Maulana M. Yusuf Islahi

of an American Muslim” (1973), written under the pen name Marian Kazi, describes her experiences and reflections on Turkey and the state of Muslims generally. Other sabbaticals included a year in Jordan and another in Kuwait. Through her travels, she not only gained a deeper knowledge of Islam, but also embraced the warm ethos of Muslim cultures that was part of her inherent nature to begin with — generosity, sacrifice, selflessness, helping the indigent and so many other praiseworthy qualities.

Her talents and creativity took various forms. As Nura Jandali remembers, “From as early as I can remember, we spent our childhood summers visiting my grandparents in Colorado. My grandmother came from an artistic, musical background and we gained a greater appreciation of her many talents through her creative prowess. In between telling us stories, my grandmother devoted every waking moment typing away to produce some of the most preliminary and formative books. Her writings catered to every audience — each and every book a manifestation of her devotion to preserving and conveying Islam in America. At times she would spend hours searching for a single word in her Arabic/English dictionary looking to find the perfect translation so that the meaning could be conveyed with accuracy.”

Over the next few years she wrote, illustrated, edited or contributed to publications, among them the “Muslim World Coloring Book,” which contains many of the art forms and architecture she saw during her travels; “Karavan: Tales and Plays for Children” (1977), “What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims” (1979), “Kareem and Fatimah” (1990), “Islam: The Path of God” (1996) and the two-volume “A History of the Prophets of Islam” (2002). She also edited and added hadith reference numbers for Norma Tarazi’s “The Child in Islam” (1995) and edited and transcribed numerous scholarly works. As Abdul Malik Mujahid wrote on social media, “Zeba Siddiqui, a pioneering American Muslim writer has passed away. Three generations ... benefited from her.”

Her reach was both global and local. She attended Islamic conferences in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where then-President Zia ul-Haq personally welcomed her. Her friend and co-MSA/ISNA active worker Iman Elkadi recounts one of the trips, “In December 1980, we traveled to Nigeria to participate in a Muslim women’s conference at Bayero University in Kano. We stayed in touch over the years by phone and through correspondence and occasional visits. Sister Zeba was a dear and respected friend who will be sorely missed. May Allah reward her and bless her with His mercy.”

As one of Ft. Collins’ longest Muslim residents, she welcomed generations of foreign students. Her many local volunteer activities included sponsoring and aiding Cambodian and Bosnian refugees, collecting and distributing charity to the needy, co-founding the interfaith group Women for Peace and Justice and serving on the hospital’s ethics committee. She also helped countless women in need, morally, financially and physically, even in her last years and conducted classes for new converts at the masjid.

As Nura Jandali eulogized her, “It was the outpouring of love that drew everyone to her; she was a mother to the destitute, the convert who had no parents, to those struggling with spiritual and physical infirmity, suffering from poverty and inmates writing her letters from prison asking questions about Islam. Theirs was an elect generation, laying down the foundation of Islam in America, when our numbers were few as a community in a desolate landscape for Muslims. She was someone who had a living, breathing, dynamic interactive relationship with God. May Allah accept her as one of His beloved slaves, for I know she eagerly awaited her meeting with Him.” ih

Contributed by her daughter Ameena Jandali, a founding member and content manager for Islamic Networks Group and former member of ISNA’s Majlis ash-Shura.

Maulana M. Yusuf Islahi: Life and Legacy

Respected Scholar & Spiritual Mentor

1932-2021

Shaikh Muhammad Yusuf Islahi, 89, an internationally known scholar and spiritual mentor, passed away on Dec. 21, 2021, in India after a brief illness.

His family was from Attock, Punjab, pre-partition India. During his childhood, he moved to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), with his father, the hafiz and Hadith scholar Shaikh Abdul Qadeem Khan.

Having memorized the Quran while still young, he studied there until high school and then pursued Arabic and Islamic studies at Saharanpur’s Mazahirul Uloom. His keen interest in the Quran caused him to enroll in Azamgarh’s Madrasah Al-Islah, where he became a special student of Maulana Akhtar Ahsan, who followed Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi’s tafseer method. Upon graduation, Shaikh Yusuf took the honorific title Islahi like many others who graduated from this academic institution.

During his studies, Shaikh Yusuf became interested in Maulana Maududi’s writings, joined India’s Jama’at Islami (JI) and was soon elevated to its higher ranks. After graduation, he returned to Bareilly, led its JI branch and was eventually chosen as a member of the JI national consultative body, a post he retained until his death.

A moderate, kind and courteous person, Shaikh Yusuf was peaceful, avoided controversy and disliked division. He delivered his speeches and wrote articles in simple but very powerful and effective beautiful Urdu. Famous for his Quranic lessons, he emphasized the sacred text’s coherent, dynamic and action-oriented message.

Shaikh Yusuf published articles in two monthly magazines – his own Zikra and the JI’s Zindigi — and authored 60+ books. In the preface of his most famous and popular book, “Adab Zindgi” (“Etiquettes of Life”), he wrote, “Civility and good manners, dignity and courtesy, neatness and purity, prudence and discretion, organization and discipline, keen aesthetic sense, magnanimity and nobility of temperament, sympathy and consideration, mildness and pleasant speech, hospitality and humility, selflessness and sacrifice, sincerity and freedom from lust, fortitude and perseverance, sense of responsibility and industry, fear of God and piety, reliance on God and bold initiative — these are the magnificent features of a true Islamic life.”

His “Qur’ani Ta’limat” (“Quranic Teachings”) summarized the main Qur’anic teachings. His two-volume “Asan Fiqh” related matters of everyday fiqh, and “Da’i Azam” emphasized the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as the greatest da’i. He also wrote many short books on social issues and the life of great Muslims.

During his first visit to the U.S. in 1979 at my invitation, Shaikh Yusuf spent several months lecturing in New Jersey, New York and other states. When I moved to California in 1981, I invited him to our First International Sirah Conference