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{{Short description|Pakistani Sunni scholar (1899–1974)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = '''[[Sheikh al-Hadith]]'''<br>[[Mawlānā]]
| name = Idris Kandhlawi
| native_name = ادریس کاندھلوی
| native_name_lang = ur
| image = Idris Kandhlawi.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| birth_place = [[Bhopal]], [[Bhopal State]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|8|20|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|7|28|1899|8|20|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Lahore]], Pakistan
| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|[[Mazahir Uloom]]|[[Darul Uloom Deoband]]}}
| module = {{Infobox religious biography
| embed = yes
| religion = Islam
| denomination = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]
| jurisprudence = [[Hanafi school|Hanafi]]
| movement = [[Deobandi movement|Deobandi]]
| main_interests = {{Unbulleted list|[[Hadith studies]]|[[Quranic studies]]}}
| notable_works = {{unbulleted list|''[[Maarif al-Quran (Kandhlawi)|Maarif al-Quran]]''|''[[Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh ala Mishkat al-Masabih|Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh]]''|''[[Seerat-e Mustafa]]''}}
| teachers = {{unbulleted list|[[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]]|[[Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri]]|[[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]]|[[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]]}}
| disciples =
| influences =
| influenced =
| students = [[Harun Islamabadi]]
}}
}}
'''Idris Kandhlawi''' ({{langx|ur|ادریس کاندھلوی}}; 20 August 1899 – 28 July 1974) was a Pakistani [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] scholar during the mid-twentieth century, widely recognized for his contributions to various fields of [[Islamic studies]], including hadith, [[Quranic studies]], [[Fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]], [[Prophetic biography]], and theology. Holding the titles of [[Sheikh al-Hadith]] and Sheikh al-Tafsir, he traced his lineage to [[Abu Bakr]] on his father's side and [[Umar]] on his mother's side. He studied in [[Thana Bhawan]] under [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]]. He studied hadith, first at [[Mazahir Uloom]] under [[Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri]], and later at [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] under [[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]]. He started his professional career at [[Madrasa Aminia]] and later went to Darul Uloom Deoband. In 1929 he took a position in [[Hyderabad State]], where he had access to the [[State Central Library, Hyderabad|Asafia Library]]. This experience enabled him to produce a five-volume Arabic commentary on ''[[Mishkat al-Masabih]]'' titled [[Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh ala Mishkat al-Masabih|''Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh'']], of which the first four volumes were published in [[Damascus]]. His scholarly work garnered recognition in the [[Arab world]]. He later assumed the roles of Sheikh al-Tafsir at Darul Uloom Deoband and Sheikh al-Hadith wa al-Tafsir at [[Jamia Ashrafia]]. In addition, he served as the Chancellor of [[Islamia University of Bahawalpur]] during its tenure as Jamia Abbasia.

He actively engaged in politics and worked in the [[Pakistan Movement]] as one of the top members of [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]]. Following the [[partition of India]], he migrated to Pakistan. He wrote over a hundred works, including an eight-volume Quran commentary called [[Maarif al-Quran (Kandhlawi)|''Maarif al-Quran'']], which aimed to counter the influence of Western-oriented exegesis trends in South Asia. His approach to writing this Quran commentary drew from the methodology of ''[[Bayan al-Quran]]''. He also wrote a biography in Urdu of [[Muhammad]], called ''[[Seerat-e Mustafa]]''. The initial three volumes were printed in 1941, with the final volume, designed as a supplement, published in Deoband in 1966. He also wrote many works to refute Christianity and [[Qadiani|Qadianism]].

==Name and introduction==
In the introduction to one of his works, he introduces himself as "[[Hafiz (Quran)|Hafiz]] Muhammad Idris ibn [[Maulana]] Hafiz Muhammad Ismail Kandhlawi, Siddiqi by ''nasab'' (lineage), Hanafi by ''[[madhhab]]'' (school of jurisprudence), and Chishti by ''mashrab'' (spiritual disposition, lit. 'spring')."<ref name="siddiqi">{{Cite book |last=Muḥammad Miyān̲ Ṣiddīqī |title=تذکرہ مولىٰنا محمد ادریس کاندھلوی / Taz̲kirah-yi Maulānā Muḥammad Idrīs Kāndhlawī |date=July 1977 |publisher=Maktabah-yi ‘Us̲mānīyah Jāmi‘ah Ashrafīyah |location=Lāhaur |language=Urdu}}</ref><ref name="idris">{{Cite book |last=Muḥammad Idrīs Kāndhlawī |title=معارف القرآن / Ma'āriful-Qur'ān |date=2001 |publisher=Maktabah al-Ma‘ārif Dārul-‘Ulūm Ḥusainīyah |volume=1 |location=Shahdādpūr |language=Urdu |chapter=مقدمہ / Muqaddimah |trans-chapter=Introduction |orig-year=1963}}</ref> Elsewhere, in one of his Arabic works, he writes, "as-Siddiqi al-Faruqi by ''nasab'', al-Bawfali by birth and origin, al-Kandahlawi by home, al-Hanafi by ''madhhab'', an-Naqshbandi, al-Mujaddidi."<ref name="siddiqi" />

He was [[Siddiqi]] on his father's side, tracing his ancestry to [[Abu Bakr as-Siddiq]],<ref name="siddiqi" /><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name="saad">{{Cite book |last=Muḥammad Sa‘d Ṣiddīqī |title=مولانا محمد ادریس کاندھلوی : احوال وآثار|chapter=مولانا محمد ادریس کاندھلوی : احوال وآثار / Maulānā Muḥammad Idrīs Kāndhlawī: aḥwāl o ās̱ār}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=معارف القرآن / Ma'āriful-Qur'ān| volume=1|date=2001|publisher=Maktabah al-Ma‘ārif Dārul-‘Ulūm Ḥusainīyah|location=Shahdādpūr|author=Muḥammad Idrīs Kāndhlawī|language=Urdu}}</ref> while on his mother's side he was [[Farooqi]], claiming descent from [[Umar ibn Khattab]].<ref name="siddiqi" /> Thus he referred to himself as both Siddiqi and Faruqi. He adhered to the [[Hanafi]] school of ''[[fiqh]]'' (Islamic jurisprudence) and his ''[[tariqah]]'' (order) in [[Sufism]] was the [[Chishti|Chishtiyah Sabiriyah]], which incorporates several orders, including the [[Naqshbandi|Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah]]. He was born in [[Bhopal]] and so he was "al-Bawfali" (Urdu: Bhopali). However he is commonly known by the ''[[Nisba (onomastics)|nisbat]]'' "[[Kandhlawi]]", referring to his home, [[Kandhla]], a north-Indian town known for producing many [[Islamic scholar]]s. A descendant of [[Mufti]] Ilahi Bakhsh Kandhlawi,<ref name="siddiqi" /><ref name=saad/> his ''[[nasab]]'' (patronymic) is as follows: Muḥammad Idrīs ibn Muḥammad Ismā‘īl ibn Muḥammad Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad Abul-Qāsim ibn Ilāhī Bak͟hsh.<ref name="siddiqi" />

==Birth and early life==
Kandhlawi was born on 12 Rabi ath-Thani 1317 [[anno hegirae|AH]] ({{circa}} 20 August 1899), the son of Maulana Muhammad Ismail Kandhlawi (d. 1942<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=idris/>), in [[Bhopal]], capital of the princely [[Bhopal State]].<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari">

{{cite book|title=اکابر علماء دیوبند / Akābir 'Ulamā'-i Deoband|year=1999|publisher=Idārah-yi Islāmiyāt|location=Lāhaur|author=Muḥammad Akbar Shāh Buk͟harī|language=Urdu}}

</ref><ref name=saad/> Ismail, an Islamic scholar and a disciple of [[Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki]], worked in Bhopal in the State's Forest Department.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/> When Kandhlawi was a few years old, Ismail resigned from his post and began teaching hadith in the Jami Masjid in Kandhla. Kandhlawi grew up in a religious household. It was common for even the women in the family to know the Qur'an by heart.<ref name="siddiqi"/> As per the family tradition, Kandhlawi memorized the Qur'an, completing it with his father at the age of nine in Kandhla.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/>

==Education==
After Kandhlawi completed ''[[hifz]]'' (memorization) of the Qur'an, his father entrusted him to [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] for religious education at [[Khanqah]] Imdadiyah Ashrafiyah in [[Thana Bhawan]].<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/><ref name=rizvi>{{cite book|title=History of the Dar al-Ulum Deoband|volume=2 |year=1981|publisher=Idara-e Ihtemam, Dar al-Ulum|location=Deoband, India|author=Syed Mehboob Rizwi|others=Translated by Prof. Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi|author-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi}}</ref> At the [[madrasah]] there he completed his primary education in the [[Dars-i Nizami]] curriculum with Thanawi as well as with Maulana Abdullah Gangohi.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=saad/> Then, as Madrasah Ashrafiyah only had arrangements for the primary curriculum, Kandhlawi was admitted to [[Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur]] for further training in the Islamic sciences.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/><ref name=rizvi/> Thanawi took Kandhlawi to [[Saharanpur]] and presented him to [[Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri]]. At Mazahir Uloom his teachers included Maulana Saharanpuri, Maulana Sabit Ali, Maulana Abdul Latif, and Maulana Zafar Ahmad Usmani. After completing ''dawrah'' of hadith he received his ''sanad-i faraghat'' (certificate of completion) at the age of 19.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/>

Thereafter, Kandhlawi completed ''dawrah'' of hadith a second time at [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], with scholars including [[Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri]], [[Allamah Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]], Mufti Azizur Rahman Usmani, Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Nanautawi, Maulana Habibur Rahman Usmani, and Sayyid Asghar Husain Deobandi.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/><ref name=rizvi/> At Deoband his fellow students included [[Muhammad Shafi]] and [[Qari Muhammad Tayyib]].<ref name="sadat">Sadat, Saleem. In {{cite book|title=The Great Scholars of the Deoband Islamic Seminary|year=2013|publisher=Turath Publishing|location=London|isbn=9781906949266|author=Muhammad Taqi Usmani|authorlink=Muhammad Taqi Usmani|at=Footnote on pp.60–61|others=Translated by Abdul Rahim Qidawi, annotated by Saleem Sadat}}</ref>

==Career==
Kandhlawi spent the majority of his life in the service of institutions of Islamic learning. His career can be summarized as follows:<ref name="siddiqi"/>
* 1921–1922: Madrasah Aminiyah Delhi
* 1922–1929: [[Darul Uloom Deoband]]
* 1929–1939: Hyderabad State
* 1939–1949: [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] in the post of Shaykh at-Tafsir
* 1949–1951: Jamiah Abbasiyah Bahawalpur in the post of Shaykh al-Jamiah
* 1951–1974: [[Jamia Ashrafia]] Lahore in the post of Shaykh al-Hadith wat-Tafsir

===Madrasah Aminiyah===
Upon completing his education, in 1921<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/> / 1338 AH<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=saad/> he was appointed to his first teaching post at Madrasah Aminiyah, [[Delhi]].<ref name=rizvi/> This was during the time of [[Mufti Kifayatullah Dihlawi]]'s leadership at the madrasah.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/> However, after only one year, Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Nanautawi, ''muhtamim'' ([[vice-chancellor (education)|vice-chancellor]]) of [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], and Maulana Habibur Rahman Usmani, ''na'ib muhtamim'', ([[pro-vice-chancellor]]), invited Kandhlawi to teach at the Darul Uloom.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name="bukhari"/><ref name=saad/><ref name=rizvi/>

===First stint at Darul Uloom Deoband===
Kandhlawi began teaching at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1922. He was never assigned the elementary books; instead, the books initially assigned to him were ''Hidayah awwalin'' in Hanafi fiqh and ''Maqamat-i Hariri'' in Arabic literature.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=saad/> Later he was assigned to teach the hadith collection ''[[Mishkat al-Masabih]]''. ''[[Tafsir al-Jalalayn]]'' was also his responsibility.<ref name="siddiqi"/> He remained with the Darul Uloom for nine years. During this time he regularly delivered a lecture on the Qur'an after [[Fajr prayer]] in the madrasah's Naudarah building. Attended by both intermediate and advanced students, in these lessons difficult issues in tafsir, hadith, ilm al-kalam, and fiqh were discussed.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=saad/>

===Hyderabad State===
In 1929, due to disagreements with the Darul Uloom's leadership, Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani left the madrasah followed by other teachers and students. Kandhlawi left Deoband, taking up a post in [[Hyderabad State]], where he remained for approximately nine years.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=rizvi/> There, in addition to teaching, he engaged in the writing and compilation of various works, including ''at-Ta'liq as-sabih'', an Arabic commentary on ''Mishkat al-Masabih'' in several volumes. He had access to the Asafiyah Library, where he made use of books including a rare manuscript of at-Turbashti's ''sharh'' (commentary) of ''[[Masabih as-Sunnah]]'', said to be the only such manuscript in India at the time. Though much of his time in Hyderabad was spent in research and authorship he did continue to teach; he taught the hadith collection ''Mishkat al-masabih'' in its entirety several times. In Hyderabad State Kandhlawi met [[Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall]]. The two lived across from each other for some time and would often engage in conversation regarding Islam. Other friends and contacts included [[Manazir Ahsan Gilani]] and [[Abdul Bari Nadwi]], in whose gatherings many learned individuals would congregate. During his stay Kandhlawi also met [[Abul Ala Maududi]] and his brother Abul Khair Maududi, both with whom he remained in contact with until the end of his life.<ref name="siddiqi"/>

===Second stint at Darul Uloom Deoband===
In 1936 and 1937 He was twice invited to take up a post at Madrasah Islamiyah Arabiyah in [[Dabhel]], where Kashmiri and Usmani had shifted, but he refused both offers. However, in 1939 he was invited to take the post of Shaykh at-Tafsir at Darul Uloom Deoband by Usmani, who by then had returned to the Darul Uloom as ''sadr muhtamim'' ([[chancellor]]), and Qari Muhammad Tayyib, who was then ''muhtamim''. Kandhlawi accepted, although the salary was less than half of what he was receiving in Hyderabad.<ref name="siddiqi"/>

Thus in 1939 he returned to Darul Uloom Deoband as Shaykh at-Tafsir and remained there until 1949.<ref name="sadat"/> In addition to teaching ''Tafsir Ibn Kathir'' and ''Tafsir al-Baydawi'', the main books of the ''dawrah'' tafsir curriculum, he also taught ''Tafsir al-Jalalayn'', ''[[Sunan Abu Dawud]]'', and ''[[Tahawi]]''.<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=rizvi/> He also continued to conduct his regular Qur'an lecture.<ref name="siddiqi"/>

===Jamiah Abbasiyah Bahawalpur===
After the [[Partition of India|independence]] of [[Pakistan]] in 1947, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, who had migrated to Pakistan before independence, repeatedly called Kandhlawi to come to Pakistan. He decided to leave India in 1949, due to what he perceived as the worsening of conditions for Islam and Muslims in the country. In May 1949 he resigned from Darul Uloom Deoband and returned home to Kandhla. He received invitations from other institutions in India, which he refused. He was invited to take the post of Shaykh al-Hadith at [[Darul Uloom Hathazari]] in [[Chittagong]], [[East Pakistan]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]]). Despite the high salary, he also refused this offer since he wished to migrate to [[West Pakistan]].<ref name="siddiqi"/>

In October 1949 he was invited to [[Islamia University|Jamia Abbasia]] in Bahawalpur, West Pakistan.<ref name="siddiqi"/> Jamia Abbasia was an old university in the princely Bahawalpur State whose educational and administrative system was in need of reform.<ref name=rizvi/> The State's Ministry of Education had requested Shabbir Ahmad Usmani in the capacity of chancellor (''raʾīs al-jāmiʿah'') and Kandhlawi as vice-chancellor (''shaykh al-jāmiʿah'').<ref name="siddiqi"/><ref name=rizvi/> he assumed this post on 25 December. Apart from administrative responsibilities he taught ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'' and ''[[Tafsir al-Baydawi]]''.<ref name="siddiqi"/> Usmani, however, fell ill shortly after arriving in Bahawalpur and died there in December 1949.<ref name=rizvi/>

