Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

who supported the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s. He was a religious

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, orator, politician, and expert in

Tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

and

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

. Born in 1887 in

Bijnor Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...

. He was the son of

Fazlur Rahman Usmani Fazlur Rahmān Usmāni (1831 – 15 June 1907) was an Indian Muslim scholar and poet who co-founded the Darul Uloom Deoband. He was father of the scholars, Aziz-ur-Rahman Usmani and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. His grandson Atiqur Rahman Usmani was th ...

. His brother

Azizur Rahman Usmani Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani (also written as Azizur Rahman Usmani) (died 1928) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as first Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. He is best known for his ''Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''. His brother was Shabbir ...

was the first Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. His nephews include

Atiqur Rahman Usmani Atīqur Rahmān Usmānī (1901 – 12 May 1984) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of Indian independence movement who co-founded Nadwatul Musannifeen and the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat. Usmānī was an alumnus of the Darul ...

and

Shams Naved Usmani Shams Naved Usmani (1931 – 26 August 1993) was an Indian Muslim scholar. He belonged to the Usmani family of Deoband and was an alumnus of the University of Lucknow. He held the titles of Acharya and Maulana together. He was known for his in ...

. Usmani was the first to hoist the Flag of Pakistan at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

on 14 August 1947, and led the funeral prayers of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

. He died in 1949. His major work is the ''Tafsīr-e-Usmāni'', which he co-authored with his teacher Mahmud Hasan Deobandi.

Early life

He was born on 11 October 1887 in

Bijnor Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdom ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father,

, was a deputy inspector of schools and had been sent on assignment to

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

, when his son Shabbir was born.

Education and career

He was educated at

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...

, where he became a disciple of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, and graduated in 1908. After his graduation, he was appointed as a teacher at Darul Uloom Deoband. In 1915, when Mahmud Hasan went into self-exile in

Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...

, Saudi Arabia, Usmani filled his position as the teacher of '' Sahih al-Muslim'', a book of teachings of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. In 1925, Sultan Abdul Aziz

Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...

scheduled a conference for prominent religious scholars from all over the world. A deputation of a number of 'ulama' from India participated in this conference. It is believed that they chose Usmani as their leader after having a short conversation with him. In 1926, he moved to

Dabhel Dabhel is a town in Gujarat state of India. It is famous for its Islamic education, most notably given in Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. Dabhel lies south of Surat and north of Navsari, to the east is Vesma crossroad on National Highway 8 and to ...

, a small predominantly Deobandi town in the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, and became a teacher at

Jamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel Jamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel (or Dabhel Jamiah Islamiah or Jamiah Islamiah Dabhel) is a Deobandi Islamic seminary in Dabhel, Gujarat, India. Education pattern The Jamiah has the following departments: * Nazirah-e-Qur'an (reading the Qur' ...

. In October 1929, when the foundation committee decided to establish

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

, he was elected as a member of the founding committee. Many other Islamic scholars also were members of the Foundation Committee including

Husain Ahmad Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

, Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi,

Kifayatullah Dihlawi Kifayatullah Dehlawi (also known as Mufti Kifayatullah; c. 1875c. 31 December 1952), was an Indian Islamic scholar and a Hanafi jurist, who served as the first president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, and the second rector of the Madrasa Aminia. He ...

, and

Abdul Haq Akorwi Abdul Haq ( ur, , ps, عبدالحق; 11 January 19127 September 1988) of Akora Khattak, Pakistan, sometimes referred to as Abdul Haq Akorwi was a Pashtun Islamic scholar and the founder, chancellor, and Shaykh al-Hadith of the Islamic sem ...

. In 1933, when Anwar Shah Kashmiri died, Usmani became the teacher of

Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...

, a book of teachings by Muhammad.

Literary works

Political career

Shabbir Ahmad Usmani was one of the founding members of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

as he was a member of the Foundation Committee of the Jamia (University) that met on Friday, 29 October 1920. In 1944, he became a member of the All-India Muslim League and led a small group of Deobandis who supported the creation of Pakistan. As a leader of this pro-Pakistan faction of Deobandis of the old

Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fi ...

party, which was originally founded in Deoband in 1919, he went ahead and founded a new and separate political party called the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in 1945, along with other like-minded pro-Pakistan religious leaders. He joined Muslim League in 1944 at a critical juncture of Pakistan movement when most of the feudals of N.W.F.P. and Punjab came under the influence of the Congress. Shabbir Ahmad Usmani with a team of 500 Ulema eliminated the influence of these corrupt feudals from these regions and converted the sentiments of common people toward Pakistan movement. The importance of Maulana Usmani is also conspicuous from the fact that the Quaid-i-Azam consulted him on all important matters after independence. He served JUI as its first president until his death in 1949. Usmani, with a team of approximately 500 other religious leaders, actively campaigned to convert the sentiments of common Muslim people in favor of the Pakistan movement. He played a key role in steering people away from some of the corrupt feudal lords and tribal chiefs in Punjab, British India and

N.W.F.P. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

who were previously supporting

All India National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern Nationalism, national ...

in those regions. In fact, he became a close consultant of Jinnah after the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947. He is also notable for having led the funeral prayer of

, the founder of Pakistan in September 1948. When Pakistan became independent, its first flag hoisting was also done (in West Pakistan) by him in the presence of

and Liaqat Ali Khan (while in East Pakistan, his fellow, Allama Zafar Ahamd Usmani, did the flag hoisting in the presence of Khwaja Nazimuddin). After the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, Usmani became a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and remained a member until his death in 1949.First Constitute Assembly From 1947–1954
at
Pakistan National Assembly, Former members
/ref> He is best remembered for having spearheaded the ''Qarardad-i-Maqasid'' Objectives Resolution for Pakistan, which was passed by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949.''Constituent Assembly adopts Objectives Resolution (1949)''
in '' The Friday Times'' newspaper, Published August 26, 2011, Retrieved 8 Jan 2017

Death and legacy

Usmani died at Baghdadul Jadid in

Bahawalpur State Bahawalpur (Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and merg ...

on 13 December 1949, and was buried at

Islamia Science College (Karachi) Government Islamia Science College is located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is one of the largest colleges in Pakistan. The college provides faculties of Science, Law, Commerce and Arts. It is located just opposite Dawood College of Engineering and ...

the next day.

Pakistan Postal Services Pakistan Post ( ur, ) is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices acro ...

issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in 1990 in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.Commemorative postage stamp in honor of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani issued by the Pakistan Postal Services in 1990 in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series
Retrieved 29 August 2019

References

Sources

Hassan, Hafiz Muhammad
* * * Rizwan Hussain.
Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan
'. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005 , {{DEFAULTSORT:Usmani, Shabbir Ahmad 1887 births 1949 deaths Muhajir people Sunni Muslim scholars Pakistani Islamic religious leaders Pakistani scholars Hanafi fiqh scholars Hanafis Maturidis Deobandis 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Pakistani Sunni Muslims People from Uttar Pradesh Quranic exegesis scholars People of British India Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam politicians Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Darul Uloom Deoband faculty Students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Usmani family Founders of Indian schools and colleges Jamia Islamia Talimuddin faculty Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan