On the 5th of May 2009, the great researcher (muhaqqiq) and hadith scholar of our age Shaykh Sarfaraz Khan Safdar (may Allah shower His infinite mercy upon him) passed away at the age of 98. Mawlana Sarfaraz Khan ibn Nur Ahmad Khan ibn Gul Ahmad Khan was born in 1914 in the city of Mansehra, in the North West Frontier Province of what is now Pakistan. He was a renowned researcher and scholar, a prolific writer, a lecturer in hadith and tafsir, and a master of Tasawwuf.1<\/p>\n
He completed his early studies in his hometown under Mawlana Ghulam Ghaws Hazarwi2 and then traveled to Sialkot and Multan for further studies. There, he studied under Shaykh Ishaq Rahmani, a student of Mufti Muhammad Kifayat Allah Dehlawi, and Mawlana Ghulam Muhammad Ludhyanwi, an early student of Imam Anwar Shah Kashmiri. After completing elementary studies there he enrolled at Jami\u2019ah Anwar al-\u2018Ulum, Gujranwala, where he studied under \u2018Allamah \u2018Abd al-Qadir Khan Kambelpuri, a student of Imam al-\u2018Asr Mawlana Sayyid Anwar Shah Kashmiri.<\/p>\n
He later traveled to Deoband in 1939 along with his younger brother, Mawlana Sufi \u2018Abd al-Hamid Khan Sawati, and enrolled at Dar al-\u2018Ulum Deoband where he studied hadith under Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani. It was Shaykh al-Islam who gave him the title \u201csafdar\u201c. He himself mentions that once he was late to lesson for some reason. \u201cI was piercing the lines of students to get to the front [of the class] where I used to sit. When my teacher Shaykh al-\u2019Arab wa \u2018l-\u2019Ajam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani saw me coming like that, he said, \u2018Saf-dar is coming.\u2019 All of the students started to smile. He then said, \u2018He is that safdar who, by the will of Allah, will distinguish between truth and falsehood.\u201d3<\/p>\n
\u2018Allamah Sarfaraz Khan himself mentioned that during his stay at Deoband, students of hadith would hold speech competitions. After delivering a few speeches, it became famous that he was a great lecturer. Once \u2018Allamah Muhammad Anwar Sabri, a famous poet, heard him delivering a speech and said: \u201cWhere in the North West Frontier Province was this Abu al-Kalam Azad born?\u201d<\/p>\n
Other scholars whom he studied under at Deoband included Shaykh al-Adab wa \u2018l-Fiqh Mawlana I\u2019zaz \u2018Ali, the master of logic and dogma (kalam) \u2018Allamah Ibrahim Balyawi, Mufti Muhammad Shafi\u2019 \u2018Usmani, Mawlana \u2018Abd al-Haqq Nafi Gul, Mawlana Mufti Zain al-Din, Mawlana \u2018Abd al-Shakur Farangi Mahalli and Mawlana Abu al-Wafa Shah Janapuri. His guide in tasawwuf was Imam al-Mufassirin Mawlana Husayn \u2018Ali Wanbacharan4, a khalifah of the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Sufi master Khawaja Muhammad \u2018Uthman Damani and a student of Imam Rabbani Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Among his contemporaries at Deoband were Khawaja-i-Khwajgan Mawlana Khan Muhammad and Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Palandri.<\/p>\n
Shaykh Sarfaraz moved to Gujranwala, a town in the Punjab province of Pakistan, at the request of Chaudhry Fakhr al-Din and Master Karam Din, and started to teach there. In 1955, he became a lecturer and teacher at Jami\u2019a Nusrat al-\u2019Ulum, a madrasah founded by his brother. He went on to teach at Nusrat al-\u2019Ulum for many years where he held the position of shaykh al-hadith.<\/p>\n
The mawlana was unjustly imprisoned in the early 1950s for his support of the Khatam al-Nubuwwah movement5. This is when his writing career started. He was one of the most knowledgeable scholars of hadith in the Indian subcontinent and a specialist in polemics. His mastery of hadith and his ability to reference from memory was such that some would claim he was a hafiz al-hadith.6<\/p>\n
During the height of the Khatam al-Nubuwwah movement, Shaykh Sarfaraz was leading a march when a police officer suddenly drew a red line on the road and proclaimed that anyone who crossed the line would be shot. The shaykh stopped those present in the march and said, \u201cBare witness that I have passed the sunnah age of sixty-three, and I feel it my honor to spill my last drop blood for the finality of the prophethood. If I don\u2019t cross this line today, then what will be my answer tomorrow to my Shaykh Madani?\u201d Shaykh Sarfaraz was then the first to cross the line.7<\/p>\n
Because of his well-researched writings he quickly became known among scholars as muhaqqiq al-\u2018asr (researcher of the age) and imam Ahl al-Sunnah (the imam of the Ahl al-Sunnah). He was correctly given the title of imam Ahl al-Sunnah but would say out of humbleness, \u201cYes, I am imam Ahl al-Sunnah in the sense that I am an imam of Jami\u2019 masjid Ahl al-Sunnah in Gujranwala.\u201d<\/p>\n
About a month before his death on 2nd April, 2009, Mufti Muhammad Rafi\u2019 \u2018Usmani attended a conference at Al-Shari\u2019ah Academy, Gujranwala, at the invitation of Shaykh Zahid al-Rashidi, Shaykh Sarfaraz\u2019s eldest son. Mufti Rafi\u2019 \u2018Usmani started his speech, after praising Allah, with these words: \u201c\u2026Mawlana Zahid al-Rashidi is our much respected and noble elder. I have great attachment to Mawlana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar from my student days. When we were in the final year of hadith studies (dawrah al-hadith), our teachers would tell us about the research (tahqiq) of Mawlana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar\u2026\u201d8<\/p>\n
His books were highly popular among scholars as well as laymen. \u2018Allamah Mufti Taqi \u2018Usmani, in his preface to Shaykh Sarfaraz\u2019s Al-Kalam al-Mufid fi Ithbat al-Taqlid, wrote: \u201cMawlana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar is, with respect to his knowledge and nobility, and his spirit of research, a national treasure. We pray that Allah Most High preserves him for long in this state of beneficence. The services to the din he has rendered through his pen, his works in affirmation of the true path and his knowledge-based criticisms of various modern schools of thought are a great asset to our educational and religious literature.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mawlana\u2019s style [of writing] is such that whenever he mentions something, there is a huge collection of supportive references behind it, and every page of his book is decorated with those references. Every single piece of writing by your honorable self is a great resource of knowledge for students such as me. For this reason, this most worthless one has, with great interest, collected all of your works and from time to time I make use of them during lectures\u2026\u201d (Al-Kalam al-Mufid, p.346-347)<\/p>\n
His study (mutala\u2019) was only next to that of \u2018Allamah Muhammad Yusuf Binnori, as he had more resources available. Mawlana Mufti Faqir Allah, a khalifah of Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud al-Hasan, said: \u201c\u2026 I am not sure that you posses all of the books that you have quoted from \u2026 seems like you are writing from the library of Pir Jhanda or the library of Dar al-\u2018Ulum Deoband. Do you really have all these books? What more should I say\u2026\u201d (Ahsan al-Kalam, p.22-23)<\/p>\n
Shaykh Sarfaraz penned the highest amount of books among Deobandi scholars after Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf \u2018Ali Thanawi and Mufti Muhammad Shafi\u2019.9 At times, the likes of Mufti Shafi\u2019, \u2018Allamah Binnori and Mufti Mahmud would ask him to write a book on a certain topic.<\/p>\n
The likes of Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani, Shaykh \u2018Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah, Shaykh al-Hadith \u2018Allamah \u2018Abd al-Haqq Haqqani10 , Mawlana Qari Muhammad Tayyab Qasmi, Amir-e-Shari\u2019ah Sayyid \u2018Ata Allah Shah Bukhari, Hafiz al-Hadith Mawlana \u2018Abd Allah Darkhwasti, Shaykh al-Tafsir Mawlana Ahmad \u2018Ali Lahori, Muhaddith al-Jalil Mawlana Habib al-Rahman \u2018Azami, \u2018Allamah Khayr Muhammad Jalahdhari, \u2018Allamah Shams al-Haq Afghani, Mufti Sayyid Mahdi Hassan, Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Nasir al-Din Gorgushti, Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad \u2018Abd al-Rahman Kambelpuri, etc. have highly praised his writings.<\/p>\n
According to one estimate, the shaykh\u2019s tafsir students across the world number over forty thousand.11<\/p>\n
His books include:<\/strong> 1. Taken from the Pearls of the Elders blog. \u21a9 Source: Sarfarazsafdar.org + Deoband.org<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the 5th of May 2009, the great researcher (muhaqqiq) and hadith scholar of our age Shaykh Sarfaraz Khan Safdar (may Allah shower His infinite mercy upon him) passed away at the age of 98.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c42-articles","category-editors-choice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u2022 Khaza\u2019in al-Sunan \u2013 a two-volume commentary on Sunan al-Tirmidhi;
\n\u2022 Ahsan al-Kalam Masala Fatiha Khalf al-Imam \u2014 a detailed two-volume treatise on reciting Surah al-Fatihah behind the imam in congregation. Shaykh Sarfaraz also dwells on what Imam al-Bukhari and Imam al-Bayhaqi have written on this topic. Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani has, among many other, penned a short preface to this book;
\n\u2022 Taskin al-Sudur fi Tahqiq Ahwal al-Mawtah fi Barzakh wa \u2018l-Qubur \u2014 a detailed discussion on the lives of the prophets in their graves, death, the soul, punishment in the grave, the hearing of the dead, tawassul, istimdad, etc. This book was written at the request of \u2018Allamah Yusuf Binnori and Mawlana Mufti Mahmud. It also consists of introductions by almost all senior Deobandi scholars who were alive at the time of its publication. According to Mufti Zar Wali Khan, this book is the most thorough ever written on the topic, and more detailed than what \u2018Allamah al-Suyuti and Imam al-Qurtubi have written;
\n\u2022 Al-Kalam al-Mufid fi Ithbat al-Taqlid \u2013a detailed book on taqlid, which also answers objections against the Hanafi madhhab;
\n\u2022 Izalat al-Rayb \u2018an \u2018Aqidah \u2018Ilm al-Ghayb \u2014 a detailed book on the knowledge of the unseen (\u2018ilm al-ghayb) in light of the Qur\u2019an, the Sunnah and the Salaf. This book was written originally in 1959 and consists of 536 pages and it is a mine of quotes and explanations from classical books of Hadith and \u2018Aqida; and it contains extensive replies to the Ahl al-Bid\u2019ah on this issue. This book although in Urdu contains all the documentary proofs in Arabic also – it is very thorough and advisable for all who wish to know this issue in full depth;
\n\u2022 Rah-i-Sunnat \u2014 an incredible book on the definition of bid\u2019ah and various bid\u2019ahs;
\n\u2022 Tabrid al-Nawadir \u2014 a detailed study of the issue of hadir nazir; it also contains a refutation of the belief that the prophets and saints have the ability to hear everyone from anywhere;
\n\u2022 Ayena Muhammadi \u2014 a small booklet on the character of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace);
\n\u2022 Ahsan al-Bari \u2014 an explanation of some difficult hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari;
