Letters To The Editor

Tribute to Dr. Kalim Siddiqui

Mohamed Bokreta

Rajab 24, 14372016-05-01

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Mohamed Bokreta from Algeria pays tribute to Dr Kalim Siddiqui

“Whoever has written the biography of a believer, it is like he had him resurrected, and whoever has read this biography, it is like he paid him a visit while attaining God’s pleasure and obviously the visited person should be generous toward his guest.” (Sidi Ali Hachlaf, Les Chorfa, Les Nobles du Monde Musulman, p. 20; published 1995).

I had met the charismatic Dr. Kalim Siddiqui only three times in my life during the Muslim Institute’s seminars in London (1984, 1985, and 1988) but it seems as if this acquaintance lasted for all the years since, due to his kindness, great sense of humor, and gift for communication. He was the author of many books and papers.

He passed away in Pretoria, South Africa on April 18, 1996, after attending the International Conference on “Creating a New Civilization of Islam.”

Dr. Kalim Siddiqui’s legacy is still on the march with the ongoing valuable work that is carried by many of his devout students especially Imam Muhammad al-‘Asi, the fearless orator, and Zafar Bangash, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, and many other brothers that all have both respect and gratitude for serving Islam and the Ummah as a whole.

Hence, the great mujahid and revivalist, Dr. Kalim Siddiqui, certainly belongs to the higher class of Allah’s (swt) servants who have attained the best of both worlds, “We gave him his reward in this world, and in the world to come he shall be among the righteous” (29:27).

Mohamed Bokreta
Algiers, Algeria

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