Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad passes away

Comments (2)

• 

  Fazal-ur-Rehman

  No doubt,

  God keep him blessed.

  September 17, 2018 at 5:52 pm
• 

  Shabeer Ahmad

  A TRIBUTE TO DR. HASAN SOHAIB MURAD

  When an icon like Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad passes away, it’s very emotional. Emotional because you cannot hold back tears pouring out of your eyes and your heart does not show willingness to accept the bitter reality. What a great man he was and what an exemplary life he lived among us. But, unfortunately we couldn’t understand this man who was a beacon of hope, a sign of human dignity, a symbol of love and care, a reason for new human civilization to plant its roots embedded in modern as well as classical education. Dr. Murad was a source of inspiration not only for UMT, but also for the nation and for the world as a whole. Sometimes we perceive the things and people as what we want them to be instead of what they actually are. Perhaps, it was the reason many of us saw Hasan Sb merely as a leader, as a boss, an academician, a teacher, a philosopher and as an intellectual figure, but he was more than what we thought of him. He was more than boss and he was more than an entrepreneur. He was a walullah, a ghazi, a dervish and a mujahid. Allah Almighty says about his friends in the Holy Book in Sura Yunus, verses 62-64:

  أَلآ إِنَّ أَوْلِيَآءَ اللَّهِ لاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ.
  الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ. لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَي فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الاَخِرَةِ لا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ.
  “Behold! Verily no fear shall be upon the friends of Allah, nor shall they grieve. Those who believe and constantly keep from evil. For them are Glad Tidings in this world’s life and in the Hereafter. There is no change in the Words of Allah. That is the great success.”

  He was a true lover of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who led his life in accordance with the principles laid down by Allah and His Prophet PBUH. Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad was a reformer, a philanthropist and a mentor who cannot be forgotten and will always live alive in the hearts of people who met him, who attended his lectures and who communicated with him on phone and in black and white. Let me say Dr. Hasan Sb was more than an individual entity; he was himself a movement that he started off by laying down the foundation of institutions and organizations. He believed that well-established institutions could make a difference in individual as well as collective life of nations.

  Dr. Murad like Allama Iqbal, was a dreamer. He saw the dream of an educated and developed Pakistan and harnessed unflagging energy and enthusiasm to fulfill his goal. That dream was for the bright future of the Pakistani youth. That was the dream to do something for the betterment of the Pakistani nation. He worked day and night to find out the interpretation of his dream and said setting up institutions like UMT and educating people therein for tomorrow was the true interpretation of his dream. No doubt, God also helped him. The main objective was to provide the promising future to the younger generation through professional training and coaching. He wanted to see Pakistan side by side with the advanced countries. He wanted to bring a change through education and which is why established UMT to fulfill this mission. Speaking with media personnel at his residence, Hasan Sb said:

  “It was a gigantic task which took years and my dream came true after a series of struggles. Al-hamdollilah, UMT which came into existence from a very humble background, now it has shaped into a big educational institution. We had planted a tree and looked after it like our child and Allah helped us in this noble cause and gifted us a big tree. We had worked for a noble cause , people believed in us. I am thankful to the people of Pakistan and Allah Almighty”.

  Similarly, in another interview with daily Jang newspaper, which proved to be the last interview of his life given to any media house, Dr. Hasan said that it was his greatest wish to give education to Pakistani youth free of cost, but he had no other way to meet the heavy expenses. He strongly believed that only education could get rid of poverty, unemployment, and aimlessness from the youth.

  If you ask me, I would say, Dr. Hasan Sb was an عارف باللہ. In the literature of Taswaf تصوف, an Arifbillah is the person who is acquainted with God and his heart being so softest and resilient, beats consciously and unconsciously for the Possessor, and Cherisher. Such a soul is both confident in Allah’s promises and is sure of the way he has chosen. He is aware of both excesses and afflictions and also about the disasters and terrible events of this world, but, has faith in Allah’s Mercy. The most important point, here, is that the soul of Arifbillah has confidence, in that, even in the great horror of the Hereafter he will be at peace and rest. Such a blessed soul never finds peace in the worldly colors, rather he is always looking forward to pleasing God and spending whole of his life on the belief that someday they would return to the point of origin they had come from. He was a true Muslim who possessed all those qualities and attributes that were necessary for making the claim to be a Muslim.

