Mr. Justice Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghazali
Name:
Muhammad Al-Ghazali son of Muhammad Ahmad
Appointment
Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Bench
Ad-hoc Membmer, Shariat Appellate Bench
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Ph.D. (Islamic Studies), Islamia University, Bahawalpur,
Doctoral Dissertation: Socio-Political Thought of Shah Wali Allah
- M.A. Arabic, University of the Punjab, Lahore
- Fazil-i-Arabi (Hons.) i.e. Honours Degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies
- Fazil-i-Dars-i-Nizami, i.e. Graduate Degree from a traditionalMadrasah, awarded after completing an 8-year programme, with the following core courses:
- Arabic Language, Linguistics, Syntax, Morphology, Stylistics and Rhetorics and Classical Logic and Dialectics
- Islamic Law and Jurisprudence
- Qur'anic Exegesis
- Hadith
- Theology and Scholastics
- Certificate in French Language and Civilization (up to 5th degree), from Alliance Franciase, Islamabad.
- Hafiz-i- Quran,i.e. committed the entire Qur'an to memory in accordance with the principles of recitation.
Background
- Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan, (ad-hoc Member, Shariat Appellate Bench), since 25th March 2010.
- Member, International Board of Experts, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Doha, Qatar, since February 2014.
- Professor and Head of Islamic Thought, Civilization and Social Sciences Unit, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad from February 1999 to March 2007.
- Professor and Head, Quranic Studies Department since March 2007.
- Associate Professor and Head Islamic Social Sciences Unit, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad (March 1995 to Feb. 1999.
- Associate Professor, International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (July 1991- June 1993)
- Assistant Professor, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad (1985-1991 – 1993-1995).
- Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic language and literature, International Islamic University, Islamabad (October 1981- April 1985).
- Editor, Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah, a quarterly and refereed research journal of Islamic Research Institute published since 1965 in Arabic (1987 to-date).
- Associate Editor, Integrated Encyclopedia of the Quran (2007-2010).
- Senior Research Officer, Council of Islamic Ideology, Government of Pakistan (from July 1979 to October 1981).
- Taught Virtual Courses of Arabic language from Pakistan Television sponsored by Allama Iqbal Open University (1978-79), under the title: al-lisan al-Arabi.
SCHOLASTIC WORK
- Supervised postgraduate research works for M.Phil. and Ph.D. by the students of the Faculty of Islamic Studies, IIU, during the last thirty five years.
- Served, since the last thirty years, as an External Examiner for M.A., M. Phil., and Ph.D. dissertations for the following universities in Pakistan and abroad:
- University of the Punjab, Lahore
- Islamia University, Bahawalpur
- Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan
- Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad
- Karachi University
- Fatima Jinnah Women’s University
- International Islamic University, Islamabad
- Melbourne University, Australia
- International Islamic University, Malaysia
- Editor, Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah, a quarterly referred research journal of Islamic Research Institute. This journal was established in 1965 and has completed its 50th volume. During the last 30 years of editorship, Prof. Muhammad al-Ghazali worked to ensure regularity and high standard of this journal, reviewed and edited hundreds of research articles written by scholars from Pakistan and abroad, published in 120 issues, running into roughly 50,000 pages concerning significant areas of Islamic studies viz. Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Kalam, Sirah, Tasawwuf, Akhlaq, History, Sociology, political Science, Economics, Language and Linguistics, Poetry, Literature, Grammar, Rhetoric, and problems of contemporary Muslim world etc.
- Editor, Annual Journal of the International Islamic University (a bi-lingual referred research journal published in Arabic and English) (2001-2005).
- Editorial Advisor for a number of years to the following journals:
- Islamic Studies, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
- Intellectual Discourse, International Islamic University, Malaysia
- Maarif-i-Isami, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan
- Islamabad Law Review, Faculty of Shariah, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
- Journal of Gender and Social Issues, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
PEDAGOGY
The following graduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. courses were taught by Prof. Muhammad al-Ghazali at various faculties of International Islamic University, Islamabad (1981-1984, 1993-2007) and the International Islamic University, Malaysia (1991-1993):
- Arabic language, Grammar and Rhetoric
- Sciences of the Quran
- Kalam
- Foundations for Sociology in the Quran
- Contribution of Indian Subcontinent to Arabic/Islamic Literature
- Introduction to Social Sciences
- Sociology of Religion
- Philosophy of Religion
- Islamic Creed and Ethics
- Islamic Philosophy
- Islamic Sociology
- Literary Study of the Quran (Course conducted at Ph.D. level)
RAMADAN LECTURES
During 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1989, Dr al-Ghazali visited Australia, under the order of the President of Pakistan/Chancellor, International Islamic University, to participate in various religious activities of Ramadan and to deliver lectures on the Qur’an and its message to the members of the Muslim community of Australia. The duration of each visit had been four weeks. He visited various Islamic religious and educational institutions in Sydney, New Castle and Melbourne.
SOME RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
NAME / TITLE | NAME OF JOURNAL/PUBLISHER | DATE OF PUBLICATION |
Universal Social Culture | American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Herndon, Virginia, USA | Spring 1994 |
Reason and revelation: Conflict or Convergence | Muslim Education Quarterly, Cambridge, UK | Summer 1994 |
Rashid Ahmad Gangohi | Turkish Encyclopaedia of Islam, Istanbul | 1995 |
The Problem of Evil: An Islamic Approach | Catholic University Press,Washington DC | 1996 |
Socio-Political Thought of Shah Wali Allah (Book) pp.335 | Islamic Research Institute, IIU, Islamabad | 2001 |
Status of Women in Pakistani Society: Problems and Prospects | International Human rights Perspective, Peshawar University | January 2002 |
The Political Model of the Madinan State | Ma‘arif-i-Islami, Allama Iqbal Open University | March-April 2002 |
English translation of Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s book: (‘How should we respond to the Prophet’s Sunnah?) | International Institute of Islamic Thought, London, UK | 2002 |
This World and the Hereafter (UNESCO Project on Culture of Islam) | UNESCO Press, Paris, France | 2003 |
Criteria of religious Devotion | Intellectual Discourse, International Islamic University, Malaysia | Winter 2003 |
The Beautiful Names of Allðh (Book) | Dawah Academy, IIUI | 2006 |
Raison D’etre of Madrasah | Islamic Studies,No.2, Vol.45 | Summer 2006 |
Dialogue Between Two Savants on the Spirit of Fasting | Al-Dirasat Al-IslamiyyahNo.2, Vol. xxxxi | July-Sep 2006 |
Dimensions of Islamic Da’wah and our Intellectual Realities Today | Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah | Winter 1980 |
Draft Islamic Constitution of al-Azher | Islamic Studies | Summer 1981 |
The Collective Exercise of Ijtihðd in the Present Times | Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah | Winter 1983 |
Finality of the Prophethood | Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah | Summer 1985 |
Teachings of the Prophet and the Intellectual Renaissance of Mankind | Fikr-o-Nazar(Urdu Quarterly) | October-December 1995 |
Issues in the Cognition of the Divine | Fikr-o-Nazar | Summer 1996 |
Reflections on Islamic View of Art and Literature | Islamic Studies | Winter 1996 |
Islam between East and West | Islamic Studies, Special Issue on ‘Islam in the Balkans’, Vol.36, Nos. 2-3 | Summer 1997 |
Exegetical Urdu Translation of Imam Ashraf Ali Thanvi and some of its characteristics | Al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah,Issue No.3, Vol.xxxvi, | July-Sep. 2001 |
From Empiricism to Normatism:Toward Sociology of Islam (pp.450) | A Project of Islamic Research Institute | Awaiting publication by Islamic Research Institute |
Reflections on Islamic Education. | The Islamic Culture University of Karachi | Vol. XI 2006 |
Some Rhetorical Features of the Quran(Book pp. 244) | Islamic Research Institute Press. | 2014 |
Reflections on Islamic Education. An Article in Arabic | The Islamic Culture, University of Karachi | 2007 |
Love of the Prophet (SAW)(English translation of a book by Dr. Fazal Ilahi) | Islamabad | 2008 |
Modern Reformist Trends in India and Pakistan | Paper submitted to a seminar in Alexandria Library, Egypt | June 2008 |
Secular Modernist Bias in Western Social Sciences | Islam and Science, Canada | Summer 2008 |
Religious Language:In Islamic and Western Perspectives | Annual Journal of IIUI | 2009 |
Written detailed critical comments on the following entries of Integrated Encyclopadia of the Quran:1. Comments on Al-Aqsa2. Comments on Atom3. Comments on Kaffarah4. Comments on the Angels5. Comments on Ability6. Comments on Arabic Language7. Comments on Arteries & Veins8. Comments on Authority9. Comments on Bedouins10. Comments on Blessings11. Comments on Books12. Comments on Buying & Selling13. Comments on Agriculture (outline) | Integrated Encyclopaedia of the Quran (Canada) | 2008-2010 |
The Prophet’s Sunnah as the Normative Matrix of Islamic Culture and Society | Insights, Vol.1, No.3 | Spring 2009 |
Basmalah: Some Reflections | Insights | Winter 2009 |
Work Completed - UNPUBLISHED
- From Empiricism to Normatism: Towards Sociology of Islam (pp.344).
- Contribution of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi to Islamic Thought in the Sub-continent.
- English translation with annotation and introduction to the long prologue to al-Tahrir Wal‘ Tanvir by Shaikh Ibn ‘Ashur, a prominent Tunisian writer of Tafsir.
SEMINARS/CONFERENCES ATTENDED AND ACADEMIC VISITS UNDERTAKEN
- National Congress for the Promotion of Arabic held at the University of Karachi under the patronage of the President of Pakistan in April 1974. Contributed a paper entitled: ‘Practical Dimensions of the Promotion of Arabic Studies in Pakistan’ (Urdu).
- International Conference of Muslim Scholars held in March 1980. Topic of the paper presented in this Conference was: ‘Crime and Punishment in Islamic Shariah’ (English).
- 14th Seminar on Islamic Thought held in Algiers in August 1980. Contributed a paper entitled: `Dimensions of Islamic Da’wah and our Intellectual Realities Today’ (Arabic).
- Visit to the Vatican City: On the invitation of late Cardinal Jean Jadot, he visited Vatican in June 1981. In this visit, he attended a number of round table discussions with leading scholars of Christianity alongwith three other Pakistani scholars including Dr. Mahmood A. Ghazi. These discussions were focused on Christian-Muslim Understanding.
- 16th Seminar on Islamic Thought held in Constantine, Algeria in July 1983. Read a Paper on: ‘Collective exercise of Ijtihad in the present times’ (Arabic).
- International Seminar on Islamic Solidarity for World Peace held at Islamabad in September 1984 under the aegis of World Muslim Congress, and inaugurated by the President of Pakistan. Read a paper on ‘The Role of Governments in the Achievement of Civilizational Objectives’ (Arabic).
- National Science Conference organized by Islamia University Bahawalpur in December 1982. Read a paper on `The Evolution of Neo-Scholastics in Islam’ (Urdu).
- Assembly of the World’s Religions held at New Jersy, USA, in November 1985 under the auspices of the International Religious Foundation. Presented a paper entitled: `Growing profanity in our lives — Impact of Secularity — An Islamic Point of View’ (English).
- International Conference on the Problem of evil, held in Seoul, Korea from 27th April, 1994 to 3rd May, 1994 under the auspices of International Religious Foundation, U.S.A. Presented a paper entitled: `The Problem of Evil — An Islamic Approach’.
- International Visitor Programme of U.S.A. He undertook a four week long tour of six major states/cities of U.S.A. in August-September 1996, on the invitation of USIS. In this tour, he visited the following leading universities in the U.S.A.: George Washington University, Georgetown University, Memphis University (Tennysee), Washington University (Saint Louis), Saint Louis University, Boston University, Harvard University, Chicago University and Catholic University (Washington D.C.). During these visits he held round table discussions with the Faculty members specialized in Islamic studies about their academic plans related to research and instruction in Islamic Studies.
- Annual Convention of Islamic Society of North America, 29th August-1st September 1996. Presented two papers, one in the plenary session (the audience numbered 10,000 participants) and the other in a regular session. The topics of the papers were:
- ‘The Early Madinan Model of Society And State’.
- ‘The Problem of Contemporary Family’ — An Islamic Response’.
- International Seminar on Muslim perceptions of the West and Western Perceptions of the Muslims, held in Islamabad in October 1997 under the joint auspices of IRI and Georgetown University, USA. Presented a paper on: ‘A Critique of Western Approach to the Understanding of Islam’.
- National Seminar on Hadith in the Subcontinent December 2003. Presented a paper: Shah Wali Allah’s Concept of ‘Peel and Core in Hadith Sciences’.
- International Seminar on Sirah Islamia University, Bahawalpur, 1999, presented a paper on the contribution of the Prophet to statecraft.
- International Cultural Week Seminar of the International Islamic University April 1999, presented a paper on “Islamic Critique of the Theory of Clash of Civilizations”.
- International Cultural Week Seminar of the International Islamic University, April 2000. Presented a paper: ‘Terms of Engaging in Intellectual Discourse with the Modern Academia’.
- International seminar on Shah Wali Allah, Aligarh Muslim University, India, March 2001. Presented a paper on the ‘Contribution of the Magnum Opus of Shah Wali Allah to Islamic Thought’. Also presided over the first working session and delivered presidential address on the significance of Shah Wali Allah’s magnum opus entitles Hujjat Allah al-Balighah.
- Participated in 3 workshops on Islamic research organised by Allama Iqbal Open University for its M.Phil students as a resource person, in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
- Seminar on the Contribution of Shah Wali Allah Dihlavi to Islamic Thought, organized by International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 2003. Presented the Main Paper entitled: ‘Contribution of Shah Wali Allah to Islamic Thought in the Sub-Continent of India’.
- International Conference on Future of Islam in Asia, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, September 21-23, 2003. Presented a paper entitled: “Islam: A Religion of Peace and Harmony”. However, travel to Canada had to be cancelled at the last minute due to his illness. This paper was read by someone else on behalf of Dr. Ghazali.
- International Conference on the ‘Terms for a Fruitful Dialogue’, organized by the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Algeria, 22-25 March 2003. Presented a paper: “Islamic View of Dialogue with Others” (Arabic). He had to cancel the travel to Algiers to attend the Conference due to the outbreak of Iraq War resulting in the cancellation of certain flights. The paper was included in the proceedings of the Conference.
- International Seminar on Waqf jointly organized by International Waqf Foundation, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and International Institute of Islamic Economics, International Islamic University, Islamabad. Read a paper on the ‘socio-cultural significance of Waqf’ and presented comments as a discussant on the paper: ‘Waqf and a Plan for its Revival in South Asia’ by Professor Manzur Alam, Director, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, India, December 2003.
- One day Seminar on the State of Islamic Education in Gulf Universities, organized by Qatar Foundation, February 2014. Presented a paper on the need to promote genius in Islam.
MEMBERSHIP OF LEARNED BODIES
- Quarterly Member, Editorial Board of Intellectual Discourse, Research Journal of the international Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1991-1993).
- Member, Academic Council, International Islamic University (1999- to date).
- Member, Board of Studies for Islamic Studies, Islamic University, Bahawalpur (1995-1999).
- Member, Board of Studies, Faculty of Usuluddin, International Islamic University, Islamabad, (to date).
- Member, Board of Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, (to date).
- Member, Board of Studies, Department of Education, International Islamic University, Islamabad, (to date).
- Member, Board of Studies for Arabic, Bahauddin Zakariyya University, Multan, (1999-2001).
- Member, Foreign Teacher’s Promotion Committee, International Islamic University, Islamabad, (2000 - 2006).
- Member, Executive Committee of International Institute of Islamic Thought (U.S.A.) Pakistani Chapter, (1989-2003).
- Member, International Board of Experts, Qatar Centre for Muslim Contribution to Human Civilization (since Feb. 2014).
PROFICIENCY IN LANGUAGES
- Arabic: read, write and speak
- English: read, write and speak
- Urdu: read, write and speak
- Persian: read only
- French: speak
ACADEMIC JOURNEYS
In the course of his academic career, Dr. Muhammad al-Ghazali visited the following countries: India, Thailand, Singapore, Syria, Algeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Italy, U.K. France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, USA, Libya, Lebanon and Qatar.
TRAVEL WITH EMINENT SCHOLARS
Dr. Muhammad al-Ghazali had been blessed with a rare opportunity to travel within the country and abroad, with some of the most outstanding scholars of our time e.g. late Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah, late Dr. Ihsan Haqqi, late Mr. A.K. Brohi, late Dr. Mustafa al-Zarqa, late Dr. Ismail Faruqi, late Shaikh Muhammad al-Ghazali, Muhammad Sallam Madkour, Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, late Shaikh Muhammad Sa‘id al-Tantavi, the former Shaikh of al-Azhar, late Professor Abdel-Wahhab al-Messiri, and late Dr. Ma‘ruf al-Dawalibi. These precious occasions afforded him an extremely rewarding opportunity to sit at the feet of these great luminaries and partake some of their knowledge and wisdom.
REFERENCES:
- Prof. Dr. Malik Badri,University Professor of Psychology, International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Prof. S. Parvez Manzoor,Professor Emiratus, Stockholm University, Sweden,Editor, Muslim world Book Review,Leicester, U. K.
- Prof. Kamal Hassan,University Professor & former Rector International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia