Taha Karaan (2 June 1969 – 11 June 2021) was a South African Muslim scholar and jurist. He was the head-

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

of the

Muslim Judicial Council The Muslim Judicial Council SA (MJC), a non-profit umbrella body of Sunni Islamic clerics in South Africa, is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1945 by the Muslim Progressive Society. As of 2009, approximately 150 ...

, South Africa. He was the founder of Mahajjah Research Institute and the Dar al-Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

Biography

Taha Karaan was born on 2 June 1969, in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was the son of

Yusuf Karaan Yusuf Karaan (also written as Yousuf Abdullah Karaan) (15 November 1935 - 10 May 2015) was a South African Sunni Muslim scholar from Strand who served as head mufti of Muslim Judicial Council. Biography Karaan was born on 15 November 1935. H ...

. He memorized the ''

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

'' at Waterfall Islamic Institute (Mia's Farm) and went to study at the Darul Uloom Deoband from where he graduated in 1991 with highest grades. He later studied for two years at the

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. His teachers include

Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri (also written as Saʻīd Aḥmad Pālanpūrī) (1940 – 19 May 2020), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and author who served as Shaykh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. A number of his books are required ...

. Taha followed the Shafiʽi school but held close to the

Hanafis The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

and attributed himself to the Deobandism. Taha was seen as an influential thinker in South Africa. He was honored with the title "ash-Shāfi‘ī as–Sagīr" (The Junior

Al-Shafi'i Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī ( ar, أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ, 767–19 January 820 CE) was an Arab Muslim theologian, writer, and schol ...

) by Khalil Ibrahim Mula Khatir. In 1996, Taha established Dar al-Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah (DUAI) in

. Under his supervision, the female wing of the DUAI was initiated in 2016 where Taha also served as a course advisor. Taha succeeded his father Yusuf Karaan as the head-

in 2015. He was the founder and director of Mahajjah Research Institute that he had started in defense of the Companions of the Prophet. He was known throughout South Africa for debating

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

's. In early 90s, Azam Tariq regarded Taha Karaan's expertise in refuting the Shia's extraordinary. He wrote ''Fleeing from Fate to Fate: 40

Ahadith 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 ...

on Contagion and Pandemics''. He died on 11 June 2021, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

complications. Islamic scholars and intellectuals

Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera (born 1974) is a Sunni Islamic scholar, author, and founder of Whitethread Institute and Zamzam Academy. He authored ''Fiqh al-Imam'' and ''Healthy Muslim Marriage''. He featured in the 2020 edition of The 500 Mo ...

Faraz Rabbani Faraz Rabbani is a Pakistani-Canadian Islamic scholar, instructor in online Islamic institutes, of which he has been a developer, and the translator of books on Islamic teachings. Work Faraz Rabbani is the founder, education director, and instr ...

Ismail ibn Musa Menk Ismail ibn Musa Menk ( ar, إسماعيل بن موسى منك, translit=ʾismāʿīl ibn mūsā mink) (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean Islamic scholar, best known as Mufti Menk. He is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe's Muslim community, which ma ...

, Omar Suleiman and

Yasir Qadhi Yasir Qadhi (born January 30, 1975), is an American preacher, theologian, and imam. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Tex ...

expressed grief over his death.

References

External links

FNB sharia banking credentials questioned as board quits

The Loss of A Giant, The Western world has lost one of its major scholars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaan, Taha 1969 births 2021 deaths People from Cape Town Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Cairo University alumni South African Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Deobandis Shafi'is Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa