Sheikh Dr Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah
The Lost of the Father of Islamic Finance Shariah Scholars
I felt very sad. No one has ever left the Shariah finger print on my Shariah personality as much as he did. I met with him for the first time in Labuan circa 1995. He needed my help to translate his paper into English and I was so nervous. I was 31 years old then and he was one of the great scholars of Islamic finance on this planet. I spent two hours with him. We spent 30 minutes on the paper and rest we talked about life. He embraced me in his world of Islamic finance. I felt strongly that I must follow his footsteps.
Not long after that, I was invited to join many Shariah Boards together with him. It was always fulfilling and insightful to learn from his great knowledge and wisdom.
I also learnt from him in great deal the real meaning of simplicity and humility.
On one occasion, I was chairing one meeting and he was one of the members. I pronounced one word in Arabic wrongly. He brought down his face to my shoulder and made that important correction quietly and subtly without anyone else noticing. He was so exemplary. I always told this story to many upbecoming scholars in Islamic finance: be humble in all conditions. May I ask everyone to pray for his soul.
Dr Mohd Daud Bakar