Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani (also written as Azizur Rahman Usmani) (died 1928) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as first Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. He is best known for his ''Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''. His brother was Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.

Biography

Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani was born in 1275 AH into the Usmani family of Deoband. He graduated from the Darul Uloom Deoband in 1295 AH. His teachers included

Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi (1832 – 15 April 1880) () was an Indian Sunni Hanafi Maturidi Islamic Scholar, theologian and a Sufi who was one of the main founders of the Deobandi Movement, starting from the Darul Uloom Deoband. Name and ...

, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi. He was an authorized disciple of Muhammad Rafi-ud-Din in

Sufism 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, ...

. Usmani was appointed the Grand Mufti of the Darul Ifta of Darul Uloom Deoband after its inception and he headed it until 1927 after which he moved to Dabhel. His juristic rulings were compiled in twelve volumes by

Zafeeruddin Miftahi Zafeeruddin Miftāhi (7 March 1926 – 31 March 2011) was an Indian Muslim scholar and jurist who served as a Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and the second president of Islamic Fiqh Academy. He compiled the religious verdicts of Azizur Rahman Usm ...

and were published between 1962 and 1972 as ''Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''. Muhammad Shafi Deobandi also compiled selected fatawa of Usmani and published them as ''Aziz al-Fatawa''. According to Syed Mehboob Rizwi, Usmani issued 37,561 fatawa between 1330 and 1346 AH. Usmani resigned from Darul Uloom Deoband along with Anwar Shah Kashmiri in 1927 and moved to Jamia Islamia Talimuddin (Dabhel) and taught ''

Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. A ...

'' there. In Dabhel, his health deteriorated and he returned to Deoband, where he died in 1928. His funeral prayer was led by

Sayyid Asghar Hussain Deobandi Asghar Hussain Deobandi (also known as Mian Sayyid Asghar Hussain) (16 October 1877 — 8 January 1945) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who co-founded Madrasatul Islah. Born on 16 October 1877 in a Deoband-based family, claiming descent to ...

and he was buried in the

Qasmi cemetery Mazār-e-Qāsmi, also Qabristān-e-Qāsmi is a cemetery located in the premises of Darul Uloom Deoband where notable Deobandi scholars are buried. Notable interments * Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi (died 1880) * Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (died 1920) * Az ...

of Darul Uloom. Usmani issued verdicts with the title of

Grand Mufti of India The Grand Mufti of India is the most senior and influential religious authority of the Barelvi Muslim Community of India. The incumbent is Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, who was conferred the ...

, along with the title of Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Usmani family Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Hanafi fiqh scholars Deobandis Grand Muftis of India 1928 deaths Darul Uloom Deoband faculty Students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Usmani family Jamia Islamia Talimuddin faculty Burials at Mazar-e-Qasmi