Editing Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi

{{short description|Pakistani spiritual leader}}
{{Unbalanced|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi<br>ریاض احمد گوہر شاہی
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1941|11|25|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Dhok Gohar Shah]], [[Mohra Noori]], [[Rawalpindi]], [[British Raj|British India]] (now [[Pakistan]])
| disappeared_date   = 2001
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| alma_mater         = 
| image              = Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi.jpg
| caption            = Gohar Shahi during an event held in [[Pakistan]]
| other_names        = 
| movement           = 
| organization       = [[Messiah Foundation International]]
| monuments          = 
| awards             = 
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi''' ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|ریاض احمد گوھر شاہی}}}}) (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual groups ''RAGS International'' (now known as [[Messiah Foundation International]])<ref name="jobshire">{{Citation|title=End Of The World 2015: NASA Slams Conspiracy Theorists' Apocalypse Threats, Says No Scientific Basis For Imminent Mass Destruction|date=1 October 2015|url=http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/28714/20151001/end-world-2015-nasa-slams-conspiracy-theorists-apocalypse-threats-scientific-basis-imminent-mass-destruction.htm|access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{Citation|title=Apocalypse now and again … your choice of dates for the end of the world |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 September 2015|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/apocalypse-now-and-again-your-choice-of-dates-for-the-end-of-the-world|access-date=1 October 2015|last1=Gabbatt |first1=Adam }}</ref><ref name="independent">{{Citation|title=End of the world: The apocalypses that await us if we make it through today|work=The Independent |date=7 October 2015|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/end-of-the-world-the-apocalypses-that-await-us-if-we-make-it-through-today-a6685046.html|access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref> and ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam''.<ref name="DAWN"/><ref name="Island3">{{Citation| last = Perera| first = Suresh| title = The practice of rituals alone does not initiate the heart with divine love| newspaper = The Island| date = 24 December 2011| url =http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=41850| access-date = 13 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="ForewordMFI">{{cite web| title = Foreword| url = http://www.goharshahi.us/mehdi-foundation-international/| access-date = 13 July 2013}}</ref>

He is the author of a number of [[Urdu]] books on topics relating to spirituality, the most successful among these being ''Deen-e-Ilahi'' "The Religion of God" (2000), which was republished by [[Hay House|Balboa Press, a division of Hay House]] and translated into English and other languages by Messiah Foundation International in 2012.<ref>{{cite web| title = Deen-e-Ilahi by R.A. Gohar Shahi| url = http://www.goharshahi.com/deen_e_elahi/urd_.shtml| access-date = 9 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title= The Religion of God (Divine Love) | url= http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx | access-date= 29 June 2012 | archive-date= 24 April 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx | url-status= dead }}</ref>

RAGS International was renamed to ''Messiah Foundation International'' in 2000.<ref name="ForewordMFI"/> MFI reports that Shahi [[List of messiah claimants|claimed]] to be the [[Mahdi]], [[Messiah]], and [[Kalki|Kalki Avatar]].<ref name="UNHCR">{{Citation|title=Structure and objective of the Mehdi Foundation and the perception of this movement in Pakistan|date=5 December 2008|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/49997ae7d.pdf|access-date=9 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="BBCUrdu1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/india/story/2007/04/070425_passport_burnt_np.shtml|title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports|publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)|date=25 April 2007|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="BBCUrdu2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1244_pkpics_wk17_zs/page3.shtml|title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports page 2|publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)|date=25 April 2007|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> Shahi disappeared from public view in 2001. There have been claims that he died in that year or in 2003, but these are unconfirmed.

==Biography==

=== Early life ===
Shahi was born on 25 November 1941 in the village of [[Dhok Gohar Shah]] in the district of [[Rawalpindi]] of [[British India]]. He is a fifth generation descendant of the [[Sufi]] Baba Gohar Ali Shah.

At the age of twenty, when he was the owner of F.Q. Steel Industries, Shahi began to search for [[spirituality]]. Eventually he became disillusioned in this search and returned to work. Shahi then married and had three children.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Religion of God|last=Gohar Shahi|first=Riaz Ahmed|year=2000|publisher=Balboa Press|location=United States|isbn=978-1-45254-908-8|pages=71|access-date=13 July 2013|url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/the-religion-of-god-divine-love.aspx|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1975, he went to [[Sehwan]] for self-mortification; he spent a period of three years in the mountains of Sehwan Sharif and the forest of Laal Bagh in self-purification, "for the sake of God's love".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Religion of God|last=Gohar Shahi|first=Riaz Ahmed|year=2000|publisher=Balboa Press|location=United States|isbn=978-1-45254-908-8|pages=xi|access-date=1 July 2012|url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/the-religion-of-god-divine-love.aspx|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Career as spiritual leader===
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = [[Messiah Foundation International]]
| image                    = 
| image_border             = 
| size                     = 
| caption                  = 
| map                      = 
| msize                    = 
| mcaption                 = 
| motto                    = 
| formation                = 1980
| extinction               = 
| type                     = Non-profit organisation
| headquarters             = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| location                 = 
| membership               = 
| language                 = [[Urdu]] & English
| leader_title             = Co-Founder
| leader_name              = [[Younus AlGohar]]
| key_people               = 
| num_staff                = 
| budget                   = 
| website                  = http://www.goharshahi.us/
}}
{{main|Messiah Foundation International}}

Shahi became popular as a Sufi preacher in [[Pakistan]] during the late 1970s. He formed ''RAGS International'' and ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam'' in 1980.<ref name="Zee"/> Of the two organisations, RAGS International is still active as [[Messiah Foundation International]] whereas Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam was reported to have been dissolved and banned in Pakistan in 2011.<ref name="JANG">{{Citation | title = (Translation) Unknown individuals shoot President of ASI and escape? | date = 16 December 2011| url= http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2011-daily/16-12-2011/cities/hyderabad/index.html | access-date = 16 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="UMMAT">{{Citation | title= (Translation) Hyderabadi Man dies in Feud over Organisation's Funds | date= 16 December 2011 | url= http://ummat.com.pk/2011/12/16/news.php?p=news-71.gif | access-date= 16 December 2011 | archive-date= 17 January 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120117173520/http://ummat.com.pk/2011/12/16/news.php?p=news-71.gif | url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="JANG2">{{Citation | title= (Translation) Man from Hyderabad Buried  | date = 17 December 2011  | url= http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2011-daily/17-12-2011/cities/hyderabad/index.html  | access-date = 17 December 2011}}</ref>[[File:Sarkar (32).jpg|thumb|right|Shahi at an event at Imam Bargah-e-Noor-e-Iman Mosque, in [[Karachi]], Pakistan. He is seen here speaking to two religious clerics from different sects within Islam: [[Shia Islam]] and [[Sunni Islam]].]]

The CEO of Messiah Foundation International is [[Younus AlGohar]]. Shahi claimed to have met with [[Jesus Christ]] in 1997.<ref name="GoharJesus" />

[[Lebanese Americans|Lebanese American]] mystic [[Hisham Kabbani]] has sat at his feet, learned from him, and praised him.<ref name="Hisham2">{{cite web |title=Shaikh Hisham's Meeting with Gohar Shahi |url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2656570065128302013&q=source:012300218563303633200 |access-date=7 March 2009 |publisher=via Google videos |archive-date=22 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622125137/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2656570065128302013&q=source:012300218563303633200 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2025}} Singers such as [[Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan]] and [[Ghulam Farid Sabri]] have been presented{{According to whom|date=November 2018}} the message of Shahi.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}} Some singers such as [[Aziz Mian]] and [[Rahat Fateh Ali Khan]] have performed at ''Shahi'' related events.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gohar Shahi |first=Riaz Ahmed |url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/the-religion-of-god-divine-love.aspx |title=The Religion of God |publisher=Balboa Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-45254-908-8 |location=United States |pages=78 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="aziz2">{{cite web |title=Aziz Mian Qawwal in Jashn e Gohar Shahi | date=29 October 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3FhFqGpSQw |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/C3FhFqGpSQw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=30 October 2010 |publisher=via YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Rahat2">{{cite web |title=Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at the 1998 birthday celebrations | date=4 September 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6UimKFBM3g |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/b6UimKFBM3g |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=10 September 2012 |publisher=via YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Legal persecution and exile===
He and many of his followers<ref name="thepersecution">{{cite web|url=http://www.thepersecution.org/ussdcirf/usirf2001.html|title=Int'l Religious Freedom Report – May 2001|publisher=The Persecution.org|date=1 May 2001|access-date=9 March 2010}}</ref> have been convicted under Islamic [[blasphemy]] laws<ref name="moon">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020210.htm |title=The Man in the Moon |author=Ardeshir Cowasjee |publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn newspaper]] |date=10 February 2002 |access-date=13 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023234052/http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020210.htm |archive-date=23 October 2010 |author-link=Ardeshir Cowasjee }}</ref> by an antiterrorist court in [[Sindh]].<ref name="hrrpt">{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/sa/710.htm| title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by United States of America|publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]]|date=23 February 2003|access-date=7 March 2010}}</ref> After he fled to [[England]], Shahi was convicted ''[[trial in absentia|in absentia]]'',<ref name="thepersecution"/><ref name="hrrpt"/> receiving sentences that totaled approximately 59 years.<ref name="moon"/>

