Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) (Updated)

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi[1]

(1238-1302 /1823-1885) 

 

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar ibn Lutf ‘Ali ibn Muhammad Hasan al-Siddiqi al-Hanafi Nanautwi—the righteous imam, ‘arif (knower of Allah) and mujahid—was amongst the leading scholars of fiqh, hadith, and tasawwuf in his time. 

A descendant of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), he was born in Nanautah, a village in the district of Saharanpur (UP, India). He initially studied under his father with whom he completed the memorization of the Qur’an (hifz).  He then travelled to Delhi, where he studied under Mufti Sadr al-Din Dehlawi, Mawlana Rashid al-Din Khan, the teacher of many shaykhs Mawlana Mamluk al-‘Ali Nanautwi, Mawlana Ahmad ‘Ali Saharanpuri and Shah ‘Abd al-Ghani Dehlawi. He studied some books of hadith from the renowned scholar of hadith Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dehlawi, the great grandson of Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi and successor of Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Dehlawi. 

After studying in Delhi, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi occupied himself in correcting manuscripts (tas’hih) at the publishing house of Nawlkashur. Later he taught Islamic sciences at Ajmer College, and then at Agra College. 

The Battle of Shamli 

In 1273/1857, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar fought against the British in the Battle of Shamli under the leadership of Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki, alongside senior scholars such as Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi, Hafiz Zamin Shahid, Mawlana Rahmat Allah Kiranwi and his own younger brother Mawlana Muhammad Munir Nanautwi. It was in this battle that he sustained serious wounds. 

Mufti Mahmud Hasan Gangohi relates: 

‘‘It was the habit of Mawlana Mazhar Nanautwi that he would often lick his upper lip. Someone once asked him the reason for this, but the respected Mawlana did not inform him. When this person insisted, Mawlana remarked, ‘When the battle against the British took place at Shamli, and the Muslims were being attacked, some of my comrades were dying and my leg was also hit by a bullet (due to which it became paralysed). In this state, I saw Hurs (damsels of Paradise) with glasses in their hands. The glasses were filled with a special type of drink that they were giving to those of my fallen comrades who were dying and had no chance of surviving. As this was happening, one of the damsels came towards me. She had just placed a glass against my mouth when another damsel took hold of her hands, pulled them away [from me] and said, ‘He is not among those who are to pass away.’ A very small amount of this drink fell on my upper lip, the [sweet] taste of which remains till today. This is why I have this habit [of licking my upper lip.]” [2] 

After the battle was over, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar went into hiding at Bareilly. Once a general amnesty was declared, he emerged from hiding and thereafter began teaching at his home. 

Teaching the Islamic Sciences 

Many students studied fiqh, usul al-fiqh (principles of Islamic law), kalam (scholastic theology), mantiq (classical logic), Arabic grammar and other related sciences from him. 

In Shawwal 1283/February 1867, he was appointed headteacher at a madrasah founded in Saharanpur by Mawlana Sa‘adat ‘Ali Saharanpuri, the well-known jurist (faqih), who was a participant of the 1273/1857 jihad and a devoted follower of Shah Ahmad ibn ‘Irfan Barelwi—the martyr of Balakot.[3] When this madrasah progressed and an exclusive building was established for it, it was named Mazahir-e-‘Ulum in Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar’s honour. He exerted his efforts in teaching the Qur’an and Sunnah (hadith), and in disseminating knowledge and the Islamic sciences. He was also involved with the administration of Mazahir-e-‘Ulum at every level and taught there until the end of his life. During his nineteen years at Mazahir-e-‘Ulum he taught all the six canonical collections of hadith as well Mu’atta Imam Malik, Shama’il al-Tirmidhi and Sunan al-Darimi. He taught [from the] various renowned commentaries of the Qur’an as well as Durr al-Mukhtar and other famous works of Hanafi fiqh and usul al-Fiqh. He toiled hard to ensure that the madrasah maintained a high academic standard and he succeeded in doing so. This was acknowledged and appreciated by scholars associated with the madrasah, including Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. It is testimony to the efforts and sincerity of Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi that after his death the consultative committee of Mazahir-e-‘Ulum were unable to find anyone of his calibre to replace him in his all-encompassing role at the madrasah. 

He had many outstanding students; most prominent amongst them was the eminent hadith scholar Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri.[4] Hujjat al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi, founder of the renowned Islamic seminary, Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, also studied some primary books[5] under his tutelage. 

He also assisted in completing Ghayat al-Awtar, the Urdu translation of Imam ‘Ala’ al-Din al-Haskafi’s al-Durr al-Mukhtar, as stated in its introduction by Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautwi.[6] 

From the legacy of Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi’ is the continuous chain of exceptional hadith scholars that have graduated from Mazahir-e-‘Ulum, which include and is not limited to the likes of: 

• Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
• ‘Allamah Zafar Ahmad ‘Uthmani
• Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi
• Mawlana ‘Abd al-Rahman Kamilpuri
• Mawlana Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi
• Mawlana Ashfaq al-Rahman Kandhlawi
• Mawlana Muhammad Ayyub Saharanpuri
• Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi
• Mawlana Badr-e-‘Alam Miruthi,
• Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Yunus Jonpuri.

His Characteristics and the Spiritual Path 

He trod the path of tasawwuf under the guidance of Shaykh al-Sunnah Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, who granted him permission (ijazah) to initiate others into the path. This despite him being older than his beloved shaykh. 

Mawlana Qari Muhammad Tayyib Qasimi relates from his father, Mawlana Muhammad Ahmad Qasimi: 

‘‘Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi once saw Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi in a dream, sitting on a throne. Mawlana (who was older than the two shaykhs) relayed the dream in a letter to Haji Imdad Allah in which he also requested him to accept his bay‘ah (pledge of spiritual purification). In reply, Haji Imdad Allah interpreted the dream by instructing him to give bay‘ah to either one of the two [shaykhs]. Therefore, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar brought the letter to Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi and requested him to accept his bay‘ah. Embarrassed, Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi replied, ‘Accept my bay‘ah instead!’ Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar remarked, ‘Here, this is the letter [of Haji Imdad Allah] and this is the instruction.’ Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi then said, ‘Let me give you some sound advice. Proceed to Gangoh.’ Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar went there. At first, Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi also declined. He, however, later accepted bay‘ah.’’ [7]

Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi would express his embarrassment at the love, respect and veneration afforded him by Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi. Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi was a person of great insight (basirat). The respect he showed his shaykh due to his eminence and lofty rank, and the love he felt for him, was natural for him as a disciple. However, Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi was unable to disregard his disciple’s seniority in age and felt obliged to act according to the blessed words of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), ‘‘He who does not have mercy on our young, and does not respect our elders is not of us.’’ (Tirmidhi) 

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi was also granted ijazah in tasawwuf by Shaykh al-‘Ulama’ Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki, in whose heart he held a special place, as indicated in his letters (maktubat).

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi was from amongst the ascetic and righteous ‘ulama’; he would be referred to in matters of fiqh. He was an erudite scholar of the rational (ma‘qul), literary (lughawi), and Islamic sciences, who embodied Shari‘ah and Tariqah. He would habitually use perfume when reciting the Qur’an in tarawih prayers. He would refrain from affectation (takalluf) and was an awe-inspiring person; very few people would have the courage to speak in his presence. He was known for his simplicity, humbleness, piety, intelligence and wisdom.   

Mawlana Sayyid Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi wrote of him: 

‘‘He was a scholar of deep learning, who had mastery over the [Islamic] sciences. He gave bay‘ah to Imam Rashid Ahmad ibn Hidayat Ahmad Gangohi, who granted him ijazah. He would recite the Qur’an often, would be constantly engaged in the remembrance of Allah, and his tongue would remain moist with [the utterance of] Ism al-Dhat (Allah). He remained aloof from affectation, was an ascetic of an austere nature, dignified and was awe-inspiring.’’ [8]

 Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya writes in Tarikh-e-Mazahir-e-‘Ulum (History of Mazahir-e-‘Ulum):    

‘‘Mawlana Mazhar Nanautwi had very close relationships with Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi and Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Despite being senior in age to Mawlana Gangohi, he was from amongst his deputies (khalifahs) and beloved servants.  In fact he was an ardent lover of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and was extremely devoted to him. He had great understanding of fiqh and hadith. He was an Allah-fearing, pious, soft-natured and virtuous saint. ’’[9]

Journeys on Hajj 

His first Hajj, in which Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi and Mawlana Ya‘qub Nanautwi accompanied him, was performed in 1277/1861. He performed his second Hajj in 1294/1877 in the company of his shaykh Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi, Mawlana Ya‘qub Nanautwi, Mawlana Shah Rafi‘ al-Din, Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud al-Hasan and others.  

Famous Brothers 

He had two brothers, both younger than him, who were accomplished scholars. 

The elder of the two, Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautwi, was a prominent Hanafi jurist who translated a number of classical works in Urdu. In contrast to his brothers, elders and companions, Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautwi actively opposed the jihad of 1273/1857. Due to this, under duress of the local populace, he was forced to leave Bareilly, his town of residence. He returned later, after the battle had ended. There, aided by his two brothers, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar and Mawlana Muhammad Munir, he established a publishing house called Matba‘-e-Siddiqiyyah.[10] A number of brilliant works were published from there, including: 

• A critical edition of Qadi ‘Iyad al-Maliki’s Al-Shifa’
• Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi’s Tahdhir al-Nas
• Various works of Hakim al-Islam Shah Wali Allah al-Dehlawi.  

Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautwi’s translations include: 

• Imam Ghazali’s Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din
• Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah’s Ighathat al-Luhfan
• Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi’s Al-Insaf fi Bayan Sabab al-Ikhtilaf and Al-‘Iqd al-Jid fi Ahkam al-Ijtihad wa ‘l-Taqlid.  

He translated and annotated: 

• Imam al-Nasafi’s Kanz al-Daqa’iq
• The latter part of ‘Allamah al-Haskafi’s Durr al-Mukhtar.  

 He also annotated the following works of Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi: 

• Qurrat al-‘Aynayn fi Tafdil al-Shaykhayn
• Izalat al-Khafa’ ‘an Khilafat al-Khulafa’
• His Magnus opus Hujjat Allah al-Balighah.

He also collated the juridical edicts (fatwas) of Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Dehlawi. 

Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan was wrongly and unjustly declared an unbeliever by some ‘ulama of Bareilly[11] when he attested to a verdict of the famed scholar ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Hayy Lucknowi, in which the latter had authenticated the narration of Sayyiduna ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the creation of seven Earths and the existence of Prophets on each of them.[12] 

His teachers included Mawlana Mamluk al-‘Ali Nanautwi, Mawlana Ahmad ‘Ali Saharanpuri and the renowned hadith scholar Shah ‘Abd al-Ghani Dehlawi, from whom he also received ijazah in tasawwuf. Luminaries with whom he enjoyed close relationships included: 

• Shah ‘Abd al-Ghani Dehlawi
• Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki
• Mawlana Ahmad ‘Ali Saharanpuri
• Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
• Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi
• Mawlana Nur al-Hasan Kandhlawi
• ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Hayy Lucknowi
• Mawlana Muhammad Husayn Muradabadi
• Shaykh Nihal Ahmad Deobandi
• Mawlana Fayd al-Hasan Saharanpuri.

