From UP Hindu Brahmin Family to Top Islamic Scholar : Sheikh Zia ur rahman al azami

Born in 1943 in a hardcore Brahmin Hindu family of Bilarya Ganj, a village located in the district of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh as Banke Lal, died as great scholar of Islam in the holy city of Madinah on the day of Arafat on July 30.Indeed Allah guides whom he wills and Allah honors whom he wills.

We were discussing about the great Muhaddith and realised that his story needs to be told.No one could guess that a boy born in a Hindu family one day would become the teacher of Hadith at the Prophet’s Mosque. Indeed, Professor Azmi belongs to the group of born brilliant for whom the wheel of fortune must complete another rotation before the world is able to appreciate their tremendous contributions.

He was laid to rest in Al Baqi al Gharqad, near the graves of the family and companions of the Prophet Muhammad, had converted to Islam when he was just 18.

Shaykh Azmi had completed his undergraduate studies at the Islamic University of Madinah. He was the first Hindu convert to be accepted to Madinah. He obtained his Master’s degree from King Abdul Aziz University in Makkah, which later became known as Umm al-Qura University. Azmi went on to attain his PhD from al-Azhar University, Cairo. In recognition of his outstanding knowledge on Hadith, he was appointed as a professor at the Faculty of Hadith at the Islamic University of Madinah. He undertook several academic and administrative positions, including at the Muslim World League in Makkah until he became the Dean of the Faculty of Hadith at the Islamic University of Madinah .

Prof Zia ur-Rahman Azmi retired as Dean of Faculty of Hadith at the famous Islamic University of Madinah. After retirement, he was appointed as a teacher at the Prophet’s Mosque by the decree of the Head of the Prophet’s Mosque Affairs in the year 2013.

Books authored by Shaykh Zia ur rahman al azami

1. Although Professor Azmi has authored dozens of books on various important Islamic topics, his voluminous compilation of authentic Hadith titled “Al-Jami’ al-Kamil fi al-Hadith al-Sahih al-Shamil” is considered the most important. It is one of the most comprehensive books on Hadith by a single scholar since the dawn of Islam. Azmi has taken pain to collect the authentic Hadiths dispersed in numerous classical books.It is made up of more than 20 volumes, containing about 16,000 Hadiths dealing with various issues such as creeds, rulings, worship, biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him), chapters of jursiprudence, interpretation of the Glorious Qur’an and many more.
2. His Master’s thesis titled “Abu Hurayrah in the Light of his Narrations” refutes the accusations made by some which questions the authenticity of Hadith. The PhD dissertation of Azmi was on “The Judgment of the Prophet”.
3. In his book “From Ganga to Zamzam” in Urdu, Azmi narrates the story of his conversion to Islam and the hardships he had to go through. His text book “Comparative Study of Judaism, Christianity and Indian Religions” is part of the higher studies syllabus at various Saudi universities. Currently, he is engaged in penning comparative study of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism which will be published soon.
4. According toMuslim World Journal, Shaikh Zia-ur-Rahman authored an internationally recognised book titled “Quran Encyclopedia” which classified and explained the words of the Quran in alphabetic order. The book was translated into other languages.

Ref :Saudi Gazaette and other News sources.