Assalamu-alaikum,

As many of you know, our inaugural Islamic quiz was recently held on our website- and Alhamdulillah it went down really well! An announcement of the winners will be made by Thursday evening, inshallah. If you happen to receive a prize notification email from us, please do reply and make sure you follow the prize claim instructions accurately!

Jazakallah Khair,

(the Islamic Impressions team)

On Saturday 16th January Islamic Impressions was invited to the first ever ILM day awards organised by Islam Channel. Understanding the significance of the occasion, we duly obliged by sending a senior delegation to this landmark event.

llm Day is a national competition organised by Islam Channel in recognition of the necessity to encourage talent amongst Muslim youth and to promote progression in their lives through education and other constructive interests. Its aim was to celebrate, nurture and empower exceptional young Muslim achievers, enabling them to inspire and serve as role models for other young people in their communities.

The visiting team consisting of Aqib (company director), Sheraz (co director), Muhammed (CFO) and Zain (Operations Manager) attended the gala awards ceremony in the Hilton Metropole on Edgware road where they were introduced to many young and talented Muslim achievers.

Company director Aqib commented “being a recognised community based organisation that helps promote education within the Muslim community, the Islamic impressions team have attended to show their full support for this great event”

Sheraz remarked “It’s very inspiring to see so many high achieving Muslim youth, it just goes to show with a little hard work and Tawakal in Allah anything is possible, I hope these brothers and sisters realise they now have a responsibility to encourage other young Muslims to follow in their footsteps.”

After maybe too much Lamb Korma- and definitely too much gajar halwa- the team left full of encouragement that contrary to stereotypical images in the media, we Muslims do have many shining examples from our youth who not only stand firm in their deen but also work to achieve good things in the dunya!

We actively encourage all Muslim youth to work hard and with sincerity to become shining beacons within their communities and to prove that Muslims can participate and become successful in the West, without having to compromise on their Islamic values.  

 From left: Brothers Zain, Aqib, Sheraz and Muhhammed arriving at the Ilm day Awards.

Aqib congratulating Zuhair Anwar on his A Level Ilm award

Sheraz congratulating Sami Mirza on his degree Ilm award.

Assalamu-alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

Brothers & Sisters, today I am going to talk about going green. Just as I strongly believe that Muslims should be proud of their Deen and practise it with pride and without compromise, I also happen to believe that we should not remain with our heads buried in the Sand, unwilling to adapt to change or embrace modern technology and science.

One such area which is increasingly becoming a concern for the entire World is climate change. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to mankind, and will have many far reaching consequences, such as sea level rises and the loss of low lying regions, oxygen depletion in the atmosphere, temperature rises and more extreme and destructive weather patterns.

Brothers and Sisters, the greatest impact of climate change will not be felt as much by the wealthier populations of Britain, Europe and America, where this problem originated from; rather the poor of the Third World and the Islamic World have the most to lose. Like in the Maldives, where half a million Muslims could lose everything they possess including their land if things continue as they are. The Maldives is an Islamic country that could be completely submerged beneath the waves within a few decades because of climate change.

While I believe that the onus is on governments and big businesses to change (as they are the cause of the problem), on an individual level we can do a lot more. I propose that ‘every Good Muslim be an Eco Muslim’ and I advise you all to change your habits as much as possible in order to reduce your ‘carbon footprint’.

What is a carbon footprint?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emitted as a result of your everyday activities. Every single person has a carbon footprint, and this measurement represents the impact that our activities on the environment in terms of climate change.

Why just CO2?

Although there are other pollutants causing problems in the atmosphere, CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and is produced when we burn fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal for energy. Therefore every time you drive a car, heat your house or turn on a light, you are generating CO2 and hence increasing your carbon footprint.

Why is your carbon footprint important?

Our carbon footprint is important because there is strong evidence that the greenhouse gases we produce are having an effect on the world’s climate.

What Islamic Impressions is doing to reduce its carbon footprint?

We believe that ‘a good Muslim is an Eco Muslim’ and should be conscious of his carbon footprint- Islamic Impressions aims to be Carbon Neutral by the end of 2011, and already you may have noticed some green aspects of our business such as our re-usable bags in our stores. This is being followed by many other measures which we will keep you posted about inshallah.

On a personal level I recently got rid of my gas guzzling cars (my Porsche 944 was a bit too extravagant anyway and my family 7-seater drank petrol like Water!). Instead I am trying to use public transport as much as possible.

My partner in Islamic Impressions, Sheraz, has also abandoned his old V8 executive car and has purchased a Hybrid electric powered vehicle instead.

Also, as a company we have gotten rid of our large delivery vans and are currently pursuing bio-fuel based vans.

What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?

1- Turn off lights when they are not needed, and always use energy saver bulbs
2- Reuse carrier bags when you go shopping
3- Cars- AVOID if possible- use public transport as much as you can! Share cars (car pooling) for journeys and do not travel by car alone! Convert to greener fuels such as LPG or even electric power.
4- Slightly reduce your thermostat temperatures in your homes at Winter time
5- Unplug electronics when not in use; do not leave TVs, DVDs, games consoles etc. in ‘standby’ mode
6- Only travel abroad by plane when absolutely necessary! Spend vacations closer to home.

There are many ahadith which oblige taking care of the environment. Regarding water conservation, Abdullah ibn Ámru bin Al-Ás (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “That the messenger of Allah (pbuh) happened to pass by Sa’d as he was performing ablution. Whereupon he said: Sa’d what is this squandering? Sa’d said: Can there be any idea of squandering (israf) in ablution? Whereupon the Prophet) said: Yes, even if you are by the side of a flowing river.” (Ibn Majah)

I hope this blog was helpful, please feel free to post comments inshallah.

Until next time, take care.

Aqib

Assalamu-Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu

Islamic Impressions would like to extend a very warm Ramadan Mubarak to all our brothers and sisters in Islam. This coming month is a time of great ajar (reward), spiritual attainment and closeness to Allah (swt) and we sincerely hope that you attain the maximum benefit from it, inshallah.

Allah says in the Quran: “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for people before you so that you will (learn how to) attain Taqwa” (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:183)

Alhamdulillah, the Islamic Impressions team has been very busy with all sorts of activities of late. This has included new stock procurement, building and refurbishment work for new Store outlets, IT project work, media advertising and a lot more! The culmination of these efforts has seen the recent opening of the Birmingham Ladypool Rd outlet and the imminent launch of the new Green St Store in London (both of which I have been blogging about).

Our overall aim is (and always will be) to provide an unbeatable service to our customers by offering the widest variety of quality Islamic products at affordable prices.

Alhamdulillah, this year we are well stocked for Ramadhan with Qurans and Islamic books, Prayer essentials, CDs and DVDs, and new ranges of Islamic clothing for the whole family. During Ramadhan all our Stores will be open for late night shopping 7 days a week. Telephone orders/enquiries will also be taken until Iftar time, 7 days a week.

I invite you to visit your nearest Islamic Impressions Store (free T-shirts with every purchase at Birmingham and Green St!) or click online at www.islamicimpressions.co.uk for fast, next day delivery of your products to your door.

So make this Ramadhan an unforgettable one with Islamic Impressions- setting the benchmark in Islamic shopping.

Ma’salam

Aqib Hanif

My dear brothers and Sisters I would like to announce some exciting news about Islamic Impressions. Allah SWT has been very kind to us ever since we started trading some 5 years ago, and over this time we have experienced sustained growth and rewards in many different ways- for example, last month a non-Muslim took his Shahadah in our Ilford Store after he began visiting us and discussing Islam with Store staff… Alhamdulillah!

Now I am very pleased to announce that Islamic Impressions is opening yet another Shop in time for Ramadhan- and this time we’ve gone for one of the most famous High Street names in the Asian/Muslim retail market- Green Street!

Located in East London, anybody who knows anything about the retail industry will tell you how tough it is to get a prime location on such a busy road. We always planned to break into the Green Street market, and finally, bi Iznillah, it has happened… Alhamdulillah! We are located adjacent to Daminis at 267 Green Street, Forest Gate E7 8LJ. We will get hand over of this property only a few days before Ramadhan – So the Challenge is set for me and my team to have it up and running according to our high Standards in time for Ramadhan – we have a building team, shop fit-out team and a retail team that are going to work shifts throughout the day and night -  and Inshallah the Store will be open to serve the community from the 1^st of Ramadhan, 2009.  

Islamic Impressions is an Islamic retail chain that offers Islamic products for the entire home, including Islamic clothing like Jubbas, Jilbabs and Hijabs, Islamic Books on all subjects, Attars and Islamic perfumes, CDs and DVDs, Islamic ornaments and gift items, Halal Sweets and Prayer accessories, and much much more. We are currently importing huge container loads of new stock from all over the Muslim World in time for Ramadhan, inshallah, and many new lines of products will be available for sale in all our stores including Birmingham and Green Street. Our customers will experience a product range, quality and level of service that is not only unrivalled, but also unprecedented!

Following the opening of our Cash and Carry warehouse and the announcement of our new Birmingham Store, this will be the third outlet we open this year. We are well on the way to completing our aim of becoming the UK’s first professionally run Islamic retail chain built along modern retail concepts and technologies. I invite you to come and experience the difference at Birmingham or Green Street.

Hope to see you there inshallah! Until then, remember us in your Duahs.

Aqib

Assalamu-Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu.

Alhamdulillah we have finally decided on where to open our next store. We have just taken a property in the Sparksbrook area of Birmingham and by Ramadhan inshallah Islamic Impressions will be setting the benchmark in Islamic Shopping in the Midlands!

So why Birmingham? Birmingham doesn’t just serve the Midlands but it is also an hours drive away from other cities in Northern England where there is a heavy population of Muslims. When we think of opening outlets in any area we always look at our customer base and what would be most convenient for them. We have had a lot of enquiries and website orders from the Birmingham and West Midlands area, and many of our customers have urged us to open an outlet near to them. It tells us that our customers have a unique taste for our products and there is a strong practicing Muslim community in Birmingham that appreciates Islamic Impressions’ range of products.

Before taking the step to finalise the location we conducted a poll using various social networking tools, both online and offline (like facebook on the web and in exhibitions and other events we have attended in the last few months). As a result the overwhelming response was in favour of Birmingham.

It took us many months to find a suitable property in Birmingham, but we got there in the end. This has been for 2 reasons:

·       We wanted a great, highly accessible location.

·       We wanted this store to be big in floor space to enable us to stock and display all of our vast range of exciting Islamic products, on a scale not seen before in Birmingham.

By Allah’s help we successfully acquired an entire building on ladypool road which will inshallah be our largest retail store so far with 2500 sq feet of floor space. In the process of setting up our stores we made sure we hired builders and contractors who are local and reputable Muslims who have an appreciation of the service we provide and an understanding of our vision. Competency was a key requirement as there is a lot building work going on that involves significant structural adjustment to create an open plan contemporary feel to the store.

Alhamdulillah being in an ideal location is good that there is a lot going on the area and our shop is located in between 2 Islamic schools. With you duas Insha’Allah we are planning to open 2 weeks prior to Ramadan.

 Aqib

Assalamu-Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu

Today I would like to tell my brothers and sisters about one aspect of our community work which I enjoy, inshallah. I believe that as a Islamic company we shouldn’t just be about selling products and making money; and simply giving money to charity is not enough positive participation in my opinion, anybody can do that! Rather we must play a much bigger role by investing our knowledge and skills in the community, so that it too can develop and prosper. One of the best ways to do this is by helping nurture the next generation so that they can be ready to enter the job market, by providing work experience in relevant areas of our business activities.

As a company we have not only put Islamic Impressions on the map as a business but also as an investor in the community. We offer the youth work experience in an environment in line with their beliefs. This allows them to equip themselves with the skills and tools for a career path of their choice.  Our work experience exposes youngsters to many different aspects of business and commercial activity such as bookkeeping, retail sales, warehouse assistance, admin support, IT software development and e-commerce.

Islamic Impressions is registered with the London Borough of Waltham Forest and the Redbridge Business Education Partnership (REBEP) to help local youth from schools and colleges by offering them work experience to enhance their employability skills. Also, we are affiliated with Trident which is part of Edexcel to provide a recruitment channel for the younger generation. We also provide work experience within structured environments to youth with special needs and disadvantaged backgrounds, to help and empower them with skills to become productive individuals in the community via positive participation.

With stores opening nationwide, more of you will be seeing Islamic Impressions at work in the communities very soon inshallah!

I have further blogs coming up on this subject soon inshallah. For example I will be tell you about the GCSE presentation I gave at a school and another presentation to teachers from Norway. But until then, take care.

Aqib