Speech by Mufti Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir at Syed Isa Semait Scholarship and MUIS Scholarship award ceremony

Around 27 years ago, I presented myself at MUIS for an interview for its first ever undergraduate scholarship award. It was, as you could imagine, a very daunting experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But one of the interviewers was exceptionally kind and warm. He had a very gentle and fatherly look that immediately calmed me down. I detected from his eyes, from the way he looked at me, that he was genuinely hoping I would do well in the interview. As I was about to be gently lulled into what I thought would become an easy interview, the most provocative questions came, and mostly from this interviewer.

He challenged my views and assumptions on what is best for the community. He placed me in the future, asking me to imagine if I was the one making decisions. He asked, could MUIS actually do such a radical thing? What would the community say? How would they react? He didn’t want to just hear fanciful ideas, but he wanted to see if I could defend them. Or even better, how far would I go to defend them and why?

That interviewer was none other than the late Almarhum Shaikh Syed Isa Semait, our Mufti, who had just passed on to be with His Lord, two days ago. That interview gave me a lot of meaning and purpose to serve in the religious sector, even as I had reservations at the time. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing, because I had other dreams too. I wanted to either be in the skies, or watching the skies, as a career. I’ll let you guess what my dreams were. I ended up in MUIS after graduation, 23 years ago, and I still am at MUIS. I will always be forever grateful that I have had the immense honour and privilege to know him up close and personal, and support his mission, ideas and work, for much of my career in MUIS.

And it is in his honour that MUIS awards the eponymous Syed Isa Semait Scholarship. You may think this is to honour his role as an illustrious religious leader, as a Mufti, but the Syed Isa label or brand is much more than that. It is as much about the spirituality of the man and his character, his humility and kindness, as it is about his formal role.

Shaikh Syed Isa was all about selfless contributions, service, and compassion. He grew up in very challenging circumstances, but that had taught him resilience and the focus on what truly matter in life – not the limelight, fame or recognition that we have become too easily accustomed to and expect these days, but about quiet service to others, in his case, service to community and nation. But beyond that, where he failed, he genuinely wanted others to succeed.

You see, Shaikh Syed Isa did not have the opportunities we have today - to have access to scholarships or pursue our studies at higher levels, such as masters or PhDs. But he knew very well what difference those experiences and qualifications could make to the individual and the community. So even as he didn’t have those opportunities, he wanted and created them for others. He pushed and encouraged me, like he did to many other asatizah, to continue our studies. And he would always brim with pride when asatizah succeed, get good qualifications, and become well-respected, not just within the community, but nationally.

It is for this reason too that he would strongly disapprove of any form of shoddiness and mediocrity. He would admonish us for any slack and lack of seriousness in our work. For those of who have worked with me and maybe get a criticism or two and you feel upset, believe me, it pales so much in comparison to the standards which Shaikh Syed Isa demanded of us. I learnt this firsthand when I accompanied him to one of his rare overseas travel – to the UK and Egypt. Let’s just say I got a proper scolding for being too relaxed.

Even after his full retirement, when we would visit him, he will always share his pride in our accomplishments, whether at a personal level with our studies, or as a community of asatizah, in helping steer the community towards positive change.

God knows best. These last few weeks, and especially this week, we had planned events that now appear perfectly fitting to honour and also remind us of his achievements and accomplishments. Just two weeks ago, we organised the Fatwa Lab symposium and the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Panel of the Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS). These are important institutions for the community which he would have been extremely proud of, to chart further progress in our socio-religious life for the future, especially in addressing very complex challenges.

Earlier this week, we held the Falak workshop, graced by one of the most eminent astronomers in the Muslim world. It was Shaikh Syed Isa who had the courage and conviction to make the bold decision to move to astronomical calculations or hisab, to determine our Islamic calendar, instead of relying on the citing of the crescent. In fact, many of you may not know this. Shaikh Syed Isa is our very own expert in this science of falak. He would do the calculations on prayer times for Singapore on his own, using only the calculator to help in complex trigonometric equations. He did not have computers, let alone softwares, to help. He calculated them manually.

And today, we gather to witness the SISS awards, which will continue to be our way to honour Shaikh Syed Isa, at the same time, to hope and aspire for more Syed Isa’s of the future. His mind wondered to the furthest horizons of achievements and progress, but his heart always remained at home – to benefit those around him, his community, his country, before all else. If you read the classical texts and books on how to be a Mufti, or how a Mufti should behave, something is not as clearly stated as you would find in the life of Shaikh Syed Isa – and to me, this is arguably the most important quality. He wanted to truly help people through his fatwas and guidance – not to complicate or burden them in life, but to simplify and ease them, to find solutions for those who struggle – because he understood both theoretically and practically, that this is what God wants us to do, as leaders.

This unique, yet delicate balance, is highly exceptional and a rarity in our world today. It is a character that I believe best nurtured here in Singapore, one you don’t readily find elsewhere. And Shaikh Syed Isa is the best examplar of this. And I hope all of you, scholarship recipients will become role models of this intricate balance for your community in the future too, although in a different environment and under different circumstances. Whatever role that you end up with in the future, I hope you ensure that the beacon that Shaikh Syed Isa and others before you have lighted keeps on shining, with pride and wisdom, as we travel the path of balance and compassion in our service to community, nation and ummah.

But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the coming years in learning and discovery – focusing day and night on exploring and finding things out. If you, like me and many others here, enjoy learning, I promise you, it will be the best years of your life. You have thoroughly deserved to get to this point and be awarded with these scholarships. You have excelled in your studies, and we witnessed how well you did in your interviews. We saw great potential in each one of you. Congratulations.

What you have with you now is a huge divine gift – great intellect, sharpness of mind, passion and interest in learning and finding out more, good character, and the desire to serve. Thank Allah and your parents for these gifts – use them in the best possible ways to benefit yourself and others. May God be with you in all that you do, and we look forward to your contributions and leadership in years to come.