Born: 1956, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt – Died: 2025, Doha, Qatar
The moment I had been dreading and dreading came.
The doctor came out of the Sheikh’s room and said to me, “May God reward you greatly.”
He—may God bless him—had regained consciousness shortly before dawn on Monday and had spoken a few words. Among the things he said to Hatem was, “Play for me Sheikh Al-Minshawi’s recitation of Surah Ghafir.” When Hatem played one of Sheikh Al-Minshawi’s recitations of Surah Ghafir, he—may God bless him—said, “This is not this recitation, but the complete recitation.” Al-Minshawi began his recitation by saying, “O my people, this worldly life is only an enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter – that is the home of permanence.” Al-Minshawi repeated this five times. Yesterday, just before dinner, Hatem went up to his father’s room, only to find him dying. Less than an hour later, the doctor came out to say to me, “May God reward you greatly.” These were words I had been dreading, despite our faith in God’s will and destiny. But God called death a calamity! What calamity is greater than the loss of our sheikh, our father, our educator, and our teacher? The eyes shed tears, the heart grieves, and we are truly saddened by your departure, our beloved. We do not say anything that would anger our Lord. To God we belong, and to Him we shall return!
(Haitham Al-Huwaini, son of the Sheikh)
The Sheikh’s sun has set and the earth has diminished at its edges.
O God, our Lord, let him know Paradise as he has guided us and made us know You.
Our Lord loved him as He taught us to love You.
Grant him the company of the Prophet as He taught us to love him and his companions.
Now let each of us console ourselves, for His Eminence the Sheikh was not only a father to my brothers Hatem, Haitham, Humam, Sufyan, and others, but he was a father to every Sunni.
May God have mercy on His servant Hijazi with abundant mercy and forgive him, my father, and all deceased Muslims.
O God, compensate us with good and mend our broken hearts.
We console ourselves over the passing of our Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and we say only what pleases our Lord: “To God we belong and to Him we shall return.”
(Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Issa Al-Masrawi)
Some people are like hyenas; even their faces have acquired predatory animal features. I saw it in their faces. There was a religious gathering many years ago that I forced myself to attend because I hated the attendees—their faces bore such predatory looks!
He had barely passed away when they pounced on his body, cursing and slandering him.
Advice is a fundamental pillar of religion. No one is infallible. No one is immune from criticism. You can criticize certain positions, provided it is done out of compassion for the nation, with the intention of Islam, and at the appropriate time and place.
But this scavenging group does nothing but eat meat behind people’s backs, and they don’t even spare the dead for a few days. Like hyenas and packs of wild dogs, they rejoice and wait for one of their own to fall (metaphorically or literally) so they can pounce on him. May God curse him.
And I ask God to forgive me for breaking my fast.
(Nabeel Nisar Sheikh)
