Biography of Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami was born in 1294H

His family:

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami’s father Haji AbdurRahman had 4 sons, he made Du’a during Hajj that they become scholars and Allah made all of them reputed scholars: Muhammad Hamid (d 1913) and Muhammad Nu’man (d 1951) were students of Mian Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi and the 2 younger sons Muhammad Ibrahim (d 1918) and Muhammad Ali Qudsi (1954) also became great scholars.

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami’s grandfather Hakeem Jamaludin was a respected figure in the western area of Mau and an area was named after him called Jamalpurah. He had 5 sons: Al-Haaj AbdurRahman, Al-Haaj AbdulHafeez, Al-Haaj Noor Muhammad, Molvi Alimullah and Al-Haaj Muhammad Arif.

Molvi Alimullah was the great grandfather of Shaykh Muhammad Ansari Umri, as his lineage is Muhammad ibn Abdil Hay ibn Abdillah ibn Alimullah ibn Jamaldin

The progeny of Hakeem Jamaludin includes many scholars, teachers in many Ahl e Hadith universities (Jamiyah Aaliyah Mau, Jamiyah Faidh e Aam Mau, Dar Al-Hadith Mau, Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras, Wali University Banaras, Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Maligaon, Jamiyah DarusSalam Umerabad, Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Raidrag, Dairah Ma’arif Hayderabad, Madrasah Himayatul Islam Haspit, Madrasah Faidh e Aam Wanyambadi and others), authors, researchers, orators, Quran reciters and many individuals who established Masajid and Islamic institutions.

We count not only great scholars among the children of Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami but also among his nephews and their children. The famous scholar Shaykh Azizul Haq Umri (d 2020) was among the progeny of Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man’s younger brother Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim. Among the progeny of Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man’s other younger brother Shaykh Abul Qasim Muhammad Ali Qudsi, his son Mufti AbdulAziz Azami Umri (d 2005) and his grandson Dr Imran Azami Umri ibn Hafiz AbdulQayum (d 2018) were reputed scholars

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami’s 2 wives and 16 children:

From his first wife who was from Mau, he had 10 children, 5 male and 5 female. Among his sons, we count:

1. The eldest AbdulMannan had studied Mishkat and Sharh Mulla Jami

2. The second, AbdusSubhan completed his studies in Jamiyah Darussalam and passed after “Afzal Al-Ulama” and “Munshi Fazil” from Madras University. He taught in Jamiyah Darussalam for more than 50 years and was also vice secretary (Naib Nazim) of this Jamiyah

3. Muhammad Irfan

4. Fazl Ar-Rahman who completed his studies in Jamiyah Darussalam and passed “Afzal Al-Ulama” from Madras University. He taught afterwards in “Madrasah Aishah Siddiqah” in Malegaon

5. AbdulHannan

Among his daughters from the first wife, we count Balqis Khatun who married Muhammad Yaseen ibn Muhammad Sa’eed and Shaykh Muqtada Hasan Azhari was her son and also one of her daughter married Shaykh Muhammad Ansari Azami.

Also one of his other daughter from his first wife, Safiyah married her cousin AbdulHameed ibn Muhammad Hamid and had among her children the famous Shaykh Abdul Ali Azhari.

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami’s first wife from Mau had passed away before his move to Umerabad and in Umerabad, he married again with a woman from a religious family from Pernambet in Tamil Nadu. From his second wife, he had 4 males and 2 females. The males:

1. Habib Ar-Rahman studied in Jamiyah Darussalam and passed “Afzal Al-Ulama” from Madras University. He became after the director of “Idarah Tahqiqat Islami” of Jamiyah Darussalam

2. Aziz Ar-Rahman who after graduating from Jamiyah Darussalam, obtained the diploma of “Tabib Kamil” from Dr AbdulHaq Tabiyah College in Karnol, and afterwards become chief of department in the state hospital “Anna Hospital”

3. Hafeez Ar-Rahman, who after graduating from Jamiyah Darussalam went to Madinah Unversity and afterwards become the Nazim Ta’limat of Jamiyah Darussalam.

4. Atiq Ar-Rahman who did BSC Chemistry from Islamiyah College Waniyanbadi and became teacher in the same College afterwards

The 2 females from his second wife were Maymunah who passed away when she was a year and a half, and the second is Fareedah Iqbal

So among his children Shaykh AbduSubhan Umri, Shaykh Fazl Ar-Rahman Umri, Shaykh Habib Ar-Rahman Umri and Shaykh Hafeez Ar-Rahman Umri Madni became all great scholars and likewise his daughters’ sons Shaykh Muqtada Hasan Azhari and Shaykh Abdul Ali Azhari also became great scholars.

Shaykh Hafeez Ar-Rahman Umri passed away recently and was in the 1st batch of Madinah University, a year above Shaykh Suhaib Hasan. Shaykh Hafeez Ar-Rahman Umri Madni had thus not only benefited from major scholars of India but also Shaykh Ameen Shanqiti, Shaykh Albani, Hafiz Muhammad Gondalwi, Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh AbdulGhaffar Hasan, Shaykh AbdulQadir Shaybah Hamd, Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Shaqrah, Shaykh AbdulMuhsin Abbad, Shaykh Ashqar and many other giants.

His education

Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami studied mostly in Mau in Madrasah Aaliyah. His father Haji AbdurRahman and his brothers AbdulHafeez and Haji Noor Muhammad made efforts towards the establishment of this Madrasah and they were all three running this Madrasah. The first teacher of this Madrasah was Shaykh Mulla Husamudin.

He studied there from Shaykh Mulla Husamudin and afterwards Shaykh Ishaq Gopaganji became teacher and he studied from him the following books: Rasail Majmooah Mantiq, Qala Aqulu, Sharh Tahzib, Qatbi, Nafahtul Yameen, Tarikh Al-Khulafa, Mukhtasar Al-Ma’ani, Nur Al-Anwar, Sharh Wiqayah Awalin, Hidayah Akhirin, Mulla Hasan, Hadiyah Sa’eediyah

He went afterwards with his elder brother Muhammad Hamid to Aarah and joined the Madrasah of Hafiz Abdullah Ghazipuri. They studied from Hafiz Ghazipuri the following books: Tirmidhi, Muslim, Bukhari (10parts) and Sab’ah Mua’liqat.

They studied from Shaykh AbduNur Bhangwi: “Mir Zahid Mulla Jalal” and “Mulla Hasan”

Afterwards they went to study from Shaykh Al-Kull Mian Nazeer Husayn Dehwi and studied from him: Tafsir Jalalayn, Abu Dawud and Bukhari and took Ijazah from him on Sihhah Sittah,

They also studied from Deputy Nazeer Ahmad: Diwan Mutanabi and Maqamat Hariri

His Milli services

Madrasah Aaliyah was established by his father Haji AbdurRahman and uncles AbdulHafeez and Noor Muhammad but it did not have a permanent building. Hence Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami and his cousin Molvi Hakeem Thanaullah ibn Haji Noor Muhammad purchased a piece of land in Jamalpurah and thus a building was established on it and named “Madrasah Aaliyah” and Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami became its Nazim. Before the 3 teachers Shaykh AbdurRahman Abu Nu’man, Shaykh AbdulAhad and Hafiz Ahmadullah were teaching in different places and now they were united within a single building. Also more teachers were added such as Shaykh AbdusSalam Mubarakpuri (author of Seerah Bukhari) and teachers of English and sciences.

Also “Madrasah Al-Banat” which was the female branch of Madrasah Aaliyah was established and there was no Madrasah at the time in India which had a female branch. Shaykh Sulaiman Nadwi wrote: “In January 1919, I saw “Madrasah Al-Banat” in Mau and I was delighted that in this village in which modern civilisation is not established yet and Muslims found the need for it. I have seen most of the Madaris and educational institutions in India but I never saw a Madrasah for women with a Madrasah for men.”

The sister of Molvi Hakeem Thanaullah, Zubaydah Khatun became teacher of “Madrasah Al-Banat”

His participation in politics with Tahreek Khilafat and Congress

In 1919 when “Tahreek Khilafat” started, many of its offices were established in different cities. When Khilafat Committee was established in Mau, Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami was appointed as its vice Secretary (Naib Secretary). Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami was fond of politics and had a particular interest for the movement of independence, but his cousin Molvi Hakeem Thanaullah who was running with him Madrasah Aaliyah was against political movements, hence due to this difference Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami separated himself from Madrasah Aaliyah in 1920.

