User:Axiom292/M. Yusuf draft

Muḥammad Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad Ilyās Kāndhlawī Dihlawī (محمد يوسف بن محمد إلياس الكاندهلوي الدهلوي, Muḥammad Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad Ilyās al-Kāndahlawī ad-Dihlawī; 20 March 1917 – 12 April 1965), often referred to by his followers as Hazrat Ji (, Ḥaẓrat Jī) was an Indian Islamic scholar and the second amir (leader) of Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic movement begun by his father Muhammad Ilyas. Under Yusuf's leadership the Tablighi Jamaat was shaped into an international movement.

Among his written works the most well-known is Hayat as-Sahabah, a three-volume Arabic compilation of reports from the lives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions. He also wrote Muntakhab Ahadith, an Arabic compilation of hadith, and Amani al-ahbar, an Arabic commentary on Imam at-Tahawi's Sharh Ma`ani al-athar.

Name, background, and lineage
He was Muhammad Yusuf ibn Muhammad Ilyas, Siddiqi by nasab (lineage—his family claimed descent from Abu Bakr as-Siddiq), Kandhlawi (of Kandhla) by birth and origin, then Dihlawi (of Delhi). His nasab is as follows: Muḥammad Yūsuf ibn Maulāna Muḥammad Ilyās ibn Maulāna Muḥammad Ismā‘īl ibn Shaik&#x35f;h G&#x35f;hulām Ḥusain ibn Ḥakīm Karīm Bak&#x35f;hsh ibn Ḥakīm G&#x35f;hulām Muḥīyuddīn ibn Maulāna Muḥammad Sājid ibn Maulāna Muḥammad Faiẓ ibn Maulāna Ḥakīm Muḥammad Sharīf ibn Maulāna Ḥakīm Muḥammad Ashraf ibn Shaik&#x35f;h Jamāl Muḥammad Shāh ibn Shaik&#x35f;h Nūr Muḥammad (a.k.a. Shaik&#x35f;h Bāban Shāh) ibn Shaik&#x35f;h Bahā’uddīn Shāh ibn Maulāna Shaik&#x35f;h Muḥammad ibn Shaik&#x35f;h Muḥammad Fāẓil ibn Shaik&#x35f;h Quṭb Shāh.

Yusuf's grandfather Maulana Muhammad Ismail (d. 1898) was originally from Jhanjhana, but he shifted to Kandhla after marrying the granddaughter of Muzaffar Husain Kandhlawi (1805–1866), a paternal nephew of Mufti Ilahi Bakhsh Kandhlawi (1748–1831). They shared the same ancestry, meeting in Hakim Muhammad Sharif. The Siddiqi shaikhs of Kandhla and Jhanjhana were known for several generations for their piety and religious knowledge. Yusuf's mother was from the Ilahi Bakhsh branch of the family. Maternally Yusuf's lineage is as follows: His mother, bint Maulāna Ra‘ūful-Ḥasan ibn Maulāna Ẓiyā’ul-Ḥasan ibn Maulāna Nūrul-Ḥasan ibn Maulāna Abul-Ḥasan ibn Muftī Ilāhī Bak&#x35f;hsh ibn Maulāna Shaik&#x35f;hul-Islām ibn Ḥakīm Quṭbuddīn ibn Ḥakīm ‘Abdul-Qādir ibn Maulāna Ḥakīm Muḥammad Sharīf.

Early life and education
Muhammad Yusuf was born on Tuesday, 25 Jumada I 1335 AH (20 March 1917) in Kandhla, United Provinces, British India (now Kandhla, Uttar Pradesh, India). His aqiqah was performed on Monday, 2 Jumada II (26 March). His father Muhammad Ilyas was at that time a teacher at Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur. Besides his father, Yusuf spent his childhood in the company of other ulama and sufis including his cousin Maulana Zakariya Kandhlawi, Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, and Maulana Abdul Qadir Raipuri. He was especially close to Saharanpuri, who was a khalifah (successor) of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and the shaikh of Ilyas and Zakariya.

Yusuf completed hifz (memorization of the Qur'an) around the age of ten under the guidance of Hafiz Imam Khan Mewati. He was sent an honorary certificate from Maulana Sayyid Ahmad Faizabadi in Medina to commemorate the occasion. After hifz he began studying the Islamic sciences at Madrasah Kashiful Uloom in Basti Nizamuddin, Delhi. His companion in studies was his relative In`amul Hasan Kandlawi. He learned tajwid from Qari Mu`inuddin, then he studied the Arabic textbooks mainly from his father. He studied the books of fiqh (jurisprudence) up to Kanz ad-daqa'iq from Hafiz Maqbul Hasan Gangohi. Yusuf and In`am were admitted to Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur when Maulana Ilyas left for Hajj in Ramadan 1351 AH (December 1932). There they studied Hidayah awwalin from Maulana Zakariya Quddusi Gangohi and Maibazi from Maulana Jamil Ahmad Thanawi. They then returned to Nizamuddin, where they studied Mishkat al-Masabih from Ilyas and Tafsir al-Jalalayn from Maulana Ihtishamul Hasan Kandhlawi.

In 1353 AH (1934/1935) or 1354 AH (1935/1936) the were again admitted to Mazahir Uloom, now for the final stage of studies known as dawrah of hadith. They studied Sahih Bukhari from Maulana Abdul Latif, Jami` at-Tirmidhi from Maulana Abdur Rahman Kamilpuri, Sahih Muslim from Maulana Manzur Ahmad, and Sunan Abi Dawud from Maulana Zakariya. Yusuf became ill while in Saharanpur, so he and In`am returned to Basti Nizamuddin where they completed their education, studying Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan an-Nasa'i, Tahawi, and Mustadrak Hakim from Maulana Ilyas.