===Jamiah Ashrafiyah Lahore===
In August 1951 he resigned from Jamia Abbasia and went to the recently established [[Jamia Ashrafia]] Lahore at the request of Mufti Mahmud Hasan, the madrasah's founder and ''muhtamim''.<ref name="siddiqi"/> At Jamia Ashrafia he served as Shaykh al-Hadith wa-at-Tafsir and taught ''Sahih al-Bukhari'', ''[[Jami at-Tirmidhi]]'', and ''Tafsir al-Baydawi''.<ref name="sadat"/><ref name="siddiqi"/> He remained with the Jamia until the end of his life. He died in Lahore on the morning of 7 Rajab 1394<ref name=rizvi/> / 28 July 1974, and is buried there.<ref name=rizvi/>
== Publication ==
The period of his writing and authorship has spanned over more than half a century. His first work is the Arabic commentary on the famous book ''[[Al-Hariri of Basra]]'', which he wrote at the age of 21. The series of writing and authorship continued until fifteen days before his demise. In the span of fifty years, he wrote close to a hundred books. His writing can be classified into two categories. One category includes those written in a narrative style, not intended to highlight any particular group or theory. From a purely scientific and research point of view, it has clarified the path of [[Sunni Islam|Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah]]. The second category comprises those intending to present a particular group or theory. His publications include:
=== Quranic studies ===
==== Arabic ====
* ''Al-Fath Al-Samadi: Tawdih Tafsir Al-Bukhari:''
* ''Wail Al-Furqan 'ala Madhhab Al-Nu'man:''
==== Urdu ====
* ''[[Maarif al-Quran (Kandhlawi)|Maarif al-Quran]]:''
* ''Sharayat Mafar wa Mutarjam:''
* ''I'jaz Al-Quran:''
=== Hadith studies ===
==== Arabic ====
*''[[Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh ala Mishkat al-Masabih]]:''
*''Muqaddimah Al-Hadith:''
*''Munhah Al-Hadith Fi Sharh Al-Fiyah Al-Hadith:''
*Hujjit al hadith<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Khatoon |first=Aaisha |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |title=Aazadi ke Baad Hindustan ki Khidmaat e Hadith |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, [[Aligarh Muslim University]] |year=2017 |location=India |language=urdu |type=PhD |hdl=10603/364027 |page=176 |access-date=2023-10-24 |archive-date=2023-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024064943/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Al abwab wa at tarajim
*Al hairul zari
==== Urdu ====
*''Kalimatu Allah Fi Hayat Ruhi Allah:''
*''Al-Qawl Al-Muhkam:''
*''Lata'if Al-Hikam Fi Asrar Nazul 'Isa Ibn Maryam:''
*''Al-Din Al-Qayyim:''
*''Ahsan Al-Bayan Fi Mas'alah Al-Kufr Al-Iman:''
*''Nahayat Al-Adrak Fi Haqiqat Al-Tawhid:''
*''Walaa Shirk:''
*''Fath Al-Ghafur Sharh Manzumah Al-Qubur:''
*''Islam Aur Marzaiyat Ka Usooli Ikhtilaf:''
=== Historiography ===
==== Urdu ====
*''[[Seeratul Mustafa]]:''
*''Khilafat-e Rashida:''

== Legacy ==
{{Further|Bibliography of Idris Kandhlawi}}
In a Q&A on [[Darulifta-Deoband.com]], he was acclaimed as an great commentator and hadith scholar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=مولانا محمد ادریس کاندھلوی صاحب کون ہیں؟ جہاں تک مجھے علم ہے کہ شاید وہ تبلیغی جماعت کے بانی ہیں۔میں ان کی ایک کتاب لایا ہوں جس کا نام " عقائد الاسلام" ہے، یہ عقائد پر بہت اچھی مفصل کتاب ہے۔مجھے اچھی لگی، اس لیے میں نے لی ہے۔ |url=https://darulifta-deoband.com/home/ur/history-biography/61190 |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=darulifta-deoband.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Deobandis]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [[iarchive:Maktaba-Maulana-Muhammad-Idrees-Kandhlavi-ra|Works of Idris Kandhlawi]] at [[Internet Archive]]

{{Islamic scholars from Pakistan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandhlawi, Idris}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bhopal]]
[[Category:Scholars from Lahore]]
[[Category:20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:Deobandis]]
[[Category:Mazahir Uloom alumni]]
[[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Darul Uloom Deoband]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Jamia Ashrafia]]
[[Category:Students of Anwar Shah Kashmiri]]

Idris Kandhlawi - Revision history

ClaudiaEncarnaci at 13:47, 27 January 2026