In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

THE CONSTITUTION OF JAMAA’AH AT-TAQWA

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

PREAMBLE

We, the believing Muslims of Jamaa’ah at-Taqwa, Raleigh, North Carolina, grateful to Almighty Allah (glorified and sublime is He), the Sovereign ruler of nations and systems of knowledge, for the preservation of Qur’an and Sunnah, and acknowledging our dependence upon him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do for the more certain security thereof and for the better administration of this Jamaa’ah ordain and establish this constitution.

NAME

The name of this association shall be Jamaa’ah at-Taqwa, which shall be a not-for-profit religious organization.

PURPOSE

•  To believe and practice the deen of Islam which is founded on sincere belief in the Absolute Oneness of Allah and the finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and the complete adherence to the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah as interpreted by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jammaa’ah (the people of the Sunnah and the Majority Community).

•  To establish an Islamic community and Masjid that seeks to establish the deen of Allah in the Raleigh Area, America and the world and that serves the needs of the Muslims.

•  To invite and give information to others and ourselves about Islam.

•  To cooperate with the other brothers and sisters in the Ummah of Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).

•  To establish and maintain an educational system for teaching Qur’an, Sunnah, Fiqh, Shari’ah and the authentic Arabic language.

GENERAL BODY & MEMBERSHIP

•  The General Body shall be composed of all members of the Jamaa’ah.

•  Voting members of the Jamaa’ah shall be members in good standing who are 14 years of age or above.

•  Meetings of the General Body can be called by the Shura, the Amir or the Imam.

•  The quorum for the General Body meetings shall be 50% of the membership. If the quorum is not reached in the first attempt, another meeting will be announced, and the quorum requirement will be waived for that meeting.

Functions:

•  To elect the Shura, the Amir and the Imam.

•  To hear and discuss an Annual report of finances and activities from the Amir.

•  To hear and discuss a financial and activity plan from the Amir for the upcoming year.

•  The General Body shall meet a minimum of twice a year.

•  Membership shall be granted to any Muslim based on the following:

•  The applicant agrees to the purposes of the Jamaa’ah, which include belief in the Oneness of Allah, the finality of Prophethood of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and the truth of the Qur’an and Sunnah, all as understood by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa’ah.

•  The applicant completes a membership form.

•  The applicant declares and fulfills a financial commitment to the Jamaa’ah. The guidelines for that financial commitment shall be set by the Shura.

•  The applicant involves himself/herself in the activities of the Jamaa’ah as defined by the Shura.

•  The Shura approves the applicant’s membership application.

•  Members in good standing who have held membership for at least three months shall have the right to vote.

•  Membership can be revoked by a two-thirds vote of the Shura for persistent violation of a major tenet of Aqidah or Shari’ah.

SHURA

•  The Shura shall be the governing and policy-making body of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Shura shall be composed of three members elected by the General Body; the Amir who is elected by the General Body, the Imam who is elected by the General Body, the Treasurer who is appointed by the Shura, and the Chairpersons of the Standing Committees who shall be elected by the members of the Standing Committees. Shura members other than Imam and Amir may be females.

•  The term of Shura members, other than the Amir and Imam, shall be one year. Shura members can be re-elected indefinitely.

•  Chairperson of the Shura : The Shura shall annually elect a Chairperson whose duties shall be to call meetings of the Shura and to preside over Shura meetings.

•  The Shura shall meet on a regular basis, no less than bi-monthly.

•  The quorum for Shura meetings shall be 50% of its membership.

•  Decisions of the Shura shall be by a majority vote.

Functions:

•  The Shura shall oversee the work of the Amir.

•  The Shura shall help coordinate activities of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Shura shall work with the Amir to set policy and direction for the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Shura shall work with the Amir to make major decisions and plan major activities.

•  Decisions of the Shura shall be binding on the Amir. If the Shura is deadlocked on an issue, the opinion of the Amir shall decide the issue.

•  Removal: a Shura member can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Shura for persistent and/or gross violation of a major tenet of Aqidah or Shari’ah or gross negligence of duty.

AMIR

•  The Amir shall be the leader of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Amir shall be elected by the General Body.

•  The term of the Amir shall be for 3 years. The Amir can be re-elected indefinitely.

•  Qualifications:

•  The Amir shall be a member of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Amir shall be Muslim brother with a high level of taqwa (piety) and ilm (Islamic knowledge) who has leadership and administrative abilities.

Functions:

•  The Amir shall be responsible the daily functioning of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Amir shall be the spokesman and representative of the Jamaa’ah in all dealings with other groups.

•  The Amir shall oversee the work of the Committees.

•  Removal: The Amir can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the General Body for persistent and/or gross violation of a major tenet of Aqidah or Shari’ah or gross negligence of duty.

IMAM

•  The Imam shall be the prayer leader, advisor on Shari’ah and Aqidah matters, and the general teacher of the Jamaa’ah.

•  Nominations for the Imam shall be presented by the Shura to the General Body, and the General Body shall elect the Imam from that group of names.

•  The term of the Imam shall be for 3 years.

Qualifications:

•  The Imam shall be among the most knowledgeable and most pious Muslim brothers of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Imam shall be a member of the Jamaa’ah.

Functions:

•  The Imam shall perform marriage and janazah ceremonies.

•  The Imam along with the Amir shall organize educational programs.

•  The Imam shall serve as a consultant in matters dealing with Shari’ah and Aqidah.

•  The Imam shall lead the salah.

•  Removal: The Imam can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Shura for persistent and/or gross violation of a major tenet of Aqidah or Shari’ah or gross negligence of duty.

TREASURER

•  The Treasurer shall be responsible with the Amir in handling the financial aspects of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Shura.

•  The Treasurer shall be a member of the Shura.

•  The Treasurer shall serve a term of one year with the possibility of being re-appointed indefinitely.

Qualifications:

•  The Treasurer shall be a trustworthy person (amin) who has some knowledge of financial matters.

•  The Treasurer shall be a member of the Jamaa’ah.

Functions: . The Treasurer shall present a quarterly report to the Shura and the General Body.

•  Removal: The Treasurer can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Shura for persistent and/or gross violation of a major tenet of Aqidah or Shari’ah or gross negligence of duty.

COMMITTEES

•  The Shura shall approve the formation and goals of committees.

•  The Amir shall oversee the work of the committees.

•  Committees must elect a Chairperson from among themselves. The Chairperson must be a member of the Jamaa’ah.

•  The Chairperson shall serve a term of one year with the possibility of being re-elected indefinitely.

•  The Shura shall designate a number of Standing Committees as major Standing Committees, and Chairpersons of those major committees shall serve as members of the Shura.

AMENDMENTS

Amendments to the Constitution shall be made by the General Body by a two-thirds vote.

DISSOLUTION

If Jamaa’ah at-Taqwa is dissolved, the Shura shall give all assets of the Jamaa’ah to a Muslim organization in the Triangle Area.

Approved on Sunday, October 6, 1996/22 nd Jumada Awwal, 1417