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Spread the light / Qur’an drive

18 Sep, 2019 | BY ZAID KAJEE



Theme:                     Spread the light / Qur'an drive

Venue:                     North Beach, Verulum, Welbedacht,workshop & Kwapata

Date:                           5th to 11th  August

Period:                     5 Days

Time:                           10:00 to 15:00 hours

 

Introduction

The Islamic Dawah Movement of Southern Africa (IDM), for the first time conducted spread the light program. The objective of this event was to make the Quran available to as many people as possible. For this reason, the event took place in 5 areas around Durban, namely: North Beach, Verulam, Welbedacht, Workshop, and Kwapata Islamic centre.

Qur`ans were handed out to individuals who showed an interest in the Qu'an. Books, and pamphlets in different languages it were distributed as follows:

 Research

We conducted research on all the potential areas within KZN and the above areas were identified and earmarked.



Areas Covered

Date:   5th August, 2019. 10:00hrs

North Beach, Durban ( Jamaat Khana )

This area is one of the busiest area in Durban, with a lot of tourists as well as the locals, including the holiday makers who come from far and wide. People spend quality time here.

During our interactions with people, we discovered that the people we spoke to were very accommodating and warm hearted towards us. Some Muslim Brothers were impressed with the initiative and made a financial contribution towards the cause and committed to do debit orders on a monthly basis with immediate effect.

We met people of different races from across the World, such as; Europeans, Asians, and South Africans.

The people we spoke to were very relaxed and gave off their time. Some of them were not sure what the Qur'an was and we enlightened them. With the Qur'an, we also gave out books and leaflets in English and the local languages. Below is a breakdown:

 

 Qur'ans:

                      Isi Zulu:                                                70 copies

                      Arabic:                                                    10 copies

                      English:                                                  62 copies

                      Chichewa:                                              8 copies

                      Total:                                                  150 copies

Books:

                      My Role Model:                          50 copies

                      Jesus and Christianity:         50

                      Muhammed in the Bible: 50

                      Total:                                                     150 copies

 

Pamphlets:

                      Islam at a glance:                       100

                      Emmanuel Adebayol               70

                      Total:                                                       170 copies

 

There were 10 people involved on this day as follows; 1 volunteer and 9 IDM staff. The office staff consisted of 6 males and 3 females: Akram Yuda, Yusuf Yasin, Adam Macheso, Abdullah Milanzi, Salim Mpungose, Ismail Moffat, Khadija Ngcobo, Amina Lembethe, Sumeyya Dlamini, and Baba Ahmed Phewa (Volunteer).,

   

Date       6th August, 2019. 10.00hrs

 

Verulam Sunni Musjid:

Wicks Street,

Verulam.

 Verulam is a small town situated on the North West of Durban, approximately 25km from the Durban CBD. It has a population of about 1.2 million people. The Sunni Musjid was built in 1910. There is also a Tableegh Jamaat Musjid about 400 meters down the road.

Our activity commenced timeously and started to engaging with the general public. Inspite of the fact that the event was being conducted during the week, the crowd was indeed encouraging and motivating, Al-hamdulillah.

Our experience during the programme demonstrated that many people had very little knowledge about Islam while others had erroneous information about Islam. Substantial time was spent with some of these people as they required clarity on certain misconceptions on had on Islam.

 

Below is a breakdown of literature that was distributed:

 

Qur'an:

                      Isi Zulu                                                                     56

                      Arabic                                                                         42

                      English                                                                       85

                      Chichewa                                                               17

                      Total:                                                                    200

 

Books:                                              

                      My Role Model                                             50

                      Islam at a glance                                          150

                      Jesus and Christianity                            70

                      Total:                                                                      270

 

Pamphlets:

                      Muhammad in the Bible                       140

                      Emmanuel Adebayol                                 70

                      Total:                                                                           210

 

Our team for the day comprised of 12 people. 4 of whom were volunteers, and 8 IDM staff. These were; A. Yuda, A. Macheso, Y. Yasin, I. Moffat, A. Milanzi, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini, A. Lembethe (IDM).

Thembelani Dlamini, A. Phewa, S. Paruk, Bro. Azhar ( Volunteers ).

At the end of the event, Hafiz Suleman Paruk sponsored our team with lunch, Al-hamdulillah.

 

Date:     7th August, 2019. 10.00hrs  

Sheikh Saidi Nyenje Musjid

Welbedacht East

Durban

Sheikh Saidi Nyenje Musjid is situated in Welbedacht East, South of Durban. Welbedacht is an informal settlement with approximately 99% of RDP houses and the inhabitants of this area are predominantly Africans of different tribes, including the Malawi nationals, but mostly the Zulu speaking folks.

Sheikh Jafar Magombo, the Imam of this Musjid volunteered his time and services to ensure that the event becomes a success. He also organized 5 other volunteers for the same course.

This area was very quiet, and hence door to door visits was necessitated. Thus, 30 homes were visited and the people that were met were mainly ladies of different ages including the youth. This community has a high rate of unemployement.

Below is the breakdown of the literature that was given out:

 

Qur'ans:

                      Isi Zulu                                                                       64

                      Arabic                                                                         84

                      English                                                                       70

                      Chichewa                                                          182

                      Total:                                                                    400

Books:

                      My Role Model                                             40

                      Islam at a glance                                      100

                      Jesus and Christianity                           50

                      Muhammad in the Bible                     50

                      Total:                                                                    240

Pamphlets:

                      Emmanuel Adebayol                               50

                      Total:                                                                         50

 

The Qur'an Drive team that worked in this area consisted of 8 people. These are; Y. Yasin, A. Milanzi, A. Yuda, M. Zilika, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini, (IDM), A. Phewa, J. Magombo, (VLTRS).

Sheikh Jafar Magombo (Host), was very helpful, accommodative and cooperative, Al-hamdulillah. He led the team to various homes during the house visits.

   

Date:     9th August, 2019. 10.00hrs  

Unit 30 Azalia Road

Kwapata

Pietermaritzburg

 Spread the light team received a warm and cordial welcome by the daee responsible for the center, (Shk. Adam Malijani). He was looking forward to this event, and he was excited that spread the light event, was at last in his area.

Kwapata is an informal settlement located approximately 80 km West of Durban. This area has a population of between 8000 - 10,000 people, all of whom are African speaking. Kwapata has also seen an inflax of Malawi nationals coming into the area. Kwapata Islamic centre has been in existence for over 20 years.  During this period, Kwapata centre has seen scores of men women and the youth coming into the fold of Islam by the hidayath of Allah. However, most of the reversions were that of women. Shk. Adam Malijani has played a pivotal role in encouraging this community.

 

We had a slow start, probably because it was on a Friday. Nonetheless, the situation improved tremendously after Juma prayers, and meals were served.

 

Below is the breakdown of the literature that was handed out to the general public of Kwapata area:

 Qur'ans:

                      Isi Zulu                                                                                               131 copies

                      Arabic                                                                                                    84 copies

                      English                                                                                               125 copies

                      Chichewa                                                                                       260 copies

                      Total:                                                                                                 600 copies

Books:

                      My Role Model                                                                        60 copies

                      Islam at a glance                                                                   200 copies

                      Jesus and Christianity                                                      40 copies

                      Total:                                                                                                 300 copies

Pamphlets:

                      Muhammad in the Bible                                             350 copies

                      Emmanuel Adebayol                                                       500 copies

                      Total:                                                                                                 850 copies

The team that were on duty on this day include: A. Yuda, A. Macheso,  A. Phewa, A. Milanzi, I. Moffat, Y. Yasin, I. Mailosi, K. Ngcobo, S. Dlamini and A. Malijani (Host). Bringing the total number of volunteers up to 10 members. Out of the 10, I was a volunteer (Baba Phewa), and the rest were IDM staff.

Baba Ahmed Phewa's dedication and commitment spoke for itself. His participation and his presence during the entire duration of the Quran Drive was evident and proved his unshaken passion for Dawah work, Alhamdulillah.      

 

The grand total of literature distribution of the entire Quran Drive/ Spread The Light event is as follows:

  1. Qurans;
  2. a) IsiZulu Qurans               - 321

                        b)Arabic Qurans                 - 220

  1. c) English Qurans             - 342
  2. d) Chichewe Qurans     - 467

 

  1. Books;
  2. a) My Role Model             - 200
  3. b) Islam at a Glance       - 450
  4. c) Jesus & Christianity - 210
  5. d) Muhammed in the Bible - 100

 

  1. Pamphlets;
  2. a) Muhammed in the Bible           - 490
  3. b) Emmanual Adebayol                     - 690
  4. c) Islam at a Glance                               - 100



Challenges

 

  1. Some duaat were absent on certain days of the event, and others did not take part at all.
  2. We were unable to operate from certain areas due to non-application for permit from the Municipality.
  3. Some duaat didn't take the event seriously.
  4. Certain areas such as Kwa Pata, Verulam, and North Beach should have been visited for the second time.

 Recommendations  

  1. We need to visit consider visiting the above three areas once again.
  2. The team strongly propose that we should Quran Drive at least once every month.
  3. The team strongly feel that the following volunteers deserve a token of appreciation: Baba Ahmed Phewa, Sumeyya Dlamini, Khadijah Ngcobo and Amina Lembede.
  4. Permits ought to be applied well in advance
  5. Meals should be well organized and co-ordinated.
  6. The monthly Quran Drive Programme should be done over the weekend.

   

Conclusion  

The Quran Drive initiative was a wonderful initiative which exposed us all to open Dawah. Talking to people of different race, tribes, and different backgrounds was a good experience as well as an eye opener.

An application for permission has to be done in advance from the EThekwini Municipal Offices. To avoid any harassment from the Municipal Officials that they may arise  

Quran Drive Methodology is one of the best methods of Dawah simply because you go to the people as opposed to people coming to you. Thus, it enables you to reach out to as many people as possible, Alhamdulillah.