Kifayatullah Dehlawi

Dehlawi‘a ancestors came from Yemen, but his great-grandfathers were traders from Bahrain who travelled to India to sell their goods. At an unknown time, Dehlawi’s family shifted from Bhopal to Shahjahanpur. Dehlawi‘s father, Inayatullah, had four sons and two daughters, but was rather poor.[1]

OrKifayatullah ibn Inayatullah ibn Faidhullah ibn Khairullah ibn 'Ibadullah Dehlvi was born in Shahjahanpur, a district in Uttar Pradesh, India in 1875.[7] At the age of five, he commenced his education at the maktab of Hafiz Barakatullah. There, he completed the Qur'an and obtained instruction in Urdu and elementary Persian from Nasimullah. Thereafter, he enrolled at Madrasa 'Azeeziya. There, he completed his Persian studies, studying the most advanced kitab of Persian, Sikandar Naama, and commenced his Arabic studies under Budhun Khan. Then, Dehlawi was sent with a letter of recommendation from his teacher, 'Ubaidul Haq, to the administrator of the Madrasa 'Arabiya at Shahi Masjid in Muradabad. He was admitted and remained at the residence of Muhammad Isma'il. Since his father was poor, Dehlawi covered his educational expenses by weaving and selling topis. He studied there for two years. Dehlawi then enrolled at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1895. Because of his memory and intelligence, he did not exert as much effort, but quickly overtook his classmates and earned the highest marks on his examinations. He completed his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1898[7] at the age of twenty-two.[1]

After graduating, Dehlawi spent time in Delhi with his close friend, Aminuddin. Then, he returned to Shahjahanpur, where his former teacher, 'Ubaidul Haq, had founded Madrasa 'Ainul 'Ilm. Dehlawi became a teacher there and handled the secretarial and administrative duties. Dehlawi also taught Arabic and Persian. His salary was fifteen rupees per month. Along with his duties as a teacher and administrator, Dehlawi started to answer fataawa during this period. In his answer to each fatwa, Dehlawi was meticulous and cautious and would answer with well-written evidence. While at Madrasa 'Ainul 'Ilm, Dehlawi also started a monthly periodical, Al Burhan, in response to the Ahmadis, . The first issue was published in Sha'baan of 1321 AH and made an attempt to refute Ahmadi beliefs.[1]

Around this time, the financial condition of Madrasa 'Ainul 'Ilm started to deteriorate. Thus, in 1321 AH, the teachers' salaries were reduced. Mufti's salary was reduced from eighteen to sixteen rupees per month. However, he remained at Madrasa 'Ainul 'Ilm for five more years until the death of his teacher, 'Ubaidul Haq Khan. Thereafter, Mufti moved to Delhi and became a teacher at Madrasa Aminia. Besides teaching hadith and answering fataawa, Mufti managed the organizational affairs of the madrasa. His salary was twenty rupees per month. In Delhi, Dehlawi quickly became renowned. Dignitaries and people of the upper-class would consult him in their political and religious affairs and would benefit from his advice. The courts of law benefited from his presence as well. After his arrival at Madrasa Aminia, Mufti commenced a step-by-step implementation of beneficial reforms to the educational structure of the madrasa. Then, in 1328 AH, he initiated an assembly called Anjuman Islahul Kalaam. The purpose of this gathering was to teach students how to deliver speeches and debate. Every eighth day, each student had to deliver a speech or engage in a dialogue and Mufti would help. This assembly was successful in its aim, but was eventually ended due to a lack of participation. After fifty years, Mufti had answered hundreds of thousands of fataawa and his rulings are a treasure to fiqh. The fataawa of Mufti were extremely concise yet full of well-written evidence. His fataawa were always answered according to the intent of the questioner. It was for this reason that he was renowned among common folk as well as the officials of the courts of law, who would prefer his rulings in religious cases.[1]

Dehlawi drafted a fatwa recommending a boycott of British goods which was signed by around 500 Muslims scholars.[8]

From an early age, Dehlawi enjoyed reading and writing. His first major endeavour was the magazine, Al Burhan, which he wrote in refutation of the Ahmadi beliefs.[7] His second major work was an Arabic poem, Raudur Rayyaahin, which was published in 1909. It was first presented at the annual convention of Madrasa Aminia in 1908. The eloquence and grandeur of the poem was such that Dehlawi was requested to and produced an Urdu translation with footnotes, providing more details than and explaining difficult words from the original. Dehlawi’s most renowned publication is Ta'limul Islam, four volumes of questions and answers for children in simple language. This contained details of the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam. Dehlawi wrote various other religious treatises which were published as books, but are no longer available. Though Dehlawi was a prominent scholar and able writer, his literary works are few. The reason is that his teaching, political activities, domestic activities, and answering fataawa busied him to such an extent that he had no time to write.[1]

During the final years of his life, due to the deterioration of morality in society, clashes between Hindus and Muslims, and various other reasons, Dehlawi withdrew from politics and became reclusive, not even giving public comment.

In his final months he suffered severe liver illness, despite medical treatment. On 31 December 1952, he died at the age of seventy-seven. He was buried near Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, in Mehrauli, Delhi. His funeral was attended by 100,000 people.[6]

Dehlawi‘s students include Muhammad Taqi Amini, Izaz Ali Amrohi and Deshbandhu Gupta. [6][7]

• Maclean, D.N.; Ahmed, S.K. (2012). Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts: Perspectives from the Past. Edinburgh University Press Series. Edinburgh University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-7486-4456-8. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
• Shibly, A.H. (2011). Abdul Matin Chaudhury (1895-1948): Trusted Lieutenant of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Juned A. Choudhury. p. 59. ISBN 978-984-33-2323-1. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
• Shinde, P.K. (2005). Dalits and Human Rights: Dalits: the broken future. Dalits and Human Rights. Isha Books. p. 259. ISBN 978-81-8205-274-1. Retrieved 1 August 2016.