Mawlid-Un-Nabi Event Held in Bradford

Bradford’s Madni Jamia Mosque hosts special Mawlid event, participated by the UK Branch of the World Association for Al-Azhar Graduates (WAAG UK).

On Saturday 15 February 2014, a special Mawlid event was held at the Madni Jamia Mosque of Bradford (UK) to celebrate and honour the birth of the final Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The event was titled ‘Morning of Light; a Mawlid special’ and it was organised by the YouthWay organisation and Jamia Al-Karam educational centre, and it was supported by the United Kingdom Branch of the World Association for Al-Azhar Graduates (WAAG UK).

The event was attended by numerous scholars, nasheed reciters and Qur’an reciters including the President of WAAG UK, Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada. Hundreds of Muslims, male and female, from the city of Bradford and beyond participated and the event began following the Isha Prayer at 7:30 pm and continuing till 11:30 pm. The event was filled with intellectual talks relating to the holy Prophet’s birth, his seerah and the world before his arrival. Furthermore, nasheed and Qur’an reciters supplemented the event increasing in the beautiful atmosphere of the event. WAAG UK supported the programme with numerous graduates of Al-Azhar University taking part. Booklets and information relating to Al-Azhar and WAAG UK were displayed at the event and distributed to all attendees.

The programme began with a beautiful recitation by a graduate of Al-Azhar University, Qari Muhammad Zia which was followed by nasheeds in praise of the holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The first lecture was then delivered by the young Ustadh Ayaz Ur Rehman Irfani on the topic of the world before Islam. He highlighted the condition of the world and the leading empires within it in the sixth century including the Roman Empire, Persian Empire, Ancient Greece, India, China and the state of the Arab World. He reflected on the verse of the Qur’an, “And they were in manifest error before,” pointing at the darkness that existed which was removed from the world by the light of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and his teachings.

The second lecture was delivered by Imam Muhammad Asim Mirza, a former Imam of the Madni Jamia Mosque, who gave a powerful insight into the seerah and character of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and how the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) changed the world and the attitudes of people in a short span of twenty three years. The Al-Ni’mah Nasheed Group also contributed by reciting numerous poems and qasa’id in Arabic and English in praise of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) which were enjoyed thoroughly by those who attended.

The Vice-President of WAAG UK, Bakhtyar H Pirzada al-Azhari, then delivered a profound lecture on the miraculous nature of the holy Prophet’s birth and its significance. He then spoke in detail about the condition of the Muslims in the UK and requested the community to reflect on the past thirty or forty years as the elder generation of Muslims migrated to the UK from different countries and now the second generation and the third generation of Muslims must reflect on what the community is doing correctly and how it can better its condition. The elder generation came and built huge mosques and institutions and now it is the duty of the current generation of Muslims in the UK to strengthen these institutions and plan for the future. He paid tribute to the elder generation of Muslims who had contributed immensely in setting up centres of knowledge and learning such as the Hazrat Sultan Bahu Trust, Hijaz College, Jamia Al-Karam, Ghamkol Sharif, Muhyudin Siddiqia, Tabligh-ul-Islam and Suffa-Tul-Islam. He then urged the current generation of Muslims to strengthen and support these institutions and build for the future so that the true moderate message of Islam is preserved for the coming generations.

This was followed by a keynote speech by the young and talented Imam Muhammad Asim Hussain who spoke extensively on how the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) nurtured and trained a generation of Companions who continued to spread the light of Islam in all directions of the world. He then reflected on the present state of the Muslim youth in the UK and gave insight on how to bring the teachings of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) into our lives so that the Muslim youth can understand their religion, become practicing Muslims and good citizens and people.

In the end, the President of WAAG UK, Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada, led the audience in a prayer and du’a. The event was also attended by the President of the Suffah Foundation, Imam Omar Hayat Qadri.

Each attendee was given leaflets and booklets to take back and study. These included the important WAAG UK leaflet ‘Islam does not breed Terrorism’ written by the Al-Azhar scholar, Professor Dr Sayyed Bakri Ahmad Abdul Latif, as well as the booklet ‘Muslims in a Multicultural Society’ written by Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada.

Leaflets were also distributed regarding the book ‘Morning of Light; the sun rises over the horizon of Prophethood’ written by the late Al-Azhar scholar and former Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari (d. 1998) taken from his award-winning Seerah book, ‘Sirat Diya’ al-Nabi’.

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