Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi
{{short description|Pakistani Islamic scholar}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name = Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi
{{lang|ar|محمد عبد اللہ غازی}}
| image = File:Maulana Muhammad Abdullah.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1935|6|1}}
({{circa|29th Safar 1354 AH}})
| birth_place = Basti-Abdullah, Balochistan, British Raj
| death_place = Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Pakistan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1998|10|17|1935|6|1}}({{circa|26th Jumada al-Thani 1419 AH}})
| death_cause = Assassination
| resting_place_coordinates = 33.7311462, 73.0517133
| resting_place = Jamia Faridia, Islamabad
| religion = Islam
| nationality = Pakistani
| citizenship = {{Flag|British India|name= British Indian}} (1935–1947)
{{Flag|Pakistan|name= Pakistani}} (1947–1998)
| children = Abdul Aziz Ghazi
Abdul Rashid Ghazi
| teacher = *Allama Muhammad Yusuf Banuri
| office1 = 1st Chancellor of Jamia Faridia
| term_start1 = 1971
| term_end1 = 17 October 1998
| predecessor1 = None (office created)
| successor1 = Abdul Aziz Ghazi
| office2 = Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
| term_start2 = 1975
| term_end2 = 17 October 1998
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = Muneeb-ur-Rehman
| signature = Maulana abdullah signature.png
| signature_alt = maulana abdullah
| office3 = Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid
| successor3 = Abdul Aziz Ghazi (Imam)
Abdul Rashid Ghazi (Khatib)
| term_start3 = 1967
| term_end3 = 17 October 1998
| predecessor3 = None (office created)
| alma_mater = Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia
Jamia Qasim-ul-Uloom
| honorific prefix = Sheikh al-Hadith
Mawlānā
| movement = Deobandi
| denomination = Sunni
| office4 = Federal Khatib of Islamabad
| term_start4 = 1993
| term_end4 = 17 October 1998
| successor4 = Vacant
| predecessor4 = None (office created)
| school =
| home_town = Basti-Abdullah, Rajanpur
| jurisprudence = Hanafi
| caption = Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi in c. 1983
}}
Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|محمد عبد اللہ غازی}}}} {{circa|1 June 1935}} – 17 October 1998) was a Pakistani Deobandi Islamic scholar, Hanafi theologian and a Religio-political figure who held several key positions, including the Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, the first Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid in Islamabad, the Chancellor of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, the Patron-in-Chief of Wifaq Al Madaris Al Arabiyah, member of both the Council of Islamic Ideology and Majlis-i-Shura during the Presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and as Federal Khatib under President Farooq Leghari in the 29th and 36th Cabinet of Pakistan.{{Cite book |last=Dolnik |first=Adam |title=Negotiating the Siege of the Lal Masjid |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |pages=53}}
He was an alumnus of Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia and was personally appointed by President Ayub Khan to serve as the first Imam and Khatib of Central Mosque Islamabad (Lal Masjid), the first mosque established in Pakistan's new capital, Islamabad.{{Cite book |last=Kapur |first=Saloni |title=Pakistan after Trump: Great Power Responsibility in a Multi-Polar World |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2021 |isbn= |pages=187}}
He was a senior member of Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and was the founder and chairman of Idara Alia Tanzeem ul Madaris.{{cite news |title=تحفظ ختمِ نبوت کی تاریخ ساز تحریک |url=https://urdu.geo.tv/latest/204569- |access-date=12 July 2020 |newspaper=GEO TV News website}}
In 1971, he founded Jamia Faridia in Islamabad, the first Islamic seminary to be established in Islamabad. He taught the Kutub al-Sitta including Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī at the madrasah, and was well known by the title "Shaykh al-Hadith".
