Tuesday 6 January 2015

Dr. Maher Hathout

From Sheikh Dr Yasir Qadhi's Facebook:

Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

The American Muslim community lost one of its most active and senior members, Dr. Maher Hathout.

Dr. Hathout was one of the founding members of MPAC - his list of contributions to the Muslim community over the last 45 years is simply too much to mention in this post.


I had the honor of meeting him a few times, and he knew of me and my work. As is typically the case with Islamic dawah and activism, of course we did not share the exact same wavelength when it came to our understanding of Islamic practice and the role of the classical tradition in the modern world.

Nonetheless, and while fully knowing my background, Dr. Hathout requested my presence and was interested in my contribution for an important panel discussion at the annual MPAC convention. I was truly humbled to share a stage with him and share our (slightly complementary yet still different) viewpoints on a number of key issues. Afterwards, he asked me to record a podcast with him.

A leader does not require that everyone follow the same understanding as him; rather, a real leader takes advantage of each person's speciality, links different people together, strengthens the overall community, and keeps the broader picture in mind.

 Dr. Hathout was one such leader. May Allah have mercy on him, raise his ranks, accept his good deeds, and forgive his sins.

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