بسم اللہ الرّحمٰن الرّحیم
Mohammad Tahir ul-Qadri (Urdu: محمد طاہر القادری) (born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani politician, former law professor and a Sufi scholar.[2][3][4] He was the former professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab.[5] Qadri is also the founder and Chairman of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. He was described in March 2012 by the CNN-IBN as the 'International Peace Ambassador'.[6]
Early life
Qadri was born on 19 February 1951 in Jhang, to Farid-ud-Din Qadri. His ancestors belong to the Punjabi Sial family of Jhang.
Qadri started his education at the Christian 'Sacred Heart School' in
Jhang, where he learned English and was exposed to Christianity at an
early age. He learnt under Diya' al-Din al-Madani. He studied Hadith from Muhaddith al-Hijaz.
Qadri has also learnt from a number of other classical authorities in Islamic sciences, including:
Abu al-Barakat Ahmad al-Qadri al-Alwari,[7] Mohammed Burhanuddin, Abd al-Rashid al-Ridwi,[8] Tahir Allauddin al-Qadri al-Gilani,[9] Ahmad al-Zubaydi,[10] Abd al-Ma‘bud al-Jilani,[7] Farid al-Din Qadri,[7] Ahmad Saeed Kazmi, Husayn ibn Ahmad ‘Usayran,[11] Muhammad Fatih al-Kattani,[11] Burhan Ahmad al-Faruqi[11]
Qadri studied law at the University of the Punjab, Lahore where he graduated with an LLB in 1974, gaining a Gold Medal for his academic performances.[12] Following a period of legal practice as an advocate, he taught law at the University of the Punjab from 1978 to 1983 and then gained his PhD [13]
in Islamic Law (Punishments in Islam, their Classification and
Philosophy) from the same university in 1986 where his supervisors were
Bashir Ahmad Siddiqui (‘Ulum al-Islamiyya) and Javaid Iqbal.[14][15] He was appointed as a professor of law at the University of Punjab, where he taught British, US and Islamic constitutional law.[16]
Qadri has himself given ijaza to a number of leading Muslim scholars[17][18]
Founding of Minhaj-ul-Quran
Qadri founded a Sufism-based organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran International in October 1981 and spent the next decade expanding it nationally and internationally.[19] In 1987, the headquarters of Minhaj-ul-Quran, based in Lahore, Pakistan was inaugurated by Sufi saint Tahir Allauddin who is regarded as the organisation's spiritual founder.[20]
The goal of the organisation is fairly broad, namely to promote
religious moderation, effective and sound education, inter-faith
dialogue and harmony, and a moderate interpretation of Islam employing
methods of Sufism.[21] Over the past 30 years, the organisation has reportedly expanded to over 90 countries. During the March 2011 session the United Nations Economic and Social Council granted special consultative status to Qadri's organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran International.[22][23] Minhaj ul Quran is working in the fields of welfare, human rights and education[24] and the education of youth through "employing the methods of Sufism".[25] He also founded The Minhaj University of which he is the head of the Board of Governors, as well as an international relief charity, Minhaj Welfare Foundation.[26]
Noteworthy events
Qadri at the Peace for Humanity Conference, 24 September 2011
In 2006, Qadri attended the Muslims of Europe Conference in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss identity, citizenship, challenges and opportunities for European Muslims.[27]
Same year, he attended several gatherings around the world in which he
delivered his lectures on the topic of "Islam on Peace, Integration and
Human Rights".[28]
On 2 March 2010, Qadri issued a 600-page Fatwa on Terrorism,
which is an "absolute" scholarly refutation of all terrorism without
"any excuses or pretexts." He said that "Terrorism is terrorism,
violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no
justification can be provided for it.[29]
In March 2010 he gained media attention for the launch of his unconditional Fatwa on Terrorism and appeared on various international media outlets including Sky News, BBC News, ITV, EuroNews, Al-Jazeera, CNN and CNN's Amanpour, CBC News, Russia Today, Al Arabiya and various other outlets.[30] He appeared on Frost Over The World and interviewed by David Frost in which Qadri stated that the "purpose of his life is to bring peace and harmony in the world".[31] Furthermore, the US State Department declared the Fatwa to be a significant publication which takes back Islam from terrorists.[32] Qadri was quoted in the American Foreign Policy
magazine stating: "I am trying to bring [the terrorists] back towards
humanism. This is a jihad against brutality, to bring them back towards
normality. This is an intellectual jihad."[33]
In August 2010 Qadri held the first anti-terrorism camp for Muslim youth at the University of Warwick with the aim of tackling extremism in the UK.[34] The camp was organised by his organisation Minhaj-ul-Quran UK.[35][36] He has been invited to deliver his lectures by several organisations.[37][38] [39][40][41][42][43]
Qadri spoke at the World Economic Forum in January 2011.[44]
In July 2011, he gave a lecture on the issues of terrorism and integration at the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia where he was invited by the member of the NSW Legislative Council, Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.[45][46] Qadri also appeared on Australian Media where he discussed Islam, terrorism and possible troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.[47][48]
On 24 September 2011, Minhaj-ul-Quran convened the "Peace for Humanity Conference" at Wembley Arena in London where Tahir-ul-Qadri and the assembled speakers issued a declaration
of peace on behalf of religious representatives of several faiths,
scholars, politicians, and 12,000 participants present from various
countries. This conference was endorsed by, or received supportive
messages from, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ban Ki-Moon (Secretary General of the United Nations), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), David Cameron (British Prime Minister), Nick Clegg (British Deputy Prime Minister), Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) and others.[49][50]
On 30 November 2011, Qadri delivered a lecture at the "Peaceful
Future of Afghanistan" conference in Istanbul, Turkey which was
organised by the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict
Resolution of George Mason University together with Marmara University and was attended by more than 120 Afghan leaders.[51][52]
On 22 February 2012, Qadri visited Delhi for a four-week tour of India.[53][54][55]
Qadri delivered a message of peace and said: "Terrorism has no place in
Islam", while addressing the fatwa book launch in Delhi.[56] People gathered to listen to Qadri along with government officials in Gujarat.[55][57][58]
Qadri also urged the Pakistani and Indian governments to reduce their
defence expenditures and instead spend money on the welfare of poor
people.[59] He also went to Ajmer.[60][61]
Publications
He has authored some 400 published works in Arabic, English and Urdu.[76][77] Amongst his selected works are:
- "Tafsir Sura al-Fatiha” (a seven-volume commentary on Sura al-Fatiha
which is the largest available publication on this subject).[78]
- "Tafsir Minhaj al-Quran” (al-Futuhat al-Madaniyya - 14 volumes).[79]
- "Jami‘ al-Sunna fi ma Yahtaju ilayhi Akhir al-Umma” (A comprehensive compilation of 25,000 hadith totalling 20 volumes).[80]
- "Minhaj al-Sawi min al-hadith al-nabawi’” ((A hadith collection of 2,200 hadith compiled on the pattern and style of Imam Nawawi’s Riyad al-salihin and al-Khatib al-Tabrizi’s Mishkat al-Masabih relevant to the modern age). al-Minhaj al-Sawi was published with compliments and tributes of Shaykh al-Azhar al-Sayyid Dr Muhammad ?antawi,[81] a renowned Muhaddith of Egypt, al-Shaykh Dr Ahmad ‘Umar Hashim (Ex-Vice Chancellor of Jami‘a al-Azhar,[82] Cairo), and Grand Mufti of Egypt al-Shaykh Dr ‘Ali Jumu‘a[83] and others.).
- "Al-‘Ata fi Ma‘rifa al-Mustafa’” (a four-volume collection of 5,000
hadith on the subjects of the excellence, habits, morals, specialties
and miracles of Muhammad on the pattern and style of al-Shifa’ of Qadi ‘Iyad).
- "Hidaya al-Umma ‘ala Minhaj al-Quran wa al-sunna” (a two-volume collection of 2,200 hadith).[84]
- "Al-Najaba fi Manaqib al-Sahaba wa al-Qaraba” (virtues of the Companions and the Family of Muhammad).[85]
- In English
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