After the demise of Imam Hamid al-Din Farahi, the responsibility of the Madrasah was entrusted to his younger brother, Haji Rashid al-Din. On December 14, 1930, this responsibility was handed over to him as an honorary position.
Acquisition of Education in Hadith
After the demise of his beloved teacher, while maintaining the affiliation with Madrasah Al- Islah, Amin Ahsan decided to pursue education of Hadith literature after completing the study of the Quran. Generally, it is believed that his initial motivation for this move was the command of his father. However, the truth is that Maulana had already decided to seek knowledge of Hadith from a reputable scholar after completing the Quran. So, he sought advice from his respected father and proceeded accordingly. He took discipleship of Maulana Muhammad Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Rahim Mubarakpuri, the commentator of Jam’ al-Tirmidhi. (Reference: Mabadi Tadabbur-e-Hadith)
Maulana Abdul Rahman Mubarakpuri excelled in the field of Hadith literature during his time. He was a student of Muhammad Nazir Hussain Dehlvi, a prominent Hadith scholar from Delhi. His chain of narration reached Shah Waliullah through Maulana Is’haq Dehlvi and Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlvi. Eventually, Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Ibrahim had granted permission to Shah WaliUllah in Mecca to narrate Hadith using his chain of narration.
When the respected scholar of Hadith, Maulana Mubarakpuri, learned that a young man, a graduate from Madrasa hal-Islah, desired to be his student, he graciously granted him permission to narrate the chain of Hadith after teaching him just one hadith. However, Islahi requested that he had not come to receive permission; he wanted to study Hadith in detail, lesson by lesson. Maulana Islahi explains that he requested, “Since you specialize in Jamiat-Tirmidhi, please teach from it.” Consequently, Maulana Mubarak puri taught the entire Jami at-Tirmidhi and also taught the explanation of Nukhbat al-Fikr in the principles of Hadith. Additionally, he imparted the skill of investigating the narrators.
It should be noted that Nukhbat al-Fikr is a book written by Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqalani on the science of Hadith, which is considered a classic in the field. And ‘rijal’ refers to the narrators from whom the Hadiths were transmitted.
Upon the completion of studies in the science of Hadith, MaulanaMubarakpuri awarded a copy of Jami` at-Tirmidhi, signed by himself, as a certificate to the young Amin Ahsan Islahi.
Maulana explains that after this studentship, a passion arose within him to write a commentary on one of the Sahihayn (Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim) in the light of all the Sahih books, which would pave the way for learners to confidently reflect on and research Hadith narratives. It was this determination and passion that led him to teach the complete Muwatta Imam Malik and selected parts of Sahih Bukhari in the later part of his life, after having written Tadabbur-e- Quran. This will be discussed in detail at the appropriate place later.
A teacher who changed lives
Maulana Islahi, during his tenure as the principal of Madrasahal-Islah, marked what is considered the golden era of the Madrasah. Among the students who acquired knowledge from this institution during this period was the distinguished religious scholar and author, Maulana Wahidud din Khan. He acknowledges that the education he received at the Madrasah played a fundamental role in changing his life. He has mentioned several of his teachers. Here, we recount some memories related to Maulana Amin Ahsan.
He says that Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi was his teacher for Tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and was also the principal of the Madrasah. One day, during a Quran lesson, they were discussing Verse 17 of Surah Al-Ghashiyah (88), “Do they not look at the camels, how they are created?” During the discussion, he asked the students whether the camel’s hoofs are split or fused – are they like those of cows or like those of horses?
MaulanaWahiduddin Khan says that at the time, there were twenty students in the class, but no one knew whether camels’ hoofs were split or not. Everyone was answering based on his whims without being certain of his answer.
Afterwards, the respected teacher made a speech. He said, “Your answers indicate that you do not know about the nature of camel’s hoofs.” Then he quoted an Arabic saying, “La adrin isf al’ilm” (Not knowing is half of knowledge). Explaining this, he stated: If you were aware of your ignorance about the camel’s hoofs, you would have half the knowledge because this realization would spur a desire to complete your knowledge about how their hoofs are formed.
Maulana Wahidud din Khan says that this incident at the Madrasah was so impactful that it became a general disposition for him to recognize his ignorance in all matters so that he could convert it into knowledge. This passion for scholarly pursuit was instilled in him from the beginning at the Madrasah, and later, he read some books by Western scholars on the subject, such as ‘Spirit of Inquiry.’ From this recount, it becomes apparent that the very spirit of curiosity is the foundation of all scholarly advancements. A famous example is that thousands of people had seen an apple fall from a tree, but they were not aware of their ignorance in this matter. Therefore, they remained unaware of its reality. Newton was the first person who acknowledged his conscious ignorance in this matter, and as a result, he moved from not knowing to knowing. Maulana Wahidud din writes in his autobiography “Ayyam e Zindagi(Days of Life)” that this was an extremely important lesson he received from his life in the Madrasah (p. 194).
In the book, he goes on to explain: I am entirely a product of the Madrasah. If someone considers me a successful person, they should know that my success is entirely due to the Madrasah. Here, I received the consciousness and values that guided me at every step in the struggle of life. (Al- Risalah, September 2000, pages 60-61)
At another place, he writes:
When I was studying in the Madrasah, the supervision of congregational prayers was carried out by a senior teacher of the Madrasah, the late Maulana Akhtar Ahsan Islahi. He would come to the hostel immediately after the Fajr call to prayer and wake up the students. It was during my youth. I used to have difficulty waking up. Hence, the late Maulana used to say about me: ‘He sleeps very deeply.’
I remember that one day, worshippers stood in rows in the spacious and open courtyard of the mosque. It was probably the Isha prayer. Suddenly, a snake entered the mosque. It was passing through the rows from behind, where shoes were kept. Although the snake wasn’t very large, a snake is a snake. But I saw that the entire congregation didn’t panic. People stood firmly in their places, and the snake passed through the midst of the people and went out.
In this incident, it seemed to me as if I experienced an observational experiment that how prayer instills discipline within a person.” (Awraq-e-Hayat, 194)
Describing how he developed this quality, he writes:
Once, after prayers, the head teacher, late Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi stood up to speak in the mosque. He said that the prayer teaches mankind to act collectively. This is not only limited to the mosque, but people are also supposed to live their life outside the mosque with the same order and unity. He was an excellent speaker. While speaking, he quoted a few nouns constructed on the verb form tafā‘ul (Form 3), a form which gives the sense of participation by more than one person in the act. For example, the terms taking this form include: tawāfuq (mutual harmony), tashāruk (sharing), ta‘āmul(interaction), etc. Then like a rhetorician, Islahi said: Repeat all the derivatives of the verb form Tafa’ul.
Those familiar with my temperament know that I possess a considerable degree of organization and discipline within me. Discipline has become inherent to my nature. This temperament of mine is largely the result of the continuous training I received during my time at the madrasah (Awraq-e-Hayat, 199).
To be continued…