Athlone stadium in the heart of the Mother City will be lit up in a sea of white on Wednesday as hundreds of Capetonians gather for what has become an annual event in the Muslim community – the Mass Mawlid 1437. The event has been rescheduled to Wednesday the 16th December in order to cater to a visiting delegation of Malaysian dignitaries who are due to jet out of the country on Thursday. The annual mass thikr programme was due to take place on Saturday the 19th, but has since been shifted forward as per the delegations travel arrangements.

The group is being led by the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Parak, Dr Zambry Abd Kader and also includes representatives of the Islamic University of Malaysia. Other high profile guests at the event include Egyptian, Qari Ahmed Naina, famed Syrian-born scholar, Sheikh Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy, as well as prominent members of the local ulema.

Mass Mawlid 1437 kicks off at 5pm on Wednesday at the Athlone Stadium. The event will include performances from the Habibia Brigade and the Driftsands-based Madrasatul Medina. International guests Qari Naina and Sheikh Ninowy will also be involved in the day’s proceedings, delivering a qiraah and 15 minute naseeha respectively. Also on the day’s programme are mass thikr and salawat programmes, led by various different tareeqah.

“It is going to be absolutely beautiful. From 5pm until 10:30pm we are going to have pure thikr to the pleasure of Allah (s.w.t), all in in celebrating the birth of our Nabi,” explained Mawlid SA co-ordinator, Tasleema Allie.

The main Mawlid event will be preceded on Tuesday by a ladies programme at Masjid al-Quds between 10am-12:30pm.

“We are joining the housewives forum of Sheikh Abdurahmaan Alexander who on a weekly basis hosts about 1000 ladies. I think they are having a similar programme to what would be happening at the Mass Mawlid on Wednesday, Allie noted.

Ninowy’s attendance forms part of an annual South African tour, entitled Expressing Happiness at the Birth of the Light. The Cape Town leg of his tour kicked off on Monday morning with an open lecture at the Medina Institute and will continue this evening with a lecture on ‘Deen vs Dunya’ at the Islamia auditorium after maghrib salaah.

Ninowy will also be in attendance at Tuesday’s Ladies Mawlid event, as well as a thikr programme at the Azaweya Masjid on Thursday evening. On Friday he will deliver the jumuah khutbah at Habibia Masjid, before speaking at the Islamic Centre of Table View after maghrib. All events on the tour are free of charge and accessible to all, regardless of religious affiliation.

“It is the celebration of the birth of the greatest mercy upon all of us, which is our Nabi Muhammad (s.a.w) and we want to open it to everyone, not only our Muslim community,” Allie added.

Transport has been arranged from various masajid across the City, and enquiries can be made at the masjid closest to you. All attendees of the Mass Mawlid are required to be dressed in white Islamic attire.

For more information visit http://mawlidsa.org/. VOC