The Great Da’i takes a bow

I had no idea that Tahir was hanging around behind my chair until he suddenly said:

‘My dear pious wife, I didn’t know I’d been living with a saint until I saw you just now. So just like that you sat in your room and picked a magazine on life after death and silently shed tears? You know viewing you here, quietly wiping away the tears from your eyes, reminded me of the hadith where Rasulillah SAW said, among the seven categories of people to be shaded in shade of Almighty Allah, on the day of judgement, will be the one who reflects on the greatness of Almighty Allah and privately cries over his or her misdeeds. Wifey dear, I have a reason to believe you are one of them.’ He concluded, patting me on the shoulder with a smile.

‘Well, thanks for your vote of confidence Hubby dearest’ I replied, turning back to look at him ‘but I’m afraid I still do not qualify for that station of distinction. My tears aren’t for my misdeeds nor am I holding the magazine because I just read it. In actual fact, I’m only holding it and crying over our great loss. I just received a message telling me about the death of the founder and CEO of this magazine. And though I have many editions of it on my bookshelf, this particular one titled ‘Where will your soul spend eternity?’ has always been among the books on my bedside drawer. I kept it there because I regularly read it to remind me of the great, inevitable journey ahead of us. But today when I picked it up, with the tears running down my face, it is to tell myself that even the indefatigable young man behind all these reminders is today no more. He has started his own journey into eternity.’ I answered, wiping away my tears.

‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. Allahu Akbar. May Almighty Allah grant him forgiveness and mercy and a home in aljannah Firdausi, amin. I didn’t know him personally but I know how dedicatedly, you used to buy and read Deen Digest and I’ve even read a few editions whose titles I’d found interesting. So I can imagine what this death means to you. May Allah SWT grant his family the ability to bear this irreparable loss.’ He prayed, with emotion.

‘Amin ya Rabbil aalamin. You know, the great thing about Brother Mudatthir Niyi Sanuth is that he was a prolific da’i (propagator) of Islam. He used beautiful and varied means of propagating Islam to suit different ages of believers. I remember that they started publishing around the same time we began our own magazine “Sister to Sister” in 1996. I recall that members of our team, including Sister Khadijah, Sister Ruqayyah and I were very excited to see their publication. We kept saying that our mutual efforts will complement each other because they were preaching general Islam while we were advocating Islam through issues mainly related to women. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t last long mainly because as three young married women, managing homes and careers, we couldn’t dedicate enough time and resources to it.

You know we had to stop publishing at some point and the many efforts we made to revive it, in later years weren’t quite successful either. But not so with Brother Mudatthir and his team. Despite many hitches that they sometimes even mentioned in the magazine, they soldiered on and survived through the years. Maybe because they were mostly men who did not have to juggle with domestic demands or because they made the magazine both their life’s mission and their means of livelihood, whereas we had other careers to deal with, they really raced on and left us behind. Nevertheless, we were proud of their success and subscribed to their magazine with a passion.

Mudatthir Sanuth soon became a household name all over this country. Wherever Deen Digest went, his capable and innovative hand at Islamic propagation showed. Deen  Communications became a strong brand and soon gave birth to Legacy magazine for young Muslims and Ramadan Digest to honour the holy season. Deen Digest itself became An-Naseeha magazine but didn’t lose any of its great content and ability to inspire. Still not content to stop at publishing only, as a means to propagate our beautiful Islam, Mudatthir introduced the Knowledge Builder Course to educate and mentor young ones, as well as Feed a Soul programme during Ramadan, to give his group exposure to humanitarian work. Then he started a TV programme called “Light of vision series” all in an effort to positively portray Islam through the media.’ I concluded.

‘How commendable. I had no idea you shared a history until now Bint. But his was surely a very inspiring life. May Allah SWT reward all of Mudathir’s efforts abundantly and also accept them as Sadiqatil jaariyah for him, amin.’ Again Tahir prayed.

‘Allahummaaa amin. Yes, he was truly an all-round da’i. He believed in leaving no track uncovered if it will lead to positive propagation of Islam. His death is an unquantifiable loss to our Muslim ummah. We can only pray to Almighty Allah to bless and protect the family he left behind. May He SWT grant Mudatthir Niyi Sanuth entry into aljannah bi ghairi hisab, amin.’ I intoned.