Maulid ya Shariff Idarus Moshi Mjini Usiku Huu

[Mohamed Said]

MAULID YA SHARIFF IDARUS STAND YA MBOYA MOSHI USIKU HUU

Hivi punde nimepokea picha za kupendeza kutoka za Maulid ya Shariff Idarus kutoka kwa rafiki yangu.
Maulid haya yanayosomwa Moshi Stand ya Mboya na huyu rafiki yangu kutoka Moshi.

Yeye katokea Mombasa leo kupitia mpaka wa Holili akiongozana na nduguye.

Nduguye kakaribishwa kwa kupewa kusoma Mlango wa Pili.
Maashaallah.

Taarifa hizi zimenifurahisha kupita kiasi nikataza ma nyuma wakati naandika kitabu,''Maisha ya Rajabu Ibrahim Kirama.''

Ibrahim Kirama ndiye aliyeingiza Uislam Kilimanjaro katika miaka ya
1930.

Katika kitabu hiki kinachoeleza maisha yake kilichochapwa mwaka wa 2020 kuna sura nimeeleza Maulid ilivyoingia Uchaggani sasa zaidi ya miaka 100 iliyopita.

Wakati natafiti kutafuta habari zaidi ya maulid nikitumia Nyaraza za Mzee Rajabu Kirama zenye umri wa miaka 100 nilivutiwa na Maulid moja iliyosomwa Moshi Mjini mwaka wa 1952 ambayo ilihudhuriwa na Chief Thomas Marealle ambae mwaka huo alichaguliwakuwa Mangi Mkuu.

Katika Maulid haya alikuwapo pia Mangi wa Machame, Chief Abdiel Shangali.

Lakini kabla ya kufika katika hali ya kuwa Maulid inasomwa Uchaggani ilibidi nitafute historia ya walimu wa mwazno kusomesha Uislam Kilimanjaro sehemu ijulikanayo kama Machame Nkuu.

Nakuwekea kipande kifupi hapo chini:

Sheikh Abdallah Minhaj asili ya wazee wake ilikuwa Ngazija ingaawa yeye na walimu wenzake watatu walitokea Zanzibar na wakaletwa Kilimanjaro na Upare na Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir kwa kuombwa na Mzee Rajabu Kirama kuja kusomesha dini.

Haukupita muda mrefu akisomesha matunda yake yakaanza kuonekana pale Nkuu na vijiji vya jirani kwa watoto kuanza kusoma Qura’an vyema na kufunzwa vitabu vingine vidogo vya kufundisha akida nyingine za Kiislam.

Vijiji vyote vya jirani vya Lyamungo, Masama, Mudio, Kibosho, Mkoanju na Uswaa vikaleta wanafunzi kuja kusoma Nkuu chuo cha Sheikh Abdallah Minhaj.

Haya yalikuwa maendeleo makubwa sana ukitazama nyuma na kuangalia wapi Waislam wa Machame walikotokea.

Wanafunzi wa Muslim School, Machame Nkuu wakawa kila mwaka wanashiriki katika Maulidi ya Mfungo Sita Moshi mjini wao pamoja na walimu wao.

Pamoja na haya pakawa panasomwa pia kisa cha Miraj kila mwaka.''
Maulid haya yamenikumbusha hiyo maulid ya mwaka 1952 miaka 70 iliyopita, Maulid ambayo Mangi Mkuu Thomaa Marealle na Chief Abdiel Shangali walihudhuria.

Leo ndugu zetu wanasheherekea mazazi ya Mtume SAW hapo Moshi Mjini tuchukue fursa hii kuwaombea dua wale wote waliosimama kueneza Uislam sehemu ambazo haukupata kuwapo kabisa na leo upo na unashamiri.

PICHA: Kitabu na picha ya Mzee Rajabu Ibrahim Kirama, Sheikh Abdallah Minhaj, Mangi Mkuu Thomas Marealle, Chief Abdiel Shangali wa Machame na Maulid ya Sharif Idarus, Moshi Mjini.

 

[NYOTA YA JAAH]

Mashallah mashallah

 

[Shimba ya Buyenze]

Kusoma maulid ndo kufanya nini tena jamani? Ni kama kughani, kuimba, kusifu na kuabudu?

 

[Machange]

Nimepita hapo...wamefunga barabara kabisa

 

[Rusumo one]

Nipo hapa Ghala street nipeni uelekeo

 

[Mohamed Said]

Kusoma maulid ndo kufanya nini tena jamani? Ni kama kughani, kuimba, kusifu na kuabudu?

120 years of Lamu Maulid
By Mohamed Said
The Maulid, that is, celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) takes place in all Muslim world in Mfungo Sita in the Muslim calendar. The most famous Maulid in East Africa is the Lamu Maulid founded by Maulana Habib Saleh at the Riadha Mosque more than a century ago will this year on 26[SUP]th[/SUP] March celebrates 120 of its founding.

The Lamu Maulid is celebrated on the last Thursday of Mfungo Sita. In the 120 years Lamu has never failed to hold the maulid. It has held the maulid as scheduled during the two world wars with all the restrictions in place. Maulid was held during the emergency in 1952. Nothing has been able to stand on the way of Lamu Maulid. While the whole of the East Africa the popular maulid recited is Barzanj which are poems written by Sayyidina Jaffar the Lamu Maulid recites a maulid which is known as Simt Durar (Pieces of Pearls) from a book of poems written by Maulana Muhammad Al-Habshy from Hadharmut, Yemen.

Preparation for the Maulid takes months to accomplish and demand precise logistics. Tons of food stuff like rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, soft drinks, bottled water, boxes of medicine and other essentials have to be transported from Mombasa to Lamu by lorries a journey of about eight hours. All these have to be unloaded at the harbour to be loaded into boats to their final destination – Riadha Mosque at Lamu Island. There in Lamu Island at the harbour the cargo has to be transported by donkeys and carts through very narrow streets full of corners and turns to Riadha Mosque. It is a tedious job which demands stamina, patience and resilience.

There is only one main ‘road' in Lamu and it leads from the residence of the District Commissioner to his office. This is the path taken by the official vehicle of the DC. Motor vehicles are practically non-existing in Lamu. The only means of transport are donkeys and this gives the island a picturesque view and peculiar atmosphere. The island's main square called the Fort which is the centre of the town's commercial activity is always full of people throughout the day. During maulid it a place where one should be. Standing there one is able to see people from different places in East Africa and beyond who have travelled to the island to take part in the mauled. It is like standing at Piccadilly Circus in London during summer.

People are never invited to the now well known Lamu Maulid at Riadha Mosque in Lamu. They come out of their own free will and they are welcomed with open arms. No one is turned away or asked where he comes from. Those who have made the journey to Lamu with the specific aim of attending the celebrations of the birth of the Prophet are provided with accommodation, food and in the last seven years medical care if need be throughout the Maulid week.

Once one steps into Lamu it is as if he is opening the front door of wonderland. Adjacent to the Fort is the island's main market and this has not helped much in easing the influx of the people into the square and ‘donkey traffic.' The Fort Square it is the only place where one can catch up with what is happening in other part of the world like latest scores of the European Club Champions and Premier League in England. People don't care much for news and it is difficult to come across a newsstand. However the youth of the island love football and it is a favourite topic of discussion at the square as Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal fans argue loudly about past and coming matches of their clubs. The Fort houses one of the two cyber cafes in the island.

The second one is at the prestigious Palace Hotel. However the cyber café at the Fort is always down because of power failure. The only reliable internet café is the one at the Palace Hotel where there is a stand-by generator but the price is exorbitant. But that is the only outlet to the world. The generators at the power house in the island are now too old to cope with and support new development of building construction which has taken place in Lamu in recent years because of tourism. In addition to the Lamu Maulid the island has become world heritage sight and this has put Lamu on the world map.

