THOUSANDS gathered to celebrate the third annual mass mawlud - the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday - at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town last weekend. The gathering,which included devotional poetry and accounts of the Prophet's life, was addressed by the Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille, Shaikh Ahmed Babakir (Sudan), Shaikh Muhammad ibn Yahya Ninowy (USA), Shaikh Afif ud-Din al-Jilani (formerly Iraq) and Shaikh Seraj Hendricks.
"Such an event of great magnitude (the Prophet's birth) deserves an equal celebration of great magnitude," said Shaikh Ninowy, "Islam is a religion of love, it's less about legalities (fatwa) than it is about knowing God (taqwa)."
Shaikh Ninowy, who is a direct descendent of the Prophet and founder of the Madinah Institute, was followed by Shaikh Afif ud-Din al-Jilani, another member of the Prophetic family and the great Muslim saint, Sayyid Abd ul-Qadir Jilani, who lies buried in modern-day Iraq. Shaikh Seraj Hendricks is a well-known local scholar and representative of the great Makkan sage, Sayyid Muhammad al-Maliki al-Hasani, yet another scholar of Prophetic lineage.
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| Shaikh Babakir of Sudan |
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| Shaikh Seraj Hendricks |
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| Shaikh Muhammad Ninowy |
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| Shaikh Afif ud-Din al-Jilani |
All photos copyright Shafiq Morton
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