MV-07-Aug-2019.pdf - Muslim Views

Vol. 33 No. 7 DHIL-HIJJAH 1440 l AUGUST 2019

LAST YEAR WE REACHED OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE, IN 34 COUNTRIES WITH QURBANI MEAT DURING THE DAYS OF EID.

THIS YEAR, HELP US REACH MORE!

QURBANIL veL ve

A sacrifice of

WOMEN’S DAY 2019Women bear brunt of savagery

IN celebrating Women’s Month,we have moved from acknowledging the women’smarch to the Union Building, onAugust 9, to acknowledging allwomen who have borne and stillbear the brunt of the savagery ofthe oppressive apartheid state.

One of these women who havenot received the recognition theydeserve is Galiema Haron (neeSadan), the widow of as-ShaheedImam Abdullah Haron.

She is pictured below and onthe left with her son, ProfessorMuhammed Haron and daugh-ters, Shamela (left) and Fatiema.This month, we feature two arti-cles (see pp 24-25) that give us aglimpse into the lives of threewomen who were left to fend forthemselves and their childrenafter having lost their spouses tothe violence of the oppressiveapartheid state.

Photos IMAM HARON FOUNDATION

Muslim Views . August 2019 3

THIS is women’s month, and August 9is dedicated to the 20 000 women whomarched to the Union Buildings in1956 to protest against the apartheidpass laws.The celebration of women this month occurs against a backdrop of the continued marginalisation of women whoremain vulnerable to risks of violence,abuse, rape and poverty.However, this August also coincides withthe annual Hajj. There are important lessons we candraw from the significance of each ofthese events in respect of the role ofwomen.The significance of Hajar (RA) as awoman whose role in the rituals of one ofthe pillars of our faith is firmly established, remains timeless.The abandonment of the wife of aprophet in a barren desert, with an infant,is highly instructive on many levels. Allahtests His prophets with great hardshipsthat ordinary humans cannot bear.The tests of Ibrahim (AS) are recorded inthe Quran and are often invoked as asign of his extraordinary faith.However, these tests are not in isolationof other humans.In the instance of the ritual of the sa’ee, itsymbolises the great saga of a womanabandoned in a desert and running toand fro seeking help to save a crying infant.Greater than her maternal instincts tosave her son was her faith to accept theabandonment when Prophet Ibrahim leftthem. Greater than her distress over thechild’s hunger pangs was her reliance onthe mercy of Allah.The conflation of the exemplary faith of aprophet with that of his wife is momentous and ever-relevant.We are inexorably drawn to a deep

appreciation of this grand narrative thatforegrounds the faith, sacrifice and obedience of a woman of humble socialstanding who made extraordinary sacrifices by deferring to the obligationsof a man of Allah, for the sake of Allah.It is particularly significant that it is awoman – marginalised by both genderand ethnic origin – in whose footstepspilgrims, both men and women, are required to walk and run.Thus, the Hajj reminds us, year afteryear, of many such great lessons.And in some of these lessons we findparallels that are no less instructive.Imam Abdullah Haron’s killing in detention, which is now commemoratedfor fifty years, left a widow who is stillwith us at age 93.The Imam was a man of Allah, and hisdeath, through the violence of apartheidrepression left his wife to fend for herselfand her children. She maintained herfaith and her commitment to her familydespite the loss of a husband, a homeand broader social support.Hajja Galiema Haron is counted amongwomen who exemplify the vital qualitiesof faith and perseverance in the face ofextreme distress.After fifty years, the loss of the family isgradually being embraced by the broadercommunity. It is of further significancethat the fiftieth year of commemoratingthe death of the Imam also features aprogramme of commemoration that in-cludes the death of several other anti-apartheid activists who made the ultimate sacrifice.Among the lessons for us from figureslike Hajja Galiema is that Muslims needan agenda of gender justice founded onthe recognition of women for their divinely ordained physical, social andspiritual worth.

Vol. 33 No. 7 l DHIL-HIJJAH 1440 l AUGUST 2019

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The sacrifices of women mustbe foregrounded at all times 4

Stop the persecutionof women inheadgear

8

INSIDE THIS EDITION

17 Tribute toAhmedEssop

24

6

16

21Oasis bursaryawards

48Townshipfootball infull swing

FOR THE RECORDNouman Ali KhanIN our June edition, we published an article by our writer Mahmood Sanglay entitled “Nouman Ali Khan case was ‘grosslymishandled’”. The article stated that, at the time, 29 activists signeda petition calling on Masjidul Quds to rescind their invitation toNouman Ali Khan.

In the July edition, Sanglay replied to a response by a reader inwhich the latter disputed the stated number of signatories. Sanglayagain said the number of signatories at the time was 29.

This is factually incorrect. The correct number of signatories to thepetition on record at the time was 92. We apologise for this error andregret its recurrence.

Calls for Sh Zakzaky’srelease

Hajj andEid-ul-Adha

MosqueOpen Day

Galiema HaronA woman ofcourage

Muslim Views . August 20194

DR FIROZ OSMANIT is surprising that 25 years into ourdemocracy and taking immense pride inbeing told that South Africa has the most progressive constitution, women are stillregularly harassed and persecuted forwearing headgear.

The two most recent incidents reportedin the media, one that went viral on socialmedia that involved a Muslim student atOR Tambo airport on her way to CapeTown, and the other a major at the SouthAfrican Defence Force (SANDF), a forensicpathologist, who was asked to remove herheadgear after wearing it for 10 years inservice, in the same department.

A debate whether idhuku is appropriatefor television or not raged in 2016, when aneNCA reporter’s story was allegedly re-moved because the reporter wore a doek.

The South African constitution, sensitiveto our oppressive history that underminedthe dignity of the Black majority, acknowl-edges our multicultural and multi-faith so-ciety with laws that allow all South Africansto freely practise their culture and religion.

The constitution, which provides foreleven official languages, allows cutural andreligious observance in state institutions,and protects both the individual and groupright to culture, promotes inclusivity and ac-commodates difference.

Hence, it is perplexing that the practiceof women wearing head covers and veils forcultural and religious purposes as an inte-gral part across all cultures and faithsshould be an issue at all.

In Africa, the headgear is known asiduku in isiZulu, dhuku in Shona (Zim-babwe), duku in Chichewa (Malawi), gelein Yoruba (Nigeria), onderdoekie in theCape and hijab in Arabic (North Africa).Wearing a doek or covering your head holdsdeep cultural meaning and symbolism –

from showing respect to marking one’s sta-tus.

Several high-profile African women, suchas Minister and former African Union chair-person Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are nor-mally seen in headgear. Dlamini-Zuma evenlaunched a doek campaign, commemoratingWomen’s month, in 2016.

The late anti-apartheid stalwart andheroine, Winnie Mandela, Minister NalediPandor and former Speaker of the NationalAssembly, Baleka Mbete, generate excite-ment at special events with a range of dif-ferent fashion statements regarding theidhuku.

Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleafand former assassinated Pakistani primeminister, Benazir Bhutto, as well as theBangladeshi premiers don the headscarf orhijab.

Idhuku also featured prominently duringthe #FeesMustFall protests in 2015, withstudent leader Nompendulo Mkhatshwaconsistently donning a doek in variousmedia appearances. Reportedly, ‘When sherealised its impact, she began to embrace itas her crown as a young black female in aleadership position.’

Idhuku are traditionally worn by marriedZulu women, especially during religious andcultural ceremonies. The iconic Basothocone-shaped hat, or mokorotlo, depicts amountain top, symbolising the unificationof Lesotho, worn by both men and women.

The iqhiya is traditionally worn by mar-ried Xhosa women. In Xhosa culture, a newbride cannot address elders bare-headed andthus wears a black iqhiya as a sign of respecttowards her elders and in-laws – like theZulu culture, barring the doek’s colour.

In Limpopo and KwaNdebele, theamacubi is a head covering that can be inthe form of a beaded headband or a knittedcap. For a Sotho traditional wedding, in-laws give the makoti (daughter-in-law)ituku, as a sign that she has been acceptedinto their family.

One could tell from a headwrap if awoman was married, widowed, young orold. In the Nigerian Yoruba tradition, theway a gele is tied indicates whether awoman is married or not. An end leaning tothe left means she’s single and leaning to the

right means she’s married.During the US slave trade of the colonial

era, headwraps were imposed on blackwomen as a badge of enslavement by whitemasters. In this way, the head covering wasused to distinguish between black peoplewithout power from those who held it.

Regulating the dress code of the blackpopulation allowed white society to feel incontrol. Following the bloody civil war, theheadwrap quickly became a way for blackwomen to reclaim their own sense of hu-manity. What was once a simple clothmeant to reinforce the lowly status of blackAmericans is now a powerful expression ofidentity.

French and British colonisers encouragedMuslim women to remove the veil and em-ulate European women. Consequently, inNorth African and Middle Eastern coun-tries, the veil became a symbol of nationalidentity and opposition to the West duringthe struggle for independence and freedom.

In many European countries there is a de-bate about what Muslim women can wear,which has been stoked by rising anti-Mus-lim rhetoric fuelled by far-right movementsthat play on fears of insecurity and nationalidentity.

South Africans cannot, after the long andpainful struggle against the crime ofapartheid, allow our institutions to succumbto the xenophobic tendencies of aversion,fear or dislike of other cultures and beliefs.

As the case of Major Fatima Isaacs goesto court, the law must be absolutely unam-biguous in respecting all cultural practices.

The idhuku, doek or hijab should acquiresignificance as a form of self and communalidentity, and as a badge of resistance againsta colonial legacy, proudly and publiclyworn.Dr Firoz Osman is an executive memberof Media Review Network, in Johannesburg.

Stop persecution of women in headgear or idhuku

Several high-profile African women, such as Minister and former African Union chairpersonNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are normally seen inheadgear. Dlamini-Zuma even launched a doekcampaign, commemorating Women’s month, in2016. Photo SUPPLIED

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DEMAND for the release ofShaikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, leaderof the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), has grown worldwide.

The campaigners demandproper medical care for the shaikhand his wife, Zeenat, and their im-mediate release. Such medicaltreatment is only available abroad.

A 24/7 vigil outside the Niger-ian High Commission in Londonhas been underway for a week, or-ganised by the UK-based IslamicHuman Rights Organization(IHRC).

A huge protest was also heldoutside the Nigerian High Com-mission in Ottawa, the Canadiancapital, on Friday, July 19.

The rally started in front of theSaudi Embassy, one of the princi-pal sponsors of the Nigerianregime that is brutalising ShaikhZakzaky, his family and followers.

Participants then marched tothe Nigerian High Commission topress their demand for the imme-diate release and for proper med-ical treatment of Shaikh Zakzakyand his wife.

While Western regimes and in-stitutions have virtually ignoredthe plight of the activist-scholarand his wife, many academics,human rights activists and politi-cal analysts in the West havejoined the campaign for his re-lease.

Fifty Western intellectuals havecalled on UN chief, AntonioGuterres, to pressure Nigeria toimmediately release the popularleader to get emergency medicaltreatment.

‘We write to demand thatShaikh Zakzaky and his wife,Mallima Zeenat, be allowed toleave the country for urgent med-ical treatment,’ says the letter. Itfurther states that the shaikh’shealth has deteriorated in the lastfew days.

They urged the world body totake concrete action against ongo-ing violations being committedagainst scholars and rights cam-paigners by the Nigerian regime ofPresident Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari is a former military dic-tator who has now donned civiliangarb but has not given up on thebrutal ways of the military.

In December 2015, the Niger-ian military attacked the com-pound of the Islamic Movement ofNigeria, in Zaria. More than1 000 members of the IslamicMovement were gunned down incold blood, including Shaikh Za-kzaky’s three teenage sons.

The shaikh and his wife alsosuffered serious injuries in the mil-itary assault. He lost his left eyeand sustained other injuries forwhich he has not received ade-quate medical care so far.

The regime then sent in bull-dozers and demolished the entirecompound, including the Hus-seiniyya where the shaikh wouldgive dars (Islamic lessons).

The shaikh and his wife havebeen held in appalling conditionsin prison ever since, despite a fed-eral high court in Nigeria orderinghis release in December 2016.

Recent reports indicate thatShaikh Zakzaky may have beenpoisoned since dangerous levels of

lead and cadmium have beenfound in his blood. In revealingthe poisoning of his father, Mo-hammad Zakzaky, the shaikh’sonly surviving son, said his fatherneeded urgent medical attentionthat was only available abroad.

He feared his father was beingkilled through slow poisoning.

The shaikh’s lawyer said hisclient had suffered a stroke andhad not slept for nearly a week,raising further concerns about hishealth.

Shaikh Zakzaky has a long his-tory of struggle against injusticeand oppression in Nigeria. Even inhis student days, he was organis-ing mass protests. He has been inand out of prison throughout

Nigeria’s long line of military dic-tators.

The current regime’s wrath hasfallen on Shaikh Zakzaky becausehe has awakened the people ofNigeria. One manifestation of thisis the massive Quds Day ralliesheld in Nigeria.

Outside Iran, the Islamic Move-ment in Nigeria holds the largestQuds Day rallies throughout theworld.

His appeal has transcended na-tional boundaries and spread intoneighbouring West African coun-tries as well.

The shaikh’s growing popular-ity has alarmed the regime and itsbackers, primarily the Saudis andZionists. While the Saudis doleout large amounts of cash to theregime and its paid agents in Nige-ria, the Zionists have cultivated

close links with the Nigerian mili-tary. This explains why the Niger-ian regime gets away literally withmurder of innocent people.

But people of conscience are be-ginning to mobilise and demandan end to brutality and fair treat-ment of the shaikh, his wife andmembers of the Islamic Movementin Nigeria.Courtesy: Crescent International.In the latest developments, Justice Darius Khobo of KadunaState High Court has adjournedto August 5 his ruling in the bailapplication filed by Shaikh Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat.The leader of the IMN and hiswife made the bail application inorder to travel to India for medical attention. The shaikhwas not in court for the hearingdue to ill-health.

Calls for Shaikh Zakzaky’s release grow worldwide

Despite his deteriorating health, theNigerian government refuses to release Shaikh Zakzaky. Fifty Westernintellectuals have called on UN chief,Antonio Guterres, to pressure Nigeriato immediately release the popularleader to get emergency medical treatment. Photo WIKIPEDIA

Demand for the release of Shaikh Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, has grown worldwide. In July, protests were held in London and Ottowa. The couple hasbeen held in appalling conditions in prison ever since December, 2015, when theNigerian military attacked the Islamic Movement of Nigeria compound, in Zaria.

Photo WIKIPEDIA


SHAIKH SA’DULLAH KHANWHETHER we perform themanaasik/ rituals of the Hajj, likethe tawaaf, or whether we acknowledge and honour thesha’aa’ir-Allah/ symbols of Allahby running the sa’yi between Safaand Marwa, or whether we engage in qurban udhiyah/ sacrificing, we note how ritualsplay a major role in the Hajj aswell as in the festivities of Eid.

On the day of Eid, we engage inmusafahah (shaking hands) andmu’anaqah (embracing eachother). Handshaking is an ancientcustom that perhaps originated asan act to demonstrate the absenceof concealed weapons.

This gesture has universallycome to symbolise a mutual ac-knowledgment of courtesy, wel-come, respect, trust,non-confrontation and peace – allof this, collectively conveyed in asingle human gesture of the hand-shake.

When we say ‘Eid mubarak’and embrace each other, we con-dense a vast range of meaning, awide spectrum of emotion, no-tions of peaceful engagement, ex-pression of congratulation andconveyance of affection – all intothe span of a momentary act ofembracing. As pilgrims, all hujaajdress the same and circumambu-late the Kaabah in unison; Euro-pean, Asian, African and SouthAmerican; modernists and tradi-tionalists, Sunni and Shii, Salafiand Sufi, conservative and genera-tion next; old, young and the mid-dle aged; rich and poor, healthy

and sick, male and female, thereare absolutely no barriers.

Hujaaj do this without any dis-tinction and without detachmentin tawaaf, in sa’yi, on Arafah;there is no separation whatsoever.What greater demonstration ofunity could there be?

Millions of Muslims performtawaaf around the Kaabah, whichwas originally built by our histor-ical father Adam and rebuilt byNabi Ibrahim and his son, Ismail(peace be upon them).

These millions of Muslims,through this ritual, are transcend-ing geographical, linguistic, cul-tural, ethnic, colour, economic andsocial barriers. They are actuallyattesting to the universality ofIslam, and celebrate the diversityof our common humanity.

Pilgrims return home enrichedby this pluralistic and holisticmanifestation of our inter-con-nectedness and they arrive at anew appreciation for our commonorigin from Adam and Hawa, and

more aware of our being part ofthe millah of Ibrahim and theummah of Muhammad (peace beupon them).

When we reflect on the ud-hiyah/ qurbaan (sacrifice) made byboth those who are on Hajj andthose of us who are non-pilgrimsthe world over, it is a preservationand continuation of the sunnah(tradition) of Nabi Ibrahim.

Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha: rituals and beyond

WE often take for granted theimportance of hearing in ourlives, and only when you lose asense do you realise its importance.

Hearing is an important aspectof communication. It enables us tosocialise, assists with relaxationand stress relief, and it plays animportant role in warning us ofpotential danger in our surround-ings.

Loss of hearing can cause feel-ings of isolation, frustration andeven lead to depression. It can af-fect the young and old.

Come join the Hear Right teamand our suppliers for a week offree hearing testing and demon-strations of new devices that canaid hearing in various situations.Cleaning and care of hearing aidswill be taught; connections to TVand cellphones will be demon-strated. The Riverside Mall Ron-debosch branch is on the groundfloor, opposite Vitacare Pharmacy.Feel free to have your hearingtested and ask our audiologistsabout your current hearing aids,too. This opening special will runfrom Monday, August 5 to Satur-day, August 10.

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As pilgrims, all hujaaj circumambulate the Kaabah in unison, whether from Europe, Asia, Africa or South America there areabsolutely no barriers. Photo TOYER NAKIDIEN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9


OTTERY GROOTE SCHUUR KROMBOOM

It reminds us of zhibhin azim(the great act of sacrifice) thatNabi Ibrahim and Ismail werewilling to do for the sake of theAlmighty. (Quran 37:107)

The very notion of qurbaan isfrom the Arabic root ‘qurb’,meaning closeness to Allah.

The underlying message of ud-hiyah/ qurbaan (ritual slaughter) isnot that of blood atonement orseeking favour with Allah throughan animal’s death but, rather, anexpression of submission and thewillingness to share one’s posses-sions and food with fellow humanbeings.

Allah reminds us that it is nei-ther the flesh nor the blood thatreaches Allah but our piety thatreaches Him. [Surah Al-Hajj(22:37)]

We thus note that the reasonrituals matter, and why they re-main central to human activity isthat they allow humans to expressshared sentiments of meaning andvalue beyond words.

In Islam, these rituals are filledwith higher meaning which pro-vide a non-verbal communicationthat is incredibly versatile, whichallows mutual recognition of thesignificance of a particular act orthe deeper purpose of an impor-tant situation and a higher mean-ing that has spiritual significance.

Performance of these religiousacts, at prescribed times, at partic-ular places, in a specific mannerwhere each act at each place has apurpose and serves as a reminderto the mindful, a lesson to theheedful, an exhortation to thefaithful, as an instruction to thedutiful and a source of reflection

for the wise.We live in a world where we

tend to focus a lot on the superfi-cial, on the apparent, the outwardwhile the inner dimensions of ouractions and the higher purpose ofwhy we do what we do is oftenlost. The heart seems absent, andby heart I mean that confluence of

the intellect, emotion and con-sciousness.

In the Quran, the heart signifiesthe symbol of the spiritual dimen-sion of the physical self, and thatunderstanding by the heart is oftenignored: ‘And most certainly haveWe destined for hellfire many ofthe invisible beings and men who

have hearts with which they un-derstand not.’ (Surah al-A’raf7:179)

We do acts with our bodies andsay with our tongues but do we in-tend what we do with the sincerityof our hearts?

Mirza Ghalib reminded us inUrdu: ‘Sar jukhane se namaze ada

nahi hotee/ Dil jukhana parta haiibadat ke liye’

(Ritually bowing your head isnot real prostration;/ true worshiprequires the heart to be submis-sive.’)

The presence of the heart is es-sential for a higher consciousnessand as to why we do the acts andrituals that we do. ProphetMuhammad (SAW) thus empha-sised: ‘Your faith will not be cor-rect unless your heart is correct.’(Bukhari)

He often pointed to the heart asthe locus of taqwa (piety), bring-ing to our attention that the heartis the essence, the axis of goodnessand well-being within ourselves:‘Allah judges us not by our physi-cality and our appearances butrather by our deeds that emanatefrom the sincerity of heart.’ (SahihMuslim)

If the heart is heedless then ourspirituality may be defective, oursincerity questionable and theearnestness of our living in peril.

We are advised to get ready forour final accountability thus: ‘Pre-pare yourself not to be of thosewho will grieve on that Day ofResurrection, when neither yourmaterial worth nor your familystatus will benefit you; what willrather benefit is presenting your-self to Allah with a sound heart.’(Quran 26:87)

So, if we truly engage ourhearts, it will open our minds andelevate our insight, evoking ourhigher consciousness. Then, per-chance, we may really appreciatethe true value of our acts well be-yond the rituals.

