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Saturday, April 13, 2024

Pakistan disheartened as India’s most educated Muslim scholar Maulana Wahiduddin breathed his last

Author of 200 plus books, Indo-Pak subcontinent's top Muslim scholar, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan passed away due to coronavirus infection. A large number of Pakistanis expressed grief on his demise.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, India’s top Muslim scholar, passed away on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19 .

He breathed his last at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, according to Indian newspapers. He was admitted to the hospital on April due to the Coronavirus infection.

Pakistanis expressed grief on the passing away of Maulana Wahidduddin Khan, the most educated Muslim scholar in the sub-continent. Social media users shared their views on his demise and prayed for him.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was “saddened by the passing away of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. He will be remembered for his insightful knowledge on matters of theology and spirituality. He was also passionate about community service and social empowerment.”

https://twitter.com/DilddaarKhan/status/1384941157109702659

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In 2000, He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India.

Wahiduddin Khan received the Demiurgus Peace International Award, under the patronage of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; India’s third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in January 2000; the National Citizens’ Award, presented by Mother Teresa and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award (2009). He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in January 2021.

He was born in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh in 1925. He studied at a traditional Islamic seminary, the Madrasatul Islahi, in Sarai Mir, near Azamgarh in 1938 to receive religious education.

He always preached tolerance. For example, he had urged Indian Muslims to give up the claim over the disputed Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan founded the Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS) in 2001 to promote and reinforce the culture of peace.

Wahiduddin Khan is author of more than 200 books on Islam, prophetic wisdom, spirituality and peaceful co-existence in a multi-ethnic society. It includes a commentary and a translation of the Quran in English, Urdu and Hindi. His lectures, available on YouTube, are immensely popular.

He was listed in the 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world.

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