Prominent religious scholar Mufti Naeem passes away

KARACHI: Prominent religious scholar and Jamia Binoria International chancellor Mufti Muhammad Naeem passed away in Karachi on Saturday.

According to sources, the prominent cleric was being taken to the hospital when he succumbed to his heart ailment.

Mufti Naeem was also a member of the executive committee of Wafaqul Madaris Arabia (WMA) – the largest grouping of seminaries in Pakistan.

According to Naeem’s son Mufti Noman, he was suffering from chronic illness for a long time. He is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters.

Naeem was born in 1958. His father Qari Abdul Haleem, originally belonged to Surat city of Indian Gujrat and had converted to Islam from the Parsi faith.

Naeem completed his education from Jamia Binori Town seminary in 1979 and then associated with the Jamia Binoria Al-Alamia seminary his father founded. The theologian was also the author of several books and has written dozens of small booklets on various topics.

He was also active campaigners of Karachi’s civic rights and therefore leaders of political parties were regularly visiting his seminary to meet him to discuss the political affairs. His Namaz-e-Janaza will be performed today (Sunday) after Asar prayers.

In a statement, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail expressed his grief over Mufti Naeem’s death. “He dedicated his whole life to teaching Islam and made Jamia Binoria a world-class institution,” Ismail said.

Naeem had thousands of foreign students, adding that the loss of Mufti Naeem was something that couldn’t be replaced for a long time.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also expressed his grief over the scholar’s demise. Mufti Naeem always helped the government in times of difficulty, he said. The chief minister also offered prayers for the deceased.