Ehsan Elahi Zaheer

Allama Ihsan Ilahi Zahir (31 May 194530 March 1987) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar who was the founder and first emir of Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith from 1986 until his assassination in 1987.

Zahir was the editor of ''Tarjuman al-Hadith'' and was considered one of the leading anti-Shia theologians in Pakistan.

Early life and education

Ihsan Ilahi Zahir was born on 31 May 1945 in Sialkot, Punjab, British India, to a Punjabi Muslim family belonging to the Sethi clan. His father, Haji Zahur Ilahi, was a scholar who was affiliated with the Ahl-i-Hadith movement.

Zahir was formally educated in Ahl-i Hadith institutes in Gujranwala and Faisalabad before earning Masters in Arabic, Islamic studies, Urdu, and Persian at the University of the Punjab and further continuing his studies in Islamic law at the University of Madinah under many scholars.

Career

In March 1986, Zahir founded Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith and used to criticize Zia-ul-Haq. After Zaheer was assassinated, the party was led by his aide Sajid Mir.

Ihsan Ilahi Zahir was one of the leading critics of Shia Islam in Pakistan. He regarded Shia–Sunni unity as "impossible", asserting that their is no common ground for them. Zahir's writings may have influenced the anti-Shia organization Sipah-e-Sahaba.

According to author Farahnaz Ispahani, Zahir and another scholar, Israr Ahmad, "formulated the first anti-Khomeini critiques from within Islamist/Islamic circles".

Assassination

He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987. He was taken to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in an injured condition.

On 23 March 1987, while Zahir was giving a speech in Lahore, a bomb which had been planted in the flowers on the stage exploded, severely injuring him. Upon the request of Saudi Grand Mufti Ibn Baz, Zahir was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment at The National Guard Hospital. However, the medics could not save him from his severe wounds. His funeral prayer was attended by thousands, including President of Pakistan Zia-ul Haq, ISI chief Akhtar Abdur Rahman, and the Pakistani foreign minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan. Zahir was then buried in the historic al-Baqi cemetery in Medina.

Personal life

Zahir's father-in-law Hafiz Muhammad Gondalvi (1897–1985) was also a famed Ahl-i Hadith scholar.

Zahir had three sons, themselves involved in Islamic scholarship and activism: Ibtisam, Hisham and Mutasim.

Influence and legacy

Ihsan Ilahi Zahir is considered one of the leading and most prolific Salafi scholars in Pakistan. As one of the staunchest anti-Shia theologians, his works were translated into several languages, especially the Indonesian language.

Books

He mainly wrote in Arabic but his works have been translated into Urdu and many other languages:

Urdu

*''Mirzāʼiyyat aur Islām'', Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1972, 240 p.

Arabic

*''al-Qadiyaniyat : dirasat wa-tahlil'', Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1976, 320 p.
*''al-Shīʻah wa-al-Sunnah'', Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1977, 216 p.
*''al-Bābīyah : ʻarḍ wa-naqd'', Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 288 p.
*''al-Bahāʼīyah : naqd wa-taḥlīl'', Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 375 p.
*''Aš-Šhīʻa wa-ahl al-bait'', Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1982, 316 p.
*''Aš-Šhīʻa wa'l-Qurʼān'', Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 352 p.
*''al-Barīlawīya : ʻaqāʼid wa-taʼrīḫ'', Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 253 p.
*''Bayna al-Shīʻah wa-ahl al-Sunnah'', Idārat Tarjamān al-Sunnah, 1985, 218 p.
*''Ismāīlīyah : tārīkh wa-aqāid'', Idārah Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1986, 757 p.

English translations

*Ibn Taymiyyah's ''Kitab-al-wasilah''. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ehsan Elahi Zaheer.
*Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's ''Kitab at-Tawheed''. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ehsan Elahi Zaheer.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaheer, Ehsan Elahi
1945 births
1987 deaths
University of the Punjab alumni
Islamic University of Madinah alumni
Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
People from Sialkot
Pakistani Salafis
Critics of Shia Islam
Burials at Jannat al-Baqī
Ahl-i Hadith people