Mian Tufail Mohammad

Mian Tufail Mohammad (Urdu: میاں طفيل محمد) (April 1914 - 25 June 2009) was a Pakistani political leader.

Early life and education

Mian Tufail Mohammad was born in Kapurthala, Punjab State, India in an Arain family. He received his B.A. (Hons) in Physics and Mathematics from Government College, Lahore, with distinction in 1935 and completed his LL.B. (specializing in witness and land laws) in 1937 from the University Law College, Lahore, securing Second position. For his religious orientation, he owes much to Sayyid Abul A'ala Maududi and Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi for taking his lessons in Qur'an and Hadith.

He started his career as a Lawyer, working as junior to Justice Mohammad Sharif in 1938 in Jalandhar, but moved to his Kapurthala State after one year. He was the first Muslim lawyer of the princely State. In 1942 Mian sahab got married, He has 8 daughters and 4 sons, who are all happily married and settled in Pakistan.

Political activities

When the Jamaat political party was founded in August 1941, Mian Tufail Muhammad was one of its 75 founding members. He left the legal profession on 23 January 1942 and joined a relative in business in Lahore. His vehemence and intense zeal for the Islamic movement were noticed. In the All India Conference of the Jama'at in March, 1944, he was appointed the first permanent Secretary General (Qayyam) of the party. He immediately abandoned his business in Lahore and moved to Pathankot. From that moment on, he was always in company of Sayyed Mawdudi—attached to him physically and emotionally.

Except for the periods when he was put in jail, he worked as Secretary General of the Jama'at till 1965. From January 1966 to 1972 he was Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami in West Pakistan. In between, he also assumed the position of Ameer-e-Jama'at of Pakistan when the occasion so demanded, particularly when Sayyed Mawdudi was ill and on leave.

When Sayyed Mawdudi resigned as Ameer-e-Jama'at of Pakistan in October 1972, for health reasons, Mian Tufail Mohammad was elected as Ameer for five years. He was also elected for two more terms. In 1987 he declined further service in the post because of a long ailment, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad was elected to the top position. Mian Sahib confined himself to research work of the Idara-e-Ma'arif-e-Islamia in Mansoorah, Lahore.

On several occasions he was invited by world leaders such as Gamal Abdul Nasser (President of Egypt), Imam Khomenai (Iran), King Faisal (Saudi Arabia), and others to be an advisor on political conflicts as he was well respected in the Muslim world and known for his justice and wisdom.

Agitation for democracy

During the Ayub era, nine prominent leaders belonging to different political parties were tried for mutiny under the Official Secret Act. The nine of them had decided to initiate a democratic movement; Mian tufail was one of the nine. The trial lingered on for two years. Ultimately, the case was taken back by the government,for lack of evidence. In 1965, the joint opposition was organized, he was one of its central leaders. Along with other leaders of the C.O.P., Mian Tufail toured the two wings of the country (East and West Pakistan) to create mass awareness and organize a strong national democratic movement.^[1] That was the movement which gave the first upset to Ayub's rule. he then actively represented the Jama'at during the post-Tashkent period, in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Democratic Action Committee (DAC). The result of these movements was the termination of Ayub rule in 1969 and the first ever general elections in the country in 1970. However, Mian Sahib faced a lot of difficulties.

During July–August 1971—a period that no political leader from West Pakistan would normally dare step in East Pakistan—Mian Sahib was busy combing through roads and took the message of unity and Islamic brotherhood to various parts in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

U.D.F. and United Democratic Mahaz/Pakistan National Alliance

Mian Tufail Mohammad's played a central role in the foundation of the U.D.F. in March 1973 and the United Democratic Mahaz/Pakistan National Alliance in January 1977. The Front (?) agreed with the Bhutto government on the 1973 Constitution. However, later PNA played did not play in hands of hands of army and PNA move was to have a reelection as Mr Bhatto candidates won with full support of establishment who managed to make all vehicle tools to make them success. Mr Bhutto became civil Dictator and that provided an excuse to Zia-ul-Haq to end Bhutto's rule in 1977.

Mian Tufail Mohammad never supported Martial law Of Ayyub khan and he was put in jail many times to make movement against Ayub khan. Mr Yahya Martial law was not supported by him and Jammat Islami supported the military to keep East and West Pakistan united. Mr Yahya and Mr. Bhutto did not permit Mr Mujib ur Rehman to be Prime Minister of Pakistan although he had the majority in National assembly. Bhutto made conspiracy to keep Mujeeb ur Rehman outside of the government that resulted in the breakup of Pakistan and promoted the division of this country and emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country. In thie end as usual, Muslims have no correct history and it is fabricated with the help of pirint media written by spokespersons of civilian or military dictators. They blame those in political power who wanted to bring a clean government that did not suit to the already corrupt establishment and polititions.

Later career

Like Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Mian Sahib also did not have much time for literary activities. Yet some of his works are widely hailed. The Urdu rendition of 'Kashaf-al-Mahjub' and Dawat-e-Islami and Its Demands' (Urdu) co-authored with Sayyed Mawdudi and Amin Ahsan Islahi, are the prominent pieces. His articles and interviews to press are numerous and cover most scholarly and political topics.

Invited by different world Islamic Movements, he has visited UK (1974), U.S. and Canada (1974), Iraq, Saudi Arabia (1975) and many more countries. He also has the honor of being one of the few early members of the Muslim World League. He has been specially associated with 'Rabita-al-Aalam-e-Islami' and the 'Aalami Masajid Conference'; of the latter he has been one of 26 members. In 1976 he participated in the Islamic Fiqh Conference.

Media Appearances

Mian Sahab in recent years appeared on Geo-tv program Aik din Geo kay sath where he spoke about his life-long experiences and his daily routine. Similarly, he also appeared on the popular Geo Television show Jawabdeh for a one on one interview with Iftikhar ahmed.

Books

• Kashful Mahjub: An Urdu commentary
• Daw'at-e-Islami and Its Demands (Urdu)

Several biographies have been written on his life and work. The most prominent one is the following:

• Mushahidaat (Urdu)
• " Tufail Nama" (Urdu)

Death

On June 7, 2009, he suffered a brain haemorrhage. He got hospitalized at Shaykh Zaid Hospital in Lahore. After staying in a state of coma for over 2 weeks Mian Sahab died on 25 June 2009 at the age of 95. A post-mortem conducted showed he died of brain hameorrage^[2] He is survived by 8 daughters and 4 sons. He is further survived by more than 42 grand and 24 great grand children who live in Pakistan, Middle East and USA. His Jananzah was attended by thousands of people, including provincial and national level leaders of various political and religious parties. Some of the leaders attending his funeral include former President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry (PTI Vice-President, Asadullah Bhutto also JI leaders including Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Syed Munawar Hassan and many more. He was buried in Karim Block, Iqbal Town, Lahore on Friday 26 June 2009.

Legacy

Mian Sahab will be remembered as an honest, simple and humble leader of one of the largest political parties in Pakistan. At the time of his death, the only asset he possessed was the house he lived in, add to it, those plain white shalwar-kameez’s that he wore, a Jinnah cap and a walking stick! ^[3]

See also

• Jamaat-e-Islami
• Khurshid Ahmad
• Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
• Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
• Politics of Pakistan
• Qazi Hussain Ahmad
• List of political parties in Pakistan

Party political offices
Preceded by Abul Ala Maududi	Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami 1972 – 1987	Succeeded by Qazi Hussain Ahmad

References

1. ^ Al Mujahid, Sharif (1986). Eur. ed. Far East and Australasia 2003 (34th ed.). Routledge. pp. 1163. ISBN 1857431332. http://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA1163&lpg=PA1163&dq=Mian+Tufail+Mohammad+C.O.P.&source=bl&ots=yk3qY41f_6&sig=lecn-DCXde5LrCiYhr5Jks0mEMI&hl=en&ei=KGe1SpWFHo-F8QbrrciFDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=Mian%20Tufail%20Muhammad%20C.O.P.&f=false. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
2. ^ "Former Jamaat-i-Islami leader passes away". Dawn (newspaper). 2009-06-28. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/12-former+jamaat-i-islami+leader+passes+away--bi-05. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
3. ^ "Mian Tufail- A legacy". Dawn (newspaper). 2009-06-29. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/letters-to-the-editor/mian-tufail-a-legacy-969. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 

Persondata
Name	Mohammad, Mian
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1914
Place of birth
Date of death	25 June 2009
Place of death