Mohammad Abdur Rahim | |
|---|---|
| Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami East Pakistan | |
| In office 1956–1960 | |
| Preceded by | Abul A'la Maududi |
| Succeeded by | Ghulam Azam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1918-03-02)2 March 1918 |
| Died | 1 October 1987(1987-10-01) (aged 69) Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Party | Islami Shashantantra AndolanJamaat-e-Islami |
| Spouse | Khairunnesa |
| Children | 15 |
| Alma mater | Alia Madrasa of Calcutta |
| Occupation | Dawah |
| Profession | Writer, translator, politician |
Abdur Rahim (Bengali:আব্দুর রহিম; 2 March 1918 – 1 October 1987) was a BangladeshiIslamic scholar, South Asian politician and the first promoter ofJamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.[1]
He translated several books written by prominent Islamic scholars such asAbul A'la Maududi andYusuf al-Qaradawi intoBengali and he wrote widely on the fundamentals of Islam in bothUrdu and Bengali.
Mohammad Abdur Rahim was born in the village of Shialkathi into a prominent family ofPirojpur District in Bangladesh. His clan was descended from Sheikh Baijeed, aPersianDervish.[1] His father was Haji Khabiruddin and mother Aklimunnessa. He was fourth among the twelve children in the family. Prominent among his brothers was his eldest brother A. T. M Abdul Wahid, a graduate from Alia Madrasa of Calcutta and a well known literary figure. Two of his brothers, M. A Karim and M. A Sattar, are also well-known writers.[1]
After completing first four years of education at the village mosque beside his home, he was admitted into the Sharshina Aliya Madrasa in 1934. In 1938, Abdur Rahim graduated with merit from the Sharsina Aliya Madrassah, after which he was admitted into Aliya Madrasa of Calcutta (now theAliah University) where he passed hisFazil andKamil exams in 1940 and 1942, respectively.[1]
Abdur Rahim used to receive the magazineTarjamanul Qur'an, edited byAbul A'la Maududi, when he was a student at the Aliya Madrasa. Deeply influenced by this magazine and other writings of Syed Abul A'la Maududi, Abdur Rahim participated in the All-Indian conference of Jamaat-e-Islami held inAllahabad in 1946, at which he became acquainted with many of the leaders of the Jamaat. He subsequently joined the organization during the 1946–47 session.[1]
Abdur Rahim was one of four people who started to work in Dhaka to establish Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh. The others were Rafi Ahmed Indori, Khurshid Ahmed Bhat and Qari Jalil Ashrafi Nadwi. In 1955, Abdur Rahim was elected Ameer of East Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami.[2] In 1970, he became Nayeb-e-Ameer (vice chairman or vice president) of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, whileGhulam Azam was elected the new Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami East Pakistan Branch.
Abdur Rahim was the first elected leader ofJamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. During theBangladesh Liberation War of 1971, he refused to join theEast Pakistan Central Peace Committee and asked Maulana Mawdudi not to support the Pakistani military regime. Abdur Rahim was stranded in Pakistan[1] after the outbreak of the war and was only able to return to Bangladesh in 1974.[3] During the period 1971 to 1975, Jamaat was banned from being involved with politics in Bangladesh.[3] In 1979, Jamaat was allowed to participate in politics.[4]
Abdur Rahim was instrumental in bringing various Islamic political parties together under the banner of theIslamic Democratic League (IDL), which won 20 seats in theparliamentary elections held on 18 February 1979.
Abdur Rahim wrote many books in his lifetime. Some of his books include:
On 29 September 1987, Abdur Rahim became ill and was admitted to a hospital on 30 September. Abdur Rahim died on 1 October 1987 in Dhaka.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ameer ofJamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh 1956–1960 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
