Ghulam Ahmad Parvez, a famous Hadith Rejector (1903–1985) and misguided person. He urged the Muslims to ponder deeply over the Message of the Quran, without taking any guidance from hadith. He proclaimed that according to Islam all authority rests with "the Law of God" as given in the Quran, whereby food and wealth are to be distributed equally to everybody. He preached that Islam was not a typical religion of rituals and superstitious beliefs but was a challenge to the very institution of organized religion.
He was very close fellow of Maolana Abul Aala Modoodi, founder of Jamat-e-Islami, because of his progressive and liberal views about Islam. When Sir Allama Iqbal and Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan started Dar-ul-Islam, a progressive Islamic research institute in Jamalpur near Pathankot in Gurdaspur district, Mr Ghulam Ahmed Perwaiz was the person who nominated Molana Moudoodi to head it. Later, Mr Pervaiz's denial of hadith and its importance led to a rift with Molana Modoodi.
His writings illuminatingly describe how Islam was treacherously transformed into a religion by kings who had perverted Islam for their vested interests. "The kings sponsored the creation and fabrication of hadith," he declared. Parvez denounced the Hadith which described Hazrat Ayesha RA, the prophet's wife, as a nine-year-old girl. "These are fabricated stories written by the enemies of Islam," he said. He proved from historical record that Ayesha was a much older lady. The perverted Mullahs, who for centuries had used this "tradition of the prophet" to justify their own sexual perversions with minor girls, declared Pervez a heretic "for denying the authority and authenticity of the Hadiths." Pervez condemned the Mullahs for "always serving as agents of the rich people" and being "promoters of uncontrolled Capitalism." In 1951, Parvez exposed the real face of Jamaat-e-Islami through several articles in Tolu-e-Islam. He was the first to declare this political party as a Terrorist organization. "The mullahs have hijacked Islam," he said.
Ghulam Ahmed Pervez was born in Batala, Dist. Gurdaspur, on 9 July 1903. Batala, a town now in the Indian part of Punjab, was at that time a very prominent seat of Islamic learning, philosophy and culture where his grandfather Hakim Maulvi Raheem Bakhsh enjoyed the status of a celebrated scholar and eminent Sufi of the Chishtia Nizamia discipline of mysticism.
According to his own writings, from a very early age he possessed an inquisitive nature and never let any thought pass unquestioned. As he grew, he often questioned that if the Islamic beliefs and practices are true and correct, then why do these not produce the results the Qur'an promises?
Parvaiz joined the Central Secretariat of the Government of India in 1927 and worked in the Home Department, Establishment Division. He is also supposed to have come in contact with Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who inspired him. In 1938 Pervez started publishing the monthly Tolu-e-Islam where he propagated his interpretation of the Qur'an. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he worked in the Central Government and was also a counselor to Muhammed Ali Jinnah. Pervez took an early retirement as Assistant Secretary in 1955 to focus more on the religious work.
His work and research produced many books on Qur'anic teachings, the most well known of them being Lughat-ul-Qur'an in four volumes, Mafhoom-ul-Qur'an in three volumes, Tabweeb-ul-Qur'an in three volumes, Nizam-e-Rabubiyyat, Islam A Challenge to Religion, Insaan Ne Kiya Socha (History of Human Thought), Tasawwaf Ki Haqiqat, Saleem Ke Naam in three volumes, Tahira Ke Naam, Qur'ani Faislay in five volumes and Shahkar-e-Risalat (the biography of the second Caliph Hazrat Omar). He delivered many lectures on Iqbal’s viewpoint of implementing the Qur'anic injunctions, which were later compiled and published as a presentation on Iqbal’s philosophy under the title Iqbal aur Qur'an.
He also gave weekly lectures on exposition of the Qur'an at Karachi which he continued (even after shifting to Lahore in 1958) till October 1984 when he was taken ill and expired subsequently on 24 February 1985. This was in addition to his lectures on the Qur'anic teachings to college and university students, scholars and general public at various occasions.
He left behind a widow and a brother (both now deceased) and a sister. He had no children. His works are being continued through Idara-Tolu-e-Islam, The Tolu-e-Islam Trust, The Qur'anic Research Centre, the Qur'anic Education Society, the Parwez Memorial Library and his audio and video recordings.
For a long time Sir Muhammad Iqbal wanted a journal to propagate his ideas and the aims and objective of the Muslim League. Syed Nazeer Niazi, a close friend and a regular visitor during his last two years, started such a journal at his instructions in 1935, naming it Tulu-e-Islam after Iqbal's famous poem "Tulu'i Islam" (Resurgence of Islam). He also dedicated the first edition of this journal to Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
Afterward, this journal was continued by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, who had already contributed many articles. He was such a devoted admirer of Sir Iqbal that he printed the picture of him on the cover page of this journal every month. He also named his movement Tolu-e-Islam. This journal is still published by Idara Tolu-e-Islam, Lahore. Initially, "Its primary object was to tell the people (of British India" that according to the Quran, ideology and not geographical boundary was the basis for the formation of nation, and that a politically independent state was pre-requisite to live in Islam."
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