Her Biography:
Dr. Farhat Hashmi is an Islamic scholar from Pakistan, with a masters degree in Arabic and a PhD in Islamic Studies. She was formerly a lecturer and assistant professor at the Faculty of Usul-al-Din at International Islamic University, Islamabad. She taught at the International Islamic University Islamabad, while also conducting informal religious study circles for women in Islamabad.
She resigned from her post at the university to pursue her mission of establishing a center of Islamic learning, particularly catering to women. Al-Huda International is a chain of centers that cater towards the promotion of Qur’anic knowledge for the common women.
Founder of Al-Huda International:
Dr. Hashmi established the first center of her institution “Al-Huda International” in a building in downtown Islamabad. Since then, Al-Huda centers have been established in Pakistan, USA and Canada to impart the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Besides regular courses, the centers conduct special workshops which are open to the general public. Many women manage the different centers all over the world. Women scholars at her institution also conduct lectures and workshops in English, however the primary medium remains Urdu.
Hashmi herself lectures in some of these sessions, particularly during the month of Ramadan. Many of her lectures are recorded and disseminated throughout Pakistan, the Middle East, as well as the US and UK.
Her Views
Dr. Hashmi considers Taqlid in regards to Islamic jurisprudence to be permitted for those, who have no other choice, but discourages the blind taqlid that shuns the verses of the Qur’an, the Sunnah of the prophet, the sayings of the companions and the taqlid that prevents people from searching for evidence.
