The Jamaat-e-Islami was certainly inherited by him from his father, but he was not a rigid “Jamaati”; rather, he was a broad-minded “supporter.” He was a “reliable supporter” of his friends. He knew how to win people over. He was so rich of heart that perhaps he had hardly ever said “no” to anyone. Whoever fell into difficulty, or whoever faced a crisis, found his shoulder available and ready for them. His intentions were so great that despair never came near him. This passion for looking farther ahead and moving forward is rarely seen in anyone else. In life, he must have faced thousands and millions of troubles, but the ever-present, bright and fresh smile on his face and the glowing redness of hope provided every person he met with comfort and gratitude.

My acquaintance with him began during my student days at FC College Lahore. At that time, he was the Nazim of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Lahore, and he used to come to the college in connection with his organizational meetings. I was the editor of the FC College magazine, Folio, and my room was near the Union Office. Whenever the Jamiat people held large meetings, they would ask me for the room. My greetings and acquaintance with Ameer-ul-Azeem began around 1982, in those days when he used to come to FC College.

When I got admission to the Department of English at Punjab University, on the very first day I was asked to represent my class at the reception. I do not know whether this happened because of my acquaintance with Ameer-ul-Azeem, through the kindness of our sweet Nazim Nadeem Chaudhry, or because of Mehr Ashfaq’s favor. It was the era of General Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship, and the Jamiat’s influence was dominant in the university; opponents did not even have the courage to flutter their wings. The general impression of the Jamiat was one of rigidity, but Ameer-ul-Azeem, Mehr Ashfaq and Nadeem Chaudhry were considered the “soft” and “sweet” faces. During the university years, our acquaintance remained limited to greetings, hellos and exchanges of smiles. However, because of my speech on the first day at the university reception, my liberal urban friends also stamped me as a “Jamaati,” although this humble person could hardly reach the rank of the righteous ones.

My real relationship with Ameer-ul-Azeem was established in 1989, when I was responsible for political reporting at the Frontier Post. The Jamaat-e-Islami was my beat. At that time, talking about the Jamaat’s internal politics and organization had become forbidden territory for a journalist, because a few years earlier, Jamiat boys had ransacked two national newspapers over the publication of a news report and had frightened everyone.

Meanwhile, a major and prominent change had already taken place within the Jamaat. Qazi Hussain Ahmad had been appointed Ameer of the Jamaat, and he had chosen Ameer-ul-Azeem as his Secretary Information. Khurram Jah Murad and Professor Khurshid Ahmad had prepared recommendations, in the light of the international experience of Islamic movements, regarding the unpopularity of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Qazi Hussain Ahmad had become willing, in the light of these proposals, to open up the closed and locked organizational structure and the atmosphere of secrecy.

To eliminate the negative impression that the Jamaat had opposed the establishment of Pakistan and the Kashmir jihad, and that both Ahl-e-Sunnat wal-Jamaat (Barelvi and Deobandi) had religious and sectarian differences with the Jamaat, Qazi Hussain Ahmad took a leading role in the Kashmir jihad. He observed Kashmir Day on February 5, and for the first time processions were taken out from every street and neighborhood. He went to pay his respects at Data Darbar and also opened the doors of dialogue with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The conditions for becoming a member of the Jamaat were relaxed, and for the first time permission was given to use music and pictures of the Ameer of the Jamaat in advertising campaigns.

Obviously, neither former Ameer of the Jamaat Mian Tufail Muhammad liked such major changes, nor could the conservative righteous members of the Jamaat-e-Islami digest them. Ameer-ul-Azeem, nevertheless, was an enthusiastic supporter of these changes. The first bombshell that tore through the old traditions was the news of the dismissal of the former Secretary Information and the publication of the new information policy. The second most prominent news was the most controversial article on the organizational and intellectual transformation, “The Changing Face of Jamaat-e-Islami.”

Photocopies of my report published in the Frontier Post were even distributed. As the Jamaat beat reporter, Ameer-ul-Azeem increased my meetings and contacts with Qazi Hussain Ahmad to such an extent that, with a letter from Qazi Hussain Ahmad, I became part of a delegation that went to Kabul after the Afghan Mujahideen conquered Kabul. The delegation included the renowned columnist Haroon Rashid, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ejaz Chaudhry (who is now an important leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and is imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail in connection with the May 9 incident), and this humble person.

It was also a special kindness of Ameer-ul-Azeem that in January 1993, Qazi Hussain Ahmad himself solemnized my nikah in Faisalabad. Although Qazi Hussain Ahmad had undergone heart treatment around those days, and my wedding was his first engagement after that illness.

During the leadership of Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Ameer-ul-Azeem’s responsibility for information, another incident also occurred: while the conservative members of the Jamaat became angry with them, his established journalist friends also turned away from him and became supporters of Nawaz Sharif. When Pasban was formed, the internal rebellion intensified, but eventually the rebellion ended when they abandoned Pasban and formed a new organization called Shabab-e-Milli, one that adhered to the principles of the Jamaat.

The greatest quality of Ameer-ul-Azeem was to stand with others in difficult times. Whether right-wing or left-wing, whenever a person or institution of any ideological persuasion fell into difficulty or became a victim of state oppression, Ameer-ul-Azeem would step forward and support them. Whether it was moral assistance to Sikhs, hospitality toward Bengalis who were opponents of Mujib, solidarity with Kashmiris, or cooperation with Afghans, Ameer-ul-Azeem was always at the forefront. Because of this, India once placed his name on a list of supporters of terrorists.

Whenever this humble journalist was subjected to state oppression or pressure, the first phone call would come from Ameer-ul-Azeem, and he would say: “My home, or a safe place in Mansoorah, is available. Come there.”

There is also a historical secret that before returning to Pakistan for the last time from London, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto expressed to me her desire to meet the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami and remove the distances between them. At that time, she wanted national reconciliation. This humble journalist spoke to his kind friend Ameer-ul-Azeem and gave a positive signal from the Jamaat-e-Islami. Unfortunately, because of Mohtarma’s assassination, that meeting could not take place; otherwise, at least one ideological dispute might have been settled.

In the last days of his life, when tensions arose between the Sindh government and Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, I was consulted about cooling down the matter. Ameer-ul-Azeem was certainly loyal to the Jamaat to the very last limit, but he was also against causing harm even to opponents.

Ameer-ul-Azeem alone could neither change the system nor could he have changed it. He could neither change the Jamaat nor did he manage to change it. But is it a small achievement that today one rarely finds anyone who hates the Jamaat? Whether someone votes for the Jamaat or not, he will not bring a charge sheet against it.

The affections of Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Ameer-ul-Azeem had consumed all the ideological hatreds of the past.

Although today Jamaat-e-Islami stands alone and does not join any alliance, because Ameer-ul-Azeem and his colleagues believed that the politics of alliances had harmed the Jamaat instead. In their view, Jamaat-e-Islami should continue on its own; whether it gets power or not, at least it should receive people’s love.

Ameer-ul-Azeem has departed from this world after giving love to it and receiving love from it.