How I Met Dr Zakir Naik - The World Renowned Muslim Scholar in UK - Peace TV and IRF Founder

Not many people have or will get the chance to meet the world reknoned known scholar that is Dr Zakir Naik. Through the help of technology and media, Dr Zakir Naik has made a name for himself and is world renowned via his tv channel, Peace TV via the Islamic foundation IRF (Islamic Research Foundation).

We as Muslims are pleased and thankful to Allah (subhana wa ta'la) for providing for us a great scholar who has spread dawah in Islam throughout the world and is continuing to do so.

One night in 2007 a friend of mine asked me if i wanted to go to Burnley to attend a talk by Dr Zakir Naik, and i did not turn the offer down.

The venue is in a mosque in Burnley and there would be a lot of people, especially to see Dr Zakir Naik who came to give talks on Islam in UK at that time.

On the day we all met up at my friends house and jumped into two cars as there was six of us. The time we spent on the road was about one and a half hours. I was shocked when we got there because the mosque was not what it seemed.

The mosque looked bare with no walls with just steel frames, some two metre high walls and the rest was covered with waterproof fabric to stop rain coming in. In UK it could rain any time so it was common sense to have cover from rain.

We went up a slope and sat on the concrete, unfinished floor of the mosque and much to our surprise there were not many people. Just a few organisers and some members of the public who came from around the country as Burnley was in Lancashire, near the middle of the country.

We sat with other people and asked about the state of the mosque to a local person who explained that due to competition and jealousy within Muslims in the area, some mosques do not get funding to complete the building of mosques. This mosque has been like this for the last two years.

There was a person there from Islam Channel, at the time he was from Channel S. His name was Redwan and many Muslims who watch these two channels will know who i am talking about. He was quite short and wore a suit. He sat among the crowd anticipating the arrival of the great scholar, that is Dr Zakir Naik.

After about an hour into midday there was no sign of him and people were getting restless. Asian time is notorious for being behind by an hour or two, and i'm not saying this about Dr Zakir Naik.

Due to the long wait with people getting restless, Redwan decided to do a quick talk about hsi dad who had passed away the recently who was part of the Burnley mosque and Redwan, naturally, had a soft spot for it.

He talked about paying charity (sadaqah) and funding mosques for rewards in the hereafter and Allah builds a house for those who build a mosque in this life. He also talked about Muslims uniting and getting along with each other. As he carried on, i told my friends to go to the front gates of the mosque because people were gathering around which was a sign for me that Dr Zakir Naik is about to turn up. My friends did not want to leave the talk but for some reason i had the urge to stand up and got to the front gates.

As i got there i overheard people saying that the mosque committee lied about Dr Zakir Naik and that he was not going to turn up.

I looked back at the mosque and people were still sitting inside, but near the gates there were about twenty people. Some people started complaining saying things like 'you've lied to us about him, and you got us here so that you can get money for the mosque' and so on. I didn't like the sound of that. Some people were being impatient.

The time came for Dr Zakir Naik to turn up. I was just standing near the gate as i had a gut feeling that he the time had come. I go that feeling since i was sitting inside the mosque and that's the reason why i told my friends.

Suddenly i saw a black people carrier with dark tinted windows turn up and a couple of people jumped out, made some room and waited.

Then Dr Zakir Naik walked out of the people carrier and stood there looking at the mosque. His companions got closer to him and he raised his hands. Everyone followed and so did i. He was about to pray. He was wearing a light blue suit and looked like he was ageing compared to what he looked like on his tv channel, Peace TV.

Dr Zakir Naik prayed a long prayer and then he jumped back in the car and they drove off. I must admit, just seeing him for about two minutes made my day! The only other times i saw him was on his tv channel called Peace TV. I was beaming with satisfaction and happinness and then turned to walk back to my friends.

When i got back i sat down and quietly and mentioned about what had just happened to my friends and they were shocked! I said to them that it was their loss because i did tell them to come, but they didn't.

I read an article on the internet which refers to Dr Zakir Naik as a 'prophet' for Muslims. This is unbelievable and shows just how much ignorance there is towards Islam.

By now, with easy access to the internet, people should know that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was and is the last and final prophet and messenger of Allah. There will be no one else. Jesus (peace be upon him) will return when Allah gives permission, and he was taken up to heaven and did not die on earth.

Dr Zakir Naik is just a human being like the rest of us but with great knowledge. He is not and cannot ever be compared to a prophet, never mind be one.There will be no more prophets or messengers sent after Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Some people also think that Dr Zakir Naik is extreme to the point that he he talks negatively about the Western world who are killing innocent men, women and children in Middle Eastern countries. If you just use an ounce of your logic then you will realise that killing innocent people, it doesn't matter what colour or religion they are, is wrong and not humane. Islam does not teach to kill anyone, never mind innocent people for the security of their country. Islam teahces to fight those who fight against you who have come to take your land or defend yourself against an opressor, Bashar al Assad comes to mind.

Dr Zakir Naik is a very well respected Muslim who has knowledge of all religions which is memorised. He is a relief for Muslims in the times we live in because he only answers questions by only giving references from holy books. He never answers questions or gives talks with his own opinions or thoughts. This is why he is a great scholar who is respected by many other scholars throughout the world.