Junaid Babunagari

Muḥammad Junaid, popularly known as Junaid Babunagari (; 8 October 1953 – 19 August 2021), was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, educator, writer, researcher, Islamic speaker and spiritual figure. He was the Amir of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Shaykhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Hathazari Madrasa, vice-president of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh, Chairman of Chittagong Noorani Talimul Quran Board and Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Mueenul Islam.

Early life and family Muhammad Junaid was born on 8 October 1953, in the village of Babunagar in Fatikchhari Thana, Chittagong District, East Bengal, Pakistan (now Bangladesh). His mother, Fatimah Khatun, was the daughter of Harun Babunagari, founder of Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar. His mother's paternal grandfather, Sufi Azizur Rahman, was one of the founders of the Hathazari madrasa and a descendant of Caliph Abu Bakr.

Career Returning to Bangladesh in 1978, he began teaching at Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar and moved a few year later to Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam in Hathazari.

On 15 November 2020, Babunagari was elected the new Amir of Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh, replacing the group's founder, Shah Ahmad Shafi, who had died two month earlier.

Controversy On 11 April 2021, during a press conference, Babunagari claimed that COVID-19 would not spread in madrasas and demanded that these institutions be allowed to remain open during the lockdown. Despite this public stance, Babunagari and several other Hefazat leaders later received their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to a media statement from Hefazat, Babunagari received his vaccine on 8 August 2021, with the intention of easing vaccine concerns among Islamic scholars in the country.

Works He has written and edited about 30 books in Arabic, Urdu and Bengali, including: Shab-e Baraat Between Excess and Rejection (বাড়াবাড়ি ছাড়াছাড়ির কবলে শবে বরাত) Ruling on Beard in Islam (ইসলামে দাড়ির বিধান) Tawheed and Shirk: Type and Nature (তাওহীদ ও শিরক প্রকার ও প্রকৃতি) Muqaddimatul Ilm: Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, Fatwa (মুকাদ্দিমাতুল ইলম : তাফসীর হাদীস ফিকাহ ফতোয়া)

The following books are compiled and edited by the direct supervision and guidance of Babunagari: Islam vs Contemporary Doctrine (ইসলাম বনাম সমকালীন মতবাদ) Common Fake Hadith: A Theoretical Analysis (প্রচলিত জাল হাদীস: একটি তাত্ত্বিক আলোচনা)

Babunagari has written one of the prefaces to Al-Kitab al-Budoor al-Mudiyyah fi Tarajim al-Hanafiyyah by Mawlana Hifzur Rahman al-Kumillai.

Death and legacy After suffering from various diseases of old age including heart disease, kidney and diabetes for a long time, Junaid Babunagari died of a stroke at the age of 67 on 19 August 2021 at CSCR Hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh. His funeral, held in Hathazari on the grounds of the madrassa where he used to teach, was attended by tens of thousands of people.

Junaid Babunagari left behind a wife, one son (Muhammad Salman Babunagari) and five daughters.