When his father Haji AbdurRahman was assassinated by some Hindus, his four sons took over his shop of clothes in Mau but the other 3 brothers separated from the shop and only Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami remained to run it. Haji AbdurRahman was martyred (insha Allah) by some Hindus by night but these Hindus had animosity towards another Muslim and had planned to kill him at night and while Haji AbdurRahman was walking at night, they thought by mistake that he was their enemy and after killing him realised that it was Haji AbdurRahman, a respected figure in Mau by Muslims and Hindus, so they threw his body in the river. After the body’s recovery, his funeral prayer was conducted and the city was in shock.

Due to Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami’s political activities, the cloth shop in Mau could not be ran properly. His son Shaykh AbduSubhan wrote: “Due to him being busy in politics, the shop had difficulties. He ,under constrain (majburan), presented a request of quitting Khilafat Committee but people where not ready to leave him and his request was rejected, and the reason was that he was conducting the affairs of Khilafat Committee with an excellent manner. Despite his shop encountering difficulties, he was never absent from any meeting in his political involvement He would take part in all committees with great interest and would conduct his duties with honesty. This is the reason why the Congress Committee of May nominated him as member as well. He tried to present excuses but people insisted that his advises are extremely beneficial and reasonable and hence people cannot leave him. By constrain (Majburan), he had to accept the membership of Congress, and after accepting this responsibility, he conducted his duty with honesty and great interest. This is why all the members would respect him immensely and nobody ever had a complaint against him. All these duties had a negative impact on his shop and it would decrease daily. When he started to face losses, he was forced to close his shop in 1924.” End of quote of Shaykh AbdusSubhan

His teaching Career

After the closure of his shop, Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami left Mau for other cities to look for a job of teacher. In Calcutta, he met Shaykh Ishaq Aarwi, who was his class fellow in the Madrasah of Hafiz Abdullah Ghazipuri, and Shaykh Ishaq Aarwi informed him that he received a letter from Dr Sayid Fareed, head of Madrasah Ahmadiyah Salafiyah in Darbangah looking for teachers, and hence Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami moved to Darbanghah and started his teaching career there.

After some time, due to illness, he returned to Mau and after recovery he received offers of teaching jobs in many Madaris. Hajji AbdulQadir from Chakardarpur had written to Shaykh AbdurRahman Abu Nu’man to convince Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami to teach in his Madrasah. Also his younger brother Abul Qasim Qudsi, who was working in the Magazine of Shaykh Dawood Ghaznavi “Akhbar e Tawheed” in Amritsar, had received a letter from Shaykh AbdulHay Punjabi to convince Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami to teach in his Madrasah.

At the same time, Shaykh Fazlullah Madrasi and Hajji Ibrahim were travelling to different cities to look for good teachers for Madrasah Darussalam Umerabad and they arrived in Madrasah Faydh e Aam Mau and met there Shaykh Ahmad (the head teacher of Madrasah Faydh e Aam Mau) and Shaykh Abdullah Shaaiq (teacher in Madrasah Faydh e Aam Mau and former Secretary of Khilafat Committee). These two advised them to recruit Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami and hence Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami joined Madrasah Durssalam Umerabad and arrived there on the 15^th December 1928.

When Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami arrived, there were only 3 buildings: The Masjid, the Madrasah and the house of the founder Muhammad Umar who had passed away since some time. The closest town was Ambor which was 8 Km away where people used to go to buy things. Nowadays Umerabad has become like a small village with so many buildings, student hostels, the Jamiyah’s hopsital and library. Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami taught in this Jamiyah for a almost a quarter of century a whole generation of scholars up to his death in December 1951.

