Arif Hussain Hussaini

Summary

Syed Arif Hussain Al Hussaini (Urdu: علامہ عارف حسين الحسينى; 25 November 1946 – 5 August 1988) was an Twelver Shīʿā Muslim scholar, Islamist ideologue, Islamic Jurist, and Islamic Revolutionist leader of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. He is also known as Khomanei-e-Pakistan for his activities which earned him the reputation of being one of the most prominent advocates for the Shia population of Pakistan. He viewed the ideas of secularism, nationalism, liberalism and socialism as evil, which he understood to be the influence of Western and Soviet imperialism.[6]

Arif Hussain Hussaini
عارف حسين الحسينى
1st Leader of Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan
In office
29 August 1983 – 5 August 1988
Preceded byMufti Jafar Hussain
Succeeded bySyed Sajid Ali Naqvi
Personal details
Born
Syed Arif Hussain Hussaini

(1946-11-25)25 November 1946
Parachinar, North-West Frontier Province, British India
Died5 August 1988(1988-08-05) (aged 41)
Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Manner of deathAssassination (Gunshot wounds)
Resting placeAllama Hussaini shrine, Peiwar Pass[1]
NationalityPakistani
Political partyTehrik-e-Jafaria
EducationMadressah-e-Jaffaria
Alma materQom Seminary
TitleAllama
Hujjat al-Islam
Syed
Personal
ReligionIslam
DenominationTwelver Shīʿā
JurisprudenceUsuli
Main interest(s)Quran, Islamic philosophy, Tawhid, Forty Hadith, Kashf al-Asrar, Tahrir al-Wasilah, Islamic Government, Uṣūl al-Fiqh, Tafsīr, Nahj al-Balagha
Notable idea(s)Khomeinism, Wilayat al Faqih[2]
Notable work(s)
  • Aabad e Karwan
  • Piyam e Noor
Muslim leader

Family background and education edit

Family background edit

Arif Hussain al-Hussaini was born on 25 November 1946 in the village of Pewar, Kurram, Parachinar into the house of Fazal Hussain Shah. His family belongs to the Husseini branch of Syeds, which trace descent to the fourth Shi'a imam, Zayn al-‘Ābidīn. The specific local branch name was Duparzai. He was Fluent in Pashto, Dari, Urdu, Persian and Arabic.

Education edit

Hussaini received his primary education from his home town government primary school and later went on to Parachinar to complete his matriculation. Later, he got an admission into the Madressa Jafria Parachinar from where he went to the Iraqi city of Najaf for further studies. In Iraq, he studied under figures such as Aqai Lashkarani, Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Madani, Ayatollah Mortazavi, and Sheikh Ashraf Asphahani. In 1973, he returned home and married, and a year later went to the holy city of Qom, Iran to join the Hauza Ilmia. In 1975 and 1977, he performed the Hajj.

Return to Pakistan edit

Hussaini returned to Pakistan in 1977 to mobilize the Shia community. In the same year, he became the first person to recite a majlis in Pashto, which is unusual given that the vast majority of Pashtuns are Sunni rather than Shia. He also leveraged funding from the Shia Pakistani diaspora in the Persian Gulf to create the Alamdar Foundation in his hometown of Parachinar.[7]

Leadership of Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan edit

In a meeting of 28 people called in Bhakkar, Punjab, Hussaini was given the leadership of Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan by the recommendation of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussain Najafi, after five months the death of Mufti Jafar Hussain on 10 February, 1984, in Bhakkar. An ideological split divided the movement into two groups: one headed by Hamid Moosavi, the follower of Ayatollah Shariatmadari; the other headed by Hussaini, the follower of Khomeini’s teachings. Under Hussaini, the party began to accept Sunni members, but it remained a religious organisation.[8]

Assassination edit

Hussaini died in Peshawar on 5 August, 1988. He was at the stairs of his seminary, coming down from his residence at first floor, when two assailants opened fire on him. The assailants of Hussaini escaped but were later arrested. The attackers were allegedly affiliated with Sipah-e-Sahaba, an anti-Shia organization in Pakistan.[9] It is also alleged that Zia-ul-Haq was also involved in the assassination of Hussaini. Hussaini died of his wounds while being transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Hussaini’s death sparked a riot by around 500 supporters who threw stones at cars and buses in the eastern city of Lahore before riot police dispersed them with tear gas.[10]

His body was taken from Peshawar to his native village of Peiwar by helicopter. The former President Zia-ul-Haq and special representatives of Imam Khomeini, Ayatullah Jannati,[11] participated in his funeral rites. The Iranian government supported the construction of a mazar over his grave in Peshawar.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Allama Arif Hussaini martyrdom anniversary held at his shrine". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  2. ^ Alex Vatanka, Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence, I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155
  3. ^ Alex Vatanka, Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence, I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155
  4. ^ R. Michael Feener (2004), Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, p. 89, ISBN 9781576075166
  5. ^ Jafri 1979, p. 181.
  6. ^ Nasr, Mawdudi and Islamic Revivalism 1996, p. 49
  7. ^ Alessandro Monsutti; Silvia Naef; Farian Sabahi (2007). The Other Shiites: From the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Peter Lang. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-3-03911-289-0.
  8. ^ "Tehreek-e-Jaferia Pakistan". www.satp.org.
  9. ^ "Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan". web.stanford.edu.
  10. ^ "Shia Muslim Leader Is Gunned Down in Pakistan". Los Angeles Times. 6 August 1988.
  11. ^ Funeral Prayers of Allama Arif Hussaini by Ayatullah Jannati 1988 - Arabic Urdu - ShiaTV.net, retrieved 2021-07-17

Works cited edit

  • Jafri, S.H.M (1979). Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam. London: Longman.
  • Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza (1996). Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Revivalism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-535711-0.