Published on Jan 28 2010 by Haroon Khan - Regional Nazim Atfal (Midlands)

ATFAL TARBIYYAT FORUM REPORT (Midlands)

On Sunday 20^th December 2009, Majlis Atfalul Ahmadiyya Midlands, by the Grace of Allah, held its first major event of the year. The Atfal Tarbiyyat Day was held for all Atfal in the region at the Darul Barakaat Mosque in Birmingham. The event was, Alhamdulillah, a great success in the opinion of both Atfal and the management.

Prior to the day itself, Regional Nazim Atfal, Haroon Khan, event planner Asif Abdul and Regional Motamid Atfal, Salman Ahmad, had an informal meeting in which the whole day was planned. This included planning the bowling trip for the Atfal, food and refreshments and a vigorous attendance campaign. With a Midlands Atfal Tajneed of just over 100, we aimed to get more than half of the Tajneed attendance.

Unfortunately the weather forecast prior to the event was worrying to say the least with snow predicted. The actual day of the event saw snow falling in the early hours of the morning making road conditions very dangerous. However, by the Grace of Allah, we still had 40 Atfal attend the event with three parents and five Nazimeen Atfal from the region.

Due to the weather conditions we had to start approximately 45 minutes late. The event began with the usual proceedings including Tilawat and Pledge. We then concluded the introductory session with a few words by Regional Murabbi Atfal, Syed Raheel Zakaria Sahib, who stressed the importance of such events embracing the unity and brotherhood throughout Atfalul Ahmadiyya. This was then followed by a few words on the plan of the day and etiquettes to be observed by Haroon as well as the region's plans for Atfalul Ahmadiyya Midlands.

The Atfal were then split into two age groups – 7-11 and 12-15 - and were moved to two separate rooms. Both rooms would be having the same workshops but with Haroon taking one group and Asif the other. There were two workshops planned; one was regarding Christmas and Hadhrat Isa (as) and the second was about Internet Safety. Masha'Allah the workshops ran smoothly in both rooms with good behaviour and participation from the Atfal. Many of the Atfal said to have found the information very useful which certainly opened a number of questions from them. We then had a small break for refreshments for all the Atfal.

The Atfal then broke for combined Zuhr and Asr prayers and then had lunch with the Khuddam. Thereafter, we utilised some Khuddam including the Nazimeen Atfal and Regional Majlis-a-Amila to aid in transporting the Atfal to ‘Star City’ where they we all took place in a game of bowling. The cost of this was £5 for each Atfal and the money was collected prior to departure. Masha’Allah this was a very enjoyable experience for the Atfal and also for some of the Nazimeen Atfal, Khuddam and parents who joined in the fun.

When bowling was finished we returned to the Mosque for the final session. We had a few words from Regional Missionary, Mualana Abdul Ghaffar Sahib and Regional Qaid, Bilal Bhatti, followed by a Q&A session. The day was concluded with silent prayer.

Alhamdulillah the feedback from the Atfal was very positive and we had no major issues throughout the day. The Atfal can’t wait until the next event and we intend to hold such an event again in the next quarter, insha'Allah. We pray that Allah blesses us and allows future events to be even more successful, Ameen.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the organisers who aided with the event, Regional Murabbi Atfal, Raheel Sahib, who graced us with his attendance and overall the regional administration who helped us with the planning and execution of the event. May Allah reward all of our efforts and bless Atfalul Ahmadiyya, Ameen.