Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri
The Sculptural Image of Knowledge, the Seal and Pride of the Muhhaditheen
Khalid Bashir Ahmad
Kashmir is a proud land for having given birth to a prodigy whose deep penetration into knowledge was unparalleled. Considered to be the “most perfect scholar of divine knowledge”[1], he was, in fact, “the sculptural image of knowledge”[2]; an illustrious son of the Valley on whose demise poet philosopher Dr. Muhammad Iqbal said that “the last five hundred years of Islamic history are unable to produce an example like him.”[3] A great commentator of the Holy Qura’n, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, paid him the highest tribute by observing that his being a defender of Islam was the biggest evidence of Islam’s trueness.[4] Noted biographer of Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi, hailed him for his expanse of vision, memory power and abundant memorization. He likened him with an ocean, calm on the surface and full of precious treasure of pearls inside.[5] The Egyptian scholar, Allama Sayyid Rashid Misri, stated that he had not seen till date a great scholar like him.[6] He was a real mujtahid (revivalist) in the appropriate sense of the term who tried his level best to revive all Islamic sciences particularly prophetic traditions.[7]
That was Allama Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri, a religious scholar of the highest order reverentially referred to as Khaatmul Muhhaditheen and Fakhrul Muhhaditheen[8] or the Seal and Pride of Narrators of the Prophetic Traditions. He revolutionized the Islamic studies especially the art of teaching hadith.[9] He was “a chaste mystic, a mendicant aware of abstruse secrets, lord of the saints”[10] whose greatness was recognised by everybody with humble admittance. No luminary could challenge the magnanimity of his personality which was “attractive and absorbent, solid and firm, grand and gracious.”[11] He was the leader of his time in Islamic sciences who embarked upon the colossal task of interpretation of the Holy Quran and hadith with special reference to the juristic laws that aimed at defending the fundamentals of Islam.[12] His knowledge did not confine to hadith but encompassed Islamic law, history, literature, philosophy, logic, mathematics and science.[13] When someone asked him about ether his answer prompted the asker to exclaim that a professor of science would not add anything to what he had explained. So comprehensive and substantiated was his response. Another person asked him a question about gravity. His answer made the person to say that he was not a scholar or Allama but a mountain of knowledge. The person stated that what he had told him was what he had been hearing from the professors of science.[14]. His power of memory was terrific. Sheikh-al-Islam Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madni states (translation):
“I know some people who have memorised one lakh ahadith and I know some others who have memorised the Sahihe’en [Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari] but I have seen no scholar like Hadrat Maulana Anwar Shah who holds a whole library in his chest.”[15]
Allama Kashmiri has been described as Imam Bukhari and Imam Abu Hanifah of his time. [16] In Burma (now Myanmar), the Jamia’at-al-Ulama addressed him with such appellations as ‘Of Exalted Rank’, The Lord of the Researchers’, ‘The Peak of the Investigators’, Ghazali of the Era’, Baihaqi of the Time’ and ‘The Master of Excellence’.[17] A famous Egyptian scholar and muhhadith, Ali Hanbali Misri, once came to Deoband and attended Allama Kashmiri’s sessions of Sahih Bukhari in Arabic. He stayed there for three weeks. During these sessions, he asked questions which were replied by the Allama. Before leaving, Misri exclaimed, “I have visited Arab countries and met and engaged in discussions of hadith with great muhhadithin. I have also taught hadith in Egypt for several years but I have not seen a muhhadith of his (Allama Kashmiri’s) calibre who has such a critical eye on and evaluation of Imam Bukhari, Hafiz Abn-i-Hajar, Allama Ibn-i-Taimiya, Ibn-i-Hazm and Shoqani and, at the same time, keeps full regard of their [scholarly] majesty.”[18] When somebody informed Allama Kashmiri that Ali Hanbali had said that he would not be committing perjury if he said that Allama Kashmiri had greater knowledge than Imam Abu Hanifah, he was very displeased and exclaimed that “following Imam Azam was a matter of great pride for me. We have no access to his acquaintance of reasoning in problems of Islamic law.”[19] For prominent religious scholar, Maulana Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti, Maulana Anwar Shah was knowledge personified.[20] Brevity was his forte. He would reach to the root of an issue and unravel it in a few comprehensive sentences.
Born on Sunday, 27 Shawwal 1292 Hijri corresponding to 17 October 1875 AD, at his maternal grandparental house at village Dodhwan, Kupwara, 22 kms from his native village Warnav in north Kashmir’s scenic Lolab valley, Maulana Anwar Shah started reading Qur’an from his father, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Moazam Shah, at the age of four and a half years and by the age of six, he had completed the Holy Book besides several journals of Persian language. His over 150-year-old three-storied wooden house at Warnav still exists in an abandoned condition as a symbol of this great man’s glorious link with Kashmir. In 2004, Warnav, 114 kms to the northwest of Srinagar, was declared a model village and officially rechristened as Anwarabad after the illustrious son of the soil.
The family of Maulana Anwar Shah traces its lineage to Hadrat Sheikh Masood Narwari al-Kashmiri whose mausoleum is situated at Narwara in Srinagar city. The lineage goes like this: Muhammad Anwar Shah son of Maulana Muhammad Moazam Shah son of Shah Abdul Kabir son of Shah Abdul Khaliq son of Shah Muhammad Akbar son of Shah Haidar son of Shah Muhammad Arif son of Shah Ali son of Shah Abdullah son of Sheikh Masood Narwari al-Kashmiri.[21] Sheikh Masood’s ancestors belonged to Multan and his father had migrated to Kashmir during the rule of Zain-al-Aabideen (1420–1470 AD) where he settled at Narwara. Sheikh Masood’s progenies, children of Shah Muhammad Arif, migrated to Lolab and settled there.
As a child, Anwar Ahah was very intelligent and inquisitive and asked intricate questions that his teachers had no ready answers for. His father once recalled that his son would ask subtle questions for which he could offer no answers without consulting voluminous books. He advised him to avoid such minuteness but the child persisted with his inquisitiveness. In the end, his father felt helpless and sent him to another teacher who had a similar complaint with the child.[22] He was taken to a gnostic in the mountains for seeking his blessings. On seeing Anwar Shah, the ascetic prophesied that this boy would become a grand scholar and establish his scholarly magnificence in future.
In his boyhood, Muhammad Anwar Shah would write substantial annotations on books on logic and grammar. Once, a great scholar saw these books and exclaimed that the boy would become Razi and Ghazali of his time.[23] Abu Bakr al-Razi (864- 925 AD) was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 AD) was a Muslim scholar, law specialist, rationalist and spiritualist, also of Persian origin. Muhammad Azhar Shah Qaisar, eldest son of Allama Kashmiri, writes that on observing his knowledge, wisdom, virtuous disposition and pious deeds, some people in Kashmir misconstrued him as the promised Messiah and his parents had to remove their misconception. As the Allama himself admitted once, he had started issuing fatawah or religious decrees at the very young age of 12.
To quench his thirst for knowledge, Muhammad Anwar Shah left Kashmir at the age of 13 in 1305 Hijri (1888 AD) and landed in Hazara in the present Khyber Pakhtun Khawa province of Pakistan where he stayed for three years in the company of scholars and men of religious knowledge. Four of his close relatives were already pursuing their studies at Hazara. There, he pursued and completed Arabic studies. Three years later, in 1308 Hijri (1890 AD), he returned to Kashmir. At Hazara, he had come to know about the fame of Dar-al- Uloom Deoband and he shifted there in 1310 Hijri (1892 AD). At Deoband, he stayed for four years during which time he was tutored by teachers of great repute and stature including Sheikh-al-Hind Maulana Mehmood Hassan, Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, Maulana Muhammad Ishaq Amritsari Mahajir Madni and Maulana Ghulam Rasool Hazarvi Deobandi. The Sheikh-al-Hind was the most affectionate among his teachers who also gave full respect to him and persuaded him to get married in 1336 Hijri (1917 AD) when the Maulana was 44 and wanted to remain a celibate. He was married in a respectable family of Gangoh in Saharanpur district of United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) after which he accepted a meagre salary from Dar-al-Uloom Deoband to run his kitchen. He had three children- two sons, Azhar Shah Qaisar, Anzar Shah Masoodi and a daughter Rashidah Khatoon. Earlier, after passing out from Deoband, he had presented himself before Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi at Gangoh and obtained the authority in Hadith and spiritual benefits. From there, he went to Delhi where he assumed the responsibilities of First Teacher at the Madrasah Aaliyah Ameenia. After his stay at Delhi for 12 or 13 years, he returned to Kashmir.
During his stay in the Valley, Allama Kashmiri was lodged for about a month at Mir Mohallah Malarata in the old Srinagar city. There, he was the guest of Maulana Sayyid Mirak Shah Indrabi, his taught. He also stayed for some time in the house of Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Sayeed Indrabi. He gave sermons at the Jama Masjid, Khanqah-e-Moalla and Khanqah-e-Naqshbandia. During his speech at the Jama Masjid, Mirwaiz Maulana Ahmadullah was present and, sitting among the audience, heard him with rapt attention. At Khanqah-e-Moalla, he delivered his sermon in Sultan Khana in the first floor of the shrine. Molvi Abdullah Vakil stood up to ask a question but was so overawed by the persona of Allama Kashmiri that he spoke few irrelevant words and forgot to ask his question. He had later told some of his men that one should prostrate before his [Allama Kashmiri’s] knowledge.[24] At Khanqah-e-Naqshbandia, he made a rather long speech and answered questions from the audience. During his stay in Srinagar, he also had a trip to the famous Dal Lake and was accompanied by grand men of Malarata. Someone sang a few couplets from Rumi’s mathnavi and Allama Kashmiri then interpreted the verses for three to four hours.[25]
From Kashmir, Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri set out for the Harmain-e-Shareefain (the two Holy Mosques of Makkah and Medinah) in 1323 Hijri (1905 AD) to perform Haj. He was accompanied, among others, by Abdul Samad Kakroo, a wealthy man from Baramulla, famous north Kashmir town. In the holy land, the Allama was accorded respect by prominent scholars from Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Syria who were impressed by his knowledge and intellectual power. They granted him certificates of hadith where his name was mentioned as al-Fazil (learned) as-Sheikh (master) Muhammad Anwar Bin (son of) Maulana Muhammad Azam Shah al-Kashmiri.[26] After his return from Hejaz and on the insistence of Kakroos, Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah established, in 1324 Hijri (1906 AD), Madrasah Faiz-e-Aam at Baramulla and imparted religious education to students there for three years before he left for Dar-al-Uloom Deoband where he was invited to attend the convocation of the famous seminary. Sadly, the Madrasah Faiz-e-Aam lasted for less than four years and collapsed because the people at the helm of affairs proved to be of fickle disposition and remained at loggerheads with each other.[27]
At Deoband, Maulana Anwar Shah was appointed as a teacher and, for years, he imparted education in Sanan Abu Dawood Sharief and Muslim Sharief, the two famous books on Ahadith. He performed the job without accepting any remuneration. A couple of years later, he again visited Kashmir, this time in connection with the demise of his mother, but soon returned to Deoband on the strong persuasion of the Dar-al-Uloom administration. The Allama worked as a teacher at Dar-al-Uloom Deoband from 1310 to 1314 Hijri (1892 to 1896 AD) and as Sadr-al-Muddariseen (Head of the Institution) from 1333 to 1343 Hijri (1914 to 1925 AD) which position he assumed after the demise of Sheikh-al-Hind Maulana Mehmood Hassan. His son, Maulana Anzar Shah Masoodi, also held this position. His grandson, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Khizr Shah, is the current Sheikh-al-Hadith at the seminary.
In 1345 Hijri (1927 AD), the Maulana developed some differences with the Dar-al-Uloom administration over reforms and shifted to Jamia Islamia Dabhel in Gujarat along with some prominent scholars including Maulana Mufti Aziz-ar-Rehman Uthmani, Maulana Shabir Ahmad Uthmani, Maulana Siraj Ahmad Rashidi, Maulana Muhammad Hafiz-ar-Rehman Sivhari, Maulana Muhammad Idris Sakhroodi, Maulana Atiq-ar-Rehman Uthmani and Maulana Badr Alam Meerthi, and about three hundred students. The differences at Dar-al-Uloom Deoband rose over the demand for curriculum change, better board and lodge facilities for the students and privileges and rights of teachers. The Allama favoured the demands of students considering these as genuine. The administration of the seminary remained adamant on its stand upon which the Allama relinquished his post and left for Dabhel. There, he taught the knowledge of Hadith till 1351 Hijri (1933 AD). At the Jamia, besides teaching, he regularly delivered sermons and performed the duty of a da’i (preacher). His services at Dabhel were of immense importance. “Gujarat was bestowed with grace, blessings, rectitude and moral upliftment by the strenuous efforts of Allama Kashmiri.”[28] The loss of Deoband proved to be the gain of Dabhel which gave rise to the luminaries like Allama Wajeeh-ud-Din, Allama Tahir and Allama Ali Muttaqi.
Allama Kashmiri emerged as a fearless crusader of the Khatm-i-Nubuwwat (Finality of Prophethood). Before his death, he desired to return to Kashmir and spend his last days in his motherland where his father was in old age. His aim was to fight in Kashmir the Qadiyaniyat, a belief system propagated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani who made a false claim to prophethood in defiance of Islam’s cardinal principle of the finality of prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Qadiyaniyat had made inroads in the Valley and Allama Kashmiri wanted to unite the Islamic scholars of Kashmir to jointly counter it. Through his writings and sermons, the Allama tirelessly fought against the Qadiyaniyat and was very concerned about it spreading, besides India, in Iraq. His illustrious disciple, former Mufti Azam of Pakistan and author of Ma’rif-al-Qur’an, an eight-volume commentary on Holy Qur’an, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, writes (translation):
“As usual, I was at the service of Hazrat Shah Sahib (May Allah sanctify his soul) and, contrary to his routine, found no book under his study. He was sitting empty with worry writ large on his face. I enquired about his mood. He replied, “Brother, you are asking about my mood. The apostasy of Qadiyaniyat and the flood of disbelief is overflowing. Not only in India but their mischief is getting serious in Iraq and Baghdad also and our scholars and masses are not paying any heed to it. We had got a suggestion approved by the Jamiat-e-Ulmaa-e-Hind that 10 articles on Qadiyaniyat would be published in Arabic and sent to the Muslim countries but now we do not get a person to work on it. People do not consider this work as important. I submitted that although I was not competent to undertake this job but if I was ordered I might write down and present something.”[29]
Allama Kashmiri asked Maulana Muhammad Shafi to write on the Finality of Prophethood and he wrote down a long article in Arabic consisting of one hundred pages. After going through the article, he was happy and blessed him. He wrote a one-page preface and had the article published and its copies sent to Egypt, Syria, Iraq and other places. On his advice, annual public meetings were held at Qadiyan, the Ground Zero in Punjab, to counter the challenge of Qadiyaniyat where he himself would participate along with a deputation of religious scholars from Deoband. These meetings were held for several years and earned him animosity of the Qadiyanis. He and his colleagues received threatening letters warning them of dire consequences if they set their feet on Qadiyan. The threats were actually implemented and several Muslims were attacked.
Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi narrates an incident according to which once after the pre-dawn prayers at a public meeting at Qadiyan, the Allama spoke about the times being overwhelmed by apostasy and the Qadiyani mischief being the greatest of these. He said he regretted wasting life and energy in support of the Hanfi sect when the challenge thrown by apostates was more serious and demanded attention. He said that now when the severity of the mischief had invited his attention he had collected material to counter it. He said that if he himself wrote about it, it would have an academic and reformative colour which would not be fully appreciated by common masses. So, he persuaded men like Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Maulana Sayyid Murtaza Hassan, Maulana Badr Alam and Maulana Muhammad Idris to write on various aspects of the subject and shared with them the material he had collected.
At a public debate at Ferozpur, Punjab attended by Allama Kashmiri and Maulana Shabir Ahmad Uthmani, several Muslims who had been influenced by Qadiyaniyat reverted to Islam. In 1343 Hijri, the Allama in the company of several scholars of Deoband set out on a missionary tour of Punjab and the Frontier. They visited several major cities including Ludhiana, Amritsar, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujarat, Rawalpindi, Abbotabad, Mansehrah, Hazara, and Kahuta to counter the Qadiyani propaganda and present the trueness of Islam. Due to his strenuous efforts, the Allama was successful in exposing the propaganda.
In 1926, a Muslim woman in Bahawalpur moved the court for dissolution of her marriage on the plea that her husband had converted to Mirzaiyat or Qadiyaniyat. For seven years the matter remained sub-judice in different courts of Bahawalpur. The poor lady had no means to defend her case while the Qadiyanis came forward in support of the defendant. Ultimately, the Muslims of Bahawalpur took up her case and appealed the prominent religious scholars of undivided India to come forward in their aid. Allama Kashmiri had then moved from Dabhel to Deoband and was fighting his ailment. Considering the importance of the case, he forgot his health issues and left for Bahawalpur several days before the hearing of the case, and also persuaded other prominent scholars to present themselves as witnesses. He appeared in the court on 25 August 1932 to make a statement which lasted for five days. Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi narrates the scene thus (translation):
“The real feel of the great scholarly statement made by Hadrat Shah Sahib should be asked only from those persons who witnessed this scene. It cannot be described. In short, the court room looked like Dar-al-Hadith of Dar-al-Uloom Deoband. The court and all those present were spellbound. It was a gushing river of divine knowledge and cognitions.” [30]
Allama Kashmiri had packed his luggage for Dabhel when Sheikh-al-Jamia Maulana Ghulam Muhammad’s letter was received asking him to visit Bahawalpur as a witness in the case. He put off his travel plan and travelled to Bahawalpur thinking that “being on the side of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) might lead to my salvation.”[31] In the Bahawalpur Case, he was ably assisted by Maulana Sayyid Murtaza Hassan, Maulana Muhammad Najam-ad-Din and Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi. On 7 February 1935, the District Judge passed the judgement in favour of the lady petitioner. The decision was considered as a great victory of the Muslims, upholding the Islamic concept of the Finality of Prophethood. Besides persuading others to write umpteen articles on the Finality of Prophethood and contesting the Qadiyani thought, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri himself profusely wrote on the subject earning him tremendous respect and reverence from Islamic scholars and the Muslim masses. His writings include Ikfar-al-Mulhideen wal Matawaleen fi Shaiyi Min Zarooriyatid Din (Research Based Analysis of Apostasy and Atheism in Things of Requirements of Religion) and Aqeedat-al-Islam fi Nuzool-i-Isa Alaihi Salam (Islamic Faith on Coming Down of the Jesus (peace be up on him). His last publication was a Persian pamphlet titled Khaaitmun Nabiyeen (Seal of the Prophets) that he wrote during illness with a desire to visit Kashmir and fight against the Qadiyanyat there. It was published by Jamia Islamia Dabhel after his demise. His other writings include Tahhiyatul Islam fi Hayati Isa Alaihi Salam, At-Tasreehu Bima Tuwatiru fi Nuzoolil Masih, Faslul Khitab fi Masalati Umm-al_kitab, Khatimatul Khitabi fi Fatihatil Kitab, Nailul Farqadaini fi Masalati Rafa-id-dain, Bastul Yaddaini Li Nailil Farqaddain, Kashfus Satri-an Salatil Vitr, Zarbul Khatim Ala Hudoosil Aalam, Mirqatut Tarim Li Hudoosil Aalam, Izalatur Rainni fil Lazzabi An Qurratul Ainain, Sehmul Gaibi fi Kabib Ahlir Raib, Mushkilaatul Qur’an, Khazinaul Asrar, Faizul Bari Bisharhi Sahi il Bukhari, AnwarulbMehmoodi fi Sharhi Sunan Abi Dawood, Sahi Muslim ki Imlayi Sharah and Hashiyah Sunani Abi Ma’ja.
Allama Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri had a very special relationship with the Poet of the East, Allama Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal, and the two held each other in great esteem. He would say that no scholar had benefitted from him more than Iqbal did.[32] It was a deep desire of Iqbal to see Allama Kashmiri permanently shifted to Lahore as he felt there was not a single soul versant with the Islamic requirements there. Punjab, he felt, had stopped producing scholars. On 31 January 1922, when Allama Kashmiri was at Lahore, Iqbal had made arrangements for his permanent stay there and had, in fact, reached an agreement with the concerned about his taking over as Khateeb (Speaker) of the Badshahi Masjid and Head of the Islamic Studies at the Lahore College.[33] That, however, could not materialise. In 1925, when he was again at Lahore to attend a meeting of the Anjuman-i- Khuddam-ad-Din (Association of the Servants of Religion), Iqbal wrote to him on 13 March 1925 (translation):
“Through Master Abdullah[34], I have come to know that you have arrived here to attend the meeting of Anjuman-i- Khuddam-ad-Din and will stay for a couple of days. I will consider it a great privilege if you have dinner tomorrow at the residence of one of yours truly. Through you, I make the same request to Hadrat Molvi Habib-ar-Rehman Sahib, Qibla Uthmani Hadrat Molvi Shabir Ahmad Sahib and Jenab Mufti Aziz-ar-Rehman. I hope that you will accept this invitation. Conveyance will be sent from here to pick you up from your place.”[35]
A special dinner was arranged at Iqbal’s residence which was attended, besides the above invitees, by Maulana Sayyid Ata Allah Shah Bukhari, noted scholar and religious and political leader, and a legendary public debater.
When Allama Kashmiri resigned from Dar-al-Uloom Deoband, Iqbal was very happy thinking that now he might agree to shift to Lahore. Maulana Sayyid Akbarabadi writes (translation):
“Few days after the news of resignation [of Allama Kashmiri] was published in newspapers, I visited Dr. Sahib [Iqbal]. He said, “Whatever might be your thoughts I am, however, very happy to know about the resignation.” Greatly surprised, I asked, “Are you not unhappy over the loss of Deoband?” He replied, “Why not, but the Dar-al-Uloom will get other Sadr-al-Muddasireen and this post will not remain vacant but the work for Islam I want to take from Shah Sahib no one else can do that.” [36]
After coming to know about Allama Kashmiri’s resignation, Iqbal sent a reply-paid telegram to him inviting him to shift to Lahore. He received no reply. When he sent a man to Deoband for making a verbal request it turned out that the telegram was delivered to the Allama when he had already consented to move to Dabhel. Pertinently, Iqbal’s friend and author, Munshi Muhammad Din Fauq, had at one stage requested Allama Kashmiri to not move out of the Valley, arguing that Kashmir’s right over him was paramount but the later had decided to go to Deoband.[37] Iqbal’s thoughts were greatly expiated by the saying of the Allama Kashmiri. He would send questions comprising as many as eight pages and the latter would satisfactorily reply, making inroads in Iqbal’s heart. Sadly, the correspondence between the two was not preserved.
Allama Kashmiri sent his long-versified article, Zarb-al-Khatim Ala Hudoosil Aalam (The Seal [of Prophethood] Being the Clue to End of the World) comprising 300 couplets to Iqbal who told Maulana Sayyid Akbarabadi that he was astounded to see a man of religion with so deep insight in philosophy that even the greatest philosopher of today’s Europe could not add anything more on the subject.[38] Iqbal had difficulty in appreciating four couplets and he sought guidance from Allama Kashmiri who wrote him a long letter in Persian explaining the meaning of the verses. Allama Kashmiri’s writing on time and space also remained under Iqbal’s study for a long time. Besides communicating with him through letters, Iqbal met him several times. Once, he drew Allama Kashmiri’s attention to Newton’s writings on Isbaat-i-Baari (Affirmation of God) who told him that he had read his 15 books and whatever he [Allama Kashmiri] had written on the subject Newton was not able to even touch that. He then referred to Allama Iraqi’s publication and said that Newton had only copied him.[39] Iqbal’s scholarly article against Qadiyaniyat was an outcome of his interactions with Allama Kashmiri. When the Kashmir Committee was formed at Shimla in 1931 with Mirza Bashir-ad-Din Mehmood as its Head and Iqbal as the General Secretary, Allama Kashmiri objected to the appointment of the former for being a Qadiyani. He wrote protest letters and also sent a long letter to Iqbal warning him of the Qadiyani mischief. It was only then that Mehmood was removed from the post.
Iqbal’s admiration for and close association with Allama Kashmiri is reflective from his long poem Mullahzada Zaigham Lolabi ka Bayaz, with that famous repetitive verse ‘Ai Wadi-e-Lolab’ (O’ The Valley of Lolab), the birthplace of Allama Kashmiri, which is said to be a reference to him. It is said that by the darvish that Iqbal wrote was nayaab (not available) now he had meant Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri. According to Nazir Qadiri, biographer of Allama Kashmiri, “Mullahzada Zaigham may appear an imaginary name to some, but Iqbal metaphorically points to no other personality than Allama Kashmiri.” [40] He was a mullahzada because he was born in a peerzadah family resplendent with Islamic values; he was a zaigham (lion) because the Islamic magnificence adorned his countenance. He was Lolabi (of Lolab, a scenic valley in north Kashmir). Pertinently, Mullahzada Zaigham Lolabi ka Bayaz is the concluding part of Iqbal’s magnum opus, Armaghan-e-Hejaz (Gift of Hejaz). Another couplet Hazaroon saal nargis apni benoori pe roti hai Badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mai deedahwar paida (The narcissus bewails its inability to see. Indeed, it is extremely rare that a man with vision is born in the garden) is also believed to have been written with Allama Kashmiri in mind.
Allama Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri was himself a poet of merit although his poetry was overshadowed by his contribution as a commentator and expert of Islamic jurisprudence and a great teacher of hadith. He wrote his verses in Arabic and Persian. Besides writing poetry, he had memorised thousands of couplets that he appropriately used in his lectures and writings. Of his Persian poetry, there are 1326 couplets available.[41] His Arabic poetry was mostly based on morality and religious topics but he excelled the most while writing naat or eulogy of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His Arabic naats are exceptional. Here are the opening lines of an Arabic naat sharief of 23 couplets representing a masterly composition:
Shafi’un mata’un nabi’un kareem Qaseem’un jaseem’un baseem’un waseem
Shafi’ul anami mata’ul maqam Karim’ul kirami nabi’ul aneem
Aseel’un raseel’un kaheel’un jameel Sabeeh’un maleeh’un mateebush shameem
([O’ Muhammad, peace be upon him] You are the interceder on the Day of Judgment. To follow you is compulsory under the Shariat order. You are the Great Messenger and an Exalted Prophet. You are the most handsome, elegant statured and light-hearted. On the Day of Judgment, you will be the Man of Great intercession. Your life is a must for everyone to emulate. You are the grandest among the group of prophets and messenger of all the creations. [His] sacred body is soft like silk with properties of steel. [He] is the Last Messenger of Allah, the Glorious. [His] blessed eyes are naturally filled with kohl. [He] is the man of great beauty and perfection. Without using perfume, [his] blessed manners, blessed face and blessed hair exude fragrance.)
