Haji Muhammad Abdul Wahhab ( ur, , ''Ḥājī Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Wahhāb'' (1 January 1923 – 18 November 2018) was an Islamic preacher and the emir of

Tablighi Jamaat Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is a transnational Deobandi Islamic Dawah, missionary movement that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encouraging fellow memb ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Early years and education

Muhammad Abdul Wahhab was born in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

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 ...

, in 1923. He was from

Karnal Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...

District.He attended Islamia College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. After graduation he worked as a

tehsildar In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relev ...

in pre-partition India. In his youth he also worked for

Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam ( ur, مجلس احرارلأسلام), also known in short as Ahrar, is a religious Muslim political party in the Indian subcontinent that was formed during the British Raj (prior to the Partition of India) on 29 Dece ...

, In and was influenced by Abdul Qadir Raipuri (1878–1962). He was the president of Majlis-e-Ahrar Burewala.

Career

Tabligh Jamaat

Abdul Wahhab joined the Tabligh Jamaat during the life of its founder,

Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi Muḥammad Ilyās ibn Muḥammad Ismā‘īl Kāndhlawī Dihlawī (1885 – 13 July 1944) was an Indian Islamic scholar who founded the Tablighi Jamaat Islamic revivalist movement, in 1925, in Mewat province. Early life and education Muhammad ...

. He arrived at Nizamuddin markaz on 1 January 1944. He got the ''sohbah'' of Maulana Ilyas for six months. He left his job to devote his time and effort to the Jamaat, and he was one of the first five people in Pakistan who offered their entire life for doing Tabligh work. He was a direct companion of Maulana

, Yusuf Kandhlawi, and Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi. Muhammad Shafi Quraishi (1903–1971) was the first regular ''amir'' of the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan; he was succeeded by Haji Muhammad Bashir (1919–1992). Abdul Wahhab succeeded Bashir as the third regular ''amir'' for Pakistan. He was based at

Raiwind Markaz Raiwind Markaz (in Punjabi مرکز رائےونڈ ) is a complex consisting of a main mosque, Islamic madrasa, and residential areas located in Raiwind city, near Lahore, Pakistan, and is the home of the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan. It attracts ...

, the movement's headquarters in the country, where he headed a ''

shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

'' (council). He was also a member of the movement's ''alami shura'' (world council) based in Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. He was also related with the Qadiriyah Sufi order through his mentor, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Raipuri.

Negotiations with Pakistani Taliban

In October 2013 it was reported that the name of Haji Abdul Wahhab was suggested to head a

Loya Jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

in preparation for peace talks with the

Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...

. In February 2014 it was reported that during consultations with a committee, TTP commanders of different factions recommended that the names of Haji Abdul Wahhab, Maulana Sami'ul Haq, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, and other leaders be added in the government peace committee.

Reception

As of the 2014/2015 issue, he was ranked #10 in '' The Muslim 500'', a list of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world, due to his leadership of the Tablighi Jamaat.

Death and funeral

Haji Abdul Wahab died on 18 November 2018 . He was buried in a graveyard adjacent to Tableeghi Markaz (Headquarter) at

Raiwind Raiwind ( Punjabi & ur, ) is a town (now promoted to Tehsil Head Quarter) located within union council 149 (Dholanwal) in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The town serves as the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat and hosts the annua ...

the same day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Wahhab 1923 births 2018 deaths Deobandis Muhajir people Tablighi Jamaat people deaths from dengue fever Government Islamia College alumni Emirs of Tablighi Jamaat