Against the backdrop of the melodious verses of the Holy Qur’an and a hall packed to capacity with around 1,300 guests, the Laudium Muslim community honoured over 250 huffath, by commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Madressah Hifzul Qur’an and the 1,400th year of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an. The event was held at the Central Islamic School (CIS) jointly organized by the madressah and the National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa (Awqaf SA) on Sunday.
In a show of solidarity and unity under the banner of the Holy Qur’an, several leading schools and madressahs of Tshwane participated. These included Al-Asr Educational Institute, Al Ghazali College, Al-Nur Islamic Centre, Bilal Masjid, Central Islamic School; Darul Uloom Pretoria, Darul Uloom Qaderiya, Madressah Darus Salaam, Madressah Hifzul Qur’an, Madressah Rahmania, Pretoria Muslim Trust Sunni School, Tshwane Muslim School, and the Universal Islamic Cultural Trust.
Chairman of the Council of Mutawallees (Trustees) of Awqaf SA, Haroon Kalla, said the objective of the event was to bring all the schools and madressahs together under the banner of the Holy Qur’an as the uniting factor. He described the event as “a first in the community”. He also announced the initial contribution by anonymous donors of an amount of R100,000 towards a dedicated Waqf or Islamic Charitable Endowment to Awqaf SA to further the study of the transformational message of the Holy Qur’an and the learning and teaching of the Arabic language. He urged the community to add to this endowment which will be managed by Awqaf SA.
Awqaf SA spokesperson Br Zeinoul Abedien Cajee, also encouraged the audience – every individual, family, business, or corporate – to make Waqf this Muharram. He also called upon all institutions, masajid and imams to create a heightened awareness about the sacred institution of Waqf during Muharram, considered a sacred month for any Islamic charitable or humanitarian cause. The audience was treated to qira’ah by young huffath and talks by representatives of the respective participating schools and madaris. Among the 250 huffath are a number of women who were also honoured.
Courtesy Voice of the Cape (Tasneem Adams)
