Family Sketch

The family of Alahazrat is a dynamic one. It is a family of Ulama (Islamic savants). It is a family of blue blood. His grandfather, Hazrat Riza Ali Khan (d.1282/1866) was a great Islamic saint and savant of his time. He fought for the freedom of Indian Muslims in 1857. His father, Hazrat Naqi Ali Khan (d.1297/1880) was a renowned scholar and was author of twenty-five books on Islam. One can imagine the magnitude of his knowledge from a single fact that one of his books "Tafseer Alam Nashrah" published from Pilibhit being a commentary of a small surah of Holy Qur‘an consisting of only eight ayats (verses), is spread over more than three hundred pages.  

Alahazrat was born at Bareilly (India) in 1272/1856. Alahazrat completed his educational career under his father as well under famous scholars like:  

1. Shaykh Ahmad bin Zayn Dahlan Makki (d.1299/1881)

2. Shah Al-i-Rasul (d.1297/1879)

3. Shaykh Abd al-Rehman Makki (d.1301/1883)  

4. Shaykh Hussain bin Saleh (d.1302/1884)

5. Shah Abu al-Hasan Ahmad (d.1324/1906)

Alahazrat was astonishingly well versed in more than fifty branches of learning pertaining to Ancient Sciences, Modern Sciences, Current Sciences and Oriental Learnings and left contributions in all these academic disciplines. In 1294/1827 he went with his father to visit Sayyid Shah Al-i-Rasul (d.1297/1879). He was admitted to the Qadiriyya Sufi Order and was permitted to enroll and train neophytes. He had similar authority in thirteen other orders.

In 1295/1878 he went with his father for the first pilgrimage and got diplomas from famous Arab scholars at Mecca. In 1323/1905 he proceeded for his second pilgrimage. During his stay at Mecca and Madina, he won the respect of noted scholars who visited him and received from him diplomas and Fatawa.    

On 14th Sha‘ban 1286/1869 he started issuing Fatawa and gave verdicts on Muslim jurisprudence. At that time he was only a boy of less than 14 years. Afterwards he attained such eminence in this field that the scholars of the Indo-Pak subcontinent and also of the Islamic World acknowledged him as a great Jurist. He had full command over Muslim Jurisprudence so much so that he differed in certain verdicts with the great Islamic savants like Allama Shami, Allama Tahtawi, Shah Wali Ullah etc. Ahmad Riza Khan gave verdicts (Fatwas) for more than half a century (from 1286/1896 - 1339/1921) and completed his mission. He died on Friday 25th Safar 1340/1921, and was buried at Bareilly (U.P., India) His death anniversary is commemorated all over the Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent on 24th and 25th Safar, and special issues of newspapers and periodicals are published.  

Ahmad Riza Khan had two son and five daughters. His sons Mawlana Hamid Riza Khan (d.1362/1934) and Mawlana Mustafa Riza Khan (d. 1402/1981) are celebrated savants of Islam. They rendered great services to Islam and the Muslim Nation in India.

His elder son, Hazrat Hamid Riza Khan (Many Allah bless him.) was a great savant, orator, author and poet. He was such a master of argumentation that he was called "Hujiat al-Islam" (Argument of Islam). His younger son, Hazrat Mustafa Riza Khan (May Allah bless him) was such a great Mufti that he was called ‘Mufti-i-‘Azam’ (Mufti the great) of India. The grandson of A‘lahazrat, Hazrat Ibrahim Riza Khan Jilani (May Allah bless him) was such a great Mufassir that he was called ‘Mufassir-i-‘Azam’ (Commentator the great) of India. After the demise of Hazrat Mawlana Ibrahim Riza Khan in 1385/1965 his son, Mawlana Muhammad Rehan Riza Khan became his successor. After his death in 1405/1985 his son Mawlana Muhammad Suleman Riza Khan was his successor and at present is the Sajjada Nishin of Khanqah-i-Rizawyya, Bareilly (India). And the great grandson of A‘lahazrat, Hazrat Allama Akhtar Riza Khan Azhari is the acting Mufti-i-‘Azam of India. (To all its greatness, the family of A‘lahazrat has been issuing Fatwas (Islamic verdicts) for the last one hundred and fifty years uninterruptedly.) We hope that Allama Akhtar Riza Khan will safeguard the unity and integrity of Ahl-i-Sunnah with juristic sagacity and will encourage those individuals and institutions, which are working for the cause of Ahl-i-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘a and imparting the message of A‘lahazrat.    

