Ehsan Elahi Zaheer
Ehsan Elahi Zaheer | |
|---|---|
| 1st Ameer of Jamiat Ahle Hadith | |
| In office March 1986 – 30 March 1987 | |
| Preceded by | post established |
| Succeeded by | Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 May 1940 Sialkot, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 30 March 1987 (aged 47) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Political party | Jamiat Ahle Hadith |
| Children | Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer Hisham Elahi Zaheer Motasim Elahi Zaheer |
| Parent | Haji Zahoor Illahi (father) |
| Education | University of the Punjab |
Ehsan Elahi Zaheer (Urdu: احسان الہی ظہیر) (31 May 1940 – 30 March 1987) was a Pakistani politcian and Islamic scholar. He was the founder of Jamiat Ahle Hadith. He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987. He is known as one of the biggest religious figures of Pakistan.
Early life and education
Zaheer was born in 1940 in Sialkot into a deeply religious trading Punjabi family. His father Haji Zahoor Ilahi was a very religious person. He was formally educated from Gujranwala and Faisalabad before earning Masters in Arabic, Islamic studies, Urdu and Persian at the University of the Punjab and further continuing his studies in Islamic law at the University of Madinah under many scholars.[1]
Political career
Tehreek-e-Istiqlal
In 1972, Ehsan Elahi Zaheer joined the political party Tehreek-e-Istiqlal. After Elahi joined the party, it became the second most popular party of Pakistan. Elahi left the party in 1978.
Jamiat Ahle Hadith
In March 1986, Zaheer founded his political party Jamiat Ahle Hadith. Zaheer used to criticize Zia-ul-Haq. After Zaheer was assassinated, the party was led by his son Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer.
Assassination
While Zaheer was giving a speech, a bomb which had been planted on the stage exploded, killing him. Zaheer's family accused Iran Backed Shia terrorists of killing him.[2]
Upon the request of Saudi Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Zaheer was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment at The Hospital of National Gurads. Medics could not save him from his severe wounds. His funeral prayer was held in Medina in Saudi Arabia, attended by millions including the country's main Islamic scholars, and he was buried in Albaqi cementry.[3]
Personal life
Ehsan Elahi Zaheer had three sons Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, Hisham Elahi Zaheer and Motasim Elahi Zaheer who are well known scholars.[4]
Books
He mainly wrote in Arabic but his works have been translated into Urdu and many other languages:[5]
Urdu
- Mirzāʼiyyat aur Islām, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1972, 240 p.
Arabic
- al-Qadiyaniyat : dirasat wa-tahlil, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1976, 320 p.[6]
- al-Shīʻah wa-al-Sunnah, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1977, 216 p.
- al-Bābīyah : ʻarḍ wa-naqd, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 288 p.
- al-Bahāʼīyah : naqd wa-taḥlīl, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 375 p.
- Aš-Šhīʻa wa-ahl al-bait, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1982, 316 p.
- Aš-Šhīʻa wa'l-Qurʼān, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 352 p.
- al-Barīlawīya : ʻaqāʼid wa-taʼrīḫ, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 253 p.
- Bayna al-Shīʻah wa-ahl al-Sunnah, Idārat Tarjamān al-Sunnah, 1985, 218 p.
- Ismāīlīyah : tārīkh wa-aqāid, Idārah Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1986, 757 p.
English translations
- Ibn Taymiyyah's Kitab-al-wasilah. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ehsan Elahi Zaheer.
- Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab at-Tawheed. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ehsan Elahi Zaheer.
References
- ^ Mariam Abou Zahab, Pakistan: A Kaleidoscope of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2020, note 19 of chapter 6.
- ^ Derrick M. Nault, Development in Asia: Interdisciplinary, Post-neoliberal, and Transnational Perspectives, p 184. ISBN 1599424886
- ^ Imtiaz Alam, Religious revivalism in South Asia, South Asian Policy Analysis Network, 2006, p. 85
- ^ Kalbe Ali (30 April 2014), "Another side of the story in the missing persons’ saga", Dawn. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Ẓahīr, Iḥsān Ilāhī, profile on WorldCat
- ^ Allama ehsan elahi zaheer. Qadiyania.
