Nizamuddin Azami

Nizamuddin Azami (نظام الدین اعظمی; November 1910 – 26 February 2000) was an Islamic scholar who served as the twelfth and last Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. He made contributions in Islamic jurisprudence, and his works include Muntakhabat-e-Nizām al-Fatāwa, a collection of selected fatwas he wrote during his tenure at Deoband.

Early life
Nizamuddin Azami was born in 1910 in Undra, Azamgarh district. He belonged to a lineage of scholars and had a strong inclination towards religious education from a young age. His father Muhammad Rafi was a Zamindar. Despite initial encouragement to pursue modern education, he expressed his desire to acquire religious knowledge. He began his studies at Madrasa Ihyaul Uloom in Mubarakpur, Azamgarh, where he had the opportunity to learn from renowned teachers, including Shah Wasiullah. After completing his initial education, Nizamuddin Azami continued his studies at Madrasa Aziziya in Bihar Sharif and then at Madrasa Aliya Fatehpuri in Delhi. He eventually joined the Darul Uloom Deoband, where he completed the Dawra-e Hadith in 1933. His teachers included Shukrullah Mubarakpuri, Hussain Ahmed Madani, Asghar Hussain Deobandi, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi, and Muhammad Shafi Deobandi.

Career
After completing his education, Nizamuddin Azami taught at various madrasas. He served as a teacher at Madrasa Jami'ul Uloom in Jatinpur, Azamgarh for five years, followed by Madrasa Jami'ul Uloom Dhamal in Gorakhpur for three years. He then went to Darul Uloom Mau on the recommendation of his spiritual guide, Shah Wasiullah, and spent twenty-five years teaching and issuing fatwas (legal opinions) there.

In 1965, Nizamuddin Azami joined Darul Uloom Deoband as a Mufti (a scholar qualified to issue fatwas) and served there until his death on February 26, 2000. He was known for his expertise in resolving contemporary issues and applying Islamic principles through Qiyas (analogical reasoning) and Ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). His students included Abdul Haq Azmi, Mujahidul Islam Qasmi, Nizamuddin Asir Adrawi and Khalid Saifullah Rahmani.

Contributions
He authored around 75,000 responses to queries, stored in 125 extensive registers, with a separate register dedicated to the compilation of the most significant fatwas. His most notable work is the compilation Muntakhabat-e-Nizām al-Fatāwa, which contains selected fatwas he wrote during his time at Darul Uloom Deoband. Mujahidul Islam Qasmi supervised its publication. Two volumes of his fatwas were published by the Islamic Fiqh Academy in New Delhi, while the Islamic Fiqh Academy Publications later published an expanded version in three volumes. He edited and published the book Fath al-Rahman fi Ithbāt Madhab al-Nu'man by 'Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi. He also authored several works on Hadith, Fiqh, and other subjects, including Aqsaamul Ahaadith, Osulul Hadith, Assan Ilmus-sarf, Assan Ilmun-Nahu, Sirajul Waritheen Sharhu Siraji, Mazaya Imam Azam, among others.