Who was Ghazi ILM-UD-DIN Shaheed

(May Allahs Mercy Be Upon him)?

The time when great man like Allama Muhammad
Iqbal placed the blessed body of Ilm Din into the
grave, he said with tears flowing in his eyes:
This uneducated young man has got superiority
over all the educated ones

In 1920s under the supervision of British, a man

named Prashaad Prataab wrote a book disrespecting the Beloved and the Most Blessed
Prophet Muhammad . (Maazallah) The book was published from the publishing
house under the publisher named Raj Pal, from Lahore in 1923. Pressure from the
Muslim Community forced the matter to be taken to the Session Court Lahore where Raj
Pal was found guilty and was sentenced. He then appealed the case in Lahore High Court
the appeal was heard by the judge Daleep Singh who made his punishment finished and
let him free. This decision was strongly criticised and protests were made.
Ilm Din was a teenager from Lahore and used to help his father in his work who was a
carpenter. One day he was passing by the Masjid Wazir Khan and saw a huge crowd
there shouting against Raj Pal and heard the Speaker of the Mosque saying: O! Muslims
the devil Raj Pal has sought to dishonour our Beloved Prophet (peace and salutations be
upon him) by his filthy book. The speech affected Ilm Din deeply and he promised
himself to take the revenge. On 6th September 1929 went out and purchased a dagger
for one rupee and hid it and waited in front of the Raj Pals shop. After sometime Raj Pal
entered the shop, Ilm Din did not know how Raj Pal looked like so a person told him
here he is. The young, brave man entered the shop and attacked Raj Pal and stabbed
dagger into his chest with such force that his heart was ripped off from his body. Raj Pal
fell on the ground and dead on spot. Ilm Din made no attempt to run or escape, people
grabbed him and shouted for help. Police arrived at the place and arrested Ilm Din and
took him to the custody in Mianwali Prison.
Allama Muhammad Iqbal wrote letter to Quid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who was
in Delhi and requested him to come to Lahore and be the defence lawyer of Ilm Din.
Quid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah urged Ilm Din that he will save him just to say in the
court that he did that act due to extreme provocation., the fact that he was only 19 years
old would also have worked in favour of him. Ilm Din refused this offer and said he is
proud of his action in court and this was the only one case that Jinnah lost and Session
Court awarded Ilm Din with the death penalty. Muslims made appeal against his wish
but which was rejected. Ilm Din was hanged on 31st October 1929 and his last wish was
to let him offer two units of nafl (voluntary) prayer and performed the Sunnah of the

Companion of the Prophet (peace and salutations be upon him), Hazrat Khubaib (May
Allahs Mercy be upon him) who offered two units of nafl prayer before he was executed
by the Quraish of Makkah. As the noose was put around his neck, Ilm Din repeated in
front of the crowd:
O! people be witness that I killed Raj Pal to defend the honour of our Beloved Prophet
(peace and salutations be upon him), today they are going to hang me and I am sacrificing
my life while reciting the kalima (shahadah / testimong of faith).
The young man was then buried without any Janazah (funeral) prayer being offered,
mass demonstrations broke out which led to Hindu Muslims riots. The people of Lahore
wanted Ilm Din;s body returned in order to give him Islamic Funeral. Then with the
great struggle of Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Mian Abdul Aziz his blessed body was
brought back to Lahore, only after Allama Muhammad Iqbal gave his assurance to the
British that no riots would erupt, was the permission given. When the blessed body of
Ilm Din was took out of the grave on 14th November 1929 full 15 days after burial, it
was found as it is without any change even the colour of the shroud had not changed.
After two days of journey the blessed body arrived in Lahore, Muslims from whole city
in millions attended the funeral and they were about 600,000 people at time of funeral.
Allama Peer Deedar Ali Shah Sahib (alaih rehama), the khalifa of Imam Ahmed Raza
Khan Brailwi (alaih rehma) was appointed to lead the funeral prayer. Peer Jamaat Ali
Shah Sahib (alaih rehma) kissed the feet of Ilm Din and said: he was the one who gave
his life in defending the honour of my Grandfather, the Beloved Prophet (peace and
salutations be upon him). Allama Zafar Ali Khan said: If only I had managed to attain
such a blessed status!
The blessed blood of Ilm Din Shaheed left far-reaching results. A law was added to the
Penal Court, making the insult to the religious beliefs an offense. Allama Muhammad
Iqbal gave the proposal of a separate Muslim State in 1930 which lead to the creation of
Pakistan. The Pakistan Penal Court consider it as crime for anyone who insults the Best
of Creation, the Most Beloved One, the Most Blessed One none other than the Holy
Prophet (peace and salutations be upon him) either by words, intentionally, nonintentionally, directly, indirectly. In 1982, President Zia-ul-Haq introduced section 295B to the Pakistan Penal Code with the punishment of life imprisonment for a
blasphemer.
In 1986, the Section 295-C was introduced mandating the death penalty for the one
who "use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet (praise and salutations
be upon him).