Muḥammad Rafīq Tāhir is a Salafī scholar, renowned preacher, and author from Multan, Pakistan.
He is Muḥammad Rafīq Tāhir ibn ‘Abd al-Ghafūr, known as Abū ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān, with his mother being Maryam Bībī. He is widely recognized by his name “Rafīq Tāhir,” a name that shines like a beacon atop a mountain.
Born on 23 Shawwāl 1403 AH (August 3, 1983 CE) in the village of 125/10R, near Multan, he is the eldest among his siblings, except for his sister, who is two years older. At the age of one, his father migrated with the family to the city of Multan, where he grew up and completed his early education up to the middle level.
Educational Journey
Shaykh Rafīq Tāhir then journeyed to Jāmi‘ah Muḥammadiyyah in Gujranwala to seek knowledge under eminent scholars. There, he studied the six canonical books of ḥadīth (al-kutub as-sittah) in detail, along with:
* Tafsīr (Qur’ānic exegesis)
* Naḥw (Arabic grammar)
* Ṣarf (morphology)
* Fiqh (jurisprudence)
* Manṭiq (logic)
* Uṣūl al-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence)
* Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth (principles of ḥadīth)
* And other beneficial sciences.
He graduated in 1424 AH. During his studies, he delivered sermons at Jāmi‘ Masjid Ḥasan Wālī, then moved to Markaz al-Ḥudaybiyyah near ‘Alīpūr, close to Gujranwala.
Esteemed Teachers
He studied under distinguished scholars, including:
* Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Mannān Nūrpūrī (may Allah have mercy on him)
* ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd al-Hazārwī
* Qāḍī ‘Abd ar-Razzāq al-Inqilābī
* Kul Walī Khān
* Muḥammad Mālik al-Fandar
* Ḥāfiẓ Riḍā’ullāh ar-Ra’ūf
* Muqrī’ Naṣīr Aḥmad
* Farūq Aṣghar aṣ-Ṣārim
* Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd ad-Dayyān
* Muḥammad Shamshād as-Salafī
* And others.
Scholarly Licenses (Ijāzāt ‘Ilmiyyah)
He received scholarly licenses from several shaykhs, including:
* Shaykh ‘Abd al-Mannān Nūrpūrī
* Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Ḥabashī
* Isrā’īl an-Nadwī
* Thanā’ullāh al-Madanī
* ‘Abd al-Wakīl al-Hāshimī
* ‘Abd as-Salām al-Ḥabūs
* Abū Bakr and Aḥmad (sons of Shaykh al-Ḥabashī)
* Zuhayr ash-Shāwīsh
* Fawād Ṭaha ad-Dimashqī
* And many others.
Career and Contributions
Upon graduating from Jāmi‘ah Muḥammadiyyah in 1424 AH, his teacher Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd al-Hazārwī, the director of the university, instructed him to join Jāmi‘ah Khayriyyah as-Salafiyyah in Bagh, Free Kashmir, as a teacher and muftī. He complied and served there for one year before returning to Multan at his father’s behest. He then joined Markaz Ibn al-Qāsim as a teacher of Prophetic ḥadīth. After three years, due to personal circumstances, he left the center and joined Jāmi‘ah Dār al-Ḥadīth al-Muḥammadiyyah in Multan, where he teaches:
* Ḥadīth and its sciences
* ‘Aqā’id (creed)
* Uṣūl al-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence)
* Inheritance (mīrāth)
* And other disciplines.
After seven years, he established himself at the library affiliated with Markaz Ahl al-Ḥadīth, where he began authoring works and conducting teaching circles, continuing to teach and write to this day.
Authored Works
Shaykh Muḥammad Rafīq Tāhir has authored numerous scholarly treatises, including:
In Arabic:
* Al-Qawl ar-Rafī‘ fī Mas’alat at-Tasmī‘ (The Exalted Statement on the Issue of Recitation)
* Jalā’ al-‘Aynayn fī Mas’alat al-Ishārah bayna as-Sajdatayn (Clarifying the Eyes on the Issue of Pointing Between Prostrations)
* Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Commentary on Sunan Abū Dāwūd)
In Urdu:
* Al-Mawlid an-Nabawī Tārīkhan wa Shar‘an (The Prophetic Birth: Historically and Legally)
* Masā’il al-Aḍḥiyyah (Issues of Sacrifice)
* Tuḥfat al-Ikhwān fī ar-Radd ‘alā Bida‘ Sha‘bān (A Gift to the Brothers in Refuting the Innovations of Sha‘bān)
* Majmū‘at Rasā’il Ḥajjiyyat al-Ḥadīth (Collection of Treatises on the Authoritativeness of Ḥadīth)
* Ḍawābiṭ at-Takfīr al-Mu‘ayyan (Guidelines for Specific Excommunication)
* And other well-known books.
He also translated the booklet Tashīl al-Wuṣūl ilā Fahm ‘Ilm al-Uṣūl (Facilitating Access to Understanding the Science of Principles) into Urdu.
Current Role
He currently serves as the director of Markaz Ahl al-Ḥadīth and the monthly magazine Ahl al-Ḥadīth in Multan.
(As received from Ustadh Tahir Munir, Islamic University of Lahore.)
Saheehus-Seerah 