The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

By

Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai

Chairman Islamic Center

[email protected]

Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

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Introduction

I have accompanied Sheikh Nematullah for decades in Japan. He is a unique person in his dawa method so he is of the idea that: "If every Muslim calls for the all people of the earth will become Muslim in two years." He also says: "The origin and spirit of Dawah is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the Arabs: "Say, there is no but one God you will succeed". I have explained the examples of Sheikh Naymatullah's unique method in Dawah and translate it into several languages for the benefit of Ummah, seeking the pleasance's of Allah.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

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Who is Sheikh Nimatullah?

Edited by Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman: Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

Sheikh Nimatullah is of Turkish origin. He lived in Al- Madinah Al-Monawara (Saudi Arabia) for 15 years, and in Makkah as of Jabal Al-Nour inside Hira Mountain. Before that he was doing AZAN (prayer call)

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in Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the largest mosque in Istanbul (). He was Imam in many in Istanbul.

He studied under many scholars who were contemporaries of the late Sultan Abdul Hamid. He visited more than 50 countries for Dawa. He made hundreds of pub goers in Europe to enter the mosques and become pious Muslims. With the permission of the Chinese government, he introduced into China 20 thousand copies of the Holy Qur’an in 1981. He visited Siberia and its surroundings in Russia three times, wearing his white garment and braving a temperature of 40 degrees below zero.

Sheikh Nimatullah lived with me in Japan for more than twenty years roaming the country from North to South, building mosques and turning them into schools. He made hundreds, rather, thousands of Japanese people to embrace by the call of La Ilaha Illa Allah “there is no god but Allah”. Each day he used to distribute Islamic pamphlets and urge the Muslims to do so. He used to receive people in the Islamic Center Japan from morning to evening. During the night he used to visit

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several mosques in Tokyo and he used to take people by taxis on his own account to pray the Fajr prayer at Tokyo central mosque. Mosques are his residence. We pay him nothing even a cent. Sheikh Nimatulla does not backbite anybody. He does not tell tale or antagonize anybody. He brings the entire Muslim community together. All people love him even if they dislike each other. He does not invoke God against anybody, but his usual supplication is “O God guide the enemy of Islam and turn their enmity into love and support to Islam such as You did with Omar, Khalid and IKRIMA". Sheikh Nimatullah is a truly God-fearing person.

Since I have accompanied him for several years and absorbed his approach of Dawa, besides my best knowledge of his character, I would like to write some articles about him hoping that he would be an example for Muslim youth everywhere. Asking Allah forgiveness ( ْإن أرﯾﺪُ إﻻ اﻹﺻﻼ َح ﻣﺎ اﺳﺘﻄﻌﺖ) and reward "I only desire reform so far as I am able, to the best of my power", Surat Hud, verse 88. Indeed, Allah knows my intention behind what I wrote about this person.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

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Sheikh Nimatullah’s Approach to Dawa

By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected] I accompanied Sheikh Nimatullah in the field of Da’wa in Japan and elsewhere for more than 20 years and I understood his approach. I have come up with the following:

Out of all Daiis, I believe that Sheikh Nimatullah’s approach to Dawa is the strongest, fastest and the most effective. I support the opinion he continuously used to repeat that if every Muslim embarks on the duty of Dawa in any way whatsoever, Islam will prevail in the entire world. His method of Dawa is very simple, everyone can implement it. Thus, Prophet Mohamed peace be upon him used to say: “convey the message of Islam even by a single verse of the Qur’an”.

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The basic philosophy of Sheikh Nimatullah in Dawa is that the prophet peace be upon him used to say to the Arabs “say: La ilaha illa Allah "there is no god but Allah, you will be successful). Sheikh Nimatullah has simplified this expression by saying to the people: there are two words whoever says them, all their problems will vanish and they will succeed in their life. He also used to say it is desirable to repeat these words- if the articulator is a Muslim he will have his faith increased and if non- Muslim he will become Muslim. These words will enlighten his ears, mouth and heart. Calmness, tranquility and mercy will prevail when hearing and uttering these words.

Sheikh Nimatullah has developed this method by saying in English (one gol all problems finished), mixing with English as (gol) means say in Arabic. Sheikh Nimatullah changed it with a Japanese expression (shi awasei no kutuba). So, the listener will understand that the Sheikh wants him to repeat: there is no other god but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah. Sheikh Nimatullah believes that he who repeats these words enters into Al Islam and then he says to him (I present

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Muslim Name) such as (Ahmed, Mohammed, Fatima, Aisha etc.) Later on he started calling Japanese to good wards "UNAMORI

From our side, we have developed this method. In one of our meetings attended by more than a hundred professors, Mr. Ali AL ZABI explained Islam in a fluent Japanese language and answered the attendants' questions for two hours, Sheikh Nimetullah was with him. This what we are doing in our Islamic Center Japan and what other centers and Daii are doing in Japan and elsewhere. After the lecture some attendants may convert to Islam immediately or after one week or after a year or no one among them will embrace Islam till his/her death. The impression of the Islamic Umma today is that we should not be hasty in calling people to Islam, we should not hurt their feelings, we have to be patient and wait to give them more Islamic books and publications and more good examples. It is even better not to call to Islam until we become as faithful and pious as the Prophet’s companions. Based on what we have learned from Sheikh Nimatullah’s approach, we said to the meeting participants that whoever believes in God’s monotheism

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and in Mohammed’s prophethood by heart and utters it with his mouth, he will become a Muslim. At this point all the Japanese attendants –males and females, declared “we are all prepared for this matter. Sheikh Nimatullah began repeating in an impressive tone La ilaha illa Allah “there is no other god but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah” and all repeated with him with chant. The sheikh pondered if they were 2, 5, or 10 we could give everyone a specific name but the attendants were more than one hundred, then he thought over and said “(all men Muhammad” and “all women Fatimah“. He was applauded by the audience expressing their pleasure for that.

I call the sheikh’s approach of Dawa, the prophet’s way and I can summarize it into two words “care and courage”. As for the care, the prophet was keen to call to Islam all those he could approach. Such a way needs attention as well as courage and strong nerve as the Arabs in the early days of Dawa used to object the prophet’s call and laugh at him. Although the prophet was hurt but he endured the objection of his call and insisted to call to Islam until he succeeded. Skeikh

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Nmatullah spares no time in calling everybody to Islam whether that person is a president, a ruler, a merchant, a customer a man or a woman and the response to his call amounts to 99%. When any person rejects his call he says” it is a reward of a martyr”.

Nimatullah’s Approach has its root in the prophet’s life. We may recall the visit of the prophet to the sick Jewish child who was dying and he said to him: say “there is no other god but Allah and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah” at this moment the child’s father said to his son obey Abul Gasim meaning the prophet Mohammad and the child uttered the SHAHADAH (declaration of faith) before he died.

We also recall the invitation of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him to the revered companion and one of the martyrs of the battle of Uhud, Othman bin MADHOON may Allah be pleased with him, who said; whenever the prophet saw me he used to say to me; a man like you does not lose sight of the truth of Islam, so I embraced Islam out of courtesy. One day I entered the Grand Mosque in Mecca and saw the Prophet, peace be

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upon him sitting next to the Kaaba. He called me and said: I want to let you know a verse which was just ﱠإن اﻟﻠﮫَ ﯾﺄﻣﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﻌﺪل واﻹﺣﺴﺎن وإﯾﺘﺎ ِء ذي اﻟﻘُْﺮﺑَﻰ ) revealed to me Verily, Allah) (وﯾﻨﮭﻰ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻔﺤﺸﺎ ِء واﻟ ُﻤ ْﻨ َﻜﺮ ﯾَ ِﻌ ُﻈ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻟﻌﻠﻜﻢ َﺗ ﱠﺬ ﱠﻛ ُﺮ ْون enjoins justice and kindness, and giving (help) to kinsfolk, and forbids indecency and evil and oppression, He admonishes you, that you may take heed) Surat An- Nahl, verse 90. It is then I realized that Islam is the right religion and thus I renewed my faith.

In one of our visits to the city of Riyadh -Sheikh Nimatullah and myself, one of the scholars said to us: I agree with your way of Dawa to "There is no god but Allah," and he told us that the Prophet, peace be upon him once upon a time called one Arab to say "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," the Arab said these are words which I hate the most. The Prophet, peace be upon him said to him, say them even if you hate them. When he uttered them God enlightened his heart and he converted to Islam.

I summed up the care as follows: you may have a non- Muslim friend, non-Muslim professors, non-Muslim

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students, non-Muslims workers, non-Muslims colleagues, non-Muslim customers and non-Muslims dealers. When you have the care you can relay the message of Islam to them. Courage is really needed in this matter. As for me I lived five years in student dormitory in Japan in the sixties of the last century. My neighbor was a Filipino; his father was an officer in the presidency of the Republic of Philippines. Every day this Filipino fellow used to tell me that he is of Islamic origin and that the name of his family suggests that his ancestors were Muslims. Although I am persistent at prayer from my youth and understand the rules of the Islamic religion besides being a student of graduate studies at the university, but I never called my neighbors to Islam. I feel sadness for that up to this day. My Japanese teachers used to say, "Although we do not like inflexibility but we love the Samarrai’s strictness," I never conveyed the message of Islam to them even though they saw me performing my prayers in the lab and in the farm as I was a student in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo. My Iraqi Christian colleague at the dormitory and university

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always says to me, "Please teach me Islam, my answer to him shut up, thinking that he mocks at me.

