Imam Qari Qasim

The following are some of the comments made about Professor Hafiz Qari Fateh Muhammad (May Allah shower mercy on his soul):

• "I will miss his inspiring conversations full of humour, wit and insight", a PhD students from the Far East

• "His optimism, his compassion and, most important of all, the love he always had for his faith and community was remarkable." A Roman Catholic Vicar

• He was "a wonderful mix of spirituality and practicality", Faith Advisor to the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

• His death was "a blow to the whole community." a local MP.

• "He was a reformer in that he began calling for imams to start using English in their sermons and in their teachings so that the British Muslim youth could learn something about their faith when attending the mosques." Chair of a leading British Muslim Organisation.

• "He was a true lover of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and that is why he was always at the forefront of any cause and campaign dealing with Tahafuz-e-Namose-e- Risalat", Secretary of Ahl-Sunna wal-Jamaat.

• "He effectively gave me a new life", a revert who embraced Islam at the hands of Professor Qari Fateh Muhammad.

• "His intelligent conversations, his ability to listen to opponents' views, his inner beauty, his immense love for the Prophet, the Ahle-bait and the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made me reconsider my beliefs", a shia Professor from Iran.

• "He was as friendly and hospitable to his opponents as he was towards his friends and followers", a young enthusiast who enjoyed debating with Professor Qari Fateh Muhammad.

• "Through his guidance and mediation, he saved my marriage", a young newly married sister.

• "He was an inspiration to me. If it had not been for him, I would not have had the love of my religion in my heart today", a pharmacist.

• "He helped me find myself", an investment banker.

• "He was always there for my family", a mother of six children.

• "If it had not been for his financial support, I would not have been able to do an MBA", a student who went on to become an entrepreneur.

• "Whenever I followed his practical advice, I never regretted it", a father of four and politician.

• "I always confided in him and he counseled me", a granddad and community leader.

• "If it had not been for him, my children today would have been somewhere else rather than in the mosque. He brought faith into our hearts", a mother of three.

• "He was my guide, my teacher, my source of inspiration, my role model and my spiritual father", a student of Islamic sciences and Tassawuf.

• "He was a truly humble and sincere servant of Allah, who was not after worldly positions or wealth; he declined whenever he was given a position of power and rather recommended his colleagues to take those positions", founder of the British Muslim Forum.

• "He was a man of extraordinary vision. He sat on a prayer mat but touched the hearts of thousands of people from all walks of life whether they be doctors, Imams, builders, politicians, professors, taxi drivers or entrepreneurs. It was his simplicity and spirituality, combined with his wisdom, that made him everyone's hero", a medical doctor.

• "It was his love for the Noble Quran, his constant recitation day and night, which brought me closer to Allah", a Hafiz and recite of the Holy Quran.

• "He sometimes would give money in charity when he did not have much in his own pocket", Trustee of a Charity.

• "He was the father figure for our community", teenage attendee of the mosque

• "He was a shining star; people like him are not born everyday", a professor colleague at Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan.

I first met Imam Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad sahib some 15 years ago. My first session with him completely changed my life! I was going through some difficult times in my life. Things were not "working out" at home. I had a very "good" job with a reasonably "good" salary but there was still some void in my life. I felt something was missing from my life. I had recently moved to Leeds for my job and did not know many people. I could easily make friends in the lifestyle that I was used to but I wanted to move away from that life-style.

Being born a Muslim, the obvious thing was to turn to Islam but I did not know much about Islam. I was afraid to learn about Islam because I felt that learning more about it would make me realise my own shortcomings and weaknesses. I did not want to feel more depressed. I wanted to meet someone who could unlock my mind and spirit, who could direct me to my Lord, who could hold my hand as I treaded on the path of Islam and got myself back on track. The experience that I have had of mosques did not fill me with confidence that I would find someone like that in a mosque. My first thought was that if I went to a mosque, I would be frowned upon, I would be told off, there would be no one to understand my condition, there would be a language barrier etc.

Then one of my clients told me of an Imam in a mosque nearby in Hyde Park and everything he told me about him was a great shock to me.