\n\u2022 Ta\u2019ifah Mansurah \u2014 a study of the characteristics of the saved group according to Qur\u2019an and Sunnah;
\n\u2022 Irshad al-Shi\u2018ah – an analysis of the Shi\u2019ah sect;
\n\u2022 Durud Sharif Parhanay ka Shar\u2018i Tariqah \u2014 the correct way to recite Salat wa Salam according to Shari\u2019ah;
\n\u2022 Ibarat-i-Akabir \u2014 answers to allegations against the senior \u2018ulama of Deoband made by Ahl al-Bid\u2019ah;
\n\u2022 Tabligh-i-Islam \u2014 a short discussion of the basic beliefs of Muslims;
\n\u2022 Guldasta-i-Tawhid \u2014 an examination of tawhid and shirk;
\n\u2022 Dil ka Surur \u2014 a treatise on the issue of mukhtar-e-kul, tasarruf, takween and whether Allah has given the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) the ability to make halal and haram;
\n\u2022 Hidayat al-Mirtab Ila Tariq al-Sawab fi Tahqiq al-Mu\u2019jizat \u2014 a study on the view of Ahl al-Sunnah on miracles, its definition and whether humans have any say in the performance of miracles;
\n\u2022 Bani Dar al-\u2018Ulum Deoband \u2014 a short biography of Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi;
\n\u2022 Yanabih \u2014 a book on Tarawih prayers;
\n\u2022 Dhu \u2018l-Siraj fi Tahqiq al-Mira\u2019j \u2014 answers to those who deny Isra wa \u2018l-M\u2019eraj;
\n\u2022 Masala Qurbani \u2014 fiqh rulings regarding sacrificing animals;
\n\u2022 \u2018Isaiyat ka Pas-i-Manzar \u2014 a small booklet on Christianity;
\n\u2022 Maqala Khatam-e-Nubuwwah \u2014 a treatise on the finality of the Prophethood;
\n\u2022 Maslak al-Mansur – fi Radd al-Kitab al-Mastur a discussion on the connection of the soul with the body in the grave, and the lives of the prophets in graves;
\n\u2022 Itmam al-Burhan fi Radd Tawdih al-Bayan \u2014 a four volume book discussing different issues relating to \u2018aqida and fiqh;
\n\u2022 Hulyat al-Muslimin \u2014 a discussion on the beard;
\n\u2022 Tauwdih al-Maram fil Nuzul al-Masih \u2014 a detailed study of the second coming of Sayyiduna \u2018Isa (peace be upon him);
\n\u2022 Shawq-i-Hadith \u2014 the status of hadiths in Islam;
\n\u2022 Mullah \u2018Ali Qari aur Masala \u2018Ilm-e-ghayb \u2014 a interesting treatise discussing a statement of Mullah \u2018Ali al-Qari regarding knowledge of the unseen and whether the soul of beloved Prophet is present in the homes of Muslims;
\n\u2022 Tanqid Matin bar Tafsir Na\u2019im \u2014 written at the request of Mufti Muhammad Shafi\u2019, this book discusses some of the distortions of Molwi Na\u2019im al-Din Muradabadi, khalifah of Molwi Ahmad Rada Khan Barelwi, as mentioned in his tafsir;
\n\u2022 Bab-i-Jannah \u2014 a discussion on bid\u2019ah and other fiqh issues;
\n\u2022 Al-Kalam al-Havi fi Tahqiq \u2018Ibarah al-Tahawi \u2014 issue of giving Zakah to the descendants of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace);
\n\u2022 Mawdudi ka Ghalat Fatwa \u2014 criticism of a fatwa issued by Mawlana Abu al-\u2019Ala Mawdudi;
\n\u2022 Masala Nur wa Bashar \u2014 a discussion on whether the prophets are humans or light, whether the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had a shadow, and what the first thing was that Allah created;
\n\u2022 Tafrih al-Khawatir \u2014 a discussion on whether the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is omnipresent;
\n\u2022 Chahl Masala Hadrat Barelwiyyah \u2014 a collection of 40 fiqh issues relating to the Barelwis;
\n\u2022 Umdat al-Asas \u2014 a detailed book on the issue of three divorces (talaq). This book was also mentioned by Mufti Muhammad Shafi\u2019 in Ma\u2019arif al-Qur\u2019an;
\n\u2022 Al-Shihab al-Mubin \u2014 a discussion on whether the dead can hear;
\n\u2022 Izhar al-\u2018Ayb fi Kitab Ithbat \u2018Ilm al-Ghayb \u2014 a treatise on the knowledge of the unseen;
\n\u2022 Sama-e-Mawta \u2014 a study on whether the dead can hear near the grave;
\n\u2022 Chalis Du\u2019ain \u2014 a book of forty invocations;
\n\u2022 Maqam-i-Abi Hanifah \u2014 answers to allegations against Imam Abu Hanifah. Mufti Muhammad Shafi\u2019 once said he decided to write a book on Imam Abu Hanifah and that he had begun to gather material for it. \u201cBut when I came across this book, I knew that this book is enough\u201d;
\n\u2022 Sirf Aik Islam \u2014 this book was written in response to the book Dow Islam (Two Islams) by the famous rejector of hadiths Dr. Ghulam Jailani Barq. Shaykh Sarfaraz penned this book in refutation while in Multan Jail. Dr. Barq, who later repented, said over a dozen books were written in response to his book, but only this one was worthy of being called a refutation. This book was also highly praised by Mawlana Qari Muhammad Tayyab Qasmi;
\n\u2022 Hukm Zikr bi \u2018l-Jahr \u2014 a discussion on the issue of loud and soft dhikr;
\n\u2022 Shawq-i-Jihad \u2014 the virtues of jihad;
\n\u2022 Atib al-Kalam \u2014 a short version of Al-Kalam al-Mufid;
\n\u2022 Inkar-i-Hadith kay Nata\u2019ij \u2014 a study detailing the consequences of denying hadiths;
\n\u2022 Mirzai ka Janaza awr Musalman \u2014 a fatwa on offering the janazah of Qadiyanis;
\n\u2022 Ikhfa al-Zikr \u2014 the fiqh of loud and soft dhikr.
\nHis lectures have recently been published in three volumes and entitled Khutbat Imam Ahl-e-Sunnah. His exegesis (tafsir) of the Qur\u2019an, comprising eight volumes, is in the process of being published. May Allah shower His infinite mercy upon him and grant him the highest stations in Paradise. Amin.<\/p>\n
\n________________________________________<\/p>\n
\n2. An early student of Imam Sayyid Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shaykh al-Islam \u2018Allamah Shabbir Ahmad \u2018Usmani; he was jailed many times by the British Raj for his anti-colonial activities. \u21a9
\n3. See article, Shaykh Sarfaraz Khan Ki Judai, by Mawlana Shafi Chatrali from Daily Islam. \u21a9
\n4. Mawlana Husayn \u2018Ali was also known for his mastery in the tafsir of the Qur\u2019an. His famous students include the likes of Hafiz al-Hadith Mawlana Abdullah Darkhwasti, \u2018Allamah Ahmad Rada Binjori, Shaykh al-Quran Mawlana Ghulam Allah Khan and Mawlana Muhammad Abdullah Bahlawi. Shaykh al-Tafsir Mawlana Ahmad \u2018Ali Lahori would have a yearly conference in Lahore in which he would invite scholars from all over the sub-continent. He would say: \u201cI invite all other scholars for the benefit of the general public but I invite two for the benefit of the \u2018ulama. Those two are Imam Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Mawlana Husayn \u2018Ali.\u201d Mawlana Husayn \u2018Ali studied tafsir under Shaykh Mawlana Mazhar Nanautwi and logic under Mawlana Ahmad Hassan Kanpuri. After the death of his shaykh, Khawaja Muhammad Usman Damani, he continued his suluk under Khawaja Siraj al-Din. \u21a9
\n5. While in jail, \u2018Allamah Sarfaraz would give lessons of Hujjat Allah al-Baligah, Sharh al-\u2019Aqa\u2019id, and Nukhbat al-Fikr. \u21a9
\n6. Last two lines taken from the at-Talib blog. \u21a9
\n7. See article Rahmat-e-Khudawandi Teri Lahd pay Shabnam Afaye Karay by Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf in Weekly Al-Qalam, Bahawalpur – Issue 8-14 May, 2009 \u21a9
\n8. Monthly Al-Shari\u2019a, Gujranwala – May edition. \u21a9
\n9. As reported by Mufti Zar Wali Khan of Ahsan al-\u2019Ulum, Karachi. \u21a9
\n10. He is the student of Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Hussain Ahmad Madani and founder of Dar al- \u2018Ulum Haqqania, Akora Khatak. Mawlana Qari Tayyab Qasmi labeled this institute to be Dar al-\u2019Ulum Deoband of Pakistan. \u21a9
\n11. See Editorial Weekly Al-Qalam, Bahawalpur – Issue 8-14 May, 2009<\/p>\n