KARACHI: A research scholar whose views often attracted criticism from orthodox circles, Prof Shakeel Auj was known to be a man who was never afraid of speaking his mind and hardly ever budged from his principles.

This characteristic of his made him earn some enemies, according to his friends and university colleagues, some of whom call him ‘rebellious’ while others ‘controversial’. They all, however, agree that when it comes to his academic and professional work, he was excellent.

The late professor who served at Karachi University for more than two decades had been nominated for Sitara-i-Imtiaz and was the first in Pakistan to receive the Doctors of Letters (DLitt) honour in Islamic studies.

“His religious thoughts differed from those having conservative views. One of his greatest contributions was his research writings on the issues of modern life. The same enlightenment took him away,” said Prof Nasir Abbas, an old friend of Prof Auj and senior teacher at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology.

According to Mr Abbas, Prof Auj belonged to a lower middle class family and no one in his family had studied as much as he did. He was an upright, self-made man who kept on researching, teaching and writing till his death. Prof Auj had had a brilliant academic record throughout his life; he secured first position in MA Islamiat in 1986 and received Baba-i-Urdu Gold Medal at the college convocation.

He worked as the honorary chief editor of weekly Nida-i-Khalq and Fikr-i-Purharvi during the 1990s while he remained associated with Al-Tafseer (a research journal) as the chief editor till his death.

More than 70 research papers, 15 books and booklets and 69 general articles are to his credit. He was a member of a number of research and academic bodies and served on various administrative positions that included director of the university Seerat chair.

“He was indeed a great human being and scholar. What he wrote would one day become the basis of religious thoughts. Conservative circles could never understand him,” said Allama Azam Saeedi, a religious scholar, author and Dr Auj’s mentor.

According to Allama Saeedi, Prof Auj had recently given a fatwa on misyar marriage (a marriage contract carried out via the normal contractual procedure with the specificity that the husband and the wife give up some of their rights with mutual consent) that it was a right practice under Islamic laws.

“Many Muslim scholars abroad had declared it legal but no one in the subcontinent had the courage to do so. Prof Auj did that,” he said, adding that the late professor also wrote a research article on AIDS in the light of the Quran and issues like whether one could use inhaler and eye-drops during fasting.

“Many people criticised him but no one could ever challenge his thoughts and research in writing,” he said.

Teachers mourn death

Classes at universities in the city were immediately suspended as soon as the news of Dr Auj’s shooting death was flashed by TV channels. Classes at Karachi University will remain suspended on Friday.

In a press release, the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association condemned the brutal murder of Prof Auj.

The NED University Teachers Association held a condolence meeting, which was attended by the vice chancellor and faculty members.

“We strongly condemn the killing of learned academicians and demand that the government and the judiciary take prompt action against such acts. A day of mourning will be observed on Friday,” says the press release.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2014