Shaikh Abdul Gaffar Sullia , was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar from Karnataka. He had undertaken numerous activities for the welfare of Muslims and was one of the first to translate the Quran into Kannada Language which took him around twelve years to complete. He has also written several books and conducted many public lectures.
Life
Shaikh Abdul Gaffar was born in the city ofMangalore, Karnataka in the month of Jumada al-Thani 1340 A.H to a family with renowned interest pertaining to religious study and development. His father Shaikh Burhaan Saheb was a School teacher and mother Wazir Bi a homemaker. He was hard-working, despite the fact that he had to put in great efforts toward supporting and upbringing his family, he made it his objective to study the Qur'an, Hadith, and Tafseer extensively. At the age of sixty nine, he suffered partial paralysis and moved to his family home in Sullia and lived there till his demise.
Family
Shaikh Abdul Gaffar was the eldest of five children to his parents, with three brothers and a sister. In the year 1945 he married Hameedunnisa, with whom he had two daughters and five sons.
Education
He was intelligent and hence educated himself to great heights of wisdom. Though he never held any acclaimed University degree, his knowledge and presence was scholastically high.
Career
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities:
Worked in 36 schools in 32 years of service and also as Imam of several Mosques simultaneously.
Started working as a School teacher in Kurchipalla which was in South Canara in 1940
Principal of Urdu Higher Primary School and later retired from it.
Major works
Shaikh Abdul Gaffar had undertaken numerous charitable, social and religious activities. He opposed Shirk and Bida'at with extreme austerity, as such practices were prevalent in the town of Udayawara at the time. He jeopardized his own life by venturing into substantial acts, refuting religious innovations during his tenure as the Imam of Town Mosque in Udyawara. He made great effort in establishing the weekly news paper and named it 'Sanmarga'. There are a number of books written and translated by Shaikh Abdul Gaffar and the subject matter covered several topics.
Pavitra Quran – reviewed by Moulana Syed Yousuf, Ibrahim Saeed, Mohammad Saadullah
Languages
Shaikh Abdul Gaffar was well versed in Kannada, English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Malayalam, Tulu and Byari
Death
On Friday, 16 January 1998, Shaikh Abdul Gaffar Sullia died at the age of 76. The next day, the congregational prayer was followed by his funeral prayer, led by one of his sons after which he was buried.