Eid mubarak!Shaikh Sa’dullah Khan is theCEO of Islamia College, CapeTown

One of the rituals of Hajj is the sa’ee, which starts at Safar (pictured) and ends at Marwa. Photo TOYER NAKIDIEN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8


MAHMOOD SANGLAY‘EVEN though the dean of theSaudi university knew that I wasbusy with my thesis, I could onlydisclose that I was doing researchon hermeneutics,’ says ShaikhMahdi Hendricks, who completed his PhD on the workof the spiritual luminary popularly known as the ‘SufiSaint of the Twentieth Century’.

The Saudis impose a puritanicalpolicy of suppressing and outlaw-ing any interpretation of Islamother than that authorised byWahhabi theology. Shaikh Mahditherefore had to conceal the realtitle of his thesis because of theprevailing hostility of the Saudiregime to the diverse globaltariqah movements.

In 2013, he commenced hisPhD at University of the WesternCape (UWC) in the Department ofForeign Languages, under the su-pervision of Professor Yasien Mo-hamed. Thus, his doctoral studiesat a South African university coin-cided with his tenure as teacher ofEnglish at Saudi universities.

Technically, Shaikh Mahdi wasa migrant worker in the Saudikingdom, a place with a poorhuman rights record. The Saudisare routinely guilty, under interna-tional law, of abusing migrantworkers who endure inequalityunder Saudi law from the momentthey enter the country.

Shaikh Mahdi and his wife,Mardia, have endured much pre-judice and injustice while studyingin the kingdom. However, theyalso point out that there are many

Saudi citizens who are genuinelykind and righteous despite the ap-palling human rights abuses of thekingdom.

This broader socio-politicalcontext is also complemented by afascinating personal dimension ofShaikh Mahdi’s interest in Islamicspirituality. Shaikh Mahdi says hewas initially inspired by his uncle,

Imam Ismail Johnstone, to pursuehigher learning in Islam. He thusstudied in Madinah from 1981 to1985, and taught English at threeSaudi universities from 2011 to2018.

However, the inspiration alsocame from Sidi Alawi bendiMerad, whom he met in Madinah,in 1985. The latter, who hailed

from Oran, Algeria, was a discipleof Shaikh Al Alawi and passedaway in 2004. This encounter inMadinah also led to ShaikhMahdi’s inclination, in 1991, to-wards the Alawiyya tariqah whenhe undertook a spiritual journeyto Switzerland and Turkey. He re-turned to Cape Town upon com-pleting his doctoral research in2018.

Shaikh Mahdi was the repre-sentative (muqaddam) of thetariqah in Cape Town. The currentleader of the Alawiyya Sufi orderis Sidi Raschid Al Mansuri, also anative of Oran, Algeria, who nowresides in Cape Town.

Thus, his choice of researchtopic was naturally influenced byhis interest in the work of ShaikhAbu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Mustafaibn Al Alawi, the founder of theAlawiyya tariqah (Sufi order). TheSufi Saint of the Twentieth Cen-tury by Martin Lings, first pub-lished in 1961, is a biography ofthe shaikh.

In circa 1915, Shaikh Al Alawipublished his commentary ofSurah Najm in the Quran. For al-most a hundred years, the saint’sworks have not been the focus ofmuch attention outside of the spir-itual order. In this sense, ShaikhMahdi’s research is pioneering.

The title of his thesis is TheQuranic Sufi Hermeneutics ofShaykh Mustafa al-Alawi: A criti-cal study of his Lubab al-Ilm FiSurah al-Najm.

The thesis focuses on the origi-nal Arabic text of the saint as asample of his esoteric interpreta-tion of the Quran.

The thesis includes a translationof the saint’s exegesis on Surah al-Najm as well as relevant explana-tory notes.

There is useful comparisonwith some of the other works ofShaikh Al Alawi and with classicaland modern commentaries of theQuran. A significant objective ofShaikh Mahdi’s work is to offer‘proofs concerning the validity ofthe existence of esoteric tafsir andwhy it is needed’.

He explains the distinction be-tween esoteric and exoteric inter-pretations of the Quran, and heargues that the two approachesare not mutually exclusive. ShaikhMahdi also develops the Sufihermeneutic principles based onthe teachings of both Shaikh Al Alawi and Imam Al Ghazali.

Shaikh Al Alawi deals withQuranic allusions to scientific phe-nomena, such as the reference inSurah Anbiyaa (The Prophets) in21:30 to the creation of the uni-verse and the creation of life.Shaikh Mahdi, in six pages of histhesis, refers to the substantialtreatment by Shaikh Al Alawi ofthis verse.

In part two of this article weshow how Shaikh Al Alawi’s eso-tericism is not limited to versesthat typically lend themselves toallegory for 21:30 does not fall inthe category of ayat mutashabihat(allegorical verses).Shaikh Mahdi Hendricks gratefully acknowledges the grantfunding he received from AwqafSA in aid of the final proofreading and editing of histhesis.

The Alawiyya seed of erudition in Cape Town

Shaikh Mahdi Hendricks completed his PhD thesis on a work of the founder ofthe Alawiyya tariqah. He was also the representative of the Alawiyya tariqah inCape Town. Photo MAHMOOD SANGLAY

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NURUDEAN SSEMPAOVER 60 migrants from different African countries benefitted from a workshop organised by Muslim Refugee Association of South Africa(Mrasa), Kwesu and Islamic Relief South Africa. Kwesu is anon-profit organisation that assists migrant women in development social and financialskills.

The workshop, which tookplace on June 27, was part of theactivities to celebrate WorldRefugee Day.

Refugees should have access tomedical care, schooling and the

right to work.However, sometimes, there are

challenges in the implementationof these rights.

‘The purpose of the workshopwas to educate migrants abouttheir rights such that they canmake a meaningful contributionto the communities where theylive,’ says Patricia Mudiayi, Kwesudirector.

Each year, on June 20, theUnited Nations, United NationsHigh Commission for Refugees

(UNHCR) and countless civicgroups around the world hostWorld Refugee Day events inorder to draw the public’s atten-tion to the millions of refugees andinternally displaced personsworldwide who have been forcedto flee their homes due to war,conflict and persecution.

An unprecedented 70,8 millionpeople around the world havebeen forced from their homes.Among them are nearly 25,9 mil-lion refugees, over half of whom

are under the age of 18.According to a recent United

Nations refugee agency yearbook,the top refugee hosting countriesare Turkey with 3,7 millionrefugees, Pakistan with 1,4 millionrefugees, Uganda with 1,2 millionrefugees, Sudan with 1,1 million

refugees and Germany with 1,1 million refugees.

The report further points outthat 57 per cent of UNHCRrefugees come from Syria (6,7 mil-lion), followed by Afghanistan(2,7million) and South Sudan (2,7 million refugees).

Mrasa holds refugee rights awarenessworkshop as part of World Refugee Day

The writer, Nurudean Ssempa, addresses members of the migrant communityduring a human rights awareness workshop organised by Mrasa, Islamic ReliefSouth Africa and Kwesu, a non-profit organisation that assists migrant women indevelopment social and financial skills. Patricia Mudiayi, director and founder ofKwesu, is on the right (standing). Photo SALIM OMAR Members of the migrant community at a human rights awareness workshop

organised by Mrasa, Kwesu – a non-profit organisation that assists migrantwomen in development social and financial skills – Islamic Relief South Africaand other partners. Mrasa works with partner organisations to educate migrantsabout their rights and help them to live dignified lives. There are also millions ofstateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rightssuch as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.

Photo SALIM OMAR


RECENTLY, a video surfaced ofa passenger filming a driverreaching a speed of 322 km/h.While some voiced disapprovaland concern, for many this was amoment of awe, fascination andeven humour, especially for thedriver and passenger.

The managing director of Mas-terDrive, Eugene Herbert, saysSouth Africans should questionwhy many countries overseas havesuccessfully reduced their road fa-talities.

‘Is it simply because road safetyregulation and initiatives are bet-ter funded and penalised? While

this most definitely plays a role,there is also a stark difference be-tween attitudes toward road safetythat is often not seen here.

‘How many times have SouthAfrican drivers looked the otherway when a clearly intoxicateddriver gets behind the wheel?What about when drivers breakspeed regulation?

‘Often there is clear disregardfor laws meant to ensure roadsafety. The individuals in the videoare so blase about their actionsthat they posted it to social mediaeven though they could be arrestedfor driving at those speeds.’

Anyone who has driven in acountry with low road fatalityrates will notice the different atti-tude toward road safety.

‘Not only is there more respectfor road regulations but there isgreater public disapproval of thosewho do break the law and endan-ger others on the roads. Addition-ally, in countries like Germany,where there are no speed restric-

tions on some roads, these are en-gineered to safely allow for higherspeeds.’

Whether you share the socialmedia posts, laugh over it withfriends or are in the car encourag-ing someone to drive so recklessly,you are contributing to the dismalstate of our roads.

‘Only once we become a societythat doesn’t accept reckless driv-

ing, will we see real differences onour roads. Do not be the vesselthrough which reckless drivers areencouraged to place the safety ofothers at risk.

‘South Africans need to becomeintolerant of these drivers ratherthan the platform for them to gaintheir five minutes of fame,’ urgesHerbert.Source: MotorPress

South African attitudes to speeding contribute to road fatalities

South Africans are so blase about speeding that some drivers are not even deterred by visible speed cameras. Photo FOTOLIA

A negative attitude towards speeding in South Africa, compared to other countries, is a contributory factor to road fatalities.Photo FOTOLIA


IF you are at a night-time function and are about to gohome, you can just hop in the carand leave, right? Not quite.Night driving in South Africapresents many challenges that requires more effort to stay safethan what you might exert during the day.

The managing director of Mas-terDrive, Eugene Herbert, saysthat every driver should develop

his or her own strategy for safeand competent night driving.

‘This strategy should include aplan about how to ensure yourphysical safety, how to ensurethere are no impairments to yourvision and how to avoid a run inwith dangerous drivers.’

While you can be hijacked any-where, anytime, statistics revealthat dawn, dusk and after dark arethe highest risk periods.

‘Hijackings peak between04:00 and 08:00 and again be-tween 16:00 and 20:00. Driversshould put extra effort into antic-ipating traffic light changes and totheir surroundings when arrivinghome. This, however, doesn’t jus-tify disobeying road rules. No oneis permitted to skip a red light, ir-respective of who you are or thetime of day.’

Additionally, be sure there areno impairments to your vision, es-pecially as visibility is reduced.

‘This includes going for an an-

nual eye test to ensure there are noproblems that need rectification.Even with 20/20 vision, certaintechniques can better equip youfor night driving. The glare fromlights on bright will blind anyone,yet, flashing the oncoming driveris not the safest reaction. Educateyourself on night driving to im-prove your skills.’

Another point in your nightdriving strategy should be aware-ness of the increased likelihood ofencountering reckless drivers.

‘Nights are when you are the

most likely to encounter drunk orfatigued drivers, those avoidingthe law or drivers willing to takemore risks. For this reason, youneed to pay careful attention toyour surroundings on the road.Never cross an intersection, evenif it is your right of way, until youare 100 per cent sure oncomingcars are stopping. If you spotsomeone driving erratically, getsome space between them andyourselves. Never take risks your-self by driving recklessly.’Source: MotorPress

Night driving strategy tips

SOUTH African drivers havegained notoriety for not showingthe courtesy and respect thatemergency vehicles need.

Not only is there little effort toclear a path for these vehicles butsome drivers tail emergency vehi-cles to skip the resulting traffic.The consequences of this can befar-reaching.

The managing director of Mas-terDrive, Eugene Herbert, says at-

titudes towards emergency vehi-cles may result because of confu-sion about the correct response.

‘The first rule is to not panicwhen you hear sirens.

‘Do not stop abruptly or moveout of the way recklessly, endan-gering yourself or other roadusers.

‘Additionally, wait until you seewhere the emergency vehicle iscoming from before making your

decision about where to move.MasterDrive trains emergency ve-hicle drivers about how to indicatewhere they plan on moving.Rather, carefully assess the situa-tion before making an impulsivemove.’

There are a number of othertips to keep in mind.

‘If there is space in the yellowlane, don’t move into this as it’smeant for emergency vehicles.

Even if others block this lane,rather move to the right.

‘Never skip a red light or stopsign to make way either. Don’t im-mediately move back into yourposition in case another emer-gency vehicle is following behind.’

South African road regulationsalso state that it is illegal to notmake way for emergency vehicles.

‘Additionally, never follow be-hind an emergency vehicle thatpasses you. It requires followingthe vehicle much too closely to besafe.

‘If they suddenly stop, as islikely, there will be no way toavoid a collision.’

Another bane of South Africandrivers’ existence is the blue lightbrigade.

‘Many motorists are less in-clined to give right of way to whatthey think are politicians rushingthrough traffic. Yet, the law statesdrivers must give way to vehiclesdisplaying blue or red lights.Therefore, you are legally obli-gated to move out of the way.Source: MotorPress

How to handle flashing lights and blaring sirens



NASEEMA MALLWHEN Prophet Muhammad(SAW) sent a letter to the Christians of Najran, announcinghis prophethood and invitingthem to Islam, they responded bysetting up a delegation of religious and political leaders tovisit the Prophet (SAW) in Madinah.

He welcomed the delegation athis masjid and allowed them toperform their prayer, in the masjid– a salient example of tolerance,utilising the masjid for activitiesbeyond the prayer.

Fast forward 1 400 years, andSouth Africa’s harmonious co-ex-istence of different faiths providesthe ideal opportunity for non-Muslims to learn about Islam.

In 2016, the Durban-basedSouth African Muslim Network(Samnet) embarked on a NationalOpen Mosque Day initiative to beheld annually on September 24,Heritage Day.

Over the past few years,mosques from several countriesaround the world have been hold-ing similar events, giving non-Muslims an opportunity to askabout Islam, particularly impor-tant in an era of mass misunder-standing and the proliferation ofterror groups masquerading as‘pious Muslims’.

Samnet is calling for mosquescountrywide to participate in thisevent – those mosques that haveparticipated previously and thosethat haven’t as yet. Dr Faisal Suli-man, chairperson of Samnet, saidthat the call is for mosques to al-

locate just two hours in the after-noon – 2pm to 4pm – for theevent.

‘Samnet will undertake the ad-vertising for the mosques that willparticipate. Attendees will observeand learn about wudu, salaah, andthose mosques that have amadrasah attached will get to seewhat is being taught to students,as some perceive madrasahs asbreeding grounds for fundamen-talism and terrorism. Thereafter,there will be time for general ques-tions,’ said Suliman.

‘Over the years, a few peoplehave taken Shahadah, althoughthe event is not designed specifi-cally for the purpose of conver-sion. The main aim is to gaininsight into Islam and dispelmyths.

‘Last year, we had 20 masajidthat took part. When we started itwas just two that particpated. Thisyear, we are planning on invitingembassies, mayors, premiers andother leaders, such as police chiefs,

church leaders and school princi-pals.

‘This way we can build rela-tionships, which is important forstrengthening communities. Wehope that over the years it growsto such an extent that it will be-come part of the national psycheon Heritage Day.

‘We want the event to be in-cluded in travel brochures so thattourists can be informed about it.We are also hoping the Depart-ment of Arts and Culture will listit as one of the events taking placenationally on Heritage Day.

‘There is a lot that we have todo to correct the misrepresenta-tion and misconceptions aboutIslam. There are many ways to dothis but by inviting people to themasjid and letting them see whatactivities occur, discussing withthem face to face, allows them tosee that nothing sinister goes on inthe masjid and madrasahs.

‘This is also a wonderful way ofnetworking with the masajid.

‘We know that Islamophobia ison the increase. We know there isa right wing shift in politics inmany parts of the world,’ contin-ued Suliman.

To ensure the programme pro-gresses smoothly and not get en-tangled in controversy, Sulimansaid that Samnet has laid out aprogramme guideline. ‘This is notthe event to discuss political issuesand issues such as Palestine andKashmir. Of course those arecauses we constantly attend to butOpen Mosque Day is purely tolearn what Muslims and Islam areabout,’ explained Suliman.

Samnet is encouraging mosquesto actively market the event to thecommunities via the musalleeswho can then inform their fami-lies, friends, neighbours and workcolleagues, and for musallees tooffer to accompany attendees.

‘So far, we have received posi-tive feedback from the events. Wehave also received a letter from the

United Ulama Council of SouthAfrica (UUCSA) supporting theNational Open Mosque Day, andthey will be sending out letters totheir affiliates to encourage themto participate as well,’ said Suli-man.

In the letter, UUCSA states thatthey ‘…accordingly agree to part-ner Samnet in promoting the cam-paign. UUCSA will request all ofits affliate members to promotethe National Open Mosque Daywithin their respective constituen-cies.

‘Recent events across the globedemonstrate the importance ofreaching out ‘to the other’ in thehope of promoting healthy coexis-tence across the religious divide…In any multi-faith country, knowl-edge of self must include knowl-edge of our neighbours.’

If you have not yet registeredyour mosque to participate, con-tact Samnet on 031 207 4223 oremail [email protected]

Mosque open day an opportunity to inform about Islam

Informing guests about the basic tenets of Islam at the musallah on MusgraveRoad in Durban during last year’s National Open Mosque Day.

Photo YUSUF DESAIDuring last year’s National Open Mosque Day, after a tour of the mosque atMasjidun Nasr, in Durban, the guests were informed about the basic principles ofIslam and served with refreshments thereafter. Photo IQBAAL RANDEREE


ZAYD EBRAHIM‘WHEN reading declines, civilisation declines’ oftenlamented the author, novelist, essayist, educationist, critic andactivist Ahmed Essop. Essoppassed passed away on June 9,2019, after a brief illness andwas laid to rest in Avalon Cemetery. He was 87.

Essop was a fluid and prolificwriter whose oeuvre included fourcollections of short stories, threenovels, one biography and a seriesof essays penned over six decades.

Born in 1931, in India, the fam-ily moved to South Africa andEssop started his schooling in Jo-hannesburg.

His early literary influenceswere from the Waterfall Indian Is-lamic Institute (Mia’s Farm)where, from the age of 10, he wasintroduced to Charles Dickensand Joseph Conrad.

He lived in Fordsburg and com-pleted school in 1949, and, in1956, obtained a BA Honours,majoring in English and Philoso-phy, from University of SouthAfrica.

He married Farida in 1960 andshe remained a source of strengthand inspiration through his strug-gles and success.

His teaching career commencedin 1957, in Roodepoort, and, in1964, following his move to Lena-sia, he began teaching at NirvanaHigh School where he encoun-tered problems relating to his op-position to raising the apartheidSouth African flag celebrating in-dependence.

He was summarily seconded, inJanuary 1973, to the teachers’training college, in Fordsburg.

On October 3, 1974, Essopwas charged with insubordina-tion. He denied the charge.

In January 1975, the depart-ment wrote that he had been dis-charged in terms of section 15(2)(a) of the Indians Education Act ashe had failed to report for duty fora period exceeding one month.

After a series of transfers, helater taught at Kliptown High andSilver Oaks, in Eldorado Park.From 1986, Essop pursued fulltime writing.

In 2007, he was awarded theLiterary Lifetime AchievementAward from the South African Lit-erary Association.

Essop’s renown came from thefirst collection of short stories thathe published in 1978 – The Hajjiand Other Stories – for which hewas awarded the Olive SchreinerAward – an annual award to newand emergent talent administeredby the English Academy of SouthAfrica.

Arthur Ravenscroft, in review-ing his work, stated: ‘AhmedEssop’s fiction displays a mar-velously realised sense of placeand the ability to regard humannature, even at its most absurdlyself-centred or viciously craven, asstill worthy of some pity.’

The political texture that Essopoffered was an examination of thesocio-political connection betweenIndian identity and their ambigu-ous position and conflicting loyal-ties in both apartheid andpost-apartheid periods.

In an interview with RajendraChetty, in 1999, Essop claimedthat a diversity of factors charac-terised his fictional creativity as‘South Africa involves a complex-ity of issues, not only apartheid’.

Subtle references to the para-doxical role that Indians play inacquiring political power throughthe politics of identity featuredprominently in the Emperor,Noorjehan and Other Stories andThe Third Prophesy.

The view that Indians in SouthAfrica can be active agents ofchange is employed as a narrativestrategy utilised by Essop to cele-brate community.

Much of his writings expressedthe human element that was pre-dominant, as his writings con-veyed the hopes and aspirations ofthe Indian community in SouthAfrica.

Above all, he was praised forhis authenticity. Pahlavi Rastogi’s(2008) chapter entitled ‘Essop’sFables’: Strategic Indianness, Po-litical Occasion, and the GrandOld Man of South African IndianLiterature’ stressed that ‘Essop de-picts the amplitude of daily life inthe South African Indian commu-nity in rich, evocative, and humor-ous detail to make a politicalstatement’ and, ‘Essop’s fictiondemonstrates that Indian identitystrategically adapts to the de-mands of the moment, a fluiditythat refuses to situate.’

