Grand Mufti of India

The Grand Mufti of India is the most senior and influential religious authority of the Sunni Muslim Community of India.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The incumbent is Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad,^[7][8] general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama,^[9][10] who was conferred the title in February 2019 at the Gareeb Nawaz Peace Conference held at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, organised by the All India Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam.^[9]

Grand Mufti of India
Incumbent Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad since 24 February 2019
Office of the Grand Mufti of India
Style	Mufti Azam-e-Hind
Residence	Kozhikode
Seat	Daryaganj, New Delhi 28.6468054°N 77.2448409°E / 28.6468054; 77.2448409
Nominator	All India Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam, All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni
Formation	Mughal Empire[1][page needed]
Unofficial names	Musliyar
Website	Grand Mufti of India

Role

The Grand Mufti of Barelvi Indians is the Barelvi Islamic authority in the country appointed by Bareilvi community.^[11] His main role is to give opinions (fatwa) on Islamic legal matters and social affairs.^[12][13] The Grand Mufti is traditionally chosen from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam.^[14]

History

Mughal period

The first Grand Mufti of India, Shah Fazle Rasool Badayuni was appointed by the final Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Badayuni was a Hanafi scholar^[15] who had deep knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. His Urdu statements on Islamic subjects were published as Tariqi Fatwa, which later became famous. His grandson `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni followed him as the Grand Mufti.^[16][17]

British period

In the British ruling period, Islamic scholars noted Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi who was the spiritual leader of Indian Muslims, scholar and revivalist.^[18][19][20] Thousands of students and scholars were attracted to his works and requested him to become Grand Mufti, but he declined. He wanted to be engaged with educational revival and writing. Instead, his student Amjad Ali Aazmi was elected.^[21] His book on Hanafi fiqh, Bahar-e-Shariat became a reference on this subject. Along with him, Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri s/o. Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi was the Grand Mufti during Indira Gandhi's administration. He protested the Family Planning Program enacted by the government.

Grand Muftiship of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad

Main article: Grand Muftiship of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad

Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad was sworn in as the Grand Mufti of India on 24 February 2019 at the Ramlila Maidan. He became the first Grand Mufti from south India.^[8]

List of Grand Muftis of India

No.	Name (birth–death)	Madhhab	Place	Other works & activities	Notes
16th century - 17th century
1	ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni (21 August 1540 - 5 November 1615) ملا عبد القادر بدایونی (Arabic & Urdu)	Hanafi	Badaun	Author of Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (Arabic)	The Mughal emperor, Akbar, appointed him to the Muftiate in 1574 where he spent much of his career.
17th century
18th century
19th century
5	Shah Fazle Rasool Badayuni  (1 July 1798 - 8 August 1872) شاہ فضلِ رسول قادری بدایونی (Urdu, his native language), شاه فضل رسول قدري بدایونی (Arabic)	Hanafi	Badaun	Author of Tarikhi-Fatwa (Urdu)	Badayuni was appointed by the final Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar.
20th century
6	Kifayatullah Dehlawi (November 1882 - 31 December 1952) مفتی اعظم محمد کفایت اللہ دہلوی (Urdu, his native language), مفتی کفایت اللہ الدہلوی(Arabic)[22][23][24]	Hanafi	Shahjahanpur	Author of Kifayatul Mufti[25]
7	Amjad Ali Aazmi (November 1882 - 6 September 1948) صدر الشريعہ مفتى محمد امجد على اعظمى (Urdu, his native language), مفتى أمجد على أعظمى (Arabic)	Hanafi	Bareilly	Author of Bahar-e-Shariat (Urdu)
8	Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (18 July 1892, 1892 - 11 November 1981, 1981) مصطفٰی رضا خان قادری نوری (Urdu, his native language), مصطفى رضا خان القادري النوري (Arabic)	Hanafi	Bareilly	Author of Fatawa Mustawafiyah (Arabic)
20th century - 21st century
9	Akhtar Raza Khan (23 November 1943 - 20 July 2018) تاج الشریعہ اختر رضا خان (Urdu, his native language), مفتي اختر رضا خان (Arabic)	Hanafi	Bareilly	Founder of Jamiatur Raza and Author of Fatawa Taajush Shariah (Arabic)
21st century
10	Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (1970) ശൈഖ് അബൂബക്ർ അഹ്‌മദ്‌ (Malayalam, his native language), الشيخ أبوبكر أحمد (Arabic)	Shafi'i	Kozhikode	General Secretary of All India Muslim Scholars Association

See also

• Islam in India
• Grand Mufti
• Ahmad Raza Khan
• Amjad Ali Aazmi
• Mustafa Raza Khan
• Akhtar Raza Khan
• Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad

References

1. Bowering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia; Kadi, Wadad; Stewart, Devin J.; Zaman, Muhammad Qasim; Mirza, Mahan (28 November 2012). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-3855-4. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
2. Taneja, Parina (9 June 2020). "Grand Mufti Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmad on COVID19 pandemic: Follow social distancing while visiting public places". indiatvnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020. Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmad, Grand Mufti of India and President of the Islamic Community of India
3. "Kerala celebrates Bakrid adhering to COVID protocols". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020. Grand Mufti of India and President of the Islamic Community of India, Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar
4. "Closed-door celebration for Kerala Muslims on Eid". outlookindia.com/. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
5. "Eid al-Fitr 2020: Closed-door celebrations Muslims across Kerala, Mangaluru on Eid". Hindustan Times. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
6. "Muted Eid Celebrations". Gulf Times. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
7. Kumar, Ashwani. "Education is key to peace, says India's Grand Mufti". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020. Sheikh Aboobacker took charge as the Grand Mufti this February and holds the supreme authority to give fatwas in relation to Islamic religious matters in India.
8. "Kanthapuram elected as new Grand Mufti". Mathrubhumi. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019. Kanthapurm will be the supreme leader of Muslim community who believe in various madhab of Sunni and Sufi sects.
9. "Kanthapuram selected Grand Mufti of India". The Times of India. The Times Group. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
10. "تعيين الشيخ أبوبكر أحمد مفتيا للهند" [Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmed Elected as Grand Mufti of India]. العين الإخبارية (in Arabic). ISSN 2521-439X. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
11. "Muslim Women Shouldn't Raise Slogans Against CAA, Says Grand Mufti. Moral Policing Never Stops!". The Times of India. 28 January 2020. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020. 88-year-old Kanthapuram was last year appointed as India's Grand Mufti, the senior-most Islamic cleric in a country.
12. Pickles, Katie (12 February 2020). "A mufti day is enormous fun. But time to give it a new name". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad is the Indian Islamic community's current most senior religious authority. Mufti interpret Islamic law and then issue fatwa (legal opinion).
13. "Kanthapuram Grand Mufti of Sunnis in India". The Hindu. 27 February 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020. Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar has been made Grand Mufti, the top authority to give non-binding advice and opinion on Islamic jurisprudence and religious practices of the Sunni sects in India.
14. Mulla, Malikarehana A. "6" (PDF). Sects and sub sects among the Muslims of Karnataka with special reference to North Karnataka a study. p. 221. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020. In India, the Grand Mufti is traditionally from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam presently Mihammad Akhtar Raza Khan is the Grand Mufti of India.
15. "History of Fazle Rasool Badayuni". ziaetaiba.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
16. "Chapter 12 – Akbar's Religious Views, as Described by Badauni". ibiblio.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
17. Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.Vol.1. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
18. Cesari, Jocelyne (14 April 2014). The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity, and the State. Cambridge University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-107-51329-7. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020. First, Sayyid Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (1856–1921) created a populist Islamic revivalist movement in the late 1800s.
19. Esposito, John L. (1 October 2018). Religion and Violence. MDPI. p. 5. ISBN 978-3-03842-143-6. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020. Sayyid Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (1856–1921) created a populist Islamic revivalist movement in late 1800s.
20. M Hassan, Imam; Hussain, Ibrar. "Comparative Study of 'Kanzul Iman' among other Famous Translation" (PDF). International Journal of Fundamental and Applied Research. ISSN 2320-7973. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020. He revived love and affection of the last prophet and his teachings. Seeing his works for the revival of Islam, he deserves to be called a revivalist of 20th Century.
21. "History of Amjad Ali Azami". ziaetaiba.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
22. Mufti Azam Hind, Maulana Kifayatyullah Shahjahanpuri Thumma Dehlawi (2005 ed.). Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library.
23. Maulana Habibur Rahman Ludhyanvi Aur Unki Tahrik Ahar E Islam Ek Tarikhi wa Tahqeeqi Jaiza Mohd. Irfan, Aligarh Muslim University
24. A Biography Of Mufti Kifaayatullaah Dehlavi. p. 20. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
25. "Kifayatrul Mufti". archive. Retrieved 26 March 2020.

• Special Correspondent, New Age Islam (6 April 2019). "Appointment of Two 'Grand Muftis' In India at the Same Time Reeks Of an Internal Conflict and Rivalry within the Indian Muslim Barelwi Leadership". New Age Islam. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

Further reading

• The first Interview with the Grand Mufti after the swearing by Ashwani Kumar of Khaleej Times: Kumar, Ashwani (23 April 2019). "Education is key to peace, says India's Grand Mufti". Khaleej Times (Interview). Interviewed by Ashwani Kumar. Abu Dhabi: Galadari Printing and Publishing. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
• The second Interview with the Grand Mufti after the swearing by Berita Harian: Arifin, Latifah (19 April 2019). "Rujuk pertikaian agama kepada ulama berkredibiliti, diiktiraf". Berita Harian (Interview). Interviewed by Latifah Arifin. Malaysia. Retrieved 19 September 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Profile of the Grand Mufti at World Sufi Forum's website Archived 8 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
• Grand Mufti of India on Facebook
• Grand Mufti of India on Twitter
• Grand Mufti of India's channel on YouTube