Ehsan Elahi Zaheer (Urdu: احسان الہی ظہیر) (31 May 1945 – 30 March 1987) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar. He was the founder of Jamiat Ahle Hadith. He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987. He was taken to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in an injured condition. He died there and was buried in Jannat al-Baqi.
Early life and education
Zaheer was born in 1945 in Sialkot into a deeply religious trading Punjabi family of Shaikh-Sethi and was formally educated in Ahl-e-Hadith establishments in 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.
Political career
Tehreek-e-Istiqlal
In 1972, Ehsan Elahi Zaheer joined the political party Tehreek-e-Istiqlal. After Ehsan Elahi joined the party, it became the second most popular party of Pakistan. Ehsan 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
On 23 March 1987, while Zaheer was giving a speech in Lahore, a bomb which had been planted in the flowers on the stage exploded, severely injuring him. Upon the request of Saudi Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz Ibn Baz, Zaheer was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment at The National Guard Hospital. However, the medics could not save him from his severe wounds. His funeral prayer was led by Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz in Medina, Saudi Arabia, and was attended by millions including the country's main Islamic scholars, President of Pakistan Zia-ul Haq, ISI chief Akhtar Abdur Rahman, and the Pakistani foreign minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan. He was buried in Al-Baqi cemetery.
Personal life
Zaheer's father-in-law Hafiz Muhammad Gondalvi (1897–1985) was also a famed Ahl-e-Hadith scholar.
Zaheer had three sons, themselves involved in Islamic scholarship and activism: Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, Hisham Elahi Zaheer and Motasim Elahi Zaheer.
Books
He mainly wrote in Arabic but his works have been translated into Urdu and many other languages:
Urdu
- Mirzāʼiyyat aur Islām, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1972, 240 p.
Arabic
- al-Qadiyaniyat : dirasat wa-tahlil, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1976, 320 p.
- 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
