A Tribute to Hafiz Nisaruddin Ahmad.

A Tribute to Hafiz Nasiruddin Ahmad

By Dr Suhaib Hasan

The Islamic University in Madinah, which I joined in July 1962 as a young student, was a blessed place where I made many acquaintances. Among them was a young man, of my age, from the then East Pakistan, Hafiz Nasiruddin Ahmad by name. He joined the university a couple of years after me, but I got married then and moved out of the bachelor lodgings at the Campus. I moved to the small town of Madinah which had a population less than one hundred thousand people. Thus all the married couples had an opportunity to meet and visit each other. I was fortunate enough to live with my father, in his newly hired flat, who came to teach Hadith at the University just days after my marriage took place in Karachi. My other married colleagues, including Hafiz, had to rent lodgings in Madinah within the limited stipend of three hundred Riyals which every student used to receive monthly. Imagine how cheap living expenses were at that time. 50 to 75 Riyals was the average rent for a small house. Studying at Madina gave us all the opportunity to meet a number of respected scholars and dignitaries from East Pakistan as well as all over the world, who used to visit the holy land during Hajj every year.

I left Madina after my graduation in 1966, and was sent on my very first mission of teaching Arabic and Islam in Nairobi, Kenya where my stay was extended to a period of nine years, a long gap in that friendship which had its root in Madinah.

But Allah wanted this friendship to revive once again. In 1976, when I moved to London, apart from a family that has immigrated to UK from East Africa, Hafiz Nasiruddin Ahmad was one of two friends who received us at Heathrow. He had already rented for me a terraced house in Shepherds Bush. After a delicious meal at his apartment in Battersea, we moved to this temporary residence for two weeks. Although I later settled down in Wood Green, I continued to visit the Centre which he established in Battersea. I found him to be very industrious, courteous to whom he met, helpful to the seekers of assistance, an able educationist and a person with concern for the welfare of this Ummah.

I wish I knew the circumstances which led him to leave London and settle permanently in Bangladesh. During his visits to London he told me about his new centre in or around Dhaka, known as Shah Waliullah Centre, which catered both for orphans and the seekers of knowledge. A few years before his last illness, he visited me at my office at the Islamic Sharia Council at Leyton. I was shocked to see him as a frail old Sheikh accompanied with a younger relative. He must have been advised by his well-wishers to rest until he was stronger but I found him very concerned about the running and expansion of his Centre in Bangladesh. He carried with him a bundle of plans, all for just one cause! His concern was how to expand the Centre which he had established with dedication and the sweat of his brow. He was one of those fortunate people who live for a noble cause and die for a noble cause.

I remember him as a successful man who, as mentioned by the Prophet (saw), left behind him the three legacies which do not terminate by the death of a person. Instead they continue to increase the reward of the one who initiated them. They are/:

        I.            The pious children who always supplicates for him.

     II.            The knowledge from which the people benefit.

  III.            The act of charity which continues giving its fruits to the people.

I end these short lines by the saying of Allah:

Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least

That Allah may reward the men of Truth for their Truth, and punish the Hypocrites if that be His Will, or turn to them in Mercy: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

[Surah Ahzab verse 23-24]

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My Memoirs Part 8.

My Memoirs No.8

Final year in Madinah (1966)

I have not many recollections of my last year in the university except that I achieved the highest grade (Mumtāz) in the final exam by which I acquired my certificate in Islamic Sharia. It equates with a B.A in the British educational system.

There had been neither any award-giving ceremony nor any graduates gathering. We had to pick up our certificates from the office and say farewell to the Registrar and slip away quietly.

Would it not be adorable if I gave here some short and sketchy notes about some of my colleagues who shared with me the room, the class, the university as a whole?

With some I had good memories of a long-lasting company; with some others a remembrance of a kind gesture, exchange of some thoughts or opinions, a sitting of mutual reading and discussion. By remembering them, I find myself paying off a debt which I owe to them.

When I speak about them, I have to cover the post-graduate period during which I might have had contact with some of them as well.

So to make my task easier, I could briefly say about the phases of life through which I have passed after leaving Madinah and about which I have to speak in details in a later part of my memoirs.

From April 1967, I started my career as a teacher and Da’ī in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

In July 1976, I moved to London where I first established Al-Quran society and later, with the help and co-operation of some other activists I was able to lay the foundation of the Islamic Sharia Council (1982), and then Masjid Al-Tawhid (1984). I was one of the founding members of the international charity Muslim Aid in 1985.

I had the honour to be a member of the European Council for Fatwa & Research since its inception in 1997 and also a member of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA) since its appearance in 2003.

I had been awarded as well, the membership of the World Organisation of the Muslim Scholars which was established under the auspices’ of Rabita ‘Alam Islami (Muslim World League) of Makkah.

With this background in mind, I am going to speak first about those colleagues who, by the time I write these lines (May 2018) had already passed away. May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them and declare them among the citizens of the Paradise. Secondly, as for those who are still alive, I will keep on remembering them in my writing on the Blog in future. I wish for me and them a blissful end in line with the saying of Allah:

مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ۬ صَدَقُواْ مَا عَـٰهَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيۡهِ‌ۖ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحۡبَهُ ۥ وَمِنۡہُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ‌ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُواْ تَبۡدِيلاً۬

“Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah, of them some have fulfilled their obligations and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in the least.”