 

He lies buried in the Qasimi cemetery in Deoband alongside Mawlana Dhu ‘l-Fiqar ‘Ali, father of Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. 

The youngest brother, Mawlana Muhammad Munir Nanautwi, was a student of Mawlana Mamluk al-‘Ali Nanautwi, Mufti Sadr al-Din Dehlawi and Shah ‘Abd al-Ghani Dehlawi. He served as a principal of Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband for a short period upon the request of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. He also actively fought alongside senior ‘ulama’ in the battle of Shamli in 1273/1857. He was heavily involved with Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan’s publishing house, Matba‘-e-Siddiqiyyah. His academic works include an Urdu translation of Imam Ghazali’s Minhaj al-‘Abidin. He had a very close relationship with Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi and was particularly known for his knowledge, piety, honesty and integrity. 

Final Illness and Death  

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi endured pain in his kidneys for a number of years and passed away at the age of sixty-four (Islamic years) after Maghrib prayers on the evening of Monday 24^th Dhu ‘l-Hijjah 1302/October 1885. During his final illness, he would often touch his forehead searching for traces of sweat, as according to the Prophetic hadith it is a sign of a believer’s death. When his death was near and he began sweating from his forehead, his face lit up with joy. He was not survived by any children. 

May Allah enlighten his resting place. May Allah shower His mercy upon him and grant him, his teachers and students the highest stations in Paradise. Amin.

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[1]               Adapted from Al-I‘lam bi man fi Tarikh al-Hind min al-A‘lam (also known as Nuzhat al-Khawatir), Akabir ‘Ulama’-e-Deoband, Hadrat Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi awr unke Khulafa’, Awjaz al-Masalik ila Mu’atta al-Imam Malik, Tadhkirat al-Rashid, Tarikh-e-Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband and other sources.   

[2]               Malfuzat-e-Faqih al-Ummat (Karachi: Dar al-Huda, September 2005 ed.) Vol 3, p. 264-265 by Mufti Muhammad Faruq Mirathi.

[3]               One of the greatest spiritual guides of the Indian sub-continent in the last few centuries. He is popularly known as Sayyid Ahmad Shahid.

[4]               Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri’s love for his teacher can be gauged from the fact that when he became extremely ill in 1340/1922, he wrote in his will, ‘Bury me beside my teacher Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi.’ (See Sawanih ‘Ulama’-e-Deoband (Deoband: Nawaz Publications, Jan 2000 ed.), Vol 1, p. 502-503)

[5]               Mawlana Anwar al-Hasan Sherkoti writes in Anwar-e-Qasimi that Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi studied Sharh Mi’ah ‘Amil, Hidayat al-Nahw, ‘Ilm al-Sighah and other books from Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi. (See Sawanih ‘Ulama’-e-Deoband (Deoband: Nawaz Publications) Vol 1, p. 501)

[6]              See Ghayat al-Awtar (Karachi: H M Sa‘eed Company, 1398 AH ed.) Vol 1, p.10

[7]               Arwah-e-Thalathah, also known as Hikayat-e-Awliya’ (Karachi: Darul Isha‘at, December 2001 ed.) p. 227-228.

[8]               Al-I‘lam bi man fi Tarikh al-Hind min al-A‘lam also known as Nuzhat al-Khawatir (Idara Ta’lifat-e-Ashrafia, 1413/1993) Vol 7, p. 480 by Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy al-Hasani Nadwi and Mawlana Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi.

[9]               Akabir ‘Ulama’-e-Deoband (Lahore: Idara Islamiat, Ramadhan 1419/January 1999 ed.) p.37-38 by Hafiz Sayyid Muhammad Akbar Shah Bukhari.

[10]             See footnote in ‘Ulama’-e-Hind ka Shandar Madi (Karachi: Maktabah Rashidia, 1406/1986 ed.) p.306 by Mawlana Sayyid Muhammad Miyan.

[11]             Mawlana Naqi ‘Ali Khan, father of Mawlana Ahmad Ridha Khan, in particular.

[12]             See Sawanih ‘Ulama’-e-Deoband (Deoband: Nawaz Publications, Jan 2000 ed.), Vol 1, p. 529-534 for details.

 

Shaykh Salman al-Husayni al-Nadwi (may Allah protect him)

Shaykh Salman al-Husayni al-Nadwi 

Birth and Lineage 

Salman ibn Tahir al-Husayni al-Nadwi, born in 1954 CE in the city of Lucknow, was born into a pious, noble, and erudite family of scholars. His lineage can be traced back to Sayyiduna Husayn ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), whose noble progeny would become famous for its tireless services in propagating the religion and sacrifice in the path of Allah, the likes of the great mujahid Imam Ahmad ibn ‘Irfan al-Shahid (died 1246 AH) and the great mufakkir ‘Allamah Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Hasani al-Nadwi (died 1420 AH). 

Education 

Shaykh Salman began his elementary education at a branch school of Nadwat al-‘Ulama where he memorized the Qur’an at an early age. After completing a middle school level education of Islamic studies, he matriculated to a graduate program at the College of Shari‘ah and Usul al-Din in Dar al-‘Ulum Nadwat al-‘Ulama’. After graduation in 1974 CE, he, alongside a group of other graduates, established the Jam‘iat Shabab al-Islam (Muslim Youth Assembly), an organization that is considered today to be one of the largest and most active Islamic organizations in India.

Shaykh Salman completed a masters degree in Hadith (al-Hadith al-Sharif wa ‘Ulumuhu) from Nadwat al-‘Ulama’ in 1976 CE. A year later, he was admitted into the College of Usul al-Din at the Jami‘at al-Imam Muhammad ibn Sa‘ud al-Islamiyyah (Riyadh) and continued to pursue higher education in the field of Hadith. He received his masters degree in Hadith studies with high recognition in 1980. His dissertation, Jam‘ Alfaz al-Jarh wa ‘l-Ta‘dil wa Dirasatuha min Kitab Tahdhib al-Tahdhib li ‘l-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, was completed under the supervision of the erudite hadith and usul scholar, ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah (may Allah shower mercy on him). Shaykh Salman benefited heavily from Shaykh Abu Ghuddah in the field of hadith studies during his stay at the Jami‘ah and was amongst his most distinguished and beloved students.

 Teaching

Upon his return to India, Shaykh Salman was appointed a lecturer on Hadith at Dar al-‘Ulum Nadwat al-‘Ulama’ and later a full-time professor of Hadith. Eventually, he was chosen to be director of faculty for both the Shari‘ah and Usul al-Din colleges.

 Travels

Shaykh Salman has travelled extensively throughout the world for the sake of Islam. He has served as a guest lecturer at numerous universities and Islamic institutions in dozens of Muslim and non-Muslim countries around the world. As a representative and now substitute for his indirect grandfather, ‘Allamah Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi (may Allah shower His mercy on him), he has attended countless Islamic conferences and spoken on a wide variety of topics, the Arabic speeches of which are always delivered in eloquent, fluid Arabic. His tender and mild character, boldness upon the truth, and purity of language have captured the hearts of audiences wherever he has travelled.  Coupled with the eloquence of his tongue and the magnificence of his speech, Shaykh Salman is also a true inheritor of his grandfather’s academic prowess and zeal for da‘wah.

Contributions

Shaykh Salman has served the Muslim community in India through various methods and Islamic institutions over the years. Amongst his most lasting and significant contributions has been the establishment of the Madrasat al-Imam Ahmad ibn ‘Irfan al-Shahid al-Islamiyyah in 1975 CE, one of India’s largest and most successful institutions of Islamic learning today.

He has likewise helped to lay the foundations for a large number of other religious and secular schools, institutes of technology for Muslim children, and free hospitals for the poor and needy.

 Academic Works

Despite the Shaykh’s numerous travels and time constraints, many academic works in both Urdu and Arabic can be attributed to his name. Likewise, he has contributed greatly to the publication of many of his grandfather’s (‘Allamah Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi) works and their translation into Arabic. Below is a brief list of some of Shaykh Salman’s works:

 1.       Jam‘ Alfaz al-Jarh wa ‘l-Ta‘dil wa Dirasatuha min Kitab Tahdhib al-Tahdhib li ‘l-Hafiz Ibn Hajar

2.       Al-Amanah fi Daw’ al-Qur’an

3.       Al-Ta‘rif al-Wajiz bi Kutub al-Hadith

4.       Al-Imam al-Dihlawi wa Ara’uhu fi al-Tashri‘ al-Islami

5.       Lamhah ‘an ‘Ilm al-Jarh wa ‘l-Ta‘dil

6.      Muqaddimah fi Usul al-Hadith li ‘l-Muhaddith al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi (editing , annotation, and brief marginal notes)

7.       Al-Fawz al-Kabir fi Usul al-Tafsir li ‘l-Imam Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi (translation from Persian to Arabic and marginal notes)

Some of ‘Allamah Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi’s books that have been translated into Arabic by Shaykh Salman include:

8.       Rijal al-Fikr wa ‘l-Da‘wah fi ‘l-Islam (Imam Sarhindi volume)

9.       Rijal al-Fikr wa ‘l-Da‘wah fi ‘l-Islam (Imam Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi volume)

10.      Fi Masirat al-Hayat (Volumes 1 and 2)

(For more detail, see his thorough biography and list of sanads in al-‘Iqd al-Lujayni fi Asanid al-Shaykh Salman al-Husayni by Dr. Akram Nadwi, Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, Beirut.

This biography was adapted by Mawlana Bilal Ali Ansari from Shaykh ‘Abd al-Majid al-Ghawri’s brief biographical mention of Shaykh Salman al-Nadwi in the introduction to his edited version of Muqaddimah fi Usul al-Hadith li ‘l-Muhaddith al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi)

 

Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi And The Wali Allahi Tradition

Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah Sindhi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) writes: 

‘‘Shaykh al-Islam Abu Mas‘ud Rashid Ahmad Gangohi is the son of Hidayat Allah Ansari. He was born in 1244 AH, and learnt from Mawlana Mamluk ‘Ali [Nanautwi], Mawlana ‘Abd al-Ghani [Dehlawi], Mawlana Ahmad Sa‘id [Dehlawi], and Mawlana Imdad Allah [Muhajir Makki] etc. I personally studied a large portion of Sunan Abi Dawud from him. Allah granted me immense benefit through it. It is the effect of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad’s company that I followed his maslak in such a way that I never even contemplated moving away from it. Through him, the Wali Allahi approach to fiqh and hadith became manifest to me, and through his blessings I became well versed in the fundamentals as well as advanced rational discourse in the sciences of fiqh, suluk & ma‘rifah, Arabic and the Qur’an & Sunnah. I found Mawlana Rashid Ahmad to be a well-versed imam and mujtahid of the Hanafi School. He conformed strictly to the school of thought of his teacher, Mawlana ‘Abd al-Ghani, and was as unshakeable as a mountain in this regard. He closely resembled Mawlana Muhammad Ishaq [Dehlawi][1] in the Wali Allahi maslak. I understood the reality of sunnah and bid’ah from his book, Barahin-e-Qati‘ah. He had authored this book in support of Shah Isma‘il Shahid’s work, Idah al-Haq. Mawlana Rashid Ahmad became the Imam of the Deobandi group after Amir Imdad Allah and Mawlana Qasim [Nanautwi][2]. In excess of three thousand shaykhs attained religious knowledge from him. His year of passing is 1323 AH.’’ 

