Sayyid Asghar Hussain Deobandi

Mian Sayyid Asghar Hussain (16 October 1877 — 8 January 1945) was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar. He was a disciple of Imdadullah Muhajir Makki. [1][2] He laid the foundation stone of Madrasatul Islah in Azamgarh.

Mawlana Mian Sayyid Asghar Hussain Deobandi
Personal
Born	16 October 1877 Deoband, Saharanpur
Died	8 January 1945(1945-01-08) (aged 67) Surat, Gujarat
Resting place	Rander, Surat, Gujarat
Religion	Islam
Region	India
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Movement	Deobandi
Muslim leader
Disciple of	Haaji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, Miyanji Munne Shah
Influenced Muhammad Shafi Deobandi, Manazir Ahsan Gilani

Family background

Mian Asghar Hussain‘s ancestors came to India from Baghdad and are descended from Abdul Qadir Jeelani. During the era of Shah Jahan, Ghulam Rasool had moved to India along with his family. He was entrusted the imamat and khitabat at the Shahi Masjid of Deoband. He had two sons, Ghulam Nabi and Ghulam Ali. Both brothers married daughters of Shah Ameerullah.

Sayyid Ghulam Ali had three daughters and two sons. The elder son Alam Meer was the grandfather of Mian Asghar Hussain. Alam Meer married Azeemun Nisa, the daughter of Shah Hafeezullah. They had a daughter Wajeeh-un-Nisa and son Muhammad Hasan, who was the father of Mian Asghar Hussain. Muhammad Hasan married twice, first to Maryam-un-Nisa, who bore him a son, Sayyid Khursheed, and a daughter Masum-un-Nisa. After Maryam-un-Nisa died, Muhammad Hasan married her sister Naseeb-un-Nisa,[n 1] who bore him a son, Asghar Hussain.[3].

Birth and education

Birth

Mian Asghar Hussain was born on 16 October 1877 in Deoband to Sayyid Muhammad Hasan and Naseebun Nisa bint Sayyid Mansub Ali.[3]

Name and Lineage

His ism (given name) is: Sayyid Asghar Hussain ibn Sayyid Shah Muhammad Hasan ibn Sayyid Shah Alam Meer ibn Sayyid Ghulam Ali ibn Sayyid Ghulam Rasool Baghdadi ibn Sayyid Shah Faqeerullah Baghdadi ibn Sayyid A’zam Saani ibn Sayyid Nazar Muhammad ibn Sayyid Sultan Muhammad ibn Sayyid A’zam Muhammad ibn Sayyid Abu Muhammad ibn Sayyid Qutbuddin ibn Sayyid Baha’uddeen ibn Sayyid Jamalauddin ibn Sayyid Qutbuddin ibn Sayyid Dawud ibn Muhi’uddin Abu Abdullah ibn Sayyid Abu Saleh Nasr ibn Sayyid Abdur Razzaq ibn Abdul Qadir Jilani.[3]

Education

When he turned eight, he began studying with Muhammad Abdullah, alias Miyanji Munne Shah[n 2] and studied Quran from his father and then started to study Persian from him. Later he was enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband. He continued with the Persian class and studied Persian from Maulana Muhammad Yaseen, the father of Muhammad Shafi Deobandi. He studied mathematics from Maulana Manzoor Ahmad. He passed the class of Persian with first position and soon received Muwatta Imam Malik as an honorary gift. As Mian Asghar turned 17 or 18 and reached the Arabic classes in Darul Uloom Deoband, his father died on 20 September 1894. He discontinued his studies for almost one year and started to teach in his ancestral madrasa.

At the request of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, Mian Asghar entered the Darul Uloom Deoband again on 1 April 1896 and continued with Arabic classes. He studied Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Jami` at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawood from Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. His other teachers included Azeezur Rahman and Ghulam Rasool Baghwi. He graduated in 1320 AH and was awarded his certificate from Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad.[3]

Career

After graduating from the Darul Uloom Deoband, he worked in the office department of the Darul Uloom for more than one year. Then his teachers Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad sent him to the madrassa of the Atala Masjid, Jaunpur for the post of head-teacher and he served there for 7 years. In the meantime in 1327 AH, he laid the foundation stone of Madrasatul Islah in Sarai Meer, Azamgarh in 1908.[5] He was called to Darul Uloom Deoband and was entrusted with co-editorship of the journal Al-Qasim of the Darul Uloom, while the editor was Maulana Habeebur Rahman. He was entrusted the teaching of Sunan Abu Dawud in Darul Uloom Deoband and he also taught the books of tafsir and fiqh like Jalalayn and Durr-e-Mukhtar.[1][3]His notable students include Muhammad Shafi Deobandi[6],Manazir Ahsan Gilani.[7] and Mufti Naseem Ahmad Fareedi. He restarted his ancestral madrasa which had been closed since the death of his father. The madrasa came later under the care of his son Sayyid Bilal Hussain Mian (d. 9 February 1990) and is now known as Madrassa Asgharia Qadeem whilst its historical name is Darul Musafireen, Madrasa Taleemul Quran.[1]

