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November 11, 2000
Durban - Home of Hafez Abu Bakr Mahomed, Soofie Sahib
Mosque and Maqam, Soofie Sahib Darbaar Dhikr
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| After the standard observance of early morning
prayers and Salat al-Fajr with dozens of worshippers, Shaykh Nazim saw
morning break on Durban, South Africa. Following salat al-ishraq, the
Shaykh and his entourage, including a number of mureeds from Cape Town,
traveled from the seaside town of Uhmlangha north to the gated
neighborhood where Hafez Abu Bakr Mahomed, one the Shaykh's hosts in
Durban, lives. There a delicious and elegant spread was served for brunch
to over one hundred guests. |
The Shaykh prays salat al-Duha (8 rakats near mid-morning)
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Guests poured out of the home onto the veranda.
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Ishaq Bojel hard at work downloading internet data while ISN chief
Ahmed Khalifa looks on.
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| After brunch, the Shaykh and entourage traveled
to nearby Mercy Mosque to observe salat al-Dhuhr. |
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Following the prayers and a short sohbat on the need for da`wa among
the African community, the Shaykh pointed out the enormous waste resulting
from the use of high volume taps at the ablution fountain. He recommended
replacig them with low-volume taps.
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| Following salat, Hafez Fuzayl Soofie hosted the
Shaykh at the mosque, maqam and madrasa of His Eminence Hazrat Hajji Shah
Ghulam Mohamed Soofie who migrated to Durban from Hyderabad India in 895
upon the orders of his murshid Pir Khwaja Habib Ali Shah, with the sole
intention of spreading Islam among the immigrant Indian community, most of
whom were Hindu. |
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| The maqam and mosque complex is built in
traditional Indian Moghul style, beautifully decorated in gold and with
elegant calligraphy adorning its interior walls. |
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| TheShaykh prayed at length for Hazrat Soofie
Sahib. He then visited the museum which contains numerous relics of the
saint. |
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The sword of Hazrat Soofie Sahib.
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The original madrasa complex before much of it was taken by force by
the former apartheid government.
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Photo of the Ka`aba in the early twentieth century, showing the
original structures built by the Ottomans. Shaykh Nazim noted that the
Ottomans did their utmost to avoid building above the Ka`aba, out of
respect, a trend the current custodians have reversed.
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A photo of the blessed maqams which stood at Jannat al-Mo`alla, in
Makkah, before their destruction at the hands of Wahabis. Many thousands
of Sahaba are buried here, including the Prophet's sall-Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam's first wife, Umm al-Mumineen Khadijat al-Kubra, radhi-Allahu `anha
wa aradaha.
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| Salat al-Maghrib found the Shaykh and his
entourage at the Darbaar of Hazrat Soofie Sahib, another mosque founded by
the great saint in Durban, among the twelve he built in his short stay
preceding his passage from this life of fifteen years. |
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Another magnificent dinner was served, this time to several
hundred attendees. |
| Mawlana Shaykh led Salat al-'Isha, after which
Surat Ya Sin was read by his son Bahauddin for the sake of health, long
life and increased provisiong for the year, recited on the occasion of
Laylat al-Bara`at - the fifteenth of Sha`ban, as mentioned in the Quran. |
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| Following this, the Shaykh addressed over one
thousand attendees with a powerful sohbat, followed by praise of the
Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam. |
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| Imam Hassen Walele led the salaami. This was
followed by mass initiation into the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi order by the
attendees, after which they greeted the Shaykh, one-by-one, a process
which took over an hour. |
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View of the sea from the Kabana Hotel in Uhmlanga, Durban,
where the guests were hosted by Hafez Abu Bakr. |