Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi re-affiliated with Madrasah al-Islah in 1925. He became a teacher at the madrasah and was particularly a disciple of his esteemed teacher, Imam Hamiduddin Farahi. He remained associated with his academic mentor until 1944. This association can be divided into two periods:
First: The period until the life of Imam Farahi, which extends until November 11, 1930, the day of his teacher’s demise.
Second: Until 1944, the period of affiliation with the madrasa. During this time, he conducted the publication of the monthly Al-Islah under the supervision of Darul Musannifeen Shibli Academy and translated the works of Imam Farahi into Urdu. He also served as the editor of this journal and as the president of the madrasa.
Direct Disciple of Imam Farahi
Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi informed us that originally Imam Farahi’s plan was to personally teach him the Quran in his village Phariya. For this purpose, Farahi had instructed him to reside at his place. Dr. Sharfuddin Iṣlāḥī, describing the residence stated that Amin Ahsan was asked to stay in that prestigious house which Imam Farahi had specifically built near his residence for research and study purposes. He himself designed the layout of the house.
When this news reached other teachers and senior students of the madrasa, they felt deeply deprived. They formed a delegation and approached Imam Farahi. This delegation included Maulvi Saeed Ahmad and Ustaad Akhtar Ahsan Islahi. Initially, Imam Farahi did not respond positively, but when their insistence increased, he agreed. This incident, among many others, signifies Imam Farahi’s high expectations regarding Amin Ahsan.
Thus, this special course commenced in the madrasa. However, Amin Ahsan was assigned to a special mission in Malaysia. This trip aimed at gathering financial resources for the madrasa. Amin Ahsan was selected for this journey. Previously, when he worked for the newspaper “Madina”, Imam Farahi had specifically invited him to accompany him to Burma for a special purpose. It has been mentioned how, despite his desire, Amin Ahsan couldn’t accompany his teacher at that time. Now, when a similar tour was needed, Imam Farahi couldn’t find a more reliable disciple than him, and thus, Amin Ahsan was chosen for this journey. There could be multiple reasons for this choice, surely his excellent oratory skills and his ability to effectively communicate must have played a significant role. It is just like a poet has said:
In this delegation, along with Amin Ahsan, his other teachers Shibli Motakallam and Abdul Ahad Islahi were also present. This trip lasted for six months. It is presumed that this trip wasn’t initially intended to be that long. When it prolonged, Amin Ahsan’s friends and companion Akhtar Ahsan Islahi wrote a letter expressing concern for his well-being. In response, Amin Ahsan wrote:
Since this journey was to be made by sea route, Amin Ahsan clarified that due to the sea storm, travelling was not possible. However, Imam Farahi picked up on this literary statement and commented, “Amin seems to have become a linguist.”
At this point, it was not suitable to continue the Quran teaching for an extended period. Besides, the teacher had complete trust in his brilliant and capable student that he would easily fulfill this shortfall. The student who had become a top-notch Urdu scholar without studying it formally, and who had surpassed everyone by starting his education three years late, how could there be any doubt about his capabilities! Upon returning, Amin Ahsan saw that the Quran teaching had begun.
یکھابتکم قشع اک دوتسر رن ال د ہےاس وک یٹھچ ہن ےلم سج وک قبس اید ر
دنمسر یک رس وجیش ےک ایم اہبر ںیہ،آج لک رفس نکمم ںیہن۔
I have seen the extraordinary order of the school of love,
The one who learned a lesson did not receive a holiday.
“These are days of high tide in the ocean; travel is not possible these days.”
Foremost in Taking Precedence over Predecessors
Amin Ahsan’s in-laws lived in a village quite near Azamgarh, but according to the tradition of Rajpoot caste, staying there was not appropriate. That’s why he decided to reside in the Madrasah itself. His room was towards the south from Imam Farahi’s room. Imam Farahi had specifically chosen this room for him. It is evident from the circumstances that this decision was made so that Amin Ahsan could spend maximum time with him.
Dr. Sharfuddin Islahi had a particular attitude towards Maulana Islahi due to some reasons, and in “Zikr-e-Farahi ,” he engaged in some biased discussions by including some unrealistic impressions at various places. Surely, this detailing is not a pleasant action, but if necessary, it can also be commented upon. Despite joining this lesson late, the way Amin Ahsan displayed the warmth of his heart is an established fact. While retaining his natural inclination, he also finds himself compelled to admit that:
“Despite joining the class late, due to his intelligence, hard work, natural affinity, and interest, he quickly surpassed everyone. Witnessing this situation, Maulana Farahi often recited this saying of Jesus Christ, ‘Many who come last will be first, and the first last.'” (Zikr-e-Farahi 510)
Daily routines
Amin Ahsan taught the subjects of Arabic literature and Quranic exegesis in the madrasa. He recounts his daily schedule during those times, saying that his routines were well-defined and he adhered to them at any cost. He would wake up at three in the morning and engage in study after praying Tahajjud. He kept busy with three to four hours of daily teaching in the madrasa. After the Zuhr prayer, he would spend some time in Maulana Farahi’s room and ask questions about various Quranic topics. He had a close friendship with Farooq Naumani, the son of Maulana Shibli Naumani’s brother, Isaac Naumani. He would play football and volleyball with him in the evening. On days when playing sports wasn’t possible, he would make sure to go for a walk for an hour after Asr. he strictly adhered to going to bed at nine o’clock at night. In addition, he did not sleep during the day.
Amin Ahsan was a very serious kind of student. He had no habit of chatting with friends and acquaintances. He admitted that he was very miserly in meeting people. When someone came one day and complained to Imam Farahi, he said:
Service to the Teacher
Along with receiving abundant scholarly benefits from Imam Farahi, Amin Ahsan also considered serving him a privilege. Whenever possible, he would tidy up Imam Farahi’s room personally. Maulana says that Maulvi Akhtar Ahsan also tried to perform this service. Therefore, both were striving to obtain this privilege. Imam Farahi, on the other hand, did not like this at all. He would
He is a man preoccupied with himself. (As narrated by Maulana) tell them that they themselves deserved to be served. Imam Farahi had appointed a servant for cleaning, but the service from his students was merely an expression of affection and respect for the teacher.
Maulana explains that Imam Farahi would write annotations on his drafts with a pencil. He would sharpen the pencil himself such skillfully that the tip of the pencil would be sharp as a needle. Amin Ahsan desired to sharpen in the same manner or at least perform this service for his teacher. He mentions that once, when he tried to sharpen the pencil, the tip of the led broke.
While narrating this incident, he also pointed out that Imam Farahi’s refinement and good taste were evident from his general habits. It is said that the biggest demonstration of someone’s sophistication occurs when he eats mangos. When Imam Farahi ate mangos, he did so neatly with just three fingers, it was astonishing that even a fruit like a mango could be consumed with such finesse!
Scholarly Successor
Amin Ahsan was also aware that his teacher had great confidence in him. He says that he used to compile his drafts and arrange them under the relevant titles, especially at his teacher’s command. Hence, when shivering because of Parkinson disease affected his handwriting, he began to get this job done by someone else under his supervision. Now when the teacher Imam revisited the arranged draft, he recognized someone else’s handwriting. He said: I really liked your handwriting; why did you get someone else to do it? After clarifying the reason, he was satisfied. Obviously, this question was not merely about the beauty of the script. Certainly, it was a matter of trustworthiness, competence, and insight in which Amin Ahsan had no match in his teacher’s view. Keep in mind that later Maulana’s hand trembled significantly due to shaking, and he became completely unable to write. Some interesting incidents related to this will be mentioned later. (Insha’Allah)
The scope of Discipleship
The question is, to what extent did Amin Ahsan acquire knowledge from Farahi, his beloved teacher? Maulana himself answers this question in the following words:
“I stayed with him day and night for six full years. Perhaps there was hardly a morning or evening during these six years that I didn’t get the opportunity to have an open discussion with him about scholarly, religious, literary, and political issues; to understand his thoughts; and to present my doubts before him.” (Majmooah Tafseer Farahi 31)
Dr. Sharafuddin Islahi describes this oral narration from Maulana as follows:
“It was Allah’s favor on me that he personally invited me to learn the Quran from him. I spent complete five years with him. After his death, the path to understanding the Quran opened for me. Since then, the Quran has remained the center and focus of my interest. At the same time, I also studied those discussions of Arabic literature and philosophy related to the noble Quran. Alhamdulillah, I read the entire Quran, from Al-Fatiha to An-Nas. It was because of me that he started teaching in the madrasa.” (Zikr-e-Farahi 570)
The two statements show a difference of one year. It seems that Dr. Sharafuddin Islahi thought that Maulana spent six months in Malaysia, so it didn’t constitute a full six years. Thus, he subtracted a year from that period himself. However, counting both the years 1925 and 1930, it amounts to as many years. Therefore, Maulana wrote it as six years. Moreover, reducing the degree of elevated status is disrespectful and in poor taste, hence Maulana instead of mentioning five and a half or five and three-quarters years, stated it as six full years.
Maulana’s statement that he discussed every topic with his teacher is very clear. However, if we understand this with an example of an incident, the scenario becomes more obvious.
Maulana narrates: I was studying an Arabic Qasidah (ode). At one point, I couldn’t understand the ‘la’. I looked at all the commentators, including the commentary by Adib al-Hind Maulvi Faizul Hasan Saharanpuri, but I wasn’t satisfied with any interpretation. I took the book and presented myself before Imam Farahi. He was standing outside his study. I narrated my difficulty; he paused for a moment, took out the pencil from his pocket, and wrote on my book:
This narration is conveyed in the words of our respected teacher Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. The story indicates that while studying a collection of classic Arabic poetry, Maulana encountered the word ‘la’ in a verse that he couldn’t understand correctly. He was interpreting ‘la’ as it is generally understood to mean ‘not’. However, Imam Farahi explained to him that in that verse the word did not mean ‘negation’; rather, it was used to intensify the meaning.
In Urdu, we can understand this example from Ghalib’s verse:
In this verse, ‘na’ is used in the same sense Imam Farahi referred to. From this, we can well estimate that:
Amin Ahsan had no barrier in asking questions to his teacher, neither scholarly nor from the pressure of rank and status.
Observe the informality and sincere engagement, as the teacher himself recorded the solution to a student’s problem in his book.
La hiya nadirat.’ My dear, just as you people don’t say that may my death ‘not’ come at this hour, this is the same kind of ‘la’.
ایک رفض ےہ ہک بس وک ےلم اکی اس وجاب
کی آؤ ہن مہ یھب ریس رکںی وکہِ وُطر
Is it obligatory that everyone receives an identical response?
Let us also go for a stroll to Mount Sinai.
For example, consider the fact that in the same literary style, the student was provided the answer in the same language, making the understanding quite explicit like ‘Qat’i al-dalalah’.
While narrating this incident, Maulana Amin Ahsan commented:
I vividly remember that he narrated this incident several times and to many friends. When he recounted it, it seemed as though he was standing right beside his teacher and visualizing those moments with the eye of imagination. From this, one can well gauge the high standard of Amin Ahsan’s scholarly, literary, and ethical training.
This is why Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi writes:
“In his later years, the foremost endeavor of the deceased (Imam Farahi) was to prepare a few capable students according to his taste. Thus, he mentally trained at least two students in particular.” (Maarif: Issue January 1998, Maulana Ziauddin Islahi)
These two students are meant to signify Maulana Amin Ahsan and Maulana Akhtar Ahsan. Elsewhere, Maulana Ziauddin Islahi in the same article in ‘Maarif’ further clarifies that: “It is enough for the pride and distinction of Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi that he had the honor of succeeding Maulana Farahi and getting reputation of his most distinguished student, a right he adequately fulfilled. Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi’s statement is that some capable students fully benefited from Maulana Farahi’s lessons, among whom Moulvi Amin Ahsan Islahi is notable. Our future expectations are very much tied to him.”
Education in Politics and Philosophy
Apart from religious studies and Arabic, Amin Ahsan also studied some English books and political subjects with Imam Farahi. He mentions that he read Johann Kaspar Bluntschli’s book ‘Theory of the State’ chapter by chapter.
This book, by the German scholar Johann Kaspar Bluntschli, was first published in German in 1875 and then translated into English in 1895. It presents scholarly debate about the concept of the state and its development over time. Reading this book, which is about five hundred pages long, word for word means that the subjects within it were discussed thoroughly, with not only understanding its philosophical content but also language in focus. Maulana Islahi states that teaching from this book greatly helped him in writing his own book ‘Islamic State.’
In regards to philosophy, Maulana Islahi said that he studied several philosophical debates with the help of Imam Farahi. Dr. Sharafuddin Islahi testifies that:
“In the same era, besides the Quran, Islahi also studied certain branches of Arabic Literature and
The style of reaching the depths of language was solely a quality of my teacher alone.
