Nematullah Azami (born 24 December 1936), also written as Nematullah Azmi and Ni'matullah Azami, is an Indian Islamic hadith scholar, a commentator on the Quran (mufassir), and a

faqīh A ''faqīh'' (: ''fuqahāʾ'', ; : ‏‎) is an Islamic jurist, an expert in ''fiqh'', or Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic law. Definition Islamic jurisprudence or ''fiqh'' is the human understanding of Sharia, which is believed ...

(Islamic jurist). He is the president of India's Islamic Fiqh Academy. He has also been serving as a senior lecturer at

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 ...

for forty years.

Early life and education

Nematullah Azami was born on 24 December 1936, in Pura Maroof (

Kurthi Jafarpur Pura Maroof Jafarpur is a census town in Mau district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Demographics India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating p ...

Azamgarh District Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

United Provinces of British India The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province h ...

(now

Mau District Mau district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Mau town is the district headquarters which is also one of the few remaining areas of handloom saree production in eastern Uttar Pradesh, specializing in Sadiya silk sare ...

, Uttar Pradesh). Azami received his primary education at Madrasa Isha'atul Uloom Pura Maroof, where he studied Arabic language and pursued courses up to ''Sullam al-Uloom'', under the supervision of his elder brother, Amanatullah Azami. After that, he enrolled in

and graduated from the Hadith course in 1953 (1372 AH). He continued there for another year or two after graduation, spending time on various subjects. At the Deoband seminary, his teachers included

Hussain Ahmad Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (; 6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954. ...

Izaz Ali Amrohi Izaz Ali Amrohi (; November 1882 – 1955) was an Indian Islamic scholar who served as the second and ninth Head Mufti of the Darul Uloom Deoband. His book ''Nafahtul Arab'' is taught in madrassas including the Darul Uloom Deoband. Biography I ...

and

Ibrahim Balyawi Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi (1887–1967), also spelt as Muhammad Ibrahim Balliavi, was an Indian people, Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as the 6th Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He spent almost 50 years instructing Hadith, Logic in Isla ...

. His classmates included

Anzar Shah Kashmiri Anzar Shah Kashmiri (1927–2008) was an Indian Islamic scholar who established the Jamia Imam Anwar Shah and co-founded the Darul Uloom Waqf in Deoband. He was an alumnus of the Darul Uloom Deoband. He was youngest son of Hanafi scholar Anwa ...

and Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi.

Career

After graduation, Azami was a teacher for two years at Darul Uloom Hussainia, Tawli,

Muzaffarnagar district Muzaffarnagar district (, ) is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It is part of Saharanpur division. The city of Muzaffarnagar is the district headquarters. This district is the part of National Capital Region. History M ...

, then taught

Sahih al-Tirmidhi ''Sunan al-Tirmidhi'' () is the fourth hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Islamic scholar al-Tirmidhi in (250–270 AH). Title The full title of the compilation is (). It is shortened to , , , or . The te ...

and

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 ...

for a few years in Damaipur, Malda, West Bengal. After that, he did teaching services in various madrasas like Jāmi'at-ur-Rashād Azamgarh, Misbah-ul-Uloom Kopaganj, Miftah-ul-Uloom Mau, and Mazhar-ul-Uloom Banaras. On the invitation of Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami, he served for a few years in Miftah-ul-Uloom, Mau, as

Sheikh al-Hadith Sheikh ul Hadith () is an Arabic language term that refers to a highly respected and knowledgeable scholar who specializes in the study and teaching of hadith, which are the sayings and actions of Muhammad. In Islamic tradition, the study and unde ...

. He also provided teaching services in some madrasas in Assam and Gujarat. In 1982 (1402 AH), on the invitation of

Wahiduzzaman Kairanawi Wahīduzzamān Kairānawi (1930–1995), also spelt as Waheed-uz-Zaman Keranvi, was an Indian Islamic scholar, writer, lexicographer, and professor who specialised in Arabic. He spent around 27 years instructing Hadith and Arabic at Darul Uloom ...

, he came to

where he was appointed as a senior teacher. He has taught books like Mebzi,

Tafsir al-Baydawi ''Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta’wīl'' (), better known as ''Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī'' (), is one of the most popular classical Sunni Qur'anic interpretational works ('' tafsīr'') composed by the 13th-century Muslim scholar al-Bayḍā ...

, Musāmarah,

Muwatta Imam Malik ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

Sunan Abu Dawood ''Sunan Abi Dawud'' () is the third hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by scholar Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (). Introduction Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related to Hadith and preferred those (plural of ...

, and

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

at Darul Uloom Deoband, and currently the teaching of the first volume of

Jami al-Tirmidhi ''Sunan al-Tirmidhi'' () is the fourth hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Islamic scholar al-Tirmidhi in (250–270 AH). Title The full title of the compilation is (). It is shortened to , , , or . The te ...

is related to him. After

Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri (also written as Saʻīd Aḥmad Pālanpūrī) (1940 – 19 May 2020), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and author who served as Shaykh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. Some of his books are required read ...

