On Wednesday 20^th April, Faith Inspire, Barking Hub held their first collective youth Iftar event at the Hedgecock Community Centre, Barking. As Ramadan was a month of caring and sharing; participants had the option of bringing a dish to share with others and reap the rewards as per the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH):

“Whoever feeds a person breaking his fast will earn the same reward as him, without anything being lessened from the reward of the fasting person.” [Tirmidhi]

The gathering ended up with almost 70 people attending, and many opted to bring an adult with them. Furthermore, with every household bringing a dish to share, there was a huge array of food on display, including meat biryani, chicken wings, chana masala, pakoras, onion bhajis, sheek kebabs, kichuri (soft rice), pasta bake, frankfurters, samosas, dates, fruit platter, vermicelli pudding.

The event was chaired by Tahmid Ahmed, who is very popular among young people in the area. The opening beautiful and melodious recitation of the Qur’an translations was done by young Hamza Hussain.

Guest speaker, Junaid Ahmed, Chair of Faith Inspire talked about continuing the good habits of Ramadan in the next 11 months until the next Ramadan.

Guest speaker and Qur’an reciter Ihsan Ahmed, who was the Barking Community Forum’s Taraweeh lead imam for this year, also talked about being active contributors in society and beautifully recited various chapters of the Qur’an. Further collective recitation with the everyone present was done by Hamza Hussain, Ihsan Ahmed and Ibrahim Kawsar. The breaking of the fast and the beginning of the Iftar dua and adhan was conducted by Ihsan Ahmed.

Also in attendance were Harun Miah and Suruk Ahmed of Barking Community Forum and Yousuf Khan of the Hedgecock Community Centre along with local community leads. Harun Miah brought “kichuri” and Suruk Ahmed brought “meat biryani and chana masala” for the event. Yousuf Khan brought “sheek kebabs” to share with others.

“It was a very successful event organised and led by young people” Mentioned Harun. “Hopefully, this can continue in years to come, and things can only get better and better for our young people” He added.

Faith Inspire is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation that engages in community outreach, promotes spiritual growth, and actively contributes to society. Its vision is to create an exemplary Muslim community in Britain that contributes to a society where all people flourish. More information about the work of Faith Inspire can be found on their website www.faithinspire.org and on social media @faithinspire.