The journey to Lamu Maulid begins in Mombasa at a place known as Bondeni. This is where buses to Lamu are boarded. As one boards the bus to Lamu at Bondeni Bus Stop one can feel the festive mood in the air as men dressed in kanzu and cap together with women in hijab (veil) some with toddlers push and shove to get into the buses. Inside the bus there is more shoving as they struggle for seats. When seating arrangement has been settled by the bus conductor the small talk inside the bus is about nothing but the Maulid at Lamu. The ride to Lamu takes about eight hours of gruelling sweat and dust.

The last stretch to Lamu the tarmac road from Mombasa gives way to dust stretch full of port holes. Apart from the bumpy road the journey in itself is always full of happenings. After few hours of travel and excitement passengers settle down to the realities of their trip. Passengers are dog tired and doze off under the heat in the bus and outside the bus. The sun pounds the earth mercilessly and the heat intensifies. The sound of laughter has is soon replaced by that of snores. Dust covers everything on the way. Those who have over the years been through the trip to Lamu know what to expect from the journey. The conductor seems to be oblivious of the fact that there is space inside the bus can only accommodate a particular and predetermined number of passengers for comfort and safety.

The bus stops at every stand picking up passengers going to Lamu for the Maulid. Veiled women, men and children from nearby villages are overflowing in the bus and the bus stops at each and every bus stop along the way picking passengers. To bus owners this is a God-send opportunity which comes once each year and they have to make the most of it. The bus conductor will push people standing inside the bus shouting at them to make room for their fellow embarking passengers. It is very hot inside the bus. Children are crying because of fatigue, heat and for lack of fresh air. By the time the bus reaches Mpeketoni about six hours later which is last but one stand before Lamu the bus resembles a mad house but for a good cause.

The first day of the maulid which is Thursday soon after the Fajr (morning) prayers there is the raising of the flag ceremony first outside the mosque and thereafter inside the mosque. The ceremony is accompanied by melodious kasda (hymns) and the beating of matari (tambourine). After breakfast people gather inside the mosque for samai (recitation of kasda to the beats of matari and flutes). Between kasda there are very short sermons to highlight the messages in the lyrics of the kasda. In the afternoon after dhuhr (afternoon) prayers there is special lunch at the Twayyiba Hall which dignitaries and government officials are invited.

This hall is named after Bibi Twayyiba the second daughter of Sayyid Ahmed Badawy; the son of Habib Saleh (died in 1935 aged 85). It is believed that this is the first exclusive women madras (school) in East and Central Africa. Bibi Twayyiba was a student at Riadha and after completing her studies then as a young girl she became a teacher taking exclusive girls classes. It is narrated that Sayyid Ahmed Badawy's dream was to allow her daughters to acquire the same level of knowledge as his male children. It was through this vision of her father that Bibi. Twayyiba became a scholar of high repute just like her brothers. Bibi. Twayyiba taught Islamic Jurisprudence, Arabic and Science of the Holy Qur'an and many other disciplines. The place where was her class for girls now stands a modern function hall in her memory.

Bibi Twayyiba spent her whole life imparting knowledge to women who came from all walks of life and from all the countries in East Africa. She used to take small girls from disadvantaged families and raised them up and when there were old she would enrol them as her students. Bibi Twayyiba died at the age of 101 in 2005. She left behind a multitude of students among them daughters of the mothers she had herself taught. Her students are scattered throughout East Africa. In this way Riadha Mosque became more than a learning centre. Riadha Mosque to many former students who had gone through its system is now like a second home.

This makes the Lamu Maulid a reunion of alumni and a yearly retreat where old friends, former students and teachers meet each year to celebrate the birth of the Prophet together. Riadha Mosque apart from its religious teachings has produced students who have excelled in secular education in various categories of professions. Some are holding various positions in the government and politics and some are in business in Kenya. Dr Ahmed Binsumeit a former student of Riadha Mosque is a lecturer in microbiology at Sultan Quaboos University in Oman. He is an active organiser of the Lamu Maulid and each year he flies in to Lamu from Mascut for the occasion. Binsumeit one of the many children of the late Shariff Khitamy of Mombasa is at the moment completing a biography of Habib Saleh.

