This Muslim community in Manchester is seeing out final days of Ramadan by feeding vulnerable

Muslim volunteers in Longsight are spending their final days of Ramadan by delivering meals to vulnerable people in Greater Manchester.

As part of a community drive organised by the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB), volunteers are spending their evenings cooking, packing and delivering 500 to 600 meals a night from the Pakistani Community Centre.

Within the last ten days of Ramadan the group are hoping to have delivered up to 6000 meals to soup kitchens, food banks and outreach groups in Greater Manchester.

There are just five days left of Ramadan and it is expected to end on 12 May.

Why the last ten days of Ramadan are important

Laylatul Qadr also known as the Night of Decree is one of the most sacred nights in the Islamic calendar.

It takes place in the last ten days of Ramadan and is believed to be the night the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

The exact date of the night is unknown but it is believed to be on an odd numbered night of the last ten days of Ramadan.

For many Muslims, the night is chance to seek salvation before the month finishes as it is believed that the rewards for prayer and good deeds are doubled if they take place on Laylatul Qadr.

Neighbours Saraiya Arshad and Aimi Al Jufri are two volunteers who are taking part in the drive. The pair picked up volunteering in the last month and thought what better way to see out the holy month than to help those who need it most.

“We’ve been volunteering for a month, we don’t just deliver food but we also cook for the homeless too.” Said Aimi.

“We want to contribute to the community especially during these times because we know a lot of people have lost something with the pandemic,

“I learned to cook just so I could provide for others and this isn’t just a Ramadan thing but something we want to continue doing.

“It makes us so happy, to know that the food is going to people that need it because we see it ourselves when we deliver it, its just nice.”

The scheme has received support from, local businesses and philanthropists, supermarket chains and the British Muslim Heritage Centre.

Khalid Anif, chair of the Islamic British Society of Britain said: “We’ve all been thinking about how lucky we are and how much difficulty there is around the country.

“In Ramadan were our focus is very much on giving so we are trying to undertake a very ambitious project to provide 6000 meals in the last ten days of the holy month.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have other organisations join us and key philanthropist without whom this wouldn’t have been possible.

“It brings into the light the work that the local community are doing to support one another, that’s what is key in all of this.

“If we’ve learned anything from COVID is that when we help one another we are stronger together but we need to reach out to one another, we need to understand one another.”