The short story, therefore, be-came an instrument with which hedocumented the divisions of SouthAfrican society, raised issues suchas women’s rights, Islam, mar-riage, traditions and customsalike.

Ahmed Essop is no more buthis iconic legacy remains.

His heart and home was alwaysopen.

He was a man of wisdom andextremely knowledgeable in theart of crafting a beautiful sentence.His principled analysis provided asobering diagnosis in an often tur-bulent world.

His curiosity drove him to ab-sorb, listen and delight in the in-tricacies of classic and modernliterature, which he was able toconnect in a non-didactic andunassuming manner to leave apowerful impression on a genera-tion of educators, colleagues andstudents.

His capacity to combine asharp satirical and political eyewent hand-in-hand with the pro-motion of demeaning culturalstereotypes, of sexist and racist at-titudes, and the reinforcement ofthe self-serving values of the richand powerful.

He was blessed that he couldcombine sophisticated themeswith a simplistic creativity of ex-pression that made him a delightto read.

The family suffered two losseswhen their only son, Phirozepassed away in 2009 and daugh-ter Shehnaaz in 2015.

Essop is survived by his wife,Farida, and daughters Suraya, Za-rina and 14 grandchildren.Zayd Ebrahim is an urbanist anddirector at the City of Johannesburg. He is also AhmedEssop’s nephew.

AHMED ESSOP (1931 - 2019)

A prolific writerover six decades

HUSSAIN SAVANTPRIOR to his death, AhmedEssop had prepared four worksfor publication. This is in addition to an already considerably sized published oeuvre. We all look forward tothe publication of these fourworks as a reminder that AhmedEssop, the writer, still lives.

Acclaimed in his lifetime, thereis little one can add to the highlyeloquent tributes Iqbal Jassat, ofthe Media Review Network,Yusuf Chubb Garda and othershave already made to this distin-guished writer, except to say, ‘Restin peace, you have lived your lifeand have fought your fight.Hamba Kahle Comrade Essop!Your works will live after you.’

South African writers, whetherblack or white, share a commonexperience: apartheid.

Their works are invariably var-ied responses to this spectre whichnow, after more than 25 yearsafter its demise, appears as aphantasm of the imaginationrather than a lived reality, whichdemonstrates that human re-silience is also largely shaped bylapses of memory.

Like the Holocaust, apartheidshould also never be forgotten.

It is this very spectre ofapartheid that has moulded all oursignificant writers.

We are fortunate that theirworks will serve as perpetual re-minders of the horror of racism inall its forms, and of the sheer ar-rogance of the very idea of at-tempting to impose an unnaturalsocial structure upon people of di-verse races.

History has shown that suchhorrific projects are born of the

devil and, as such, are therefore,doomed to failure.

Like Salman Rushdie, Essopwas also born in India. He immi-grated to South Africa when hewas very little. He is thus, likeRushdie, a second language Eng-lish speaker. Essop studied Englishand Philosophy at University ofSouth Africa and, ultimately, ob-tained an honours degree in Eng-lish.

He wrote three novels, innu-merable short stories, poetry, bookreviews and countless essays. Hewas a personal friend of such dis-tinguished people as Lionel Abra-hams, Barry Ronge, JonathanPaton, Gora Ebrahim, MarciaLevenson, Gerald De Villiers,Francis Faller, Don Mattera, YusufEshack, Yusuf Chubb Garda, Pro-fessor Rajendra Chetty and Pro-fessor Solly Patel.

Although his works emanatedfrom a racist milieu, he dealt withmany diverse themes besidesracism. Closely allied to the latteris fascism, which he hated fromthe very core of his being.

There was also a certain mysti-cal substratum that pervadedmany of his works. As an artist, hewas also enamoured of beauty inall its forms, and saw it as a reflec-tion and reminder of the infiniteBeauty of the Divine Reality.

He was drunk with the wine oflife itself. In fact, it may be saidthat his works were a celebrationof that life. Through vibrant prosethat had matured over the yearsinto such masterful narration anddescription, he expressed a love oflife and resilience to pain and suf-fering that was amazing.

Humble and soft-spoken hehad none of the trappings of the‘distinguished’ writer about him.

Easily accessible, he was one ofthe most approachable people Ihave met.

He loved social interminglingand would always lend an ear toany apprentice writer in need ofassistance.

He was also extremely wellread. He was one of the few peo-ple I have met who had actuallyread all four volumes of Richard-son’s Clarissa.

He will indeed be missed byboth family and friends alike. Inconclusion, it should be men-tioned that he has left severalworks that are in dire need ofreprinting, and these should besubmitted to reputable publisherswithout delay.

His first book, The Hajji andOther Stories won the OliveSchreiner Award.

Here follows a list of some ofhis already published works forthe interested reader: The Visita-tion; The Emperor; The ThirdProphecy; The Universe andOther Essays; The Moors ofShakespeare; History and Satire inSalman Rushdie’s “SatanicVerses”; Charles Dickens andSalman Rushdie; Narcissus &Other Stories; Noorjehan &Other Stories; King of Hearts andOther Stories; The Dark Goddess(poetry); The Exile and otherpoems; The Garden ofScheherazade (poetry); SulimanNana (Not a biography in thestrict sense of the word; can bestbe described as an ‘archivogra-phy’); Reviews of all his Books(compilation).

To be published posthumouslyare Indians in the Transvaal; TheCitadel; The Hedonist; A Volumeof Short Stories (Congress ofBirds).

AHMED ESSOP (1931 – 2019)

A love for life andresilience to pain

Ahmed Essop. Photo SALEHA IDREES BAMJEE


DR YAKUB MOOSA ESSACK

IN the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful andto whom are infinite praises. Wesend universal salutations to themost beloved leader of creation,Muhammad (SAW).

I am honoured to pen the presi-dent’s message for the 39th IslamicMedical Association (IMA) annualconvention.

This privilege is only through themercy of Almighty Allah.

We are most fortunate to havecompleted the magnificent month ofRamadaan.

May Allah accept every momentof your sacrifice and effort in themost auspicious period for theummah.

I trust that you are spiritually re-juvenated for the year ahead, InshaAllah.

We have the added fortune to beparticipants in the discussions andadvice over the two days at the con-vention at a time of spiritual ascen-dency.

I believe this weekend will serveto cement aspects of our beautifulfaith in the practice of our profes-sion at this opportune time.

The ummah has always beenchallenged throughout history.

The global onslaught againstIslam at both geo-political and ide-ological levels appears unrivalled aswe battle to make sense of where weare positioned and what our re-sponse should be.

As a Muslim health profession-als’ association, the IMA has pro-vided its members a supporting

platform throughout its 40 years ex-istence to continue to rise and with-stand adversity while servingcreation for the pleasure of our Cre-ator.

As the world seems to lose sightof its moral compass in manyspheres of life, the convention com-mittee, under the leadership of Drs Riaz Ismail and Shaamilah Sule-man, together with their fantasticteam/ committee, has aptly titled thetheme of the convention within thiscontext.

Revival of Islam in healthcare isabsolutely critical at this juncture.

The annual convention of Imasais a vital component of our spectrumof activity, where high calibre delib-eration, discussion and educationtake place within a unique frame-work – the implementation of oursound moral, ethical and spiritualprinciples integral to the practice ofour profession.

We urge you to utilise this flag-ship event to fulfil its objective ofproviding a comprehensive pro-gramme encompassing up to dateclinical information, embracing thechange that digitisation confrontsand disrupts the healthcare land-scape, continue to acquire theknowledge and hikmah provided byour esteemed Islamic scholars, gainsome valuable accreditation pointsas well as enjoy the social benefit ofthe bond between all of us in thespirit of ukhuwaa.

Imasa conventions tend to hostworld-renowned international guestspeakers as well as local guest speak-ers from both medical and Islamicbackgrounds and are experts in their

respective fields.May Allah continue to guide

them as they inspire and teach us.The event allows for and ensures

academic and social interaction be-tween Muslim healthcare profes-sionals and their family members.The programme presents a dilemmaat times for the multiple parallel ses-sions where delegates may want toattend topics being presented simul-taneously.

This has been a major attractionand talking point among delegates,judging from past conventions.

The current convention will beno different.

This is testament to the quality ofthe programme.

I congratulate the programmeand organising committees forpreparing a very enticing two-dayprogramme.

Non-medical programmes havebeen specially coordinated to benefitaccompanying delegates who arenot from a primary health setting.Student programmes are critical toensure participation and interestfrom the next generation of Muslimhealth professional leaders and con-tributors.

The range of topics is admirable.The pace of medical developmenthas always been difficult to keep upwith.

To be abreast is a given but dis-ruption with the fourth industrialrevolution is not going to spare thehealth sector.

The latter and new developmentshave been incorporated within theprogramme, Alhamdulillah.

The social dimension, with old

bonds being rekindled between col-leagues and friends, is another high-light with the cherry on top beingthe fabulous Cape Town hospitalitywith its amazing variety of food.

Let us not, however, forget themillions of our brothers, sisters andchildren, globally, who find them-selves in some of the worst and mostdire conditions that we could imag-ine.

We make duah for them.On behalf of the national execu-

tive committee, I welcome all dele-gates.

I also extend a warm welcome toall our guest speakers from withinour borders and from abroad.

Our international key-notespeaker is Tubanur YesilharkOzkan, who has a very interestingprofile and background, and will nodoubt inspire us with knowledge ofand food for thought with regard toa concept that few of us can wrapour minds around – theodicy.

Imasa in a few wordsWhile many of you are familiar

with the scope of activities of our as-sociation, I would like to brieflymention the following for the bene-fit of all who are attending and forthose who could not be present.

Being a member of Imasa pro-vides an opportunity to fulfil a pur-pose to serve and worship theAlmighty, which is, in essence, an at-tempt to uphold our commitment toAllah’s clear reminder in the nobleQuran wherein He states that Hehas not created men and jinn exceptto worship Him.

We have been gifted with an ex-

ceptionally unique professionwhereby we can attain material ben-efit with each encounter while si-multaneously presenting aspects ofthe vicegerent in our behaviour andinteraction.

There is no doubt that each oneof us can do so individually.

Imasa provides the vehicle for de-velopment in the individual space(Conventions, CME’s) as well as ata collective level (relief, clinics,cataracts, international collabora-tion).

I implore you to visit our variousinformation platforms and considerengagement and/ or contribution.Your support as members is the oxy-gen that makes the associationbreathe.

Please continue with the supplyand may Allah reward you abun-dantly in both worlds.

Jazakallah ghairan to the count-less and incredible number of hoursof work done by the conventioncommittee and the secretarial/ sup-port staff in making the event possi-ble.

We thank Allah for his infiniteblessings in keeping, maintainingthis wonderful association and mayHe continue to grant all the strengthand fortitude to labour on.This is an abridged version of thespeech by Dr Yakub Moosa Essack, the president of IMA SouthAfrica.

Imasa 39th annual convention presidential addressHealth File


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DR RIYAAD MOYDIENYOUR body contains an amazing, intricate system of arteries and veins. Arteries carryoxygen-rich blood from yourheart to every part of your bodywhile veins return the blood toyour heart and lungs for moreoxygen.

Most people know that heartdisease occurs when the blood ves-sels in your heart become blockedwith plaque and cholesterol, acondition known as atherosclero-sis (hardening of the arteries).

Many are, unfortunately, un-aware that the same problem, ath-erosclerosis, can occur in anyartery of the body.

Common types of artery dis-ease include carotid artery diseaseand stroke, aneurysms and periph-eral arterial disease.

Venous problems occur in theveins, often resulting in legswelling, spider veins and varicoseveins, deep vein thrombosis (bloodclots) and chronic leg problems.

Common types of arterial disease

Carotid artery disease andstroke: Carotid arteries in the neckcarry oxygen to the brain.

Patients who have had a tran-sient ischeamic attack (TIA),stroke, a sudden loss of vision inthe eye or have an abnormalsound in the artery should be re-ferred to a vascular surgeon for di-agnosis and possible treatment.

Elderly patients with a familyhistory of stroke should be re-ferred for screening and preven-tion.

Aneurysms: An aneurysm is abulge that develops in a weakenedpart of an artery.

Most commonly, they occur inthe aorta, the biggest artery of thebody, running from the heartthrough the abdomen.

Aneurysms can also occur inthe pelvis or the knee. Over time,they enlarge and rupture, which isoften fatal. When suspected, ur-gent referral is needed. Elderly pa-tients benefit from screening andprevention.

Peripheral arterial disease: Ath-erosclerosis of the leg arteriescauses hardening and narrowingof the blood vessels, leading to de-creased or absent flow to thelimbs.

Early on, this may cause painwhen walking but as the diseaseprogresses, it can cause painfulfeet, foot ulcers, infections, non-healing wounds and even gan-grene.

Untreated, it carries a high riskof amputation. Screening and pre-vention are important and earlytreatment prevents limb loss.

Common venous problemsSpider veins and varicose veins:

Spider veins are small, bluish veinsjust under the skin, while varicoseveins are larger, bulging veins.Most often, they are cosmetic butthey can be a sign of a more seri-ous venous disease.

Modern treatment is minimallyinvasive and can prevent more se-rious complications, such as ve-nous leg ulceration.

Chronic venous insufficiency:This is caused by blood reflux orclotting in the main deep veins,usually in the pelvis.

It can also be the result of pre-vious undiagnosed deep veinthrombosis.

It’s a potentially painful condi-tion, causing pain and swelling ofthe legs, with darkening of theskin and, ultimately, leg ulcera-tion.

Deep vein thrombosisDeep vein thrombosis is the re-

sult of blood clots in the deep legveins.

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Many vascular conditions arelifelong, and your vascular sur-geon may become a lifelong carepartner. Be aware of your vascularhealth and consult your vascularsurgeon.Dr Riyaad Moydien[MBChB(UCT), MMed Surgery(UCT), FCS (SA), Cert VascularSurgery (SA)] is a specialist vascular, endovascular and specialist general surgeon. He isavailable for consultation atMelomed Tokai and MelomedBellville.

What is vascular disease?

Dr Riyaad Moydien. Photo SUPPLIED

Varicose veins. Image WIKIPEDIA Carotid artery disease.Image WIKIPEDIA

Abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Image WIKIPEDIA


AMINA WAGGIEOASIS bursary recipients for2019 were given a warm welcome by the Oasis team onThursday, July 11, 2019, at OasisGroup Holdings Head Office inCape Town.

The students were able to meetnew and old members of the pro-gramme as well as engage withOasis team members.

‘The learners who have beenawarded these bursaries will begiven a very wide scope of educa-tion and we, here at Oasis, lookforward to dealing with that thisyear, and we look forward to deal-ing with that in the future,’ saidNazeem Ebrahim, deputy chair-person of Oasis.

Oasis believes that education isa big liberator, and it is due to thisbelief that Oasis has been activelyinvolved in addressing the educa-tional needs in South Africa. Edu-cation is not only a priority fortheir business but an imperative,and this allows the progression oftheir country, which is why theyhave focused on educational fund-ing and mentor and career devel-opment programmes.

There is a large focus on theirmentorship programme as theyfind it important to assist and sup-port their students in their devel-opment throughout their studiesand careers.

‘We believe through the men-torship by their seniors, they willgo on to be leading South Africansin the financial services industry,’said Ebrahim.

Part of the Oasis Bursary Pro-gramme is the vacation pro-gramme, which is for the bursaryrecipients. This programme ispacked with first time work expe-rience, guest speakers, debates anda range of other exciting activities.It provides students with a valu-able and unique window into theprofessional world.

‘To me, it is an unprecedentedexperience that may seem intimi-dating at first but believe me whenI say that if one grabs the oppor-tunity with the willingness tolearn, engage and actively partici-pate, the benefits one derives fromthe opportunity will be endless,’said Uthman Isaacs, final yearLaw student at University of CapeTown (UCT) and part of the OasisBursary Programme for five years.

Isaacs, who is on his final yearof the bursary programme, moti-vated and encouraged his fellowbursary recipients to be thankfulfor the opportunity that they weregiven by Oasis.

‘To my fellow bursary students,both old and new, I cannot stressenough the importance of appreci-ating the opportunity which liesbefore you. We are indeed the for-tunate few and that demands thatwe understand both the opportu-nity and the responsibility that weas young citizens have towardsour society, and as members of theOasis Bursary Programme, yourjourney to becoming innovative,ethical and responsible leadershave begun,’ said Isaacs.

Guest speaker, Fatima Jakoet,Senior First Officer at SouthAfrican Airways (SAA), spokeabout her journey to becoming thefirst Muslim female pilot in SouthAfrica, to inspire those studentspresent and to see which lessonsthey can draw from her experi-ences.

She put significant emphasis ona few lessons, the first being per-severance and passion. Jakoet be-lieves that one needs to have apassion for the career path theypursue, and this passion will bedriven by their perseverance, andshe advised the students to findtheir passion.

The next lesson was about lead-ership and self-discipline. Shestressed the importance of having

self-discipline which she said startswith the simplest of actions, suchas making up one’s bed in themorning before leaving the house.

She also advised students not tolook at celebrities for guidance butto be the leaders of their own livesbecause no one else will lead theirlives for them.

She then went on to talk aboutempowering oneself through edu-cation. Her parents had told herthat they could not give her aflashy car, a fancy house or sendher to an elite school but theywould try their best to give her agood education. Jakoet believesthat that is the opportunity thatOasis has created for their stu-dents.

‘You have to grab this opportu-nity by both hands and showOasis that you are the person thatthey should invest in, and that youare the future of this country, andthe world,’ said Jakoet, directingher statement at the students whowere awarded the bursaries.

She went on to speak about di-vine guidance, which she believesis the most important thing whenchoosing a career path, as one’s di-vine guidance encompasses everydecision that one makes.

‘You will see that your religionor divine guidance will be yourdrive, your moral compass thatwill be facing to your true northand your authentic self. You can-not divorce your spirituality fromwho you are and the choices thatyou make,’ said Jakoet to the stu-dents.

Lastly, Jakoet spoke aboutgoals and the importance of set-ting realistic goals. She suggestedthat students set small realisticgoals and they need to make surethat those align with their ultimategoals. She also mentioned that it isimportant to encourage others,and that there is nothing more ful-filling than helping others toachieve their dreams.

Hodan Abdullahi has been onthe Oasis Bursary Programmefrom 2015 until 2018 and is now

doing her articles in chartered ac-counting at Oasis. She applied forthe bursary in matric because ofthe organisation’s good reputa-tion, shariah compliancy and pre-dominantly Muslim culture, andwas accepted as a bursary recipi-ent.

‘It has been a pleasant experi-ence working for Oasis. One ofthe many benefits of working forOasis is the experience and expo-

sure that one gains at the organi-sation. It is a place where you canreach your full potential and thereare absolutely no limits on whatheights you can achieve at Oasis.

It is a place where you cangrow as a person, in terms of yourskills, your attitude and the thingsyou’ve come to know. I wouldurge everyone to apply for thenext bursary opportunity fromOasis,’ said Abdullahi.

Oasis welcomes new students into theirdedicated bursary programme for 2019

Oasis executive directors and Oasis Bursary Committee trustees with the 2019 Oasis Bursary Programme recipients. Photo OASIS

Uthman Isaacs, final year Law student at University of Cape Town and an OasisBursary recipient, gave some words of wisdom to his fellow bursary recipients.He is pictured with Ammaarah Ebrahim, a member of the Oasis Bursary Committee. Photo OASIS

Guest speaker, Fatima Jakoet (left) with Sherazaan Isaacs, Oasis Bursary Officerand MC of the event. Jakoet, who is a senior first officer at South African Airways(SAA), gave an inspiring talk and valuable life lessons to the Oasis Bursary recipients, Photo OASIS


KHADIJA MARTINEZThe last vestige of Muslim ruleon the Iberian Peninsula came toan end on January 2, 1492,when, after a ten-year conflict,the Catholic monarchs defeatedthe Nasrid dynasty’s emirate ofGranada.

IT is recorded that theGranadans’ defeat was largely dueto internal conflict while theChristian forces were generallyunited.

When Muhammad XII surren-dered the city, regarded as themost literate in Europe at the time,he signed a document, ‘Las Capit-ulaciones de Granada’ (the Capit-ulation of Granada), in which theChristians laid down 77 condi-tions.

Among these 77 points werethe following:l The Christians would liberate

all the Muslim captives in theirhands and amnesty would begranted to all Muslim prison-ers, including prisoners of warand those who escaped fromChristian prisons.

l Their own qadis would judgethe Muslims according to theirown laws and traditions.

l Muslims would be allowed tocarry weapons, except guns.

l Muslims were free to buy andsell property and travel to Mus-lim and Christian territories,the Christian authorities takingon the responsibility of safe-guarding their journeys butonly for three years after thedate of signing; after that, theywould have to let the authori-ties know and pay one ducat asa tax.

l All Muslim inhabitants ofGranada would be free of tax

for three years except for theirown (zakaah) and they wouldbe free to trade in the whole ter-ritory.

l The Muslims would not haveany distinctive mark but theJews would.

l The Christians were not al-lowed to enter mosques, andthe revenue of the mosques wasrespected.When the Muslims signed the

treaty initially, it appeared as ifthere would just be a change in thepolitical arena, and they could goon living their lives without anysubstantial changes.

But from when the Christianstook over the city, the agreementswere disrespected, Muslims’ rightswere constantly restricted, extrataxes were imposed on them, therewas segregation and pressure ap-plied for their properties to bepassed to Christian emigrantsfrom the north.

Many Muslims started emigrat-ing to Muslim countries, mostly toNorth Africa. They were the luckyones as, immediately after the con-

quest, the Christians started tosubtly disclose their hiddenagenda. Their aim was to Chris-tianise the Muslims, starting witha soft approach, propaganda andpersuasion.

They brought a priest, who wasconfessor to Queen Isabella, Her-nando de Talavera, to the city totake charge of the conversionprocess. He started learning Ara-bic and encouraged the priestswho would help him with the taskto do the same so they could ver-bally convince the Muslims tochange their religion.

But they soon realised that thisstrategy was not working as thepopulation was stubbornly firm intheir religion and customs. TheChristians looked for other solu-tions. At first, they thought of put-ting all the Muslims into ghettosbut this was not feasible as theywere the vast majority of the pop-ulation.

They then thought of expellingthem but they feared dramaticconsequences in the economy. Sothe decision was taken to imple-ment harsher measures to carryout their purpose.

In 1499, seven years after theconquest, they brought a fanaticpriest, Cardinal Cisneros, to thecity. His way was to turn the situ-ation around with an iron fist. Hesimply forbade Islam.

He gathered the ulama, fuqahaand imams of the city and tried toforce them to become Christians,thinking that if he got them toconvert, it would be easy to con-vince the rest of the population.

Since this was not successful ei-ther, he imprisoned some of themand, under pressure of torture,they ended up asking to be bap-tised as Christians.

Then, in December, he and hisfollowers entered the Juma’aMosque, in the Albaicin, with thearmy, and after spraying it withholy water, declared that from that

moment on it was a church.The Muslim quarter of the Al-

baicin had over 30 mosques, withmany more spread across the city.The same procedure was followedin all of them. On January 16,1500, Cardinal Cisneros wrote tri-umphantly: ‘Finally, all themosques of Granada are nowchurches and the Mass is prayedin them.’

These events resulted in a revoltin the Albaicin on January 18 butin three days the rebellion hadbeen quelled. The authorities pun-ished the leaders but offered topardon the rest of the participantson condition that they acceptedChristianity and were baptised asthere were so many of them theycould not erase the entire popula-tion of the Albaicin.

The detention of Muslims indespicable prisons and the tortureinflicted upon them to force themto renounce Islam and acceptChristianity became so commonthat the ulama advised the peopleto be baptised voluntarily, apply-ing taqiyyah, or false public con-version, while holding to the deensecretly, in order to avoid persecu-tion.

This decision, although itsounded the way to go on livingwithout threat, proved to havefatal consequences in the future, aswill be revealed in detail in thenext article.

We will see to what extent theMuslims were cheated by theChristians with this treaty.

On the day that the ‘taqiyyah’fatwa was issued, over two thou-sand Muslims were baptised inGranada, 786 of them in the Al-baicin inside the Juma’a Mosque,now converted to the Iglesia delSalvador.

The church can still be visitedtoday although the only part thatremains intact is the wudu patioand part of the minaret.

Cardinal Cisneros, in his zeal toeliminate Islam, confiscated all theArabic books he could gather. Themadrasa-university and every sin-gle home in the Albaicin were en-tered by force.

The books were piled high andburnt in the central square of BibRambla, the bonfire burning forweeks, fed by Qurans and any-thing that could be found writtenin Arabic, the language of Al An-dalus for many centuries.

Only books on medicine andagriculture were saved and sent tothe king, as they knew the Mus-lims were far advanced in these sig-nificant disciplines.

This was the beginning of theend of the most literate city of Eu-rope at that time.

However, this beautiful poemby Aisha bint Ahmad al-Qur-tubiyya, written 500 years beforethe fall of Granada, survived:Even if you burn the papersYou will never be able to burnwhat they containAs it lives inside meTravels with me when I rideSleeps with me when I restAnd in my grave, with me shallrest.

Forced conversions and bookburning after the fall of Granada

The Muslim quarter of Granada, Albaicin. At the time of the fall of the city, thisquarter had over 30 mosques, with many more spread across the city. On January 16, 1500, Cardinal Cisneros, the Archbishop of Toledo and Primate ofSpain, triumphantly declared: ‘Finally, all the mosques of Granada are nowchurches and the Mass is prayed in them.’ Photo SUPPLIED

Going against the terms of the treaty of surrender, the Christian victors forcedthe Muslims of Granada to be baptised. At first, the approach was subtle. The approach became more violent when Cardinal Cisneros was sent to the city.

Photo SUPPLIED

Khadija Martinez. Photo SUPPLIED

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The patio of ablutions (sahn) of the Al-Jama Mosque in the Albaicin quarter ofGranada. Cardinal Cisneros converted it into the parish of El Salvador, in 1499.

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THE MANAGEMENT & STAFF OF OASIS

WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

On this auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, May the Almighty bless you, Your Family and Your Home with happiness, Your Heart with devotion and

Your Soul with purity and peace Insha Allah, Ameen

EID MUBARAK


PROFESSOR MUHAMMED HARON

CLAREMONT was and continues to be regarded as oneof Cape Town’s most attractiveand popular suburbs.

There are a few reasons for this;the first is that it is the location ofCape Town’s well-known cricketand rugby fields and the other isthat it has developed into a touristdestination.

While these might be viewedamong the important reasons forit being an attractive location, notmuch has been written about itssocial history and, more specifi-cally, about the plethora of indi-viduals who were born and raisedin that area.

Among the many families thatformed part of Claremont’s socialnetwork, the Galant, Basardien,Hattas and Sadan families fea-tured prominently.

From among the various fami-lies that dotted this area, theSadans were a sizeable family. It isinto this family that GaliemaSadan was born on August 3,1926.

Galiema was the eldest daugh-ter of Ali Sadan and Rugaya Os-borne; the latter had mixed rootshailing from both Southeast Asiaand Europe, while the former’s ge-nealogy goes back to Java, in In-donesia.

Ali Sadan, Galiema’s father,was a respected carpenter, and Ru-gaya Osborne, Galiema’s mother,was a well-known baker who wasmuch loved by the Claremontcommunity. So, when each of theirsix children [Abdul-Kariem (Gap),Galiema (Tietie), Ganief (Niefie),Cassiem (Danie), Amina (Mina)and Ayyoub] got married, AliSadan made their bedroom anddining room furniture and theirmother did all the baking, alongwith others who assisted.

Sadly, from among these, onlyGaliema and her sister are stillaround. One should, however, addthat they had an adopted brother,Salie Sadan, who grew up withthem. Being the eldest, Galiemagenerally displayed placid but firmleadership and confidence.

Unlike her mother, who was asocialite and by profession abaker, Galiema decided to take updressmaking and was a quiet, re-served worker. She learnt thedressmaking profession from oneof Claremont’s prominent dress-makers at that time.

Galiema, in a sense, competedwith her brother, Ganief, who also

specialised in this vocation. Sincethat time until she reached beyondeighty she was in this field, makingdresses for all and sundry, and wasrespected for the quality work thatshe produced.

Those who particularly benefit-ted from her sharp skills were hertwo daughters and her manynieces; many of them fondly re-member how their mother/ auntused to make dresses for themwithin a short space of time for afunction.

Fatiema Haron-Masoet,Galiema’s youngest daughter, wasone of those beneficiaries who re-ceived a new dress almost eachweek when she used to work for aperiod at Edgars.

Galiema Sadan was a very pri-vate person before and even aftershe married Abdullah Haron, whoalso hailed from Claremont.

Abdullah, who was a closefriend of her two dear brothers,Abdul-Kariem and CassiemSadan, when they schooled at Tal-falah Primary, got to knowGaliema who attended the sameschool, which was then located inDraper Street, not far from Clare-mont Main Road Mosque.

Even though there were noearly warning signals that thehandsome, well-dressed Abdullahhad an interest in the young, beau-tiful Galiema, this became appar-ent when Abdullah was forced byhis aunt, Mariam, to get engagedto someone else.

On March 15, 1950, Abdullahand Galiema entered into mar-riage according to Muslim rites.Galiema then bore three children;the eldest was Shamela who hadleft for London soon after she ma-triculated, the second wasMuhammed who has been at-tached to University of Botswanafor more than 18 years, the lastwas Fatiema, who works for herhusband’s dental company, andwith whom Galiema presentlylives in Cape Town’s SouthernSuburbs.

Though Galiema evades ques-tions about her early life as ateenager and young adolescent, afew of her family members andfriends related affectionatethoughts about the early days.

Galiema, however, vividly re-called the pleasant memories thatshe experienced alongside her hus-band, Abdullah, who demon-strated his love throughout theirmarriage. During their marriedlife, she worked from home whereshe made dresses for her clients.

While sewing with her handy

machine, she listened to the radioplaying in the background. Attimes, she would sing along, if sheknew the song or the tune; allthese underscored her jolly andhappy mood.

Besides her occupation, she alsodid housework and cooked for thefamily. Having been well trainedby her mother, she made all sortsof dishes that Abdullah enjoyed.

Since she trusted her husband,she would not ask much about hiswhereabouts apart from knowingthat he was doing deliveries forWilson-Rowntree, the sweet man-ufacturing company for which heworked during much of the 1960s.

Whenever he got home, hewould hug and kiss her fondly,tangibly demonstrating the bondthat existed between them. Whenhe was short of funds, he wouldapproach her and she, in turn,never questioned what he wasgoing to do with the monies. Sheknew that he was also extending ahand to someone in need in thecommunity.

She, at times, used to raise hervoice – though lovingly – and heresponded without any anger. Onthe whole, one can describe the lifethat Galiema had with Abdullahto have been more than an event-ful one – from the time they en-tered into marriage until the timethe notorious apartheid SecurityBranch wrenched him away fromher and her children on May 28,1969. Throughout the almost twodecades of marriage, she was ableto mention various incidents inwhich she enjoyed and loved thecompany of her husband. Hejoked with her and conversed withher very romantically and lovingly.

They travelled, for example, bycar to Johannesburg and otherSouth African cities during theearly 1960s. Towards the end ofthe 1960s, she accompanied himon a memorable trip to the MiddleEast where they visited Egypt,Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Galiema was never left out ofhis life even though he seldom in-formed her about his political ac-tivities; this part of his life she wassuspicious about but preferred notto pry and left him to do what healways did: serving the communityand anyone who was in a desper-ate situation.

When Abdullah became imamat Al-Jaamia mosque, in Clare-mont, during 1955, she stood byhis side and supported him in allhis tasks in the community.Galiema assisted him when he wasfinancially in dire straits.

She came to his aid wheneverhe extended help to those in needand those who were incarceratedby the apartheid system. Indeed,not much has been recorded abouther acts as an enthusiastic sup-porter of the Imam’s social activi-ties, which may be attributed tothe fact that she – like many otherpartners in the socio-political andreligious struggles – was not fullyfamiliar with all his acts.

On top of that, though being afaithful housewife, she, like manyother Muslim women, was notwell informed about Islam’s over-all philosophy nor was she whollyinformed about the notion of so-cial justice within the apartheidstate.

She knew aspects but not in de-tail since she remained occupiedwith her household chores, includ-ing her profession as a dressmaker.Leaving aside these aspects, onewishes to underline that she wasby his side as his silent ‘financier’and, of course, his confidante andtrusted partner.

Though she is presently bedrid-den and has lost her speech, shehas always been a strong-willedperson – even as she lies in bed shedemonstrates this character traiton a few occasions.

Soon after her husband’s tragicmurder on September 27, 1969,she showed signs of family leader-ship. Apart from having beenpained by her dear husband’skilling at the hands of the SecurityBranch, she had the willpower andthe ability to rear her two children– the elder daughter having al-ready settled in the UK – single-handedly without giving up hope;nay, she expressed deep faith inGod Almighty and that faith kepther going all these years.

According to the apartheidlegal system, Galiema was re-garded as an ‘unlawful’ wife of theImam since they were not marriedin court and, as a result, the cou-ple’s children were regarded as il-legitimate.

The outcome of this was thatshe lost her home and was forcedto move to her mother’s home inAthlone – on the Cape Flats – andshe was split from her son whohad to stay at the home of a closeassociate of the Imam and thefamily.

In spite of these traumatic expe-riences, Galiema saw to the educa-tion of her two younger childrenand also assisted her eldest daugh-ter in small ways from her earn-ings. She, by then, had to work ata dry cleaners (Personal Cleaners)

as an alteration hand, on top ofworking in her profession fromhome.

Since Shamela was studying ra-diography in the UK, she receivedfinancial aid through the Defenceand Aid Fund but was also, attimes, given small sums byGaliema.

At home, Galiema got assis-tance from the Stegman Roadmosque community as well as or-ganisations such as the HospitalWelfare and Muslim EducationalMovement and the Arabic StudyCircle to get her son to completehis undergraduate studies at Uni-versity of Durban-Westville (nowamalgamated with University ofKwaZulu-Natal).

The same applies to heryoungest daughter. It is importantto note that she strove hard to seethat her two children achievedtheir education. She also suc-ceeded in securing a plot of landwhere she built a house in Craw-ford; the very place where she iscurrently residing with heryoungest daughter.

All of these acts are proof thatGaliema Haron never neglectedher children or had set them asidefor her own personal interest. Asa matter of fact, when she waskeeping her family together, shedid so by taking on ‘boarders’ andmany of these individuals whoqualified as doctors, dentists, jour-nalists and teachers spoke highlyof her management skills.

She washed and ironed theirclothing, fed them, cared for them.She demonstrated throughout thisperiod that she was a determinedwoman, an independent individualand a focused person. She gener-ally spoke little but did much.

Although she was and is attimes ‘hardkoppig’ and ‘astrant’(stubborn), she relished her libertyand freedom to express her feel-ings frankly.

Sadly, now that she has reachedbeyond 93, she has become de-pendent upon her children andothers to assist her. Despite theirwillingness to help and aid her, shewould still have her say in the mat-ter if things were not in order orwere wrong.

There is no doubt that in spiteof Galiema’s frail condition – shehas reached a point where she isessentially inaudible – in the eyesof her children and the commu-nity, she continues to remain,along with many others, an un-sung heroine; someone whoselegacy should be recorded, hon-oured and respected.

Quietly courageous Galiema Haron: Imam’s confidante and trusted partner

Galiema Haron, who marked her 93rd birthday on August 3, was the quietly courageous confidante of Imam Abdullah Haron, and after his brutal killing she stood firm strengthened by her faith and labouredhard, as a widow, to provide for her family. She is pictured on the right with her son, Professor Muhammed Haron and daughters, Shamela (left) and Fatiema. Photos IMAM HARON FOUNDATION

TASNEEM KHANEARLIER this year, I sat in thecompany of Aunty ShariefaDavids, a student of Imam Abdullah Haron, who shared astory of her beloved teacher, ash-Shaheed Imam Haron whoencouraged his female students tolead the Islamic classes in discussion and share what theyhad learnt.

He would listen, sitting in theback. In a patriarchal society, thissmall act is empowering towomen. Had Imam Haron notbeen killed, how many of his fe-male students would have beenempowered and taken up posi-tions of leadership, I wonder.

How many women would haveinspired others to find their voicesand tell their stories, without menas their interpreters?

During Ramadaan, I was giventhe opportunity to talk aboutImam Haron at Masjidur Raudah,in Pinelands. This allowed me tostep out of my comfort zone as Ihad never done any public speak-ing before. It also allowed me toreflect on the role Imam Haronplayed in my life.

My father, Dawood Parker, wasa member of the Qibla Movementin the 1980s and our home in Bel-gravia Road served as a base ofoperations. This movement, sinceits inception, annually commemo-rates the martyrdom of ImamHaron. So, from a very young age,I learnt about Imam Haron athome.

My favourite madrasah teacherwas Imam Ebrahim Davids, alsoknown as Boeta Hiema, who wasa confidant and student of ImamHaron.

By 1986, our family went intopolitical exile in Zimbabwe, wherewe were actively involved withleading members of the PanAfricanist Congress of Azania(PAC), a political movementwhich revered and held ImamHaron in high regard. This wasbecause of the work Imam Harondid with PAC members, especiallyin nearby Langa in the 1960s.

While in Harare, Zimbabwe,we became close family friendswith Barney Desai, the author ofthe book, Killing of the Imam.Uncle Barney, his wife, AuntyRose, and children, Zivia andRehad, were part of our exile fam-ily and all held and continue tohold Imam Haron in high esteem.

I was fortunate that the Haronfamily allowed me to join the 50thyear commemoration committeealongside prominent members ofthe Cape Muslim community.

The children of Imam Haronhave, over the years, rememberedtheir father honourably and dis-played a character that is worthyof his life, struggle and martyr-dom. Ash-Shaheed Imam Haronwas killed at the young age of 45,for his political activities.

Losing a parent is difficult atany age in your life. But when youare young, your sense of loss is fargreater as there are so many im-portant milestones in your life thatyou will not be able to share withthe parent that has passed on.

In the case of a political iconwho is remembered every year,who looms large not just in yourlife but in the lives of many others,the loss is unimaginable and itleaves you inconsolable.

I can say that I understand a bitof what the children of ImamHaron continue to experience. Myfather died at the age of 40, whilewe were in political exile in Zim-babwe and Canada. His deathcame five months after he was re-leased from Zimbabwe’s Chiku-rubi Maximum Security Prison.

He was wrongfully imprisonedand never charged. He was impris-oned for approximately ninemonths. To this day, we have notreceived an explanation or apol-ogy from the Zimbabwean gov-ernment. July 8 marks the 29thyear of his passing.

Like the Haron siblings, I toohave many unanswered questionsabout the death of my father inexile. I too was in my early teenswhen my father died.

While we celebrate the role ofwomen in the anti-apartheid strug-gle in this month of August, let usnot forget the emotional scars lefton the children of political ac-tivists.

They witness and experiencethe pain and indignities sufferedby their parents at the hands of

oppressive regimes but their voicesare seldom heard. The pain of thechildren is never understood orfully appreciated.

Feeling helpless and angrywhen your father is fetched fromyour home by the security police,not knowing when or if you’ll ever

see him again; seeing the lifelessbody of your parent are feelingsonly those who have experiencedit can understand. I can truly sayto the children of ash-ShaheedImam Haron, I understand yourloss, I know your pain.

The legacy of ash-Shaheed

Imam Haron, for me, is to domore, to step out of my comfortzone, to transcend barriers and beprepared to make sacrifices toachieve social justice.Tasneem Khan is a member ofthe Imam Haron Commemoration Committee.


JASMINE KHANDURING the apartheid regime,many people died violently at thehands of the state. How did theirfamilies cope? Since it is women’smonth, let us look at threewomen who were widowed byviolence.

Imam Abdullah Haron was aman with a passion for the people;his family did not know the extentof his involvement in making adifference in the lives of the op-pressed. This changed on May 28,1969, when his wife, Galiema,saw him being accompanied toCaledon Square by two burlymen. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said,‘everything will be fine.’

Everything was anything butfine; that was the last timeGaliema saw her husband. Kept indetention for 123 days, he waskilled on September 27. Hisdaughter, Fatiema, was six at thetime, and she says she does not re-member her mother shedding atear in front of her. She was toughand never gave up.

Fatiema watched this feisty,strong and dynamic woman cop-ing with her tragedy. Galiema wasa dressmaker par excellence. Shehad this amazing gift which stoodher in good stead.

The first thing she did was tolearn to drive and, next, she foundherself a job as an alteration handat a dry cleaners.

She worked there until her re-tirement 28 years later. Galiemahad been the queen of the castle,homemaker and contributed tothe family income with what sheearned.

This came to an abrupt endwith the death of her husband.Due to the lack of a will, the stateinsisted on the sale of the familyhome and Galiema was forced tomove with Fatiema into one roomin Galiema’s mother’s home.

This was a dark period in herlife. Her 13-year-old son,Muhammed, had to move in withfriends, and Galiema dug deepinto her core values. Strong-willedand thrifty, she was good at man-aging finances, did not likewastage or buying unnecessarythings.

She was careful in her spendingand refused to entertain eitherdebt or interest. Her indomitablespirit and faith kept her going andshe was able to purchase a piece ofland. With the help of familymembers she built the home inwhich she still lives today.

Fatiema showed great emotionas she told me that her motherwatched her grow from toddler toyoung child, teenager, youngwoman, married woman andmother. Fatiema has watchedsomeone who was so strong, withan unbending spirit, move intomiddle age and now old age.

Galiema has lost the power ofspeech but she can hear and un-derstand everything said to her.Looking into her eyes, one can al-most see that feisty young womanhovering in the shadows.

