Ehsan Ilahi Zahir
Encyclopedia
Ehsaan Elahi Zaheer was a religious scholar and leader of the Ahle Hadith
Islamic movement. He was born on 31 May 1945 in Sialkot, Pakistan and died from an assassin's bomb blast on 30 March 1987.
and Jaamia Salafiyyah Faisalabad
. He then started teaching and giving weekly khutbahs up until he left for Saudi Arabia
. He studied at the prestigious Islamic University of Madinah and graduated from the department of Sharia
. He returned to his country and pursued further education and received degree classifications of M.A.s in Arabic, Islamic Studies, Urdu and Persian
.
Then he established his own editorial called Tarjumaan al-Hadeeth (Translator of Hadith). He was engaged in da'wah (missionary) efforts
around the world and traveled to Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, France, Germany,
England, Yugoslavia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong
, Thailand, America, China, Egypt,
Yemen, Iraaq and Afghanistan to deliver lectures.
His works include books on the Shia religion and a book on the Barelvi
s, Ahmadiyya
and two books on Sufism
and many more. They are: al-Qaadiyaaniyyah, ash-
Shee'ah Was-Sunnah, ash-Shee'ah Wa-Ahlul-Bayt, ash-Shee'ah Wal-Qur'an, which has over 12,000 narrations of the Shia, ash-Shee'ah wat-Tashee'ah, Baynash-Shee'ah Wa Ahlus-Sunnah, and many more on them. A refutation book on Bábism
and Bahaism, a refutation of this sect, at-Tassawuff al-Manshaa Wal-Masaadir, a refutation of the
Sufis and some more, al-Ismaa'eeliyyah, a refutation of Ismailism, al-Bareilwiyyah, a refutation of the Barelvi
, a checking of
Kitaab al-Waseelah of Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah
, Kitaab us-Salaah, Saffar Hijaaz, Saqoot Dhaka and many more.
Zahir also wrote on the Christian, Jews and the Hindus, as well as on the Deobandi
Hanafi
s,
although he did write a brief refutation of them before he died. During his final year in Medina University
Imam Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz asked him to deliver lectures on the Ahmadiyya, this is a very rare achievement. Then
the book was printed from Medina but the Zahir wished to include in the book "Graduate of Medina University",
before he actually graduated. So he asked Imam Ibn Baaz, who was the chancellor at the time and he agreed to it. So
Zahir asked Imam Ibn Baaz, "What if I fail my degree?" Imam Ibn Baaz answered, "I will close the
University."
He also left behind a great number of inspirational speeches
whilst he was delivering a speech on the life of Mohammed. Some believe Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
may have been behind the killing. Imam Abdul Azeez Ibn Baaz led his funeral prayer in Riyaadh, and the secondary prayer in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina was attended by 30 million people. He is now buried in the graveyard of Baqi Al-Gharqad
in Medina.
Ahle Hadith
Ahl al-Hadith or , is a term that has been used to refer to many Islamic movements that emphasize the use of hadith in Islam...
Islamic movement. He was born on 31 May 1945 in Sialkot, Pakistan and died from an assassin's bomb blast on 30 March 1987.
Early life and education
Zaheer was born on 31 May 1945 (corresponding to 18 Jumaada al-Oolaa 1364 AH) on a Thursday. He studied in Jaamia Islaamiyyah GujranwalaGujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
and Jaamia Salafiyyah Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
. He then started teaching and giving weekly khutbahs up until he left for Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. He studied at the prestigious Islamic University of Madinah and graduated from the department of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. He returned to his country and pursued further education and received degree classifications of M.A.s in Arabic, Islamic Studies, Urdu and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
Teachers
He was taught by some of the major scholars of his century which include:- Imam Abdul Azeez Ibn Baaz
- Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Shanqeetee
- Shaykh Abdul-Muhsin al-Abbaad
- Shaykh Abdul-Qaadir Haybatul-Hamd
- Shaykh Atiyyah Muhammad Saalim
- Shaykh-ul-Hadeeth Haafidh Muhammad Ghondalwee
- Shaykh-ul-Hadeeth Abul-Barkaat Ahmad
- Al-Muhaddith al-Allaamah Naasir-ud-Deen al-Albaanee
Religious works
Zahir was in charge of the weekly editorial Ahle-Hadeeth. Competing religious groups accused him of murder, and he was jailed for a time. Then he began to give the weekly khutbahs in the large central mosque in Lahore called Cheenyawaalee, people far and wide would come to listen to him.Then he established his own editorial called Tarjumaan al-Hadeeth (Translator of Hadith). He was engaged in da'wah (missionary) efforts
around the world and traveled to Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, France, Germany,
England, Yugoslavia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Thailand, America, China, Egypt,
Yemen, Iraaq and Afghanistan to deliver lectures.
