{{Short description|Hadith scholar and poet (1898–1965)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = '''{{Colour|royalblue|Qutb al-Aarifeen}}'''<br>[[Mawlānā]] | name = Badre Alam Merathi | native_name = بدر عالم میرٹھی | native_name_lang = ur | birth_place = [[Budaun district|Budaun]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] | birth_date = {{birth date text|1898}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|10|29|1898|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Medina]] | resting_place = [[Al-Baqi Cemetery]] | alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|[[Mazahir Uloom]]|[[Darul Uloom Deoband]]}} | module = {{Infobox religious biography | embed = yes | religion = Islam | denomination = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] | jurisprudence = [[Hanafi school|Hanafi]] | movement = [[Deobandi movement|Deobandi]] | main_interests = {{Unbulleted list|[[Hadith studies]]|[[Poetry]]}} | notable_works = {{unbulleted list|''[[Fayd al-Bari]]''|''[[Tarjuman al-Sunnah]]''}} | teacher = {{unbulleted list|[[Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri]]|[[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]]|[[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]]|[[Zafar Ahmad Usmani]]|[[Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani]]|[[Asghar Hussain Deobandi]]}} | influences = [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] | students = [[Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda]] }} }} '''Badre Alam Merathi''' ({{langx|ur|بدر عالم میرٹھی}}; 1898 – 29 October 1965) was a mid-twentieth-century hadith scholar and poet originally from [[Meerut district|Meerut]], initially migrated to Pakistan and eventually settled in [[Medina]]. Best known as the interpreter of [[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]]'s teachings, he was a disciple of both Kashmiri and [[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]].<ref name=":Kaleem">{{Cite thesis |last=Kaleem |first=Mohd |title=Contribution of Old boys of Darul uloom Deoband in Hadith Literature |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, [[Aligarh Muslim University]] |year=2017 |location=India |language=ur |hdl=10603/364028 |type=PhD |page=174 |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/364028 |access-date=24 October 2023 |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024044219/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/364028 |url-status=live}}</ref> Educated at [[Mazahir Uloom]] and [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], he taught at both institutions and [[Jamia Islamia Talimuddin]]. During his tenure at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, he compiled ''[[Fayd al-Bari]]'', a four-volume Arabic commentary on ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', published in [[Cairo]] with financial support from [[Jamiatul Ulama South Africa|Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal]], considered a masterpiece in hadith commentary.<ref name=":Kaleem" /> He was also associated with [[Nadwatul Musannifeen]] and authored ''[[Tarjuman al-Sunnah]]'', a 4-volume hadith explanation designed for contemporary needs, widely acknowledged in academic circles.<ref name=":Riyasathullah">{{Cite thesis |last=Riyasathullah |first=Mohamed |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/295877 |title=Ahadees Kay Urdu Tarajim |publisher=Department of Arabic, [[University of Madras]] |year=2012 |location=India |language=ur |hdl=10603/295877 |type=PhD |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=2023-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025050302/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8443/jspui/handle/10603/295877 |url-status=live |page=95}}</ref> In his final years, he focused on teaching hadith in [[Prophet's Mosque]], where many South Africans pledged allegiance to him, expanding his spiritual influence in South Africa.<ref name=":Rizwi">{{Cite book |last=Rizwi |first=Syed Mehboob |url=https://archive.org/details/2VolumeBookOnTheHistoryOfDarAlUlumDeoband |title=History of the Dar al-Ulum Deoband |publisher=Idara-e Ihtemam, [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] |year=1981 |volume=2 |location=UP, India |page=103 |language=en |oclc=20222197 |author-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi}}</ref>
