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Following article was published in June 2007's Newsletter, it give you background about "Carvan of Imaan".

Imaan-Raising Program to be Initiated

by Imam Aly Lela

I was teaching a Tajweed course one weeknight several years ago. A student shared that she was having difficulty motivating herself to put in the necessary effort for a successful outcome. She was feeling very badly about this and asked me for advice. In response, I drew two parallel lines on the whiteboard. One represented the highest possible level of imaan that we humans could achieve. The second, lower line represented the line that we strive never to approach, the one that separates us as believers from non-belief. In between these lines, I made up a flow chart of a person’s imaan, how it soared during Ramadan, but leveled off afterwards. It grew as the person performed or made du’a for others to perform the Hajj. It stayed high when they did good deeds, like reading the Qur’an with reflection, and it soared when they remembered Allah, the Almighty, especially during hardship. But the chart tapered off in decline when they were distracted by the dunya. It declined when they spent too much time at work, coming home too exhausted to do more than eat and sleep. And the chart absolutely plummeted when they sinned. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) taught us that the heart becomes soiled when we sin. Little dots here and there that, unchecked, add up to completely cover the heart, the result being that it can no longer receive the benefits of faith and imaan. Imaan can rise and fall, even if we are performing our duties and not sinning. Since it is a link to our Creator, the actions that are not done to please Him, the actions that are done mechanically and without  intention do more than threaten to lower our imaan, it actually causes our hearts to be covered with rust, something like the rust on steel caused by oxidation. Allah (SWT) has taught us the means to cleanse and purify our hearts in order that we are not overcome by the rust. And during the next several months, I will be sharing some of these purification techniques during a series of khutbas that I call, “The Caravan of Imaan.” I will introduce this series and elaborate on the importance of maintaining and improving our imaan. Each khutbah will feature a specific, imaan-raising topic that I call an oasis. You don’t find an oasis everyday; otherwise, it wouldn’t be an oasis. This is not simply a set of speeches; it is an opportunity for us, as a community, to raise and maintain our collective imaan, to set ourselves in a framework to grow closer to Allah, the Almighty, and to each other through knowledge along with take-home practical assignments. Each topic—or oasis—will be explored during one, two or three khutbas. Oases include repentance, sincerity, patience, etc. Posters will introduce each oasis along the way. We will have handouts featuring the ayah and ahadith upon the completion of each oasis in order for us to continue our contemplation and to share it with family and friends. The Caravan of Imaan is coming our way. Please join us and learn to keep your imaan soaring throughout your life.