Sheikh Nimatullah says, the Umma ignored the initiative in inviting others to Islam, and through my experience with him, I would say as I mentioned above that his approach is the most effective one. In our successive visits to Malaysia, a lot of Chinese, Christians and Hindus were guided to Islam. Thanks to the call of Sheikh Nimatullah. Many of them have blamed Muslims for not calling them to Islam since it is easy to enter Islam in this way.

We attended a meeting in Kuala Lumpur organized by the (Outreach) group which is a branch of ABIM Youth Association in Malaysia, specializing in inviting non- Muslims to Islam. When we explained to them how we guided hundreds of individuals to Islam during our two- month stay in Malaysia, they said to us “You have achieved in two months what we have done in years. After hearing our experience they became more active and have introduced thousands of non-Muslims to Islam. We learned this from a meeting with their delegation in

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Istanbul on 02/6/2010 where they told us that thousands of people from different classes of society including teachers, administrators and the general public have embraced Islam.

In my successive articles about Sheikh Nimatullah, I included many examples that show the effectiveness of his approach of Dawa. In fact, goodness exists in Ummah and Daiis all over the world, and by these words I am not discrediting any one and any method of Dawa is good, but this is a commodity we will market to Ummah to take advantage of it (those whom Allah had guided, so follow their guidance). "I only desire reform so far as I am able, to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah".

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatulla

(3)

Rawdha the British lady By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

On the platform Shinjuku train station in Tokyo and at a distance of nearly 100 meters Sheikh Nimatullah saw a woman in white clothes. He approached her and discovered that she has features of non-Japanese and abruptly asked her “Do you speak English?) Yes, I am British” Replied the woman. And here he began to display his merchandise: “one gol (word) all problems finished”, mixing English words with Arabic as gol means a word or an utterance, "a sentence who says it, all his problems will vanish". These are the words Sheikh Nimatullah has derived from the saying of Prophet Muhammad to the Arabs: “say no god but Allah and you will succeed”.

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The British woman repeated the words then Sheikh Nimatullah said: “I present to you an Islamic name Rawdha", she rejoiced and then he handed her an Islamic introductory flyer prepared in English and Japanese by the Islamic Center and left.

Three days later, Rawdha called the Islamic Center and said “I saw an old man and I thought he was mad, he asked me to say, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" and gave me an Islamic name. Then she said: Frankly, I was suffering from many problems for a long time, but after I repeated those words, all my problems have gone, I want to see this Sheikh”. We took her telephone number and contacted Sheikh Nimatullah who was roaming southern Japan, making Dawa and we said to him, "there is a woman who wants to meet you, and we agreed he should come to Tokyo after three days and told the woman about that.

The British woman came dressed in white, from head to toe, accompanied by a Japanese woman in the same decent clothes.

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The Sheikh came and renewed the acquaintance with the British woman and her Japanese colleague converted to Islam.

Relations between the center and "Rawdha" have strengthened and it turned out that she speaks seven languages Japanese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, etc., and works as a translator and stays with her parents, who also embraced Islam by means of the Sheikh. Finally Sheikh Nimatullah helped her to marry a Pakistani man.

The English woman (Rawdha) maintained her relations with the Muslim community and she used to go out in the night, with Muslims from different mosques making Dawa. At such times many Tokyo residents return to their homes and some of them come out of the bars (Japanese are orient and Tokyo with its streets lit remains crowded until after midnight).

On one occasion and in one of the important areas of Tokyo (Ikebukuro), Rawdha went out with a group of young Pakistani Muslims calling the passersby who were returning to their homes. Rawdha met a famous female singer and whispered in her ear: I have a song, who

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repeats and listens to it, all their problems will vanish. Rawdha began quietly repeating the song, the Japanese singer has memorized it and began calling loudly on the passersby, "O people I have a new song, who repeats it, all their problems will vanish. Then groups of people began repeating with her loudly in Arabic: La ilaha illa Allah, Mohammad Rasool Allah " There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,”

Thus Sheikh Nimatullah has spread Islamic call as “there is no god but Allah”, in all cases, teaching it to the people and asks every Muslim to call for "no god but Allah" believing is a luminous word that enters the ear and goes down to the heart and illuminates it, even though the listener doers not understand its meaning. We have had hundreds or even thousands of experiences with him that have proven the effectiveness of this major way in the call to Allah.

Sheikh Nimatullah has instilled the spirit of call in Sister Rawdha, whose primary concern has become to deliver the word of Islam to every human being no matter how high his place is. It came to her knowledge that a brother

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of former US President Clinton was visiting Japan, so she contacted the US Embassy in Tokyo and asked for an appointment to meet him, the embassy arranged the meeting. She went with her Pakistani husband, whose marriage was arranged by Sheikh Nimatullah.

Sister Rawdha met the man, and after greeting him, said: We came to you with a gift and the guest smiled, saying: Many ask me to give them gifts, and it is rare to be given a gift. Here, Sister Rawdha handed him a brief inclusive booklet about Islam and requested him to read it.

Isn’t this step an application of the Prophet’s way of Dawa when he sent books to the kings of his time, such as Khosrau, Heraclius, Cyrus of Egypt and Bazan of Yemen, calling them to Islam? Every Muslim is required to call to Allah. Sheikh Nimatullah says that: if every Muslim has called to Islam, all people on earth will convert to Islam within two years, and Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said (Convey from me, even a single verse of the Qur’an).

Note: A hundred years before sister Rawdha, the Egyptian preacher Ali Ahmed Jerjawi went to Japan

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(1906) to call its emperor to Islam, according to a narration by former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Okuma, who told this to the Daii Abdul Rashid Ibrahim, who visited Japan in 1909. Abdul Rashid mentioned this information in his book entitled the (Islamic world) that I translated from the Ottoman language into Arabic. Also two years later (1908), the Egyptian Daii Ahmad Fadhli went to Japan to call its people to Islam.

Sheikh Nimatullah has always been asking me to take him to the Emperor of Japan to call him to Islam. I used to tell him that it is very difficult to meet the Emperor. Happily in a party held by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tokyo, the Emperor’s cousin who was in his thirties attended the event. We told Sheikh Nimatullah about that and he abruptly ask him to say (there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). The Emperor’s cousin repeated it three times then the Sheikh gave him the name of (Mohammed) and he rejoiced of that. After three months the Emperor’s cousin passed away.

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Sister Rawdha, her husband, and President Clinton’s brother

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Searching for the Right Path By Rougi Rawdha Christie

Here are the feelings written by sister Rawdha about her journey to Islam on the hands of Sheikh Nimatullah. These memories were obtained by Qutaiba Salih Samarrai.

The memories

I was born in England and entered one of London schools which is still there. At that time it was in the hall of a church. My major subject of interest was the Holy Book, where I read the Bible several times. Since I was nine years old I used to exchange messages with my grandmother to my father (based in New York) and included excerpts from the Bible in my letters to her. My second subject of interest was the English language, composition, grammar, and literature and I love writing.

I came to Japan at an early age, and I grew up in this country. I had religious feelings since my childhood, but I could not specify the type of these feelings, all of which I could feel were feelings moving within oneself. When I

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was twenty years old, I started talking to some people about these feelings that began to be much more and more stronger by the times, but they used to ignore it if not ridicule it, like asking and wondering (Do you really think that you may be able to find answers to your questions through religion?). These comments have had a negative impact on my psyche because I was very sensitive to them, and finally began to keep these feelings to myself, even though I did not stop searching for the truth in different directions without knowing the reason for what I was doing. I used, for example, to cover my head with a black cover, and later learned it is the headscarf (hijab).

That was an act I did instinctively by my own, and repeated it several times. When I used to wear the veil I felt it was something natural and comfortable for me and a good behavior the same feeling as it is now after I became Muslim, and at that time I was sixteen years old.

Then, on 11/11/ 1989 I was on a visit to the (Hawaii) Islands, specifically the Kauai Island noted for its pure and beautiful nature where I walked by. After I returned

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to my room those attractive scenes shook my feelings and led me to write the following lyrics:

I'm still as I am; I search for the truth and still feeling that my heart tends to something I have not reached yet. I wonder what this thing is.

Then, one day, specifically on 23 May 1997, I met a man in Tokyo on the platform of a train station, but I must say the man had found me; it was Sheikh Nimatullah the imam of the Islamic Center Japan. Soon I felt the prestige of the man and when he asked me to say: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) they were normal words to me, and a deep internal feeling came over me reminding me of the proverb (When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come), but I wouldn’t imagine such a thing would happen in such an unexpected way.

After three days on May 26th and after I thought deeply in such a meeting, I called the Islamic Center and asked them to meet Sheikh Nimatullah and I was hesitant as to whether he was still remembering me, thank God he was

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still remembering me. He invited me to come to the center so I immediately rushed there filled with a strange appeal.

I saw the Sheikh with his brothers (the people of the center) and it was a happy meeting. I have always believed in one God and all that the Sheikh has told me about regarding Islam was reasonable for me.

After deep thought, tampering his long white beard he chose an Islamic name for me (Rawdha) and I asked him what this means he replied (a small piece of paradise), and then I asked him why he gave me this name, he said: because you believe in Islam from the first encounter.

One of the Arabs living in Japan read the article and commented as follows:

(There are many people who are still looking for the right path and they need someone to guide them to it).

Every Muslim is required to look for such people and help them the same way as Sheikh Nimatulla did. When the search is done by both parties, the access

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opportunities to the right path would increase twice by the will of God.

We must encourage new Muslims to spread their experiences in order to help those who are passing similar circumstances as those experienced by Sister Rawdha.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(4) The Last Drunken Man By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

[email protected]

Sheikh Nimatullah visited Europe four times, and Germany is one of the countries he had visited, where he was preaching in its mosques, not only that, but visiting pubs which were frequented by many Turks, Arabs and Urdu speaking individuals from the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent. The Sheikh is fluent in Turkish, Arabic and Urdu languages and he knows the basics of the world's languages. Our story occurred in the city of Berlin in 1979 involving the Turks.

Sheikh Nimatullah stood talking with the Turks in one of their mosques for two or three hours, and then stopped wondering: “where are the others?” They answered him, why do you ask? You speak and we listen to you for hours. The Sheikh said: “where are the others? I want to

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go to them?” They answered him they were in the pubs. The Sheikh said “I will go to them, send a guide with me”. Then the Sheikh went with the guide to a bar frequented by forty Turk. The Sheikh stood in the midst of them and greeted them, saying: Peace be upon you, O Mujahideen (holy warriors). Each one began to look at the other wondering: where are those Mujahideen?

The Sheikh said:”You are Mujahideen for three considerations:

The first consideration, is your movement, going and coming in Germany with your Islamic names: Ahmed, Ibrahim Khalil .. etc. All of this reminds people of Islam.

The second consideration: You came to Germany to earn a lawful living for your fathers, your sons, and this is also a (holy war).

The third consideration: If we look at your Ottomans ancestors, they were Mujahedeen and thus you are descendants of the Mujahideen.

Then the Sheikh added saying: I am coming from Al- Madinah Al-Monawara and has come to you with a glad

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tidings from there. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him said: that who says: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah will enter Paradise" and that Almighty Allah will reward me because of you. Here all the attendants echoed La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).

I preached people for many years in the mosques and neglected to visit you and inform you how the prophets used to come to people in their clubs and invited them to the true religion.

Everybody started crying and wailing, reiterating: speak, speak O Sheik, sit, milk is not haram (not outlawed). Sheikh Nimatulla thought: sitting means participating them in the haram. Anyway you are now one of the people of Paradise and I'm going to talk to others.

Speak, speak O Sheikh

- Up to when I speak. You are now one of the people of the paradise of afterlife and I invite you now to the earthy paradise (the mosque), and then asked: Didn’t you

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share in the donation for the construction of the mosque next door to you? – Based on the Sheikh opinion and experience, those who drink alcohol are more generous in donating to mosques because they seek forgiveness from Allah.

They said with one voice: O Sheikh we have donated, we have donated, but how can we go to the mosque and some of us are impure?

The Sheikh replied: the impure has to wash in the washing place at the mosque, yes the water is cold, but as I said, you are mujahid and showering with cold water in winter is a Jihad.

And the drunken, they questioned?

The Sheikh said to them: let two lightly drunk persons carry the heavy drunken.

They began encouraging one another to go to the mosque, saying: O brothers let us go to the mosque, aren’t we Muslims?

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The Sheikh began leading the forty men to the mosque. Some of them entered the mosque and some sat outside hearing the Sheikh reading the Qur'an:

ﻗُ ْﻞ ﯾﺎﻋﺒﺎد َي اﻟﺬﯾﻦ أﺳﺮﻓُﻮا ﻋﻠﻰ أﻧﻔﺴﮭﻢ ﻻ ﺗﻘﻨ ُﻄﻮا ﻣﻦ رﺣﻤ ِﺔ اﻟﻠﮫ ﱠإن اﻟﻠﮫَ ) Say:”O My slaves who) ( ْﯾﻐ ِﻔ ُﺮ اﻟﺬﻧﻮ َب ﺟﻤﯿﻌﺎً إﻧﮫ ھﻮ اﻟﻐﻔﻮر اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of the Mercy of God, verily God forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful). Surat Az-Zumar, verse 53.

Also, he narrated the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: the best of you in pre-Islam is the best of you in Islam if they study Islam.

Some of them said to the Sheikh: “We have relatives in other pubs, let us go to them”.

Sheikh told this story to a Turkish scholar staying in the prophet’s mosque, the latter said: we heard that our cousins frequent pubs so we went to them and reproached them but they became angry and quarreled with us and they were about to beat us, so we gave up.

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Years went by and three years later while Sheikh Nimatullah was sitting in the Prophet’s mosque, peace be upon him, a Turkish man with turban, jubbah and beard greeted him, saying:

Do you know me Sheikh Nimatullah?

The Sheikh answered: How do I know you! I have visited most of Turkey’s cities and villages and you maybe one of the or muftis (deliverer of formal legal opinions) in one of those cities that I have visited.

The man said: I know you very well and if you remain a thousand years you would not know me, I'm the last drunk in Berlin, came out of the pubs on shoulders of two persons and we headed towards the mosque, and you were pitying me, you rubbed over my head and said (you are dear to Allah, He will accept you at His home (the mosque). I was drunk, but I understood your words, I waited outside the mosque until I became sober, then I washed and prayed and repented to Allah. Since then I am punctual in prayer and worship and my wife wears the veil. We came to perform Umrah (minor pilgrimage to Mecca). Thanks to Allah, He helped us to meet you.

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This is not the first and will not be the last time that Sheikh Nimatullah attend pubs and bring out people to mosques and they repent sincerely, including Turks, Arabs, Urdu speaking people. The repentant have become preachers and heads of associations to build mosques. I, Salih Samarrai, saw in Istanbul and Ankara one of the repentants of the Berlin pub mentioned above.

Sheikh Nimatullah used to go frequently to gambling tables taking out their habitués to mosques. Sheikh Nimatullah says: I've always recite the Qur’anic verse: ھﻮ اﻟﺬي ﯾُ َﺼ ِّﻠﻲ ﻋﻠﯿﻜﻢ وﻣﻼﺋ َﻜﺘُﮫُ ﻟﯿﺨﺮﺟﻜﻢ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻈﻠﻤﺎت إﻟﻰ اﻟﻨﻮر وﻛﺎن ) ,He it is Who sends His blessings on you) (ﺑﺎﻟﻤﺆﻣﻨﯿﻦ رﺣﯿﻤﺎ and His angels too (ask God to bless and forgive you) that He may bring you out from darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of Belief and Islamic Monotheism). And He is Ever Most Merciful to the believers), Surat Al-Ahzab, verse 43, so that I do not feel that I am the savior, but it is God the Almighty Who guides to the right way.

One of the jokes is that when he was talking to the gamblers he said to them you bear some of the

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characteristics of the prophets, the Prophet’s companions and the holy men because you remain awake late into the night, and here all the gamblers stopped gambling and accompanied the Sheikh to the mosque weeping and repentant, and some of them said: “my father taught me to read the entire 30th part of the Qur’an”.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(5) Conversion of four young Koreans to Islam: Abu Bakr , Omar , Othman , Ali By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

After succeeding in persuading the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad in 1981, and with the consent of the Chinese government, Sheikh Nimatullah brought 20,000 copies of the holy Qur’an to China which were distributed from east to west at the time of the might of communism in the country. During his stay in China, he heard that a third mosque will be inaugurated in Korea in the city of Kwangju, just three hours drive from the capital Seoul. He travelled at once to Korea, which he had already visited in 1987, during his first visit to Japan with the great Pakistani Daii the late Sayid Jameel.

Sheikh Nimatullah arrived in Seoul and stayed in one of its major hotels with delegations coming from all over

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the to attend the opening ceremony of the mosque of "Kwangju". By the way one of the distinguished guests asked Sheikh Nimatullah: “Hey, who invited you? Here with the dignity of a Muslim, the Sheikh answered him: it is me who invited all of these delegations.

On the first day, and the delegates are still in the capital in order to go the next day to the opening ceremony of the mosque, Sheikh Nimatullah raised the Adhan (prayer call) in Seoul's main mosque, which is on the high top in the heart of the capital. After the prayer, he sat at the gate of the mosque thinking, tears streaming down his face and talking to himself (if one of the prophet’s companions came to this country he would directly go to the king of the country and invite him to Islam and make him embrace it and thus calls all the people of the country to embrace this religion, but due to our failure - we Muslims- to do what ought to be done, such people have been deprived of Islam. In any case I have come in the footsteps of the esteemed prophet’s companions May Allah help me to do good deeds).

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Sheikh Nimatullah says (while I'm in this situation, four young Koreans came to visit the mosque; they looked like high school students. I soon wiped my tears and waved to them to come towards me. They approached me and I pointed to them with my finger on my lips: Say La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah". They didn’t understand what I meant at first and I repeated it so they understood that I wanted them to say those good words so they repeated after me three times and I told them that I would give them Muslim names as a (gift): Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, Ali, which will be their names respectively).

Sheikh Nimatullah is convinced that whoever repeats the word: there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, becomes a Muslim whether they understand it or not. The addressee hears it and it will enlighten his ear, mind and heart and let all his earthly problems vanish and will be happy in this life and in the hereafter.

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Then he pointed to them to enter the mosque and meet the Muslims there.

On the second day, as the delegates were preparing to go out for the opening ceremony of the mosque and at breakfast table in the morning at the hotel, Sheikh Nimatullah sat down at a round table with a few members of the delegations and told them that he had been meeting four young men and made them to articulate the word of monotheism and gave them Muslim names, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali. Here one of the delegates blurted what this speech is? You Revived the Caliphs? But you, in fact have become insane. The Sheikh was hurt by those words but he muffled the pain.

The delegations returned home after three days and Sheikh Nimatullah stayed for a month and a half in Korea receiving visitors to the mosque, men and women, and based on his unique way made some fifty, sixty or seventy persons per day to enter Islam and gave them Islamic names such as (Ahmed, Mohammad, Hussain, Aisha, Fatima, etc.)

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Sheikh Nimatullah was a resident of Al- Medina Al- Monawara, preaching Turkish visitors to the prophet’s mosque. One day and after eleven years of his last visit to Korea, and after he prayed at the Prophet's Mosque, a young man with the features of the Far East natives came upon him and greeted him saying: My teacher Sheikh Nimatullah, I am your son Omar. What country are you from Omar? Asked the Sheikh. From Korea, answered the young man, I converted to Islam at your hands eleven years ago. Tell me how did you convert to Islam? The Sheikh asked. He added “Every day fifty, sixty or seventy persons convert to Islam at my hands. Omar said: “it may be on your first day in Korea we went to the mosque in Seoul and we saw you weeping and you pointed to us to come toward you, you wiped your tears, and pointed to us to say, La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah “there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, we did not understand that, then at last we understood that you wanted us to repeat these words after you, so we did and you gave us Islamic names: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali. I am Omer

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among those young persons. How did you come to Al- Madinah, Omar? Asked the Sheikh.

After we repeated those words of monotheism - continued Omar- we entered Seoul’s mosque, we were received hospitably by the Muslims, and then I started to learn the Arabic language. One day a delegation from the Islamic University in Madinah came to Korea to select some students to study there. The official Korean Muslims recommended me to them, and now I'm in the fourth year at the Faculty of Dawa.

Sheikh Nimatullah said: God wills, whatever God wills, and thankfully you succeeded, what is the status of your brothers Abu Bakr, Othman and Ali?

Omar said: Thanks to Allah, all of them are adherent to Islam and punctual in their prayers. I do preaching like you, Omar added.

Al-Madina newspaper conducted an interview with Sheikh Nimatullah, and its correspondent took a photo of the Sheikh embracing Omar, perhaps this is the only photo document kept by Sheikh among thousands of activities. I, the writer of these lines was keen to

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beautify it and attach it with this report to prove to the reader that Sheikh Nimatullah’s stories in Dawa were real and do not befall even a glimmer of doubt. He is a unique school in the Islamic Da’wa and I have personally benefited from him by accompanying him for the last twenty years in this field, I consider him as an imam in the dawa and an initiator of a distinct school. His approach is just like the Prophet Muhammad’s approach, to take the initiative in inviting the people to Islam. It is true that the Arabs understood the meaning of the call, but what about the first Turks, Persians, Afghans, Berbers, Indonesians and Africans what did they understand of Islam? Mere fantasies and sincere emotions.

The Prophet’s companions, their followers and their children married the Persian, Afghan, Turkistan, Caucasian and Amazigh women so their descendants know the Arabic language and the language of their mothers thus they made those nations understand the truth of Islam. Pioneer scholars such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Bukhari and Tirmidhi and others were descendants of them.

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Well, Sheikh Nimatullah took Omar to a marriage ceremony in Madinah and introduced him to the participants in the ceremony and explained to them the situations of Muslims in Korea and Japan.

( َأﻟ ْﻢ ﺗَ َﺮ ﻛﯿ َﻒ َﺿ َﺮ َب اﻟﻠﮫُ َﻣﺜَ ًﻼ َﻛ ِﻠ َﻤ ًﺔ طﯿﺒ ًﺔ ﻛﺸﺠﺮةٍ طﯿﺒ ٍﺔ أﺻ ُﻠﮭﺎ ﺛﺎﺑ ٌﺖ وﻓﺮﻋُﮭﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻤﺎء ﺗﺆﺗﻰ اﻛﻠﮭﺎ ﻓﻰ ﻛﻞ ﺣﯿﻦ) See you not how Allah sets) forth a parable? - A goodly word as a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches (reach) to the sky giving its fruit at all times) Surat Ibrahim, verse 24.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(6) The Daii Matloub Ali follows Sheikh Nimatullah’s Steps By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

[email protected]

Sayid Matloub Ali is a Pakistani engineer obtained highest degrees during his study in Japan in early 1970s. He served the Pakistani Daii Sayid Jameel and stayed in Japan working in the field of translation. He contributed to the founding of the Islamic Center in Japan in 1974. Since a long time he is the director of education affairs at the center.

Sayid Ali is fluent in Japanese language and an eloquent speaker about Islam in all occasions. He is usually invited by a lady professor of languages at the University of KANDA in Tokyo to attend students’ graduation ceremonies and to deliver a lecture on Islam.

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He learned from Sheikh Nimatullah the initiative to ask people to say La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). Of course the usual practice in all religious centers in the world is to deliver lectures, answer questions and distribute leaflets and then the choice is for the participants in the event, where some of them convert to Islam immediately, some after a while and some never embrace Islam till death.

What Matloub Ali has learned from Sheikh Nimatullah and what we have learned and want all Muslim should learn is to take the initiative immediately after the lecture and after answering the questions, to say to the attendants in their own language (who believes in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, by heart and articulate that by tongue is a Muslim). The attached report shows an example of that in a letter sent to me by brother Matloob Ali.

From Mr. Matloob Ali, Director of Educationa Affairs at the Islamic Center in Japan

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To: Dr. Salih Samarrai, Chairman of Islamic Center Japan

Assalamu alaikum,

On 8 December 1999 I went to deliver a lecture in Japanese at the University of Kanda in Tokyo, Department of Foreign Languages, in arrangement with the Islamic Center.

The lecture was attended by about thirty students and I explained to them the Islam in a logical manner, just as I did in the previous visit to the city of Tokoshima with Brother Kiba (about 800 km from Tokyo in Shukuku Island and it was and still is an Islamic stronghold and it is the town of Khalid Kiba. All the attendants have expressed a great interest in the lecture and asked many questions, particularly about the status of . I explained to them as enough as I could. I noticed the tears pouring down from the eyes of some of them. I also explained the meaning of the word of Tawheed (the oneness of God and the prophethood of the Prophet) and so on. Then I told them that whoever utters these words with his tongue, knowing their meaning and believing in

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them becomes a Muslim. They immediately announced their agreement to repeat them with me. Thankfully everyone repeated the testimony words three times after me, and I returned home very pleased.

After ten days, I received an envelope from the Professor containing messages (some in Japanese and some in English) written from the heart by almost all the students. They said in those letters that, despite their strong desire to know about Islam, but they had not heard an explanation of it like this time, and they are now fully convinced in this religion. Some of them said they wanted to see me again and some said they want to visit the Center to get Islamic books in Japanese language.. etc. Some of them said that from now on they will show more love and respect for their parents, especially the mother. I have a deep sense of pleasure to see such reactions of these young Japanese, which they have expressed in their letters, and tears of joy flowed from my eyes. I ask Allah the Almighty guidance and blessing for all of us.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(7)

The Easiest and Fastest Way of Calling People to Islam By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

As we mentioned earlier, Sheikh Nimatullah calls people to Islam by saying to them (say: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah") all your problems will go. His way is similar to the Prophet’s way, as he used to say to his people (say there is no god but Allah, you will succeed)

No doubt the Arabs understand this phrase, but Sheikh Nimatullah says: Even if a person cannot understand it, this word is a light when a person listens to it, it will enlighten his ears and goes down to his heart so

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tranquility and confidence will prevail and mercy will come down and Allah will open his breast to Islam, be it a man or women.

There are many examples of this, some of them mentioned in the story of the British Daii "Rawdha" and the four young Koreans and others. I would like to refer the reader to Al Jazeera YouTube about the story of "Abdullah Al farunsi". A French tourist travelled from Gibraltar to Morocco and came to the Moroccan customs officer, who told him: "Say: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah " there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", here the French said to himself: If did not say it he may delay me at least two hours, let me say it as a compliment, and when I said it my heart enlightened and I converted to Islam in Morocco and went to Syria to learn for three years and now I'm in a village in Mauritania where I have studied the sciences of ancient and modern times, and I will return to France to make Dawa.

I myself, Saleh Samarrai went to Paris few years ago and asked about Abdullah Al Fransi, they said there were

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many persons in this name so I described him to them and I found him, talked to him and we discussed many things together. When I saw him on Al-Jazeera channel and based on my meeting with him in Paris in his Moroccan clothes I predicted in him the characteristics of the Prophet’s companions God be pleased with them.

Then Sheikh Nimatullah began writing the word of monotheism on a card in nine languages and distributes it to those he encounters, which helps them in understanding the word of monotheism (Tawheed).

As for us at the Islamic Center we have developed Sheikh Nimatullah’s way of Dawa. How?

At a meeting attended by more than a hundred Professors in Tokyo, - men and women- our dear brother, the Syrian "Ali Al Zabi,", who is fluent in Japanese language and Sheikh Nimatullah led the talk about Islam. Ali explained Islam in Japanese language and answered all the questions for two hours.

Our center and all Islamic centers in the world and their Daiis stop at this point e.g. deliver lectures about Islam, answer relevant questions and perhaps at most, hand out

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leaflets and booklets on Islam. At such events one or two participants may embrace Islam, and another one or two may catch up with them asking for more information and possibly convert to Islam immediately or later on. Or, as the Indian preacher Zakir Hussain used to do, speaking in front of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of audience and in the end only one, two, three, four to eight may convert to Islam, but in our developed way of Sheikh Nimatullah’s approach we do the following:

In the meeting we have mentioned above and after Mr. Ali finished his speech and his answers and clarification of Islam, he addressed the audience, saying: anyone of you who believes in his heart in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, and utters it with his tongue is a Muslim.

Here everyone announced that they were ready to utter the declaration of faith and Sheikh Nimatullah went immediately to the audience, inviting them to chant with him: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah", several times.

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Sheikh Nimatullah asked himself how to give them Muslim names? If it's one, two, or three people he would give each one a separate name, Ahmed, Mohammed, Fatima, Aisha ... etc., but those were more than a hundred. I said to myself, make up your mind Nimatullah, then he said to all: All men Mohammed, All women Fatima, (i.e. all men will have the name of Muhammad, and all women will have the name of Fatima).

Everyone understood Islam, and everyone uttered the declaration of faith, haven’t they become Muslims?

Many come to say to us: How do you teach these people, how do you guide them, how do you make them learn the true faith?

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There are many answers to these questions elsewhere.After a two-hour lecture on the outskirts of Tokyo, more than one hundred Japanese Professors declared their Islam in front of Professor Ali Al Zo,ubi and Sheikh Nimatullah in February 2003.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(8)

Sheikh Nimatullah and the American singer in Hiroshima

By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai

Chairman Islamic Center Japan

[email protected]

A Japanese woman wrote to us at the Islamic Center, saying: I am from the city of (Tottori) on the Japanese west coast overlooking the Sea of Japan opposite to Korea, which separates Korea and Japan, and I am a volunteer to teach Japanese language to the Muslim students in Tottori University, and I want you to send me books in Japanese about Islam. We, in the center discussed the matter and decided to send a delegation to Tottori consisting of the Japanese Ibrahim Okubo, Sheikh Nimatullah and Salih Samarrai to introduce the Japanese lady to Islam, as Allah Almighty sent Messengers and revealed the books, and to teach the Muslim Students Dawa to Islam based on the way of Sheikh Nimatullah in order to spread Islam in the region.

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After we calculated the cost of the trip, including transportation and accommodation, we found that it costs approximately $ 1000, and as the financial status of the center was weak at the time we put it aside, and we just sent books. However, Sheikh Nimatullah took another position; he decided to go with his late wife to Tottori. The Pakistanis volunteers working in various cities in Japan took them from one city to another and instead of visiting Tottori only; Sheikh Nimatullah visited five cities and planned to build five mosques, and ended up in Hiroshima.

In this city a doctoral student from East Turkistan -under the control of China- learning at the University of Hiroshima, took him to a park located in Hiroshima bomb site. Sheikh Nimatullah saw a Western man sitting on a sofa. We know that such a foreigner is a valuable quarry for Sheikh Nimatullah. He sat next to him and said: (You Speak English?) Yes, replied the foreigner. (Your Country?) asked the Sheikh (America), answered the foreigner and here Nimatullah said: (I am Turk, America and Turkey are friends), thus he removed the psychological barrier between him and the American.

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(Your Work?), Asked Nimatullah. Musician answered the American, the Sheikh understood it as a (singer) and said to him, I also same (e.g. I am also a singer). The American said to him: show me how you sing. Sheikh Nimatullah began singing in a loud and beautiful voice: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah (there is no god but Allah, Mohammad is the Messenger of Allah). The Sheikh's philosophy is that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: sing the Qur’an.

Here the American pointed to his throat and said, Very Good, Very Good)

The Sheikh said, since it is (Very Good) you sing this song like I did. With his beautiful voice the American began chanting, La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah (there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah) the Sheikh said to him: Now you have become a Muslim and I will give you a (gift), an Islamic Name "Muhammad", and he gave him the card containing the meaning of the word of monotheism in nine languages, and the address of Islamic center Japan. The American was very happy and said “I'm going to

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Tokyo for one day, and if I find plenty of time 1 will visit you at the center to (Teach me Islam), and if I do not have enough time, I will return home, and I have Muslim friends there I will ask them to teach me Islam and they parted.

The call to Islam is very easy and every Muslim can simply perform it. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said: (Convey from me, even a single verse) narrated by Bukhari. Sheikh Nimatullah says: if every Muslim has to call all the people of the earth will embrace Islam within two years.

Note and Digression:

Tottori is the only city that large tracts of sand drifted by the waves of the sea spread on the banks of the sea. It is the desert of Japan, and the Japanese benefit from this desert in cultivating a type of small onion, which is used by the Japanese, as one of the pickles, and this desert in Tottori is account for 80% of Japan’s needs of onions. The Onion is cultivated on the surface of the desert, and irrigation and nutrition done by sprinklers, and the rain

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that falls almost throughout the year supplies the plants with water. I have visited this area more than once.

What more deserts we have, but how most fertile lands are there in the countries of the Islamic world. Based on the expansion of our territories and the multiplicity of our skies from Indonesia to Morocco; we can provide the world with agricultural products instead of importing our own food. The area of Kazakhstan is 3 million square kilometers and has 700 rivers, Tajikistan has more than 900 rivers and the rainfall in Indonesia is throughout the year. Where are the investors?

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(9)

How an Israeli became a Daii in Five Minutes? By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

[email protected]

Sheikh Nimatullah spares no opportunity or time to benefit from it in performing the Islamic Dawa from morning to night at the Islamic Center, answering all phone calls in Arabic, Urdu and English and even Japanese, and receiving all visitors and informing them about Islam. After finishing his work at the center (he doesn’t receive any salary either from the center or from others), he starts hanging around mosques and gatherings in the night.

One day he came out from the center on a visit to a mosque near (Ikebukuro) station about 20-30 minutes by train from the center. When he got down from the train at

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the station platform, he saw a young man waiting on the sidewalk; he came to him and said: You speak English?

Yes,

What is your country?

- Israel

I Turk, Israel and Turkey friends

I am Jewish (Sheikh Nimatullah said as if he wanted to exasperate me)

Then the sheikh said: All people are brothers

He removed the psychological barriers between him and this young man

The Israeli young man calmed down, and here Sheikh Nimatullah took the initiative and said to him: say one word all problems finished, La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).

The young man listened and repeated it three times

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Then the Sheikh said to him: I give you a gift, an Islamic name, Ahmad

The young man was comfort and Sheikh Nimatullah gave him his identity card with the word of monotheism in nine languages and his address.

Based on his conviction and his experiences and the experiences of others, Sheikh Nimatullah beliefs that the word of monotheism is a light, brings down serenity, and compassion, and he who heard and uttered it becomes a Muslim, even if he did not understand it.

Here the Sheikh comments on his approach: when we meet an individual and call him to Islam, we call him to come with us to pray and leave the taboo at once. God the Almighty would set someone for this person to teach him the Islam.

Sheikh Nimatullah left the young man at the train quayside and came down on the staircase to go out of the station. On the last step of the stair he heard someone calling him loudly from behind in all languages, Please in English, and Sumimasen in Japanese

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Nimatullah turned back to distinguish the sound source. The Japanese do not call out loudly, so who is this caller? It is Ahmad the Israeli; he was leading a Japanese girl that he had been waiting for at the station. When he reached Sheikh Nimatullah he asked him: "please teach her what you have taught me". Sheikh Nimatullah says it is easy for the Japanese to embrace Islam; she soon uttered the declaration of faith and she got an Islamic name.

