Masihullah Khan

{{Infobox religious biography

|religion=Islam

|image =

|caption =

|name = Muhammad Masihullah Khan
{{small|{{Nastaliq|محمد مسیح الله خان}}}}

|title = Maulana, Masih al-Ummah

|birth_date = 1911/1912

|birth_place = Barla, Aligarh District, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India {{small|(now Uttar Pradesh, India)}}

|death_date = 13 November 1992 (aged 79–81)

|death_place = Jalalabad, Muzaffarnagar District, India

| resting_place = Jalalabad

|nationality = Indian

|ethnicity =

|era =

|region =

|occupation = Islamic scholar, Sufi shaykh

|denomination = Sunni Islam

|Madh'hab = Hanafi

|creed = Maturidi

|movement = Deobandi

|Sufi_order = Chishtiya-Sabiriya-Imdadiya

|disciple_of = Ashraf Ali Thanwi

|alma_mater = Darul Uloom Deoband

|awards =

|main_interests = Sufism

|notable_ideas =

|notable_works = The Path to Perfection, Shariat-o-Tasawwuf

|influences = Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, Hussain Ahmad Madani

|influenced = Taqi Usmani

}}

Muhammad Masihullah Khan Sherwani Jalalabadi ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|محمد مسیح الله خان شیروانی جلال آبادی}}}}; 1911/1912 – 13 November 1992) was an Indian Deobandi Islamic scholar known as an authority in Sufism. He was among the senior authorised disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi, who gave him the title Masīh al-Ummah ({{translation|Comforter of the Ummah}}).{{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 |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 |pages=249–253}}

Early life and education

Muhammad Masihullah Khan was born in 1329 or 1330 AH (1911/1912) in Sarai Barla, a village in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India.{{Cite book |last=Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah |url=https://archive.org/details/darul-uloom-deob-ki-jamey-wa-mukhtasar-tareekh-edition-2|title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Jame O Mukhtasar Tareekh |publisher=Shaikh-Ul-Hind Academy |edition=3rd|date= October 2020|location=India |language=ur |pages=732–733 |oclc=1345466013}} His family was of the Sherwani tribe, a Sayyid tribe of Pathans. His father's name was Saeed Khan.

He was known for piety in his youth, and he often sat in the company of scholars and Sufis. He developed a close companionship with Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, who introduced him to the books and lectures of Ashraf Ali Thanwi.{{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|pp=30, 47–48}}{{cite web |title=Maulana Masihullah Khan Sherwani |url=https://www.whitethreadpress.com/author/maulana-masihullah-khan-sherwani/ |website=White Thread Press |access-date=30 May 2019}}

He received his early and secondary education in Barla, Aligarh, and enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband in 1347 AH (1929 AD){{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|pp=30–33, 39}} and graduated from there in 1349 AH (1931 AD).{{cite book |last1=Rizwi |first1=Syed Mehboob |author1-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi |translator= Murtaz Hussain F Qureshi |volume= 2 |title=History of Dar al Ulum Deoband |url=https://archive.org/details/2VolumeBookOnTheHistoryOfDarAlUlumDeoband/HistoryOfTheDarulUloomDeoband-VolumeTwo1981/page/n132/mode/1up|date=1980 |publisher=Idara-e-Ehtemam |location=Darul Uloom Deoband |edition=1st|pages=119–120|language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Bukhari |first=Akbar Shah |url=https://archive.org/download/Maktaba-Hafiz-Muhammad-Akbar-Shah-Bukhari-Sahib/Akabir-i-Ulama-i-Deoband.pdf |title=Akabir-i-Ulama-i-Deoband |publisher=Idara Islamiah |year=1999 |location=Lahore, Pakistan |pages=306–308|language=ur}} He continued there for another two years after graduation, spending time on Islamic logic and philosophy.

His teachers at Deoband Seminary included Hussain Ahmad Madani, Izaz Ali Amrohi,

Asghar Hussain Deobandi, Ibrahim Balyawi, Rasool Khan Hazarvi, and Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri.{{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|pp=40–41}}

He was an authorised disciple of Ashraf Ali Thanwi in Sufism. During his student days, he pledged allegiance to Thanwi, and in 1351 AH, Thanwi gave him permission to pledge allegiance.{{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|pp=52–57}}{{cite book |last=Saeed|first=Ahmad|title=Bazm e Ashraf Ke Chiragh|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/bazm-e-ashraf-ke-charagh-ahmad-saeed-ebooks|publisher=Al Ashraf Matboo'āt|location=Lahore|pages=35–36|date=25 May 1975|language=ur}}

Career

In 1357 AH (1938/1939 AD), Thanwi sent him as a teacher in a madrasa (an Islamic school) named Madrasa Miftahul Uloom in Jalalabad, Muzaffarnagar (now Jalalabad, Shamli). At that time, this madrasa was only established as a school. But within a few years, due to the hard work of Masihullah, this madrasa started to be counted among the big Islamic seminars in India.{{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|pp=72–79}}

Literary works

Shariat-o-Tasawwuf{{cite book|title=Shariat-o-Tasawwuf|publisher=Maktaba Fakharia Khanquah Imdadia, Gilat Bazar, Varanasi Cantt, Uttar Pradesh|author=Muhammad Masihullah Khan|language=ur}}{{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=456|language=ar}}
The Path to Perfection{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Dr Mamnun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8GfDwAAQBAJ&dq=the+path+to+perfection+Masihullah+Khan&pg=PT239 |title=Being British Muslims: Beyond Ethnocentric Religion and Identity Politics |date=2019-04-22 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-7283-8266-1 |location=UK |language=en}}

Death

Masihullah died on Friday, November 13, 1992 AD (Jumada I 17, 1413 AH), and was buried the same day after the Friday prayer.{{sfn|Allahabadi|2005|p=152}} The funeral prayer was led by Mufti Inayatullah, and his funeral was attended by over 250,000 people. He was buried in the cemetery next to the madrasa.{{cite book |last=Bukhari|first=Akbar Shah|title=Tadhkira Auliyā e Deoband|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tazkira-auliya-e-deoband-ebooks|publisher=Rahmania Book Depot|location=Urdu Bazar, Lahore|pages=632–634|year=2001|language=ur}}

References

= Citations =

= Bibliography =

{{cite book|last=Allahabadi|first=Ghayasuddin|title=Sawāneh-e-Masīhu al-Ummat|trans-title=Biography of "Masīh al-Ummah"|url=https://archive.org/details/sawaneh-e-masih-al-ummah|date=February 2005|publisher=Department of Broadcasting, Jamia Miftahul Uloom|location=Jalalabad, Shamli|language=ur}}