Badre Alam Merathi

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = {{Colour|royalblue|Qutb al-Aarifeen}}
Mawlānā

| name = Badre Alam Merathi

| native_name = بدر عالم میرٹھی

| native_name_lang = ur

| birth_place = Budaun, Uttar Pradesh

| birth_date = {{birth date text|1898}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|10|29|1898|df=yes}}

| death_place = Medina

| resting_place = Al-Baqi Cemetery

| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|Mazahir Uloom|Darul Uloom Deoband}}

| module = {{Infobox religious biography

| embed = yes

| denomination = Sunni

| jurisprudence = Hanafi

| movement = Deobandi

| main_interests = {{Unbulleted list|Hadith studies|Poetry}}

| notable_works = {{unbulleted list|Fayd al-Bari|Tarjuman al-Sunnah}}

| teacher = {{unbulleted list|Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri|Anwar Shah Kashmiri|Shabbir Ahmad Usmani|Zafar Ahmad Usmani|Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani|Asghar Hussain Deobandi}}

| influences = Ashraf Ali Thanwi

| students = Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda

}}

Badre Alam Merathi ({{langx|ur|بدر عالم میرٹھی}}; 1898 – 29 October 1965) was a mid-twentieth-century hadith scholar and poet originally from Meerut, initially migrated to Pakistan and eventually settled in Medina. Best known as the interpreter of Anwar Shah Kashmiri's teachings, he was a disciple of both Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.{{Cite thesis |last=Kaleem |first=Mohd |title=Contribution of Old boys of Darul uloom Deoband in Hadith Literature |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, Aligarh Muslim University |year=2017 |location=India |language=ur |hdl=10603/364028 |type=PhD |page=174 |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/364028 |access-date=24 October 2023 |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024044219/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/364028 |url-status=live}} Educated at Mazahir Uloom and Darul Uloom Deoband, he taught at both institutions and Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. During his tenure at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, he compiled Fayd al-Bari, a four-volume Arabic commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, published in Cairo with financial support from Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal, considered a masterpiece in hadith commentary. He was also associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen and authored Tarjuman al-Sunnah, a 4-volume hadith explanation designed for contemporary needs, widely acknowledged in academic circles.{{Cite thesis |last=Riyasathullah |first=Mohamed |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/295877 |title=Ahadees Kay Urdu Tarajim |publisher=Department of Arabic, University of Madras |year=2012 |location=India |language=ur |hdl=10603/295877 |type=PhD |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=2023-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025050302/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/295877 |url-status=live |page=95}} In his final years, he focused on teaching hadith in Prophet's Mosque, where many South Africans pledged allegiance to him, expanding his spiritual influence in South Africa.{{Cite book |last=Rizwi |first=Syed Mehboob |url=https://archive.org/details/2VolumeBookOnTheHistoryOfDarAlUlumDeoband |title=History of the Dar al-Ulum Deoband |publisher=Idara-e Ihtemam, Darul Uloom Deoband |year=1981 |volume=2 |location=UP, India |page=103 |language=en |oclc=20222197 |author-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi}}

Life sketch

Badre Alam was born in 1898 in a Sayyid family in the Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh.{{Cite thesis |last=Khatoon |first=Aaisha |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |title=Aazadi ke Baad Hindustan ki Khidmaat e Hadith |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, Aligarh Muslim University |year=2017 |location=India |language=urdu |type=PhD |hdl=10603/364027 |page=103|access-date=2023-10-24 |archive-date=2023-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024064943/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |url-status=live }} His father, Tahur Ali, served as a police officer. He received his initial education at an English school in Aligarh, and influenced by a sermon of Ashraf Ali Thanwi at the age of eleven, he developed an inclination towards Islamic studies.{{Cite thesis |last=Ghani |first=Khwaja Abdul |url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/8471/1/4093H.pdf |title=Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri: Un ke Mutasilin aur Talamzah ki Khidmat |publisher=University of Sindh |year=1979 |location=Jamshoro, Pakistan |language=ur |type=PhD |access-date=2023-06-27 |archive-date=2022-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027021735/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/8471/1/4093H.pdf |url-status=live |page=142}} Despite initial resistance from his father, he pursued religious education at Mazahir Uloom.

Under the mentorship of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri for eight years, followed by further studies at Darul Uloom Deoband with Anwar Shah Kashmiri, he continued his educational journey. His notable teachers at Mazahir Uloom included Zafar Ahmad Usmani, and at Deoband, Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani and Asghar Hussain Deobandi.{{Cite web |last=Shabbir |first=Yusuf |date=2018 |title=Profile of Mawlana Muhammad Badr Alam Mirti |url=https://islamicportal.co.uk/profile-of-mawlana-muhammad-badr-alam-mirti/ |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Islamic Portal |language=en |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610230149/https://islamicportal.co.uk/profile-of-mawlana-muhammad-badr-alam-mirti/ |url-status=live }} After completing his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband, he began teaching there in 1925.{{Cite book|last=Muhammad Tayyib|first=Qari|author-link=Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-sad-saala-zindagi-qari-muhammad-tayyab-ebooks|title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Sad Saala Zindagi|trans-title=Centenary Life of Darul Uloom Deoband|publisher=Daftar-e-Ihtemam, Darul Uloom Deoband|date=June 1965|edition=1st|location=Deoband|page=112|language=ur|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110050800/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-sad-saala-zindagi-qari-muhammad-tayyab-ebooks|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last=Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah Khalili|author-link=Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi|url=https://archive.org/details/darul-uloom-deob-ki-jamey-wa-mukhtasar-tareekh-edition-2|title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Jame O Mukhtasar Tareekh|trans-title =A comprehensive and brief history of Darul Uloom Deoband|publisher=Shaikh-Ul-Hind Academy |edition=3rd|date= October 2020 |location=India |page=577–578, 763|language=ur|oclc=1345466013}}

In 1927, he, along with Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, migrated to Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. For seventeen years, he engaged in teaching hadith at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, covering texts such as Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya, and Mishkat al-Masabih.{{Cite book |last=Azami|first=Fazlur Rahman|url=https://archive.org/details/TarikhJamiaIslamiaDabhel/page/n95/mode/1up?view=theater|title=Tareekh e Jamia Islamia Dabhel|trans-title =History of Jamia Islamia Dabhel|publisher=Idara Tālīfāt e Ashrafia|year=1999|location=Multan, Pakistan|page=189, 192|language=ur}} He also continued participating in Anwar Shah Kashmiri's classes on Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan al-Tirmidhi for five years.{{cite book |last=Miftahi |first=Zafeeruddin |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/mashaheer-e-ulama-e-darul-uloom-deoband-mohammad-zafeeruddin-ebooks |title=Mashaheer-e-Ulama-e-Darul Uloom Deoband |publisher=Daftar Ijalas-e-Sad Sala |year=1980 |edition=first |location=Deoband |pages=93–94 |language=ur |author-link=Zafeeruddin Miftahi |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229040228/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/mashaheer-e-ulama-e-darul-uloom-deoband-mohammad-zafeeruddin-ebooks |url-status=live }}

After Dabhel, he moved to Bahawalnagar, Punjab, established Jam'ul Uloom, and stayed for a year there. He then came to Delhi and became associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen in 1943.{{Cite book |last=Merathi |first=Badre Alam |url=https://archive.org/details/4_20220717/page/n19/mode/1up |title=Tarjuman al-Sunnah |publisher=Idara-e-Islāmiyyāt |year=1968 |volume=4 |location=Lahore |page=19 |language=ur |chapter=Musannif Ki Hayāt-e-Mubāraka Ki Ek Halki Si Jhalak: Aaftab Ahmad |trans-chapter=A brief glimpse of the author's life, by Aaftab Ahmad}} After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, and, under the patronage of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani founded Jamia Islamia at Tando Allahyar.{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|p=144}} Following Pakistan's formation, he actively participated in the formulation of an Islamic constitution.{{Cite book |last=Bukhari |first=Akbar Shah |url=https://archive.org/details/Maktaba-Hafiz-Muhammad-Akbar-Shah-Bukhari-Sahib/Seerat-i-Badr-i-Alam |title=Seerat-e Badre Alam |publisher=HM Sayed Company |year=1985 |location=Karachi, Pakistan |page=64 |language=ur}}

After residing for four years in Pakistan, he migrated to Medina.{{Sfn|Kaleem|2017|p=175}} Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda met him in Medina, benefited from him,{{cite book|last=Amini|first=Noor Alam Khalil|author-link=Noor Alam Khalil Amini|title=Pas-e-Marg Zinda|trans-title=People who are still alive after death|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/pas-e-marg-zinda-noor-alam-khaleel-amini-ebooks|publisher=Idara Ilm o Adab|location=Deoband|edition=3rd|date=May 2010|page=365|language=ur|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110025651/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/pas-e-marg-zinda-noor-alam-khaleel-amini-ebooks|url-status=live}} and later narrated hadiths from him.{{Cite book |last=Al Rājihi |first=Abd al-Azīz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-j1LCwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1+%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A |title=Hady al-Sāri Ilā Asānīd al-Shaikh Ismail al-Ansari |publisher=Maktaba al-Rushd |year=2001 |edition=1st |location=Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |page=190 |language=ar |access-date=29 January 2024 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129155423/https://books.google.com/books?id=-j1LCwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1+%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A#v=snippet&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A&f=false |url-status=live }}

Known as Qutb al-Aarifeen,{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|p=148}} he received Sufi teachings from Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, associated with Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani, and ultimately received spiritual succession from Muhammad Ishaq Merathi.{{Cite thesis |last=Kamal |first=Mohd Arif |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364940 |title=Ulema e Hind ki Bisween Sadi Nisf Awwal mein Khidmat e Hadith Tanquidi Mutala |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, Aligarh Muslim University |year=2020 |location=India |language=ur |type=PhD |page=221 |hdl=10603/364940 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101061946/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364940 |url-status=live }} He died on 29 October 1965, in Prophet's Mosque, and was laid to rest in Al-Baqi Cemetery.{{Cite magazine |date=November 1965 |editor-last=Akbarabadi |editor-first=Saeed Ahmad |editor-link=Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi |title=Nazarāt |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/burhan-shumara-number-005-saeed-ahmad-akbarabadi-magazines-56 |journal=Monthly Burhan |language=ur |location=Delhi |publisher=Nadwatul Musannifeen |volume=55 |issue=5 |page=3 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107171007/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/burhan-shumara-number-005-saeed-ahmad-akbarabadi-magazines-56 |url-status=live }} His influence extended to Pakistan, India, South Africa, and the Middle East.{{cite book |last=Banuri |first=Muhammad Yusuf |url=https://archive.org/details/20210127_20210127_1742/page/n27 |title=Yad-e-Raftagāñ |publisher=Maktaba Bayyinat, Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia |year=2020 |edition= |location=Banuri town, Karachi |page=27 |language=ur |author-link=Yusuf Banuri}}

Literary works

He scrutinized the intricacies of the Quran and hadith, expressing an understanding of Arabic literature and poetry.{{Cite book |last=Muhammad Tayyib |first=Qari |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-pachaas-misali-shakhsiyaat-qari-mohammad-tayyab-ebooks |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Pachaas Misali Shakhsiyaat |publisher=Maktaba Faiz-ul-Qur'an |year=1999 |editor-last=Bukhari |editor-first=Akbar Shah |location=Deoband |page=158 |language=ur |oclc=45499890 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106040835/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-pachaas-misali-shakhsiyaat-qari-mohammad-tayyab-ebooks |url-status=live }} His literary works touched various religious subjects. Apart from Fayd al-Bari and Tarjuman al-Sunnah, he authored the three-volume Jawahir al-Hikam, addressing contemporary social issues and the implementation of Islamic law in 1965, translated into French and Gujarati.{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|pp=150–51}} His annotations for Fayd al-Bari, published as Al-Badr Al-Sari.{{cite book |last=Mubarakpuri|first=Arif Jameel|author-link=Arif Jameel Mubarakpuri|title=Mausoo'a Ulama-u- Deoband|trans-title=The Encyclopedia of Deobandi Scholars|date=2021|edition=1st|publisher=Shaikhul Hind Academy|location=Deoband|page=347|language=ar}} He wrote an abstract of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi's book Zubdat-ul-Manāsik under the title Khulasa Zubdat-ul-Manāsik, a guide on Hajj issues.{{sfn|Bukhari|1985|p=52}} One of his books on the descent of Jesus is called Nuzool-e-ʿĪsā, and he has written a booklet in the same series called Awaz-e-Haq.{{sfn|Bukhari|1985|p=52}} During his time in Pakistan, he translated Ali al-Qari's Al-Hizb al-Azam and wrote some poetry.

Badre Alam Merathi

Life sketch

Literary works

See also

References

External links