A Trip to New Zealand
(Shawwal 1426 / November 2005)
Taken from the travelogue ‘Safar dar Safar’ by Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (damat barakatuhum). English translation by Kaiser Nizamani. Edited by Al Balagh editorial team.
Praise and glory be for that Being who bestowed existence to the universe and peace and blessings be upon His Final Messenger (ﷺ) who elevated the Truth in the world
الحمد لله وكفى، وسلام على عباده الذين اصطفى، أما بعد!
New Zealand is a developed country consisting of numerous islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is located one thousand miles to the southeast of Australia. Since there is no populated area to the south of New Zealand until Antarctica, it would not be wrong if it were called the southern-most country of the world. While it comprises of numerous small islands as well, it has two main islands wherein a majority of its population live and which contain big cities. One is called the North Island and the other South Island, with a twenty-mile-long Cook Strait separating the two. Hence, one travelling from the North Island to the South Island would have to travel by sea or air, and if travelling by bus or car, the bus or car would also have to be boarded onto the ship or plane. The country extends over a land area of about 103,500 square miles. Its length from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island is about 995 miles, while its width is 280 miles. Such a large land area contains only four million people, meaning about a third of the population of only Karachi. Wellington is the capital of the country, which is located at the southern tip of the North Island. There are three more major cities besides Wellington; Auckland, the biggest city of the country, Christchurch and Hamilton.
According to recorded history, New Zealand has been inhabited since the year 1000 CE. The indigenous people here are known as Maori. This is a wheat-coloured race. It is said that first contact with these people from outside was by a Dutch seafarer who tried to alight on the island in 1642, but the Maori tribes attacked him and chased him away. Afterwards, in 1769 the Britisher James Cook attempted to capture New Zealand. Initially, the Maori tribes took up armed resistance, but Cook was able to subdue them. Over time, people from Britain arrived and settled here, until in the 19th century, New Zealand became an official Colony of New South Wales. In 1840, the Maori tribes signed a treaty with the British in which they agreed to relinquish their rule over the country in favour of Britain, and in return the British government would protect their lives and wealth and recognize and uphold their ownership of the lands they possessed. Despite this, minor hostilities continued between the two parties, until the Maori were completely subjugated in 1847. Through a Constitution Act, New Zealand was declared a self-government and separate country of the Commonwealth in 1852, but that its government would be considered a representative of the King or Queen of Britain. This was merely symbolic, and actual authority lay in the hands of the Cabinet selected by the Parliament, which was headed by the Prime Minister.
While the Maoris were initially promised the rights to maintain ownership of their lands, as more British citizens migrated here, the Maoris were compelled to sell off their lands. They resisted this and their fights with the British settlers re-started. These fights continued throughout the 1860s, but eventually the British settlers prevailed and the Maoris had to concede defeat. The Maori people did not mount any noteworthy resistance since then, and now they live as common citizens under the government of New Zealand. They have a quota of representatives in the Parliament as well, and the government is also making efforts to promote their culture.
Since New Zealand is a fertile country, many Muslims from the Islamic world have settled here as well, who perhaps number around 100,000 now. The Muslims of New Zealand invited me to visit here numerous times before, but for various reasons I could not undertake this trip until now.
I was finally destined to visit this country in the third week of Shawwal 1426 AH. To this end, after spending the day of Wednesday the 13th of Shawwal 1426 AH, corresponding to 16 November 2006, in Karachi, I began the journey at 1am in the night, and the flight landed in Auckland, the biggest city of New Zealand, at 8 am local time on Friday, the 18th of November. The time in New Zealand is eight hours ahead of Pakistan, which meant that it was midnight of Thursday in Pakistan at the time. Hence, this journey lasted 23 hours, which included three hours of stopover time in Hong Kong.
Since New Zealand is far away from most countries of the world, we were not much aware of the conditions here. We thus did not also know that such a large number of Muslims live in this distant and remote country. And not only Muslims, rather a reasonable number of competent Muslim scholars also live here, most of whom studied in religious madrasas in India. Among them, Maulana Khalil Nadat was the one who invited me and was my host. He is a graduate of the famous religious madrasa in Dabhel, and masha’allah is a scholar having academic taste and ability. He has been rendering religious services in New Zealand for many years. Besides Urdu, he is also proficient in English and Arabic, and as needed, he can also deliver talks in any of the three languages. He is also highly involved in fulfilling other religious needs of the Muslims here, and is very well-liked among the local Muslims.
The city of Auckland is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean amidst small mountains. Many of its neighbourhoods are named after these mountains. One of these is Mount Roskill, which has a neighbourhood around it which is also known by the same name. A beautiful mosque in this neighbourhood is named Masjid Umar, which has been constructed over quite a large area, and a children’s madrasa has also been built next to it. A graduate scholar of Darul Uloom Dabhel, Maulana Muhammad, is the Imam of this mosque. Due to the presence of this mosque, a large number of Muslims have taken up residence in this neighbourhood. The day I landed in Auckland was a Friday, and Maulana Khalil and others had announced my pre-jumuʿa speech in this Masjid Umar. I was pleasantly surprised to see that masha’allah the mosque was brimming with worshippers, with Muslims from more than thirty countries praying side-by-side. Besides Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, Muslims from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia, Malaysia and numerous other countries have settled here, and this mosque is their communal place of gathering. During the stay here, I offered most of the prayers in this mosque. As a result, I developed such frank relationships with the worshippers here as if we knew each other since years. A good number of Arabs would also offer five times prayer in this mosque. At their insistence, a brief lesson of Hadith in Arabic would take place here every day after fajr prayer, in which our Arab brothers would eagerly take part.
A Pakistan-origin businessman, Mr Muhammad Ali, is a prominent Muslim businessman here, who takes part in the religious activities here with much zeal. He has built a new house in a nearby locality of Mount Albert but has not moved there yet. He offered this house for my stay, which was Alhamdulillah furnished with all kinds of residential facilities. This neighbourhood is also quite peaceful, and stay here proved to be very comfortable. Mr Muhammad Ali and his wife did not spare any effort in making this lowly one’s stay comfortable. May Allah Most High recompense them the best of rewards for this. Amīn. Since this house is at quite some distance from the mosque, Maulana Khalil and Maulana Imtiaz very responsibly took up the duty of taking this lowly one to the mosque for each prayer, and left no stone unturned in providing hospitality to this lowly one. فجزاهم الله تعالى خيرا
Masha’allah there are about half-a-dozen mosques in Auckland, and every mosque has arrangements for teaching children the reading and memorization of the Quran as well as imparting elementary religious education. I stayed in Auckland for one week. Since this country is located to the extreme south of the equator, November is the beginning of summer here and the days were getting longer.
Asr prayer was taking place at 6:30 pm, maghrib at 8:30 pm and isha at 10 pm. During the one-week stay, a talk of mine would be arranged in some mosque of Auckland every day from asr to maghrib. Some of the talks were delivered in Urdu and some in English. I found the Imams and administrators of all mosques busy with the religious and daʿwah-related activities of the mosques under their charge. Among other scholars rendering religious services in Auckland, Maulana Ishaq, Maulana Abu Bakr and Maulana Manzoor are especially worthy of mention, and the heart was quite pleased to see that they rendered their services through mutual cooperation and consultation. At 11 am on Sunday the 17th of Shawwal, a gathering of scholars rendering their services in Auckland and nearby areas was organized in the house of Mr Ayub, which included Arab Imams and speakers. Here a talk was delivered before them in Arabic, and several fiqh-related issues encountered in this country were discussed.
In public talks, this lowly one mostly emphasized on local issues, besides general religious advices. However, the local scholars informed that interest-based dealings were prevalent here, with many Muslims also falling into them. As a result of widespread and ubiquitous involvement in interest, its prohibition and reprehensibility were also fading away from the hearts of people. To this end, my hosts requested to deliver at least one detailed talk of the prohibition of interest in every big city. Accordingly, three detailed talks on this topic were delivered in the three major cities of Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton. Alhamdulillah, benefits of these talks were felt. Many men and women sent messages to this lowly one of having repented from this sin.
With respect to ribā (interest), acquiring a house was the biggest issue for people. People usually purchased houses by taking interest-based loans. This is a common practice in New Zealand as well. However, a Muslim organization here, “Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand”, short for FIANZ, has made efforts to partner with a local investment company to prepare a product through which the Muslims could acquire a house without involving themselves in interest. For this, FIANZ has established an “Ulema Advisory Board” comprising of local scholars to review the details of this product and to verify that this product complies with the commandments of Shariah. Besides Auckland’s Maulana Ishaq, Maulana Khalil and Maulana Manzoor, this Ulema Advisory Board also includes Wellington’s Maulana Mubarakpuri and some Arab scholars. Documents of the product proposed by the company have been presented to this Board and the Board had planned a meeting to discuss this product’s Shariah compliance. Since I was there in those days, the scholars insisted on me presiding over this meeting. This meeting took place on Sunday the 17th of Shawwal from 4 pm until asr. Besides the Ulema Board, the relevant managers of the investment company and FIANZ were also present in this meeting, so that they could clarify any points related to the proposed product. Afterwards, a separate meeting of only the Ulema Board took place. After analyzing the product, amendments to it were proposed and the company’s managers were informed that if they agreed to comply with the proposed amendments, the Ulema Board could give its approval. The managers of the company promised to comply with the changes, but it was said on behalf of the Ulema Board that the company should prepare and present the amended contracts first, after which the Ulema Board could review it and grant its approval.
A major issue, rather in my view the biggest issue, facing Muslims living in Muslim-minority countries is the education and upbringing of children. The common educational institutes of those countries are nothing less than a great trial for the Muslim boys and girls living there. Muslim parents normally send their children to the common Western-style schools in the morning, and at the same time many of them also send them to the maktabs available in mosques in the evening, where the children learn the Quran and acquire elementary religious education. Many mosques and Islamic centres also have Sunday school, where children are provided religious education on Sunday mornings. However, it is obvious that the effects of the school atmosphere, where the child acquires formal education and spends most part of his working day, cannot be easily washed off in one or two hours. Therefore, the only solution to this issue is for Muslims to establish their own educational institutes in which they can provide contemporary education to their children in a Muslim environment. Whenever I visit such countries, I emphasize this to the Muslims in every place I visit. Alhamdulillah Muslims have taken steps towards this in many places, be they on a limited scale. In Auckland as well, the high-spirited Muslims here have established an Islamic School by the name of Al-Madinah School, where children are provided education until higher secondary level. There is co-education until primary level, while for secondary onwards boys and girls are provided segregated education, with purdah for girls. The classes for girls are managed by a white convert Muslim lady who is from New Zealand itself. The administration of Al-Madinah School invited me to the school. A brief talk was delivered there as well and some suggestions regarding the administration and curriculum of the Madrasa were also shared. It was pleasing to learn that the average performance of students of this school is higher than other schools.
While most of the time during the eight-day stay in Auckland was spent in the above-mentioned activities, we also happened to visit some tourist places of the city during this time. This city is located at the bank of the Pacific Ocean in such a way that offshoots of the sea branch out throughout the city, with bridges linking the various parts of the city. Small mountains are also strewn across the city, and there is so much greenery that no dry patch of land can be seen. Several shores of the sea are nestled amongst lush green mountains, where the sea waves crash against those mountains, and this confluence of sea and mountain is nothing short of a fascinating gift for lovers of natural landscapes. When viewing the city’s landscape from atop the mountains, on one side one can see elegant buildings standing amidst greenery and flora, while on the other, one’s eyes remain endlessly unsatiated from beholding the artistry of nature in the form of the web of offshoots of the sea. While summer was heralding its arrival during those days, the weather was quite cool and pleasant for us people of Karachi. Here, December and January are the hottest months of the year, but the temperature usually does not exceed 30 degrees. Since the population is not large, the atmosphere is not much polluted and the air is quite healthy. At the same time, it is said that being exposed to sunlight for prolonged durations here leads to skin diseases. The reason stated for this is that the hole that is said to have formed in the Ozone layer is located here. As a result, instead of beams of sunlight being filtered through the Ozone layer, they fall directly on the body, and thus the skin becomes parched. Owing to this, occurrence of skin cancer is also quite high here. May Allah protect us from it.
On Tuesday the 19th of Shawwal, our hosts had planned to take us to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Due to shortage of time, this trip was planned to be undertaken by air, but in order to enjoy the natural landscapes of New Zealand, they decided to travel up to the famous tourist city of Rotorua by road, a journey of about 300 km, and then to take a flight from there to Wellington. To this end, we departed by road early morning. As soon as we left the city, a world of natural landscapes presented itself. The kind of natural landscapes that Allah Most High has bestowed on this country are such that any other country would hardly have received such a share of them. Lush green valleys, mountains clad with greenery and flora with rows of elegant pine trees extending for miles, beautiful lakes at every short interval, delightful pastures spread across the ups and downs of valleys wherein one can see herds of wool-laden sheep and the occasional deer grazing around. This road trip of about three hours was quite interesting and blissful. Finally, Maulana Khalil, who was driving the car, stopped the car on the side of a meandering road and invited us to come out and take a look at the view. When we reached the edge of the road, we beheld a mesmerizing waterfall crashing through rocks and cascading down the slope of the mountain into the valley. The power with which the water lashed against the rocks created pretty colours. A wooden bridge has been built right above this waterfall. The view of this spectacle of nature from the bridge was even more beautiful.
فتبارك الله أحسن الخالقين[1]
At a short distance from here is a big and beautiful lake named Taupo, which is the biggest lake in all of New Zealand. We stopped for a short while at the bank of this lake. After Queenstown, this is considered the second most popular tourist site of New Zealand. A city named after the lake, known as Taupo city, is located nearby. The water of this lake is cool and sweet. However, a stream of water drains from a nearby mountain into the lake. The water of this stream is very hot. This mountain is probably volcanic due to which this water is hot.
After resuming our journey from Taupo, we entered Rotorua city near 1 pm. Here, I got to see a spectacle of nature that at least I have never seen anywhere else in the world. Here a live volcano spews lava twenty-four hours a day. This lava neither dies off nor is its quantity and energy such as could harm the nearby population. It seems as if Allah Most High has chosen this place to show His power in an environment where people can safely behold it. Throughout this area of about two kilometers, one can find numerous steaming vents in the ground that appear like the mouth of a tannour[2], with the neighbouring ground sometimes dry and parched and sometimes soggy like quicksand. As a result of the effect of the volcano, these quicksands simmer and bubble all the time. Some vents exude white hot steam while others are geysers spouting boiling water, which sometimes shoots up to 25 metres. When looked from afar, this entire area appears as if bonfires were lighted all over this place, with smoke billowing from them. This spectacle of volcanic hot steam right in the midst of lush green and cool valleys is very admonitory and instructive. It comes in a Hadith that Allah Most High has surrounded Hell with temptations and desires of the nafs. This scene of frightening vents of fire in the midst of such an extremely beautiful area appears like a physical model of that Hadith. While this area has not been affected by any devastating volcanic eruption since years upon years, who knows if, at some time, it stirs back to life, and this place, which is a major place of attraction of tourists, may present soul-shaking scenes.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّا نَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ حَرِّ النَّارِ[3]
On the one hand, Rotorua city contains this volcanic mountain, whose lava has introduced a persistent foul smell in the atmosphere. At the same time, it also contains the beautiful lake which presents great entertainment opportunities for water-lovers. This city is therefore a popular tourist place. Accommodation options for tourists are available at every corner here.
New Zealand is famous the world over for its variety of birds. There are two birds that can only be seen in New Zealand. The first is the Kiwi, which can only survive in the darkness of dense forests. There is a park outside the volcanic region in which a room with a dark atmosphere has been built which houses a Kiwi, which I saw for the first time here. The second bird is the Penguin. This is a bird that lives in icy Antarctica and can only survive in ice. A museum in Auckland has collected heaps of ice and preserved these birds therein, wherein one can do “ziarah” (visitation) of these birds from behind a glass partition. These are diverse varieties of the creation of Allah; one cannot live without darkness, for whom Allah created darkness, and it receives its sustenance in this darkness itself, while another cannot live without ice, for whom Allah provided an icy atmosphere and it receives its sustenance therein.
فتبارك الله أحسن الخالقين، وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا[4]
A small number of Muslims live here as well. The time for zuhr prayer had entered and we were concerned about performing it. Our hosts took us in front of a small restaurant where a young Turkish youth was selling roasted meat. We learned that this self-respecting Muslim had made the upper storey of his restaurant as a communal prayer place. When we reached there, we found separate prayer mats spread on the floor for men and women. A place for ablution was also available, and a shelf contained copies of the Noble Quran as well as other religious and daʿwah-related books. This upper storey was more spacious than the restaurant below, and the religious spirit that this young man showed by designating this upper storey for prayer in this expensive area was very appreciable. It was learned that Tabligh Jamats also stay here, and their food is also arranged here. Alhamdulillah! We offered zuhr prayer here in great calm and peace, had lunch here, and thereafter departed for the airport. After a one-hour flight, we landed at Wellington’s airport.
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is located on the coast at the southern tip of the North Island. Gusty winds often blow here, due to which it is known as Windy Wellington. These biting gusty winds welcomed us when we got off the plane, and they were so strong that it became difficult to reach the building of the airport. Maulana Amir Mubarakpuri was present at the airport to receive us. He is the maternal grandson of the famous Indian muhaqqiq (researcher) and author Maulana Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), and is himself a competent scholar. He is proficient in Arabic, Urdu, as well as English, and has a taste for reading and tahqīq (research). He had come to Auckland on my very second day in New Zealand and participated in most programs of mine that took place in Auckland. He had returned to Wellington one day before my trip to Wellington. There are three big mosques located in Wellington, and Maulana is the Imam and Khatīb of the most central of them, which is located in the heart of the city. He is also actively involved in the teaching and daʿwah-related activities that take place under the Islamic Centre that is established in the mosque, and is very well-liked by the local Muslims.
My speech had been announced here for after maghrib prayer. Since the attendants of this talk would also comprise Muslims from many countries, and their common language could only be English, the talk was delivered in English. The hosts here had already announced the topic of this talk to be “Prohibition of Interest and the Way to Get Rid of it”, and I had also felt a need to discuss this topic in detail. The talk was therefore delivered on this topic, and a question-and-answer session continued after isha prayer. By the grace of Allah, positive effects of this talk were felt. During this gathering, we met Muslims of various races and colours residing in Wellington, and witnessed scenes of Islamic love and brotherhood.
At 1 pm the next day, members of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) had organized a meeting of this lowly one with the higher officers of this organization, which is located within the compound of this mosque. Lunch was also arranged here. We discussed local issues with them for a long time. Besides other things, it was learned that representatives of this organization had developed a process for the preparation and supply of halal meat in consultation with the local scholars, and that this process is scrupulously overseen. The local scholars verified that the process had been developed in consultation with them.
Before this meeting, Maulana Amir Mubarakpuri took this lowly one for sightseeing around Wellington city. This city is replete with mountains and streams. Most of the houses are situated on mountain slopes. The seashores present beautiful views, with green-clad mountains on one side and the wavy sea on the other. The downtown area is adorned with modern buildings. Since honey is a special produce of New Zealand, the Parliament building has been built in the shape of a beehive. An astonishing technology that is common here, is that fully built buildings can be moved from one place to another. We were shown a multi-storey building in this part of the city which was previously located on the other end of the road and was later shifted to its current location. In Auckland, we ourselves saw the scene of a house being carried away. There is a marketplace here where ready-made houses are sold. The buyer can take away whichever house he likes and can fit it into whichever plot of land he desires. I had not seen or heard of this bizarre procedure anywhere else in the world. Moving wooden houses would not be very difficult, but the locals say that even cemented buildings can be transported here. For example, the building that was moved in Wellington was cemented.
In the late afternoon of Wednesday, the 20th of Shawwal, we flew to Hamilton, the fourth-largest city of New Zealand. This is also a green and verdant city, and a large number of Muslims live here. My talk in English had been announced for after asr in a mosque here, in which most of the worshippers were Somalis. A question-and-answer session also took place afterwards, after which we departed for Auckland by road and reached our residence late at night.
While the entire country of New Zealand is replete with natural landscapes, the town of Queenstown in South Island is said to be its most beautiful place. At the end of this tour of New Zealand, our hosts planned a trip to Queenstown by air. The plane took off early morning and stopped over at Christchurch, which is the second-largest city of the country and quite a large number of Muslims live here as well. Thereafter the plane took us to Queenstown, which is indeed unrivalled in terms of its natural beauty and elegance. The scene of snow-capped mountains on three sides cradling a natural lake, with a lush green island floating in its midst has bestowed an extraordinary beauty to the entire area. If one were to travel by road for miles, one would be greeted by a new landscape inviting the beholder at every short distance.
After returning from Queenstown, I spent one more day in Auckland and departed for the return flight on the morning of the 24th of Shawwal, and by the grace of Allah, reached Karachi on the 25th of Shawwal.
[1] “So, glorious is Allah the Best of the creators” (Surah Mu’minoon, Verse 14)
[2] Translator: A traditional clay oven
[3] Translator: “O Allah! We seek refuge in you from the evil of the heat of the Fire”
[4] Translator: “So, glorious is Allah the Best of the creators” (Surah Mu’minoon, Verse 14) and “There is no creature on earth whose sustenance is not undertaken by Allah. He knows its permanent and its temporary place.” (Surah Hud, Verse 6)