Biography of Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar

His family

His father’s name was Hakeem Muhammad Faiz. His family members were close to the scholars of Bhujiyan in the area of Amritsar, hence his father was called Molana Faiz Muhammad Bhujiyani.

His grandfather was named Hakeem Mola Bakhsh and was from the village Sarsangh, he was a respected figure and people would call him “Mian Ji”, he became Ahl e Hadith through Shaykh Habeebulah, and then was following scholars from the Ghaznavi family and Shaykh Naik Muhammad. Hakeem Mola Bakhsh had started a Masjid in his village Sarsangh but it could not be completed as the partition was announced.

Hafiz AbdulHameed Azhar’s maternal grandfather was named Haj AbdulKareem an he was from the village of Nablir near Lahore. As this area was predominantly Sikh, he decided to move to the village of Patti near Lahore which was predominantly Muslim, but after the partition this village became attached to Amritar instead of Lahore, hence it became part of India.

After the partition, Shaykh AbdulHameed’s paternal and maternal grandparents moved to Qasur and lived in the area of Kot Azam Khan. There Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar was born on the 10^th December 1948.

His education

When Shaykh AbdulHameed grew up, he went to Government High School. After reading the Quran first, he started to memorise it from Qari Noor Ahmad Kharal (student of Qari Azhar Ahmad Thanvi).

In 1965, he passed Matric. Afterwards his grandparents went to see Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq Rehmani, who had come to Qasur for condolences of a friend. They sought advice from Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq Rehmani and he advised them to send Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar to Madrasah Dar Al-Hadith of Chiniyan Wali Masjid Lahore, so his maternal uncle Shaykh AbdulAzeem took him there.

Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq Rehmani was the head teacher of Madrasah Dar Al-Hadith and Shaykh Abdul Aziz was vice head teacher. We count among his class fellows there Shaykh Mahmood Ahmad ibn Hafiz AbdulGhaffar and Shaykh Muhammad Uthman.

The following year, Shaykh AbduKhaliq Quddusi was appointed teacher there, and Shaykh AbdulHameed studied “Mishkat” and Arabic Adab from him. He studied Arabic grammar and morphology, the translation of the Quran and “Bulugh Al-Maram” from Shaykh Muhammaf Ishaq Rehmani.

Afterwards Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar went to Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Gujranwala. He studied there “Sunnan An-Nasai” from Hafiz AbdulHameed Hazarvi, “Nur Al-Anwar” from Shaykh Jumu’ah Khan, and “Diwan Hamasah” and others from Shaykh Basheer Ar-Rahman. He also learnt from Hafiz AbdulMannan Nurpuri.

Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar went with a group of students headed by Dr Fazal Elahi to Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Okara, where Shaykh Mu’eenudin Lakhvi presided a seminar of students. Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar met there Shaykh AbdurRasheed Azhar, and they became good friends. Shaykh AbdurRasheed Azhar advised him to join Jamiyah Salafiyah Faisalabad, so Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar joined Jamiyah Salafiyah Faisalabad the following year.

He studied in Jamiyah Salafiyah Faisalabad, “Sunnan Abi Dawood”, “Muwatta Malik” and “Hujjatullah Al-Balighah” from Shaykh Sanaullah Hoshiyapuri, “Jami Tirmidhi” and “Diwan Mutanabbi” from Shaykh Ali Muhammad Salafi and “Sahih Al-Bukhari” from Shaykh Abdullah Budhimalvi

Shaykh Shamsudin Nuristani and Hafiz Masood Alam were his class fellows. He also benefited from Shaykh Muhammad Aman Jami who was sent by Madinah University to teach in Jamiyah Salafiyah Faisalabad.

In 1972, the first two students would automatically be accepted to Madinah University, and Hafiz Masood Alam came first and Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar second, so they both went to Madinah University.

In Madinah University, he studied from Shaykh ibn Baz, Shaykh Taqiudin Hilali, Shaykh Ameen Shanqiti, Shaykh AbdulGhaffar Hasan, Shaykh Hammad Ansari, Shaykh Mukhtar Shanqiti, Shaykh AbdurRauf Al-Labadi, Shaykh Abu Bakr Al-Jazairi and Shaykh AbdulMuhsin Al-Abbad. Shaykh Albani would on some occasions visit the University so he would benefit from him.

In 1977, Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar obtained BA Honours from the hands of prince Fahd, who was Wali Al-‘Ahd at the time. Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar returned to Pakistan as a Mabhuth (his salary was paid by KSA to teach in Islamic Madaris).

His teaching

From 1980 to 1989, Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar taught first in Madrasah Tadris Al-Quran wal Hadith and afterwards in Jamiyah Salafiyah Islamabad.

Among his students there we count:

1) Dr AbdulGhaffar Bukhari (teacher at NUML University)

2) Shaykh Muhammad Yunus Asim (teacher Jamiyah Salafiyah Islamabad)

3) Shaykh Muhammad Rafeeq Akhtar Kashmiri

4) Shaykh Ismatullah (teacher Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Muzafarabad)

5) Shaykh AbdulWaheed Sajid (teacher Jamiyah Islamiyah Salafiyah Gujranwala)

We count also among Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar’s famous student Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai.

