Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari

Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari شیخ محمد کرم شاہ الأزھری
Born	Muhammad Karam Shah 1 July 1918(1918-07-01) Bhera, Pakistan
Died	April 7, 1998(1998-04-07) (aged 79) Islamabad, Pakistan
Alma mater	Al-Azhar University
Religion	Sunni Islam, Hanafi Madhab
Website
http://www.zia-ul-ummat.com http://www.pirkaramshah.com

Justice Diya al-'Ummah Hadhrat Shaykh Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari (Arabic: شیخ محمد کرم شاہ الأزهري‎), Sitara-e-Imtiaz, (1918–1998) was an eminent Sheykh (Spiritual Master) of tariqa Chistiyya and an Islamic (Sunni) scholar from Pakistan; a towering figure, he also served as a Judge at the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan and Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Pir Karam Shah is among the descendents of Hazrat Baha Ud Din Zakkariyya Multani, who in turn was related to the Arab Habbari dynasty of Sindh, Habbari Sadat a sub tribe of Hashemite (Hashemi Sadat). Pirs of Bhera are related to besides Pirs of Multan to those of Pail-Piran in khushab,pirs of khara,chak misri,karooli,titral,sarkal,pir bachar,malmoola,plassi,arvari[ Abbotabad]Majority of pirs are setteled in PAIL [khushab]Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah began his education with the Qur'an and its memorisation in his home village of Bhera. From 1925 to 1929 he was a pupil at Muhammadiyya Ghawthiyya Primary School. He completed matriculation in 1936 at the Government High School Bhera. Between 1936 and 1941 he formally studied various Islamic sciences and disciplines with a number of different teachers and scholars.

In 1941, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah enrolled in the Oriental College Lahore for the Fadil ‘Arabi, which is equivalent to the modern day bachelor degree. He passed this in first division with a score of 512/600 and took the first position in the entire province of Punjab.

Shah took the course ‘Dawra-i Hadith’under Shaykh Na‘im ad-Din al-Muradabadi completing in 1943. In 1945, he completed his BA degree from the faculty of English Language at University of the Punjab.

During the years 1946-47, Shah actively participated in the Pakistan movement along with his father through the Muslim League. Following Pakistan’s independence in 1947, Shah began teaching at his father’s institute at Bhera.

In 1951, Shah travelled to Egypt and in September enrolled at the University of Al-Azhar. The following year he also enrolled in the Cairo University. At the University of Al-Azhar, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah studied for his MPhil degree in the faculty of Law and Jurisprudence (department of Judiciary) and the title of his thesis was ‘al-Hudud fi’l-Islam’, which was supervised by Dr. Ayyub ‘Ali. At Cairo University, he studied Usul al-Fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and Arabic Literature. In 1954, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah returned to Pakistan after specialising in Judiciary at the University of Al-Azhar and in Arabic Literature at Cairo University.

Upon the death of his father in 1957, Shah became the head of ‘Dar al-‘Ulum al-Muhammadiyya al-Ghawthiyya (DMG) Bhera’ . Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah modernised the system of this institution, its syllabus and structure.

Shah was involved in the Pakistan independence movement of 1947 led by Muhammad ‘Ali Jinnah; the ‘finality of prophethood’ movement of 1974 (whose objective was to constitutionally recognise the Ahmadi/Qadiyani population as a non-Muslim minority in Pakistan and not to be included as Muslims); and the ‘Nizam Mustafa’ movement of 1977 opposing the ideas of Socialism presented by the government of Zulfqar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan’s People Party. In 1970, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah began publishing the Ziya’i Haram Monthly, which is primarily a journal of Islamic Studies that presents articles and essays related to academia.

Due to his strong opposition to Zulfqar Ali Bhutto’s government, he was imprisoned for three months and his monthly journal was placed under the regulations of press censorship.

In June 1981 Shah began his judicial career at the Federal Shari‘a Court. Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah worked at this court for one year and three months. On 7 October 1982, he began serving in the Shari‘a Appellant Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah remained at this post till his death. In 1980 Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah was awarded the ‘Star of Distinction’ by General Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan.

In August 1988, upon the request of General Zia-ul-Haq, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah travelled to Geneva and defended the position of the government of Pakistan upon the issue raised by the Pakistani Qadiyanis at the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations. The Qadiyanis filed a complaint to the Commission that their human rights were being violated in Pakistan. After three days of continuous deliberations, thirteen out of fifteen judges at the Commission declared that the rights of the Qadiyanis were in fact not being violated by the Pakistanis or the government of Pakistan.

In 1990, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah founded the ‘al-Ghawthiyya Girls College’ in Bhera to cater for the educational and Islamic needs of the Muslim sisters in that part of the world. On 6 March 1993, Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah was awarded the ‘Decoration of Honour’ by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Bibliography

• • Tafsir Ziya’ al-Qur'an

The exegesis; Light of the Qur'an

• • Ziya’ an-Nabi

Light of the Prophet

• • Jamal al-Qur'an

The beauty of the Qur'an

• • Maqalat

The essays

• • Sunnat Khayr al-Anam

The Sunna of the Best of Creation

• • Sharh Qasida Atyab an-Nigham

Commentary of the poem; Purest of Poems

• • Majmu‘a Waza’if ma‘a Dala’il al-Khayrat

A collection of prayers with the means of goodness

Quotes

“If the flame of knowledge burns out then human contemplation is incarcerated by superstitions and nonsense.” - Ziya’ al-Ummat, Justice Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari.

References

"Justice Pir Muhammad Karam Shah Al-Azhari (1918-1998)". Pakistan Post. http://www.pakpost.gov.pk/philately/stamps2004/pir_mohammad_karam.html. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 

External links

• http://www.zia-ul-ummat.com
• http://www.pirkaramshah.com
• http://www.karimia.com - in the article section of this site, there is an excellent autobiography on Pir Karam shah (RH)

Persondata
Name	Muhammad Karam Shah Al-Azhari
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 1, 1918
Place of birth	Bhera, Pakistan
Date of death	April 7, 1998
Place of death	Islamabad, Pakistan