[b]SALAAM
SHAYKH AHMAD DEEDAT PASSES AWAY
This is so sad news, I have so much respect for Ahmad Deedat, a unique person in our age. May Allah bless him and grant him Jannah inshallah.
WASALAAM[/b]
[b]
Muslims Mourn Late Sheikh Deedat
Deedat was a self-educated caller to Islam.[/b]
DURBAN, South Africa, August 8, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral of South African caller to Islam Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, who passed away in the early hours Monday, August 8.
Sheikh Deedat, 87, passed away at his home in Trevennen Road, Verulam in the province of KwaZulu Natal at 7 a.m.
His son Yusuf told IOL that the cause of his death was heart failure.
The family was not in a state of shock, said Yusuf. “As Muslims we believe that every soul shall taste death.”
He added that the last moments of his father’s life were peaceful, and coincided with the commencement of a recitation of "Surah Yaseen" on an Islamic radio station.
“Channel Islam had just introduced and begun to play Surah Yaseen when the throes of death began,” he explained. “My father just looked at us and then passed away.”
Funeral
Sheikh Deedat will be buried in the Verulam cemetery after Salaatul-Maghrib (Maghreb prayers) Monday.
Hundreds of people from around the country are expected to participate in his funeral prayer, and his family says that people from across the world, such as India, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been calling to convey their condolences.
“His death comes as a shock to us,” Maulana Ahmed Kathrada, of the Jamiatul ‘Ulama (Scholars' Group), a local theological body, told IOL.
He added that Sheikh Deedat had served not only South Africans, but the Muslim Ummah at large, for many years.
“We pray that Allah Grants him a lofty position in Jannah (Paradise), and that He Grants his family patience, especially his wife who has endured so much during the last few years.”
Dedicated Wife
He was bed-ridden for almost a decade.
Mrs Hawa Deedat, who had spent the last nine years nursing her husband and administering his daily injections, was present at her husband’s side at the time of his death, and she is well, said Yusuf.
“She is the wife of a soldier, and can therefore only be a soldier herself."
Several other religious leaders and political figures expressed their sadness at the news of Sheikh Deedat’s death.
Mr. Ashwin Trikamjee, president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, said that Sheikh Deedat would be missed by Muslims worldwide and the greater South African Muslim community.
“I think that the Islamic community has lost a great man, who was totally committed to the cause of Islam,” he said.
Mr. Trikamjee said that Sheikh Deedat had made a huge impact on constructive religious debate.
Mr Riaz Jamal, a director of the Al-Ansaar Foundation in Durban, South Africa, who had done a thesis on Sheikh Deedat as part of his Masters in Islamic Studies, said that there was a need for the Muslim and Christian worlds to continue to bring audiences together for religious debate and dialogue.
“Sheikh Ahmed Deedat was a global caller to Islam,” he said.
"I don’t think any other Muslim wrote to the Pope, inviting him to Islam, but Sheikh Deedat did. It’s our responsibility to continue in propagating his message.”
Sheikh Deedat’s health had been steadily deteriorating in the last few months after he had suffered various complications related to the lock in syndrome stroke which had left him paralysed and bed-ridden for almost a decade.
His death marks the end of an era of Da’wah in which his name became synonymous with breaking down inter-faith barriers.
His Life
Born on July 1, 1918, Sheikh Deedat arrived in South Africa, from India, as a nine-year-old in August 1927.
Although he hadn’t previously been exposed to the English language, he learnt it in six months, excelled at school and finished top of his class.
However, due to financial considerations, his father removed him from school during his early years of secondary schooling. He was sent to work in a store in a rural area, where his mission of Da’wah began.
Students from a Christian missionary school would visit the store preaching their beliefs to him, and knowing little more than the shahadah (testifying that no god but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet), he found it difficult to defend his beliefs.
He then stumbled upon a book which carried a religious dialogue between a Muslim imam and a Christian priest, and this proved to be the first of many books which he would read on the subject.
