Sayyed Hidayatullah Hadi Sahib, Urdu Editor of the Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada for nearly four decades, returned to his Lord on April 25, 2026, in Vaughan, Ontario, at the age of 80.
“Surely we belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return.”
Holy Qur’an 2:156.
Hadi Sahib joined the Gazette as Urdu Editor in 1988 and held the post until his death. This selfless and quiet labour of devotion to service was sustained across thirty-eight years. He was a pioneer member of Jama’at Ahmadiyya Canada and gave himself fully to its work. Beyond his editorial desk, he lectured on research methodology at Jamia Ahmadiyya in Canada, Rabwah, and Qadian, contributed reference articles to Jama’at journals in London, Rabwah, the United States, and Canada, and served on the national Qaza Board. He also acted as General Secretary of the Taleem-ul-Islam College Old Students Association (Canada), keeping alive the bonds of an earlier generation of Ahmadi scholars.
Sayyed Hidayatullah Hadi Sahib lived a life marked by devotion and compassion. He was regular in offering his obligatory prayers and observed Tahajjud daily with remarkable consistency and dedication. He maintained a strong connection with the Holy Qur’an through regular tilawat and made every effort to offer his prayers in the mosque. He was also deeply caring toward those in need, frequently sending financial support to orphans in Pakistan. Even before his demise, he entrusted some money to his son with the instruction that it be sent to support orphans, reflecting his lifelong commitment to charity and service.
Those who worked alongside him speak first of his humility, and of a deep love for Khilafat that ran beneath every page he edited and every lesson he taught. That devotion was put to remarkable use during the visits of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa) to Canada, when Hadi Sahib was entrusted with correspondence duty, working diligently through thousands of letters and replies so that every Ahmadi who had written to the Khalifa received a careful response.
After retirement, he could be found almost daily at Baitul Islam Mosque and the Office at Aiwan Tahir, attending whatever the Jama’at required of him. Only weeks before his passing, at the launch of the Gazette’s new website in February, he accepted an Appreciation Award on behalf of the magazine’s longest-serving volunteers. He had spent his life among such volunteers, and he received the recognition as one of them rather than apart from them. It was, perhaps, his last public act in the service of the magazine he had loved for so long.
He is survived by his wife Tahira Hadi Sahiba and their children Khurram, Ahsan, Shazia, and Nazia.
The Ahmadiyya Journal joins the wider Jama’at in mourning his loss and praying for the elevation of his soul, Ameen. May Allah grant him the highest stations in Paradise, and may his memory remain a light among us for many years to come.
