Mufti Muhammad taqi Usmani

The Great Islamic Scholar, Economist, and Former Justice in Shariah Court

Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Urdu: مفتی محمد تقی عثمانی Muḥammad Taqī 'Us̱mānī; born 3 October 1943) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and former judge who is Vice President and Shaykh al-Hadith at Darul Uloom Karachi. An intellectual leader of the Deobandi movement, he has authored more than 80 books (many multi-volumes) in Urdu, Arabic and English, including a translation of the Qur' an in both English and Urdu as well a 6-volume commentary on the Sahih Muslim in Arabic, having written and lectured extensively on hadith, and Islamic finance He chairs the Shariah Board of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). He is also a permanent member of the Jeddah-based International Islamic Fiqh Academy, an organ of the OIC.In Pakistan, Usmani served as a scholar judge on the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court from 1982 to 2002, and on the Federal Shariat Court from 1981 to 1982. From 1977 to 1981 he was a member of Zia's Council of Islamic Ideology and was involved in drafting the Hudood Ordinances.

Early life and education of Mufti Taqi Usmani

Muhammad Taqi Usmani was born on 5 Shawwal 1362 AH (3 October 1943) in the city of Deoband in Saharanpur district, United Provinces, British India. He was the fifth and youngest son of Mufti Muhammad Shafi (1897-- 1976). With his full nasab (patronymic), he is Muhammad Taqi ibn Mufti Muhammad Shafi ibn Shaikh Muhammad Yasin ibn Khalifah Tahsin Ali ibn Miyanji Imam Ali ibn Miyanji Hafiz Karim Allah ibn Miyanji Khair Allah ibn Miyanji Shukr Allah. The forefathers of Miyanji Shukr Allah are unknown, but the family claims descent from Uthman, the third caliph and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, hence the nisbat "Usmani".
Usmani was born to several generations of educators. The title "Miyanji" applied to several of his ancestors indicates that they were teachers. His grandfather Muhammad Yasin (1865/66-- 1936) taught Farsi at Darul Uloom Deoband. Born the year before the madrasah's founding, he had been one of its first students and studied with some of its early teachers including Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi, Sayyid Ahmad Dihlawi, Mulla Mahmud Deobandi, and Mahmud al-Hasan Deobandi. Usmani's father Muhammad Shafi was also a product of the Deoband seminary. He taught there for several decades and held the post of chief mufti.
In 1948, when Usmani was four years old, his father immigrated the family from Deoband to Karachi, Pakistan. Since there was not a madrasah nearby, Usmani's primary education began at home under his parents. He was later enrolled in Darul Uloom Karachi after Mufti Shafi founded the school in 1950. After completing his primary education, he began his formal religious training in the Dars-i Nizami curriculum in 1953. He passed the Fazil-i Arabi (Punjab Board) with distinction in 1958, and received his Alimiyyah degree with distinction from Darul Uloom Karachi in 1959. He then obtained his Takhassus (specialization) degree in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and ifta (fatwa issuance) from Darul Uloom Karachi in 1961, earning the title of "Mufti". Usmani continued his education at the University of Karachi, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics in 1964, then a Bachelor of Laws with second-class honours in 1967. In 1970 he obtained a Master of Arts with first-class honours in Arabic language and literature from the University of Punjab.

Mufti Taqi Usmani's Teachers

Usmani received teaching licenses to teach hadith from Islamic scholars including Muhammad Shafi, Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi, Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Saleemullah Khan, Rashid Ahmed Ludhianvi, Sahban Mahmud, Zafar Ahmad Usmani, Muhammad Zakariya Kandhalvi, Hasan al-Mahshat, Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah, Abi Al-Faid Muhammad Yasin Al-Fadani Ash-Shafi' i, and others.

Islamic Economics Pioneer – Mufti Taqi Usmani

Usmani pioneered the concept of Islamic banking in Pakistan when he established the Meezan Bank. [citation needed] Usmani has authored books in Arabic, Urdu, and English on Islamic topics in addition to articles on Islamic banking and finance published in journals and magazines. [citation needed]
According to The Muslim 500: "Usmani's chief influence comes from his position as a global authority on the issue of Islamic finance.

Awards and honors

2019: Sitara-i Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) in the field of public service, conferred by the President of Pakistan [11] 2019: The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre ranks Usmani 1st in the 2020 edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He has been included in the top 50 in every edition of the publication since its inception in 2009.
2017: The Global Islamic Finance Report ranks Usmani 2nd most influential person in the global Islamic financial services industry
2017: Lifetime Achievement Award, Islamic Finance Excellence Awards (IFEA), Center of Islamic Finance at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore [12] 2016: Lifetime Achievement Award, Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia (IFFSA) [13] 2014: Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance [14] [15] 2011: King Abdullah II Award [15] 2011: Lifetime Achievement Award, Islamic Business & Finance Magazine [16] [15] 2010: Wisam al-Istiqlal (Order of Independence), 1st class, conferred by the King of Jordan [17] 2004: Emir Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktum Award [15] Academia

He currently teaches Sahih al-Bukhari, fiqh, and Islamic economics at Darul Uloom Karachi and is known for his Islahi Khutbat. He was a key member of a team of scholars which helped declare Ahmadis non-Muslims by Pakistan's National Assembly during the era of former Pakistani president, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in the 1970s. During the presidency of General Zia ul Haq, he was instrumental in drafting laws pertaining to Hudood, Qisas meaning retaliation in kind or (eye for an eye, and Diyya (blood money).