Marhoom Ash Sheikh Ibrahim Hasan Lebbe, Former Ameer of Sri Lanka Jamaathe Islami – A Multi-faceted Personality:
It was a day in 1971. That was the day Ash Sheikh Ibrahim’s degree results at the University of Peradeniya were announced . Even before he knew about it, Professor W.S. Karunaratne, the Head of the Department of Eastern Languages at the university, drove around 30km towards Uyanwatta, in his own car to meet his student Ibrahim at his home. He was surprised to see this great man at his doorstep. He welcomed him in warmly. The professor congratulated him, shaking his hand, and said that his results had been released by the university Senate that day. He had secured first-class honors, breaking the professor’s own 20-year-old record of securing Grade A’s in all nine subjects at the final examinations. The professor had just come to congratulate him on this achievement.
This was just an introduction to Sheikh Ibrahim’s prowess.
Ash Sheikh Ibrahim, a former Ameer of Sri Lanka Jamaathe Islami passed away on 30th March 2024 in Colombo at the age of 87. His Janaza was attended by a large number of people from different parts of Sri Lanka.
Born in 1937 in Uyanwatte, sheikh Ibrahim began his early education at the village school. In 1947, he joined Maharagama Ghafooriya Arabic College, where he studied for 9 years, excelling and later becoming a lecturer there. During his time at Ghafooriya, he established ties with the Sri Lanka Jamaathe Islami.
He joined teaching profession under the ministry of Education. In 1963, he was selected for enrolment to the Teachers’ Training College and continued his service as a trained teacher from 1965 onwards. In 1967, he gained admission to the University of Peradeniya, where he studied Arabic under Professor S.A. Imam, a great scholar of Pakistani origin, and secured a first class, leading to the incident mentioned earlier.
Shortly after his degree results, he was appointed as a lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Civilization at the University of Kelaniya and then at the University of Peradeniya.
Sheikh Ibrahim joined the Sri Lanka Jamaat-e-Islami in 1957 and was appointed its General Secretary in 1958 at the age of 21. He held several important positions in Jamaat since then. In 1976 he was elected as the Ameer of the Jamaath. However in 1977, he had to leave for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to join Jamiatul Imam for his postgraduate studies. He was reelected as the Ameer in 1982 and held that position until 1994.
During his tenure as the Ameer of Jamaat the organization witnessed tremendous progress in different arenas.
After retirement from the post of Ameer he held the position of deputy Ameer for a long time and dedicated himself in establishing two important educational institutions namely Ayesha Siddeeqa College of Higher Education and Thanweer Academy and rendering the renown Quranic commentary, Tafhimul Quran of Mawlana Mawdudi, into Sinhala language. This commentary was published by the Sri Lanka Jamaathe Islami in 12 volumes and took over 10 years to complete. Then Prime Minister of the country Hon. D.M. Jayaratne was the Chief Guest at the ceremonial release of this work held in Colombo.
Fluent in Arabic, English, Sinhala and Tamil languages he was an orator and a prolific writer. His programmes over the state broadcasting cooperation Muslim service were popular among the listeners.
While being a post graduate student of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, he developed cordial relationship with several scholars and Islamic personalities in different parts of the world. He had met with Mawlana Maududi several times in Lahore.
Sheikh Ibrahim was a founder member of the International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO)
الهيئة الخيرية الاسلامية العالمية
He also acted as the student counsellor of the Islamic Development Bank(IsDB) Scholarship programme in Sri Lanka.
He also held the post of Vice President of the All Ceylon Jamiatul Ulema, the umbrella organization of Muslim theologians in the country.
He contributed to university and national education curricula related to Islam and Islamic Civilization. He served as the chief examiner for these subjects for the G.C.E. Advanced Level and Ordinary Level examinations conducted by the Department of Examinations under the Ministry of Education.
Sheikh Ibrahim maintained cordial relationship with contemporary Muslim political leaders. Then speaker of Sri Lankan parliament late Mohamed Haniffa Muhammad and long time Foreign Minister of the country late Shahul Hameed held him in high regard and consulted him directly on various community issues.
He was a pioneer in the Islamic religious education sector in Sri Lanka, playing a leading role in establishing institutions such as Madampe Islahiya Arabic College, Puttalam Islaahiya Ladies College, apart from the earlier mentioned Ayesha Siddeeqa College and Tanweer Academy.
He was also a member of the initial curriculum committee for Jamiah Naleemiah, a prestigious Islamic educational institution in the country.
He also was the Chief Editor of the monthly publication of the Jamaat ‘Al Hasanath’ for several years
He was much concerned on the importance of Unity in the Muslim community. With this objective he spearheaded the formation of an umbrella organization of the muslim civil society organizations named Ittihadul Muslimeen
To address the absence of a research institution to study social issues, he established the Serendib Institute for Research and Development (SIRD) and served as its head for several years. Through this institute, he conducted several national-level seminars n contemporary issues.
Despite his long involvement with the Jamaat-e-Islami, he never accepted any remuneration for his services. Instead, on retirement from service, he donated his entire provident fund from the university to the Jamaat’s building fund.
He was admired and respected by scholars, intellectuals, and ordinary people alike.
He was a progressive-minded scholar who looked ahead and planned for the future direction of the community and his organization.
May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus.
