Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani (also written as Azizur Rahman Usmani; died 1928) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as first Head Mufti of

Darul Uloom Deoband Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic university and seminary ( darul uloom) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. Established in 1866 by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayy ...

. He is best known for his '' Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''. His brother was

Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an Islamic scholar and an activist of the Pakistan Movement, who served as the of Pakistan in 1949. He was the first to demand that Pakistan become an Islamic state. He was a religio ...

Biography

Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani was born in 1275 AH (corresponding to 1858-1859 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

) into the Usmani family of Deoband. He graduated from the

in 1295 AH. His teachers included

Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi (1832 – 15 April 1880) () was an Indian Sunni Hanafi Maturidi Islamic Scholar, theologian and a Sufi who was one of the main founders of the Deobandi Movement, starting from the Darul Uloom Deoband. Name and line ...

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (also known as Shaykh al-Hind; 1851–1920) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who co-founded the Jamia Millia Islamia University and launched the Silk Letter Movement for ...

and

Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi (1833–1884) was an Indian Islamic scholar, and one of the earliest teachers of Islamic Madrassa in Deoband, famously called Darul Uloom Deoband in India. He was the first principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. Name and li ...

. He was an authorized disciple of Muhammad Rafi-ud-Din in

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. Usmani was appointed the Head Mufti of the Darul Ifta of

after its inception and he headed it until 1927 after which he moved to Dabhel. His juristic rulings were compiled in twelve volumes by

Zafeeruddin Miftahi Zafeeruddin Miftāhi (7 March 1926 – 31 March 2011) was an Indian Muslim scholar and jurist who served as a Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and the second president of Islamic Fiqh Academy. He compiled the religious verdicts of Azizur Rahman U ...

and were published between 1962 and 1972 as ''Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband''.

Muhammad Shafi Muhammad Shafi (24 January 1897 – 6 October 1976), often referred to as Mufti Muhammad Shafi, was a Pakistani Sunni Islamic scholar of the Deobandi school, a Hanafi jurist and mufti, he was also an authority on shari'ah, hadith, Qur'anic ...

also compiled selected fatawa of Usmani and published them as ''Aziz al-Fatawa''. According to

Syed Mehboob Rizwi Syed Mehboob Rizwi (1911–1979) was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar, author and historian, best known for '' Tarikh Darul Uloom Deoband'', his two volume Urdu work on the history of Darul Uloom Deoband. Biography Syed Mehboob Rizwi was born i ...

, Usmani issued 37,561 fatawas between 1330 and 1346 AH (1911-12 and 1927-1928). Usmani resigned from Darul Uloom Deoband along with

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (; 26 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was an Islamic scholar from Kashmir in the early twentieth century, best known for his expertise in the study of hadith, a strong memory, and a unique approach to interpreting traditions, ...

in 1927 and moved to

Jamia Islamia Talimuddin Jamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel (or Dabhel Jamiah Islamiah or Jamiah Islamiah Dabhel) is a Deobandi Islamic seminary in Dabhel, Gujarat, India. Education pattern The Jamiah has the following departments: * Nazirah-e-Qur'an (reading the Qur ...

(Dabhel) and taught ''

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

'' there. In Dabhel, his health deteriorated and he returned to Deoband, where he died in 1928. His funeral prayer was led by

Sayyid Asghar Hussain Deobandi Asghar Hussain Deobandi (also known as Mian Sayyid Asghar Hussain) (16 October 1877 — 8 January 1945) was a Sunni Muslim scholar from the Indian subcontinent who co-founded Madrasatul Islah. Born on 16 October 1877 in a Deoband-based family, ...

and he was buried in the Qasmi cemetery of Darul Uloom. Usmani issued verdicts with the title of

Head Mufti of India A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

, along with the title of Head Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband.

Legacy

In 2011, Abu Tamim completed his PhD thesis, Mufti Azeezur Rahman Ki Fiqhee Khidmat'',' under the supervision of Mohammad Habibullah at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Usmani family Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Hanafi fiqh scholars Deobandis 1928 deaths Head Muftis of Darul Uloom Deoband Students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Usmani family Academic staff of Jamia Islamia Talimuddin Burials at Qasmi Cemetery 1850s births

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography