A group of around 30 cyclists will undertake a 500-kilometre journey from Makkah to Madinah in December, as part of the Hijra Cycling Waqf Legacy Tour.
The initiative is a collaboration between Wheel to Heal and Masjid Love, with cyclists departing South Africa on 9 December before travelling to Makkah. Following Umrah, the group will set off from Makkah for Madinah on 12 December.
The journey is intended to reflect on the significance of the Prophet Muhammad SWT Hijra from Makkah to Madinah, an event that changed the course of Islamic history, while also raising funds for a sustainable endowment, or waqf fund, for Masjid Love.
Dr Elias Parker from Wheel to Heal says the primary objective is to establish an income-generating asset that can provide long-term support for Masjid Love’s work.
“The objective clearly is to raise as much money as possible to establish an endowment, an income-generating asset for Masjid Love to support them in their objectives, in the great work that they have been doing, seeing to the sustenance of some of the very, very challenging masjids in the low socioeconomic income areas,” he says.
Parker says Masjid Love currently assists struggling masajid with essential operational costs, including municipal bills and the salaries of imams and muezzins.
Masjid Love’s Faghrie Cornelius says the proposed fund will provide a more sustainable source of income for the organisation, reducing its reliance on recurring donations.
“We can call it an endowment fund, a waqf fund, that will serve as a sustainable source for what we do at Masjid Love,” Cornelius says.
He says Masjid Love currently distributes close to half a million rand to more than 100 masajid, helping to cover expenses such as imam and caretaker salaries and electricity bills.
Cornelius says while donations remain important, they can be unpredictable as donors may retire, pass away or lose their income.
The Hijra Cycling Waqf Legacy Tour is therefore calling on members of the public to support the initiative and contribute towards building a sustainable endowment that can continue supporting masajid and their communities into the future.
Photos: VOCfm
