Community Gatherings & Events

We hold gatherings throughout the year in Manchester — religious commemorations, shared meals, and occasions that bring families into the same room.

What We Hold

• Milad gatherings and religious commemorations, including the annual programme in Rabi al-Awwal
• Mehfil-e-Naat — evenings of naat recitation
• Shared meals, including community iftars through Ramadan
• Women’s gatherings and study circles
• Children’s activity sessions alongside the main programme
• Eid gatherings, which are usually the largest of the year

Why We Keep Doing This

These occasions do more than mark the calendar.

A community centre is one of the few places left where people who would otherwise never meet end up sitting next to one another — a retired man who came here in the seventies beside a student who arrived last month, a family who have been in Longsight for three generations beside one who moved in last week.

They are also how someone quietly struggling gets noticed. Nobody fills in a form to say they are isolated or that money is short. It comes out over food, sideways, to someone they have seen a few times before. A good proportion of the practical help this organisation gives started at a gathering rather than through a phone call.

If You Have Never Been

Everyone is welcome, including people who have never attended anything here and do not know a soul.

Some things worth knowing in advance: gatherings usually have separate seating areas for men and women; food is normally served afterwards and there is no charge; children are expected and nobody minds the noise; and you will not be asked for money at the door.

If you would rather not walk in alone the first time, say so when you contact us and someone will meet you.

Coming Up

Dates are listed on our events page, and photographs from previous gatherings are in the gallery. To be told when the next one is arranged, get in touch.

Why We Keep Doing This

A community that only meets for funerals is not a community. The gatherings exist so that the people in this hall know each other before something goes wrong — so that when a family does need help, they are asking friends rather than strangers.

That is also the honest argument for bringing children. The content of a Thursday evening matters less than the fact that by fifteen, the masjid is somewhere they already know people.

What to Expect if You Have Not Been Before

Nothing is formal. People arrive over about half an hour, there is recitation and naat, usually a short talk, and then food. You do not need to know anyone, you do not need to bring anything, and there is no charge.

If you are unsure about anything — where to sit, what to wear, whether to bring the children — call first and ask. Nobody minds the question.

Children

Children are welcome at everything. We would rather have a noisy room than an empty one.

Food

Most gatherings include a shared meal, prepared by members. If you want to contribute a dish, tell us in advance so we do not end up with eleven trays of the same thing.

Confirming Before You Travel

Two things move. Dates for religious occasions depend on moon sighting and can shift by a day. Venues vary — most gatherings are at the Qadria Jilania Islamic Centre in Longsight, but some are held at our Hemmons Road address.

Call 07727 874307 to confirm, particularly if you are coming any distance.

Helping Out

Setting up, cooking, serving and clearing away is all volunteer work, and it is constant. An hour before or after a gathering is genuinely the easiest way in for anyone who wants to be more involved.

See what is coming up.