“A single day of giving can inspire a lifetime of change.” – Los Angeles Sentinel

On Sunday, March sixteenth, 2025, Ilm Basis hosted its twenty fifth annual Humanitarian Day (HDAY), an occasion devoted to aiding the underserved of Los Angeles. Held at Gladys Park in Skid Row, sponsors, distributors and volunteers gathered to supply important gadgets, in addition to eye, dental and well being screenings, to these in want.

Humanitarian Day was based on the Islamic precept of service – serving to others with dignity and compassion. Recognizing the struggles of these in poverty and the underserved, founders Imam Saadiq Saafir and Naim Shah Jr created Ilm Basis, a company birthed in faith-based activism.

Their mission extends past giving – it’s about empowerment, inspiring management by service and growing help techniques to empower the ignored. By bringing collectively Muslims and non-Muslims alike, HDAY transforms “a single day of giving right into a motion,” embodying the notion that true management is measured by the individuals we uplift.

“Earlier than Humanitarian Day, Ilm Basis and Dawah 2000 (based by Naim Shah Jr) steadily fed the homeless in Downtown Los Angeles and had hosted two profitable Skid Row Ramadan Feedings,” stated Naim Shah Jr. “After the tragedy of 9/11, the Muslim group confronted unprecedented backlash. On the similar time, a lot of our activism was directed abroad, typically overlooking the wants inside our personal communities.”

These Ramadan feedings laid the groundwork for Humanitarian Day, which started throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. To realize their mission of being “Rooted in Service, Powered by Religion,” the Coalition to Protect Human Dignity (CPHD) was fashioned, uniting volunteers, sponsors, and organizations below a shared mission.

“Humanitarian Day expanded the scope of our earlier Ramadan feedings to incorporate an extended checklist of day by day necessities and well being screenings,” Shah defined. “The volunteer base grew from a handful of organizations in Los Angeles to over 20 throughout Southern California. Nothing like this had ever been coordinated earlier than.”

Among the many early individuals have been Masjid Ibadullah, UMMA Clinic, Dawah 2000, Concord Bites, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the Will and Jada Smith Household Basis, Islamic Aid, and others.

Immediately, Humanitarian Day has developed past a single day of service throughout the holy month of Ramadan right into a multi-generational motion. “It has turn into a transformative expertise that builds relationships on a deeper degree,” stated Shah. “What begins as a one-day effort typically turns into a lifelong mission for a lot of concerned.”

Past Los Angeles, the twenty fifth Ramadan HDAY prolonged its attain to cities together with Pasadena, Pomona, Oakland, Fresno, Las Vegas, and Atlanta, demonstrating a nationwide dedication to humanitarian service throughout Ramadan. The Ilm Basis additionally launched the “25 for 25” nationwide marketing campaign, encouraging Muslim communities throughout the nation to host their very own HDAY occasions, reinforcing the collective effort to serve these in want.

This 12 months’s HDAY was made potential by the efforts of quite a few distributors and group companions, together with:

– Hearts of Mercy Basis (food and drinks)

– Penny Enchantment USA (baggage and t-shirts)

– Cease the Violence Enhance the Peace Basis (group ambassadors and socks)

– Eid LA (kids’s toys)

– Masjid Al Shareef (footwear and female hygiene gadgets)

– Islamic Heart of Hawthorne (backpacks)

– Orange County Islamic Basis (hygiene kits)

– Muslim Chaplains (group engagement)

– Dr. Mansour Eye Care Group (eye screenings)

– Trojan Support (well being and dental screenings)

Undertaking Supervisor and Host Hanif Madyun mirrored on Skid Row’s altering circumstances. “It’s harsher than once I first began – extra crowded – and whereas companies have improved, they nonetheless haven’t caught as much as the wants.”

However amidst the challenges, moments of transformation have stood out to him, reflecting the regular progress occurring due to HDAY and Ilm Basis’s steady work. “About ten years in the past, I acknowledged somebody from my neighborhood in line to obtain items. Three years later, that very same particular person returned in significantly better situation – this time as a volunteer.”

Naim Shah Jr mirrored, “What I felt everybody skilled this present day is what the Quran calls ٓوا’ َرفُ اَعَلتِ ‌ۚ ‘in 49:13 – ‘that ye might know one another (not that ye might despise one another).’”

Humanitarian Day was birthed from Islam’s core rules – group service, giving, encouraging acts of generosity and management by compassion. What started as a neighborhood feeding effort has turn into a nationwide motion, proving that “a single day of giving can encourage a lifetime of change.”