Maulana Abdullah Quraishi Al-Azhari (19 September 1935 – 8 December 2015

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

) was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

from

, India. He served as the

khateeb In Islam, a khatib, khateeb or hatib ( ar, خطيب ''khaṭīb'') is a person who delivers the sermon (''khuṭbah'') (literally "narration"), during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers. The ''khateeb'' is usually the prayer leader (''imam''), b ...

and

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

of the Mecca Masjid in

and the vice chancellor of Jamia Nizamia University.

Early life and education

Quraishi was born to Abdur Raheem, in

Dundigal Dundigal, officially Dundigal Gandimaisamma, is a city and a municipality in Medchal-Malkajgiri district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the mandal headquarters of Dundigal mandal in Malkajgiri revenue division of Medchal-Malkajgiri dis ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, also an

of the Mecca Masjid, on September 19, 1935. He went to Hyderabad from Dundigal and started his studies as a student in Hifz and Qirath of

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

in Mecca Masjid. Then he studied Metric from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

and Graduated from

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...

. Then he completed Fazil in Jamia Nizamia and Academics from Nagpur University. Maulana then completed his M.Phil by research on ''Dawatul Islamia Al Ma'aasirah Fil Hind.'' The Government of India then decided to send him to

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

in Egypt in 1964 where he completed ' Shahadatul Aliya' and 'Shahadatut Taqassus'. He stayed in Egypt for 8 years and also learne
Qirath
from Sheikh Ibrahim Awad in Egypt and recited the Qur'an at many places on several occasions there.

Return from Egypt

Quraishi returned to Hyderabad from Egypt in 1973 after completing his studies. After coming back, the 8th Nizam, Nawab Mir Barkath Ali Khan

Mukarram Jah Nizam Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqi Mukarram Jah, Asaf Jah VIII (born 6 October 1933), less formally known as Mukarram Jah, has been the titular Nizam of Hyderabad since the death of his grandfather in 1967. He currently chairs the H.E.H. The Niz ...

opened a school for teaching Qur'an with Tajweed called ''Idaarah Mukarram Jah Dar-ut-Tajweed Wal Qir'ath'', which was located in Purani Haweli. He is an Arabic Scholar and has also taught adab since 1978 and was Sheikh-Ul-Adab in Jamia Nizamia. He also served as the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Nizamia.

Qur'an Recitation

Maulana has mastered Qir'ath from Qari Abdur Raheem, Qari Abdul Bari and Qari Kaleemullah Hussaini. He also learnt Qir'ath from Sheikh Ibrahim Awad in Egypt. Maulana has a unique way of reciting Qir'ath in which all the Tunes which are called 'Lehja' in Arabic, can be completed in 5–7 minutes. He has won several awards all over the world for his Recitation. There are many Competitions that are being held globally, and his deciples also go to these competitions to represent him and also to win them. His sessions on Qir'ath are conducted everyday after Fajr and has been continuing since more than 30 years. The name of the Qirath school is Idaarah Mukarram Jah Dar-ut-Tajweed Wal Qir'ath,, which was opened by the 8th Nizam of Hyderabad, after he was inspired by Maulana's Qirath. Below are the places where he has taught the Qir'ath. * 1974–1977 –

Purani Haveli Purani Haveli also known as Masarrat Mahal palace is a palace located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the official residence of the Nizam. It was also known as ''Haveli Khadeem'', which means old mansion, was constructed for Sikander Ja ...

* 1977–2007 – Chowmahalla Palace, Khiwath * 2007–2009 – Mecca Masjid * 2009–Till Death – Khaja Ka Chillah, Moghulpura,

In 1974, Minister of Petroleum of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, Mr. Zaki Yamani came to Purani Haweli and was very inspired by his Qir'ath. Since then, Maulana has judged many Qir'ath competitions all over India, including

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 1974 and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Sufism

Maulana was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

and became a disciple of Shah Ismail Hussaini Qadri Multani and obtained Baiyyath and Khilafath from Syed Moizuddin Qadri Multani in 1950. He obtained 'Silsilah Chishtiya' from Syed Shah Noorullah Hussaini Ifteqari. Presently, Maulana has around 70–80 disciples with the Multani Silsilah and frequently attend the sessions on Tasawwuf conducted at his residence.

