The news of the passing away of our Ustad, our guide, Shaikh Dr R K Noor Muhammad Umari Madani (May Allah have mercy on him) has struck us like a lightning. It was only four days ago that I spoke to him regarding his health over the phone.
To my knowledge, Shaikh Dr R K Noor was the first person from India to acquire a PhD in Hadith from the Islamic University of Madinah. The Shaikh did his BA in Hadith from the Madinah University and completed his MA in Hadith in 1996 and obtained his PhD in 2002 from the same university.
He was a gold medalist from the university and he always wore the watch he had received as an award to remind him of the purpose of studying at Madinah University.
After returning to India and after learning the situation of Muslims in the country, he embarked on a life-long journey of teaching and guiding people according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. He advised on how Islamic knowledge can be balanced with modern education and I don’t think there was another person who had the thinking or a vision like him.
Humility is a key characteristic of a believer, even more so for a student or teacher of knowledge. Shaikh Dr R K Noor exhibited this trait throughout his life. He was ready to help anytime and was ready to guide anytime.
Seven years ago, when my wife and I had been to Chennai for a workshop we met the Shaikh and my wife was shocked to see a great scholar like him dressed in the simplest of clothes and living frugally. Despite being a renowned scholar, all he owned was an old scooter.
Later, when we met him and his family in his house he enquired us about the progress in our Sammaan Counseling Centre in Udupi, Karnataka. When we told him about the conditions of Muslim households he cried in pain. Alhamdulillah, our families had the opportunity of meeting twice.
After returning to India, the Shaikh worked in an Islamic school in Mumbai and then in Chennai. When asked why despite being a distinguished scholar, he spent his time teaching children, he answered saying that, “these are the same kids who are going out of our hands, and if we lose them then it’s the loss of the Muslim Ummah.”
In Chennai, I saw him work tirelessly for a group of schools. He travelled often and collected a variety of different books with his team to design the Arabic and Islamic syllabus.
Shaikh Dr R K Noor was one of the pioneers responsible for establishing Islamic schools with secular sciences in India.
In the year 2013, we had met him in Chennai when we intended to start Sammaan Counseling Centre, but he humbly excused himself from joining saying he was inexperienced in the field. But he still made sure he spent time with our team and gave valuable advice. He also recommended another scholar- Shaikh Shamshuddin Qasmi, khateeb and arbitrator (Imam of Makkah Masjid, Chennai). And in every meeting of ours, Shaikh Dr R K Noor made sure to ask about its progress.
Two years ago when Muslim Okkuta (United Muslim Union) in Udupi organised a national level conference, we had invited scholars from Delhi but they couldn’t make it. When I informed Shaikh Noor about the situation and told him that even non-Muslims will be attending the event, he immediately agreed to be a part of it. Sadly, there were people who did not want Shaikh Noor to be invited, however, he brushed aside all the opposition and attended the event and gracefully advised in his speech on how Muslims should work unitedly.
After the event, when we are having food, he met Maulana Sajjad Nomani, who was one of the attendees. The Shaikh kissed the Maulana’s forehead. When the shocked Maulana asked him about it, Shaikh RK Noor introduced himself and told him that he had come from Tamil Nadu from Jamiat Ahle Hadees to which the Maulana made lots of Du’a for him. Subhan’Allah, such was our Shaikh, such was his humility. He met and honoured other scholars.
Personally, I haven’t seen anyone in India who is so hardworking and dedicated to the Islamic cause and who tried to maintain good relations with non-Muslims like our Shaikh. He advised Muslims to stick to the path of Islam and at the same time to be on good terms with non-Muslims on basis of humanity. He would say openly with proofs from the Qur’an and Sunnah that we need to maintain good relations with non-Muslims.
One year ago just before the COVID pandemic, there was a meeting held for few Salafi scholars under the name of Al-Majlis Al-Ilmi in Bengaluru. I called him up over a phone call and invited him to give an introduction of the meeting to which he readily obliged and spoke from his heart and advised us to carry on under the guidance of Shaikh Anees-ur-Rahman. The Shaikh encouraged us and gave a positive response but unfortunately, we didn’t receive such responses from others so we had to drop the idea thus concluding; Individually we perform well in our respective fields, however, when the need arises to unite and perform, we lag behind.
Along with Islamic education, he also gave importance to other branches of knowledge. He encouraged Muslims to pursue all halal fields of knowledge and appealed to Muslims to be united and to work for the betterment of the Ummah.
On 14 March 2021, I messaged him regarding a project but I didn’t receive any reply. But he later informed me that he was infected with COVID and to make Du’a for him. And that was the last I spoke with him, although I was regularly in touch with him through messages wishing him a speedy recovery. But the news of his passing away has shocked me. May Allah bless the Ummah with a scholar like him.
In our circles of friends and family, there were no reports of the death of anyone due to COVID. But today when we lost a dear one, we realise its gravity.
There are many in this world who have gained knowledge but few who have become a leader or a Murabbi (a nurturer, a guide) to the Ummah. We have lost a scholar and a leader.
This is a time of test and trial for the coming generation. We need to ensure we carry forward his legacy and make Du’a to such scholars that Allah may have mercy on him.
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Shaikh Abdul Lateef Madani is the Founder, MD of Al-Ibaadah Indian School, Udupi and Chairperson of Sammaan Counseling Centre, Udupi. He is a graduate of the Islamic University of Madinah in the field of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh).
