Dr SM Rab, a teacher of teachers, passes away at 83

The physician was fighting a brain tumour since March.

KARACHI: A teacher of teachers, Dr Syed Mohibur Rab, a prominent physician in the city, died at the age of 83 on Monday.

He leaves behind him a widow, Masooma Rab, son Dr Tanveer Rab, two daughters - Dr Samina Hussain and Dr Shahina Rab - and countless students across the world. Prof Rab was diagnosed with brain tumour in March this year. According to his family, he was being treated at home in Karachi until his death on Monday morning.

Early years

Born in 1931 in Bihar, India, Dr Rab received his medical education at Dhaka Medical College and his post-graduate medical education in the United Kingdom.



He was the founding father of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) and was its president as well. He was also the overseas adviser to the Royal College of Physicians, UK. For his great contributions to the field of medicine in Pakistan, Dr Rab was awarded the 'Sitara-e-Imtiaz' by the government.

After 1971, he moved to Karachi from Dhaka. The next year in June 1972, he joined Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where he worked until his retirement in January 1991. He was the only professor who retired in grade-22 and continued teaching even after his retirement. In the year 2000, Prof Rab was also appointed as the provincial health minister for the caretaker government.

A teacher, a mentor

Be it his teaching at JPMC or his mentorship at CPSP, Dr Rab was considered a dedicated tutor among the thousands of medical students and doctors that had the fortune of working with him. He served the profession with exemplary dedication, punctuality, intellectual honesty and clinical brilliance.

"He was a brilliant orator," said Dr Rizwan Azami, the vice-president of CPSP. The late professor was also fond of reading. "He loved to read whenever he had free time," he said, adding he had a grip on both history and politics.

Remembering, one of his senior teachers' memories, Dr Azami said that he was also a true patriot. "He would often tell others to give back to the country's institutions as your country gives you everything - including identity and honour."

For Dr Seemin Jamali, the joint executive director of JPMC, he was a great teacher and a brilliant doctor. "He was a legend and an era came to end with his death," she said.

Talking about his personality, Dr Jamali said that Prof Rab was a lovely person and an icon for medical students. "He was just like a candle giving light and wisdom." She pointed out that he earned respect not only in Pakistan but in several other countries.

One of his friends, Dr Mohammad Abu Zafar who has known Prof Rab since 1973, said that it is hard to produce a physician like him. "We don't have a clinician like him anymore," he commented. "We don't have a dedicated and committed doctor across the entire country."

During Prof Rab's funeral on Monday evening, an old friend counted the number of prominent personalities who were treated by him. "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Ziaul Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and others were all his patients," said his friend, requesting not to be named. He claimed that Pakistan has lost a physician whom no one can match. "Will we ever have as dedicated and brilliant a doctor ever?"

Hundreds of doctors, his students and family friends attended the funeral prayers held on the CPSP grounds. Dr Azami explained that it was Prof Rab's final wish to have his funeral on these grounds. "It shows his love for the college and his attachment to the profession," he said. The soyem will be held on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2014.