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Farewell to Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah (1 January 1946 – 29 September 2021)

October 11, 2021 at 9:12 am

Physician, scientist, writer and Professor Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah in his office [Family file]

Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah, a renowned scientist in the diagnosis of bacterial diseases and an expert on AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, has died. Abdul Hamid (1 January 1946 – 29 September 2021) was born in Ajloun, Jordan.

Those who worked closely with him testified to his great generosity and support of orphans, widows and proponents of advocacy projects, even turning one of his homes to be a centre for Quranic teachings.

Always very kind, with a compassionate smile on his face. Following his death his son Muhammad wrote:

“My father was a model for us, not only in words … He told me the following: ‘I advise my sons and daughters to preserve the joy of their loving and devoted mother … who devoted herself to her children and her husband, and we will not all fulfill her rights, no matter what we do for her…. I ask you to pray and do charity for me and for her, hoping from the Almighty that we and you will be with her in Paradise.’”

These guidelines can only be understood by what the doctor used to say: that science requires faith, and that as long as one is connected to a vital project that serves the people and concentrates on their problems, the result will be a blessing and mercy, and one can die in peace.

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Abdul Hamid was humble man. A quick review of the Arab and even Jordanian press archives shows that he is not mentioned as a scholar or an Islamic Arab symbol except in a cursory manner. Jordan’s official neglect of this matter is very unfortunate.  Abdul Hamid graduated from the University of Karachi in Pakistan in 1970, earned a Master’s degree from the same university in 1978, and a PhD in bacterial diseases and serology in 1982 from the University of Manchester in Great Britain. He is officially credited with two patents in the diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases

Physician, scientist, writer and Professor Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah (C) with Hamas leaders [Family file]

Physician, scientist, writer and Professor Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah (C) with Hamas leaders [Family file]

He belonged to the first generation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and held the position of Deputy Superintendent of the Brotherhood from 1998 to 2002 and was one of the founders of the Islamic Action Front party.

He did not, however, seek to become a government minister, though his interest was to protect the youth and preserve their upbringing. Abdul Hamid taught 879 courses and trained 431 monitors, wrote 38 books to highlight his research, and printing and distributing over one and a half million books on educating young people about sexually transmitted, viral and bacterial diseases.

He was a fierce defender of Palestine and did not back down, for positions, money or as a result of the official restrictions he suffered.

Jordanian by birth and upbringing, he was a Palestinian at heart, thought and speech. He spared no effort to defend the holy land and support the Palestinian people.

The doctor left a huge legacy of hundreds of research articles and dozens of books in Arabic and English, and travelled the Arab and Western world to spread awareness of transmissible diseases and preserving the lives of the youth.

He changed many people’s lives for the better, and it is important for us not to forget.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.