Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwamah on Contemporary Scholars
Of the Indian Subcontinent
The renowned contemporary Hadith scholar, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwamah, born in Aleppo, Syria and currently residing in the illuminated city of Madinah, was asked about scholars around the world whom he considered beacons of guidance. In reply, he mentioned some of those whom he was aware of and who came to mind at that time. Below is a translation of what he said about the scholars of the Indian Subcontinent.
In Karachi, Pakistan: [There is] the eminent Dr. Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaq Iskandar, the director of Jami’ah [al-‘Ulum al-Islamiyyah in the Binnuri Town area], whose da‘wah efforts within and beyond Pakistan are huge. There is also the eminent Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abd al-Halim Chishti, who is the brother of our Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rashid Nu‘mani, may Allah shower His mercy upon him. There is also the eminent Shaykh Muhammad Taqi ‘Uthmani whose academic endeavours within and beyond Pakistan are great, and his elder brother Shaykh Muhammad Rafi‘, the rector of Jami’ah Dar al-‘Ulum Karachi. There are others too.
In India: [There are] senior exemplary scholars, who are known for their academic and da‘wah efforts, in particular, the scholars of the two great Islamic universities – Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband and Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur. From the scholars of the first university is the eminent Shaykh Arshad Madani, son of Shaykh al-Islam Sayyid Husayn Ahmad Madani, who has until now published seven large volumes of Imam al-‘Ayni’s commentary of Imam al-Tahawi’s Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar, entitled Nukhab al-Afkar.
From the scholars of the second university is the eminent Shaykh Muhammad ‘Aqil, son of the ‘Allamah, the great research scholar (al-muhaqqiq, al-mudaqqiq) Shaykh Muhammad Ayyub Saharanpuri, author of Tarajim al-Ahbar, which contains biographies of the narrators in Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar. From amongst the senior scholars of this university is the eminent Shaykh Habib Allah Qurban, who resides with us in the illuminated city of Madinah, and is from amongst the students of our master Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi, may Allah shower His mercy upon him. He is exclusively occupied with teaching and writing.
In Bangladesh: [There is] the eminent Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abd al-Malik, who is one of those people who were trained and became well versed in this science (hadith) at the hand of our Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah and Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rashid Nu‘mani, may Allah shower His mercy upon them, and whose efforts in teaching (ta‘lim) and authoring (ta’lif) are laudable.
http://manarahnet.net/subPage.aspx?Page=CyHIOOVTbNeDWcOXDJVTTw==&CatID=368&SubID=%201374&co=367
Pearls of the Elders 
October 12, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Subhanallah, this is great.
alHamdulillah, Mufti Taqi (db) is well-respected by even many ghair-muqallid/athari scholars and laymen.
Did Shaykh al-Islam Husain Madani have any other children who are noteworthy in Islamic academia and spirituality? I did not hear of Shaykh Arshad Madani (db) till now, but I had heard of his other son who was a great hadith scholar (passed away 2 years ago I believe).
Worthy of note is the amount of reverence given to Shaykh al-Hadith Maulana Zakariyya (ra): “…our master Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi”.
I’ve read excerpts of quite a few other other non-subcontinent scholars who also give such high praise and respect to Shaykh al-Hadith (ra).
October 13, 2008 at 8:55 am
As-salamu ‘alaykum,
You are referring to the great Mawlana As’ad Madani (may Allah shower His mercy upon him), who as well being a renowned Shaykh, was president of Jamiat ‘Ulama-e-Hind.
Please see below:
http://www.duroos.net/Sayyad%20Maulana%20%20Asad%20Madani.htm
Amīrul Hind Shaykh Maulana As‘ad Madani
By Shazad Khan
Amirul Hind Shaykh As‘ad Madani sadly left this temporal abode on the eve of Monday February the 6th 2006. Thousands attended his funeral prayer at Darul Uloom Deoband where he was laid to rest next to his illustrious father Shaykhul Islam Husain Ahmad Madani. He left behind many who knew him as a father, teacher, leader and shaykh.
I knew him as the latter and I have had the privilege of spending Ramadan in his blessed company consecutively since 1996.
I do not know what to write about this great man for I certainly did not realise his rank and how fortunate I was to have been blessed by his tutelage. But deficient as such an account may be, it might prove of interest to the ones who aspire to know more about the pious personalities the world so lacks today.
Shaykh As‘ad Madani was the son of Shaykhul Islam Husain Ahmad Madani and was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad [Allah bless him and give him peace] through his grandson Husayn [Allah be well pleased with him]. He took the Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri and Suharwardi tariqas from his father and became his successor after his death. He taught at Darul Uloom Deoband in his early years and was the President of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
I remember when I studied the Kitāb al-Shamāil of Tirmidhy. A compilation of hadiths about the habits and character of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace]. It took me by great surprise that every character and habit of the Prophet Muhammad [Allah bless him and give him peace] I saw as an embodiment in the Shaykh. His actions, habits, manners, gait, and his speech all resembled the Prophet [Allah bless him and give peace].
This was also the kernel of what he taught and also what he presented before us as a practical example; following the Sunnah and making plentiful dhikr. This was his way of tarbiyyah [training] less by instruction but more by example. His personage was so illuminating and awe inspiring that the prophetic hadith describing the friends of Allah, “they are whom when looked at; Allah is remembered” was manifested.
His whole life was spent in the service of Muslims and humanity at large. His altruism and vigilance in works right through his frail years put me to great shame at being so young and energetic and still not being able to do a fraction of what he did. Rising at 3am and spending the latter portion of the night in prayer and remembrance till fajr prayer is but one example of his industriousness.
His Ramadan is something that I witnessed quite closely and remember vividly. It was always a joyous month for him and he eagerly awaited it the entire year. He would always ask me when he would come on his annual dawah tour of U.K. about my plans and date of arrival at his home in Ramadan.
Towards the end of Sh‘abān he would begin to make preparation for spending the month in Deoband and detached himself from all other occupations. His disciples also flocked, in hundreds to spend the holy month in his company. . In Ramadan 2005 the number of those who entered the spiritual retreat [I’tikāf] in the last ten days reached over eighteen hundred.
At Deoband, he prayed his five daily prayers with the congregation at Masjid Rashīd. After ẓuhr he answered the questions and spiritual queries of his disciples. He would advise all with penetrating insight and prescribed what he deemed fit. If any disciple requested private consultation he arranged for this at his home after returning from the mosque.
Most of the day was spent in recitation of the Quran. His daily amount of recital in Ramadan equaled about ten juzz.
After ‘aṣr he listened to the recitation of his two sons who would read one and a quarter juzz each. The congregation of disciples would also gather around him and listen to their recitation and his corrections.
At iftār zam-zam and fresh ripe dates from Madina were always placed on the mat for all to break the fast with. He first partook of the date and then drank the zam-zam water in three sips whilst facing the qibla. Another blessed sunnah of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace].
Those who have experienced the breaking of fast with him know that one could feel immense barakah [grace]. He would at times make light-hearted comments and give out the dates himself to some of his disciples.
The sahabah [Companions] would narrate stories of the jahiliyyah [pre-Islamic era] and other issues, in the presence of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace] he would smile at what they found amusing and everyone thought that the Prophet paid the most attention to him.
This was also what everyone in the Shaykh’s presence felt. I remember when at the zāwiya, where dinner was served to all the guests/disciples. I always had the privilege of eating in the same plate as him. This was the case throughout the years I spent Ramadan with him. If for any reason I happened to arrive late; he would enquire about my whereabouts and not commence eating until I had arrived. This would always bring tears to my eyes as I did not see myself worthy of such generous nature.
The Shaykh was always the last to finish the meal in order not to embarrass the guests who were slow eaters. Another noble habit of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace].
After two hour long tarāwīh prayers and a reading from Shaykh Gangohi’s book ‘Imdād al-Sulūk’ the congregation would commence group dhikr of the twelve tasbīh’s of the chishti order.
On the last day of Ramadan numbers in the final tarāwīh would reach thousands and the final two rak‘ahs would be very lengthy and the whole congregation would be crying ecstatically as the final verses of the Quran were being read.
I have not seen anyone perform salāh with the devotion that I have seen him praying. This is a fact that not only I attest to but others also attest the same. The sight of him praying would materialize the hadith of Jibrīl “that you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him” [Bukhari].
The last day of Ramadan was also when he would announce the names of those he granted ijāza to initiate others in the path. In the Ramadan of 2000 I was also granted ijāza, despite my shortcomings.
The great loss that my colleagues and I felt at his departure has left a void in our lives that I fear will never be filled. We have but his memories and his example of true emulation of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace]. May Allah shower His mercy upon him.
Oh memory! Shield me from the world’s poor strife
And give these scenes thine everlasting life.
October 13, 2008 at 11:31 am
as salam o alaykum
Its ironic that the Shaykh did not include a single Baraelwi ‘alim in his list.
MashaAllah!
October 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm
No reference provided in this article.
Abu Unaysah: Jazak’Allah khayran for reminding me. The link to the interview has been added.
February 10, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Salam! It would be interesting to find out the names of senior ulema/murshids from the Indo-Pak area that currently reside in the Hijaz. Is any information available online?
March 31, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Assalamualaikum recently i m studying in south africa (Taleemudden) and i heared about shaikh awwama…. Shaikh is the ustadh of one of my teacher and shaikh is a very graet hanifi alim from syria and he is doing great work against the salafis….. And i want to study by him after finnishing my studies in south africa….. My ALLAH give long life to shaikh and grant me chance to study by him….AMEen
April 16, 2012 at 6:05 am
Assalamualaikum! at the moment i m doing takhassuss fil hadith by one of his great student in South Africa Maulana Mohammad and i hope to have chance to study by him also….
July 1, 2012 at 10:50 pm
masyaAllah……… may Allah make us among them…