This book chronicles the fascinating story of how Deedat, the son of a struggling Indian tailor in KwaZulu-Natal, progressed from being a salesperson in a remote rural grocery shop to become a figure of great renown in many parts of the world. By the 1980s, crowds in their thousands were cramming into lecture halls across the United States, Europe, Australasia, and, of course, the Middle East, to hear him speak. Always cager to challenge and debate, Deedat confronted leading evangelical Christians on their interpretations of biblical teachings, often on their own turf. Hundreds of thousands of his pamphlets, books, videos and audio recordings have circulated globally.
In the pages of this book, the life’s work of one of South Africa’s most well known and controversial Muslims is recounted in detail. It explains how, in the Muslim world, Deedat became a highly revered figure. Offering new insights to anyone whose life has already been touched by Deedat, this book also provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in the message of Islam, in interfaith dialogue, in religious polemics, or in the less documented aspects of South African and anti-colonial history.
نحمد اللّه حمد من تظاهرت عليه من ربه الآلاء، ونشكره شكر من تكاثرت عليه من مولاه النعماء، ونصلي على أشرف مَن دعا الناس بكلمه الجوامع إلى حسن الفعال التي يستحق بها الجزاء، وصدق المقال الذي يُكتسب به الثناء، وأكمل من فاق عباد اللّٰه المكرمين وصار للعالمين رحمة وشفاء، سيدنا محمد الرؤوف الرحيم، ذي الخُلق العظيم، الذي بعث لإتمام مكارم الأخلاق، قائد الغُر المحجَّلين من الأصفياء، وعلى جميع إخوانه من الأنبياء الذين كانوا في أزمنتهم شموساً للاقتداء، وعلى آله سفن النجاة لأهل النجاء، وصحبه نجوم الاهتداء، ومَن تبعهم بإحسان ما أظلت الخضراء وأقلت الغبراء