Iḥsān Ilāhī Ẓahīr

Ihsan Ilahi Zahir
احسان الہی ظہیر
1st Emir of Jamiat Ahle Hadith
In office March 1986 – 30 March 1987
Preceded by	post established
Succeeded by	Ibtisam Ilahi Zahir (as Ameer of JAHP) Sajid Mir (as Ameer of MJAH)
Personal details
Born	31 May 1945 Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Died	30 March 1987(1987-03-30) (aged 41) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Political party	Jamiat Ahle Hadith
Children	Ibtisam Hisham Mu'tasim
Parent	Haji Zahoor Elahi (father)
Education	University of Madinah

Ihsan Ilahi Zahir (31 May 1945 – 30 March 1987) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and the founder of Jamiat Ahle Hadith. He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987. He was taken to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in injured condition. He died there and was buried in Jannat al-Baqi. Many of his speeches were published as Armaghan-i Zahir.

Early life and education

Zahir was born in 1945 in Sialkot into a deeply religious trading Punjabi Muslim family of the Sethi clan and was formally educated in Ahl-i Hadith establishments in Gujranwala and Faisalabad before earning Masters in Arabic, Islamic studies, Urdu and Persian at the University of the Punjab and further continuing his studies in Islamic law at the University of Madinah under many scholars.

Political career

Tehreek-e-Istiqlal

In 1972, Zahir joined the political party Tehreek-e-Istiqlal. After Ehsan Elahi joined the party, it became the second most popular party of Pakistan. Ehsan left the party in 1978.

Jamiat Ahle Hadith

In March 1986, Zahir founded his political party Jamiat Ahle Hadith. Zahir used to criticize Zia-ul-Haq. After Zahir was assassinated, the party was led by his son Ibtisam Elahi Zahir.

Assassination

While Zahir was giving a speech, a bomb which had been planted in the flowers on the stage exploded, severely injuring him. He later died due to his injuries. Upon the request of Ibn Baz, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Zahir was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment at The National Guard Hospital. Medics could not save him from his severe wounds. His funeral prayer was led by Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz in Medina, Saudi Arabia, attended by millions including the country's main Islamic scholars, and he was buried in Al-Baqi cemetery.

Personal life

Zahir's father-in-law Hafiz Muhammad Gondalvi (1897-1985) was also a famed Ahl-e-Hadith scholar.

Zahir had three sons, themselves involved in Islamic scholarship and activism: Ibtisam, Hisham and Mu'tasim.

Books

He mainly wrote in Arabic but his works have been translated into Urdu and many other languages:

Urdu

• Mirzāʼiyyat aur Islām, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1972, 240 p.

Arabic

• al-Qadiyaniyat : dirasat wa-tahlil, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1976, 320 p.
• al-Shīʻah wa-al-Sunnah, Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, 1977, 216 p.
• al-Bābīyah : ʻarḍ wa-naqd, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 288 p.
• al-Bahāʼīyah : naqd wa-taḥlīl, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1981, 375 p.
• Aš-Šhīʻa wa-ahl al-bait, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1982, 316 p.
• Aš-Šhīʻa wa'l-Qurʼān, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 352 p.
• al-Barīlawīya : ʻaqāʼid wa-taʼrīḫ, Idārat Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1983, 253 p.
• Bayna al-Shīʻah wa-ahl al-Sunnah, Idārat Tarjamān al-Sunnah, 1985, 218 p.
• Ismāīlīyah : tārīkh wa-aqāid, Idārah Tarjumān al-Sunnah, 1986, 757 p.

English translations

• Ibn Taymiyyah's Kitab-al-wasilah. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ihsan Ilahi Zahir.
• Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab at-Tawheed. Foreword and translation under the guidance of Ihsan Ilahi Zahir.