Tariq Jamil ( Punjabi, ; ; born 1 October 1953) is a Pakistani Islamic cleric, preacher and member of the Tablighi Jama'at. The recipient of the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

award, Tariq Jamil has been named in ''

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

'' year since 2012. In the 2024 edition of the publication, he was ranked 34th most influential Muslim alive and topped YouGov polls in 2018 and 2020 for Pakistan’s most admired man.

Early life and education

Tariq Jamil was born on 1 October 1953 in Mian Channu,

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 ...

According to his personal website, he was born 1 October 1953, though an article in the

Daily Jang The ''Daily Jang'' () is an Urdu language newspaper headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. It is considered one of Pakistan's newspaper of record and a leading newspaper of Pakistan. History It is the oldest newspaper of Pakistan in continuous p ...

says 1 January 1953.

and belongs to a well-off Punjabi

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

family of large landholders descending from

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; 22 May 1166 – February 1192), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, w ...

, a 12th-century ruler. His family ruled

Tulamba Tulamba (also Tulambah) () is a small town in 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 subcontine ...

, a town close to Mian Channu, during the reign of

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

in the 16th century, who also distributed the lands around Tulamba. His younger brother Dr. Muhammad Tahir Kamal Sahu is a well-known

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, working at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology 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 ...

. Jamil completed his primary education at Central Model School, Lahore. He is an alumnus of

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

, and received his Islamic education from Jamia Arabia,

Raiwind Raiwind ( Punjabi & ) is a town located within union council 149 (Dholanwal) in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The town serves as the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat and hosts the annual Raiwind Markaz Ijtema. Raiwind is also ...

, where he studied the

Qur’an The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

Sufism 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 ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

. Jamil enrolled in

King Edward Medical College King Edward Medical University (Punjabi language, Punjabi, Urdu: ; commonly abbreviated as KEMU) is a Public university, public Medical school, medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as ''Lah ...

after finishing a pre-medical education from

Government College Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university ...

, but he left the college without completing his

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

when he decided to pursue religious education.

Career

Jamil has delivered religious sermons internationally and comes from a school of thought called

Deoband Deoband is a town and a municipality in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, about 150 km (93 miles) from Delhi. Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic seminary and one of the largest Islamic Institutions of India is located ther ...

. He supports ethnic and sectarian harmony. Jamil's sermons focus on "self-purification, avoidance of violence, observance of Allah's orders and pursuing the way of Prophet

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 ...

". Jamil has been named as one as of

in the world by the

Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT) is an international Islamic non-governmental, independent institute in Amman, Jordan. It is affiliated with the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. The late King Hussein Bin Tala ...

in Jordan every year since 2012.

Views on COVID

In April 2020, he blamed God's wrath at dishonesty in society and the immodesty of women for the outbreak and spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Besides praying for the welfare of the country and an end to vice, he said: "when a Muslim's daughter practices immodesty and the youth(boys) indulges in immorality, then

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

’s torment is unto such a nation."

Human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

proponents and other members of Pakistani society condemned the remarks. Human Rights Minister

Shireen Mazari Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari () is a former Pakistani politician who served the Federal Minister for Human Rights, from 20 August 2018 to 10 April 2022. She is the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Chief Election Commis ...

responded by saying "misogynistic' and 'ignorant' comments blaming women and youth for the ongoing coronavirus crisis were 'absolutely unacceptable".

Revenue

Jamil launched his flagship clothing brand named MTJ Brand. It was launched in March 2021. Its headquarters are located in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. It is claimed the revenue from the business is used to fund his madressahs, and build schools and hospitals in the country. Jamil also launched the Maulana Tariq Jamil Foundation, which is a non-profit organization in Tulamba, Khanewal. It is a project that gathers funds for social work, health, and education to serve the people 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# ...

Awards

Bibliography

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References

External links

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Religious Authority, Popular Preaching and the Dialectic of Structure-Agency in an Islamic Revivalist Movement: The Case of Maulana Tariq Jamil and the Tablighi Jama’at
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamil, Tariq 1953 births Living people Punjabi people Central Model School, Lahore alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni Islamic television preachers Pakistani Muslim missionaries Pakistani Islamic religious leaders Pakistani media personalities Pakistani religious writers Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam People from Khanewal District People from Punjab, Pakistan Recipients of the Pride of Performance Tablighi Jamaat people 20th-century Muslims 21st-century Muslims 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam 21st-century Pakistani clergy