I have never met him. I have never spoken to him. Nor have I read anything he ever wrote. But after my two years of association with Dayapuram, this person is one important presence in my humanitarian concerns, bumble as they are. A life that tells me the need to do things for others. It might be a small role, yet quite a substantial one. I am sure this is the case with many who read this article when it comes to that towering personality: Sheikh Abdulla Ibrahim Al Ansari. If it was the energy that he emanated, which drew Mr. C.T. Abdurahim to think about this venture with the help and support from his friends and well wishers, the campus still seem to take its inspiration from the deep lessons of humanity that Sheikh Ansari cherished and lived for. His memory, values, ideas are in the air of the campus…

Henry Fielding, an eighteenth century British novelist observed: examples work more forcibly on the mind that precepts. By keeping the memory of Sheikh Ansari alive in remarkable ways, Dayapuram is able to present him as an example that can set a model. In 1981, Sheikh Ansari invoked in his speech that he delivered in the inaugural session of Dayapuram: "This should grow and become a center that shelters orphans and destitutes from all campus. The dream of their man also turns out to be the vision of the campus, the concretisation of which it endeavours to move towards.

Sheikh Ansari came to Kerala for the first time in 1974 for ayurvedic treatment at the Kottakkal hospital. It was in the same year that Qatar Petroleum Limited was established. With the establishment of this firm, one of the most important job-providers in the Qatar, the migration to Qatar for the purposes of labour also increased manifold. The "petro-dollar" economy was at its peak and the wealth that oil wells brought in also led to the distribution of wealth to the third-world countries like India, not only as salaries but also an humanitarian concerns that were aggrandized by the fact that Islam had made it mandatory for its followers to take care of the orphans and destitutes. Sheikh Ansari's visit coincided with such a socio-economic phenomenon as it was in the same year as the establishment of this important oil company in Qatar. Sheikh Ansari may be called one of the most beautiful faces of this correspondence endeavour of the area of Kerala.

One striking aspect of his personality is the religious inclusivism and the way his care and concern spanned across various religions. He sought to help the weak and the wounded without bothering about their religion or colour. His mind was with those who had nobody. His qualities were rooted in the great values of Arabian culture and teachings of Islam, which placed so much importance on equality, justice and simplicity. In a world that is doomed to struggle due to the lack of such qualities, this Arab could be a light-house to many a wandering ship and he continues to be so. Another heartening matters is the way Sheikh Asnari's family is helping Dayapuram in all the endeavours, after the demise of their beloved father. The heartbeats of Sheikh Ansari and of his family can be felt by any visitor to the campus. The holding of the Sheikh Ansari Memorial Lecture as part of the 20th Anniversary of Dayapuram in which two of his sons Mr. Abdul Azeez Al Ansari and Mr. Ali Ansari attended, shows the emotional tie that exists between his family and Dayapuram family. Family members showing such sustained interest for an organization even after so many years is rare, if not unique. Thus they are doing their share in the mission of Dayapuram, and its ethical and human inspiration, Sheikh Ansari. To maintain such relationships in consistent and healthy ways over the years is a difficult but commendable deed and this does justice to the memory and life of Sheikh Ansari, the benevolent presence even for many who have never met him.

By N.P Ashley