Shah Wali Allah awr unki Siyasi Tehrik, p. 197 (Sindh Sagar Academy, 2008 ed. by Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah Sindhi)

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[1] Grandson and successor of Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Dehlawi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him)

[2] Please refer to the work this paragraph is being quoted from for details.

 

Brief Notes On Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him)

Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah Sindhi writes: 

‘‘Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan was my teacher. During my stay at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband my sole reliance was upon him. His father’s name was Dhu ‘l-Fiqar ‘Ali. His genealogy stretches back to the Umayyad branch of the Quraysh. 

Mawlana Mahmud Hasan was born in 1268 AH/1851 CE. He gained primary education from his father and paternal uncle. He gained admission into the Madrasah of Deoband when it was founded in 1283 AH /1866 CE, and studied under Mawlana Muhammad Ya‘qub ibn Mamluk ‘Ali and Mawlana Mahmud Deobandi. He remained in the company of Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Qasim [Nanautwi] and benefited from him immensely[1]. He sought permission from Mawlana Ahmad ‘Ali [Saharanpuri], Shaykh Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi and Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Panipati[2] to teach and impart knowledge. Considering him worthy of such a post, they all granted him ijazah. 

When Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad Qasim visited Madinah, he also obtained ijazah for Mawlana Mahmud Hasan from Mawlana ‘Abd al-Ghani[3]. Apart from him, Mawlana Mahmud Hasan also derived benefit from Haji Imdad Allah in compliance with the instruction of Mawlana Muhammad Qasim. 

From among the elders who attained knowledge from Mawlana Muhammad Qasim, three came to be especially renowned and distinguished. However, from them, Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind loved his teacher the most. He was the chief inheritor of his teacher’s knowledge, and was his most ardent follower. I studied Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Qasim’s book Hujjat al-Islam from him. Whilst studying the book, I would, at times, feel as if knowledge and faith were descending into my heart from above. My belief regarding the blessed person of Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind is that he was naturally endowed with intelligence and sagacity. He may be considered amongst those [learned] personalities whom, in the terminology of Shah Wali Allah, are called ‘mufahhamun[4].’  He was greatly devoted to his teacher and would zealously attempt to follow him. He inherited the disposition [nisbat] of humility and selflessness from Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Qasim. Shah Wali Allah has identified this nisbat as that of the Ahl al-Bayt in his books. Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind passed away on the 18^th of Rabi‘ al-Awwal 1339 AH, corresponding to the 3^rd of November 1920 CE, a full one hundred years after the death of Imam ‘Abd al-‘Aziz [Dehlawi][5].’’ 

Shah Wali Allah awr unki Siyasi Tehrik, p. 203-204 (Sindh Sagar Academy, 2008 ed.) by Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah Sindhi 

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[1]               Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan’s study of hadith was completed between 1286 AH and 1289 AH, over a period of four years, under the guidance of Lisan al-Hikmah Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi. The first two of these years were spent, not in a Dar al-Hadith, but while alternating between Delhi, Deoband and Nanautah, with Shaykh al-Hind accompanying his beloved teacher constantly, diligently serving him and acquiring his wisdom and knowledge. (translator)  

[2]              All of whom were students of Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dehlawi. (translator)

[3]               Mawlana Miyan Asghar Husayn Deobandi writes that Mawlana Shah ‘Abd al-Ghani also granted Shaykh al-Hind ijazah in tasawwuf. (Please see Hayat-e-Shaykh al-Hind) (translator)

[4]               For a detailed explanation of this term please refer to Imam Shah Wali Allah’s Hujjat Allah al-Balighah, Bab Haqiqat al-Nubuwwah wa Khawassiha (chapter 55 of the English rendering by Marcia Hermansen. (translator)

[5]               This may be significant as Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah Sindhi considers the Deobandi political movement, of which Shaykh al-Hind was a leader, an evolvement of the movement led by Imam Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Dehlawi. Please refer to Mawlana ‘Ubayd Allah’s Shah Wali Allah awr unki Siyasi Tehrik.  (translator) 

May Allah Shower His mercy upon all the honourable ‘ulama’ mentioned above.

 

Imam al-‘Asr ‘Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri’s Rapid Reading

Imam al-‘Asr ‘Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri related: 

‘‘I had already studied ‘Umdat al-Qari[i] a year prior to commencing [the study of] Sahih al-Bukhari under the tutelage of the Shaykh of the era Mawlana Mahmud al-Hasan (may Allah sanctify his secret).  I studied Fath al-Bari[ii] during the year we were taught [Sahih] al-Bukhari.’’ 

Mawlana Mashiyyat Allah Bijnori would relate that ‘‘he (‘Allamah Kashmiri) would also study [Imam] Qastallani’s Irshad al-Sari[iii] that same year. He himself would say, ‘the pace of my reading was so quick that I would read two hundred pages [at a time][iv].’ ’’ 

Anwar-e-Anwari, p.128 (Karachi: Jameah Arabia Ahsan-ul-Uloom, Rabi‘ al-Thani 1425 ed.) by Mawlana Muhammad Anwari (student of Imam al-‘Asr)

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[i] Imam Badr al-Din al-‘Ayni al-Hanafi’s commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari

[ii] Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani’s commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari

[iii] Imam Shihab al-Din al-Qastallani’s commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari

[iv] This has also been highlighted by the esteemed ‘Allamah’s late son, Mawlana Anzar Shah Kashmiri, who relates that his father studied Imam Ibn al-Hummam’s Fath al-Qadir, published in eight volumes and comprising of thousands of pages, in twenty days. He did not study it again during his lifetime. Despite this, it is well known that he would be able to quote lengthy passages from it, verbatim, decades later. He also studied the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, reading an average of two hundred pages daily.  Despite this rapid pace, he would read with concentration, contemplation and comprehension, deriving evidences in favour of the Hanafi School as he studied. (see Naqsh-e-Dawam (Deoband: Bayt al-Hikmat, 1996 ed.)) 

