Popular Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq died late on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
Shia Dharmaguru (83), senior vice president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), was admitted to Era Lucknow Medical College and Hospital (ELMCH) on 17 November due to pneumonia complaints.
Sadiq is survived by wife Taj Sultana, three sons and a daughter. His health condition was very serious.
On receiving the news of his sad demise, the sentiments of people on social media rose and many people reached the hospital and his house.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the demise of the religious leader and prayed for the peace of the departed soul. He also expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
Sadiq, an educationist, Islamic scholar and ambassador of communal harmony, was born in Lucknow’s famous Khandan-e-Ijtihad.
His father was Maulana Kalbe Hussain and his brother was Maulana Kalbe Abid. Both had a strong influence in the community.
He got his early education from Sultan-ul-Madaris of Lucknow. He then received further education at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He did his Ph.D. in Arabic literature. Apart from Arabic, Sadiq was proficient in Urdu, Persian, English and Hindi languages.
Sadiq was perhaps the first maulvi of India in his time who preached around the world, especially in the English language, in memory of the martyrs of Karbala.
He also promoted scientific thinking in the community and began to try to predict the days of Islamic festivals based on astronomy in addition to seeing the traditional moon.
Like Shia, he had followers among Sunni Muslims and Hindus.