Muhammad Shafi | |
|---|---|
مفتی محمد شفیع | |
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| 1st President ofDarul Uloom Karachi | |
| In office 1951 – 6 October 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Hai Arifi |
| 4th Head Mufti ofDarul Uloom Deoband | |
| In office c. 13 August 1931 –c. November 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Riyazudin Bijnori |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Sahool Bhagalpuri |
| 7th Head Mufti ofDarul Uloom Deoband | |
| In office c. 4 April 1940 – c. 23 March 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Kifayatullah Gangohi |
| Succeeded by | Farooq Ahmad |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 24 January 1897 |
| Died | 6 October 1976(1976-10-06) (aged 79) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Nationality |
|
| Children | Rafi Usmani,Taqi Usmani |
| Era | Modern |
| Main interest(s) | Tafsir |
| Notable work(s) | Ma'ariful Qur'an,Seerat Khatam al-Anbiya |
| Alma mater | Darul Uloom Deoband |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Tariqa | Chishti (Sabiri-Imdadi) |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Disciple of | Ashraf Ali Thanwi Mahmud Hasan Deobandi |
Influenced | |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Deobandi movement |
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 |
| Ideology and influences |
| Founders and key figures |
|
| Notable institutions |
| Centres (markaz) of Tablighi Jamaat |
| Associated organizations |
| Deobandi jihadism |
| Deobandi jihadism: |
Muhammad Shafi (24 January 1897 – 6 October 1976), often referred to asMufti Muhammad Shafi, was aPakistaniSunniIslamic scholar of theDeobandi school, aHanafi jurist andmufti, he was also an authority onshari'ah,hadith,Qur'anic exegesis, andSufism.[1] Born inDeoband,British India, he graduated in 1917 fromDarul Uloom Deoband, where he later taught hadith and held the post of Head mufti. He resigned in 1943 to devote his time to thePakistan Movement. After theindependence he moved to Pakistan, where he establishedDarul Uloom Karachi in 1951. Of his written works, his best-known isMa'ariful Qur'an, an Urdu commentary on theQur'an.
Muhammad Shafi, son of Muhammad Yasin, was born on 24 January 1897 (20 Sha'ban 1314AH) inDeoband,British India, to anUsmani family.[1][2][3] He was given the name "Muhammad Shafi" by his father's sheikh,Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, though he was originally named "Muhammad Mubin" by his grandfather, Khalifah Tahsin Ali.[3][4][5] 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.[5]
Aged five, Shafi began memorizing the Qur'an with Muhammad Azim and Namdar Khan at the Darul Uloom.[3][5][6] In 1907 or 1908 (1325 AH), 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.[2][3]
He studied arithmetic andEuclid from his uncle Munshi Manzur Ahmad and Quranic recitation from Muhammad Yusuf Miruthi. Along with teaching Shafi the Persian books, Maulana Yasin also instructed him in the elementaryArabic books ofsarf (morphology),nahw (grammar), andfiqh (jurisprudence), up toFusul-i Akbari,Hidayat an-Nahw, andMunyat al-Musalli.[3]
In 1330 AH (1912)[3][5] or 1331 AH (1913)[6] Shafi was formally enrolled in the upper level Arabic classes of Darul Uloom Deoband. He did Daurah Hadith in 1335 AH (1916/1917) under the supervision of Anwar Shah Kashmiri, and completed his education in 1336 AH (1917/1918).[3][4][6] The teachers under whom Shafi formally studied included:[3][5][6]
Among his teachers wasAnwar Shah Kashmiri, who was the school's head teacher. Some of the books Shafi studied with him wereSahih al-Bukhari,Sahih al-Tirmidhi (with the exception of a small part),at-Tirmidhi'sShama'il and 'Ilal,al-Falsafah al-'Arabiyah on modern philosophy, andSharh an-Nafisi on medicine (tibb). Shafi was among Kashmiri's closest students, and Kashmiri would later select Shafi for assistance in refuting theAhmadiyya Movement. Shafi studiedSahih Muslim and half ofHidayah with Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, whom he would later accompany in the movement to create Pakistan. WithMian Asghar Hussain Deobandi he studied the hadith collectionsSunan Abu Dawud,Sunan an-Nasa'i, and the remainder ofSahih al-Tirmidhi. With Azizur Rahman, head of the Darul Uloom'sFatwa Department, Shafi studied theMuwatta ofImam Malik in the transmission ofYahya ibn Yahya and the transmission ofash-Shaybani,at-Tahawi'sSharh Ma'ani al-Athar,Tafsir al-Jalalayn,Mishkat al-Masabih,Ibn Hajar'sSharh Nukhbat al-Fikar, andHisn-i Hasin. He studiedSunan Ibn Majah with Ghulam Rasul Hazarwi. WithIzaz Ali Amrohi he studied all the books of literature,Maibazi'sSharh Hidayat al-Hikmah,at-Taftazani'sSharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyah, Ubayd Allah al-Mahbubi'sSharh al-Wiqayah, and some other treatises. With Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim he studiedSadra andShams al-Bazighah.[2][3]
After Daurah a few books still remained, includingQazi,Mir Zahid, andUmur-i 'Ammah—these were completed in 1336 AH (1917/1918).[3][6] In that year Shafi was also appointed to teach some lessons.[2][3][6]
Shafi began teaching at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1918 or 1919 (1337 AH).[4][6] He taught the elementary level books of the curriculum and eventually reached the level of Daurah Hadith.[3][4] The first book of Daurah level that he was given wasMuwatta Imam Malik, and he later taught other books. In 1354 AH (1935/1936) he was entrusted with teachingSunan 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 1943 (1362 AH). Shafi was regarded as an exceptional lecturer on many subjects, but two of his lessons were most famous—one wasSunan Abu Dawud, and the other wasMaqamat al-Hariri in Arabic literature.[3] After leaving Darul Uloom Deoband, he taughtSahih al-Bukhari for three months atJamiah Islamiyah Dabhel, filling in forMaulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.[3]
Shafi establishedDarul Uloom Karachi in 1951 (Shawwal 1370 AH). There he taughtSahih al-Bukhari for several years, as well asMuwatta Malik andShama'il at-Tirmidhi. Whenever due to health or other responsibilities he was unable to teach the whole ofBukhari, then those years he would teach until the Book of Wudu, and other teachers would cover the remainder. In the last four years of his life, he was bedridden and thus unable to teach regularly. However, on the insistence of students and teachers, every year he taught the first lesson ofSahih al-Bukhari and the last lessons of theSihah Sittah.[3]
Shafi frequently assistedAzizur Rahman Usmani, head of the school'sfatwa department.[2] 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).[3][4][note 1] In additions to undertaking the duties of fatwa-writing, Shafi also continued to teach some books of hadith and tafsir.[6]
In November 1932 (Rajab 1351), Shafi published a tract entitledNihayat al-arab fi ghayat an-nasab oncaste. 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 Thanwi, 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).[3][4][7]
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.[3][4] He held the post until he left Darul Uloom Deoband in Rabi al-Awwal 1362 AH (March 1943).[2][3][note 2]
Estimates of the number of fatwas that he issued while at Darul Uloom Deoband range from 26,000[4] to over 40,000. Some of Muhammad Shafi's fatwas have been published in eight large volumes titledImdad al-Muftin, while the majority remain unpublished.[2]
From an early age, Shafi frequently attended the gatherings ofMahmud Hasan Deobandi. Then when Mahmud Hasan wasimprisoned in Malta, Shafi consultedAshraf Ali Thanwi. Mahmud Hasan returned to Deoband in June 1920 (20 Ramadan 1338 AH). In 1339 AH (1920) Shafi gavebay'at (allegiance) at his hand. However, Mahmud Hasan died a few months later on 18 Rabi al-awwal AH (November 1920). Shafi returned to Thanawi after Mahmud Hasan's death. In Rabi ath-thani 1349 AH (1930) he receivedijazat-i bay'at (permission to take disciples) andkhilafah (spiritual successorship).[2][3]
When theAll-India Muslim League was formed to campaign for the creation of a separate Muslim state, Ashraf Ali Thanvi instructed all Muslims, including scholars, to support this campaign. Shafi and other scholars, including Zafar Ahmad Usmani, joined theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a council of Islamic scholars formed byShabbir 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 issuedfatwas for this purpose.[2]
In 1948 (1367 AH), after thepartition of India, Shafi migrated from Deoband to Pakistan. He foundedDarul Uloom Karachi in 1370 AH (1950/1951). He died on 10 Shawwal 1396 (6 October 1976).[2]
He remarked that the various educational systems that came into being under the British rule – traditional Madrasahs, spearheaded by Deoband, and modern schools, spearheaded by Aligarh – should be integrated thus balancing the religious and worldly dimensions of knowledge and nurturing.[8]
He avoided disputes at all costs and on occasion, he even gave up land allocated to him by the government of Pakistan to build a Madrasah, just to avoid a dispute that has arisen in the process.[9]
He wrote around one hundred booksexplaining theQuran and interpretingIslamic law.
His best-known and most widely translated work is theMa'ariful Qur'an ("The Wisdom of the Quran"), which he finished (in Urdu) four years before his death.[10] This work, a commentary on the entire Quran, began as a series of weekly lectures onRadio Pakistan that ran for ten years.[10]
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Riyazuddin Bijnori | fourth Head Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband 13 August 1931 - November 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Kifayatullah Gangohi | seventh Head Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband 4 April 1940 - 23 March 1943 | Succeeded by Farooq Ahmad |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
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