My Thoughts on my dear friend Hamid Abdul Kareem By Latheef  Farook

Two weeks ago when our dear friend Hamid Abdul Kareem came home in the night to tell me that he  had decided to go on  the Hajj pilgrimage together with his wife, I was pleased that he  has planned to  get closer to the Almighty Creator Allah.

However seldom neither Hamid nor I realized that Allah was waiting to take Hamid to Him from the most sacred soil for Muslims in this planet.
Hamid died of heart failure on his way from Azeezia to Mina on 26 Saturday 2015 and was buried in Makka on the following day-Sunday- after noon prayers.

In that way Hamid is lucky as this is the death that every sincere Muslim long for.It was a shock to his family, friends and the community all of whom find it difficult to recover from the abrupt loss of one of the finest human beings hell bent on helping others.

Hamid, a colorful person with a great sense of humor, was known for turning even the most serious atmosphere during discussions into a humorous one.
He spent his life helping others since his early days. It was this tendency made him a founder   of Centre for Islamic Studies and his deep involvement in the Al Amal International School-to name a few.

He served as the joint secretary of Sri Lanka committee for Solidarity with Palestinian People. There he was very passionate in defending the rights of Palestinians and highlighting the atrocities of Zionist Jews towards Palestinians and the Arabs in the region as well.

He was known for his in depth knowledge on Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As a well read person he contributed a great deal with his writing in promoting the true spirit of Islam and creating understanding between people of different faiths.  As part of this program Hamid, known for his unassuming and simple lifestyle, used do discuss Islam and Christianity with theologians and others of different faiths.

Despite all his scholarly background Hamid, born into a well known business family, remained a businessman till his last day. Once when  I  asked  him  how come a  Memon  like him  from a business oriented community was so much involved in  scholarly activities ,his response in his own sarcastic manner  was that” if you ask a Memon whether he likes to go to heaven or hell ,his immediate response would be “ wherever I can make some money”.

Hamid has been a journalist with a cause and conviction-a generation which is fast fading under the commercialized and criminalized global political- economic environment. He fearlessly used his pen to fight for justice. This earned him the respect of all alike. Unfortunately Sri Lanka’s Muslim community which, by and large, does not understand the power of the media failed to make better use of him.

May Allah forgive his sins , accept his deeds and  grant him Jannathul Firdouse  .

27 September 2015

Source : http://www.latheeffarook.com