Our story

August 2019. Mawlana Zubair, son of Mufti Muhammad Nazir, travelled to Mansehra to humbly request the presence of Shaykh Mawlana Syed Ghulam Nabi Shah Saheb (RA). He graciously accepted, came to Lower Islam Kot, and laid the foundation of Masjid Imdad with his own blessed hands.

It was a scene the community still remembers. Among those present that day:

• Mawlana Ghulam Nabi Shah Saheb (RA)
• Qari Muhammad Yousaf (Battagram) (RA), former Member of the National Assembly
• Qari Muhammad Awais, founder of Jamia Abi Bakr Siddiq (HA)
• Mawlana Habib ur Rahman, Mas'ul of Wifaq ul Madaris al-Arabiyah, Abbottabad
• Qari Muhammad Hasham, Rehnuma Jamiat Ulema Britain
• Shaykh Tahir Shah (United Kingdom)
• Shaykh Ruwais Awais (Saudi Arabia)

Many other scholars were also present. That was the beginning of this journey, and since that day the masjid has been a centre for prayer, learning and spiritual guidance.

Mufti Saheb began his education in his village, memorising the Holy Qur'an at the age of six to seven. At that time there were no fixed teachers in the area, so students studied under several teachers. Alongside his hifz he also completed his primary education.

He travelled to Karachi to pursue Islamic studies, enrolling with his brother at Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamiyyah, Banuri Town, founded by Allamah Muhammad Yusuf Banuri (RA). There he studied under Mufti Muhammad Naeem Saheb (RA), Maulana Abdul Hameed Ghouri Saheb and Maulana Aslam Shaikhpuri (Shaheed) (RA).

He then moved to Darul Uloom Karachi, where he completed Dars-e-Nizami and the specialisation in Islamic jurisprudence (Takhassus fil Fiqh wal Ifta). Throughout those years he revised the Qur'an with Mufti Jahangir Saheb (RA), a disciple of Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanvi (RA).

At Darul Uloom Karachi he studied under Maulana Abdul Haq (RA), Maulana Sahban Mahmud (RA), Maulana Aziz ur Rahman Saheb, Mufti Rafi Uthmani Saheb (RA) and Shaykh al-Islam Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani Saheb (DB) — a chain of teaching that continues in the classrooms of Al Imdad today.

In Pakistan: after graduating he returned to his village, married, and began teaching at Jamia Muhammadiyah Arabiyah, Latif Abad, Nawabshah, under Sufi Ataullah Saheb. He later moved to Karachi and taught at Jamia Ashraful Madaris, Pehlwan Goth, under Hakim Akhtar Saheb (RA), from 1993 to 1997/98.

In the United Kingdom: he moved to the UK in 1999/2000, serving as Imam at Masjid Noor and Masjid Bilal, Huddersfield. In 2001/02, at the request of Hazrat Maulana Abdul Majeed Anwar (RA), he began teaching in Rochdale, continuing the work of Maulana Kamal (RA). In 2003 he joined Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda, Blackburn, as a full-time teacher and served as Imam at Masjid-e-Noor, Saunders Road, Blackburn.

While in Makkah al-Mukarramah, Mufti Saheb received spiritual indication to establish an institute in Abbottabad comprising Darul Ihsan (khanqah), masjid, madrassah, school, hospital and family accommodation — an institute where college and university students are nurtured and guided, and where the work of islah (spiritual reformation) continues.

In 2013 he consulted senior scholars including Maulana Qamaruz Zaman Ilahabadi (DB), Maulana Yusuf Motala (RA), Mufti Abdul Samad Saheb, Mufti Ikram ul Haq Saheb and Shaykh Saleem Dhorat Saheb (DB), all of whom gave their support and duas. Land was then purchased in Lower Islamkot, Abbottabad.

Since 2021 Mufti Saheb has lived in Abbottabad full time, supervising the institute. Madrassah Imdad-ul-Uloom currently caters for more than 160 students, offering both Islamic and academic education along with boarding and welfare services.

Granted by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah (RA), Maulana Abdul Haq Swati (RA), Maulana Subhan Mahmood (RA), Maulana Ghulam Muhammad (RA), Maulana Ahmad Ali Surti (RA), Maulana Qamaruz Zaman Ilahabadi (DB), Mufti Rafi Uthmani (DB) and Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani (DB).

Initially connected with Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanvi (RA) of Jamia-tur-Rasheed, Karachi. After his demise, Mufti Saheb became spiritually linked to Maulana Qamaruz Zaman Ilahabadi (DB) of Ilahabad, India, and received khilafah from him in 2010.

• Dars-e-Tauzih wal Talwih
• Fiqh mein Imam Abu Hanifah ka Maqam
• Teen Aham Masa'il

Further works are in progress, delayed by his ongoing commitment to the Abbottabad project.

Al Imdad is being built in phases. The masjid, madrassah, school and dispensary are serving the community today, and hostels, residential flats and apartments, a sports facility, a Banat Education Centre, Darul Ihsan (khanqah), a library are planned. Darul Baqa, the cemetery, is complete.