Ashiq Ilahi Bulandshahri عاشق إلهي البلند شهري

Mawlana Muhammad Ashiq Ilahi Bulandshahri rahimahullah (1925-2002) was a preeminent Indian Deobandi scholar of hadith, tafsir, and Islamic jurisprudence. Born in Bulandshahr in what was then the United Provinces of British India, he pursued the traditional Islamic curriculum and graduated from Mazahir Ulum (Saharanpur) in 1363 AH. Among his foremost teachers was the celebrated Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakariyya Kandhlawi, under whose spiritual guidance he also received authorization (ijaza) in the Chishtiyya-Zakariyya order through Talha Kandhlawi. After completing his studies he taught at madrasas in Ferozpur Jhirka, Hayat al-Ulum Moradabad, and various institutions in Calcutta. At the personal request of the Grand Mufti of Pakistan, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, he moved to Pakistan in 1384 AH and joined Dar al-Ulum Karachi, where he led the fatwa department and taught hadith and Qur'anic exegesis for twelve years. He subsequently migrated to Madina al-Munawwara in 1396 AH (1976 CE), where he spent the last quarter century of his life in scholarship, teaching, and worship. He passed away in 1422 AH (2002 CE) and was buried in the sacred cemetery of al-Baqi. His major works include the five-volume Anwar al-Bayan (a comprehensive Urdu commentary on the Qur'an), Zad al-Talibin (a collection of 327 hadiths drawn from Mishkat al-Masabih, widely taught as an introductory hadith text in madrasas), and shorter treatises on Islamic ethics and family law.