Anwar Shah Kashmiri (known with honorifics as ''Sayyid Muḥammad Anwar Shāh ibn Mu‘aẓẓam Shāh al-Kashmīrī''; 16 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Barua ...

Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal 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 the fourth principal of the

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...

. He was a student of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and participated in the Indian freedom struggle through the

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 F ...

. His students include Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, Yousuf Banuri and

Zayn al-Abidin Sajjad Meerthi Zayn al-Abidin Sajjad Meerthi (also written as Qazi Zainul Abideen Sajjad Meerthi) (1910–1991) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and historian and head of the Islamic studies department of Jamia Millia Islamia. His book ''Tarikh-e-Millat'' is ...

Early life and education

Anwar Shah Kashmiri was born in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

on 27 hawwal1292 AH (16 November 1875) in a Sayyid family. Aged four, he started reading the Quran under the instruction of his father, Muazzam Ali Shah. In 1889, he relocated to

Deoband Deoband is a town and a municipality in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, about 150 km from Delhi. Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic seminary and one of the largest Islamic Institution of India is located there. Etymo ...

, where he studied at the Darul Uloom for three years. In 1892, he moved to Darul Uloom Deoband where he studied with Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and others. Then, in 1896 (1314 AH), he went to Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and obtained a teaching certificate in Hadith (which he had been studying for two years) and esoteric knowledge.

Career

After graduating from Darul Uloom, he taught in

, Delhi, serving as its first principal. In 1903 he went to Kashmir, where he established Faiz-e A'am Madrasah. In 1905 (1323 AH) he performed Hajj. Four years later, he returned to Deoband. Until 1933, he taught books of Hadith without taking a salary. He held the guardianship of Darul Uloom for nearly twelve years. He resigned in 1927 (1346 AH) and went to the Madrasah of Dabhel in western India, where, until 1932 (1351), he taught Hadith. He left his family in 1887 and moved into the Madrasah in India. He taught at the Madrasah Fay'm for three years before embarking on his

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

to Mecca and Medina. He visited his Deoband instructor Mahmood Hasan, who persuaded him to take a position teaching in Deoband. When Mahmood Hasan himself subsequently relocated to Medina in 1908, Shah began teaching Hadith. He retained the position until 1927, when he departed after a disagreement with management. Kashmiri moved to Jamia Islamia Talimuddin along with Azizur Rahman Usmani in 1927 where he taught Hadith until 1932.

Death and legacy

In 1933, Shah became ill and traveled to Deoband for medical care. He continued addressing students there until he died on 28 May 1933. He was survived by his elder son

Azhar Shah Qaiser Azhar Shah Qaiser (1920–1985) was an Indian Islamic scholar, journalist and writer. He wrote articles and books in Urdu. He was the elder son of the Indian hadith scholar, Anwar Shah Kashmiri. During his career, he served as the editor of '' ...

and younger son Anzar Shah Kashmiri. Muhammad Iqbal arranged a condolence ceremony, at which he described Kashmiri as the greatest Islamic scholar of the last five hundred years. Anwar Shah Kashmiri is regarded by many as one of the most versatile and prolific hadith scholars produced by the subcontinent. In recognition of his contributions in the field of hadith literature and revival of various Islamic sciences, Islamic scholar Sayyid Rashid Rida said, "I have never seen a more distinguished scholar of hadith than Allamah Kashmiri"

Jamia Imam Muhammad Anwar Shah, Deoband Jamia Imam Muhammad Anwar Shah is an Islamic seminary situated in Deoband, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. History Jamia Imam Muhammad Anwar Shah was established by Anzar Shah Kashmiri in 1997. It is named after the Indian hadith scholar Anwar Shah ...

is an Islamic school named after Kashmiri. Syrian scholar Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda has written a biography of Kashmiri in Arabic. Yunoos Osman wrote his D.Phil thesis ''Life and Works of Allamah Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri'' at the University of Durban-Westville. A book about Kashmiri entitled ''The Pride OF Kashmir'' was released in December 2015. During the release of the book, Engineer Rashid, then MLA of Langate renamed Student of the year award of Kupwara to "Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Award for excellence".

Literary works

Kashmiri also wrote poetry and often put his scholarly writings in that form. Some of his articles and manuscripts remain unpublished. His works include: * ''Mushkilat al-Quran'' * ''Fayz al-Barii ala Sahih al-Bukhari'' * ''Anwar al-Baari'' (Urdu commentary of ''Sahih Bukhari'', compiled by Kashmiri's son-in-law Ahmad Rida Bijnori) * ''al-ʿUrf al Shadhi Sharh Sunan Al-Tirmidhi''

Students

Kashmiri's students include Manazir Ahsan Gilani, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi,

Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi (1908 – 24 May 1985) was an Indian Islamic scholar and an Urdu-language author who co-founded the Nadwatul Musannifeen. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology in Aligarh Muslim University. Akbarabadi was an ...

, Muhammad Miyan Deobandi,

Manzur Nu'mani Muḥammad Manz̤oor Nomānī ( 15 December 1905 – 4 May 1997) was an Indian Islamic scholar. Prominent among his written works are ''Maariful Hadith'', ''Islam Kya Hai?'', and ''Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution''. He graduated from Daru ...

, and Muhammad Shafi Deobandi.

References

External links

* ttp://dosya.kmu.edu.tr/sbe/userfiles/file/tezler/Temel%20%C4%B0slam%20Bilimleri/ibrahimanar.pdf journal {{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar Shah Kashmiri 1875 births 1933 deaths Hanafis Maturidis Deobandis Hadith scholars Sunni imams Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Critics of Ahmadiyya Critics of Wahhabism Critics of Ibn Taymiyya Darul Uloom Deoband faculty Students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Jamia Islamia Talimuddin faculty