By | Noor Ul Hasan Andrabi
Hazrat Maulana Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri (RA) was born on November 25, 1875 in Lolab Shahabad,Warnow a remote area in frontier district Kupwara of Kashmir Valley.He received his early education from his father named Moazzam Shah who belonged to Sadat family.At the age of four, he started reciting the Qur’an under the guidance of his father and at the age of six, in addition to memorizing the Qur’an, he also read several Persian magazines. His father says, he would ask me some questions that would be difficult to answer without reading extensive books. I was amazed by his IQ level and handed him over to another scholar but the same complaint was made by teacher. When he saw the promising child, he said to his father, “Is this your child?”Then he said that he would be a great scholar and his greatness would benefit Muslims in the future.
Shah Sahib then studied Persian and Arabic from Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Sahib Mohifi Puri.After that,Shah Sahib left Hazara (border)for the sake of acquiring knowledge at the age of 13 or14 . He continued to complete Arabic studies from various scholars and jurists there. After learning from scholars of Kashmir and Hazara, in 1892,he came to Deoband to quench his thirst of knowledge following the popularity of the seminary. There Shah sahib studied along with Mahmood Hassan and others. During this stage he was also taught by Hazrat Rashid Ahmad Gangoi (RA), one of the founding member of World-famous Madrasa. After graduating from Deoband, He moved to Delhi where he taught and served as first principal of Aminiya Madrasa.
In 1903, Shah sahib came back to Kashmir and established Faiz Aam Madrasa
Shah Sahib performed Hajj in 1905.Four years later he returned to Deoband. He patronized Darul Uloom for about twelve years. He resigned in 1927 and went to Jamia Islamia Dabil in western India where he taught Hadith till 1932. He gave the Islamic Ummah the greatest scholars including Maulana Abdul Qadir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Maulana Manazer Hussain Gilani, Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Banuri,Habib-ur-Rehman, Qari Muhammad Tayyab and Manzoor Ahmad Noman are notable. Shah Sahib was the Shaykh-ul-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband.
He started his career at Aminia Madrasa in Delhi before returning to Kashmir when his mother died in 1901.There he taught at Madrasa Fahim for three years before performing Hajj. He visited Deoband again and was instructed by Mahmood Hassan who agreed to take a position in Deoband. Later, when Mahmood Hassan himself went to Medina in 1908, Shah Sahib started teaching Hadith.He held the position until 1927, when he left after disagreements with the administration.
Jamia Imam Muhammad Anwar Shah Deoband is an Islamic school named after Kashmiris.Syrian scholar Abdul Fattah Abu Ghousa has written a biography of Kashmiris in Arabic.Younis Usman wrote his dissertation Life and Works at Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri’s University of Durban Westville.
A book on Kashmiris titled”Fakhr of Kashmir”was released in December 2015. During the release of the book, Engineer Rashid, then MLA of Langate, named the “Student of the Year” Award Kupwara as the “Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Award for Excellence.” Majlisi ilm educational academy between 1929 and 1946, published an article on Islam. Among other topics, his books discussed the Qur’an, metaphysics, basic Islamic beliefs, jurisprudence, biography, and politics.
Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri has done great deeds in his life which will increase day by day instead of fading away and till the Judgment day his good deeds will be preserved in history.That he was the most intelligent man and if once saw a book,he would remember it for a lifetime and that is why Shah Sahib was also called a”mobile library”. In 1933, Shah Sahib fell ill and He traveled to Deoband for medical treatment. He continued to address students till May 28, 1933. In February 1935, at the age of 60, he passed away and was buried in Deoband.
The author is a Journalist and hails from Lolab Khurhama can
