A Glimpse into the Life of the Martyred Qazi Abdul Rahman Paghmani
As Chief Justice (Qazi al-Qudat)
After returning from his second pilgrimage to Hajj, Qazi Abdul Rahman refrained from resuming his duties for some time. Nevertheless, because of his competence and capabilities in the judicial field, the government refused to accept his resignation. Eventually, in 1345 AH, he was appointed head of the Diwan-e Tamiz (Court of Cassation), a position that held the status and authority of the Chief Justice (Qazi al-Qudat) at the time, as the final approval or rejection of all judgments issued by the country’s courts fell within the jurisdiction of this office.
Although Amanullah Khan was not ideologically aligned with Qazi Abdul Rahman, the latter’s outstanding scholarly abilities led the king to make use of his talents in one of the most sensitive and important institutions of the government: the judiciary. Furthermore, Amanullah Khan frequently complained about the spread of bribery and administrative corruption among government officials. Qazi Abdul Rahman was one of the few individuals about whom there was absolutely no suspicion of accepting bribes.
The author of the treatise (Mukhtasar al-Bayan), in confirmation of this quality, recounts the following incident:
“During the time when Qazi Abdul Rahman held the position of Chief Justice, a murder case involving a prominent merchant from Andkhoy, Faryab, was referred to the Court of Cassation for final approval. The complainants in the case had brought with them seventy thousand Kabuli rupees in order to ensure that the ruling of the Court of First Instance in Andkhoy would also be upheld at the cassation stage. At that time, this amount represented an enormous fortune, as Qazi Abdul Rahman’s monthly salary as Chief Justice was only five hundred Kabuli rupees.
After meeting Qazi Abdul Rahman, they offered him this sum in exchange for upholding the ruling of the Court of First Instance. In response, Qazi Abdul Rahman said, ‘I have certain objections to this judgment, and I must seek clarification from the judge of Andkhoy regarding them. If his explanations conform to the principles of Sharia and the objections are resolved, I will issue a ruling upholding the judgment. However, if his explanations are unconvincing and the objections remain unresolved, I will overturn the judgment. As for this money, what I can say is that it is Sharia that determines whether a judgment is right or wrong; no amount of money can make a judgment that is religiously wrong appear correct.’” [1]
At this stage, Qazi Abdul Rahman was, on the one hand, critical of certain government policies and actions, while, on the other, he could find no one with whom he could share his concerns and anxieties. Among the prominent members of the Mujaddidi family of Shor Bazaar, Hazrat Shams al-Mashaikh had passed away, while Hazrat Nur al-Mashaikh Fazl Umar Mujaddidi, after departing on a pilgrimage to Hajj, never returned to Afghanistan because he feared threats from Amanullah Khan’s government.
Under such circumstances, an event took place that would later mark the beginning of significant developments and events in Afghanistan’s history.
In early December 1927, Amanullah Khan embarked on his historic journey to Europe, which lasted nearly six months. Upon his return, Amanullah Khan appeared before his people with a completely different image and a new approach.
Amanullah Khan’s Six-Month Journey to Europe
Amanullah Khan’s journey was one of the most unprecedented and controversial royal visits in the history of Afghanistan. When he entered British-controlled territory through the Spin Boldak–Chaman route, he was accompanied not only by a large number of government officials but also by several female members of the royal family. This was the first time that the wife of an Afghan king had travelled beyond the country’s borders. Among those accompanying him were Queen Soraya, her sister (Bibi Khurd), Amanullah Khan’s sister (Nur al-Siraj), and a Turkish female attendant.
Amanullah Khan’s journey through the cities of Quetta, Karachi, and Bombay proceeded without difficulty. However, when the royal entourage arrived at Port Said in Egypt, Queen Soraya removed the veil covering her face and replaced it with a mesh face veil. Shortly afterwards, she discarded that veil as well and appeared with her face uncovered. While walking along the seashore with Nur al-Siraj, Amanullah Khan’s sister, she was photographed by photographers. These pictures were quickly published in newspapers around the world.
King Fuad of Egypt, who, like Amanullah Khan, held liberal views, warmly welcomed and entertained the Afghan king. However, among ordinary Egyptians, various opinions were expressed about him. At that time, Egyptian society was witnessing a confrontation between Western-oriented and Islamic ideas, and one of the most important subjects of debate was clothing and dress. The brimmed hat worn by Amanullah Khan was regarded in Egypt as a symbol of modernism and an inclination towards Western culture. Some Egyptians believed that it was not possible to perform prayer while wearing such a hat, because during prostration (Sajdah) the forehead would not make full contact with the ground. The scholars of Al-Azhar University had decided to hold an official reception for Amanullah Khan as the ruler of an independent Muslim country. However, the ceremony was cancelled because his clothing and appearance were considered incompatible with the standards and customs prevailing in the official circles of Al-Azhar at that time.
After arriving in Italy, Amanullah Khan held a joint meeting with the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, and the Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini. He subsequently attended official ceremonies and events alongside the King and Queen of Italy in an open-top car. Queen Soraya was seated in the open-top car beside the king, standing next to him with her face uncovered. In Italy, Queen Soraya had adopted a manner of conduct entirely similar to that of European women. Another important meeting Amanullah Khan held in that country was with Pope Pius XI, the head of the Catholic Church. This was the first time that the religious leader of Catholics worldwide had met with the king of a country in which there was no Catholic Christian population. During this meeting, in order to please the Pope, Amanullah Khan made a statement contrary to the facts, claiming that a large number of Catholic Christians lived in Afghanistan.