On October 18, 1986, theworld shifted for Shariefa Ely. Herhusband, Abdul Karriem, lefthome to attend a dhikr, followedby a meeting at Masjidus Salaam.At 2am, she was woken by her fa-ther and brother-in-law with thenews that her husband had beenkilled by the police.

Widowed at the age of 26, andwith a baby of 20 months, sheclung to her son, crying with therealisation that she would nowhave to be both mother and fa-ther; and that she would have tobe an example for him.

A junior nurse at the time, shestarted further training with greatdetermination. She earned a smallsalary but this disqualified herfrom getting a state allowance. Adifficult journey started duringwhich she never wavered, never letup and forged ahead with only herfaith to sustain her.

She started making cracklesand sold it on the street, andworked as much overtime as shecould get. With no male rolemodel for her son, she had the re-sponsibility of putting him ontothe road to Islam, and managed toget him into an Islamic school atreduced rates. In exchange, shehad to agree to assist the schoolwhenever it held an event.

This put a great strain on her.She had no time for herself; everytime she had to attend a school

event, she had to take a day’s leavefrom work. She was determined tobe part of his life but an extendedperiod of leave was not possible.Shariefa relaxed only when herson, Zaheer, qualified as a physio-therapist then she remarried.

On a sunny Sunday afternoonduring November, 1996, a familyouting to the waterfront ended intragedy for the Najjaar family.The place was packed with Pagaddemonstrators and, in the ensuingchaos, Achmat Najjaar was sepa-rated from his family.

With people screaming andshots fired by the police, Zainaband her younger son searchedfrantically for her husband.Mogammad, the youngest, even-tually found his father in themorgue. Up till today he carriesthe scars of that trauma.

According to Zainab’s sister,Zainab never broke down, nevershed a tear. She was reluctant tohave her story included in this ar-ticle but eventually relented.

When asked how she coped,she said two words, ‘Yaseen’ and‘Tahajjud’.

She says that she recited SurahYaseen continuously and got up inthe middle of every night to per-form two rakaahs of Tahajjud. Ineach rakaah, she recited SurahFatihah seven times plus anothersurah from the Quran. This, shesays, sustained her as she went onwith her life.

These mighty women managedto move through being the victimsof extreme violence to findingsome form of peace. They raisedtheir children in the deen of Islamand managed to overcome greatodds in order not just to survivebut to flourish. Mighty women in-deed, Alhamdulillah.

Sadly, neither of them had anyclosure with regard to the ways inwhich their husbands died. ImamHaron’s death is still registered asa fall down the stairs.

At a hearing into Abdul Kar-riem’s death, the finding was thattwo shots were fired that day, andthe one that killed him was notfired by the police.

In the case of Achmat Najjaar,the findings at the inquiry into hisdeath were inconclusive.

Widowed by violence,strengthened by faith

Stepping out ofour comfort zones

Dawood Parker, the father of thewriter, was a Pan Africanist Congressanti-apartheid fighter. He passed awayin exile on July 8, 1990.

Photo SUPPLIED


Bank: Standard Bank, Parow Centre, Account Name: Muslim Hands, Account Number: 071 621 881, Branch Code: 031110, Address: 1 Carnie Road, Rylands Estate, 7764, Cape Town. Charity Reg. No.: NPO: 005-997 PBO: 930019033

2019

PROPHETIC

double your reward

SOUTH AFRICA

MASNOENA ALLIE ISAACSON the authority of Abu Talhah(RA), ‘The Prophet (SAW) sacrificed for the one who couldnot sacrifice from his ummah,one who bore witness to theOneness of Allah and [his]prophethood.’ (Tabarani andAhmad)

Not many people know that onthe day of Eid-ul-Adha, theProphet (SAW) used to give an ad-ditional qurbani on behalf of thoseof his ummah who were unable togive. This extra sacrifice is whatwe call the Prophetic qurbani.

The importance of this sunnahis such that the Prophet (SAW) ad-vised his cousin and son-in-law,Ali (RA), to follow it. ‘On the au-thority of Hanash (RA) who said,‘I saw Ali sacrificing two rams,’so, I asked him, ‘What is this?’ Hereplied, ‘The Messenger of Allah(SAW) enjoined upon me to sacri-fice on his behalf so that is what Iam doing.’ (Abu Dawud)

The tradition was also contin-ued by other Sahabah (RA): ‘Onthe authority of Anas bin Malik(RA) who said, ‘The Prophet usedto offer two rams as sacrifices, andI also offer two rams for sacrifice.’(Bukhari)

And yet, today, this beautifulact of generosity is all but forgot-ten. How many of us offer aProphetic qurbani when givingour own sacrifice?

How many are even aware ofthis sunnah?

The Quran tells us that theProphet (SAW) is the best examplefor humankind: ‘There is indeed agood model for you in the Mes-senger of Allah [SAW] – for theone who has hope in Allah and theLast Day and remembers Allahprofusely.’ (33:21)

Therefore, there are great re-wards in following his actions,and what an opportunity we haveevery year to make one extra sac-rifice for the ummah just as ourProphet (SAW) did. The extra sac-rifice can be given to the needy in

the same way that Zakaatul-Fitr isgiven at the end of Ramadaan sothat the poorest communities canenjoy a healthy, filling meal withfresh meat on the days of Eid.

Why give a Prophetic qurbani?‘Whoever revives a sunnah of

mine that dies out after I am gone,he will have a reward equivalentto that of those among the peoplewho act upon it, without that de-tracting from their reward in theslightest.’ (Ibn Majah)

Giving a Prophet qurbani is aspecial act because it follows thesunnah of our beloved Prophet

(SAW). There is wisdom in every-thing the Prophet (SAW) did andimmense reward in reviving hissunnah.

Not only that but giving anextra qurbani means even morefamilies in need will benefit. Inpoverty-stricken communities,meat is an unaffordable luxury soit is a joyous occasion when theycan enjoy the generosity of aProphetic qurbani.

Millions of Muslims who fallbelow the nisab threshold do nothave the opportunity to offer asacrifice themselves.

They do not get to participatein this religious ritual that com-memorates the sacrifice of ProphetIbrahim (AS) and so giving on be-half of these people ensures thatthey are involved not only in the

festivities of Eid but also the re-wards of offering a sacrifice.

Your generosity will ensure thatfamilies across countries through-out Europe, Africa, Asia and theMiddle East have fresh, tasty meatto eat on the blessed days of Eid.From war-torn Syria, famine-struck Somalia to besieged Gaza,you will be providing crucial sup-port to families in need.

This year, why not revive thisneglected sunnah? Give aProphetic qurbani abroad or inSouth Africa with the intention offollowing the Sunnah, feeding thepoor and gaining Allah SWT’s re-ward, all from just R695. To findout more, visit our website mus-limhands.org.za, call us on 021 633 6413 or visit our office at1 Carnie Road, Rylands.

- ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE -

Give your qurbani through Muslim Hands

Muslim Hands qurbani service in Malawi. Photo SUPPLIED

Local villagers receiving qurbani meat on the day of Eid-ul-Adha in Malawi.Photo SUPPLIED


Sha re th e c a

re

#

MOULANA MUHAMMAD KAMALIE

MADRASAH Tul Madina(MTM), in Mitchells Plain, isembarking on a visionary andgroundbreaking initiative.

The Madrasah Teachers Train-ing Course (MTTC) is a one-month course, starting fromAugust 5 until August 29, 2019, atMTM premises, daily, from Mon-day to Thursday, 8:30am till12:30pm.

This is a pilot project aimed attraining madrasah teachers in theessential skills needed to navigatethe difficult situation and condi-tions prevalent in our madrasahs.

Why should we care about ‘an-other’ madrasah teacher trainingcourse?

This course will present freshideas and approaches, trying tobring the madrasah teacher to,once again, play a respected, cen-tral role at the very grassroots inour communities and to provide anew opportunity for teachers, ed-ucators, ulama and professionalsto collectively create a vibrantmadrasah system.

It is not about which syllabusyou follow, and the course doesnot explore that. Furthermore, ourmadrasahs, our madrasah teachersand our youth are negatively im-pacted by rising negative socialchallenges, such as crime, unem-ployment, poverty and an aimlesseducation system.

Our concern is that madrasahshave seen a drop in the last 20years (maybe more) of high schoolteenagers and youth attending

madrasah. This has resulted in ouryouth lacking knowledge of basicIslamic teachings and beingsucked in by social ills such asdrugs and gangsterism.

Many high school students areexpected by parents and society tomake time to study hard, which isto be understood but often at theexpense of making time and learn-ing the values and teachings ofIslam.

Many madrasahs have been re-duced to providing only basicreading skills of surah and Quranbut not much meaningful Islamicteaching that grips young andgrowing minds.

It is sad to see how far we havefallen from the type of madrasahmodel of Tuan Guru, may Allahbe pleased with him, centuriesago, where valued skills of read-ing, writing and arithmetic weretaught; where, at one time, it hada larger amount of students than

established higher educational in-stitutions and where thismadrasah was discussed in thecorridors of the British colonialpower at the Cape.

A few factors contribute to thispresent sorry situation: demor-alised economically and skill-starved madrasah teachers anduncaring parents who often onlysend their children to madrasahwhen there is a problem with theirson or daughter that affects thefamily.

Other challenges are parentsnot willing to pay the R50madrasah fees but go all out forthe needs of the secular school;lack of leadership in our commu-nities as far as madrasahs andmadrasah teachers are concerned;the challenges of extreme liberalideas on our mindset; and absenceof awareness and understandingof the unseen in our psyche, espe-cially the psyche of our youth and

young adults.Besides a frightening murtad

rate amongst Muslim youth, wehave, proportionately, the largestHIV-Aids and teenage pregnancyrates on the Cape Flats and otherareas.

Madrasah Tul Madina is underno illusion as to the enormity of atask that has seen a decline overdecades.

It is for these reasons thatMTM has brought on board expe-rienced facilitators for this project.

Some of the free courses offeredare Creative Classroom Skills,Fundraising For Madaris, YouthPsychology, Cape Muslim History,Media, Organisational CapacityBuilding and Entrepreneurship, aswell as tips on how to teach andtrain youth in the sciences ofQuran and Islam.

The course aims to developmadrasah teachers who areknowledgeable and social activists

effective in dealing with youth,keep himself or herself motivatedand dedicated and continuouslylearning and upskilling them-selves.

Daily and end-course evalua-tion will be done by everyone in-volved.

Interested madrasah teachersand novice madrasah teachersmay apply before August 5, 2019.Any concerned educators, profes-sionals, business people anddonors may contact us to see howthey can contribute to its furtherdevelopment.

Who is going to take up thischallenge to raise the last grass-roots bastion of Islamic expressionin communities if not madrasahteachers together with parents?

A strong tree can only be strongwith firm, strong roots. Our verysurvival in our communities de-pends on the legacy we leave forour youth tomorrow.

For Muslims, ‘Bismillah’ is thefirst step of all good things eventhough, at times, the way does notseem clear but you want to startanyway. It is in taking the first stepthat other steps become clearer.

Fellow madrasah teachers, youdon’t have to be good to start, youjust have to start to be good!Contact: 021 376 2827 or 083 948 5436 for further infor-mation. Email: [email protected] .Address: 99 Korfbal Street, Bea-con Valley, Mitchells Plain.Muhammad Kamalie is seniorteacher and head of curriculumdevelopment and research atMadrasah Tul Madina (MTM).

A visionary training course for madrasah teachersMadrasah Tul Madina has used innovative and interactive methods toattract more high school learners tomadrasah, one being the ‘frozenscene’, performed by the teachers ofthe madrasah, seen here engagingwith the audience. From left to rightare Mualim Abdurazak Colbie (leaning), Moulana Muhammad Kamalie, Moulana Abduraghman May,Shaikh Mohammad Zabalawy andMualim Fairouz May. Now themadrasah is embarking on a visionarymadrasah teachers’ training course.

Photo ABDULLATIEF ROSSIER


LAST YEAR, WE REACHED OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLEIN 34 COUNTRIES WITH QURBANI MEAT DURING

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SHANAAZ EBRAHIM-GIREMuammar Mohammed, 40, is aresident of Al-Misrakh district,south of Taiz city. Since the conflict erupted in Yemen in2015, he was forced to cut backhis renal dialysis sessions and, attimes, faced death. He shareshow the Islamic Relief SouthAfrica (IRSA)-funded emergencyhealth project saved his life.

ISLAMIC Relief South Africarecently funded a project that bol-stered specialised medical treat-ment at Al Jumhoori Hospital, inTaiz city, Yemen. The project fo-cused on providing specialisedrenal treatment to critical patientsand also medical supplies for thefacility.

According to Islamic ReliefSouth Africa CEO, Yusuf Mo-hamed, the ongoing conflict thaterupted in 2015 has crippledhealth facilities. Many specialisedtreatment units have been over-burdened by high patient numbersand dwindling medical supplies.

Out of the 32 functioning renaldialysis centres, four centres werepermanently closed and 28 otherfacilities were struggling due tobroken equipment and medicalstocks were running low.

‘Our assessment found thatmost patients with renal failuregenerally do not have the physicalstrength or money to travel fortreatment. This funded project

supports the Al Jumhoori Hospitalrenal centre in Taiz. We found thatevery dialysis patient needed aminimum of eight kits per month,which is the lowest quantity re-quired to clean patient blood fromtoxic materials.

‘While a normal patient wouldrequire at least three sessions perweek, patients were forced to rad-ically reduce their treatments be-cause of the severe shortage ofmedication supplies and the lim-ited number of dialysis machinesavailable,’ he added.

Muammar said receiving med-

ical treatment had become a lux-ury as many government workershad not received a salary in morethan two years, pushing familiesbeyond the brink of poverty.

‘I lived day to day as I couldonly afford to get one dialysis ses-sion per week. No one can imag-ine my suffering as I struggled tofind regular renal dialysis. Attimes, doctors feared that I woulddie. I had to move my family fromAl-Misrakh district to Taiz, to becloser to this renal dialysis clinic.’

The ongoing conflict in Yemenhas produced a devastating hu-

manitarian crisis, leaving morethan 22 million people in desper-ate need of humanitarian assis-tance. Tens of thousands ofchildren have died of hunger ordiseases that have become wide-spread. This deadly conflict hasput nearly 10 million people atrisk of starvation.

Islamic Relief began working inYemen in 1998, and registered anoffice there in 2003. With nine of-fices located throughout the majorcities in Yemen, the humanitarianagency’s programme was signifi-cantly strengthened following the

escalation of the conflict in March2015. Through this IRSA-fundedproject, the renal dialysis centre re-ceived 3 200 renal dialysis con-sumable kits, and assist 156chronic patients, like Muammar,with at least eight sessions perweek.

‘Islamic Relief provided us withfree renal dialysis materials and ifit was not for those materials, wecould have died. We hope IslamicRelief continues to support pa-tients suffering from kidney failurebecause we live under the threat ofdeath. May Allah bless Islamic Re-lief for their support that has beensaving lives,’ Muammar con-cluded.

Mohamed thanked SouthAfrican donors who contributedtowards this health project. ‘Yourdonation has directly impacted thelives of hundreds of men, womenand children who are struggling tosurvive.’

‘The tragedy has reached epicproportions, with a child dyingevery 10 minutes from preventablecauses like diarrhoea, breathinginfections and malnutrition. Is-lamic Relief’s work will continueand we implore you not to forgetYemen.’

For more information on Is-lamic Relief’s work in the region,visit www.islamic-relief.org.za orrequest a copy of the project re-port by sending an email [email protected].


Islamic Relief funds Yemen dialysis unit

Muammar Mohammed, 40, is a resident of Al-Misrakh district, south of Taiz city. Since the conflict erupted in Yemen in 2015,he was forced to cut back his renal dialysis sessions and, at times, faced death. Photo ISLAMIC RELIEF

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SANZAF staff around the country did their part for Mandela Day 2019. From Pietermaritzburg to Polokwane,Durban to Cape Town and thesmall town of Ladysmith. Blankets, books, warm meals andgifts were distributed to -#GiveHope to those less fortunate.

In the Western Cape, Sanzafcommemorated the day by distrib-uting warm meals and fruit at Dis-trict 6 Hospital on July 18 while,in the evening, the Sanzaf teamdistributed food and blankets tothe Haven Night Shelter in Re-treat. Sanzaf Western Cape generalmanager Shafiek Barendse com-mented, ‘While we are here todayto commemorate the Father of ourNation, it is important to note thatSanzaf food programmes such asthis run weekly thanks to the graceof the Almighty and the generosityof our donors.’ Projects like theseare implemented year round andform part of Sanzaf’s monthlyfood programmes which takeplace throughout the WesternCape, and benefits over 20 000 in-dividuals every month.

Food and grocery hamper dis-tributions occur at various dayhospitals, madrasahs, clinics andcommunity centres, and is part ofour monthly commitment to as-sisting those in need with food se-curity in the Western Cape.

Your continued support andgenerosity allow us to give hopeand continue to change livesthrough development and relief.Our commitment to making a sus-tainable difference in the lives ofthe needy has never been strongeras your trusted zakaah, sadaqahand Lillah collection and distribu-tion organisation. We thank youfor your support.

For more information follow uson Facebook and Instagram or call021 447 0297.

Ensure your qurbani makes a differenceEid-ul-Adha is a time when

Muslims across the globe com-memorate the sacrifice of NabiIbrahim (AS) through the ritualsacrifice of qurbani. The charity ofthe qurbaan is a beautiful sunnah.It is one of the most embracingcharities that brings tremendousblessings to the one who performsthe sacrifice in obedience to AllahSWT. Sanzaf’s annual OperationQurbani allows the public an op-portunity to practice the sunnah ofProphet Muhammad (SAW)through qurbani and ensures thattheir sacrifice meaningfully sup-ports the needy in South Africaand the Southern African region.

Meat from the sacrificed ani-mals is distributed to the needyand destitute, and used in Sanzaf’smonthly feeding programmes in

and around the Western Cape.Sanzaf has a proven track

record of facilitating the amaanahof qurbani placed on us and ensur-ing that all sunnah are carried outwith regard to treatment, storageand sacrifice of the animals.

In addition, we ensure all sacri-fices are performed in accordancewith standards set by the Societyfor the Prevention of Cruelty toAnimals (SPCA). This year, needybeneficiaries from Athlone,Mitchells Plain, Elsies River, Re-treat and Manenberg will benefitby receiving fresh meat from Op-eration Qurbani.

You can complete your qurbanifrom just R595 per animal in

Malawi and Mozambique. Localqurbani is available for only R2000 per sheep (1 share) and R9950 for a bull (1 bull = 7 shares).In addition, R15 of each qurbaniwill be donated towards theMasjid Waqf Fund, which assistsmosques in disadvantaged areas.

The public has the option towitness their sacrifices and alsokeep one third of their meat fortheir own use. Sanzaf encouragesour loyal donors to attend the qur-bani activities at the SaratogaFarm in Philippi and witness theirown sacrifices.

To purchase your qurbani, visitany of our offices, call 021 638 0965 or visit www.san-

zaf.org.za As part of our contin-ued efforts to create awarenessabout Islam, Sanzaf will onceagain invite madaris and dawahcentres from rural areas to witnessthe proceedings on Eid-ul-Adhaand the days of Tashreeq at theSeratoga Farm as a form ofdawah. A live outside broadcastvia Radio 786 is conducted and at-tendees are treated to warm mealson the day of Eid-ul-Adha. Be sureto join us as we celebrate Eid-ul-Adha.


Sanzaf gives hope on Mandela Day

Sanzaf staff commemorated Mandela Day 2019 by distributing warm meals andfruit at District 6 Hospital on July 18. Similarly, that evening, the team distributedfood and blankets to the Haven Night Shelter, in Retreat. Food programmes atvarious day hospitals in the Cape peninsula run every week throughout the yearand form part of our monthly commitment to assisting those in need with foodsecurity in the Western Cape. Photo SANZAF COMMUNICATIONS

Sanzaf staff member, MoulanaReezaan Sydow, educating the youthon the virtues and purpose of qurbani,at Seratoga Farm, in Philippi. As partof our continued efforts to createawareness about Islam and as a formof dawah, Sanzaf hosts madrasahsand dawah centres from rural areas onEid-ul-Adha and the days of Tashreeq,while donors and general public arealso invited to witness their sacrifices.

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THE national Quran drive is the first of itskind being rolled out across South Africa.

This inaugural project is a joint venturebetween Islamic Dawah Movement (IDM),Fusion Inyameko Foundation SA (Fifsa) andLight of Guidance Islamic Centre (Logic),and is planned for August 5 to 9, 2019. Thedrive will be rolled out in various areas inWestern Cape, Port Elizabeth, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Project objectivesThe project plans to distribute 20 000

Qurans and gift packs to various communi-

ties across the country while aiming toachieve the following objectives: promoteIslam across the country; distribute Islamicliterature; foster interfaith relationships andunderstanding; and clarifying misconcep-tions about Islam.

DistributionTeams of volunteers will be visiting

homes, shopping malls and communities,and gifting Muslims and non-Muslims witha special gift pack that includes a Quran,My Role Model book, a miswaak and tas-beeh beads.

Apart from the original Arabic, theQurans are printed in a number of SouthernAfrican languages including English,Afrikaans, Zulu, Chichiwe and even Por-tuguese.

Hassan Noor Mahomed, the deputy di-rector of Islamic Dawah Movement de-scribes the Spread the Light project as ‘aninitiative that will take the deen of Islam tomany across the country, it will grow theummah in extraordinary ways, fostering in-terfaith relationships and bringing muchneeded clarity about Islam to many non-Muslims’.

He goes on further to explain, ‘In the cur-rent media and social scope, Islam is alwaysportrayed in a negative light, and this proj-ect aims to change that by emulating thecharacter of the noble Prophet Muhammad(SAW).’

Community involvementThis is a wonderful opportunity for the

South African community to get involved inan initiative which does not only build so-cial cohesion but also allows us to gain agreater connection with our Creator, partic-ularly at a time when our hujaaj will be en-gaged in the spiritual undertaking of Hajj.

Director of the Fusion Inyamekko Foun-dation SA, Nizaam Abdol, urges communi-ties to support the project.

‘South Africans are encouraged to jointhis amazing journey of spreading the lightacross our country during these seeminglydark days in the midst of crime, corruption,drugs and abuse.

‘We are confident that through initiativeslike these, Allah will change the conditionof our country as Allah has done to many anation before.’

Communities can support this project by

donating Qurans at the cost of R60 or a giftpack for only R100. This can be donated ontheir own behalf, on behalf of their familiesor their deceased loved ones.

Individuals or organisations can also vol-unteer to assist in the distribution of thesegift packs in the various regions during theweek of August 5 to 9, 2019.

For more information you can visit thewebsite https://spreadthelight.co.za or con-tact any of the project coordinators: NizaamAbdol (061 491 5416), Muhammad Laher(065 900 3630) or Hassan Noor Mahomed(083 680 8561).

IDM’s national Quran drive‘In the current

media and social

scope, Islam is

always portrayed

in a negative light,

and this project

aims to change that

by emulating the

character of the noble

Prophet Muhammad...’


THE Phoenix Advice Dawah and CareCentre’s (PADCC) 15th annual Hajj andUmrah seminar that was held on June16, 2019, in Rydalvale, Phoenix(KwaZulu-Natal) was a resounding success.

Moulana A R Khan, author of Step byStep guide to Hajj, Umrah and Ziyaarah,Hafez Ismail Khatib, Dr Nazeer NoorMohamed, Riaz Solwa of KhidmatulAwaam, and Shaikh Adam of the SouthAfrican Hajj and Umrah Council (Sahuc)enlightened the audience regarding theHajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.

Dawood Chetty, Osman Richard Tha-

bethe and Abdul Rahman Latchmanper-sad and his wife, Nazia Hoosen, wereawarded the Umrah packages.

The Umrah packages included bothlocal and international airfares, and ac-commodation in the holy cities of Makkahand Madinah.

A sumptuous five-course meal wassponsored by Solly Manjra, and the semi-nar material was donated by the manage-ment of Mancosa.

The function concluded with a vote ofthanks to the donors, the speakers, thewomen’s forum and all those who con-tributed to the success of the seminar.

15th annual Hajj and Umrah seminar

At the presentation of the Umrah packages after the Phoenix Advice Dawah and Care Centre’s (PADCC)15th annual Hajj and Umrah seminar are Rookaya Bobat, PADCC secretary; Abdul Wahab Khan, treasurer; Osman Richard Thabethe, a recipient; Dawood Chetty, recipient; Hajee Abdul Gaffar Munieff,seminar coordinator; and husband and wife recipients Abdul Rahman Latchmanpersad and NaziaHoosen. Photo SUPPLIED


SALMAAN JACOBSTHIS quiz encouraged andtaught me and my madrasah colleagues how to care about oneanother.

At first I thought it would behard as it was my first time infront of an audience. My col-leagues actually gave me thecourage to be positive and justenjoy the day.

Our principal, Shaikh Ab-duraghmaan May, also inspired usto be positive and enjoy what wewere learning, and he lifted up ourspirits so that we should not benegative.

We felt special as we were wel-comed with tea, coffee, snacks andlots of different types of sweets.The day went smooth as the ques-tion master kept the quiz excitingand flowing.

The way the question masterasked the questions was actually alesson in love and affection, andhe showed us how Imam Haron’slife could impact on us.

I became more affected asImam Haron’s story encouragedme to help other people and assist

where needed.We went through a tough com-

petition with nothing to lose, andeven though we came second, weat Madrasah Tul Madina believeas a team that we have educatedourselves about the life of a legendin our religion.

Our teachers who stood by usfrom the start played a big role inour achievement and they areproud of us. Our principal al-lowed us to share our experiencewith the whole madrasah and thenwe educated ourselves even more.

We then had an even greater ex-perience about the history of thelegend: Imam Abdullah Haron.We as a team agreed to go and doresearch on the Internet about thehistory of Islam.

It’s good to go to these kinds ofevents as we learn about whathappened in the past and it teachesyou about your religion’s historyso, by going to these kinds ofevents, we can become better peo-ple.

By going to the quiz and learn-ing about Imam Abdullah Haronmade me a better person and itmade me respect myself and myfamily and friends.

It made me think about the badthings I did in life and how to rec-tify them and just to concentrateon the good things that Imam Ab-dullah Haron did in his life.

It made my friends (my teammates) better and they respectthemselves more than they did be-fore. They are not just being betterto themselves but better to me andtheir other classmates at

Madrasah Tul Madina.I respect them for trying to en-

courage fellow students to changetheir lives on to the straight path.

Imam Abdullah Haron inspiredme more than anyone has everbeen able to inspire me. He wentthrough a lot of pain. He was amartyr who fought for Islam, andfor that he inspired me to becomea better person.

I would like Muslim teenagersall over the world to read and ed-ucate themselves about the historyof our legend Imam AbdullahHaron and what he went through.

I would also like to take thisopportunity to say shukran toShaikh Abduraghmaan and all re-spected teachers, at Madrasah TulMadina for giving me such a greatopportunity.

I would also like to say a very,very big shukran to the organisersof the commemoration of ImamHaron, the community radio sta-tions and especially Muslim Viewsfor inviting Madrasah Tul Mad-ina.

AZZAAM GHAZALIE MAYWHEN we received the newsthat there was going to be a quiz,I literally was not up for it because I am too busy with myHifz. Then we were randomly selected to be part of the quiz.

Our team consisted of myyounger brother, Abdul HameedMay (12 years), Salmaan Jacobs(14 years), Mukhtar Goodheart(12 years), me and, of course, oursubstitute, Ayyoob Goodheart (15years).

We thought it would be ques-tion and answer (Q & A) but itturned out to be articles, lots of ar-ticles (of Imam Haron, of course).I thought it would be impossibleto study but, Alhamdulillah, wemanaged.

As time went by, we readthrough the articles then, after twoto three weeks, something won-derful happened.

We were reading through thearticles when the secretary of themadrasah, Shamiega Ajam, saw usstudying and asked us if weneeded help.

We thought that she would notbe able to help because she has somuch work in the office but weended up saying ‘yes’. Thanks toher, we came that far in the com-petition.

I actually learnt more than I ex-pected about Imam Haron. Read-ing about his death gives me goosebumps but reading about hislegacy, the things he did not onlyfor the Muslims but for everyone,truly shows that this man was andwill always be a legend.

Sometimes I just wish that Iwere one of his students (nevermind the apartheid). Everythinghe did was truly outstanding. Histalks, speeches, khutbahs andquotes are all things you will neverget tired of listening to.

For me, it’s like he lived the waya prophet of Allah lived. Some-times I wonder how people couldtorture and murder such a man.All he was trying to do was tomake the world a better place,nothing bad, so why kill him?

Thinking about that is very sad.He was also a man that kept theSunnah alive.

For people who don’t knowwho Imam Haron was, I wouldsuggest that they get a book andread about As-Shaheed Imam Ab-dullah Haron because they are los-ing out a lot.

If there were another personlike Imam Abdullah Haron, thisworld would be a better place. Hewas killed 50 years ago but his his-tory is still alive. He was a leader,an imam and a shaikh.

It has been an honour to takepart in the Imam Abdullah Haronquiz. I was very pleased to see histwo children Fatiema Haron andMuhammed Haron. We even gotto take a picture with them.

On the day of the quiz, I wasfeeling very anxious. I was tryingto clear my mind but just couldn’tget it right. When they called us(Madrasah Tul Madina) up to thestage, I was shivering uncontrol-lably till the end.

The other schools that partici-pated were Norman HenshilwoodHigh, Trafalgar High and SouthPeninsula High. Alhamdulillah,the competition was a great suc-cess with us (Madrasah Tul Mad-ina) taking second place, one pointbehind the winners, South Penin-sula High.

But, as they say, everyone is in-deed a winner. I am looking for-ward to the Imam AbdullahHaron quiz next year, Insha Allah.May Allah SWT grant Imam Ab-dullah Haron a high place in Jan-nah. Ameen.

Students reflect on Imam Haron quizSALMAAN JACOBS andAZZAAM GHAZALIE MAY,two members of theMadrasah Tul Madina teamthat participated in the highschool quiz held as part ofthe Imam Haron 50th commemorations, forwarded their impressions of the event.

“THE Prophet (SAW) was asked,‘What is qurbani?’ and he answered, ‘It is the sunnah ofyour father, Ibrahim. For everyhair of the qurbani, you receive areward from Allah.’ (Tirmidhi)

Muslims all around the worldwill soon be coming together tocelebrate Eid-ul-Adha. A celebra-tion of sacrifice, it commemoratesthe completion of the Hajj, the an-nual pilgrimage to Makkah. It isobserved through the sacrificial

slaughter of animals, known asqurbani, to honour and commem-orate the willingness of ProphetIbrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son,Ismail (AS).

Each year, through our partner-ships across the entire globe,Penny Appeal performs qurbaniand distributes the meat to areaswhere the need is greatest, partic-ularly among the followinggroups: families with no ability toproduce an income, widow-

headed families, female-headedfamilies, orphan-headed families,the elderly, people with disabili-ties, and orphans or vulnerablechildren and refugees.

Penny Appeal adheres strictlyto implementing strict measureswhen identifying the qurbani ani-mals, ensuring that our selectionprocess and criteria are in linewith the shariah to ensure that ourqurbani takes place in accordancewith Islamic principles and dig-nity.

Penny Appeal ensures that onlyfresh meat is distributed, and ut-most care is taken in ensuring thatdignity is maintained throughoutour distribution process.

To enhance transparency andfoster community participation,we will be forming communitygroups who will aid in identifyingprospective beneficiaries, as wellas supporting in areas such asstewardship, distribution, andcleanliness and hygiene awarenessto ensure that a sense of owner-ship is felt among the communitieswith whom we work.

For R1 800 in South Africa,and R700 in India and Uganda,you can support Penny Appeal’squrbani programme.

In so doing, you are doing yourbit to ensure that the concept ofqurbani lives on, that vulnerablehouseholds and communities re-ceive a meat pack to sustain theirmeals, and to ensure that theyhave meat packages which aremostly deemed a luxury item formost.


5 & 6 OCT. 11 OCT. 12 OCT. 13 OCT.4 OCT.

Civic Centre Auditorium

Islamia Auditorium

Wits LinderAuditorium

Al GhazaliCollege

CrescentHall

islamic-relief.org.za/ 073 154 5369

ZAIN BHIKHA

OM

AR REGAN ALI OFFICIAL

IN AID OF ORPHANS & VULNERABLE CHILDREN

BAITUL Hikmah has confirmedthat the upcoming ProductiveMuslim Workshop is to be conducted by Mohammed Faris(USA) from August 30 to September 10 in South Africa.

Mohammed Faris is thefounder of the website Productive-Muslim.com, an online social en-terprise dedicated to boostingproductivity in the Muslim world.

He is an international speaker,author and coach and has deliv-ered many public workshops incities around the world. In 2014,he was listed as one of the 500Most Influential Muslims by theRoyal Islamic Strategic StudiesCentre of Jordan.

If you’re wondering whetherthere is a practical way to lead aproductive lifestyle that combinesthe best of Islamic tradition andmodern psychology and sciencethen attend one of these work-shops that are to be held in Preto-ria, Johannesburg, Durban andCape Town. He will be conduct-ing two workshops:

The Productive Muslim Work-shop: This is primarily based onthe Productive Muslim book andone can either attend a three-hoursession or a one-day (six-hour)one. This is suitable for generalcommunity aged 15 years or older.

The Barakah Effect: This goesdeep in the concept of barakah,and gives practical tools and ad-vice on how to attract barakah inone’s life and business. It is prima-rily targeting business people, en-

trepreneurs and professionals, andis a 90-minute session.

Faris will provide a practicalframework that helps urbanglobal Muslims lead a productivelifestyle – spiritually, physicallyand socially.

Combining his love for Islamwith modern productivity tech-niques, Mohamed Faris will teachyou: how spirituality can boostyour productivity; how to manageyour sleep, nutrition and fitness;how to be socially productive out-side your home and community;how to manage your focus in anage of distraction; how to buildproductive habits and routines;and how to manage your time andinvest in the hereafter.

This workshop is designed foranyone interested in improvingtheir productivity, where Mo-hamed Faris will teach you how tolink faith with personal and pro-fessional development.

The Productive Muslim work-shop is open to all interested inlearning practical strategies to livethe best version of themselves andenhance their productivitywhether you are a professional,business person, working for acorporate or private business, anNGO or a student.

Anyone and everyone can ben-efit immensely from this dynamictrainer and coach, MohammedFaris.For online registration and moredetails visit www.hikmah.co.zaor call 031 207 3871.

Expert talks on Muslimsand productivity

THE deadline for comments andsubmissions to the SA Law Commission’s Project 144 SingleMarriage Statute (SMS) IssuePaper 35 has been extended toAugust 31, 2019.

This follows representations bythe Association of Muslim Ac-countants and Lawyers (Amal)and the United Ulema Council ofSA (UUCSA) to the Law ReformCommission (LRC). The originaldeadline was July 31.

The issue paper deals with,amongst others, Muslim mar-riages. The request for an exten-sion followed a resolution taken atAmal’s National MembershipConsultative Workshop on theSMS held earlier this month, toallow for further consultations,debate and discussions to takeplace amongst the Muslim stake-

holder bodies with a view toachieving as much consensus be-fore submissions are lodged withthe Law Commission.

Amal members had also, in themonths prior, met with a widerange of stakeholders, includingulama bodies with a view to har-nessing the various skills, expertlegal, intellectual and shariahminds and resources to ensure thedeliberations and submission,which will eventually contributeto a historic act of parliament af-fecting all marriages in SouthAfrica including Muslim mar-riages, take into account the needsand concerns of the Muslim com-munity. For further information,you may contact the Amal secre-tariat on telephone 031 207 3381,fax 086 635 9818 or e-mail:[email protected]

Deadline for comment onmarriage statute extended

Qurbani with Penny Appeal: love for others what you love for yourself

NINA NUSAYBAH ALEXIA BRAZZO

TO establish a harmony betweenone’s inner life (emotions,thoughts, impulses) and outer actions so that the spirit and vessel become aligned is thestruggle while living in a massconsumerist, capitalist society.

While the world wants to frag-ment and cause separation andconfusion, Allah provides a means(calls us) to the unification of selfand embracing the sacred. All elseis a distraction.

Over the decade since I em-braced Islam, there have beenmany openings and challengesthat I have recognised within ourummah. I can, therefore, sharesome of my experiences and howit has changed my life in this arti-

cle.Implementing the five daily

prayers in my life was a gradualprocess so that it was natural, ben-eficial and not burdensome.

In becoming Muslim, we recog-nise profoundly that our new wayof life is the deen, and Islam is acomplete way of life so that whatwe perceive to be our style is to-tally subsumed under it.

Ultimately, what I came to ex-perience from living in Indonesiawas the salaah being the divisionof time. As time is with Allah, thesimplest way to understand this iswhen we follow His shifts in thesun, moon and the cosmic flow.

Once we truly attain this, weare actually more productive, sat-isfied, accepting of our situation,conscientious, peaceful and bringabout more clarity.

Our perspective of time and lifeas a whole changes when we shiftfrom mechanical clock time to na-ture’s time.

The challenge is to maintainthese segments of the day disci-plined by the prayers in a Westernsociety.

This might sound obvious buthow many of us navigate ourprayers around our activitiesrather than our activities aroundour prayers?

To do this, we must also bepresent in and outside the prayer.Learning and practising pure med-itation is an essential technique forthis presence and a foundationalcomponent of the spiritual path.

Regular dhikr is an importantelement I added to my lifestyle. Itstarted with group dhikr by a spir-itual shaikh and then individuallyas my desire and knowledge grew.

What started as a mindfultraining ground with prayer beadson the London underground andThursday nights at the communitydhikr, gradually one is able tomaintain a constant remembranceso that it is in everything we do.

The literal daily dhikr we do onour own and weekly in companythen becomes an extra charge toreach higher spiritual states, andbrings about a sense of peace inpain, confusion, sadness and, ulti-mately, healing.

Like nature, we are fluid so theonly thing constant is change butwe can use techniques given to uslike pearls of wisdom for our san-ity and balance to bring us back toThe Origin.

The practice of the completefast as the basis of my life by theconstant state that the Creator isfacing me gives me many layers ofbenefit being a catalyst to healthierliving, thought processes, regulat-ing the body, refining spiritualityto achieve new knowledge and en-abling us to be less selfish.

It should make us more health-conscious of the food we eat andexercise as even salaah and dhikrare movements akin to yoga thatbecome part of our exerciseregime. Our bodies and prayer areour weapons so that salaah is oursilat (form of self-defence) and thetwo fuse simultaneously.

For ultimate balance there mustbe Islam, imaan and ihsaan culti-vated to the point of self-expres-sion. As we take in knowledge andwork internally, I have realisedthat the practical implementationand sharing as a contribution to

others is necessary and valuablebecause the essential quality in hu-mans is to express ourselves in ourfitrah state.

We must nurture our ownunique ways of expression. Whathas been interesting over the tenyears is that I have organicallymoved from visual arts to expres-sion in sound and movement.

The vibration, movement se-quences, sounds and melodies cre-ated through dhikr and prayersenable a natural inspiration inthese which, for me, seem almostunable to contain but yet celebrateand nurture.

South Africa cultivated myvoice and Indonesia my soundwith musical compositions andmovement from traditional dance.For me, this has been a blessing tofollow the talents Allah has be-stowed upon me as a form ofibadah and natural dawah.

A decade of ShahadaMuslim Views . August 201936

Performing for earthquake victims at Posko pengungsian, Kayangan, North Lombok, as part of the ‘Debu Peduli Lombok’ tour. [Debu (translation:Dust), thename of a band, cares for Lombok]. Photo FARAH BIN YAHYA

Traditional Minangkabau cultural house and clothing from Zulu, Minang and Javaheritage while studying performing arts at ISI Padangpanjang (University of Arts)in 2017-2018. Location: Pusat Dokumentasi Informasi Kebudayaan Minangkabu(PDIKM), Padangpanjang, West Sumatra. Photo MEVI ROSDIAN


SABEEHAH MAHOMED‘AND We will surely test youwith something of fear andhunger, and a loss of wealth andlives and fruits but give good tidings to the patient.’ (Quran2:155)

This verse is a summary of thelife story of Suliman Bhamjee,born in Surat, India, in 1916. Hisstory is both unique and extraor-dinary.

The loss of a loved one is an or-deal like no other. Bhamjee lost hismother at a young age.

When he was 19, he marriedand had two children. Sadly, bothpassed away within a few years,and his wife died soon after givingbirth to his second child.

At the age of 26, he had lost hisentire family.

In 1943, he married RookiyaBakharia, and during WWII emi-grated to South Africa. At thetime, Rookiya was expecting theirsecond child. Circumstancescaused them to arrive late in Bom-bay and the ship had already set

sail when they got there. They hadto wait a week for the next ship toSouth Africa.

It was later reported that theship they missed had been bombedand had sunk. No one survived.

Once in South Africa, Sulimanstarted a successful business sellinghandmade designer garments in

Newlands. Suliman’s brother re-quested a partnership.

Being siblings, Suliman couldnot refuse; he trusted his brotherand signed the documents.

Soon thereafter, Suliman wasevicted from his own shop. Hehad been deceived into signingaway his business.

The second test of a loss ofwealth and hunger began.

Despite his own family beingsubjected to hardship, he did notfight nor sever family ties, andcontinued to show the utmost rev-erence for his elder brother.

Financial difficulties forced theBhamjee family, now with eightchildren, to relocate to Vrededorp(Fietas), in Johannesburg.

Suliman now worked as awholesale representative and trav-elled for weeks away from hometo smaller towns, sometimes leav-ing his family with only twopounds for a month.

Another test followed: illness.Suliman suffered a major heart at-tack.

Unable to work anymore, hiseldest son was forced to leaveschool and start working, leavinghome at 4am every day.

For weeks, Rookiya walked tothe hospital to give her husbandfood. When family memberspassed by, no one offered her a lift.

Mr and Mrs Bhamjee raised 12children in a small house, manyslept together, others underkitchen tables. One Eid, theirneighbour, Shaikh Yusuf Evans,noticed they had no food and tookthem a chicken to cook for lunch.

Regardless of the circum-stances, the children loved theirparents dearly.

Apartheid brought with it the

Group Areas Act, and Indian fam-ilies were forced to move from Fi-etas to underdeveloped Lenasia.There, residents used pit toiletsand travelled far for work.

Suliman’s health continuedweakening and he could no longerwork. He suffered a severe stroke,which resulted in his heart stop-ping for a few moments.

While hospitalised, his brothervisited and asked, ‘Can I give youmoney for cigarettes?’

He replied, ‘Brother, you’re ask-ing me if I want money for ciga-rettes when I have no idea whatmy children are eating at home!’

When visitors asked how hewas feeling, he always replied witha smile, ‘Alhamdulillah,’ and nevercomplained.

Suliman deeply loved theQuran and Nabi Muhammad(SAW). On hearing the adhaan,tears would roll down his eyes at,‘Ash-haddu-anna-Muhammadur-rasulullah.’

His only request to those goingfor Umrah was a duah for death inMadinah. He had a picture of thegreen dome, which he had pinnedup in his room.

At the age of 65, Suliman wentfor Hajj. While others recited‘Labaik’ on the bus, SulimanBhamjee was found recitingdurood.

During 1984, while in Madi-nah, a strange incident occurred.As he came out of the Haram, anArab shaikh approached him witha stack of riyaals saying,‘Hadiyah! Hadiyah!’

With tears in his eyes, Sulimanlooked up and said, ‘Oh Allah!Are you still testing me?’ Hekindly declined the man’s moneyand said his heart did not desire

wealth but only to die in theblessed city of Madinah.

In 1986, he returned forUmrah. The morning he was set toleave Madinah to perform Umrah,Suliman performed Fajr, greetedhis wife saying, ‘KhudaHafiz,’ andleft to read his final salaam to ourbeloved Prophet.

While reading, some brothersnearby noticed Suliman was expe-riencing chest pains. They gavehim some Zam-zam to drink and,a few moments later, SulimanBhamjee peacefully passed awayin front of the Roudah Mubarak.

After the ghusul, a green turbanwas placed on his head and hisbody was placed in front of theRoudah Mubarak. As peoplepassed to convey salaam to NabiMuhammad (SAW), they said,‘Shaikh, what an honour you havegained!’

His janazah salaah was per-formed after Esha, which includedover 100 000 people.

Suliman Bhamjee is buried inJannatul Baqee; his grave is di-rectly aligned with the greendome.

His life is a model example,teaching us the power of sabr andshukr in attaining true success forthe pleasure of the Almighty.Sabeehah Mahomed holds a postgraduate honours (BA) degree in Islamic Studies. She isan entrepreneur and businesswoman and former executive member of the Johannesburg Youth City Council. She is a public speakerand serves on multiple organisations. In 2018, Sabeehahrepresented South Africa at theInternational Youth Summit inLahore.

Narratives for ThoughtA life of sabr and shukr breathes its last in Madinah

Suliman Bhamjee’s was a life of sabrand shukr, rewarded with his desire tobreathe his last in the Radiant City ofRasulullah (SAW). Photo SUPPLIED


Repeat therelics exhibition

Dear Mr Shafiq MortonI FELT very elated on reading

the Muslim Views of March 2019,page 6, and April 2019, page 40,about the exhibition of the relicsof the Prophet (SAW).

It brought back memories forme because the exhibition waslaunched at 8 Gore Street, CapeTown, which is where I was raisedby my mom and grandpa, whosesurname was Bardien.

My mom was a teacher at Zon-nebloem.

I can name most of neighboursof that area.

Previously, I worked at GrooteSchuur Hospital for 30 long years.

Nevertheless, about viewing therelics: if I can recall correctly, therewas a house in Wale Street, CapeTown, that also had a showcasemany years ago.

Can there not be a repeat of theexhibition some time when it isconvenient to transport the eld-erly?

There are some of the elderlywho are alone and for them, trans-port is a problem.

Mrs M SiersSunnyside,

Athlone

She will winthis case

MAJOR Fatima Isaacs shouldeasily win her case if it goes tocourt. Is the headscarf a religiousinjunction? Yes! Is the action bythe SANDF discriminatory? Yes!

Does the headscarf affect theSANDF’s operational require-ments? No! So I cannot see howthe SANDF can prove otherwise.

The real test will come whensomeone decides to wear a burqah(where the face is completely cov-ered). Many countries in Africaand Europe have already bannedthe burqah due to it being used as

a disguise by terrorists and crimi-nals. Ironically, the burqah wasprevalent in Greek, Persian and In-dian societies long before the ad-vent of Islam.

Then, only upper class womenwere allowed to wear the burqahto prevent them from becomingdamaged goods, and from the ad-vances and gaze of the lowerclasses and slaves. Further socialstratification meant the lowerclasses wore ordinary headscarves,and slaves were not allowed anyheadgear at all. Thus, the burqahin medieval societies was there toprotect the property of men, not asa moral imperative.

But the headscarf in Islam has amoral dimension, and is not apackage for goods.

This is how Islamic fundamen-talism conflated principle, law,custom and context, which isfound throughout Islamic dis-course.

Thus, the burqah was not evenan Arabian custom, and wassmuggled into Islamic law whenMuslim conquests intersectedthose of Alexander the Great.

On the other extreme of burqahfundamentalism, we find the mod-ern day liberals.

They say that God only com-manded the covering of the bosom(Quran 24:31), and not the hair.But this was done in a contextwhere women already wore theheadscarf.

Naushad OmarAthlone

Letters to the Editor

The photograph on the left, taken by IhsaanHaffejee, shows residents of the Madala men’shostel in Alexandra watching football.

Far from the wealth of the football we normallysee on our television screens, sporting talent andexcitement most often happens where the cameras don’t go.

Turn to page 48 for the full story of theMaimane Alfred Phiri Games, an annual footballing feast.


LOUISE DONOVANHeld captive by gun-toting smugglers at a warehouse insouthern Libya, newlywed Somali refugee Maryam* wastaken from her husband,Ahmed*, and raped – repeatedly– over several months. Onlywhen she became pregnant wasshe returned to him.

‘THEY forced him to work andpunished him in front of me to hu-miliate him,’ she says of the cou-ple’s ordeal, which was only justbeginning.

‘They continued to beat me de-spite my condition but, one day, asmuggler pushed me very hard. Ifell and I miscarried my baby.’

After paying a ransom of 2 000dinars – US$1,445 – they werefreed, only to be betrayed and soldon to smugglers in the desert townof Bani Walid by a local man whohad promised to help them.

‘Bani Walid was even worsethan before. It was more painful.They would torture and punishmy husband all the time. Theyeven stabbed him in the thigh. Iwas raped again … Again I fellpregnant … and again, due to theconditions there, I lost my baby,’she says.

One night, a guard left a doorunlocked and the couple seizedtheir chance to finally escape. Shel-tered by the Somali community inTripoli, the couple later attemptedto cross the Mediterranean. But,like so many others, they were in-tercepted by the authorities andreturned to Ain Zara detention

centre, in Tripoli.‘When we were caught at sea,

people were beginning to drown,’recalls Maryam. ‘So, we were sohappy when we saw the boat butwhen we realised we were goingback we couldn’t believe it.’

The waking nightmare lived byMaryam and Ahmed is becomingincreasingly common for thou-sands of refugees and migrantswho risk their lives in the hands oftraffickers and smugglers on dan-gerous journeys from Sub-Saharan

Africa to North Africa, manyseeking to reach safety in Europe.

Dangers along the route includebeing kidnapped, murdered, rapedor sexually assaulted, being left todie in the desert or being sold asslaves.

Of those who reach the shoresof the Mediterranean aboard aboat, at least 331 people died orwent missing at sea this year afterdeparting Libya – a rate equivalentto about one-in-six who attemptthe journey.

In a bid to do all it can to savelives, UNHCR, the UN RefugeeAgency, at the end of Junelaunched its Routes towards theMediterranean strategy, seekingUS$210 million to help thousandsof people fleeing horrific abuses atthe hands of traffickers and smug-glers.

The agency aims to find alter-natives for refugees like Maryamand Ahmed – who fled Somaliaafter three close family members,including their parents, were killed

– so that they never need to set outoverland in the first place.

As part of its work in the coun-try, the UNHCR has been identi-fying the most vulnerable peopletrapped inside Libyan detentioncentres, like Maryam and Ahmed,and taking them to its Gatheringand Departure Facility in Tripoli,while they await evacuation out ofthe country.

In March of this year, the cou-ple were among more than 100men, women and children evacu-ated by charter flight to Niger.

‘In Niger, we are finally safe,’Maryam says.

‘We are so happy to finally livetogether as a couple.

‘We live in hope for a good fu-ture and that we can spend the restof our lives together.’

Since the flights began in 2017,the UNHCR has evacuated 2 913of the most vulnerable to safety inNiger, where more lasting solu-tions, such as resettlement to thirdcountries, can be found for them.

‘The horrors that people facealong these perilous journeys arebeyond all comprehension.

‘They are a violation of humanrights and dignity,’ says Alessan-dra Morelli, UNHCR representa-tive in Niger.

‘We work to bring a sense ofhope back to these people,through care and healing.’* Names have been changed toprotect the identity of the peoplein this story.The UN Refugee Agency pressrelease distributed by APOGroup.

On trek to safety, Somalis risk all in Libya

Somali refugees, fleeing conditions such as those in the Dadaab camp in Kenya, for safer havens, find themselves facingeven greater threats to their lives and dignity. Photo 123RF.COM


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MAKING a donation to a charitable organisation can beboth good for the soul and foryour pocket. Did you know thatyou can claim donations made tocharitable organisations on yourtax return submitted to the SouthAfrican Revenue Service (Sars)?

This article is aimed at creatingan awareness among tax payersand donors so that they can makethe most out of their good deeds.

What is a donation?A donation is a disposition of

an amount of money or of somekind of property, including (anywaiver or renunciation of a right)to a person, which is made gratu-itously and without any ‘stringsattached’. Essentially, the donationmust be made out of the goodnessof the donor’s heart and not forany other reason.

Donations to certain organisa-tions are not allowed to beclaimed for tax purposes. We willexplain these organisations first.

Non-profit companies (NPC):These are companies registered asNPCs. Registration as a non-profit

company does not accord the en-tity any special tax treatment, anddonations made to an entity thatis solely registered as an NPC willnot afford the donor any tax breakwhatsoever.

Non-profit organisations: Inaddition to being registered as anNPC, a company (or any othertype of association of persons, in-corporated or not) could be regis-tered with the Department ofSocial Development as a non-profit organisation (NPO).

Registration as an NPO alsodoes not give the organisation anyspecial tax treatment, and a donorwho makes a donation to an entitythat is registered as an NPO willnot, for this reason alone, obtainany tax benefits.

Organisations to which you can donate

Public benefit organisations: Acompany or other entity can (inaddition to being registered as anNPC, and in addition to being anNPO) be registered with Sars as apublic benefit organisation (PBO).

It is only when a donation ismade to an entity that is registeredwith Sars as a PBO that a donorwill be entitled to claim the dona-tion as a tax deduction in terms ofsection 18A of the Income TaxAct.

Although donations to personsor entities that are registered asNPCs or NPOs may count for

BEE or social corporate responsi-bility purposes, if these entities arenot registered with Sars as PBOs,donors to those entities will not beentitled to claim tax deduction inrelation to those donations.

If the donations made are ma-terial, and they exceed the donor’sannual exemption limit, the donormay be held liable for donationstax by SARS at the rate of twenty(20) per cent of the value of thedonation.

Donations made by taxpayersto approved public benefit organ-isations can result in the individualreducing his/ her tax liability uponsubmission of his/ her annual taxreturn.

Upon donating to such an en-tity, the entity should issue the in-dividual with a section 18Acertificate.

This certificate is important asit must be submitted to Sars withthe individual’s annual tax return.

For a full list of all approved or-ganisations, please refer to the Sarswebsite.

You can also double check withyour charity of choice whetherthey can issue such a certificateprior to making the donation.

Also remember that the higheryour marginal rate of taxation, themore the donation will reduceyour tax liability, and do not for-get to keep your section 18A cer-tificate received as proof of thedonation.Contact any one of NexiaSAB&T branches nationally forassistance in your tax affairs.Please note that the above is forinformation purposes only anddoes not constitute financial ortax advice. As each individual’spersonal circumstances vary, werecommend they seek advice onthe matter.Please note that while every effort is made to ensure accuracy,Nexia SAB&T does not acceptresponsibility for any inaccuracies or errors containedherein. If you are in doubt aboutany information in this article orrequire any advice on the topicalmatter, please do not hesitate tocontact any Nexia SAB&T officenationally.

Donations to approvedpublic benefit organisationsHASSEN KAJIE, CA (SA), a director of Nexia SAB&T, basedin the Cape Town office, and AYSHA OSMAN, CA (SA), National Technical Manager for Nexia SAB&T, in the Centurion office, explain when one’s donations to charitable organisations are subject to tax deductions.

Hassen Kajie Aysha Osman

Focus on Finance

Essentially, the donation must be made out of the goodness of the donor’s heart and not for any other reason.


Wishing a j yousall oishing a j yousall o

Eid MubarakEid MubarakEid MubarakEid MubarakWWishing a a j yousll oishing a a j yousll o

THE opening prayer by JusticeMogoeng Mogoeng in parliament, before swearing innew parliamentarians, generatedimmense interest and heated debate.

Since South Africa declared it-self a secular state in 1994 and hasa secular constitution, did thejudge’s action violate the funda-mental principle of a secular state?

The judge’s critics, includingProfessor Jonathan Jansen, of Stel-lenbosch University, described hisaction as unacceptable in a seculardemocracy.

His defenders, including theleader of the African ChristianDemocratic Party, KennethMeshoe, disagree, saying he didnot compel everyone to followsuit. Moreover, he proposed thatthe ministers could meditate ifthey did not wish to offer prayers.

Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s ac-tion generated an interesting, on-going debate on the role of

religion in society in the media.The rationale for the delibera-

tions must be viewed in the con-text of the absence of ethics andmorality in South African societyin general. As a matter of fact, thejudge prayed for solutions tocrime, corruption and unemploy-ment in the country.

Three fundamental questionsdominate the discussions. Will theworld be a better place without re-ligion? Do we need a value sys-tem? Can institutional religion bebeneficial?

The focus of the debate is notonly confined to families but alsoon state institutions. The lootingof public resources, nepotism andcorruption in government are allmatters that require urgent atten-tion.

The very small percentage ofmunicipalities that received a cleanaudit is being cited as an exampleof the deep-rooted moral/ ethicaldegradation that the country hasfallen into.

The lack of discipline in schools– no respect for educators, gangwarfare, drugs, theft, truancy andteenage pregnancy on the part oflearners, as well as truancy on thepart of educators, physical andsexual abuse of learners and intim-idation of school inspectors are

factors that have serious conse-quences for social stability.

The introduction of religious ormoral and ethical values is nowbeing proposed by several educa-tors, politicians and social work-ers, understandably given therampant crime, corruption andchaos that presently characteriseSouth African society.

However, there are objectionsto as well as support for this pro-posal, for a variety of reasons,some of which will be elucidatedhere.

Religion (or, in some cases,prayers specifically) used to betaught in many state schools. Ithas now been relegated to thefringes of society, leaving a vac-uum. Currently schools don’tteach ethics.

Those who oppose the reintro-duction of religion/ ethics give thefollowing reasons for their objec-tions:

Religion (specifically churches)during the apartheid years wasused to create ‘docile servants’ andto oppress people; religion dividespeople, which explains why wehave so many denominations; peo-ple follow their religious leadersblindly; religion promotes vio-lence, mass killings and genocide;religion does not allow for criti-

cism; and religion is ‘cosmetic’.The response to the allegation

that religion promotes violence isthat it cannot be attributed to thefaith itself but to those – extrem-ists or radicalised – who misinter-pret it.

One reason why many peopleoppose religion in the public spaceis because of misinterpretation ofits role.

The reasons for supporting theintroduction of religion andmoral/ ethical values are:

Religion provides a goal as wellas purpose and meaning in life; itsremoval has led to the currentbreakdown in morality and ethics;it does more good than harm; itprovides an anchor; it provides avalue structure; it could also beconsidered as a personal journey;the world is no better off withoutreligion; and the top performingschools in South Africa are faith-based.

As for those who see benefits inteaching religion, not all agree

about what ought to be intro-duced in the public domain.

Some suggest that instead of re-ligion per se, philosophy, ethics orculture should be taught inschools.

The Moral RegenerationMovement introduced by NelsonMandela (also called the RDP ofthe soul) must be revisited, and re-ligion should be practised withinthe constitutional framework.

While some Christians proposeChristian values as a solution, oth-ers do not confine it to a singlefaith but values that are commonto the major faiths.

One suggestion is that publicschools should have a religiousethos (like the Christian and Mus-lim schools).

There is also an intriguing dis-course on whether ethical ormoral values not based on reli-gion/ faith can be effective in ad-dressing the myriad of socialproblems presently confrontingSouth African society.

Discussions with DangorReligion in public life debate

Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s action generated an interesting,on-going debate on the role of religion in society in the media,writes EMERITUS PROFESSOR SULEMAN DANGOR.

Three fundamental questions dominate the discussions. Will

the world be a better place withoutreligion? Do we need a value system? Can institutional religion be beneficial?

Zemcor, 124 Capricorn Drive, Capricorn Business Park, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South AfricaTel: + 27 21 709 0541 Fax: +27 21 709 0899 Email: [email protected] www.zemcor.co.za

Wishing you and your families a blessed Eid!

Eid Mubarak


DILSHAD PARKERTHE popular Italian restaurantchain, Nonna’s Italian Kitchen, inJohannesburg, is opening somenew, fully halaal branches. Wechecked out the Sandton branchon a recent trip to the City ofGold.

Situated in the very swish Sand-ton City Mall, Nonna’s ItalianKitchen is a family type restaurantthat caters well to small, cosy cou-ples or larger families and groups,with large booth seating andsmaller two- and four-seater ta-bles.

The menu offers Italian-stylestarters, pasta and pizza in a rus-tic, rectangular shape, which youcan order in six, eight or 24 slicesas well as a small dessert menuand mocktails.

Our party of six arrived on aSaturday evening, in March, atsupper time. There was alreadyquite a long queue, which was agood sign for me; popularity beinga sign that they are doing some-thing right. It could also be that it’sthe latest trend to try, and wewould soon find out which it was.

As they have recently convertedto a halaal store, there was a largeamount of Muslim people bothseated and in the queue eagerlywaiting to try out this latest addi-tion to the local Halaal scene. Youare quite likely to run into severalfamily members, a co-worker ortwo and some long lost friendsfrom your school days. Don’t sayI didn’t warn you…

Once we got seated at one ofthe booths outside the restaurant,service was fairly quick. Our order

did not take too long to arrive. Wetried the Calamari Fritti starter –crispy fried calamari tubes andtentacles – and an assortment ofmocktails while we waited for ourmains.

The calamari went down wellwith everyone albeit a little steepat R90 for a starter. The mocktailswere well presented and quite re-freshing.

Everyone ordered a differentpasta for their main meal and I de-cided a pizza had to be tested aswell. I opted for vegetarian andwent with an Imola pizza. Thiswas topped with mushroom,olives, pepperdews, onion andgarlic.

This is one of the few placesthat still offers three sizes. Thesmall is R75, medium R135 and

large R250. The pizza was goodbut I wasn’t wowed by the flavour.

The various pastas at the tablewere a Polpette with meatballs,which was really good, an Alfredowith chicken and mushrooms,

which was a little plain and under-salted, and a tomato-based onewith prawns, I forget the name,which was excellent.

The pastas were all generousportions, served in large, silver,

metal bowls, and average aboutR90 – a pretty decent price for thesize.

I didn’t spot a kids’ menu butmost kids love the simple pastadishes and I have yet to find thechild who doesn’t love an easycheese pizza.

So even without a kids’ menu Iwould still say they are familyfriendly and you can easily takethe whole family, little kids in tow.Just remember the colour pencilsand paper or devices to keep thembusy.This review is independent andmeals were paid for. DilshadParker is owner and author ofwww.hungryforhalaal.co.za

Nonna’s Italian Kitchen – a taste of Italy in Sandton

Perfectly crisp Calamari Fritti to startwith. Photo DILSHAD PARKER

Mocktails always make it feel like summer. Photo DILSHAD PARKER

Nonna’s Italian Kitchen is one of thefew places that serves pizza as a rectangle instead of a circle.

Photo DILSHAD PARKER


IBRAHIM OKSAS and NAZEEMA AHMED

IN his reflection and contemplation of the ayah inSurah An-Nur, ‘Allah is the Lightof the heavens and the earth,’ Bediuzzaman Said Nursi shareswith us one light of the many luminous mysteries that he perceived from this light-filledayah.

