In a message, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly expressed its condolences on the demise of Haj Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma, a member of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and a great Shiite scholar from Kenya.
The message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
“Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him do we indeed return” (Holy Quran 2:156)
The demise of Haj Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma, one of the great and active Shiite thinkers who played an important role in the spread of Shiite religion in Kenya, caused grief and sorrow.
The deceased was one of the main members of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, and by writing numerous books during his blessed life, he played a lasting role in spreading the teachings of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and educating many in Kenya and neighboring countries.
The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly extends its condolences to his honorable family and all his friends and acquaintances, especially the Khoja Twelver Shiites and other friends of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and asks God Almighty to grant him the highest degrees, and patience for his family.
AhlulBayt (as) World Assembly
January 11, 2022
The late Sheikh Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma, was a preacher and intellectual, who since the 1950s, has been promoting and teaching Islamic knowledge as a preacher and teacher, and at the same time engaging in literary, media and political activities.
He was an activist in the Kenyan independence movement from the British colonialism from 1957 to 1963, and when the movement won, he was a member of the historic Constitutional Conference at Lancaster House in London, which was formed for independence from the British Empire.
A former prominent Mombasa Sunni preacher and scholar, Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma converted to Shiism in 1975. In an interview, on the reasons of his conversion to Shiism, he said,” I became acquainted with the virtues of Imam Ali (a.s.) and gradually felt that Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) is the greatest Muslim after the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). Then, I received the book Al-Ghadir, written by the late Allameh Amini. After reading the first volume, I realized the legitimacy of the Shiites. Then I went to the Shiite Mosque, and after that I read a lot of books and finally, I became a Shiite.”
After becoming a Shiite, by writing numerous books during his blessed life, Haj Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma played a lasting role in spreading the teachings of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and educating many in Kenya and neighboring countries.
He established the seminary of Imam Ali (a.s.) in Mombasa, in which, hundreds of clerics from Kenya and neighboring countries were trained in the highest levels of knowledge and religion and spread Islamic and Shiite teachings among their people.
Also, with his vast knowledge of the Islamic history and the principles of Shiite beliefs, the prominent scholar has held numerous debates with Wahhabi scholars in Kenya and defended the school of AhlulBayt (a.s.) for fifty years.
The late Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma wrote more than 25 books and pamphlets about Islam and Shiism in Swahili, some of which have been translated and published in English and Rwandan. Among the valuable books he wrote on Shiite beliefs are the following:
- The Shiites and the Quran
- The Shiites and Hadith
- The Shiites and the Companions
- The Shiites and piety
- The Shiites and the Imamate
The book “Shia and Taqiyya” is one of his works in Swahili. This book is in response to a book published by Moheb al-Din Khatib, entitled “General Lines” in Arabic, and “Roots of the Shiite Religion” in Swahili, which had raised doubts among Muslims in Africa. In this book, the late Abdullahi Nasser deals with the concept of Taqiyya from the Shiite point of view. About his book he said, “Given the doubts that have arisen about the issue of Taqiyya in Africa, I considered it necessary to prepare this book and make it available to the public, so that, firstly, the ambiguity that has arisen can be removed, and secondly, the people can become familiar with the issue of Taqiyya.”
This book has four chapters which are as follows:
1- What is Taqqiya?
2- The problems of the Shiites during the time of the Umayyads and the Abbasids;
3- Taqiyya according to the Sunnis;
4- Taqiyya from the Shiite point of view.
Also, the series of Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma’s speeches in the form of cassettes and audio-visual files is still distributed among the Muslims of Kenya, especially in the Indian Ocean coast. These speeches have been one of the motivating factors for the natives of Africa to convert to the religion of the AhlulBayt (a.s.), and turning them from Extremism and Takfirism.
During his life, the Wahhabis and their affiliates carried out many activities against him and tried to turn him away from Shiism through bribery and threats, but they failed.
The late Sheikh Abdillahi Nasir Juma was for a time the representative of the city of Mombasa in the Kenyan parliament and was very popular among the people.
He also served as a member of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in this international non-governmental organization, and by participating in various national and regional meetings and conferences, he influenced Islamic intellectuals and scholars in East African countries.
Self-respect, dignity, moderation, and abundant moral virtues made this divine and insightful scholar a spiritual role model for young people.
In the last years of his blessed life, he was translating and interpreting the Holy Quran into Swahili, and finally, after a lifetime of research and promotion of the teachings of Thaqalayn (Quran and Ahl al-Bayt), he passed away on Monday, January 11, 2022.
His body was buried in Ganjuni Cemetery in Mombasa after the funeral by mourning believers.
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