Bradford. When I was younger I remember Bradford City FC being in the Premier League, since then I'd associate it with the likes of Shaykh Ahmad Ali (Hafizahullah) whose heart wrenching lectures had inspired thousands of people to find their path back to Allah. I also remember the Al-Mu'min Magazine, the editor of whom is Mufti Saiful Islam, who has written a few books too.
For a while, we wanted to go Bradford to see relatives from the in-laws side. I have only been once to Bradford, as a stopover to pray Salah on the way to Keighly.
We had pre-booked the 10:48am train from London's King's Cross to Bradford Interchange, via the Train Line app. It's a handy app for trains and coaches as we have the Two Together card so we get discount too. We had reached King's Cross about 30 minutes before the departure, so we walked around the station. It was raining very heavily outside. Harry Potter was filmed here and the famous 9 3/4 wall is now a tourist hotspot, where people queue up to take photos of a trolley that seems to be stuck in the walls!
Our train was waiting for us on the platform. The Grand Central. It's the first time I took this train. Quite nice and new, compared to the older trains I've used. We had reserved our seats whilst booking the tickets. The train set off on time and we marvelled at the different scenery outside the train. I had read a small portion of the book Love for Allah by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad (Hafizahullah). It is an incredible book!
On our way, we saw a Quality Street factory; we were both excited! We reached Bradford at around 13:35. We had booked a hotel, to stay for one night; however since check in time was not until 4pm, we decided to explore the local area. First stop though, we went to Bradford Central Masjid to pray Zuhr. The Masjid looked beautiful from the outside. The domes were slightly similar in style to Ottoman domes.
When we got there, Jamat had already started. I asked a brother where the women's entrance was and he said the Masjid is gents only. I was bitterly disappointed. A massive Masjid with empty halls and rooms but no space for women. I reckon if I had asked the Imam, wife may have been given some space to pray. She had to wait 3 hours till she was able to pray Zuhr in the comfort of the hotel room.
We decided to grab lunch and went to a place called The Noodle Sing, a Chinese restaurant which is HMC Certified. It was a nice place, delicious food and great service. We didn't order too much but we had to try their new Bao Burger. It is a new addition to their menu. A piece of chicken fillet in a Bao bun. It was nice and hot! My mouth was kind of burning!
We then went to check in to the hotel. Although our check-in time was at 4pm, due to shortage of staff and a hotel being unorganised, we ended up getting a room at 5:30pm. After checking into Premier Inn, we freshened up and then immediately made our way to the relatives house, the main reason we came to Bradford. We hailed a taxi and made our way. First we stopped over at the local Indian sweet shop and bought some mishti (mitai).
Alhamdulillah it was lovely seeing the relatives. The hospitality was filled with extreme generosity. They done so much for us and went out of their way to ensure we had a comfortable time. It is always a bonus to have relatives who are religious, but more so a family with scholars. Everyone I met were very kind and welcoming.
Although I've heard the Bradford accent before, it was quite funny hearing it in person especially from the children! Alhamdulillah I didn't pick it up although I did put it on sometimes to speak to the kids!
The next day we checked out of our hotel and headed back to the relatives house. We wanted to have breakfast at a local Asian food place, however our relatives insisted we go to their house instead. Alhamdulillah it was a good move. We were treated to homemade Shakshuka, Paratha, fried eggs and curried beans along with croissants and a lovely cup of tea.
One of our relatives is an Imam, so I accompanied him to his Masjid for Zuhr. I felt awkward walking into the Masjid with the Imam as people often think you're someone special, so kind of makes me feel shy.
After Salah we came back, said our goodbyes and headed towards the station. We really appreciated meeting the relatives and the hospitality they showed us.
On our way to the station we popped into a Palestinian bakery and grocery. They made freshly baked bread with toppings such as Za'tar, sesame seeds etc. We bought some to take back home. We looked around the different roads and buildings. The building architecture are beautiful, some from the 17th and 18th century.
For lunch we popped into Frankies, a HMC burger and grill restaurant. We shared a Angus Burger meal and Chicken Salad. Service was great and so was the food.
We reached the Bradford Interchange Station and wife needed the bathroom. It costs 20p to use the facilities, however a kind station worker let us use it for free! SubhanAllah. We then jumped on the train. There was a change that we had to make at Leeds. Here in Leeds, some youngsters decided to misbehave and delayed the train by 20minutes. Police and security had to be called to escort them out.
Alhadmulillah we reached home. Thanks for reading!
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