[Surah al-Ahzāb 33:23]

Thirdly, I have to crown this discussion with my thoughts about one of the greatest scholars of this century, a most influential person not only in Saudi Arabia but in the entire Muslim world, his eminence Sheikh ‘Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, May Allah have mercy upon him.

So let me begin with the first group.

1.      Ibrahim Khalil

He comes of a very remote northern area in Pakistan, from Skardu, Gilgit, Baltistan, an area where Sunni  Muslims, mostly Ahl-e-Hadith to which he belonged and Noor Bakshia, a sect of Ismailia, the followers of Agha Khan live side by side. Difference of faith and practices may lead them to debate and discuss, and sometimes to denounce and have enmities. To come out of that far-flung area and travel to Karachi for the pursuit of knowledge was a great achievement on his part.

As I mentioned earlier we were together for the four years of our stay in Madinah and were also together in our appointment in Kenya. He remained associated to Madrasa al-Falah of Mombasa, from the day he joined till the day he had to leave it. He had been a successful teacher throughout his life and left behind him his legacy: a great number of students.

Visiting him in 2016, at his place in Mombasa, just one year before his death, was a great God-given opportunity for me.

The news of his death came to me through his eldest son Anas, who was with him while he was confined to his bed in Shifa hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan. The family took his body to Skardu for a burial in his native town.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him!

2.      Abdul Rahman Nasir

My second colleague in the boarding for the first two years of Jam’ia life.

He had to join the secondary stage lasting for three years before entering into the degree college.

With a healthy body and strong physique, he was always interested in militant ways and military life. He started his career as a translator to help Pakistan officials on their visits to Saudi Arabia. But his ambitions came true when he got the translator role with Pak forces headquarters in Islamabad.

He seems to have enjoyed his duties, away from the hectic field of Da’wa or preaching.

As a regular visitor to Islamabad annually, I have met him twice or thrice at his residence.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

3.      Muhammad Yusuf Kazim

After graduation, he was appointed as a teacher in Kempala, Uganda. In the summer of 1976, when I had to leave Nairobi for good, he replaced me at Mungana Madrasa where I had been a teacher for nine years.

Later he moved to the Islamic University at Islamabad. There I happened to meet him several times during my visits to Pakistan. He has developed a great liking for western philosophy and was found to be very appreciative of philosophical theories.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

4.      Abdullah Kaka Khail

Remembering him means to remember his two colleagues as well; Hasan Jan and Abdul Razzaq Iskandar. All three belonged to the famous seat of knowledge in Karachi; known as Jam’ia Binnuari, named after Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Binnuari. They come from the northern border area of Pakistan. Pathan by tribe and Khaiber by province.

They were all well-versed in Hanafi Fiqh and their stay in Madinah gave them an exposure to Hanbali Fiqh in particular and to all the schools of thought in general. Our text back in Fiqh, Bidayat-ul-Mujtahid of Ibn Rushd allowed them an insight in comparative fiqh.

Though they were impressed by the scholastic approach of Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Shanqiti, they seemed to be at odds with Salafi teachers, like Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin Al-Albani and Sheikh Abdul Mohsin Hamd Al-‘Abbad.

Abdullah Kaka Khail turned out to be a popular teacher at the Islamic University in Islamabad. Now his son Adnan is advancing his legacy in knowledge and defence of the religious values.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

5.      Hasan Jan

Long after graduation, I met him once in Makkah during a pilgrimage. He had shown me a treatise of his writing on the Hadith of “Umm Zar,” a famous Hadith in Bukhari where a very interesting discussion is recorded among eight women who had been describing their husbands. It is one of those Ahadith which consists of very difficult Arabic words and idioms.

He became famous by winning a seat in the National Assembly of Pakistan.

The last news which struck my ears were about his murder on the hands of some extremists who were not happy on his stance about some political issues in the northern areas of Pakistan.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

6.      Abu Bakr of Mozambique

See Memoirs No.5 for a detailed discussion about him.

7.      Siraj-ul-Rahman Nadawi

Not in Madinah but in Africa, a stronger bond of friendship developed among the two of us, mainly because of the womenfolk in both houses. During my few visits of Kampala, while I had been stationed in Nairobi, we were hosted by him. Later during the times of President Edi Amin, he moved to Mombasa, Kenya where he was able to establish a centre for education and training.

Twenty years after my departure from Nairobi I happened to visit this centre twice. Once during his lifetime and secondly in 2016 after his death. With his friendly contacts with some Arab Shuyukh and wealthy tradesmen, he acquired enough funds to establish this centre.

I remember a friendly gathering of our two families when I took him to Ngong Hill at the outskirts of Nairobi when I was still there.

A year before he passed away, he came to visit his son in London. I found him frail and exhausted, due to a heart attack he suffered while he was in Kenya.

During my last visit to Kenya in 2016, his son-in-law, a medical doctor by profession, took me to the Islamic college, a part of the main educational centre and two other schools and a mosque, which he also established at a distance from Mombasa on the road to Kalifi, a coastal town before approaching Lamu on the east African coast.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

8.      Habibullah Abdul Qadir Sindhi

I met him in Madinah where he used to assist the pilgrims in their boarding, lodging and travelling to Makkah especially as a spiritual guide during their sacred journey.

Long after leaving Madinah, I heard about him as a distinguished Sheikh with exhaustive writing on the fallacy of Sufism. I happened to visit him once in his house by the road leading to the airport. Here I got some glimpses of his books on the subject.

Being older than me, he turned out to be an old Sheikh, with fully Arab attire which attracted respect and admiration from the people around him.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

9.      Abdul Hamid Rahmani

See Memoirs No.6 where I have spoken about him.

10.  Hafiz Nisaruddin Ahmad

See my article (obituary) on his death in this blog.

11.  Abdul Wahhab Khilji

He must be a contemporary to my younger brother, Dr Suhail Hasan who stayed in Madinah with the family (my parents) after my departure to Nairobi in 1967.

He comes from Malair Kotla, one of the princely states in East Punjab, which is my birthplace as well.

I used to see him in Madinah, during my annual visits to see my parents until my father had to leave Madinah in 1980 after retirement.

As a Secretary General of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, India, he was very influential in promoting the Salafi way of Islamic Da’wa in his homeland. On the other hand, this august post provided him a great opportunity to travel widely especially in the middle east to represent Jamiat at international forums. During such meetings and in Makkah, Istanbul and London, I happened to meet him and have exchange of thoughts with him.

After a long illness, he breathed his last on Friday 27^th Rajab 1439 AH (13.4.2018) in Delhi.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

12.  Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer.

He joined the University one year later than me i.e. in 1963.

He was known to be an active, flamboyant and outspoken young man.

Myself, being away from Pakistan, soon after graduation, in a foreign land, I lost contact with him after leaving Madinah.

Once, during my annual Hajj activities, in late seventies, when I was officially used to be invited to participate in the guidance of pilgrims, I found him occupying a bed in a big room with a few beds, all for the delegates like us during the Hajj season. He told me that he had been invited that year to join hands with the working group during the Hajj season. But for him, to abide by a strenuous working schedule with regularity and punctuality was a task too far. I do not remember for how many days he made himself available but whatever amount of time he spent, he was a valuable asset for the whole group known as ‘’Taw’iya Islamia fi Al-Hajj (Islamic Awareness during Hajj).”

Twice, I think, he came to U.K to participate in the annual conference of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith held at Birmingham. At one occasion he was seen standing hand in hand on the stage with Mian Fazl-e-Haqq, the Secretary General of Pakistan Jamiat, with whom he used to have differences on party politics. The Birmingham meeting brought them closer and a chapter of rivalry and bitterness came to an end.

His books refuting Shi’ism brought him a fortune but also declared him an authority on this subject.

The murderous attempt on his life in 1988 while he was addressing a public meeting, crowned the last phase of his energetic life full in the defence of Islamic values, the propagation of the true Islamic faith and consolidation of a just system in Pakistan.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

13.  Abdul Salam Kilani

They were three: Abdul Salam Kilani, Hāfiz Sanaullah and Hāfiz Abdul Rahman, all from the same school of thought inspired by Sheikh Abdullah Ropari, who came to join the university in 1963. All three of them excelled in knowledge and adherence to Sunnah.

It is said about Kilani that he followed my footsteps in travelling to Madinah, on his first retreat after passing the summer vacation in his hometown in Punjab, by taking the voyage through Muscat, Dubai and Bahrain. Like me he spent a night in a small hotel in Bahrain where his eyes caught for the first time in his life, the glimpse of a black and white TV set. He simply turned his back to that object which was displaying pictures!

He was very simple in his life, very fond of the books and always with a smile on his face.

Later after graduation, he joined that group of Da’wa delegates who were appointed in Uganda.

Another interesting story is related about him. Once he was riding a tractor beside its African driver. He kept on talking to him about the beautiful teachings of Islam throughout his short journey to the fields. By the time he dismounted, the man had already pronounced the Kalima of Shahadah i.e. the one to embrace Islam.

It has been a normal chat among teachers like us to amuse ourselves to speak about marrying a second wife. Though none of us took it seriously except for Kilani. He, in the absence of his wife who was still in Pakistan, married a lady of Somali origin. It became a nightmare for him when his first wife arrived at Kampala. However, he managed to calm down the situation and even take his second wife to Pakistan for a short stay.

Later his Somali wife, with three of his daughters moved to London where I happened to meet them once according to the wishes of Kilani. These were very sad moments for him and his family as one of his daughters met her death in a road accident.

Kilani, eventually moved back to Pakistan where I had seen him once at the premises of Darus Salam Book shop.

He had grown in weight and seemed to be exhausted by travelling but he was still there with his smiles.

May Allah shower His mercy upon him.

Memoirs Part 7

Memoirs part seven

Our stay in Madinah

My father had to look for an apartment to accommodate all three of us. Sheikh Muhammad Nasir Al-Aboodi, the Registrar of the university was kind enough to find us a two-room flat in a newly built three-story building next to Manakha, Madinah’s famous market with a huge taxi stand for journeys to Jeddah, Makkah and various other destinations in the kingdom. My father was introduced to the landlord as a teacher recruited from Pakistan to teach at the university. On hearing this, the man was aghast with surprise. He asked with curiosity and bewilderment; “How come a non-Arab is teaching our sons in Arabic?”.

Sheikh Al-Aboodi replied to this with a Quranic expression;

هَٰذِهِ بِضَاعَتُنَا رُدَّتْ إِلَيْنَا

“This is our own commodity which has been restored back to us”. (Surah Yusuf:65), a wonderful token of admiration from him!

A few months later, we moved to another apartment, again in a second floor flat in an old building, a bit nearer to Bab-e-Majeedi (one of the northern gates of the Prophet’s mosque and owned by a well-known dignitary in Madinah, Syyed Daftardar). One of my late colleagues, Yusuf Kazim stayed with us at the upper storey of the same house.

