Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi

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Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi
محمد عبد اللہ غازی
Maulana Muhammad Abdullah.jpg
1st Chancellor of Faridia University
In office
1971 – 17 October 1998
Preceded byNone (office created)
Succeeded byAbdul Aziz Ghazi
Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
In office
1993 – 17 October 1998
Succeeded byMuneeb-ur-Rehman
Khateeb of Lal Masjid
In office
1965 – 17 October 1998
Preceded byNone (office created)
Succeeded byAbdul Aziz Ghazi
Personal
Born(1935-06-01)1 June 1935
Basti-Abdullah, Balochistan, British India
Died17 October 1998(1998-10-17) (aged 63)
Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Pakistan
Cause of deathAssassination (multiple gunshots)
Resting placeJamia Faridia, Islamabad
33.7311462, 73.0517133
ReligionIslam
NationalityPakistani
ChildrenAbdul Aziz Ghazi
Abdul Rashid Ghazi
Alma materJamia Uloom-ul-Islamia
Signaturemaulana abdullah

Maulana Muhammad Abdullah Ghazi (Urdu:محمد عبد اللہ غازی) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and the former Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. He was an alumnus of Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia. and served as the first imam of Lal Masjid and founded Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia.


He created many seminaries in Pakistan including the famous Faridia University, and for the first time in Pakistan, he introduced a female madrassa education system and created Pakistan's first female seminary Jamia Hafsa. In 1993 he was appointed as Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal committee till his assassination 1998. He had good relations with other sects and non-Muslims.[1]

Early life[]

Abdullah bin Ghazi was born on 1 June 1935 in a far-flung village of district Rajanpur, Basti-Abdullah, into the family of Ghazi Muhammad belonging Mazari tribe of Baluchistan. His father was socially active which got him in trouble many times and he was arrested by the British and sentenced to 8 years in jail. In jail, he became religious and motivated Abdullah to enrolled into a local madrassa at the age of 7 and later he moved to Karachi for further study. In accordance with his father's wish, he dedicated himself to study and graduated from Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia in Banori-town Karachi. he was star student of Muhammad Yousuf Banuri and on his recommendation, he was appointed as the first Imam of the Lal Masjid in 1966.[2]

Lal Masjid[]

He was endowed with great qualities of oratory and his Friday sermons used to attract thousands of the faithful to the mosque. Before Faisal Mosque's completion Lal Masjid was the first and only Central Mosque of Islamabad and President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was a regular visitor of the mosque. upon completion of the Faisal Mosque, Zia ul Huq wanted Maulana Abdullah to take a position at the newly built mosque as its first Imam but Maulana did not take the offer.[3]

Chancellor[]

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.[4]

Hence In 1971, a place in the meadows of the Margalla Hills in the city's Prime Sector E-7, was acquired with the help and cooperation of several of his close friends most notably Seth Haroon Jafer (Late), the seminary was shifted to the present building and it was named "Jamia Faridia" and later became known as "Al Faridia University".[5]

In 1992, he laid the foundation for Jamia Hafsa, which later on became the largest female seminary of Asia, Maulana remained the Chancellor for Both Seminaries till his Assassination in 1998[6]

Soviet–Afghan War[]

During the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), The Red Mosque played a major role in recruiting and training Mujahideen to fight alongside the Afghan Mujahideen against Soviet troops.[7]

Meeting Bin Laden[]

A few months before his assassination in 1998, Maulana Abdullah together with his friend Maulana Zahoor Ahmad Alwi (Founder Jamia Muhammadia) and some other scholars went to Afghanistan. Maulana took his rebellious son especially with him. This delegation met Mullah Omar, Osama Bin Laden and Dr Ayman Al Zawahiri[8]

Assassination[]

His biographer, Riaz Mansoor, states that Maulana had a routine every day whereby he would walk to a seminary for giving lectures (7 km away from the Red-Mosque). On the day of his assassination, he walked to his Madrassa Jamia Faridia also known as The Al Faridia University and returned by car at noon. As he got out of the car, his elder son Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi approached him and spoke to him. When Maulana approached his house, a man standing in front of the door walked towards him and pulled out a gun and opened fire until the magazine was empty, badly injuring Maulana. Afterwards, he fired at Abdul Aziz, who barely escaped death. The assassin escaped with the help of an accomplice waiting outside in a car. Maulana died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.[9]

The then 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". [10]

He is buried in the courtyard of Faridia University, Islamabad. The seminary's Jamia Masjid is named after him.[2]

In his honour his hometown was also renamed "Basti-Abdullah" and a new seminary was constructed there, the town gained worldwide attention in 2007 when Abdul Rashid Ghazi was buried in the courtyard of the seminary, a Railway Station near the town is also named after him.[11]

Grave of Maulana Abdullah (Right) at Faridia University

FIR and Case[]

Due to a lack of trust in Pakistan's legal system, his elder Son refused to lodged FIR, but his younger son, Abdul Rashid Ghazi lodged the FIR and the police investigated the case. After a relentless effort, a man was arrested and afterwards, during the ID parade, an eyewitness identified the assassin. However, he was released the next day without reason. Abdul Rashid Ghazi protested against the release and warned the police of legal action if the suspect was not arrested soon. With Ghazi increasing pressure on police, he was asked to withdraw the case or face the fate of his father. According to his friend, this was a turning point in Ghazi's life, and he became disillusioned with the system.[12]

Memoir[]

In 2005, A Memoir was Published detailing Maulana's life under the name Hayat Shaheed E Islam By Riaz Munsoor

References[]

  1. ^ حضرت مولانا عبداللہ غازی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ (20 October 2016). "حضرت مولانا عبداللہ غازی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ". ہم سب. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b "شہیداسلام مولانا عبداللہ شہید شخصیت و کردار۔۔۔تحریر مولاناتنویراحمداعوان". Shaffak (in Urdu). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Lal Masjid: a history". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Lal Masjid: a history". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. ^ "عالم اسلام کی عظیم دینی درسگاہ جامعہ فریدیہ". Nawaiwaqt (in Urdu). 29 May 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  6. ^ Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
  7. ^ "Profile: Islamabad's Red Mosque". 27 July 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  8. ^ Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
  9. ^ Lal Masjid : A Brief History.
  10. ^ الفریدیہ, جامعۃ العلوم الاسلامیہ. "تصاویر مولانا محمد عبد اللہ شہید - جامعہ فریدیہ | Jamia Faridia". تصاویر مولانا محمد عبد اللہ شہید - جامعہ فریدیہ | Jamia Faridia. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  11. ^ Iqbal, Nasir (12 July 2007). "Burial after arrival of relatives: SC". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  12. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (3 November 2013). "Red handed". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
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