Thread by @IsmailIbrahimMS

These are some passing thoughts on the demise of M. Yusuf Patelmama (or Mama) of Batley, UK.

1. His passing truly represents the loss of knowledge – for those who studied under him, he is irreplaceable.

2. He was born in Kafleta, in the Surat District of Gujarat. His mother died when he was four, and was cared for by his aunt. He later moved to his adopted village of Taraj, where he married the youngest of several siblings (the only surviving sibling and aunt to both my parents)

3. He studied Quran in DU Dabhel and DU Taraj, which at the time were the two most prominent Islamic seminaries in the Gujarat. The latter was renowned for its Hifz programme.

4. He studied his Alimiyyah in DU Deoband, graduating in the mid-60s. There, he met all the then Mashayikh of UP. He returned to teach Quran in Taraj, replacing M. Ibrahim Amejee who had emigrated to London, a Hifz teacher to people like my father and Mufti Musa Badat (Batley).

5. Post-Alimiyyah, he led Tarawih in Taraj for a few years, under the auspices of M. Ali Muhamamd Tarajwi, an ex-teacher at DU Deoband who had pledged Bay’ah to M. Ashraf Ali Thanwi (his bio and role in eradicating Bidah in large parts of Gujarat is documented and published).

6. M. Mama himself emigrated to the UK circa 1970, settling in Batley. He was one of the foremost younger generation of scholars to settle in these parts. He was an Imam, and taught in the Jum'ah Mosque and Henry Street Mosque in the 70s, where his funeral was performed.

7. An audio of his Tarawih from 50 years ago in Batley, in 1972, can be accessed here: soundcloud.com/exclusousivite…

8. He taught at DU Dewsbury since its inception. He was the last among the cohort who taught from its very beginning. He was tested when he was 'retired' from there due to moon politics in '08, but in my knowledge, never once did he utter a word of complaint over this pettitness.

9. He was then invited to teach at Darul Ilm (Dewsbury), an outfit for sisters. He taught various texts there including Sahih 'l-Bukhari. He taught there until his death. His loss will be most felt by the sisters who have lost an active teacher, having only partially taught them.

10. His students run into the hundreds at the Maktab level. There is barely any Muslim family in the locality of Batley that has not been touched by his passing. Many of his pupils are, by now, parents, even grandparents. At the Alimiyyah level, his students are spread globally.

11. For the Alimiyyah in DU Dewsbury, he would be typically assigned texts that no other teacher would touch, from books like al-Taftazani’s Mukhtasar 'l-Ma'ani to al-Yazdi’s Sharh 'l-Tahdhib. Expectdely, those books were retired as he left.

12. He used to say there were times in his early career where he could have barged shoulders with Ghazali and Ibn Sina. He was famed for his unique memory in class. On occasion, he would read out all the verses with the word سلام in it. He was laden with factoids and anecdotes.

13. He was extremely humble outside of the classroom, away from lecturing, and especially with former students but also his peers. He oftentimes used to walk alongside the corridor walls, as graduates from DU Dewsbury would testify. When he taught however, he was in his element.

14. Perhaps the greatest thing he imparted was not the knowledge contained in the texts he taught, but rather his character and method of delivery, which invariably rubbed off on what became a generation of a well-rounded alumni from DU Dewsbury spanning three decades.

15. He is credited with providing a link to DU Deoband for hundreds who passed through his classes, and was an important teacher in providing a crucial balance and mix of backgrounds - alongside Nadwah, Dabhel, Nizamuddin and Koringhi - within the teacher fraternity at Dewsbury.

16. As a family man, he seamlessly blended into social interactions without any hint of arrogance or setting himself 'apart', for which he had every right to do so. He voluntarily forfeited that so to have a simple demeanour. His scholarly advice for family was always accessible.

17. He was a serial networker and had the uncanny ability to connect scholars with scholars, across India, South Africa, Canada and the UK. In the contemporary sense, he had a unique knowledge of history, Rijal and events, both at scholarly and family levels.

18. He was well versed in Hindi, Urdu, Farsi as well as some knowledge of Sanskrit I believe, in addition to Arabic, English and Gujarati. He was a multilingual in the truest sense.

19. He provided countless Tahniks for newborns, as he did for my eldest daughter. On a personal level, he was the wali to my wife for our marriage. His decades of experience meant he was an expert counsellor who combined faith and life experience when he dispensed his advice.

20. He was a traditional Indian scholar who carried many Urdu books in his library, far removed from the flashy Arabic bleach-white-page prints that are found nowadays. His library remains a treasure trove of books and analysis that are hard to come across, even online.

21. He spent his whole life in the services of Islamic knowledge. He was not a brand name by any stretch of the imagination save for these parts and those who studied under him, but this is perhaps a lesson for us - work hard and be influential without expecting widespread fame.

22. This is him, from a couple of years ago, in London, reunited with the Mushaf he memorised the Quran back in India. Though there will be hundreds who will personally feel his loss, they will also consider themselves lucky to have been a part of his life.

ربنا اغفر له وارحمه