His writings

1) “Ahl e Hadith Ka Ta’aruf”, introduced by Shaykh Ata’ullah Haneef Bhujiyani

2) “Huzur Namaz”: on focusing in prayer

3) “Bashiri As-Sabirin”: on patience

4) “Sawab wa Azab e Qabr”: on reward and punishment in grave. Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar also wrote a 500 pages book of the same name.

5) Translation with notes of “Mukhtasar Sahih Al-Bukhari” of Shaykh Albani

6) He introduced the book “Ahbab Deoband ki Karam Farmayan Ahl e Hadith par” of Allamah Ihsan Elahi Zaheer in 80 pages, which is 3 times more than the size of Allamah Ihsan’s epistle.

7) “Pegham e Haram”: He translated the book “Hadiyatu Sultan ila Muslimi Yaban” of Shaykh Sultan Ma’soomi, with an introduction of 60 pages. It was published under the name of his student Shaykh Rafeeq Akhtar Kashmiri, as told by Syed Kaleem Bukhari

8) He verified Shaykh Khalid Sayf’s translation of “Mukhtasar Targhib wa Tarhib”

9) “I’jaz Hadith” (non published): He also did a TV series on this topic on Paigham TV

10) “Molana Amin Ahsan Islahi ka Nazzriyah Hadith”: published by Dar Abi Tayab, compilation of articles criticising Shaykh Islahi’s views on Hadith, in 96 pages

11) “Hajj wa Umrah ke Ahkam”: Pocket size booklet on the rulings of Hajj and Umrah

12) “Sharh Kitab Al-Ilm min Sahih Al-Bukhari”: published by Dar Abi Tayab, from the notes of his students on his lessons of Sahih Al-Bukhari, the chapter of knowledge, which he delivered in Jamiyah Salafiyah Islamabad.

13) He corrected the Persian translation of the Quran by Shah Waliyullah entitled “Fath Ar-Rahman”, alongside Shaykh AbdurRasheed Azhar and Qari Na’eem Al-Haqq Na’eem. This corrected version was published by KSA and freely distributed

14) He authored the book “Nabighah Asr ka Mablagh e Ilm” in refutation of Dr Tahir Al-Qadri, and it was published under the name of his student Shaykh Rafeeq Akhtar Kashmiri

Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar authored many other article in many magazines

His death

Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar had an heart attack at the beginning of 2014, he was operated but he remained weak afterwards. Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar passed away on the 14^th November 2015, and Hafiz Masood Alam lead his funeral prayer. Around 400 people attended his funeral prayer among whom many scholars such as Shaykh AbdulHameed Hazarvi, Shaykh AbdulAziz Nuristani, Shaykh Muhammad Yasin Zafar, Shaykh Muhammad Yunus Butt, Shaykh Abdul Aziz Alawi, Shaykh Ahmad Shakir, Shaykh AbdulHameed Aamir Jehlumi, Shaykh Ibrahim Khaleel Fazli.

Shaykh Asim Al-Qariyouti wrote at Shaykh AbdulHameed Azhar’s death: “

“Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Rajiun, our beloved companion and class fellow the noble Shaykh Al-Muhadith AbdulHameed Azhar, from the major Ahl e Hadith scholars of Pakistan passed away. I knew and loved him since the beginning of our companionship in studying in Kulliyatu Shari’ah at Madinah University from 1393 to 1397.

I lived with him since my arrival in Madinah alongside my noble brother Al-Adib the noble Shaykh Masood Alam, and we kept contact between us on many occasions, and my last visit to him was in the religious library in Rawalpindi which he established for the students of knowledge. Before this I accompanied him on the recordings of sessions in the Urdu language on the TV channel Paigham TV (Lahore) and the noble Shaykh was translating (my speech).

He had memorised the Book of Allah, was a pious worshipper, standing (in prayer) and fasting, ascetic, distinguished with the best of characters and etiquettes of differences. I cannot vouch for the purity of anyone before Allah.

He would love knowledge and its people, he was a researcher and a critic, he had some critics on some verifications of Ahadith of our Shaykh Albani and I would send them to our Shaykh Albani.

May Allah have mercy on him and enter him in his paradise and accept his efforts, my condolences are with his family and Ahl e Hadith and his students. Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Rajiun” (as quoted in the introduction of “Sharh Kitab Ilm min Sahih Bukhari” Dar Abi Tayab)

Sources: “Chamestan Hadith” of Shaykh Ishaq Bhatti, notes of Syed Kaleem Bukhari in the introduction of “Sharh Kitab Ilm min Sahih Al-Bukhari”, article by Shaykh Naseer Ahmad Kashif in magazine “Al-Hadith” which Syed Kaleem Bukhari sent me, may Allah Ta’ala reward him abundantly.