Yesterday, late Wednesday afternoon, I was aggrieved to find out that Shaykh Syed Iqbal Zaheer was breathing his last. With a heart bracing for loss imminent, I sat in long silence as tears flowed, contemplating the life of the man who would soon leave us heartbroken and bereft at his departure that would darken our lives in more ways than could be counted.
He was not a man of many words, almost as if his silence itself was a reminder of the adaab of the learned men of the Islamic Golden Age that he had modelled his life upon: speak when spoken to; speak well or remain silent. I’m reminded of how he sat while listening, his head bent low, his wrinkled hands clasped in each other as he gave the matter deep thought before responding. His words when he finally spoke were concise, intentional, thorough, lucid in their meaning and profound in their effect.
Hence, students of ilm, who have pursued knowledge that is not diminished by fame, when they stumbled upon his persistent efforts, have recognised that he was a rare one of a kind scholar whose scholarship predates an age where knowledge became internet content and speech became lectures with URLs. Silent though he was, his pen spoke volumes quite literally. His colossal legacy of erudite literature is unmatched in the precision of its research, authenticity, and its ability to challenge modern writing. His unparalleled style spoke to the reader like a companion, with wit, subtle sarcasm, warmth, and a clarity that made room for even complex topics to be understood effortlessly, making the reader contemplate long after the book was closed.
He was not the scholar of men with a penchant for loud, chaotic speeches that would leave one temporarily fuelled to change the world by all means only to find that drive empty before the week was over. He was a thinking man’s scholar, who compelled one to reflect, to ponder extensively, to not silence the doubts of the mind but to pursue the truth that would quell them. He is a scholar who challenged a person to change within first and foremost, bringing about cataclysmic change in society and its systems. His companionship would not leave you content and reassured at the state of your deeds, but rather perplexed at how little has been accomplished in such a lot of time.
I smile now when I reminisce how it irritated him to speak in a microphone, lest he be heard far and wide. That was the level of his fear that pride may indeed take over his heart and his conviction that a single moment of riya could wash away his life’s work in the eyes of his Lord, the Most High. As he so often said, “Praise is one of the greatest attacks on one’s intentions and can harm the reward one seeks.” Therefore he remained, not easily accessible but always there for those who genuinely benefited from his presence and perseverance.
He was most importantly, a man of the Quran, who allowed himself to be moved by it, who pursued it, befriended it and embraced it. As he continued to dive deeper into its treasures, he embodied it, like a man besotted, he introduced his Quran, to the world, exhaustively explaining it, meticulously defending it and as of today, rightly so, dying upon it.
His personality, shaped by spending decades and decades surrounded by towering piles of books and sky high libraries, was one that reflected a life lived in fear that the beloved Messenger peace and blessings be upon him would one day complain "'O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur'an as [a thing] abandoned.'" (25:30)
Today, the world has lost not just an extraordinary scholar, it has been deprived of one of probably the last few men whose lives were reminiscent of another time, another world, where angels descended with answers no sooner than the hands were raised. Today a longtime friend of the Quran, the Criterion, The Message, The Revelation has departed for his eternal home leaving behind his life’s work as a witness to testify for where he spent his life.
Ya Allah a companion of the Quran has returned to you today having fulfilled his covenant. Ya Allah have mercy upon him, forgive him his shortcomings, embrace him in your mercy, perfume him with your rida, enlighten his grave with the Quran just like You enlightened his life because of it, expand his resting place for him, grant him the company of those that you have been pleased with and allow him to rest content, after a long tireless journey that began and ended in the service of the Oneness of Your Name.
Ya Allah give his family the strength to bear this irreplaceable, unequalled loss. Indeed You are the best of Providers. Indeed your promise is true.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.
Indeed from Allah we come and to Allah we return.
