Asslamo Allaikum Wa Rahmatulahi Wa Barakatuh,
I read the news of the passing away of our dear respected and beloved Dr Malih Ahmed Siddiqui (aka Abu_Tamim from Sunniforum) this afternoon and I am lost for words. As a believer it is my Eemaan that death can come anytime and to anyone unannounced and without warning but this is truly unexpected.
I didn’t know Dr Saheb (RA) personally and I had to enquire about his first name but I knew him through his writings and his exchange of emails like many people around the world.
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
May Allah (SWT) forgive his sins, raise his status in Firdausal-A'ala (Ameen). May Allah (SWT) grant Sab'r and perseverance to his family, to all those who knew him and are grieved by his passing away and in particular to his wife and 3 young children, Tamim (4), Shamim (3) and Hani (9 months) (Ameen).
What can I possibly say, further?
The Tarbiyah of our Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) was such that it turned the worst of the people into the best of mankind. The effect of spending time in the company of Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) transformed lives and changed minds. It is the actions and the mindset of the Sahaba (RA) transformed by the blessed company of the Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) which continues to guide us in all aspects of our life. How am I supposed to judge Dr Malih Ahmed Siddiqui (RA) whom I only knew via Sunniforum and emails? When I look through the actions of Sahahab (RA) the golden advice of Sayyidina Umar (RA) comes to my rescue as he (RA) said:
Sayyidina `Abdullah bin `Utbah bin Mas`ud (RA) reported: I heard Sayyidina `Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) reported saying: "In the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) some people were called to account through Revelation. Now Revelation has discontinued and we shall judge you by your apparent acts. Whoever displays to us good, we shall grant him peace and security, and treat him as a near one. We have nothing to do with his insight. Allah will call him to account for that. But whosoever shows evil to us, we shall not grant him security nor shall we believe him, even if he professed that his intention is good.'' [Bukhari]
From his posts on Sunniforum to his blogs (1, 2 and 3) to his emails I found nothing but GOOD in his writings and nothing but ENCOURAGEMENT towards the noble Sunnah of our Nabi (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam). He had the intention and the ability to enocurage a person and to advance them on the path of Sunnah, its rare for people to have such blessing from Allah (SWT). This is my judgement of his apparent acts and what is known to me and many others. He had love for the Sunnah and he had love for the Deen of Allah (SWT) and it showed in everything he did from his witty comments to his displeasure (which was directed towards those whom he deemed to be against the Sunnah).
He loved to keep the company of the pious and those of Taqwa which enabled him to seek Islah from Shaykh (Maulana) Arshad Madani in Tassawuff but he zeal for the company of Ulamah and Mashaykh. His account of meeting Shaykh Yunus Janpuri (HA) shows not only his desire for the company of Ulamah but also his humility, the sentences of this brief blog are drapped in humilty but dipped in heart-filled awe and desire for the company of Ulamah and Mashaykh. He was also connected to Haji Shakeel Ahmad (HA) of Shariat. What does his known affiliation with all these Akabir tell us? What does it teach us?
It teaches us many lessons but primarily three. Firstly, he longed for the company of the pious as per the command of Allah (SWT). He looked for oppurtunites, no (rather) he actively searched for them wherever they may be:
[9:119] O you who believe, fear Allah, and be in the company of the truthful.
Secondly, he raced towards goodness. Some people race towards evil or in the case of most of us we race towards the Dunya! Allah (SWT) put the Dunya at the feet of Dr Malih Ahmed Siddiqui (RA) as he was a consultant (physician) but he raced towards the Akhira and he hastened towards collecting good deeds!
[3:133] Race with one another towards Forgiveness from your Lord and towards a paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been prepared for the God-fearing.
Thirdly, his diverse affiliations with the Ulamah and Mashaykh and his multipel blogs and writings on multiple subjects give us another interested glimpse into his personality. His email exchanges with me with me also proved that he was neither a Tableeghi nor a Sufi but he co-operated in goodness wherever he found it and he shunned evil and broke away from it wherever he encountered it. This is truly a rare commodity in today's sectarian and biased world, very few people are blessed to have a clean heart to put their feelings aside and just co-operate with any goodness and any endeavour associated with the Deen of Allah (SWT).
وَتَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى ٱلۡبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقۡوَىٰۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى ٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَٱلۡعُدۡوَٲنِۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلۡعِقَابِ
[5:2]...Help each other in righteousness and piety, and do not help each other in sin and aggression.Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe at punishment.
It is this third aspect of his life that all of us need to pay close attention to. Was he a Tableeghi or was he a Sufi? Whatever he was, neither his writings, nor his emails or his personal accounts of himself ever betrayed a smug superior attitude towards either one. Most importantly, he never put down anyone and their efforts for the Deen of Allah (SWT). I had disagreements with him in public and in private but the musings and errors on an ignoramus such as myself never affected his dealings with me in public or private. He was always able to rise above it for the sake of Deen of Allah (SWT).
I wish and make dua for Allah (SWT) to bless me and everyone else with this trait (Ameen) to consider ourselves the lowest of the low and to bridge divides and not broaden them. This is what I learned from Dr Malih Ahmed Siddiqui (RA) without ever meeting him in person!
Addendem: Sunniforum
There are many more capable then me who have articulated that Sunniforum was a blessing for many, a motivational tool and a place to foster and strengthen one’s Emaan. The Shura and majority of the Moderators have always publicly and privately differed with this view and considered it an exercise in futility. One of last exchanges of Dr Malih Ahmed Siddiqui (RA) on SF on the 09th of November 2013 is as follows:
The only verse of the Qur'aan which comes to my mind regarding the condition of Sunniforum and its team is:
[14:7] (Recall the time) when your Lord declared, .If you express gratitude, I shall certainly give you more, and if you are ungrateful, then My punishment is severe.