The British Muslim Gentleman We Will Miss

I met brother Idris for the first time around seven years ago.

At the time he was living in Egypt, and he was visiting the company where I was working to meet one of my colleagues.

A few months later, we met a second time at a conference in Cairo about Islam, and we spoke for a while, then he disappeared for a longer duration.

My first impression during these two brief encounters was a very positive one, as you could immediately notice his courtesy, kindness and refined manners; the true signs of a believer.

Around two years later we met several times in a row for da’wah related matters, and one of them was actually on a boat on the Nile during the month of Ramadan.

The occasion was to video tape a talk for new Muslims in Eid, and brother Idris, himself a convert to Islam, talked about his Eid experiences and gave nice ideas and suggestions on what new converts could do on the day of Eid in order not to feel lonely or isolated, especially when they had no Muslim relatives or friends to share Eid with. It was a great video.

After we finished, I dropped him off at the metro station, and we agreed to meet again for more videos.

A few months later, he decided it was time to return to the UK.

He felt like going back home, and had actually received a job offer to work for an Islamic organization in Birmingham.

We kept in touch through e-mail, then a few months ago, he mentioned his health was not too good, and that he had a serious illness.

In the last e-mail I received from him mid-December he said:

“Because of my illness, which has the potential to make me go blind, I have not really done any work since July. In the last month I have been overwhelmed by the Muslim community in the UK…”

He spoke highly of all the support he got from the community, and he had this gift of always making you remember Allah (SWT) when he talked.

It’s this direct relation with God, always remembering Him and praising Him, which will remain in my memory of brother Idris, together with his refined manners and kindness.

May Allah (SWT) have mercy on him, and reward him with the highest reward in Jannah.

Ameen

Tarek from Egypt

More of Idris Tawfiq’s Works

• Prayer Is Better Than Sleep
• Why Should a Non-Muslim Discover Islam? (Part 2)
• Living with “Western Values”
• On Allah’s Greatness: Allah-u Akbar!
• Jesus in the Quran
• Islam Needs You to Live for It
• Becoming Better Muslims (Part 2)
• Prayer Makes Us Better (Part 3)
• Following the Prophet: Our Deen is Full of Love

You can read many more on his page.