Shaykh Ul Islam Imam Muhammad Anwaarullah Farooqui (May Allah sanctify his secret) - Life and teachings

One among these great personalities is Shaykh Ul Islam A’arif Billah Imam Abul Barakaat Hafidh Muhammad Anwarullah Farooqui, the founder of Jamia Nizamia (May Allah shower His Mercy on him).

 

He enjoyed the excellence of piety and virtue.  He was granted superb intelligence, knowledge and spiritual foresight.  Almighty Allah had made him a veritable ocean of outward and inward knowledge and an epitome of innumerable virtues.  He is the Imam of the sciences of the Shariah and the leader of the spiritual sciences.  He is not only a great propagator of Islam, but also an outstanding expert in logic, exegesis of the Holy Quran, Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence.  Hadhrat Shaykh Ul Islam had bequeathed his whole life for the service of Islam and he used all his knowledge and accomplishments to reform and guide the Ummah.

 

It is a fact that he shone like a sun on the horizon of knowledge, the light of which illuminated the whole of India, more particularly Deccan.  His knowledge spread all over the world and by virtue of his company many people were turned into scholars, Sufis, experts of Hadith and Fiqh.  The kings of the time studied under him.

 

In his writings, which are full of proofs from the Holy Quran and Hadith and are imbued with the love of Almighty Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), Hadhrat Shaykh ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) has instructed the Ummah to remain steadfast on the beliefs of the Ahle Sunnah.  He made the populace aware of the deviousness of the misguided sects and gave convincing answers to their objections.  In light of all this, the writings of Hadhrat Shaykh ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) are looked upon with exceptional respect and admiration in the whole world.

 

For propagation of Islamic knowledge, Hadhrat Shaykh ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) established a great institution by the name of Jamia Nizamia and for research work, he established Daairatul Ma’arif.  He established many associations and committees.  He was the in-charge of religious affairs and the Sadr us Sudoor in the Asafjahi rule.  To reform and purify the society, he made great efforts.  In this regard, he left no stone unturned and like a great reformer and reviver of the faith, he reformed every aspect of the society.

 

Thus, Hadhrat Shaykh Ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) is such a reformed of the nation, whose efforts can never be forgotten.  His services to the nation are obvious to one and all.  In particular, each and every grain of sand of Deccan is a witness to his services and is thakful to him as well.

 

Hadhrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Abdul Hameed Siddiqui (May Allah shower His Mercy on him), former Shaykh Ul Jamia, Jamia Nizamia, and one of the founding members of the Muslim Personal Law Board, writes about Hadhrat Shaykh Ul Islam in the foreword of Maqaasid ul Islam, Vol. 1:

 

….Among these men of Allah who enjoy closeness to Almighty Allah is A’arif Billah Shaykh Ul Islam Imam Muhammad Anwaarullah Farooqui, the founder of Jamia Nizamia, whom the Lord of all worlds made peerless in knowledge and piety, whom He granted leadership in both Shariah and Tariqa and selected him for the service of His religion.  Hadhrat Shaykh Ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) stepped forward in such an era when the Britishers in an effort to consolidate their occupation of India were making efforts to lead astray Muslims, specially of India, and too keep their unaware of Islamic teachings had made some writers to side with them.  Apart from this, some libertines were using their writing skills to oppose the rules of Islam and were misinterpreting and even alterating Islamic teachings in the name of logical thinking.  This was a dire situation for Muslims.  In such dangerous times, it was necessary to delineate what the truth is and to save Muslims from going astray.  Religious fervor, sense of social responsibility and the blood of ‘Umar al Farooq that was in him, moved Hadhrat Shaykh ul Islam (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) and he refuted all such misguded sects with irrefutable proofs in the light of the Holy Quran and Hadith and thus defended the Ahle Sunnah and aided the true faith.

 

[Excerpted from Muqaddima, Maqaasid ul Islam, Vol. 1 by Mufti Abdul Hameed (May Allah shower His Mercy on him), former Shaykh ul Jamia, Jamia Nizamia]