Obituary: Majeed Ali, My Friend
by Mr. Mohammad Haroun
The Light (UK), July 2003 Issue (pp. 2–3)
“And see how We have made some of them to excel others and certainly the Hereafter is much superior in respect of degrees and much superior in respect of excellence.” (The Holy Quran, 17:21)
I have known Majeed for a very long time. We attended the mosque at Ruimveldt (Guyana, South America). This was where I saw him in action; one Friday he jumped up and asked the then Imam, Nasir Ahmad, if it is not possible to translate the khutba [sermon] into English so that the young people could understand. The imam’s reply was that it was haram (unlawful) to speak English from the pulpit. Majeed asked the imam why the khutba was in Urdu, which like English, and unlike Arabic, was not a revealed language. The imam still refused. This confrontation went on for some months, with Majeed being called names by the imam. Eventually, Majeed, Hoosein Ganie, M. B. Yasin and others formed a new jamaat for propagation of Islam and called it Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-e-Islam.
Majeed and I, with others, would always go to functions such as weddings, funerals, Quranic readings, etc., and distribute literature free of cost. Much of the cost of printing was borne by Majeed and M. B. Yasin. Mumtaz Yamin would drive us throughout Guyana in Majeed’s car, an Austin Cambridge, and Majeed would bear all the costs of travel. We used to end up sitting on the sea wall planning what next to print and what to do on the next function.
Sometimes, we ended up at Kalamuddeen’s, who was Rehman’s father, shop in the 4th street buying fried chicken.
During Ramadan, the Women’s Section would go to the business community and collect money, clothes, food and anything else they wanted to contribute. On Eid morning we, Majeed and I and others, would take these parcels to the families from different jamaats [branches] and give them their presents before Eid namaaz [prayers]. Many times we would miss the namaaz but Majeed would say that it was O.K because Eid namaaz is not farz (compulsory) it is wajib.
We would put large billboards in people’s yards or on trees advertising our jamaat and its activities. However, Muslims would get angry with their neighbours for allowing us to place boards bearing the name Ahmadiyya Anjuman in their yard. These activities continued until we came to England.
We kept in touch and tried to do the same things in London. Majeed possessed a great zeal for propagation of Islam. For those of us who knew him closely, he was very strong headed and tried to get his own way in doing things. One quality he had was the way he could quote verses from the Quran and the Bible to support his point of view. He was certainly the best Guyanese in this respect. Many people would phone him or write to him for verses and explanations of the Holy Quran. Yet, we received much abuse, at times physical as well, at many places that we went to together. This did not stop him from doing what he believed in and what was best for propagation of Islam. He would say that people do not just need physical food; they need spiritual food as well. In this respect, he shared the food he had with everyone.
However, Majeed never boasted about his knowledge of the Quran but just shared it with and passed it on to others.
We are all fully responsible for our actions. We cannot transfer the consequences of our actions to others. This is the basis of the Day of Judgment — personal responsibility and accountability. There is no vicarious atonement in Islam. Every believer is responsible for his own salvation and has his own reward. If we understand and appreciate the consequences of our faith and practice then we will have achieved a great success.
I am sure that Majeed has achieved the highest goal, for I believe that in the words of the Holy Quran:
“My prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are surely for Allah; the Lord of the worlds.” (The Holy Quran, 6:162)
May Allah, in His infinite mercy, accept our prayers today and may He keep us on the right path. (Ameen)
Go, my brother and do not be afraid for Allah awaits you in the heavens.