Izaz Ali Amrohi

Izaz Ali Amrohi (Urdu: مولانا اعزاز علی امروہوی) (November 1882 – 1955) was an Indian Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. He twice served the Darul Uloom Deoband as Chief Mufti: from 1927 to 1928 and then from 1944 to 1946. His book Nafahtul Arab is taught in the syllabus of madrassas including the Darul Uloom Deoband.

Shaykh al-Adab wal Fiqh Izaz Ali Amrohi
2nd Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office 1928 to 1929
Preceded by	Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani
Succeeded by	Riyazuddin Bijnori
9th Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office 1944 to 1946
Preceded by	Farooq Ahmad
Succeeded by	Mehdi Hasan Shahjahanpuri
Personal
Born	November 1882 Amroha, British India
Died	1955 (aged 72–73) Deoband, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India
Resting place	Mazar-e-Qasmi, Deoband
Religion	Islam
Region	India
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Movement	Deobandi
Main interest(s)	Arabic literature, Fiqh
Notable work(s)	Nafhat al-Arab, al-Ahadith al-mawdu’ah
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Deoband
Occupation	Jurist
Muslim leader
Influenced Anzar Shah Kashmiri, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi

Birth and education

Izaz Ali was born in November 1882 in Amroha.[1] He studied Quran with Qutbuddin, and memorized Quran under the supervision of Hafiz Sharfuddin. He learnt Persian from his father and studied early books of Dars-e-Nizami in Madrasa Arbi Gulshan Faiz, Tilhar, Uttar Pradesh with Maqsood Ali Khan. He then moved to Madrasa Ayn-ul-Ilm, where he studied most books including Mulla Jami and Kanzud Daqaiq from Qari Basheer Ahmad and Persian and Fiqh books like Sharah Wiqayah from Kifayatullah Dihlawi.[2] At the request of Qari Basheer Ahmad and Kifayatullah Dihlawi, Amrohi moved to the Darul Uloom Deoband where he studied under Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad, the then vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband and Muhammad Sahool Bhagalpuri. [2]

Amrohi was about to complete one year in Deoband, that he travelled to Meerut, where he met Aashiq Elahi Meerthi. At Meerthi's request, Izaz Ali Amrohi stayed at Meerut and studied the books of "aruuz" and "usool" from Meerthi, while books of logic, philosophy, and all books of Kutub al-Sittah, except Sahih Bukhari from Abdul Momin Deobandi.[2]
He moved to Deoband again and studied books like Sahih Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu Dawud and Baydawi from Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. Amrohi studied fatwa from Azizur Rahman Usmani and literature from Muizuddin Ahmad.[2] He graduated from the Darul Uloom Deoband in 1903.[3]

Career

After his graduation from the Darul Uloom Deoband in 1903, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi sent him to Madrassa Nomaniyah, Pureni, Bhagalpur where he taught for over seven years. Then he moved to Shahjahanpur and established Afzal al-Madaris in a mosque where he taught for nearly three years without taking any fees. Amrohi was appointed as a teacher in the Darul Uloom Deoband in 1911, he taught elementary books of Arabic like Ilm al-Sigha, Nur al-Izah in the first year. His academic career in the Darul Uloom lasted for over 44 years. [3]

Amrohi served the post of Ifta (Grand Muft) twice: first time from 1928 to 1929 and second time from 1944 to 1946 and about 24,855 fatwas were written under his authority. He used to teach Sahih al-Bukhari in the absence of Hussain Ahmad Madani and in the last phase of his life, he also taught the second volume of Tirmidhi for several years.[3] His notable students include Muhammad Shafi Deobandi,[4][5] Anzar Shah Kashmiri,[6] Muhammad Salim Qasmi[7] and Rasheed Ahmad Ludhianvi.[8]

Literary works

Izaz Ali wrote Nafhat al-Arab, a book taught in the contemporary dars-e-nizami curriculum including Darul Uloom Deoband.[3][9]His other books include al-Ahadith al-mawdu’ah [10]

Death and legacy

Amrohi died in 1955 and was buried in Qasmi graveyard of the Darul Uloom Deoband.[3] Anzar Shah Kashmiri has written his biography Tadhkiratul Izaz.[11]

See also

• Anzar Shah Kashmiri
• Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani

References

1. Asir Adrawi. Tadhkirah Mashahir-e-Hind: Karwan-e-Rafta (in Urdu) (2nd, April 2016 ed.). Deoband: Darul Muallifeen. pp. 37–38.
2. Muhammad Haneef Gangohi. "Sahib-e-Nafhatul Arab". Halaat Musannifeen Dars e Nizami (PDF) (in Urdu) (March 2000 ed.). Karachi, Darul Ishaat. pp. 246–251. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
3. Maulana Mehboob Rizwi. History of The Dar al-Ulum Deoband (Volume 2). Translated by Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi (1981 ed.). Idara-e-Ehtemam, Dar al-Ulum Deoband. p. 63-65, 66, 187-189.
4. Muhammad Taqi Usmani. Akabir-e-Deoband Kya Thy (in Urdu) (May 1995 ed.). Zamzam Book Depot, Deoband. p. 71.
5. Muhammad Rafi Usmani (May 2005) [First published 1994]. حیات مفتی اعظم / Ḥayāt-i Muftī-yi A'ẓam (in Urdu). Karachi: ادارة المعارف / Idāratul-Ma‘ārif.
6. Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi. "Mawlana Anzar Shah Kashmiri: A Tribute to His Life and Services". IlmGate.org. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
7. "Obituary: Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasmi, an ocean of knowledge". TwoCircles.net. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
8. Nawhami, Muhammad Saifur Rahman. "Ludhyanwi, Rashid Ahmad - d. 1422". Uloom.com. London: Uloom. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
9. "مولانا محمد اعزاز علی امروہیؒ صاحبِ نفحۃ العرب کی اردو شاعری". AlGazali.org. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
10. "Ta'aruf-o-Tabsirah al-Ahadith al-mawdu'ah". darululoom-deoband.com. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
11. Halaat Musannifeen Dars e Nizami (PDF). Karachi, Darul Ishaat. p. 4.