Ehsan Elahi Zaheer


Ehsan Elahi Zaheer was a Pakistani Islamic theologian and leader of the Ahl-e-Hadith movement. He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987.
He was known for his stance against other groups in Sunni Islam, against the Ahmadiyyah and particularly against the Shias he considered to be infidels.

Early life and education

Born in 1945 in Sialkot into a deeply religious trading Punjabi family of the Sethi clan, he was educated in Salafi seminaries from 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, most importantly Ibn Baz. Zaheer will eventually become Ibn Baz's "star student", and Saudis would translate his books and distribute them all over the world at cheap prices.

Assassination

While Zaheer was giving a speech, a bomb which had been planted on the stage exploded, killing him, his family accused Iran Backed Shia terrorists of killing him.
His funerals were held in Saudi Arabia, attended by millions including the country's main Islamic scholars, and he was buried next to Imam Malik.

Family

Many of his relatives are involved in the Islamic sciences, including his son Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, a famous scholar who also leads the Jamiat Ahle Hadith party he founded, while another son, Hisham Elahi Zaheer, is a well-known Islamic scholar as well.

Books

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

Urdu