‘Allamah Imam Sarfaraz Khan Safdar, a graduate of Darul ‘Ulum Deoband, is a renowned researcher, scholar, prolific writer, lecturer in hadith and tafsir, and a leading master in tasawwuf.          

Having studied under the likes of Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Sayyid Husayn Ahmad Madani, Shaykh al-Adab wa ‘l-Fiqh Mawlana I’zaz Ali, ‘Allamah Ibrahim Balyawi and Mufti Muhammad Shafi, the respected Mawlana, who is in his late 90s and based in the town of Gujranwala (Punjab Province, Pakistan), is renowned for penning many extremely well-researched books on numerous topics. 

Mawlana Badrul Islam, a graduate of Darul ‘Ulum Karachi, recently wrote a private email about the Mawlana’s writings, which we feel compelled to share with our readers. The second paragraph is particularly insightful and throws much light on the way the ‘ulama at Darul ‘Ulum Karachi revere this pillar of knowledge, preserver of sacred knowledge and guardian of the blessed sunnah.  

Mawlana Badrul Islam wrote: 

“Without any exaggeration, he is an imam of the sciences of Islam. ‘Ulama who have read any of his tens of extraordinary works would know what an ocean [of knowledge] he is. All of his works are geared towards the more serious research scholar. Many years ago, whilst living in Bangladesh, I had his book Maqam-e-Abi Hanifah brought for me from Pakistan. Thinking it would be ‘just another biography’ of Imam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) I did not look at it for months. When I finally got round to reading it, subhanallah! It was a biography like no other. His book Rah-e-Sunnat (The Path of Sunnah) is another incredible book. I recommend two books to friends who wish to understand the concepts of sunnah and bid’ah: Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi al-Andalusi’s al-I’tisam in Arabic and Rah-e-Sunnat in Urdu. In brief, all his books are brilliant and highly beneficial.

 “I recall during our Mishkat year at Darul ‘Ulum Karachi, ‘Allamah Sarfaraz Khan Safdar saheb paid an unannounced visit. All classes were immediately suspended and all the students and teachers gathered in the mosque. Hadhrat was requested to give a dars (lesson) on Sahih al-Bukhari. Instead of a student reading the text in front of the shaykh (as is the norm), Shaykhuna ‘Allamah Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani saheb became a student and very politely and humbly asked if he could read the text! I could see some of our teachers of hadith almost fighting for Hadhrat’s feet as he sat there delivering the dars. 

‘’As for the annual Daura-e-Tafsir of the shaykh, he used to teach the entire Qur’an to ‘ulama every year during the long Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr holidays. This used to be a strictly ‘ulama-oriented study of the Holy Qur’an. If a non-‘alim were to listen to the recordings, they would mean very little to him. This annual course used to be attended by ‘ulama from several countries including India (Deoband) and Bangladesh. It, sadly, stopped when the shaykh was so old and ill that he could no longer continue.”