{{Short description|Indian Islamic scholar and Sufi (c. 1895–1967)}} {{Infobox religious biography | name = Wasiullah Fatehpuri | image = Wasiullah Fatehpuri.jpeg | caption = Fatehpuri seated among disciples | birth_date = {{circa|1895}} | birth_place = [[Tal Naraja, Fatehpur]], [[Azamgarh district]] (now [[Mau district]]), [[North-Western Provinces]], British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1967|11|25|1895}} | death_place = At sea (en route from [[Bombay]] to [[Mecca]]) | resting_place = [[Sea burial|Burial at sea]] | death_cause = [[Cerebral haemorrhage]] | religion = [[Islam]] | denomination= [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] |jurisprudence = [[Hanafi school|Hanafi]] | Sufi_order = [[Chishti]] | creed = [[Deobandi]] | alma_mater = [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] | teacher = [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] | occupation = Islamic scholar, Sufi, teacher, writer | known_for = Deobandi scholarship and Sufi training }} '''Wasiullah Fatehpuri''' ({{circa}} 1895–1967), also known as '''Shah Wasiullah''',<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HzhuAAAAMAAJ&q=Shah+Wasiullah |title=Triveni: Essays on the Cultural Heritage of Allahabad |date=1996 |publisher=Society of Pilgrimage Studies |isbn=978-81-900520-2-3 |page=37 |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jafri |first1=Saiyid Zaheer Husain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21DYAAAAMAAJ&q=Shah+Wasiullah |title=The Islamic Path: Sufism, Society, and Politics in India |last2=Reifeld |first2=Helmut |date=2006 |publisher=Rainbow Publishers |isbn=978-81-86962-85-5 |page=351 |language=en}}</ref> '''Wasiullah Azmi''' and '''Wasiullah Illahabadi''', was an Indian Islamic scholar, Sufi, teacher, and writer. He was an authorised disciple of [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] in [[Sufism]] and was associated with the [[Deobandi]] scholarly tradition.
== Early life and education == Wasiullah Fatehpuri was born in {{circa}} 1895 (1312 [[Anno Hegirae|AH]]){{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=65–66}} in [[Tal Naraja, Fatehpur]], [[Azamgarh district]] (now [[Mau district]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Azami |first=Habibur Rahman|author-link=Habibur Rahman Azami (scholar, born 1941)|chapter=Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri|chapter-url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tazkira-e-ulama-e-azamgadh-habeeburrahman-aazmi-ebooks#408 |title=Tadhikra Ulama-e-Azamgarh |trans-title=A Biographical Dictionary of the Scholars of Azamgarh|publisher=Markaz-e-Dawat-o-Tahqīq|edition=2nd|year=2012 |location=Deoband |page=407|language=ur}}</ref>
He received his early and elementary education, including [[Hifz|memorisation of the Qur'an]], in his native place. Thereafter, he pursued further studies in [[Kanpur]] at Madrasa Ashraful Uloom and Madrasa Jamiul Uloom, where he studied introductory Persian and Arabic texts.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=408}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=78}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rizwi |first=Syed Mehboob |translator= Murtaz Hussain F Qureshi |chapter=Maulana Shah Vasi Allah A'zami|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/learnislampdfenglishbookhistoryofthedarululoomdeobandvolumetwo1981/page/n103/mode/1up |title=[[History of Darul Uloom Deoband]] |publisher=Idara-e Ihtemam, [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] |year=1981 |volume=2 |location=UP, India |pages=91–93 |language=en |oclc=20222197|author-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi}}</ref>
In 1328 AH, he enrolled at [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], beginning his studies with texts such as ''[[Al-Quduri|Mukhtasr al-Quduri]]'' and ''[[Ibn al-Hajib|al-Kafiya]]''.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=408}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=79}} He completed his education there in 1335 AH (1917 CE).{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=79–80}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khalili Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah |author-link=Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi|chapter=Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri summa Ilahabadi|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/darul-uloom-deob-ki-jamey-wa-mukhtasar-tareekh-edition-2/page/n721/mode/1up |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Jami' Wa Mukhtasar Tareekh|trans-title=A Comprehensive and Concise History of Darul Uloom Deoband|publisher=Shaikhul Hind Academy |edition=2nd|date=October 2020 |location=India |page=722|language=ur|oclc=1345466013}}</ref>
His teachers at the Deoband seminary included [[Anwar Shah Kashmiri]], [[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]], [[Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri]], [[Ibrahim Balyawi]], [[Izaz Ali Amrohi]], [[Ghulam Rasool Hazarvi]], and [[Azizur Rahman Usmani]].{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=80}}
His fellow students included [[Muhammad Shafi Deobandi]] and [[Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi]].{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=408}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=98}}
== Spiritual life == During his student years at Deoband, Fatehpuri entered into a spiritual pledge ([[bay'ah]]) at a young age with [[Mahmud Hasan Deobandi]]. Shortly thereafter, Deobandi was imprisoned in Malta, following which Fatehpuri developed a close spiritual association with [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]] and subsequently pledged allegiance to him. This led to his regular visits to the khanqah at [[Thana Bhawan]].{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=75–76}}
After completing his formal education, he stayed at Thana Bhawan with Thanvi for the purpose of further intellectual and spiritual training.{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=99}} Following his graduation, he devoted himself fully to the khanqah at Thana Bhawan and completed his spiritual training under Thanwi. He was later granted permission for bay'ah and khilafah by Thanwi.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=410}}
== Career == During his stay at Thana Bhawan, Fatehpuri also taught at the madrasa attached to the khanqah. While residing in [[Phulpur, Azamgarh]] with Shah Abdul Ghani Phulpuri, he likewise engaged in regular teaching activities.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=410–411}} Beginning in 1342 AH, he served for approximately five years as a teacher at Ihyaul Uloom, [[Mubarakpur, Azamgarh|Mubarakpur]].{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=410}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=171}}
He then spent two years residing with his spiritual mentor at Thana Bhawan.{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|p=174}} After his marriage, he settled in his native town of Fatehpur. In [[Safar]] 1345 AH, he returned to Ihyaul Uloom, Mubarakpur, where he remained until [[Rajab]] of the same year.{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=175–176}}
Following his period in Mubarakpur, he stayed for some time in [[Kanpur]], where he was also involved in teaching. He later returned to Thana Bhawan with his mentor, who assigned him responsibilities of teaching at Madrasa Imdadul Uloom, Thana Bhawan, and serving as the imam of the khanqah mosque.{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=179–181}}
In 1351 AH, he returned permanently to his native region and became engaged in teaching, training, and community guidance.{{Sfn|Rizwi|1981|p=128}} Initially, his activities remained limited to his hometown and surrounding areas.{{Sfn|Jami|1995a|pp=263}} He continued teaching there, and among his students was his son-in-law Qamaruzzaman Allahabadi.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=410–411}}
Due to local political and social tensions, Fatehpuri left his hometown in 1375 AH (1956) and relocated to [[Gorakhpur]],{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=412–413}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995b|pp=137, 140}} where he remained until November 1957.{{Sfn|Jami|1995b|p=152}} In 1377 AH (1957), he chose to settle in [[Allahabad]] instead of Gorakhpur.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=416–417}}{{Sfn|Jami|1995b|p=263}} There, he established a khanqah and continued work related to spiritual instruction in accordance with the methods of his mentors.{{Sfn|ar-Raḥmān|1976|p=661}} He also founded a madrasa known as Madrasa Wasiyatul Uloom.{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|p=105}}
In 1961, he returned temporarily to Fatehpur,{{Sfn|Jami|1995b|p=353, 387}}{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=87–88}} after which he went back to Allahabad.{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=105–106}} In February 1965, he stayed in [[Aligarh]] for one week.{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=190, 194}} Later that year, he spent approximately one month in Lucknow for medical treatment{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=228–229}} and subsequently remained in [[Bombay]] (Mumbai) for two to three months.{{Sfn|Jami|1997a|p=414, 417}}{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=161–162, 229–230}} Until his death, he continued to travel periodically from Allahabad to Bombay, where he also engaged in spiritual guidance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=ar-Raḥmān |first=Fuyūz̤ |url= |title=Mashahīr 'Ulamā-e-Deoband |publisher=Maktaba Aziziyya|year=1976 |edition=1st |volume=1 |location=Urdu Bazar, [[Lahore]] |page=661 |language=ur |chapter=Maulana Shah Wasiullah Azmi |chapter-url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/mashaheer-ulama-e-deoband-qari-fuyuzur-rahman-ebooks#675}}</ref>{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=9–11}}
His notable authorised disciples in [[Sufism]] include Muhammad Mubeen Allahabadi, [[Ibrahim Balyawi]], Zahoorul Hasan Thanwi, Muhammad Ishaq Sandelvi, Muhammad Hanif Jaunpuri, [[Nizamuddin Azami]], Abdul Halim Faizabadi, Salahuddin Allahabadi, Hakim Masood Ajmeri, [[Qamaruzzaman Allahabadi]], and Irshad Ahmad Faizabadi.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=419}}{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=448–450}}
== Literary works == Fatehpuri authored more than fifty works of varying length.{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=452–464}} His writings, including treatises and letters, were later compiled and published under the title ''Majmū'a-yi Ta'līfāt-i Muṣliḥ al-Ummah'',{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=723}} issued in four volumes and comprising forty-eight works.{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=452–463}}
In addition to this collected edition, several of his works were published separately. Notable titles include:{{Sfn|ar-Raḥmān|1976|p=661}}{{Sfn|Azami|2012|p=419}} * ''al-Ifādāt al-Waṣiyyah'' * ''Waṣiyyat al-Akhlāq'' * ''Waṣiyyat al-Iḥsān'' * ''Waṣiyyat al-Sālikīn'' * ''Taṣawwuf wa Nisbat al-Ṣūfiyyah'' * ''Ta'līm wa Tarbiyat-i Awlād'' * ''al-Tadhkīr bi’l-Qur'ān'' * ''ʿIlm kī Ḍarūrat'' * ''Tawqīr al-'Ulamā'' * ''Taḥdhīr al-'Ulamā'' * ''Dībācha-yi Ma'rifat'' * ''Gulistān-i Ma'rifat''
== Death == In the later years of his life, on 11 [[Shaban]] 1387 AH, he departed from Bombay aboard the [[Bombay Steam Navigation Company#Ships|S.S. Mozaffari]] along with his disciples for the [[Hajj|pilgrimage]] to [[Mecca]]. During the journey, on 22 Shaban 1387 AH, he suffered a severe hypertensive episode resulting in a [[cerebral haemorrhage]], which led to his death while at sea.{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=418–419}}{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|pp=360–361}} He died on 25 November 1967 at the age of 75.<ref name="Burhan">{{Cite magazine |date=December 1967 |editor-last=Akbarabadi |editor-first=Saeed Ahmad |editor-link=Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi |title=Nazarāt |trans-title=Reflections |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/burhan-shumara-number-006-saeed-ahmad-akbarabadi-magazines-51#3 |journal=Monthly Burhan |language=ur |location=Delhi |publisher=[[Nadwatul Musannifeen]] |volume=59 |issue=6 |page=322}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Kaleem |first=Mohd |title=Contribution of Old boys of Darul uloom Deoband in Hadith Literature |publisher=[[Faculty of Theology, Aligarh Muslim University|Faculty of Sunni Theology, AMU]] |year=2017 |location=India |language=ur |hdl=10603/364028 |type=PhD |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364028 |access-date=17 January 2026 |archive-date=18 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018122843/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364028 |url-status=live|page=239|chapter=Maulana Shah Wasiullah Azami}}</ref>
Permission had been granted by the Saudi authorities for his burial at [[Jannat al-Mu'alla]]; however, due to the non-receipt of the necessary telegram, funeral rites were performed aboard the ship and his body was consigned to the sea, traditionally identified in contemporary accounts as the [[Red Sea]].{{Sfn|Azami|2012|pp=418–419}}{{Sfn|Jami|1997b|p=362}}<ref name="Shabbir">{{cite book |last=Qasmi |first=Shabbir Ahmad |url= |title=Fatawa Qāsmia |publisher=Ashrafi Book Depot |year=2015 |edition=1st |location=Deoband |page=338 |language=ur |chapter=Maulana Shah Wasiullah|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/Fatawa-Qasmia/Fatawa-Qasmia-Vol-01/page/n338/mode/1up}}</ref>
== References == === Citations === {{Reflist}} === Bibliography === * {{Cite book |last=Jami |first=Abdur Rahman |url=https://archive.org/details/halat-e-muslih-ul-ummah-vol.-1 |title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah (Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami) ke ḥālāt-e-zindagī) |publisher=Dairat-ul-Ishā'at |year=1995a |edition=First |volume=1 |location=[[Allahabad]] |language=ur |trans-title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah: A Biographical Study of Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami)}} * {{Cite book |last=Jami |first=Abdur Rahman |url=https://archive.org/details/halat-e-muslih-ul-ummah-vol.-2 |title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah (Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami) ke ḥālāt-e-zindagī) |publisher=Dairat-ul-Ishā'at |year=1995b |edition=First |volume=2 |location=[[Allahabad]] |language=ur |trans-title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah: A Biographical Study of Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami)}} * {{Cite book |last=Jami |first=Abdur Rahman |url=https://archive.org/details/halat-e-muslih-ul-ummah-vol.-3 |title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah (Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami) ke ḥālāt-e-zindagī) |publisher=Dairat-ul-Ishā'at |year=1997a |edition=First |volume=3 |location=[[Allahabad]] |language=ur |trans-title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah: A Biographical Study of Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami)}} * {{Cite book |last=Jami |first=Abdur Rahman |url=https://archive.org/details/halat-e-muslih-ul-ummah-vol.-4 |title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah (Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami) ke ḥālāt-e-zindagī) |publisher=Dairat-ul-Ishā'at |year=1997b |edition=First |volume=4 |location=[[Allahabad]] |language=ur |trans-title=Ḥālāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah: A Biographical Study of Maulana Shah Wasiullah Fatehpuri (Azami)}} == Further reading == * {{Cite book |last=Azami |first=I'jaz Ahmad |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/hayat-e-musleh-ul-ummat-ejaz-ahmad-azmi-ebooks |title=Ḥayāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah |publisher=Dairat-ul-Ishā'at |year=1984 |edition=First |location=Allahabad |language=ur |trans-title=The Biography of Maulana Shah Wasiullah}} ** {{Cite book |last=Azami |first=I'jaz Ahmad |url=https://archive.org/details/BestUrduBooks16/HAYAT-E-MUSLIKH-UL-UMMAT/mode/1up |title=Ḥayāt-e-Muṣliḥ-ul-Ummah |publisher=Maulana Liyaqat Ali Qasmi|date=August 2007 |edition=First |location=[[Bhendi Bazaar]], Mumbai |language=ur |trans-title=The Biography of Maulana Shah Wasiullah}} * {{Cite book |last=Buk̲h̲ārī |first=Muḥammad Akbar Shāh |url=https://archive.org/details/karwan-e-Thanwi |title=Karwan-e Thanwi: 192 disciples of Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Tahanawi |date=December 1997 |publisher=Idaratul Ma'arif |location=[[Karachi]], Pakistan |language=ur|pages=141–143}} * {{Cite book |last=Sa'īd |first=Aḥmad |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/bazm-e-ashraf-ke-charagh-ahmad-saeed-ebooks#57 |title=Bazm-i Ashraf ke Chirāg̲h |date=25 May 1975 |publisher=Maktabah Iḥyāul Uloom al-Sharqīyah |location=[[Lahore]], Pakistan|language=ur |pages=57–59}} * {{Cite journal |date=December 1967 |editor-last=Nomani |editor-first=Manzoor |editor-link=Manzoor Nomani |title=Nigāh-e-Awwalīñ: Waqa'at al-Wāqi'ah |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/al-furqan-lucknow-shumara-number-008-ateequr-rahman-sambhali-mohammad-manzoor-nomani-magazines-1 |journal=Monthly Al-Furqān |language=ur |location=Kutchery Road, [[Lucknow]] |publisher=Daftar e Al-Furqān|volume=35 |issue=8 |pages=2–12}} * {{Cite journal |date=December 1967 |editor-last=Nadwi |editor-first=Moinuddin Ahmad |editor-link=Moinuddin Ahmad Nadwi|title=Shadharāt |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/maarif-shumara-number-006-shah-moinuddin-ahmad-nadvi-magazines-2 |journal=[[Ma'arif]] |language=ur |location=[[Azamgarh]] |publisher=[[Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy]] |volume=100 |issue=6 |pages=402–403}} * {{Cite book |last=Allahabadi |first=Qamaruzzaman |author-link=Qamaruzzaman Allahabadi|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tazkira-e-muslih-ul-ummat-part-001-qamar-uz-zaman-ebooks |title=Tazkira-i Muslih-ul-Ummah (az wilādat tā wafāt)|trans-title=Memoir of Muslih-ul-Ummah: From Birth to Demise|year=1984 |volume=1|publisher=Dairatul Ma'arif|location=[[Allahabad]] |language=ur}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fatehpuri, Wasiullah}} [[Category:1890s births]] [[Category:1967 deaths]] [[Category:People from Mau district]] [[Category:Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:Indian Sufis]][[Category:Hanafis]] [[Category:Deobandis]] [[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]] [[Category:Urdu-language writers]] [[Category:20th-century Indian scholars]]