My client said that the Imam spoke English and had a lot of young people coming to his mosque. I found it surprising that he was an English Professor and an Imam at the same time. I could understand someone being a Professor of Arabic or Islamic Studies and an Imam but not an English Professor and an Imam.

My client told me that he was a humble man but dignified in his humility and that he always made time for common people and he cared about people – religious or irreligious. I could only remember people inside the mosque who assumed that they were better than others because they came to the mosque to pray.

My client also said that that Imam always has a huge welcoming smile on his shining face. Again, it was hard for me to imagine an Imam with a beautiful smile on his face. I could only remember these guardians of mosques being stern faced, feeling tense and angry with everything.

My client carried on telling me about the knowledge that this Imam possessed and other characteristics that he had had but my mind was wondering off, trying to imagine the Imam in mind and burning with the desire to meet him.

After a few days, I pulled myself together to meet this great personality, with a mixed feeling of awe and yearning. As I approached his room inside the mosque, he was sat on the floor studying a book. As soon as he saw me, he welcomed me with a smile and started chatting to me, listening to me attentively. He was not only hearing me, he was also waiting for his turn to speak. Although it was the first time I had met him, I felt that I had always known him.

As I sat listening to the Imam discussing the intricacies of the Glorious Qur'an with references to modern intellectualism, my eyes grew wider and I distinctly remember thinking 'so that's what it means!'

I left that brief meeting with a very light heart, feeling good inside. I had a strange feeling inside me; I felt that I had done a good deed just meeting him and listening to his melodious voice. I still cannot describe that feeling.

From that day onward, whenever I got the chance to come and sit with him, I would do so. I would go to meet him during lunch time and he in his kindness would welcome me each time I went to meet him. I would always leave him with a heavy heart, wishing I could have extra time to stay with him. In his gatherings, he used to feel spiritually immersed in the light of the Qur'an. He was a walking encyclopedia/dictionary of the Glorious Qur'an.

I am sure that anyone who had the privilege of visiting the Imam and spending time with him felt uplifted and enriched by his humanity, his wisdom and his spirituality. He was positive and motivational. He always showed you the bright side of any situation that you were in. He used to make things perfectly clear by using simple language and examples. He would come down to peoples’ level, despite himself being an ocean of knowledge. For him lecturing or writing was not about scholastic manipulation of intellectual constructs but rather a means to connect people to Allah and the spiritual reality. He would de-mystify things so that people could understand the Word of God and the sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He always reminded his students to use simple language with people in accordance with the prophetic saying: "Speak to people at their level". But at the same time his colourful talks were full of gushing flow, treasure of vocabulary and tremendous appealing.

I love him dearly because, through him I came closer to My Lord and gained an understanding of what a logical and balanced the religion of Islam is. It is through him that I have been able to tell people around me something about my faith. It is because of him that I am proud to call myself a Muslim. He wanted young British Muslims to be good and great. Work hard to unlock our potentials with the key of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Unfortunately, after a few months of coming to stay in Leeds, I got transferred to another city and our enlightening and refreshing meetings came to end. At first I did continue to phone him and seek his advice on important matters in my life. Then with the passage of time, I got busy and the contact became less and less.

The memories that I have shall remain ingrained on my mind forever. He is always in my prayers. My Allah grant me his company under the banner of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Zahid Hussain

When I first became interested in Islam, I was overwhelmed by the information that I needed to learn. I had friends who were telling me all the things I needed to memorise; the Arabic terms and verses which I had to recite. There was an expectation on everyone's part that I should be better than them; I should practice more than them; I should know more than them. It was all too much for me. Information was being fed to me as to what I should wear or should not wear, what I should eat and should not eat. The whole issue was complicated by the fact that there was slight difference of opinion between the scholars and each friend of mine was at pains to drag me to their reasoning. In the midst of this, another revert brought me to Imam Hafiz Fateh Muhammad.

When I came to see Hafiz, he calmed my worries and reassured me that living under the shade of God's mercy, being a Muslim, was a process that required hard work and endurance. He reminded me of the saying of the Prophet that the religion is ease and that if you take one step to Allah, He comes ten steps towards you. He asked me to learn about my new faith step by step and not be overwhelmed by it all. As Allah had accepted me into his chosen faith, I could only come closer to Him by learning more about this faith. Since then whenever I had a particular dilemma, I came to Hafiz sahib for his spiritual and practical advice and sometimes I brought other reverts with me. He never made us feel intimidated by his knowledge

He was truly a man of people. He would often remind those close to him of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) 'the best amongst you is the one most beneficial to them'. He was sincerely interested in providing religious advice in a practical form. People of all backgrounds; Muslims, non-Muslims, young, old, men and women would come to him regarding private and personal matters of love and life, family and faith. Despite the fact that these meetings with people affected his routine of doing set remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Glorious Quran and his studies and writing, he always gave time to the people who came to him and listened to their heartache.  He never judged people and would not talk behind their backs about their private and personal matters. Instead he guided with compassion and always tried to make the religion easy to practice.

Another key characteristic of Hafiz sahib's personality was his altruistic, selfless and self-sacrificing personality. He did not want people to praise him for how close he was to Allah or recognize how high his status was in terms of spirituality or how much insight/farasah of a believer he had, rather he wanted people to turn to Allah and develop those characteristics in themselves. He wanted to empower others rather than hold all the power to himself. That is the reason that with his practical advice, he would always ask people to either recite a particular surah or verse of the Noble Quran or some other zikr. It was his quality of serving His Lord by helping people that people not only from all over the UK but even from outside the UK would call him and discuss their matters with him. He knew a lot of people in Europe and the US who would invite him to visit their countries but he always declined saying that with the time that he had, he was even unable to serve people locally.

Most reverts to Islam are usually so disillusioned with the world and its attractions that they want to run away from the ordinary life and perhaps try to create a new world for themselves. However, Hafiz sahib always motivated reverts to not isolate themselves from the world. Muslims must live in the world but not let the world live in their hearts so much that they forget the Creator of the world. We often spoke about the challenges of our times and the difficulty of balancing student life, professional life with spiritual life. He once said that he went through the same emotions during the early days of him teaching English Literature in a College and in order to create emotions conducive for nurturing the soul, he increased his portion of daily recitation of the Holy Quran.

Muhammad Dawud

We are all familiar with the famous Prophetic saying <em>Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave</em>. Few people implemented this hadith into their everyday lives with as much dedication, ardour and passion as the late Shaykh Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on his soul and grant him the highest ranks of paradise). 

I was fortunate enough to have known Hafiz Sahib (as he was fondly known by his students and congregation) practically my whole life. I was even more fortunate to have been taught to read and memorise surahs from the Holy Quran by him. Seldom did I enter Madina Masjid, where he was based before the construction of Makkah Masjid, to find him doing anything other than seeking knowledge, either reading a book on Islam or reading the book he loved above all other books, the Holy Quran.

When Hafiz Sahib read from the Holy Quran his love for the book that is the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge was apparent to all fortunate enough to witness him. The love emanated from his face, which glowed when he recited the words of God. The love resonated in his voice, which frequently trembled with emotion as he was reciting. It poured out of him and into the hearts of the listeners. Who could fail to be moved by the sight of this great man reciting Surah Ar-Rahman with tears streaming down his face as he read the verse: <em>Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you deny</em>Because you knew that Hafiz Sahib thanked his Lord for all the blessings he had been bestowed with every second of every day, and you knew that he himself was a blessing sent by Allah Almighty for the benefit and betterment of the community of Leeds. 

Hafiz Sahib held education and knowledge in the highest esteem. Not only his own education and knowledge but also that of the community he served. That is why he held daily tafseer classes after prayers. Most importantly, Hafiz Sahib understood the importance of educating the Muslim youth long before his contemporaries had grasped the idea. As far back as the mid-eighties, when many of the first generation of Muslims who had migrated to this country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were still dreaming about returning to their home lands with their families after a few years of working in England, Hafiz Sahib was delivering his Friday sermons in a combination of his native language Urdu and the native language of the youngsters in his congregation, English. He understood that unless Islam was accessible to the youth in their mother tongue, it would become an alien concept to them that would ultimately get lost in translation.

Hafiz Sahib was acutely aware that in order to counterbalance the attractions and distractions modern day Britain posed for Muslim youngsters growing up in the country, the Muslim youth needed to be spoken to in their own language and at a level that was accessible to them. His door was always open to youngsters, and one of his most memorable characteristics was that youngsters flocked to him for advice and solace. He was a sympathetic ear and a source of practical guidance  â€“ he was a mix between a loving parent, a concerned uncle, an understanding teacher and inspiration to everyone. He was seen as so much more than simply the Imam. 

Hafiz Sahib used every opportunity to stress to the youth that it was incumbent upon them to make the most of the advantages of the British education system so that they could grow up to be professionals and Muslims could be represented in all walks and at all levels of British life. Unlike his contemporaries who did little other than stress the importance of seeking Islamic knowledge, he placed almost as much importance on secular knowledge as knowledge of the Sharia. He was himself a unique blend of a Professor of English and a Qur’an Hafiz. He saw no reason why the two cold not go hand in hand, and he was keen to stress this to the youngsters in his congregation. His message was simple; lslam does not preclude its followers from seeking success in this life as well as in the life after death. While we must not ever take our eyes off the ultimate goal – seeking Allah’s pleasure and attaining paradise – it is perfectly permissible to seek the fine things in this life also. And in order to attain these fine things, education is the key. 

Hafiz Sahib was truly a man who led by example. He led a simple life that seamlessly blended excellence in the religious and secular fields. He demonstrated to the youth that it was possible to strive for success in worldly affairs, and he was therefore seen as an accessible figurehead who many leaned on for support. His presence is to this day sincerely missed in the community of Leeds. 

<em>Reflections of a female Student</em>

The late Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad Sahib was the founder of Deen Foundation. He spent his entire life gaining and imparting knowledge about Islam. He believed that knowledge is the foundation of the Deen of Islam and lies at the heart of success in this life and in the hereafter.

Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad Sahib was one of very few distinguished scholars who excelled in both secular and religious knowledge and understanding. In 1984, he undertook a Masters degree in English Language, Teaching and Linguistics at the University of York. He had previously held the esteemed post of head of the English Department at the International Islamic University at Islamabad, Pakistan. After settling in the UK, he taught the Holy Quran in mosques, colleges and universities, to the young and old alike. He gave lectures and translated and interpreted many surahs of the Holy Quran in English.

Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad Sahib was a professor of English, yet he was also a master of the Arabic language, Islamic history and contemporary affairs. He memorised the Holy Quran at a very young age and then spent the remainder of his life instilling the love of the Divine message and love for education (religious as well as secular) in the hearts of the people.

With his deep insight into the Quran and his understanding of the personality of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he propounded the peaceful message of Islam his entire life. He believed that people could only come to obey their Lord and respect each other if they were knowledgeable about the rights of their Lord and rights of other human beings. He believed that it was due to lack of education that people were facing financial, social, economical, political and cultural difficulties.

The success of human beings is linked with learning and knowledge. The first message of the Quran encouraged human beings to learn. It was due to Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammada's passion to spread education that he sponsored many students in various parts of the world throughout his life to gain education. His students currently hold positions such as lecturers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, engineers and Ulema in different parts of the world.

Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad was a God fearing person. He was a noble, compassionate, generous and honourable person, and like all truly great men, extremely humble and modest. He always strived to assist poor families to fulfil their obligations to arrange the marriages of their children, and provided financial assistance to those who struggled to meet the costs of medical treatment and other living expenses. Hence, these principles are amongst the main objectives of Deen Foundation.

Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad suddenly passed away while studying the biography of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on 26th April 2005 (17th Rabi-al-Awwal 1426), at the age of 63. At the time of his passing away, he was the imam of Leeds Makkah Masjid (UK).

<em>Muhammad Irfan Chaudhary</em>

Shaykh Professor Hafiz Fateh Muhammad sahib (May Allah have mercy upon him)

During 1997 UK General Election with br.Mukhtar Hussain and Fabian Hamilton MP, Harold Best MP and others @ Woodsley Community Centre in Leeds – UK