Obituary of Raghib Bhatti

Raghib Bhatti passed away just shy of his 85^th birthday on Feb 19^th, 2024. He was surrounded by those he loved. He leaves behind his wife of 52 years Farhat Bhatti - whom he loved in his very special way, and who cared for him till the end; his children Faizah Bhatti, Sairah Naheed, and Muzzammil Bhatti; daughter-in-law Rabia Bhatti; and grandchildren Dani, Aani, Mustafa, Haarys, Omar and Ozair.

A scholar and a self-made man, Raghib’s father died when he was 4. He was raised in Pakistan by his mother who was fiercely independent. He earned his master’s in applied and theoretical mathematics through hard work and determination.

In the late 1960’s, with a few hundred rupees in his hands, (as he often told the story) he made his way to England. And by 1967, landed on the shores of Toronto.

He worked his entire professional life in the insurance industry, retiring from Equitable Life of Canada in 1992.

At this time, he moved back to Pakistan, where after a brief stint in the government sector, he taught high school mathematics for almost a decade. At this point he moved back to Canada.

Even before retiring, he was an avid student of Islamic scripture, and spent his life striving to understand the Quran and the Hadith. After retiring from teaching in 2006, he spent the remainder of his life reading every book he could get his hands on to understand Islamic History and the origin of its theology – separated from the confines of human biases. He fiercely believed that his faith critically hinged on understanding the origins of the tenets of Islam, which he strongly believed were misconstrued by middlemen and scholars.  

Foremost, he was a kind and soft-spoken man who was loved by all. He was “Bhatti Uncle”; the favourite “dad” of our Muslim community living in Waterloo in the 70’s and 80s. He was involved in founding the first Mosque in Waterloo; a pillar of our community. 

He leaves behind a legacy of original thinking, along with hundreds of pages of notes and essays. 

The funeral prayer will be held at the Waterloo Masjid, 213 Erb St. W Waterloo, on Wednesday February 21, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. Followed by an interment at Parkview Cemetery at 2 p.m. 

In lieu of flowers, condolences for the family and donations to the Hospice of Waterloo may be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street S. Waterloo at www.erbgood.com

He will be missed.