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"Fear in Faith, the ceremonial and cultural test of Rif'i," Belgravia, Cape Town, South Africa, 2014
Traditions of the Cape Malays.
It is Important that these traditions are explained to prevent misunderstanding:
Hadat is the name of a dthikr (mantra or repetition of the names of God or phrases refecting Tawheed, (the oneness of God), it comes from a Yemeni Imam Hadad, who I believed lived in the 15th century in the Hadramut and some how probably through traders going to indoneasia and beyond arrived with the Cape Muslims, who were brought as Political prisoners and or slaves in the 17th century, a punishment for resisting Dutch colonialism. The Khalifa or Rifi'i also developed during the time of slavery in South Africa and had several purposes. For the untrained eye and mind one might be quick to come to horrific conclusions on its purpose though I assure u they are completely unfounded. Rifi'i allowed the slaves to maintain there martial arts, known in S.E Asia as Silat, in a dance form it was also a way in which Islam could be prothletised in a visual form at a time when slaves spoke different languages and proselytisation was illegal on pain of death (see statutes of India). Rifi'i became an intertwinement but also a way in which participants could show that if there was enough faith in the oneness of God a participant could overcome anything even a sharp sword or dangerous tool which would draw no blood. the rythem of the drumming and "music" that was created allowed the slaves to practice there dthikr as a way of preserving part of their religion which was practiced in secret .) Dissappearing quickly in some cities in South Africa there is increasing tension between newer scholars who see it as a bidah and the traditionalists. The argument they present is that it is a bidah if it involves verses of the Quran or a form of dthikr that was not practiced during the time of the Prophet S.A.W. True some texts of chanting for the rifi'i shown to me seemed quite questionable with regards to some Islamic principles, but there is now an effort to clean up the few but significant errors and amongst the traditionalists continue the Rifi'i as a living tradition. A testimony if you life to the troubled times of slavery and the difficulties of preserving Islam and allowing it to survive even if the methods seemed a little unorthodox. It must be remembered that very few of the Muslims brought to South Africa hundreds of years ago understood arabic or what they were saying and so in a way some kind of corruption was bound to happen The traditionalists in the wake of the clean up still consider the ceremony as a tradition and not a form of worship but a miracle of belief. In fact the fact that Islam survived at all in South Africa for so long and often in secret may in fact be considered a miracle in itself.
One Imam spoke to me and said, "when one does anything one must question yourself why are u doing something you must consider its purpose and ask are you doing it for God, is your intention the remembrance of God."
N.B
It should be noted however very few people have problems with the Hadat and this is general accepted across all opinions and thoughts in the Islamic community of South Africa
"Fear in Faith, the ceremonial and cultural test of Rif'i," Belgravia, Cape Town, South Africa, 2014
Traditions of the Cape Malays.
It is Important that these traditions are explained to prevent misunderstanding:
Hadat is the name of a dthikr (mantra or repetition of the names of God or phrases refecting Tawheed, (the oneness of God), it comes from a Yemeni Imam Hadad, who I believed lived in the 15th century in the Hadramut and some how probably through traders going to indoneasia and beyond arrived with the Cape Muslims, who were brought as Political prisoners and or slaves in the 17th century, a punishment for resisting Dutch colonialism. The Khalifa or Rifi'i also developed during the time of slavery in South Africa and had several purposes. For the untrained eye and mind one might be quick to come to horrific conclusions on its purpose though I assure u they are completely unfounded. Rifi'i allowed the slaves to maintain there martial arts, known in S.E Asia as Silat, in a dance form it was also a way in which Islam could be prothletised in a visual form at a time when slaves spoke different languages and proselytisation was illegal on pain of death (see statutes of India). Rifi'i became an intertwinement but also a way in which participants could show that if there was enough faith in the oneness of God a participant could overcome anything even a sharp sword or dangerous tool which would draw no blood. the rythem of the drumming and "music" that was created allowed the slaves to practice there dthikr as a way of preserving part of their religion which was practiced in secret .) Dissappearing quickly in some cities in South Africa there is increasing tension between newer scholars who see it as a bidah and the traditionalists. The argument they present is that it is a bidah if it involves verses of the Quran or a form of dthikr that was not practiced during the time of the Prophet S.A.W. True some texts of chanting for the rifi'i shown to me seemed quite questionable with regards to some Islamic principles, but there is now an effort to clean up the few but significant errors and amongst the traditionalists continue the Rifi'i as a living tradition. A testimony if you life to the troubled times of slavery and the difficulties of preserving Islam and allowing it to survive even if the methods seemed a little unorthodox. It must be remembered that very few of the Muslims brought to South Africa hundreds of years ago understood arabic or what they were saying and so in a way some kind of corruption was bound to happen The traditionalists in the wake of the clean up still consider the ceremony as a tradition and not a form of worship but a miracle of belief. In fact the fact that Islam survived at all in South Africa for so long and often in secret may in fact be considered a miracle in itself.
One Imam spoke to me and said, "when one does anything one must question yourself why are u doing something you must consider its purpose and ask are you doing it for God, is your intention the remembrance of God."
N.B
It should be noted however very few people have problems with the Hadat and this is general accepted across all opinions and thoughts in the Islamic community of South Africa