(Oration delivered on 1.1.2012)

I am extremly privileged to deliver this Oration on the 122nd Birth Anniversary of Alhaj Dr.T.B.Jayah on the invitation of the Conference of Sri Lankan Malays, whose President Alhaj.T.A.Azoor has devoted much of his energy and time in fostering the concept of Bersatu (unity) Keikhalasan (sincerity) and Pengorbanan (sacrifice), and also in perpetuating the memory of that great National hero the late Dr.T.B.Jayah.

Dr.Jayah devoted his entire life for his community and the Nation in the struggle for obtaining Independence to Ceylon, to forge National Unity and communal harmony among all citizens, to develop the educational standard of the whole country by whole heartedly supporting the policy making and implementation of the Reforms enunciated by the Board of Education of the State Council under the leadership of the Father of Free Education, Dr. C.W.W.Kannangara, and particularly to improve the overall standard of the Muslim community by providing political leadership, educational direction and the path for social regeneration.

 Very early in life he had remarked that one should be “prepared to scorn delights and live laborious days not for the sake of filthy lucre, not even for mere vanity of name and fame, but for greater ideals of service.” This, he fulfilled positively and in full measure, was evident in an expression of gratitude by Dr.A.M.A.Azeez, whom Jayah had personally chosen to succeed him as Principal of Zahira College, Colombo to continue his services of twenty seven years in taking Zahira to the zenith as the ‘radiating centre of Islamic thought and activity.’

In a speech delivered in 1914 at the Ceylon Muslim Association on the topic of ‘Education and National Progress’, seven years before he became the Principal of Zahira, Jayah said that “it was only by the revivifying influence of English education that the Muslim community would be brought to a position of intellectual elevation, social efficiency and political power….To achieve this end, who is to be the Sir.Seyed Ahamed Khan of Ceylon? Who among our leaders will follow in the wake of that renowned Indian leader? He need not necessarily be a child of Western culture, for Sir.Seyed Ahamed was not. But he must certainly be fearless in his actions, disinterested in his motive, inspired by a mighty purpose and ready to dare and even die in the cause he espouses. If such a one there be, he will doubtless go down to posterity as the savior of the Muslims of Ceylon.”

This question was answered after 36 years in 1950 by A.M.A.Azeez in the following words: “Mr.Jayah posed this question in 1914 and today in 1950 we say without any hesitation and with one accord that the Hon.T.B.Jayah is that Sir.Seyed Ahamed Khan and that leader and that Saviour of the Muslims.”

Early  life

Tuan Brahanudeen Jayah, the great educationist, community and national leader, Statesman , Patron, President and Chairman of 55 organisations  was born on  1st January, 1890 at Galagedara, where his father, Cassim Jayah, was employed in the Police Department. Owing to the transfer of Cassim Jayah, the family shifted residence to Kurunagala, where the young Brahanudeen started his Quranic Education under the tutelage of Noordeen Alim and Omarlebbe and the secular schooling at the Anglo-Vernacular School. Once again on the transfer of the father, the family moved to Colombo and Brahanudeen was enrolled at the St.Paul’s College, Modera in Grade 1 at the age of 10. It would be curious today to see a boy of ten years in Grade 1, but was common occurance in that era. The young student was found to be so brilliant that he was awarded a treble promotion from Grade 1 to Grade 4 and once again a double promotion to Grade 6 in the following year. In1904, he obtained a scholarship to St. Thomas’ College, situated then at Modera.

Having passed the Matriculation and Inter Arts Examinations, he obtained a teaching job at Dharmaraja College, Kandy in January 1910, then shifted to Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa in May 1910 and thereafter to Ananda  College, Colombo in 1917, where he remained till he assumed duties as Principal of Zahira College, Colombo on 1st September 1921.

Though he embarked on a teaching career at an early age due to the financial constraints he encountered in proceeding with higher education, yet while being a teacher, he continued his academic pursuit and became a graduate. He subsequently enrolled himself at the Law College with the intention of becoming a lawyer; but his conviction that he could serve the community in a better way by continuing as an educator persuaded him to remain in the teaching profession.

In a lecture delivered to the Ceylon Muslim Association in February 1919, he posed the question  “What have we done? The other communities have produced eminent men in different walks of life. They have produced eminent lawyers and doctors, eminent councilors, men of eminence in other ways. What have the Muslims? Have we any eminent men in the service of the Government or in learned professions? Have we even a few schools and colleges of our own? Have we sent largely our children even to non-Muslim schools? The answer is an emphatic ‘NO’…..My humble suggestion to the Mohammedan leaders is that, if they cannot start both colleges and elementary schools for the Mohammedans, let them at least give us one Mohamedan College, because that Mohamedan College might form a centre which might send out a noble band of heroes who might rejuvenate the nation. The supreme need of the hour is education, not merely elementary education, not mere half-hearted education, but an education that will turn out heroes and heroines, leaders and reformers, thinkers  and philosophers, an education that will make us a progressive, enlightened and powerful minority.” These are prophetic words indeed.

Zahira blossoms

In his twenty seven years of stewardship at Zahira until 22nd  August, 1948, he successfully produced the leaders and reformers, thinkers and philosophers, and Legislators and national figures, who brought forth an enlightened Muslim community, which in course of time was able to contribute to the political, social, economic and cultural development at the national level.

Zahira evolved as a symbol of unity and social integration .Perhaps his early experience at Dharmaraja, Prince of Wales and Ananda gave him a broader outlook in his vision .In fact, three of his students at Ananda, who in later life emerged as pioneer Leftist leaders, namely Dr.N.M.Perera, Philip Gunewardena and Robert Gunewardena always referred to Jayah with utmost respect as their mentor and guide during their student days.

In the same manner, Zahira had teachers, students and employees from all the communities. His Vice-Principals were George Weeramantry, who came from Ananda and Mr.Wijeratne; when he opened the Commerce Stream, the person he chose to head the Section was J.A.Charles; some of the prominent teachers were Rauff Pasha from India, Moulavi Haniff Nadvi, Pandit Nallathamby who translated the Ceylon National Anthem into Tamil, Navaliyoor S. Nadarajan, a famous poet, N.P.Pillai, Mrs.Pillai, Ms.E.Dissanayake and a host of others.

The tradition of this cosmopolitanism continued and during the Principalship of Azeez, almost half of the more than one hundred students who entered the University – indeed one hundred was a very large number at that time – were non Muslims. We still find even today the strong foundations laid by Jayah for communal amity persisting at Zahira.

This enormous achievement took quarter of a century of labour and dedication by a man of utter sincerity, whose heart and mouth spoke the same language and with the unstinted support of the Maradana Mosque Committee, who were the Managers of the College and an array of well-wishers.

The situation at Zahira at the beginning of his Principslship was described by him in the following words: “The outlook was dismal – six teachers, fifty nine boys, hardly any furniture worth the name, with a building just enough for a primary school, used at night by loafers and other undesirables, with unattractive surroundings and about twenty or thirty yards from the buildings, thickets and shrubs regarded by the public as the rendezvous of the denizens of the underworld, relieved only by the majesty of the Maradana mosque.”

Undaunted, he accepted the challenge and undertook many development projects. Classes were started  upto matriculation, number of teachers increased from six to thirty, sports and athletics expanded, Literary associations formed which started the publication of the magazine ‘The Crescent’, opened a Hostel, Dental Clinic, Free Night School and a Canteen that provided a wholesome rice and curry lunch for ten cents. The Night School was perhaps the first of its kind in Ceylon.

He started the ‘College Extension Fund’ through which a large number of class rooms, Science Laboratory, and the Main Building of this Ghaffoor Hall where we are assembled today were constructed, the main benefactors being the Maradana Mosque Committee, N.D.H.Abdul Ghaffoor and Puthen Bootil Umbichy.

The indicator of the vast strides of development was the increase in the number of students from 59 in 1921 to 450 in 1922, to 645 in 1925, which within a few years exceeded 1000.

Every important dignitary visiting Ceylon was invited to address the students, teachers, parents and public at Zahira College. Sarojini Naidu, Moulana Saukat Ali, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahathma Ghandi and Rajaji- all the top-level leaders of the Indian Freedom Movement made it an integral item in the programme to visit this citadel of education. The speech made by Jayah on the occasion of the visit of Mahatma Ghandhi on the efforts of Gandhi on Hindu-Muslim Unity in India was one of the finest speeches that demonstrated the attitude of Jayah on communal harmony, national unity and integration.

Political leadership

The concepts which were inherent in Jayah’s philosophy brought him naturally into the arena of politics, by his entry to the Legislative Council in 1924.

The system of Legislature was introduced by the British colonial rulers in Ceylon in 1833, through the Colebrooke Constitution. The Legislative Council consisted , besides the officials of the Government,  a very limited number of members representing the English, Burgher, Low Country Sinhala and Tamil communities. It was not considerd necessary to grant Kandyan Sinhalese and the Muslims (then termed Mohemadans) representstion.

Consequent to long agitations the Kandyan Sinhalese and the Mohamedan communities were given one representation each and the first Mohamedan nominated to the Legislative Council in 1889 was Mohamed Cassim Abdul Rahman, who was succeeded by A.L.M.Sheriff  in 1899; Wapitchi Marikar Abdul Rahman in1900 and N.H.M.Abdul Cader in 1917.

A very limited number of Ceylonese were granted voting rights at the beginning of the 20th Century to elect representatives  on the basis of Island-wide ‘communal electorates’ to the Legislative Council . Such election to a Mohemadan electorate was held for the first time in 1924, in which three members were elected to represent the Muslims obtaining the following number of votes:

            H.M.Macan Markar               10311 votes

            N.H.M.Abdul  Cader                 6705    “

            T.B.Jayah                                 5221    “

The other candidate, M.L.M.Riyal obtained 3629 votes. This heralded the entry of Jayah into the Legislature, where he continued to serve from 1924-1930; 1936-1947; 1947-1950   and a brief period in 1960. Instead of being a ceremonial member of the Legislature, he made ample use of every opportunity to serve the community and the nation , thus emerging as a community as well as a national leader at the time of British Imperialism in this country. He became an active participant in the struggle for Independence from 450 years of European domination.

M.T.Akbar in the Legislature

One other great personality from the Malay community, who sat along with Jayah in all the committees appointed by the Legislative Council for the recommendation of framing of Laws pertaining to the Muslims and whom we cannot fail to mention at this juncture was Justice Akbar. After a brilliant school career at Royal College, Colombo, where he carried away every possible prize, he proceeded to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom on the Government Scholarship having obtained the highest points in the selection for the scholarship to qualify as an engineer. He not only qualified as an Engineer, but also as a Barrister-at-Law.

 On his return to Ceylon, he joined the Government Legal Department and very soon was appointed as the Solicitor General and subsequently as a judge of the Supreme Court .He could have risen to be the  first Ceylonese Chief Justice, but suddenly and prematurely retired from the service. No one, including the Governor, could persuade him to reconsider his decision. He spent the remainder of his days in religious activities, living in Wekanda and distributing his monthly pensions to his relations, friends and the needy. It was said that “Akbar’s Pension day was the salary day of the others.’

By virtue of his position as Solicitor General, he became automatically a member of the Legislative and Executive Councils. Though a Government nominee to look after the  interests of the rulers, he utilized the opportunity to the maximum benefit to the Muslim community by being chairman or member of many committees, in which Jayah also actively contributed to the formulation, enactment and implementation of many legislations, such as the Muslim Property Laws, Wakf Act  and Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act. He was also Chairman of the Committee that recommended the replacement of the term ‘Mohamedan’ with the term ‘Muslim.’

Akbar was the Chairman of the Committee that finally decided the site for the establishment   of the Ceylon University.  The battle of the sites whether to establish the university at Peradeniya or Colombo was long-drawn, where a very powerful group preferred Colombo. However, the Committee finally decided on Peradeniya, one of the most scenic sites for a university in any part of the world.

But a point of regret is that the university authorities thought it fit to perpetuate the memories of many leaders of the university movement by naming the Halls of Residence with their names, but quarter of a century elapsed before the same authorities thought it fit to name a Hall with Akbar’s name, and that too only half of a hall was named , the other half being named as Nell Hall.

Movement for Freedom

The national consciousness for self-rule began to emerge  by the beginning of the 20th Century. The Ceylon Reform League founded in 1917 under the Chairmanship of Ponnambalam  Arunachalam came to an abrupt end being succeeded by the formation of the Ceylon National Congress, which continued to be the prime organization in demanding Independence to Ceylon.

The Muslims participated in the demand for freedom from British rule without any hesitation and in full strength through their organizations. The Moor Union was founded in1900 which blossomed into the All Ceylon Moors Association in 1922, of which in later years A.R.A.Razick (Sir.Razick Fareed) became the leader and made significant contribution to education and national independence.

1903 saw the birth of the Ceylon Muslim Association, which soon became the Young Muslim League under the chairmanship of Barrister Saheed A. Marikkar. In 1924 it assumed the name of All Ceylon Muslim League under the chairmanship of N.H.M.Abdul Cader, on whose death, Jayah was chosen as the President and remained so till 1950.

In articulating the Muslim point of view, Jayah balanced the national and community aspirations in such a manner that the Muslims became an integral part of the freedom movement, while preserving their community identity intact. This was evident as early as 1930s when is his capacity  as the leader of the Muslim Political Conference, he led a delegation to England and presented a Memorandum on “Muslims and Proposed Constitutional changes in Ceylon” to the British rulers. He steadfastly continued this policy of ‘country and community’ all throughout his political career. As stated by Dr. M.C.M.Kaleel, “He was sincere and dedicated in the cause of his country and community above all personal considerations. He valued freedom so dearly that he declared that no concept in political life was more precious than freedom.”

At the same time,Jayah had the courage to forewarn the members of the State Council, how a section of the membership was attempting to convert the struggle for reforms to a narrower and parochial approach. Speaking on the Governor Caldecott Reforms in 1937, in which Debate Jayah spoke for three hours; G.G.Ponnambalam for nine hours and forty five minutes; A.E.Goonesinghe for four hours and thirty minutes and Nadesan for nine hours, Jayah said that “ some of the politicians here particularly those who are puffed with power cannot understand the realities of the situation. They think that self-government for this country means self-government for themselves .The benefit of self-Government they think should accrue only to one community. When others say that the benefits of self-government should be diffused among all the people, they want to call such people all sorts of names. They cannot distinguish between what is proper and  what is improper, between what is legitimate and what is not legitimate, between what is good for the country and what is detrimental to the country”.

When finally the arrangement for granting Independence to Ceylon was being arranged and the State Council debating in November 1944 the Soulbury Report and the White Paper of the Government of the United Kingdom , Jayah  said that “I speak with the full support of members of the Muslim community of Ceylon. I saw to it that the Muslim community was consulted with representatives in different parts of the country on the important issue before the House; and I am in a position to say that the Muslim members of this Council have the fullest backing of the Muslim community of this Island. When the Muslim members of this Council decided to take a definite stand at the time the ‘Sri Lanka Bill’ was introduced, they did so for one and for one reason only. The reason was that where the political freedom of this country was involved, they were prepared to go to any length, even to the point of sacrificing advantages and benefits as a result of such action.”

Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike, then Leader of the House, speaking during the Debate, appreciated the definitive views expressed by Jayah. He said that “the hon. Nominated Member Mr.Jayah had made a speech today that will have a great effect in bringing about unity among the people of the country in bringing  some sense of reality to this struggle, however it may shape, that we are going to undertake to obtain a satisfactory measure of freedom. What have the Nominated Member Mr.Jayah and his colleagues Hon. Nominated Member Mr.Razick and the Member for Colombo Central Dr.Kaleel  done? There is provided in the Bill a scheme of representation under which the Muslim community more than any other community in this country might suffer in this form which it appears, but yet he himself was so sincerely determined to work for the main idea of freedom that he was prepared to vote for the principle embodied in the Bill.”

Such was the greatness of Jayah who was primarily an educationist, who advocated that the most important way for the community to advance economically, politically and socially was to upgrade the standard of education, specially English education among the Muslims. He not only made Zahira to blossom into one of the leading schools in Ceylon, but extended its wings to other parts of the country by opening Zahiras in Gampola, Matale, Puttalam, Alutgama and Wekanda. His hand-picked successor Azeez took Zahira to its zenith, and another disciple Badiudin Mahmud whom he appointed as the Principal of Gampola Zahira, rendered yeoman service as a longest serving Minister of Education.

 Prime Minister D.S.Senanayake once referred to the prominent part played by Denominational schools specifically mentioning the role of Stone of St.Thomas’, Hartly of Royal, Highfield of Wesley and Jayah of Zahira. He further stated that “Ceylon’s securing of Dominion Status without civil strife or political turmoil was not a little due to the priceless lessons which young and old learnt at the feet of those successful school-masters and bridge builders.”

As a politician, he entered the Legislative Council of the Colonial Ceylon, continued to serve in the State Council and became the Minister of Labour and Social Services in the first Parliament of Independent Ceylon. During the many decades as a Legislator, he always espoused the cause of his community, but balancing it with the national interest. He was a Statesman, who was fittingly declared a National Hero.

Jayah was the first Ambassador of Ceylon to Pakistan, where he became so popular and prominent that the University of Punjab conferred  on him the title of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) on 22nd December, 1951. He politely declined the Pakistan citizenship offered by its Government. His recall by Allah itself was so significant that he breathed his last in the holy city of Medina on 31st May, 1960 after accomplishing the mission of setting up the ‘Ceylon House’ in the holiest city of Mecca.

Remembering Jayah

It is the bounden duty of the Muslim community to perpetuate the memory of such a great personality. We appreciate efforts taken by the members of the Conference of Sri Lankan Malays under the Presidentship of my good friend  Alhaj Azoor.I should also mention with gratitude two persons, Dr.M.S.Jaldeen and Enver C. Ahlip, for having extensively recorded the biography of Jayah in their books. I may mention with humbleness that I too have published a book in Tamil language in 1994 titled  ‘Educational Contributions of Jayah.’ In fact as a student I received two prizes from the hands of Dr. Jayah at the Zahira College Annual Prize Giving in 1958, which occasion he graced  as the Chief Guest.

The All Ceylon Muslim League on the demise of  Jayah decided to inaugurate a Fund to perpetuate the  memory of late Dr. Jayah. In fact, funds were collected, a piece of land was bought close to Ananda College and plans were drawn to build a Memorial Hall. This land we are told, has gone into litigation and the plan is still dormant for half a century.

The Government of Sri Lanka has honoured him with an issue of a postage stamp on declaring him a National Hero and naming a school and a street in Colombo in his name. My earnest hope is that the Memorial Building will one day become a reality.

“The modern man with his philosophies of criticism and scientific specialism finds himself in a strange predicament. His naturalism has given him an unprecedented control over the forces of Nature but has robbed him of faith is his own future…. Wholly over-shadowed by the result of his intellectual activity, he has ceased to live soulfully, i.e. from within. In the domain of thought he is living in open conflict with himself, and in the domain of economic and political life he is living in open conflict with others. He finds himself unable to control his ruthless energy and infinite gold hunger which is gradually killing all higher striving in him and bringing him nothing but life-weariness.”

Iqbal does not, however, advocate a total repudiation of the West; nor does he think that the Eastern Society should close itself hermetically against the culture of the West. Instead, he advocates a critical appraisal of the West and the understanding of its sources of strength as well as of its weakness with a view to the adoption and assimilation by the East of all that is good in the culture of the West without any hindrance to the organic development of the culture and traditions of the East.

Iqbal finds that science is really the source of the dominance of the West: And yet the experimental method of science and technology is certainly not an European discovery. Iqbal proves that it was something inspired and greatly encouraged by the Holy Quran and was practiced assiduously by the Muslims till Muslim Society was undermined by the extraneous influence of Greek speculation and degenerate mysticism that unfortunately became popular, during a later period.

Neglect of science was, therefore, not due to any basic defect in the Islamic teaching itself. With a wealth of illustrations and quotations from the Holy Quran, Iqbal demonstrates that Islam is definitely opposed to a static view of the universe and encourages Man’s conquest of Nature. Of all the creations of God, Man alone is possessed of a personality and is endowed with the status of God’s Vicegerent – Khalifa, which enables him to become “an active participant in the creative activity of his Maker.” Iqbal stresses that Man is born free and therefore should not choose the path of the slave. He need not be a serf to any priest or potentate.

“It is the lot of man to share in the deeper aspirations of the universe around him and to shape his own destiny as well as that of the universe, now by adjusting himself to its forces, now by putting the whole of his energy to mould its forces to his own ends and purposes. And in this process of progressive change God becomes a co-worker with him provided man takes the initiative.”

World and matter are thus to be subordinated to human personality and human ends and not to be regarded as just illusions, to be abhorred or ignored. “True self-development according to Islam would come not by renunciation but through a proper adjustment of man’s relations to the external world in the light of inspiration received from the inner world.”

Western Science is therefore not alien to Islam but a part of it, and there should therefore be no difficulty in the assimilation of this Science. In fact, true Islam demands such an assimilation. In this process, the deficiencies of the West should not however be forgotten, namely: Without Religion there is no salvation for mankind. And Iqbal emphasized that Power without Vision and Science without Religion and Politics without Morality would lead Humanity to be sure perdition both in the Here and Hereafter.

He explains that Islam demands of its votaries the strengthening of the Self – Khudi, with the aid of a society characterized by the conception of the Oneness of God, and the finality of the Holy Prophet; and every one of the five principles of Islam has a special significance in the journey of the Self towards its freedom.

The social or sociological implications of such developed selves living in such a society are not left unexpanded by Iqbal;“Islam recognizes the worth of the individual, and disciplines him to give away his all to the service of God and man. Its possibilities are not yet exhausted. It can still create a new world where the social rank of man is not determined by his caste or colour, or the amount of dividend he earns, but by the kind of life he lives; where the poor tax the rich, where human society is founded not on the equality of stomachs but on the equality of spirits…. where private ownership is a trust and where capital cannot be allowed to accumulate so as to dominate the real producer of wealth.”

These, Iqbal points out, are derived from the distinctive features of the Islamic Society some of which are specifically treated in his poems and lectures: Islam’s abolition of all the artificial and pernicious distinctions of caste, creed, colour and economic status, its abhorrence of narrow nationalism and its strong advocacy of patriotism, Islam’s encouragement of science and self-development, its emphasis on equality, solidarity, freedom and tolerance, its distinctive doctrine of unadulterated and unalloyed monotheism – tawhid which banishes all fears except the fear of God, Islam’s acceptance of the inspired leadership of the Last Prophet, its possession of a Code for the guidance of Society in all spheres of Life, its goal of man as the Vicegerent of God, its emphasis on Man as the trustee of a free personality which he accepted at his peril and which betokens God’s trust in Man, its conception of Taqdir or destiny and its conception of the Ideal Character.

“This Society of Islam has thus one single purpose running through its mind, a unity of sentiments inspiring its being and a single criterion for good and evil, and a basis enshrined in the sanctuary of our hearts.” The Quranic description of the righteous as “those who believe and do good” makes it clear that in the living religion of Islam there is no division between dogma and deed, between creed and conduct; nor is there dissociation of belief from behaviour, or faith from action.

A good Muslim according to Iqbal is one, “who develops all his powers and strengthens his individuality through active contact with his material and cultural environment.

This strong, concentrated individuality sharpened and steeled through a life of an active experience, is to be dedicated to the service of the Lord in whose name he is out to conquer the world.

But when the world lies conquered at his feet, he is strong enough to stand aloof from and superior to, the well nigh irresistible temptations which weaken the moral fiber.

His self-respect gives him courage and adventurousness: his tolerance and respect for the rights and personality of others make him sensitive to the claims which their common humanity makes on him. In the pursuit of his ideals he is strong enough to defy with contempt the vested interests and forces which stand in the way of their realization.”

Iqbal thus belongs to our century; he has a special message for our time and a solution for the cultural conflicts of our period. He asks us to achieve a synthesis of the cultures of the East and the West, gaining a new vitality from the healthy sources of our past culture.

He has given us a glimpse of Islam, pristine and pure and has exhorted us to go in quest of it, trusting in the Almighty and placing reliance in ourselves and without being oppressed or overwhelmed by the extremes of either scholasticism or Sufism. Iqbal thus becomes our modern guide of Islam, who has shown us the old path, having himself cleared it of the dead leaves and fallen trees that were impeding the progress of the travelers And to Humanity in general Iqbal has given a dynamic message of a life of striving and courage motivated by the fear of God. This article was written by A.M.A.Azeez, well known Muslim scholar , in 1964. 

Born in 1911 in Jaffna, Dr. Azeez joined the Allapichchai Quran Madrassa in 1916 where he learnt to read the Quran. He passed the Standard III examinations in the Tamil medium in 1920 at the Mohammadiya Mixed School. He joined the Hindu School, R.K.M. Vaidyeshwara Vidyalayam in 1921 and the Jaffna Hindu College in 1923 and studied there until 1928. Dr. Azeez was a child prodigy having always been one year ahead of the age limits during his academic career, so much so that when he came to entering University in 1928, he had to wait for a year as he was underage. He spent that excess year at St. Joseph's College, Colombo. In the formative years of high  life, the socio culturally religious mixed education moulded the future of the young man who learnt a great deal from his Maulavis at the Madrassa, and the Teachers at the predominantly Hindu Schools. It was during that time that the foundations were laid for a good upbringing and education in the Tamil language which was one of his strongest suits in his later years. Dr. Azeez as a matter of routine every morning listened to Hindu devotional songs (Thevarams) over the radio as a result of which he relished the beauty of the Tamil language in those songs. He had an abiding interest and love for the Tamil language.

Dr. Azeez completed the 1933 examinations of the University of London which were conducted in Ceylon finally achieving a Degree with Honours in the subject of History. The excellent performance at University Degree level won him a Government Scholarship to the Cambridge University in England to pursue a Post Graduate Degree. However, just before he left Ceylon, he sat for the competitive Ceylon Civil Service Examination in an attempt to embark on a solid career in Government Service.

Having started as a Cadet in 1935 Dr. Azeez was recognized as a very capable Administrator and a relentless worker whose ability to get things done were soon spotted and rewarded. From Matale where he started he was transferred to the AGA's Office in Kandy and thereafter he held the post of Administrative Secretary, Department of Medical and Sanitary Services, Secretary to the Minister of Health (Hon. Dr. W A. De Silva), Additional Landing Surveyor, H M Customs, AGA (Emergency, Kalmunai), Department of Food Control, AGA Kandy, Information Officer, Additional Controller of Establishments, Treasury, Assistant Commissioner of Parliamentary Elections and Additional Secretary to the Minister of Health and Local Government (S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike), all in a short space of 13 years – an exemplary record for any Government Servant.

History also tells us that although there are Muslims who had excelled in various fields, by the beginning of the twentieth century in Ceylon there were virtually no intellectual giants in the Muslim community to match the calibre of Dr Azeez. In addition to God given intelligence, Dr. Azeez also was endowed with rare talents and the ability to communicate in the written and spoken medium in both Tamil and English. His senior students in the College had always looked forward to the weekly Assembly, especially to listen to the articulate deliveries. He was not only a handsome leader to behold but he was also a great speaker who kept the audience spellbound. For us as young men at that time his rhetoric was a treat.

The pursuit of excellence in all spheres was more than evident to all of us HSC students at College during that time as the visible efforts of Dr. Azeez our Principal, spread like wildfire. His mere presence inspired in the students a promise of hope, faith and confidence.

In the immortal words of Shakespeare "some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them", Dr. Azeez certainly fell into the second category in that by virtue of his intellect, his enormous contributions to mankind – the Food Programme in the Eastern Province during World War II, setting up of the Ceylon Muslim Scholarship Fund, the Y.M.M.A and a host of other institutions, his period as a Senator in the first Parliament of Ceylon and the greatest contribution of all being the multiplier effect educational developments that he contributed at Zahira and elsewhere are lasting monuments to a great man who has left his footprints on the sands of time. His story for generations to come will always recall him for the remarkable record he has left behind.

The Ceylon Government and the British Empire awarded Dr. Azeez him the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1951. Surely, Allah will have a special place for him in the Jennath. Ameen.

The writer  is currently the Chairman of the Confifi Group of Companies and the Bairaha Group was at one time Professor of Management Accounting at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura. He was also a Member of the Finance Commission of Sri Lanka and the National Police Commission of Sri Lanka. He was awarded the title Deshabandu in 1987 and elevated to Desamanya in 2005 by the Presidents of Sri Lanka.

National Professor Mohammad Ibrahim was a great and successful physician, a gifted teacher, a talented organiser and a reformer. His contribution in the field of medicine in general and diabetes in particular has been nothing less than phenomenal. He spent the major part of his life in the government health services in different key positions after getting the MB degree in 1938 and becoming MRCP in 1949. He was made an FCCP in 1950.

In recognition of his contributions, the government of Bangladesh honoured him by appointing him the first National Professor from among physicians in 1984. He was awarded Swadhinata Padak (1979); Gold Medal by Begum Zebunnesa and Kazi Mahbubullah Trust (1981); Gold Medal by Mahbub Ali Khan Memorial Trust (1985); Gold Medal by Comilla Foundation, Comilla (1986); Gold Medal by Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Memorial Trust, Ahsania Mission, Dhaka (1989); Gold Medal by Islamic Foundation Bangladesh (1989).

Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim was the founder of the Diabetic Association in Dhaka (1956) and in Karachi and Lahore, West Pakistan (1964). He first thought of diabetic care in the country. He realised that not only doctors but also patients should be involved in the process of diabetic care. He called it socio-medical care. Although the real extent of the problem of diabetes was not evident in our part of the world, he could foresee the present picture at that time and organised a group of social workers, philanthropists and professionals. With their help he established Diabetic Association of Pakistan on February 28, 1956. Diabetic care was started in a tin-shed building at Segun Bagicha with only 23 patients.

Dr, Ibrahim's motto was: "No diabetic patient should die untreated, unfed or unemployed, even if she/he is poor." So, he committed himself to give primary care to the diabetic patients free of cost, irrespective of socio-economic, racial or religious status. Even rich patients were not allowed to pay for the primary diabetic care, but they could donate money to the association. The funds were raised through motivation programmes. As there were no indoor facilities initially at Segun Bagicha, patients in need of hospitalisation were sent to other hospitals. In the beginning of the '70s, a few short-stay beds were established to take care of the serious patients.

He succeeded in establishing the diabetes health-care and research institute complex, named the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) at Shahbag, Dhaka, in 1980, where the out-patients centre of the Bangladesh Diabetic Association was shifted. The institute is housed in two large buildings, named the Ibrahim Memorial Diabetes Centre, after his death in 1989.

To develop trained and specialised manpower, he also established an Academy in BIRDEM for postgraduate education in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism (DEM). BIRDEM has been acclaimed as a model for South East Asia. In recognition of its innovative, extensive and high quality services BIRDEM was designated in 1982 as a "WHO-Collaborating Centre for Developing Community-oriented Programmes for Prevention and Control of Diabetes." It was the first such centre in Asia.

Dr. Ibrahim was very much aware about the quality of the service provided to the patients. He used to tell the patients: "We are grateful to you for giving us the opportunity to serve." His humility was legendary and most genuine. Deep empathy and compassion were characteristics of his dealing with his patients, especially those who were poor and in pain. He also motivated other doctors to serve the patients with empathy. He included social welfare, health education, nutritional education and rehabilitation in the diabetes healthcare delivery system.

He always believed that an institution achieved its goal and excellence not by machines but by their its resources, and he spent all his life in developing talented human resources. For over three decades, Mohammad Ibrahim succeeded in generating awareness about diabetes through free-of-cost quality services, health education, and motivation. He also established the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training for Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN) and Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centre (RVTC) to develop low-cost nutrition and give vocational training to poor and unemployed diabetics. He also set up a family planning section at BIRDEM for motivational work.

He took keen interest in family planning. His involvement began as a founder member of the Family Planning Association of Bangladesh, which first started its programme in the mid-fifties. He made his real impact as an adviser to the resident, with the rank of minister, in-charge of the Ministry of Health and Population Control, in the mid-1970's. He was instrumental in formulating the population control policy of the government for the first time, and introduced the National Population Council.

Under the luminosity of the guidance and philosophy of its founder the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh upheld its vision that no diabetic should die untreated, unemployed or unfed even if poor, and all people shall be provided with affordable health care service.

The Association has set some targets and objectives as its mission, which include, inter alia, providing total healthcare including rehabilitation for all diabetics irrespective of gender, economic and social status through different institutions of the Association; expanding these services to provide affordable BADAS healthcare through self-sustaining centres of excellence; developing human resources to create requisite specialised quality manpower (physicians, technicians, nurses, etc.) of high ethical standards; developing leadership in healthcare through dedicated and transparent management system and setting up industries for manufacturing diabetic and other health foods and medicines.

Diabetes care 

centres have been established all over the country with local entrepreneurs, and now there are 59 branches in 59 district headquarters and 2 sub affiliated centres in Satkania and Bheramara.

Dr. Mohammad Ibrahim died on September 6, 1989. His death anniversary is observed as Diabetic Service Day (Sheba Divash) to endorse and honour his great contribution to socio-medicare services.

The writer is Chief Coordinator, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh.

Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka

This Prof Ibrahim is also a social worker having a great contribution too. He is the brother of Prof M Yunus, the Nobel Laureate, and is very well living.

I am privileged to write the commemorative article on late Dr. A. M. A. Azeez to mark his 37th death anniversary on 24th November, 2010. This article is a way of expressing my gratitude to this outstanding Sri Lankan who made a difference to the quality of life of so many of his fellow countrymen, especially the underprivileged minority Muslim community. I write as an old Zahirian, and as one among many others who had benefited immensely from the school’s educational system back in the 1950s when Dr. Azeez was Principal.

In this article I have presented some high points of his life in order that we may reflect upon some of his unique personal qualities and achievements, which I believe can be of great inspirational value. Dr.Azeez was born to an upper middle class family in Jaffna in 1911 and died 62 years later in Colombo. In this short time frame he managed to squeeze in an impressive curriculum and an enviable career full of accomplishments and successes as an academic, administrator and educator.

As a child Dr. Azeez was brought up within the Islamic faith. His religious convictions had a significant influence on shaping his adult life. He was an ardent believer in discipline, generosity and community service which are three of the key precepts of Islam. Throughout his life he had maintained a personal character and integrity that were beyond question, and as a family man he was considered to be a faithful husband and a model father. He was married to Ummu Kuluthum (grand-daughter of M.I. Mohamed Alie J.P., the first Persian Vice-Consul in Ceylon) and had three children, sons Ali and Iqbal and daughter Marina.

Dr. Azeez had his early schooling at Vaidyeshwara Vidyalayam and later at Jaffna Hindu College which at the time were well respected Hindu schools. At school he excelled in studies and specialized in Tamil literature and culture. From today’s perspective it might appear strange how a Muslim student could have realized his academic dreams in Hindu faith based schools. At this point I may draw a parallel with my own experience when I as a Buddhist could study at Zahira College, Colombo without ever feeling a stranger amongst the majority Muslims. That was in the 1950s. I am not too sure if we can relive such situations anywhere today with all the anti-religious and ethnic rhetoric that is floating around us.

In 1933 Dr. Azeez graduated from the University of London with an Honours Degree in History. This won him the Government scholarship to Cambridge University, England to do post-graduate studies but he opted to become a member of the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service. That was in 1935 when Sri Lanka was still under British Colonial rule. He became the first Muslim to join the Ceylon Civil Service. That was a great personal achievement for Dr. Azeez and a morale booster to the country’s minority Muslim community. Two of the key projects he handled in the Civil Service are worth mentioning here. As Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Health he helped bring under control the great malaria epidemic that hit the Kandy district at the time. It was considered to be a success story in crisis management.

Perhaps the most demanding tasks he had to face on the job arose in the early 1940s when he was Assistant Government Agent in Kalmunai, Eastern Province. The country at the time was facing the prospect of a food shortage due to the ongoing Second World War. Within two years of dedicated effort Dr. Azeez had managed to restructure the entire food production and supply chain in the region with amazing results. He had effectively converted the district into the granary of the East. This, according to some reports was perhaps the most important contribution he made to the country as a whole. In the midst of all the good work, he had his disappointing moments too. He was struck by the social deprivation and backwardness of his Muslim brethren living in the Eastern Province. They were people who had been thrown into the margins of society and caught in a no-win cycle of poverty and lack of education – a sort of a catch 22 situation.

Still in Kalmunai, Dr. Azeez had made friends with two inspiring intellectuals from the region, Swami Vipulananda and Abdul Cader Lebbe. The first was a Hindu teacher and scholar and the second an author and poet. Both were strong opinion formers and social reformers. They were convinced that the much needed social and economic reforms in the country could be brought about only through education. Their ideas had a profound influence on Dr. Azeez’s outlook to work and life. This led him to his master vision which was to establish a free and fair democratic society in the country and to upgrade the quality of life of the underdeveloped Muslim community.

In 1948 Dr. Azeez retired prematurely from the Civil Service to assume the post of Principal, Zahira College, Colombo to succeed Dr. T.B. Jayah who was appointed as a Minister in the first cabinet of independent Ceylon. This gave Dr. Azeez the best opportunity of improving the education of the Muslims which was his vision. His decision shocked the Muslim community as they never expected a Civil Servant to sacrifice a bright career to take up the cause of Muslim education. This was an eye-opener to the rich community of the value of education. He took office at Zahira with great enthusiasm and high hopes of realizing his mission. His mission was to transform Zahira College into a Centre of Excellence in Education and Muslim Studies and Culture. A few years later in 1952 he was appointed as a Senator in the House of Parliament.

I joined Zahira College in 1952 having completed my secondary schooling at St. Thomas’ Preparatory School, Kollupitiya. We were a lower middle class family living in Kollupitiya. My mother was a devout Buddhist and very conservative while my father was unpredictable. As a youth I devoted part of my spare time to neighborhood community work and was also involved in small time local government politics.

In the 1950s Zahira College enjoyed a high ranking in the league of leading schools of Colombo. I found the school system very affordable and liberal. I adapted to the school environment very quickly and made a large circle of friends. The school had a multicultural diversity of students and teachers in keeping with Dr. Azeez’s open minded management philosophy. A strong point of the system was its highly motivated and dedicated teaching staff.

The most enjoyable place in the school was the classroom. The classes were very informal and participative, and the student-teacher relationship was extremely cordial. There were even moments of laughter and innocent acts of mischief during class, which was all taken up in a sporting spirit. Academically however, I did not come out as a brilliant performer at the time; most likely I was an above average student. In sports I was more of a cheer leader. I was a strong cricket fan and played soft ball cricket. One of the major school events that drew my attention was the annual science exhibition in which I had participated several times. I am deeply indebted to my science teachers Mr. Natesan, Mr. Selvanayagem, Mr. Ghaffoor, Mr. Balasubramanium and Mr. de Mel. It was comforting to find the Principal and teachers taking a personal interest in the students’ welfare and progress. I remember the time when Dr. Azeez and Mr. de Mel personally took the trouble to coach me for the University entrance interview.

Dr. Azeez’s thirteen year tenure as Principal (1948-1961), came to be known as the Golden Era of Zahira. During this period the school reached peak performance at a national level in studies, sports and cultural activities. It excelled in cricket, soccer and rugby as well as track and field events. The school had also earned a reputation for cadetting, scouting, target shooting and interschool quiz competitions and debating. Over one hundred Zahirians had entered the University during this period. I entered the Science faculty of University of Ceylon in 1956 together with twelve others. They became great achievers and exemplary citizens who had done well in life. Among them were well known University dons, leading professionals and administrators as well as high ranking officers in the army, navy and air force.

As a person Dr. Azeez was well liked by the students and staff. His charismatic personality and ability to connect with people won him a large number of friends. He had a portly figure and had always carried a slight smile on his face. Dr Azeez was well known for his oratorical eloquence, in both English and Tamil. We as students had the privilege of listening to him at the weekly school assembly. His speeches were powerful and thought provoking and often carried a message with an ethical slant.

Unfortunately, despite all his efforts and much to his disappointment, his mission to upgrade Zahira College to a Muslim University status failed to materialize. His dream however resurfaced 12 years after his retirement from Zahira College, and turned into reality in 1973 with the inauguration of the Jamiah Naleemiah in Beruwela. That was the closest he could get to fulfilling his mission. Two other earlier initiatives of his have given continued support to the Muslim youth.

He founded The Ceylon Muslim Scholarship Fund in 1945 to help financially needy students to pursue higher studies. In 1950 he inaugurated The All Ceylon Young Men’s Muslim Association aimed at providing social assistance to the youth.

As a Senator he had been a strong defender of the rights and welfare of the underdeveloped. He had no political agenda for himself, and had always stayed away from irresponsible and opportunistic politics. He opposed the Sinhala Only Bill introduced by the newly elected Mahajana Eksath Peramuna in 1956. He thought the bill would divide the country into ethnic factions and damage the growth and integration of the Tamil speaking Muslim communities. In his brilliant speech in the Senate he made a last minute passionate plea on behalf of the minorities. However, when the bill was eventually passed in the House of Parliament with the support of the United National Party, Dr. Azeez honourably resigned from the UNP. He then took an independent stand until his resignation from the Senate in 1963 on his appointment to the Public Service Commission.

Dr. Azeez was often referred to as a walking encyclopedia because of his profound knowledge in a wide range of disciplines, especially history, politics, Tamil language and culture as well as Islamic studies and Muslim culture. Some of his beliefs and thoughts on these subjects have been vividly expounded in the many articles and books he published over the years, in the English and Tamil language.

Dr. Azeez’s deep sense of citizenship and services rendered to the country were duly recognized and acknowledged by the people and the government. He was awarded the title of Member of the British Empire in 1951. In 1986 the government issued a stamp in his honour as a National Hero. The University of Jaffna awarded him a posthumous Doctorate of Letters at its first convocation in 1980. He won global acclaim when he was listed as one of the 100 Great Muslim Leaders of the 20th Century, by the Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, India.

Dr. Azeez’s successes did not come by accident. Rather they came through self-motivation, high self-esteem, sincerity and enthusiasm. His simple and ethical lifestyle gave him credibility. His life was driven by an acute sense of social consciousness; he looked beyond himself. Dr. Azeez died on 24th November 1973, and that marked the end of another chapter in the 20th century history of Sri Lanka. But he will be remembered for ever as a gentleman who had always placed service before self.

(Rajindra Clement Ratnapuli was a student of Zahira College, Colombo during the Azeez era. He entered the University of Ceylon in 1956 and graduated in Physics (Honours) in 1960. He obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1966. He is a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and Associate of the Institution of Works Managers (UK.). He is also a Member of the Brazilian Institute of Metals. He.worked in the Ceylon Steel Corporation, British Steel Corporation and then joined the Brazilian Steel Industry in 1980. After retirement in 2002 he was a lecturer at Unileste University, Brazil and was a leading Consultant in his field. He has published several papers and holds two Patents. He now lives in Canada)

Omar Ibn Said spent much of his life as a slave on a Bladen County plantation, but some claimed he was reared as a Muslim prince in Africa.

The deeply religious man lived a life of celebrity, the subject of national newspaper and magazine stories despite his lowly status in the antebellum South.

Said (who last name also is spelled Sayyid, Saeed and Sa'id) is believed to have come to the United States in 1807, shortly before the foreign slave trade ceased. He would live deep into old age during the Civil War and died in 1863, before Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery.

Next Friday, the state will unveil a roadside historical marker honoring Said in front of the mosque named for him on Murchison Road.

Activities are planned Thursday through Saturday in conjunction with the dedication. An original manuscript of his 1831 autobiography will be on display at the Museum of the Cape Fear, and the one-man play "The Life and Times of Omar Ibn Sayyid" will be staged at Seventy-First High School.

For many, this will be a first encounter with Said's fascinating story. His significance to the Cape Fear region and beyond is largely confined to a pool of academic scholars and those in the know in the Islamic and African-American communities.

"No, I think it's a fairly small number of people who have heard of him," said Ansley Wegner, a research historian with the N.C. Office of Archives and History.

Though Wegner had come across his name, she had never read anything about Said before researching his life for an essay.

"When talking about history, all segments of history should be taught," said Adam Beyah, a former imam of Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid. "I take the position the more we can learn about ourselves, the more we can learn to be contributors of society. Somebody has to tell our story."

A religious scholar and teacher, Said wrote a brief Arabic manuscript that stands as the only autobiography in a native language by a slave in the United States. In her essay posted on the state Archives and History website, Wegner writes that Said "was likely the most educated slave in North Carolina and one of the best documented practicing Muslim slaves in America."

His Arabic Bible is preserved in the Davidson College Library's rare book room.

Resident Imam Abdul Haneef of Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid said the historical marker shows that the inherent good in a human being never dies.

"It is a historical honor in the highest context to (recognize) a Muslim, a scholar, one who was from Africa who integrates all the connections for us as a people and as human beings," said Haneef. "He was first and foremost a human being. African by heritage and lineage, but also a scholar in the way of the Islamic faith. He became a slave and, in this hostile environment, became recognized by his faith.

"The fact that our (Muslim) community carries his name, his legacy lives on even after his physical death."

The roadside sign is the first in the state to recognize a Muslim, according to Michael Hill, the research branch supervisor in the Office of Archives and History.

From 14 percent to 20 percent of African slaves brought to the United States were Muslim, according to "The Life of Omar ibn Said" in the March/April issue of the educational magazine Saudi Aramco World.

The Muslim faith became entangled in controversy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim extremists. A national furor was ignited a few months ago with the planned building of an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the World Trade Center attacks.

The N.C. Historic Markers Committee approved the Said marker in May.

Dr. Kelli Walsh, an assistant professor of history at Fayetteville State University, is a member of that committee.

The decision "was all based on historical significance to the region," said Walsh. "We leave politics out."

The committee discussed where the marker should be: in Bladen County, where he lived, or by the mosque named for him in Fayetteville.

They decided Murchison Road provided more visibility.

Even today – 147 years after Said's death at about 94 – his life story seems to leave more questions than answers. His autobiography and other accounts are riddled with potholes.

"Does he convert from Islam to Christianity, which some claim? Did he join the church as a method of survival for a slave? Was it a full conversion?" Walsh said. "There are just a lot of historical questions."

Among others:

What led to his being sold into slavery?

Was he really a prince?

And why did he refuse, despite several offers, to accept freedom and return to Africa as a Christian missionary?

In the 1860 census, a 91-year-old male slave by the name of Monroe is listed in the slave schedule for the Owen household as "an African Prince," according to the story in Saudi Aramco World.

Wegner writes that Said was known by various names, including Omar, Umar, Umaru, Omaroh, Moreau and Monroe. He reportedly had a small house and a horse. Owen family descendants recall that he was a butler or overseer of the flour mill.

"Nobody really knows how he came into slavery," she said. "He never went back to Africa. Maybe he had a reason. …

"If people learn about him, they're going to learn about the strange nature of slavery. They'll hear about a slave who was purchased and not put to work. They encouraged his learning; they encouraged his learning of English. They got a Bible in Arabic for him. It's just an odd story, and one that people can learn from."

Said was born in Futa Toro, circa 1770, in what is now northern Senegal. In his 1831 autobiography, "The Life of Omar ben Saeed," he claimed 15 siblings in a prosperous and devout family. Over a period of 25 years, he studied the Koran, Arabic and Islamic practices from a brother and two other learned men. He described himself as having been a scholar, a teacher and a merchant in Africa.

"He was captured in his country and brought to America and sold into slavery in 1806, and that was the last year slaves could be legally brought in as slaves," Beyah said.

He was sold to a Charleston, S.C., man who died within a year. Said wrote that he was then sold to a "small, weak and wicked" man named Johnson.

Said, a small man, was forced into hard labor.

He escaped from his second master after a month and ended up in Fayetteville, where he was jailed and advertised as a fugitive slave. James Owen, the brother of future North Carolina Gov. John Owen, bought him and took him to the Owen plantation in Bladen County.

"He got over here and his interesting writing got the interest of a well-to-do slave owner who didn't need him to do the work," Wegner said. "He bought him for the novelty and took him home and let him become a scholar of religion on their dime."

Beyah has read that Owen was going to visit Morocco and asked Said if he wanted Owen to bring something back for him. Omar asked for an Arabic Koran.

Owen said if he got him an Arabic Koran, would he accept a gift of an Arabic Bible?

With the help of Francis Scott Key, who wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner," Owen acquired a Bible in Arabic in 1819, Wegner writes.

"He had the education equivalent to a PhD. He was very learned," Beyah said. "In his land, his father was a sheik, a religious man. His father sent him to school to be educated."

Unusual for the time, Said attended First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville with his slave owners. He was baptized there in December 1820, but apparently continued to practice his Muslim faith.

When the family moved to Wilmington, ministers in the Port City were known to discuss their sermons with him.

"He was a scholar of the Bible," Wegner said. "People really enjoyed discussing religion with him."

She doesn't believe Said was a prince. But he carried himself with such dignity that some of the people of his day believed he was. One account says he would always wear a turban as an indication of his education.

People came from wide to visit him, and newspapers wrote about him. He sat for at least two photo portraits, certainly not customary for a slave.

"One reason Owen kept him, they were getting attention as well," Wegner said.

The family returned to the Owen manor in Bladen County during the Civil War. Some say Said was buried in the Owen cemetery, but even that remains in doubt.

"There were obituaries for him," Wegner said. "Amazing, to have a slave obituary."

FSU's Walsh calls him brilliant, articulate and well-written.

"You don't always think of a slave that way. But they were," she said. "They brought many of them here who had a lot to offer. We don't always look at slavery from the perspective of literacy. And we have that in this slave, Said."

Source: Fayettville Observer

It is with the deepest sense of sorrow I write this to share my encounters with professor Jiffry.

I first met him when he was the Deen of the faculty of medicine in the University of Sri jayawardenapura in Nugegoda. That was the first meeting at the Deen's office to discuss establishing a para medics training centre or a charity hospital that could be used to train Muslim nurses and para medics in the context of islamic culture. The matters discussed in that meeting to some extend materialized with the establishment of Kuwait Hospital in Puttalam yet there are a lot more things that need to be done to reach the vision he had and the misson he undertook to educate the society for the sake of Islam.

His contribution as one of a founder trustee of the Insight Educational Trust was great and immeasurable. He, with passion, along with other members contributed immensely during the formative embryo stages of the Trust and was to sign the final legal document when we heard the tragic news of his grave illness. As the Chairman of the Trust, with heavy heart, I sincerely pray Almighty Allah to forgive all his sins and grant him the highest level of jannah for all his contributions and behind the scene activities for the sake of Allah.

His academic achievements were great. He carries many mighty letters behind his name and in the front of his name however the Professor I know is so humble and down to earth you wont believe that a senior Professor of his calibre could live such a humble life. In year 2007 along with my family he performed Haj with his wife and three siters in Law the eldest of them was on a wheel chair. He was so humble and caring that he pushed the wheel chair all along the Haj and carried food for them and looked after their well being at the expense of his own comfort. ( One man looked after and cared for four ladies including a handicapped on a wheel chair all along the Haj – imagine how difficult it is) Everybody in the Haj group were surprised and were talking about his simplicity, humbleness and the kindness and care that he showed towards extended family members. His action reminds me of the Quranic verse in Soorah Bakhara 2:177 where Allah links righteousness to spending wealth to the near of kin.

The degrees, medals and titles he earned did not make his head swell instead that made his heart to expand filling it with faith and kindness.

He is a classic example of an educated man who clearly understands the limitations of human power and kowledge and wonders the miraculous molecular physiology of a human cell and link that with the power and intelligent design of the creator Almighty Allah therby increases his faith( Eemaan) and becomes humble.( Allah says it is the one with knowledge who fears Allah more)

May Allah shower His blessings to him and accomodate him in the highest level of Jannah.

Dr. Musthafa Rayes
Consultant Paediatrician / Paediatric Intensivist.
Chairman – Insight Educational Trust
London.
 

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 I met him as a freshman at t the Peradeniya Campus of  the then University of Ceylon. I ragged him and we became friends immediately and enjoyed our campus lives though  we were in different faculties. After graduation  and right throughout our careers we kept in touch with each other, though not regularly and exchanged news of each other. We became professionally closer when he joined the University Grants Commission.

When the idea to form the Insight Education Trust   came up, the first person that I contacted  by phone  to be a member of the Trust was Prof. Jiffry who without  any hesitation agreed.  It was a rich experience for me and other Trustees thereafter to sit with him and dissect, repair and suture the Insight Deed of Trust as an excellent document crafted initially by Br. Najeem AAL.

Prof. Jiffry , Dr. Ziyard Thaha and Shibly Azeez  PC went into lengthy discourses on words, values and principles that were embedded into the Insight deed of  trust. His last official function at Insight Institute of Management and Technology was delivering the Keynote address at the launch of our BBA programme  at the City Campus

Then we met at the Insight Trust meetings.

Since April or May his phone went dead virtually. We could nor get the Deed of Trust Signed by him though he contributed heavily towards it. That was Allah's will.Today he is no more. His professional contributions will live on and on.

May Allah grant him Jannathul Firdhouse 

Hilmi Sulaiman
Secretary
Insight Education Trust
himsulaiman@gmail.com
Phone  +1 201 915 0263