Khadim Hussain Rizvi

Khadim Hussain Rizvi (Urdu: ; 22 May 1966 – Allama

[1]
19 November 2020 ) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and the Khadim Hussain Rizvi
founder of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan,[2] a hardline politico-religious
organization founded in 2015, known to protest against any change to
Pakistan's blasphemy law.[3]

Fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic and Persian, he was known for his
speeches in the defense of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and apart
from the Quran and hadith, for heavily quoting the poetry of Imam
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi and Allama Muhammad Iqbal, whom he
considered to be his main influences.[4] He was considered a pir or
saint by followers.[5]

Contents
Early life
Controversies
2017 Faizabad sit-in 1st Ameer of Tehreek-e-Labbaik
2018 Asia Bibi protests Pakistan
Murder of professors In office
2020 Zindagi Tamasha controversy 1 August 2015 – 19 November
2020
Death
Preceded by Position
Books
established
References
Succeeded by Saad Hussain
Rizvi
Early life Personal
Born 22 May 1966
Khadim Hussain Rizvi was born in 1966 in the Pindigheb area of Attock, West
Attock District, Punjab. His brother, Ameer Hussain, is a retired Pakistan
Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) from Pakistan Army.[6]
Died 19 November
He started hafiz class in Jhelum. Further, he took admission in Jamia 2020 (aged 54)
Nizamia, Lahore.[2] He is a Hafiz-e-Quran and Sheikh-ul-Hadith.[7] Lahore, Punjab,
He delivered Friday sermons at Lahore's Pir Makki Masjid while in Pakistan
the Punjab Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department.[2] He has been Religion Islam
confined to a wheelchair since 2009 ever since an accident near
Gujranwala as the driver of his vehicle fell asleep while driving from Nationality Pakistani
Rawalpindi to Lahore.[2] Political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik
Pakistan
Occupation Preacher, leader
In 2017, he founded a political party called Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a political front for Tehreek
Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYP).[8] TLP came into existence after the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, who
assassinated Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, for opposing the blasphemy laws and subsequently rose
to fame. During the assassination of the Governor, Rizvi was serving as an auqaf official in the Punjab
government. Rizvi had justified the assassination on the pretext that Taseer had termed the blasphemy law as a
"black law". He was served warning notices to cease and desist from spreading his views in favour of
blasphemy laws but his refusal to do so led to his removal from public service.[2]

After his removal, Rizvi had more opportunity to preach his views. He travelled across the country to build
support for Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with blasphemy committed against
Muhammad. He also spoke out for the release of Mumtaz Qadri; his persistent advocacy earned him the
nickname of "blasphemy activist" in religious circles.[2]

Controversies

2017 Faizabad sit-in

On 6 November 2017, Rizvi organized a long march from Lahore to Islamabad to press for the resignation of
the Law Minister Mr. Zahid Hamid who belongs to PML(N) regarding an alleged ill-motive change and
favouring Ahmadis, in bill of "2017 Election of Pakistan".[9][10][11] Rizvi soon began receiving support from
public, other religious political parties and other segments of society, making way for mushroom growth of
protests nationwide.[2][12] The general public took the same demand of resignation of the Law Minister to the
streets.[2] Thereafter, total shutdown began, and the government ultimately responded with a forced shutdown
of all news channels, followed by blocking social media networks, to contain the situation and the flow of
information. This created mayhem and confusion in the cities of Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore
along with some others in Punjab. Finally, by late evening the army chief intervened and asked "both sides" to
show restraint.[2]

2018 Asia Bibi protests

On 31 October 2018, after eight years of detention and conviction by all the lower courts, a Pakistani Christian
woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy, was found innocent in a landmark Supreme Court
verdict.[13] The final judgment said that one of Bibi's accusers violated the Ashtiname of Muhammad, a
"covenant made by Prophet Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today".[14]
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa ruled that the two women who made accusations against Asia Bibi "had no regard
for the truth" and that the claim that she blasphemed Muhammad in public was a "concoction incarnate".[15]
The Supreme Court of Pakistan's ruling cited "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the
witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts."[14]

This prompted the TLP, under the leadership of Rizvi to initiate demonstrations in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar
and Multan. Clashes with police were reported. A leader of TLP, Muhammad Afzal Qadri, said all three
Supreme Court judges "deserve to be killed". The Red Zone in the capital, Islamabad, where the Supreme
Court is located, was sealed off by the police.[16] In public speeches, Rizvi demanded that Asia maloona
should be subjected to the punishment for blasphemy under Pakistan's penal code. He was quoted as saying,
"Our sit-in will go on until the government accepts our demand" denying reports that the sit-in would soon be
over.[17] He would later be arrested on 23 November 2018 along with other TLP leaders[18] and then
subsequently released on bail in May 2019[19]
Murder of professors

In March 2019, a third year student at Bahawalpur's Government Sadiq Egerton College, Khateeb Hussain,
stabbed associate professor Khalid Hameed in a fatal encounter.[20] Khateeb Hussain was in contact with
Zafar Gillani, a lawyer and senior member of the TLP prior to the murder, and obtained approval for the act
over Tinder. The supposed motive for the killing was blasphemous and insulting rhetoric towards Islam.

