Abdul Ghani Azhari

Mufti Abdul Ghani Azhari
Personal
Born	1922 (1922) Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, British India
Died	19 January 2023(2023-01-19) (aged 100–101) Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Movement	Deobandi
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Deoband Mazahir Uloom Al-Azhar University
Organization
Founder of	Dar al-‘Ulum Nizamiyya Madinatul Islam

Abdul Ghani Azhari (1922 – 19 January 2023), also known as Abdul Ghani Shah al-Shashi, was an Indian Muslim scholar and historian who served as the head-professor of the University of Kashmir's Arabic department. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mazahir Uloom and the Al-Azhar University. He authored Qadim Tarikh-e-Gujjar, a book detailing the history of Gujjars.

Early life and education

Abdul Ghani Azhari was born in 1922 in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. He received his education at Darul Uloom Deoband, Mazahir Uloom and the Al-Azhar University. He wrote his doctoral thesis on Al-Muslim entitled, Al Imam Al Muslim Wa Manhajuhu Fi Al Hadith Riwayatn wa Dirayatan. He studied with Hussain Ahmed Madani, Ibrahim Balyawi, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, and Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad, and his teachers at Mazahir Uloom included Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi. At the Azhar, he studied with scholars including Abdel-Halim Mahmoud.

Career

Azhari was a Kashmiri Gujjar and celebrated his Gujjar identity. He established Dar al-‘Ulum Nizamiyya Madinatul Islam in Badshahibagh (nearby Saharanpur), to cater to the needs of the Gurjar children. He also established religious seminaries in Kashmir, including Maktabah Anwar al Uloom, in Kokernag, and Darul Uloom Kawthariya near Dachigam National Park. In 2003, he established Darul Uloom Shah Wali Allah in Donipawa, Brakpora, in Anantnag. At the invitation of Shaikh Abdullah, Azhari served as a professor of Arabic at Madinatul Uloom in Hazratbal, Srinagar prior to joining the University of Kashmir.

Azhari was seen as a senior religious scholar in Kashmir. He served as the head-professor in the Arabic department of the University of Kashmir. He showed particular interest in the Qadiri order of Sufism and published works on the Naqshbandiyyah. He died on 19 January 2023 in Saharanpur. Salahuddin Tak, the current head-professor of the Arabic department at the University, described Azhari as "an eminent teacher, a great academician and an epitome of knowledge with high proficiency in religious science".

Literary works

Azhari's works include:

• Gujjar Tareekh te Saqafat, compiled by Javaid Rahi
• Noor-i-Irfan
• Ma La Budda Minh, a book that he translated from Persian into Urdu
• Maktubat-i-Naqshbandiyyah
• Qadim Tarikh-i-Gujjar, a detailed book on the ancient history of Gujjars in India

See also

• List of Deobandis

References

General bibliography

• Ahmad, Naikzada Mehmood (November 2022). "The Untold legacy of Professor Mufti Abdul Ghani Al Azhari". Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research. 9 (11): 995–1000. ISSN 2349-5162.
• Singh, David Emmanuel (2012). Islamization in Modern South Asia: Deobandi Reform and the Gujjar Response. De Gruyter. pp. 149–152.

Further reading

• "سولہویں صدی کے زوال نے ملت کا شیرازہ بکھیر دیا" [The decline of the 16th century scattered the management of the nation]. Kashmir Uzma. 23 March 2019.