Maulana Umar Palanpuri was an influential Islamic scholar from India. He was one of the first 10 World Shura (also known as Alami Shura) members of Tablighi Jamaat from 1995. Born in 1925 in Palanpur, Gujarat, he became a significant figure in spreading the teachings of Islam and the principles of the Tablighi Jamaat internationally.
Maulana Umar was known for his deep understanding of Islamic theology and his ability to articulate complex religious concepts in a manner that could easily be understood by the general public. He was known as the ‘Voice of Tabligh’ due to his oratory skills.
He played a pivotal role in expanding the reach of Tablighi Jamaat beyond the Indian subcontinent to other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and North America. His efforts helped establish the movement as a global Islamic revivalist campaign.
Initial days with Tablighi Jamaat
Maulana Umar Sahab spent his first forty days in 1947-1948. He took Baiyat at the hands of Hadrat Maulana Yusuf (the second Ameer of Tabligh). He then accepted a job as the Imam of a mosque in Mumbai, where he worked for about six years. Every Thursday night, he used to go to the Mumbai Tablighi Markaz at the Dalpatty masjid for the sab-e-jummah.
In 1954 he met a Jama’at that had travelled all the way from Nizamuddin along the broad-gauge railway track, making effort among low-income Muslim communities that made a living from the railways. Included in the jama’at was an English-educated man, who had been overwhelmed by the nobility of this effort of dawaat. When this man spoke at the Ijtema at the sab-e-jummah, regaling the audience with the heart-rending true stories of the epic personal sacrifice of the sahaba, finally exhorting members of the audience to envision the Face of Allah, and the someday approach toward the Jannat al-Firdaus, give their names for four months of khuruj, Maulana Umar Sahab sensed that he had but to rise and announce his intention to spend four months in the path of Allah.
He and his young family at the time were trapped in severe poverty. He had personal debt equivalent to ten years’ worth of his monthly salary. His personal circumstances plainly made it impractical for him to leave his day-job and set out on the four months of self-financed journeying in the name of his religion. But he overcame all the obstacles in his way, and he went to Nizamuddin. The rest of the story is well known.
Life in Nizamuddin Markaz
Maulana Umar worked very hard, rising to the demands of excellence as a striver in the path of Allah. Maulana never looked back. Allah’s invisible assistance came at every stage. Between 1954 and 1995, Maulana was constant in giving his life, time, energies, and money in the path of Allah. He became attached for life to Banglawali mosjid in 1965, when Maulana Yusuf passed away. He became Hadratji Inamul Hasan’s most important assistant, and remained in that role until 1995, when Hadratji passed away.
His struggles after Hadratji Maulana Inamul Hassan passed away
After Maulana Inamul Hassan (the third Ameer of Tabligh) passed away, an extremist faction (within Nizamuddin) driven by long-standing grievances and misinformation slowly seized control of the Nizamuddin Markaz. Maulana Umar lived through the two hardest years of his life before his passing.
Even before then, throughout the years, Maulana Umar Sahab had been quietly disliked by this group, and after the death of Maulana Inamul Hasan, their hostility openly targeted him. He was humiliated and stripped of his influence. His usual speaking opportunities, once celebrated, were taken away. He was forced to move from his long-time spacious quarters to a much smaller and inadequate space, dismissively likened to a “rabbit’s warren.” Adding to the insult, the keys to this small room were thrown at his feet by people much younger than his eldest son. The last two years of his life, from 1995 to May 1997, were difficult as he lived in reduced circumstances at the Markaz in Nizamuddin. He faced both literal and figurative shrinkage of his life as his health declined. However, Maulana Umar Sahab endured these hardships with dignity, embodying the best qualities of a lifelong member of Tabligh. He continued participating in religious missions until the end, even attempting one on the last day of his life, which was cut short by a medical emergency.
His death and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baaz’s dream
Maulana Umar died on 21 May 1997 and was buried near the mausoleum of Humayun, close to other respected figures like Maulana Obaidullah Bilyabi and Qari Abdur Rashid Khurjawi.
Soon after Maulana Umar’s death, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Baaz, visited the Holy Prophet in a dream: the Holy Prophet seemed to stand at a place, apparently waiting for someone to come. Shaikh bin Baaz asked the Holy Prophet: “Ya Rasoolullah, are you waiting for someone to show up?” The Holy Prophet said: “Yes, I am waiting for Umar Palanpuri Hindi to arrive.” After waking up, Shaikh bin Baaz made enquiries and found out that Umar Palanpuri Sahab had recently died at Nizamuddin. Shaikh bin Baaz composed a congratulatory letter and sent it to Maulana Yunus Palanpuri, Maulana Umar’s eldest son. Yunus Palanpuri subsequently read this letter aloud, in the midst of much wailing from all around, to Arab guests after the morning bayan at Nizamuddin markaz. (This true story has been sourced from the biography of Hadrat Maulana Umar Sahab written in Urdu, which has been read by Naeem Chowdhury).
Maulana Umar’s frequent dream of the Holy Prophet
Throughout his life, Maulana Muhammad Umar Palanpuri had been known for the frequency with which he did ziarat of the Holy Prophet in dreams, and several of these interactions have also been chronicled in the biography. Despite his standing, in his final years Maulana Umar Palanpuri Sahab still faced ridicule and harassment from a group holding long-standing grievances. Assuredly, the ravages of wrongful character assassination were what he had to bear.