Allama Syed Jawad Naqvi (born 1963) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar,

religious leader Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

who is the founder and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of Jamia Urwat-ul-Wusqa in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and many Islamic schools. A leading

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

theorist of Pakistan and worldwide, Naqvi founded the monthly religious magazine ''Masharab-e-Naab''. Naqvi delivers dialogue-filled sermons. He propagates theories of ''Wilayat-i Faqih'', and is often called the representative of the ''Wilayat'' in Pakistan.

Early life and education

Naqvi was born on 1 February 1963 in a Village named Thipra Syedan (ٹھپرہ سیداں) in Haripur Hazara District, Pakistan. He has studied religious philosophy, theology and Shia jurisprudence in Islamic seminaries in Pakistan and Iran. Among his teachers were Abdollah Javadi-Amoli and Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi.

Career

Naqvi is the principal of Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa and Jamia Jaffria, seminaries in Lahore and

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

respectively. He is also the principal of Jamia Ummul Kitaab in Lahore, head of Deen-ul-Qayyim Online Islamic school and Siraat Education School System. Naqvi is also the editor of the monthly magazine Masharab-e-Naab. He is a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. In many of his speeches he propagates the hard-line version of ''Wilayat-i Faqih''. He stands for unity of sects in Pakistan under his banner. He has authored several works in Urdu.

Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa

Naqvi is the founder and principal of Islamic seminaries Jamia Urwa-tul-Wusqa, Jamia Jaffria, and Jamia Ummul-Kitab. He also runs Jamia Deen-ul-Qayim Virtual Islamic Seminary.

Islamic Awakening Movement

In 2012–2013, Naqvi led a movement to condemn blasphemy of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

named ″Tehreek e Baidari e Ummat e Mustafa SAWW″, which he launched on 7 October 2012 held in Lahore.

Views

In a 2012 report by

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

, he has been described as pro-Iran and to be financially supported by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Alex Vatanka writes in an article titled "The Guardian of Pakistan's Shia" published by

, a strategic think-tank based in Washington. It says:

"Accordingly, many of Pakistan's Shia religious figures have become highly vocal and partisan supporters of Khamenei. For example, Jawad, a prominent activist preacher and the head of a recently launched Shia seminary in Pakistan, idealizes the theocracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran and calls himself a devoted follower of Khamenei. He has additionally published articles as well as a book denouncing Iran's anti-clerical Green opposition movement.27 Not surprisingly, Jawad's seminary was reportedly established in part with financial support from the Iranian state."

In 2019, an article in The News described him of having "uniquely Iran-centered career". However, Naqvi has denied that he has received any support from Iran. In the opening ceremony of Jamia Urwatu Wusqa he said that this project is fully supported by local Pakistani people. He said that none of his projects is supported by Iran or any other country and not a single penny has been received from outside Pakistan. As recent as January 2020, he has been described as "a major supporter of Iran's theocracy" by

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

, an American news publication. In 2013, Mohammadi Masjid stopped Jawad's sermons after there was scuffle occurred when

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

prevented Jawad's security from entering the mosque, sparking mass protests outside the mosque. Allegedly his security guard was carrying unlicensed weapon. Police accused students of Jawad, for creating the chaos and roughing up the cameraman, the varsity condemned the irresponsible behavior of the police. Subsequently, Naqvi was banned by Punjab Chief Minister

Shahbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

from lecturing at Mohammadi Masjid in Lahore.

On Iran's system

Naqvi believes that Iran's system is based on Quran. This is contrary to the opinion of his teacher, Iranian Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, who said in 2018: Earlier in December 2016, Javadi Amoli said, Bank of Iran sucks blood of the people.

On Azadari of Muharram

In 2020, after his alleged comparison of Azadari with

Tarawih Tarawih (), also spelled Taraweeh, refers to special Sunnah prayers performed exclusively during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The prayers involve the recitation of long portions of the Quran, consist of any number of even rak'a (cycles of p ...

during a lecture, Indian daily and weekly Urdu newspapers Sahafat and Nauroz published articles critical to him. Indian daily and Urdu newspaper Sahafat and Hindi newspaper Bhumitra again criticised his May 29, 2020 Friday sermon, for targeting Indian Shia leadership. In July 2020 Naqvi criticised

Imamia Students Organisation Imamia Students Organization () is the Shia Islam, Shiite Muslim students' organization in Pakistan. It was founded by Ayat ullah Syed Murtaza Hussain Sadar ul Fazil, Molana Agha Ali Moosvi, Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi, Molana Safdar Hussain Naja ...

for not being the pride of

Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (, also ''Velayat-e Faghih''; ) is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the reappearance of the "infallible Imam" (sometime before Judgement Day), the religious and social affairs ...

which sparked a reaction and a resolution by Imamia Students Organization against him.

Notable works

Nakvi has written several books about Islam, including: * ''Islam and Secularism'' * ''Adaab-e-Fahm-e-Quran'' * ''Aqdar-e-Ashura'' * ''Fitna Akhruz Zaman'' * ''Wahdat Ummat Ka Faramoush Rukn'' * ''Rasm-i-Shabiri'' * ''Hussain (pbuh)-Waris-e-Anbia'' * ''Karbala ek hi rasta''

Notes

References

External links

Lectures & speeches of Jawad Naqvi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naqvi, Jawad Shia scholars of Islam Pakistani Shia Muslims Shia fiqh Pakistani Shia clerics Pakistani Islamists Shia Islamists Living people 1963 births Scholars from Lahore