Imad ud-din Lahiz

Rev. Mawlawi Dr. Imad ud-din Lahiz (died 1900) was a prolific Islamic writer, preacher and Quranic translator. Imad-ud Din Lahiz wrote his autobiography in 1866.

Biography

Imad ud-din Lahiz was among the fourth generation of Islamic scholars in the family. His father, Mohammed Siraj ud-din, grandfather and great grandfather had all been maulvis. The Lahiz family hailed from Panipat, a town situated in the modern day Haryana state of India. The Muslims of Panipat had a reputation for being zealous the faith of Islam and were well-versed in fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence. For centuries, the town of Panipat claim Muslims who excelled in spiritual leadership and Islamic scholarship.

Imad ud-Din Lahiz was a prolific writer. He translated the Quran into Urdu and also composed several Bible commentaries. In addition to Lahiz’s writings about Islam, its history, faith and practices, his translation of the Quran into Urdu and his many Bible commentaries, he wrote many rebuttals to the works of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyyah movement in Islam.

His works reflect the influence of the chief contenders of a famous debate between the Muslim and Christian scholars. The Muslim side was represented by Rahmatullah Kairanawi and Muhammad Wazîr Khân, and the Christian side by the German preacher, Karl Gottlieb Pfander, that took place in Agra in 1854. The debate itself went badly for Pfander, and he decided to withdraw from it.

The interest the debate aroused led a number of Muslims to read his literature and consider the questions that had been discussed. Some such as Imad ud-din Lahiz and his fellow Islamic scholar, Safdar Ali professed conversion to Christianity. Lahiz and Safdir Ali would later become Christian missionaries.

Lahiz converted to Christianity at Amritsar on April 29, 1866 together with his aged father and brother. The primary reason behind his conversion was the hope that his acceptance of Christianity would ensure his salvation. His conversion was followed by that of his wife, five sons and four daughters. Prior to his conversion, he was a leading Sufi theologian and was appointed to preach against Dr. Pfander. Some of his writings deal mainly with his conversion to Christianity and his new religious experience within his adopted faith.

After becoming a Christian, Lahiz wrote a book entitled "Tahqiq ul-Iman" criticizing those Maulvis who he felt were unnecessarily putting faith in Islam.

Bibliography

*"Tahqiq ul-lman",
*"Hidayat ul-Muslimin",
*"Haqiqi Irfan",
*"Naghma-i Tamburi",
*"Talim-i Muhammadi",
*"Tarikh-i Muhammadi",
*"Ittifaqi Mubahatha",
*"Athar-i Qiyamat",
*"Tafsir-i Mukashafa",
*"Waqiat-i Imadiyya"

ee also

*Christianity in India
*List of former Muslims
*List of converts to Christianity

References

*"History of the Church Missionary Society" Vol.11, pp. 561-572.
*"Waqicat-i Imadiyya", Punjab Religious book society, Lahore, 1957
*"Heirs of the Prophets: An account of the clergy and Priests of Islam", Samuel Marinus Zwemer, Moody press, 1946, p. 127