Pakistan

Al Mustafa Distributes Sewing Machines and Certificates to 30 Women in Cholistan
Bureau Report
Cholistan
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has distributed sewing machines and course completion certificates among 30 women who successfully completed vocational training at the Al Mustafa Vocational Institute in Cholistan, as part of its initiative to promote women’s economic empowerment and self-reliance.
The certificate and sewing machine distribution ceremony was held at the Al Mustafa Community Centre, 24-Wala Toba, Ahmedpur East Road, Cholistan. Nazrat Saleem, Managing Director of Al Mustafa Pakistan, attended the event as the chief guest. The vocational programme is designed to equip women with practical skills and crafts that can enable them to earn a livelihood and become economically independent.
The distribution of sewing machines will allow the graduates to put their newly acquired skills into practice from their homes and communities.
Speaking at the event, participants emphasised the importance of vocational education and skills development for women, particularly in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. They noted that providing women with marketable skills can help strengthen household incomes while giving women greater financial independence and confidence.

Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has established similar vocational centres at various locations across Pakistan. These include vocational centres in Tanda and Rajiki in Gujrat, among other areas, where women are being trained in different skills to help them become economically self-sufficient.
The ceremony was attended by former MPA Dr. Muhammad Afzal, Al Mustafa donor Parveen Arshad, Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Head of Media and Public Relations, Al Mustafa Pakistan, Amina Sawera, and a large number of prominent community members, educators, journalists and social figures from Ahmedpur East and surrounding areas.
Arham Saleem Qadri, Manager South, Al Mustafa, served as the master of ceremonies.
Among the prominent participants were Dr. Fayyaz Mahmood Awan, former Union Council Nazim and Chairman of the Ahmedpur District-Making Movement; Syed Nasir Mahmood Rizvi, Patron of Ahmedpur Press Club and Principal of Islamic Model Higher Secondary School and College; Syed Tanveer-ul-Hassan Bukhari, Principal of Iqra Public School; Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Jalandhari, Patron of Jamia Al-Hanif and member of the District Peace Committee Bahawalpur; Muhammad Ayub Sheikh Rajput, member of the District Peace Committee Bahawalpur and President of the Crockery Traders Association, Ahmedpur East; and Syed Ali Raza Kazmi, former Bait-ul-Mal member Bahawalpur and President of the Traders Association, Chowk Munir Shaheed, Ahmedpur East.
Other attendees included Amjad Islam Amjad, President of the Cloth Merchants Association, Ahmedpur East; Sardar Ahmed Khan Babar, representative of Jang and Geo News; Muhammad Zeeshan Jalandhari, Chief Supervisor of Jamia Al-Hanif, Ahmedpur East; Hafiz Muhammad Zakaria, Tehsil President of Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, Ahmedpur East; Khizar Abbas Khan Kalachi, Manager, Habib Bank Ahmedpur East Branch; Muhammad Arshad Bhatti, Manager, Bank of Punjab Ahmedpur East Branch; Muhammad Ahmed Anjum, former Bank of Punjab manager; Javed Ahmed Mughal, Radio Pakistan representative; Muhammad Irfan Kamboh; Chaudhry Tariq, former councillor; Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmed, Numberdar; Riaz Khan Baloch, former Secretary General of Bahawalpur Press Club and President of Al-Sadiq Desert Welfare Society Bahawalpur; Dr. Muhammad Shakir, Chairman, Education Department, Islamia University Bahawalpur; Muhammad Sajjad Rakib, teacher and poet; Farhan Hameed Qureshi, teacher and social media activist; Mehr Saeed Ahmed Saeedi, Tehsil Ameer, Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Pakistan, Ahmedpur East; Mukhtar Ahmed Malik, former councillor Ahmedpur East; Muhammad Irshad Fauji, Tehsil President, Defence of Pakistan Zindabad Movement, Ahmedpur East; Jan Muhammad Chauhan, senior journalist; Irfan Baloch, member of the Human Rights Commission; and Chaudhry Nadeem, Numberdar.
The initiative is part of Al Mustafa Welfare Trust’s broader efforts to promote sustainable livelihoods by investing in skills, education and economic opportunities for women in underserved communities.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Bureau Report
Bahawalpur
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust and The Islamia University of Bahawalpur have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation for humanitarian service and community welfare.
The signing ceremony was held at the Old Campus of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, where Nazrat Saleem, Managing Director of Al Mustafa Pakistan, and Professor Dr. Muhammad Kamran, Vice Chancellor of the university, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.
The MoU provides a framework for collaborative initiatives focused on serving humanity and supporting welfare-oriented activities, bringing together the resources and expertise of a leading humanitarian organisation and one of the region’s major academic institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, the participants highlighted the importance of cooperation between educational institutions and humanitarian organisations in addressing social challenges and extending meaningful services to communities in need.
The ceremony was attended by Dr. Asif Naveed Ranjha, Director Student Affairs, Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed Faqeehi, President of the University Alumni Association, Arham Saleem Qadri, Manager South, Al Mustafa, Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Head of Media and Public Relations, Al Mustafa Pakistan, Amina Sawera, heads of various university departments, faculty members and other staff.
The participants expressed hope that the partnership would lead to practical initiatives for community welfare and humanitarian assistance, while also providing opportunities for students and academic departments to contribute to social-service programmes.
The MoU is being viewed as an important step towards developing a stronger partnership between academia and the humanitarian sector in southern Punjab.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Bureau Report
Fort Abbas, Bahawalnagar:
A team from Al Mustafa Welfare Trust visited several remote villages in Tehsil Fort Abbas, District Bahawalnagar, to review the organisation’s ongoing water supply projects aimed at providing safe and accessible drinking water to underserved communities.
Nazrat Saleem, Managing Director of Al Mustafa Pakistan, accompanied by Al Mustafa donor Parveen Arshad, visited a number of villages where the organisation has installed hand pumps and solar-powered community water wells.
The villages visited during the field tour included Chak No. 303 North, Chak No. 303 South, Chak No. 291 Colony, Chak No. 296-A Additional Basti, Chak No. 308 North and Chak No. 304.
During the visit, local residents expressed their gratitude to Al Mustafa Welfare Trust and its donors for helping improve access to water in the area. They appreciated the organisation’s efforts to address the basic needs of communities living in remote and underserved settlements.

The Al Mustafa team reviewed the functioning of the completed and ongoing water projects and discussed with local residents ways to make the initiatives more effective and expand the organisation’s water-related humanitarian work to additional communities.
The residents also shared their experiences and local requirements with the visiting team, providing input on future water and welfare projects.
The visit was attended by Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Head of Media and Public Relations, Al Mustafa Pakistan; Arham Saleem Qadri, Manager South, Al Mustafa; Qari Ghulam Fareed, Nazim-e-Aala, Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, District Bahawalnagar; Hamid Khan Joiya, former Nazim of Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam, South Punjab, and local volunteers.
The water initiative is part of Al Mustafa Welfare Trust’s broader humanitarian programme, under which the organisation is working to provide sustainable access to clean water in communities facing water shortages.
The team also held consultations with local community members regarding the expansion and improvement of ongoing public welfare projects, with the aim of ensuring that humanitarian interventions address the most pressing needs of residents.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Bureau Report
Jalalpur Pirwala
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has completed the construction of a new home for another family affected by the devastating 2025 floods in Pathan Colony, Tehsil Jalalpur Pirwala.
The keys to the newly constructed house were handed over to Bashir Ahmed by Nazrat Saleem, Managing Director of Al Mustafa Pakistan, and Parveen Arshad, a donor of Al Mustafa.
Bashir Ahmed and his wife, who had lost their home in the 2025 floods, expressed immense happiness after receiving the keys to their new house. The smiles on their faces at the moment they received the keys reflected their joy at having a secure roof over their heads once again.

Bashir Ahmed thanked Al Mustafa Welfare Trust and its donor for helping his family rebuild their home. He also prayed for the donor and the organisation, expressing gratitude for providing his family with a permanent shelter after the devastating loss caused by the floods.
The ceremony was attended by Arham Saleem Qadri, Manager South, Al Mustafa, and Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Head of Media and Public Relations, Al Mustafa Pakistan.
The home is part of Al Mustafa’s ongoing flood rehabilitation programme, under which the organisation has been helping families who lost their houses in the 2025 floods.
Earlier, Al Mustafa Welfare Trust completed the construction of a residential settlement named “Al Mustafa Town” in Mauza Latti, Tehsil Alipur, District Muzaffargarh, for flood-affected families. The keys to the newly constructed houses have already been handed over to several flood victims.
The initiative reflects Al Mustafa Welfare Trust’s commitment to long-term rehabilitation of flood-affected communities by helping families rebuild their lives and regain a sense of security and dignity.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Bureau Report
Islamabad
A delegation from the Chaudhry Rehmat Ali Memorial Trust, led by its President Dr. Syed Usman Wasti and General Secretary Khalid Mahmood, visited the headquarters of Al Mustafa Pakistan and held a meeting with Managing Director Nusrat Saleem and Medical Superintendent of Al Mustafa Eye Hospital, Dr. Khalid Bin Aslam.
The meeting discussed matters of mutual interest and explored opportunities for cooperation and joint initiatives in the field of humanitarian and welfare services.
The delegation appreciated Al Mustafa Pakistan’s various welfare and humanitarian projects and expressed its commitment to working together to serve humanity and expand the impact of charitable initiatives.
The meeting was held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere, with both sides expressing interest in strengthening cooperation and undertaking meaningful initiatives for the welfare of communities in need.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Bureau Report
Bahawalpur
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has inaugurated a new water filtration and reverse osmosis (RO) plant in Basti Shahbazo, Mauza Kalanch, a rural area on the outskirts of Bahawalpur, to provide safe and clean drinking water to thousands of local residents.
The facility was jointly inaugurated by Al Mustafa Pakistan Managing Director Nusrat Saleem and Islamia University Bahawalpur Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamran at a ceremony attended by community leaders, university representatives and officials of Al Mustafa.
Among those present were Ijaz Ahmed Faqihi, President of the Islamia University Bahawalpur Alumni Association; Malik Mujahid Sindha, Chairman of Miani Union Council; Arham Saleem Qadri, South Manager, Al Mustafa; Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Head of Media and Public Relations, Al Mustafa Pakistan; and Dr. Asif Naveed Ranjha, Director of Student Affairs at Islamia University Bahawalpur.
A large number of local residents and community elders also attended the inauguration.
Speaking on the occasion, community members expressed their happiness over the availability of clean drinking water and thanked Al Mustafa Welfare Trust and its donors for establishing the facility in their area.
The new RO filtration plant is expected to provide safe drinking water to thousands of people living in the surrounding rural communities, where access to clean water remains a major challenge.
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has established similar water filtration plants at various locations across all four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as part of its ongoing humanitarian and public welfare programmes.
The organisation said its clean-water initiatives are aimed at improving public health and providing basic necessities to underserved communities.
Al Mustafa Welfare Trust appealed to philanthropists and donors to support its clean-water programme and help extend safe drinking water facilities to more communities across Pakistan.
Photography: Nasir Iqbal

Abdul Razzaq Sajid, Chairman, Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust

When death knocks at the door of an ordinary person, the light of one household is dimmed, a few eyes fill with tears, and a small world of memories falls into mourning. But when death enters the life of a scholar, a spiritual guide, a teacher, a reformer and a man who has spent more than half a century lighting one lamp from another, bringing the light of Prophetic knowledge into minds and nurturing love for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in hearts, it is not merely a household that loses its light. An entire era seems to descend into twilight.
The passing of Allama Pir Syed Hussain-ud-Din Shah (RA) is such a moment.
His death is not simply the departure of an individual. It is the departure of a generation of scholarship, humility, spiritual discipline and service. For decades, he taught, guided and trained generations of students who carried his intellectual and spiritual legacy far beyond Rawalpindi, across Pakistan and into different parts of the world.
