HAJI NAJI LIVES ON IN OUR PROGRESS

 

 

 

Earlier this year, the 8^th Zilhaj (Thu, Feb 21, 2002) marked the 60^th death anniversary of Allama Haji Naji. His was amongst the first and perhaps the foremost contribution for the preservation and promotion of the Shia Ithnaasheri faith in the Khoja Society in its early days when the community needed it most.

 

Who was Haji Naji?

 

“From a third class compartment of the train alighted a five feet tall person with black cap, long beard on a radiant handsome face. He was wearing country style shoes and had a walking stick in one hand, a bag and a basket in another.” Moonis Vartejwala describes his arrival at one of his extensive visits to remote towns and villages of Kathiawar, as this unassuming great muballigh of the Khoja Community traveled delivering sermons and guiding the community toward the path of Ahlul Bait (AS).

 

It is said that during the visits he was fond of exhorting his listeners to repeat the Salawat loudly and then would pray: “O Allah! May I live to see a mosque and an Imambargha in this town, and see my fellow men offer prayers. O Allah! May I see a madressa here- Amin.” Not only were his prayers answered during his lifetime; I believe that it is these prayers that have blessed the Khoja Shia Ithnaasheri Community with the tawfeeq to establish Mosques, Imambarghas and Madressas around the globe.

 

To crown his sincerity and erudition, this savant emerging from the nascent Khoja Shia Ithnaasheri Community, popularly known as Haji Naji, had unique qualities of leadership, with a clear vision and a goal. It was not easy to practice the faith in those days, let alone preach. His mother and teacher, Mulla Qader Husain Karbalai had been threatened with his life and three people had to give their lives for accepting the Jafari faith. Yet this lonely traveler, against all odds, carried his mission with persistence and tenacity.

 

Gifted with persuasive oratory power and a lucid pen, his sermons were simple but touched the hearts of men. Through the columns of Rahe Najat, which remains an instrument of tabligh even today, ably maintained by his grandson and great grandson, and the hundreds books in Gujarati, his words have transcended generations as much as oceans.

 

In addition to towns and villages, his ‘Dua no Majmuo’ and Gujarati tafseer of the Quran are still read in Africa, Europe and North America. Paying tribute, Mulla Asgherali M.M Jaffer, another towering figure of the community wrote, ‘It is a known fact that a number of Khoja converted from Ismailis to the Shia Ithnaasheri faith after their arrival in East Africa. Thus one can safely conclude that most of these Khojas were novices in complete sense of the word: new to the place, new to the faith. …..The only knowledge was Rahe Najat, which came regularly every month.”

 

Just as his ‘Majmuo’ runs parallel in importance to Mafatihul Jinan, in many a Khoja home, his translation of Meraju Sa’adah is thought to have had major impact in the lives of many of our brethren in East Africa at the time. Having avidly read the translation in my youth, I can very much relate to that.

 

It would not be an overstatement to record that his was amongst the first and perhaps the foremost contribution for the preservation and promotion of the Shia Ithnaasheri faith in the Khoja Society in its early days when the community needed it most. Over a century after his birth, Allama Haji Naji lives on, through the continual advancement and progress of the worldwide Khoja Community as a diligent and a practicing Shia Ithnaasheri community. That is the greatest living tribute we can pay him. We request all Mumineen to remember this great savant of our community with a Sura-e-Fateha.

 

Members of the Community are requested to forward this to contacts on their mailing list.

Any suggestions/comments can be sent to federation@raha.com