Dr AbdulHamid was a Man of High Principles – HE Prof. Dato’ Dr. Sano

 The former Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia the late Dato’ Prof. Dr AbdulHamid AbuSulayman was a man of very high principles who set very high standards for himself and for the institution that he led. He wanted every lecturer of IIUM to have a PhD and loved the country and people of Malaysia dearly. He was so concerned about the problems of the Muslim Ummah and wrote several books and articles to grapple with the issues facing the Muslim Ummah especially in the field of education. These were the fond recollections of Prof. Dr Koutoub Mustapha Sano the Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Saudi Arabia when delivering the inaugural memorial speech for Prof. Abdul Hamid AbuSulayman at the IIUM campus on 29 August 2022.

Prof. Sano, who was a close friend and colleague of Dato’ Prof. AbdulHamid recalled how the former IIUM Rector often emphasised on the importance of Muslim scholars liberating their minds from corrupt ideas that were contrary to the teachings of their religion. Prof. Sano recalled that Dato’ AbdulHamid used to say, “when the mind is corrupt then ideas and thoughts also become corrupt which in turn corrupt the behaviour of the individual”. Dato’ AbdulHamid always wanted our Muslim scholars to refer to the original sources of Islamic teachings i.e., the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to find solutions to problems facing mankind today.  He saw the “integration of Islamic sciences and contemporary social sciences as an important step towards achieving that vision”.  

According to Prof. Sano,  Dato’ AbdulHamid believed not in radical change but rather gradual change through educational reform and development. For this Dato’ AbdulHamid worked for the development of an alternative paradigm which should start with revising the epistemological foundations of knowledge. Dato’ AbdulHamid believed that reviving the moral fibre of society needs to begin at the kindergarten level where the young would be inculcated with the basic values of their religion and culture, said Prof. Sano. He concluded his inaugural memorial speech by reminding the audience that Dato’ AbdulHamid had wished that the IIUM would continue to lead in doing research and other academic activities to facilitate all efforts towards the realisation of these noble aims.