Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri
Born
Syed Shujaat Ali

January 1941
Died27 January 1993
Jakarta, Indonesia
OccupationIslamic Scholar
RegionPakistan
SchoolSunni, Hanafi
Main interests
Fiqh, Islamic Philosophy, Hadith
Notable ideas
Efforts to unite the ulema of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah in Pakistan

Syed Shuja’at Ali Qadri (Urdu: حضرت علامہ مفتی سید شجاعت علی قادری) (January 1941 – 27 January 1993) was the first Grand Mufti of Pakistan, Judge of Federal Shariat Court,[1] a member of the Pakistani Council of Islamic Ideology, and a scholar of Islamic Sciences and modern science.[2] He was influenced by Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri.[3]

He held various offices and wrote books.[4] He authored books on Islamic fiqh, economics and inheritance, and also translated books from Arabic to Urdu.[5]

Birth and family

Shujaat Ali Qadri was born in Uttar Pradesh, India, in January 1941. He was the son of Syed Masood Ali Qadri, who served in the office of Afta (Islamic jurisprudence) at the Jamia Islamia Anwar-ul-Uloom, a madrasah in Multan, Punjab (Pakistan). Qadri was the second eldest child of his father; his brothers are:[6]

Qadri was the father of three sons and a daughter.[6]

Visit of Iraqi Council General Jalal ud Din Noori at Darul ulum Naeemia, June 1981

Education

Qadri got his initial education from Madrasa-e-Arabia Hafizia Saadiya, District Dadu, Aligarh.[citation needed] He learned the Quran from Ghulam Rabbani and Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi. He then, at the age of 10, migrated with his parents in 1951 to Multan, Pakistan, and began his education in Madersah Anwar-ul-Ulum and eventually completed his Dars-i Nizami from this institute. He also received Ijaza or authority in the Qadri tariqa of Sufism from Pir Kifayat Ali Shah.[6] He graduated from the Jamia Islamia Anwar-ul-Uloom, Multan, at the age of eighteen. Besides this he achieved the following qualifications:

Didactic services

Justice Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Darul ulum Naeemia

Qadri worked as a teacher and mufti in different institutes or madaris of Muslims. He served as the Head of Department and Mufti in Darul Uloom Amjadiya from 1960 to 1973.[5] Thereafter he established Darul Uloom Naeemia.[8] Thereafter, from 1973 till his death, he held the offices of Sheikh ul Hadith and Mufti in Darul Uloom Naeemia, Karachi.[5] Qadri also served as a lecturer in Liaqat Government College, Karachi, for 12 years and as a member of University of Karachi Syndicate for two years.[4]

Ranks and offices held

Besides serving the offices of Sheikh-ul-Hadith and Afta at Darul Ulum Naeemia, for ten years,[9] from 1973 to 1983;[5] he remained as a judge of Federal Shariat Court, Pakistan for six years from 1983 till 1989.[1] He was appointed as Aalim Judge of the Federal Shariat Court on 2 July 1983 and performed his duties till 1 July 1989.[5] He also served as a member of Council of Islamic Ideology, Pakistan and as a member of the Karachi University Syndicate.[4]

Prominent Sunni scholars waiting for the arrival of coffin of Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri, February 1993.

Books, texts and translations

His scholarship includes:[10]

  1. Islam mein Murtid ki Saza (Punishment of an apostate in Islam)

Critical acclaim

Shujaat was a prominent scholar of the Barelvi Movement and was respected by the scholars of major sects of Islam and the people of Pakistan.[15]

Death

On 24 January 1993 Qadri went on an official tour of Indonesia with a delegation of the Ministry of Population Control. It was during this tour that on the fourth Shabaan 1413 Hijri, 27 January 1993 he died of a heart attack in Jakarta.[16] Qadri's funeral procession was led by Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who was at that time the MNA of JUP, in Jakarta. It was estimated that approximately fifty thousand people attended the procession along with the ambassadors and religious scholars from Islamic countries, Indonesian officials, and Pakistan's foreign delegation in Indonesia.[2][17] His body was brought back to Pakistan on 1 February 1993, by Singapore Airlines,[18] where he was buried in Darul Uloom Naeemia, Karachi. Qadri's funeral procession, in Karachi, was led by his brother, Syed Saadat Ali Qadri, in the presence of a large number of people, journalists, politicians, and scholars from all schools of thought. An estimated crowd of fifteen thousand attended his funeral procession.[19] His tomb is located inside the Daru Uloom Naeemia.[20]

Funeral procession of Justice Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri led by Sa'adat Ali Qadri.

Condolences

Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri's death was termed as a national tragedy and a great loss of an eminent religious scholar of Islam for the people of Pakistan.[21][22] Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, expressed his shock and grief over Qadri's death in the following manner:

Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri was a devout Muslim, with a kind heart.[23]

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and the opposition leader in the National Assembly of Pakistan at that time, Benazir Bhutto, expressed her deep sorrow and grief over his demise:

Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri was a great scholar who passed his entire life in preaching Islam and betterment of the Ummah.[24]

Burial inside Darul Ulum Naeemia.

The then Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi expressed his condolences and said:

The country has lost a great scholar who rendered invaluable services for the cause of Islam. May Allah Almighty rest the departed soul and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.[23]

Ahmed Noorani Siddiqui visited Qadri's home to offer his condolences to Qadri's family:

Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri was an adept cleric, scholar, and an excellent teacher. The people of Ahle Sunnah can never dis-remember his valuable services.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Federal Shariat Court Annual Report 2003, p56
  2. ^ a b NAWA-I-WAQT, 1 February 1993
  3. ^ http://www.alahazrat.net/events/ursealahazrat/comments.htm Archived 6 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine His praiseworthy comments and appreciation for Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Barelwi
  4. ^ a b c DAWN, 28 January 1993
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Information about Justice Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri, Federal Shariat Court, Pakistan" (PDF). federalshariatcourt.gov.pk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Mujaddid-al-Mata, Preface
  7. ^ "An Academic Movement in Arabic Language-Valley of Sindh in Twelfth-Thirteenth A.D. #124; Information on Muftī Justice Sayyid Shujaat 'Alī Qadri's PhD Thesis at the website of Higher Education Commission, Pakistan". bpt.hec.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  8. ^ Foundation Stone, He was the founder of DarulNaeemia
  9. ^ Daily JANG, Karachi, 28 January 1993
  10. ^ Muqalat-e-Saeedi p623, Rumi Publications & Printers, Lahore by Allama Ghulam Rasul Saeedi
  11. ^ "Imam Ahmed Raza Academy | The Mujaddid Imam Ahmed Raza | Comments by Supporters and Adversariers". Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  12. ^ Published and distributed by Madina Publishing Company, M.A Jinnah Rd, Karachi, January 1973
  13. ^ Bibliography of Phd Thesis, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan
  14. ^ Production & Publishing Department, Main Head Office Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, Darul Ulum Amjadia, Aalamgir Road, Karachi
  15. ^ Daily JANG, 7 February 1993 – Izhar-e-Khayal by Dost Muhammad Faizi
  16. ^ DAWN, Business Recorder and other newspapers reported on 28 January 1993
  17. ^ QAUMI AKHBAR, 29 January 1993
  18. ^ DAWN, 29 January 1993
  19. ^ JASARAT, 2 February 1993
  20. ^ Muqalat-e-Saeedi p625, Rumi Publications & Printers, Lahore by Allama Ghulam Rasul Saeedi
  21. ^ THE NEWS, 1 February 1993
  22. ^ SIND EXPRESS, 1 February 1993
  23. ^ a b SIND EXPRESS, 29 January 1993
  24. ^ NATION, 31 Jan 1993
  25. ^ Daily JANG, 31 Jan 1993