Ubaidul Haq (; 2 May 1928 – 6 October 2007), also spelt Obaidul Haq (), was a
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...
teacher,
muhaddith
A muhaddith () is a scholar specialized in the study, collection, and interpretation of hadiths, which are the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The role of a muhaddith is central to the science of hadith (ʻilm a ...
,
mufassir and writer. He was the former
khatib of the
national mosque of Bangladesh.
Early life and education
Obaidul Haq was born on 2 May 1928 into a traditional
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...
family in Barothakuri,
Zakiganj,
Sylhet District. His father,
Maulana Zahurul Haq was a notable student of
Ashraf Ali Thanwi and graduated in
Hadith studies
Hadith studies is the academic study of hadith, a literature typically thought in Islamic religion to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators.
A major area of inter ...
from the
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 ...
in 1335. His mother was Musammat Aisha Begum. Haq was the second son out of three sons. His elder brother, Ahmadul Haq, collected old books and was the owner of a store known as the Ashrafiyyah Kutubkhana, which opened in Zindabazar,
Sylhet
Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...
not long after the
Independence of Bangladesh in 1971. His younger brother, Mawlana Abdul Haq (1930-2022), was a graduate of the
Government Madrasah-e-Alia in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
and a teacher of
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 ...
at a
Qaumi Madrasa.
Obaidul Haq first studied at the Ghungadi Madrasah where he was taught
Persian books such as Mizan Munshaib by Maulana Shamsul Haq. Two years later, he studied at a madrasa in
Habiganj under Mawlana Muddathir Ahmad and Mawlana Musir Ali - both graduates of the Darul Uloom Deoband. Obaidul Haq then studied at Munshibazar Ayargaon Madrasa, founded by his father. In 1942, he enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband and received his vocation in
Tafsir
Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
and Hadith from
Hussain Ahmad Madani and
Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi.
Career
Obaidul Haq started his career as a teacher in joined Dhaka's Hossainya Ashraful Ulum Madrasa near
Bara Katra from 1949, teaching
hadith studies
Hadith studies is the academic study of hadith, a literature typically thought in Islamic religion to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators.
A major area of inter ...
. In 1953, he began teaching at the
Nanak Wara Madrasa 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 ...
. He returned to Bengal in 1954, joining as a teacher at the
Dhaka Alia Madrasa, where he taught hadith studies between until 1971 and served as the additional vice principal from 1973 through 1979. He was the ''Shaikhul Hadith'' at Chittagong's
Patia Madrasa between 1986 and 1987, and held the same position at Sylhet's Jamia Qasimul Uloom Dargah Madrasa from 1987 until his death.
He was also a professor at Faizul Uloom Madrasa at
Azimpur in the Dhaka.
Khatib of Baitul Mukarram
He was the longest serving
khatib of
Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque of Bangladesh. In 2001, he was forced into retirement by the then
Awami League government. He then sought a writ petition which overturned the government's decision.
Anti-terror agitation
At a conference on 1 April 2005, organised in
Paltan Maidan, Dhaka by the
Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam he along with the leading
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
"Ulama ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
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# ...
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
declared a
fatwa
A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...
denouncing
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
.
Later that year,
after a series of bombings in Bangladesh he led thousands of worshipers and political activists in a prayer and massive demonstration denouncing terrorism.
He remarked that those who were killing people with bombs, were the enemies of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and people as well.
Views
In 1994, he expressed concern over the growing support for the unfair practices of
Christian proselytizers by
non-governmental organisations and the sympathy for them by
Bangladeshi left-wing political parties.
On 21 March 2003, he led a large anti-war rally in protest of the
invasion of Iraq with
Fazlul Haque Amini, where he remarked that:
The US will occupy all the oil-rich Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and Muslim countries, including 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 ...
and Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, gradually.
In 2005, following the
series of bombings by the banned outfit
Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while leading the protest denouncing
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
he remarked:
Islam prohibits suicide bombings. These bombers are enemies of Islam. It is a duty for all Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
to stand up against those who are killing people in the name of Islam.
Death and succession
He died in the month of Ramadan on October 6, 2007.
President Iajuddin Ahmed, Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Taqi Usmani, Abdur Rauf, Qazi Din Muhammad, Shah Ahmad Shafi, and others mourned his death. His funeral prayers were held at the Jatiya Idgah under the imamate of his son, Ataul Haque. President, Chief Adviser to Caretaker Government Fakhruddin Ahmed, along with Adviser on Information and Religion, Army Chief Moin Uddin Ahmed, Former President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Matiur Rahman Nizami, Azizul Haque, Fazlul Haque Amini, Syed Rezaul Karim, and others participated in his funeral. He was buried at Azimpur Cemetery.
In 2014, an MPhil dissertation by Syed Rezwan Ahmed on his life work was published. In 2007, a commemorative issue of the weekly Muslim Jahan was published in his memory. In 2008, the Khatibe Millat Memorial was published by the Allama Khatib Commemoration Implementation Committee from Zakiganj, Sylhet.
Books
*''Seerat-e-Mustafa'' (''Biography of the Chosen One'', Urdu)
*''Nasrul Fawaid''
*''Sharh e Shekhwah wa Jawaab e Shekwah''
*''Azharul Azhab Sharh-e-Noorul Anwar Usul-e-Fiqah'' (Urdu)
*''Tarikh-e-Islam'' (Urdu)
*''Quran-e-Hakim aur Hamari Zindagi'' (Urdu)
*''Shia Sunni Ikhtilaf'' (Urdu)
*''Quran Bujhibar Poth'' (''Path to Understanding the Quran'', Bengali)
References
External link
নির্ভীক কণ্ঠস্বর আমার বাবা খতিব ওবায়দুল হক (রহ.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ubaidul Haq
Bangladeshi imams
Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam
Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
1928 births
2007 deaths
People from Zakiganj Upazila
20th-century Bengalis
21st-century Bengalis
Deobandis
Khatib of the national mosque of Bangladesh
Shaikhul Hadith of Al Jamia Al Islamia Patiya
Disciples of Abrarul Haq Haqqi