-d created for man on Earth has become a daily focus! Living the life of a Muslim keeps me focused on the natural relationship between a man and a woman, parent and child and most importantly, the relationship between man and his Creator. By working on maintaining the proper relationship between me and my Creator (Allah), all other relationships are given their due regard.
Ibrahim Sa'eed Shaheed and his family are pillars in the Bay Area Muslim community. They are all active members at Masjidul Waritheen in Oakland, CA.