== Life sketch == Badre Alam was born in 1898 in a [[Sayyid]] family in the [[Budaun district]] of Uttar Pradesh.<ref name=":Khatoon">{{Cite thesis |last=Khatoon |first=Aaisha |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |title=Aazadi ke Baad Hindustan ki Khidmaat e Hadith |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, [[Aligarh Muslim University]] |year=2017 |location=India |language=urdu |type=PhD |hdl=10603/364027 |page=103|access-date=2023-10-24 |archive-date=2023-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024064943/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |url-status=live }}</ref> His father, Tahur Ali, served as a police officer.<ref name=":Riyasathullah" /> He received his initial education at an English school in [[Aligarh]], and influenced by a sermon of [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] at the age of eleven, he developed an inclination towards [[Islamic studies]].<ref name=":Ghani">{{Cite thesis |last=Ghani |first=Khwaja Abdul |url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/8471/1/4093H.pdf |title=Allama Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri: Un ke Mutasilin aur Talamzah ki Khidmat |publisher=[[University of Sindh]] |year=1979 |location=Jamshoro, Pakistan |language=ur |type=PhD |access-date=2023-06-27 |archive-date=2022-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027021735/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/8471/1/4093H.pdf |url-status=live |page=142}}</ref> Despite initial resistance from his father, he pursued religious education at [[Mazahir Uloom]].<ref name=":Riyasathullah" />
Under the mentorship of [[Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri]] for eight years, followed by further studies at [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] with [[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]], he continued his educational journey.<ref name=":Riyasathullah" /> His notable teachers at Mazahir Uloom included [[Zafar Ahmad Usmani]], and at Deoband, [[Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani]] and [[Asghar Hussain Deobandi]].<ref name=":IP">{{Cite web |last=Shabbir |first=Yusuf |date=2018 |title=Profile of Mawlana Muhammad Badr Alam Mirti |url=https://islamicportal.co.uk/profile-of-mawlana-muhammad-badr-alam-mirti/ |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Islamic Portal |language=en |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610230149/https://islamicportal.co.uk/profile-of-mawlana-muhammad-badr-alam-mirti/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After completing his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband, he began teaching there in 1925.<ref name="Tayyib">{{Cite book|last=Muhammad Tayyib|first=Qari|author-link=Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-sad-saala-zindagi-qari-muhammad-tayyab-ebooks|title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Sad Saala Zindagi|trans-title=Centenary Life of Darul Uloom Deoband|publisher=Daftar-e-Ihtemam, Darul Uloom Deoband|date=June 1965|edition=1st|location=Deoband|page=112|language=ur|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110050800/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-sad-saala-zindagi-qari-muhammad-tayyab-ebooks|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=": Khalili">{{Cite book |last=Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah Khalili|author-link=Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi|url=https://archive.org/details/darul-uloom-deob-ki-jamey-wa-mukhtasar-tareekh-edition-2|title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Jame O Mukhtasar Tareekh|trans-title =A comprehensive and brief history of Darul Uloom Deoband|publisher=Shaikh-Ul-Hind Academy |edition=3rd|date= October 2020 |location=India |page=577–578, 763|language=ur|oclc=1345466013}}</ref>
In 1927, he, along with Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, migrated to [[Jamia Islamia Talimuddin]].<ref name=":Khatoon" /> For seventeen years, he engaged in teaching hadith at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, covering texts such as ''[[Sunan al-Tirmidhi]]'', ''[[Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya]]'', and ''[[Mishkat al-Masabih]]''.<ref name="Dabhel">{{Cite book |last=Azami|first=Fazlur Rahman|url=https://archive.org/details/TarikhJamiaIslamiaDabhel/page/n95/mode/1up?view=theater|title=Tareekh e Jamia Islamia Dabhel|trans-title =History of Jamia Islamia Dabhel|publisher=Idara Tālīfāt e Ashrafia|year=1999|location=[[Multan]], Pakistan|page=189, 192|language=ur}}</ref> He also continued participating in Anwar Shah Kashmiri's classes on ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'' and ''[[Sunan al-Tirmidhi]]'' for five years.<ref name=":Miftahi">{{cite book |last=Miftahi |first=Zafeeruddin |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/mashaheer-e-ulama-e-darul-uloom-deoband-mohammad-zafeeruddin-ebooks |title=Mashaheer-e-Ulama-e-Darul Uloom Deoband |publisher=Daftar Ijalas-e-Sad Sala |year=1980 |edition=first |location=[[Deoband]] |pages=93–94 |language=ur |author-link=Zafeeruddin Miftahi |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229040228/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/mashaheer-e-ulama-e-darul-uloom-deoband-mohammad-zafeeruddin-ebooks |url-status=live }}</ref>
After [[Dabhel]], he moved to [[Bahawalnagar]], Punjab, established Jam'ul Uloom, and stayed for a year there. He then came to [[Delhi]] and became associated with [[Nadwatul Musannifeen]] in 1943.<ref name=":Aaftab">{{Cite book |last=Merathi |first=Badre Alam |url=https://archive.org/details/4_20220717/page/n19/mode/1up |title=Tarjuman al-Sunnah |publisher=Idara-e-Islāmiyyāt |year=1968 |volume=4 |location=Lahore |page=19 |language=ur |chapter=Musannif Ki Hayāt-e-Mubāraka Ki Ek Halki Si Jhalak: Aaftab Ahmad |trans-chapter=A brief glimpse of the author's life, by Aaftab Ahmad}}</ref> After the [[partition of India]] in 1947, he migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, and, under the patronage of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani founded Jamia Islamia at [[Tando Allahyar District|Tando Allahyar]].{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|p=144}} Following Pakistan's formation, he actively participated in the formulation of an Islamic constitution.<ref name=":Bukhari">{{Cite book |last=Bukhari |first=Akbar Shah |url=https://archive.org/details/Maktaba-Hafiz-Muhammad-Akbar-Shah-Bukhari-Sahib/Seerat-i-Badr-i-Alam |title=Seerat-e Badre Alam |publisher=HM Sayed Company |year=1985 |location=Karachi, Pakistan |page=64 |language=ur}}</ref>
After residing for four years in Pakistan, he migrated to [[Medina]].{{Sfn|Kaleem|2017|p=175}} [[Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda]] met him in Medina, benefited from him,<ref name=":Amini">{{cite book|last=Amini|first=Noor Alam Khalil|author-link=Noor Alam Khalil Amini|title=Pas-e-Marg Zinda|trans-title=People who are still alive after death|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/pas-e-marg-zinda-noor-alam-khaleel-amini-ebooks|publisher=Idara Ilm o Adab|location=[[Deoband]]|edition=3rd|date=May 2010|page=365|language=ur|access-date=10 January 2024|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110025651/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/pas-e-marg-zinda-noor-alam-khaleel-amini-ebooks|url-status=live}}</ref> and later narrated hadiths from him.<ref name=":Al Rājihi">{{Cite book |last=Al Rājihi |first=Abd al-Azīz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-j1LCwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1+%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A |title=Hady al-Sāri Ilā Asānīd al-Shaikh Ismail al-Ansari |publisher=Maktaba al-Rushd |year=2001 |edition=1st |location=[[Riyadh]], Saudi Arabia |page=190 |language=ar |access-date=29 January 2024 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129155423/https://books.google.com/books?id=-j1LCwAAQBAJ&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1+%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A#v=snippet&q=%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%8A&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
Known as Qutb al-Aarifeen,{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|p=148}} he received [[Sufism|Sufi]] teachings from Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, associated with Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani, and ultimately received spiritual succession from Muhammad Ishaq Merathi.<ref name=":Kamal">{{Cite thesis |last=Kamal |first=Mohd Arif |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364940 |title=Ulema e Hind ki Bisween Sadi Nisf Awwal mein Khidmat e Hadith Tanquidi Mutala |publisher=Department of Sunni Theology, [[Aligarh Muslim University]] |year=2020 |location=India |language=ur |type=PhD |page=221 |hdl=10603/364940 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101061946/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364940 |url-status=live }}</ref> He died on 29 October 1965, in [[Prophet's Mosque]], and was laid to rest in [[Al-Baqi Cemetery]].<ref name=":Burhan">{{Cite magazine |date=November 1965 |editor-last=Akbarabadi |editor-first=Saeed Ahmad |editor-link=Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi |title=Nazarāt |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/burhan-shumara-number-005-saeed-ahmad-akbarabadi-magazines-56 |journal=Monthly Burhan |language=ur |location=Delhi |publisher=[[Nadwatul Musannifeen]] |volume=55 |issue=5 |page=3 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107171007/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/burhan-shumara-number-005-saeed-ahmad-akbarabadi-magazines-56 |url-status=live }}</ref> His influence extended to Pakistan, India, South Africa, and the Middle East.<ref name=":Banuri">{{cite book |last=Banuri |first=Muhammad Yusuf |url=https://archive.org/details/20210127_20210127_1742/page/n27 |title=Yad-e-Raftagāñ |publisher=Maktaba Bayyinat, [[Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia]] |year=2020 |edition= |location=[[Allama Banuri Town|Banuri town, Karachi]] |page=27 |language=ur |author-link=Yusuf Banuri}}</ref>
== Literary works == He scrutinized the intricacies of the Quran and hadith, expressing an understanding of [[Arabic literature]] and poetry.<ref name=":50m">{{Cite book |last=Muhammad Tayyib |first=Qari |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-pachaas-misali-shakhsiyaat-qari-mohammad-tayyab-ebooks |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Pachaas Misali Shakhsiyaat |publisher=Maktaba Faiz-ul-Qur'an |year=1999 |editor-last=Bukhari |editor-first=Akbar Shah |location=[[Deoband]] |page=158 |language=ur |oclc=45499890 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106040835/https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-pachaas-misali-shakhsiyaat-qari-mohammad-tayyab-ebooks |url-status=live }}</ref> His literary works touched various religious subjects. Apart from [[Fayd al-Bari ala Sahih al-Bukhari|''Fayd al-Bari'']] and ''[[Tarjuman al-Sunnah]]'', he authored the three-volume ''Jawahir al-Hikam'', addressing contemporary social issues and the implementation of [[Sharia|Islamic law]] in 1965, translated into French and Gujarati.{{Sfn|Ghani|1979|pp=150–51}}<ref name=":IP" /> His annotations for ''Fayd al-Bari'', published as ''Al-Badr Al-Sari''.<ref name=":Mausoo'a">{{cite book |last=Mubarakpuri|first=Arif Jameel|author-link=Arif Jameel Mubarakpuri|title=Mausoo'a Ulama-u- Deoband|trans-title=The Encyclopedia of Deobandi Scholars|date=2021|edition=1st|publisher=Shaikhul Hind Academy|location=Deoband|page=347|language=ar}}</ref> He wrote an abstract of [[Rashid Ahmad Gangohi]]'s book ''Zubdat-ul-Manāsik'' under the title ''Khulasa Zubdat-ul-Manāsik'', a guide on [[Hajj]] issues.{{sfn|Bukhari|1985|p=52}} One of his books on the [[Jesus in Islam#Second Coming|descent of Jesus]] is called ''Nuzool-e-ʿĪsā'', and he has written a booklet in the same series called ''Awaz-e-Haq''.{{sfn|Bukhari|1985|p=52}} During his time in Pakistan, he translated [[Ali al-Qari]]'s ''Al-Hizb al-Azam'' and wrote some poetry.<ref name=":IP" />
== See also == * [[List of Deobandis]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [[iarchive:Maktaba-Maulana-Badr-Alam-Meeruti-ra|Works of Badre Alam Merathi]] at [[Internet Archive]] {{Hanafi scholars}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Deobandis]] [[Category:Hanafis]] [[Category:1898 births]] [[Category:1965 deaths]] [[Category:Muhajir people]] [[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]] [[Category:Mazahir Uloom alumni]] [[Category:Burials at al-Baqi Cemetery]] [[Category:People from Meerut]] [[Category:Scholars from Karachi]] [[Category:Writers from Karachi]] [[Category:People from Medina]] [[Category:Writers from Uttar Pradesh]] [[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]] [[Category:20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:Students of Anwar Shah Kashmiri]] [[Category:Academic staff of Darul Uloom Deoband]] [[Category:Academic staff of Jamia Islamia Talimuddin]] [[Category:Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:20th-century Urdu-language writers]] [[Category:20th-century Arabic-language writers]]