His
Eminence
arrived in the beautiful city of Durban on 7th July
1968. He delivered his first and very inspiring lecture on the life of Sayyiduna
Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) on the occasion of Igyarween Shareef at the residence of al-Haj
A.G. Khan Qadiri at Isipingo Beach. His Eminence stayed in Durban for 2 weeks
and lectured at various Mosques and listeners were always enraptured by his
sermons and other religious discourses. The spiritual practices he had started
in other countries found their way through to South Africa. Throughout the
Province of Natal, Halqa Zikr, Igyarween Shareef, Milad-un-Nabi, Urs Shareef,
and other religious celebrations have since formed part of the spiritual life of
the Muslims.
After a lapse of 2 years, His Eminence was back in South Africa
to consolidate what he had taught and to see who was inspired on his first visit. This visit
also proved to be historic as people wished to know what spiritual gifts His Eminence
has to offer them. Hence, other religious observances began for the welfare and
enlightenment of the Muslim community.
After a long absence of 8 years from South Africa during which
the area of interest of Hz. Maulana Khushtar was Europe. Hazrat returned to
South Africa for another visit which, almost every year, repeated itself since.
In 1978, the first Urs Mubarak of Imam Ahle Sunnat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri (may Allah be pleased with him) was held under his distinguished
patronage. The mission of Alahazrat, the Neglected Genius of the East, was thus
propagated through lectures, publications and discourses. The year 1993
witnessed the commemoration of the 15th Annual Urs Mubarak of
Alahazrat for Durban, 10th for Laudium, 10th for Cape
Town, 12th for Lenasia and also very many of the other smaller
centers in South Africa.
In this way, thousands of Muslims have been able to participate
and reap the spiritual benefits. Books, booklets, pamphlets and other
educational material have been published to propel a spiritual revolution so
that the hearts of men may be purified from the dust of ignorance and pure
material temptations.
One of the highlights of the activities of the Durban branch of
the Society is that it has printed and distributed the work written on Alahazrat
(may Allah be pleased with him) by an internationally known educationist and scholar, Professor Masud Ahmad
of Karachi, Pakistan. Religious poetry written by Alahazrat and translated
by Prof. G.D. Qureshi of Leeds (UK) has also been published by the Society and
distributed both locally and abroad.
For the sake of historical record, we now present the reader the
visits Durban by Hazrat Maulana Khushtar in chronological order:
On the 7th July 1968, Hazrat delivered a very
inspiring lecture at the residence of Mr A.G Khan, 13, 3rd Avenue
Isipingo, the occasion being the Igyarween Shareef of Ghaus-e-Paak, Hazrat
Sayyiduna Abdul Qadiri Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him). The learned Maulana Khushtar ably lectured
to very large gatherings on the life of Ghaus-ul-Azam (may Allah be pleased with
him). The lecture was
followed by a luncheon to all those present.
In the evening, Hazrat Maulana Khushtar delivered Waez at the
Jumma Mosque, Grey Street, Durban to a packed gathering on the life and
teachings of Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with
him). The
Jummah Masjid was packed to capacity and the congregation listened with rapt
attention to the learned and highly educated Hazrat Maulana Khushtar. The Waez
lasted for over 2 hours.
On Monday 8th July, His Eminence delivered Waez at
the South Coast Junction Mosque. As usual, no standing place was available
inside the Mosque and people stood out in the hallways, closely following the
learned Maulana’s waez.
On Tuesday, 9th July 1968, His Eminence delivered
Waez at the Jummah Mosque, Grey Street, Durban and the congregation was greater
in number than all past gatherings, Waez lasted for more than 2 hours.
On Wednesday, 10th July, a special night was reserved
for ladies at the Orient Hall, Centenary Road, Durban. Over 2, 500 ladies
gathered to listen to His Eminence and he gave talks on the 'Ladies in Islam'
for over 2 hours.
On Thursday night, the 11th July 1968, Halqa Zikr was
led by Hazrat Maulana Khushtar at the Jummah Mosque and over 1000 persons were
present. It was Maulana’s 150th Halqa Zikr since he came to the
island of Mauritius in 1965.
On Friday, before Juma prayers, Hazrat Maulana gave a short talk
before Khutba. Juma Khutba was pronounced and Hz. Maulana Khushtar Siddiqui
Qadiri Razvi led prayers. After Esha, Maulana went to Tongaat, about 20 miles on
the North Coast from Durban. A large congregation was present to listen to him.
On Saturday, 13th July, His Eminence traveled to
Ladysmith, about 160 miles on the Main Road to Johannesburg from Durban. Maulana
left Durban at 3:30 pm and read Asr prayers at the Hamdani Mosque,
Pietermaritzburg, Maghrib prayers at Estcourt Mosque and Esha prayers at
Ladysmith. The Mosque at Ladysmith was full to overflowing. Ladies accommodation
was provided at the school adjoining the Mosque. His Eminence delivered waez for
2 hours and left Ladysmith at midnight and arrived back in Durban at 2:30 am.
On Sunday, Hazrat Maulana delivered Waez at Messrs. Karas before
a crowd of 2000, followed by lunch. After Esha prayers, His Eminence delivered
Waez at the Jummah Mosque. Special provision was made for ladies and
approximately 5000 people listened with rapt attention at Hazrat Maulana
Khushtar’s Waez.
On Monday, 15th July 1968, a farewell function was
held at the Juma Mosque where Haji A.G. Khan, a trustee of the Mosque, garlanded
(decorated) Hazrat Maulana Khushtar Siddiqui Qadiri Razvi and Maulana Abubakr
Khatib thanked His Eminence for his very inspiring Waez delivered during Maulana’s
14th day stay in Durban. His Eminence then delivered another sermon.
On Tuesday at 4:40 pm Hazrat Maulana Ibrahim Khushtar left
Durban for Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and a large gathering was present at the
Airport to bid farewell to His Eminence and prayed for their Pir-O-Murshid’s
early return to the city of Durban in South Africa.
During Hazrat Maulana Khushtar’s stay, he also paid a courtesy
visit to the Chief Magistrate of Durban (during Apartheid period) at 10 am. And
on Tuesday the 9th July 1968 in the afternoon, a visit was paid to
the Natal Regional Representative of the Department of Indian Affairs. On
Thursday, the 11th of July, His Eminence paid a courtesy visit to the
Mayor of Durban, Mrs. Margaret Maytow and completely won over and built bridges
between the different ethnic, race and religious groups in Durban.
His Eminence also paid a visit on Monday, the 15th
July, to the Workshop for the Blind Indians and saw them weaving baskets and he
was very impressed by the manner in which the blind performed their various
tasks and also visited a Mosque in Umgeni, established by Sayyid Goolam Rasool
(may Allah be pleased with him), a follower of Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may
Allah be pleased with him). The Society looking after
the Mosque is known as the Qadiri Islamic Society.
In March 1982, the foundation stone of the first Khanqah
Qadiria Razvia of South Africa was laid by His Eminence at Woodhurst,
Chatworth, Durban and it has since become a center of the Sunni Razvi Society
International and its publications as well
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