, his name was suggested for the post of Sheikh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, which he declined. He is known by the title "Bahrul Uloom" () due to his meticulous and extensive study of

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

biographical evaluation Biographical evaluation (; literally meaning'' 'Knowledge of Men', ''but more commonly understood as the ''Science of Narrators)'' refers to a discipline of Islamic religious studies within hadith terminology in which the narrators of hadith are ...

(ʿIlm al-rijāl), Christianity, and Judaism. In the meeting of the governing body of Darul Uloom Deoband held on Safar 1421 AH, on the advice of

Asad Madani As’ad Madani (27 April 1928 – 6 February 2006) was an Indian Deobandi Islamic scholar and a politician, who served as the sixth general secretary and the seventh President of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. He was a member of the executive body of D ...

, the proposal to establish a "Department of Specialization in Hadith" in Darul Uloom Deoband was approved, and Azami was appointed as its patron. He was appointed as president of the Islamic Fiqh Academy on 30 May 2011, succeeding

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 ...

. He is convinced of the necessity of

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

in religious matters. In March 2019, Islamic jurists, including Azami, stated the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), a scheme launched by the Indian government, is "illegal" according to

Islamic Shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

because it contains

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct f ...

as a part.

Literary works

Under the supervision of Azami, from the Department of Specialization in Hadith of

, on the various terms of

, some research books have been published in several volumes under the names of ''Al-Hadith al-Hasan Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi'', ''Hasan an-Gharīb Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi'', and ''Hadith an-Gharīb Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi''. He has done the work of commenting on the book ''Al-Ilzāmāt'' by

Al-Daraqutni Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutni (; 918–995 CE / 306–385 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and traditionist best known for compiling the hadith collection '' Sunan al-Daraqutni''. He is commonly celebrated in Sunni tradition with titles such as "Im ...

. His works include: * ''Ni'm al-Bayān fī Tarjama al-Quran'' (a exegesis of the Quran) * ''Dars-e-Bukhari'' (compilation of the lectures of his teacher

) * ''Ni'mat al-Mun'im'' (an Urdu commentary on

in two volumes) * ''Taqrīb Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār'' (5 volumes; translated also into English by Habib Bewley under the title ''Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār: Explanation of the Meanings of the Traditions'') * ''Al-Fawāid al-Muhimma Fī Dirāsat al-Mutūn wa Mukhtalaf al-Hadīth'' (important benefits of studying texts and different hadiths) * ''Madāris ar-Ruwāt wa Mashāhīr-u-Asātizatihā Ma'a Talāmidhatihim wa Tabaqātihim'' (Schools of Hadith narrators and their famous teachers, along with their students and their generations) * ''īsāiyat; Injīl Ki Roshni Mein'' (A Study of Christianity in the Light of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

) * ''Dirāsat u Tatbīq al-Amthilah Li ‘Anwā‘ al-ahadīth al-mukhtalifah'' (Study the application of examples to different types of hadiths) * ''Dirāsat al-Hadith as-Sahīh wa al-Hasan wa Aqsāmuha wa Fikratu Ibn as-Salah wa Dirāsat u Miqyās-i-Ma'rifat-i-Rijāl al-Hasan Li Zātih'' (in Arabic; studying ''the authentic hadith'' and ''the good hadith'' and their divisions, the idea of

Ibn al-Salah Abū ‘Amr ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Abd il-Raḥmān Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Kurdī al-Shahrazūrī () (c. 1181 CE/577 AH – 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, was a Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specialist and the author of the seminal '' Intro ...

, and studying the standard of knowledge of the men of ''the good hadith in and of itself''.) * ''Al-Ahādīth al-Mukhtārah Li al-Hifz Li Qism at-Takhassus Fi al-Hadīth'' (in Arabic; Hadiths selected for memorization for the Department of Specialization in Hadith) * ''Tashīl al-Usool'' (in Arabic; a book co-authored with Riyasat Ali Zafar Bijnori on the

Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence Principles of Islamic jurisprudence () are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''sharia''). Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence elaborates how the scri ...

) * '' Hazrat Imām Abu Hanīfa Par Irja’ Ki Tuhmat'', a rejection of the accusation of postponement ( ’Irja’) against

Abu Hanifa Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and epony ...

* ''Fuqaha‘ as-Sahāba'' (Islamic jurists from the

Companions of the Prophet The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

) * ''Hadīth e Jassāsah'' (A response to the refutation of Hadith Al-Jassasah about

Dajjal Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (), otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal, is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God, appearing before the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic esch ...

) * ''Allah Par Imān Kiya Hai?'' (in Urdu; What is the definition of

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azami, Nematullah Living people 1936 births Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Deobandis People from Mau district People from Azamgarh district Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Academic staff of Darul Uloom Deoband Hadith scholars Biographical evaluation scholars

Early life and education

Career

Literary works

See also

References