At the age of seven, Ghazi enrolled into "Madrasa Khudam-ul-Qur'an" of Rahim Yar Khan, to complete the Hifz (memorization of the Quran).[3]
After his primary education, Ghazi went to study at Jamia Qasim Ul Uloom in Multan for further education, where he studied for 5 years and was a student of Mufti Mahmud.[3]
After completing his Dars-i Nizami, he served as Imam of Jamia Masjid Rashidiya, Malir for few years.[3] during this period, he also served on the advisory committee for Bayyināt, the monthly journal published by Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia.[3]
In 1976, as part of his six day state visit to Pakistan, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia also visited the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, where he prayed behind Ghazi,[10] and it was during this visit he initiated the construction of King Faisal Mosque in Islamabad and toured the nearby seminary, Jamia Faridia.[11]
Upon completion of the Faisal Mosque in 1986, President Zia ul Haq requested that Ghazi take the position of the first Imam at the newly built mosque.[12] however, Ghazi declined the offer, preferring to continue his role as the Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid, where he had already established himself as a known religious figure and had gained a strong following.[5]
In 1966, He established a small seminary at Lal Masjid, in which there were about 20 to 25 students for the Hifz class. After some time a need was felt to have a bigger place for running this seminary so that a large number of students who were increasing with the passage of time could be accommodated.[1]
In 1992, he laid the foundation for Jamia Syeda Hafsa, as the women's branch of Jamia Faridia. Located adjacent to the Lal Masjid near Aabpara,[14] the institution was built on 7,500 square yards of land.[15] The seminary is the largest women's madrasa in Pakistan.[16]
His biographer, Mufti Riaz Munsoor, wrote extensively about his daily routine. According to Mansoor, Ghazi had a strict schedule that he followed every day. He would walk seven kilometers from his home to his seminary, Jamia Faridia, where he would give lectures to his students. on his way back, he would stop at the Polyclinic Hospital to bless the patients and offer them words of encouragement.[3]
On the day of his assassination, Ghazi followed his routine as usual. He walked to Jamia Faridia to give his lectures and then stopped at the hospital on his way back. As he approached Lal Masjid, a man was waiting for him in the courtyard. The man greeted Ghazi and then pulled out a gun, opening fire and emptying a full magazine. Ghazi was badly injured, while the assassin escaped with the help of accomplices waiting outside in a car, Ghazi died of his injuries on the way to the same hospital, he had been aware of threats to his life, but he had always refused to have a bodyguard, saying that he would rather die alone than risk someone else's life with him.[19][6]
The President of PakistanRafiq Tarar expressed his sadness over the assassination in a letter, adding that "Maulana Abdullah Ghazi had spent his whole life for Islam, and kept the tradition of Ulema alive, his struggles will forever be remembered".[20]
In his honour his hometown was also renamed "Basti-Abdullah" and a new seminary was constructed there, the town gained worldwide attention in 2007 when Abdul Rashid Ghazi was buried in the courtyard of the seminary, Abdullah Railway Station near the town is also named after him.[21]
Due to a lack of confidence in Pakistan's legal system, Abdul Aziz, the elder son of Ghazi, initially declined to file a First Information Report (FIR). However, his younger son, Abdul Rashid, proceeded to file the FIR, prompting a police investigation into the case. After persistent efforts, a suspect was arrested and subsequently identified by an eyewitness during an identification parade.[22]
Despite this, the suspect was inexplicably released the following day. Abdul Rashid protested the release, warning the authorities that he would pursue legal action if the suspect was not promptly re-arrested. As pressure mounted, he reportedly faced threats, including a warning to withdraw the case or risk suffering a fate similar to that of his father. According to those close to him, this experience marked a turning point in Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s life, leading to his disillusionment with the legal system.[23][24]
