Muhammad Masihullah Khan Sherwani Jalalabadi ( ur, , ''Muḥammad Masīhu’llāh Khān Shīrwānī Jalāl ābādī''; 1911/1912 – 12 November 1992) was an Indian Deobandi

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

known as an authority in Sufism. He was among the senior '' khalifahs'' of

Ashraf Ali Thanvi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakim al-Ummat and Mujaddid e Millet; 19 September 1863 – 20 July 1943) was a late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Sunni scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and the revival of classical sufi thought from In ...

, who gave him the title "Masih al-Ummah" ("Comforter of the ''

Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

''").

Early life

Muhammad Masihullah Khan was born in 1329 or 1330 AH (1911/1912) in Sara’i Barla, a village in the

Aligarh district Aligarh district is a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. This district is a part of Aligarh Division. The districts which adjoin Aligarh are (clockwise from north) Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Sambhal, Badaun, Kasganj, Hathra ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. His family was of the

Sherwani Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...

tribe, a

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...

tribe of

Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

. His father's name was Ahmad Sa`id Khan. Masihullah was known for piety in his youth, and he often sat in the company of scholars and Sufis. He developed a close companionship with Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, who introduced him to the books and lectures of

Education and training

Most of Masihullah's Islamic education was undertaken in his hometown under Sa`id Ahmad Lucknowi. He then enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband in 1347 AH (1928/1929). In the same year he pledged allegiance to Ashraf Ali Thanvi. At Darul Uloom Deoband, Masihullah's teachers included Husain Ahmad Madani, Muhammad I'zaz Ali Amrohi, Syed Mian Asghar Hussain Deobandi, and Muhammad Ibrahim Baliyawi. Masihullah graduated in Sha`ban 1351 AH (1932). On 25 Shawwal 1351 (February 1933), he was granted ''

khilafah A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

'' by Thanvi, his shaykh, and was thus authorized to take his own disciples. Despite Masihullah's young age, Thanvi listed him among his eleven most distinguished ''khalifahs'' (spiritual representatives). In fact, he was ranked second among those eleven most distinguished ''khalifahs'', ranking only below

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Mawlana Muhammad 'Isa Allahabadi, who was the most senior disciple of Mawlana Thanwi. Thanwi had confidence in Masihullah's methods of spiritual training, and would sometimes refer disciples to Masihullah for training.

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

Muhammad Taqi Usmani Muhammad Taqi Usmani (born 5 October 1943) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and former judge who is the current president of the Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia and the vice president and Hadith professor of the Darul Uloom Karachi. An intellectual ...

is one of his most distinguished ''khalifahs''.

Jalalabad

Upon the direction of Thanvi, in 1357 AH (1938/1939) Masihullah moved to the town of

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

in the district of Muzaffarnagar, due to the need for a teacher there. In Jalalabad, Masihullah took charge of a small, two-roomed school known as Madrasah Miftah al-`Ulum. Within thirty years the school developed from a simple '' maktab'' into a large madrasah with Islamic education offered from the elementary level up to the Alimiyah and Ifta levels. In 1407 AH (1986/1987), Masihullah gave the responsibility for running the madrasah to his son so that he could devote more time to his '' khanqah'', where an increasingly large number of people were coming for spiritual reformation. Every Monday and Thursday, Masihullah would conduct a two- to three-hour gathering for instructing his disciples. Every Friday, after the prayer, he would have a gathering for the general public which would be attended by several hundred people from Jalalabad and the surrounding areas.

Literary works

* ''Shariat-o-Tasawwuf'' *''The Path to Perfection''

Demise

Masihullah died on 12 November 1992. He was buried the next day after the Friday prayer. The funeral prayer was led by Mufti Inayatullah, and his funeral was attended by over 250,000 people. He was buried in the cemetery next to the madrasah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masihullah Khan, Muhammad Year of birth uncertain 1992 deaths Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Hanafi fiqh scholars Indian Sufis Sunni Sufis People from Aligarh Deobandis Indian people of Pashtun descent Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi