Biography of Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi was born on the 7^th April 1919 in Chak N 99 near Jahan Mandi in the area of Khanewal. His father Deen Muhammad came from a Brelwi family and Deen Muhammad became the first Ahl e Hadith of his family, he used to listen to Ahl e Hadith scholars and was a pious person.

His studies

At the age of 6, Shaykh Sa’eedi joined the primary school which he completed in 1930. Afterwards his father sent him to the village of Chak N 102 to study from Sayed Muhammad Salih, who was a relative of Sayed Muhammad Sharif Shah Garyalwi. He taught there some portions of the Quran, the book “Kariman” of Persian and the book of Arabic morphology “Sarf Bahai”.

In 1932, Shaykh Ata’ullah Shaheed (insha Allah, he was martyred by Sikhs in 1947) had established a Madrasah called “Madrasah Muhammdiyah” in the suburb of Amritsar in the village of “Bheni Sadhwan”. Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi went there and studied 2 years from 1932 to 1933, he studied from Shaykh Ata’ullah Saheed (insha Allah) the books “Sarf Bahai”, “Sarf Mir”, “Dustur Al-Mubtadi”, “Sharh Miatul Aamil”, “Bulugh Al-Maram” and some portions of “Mishkat Al-Masabih”.

In 1934, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi went to Lakhoki to study from Shaykh Ata’ullah Lakhvi and he completed with him some books of Arabic grammar and morphology such as “Hidayatu Nahow”, “Fusul Akbari”, “Shafiyah Shamil”, “Abwab Sarf” and he studied “Sharh Miatu Aamil” again and completed “Mishkat Al-Masabih”

In 1935, Shaykh Sa’eedi went to the village of “Mir Muhammad” to study from Shaykh Abdul Haq (the father of Qari Muhammad Aziz). Shaykh Abdul Haq and his brother Shaykh AbdulJabbar were also martyred (insha Allah) by Sikhs in 1947 like Shaykh Ata’ullah Shaheed. Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi had learned from Shaykh Abdul Haq the books of Arabic: “Kafiyah”, “Sharh Jami” and in Hadith: Sunnan ibn Majah, but as he was injured by another student, he returned to his village in the middle of the year.

Afterwards in 1935, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi went to Multan to study from Shaykh Abdul Haqq Multani, the famous student of Mian Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi. He studied there again Sunan Ibn Majah, “Kafiyah”, “Sharh Jami” and some portions of the translation of the Quran.

In 1936, he went to Madrasah Shams Al-Huda in the village of Bhue Aasal in the suburb of Qasur, where he took lessons of Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and other books from Shaykh AburRahman Bhujiyani.

In 1937, Shaykh Sa’eedi joined the Madrasah Ghaznawiyah in Amritsar which was headed at the time by Shaykh Dawood Ghaznawi.

There Shaykh Sa’eedi studied:

a) Jami Tirmizi from Shaykh Naik Muhammad,

b) The translation of the Quran and “Sharh Jami” from Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Hazarwi

c) Mantiq, “Sharh Tahzib”, “Qatbi”, “Mir Qatbi”, “Sab’ah Mu’alaqat”, “Maqamat Hariri” and “Hamasah” from Shaykh Abdullah Bhujiyani

In 1938, upon the advice of Shaykh AbdulHaq Multani and Shaykh AbduTawab Multani, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi went to complete his studies in “Madrasah Sa’eediyah” in Delhi of Shaykh Abu Sa’eed Sharfudin Dehlwi. Shaykh Sa’eedi studied Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunnan Abi Dawood, Jami Tirmizi from Shaykh Abu Sa’eed Sharfudin Dehlwi, as well as the books “Hujjatullah Al-Balighah” and the book “Mutanabi” of literature.

After graduating from Madrasah Sa’eediyah and obtaining his Ijazah of completion of Dars Nizami, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi returned home. The scholars who graduated from there would name themselves as Sa’eedi like the scholars who would graduate from Madrasah Zubaydiyah where Shaykh Ahmadullah Partapgarhi taught in Delhi would call themselves Zubaydi such as Shaykh Aziz Zubaydi. Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi also obtained Ijazah from Shaykh Ahmadullah Partapgarhi.

His exit from Jamat e Islami

After graduating in 1940, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi first taught the Quran in Multan upon the advice of his teacher Shaykh Abdul Haq Multani but returned after 6 months to his village. In 1942, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi went to Khanewal as Imam and teacher in a Ahl e Hadith Masjid but left it in 1943 and did many works and businesses afterwards.

