asSalaamu Alaikum,

Imam Ahl al-Sunnah Mawlana Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan Safdar – by Shaykh Badrul Islam

Foreword

My first acquaintance with Hadrat Mawlana Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan Safdar sahib (may Allah sanctify his soul) was when Hadrat had come to the UK to attend a conference as the chief guest and also visited Leicester during that trip. It was the sheer grace of Allah that Hadrat’s host called me and requested that I should make all necessary arrangements whilst Hadrat was in Leicester. I took this opportunity as an honour for myself and made arrangements for his stay at my late father’s residence.

This was my first meeting with the honourable Hadrat Mawlana Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan Safdar sahib and thereafter my love and respect for this luminary only increased as I continuously learnt of his academic status through his works, publications and other leading luminaries.

The honourable Hadrat has been amongst those great scholars from whom I have longed to seek ijazah in hadith, but have been unfortunate and this grief and sorrow will always remain with me. Mawlana Badrul Islam sahib, who has authored this short biography, is a graduate of Jamiʿah Dar al-ʿUlum at Karachi and a murid of the honourable Hadrat. Mawlana is a young academic ʿalim who has much love for our pious predecessors and elders and also has much love and respect for me. Due to this love, after the honourable Hadrat’s demise, I requested Mawlana to write an article for our monthly Magazine, Riyadul Jannah, which would concisely highlight the life of the honourable Hadrat.

It has always been my endeavour and desire that the biographies of the eminent ʿulama of the Indian subcontinent be written in English for the benefit of the English speaking masses who would otherwise be unable to realise the lofty status of these eminent scholars directly from their Urdu and Arabic works. I was pleased that Mawlana took up this request and now this short article has taken the form of a very informative yet concise booklet.

My knowledge and vision of the honourable Hadrat was that of an Islamic academic and a man of spirituality and piety. Despite having only one occasion of meeting him, my admiration and respect for the honourable Hadrat ever remained. Nevertheless, having read this book, many other aspects of the honourable Hadrat have now come to light and the sorrow of not having the opportunity of benefiting from his company only remains.

I pray that Allah Most High accepts this endeavour of Mawlana Badrul Islam sahib, makes it beneficial for the readers and a means of salvation for him and grants the honourable Hadrat a place in the Aʿla ʿIlliyyin. Amin.

Muhammad Saleem Dhorat^[1]
Islamic Daʿwah Academy
Leicester, UK.

1. Khalifah of Shaykh Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Ludhyanwi Shahid; founder and Shaykh al-Hadith, Jamiʿah Riyad al-ʿUlum; founder, Islamic Daʿwah Academy (Leicester, England); editor, Riyadul Jannah Magazine. [↩]

Courtesy of Deoband.org