Mawlana Amjad Ali Aazami
Sadru’sh Sharīáh Mawlānā Muĥammad Amjad Álī Aáżamī was born in 1296 (1878) in the town of Ghosi, Azamgarh District in North India. He was the son of Mawlānā Ĥakīm Jamāluddīn ibn Mawlānā Khudā Bakhsh ibn Mawlānā Khayruddīn. Both his father and grandfather were prominent scholars and experts in medicine.
Mawlānā Amjad Álī received his primary education from his grandfather; later, he was tutored by his elder brother, Mawlānā Muĥammad Şiddīq [the founder of Dār al-Úlūm Ashrafiyyah] and thereafter, by his teacher Mawlānā Hidāyatullāh Khān Jaunpūrī. After graduating from the Jaunpur school, he went to Pīlībhīt and became a pupil of the great ĥadīth scholar, Mawlānā Waşīy Aĥmed Muĥaddith Sūratī and graduated with ĥadīth authorisations in 1320 (1902) at the age of twenty four.
Thereafter, in 1323, he learned medicine under Ĥakīm Ábdu’l Walīy. From 1324 to 1327, he worked as a teacher in Muĥaddith Sūratī’s school and for about an year afterward, he practiced medicine in Patna.
Around this time, Alahazrat Imām Aĥmed Riđā Khān was looking for a teacher for his school, Manżar e Islām in Bareilly; Muĥaddith Sūratī proposed Mawlānā Amjad’s name and Alahazrat gladly accepted him. Mawlānā Amjad left his medical practice and went to Bareilly following his teacher’s instructions.
Initially, he was tasked with only teaching duty; by and by, he was given the responsibility of the Ahl al-Sunnah Press, in addition to inscribing fatwā. During his stay in Bareilly, he saw Alahazrat upclose, and was impressed by his strict adherence to the sharīáh and his immense love for RasūlAllāh . He became Alahazrat’s disciple in the Qādirī path and soon thereafter became one of his successors. Even though he did not study any book with him, he still considered Alahazrat as his teacher; Alahazrat also appreciated his disciple and commended his abilities:
Mawlawi Amjad Álī is outstanding in his understanding and perception of religious knowledge (tafaqquh) amongst you. This is because he reads out questions and writes down my answers; he has a receptive nature and he is [now] well acquainted with the technique of issuing fatāwā.
He took the Qādirī path by becoming a disciple of Imām Aĥmad Riđā Khān as he says:
Alahazrat was visiting Patna (Bihar) and I had the opportunity to read about him. I was drawn towards him. I sought the advice of Mawlānā Muĥaddith (Sūratī) and upon his recommendation, I became a disciple of Imām Aĥmad Riđā Khān in the exalted Qādirī order.
In Al-Istimdād, mentioning his successors and disciples, he says about Mawlānā Amjad Álī:
merā amjad, majd ka pakkā
is sey bahut kachiyatey ye haiñ
My Amjad inherits magnificence and his diligence is formidable;
They lose heart, and shrink in fear – scared of him.
HIS WORKS
- Bahar e Shariat:
An encyclopedia of Ĥanafī fiqh in Urdu and his magnum opus. He had envisaged this work to be an authoritative reference of Ĥanafī fiqh in 20 volumes. He could only complete the first 17 volumes. - Kashf al-Astār, a commentary on Máānī al-Aāthār:
- Fatāwā Amjadiyyah
- Kanz al-Īmān:
