The nation has lost a brave figure who held on to his principles, no matter what came his way, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in mourning the passing of academician Kassim Ahmad.

Taking to his blog, Mahathir said he was extremely saddened by Kassim's death.

"I am of the opinion that he was not accorded justice, as required by Islam. This is because he was alleged to have gone against the hadith (prophetic traditions).

"The fact is, he was just like other hadith interpreters, who rejected hadiths that are given without proper studies and were not authentic...