When the news of his passing arrived, it felt as though time itself had suddenly slowed. It was as if a star that had illuminated the intellectual horizon of the Sunni Muslim tradition for decades had disappeared beyond the horizon; as if a long gathering devoted to the study of Hadith had suddenly fallen silent.
Yet there is a beautiful paradox in the death of people of knowledge. When their lips fall silent, their words begin to speak more loudly. When the teacher leaves this world, his students become his voice. When the lamp disappears from our sight, the thousands of lamps lit from it begin to testify to its existence.
This is the secret of the lives of great scholars: they continue to live through what they teach, through the people they shape and through the values they leave behind.
Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah was one of those rare figures whose greatness was expressed not through self-promotion but through simplicity. He possessed scholarship without arrogance, spiritual authority without ostentation, influence without ambition and dignity without distance.
He was not merely a teacher whose identity could be confined to the walls of a seminary. Nor was he merely a preacher whose life could be measured by his speeches from the pulpit. He was a custodian of a tradition in which knowledge was regarded as a trust rather than a status; leadership as service rather than superiority; fame as a test rather than an achievement; and religion as a bridge connecting hearts rather than a wall dividing people.

He did not wear knowledge as a crown. He turned it into a light of character.
A Legacy Beyond a Seminary
The clearest expression of his vision was Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom in Rawalpindi, an institution that became far more than a physical building. It developed into a living centre of learning, training and spiritual affiliation.
There was a time when there was simply one teacher delivering lessons. Then those lessons produced teachers of their own. One lamp became a line of lamps. One circle of students grew into an institution, and that institution eventually became a wider intellectual and religious network.
Students trained at Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom went on to serve religion in different cities of Pakistan and in communities abroad. In this way, Shah Sahib created continuity not through his own lifespan but through his students.
This is perhaps the greatest achievement of a teacher: time may make his body old, but his knowledge continues to become younger through every new generation.
His seeds of knowledge eventually grew into a vast tree whose branches extended beyond Rawalpindi to different parts of Pakistan, Europe, Africa and other regions of the world. Wherever his students travelled, they carried something of their teacher with them.
The seminary remained in one place, but its message travelled across borders.
That is the strange kingdom of knowledge. Its ruler does not sit on a throne; he lives in people’s hearts. Its boundaries are not drawn on maps; they spread through generations. And its armies do not carry weapons; they carry lamps.
A Scholar Known for Humility
Perhaps the quality that most distinguished Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah was his extraordinary humility.
He was a man of considerable scholarship and spiritual standing, yet he never seemed interested in announcing his own importance. Thousands of people respected him, but his own gaze remained modest. He possessed important spiritual and scholarly affiliations, yet he never turned them into instruments of personal pride.
I have witnessed this quality closely during nearly thirty-five years of association with him.
In an age when even modest achievements can create a desire for publicity, where names grow longer with titles and where the promotion of a service can sometimes become more important than the service itself, Shah Sahib remained a striking picture of dignified silence.
At large gatherings, he would often sit quietly among ordinary participants. He did not seek the stage. He did not demand a special seat. He did not seem concerned about whether his name had been announced or whether he had been given an opportunity to speak.
And yet, sitting below the stage, he often appeared spiritually and intellectually above many of those sitting upon it.
His dignity did not depend on an organiser’s announcement. He seemed to understand that when God writes a person’s name in the hearts of people, there is little need to print it in large letters on posters.
I have attended countless gatherings, conferences, organisational meetings and religious events during my long association with him. I cannot recall a moment when he demanded special treatment for himself.
I never saw arrogance in his face, but I saw the light of knowledge.
I never heard the echo of self-importance in his voice, but I repeatedly felt the warmth of compassion.
He spoke little, but his character spoke at length.
He did not seek to move ahead of others, yet people naturally moved towards him.
A Personal Bond of Thirty-Five Years
For me, however, Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah is not simply a revered scholar whose biography I am describing. He is a luminous chapter in nearly thirty-five years of my own life.
My relationship with him was not based merely on formal meetings, photographs or public ceremonies. It was a relationship rooted in affection, trust, respect and spiritual attachment.
