Al-Huda Foundation 

THE PROPHETS OF ISLAM

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Syed Muhammad Hussain Shamsi was born on December 24, 1878 at Narowal, District Sialkot, British India.  He lost his father at an early age.  Even at a young and tender age, he started to work to help his mother and younger sibs.  He left home for the tiny State of Jammu for education, about thirty miles north of Narowal.  He was a brilliant student of the oriental languages, English and Biblical Studies.  He scored the second highest position in Biblical Studies in the Panjab University examination for the entire region. 

He had a passion for the healing sciences, but the mundane need for survival took its priority.  After matriculation, destiny took him to the newly opened territory of Kenya.  He enrolled to work for the British Railways in Kenya.  Here he found himself to be one of the few educated people.  He saw a unique opportunity to serve a nascent Muslim Community in a strange new land.  He led the ritual prayers for them, attended to their funerals, weddings and answered their questions on Islamic Fiqh related to their daily lives.  He led and participated in several interfaith debates and dialogues about Islam.  All this essentially stimulated him to remain up-to-date in Islamic and other non- Islamic literature.  In so doing, he built up a large personal library of reference books which people borrowed to read on their own. 

He was committed to education, propagation and the defence of his faith.  Towards this end, he started evening and week end schools for the young and the adults, and initially used his own premises for most activities. 

As the community enlarged, he participated actively to build the first mosque in Nairobi, and to employ an alim (a Muslim minister and a jurist) to carry out the daily religious practices.  However he continued his services at a personal level throughout his life.

He died in Mayo Hospital, Lahore on October 18, 1962 attended by his youngest son who was a medical student at that time.  His passion came to fruition.  He saw his son in the Medical School and in his service by his bed side.

He was buried besides his father in their family cemetary at Narowal, Pakistan.