Muhammad Latif Ansari

Hujjat al-Islam Professor Khwaja Muhammad Latif Ansari (1887-1979), alternatively spelled Muḥammad Latīf Anṣārī,[1] was a reputed[2] 20th-century Shia Muslim scholar, poet, historian, and cleric from Pakistan.[3] He was a descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, through Khwaja Abdullah Ansari.

Khwaja

Muhammad Latif Ansari
Professor Ansari in his latter life
TitleHujjat al-Islam
Personal
Born30 September 1887 AD (12th Muharram 1305 AH)
British India
Died1979 AD (aged 92)
Cause of deathIllness, Partial Paralysis
ReligionIslam
NationalityPakistani-Indian
EthnicityKhwaja
Era20th Century
RegionSouth Asia, Kenya
DenominationShia Islam
JurisprudenceJa'fari
CreedIthna 'asheriyya
Main interest(s)Islamic History
Notable work(s)Tārīk̲h̲-i Ḥasan Mujtabá; Karbalā kī kahānī, Qurʼān kī zabānī
OccupationProfessor, Scholar
Muslim leader

Ansari was born in British India, but migrated to the newly formed Pakistan immediately after it achieved independence. In Pakistan, he took up residence in the city of Wazirabad. He spent much of his life in Kenya, where he is remembered to this day by the Shia community for bringing active and organized Shi'ism to the country.[4] Ansari spent the last ten years of his life partially paralysed. Although he was a prolific author, many of his books were not published.

Migration to Kenya

Ansari left South Asia for Kenya in the 1950s.[4] He was already a reputed cleric by that time, but nevertheless joined a number of scholars coming from South Asia into the relatively unheard of Shia community of Kenya.[2] After becoming a resident alim there, Ansari helped the community to become large and prosperous as it is today. He is remembered to this day in the country for an address he delivered at the Arusha Conference in December 1958, in which he emphasized the need for tabligh.[4][5] A large amount of his efforts were focused on the Khoja community.[4]

Legacy

Although much of Ansari's work was not published, he is still remembered all across the world. Scholars in Canada, United States, Iran, Pakistan, and Kenya, among other places, have used his works as source material.[3]

Publications
A copy of Karbalā kī kahānī, Qurʼān kī zabānī in Urdu

Ansari is also well known for the books he has written, both in Pakistan and in Kenya, even though many of his writings have not been published. Even late into his life, he actively wrote books, usually with the help of his youngest daughter. Most of his writings are in Urdu. His works today survive in several university catalogs and libraries.[1]

Ansari is also mentioned as a source in "A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims" by Sayyid Ali Ashgar Razwy.[3]

Some of his publications are as follows:

  • Islam Aur Musalmano Ki Tareekh (The History of Islam and Muslims)[3][6]
  • Tārīk̲h̲-i Ḥasan Mujtabá (History of Al-Hasan Al-Mujtaba)[1][7]
  • Shazada-e-Yathrib Alam-e-Hijrat Mein
  • Ma'arejal Irfan[8]
  • Karbalā kī kahānī, Qurʼān kī zabānī (The Story of Karbala in the words of the Qur'an).[1] This was Ansari's last publication.

See also

References
  1. "WorldCat File".
  2. "E-Book of 12 Personalities" (PDF). dewani.ca.
  3. Sayyid Ali Ashgar Razwy. "A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims". Al-Islam.org.
  4. "Synopsis of the Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri - BILAL OF AFRICA". coej.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  5. Highlights of Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania (1965 - 1986), Page 6
  6. "Online Copy at Ziaraat.com". ziyaraat.net.
  7. "University of Chicago File".
  8. "A picture of a copy of Ma'arejal Irfan". Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
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