Throughout the different periods of Islamic History, Muslims have been blessed with great personalities and leaders, who have revived Islam through the nobility of their character, through writing books, through their speeches and by their demeanour. This period is no different save for the fact that these personalities appear to be few and far between. In Rais al-Muhaqiqin, Shaykh al-Islam w'al Muslimeen, Hadrat Allama Mufti Pir Sayyad Shah Muhammad Madani miya al-Ashrafi al-Jilani [May Allah preserve & protect him] we have an awesome personality, an outstanding orator, and a true living saint. To increase our understanding of Shaykh al Islam, a brief summary of his early life, his works and achievements have been set out in a few of the pages of this website. The website will be continuously updated as more information is resourced and compiled. Insha-Allah many more new articles, videos and features will be uploaded in the coming weeks and months.
Hadrat Shaykh al-Islam ("Hadrat") is the son of Muhaddith al-Azam al-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh. Hadrat's paternal grandfather was Mawlana Sayyad Shah Nadhar Ashraf Rahmatullahi 'alayh who was a renowned hakeem, an outstanding Islamic scholar and a distinguished lecturer of the Persian language. He was also well respected for his debating skills and poetry. Sayyad Nadhar Ashraf Rahmatullahi 'alayh had a reputation of being extremely generous, and whatever wealth he obtained was generously distributed among the poor.
This charitable institution of giving alms to the poor and needy is deeply embellished in the 'Silsila-e-Ashrafiya' tradition and to this day continues especially within the family of Kanwada-e-Muhaddith al-A'zam al-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh.
It was the heartfelt wish of Sayyad Nadhar Ashraf Rahmatullahi 'alayh to have a son who would be a great Islamic Scholar and Saint and this wish was granted by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala with the birth of Muhaddith al-A'zam-e-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh.
Muhaddith al-A'zam al-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh married Sayyada Fatima Makhdooma in 1915. She was the daughter of Hadrat's maternal grandfather 'Alim al-Rabbani' Sultan al-Waizeen Hadrat Mawlana Sayyad Shah Abul Mehmud Ahmad Ashraf Ashrafi al-Jilani Rahmatullahi 'alayh ("Mawlana Ahmad Ashraf") who was also a Saint and revered all over the Muslim World. Sayyada Fatima was an extremely pious lady and while Muhaddith al-A'zam al-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh was away on preaching missions throughout the year, Sayyada Fatima raised all the children and gave them a thorough grounding in education and was the first teacher to all her siblings.
It was in the light of such an Islamic enviroment that 'Hadrat' was born on the 1st of Rajab 1357 AH (After Hijri). Hadrat was one of six children of Muhaddith al-A'zam-e-Hind Rahmatullahi 'alayh, all are listed below;
Hadrat's childhood was not typical of boys of a similar age as he refrained from normal childhood participation in the playing of games and such. Even at a very young age Hadrat led a very pure and simple life preferring to spend all of his time learning about Islam and what he had been taught. In this regard Hadrat followed in the footsteps of his murshid [guide] and uncle Shaykh al-Mashaykh, Mawlana Sayyad Mukhtar Ashraf ; 'Sarkar-e-Kalan' Rahmatullahi alayh.