Tabligh
Maulana Yusuf's began his scholarly career in teaching and writing, and was not involved in his father's Tabligh movement at first. He began taking an interest only after he accompanied his father on a Hajj journey in 1356–1357 AH (1937–1938), during which they engaged in Tabligh. From 1938 his father took him on Tabligh tours where he showed his talent as an orator.

He gave the movement his full attention after Ilyas's death in 1944, when he was appointed as its new leader. He became so occupied with Tabligh work that he would stay at Nizamuddin for several months without returning home. His biographers write of his extreme concern and restlessness for the condition of Muslims. He traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent, holding meetings and addressing gatherings in villages and cities, during which he often sometimes spoke for several hours until his voice failed.

After the partition of India in 1947, Muhammad Yusuf chose to retain his headquarters or center (markaz) in Nizamuddin, India. He consolidated Tablighi Jamaat in the subcontinent by establishing secondary centers in Pakistan (Raiwind near Lahore) and in East Pakistan (Tongi near Dhaka), which in 1971 became Bangladesh.

He established the movement worldwide by sending missions to Arab countries starting in 1946, Western countries from 1950, and Afro-Asian countries from 1956 onward.

Yusuf was especially keen to spread the Tabligh work to Arab countries. He gave special attention to educating Indian and Pakistani Hajj pilgrims, speaking to them at the ports of Karachi and Bombay. During the Hajj these pilgrims would interact with pilgrims from all over the world.

Sufism
Although his father Maulana Ilyas was a well-known Sufi shaykh, Yusuf was not initiated until after had completed his studies and married. At the behest of Maulana Zakariya, Yusuf and Inamul Hasan both took bai'at (oath of allegiance) at the hands of Ilyas in 1354 AH (1935). Both received khilafah before Ilyas's death.

Maulana Yusuf himself took bai'at from large numbers of people, including women. To accommodate the large crowds, which sometimes numbered in the hundreds or thousands, many sheets would be tied together for people to hold at the time of bai'at. According to Muhammad Sani Hasani, at the time of bai'at different shaikhs often stress the components of faith that they view as essential. Thus, when taking bai'ah, Maulana Yusuf would first speak about the importance of bai'at and the obligations attached to it it, then pledge the disciple in the way practiced by othershaikhs. He would then speak about the importance of da'wat and ask the disciple to pledge to sacrifice their time and energy for tabligh. Sufi Muhammad Iqbal writes that although Yusuf took bai'at, instruction of disciples was delegated to Inamul Hasan.

Silsila
Ilyas was a khalifah (successor) of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri. This chain, like that of many Deobandi shaikhs, belongs to the Sabiri-Imdadi branch of the Chishti order, a branch that incorporates the Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Suhrawardi tariqahs.

The Chishti-Sabiri silsilah is a sub-branch of the Chishti order traced to Alauddin Sabiri. The Chishti-Sabiri-Imdadi silsilah is traced to a prominenet Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki. The Sabiri-Imdadi tariqa incorporates the Chishti, Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Suhrawardi tariqahs, which comprise the four major Sufi orders in the Indian subcontinent.


 * 1) Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi
 * 2) Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi
 * 3) Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
 * 4) Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
 * 5) Imdadullah Muhajir Makki
 * 6) Nur Muhammad Jhanjhanawi
 * 7) Haji Abdur Rahim Wilayati Shahid
 * 8) Shah Abdul Bari Amrohi
 * 9) Shah Abdul Hadi Amrohi
 * 10) Shah Azduddin Amrohi
 * 11) Muhammad Makki Jafari
 * 12) Sayyid Muhammadi Akbarabadi
 * 13) Muhibbullah Ilahabadi
 * 14) Abu Sa'id Nu'mani Gangohi

Death
In 1965 he went on a Tabligh tour throughout Pakistan, during which he held meetings and gave many speeches. He had some health problems, and his health had became worse as the trip progressed. His final speech was at Bilal Park in Lahore on Friday, 2 April 1965 (29 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1384 AH), after which he was scheduled to return to India. Upon finishing the speech he was taken to the hospital but died on the way there. His janazah prayer was led by Maulana In`amul Hasan. His body was airlifted back to Delhi where a another janazah was led by Maulana Zakariya and attended by thousands of mourners. He was buried at Nizamuddin next to his father Maulana Muhammad Ilyas.

Marriages
Yusuf married twice in his life. His first marriage was to the eldest daughter of Maulana Muhammad Zakariya. The nikah ceremony was performed by Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani on 3 Muharram 1354 at the annual gathering of Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur. She died in Shawwal 1367. In 1369 he married Zakariya's second daughter.

Written works

 * Amānī al-aḥbār fī Sharḥ ma‘ānī al-āthār / اماني الاحبار في شرح معاني الآثار. An unfinished Arabic commentary on Imam at-Tahawi's Sharh ma`ani al-athar. Two volumes have been published. Yusuf died before completing the third volume.
 * Ḥayāt aṣ-Ṣaḥābah / حياة الصحابة.
 * al-Aḥādīth al-muntakhabah fī al-ṣifāt al-sitt lil-da‘wah ilá Allāh / الاحاديث المنتخبة في الصفات الست للدعوة الى الله. Usually referred to as Muntakhab Ahadith.

Biographies
A short biography was published in late 1965 by Azizur Rahman Bijnori, with a preface written by Ihtishamul Hasan Kandhlawi. The first detailed biography of Muhammad Yusuf was published in 1967 in India by Muhammad Sani Hasani.