Philosophy that were related to the Quran and its understanding. And obviously, this benefit must have been taken outside the regular circle of Quranic lessons.” (Page 510)
Study of Hadith
It seems that Amin Ahsan also benefited from Imam Farahi in understanding Hadith, in addition to the Quran, philosophy, and political science. He often narrated an incident regarding this. He said while reading Jamia Tirmidhi, with full confidence, he read ‘ََع َر’ with ‘kasra’ under ‘ر’. The teacher, Imam Farahi, interrupted:
‘ع ِرف ُأ ْع ِر ال أنا’ (meaning, I do not know of it being read with ‘kasra’ under ‘ر’).
Amin Ahsan insisted and confidently replied: ‘ع َرف ُأ ْع ِر لَف اَ أنا أما’ (And I do not know of it being read with ‘fatha’ on ‘ر’).
Imam Farahi said: ‘ۃَال ُل َرا ِجع’ (Check the dictionary).
Upon opening the dictionary, “Sihah” by Al-Jawhari, the teacher’s words were indeed found written there. Islahi felt taken aback a little, to which the teacher smiled and said: ‘ِو ِل ْل َجوا ،اس َتأ ِنف ۃِز َّل’ (Carry on, for even the finest horse may stumble).
Surely, the nature of learning was not as it was with the Quran. It is possible that he might have been reading Tirmidhi as a reader or looking at some excerpts from it.
The Conundrum of Predestination and Free Will
This is a problem that any student who prefers a satisfactory answer to suppressing his question might encounter. Maulana says that he too faced such confusion: If Allah Almighty knows the future actions of every human being, then how can He hold them accountable, knowing whether a person will commit a sin or perform a good deed? The knowledge of Allah certainly cannot be imperfect. Without a doubt, the person will do that action. So how can the person be held responsible for it?
Whether this question presented itself to him during his Madrasah student days or the period of tutelage under Imam Farahi is not made clear from the narrative by Dr. Sharafuddin Islahi or his recount before us. However, according to Dr. Sharafuddin, when Maulana informed that he went to Imam Farahi’s room and sat at the foot of his cot, Imam realized that there was some trouble, it suggests that it was probably a question from his second phase.
Maulana narrates that the teacher simply explained that Allah’s knowledge entails that the servant would perform that work out of his own choice, hence he will be answerable. Maulana says that this answer cleared his mind completely regarding this issue by the mere mention of a few words, namely ‘out of his own choice.’
Maulana highlighted an admirable trait of his teacher at this occasion. He said that Imam Farahi was so wise that he could easily address the confusion that was in the mind of the person he was speaking with.
Countering Atheistic Beliefs
Perhaps it was this occasion, or some other, when we asked Islahi about atheism, if he ever experienced any confusion in his mind regarding the existence of Allah the Almighty. He said that even in this matter, he had similar thoughts to that of his teacher, Imam Farahi. He said that at one point in his life, he had a fleeting doubt. When the question arose, he thought whether the universe can exist without God. The answer came that if this world was not bound by order, then it could be pondered upon. Just this argument made atheism an inconceivable matter for me. And I too was faced with this question just for a moment in life, and reason gave the answer that atheism is irrational. Similarly, on many occasions, Maulana would articulate his definitive statement: “Cause and effect are not arguments with reference to the existence of Allah the Almighty. This effect might appear ‘chaotic.’ However, I believe in a Living, Self-Subsisting, and All-Powerful Entity, whose attributes He has revealed to us in His Book, and which we can clearly observe in the universe.”
Affectionate Relationship with the Teacher
In this chapter, we find it sufficient to quote just one passage from our respected teacher, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi:
He used to tell … in the last days of Imam Farahi’s life, a prominent scholar in India declared one of his writings as blasphemous. This caused a wave of anxiety throughout the region. All the students and teachers of Madrasah al-Iṣlah were disturbed. It was a major incident for me as well. In this state of anxiety and disturbance, I ran in search of Imam Farahi towards his study. I saw the teacher Imam standing on the stairs. I ran to him and told him right there. Expecting some reaction from him in light of the distress I was in, he paused for a moment on the stairs, then moved forward saying: “Okay, the person you are talking about, he doesn’t know me.” I stood there, dumbfounded, watching him. Perhaps no more eloquent comment on this fatwa could ever be made than this. He would say with great passion: “Such was the personality of Imam Farahi, where will you find someone of his stature?”
Please note, the renowned fatwas of disbelief against Maulana Imam Farahi were issued twice. Once during his lifetime and the other after his death. The second fatwa will be discussed later.
To be continued