A GREAT man, true Muslim, eminent scholar, authentic researcher and a successful preacher, Dr Muhammad Hameedullah died on December 17, 2002, in Florida, USA, at the ripe old age of 93.
Dr Hameedullah was a most respected scholar, well known to world circles acquainted with Islamic studies. Despite his intellectually bold contribution to Islamic thought, Dr Hameedullah lived a very humble life, away from fame and glamour, ignoring all material gains. When his name was proposed for the King Faisal International Award, he did not show any interest. He said, “If I take it here, what would I get there?”
The amount of Rs one million which was given to him by the Government of Pakistan with the Hijrah Award was donated by him to the International Islamic University in Islamabad. He lived a very simple and modest life, spending very little for his own self.
Dr Hameedullah’s major area of interest were Sirah [biography of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)], history of the codification of Hadith and Muslim International law. His name can be counted along with the famous scholars of Islam, such as Imam Timiah, Al Farabi, Al Ghazali, Shah Waliullah, etc.
He obtained a doctorate from Bonn University, Germany; a D.litt from Sorbonne University, France and PhD from Osmania University, Hyderabad Daccan. In France, Dr Hameedullah translated the Holy Quran into French. Nineteen editions of this translation were printed, each edition containing 20,000 copies. He authored 250 books and about 1,000 articles, written in French, German, Turkish, English, Arabic and Urdu.
His Introduction to Islam continues to be a bestseller. Dr Hameedullah was the master architect of Muslim international law in modern times. He had completed the memorization of the Holy Quran at the age of seven. Since then, he never missed his daily prayers and fasting in Ramazan. He lived for five decades in Paris, but remained a true Muslim in every sense of the word. He lived on the fifth floor of a modest apartment which had no elevator, but he used to regularly offer his prayers five times a day at the mosque. He would distribute the whole amount received by him as royalty on the publication of his books among the needy and institutions.
Dr Hameedullah taught and wrote extensively, and contributed authentic research results in a vast area of studies on Islamic culture and about the Muslim world. In his research and publications, Dr Hameedullah not only tried to fill gaps in Islamic studies but also meticulously re-examined a number of topics on which literature already existed. During the preparation of his work on the battles fought by the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him), he crossed the battlefields on foot to measure them and to gain the experience in order to describe the background. He climbed up Mount Uhad twice to explore where the Messenger of Allah had been rescued from after suffering injury. He walked from Makkah to Hunain. On another occasion, he rode a mule to assess the distance the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) had travelled.
In Paris, young students, mostly from the French-speaking North African countries, engaged in discourses on Islam, the Holy Quran and Fiqah. Many of them were non-Muslims. A large number of people, estimated at around 50,000, including Americans, Europeans and African, most of them highly educated doctors, educationist, nuns and scholars converted to Islam under his influence.
He was specially invited by the late Gen Ziaul Haq to help him in preparation of his speech, which he delivered in the United Nations.
Dr Hameedullah was a member of the Board of Islamic Studies which had been setup to advise the first constitutional assembly of Pakistan on the Islamic provision of the country’s constitution. Again, the late Ziaul Haq got his advice on the formation of Hudood and other ordinances.
It is ironic that on the news of his death, not a single person from the Government of Pakistan or political and religious leaders issued condolence messages. The news of his death was not announced from the radio and TV in Pakistan. It was proposed that to recognize the services of such a great scholar, the Government of Pakistan should give the highest civil award to him. Such award may not have increased the honour of Dr Mohammad Hameedullah, but the honour of the award could have been increased by giving it to him.
A GREAT man, true Muslim, eminent scholar, authentic researcher and a successful preacher, Dr Muhammad Hameedullah died on December 17, 2002, in Florida, USA, at the ripe old age of 93.
