Our story & mission
A masjid built by a community, for a community — rooted in authentic scholarship and open to everyone.
From a shared need to a shared home
For years, the Muslims of northeast Rochester prayed and gathered wherever space allowed. In March 2023, that changed. Our community came together and purchased a 16,000 square foot property on Joseph Avenue — a permanent home with room to worship, teach and grow.
We opened our doors in Ramadan 2023. Since then, Hidayah Community Center has offered five daily prayers in congregation, Friday and Taraweeh prayers, daily Qur'anic tafsir, evening classes for children and adults, and community iftars that fill the hall with families.
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Our mission
To be a house of Allah where worship is established, the Qur'an is taught, and the Muslims of Rochester find guidance, knowledge and belonging.
Our vision
A thriving, self-sustaining center — free of debt — that raises confident Muslims grounded in faith and connected to their community.
Our values
Sincerity, authentic knowledge, service, and open doors — everyone is welcome, whatever their background or where they are in their journey.
Built on the vision of a trusted scholar
Hidayah Community Center was established on the vision of Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Ismail Memon Madani (raḥimahullāh) — a scholar trained in the classical Islamic sciences who founded Darul Uloom Al-Madania in Buffalo, New York, and Darul Uloom Canada in Ontario.
That connection means our teaching follows a clear, reliable path. Families who know and trust these institutions — including online programs like eAlim — will find the same commitment to authentic knowledge here in Rochester.
- Darul Uloom Al-Madania — Buffalo, New York
- Darul Uloom Canada — Ontario
- eAlim Online — alimiyyah-style learning at a distance