Zafarul-Islam Khan honoured with Shah Waliullah Award

By Zillur Rahman Haider

New Delhi: Renowned Islamic scholar, author, senior journalist and former Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan was awarded the prestigious sixth Imam Shah Waliullah Award on Monday. The ceremony took place amid a seminar on ‘Epistles of Shah Waliullah’ at the Ghalib Institute.

Jointly organised by the Shah Waliullah Institute and the Ghalib Institute, the seminar sought to celebrate and highlight the scholarly and intellectual legacy of Imam Shah Waliullah. One of the highlights of the event was the launch of the tenth volume of his acclaimed series of epistles, offering attendees an intimate glimpse into his teachings and enduring contributions to Islamic sciences.

A diverse assembly of eminent scholars, intellectuals and thinkers from across the country participated in the event and spoke about the contemporary relevance of Shah Waliullah’s writings and teachings.

A legacy revived through publishing

Senior journalist Suhail Anjum introduced the Institute and provided an overview of the newly launched tenth volume of Shah Waliullah’s epistles, sharing insights into the publication process, ongoing scholarly discussions and the Institute’s past and future programmes.

Anjum felicitated Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi, highlighting his unwavering dedication to researching and publishing the scholarly legacy of Shah Waliullah. He noted Mufti Saheb’s long-standing scholarly pursuits, which began with fourteen years as a teacher at the Dargah Shah Waliullah madrasah near Shah Waliullah’s shrine in Delhi’s Mehdiyan area.

During this period, Mufti Saheb developed a deep spiritual and intellectual bond with the great scholar, gaining profound insights into his contributions to Quranic sciences and other fields. Inspired by this connection, Mufti Saheb established the Institute to make Shah Waliullah’s invaluable legacy accessible to all.

Some of these writings were published long ago, while others still lie as manuscripts in libraries. Under this initiative, Mufti Saheb has already published ten volumes of Shah Waliullah’s writings, the tenth of which was released during the event.

‘The greatest non-Arab Islamic scholar’

Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan said, “It is a great privilege for me to accept this honour. Honestly, I was reluctant at first and had declined this recognition multiple times. However, I succumbed in the face of Mufti Saheb’s insistence for several reasons. Paramount among these is my nearly forty-year-long association with Mufti Saheb, dating back to 1984, when I returned from abroad. At that time, I visited Mehdiyan and formed a spiritual bond with Shah Waliullah and with Mufti Saheb, who then taught at the madrasah there.”

Another reason, he said, is that the award is associated with Shah Waliullah, the greatest Islamic scholar produced by India. In fact, he may be regarded as the greatest non-Arab Islamic scholar of all ages. Dr Khan said that long ago he wrote a modest book in Arabic on Shah Waliullah, trying to draw people’s attention to the ocean of knowledge that he was and remains to this day.

He said Shah Waliullah’s monumental work Hujjatullah al-Balighah stands out as an unparalleled masterpiece in Islamic literature; it is printed, reprinted and studied in the Arab world to this day. Dr Khan underscored the importance of Hujjatullah al-Balighah as a treasure trove that provides a deep, balanced and comprehensive understanding of Islamic sciences.

Dr Khan commended Mufti Saheb’s tireless efforts in unearthing and publishing many of Shah Waliullah’s hidden and forgotten manuscripts and texts. The tenth volume, he said, stands as a testament to this scholarly dedication. He added that a third reason for accepting the award was that it is given in recognition of The Glorious Quran, his translation of the Islamic text, which seeks to offer an authentic version of the Quran based on the most authentic Arabic sources.

On translating the Quran

Dr Khan said there is a great responsibility to understand and disseminate Shah Waliullah’s teachings and present them in modern language and style. Reflecting on Shah Waliullah’s revolutionary impact, Dr Khan highlighted his translation of the Quran into Persian—a daring act at the time, which many scholars considered blasphemy.

Even today, some argue that the Quran cannot be translated into any language. But if that were true, he asked, how would the 85 per cent of Muslims outside the Arab world understand the divine message? He pointed out that Western scholars, despite their scholarly rigour, have often distorted the meanings of the Quran in their translations. It is therefore the duty of Islamic scholars to offer an accurate rendering of the divine text.

Mufti Ataur Rahman, Chairman of the Shah Waliullah Institute, acknowledged the previous recipients of the Shah Waliullah Award: the first went to Maulana Abdul Karim Parekh from Nagpur in 2007; the second and third to Maulana Akhlaq Hussain Qasmi and Maulana Faqihud-Din in 2010; the fourth to Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasmi in 2013; and the fifth to Maulana Qamaruz-Zaman Ilahabadi in 2014.

Present at the event were Muhammad Adeeb, former Member of Parliament; Siraj Hussain, former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard; Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari, former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court; Prof. Khalid Mahmood; and Khwaja Muhammad Shahid, among others. The proceedings were presided over by the Chairman of the Ghalib Institute, Prof. Siddiqur Rahman Kidwai.