Masjid Al-Firdaus

Masjid Al-Firdaus
Jawi: مسجد الفردوس‎‎
Masjid Al-Firdaus during the Friday prayers in 2026.
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
Location11 Jln Ibadat, Singapore 698955
CountrySingapore
Location in Singapore
Coordinates1°22′30″N 103°42′59″E / 1.3749581°N 103.7164712°E / 1.3749581; 103.7164712
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleModern, Malay architecture
Established1962
Completed1962 (original structure)
1999 (current building)

Masjid Al-Firdaus (Jawi: مسجد الفردوس‎) is a mosque located off Jalan Ibadat in Choa Chu Kang, Singapore. Built in 1962 by Muslim personnel of the nearby Tengah Air Base, it is located on Temporary Occupation License (TOL) land.[1] It is one of the last rural mosques in the country alongside Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang and Masjid Omar Salmah.[2]

Etymology

The name of the mosque, Al-Firdaus, is taken from the word Jannat al-Firdaus, the highest level of heaven in Islamic belief.[3] Masjid Al-Firdaus is hence one of two mosques in Singapore to be named after a level of heaven, the other being Masjid En-Naeem at Kovan which is named after the fourth level of heaven, Jannat an-Na'im.[4][5] The road leading to the mosque, Jalan Ibadat, translates to "Road of Worship" and was erected specifically for the mosque.[6]

History

Masjid Al-Firdaus was built in 1962 by the Muslim personnel of the Tengah Air Base, with the aim of having a mosque to serve the soldiers stationed at the military facilities along Old Choa Chu Kang Road, such as the Home Team Academy headquarters and the former Keat Hong Camp.[7][8][9] The land the mosque was constructed on was under the Temporary Occupation License (TOL) scheme.[7] At the time, the mosque did not have a name, and upon the official opening ceremony in 1968 it was given the name Al-Firdaus.[10] The official inauguration ceremony for the mosque to celebrate its opening anniversary was held at Teck Whye in 1983, along with a sporting event to raise funds for a renovation project that was headed by Abdul Rahman Haji Hamid, the head of the mosque committee.[8][11] This project would fix the dilapidating toilets in the mosque as well as expand the mosque to accommodate more worshippers.[8]

The mosque was completely rebuilt in 1999 with a drastically different appearance from its former self, with a noted feature being the lack of a dome unlike the old mosque.[7] The rebuilt mosque held local significance as being a kampung ("village") mosque due to its presence in a rural landscape, far from the city, but near to military institutions in the area.[2][7][12] It was popular amongst Bangladeshi and Indian Muslim migrant workers.[13] The mosque was one of the few mosques in Singapore to hold the sacrifice of sheep during the Islamic occasion of Eid al-Adha. The mosque also held funerary services in collaboration with another mosque, Masjid Pusara Aman, also located in Choa Chu Kang.[14] It was among the mosques affected by the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In 2025, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, announced that Masjid Al-Firdaus would be demolished in 2030 to make way for redevelopments in the area.[9][12][15] It was also announced that a larger mosque along the Forest Drive road would replace Masjid Al-Firdaus. This new mosque is expected to be completed in early 2030 and will adopt the name "Firdaus" to commemorate Masjid Al-Firdaus, which will be already closed down by then.[9][12][15] For now, the mosque will still operate until the new mosque has been completed.[9][12][15]

It is not to be confused with Surau Al-Firdaus, a surau in Kampong Lorong Buangkok that serves as a mosque for the villagers.

Transportation

Bus services 172 and 495 lead to the mosque, and also connect it to Masjid Pusara Aman and the Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery, as well as the Boon Lay neighborhood.[16][17] There are no MRT stations in the immediate vicinity of the mosque, while the nearest MRT station would be Choa Chu Kang on the North–South line, which has a distance of 4.2 kilometres from the mosque.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sekilas Masjid Al-Firdaus" [A glimpse at Masjid Al-Firdaus]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 2 February 2007. p. 4.
  2. ^ a b Cana, Ren (19 April 2021). "'Masjid kampung' harap dapat kembali bersinar dalam Ramadan" ['Village mosque' hopes to shine again in Ramadan]. Berita Harian (in Malay). p. 7.
  3. ^ al-Tabari (1967). Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk [Histories of the Prophets and the Kings] (in Arabic). Egypt: Dār al-Maʻārif.
  4. ^ "$200,000 needed to furnish new mosque". Singapore Monitor. 28 March 1983. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Hougang to get $2 million mosque by June". The Straits Times. 2 February 1983. p. 15.
  6. ^ "The Mosque of Paradise and Street of Worship at Old Choa Chu Kang Road". Remember Singapore. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d "Masjid bersejarah yang penuh pancaroba" [A historic mosque full of wonders]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 2 February 2007. p. 4.
  8. ^ a b c "Masjid Al-Firdaus perlukan $30,000 untuk projek membaiki semula" [Al-Firdaus Mosque needs $30,000 for renovation project]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 21 April 1982. p. 3.
  9. ^ a b c d "Considerations on the closure of Al-Firdaus Mosque". Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Menteri negara rasmikan masjid" [Nation minister inaugurates mosque]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 9 May 1968. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Sports to raise money". The Straits Times. 11 May 1983. p. 8.
  12. ^ a b c d Tushara, Elisha (28 November 2025). "Al-Firdaus Mosque in Choa Chu Kang to close in early 2030s when new Tengah mosque is ready". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Their test of Faith". The Straits Times. 26 June 2017. pp. 6–7.
  14. ^ "Status of land tenure for Masjid Al-Firdaus and Masjid Pusara Aman". Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Anthony, Darcel. "Al-Firdaus Mosque in Choa Chu Kang to make way for redevelopment; new mosque in Tengah to adopt its name". CNA. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Go-Ahead Bus Service 172 | Land Transport Guru". 31 December 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Go-Ahead Bus Service 495 | Land Transport Guru". 31 December 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Masjid Al-Firdaus (Mosque) - 11 Jalan Ibadat (S)698955". www.streetdirectory.com. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.