Tariq Mehmood Chugtai
Muhammad Tariq Mahmood Chughtai (Urdu: محمد طارق محمود چغتائی; born 26 December 1966), commonly known as Hakim Muhammad Tariq Mahmood Chughtai or Sheikh-ul-Wazaif, is a Pakistani Islamic scholar, author and practitioner of traditional and prophetic medicine. He is the founder of the Ubqari Institute and related charitable and spiritual centres based in Lahore, and the editor-in-chief of the monthly Ubqari magazine.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
Chughtai was born on 26 December 1966 in Ahmadpur East (also written Ahmadpur Sharqiya), in the Bahawalpur region of Punjab, Pakistan, into a family associated with Islamic scholarship and traditional healing.[1][3] His father, Hakim Muhammad Ramzan Chughtai, held a master's degree in psychology from the University of Karachi and was known locally as a practitioner of herbal and spiritual healing.[1]
According to biographical accounts, Chughtai received his early schooling in Ahmadpur East and later studied at Sadiq Egerton College (SC College) in Dera Nawab. He went on to study Eastern or herbal medicine at Government Tibbia College, Bahawalpur, between 1988 and 1991, reportedly graduating with distinction and a college gold medal.[3] These details are mainly reported in institutional and press profiles rather than academic sources.
Career
Spiritual work and Tasbeeh Khana
Chughtai is widely known by the honorific Sheikh-ul-Wazaif (“master of supplications”) among his followers. He has been associated with Sufi-oriented teaching and spiritual counselling, particularly through weekly sermons and gatherings held at Tasbeeh Khana, a spiritual centre in Lahore. Tasbeeh Khana hosts collective recitation, devotional practices and guidance sessions, and similar centres have been reported in other Pakistani cities.[4]
The Ubqari website describes Tasbeeh Khana in Lahore as part of the "World Center for Spirituality and Peace", located near Qurtaba Mosque in the Mozang Chungi area of the city.[5] Public announcements of weekly gatherings and live broadcasts are regularly made through Ubqari’s online and social-media platforms.[6]
Ubqari Institute and welfare activities
Chughtai is the founder of the Ubqari Institute and Ubqari Khidmat-e-Khalq (public service) Foundation, which run under the Ubqari name. Reports in local media state that the foundation organises free or subsidised herbal consultations, food distribution, educational support and emergency relief activities in Pakistan, including support for orphans, widows and low-income families.[2][4] Under his supervision, Ubqari Dawakhana (herbal pharmacy) provides herbal preparations alongside spiritual counselling, focusing on chronic and so-called “mysterious” illnesses.[2][4]
According to The Vigilant International, Ubqari Trust and related institutions operate spiritual and welfare centres such as Tasbeeh Khana in Lahore, Rohani Manzil in Murree and Ubqari Haveli in Ahmadpur East, as well as a free-meal service and legal-aid initiatives.[3] These claims, however, are primarily based on sympathetic press coverage and organisational material, and have not been extensively documented in academic literature.
Ubqari Magazine and media presence
In 2006, Chughtai launched the Urdu monthly Ubqari, described by the organisation as a non-profit magazine offering spiritual invocations, prophetic medicine advice and reader-submitted experiences, with the aim of addressing social, mental and physical problems.[7] He serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine.[1]
An article in the Urdu daily Nawa-e-Ahmedpur Sharqia reports that Ubqari has a monthly print circulation of more than 170,000 copies and describes it as one of Pakistan's popular spiritual and reformist periodicals.[4] The same profile credits Chughtai with expanding Ubqari’s reach through an official website, YouTube channel and translation of material into English and other languages.[4] These figures are not independently audited in publicly available sources.
Writings
Chughtai is reported in local press to have authored more than 275 books in Urdu on topics including spiritual reform, prophetic medicine, psychological issues and Islamic ethics.[2][4] Many of these works are circulated through Ubqari’s own publishing arm and online store.[8]
His writings include devotional and practical guides such as Do Anmol Khazanay (Two Precious Treasures), which is available in print and digital formats and is cited in various online religious and app-based collections.[9]
In the field of Partition historiography, Chughtai compiled and edited a collection of first-person testimonies from Muslim survivors of the 1947 violence in East Punjab, 1947 ke Muzalim ki Kahani khud Muzlumon ki Zabani (The Story of the 1947 Atrocities from the Victims Themselves). The work is cited in the scholarly study The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed as a source of oral accounts from Pakistani survivors of Partition-era violence.[10]
Views and approach
Press and organisational profiles describe Chughtai’s public teaching as combining Sufi devotional practices with a focus on prophetic medicine, family ethics and personal reform. His weekly sermons and writings often emphasise spiritual invocations, Qurʾanic verses and traditional herbal remedies as means of addressing emotional, social and physical difficulties.[2][3]
The Rural Media Network Pakistan profile portrays Ubqari magazine and Tasbeeh Khana as vehicles for a broader movement linking spiritual practices with everyday problems, and credits Chughtai with using digital media, including YouTube and online archives, to reach audiences in Pakistan and abroad.[2]
Awards and recognition
According to The Vigilant International, Chughtai has received several honours, including a Century Award in 1991 for a 2,400-page work titled Method of Treatment and the Khawaja Ghulam Fareed Award in 1999, as well as honorary doctorates in herbal medicine (2008) and community service (2025) from institutions in the United States.[3] These awards have been reported in sympathetic media coverage but are not yet widely documented in independent academic or governmental sources.
Local profiles in Urdu-language press present him as an influential contemporary spiritual leader and public figure, highlighting his authorship, magazine editorship and role in founding welfare projects under the Ubqari name.[2][4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "حضرت حکیم محمد طارق محمود مجذوبی چغتائی". Ubqari.org (in اردو). Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Hakim Muhammad Tariq Mahmood Chughtai — From Ahmedpur East to Global Spiritual Leadership". Rural Media Network Pakistan. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Hazrat Hakeem Muhammad Tariq Mahmood Chughtai: A Beacon of Spiritual Enlightenment". The Vigilant International. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "حکیم محمد طارق محمود چغتائی — احمد پور شرقیہ سے عالمی روحانی قیادت تک". Daily Nawa-e-Ahmedpur Sharqia (in اردو). 23 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ "Ubqari – World Center for Spirituality and Peace". Ubqari.org. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ "Ubqari spiritual gathering blessings, peace and approvals source". Ubqari.org. November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ "Ubqari Magazine". Ubqari.org. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ "Ubqari Store – Books". Ubqari Store. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ "2 Anmol Khazanay دو انمول خزانے". Scribd. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ↑ Talbot, Ian (2012). "The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed (extract)". Rupa / Studylib. pp. 2008–2014, 2497–2508. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
References
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