Mustafa Raza Khan, commonly known among the Muslims of South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 as Mufti e Azam e Hind, was born in Bareilly

Bareilly

Bareilly is a prominent city in Bareilly district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Standing on the Ramganga river, it is the capital of the Bareilly division and the geographical region Rohilkhand...

, Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1892. His father, Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921) was the founder of the Barelvi

Barelvi

Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....

 school of Sunni Islam in South Asia.. His grandfather, Moulana Naqi Ali Khan (d. 1880) was also a recognised scholar.

Educational Background

Mustafa Raza Khan was born into a scholarly atmosphere. His family was reputed for its services in Islamic traditional sciences. His father especially was respected in social, political, and educational fields. Mustafa Raza Khan completed his religious education under the guidance of his father as well as other ulema

Ulema

Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...

.

Academic Status

Mustafa Raza Khan was well-versed in more than twenty branches of Islamic learning, including tafseer, hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

, fiqh

Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....

, sarf

Sarf

Sarf is a village in western central Yemen. It is located in the San‘a’ Governorate.-External links:*...

, nahv, tajweed, balghat, tassawuf, mantiq, seerah, tareekh, kalam

Kalam

ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...

, aqa'id, reyazvi, touqeet, jafar and hayat

Hayat

Hayat may refer to:* Hayat, Algeria, a city in Algeria* Həyat, Azerbaijan* Hayāt, a kind of Persian Garden* Al-Hayat, a pan-Arab newspaper* Hayat , a Persian movie* Hayat TV, a Bosnian TV channel* Hayat, a female given name....

.

Sufism (Bai'ah)

Mustafa Raza Khan was a shaikh of the Qadriya order. His spiritual guide was the Sufi Abul Hussain Ahmed Noori Qadri Barkati (1839–1906), of Mahrehra Shareef.

Mufti and Faqih

Mustafa Raza Khan began issuing fatawa while he was only a boy of 13 years old. His first fatwa was on "Raza'ah". At the age of 13 he became a recognised mufti and it is estimated that he issued more than 50,000 fatawas during his lifetime. Collections of his fatawa have been published in Urdu in two volumes under the title Fatawa Mustafawiya.

As a Teacher

Mustafa Raza Khan started teaching in Jamia Manzare Islam, Bareilly, in 1910. He served in this prominent institution for a period of about 27 years. He was a proficient scholar of hadith and fiqh. Several famous Islamic teachers of the sub-continent who were his pupils went on later to teach in the prominent Darul Ulooms of India and Pakistan. Some of them are: Sardar Ahmed Razvi, Ejaz Wali Khan, Hashmat Ali Khan and Shareef-ul-Haq Amjadi. Hundreds of his students are serving all over the sub-continent and other parts of the world as heads of religious institutions and Muslim organisations.

Writings

In spite of his year-round journeys all over India, and his deep commitment to his Central Darul Ifta, he wrote many books and commentaries on some of the books of fatawa and fiqh. It is estimated that he has left about 40 books on a variety of subjects and issues. He followed the methodology of his father in his writings. His books mainly consists of refutations of the beliefs of other Islamic sects, particularly targeting Wahabi institutions in the sub-continent.

As a Religious Leader

Mustafa Raza Khan was at the forefront during the movement to restore the Shahid Ganj Mosque at Lahore in 1935 and declared that participation in this movement was obligatory

Fard

also is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. The word is also used in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu in the same meaning....

 for Muslims.

Death

Mustafa Raza Khan died on the eve of the 14th of Muharram 1402 A.H. (1981 A.D.) in Bareilly . He is buried in Bareilly Shareef beside his father, Ahmed Raza Khan. His urs

Urs

Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...

is held every year in Bareilly and in various other countries around the globe.

See also

• Asian Sunnis
• Ahmed Raza Khan
• Akhtar Raza Khan
• Maulana Hamid Raza Khan
• Qari Muslehuddin Siddiqui
  Allama Al-Hafiz Al-Qari Muhammad Muslehuddin Siddiqui Qadri Razavi
  Muhammad Muslehuddin Siddiqui , was a Sufi leader of Hyderabad. He was born on the 11th day of Rabi' al-awwal 1336AH, corresponding to 27 December 1918, at the time of true dawn in Nander, Hyderabad deccan. His father was Ghulam Jilani, an Islamic scholar...
  
  

Sources

• The Indian Journal of Politics. Department of Political Science, Aligarh. 1967