He was allotted 20 minutes for his talk in English, followed by Majlis in Urdu by the local resident Alim.Īccording to Sheikh Fazleabbas Datoo, then CEO of the Bilal Muslim Mission of Kenya and now Resident Alim of Portsmouth Jamaat in Britain, Mallim Kassamali would come to Bilal Muslim Mission Office at day time. His response was: ‘Al insanu yudabbiru, wallahu yuqaddiru’ – Man proposes, Allah disposes.Īnother incident I vividly recall was in June 1993/Muharram 1413 A.H., when Mallim Kassamali was invited by the Mombasa Jamaat to deliver Majlis in English. Mallim Kassamali then went on to elaborate aspects of our belief in Tawhid and engaged the children in a healthy interactive discussion on a variety of subjects.Īfter about two hour sitting, when we started departing from the place, one of the boys whispered into my ears: “Bapa, can you ask him to come to New York and be our Madrassa teacher?” I conveyed the sentiments to Maalim. ‘It was in recognition to her trust in Allah in the spirit of tawakkal ‘alallah and her graceful acceptance of the decision of Hazrat Ebrahim to depart from Mecca leaving them behind that her subsequent struggle in search of water has been immortalized as part of the Haj ritual.’
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‘When told that he was following Allah’s command, Bibi Hajra gracefully accepted the verdict, reposing full faith in Allah.’ She asked Hazrat Ebrahim whether the decision to leave them alone in Mecca, a barren place with no vegetation, was his own or was it in response to the command from Allah.’ ‘When Hazrat Ebrahim told Bibi Hajra that he had to go, leaving her and the baby Ismail in Mecca, as a mother, she naturally remonstrated. “As kids, have you never woken up your mothers in the middle of the night asking for water? And have not your mothers patiently got out of their beds to fetch water for you? Is it not natural for any mother to comfort her child? Confronted with a similar situation like that of Bibi Hajra, would not your mothers also gone through similar experience? What is the difference? Why has Allah immortalized only the act of the mother of Hazrat Ismail as part of the Hajj ritual?”Īs we stared at Maalim looking perplexed at this line of questioning, he proceeded to unravel the puzzle. “So what is so great about it?” asked Maalim. The word ‘Saee’ in Arabic means to strive. The boys explained that it was in remembrance of Bibi Hajra as she ran around in search of water for her son Ismail that the ritual of ‘Saee’ has become an obligatory part of the Haj and Umra ritual. When he learned that we had earlier been for Umra before coming to Iran, he asked the boys to explain what ‘Saee’ – running between Safa and Marva seven times – was about.
In 1997, while on a visit to Qom with my four grandchildren from the USA and Canada, we went over to see Maalim at his residence in Qom.
As a tribute to his memory, I wish to recall two incidents. I had the privilege to know marhum Maalim Kassamali Chandoo. This extraordinary footprint is sometimes in the mind. Marhoom Maalim Kassamali Chandoo – TributeĪ teacher is known by the footprint left behind.
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