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Beginnings are always difficult, but the beginning of the restoration of Al-Jamea-ul-Anwar seemed a journey into the impossible.
The masjid had remained in ruins for centuries. The sehn had been used as a dump yard, tons of rubble lay scattered about, a sewer ran right behind the qiblah, a school had been erected inside, the open area was used as a playground and trees and vegetation grew on the inside. One day, Shahzada Mufaddal Bhaisaheb Saifuddin asked a handful of mumineen in Cairo to undertake the cleaning of Al-Jamea-ul-Anwar. Mumineen were quite bewildered as the cleaning of the masjid could not even be conceived at that time. 'How and what shall we clean?' they wondered.
However, Shahzada Saheb remained firm in his determination and in three consecutive days, mumineen managed to clean the area called the 'majaaz'. Gradually, the work picked up tempo and workers were hired and heavy equipment like bulldozers were brought in. The project was then officially launched. It is interesting to note that two minarets of the masjid were cleaned and washed with the help of fire brigades.
The cleaning was the most challenging of tasks, yet the most important. The revelation of old relics and the emergence of original foundations upon which the masjid was built were the fruits of this labor. With every layer of debris cleared, an era of past history was uncovered. Finally, a staggering amount of 29,000 or more truck loads of dirt and rubble were removed from the masjid: the debris also contained harmful creatures like snakes and bats.
The work was finally completed and the masjid was restored to what it is today-Al-Jamea-ul-Anwar-the manifestation of the glory of Aimmat Fatemiyeen, a key with which Maula has opened the treasures of barakaat for posterity.
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