Demise of Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Qārī Ayyūb Ṣāḥib of Saharanpur, India
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Yesterday morning, we received the sad news of the demise of Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Qārī Ayyūb Ṣāḥib, the Principal of Madrasah Tajwid al-Quran, a small Madrasah located in Mahalla Qadi, Saharanpur, India. Qārī Ṣāḥib is originally from Chitra, Jharkhand. In 1989, he graduated from Madrasah Mazahir al-Uloom in Saharanpur. During his studies, he also acquired and excelled in the science of tajwīd. In 1985, he started to teach at Madrasah Tajwid al-Quran and continued doing so until his demise. He was passionate about the Quran and taught it for 34 years. He was punctual with his Tahajjud Ṣalāh after which it was his daily routine to personally wake up the students for Fajr Ṣalāh.
Qārī Ṣāḥib was a disciple and a very close confidant of our beloved teacher Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī (d. 1438/2017). He would visit Shaykh regularly and attend to his needs and the needs of his guests. He was extremely hospitable and welcoming. During my visits to Saharanpur, he would receive me including in the late hours of the night and when departing from Saharanpur, he would bid me farewell on the train platform. He was calm, considerate, friendly, humble, wise and forbearing. During my most recent visit to Saharanpur on Friday 29 December 2017 with Shaykh Muhammad Ahmed of UWT, Qārī Ṣāḥib insisted on hosting us at his house and eating lunch with him.
Reflecting upon his demise, my respected father Mufti Shabbir Ahmed (b. 1376/1957) commented, “Qārī Ṣāḥib did a lot of Khidmat of Shaykh Yunus Ṣāḥib. He would serve Shaykh’s guests at night and was relentless in providing comfort to Shaykh. On the day of Shaykh’s demise, he accompanied Shaykh to the hospital in the ambulance. Above all, what stands out from his qualities is his integrity and honesty. I performed many charitable projects through him and at all times he proved to be very trustworthy and efficient, providing a detailed account of every penny spent.”
Similarly, our dear Azeem Bhai, a businessman of Saharanpur and an associate of Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī said, “Ḥaḍrat Qārī Ṣāḥib’s demise is a great loss for us. Allah had infused in him honesty and integrity along with patience and gentility. He was always mindful about what people had entrusted him with. He had been travelling for Hajj annually since many years and I never once saw him angry. He was very patient. On one occasion in ʿArafah, a man threatened to hit him. Qārī Ṣāḥib offered his cheek and calmly said, ‘it would please me if you were to hit me in this place.’ The person became ashamed of himself and from this point onward respected him. During the 2015 Hajj, Qārī Ṣāḥib was stuck in the incident that resulted in the loss of many lives. Allah Almighty saved him and his colleagues as a Muʿallim opened a gate in front of them.”
Azeem Bhai adds, “Ḥadrat Qārī Ṣāḥib was not harsh towards his students. He had a such a relationship with his students that they would respect him sincerely. After completing the memorisation of the Quran, they would maintain their relationship with him. A year ago, I also started memorising the Quran with him and he was very supportive. However much he is praised, it is less. It is difficult to find such an honest and trustworthy person. After performing Tahajjud Ṣalāh, he would wake up the students and listen to their Quran before Fajr Ṣalāh. Thereafter, he would perform Fajr Ṣalāh in the final row, keeping an eye on the students. Throughout the day, he would be in the service of the students and the Madrasah.”
Qārī Ṣāḥib had been suffering from a heart related problem since a few months. He suffered from a heart attack yesterday morning at Fajr Ṣalāh time and passed away. His Janāzah Ṣalāh was performed in the evening with thousands of attendees. He was buried in the Haji Shah graveyard, the same graveyard where Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī and other luminaries are buried. Qārī Ṣāḥib was 58 years old and leaves behind his wife, two daughters and a son.
We pray to Allah Almighty to forgive his shortcomings and grant him an abode in Paradise.
Yusuf Shabbir
25 Shaʿbān 1440 / 30 April 2019
