先賢古墓道

先賢古墓道

穿过一座悬有"高风仰止"大牌楼而入，

沿着一条两侧石栏杆的石路，便可步人先贤古墓内。

赛义德-艾比-宛葛素古墓

Visit to Cemetary of Pioneer of Islam in Kwang Zhou

先賢古墓道

广州清真先贤古墓

清真先贤古墓。清真先贤古墓位于解放北路兰圃西侧。明清中国学者称伊斯兰教义为"至清至真"，因而伊斯兰教又被称为"清真教"。

清真先贤古墓是以赛义德-艾比-宛葛素为首的40多位阿拉伯著名伊斯兰教传教士的墓地。古墓是一座园林式的墓园，四周绕有墙垣，内有拜殿、方亭、厢房，穿过一座悬有"高风仰止"大牌楼而入，沿着一条两侧设有石栏杆的石路，便可步人先贤古墓内。

Ancient Tomb of Islamic Father

Islamic culture

Islam is one of the five major religions in China. The four others are Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and the Protestantism.

Muslims take great pride in citing a hadith that says "seek knowledge even it is in China."

It points to the importance of looking for lore, even if it meant travelling as far away as China.

Observing the Prophet's instructions, his followers sent missionaries to China one after another.

Some historians hold that, as early as the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618) during the revelation of Islam (AD 610-632) to the Prophet, Islam had already appeared in China.

Still, many believe the visit led by Waqqaas and Qays was Islam's earliest contact with China during the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, the third caliph.

After triumphing over the Byzantine, Romans and Persians, Uthman ibn Affan dispatched a deputation to China in AD 650, eight years after the Prophet's death.

Waqqaas was said to have died in Canton, today's Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, where he established the Huaisheng, literally meaning "in memory of the Holy Prophet" Mosque, or Memorial Mosque, one of the first Islamic buildings in China and proof of the early communication between the two cultures.

And in AD 713, an ambassador from the Islamic Caliphate was received at the Tang court.

Since then, both overland trade along the silk route and maritime trade via the spice route to the southeastern port of Canton flourished. So did cultural and scientific exchanges.

Many Muslims came to China to trade and they began to have a great economic impact and influence on the country.

Muslims virtually dominated the import-export industry by the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Some of them later became permanent residents in such prosperous cities as Xi'an, Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province, Hami and Guangzhou, where they built mosques and cemeteries.

One of the most prized Chinese musical instruments, the pluck-stringed pipa, actually originated in the Islamic world and was called barbat, tanbur or mizhar in Arabic and Persian.

And the Chinese word for ball, qiu, was said to originate from the Persian word, gui, the name for the game of polo.

Chinese medicine, both the material and prescriptions, were also influenced by Persia and Arabia, as recorded by Tang Dynasty officials.