Early life and education
Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi was born on 1 June 1935 (29th Safar 1354 AH) during the British Raj in the village of Basti-Abdullah, Rajanpur District into the family of Ghazi Muhammad descending from the Sadwani (Sodvani) clan of the Mazari tribe of Baluchistan.{{Cite web |title=Lal Masjid at 40 {{!}} Special Report {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/563290-lal-masjid-40 |access-date=2022-02-22 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}} a part of Baloch diaspora who migrated to Punjab from Baluchistan.Qandeel Siddique, The Red Mosque Operation and Its Impact On the Growth of the Pakistani Taliban, report for Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), p. 13. [https://www.ffi.no/no/Rapporter/08-01915.pdf Link].
His father was socially active, which got him in trouble many times and he was arrested by the British Indian Army and sentenced to 8 years in Jail. there he became religious and motivated his son to join a local madrassa.{{Cite web |date=18 October 2016 |title=شہیداسلام مولانا عبداللہ شہید شخصیت و کردار۔۔۔تحریر مولاناتنویراحمداعوان |url=https://shaffak.com/news/details/tanvir-awan-003890/ |access-date=8 February 2021 |website=Shaffak |language=ur}}
At the age of seven, Ghazi enrolled into "Madrasa Khudam-ul-Qur'an" of Rahim Yar Khan, to complete the Hifz (memorization of the Quran).{{Cite book |last=Mansoor |first=Riaz |url=https://archive.org/details/SHAEEDISLAM |title=Hayat Shaheed E Islam (حیات شہیدِ اسلام) |publisher=Maktaba Faridia |year=2006 |pages=57}}
After his primary education, Ghazi went to study at Jamia Qasim Ul Uloom in Multan for further education, where he studied for 5 years and was a student of Mufti Mahmud.
He then went to Karachi, and joined Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, Karachi, from where he completed his Dars-i Nizami in 1957, and was among the top students of Muhammad Yousuf Banuri.
After completing his Dars-i Nizami, he served as Imam of Jamia Masjid Rashidiya, Malir for few years. during this period, he also served on the advisory committee for Bayyināt, the monthly journal published by Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia.
Lal Masjid
{{Main|Lal Masjid, Islamabad}}
When the Capital of Pakistan was moved from Karachi to Islamabad, and the first congregational mosque (Lal Masjid) was established, Ghazi became its first sermon preacher in 1967 upon the recommendation of his teacher Muhammad Yousuf Banuri.
Ghazi's sermons drew in thousands of worshippers including prominent political figures such as Prime Minister Balakh Sher Mazari and Presidents of Pakistan including Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Farooq Leghari as well as General Zia-ul-Haq who was a regular visitor to the mosque as before the completion of the Faisal Mosque, The Lal Masjid had been the only main congregational mosque in the city.{{Cite book |last=Dolnik |first=Adam |title=Negotiating the Siege of the Lal Masjid |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |pages=53}} Located in a very central position, the mosque lies in close proximity to the Presidential Palace and Prime Minister's Office.{{cite news |last1=Khan |first1=Zia |date=15 August 2010 |title=Crimson tide |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/39013/crimson-tide?amp=1 |access-date=7 May 2024 |work=The Express Tribune |language=en}}
File:LalMasjid1972.png in 1970s]]
In 1974, He played a key role in mobilizing support for the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatm-e-Nubuwwat, and the mosque became the center of meetings and processions of the movement. the leaders of the movement, Mufti Mahmood and Allama Yusuf Banuri were both Ghazi's teachers. this movement led to the Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan.{{cite news |author=Mufti Khalid Mahmood |date=7 September 2019 |title=7 ستمبر 1974ء 'یومِ تحفظ ختمِ نبوت' |url=https://jang.com.pk/news/677420 |access-date=10 August 2020 |newspaper=Jang Daily (Urdu newspaper)}}
In 1976, as part of his six day state visit to Pakistan, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia also visited the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, where he prayed behind Ghazi,{{Cite book |last=Mansoor |first=Riaz |url=https://archive.org/details/SHAEEDISLAM |title=Hayat Shaheed E Islam (حیات شہیدِ اسلام) |publisher=Maktaba Faridia |year=2006 |page=236}} and it was during this visit he initiated the construction of King Faisal Mosque in Islamabad and toured the nearby seminary, Jamia Faridia.{{Cite journal |author=Mujtaba Razvi |year=1981 |title=PAK-Saudi Arabian Relations: An Example of Entente Cordiale |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=81–92 |jstor=41393647}}
File:Maulana_Abdullah_and_General_Zia-ul-Haq_at_Lal_Masjid.webm at Lal Masjid during Friday prayer]]
In 1977, Ghazi played a significant role in the "Nizam-e-Mustafa" movement, a populist Islamist campaign aimed at replacing the secular and socialist government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with an Islamic system of governance in Pakistan.{{Cite web |last=Janjua |first=Simran Saeed |last2=Malik |first2=Mishaal |last3=Malik |first3=Simran Saeed Janjua and Mishaal |date=2024-07-12 |title=Miscalculation or Inevitable? The Lal Masjid Siege and its Legacy |url=https://southasiatimes.org/miscalculation-or-inevitable-the-lal-masjid-siege-and-its-legacy/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=South Asia Times |language=en}}
Upon completion of the Faisal Mosque in 1986, President Zia ul Haq requested that Ghazi take the position of the first Imam at the newly built mosque.{{cite book |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |url=https://archive.org/details/pakistanmodernhi00talb |title=Pakistan, a Modern History |date=1998 |publisher=St.Martin's Press |isbn=9780312216061 |location=NY |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pakistanmodernhi00talb/page/283 283] |url-access=registration}} however, Ghazi declined the offer, preferring to continue his role as the Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid, where he had already established himself as a known religious figure and had gained a strong following.{{Cite web|title=Lal Masjid: a history|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/63629-lal-masjid-a-history|access-date=8 February 2021|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}
President Zia also appointed Ghazi as a member of Majlis-i-Shura (advisory council) in his government.
Idara Alia Tanzeem ul Madaris
In 1970, Ghazi founded and served as the first chairman of Idara Alia Tanzeem ul Madaris, an organization dedicated to acquiring land for the construction of mosques and madrassas throughout the capital city.{{Cite book |last=Dolnik |first=Adam |title=Negotiating the Siege of the Lal Masjid |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |pages=53}}
Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
In 1975, He was appointed as the first chairman of the newly established Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, a government body operating under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, responsible for announcing the sighting of the new moon, which determines the Islamic calendar and Islamic holidays.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-30 |title=New Ruet-e-Hilal Committee chairman appointed |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/766711-govt-appoints-new-chairman-for-ruet-e-hilal-committee |access-date=2021-01-03 |website=The News International |language=en}}
Ghazi served in this position until his death, after which he was succeeded by Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman.{{Cite book |last=Mansoor |first=Riaz |url=https://archive.org/details/SHAEEDISLAM |title=Hayat Shaheed E Islam (حیات شہیدِ اسلام) |publisher=Maktaba Faridia |year=2006 |pages=108}}
Wifaq-ul-Madaris
Ghazi was the Patron-in-Chief of Wifaq-ul-Madaris al-Arabia, and also served as the regional supervisor for all madrassas registered under the educational board in Islamabad.{{cite web |date=23 October 2007 |title=Profile of Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan |url=http://www.wifaqulmadaris.org/default.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722191704/http://www.wifaqulmadaris.org/default.asp |archive-date=22 July 2012 |access-date=10 August 2020}}
Establishing Jamia Faridia
{{Main|Jamia Faridia}}
In 1966, He established a small seminary at Lal Masjid, in which there were about 20 to 25 students for the Hifz class. After some time a need was felt to have a bigger place for running this seminary so that a large number of students who were increasing with the passage of time could be accommodated.{{Cite web|title=Lal Masjid: a history|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/63629-lal-masjid-a-history|access-date=15 January 2021|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}
File:Faisal Mosque from far.jpg (Left) and Faisal Mosque from Daman-e-Koh, Islamabad]]
Hence In 1971, a place in the meadows of the Margalla Hills in the city's Prime Sector of E-7, was acquired by Ghazi's Idara Alia Tanzeem ul Madaris with the help and cooperation of several of his close friends most notably Seth Haroon Jaffer (Jaffer Group of Companies), Haji Akhtar Hassan (OSD Kashmir Affairs & Finance Secretary of Azad Kashmir), and Admiral Mohammad. Shariff, NI(M), HJ (Rtd).
The construction of the seminary's present building was completed in 1984 and was officially named "Jamia Faridia".{{Cite web|date=29 May 2015|title=عالم اسلام کی عظیم دینی درسگاہ جامعہ فریدیہ|url=http://www.nawaiwaqt.com.pk/opinions/29-May-2015/388611|access-date=9 February 2021|website=Nawaiwaqt|language=ur}}
The seminary was the first ever educational institute to be registered with Wifaq-ul-Madaris.
Establishing Jamia Hafsa
{{Main|Jamia Hafsa}}
In 1992, he laid the foundation for Jamia Syeda Hafsa, as the women's branch of Jamia Faridia. Located adjacent to the Lal Masjid near Aabpara,{{Cite web |date=12 July 2007 |title=Lal Masjid: a history |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/63629-lal-masjid-a-history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121041037/https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/63629-lal-masjid-a-history |archive-date=21 January 2021 |access-date=2021-01-15 |website=The News International |language=en}} the institution was built on 7,500 square yards of land.{{Cite web |last=Malik |first=Hasnaat |date=2016-08-25 |title=Jamia Hafsa rebuilding: Govt presents relocation agreement before SC |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1170081/jamia-hafsa-rebuilding-govt-presents-relocation-agreement-sc |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}
The seminary is the largest women's madrasa in Pakistan.{{Cite web |title=Lal Masjid at 40 {{!}} Special Report {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/563290-lal-masjid-40 |access-date=2022-02-22 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}
Federal Khatib
In 1993, During the Second Benazir Bhutto government, President Farooq Leghari appointed Ghazi as the Federal (Wifaqi) Khatib of Islamabad, a government position under the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Islamabad Auqaf Department established to supervise the mosques within the capital city.{{Cite journal |last=LaPorte |first=Robert |date=1997 |title=Pakistan in 1996: Starting Over Again |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645477 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=118–125 |doi=10.2307/2645477 |issn=0004-4687 |jstor=2645477 |url-access=subscription}}
Ghazi continued to serve in this position during the Second Nawaz Sharif government.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/LalMasjidABriefHistory |title=Lal Masjid : A Brief History}}
Afghanistan Tour
In 1997, Ghazi, along with a delegation of Deobandi scholars, was invited as a state guests by Afghanistan's Supreme Leader, Mullah Omar.
During his visit, Ghazi toured several Deobandi madrasas in Kabul and held a meeting with Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kandahar.
Assassination and legacy
His biographer, Mufti Riaz Munsoor, wrote extensively about his daily routine. According to Mansoor, Ghazi had a strict schedule that he followed every day. He would walk seven kilometers from his home to his seminary, Jamia Faridia, where he would give lectures to his students. on his way back, he would stop at the Polyclinic Hospital to bless the patients and offer them words of encouragement.
File:Moulana Abdullah Grave.jpg]]
On October 17, 1998, the day of his assassination, Ghazi maintained his usual routine. He walked to Jamia Faridia to deliver lectures to his students and later stopped at a hospital on his way back. As he approached Lal Masjid, a man was waiting for him in the courtyard. The assailant greeted Ghazi before suddenly drawing a gun and firing an entire magazine at him.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/LalMasjidABriefHistory |title=Lal Masjid : A Brief History}} The assassin escaped with the aid of accomplices waiting in a getaway car.{{Cite web |last=Janjua |first=Simran Saeed |last2=Malik |first2=Mishaal |last3=Malik |first3=Simran Saeed Janjua and Mishaal |date=2024-07-12 |title=Miscalculation or Inevitable? The Lal Masjid Siege and its Legacy |url=https://southasiatimes.org/miscalculation-or-inevitable-the-lal-masjid-siege-and-its-legacy/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=South Asia Times |language=en}}
Severely wounded, Ghazi succumbed to his injuries on the way to the same hospital he had visited earlier. Despite being aware of threats against his life, he had consistently refused bodyguards, believing it was better to die alone than endanger others.File:Jamia_faridia,_an_outer_view_of_the_madrassa_near_Margalla_hills,_Islamabad.jpg's name written outside Jamia Faridia]]
The president of Pakistan Rafiq Tarar expressed his sadness over the assassination in a letter, adding that "Maulana Abdullah Ghazi had spent his whole life for Islam, and kept the tradition of Ulema alive, his struggles will forever be remembered".{{Cite web|last=الفریدیہ|first=جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ|title=تصاویر مولانا محمد عبد اللہ شہید – جامعہ فریدیہ {{!}} Jamia Faridia|url=https://www.jamiafaridia.edu.pk/|access-date=1 December 2021|website=تصاویر مولانا محمد عبد اللہ شہید – جامعہ فریدیہ {{!}} Jamia Faridia|language=en}}
He is buried in the courtyard of Jamia Faridia, Islamabad. The seminary's Jamia Masjid is named after him.
In his honor his hometown was also renamed "Basti-Abdullah" and a new seminary named after him was also constructed there, the town gained worldwide attention in 2007 when Abdul Rashid Ghazi was buried in the courtyard of the seminary,{{Cite web |title=Rashid Ghazi buried as Aziz vows to continue struggle |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/651395-rashid-ghazi-buried-as-aziz-vows-to-continue-struggle |access-date=2021-05-18 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}
Abdullah Railway Station near the town is also named after him.{{Cite web|last=Iqbal|first=Nasir|date=12 July 2007|title=Burial after arrival of relatives: SC|url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/256022/burial-after-arrival-of-relatives-sc|access-date=19 October 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}
Investigation
Due to a lack of confidence in Pakistan's legal system, Abdul Aziz, the elder son of Ghazi, initially declined to file a First Information Report (FIR). However, his younger son, Abdul Rashid, proceeded to file the FIR, prompting a police investigation into the case. After persistent efforts, a suspect was arrested and subsequently identified by an eyewitness during an identification parade.{{Cite web |last=Paracha |first=Nadeem F. |date=3 November 2013 |title=Red handed |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1053771 |access-date=8 February 2021 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}
Despite this, the suspect was inexplicably released the following day. Abdul Rashid protested the release, warning the authorities that he would pursue legal action if the suspect was not promptly re-arrested. As pressure mounted, he reportedly faced threats, including a warning to withdraw the case or risk suffering a fate similar to that of his father. According to those close to him, this experience marked a turning point in Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s life, leading to his disillusionment with the legal system.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070712224737/http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/07/11/top1.htm "Islamabad Red Mosque Cleric Killed"]}} Pakistan Times, 11 July 2007, retrieved 27 July 2009Michelle Shephard (9 July 2007), [https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2007/07/09/mosque_crisis_highlights_pakistans_turmoil.html "Mosque crisis highlights Pakistan's turmoil"], The Star. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
Memoir
In 2005, a memoir was published by Maktaba Faridia detailing his life under the name Hayat Shaheed E Islam ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|حیات شہیدِ اسلام}}|}}) Written by Mufti Riaz Munsoor.
See more
References
- Biography Book: Hayat Shaheed E Islam ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|حیات شہیدِ اسلام}}|}})
{{Reflist|30em}}{{Islamic scholars from Pakistan|state=collapsed}}{{Hanafi scholars}}{{Deobandi movement}}{{Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan}}{{Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazi, Muhammad Abdullah}}
Category:Assassinated Pakistani people
Category:Pakistani religious leaders
Category:Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Category:Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia people
Category:Deaths by firearm in Islamabad
Category:Assassinated religious leaders
Category:People from Rajanpur District
Category:Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia alumni
Category:Jamia Qasim Ul Uloom alumni