Maulana Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh (1913 – 27 September 2001) was a writer,

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

, historian and journalist who actively participated in the

Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

(

Creation of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a List of historical separatist movements, political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslims, Muslim-majority a ...

) in 1947. He was a leader of

Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam ( ur, مجلس احرارلأسلام), also known in short as Ahrar, is a religious Muslim political party in the Indian subcontinent that was formed during the British Raj (prior to the Partition of India) on 29 Dece ...

and a staunch supporter of the two nation theory.

Family origins

Zabeeh hailed from a scholarly family of Hazara. He was born to Maulana Ghulaam Yahya Hazarvi, at

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, in 1913. His studied under various luminaries of his time. They included two famous students of the eminent Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi.

Educational career

In his early teens, Zabeeh went to the institution headed by his father. At 13 he was studying

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

language at the

Darul Uloom Darul uloom (), also spelled ''dar-ul-ulum'', is an Arabic term that literally means "house of knowledge". The term generally means an Islamic seminary or educational institution – similar to or often the same as a madrassa or Islamic school � ...

of Deoband when his father recalled him to Jamia Illahiyaat, at Kanpur. He later went to study Jamia Millia at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and studied under Dr.

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

.Profile of Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh on paknetmag.com website
Retrieved 30 August 2019

Efforts for the Pakistan Movement

His sagacity and journalistic talent caught the attention of Muhammad Ali Jinnah who appointed him as the head of the publicity campaign of the All India Muslim league in the 1946 elections. Due to his effective and persuasive publicity campaign in favour of Muslim League candidates, they won almost all the 67 Muslim seats in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. He also campaigned for the victory of

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

, which was acknowledged by the later during his address to a large gathering at Kanpur.

Journalist career

His journalistic career started while he was in his teens, and last until his death at the age of 87. In his early teens, he remained associated with 'Bombay punch' (a humorous mag), 'Paishwa' and 'Maulvi' at Delhi, and published the monthly 'Arif'. He reported the 'Kanpur Riots' at the age of 17 in 1930. He also was publicity secretary of All India

in 1938. Upon arrest of its president Ameer-e-Shariyat Maulana Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Zabeeh acted as president of All India

in 1939. In 1941, he started publishing the 'Qaumi Akhbar', an Urdu-language daily, which soon became the leading voice of the uprising against the Britons, in the Muslim struggle for a free homeland. In 1947, he started publishing the Urdu-language daily 'Khursheed' from Karachi, along with Mr. Raees Ahmed. In 1949, he published his first English-language daily the 'Voice of Sindh' from Hyderabad. In 1954, he published the Urdu-language daily, the 'Anjam', which later evolved to 'Mashriq' in the 1960s and for which he was chief editor.

As a historian

Zabeeh had particular interest in the history of the Indian subcontinent and its civilization. This became evident by the well-researched books he wrote on this subject.

Works

* Quran-e- Kareem ke inqilbai faisley (The revolutionary judgements of the Holy Qur'an) * Barr-e-sagheer main musalmanon ke urooj-o-zawaal ka aik aaina (A reflection of the rise and fall of the Muslims of subcontinent) * Arthshastra – Kautilya Chankiya ke ramooz-e-siyasat aur hukumraani * Islamabad – Aik Manzil-e-Muraad * Islamabad – maazi, haal aur mustaqbil (Islamabad – past, present and future)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabeeh, Muhammad Ismail 1913 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Pakistani historians Pakistani male journalists Pakistan Movement activists