Travelogue
Spain and Morocco
Maulana Muhammad Imran Attari
(Head of Dawat-e-Islami’s Central Executive Committee)
Leaving Karachi
In December 2022, I left Karachi intending to visit the shrines of saints and carry out Dawat-e-Islami’s religious work. I first landed in Spain. Once known as Andalus, this is where the great Muslim commander Ṭāriq b. Ziyād raised the flag of Islam in 711 AD. Islamic relics and architecture can still be seen today in many cities across Spain. Haji Abdul Habib Attari and other Islamic brothers from the UK and Spain accompanied me on this trip.
A masjid built after 500 years
We visited a grand masjid in Granada. After the Islamic empire in Spain ended in 1492 AD, no new masjid was built for around 500 years. This was the first built after this lengthy period. اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه After offering ʿaṣr salah here, I had the honour of conducting a Madani study circle with Islamic brothers from Spain and the UK.
Refreshments
When we exited the masjid, we saw a person giving out tea and cake to those who had offered salah. When we asked him the price for the cake and tea, he said this was all a gift. اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه All over the world, it is a practice of the Prophet’s devotees to feed Muslims.
A sunnah-inspired gathering in Granada
We then visited a masjid in Granada built by the Spanish Muslim community. There, after offering maghrib salah, I had the honour of delivering a speech in a sunnah-inspired gathering. The speech was also translated into Arabic. Local Muslims were present, as were Islamic brothers from Morocco and Pakistan. After the gathering, I met with brothers, and we ate together.
From Spain to Marrakesh
After the gathering, we went to the historic city of Cordoba for the night. Around 11am the next morning, we set off for the Port of Algeciras. Although the ferry was to depart from there at 5pm, we had to arrive two hours early to go through immigration.
We travelled approximately 296 km in around three hours only to find the ferry was delayed. We then offered ẓuhr salah there. The weather was cold and rainy. Our group comprised of three cars, and from here, we intended to visit Morocco, which is an Arab Muslim country in Africa. It is referred to as ‘Al-Maghrib’ in Arabic, ‘Morocco’ in English, and ‘Maraakish’ in Pakistan and India. People travel to Morocco from Spain via ferry. Ferries are like naval planes; they can carry both passengers and cars, as well as shipping containers. Islamic brothers came and sat in their cars for the journey. We then ate together and offered ʿaṣr salah. May Allah Almighty bless Dawat-e-Islami’s IT and Prayer Times departments, as one can easily find out salah times across the world using their salah times app.
As we completed salah, the ferry had anchored at the port. We proceeded through immigration and were to board the ferry in our cars. There was a huge queue, and the time for maghrib salah was due to commence soon. The long queues meant we managed to offer maghrib salah, as per our intentions. اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه We boarded the ferry around 7pm in our cars. We left our luggage in our cars and went upstairs to where the passengers were.
We were yet to go through immigration checks, which were then carried out on board. After this, we travelled by sea and arrived at a city called Tangier in Morocco around two hours later. After complying with legal requirements there, we drove off the ferry and onto the road. This was our first visit to Morocco, and we did not have any locals with us. Nonetheless, some Islamic brothers with us from Europe had visited here before.
A change in plan
It was raining when we arrived in Morocco. It was late night, and I was especially hungry. We ate at a restaurant and discussed whether to spend the night in a nearby hotel or continue travelling. During our journey, we also learnt there are two ways to reach Marrakesh: via motorway, which would take approximately four and half hours; and another route via the mountains, which would take approximately eight hours.
The route via the mountains would mean passing by Tetouan, which is approximately 65 km from the shrine of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Salām Mashīsh رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, the quṭb of the West. We decided to take this path despite it being longer, as we desired to visit his shrine. The shrines of Moulay Idrīs I, Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Dabbagh, and Sayyidunā ʿAlī b. Ḥirāzmī رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ are also on the way.
After further discussion, we travelled to Tetouan. The brothers with us booked a hotel online whilst we were travelling. Upon arrival, we offered ʿishāˈ salah and rested in our hotel.
(To be continued in the next edition)
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