===Disappearance===
Shahi was reported to have disappeared in 2001, in [[London]]; afterwards, sightings of him were reported around the world of people claiming to have met and received spiritual guidance from him.<ref name="SL2012">{{cite web|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2012/01/01/spreading-divine-love-messiah-foundation-international/|title=Spreading Divine Love Messiah Foundation International|publisher=Sunday Leader|date=1 January 2012|access-date=1 January 2012|archive-date=23 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523030144/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2012/01/01/spreading-divine-love-messiah-foundation-international/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In February 2002, prior to any decision on appeals filed with the [[High Court of Sindh]], [[Ardeshir Cowasjee]] claimed in an article he wrote for the Pakistani newspaper ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]'', that unnamed people who identified themselves to him as office-bearers of the All-Faith Spiritual Movement told him that Gohar Shahi died abroad, but this report was unconfirmed.<ref name=moon/>

There have been rumours of him dying, with some sources reporting that he died in 2001 and others saying he died in 2003. According to the ''Pakistani Press Foundation'' Shahi died in 2001.<ref name="UNHCR"/> An article from 2006 in the ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'' reports that Shahi died in 2003,<ref name="UNHCR"/> and a 2009 article in ''[[Your Local Guardian]]'' also says that he was reported to have died in 2003.<ref name="YLG1"/> However, none of these reports have been confirmed, as there is no body.

On the other hand, the Indian news agency PTI reported in 2008 that Shahi was based in the United Kingdom after being convicted of blasphemy by the High Court of Sindh.<ref name="UNHCR"/> This view is supported by the ''Indian Express'' which reported in 2008 that Shahi had fled to the United Kingdom and was presently based there.<ref name="IndianExpress">{{Citation|title=HC stays deportation of 67 Pakistani nationals|newspaper=The Indian Express|location=New Delhi|date=19 November 2008|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-stays-deportation-of-67-pakistani-nationa/387834/|access-date=9 October 2009}}</ref> ''Zee News'' also supported this claim.<ref name="Zee">{{Cite news|title=Delhi HC seeks response from Centre on Pakistan nationals' plea|newspaper=Zee News|author=Bureau Report|location=New Delhi|date=17 December 2008|url=http://www.zeenews.com/states/2008-12-17/491805news.html|access-date=7 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217024858/http://www.zeenews.com/states/2008-12-17/491805news.html|archive-date=17 February 2013}}</ref> The Hindustan Times has reported that he is "serving a life term".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/67-Pakistanis-in-Tihar-who-don-t-want-to-return-home/Article1-354375.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125063742/http://www.hindustantimes.com/67-Pakistanis-in-Tihar-who-don-t-want-to-return-home/Article1-354375.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2013|title=67 Pakistanis in Tihar who don't want to return home|work=Hindustan Times|date=27 November 2008|author=Abhishek Sharan|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> The ''Sunday Leader'' in Sri Lanka stated that Shahi disappeared in 2001 and sightings of him were thereafter reported around the world.<ref name="SL2012"/>

Of the two factions of Shahi's followers, the ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam'' had asserted that Shahi died, and built a tomb for him at the Markazi Aastana in [[Kotri]], where devotees performed [[pilgrimage]].<ref name="moon"/>  The MFI, in contrast, declares that he merely disappeared.<ref name="YLG1">{{cite news|url=http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/topstories/4645892.Croydon_religious_leader_faces_life_in_Pakistani_jail_for_his_beliefs|title=Croydon religious leader faces life in Pakistani jail for his beliefs|work=Your Local Guardian|date=30 September 2009|access-date=6 March 2010|first=Kirsty|last=Whalley}}</ref>

== Claims and criticism ==
[[File:India Protest (10).jpg|thumb|Pakistani followers of Shahi burning passports during a protest in India during April, 2007.]]
The teachings of Gohar Shahi have been a source of controversy. Many [[Sunni Islam|mainstream Muslim]] [[Ulema|scholars]] have condemned his teachings as blasphemy. 

Claims made by Shahi and his followers have been strongly opposed by orthodox Islamic theologians in [[Pakistan]] and abroad.<ref name="moon" /> Shahi has been accused of claiming the status of a [[prophet]].<ref name="DAWN" /><ref name="moon" /> His teachings have been condemned by Muslim religious leaders and the Pakistani government.<ref name="Daily Times">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-7-2004_pg7_43|title=Pakistan's Supreme Court upholds ban on a Shahi disciple's book|publisher=[[Daily Times (Pakistan)|The Daily Times]]|date=8 July 2004|access-date=13 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="AsiaToday">{{Citation | newspaper = Asia Today | title = Chai with...His Holiness Younus AlGohar of Messiah Foundation International | date = September 2014 | url = https://asiatodayaz.com/newspapers/2014/October_2014.pdf | access-date = 7 October 2014 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141010125013/https://asiatodayaz.com/newspapers/2014/October_2014.pdf | archive-date = 10 October 2014 }}</ref>

Shahi also predicts that the world would end in the year 2026 due to a comet heading towards earth.<ref name="jobshire"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="independent"/> He claims the comet will be the cause of "total destruction" though mentions that "in order to intimidate [mankind]… God plans destruction on a small scale".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Religion of God|last=Gohar Shahi|first=Riaz Ahmed|year=2000|publisher=Balboa Press|location=United States|isbn=978-1-45254-908-8|pages=36|access-date=13 July 2013|url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/the-religion-of-god-divine-love.aspx|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many attempts were made on the lives of Shahi and [[Younus AlGohar]] including a [[petrol bomb]] thrown into AlGohar's residence in [[Manchester]], where Shahi stayed when he toured the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Religion of God|last=Gohar Shahi|first=Riaz Ahmed|year=2000|publisher=Balboa Press|location=United States|isbn=978-1-45254-908-8|pages=xi|access-date=13 July 2013|url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/the-religion-of-god-divine-love.aspx|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Attempts">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/2717/page3.html|title=Who is Holiness|publisher=via Yahoo Geocities|access-date=9 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011123051444/http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/2717/page3.html|archive-date=23 November 2001}}</ref> A man attempted to attack him with a [[hand grenade]] during a discourse at his home in [[Kotri]], [[Pakistan]].<ref name="Attempts"/> A bounty was put on his head in Pakistan.<ref name="Attempts"/>

Shahi's books have been banned by the government of Pakistan,<ref name="Daily Times"/> and his followers are not allowed to meet in public.<ref name="10 held for raising slogans in favour of Gohar Shahi">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2002/06/26/nat33.htm|title=10 held for raising slogans in favour of Gohar Shahi|work=Dawn|location=Pakistan|date=26 June 2002|access-date=7 March 2010}}</ref>

Gohar Shahi claimed to have met with [[Jesus]] in [[United States|America]].<ref name=GoharJesus>{{cite web|title=Return of Lord Jesus: Lord Jesus meets Lord Gohar Shahi in America|url=http://www.goharshahi.us/index.php?/about/meeting-with-jesus/|access-date=1 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522005656/http://www.goharshahi.us/index.php?%2Fabout%2Fmeeting-with-jesus%2F|archive-date=22 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shahi's supporters claim that his face became prominent on the Moon, Sun, nebula star and the [[Black Stone|Black Stone in Mecca]],<ref name="hrrpt"/> and that these appearances are signs from God that Gohar Shahi is the awaited [[Imam Mehdi|Imam Mahdi]], [[Messiah]], and [[Kalki|Kalki Avatar]].

The alleged images induced greater legal and religious opposition.<ref name="10 held for raising slogans in favour of Gohar Shahi"/> Shahi has also supported this claim, saying that God had revealed the images of Shahi on the [[Moon]] and various locations, for which Shahi himself was not responsible, and if questions should be raised, they should be raised to God.<ref name="GSInterview"/> Messiah Foundation International asserts the alleged images to be signs from God, pointing to Shahi being the awaited [[Mahdi]]; they quote religious texts<ref name="SI">{{Citation|title= 'We are spiritually connected to the Awaited Ones'-Messiah Foundation Intl|place = Colombo, Sri Lanka|pages=4|year=2010}}</ref> as well as sayings from the likes of [[Nostradamus]],<ref name="manonmoon">{{Cite web| title = The Man on the Moon that Nostradamus Prophesized| url = http://www.themanonthemoon.com/| access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> and [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]] to support it.

Journalists in [[Pakistan]] asked Shahi,
<blockquote>"Many believe that you are the Mahdi, and God has revealed signs unto them which say that you are the Mahdi, but you do not officially announce that you are the Mahdi. Why?" Shahi gestured towards himself and answered, "Does Imam Mahdi not know the law of Pakistan? He knows that the law of Pakistan declares that 'whosoever claims to be the Mahdi, put him in jail'. I have given the signs of his [Mahdi's] characteristics, which the Mahdi knows and none other. Now, it is up to people to recognise him and believe him".<ref name="GSInterview">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OFtIKneQI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/r1OFtIKneQI |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Gohar Shahi interview with Scholars|date=7 August 2008 |publisher=via YouTube|access-date=13 March 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref></blockquote>

On 18 November 1997, after appearing in court before Justice Rasheed A. Razvi of Sindh High Court Hyderabad Circuit, Shahi said, "The only justification to be Hazrat Imam Mahdi is the mark on [one's] back which can prove his existence".<ref name="DAWN">{{cite news| title=Gohar Shahi, chief of Anjuman-e-Sarferoshan-e-Islam|newspaper=Karachi News|date=18 November 1997|agency=DAWN|location=Karachi}}</ref>

Of the groups following Shahi, Messiah Foundation International claims that Shahi is the awaited Mahdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar while ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam'' did not. According to MFI's website, Shahi is the Awaited Messiah, but they deny the notion that Shahi is another form of Jesus and claim that Jesus has also returned to support the Mahdi.<ref>{{cite web| title = About Imam Mehdi| url = http://www.goharshahi.us/about/ |  access-date = 13 July 2013}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
Gohar Shahi authored a number of books, including one based on Sufi poetry known as ''Taryāq-e-Qalb'' which translates to the "'Cure of Hearts'". One of his most prominent books is ''Deen-e-Ilahi (The Religion of God).''

[https://www.gohar-shahi.com/books.html Books Of Gohar Shahi]

Works by Gohar Shahi include:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title !! Urdu !! Translation !! Date !!Content
|-
| ''Taryāq-e-Qalb'' || {{Nastaliq|تریاقِ قلب}} || The Cure of Hearts  ||1976|| Sufi poetry
|-
| ''Menāra-e-Noor'' || {{Nastaliq|مینارہِ نور}}  || The Minaret of Light  ||1980|| mysticism, spiritualism
|-
| ''Roshnās'' || {{Nastaliq|روشناس}} || The Induction  ||1982||   mysticism, spiritualism
|-
| ''Rouhani Safar'' || {{Nastaliq|روحانی سفر}}  || Spiritual Journey  ||1986|| autobiography
|-
| ''Tohfa-tul Majālis'' || '''تحفةُ المجالس''' || The Gift of Congregations  ||1988||  mysticism, spiritualism
|-
| ''Deen-e-Ilāhi'' || '''دینِ الٰہی''' || The Religion of God<ref name="Deen_e_illahi_english">{{cite web| last = Staff | title = The Religion of God – Divine Love  | publisher = Balboa Press| url = http://www.thereligionofgod.com/ | access-date = 29 June 2012}} Page directing to e-book, version for [[Apple Books|iBooks]], softcover and hardcover version of the book.</ref> ||2000||  mysticism, spiritualism
|}

On 17 May 2012, Messiah Foundation International republished ''The Religion of God'' with [[Balboa Press]].<ref>{{Citation | title= The Religion of God (Divine Love) | url= http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx | access-date= 29 June 2012 | archive-date= 24 April 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170424022931/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000528516/The-Religion-of-God-Divine-Love.aspx | url-status= dead }}</ref> As of 1 June 2012, it was #5 on the publisher's Best Sellers' List.<ref>{{Citation|title=Balboa Press Best Sellers |url=http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/CategoryCenter/BABEST/Best-Sellers.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701124154/http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/CategoryCenter/BABEST/Best-Sellers.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 July 2012 |access-date=1 July 2012 }}
</ref>

Messiah Foundation International considers Shahi to be the author of the "Goharian Philosophy of Divine Love", a set of principles upon which the organisation is founded.<ref name ="ForewordMFI"/> Shahi has also authored a monthly magazine, ''Hatif-e-Mahdi'', which is banned in Pakistan for allegedly containing material offensive to the religious feelings of Muslims there.<ref name=PPF>{{Citation|title=Banned magazines to be seized |newspaper=Pakistan Press Foundation |location=Karachi |date=20 August 2005 |url=http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/usermediafilesdetails.asp?uid=6008 |access-date=16 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727162312/http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/usermediafilesdetails.asp?uid=6008 |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970]]
*[[List of messiah claimants]]
*[[Messiah complex]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi|s=Author:Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi}}
*[http://www.goharshahi.com Shahi's representative site since 2000: Messiah Foundation International]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJW8GxJtXI Jesus meets Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi.]
{{Islamic philosophy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahi, Riaz Ahmed Gohar}}
[[Category:Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi| ]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2000s missing person cases]]
[[Category:Missing Pakistani people]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in England]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Pakistani Sufi religious leaders]]
[[Category:Pakistani theologians]]
[[Category:Possibly living people]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:Self-declared mahdi]]