The community iftar is two days away. Someone thinks eighty people are coming. Someone else heard two hundred. The caterer needs a number by tonight, the sisters' side has no idea who's bringing what, and the poster went out with the wrong date on it.
And then the night arrives, the hall fills, the adhan goes, and everyone breaks their fast together. Children running between the tables. Elders who haven't seen each other since last Ramadan. New faces being welcomed in. This is the masjid at its best, and it's worth making the organising part easier so more nights like it happen.
What a masjid hosts
Most masajid run far more than they realise:
- Lectures and talks, from a weekly dars to a visiting scholar.
- Community iftars and Eid gatherings.
- Fundraising dinners and open days.
- Weekly classes for adults, sisters and youth: Arabic, Qur'an, fitness, first aid, boxing, and anything else halal your community wants to run.
- Youth programmes, trips and camps.
Each one needs the same things: people need to hear about it, you need to know who's coming, and sometimes money needs to change hands.
Get the word out
A good poster still does a lot of work. It goes on the noticeboard, the prayer hall screen and every WhatsApp group your community has. The problem is that someone has to design it, and it's usually the same person every time.
In Labbaik, you add the event details and Labbaik designs the poster for you. Share it, and the same event appears on a public event page and in your masjid's community calendar, alongside everything else that's on.
Know who's coming
Guessing numbers is how you end up with trays of leftover biryani or a queue of hungry people at the door. Registrations fix this. Even for a free event, a short booking form tells you how many to plan for, and a capacity limit stops you overbooking a hall that only fits so many.
Reminders matter just as much. People book with good intentions and then forget. A message the day before, on WhatsApp, where people actually read their messages, makes a real difference to turnout. Labbaik takes registrations, tracks capacity and sends confirmations and reminders on WhatsApp.
Free, paid or donation-based
Not every event should cost money, and not every free event has to leave the masjid out of pocket.
- Ticketed events, like a fundraising dinner, can take payment when people book.
- Free events can still invite support. In Labbaik, a free event can send an optional donation email afterwards, so people who enjoyed the evening can help fund the next one.
- Weekly classes can take bookings, limit places and collect payments, whether it's a term of sisters' fitness or a first aid course.
Payments are handled securely through Stripe and go straight to the masjid. For appeals that sit alongside an event, the guide to online donations for masajid covers the rest.
Classes for the whole community
The masjid has always been more than a place of prayer. A sisters' fitness class, a boxing session for teenage boys, a first aid course, Arabic for adults who never had the chance as children: these bring people through the door who might not come otherwise, and they keep young people close to the masjid at the age when that matters most.
Treat them like any other part of the masjid. Give them proper bookings, clear capacity and simple payments, so the volunteers running them can focus on the people, not the spreadsheet.
Online, too
Not everyone can make it in person. The elderly, new parents, people who've moved away, sisters who can't always attend. Streaming a lecture or running a class online keeps them part of it. Labbaik connects your masjid's own Zoom account, shares the right link with attendees, and publishes recordings from your own Google Drive or Dropbox so people can watch back. See online classes and events for how it works.
Bringing people together
Every event a masjid runs is a chance for someone to feel they belong. The revert who's invited to their first iftar. The teenager who comes for boxing and stays for Maghrib. The family new to the area who find their community at an open day. Connecting the ummah starts here, one evening at a time, and the less time your volunteers spend chasing numbers, the more of those evenings there can be. For the wider picture of running a masjid, see the guide to mosque management software.
Questions committees ask
How do we get an accurate headcount for a community iftar?
Take registrations instead of guessing. A simple booking page with a capacity limit tells you exactly how many to cater for, and a reminder the day before cuts down on no-shows. In Labbaik, events take registrations, track capacity and send reminders on WhatsApp.
Can we charge for some events and keep others free?
Yes. Labbaik supports both ticketed and free events. For free events there's an optional donation email afterwards, so people who enjoyed the evening can support the next one.
Can the masjid run classes that aren't religious?
Yes, and many masajid do: boxing, sisters' fitness, first aid, Arabic for adults and more. Labbaik handles bookings, limits and payments for community classes, not only religious education. Anything halal your community runs.
Can we stream lectures and classes online?
Yes. Labbaik connects your masjid's own Zoom account and shares the right link with attendees, then publishes recordings from your own Google Drive or Dropbox so people can watch back later. Labbaik doesn't store the recordings itself.