Zafeeruddin Miftahi
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Zafeeruddin Miftāhi (7 March 1926 – 31 March 2011) was an Indian Muslim scholar and jurist who served as a 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 ...
and the second president of Islamic Fiqh Academy. He compiled the religious verdicts of Azizur Rahman Usmani, called the ''Fatāwa Darul Uloom Deoband'' in twelve volumes and wrote books including ''Islām Ka Nizām-e-Masājid'', ''Islām Ka Nizām Iffat-o-Asmat'' and ''Tārīkh-e-Masājid''. Miftāhi was an alumnus of Jamia Miftahul Uloom. He was a member of Board of Studies at the Sunni Theology department of Aligarh Muslim University. He served the Deoband seminary for fifty years and issued one hundred thousand religious edicts.


Biography

Zafeeruddin Miftāhi was born on 7 March 1926 (22
Sha'ban Shaʽban ( ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called the month of 'separation', as the word means 'to disperse' or 'to separate' because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water. The fifteenth night of this month ...
1344 AH) in
Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...
. He received his primary education at home and was schooled at Madrasa Mahmudiya, in
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...
,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. He studied intermediate classes of Arabic and Persian at Madrasa Wāris al-Ulūm in
Chhapra Chhapra (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Chaparā'') is a city and headquarters of the Saran District in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based mar ...
from 1933 to 1940. He graduated from the
Jamia Miftahul Uloom The Jamia Miftahul Uloom (, ) is an Islamic School in India. It is located at Shahi Katra, a town in the Mau district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in Nort ...
where he studied from 1940 to 1944 with Habib al-Rahman al-'Azmi and Abdul Lateef Nomani. His other teachers include
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. ...
, Sulaiman Nadwi, Minatullah Rahmani, Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi and Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi. After his graduation in 1944, Miftāhi taught at the Jamia Miftahul Uloom for one year and then moved to Ma'dan al-Ulūm in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
where he taught for three years between September 1945 and January 1948. From January 1948 to 1956, he taught at Darul Uloom Muīnia in
Begusarai Begusarai is the industrial and financial capital of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of the Begusarai district, which is one of the 38 districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The district lies on the northern bank of the river Gan ...
, with a gap of one year in between; during which he taught at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. In
Shawwal Shawwal () is the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. It comes after Ramadan and before Dhu al-Qa'da. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the Arabic verb ''shāla'' (), which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to an ...
1364 AH, Miftāhi went to study at the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow at Sulaiman Nadwi's suggestion and studied there for few months. Miftāhi was first appointed in the
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 ...
to compile
fatawa 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'', ...
. Between 1962 and 1972, he compiled the fatawa of Azizur Rahman Usmani in twelve volumes. In
Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...
1385 AH, the executive council of Deoband seminary appointed him to write the
editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...
for '' Monthly Darul Uloom'', which he continuously wrote for seventeen years. In 1993, he was appointed a Mufti in the Darul Ifta 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 ...
; a post he served till 21 August 2008. He served in the Deoband seminary for fifty years and wrote one
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
fatawa 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'', ...
. He retired from Deoband on 22 August 2008 at a monthly pension of 2000 INR which he received throughout his life. Miftāhi was a founding figure of the Islamic Fiqh Academy and became its president after Mujahidul Islam Qasmi. He was a member of Board of Studies at the Sunni Theology department of
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 ...
. Miftāhi died on 31 March 2011. His funeral prayer was led by Saud Alam Qasmi, the former dean of the Faculty of Theology 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 ...
on 1 April 2011.


Literary works

Miftāhi compiled the religious verdicts of Azizur Rahman Usmani, commonly known as ''Fatāwa Darul Uloom Deoband'' in twelve volumes between 1962 and 1972. His discourses on the Quran, entitled ''Dars-e-Qur'ān'', were published in ten volumes. He wrote biographical works about Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Manazir Ahsan Gilani and Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi. His other books include: * ''Islām Ka Nizām-e-Masājid'' (Its English translation ''Mosque in Islam'' by Zaheerun Nabi was published in 1996 by Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi). * ''Islām Ka Nizām Iffat-o-Asmat'' (Its English translation ''Modesty and chastity in Islam'' was first published in
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
and second time by Qazi Publishers during 1993 in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. Persian translation was published as ''Hijāb-o-Iffat az Dīdgah-e-Islām'' in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
). * ''Tārīkh-e-Masājid'' * ''Mashāhīr Ulama-e-Deoband'' * ''Darul Uloom: Qayām awr Iska Pas-e-Manzar'' * ''Darul Uloom: Ek Azeem Maktab Fikr'' * ''Nizām-e-Tarbiyyat'' (Darul Uloom Deoband has published its Arabic translation ''Ināyat al-Islām bi al-Tarbiyyat al-Atfāl''). * ''Islām Ka Nizām-e-Hayāt'' * ''Jurm-o-Saza Kitāb-o-Sunnat Ki Roshni Mai'' * ''Islāmi Hukūmat ke Naqsh-o-Nigār'' * ''Islām ka Nizām-e-Amn''


References


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

* {{Authority control 1926 births 2011 deaths People from Darbhanga Academic staff of Darul Uloom Deoband Deobandis Hanafis Hanafi fiqh scholars Muftis