Shaykh Nazim South Africa Tour 2000

November 2, 2000

Shaykh Nazim Visits the Muslims Judicial Council of Cape Town


The day began as usual with Salat at-Tahajjud (leftmost photo). People begin assembling in the home of Professor DaCosta around 3:00 am and Shaykh Nazim begins leading the early morning prayers at around 3:30 am. Typically over 100 persons are present in the professor's home and the home next door, which was set up for the ladies to pray in. Tahajjud is followed by Salat al-Fajr, then the recitation of the Naqshbandi wazaif and Surat Ya Seen. Hot sweet chai is always served, keeping the worshippers alert. Shaykh Nazim then gives suhbat of 15 minutes to half an hour, followed by praying Salat al-Ishraq. The worshippers then disperse, going to home or to work, and children off to school. In the rightmost photo is Shaykh Ibrahim Gabriels, President of the Muslim Judicial Council of Cape Town. The Council was founded to guide all local mosques under one umbrella of leadership. They also are tasked with providing Sharia'h guidelines for food, family law, and all aspects of life of the community interaction with the general society.

Shaykh Nazeem Mohammed, former president of MJC, greets Shaykh Nazim in the left here. Other ulamma present were Mawlana Ihsan Hendricks, graduate of Dar al-'Uloom Nadwat in Pakistan, and Shaykh Ibrahim Abrahams, a graduate of Madina University, as well as Shaykh Ahmad Siddiq, secretary of MJC. Thank You from Shaykh Nazeem Mohammed Thank You from Muslim Judicial Council

Ibraheem Rasul, head of the African National Congress (ANC) political party in Cape Town and the Western Cape, welcomes Shaykh Nazim and Shaykh Hisham to South Africa (third photo from left).

Dinner was hosted in the home of Imam Hassen Walele. The home was beautifully arranged to host over 500 guests, with tents erected, gaily lit with lights and festooned with orange drapes.

People gathered at the Habibiyya Mosque, a mosque founded by Hazrat Soofie Sahib in the 1800s. There over 5000 people greeted Shaykh Nazim and Shaykh Hisham at Salat al-Maghrib.

Creating an aisle between the amassed worshippers, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim walked from the back to the front of the mosque while all the attendees recited salawat upon Rasulullah (s) and his family. Shaykh Nazim then led the Khatm al-Khawajagan, followed by a suhbat. Both the Dhikr and Suhbat were broadcast live on the Voice of the Cape Muslim Radio Station, whose audience for this program is about 70,000 - 80,000 homes throughout the Cape. Blessings of the Holy Month









Following the suhbat and Salat al-Isha, it was announced that anyone wishing to take initation from Mawlana Shaykh Nazim into the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order should come forward. Suddenly a massive surge of people pressed in around the Shaykh as men came literally running from the back to take the hand of the world leader of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order. Following the initiation of over 3000 men, the Shaykh moved to the back of the mosque to enable the ladies to take initiation. The crowd was so enthused at even the chance of being able to touch the Shaykh for baraka that he was unable to move until a phalanx was formed around him. Returning to Professor DaCosta's home, Mawlana and the accompanying overseas guests were treated to a "midnight" meals, as has been the nightly custom. Mawlana, as is his habit, enjoyed this interlude with the gathered mureeds, chatting and joking with them.