Nematullah Azami

Nematullah Azami, also written as Nematullah Azmi and Ni'matullah Azami, is an Indian Islamic hadith scholar, a commentator on the Quran, and a faqīh. He is the president of India's Islamic Fiqh Academy. He has also been serving as a senior lecturer at Darul Uloom Deoband for forty years.

Early life and education

Nematullah Azami was born on 24 December 1936, in Pura Maroof, Azamgarh District, United Provinces of British India.
Azami received his primary education at Madrasa Isha'atul Uloom Pura Maroof, where he studied Arabic language and pursued courses up to Sullam al-Uloom, under the supervision of his elder brother, Amanatullah Azami.
After that, he enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband and graduated from the Hadith course in 1953. He continued there for another year or two after graduation, spending time on various subjects. At the Deoband seminary, his teachers included Hussain Ahmad Madani, Izaz Ali Amrohi and Ibrahim Balyawi. His classmates included Anzar Shah Kashmiri and Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi.

Career

After graduation, Azami was a teacher for two years at Darul Uloom Hussainia, Tawli, Muzaffarnagar district, then taught Sahih al-Tirmidhi and Sahih al-Bukhari for a few years in Damaipur, Malda, West Bengal. After that, he did teaching services in various madrasas like Jāmi'at-ur-Rashād Azamgarh, Misbah-ul-Uloom Kopaganj, Miftah-ul-Uloom Mau, and Mazhar-ul-Uloom Banaras. On the invitation of Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami, he served for a few years in Miftah-ul-Uloom, Mau, as Sheikh al-Hadith. He also provided teaching services in some madrasas in Assam and Gujarat.
In 1982, on the invitation of Wahiduzzaman Kairanawi, he came to Darul Uloom Deoband where he was appointed as a senior teacher. He has taught books like Mebzi, Tafsir al-Baydawi, Musāmarah, Muwatta Imam Malik, Sunan Abu Dawood, and Sahih Muslim at Darul Uloom Deoband, and currently the teaching of the first volume of Jami al-Tirmidhi is related to him.
After Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri, his name was suggested for the post of Sheikh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, which he declined. He is known by the title "Bahrul Uloom" due to his meticulous and extensive study of Hadith, biographical evaluation, Christianity, and Judaism.
In the meeting of the governing body of Darul Uloom Deoband held on Safar 1421 AH, on the advice of Asad Madani, the proposal to establish a "Department of Specialization in Hadith" in Darul Uloom Deoband was approved, and Azami was appointed as its patron.
He was appointed as president of the Islamic Fiqh Academy on 30 May 2011, succeeding Zafeeruddin Miftahi.
He is convinced of the necessity of ijtihad in religious matters.
In March 2019, Islamic jurists, including Azami, stated the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a scheme launched by the Indian government, is "illegal" according to Islamic Shari'a because it contains interest as a part.

Literary works

Under the supervision of Azami, from the Department of Specialization in Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, on the various terms of Jami al-Tirmidhi, some research books have been published in several volumes under the names of Al-Hadith al-Hasan Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Hasan an-Gharīb Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, and Hadith an-Gharīb Fī Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi.
He has done the work of commenting on the book Al-Ilzāmāt by Al-Daraqutni. His works include:

Ni'm al-Bayān fī Tarjama al-Quran
Dars-e-Bukhari
Ni'mat al-Mun'im
Taqrīb Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār
Al-Fawāid al-Muhimma Fī Dirāsat al-Mutūn wa Mukhtalaf al-Hadīth
Madāris ar-Ruwāt wa Mashāhīr-u-Asātizatihā Ma'a Talāmidhatihim wa Tabaqātihim
īsāiyat; Injīl Ki Roshni Mein
Dirāsat u Tatbīq al-Amthilah Li ‘Anwā‘ al-ahadīth al-mukhtalifah
Dirāsat al-Hadith as-Sahīh wa al-Hasan wa Aqsāmuha wa Fikratu Ibn as-Salah wa Dirāsat u Miqyās-i-Ma'rifat-i-Rijāl al-Hasan Li Zātih
Al-Ahādīth al-Mukhtārah Li al-Hifz Li Qism at-Takhassus Fi al-Hadīth
Tashīl al-Usool
Hazrat Imām Abu Hanīfa Par Irja’ Ki Tuhmat, a rejection of the accusation of postponement against Abu Hanifa
Fuqaha‘ as-Sahāba
Hadīth e Jassāsah
''Allah Par Imān Kiya Hai?''