The Story Of Ghazi Ilm Deen Shaheed
(Rehmatullah Alayhi)
"As Iqbal placed the
body of Ilm Din into the
grave, he tearfully
declared: "This
uneducated young
man has surpassed
us, the educated
ones."
The 1920’s in India
witnessed the
publishing of an
inflammatory book
vilifying Prophet
MOHAMMAD
(SALLALLAHU TAALA ALAYHI WA AALEHI WASALLAM)
thereby adding fuel to
the existing Muslim/
Hindu tensions. The
British Raj ruled India
and the creation of
Pakistan was still a
distant dream in the
hearts of the Indian
Muslims. The Muslim
population was
understandably
incensed and mass
protests were held.
Prashaad Prataab had
authored Rangeela
Rasool (The Colourful
Prophet), under the
pen name of Pandit
Chamupati Lal. The
word rangeela means
‘colourful’ but can be
understood in this
context to mean
‘playboy’. [Nauzbillah]
Rajpal was a Hindu
book publisher from
Lahore. He took the
responsibility of
publishing the book in
1923 and pledged not
to disclose the
author’s real name.
Pressure from the
Muslim community
resulted in the matter
being taken to Session
court Lahore which
found Raj Pal guilty and
sentenced him.
Subsequently Rajpal
appealed against the
decision of Session
Court in the Lahore
High court. The appeal
was heard by Judge
Daleep Singh who gave
leave to appeal on the
grounds that on the
basis of criticism
against the religious
leaders, no matter
how immoral it is, is
not covered by S.153
of the Indian Penal
Code. Thus Rajpal could
not be sentenced as
law did not cover
blasphemous criticism
against religion. The
High Court decision
was widely criticised
and protests were
made against it by
Muslims of India. Little
did anyone suspect
that one young man’s
course of action would
bring about a
significant change in
the Law, ensuring that
Islam would be
covered by blasphemy
laws.
Ilm Din was an illiterate
teenager from Lahore.
His father was a
carpenter. One day he
was passing near
Masjid (mosque) Wazir
Khan. There was a
huge crowd shouting
slogans against Rajpal.
The speaker
thundered: "Oh
Muslims! The devil
Rajpal has sought to
dishonour our beloved
Prophet MOHAMMAD
(SALLALLAHU TAALA ALAYHI WA AALEHI WASALLAM) by his filthy
book!”
Ilm Din was deeply
affected by this
passionate speech and
vowed to take action.
On 6th September
1929 Ilm Deen set out
for the bazaar and
purchased a dagger
for one rupee. He hid
the dagger in his pants
and waited opposite
Rajpal’s Shop. Rajpal
had not arrived yet.
His flight had arrived
at Lahore airport and
he proceeded to phone
the police in order to
request them to
provide him security.
Ilm Deen did not know
what the publisher
looked like. He asked a
few passer-by’s as to
Rajpal’s whereabouts
and said that he
needed to discuss
something with him.
Rajpal entered the
shop without
detection but soon
after a man alerted
Ilm Din that Rajpal was
inside. The young man
entered the shop,
lunged forward and
attacked him. He
stabbed his dagger
into the chest of
Rajpal with such force
that his heart was
ripped from his body.
Rajpal fell dead on the
ground. Ilm Deen made
no attempt to escape.
Rajpal’s employees
grabbed him and
shouted for help.
The police arrived at
the scene and
arrested Ilm Deen. He
was kept in Mianwali
jail. The case went to
court and Quaid-e-
Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah was his
defence lawyer. Jinnah
fought Ghazi Ilm Deen's
case on a special
request from Allama
Iqbal.
Jinnah urged
Ilm Din to enter a
plea of not guilty
plea and to say that
he had acted due to
extreme
provocation. The
fact that Ghazi Ilm Deen Shaheed
was only 19 years
old would have also
worked in his
favour. Ghazi Ilm Deen Shaheed
refused to offer
such a plea and
insisted that he was
proud of his actions.
This case was the
only one that
Jinnah ever lost.
The Session Court
awarded Ilm Din the
death penalty. Against
his wishes, the
Muslims lodged an
appeal, but it was
rejected.
Ilm Din's execution
occurred on 31st
October 1929. When
asked if he had any
last requests, he
simply requested
that he be allowed
to pray two rak’at
(units) nafl
(voluntary) prayer,
thus following the
example of Khubaib
(RADIALLAH TAALA ANHO) who also
prayed 2 rak’ats
nafl before the
pagan Quraish
executed him.
As the noose was put
around the neck of Ilm
Din, he repeated
before the huge
crowd:
"O people! Bear
witness that I killed
Rajpal to defend our
last Prophet
MOHAMMAD SALLALLAHU TAALA ALAYHI WA AALEHI WASALLAM,
and today they are
going to hang me. I
am sacrificing my
life whilst reciting
the kalimah
(shahadah -
testimony of faith)
."
The young man was
killed and the
authorities buried him
without any Janazah
(funeral) prayer being
offered for him. Mass
demonstrations broke
out and there the
tension between the
Hindu and Muslim
communities was
palpable. The
inhabitants of Lahore
wanted Ilm Din’s body
returned in order to
give him an Islamic
janaza (funeral). Two
celebrated activists —
Dr. Mohammad Allama
Iqbal and Mian Abdul
Aziz — campaigned to
have the body of Ilm
Din returned to Lahore
for the Janaza prayer.
The British were
worried that this
would incite unrest.
Only after Allama Iqbal
gave his assurance to
the British that no
riots would erupt, was
permission given.
When the body of
Ghazi Ilm Deen Shaheed was
exhumed from its
grave, it was found
to be the intact
without any change
whatsoever. The
kaffan (shroud) had
not changed its
colour. This
occurred on 14th
November 1929 — a
full 15 days after
the hanging. After a
two-day journey,
the body arrived in
Lahore. Muslims
from the whole city
and millions from
adjoining areas
attended his
funeral.
Ilmuddin's
father requested
Allama Muhammad
Iqbal to lead the
funeral prayer and
this shivered Dr.
Allama Iqbal who
replied that I am a
sinful person not
competent to do this
job to lead the funeral
of such a matchless
warrior. 200,000
Muslims attended the
funeral prayer which
led by the Imam of
masjid Wazeer Khan,
Imam Muhammed
Shamsuddeen.
Mawlana Zafar Ali
Khan said ahead of
the burial: "Alas! If
only if I had
managed to attain
such a blessed
status!"
Allama Iqbal carried
the funeral bier along
its final journey. As
Iqbal placed the body
of Ilm Din into the
grave, he tearfully
declared: "This
uneducated young
man has surpassed
us, the educated
ones."
The killing of Ilm Din
had far-reaching
repercussions. A
provision was
added to the Penal
Code, making insult
to the religious
beliefs of any class
an offense. Allama
Iqbal’s proposal of a
separate Muslim state
in 1930 resulted in the
creation of Pakistan in
1947. The Pakistan
Penal Code makes it a
crime for anyone who
"by words or visible
representation or by
an imputation or
insinuation, directly or
indirectly, defiled the
name of the Prophet
MOHAMMAD SALLALLAHU TAALA ALAYHI WA AALEHI WASALLAM".
In 1982,
President Zia ul-Haq
introduced Section
295B to the
Pakistan Penal Code
punishing "defiling
the Holy Qur'an"
with life
imprisonment. In
1986, Section 295C
was introduced,
mandating the
death penalty for
"use of derogatory
remarks in respect
of the Holy Prophet"
in keeping Islam’s
hudood (prescribed
punishments). Ilm
Din’s legacy is still
visible across
Pakistan, where
parks, hospitals and
roads carry his
name.
ALHAMDULILLAH i am
fortunate that i share
the same city of
lahore with THE GAZI
ILM DIN SHAHEED REHMATULLAH ALAYHI IF YOU
GO TO HIS RESTING
PLACE U CAN TELL THAT
A TRUE ASHIQ AND
UMATE OF OUR BELOVED
PEOPHET HAZRAT MOHAMMAD SALLALLAHU TAALA ALAYHI WA AALEHI WASALLAM IS
RESTING THERE,THE
PLACE IS FILLED WITH
NOOR AND LOVE!!!!!!!!
☆Subhan ALLAH☆
