De Waal Drive:    Sheikh Abdul Kader (Biesmillah Shah Bawa)

The mountain ridges around Devil's Peak and Table Mountain are filled with mystery. Spiritualists of all religions agree that there are powerful spiritual centres situated on and around the ridges of these mountains. Many stories about the spiritual power emanating fron the Table Mountain ridges are being told. These stories add to the mystery of the mountain whose majestic presence enhances the beauty of the mother city.

On Devil's Peak, just above De Waal Drive, many graves are found. Two of these graves are covered with satin cloths normally used to cover the graves of saintly persons. Neither the names of the saints nor the spiritual brotherhood to which they belong to is known.

One of these graves, which is marked with an oblong iron frame decorated with stars and crescents can easily be seen from Walmer Estate. The name of the saint is not known, but a legend about him circulates in the community. This legend relates that a certain Junaid Mazier reported that he was curous about a man who, on Friday's after the midday prayer, would walk towards the slopes. Wanting to know where the man was going, he decided to follow him. On reaching the mountainside, he saw the man walking towards his grave, enter the grave and disappear.

These graves according to several Muslim spiritualist are not the only graves of auliyah buried on Devil's Peak and Table Mountain. The oral tradition also claims that there are several graves of auliyah buried on these slopes which has as yet not been identified. One such grave is that of a mysterious auliyah, Sheikh Abdul Kader. The location of his grave was only known by a few selected confidants of the Sheikh. They were told to keep the location a secret. Those who related this legend also speculated that Sheikh Abdul Kader is the divine guide referred to in African folklore.