More than a thousand people from across the country turned out to pay their final respects to a Blackburn shopkeeper and mosque volunteer.

Ahmed Dhorat died aged 90 last Thursday and was buried at Pleasington Cemetery, in one of the largest local Muslim funerals seen in recent years.

Mr Dhorat came to the country in 1966 and later settled in the Audley area of Blackburn. It was here in 1981 he took over a newsagents in Queen’s Park Road. 

The shop was managed by Mr Dhorat for the next 40 years and he was well known across the town for his efforts to help others in their time of need.

His grandson, Hafiz Mehboob Daud, said: “He loved to go to work and the shop would open each and every day without fail.

“He was such a hard worker and taught all his family and extended family the importance of working and to helping the community no matter who you were and where you were from.

“We all learnt these ideals from him. He wanted to pass on the hard work ethic to all his extended family to ensure they remained self-sufficient.

“I think that is why he was so well-loved. He was unique and his advice was something we will always remember.

“He was also someone who loved being organised. He never missed paying a bill nor ever wanted to owe anybody anything.”

Mr Dhorat was a father to eight children (two sons and six daughters), and has 49 grandchildren and 70 great grandchildren.

Mr Dhorat's daughter Sayeeda revealed how her father was never one to complain and had a 'heart of gold'.

She said: "My loving father endured much difficulties in his life but never once compared or complained, he would share stories of his struggles in the early years of his life.

"He was a hard working individual who instilled his values and qualities into my life, he taught me how to respect all young and old.

"My father taught me many lessons and he always used to more so recently as he spent more time with me reflect saying I see you in me and would also say this to my children, he used to say that over and over again.

"I can’t compete any any level with my dearest father who had a heart of gold. He never wanted for himself but only for others.

"My father taught me to work and pray and balance life, never to take what wasn’t mine and never to get into debt, he never directly said how proud he was of me but would indirectly assure me I was doing a great job of myself and my family and how happy he was for me.

"He was a tough father who had tough parenting styles but that was to make me a better and strong person.

"What more could I have asked for, he taught me right from wrong and I am the person I am today due to the qualities my father has instilled in me."

Mr Dhorat would work to establish one of the biggest mosques in Blackburn and also support fundraising efforts to support those less fortunate than him in India.

He was one of the first people to be involved in the established of the Noorul Islam mosque.

Mehboob added: “He was a mountain of a man and quite unique.

“He was always giving his time to local and charitable causes. I think it was important for him to give his time to support people who needed it most.”

Mehboob said the ‘love and respect’ people had for him was evident in the number of people who turned up to his funeral and have continued to pay his tribute to him.

Mehboob said: “People travelled from across the country to be at his funeral.

"He had such a wide-reaching friendship with people and it was heartening to see so many people here in Blackburn.”

His popular shop Dhorat’s, based on the corner of Pringle Street and Queen’s Park Road, was taken over by his daughter in 2021. 

Mr Dhorat died on Thursday (May 18) and he had been praying standing up only a day earlier. In many cases people who are frail and elderly tend to sit whilst praying.

Mehboob added: “It was remarkable to see a man of his age still going about his daily business and prayers as if he was a lot younger.

“He had a wealth of advice to people to people but something he would always say is ‘never waste a day’.”

In online tributes posted following his death people remembered how generations were inspired by this humble local shopkeeper.

One wrote: "Top bloke he will be sadly missed. My dad went down to his shop for papers for 30 years. He got dementia but still went down for his paper.

"It must have been a year later that Mr Dhorat he just came in as normal to say 'Hi' and pick up the paper and walk out without paying. He never minded!"