A Mausoleum in Kg Melayu

The way to the Makam (CNB 2013)

What lies in our own backyard always seems to be ignored as we list all the places and their natural/man-made attractions we'd like to see before we die.  And the Makam Sheikh Omar (Sheikh Omar Mausoleum) is one such historic building in our Pulau Pinang backyard.   

Sheikh Omar Basheer Al Naqhshahbandy Al Khalidi (d. 1881), originally from Hadramawt, Yemen was a famous 19th century Naqhshabandi Sufi leader in Pulau Pinang. He had introduced special tariqah* practice called suluk which emphasises on seclusion. He also mediated during the Penang riots of 1867.

During my teens in Ayer Itam, I remember seeing his grandson Haji Fathil bin Sheikh Zakaria Basheer when we were neighbours. Sheikh Omar's tomb in Kampong Melayu, Ayer Itam lies under a 35-foot white tower built by Muslim labourers from India. This mausoleum is cited as the largest and most handsome of mausoleums in Pulau Pinang. It is regularly visited by Naqshbandi followers.

The mausoleum (CNB 2013)

The mausoleum and the graveyard (CNB 2013)

During the recent Eid holidays, with my brothers MN & AW, we visited our mother's grave at the Al-Kadrie mosque. Then later we went to the Mausoleum where beside it is a graveyard where my brother's (MN) wife SMA and son WHB, also his father & mother-in-law are buried. We found the mausoleum building most neglected, where even the signboard was truly dilapidated. I guess better upkeep and a new coat of paint is certainly required.

The grave of Sheikh Omar (CNB 2013)

*Tariqah - 'way, path'; a system of rites for the spiritual training of a Sufi order; any of the Sufi orders (Dictionary.com)
ref: lisanaldin.blogspot.com