Islamic career

* 1974 – 2015 – Teaching Qir'aath for 37 years * 1978 – 2015 – Vice Chancellor of Jamia Nizamia and Teaching Adab * 1979–1981 – Recited Taraweeh in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States continuously for two years * 1982–1993 – Principal of Lateefia College for 11 years * 1987–2015 – Khateeb and Imam of Mecca Masjid since 24 years

50 Years of Service to Islam

On the occasion of 50 years of Islamic service, there was a huge ceremony conducted in Mecca Masjid on 15 May 2012, in honor of Maulana Abdullah Quraishi Sahab. His service includes teaching of Islamic Adab, Literature, Hadees, Qirath, Tasawwuf and he was also Imam and Khateeb of Mecca Masjid where thousands of Muslims have prayed behind him. He has also been reciting Taraweeh in the Month of Ramadan and has always been reciting the Qutbah on the occasion of Eid in the ‘EidGah’ and Milad-Un-Nabi in the Mecca Masjid for four decades. For these services, he was awarded for 50 Years of Service which was attended by thousands of people in Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad. There were many dignitaries along with the President and all lecturers of Jamia Nizamia. Many dignitaries from

AIMIM The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana ...

including

Asaduddin Owaisi Asaduddin Owaisi (born 13 May 1969) is an Indian politician, who is the President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). He is a 4 time Member of Parliament (MP), representing the Hyderabad constituency in Lok Sabha, the lower ...

were also present at this ceremony.

Death and burial

Abdullah Quraishi had a mild cardiac attack in 2008, when he was delivering Taraweeh prayers in Masjid Mir Wazeer Ali in Hyderabad. After that, he was taken to Care hospital and since then, he had trouble in walking due to weakness. He also had a hernia surgery in April 2014 and since then he was having more trouble in walking. Even then he used to deliver all his lectures in Jamia Nizamia and also used to teach Qirat in the morning. Abdullah Quraishi was also suffering from Respiratory problems since 2013 and had trouble breathing in his last days. He was taken to hospital multiple times and breathed his last on 8 December 2015. Abdullah Quraishi's

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was conducted on 9 December 2015, the very next day after his demise. It was delayed, as number of people including his Son-In-Law, Abdur Razzaq Mohiuddin had come from different parts of the world to attend it. Funeral prayer was conducted after 'Dhuhr' prayers in Makkah Masjid at around 1:30 PM. An estimated number of 2 Lakh people attended his Prayer and this was the highest turnout of people in Hyderabad for a funeral. The funeral procession started from Makkah Masjid through Charminar, Laad Bazar, Masjid Chowk, Hussaini Alam, Shibli Gunj and was rested for a few minutes in Jamia Nizamia in front of the shrine of Maulana Anwarullah Farooqi. After that, it was taken through Fateh Darwaza and finally to the shrine of Abdullah Shah, at Misriganj. His death was condoled by

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

K Chandrashekar Rao, Deputy Chief Minister M Mohammed Mahmood Ali, ministers Nayani Narasimha Reddy and

K. T. Rama Rao Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao (born 24 July 1976), popularly known by his initials KTR, is an Indian politician serving as the Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology of Telan ...

, Leader of Opposition in Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir and

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

member V Hanumantha Rao.

References

{{commons category, Abdullah Quraishi Al-Azhari 2015 deaths 1935 births Aligarh Muslim University alumni Barelvis Osmania University alumni Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University alumni Al-Azhar University alumni People from Ranga Reddy district Indian Sufis Indian expatriates in Egypt