Abdul Ghani Azhari
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Mufti[1] Abdul Ghani Azhari | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1922 Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, British India |
| Died | 19 January 2023 (aged 100–101) Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Founder of | Dar al-‘Ulum Nizamiyya Madinatul Islam |
| Movement | Deobandi |
Abdul Ghani Azhari (1922 – 19 January 2023), also known as Abdul Ghani Shah al-Shashi,[2] 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.
Abdul Ghani Azhari was born in 1922 to a Kashmiri Sunni family of Muslim Gujjars[3][4][5] in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir.[6] 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.[6] He studied with Hussain Ahmad Madani, Ibrahim Balyawi, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, and Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad, and his teachers at Mazahir Uloom included Zakariyya Kandhlawi.[7] At the Azhar, he studied with scholars including Abdel-Halim Mahmoud.[7]
Career
Azhari established Dar al-‘Ulum Nizamiyya Madinatul Islam in Badshahibagh (nearby Saharanpur), to cater to the needs of the Gurjar children.[8] He also established religious seminaries in Kashmir, including Maktabah Anwar al Uloom, in Kokernag, and Darul Uloom Kawthariya near Dachigam National Park.[9] In 2003, he established Darul Uloom Shah Wali Allah in Donipawa, Brakpora, in Anantnag.[7] 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.[10]
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.[11] He showed particular interest in the Qadiri order of Sufism and published works on the Naqshbandiyyah.[3] He died on 19 January 2023 in Saharanpur.[12] 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".[13]
