05/09/2021
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
For those who do not know, our dear brother Mamadou Cherif Simpara suddenly passed away on March 6, 2021. His death has been a shock to the entire community as Cherif has been a dear brother to so many of us. In honor of Cherif, the MSA is organizing a campaign, conducted in coordination with Islamic Relief USA and the students, friends, and peers of the University of Maryland community. Our goal is to raise $1500. All funds raised will be sent directly to Islamic Relief Orphan Family Sponsorship Program for Mali - Cherif’s home country. We wanted to provide the opportunity to bring the community together to honor Cherif’s memory and establish a Sadaqa-Jaria in his name. Supporting orphans is an integral part of our deen, as Allah SWT tells us in the Quran that one of the defining characteristics of righteousness in faith is taking care of orphans:
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans...” (2:177)
Even more so, the Prophet ﷺ said, “The one who cares for an orphan and myself will be together in Paradise like this,“ and he (saw) held his two fingers together to illustrate. [Bukhari]
About Cherif: Cherif was born and raised in Mali but came to UMD to complete his undergraduate education. He graduated from the Robert H. Smith School of Business in Spring 2019 with a double major in Accounting and Information Systems before going on to work for BDO. Cherif was very involved around campus, whether it was for the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity or for our MSA. He had the ability to light up any room and make anybody smile with his character and personality. The impact he left on the community will always be remembered.
Help us reach our goal of $1500. To participate Venmo:
May Allah reward all of you and have mercy on Cherif Simpara Ameen.
