Biography of Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman, one of the leading UK scholar

The full name of the noble Shaykh is: Muhammad Mutee ur Rahman ibn Muhammad Yusuf ibn Fadhlidin, from the Mughal family. He was born on 24/4/64 near the Masjid of Muhadith Hafiz Gondalwi, in the area known as Tahili Wali Masjid Gujranwala, Punjab Pakistan.

His primary studies: He completed his primary and reading of the Quran in Fathgarh Sialkot, and afterwards he returned to his familial home in the city of Sialkot, which is in Mianapurah, in the street next the street the Mosque of Shaikh Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti.

The Shaykh passed his Matric in Islamiyah school Sialkot in Physics-Chemistry and Biology in 1980. Afterwards he joined Government Murray College in Sialkot, and with it he started to memorize the Quran in the Masjid of Shaykh Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and completed it in Jamiyah Ibrahimiyah and obtained Sanad of Tahfiz from there.

His religious studies: the noble Shaykh started his religious studies in Jamiyah Ibrahimiyah, which is known nowadays by the name Jamiyah Rehmaniyah. He learned beginners books of Arabic grammar (Nahow) and morphology (Sarf) from Shaykh Muhammad Ali Janbaz, the author of Injaz Al-Haajah Sharh Sunnan ibn Majah, and from Shaykh Ata ur Rahman Ashraf.

For further studies, he joined Jamiyah Muhammadiyah GujranWala and learned classes of Dars Nizami. He benefited there from Shaykh AbdulHameed Hazarwi, Hafiz AbdusSalam Bhutwi, Shaikh Hafeez ur Rahman Lakhvi, Shaykh Muhammad Rafeeq Jahjawi and Hafiz Abbas Anjum Gondalwi.

During this time, he also benefited from Shaykh Al-Hadith Sayid Akram Shah Gaylani and studied books of Hadith and Tafsir from him, by studying part time in Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Gujranwala.

In 1983, he started to do Khutbah in Jami Ahl e Hadith Masjid Mian Bahawal Mahallah Jamnon and he did Khutbah there for 5 years . He also established a youth Tanzeem called “Al-Jihad” which was considered as one of the most active and dynamic in Sialkot. He also established an amazing library in the Masjid for the students.

In 1987, after the martyrdom of Allamah Ihsan Elahi Zaheer, Professor Sajid Mir had to move in the Markaz of Lawrence Rd in Lahore and leave the famous Minbar of Shaikh Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and his famous place of Eed (Eed Gah) in Sahab Purah. At the age of 22, Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman was thus appointed by Shaykh Sajid Mir to occupy the prestigious Minbar of Shaykh Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and his famous place of Eed, and at this young age he was made to sit with the teachers and Shuyukh of Jamiyah Ibrahimiyah.

Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman had the honour to travel once by car with Allamah Ihsan Elahi Zaheer and Shaykh Habeeb ur Rahman Yazdani, 15 days before their martyrdom (insha Allah), they travelled together to Nadirabad to a conference in which Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman also delivered a speech. Allamah Ihsan Elahi Zaheer conferred the position of running Ahl e Hadith Youth force in Sialkot to Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman.

After giving Khutbah in Masjid Ibrahimi for a year, Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman met Shaykh Al-‘Arab wal ‘Ajam Sayid Badiudin Shah Rashdi in the annual Markazi conference in Sialkot, and expressed to him the wish to study from him, and Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi accepted, so Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman went in 1988 to New Sa’eedabad in Hyderabad Sind.

By the order of his teacher Shaykh Sayid Badiudin Shah Rashdi, Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman was given a separate small room and also the keys of the great and historical library Maktabah Raashidiyah so he could read and research whenever he wanted. In all the time he spent with Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi, Shaykh Badiudin was very compassionate towards him and would allot him separate time to teach him, and he would feed him from his own house, meaning eating from what was cooked in his house. After the prayer of Maghrib, Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi, this ocean of knowledge and action would remain waving, and he would hold a special gathering in which he would speak with politics about different religious topics.

Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman had the opportunity to travel a lot with Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi to give Da’wah in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawab Shah and interior Sind, and he would have in most cases have the opportunity to deliver a speech before Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi. And it is a matter of pride for Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman that in the absence of his beloved teacher, he would be given the opportunity on most occasions to deliver the Friday Khutbah on Shaykh Badiudin’s Minbar.

At the distance of 2-3 km from Sa’eedabad, there is Jamiyah Dar Ar-Rashaad Dargah Shareef Peer Jandhah, in which there was shining star in the sky of knowledge, which was also shining in Piranah Sali, which the world knows by the name of Shaykh Al-Hadith wa Tafsir Sayid Muhibullah Shah Rashdi, the elder brother and teacher of Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi. Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman also obtained time from him and would benefit from him daily in Hadith and Tafsir.

In 1990, Shaykh Badiudin Shah Rashdi held a conference a Seerah conference in Sa’eedabad, Shaykh Badiudin did Dastar Bandi (ceremony of tying the turban of the student as indication of completion of a level of education at an Islamic religious Madrasah) with his hands to Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman, and Sayid Muhibullah Shah Rashdi also gave him the Sanad of completion.

In 1990, after obtaining the degree of MA in Islamic culture with a distinguished position from the University of Jamshoro, he returned to Sialkot.

He was given the position in Sialkot of giving Khutbah in the Mosque of Hakeem Muhammad Sadiq Sialkoti in Bagh Deputy, and he gave Khutbah there for more than 20 years. In 1992, he was invited to the Islamic Da’wah Conference in Birmingham UK, and likewise he was invited to many conferences in KSA, EAU and Canada.

In 1996, he led the foundation of Imam Bukhari University Sialkot on Sialkot highway near Daskah, which was built on a land of 35 Canals and became a distinguished centre of religious and modern sciences, and up to today, students who graduate from it are busy, Al-Hamdulillah, in spreading the call to Islam around the world.

In 1996, he was appointed as adhoc Lecturer in the branch of Islamic sciences in Government Murree College. In 2003, he obtained the first position in the test of Public Service Commission in Punjab, and as Selecti, he was appointed as Lecturer in Jinnah Islamiyah College Sialkot, and he worked there for 16 years.

Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman built many Mosques in Sialkot and delivered many lectures in many areas of Punjab. He was in charge of the office of Jamiat Ahl e Hadith Sialkot for 10 years and worked on a religious, political and cultural platform. He remained vice secretary general (Naib Nazim e Ala) of Markazi Jamiat Ahl e Hadith Pakistan for 5 years. He had the honour to be invited by the Imams of Haramayn Sharifayn to conferences in KSA, in which he had the honour to meet prestigious scholars and leaders.

From 2001 to 2010, Jamiah Imam Bukhari became a historical and intellectual centre in Sialkot, whose similar are very few in the whole of Pakistan. Students are taught for 6 years Dars Nizami and with it they do FA and MA, and thousands of students with graduating in Dars Nizami also obtained Master degrees in Arabic, Islamic sciences and English. Al-Hamdulillah, Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman saw this dream 20 years ago to establish a Madrasah which would teach religious and modern sciences and Allah (Ta’ala) gave him the Tawfeeq to make it happen. With Jamiah Imam Bukhari, he also established in Sialkot the Madrasah Zeenat Al-Islam which with religious studies teaches boys and girls up to Matric, and Al-Hamdulillah this Madrasah is also running successfully.

In 1995, he was invited in the famous TV program “Khawateen Time” and programs continued for a full month, and this TV program was hosted by Salman Rafeeq, the brother of the former Railway minister Sa’d Rafeeq. From 2000 to June 2010, he was invited to debate on different TV channels such as ARY,  Duniya and Geo and he had to travel to Dubai to record some of these programs. In 2016, he was invited by Dr Zakir Naik to Dubai to record some programs for Peace Tv Urdu.

In 1990, he went to visit Dr Israr Ahmad and Professor Tahir Al-Qadri in Manhaj Al-Quran Lahore to discuss the issues of Wahdatul Wujuood and Khilafat wa Imarat but they try to divert these topics and avoid such topics. In the same year, he went with his teacher Sayid Muhibullah Shah Rashdi to visit Makhdoom Talib Al-Mawla and Ameen Faheem.

In October 2010 he had a brain haemorrhage, he went to UK for treatment in 2012, and when his health improved in 2014, he went to Sheffield with his family upon the invitation of Jamiat Ahl e Hadith Sheffield. With doing Khutbah there, Hafiz Mutee ur Rahman is also teaching the Quran and writing Fatawa.

He has been very busy travelling in different cities of UK to deliver lectures, and also had programs on UK TV channels, and with it went to many places in Europe for conferences such as Belgium, France and Italy.

Though he did not have the opportunity to write a lot before, the first volume of his book “Khutbat Farzand Sialkot” of 500 pages has been published and work is being carried on for the next volumes. With this his book “Mishkah Al-Hajj wal Umarah” is being printed every year. Hafiz Mutee ur rahman is also working on compiling his Fatawa and publishing them in the form of a book called “Majmoo’ah Fatawa”. May Allah give strength to the Shaykh to complete these books and May Allah preserve the Shaykh so the Ummah benefits from him!