Rashid Ahmad Ludhianvi ( ur, ; also known as Mufti Rashid Ahmad; 26 September 1922 – 19 February 2002), was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and

Faqīh A faqīh (plural ''fuqahā'', ar, فقيه, pl. ‏‎) is an Islamic jurist, an expert in ''fiqh'', or Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic Law. Definition Islamic jurisprudence or ''fiqh'' is the human understanding of the Sharia (bel ...

, who founded the

Al Rashid Trust The Aid Organization of the Ulema (AOU), formerly known as the Al Rashid Trust is an NGO based in Pakistan. Beginning in 1996, it supported "charity and welfare projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan" while also providing "financial and legal support ...

and the Jamia Tur Rasheed in

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 ...

. He served as the head of Darul Ifta Wal Irshad, a jurisprudential institute of the

Darul Uloom Karachi Darul Uloom Karachi ( ur, دارالعلوم کراچی) is a Madrasa in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Muhammad Shafi Deobandi in June 1951 at Nanak Wara and later on it transferred to Korangi, Karachi, on March 17, 1957. It continues the ...

and authored books such as ''Anwaar-ur-Rasheed'', ''Jawahir-ur-Rasheed'' and ''Allah Ke Baghi Musalman''. His religo-legal edicts were compiled and published as ''Ahsan ul-Fatawa'' in ten volumes.

Early life

Rashid Ahmad Ludhianvi graduated from the

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 his teachers included Husain Ahmed Madani.

Career

Ludhianvi taught at institutions including Madinatul 'Uloom, Hyderabad, Jamia Darul Huda Therhi,

Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi Darul Uloom Karachi ( ur, دارالعلوم کراچی) is a Madrasa in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Muhammad Shafi Deobandi in June 1951 at Nanak Wara and later on it transferred to Korangi, Karachi, on March 17, 1957. It continues t ...

, and Darul Ifta Wal Irshad for approximately forty years. He served as the director of Education at Darul Ifta.. He established Al Rashid Trust, now called the Aid Organization of the Ulema. He also founded Jamia Tur Rasheed, an Islamic seminary in Karachi.

Relations with the Afghan Taliban

He was also a notable supporter of the Afghan Taliban, and after he returned with "extremely positive impressions" from Afghanistan and wrote a book as advice for the Talibans, titled ''Obedience to the Amir'' and composed in 1998 or 1999,

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of ...

was so impressed that he distributed Pashto and Dari versions of it to the visitors, saying it perfectly represented the Talibans’ ideology, while

Barnett Rubin Barnett Richard Rubin (born January 10, 1950) is an American political scientist and a leading expert on Afghanistan and South Asia. He is the author of eight books and is currently Senior Fellow and Director at the Center on International Cooper ...

states that this "manual on how to run a militant organization" helped the Taliban "devise an organizational model that suppressed tribalism and patronage network more effectively than any other organization in Afghanistan."

Books

He authored more than 150 books, including : * ''Ahsanul Fatawa'', his collection of

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

in 10 volumes. *''Anwaar-ur-Rasheed'' *''Jawahir-ur-Rasheed'' *''Rasail-ur-Rasheed'' *''Har Preshani Ka Elaj'' *''Allah Ke Baghi Musalman''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludhianvi, Rashid Ahmad 1922 births 2002 deaths People from Ludhiana district Muftis Pakistani Islamic religious leaders Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Muslim missionaries Darul Uloom Deoband alumni 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Deobandis Jamia Tur Rasheed people Politicians from Ludhiana Jamia Khairul Madaris alumni