The death of Haji M.K. Hosein of Endeavour Extension Road, Endeavour, and formerly of Sterling, Virginia, on February 8th, 2025, was announced. He was the husband of Noorjahan Hosein, a beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Janaaza (funeral prayer) was held immediately after Zuhr Salaah (midday prayer) on 8th February 2025 at the Masjid ul Muttaqeen, Munroe Road Cunupia and thereafter to the Munroe Road Cemetery, Trinidad.
May Allah SWT elevate his ranks in the hereafter, Aameen.
إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون اللهم اغفر له وارحمه
Our Condolences and Sympathies to the entire family
A Life And A Legacy Of Service To Muslim Communities Of The Caribbean Region – Imtiaz Mohammed (son-in-law)
He was 98 years old, and last night, he “died with his boots on”. Despite his ageing, he continued his fight for Muslim unity and the promotion of the Islamic way of life to be established in everyone’s lives.
Brother MK Hosein was a key figure and a founding member of the Islamic Missionaries Guild of the Caribbean and South America (IMG). He is well-known throughout the Caribbean, the South American Muslim communities, the Islamic Institute of Islamic Thought (IIT) in Virginia, USA, and the Muslim World League and World Assembly of Muslim Youths in Saudi Arabia. I am sure he is well-known in other countries, too.
Through their efforts and foresight, the IMG contributed significantly to the growth of Islam in the Caribbean and South America. His vast experience and knowledge have made IMG one of the most successful, influential, and recognized Islamic organizations in T&T and elsewhere.
In his late nineties up to when he died, he would send emails and letters almost every 2 weeks to our Muslim leaders locally, including myself, to attend meetings to discuss and establish mechanisms for the promotion of Islam and the benefit of us Muslims.
Today (February 8th 2025), Allah took him away from us; he would have given his best to the Muslims wherever and whenever he was able to do so.
You can write a book about what he has done and achieved during his lifetime.
May Allah reward him with Jannatul Firdaus. Aameen!
Reflecting On The Passing Of A Devoted Servant of God – Suleiman Bulbulia (Barbados)
Inna lillahi wa inna illayhi rajioon – Verily from Allah we come and verily to Allah is our return
I received the sad news of Brother MK’s passing at Fajr this morning. The news caused me to reflect on our over 40 years of association. At 98, MK would have been around the age I am now when we first met. Subhanullah, how the years go by like a twinkling of an eye.
Muslims are reminded that at the time of death, we must earnestly hope for Allah’s acceptance of our time on this earth, with Allah’s Mercy and forgiveness, and entrance into Jannah (Paradise). We must also hope we leave behind a legacy that inspires, uplifts and motivates our fellow human beings to be the best they can be in the sight of Almighty Allah.
We pray Almighty Allah will accept Brother MK’s deeds, forgive him his shortcomings, and have mercy on him. Aameen.
A Legacy Of Service
Brother MK has certainly left a legacy behind. As word spread of his passing, equal and similar responses have come from across this region. Apart from the usual duahs (supplications to God), the responses echoed his personality and the work he did until his last breath: “Contributed significantly to Islamic work in the Caribbean”; “Bringing Islamic Scholars to the region”; “Getting Islamic books donated to many islands”; “A stalwart of Islam in the Caribbean”; “Always been proactive and tireless in his efforts for promoting Islam”; “instrumental in the establishment of Muslim communities in several small islands”; “constantly striving for the unity of Muslims”; “died with his boots on”.
MK Hosein (ra) on the left with Suleiman Bulbulia, picture taken December 2024
I am sure many more sentiments will be expressed about the life and person of MK Hosein over the coming weeks.
I write these few words of reflection as I think it is important for future generations to know who their forerunners were and the sacrifices and contributions they made to ensure a better space for Muslims in this region. I hope it can inspire and motivate.
I first met Brother MK in the early 1980s (either in 1981 or 1983) at an Islamic conference in Barbados through a stalwart of Islamic work in Barbados, the late Hafiz Mohammed Degia. My association with MK grew and blossomed, especially in the 1980s and 90s. He was certainly one of my early mentors in Islamic work and instilled in me a passion for the Muslims of the Caribbean. I credit him for much of what I know of Muslims in this region and for the connections made with communities in the countries across the Caribbean.
I attended my first Islamic Missionaries Guild of the Caribbean and South America (IMG) conference in Trinidad in 1983, and from then on, I attended several meetings, conferences, and camps over the years. I was always welcomed at Brother MK’s home as his guest. He and his family were always hospitable, kind and welcoming. I recall staying in his Woodbrook home in the 1980s. I spent time with MK as he worked tirelessly in Trinidad, trying to help Muslims in the Caribbean in various ways. I was also a guest at his home in the United States, and I witnessed him being equally busy serving the Muslim communities there.
A Passion for Community Building & Development
He connected Muslim communities with international organizations, groups, and individuals across the globe who brought their expertise and resources to help Muslims in this region. Dr. Ahmad Totonji is one well-known name that comes to mind. Through the efforts of Brother MK and his association with Dr. Totonji, scholars of Islam were assigned to several fledging Muslim communities in the Caribbean, providing critical teaching to help develop the communities.
Mentorship and Leadership
When MK transitioned to the Caribbean Islamic Secretariat, I spent time in the offices in Port of Spain, helping where I could. He was always urging us to do more and develop more. Our relationship was not always perfect, but that is human nature. Notwithstanding, my respect for MK and his work never waned. He was passionate about what he did, and that passion perhaps was overbearing to some, but looking back, it allowed us to understand that passion is needed to drive us to achieve what we want with the help of Allah. From what I witnessed, he was humble in personality, not wanting too many material things. As he travelled across the region, he was content staying in a small corner of a masjid/musallah with limited facilities, as he was in a comfortable hotel room. Such was MK’s nature; there were no pretences.
He attended my wedding in 1990, and while in Barbados, he took the opportunity to facilitate a donation of Islamic books to the public library. Always engaged in some Islamic work effort. We were not as connected over the last few years except through occasional mail (which he still utilized), trying to mobilize efforts in the region. I met MK in Trinidad on December 1st, 2024, at a Palestinian rally, and he had the same personality as when I met him in the 1980s, except age had caught up, and the frailty of being in the 90s was obvious. I observed that he needed help standing and going into the masjid for prayer, but I was shocked when I saw him driving his car and leaving the rally. That is who MK was, a true mujahid for the cause.
Tireless Efforts Until The End
In late December 2024, he was in Barbados with his family for a holiday, and that would be the last time I spent a few moments with him. Brother Sabir Nakhuda and I visited him, and Sabir did a brief recorded interview. True to form he spoke about reviving a Caribbean grouping for Muslims, he wanted to meet with the Imams and the masjid committees in Barbados and get a chapter going here. He kept speaking about the unity of Muslims. That is where his passion was, which consumed him until the last.
Allah granted him a long life, and from what we know, he used that time wisely until the end.
May his family be comforted with the knowledge that many duahs will be said for him across this Caribbean region for the good he sent forth and the legacy he left behind.
May Allah grant him Jannatul-Firdaus (Highest paradise). Aameen
