Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji`oon
To Allah we belong and to Him do we return
As-salaam `alaykum,
It is with sadness that I, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, on behalf of Shaykh Nazim
al-Haqqani, and all mureeds of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order, send
heartfelt and sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid, in
particular to his wife, daughters and all other members of his family.
Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid, a devout and pious Muslim leader, struggled to direct
Indonesia in the way of classical Islam and moderate politics. He was the first
elected leader after President Suharto's passing and thus inherited a nation
full of troubles and diverse elements, many struggling to tear it apart.
Despite this, and despite opposition by many radicalized
elements, Gus Dur, as he was fondly known, managed to hold the nation on a
steady course and raise its prestige in the Muslim world as well as to
establish it on a moderate, and stable footing in international politics.
Coming from a highly religious family, Gus Dur's grandfather K.H. Hasyim
Asy'ari was founder of Nahdlatul-Ulama (NU), an Ahl as-Sunnah organization of
scholars and lay preachers whose influence on Indonesia cannot be
underestimated and whose membership is over 50 million.
Later Dr. Wahid headed the NU for many years, and was the cause of reform of
much of its policies and strengthened its role in public life. As such he
strove his utmost in supporting goodness and the correct use of political power
and was a staunch supporter of Ahl as-Sunnah wa 'l-Jama`ah.
Dr. Wahid was renowned for his tremendous sense of humor. In times of crisis he
would break off meetings to go and seek support at the tomb of Java’s many
saints. He once commented that he got much better advice from them than from
most members of his cabinet.
Everyone is requested to pray Salaat al-Janaza `ala al-ghaa'ibeen in their
respective countries. We request that all mureeds of Mawlana Shaykh recite from
the Qur'an and Surat al-Fatiha on behalf of Gus Dur.
Again, on behalf of Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, myself, Shaykh Hisham
Kabbani, and on behalf of all the Naqshbandi-Haqqani mureeds I send our deepest
condolences to the family of Gus Dur, especially to his widow Sinta Nuriyah and
his four daughters and to the people of Indonesia, to whom he was a beloved
father figure.
was-salaat was-salaam `ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa `ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
Signed,
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
