Dear Management team of AlMaghrib Institute, 

This letter represents the thousands of students and myself – a female with strong moral values and sense of self-worth – who have all benefited greatly from Abu Eesa Niamatullah’s contributions to our educational paths.

In light of recent events involving our teacher Abu Eesa Niamatullah, I felt it necessary to urge AlMaghrib Institute to continue employing him as one of their teachers. 

I recognize that Islam has elevated women’s status, and thus I, too, was surprised at Abu Eesa’s remarks. I do, however, trust that it was not his intention to deeply offend anyone; rather it was simply a series of ill-conceived jokes. 

Many of us have written to him both publically and privately and we are satisfied that Abu Eesa has (publically and privately) apologized to those whom he has caused any hurt or offense. We believe that further actions against him are not only inappropriate, but would hurt his students and all those who benefit immensely from his work. 

Here are some of the reasons why AlMaghrib Institute should keep Abu Eesa Niamatullah on as an instructor: 

-Through AlMaghrib courses, he alone has taught close to 10,000 students over the course of the last several years. He teaches Divine Link (Fiqh of Salah), The Last Breath (Fiqh of death), Protect this House (explanation of Al-Adab Al-Mufrad by Imam Bukhari), and Pure Paisa (Fiqh of Money and Transactions) – these courses are integral to the lives of any practicing Muslim. To remove him from teaching this material would be cause a great blow to his future and present students and could very well prevent many Muslims from obtaining this essential knowledge. 

-When teaching the afore-mentioned courses, Abu Eesa always sets aside time to specifically receive questions from his female students. Similarly, he meets them one-on-one to discuss any in-depth questions and concerns they have. 

-Through his charity work, he has lead and assisted in raising hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars for many causes, most recently the Syrian Winter Crisis and the widows and orphans of the Rabaa Massacre in Egypt. 

With regards to this, the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said the following two statements: 

“One who cares for widows and the poor is like those who fight in the way of Allah or those who spend their days fasting and their nights praying” and “I and the caretaker of the orphan will enter Paradise together like this, raising (by way of illustration) his forefinger and middle finger jointly, leaving no space in between.” 

-He has been teaching a weekly online class in partnership with AlMaghrib Institute to 7000 students around the globe on Islamic foundational principles and exegesis of the Quran. The majority of these attendees are women. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” He has also written multitudes of substantially beneficial articles on many topics, a portion of which can be found here:

http://propheticguidance.co.uk/blog/articles/ust-abu-eesa-niamatullah/ 

-Women have direct access to see, hear, and sit directly in front of him during all live classes he holds in the UK – a trend that is not readily seen in most places of Islamic learning. 

-He has reached thousands of hearts and minds around the world through his approachable and friendly personality via DVDs, lectures, social media reminders/discussions, and courses. 

-He has immense respect for women and has illustrated that through his direct work with them (as I and many women will attest to) and through his courses and other outlets. To use just one quote from his roster of quotes with regards to the status of women: “I want to give a massive shout out to all of our dear sisters who just keep pushing it higher and higher and raising the standards in Deen and ihsan. They are busy running the homes, raising the next generation, doing the da’wah on the streets, educating themselves and others, and just being all round superstars… you are our present and you are our future and we know we’re finished without you. May Allah bless you all, continue to guide you, give you even more patience and increase you in awesomeness which you all have so clearly made your own.” 

The above is just a short list highlighting very few of his many positive qualities and contributions to our community. We urge AlMaghrib Institute to look at all these contributions as a context for the recent controversy. 

I believe that it is now time to move forward and build upon this experience in a positive way by continuously striving to be the best leaders, students and Muslims that we can possibly be. As a student who has benefited from Abu Eesa Niamatullah’s work immensely, I emphatically urge AlMaghrib Institute to maintain Abu Eesa as a teacher. 

Finally, for those who have had positive experiences and who have benefited from Abu Eesa Niamatullah as an instructor or in another role, please sign this petition and share your experiences!

 

Sincerely and with hope, 

A student of Abu Eesa Niamatullah