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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Dr. Hamidullah passes on to Allah |
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| jannah |
| 12/22/02 at 06:57:27 |
| Inna lillah wa inna ilaihi rajeoon. pls pray for him. Washington DC 12/18/02 FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE It is with great sorrow and regret that the executive committee of the Muslim Students' Association of the United States and Canada announces the passing of Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah. Indeed to Allah we belong and unto Him we return. Dr. Hamidullah passed on to Allah ta'ala on the 17th of December 2002. His janazah prayer and burial was in Jacksonville, Fl. Dr. Hamidullah was 94. Dr. Hamidullah lived an extraordinary life of scholarship and service to Islam. His depth of knowledge of Islam and of western civilization is unmatched. He was a first tier scholar mastering 23 languages and publishing in them as well. His scholarly repertoire includes an international law degree from his homeland of Hyderabad, a PhD from the University of Bonn, Germany, a PhD from France's Sorbonne and over 1000 articles and over 100 books. Despite his academic and scholarly genius, Dr. Hamidullah was a humble man who lived a modest live, eating little, sleeping little and dedicating his free time to others especially his students. As he stated in a lecture given to students in 1967, Dr. Hamidullah said "We can expect to solve the problems facing us if everyone...help others before asking for help". He was also known for his meticulous nature. Following the prophetic injunction to respond the greetings of a Muslim, he responded to every letter he received that had assalamu 'alaykum written on it even if the letter did not need a response. Dr. Hamidullah spent a life educating people helping them see the intellectual road-blocks to their personal success as well as the success of the community at large. At the same gathering quoted above, Dr. Hamidullah stated that "One by one, each and every ailment has to be treated...the ailments of the Muslim Ummah are many, but the worst is of nationalism and ethnic divisions". He had many interactions with students and even wrote articles for the old Itihad magazine of MSA National. These short lines can not do justice to the legacy that Dr. Hamidullah has left for us. His efforts and his pursuit of Truth will be a source of light for generations to come. We ask Allah ta'ala to have mercy on his soul, to accept his actions, to grant him al-firdous al-'ala among the Prophets, the righteous, the scholars and the martyrs. **We would like to thank Islamic Horizons for providing us with the biographical information for Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah. |
| Dr. M. Hamidullah learned THAI at the age of 84 ! |
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| SuperHiMY |
| 12/22/02 at 19:05:17 |
| AsalamalayKum, Peace and e-Greetings be upon you. For a few hours after Juma salat in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood Musalah this this past Friday December 20th, I gave what turned out to be a full lecture on Islam to a young muslim brother, Asif, who is all of 15 years of age. He was fasting and waiting for Maghrib. Our young brother listened intently and reminded me that yes, there are muslim youth eager for the life of a true muslim scholar. In passing I mentioned some works of Dr. M. Hamidullah and wondered whether he was still alive...? Serendipity combined with sadness then as I read these words just minutes ago about the passing of our Great Scholar of Islam, after entering his name into Google. Just before Ramadan, T.B. Irving returned to Our Lord, and now just after, M. Hamidullah has done so as well.. May Allah forgive our neglecting of the Old among us during their lieftimes, and moreso our Elder Scholars. May Allah bless us with new scholars of the same calibre who can teach us and remind us anew. Amen. HiMY Syed Toronto Downtown, Ontario Canada p.s. Dr. M. Hamidullah learned one more language, He had mastered THAI at the age of 84 for a total of 24 Languages. |
| Re: Dr. Hamidullah passes on to Allah |
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| AbdulBasir |
| 12/22/02 at 20:44:15 |
| [slm] This year in Washington DC at ISNA I walked through the bazaar in astonishment seeing the thousands and thousands of books on Islam in English. The almost astronomical growth, in both quality and quantity, of Islamic books in English, as well the outlets that supply them. has been an amazing development. Twenty to thirty years ago, there were no bazaars, there were no shelves stocked to the full with Islamic books. If one was looking for information on Islam, one had to go to the Islamic Center in Washington DC to find at best a handful of English books in their library, and one of these books was "Introduction to Islam" by Muhammad Hamidullah. That book was pretty much all that many people had; it was a book that was often read or given to non-Muslims, and it was a book that was often used in the fledgling Islamic centers and schools of the day as a main book for their curriculum. And it was a book that, bi'ithnillah, led to many people embracing Islam or strengthening their understanding of it. And it has been and will inshallah continue to be remembered as a work that was an early cornerstone in the rapidly growing body of Islamic literature available in the West. Dr. Hamidullah was truly a pioneer, and his contributions to Muslims, particularly those living in the West, should not be forgotten. All those Islamic books sitting on our shelves at home are a constant reminder of that. May Allah have Mercy on his soul and may his works that he has left behind for us continue to be a source of reward for him. [slm] |
