Grand Iftar 1432H

2 weeks ago (14th Ramadhan 1432H), we (Malaysians Muslim in Fukuoka) were assigned to prepare the food for the Grand Iftar organized by Al Nour Islamic Culture Center at Fukuoka Masjid, Hakozaki-shi, Fukuoka. Every Sunday, one Muslim community in Fukuoka will support a grand iftar for all.



Menu for the grand iftar were Nasi Jagung, Kurma daging, Ayam berempah, salad, Cake, Pudding, and dates. Since we have to prepare food for 400 persons, every family were assigned to several menu to cook. As for me, I have to cook 30 pots of Nasi Jagung, imagine that!. Although I come from big family but cooking for other people in this big amount makes me nervous. Thus explained the chaos you see in these pictures.

+- dapur bersepah masa kelam kabut memasak -+

I got into a bit of hassles a couple of times during the cooking process such as nasi mentah, tak cukup periuk nasi, SN nak berdukung saja and yada yada. Nevertheless, with Allah's helps I managed to finish cooking on time. Then, we proceed to Masjid Fukuoka for Zuhr prayer and started packing the foods into 2 bento-packaging, 1 for desserts and 1 for main course.

During the previous years, only the guys were doing the packing. But for this years, everyone took parts during the packing session thus making the process efficient and much more faster. By 3 p.m; we are done with packing the foods.

+- kaum lelaki yang isi nasi, sambil telan air liur tanda terliur -+


+- mem besar buat kerja sambil duduk sebab ada budak kecik yang manja datang bertenggek nak beriba -+

While waiting for the parents to finish packing, the kids finds their own way to entertain themselves. Though I brought along SN's jigsaw puzzles to play with, I guess these kids prefer doing their own 'activities'.

+- aktiviti anak2 masa mak bapak busy membungkus -+

Pudding + cakes + dates were served right before the Maghrib azan. After Maghrib prayer, nasi jagung + ayam berempah + kurma daging + salad were served to everyone.

Alhamdulillah, the foods that we prepared were enough for everyone and some can even brought it home with them to eat for after Taraweeh or even for sahur.

Rasulullah s.a.w sentiasa menggalakkan untuk menyediakan makanan kepada orang yang berpuasa. Baginda bersabda ; "Barangsiapa menyediakan makanan kepada orang yang berpuasa maka baginya pahala seperti pahala orang yang berpuasa dengan tidak sedikit pun kurang dari pahala orang yang berpuasa itu" [riwayat Turmizi, kitab puasa, bab kelebihan menyediakan makanan kepada orang yang berpuasa, (Hadis 807). Berkata Imam Turmizi ; Hadis Hasan sahih].


In a Hadeeth (narration) on the authority of Zayd ibn Khaalid Al-Juhani may Allaah be pleased with him he said that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast will have a reward like his without decreasing his reward in the slightest way.” [At-Tirmithi: Hasan Saheeh and At-Tabaraani & Abdul-Razzaaq].

Despite the fact that it's quite tiring to prepare the foods in the first place, looking at the happiness in some of the faces making us feels satisfied and it enlighten our day thus eliminate the tiredness away.

+- sebahagian komuniti Muslimah di Fukuoka -+

+- anak siapa yang main belakang langsir masa mak dia busy makan tu?. bagus betul, pandai jaga diri masa mommy dia 'sibuk' -+

Thank you to those involved during this Grand Iftar preparation for making this Grand Iftar a great success.

+- geng Hakozaki-Malaysia -+

+- sebahagian kaum lelaki Muslim Malaysia di Fukuoka -+

+- menunggu azan Maghrib dengan sabar sambil posing sedas dua -+

May all of us still be granted to meet Ramadhan again next year, and may we be given the chance to prepare foods for Grand Iftar again next year..Insya Allah.


Psssssssssttt : semakin hujung-hujung puasa ni, semakin tak ada idea nak masak apa untuk sahur dan berbuka.

Photo credit: Azli-san and Kak Liza

~ Thanks for reading this (^-*) ~