Ghazi Ilm-ud-din Shaheed
Encyclopedia
'Ilm-ud-din was a carpenter
who murdered a book publisher for publishing a book, Muslims found offensive.
, Pakistan
(pre-partition). His father was a carpenter. When he was old enough to work he started working alongside his father on his shop. He had a friend named Abdul Rasheed, who was called "Sheeda". Sheeda's father’s shop was in front of the Wazir Khan Mosque
. One day both the friends, Alam Deen and Sheeda were passing near the mosque
Wazeer khan. There was a huge crowd near the mosque. People were shouting slogans against Raj Pal.
"We will sacrifice our lives but we will not let the demon Raj Pal live. He disgraced our beloved Prophet Muhammed by publishing the book "Rangeela Rasool" and the fire of revenge is burning in the heart of every Muslim
", the speakers were shouting.
, Krishan Prashaad Prataab wrote the book "Rangeela Rasool" by the Pen name of Champu Pati Lal. It was alleged by some sections of Muslim community that the book had made allegations against the Prophet Muhammed.
The book was published in 1923 by a Publisher from Lahore
, Raj Pal. Various sections of the Indian Muslims started a movement demanding the book to be banned, but the British government of India apparently paid no attention to Muslim demands.
Ilmuddin unveiled his intention to his friend. According to one account, both of them decided to murder the publisher as a punishment.
for one rupee. He hid the dagger in his pants and then he headed towards Raj Pal’s Shop. Raj Pal had not arrived yet. It was 6 September 1929. Raj Pal’s flight had arrived on the Lahore airport.
As soon as Alam Deen saw Raj Pal entering his shop, he attacked him in . He stabbed Raj Pal using the dagger. He then went out of the shop and fell in Sajdah, and thanked the Lord of the worlds who granted him success. The employees of Raj Pal were quick to react and started shouting, "go get him”. he apparently shouted back at them.
Then police arrived and arrested Alam Deen, and sent him to Mianwali Jail
situated in Punjab Province
of Pakistan on October 4, 1929. Later, he was convicted and awarded death penalty according to Indian Penal Code
.
An appeal was made against the conviction, but the appeal was subsequently rejected.
, then a prominent Indian lawyer, and later the founder of Pakistan, was then hired for a fee to appear in the appeal at the Lahore High Court. Jinnah attacked the testimony of the prosecution witnesses but the court over-ruled his arguments. Jinnah then appealed that there were extenuating circumstances, i.e. Ilm-ud-din was a man of 19 or 20 who was riled up by feelings of veneration for the founder of his faith, which could turn the death sentence into transportation for life. This contention was also rejected.
Jinnah who was at the time considered an ambassador of Hindu Muslim Unity was criticised by the Hindi Newspaper "Pratap" which claimed that this would be a blow to Jinnah's prestige amongst the Hindus. It bears remembering that Jinnah himself had sat on the select committee for the bill that introduced 295-A to Indian Penal Code for which Jinnah sounded a warning that the law might be used to stifle dissent and academic criticism of religion.
On 31 October 1929, morning before being hanged in Mianwali Jail, he was asked his last wish, he only asked for time to pray two rakah salah. On getting the permission he prostrated before his Lord, and thanked Him. He wanted to wrap the rope around his neck himself but thought came that it may be a suicide
and therefore the rope was wrapped around his neck he said: "O people! Be witness, I killed Raj Pal in defense of my Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhe Wasallam (Peace be Upon Him), and today while reciting the Kalimah
of my Lord I am sacrificing my life to Him." Then officials took him towards the gallows
. The authorities buried his body without Janazah prayer in front of the Mianwali Jail but with the intervention of leaders like Dr. Allama Muhammed Iqbal, Mian Amiruddin and Mian Abdul Aziz the Muslims were able to get his body back.. Later his body was sent to Lahore for burial by the efforts of Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his allies.
. Ilmuddin's father requested Allama Muhammad Iqbal to lead the funeral prayer. Dr. Allama Iqbal replied, "I am a sinful person not competent to do this job to lead the funeral of such a great warrior and referred Syed Deedar Ali Shah the founder of Hizb Ul Ahnaf Lahore for the Namaz e Janaza and Burial." The Janazah Prayer was then led by the Imam of the Mosque Wazeer Khan, Imam Muhammed Shams-ud-deen, Syed Deedar Ali Shah because of the crowd Namaz e Janaza had to be offered three times, Allama Iqbal, Syed Deedar Ali Shah along with many notable Scholars Drove Ghazi Ilm Ud Din Shaheed into His Grave. It was among the largest funeral processions seen by Lahore. He was buried at the Grave yard of Miani Sahib Bahawalpur Road Lahore, Pakistan. A mosque is also built in Mianwali Jail, Mianwali Pakistan called Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheed Mosque to offer him tribute.
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
who murdered a book publisher for publishing a book, Muslims found offensive.
Early life
Ilmuddin hailed from city of LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(pre-partition). His father was a carpenter. When he was old enough to work he started working alongside his father on his shop. He had a friend named Abdul Rasheed, who was called "Sheeda". Sheeda's father’s shop was in front of the Wazir Khan Mosque
Wazir Khan Mosque
The Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience tile work. It has been described as ' a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. It was built in seven years, starting around 1634-1635 AD, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan...
. One day both the friends, Alam Deen and Sheeda were passing near the mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
Wazeer khan. There was a huge crowd near the mosque. People were shouting slogans against Raj Pal.
"We will sacrifice our lives but we will not let the demon Raj Pal live. He disgraced our beloved Prophet Muhammed by publishing the book "Rangeela Rasool" and the fire of revenge is burning in the heart of every Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
", the speakers were shouting.
Background for Assassination
A student of Swami Dayananda SaraswatiSwami Dayananda Saraswati
Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati was an important Hindu religious scholar, reformer, and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya – "India for Indians" – in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak...
, Krishan Prashaad Prataab wrote the book "Rangeela Rasool" by the Pen name of Champu Pati Lal. It was alleged by some sections of Muslim community that the book had made allegations against the Prophet Muhammed.
The book was published in 1923 by a Publisher from Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Raj Pal. Various sections of the Indian Muslims started a movement demanding the book to be banned, but the British government of India apparently paid no attention to Muslim demands.
Ilmuddin unveiled his intention to his friend. According to one account, both of them decided to murder the publisher as a punishment.
Assassination
He then went to bazaar and bought a daggerDagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
for one rupee. He hid the dagger in his pants and then he headed towards Raj Pal’s Shop. Raj Pal had not arrived yet. It was 6 September 1929. Raj Pal’s flight had arrived on the Lahore airport.
As soon as Alam Deen saw Raj Pal entering his shop, he attacked him in . He stabbed Raj Pal using the dagger. He then went out of the shop and fell in Sajdah, and thanked the Lord of the worlds who granted him success. The employees of Raj Pal were quick to react and started shouting, "go get him”. he apparently shouted back at them.
Then police arrived and arrested Alam Deen, and sent him to Mianwali Jail
Central Jail Mianwali
Central Jail Mianwali is an ancient and historical jail in Mianwali, Pakistan located on Rawalpindi road nearly 8 kilometers away from Mianwali city. The major portion of the jail consists of muddy barracks and cell-blocks plastered with clay. Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheed was executed in this jail...
situated in Punjab Province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan on October 4, 1929. Later, he was convicted and awarded death penalty according to Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
.
An appeal was made against the conviction, but the appeal was subsequently rejected.
Trial and Execution
The trial lawyer for Ilm-ud-din was Farrukh Hussain. Ilm-ud-din claimed that he was not guilty. The defence produced two witnesses that claimed that he was not guilty. Two witnesses from the prosecution side claimed that he was guilty. Muhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
, then a prominent Indian lawyer, and later the founder of Pakistan, was then hired for a fee to appear in the appeal at the Lahore High Court. Jinnah attacked the testimony of the prosecution witnesses but the court over-ruled his arguments. Jinnah then appealed that there were extenuating circumstances, i.e. Ilm-ud-din was a man of 19 or 20 who was riled up by feelings of veneration for the founder of his faith, which could turn the death sentence into transportation for life. This contention was also rejected.
Jinnah who was at the time considered an ambassador of Hindu Muslim Unity was criticised by the Hindi Newspaper "Pratap" which claimed that this would be a blow to Jinnah's prestige amongst the Hindus. It bears remembering that Jinnah himself had sat on the select committee for the bill that introduced 295-A to Indian Penal Code for which Jinnah sounded a warning that the law might be used to stifle dissent and academic criticism of religion.
On 31 October 1929, morning before being hanged in Mianwali Jail, he was asked his last wish, he only asked for time to pray two rakah salah. On getting the permission he prostrated before his Lord, and thanked Him. He wanted to wrap the rope around his neck himself but thought came that it may be a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and therefore the rope was wrapped around his neck he said: "O people! Be witness, I killed Raj Pal in defense of my Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhe Wasallam (Peace be Upon Him), and today while reciting the Kalimah
Kalimah
The Kalimah literally translates as "the word". In the Islamic context, it translates to "the word of Islam." It is a centrepiece in the faith of Muslims...
of my Lord I am sacrificing my life to Him." Then officials took him towards the gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
. The authorities buried his body without Janazah prayer in front of the Mianwali Jail but with the intervention of leaders like Dr. Allama Muhammed Iqbal, Mian Amiruddin and Mian Abdul Aziz the Muslims were able to get his body back.. Later his body was sent to Lahore for burial by the efforts of Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his allies.
Funeral
Muslims from the whole city and millions from adjoining areas attended his funeralFuneral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
. Ilmuddin's father requested Allama Muhammad Iqbal to lead the funeral prayer. Dr. Allama Iqbal replied, "I am a sinful person not competent to do this job to lead the funeral of such a great warrior and referred Syed Deedar Ali Shah the founder of Hizb Ul Ahnaf Lahore for the Namaz e Janaza and Burial." The Janazah Prayer was then led by the Imam of the Mosque Wazeer Khan, Imam Muhammed Shams-ud-deen, Syed Deedar Ali Shah because of the crowd Namaz e Janaza had to be offered three times, Allama Iqbal, Syed Deedar Ali Shah along with many notable Scholars Drove Ghazi Ilm Ud Din Shaheed into His Grave. It was among the largest funeral processions seen by Lahore. He was buried at the Grave yard of Miani Sahib Bahawalpur Road Lahore, Pakistan. A mosque is also built in Mianwali Jail, Mianwali Pakistan called Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheed Mosque to offer him tribute.