All set for Swalat Nagar prayer congregation

Days of prayer: Ma’dinu Ssaquafathil Islamiyya chairman Sayed Ibrahim Khaleel Bukhari leading a prayer at the Ma’din Grand Mosque at Swalat Nagar, near Malappuram, on Tuesday.

MALAPPURAM: The annual mega Swalat prayer meeting under the aegis of Ma’dinu Ssaquafathil Islamiyya will be held at Swalat Nagar, near here, on Wednesday night. The congregation is expected to coincide with Lailathul Qadr, the holiest night for Muslims.

Ma’din chairman Sayed Ibrahim Khaleel Bukhari said here on Tuesday that this year’s event would send the message of returning to the fundamentals of love and respect to the elders.

Addressing a class after mid-day prayers at the Ma’din Grand Masjid, Mr. Bukhari said that love and respect to parents, teachers, and elders were the cardinal elements on which any meaningful society could be erected.

“It should be ‘I am okay, you’re okay’ principle, and not ‘I am not okay, you’re not okay’ principle,” he said. “The latter is the principle followed by terrorists. Any good civil society should have respect and regard for its elders.”

District Collector M.C. Mohandas inaugurated the distribution of Id kits to the visually challenged at a function held on the Ma’din campus on Monday. Mr. Bukhari presided.

Tens of thousands of people, including women, are expected to attend the congregation, which will be arguably the largest Muslim gathering outside Makkah and Medina during the holy month of Ramzan.

Ten grounds have been prepared to accommodate the faithful, six of them for women. The organisers said elaborate parking arrangements had been made.

Vehicular traffic will be diverted in Malappuram from evening.

Vehicles from the Perinthalmanna side will be diverted from Tirurkad, via Anakkayam. Vehicles from Kozhikode will be diverted from Valluvamburam, via Manjeri and Anakkayam.

A strong police force, led by Superintendent of Police M. Patmanabhan, will be put on duty to regulate the flow of people. Medical aid and emergency facilities will be kept ready.

Nearly one lakh food packets will be made available at a mass Iftar on Wednesday. The organisers said it would be the largest mass Iftar in the country.

Over 1.5 lakh food packets will be distributed for dinner during the prayer. “We are trying to reach the people who come from distant places with the food for Iftar and dinner,” said Umer Melmuri, media coordinator of the organisation.

The programme will begin with an afternoon sermon, followed by the Iftar and Magrib prayers. There will be a mass Janaza prayer, Tharaveeh, Thasbeeh, and Awwabeen prayers, apart from the mandatory prayers.

Sayed Abdurahman Al Bukhari, president of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, will inaugurate the prayer meet around 9.30 p.m. He will lead the Swalat prayers.