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6th Anniversary of Makkah Masjid

Author Administrator on August 30th, 2009

29 August 2009 marked the 6th anniversary of the opening of Makkah Mosque, Leeds. The Mosque was built due to the endless prayers and efforts of the Imam Hafiz Fateh Muhammad (May Allah have mercy on his soul). After three years of its construction, Makkah Masjid was opened by the Late Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad (May Allah have mercy on his soul) on 29 August 2003. Imam Hafiz Fateh Muhammad (May Allah have mercy on his soul) vision was to build a place of worship to serve the Muslim community of Leeds and of which the Muslim community of Leeds could be proud.

Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad (RA)

By the grace of Allah, Makkah Mosque has achieved a great deal over the past 6 years, with the past year being its most successful to date. Makkah Mosque won a nation-wide competition to become the UK’s Model Mosque of 2008-2009. The Mosque is a leader in the field of promoting and enhancing community relations, something which HRH Prince Charles has noted in one of his speeches, and is the only Mosque in the UK that is actively promoting Islamic Finance. On next year’s agenda for the Mosque is promoting awareness of environmental issues and the duty of Muslims to preserve the earth’s resources, which are a blessing from Allah.

In order to mark the anniversary of Allah giving the community of Leeds the gift of His House in the form of Makkah Masjid, a special iftari dinner was held at the Mosque on 29 August. The event was attended by a large number of men, women and children, who came together to show their gratitude to Allah for bestowing such a magnificent Mosque upon them. The occasion was a joyous one, with everyone coming together to break their fast in Allah’s House with a real sense of community spirit and affinity with the Masjid.

Imam of Makkah Masjid, Qari Asim, marked the occasion by saying: “the Holy Qur’an tells us to remember the Days of Allah, which include days on which blessings are granted on an individual or a community, and clearly the day on which Allah gifted the Muslims of Leeds with Makkah Masjid was a day on which He showered us with His blessings. It is therefore incumbent upon us to show gratitude to Allah on this occasion.

Inviting the whole of the community to come together to celebrate was in keeping with the purpose of fasting, and that there is no pleasure akin to sharing food with fellow Muslims who have been fasting all day.”

As part of the celebrations, Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali, a disciple of the internationally renowned late Qari Abdul Basit Abdul Samad of Egypt, was invited to Makkah Masjid to recite the Holy Qur’an in his award winning melodious voice. Qari Sadaqat is internationally renowned for his excellent recitation of the Holy Qur’an, and has won awards and accolades across the world for his recitation skills. Qari Sadaqat filled Makkah Mosque with his awe-inspiring, reverberating recitations from the Holy Qur’an in what was a truly spiritually uplifting and inspiring event.

Qari Sadaqat Ali from Pakistan enthralled the audience with his recitation. His great recitation had the audience mesmerised by the true miracle of the beauty of Qur’anic recitation. What better way of thanking Allah for blessing Leeds with Makkah Masjid that filling His House with the sound of his words being recited in the most glorious of manners.

Allama Syed Lakht-e-Hasnain Shah was also invited to Makakh Masjid on the celebrations. Sahibzada Pir Syed Lakht-e-Hasnain is chairman of Muslim Hands charity, which is an international NGO working in over forty countries around the globe to help those affected by natural disasters, conflict and poverty.

We pray that Allah Almighty continues to shower his blessings on Makkah Mosque and grants us the ability to further our work in the years to come. Ameen.