By Fazli Sameer

This day marks the 181st birth anniversary of M.C.Siddi Lebbe; national hero, son of Ceylon, and father of the modern Muslim community. He is what every Muslim aspires to be; well groomed, educated, religious, charitable and restless with patriotism to his people. His vision and foresight from more than a century ago shaped our community and helped us rise from despair, making us resilient in the face of change and ultimately, a prominent minority in our country.

Muhammad Cassim Siddi Lebbe was born on June 11th, 1938, in Kandy. The ancestors of Siddi Lebbe were Arabs who had migrated to the Kandyan kingdom. His father, Muhammad Lebbe Siddi Lebbe, was one of the first Ceylonese Proctors and also the Head Moorman in 1833. Muhammad Cassim was also known as Siddi Lebbe just like his father. Siddi Lebbe had an older brother, who was an Arabic educated Aalim, under whose care he learnt to read the Quran and studied Tamil and English.

After his preliminary education at Quran School, Kandy, Muhammad Cassim (M.C.) Siddi Lebbe continued his studies and qualified as a Proctor of the District Court in 1862. Two years later he became a Proctor of the Supreme Court and practiced as a Notary Public. He married the sister-in-law of Casie Lebbe Marikar Muhammad Yousoof, grandson of O.L.M. Shekhadi Marikar, whose ancestors hailed from Konya, in Central Turkey.

Muslim Nesan, circa 1882

He studied the Arabic language to perfection and read many significant works of Islamic scholars and thereby excelled in religious knowledge, surpassing some of the local Ulema of the time. He started a Muslim journal called the “Muslim Nesan”, in English and Tamil, in order to educate his fellow Muslim community members. He also published a monthly journal called the “Torch of Wisdom”. He clamored to teach the Muslims their religion through these two journals where he urged the community to study the Arabic language.

Siddi Lebbe also wrote and published “Hidayathul Cassimiya”, “TuhuwathulNahwa” (key to grammar), “Shurut As Salat” (observance of Prayer), and the Arabic Study Book Part I & II. His Tamil works were “Tamil Primer”, a novel of Hassen Bey, “History of the Turkish and Greek War”, and “History of the Moors of Ceylon”, Gnana Teepan(1892), Assembly “Udaya Kathai” which was a Tamil novel (1885), Abu Navas, and Asrarul A’lam.

His wide scheme of educating the Muslim community resulted in the establishment of many Tamil and Arabic Schools in many parts of the Central Province including Kandy, Gampola, Polgahawela, Kurunegala, some of which he managed and financed by himself. Helped by the munificence of A.M. Wappachi Marikar, he founded Madrasathul Zahira which became the present day Zahira College, in Colombo in 1892. He also established a girl’s school at his residence in Kandy where his sister was the head-teacher.

M.C. Siddi Lebbe's house in Kandy, now a boutique hotel called the "The Secret Kandy"

M.C. Siddi Lebbe passed away on the 5th of February, 1898. During his life he used the medium of newspaper articles, books, and speeches to induce the Muslim community to make an attempt to uplift themselves from the backward condition they were in. And for his service to our community and the independence movement, he was named a national hero, when Sri Lanka gained its independence in 1948.

May Allah grant him Janath-ul-Fridous, and bless us with more men of his caliber!