The Maqam Of Sheikh Yusuf In South Africa

Sheikh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.


The capture of Macassar by the Dutch, made it impossible for Sheikh Yusuf to return to his native land. Thus, when he left Jeddah in 1664 he did not sail to Goa, but to Banten in Western Java.


In 1684 he was captured by the Dutch and incarcerated in the castle of Batavia. He was then transferred and detained in Ceylon. On 27 June 1693 he was shipped to the Cape Of Good Hope.


The voyage to the Cape was filled with mysterious events. On the way to the Cape, the fresh water supply was runnning out. When Sheikh Yusuf became aware of this he merely put his foot in the sea, and told the men to let down the casks at that spot. When they pull up the casks, they discovered, that the salt water from the sea was fresh and good to drink.


When Sheikh Yusuf arrived at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van der Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the Farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eerste River, in the general area now called Macassar.


The settlement soon became a santuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in South Africa was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Afica was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was spread to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Sheikh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure.