Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi (1953 – 7 May 2023) was an Indian Sunni

Sufi 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 ...

Islamic scholar and journalist, associated with the

Raza Academy Raza Academy is a Sunni Muslim Islamist group based in Maharashtra, India. It was formed in 1978 by Muhammad Saeed Noori as a small publishing house, and later became known for protests for the rights of Muslims. The group publishes books of ...

. He was the vice-president of the

All India Muslim Personal Law Board All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in India that represents the interests of Muslims in matters of personal law. It was formed in 1973 with the objective of protecting and promoting the appli ...

and the chairman of

All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM or MMM) is a federation of various Muslim organisations in India. Majlis-e-Mushawarat was formally launched at a two-day (August 8–9) meeting in 1964 at the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ul ...

. He was an alumnus of

Al Jamiatul Ashrafia Al Jamiatul Ashrafia (, ) is a Sunni Madrasa in India. It is located in Mubarakpur in a Northern State of India, Uttar Pradesh. History It started off as a madrasa called ''Misbah al-Ulum'' in 1898 in the town of Mubarakpur of what was then ...

and authored books including ''Angrez-nawazi ki Haqeeqat''.

Early life and education

Misbahi was born in 1953 in Khalispur, Adari,

Mau Mau may refer to: Places Brazil * Maú River, an alternate name for the Ireng River Kenya * Mau Escarpment * Mau Forest India * Mau, Bhind, a town in Madhya Pradesh * Mau, Mawal, Pune district, Marahrashtra * Mau, Punjab, a village ...

, Uttar Pradesh , India. He received his religious education at

, and graduated in 1970. He enrolled at the

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

for a B.A. and then shifted to study Arabic and Persian Board exams at the Allahabad Board. He went to Saudi Arabia during 1982–84 for extensive study of the Arabic language.

Career

During his studies in Allahabad, Misbahi taught Arabic language at a local madrasa, and subsequently taught Arabic literature at his alma mater, Al Jamiatul Ashrafia. He taught

Islamiyat Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

in the Department of Islamic Studies,

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

from 1988 to 1990. Misbahi established the Qadri Mosque in Zakir Nagar, New Delhi. He was affiliated with

and served as the vice-president of

. He founded Al-Jamiatul Qadria in Jogabai Extension,

Okhla Okhla, short for Old Canal Housing and Land Authority, is an urban neighbourhood located by the Okhla barrage in South East Delhi, near the border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Okhla has lent its name to the nearby planned township of Ne ...

, and chaired Darul Qalam, a research and writing house, that he had established in 1991. He also served as the chairman of the

. On 23 July 2015, Delhi Police special cell called him to Okhla Jamia Nagar police station and questioned him at another location. Zakir Nagar residents, led by local politicians, gathered in protest outside Jamia Nagar police station. His detention was protested by local residents of the area and later Police released him with respect and apologised.

Views

Misbahi stated about the community-run Shairah courts in India that, "If they help in solving the problems related to a particular community, no one should object." He expressed that Indian Muslims should proudly call themselves Indians and stated that "Indian Muslims are against every form of terror whether physical or theoretical." He believed that Muslims in India were living in a safe haven in comparison to many Muslim-majority countries. Misbahi was of the view that, that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Al-Qaida and ISIS are perpetrating atrocities, brazenly violating Islam in the name of Islam, Jihad and Khilafat. In a national seminar organised to condemn terrorism in New Delhi, he stated, "We also proclaim that they have nothing to do with the peace-loving and pluralistic Indian Muslims who are vehemently opposed to the handful terrorist goons". Misbahi criticised the Indian National Congress and regarded it as prejudiced against Muslims. In his words, "Successive Congress prime ministers had only exploited the Muslims without ensuring benefits of development for them".

Works

Misbahi was a journalist and edited a monthly magazine titled ''Kanzul Iman''. In 2015, the Delhi Police had detained him for questioning due to his book ''24 Ayat Ka Qurani Mafhoom''. His other works include: * ''Ahle Sunnat Ka Taaruf By Allama Yaseen Misbahi'' * ''Angrez-nawazi ki Haqeeqat'' * ''Chand Mumtāz ʻUlamā-yi Inqilāb 1857'' * ''Imām Aḥmad Raz̤ā arbāb-i ʻilm o Dānish kī Naẓar men̲'' * ''Khaleej ka Bahran'' * ''Shaarih-e-Bukhari'' * ″Al-Madih-un-Nabvi Arabic * ″Gunbad-e-Khizra Urdu * ″Imam Ahmad Raza Ki Fiqhi Basirat Urdu * ″Imam Ahmad Raza Ki Muhaddisana Azmat Urdu * ″Islahe Fikro Aitiqad Urdu * ″Jashn-e-Milad-un-Nabi Urdu * ″Mooe Mubarak Urdu *″Muarife Kanzul Iman Urdu *″Muslim Personal Law Ka Thaffuz Urdu *″Paigham-e-Amal Urdu *″Radde Bidat-o-Monkirat(Imam Raza) Urdu *″Sawad-e-Azam Urdu *″Sharihe Bukhari Urdu *″Taarufe Al Jamtul Ashrafia

Death

Misbahi died on 7 May 2023, at the age of 69.

References