Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah (19 February 1894 – 12 December 1968) was a

mirwaiz Mirwaiz ( ur, , from ''mir'', chief and ''waiz'', preacher) is a hereditary institution of head priests that is unique to the Kashmir Valley. The traditional role of mirwaizes is to provide religious education in the shrines and mosques. Over time ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. He also served as a President of

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

Early life

Yusuf Shah was born on 19 February 1894 (13 Shaban 1311 Hijri) at Rajauri kadal to Ghulam Rasool Shah. In 1925, Shah started his education with

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 was taught the

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 ...

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (known with honorifics as ''Sayyid Muḥammad Anwar Shāh ibn Mu‘aẓẓam Shāh al-Kashmīrī''; 16 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was a Kashmiri Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal of Madrasa Ami ...

. In 1931, he succeeded Attiqullah as the ''

'' of

Political career

In 1932, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah along with

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later rena ...

and

Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas (4 February 1904 – 18 December 1967) was a leading politician of Jammu and Kashmir and the President of the Muslim Conference party. After his migration to Pakistan administered Kashmir in 1947, he became the head of t ...

founded the

All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference ( ur, آل جموں و کشمیر مسلم کانفرنس) also shortly referred as Muslim Conference (MC) is a major political party in Pakistan administrated territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The ...

to oppose the king

Maharaja Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became ...

's rule. However, after a year, conflicts occurred between Abdullah and Muhammad Yusuf Shah. In order to expand the group, Abdullah wanted to allow people of other religions to join it. This was opposed by Muhammad Yusuf Shah who felt that he was "betraying the cause of the Muslims". Consequently, Abdullah founded the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

. However the Muslims of Kashmir felt that it was a representative body of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. As a result, under the leadership of Muhammad Yusuf Shah, Muslim Conference entered into an alliance with the

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

and in July 1947, the party passed a resolution demanding the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

based on "geographic, economic, linguistic, cultural and religious conditions". In 1947, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah went to exile in

. He has also been the president of

twice, once in 1952 and another in 1956. He also served in the ministry of education. On 12 December 1968, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah died at

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

Literary works

Shah wrote the first Kashmiri translation and exegesis of Quran.

Legacy

After Yusuf Shah's departure for Azad Kashmir,

appointed Moulvi Atiqullah as the Mirwaiz. Upon Atiqullah's death in 1961, Yusuf Shah's nephew Moulvi Mohammad Farooq was appointed as ''Naib Mirwaiz'' by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. After Yusuf Shah's death in 1968, Farooq became a full Mirwaiz.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq (born 23 March 1973) is the Mirwaiz of Kashmir. He is an Islamist, Separatist Political Leader of Kashmir. He is the Islamic Religious Cleric of Kashmir Valley. In October 2014, Farooq has listed as one of The ...

said that Yusuf Shah represented and supported the

Kashmiri people Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern ...

's political desires. He also said that contributions made by him are "unmatchable". Farooq also said that he also opposed the split of the Muslim Conference and pleaded for the resolution of the Kashmir issue in Pakistan and at international level.

Early life

Political career

Literary works

Legacy

References

Further reading