Muhaddith-ul-asr
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‘Muhaddith-ul-asr Hadhrat Maulana’ Sayyid Muhammad Yousuf
Banuri ((Rahimahullahu Ta’ala) He was born on Thursday, 6th Rabi-uth-Thaani, 1326 Hijjri, corresponding to the year 1908 in a village, "Mahabat Abad", lying to the west of Sheikh Maltoon Town, in the district of Mardan. His lineage links with a famous Sheikh of the "Naqshbandiyyah" order, Sayyid Adam Banuri (Rahimahullahu Ta’ala), which is as fullows: Sayyid Muhammad Yousuf s/o Sayyid Muhammad Zakaria s/o Mir Muzzammil Shah s/o Mir Ahmed Shah s/o Mir Musa s/o Ghulam Habib s/o Rehmatullah s/o Abdul Ahad s/o Hadhrat Muhammad Awliya s/o Muhammad Adam Banori. This lineage then reaches upward to Hadhrat Sayyidna Hussain bin Ali (Radhiyal-laahu anhuma) and because of this august progeny of the "Saadat", he is also known as a "Hussaini" . He received his preliminary education from his father and maternal uncle. Thereafter, he studied in Peshawar, Kabul and in the suburbs of these two cities to complete his middle class education. He then went to Darul Uloom Deoband, India, for pursuit of higher Islamic education where he stayed for about two years and had the honour of being the student of prominent teachers of this Madrasah. He completed his "Dora-e-Hadeeth" at Jamiah Islaamia, Dhabel, under Hadhrat Allaamah Sayyid Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Maulana Shabeer Ahmed Usmani (Rahimahumallaah). Both these noble teachers ‘tied the turban’ round his head with their blessed hands as is the custom of the madrasah to honour their successful students of the final class. After his graduation from Dhabel, his relationship with Allamah Kashmiri ((Rahimahullaah Taala) both at Deoband and then at Kashmir, was of a very special sort, providing him with ample opportunities of benefiting from him. It could safely be said that his heart had well-absorbed the knowledge, which Hadhrat Shah Saheb was possessed of. Even though, he used to say about himself, "Apparently, I was, amongst those students of Hadhrat Shah Saheb, who could least benefit from his profound knowledge, but the extreme love and reverence which I have had for him paved the way for complete compatibility with his knowledge." Apart from Allamah Kashmiri and Allamah Usmani, he also had a special connection with Hadhrat Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madani and Allamah Muhammad Zaahid Kawthary who had given him permission to teach Hadith narrating from them. In the field of Sufism, Hadhrat Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madani, Hadhrat Maulana Hakeem-ul-Ummat Ashraf Ali Thaanawi, Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Shafiuddin Nageenwi Muhaajir Makki and Hakeem-ul-Ummat Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya are the leading names from whom he benefited most. Shortly after completing his studies in the fields of metaphysics and narrative arts (Prophetic traditions), he visited Egypt in 1937 where he was blessed with the opportunity to supervise the publication of high-ranking schularly research-based books, such "Nasb-ur-Raayah" and "Faidh-ul-Baari". During this trip, he also visited the "Haarmain Shareefain" and met the Ulama and Muhadditheen of these places and seized these opportunities to benefit from them. After his return from Egypt, he joined the Madrasah Jamiah Islamia at Dhabel on the post of "Sheikh-ul-Hadeeth" and served it up to the time of the partition of India and Pakistan. He opted to settle in Pakistan and joined Darul Uloom at Tando Allaahyar, Sindh, as "Sheikh-ut-Tafseer" and dedicated his life to spreading the knowledge of the Quraan and Hadeeth. Allaah Taala had willed to lay the foundation of a magnificent religious madrasah through his hands for which a strong craving was already there. Allah Taala started showering His Mercy upon him and provided him with the necessary means to start a madrasah at Jamshed Road, Karachi along with the help and support of some of his friends. Soon, this small madrasah became famous worldwide as "Jamia-tul-Uloom-il-Islaamia, Banori Town". Allaah Taala had gifted him with sterling qualities and extra-ordinary talents. Some of these are as fullows:
His body was brought back to Karachi. Aarif Billaah Hadhrat Dr. Abdul Hai Aarifi (Rahimahullah) led the funeral prayer in the compound of Jamiah amid thousands of Ulama, admirers, disciples, students and the general public. He was laid to rest in the precincts of Jamiah. |



