JEDDAH, 31 October 2004 — Tens of thousands of students attended the funeral of Sheikh Sayed Muhammad Alawi Malki who died early Friday morning and was buried in the Al-Malah cemetery in Makkah after Taraweeh prayer. All roads leading to the cemetery were closed because of the large crowd of mourners.
His admirers began flocking to Malki’s house in the Al-Rusefah neighborhood in Makkah after hearing the news of his death. He died of complications from diabetes.
Former Information Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdu Yamani, a friend of the sheikh, said the world suffered a tragic loss in his death. He described him as a man with an open mind. His house was open to everyone.
“The whole of Makkah is very sad that he died. Hundreds of students graduated under his training. He was in very good condition when I met him early in Ramadan but death was too quick to claim his life,” Dr. Yamani said.
More than 200,000 people attended the funeral, most of them people who attended his lectures and others who loved him. More than 600 of his students attended his final lecture, which lasted until 2 a.m., an hour before he died.
Sameer Barkah, one of the students close to the sheikh, told Al-Madinah, “He looked very happy the day he died and he was joking with his children and grandchildren. He prayed the entire Taraweeh prayer, though he was suffering severe pain. He enjoyed watching the Tash ma Tash episode about the Ministry of Education on Saudi TV.”
