Muhammad Ibrahim Siddiqui
| Muhammad Ibrahim Khushtar Siddiqui | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Muhammad Ibrahim Siddiqui 8 March 1930 West Bengal, India |
| Died |
9 June 2002 (aged 72) Port Louis, Mauritius |
| Resting place | Vallee Pitot, Port Louis, Mauritius |
| Occupation | Missionary, writer, poet, Islamic teacher, imam |
Muhammad Ibrahim Siddiqui was an Indian Islamic scholar who was born on 8 March 1930 in West Bengal and died on 9 June 2002 in Mauritius. He was particularly influential in Mauritius. His lineage can be traced directly to the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr. He was married to Amtul Qadir, a descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Her lineage is traced from a male descendant of Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri. They had three sons, three daughters and sixteen grandchildren, who reside in Manchester, England, and Mauritius. He is founder of prominent organisation Sunni Razvi Society.[1][2]
Mauritius
Siddiqui landed in Mauritius for the first time on 2 January 1965 to work as an imam and lecturer at the Jummah Mosque after having officiated at the Memon Hanafi Mosque, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He founded the Sunni Razvi Academy on 28 April 1967 in order to serve the educational and spiritual needs of the local community. Its motto is: "come in to learn, go out to serve". Apart from celebrating Islamic events, it trains imams and teaches memorization of the Qur'an. It has branches throughout Mauritius and one in Bareilly Shareef, India.Through the establishment of the Sunni Razvi Society, Siddiqui introduced the Islamic revivalist Ahmed Raza Khan, Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani and others. Siddiqui has composed and sung in praise of Mauritius, especially when it gained independence and its status as a republic.[3]
Many leaders including the then Governor-general, Sir Leonard Williams and Sir Raman Osman, former Prime Minister of Mauritius Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Anerood Jugnauth, A. Pasooraman (Minister Of Education, Arts and Culture) were friends of Siddiqui.
In 1972, Siddiqui departed Mauritius for Britain, and in his farewell message to the people of Mauritius he said, "On this moment of departure, I must earnestly appeal to you al to live in harmony and peace, to become torch-bearers of peace to this divided world or ours, and to work hard for the welfare of this picturesque country. Before ending I take this opportunity to express my warmest thanks to everyone, to the Editors, the MBC/TV, the Police, the different institutions and last but not least, the Government of Mauritius for their entire and precious co-operation extended to me in carrying out my religious mission successfully here."
He began organizing continuous weekly Thursday Halqa Zikr at the Jummah Mosque. From September 1965 to the present date , more than 1130 Monday weekly Halqa Zikr's have been performed amidst a large number of participants.On 20 February 1983, Siddiqui laid the foundation stone on a large piece of land which had been donated by a faithful mureed (disciple). The first weekly Halqa Zikr occurred on 14 April 1983 under the patronage of Shiekh-ul-Tariqat in a little tent while ladies were seated in a van outside the tent after Asr salaat.[4]
On 21 April 1983, the first Igyaraween Shareef took place after Asr, together with the second Qadiri Halqa Zikr. These events of Urs and Halqa Zikr have continued without any break and are now under the guidance of Siddiqui's eldest son, Masood.
The Municipality of Port Louis named a street after Siddiqui. He was the first to organize visits to shrines on beneficial and rewarding nights of Shab-e-Baraat. These still occur in Mauritius.
The Eid-e-Mawlid-un-Nabi celebration organized by Siddiqui has wide participation. For the 1967 celebration, the press reported that 50,000 people were present at Taher Bagh (Mauritius), a record captioned by one newspaper: "Maulana Khushtar makes history".
His brother Ayub Razvi, who served as Director of the organization, managed the affairs of the Society.
References
- ↑ http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/30399872/complete_thelight.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1440058165&Signature=qBl9uOQMUvFiMzqxHmwMJEwIHyY%3D&response-content-disposition=inline
- ↑ Moors' Islamic Cultural Home (1978). Moors' Islamic Cultural Home souvenir III, 1970-1976. The Home.
- ↑ Who's who of Southern Africa. Ken Donaldson (Pty.) Limited. 1986.
- ↑ http://www.bahaistudies.net/asma/mysticalteachings.pdf