Mufti Mehmood Sab

Mufti Mehmood
Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI)

Publishing Date: Friday, September 16 2005
1919
Born in January 1919 (6 Rabi us Thani 1337 Hijri) in Paniala, District Dera Ismail Khan
1924
Admitted in Government Middle School Paniala in 1924 for initial schooling.
1933
Passed Middle Exam from Punjab Board with First Division in 1933.
Headed for Darul Uloom Deoband but later on changed plans and secured admission in Jamia Qasimiya in Muradabad.
1937
Started his political struggle in 1937. According to the 1935 India Act, Jamiat ul Ulema Hind and Muslim League stood for elections from Uttar Pradesh in the 1937 elections. As a party worker of Muslim Unity Board, Mufti Mehmood personally travelled great distances on foot for the election campaign.
1941
At Muradabad, he completed Hadith from Hazrat Maulana Fakhr ud Din RA who was student of Hazrat Sheikh ul Hind Maulana Mehmood ul Hassan RA.
After graduation from Jamia Qasimiya, he headed back home and started teaching in Isa Khel in Mianwali until 1944.
1942
The 'Leave India Campaign' targeting the British was started. Mufti Mahmood took part in the campaign on behalf of Jamiat ul Ulema Hind. He was not only elected as Member of Majlis e Amila of Jamiat ul Ulema Hind NWFP but also as Councillor of All India Jamiat ul Ulema Hind.
1943
President of Jamiat ul Ulema Hind Sheikh ul Islam Maulana Hussein Ahmad Madni toured NWFP and Mufti Mahmood accompanied him during the tours.
1946
All India Jamiat ul Ulema Hind conducted a historical conference at Saharanpur where Mufti Mahmood participated as representative of NWFP. He also stood for elections in India the same year and made Abdul Khel his permanent home.
1949
Participated in the Jamiat ul Ulema Islam Central Convention at Multan.
1950
Appointed for teaching job in Madrassa Qasim ul Uloom in Multan. Later on, he also served at positions of chief Mudaras, In charge of Education, Chief Mufti, Sheikh ul Hadith, and Muhtamim. As a Mufti, he passed on at least 25,000 Fatawas.
1953
Participated in the Tehreek e Khatm e Naboowat and was arrested.
1954
Leadership structure of Jamiat ul Ulema Islam was re-organized. Maulana Ihtesham ul Haq Thanvi separated from the party.
1956
In October, he was elected as vice-president of Jamiat ul Ulema Islam Pakistan in the Multan Convention.
Struggled against the One-Unit of Pakistan. He was arrested because of his demands for provincial autonomy and civil liberties.
Heavily criticized the constitution and demanded amendments to it.
1958
Ayub Khan declared Martial Law as a result of which all political parties were banned including that of Jamiat ul Ulema Islam
Deeni Madaris throughout Pakistan decided to have a uniform syllabus for which Wifaq ul Madaris ul Islamia was established. Mufti Mahmood was elected as its first Secretary General.
1962
In April, he stood for elections for the National Assembly Seat for the first time despite Ayub Khan's invoking of the Basic Democracy Program and defeated all opponents
On 14th July, when law was passed to re-instate all the Political Parties, Mufti Mahmood took charge of Jamiat Ulema Islam as Qaim Maqam Ameer
1963
Toured East Pakistan in January and reinforced the position of Jamiat Ulema Islam there as well.
In March, he advocated against Family Planning policy making of the government in the National Assembly and started a massive campaign against it on national level.
The Central Meeting of Jamiat Ulema Islam was held in Lahore on 28 October. Hazrat Maulana Abdullah Darkhwasti was appointed as Ameer, and Mufti Mahmood was appointed Naib Ameer.
1964
In January, on the celebration of Al Azhar University Cairo's 1000 years, President Jamal Abdul Nasir invited Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Binori, Maulana Ghulam Ghaus Hazarvi, Maulana Taj ul Islam, and Maulana Mufti Mahmood to Egypt.
A bill was proposed in Parliament for Islamic Amendments in the Constitution but due to the negative traits of the opposition and coalition parties, it was not seen through.
1965
In May, Mufti Mahmood gave a talk at "Majlis Al Jaus Al Islamia" in Egypt and was widely appreciated by visiting scholars from throughout the world.
1966
In January, The Tashkent Treaty was deeply criticized because of its secretive nature and that the nation was not aware of its salient points.
A campaign was started against the anti-Islam teachings of the "Tehqeeqat e Islam" and its director Dr. Fazl ur Rahman
1967
The Tehqeeqat e Islam issued a Fatwa which made it 'Halal' to eat meat which was slaughtered via the western method (i.e. Machine) to which Mufti Mahmood's started a campaign. With reasons from the Quran and Sunnah, he proved them wrong. Mufti e Azam Maulana Muhammad Shafi had given the approval of the Fatwa but after Mufti Mahmood's indulgence into the matter, it was taken back.
In June, Israel attacked Egypt. Mufti Mahmood and his party voiced their support for Egypt and started a boycott of Israeli products.
1968
In February, the International Islamic Conference was held in Rawalpindi in which Dr. Fazl ur Rahman, Janab Masood, and Jafar Shah submitted their highly erroneous and non-traditional research work in Islam. Mufti Mahmood vehemently opposed them and proved their research wrong with counter arguments. Visiting dignitaries and scholars from around the world highly appreciated Mufti Mahmood for his efforts.
On 8 January, the Pakistan's political parties formed a coalition of "Jamhoori Majlis e Amal" in Dhaka and Mufti Mahmood was one of the Central Leadership of this party.
1969
On 10 March, The Jamhoori Majlis e Amal and the Ayub Khan Regime held a round table conference in which Mufti Mahmood put forward his 22 points on behalf of all religious parties of Pakistan.
1970
In May, Pakistan's 18 Religious and Political Parties formed a "Muttahida Deeni Mahaz" and Mufti Mahmood was appointed its President.
In December, Elections were held and Mufti Mahmood had a landslide victory over Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the Dera Ismail Khan constituency.
1971
On 3rd March, the parliamentary group of the minority parties held a session at Lahore instead of the Parliament house because the Muslim League and the Peoples Party were in direct conflict with each other as a result of which the political scene was very unstable. The minority parties held this separate session to show their non-involvement in the affairs of the major parties. This was the last step to save the country from disintegration. Mufti Mahmood presided the session.
In July, Mufti Mahmood toured the Middle East and was accompanied by Maulana Ghulam Ghaus Hazarvi Rahmatullah Alaihe
In 4 December, an Ijtima was held in Lahore in which millions participated in retaliation for India's attack on Pakistan. Mufti Mahmood issued a Fatwa for Jehad on this occasion.
On 24 December, a commission was formed to investigate the facts behind the fall of Dhaka. Mufti Mahmood voiced his opinion which was compiled under the supervision of Justice Hamood ur Rahman.
Bhutto offered Mufti Mahmood minister ship in the centre but he did not accept it and instead demanded the approval of Islamic Laws by the Government.
1972
On 26 March, the three main political parties of the country entered a coalition. The agreement was signed between Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from Peoples Party, Abdul Wali Khan from National Awami Party, and Mufti Mahmood from Jamiat e Ulema Islam.
On 1 May, Mufti Mahmood took oath as Chief Minister of the NWFP and on this occasion took the following steps:
Forbidding Alcohol
Urdu as Official Language in Government Circles
Forbidding Western Dresses (Pants) in Government Departments
Jahaiz Act
Ban on Betting
Educational Reforms (Quranic Knowledge a pre-requisite for admission in educational institutions)
Enforcing Pardah
Respect for Ramazan Ordinance
Ban on Interest
Friday as Holiday
and formation of a Board for formalizing Islamic Laws
1973
In February, a botched attempt was made to assassinate Mufti Mahmood.
On 15 February, Mufti Mahmood resigned from chief minister position as protest for the unfair dismissal of the Balochistan Government.
From 15 February to 21 February, the Government offered various incentives to Mufti Mahmood to lure him to take back his decision but he refused.
In February, many political parties in Pakistan formed a coalition of the "Muttahida Jamhoori Mahaz" for which Mufti Mahmood was appointed as Vice-President.
In August, a civil disobedience movement was started against the negative attitude of the government. Mufti Mahmood played a central role in it.
1974
In April, Mufti Mahmood addressed a grand gathering of Jamiat Tuleba Islam at Karachi University.
In May, Mufti Mahmood played a central role in the Tehreek Khatm e Naboowat along with Maulana Yusuf Binori.
On 30 June, 137 members of the National Assembly proposed a resolution demanding the Qadianis as Kafirs and Mufti Mahmood's name was at the top of the list.
On 1st July, the National Assembly approved the resolution for debate in the assembly. The Leader of the Qadianis, Mirza Nasir made an unprovoked aggressive attack on Mufti Mahmood in parliament as a result of which the rest of the members of the assembly came to know the real nature of the Qadianis.
On 22 August, a sub-committee of the National Assembly was formed in which Maulana Mufti Mahmood, Professor Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, Ghulam Farooq, Sardar Maula Bakhsh Soomro, and Abdul Hafiz Pirzada played a part. The committee formalized a report by the 5th of September and as a result the final nail in the coffin was put on the 7 of December, in which Qadianis were termed a non-Muslim minority and the issue was resolved.
1975
On 22 April, an assassination attempt was made on Mufti Mahmood in Sajawal in District Thattha, in Sindh.
1976
In February, A bomb blast in Peshawar University resulted in the death of Hayat Muhammad Sherpao. Abdul Wali Khan was arrested and Mufti Mahmood was appointed as the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.
1977
On 11 January, All Political and National parties in Pakistan formed a coalition and appointed Mufti Mahmood as the leader of this coalition.
On 7 March, Mufti Mahmood contested elections from Dera Ismail Khan constituency and won with a good margin. But due to large scale irregularities in the elections, Mufti Mahmood laid a crucial role in protests that erupted throughout the country.
On 10 March, the provincial elections were boycotted and a protest campaign was started while acting as president of Pakistan Qaumi Ittehad
Mufti Mahmood fell ill during the Tehreek Nizam e Mustapha. He was injured as well and despite his ill-health, he played a leading role and toured the length and breadth of Pakistan in his campaigns.
According to the Defence of Pakistan Rules, Mufti Mahmood was arrested in Lahore. He was first held in Rawalpindi Jail and then shifted to Haripur Jail.
On 13 March, Mufti Mahmood started negotiations with Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He was representing the Pakistan Qaumi Ittehad.
On 29 June, the Pakistan Qaumi Ittehad presented a set of demands to the Prime Minister
On 1st of July, on Friday, and on 2nd of July, the negotiations with the government continued all night. Mufti Mahmood announced that unless a decision was reached, they will continue talks continuously.
On 3 July, the Pakistan Qaumi Ittehad met the Prime Minister's team for the final meeting.
On 5 July, General Muhammad Zia ul Haq enforced Martial Law in the country. Maulana Mufti Mahmood was arrested again.
1978
Mufti Mahmood collaborated with the Government for enforcing Nizam e Mustapha. But later on, after sensing that the Military Regime was trying to impose themselves on the nation in pretext of Islamic Law, Mufti Mahmood criticized the army approach.
1979
Afghanistan was attacked by Russians. Mufti Mahmood issued Fatwa for Jehad against the Russians and the puppet regime in Afghanistan. A military campaign was started for the Jehad which is still in existence after the eviction of the Russians in the form of the Taleban movement.
1980
Issued vote of confidence in General Zia ul Haq's Islamization reforms and issued a Fatwa against the collection of Zakat Tax by the Government. He also established the MRD in the same year.
On 13 October, Mufti Mahmood prepared for Hajj and arrived at Karachi.
On 14 October, He was addressing Ulema Karam and various Mufti e Azams in Jamiat ul Uloom al Islamia Binori Town when all of a sudden his soul departed and like this instead of going to Allah's house in Makka, he went to meet Allah himself.
On 15 October, his body was transferred from Karachi to Multan, and then via plane to Dera Ismail Khan where he was buried i