May Allah shower His mercy upon all the honourable ‘ulama’ mentioned above. Amin.

 

Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi’s Reaction To Disagreement

Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) related: 

‘‘Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) once wrote a fatwa concerning a particular issue. Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi’s (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) renowned disciple, Amir Shah Khan, sent a letter to Mawlana by post, in which he expressed an objection to this fatwa. Thereafter, feeling he had disrespected the Mawlana, he wrote a second letter, seeking forgiveness. Mawlana Gangohi wrote in reply, ‘I liked your first letter in which you had expressed an objection. I do not like this second letter, as whatever you had written in your first one was sincerely for the din. I am certain that you had no intention to be disrespectful and therefore I was not offended in the slightest.’ 

(A couplet of Mawlana Rumi is quoted here, the translation of which has been omitted). 

In contrast to this, on another occasion, someone who had obtained a fatwa from Mawlana [Rashid Ahmad Gangohi] expressed objections to him in an argumentative tone. In reply, Mawlana wrote, ‘we have answered according to our knowledge. If you do not approve, then refer to a scholar whom you trust. Above every man of knowledge, there is someone more knowledgeable.’’

Majalis-e-Hakim al-Ummat,  p. 102-103 (Karachi: Dar al-Isha‘at, Dhu ‘l-Qa‘dah, 1366 AH ed.) compiled by Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ Usmani.

 

A Page From The Manuscript of Ma’arif al-Qur’an

Below is a page from the manuscript of Ma’arif al-Qur’an, Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ Usmani’s (may Allah sanctify his secret) ever-popular exegesis of the Qur’an. It is, of course, in the handwriting of Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ Usmani himself.

A Page From The Manuscript of Ma'arif al-Qur'an

 

Image taken from : Al-Balagh Monthly, Special Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ Issue (Karachi: Maktabah Ma’arif al-Qur’an, Jumada ‘l-Ula 1426 / July 2005), Vol 1

 

‘Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri On ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Hayy Lucknowi (May Allah Shower His Mercy Upon Them)

Mawlana Shams al-Haq Afghani (may Allah shower his mercy upon him) related: 

Our teacher Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri would say: ‘‘Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy Lucknowi is dependable in his opinions. However, the reverence for him in my heart is due to his piety (taqwa). One of his students informed me, ‘‘I remained in Mawlana Lucknowi’s company for seven years. In all that time – despite having many opponents – I did not hear him utter a word of ghibah.’’ (Our revered teacher, [‘Allamah Anwar Shah] Kashmiri would say), ‘‘this is a quality which is rare among scholars, let alone the masses.’’ 

Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Ke ‘Ulum wa Ma‘arif  (Karachi: Dar al-Isha‘at, June 1980 ed.) p. 43-44 by Mawlana Muhammad Iqbal Qureshi, citing Sawanih Hadrat Mawlana Rasul Khan saheb, p8. 

 

Hadrat Ji Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi On Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani (may Allah shower His Mercy Upon Them)

Hadrat Ji Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi, the 2^nd Amir of the Tablighi Jama‘at wrote regarding Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani (may Allah shower His Mercy upon them): 

‘‘In the chain of the great luminaries of Islam, Hadrat Shaykh al-‘Arab wa ‘l-‘Ajam (Shaykh of the Arabs and non-Arabs), the great warrior of Islam, lover of immigration and Jihad, adherent to the sunnah, flag-bearer of the knowledge of Islam, leader of the ‘ulama, Muhaddith of the time, jurist of the era, most abstinent from the world and desirous of the hereafter, most enduring and generous, and the least formal Hadrat Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) also occupies a place. Whatever can be written regarding Hadrat is only the little which we had in front of us and could see. The true treasures of man are what lie hidden within. These treasures are hidden in the bosoms of man and shall only be made apparent in the next world. Only Almighty Allah knows what pleasures had filled the heart of this great personality, due to which he was able to bear the severest of difficulties during every juncture of his life for the revival of the spirit of Iman. Spending the last moments of his life in cries and du‘as in front of Almighty Allah, Hadrat handed his soul over to his beloved Master.’’ 

Biography of Shaikhul Islam Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani (Jointly published by Madrasah Arabia Islamia (Azadville) and Zam Zam Publishers (Pakistan), Jumada ‘l-Ula 1428 / May 2007 ed.) p.35, translated by Mawlana Ridwan Kajee. 

Note: Spellings of some words have been edited when reproducing this translation.

 

How Hadith Came To India, by Shaykh Sayyid Abu ’ l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi

The following article is a partial translation of Shaykh Sayyid Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi’s wonderful foreword to Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya’s Awjaz al-Masalik, the acclaimed multi-voluminous commentary of Mu’atta Imam Malik. Unfortunately, the section of the foreword concerning Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya was not translated. Please note that the translation is a draft and thus unedited.  I am grateful to  Turath Publishing for kindly allowing me to publish this article on their behalf.

How Hadith Came To India

by Shaykh Sayyid Abu’ l-Hasan ʿAli al-Hasani Nadwi

Taken from his foreword to Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya’s Awjaz al-Masalik.

Praise belongs to Allah Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace on the master of the Messengers and Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, the leader of the people whose extremities are whitened [from wudu] and on his Companions the guardians of the Book and the Sunnah, and carriers of the standard of the din, and on whoever follows them with ihsan of the firmly established people of knowledge who remove from Islam the alterations of the over-rigorous, and the arrogation of the falsifiers and the false interpretations of the ignorant.

The science of hadith is one of the sciences with which Allah has inspired this ummah – right at the beginning and immediately after the death of its Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) – He inspired them to be concerned about it, and to struggle in the path of memorising them, recording, transmitting and publishing them, labouring to receive them and gather them together, competing with each other in being exact and precise about them, concerned about all the sciences and arts connected with them. That inspiration was strong and clear and in it there was manifest the wisdom of Allah and His concern for the purity of this din and for bringing it to completion, so much so that that was a psychological impulse whose source the ummah did not recognise and was unable to overcome or repel it, and it was a driving force which apparently drove it towards this goal strongly and violently, so that it was unable to oppose it. Inwardly it was a gracious companion so it did not perceive its heaviness and its pressure, and it found in its being carried towards it and in responding to it an incomparable sweetness, and an incomparable ease and joy, so that because of that tiring matters and hardships seemed little to it, and long distances and journeys seemed short when undertaken on its behalf, and it rushes against its seeker from the places it is expected, and its memorisation and narration from its people and its transmission from place to place floods and armies of people who are of the most intelligent of the nations and peoples.

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The science of hadith entered India in the very beginnings of the Islamic opening of it to Islam. Among the mujahidun who went there travelling in the way of Allah there was al-Rabi ibn al-Subayh as-Saʿdi about whom al-Jalbi said in Kashf al-Zunun. “He was the first to make a compilation in Islam.” There is no doubt that he was one of the first authors in the science of hadith even if he was not absolutely the first of them. He died and was buried in India in 120 AH.

The science of hadith accompanied the Arabs who made military expeditions into these lands, mixed with their flesh and blood, and so they carried this noble science with them. People of knowledge who were narrators of hadith were present on every military expedition. Some of them took up residence in India and died there. The science of hadith spread in the dawlah of the Arabs and under their governance. When the dawlah of the Arabs became extinct in the lands of Sind and the Ghaznavid and Ghawrid kings conquered it, and people came successively from Khurasan and Transoxiana then hadith became as unusual there as red sulphur, and as extinct as the Phoenix of the West, and people were overcome by poetry, astronomy, the mathematical sciences and of the sciences of the din, the fiqh and usul. Many centuries passed like that until the craft of the people of India had become the Greek wisdom and desertion of the sciences of the Sunnah and the Qurʾān except for a little of what we mentioned of fiqh. The limit of their knowledge of hadith was Mashariq al-Anwar by al-Saghani, and then if anyone was raised to Masabih al-Sunnah by al-Baghawi or Mishkat al-Masabih he would think that he had reached the degree of a hadith scholar only because of his ignorance of hadith.

The state continued like that and the situation became desperate so much so that the connection of Indian muslims with this pure and original source of the deen almost ceased, and Indian was withdrawn from the movement of authorship and teaching in the Arabic lands and lagged behind the party of Islamic sciences becoming an independent and separate world. When Shaykh Shams al-Din al-Misri visited these lands at the time of ʿAlaʾ ad-Din al-Khalji in the eighth century hijrah, that pained and scared him, and so he wrote a letter to the Sultan taking the fuqaha of these lands to task for the little concern they had for hadith, however, the ʿulamaʾ of the country by trickery managed to keep the letter from reaching the Sultan.

However, Providence took care of India, and Allah made a present to these lands of noble travelling hadith scholars from Hijaz, Hadramawt, Egypt, Iraq and Iran. That was in the tenth century hijrah. However, most of them preferred to reside in Gujarat because of the existence there of Islamic governance which protected the sciences and cared for the people of knowledge. Its kings were distinguished by their attainments in the science of hadith and their infatuation with it. Most of these travellers died and were buried in Ahmadabad the capital of governance for Gujarat.

Then divine providence drove some of the ʿulamaʾ of India, who are too many to mention here, to the noble Haramayn the source and sanctuary of this knowledge, but the most famous of whom was Shaykh Husam ad-Din ʿAli al-Muttaqi the author of Kanz al-ʿUmmal (died in 975 AH), and his pupil Shaykh Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Fatini (Patni) writer of Majma’ al-Bihar (died in 986 AH). These two gave noted service to the science of hadith and composed tremendous works on it. Then it was the turn of Shaykh ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Haqq ibn Sayf al-Din al-Bukhari al-Dihlawi (died 1052 AH) who took the science of hadith from the ʿulamaʾ of the Hijaz and transmitted it to India and made the home of the king, Delhi, its centre and he set to work seriously and in earnest spreading the science of hadith and serving it by teaching, writing commentaries on it, and so the ʿulamaʾ turned towards the science of hadith and the Sahih spread widely, and the market was brisk with this science after trade had previously been slack because of lack of goods and the abstinence of the ʿulamaʾ towards it. His son and his grandchildren succeeded him in it, and they studied and wrote on it, and great ʿulamaʾ arose from every corner of India, and men sprang up among them acknowledged for their merit and their skill in the craft.