His works include books on the Shia religion and a book on the Barelvi
Barelvi
Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
s, Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
and two books on Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and many more. They are: al-Qaadiyaaniyyah, ash-
Shee'ah Was-Sunnah, ash-Shee'ah Wa-Ahlul-Bayt, ash-Shee'ah Wal-Qur'an, which has over 12,000 narrations of the Shia, ash-Shee'ah wat-Tashee'ah, Baynash-Shee'ah Wa Ahlus-Sunnah, and many more on them. A refutation book on Bábism
Bábism
The Babi Faith is a religious movement that flourished in Persia from 1844 to 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire as well as underground. Its founder was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shirazi, who took the title Báb—meaning "Gate"—from a Shi'a theological term...
and Bahaism, a refutation of this sect, at-Tassawuff al-Manshaa Wal-Masaadir, a refutation of the
Sufis and some more, al-Ismaa'eeliyyah, a refutation of Ismailism, al-Bareilwiyyah, a refutation of the Barelvi
Barelvi
Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
, a checking of
Kitaab al-Waseelah of Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiya
Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah , full name: Taqī ad-Dīn Abu 'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd as-Salām Ibn Taymiya al-Ḥarrānī , was an Islamic scholar , theologian and logician born in Harran, located in what is now Turkey, close to the Syrian border. He lived during the troubled times of...
, Kitaab us-Salaah, Saffar Hijaaz, Saqoot Dhaka and many more.
Zahir also wrote on the Christian, Jews and the Hindus, as well as on the Deobandi
Deobandi
Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
s,
although he did write a brief refutation of them before he died. During his final year in Medina University
Imam Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz asked him to deliver lectures on the Ahmadiyya, this is a very rare achievement. Then
the book was printed from Medina but the Zahir wished to include in the book "Graduate of Medina University",
before he actually graduated. So he asked Imam Ibn Baaz, who was the chancellor at the time and he agreed to it. So
Zahir asked Imam Ibn Baaz, "What if I fail my degree?" Imam Ibn Baaz answered, "I will close the
University."
Published works
He authored many famous works, amongst which are:- Al-Qadiyaniyyah القادیانیہ
- Ash-Shia Was-Sunnah الشیعہ و السنہ
- Ash-Shia Wa-Ahlul-Bayt الشیعہ و اہل بیت
- Ash-Shia Wal-Qur'an الشیعہ و القرآن (which includes over 12,000 narrations of the Shia)
- Ash-Shia wat-TaShia (refutation)
- Baynash-Shia Wa Ahlus-Sunnah (refutation)
- Babiyyahs (refutation)
- Al-Baha'iyyah (refutation)
- At-Tassawuf al-Mansha Wal-Masadir (refutation of the Sufis)
- Al-Ismaa'eeliyyah (refutation)
- Al-Barailwiyyah (refutation)
- A explanation of Kitaab al-Wasilah by Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
- Kitab us-Salah
- Saffar Hijaaz
He also left behind a great number of inspirational speeches
- Ahle-Hadees Ke Tehreek Aur Maqaasid
- Ahmeyat-e-Farmaan e Rasul (Khutbah) - The imprtance of the Messenger's Commands
- Azmat-e-Sahaba (The Greatness of the Prophet's Companions)
- Gustakh Kaun ??? - Who are those who Disrespect the Messenger?
Death
Zahir died on 30 March 1987, shortly after returning to Riyaadh, as a result of a bomb blast on the 23rd of March 1987 in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
whilst he was delivering a speech on the life of Mohammed. Some believe Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan is a militant Sunni Deobandi organization, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi its stated goal is to primarily to deter major Shia influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian...
may have been behind the killing. Imam Abdul Azeez Ibn Baaz led his funeral prayer in Riyaadh, and the secondary prayer in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina was attended by 30 million people. He is now buried in the graveyard of Baqi Al-Gharqad
Jannat al-Baqi
Maqbaratu l-Baqī is a cemetery in Medina, Saudi Arabia, located to the southeast of the Masjid al-Nabawi. The mosque is built where the Islamic prophet Muhammad used to live, built a mosque and is currently buried. The cemetery therefore holds much significance. It contains many of Muhammad's ...
in Medina.