Badre Alam Merathi

Badre Alam Merathi (بدر عالم میرٹھی; 1898 – 29 October 1965) was a mid-twentieth-century hadith scholar and poet originally from Meerut, initially migrated to Pakistan and eventually settled in Medina. Best known as the interpreter of Anwar Shah Kashmiri's teachings, he was a disciple of both Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Educated at Mazahir Uloom and Darul Uloom Deoband, he taught at both institutions and Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. During his tenure at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, he compiled Fayd al-Bari, a four-volume Arabic commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, published in Cairo with financial support from Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal, considered a masterpiece in hadith commentary. He was also associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen and authored Tarjuman al-Sunnah, a 4-volume hadith explanation designed for contemporary needs, widely acknowledged in academic circles. In his final years, he focused on teaching hadith in Prophet's Mosque, where many South Africans pledged allegiance to him, expanding his spiritual influence in South Africa.

Life sketch
Badre Alam was born in 1898 in a Sayyid family in the Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh. His father, Tahur Ali, served as a police officer. He received his initial education at an English school in Aligarh, and influenced by a sermon of Ashraf Ali Thanwi at the age of eleven, he developed an inclination towards Islamic studies. Despite initial resistance from his father, he pursued religious education at Mazahir Uloom.

Under the mentorship of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri for eight years, followed by further studies at Darul Uloom Deoband with Anwar Shah Kashmiri, he continued his educational journey. His notable teachers at Mazahir Uloom included Zafar Ahmad Usmani, and at Deoband, Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani and Asghar Hussain Deobandi. After completing his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband, he began teaching there in 1925.

In 1927, he, along with Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, migrated to Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. For seventeen years, he engaged in teaching hadith at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, covering texts such as Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya, and Mishkat al-Masabih. He also continued participating in Anwar Shah Kashmiri's classes on Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan al-Tirmidhi for five years.

After Dabhel, he moved to Bahawalnagar, Punjab, established Jam'ul Uloom, and stayed for a year there. He then came to Delhi and became associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen in 1943. After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, and, under the patronage of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani founded Jamia Islamia at Tando Allahyar. Following Pakistan's formation, he actively participated in the formulation of an Islamic constitution.

After residing for four years in Pakistan, he migrated to Medina. Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda met him in Medina, benefited from him, and later narrated hadiths from him.

Known as Qutb al-Aarifeen, he received Sufi teachings from Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, associated with Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani, and ultimately received spiritual succession from Muhammad Ishaq Merathi. He died on 29 October 1965, in Prophet's Mosque, and was laid to rest in Al-Baqi Cemetery. His influence extended to Pakistan, India, South Africa, and the Middle East.

Literary works
He scrutinized the intricacies of the Quran and hadith, expressing an understanding of Arabic literature and poetry. His literary works touched various religious subjects. Apart from Fayd al-Bari and Tarjuman al-Sunnah, he authored the three-volume Jawahir al-Hikam, addressing contemporary social issues and the implementation of Islamic law in 1965, translated into French and Gujarati. His annotations for Fayd al-Bari, published as Al-Badr Al-Sari. He wrote an abstract of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi's book Zubdat-ul-Manāsik under the title Khulasa Zubdat-ul-Manāsik, a guide on Hajj issues. One of his books on the descent of Jesus is called Nuzool-e-ʿĪsā, and he has written a booklet in the same series called Awaz-e-Haq. During his time in Pakistan, he translated Ali al-Qari's Al-Hizb al-Azam and wrote some poetry.