السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
It’s Monday 30th May 2022 / 29 Shawwal 1443H.
Final day in Albania for now, اِنْ شَاءَ الَّلهُ
Sunday 29th May is our 6th day in the Balkans. It has been a most memorable trip, .مَا شَآءَ الله
Our first stop today is our latest purchased Dar-e-Arqam Education Complex situated in Tirana, where a number of orphans and widows, who attend the weekly classes here, greeted us.
Over the next 2 hours, we listened to the children and then took the opportunity to interact with them and give them some advices. We were joined overnight by 2 more colleagues from the UK so there are now a large group of 6 carrying out the assessments.
This is where we meet 12 year old Aḥmed, an Egyptian orphan whose father passed away six months ago. Aḥmed’s parents had started to teach him the Holy Qur’ān since the age of 3. Miraculously, Aḥmed completed his Ḥifẓ at the tender age of 10.
His recitation of the Qur’ān put us to shame. He revises 2 Juz a day with his mother and very confidently recited from a few places that we asked him to pray from.
In the girls’ classes, we met Aḥmed’s sister, who has memorised 15 juz of the Qur’ān.
We then moved on to our Education Complex by the name of Ḥāfiz Sābri Institute, in Belsh. My colleagues carry out the necessary assessments and share their feedback. In our first 10 years in Albania, this was a dream that we didn’t, in our wildest dreams, expected would come true. Lunch today was lamb biryāni, .مَا شَآءَ الله
Later on in the day we visited the King’s Mosque in Berat, which is a beautiful historical city with castles and ancient houses.
Our final stop of the day is at the Riza Bajrami Masjid in Durres, undoubtedly the most stunning Masjid that I have seen anywhere in the Balkans thus far.
Built by 4 Albanian brothers for the Īsāl ath-Thawāb of their parents, this magnificent masterpiece needs to be visited to be fully appreciated. It is an absolute gem, .مَا شَآءَ الله
After a short rest, we take the early morning flight to Luton airport, touching down on Monday 30th May, at 8:20am. This brings our ‘6 days in the Balkans’ visit to an end.
May The Almighty protect the Īmān and Islam of the Muslims of the Balkans and accept all our efforts, Āmeen.
جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا
Request for Du’ās
وَالسَّلَامُ Hanif Dudhwala (CEO, Muslim Welfare Institute, Blackburn, UK)