He began researching both religions and recording his findings in a notebook, after which he started delivering lectures in South Africa.
First Lecture
Deedat became famous for a debate with US Reverend Jimmy Swaggart, on the topic “Is the Bible the Word of God.”
His first lecture was entitled “Muhammad (peace be upon him): Messenger of Peace,” at it was delivered in 1940, to 15 people at a cinema in his province.
Within a short space of time, the numbers grew and people crossed the racial divides which were then prevalent in apartheid South Africa, to listen to him, and to participate in the questions and answers sessions which followed his lectures.
Although some Christians and Muslims felt that his style was blunt, many others reverted to Islam, and Da’wah soon began to dominate his life, with the audiences at his lectures reaching forty thousand.
In 1957, Sheikh Deedat, together with two of his friends, founded the Islamic Propagation Center which printed a variety of books and offered classes to new Muslims.
In 1986, he visited Saudi Arabia for a conference, and in his first television interview, enthralled the Arab world with his dynamic personality and in depth knowledge of comparative religion.
He then visited the United Kingdom, Morocco, Kenya, Sweden, Australia and Denmark on lecture and debating tours.
In the United States, he became famous for a debate with the American Reverend Jimmy Swaggart, witnessed by 8,000 people on the topic “Is the Bible the Word of God.”
On May 3, 1996, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat suffered a stroke which left him paralysed from the neck down, and also meant that he could no longer speak or swallow.
He was flown to a hospital in Riyadh, where he was taught to communicate through a series of eye-movements.
He spent the last nine years of his life in a bed in his home in Verulam, South Africa, encouraging people to engage in Da’wah.
He continued to receive hundreds of letters of support from around the world.
Inna Lillahi wa inna alaihi Rajo'oon.
We come from Allah, and to him we return.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
may Allah Almighty grant him a place in jannah Ameen
May Allah grant his soul in peace...ameen
Ameen. he was a truly great scholar.
The Lover is ever drunk with love;
He is free, he is mad,
He dances with ecstasy and delight.
Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about every little thing,
But once we get drunk on that love,
Whatever will be, will be.
ɐɥɐɥ
Salam
Deedat was a true moderate cleric of Islam. His books and lectures are not hot-headed like other preachers. He held discussions and debates with Jews and Christians to promote understanding between these three faiths.
He was a South African Indian scholar of Islam. HE died in South Africa on 08-08-05.
I saw him twice when he came on a UK tour. Good man.
I didn't get a chance to shake his hand. He has too many fans.
He is going to Paradise. May God give us religious clerics like him.
Omrow
Salam Muslims
Peace Non Muslims
He was truly an excellent comparative religion da’ee and probably one of the wittiest thinkers of our time.
May Allah azza wa jaal shower him with His infinite mercy and rasie him up with company of the ‘ambiyyah (Prophets), the shuhada (martyrs), the siddiqin (truthfuls) and the salihin (Righteous) and how excellent is their company!
Salam Muslims
Peace Non Muslims
salaam
would it be fair to say Ahmad Deedat is THE GREATEST scholar on Quran and the bible in the 20th/ 21st century?
wasalaam
a lot of them are the greatest in their own ways. to say any one is better than the other wouldnt be fair. in terms of his style and wittyness combined with vast knowledge, yes he was one of the greatest.
The Lover is ever drunk with love;
He is free, he is mad,
He dances with ecstasy and delight.
Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about every little thing,
But once we get drunk on that love,
Whatever will be, will be.
ɐɥɐɥ
Ina lillahi wa ina ilaiyhi rajioon
May Allah (swt) grant him Jannah
Ameen
"The Prophet (s) is the path...Allah Almighty is the destination"
Salam
No, it would not be unfair.
In fact, Ahmed Deedat was the best scholar of Christianity and Judaism that Muslims had produced in the last 1200 years.
His lectures and books on CDs, videos and DVDs are in most Muslims homes in Britain ands throughout the world.
Omrow
salaam
I have just got this email from Sister Ruqayyah Waris Maqsood:
[b]
I am so very sorry to hear of the death of this great inspirational man. He was a true warrior for Allah, and a gentleman. I shall treasure my tapes and books until the time when I, insha'Allah, shall meet him face to face. My condolences to his family, wasalaam, Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.[/b]
wasalaam
yes
Salam
Unless she gave you prior permission, I think it was wrong of you to make public her private email.
Omrow
salaam
oh plsssss.....
its cool, and its not a personal message...its one she sent to the e-group...
u cant breath in this forum can you
wasalaam
salaam
This is an amazing article, just highlights how great Amhad Deedat was.
[b]In Tribute to Ahmed Deedat
Deedat: The Mission Continues*[/b]
By Fatima Asmal**
August 9, 2005
Editor’s note: This article was published in 2003. It is republished here as a tribute to Ahmed Deedat, who died August 8, 2005.
On October 26, 2002, at 7:30 in the morning, Reverend Naidoo made his way to 49 Trevennen Road in Verulam, KwaZulu Natal. His mission was clear: to convert Sheikh Ahmed Deedat to Christianity.
“Mr. Deedat, can I pray for you in the name of Jesus?” he began. “If I pray for you in his name, you will rise up and walk. You will speak in his name.”
“Can I read for you from the Holy Bible a verse of inspiration so that he (Jesus) may heal you?” he asked.
Sheikh Ahmed Deedat’s response, conveyed via eye movements, is recorded in a black notebook which lies at his bedside. “Mr. Naidoo,” he said, “Please read for me Genesis Chapter 19 Verse 30.”
Reverend Naidoo could hardly contain his excitement. “Dear Jesus, speak through the eyes!” he said, as he opened to the relevant page, and read: “And Lot went up out of Zo’ar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zo’ar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.”
Again, using a series of eye movements, Sheikh Deedat asked, “What is the moral of the story? What do you learn from it?”
Reverend Naidoo, rendered speechless, left, without answering the question, his mission having failed miserably.
Many before and after him have met a similar fate. Ringo, a young Christian bodybuilder and owner of a gym, visited Sheikh Deedat, hoping to “heal” him.
Claiming that the spirit of Jesus lived within him, Ringo said he would perform a miracle at the bedside of Sheikh Deedat. “Jesus heal him! Rise up!” he shouted, simultaneously engaging in a series of hand gestures. Sheikh Deedat observed the proceedings from his bed, before communicating a message to Ringo. Again, his message came from the Bible: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21–23).
“Why would Jesus tell you this when you came to do such a noble job?” he asked.
Ringo said he would return within a few days, with an answer. “To this day they have failed to come back,” says Yousuf, Sheikh Ahmed’s son.
And so in the nine years spent lying in his bed, unable to move, speak or eat, has Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, now 87-years-old, sent many a Christian missionary packing. “Every week, people from different faiths and denominations, come in, or write in, to preach their religions to my father,” says Yousuf. “In every instance, he throws a scud missile at them.”
Many have been embarrassed and silenced, others have been inspired and mesmerized. Like Sabiha Doolarkhan, who writes to him on a monthly basis. Sabiha says meeting Sheikh Deedat, and reading his books, played a vital role in her reversion to Islam, 20 years ago. “I was in awe of the stately man who sat behind the desk,” she says, in a letter to him. “You epitomizsed what I expected Islam to represent—your calm demeanour and comfortable disposition encapsulated the essence of the dignity of Islam—and I left positively and pleasantly imbued with the spirit of Islam.” Sabiha made a decision to write to Sheikh Deedat on a regular basis, after visiting him at his home. From her letters it is clear that even in his state of paralysis, Sheikh Deedat continues to inspire her. “No one can look as majestic or profound as you do on a sick bed,” she writes. “Surely that in itself is evidence that Allah is indeed well pleased with your life’s work.”
Tamara and Ahmed are a young married couple who have found their way to Verulam, using a map. Their lives, too, have been touched by Sheikh Deedat. “I had borrowed his tapes from a friend of mine’s in the States,” remembers Ahmed. “I couldn't believe that someone who wasn’t born with the Arabic tongue could have such a deep understanding of the Qur’an.” Ahmed, an Egyptian, met Tamara in the United States—she had gone there as an au pair; he was working in the franchising industry. Tamara, at the time a devout Christian, married Ahmed and was first introduced to the works of Sheikh Deedat shortly thereafter when a colleague who was a revert to Islam began lending her his booklets and video tapes. She later accepted Islam and, after the events following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, moved to South Africa with her husband. “When I first met Ahmed, and told him that I lived in Durban, he was really excited and he said, ‘You come from Deedat’s city.’ I had no idea what he was speaking about,” laughs Tamara. “He couldn’t believe that I didn’t know.”
The many visitors like Tamara and Ahmed are warmly welcomed at the Deedat home. Sundays, Yousuf says, is a really busy day. I find myself wondering if the endless visits tire Sheikh Deedat out, if they pose something of an inconvenience to him. But when I ask the question, I am met with a resolute eye movement to the left—this means, “No.”
Unsatisfied, I ask, “What do they mean to you?” I wait expectantly, anticipating a long and meaningful response. The answer is short, but meaningful it is. His eyes spell out a single word: “Joy.”
Joy and blessings are concepts central to his world. I ask him how these past seven years have passed him by. Surely it must be difficult for him to have spent decades traveling the world, delivering lectures and debating, and then to abruptly find himself confined to a bed?
“I count my blessings,” he says. Yousuf explains that his father is referring to one of his favorite verses in the Qur’an, from Surat Ar-Rahman: [And which of the favors of your Lord do you deny?]
Among these blessings is an 80-year-old wife, unable to read or write, who single-handedly monitors his blood sugar levels, calculates the insulin he requires, and administers his injections. It is difficult to believe that as a young man in his late 20s, Sheikh Deedat was initially reluctant to marry Aunty Hawa. She speaks Gujarati and Zulu fluently, and has managed to tell Tamara and Ahmed everything about the Deedat family in broken English. The feast she lays out for us—samoosas, savory rolls, cakes, and cardamom tea—bears testament to superb culinary skills. And her exuberant personality overpowers even my 5-year-old cousin Hamza, who seemed to have lost his tongue the moment he met Sheikh Deedat. She whisks him away into her lounge and brings out a collection of her husband’s trophies for him to play with, while feeding him from a bowl of fruit.
Yousuf Deedat informs us that his mother was actually the 34th woman Sheikh Deedat had been to see, when he had decided to get married. “The other 33 turned him down,” he laughs. He later informs me that his father has told him to set the record straight: It was not the women who turned him down, rather it was their families who had refused him.
The sense of humor which his audiences had grown accustomed to is still there. More often that not, it is accompanied by a hearty, infectious laugh, which seems to emanate from the deep recesses of his throat. It is almost a guffaw—a mixture of a wheeze and a groan. It is the only response I get when I innocently ask a question, “Were you ever swayed by the arguments of your many Christian opponents?” The guffaw comes again when I comment on the Qur’anic ayah which is affixed to the mirror at his bedside: [And (remember) Ayyub when he cried to his Rabb, “Truly distress has seized me, but You are the Most Merciful of those that are Merciful”] (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:83). This time, the guffaw isn’t a laugh.He guffaws, too, when I tell him that an Internet search engine calls up more than 12,900 Web pages when it is instructed to search for his name. This time I’m not sure whether it’s a laugh or a cry.
He asks me to tell the many who enquire and wonder about him that he is “feeling quite well.” He asks me to tell them to call people to Islam. “Read my books and listen to my tapes,” he says.
