Biography of Shaykh Rafee Ahmad Madni

His family

Shaykh Rafee Ahmad was born in Latiya Mukhtar, a village which is 13 km from Jamiyah Siraj Al-Ulum Bandihar (established by Shaykh AbdurRahman Mubarakpuri) in the area of Balrampur (Gondah).

His father Muhammad Aaqil (1925-2016) had studied English education and was working for the police. When his father Liaqat Husayn went to Hajj, he left his job. Muhammad Aaqil always regretted not having studied religious sciences and thus decided that his son Rafee Ahmad would do so.

Shaykh Rafee Ahmad’s father and grandfather would be close to many scholars, they would receive Shaykh AbdulGhaffur Baskohrvi when he visited their village. They were also in contact with Shaykh Mumtaz Ali Hashmi (student of Shaykh AbdurRahman Mubarakpuri). They also had good links with Shaykh AbdulQayum Bajwadi (student of Shaykh AbdurRahman Mubarakpuri).

His father Muhammad Aaqil later on worked for Shaykh AbdurRauf Rehmani Jandagarhi for 12-14 years.

His studies

His father established in 1953-54 Madrasah Dar Al-Furqan where Shaykh Rafee Ahmad started his studies in 1959.

Afterwards he went to Madrasah Qasim Al-Ulum (Rewan) to join Persian classes in 1965. This Madrasah was established by Shaykh Mumtaz Ali and Shaykh Iqbal Husayn, students of Shaykh AbdurRahman Mubarakpuri. Shaykh Rafee Ahmad studied there for 2 years.

In 1967, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad joined Jamiyah Siraj Al-Ulum (established by Shaykh AbdurRahman Mubarakpuri) in Bandihar in first year of Arabic. The director of this Jamiyah Shaykh Muhammad Iqbal Rehmani was among expert teachers of this area and also the president of Jamiat Ahl e Hadith Gondah (now Balrampur).

In 1969, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad joined Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Banaras. The teachers there were: Shaykh Aziz Ahmad Nadwi, Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani, Shaykh AbdusSalam Tibi, Shaykh Quratul Ayn Amlawi and Master Feroz Ahmad Mirzapuri who was an English teacher.

Among fellow students who joined Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Banaras the same year in 1969, we count Shaykh AbdulQuddus (teacher Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Malegaon), Dr Radhaullah Mubarakpuri, Shaykh Muhammad Ozair Shams, Shaykh Muhammad Ozair Amlawi. Shaykh Salahdin Ahmad and Shaykh Badr Az-Zaman Nepali joined in 1970 and joined their batch of 2^nd year in Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Banaras. So all these future great scholars were in the same class, Shaykh Salahdin Maqbool Ahmad came first at the final exams in the last year of Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Banaras.

All these students joined Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras in 1971. Among their teachers in Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras, we count:

Shaykh AbdulWaheed Rehmani

Shaykh Shamsul Haqq Salafi (father of Shaykh Ozair Shams)

Shaykh Muhammad Idrees Azad Rehmani

Shaykh AbdulMu’eed Banarsi

Shaykh Muhammad Abid Rehmani

Shaykh Muhammad Raees Nadwi

Dr Muqtada Hasan Azhari

Master Shamsudin

Among Arab scholars sent by Madinah University, they benefited from Dr Rabi Al-Madkhali, Shaykh Hadi Al-Mutalabi and Shaykh Ali Mushrif Al-Umri

In the first year of their study, Shaykh AbdulHameed Rehmani, Shaykh AbdusSalam Madni and Shaykh AbdurRahman Laythi had all graduated from Madinah University and came to Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras as teachers and they benefited from them.

The next years other teachers would come such as Shaykh AbdulHannan Faizi, Shaykh SafiurRahman Mubarakpuri, Shaykh Aneez Ar-Rahman Azami, Master Akbar, Mastwr Manzoor and others from whom they benefited.

In the first year’s final exams, Shaykh Salahdin Maqbool Ahmad came first and the next 3 years Shaykh Ozair Shams came first of the batch.

In 1977, 19 students who had graduated from Jamiah Salafiyah Banaras (4 years of Alimiyat and 2 years of Fazeelat) were accepted in Madinah University, and Shaykh Ozair Shams, Shaykh AbdulQuddus and Shaykh Salahdin Maqbool Ahmad were among them. Dr AbdulQayum (Qatar), Shaykh Badr Az-Zaman Nepali and Shaykh Rafee Ahmad joined Madinah University the next year in 1978. Shaykh Radhaullah Muhammad Idrees Mubarakpuri had joined Madinah a year before in 1976, as he left Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras after 4 years of Alimiyat and stayed a year in Morocco with Shaykh Taqiudin Hilali and joined Madinah University the year after, so he was one year ahead the group who completed 2 years of Fazeelat after 4 years of Alimiyat.

Shaykh Rafee Ahmad had completed his Fazeelat a year later than the group in 1978, as after his Alimiyat he joined Dar Al-Ulum Deoband for his Fazeelat and Dar Ulum Deoband had expelled around 60 Ahl e Hadith in 1954, so Shaykh Rafee Ahmad tried to remain discreet in Deoband but after 6 months, him being a Ahl e Hadith became known, so he felt to leave it before being expelled. So he returned to Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras to complete his Fazeelat and was thus a year behind his former class fellows.

The expulsion of these 60 Ahl e Hadith students from Deoband in 1954 had accelerated the movement of Ahl e Hadith to create their own Dar Al-Ulum which they did after in Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras.

In 1978, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad joined Madinah University. In his batch were Dr Muhammad Iqbal Baskohrvi (teacher Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Malegaon), Shaykh AbdulMu’eed AbdulJaleel (Aligarh). Shaykh AbdulQayum (Qatar) and Dr Badr Az-Zaman Nepali.

During his studies in Madinah University, one of his teacher Shaykh Zia Ar-Rahman Azami took his help to compile his book “Al-Jarh wa Ta’dil”

His move to the Fiji Islands

Before Shaykh Rafee Ahmad moving to the Fiji Islands, his teacher from Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Banaras, Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani moved to the Fiji Islands.

Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani had moved from Banaras to Delhi as he was appointed as vice Nazim e Ala of Markazi Jamiat Ahl e Hadith Hind when Shaykh AbdulHameed Rehmani was appointed as the Nazim e Ala MJAH Hind. Afterwards Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani became Nazim e Ala of MJAH Hind.

In 1976, Wahid Noor Ali asked Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani to send a scholar to the Fiji Islands to help the Jamaat there, Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani ran an announcement in the magazine “Tarjuman” but nothing happened. When Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani resigned from his position in MJAH Hind in 1978, then Wahid Noor Ali asked the Shaykh to come himself to the Fiji Islands. So on the 24th June 1978, Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani arrived in the Fiji Islands.

Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani contacted Shaykh ibn Baz to send a scholar to the Fiji Island from Dar Al-Ifta, as Dar Al-Ifta was paying many scholars to teach in many parts of the world, and the local community could not afford at this time to pay for a scholar. Shaykh Luqman Salafi who was the secretary of Shaykh ibn Baz insisted on this, so Shaykh ibn Baz nominated Shaykh AbusSalam Rehmani as the envoy of Dar Al-Ifta to the Fiji Islands. Dr Luqman Salafi had helped many institutions from India through his closeness to Shaykh ibn Baz. Also Dr Luqman had visited the Fiji Islands before in a Dawah trip with Shaykh Abdullah Al-Qu’ud, and Dr Luqman Salafi delivered a talk in English there.

The Fiji Muslim League was very worried at the arrival of Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani, the head of their Islamic Affairs Board issued a warning not to have any link with this Wahabi scholar. Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani did lot of works and he was constantly harassed by these innovators.

After Shaykh Rafee Ahmad graduated in 1982 from Madinah University, Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani requested Saudi Arabia that he be sent also to the Fiji Islands to help him develop the Jamaat and Dawah, so Shaykh Rafee Ahmad was appointed by Rabitah Al-Alam Al-Islami (The Muslim World League) to teach in the Fiji Islands.

Shaykh Rafee Ahmad was in India in 1982 when he received the news of his appointment by Rabitah. He married on the 3^rd May 1983 and moved to the Fiji Islands on the 27^th July 1983.

He started to work in the Fiji Islands but a year later on the 15^th February1984 his wife passed away in India and he had a daughter from her. Shaykh Rafee Ahmad remarried with an Indian Muslim who was already established in Fiji Islands on the 27^th May 1984 in Fiji.

The Jamaat did not have any Masjid or Madrasah. With the help of Rabitah, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad managed to move his library to the Fiji Islands. He worked a lot with Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani, they both went on the radio, and also launched an English magazine called “Tanzeem” for the youth.

In 1985, his teacher Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani decided to return to India as he did not like the constant plots against him by the innovators who were always creating problems for him in renewing his work permit. Shaykh Rafee Ahmad as his wife was from the Fiji Islands, his position was more secure and once he obtained the Fiji nationality in 1988, he was more reassured. He had yet to face lots of pressure from innovators and once he even had to go himself to see the head of the police to require protection for his events, which was granted to him.

Shaykh AbdusSalam Rehmani after returning to India in 1985 taught in Jamiyah Siraj Al-Ulum in Bandihar for the rest of his life. Dar Al-Ifta sent in his replacement Shaykh AbdulMu’eed AbdulJaleel Madni (Aligarh). Shaykh AbdulMu’eed AbdulJaleel had graduated from Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras in 1977 and taught for a year in Jamiyah Muhammadiyah Malegaon and was accepted after in 1978 in Madinah University alongside Shaykh Rafee Ahmad.

Shaykh AbdulMu’eed AbdulJaleel Madni arrived to Fiji Islands in February 1986 and he obtained Fiji Nationality in 1991, so he as well could face opponents from the Fiji Muslim League. Shaykh AbdulMu’eed on his own accord moved back to India in 2000.

His move to Australia

In July 1997, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad asked Rabitah Al-Alam Al-Islami to transfer him to Australia and they accepted so he moved in 1997 with his family to Australia. He started to work for the Islamic Culture Centre in Sidney. In 1988, he taught Arabic and Islamic studies in King Faysal School, which was attached to the Islamic Culture Centre, but due to differences in the administration of this centre, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad resigned from it in 2000.

Rabitah transferred him to Risalah College, and then this College took his services for the “Islamic Council of New South Wells”. He ran a program in public schools for 3 years under this Council.

In 2003, his services for the Rabitah were terminated maybe due to some plots, but Shaykh Rafee Ahmad decided to start his own publishing. He established Hara Publication and afterwards it became “DarusSalam”. They have a bookstore called Darussalam Islamic Bookstore Australia.

His daughter from his first wife was married to someone in New Zealand, and she and her husband both studied in Dr Bilal Philips Online University.

From his second wife, he had 4 sons:

Muaz Ahmad born in 1985

Fawaz Ahmad born in 1988

Fawzan Ahmad born in 1990

Farhan Ahmad born in 1994

Farhan Ahmad graduated from the Kuliyah of Hadith in Madinah University and is very active in teaching in Australia. He shares international platforms with world renowned speakers such as Shaykh Asim Al-Hakeem, Dr Muhammad Salah, Shaykh Hussain Yee, Shaykh Abu Usamah At-Thahabi, Shaykh Abu Taymiyah, Ustadh Adnan Rashid and others.

His writings

1) “Ustadh Muhtaram Molana AbdusSalam Madni, Hayat wa Khidmat”: Shaykh AbdusSalam Madni was his teacher in Jamiyah Salafiyah Banaras and he had studied the second part of Mishkat from him.

2) “Jab Eman ki Bahar Ai, Ek Jaizah”: This is the Urdu translation of Shaykh Abul Hasan Nadwi’s Arabic book “Iza Habat Rih Al-Eman” with a critical review of some if its facts. Shaykh Abul Hasan Nadwi mentioned in this book facts about the movements of Shaheedayn (Shaykh Ahmad Brelwi and Shaykh Ismaeel Dehlwi) but Shaykh Rafee Ahmad mentioned the many errors about some of these facts.

3) “Ruku’ ke ba’d Hath Bandhna, ek Ilmi Jaizah”: A book of 344 pages supporting the fact of not putting the hand on the chest after Ruku

4) “Mian Sayid Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi: Chand Ilzamat ka Tahqiqi Jaizah”: a 105 pages book refuting some allegation against Shaykh Nazeer Husayn Dehlwi

5) “Juhud Mukhalasah fi Khidmah As-Sunah Al-Mutaharah”: Shaykh Rafee Ahmad wrote an epistle in Arabic which was published in many parts in the magazine “Sawt Al-Ummah”. Shaykh Zohair Shawish published this epistle at the end of his publication of “Mishkat Al-Masabih” with the verification of Shaykh Albani, published by Al-Maktab Al-Islami

6) “Al-Khul’u”: Shaykh Rafee Ahmad wrote 6 articles on this topic in the magazine “Al-Huda” Darbanghah, which was then published in the form of a book

7) “At-Tanweer fi Mawlid Al-Basheer An-Nazeer”: Shaykh Rafee Ahmad did the Tahqiq of this book on the Seerah of Hafiz ibn Dihyah. This work will insha Allah be published after revision

With these books, Shaykh Rafee Ahmad authored many articles in different magazines “Al-Huda”, “Sawt Al-Ummah”, “Mohadis”, “Burhan”, “Tarjuman” and others.