Moulana Abdul Latief RA first served as Imaam and teacher in the Reef area in Transvaal. Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA, his paternal uncle, invited him to teach at the madrasah on the banks of the Umgeni River. However, the love for the motherland moved him to excuse himself so that he could return to India. However, Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA could not afford to lose this great potential; especially since he had in mind the mission he was commanded to complete by his spiritual mentor, Hazrath Khwaja Habib RA. Thus, the guiding force behind both Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA and Moulana Abdul Latief RA was Hazrath Khwaja Habib Ali Shah RA of Hyderabad.
The guidance of the latter was influential in Hazrath Soofie Saheb’s RA coming to Cape Town, ostensibly on a private visit. Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA stayed with a friend, Abdul Gani Parker, in what was then District Six. One Friday morning, he requested his host to get a horse and cart so that he could travel around the Cape. The host and visitors moved from place to place until the horse could move no further. This was the place where the purchase of the ground for a new centre was negotiated. A stay of another week or two was required to complete documents and Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA returned to Durban happy at last, that he had reason to keep his nephew at his side in South Africa. The advice of the spiritual mentor, Hazrath Khwaja Habib Ali Shah RA was sought, and he instructed Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA to confer Khilafat (succession in leadership) on Moulana Abdul Latief RA, and instruct him to pr oceed to Cape Town.
After his arrival, the Muslims who were originally from the Kokan area constructed a house on the land bought by Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA. The house still stands today. Soon Doornhoogte was to witness a centre unknown in the whole of the Cape for its life, movement and Islamic attachment. Many Imaams were educated at the centre; to mention some: Imaam Abdurahmaan of Mowbray, Imaam Sudley Dollie, Imaam Kajal, Dawood Hafejee, Imaam Abdus Samad and Imaam Amanie. The place was bustling with life; in the jungle there was movement, the Athaan was heard, Ramadaan witnessed the munajaats (Islamic recitations), and the other months of the Islamic calendar were equally full of life. The Urus of Hazrath Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani RA, Hazrath Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti RA, the Day of Ashura, the auspicious nights, and recitals such as the Qaadiriyyah were carried out. Students, orphans and travellers gave life to the madrasah. The financial and guiding force behind all this was just one man – Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief Qadi RA.
Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA recalled him from there, and brought him to the newly established institution on the banks of the Umgeni River, in the riverside area of Durban. Here he taught the children at the madrasah for a few years. He then asked Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA to be excused, as he wanted to return to India to visit his family and especially to meet his father, Hazrath Qadi Mohammed Yusuf RA. Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA, who knew well the potential of this man, requested Moulana Abdul Latief to stay on for a few more months until he (Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA) returned from the Cape.
Meanwhile, Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA travelled to the Cape and bought the land on which the Habibia Masjid and madrasah now stands in Doornhoogte. Upon his return to Durban, Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA told his nephew, Moulana Abdul Latief Qadi RA that he wished him to proceed to the Cape to establish a masjid and Khanqah (institution) on the land, which he had bought. The strong spiritual link between the two bore down heavily on Moulana Abdul Latief RA to accept the guidance of his spiritual mentor, and he proceeded to the Cape. He also made arrangements for his family to come from India and join him in the Cape.
Moulana Abdul Latief RA in Cape Town
When Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief Qadi RA came to Cape Town he was welcomed by the Muslim traders who also hailed from the hilly mountainous area south of Bombay, Kokan. This community was able to identify with Moulana Abdul Latief RA, and required his services to ensure that Islam was established not just for them, but for future generations. In turn Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief RA required their support and participation in the development of the new established Khanqah and more importantly the success of the Islamic programmes developed by him depended upon their active participation. For those from the Kokan area he was known as Hazrath Moulana and for those who did not converse with him in Urdu he was known as “Sairie”, which meant holy one as it was a local adaptation of “Sayyedi”. 
Hazrat Moulana Abdul Latief’s RA Islamic work commenced immediately upon his arrival in Doornhoogte. At the time of his arrival there was no masjid, but there were many Muslim families spread out on the Cape Flats. On the first Friday in January 1904, Moulana Abdul Latief RA informed those people around him that Jumu`ah Salaah was going to be held on the site which was earmarked for the masjid. The ground was cleared and sheets and covers were laid. At the appointed time of Jumu`ah Salaah, Moulana Abdul Latief RA requested one of congregation to recite the call to prayer (Athaan). Muslim people living in the area responded to the Athaan and after a short while the Jumu`ah Salaah was in progress. After the Sunnah Salaat, he delivered a lecture and a tree stump next to the wood and iron house constructed for him served as a mimbar for the actual Jumu`ah Khutbah.
This act on the part of Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief RA more than a century ago was certainly an historic occasion, as for the first time, the Athaan was recited for the Jumu`ah Salaah, which was held in open air on the Cape Flats. Yusuf da Costa reflected on the significance of this first Jumu`ah Salaah for the local community that participated in this historic event when he suggested that:
“The whole proceeding must have been especially significant to those first generation immigrant Muslims from Kokan. Here they had an Imam who was `of them’. He had come from Kokan, spoke their language, and understood their cultural idiosyncrasies. Although there were many masaajid and madaris (Islamic schools) at the Cape at the time, the language used as a medium of instruction was the then developing Afrikaans language of which these immigrants from Kokan could by then only understood a few words. The arrival of Moulana Abdul Latief RA changed all that. Their children could now be taught and lectures could be given in the medium of their home language.” [Sheikh Yusuf da Costa: The Contribution of Moulana `Abdul Latief RA (1860 – 1916) of the “College” to the Religious Life of the Muslims at the Cape]
For Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief RA the attraction of the new immigrant community to the newly established Khanqah was merely a means to an end, as the Khanqah allowed the community to be consistently involved in Islamic programmes. At the same time he went out of his way to break down cultural barriers between Muslims from various backgrounds whose common Imaan and Islamic heritage bound them into a single community. Moulana Abdul Latief’s RA appointments of Imams at the masjid is a clear indication of his single minded purpose of getting Muslims to practice Islam in accordance with the Holy Qur’aan and Pure Sunnah.
After the overwhelming success of holding the first Jumu`ah Salaah on the Cape Flats, Moulana Abdul Latief RA and the newly established congregation at the Habibia Soofie Masjid, were encouraged to carry on their work. Thereafter, Moulana Abdul Latief RA with the support and active participation of the community set about developing the masjid and other parts of the Habibia complex. The wood and iron house built for Moulana Abdul Latief RA gave way to a proper brick structure. In January 1905 the foundation of the Masjid was laid. At the same time consideration was given to the construction of a madrasah, orphanage, kitchen, storeroom, as well as rooms for the accommodation of travellers.
Hazrat Moulana Abdul Latief’s RA family arrived in Cape Town in 1905 and now he could continue the work of developing the Habibia Soofie Masjid, without any personal hindrances, and under the watchful eye of his father Qadi Muhammad Yusuf Al-Habibi, and with the support of his brother and the rest of his family, which formed a pillar of strength for him.
At the same time Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA decided to transfer the land of the mosque from the Shah Goolam Muhammad RA Trust to the Moulana Abdul Latief RA Trust in order to allow for unfettered
development of the Cape Town Khanqah under the leadership of Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief RA. This was certainly a show of confidence by Hazrath Soofie Saheb in the ability of Hazrath Moulana Abdul Latief RA.
In 1906 Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA visited the Habibia Soofie Masjid in Cape Town and on this visit he was pleased with the manner in which the Khanqah was set up and the Islamic programmes that were put in place. The structures established at the Habibia Soofie Masjid was similar to that established by Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA in Riverside, Durban,
Soon thereafter the Masjid and other parts of the Khanqah were completely developed. Upon the completion of the Masjid one of his disciples enquired as to why such a big masjid was built in a sparsely populated area. To this Moulana Abdul Latief RA responded with depth of vision, when he said that “this jungle would one day become a bustling city”. Today the Cape Flats caters for the densest population of Muslim inhabitants in the Western Cape.
From all the masaajid established by Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA, the Habibia Soofie Masjid (College) in Cape Town is the largest while the masjid developed in Colenso is the smallest. Even though the land and initial establishment of an Islamic complex in Doornhoogte was the work of Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA, it was the capable role of Moulana Abdul Latief RA that was important in the full establishment of the Habibia Soofie Masjid and ensuring that it served the entire Muslim community on the Cape Flats, irrespective of cultural background. The Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society aptly described the relationship between Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA and Moulana Abdul Latief RA, when it suggested that:
“The spiritual vision of Hazrath Soofie Saheb RA would never have become a reality without Moulana Abdul Latief RA. He had to suffer great deprivation, living in a wood and iron shack, without running water or other necessities. This he endured because he had only one mission in mind, to serve his spiritual mentor, whose guidance he knew would lead to greatness, not for him, but for Islamic Society.” [Cape Mazaar Society: Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape, Cape Town, 2001]
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
About Habibia 