Ebrahim Desai | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1963-01-16)16 January 1963 Richmond, Natal, South Africa |
| Died | 15 July 2021(2021-07-15) (aged 58) Durban, South Africa |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh |
| Notable work(s) |
|
| Alma mater | Jamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel |
| Known for | Askimam |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Founder of | Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Deobandi[1] |
| Muslim leader | |
| Disciple of | Mahmood Hasan Gangohi |
Ebrahim Desai (16 January 1963 – 15 July 2021) was a South African Muslim scholar and jurist who established the Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, theAskimamfatawa portal and served as the senior professor ofhadith atMadrasah In'aamiyyah. He was an alumnus ofJamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel and ranked amongThe 500 Most Influential Muslims. He authored books includingCommentary on Qaseedah Burdah,Introduction to Hadīth andIntroduction to Islamic Commerce.
Ebrahim Desai was born on 16 January 1963, inRichmond,Natal.[2] He memorized theQuran at the Waterval Islamic Institute and studied traditionalDars-i Nizami course at theJamia Islamia Talimuddin inGujarat, India.[3] He specialized in Islamic jurisprudence under Ahmad Khanpuri.[3] He also studied with the former Grand Mufti ofDarul Uloom Deoband,Mahmood Hasan Gangohi, the author of the multi-volumeFatawa Mahmudiyyah and became his authorized disciple inSufism.[3][4]
Desai taught at the Madrasah Ta῾līmuddīn, inIsipingo Beach for ten years, and headed the Fatwa department of the Jamiatul UlamaKwazulu Natal.[5][6] He served as the senior professor ofhadith at theMadrasah In'aamiyyah for another ten years, and headed its Darul Ifta.[5][6] In March 2008, he travelled toHong Kong to lecture students at theIslamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College.[7] In 2011, he shifted toDurban and established the Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah inSherwood.[5] He taughtSahih Bukhari at Darul Uloom Nu'maniyyah and headed the Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, that he established in Sherwood.[8] In 2000, he started theAsk Imam Fatawa Portal, an online Islamic questions and answers database, which is thought to have given him an international prominence.[9][10] According to V. Šisler, "Ebrahim Desai exemplifies a scholar who, although being trained in non-Azhari institution outside of the Arab world, gained global recognition mainly through mass support accumulated via information and communication technology."[9]
Desai served as the chairman of FNB Islamic Finance's Shari’ah Board.[11] He started the Sharī῾ah Compliant Business Campaign in 2002 to provide "a conference to tackle contemporary business matters in Islamic Commerce and Finance", according to the website of Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah.[8] He was featured amongThe 500 Most Influential Muslims compiled by theRoyal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.[12]Namira Nahouza referred to him as the "South African Grand Mufti of Indian descent."[13] His students include Abrar Mirza, Faisal al-Mahmudi and Husain Kadodia.[14][15] Farhana in her research study indicates that "Desai himself was arguably a master teacher to the students of Darul Ifta Mahmudiyyah, the institution where he taught and from where all his fatwas were generated. A survey of the structure of the fatwas onaskimam.org in 2011 revealed that while Desai's students hail from different geographical locations, they generate the bulk of fatwas, and as master teacher he was the final authority, as indicated by the closing line at the end of each fatwa: 'checked and approved by Mufti Ebrahim Desai'."[16]
Desai died on 15 July 2021, inDurban.[14]Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera,Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari,Omar Suleiman andYasir Nadeem al Wajidi expressed grief over his death.[14]
Desai's religious edicts have been published asContemporary Fatawa in four volumes.[5] His other works include:[14][8]
Upon returning from Mauritania, he enrolled in the Ifta course at Madrasah In'amiyyah in Camperdown, South Africa under Mufti Ebrahim Desai. He successfully completed the Takhassus fi' al-Ifta course which culminated in his answering of approximately 1,500 fatwas.