Ehsan Elahi Zaheer ( â 30 March 1987) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar who was the founder of Jamiat Ahle Hadith.
He died from an assassin's bomb blast in 1987. He was taken to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in an injured condition.
Zaheer was born in 1945 in Sialkot into a deeply religious trading Punjabi family of the Khatri community (Sethi clan) and was formally educated in Ahl-e-Hadith establishments in Gujranwala and Faisalabad before earning Masters in Arabic, Islamic studies, Urdu, and Persian at the University of the Punjab and further continuing his studies in Islamic law at the University of Madinah under many scholars.
In 1972, Ehsan Elahi Zaheer joined the political party Tehreek-e-Istiqlal. After Ehsan Elahi joined the party, it became the second most popular party of Pakistan. Ehsan left the party in 1978.
In March 1986, Zaheer founded his political party Jamiat Ahle Hadith. Zaheer used to criticize Zia-ul-Haq. After Zaheer was assassinated, the party was led by his son Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer.
On 23 March 1987, while Zaheer was giving a speech in Lahore, a bomb which had been planted in the flowers on the stage exploded, severely injuring him. Upon the request of Saudi Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz Ibn Baz, Zaheer was transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment at The National Guard Hospital. However, the medics could not save him from his severe wounds. His funeral prayer was attended by thousands, including President of Pakistan Zia-ul Haq, ISI chief Akhtar Abdur Rahman, and the Pakistani foreign minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan.
Zaheer's father-in-law Hafiz Muhammad Gondalvi (1897âÂÂ1985) was also a famed Ahl-e-Hadith scholar.
Zaheer had three sons, themselves involved in Islamic scholarship and activism: Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, Hisham Elahi Zaheer and Motasim Elahi Zaheer.
He mainly wrote in Arabic but his works have been translated into Urdu and many other languages: