Mohammad Tahir Ul Qadri
All the information in this Article is taken from Taher Ul Qadri's official websites, including mihaj.org, and other internet sources available in public domain. We have quoted the sources of our information all through this Article.
Tahir ul Qadri, is a well known Pakistani scholar, currently living in Canada as a Canadian citizen. He was born on February 19, 1951, in Jhang, Punjab Province of Pakistan. His family and ancestors belong to Punjabi Sial tribe of Jhang, near Sargodha. His father's name was Fariduddin Qadri.
Information about Taher Ul Qadri's early education is sketchy on his Website. However, it is reported that he started his education in a Christian Missionary 'Sacred Heart School' in Jhang, where he was exposed to Christian Missionaries at the tender age of 3 or 4 years (LKG).
His website says that his formal classical education (he has used the word classical, not Islamic) was started in a Madrasa al-Uloom ash Sharia, in Madina when he was 12 years old (around 1963). This shows that he was at Christian Missionary School for 9 years during 1954 - 1963.
Details are not provided as to how many months he studied in Madina and why he was in Madinah in 1963. May be his father had gone there for Ziyara/Umra. His Website also does not give information as to when he came back from Madina and where and when he finished schooling and passed his 10th Grade. His Website also does not provide information on his further education, in religious subjects, except that he was taught part-time at home by his father for 10 years.
His website says that he received BA Hons degree in 1970 from the University of Punjab at the age of 19 years. This information is interesting.
Generally a boy joins Christian Missionary Schools when he is 3 or 4 years. Now a days, the kids are required to join Missionary Schools at the age of 3 in Nursery, where they spend three years (Nursery+LKG+UKG) and then join 1st standard at the age of 6 years. May be in Taher Ul Qadri time, he joined directly in LKG when he was 3 or 4 years old. If we take his age as 3 years in LKG, he spent 2+10 years to pass his 10th Standard. At that time his age should be (3+2+10) 15 years minimum. He will be 17 years when he completes Intermediate (Pre Degree Course). Afterwords he spent 4 years for his honors degree which will bring his age to 21 (or 22 if he joined the Missionary school at the age of 4 years). This is the minimum. But it is reported on his Website that Taher Ul Qadri got his Honors degree when he was 19 years old. If he was very good at school and got double promotions, he would have definitely mentioned it on his website?
His website claims that he had completed his classical studies ( may be he means Islamic studies) by the time he was 19 years old under his father and other shuyooks of his time. His website also claims that he achieved "an unparalleled understanding of (1) classical Sharia Sciences and (2) Arabic Language".
May be he means that his understanding of Sharia sciences and classical Arabic is unparalleled in the History of Islam. It is a tall claim indeed.
The understanding of classical Sharia Sciences require expertise in Arabic language; which include the knowledge of Arabic Grammar (Naho), Syntax (sarf), philology (Lughat), Idiomatic Arabic usage (Muhaverat) and Rhetoric (Ma'ani bayaan). Quran and its exegesis (tafseer) and principles of Exegesis (Usool-e-Tafseer) are also required. The Knowledge of Ahadith, for it, its principles, the knowledge of encyclopedic classification of narrators (Asma-e-Rijal) is also necessary. Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its principles are also required. Logic, the issues of consensus of Muslim opinion, and the differences of opinions of religious A'imma are also important to be understood. New Islamic issues of our times are also required to be known, the intrinsic requirements and objectives of Islam, common law of the country and the general public trend should also be understood. Meaning, dozens of subjects are required to be known in depth in the understanding of Sharia Sciences.
Tarher Ul Qadri claims that he achieved unparalleled understanding of all the above subjects (studying part time at home) at the age of 19 years. And he achieved it while he also studied his on-campus full time school and college to get his BA Hons?
The above claim of Taher Ul Qadri looks unrealistic and a lie. Watch the following video, in which he has a lot of difficulty in communicating simple sentences in Arabic at the age of 55-56 years, while he claims that he had achieved an unparalleled mastery of Arabic language and Islamic Sharia Sciences at the age of 19.
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