Now let me talk about various events in the academic years 1964-65:

1. King Faisal’s visit to the Jami’a

King Sa’ud bin Abdul Aziz was forced to abdicate in March 1964 and was succeeded by his brother, Prince Faisal in November 1964. After his enthronement as King, he paid a visit to Madinah, the city of the Prophet (SAW). During his short stay in Madinah he visited the university as well. It was a simple but graceful ceremony in the only hall existing in the campus at that time. There were no extravagant celebrations for the event, only a selection of finely decorated and simple chairs, and sofas for a selected number of students and staff were brought out.

 On behalf of the students, one Indian colleague, Muzzamil Siddiqi, had to deliver a welcome speech. Sheikh ibn Baz, the vice-chair at the time also gave a speech and welcomed the King and suggested to him the title of ‘Amir al-Muminin’. King Faisal was a very intelligent man who acknowledged how great the responsibilities would be if he accepted this title. Therefore, he commented in his speech that he would love to remain a servant to the two sacred places, i.e. ‘Khadim Al-Haramain Al-Sharifain’, and that was the title which lasted throughout his life and continues to be attributed to him today. I remember the famous Arabic Nasheed (anthem) which was reverberating throughout the streets of Madinah:

“Ya Faisalna, ya Faisalna, Allah yuhayee Faisalna, ya Faisalna ya Faisalna”.

King Faisal’s visit was a simple one in contrast to a visit by the dethroned King Saud some previous years ago, when golden coins were showered on the spectators, wherever his convoy passed. It was said that unnecessarily lavish displays of wealth, was one of the causes which led Prince Faisal to dethrone his elder brother.

2. New Friendships

As I had moved to the town, a phase of celibacy had come to an end, and I had to develop more friendly ties with the married couples in Madinah. One of our colleagues, Ghulam Qadir Balochi happened to marry in a family in Madinah which had mixed roots. Among the more close-friends were Nisaruddin Ahmad from East Pakistan, Sirajul Rahman from India and Abdul Khaliq from Pakistan.

In my later life, first in Kenya and later in London, I would be drawn closer to them, as the field of Da’wa got us together once again. Our studies during the day and regular attendance of evening prayers did not allow us to enjoy any recreational activities.

I remember some of the few gatherings we students had together; once at the site of the Well of Ruma and secondly, at a pool of flood waters on our way to the airport, following a heavy shower of rain; a very rare phenomenon in the mostly dry weather of Madinah. The Well of Ruma had a memorable history going back to the times of the Prophet (SAW).

 People in Madinah were short of drinking water, the Prophet (SAW) appealed to the congregation: “Who is going to buy this well which belonged to a Jewish person and declare it a charity for the Muslims? And I announce for him a place in paradise”. That great excellence and blessing was won by Uthman bin Affan, the Prophet’s son-in-law and the third Caliph after the death of the Prophet (SAW). He declared it a Waqf (endowment) for the benefit of the Muslims. His sincerity led this well to survive for fourteen centuries and it is still there in present times.

The fall of rain had always been a jubilant occasion for the inhabitants of Madinah. When a heavy shower poured upon the area, the valleys around Madinah turned into rivulets, and the people flocked to see and enjoy this rare occasion. I remember going to the southern outskirts of Madinah, on the road towards Makkah, where the flood waters were dashing heavily through the valley.

3. Hajj of Summer 1965

During the middle of 1965, I was blessed with performing Hajj for the third time, which came out as a family gathering as well. My elder sister, the only one beside her seven male siblings, had come with her husband and children to stay with us in Ramadan. The stay lasted until Hajj; so the first time we had the opportunity to occupy our own tent in Mina, was during Hajj.

My father’s colleague, Hafiz Mohammad Gundalwi, the esteemed Sheikh of Hadith, joined us with his wife and son Masud. When we were in Mina, after retreating from Arafat through Muzdalifa, I remember how Sheikh Gundalwi lost the trail of his temporary accommodation while coming back after throwing pebbles at Jamrah. He must have passed by the tent more than once, but could not recognise it. His wife was earnestly waiting for him at the mouth of the tent. She must have seen him approaching the tent and then missing it altogether. Again, when she sighted him, he was about to cross over. However, she shouted to him in her native Punjabi; “Now, where are you planning to go?”. The Sheikh halted abruptly, but was much pleased to find his place!

After Hajj, we were standing at the bus station, an open courtyard at the outskirts of Makkah, where my sister and her family boarded a bus packed with pilgrims and destined for Zahran, a town 1500 kilometres away at the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. From there, they had to take their flight to Karachi. In those days, PIA, for which my brother-in-law worked as an accountant throughout his life, would have been operating to Zahran more frequently than Jeddah. With my previous memories of such long journeys, I was feeling uneasy to see my sister on the verge of such a hazardous journey ahead.

4. The dolls incident

In those days, Saudi Arabia followed a strict and heavy-handed approach towards creating a puritan society. A very glossy, illustrated magazine “Al-Arabi” from Kuwait had started its publication. It used to have a very informative article on one of the Arab towns in each issue. Attractive pictures crowned its title. However, it had to go through a very strenuous censorship process, before it could find its place in the bookstalls. Very often we used to see some of its pictures covered by black ink or the whole page was torn apart.