Then it was the turn of Shaykh al-Islam, Shaykh Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahim al-Dihlawi better known as Wali Allah (died in 1176 AH). He travelled to the Hijaz and learnt hadith from Shaykh Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Kurdi al-Madani, and then he returned and confined his zeal to the project of spreading hadith, and so the State of hadith was established in India and its gentle breeze blew east and west, north and south and fell upon its students the seekers of the science of hadith from the remotest corners of India. Knowledge of the science of hadith became a precondition for complete knowledge, and the outward sign of the people of right action and correct ʿaqidah so much so that an ʿalim would not be reckoned an ʿalim until he excelled in it. Study of the six sahih works became established in every circle of study, and its students and their students in turn became widespread the length and breadth of India, just like the tree of Tuba whose branches are found in every place but whose roots and trunk are unknown. There is no isnad, lecture, authorship, nor reform movement or revival movement but that its lineage of scholarship returns to this blessed genealogical tree and its lofty branches. It is true what is said:

Whoever visits Your door then his limbs continue

            to narrate hadith as long as You display graces.

For the eye is from Qurrah, the palm from Silah,

            the heart is from Jabir and the hearing is from Hasan.

Shah Wali Allah’s intelligent son and righteous pupil Shah ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Wali Allah (died 1239 AH) succeeded him, and Allah blessed his teaching, and notable ʿulamaʾ and great scholars of hadith were educated by him, the most famous of whom and the most successful of them in spreading hadith and in educating scholars and teachers was his grandson Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq ibn Muhammad Afdal al-’Umari (died 1262 AH), who succeeded to the leadership in hadith in the last epoch, and who became the authority and the ultimate resort in tuition and training. People made great efforts to travel to him from distant lands. Allah decreed that success and acceptance for him which He did not decree for any of his contemporaries in India, or in most of the Islamic lands. That is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whomever He wishes. From him there originate and at him there meet all of the schools of thought of understanding hadith and explaining and interpreting them. To whatever movement they belong and whatever the disparity of their schools, their scholarly lineage reverts to him and they all wind up in their chain of transmissions with him. He is the support of India, the means of the contract, and the uttermost limit of the people of narration in this later epoch.

One of the most intelligent and well known of his pupils was Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani ibn Abi Saʿid al-Mujaddidi al-Dihlawi (died 1296 AH) who emigrated to Madinah al-Munawwarah. Many people in India and in the two Noble Sanctuaries benefitted from his lessons, and at his hands many sincere people towards Allah and people of knowledge devoted to Allah were trained, people who gave their lives to teaching the noble hadith, spreading and serving them.

Because of the merit of these sincerely devoted people who gave their lives for spreading hadith and teaching them, composing works on their arts and on their derivative rulings, India became a centre for this science and a refuge for the leaders in this art. After having been an uninvited guest at the table of the Arabic countries for centuries, they after some time were taking this science from them, and rekindling its lamp, after its oil had run out, from one of the lamps of this science in lands of the Arabs, and India was illuminated by the light of this knowledge and the lamps were spread in all its corners like pearly stars, and there arose at one instant in many towns in these lands and in some of its villages circles devoted to study of the knowledge of hadith, and scholars who had completed their studies in the other sciences exerted themselves to travel there and would devote themselves totally to seeking the prophetic hadith for a year or more, and they would devote themselves totally to it, no other aim diverting them and no other knowledge competing with it, and their zeal undivided, their thoughts unconfused. They would confine themselves in the main to one shaykh and to one science and to one goal so that they could emerge from these circles as teaching masters, and guiding instructors. So the intelligent students and those educated in the madrasahs revolved around them whose business was to be with their masters and their shaykhs. The matter continued and the light was transmitted and the circle expanded as much as Allah willed.

These circles which sprang up from a solitary individual and which revolved around him were established in most of the major cities and well-known towns such as Delhi, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Pani Pat, Deoband, Muradabad, Bhopal, and towns such as Gangoh, Ganj Muradabad and others.

Gangoh was the centre of Shaykh Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (died 1323 AH) the pupil of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani ibn Abi Saʿid al-Mujaddidi. He united the talents of instruction, spiritual guidance, teaching and the issuing of fatwas. He used to teach a variety of sciences and then he turned to teaching the noble hadith and confined himself to it apart from all other sciences. Students and scholars turned in his direction from every direction, and they would stay with him for a year reading the Six Sound Books to him, benefiting by his company and his instruction, taking him as a model in qualities of character and ordinary transactions, in deeds and acts of worship, in following the Sunnah and fleeing from innovations and recently introduced matters. They tasted the science of hadith both in practice and in study, and became strong in love of it, firmly resolved to serve it and spread it, and to prefer it to all other sciences and occupations, because of what they had seen of their shaykh’s self-sacrifice in being occupied with it and that it had mixed with his flesh and blood, and become manifest in his life, his movement and his stillness. The author of Al-Thaqafah al-Islamiyyah fi’l-Hind – Islamic Culture in India – mentioned him and he said, ‘He learnt from the aforementioned shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani. He studied for thirty years. His teaching the Six Sound books occupied one complete year involving reflection and thoroughness, exactitude and precision. None of his contemporaries equalled him in that.’

One of his leading pupils who was most loyal to his knowledges and his scholarly heritage, and most careful to spread it and transmit it was the shaykh Muhammad Yahya ibn Muhammad Isma’il al-Kandahlawi (died 1334 AH) who had a firmly established scholarly aptitude and whose intelligence and acumen were ignited. His shaykh loved and preferred him a great deal, and had taken him as his personal companion, the narrator of his knowledge, and the writer of his letters and treatises. He recorded his shaykh’s lessons, and his dictation, and then he revised and edited them. He gathered what he had heard from him on the study of the Sunan al-Tirmidhi in a collection which he called al-Kawkab al-Durri – the Pearly Star – and he gathered what he had heard from him on the study of the al-Jami’ al-Sahih by al-Bukhari in another book. By that he preserved a great portion of his knowledge and his revisions, thus making them as words which would endure in his posterity.