  ہر لحظہ ہے مومن کی نئی شان، نئی آن

  گفتار میں، کردار میں، ﷲ کی برہان

  قہاری و غفاری و قدوسی و جبروت

  یہ چار عناصر ہوں تو بنتا ہے مسلمان

  ہمسایہء جبریلِ امیں، بندہء خاکی

  ہے اس کا نشیمن نہ بخارا نہ بدخشان۔ (علامہ اقبالؒ)

  Dr. Sb was the last of dervishes I had known. I still remember the day when I first time came to UMT to meet him in the summer of 2012. He greeted me wholeheartedly and with a catchy smile, that we all know was his distinguished quality. I told him that I needed a job and that too at UMT. He asked me about my strengths also for a copy of my curriculum vitae. He was such a great man that despite there was no vacancy available at that time, passed on instructions to HR to create a place for me. After a few days, I received the call from OHR that the university management had hired me and that I would be working in the Rector Secretariat. Later on, I was promoted to the position of Public Relations Officer and until today, I have been continuously working on this position. Thank you very much Sir for taking care of many others and me who sought out your help.

  It was a matter of proud for me to be UMT’s spokesperson. And it is my honor to work closely with Hasan Sb. During my career, I penned up hundreds of thousands of press releases from the speeches he made in conferences and events. This is quite challenging job as you need to be utmost careful in dealing with media and releasing the information on behalf of your boss. If you do not understand the personality traits, choice of words the boss uses and the thoughts he conveys, you are likely to mess up the things and could damage reputation. In this sense, I mean this job is tricky. Not a single occasion came on which he showed concern that why I included this or that point in a certain press release.

  He was pleased with the type of reporting I was coming up with. Another positive characteristic of his personality was that despite he was big boss; he always found out time to appreciate individuals as well as teams. He did it in many different ways like appreciating in person if we happened to meet him, through email, via Whatsup message or on phone whenever he got time. He also appreciated people by giving bonus salaries to them. He was not kind of bosses who stay away from their subjects and assume that once they’re paying them against their services so it was not a big deal to appreciate them. But, Hasan Sb always took care of those who worked in his organization. When a faculty member achieved a success by getting research articles published or receiving best teacher/researcher awards, he would instruct to hold a special ceremony in their honor and appreciate them on behalf of UMT.

  There is no doubt his was a magnetic personality where people of all ages felt attracted and they would desperately look forward to catching a glimpse of their beloved leader and speaking with him. Attraction in his lectures, attraction in his words, attraction in his body language, and attraction whenever he gave importance to employees whatever their rank be. Whenever people learned he was about to enter the university premises, they would rush to a nearby place to catch his glimpse. From a common person to dignitaries and people working in business chambers and multinational companies, everyone derived inspiration from Hasan Sb’s charismatic personality. Many people told me that they often sought Dr. Sb’s consultation on certain important family matters and he would gladly do so by providing suggestions.

  A UMT employee told me on the condition of anonymity that his little daughter was so much attached with Hasan Sb that she would ardently run toward him whenever she saw him. His relationship with the Holy Quran was very strong and it further strengthened with every passing of day. When the Holy month of Ramadan came, he often had it announced in UMT masjid that free of cost copies of the Holy Quran with translation had been kept in the library and anyone could go there and collect their copy. He wanted to see students and the faculty studying Quran and changing their lives. He himself was deeply in love with the Holy Book. Dr. Ahmed Murad, the eldest brother of Hasan Sb told that once Hasan Sb was in Canada and stayed there in a hotel, he forgot the copy of Holy Quran that was with him all through the journey. Upon his arrival to Pakistan, he telephoned Dr. Ahmed and asked him to hurriedly go to Canada and collect the Holy Book from that hotel as he feared since the Book was in a non-Muslim country so how will they treat it-was escalating tension. When Dr. Ahmed reached there and received the copy, Dr. Hasan Sb was relieved and contented. In the words of Allama Iqbal:
  یہ راز کسی کو معلوم نہیں کہ مومن

  قاری نظر آتا ہے، حقیقت میں ہے قرآن.

  Ibrahim also came up with some of interesting life sketches recalling that his father was very close to God. “He never missed Namaz be it rain or shine. If we were in a journey and saw a masjid, he would often say let’s offer 2 rakat nafal”, Ibrahim said. Adding that every night after Tahjud and Fajir prayer, he used to memorize Quran and by doing so repeatedly, he had memorized half of the Holy Book. Quoting the needy students especially orphans, Ibrahim told that Dr. Sb was very anxious about orphans and whenever they approached him for discount in fee, he generously waived their tuition fees off. He said that he was a great father who was always concerned about religious edification of his children and for this purpose, he set an example to be followed by us. His lifelong fellow and the student, Abid Shirwani Sb said his relationship with Hasan Sb consisted of more or less 35 years and that he found him a man who had no flaws within and outside.

  What about those hundreds of thousands of people including the present and ex students of the varsity who are expressing their grief on Social Media and through other means of communication that they lost a spiritual leader, a mentor and a teacher? Isn’t this evidence enough for Allah to accept in the favor of this man and grant him highest place in janna. In fact, Allah never leaves His friends in the lurch. So many people who claim to be working with Hasan Sb for years and years, but not a single of them recalled any negative thing. Who can deny the fact that despite he was a boss of all of us, he never bubbled up anger, a human aspect that is widely practiced by all of us. But, Dr. Hasan Sb was a kind of person who did not know what an anger was. He was kindhearted, forgiving, and a highly learned man whose knowledge taught him what humbleness meant and how to treat other fellow human beings with utmost respect and dignity. Those of us, who knew Dr. Murad will witness that in no sense he was an ordinary man rather amazingly a marvelous personality who lived and died for a great cause. The cause, which is great in itself and which is all about empowering people with knowledge so that they are able to bring social, political, and economic change in the country. He was a universal man because he possessed respected skills in many fields of knowledge that are widely acknowledged at global level.
  تو نے پوچھی ہے امامت کی حقیقت مجھ سے

  حق تجھے میری طرح صاحب اسرار کرے

  ہے وہی تیرے زمانے کا امام برحق

  جو تجھے حاضر و موجود سے بیزار کرے

  موت کے آئینے میں تجھ کو دکھا کر رخ دوست

  زندگی تیرے لیے اور بھی دشوار کرے

  دے کے احساس زیاں تیرا لہو گرما دے

  فقر کی سان چڑھا کر تجھے تلوار کرے

  فتنئہ ملت بیضا ہے امامت اس کی

  جو مسلماں کو سلاطیں کا پرستار کرے۔(علامہ اقبالؒ)

  Since this tragic incident took place, people from all parts of the world have been coming out with lots of condolence messages. Poets, writers, media personnel, civil society representatives, and politicians in their own way are expressing the grief over the sad demise of this great man. Social Media is loaded with the posts and videos paying tribute to this man who was a mentor of a few people, but the leader of many. Whoever met me and whoever talked to me had one feeling in common that “I can’t believe Dr. Hasan is no more in this world”; “I haven’t seen in my whole life such an inspiring and pious person like him”; “he was such a kindhearted, soft-spoken person who really did not know how to become angry”.

  Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad was the most transforming figure of the modern times and without question, his legacy is one that he defied the odds that were posing a threat to the way of quality education, research and intellectual growth of the students as well as the faculty members. He wanted to see UMT faculty growing up more professionally and which is why he always invested for its advanced training. Dr. Murad stood up for what he believed in change through 100% literacy rate, prosperity through creating opportunities for university graduates, social harmony through respecting and giving space to one another and political stability through passion and patriotism.

