Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Muḥaddith Dihlwī

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Muḥaddith Dihlwī

By: Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Oxford

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq b. Sayf al-Dīn al-Dihlawī al-Bukhārī, an eminent Indian scholar and author in both Arabic and Persian, was born in Delhi in Muharram 958 AH / January 1551 CE, during the reign of Islam Shah Sūrī. He adopted the poetical appellation “Ḥaqqī”. Among his distinguished ancestors was Āghā Muḥammad Turk, who had migrated from Bukhārā to India during the reign of Sultan ʿAlā al-Dīn Khaljī (r. 695–715 AH / 1296–1316 CE), where he was received with honour and entrusted with significant administrative responsibilities.

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq’s father, Shaykh Sayf al-Dīn (940–990 AH / 1514–1582 CE), was himself a learned and pious figure, and he took meticulous care in the education and moral upbringing of his son. Having committed the Qurʾān to memory, the young Shaykh completed the traditional curriculum of both rational and transmitted sciences as per the pedagogical standards of the time. In his own words, he remarked: “Since the beginning of my childhood I did not know what a game is, what sleeping is, what companionship is. What is rest, and what is walking around?” (al-Makātib wa al-Rasāʾil, p. 74). This reveals his unwavering dedication to the pursuit of knowledge.

Upon the completion of his studies, he resided in Fatehpur for over a decade, in the company of scholars such as Fayḍī and Mirzā Niẓām al-Dīn Aḥmad. There, he engaged in teaching and writing, deepening his knowledge and spiritual refinement. He became a disciple of Shaykh Mūsā Uchī Qādirī, a renowned Sufi master noted for his fearless adherence to the Sunnah. Disillusioned by the sociopolitical deterioration of his time, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq resolved to embark on a pilgrimage to the Ḥijāz, seeking refuge in the sacred lands.

In 996 AH / 1587 CE, at the age of thirty-eight, he commenced his journey. En route, he paused for a year in Aḥmadābād, where he benefited from the guidance of Shaykh Wajīh al-Dīn ʿAlawī Gujarātī. With the assistance of his friend, Mirzā Niẓām al-Dīn, he arrived in Makkah in a state of spiritual detachment and divine longing. There, he studied under Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Muttaqī, from whom he received ijāzāt and spiritual training in dhikr and sulūk, and later earned khilāfah. He also received ijāzāt from Qāḍī ʿAlī b. Jarullāh al-Makkī al-Makhzūmī al-Qurashī. In Madinah, he studied with Shaykh Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Abī al-Ḥazm al-Madani and Shaykh Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Sindī, who likewise bestowed general ijāzāt upon him and held him in high esteem.

Qāḍī ʿAlī b. Jarullāh is reported to have said: “He is an eminent and unique scholar from the Indian realm. I have benefited from him more than he from me.” Among the works he studied was Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, which he studied under Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Muttaqī—an experience that proved formative in his development as a hadith scholar.

Though initially reluctant to return, Shaykh Muttaqī persuaded him to resume his scholarly mission in India. He returned in 1000 AH and settled in Delhi, where he dedicated the subsequent half-century to the propagation of knowledge. His primary focus was the teaching of hadith, in which his contributions were both foundational and far-reaching. He issued fatwas, authored numerous works, and rendered Arabic texts into Persian for the broader scholarly public. His institution placed the Qurʾān and Sunnah at its core, diverging from the prevalent curriculum of the time. Amidst Emperor Akbar’s religious innovations and attempts to marginalise the Sharīʿah, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq’s school stood as a bastion of orthodoxy, attracting students from across the subcontinent.

He passed away on 21 Rabīʿ I 1052 AH / 30 June 1642 CE. His mausoleum is located in the Ḥawḍ-i Shamsī quarter of Delhi, and an inscription on the wall of the qubba summarises his life. This inscription is cited in full in Ghulām ʿAlī Āzād’s Maʾāthir al-Kirām. According to the Wāqiʿāt, his descendants in Delhi continued to commemorate his annual ʿurs at his tomb.
Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Ḥasanī begins his biographical entry with the following eulogy: “The Shaykh, the Imām, the ʿĀlim, the Muḥaddith, the Jurist, Shaykh al-Islām, the most learned among the luminaries, the standard-bearer of knowledge and practice among the pious saints—Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq b. Sayf al-Dīn al-Bukhārī al-Dihlawī—was the first to disseminate the science of hadith in India through both authorship and instruction.” Historians are unanimous in asserting that although other scholars of hadith predated him in India, it was his indefatigable efforts that led to the widespread flourishing of this discipline across the subcontinent.

In his work Taʾlīf al-Qalb al-Ālif bi-Kitābat Fihrist al-Tawālīf, appended to his treatise on Delhi’s poets and scholars, the Shaykh enumerates forty-nine of his compositions in Arabic and Persian. He later authored an additional eleven, bringing the total to sixty. Among the most significant of his works are:
• al-Taʿlīq al-Ḥāwī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī
• Ashiʿat al-Lamaʿāt fī Sharḥ al-Mishkāt (Persian)
• Lamaʿāt al-Tanqīḥ fī Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ (Arabic)
• Jāmiʿ al-Barakāt Muntakhab Sharḥ al-Mishkāt
• Mā Thabata bi al-Sunnah fī Ayyām al-Sanah (Arabic)
• Asmāʾ al-Rijāl wa al-Ruwāt al-Madhkūrīn fī Kitāb al-Mishkāt (Arabic)
• Sharḥ Sifr al-Saʿādah (Arabic)
• Takmīl al-Īmān wa Taqwiyat al-Īqān (Persian)
• Fatḥ al-Mannān fī Taʾyīd al-Nuʿmān
• Jadhb al-Qulūb ilā Diyār al-Maḥbūb (Persian)
• Madārij al-Nubuwwah
• Akhbār al-Akhyār

According to ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Ḥasanī: “All his writings are beloved to scholars. They seek them earnestly and compete to acquire them. These works are worthy of such acclaim. His style is powerful, his expression eloquent, pleasing to the ear and nourishing to the heart.”

One particularly noteworthy work is Takmīl al-Īmān wa Taqwiyat al-Īqān, a concise treatise on the articles of Islamic faith. Written in Persian, it presents a clear exposition of the fundamental tenets of Islam according to the school of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah. At the outset, the Shaykh states that the work is intended for sincere believers and seekers, offering a straightforward affirmation of orthodox doctrine without engaging in polemics or theological disputation. Deliberately eschewing argumentative styles, he aimed to avoid casting doubt or confusion among novice students.

Though modest in length, approximately 80 pages, the work is rich in content. It addresses key theological themes such as the nature of faith (īmān), free will and predestination (jabr wa ikhtiyār), punishment in the grave, resurrection, the Prophet’s Night Journey (miʿrāj), intercession, Paradise and Hell, repentance, miracles, and other doctrines central to Sunni orthodoxy. Owing to its clarity and brevity, it gained wide readership. The English edition, now available for the first time, is expected in shāʾ Allāh to further enrich scholarly engagement and bolster the faith of believers.

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