Life and Services of Maulana Muhammad Isa Mansoori
Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿĪsā Manṣūrī (raḥimahu llāh) belonged to that circle of active and thoughtful scholars of our age who devoted their lives to daʿwah and tablīgh, teaching and writing, and to the religious and communal service of the Muslim ummah. Although resident in London, the sphere of his activities was global. Besides serving as President of the World Islamic Forum, he remained associated with numerous Islamic organisations, movements and religious institutions.
Mawlānā Manṣūrī was born on 15 January 1945 in the district of Amrāvatī, Gujarat. After graduating from Jāmiʿah Ḥusainiyyah, Rāndēr, he became active in the fields of daʿwah, tablīgh and authorship. He maintained a deep connection with the Tablīghī Jamāʿat and benefited from the company and companionship of its elders, such as Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūsuf (raḥimahu llāh), Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Saʿīd Aḥmad Khān (raḥimahu llāh) and others. In 1975 he travelled to England and there made the religious, communal and social service of Muslims the principal purpose of his life.
Intellectually he was in harmony with the inclusive and broad-based school of thought of Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ, due to which he enjoyed a close relationship with Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Sayyid Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī Nadwī (raḥimahu llāh). He was a proponent of the unity of the ummah and strove to lessen sectarian and organisational differences so as to generate mutual trust and cooperation among Muslims.
Mawlānā Manṣūrī, endowed with scholarly and intellectual taste, was also a man of the pen. Besides innumerable articles, he authored several important books, of which the following are particularly noteworthy:
1. Religious Madrasahs of the Subcontinent: A Study of Curriculum and System
2. The Intellectual and Civilisational Conflict between the West and the Muslim World
3. The Tablīghī Speeches of al-Ḥājj Faḍl Karīm
4. Mawlānā Saʿīd Aḥmad Khān: Personality, Circumstances and Religious Services
My association with Mawlānā Muḥammad ʿĪsā Manṣūrī (raḥimahu llāh) began after my arrival in Britain in 1991. With the passage of time it did not remain limited to mere acquaintance and formal contacts; rather it unfolded into a long companionship of personal relationship, intellectual and scholarly benefit, mutual consultation, and joint striving in communal and collective endeavours. During the past thirty-five years we met repeatedly, exchanged views on religious and communal issues, and found opportunities to work together on various collective matters.
Throughout this lengthy association I observed him as a scholar possessed of deep concern and as an active dāʿī who not only felt the problems of the ummah but remained anxious and energetic in seeking their solutions. The breadth of his thought, his missionary zeal, his religious honour and his awareness of the need for unity of the ummah were prominent traits of his personality. In conversation with him the wider interests of the ummah and the quest for unity and solidarity among Muslims were always conspicuous. Intellectual exchanges and consultation with him on communal affairs were for me a constant source of benefit.
Today, on his passing, the memories of a companionship of thirty-five years rise up together. Some personalities are not remembered solely for their scholarly works or positions; they also leave imprints of their relationships, sincerity, thought and striving upon the hearts of others. Mawlānā Manṣūrī was such a personality for me. His departure evokes the feeling of having lost a long-standing companion, a sincere elder and a fellow traveller in communal labour. The memories attached to him and his religious and communal services will surely be remembered for a long time.
May Allāh, exalted is He, forgive the late Mawlānā, accept his scholarly, missionary and communal services, raise his ranks, and grant his bereaved family and associates beautiful patience. Āmīn, yā Rabb al-ʿālamīn.
