Kafilur Rahman Nishat Usmani

Kafīlur Rahmān Nishāt Usmāni (5 March 1942 – 1 August 2006) was an Indian Muslim scholar, jurist, and a poet who served as a Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was the grandson of Azizur Rahman Usmani.

Mawlāna, Mufti Kafeelur Rahman Nishat Usmāni
Personal
Born	5 March 1942
Died	1 August 2006 (aged 64)
Resting place	Qasmi cemetery
Religion	Islam
Notable work(s)	Urdu translation of Fatawa 'Alamgiri
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Deoband, Aligarh Muslim University
Relatives	Usmani family of Deoband

Born in Deoband on 5 March 1942, Usmāni was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband and the Aligarh Muslim University. He translated Fatawa 'Alamgiri into the Urdu language. He died on 1 August 2006.

Name and lineage

His ism (given name) was Kafilur Rahman. His nasab (patronymic) is: Kafilur Rahman ibn Jalilur Rahmān ibn Azizur Rahman Usmani ibn Fazlur Rahman Usmani.[1]

Biography

Usmāni was born into the Usmani family of Deoband on 5 March 1942.[2] His father was Jalilur Rahmān Usmāni, one of the sons of Azizur Rahman Usmani and a teacher of "tajwid" and "qirat" in the Darul Uloom Deoband.[3]

Usmāni graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1961 and received an M.A in Arabic from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1975.[2] His teachers include Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad and Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi.[2]

In 1392 AH, Usmāni was appointed as a Mufti in the Darul Uloom Deoband.[4] He served in this role for 32 years, during which time he issued more than fifty thousand religious edicts.[5] He was also a poet and wrote in the ghazal, hamd, naat, nazm, marsiya, and qasīda genres of Urdu poetry.[6]

Usmāni died on 1 August 2006 and was buried in Qasmi cemetery next to the grave of his grandfather Azizur Rahman Usmani.[1] His funeral prayer was led by his elder brother Fuzailur Rahman Hilal Usmani.[1]

Literary works

As an author, Usmāni wrote books including his poetic collection, Shanāsa (transl. Acquaintance), Ziyārat-e-Quboor (transl. Visiting the graves), Hayāt Ibn Abbās (transl. Biography of Ibn Abbas), Hayāt Salmān Fārsi (transl. Biography of Salman the Persian), Hayāt Abu Hurairah (transl. Biography of Abu Hurairah), Sirāj al-Īdāh (Urdu commentary to Hasan Shurunbulali's Nur ul Idāh) and Ā'īna-e-Bid'at (transl. A Mirror Look of religious innovations).[7]

Usmāni translated and annotated number of books concerning "dars-e-nizami" from Arabic and Persian into the Urdu language.[5] The Arabic-Urdu translations include Sirāj al-Ma'āni, Sirāj al-Wiqāya (Urdu translation and commentary to Sharh-ul-Wiqāya), Sirāj al-Matālib, Tafhīm al-Muslim (Urdu translation and commentary to Shabbir Ahmad Usmani's Fath al-Mulhim), and Fatawa 'Alamgiri.[8] The Persian-Urdu translations include Gulzār-e-Dabistān, Tuhfat al-Muwahhidīn, Masā'il Arba'īn, and Rubāʿiyāt of Baha' al-Din Naqshband.[9]

References

1. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, p. 784
2. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, p. 787
3. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, p. 785
4. Ejaz Arshad Qasmi, Ulama-e-Deoband Ki Urdu Shāyri, p. 97
5. Qasmi, Amanat Ali (28 February 2018). "نستعلیق صفت انسان مفتی کفیل الرحمن نشاط عثمانی" [Well-Behaved Human: Mufti Kafeelur Rahman Nishat Usmani]. Jahan-e-Urdu (in Urdu). Retrieved 12 January 2021.
6. Ejaz Arshad Qasmi, Ulama-e-Deoband Ki Urdu Shāyri, p. 98
7. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, p. 789
8. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, p. 788
9. Noor Alam Khalil Amini, Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah, pp. 788–789

Bibliography

• Noor Alam Khalil Amini. "Mufti e Dārul Uloom: Mawlāna Kafeelur Rahman Nishāt Usmāni Deobandi". Pas-e-Marg-e-Zindah (in Urdu) (5th, February 2017 ed.). Deoband: Idara Ilm-o-Adab. pp. 777–789.
• Ejaz Arshad Qasmi (2017). Ulama-e-Deoband Ki Urdu Shāyri [Urdu poetry of the Deobandi scholars] (in Urdu) (June 2017 ed.). Jamia Nagar, Okhla: Creative Star Publications. pp. 97–110. ISBN 978-81-935109-1-9.