The history of Jamiyah Darussalam:

Shaykh AbulBayan Hammad Umri wrote:

The founder of the Jamiyah Muhammad Umar with being a successful businessman, was a very religious and pious person. Allah Ta’ala gave him abundant wealth. He would travel the whole of the country for business purpose and hence he would also go to Amritsar, and there with his business, he would also attend religious gatherings. He had a great attachment to the Ghaznavi family and in particular to Shaykh AbdulJabbar Ghaznavi. He is the AbdulJabbar Ghaznavi who came with his father the noble Abdullah Ghaznavi to Delhi to learn Hadith from Shaykh Al-Kull Mian Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi… Allamah AbdulJabbar Ghaznavi is the student of Mian Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi, whose lessons on the Quran were attended by personalities such as Allamah Shibli. Allamah Shibli (Nu’mani) would say emphatically that when he (Shaykh AbdulJabbar) would mention the name of Allah in his lesson, it would have such an effect that he had desired to take his heart out of his chest and put it in his feet.

He is the AbdulJabbar Ghaznavi for whom the founder of the Jamiyah, Muhammad Umar had such a great fervour for that he would attend many of hi lessons on the Quran. Once the founder of the Jamiyah asked Shaykh Ghaznavi that Allah Ta’ala had bestowed upon him great wealth and he wanted with it to accomplish some good with it, so what work would be the best and most heavy on the scale (on the day of resurrection)? Shaykh Ghaznavi replied to him that he should establish such a religious institute, which without distinction of Maslak and school of thought and following the religious middle path (I’tidal), would be general for all…

The founder of the Jamiyah liked Shaykh AbdulJabbar Ghaznavi’s advise and this matter settled in his heart that he should establish a Madrasah. When he returned home from Amrtisar, close to his house in Aambor, he bought a piece of land in 1924 which was a total jungle at the time. He cleared the land and then established a Masjid and a Madrasah on it. He named the Madrasah Darssalam according to the verse: “Wa Allahu Yad’oo ila DarisSalam wa Yahdi may Yashau ila Sirati Mustaqeem” (And Allah call to the House of Peace (Darussalam) and guides whoever He will to the straight path), and the land came to be known as Umerabad after the name of the founder of the Jamiyah.” End of Shaykh Abul Bayan Speech.

Hafiz Muhammad Gondalwi also taught few years in Jamiyah Darussalam Umerabad.

Scholar’s praise of Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami

His student Shaykh AbdulBari Umri wrote: “He had a complete expertise in the knowledge of Isnad, and all those who have been honoured with being his student know this. Once a Shaykh from Maliyabar who had many of his own students studying in this Jamiyah, himself joined the Jamiyah despite his virtue and knowledge as his thirst for knowledge was not quenched”

His student Shaykh AbdurRasheed Umri wrote: “Molana (Muhammad Nu’man Azami) was a possessor of great Akhlaaq and was a person of the highest level. We always heard good from his tongue and never heard him saying bad about anyone. He had abhorrence for lying. He would always say the truth and enjoin it to his students.”

His student Shaykh AbduGhani Sayfi Umri said: “Our respected teacher Sayid Ameen Umri wrote in his autobiography: “We learn humility in prayer from Shaykh Mir Sialkoti, recitation of Quran from Shaykh Shah Isma’eel Piyarampati and following the Sunnah from Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami. He would not tolerate anything against Shar’ or against the Sunnah”

His student Sayid Jalaludin Umri (former leader of Jamate Islami Hind) wrote: “The Shaykh was giving great importance to the Sunnah and would not be ready to hear anything against the Sunnah”

His son Shaykh Habib Ar-Rahman Azami wrote that the Deobandi scholar Shaykh Sayid Sibghatullah Bakhtiyari said: “He (Shaykh Muhammad Nu’man Azami) would teach Hadith and especially the teaching of Sahih Muslim would remain with him. He would teach “Usul Al-Fiqh” in a verified manner and would constantly read the books of ibn Hazm and Shawkani. Through “Irshad Al-Fuhul” (of Shawkani) and “Al-Ihkam” (of ibn Hazm), he would criticise strongly “Nur Al-Anwar”. Despite this he would treat me with Rawadari (tolerance and indulgence)”

Source: “Pekar Ilm wa Amal Molana Muhammad Nu’man Azami” of Shaykh Muhammad Rafi’ Kalori Umri