Al-Qalam 
Excitement is mounting as the first-ever exhibition of relics of Nabi (saw) is put on display at Durban’s Grey Street Juma Masjid after which the event then moves to Gauteng and the Cape, writes an Al Qalam Reporter.
Thousands of people in Durban and parts of South Africa will get an opportunity to get a glimpse at least 10 relics of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) that date back 1 440 years to his lifetime. The exhibition will officially be launched at the Grey Street Jumma Musjid tonight, after Maghrib.
Exhibits include a strand of hair of the Prophet, to one of his sandals, a cloak, the piece of another cloak that has a miraculous smell of musk (said to be the scent of the Prophet himself), a piece of the Prophet’s turban, dust from his grave and an ancient lock used on his burial place in Medina’s Grand Mosque.
The same relics have been exhibited in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Turkey, and Senegal – and now for the first time – in South Africa.
The Durban-based Chishty Sabiree Jahangiri Khanqa and Research Centre spent months negotiating with Sayyid Ahmad Ehraz – the custodian of the relics in Delhi – for the event to be hosted in South Africa. The historical and holy relics entitled: “Sacred Trust exhibition” is expected to be viewed by thousands of eager Muslims from across the country.
Separate viewing and prayer arrangements have been made for women at all centres of the exhibition.
The priceless relics will be on display amidst heavy security at Durban’s iconic Grey Street Jumma Musjid from tonight (Friday 22) when the official launch will take place after Maghrib with a power point presentation and discourse by Sayyid Ahmed.
During the five days in which Durban will have the relics in its possession (Feb 22-26), the organisers will also showcase them in various local suburbs, such as Inanda (Al Zahra Masjid), Chatsworth (Chishty Sabri Musjid, Unit 10 Woodhurst), Clairwood (Hazrat Khalid Shah Community Centre) and in Phoenix (Musjid –e-Sulamania).
“Not many people have the chance to visit Istanbul’s Topkapi Museum or the Jama Musjid in Delhi where many sacred relics of the Prophet’s era are housed, so the intention is to give the less fortunate a chance to view these relics without them having to travel across the world to see them,” said Naeem Khan Chishty Sabiree, spokesperson for the Chishty Sabiree Jahangiri Khanqa and Research Centre.
He told Al Qalam: “There’s no doubt that many people would be flooded with emotions after setting eyes on the relics of our Nabi (SAW).”
The exhibition has been endorsed by the Muslim Judicial Council, the Islamic Council of South Africa, the Islamic Unity Council, and other Islamic bodies.
“The relics have an authentic chain of transmission through the Abbasid Dynasty to the Seljuk Sultans to the Ottoman Sultans and finally to the emperors of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned that the Jama Musjid be built to house these relics. Upon its completion he brought a descendant of The Holy Prophet (May peace be upon him) from Medina and handed custodianship of these sacred relics to him.
“Sayyid Ehraz Ahmad who is the chief guest of honour for this exhibition, is the 15th generation custodian of these relics housed at the Jama Musjid In Delhi,” said Khan.
The relics are housed in a fortified viewing room at the historic Shah Jame’ah Mosque in Delhi.
After the week-long Durban exhibition, the event moves to Al-Ghazali College in Centurion on March 1; Baitul Nur in Lenasia, March 2; Mazaar Khalid Shah in Benoni on March 3 and onwards to Cape Town to the Al Kaaf Human Rights Centre in District Six, from March 4-6.
The event is hosted by Al Kaaf Human Rights Centre, Palestine Museum, Chishty Sabiree Jahangiri Khanqa and Research Centre, Awqaf SA, Muslim Judicial Council, Islamic Council of South Africa, Islamic Unity Convention, International Peace College of South Africa, Al Quds Foundation, Youth for Al-Quds.
For further enquiries please contact Naeem Khan on 083 541 2753 or you could send an e-mail at: sabireenaeem@gmail.com
