“Indeed we belong to Allah and we shall return to Him.”
In Remembrance of Dr. Hamid Abdul Hai
March 3rd, 2021
It is a loss that will be felt by many, as he founded and supported many patients and causes
within our community, including the establishment of the first free Muslim clinic in Chicago. Dr. Hai was one of IMANA’s strongest supporters. He served as President of the organization from 2000-2001, and was always an advocate of IMANA’s international conferences and joined with others to establish them as a tradition. Stated best by Dr. Khalid Qazi, “May Allah (SWT) bless him in Jannah. I have been honored to know and work with that, calm, delightful and dedicated Muslim for many years. His patience and work quietly, without any fanfare, was exemplary.” The loss we feel today is profound.
Individuals such as Dr. Hai not only shine as examples of how to balance faith and education, but also encourage others through their silent leadership to emulate it. Dr. Hai was known for his knowledge of Islam in addition to the advances he helped make in the field of cardiology. His kindness and charity have sincerely touched all those around them, and his interfaith efforts have made significant impact.
Please also take a moment to pray for all the deceased former IMANA presidents. They have all left a lasting legacy in helping develop and nurture IMANA. May they all rest in peace—Ameen.
Dr. Hamid Abdul Hai was born in Patna, Bihar, India on November 28, 1943. After passing the Senior Cambridge examination from St. Xavier’s High School, he joined the Prince of Wales Medical College. In 1966 he graduated from medical school with Honors and the Wheeler Gold Medal for receiving the highest grades in the university. After completing his Doctorate in Medicine from Patna University, he migrated to USA in June 1970 and completed his internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital. He moved to Chicago joining the Michael Reese Medical Center where he completed his Medical residency in 1973. After finishing his Fellowship in Cardiology, he moved to Boston to work as a Research Fellow in Cardiology with Dr. Eugene Braunwald and Dr. Bernard Lown at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Harvard University, from 1974 to 1976. He then returned to Chicago to become the Director of the Arrhythmia Clinic at Northwestern University. He also had his own practice in Chicago from 1979 to 2001.
After serving there for nearly 25 years, Dr. Hai took the responsibility of developing the Cardiology departments in many states including Arkansas, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wyoming, finally settling down in 2012 as attending Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico where he currently resided. During his career he published many papers and chapters in several books. He also wrote a chapter on “Muslim Perspectives on End-Of-Life- Decision Making” and papers on “Guidelines for Healthcare Providers Interacting with Muslim Patients and their Families” and “Living Faith: Stories of Justice”. Besides being Board certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology and Nuclear Cardiology, he was a Fellow of the American Colleges of Cardiology, Angiology, Chest Physicians and Nutrition. During his years of practice he also served as Principal Investigator in many clinical drug trials.
May Allah(SWT) forgive all of his major and minor sins and grant him a place in Jannat -e-Firdaus.
Had the pleasure of meeting him during my international IMANA trips to Iran, China or Malaysia.
May Allah give Sabr to his family
ASA! Hamid was my younger brother ,junior to me by one year.His sudden demise has left the entire AbdulHai family in North America, Europe,& the Indian subcontinent shattered.It is however the will of Almighty Allah & we bow our head to His magnanimity.Pl pray for us.(Dr) Ahmad AbdulHai
First off condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Hi. Much blessings for his works much appreciation for his kindness his empathy his patience. I dealt with Dr. Hi because of my mother which by the way I am her caregiver and he was always very gentle ,concerned about everything to do with her health very old fashion in the sense of his way of dealing with patients, something you don’t see very much anymore and what touched us and made us feel comfortable was he gave his card with his personal cell number and asked that we call him at any time, if necessary . He will be truly missed. Rest in peace dear teacher ,dear Dr. ,dear friend. 🙏🏼🌹
He was my mentor and teacher.
I did a lot of clinical research trials on anti arrhythmic drugs – oral acute drug testing, watching patients on phase 2 and 3 drug trials at northwestern – I think about 23 drugs working with Lown, Zipes etc
Very honest and hardworking -16 hour day was normal for him
He was always there for me and our family, helped us all the way always with a smile. it is Allah’s wish who He takes when He so desire. May Allah give him the highest place in Jannat.
After having seen Dr Hai for 2-3 years, I was abruptly assigned to another cardiologist and told only that Dr Hai was “no longer with Optum” in Albuquerque. During the course of my appointment this week, I inquired about Dr. Hai’s whereabouts and only then was told he had passed away. I was shocked and saddened to hear this, as Dr Hai and I had a wonderful relationship, sharing jokes and sparring over my resistance to statins (which remains intact) and his insistence that I take them to control my cholesterol. It seemed almost surreal to learn that Dr Hai, who presumably was doing everything right, should have left us at age 77 while I, who spurned his sound advice and teased him about longevity, among other things, am still here at age 86. Life is nothing if not unpredictable. Having read the brief summary of his life and work, it is clear that Dr Hai was far more learned and accomplished than I knew, and that his life was full and remarkably productive. He left the world a better place, which is about all anyone can hope to do. He will be missed, not only in the Muslim community but by others such as I whose lives he touched. I noted too the comment from Dr Hai’s older brother, Ahmad, to which I can also relate, as I lost my younger brother Ed to cancer only last month. He was 84. One more thing: Dr Hai is the only Dr ever to give me his cell phone number and say, “Call me anytime, day or night.” I wish I had. May God’s blessings surround you, Dr Hai. You were indeed a good man.
I worked for him in 2006-2007 in Great Falls, MT. He hired me straight out of nursing school. He taught me a lot and also attended my wedding. I’m sad to hear of his passing.
I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Hai at Kindred Hospital. What a sweet, kind hearted and gentle man he was. He cared deeply about his patients and his community. He was purpose driven in his work and saw it as a form of ibadah to Allah. He was a remarkable individual. May Allah give him mercy.
May he Rest In Peace.
Dr. Hamid Abdul Hai was my father’s cardiologist and a friend for about 35 years. I also know him personally. He was such a wonderful doctor as well as a great person. He was very helpful and kind hearted gentleman. May Allah SWT grant him maghfirat, buland darajaat, and highest place in Jannat ul Firdous. Aameen Summa Aameen.