Explainer: Who is Saad Kandhalvi, the centre of Islamic group's rally today?

The grand rally organised by Ulama Mashayekh Bangladesh in the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan today brought together Islamic leaders and scholars from across the country to discuss various issues, with a focus on opposing Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi of Delhi, a prominent figure in the Tablighi Jamaat. 

The gathering called for a restriction on Kandhalvi and his followers from attending the Biswa Ijtema and making the Kakrail mosque off-limits to them.

The controversy around Kandhalvi had been sparked years ago.

In 2018, a faction of the Tabligh Jamaat blocked the busy Airport Road protesting the arrival of the Saad Kandhalvi from India to attend the Ijtema. It was reminiscent of what had happened just a year earlier.

The protests were mostly led by members of Hefajat-e- Islam who chanted slogans against Kandhalvi for what they claimed were "controversial comments about the Koran and Sunnah".

More importantly, Kandhalvi had also at the time announced himself as the sole Amir of Tabligh Jamaat, angering senior preachers of the Tabligh headquarters in India as well.

Kandhalvi had courted controversy over similar comments, with Deobandi leaders also issuing a fatwa against him.

In the end, Kandhalvi could not attend the 53rd Ijtema, returning home to India soon after.

Kandhalvi's absence meant a new trajectory would be charted for the Ijtema – the second largest congregation of Muslims across the world.

A forced heir? 

Maulana Zubair ul Hasan, the former Amir of Tabligh Jamaat, had established a 10-member Suru committee (advisory body) to lead the organisation in 1995.

The body was tasked with electing a new chief after his death, but it failed to do so.

In the vacuum that followed, three persons were elected chief, including Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi. Once the other two passed, Saad elected as the head of Tabligh Jamaat and in 2017 he was made the head of Tongi Ijtema.

Khandhalvi's introduction of a single leadership was not well received, leading to a split in leadership.

In February 2017, Darul Deoband issued a decree warning Muslims, particularly those associated with Tabligh, about him, stating that his understanding of interpreting the Quran and Sunnah was misguided and contrary to agreed-upon and unanimous principles.

He was also accused by Darul Uloom of insulting the prophets and messengers of Allah.

What we know about Saad Khandalvi

Saad Kandhlawi is an Islamic scholar and preacher associated with the Tablighi Jamaat, a prominent global Islamic missionary movement founded in India in the 1920s.

He is a descendant of the movement's founder, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi, and is often viewed as a key figure in the Tablighi Jamaat's leadership.

Saad Kandhlawi emerged as a prominent figure within the Jamaat in recent years, advocating for the movement's traditional approach to grassroots Islamic outreach and revival.

He completed his Dars-e-Nizami studies from Madrasa Kashiful Uloom at Nizamuddin Markaz, Nizamuddin West, South Delhi in 1987.