Draft:Aaqil Saharanpuri

The Shaikh was born on Friday, 15 October 1937 in Saharanpur, United Provinces, British India.^[1] He began memorising the Qur'an in January 1947 at the age of nine at the Jama Masjid of Saharanpur, and Became Hafiz-e-Quran at the age of thirteen, in October 1950.^[1]

He then enrolled in the Dars-i-Nizami course at Mazahir Uloom. During his studies, his notable classmate and Very Close Freind was Yunus Jaunpuri^[1]. He completed the final year of the course, Dawra-e-Hadith (Hadith studies), in 1961.^[1] Among his prominent teachers was Zakariya Kandhlawi^[1], under whom he studied Sahih al-Bukhari.

He began his teaching career at his alma mater Mazahir Uloom in 1961,^[1] shortly after completing his studies. During the initial years of his appointment, he taught Nur al-Anwar and other foundational texts. In 1967, he was assigned to teach Sunan Abi Dawud'^[1]', a responsibility he continued for nearly fifty years until 2017.^[1][2] In 1971 (1390 AH), he was appointed Sadr al-Mudarrisin (head teacher)^[1], a position he held until 2023.^[2] During the late 1980s, due to various administrative and internal differences, Mazahir Uloom was divided into two separate institutions. As a result, Mazahir Uloom Jadeed was established as an independent seminary, while the original institution continued separately. Several senior scholars, including Talha Kandhlawi and Salman Mazahiri, became associated with Mazahir Uloom Jadeed, where the academic and administrative system largely continued in a similar manner. Following the demise of Yunus Jaunpuri in 2017, he undertook the teaching of Sahih al-Bukhari, which he continued for approximately eight years until his death in 2025. In 2020 (1441 AH), after the demise of his nephew Salman Mazahiri, also known as Nazim Sahab, he was appointed as the Nazim (principal and rector) of the seminary, in addition to his existing teaching and Sadr al-Mudarrisin responsibilities.

On 18 December 1961, he married the daughter of Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi^[3]. He had a total of 12 children, including 6 sons and 6 daughters.^[1] His sons include Maulana Ja‘far, Maulana Umair, Maulana Adil, Maulana Asim, Mufti Muhammad Second, and Maulana Qasim.

In the final year of his life, he had health issues and received treatment in several cities, including Delhi, Hyderabad, and Meerut. On 27 April 2025, he was discharged from a hospital in Meerut and returned to his home in Saharanpur. He passed away there on 28, April, 2025.^[4]

Muhammad Aaqil Saharanpuri authored several scholarly and religious works in Arabic and Urdu.