Literary works

Asghar Hussain has written about thirty books in the Urdu language, including:[1]

• Hayat-e-Shaykhul Hind (Biography of Mahmud al-Hasan). [1]
• Dast-e-Ghayb [8]
• Sawaneh Maulana Rum (Biography of Rumi).[9]
• Gulzar-e-Sunnat[10]
• Khawab-e-Shireen[11]
• Mufeed-ul-Wariseen[12]

Marriage and family life

During his student days at Darul Uloom Deoband, Hussain married the daughter of Mushtaq Hussain. She bore him two sons, Mian Akhtar and Mian Bilal Hussain, and one daughter, Fehmeeda. [n 3]

Death

Mian Asghar Hussain died of cardiac arrest on 8 January 1945 (22 Muharram 1364 AH). He is buried in Rander, Surat.[1][3]

See also

• Muhammad Shafi Deobandi
• List of students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi

Notes

1. Maryam-un-Nisa and Naseeb-un-Nisa were daughters of Sayyid Mansab Ali.
2. Miyanji Munne Shah is brother of Azeemun Nisa, the wife of Syed Alam Meer, so he comes to be maternal uncle of Sayyid Muhammad Hasan and Sayyid Muhammad Hasan is his nephew.[3]At the request of Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, he had laid the first stone of the new building of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was then preceded by Haaji Syed Aabid, and then Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi. Finally all of them laid down stones along with Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi.[4]
3. Fehmeeda died after 8 years of her marriage and she was survived by her son Syed Farhat Hussain who had been connected to Hamdard Dawakhana in Karachi.
   Maulana Sayyid Akhtar Hussain used to teach hadith in Darul Uloom Deoband. He served the Darul Uloom as vice mohtamim and as naazim of its educational department. He died on 13 November 1977. He is survived by two sons Syed Nazar Hussain, Sayyid Anwar Hussain whilst his two daughters Saleha Khatun and Azeezah Khatun are no more.
   Maulana Haaji Sayyid Bilal Hussain is surived by three sons Dr Sayyid Jameel Hussain, Sayyid Khaleel Hussain, Sayyid Jaleel Hussain and two daughters Sajida Khatun and Aabida Khatun.

References

1. Maulana Syed Mehboob Rizwi. History of The Dar al-Ulum Deoband (Volume 2). Translated by Prof. Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi (1981 ed.). Idara-e-Ehtemam, Dar al-Ulum Deoband. p. 61,62,143.
2. Abu Muhammad Maulana Sana'ullah Shujabadi. Ulama-e-Deoband Ke Aakhri Lamhaat (in Urdu) (2015 ed.). Maktaba Rasheediya Saharanpur. p. 51.
3. Dr. Syed Jameel Hussain. Tazkirah Hazrat Miyan Saheb (in Urdu). Madrasa Islamia Asgharia, Deoband.
4. Syed Muhammad Miyan Deobandi. Ulama-e-Haq Ke Mujahidana Karname (Volume 1). Faisal Publications, Deoband. p. 55.
5. "Islamic Education in Modern India" (PDF). p. 76. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
6. Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani. Akabir-e-Deoband Kya Thy (in Urdu) (May 1995 ed.). Zamzam Book Depot, Deoband. p. 54.
7. Manazir Ahsan Gilani. "Profile of Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani by Syed Azhar Shah Qaiser". Hazaar Saal Pehle (in Urdu) (July 2004 ed.). Al-Ameen Kitabistaan, Deoband. p. 13.
8. "Dast-e-Ghayb" (PDF). Archive.org (in Urdu). Idara-e-Islamiyat, Lahore. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
9. "Sawaneh Maulana Rum" (PDF). Archive.org (in Urdu). Idara-e-Islamiyat, Lahore. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
10. "Gulzar-e-Sunnat". islamicbookcenter.org (in Urdu). ZamZam Publishers. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
11. "Khuab-e-Shireen". islamicbookcenter.org. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
12. "Mufeed-ul-Wariseen". islamicbookcenter.org (in Urdu). Retrieved 19 May 2019.