While away from his motherland, Allama Kashmiri kept in touch with his family in Kashmir. He wrote letters to them wherein he would discuss family matters and other things. In one such letter written in Persian language on 5 Rabiu Thani 1301 Hijri (1883 AD) and addressed to his brothers Molvi Abdullah Shah, Sulaiman Shah and Saif Allah, he writes about having seen his late mother in a dream, and telling them how her soul was attached with them. He asks them to sacrifice a lamb for their late mother and arrange a session of recitation of Holy Qur’an to invoke blessings for her departed soul. He also asks them to hold khatm-i-sharief (special invocations) in memory of Hadrat Mir Sayyid Ahmad Kirmani. The letter begins with prayers for the brothers and explaining the importance of Islamic salutations. “When Assalamu alaikum wa rehmatullah was sent down, all other prayer words were stopped because those prayers were deficient and obscure but salam is always and by all means a comprehensive prayer”, he writes. Further, he asks his siblings to purchase a piece of land at Zainageer for which he had set aside some money. “The piece of land should be near the town and eye-catching with plenty of water available and provision for the cattle”, he writes, adding that “it is not good to have the village on all sides.” He informs them that the Hindus of Punjab were bent upon purchasing land in Kashmir in which event it would be difficult for them to buy land in the Valley. He wanted the brothers to consult among themselves and inform him so that he would act accordingly. In the end, Allama Kashmiri sends his salam (greetings) to his father and calls upon Molvi Abdullah Shah to meet, without batting an eyelid, father’s need if he had any.
In October 1977, Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Auqaf Trust under its President and the then Chief Minister, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, held a two-day seminar at Srinagar on the life and works of Allama Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri which was attend among others by several of the Allama’s worthy students. Prominent religious scholars who attended the seminar included Maulana Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Raza Bijnouri, Maulana Mufti Ateeq-ar-Rehman Uthmani, Maulana Hamid-al-Ansari, Maulana Anzar Shah Masoodi, Maulana Azhar Shah Qaisar, Maulana Abdus Subhan, Maulana Badr-al-Hassan Darbhangvi, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim, Maulana Najam-ad-Din, Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Indrabi, Maulana Qadi Zain-al-Aabideen Sajad Meerthi and Maulana Mufi Abd-al-Gani Azhari. The proceedings of the seminar were published in a book form titled Tasveer-i-Anwar and edited by Maulana Sayyid Anzar Shah Masoodi Kashmiri, the worthy son of Allama Kashmir.
The dispute at the Dar-al-Uloom had adversely affected Allama Kashmiri’s health. Ignoring his well-being, he kept himself busy in teaching, preaching, compiling and publishing. He was a prolific writer.
Among Allama Kashmiri’s distinguished students were Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Maulana Abd-al-Qadir Raipuri, Maulana Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Maulana Mohammd Idris Kandhlavi, Maulana Badr Alam Meerthi, Maulana Sayyid Akbarabadi, Maulana Hifz-ar-Rehman, Maulana Atiq-ar-Rehman Uthmani, Maulana Manzoor Numani, Mulana Muhammad Yusuf Binnauri, Maulana Muhammad Azaz Ali, Maulana Habib-ar-Rehman, Maulana Manazar Ahsan Geelani, Maulana Qazi Sajad Hussain, Maulana Muhammad Yahya, Maulana Wajeeh-ad-Din Naqshband Rampuri and Maulana Hamid-al-Ansari. His students from Kashmir included Mirwaiz Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Shah, Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Yusuf Shah Waterhali, Maulana Sayyid Mubarak Shah Indrabi, Maulana Inayatullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Muhammad Abdul Qudoos, Maulana Mufi Muhammad Israel and Maulana Sayyid Ahmadullah.
Following deterioration of his health, Allama Kashmiri had left Dabhel and returned to Deoband where he passed away during the night in the early moments of Monday, 3 Safar 1352 Hijri corresponding to 29 May 1933 AD. He was suffering from piles and profuse blood loss cost him dearly even as the best of physicians including Hakeem Nabeena attended on him. During his last days of ailment, he had foretold about the day of his departure from the transient world. Without mentioning the destination, he declared that he was leaving for a journey on Monday. The sister-in-law of Allama Kashmiri, a witness to his last moments, narrates that whenever she dimmed the light of the lamp in the room, she observed a concourse of people in the compound clad with snow-white Arabian style turbans. She thought that they were students of Dar-al-Uloom or scholars from Arabia. Their faces were bright. She thought there was something extraordinary and divine. As the Allama recited the kalimah and breathed his last, she found the concourse leaving the compound with something strange in their hands and reciting the kalimah tayyib. As she looked at the Allama, she found him lifeless and in smooth and smiling posture. As Iqbal had said in one of his couplets, when death approaches a true believer, he welcomes it with a smile.
Immediately after his demise, people were awakened by a mysterious celestial voice informing them of the death of Imam-al-Hadith (Prelate of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) sayings or traditions). “O’ people! Are you sleeping? Imam-al-Hadith is dead”, the voice announced and people ran towards Allama Kashmiri’s residence. He was laid to rest in a mulberry garden near the Eidgah at Deoband. The land for his burial place was purchased by his wife after he had desired his abode to be in this garden. Other members of his family including his sons and daughter are also buried in the graveyard known as Mazaar-i-Anwari. The Jenazah prayers were led by Maulana Mian Asgar Hussain.
On the demise of Allama Kashmiri, Sheikh-al-Islam Maulana Shabir Ahmad Uthmani said (translation):
“If someone from Egypt and Syria asked me whether I had seen Hafiz Ibn-i-Hajar Asqalani, Sheikh Taqi-ad-Din Bin Daqiq-al-Id and Sultan-al-Ulma Hadrat Sheikh Aziz Bin Abd-as-Salam, I would allegorically say ‘yes’ because it is only a matter of precedence and lateness in time. Otherwise, had Shah Sahib lived in the sixth or seventh century then his virtues and commendable qualities would likewise have been a priceless wealth of history. I feel that Hafiz Ibn-i-Hajar, Sheikh Taqi-ad-Din and Sultan-al-Ulma have died today.”[42]
The demise of Allama Kashmiri was widely mourned. Condolence meetings were held within and outside India. When Maulana Shabir Ahmad Uthmani heard the sad news at Dabhel he could not bear the shock and wept bitterly. Deoband, Dhabel, Delhi and Lahore were especially in shock. So was Kashmir where scholars and poets held a condolence meeting at Srinagar. Elegies were read out by prominent poets including Khawaja Abdul Qadir Darvish, Pir Abdul Qadir Aasim, Muhammad Amin Darab, Sayyid Mubarak Shah Fitrat Geelani and Khawaja Sa’d-ad-Din Sa’d Naqshbandi. Apart from his worthy colleagues and students who could not bear his departure, there was one person whose entire world had come crumbling by the demise of Allama Kashmiri and he was his father, Maulana Muhammad Moazam Shah. With grief and pain, he remarked that it was his desire that Maulana Anwar Shah would lead his funeral prayers but sadly his desire remained unfulfilled. He received condolence messages and telegrams from far and wide. At the condolence meeting at Lahore, Sir Muhammad Iqbal paid glowing tributes to Allama Kashmiri and said that the last five centuries of Islamic history were unable to produce an example like him. At the Delhi condolence meeting, Maulana Ahmad Sayyid Dehelvi remarked, “On Monday evening, you have not buried a person in Deoband but a library whose books are beyond count. Ah, The bad luck of the Muslims! Ah, The bad luck of the nation! What a precious thing they have lost!”[43] Allama Kashmiri’s memory was so strong that a book read once thirty years ago was fresh in his mind paragraph for paragraph, sentence for sentence and word for word. He had studied Noor-al-Aiza in a foreign library and when he started rewriting it on the basis of his memory, there was not even a minor variation from the original text.[44]
As regards food, Allama Kashmiri was fond of roasted fowl and in fruit liked melon very much. Once, when he attended the marriage ceremony of Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Akbarabadi at Agra, he tasted a melon for the first time and liked its taste. He told the father of the groom, who had arranged a special chef for the guests, that he was not interested in his biryani, kofta and qorma but that he should ensure that a basket of melons from Mao, a knife, two plates, a tray and a bucket were always available for him so that he could eat as much as he wanted.[45] Once when his pupils told him that eating fowl was not suitable for him in view of his ailment, he responded, “A man’s tabiayat (disposition) is his real ruler.”
There is no photograph of Allama Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri available. A couple of his purported photographs circulating on social media showing him with a white flowing beard and wearing a cap or a turban and specs are fake. His grandsons, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Khizr and Maulana Ubaid Anwar Shah, have rejected these photographs as false. Earlier, his son, Maulana Anzar Shah Masoodi, had also stated that there was no photograph of Allama Kashmiri available anywhere. According to an account of his physical features given by Maulana Abd-ar-Rashid Bastawi al-Qasmi, his body wore a cover of nur (light), his face was bright like the full moon. He was neither tall, nor short but of medium height. His personality was a combination of majesty and spiritual beauty. He followed the gait of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) — walked with light pace, with back slightly bend forward and a lowered gaze. His voice was melodious. He wore a green cloak touching his feet and covered his head with a green handkerchief.[46] He was very self-respecting and dignified but very forbearing and mild tempered. His tone was pure and civilized.[47] He was gifted with both power of understanding and power of memory.[48] He was very handsome, both physically and spiritually.[49] He had “rosy-white skin; proportionate parts; melting body, prominent eyes; extensive forehead; soft and delicate lips; turret looking head; soft and shining hair; delicate nose; wide ears; collyrium stained eyes; dense beard; broad chest; long hands with fleshy palms.”[50] His personality was “an emblem of an exalted character.”[51]
Abd-ar-Rehman Kondu’s book, Al-Anwar, reprinted in Pakistan with a foreword by Sheikh-al-Hadith wa Tafseer Maulana Muhammad Zar Wali Khan and renamed as Taqaddus-e-Anawar, has the following couplet of Shoorish Kashmiri printed on the title page:
Yeh jahan fani hai koyi shai bhi lafani nahi
Phir bhi is duniya mai Anwar Shah ka sani nahi
(This is a mortal world and nothing is immortal. Still, there is no one like Anwar Shah here).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am thankful to Mohammad Anwar Lolabi and Fareed Ahmad Bukhari for providing some books relevant to this subject, and to Pir Ghulam Hassan Shah and Molvi Abdul Gafoor for translating a Persian and Arabic text, respectively.]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
[1] Kifayatullah, Allama Mufti Mohammad, Tasveer-e-Anwar, ed. Sayyid Anzar Shah Masoodi Kashmiri, p 20
[2] Qadiri, Nazir, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah- A Creative and Investigative Sturdy, p 21.
[3] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 227
[4] Ibid., p 4.
[5] Nadvi, Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman, Allama Mohammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri: Shakhsiyat aur Ilmi Kamalaat (Sayyid Mohammaf Farooq Bukhari], p 43.
[6] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 4.
[7] Meraj, Dr. Meraj Ahmad, Contribution of Anwar Shah Kashmiri to the Hadith Literature in India, Insight Islamicus, Vol. 19, 2019, p 8, 11.
[8] Qaisar, Sayyid Mohammad Azhar Shah, Hayat-i-Anwar, p iv.
[9] Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 60.
[10] Shah, Allama Mohammad Anzar, Allama Mohammad Anwar Shah — A Creative and Investigative Study, p 15.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Meraj, Dr. Meraj Ahmad, Contribution of Anwar Shah Kashmiri to the Hadith Literature in India, Insight Islamicus, Vol. 19, 2019, p 6.
[13] Tayyib, Maulana Qari Mohammad, Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 260.
[14] Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 55.
[15] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 7.
[16] Taqaddus-i-Anwar, Al-Jamiyat-al-Arabia Ahsan-al-Uloom. Karachi, Title page. Imam Mohammad al-Bukhari (810–70 AD), born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, was an important hadith scholar. His Sahih al-Bukhari is revered as the most important hadith collection. Imam Abu Hanifah (696–767 AD), born in Kufa, Iraq, was a Sunni Muslim theologian, jurist and eponymous founder of the Hanfi school of jurisprudence which is the most widely practised law school in the Sunni Muslim tradition.
[17] Kashmiri, Anzar Shah Masoodi, Naqsh-e-Dawwam, p 139.
[18] Uthmani, Mufti Ateeq-ar-Rehman, Tasveer-i-Anwar. Mehad-al-Anwar, p 44.
[19] Ibid., p 45.
[20] Sialkoti, Maulana Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti, Tasveer-i-Anwar, p 58.
[21] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 34.
[22] Qaisar, Sayyid Mohammad Azhar Shah, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 2.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Shaheed, Nabih Ahmad Indrabi, Al-Anwar, p 625.
[25] Ibid., p 631.
[26] Qaisar, Sayyid Mohammad Azhar Shah, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 4
[27] Qadiri, Nazir, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah- A Creative and Investigative Study, p 61.
[28] Ibid., p 72.
[29] Shafi, Maulana Mufti Mohammad, Qadiyani Fitna, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 251.
[30] Ibid., p 264.
[31] Anwari, Maulana Mohammad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 327.
[32] Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 58.
[33] Qarshi, Qadi Afzal Haq, Monthly Dar-al-Uloom, March 1975 quoted by Kondu.
[34] Kashmiri leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who was known as Master Abdullah.
[35] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 565.
[36] Ibid., p 566.
[37] Ibid., p 140.
[38] Ibid., p 569.
[39] Ibid., p 570.
[40] Qadiri Nazir, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah- A Creative and Investigative Sturdy, p 237.
[41] Ibrahim, Maulana Mohammad, Tasveer-i-Anwar, p 230.
[42] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 6. Hafiz Ibn-i-Hajar Asqalani was a classic Islamic scholar from Egypt who authored about 150 works on hadith, history, biography, tafsir, poetry, and Shafi’i jurisprudence, the most valued of which being his commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, titled Fath al-Bari. Sheikh Taqi-ad-Din Bin Daqiq-al-Id (1228–1302 AD) was an authority in the Shafi’i legal school. He was also proficient in Maliki fiqh and served as chief Qadi of the Shafi’i school in Egypt. Sultan-al-Ulma Hadrat Sheikh Aziz Bin Abd-as-Salam (1181–1262 AD) was a famous mujtahid, Ash’ari theologian, jurist and the leading Shafi’i authority of his generation born in Damascus, Syria.
[43] Al-Anwar, (Kondu, Abd-ar-Rehman), p 227.
[44] Qadiri Nazir, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah- A Creative and Investigative Sturdy, p 127.
[45] Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 343.
[46] Al-Qasmi, Maulana Abd-ar-Rashid Bastawi. Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri, pp 157–60.
[47] Akbarabadi, Maulana Sayyid Ahmad, Hayat-i-Anwar, p 58.
[48] Kashmiri, Anzar Shah Masoodi, Tasveer-i-Anwar, p 106.
[49] Kandhlvi, Maulana Mohammad Idris, Tasveer-i-Anwar, p 305.
[50] Qadiri Nazir, Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah- A Creative and Investigative Sturdy, p 100.
[51] Ibid.
__________
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