Hamid Abdul Kareem is no more
It was just a fortnight ago that my dear friend Hamid Abdul Kareem walked up to my house to break the blissful message of attending the Hajj pilgrimage together with his wife, for which I was more than delighted to hear, as he had decided to take a step closer to the Almighty Creator Allah.
However, it was seldom that neither Hamid nor I realized Allah’s call on him from the most sacred soil for Muslims on this planet. Hamid breathed his last of a heart failure on his way from Azeezia to Mina on Saturday (26) and was buried in Makka the following day after noon prayers. He is certainly blessed for a serene departure of this sort, which every Muslim yearns for.
Hamid’s demise was indeed shocking to his family, friends and the community all of whom found it difficult to recover from the abrupt loss of one of the finest human beings.
He was well-known for his great sense of humour as he even had the competence to turn the most serious atmosphere into a humorous one. Hamid spent all his life shouldering the burdens of others, and it was this tendency that made him a founder of the Centre for Islamic Studies and his deep involvement in the Al-Amal International School. He served as the Joint Secretary of the Sri Lanka committee for Solidarity with Palestinian People. He was very passionate in shielding the rights of Palestinians and emphasizing the atrocities of Zionist Jews towards Palestinians and the Arabs in the region. Hamid was recognized for his in-depth comprehension on the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Being a well-read person, he contributed a great deal of his writing in endorsing the true spirit of Islam and creating understanding between people of different faiths. Hamid was branded for his unassuming and simple lifestyle. He used to discuss Islam and Christianity with theologians and others of different faiths.
Notwithstanding his intellectual backdrop, Hamid, born to an eminent business family, remained a businessman till his last.
When I once questioned his as to how a Memon like him from a business-oriented community was so much involved in erudite activities, his profound response in his own sarcasm was that - if you ask a Memon whether he likes to enter heaven or hell, his direct response would be “anywhere I could make some money.” Hamid has been a veteran journalist with a cause and conviction - a generation which is fast fading under the commercialized and criminalized global political-economic milieu. He fearlessly used his pen to stand by impartiality and justice. This earned him the respect of all alike. But, unfortunately, the Sri Lankan Muslim community which, by and large, did not value the power of the media failed to make better use of him. May Allah forgive his sins, accept his deeds and grant him Jannathul Firdhouse. Ameen!