EFFORTS OF SYED SHUJAT ALI QADRI

Justice Dr Mufti Syed Shuja’at Ali Qadri(January 1941 – January 27, 1993)was a member of the Pakistani Council of Islamic Ideology and a renowned scholar of Islamic Sciences and modern science, and had a deep and authoritative understanding of traditional and modern Arabic language. He involved himself with the work of authoring and publication besides holding various offices and wrote a number of texts.He authored a number of books on Islamic fiqh (Sharia legal commentary), economics and inheritance, and also translated some notable books from Arabic to Urdu

Birth and family

Syed 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:^[4]

• Muballighe Islam Allama Syed Saadat Ali Qadri
• Syed Tariq Ali
• Syed Khushnood Ali
• Syed Shafaat Ali

Qadri was the father of three sons and a daughter.^[4]

• Dr Syed Farasat Ali Qadri
• Syed Muhammad Ali
• Allama Syed Nasir Ali

  Education

  Qadri got his initial education from Madersahe Arabia Hafiziya Saadiya, District Dadu, Aligarh. He learned Nazirah Quran Kareem from Hafiz Ghulam Rabbani, who was the brother of the teacher of Allama Ghulam Jilani Meerthi and Allama Hafiz 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 darse nizami from this institute. He also received Ijaza or authority in the Qadri tariqa of Sufism from Pir Kifayat Ali Shah.^[4]
  He had the opportunity to learn from the following notable scholars:
  
• His father Mufti Sayed Masood Ali Qadri
• Chief of Debaters (Raeesul Manazireen) Abdul Hafeez Haqqani, the father of Muhammad Hasan Haqqani and
• Junaid of the time, accepted by the era, Ahmad Saeed Kazmi

He graduated from the Jamia Islamia Anwar-ul-Uloom, Multan at the age of eighteen. Besides this he achieved the following qualifications:

• M.A Islamiyat, University of Karachi, 1971
• M.A Arabi, University of Karachi, 1974
• Course on Arabic Literature, University of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1984^[3]
• PhD, University of Karachi, 1984^[5]

  Books, texts and translations

  He authored and translated a significant body of work^[14]:
  
• Translation of Tafseere Mazhari (fifteen sections)
• Translation of Mowahib-al-Luduniya
• Translation of Sharah-as-Sadur
• Translation of Al-Khairat-al-Hissan
• Translation of Al-Shifae Sheikh Al-Raees (some parts)
• Insha-al-Arabiya (four parts)
• Translation of Khatme Nabuwat Magazine from Arabic to Urdu
• Magazine on Khatme Nabuwat in Arabi
• Islam mein Murtid ki Saza (Punishment of an apostate in Islam)
• Islam ka Maashi Nizam (Islamic Economic System)
• Aqaid o Aamal (Beliefs and Actions)
• Teen Talaqain (Three divorces)
• Translation and Commentary of Surah Bani Israeel with a biography of the Blessed Prophet Sallalahu Alihay Wassalam
• Fiqahe Ahle Sunnat (Jurisprudence of Ahle Sunnat)
• Adalate Islamia (Islamic Court)
• Man huwa Ahmed Raza? (Who is Ahmed Raza?) – A biography of Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan, in Arabic Language
• Mujaddid-al-Mata - Some articles on Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan, in Arabic Language^[15]
• Fatawae Rizwiya (Translation of Arabic terms)
• Rasail-e-Aala Hazrat (Collection of booklets written by Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan with explanatory footnotes, introductions and translation of Arabic and Persion texts)^[16]
• Arbaeen
• Composition of the last part of Bahare Shariat (Fiqh Ahle Sunnat, Foreword, Madina Publishing, Karachi)
• Phd Thesis - An Academic Movement in Arabic Language-Valley of Sindh in Twelfth-Thirteenth A.D^[17]
• Series of articles on the history of Islam, published in the monthly magazine Tarjumaan-e-AhleSunnat (Voice of Ahle Sunnat)^[18]

  Critical acclaim

  Shujaat was an esteemed and visionary scholar of Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, Pakistan. He was regarded as a great Muhaddith and a Faqih of high caliber^[19] and was respected by the scholars of major sects of Islam and people of Pakistan.^[20] Shujaat's colleagues and students were often observed praising him. Muhammad Abdul Hakim Sharaf Qadri, a prominent scholar of Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat,^[21] glowingly described his character:
  

  “

  Mufti Sahib possessed a contented and polite personality. Even after becoming the Justice of Federal Sharia Court he always mingled with the students, teachers and scholars alike such that no one was ever able to perceive his high status or rank when he visited Jamia Nizamia Rizwiya Lahore. He always traveled with an intention for the propagation of religion and at times initiated such opportunities by making requests. An interesting and delicate aspect of his persona was that he always distanced himself from being a dull and dry person. He always remained jolly and kept happy each one of those who accompanied him. He used to turn a gathering into a field of Saffron (Za’afran).[22]

  ”

  

  

  Mufti Justice Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri speaking on the occasion of Mawlid-un-Nabi, 1983
  Son of the ghazali of current century, philosopher of Islam, Professor Mazhar Saeed Kazimi also praised Qadri:
  

  “

  I knew Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri since childhood. He arrived in Multan at an age of ten and started his education from Maddarsah Anwar-ul-Uloom. His father, Hazrat Mufti Syed Masud Ali Qadri, was a Mufti and one of the senior teachers of the same maddarsah. At that time I was only five years old. The memories of my childhood have now blurred and hidden in shadows of the past. However, if I try hard to dig deep into old memories through special binoculars, past the mist of amnesia and look into scenes of a glorious past, the film of adulthood of Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali that appears on the curtains in my brain is that of a man who is decorated with the properties of beauteous face and a beauteous personality, a man who is emanating flowers of his wisdom amongst his colleagues on one hand and on the other accepting applause for his delicate interests and beauteous habits. I can recall him as an intelligent student with high respect for his teachers and a student who forced teachers to appreciate his intelligence by asking intriguing queries. The purpose of such questioning was not to compete with the teachers but to resolve the complex issues and questions that arose constantly within his mind. He was a hardworking student, fond of books and an advocate of research during the time of his studies. He used to make critical debates and commentaries on the books, during the daily discourse with his colleagues, which not only assisted in developing an understanding of the lessons learned but also helped in memorizing them. He was famous as a student with balanced and stable temperament. Regardless of the fact that he reached a lot of high ranks and positions, his beauteous character remained unaltered. Intelligence, honesty and humbleness are amongst the prime qualities of his fine character. This is the reason that no one ever got exasperated in his company. Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri completed all his education from Madarsah Anwar-ul-Uloom, Multan till his graduation. No doubt he was a fact to be proud of due to his panoptic knowledge. My honorable father, ghazali of the current century Hazrat Allama Syed Ahmed Shah Sahib Kazimi used to show special politeness towards Mufti Sahab and always appreciated his hard work, dedication and intelligence. After graduation Mufti Sahab migrated to Karachi. My father used to remember his rightly guided student, Mufti Syed Shujaat Ali , with praiseworthy words even after his migration to Karachi.”[23]

Death

On the 24th of 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, January 27, 1993 he expired of a sudden heart attack in Jakarta.^[24] Qadri's funeral procession was led by Allama Hamid Saeed Kazmi s/o Allama Ahmad Saeed Kazmi, then 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.^[1][25]
His body was brought back to Pakistan on February 1, 1993, by Singapore Airlines,^[26] where he was buried in Darul Uloom Naeemia, Karachi. Qadri's funeral procession, in Karachi, was led by his brother, Allama 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.^[27] It was a unique and emblematic funeral in the history of Karachi.^[28] His tomb is located inside the Daru Uloom Naeemia.^[29]

Condolences

Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri's death was termed as a national tragedy and a great loss of eminent religious scholar of Islam for the people of Pakistan.^[30][31] Various national leaders, scholars, Ulemas, honorable Judges as well as Federal Ministers expressed their feelings of grief and condolences^[32] by extending rich tributes to the deceased and highlighting his services for the nation.^[19][33]
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.[34]

”

He also eulogised the singular scholarly qualities and vast knowledge of Islamic Shariah of Qadri.^[34] 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.[35]

”

Burial inside Darul Ulum Naeemia. Allama Syed Sa'adat Ali Qadri and Allama Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi among other prominent scholars of Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat

The then Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Maulana 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.[34]

”

Hazrat Allama Shah 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.[19]

”

Besides these prominent figures, rich tributes were paid to Qadri by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Manani from Medina, Maulana Shah Turab-ul-Haq Qadri, Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court Mr Justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Mr Justice Mohammad Haleem, Vice Chancellors Karachi University Dr Manzooruddin Ahmed and Dr Seyed Irtifaq Ali besides other various public leaders, religious scholars and government representatives.
.