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Fatima Mali is a poor South African domestic worker from a black informal settlement who embraced Islam in 2005. Born in 1955 in Transkei (an ex-apartheid state in South Africa), she came to Cape Town, South Africa in 1991 in search of work.
Her journey begins with the first steps she takes towards consciously embracing the life of a Muslim. It is an ordinary working day in 1995. Fatima, then known as Nozibele Phylis Mali, is busy working for her employer, Mehrunisa Dawood. Fatima is busy sweeping a room from which she can clearly hear Mehrunisa’s son Shafeeq, in the lounge, revising the Quranic chapters he has committed to memory. Fatima listens, spellbound. This is strange, curious. She does not understand. “Why is this child sitting like this? Fatima’s wonderment brings her work almost to a standstill. She is conscious of this. As a diligent worker, she does not want to appear slowing down her work, so she watches secretly. “I don’t want him to see me because I must work.” But she is drawn to the recitation, the respectful way this child is sitting with the Holy Book. It is so beautiful and almost disturbing at the same time – the way something beautiful that you cannot understand, that you deeply seek to understand, can be disturbing. Fatima is seeking answers to questions she is just beginning to ask herself. “What is he doing? Why am I so attracted to this melodious sound?” She hears footsteps and quickly resumes her work. But her mind and her heart are fixed on this child reciting the Holy Book. She is the outsider, adoring the beauty of a child on the inside reciting the Quran. She knows neither the Quran, nor the faith. But, as she watches and listens, she ultimately recognizes one powerful truth: “This thing comes from the heart.” The beauty of the Quran touches her, perhaps in a way not very different from the way the beauty of the Quran has touched the noblest personalities since the moment it was revealed in a cave many centuries ago.
Things that come into my heart
And so the one thing that comes into her heart is Shafeeq’s recitation, his posture, the whole atmosphere created by a sacred moment. But there are other things too, she says, that come into her heart. “This lady, every morning when I’m coming here, she got a smiling face.” Even when Fatima errs in her work, she has learned that there is no fear of reprisal for the common mistake in domestic chores. Instead, there is the culture of admonishment with kindness. This treatment is very different from that which Fatima experienced while in the service of a previous Muslim employer. With Mehrunisa it is an unusual relationship. There is a sisterhood that transcends the typical race, class and employer-employee barriers. Her food is served on the same plates as the rest of the family and she eats at the same table as her employer. When one touches another person through these man-made barriers, then one reaches the heart of the other. Fatima feels this touch and recognizes it as a feeling that makes her “happy and cry”.
Another thing that comes into her heart is Mehrunisa’s ritual ablution and prayer. At 1pm she goes into the bathroom and comes out wearing a beautiful long dress and a scarf. Fatima stands at the bathroom door, wondering what is going on in there and runs off as soon as Mehrunisa opens the door. She feels a strange joy with all these things she does not understand. She wants to ask, but is afraid. Her questions multiply, surging like a wave. What is going on in this house? Why am I so attracted to these people and their life? Mehrunisa senses her curiosity. She knows Fatima is clearly searching for spiritual guidance. Fatima was born into a Methodist Church and is the youngest child and the only surviving member of her family. Mehrunisa prompts a discussion with Fatima on religion, the church and her faith. They speak of the things that dissatisfy Fatima in her faith, over breakfast. Mehrunisa advises her to pray. “When you leave my door, speak to God. Say “Oh God, please help me. Show me the truth.” Say that all the time as you walk until you get to your home. And God will show you the path.” Several months later, Mehrunisa takes Fatima to the Islamic Da’wah Movement (IDM) office where a Xhosa-speaking member of the congregation explains Islam to her in her home language. There is no delay. Fatima has already decided to embrace Islam. Mehrunisa reflects on the day Fatima went to the IDM: “When I came back the imam said she immediately said the Shahada and adopted the name Fatima. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was actually speechless.”
Hardships of a new life
The change in Fatima’s life is visible. She describes herself as a person who was at first preoccupied with her own needs and who has become one who is genuinely concerned about the needs of others. Now, she says, she even makes time to smile. But the new life does not come to her without its hardships. Although her brother Douglas is always very kind to her and shares his home with her, his wife, Christina, is vehemently opposed to her sister-in-law’s new faith and she openly resents Fatima, deliberately making life difficult for her.
Fatima, however, perseveres with patience and constancy. She is neither deterred from practicing her faith nor from refraining to respond in like manner to Christina. Christina’s hostility compels Fatima to leave her brother’s home and seek refuge in the nearby home of another sister in Islam, Nadia. Among her first acts of charity since embracing Islam is helping a neighbour and his two children who were abandoned by an alcoholic mother. The disillusioned father is so overwhelmed by the benevolence of Fatima and Nadia that he feels drawn to their faith and, with his children, embraces Islam. An act of kindness inspires a harvest of faith.
The angel of death
Within a few months, an unexpected turn of events presents Fatima with another challenge. In 1996, Christina’s teenage son fall seriously ill and dies of injuries sustained in an accident. Fatima responds with magnanimity and goes to the aid of her sister-in-law. At a time when all Christina’s friends forsake her after the funeral, the once-resented Fatima remains faithfully at the side of the grieving mother and helps to heal her broken spirit. Is it not in the nature of a grieving spirit to recognize compassion foremost from one who has been rejected? Christina’s heart melts with Fatima’s compassion. Her hostility dissipates and she is transformed into a bosom friend. She asks Fatima to allow her to join her when she goes to Macassar to attend the weekly madrasah, where they learn the basic teachings of Islam. After three visits to the madrasah, Christina’s heart relents and she finally embraces Islam, adopting the Muslim name Shanaaz. A bitter sister-in-law is transformed into a beloved sister-in-faith. And so Fatima becomes familiar with the visits of the angel of death. This messenger has already summoned the souls of many of her nearest kin. All her siblings, her parents and her husband are departed. Ten years later it is the last of them, Douglas, her beloved brother, who meets his death in October, 2006 as a victim of an armed robbery. This incident occurs three days before he is due to visit the offices of the IDM to embrace Islam. Fatima grieves, but her comfort is that Douglas had made the niyyah (intention) to accept Islam and that his reward is the realization of that niyyah. Fatima is elevated by the truth with loss and pain comes comfort and healing. Fatima remains steadfast.
Her four sons, aged twenty-seven, eighteen, fourteen and twelve, accept Islam immediately when they arrive in Cape Town, from Transkei, at the end of 2006. Nozuko, Fatima’s first-born, is married and has yet accepted Islam, but undertakes the responsibility to look after her younger siblings in her mother’s absence. In her original journey, from a self-centered woman, to a compassionate Muslim, Fatima touches the lives of many. Of these, a total of fifteen people commit themselves to the Islamic faith, including her children and neighbours. Of the fifteen, Shanaaz remains the most important symbol of reconciliation and steadfastness in Fatima’s journey. In a deeply profound way, Shanaaz represents a true measure of Fatima’s devotion. For the past four years, Shanaaz has been living with cancer. Her condition is deteriorating and Fatima continues to care for her sister in Islam who was married to her brother. The bond of faith supersedes, but also affirms, the bond of family. Mehrunisa affirms that propagation of Islam begins at home. Two women complete the circle of giving and receiving. But Fatima’s journey is not yet full circle. When and how it will be, Allah knows best.
By Mahmood Sanglay (Muslim Views Newspaper – South Africa – November 2007)
Her journey begins with the first steps she takes towards consciously embracing the life of a Muslim. It is an ordinary working day in 1995. Fatima, then known as Nozibele Phylis Mali, is busy working for her employer, Mehrunisa Dawood. Fatima is busy sweeping a room from which she can clearly hear Mehrunisa’s son Shafeeq, in the lounge, revising the Quranic chapters he has committed to memory. Fatima listens, spellbound. This is strange, curious. She does not understand. “Why is this child sitting like this? Fatima’s wonderment brings her work almost to a standstill. She is conscious of this. As a diligent worker, she does not want to appear slowing down her work, so she watches secretly. “I don’t want him to see me because I must work.” But she is drawn to the recitation, the respectful way this child is sitting with the Holy Book. It is so beautiful and almost disturbing at the same time – the way something beautiful that you cannot understand, that you deeply seek to understand, can be disturbing. Fatima is seeking answers to questions she is just beginning to ask herself. “What is he doing? Why am I so attracted to this melodious sound?” She hears footsteps and quickly resumes her work. But her mind and her heart are fixed on this child reciting the Holy Book. She is the outsider, adoring the beauty of a child on the inside reciting the Quran. She knows neither the Quran, nor the faith. But, as she watches and listens, she ultimately recognizes one powerful truth: “This thing comes from the heart.” The beauty of the Quran touches her, perhaps in a way not very different from the way the beauty of the Quran has touched the noblest personalities since the moment it was revealed in a cave many centuries ago.
Things that come into my heart
And so the one thing that comes into her heart is Shafeeq’s recitation, his posture, the whole atmosphere created by a sacred moment. But there are other things too, she says, that come into her heart. “This lady, every morning when I’m coming here, she got a smiling face.” Even when Fatima errs in her work, she has learned that there is no fear of reprisal for the common mistake in domestic chores. Instead, there is the culture of admonishment with kindness. This treatment is very different from that which Fatima experienced while in the service of a previous Muslim employer. With Mehrunisa it is an unusual relationship. There is a sisterhood that transcends the typical race, class and employer-employee barriers. Her food is served on the same plates as the rest of the family and she eats at the same table as her employer. When one touches another person through these man-made barriers, then one reaches the heart of the other. Fatima feels this touch and recognizes it as a feeling that makes her “happy and cry”.
Another thing that comes into her heart is Mehrunisa’s ritual ablution and prayer. At 1pm she goes into the bathroom and comes out wearing a beautiful long dress and a scarf. Fatima stands at the bathroom door, wondering what is going on in there and runs off as soon as Mehrunisa opens the door. She feels a strange joy with all these things she does not understand. She wants to ask, but is afraid. Her questions multiply, surging like a wave. What is going on in this house? Why am I so attracted to these people and their life? Mehrunisa senses her curiosity. She knows Fatima is clearly searching for spiritual guidance. Fatima was born into a Methodist Church and is the youngest child and the only surviving member of her family. Mehrunisa prompts a discussion with Fatima on religion, the church and her faith. They speak of the things that dissatisfy Fatima in her faith, over breakfast. Mehrunisa advises her to pray. “When you leave my door, speak to God. Say “Oh God, please help me. Show me the truth.” Say that all the time as you walk until you get to your home. And God will show you the path.” Several months later, Mehrunisa takes Fatima to the Islamic Da’wah Movement (IDM) office where a Xhosa-speaking member of the congregation explains Islam to her in her home language. There is no delay. Fatima has already decided to embrace Islam. Mehrunisa reflects on the day Fatima went to the IDM: “When I came back the imam said she immediately said the Shahada and adopted the name Fatima. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was actually speechless.”
Hardships of a new life
The change in Fatima’s life is visible. She describes herself as a person who was at first preoccupied with her own needs and who has become one who is genuinely concerned about the needs of others. Now, she says, she even makes time to smile. But the new life does not come to her without its hardships. Although her brother Douglas is always very kind to her and shares his home with her, his wife, Christina, is vehemently opposed to her sister-in-law’s new faith and she openly resents Fatima, deliberately making life difficult for her.
Fatima, however, perseveres with patience and constancy. She is neither deterred from practicing her faith nor from refraining to respond in like manner to Christina. Christina’s hostility compels Fatima to leave her brother’s home and seek refuge in the nearby home of another sister in Islam, Nadia. Among her first acts of charity since embracing Islam is helping a neighbour and his two children who were abandoned by an alcoholic mother. The disillusioned father is so overwhelmed by the benevolence of Fatima and Nadia that he feels drawn to their faith and, with his children, embraces Islam. An act of kindness inspires a harvest of faith.
The angel of death
Within a few months, an unexpected turn of events presents Fatima with another challenge. In 1996, Christina’s teenage son fall seriously ill and dies of injuries sustained in an accident. Fatima responds with magnanimity and goes to the aid of her sister-in-law. At a time when all Christina’s friends forsake her after the funeral, the once-resented Fatima remains faithfully at the side of the grieving mother and helps to heal her broken spirit. Is it not in the nature of a grieving spirit to recognize compassion foremost from one who has been rejected? Christina’s heart melts with Fatima’s compassion. Her hostility dissipates and she is transformed into a bosom friend. She asks Fatima to allow her to join her when she goes to Macassar to attend the weekly madrasah, where they learn the basic teachings of Islam. After three visits to the madrasah, Christina’s heart relents and she finally embraces Islam, adopting the Muslim name Shanaaz. A bitter sister-in-law is transformed into a beloved sister-in-faith. And so Fatima becomes familiar with the visits of the angel of death. This messenger has already summoned the souls of many of her nearest kin. All her siblings, her parents and her husband are departed. Ten years later it is the last of them, Douglas, her beloved brother, who meets his death in October, 2006 as a victim of an armed robbery. This incident occurs three days before he is due to visit the offices of the IDM to embrace Islam. Fatima grieves, but her comfort is that Douglas had made the niyyah (intention) to accept Islam and that his reward is the realization of that niyyah. Fatima is elevated by the truth with loss and pain comes comfort and healing. Fatima remains steadfast.
Her four sons, aged twenty-seven, eighteen, fourteen and twelve, accept Islam immediately when they arrive in Cape Town, from Transkei, at the end of 2006. Nozuko, Fatima’s first-born, is married and has yet accepted Islam, but undertakes the responsibility to look after her younger siblings in her mother’s absence. In her original journey, from a self-centered woman, to a compassionate Muslim, Fatima touches the lives of many. Of these, a total of fifteen people commit themselves to the Islamic faith, including her children and neighbours. Of the fifteen, Shanaaz remains the most important symbol of reconciliation and steadfastness in Fatima’s journey. In a deeply profound way, Shanaaz represents a true measure of Fatima’s devotion. For the past four years, Shanaaz has been living with cancer. Her condition is deteriorating and Fatima continues to care for her sister in Islam who was married to her brother. The bond of faith supersedes, but also affirms, the bond of family. Mehrunisa affirms that propagation of Islam begins at home. Two women complete the circle of giving and receiving. But Fatima’s journey is not yet full circle. When and how it will be, Allah knows best.
By Mahmood Sanglay (Muslim Views Newspaper – South Africa – November 2007)