Muhammad Shafee Okarvi
| Muhammad Shafee Okarvi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 2 February 1930 |
| Died | 24 April 1984 |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Occupation | Religious scholar |
| Known for | Theology |
Muhammad Shafee Okarvi (Urdu: اردو نام: محمد شفیع اوکاڑوی; 2 February 1930 – 24 April 1984), also known by his honorific as Maulana Muhammad Shafee Okarvi, was a Pakistani religious scholar and orator. He was one of the founders of the Jamaa'at-e-Ahle-Sunnat Pakistan and the Gulzaar-e-Habeeb Trust. He has received various honors from the Pakistani government and private institutes including the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Over a span of thirty-eight years, Okarvi delivered over 18,000 speeches on many religious topics.
Okarvi was born in Khem Karan, East Punjab, India, to Haaji Shaiekh Karam Ilaahi, a local businessman. He was the eldest son of seven siblings. He began his education by learning to read and memorize the Quran and he completed middle school.
Okarvi married at a young age and fathered eleven children, these being five sons and six daughters. In 1952, however, his two eldest sons, three-year-old Muneer Ahmad and 14-month-old Tanveer Ahmad, died within a week of each other. His eldest son, Kaukab Noorani Okarvi, continues his father's religious work.
In 1947, after migrating from India, he and his father built Masjid Ghausiyah in Okara. In 1950, he began leading Friday prayers and teaching the congregation at Jaame Masjid Muhaajireen in Sahiwal and became the head of the Department of Religion at Birla High School (renamed Sutlej Cotton Mills High School) in Okara.
From 1952 to 1953 he contributed to the Tahreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nubuwwat , which is an organization created to persecute Ahmadi Muslims. In 1954 he also established the Jaami'ah Hanafiyah Ashraf-ul-Madaaris on Grand Trunk Road in Okara and remained one of its mentors and sponsors.
In 1955 he visited Karachi for the first time when he lectured at the Jaame Masjid Aaram Bagh on the first Laylat al-Qadr. The following year he became the lecturer and Imam of Memon Masjid and he founded Jamaat Ahle Sunnat and became its first chairman.
Okarvi preached in the Far East, Middle East, India, Palestine, South Africa, United Arab Emirites, Mauritius and many other countries. He sold 100,000 cassettes of his speeches in South Africa before 1980. Video cassettes of his speeches are also widely distributed internationally.
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