Darul Karaar, in Park Road, Wynberg.
The Wynberg community is celebrating the centenary of Darul Karaar, in Park Road.
The mosque committee presented Khatam Al Qur’an (completion of the Qur’an) and dhikr (rendition of supplications) on Friday March 1, to commemorate the milestone.
Imam Sheikh Wesaam Domingo said the event was special.
“It is a masjid (mosque) that I grew up in and have lots of fond memories of Alhamdulillah (thank you God). We were also honoured to have many of the learned scholars present.”
He said a memorial stone was laid at the mosque with some of the names of the founding members.
Sheikh Domingo said the building of the mosque stems from the active involvement of the founding members under the Darul Karaar committee who started construction but could not complete the project. “The building was completed by the late Haji Sulaiman Shah Mahomed 100 years ago. The Darul Karaar committee was made up of some local, ‘Indian’ businessmen.”
Sheikh Domingo’s predecessor was Imam Muhammed Nur Kajee. The current committee members are Haji Abdurahman Hoosain, Ismail Mullagee, Abdul Hassen Tambay, Husain Mohamed (Kajee) and Hassan Mohamed (Kajee).
Various extensions were done to the mosque by the Darul Karaar committee over the years. “There was an east wing and then the west wing that was added. Eventually in the early 2000s, due to the growing community, the mosque underwent a major renovation converting it into a double-storey with a solid concrete decking. The ablution areas were upgraded and during last year an ablution area for funerals were added. The funeral ablution area is the first of its kind in Wynberg,” said Sheikh Domingo.
Various programmes are currently running at the mosque, including a Hifz school in the morning, and an afternoon madrassah that caters for boys and girls.
“We currently employ two teachers, one male and a female and we have approximately 60 learners who attend the afternoon classes. I teach the evening classes and we have about 80 students who regularly attend. We also have a dhikr every Thursday evening that is conducted in the Moroccan style of dhikr . However, once a month I conduct a mass monthly dhikr that is done in the traditional Cape Malay style,” said Sheikh Domingo.
He invites the community to join daily prayers, classes and dhikr programmes.
Sheikh Domingo said the anniversary brought on a “real sense of excitement and anticipation and a great sense of brotherhood and unity.”