Just heard the sad news that Junaid Jamshed, the famous Pakistani pop singer turned Islamic propagator, has been killed in a plane crash in Pakistan along with his wife. He was 52.

This man was big. At the height of his career in the 1980s and 1990s, he would frequently fill out 100,000 capacity crowds at his concerts.

In 2004 he left his pop music career to focus on Islamic propagation and charity work, releasing several nasheed (vocal Islamic songs) albums in the years since.

He inspired millions around the world.

He was said to be instrumental in encouraging several international players from Pakistan’s cricket team to start practising Islam.

He was killed earlier today while returning from a trip to the remote northern Pakistani region of Chitral, where he gone for Islamic propagation purposes.

Junaid Jamshed was living proof of the words, “Your past never defines your future.”

May Allah have mercy on him and his wife and give patience to their loved ones.