Updated 18 September 2013

Marhum Muhsin Alidina fondly called Maalim Jangbario, was born in Zanzibar in 1943 to the famous Rajabali Alidina family.  From his youthful days, Maalim Muhsin showed profound enthusiasm in secular as well as communal fields.  And avid cricket fan, player and record keeper, he made his presence felt conspicuously at community gatherings, at a very young age.  Besides, he was an active boy scout, always seen holding the banner of his scout group.  His devotion to sports and studies, for that matter, made him a popular student at King George VI Secondary School, where he completed his Secondary and High school studies, and then proceeded for undergraduate studies in social studies and linguistics at the University Of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

Marhum excelled in his studies, mastering seven languages, including Arabic and Farsi and graduated with flying colors.  He returned to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he served as a teacher at Shaban Robert Secondary School and Msizima Secondary School, and then joined the Department of Swahili at the University of Dar es Salaam, as a lecturer and a research student.  Above other things, his main focus at the University was in the compilation of the Swahili Dictionary.  Despite his heavy academic responsibilities, he was actively involved with community services, not only at sports, but more so, with the educational challenges at the Ithnasheri Union, where he held several responsible positions.  One of his most outstanding contributions to the entire Tanzanian community, was his initiative to start an academic center that embraced both secular and religious studies.  The result was the birth in 1986 of what is now the Al- Muntazir Islamic Seminary.  His contribution in the area of tableegh will remain unmentioned if we exclude his invaluable endeavors at the promotion of the message of Allah through publications.  He always found time to contribute regularly to The Light magazine and used his linguistic skills to translate from sources in such languages as Gujarati and Urdu into English. In fact, there have been several works of the Shia world famous scholar, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, wherein the Sayyid acknowledges Maalim Muhsin’s endeavors as a proofreader and editor of such works. 

After working sincerely and untiringly for almost forty years in Tanzania, he was called upon to migrate to the United Stated of America, to yet serve the Muslim communities there.  In 1993, therefore, Marhum Muhsin joined the Al-Khoei Foundation of New York where he continued to offer his services for yet another twenty years.

Between 1996 and 2004, Ma’alim Mohsin, worked very closely alongside Bashir A. Datoo  and a group of others on a series of important initiatives when he was part of the Islamic Education Board (IEB) of NASIMCO.

They organized six retreats that focused on a number of themes for youths and madaris that included: A Vision for Youths, The Target Profile of a Madrasah Graduate, Curriculum Development Process, Madrasah Drive for Excellence Program, Towards the Qur’anic Worldview, and Bringing it All Together.  The proceedings of all the retreats were published. IEB-NASIMCO also put out several Resource Papers authored by different scholars to address a void in the available resources necessitated by the conceptual frameworks developed at the Retreats for core madrasah courses.

Ma’alim Mohsin fully supported the mission of IEB-NASIMCO and was an ardent advocate of its activities. He offered interesting ideas for the retreats, attended almost all of them held in different cities of North America, contributed to the discourse either by speaking at the retreat or conducting a workshop, and provided constructive feedback afterwards.

Sheikh Fazil Al-Sahlani, the Imam of the Foundation, has aptly described Marhum Muhsin as “a moving encyclopedia.”  Nothing else would adequately describe to us the universality and diversity of the legacy that Marhum has left behind.  At the Al-Khoei Foundation of New York, Marhum held several positions at different times:  Librarian, Principal of Al-Iman School and, at the time of his death, Director of Programs.  His competence at seven languages gave him access to all the cultures represented by these languages, and enabled him to deal amicably with the congregants of diverse ethnicities, observing the sensitivity that is lacking in many places where diverse ethnicities prevail. 

Being an indefatigable person, Maalim still found time to take a permanent position as a lecturer/professor of Swahili at NYU (New York University), a prestigious university of higher learning.  Add to that, his unique experiences both as a secular and as a religious scholar, enabled him to accept the position as Registrar of Students at the Institute of Islamic Research Center, an academic center offering post-graduate courses leading to Masters/Doctorate Degrees in Islamic Studies. 

An exemplary trait of Ma’alim Mohsin was that he was very humble and selfless and did not seek to hog the limelight. Given his extensive knowledge of Islam and his amiable nature, he was frequently approached to speak at events or to write articles for magazines. He made a point of reaching out to others, and encouraging them to substitute for him or contribute alongside with him. His encouragement extended to providing any help needed in this undertaking.

All said and done, Marhum Maalim Muhsin Alidina was a teacher, a scholar, a polyglot and, above all, a friend, to the youths of Al Husseini Madressa where he was a teacher, and to the seniors of the Khoja community in New York.  He epitomized the best qualities of the Khojas at different cultural gatherings that he regularly visited for his services.  It does not come, therefore, as a surprise that on the day of Eid-Ul-Fitr when his death was announced at Al-Khoei Foundation, the congregation spontaneously burst into tears and wailing.  The loss was tremendous and overwhelming.  This proves that, as a true beloved of Ahlul Bayt, Maalim lived according to the advice of Imam Ali; when alive, people craved for his company and when he died people wept for his departure.  May Allah give us strength to bear this great loss, and grant Marhum an eternal peace and abode in the vicinity of our Fourteen Masoomeen. 

Please recite Surah Fateha for Marhum

Contributed by Mohamed Raza Dungersi and Bashir A. Datoo, Ph.D