Ebrahim Moosa – Radio Islam News | 29 Rajab 1438/27 April 2017
An enthusiastic audience at the Bosmont Masjid Hall were this week witness to a historical reception, when descendants of Sheikh Yusuf al Macassari, the pioneer of Islam in South Africa, were hosted in the Johannesburg suburb.
The high powered delegation of both males and females were in South Africa to explore their roots and share “valuable information carried down from generation to generation of this great scholar”.
The dignitaries included a senior Indonesian religious scholar, a retired university rector, professors and an architectural engineer.
“We are family,” said Imam Malik, Bosmont Imam and community leader, welcoming the descendants to South Africa.
The visitors were treated to recitals of Salawat as well as a performance of Penchak Silat, an Indonesian martial art, which is now also being practiced in Johannesburg.
Mariam Gillan, a co-ordinator of the event, said the martial art was deeply rooted in Indonesian culture, and is something she believes Sheikh Yusuf may have practiced whilst at the Cape.
“Penchak Silat has a system like a sanad. It is passed on from generation to generation”.
Gillan welcomed the reception as another milestone in the formalising of relationships between South Africa and Indonesia.
Strong foundations
In a comprehensive presentation on the legacy of Sheikh Yusuf, Sheikh Jameel Abrahams referenced the weighty impact the scholar made on South Africa in spite of the relatively brief time spent in the country.
“Sheikh Yusuf only spent 6 years of his life – the last part of his life in South Africa, and yet you can feel the foundations he has laid down is something that cannot be weathered by any storm”.
Sheikh Jameel opined that the credentials of Sheikh Yusuf as a scholar were not sufficiently appreciated by South Africans – a situation he said should be changed by exposing Muslims here to more insights on his life and his academic works.
“Sheikh Yusuf was a man of Shariah, Tariqah and Haqiqah – there is not a Sufi Tariqah that he was not a Khalifah in”.
The descendants of Sheikh Yusuf in attendance, it was explained, were of his 8th and 9th generation, borne from the Sheikh’s marriage and offspring whilst he stayed in Sri Lanka.
Today Sheikh Yusuf is memorialised not only in South Africa, but Indonesia and Sri Lanka was well.
Sultan Sheikh Kissi Haj Saheeb Sultan Baitullah al Mukassari , the senior –most member of the delegation and the leader of the Tariqah Khalwatiyah in Indonesia told the audience he was grateful for the historic interaction.
“I am very happy tonight to be meeting my Muslim brothers here in Johannesburg.”
After providing a detailed account of the various phases in Sheikh Yusuf’s life, the guest made a special dua for sustenance and barakah for South African Muslims.
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