On Sunday 8th July 2018, Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Bradford arranged an annual Eid celebration event for sisters, under the banner of Madinat Al-Zahra which was attended by over 500 participants from Bradford, Rochdale, Manchester, Dewsbury, Leeds and surrounding areas.

Proceedings were conducted by Ifra Kauser. The event commenced with recitation of the Holy verses of the Qur’an which were melodiously recited by sister Nasreen (Rochdale). Thereafter sisters Nageena, Sanha, Komel and Farha took to the stage throughout the course of the proceedings to enlighten the audience with their heart-warming and uplifting nasheeds.

Participants also enjoyed short motivational talks on the topics of charity, generosity and spending in the way of Allah, delivered by guest speakers, sister Foazia Mushtaq (Bradford), Asma Panwar (Manchester) and Tahira Basharat (Nelson). Their talks were in light of Quranic verses and sayings of the Holy Prophet peace be upon him and commonly emphasised on the verses of the Qur’an.

The audience were kept entertained from time to time with a ladies and kids eating competition followed by a quiz program which saw many prizes distributed. Throughout the event, attendees also enjoyed themselves and made use of various stalls including mehndi, face painting, candy floss, cupcakes and a tuck shop for children.

As proceedings drew to a close Ifra Kauser explained to the audience the purpose of the event which was not only in view of the Eid celebration but to raise funds for the multi-dimensional and exciting project of Madinat al-Zahra for which construction of the first phase had completed in a very short span of time. The attendees were then shown an animation of the complete project to appreciate what the project entailed.

The program ended with an appeal to raise funds which brought about a very positive response. Participants donated generously and made pledges to fund the costs of prayer mats for the ongoing refurbishment of the masjid area and the second phase of the project. The total amount raised was projected to be in excess of £26,000.

The event came to a close with the Umrah raffle draw for one lucky sister and a short dua followed by a 3 course meal for all the participants.

Report by: Ifra Kauser