Another student of Riadha Mosque is Sheikh Abubakar Badawy who was a Member of Parliament and Assistant Minister of Education in Moi's government. He is also an active member of the organising of the Lamu Maulid Committee. Sheikh Abubakar is of the opnion that what makes the Lamu Maulid unique in East Africa is the fact that the maulid was institutionalised in Riadha which apart from being a mosque it is also a centre of learning. In this way the Maulid was not observed in abstract and from a spiritual aspect alone. The maulid to be meaningful had to be made to encompass needs and aspirations of the people of Lamu.

True to Sheikh Abubakar's words this philosophy has crystallised in the initiation of the Medical Camp Program which began in the Lamu Maulid of 2005. This was in fulfilment of the vision of Habib Saleh - the founder of Riadha Mosque and the Lamu Maulid. Maulana Habib Saleh apart from being a spiritual leader was himself a tabib (traditional healer) and was known throughout Lamu and beyond for his skills to cure many ailments. In his time during maulid he used to attend to his patients who had travelled from far to attend the maulid as well as to be cured of an ailment. (Habib Saleh's house near the mosque has been turned into a museum and his medicine cabinet is on display along with bottles which he used to store medicine).

It was therefore decided that this vision of the founder of the Lamu Maulid should be revived. In this way the Medical Camp Program was initiated and during the maulid week doctors pitch tents around the grounds of Raidha Mosque and people are provided with medical care in dental, eye, gynaecology, HIV counselling etc coupled with dispersion of free medicines. The most demanded is the distribution of free glasses for the needy. Expecting mothers would also be educated on diet and other aspects of motherhood. The Red Cross, Pharmaceutical companies, AMREF, NHIF are all active at Riadha Mosque throughout the day during the Maulid week. After the maulid whatever drugs which remains together with surgical items used are in turn donated to government hospital in Lamu.

This has created a very conducive and enabling working relationship between the Ministry of Health and Riadha Mosque. The Medical Camp in recent years has taken another step forward by facilitating referral cases identified at the Lamu Maulid festival to national hospitals in Mombasa and Nairobi with all expenses paid by Riadha Mosque. The Lamu Maulid has initiated blood donation to the blood bank in Lamu Hospital. The program is now in its second year running with the assistance of the Kenya Red Cross. The inclusion of the Red Cross in the Lamu Maulid at first created hostility because the emblem of the cross which was perceived by orthodox Muslims as symbolising Christianity. However the world renown Muslim scholar and author of many books on Islam, Habib Ali Zeinulabidin Al Jufry gave a fatwa which calmed the conservatives and now blood donation to the blood bank at Lamu Hospital under the supervision of the Red Cross is one of the most important programs of the Lamu Maulid.

Red Cross volunteers with their red shirts are a common sight at the Maulid and can be seen helping the sick and the old particularly during the last day of the Maulid were as a closing ceremony there is zafa (procession) from Riadha Mosque to the grave of Habib Saleh called ziara (visit). The zafa is something to be witnessed as the whole island turns out for the zafa with various madrasas reciting kasda while at the same time playing matari. No one but the sick and the very old remain behind at home. The narrow streets of Lamu are jammed and fully packed with people. On this day the people of Lamu in their best attire come out to pay tribute to Maulana Habib Saleh who is revered as a walii (saint). After the zafa has made its way back to the mosque after maghrib (evening) prayers, elders dressed in smart kanzus and cap holding walking sticks known as bakora dance to traditional ngoma outside the mosque.

After isha (night) prayers there is musabak – competition in recitation of the Qur'an. This marks the end of the Maulid Week and the following morning soon after fajr prayers people start trekking back to their homes hoping to come back the following year. As they bid farewell to each other they say, ‘Insha Allah (God Willing) next year.' Although Habib Saleh died in 1935 there is no single photograph of his existing. Many legends are narrated about Habib Saleh some which are difficult to believe by those not initiated in spiritual matters as understood by those who were born and raised in Lamu of which Maulana Habib Saleh is part of its history. But his undisputable legacy and his ever enduring miracle is the Riadha Mosque and the Lamu Maulid founded by him which are now part of Lamu's and indeed Kenya's history.

Kusoma maulid ndo kufanya nini tena jamani? Ni kama kughani, kuimba, kusifu na kuabudu?

Nikiwa Lamu 2006 nikiandika makala hii wakati ule Maulid ya Lamu yalikuwa na umri wa miaka 120. Makala ilichapwa na The East African​

 

[Smart911]

Ahsante kwa kumbukumbu...

 

[Mohamed Said]

Ahsante kwa kumbukumbu...

Smart...
Ahsante sana.

 

[Uzalendo wa Kitanzania]

Hunaga habari za Wakiristo?!

 

[Mohamed Said]

Hunaga habari za Wakiristo?!

Uzalendo...
Tarehe 27 Aprili, 1985 Julius Kambarage Nyerere katika sherehe kubwa katika viwanja vya Ikulu, alitoa jumla ya medali 3979 kwa Watanzania waliochangia katika maendeleo ya taifa.

Wazalendo ambao mimi nilikuwa najua mchango wao katika kupigania uhuru wa Tanganyika wengi wao Waislam wake kwa waume hawakuwapo katika orodha ile ya heshima.

Jambo hili lilinijaza simanzi.

Sikusikia jina la Abdul Sykes, Dossa Aziz, Hamza Mwapachu, Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir, Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Badi, Sheikh Abdallah Rashid Sembe, Sheikh Suleiman Takadr, Bilal Rehani Waikela, Saadan Abdul Kandoro, Tatu bint Mzee, Chiku bint Said Kisusa, Hawa bint Maftah, Zarula bint Abdulrahman, Halima Selengia.

Nikajiambia kuwa lazima niandike historia ya hawa wazalendo wote waliopigania uhuru wa Tanganyika niwaenzi.

Ndiyo nikaandika kitabu cha Abdul Sykes kitabu ambacho sasa ni maarufu.

Una lipi la kuhoji katika kusahauliwa hawa wazalendo wengine katika ile orodha ya watu 3979 waliotunukiwa medali na Mwalimu Nyerere kabla ya kustaafu kwake?

 

[Ngongo]

Uzalendo...
Tarehe 27 Aprili, 1985 Julius Kambarage Nyerere katika sherehe kubwa katika viwanja vya Ikulu, alitoa jumla ya medali 3979 kwa Watanzania waliochangia katika maendeleo ya taifa.

Wazalendo ambao mimi nilikuwa najua mchango wao katika kupigania uhuru wa Tanganyika wengi wao Waislam wake kwa waume hawakuwapo katika orodha ile ya heshima.

Jambo hili lilinijaza simanzi.

Sikusikia jina la Abdul Sykes, Dossa Aziz, Hamza Mwapachu, Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir, Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Badi, Sheikh Abdallah Rashid Sembe, Sheikh Suleiman Takadr, Bilal Rehani Waikela, Saadan Abdul Kandoro, Tatu bint Mzee, Chiku bint Said Kisusa, Hawa bint Maftah, Zarula bint Abdulrahman, Halima Selengia.

Nikajiambia kuwa lazima niandike historia ya hawa wazalendo wote waliopigania uhuru wa Tanganyika niwaenzi.

Ndiyo nikaandika kitabu cha Abdul Sykes kitabu ambacho sasa ni maarufu.

Una lipi la kuhoji katika kusahauliwa hawa wazalendo wengine katika ile orodha ya watu 3979 waliotunukiwa medali na Mwalimu Nyerere kabla ya kustaafu kwake?

Umeelewa swali.