He doesn’t think back to the days of old when he used to travel around the world, calling people to Islam, he says. Rather, he looks forward to the future. What is it that he’s looking forward to, I ask. This answer is considerably longer than the others: “My great lecture on the concept of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” Transfixed, I ask him where the lecture will be held, half-expecting him to say something like “In the hereafter” or “On the Day of Judgment.” But there is nothing confusing about the answer. “All over the world,” he replies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Republished with minor modifications with the kind permission of An Nisaa Publications. © An Nisaa Publications 2003. You may not reproduce this article without express written permission of the publisher (an_nisaa_publications@yahoo.com).
** Fatima Asmal is the editor of the South African-based publications An Nisaa and The Straight Path, which cater for Muslims living in the West. Visit the publications’ Web site at www.an-nisaa-publications.net
salaam
the link below has a bit about Ahmad Deedats life and alot of his best lectures and debates:
http://www.islamicinvitationcentre.com/speakers/Ahmad_Dedat.html
wasalaam
With Grief and Sorrow
We were shocked to hear the sad news about the demise of a Great Islamic Scholar Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat.
Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Elaihe Rajeoon. (Quran).All the members of Minhaj ul Quran are in grief and sorrow. Founding leder of Minhaj ul Quran International, Shaykh ul Islam Dr Tahir Ul Qadri expressed his sorrow and grief (from Turkey) on the loss of a great Scholar to the Islamic World.
Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat was a great Islamic Scholar who had served Islam throughout his life. His contributions are valuable asset to the Islamic world. The contributions of Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat are a source of knowledge for all of the Muslims in the world. Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat had also visited the central Head Quarters of Minhaj ul Quran International in the late 80s in Lahore Pakistan.
We would like to specially pay tribute to the contributions of Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat for Islam. May Allah give strength to the family of Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat to bare the loss of a great man at this time of grief and sorrow.
A message from "MINHAJ UL QUR'AN INTERNATIONAL organization
"Duniya toh badalti rehti hai...Ey mere Quaid tuh kabhi Na badal janaa"
Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilahe Rajioon
May your grave be full of flowers, smell of musk, open as far the eye can see!
You are truly great and never will be forgotten!
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition, burns a picture to obtain the ashes!
Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon
May God bless you and fill your grave with light.
"Purity is half of faith.......Prayer is the light...patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin." Muslim
he died 2 years ago!!!!
Oh yeah,
However there is no limit to when we should show our respects.
It shows how great he was, he is still remembered as if he has just died.
"Purity is half of faith.......Prayer is the light...patience is illumination; and the Quran is an argument for or against you. Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin." Muslim
pffff i'm reviving!
Edit: Old threads that is
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition, burns a picture to obtain the ashes!
Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilahe Rajioon
You can watch his talks on peace tv man on a mission most nights at 9 ish
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane, by those who couldn't hear the music...
I've got a friend who converted from Christianity. He had been very religious before. He is now very much into da'wa, and uses his intimate knowledge of Christian texts to engage people. He is very critical of Deedat's explanations of the Bible, saying he misses the point of Christian arguments and doesn't grasp the actual lessons of the bible. Thus a lot of his criticisms of the Bible/Christianity fall on deaf ears because he's not actually talking about the majority of people's beliefs. He says the same about Zakir Naik, although he says Naik is more accurate.
The reason I'm saying this: not because I want to disrespect the Sheikh, mashaAllah he lived a wonderful life devoted to the spread of Islam, but rather to warn people if they are planning to use his talks to engage Christians with. You may (IMO) be better off using Yusuf Estes' material which can be found here:
http://www.islamtomorrow.com/
He was a minister before converting to Islam, so his knowledge is also 'inside'.
Don't just do something! Stand there.
What a great man Sheikh Ahmed Deedat was! May Allah Almighty rest his soul at peace (ameen)
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Karachi (Sindh, Pakistan)