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Bullying of Muslim Youth – FYI Report

Bullying of Muslim Youth – FYI Report

By Madiha Tahseen, Ph.D., Sameera Ahmed, Ph.D., and Sawssan Ahmed, Ph.D.  Due to an increasingly divisive socio-political climate, bullying of American Muslim children and adolescents is on the rise and occurs across various contexts within their lives. The pervasiveness of bullying places American Muslim children at risk for poor mental health and development and increased […]

Playing with Your Child: Games for Connection and Emotional Intelligence

Playing with Your Child: Games for Connection and Emotional Intelligence

Children need to play. It’s their work. All mammals play; it’s their way of learning skills they’ll need when they’re full-grown, from finding food to getting along with others. It’s also the way small humans process their emotions. All day, every day, children have to manage complicated feelings: Fear (What if there IS something under […]

How to tell kids about divorce: An age-by-age guide

How to tell kids about divorce: An age-by-age guide

Two thoughtful parents once sat their preschooler down to tell him about their upcoming divorce. Carefully and gently, they told him that Mommy and Daddy were going to stop living together and would now live in different houses, but he would still see both of them regularly. They finished with the most important point of […]

Co-Parenting with your Ex

Co-Parenting with your Ex

Dr. Patricia Papernow discusses the difficulties remarried parents experience when caught between their children whom they love and their new spouse. Dr. Papernow is a psychologist in private practice in Hudson, MA, where she divides her time between clinical practice, supervision, and training. As a clinician, Dr. Papernow works primarily in the Internal Family Systems […]

Have you had the social media “talk”?

Have you had the social media "talk"?

You’ve established rules for your tween for when he or she’s at home, school or a friend’s house, but you also need to set clear rules for when your child is online. If you haven’t yet, don’t worry. But do take the time to jot down the guidelines your tween must follow for when he or she […]

How to deal with family members who stress you out

How to deal with family members who stress you out

After the holidays, I see a lot of people recovering from spending too much time with their families. Before the holidays, they mistakenly thought to themselves, “This year will be different; this year we’ll have a nice time together.” But then it’s never different. The time they spent with their families was like walking on […]

Zakat eligibility of The FYI

The Family & Youth Institute, or The FYI, is a well-known Muslim organization in the United States. It works to promote mental health and wellness by strengthening and empowering individuals, families, and communities through research and education. It has been working for many years to bring Islamic perspectives to understanding and promoting mental health in our communities.

It is dedicated to serving and supporting Muslims – safeguarding our deen, our families, and our future generations. Therefore, the work of The FYI comes in the category of ‘fi sabeelillah’ or the Path of Allah, within the eight categories where Zakat money can be used.

Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed for it and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah, and for the [stranded] traveler – an obligation [imposed] by Allah, And Allah, is Knowing and Wise.”
(Al-Tawbah 9:60)

According to scholars who widen the meaning of fee sabeelillah to include any activities that promote Islamic growth, The FYI is indeed eligible to receive part of the Zakat funds for its programs and services. I urge Muslims in America to support this organization through their donations, general charity, and through their Zakat. I ask Allah swt to strengthen and guide The FYI to continue its good work in supporting Muslims.

Shaikh Ali Suleiman Ali, PhD

About Shaikh Ali

Sh. Ali Suleiman Ali was born in Ghana where he spent his childhood studying with various Muslim scholars. He then moved to Saudi Arabia and enrolled in the Islamic University of Madina.  He graduated with a degree in both Arabic and Islamic Studies. Dr. Ali went on to complete his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Sh. Ali serves on the Advisory Council of The Family & Youth Institute. He is the Senior Imam and Director of the Muslim Community of Western Suburbs in Canton, Michigan. Additionally, he serves as the Director of Muslim Family Services in Detroit and is a council member of the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA). He is also a member of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF) and the Association of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA).