Marhum Muhammadali Shariff Jiwa -- Past Chairman of the Africa Federation
Marhum Muhammadali Shariff’s sudden demise on 23 July 1998 in Moshi, Tanzania, at age 90, was a great blow to the Khoja community and he will be greatly missed by Moshiite and many Shia globally for he had dedicated his entire life for the betterment of our community.The late Mohamedalibhai generally led an illustrious life which he devoted for the upliftment of humanity in general and the community in particular. He was born in Mombasa in 1909 and later settled in Moshi in 1931. He was educated at Alidina Visram High School and was among the first who matriculated. After joining his father's business, he became a reputable members of the Indian community in East Africa.
Marhum's public life and community services are commendable. From 1957 to 1958, the late Muhammadalibhai served as Mayor of Moshi town. In 1957 he received an MBE from the Queen for the services rendered to the British Empire when he was also invited to the Buckhingam Palace in London. He also served as a Provincial Chairman of the East Africa Muslims Welfare Society during which he provided noteworthy services to the Muslims of the Northern Province of the then Tanganyika.
The Late Mohamedalibhai was an industrialist, educationalist and a social worker who gave his life for the community, particularly in Moshi. He was associated with numerous Boards and Associations either as a Chairman or a member including the Tanzania Sisal Growers Association, Indian Public School, Kibo Match Corporation, Chamber of Commerce, Mawenzi School, Cotton Marketing Board, Kilimanjaro Coffee Board, East Africa Leather Association and the Red Cross Society.
Marhum was also the head of the East Africa National Investments Limited, a community company. Many other communal projects including the Haji Mohamed Jaffer Boarding House in Dar es Salaam and the beautifully designed Mosque of Moshi are testimony of his services to the community.
Marhum's wisdom led him to be appointed first as Vice Chairman and then the Chairman (following the death of Ebrahimbhai Sharif) of the Africa Federation during the 1962-65 term. Until his death he regularly attended meetings of the Africa Federation and provided valuable contributions. May Allah [swt] accept Marhums dedication for our community and give him a place amidst the 14 Masumins [a.s.].
Ayatullah Murtadha Burujardi is shot dead
On 21 April, 1998, 23 Dhulhijja 1418, Ayatullah Murtadha Burujardi was shot dead in Najaf. The 70 year old Ayatullah was returning home from evening prayers from the Shrine of Imam Ali (a.s.) with two persons accompanying him when an unknown killer shot him with a pistol and escaped. His two companions were seriously hurt.Marhum was the Imamul Jama’ of the Haram of Imam Ali AS. He was the teacher of 1000 students of theology in Najaf. He was the student of Marhum Ayatullah Sayyid Muhsin Hakim and Marhum Ayatullah Sayyid Abul Qasim Al Khui.
He had as usual lead the Fajr Prayers in the Haram and had delivered his morning address to the congregation. He was walking home when he was shot on the orders of Saddam. This was the third attempt on his life. The Government of Iran protested to the Government of Iraq on the assassination.
Mumineen are requested to pray for the Rooh of the Marhoom, for the safety of our Ulama, for the quick recovery of the wounded and the protection of the sanctity of the Holy Shrines.
Grand Ayatullah Shaykh al-Gharawi
The murder of another eminent scholar and Shi’a leader less than two months after that of Ayatullah Shaykh Murtada al-Burujirdi has stunned Shi’a communities throughout the world. When any prominent Ayatullah dies it is of course an occasion for much sorrow because one can no longer have direct access to his vast learning and scholarship --- qualities so highly prized by Shi’a Muslims. It can be imagined therefore how great was the blow when it was announced that Ayatullah Mirza Ali al-Gharawi had been killed in Iraq on his return by road from Karbala to his home in the holy city of Najaf on 18 June, 1998. Both Ayatullahs were cut down in their prime. Both were completely apolitical - which adds to the utter meaninglessness of both crimes. There can be little doubt that the Iraqi Mukhabarat (Intelligence Services) were directly involved. The absence of any thorough police investigation, the undue haste in which both burials were carried out, the prohibition of any funeral procession to the cemetery of Wadi al-Salam and, in the case of al-Gharawi, the fact that his body was not even allowed to be taken to a mosque for the funeral prayer to be said over it, all substantiate this conclusion.Ayatullah al-Gharawi was born as Mirza Ali Tabrizi in the town of Tabriz, Persia, in 1930. His father was a successful merchant well-known in trading circles both in Persian Azerbaijan and Russian Azerbaijan (now the Azerbaijan Republic). His mother was a Sayyida, a direct descendant of the Holy Prophet, and so Ali bore the customary title of Mirza. His father died when Ali was only two which meant that he now had to be looked after exclusively by his mother who, wanting her son to become eventually an ‘alim (religious scholar), despatched him at the age of six to school in Tabriz to begin his elementary studies. Having completed these, and also a part of his intermediate education, the young Ali travelled to the holy city of Qum to do his higher intermediate studies at a celebrated religious academy (Hawzah). He was only sixteen when he embarked upon Advanced Studies (al-Bahth al-Kharij). Among his teachers was Ayatullah Sayyid Husayn Borujerdi who was to become the main marja’ of Shi’a Muslims throughout the world until his death in 1961.
After spending five years at Qum, Mirza Ali decided to travel once again, this time to Najaf in Iraq to complete his advanced education at the Hawzah there, the oldest and most prestigious university in Shia Islam. Here he was taught by the late Ayatullahs Shaykh Husayn al-Huh and Shaykh Mirza Muhammad Baqir al-Zanjani, as well as Ayatullah Sayyid Abu ‘1-Qasim al-Khoei. It was probably Sayyid al-Khoei who, of all the Ulema, influenced and inspired him the most as to the direction his life should take. When he was only twenty-eight, the eminent Ayatullah Khoei prayed to God that Mirza Ali should one day become a distinguished marja’.
Al-Khoei's prayer was granted when Mirza Ali was in his early sixties. In 1993, following the demise of Ayatullah Abd al-Ala Sabzevari, he published his own juridical decisions, Risala ’Amaliyya, known as al-Fatawa al-Mustanbata, which was the first step for any prospective marja’. In the meantime, Mirza Ali became known as al-Gharawi (rather than al-Tabrizi), derived from al-Ghari, the ancient name of Najaf, as often happened with scholars who made Najaf their home and became part of the religious and cultural life of the city.
Al-Gharawi wrote a number of works on Fiqh (jurisprudence), most of which remain in manuscript form. In addition to the taqrzrat already referred to, al-Tanqihfi Sharh al-’Urwa al-Wuthqa, of which twelve volumes have been published, he set out in great detail the arguments (or proofs) on which he based the edicts of his Risala in a work which runs to at least eighty volumes, all of which are hand-written, named Tasnid al-Fatawa al Mustanbata. On the death of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Rohani in July last year, most of his followers changed over to Ayatullah al-Gharawi. At his death, al-Gharawi’ s followers were to be found in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf States, Turkey and the Lebanon.
Since his late twenties, already recognised as a mujtahid, al-Gharawi began to teach al-Bahth al-Kharij in the Hawza while at the same time attending the lectures of his teachers. He remained a teacher right up to his death. His lectures attracted students particularly because of the clarity in which they were delivered, free of unnecessary complications or muddled up arguments. For several years he was also one of the Imams of the congregational prayers at al-Rawda al-Haydariyya which contains the tomb of Amir al-Mu’minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, the First Imam.
Every Thursday it was al-Gharawi’s custom to make the fifty-mile journey north to the holy city of Karbala to pray in the Rawdha and visit the tomb of Imam Husayn (a.s.), the grandson of the Holy Prophet.
That Thursday in mid-June - towards the end of Muharram - was, tragically, to be al-Gharawi’s last visit. At night, returning home to Najaf by car, he was shot dead in a hail of machine-gun fire along with his son-in-law, the driver and a friend.
Two assassinations within less than two months inevitably lead to concern for the safety of the Ulema who remain in Najaf. In this respect, there must be singled out Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Seestani who is the marja’ currently with the greatest following among Shi’a Muslims worldwide; Ayatullah Sayyid Sa’id al-Hakim, who is a marja’ and grandson of the late renowned Grand Ayatullah Muhsin al-Hakim; and Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad, a Pakistani who has lived for the past fifty years in Najaf and is expected by many to seek recognition soon as a marja’.
Marhum Akberali Haji Peermohamed
The Supreme Council noted with regret the death of Akberbhai Haji Peermohamed which occurred on the 6th of July, 1998 in Mombasa at the age of 74. Marhum Akberali, originally from Zanzibar and settled in Mombasa, was a very active and dedicated member of the Community.Haji Akberbhai has a glittering record of services to Mombasa Jamat from the late 1950s and had continued to serve in various capacities the Mombasa Jamat and nearly all its subsidiary organisations.
Haji Akberbhai was a self made man, who took keen interest and had deep sympathy for our community. He was an ardent councillor of the Africa Federation who regularly attended Supreme Council meetings.
He was the Chairman of the Bustani Jamaat at the time of the unification of the two Jamaats in 1966. He was also a Vice-Chairman of the unified Jamaat and subsequently became the Chairman in 1983.
Marhum was a very active member of the Ithnasheri Young Men’s Union and Faize Husseini in the past. Marhum once also served in the Matrimonial Committee and undertook many other positions in different capacities. At the time of his death, he was a member of the Managing Committee and MRC.
Besides his services to the Community at Committee levels and as Chairman, he loved poetry especially Persian, and also regularly recited Duas, Marshias, and Majlises. May Allah (s.w.t) grant him Magferat and rest his soul in the proximity of Chaharda Masumins (a.s). Amen. Marhum leaves behind a son, two daughters, and four grandchildren.
Marhum Munsir Anverali Jafferali Dhanji, London, on 23 August 1998, 30 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.
Marhum Aziz Anverali Rajabali Datoo, Nairobi, on 22 August 1998, 29 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.
Marhum Abbas Mohamed Raza S Bhimji, London, on 21 August 1998, 28 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.
Marhuma Shamira Askari Taki, London.
Marhum Asgher Yusuf Kara (Atta),
Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, on 18 August 1998, 25 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.Marhuma Gulshanbai Dalal,
London, on 13 August l998, 20 Rabiul Akhar 1419.Marhuma Noorbano Rehmatullah,
Karachi, on 29 July 1998, 5 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.Marhum Nisar Musa Dhala Baaloo, London (England), on 28 July 1998, 4 Rabi' al Thaani 1419.
Marhum Akber Jaffer Hirji, Birmingham (England), on 18 July 1998, 23 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Haji Habib Hussein Sherrif Dewji, Daressalaam, on 17 July 1998, 22 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhuma Zainab-bai Sultanali Yusufali, Dubai, on 13 July 1998, 18 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Haji Husein Bandali Kanji, Mombasa, on 12 July 1998, 17 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Haji Mohammedhussein Ahmed Peera Hirji, Daressalaam, on 8 July 1998, 13 Rabi alAwwal 1419.
Marhum Haji Akberali Haji PeerMohamed, Mombasa, Tuesday 7 July 1998, 12 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Mohammedhassan Mohammedali Rhemtulla (Babu Raama), Mumbai, on 27 June 1998, 2 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Pyarali Abdulrasul Bhaloo, Malindi, on 26 June 1998, 1 Rabi al Awwal 1419.
Marhum Sajjad Mohamed Jaffer Rajabali Alidina, London (England), on 24 June 1998, 29 Safar 1419.
Marhum MohamedAli Abdulrasool
Remtulla Kassam of Daresalaam, on 23 June 1998, 28 Safar 1419.
Marhuma Rehmatbai Gulamali Pirbhai Visram of Mombasa, on 22 June 1998, 27 Safar 1419.
Marhuma Zainabbai Habib Amersi Alibhai, Milton Keynes(England), on 16 June 1998, 21 Safar 1419.
Marhum Husein Hassanali Rehemtulla, London, on 14 June 1998, 19 Safar 1419.
Abdulsattar Giga, Dar es Salaam, on 13 June 1998, 18 Safar 1419.
Marhum Bashir Kassamali Habib Chatoo, Daressalaam, on 12 June 1998, 17 Safar 1419.
Marhuma Shirinbai Allarakhia Kermalli Alibhai, Edmonton, Canada, on 8 June 1998, 13 Safar 1419.
Marhum Murtaza Banatwala, Muscat, Oman, on 3 June l998, 8 Safar 1419.
Marhum Kassamali Noormohamed Soonasra of South London on 2 June 1998, 7 Safar 1419.
Marhuma Sugrabai Pyarali Asaria, London on 1 June 1998, 6 Safar 1419.
Marhum Fateh Ali Jessa, Dar-es-Salaam, on 27 May l998, 1 Safar 1419.
Marhuma Shirinbai Musa Jaffer Alloo, Mundra, Kutch on 27 May 1998, 1 Safar 1419.
Marhum Gulamabbas Kanji (Mulla Bulbul), Mombasa on 23 May l998, 26 Muharram 1419.
Marhum Sharif Seper, Zenica ( Bosnia ) on 20 May l998, 23 Muharram 1419.
Marhum Abdulla Mohamed Visram, London, on 16 May l998, 19 Muharram 1419.
Marhuma Sultanabai Mohamedali Dawood Haji Nasser,
Karachi on 16 May 1998, 19 Muharram 1419.Marhum Mohamed Kamalia, London, on 24 April l998, 26 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhum Anver Pyarali Mohamedali Merali,
Essex,on 23April l998, 25 Zilhajj 1418.Marhuma Marzia, wife of Dr. Sultanali (of Zanzibar) Agha Seyyid Hassan Najafi Al-Marashi, Marina, North California, on 13 April l998, 15 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhum Mohammed Hussain Hassanali Juma (Sheni Mayay), Dar-es-Salaam, on 9 April l998, 11 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhum Mohamedraza A. Manek, Toronto, on 8 April l998, 10 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhuma Fatmabai Tahera Mussa, Montreal, on 4 April l998, 6 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhuma Khairunnisa Akbar Jamal, London, on 4 April l998, 6 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhuma Shirinbai Mewawala, Mumbai on 03 April l998, 5 Zilhajj 1418
Marhum Nausheer Gulamali Datoo, Mombasa, on 2 April l998, 4 Zilhajj 1418.
Marhuma Sugrabai Mohammedali Taki Bandali Kanji, Mombasa on 28 March l998, 29 Zilkaad 1418.
Marhum Kassamali Dhalla Jaffer, Daressalaam, on 24 March l998, 25 Zilkad 1418.
Marhuma Aminabai Gulamabbas Moorji, Tanga, on 17 March l998, 18 Zilkad 1418.
Marhum Firoz Mohamedali Nayani Dharsee, Tanga, on 17 March l998, 18 Zilkad 1418.
Marhuma Aminabai Amirali Abdalla Fazal, Bukoba on 14 March l998, 16 Zilkaad 1418
Marhum Munawer Mohamed Husein Valji, Essex, on 10 March l998, 11 Zilkad 1418.
Marhum Sherali Yusuf Alloo, Mwanza, on 7th March 1998; (8 Zilkaad 1418 A.H.).
Marhuma Sayyida Salim Akhtar, Lahore on 3 March l998, 5 Zilkaad 1418
Marhum Azad Mohammedhussein M.D. Kermalli, London, on 25th February 1998; (27 Shawwal 1418 A.H.).
Marhum Yousuf Ali Nanjiani, Karachi, on 25th February 1998; (27 Shawwal 1418 A.H.).