In such a puritanical environment, the street vendors once came out with imported dolls which were very beautifully designed. They were on sale just a few yards away from the gates of the Mosque of the Prophet (SAW) in the open courtyard in front of Bab-us-Salam (The Gate of Peace). For some students, especially in the last year of the Sharia College, this sight was completely intolerable. Subsequently, a group of them targeted these moving carts carrying the dolls and similar gifts and started breaking them and throwing the merchandise on the ground. The courtyard became a scene like that of a battlefield. The local police had to intervene and put the culprits behind bars. Sheikh ibn Baz tried his best to secure a release of the captives, but his attempts were in vain. At the most, they could sit their final exams. The expatriates among them were deported to their countries of origin and the local ones had to linger on for a while in prison.

I however, had not witnessed the incident, but the news spread like wildfire. Among them were several exemplar students who later excelled in the field of Da’wa in Kuwait and some other Arab capitals.

5. Summer vacation of 1965

Accompanying the father, we were back to Karachi after Hajj. By that time, the family had moved to a double storey house in Aziz Abad, a newly-developed area beyond the crowded allies of Liaquat Abad, otherwise known as Lalu Khait.

It was the beginning of September. When the war between India and Pakistan broke out. Indian troops had invaded Lahore, the Punjab capital, where a fierce resistance was triggered, culminating in a repulsion of the Indian army, making headlines across the world. Karachi was far away from the main fighting, but the military airbase at Maripur near Karachi, provided us with an air show where the Pakistani air force had to combat the advancing Indian fighter jets. It was clamour and rattling at daytime and complete blackout at night. The thundering noise of the bombs dropped kept the people sleepless and awake. Thanks to Allah, Karachi had a safe passage during those days of hammering and clamour. Both the Pakistani air force and navy had the opportunity to test its vigour and skills.

As soon as the war was over, my father and I rushed to travel back to Madinah, while my expectant wife remained in her family home at PECH society to witness the greatest maiden experience of her life as a mother.

A few days later, I received the news. She gave birth to twins, named as Abdullah and Abdulrahman. They were both weak and frail and could not survive. Abdullah passed away within hours of his birth. His twin brother joined him after six days. Unfortunately, I was not there to share the moments of grief and sorrow with my wife. As I have not seen them, I seldom remember them coming into this world and then hiding abruptly into eternity. I presented my wife with the saying of the Prophet (SAW), as reported by Imam Bukhari in his collections: Abu Saeed Al-Khudri reported that the women said to the Prophet (SAW): “The men have taken most of your time. So, appoint for us a day from you”. The Prophet (SAW) promised to do so. That day he came and admonished them and gave them some commandments. Among his discourse, he said to them: “Whoever among you send in advance three of her children, they will shield her from hell-fire”. A woman asked; “What if they are just two?”. He replied: “Yes, even if there are just two of them”.

One day during Ramadan, I was at Jeddah airport to receive my wife. To my surprise, there was another lady with her as well. She was the newly-wed bride of Ehsan Elahi Zaheer, who was not aware of her arrival at all. We took her to our rented room in Makkah where I was staying for the last ten days of Ramadan with my father and my mother who had arrived with four of my younger siblings one month ago. Ihsan was alerted by phone and then he was there by the end of the day, coming straight from Madinah!

Memoirs No. 7 (1966-69)

Memoirs No. 7 (1966-69)

Now in the beginning of 1964 academic year we were blessed to have seven new teachers. My father Abdul-Ghaffar Hassan (d. March 07), as a teacher of Isnad and Usul-al-Hadith, Hafiz Muhammad Gundalwi for Hadith in particular, Sulaiman Al-Ashqar, for Fiqh, Muhammad Al-Lubadi for Arabic grammar, Muhammad Ibrahim Shaqra for Fiqh as well, and Mahmud Al-Tahhan for Usul-al-Hadith as well. As for my father, an exhaustive biography is available on my blog.

Hafiz Muhammad Gundalwi

I am sorry to say that I could not benefit from him a lot because he had to leave our class – after a few lessons – to teach the batch one year ahead of us. His short biography is as follows. He was born in Ghondlawala, an outskirt of the famous Punjab town, Gujranwala (the then British India) in 1897. He studied locally then proceeded to Amritsar first and later to Delhi. Among his teachers were farmers Muhaddithin like Sheikh Abdul Jabbar Ghaznawi and Sheikh Ahmadullah in the mosque of Sheikh Nazir Hussain of Delhi. After completing his studies at the age of 22, he came back to his home town where he started his teaching career at Madrasa Muhammadiya. Later he was honoured to be invited to teach at the prestigious educational site, Darul-Hadith Rahmaniya at Delhi (where my father received his higher studies in Hadith), then at Jami’a Darussalam, Omar Abad in Hyderabad, Deccan. After returning back to his home town once again, especially after the one year when he was invited to teach at Madinah. Though his story in the city of the Prophet (SAW) was very short, he left a great impact on both, the teachers and students in the university. Throughout his life, he taught the famous Hadith collection of Imam Bukhari fifty times from the beginning to the end.

He was gifted with a very sharp memory. According to Isham Ilahi Zaheer, his son-in-law, he never committed himself to read daily papers or other magazines lest he committed to his memory some useless material or unnecessary information of knowledge. It was also reported that throughout his life he never missed Takbira-tul-Ihram of the daily five prayers in circles. This is why his written inheritance of knowledge does not exceed ten books and seven unpublished works. At the age of ninety years (according to the lunar calendar) he passed away on 14^th Ramadan 1405 A.H. (04/06/1985).

Sheikh Muhammad Sulaiman al-Ashgar

I have received some lessons of Fiqh, mainly from Bidayat-tul-Mujtahid of Ibn Rushd from him in the third year. He had also given tafsir lessons from Fath-ul-Qadir of Imam Al-Shaukami. In my fourth year, both of these lessons are awarded to Sheikh Muhammad Amin Al-Shanqiti. His short biography is as follows. Born in the middle of 1930, Nablus in Palestine. After receiving his early education locally he moved to Saudi Arabia College of Riyadh in 1956 and was among the first batch to graduate. He started his teaching career as a lecturer in the same seat of knowledge. In 1964, he was invited by Sheikh Ibn baz to teach at the Islamic University. His tenure did not last long. He had to leave the university two years later to Kuwait where he worked at different teaching posts including his research work for the ambitious Kuwaiti project of preparing the Fiqh Encyclopaedia.

In 1990, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he had to move back to Jordan, a natural shelter for the Palestinians. He leaves behind him a wealth of contribution both in the field of Tafsir and Fiqh. He died on 16^th November 2009.

Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Muhammad Itr

He was among the youngest teachers at Madinah. Now, at the time of writing these lines, I realise that he was older than me by just five years. Being a graduate of Hadith, he was awarded the subject of Usul-Al-Hadith which was later taken by my father. He belonged to a prestigious family of scholars in Halab, Syria. After he received his doctorate from Al-Azhar in 1964, he straight away came to Madinah to join the teaching staff at the university. His stay in Madinag was confined to two years as well. Being brought up and trained in hanafi Fiqh, the students could notice his warm support for Hanafi opinions both in Usul Hadith and Fiqh.

Apart from them I benefitted from some more people of knowledge either through their lectures from time to time by attending their circles in the mosque of the Prophet (SAW). Among them comes on top, Sheikh Hammad Al-Ansari, a great scholar of Hadith, followed by Muhammad Mukhtar Al-Shanqiti, who used to have his Fiqh circle in the mosque, Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Jaza’iri, the author of ‘Aqeeda-tul-M’umin and a regular speaker at the mosque. Qari Abdul Fattah, the famous Qari from Bukahara who like many other Turkistani migrants have settled in hijaz after the repressive Bolshevik revolution in Russia in the beginning of the 20^th century, Yousuf Nada of Egypt who used to be our neighbour and had developed a good friendship with my father.

King Faisal’s Visit tp the Jami’a

King Sa’ud bin Abdul Aziz had to abdicate in March 1964 and was succeeded by his brother Faisal. After enthroning as a King, he paid a visit to Madinah, the city of the Prophet (SAW). During his short stay in Madinah he paid a visit to the university as well. It was a simple but adorable ceremony in the only hall existing in the campus at that time: a hall with its ceiling not higher than any adjacent class room. The presences of some sofa sets were the only luxuries at that time. There were welcome speeches, one by a representative from among the students and one by Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, the vice president. I remember the Sheikh suggesting to him to accept the title of Amir-al-Mo’minin as used to be the traditions among the early Muslim Caliphate. King Faisal was wise enough to say that he would rather remain to be a servant of the believers, not their master.

I remember the famous Arabic Nashid (anthem) by which the streets of Madinah had been resounding:

“Ya Faisalna, ya Faisalna, Allah yuhayee Faisalna, ya Faisalna ya Faisalna.”

A Random Thought

A Random Thought

By Abdul Wahhab Azzam

(From Egypt. From his book in Arabic about his random thoughts written in Karachi during his stay in Pakistan as an Ambassador in year 1952-1953).

Translated by Dr. Suhaib Hasan

I used to have a friend during my youth. Once we prayed together and I saw him praying the obligatory prayer only without offering his Sunnah. So I recited to him a line of ‘Al-Mutanabi’, the poet:

“I have not seen among the defects of the people a thing like those capable people who fail to complete.”

He used to say to me later, “Whenever I intended to leave Sunnah prayer, I remember the line of your man. So I always prayed it.”

This is a very wise saying of Abu al-Tayyib (i.e. Al-Mutanabbi) and deserves to be comprehended by the people. They fail to complete either because they are satisfied with imperfect actions and they stop before reaching the goal or because of laziness, fear or any other impediment.

If every person looks at that stage where perfectness lies and then strives hard to reach that goal, he would definitely get what he wanted without anything missing.

Similarly, if the nations act upon the wisdom of Abu Al-Tayyib, they would have advanced a lot more than what they have achieved.

No wonder that one of the biggest defect - among the defects of the people entirely – is that a man agrees to have imperfectness in his sayings, actions or thoughts while he is able to reach the level of perfectness. This is indeed a great defect. Because it is a collective defect which makes a man pleased with a lower level of his action, a lot lower than the goal and which makes the community always pleased with such a lower status in all its affairs.

And what is the community? Nothing but individuals. Every man is invited in this life to engage himself in action to achieve an increase for himself and for his group until he reaches at the summit or very near to it. You cannot achieve perfectness except by exercising to reach it by a lot of effort and a lot of patience. It is true that a man faces unexpected obstacles during his journey but if he keeps on advancing with effort and patience, he would certainly overcome them either today or tomorrow. But if he stands still, by his own will, then there is no way for him to reach his goal, his actions will not gain perfectness which make a man perfect in his life. 

May 2017: Memoirs No. 6

My second Years in Al-Jami’a (September 1963 – June 1964)

We had a routine of four lessons every day, each around 45 minutes, followed by a 15 minute break. As soon as we finished our last lesson, some of us would try to go to the Mosque of the Prophet (SAW) if the transport was available, but most of us would prefer to delay it till after ‘Asr prayer. This is how we could have our lunch at the room (there was no mess at that time), enjoy a short siesta and be ready for ‘Asr and departure to Madina where we would be staying until ‘Isha prayer.

The time we used to pass in the Mosque, benefitted us a lot; memorising the Qur’an, revising our lessons, attending some circles of knowledge or having Muzakara (two persons reading to each other) with a friend. Sometimes, we would have a stroll in the adjoining ‘Uyaina Street, visiting Maktaba Ilmiya of Sheikh Namnakani, or Maktaba Salafiya of Sheikh Abdul-Muhsin (at Bab-e-Majeedi). Or we would enjoy a Halabiya (a sweet dish) or hot tea in one of the cafes around the Mosque.

During the seasons of Ramadan and Hajj, you may come across a number of dignitaries whom you would love to visit at their residence or in the Mosque itself. Those whom I remember meeting, include Sheikh Abul hasan Al-Nadawi at the garden of Noorwali (if I correctly remember this name), Sheikh Muhammad Zakariyya of Jama’t al-Tabligh and Sheikh Mustafa Al-Siba’I, the editor of Hazarat-ul-Islam, Damascus. Furthermore, I met Sheikh Abdullah of occupied Kashmir, Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad while reciting the Qur’an in the Mosque, Maulvi Farid Ahmad from Dhaka (the then capital of East Pakistan), Sheikh Hamidullah of Paris who gave a series of lectures at Al-Jami’aand Mr Gul Muhammad, a judge of High Court, Lahore and many others whom I may remember later.

New batch of students

This year, four new students from Pakistan joined us: Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer, Hafiz Sanaullah, Abdul Salam Kiyani and Abdul Khaliq Tariq. They all excelled in their teaching or Da’wa profession after their graduation.

Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer had been well-known in Pakistan and international forums until his death, (1988) because of injuries sustained in a bomb blast under the stage from where he was delivering a speech.

Hafiz Sanaullah added to his name “Madani” after returning to Pakistan. He is the most famous and learned person in Hadith throughout the country.

Both Abdul Salam Kiyani  and Abdul Khaliq Tariq served in Uganda after graduation. The former in teaching and Da’wa, and the latter in establishing a renowned seminary of Islamic Knowledge in Kampala.

Among the Arab students, I remember Ahmad Muha’iry from Syria, a young and promising student who developed a strong bond of friendship with Ihsan.

Among the Indian students were Muhammad Luqman Salafi and Abdul Hameed Rahmani. Both of them excelled in their work; Salafi remaining in Saudi Arabia and pursuing a high esteemed position in the office of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, authoring a variety of books in Tafsir and Ahadith and establishing a paramount seat of education by the name “Jamia’ Ibn Taimiya” in his home town at Bihar, India. On the other hand, Rahmani moved to India after graduation and was known for his scholarly speeches, enriched articles in his monthly magazine ‘Al-Tan’iya’ and his wise leadership of Jammat Ahl-e-Hadith of India.

A Heart-breaking incident

Among the new students was a young man from Singapore, a bright and good looking person, with smiles on his face and warmth whenever you met him. The other one was a hardworking intelligent youth from Indonesia. They formed a good company. After staying in the hostel for a while they decided to move to the city. They hired a two room flat in a newly-built seven storey building at Manakha, the famous taxi and bus stand of Madinah. We used to pass by that building on our way to the hostel after visiting the Mosque in the evening each day. One morning we heard the dreadful news of the sudden collapse of this building during the night; when we rushed to the scene, workers were still busy in removing the rubble and helping those still alive to come out. I do not remember how many dwellers lost their lives but as for our friends; one could not escape death, the other survived.

It is said that the Singaporean brother, just after hearing the cracking and thundering sound of the upper floor falling above him, fled to the staircase to follow the escape route but he could not make it. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihe Raj’ioon’. The Indonesian brother was lying on a thick mattress on the floor, surrounded on both sides with high piles of books. The concrete fell on his body and pressed hard on his legs, but his face was saved because of the books around him. Once dragged out alive, he had to stay a very long time in hospital to get his injured legs treated, massaged and brought back to life once again. It came to my knowledge, that he later went to Pakistan and finished his studies in Darul Uloom of Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Binnori in Karachi. This is the same institute which is now led by my colleague Dr Abdul Razzaq Iskandar.

Before or after the Hajj 1964, I remember visiting the Rabita’s headquarter on the main road leading to Shisha, Aziziya and Mina. It was an old building with verandas and arches. Sheikh Asim Al-Haddad, the Arabic teacher in my early school days, had moved from Lahore to join a relatively ambitious post at Rabitah in Makkah. I was pleased to see him in his office. In the following years, his place of sitting, after entering into the Grand Mosque through the Abdulaziz Gate, in front of the Ka’aba, became an assembly point for the adherent of Jamat Islami. Similarly, the sitting place of one of our Pakistani colleagues, Sheikh Fathi (Fatah Mohammad) Nabina i.e ‘the blind’ became the meeting point, many years later for the Salafi students and scholars.

 I also remember receiving a free copy of a translation and commentary on the Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in two volumes, from either the Ministry of Hajj or the Presidency of the two sacred mosques, which used to have an office building in one of the narrow allies outside the King Abdul Aziz Gate. The organisations used to distribute a number of books including translations of the Qur’an. The old person, who was assigned this task did not know English but he asked me to read a few lines from the translation to find out whether I deserved to receive that copy or not.

