Akhtar Raza Khan (born Muhammad Ismail Raza; 23 November 1943 – 20 July 2018), also known as Tajush Shari'ah, and Azhari Miyan, was an Indian Islamic scholar. A

mufti A mufti (; , ) 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 ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

of the

Barelvi The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi school, Hanafi and Shafi'i school, Shafi'i schools of jurisprudenc ...

s, he was the great-grandson of

Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi Ahmad Raza Khan Baraylawi (14 June 1856–28 October 1921), known reverentially as A'la Hazrat, (Grand Master), was an Islamic scholar, mufti, polymath, gnostic, poet from (undivided) India, he is considered as the founder of the Barelvi move ...

who was considered to be a

Mujaddid A ''mujaddid'' () is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" () to the religion. According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revitalize Islam, clean ...

by his followers and was the eponymous founder of the

Barelvi movement The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi school, Hanafi and Shafi'i school, Shafi'i schools of jurisprudenc ...

. He had served as the

Grand Mufti of India The Grand Mufti of India is the most senior and influential religious authority of the Sunni Muslim Community of India. The incumbent is Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, who was conferred the titl ...

succeeding Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri from 1982 to 2018 and Islamic Chief Justice of India from 2006 to 2018. He was ranked 24th on the list of

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

in the world in 2018 edition, 26th in 2010, 28th in 2011, 26th in 2012, 22nd in 2013-2014, 22nd in 2014-15, 25th in 2016 editions, compiled by the

Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre is a research centre affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. Its publications include: *''A Common Word Between Us and You'' *''Amman Message, The Amman Message'' *''Fort ...

. He had tens of millions of followers in India.

Early life and education

He was born on 23 November 1943 at Muhallah Saudagaran in Bareilly,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, to

Ibrahim Raza Khan Muhammad Ibrahim Raza Khan Qadri Razvi (1907–1965), commonly known as Mufassir-e-Azam-e-Hind and Jilani Miyan, was an Indian Islamic scholar, Sufi mystic, orator, author, and leader of Sunni Muslim’s Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam in the ...

as the grandson of

Hamid Raza Khan Hamid Raza Khan Qadri was an Islamic scholar and mystic of the Barelvi movement. Qadri was born in 1875 (Rabi' al-awwal 1292 Hijri), in Bareilly, India. His name at the time of his '' aqeeqah'' was Muhammad, as it was family tradition. Linea ...

and as a great-grandson of

, who was considered to be a

by his followers and founder of the

. He went to school till graduation at the Madrasa Manzar-e-Islam of the Dargah Aala Hazrat, and then at Islamia Inter College,

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

. He post-graduated from the

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

in Egypt in the Arabic literature and Islamic Studies with specialisation in Hadith and Tafseer from 1963 to 1966, where he was conferred with the ''Fakhr-e-Azhar'' (Pride of Azhar) award by

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

Career

In 1967, at the age of 25, he became a teacher at the Madrasa Manzar-e-Islam at Bareilly Sharif Dargah.

Spiritual life

Khan was a spiritual follower and successor of his maternal grandfather

Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (1892–1981), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and author, and leader of the Sunni Barelvi movement following the death of its founder, his father Ahmed Raza Khan. He was known as ''Mufti-Azam-i-Hind'' to his follo ...

, the former Grand Mufti of India in the Qadriyya-Barkatiyya-Razviyya-Nooriya order of Sufism.

After retirement

He formally retired from teaching in 1980, but continued to issue fatwa, and holding seminars for students at Dar al-Ifta. In 2000, he founded the Centre of Islamic Studies

Jamiatur Raza Jamiatur Raza is an Islamic seminary situated in Bareilly, India. It was established by Akhtar Raza Khan in 2000. The founders have evolved a plan to develop it into an Islamic university.

based in Bareilly,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. He was considered by his followers as the

. He had been ranked 22nd on the list of

in the world (2014–15 edition), compiled by the

. He had tens of millions of followers in India. He died following a long illness on 20 July 2018, aged 74. After his death Mufti Mohammad Salim Noori, spokesperson of the Dargah Aala Hazrat, said Khan was "the lone cleric in India to get a title of ''Tajushariya'' and "one of the few prominent persons across the world to be allowed to visit the inside f the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

in Mecca."

Fatwa against ISIS

In 2015, Khan along with 70000 Muftis issued Fatwa against terrorism including

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

Al-Qaida , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, which was supported by more than 15 Lacs Muslims in India on the eve of the Urs-e-Razvi at Bareilly Sharif Dargah.

Funeral

The estimated attendance at his funeral was just under one million. His funeral occurred on 22 July 2018 at Islamia Inter College, Bareilly. The prayer was led by his son and successor

Asjad Raza Khan Asjad Raza Khan (born 16 October 1970), He is also known as Ameer-e-Ahle Sunnat, and Huzoor Qaid-e-Millat, is an Indian Islamic scholar who belongs to the Barelvi movement and a descendant of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi and son and successor of Akh ...

. His

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was watched by at least 12,500,000 people across the world. A day of mourning was organised in Bareilly Sharif. The funeral was organised by the Members of

Bareilly Sharif Dargah Bareilly Sharif Dargah is a Dargah (shrine) or mausoleum of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, a 19th-century islamic scholar who founded the Barelvi movement. It is located in Bareilly district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The Dome of the Dar ...

and other organisations related to Dargah. The Namaz-e-Janaza was led by the son of Akhtar Raza Khan and head Mufti of Bareilly,

at 10:00 AM on 22 July 2018.

Memorial events

The Urs of Akhtar Raza Khan Qadri or Urs-e-Tajush Shariah is organised annually at the Bareilly Sharif Dargah to commemorate the death. It is being organised since 2019.

Publications

Rulings

His

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

-language fatwa collection was known as ''Majmu'ah Fatawa''. His English collection is named ''Azharul Fatawa''. One of his

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

s was his edict on the interest given to a Muslim by a non-Muslim:

When there is a dealing between a Muslim and a Muslim or a Muslim and a Zimmi Kaffir (a non-Muslim living in the safety of an Islamic state), the taking more money than loaned is considered as interest and such a dealing will be unlawful. However, if this condition does not exist, this excess money will not be considered as interest and will be legitimate for a Muslim as it is unanimous that there is no interest applicable when there is dealing between a Muslim and a Harbi Kaafir (a non-Muslim who is not living in the safety of an Islamic State).

He had issued fatwa against the

sterilization Sterilization may refer to: * Sterilization (microbiology), killing or inactivation of micro-organisms * Soil steam sterilization, a farming technique that sterilizes soil with steam in open fields or greenhouses * Sterilization (medicine) render ...

in 1975 on the order of Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri when

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

had made the sterilization compulsory. In 2016, Khan wrote a book ''Tie Ka Mas'ala'' and he had issued Fatwa against wearing Ties, Khan had called Tie as the symbol of Christians, the non-Muslims. In October 2016, Khan under the letterhead of Shariat Council of India issued the Fatwa against the Uniform Civil Code in India and said it is made a law, it will be boycotted.

Poetry

His composition of Na`at was entitled ''Safina-e-Bakhshish'', written in three languages.

Books

He was the author of "more than 50 books on Islamic theology and thought in Urdu and Arabic", including: * ''Hijrat-e-Rasool'' * ''Al-Mawahib al-Rizwiyyah Fi al-Fatawa al-Azhariyyah'' * ''Aasaar-e-Qiyamat'' * ''Al-Haq-ul-Mubeen'' (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

) * ''Safeenah-e-Bakhshish'' (Na'at collection) * ''Fatawa Taj-us-Shari'ah''Fatawa Tajushhariyah (in four volumes) by Dar al-Ishaat al-Islamiyya, Jamia al-Raza, Bareilly Sharif.

Family tree

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Life History of Mufti Akhtar Raza Khan Qadri

Website of Jamiatur Raza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Akhtar Raza 1943 births 2018 deaths Indian muftis 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Barelvis People from Bareilly Grand muftis of India Akhtar Indian people of Pashtun descent Al-Azhar University alumni Manzar-e-Islam alumni Students of Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri