The ‘Great Mosque of
Guangzhou’ is also known as Huaisheng Mosque which means ‘Remember the Sage’ (A
Memorial Mosque to the Prophet) and is also popularly called the ‘Guangta
Mosque’ which translates as ‘The Beacon Tower Mosque’. Huaisheng Mosque
is located on Guantgta Road (Light Pagoda Road) which runs eastwards off Renmin
Zhonglu.
Prior to 500 CE and
hence before the establishment of Islam, Arab seafarers had established trade
relations with the “Middle Kingdom” (China). Arab ships bravely set off
from Basra at the tip of the Arabian Gulf and also from the town of Qays
(Siraf) in the Persian Gulf. They sailed the Indian Ocean passing
Sarandip (Sri Lanka) and navigated their way through the Straits of Malacca
which were between the Sumatran and Malaysian peninsulas en route to the South
China Sea. They established trading posts on the southeastern coastal
ports of Quanzhou and Guangzhou. Some Arabs had already settled in China
and probably embraced Islam when the first Muslim deputation arrived, as their
families and friends back in Arabia, had already embraced Islam during the
Prophet’s revelation (610-32).
Guangzhou is called
Khanfu by the Arabs who later set up a Muslim quarter which became a centre of
commerce. Guangzhou’s superior geographical position made it play an
important role as the oldest trading and international port city in
China. Witnessing a series of historical events, China has become a
significant place in history and one of the fastest growing regions in the
world enjoying unprecedented prosperity.
Whilst an Islamic state
was founded by Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him, China was enduring a period of unification and defense. Early
Chinese annals mentioned Muslim Arabs and called their kingdom al-Medina (of
Arabia). Islam in Chinese is called “Yisilan Jiao” (meaning “Pure
Religion”). A Chinese official once described Mecca as being the
birthplace of Buddha Ma-hia-wu (i.e. Prophet Muhammad).
There are several
historical versions relating to the advent of Islam in China. Some
records claim Muslims first arrived in China in two groups within as many
months from Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
Ethiopia was the land
where some early Muslims first fled in fear from the persecution of the Quraysh
tribe in Mecca. Among that group of refugees were one of Prophet
Muhammad’s daughters Ruqayya, her husband Uthman ibn Affan, Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas
and many other prominent Companions who migrated on the advice of the
Prophet. They were successfully granted political asylum by the Abyssinian
King Atsmaha Negus in the city of Axum (c.615 CE).
However, some Companions
never returned to Arabia. They may have traveled on in the hope of
earning their livelihood elsewhere and may have eventually reached China by
land or sea during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE). Some records relate that
Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and three other Companions sailed to China in c.616 CE from
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) with the backing of the king of Abyssinia. Sad then
returned to Arabia, bringing a copy of the Holy Quran back to Guangzhou some 21
years later, which appropriately coincides with the account of Liu Chih who
wrote “The Life of the Prophet” (12 vols).
One of the Companions
who lived in China is believed to have died in c.635 CE and was buried in the
western urban part of Hami. His tomb is known as “Geys’ Mazars” and is
revered by many in the surrounding region. It is in the northwestern
autonomous province of Xingjian (Sinkiang) and about 400 miles east of the
latter’s capital, Urumqi. Xingjian is four times the size of Japan,
shares its international border with eight different nations and is home to the
largest indigenous group of Turkic-speaking Uyghurs. Hence, as well as
being the largest Islamized area of China, Xingjian is also of strategic
importance geographically.
The Quran states in
unequivocal words that Muhammad was sent only as a Mercy from God to all
peoples (21:107), and in another verse:
“We have not sent thee
but as a Mercy to all Mankind…” (34:28)
This universality of
Islam facilitated its acceptance by people from all races and nations and is
amply demonstrated in China where the indigenous population, of ethnic
varieties of Chinese Muslims today is greater than the population of many Arab
countries including that of Saudi Arabia.
The history of Huaisheng
Mosque represents centuries of Islamic culture dating right back to the
mid-seventh century during the T’ang Dynasty (618-907) - “the golden age of
Chinese history”. It was in this period, eighteen years after the death
of the Prophet, that Islam - the last of the three monotheistic religions - was
first introduced to China by the third Caliph, Uthman Ibn ‘Affan (644-656
CE/23-35 AH ).
Uthman was one of the
first to embrace Islam and memorize the Holy Quran. He possessed a mild
and gentle nature and he married Ruqayyah and following her death, Umm Kulthum
(both were daughters of the Prophet). Consequently he was given the
epithet of ‘Dhu-n-Nurayn’ (the one with the two lights). Uthman was
highly praised for safeguarding the manuscripts of the Quran against disputes
by ordering its compilation from the memories of the Companions and sending
copies to the four corners of the Islamic Empire.
Uthman sent a delegation
to China led by Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas (d. 674 CE/55 AH) who was a much loved
maternal uncle of the Prophet and one of the most famous Companions who
converted to Islam at the age of just seventeen. He was a veteran of all
the battles and one of the ten who it is reported that the Prophet said were
assured a place in paradise.
In Medina, Sad, using
his ability in architecture added an Iwan (an arched hall used by a Persian
Emperor) as a worship area. He later laid the foundation of what was to
be the first Mosque in China where early Islamic architecture forged a relationship
with Chinese architecture.
According to the ancient
historical records of the T’ang Dynasty, an emissary from the kingdom of
al-Medina led by Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and his deputation of Companions, who
sailed on a special envoy to China in c.650 CE, via the Indian Ocean and the
China Sea to the famous port of Guangzhou, thence traveled overland to Chang’an
(present day Xi’an) via what was later known as the “Silk Route”.
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