Yumna Iqbal

The 2025 Grand Iftar event (left) organised by Mubarak Moments also took place at Stadium MK (right), home of the MK Dons football club. Photographs by Reminisce UK, courtesy of Mubarak Moments Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and champion boxer Adam Azim will be among celebrity guests at one of the UK’s largest ever iftars later this month, with 2,500 people expected at the event in Milton Keynes. The Grand Iftar takes place at the Stadium MK — home of the MK Dons football club — on 28 February.

The word ‘halaqa’ literally translates to circle. This is the essence of what it is: circles of learning, a place where Muslims come together to seek knowledge and gain spiritual rejuvenation. It is a tradition that stems from the beginning of Islam 1400 years ago, when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would gather the early Muslims in Makkah at Dar al Arqam. This was the house of Abu Abdullah Arqam, wherein all the Muslims would gather to seek knowledge in secret, before the public announcement of Islam.