Surau Al-Firdaus

Surau Al-Firdaus is a surau located in the last surviving village of Singapore, Kampong Lorong Buangkok. It was built in 1967 as an accessible place of worship for the Muslim villagers and now serves as an Islamic centre open to the public.

Surau Al-Firdaus
The main facade of the surau which faces the path from the entrance of the village.
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Location
Location	23E Lor Buangkok, Singapore 547578
Country	Singapore
Location in Singapore
Geographic coordinates	1.3840961°N 103.8786731°E / 1.3840961; 103.8786731
Architecture
Type	surau
Style	Malay architecture
Date established	1960s
Completed	1967 (present structure 1999)
Capacity	800 worshippers

Etymology

The name of the surau, "Al-Firdaus" is an Arabic word which means "The Paradise." In Islamic belief, Al-Firdaus is the best level of Heaven due to it being the closest to God out of all hundred levels, hence making it the highest.^[1][2]

History

The residents of Kampong Lorong Buangkok established a site for the surau in the 1960s for the Muslim villagers.^[3][4] With funding from donations, the surau was eventually completed by 1967.^[4] Between 1970 and 1980, the surau would be plagued by constant floods along with rest of the village it was situated in.^[4][5] The surau was later rebuilt in 1999 to accommodate more worshippers.^[3][4]

A kentong, a kind of Malay drum that is used to call people to prayer, found inside the surau.

Despite originally being built for the Muslim villagers, the surau is also used by people who do not live in the village.^[3][4]

It was also one of two spaces for congregational prayer that remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic while all the mosques had to be shut down, the other being the Surau Ghim Moh at Buona Vista.^[6] The obligatory five daily prayers in the surau are led by the village headman, while optional prayers like the Eid prayers are also held at the surau.^[7][8]

Architecture

The surau is built in a traditional Malay architectural style.^[9] As is the case with most other houses in the village, the surau is a wooden building topped with a zinc roof which is corrugated and slanted to drain rainfall.^[3][9] On the top of the roof, a metal crescent-and-star emblem is attached.^[10] A wooden fence stands around the entrance doorway.^[10]

Accessibility

Surau Al-Firdaus is located in the centre of Kampong Lorong Buangkok, with the nearest bus stops to the area being "Ch. of St. Vincent De Paul" and "Bef Gerald Dr" while the nearest MRT station to the area is the Buangkok MRT station on the North–East line.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Southwestern facade of the surau.
• 
  The place for ablution located outside against a wall of the surau.
• 
  The main entrance to the surau.
• 
  The inside of the main prayer hall.
• 
  The segregated section of the prayer hall for female worshippers.

See also

• Kampong Lorong Buangkok
• List of mosques in Singapore