Hasn’t the Israeli Ahmed become a propagator in five minutes?! .

Sheikh Nimatullah Left the couple and went to (Ikebukuro) mosque where the Pakistanis, Arabs and Turks meet and where the Sheikh has dinner there and receives visitors, and sleeps there. He wakes those present for late night prayer (Tahajjud), and leads them in dawn prayer, then the Dhuha prayer in congregation and the absentee funeral prayer on the dead Muslims of the world, and the prayer of need all in congregation. After breakfast he goes back to the Islamic Centre to do his work throughout the day.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(10)

What was the response of the Chinese merchant to the call of Sheikh Nimatullah? By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

One day I was dining with Sheikh Nimatullah in a restaurant called "Fakihat Lebanon” on Tahliya Street in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and there were two Chinese men near us so I said to Sheikh Nimatullah make use of them.

The Sheikh speaks almost all the languages of the world as he knows two words or more from each language, or even a single word. He went to Korea many times calling the people to Islam although he knows only one word of their language," that is “Kimchi" meaning (pickles). "When he utters it in front of the Koreans and points with his hand to his mouth, saying: "Kimchi .. Kimchi" the Korean smiles and becomes happy, that is to say he

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opens his heart and he is prepared to accept any talk, and here Sheikh Nimatullah says to him if you say La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasool Allah "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" All problems finished. This is what the Sheikh used to do.

Let us go back to the two Chinese, Sheikh Nimatullah knows two words of the Chinese language "Shi Shi, Nihaw" Greetings and thanks. Here he turned to the two men and said: Nihow, shi shi. It turned out that one of them knows Arabic and a graduate of the University of Umm Al-Qura in Makkah, so the dialogue became easy. The Sheikh said to the Chinese Muslim: Tell your friend that there are "Two words whoever says them all their problems vanish" the other guy accepted and uttered the declaration of faith three times. Here Sheikh Nimatullah said: Now you are a Muslim, and I'll give you a gift that is an Islamic name "Ahmed". What was the response of the man?

The Chinese said: Hey you Arab criminals!! I'm doing business with you for twenty years why didn’t any one of you teach me this and I have lost the years of my life?

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When I tell this story to the Arabs Sheikh Nimatullah says to me: do not quote his words to the Arabs, I say to him: I am an Arab, and it is okay to say what he had said.

I believe that, to initiate calling people to Islam is the solution and then comes the good example and the books.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

(11)

Using Sheikh Nimaullah’s Approach By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

[email protected]

The entire Islamic Umma believes that the call is to be done by setting a good example, then the book, but this method is slow and has little results. I believe the effective way is to take the initiative to call, which is the way of the Prophet peace be upon him and the way of his respectable companions, and this is what I have learned from the great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah. I didn’t know this approach before, although I had read a lot of the Prophet's virtuous biography.

I have explained this approach in a series of articles labeled "The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah". Today, I give one example of what I have learned from this eminent Sheikh.

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I was on a visit to Europe in late 2013; with my daughter Amina and my youngest brother Amir and we were waiting in one of Milan’s Airports to travel to London. My brother left from the airport to Istanbul and I remained with my daughter. The waiting place was limited, and there was a very beautiful European girl sitting beside us, tall with covering clothes and features like a British princess. I said to my daughter: I will talk to her, she said: No, I said: This is my business. She was sitting separately on a chair on my left. I asked her: “Are you British?”

- Dutch

"With your handsome and beautiful complexion you look like a British princess"

Of course European girls and even the Japanese rejoice if you addressed such a talk to them, whereas the Arab girls and perhaps even the Turkish, more often get angry.

I had Sheikh Nimatullah’s cards with me. On one side there is a majestic image of his face together with his address in Japan and his electronic page and on the other side, there is the declaration of faith which reads "there is

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no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah " in Arabic language, transliterated in English letters and translated into nine languages.

I gave the girl one card and told her that the Turkish Sheikh says he who utters the declaration of faith, his heart will be enlightened and all his problems will vanish. The girl read it and thought deeply in its meaning. What was her reaction? She said to me: My friend who is going to marry me is a Moroccan. I am not sure whether she gave me her card or not; but I knew she works in a company in Germany and was travelling there. Then it was time for her plane and she left us.

So, rather than to be married to the Moroccan, and still Christian, I believe that she crossed all the way, or perhaps half of it toward Islam.

And it was time for our plane as well and I traveled to London with my daughter who is studying there for a PhD in Management. During my stay in London for a week and as usual I spent most of my time in the Arab Street "Edgware Road", most notably in "Costa" Café.

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One day I went to the Costa café and asked for a cup of coffee, and was served by a young man in his late twenties. After I drank the coffee, the young man approached me and I asked him: Where are you from? He said: Italy. I said from Where in Italy? He said Sicily. I said: Did you know that the Arabs ruled Sicily for hundreds of years?

He said: Yes. Here, I gave him Sheikh Nimatullah’s card and said to him if you utter the declaration of faith, all your problems will vanish; he articulated it after reading it carefully. What was his reaction? He said: “I am John Son of Franco Son of Ali” (of course I invented the European names, because I didn’t grasp the Italian names, but I understood the word "Ali"). Commenting on the matter, he said: I am proud that my family name is "Ali" and anyone who asks me I tell him that my name is "Ali."

Isn’t this step the key to make this young man embrace Islam if he hasn’t already converted to it? Unfortunately I did not take his address (though I used to take the addresses of all those I meet) in order to send them

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information about Islam, but I left him and God will send someone to teach him the Islam, as was the case with the companions of Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him. At that time an Arab came from Abha, Tabuk or Yeman to perform (pilgrimage) 1 and listened to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him calling "Say there is no god but Allah and you will prosper,". This Arab may embrace Islam and returned to his people either concealing his faith or call his relatives or announce his conversion to Islam in public and will be beaten and hurt until God wills victory.

Say the good word to every human being, it will renew faith in the Muslim and causes non-Muslim to enter َأﻟ ْﻢ ﺗَ َﺮ ﻛﯿ ٢َ َﺿ َﺮ َب اﻟﻠﮫُ َﻣﺜَ ًﻼ ) :Islam. The Almighty Allah said َﻛ ِﻠ َﻤ ًﺔ طﯿﺒ ًﺔ ﻛﺸﺠﺮةٍ طﯿﺒ ٍﺔ أﺻ ُﻠﮭﺎ ﺛﺎﺑ ٌﺖ وﻓﺮﻋُﮭﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻤﺎء (٢٤) ﺗُﺆﺗﻲ أُ ُﻛ َﻠ َﮭﺎ ُﻛ ﱠﻞ ِﺣﯿْ ٍﻦ ﺑﺈذن رﺑﮭﺎ وﯾﻀ ُﺮب اﻟﻠﮫُ اﻷﻣﺜﺎ َل ﻟﻠﻨﺎ ِس ﻟﻌﻠﮭﻢ ﯾﺘﺬﻛﺮون (٢٥ﺳﻮرة See you not how Allah sets forth a parable? A) (اﺑﺮاھﯿﻢ) goodly word as a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches (reach) to the sky (24) Giving its fruit at all times by the will of its Lord and Allah sets forth

1Arabs used to perform Hajj before Islam

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parables for mankind in order that they may remember (25). Surat Ibrahim

Sheikh Nimatullah card. In one side the image of the Sheikh and his address in Japan. In the other side Shahadah in nine languages

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The Great Sheikh Nimatullah

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Our Efforts in Calling Chinese in Malaysia to Islam By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

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In 1998, my wife Um Qutaiba and I moved with Sheikh Nimatullah to collect donations for the rebuilding of Tokyo central Mosque. In such activities we often accompanied by the members of the Islamic Center and especially the late Dr. Omar Draz Khan.

We moved a lot in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and we collected four million dollars from these countries and the Arab countries. And our brothers in Turkey collected more than that from the people there. All praise is to Allah, the Tokyo central Mosque was rebuilt and becoming one of the most beautiful mosques in the world.

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We spent two months in Malaysia moving back and forth to Indonesia and Brunei. in Kuala Lumpur we used to take a taxi for our transportation and most taxi drivers were non-Muslim Chinese as the Chinese inhabitants make up 30% or a little more of the population. When we take a taxi, Sheik Nimatullah, Dr. Omar Draz Khan, and I, the Sheikh used to say: Let's remember Allah (Zikir) by chanting so that the heart of the Chinese driver will soften, haven’t we learned that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: It is not one of us who did not sing the Qur’ran, or as he said.

Then we start chanting together, La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah "there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" and after a while the taxi driver starts repeating the word with us. Here, the Sheikh says: Now you're a Muslim, and we give you a gift, it is an Islamic name, Ahmed, Abdullah etc. some people when given the name "Muhammad" say Mohammed is a great name we want another name such as Abdullah, Ahmed etc. This has happened a lot.

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Once we call a Chinese taxi drivers to Islam, he said: the husband of my wife’s sister is a Chinese Muslim, why didn’t he tell me about Islam? I've read the books of Christians, Buddhists and Confucius, Why haven’t I read the Qur’an?. Some of them say if Islam is so easy why the Malaysian Muslims didn't teach us Islam?

There are many Muslim societies in Malaysia that call the Chinese to Islam, and one of them is the Youth Association (ABIM) headed by Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. They have a specialized Chinese call Association called (OUT REACH). We, Sheikh Nimatullah, Umar Draz Khan, and I, attended a meeting of the members of the Assembly, and explained to them our ways of Dawa.

What was their reaction?

"You have achieved in two months what we have done in years” and your method is charming.

Sheikh Nimatullah says about it "if every Muslim has to call, the people of the earth will become Muslims in two years," and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said: "Convey from me, even a single verse." Dawa is very easy.

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The Great Daii Sheikh Nimatullah

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Pray for Peace in Tokyo and the Impact of Sheikh Nimatullah By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

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Tokyo city consists of 23 districts (ku) in Japanese. The Islamic Center headquarters is located in Setagaya Ku. Each year the people of the ku hold a meeting in Joshi Showa University located in the same ku. The representatives of various religions as well as the ku residents pray for peace all by their own way in order for

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justice and peace to prevail in the world. Muslims participate with the recitation of the Qur’an, prayer and supplication. In the first celebration and after the end of the program, Sheikh Nimatullah proceeded and called on everyone to chant La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah". Thousands echoed with him the word of monotheism. Our representative apologized to the fans for Sheikh Nimatullah’s sudden engagement in the program. But surprisingly they said: The repetition of the Monotheism word was the best thing in all programs.

In the following years, the event’s supervisors prepared a paper bearing the prayer call and supplication in Japanese- meaning and pronunciation- and in particular the declaration of faith, repeated by everyone, looking at the paper in their hands as if they were a singing band and get to know the pronunciation and meaning.

The attached page is an example of the mentioned paper

The paper held by thousands of Japanese, where there is the prayer call, and “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”. They read it and

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chant aloud “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

Clip

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The organizers or those who call for Islam explain the call to prayer and the Shahadah and everyone is repeating it

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The Great Dai'i Sheikh Nimetullah (14) The American Who guided a Sri Lankan Muslim to a Mosque at the Islamic Center Japan By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

For many years and since 1938 there was a single mosque in Tokyo until recently. Even that mosque was demolished in 1986, with the intention to renovate it and thus Tokyo remained for more than 10 years without a grand mosque and Muslims in this city performed Eid prayers in first-class hotels, Tokyo exhibitions and parks under a barrage of snow and rain. It happened that a Sri Lankan Muslim came to the site of Tokyo Mosque and found it had been leveled to the ground. While he was puzzled and completely lost in thought, an American who is a neighbor of the mosque came and guided him to a temporary alternative mosque, that was a Musallah (prayer hall) at the headquarter of the Islamic Center Japan, which is only a matter of minutes.

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The American accompanied the Sri Lankan to the headquarter of the center. They were welcomed by the people there and Sheikh Nimetullah was at the head of the recipients. Now the American is brought by the Grace of God to the care of Sheikh Nimetullah. Some sort of hospitality, tea, coffee and then the Sheikh used his usual way of calling people to Islam saying to him: "If you kindly say two words all your problems will be solved". The American accepted this offer and the Sheikh gave an Islamic name to him, usually Ahmed, Mohammed or another easy name. it was Asr (afternoon) prayer and Sheikh Nimetullah asked the American to join us in prayer. The Sheikh usually shortens prayers (e.g. without supplications and ) when there is a guest or a fresh Muslim. After Sheikh Nimetullah completed the prayer he was surprised to hear the American saying: "This prayer is good and useful, and was short, can we prolong it in order to enjoy ourselves spiritually?. For some reason our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him enacted to pray before and after the obligatory prayer to increase spiritual comfort and strengthen and deepen the faith". The philosophy of Sheikh Nimetullah is that if our gatherings are attended by non-Muslims in one way or another so it is our duty to call them to Islam and do not expect people to ask us to invite them to Islam, such

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cases are rare, so, isn't it required from Muslims to take every opportunity to call all they could reach to Islam?. It is rare that non-Muslims initiate the call and it is rare to expect other people to ask us to call them to Islam. Sheikh Nimetullah says: "If every Muslim initiates the call to Allah all people of the earth will embrace Islam within two years". Note: the famous Tokyo's central mosque was reconstructed with the collaboration of Islamic Center Japan and the Presidency of the Turkish Religious Affairs. It is built in the latest Ottoman style and has become a place of outing for the whole Japanese. Also there are dozens of mosques been built in Tokyo as well as hundreds others built throughout Japan. Almost every day shows the presence of a new mosque project, thanks and gratitude to God.

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The Great Dai'i Sheikh Nimetullah (15) A Turkish Lady brings a Moldovan Girl to Convert to Islam in front of Sheikh Nimetullah in Istanbul By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

On 05/27/2015 at Buyuck Hamid Hotel in Istanbul a Turkish lady who was influenced by the call of Sheikh Nimetullah came to the hotel with a girl from the Republic of Moldova, located between Western Ukraine and Eastern Romania. The Turkish lady's name is Nasha'a Mustafa, and the Moldovan girl's name is Amina Deniz, a name given to her by Sheikh Nimetullah. I attended the meeting and began enquiring the Turkish lady and the Moldovan girl, the results were as follows: 1) The Turkish lady works as an accountant in a supermarket in Istanbul with a sister of the Moldovan girl, who herself converted to Islam at the hands of the Turkish lady as well. 2) I asked Amina: Whom she belongs to in Moldova? she said the Gagauz people, I asked her about these people,

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she said they are Turkish and speak Turkish language and that her ancestors were Muslims. 3) I asked Ms. Nash'a Mustafa how she got acquainted with Sheikh Nimetullah? She said, "Two or more years ago I saw him in the Aminonu area and I saluted him from afar and he returned my greetings then I searched for him on the Internet and found his address in Japan and I called him there asking him to pray for me and he did so. At that time I was in complete stress and problems but all of them have vanished after that. four days ago I dreamt the Sheikh is here in Istanbul and I phoned him and told him about a girl who would like to embrace Islam so I came today with the girl Amina and she declared the Islamic faith. Also, I would like to tell you that my son is a student in the school of imams and preachers and they will pray the Friday prayer in the mosque of Sheikh Zadeh and then they will pay a visit to you here at your hotel which is next door to the mosque. I ask Sheikh Nimetullah and you, Dr. Samarrai please give my son some Islamic guidance. 4) I Goggled the Gagauz people in Moldova and I got the following information: a) The Gagauz people are a Turkic-speaking group living mostly in Southern Moldova. b) They are Orthodox Christians. c) They are spread in all countries of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. d) They are currently located in the

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Western part of Turkey and in Greece and even in Eastern Turkey. e) They are also found in Brazil, the United States of America and Canada (they might be migrants). f) My old view was that the Turks are hundred percent Muslims but it turned out that there are pockets of Turks who are not Muslims because of being far away from their homeland such as the Turks in the Republic of Yakutia in the Russian Federation totaling around one million people who believe in the shaman religion which is similar to the Japanese Shinto religion. And for the Turks in Eastern Europe the reason is because of dissociation, the first and second world wars, the Balkan wars and others that disconnected them from their Turkish homeland despite the fact that Muslims from non-Turkish race in Eastern Europe, Albania, Bosnia and others remained Muslims and the Bulgarian Turks also remained Muslims. 5) This Turkish lady made her colleagues to embrace Islam and it is a work that can be done by every Muslim, a man or a woman. 6) There are peoples who are ready to convert to Islam like the Gagauz people. 7) Many people always ask why the Arabs do not call to Islam? Dawa is obligatory on each member of the two billion Muslims of the world.

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From right Nash'a Mustafa, Samarrai, Amina , Sheikh Nimetullah. In Buyuck Hamid hotel in Istanbul 27/05/2015.

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The Great Dai'i: Sheikh Nimatullah

(16) Hundreds of Professors and Post Graduate Students in (CHUO) University chant: (La Ilaha Illa Allah, Muhammed Rasoul Allah) "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Al-Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan

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The Islamic Center in Japan has close ties with the University of CHUO, one of the largest Japanese universities, where we organized together "The Islamic Jurisprudence Seminar" in 1976, attended by the uncle of the present Emperor and members of the Supreme Court of Japan and 300 Japanese lawyers. Few years ago Prof.

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Motuku Katakura (I do not doubt her faith in Islam), invited us to the celebration of the opening of Institute of Arabic and at the university. The celebration was held in the university campus in the evening and attended by more than 200 professors and post graduate students. Dinner of different foods was prepared for all attendees and on one table written in Arabic and English and Japanese the word (halal). This celebration has prompted the feelings of the great Dai'i Sheikh Nimatullah who found the opportunity to introduce Islam to them.

The Sheikh told me that he wanted to raise the Adhan (prayer call) among this crowd. I spoke to the person in charge of the meeting saying: "This man is an imam in "Mecca", he is Turk and his voice is beautiful, he wants to raise Adhan, the person in charge agreed". The Sheikh stood among this multitude of Japanese audience. I told him, not to raise his voice very high. Then, he raised the Adhan in Turkish melody. Everyone was listening and putting hands on each other like a natural gesture when praying. Then the Sheikh asked to call them for

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(There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).