  It’s gratifying to know that a great intellectual figure, one man, would devote all of his life to the cause of Pakistan and Islam and sacrifice so much in his individual life setting up an educational trust, a chain of schools, a group of colleges and would envision to do the related work in Turkey, UAE, Sri-Lanka and other parts of the world knowing that it would better the next generation of men and women after him. As a matter of fact, the world has lost a great champion, a philanthropist and a leader. Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad, lover of human beings, a social activist and a reformer for the fight against discrimination based on caste, color, religion, ethnicity and geographical background. He was the ambassador of peace and harmony among all faiths and religions. And it was the reason he sponsored activities of US-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium (UPIC) and arranged conferences in Pakistan where scholars from Christianity, Islam and Judaism exchanged their thought with one other and came up with recommendations to restore peace and harmony among all the faiths especially among those who shared Abrahamic origin.

  ڈھونڈو گے اگر ملکوں ملکوں، ملنے کے نہیں نایاب ہیں ہم
  تعبیر ہے جس کی حسرت و غم، اے ہم نفسو وہ خواب ہیں ہم

  اے درد بتا کچھ تُو ہی بتا! اب تک یہ معمہ حل نہ ہوا
  ہم میں ہے دلِ بےتاب نہاں یا آپ دلِ دلِ بےتاب ہیں ہم

  میں حیرت و حسرت کا مارا، خاموش کھڑا ہوں ساحل پر
  دریائے محبت کہتا ہے، آ! کچھ بھی نہیں پایاب ہیں ہم

  لاکھوں ہی مسافر چلتے ہیں منزل پہ پہنچتے ہیں دو ایک
  اے اہلِ زمانہ قدر کرو نایاب نہ ہوں، کم یاب ہیں ہم

  مرغانِ قفس کو پھولوں نے، اے شاد! یہ کہلا بھیجا ہے
  آ جاؤ جو تم کو آنا ہوایسے میں، ابھی شاداب ہیں ہم۔

  He did so much for Pakistan. His strength, courage and love of Pakistan and humanity as a whole has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to young generation, university students and people belonging to all spheres of life. He might be one of the most impactful educationists in the modern era, but for most of us, he was obviously a charismatic leader who did a lot for cultivating an innovative culture of higher education with the concept of groundbreaking research. Through the platform of National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC), he did a lot for the promotion of quality business education in the country and enhanced the ranking of business schools. I think he will be, at least from my experience, known not just, for how great of an academician he was, but for the impact that he had left on Pakistani society as well as the international world. Just I think his personality, in combination with how humble, noble, great, inspiring and good hearted he was; he made an indelible mark on this country’s history and academia. Dr. Hasan is a role model for so many people including me.

  He was the person who touched the hearts of people in all branches of life, academia, media, politics, religion, business, and civil society. He was the man who was engaged beyond academia, a social reformer who had the courage to give hope to so many people and even inspired CEOs of other companies and business tycoons. He was a teacher who through lectures fought for literacy, peace and tolerance — he was a true Momin for whom Iqbal had said:

  یہ راز کسی کو نہیں معلوم کہ مومن

  قاری نظر آتا ہے، حقیقت میں ہے قرآن

  قدرت کے مقاصد کا عیار اس کے ارادے

  دنیا میں بھی میزان، قیامت میں بھی میزان

  جس سے جگرِ لالہ میں ٹھنڈک ہو، وہ شبنم

  دریاؤں کے دل جس سے دہل جائیں، وہ طوفان

  فطرت کا سرودِ ازلی اس کے شب و روز

  آہنگ میں یکتا، صفتِ سورہء رحمٰن

  بنتے ہیں مری کارگہِ فکر میں انجم

  لے اپنے مقدّر کے ستارے کو تو پہچان

  Life is so short and mortal. Every human being who has come to this world has to die someday and return to God. But, successful are those who spend their life in accordance with the path showed to us by our Creator. People like Dr. Hasan Sb are born after centuries; they are the salt of the earth and they are a treasure for the world because their efforts make a big difference in impacting fellow human being’s life. We realize their value, when they part away this unfaithful world.

  May Allah give strength to the family of Dr. Hasan Sb to bear this great loss. Indeed, he lost his life in the way of God and he is a martyr who is alive, this is our belief. Let’s pray to Allah for Dr. Sb to be granted the highest place in janna. Ameen

  آہ یہ دنیا یہ ماتم خانۂ برنا و پیر

  آدمی ہے کس طلسم دوش و فردا میں اسیر

  کتنی مشکل زندگی ہے کس قدر آساں ہے موت

  گلشن ہستی میں مانند نسیم ارزاں ہے موت

  ڈوب جاتے ہیں سفینے موج کی آغوش میں

  نے مجال شکوہ ہے نے طاقت گفتار ہے

  زندگانی کیا ہے اک طوق گلو افشار ہے

  قافلے میں غیر فریاد درا کچھ بھی نہیں

  اک متاع دیدۂ تر کے سوا کچھ بھی نہیں

  ختم ہو جائے گا لیکن امتحاں کا دور بھی

  ہیں پس نہ پردۂ گردوں ابھی دور اور بھی

  زندگی کی آگ کا انجام خاکستر نہیں

  ٹوٹنا جس کا مقدر ہو یہ وہ گوھر نہیں

  زندگی محبوب ایسی دیدۂ قدرت میں ہے

  ذوق حفظ زندگی ہر چیز کی فطرت میں ہے

  موت کے ہاتھوں سے مٹ سکتا اگر نقش حیات

  عام یوں اس کو نہ کر دیتا نظام کائنات

  ہے اگر ارزاں تو یہ سمجھو اجل کچھ بھی نہیں

  جس طرح سونے سے جینے میں خلل کچھ بھی نہیں

  آہ غافل موت کا راز نہاں کچھ اور ہے

  نقش کی ناپائیداری سے عیاں کچھ اور ہے

  سردی مرقد سے بھی افسردہ ہو سکتا نہیں

  خاک میں دب کر بھی اپنا سوز کھو سکتا نہیں

  پھول بن کر اپنی تربت سے نکل آتا ہے یہ

  موت سے گویا قبائے زندگی پاتا ہے یہ

  ہے لحد اس قوت آشفتہ کی شیرازہ بند

  ڈالتی ہے گردن گردوں میں جو اپنی کمند

  موت تجدید مذاق زندگی کا نام ہے

  خواب کے پردے میں بیداری کا اک پیغام ہے

  خوگر پرواز کو پرواز میں ڈر کچھ نہیں

  موت اس گلشن میں جز سنجیدن پر کچھ نہیں

  کہتے ہیں اہل جہاں درد اجل ہے لا دوا

  سر پہ آ جاتی ہے جب کوئی مصیبت ناگہاں

  اشک پیہم دیدۂ انساں سے ہوتے ہیں رواں

  ربط ہو جاتا ہے دل کو نالہ و فریاد سے

  خون دل بہتا ہے آنکھوں کی سرشک آباد سے

  آدمی تاب شکیبائی سے گو محروم ہے

  اس کی فطرت میں یہ اک احساس نامعلوم ہے

  جوہر انساں عدم سے آشنا ہوتا نہیں

  آنکھ سے غائب تو ہوتا ہے فنا ہوتا نہیں

  یہ اگر آئین ہستی ہے کہ ہو ہر شام صبح

  مرقد انساں کی شب کا کیوں نہ ہو انجام صبح

  دام سیمین تخیل ہے مرا آفاق گیر

  کر لیا ہے جس سے تیری یاد کو میں نے اسیر

  یاد سے تیری دل درد آشنا معمور ہے

  جیسے کعبے میں دعاؤں سے فضا معمور ہے

  زندگانی تھی تری مہتاب سے تابندہ تر

  خوب تر تھا صبح کے تارے سے بھی تیرا سفر

  مثل ایوان سحر مرقد فروزاں ہو ترا

  نور سے معمور یہ خاکی شبستاں ہو ترا

  آسماں تیری لحد پر شبنم افشانی کرے

  سبزۂ نورستہ اس گھر کی نگہبانی کرے۔(اقبال)

  September 18, 2018 at 5:39 pm

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