Kifayatullah Dehlavi

Kifayatullah Dehlawi (also known as Mufti Kifayatullah; c. 1875c. 31 December 1952), was an Indian Islamic scholar and a Hanafi jurist, who served as the second rector of the Madrasa Aminia. He was appointed as an interim president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind on its foundation, and as its second president following the death of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. He was regarded as the Grand Mufti of India.

He was a founding member of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and was on its foundation committee, which was headed by Mahmud Hasan Deobandi.

Lineage Dehlawi’s family had shifted from Bhopal to Shahjahanpur. Dehlawi‘s father, Inayatullah, had four sons and two daughters and was poor. At the age of five, he commenced his education at the maktab of Hafiz Barakatullah. There, he completed the Qur'an and obtained instruction in Urdu and elementary Persian from Nasimullah. Thereafter, he enrolled at Madrasa 'Azeeziya. There, he completed his Persian studies, studying the most advanced kitab of Persian, Sikandar Naama, and commenced his Arabic studies under Budhun Khan. Then, Dehlawi was sent with a letter of recommendation from his teacher, 'Ubaidul Haq, to the administrator of the Madrasa 'Arabiya at Shahi Masjid in Muradabad. He was admitted and remained at the residence of Muhammad Isma'il. Since his father was poor, Dehlawi covered his educational expenses by weaving and selling topis. He studied there for two years. Dehlawi then enrolled at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1895. Because of his memory and intelligence, he did not exert as much effort but quickly overtook his classmates and earned the highest marks on his examinations. He completed his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband in 1898 He also drafted a fatwa recommending a boycott of British goods which was signed by around 500 Muslim scholars.

Literary career From an early age, Dehlawi enjoyed reading and writing. His first major endeavour was the magazine, Al Burhan, which he wrote in refutation of the Qadiyani beliefs. His second major work was an Arabic poem, Raudur Rayyaahin, published in 1909. It was first presented at the annual convention of Madrasa Aminia in 1908. The eloquence and grandeur of the poem were such that Dehlawi was requested to produce an Urdu translation with footnotes, providing more details than and explaining difficult words from the original. Dehlawi’s most renowned publication is Ta'limul Islam, four volumes of questions and answers for children as well as adults in simple language. The 4 volumes can be considered as 4 modules of a course in which a student gets a basic certificate on the 1st, an intermediate degree on the 2nd, a diploma degree on the 3rd, and a professional degree in Taleem ul Islam on completion of all volumes/modules. Dehlawi wrote other religious books which are no longer available. He actually produced few works because his teaching, political activities, domestic activities, and answering fatwas busied him to such an extent that he had no time to write.

Final years and death During his final years, due to what he saw as the deterioration of morality in society, clashes between Hindus and Muslims, and other reasons, Dehlawi withdrew from politics and became reclusive, not even giving public comment.

In his final months, he suffered severe liver illness, despite medical treatment. On 31 December 1952, he died at the age of 77. He was buried near Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, in Mehrauli, Delhi. His funeral was attended by 100,000 people.

Students Dehlawi‘s students include Muhammad Taqi Amini, Izaz Ali Amrohi. Hazrat Molana Allah Yar Khan, Chakrala Pakistan.