His Caliphs

Ahmad Riza Khan’s Caliphs are spreading far and wide all over India and Pakistan and also in the Islamic World. There are nearly 35 in the Islamic World and more than 30 in the Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent. These are the leading ones:  

Muslim World

1. Shaykh Muhammad Abd al-Hayy.

2. Shaykh Ahmad Khalil

3. Shaykh Ahmad Khuzravi

4. Shaykh Muhammad Bin Abi Bakr

5. Shaykh Muhammad Sa‘id, etc.  

India and Pakistan

1. Mawlana Hamid Riza (d.1362/1943)

2. Mawlana Mustafa Riza Khan (d.1402/1981) (ii) Mufti Diya al-Din (d.1402/1981)

3. Mawlana Muhammad Zafar al-Din (d.1382/1962)

4. Mawlana Didar Ali (d.1354/1935)

5. Mawlana Amjad Ali (d.1367/1948)

6. Mawlana Muhammad Na‘im al-Din (d.1367/1948)

7. Mawlana Shah Sulayman Ashraf (d.1352/1933)

8. Mawlana Sayyid Ahmad Ashraf (d.1344/1925)

9. Mawlana Muhammad Abd al-Alim Siddiqi etc.etc.

10. Mawlana Sayyid Ahmad Abu al-Barakat. (d.1398/1978)

11. Mawlana Burhan al-Haq (d.1405/1985)
     

Ahmad Riza Khan was a genius of a writer. He started writing from his early age. His first book was the Arabic commentary of Hidaya al Nahav which he wrote at the age of ten years. The second book was Zau‘al-Nihaya in Arabic which he wrote in 1285/1868 at the age of thirteen. He wrote numerous books and treatises in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu on diversified topics. These are estimated to be more than 1000 on more than 50 branches of knowledge.    

Among his works are included the following:  

Logic: Maqami‘ Al-Hadid (1304/1886)

Fractions: Ata‘b al-Iksir (1296/1878)

Geometry: Al-Ashkal al-Uqlaydis (1306/1888); A‘ali al-Ataya (1319/1901); Ajmal al-Da‘ra (1320/1902)

Arithmetic: Azm al-Bazi (1319/1901); Kalam al-Fahim (1319/1901); Jadawil al-Riyadi (1319/1901); Al-Mauhibat (1319/1901); Al-Budur (1323/1905); Kitab al-Arithmatiqi (1325/1907)

Astronomy: Aqmar al-In-Shirah (1319/1901); Al-Surah al-Mudjaz (1319/1901); Al-Kalimat al-Mulhima (1338/1919); Fauz-i-Mubin (1339/1920); Nuzul-i-Ayat-i-Furqan (1339/1920); Djada al-Tulu (1925/1907)

Timing: Al-Anjab al-Aniq (1319/1901); Kashf al-Ula (1324/1906); Dur al-Qubh (1326/1908)

Horoscopism: Musaffir al-Matal (1324/1906)  

Astrology: Zaki al-Baha (1325/1907)

Algebra: Hal al-Mu‘adilat (1325/1907)

Cipher: Al-Thawaqib al-Rizawiyya (1321/1903); Al-Jadawil al-Rizawiyya (1321/1903); Al-Ajwiba al-Rizawiyya (1321/1903)

Poetry: Hada‘q-i-Bakhshish (1325/1907)

Phonetics: Al-Djam al-Dad (1317/1800)

Chemistry: Al-Matr al-Sa‘id