Masjid E ValiMy First Mosque Visit
A simple, visual-based activity sheet focusing on shapes, colours, and spotting key features of the Masjid. Includes a colouring section to complete back at school or home.
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Schools, colleges and community groups
Masjid E Vali welcomes educational visits from schools, colleges and other interested groups or organisations. Visits support Religious Education, SMSC development, and understanding of faith and community life. All visits must be requested in advance and are subject to availability and Masjid approval.
The walk — six chapters
This is the building in the order you would walk it: off the road, through the courtyard, out of your shoes, into the main hall, under the dome, and along the corridor that explains itself.
Chapter one
Masjid E Vali stands on Preston New Road — the A674, one of the main routes into Blackburn town centre, and easily reached from junction 4 of the M65. Several bus routes pass along the road, and Blackburn station is about a mile and a half away.
Groups arrive at the main entrance. There is free on-site parking in the mosque car park, entered from Preston New Road, with overflow parking on the surrounding streets.
Please park considerately and avoid blocking residential driveways.
Chapter two
Before the building there is a courtyard. An arcade of pointed arches runs the whole way round, and in the middle an eight-point star is cut in stone, lit from beneath, with water in it.
The same arch profile is used throughout the site, and this is the easiest place to see it whole.
Entered from the car park, off Preston New Road.
Chapter three
Shoes come off on entry and go on the shoe racks provided. Bags are left in the designated areas, as staff and volunteers direct, and phones go on silent.
Beyond the lobby are the ablution facilities, where people wash before prayer — marble stations with brass taps set beneath carved arches.
Group leaders sign the Visitors Record Book on arrival.
Chapter four
The grand prayer hall sits under the dome, carpeted in lines so that everyone stands the same distance apart, shoulder to shoulder, facing the same way.
The niche in the far wall — the miḥrāb — marks the direction of prayer. There is a dedicated women’s prayer area, and classrooms and multipurpose rooms elsewhere in the building.
Speak quietly, and respect worshippers and any activity taking place. No food or drink in the prayer halls.
Chapter five
The ring of gold around the dome is not decoration. It is calligraphy, running the full circumference above a band of clerestory windows.
At the centre is the same eight-point star as the fountain outside and the inlay in the corridor floor. The building repeats its geometry on purpose, and once a group has noticed that, they notice nothing else for ten minutes.
Best seen from the centre of the hall, looking straight up.
Chapter six
Arabic calligraphy in a mosque is not ornament with words hidden inside it. It is words, given the best surface in the building.
Roundels face each other down the length of the corridor, a tall gold panel stands by the door of the main hall, and the eight-point star turns up once more underfoot.
Photography inside the Masjid is only permitted with prior permission.
What happens
No two visits are identical — a Year 5 class and a group of trustees want different things — but every visit is arranged the same way, in advance, through the form on this page.
Three steps
Complete the visit request form on this page. It asks for your organisation and contact details, the size and age range of your group, the dates that would suit, and what you would like the visit to cover.
Requests are reviewed by the Masjid team. All visits must be agreed and arranged in advance and are subject to availability and Masjid approval.
You will receive a response within 3–5 working days, in shā’ Allāh. If you would like to add anything to your request, email visits@masjidevali.com.
Schools and colleges
Visits support Religious Education, SMSC development, and understanding of faith and community life. Tell us the curriculum link on the form and we will take it into account.
Groups and organisations
Masjid E Vali welcomes educational visits from other interested groups and organisations as well as schools and colleges. The same request form covers all of them.
Safeguarding
Group leaders brief everyone coming with them before the visit, and children must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. The form asks for your safeguarding lead.
For the person filling in the paperwork: all volunteers are subject to an Enhanced DBS Disclosure Check (if not already held) via the Masjid office. On arrival the group leader signs the Visitors Record Book, and visitors are given first aid and emergency evacuation information along with the name of the designated Fire Marshall.
Before you come
Masjid-e-Vali is the House of Allah and a place of worship. Visitors are asked to observe modesty, cleanliness and respectful conduct throughout. None of this is a test; if you get something wrong, somebody will quietly help you out.
What to wear
Modest clothing is required of every visitor: arms and legs covered, no singlet vests or shorts.
Shoes
Remove shoes upon entering and place them on the shoe racks provided.
Inside the building
Supervision
Photography
Photography inside the Masjid is only permitted with prior permission. Commercial photography and videography are not permitted.
Parking
Free on-site parking is available in the mosque car park, accessible from the main entrance on Preston New Road, with additional overflow parking on the surrounding streets.
Worksheets and guides
To help you get the most out of your visit, we have curated activity sheets and guides tailored to specific age groups and learning needs.
A simple, visual-based activity sheet focusing on shapes, colours, and spotting key features of the Masjid. Includes a colouring section to complete back at school or home.
An interactive ‘I-Spy’ style worksheet that encourages children to observe their surroundings, identify features like the Minaret and Dome, and practise simple Arabic greetings.
A comprehensive guide covering the functions of the Mosque, the Five Pillars of Islam, and the significance of the Mihrab and Qibla. Includes quiz questions to answer during the tour.
A structured workbook designed to support Religious Education (RE) and Citizenship curriculums. Topics include the role of the Masjid in modern Britain, Islamic theology, and architectural symbolism.
A clear, accessible guide using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) symbols and simplified text. This resource identifies quiet zones and sensory-friendly areas to ensure a comfortable visit for everyone.
A self-guided tour leaflet providing historical context, details on the Masjid's sustainable architecture, and an overview of daily prayers and community services.
Printing requirement. Email visits@masjidevali.com to request the worksheets for your group. Masjid-e-Vali does not provide printed copies. It is the full responsibility of the school or organisation to print and bring the necessary number of worksheets for your group on the day of the visit.
Note. Teachers and group leaders are welcome to adapt these resources to fit specific learning modules. Answer keys are available upon request for educators.
The policy
Masjid-e-Vali is the House of Allah and a place of worship. Visitors are expected to observe modesty, cleanliness, and respectful conduct at all times. All educational and group visits must be arranged in advance and visitors must follow Masjid rules and guidance.
Date created: 6 January 2026. Review date: 31 December 2028.
In full
Every section of the policy as it stands. Group leaders are asked to brief everyone coming with them before the visit.
The Masjid E Vali Team (MVT) will ensure that all visitors are afforded a warm, friendly and professional welcome to the Masjid, whatever the purpose of their visit. Masjid E Vali has a legal duty of care for the health, safety, security and wellbeing of all staff, volunteers, congregants and visitors to the Masjid.
In performing this duty, the MVT recognises that there can be no complacency with regards to health & safety and site security. Masjid E Vali therefore requires that all visitors (without exception) comply with this policy and procedures. Failure to do so may result in the visitor being escorted off the Masjid E Vali site.
To safeguard all visitors during organised visits to include any activities, programmes, and workshops agreed by Masjid E Vali. The ultimate aim is to ensure visitors are presented with an opportunity to dispel misconceptions about Islam and experience Islamic culture and practice first hand in a warm and welcoming environment.
The MVT has overall responsibility for the effective operation of this policy and for ensuring compliance with any relevant prevailing health and safety guidance.
Masjid-e-Vali is the House of Allah and a place of worship. Visitors are expected to observe the principles of modesty, cleanliness, and purity at all times. Appropriate modest dress and respectful conduct in line with the Masjid's rules and guidelines are required.
All volunteers will be subjected to an Enhanced DBS Disclosure Check (if not already held) via the Masjid office.
Masjid E Vali retains an approved visitor list for frequent visitors/contractors undertaking work within the Masjid complex. A digital copy is maintained by the Masjid office team.
Masjid E Vali welcomes guest speakers and external agencies to enrich learning experiences. However, speakers and agencies are scrutinised to ensure they do not contradict the ethos of the Masjid or conflict with the law. Masjid E Vali does not tolerate offensive or intolerant language, or any speech that gives rise to harassment, intimidation or violence.
Five short steps, then a chance to check everything before you send it. Nothing is arranged until the Masjid team writes back to you. Fields marked * are needed.
Ready when you are
Tell us who you are and when would suit. The Masjid team will review your request and respond within 3–5 working days, in shā’ Allāh.