The Study Circle Series is a programme of learning presented by Dr. Hafiz Ather Hussain al-Azhari, held at the Islamic Centre, Leicester, UK. Over the last ten years, Islamic topics relating to fiqh, seerah and aqidah have been addressed in detail, with Powerpoint presentations. Abul Noor exclusively presents the notes and videos from this series.
Maulana Abul Noor Muhammad Bashir (1913-2007) was a renowned author orator and poet. Born and raised in Kotli Loharan, Sialkot Pakistan he gained his early education from his father Faqi Aazam Maulana Abu Yusuf Muhammad Sharif. He went on to study at Darul Uloom Jamia Hizbul Ahnaaf Lahore.
He returned and began preaching. In 1951 he started Mah e Taibah a monthly magazine which he edited for over two decades. He penned many books including Sachhi Hikaayat, Jibreel ki Hikaayat, Shaytan ki Hikaayat, Aana jaana Noor ka, Aurat ki Hikaayat, Sunni Ulama ki Hikaayat, Deoband ulama ki hikaayat, Labbayk Ya Sayyidi to name but a few.
Born and raised in Leicester, Shahid Hussain is a freelance part time translator and has undertaken the translation of several publications starting in 2012 with the publication of ‘Jibreel Stories’ and has followed it up in 2016 with ‘True Stories of Islam volume 1’ which is the translation of the opening volume of Sachhi Hikayat. In 2019, ‘Shaytan ki Hikayat’ was published in to English and is entitled ‘Shaytan Stories.’ Several other books are ready for publication and will be launched in due course In Sha Allah.
He met Maulana Muhammad Bashir Sahib and is well acquainted with his son Maulana Ata Al Mustafa who currently resides in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
On Monday 1st December 2025 (9 Jumāda II, 1447), Sahibzada Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel departed from this world and began the heavenly journey to his Merciful Lord. Indeed to Allah we belong and to Allah we return. We pray that Allah elevates his status in Paradise and grants his the prized intercession of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), āmīn.
Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel was born in 1942 (1361 AH) in Kotli Loharan, Sialkot, Pakistan. He was the son of Sultan al-Wa’izin Mawlana Abu’l Noor Muhammad Bashir and the grandson of Faqi Azam Mawlana Abu Yusuf Muhammad Sharif Kotlawi (may Allah have mercy upon them). As someone who thus grew up in a household of piety, Islamic tradition and heritage, Ata al-Mustafa Jameel excelled in the Islamic sciences and gained a reputation as a prodigious student. He completed his Islamic seminary education (dars-e-nizami) at Jamia Hanafiyya (Sialkot) and then enrolled at the famous Oriental College (Lahore) where he studied MA Arabic. Here, he was awarded a “gold medal” in 1969, a national reward system by which the most intelligent students of the entire country are rewarded.
Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel’s career as an Imam blossomed quickly and with ample blessings. He inherited his father’s skill for oratory, and soon became known as an outstanding speaker throughout Pakistan. Every Friday, he delivered his Jumu’a Khutba in Gujranwala in his unique and explosive manner.
It was only a matter of time before his master oratory skills were in demand on the international stage. In the late 1970s, Leicester Mosque employed Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel as their chief Imam, a duty he fulfilled for many years. He returned to Pakistan thereafter to continue his propagation duties. In later years, he did return to the United Kingdom on short tours, between 1999 and 2002. At the behest of Hafiz Hanif Khakhi (d. 2021), Allama Ata al-Mustafa delivered memorable lectures at Masjid Gulzar-e- Madinah in Leicester, as well as speeches elsewhere on topics like Muharram, Mawlid al-Nabi, Hazrat Dāta Gang Bakhsh Ali Hujwiri, Mujaddid Alf Thani and Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan
Though primarily known as an orator, Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel excelled as a writer too. His father was the founder and chief-editor of Mah-e-Tayba, a monthly journal of academic papers and articles. Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel assisted his father in this area, contributing articles and helping with editing duties. He played a pivotal role in the republishing of his grandfather’s works, including Dalā’il al-Masā’il and Fiqh al-Faqīh. With Sultan al-Wa’izin Mawlana Abu’l Noor Muhammad Bashir, he helped pen Ana Jana Noor Ka a comprehensive book about the mawlid and mi’rāj of the Beloved of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah upon him). Whilst working as the imam in Leicester, he compiled a small booklet entitled ‘To a Muslim daughter- the rules of cleanliness’, which was printed by the Islamic Centre.
Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel visited Makka and al-Madina with his brother Allama Zia al-Mustafa Sharif, his son Hassan Jameel and his grandson Taha in late 2025. It was a short time after this ziyāra that he fell ill in Pakistan. At the beginning of December, the Islamic Ummah received the news that one bright star in the scholarly sky had deprived us of its warmth and radiance. To Allah we belong and to Allah we return. His grandson Taha Ata al-Mustafa Jameel is currently studying at Jamia Rizwia Zia ul-Uloom (Rawalpindi), under the supervision of Sayyid Hasinuddin Shah Sahib. Taha is the anointed successor to this scholarly family.
All members of AbulNoor Publications are deeply saddened by his demise, but are left with golden memories of his companionship, warmth and sincerity. Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel had a unique ability to communicate effectively, a trait which he used to great effect on the pulpit and off it. He left a positive and abiding memory on every person he met. As a scholar, he possessed an unparalleled and deep understanding of the Qur’an and Sunna. Each speech of his was in reality a direct praise of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Allama Ata al-Mustafa Jameel is buried in Kotli Loharan, next to his blessed father (Mawlana Abu’l Noor Muhammad Bashir, d. 2007) and grandfather (Faqi Azam Mawlana Abu Yusuf Muhammad Sharif Kotlawi, d 1951). May Allah shower all of them with His infinite blessings, āmīn.