Member
Posts: 255
Joined: Nov 2003
|
Please click on the following link to view the PDF version of the story:
http://storage.albaseerah.com/masjid/story.pdf
The Albaseerah Story...
Compiled by the Brothers and Sisters at Albaseerah (Bradford, United Kingdom)
AssalamuAlaikum Wa Rahmatullah,
The Beginning...
In July 2010 the brothers at Albaseerah came up with an idea to better themselves and their community. They decided to embark on a project that would change their situation forever. This was a project unlike any done before. Having successfully established a bookshop and dawah centre, the next step was to open a Masjid and school. Excited with this project, the brothers would meet up and discuss possible avenues. Advice was also sought from our elders, meetings were conducted and excitement was beginning to seep through. Little was known what the next few months would bring.
A Building Found
By the will of Allah, within a few weeks a building came our way, it was a church building. At the viewing, the first impression was one of awe and joy. A very good building with all the extras we would need for our little ones had been found in a fantastic area in Bradford. After strategic negotiations we put in an offer and the owners of the church accepted our bid, it was the highest bid tabled and matched their asking price. The brothers shared their experience with the community and a major online campaign began to try and acquire the 275,000 pound asking price.
By Allah the whole community was shocked at the floodgate of support that opened from around the world. We received from pennies to pounds, 1 pound, 10 pounds, 100 pounds, 500 pounds, 1000 pounds, 2000 pounds and even a one off donations of 10,000 pounds. Also, may Allah bless the sister in this life and the next for donating her real gold jewellery in aiding the masjid project. She has indeed become an example in todays age, and not to forget the Manchester sisters and brothers in their zeal to aid the masjid with their barbecue meal and bazaar. Last but not least, the sisters in Bradford and Cardiff who put weeks of effort and hard work for their successful bazaars. It was indeed spectacular and an amazing experience seeing the generosity of our brothers and sisters. Donations came from America, Canada, UK, Saudi Arabia, France, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Holland, Germany, UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, India and many other countries. The donations made everyone at Albaseerah truly believe that what started as a dream was quickly turning into a reality. There are many more people who made major sacrifices and May Allah reward every single one of them with the best of rewards.
A Dream Shattered
Money was coming in and everything was going fine. But as time was passing, we were concerned at the pace at which the purchase process was developing. One of the brothers drove past the church building only to realise that the For Sale sign had come down. Surely something was wrong but it was 6pm and the office of the estate agents was closed. A night of anxiety followed but the hope in Allahıs aid was never lost.
The following morning a phone call was made to the estate agents and to our complete shock we were informed that the church owners had decided to sell the building to another group of Christians of a different denomination. In addition we found out that this new offer was less than our offer (270,000 pounds) and this Christian organisation had been given a 1 year period to make the payment even though our offer was a cash offer.
A meeting was quickly conducted by the brothers and in line with our strong commitment to transparency we decided to inform the world immediately as to what had happened. We received tearful phone calls and words of support from many people. We were constantly reminded to be patient and that success is close. Indeed we remained patient and were certain that Allah is with the Believers.
A few weeks went by and things started to slow down but donations were still trickling in. We still tried to pursue the church building as we truly felt we were wronged. We contacted the Charity Commission and the Human Rights Commission but did not get too far. We eventually accepted that any further efforts were of little benefit. Days of searching continued to find an alternative building but it came to nothing.
A Breakthrough
Just as the reality of a project collapse was settling in, Allah Subhanu Wa Taıala turned the affair overnight and a new building was located just up the road from the church. Phone calls were made and excitement began generating again but this time with caution. A viewing was arranged.
The brothers were pleased with the building. The building was valued at 450,000 pounds but was on the market for 375,000 pounds. We knew that we could not get hold of that kind of money so decided to place an offer of 287,000 pounds. Our negotiations were based upon the fact that it would be a cash offer and we would complete purchase within 14 days. After Jumuah we sat in the office and the phone call came from the owners of the Doctors surgery. Our offer had been accepted but with the condition that we must complete within 14 days. If we went over by one day the price would rise to 300,000 pounds.
There was very little time and so we started another online campaign to raise the money. The response this time was not as strong as previously but still good. Thousands of pounds of donations came through. As the deadline was drawing close we became concerned as we were very far from the figure and there was a lot of money to raise. Alhamdulillah some brothers came our way and we accepted a large amount of loan from them. We clearly felt that it would be detrimental if the project was to collapse at such an advanced stage.
On the 24th September, by the enormous Mercy of Allah, we completed the purchase of the new building located at 3 Paternoster Lane in Bradford. There was joy and happiness for everyone who was involved in this project. May Allah make it heavy on the scales of everyone who contributed, be it in Dua, wealth or manpower.
What Happens Now
This is where the story turns and the reality unfolds itself. As we mentioned, we took out a 135,000 pound loan from a variety of people and organisations. All the loans must be paid back within 2 years with some having a deadline date of 6 months. There were some concerns within the community regarding the high loan ratio prior to completion of the purchase. All the views and comments were taken on board but after seeking counsel, having daily meetings and making istikharah we still decided that the overall harm of not purchasing the building outweighed the concerns. We asked Allahs guidance and today we have a building. So we take from this that this building will InshaAllah be good for the community of Bradford as well as the community around the country and the world.
What we need now is your continued support. 135,000 pounds is a lot of money for a small community of Bradford but not a great amount for a global community. We therefore ask the help of everyone to pay these loans off. For indeed Whoever builds a Masjid for Allah, Allah will Build for him a similar House in Paradise. (Bukhari & Muslim)
Albaseerah Bradford has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years to call the people to the Sunnah. We want to firmly establish this Masjid and School so that it becomes a beacon of light for the Muslims in the UK. We ask Allah for aid and well-being.
We dont want to give anyone the impression that a Masjid and School will be built overnight. We have seen many organisations around the world struggle, become divided and sometimes collapse due to extreme pressure coupled with poor planning and structure. We donıt want to fall victim to the same thing. We are therefore committed to taking things one step at a time and let things develop rather than starting everything in one go. Our priority is therefore to pay the loans off.
Currently we are moving our weekly Islamic circles to the new location and also establishing a Quran School and weekend school for children. We have decided not to open the Masjid immediately for one important reason:
We do not want to open the Masjid and fall in a difficult situation where the loans are not being paid off and the people who loaned us money need their money back. Selling the building will always remain a final worst case scenario option. Also if we open a Masjid then there are Shariah implications to the actual permissibility of selling a Masjid.
Our website will be updated regularly with the latest loan figures. We plea to our brothers and sisters in helping us to pay these loans off as soon as possible so that we can then continue building the infrastructure. With the help of Allah first, then our brothers and sisters, our dream of opening the masjid will become a reality soon InshaAllah. We want to highlight though that if we are not able to pay off the loans soon, we can find ourselves in a difficult situation and Allahs help is sought.
Jazakumullahu Khair for taking the time out to read this.
WassalamuAlaikum Wa Rahmatullah
From the Brothers & Sisters at Albaseerah
PLEASE VISIT WWW.ALBASEERAH.COM TO DONATE NOW!
|
|
albaseerah.com
21-10-2010 @ 8:18 PM