I first came close to him during the active years of the Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam. Young people who approached him were not given merely slogans or political enthusiasm. They were encouraged to develop character.
He taught us through his own conduct that knowledge is not simply the possession of memorised texts. It is the light that appears in a person’s character. Religious invitation is not merely a voice coming from a pulpit; it is also the fragrance that emerges from a person’s conduct.
One of the most significant periods of my association with him came in 1993, when, after completing my term as president of Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam, I and my colleagues became involved in efforts to bring different factions of the Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat Pakistan onto a common platform.
The task was extremely difficult. The name and religious affiliation were shared, but organisational divisions had created distance. We had to search for doors within walls, bring hearts closer without pretending that disagreements did not exist, and prevent differences from turning into hostility.
My sincere colleagues Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Sahibzada Fazlur Rehman Okarvi (late), Sahibzada Syed Muhammad Safdar Shah Gilani and I remained involved in these efforts.
In this difficult journey, Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah became a source of encouragement and guidance.
He did not merely praise our efforts. He supported them with affection, advice and trust.
Whenever disagreements became heated, he reminded us of moderation. When language became harsh, he brought us back towards wisdom. When distances seemed impossible to bridge, he reminded us of the common foundations that connected us.

For him, disagreement did not have to become hatred, and opposition did not have to end in hostility.
He understood that communities do not become stronger by breaking hearts, nor do people become closer by building higher walls.
Looking back today, his prayers, guidance and quiet support appear even more valuable.
Some people walk with us for a few steps and then disappear from our memories. Others may stop walking themselves, but give us the strength to continue.
Shah Sahib belonged to the latter category.
He did not write his name on the road; he wrote confidence in the hearts of those travelling towards their destination.
A Moment in London
One memory remains particularly vivid.
Several years ago, Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah visited London. A large spiritual and scholarly gathering was held at a mosque in Acton Town.
The hall was filled with his students, followers, devotees and people who had travelled from different places to benefit from his presence.
Shah Sahib was seated at the front, while I was sitting quietly towards the back of the gathering.
I had no expectation of being mentioned. I was there simply as a listener and admirer.
He began speaking. Silence spread through the hall.
Then, unexpectedly, he looked towards the audience and said that Abdul Razzaq Sajid was also present and that, because of my organisational experience, he would ask me to speak in his place.
For a moment, I was stunned.
Here was a scholar who had spent his entire life teaching and guiding thousands of students. His audience included scholars and followers from different parts of the world.
And he was asking me to speak in his place.
Looking back, I realise that his purpose was not to demonstrate my abilities. It was to demonstrate his own generosity.
He knew how to elevate another person without diminishing himself.
A truly great person does not make others feel small by demonstrating his own greatness. Instead, he sometimes uses his own stature to lift someone who is less prominent.
That day, Shah Sahib gave me no position, certificate or award.
He simply gave me a few words of confidence.
But sometimes a few words from a great person can be more valuable than the greatest formal honour.
That was also his method of training people.
He built personalities not only through formal lessons, but through encouragement, a kind word, a prayer, a gesture of affection and sometimes by making room for someone else.
His Spiritual and Scholarly Heritage
Shah Sahib’s spiritual and intellectual lineage was equally distinguished.
He was a close disciple of Pir Syed Ghulam Mohiuddin Gilani, known as Babu Ji, of Golra Sharif. In scholarship, he benefited from the renowned Muhaddith-e-Azam Pakistan, Allama Maulana Muhammad Sardar Ahmad Chishti Qadiri.

Thus, his personality combined the gentleness of the spiritual tradition with the discipline of the seminary; the sweetness of remembrance with the seriousness of Hadith; spiritual affiliation with intellectual reasoning.
He was not merely a man of spiritual association; he was a man of evidence and scholarship.
He was not only concerned with the heart; he also illuminated the mind.
His gatherings reflected this balance. There was authority without intimidation, knowledge without pretension, and closeness without informality.
People often felt as though they were sitting with a compassionate father, a sincere teacher and a spiritually mature elder.
He could correct without humiliating, advise without hurting and bring people closer without making them feel inferior.
Early Life and Education
Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah was born in 1933 in Sultanpur, in the Hasan Abdal area of Attock district, into a family deeply rooted in religious scholarship and spirituality.
His father, Allama Syed Zia-ud-Din Shah, was a respected religious and spiritual figure.
He grew up in an environment where knowledge was not merely stored in books but lived as part of everyday life; where religion was not simply a curriculum but a way of living; and where worship, scholarship, service and manners were considered parts of the same spiritual discipline.
His early education reflected the richness of that environment.
He studied Persian texts, including Sikandar Nama, with his paternal uncle Syed Hassan Shah. He studied the Holy Quran under Hafiz Muhammad Siddiq Darbar Sharif and Maulana Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor, a distinguished student of his father and head of Jamia Ghausia Rawalpindi.
Between 1947 and 1953, he studied the traditional Dars-e-Nizami curriculum at Sultanpur, Dar-ul-Uloom Aziziah Bhera and Golra Sharif.
Among his teachers were distinguished scholars including Syed Zia-ud-Din Shah, Syed Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, Maulana Mohib-ul-Nabi Hashmi, Maulana Fareed-ud-Din Hashmi, Maulana Khuda Bakhsh Bherwi and Maulana Mahmood Shah.
In 1376 AH, he completed his advanced study of Hadith under Muhaddith-e-Azam Maulana Muhammad Sardar Ahmad Qadiri at Jamia Rizvia Mazhar-ul-Islam, Faisalabad.
He also received permission in Hadith and other religious sciences from Maulana Mohib-ul-Nabi Hashmi, whose scholarly chain was connected with the great Sufi scholar Khwaja Khwajagan, Pir Syed Mehr Ali Shah of Golra Sharif.
Thus, his intellectual personality emerged from the convergence of family tradition, formal scholarship, spiritual training and the authorisation of distinguished teachers.
A Life of Teaching and Service
His teaching career began in 1953 at Dar-ul-Uloom Aziziah Bhera, where he taught several traditional texts.
That same year also brought a difficult test. During the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat movement, he spent the months of Rajab, Shaban and Ramadan in detention in Shahpur.
It was a period when his intellectual commitment was tested through personal sacrifice.
He later delivered Friday sermons in Sargodha and served for periods in Phalroan and Gakhar Mandi. In 1956, he taught at Madrasa Rafi-ul-Islam in Malkwal and subsequently spent around four years teaching at Jamia Ghausia Mazhar-ul-Islam in Bhabra Bazaar, Rawalpindi.
His youth was therefore not a period of comfort but a continuous journey of teaching, preaching, study, imprisonment and service.
In 1958, he was appointed preacher of Jamia Masjid Fazl-e-Ilahi, commonly known as Sabzi Mandi Mosque in Rawalpindi.
But his vision extended beyond the congregation before him. He was thinking about future generations of scholars, preachers and servants of religion.
That vision took institutional form in 1964 with the establishment of Markaz-e-Ahle Sunnat Gulistan-e-Mehr Ali and Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom.
What began as a modest institution eventually developed into a major centre of religious education whose students went on to serve communities in Pakistan and abroad.
Shah Sahib continued to remain associated with the institution until the later years of his life.
His body grew older, but his teaching remained young.
His steps became slower, but his intellectual energy did not diminish.
Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom was therefore not simply a building. It was the physical expression of his lifelong intellectual and religious effort.
His Work as an Author
His scholarship was not confined to teaching.
In 1958, he wrote and published a significant work entitled “Hadiyat-ul-Ahbab fi al-Tasarrufat Ma Fawq al-Asbab,” dealing with the difficult and subtle theological and Sufi concept of the spiritual influence and extraordinary acts attributed to saints by divine permission.
The work demonstrated that his intellectual interests extended beyond conventional teaching. He engaged with questions of theology, spirituality and the relationship between divine power and the extraordinary acts associated within the Sufi tradition with righteous saints.
His approach combined reverence with intellectual responsibility, spirituality with argument and religious affiliation with scholarship.
This early work also showed that his intellectual identity was never restricted to preaching or routine classroom teaching.
The Scholar Whose Knowledge Became Character
In our time, scholars are often judged by the popularity of their speeches, the number of books they have written or their prominence in public debates.
But the strongest evidence of Shah Sahib’s scholarship was his own personality.
Knowledge had ceased to be merely something stored in his memory. It had become patience in his decisions, courtesy in disagreement, restraint in conversation, generosity in relationships and humility in his temperament.
His knowledge did not make him heavy with pride. It made him lighter and more accessible.
That may be the highest achievement of knowledge: the more a person learns, the more he bends; the greater his understanding, the softer he becomes.
I saw this transformation in him repeatedly.
Normally, close acquaintance can sometimes destroy the image of greatness created by distance.
With Shah Sahib, the opposite happened.
The closer I came to know him, the greater my respect became.
His Relationship with My Spiritual Guide
My own spiritual guide, thinker and Quranic commentator Allama Pir Syed Riyaz Hussain Shah, shared a deep bond of respect and affection with Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah.
Their relationship was not merely a formal association between two senior religious figures. It was a meeting of two intellectual and spiritual traditions united by mutual respect, affection and concern for the Muslim community.
I saw them together on many occasions at gatherings of Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat, scholarly meetings and religious consultations.
If one spoke, the other listened with dignity.
If one offered advice, the other received it with respect.
Even when differences of opinion arose, they did not become walls between hearts.
They represented an older culture of religious leadership in which another person’s light did not diminish one’s own.
Shah Sahib belonged to a generation in which disagreement could coexist with respect, leadership with humility, and religious commitment with personal selflessness.
His passing therefore represents not merely the loss of a religious scholar, but the disappearance of a particular culture of scholarship and leadership.
The Last Meeting
Human beings are perhaps not told which meeting will be their last because life must continue naturally.
If we knew that a handshake, smile, embrace or prayer would be our final one with someone we love, perhaps we would struggle to let the moment end.
A few months ago, during a visit to Pakistan, I had the privilege of meeting Shah Sahib at Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom.
It was the same familiar face, the same warmth, the same affectionate smile.
He embraced me and blessed me with prayers.
At that moment, none of us knew that time was quietly writing the words “last meeting” beneath that scene.
Today, when I remember that encounter, I realise that some embraces last only a few moments but their warmth remains for a lifetime. Some prayers consist of only a few words but become a lifelong shelter. Some ordinary meetings later become among the most precious memories of our lives.
Perhaps this is why we are never told which meeting will be our last.
Had we known, we might have stayed a little longer.
We might have listened to a few more words.
We might have held the hand a little longer.
But life does not reveal its final moments in advance.
That is both its beauty and its deepest sorrow.
What Has He Left Behind?
Death takes people away from the world, but some people give so much to the world during their lifetime that, after their departure, the world seems indebted to them.
Shah Sahib leaves behind more than buildings.
He leaves students.
He leaves prayers.
He leaves a scholarly tradition.
He leaves spiritual relationships.
He leaves memories of kindness.
Above all, he leaves a model of character.
His life teaches that the highest destination of knowledge is not fame but reverence for God; that the fruit of spirituality is not titles, clothing or followers but character; and that the highest form of leadership is not to create a crowd around oneself but to leave a path illuminated for those who come after.
A great person is not merely someone before whom others bow.
A truly great person is someone who bows before his Creator and teaches others to stand upright with dignity.
A Generation Is Passing
Perhaps the deepest sorrow surrounding Shah Sahib’s death is that his passing represents the fading of a wider generation.
A generation of scholars who embodied moderation during times of disagreement; who taught young people that knowledge must be accompanied by patience; that leadership requires dignity; that disagreement does not require disrespect; and that one can occupy a high position while remaining humble.
His death therefore calls us not merely to mourn but to examine ourselves.
What are we preserving from the legacy of our elders?
Their names?
Their photographs?
Their annual commemorations?
Their titles?
Or their humility, scholarship, sincerity, commitment to unity, selflessness and service?
If we preserve their names but lose their values, we have preserved history but lost the inheritance.
If we hang their photographs on walls but fail to transfer even one aspect of their character into our own lives, we have preserved a memorial but not a spiritual connection.
The greatest tribute to a great person is not merely to place flowers at his grave.
It is to bring one fragrance of his character into our own lives.
Flowers may remain fragrant for a few days.
Character can remain fragrant for generations.
A Light That Will Continue
Today, the home of Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah is in mourning. The corridors of Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom are filled with sadness. Teachers are grieving, students are heartbroken, disciples are in tears, and those connected to him spiritually and intellectually are struggling to express the weight of their loss.
But this grief does not belong to one family alone.
Nor is the void confined to one seminary or one circle of followers.
Some elders become the shared inheritance of an entire era.
Shah Sahib was such a figure.
For me, his departure carries the weight of thirty-five years of memories: the energetic days of the Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam, the efforts for unity within Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat, countless meetings and consultations, his prayers and encouragement, his relationship with my spiritual guide, and finally that last meeting at Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom.
Time is a strange painter.
Moments that seem ordinary while they are happening can become the most precious images in our memories after separation.
Yet, for believers, grief is never without hope.
Our eyes may fill with tears, but our faith does not collapse. Our hearts may be wounded by separation, but belief does not surrender before death.
Death is not simply annihilation. It is a transition.
The body returns to the earth, while the legacy of a person’s knowledge, character and service continues among those who remain.
The seat of Shah Sahib may now be empty, but the echo of his lessons remains.
His lips are silent, but his words continue to speak.
His eyes are closed, but the eyes illuminated by his wisdom remain open.
His hand of affection is no longer visible, but the lamps he lit continue to burn.
Death can take away the body.
It cannot take away the influence.
It can stop a breath.
It cannot stop a legacy.
It can close a pair of eyes.
It cannot extinguish the light passed from one generation to another.
Some lamps, when extinguished, leave a room dark.
But some lamps have a different destiny: before they disappear, they distribute their light among thousands of other lamps.
Some trees fall, but before they fall they scatter their seeds so widely that an entire season becomes green after them.
Some voices become silent, but their silence turns into a continuing echo.
Allama Pir Syed Hussain-ud-Din Shah was one of those lamps, one of those trees, one of those enduring voices.
He has disappeared from our physical sight, but not from the memory of our age.
He has left the classroom, but not the lesson.
He is no longer physically among his students, but he remains within them.
Perhaps the greatest victory of a scholar is precisely this: that his death cannot become the end of his work.
His passing therefore leaves us not only with tears, but with a responsibility.
The question is not simply how long we will remember him.
The real question is: How much of him will we keep alive within ourselves?
Will his humility become part of our temperament?
Will his selflessness influence our conduct?
Will his love of knowledge reach our children?
Will his patience bring civility to our disagreements?
Will his commitment to unity help reduce the distances between us?
If the answer is yes, then his passing will not be an ending.
It will become the beginning of a new continuity.
May Allah shower His infinite mercy upon His devoted servant, the scholar and religious teacher, Allama Pir Syed Hussain-ud-Din Shah. May He forgive his shortcomings, elevate his ranks, illuminate and widen his grave, and turn every lesson he taught, every word he imparted, every prayer he offered, every student he trained and every step he took in the service of religion into a continuing source of reward for him.
May Allah grant patience to his family, students, disciples, followers, associates, the teachers and students of Jamia Rizvia Zia-ul-Uloom, and all those who mourn his departure.
And may He not make us people who merely shed tears over his absence, but people who carry his inheritance forward.
May we carry something of his scholarship in our hands, something of his affection in our hearts, something of his humility in our character and something of his spirit of service in our actions.
Because tears eventually dry.
Memories may become blurred.
Generations change.
But when one lamp lights another, and that lamp lights a third, the chain of light does not die.
Allama Hussain-ud-Din Shah has left his lamp among us.
Now it is our responsibility to take our share of its light and carry it into the darkness of our times.
Ameen, in the name of the Chief of the Messengers, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).