Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi (also known as Sahbān al-Hind; 1888 – 4 December 1959) was an Indian Muslim scholar and freedom struggle activist who served as the first general secretary and the fifth president of

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fi ...

. He also served as the third rector of

Madrasa Aminia Madrasa Aminia Islamia Arabia (best known as Madrasa Aminia) is an Islamic seminary in Delhi. History Amin al-Din Dehlawi, an Islamic scholar who was a student of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, developed an idea of establishing a madrasa in Delhi. He ...

and authored books such as ''Fear of Hell'' and ''Key to the Garden of Bliss''.

Biography

Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi in 1888 in

Daryaganj Daryaganj (literally "A market near a river") is a neighbourhood of Delhi inside the walled city of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). The "darya" (lit. "River") refers to the river Yamuna which was just outside the walled city. Daryaganj is one of the ...

, Delhi. He received his primary education from Abdul Majeed Mustafabadi and Muhammad Yasin Sikandarabadi, and memorized the

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, ...

at Madrasa Hussainia in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. He entered

in 1328 AH and graduated in 1336 AH. His teachers included

Kifayatullah Dehlawi Kifayatullah Dehlawi (also known as Mufti Kifayatullah; c. 1875c. 31 December 1952), was an Indian Islamic scholar and a Hanafi jurist, who served as the first president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, and the second rector of the Madrasa Aminia. H ...

. Saeed participated in the

Indian freedom struggle The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

and was imprisoned eight times. He was arrested in 1921 and jailed in the

Central Jail Mianwali Central Jail Mianwali is an old and historical jail in Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan located on Rawalpindi road nearly 8 kilometers away from Mianwali city. It is noted for housing a number of prominent prisoners, the most notable of these b ...

for one year. He was arrested for the last time in 1942 and imprisoned in the jails of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Ferozpur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who d ...

and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. He was among the founders of the

(JUH) and was appointed the interim secretary in the meeting of inception in November 1919. Saeed was appointed the first general secretary of the JUH in November 1920, a position he served for twenty years. He served as the vice-president of the JUH for seventeen years from 1940 to 1957. He taught at the Madrasa Aminia and was appointed its rector in 1953 following the death of Kifayatullah Dehlawi. He served as the president of the JUH for two years from 1957 until his death on 4 December 1959 in Delhi. Saeed was seen as an influential speaker. He was known as Sahbān al-Hind.

Legacy

In September 2019, JUH organized a two-days seminar on the life and works of Saeed. It was attended by scholars and poets including

Akhtarul Wasey Akhtarul Wasey (born 1 September 1951) is the president of Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur, India, and a former professor of Islamic Studies. He taught at Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University) in New Delhi, where he remains professor emer ...

Gulzar Dehlvi Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlavi (Urdu: ; hi, आनंद मोहन जुत्शी गुलजार देहलवी) (7 July 1926 – 12 June 2020) was an Indian Urdu poet, scholar, and journalist. Born in old Delhi's Gali Kashme ...

and

Usman Mansoorpuri Muḥammad Usmān Mansoorpuri (12 August 1944 – 21 May 2021) was an Indian Muslim scholar who served as the first National President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's Mahmood faction. He taught hadith at the Darul Uloom Deoband and served the seminary a ...

Literary works

Saeed wrote ''Kashf-ur-Rahman'', an

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

of the

, in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

His other works include: * ''Dozakh ka khatka'' (''Fear of Hell'') * ''Jannat ki Kunji'' (''Key to the Garden of Bliss'') * ''Jannat ki Zamānat'' * ''Khuda ki baatein'' * ''Rasūlullāh ke tīn sau mo'jizāt'' (''Three Hundred Miracles of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

) * ''Shaukat Āra Begum''

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control 1888 births 1959 deaths People from Delhi Madrasa Aminia alumni Founders of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Presidents of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Indian independence activists Interpreters Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam