Sheikh Abdur Rehman (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, ) (4 June 1903 – 11 February 1979) was the 5th Chief Justice of Pakistan. He did his MA and Law from University of Punjab, BA Hons from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Ph.D. in law from

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Abdur-Rehman entered

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

s in 1926. He served in the capacity of Assistant Commissioner and District and Sessions Judge in various Districts of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He was appointed as Judge

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 ...

High Court in 1946. He graduated from Islamia College Lahore. In 1947, he was appointed as the Member of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Boundary Commission. From 1947 to 1952 he acted as the Custodian of Evacuee Property Punjab. Abdur-Rehman remained the vice-chancellor of Punjab University Lahore from 1950 to 1952. He became the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court in 1954. He was elevated as the Chief Justice West Pakistan High Court in 1955. In 1958 he was made the Judge, Supreme Court of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He replaced Justice A.R. Cornelius as the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan. He retired as the Chief Justice on 3 June 1968. He also acted as Chief Election Commissioner in 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967. Besides his professional career he remained the Chairman Central Urdu Board Lahore, Director Institute of Islamic Culture, Lahore, Member Bazm-i-Iqal and the Board for the Advancement of Literature and President Pakistan Arts Council.

Books

Abdur-Rehman has also three books to his credit: * ''Tarjuman-I-Israr'' (an

translation in verse of Iqbal's '' Israr-I-Khudi''), * ''Safar'' a collection of Urdu poems, and * ''Punishment Of Apostasy in Islam'' (1972). In this latter work Rahman is one of a number of voices working from within the Islamic tradition who seek to reinterpret scriptural texts, and reform the scriptural reading of blasphemy and apostasy laws.Coffey, John (2014)
''Scripture and Toleration between Reformation and Enlightenment''
in Eliane Glaser, ed., ''Religious Tolerance in the Atlantic World: Early Modern and Contemporary Perspectives'' (Palgrave, 2014), 14-40. Another Islamic reformer working in this field is professor of Islamic Studies, Abdullah Saeed in his work ''Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam'' (2004).

References

1903 births 1990 deaths People from Wazirabad Chief justices of Pakistan Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Pakistani judges University of the Punjab alumni Vice-chancellors of the University of the Punjab Government Islamia College alumni Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom Indian expatriates in Egypt {{Pakistan-law-bio-stub

Books

See also

References