| 12/22/02 at 21:09:24 |
| AbdulBasir |
| Re: Dr. Hamidullah passes on to Allah |
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| UmmWafi |
| 12/22/02 at 20:58:42 |
| [slm] Remember I posted the news about my friend who embraced Islam ? The first book I gave him was an English translation of the Quraan and the second was Dr Hamidullah's book. May Allah Accepts his soul as amongst those whom He Loves in Jannah. Amin. |
| Five Articles about Dr. Hamidullah |
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| SuperHiMY |
| 12/22/02 at 21:54:31 |
| I posted the following five articles about Dr. M. Hamidullah on my website int he [u][url=http://tyo.ca/islambank.community/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=37]Gone But Not Forgotten[/url][/u] category: [i]Obituary: Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah 1908 - 2002 Famous Islamic Scholar Hamidullah Passed Away A Tribute to Professor Muhammad Hamidullah Remembering Dr. Hamidullah[/i] The following, the fifth article on my [url=http://www.IslamBank.com]website[/url], was written by the great grand niece and caregiver of Dr. M. Hamidullah, Sadida Athaullah. It deserves to be read by everyone, so it's the only one of the five I'm adding to this thread (The first four articles are at [url=http://www.IslamBank.com]IslamBank.com[/url]). ~ HiMY! ~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sadida Athaullah, Jacksonville - wrote on 12/21/2002 9:32:21 PM This week the world lost a great Muslim writer, scholar and the last citizen of the state of Hyderabad. I lost my beloved Dada, my spiritual guide, mentor and teacher, my adopted father, my surrogate mother, my best friend and confidante, my big brother, my son and my favorite poet. We belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return. Grief stricken as I am, Dada will insist that I answer all your calls and messages, answer every Salaam sent to me, as he always did. So with a broken heart I am writing to tell you about the final hours of his life. He had lost his hearing, and had trouble speaking but he remained alert to the end. He was never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and remained fairly active till the end. We had dinner together on Monday night. Tuesday morning I helped him to get up at 4 am and began the usual morning routine, he walked without help to the bathroom, showered, had breakfast in the dining area and walked back to bed on his own at 6.am. He was sitting on the bed as I went to get ready to go to work. When I looked in his room, as I was ready to leave the house at 6.45 am, he was already sleeping peacefully on his side with his face towards the wall. When I returned home about 1.15 pm, he had kept his promise to me that he jokingly made in Paris in 1996 after I had to give permission to take away the life support system, that he will not let the Angel of Death take his soul in my presence.. There was a slight smile on his face, his legs were stretched out with his hands folded as if he was standing in salat. When I walked in I knew he was gone because he always slept with his legs close to his body. My brother Irfan and I positioned his bed with his feet toward the Qiblah and his head lifted slightly, and prepared him as we have seen our elders do in Hyderabad. We received permission to keep Dada at home and take him directly to the graveyard as soon as the grave was ready. A few local Muslims, probably well under 50, called to pay their respects. His family stayed with him and kept him company on his last night on earth. After fajr on Wednesday, Dr. Yusef Zia Kavakchi, his relatives and two or three neighbors washed and prepared him in the patio and laid him out in the Dining area, in the same spot where he had his last meal, less than 24 hours ago. He began his last journey to his resting place on St. Johns Bluff at 12.15. My brothers carried him in their arms to the van, and wrapped in a additional sheet to prevent his burial shroud touching unclean surfaces he arrived at Chapel Hill Cemetery. There were about 70 men and 5 women at the graveyard and Dr. Kavakchi led the prayers. He is buried by a grand old live oak tree, in the first row of graves so there is no one above him. He is at the end of the row, so no one will be buried next to him on the left. On the right, he is in the company of a 83 year old female writer and a child, and it seems Allah granted Dada his every wish including the occupants of neighboring graves, writers and children were always his preferred companions. He wanted to be “that fortunate man who lived and worked and died in anonymity and acknowledged 200 years after his death.” And he got that too. May Allah shower him with His blessings, and give him everything he missed here. Inshallah his work will be carried on and his books and papers preserved for the next generations. |
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