Sheikh Salimurahman Khan, director of Da'wa at the Islamic Center told the crowd to repeat after the Sheikh, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" and explained the meaning to them adding, "He, who repeats these blessed words will have all his problems solved," similar to what the Messenger of Allah was used to request from the Arabs arriving from all parts of Arabia to perform Hajj, which was practiced before Islam. The Messenger used to say to them, "Say there is no god but Allah and you will succeed."

The Sheikh has connoted the word "succeed" by saying that "those who say these good words shall have all their problems solved" All the audience began chanting the good words in the same tune of Sheikh Nimatullah. I do not equate it to Christian chorus but, like Islamic chanting groups. Everyone felt calm, joy and happiness, to the extent that one professor said: "I was seized by tranquility and I will leave this meeting to maintain these feelings".

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Sheikh Nimatullah has a belief that those who chanted these good words have become Muslims, and I've already explained in one article of this series that Othman bin Madhoun the Prophet's foster brother may Allah be pleased with him said: whenever the prophet sees me he calls me to Islam saying to me: " A man like you is not unaware that the religion of Islam is right, so I embraced Islam out of courtesy". He said: "One day I entered the Holy Mosque and perhaps he said: The Prophet, peace be upon him was leaning against the Kaaba and there were a group of men with him, he called me saying to me: "I will let you know a verse that was just revealed:

( ﱠإن اﻟﻠﮫَ ﯾﺄﻣ ُﺮ ﺑﺎﻟ َﻌ ْﺪ ِل واﻹ ْﺣ َﺴﺎن وإ َﯾﺘﺎء ذِي ا ُﻟﻘ ْﺮﺑَﻰ وﯾَ ْﻨ َﮭﻰ ﻋﻦ اﻟ َﻔ ْﺤﺸَﺎ ِء واﻟ ُﻤ ْﻨ َﻜﺮ وا ْﻟ َﺒ ِﻐﻲ ﯾَ ِﻌ َﻈ ُﻜﻢ َﻟ َﻌ ﱠﻠ ُﻜﻢ َﺗ َﺬ ﱠﻛ ُﺮ ْون) Allah commands justice, charity, and obedience to those who are close to Him, and forbids indecency, evil, and evil. Surah 16 An-Nahl (the Bee, verse 90). Othman said "God open my heart to Islam and I realized that the religion of Islam is right".

The journey from disbelief to faith is not a stroke of a pen, but passes through stages, though Abu Bakr is the only one of the great Companions who responded to the Prophet peace be upon him from the first call, along with

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Ali bin Abi Talib, and Khadija may may Allah be pleased with them.

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The Great Dai'i: Sheikh Nimatullah (17)

By Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Al-Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected]

First Attempt of Sheikh Nimatullah to apply his Unique Approach to Call to Mr. Nakamura visited us at the Islamic Center Japan to inquire about various topics on Islam and came out of the center loaded with many books about Islam published by the center. Sheikh Nimatullah was resting at the prayer place on the second floor, he noticed Mr. Nakamura was about to get out of the center. He ran down quickly and reached Mr. Nakamura who was putting one foot in his car and the other on the ground and shouted to him: assalamu alaikum, assalamu alaikum, the man stopped and Nimatullah called him to return to the center, so he came back.

Nimatullah was asking himself how come this guy to enter the center without being converted to Islam? This

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will be a deficit on our part. Here the Sheikh began his usual call to Islam and began to say to Mr. Nakamura, (There are some words when you say them, all your problems shall be solved) or in the Sheik's own words: (One Gol – Arabic which means word - all problem finished), and asked him to repeat after him, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,". Mr. Nakamura chanted the good word three times then the Sheikh said to him,: "Now you're a Muslim and I will give you a Muslim name "Mohammed".

Mr. Nakamura walked out of the center and asked the Sheikh to visit him in Yokohama, in three days' time and gave him his address.

Frankly speaking this approach of calling to Islam by Nimatullah, was the first of its kind for us in the center, so we did not bother to accompany him to Yokohama. He went alone, moving from train to train with unrivaled courage, asking this and that until he reached Yokohama station in an hour. On the way he was distributing papers written on them (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).

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He was met by Mr. Nakamura who led him to the school where a number of students and teachers were sitting in one of the halls, Sheikh Nimatullah sat in the front with Mr. Nakamura next to him, who began introducing the Sheikh to his audience as an imam in Mecca at Mount of Al-Noor where the arch angel Gabriel revealed the Holy Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and explained to the audience the principles of Islam. When he mentioned the word wahi "revelation" Sheikh Nimatullah stood up and read in his loud and clear voice ( ْاﻗ َﺮ ْأ ِﺑ ْﺎﺳ ِﻢ َرﺑِّ َﻚ اﻟﺬي ﺧَ َﻠﻖ، ﺧَ َﻠﻖ اﻹﻧﺴﺎن ﻣﻦ َﻋ َﻠﻖ، اﻗﺮأ َو َرﺑ َﱡﻚ اﻷَ ْﻛ َﺮم، اﻟﺬي َﻋ ﱠﻠ َﻢ ﺑﺎ ْﻟ َﻘ َﻠﻢ، َﻋ ﱠﻠ َﻢ اﻹﻧﺴﺎ َن ﻣﺎ ﻟﻢ َﯾ ْﻌ َﻠﻢ) Surah Al-Alaq (the Clot, verses 1-5

Here he asked everyone to repeat after him, "La Ilaha Illa Allah, Muhammed Rasool Allah". As I mentioned in previous episodes that Sheikh Nimatullah believes that whoever repeats those good words is a Muslim. Here Sheikh Nimatullah asked himself: "If there is one person or a little more he would give each one a separate name, but the audience is more than a hundred, here he made his mind and said: I give you Islamic names: "All men Mohammad, all women Fatima".

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Everyone clapped as a sign of acceptance. That was the first attempt of Sheikh Nimatullah in the call to Islam.

He arrived in Japan twenty years ago, and kept company with us in the center. In the first days of his stay in the center he used to lay cardboard sheets at the center's reception and sleep braving Tokyo's cold winter. He used to get up whenever the center's telephone rang in two or three A.M and answer all calls from all over the world with what he knows of languages and answer inquiries with unrivaled courage.

Thus Sheikh Nimatullah leads his daily life calling to Islam in all cases. If an Imam of Friday's prayer in any mosque in Japan is absent Sheikh Nimatullah rises up and delivers offhandedly a Khutba "sermon" decorated with verses and Prophet's sayings () which are consistent with the case, and if someone visits the center he would offer him gifts even some dates, tea, coffee, milk, a gesture that opens the heart of every visitor to accept Islam. Verily, every Muslim individual in the world can do this thing.

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The Great Dai'i: Sheikh Nimatullah

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In the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and like the way of Sheikh Nimatullah for Islamic call

By/ Prof. Dr. Salih Mahdi Samarrai Chairman Islamic Center Japan [email protected] A few days ago I saw on a Facebook program an American guy of African descent (in his fifties), who was said to enter a mosque in the USA, took the microphone of the mosque and began to read the opening verse of the Holy Qur'an (Surat Al-Fatiha), in a very beautiful voice and sobbing.

After he finished, the Prayer Leader of the mosque (the Imam) approached him inquiring, he replied: "I converted to Islam two days ago and I learned Surat Al- Fatihah, I have been informed that the Prophet, peace be upon him says, "Convey from me, even if a single

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Qur'anic verse" and I liked to report even though Surat Al-Fatiha, urging every Muslim to do so.

Thus the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him told the Arabs "Say there is no god but Allah and you will succeed " and "Convey from me, even if a single verse." The Prophet's companions were aware of this and they travelled the world and spread the message of Islam, they were also followed by the followers and followers of followers to this day, and until Allah inherits the earth and whatsoever is thereon.

My Turkish colleague Sheikh Nimatullah, the advocator of calling to Islam by saying: There is no god but Allah and you will succeed), says: "There are two billion Muslims in the world, if every one of them calls to Islam even by using a few words like, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," then the people of the world shall embrace Islam within two years".

" َو َﻣ ْﻦ أَ ْﺣ َﺴ ُﻦ َﻗ ْﻮﻻ ِّﻣ ﱠﻤﻦ دَ َﻋﺎ ِإ َﻟﻰ ﱠاﻟﻠ ِﮫ َو َﻋ ِﻤ َﻞ َﺻﺎﻟِ ًﺤﺎ َو َﻗ َﺎل إِ ﱠﻧﻨِﻲ ِﻣ َﻦ ْاﻟ ُﻤ ْﺴ ِﻠ ِﻤ َﯿﻦ". ﺳﻮرة ﻓﺼﻠﺖ آﯾﺔ ٣٣

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"And who is better in speech than he who says: "My Lord is Allah" and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and invites others to Allah's (Monotheism) and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims." Surat Fussilat, verse 33

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