In 2018, Sareer Ahmed, the principal of Islamia College in Charsadda, was murdered by a 17-year old student
whom he had reprimanded for missing a number of classes. The student accused the professor of engaging in
"blasphemy" for reprimanding him for skipping class to attend rallies held by the TLP.[21]

Both students stated that they were inspired by Rizvi.[22]

2020 Zindagi Tamasha controversy

In 2020, Rizvi promoted protests on the release of the Pakistani film Zindagi Tamasha. He accused film-maker
Sarmad Khoosat of blasphemy. The material he alleged to be blasphemous includes criticism of ulama and an
alleged reference to bacha bazi.[23][24] Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif, who had seen both the censored
and uncensored versions of the film, denied that any criticism of ulama was contained in the movie.[25]

Death
On 19 November 2020, Rizvi was taken to the Farooq Hospital in
Allama Iqbal Town area of Lahore after collapsing. Upon reaching
the hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was later taken to
Shaikh Zayed Hospital, where he was declared dead at 8:48pm. He
had been ill for a few days and had been wheelchair bound for some
time.[1][26] Rizvi's son Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi said that his father
had started breathing again for five minutes after being declared dead,
but stopped breathing again and finally died.[27] The funeral prayers
were held at the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore and were led by Saad.
Rizvi was later buried inside Madrassah Abuzar Ghaffari, associated Funeral.
with Rehmatul Lil Alameen mosque.[28] A local official estimated
that nearly 200,000 people attended the event.[28] Rizvi was suffering
from fever and breathing problems before his death, but no COVID-19 or autopsy tests were conducted.[29]
Saad was appointed as the new ameer of TLP on 21 November.[30]

Books
Some of his books include:[31]

Tayaseer Abwab-ul-Sarf (‫)ﺗﯿﺴﯿﺮ اﺑﻮاب اﻟﺼﺮف‬, Maktba Majadia Sultania, 2013, 680 p.

Talelat-e-Khadimiya ( ‫)ﺗﻌﻠﯿﻼت ﺧﺎدﻣﯿ‬, Allama Fazal Haaq Publications, 2015, 677 p.

Fazail-e-Durood Shareef (‫)ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻞ درود ﺷﺮﯾﻒ‬, Dajkot, 2018, 332 p.

References
 1. "TLP's Khadim Rizvi passes away in Lahore | SAMAA" (https://www.samaa.tv/news/2020/11/tl
ps-khadim-rizvi-passes-away/). Samaa TV. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
2. Ali, Kalbe (3 December 2017). "Who is Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi?" (https://www.dawn.co
m/news/1374182). dawn.com. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
3. Barker, Memphis; Iqbal, Aamir (1 November 2018). "Asia Bibi: anti-blasphemy protests spread
across Pakistan" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/asia-bibi-anti-blasphemy-pr
otests-spread-across-pakistan). the Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
4. K K Shahid, "‘If I curse in anger, it is justified’" (https://www.thefridaytimes.com/if-i-curse-in-ange
r-it-is-justified/), The Friday Times. 1–7 Dec 2017 Vol. XXIX, No. 43
5. Khaled Ahmed (2 December 2017), "STATE’S SURRENDER" (https://www.newsweekpakista
n.com/states-surrender/), Newsweek. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
6. "Back to the Barelvis | Special Report | thenews.com.pk" (https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detai
l/564492-back-barelvis). thenews.com.pk.
7. Mehmood Hussain (1 May 2018), "Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Rise of Religious
Extremism 2.0 in Pakistan" (http://southasiajournal.net/khadim-hussain-rizvi-and-rise-of-religiou
s-extremism-2-0-in-pakistan/), South Asia Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
8. "The Mullah of NA-120" (http://nation.com.pk/16-Sep-2017/the-mullah-of-na-120).
Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
9. "Tehreek Labik to hold Islamabad long march" (http://nation.com.pk/04-Nov-2017/tehreek-labik-
to-hold-islamabad-long-march). Nation.com.pk. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
10. Hussain, Shaiq; Constable, Pamela (11 November 2017). "Large religious protests halt traffic
in Islamabad and Rawalpindi" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/large-religi
ous-protests-halt-traffic-in-islamabad-and-rawalpindi/2017/11/11/be2eac66-c6fa-11e7-9922-41
51f5ca6168_story.html). Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
11. "Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (SAW) protest continue – Times of Islamabad" (https://timesof
islamabad.com/tehreek-labaik-ya-rasool-allah-saw-protest-continue/2017/11/09/).
TimesOfIslamabad.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
12. Shahrukh, Malik (25 November 2017). "Discordant Saga of Blasphemy" (https://nation.com.pk/
25-Nov-2017/discordant-saga-of-blasphemy). nation.com.pk.
13. Correspondent, Sana Jamal (1 November 2018). "All you need to know about the Aasia Bibi
case" (https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-aasia-bibi-cas
e-1.2296323). GulfNews. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
14. Asif Aqeel (31 October 2018). "Pakistan Frees Asia Bibi Maloona from Blasphemy Death
Sentence" (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/october/asia-bibi-free-pakistan-blasph
emy-death-supreme-court.html). Christianity Today. Retrieved 31 October 2018. "In their final
judgment, reviewed by CT, reversing Bibi's convictions by two lower courts and removing her
death sentence, the panel of three judges ruled that Bibi was "wrongly" accused by two sisters
with the help of a local cleric, based on "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of
the witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts."
"Furthermore, the alleged extra-judicial confession was not voluntary but rather resulted out of
coercion and undue pressure as the appellant was forcibly brought before the complainant in
presence of a gathering, who were threatening to kill her; as such, it cannot be made the basis
of a conviction," they wrote. "Therefore, the appellant being innocent deserves acquittal," the
judges concluded. One even accused Bibi's accusers of violating a covenant made by Prophet
Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today. "Blasphemy is a serious
offense," wrote justice Asif Saeed Khosa, "but the insult of the appellant's religion and religious
sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was also not short of being blasphemous."
15. Barker, Memphis (31 October 2018). "Asia Bibi: Pakistan court overturns blasphemy death
sentence: Christian woman to be freed after being sentenced in 2010, accused of insulting
prophet Muhammad" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/31/asia-bibi-verdict-pakista
n-court-overturns-blasphemy-death-sentence). The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
"Justice Asif Khosa, in a verdict widely praised for its courage and rigour, noted that the two
sisters who accused Bibi "had no regard for the truth" and that the claim she smeared the
prophet in public was "concoction incarnate"."
16. "Imran Khan condemns blasphemy hardliners" (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-4604843
3). BBC News. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
17. Barker, Memphis; Iqbal, Aamir (1 November 2018). "Asia Bibi: anti-blasphemy protests spread
across Pakistan" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/asia-bibi-anti-blasphemy-pr
otests-spread-across-pakistan). the Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
18. Abrar, Mian. "Khadim Rizvi among other TLP leaders arrested" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
190910162423/https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/11/23/crackdown-against-tlp-begins-se
veral-arrested/). Pakistan Today. Archived from the original (https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/
2018/11/23/crackdown-against-tlp-begins-several-arrested/) on 10 September 2019. Retrieved
24 November 2018.
19. "TLP leader Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi released on bail" (https://web.archive.org/web/2019
0516070050/https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/471287-tlp-leader-khadim-hussain-rizvi-releas
ed-on-bail). International The News. Archived from the original (https://www.thenews.com.pk/lat
est/471287-tlp-leader-khadim-hussain-rizvi-released-on-bail) on 16 May 2019. Retrieved
14 May 2019.
20. AFP, Mohammad Imran (20 March 2019). "Bahawalpur student stabs professor to death over
'anti-Islam' remarks" (https://www.dawn.com/news/1470814). DAWN.COM.
21. "Pakistani principal shot dead by student over blasphemy dispute" (https://www.reuters.com/arti
cle/us-pakistan-blasphemy-idUSKBN1FB2PG). 23 January 2018 – via www.reuters.com.
22. Rehman, Atika (27 March 2019). "Student behind stabbing of Bahawalpur professor may have
had help from outsider" (https://www.dawn.com/news/1472131). DAWN.COM.
23. "Film about cleric held over 'risk to Muslims' " (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-5120199
4). 22 January 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
24. Asad Hashim (21 January 2020). "Pakistan delays release of film after far-right protest threat"
(https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/21/pakistan-delays-release-of-film-after-far-right-prote
st-threat). Al Jazeera.
25. "Myths about Zindagi Tamasha | SAMAA" (https://www.samaa.tv/entertainment/2020/01/myths-
about-zindagi-tamasha/). Samaa TV.
26. Taimoor, Muhammad; Gabol, Imran (22 November 2020). "Huge turnout for TLP chief Khadim
Rizvi's funeral at Lahore's Minar-i-Pakistan" (https://www.dawn.com/news/1591590/huge-turno
ut-for-tlp-chief-khadim-rizvis-funeral-at-lahores-minar-i-pakistan). Dawn. Retrieved
29 November 2020.
27. "Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Pakistan's 'blasphemy activist', dies in Lahore at 54" (https://theprint.in/
world/khadim-hussain-rizvi-pakistans-blasphemy-activist-dies-in-lahore-at-54/548348/). The
Print. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
28. "TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi laid to rest in Lahore" (https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/74
7055-tlp-chief-khadim-hussain-rizvi-laid-to-rest-in-lahore). The Print. 21 November 2020.
Retrieved 28 November 2020.
29. "TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi laid to rest in Lahore" (https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/74
7055-tlp-chief-khadim-hussain-rizvi-laid-to-rest-in-lahore). The News International. 21
November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
30. "Who is TLP's new chief?" (https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/747057-who-is-tlps-new-chief).
The News International. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
31. Profile (http://www.marfat.com/BrowsePage.aspx?AuID=81590b3d-a11c-4ff4-9d9d-00efffba5f8
9) on Marfat Library

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