Usman Ghani Qasmi
Muhammad Usman Ghani Qasmi was an Indian Islamic scholar of the Deobandi tradition, a teacher, and an author. Born in Chilmil, Begusarai, he completed advanced studies at Darul Uloom Deoband and served at several seminaries in India, including a long tenure at Mazahir Uloom (Waqf), Saharanpur, from 1989 until his death. He also founded Madrasa Husayniyah in Chilmil, Begusarai.
Early life and education
Muhammad Usman Ghani Qasmi was born in 1922 in Chilmil, which was then part of Munger district in the Bihar and Orissa Province of British India. The area now falls within Begusarai district, Bihar, India. He received his early education in local madrasas in Begusarai and later moved to Bangladesh, where he studied at Madrasa Ashraf al-Ulum, Bara Katra, Dhaka.Upon returning to India, he continued his studies at Madrasa Mu‘iniyah, Sanha, Begusarai, and then at Darul Uloom Imdadiyah, Darbhanga. In 1946, he enrolled in Darul Uloom Deoband for higher studies and graduated in 1950. His teachers at Deoband included Hussain Ahmed Madani, Ibrahim Balyawi, Izaz Ali Amrohi, and Fakhrul Hasan Moradabadi.
Career
After graduation, Qasmi began teaching in Bangladesh and also assisted his father in trade while engaging in reform work in his locality. In 1955, he was appointed at Madrasa Rashidul Uloom, Chatra, Jharkhand, where he taught Sahih Muslim and Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi. He later taught at Madrasa Husayniyah, Giridih, and Madrasa Husayniyah, Dighi, Bhagalpur.In December 1962, he founded Madrasa Husayniyah in his hometown Chilmil, Begusarai, naming it after his teacher Madani. Construction began in 1972, and he also briefly taught there. From 1963 to 1975, he taught at Madrasa ‘Aliyah Furfura Sharif, Hugli, where he lectured on Sahih al-Bukhari and Tafsir al-Kashshaf.
In 1983, he joined Darul Uloom of Tarapur, Gujarat, where he taught Sahih al-Bukhari and Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi. After the institutional division of Mazahir Uloom in Saharanpur, Qasmi accepted an invitation from Muzaffar Husain Ajrarwi to join Mazahir Uloom in Shawwal 1409 AH. He initially taught the second volume of Sahih al-Bukhari, and later also taught the first volume of Sahih al-Bukhari, the complete Sahih Muslim, and Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar. He continued teaching at the institution for about twenty-two years until his death.
Spiritual life
Qasmi first pledged spiritual allegiance to his teacher Hussain Ahmed Madani, and later to Muzaffar Husain Ajrarwi, from whom he received ijazah in 1406 AH.Literary works
Qasmi authored Nasr al-Bari, a 13-volume Urdu commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, regarded as the first complete Urdu Sharh of the book before Tuhfat al-Qari by Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri. The first edition was published by Dar al-Ta’lif, Chilmil, followed by later editions from Zakariya Book Depot, Deoband.Among his other writings are:
- Nasr al-Hayat
- Dirayat al-Adab
- Mir’at
- Faiz al-Imamain
- Sharh Sharh ‘Aqa’id Nasafi
- Tafhīmat
- A’inah-yi Huquq
- Hayat-i Shaykh al-Islam
- Guldasta-yi Zawjayn
- Awdah al-Adab
He maintained a large register of about four hundred pages in which he systematically compiled examination questions on various Dars-e-Nizami texts for use in the semiannual and annual examinations of Islamic seminaries. The register included questions from works such as Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawud, Shama’il, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Muwatta Imam Muhammad, Muwatta Imam Malik, al-Hidayah, Bidayat al-Mubtadi, ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, Tafsir al-Baydawi, Tafsir al-Kashshaf, and many other standard texts of the curriculum.