Maulana Tariq Jamil is a prominent Deoban­di scholar who is also one of the most popu­lar preachers in Pakistan. He belongs to the Tablighi Jamaat group and his lectures focus on the subject of self-purification, avoidance of vio­lence, observance of Allah’s commands and pursuing the way of the Prophet Muhammad.

Background: After completing pre-medical stud­ies, Maulana Tariq was admitted to the King Edward Medical College in Lahore. It was there—under the influence of members of the Tablighi Jamaat—that his focus changed to Islamic education. His Islam­ic training is from Jamia Arabia, where he studied Qur’an, Hadith, Sufism, Logic, and Islamic Jurispru­dence. Maulana Tariq’s background in the sciences allows him to explain Islamic matters in a way that appeals to modern urban Muslims. Additionally, his simple lifestyle and eloquence in Urdu, as well as his fluency in Arabic, spread his fame across the Muslim world.

Tablighi Jamaat: Tablighi Jamaat is a political missionary movement founded by Muhammad Il­yas Al-Kandhlawi in India in 1927. It focuses on encouraging Muslims not to neglect the basic prac­tices of their faith. It has informal affiliations with the Deobandi movement but targets a more general audience. The sub-continent diaspora have carried its message to nearly every country in the world and its adherents number in the millions. It has annual gath­erings in Pakistan and Bangladesh which equally number in the millions.

Influence: In addition to running a madrasa in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Maulana Tariq continues to travel extensively and deliver lectures around the world. He has been very effective in influencing all kinds of people, ranging from businessmen and landowners, to ministers, actors, and sports celebrities.