Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi

Last updated

Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi
Personal
Born
Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi

12 July 1967
Religion Islam
Parent
Denomination Sunni
Jurisprudence Hanafi
Movement Barelvi
Tariqa Naqshbandi (Hijazi)
Website blessedsummit.com
Arabic name
Personal(Ism) Fayḍ al-Aqṭāb
فيض الأقطاب
Patronymic(Nasab) ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿUmar ibn Amīn ibn ʿAbd al-Mālik
بن عبد الوهاب بن عمر بن أمين بن عبد المالك
Toponymic(Nisba) aṣ-Ṣiddīqī
الصديقي
al-Itsharwī
الإتشروي

Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi (born 1967) is a Muslim scholar, principal of the Hijaz College, founder of Hijaz Community, founder of Hijaz Expo, national convener for the campaign for Global Civility, National Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee (MAC), President General of the International Muslims Organisation, Grand Blessed Guide of the Naqshbandi Qadri Hijazi Sufi Order, Chairman of Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, international lecturer in Islam, and a barrister at law.

Contents

Family of Religious Scholars

Shaykh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi is the eldest son of the late Murshid Abdul Wahab Siddiqi and the grandson of Maulana Muhammad Umar Icharvi. Murshid Siddiqi's bloodline traces its origins directly to Murshid Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first Caliph of Islam and one of the closest companions of the Muhammad. He studied under his father and many other Shayukh of the time. Later he studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt [1]

Murshid Siddiqi's father, Late Murshid Maulana Abdul Wahab Siddiqi's mausoleum and final resting place is in Nuneaton, UK. According to the British Pilgrimage Trust, [2] the mausoleum where Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi lies, which is based at Hijaz College, is one of the most significant religious sites of pilgrimage in all of Western Europe.

Head of Global Naqshbandi Qadri Hijazi Spiritual Sufi Order

Murshid Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi is the leader of the Naqshbandi Qadri Hijazi Spiritual Sufi Order, a branch of Sufism with followers in over 34 countries.

National convener for the campaign for Global Civility

During the Danish cartoon controversy, a meeting of Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom took place in which Murshid Faiz ul Aqtab Siddiqi was chosen to represent the perspectives of British scholars and Muslims. The meeting aimed to foster dialogue around freedom of speech, particularly addressing concerns regarding the potential harm caused by unrestrained expression.

As part of this initiative, an organisation of scholars advocated for what they termed "global civility," proposing the establishment of a standard of civility in public discourse. Murshid Siddiqi authored a Declaration of Global Civility, which called upon world leaders to support the notion that mutual respect, rather than insults or vilification, should be the foundation of a civil society.

Principal of Hijaz College

He is the principal and founding trustee of Hijaz College [3] in Nuneaton, England, where he resides on campus.

Champion of Muslim Unity

Shaykh Siddiqi is a signatory to Charter 3:103 based on the verse of the Qur'an which urges Muslims to remain united despite sectarian differences. [4]

Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee and Muslim Action Forum

Siddiqi convened the Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella organisation of Sunni and Shia Islamic scholars and Islamic political groups such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission and Hizb ut-Tahrir to organise a demonstration against the repeated publications of the Danish cartoons of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The demonstration was the largest in Europe and the largest within the UK since the Salman Rushdie incident. The organisation works to combat attacks on Islamic religious symbols. [5]

Founder of Hijaz Community

Murshid Siddiqi is the founder of Hijaz Community, which is an international network of over 10,000 professionals, focused on contributing to community enrichment through a various initiatives.

A team of 150 Hijaz community volunteers delivered over 1700 food parcels [6] to key workers, including police and medical workers, in the towns of Hinckley and Nuneaton during the coronavirus pandemic.

Profession as Barrister

Murshid Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi is a barrister under English and Welsh law, and as such is a member of the Lincoln's Inn [7] since 1991 and practiced law for over a decade.

President General of International Muslim Organisation (IMO)

Murshid Siddiqi is the President General of the International Muslim Organisation (IMO), founded in 1980 and headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, aims to address the religious, social, and cultural needs of the global Muslim community.

Controversy

Over Sharia courts in the UK

Siddiqi was among the guests on the Law in Action programme aired on 28 November 2006 which discussed the issue of Sharia courts in the UK, which was covered by many newspapers and other media. Siddiqi made the following observation about the issues: [8]

"Because we follow the same process as any case of arbitration, our decisions are binding in English law. Unless our decisions are unreasonable, they are recognised by the High Court."

Siddiqi was also involved in a debate in London in February 2008 entitled KINGDOM OF GOD: the Archbishop, the Sharia and the Law of the Land in response to a speech by Archbishop Rowan Williams, in which Siddiqi defended and advocated the use of Islamic Family Law in the UK and showed hope that in the future a more educated and spiritual Muslim community in Britain would be able to live under all aspects of Sharia Law. [9]

Siddiqi launched the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal Archived 12 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine to deal with the issue of forced marriages within the Muslim community. [10]

Siddiqi delivered a lecture within the walls of Temple Church entitled "Family Law, Minorities and legal Pluralism: Should English Law give more Recognition to Islamic Law?" in November 2008 which sparked media controversy over its endorsement of polygamy. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism</span> Body of mystical practice within Islam

Sufism is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism.

<i>Tariqa</i> School or order of Sufism

A tariqa is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking haqiqa, which translates as "ultimate truth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barelvi movement</span> South Asian Islamic revivalist movement

The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence, and Maturidi and Ash'ari schools of theology with hundreds of millions of followers, and it encompasses a variety of Sufi orders, including the Chistis, Qadiris, Suhrawardis and Naqshbandis as well as many other orders of Sufism. They consider themselves to be the continuation of Sunni Islamic orthodoxy before the rise of Salafism and the Deobandi movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi</span> Indian Islamic scholar (1856 – 1921)

Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, known reverentially as A'la Hazrat, was an Indian Islamic scholar and poet who is considered as the founder of the Barelvi movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haji Bektash Veli</span> Islamic scholar and mystic (1209–1271)

Haji Bektash Veli was an Islamic scholar, mystic, saint, sayyid, and philosopher from Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia. His original name was Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā. He is also referred to as the "Sultan of Hearts" and the "Dervish of the Dervishes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qadiriyya</span> Iranian-origin Sufi order of Sunni Islam

The Qadiriyya or the Qadiri order is a Sufi mystic order (tariqa) founded by Shaiykh Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani Al-Hassani, who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Sunni Islamic law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Wahab Siddiqi</span>

Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi (1942–1994) was a Pakistani Sunni Muslim religious scholar and Sufi master.

Hijaz College is a British Muslim school located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Hijaz College combines traditional Islamic education with the British National Curriculum. The philosophy of Hijaz was formulated by its patron and founder Abdul Wahab Siddiqi (1942–94) in 1994.

Faiz is a male Arabic name meaning "successful " and "winner" overflowing, plenty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Channan Shah Nuri</span> Punjabi Sufi saint and scholar

Muhammad Channan Shah Nuri was an Islamic scholar, saint, and preacher in South Asia. He founded the Aminia branch of the Sunni Naqshbandi order. He preached Islam in South Asia and brought non-Muslims into the fold of Islam. His adherents call themselves Naqshbandi mujadadi amini or Maharvi or just Naqshbandi, since Syed Channan Shah belonged to the Naqshbandi order.

The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal is a form of alternative dispute resolution which operates under the Arbitration Act 1996 which is available in England. It is one of a range of services for Muslims who wish to resolve disputes without recourse to the courts system. According to Machteld Zee, the MAT differs from other Sharia councils in that their ‘core business’ is arbitrating commercial disputes under the Arbitration Act 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Idrees Dahri</span> Muslim scholar (born 1947)

Muhammad Idrees Dahri is an Islamic scholar, preacher, writer, author, poet and researcher of Sindh, Pakistan. He is Hanafi, Maturidi, and belongs to the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Sufi order and the Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam. He is a khalifa (deputy) of Allah Bakhsh Abbasi Naqshbandi. He also has teaching permissions in Shadhili and Alawi Sufi orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazim Al-Haqqani</span> Naqshbandi Sufi leader (1922–2014)

Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil Al-Qubrusi Al-Haqqani, commonly known as Shaykh Nazim, was a Turkish Cypriot Sunni Muslim imam and one of the most influential members of the Haqqani stream of the Naqshbandi order (tariqa) of Sunni Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Jewan Shah Naqvi</span>

Muhammad Jewan Shah Naqvi was an Islamic saint of Allo Mahar, a village and union council of Daska Tehsil, Sialkot District in Punjab, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaat Ali Shah</span> Religious leader (1834-1951)

Pir Syed Jamaat Ali Shah was a Pakistani author, Islamic scholar and Sufi saint of the Naqshbandi Order. He presided over the All India Sunni Conference and led the Movement for Shaheed Ganj Mosque. He was a contemporary of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, the founder of Barelvi movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni</span> Pakistani Islamic scholar (1898–1970)

Abd al-Ḥāmid al-Qādirī al-Badāyūnī, also known as Mujahid-e-Millat, was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, Sufi, poet, and leader from Pakistan. He was the founder of the Islamic college Jamia-Talimat-e-Islamiya located in Karachi.

Abul Hasan Hakari Abu Al Hasan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hashmi Hakari Harithi, town of Mosul, died 1st Moharram 486 AH, in Baghdad, was a Muslim mystic also renowned as one of the most influential Muslim scholar, philosopher, theologian and jurist of his time and Sufi based in Hankar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Amin Shah Sani</span> Sufi scholar from Pakistan belonging to the Nahbandi order

Muhammad Amin Shah Sani was a Sufi scholar from Pakistan belonging to the Naqshbandi order. He is known as a Hanafi scholar and saint. He received his early Qur'anic education at the Khankah Allo Mahar. The first of his ancestors in Allo Mahar was Muhammad Jewan Shah Naqvi, well known by the pen-name of Shair Sawar Sarkar. He traces his roots to the first Arab Shaikhs descending from Muhammad through the lineage of Husayn.

References

  1. Pages 78-9, Ulama-e-Ahle Sunnah, Mashaikh & Sufis in UK, Khalid Athar, PPA Publications, Lahore ISBN   969-8587-07-1
  2. "Britain's Holy Places - British Pilgrimage Trust". www.britishpilgrimage.org. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  3. Souza, Naomi de (6 January 2021). "Inside Hijaz College, Nuneaton's Islamic University". Coventry Live. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  4. "A charter for Muslim unity". Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  5. "Global Civility". www.globalcivility.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  6. Dawson, Nick (16 June 2021). "Islamic community provides 1,700 meals for key workers". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  7. "Online Barrister, Civil Law, Milton Keynes, Warrington, Worcester, London, UK". Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  8. "The end of one law for all?". 28 November 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  9. "Video of: 'KINGDOM OF GOD: the Archbishop, the Sharia and the Law of the Land'". Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  10. "Birmingham Post politics news plus reports council and Government issues affecting Birmingham, the Black Country and the West Midlands". www.birminghampost.net. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  11. Freedman, Rosa (19 November 2008). "Rosa Freedman: Is there really any place for polygamy in English law, as a leading Muslim figure recently argued?". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 30 November 2017.