In 1949 as he was living in Raheem Yar Khan, Shaykh Abul Aziz Sa’eedi joined Jamate Islami of Shaykh Mawdudi but left it in 1950. The reason was that there was a conference of Jamate Islami on the 16-17 March 1950 in Bahawalpur in which he had to be present and he was also invited by Shaykh Sultan Mahmood Jalalpuri for the annual conference on 17-18 March 1950 in Jalalpur Peerwala. Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi attended the conference of Jamate Islami on the 16 of March and then left with the permission of the local leader of Jamate Islami to attend the Ahl e Hadith congerence on 17 in Jalalpur Peerwala. After few days, the local leaders of Bahawalpur started to complain that Shaykh Abdul Aziz is a member of Jamate Islami, why did he attend the Ahl e Hadith conference, and Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi gave replies but local Jamate Islami leaders were not satisfied and this lead to his resignation from Jamate Islami.

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi wrote a lengthy letter regarding this incident to the magazine Al-Itisam to Shaykh Isma’eel Salafi, and Al-Itisam published this letter in two parts on 25 May and 1^st June 1951.

The editorial of “Al-Itisam” magazine of the 1^st June 1950 wrote: “In the number of 25 May, the letter of the former member of Jamate Islami Molana Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi Multani was published. He clarified in it the great fervour with which he joined Jamate Islami and how he was forced after to resign from it…Our noble readers should know that we never differed with Jamate Islami in any good work…thus we have helped them in these elections and in the future as well when they will take an active step, then Jama’at Ahl e Hadith will be with it, but we certainly request the leaders of Jamate Islami that they should not try to terminate the religious persuasion of others…” End of quote of the editorial of Al-Itisam.

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi explained in his lengthy letter how after his attending Ahl e Hadith conference, he received questions from Jamate Islami members of Raheem Yar Khan and he replied to them and clarified his position. Afterwards in the 7 April he had a meeting with the Amir of his sector and Shaykh Abdul Aziz Alawi said to him that when the Ahl e Hadith Jama’at claims to promote the Book and the Sunnah, how can someone prevent him from attending the Da’wah conferences of this Jama’at? Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi argued that spreading the Ahl e Hadith Maslak is obligatory upon every Ahl e Hadith and every person having a Maslak has the right to spread it and it is totally unjust to remove this right from him.

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi wrote in the letter that the Amir of his area said:

“1) You being a Ahl e Hadith, when you joined Jamate Islami, then after entering Jamate Islami, you do not have the permission to spread your Maslak

2) Neither you can speak of a matter of difference

3) After entering the Jama’at, under the discipline of the Jama’at, you should not stop any person of innovation from innovation and any person of Munkar from doing Munkar. You should just call to Hakimiyah and by this everything else will be reformed” (End of quote from letter of Shaykh Sa’eedi)

Afterwards another editorial of “Al-Itisam” said: “On the 25^th May and 1^st June the letter of Molana Abu Sa’eed Abdul Aziz which he sent to us was published. He openly clarified why and what claims of sincerity affected him so that he joined Jamate Islami and after how he was disappointed and was forced or compelled to disconnect from them…He (Shaykh Sa’eedi) is saying that cooperation with Jamate Islami is possible but to absorb in them and becoming completely a part of them contains the ugly aspect of affecting the Ahl e Hadith personality, as indeed the people who became leaders among them have allergy for the name Ahl e Hadith…and they do not want that with leaning towards Jamate Islami, the concept of Ahl e Hadith remains (in members)”

The articles written in “Al-Itisam” on this issue was very lengthy and Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq Bhatti quoted in “Karwan e Salaf” in the biography of Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi the whole letter of Shaykh Sa’eedi and the complete articles of “Al-Itisam” magazine regarding this incident.

His family

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi worked a lot for the spread of Maslak Ahl e Hadith through his speeches but he did not author any book, but he left 4 children who authored and translated many books. His 4 sons are:

1) Shaykh Umar Farooq Sa’eedi

2) Shaykh AbduRauf Sa’eedi

3) Shaykh Sa’eed Mujtaba Sa’eedi

4) Shaykh Sibghatullah Sa’eedi

His death

In old age, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Sa’eedi had liver disease and he became very weak and passed away on the 15^th May 1981. Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Rajiun.