Ahmad Zahab Family Reunion

Ahmad Zahab Family Fund

2007-08-08T18:33:00.001-07:00

Assalamualaikum all my fellow family members!

It's been a while since I've posted here but there has been some new happenings within our family, Alhumdulillah.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed information to the family tree. It is slowing getting there but there are still many blank spaces. Inshahallah we will be able to fill in the gaps in the near future.

The heads of the Ahmad Zahab family have got together to form a family fund. I had the pleasure of being the scribe at the meeting. As I listened to the heads of the family speak about the importance of keeping the family together and helping one another, I realized that this was not going to be something small. It needed a lot of attention.

My late grandfather, Hassan Ahmad, had asked his brother, Ismail Ahmad, to do something with the family situation. Our family was drifting apart. It is our duty to uphold family ties in Islam.

"And those who break the Covenant of Allaah, after its ratification, and sever that which Allaah has commanded to be joined (i.e., they sever the bond of kinship and are not good to their relatives), and work mischief in the land, on them is the curse (i.e., they will be far away from Allaah’s Mercy); And for them is the unhappy (evil) home (i.e., Hell)." [al-Ra’d 13:26]

My mother, Siti Zubaidah Hassan, has dreamed of getting the family together for years. The family has tried to do it many times but failed to do it in such a grand scale. Subhanallah, with the grace of Allah and the countless hours of some family members, we were able to create a very memorable event. Alhumdulillah.

These events don't pay for themselves and they are not cheap. By creating a fund, we will be able to help those in need and whatever is left over, we will be able to put towards these yearly gatherings, Inshahallah.

The whole point of this project is to bring the family members together and not push them away. Our intention is to follow the Islamic teachings and bring this knowledge to the younger generation. We want to show them a good example of how we should live our lives as good Muslims, which include being kind to your own family. Charity starts at home, doesn't it?

Below are the meeting minutes for those who are interested. Please email me at suraya.lavalette@gmail.com for the application form. Inshahallah I can email it out to you.

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Ahmad Zahab Family Fund
Committee

Minutes

Meeting No. 01

Sunday, 14 July 2007

Present: Ismail Ahmad Zahab (Chairman), Muhd. Zakariah Hassan, Suraya Lavalette, Faudziah Hanim Hanaffi, Fadzilah Aini Hanaffi, Safarudin Othman
Apologies: Taufik Idris, Abdul Manan, Siti Suryati Muhd. Salim
Minute Taker: Suraya Lavalette (Secretary)

Meeting
Ahmad Zahab Family Fund Committee met at 3:00PM on Sunday, 15th of July 2007 at Changi General Hospital Food Court.

Confirmation of Minutes
Nil
Correspondence
Nil
Business
The Ahmad Zahab Family has many family members and urgent attention is needed for those who are in need for immediate emergency funds. The committee has decided that a Family Fund should be created to serve those in need. Below are the rules pertaining to the family fund:

Membership will cost SGD$5 per month, per family and can be paid every 6 months at SGD$30 or yearly at SGD$60.
Membership entitlements include:
- The ability to draw out emergency funds for hospitalization at a maximum of $300 per year.
- Educational support and help (amount has not been disclosed yet)
- Immediate funeral loan (no interest, cash in hand), to be paid back once everything is settled.
If any members wish to give extra donation, they can do so. They are also entitled to opt to sponsor another family who may not have the funds to pay for the membership. This will in turn cover those who wouldn’t normally be covered.
All transactions are to be kept transparent on the Ahmad Zahab Blog (http://ahmadzahab.blogspot.com)
All paying families are subject to their employment status.
Each membership will require you to list down your family members in the registration form.
Individuals who are 18 years and over are entitled to have their own membership.
Individuals cannot have dual memberships, they are either under their family’s membership or they have their own membership.
Funds will only be distributed to members and the people they listed on their registration form.
If a family member has not paid their membership fee, they are not entitled to receive any funds.
A bank account will be set up to house these funds. It will be an Islamic Bank account that does not incur interest.
There will be several signatories to this account and money cannot be withdrawn without the permission of the Committee.
All claims need to have invoices and the Committee will pay by cheque, unless it is extraordinary circumstances.
A Membership form needs to be created and a Membership database also needs to be created.

Collection
We have collected $300 for the fund so far and Hanim is holding onto the money.

Adjournment
The committee adjourned at 4:00PM until the next meeting

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The Newspaper Article is Here!

2007-05-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

Assalamualaikum Everyone!

We were featured in Beritan Harian newspaper in Singapore on the 31st of May 2007 on page 14. Alhumdulillah.

Very cool indeed!

Email me at suraya.lavalette@gmail.com if you want me to send you the full article.

Updated family Tree!

2007-05-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Assalamualaikum everyone!

I have finally updated the family tree since the family gathering. There are many holes in the information and if you see anything that needs to be fixed, please let me know.

It is the first time we've had this done so there will be some mistakes.

The link is here: http://familytrees.genopro.com/246193/Hassan/default.htm

Your help is always appriciated. Please email me at suraya.lavalette@gmail.com if there are any changes to the family tree.

Wasalam,
Suraya

The Pictures!

2007-05-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com

Assalamualaikum everyone...

A week has passed and I've been busy!!

I've finally uploaded the pictures to my flickr account.

If you have a flickr account, you can add your photos to the Ahmad Zahab Group collection.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ahmadzahab/

Please email me at suraya.lavalette@gmail.com for an invite so I can add you to the invitation list.

I haven't updated the family tree as yet, thank you for the SMS's on the changes needed. What is currently up was before the gathering...now I have a whole heap of NEW information...so it can all be updated shortly, Inshahallah.

I really appriciate everyone's participation on the day and all the information given. This will mean that we can have a full family tree for the generations to come, inshahallah.

Once updated, I will let everyone know.

Fantastic Gathering!

2007-05-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Assalamualaikum Everyone!

Alhumdulillah, the gathering went exceptionally well. The children enjoyed themselves and the adults sat around catching up with each other. All of this happened with the grace of Allah. Without Him, we would have nothing.

Please give me a week or two to compile all of the information collected (there is a lot!!). I will be putting online, inshahallah. All the pictures will also go online for everyone's viewing pleasure.

If you have any pictures to contribute, please send it to suraya.lavalette@gmail.com.

Wasalam

Family Gathering

2007-04-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Malay

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarrakatuhi

Kehadapan sekalian keluarga besar dari keturunan Almahrum Ahmad Zahab dengan ucapan selamat kesejahteraan dan semoga selalu dalam kandungan sihat-sihat belaka. Amien.

Adapun lambaran ini sebenarnya ada maksud besar dari kami, cucu, cicit dari mendiang Almahrum untuk mengadakan acara sirrahturahmi yang akan melibatkan keseluruhan daripada keluarga besar:-

1. Asmawi Ahmad Zahab (Almahrum)
2. Mohd. Hassan Ahmad Zahab (Almahrum)
3. Hanafi Ahmad Zahab (Almahrum)
4. Marzuki Ahmad Zahab (Almahrum)
5. Idris Ahmad Zahab
6. Ismail Ahmad Zahab
7. Marliah Ahmad Zahab
8. Othman Ahmad Zahab

Memandangkan yang tua hanya tinggal empat orang sahaja, kami berpendapat, bahawasanya dengan jumlah cucu-cucu, cicit-cicit dan buyut-buyut yang semakin ramai, akan kehilangan sejarah Almahrum Ahmad Zahab. Beliau pernah menjadi pelaku dalam sejarah sebagai seorang botanist di Kebun Bunga, dengan pengalaman yang boleh dikatatan setaraf dengan seorang professor tumbuh2an.

Sebagaimana pentingnya kita bersama-sama mengadakan acara untuk menghimbau dan mengenalkan sejarah ini kepada cucu-cicit, sebenarnya yang lebih penting adalah sirahturrahmi kita, supaya dapat mengeratkan lagi tali persaudaraan, yang ditakuti pada suatu masa nanti, cicit-cicit dan oning-oning sudah tidak kenal mengenal lagi kerana sudah terlalu ramai dan jarang jarang berjumpa. Jalan keluar untuk menghindari perkara ini, marilah kita bersama-sama berganding bahu untuk menjayakan matlamat dan niat suci kita ini, semoga apa yang kita usahakan mendapat ridho Illahi. Insha’Allah.

Justeru hari perjumpaan kita ini akan terlibat waktu solat, maka kaum wanita di silakan untuk membawa telekong masing-masing.

Makanan ringan dan minuman akan kami adakan, tetapi, sekiranya tidak keberatan, para hadirin boleh membawa juadah untuk kita bersama2 menjamu selera. (Sila hubungi Lilis Hp:94562594 supaya dapat membawa juadah yang berlainan).

Untuk meringankan kos perbelanjaan saperti penyewaan dewan, makan-minum dll., yang sudah pun kami sediakan, akan diadakan tabung dana untuk para hadirin yang ingin membantu dengan batas2 kemampuannya. Sekiranya ada kelebihan dari dana ini, akan kami sedekahkan pada fakir miskin dan anak2 yatim.

Kami dari pihak penganjur sanggat2 mengharapkan kehadiran setiap ahli keluarga justeru acara perjumpaan sedemikian agak sukar untuk diadakan kerana ada yang bermastautin di luar negeri. Dan juga, ini adalah pertama kalinya diadakan untuk semuanya ang hadir berfoto sama buat kenang2an generasi yang akan datang.

Acara ini akan diadakan di :

Tempat: Block 536A, Woodlands Drive 14
Tanggal: Sabtu, 12 Mai 2007
Jam: 3 petang hingga 9 malam

Sekiranya perlu keterangan yang lebih lanjut, sila hubungi :

Mohd Zakariah – Hp 90107753
Siti (Lilis) – Hp 94562594
Suraya – Hp 96159514
Siti Zubaidah (Eda) – Hp 82399301

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English

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhi

Are you a part of the late Ahmad Zahab Clan?
Are you related to him in some way?
Do you recognize the pictures above?
Why not come down to a fun day for the whole family?

We are building a family tree and would like you to contribute information on your family. We will be storing our family tree electronically. If you have any family pictures, please bring them along and we will scan them for you (all photographs will be returned after scanning).

Program for the day will be given upon arrival and registration. There will be entertainment for the children (and adults too!).

This invitation is open to all members of the Ahmad Zahab Family. We urge you to pass this on to ALL family members.

Date: Saturday, 12th of May 2007
Venue: Block 536a Woodlands Drive 14
Time: 3pm - 9pm (Please come on time for registration)
What to bring:
- Old Family Photos (to be scanned)
- Any information you can give about your family
- A plate of food to be shared for Pot Luck (See contact details below)
- Yourself and your family!

For more information in regards to Family Tree or the gathering, please contact:

Mohd Zakariah - 90107753
Malay/English

Siti Zubaidah (Eda) - 82399301
eda_hassan@yahoo.com.au
Malay/English

Siti (Lilis) - 94562594
Malay/English
Organizing the Catering and Pot Luck

Suraya - 96159514
suraya.lavalette@gmail.com
English
Creating Family Tree

We hope to see you there, Inshahallah!