Soon the annual vacation was due and once again we, the group of the Pakistani students, were knocking at different offices to secure our tickets on the big Pakistani vessel for a voyage back to Karachi in the summer of 1964. Shopping precedes each travel let alone if it was of a special nature for me. My wedding along with my elder brother Shuaib, had been arranged by my parents and I was very anxious to fill my suitcase with a lot of ladies’ clothes and presents.

The ship was crowded with pilgrims who had just finished their Hajj and were eager to go back to their homes. We students were pleased to stay on the deck with our luggage cornered in an outer corridor, facing the open sea. As described earlier, the voyage had to take seven days to reach our destination. We had to spend our time roaming around the five or seven decks of this huge vessel, meeting new and old faces, conversing to friends and foreigners, looking at the calm surface of the Red sea, then to the roaring, stormy waves of the Indian Ocean once we crossed Bab al Mandib after Aden. At night we had to spread our sleeping bags on the open deck to enjoy our sleep, with the sea breeze soothing and comforting us and the ship’s diving and rumbling sound occasionally interrupting it. I remember one time, at some point after midnight, the meagre sound of an object presumably falling into the sea. After the Fajr prayer, I headed towards the corridor to have a check on our luggage.

Unfortunately, my suitcase went missing. Being a new, shiny suit case, it must have attracted the eyes of a thief, disguised as a pilgrim, who must have emptied the contents of that case into his own bag and thrown the suitcase into the sea to conceal his theft. My efforts, along with my friends, to report this theft to the ship’s captain, and subsequent search for the missing case in a multitude of five thousand pilgrims ended up in vain. The only consolation I had was repeating the Qur’an verse: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihe raj’ioon”. On the ship was a much respected figure from our family, Sheikh Abdul Wakil, one of my father’s cousin’s uncle, a great Imam and orator, to the extent that he acquired the title of “Khateeb” (speaker) with his name. That was the only time I had a close audience with him in my entire life.

 I was received by my brothers at Karachi sea-port with great warmth and happiness. This time the family had moved to a house in Aziz Abad; a double storey building with enough space for a large family where six of my siblings were still there, some in infancy, some in school and some elder ones in University or engaged in a job.

24^th September 1964, was that historical day when I moved from ‘single’ to a ‘couple. Myself and my elder brother, both married in the same family; the house of a great teacher of Hadith, Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Dehlavi. My brother was wed to his daughter, Razia Khatoon and myself to his granddaughter Shakeela Khatoon d/o Muhammad Zubair Qureshi. It was a simple ceremony of Nikah at Masjid Al-Falah, the mosque situated in front of the Sheikh’s house in the P.E. C. H. S (Pakistan Employees Corporative Housing Society), very near to the great mausoleum of Qaid Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. The next afternoon, the Waleema had been arranged in some hired tents, according to a popular practice in Pakistan where people occupy a street or an open ground to celebrate such an event. A surprise was waiting for us, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Shaibat-ul-Hamd, my teacher of Hadith in Madinah, arrived that day and was brought straightaway to our dwelling to meet my father Abdul-Ghaffar Hasan.

He came on a specific mission: to recruit two most capable teachers of Hadith to benefit the students at the University at Madinah. My father’s name must have been mentioned by the top leadership of Ahl-e-Hadith like Maulana Mohammad Ismail of Gujranwala and Maulana Syyed Muhammad Dawud Ghaznawi of Lahore. For my father, it was a great privilege and honour, a fulfilment of his passionate desire and a pleasant dream to come true. But he had to ask permission from the head of Madrassah Rahmania, Soldier Bazar, Karachi where he had a contract to teach. Sheikh Abdul Wahhab, the son of his benefactor Sheikh Ata-ul-Rahman of Delhi Madrasa Rahmania did not hesitate a moment when he welcomed this offer saying: “Though we would never like to lose you but we will never stop you  from joining a seat of knowledge at one of the most celebrated places of Islam?”

The other most gifted and most privileged personality picked by Sheikh Abdul Qadir was Maulana Mohammad Gondalwi, one of the most knowledgeable teachers of Hadith in the sub-continent. By that time, I had already planned my return journey to Saudi Arabia by booking two tickets, for myself and my bride, through the B. I.S.C (British Indian Steamship Company) in the same route through Bahrain as I did last year.

My father was allowed to accompany his family by air to Madinah in accordance to the contract of his new employment. We were the only two persons to accompany him at that time. It was a great relief for me to cancel the ship booking and join my father en-route to Jeddah on our maiden flight. On 31^st October 1964, the three of us left for Jeddah by a Saudi aircraft. The flight touched down at Zahran and then Riyadh, the capital where we had to stay the night in a hotel due to a technical fault with the aircraft. Next morning we continued our flight to Jeddah where Syyed Manzoor Husain, the husband of my father’s real aunt, Amat-ul-Raqeeb, had passed away.

She had died just a few days ago, so it was a mournful meeting between the two of them. After a visit to Makkah and performing Umrah once again, we flew to Madinah. We were hosted once again in Hotel Bahauddin and three days later we were able to rent a flat at the edge of Manakha (the market near to the taxi stand). There were no more stays in Jami’a’s boarding as I had a family residence in Madinah. I am going to speak about my last two years in Jami’a in the next section. As a married person, I have now entered the married couples circle.

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