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.
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.History
The residents of Kampong Lorong Buangkok established a site for the surau in the 1960s for the Muslim villagers. With funding from donations, the surau was eventually completed by 1967. Between 1970 and 1980, the surau would be plagued by constant floods along with rest of the village it was situated in. The surau was later rebuilt in 1999 to accommodate more worshippers.Despite originally being built for the Muslim villagers, the surau is also used by people who do not live in the village.
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. 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.
During Ramadan, the surau has been served by several well-known asatizah, including Ustaz Maarof Haji Mohamad, Ustaz Ahmad Ghazali Nordin, and Ustaz Muhd Farhan Nordin, who have led nightly prayers and provided religious guidance to the congregation. Members of the Al-Istiqamah mosque youth Arrijal group—such as Umar B. Othman, Mohd Khairi Bin Mustafa, Asren Bin Jaren, and Iskandar Reza Rahmat have also supported the surau’s Ramadan operations and contributed to its community engagement initiatives.