Muhammad Abdul Wahhab


Haji Rao Muhammad Abdul Wahhab was an Islamic preacher who was the emir of Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan.

Early years and education

Muhammad Abdul Wahhab was born in Delhi, British India, in 1923. He originally hailed from Karnal District. He belonged to Rajput Tribe. He attended Islamia College, Lahore. After graduation he worked as a tehsildar in pre-partition India. In his youth he also worked for Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, and was influenced by Abdul Qadir Raipuri. He was the president of Majlis-e-Ahrar Burewala.

Career

Tabligh Jamaat

Abdul Wahhab joined the Tabligh Jamaat during the life of its founder, Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi. He arrived at Nizamuddin markaz on 1 January 1944. He got the sohbah of Maulana Ilyas for six months. He left his job to devote his time and effort to the Jamaat, and he was one of the first five people in Pakistan who offered their entire life for doing Tabligh work. He was a direct companion of Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi, Yusuf Kandhlawi, and Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi.
Muhammad Shafi Quraishi was the first regular amir of the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan; he was succeeded by Haji Muhammad Bashir. Abdul Wahhab succeeded Bashir as the third regular amir for Pakistan. He was based at Raiwind Markaz, the movement's headquarters in the country, where he headed a shura. He was also a member of the movement's alami shura based in Nizamuddin, Delhi, India.
He was also related with the Qadiriyah Sufi order through his mentor, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Raipuri.

Negotiations with Pakistani Taliban

In October 2013 it was reported that the name of Haji Abdul Wahhab was suggested to head a Loya Jirga in preparation for peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban. In February 2014 it was reported that during consultations with a committee, TTP commanders of different factions recommended that the names of Haji Abdul Wahhab, Maulana Sami'ul Haq, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, and other leaders be added in the government peace committee.

Reception

As of the 2014/2015 issue, he was ranked #10 in The Muslim 500, a list of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world, due to his worldwide influence as a leading figure of the Tablighi Jamaat.

Death and funeral

Haji Abdul Wahab died on 18 November 2018 from dengue fever in Lahore. He was buried in a graveyard adjacent to Tableeghi Markaz at Raiwind the next day. About 1.4 million people attended the funeral.

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