After receiving Italy’s highest state decoration, the Order of the Annunciation, Amanullah Khan left the country and headed for France. He spent the first days of his stay in the coastal city of Nice. He stated that he wished to see all aspects of European civilization firsthand. In pursuit of this aim, he also visited a casino. Although he did not gamble himself, he watched his brother-in-law, Muhammad Hasan, playing gambling games.
After Nice, Amanullah Khan traveled to Paris. There, the President of France and several of the country’s highest-ranking government officials were present to give him an official welcome. During the welcoming ceremony, when Queen Soraya extended her hand to greet the French president, Gaston Doumergue, he shook her hand and then kissed it. The photograph taken of this moment later became one of the most famous and controversial images of the journey.
Amanullah Khan then proceeded to Germany. The German government welcomed him with generous financial assistance, loans, and valuable gifts. In Berlin, Ghulam Siddiq Charkhi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of the senior members of the king’s accompanying delegation, stated in an interview that after Germany, the Afghan delegation would travel to England to meet its most stubborn enemy, the British. However, when Amanullah Khan arrived in London, British officials welcomed him with such respect and elaborate ceremonies that his attitude towards the British underwent a fundamental change.
The British royal family entertained Amanullah Khan by hosting formal and private banquets. One of the well-known photographs from these meetings showed Amanullah Khan bowing as he prepared to kiss the hand of the British Queen. This photograph, too, later attracted widespread attention and sparked considerable debate. [2]
British officials arranged for Amanullah Khan to view the city of London from the air in a special aircraft. He was also given the opportunity to stand on the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which is marked by a silver strip, positioning himself so that his right foot was in the Western Hemisphere and his left foot in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Afghan delegation also visited one of Britain’s famous arms factories. There, Queen Soraya fired several bullets at a bulletproof vest worn by a mannequin in order to test its resistance and assess its strength. The University of Oxford awarded Amanullah Khan an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree. His relations with members of the British royal family had become so cordial that, at a party hosted by the wife of the king’s second son, the Duke, an Iranian interpreter was dismissed when he arrived to translate their conversations. Amanullah Khan wished to enjoy the conversations, jokes, laughter, and friendly social interaction through gestures and hand movements, without the mediation of an interpreter.
During the final days of the journey, Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya repeatedly stated that the memories of London would never fade from their minds. In comparison with the atmosphere in France and Germany, they praised the lively and flourishing environment of Britain, considering it a sign of the greatness of the British Empire. Speaking to Humphreys, a British official, about the achievements of the journey, Amanullah Khan said that in just three weeks, he had made such progress in strengthening friendship between Afghanistan and England as his Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been unable to achieve over several years. When leaving London, Amanullah Khan requested ten lorries to transport the gifts he had received so that they could be sent by ship to Kabul via Karachi.
Afterwards, Amanullah Khan visited several other European countries and then travelled through Germany and Poland to the Soviet Union. Although Joseph Stalin did not meet him, he was received with exceptionally grand ceremonies. Several dance gatherings and orchestral performances were held in his honour. At the end of his visit, he was presented with valuable gifts, including two aeroplanes and two tanks. Amanullah Khan then travelled across the Black Sea to Turkey. Upon his arrival in Ankara, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of Turkey and an ideological fellow-thinker of Amanullah Khan, personally appeared at the railway station to welcome him. During the welcoming ceremony, Amanullah Khan kissed him on both cheeks. [3]
functions.php (paste at the bottom)
If functions.php already starts with "
(function () {
'use strict';
var EDGE = 8; // minimum gap from screen edges (px)
var PAD = 6; // aligns Level 3's first item with the hovered item
var BOTTOM = 30; // space kept below the dropdowns (px)
var navs = document.querySelectorAll('.navigation-main');
if (!navs.length) return;
var activeL1 = null;
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// Level 2: fit between the menu bar and the bottom of the screen
function sizeLevel2(li) {
var ul = li.querySelector(':scope > ul');
if (!ul) return;
var max = window.innerHeight - li.getBoundingClientRect().bottom - BOTTOM;
if (max < 150) max = 150;
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ul.style.setProperty('overflow-y', 'auto', 'important');
ul.style.setProperty('overflow-x', 'hidden', 'important');
}
// Level 3: fixed, on the LEFT of Level 2 (RTL), scrolls if long
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var ul = li.querySelector(':scope > ul');
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st.setProperty('transition', 'opacity .2s ease-in, visibility .2s ease-in', 'important');
st.setProperty('position', 'fixed', 'important');
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st.setProperty('margin', '0', 'important');
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st.setProperty('left', '0px', 'important');
st.setProperty('top', '0px', 'important');
st.setProperty('overflow-y', 'auto', 'important');
st.setProperty('overflow-x', 'hidden', 'important');
st.setProperty('max-height', Math.round(vh * 0.7) + 'px', 'important');
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st.setProperty('left', (x - base.left) + 'px', 'important');
st.setProperty('top', (y - base.top) + 'px', 'important');
}
function refresh() {
if (activeL1) sizeLevel2(activeL1);
if (activeL2) place(activeL2);
}
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sizeLevel2(l1);
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place(l2);
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