Fast Facts 2

  • Jabal Abu Qubais in Makkah Mukarramah was the first mountain on earth.
  • The 1st copy of the Qur’aan written in South Africa was in 1705 by the Rajah of Tambora (Sultan Abdul Basi), a political exile at the Cape. He wrote it from memory at the governor’s residence.
  • The first locally-born Muslim to memorize the Qur’aan was Ismail Muawiyah Manie (died 1918).
  • Names for many types of material have a Muslim origin: Damask from Damascus (Syria), muslin from Mosul (Iraq), fustian from Fustat (Egypt), seersucker from Persian and gingham from Malay: gingang meaning striped.
  • The 1875 Census of the Cape Colony revealed that there were 6,772 Muslims in Cape Town out of a population of 17,004. Muslims were 39.8% of the population!
  • There are three cities in the USA named Mecca and nine named Medina.
  • There are 140 food outlets that call themselves Halaal in Washington (2005).
  • In Al Khalil, Palestine, Muslims can enter theplace where Is’haq (alaihis salaam) is buried but not where Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) is buried. They can peep through a window.
  • Only Palestinians over the age of 40 are allowed to enter Musjidul Aqsa.