Death of Mufti Muhammad Naeem: The scholar who always had a ‘soft image’

Prominent Pakistani cleric and curator of Banuria International University Karachi, Mufti Muhammad Naeem passed away on Saturday. He was 62 years old and had been suffering from a heart condition for some time.

A spokesman for Banuria International University said that Mufti Naeem was being taken to hospital on Saturday evening when he suddenly fell ill and died on the way.

Mufti Naeem’s ancestors belonged to the Parsi religion who settled in Surat, Gujarat, India. Mufti Naeem’s grandfather converted to Islam and his father, Qari Abdul Haleem, was four years old at the time.

Qari Abdul Haleem came to Pakistan before the partition of India.

Mufti Muhammad Naeem was born in 1958 in Karachi. He received his early education from his father and for higher studies went to Jamia-ul-Uloom-ul-Islamia, Allama Banuri Town, from where he graduated in 1979.

After completing his education, he served as a lecturer at Banuria University for 16 years. Later, his father, Qari Abdul Haleem, founded the Banuria International University, of which he was the head until the last moment.

The 12-acre madrassa in the Karachi site area is one of the largest madrassas in Pakistan, where students study everything from elementary education to becoming a scholar.

The students who come to study in this madrassa are from African countries including USA, UK, China. Accommodation for male and female students is also provided here.

Mufti Muhammad Naeem was the author of seven volumes of Tafsir-e-Ruh-ul-Quran, Sharh-e-Maqamat, Namaz-e-Mudral and other books.

From the syllabus of the madrassas to the issue of their registration, whenever there was a movement, he was an active part of it.