Through this ayah he was af-forded the conviction that, asstated in the famous supplicationof Uways al-Qarani, ‘O Allah!You are our Rabb for we are mereslaves; we are powerless to sustainand raise ourselves.

‘That is to say, the One whosustains us is You! And it is Youwho is al-Khaliq for we are crea-tures, we are being made! And it isYou who is al-Razzak for we arein need of provision, we have nopower!’

It is evident that all living crea-tures offer these same supplica-tions to Almighty Allah, and thata divine name illuminates each ofthe eighteen thousand worlds.

Bediuzzaman further explainsthat within this world are thou-sands of worlds enwrapped in veilafter veil, one within the other likea rosebud with numerous petals.As each veil is lifted, we can wit-ness another world.

It is like that depicted by theayah following the Light Ayah:

‘Or the unbelievers’ state is likethe depths of darkness in a vast,deep ocean covered by wavesabove which are waves, abovewhich are clouds; layers of dark-ness, one above the other; if a manstretches out his hand, he canhardly see it; for any to whomAllah does not give light, there isno light.’ The world appears to bein darkness, desolation and in aterrible blackness.

Suddenly, the manifestation ofa divine name appeared like a re-fulgent light, illuminating thatworld.

Whichever veil was lifted, an-other world appeared. But whileappearing dark due to heedless-ness, a divine name would bemanifested like the sun, filling thatworld with light.

When we consider the animalworld, it appears to be truly darkand grievous due to the endlessneeds, acute hunger and the weak-ness and impotence of the animals.

Then, suddenly, the name ofRahman will rise like the shiningsun in the sign (that is, the mean-ing) of Razzak, gilding that worldfrom top to bottom with the radi-ance of its mercy.

Then within the animal worldwe will behold another world inwhich the young and offspring arestruggling in their weakness, help-lessness and need within a griev-ous darkness that would fillanyone with pity.

Suddenly, the name Rahim willrise in the name of Shefkah, illu-minating that world in such abeautiful fashion that it trans-forms the complaint, pity andtears of sorrow into joy, happinessand tears of thanks.

Then, when a further veil islifted, revealing the world of man,which may appear to be so dark,so oppressive and so terrible thatin anguish it may make us cry outfor we will see that men have de-sires and hopes that stretch to eter-nity, and thoughts and imaginingsthat encompass the universe, anda disposition and abilities thatmost earnestly yearn for eternityand everlasting happiness and Jan-nah, and wants and needs that aredirected towards endless goals andaims.

Yet mankind is weak and impo-tent, and exposed to the attacks ofinnumerable calamities and ene-mies; they live tumultuous lives fora brief time in hardship and diffi-culties.

Amid the tribulations of declineand separation, which is a mostgrievous state for the heart, theylook towards the grave, which forthe heedless and neglectful is thedoor to everlasting darkness;singly and in groups, they will becast into that dark well.

The moment we see this worldin the midst of the darkness, all theparticles of our beings, are readyto weep and cry out in pain.

But, suddenly, Almighty Allah’sname of Aadil rises in the sign ofHakim, the name of Rahman risesin the sign of Karim, the name ofRahim rises in the sign (that is, themeaning) of Ghafoor, the name ofBaa’ith in the sign of Waarith, thename of Muhyi rises in the sign ofMuhsin, and the name of Rabbrises in the sign of Maalik.

The names gild and fill withlight the many worlds within theworld of humanity.

Opening windows onto the lu-minous world of the ahirah, theyscatter light over the dark, humanworld.

Then another, vast, veil is liftedand the world of the earth ap-pears.

The situation may show to uswretched humankind journeyingthrough infinite space on the agedearth, and whose inside is in astate of upheaval, ever ready tosplit up and disintegrate.

Suddenly, the names of Khaliqof the heavens and the earth,Kadir, Alim, Rabb, Allah, Rabb ofthe heavens and the earth, andMusahhir of the sun and moonrise in the signs of Rahmah,Athmah and Rububiyyah.

These names so illuminate thatworld that we see the globe of theearth to be a safe liner, well or-dered, subjugated, perfect andagreeable, all decked out for voy-ages of pleasure and trade.

Bediuzzaman then says that

when we consider the world of theheavens, a further, most extensiveveil will be lifted.

We may then see that the starswhich are larger than the earth,are spinning and journeying onewithin the other, faster than theearth.

If any of them confused its mo-tion, it would clash with another,causing that the universe wouldexplode and the whole world tofall apart.

We may see the heavens withinendless, all-enveloping, terrifyingdarkness.

Suddenly, the names of Rabb ofthe heavens and the earth andRabb of the angels and spirits willappear with their manifestationsin the sign of the ayah in Sura Ar-Rad, ‘He has subjected the sunand the moon’, and the ayah inSura Ash-Shura, ‘And We adornedthe lower heaven with lights.’

Thus, in conclusion, Bediuzza-man says that the stars, which inaccordance with the former mean-ing had collapsed into darkness,each received a flash from thatmighty light and lit up that worldof the heavens like shining electriclamps.

The heavens, too, which hadseemed empty and uninhabited,may be seen to be filled with an-gels and spirit beings.

And thus we should exclaim:‘Alhamdulillah for the light ofimaan and the Quran.

Light from the Quran‘Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth’

Mail Guardian&

The potential of an entire country has been jeopardised by a political class in cahoots with a rapacious band of criminals. We are a better country for being able to read about it. There are several other places — not least elsewhere in Africa — where those in power are guilty of far worse, but we will never know about it, and nothing will change.

An independent press is an asset of democracy and it must be protected. What we continue to rely on for its protection is citizens who are engaged with the world, who are invested in the idea of a better society and committed to clearing the long, messy road that will get us there.


JASMINE KHANIN April, 2008, this column firstappeared under the title ‘Stop thecycle’. The first article focused onthe abuse of women and wascalled ‘The silent scream’.

It is with immense sadness thatthis article is being written; exceptnow the scream is not silent butpiercing.

For those who wondered atwhat age a woman is abused, thatquestion has just been loudly an-swered. On June 29, this year, aneight-month-old baby girl wasbrutally violated. Her piercingscreams of pain should reverberatethroughout our community; itshould pierce our collective com-placency that something like thisonly happens ‘out there’.

‘My level of nausea far out-weighs my disgust at this case,’said City of Cape Town wardcouncillor Angus McKenzie. Headded: ‘I was in tears at the soundof the voice of the family memberwho graphically replayed what isalleged to have taken place.

‘This young baby needs aunited community to grow fromthis. We need to be in one voice,condemning this moral decay ofour society in the strongest terms.’

Condemnation is fine but whatis it really going to achieve? Hesaid: ‘Our communities have lostabsolute respect for themselves

when an eight-month-old baby isso violently assaulted.’

However, one needs to go fur-ther than this. Losing respect forourselves is one thing, losing re-spect for basic human values is an-other. What about the injunctionsthat come from our Creator?What about the rules and princi-ples that govern all of the revealedreligions?

Malik reported that Rasulullah(SAW) said, ‘I have only been sentto perfect good moral character.’(Ahmad)

Abu Darda reported: Rasulul-lah (SAW) said, ‘Nothing is heav-ier upon the scale of the believeron the Day of Resurrection thangood character. Verily, Allah hatesthe vulgar, obscene person.’ (Tir-midhi)

What does it say about our

character when we constantly dis-respect and condemn our fellowhuman beings who are all the cre-ations of Allah? What can be saidabout the character of whoeverperpetrated this act?

Islam teaches us to be mercifulto the entire creation, to Muslimsand non-Muslims, to friends andenemies and even to the animals.

Mercy includes kindness, com-passion, love, tolerance, patiencewith people, and to treat othersthe way we would like to betreated.

This value is at the core of theProphetic message and in all of therevealed religions before Islam. Weshould strive to be agents of mercyon earth for all human beings andcreatures.

Allah says: ‘We have not sentyou except as mercy to the

worlds.’ (Quran 21:107)When it comes to women, there

is little mercy. We tend to forget orblatantly ignore that women arerated three degrees higher thanmen. Women were chosen byAllah to bring His creation intothe world; they have a wombwhich is called ‘raheem’ in Arabic.This Arabic term translates as‘mercy’, and is one of the most im-portant attributes of Allah.

We are in the month of August,a month dedicated to honouringand celebrating women. We cele-brate women around the worldwho struggled tosecure women’s rights and buildmore equitable societies.

We honour women who havetriumphed against great odds butwe also highlight the fact that littlehas changed in the treatment of

women.Nothing can scream this more

loudly than what happened to thisinnocent child. That brutal act notonly pierced this child’s innocence,it pierced her very soul. And itshould pierce our collective con-sciousness.

There is currently a great waveof teaching the recitation of theQuran from memory; schools ofhifdh are proliferating in our com-munity, Alhamdulillah. However,should we not be asking ourselveswhether on the Day of ReckoningAllah will test our fluency ofrecitation or perfection oftajweed?

Certainly there is great merit inthis but what will really count ishow we understood and lived theQuran.

We are also days before ourgreatest ibadah, the Hajj, or pil-grimage. Perhaps this is the timefor reflection. It is our collectiveduty to make a difference. We canprevent acts like these from hap-pening. From an early age, let usteach our children to respect oth-ers, to show mercy to all of cre-ation.

Let us remember that Abdullahibn Amr reported: Rasulullah(SAW), said: ‘Those who are mer-ciful will be shown mercy by theMerciful. Be merciful to those onthe earth and the One in the heav-ens will have mercy upon you.’

From Consciousness to Contentment

The piercing scream of the innocent

What does it say about our character when we constantly disrespect and condemn our fellowhuman beings who are all the creations of Allah?

What can be said about the character of whoever perpetrated this act?


HASSAN ASMALTHIS year marks the 50th yearsince the detention and subsequent death in detention ofImam Abdullah Haron.

A number of events to recog-nise this milestone have beenarranged by the Imam HaronFoundation (IHF).

One of these is an internationalart competition which is beinghosted together with The SouthAfrican Foundation for IslamicArt (Safia).

This is a unique opportunity forthose interested to become a partof the history of the Imam by sub-mitting an entry which will thenbecome a part of the legacy of thisspecial man.

Through art, one is expected tointerpret this tragic but momen-tous event in many ways, and be-cause we have now gone througha number of generations since thepassing of the Imam, the differentgenerations also have the opportu-nity to view this event throughtheir own lenses and give expres-sion to this in a creative way.

The organisers have made therequirements as user friendly aspossible. There is no submissionfee and you are free to choose themedium of your choice. For moreinformation on this, visitwww.safia.org.za orwww.imamharon.com

A competition of this profilealso has the added benefit of en-couraging the promotion of art inour community.

The Western Cape Muslimcommunity has a rich tradition inarts and crafts.

This has been on the wane inthe recent past and Safia is com-mitted to rekindling this with thecommunities here and in the restof Southern Africa.

In this regard, Safia is also inthe process of setting up interna-tional contacts as well as other ini-tiatives with local organisations.

A spokesperson for Safia saysthat this is one of their first inter-national undertakings.

They are worried but at thesame time excited about the possi-ble outcomes and knock-on effectsthat this can have.

Besides the main exhibition thatis being planned by IHF to coin-cide with the dates that the Imamwas killed, other exhibitions arebeing planned locally and nation-ally.

They are also planning to auc-tion some of the entries (some ofthe proceeds will go to the artist)at a gala function, and looking ata possible publication.

All of this will depend on thequality of entries received.

Fatiema Haron-Masoet madethe following comments on behalfof the Haron family:

‘Safia, with the IHF, has con-ceptualised an innovative idea tointerpret aspects of the rich legacyof Imam Abdullah Haron, ourbeloved father.

‘On behalf of my siblings, weweIcome Safia’s initiative in get-ting this international art compe-tition off the ground.

‘In fact, I am quite excited thatthis competition intends to givethe young and old an opportunityto engage with the Imam’s lifefrom each one’s perspective.

‘I am also thrilled that it pro-vides established and potentialartists the chance to stimulate theircreative juices by the stroke of apaint brush. I look forward to thedifferent techniques that each oneintends to employ to express his orher thoughts about the Imam.

‘Safia’s efforts would undoubt-edly be contributing by givingmeaning to IHF’s theme, which is,‘Transcending barriers, attainingsocial justice’…

‘The art project is a novel waythat would underscore my father’soutlook and attitude as a believerin the freedom for all. Apart fromhaving dedicated his life to achiev-ing this value, he was also some-one who was inclusive by workingwith everyone across racial and re-ligious barriers…

‘Imam Haron was a communityperson who aimed at bringingpeople of different creeds andcolours together. I therefore en-courage all the readers to be in-spired by this project; do comeand participate in the art competi-tion... Give expression to yourinner self by reflecting emotionsthrough a tapestry of interpreta-tion that will become part of ourcommunity’s social history.

‘Art is a powerful tool in ex-pressing your feelings. Just let thecreative juices flow, Transcendingbarriers, attaining social justice.’

The organisers encourageeveryone to make a submissionand become part of this wonderfullegacy.Hassan Asmal is Chairman:Board of Trustees of the SouthAfrican Foundation for IslamicArt (Safia).

Enter the art competition and become part of the legacy of Imam Haron

Let your creative juices flow.Enter the competition and become part of the legacy of Imam Haron.This is an international art competition, and a unique opportunity to honourthe legacy of Imam Haron by interpreting the tragic and important memoryof the Imam’s death in detention in 1969 through art.


DENNIS WEBSTERIT is not often that the Madalamen’s hostel, in Alexandra, is thebest seat in the house. For a fewweekends in Joburg every winter,however, when its decaying brickfacade transforms into a colosseum, it becomes exactlythat.

Every year, the Rotary Grounds– a rectangle of gravel in front ofthe hostel – plays host to theMaimane Alfred Phiri Games, orMAP Games, one of the most im-portant celebrations of SouthAfrican township football.

On July 13, countless facescrammed up against Madala’s nar-row windows, where laundryhung among huge plastic bags setup as screens against the rain.

Together with the tens of thou-sands of people gathered on thebank at the foot of the hostel, theymade up an electric cauldron cran-ing for a view of the kick-off of theMAP Games 2019 semi-finals.

Two teams known for theirfree-flowing style and individualtalent, D10 and Lebashe FC,squared off in the first of the semi-finals. The crowd greeted theteams in a steady, gutturalcrescendo that lasted the rest ofthe day, and felt as though it radi-ated from the dusty pitch itself.

Of the tournament’s last fourteams standing – Mambas 11 andBaroka FC contested the othersemi-final – Lebashe was the onlyone to have avoided a penaltyshoot-out thus far. The team en-joys some MAP Games pedigree,having finished third three times inthe past decade.

It is also one of the many talentfactories competing at the tourna-ment. Lebashe alumni includeBloemfontein Celtic midfield gen-eral, Lantshene Phalane, and for-mer Polokwane City midfielder,Sipho Jembula.

But what happens on the pitchis only part of MAP Games foot-ball. All teams are deeply investedin what happens off it as well.They employ a healthy dose ofspiritual assistance in their prepa-rations. No MAP game beginswithout doses of muti (traditionalmedicine) being scattered in andaround the goalmouths.

The tactical motif of the clashbetween D10 and Lebashe wassoon established: right anglesdon’t work on a gravel pitch. Eachplayer’s feet were encircled by acloud of dust – a kind of invertedhalo – as they instead made diag-onal darts across the RotaryGrounds.

Midway through the first half,one of these runs brought thecrowd to its feet, its collective bari-tone erupting into a frenetic tenor.Lebashe’s left winger took the ballout of the air near the halfway lineand strode forward along the turf,a rare and puckish moment in agame dominated by aerial passes.

On his way toward the oppo-site corner flag, he skinned threedefenders. Each scalp amplifiedthe machine-gun rhythm of thegame’s loudspeaker commentary.One of his victims was left, quiteliterally, in the dust by a shibobo(nutmeg).

These are the moments ofpanache that the crowd came tosee – the moments that, taken to-gether, make up the kaleidoscopictapestry of township football’s dis-tinct legacy.

Like the MAP Games’ countlessother fans, Mhlengi Zungu, 36,was in the crowd ‘because of thestyles. The kind of soccer that isplayed here is different. It isn’t thatprofessional stuff. Players aregiven freedom.’

It’s a sentiment that rings truewith the tournament’s founder,Maimane Phiri. South Africanfootball fans, said Phiri, ‘are miss-ing kasi football in the NFD [Na-tional First Division] and PSL[Premier Soccer League]. We don’tget to see a player that is skilfuldoing his thing. It’s more financial;people don’t want to get relegatedso it’s conservative football. Buthere it is free-flowing.’

For Phiri, the fans’ almost reli-gious devotion to flair is aboutmore than players humiliatingtheir opposite numbers; more eventhan the appreciation of uniqueability. It’s about history.

If the new buds of SouthAfrican football bloomed in everyfeint taking place under Alex’swinter sun, its roots run deep andthrough countless famously skilfulplayers, from Jomo Sono toTeenage Dladla and Ace Ntsoelen-goe.

These ‘were skilful players’,said Phiri. ‘They were free to ex-press themselves. That’s whatbrought people to the stadiums be-fore. That’s what the fans aremissing. That’s why it is packedhere.’

But outrageous skills are onlyone of the reasons that MAPgames are better attended thanmost PSL matches. For one, thereis no entry fee. Together with itshome in the heart of Alex, thismakes the MAP Games among themost accessible quality footballgoing.

‘One obstacle to soccer ismoney. The unemployment rate isbitter. [But here] it has beenbrought to people,’ explained Ce-cilia Mabushe, 38, who said thatthe games are a source of tremen-dous pride for many Alexandri-ans.

Phiri is a product of this tradi-tion and of the township in whichhis tournament is now keeping italive. After learning to play foot-ball on the streets of Alex, hejoined Alex United at a time whenthe club still played in the NFDand offered the township’s youngtalent hope of a future in football.

The prodigiously talentedteenager soon signed for JomoCosmos before moving to Turkey,where he played for a number ofclubs, including Samsunspor. Phirihad stints at Ajax Cape Town,Moroka Swallows and SuperSport

United after returning to SouthAfrica.

He was based in Turkey whenhe first got the MAP Games offthe ground in 2001. Then, it wasjust called The Kickaround. Thetournament started with fourteams as a ‘way of giving back tothe community of Alex’ and, inparticular, to create opportunitiesfor the township’s small busi-nesses.

The huge crowds at the tourna-ment have given rise to a boomingstreet economy of braai meat,queen cakes, boiled eggs andgiant, ice-filled tubs of beers,ciders and cooldrinks.

MAP Games has since grownbeyond even Phiri’s wildest imagi-nation.

There is now a women’s foot-ball tournament, although at R30 000, the first prize is equiva-lent only to a bronze finish in themen’s draw.

The men’s draw includesUnder-13, Under-15, Under-17,Under-20, seniors – where Barokaeventually beat Lebashe 2-1 in thefinal to claim the first prize ofR190 000 – and masters divisions.

It will soon grow into a year-round calendar that includes net-ball tournaments, fun runs, golfdays and sports days for learnerswith intellectual challenges fromthe Nokuthula Special School.

MAP Games’ gravel pitch anddaunting crowd make for the per-fect pressure under which footballcoal might be turned into dia-monds. According to Phiri, ‘If youspot a player here who has a verygood first touch and can take onplayers, when you see a playermaking those things easy, youmust know he is a good player.’

The tournament’s history hasborne this out. Bafana legendSiphiwe Tshabalala played at theMAP Games.

So did Chiefs midfielder Lebo-gang Manyama, who, like Phiri,hails from Alex.

Zakhele Siwela, South Africa’sassistant referee who officiated atthe recent Africa Cup of Nations,in Egypt, cut his teeth at MAPgames.

The list goes on.Phiri calls the tournament ‘an

ocean of talent and anticipation’.Former Kaizer Chiefs and

Mamelodi Sundowns legend, Jab-ulani Mendu, calls it somethingdifferent. ‘I call it a World Cup,because this is where all thingshappen,’ he said.

According to Mendu, whoplayed in the masters section ofthe 2019 MAP Games, there ismore to the tournament than rawskill.

‘Tactically, it’s like you’rewatching a PSL game. But, like thefans are saying, you get more flair,you get more skill, you get morerhythm. It’s like they’re dancing,these boys, it’s like they’re danc-ing. Which is what we enjoywatching.’

But even for a lord of the MAPdance, the pressure to please oneof South Africa’s most demandingand erudite football crowds neverfades.

‘It’s scary, which is funny,’ saidMendu.

‘This crowd is brutal. If you dowhat they don’t like, they wantyou out, they don’t hide it. I wishPSL teams could watch thiscrowd.’This article was first published by‘New Frame’.

Township football in full, flamboyant swing

A goalkeeper pulls off a spectacular save during the first semi-final between D10and Lebashe at the annual Maimane Alfred Phiri Games, at the Rotary Grounds,in Alexandra, Johannesburg. Photo IHSAAN HAFFEJEE

Baroka FC take to the dusty field for the second semi-final of the annualMaimane Alfred Phiri Games, at the Rotary Grounds in Alexandra, Johannesburg.

Photo IHSAAN HAFFEJEE

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