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2016 will be remembered as a year of departure of righteous, knowledgeable, selfless individuals
12-15-2016
Reflecting at 2016, one could say, that it was the year where Muslim Ummah suffered significant losses in terms of scholars or religious figures, departing the world, to meet our creator Allah (SWT).
The Qur’an states unequivocally, that “Every soul tastes death” and “We shall try you with something of…loss” (3:185 and 2:155).
The Qur’an also reminds us to exercise patience, say upon experiencing loss, “Truly, from God we come and, truly, to God is our return” (2:156).
As we collectively mourn our losses, we must also reflect upon the number of ahaadees that point out that these losses, the departure of righteous, knowledgeable, selfless individuals among us is more than just a loss of an ordinary human being. By some they may not be considered as religious scholars, but they have done an immeasurable service to Islam and Muslims. Allah had granted them extraordinary gifts in their respective fields, and they utilized their knowledge to bring people closer to Allah. Some did it, by restoring people’s faith in Allah and others inviting people to Allah. Nonetheless, their aim and mission in this worldly life was to connect people with the creator. May Allah have mercy upon their souls.
The Messenger of Allah, Peace Be Upon Him, said: “Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars remains alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray.” [Sahih Bukhari]?
In an often-cited line of poetry, Imam Rumi — the 13th century poet and philosopher — says that the lives of the righteous can be summarized as such: “When they are born, they come out of their mother’s wombs crying while everyone around them is happy. When they die, they go into their graves happy while everyone around them is crying.”
When the Prophet’s great companion and scholar, Salman al-Farsi, passed away people said they felt the heavens and earth weep for his loss.
Today, many precious souls are leaving the world through violence and war. We feel the skies crying and the earth shaking at their loss.
In United States, we had news about an Imam being shot: Two killed in New York attack including Muslim cleric, leaders call incident a 'hate crime.’
A Muslim Imam and a second man were fatally shot while walking home from afternoon prayers at a mosque in the New York City borough of Queens.
The shooting came amid a climate of growing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment as a series of deadly attacks had unfolded in the US and abroad, some of which had been claimed by the Islamic State group, and Republican presidential contender Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US.
These are some of the news we hear due to the media coverage it receives. However, there are countless such news we never get to hear about, among them few are as follows.
Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm, was a Professor Emeritus of Modern European Philosophy at the University of Damascus in Syria and was, until 2007, a visiting professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His main area of specialization was the work of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, but he later placed a greater emphasis upon the Islamic world and its relationship to the West, evidenced by his contribution to the discourse of Orientalism. Al-Azm was also known as a human rights advocate and a champion of intellectual freedom and free speech.
Junaid Jamshed, the man who introduced pop music to Pakistan in the eighties. At the height of his singing career he was number two most popular singer in the world, after Michael Jackson, among fans. Dissatisfied with his life, he found his calling when he discovered the path to Dawah and Tableegh, changing the course of his life by 180 degrees, dedicating himself to inviting people towards Allah. He often used to visit Vancouver, and was a guest speaker at BCMA Surrey and Richmond Mosques, addressing the youth, sharing his experience and why he gave up the life of fame and fanfare. He was scheduled to speak in Surrey on January 1st, 2017. He died in a plane crash last week.
Muhammad Ali requires no introduction and his service to Islam and Muslims, influencing countless Afro-Americans to convert to Islam, was undeniably a remarkable Ambassador of Islam around the world and especially in United States.
Hafiz Mohammed Patel, the death of his news was broken by none other than the BBC, “Hafiz Patel, influential British Muslim leader, dies at 92.” "He was a pioneer, a visionary when it comes to the Islamic identity, and the place of the Muslim community in Britain.” He was the first one to envision the growing need for Britain Born and Bred Muslim Scholars who can shape the future of Muslim Community’s requirements to lead the next generation of British, European, and North American Muslims.
"He established Dewsbury in West Yorkshire as a centre for European Muslims in Britain as far back as 1978. He also was a strong believer in British home-grown Islam,” reported BBC.
Abdul Sattar Edhi, “No religion is higher than, humanity.” A man who dedicated his entire life serving the people of Pakistan. A man who started with absolutely nothing to his name, went on to establish the largest ambulance service in the world, providing free ambulatory services to anyone who needed it. It is said, he never purchased clothes for himself, and only wore donated clothes, Huffington Post quoted him as “World’s greatest Humanitarian.”
Amjad Sabri, a sufi poet and singer, a down to earth, humble individual who, despite his popularity, and wealth, continued residing in his paternal home, in middle class part of Karachi, Pakistan. Besides singing, he was often seen selling food at local street corners to raise money for the poor and destitute.
Our losses are countless, from Taher Fargani, Rashaan Salaam, Ismet Sezgin, Mohammed Tamalt, Marie Mohammed to name a few.
May Allah Forgive their Souls and give them high status in Jannah tul Firdaus.
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