Pakistani Islamic scholar (1912?1988)
Abdul Haq
(
Urdu
:
???????
,
Pashto
:
???????
; 11 January 1912 – 7 September 1988), also known as
Abdul Haq Akorwi
was a Pakistani
Deobandi
Islamic scholar
and the founder, chancellor, and Shaykh al-Hadith of the Islamic seminary
Darul Uloom Haqqania
. He also served as vice-president of
Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan
.
[1]
He was involved in politics as a member of the political party
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
. He served three times in the
National Assembly of Pakistan
and was an active proponent of the
Khatme Nabuwwat
movement.
Abdul Haq completed his religious education at
Darul Uloom Deoband
in
Deoband
, India. He taught at Deoband for four years until difficulties arose due to the
independence of Pakistan
. In 1947, he founded Darul Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak, one of the first Islamic seminaries to be established in Pakistan. He taught hadith at the madrasah for the rest of his life and was well known by the title "Shaykh al-Hadith".
[2]
His son,
Sami ul Haq
, succeeded him as chancellor of Darul Uloom Haqqania. Abdul Haq's sermons have been published by his son in two volumes containing over 1,300 pages, entitled
Da`wat-i Haq
.
Education
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq was born in the city of
Akora Khattak
,
Peshawar District
,
North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP),
British India
, the son of Haji Maruf Gul, a local landlord, businessman, and religious scholar. According to family belief, Abdul Haq was born in 1912 or 1914.
[2]
Muhammad Akbar Shah Bukhari, however, writes in
Akabir Ulama-i Deoband
that he was born on "7 Muharram al-Haram 1327 AH, Sunday, corresponding to January 1910".
[3]
This is an error since Sunday 7 Muharram 1327 corresponds to 31 January 1909, not 1910. Another source gives his date of birth as 7 Muharram 1330 AH
[4]
(c. 29 December 1911). His
nasab
(patronymic) is given as follows: Shaykhul-?ad?s? Mawl?n? ‘Abdul-?aqq ibn Akh?nz?dah al-??jj Mawl?n? Mu?ammad Ma‘r?f Gul ibn Akh?nz?dah al-??jj Mawl?n? M?r Aft?b ibn Akh?nz?dah Mawl?n? ‘Abdul-?am?d ibn Mawl?n? ‘Abdur-Ra??m Akh?nkhel ibn Mawl?n? ‘Abdul-W??id Akh?nkhel.
[4]
Abdul Haq received his early education from his parents. Then for elementary religious studies, he was sent to nearby places in
Peshawar
,
Mardan
, and
Chhachh
.
[2]
In Mardan, he studied with Inayatullah and Abdul Jamil.
[3]
Until the age of 16, he had studied locally the books up to
Mulla Hasan
.
[3]
For higher studies he traveled further, studying first in
madrasahs
in
Meerut
,
Amroha
, Gulavati, and
Calcutta
before gaining admission to the prestigious
Darul Uloom Deoband
in Shawwal 1347 (March 1929).
[2]
[3]
Abdul Haq writes of the difficulty he faced in admission, "I arrived at Deoband at such a time when the Bengali and Swati students had quarreled and there was no flexibility in admission policy for
Pathan
students. I also had to face the problem of admission."
[5]
He completed
daurah
of hadith, the final stage of the
Dars-i Nizami
curriculum, under the supervision of
Sayyid Husain Ahmad Madani
, receiving his
sanad-i faraghat
(graduate degree) in 1352 AH (1933/1934).
[2]
[3]
[5]
Some of his other teachers included Rasul Khan Hazarvi, Muhammad Ibrahim Baliyawi, and
Muhammad Shafi Deobandi
.
[3]
Teaching career
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq returned to Akora Khattak and, on the instruction of his father, opened a small
madrasah
in a
mosque
adjacent to his house in order to provide a basic and religious education to the children in the area. In 1937, he began a
primary school
which was inaugurated by Husain Ahmad Madani. Soon, the number of students increased and other teachers were appointed.
[2]
[5]
Abdul Haq was later offered a teaching post at
Darul Uloom Deoband
by Madani. After consulting with his father, he joined Darul Uloom Deoband in Shawwal 1362 AH (October 1943).
[2]
[5]
In 1947, Abdul Haq had returned to Akora Khattak during the
Ramadan
vacation. After the
independence
of Pakistan in 1947, his father did not agree to him returning to Deoband, despite Madani's persuasion and promise of security. Consequently, Abdul Haq founded
Darul Uloom Haqqania
in Akora Khattak on 23 September 1947.
[5]
In the first year, many madrasah students who were unable to return to India came to Darul Uloom Haqqania to complete
daurah
of hadith with Abdul Haq.
[3]
At first he was the sole teacher and had to teach all the books of the
Dars-i Nizami
curriculum himself, but over time the number of students grew and other teachers joined. Abdul Haq continued to teach
hadith
at the school until his death in 1988.
[2]
[5]
Abdul Haq also served as the convener of
Wifaq al-Madaris al-Arabiya
.
Politics
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq joined other Islamic graduates in forming the Pakistani political party
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
(JUI), which endeavored for the implementation of
Islamic law
in the country.
[5]
Abdul Haq was elected to the
National Assembly of Pakistan
in three consecutive elections, his election campaigns being led by his son,
Sami ul Haq
.
[6]
In 1970, running on the JUI ticket, Abdul Haq was elected to the 5th National Assembly, defeating
Ajmal Khattak
of the
National Awami Party
and
Nasrullah Khan Khattak
of the
Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP).
[5]
[7]
In the
1977 general election
, he was elected to the 6th National Assembly, running on the ticket of the
Pakistan National Alliance
, a nine-party alliance including JUI. He again defeated Nasrullah Khan Khattak, then
Chief Minister of NWFP
and provincial president of the PPP.
[5]
[8]
He was elected to the 7th National Assembly in the
1985 general election
, which was held on a non-party basis.
[9]
Khatme Nabuwwat movement
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq was active in the Khatme Nabuwwat movement. In his lectures, he stressed the importance of the concept of
finality of prophethood
and argued against the interpretations of
Quranic verses
and
hadiths
used by
Ahmadis
to support their beliefs. He was one of the signatories of the resolution moved on 30 June 1974 in the National Assembly in support of declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims in Pakistan.
[2]
[10]
[11]
Soviet?Afghan War
[
edit
]
When the
Soviets invaded Afghanistan
in 1979, Abdul Haq declared the Afghan resistance to be a
jihad
and an ideological struggle between Islam and
communism
.
[5]
The ruling stating this was issued by Darul Uloom Haqqania. Abdul Haq made monetary contributions in support of the
Afghan Mujahideen
and prayed for their success. On many occasions, he expressed his desire to fight, but he was unable to do so due to his old age and failing health.
[5]
Sufism
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq was a
disciple
of
Haji Sahib Turangzai
. He gave
bay'ah
at the hands of other
Sufis
including
Husain Ahmad Madani
, Khawaja Abdul Malik Siddiqi, and the
Faqir of Ipi
.
[2]
Awards and achievements
[
edit
]
Death
[
edit
]
Abdul Haq died on 7 September 1988, at the age of 74 or 76, at
Khyber Teaching Hospital
in
Peshawar
,
NWFP
, Pakistan.
[2]
[5]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
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