My Elders and Brothers,
Salaamun Aleykum.

The profound consolation in a true condolence on the occurrence of any death is a mention of the fact stated in the holy Qur'an: Inna Lillaah wa Inna Elayhi Rajeoon. We are from Allah swt and our return is to Him. The consolation is that He is the Arhamu-r-Rahimeen. A deceased Muslim is therefore known as Marhoom or Marhooma.

Alhaj Muallim Ahmedbhai Issa Hasham has left us, after a short illness, to return to his Rabb to embrace the abundance of His Rehma.

Marhoom has proved himself exemplary as a role model for the youth in the community first in Zanzibar and then in Dar es Salaam.

He started his longing for ilm like any other maddressa student when he was in Zanzibar. But after graduation at the Fsaize Ithna-asheri Maddressa, he embarked upon the enormous task of self-education and ably proved himself later to be an Islamic scholar by his own right.

In the beginning, he sought the basic ilms in fiqhi issues from the then prominent Resident Alim in Zanzibar, now Marhoom Seyyed Jabir Hassan who was his mentor.

Like any other Alim of a high standard, he was linguist by self-attainment in the improvement of Urdu, Arabic and Farsi, of course, apart from English, Gujarati and Kiswahili which are our traditional languages. .

While he was still in his twenties during 1950s, Marhoom led a team of young brothers who included Muallim Mohamed Hussein Kermali for translating a book on common masaael from Farsi into Gujarati. Agha Nashirul Islam read the book from Farsi to the team at a numerous sitting of translation in the mosque after the salaat.. The book when published was given the title of Nurul Hidayah and proved very popular in the community in East Africa.

Marhoom kept himself abreast of the masael of each of the four maraje of the time and was a personafied moving “book” of fiqhi masaael. He gave immediate answers to any fiqhi question without the need for any reference to the books such was his interest, capacity and memory for the subject.

Marhoom despite his advancing age continued to volunteer to act as the guide in masaael to the yearly group of Hujjaj for a number of times and indeed the last one was only two months back.

He conducted the congregational prayers as and when requested by the Jamaat and delivered series of lectures on various occasions in the mosque, mostly in Gujarati.

Marhoom always made himself accessible by telephone and personal attendance to anyone who had questions regarding fiqhi masaael and other religious issues.

Whatever, the length of life, this life is after all a fleeting moment. It is however, to what use in the cause of Islam one dedicates his life that makes that fleeting life memorable even after one's death. Marhoom Ahmedbhai is that one personality who has left us but the memory of his services will linger on as an example for others to follow.

In return for his services and dedication, we fuqraa in the sight of Allah swt have nothing to offer except prayers for him, The best reward is from Allah swt Whose treasure never diminishes.

May Allah swt rest the departed soul in the abundance of His Mercy and in the proximity of the Masumeen a.s. and grant patience to the family. Not only they but the community too is bereaved by his demise; but then what is most certain in this world is the taste of death for every mortal.

Sura e Fatiha.