A Life in Print
Zuhair Munshey – Rahimahullaahu Ta’aala

By Fatima Hye

Many of you out there may not know who Zuhair Munshey was, but to our small online community here at Islamic Network, his death was a huge loss. Zuhair was with the community from the beginning and was an active part of the online Islamic world. He was also one of the most supportive IN’ers out there. But aside from all that, he was simply a great person.

Zuhair was an enthusiastic blogger and initially came to IN wanting to be part of the blogroll. However, when I (always on the lookout for art and content for the site) noticed a few crude comics he included as an afterthought to his writing submissions, I knew I had found what I was looking for.

What made “The Blunderous Adventures of NaseehaMan” different was that they were pieces of humor every Muslim could relate to. I had been to a few Islamic art conferences and had seen some other comics, but they all consisted of a lame catch phrase or simply some guy who aspired to be an artist but didn’t really have any developed ideas to offer. And, well, none of them made me laugh.

I doubt very much Zuhair had any real idea his comics would strike a chord in me (or anyone else), but I immediately saw the potential – they were humorous and cute, with a distinctive style. I don’t expect everyone to be a Rembrandt, and although NaseehaMan was done in MS Paint, the comics did make me laugh. All I ask is that an artist have some originality, some competence, and have a style which stays true. And Zuhair definitely had a signature style.

So I took Zuhair under my wing and developed his ideas. I must say, he was a pleasure to work with. I asked him the first day if he minded brutal honesty and he said he “loved it”. He was such a balanced person that he could take constructive criticism, improve himself, and get even further. He exerted himself, met any technical specifications we demanded, and was a professional all the way. After a few weeks, he was on his own and I completely trusted his judgment.

It was very exciting to see the effect. People were talking about the comics. I had people come up to me and tell me they waited for Mondays (when the comics would run weekly) just to see what NM was up to. My kids, and a lot of others that heard about it, would completely crack up, even if they didn’t exactly understand the details of the topic. It’s true, not every single person “got” them – a lot of them did have a problem with the simple style and the often simple humor. But I’ve always liked childish things and it seemed so did most of the audience. NM was a hit.

That is not to say that NaseehaMan was not without controversy. There were people, even some at IN, who had doubts about publishing something which they felt made fun of the religion. It may have been too subtle for people to understand, but Zuhair, being a devout, if not practicing Muslim (Allah knows best what each of us are), would never have done that. Yet he did have a sense of humor and did not see the harm at laughing at the every day issues which Muslims often face. It was not a humor of attack, but of love for our religion and culture. After all, Muslims are human too. 

Aside from being the creator and writer for the NaseehaMan comics, Zuhair was a student of knowledge and da’ee. He attended as many classes as possible, was a student at Arees Institute, and could be found on many online communities preaching the religion. In fact, he did whatever was in his capacity, and surpassed many, for Zuhair was afflicted with a disease called muscular dystrophy. He could not speak, but he could type and use the computer. There were times when he was taken ill, had to be put on bed rest, or even hospitalized. Yet through it all, I do not recall him ever complaining or making excuses for himself. If he mentioned his illness, he did so in a matter-of-fact way. He was 21 years old when he passed away, rahimahullaah.

His cousin mentions:

Subhan Allah, although he had been in and out of the hospital so often, this time he was at home and his heart just stopped and he stopped talking in the middle of a word. When they checked the pulse, they found he was gone….He asked for Allah to grant him the rank and status of a shaheed and to enter him into jannah without any trials or accounting.

In the end, all I can say is Zuhair affected a lot of people. He was liked by everyone. He did not wrong anyone, and he had good manners with people. He was down to earth, friendly; open-hearted. And he was loved.

His mother, whom he was close to, and whom he would consult in his affairs, mentions:

He taught me so much, I loved him so much. He never once complained, one time i was talking to him and said zuhair when i see all the kids walking and doing stuff i feel why is my son like this why can he not walk, and zuhair replied, mama don’t say that, Allah is the one who gives kids and it is up to Him how he does that. It is a test. Another time i was sick and i said zuhair what if i die what will happen to u who will take care of u , i worry about that. He was quiet for a minute and then said mama if u die don’t u think u should worry about what is going to happen to u afterwards.

A glimpse of what some of our community mentioned about him after his passing:

http://talk.islamicnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=12647

Before his death, Zuhair was in talks with IN Production, Islamic Network’s arts production company, to publish his comics in a book format, with some previously unpublished material as well. We hope to continue the project and give the world at large a glimpse of a truly beautiful mind.

In the mean time, here is kind of the blogroll he always wanted on IN (which we never started up) – he stayed on Puglu, our previous blogging service:

http://puglu.com/naseehaman/

I have no idea if Zuhair would like all the fuss we are making over him. And if he were here, he might very well tell us that forget him, we are all in a great loss. I’ll leave you with what his teacher at Arees Institute, Shaikh Isam (he also does Ask the Scholar on this site) said about him:
Zuhair Rahimahullah is an example for the dedicated powerful Muslim who doesn’t let the hardships or difficulties stop him.
I’ve never met Zuhair but it’s as if I’ve known him for a long time because of his dedcation to the knowledge. His condition was difficult and he needed special attention yet he wanted to seek knowledge and he was one of the first students at Arees. I actually learnt from Zuhair maybe more than what he learnt from me. He designed a poster for the mahrams and the non mahrms that I’ll publish soon inshallah in his memory.
[He had also designed a poster of NM teaching “How to Pray” which ran on the site earlier: http://www.islamicnetwork.com/index.php/weblog/comments/lets_pray/ ]
Whenever he couldn’t join due to his sickness; he used to ask for the archives the first thing. I believe the entire Ummah lacks this spirit.
I received the sad news on Friday and I didn’t know what to do, the tears seized in my eyes and I wanted to travel to take a look at that knight whom I heard of but never met, yet it was too late for me to join the Janazah and I could only pray for him and ask Allah Subhanahu Wata’la to gather us together in the dwelling of His mercy.
O Allah! Forgive your slave Zuhair all his sins and grant him the Firdaws and grant his parents patience.
We pray for our brother that his one wish was granted: O Allah! Grant Zuhair the rank and status of a shaheed, and enter him into Jannah without any trials or accounting.

Ameen.