User:Axiom292/Mufti Shafi draft

This page is about the Islamic scholar. For the politician, see Muhammad Shafi (politician).

Mufti Muhammad Shafi مفتی محمد شفیع
1st President of Darul Uloom Karachi
In office In office 1951 – 6 October 1976
Succeeded by	Muhammad Rafi Usmani
7th Chief Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office In office c. 4 April 1940 – c. 23 March 1943
Preceded by	Mufti Riyazuddin
Succeeded by	Mufti Muhammad Sahul
4th Chief Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office In office c. 13 August 1931 – c. November 1935
Preceded by	Mufti Kifayatullah Gangohi
Succeeded by	Mufti Muhammad Faruq Ahmad
Title	Mufti-e-Azam-e-Pakistan (Grand Mufti of Pakistan)
Personal life
Born	c. 25 January 1897 Deoband, British India (in present-day UP, India)
Died	(1976-10-06)6 October 1976 (aged 79) Karachi, Pakistan
Resting place	Graveyard of Darul Uloom Karachi
Nationality	Pakistani
Main interest(s)	Shariah, Fiqh, Hadith, Tafsir, Tasawwuf
Notable work(s)	Ma'ariful Qur'an
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Deoband
Religious life
Denomination	Sunni Islam
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Tariqa	Chishti (Sabiri-Imdadi)
Movement	Deobandi
Senior posting
Disciple of	Ashraf Ali Thanawi Mahmud Hasan
Influenced by Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mahmud Hasan, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Ashraf Ali Thanawi, Mufti Azizur Rahman, Sayyid Asghar Husain, Maulana Izaz Ali, Muhammad Ibrahim Balliyawi
Influenced Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Muhammad Rafi Usmani

Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn ‘Us̱mānī Deobandī (Urdu: محمد شفیع بن محمد ياسین عثمانی دیوبندی; Arabic: محمد شفيع بن محمد ياسين العثماني الديوبندي, Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn al-‘Uthmānī ad-Diyūbandī; c. 25 January 1897 – 6 October 1976), often referred to as Mufti Muhammad Shafi, was a South Asian Sunni Islamic scholar of the Deobandi school of Islamic thought. A Hanafi jurist and mufti, he was also an authority on shari'ah, hadith, tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis), and tasawwuf (Sufism). Born in Deoband, British India, he graduated in 1917 from Darul Uloom Deoband, where he later taught hadith and held the post of Chief Mufti. He resigned from the school in 1943 to devote his time to the Pakistan Movement. After the partition of India he moved to Pakistan, where he established Darul Uloom Karachi in 1951. He is regarded as the first Grand Mufti of Pakistan. Of his written works, his best-known is Ma'ariful Qur'an, a tafsir of the Qur'an.

Birth and early childhood

Muhammad Shafi, son of Maulana Muhammad Yasin, was born on 21 Sha'ban 1314 AH (c. 25 January 1897) in Deoband, British India (in present-day Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India) to an Usmani family. He was given the name "Muhammad Shafi" (محمد شفيع) by his father's shaikh, Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, though he was originally named "Muhammad Mubin" (محمد مبین) by his grandfather, Khalifah Tahsin Ali. Shafi grew up in a religious environment. As a child he played in the courtyard of Darul Uloom Deoband and sat in the company of his father, who was a teacher at the school.

Education

At about the age of five, Shafi began nazirah (reading of the Qur'an) with Hafiz Muhammad Azim at the Darul Uloom. After reading the Qur'an, he did hifz (memorization of the Qur'an) with Hafiz Abdul Azim and Hafiz Namdar Khan. In 1325 AH (1907/1908) he commenced the study of Urdu, Persian, mathematics and other subjects at Darul Uloom Deoband, which he completed within the next five years under the supervision of his father. He studied arithmetic and Euclid from his uncle Munshi Manzur Ahmad and tajwid from Qari Muhammad Yusuf Miruthi. Along with teaching Shafi the Persian books, Maulana Yasin also instructed him in the elementary Arabic books of sarf (morphology), nahw (grammar), and fiqh (jurisprudence), up to Fusul-i Akbari, Hidayat an-Nahw, and Munyat al-Musalli.

In 1330 AH (1912) or 1331 AH (1913) Shafi was formally enrolled in the upper level Arabic classes of Darul Uloom Deoband. He completed the final year of study (known as Daurah), involving intensive study of hadith, in 1335 AH. The teachers under whom he formally studied included:

• Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri
• Allamah Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
• Maulana Mufti Azizur Rahman Usmani
• Maulana Sayyid Miyan Asghar Husain Deobandi
• Maulana Muhammad Izaz Ali Amrohi
• Maulana Muhammad Rasul Khan
• Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Balliyawi
• Maulana Ghulam Rasul Hazarwi
• Maulana Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi

Foremost among his teachers was Anwar Shah Kashmiri, who was the school's sadr mudarris. Some of the books Shafi studied with him were Sahih al-Bukhari, Jami` at-Tirmidhi (with the exception of a small part), at-Tirmidhi's Shama'il and `Ilal, al-Falsafah al-`Arabiyah on modern philosophy, and Sharh an-Nafisi on medicine (tibb). Shafi was among Kashmiri's closest students, and Kashmiri would later select Shafi for assistance in refuting the Ahmadiyya Movement. Shafi studied Sahih Muslim and half of Hidayah with Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, whom he would later accompany in the movement to create Pakistan. With Maulana Asghar Husain he studied the hadith collections Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan an-Nasa'i, and the remainder of Jami` at-Tirmidhi. With Azizur Rahman, head of the Darul Uloom's Fatwa Department, Shafi studied the Muwatta of Imam Malik in the transmission of Yahya ibn Yahya and the transmission of ash-Shaybani, at-Tahawi's Sharh Ma`ani al-Athar, Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Mishkat al-Masabih, Ibn Hajar's Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar, and Hisn-i Hasin. He studied Sunan Ibn Majah with Ghulam Rasul Hazarwi. With Izaz Ali he studied all the books of literature, Maibazi's Sharh Hidayat al-Hikmah, at-Taftazani's Sharh al-`Aqa'id al-Nasafiyah, Ubayd Allah al-Mahbubi's Sharh al-Wiqayah, and some other treatises. With Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim he studied Sadra and Shams al-Bazighah.

After Daurah a few books still remained, including Qazi, Mir Zahid, and Umur-i `Ammah—these were completed in 1336 AH (1917/1918). In that year Shafi was also appointed to teach some lessons.

Teaching career at Darul Uloom Deoband

Maulana Shafi was formally appointed as a teacher in Darul Uloom Deoband in 1337 AH (1918/1919). He began teaching the elementary level books of the curriculum and eventually reached the level of Daurah Hadith. The first book of Daurah level that he was given was Muwatta Imam Malik, and he later taught other books. In 1354 AH (1935/1936) he was entrusted with teaching Sunan Abu Dawud for some time in place of Maulana Asghar Husain. On Husain's request he was given this lecture permanently, and he taught it until he left Darul Uloom Deoband in 1362 AH (1943). Shafi was regarded as an exceptional lecturer on many subjects, but two of his lessons were most famous—one was Sunan Abu Dawud, and the other was Maqamat al-Hariri in Arabic literature.

Issuance of fatawa

From the beginning of his teaching career Maulana Shafi frequently assisted Mufti Azizur Rahman, then head of the school's fatwa department. Azizur Rahman resigned from the Darul Uloom in 1344 AH (1925/1926). Others occupied the post of Sadr Mufti (Chief Mufti) until the Majlis-e-Shura of Darul Uloom Deoband appointed Shafi to the post on 28 Rabi al-Awwal 1350 AH (c. 13 August 1931). In additions to undertaking the duties of fatwa-writing, Shafi also continued to teach some books of hadith and tafsir.

In Rajab 1351 (November 1932) Shafi published a tract entitled Nihayat al-arab fi ghayat an-nasab on caste. The weavers of the Deoband area (who were regarded as a lower caste) revolted against the fatwa, and from early 1353 AH (1934/1935) to late 1354 AH (1935/1936) rallies were held and threats were made against Shafi, in response to which a group of teachers took to acting as his bodyguards. Several scholars wrote or spoke in defense of the fatwa, including Shafi's shaikh Ashraf Ali Thanawi, Sayyid Asghar Husain, and Husain Ahmad Madani. Due to the controversy, Shafi asked to be transferred to the teaching department, a request that was eventually granted by the Majlis-e-Shura in Sha'ban 1354 AH (c. November 1935).

Shafi remained in the teaching department over the next few years, during which two other ulama held the post of Sadr Mufti. On 25 Safar 1359 AH (c. 4 April 1940), Shafi was appointed to the office a second time. He held the post until he left Darul Uloom Deoband in Rabi al-Awwal 1362 AH (March 1943).

Asanid in Hadith

Muhammad Shafi narrated the entire Sahih al-Bukhari from Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri, who narrated

• Who narrates from Mahmud Hasan
• Who narrates from Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
• Who both narrate from from Shah Abd al-Ghani
• from his father Abu Sa'id, from Shah Muhammad Ishaq , from Shah Abd al-Aziz, from his father Shah Wali Allah ad-Dihlawi. Kashmiri also transmitted ijazah from Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri, from Shah Muhammad Ishaq.

Anwar Shah Kashmiri

Tasawwuf

From an early age, Muhammad Shafi frequently attended the gatherings of Mahmud al-Hasan. While Mahmud al-Hasan was imprisoned in Malta, he resorted to Ashraf Ali Thanawi. Mahmud al-Hasan returned to India in Ramadan 1338 AH (June 1920). In 1339 AH Muhammad Shafi did bay`ah at his hand and remained in his company until Mahmud al-Hasan's death in Rabi al-awwal 1339 (November 1920). After his death he again resorted to Ashraf Ali Thanawi. In 1346 AH he pledged at Thanawi's hand and received khilafah in 1349 AH.

Pakistan

At the time Muhammad Shafi was teaching at Darul Uloom Deoband, Indians were struggling for independence from the British. When the All-India Muslim League was formed to campaign for the creation of a separate Muslim state, Ashraf Ali Thanvi instructed all ulama and Muslims in general to support this campaign. Muhammad Shafi, with other scholars including Zafar Ahmad Usmani, joined the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a council of Islamic scholars formed by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani to campaign for the creation of Pakistan. In 1363 AH (1944) Muhammad Shafi resigned from teaching and issuing fatwas at Darul Uloom Deoband in order to devote his time to the movement for the creation of Pakistan. He toured India, gave speeches, and issues fatwas for this purpose.

After partition, in 1367 AH (1948), Muhammad Shafi left his hometown of Deoband and immigrated to Pakistan. He founded Darul Uloom Karachi in 1370 AH (1950/1951)

Muhammad Shafi died on 10 Shawwal 1396 (6 October 1976).

Works

He wrote around one hundred books explaining the Quran and interpreting Islamic law. His best-known and most widely translated work is the Ma'ariful Qur'an ("The Wisdom of the Quran"), which he finished (in Urdu) four years before his death. This work, a commentary on the entire Quran, began life as a series of weekly lectures on Radio Pakistan that ran for ten years.

Tafsir

• Ma‘ārif al-Qur’ān
• Aḥkām al-Qur’ān (Arabic) (أحكام القرآن) - Shuara to Hujurat

Hadith

• al-Izdiyād as-sanī ‘alā al-yāni‘ al-janī (Arabic) (الإزدياد السني على اليانع الجني)

Fiqh

• Fatawa Darul-'Uloom Deoband (Imdād al-muftīn)
• Islām kā niz̤ām arāẓī, or al-Qawl al-māḍī fī aḥkām al-arāḍī

• Ālāt-i jadīdah ke sharʻī aḥkām (آلات جدیدہ کے شرعی احکام)
• Mas’alah-i sūd [The Issue of Interest] (مسئلہ سود)
• Adab al-masjid
• Shab-i barā’at
• Tasvīr ke sharʻī aḥkām (تصویر کے شرعی احکام)
• Nikāḥ o Ṭalāq [Marriage and Divorce] (نکاح و طلاق)
• Prāveḍinṭ Fanḍ par zakāt aur sūd (پراویڈنٹ فنڈ پر زکاۃ اور سود), translated: Payment of Zakat and receiving of Interest on Provident Fund
• Aḥkām-i ḥajj
• Qur’ān meṉ niz̤ām-i zakāt
• Aḥkām-i du‘ā
• Jawāhirul-fiqh

• Imān aur kufr Qur’ān kī roshnī meṉ
• Maqām-i ṣaḥābah

• Sahabah kiram men afzal kon he?
• K͟hatm-i nubūwwat

• at-Taṣrīḥ bimā tawātara fī nuzūl al-Masīḥ Arabic: التصريح بما تواتر في نزول المسيح
• Hadīyat al-mahdīyīn fī āyat Khātam al-nabīyīn Arabic: هدية المهديين في آية خاتم النبيين
• Masih Mau'ud ke pahchan
• Mashriqi aur islam
• Sunnat wa bid'at

• Islam ka nizam taqsim daulat
• Dustur Qurani
• Islami riyasat men ghair musalmanon ke huquq
• Vot aur votar ki shari haisiyat

• Sīrat Khātimul-Anbiyā’ (Urdu: سیرت خاتم الانبیاء), or Awjaz as-sayr li-khayr al-bashar (Arabic: أوجز السير لخير البشر).
• Ādābun-Nabī
• Futuhuh-Hind
• Shahid Karbala
• Zun-Nun Masri
• Do shahid
• Dars ibrat

Ancestry

His nasab is Maulāna Muftī Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Maulāna Muḥammad Yāsīn ibn K͟halīfah Taḥsīn ‘Alī ibn Miyāṉ Jī Imām ‘Ali ibn Miyāṉ Jī Ḥāfiẓ Karīmullāh ibn Miyāṉ Jī K͟hairullāh ibn Miyāṉ Jī Shukrullāh. He belonged to an Usmani family—they traced their lineage to Uthman ibn Affan, the third Caliph and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.