Prof. Moiz Manzar (1929-2008)

Professor Abdul Moiz Manzar, an eminent Islamic scholar and economist, breathed his last at a hospital in Patna on August 2 following a brief illness. He had developed blood clotting in the head after accidentally falling down on the floor about a month before his demise. He was 79.

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June 21, 2022
Professor Abdul Moiz Manzar, an eminent Islamic scholar and economist, breathed his last at a hospital in Patna on August 2 following a brief illness. He had developed blood clotting in the head after accidentally falling down on the floor about a month before his demise. He was 79.
Son of Hakim Manzarul Mobin, a renowned Unani physician of his time, Moiz Manzar was born at Bhojpur, near Khusropur, in 1929. He was eldest of the three sons and four daughters of Hakim Mobin.
He obtained his early education from Topless S.E. School, Khusropur. After passing matriculation examination, he was admitted to Patna College in 1946. While doing MA in Economics in 1951, he left for Rampur to seek admission in Sanvi Darsgah, an educational institution providing comprehensive Islamic refresher course for Muslim graduates. After doing this four-year course, he came back to Patna, completed his post-graduation and did Ph. D. on Sugar Industry. Then he joined Nawada College as Lecturer in Economics and later shifted to Commerce College, Patna and taught economics for years together. Meanwhile, he also did M.A. in Urdu and Persian.
He qualified Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) in the late 1950s but couldn’t join it due to his association with the Jamaat.
During his stay at Sanvi Darsgah Rampur, he enjoyed the company of Prof. M. Nejatullah Siddiqi, Dr. Abdul Haq Ansari, Dr. Fazlur Rahman Faridi, Prof. M. Hamidullah and others besides coming into close contact with JIH leaders, including Maulana Abul Lais Islahi Nadwi, Maulana Mohammed Yusuf and Maulana Afzal Husain as the JIH headquarters then was there at Rampur.
While studying in Class X during the mid-1940s, he got Maulana Syed Abul A’la Maudoodi’s works Tanqeehat and Khutba, wherein he found the voice of his heart. Further, his meeting with Mohammed Hasnain Syed helped him come closer to the Islamic movement. And it was during his graduation in 1949 that he formally joined the Jamaat and remained associated with it throughout his life.
Prof. Moiz Manzar was one of the few surviving members of Jamaat who had participated in the historic ijtima of Jamaat at Harwara, Allahabad in 1946 and regional ijtima at Patna in April, 1947. While participating in Harwara ijtima, he got an opportunity to meet Jamaat’s founder Maulana Syed Abul A’la Maudoodi, and attending Patna ijtima had a glimpse of Maulana Ameen Ahsan Islahi and Gandhiji, who had especially come to Patna to participate therein.
He is said to have headed the first ever Idara Adab-e-Islami organised at Patna. He was also actively involved in the Jamaat relief work at Patna following the communal riots in the pre-Partition days.
He was an author and activist. His books include Red Cloud over Afghanistan (English), Usul-e-Ma’shiat,and Zar aur Bankkaari(Urdu). His articles used to appear in newspapers and periodicals, including Times of India, Urdu daily Qaumi Tanzeem, Urdu biweekly Dawat, Urdu monthly Zindagi and English weekly Radiance. Besides, he had also some important translation works to his credit.
Prof. Moiz Manzar had no natural growth of beard since his very adolescence. But, interestingly enough, during Emergency, when he was about 45 years old, God blessed him with beard and that too full blown, and he continued to sport it as one of the basic requirements of Sunnah till the end of his life.
He married Faheema Khatoon in 1959 and had two sons Dr. Khalid Jaleel Manzar and Er. Rashid Jamil Manzar and three daughters Nabeela, Sufia and Zakia. Dr. Khalid Jaleel Manzar presently resides in New Brunswick, Canada, and Er. Rashid Jamil Manzar inDallas, Texas, USA.
Prof. Moiz Manzar was laid to rest in the Shahganj graveyard Patna the same night in the midst of his relatives, friends and admirers. He is survived by his one brother, four sisters, wife, two sons, three daughters and grandchildren.