Abdul Aleem Farooqui (1948 – 24 April 2024) was an Indian Islamic scholar who served as the general secretary of the United

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind ( ) is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fir ...

for seven years and as the general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (A) for 13 years. Lastly, he served as the Vice President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (A).

Early life and education

Abdul Aleem Farooqui was born on 15 August 1948 (10 Shawwal 1367 AH). He was the grandson of Abdush Shakoor Farooqi Lakhnavi and the elder son of Abdus Salam Farooqi Lakhnavi. Farooqui received his primary education in Lucknow and his Arabic studies at Jamia Hussainia Muhammadi, Lakhimpur. Then he enrolled at Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur and spent there for three years between 1966 AD (1386 AH) and 1968 AD (1388), where he received instructions on courses from Sharh Jami (Al-Fawaed-Uz-Ziya'iya) up to Mishkat al-Masabih. At Mazahir Uloom, his teachers included Yunus Jaunpuri. At that time, he was an attendant of Asadullah Rampuri, the rector of Mazahir Uloom, and benefited from him intellectually and spiritually. Later, he pledged allegiance to Talha Kandhlawi, the son and successor of

Zakariyya Kandhlawi Zakariyya Kandhlawi (; 3 February 1898 – 24 May 1982) was a mid-twentieth-century traditionalist Sunni scholar and an authority in the study of hadith, also known as Sheikh al-Hadith, hailing from India. He was an influential member and ideol ...

, and was authorised by him in the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Chisti order. After Mazahir Uloom, he came to

Darul Uloom Deoband Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic university and seminary ( darul uloom) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. Established in 1866 by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayy ...

and graduated from there in 1969 (1389 AH). He studied

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

with

Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad (1889-1972) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the Principal of Madrasa Shahi, and the sixth President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. He was a professor of hadith at the Darul Uloom Deoband. Biography Sy ...

Career

Farooqui served as the rector of Darul Muballigheen Lucknow, which he also used as a platform for serving several religious purposes, including preaching, publishing, and defending

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. He was the President of Lucknow's Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Sahaba. From 1998 onwards, he organized the yearly march of Juloos-e-Madh-e-Sahaba in Lucknow, which has been attended by thousands of Muslims. Farooqui was one of the well-known leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. From 23 January 1995, to 23 December 2001, he was the General Secretary of United Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. After the split of Jamiat-e-Ulema, from 8 April 2008, to 15 October 2020, he served as the General Secretary of Jamiat Ulema Hind (A). Lastly, he served as the vice president of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (A). Farooqui was a member of the advisory committee of Darul Uloom Deoband from 1998 (1419 AH). Apart from this, he was a member of

Nadwatul Ulama Nadwatul Ulama is a council of Muslim theologians in India which was formed in 1893 in Kanpur. The first manager of the council was Muhammad Ali Mungeri and the incumbent is Bilal Abdul Hai Hasani Nadwi. The council established the Darul Uloom ...

, Chairman of the Deeni Taleemi Trust, Lucknow, and Ameer-e-Sharī'at of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. In 2016, Shias in Lucknow protested

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Farooqui compared it to

Ajmal Kasab Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab (13 July 1987 – 21 November 2012) was a Pakistani terrorist and a member of the Islamism, Islamist militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba through which he took part in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2008 Mumbai terr ...

's hanging in India. Shia Muslim cleric

Kalbe Jawad Kalbe Jawad is a Shia Islam, Shia Muslim cleric from Lucknow, India. Family background He comes from a family of scholars known as ''"Ijtihadi family, Khandan-e-Ijtehad"'', and traces his lineage from Dildar Ali Naseerabadi (also known as Ghu ...

accused Farooqui of labeling a rights activist as a terrorist. Farooqui denied this, stating that protesting against Saudi Arabia in India interferes with another country's security. Also, Farooqui remarked that "they (Saudi Arabia) hanged him (Nimr) as per the law of their land, but they (Shias) are protesting here. It would be the same if protests were organized in other countries against Ajmal Kasab's hanging." In March 2020, Farooqui stated that we need an India in which Muslims and Hindus protect each other's religious sites and refrain from bias based on caste or name. Performance should not be judged based on

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

; everyone deserves equal rights.

Death

Farooqui died in Lucknow on 24 April 2024, at the age of 76. His funeral prayer was led by his son Abdul Bari Farooqui at

Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (translated as, House of Knowledge and Assembly of Scholars University) is an Islamic seminary in Lucknow, India. It was established by the Nadwatul Ulama, a council of Muslim scholars, on 26 September 1898. This ed ...

, which was attended by

Abul Qasim Nomani Abul Qasim Nomani (born 14 January 1947) is an Indian Islamic scholar and the current Vice Chancellor and Sheikh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband. He has been ranked among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. Biography Abul Qasim ...

, Sajjad Nomani, Bilal Abdul Hai Hasani, and thousands of others. He was buried in Lucknow's Aishbagh Cemetery. Arshad Madani expressed grief over his death and said that it would be difficult to fill the void that the scholar's death has caused in academic and social circles.

Literary works

One of Farooqui's articles on

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and '' Mahdī'', in fulfillment of th ...

was published under the title ''Aqeeda-e-Khatme Nubuwwat Aur Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani'' (). His books included: * ''Hadhrat Sayyidina Mu'awiya Aur Muanideen Ke Aitrazāt'' (Urdu; ) * ''Madhhab-e-Shī'a Ka 'Ilmi Muhāsaba'' () * ''Aayina-e-Mirza'' () * ''Mazhab-e-Shia ke Bunyadi 40 Aqeeday'' ()

Early life and education

Career

Death

Literary works

See also

References

Further reading