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{{Short description|Indian Islamic hadith scholar (b. 1936 AD)}}
{{Confuse|Nizamuddin Azami}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|religion = [[Islam]]
|title =
|honorific_prefix = {{small|Bahr al-Uloom, [[Maulana]]}}
|name = Nematullah Azami
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1936|12|24}}
|birth_place = [[Kurthi Jafarpur|Pura Maroof]], then Azamgarh district, [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]], British India {{small|(now [[Mau district]], Uttar Pradesh, India)}}
|nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
|school = Isha'atul Uloom Pura Maroof<br />[[Darul Uloom Deoband]]
|main_interests = [[Hadith]], [[Fiqh]], [[Biographical evaluation]]
|notable_works =
|students = {{bulleted list|[[Abdullah Maroofi]]|[[Salman Mansoorpuri]]|[[Salman Bijnori]]|[[Ishtiaque Ahmad Qasmi]]|[[Yasir Nadeem al Wajidi]]}}
| teachers = {{ubl|[[Hussain Ahmad Madani]]|[[Izaz Ali Amrohi]]|[[Ibrahim Balyawi]]}}
|office1 = President [[Islamic Fiqh Academy, India]]
| term_start1 = 30 May 2011
|predecessor1 = [[Zafeeruddin Miftahi]]
|successor1 =
|office2 =
|term2 =
|predecessor2 =
|successor2 =
}}
'''Nematullah Azami''' (born 24 December 1936), also written as '''Nematullah Azmi''' and '''Ni'matullah Azami''', is an Indian Islamic hadith scholar, a [[Tafsir|commentator on the Quran]] (mufassir), and a [[faqīh]] (Islamic jurist). He is the president of India's [[Islamic Fiqh Academy, India|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 ([[Kurthi Jafarpur]]), [[Azamgarh District]], [[United Provinces of British India]] (now [[Mau District]], Uttar Pradesh).<ref name="Jāme o Mukhtasar">{{Cite book |last=Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah Khalili|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 |pages=685, 767|language=ur|oclc=1345466013}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Fuzail">{{cite web |last=Nasiri |first=Fuzail Ahmad |author-link=Fuzail Ahmad Nasiri |date=8 May 2021 |title=پچھلے علماء کی یادگار، اگل علماء کا معیار سراج المحدثین حضرت مولانا نعمت اللہ اعظمی صاحب مدظلہ |trans-title=The memory of the previous scholars, the standard of the next scholars Siraj ul-Muhaddithīn Maulana Nematullah Azmi |url=https://www.baseeratonline.com/archives/145972 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117015336/https://www.baseeratonline.com/archives/145972 |archive-date=17 January 2024 |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=Baseerat Online |language=ur}}</ref>

After that, he enrolled in [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] and graduated from the Hadith course in 1953 (1372 AH). He continued there for another year or two after graduation, spending time on various subjects.<ref name="Mashāhīr">{{cite book |last=Maroofi|first=Muhammad Usman|title=Mashahīr-e-Pura Maroof|date=1976|publisher=Maktaba Usmania|location=Pura Maroof, Baloh, [[Kurthi Jafarpur]], Mau district|pages=81–82|chapter=Sheikh al-Hadith Maulana Nematullah|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/MashaheerEPooraMaroofMau/page/n80/mode/1up|language=ur}}</ref><ref name="Hanīf">{{Cite web |last=Qasmi |first=Rafiuddin Hanif |date=26 February 2018 |title=Hazrat Maulana Nematullah Azmi |url=https://mazameen.com/%d8%ad%d8%b6%d8%b1%d8%aa-%d9%85%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%a7-%d9%86%d8%b9%d9%85%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%db%81-%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%b8%d9%85%db%8c/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117015025/https://mazameen.com/%D8%AD%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%DB%81-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85%DB%8C/ |archive-date=17 January 2024 |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=mazmeen.com |language=ur}}</ref><ref name="Fuzail" /> At the Deoband seminary, his teachers included [[Hussain Ahmad Madani]], [[Izaz Ali Amrohi]] and [[Ibrahim Balyawi]].<ref name="Azami">{{cite book |last=Azmi|first=Abul Hasan|title=Hazrat Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi: Ek Dil Aawez Shakhsiyat|date=2004|edition=|publisher=Maktaba Sautul Qura|location=Deoband|page=41|chapter=Maulana Nematullah Azmi|language=ur}}</ref><ref name="Fuzail" /> His classmates included [[Anzar Shah Kashmiri]] and [[Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi]].<ref name="Fuzail" /><ref name="Farooque">{{cite book|last=Qasmi|first=Farooque Azam|title=Aasma'n Kaise Kaise|publisher=Markazi Publications|location=[[New Delhi]]|edition=1st|date=2022|chapter=Bahrul Uloom|pages=34–42|language=ur}}</ref>

== 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 [[Habibur Rahman Azami|Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami]], he served for a few years in Miftah-ul-Uloom, Mau, as [[Sheikh al-Hadith]].<ref name="Mashāhīr" /><ref name="Fuzail" /> He also provided teaching services in some madrasas in Assam and Gujarat.<ref name="Hanīf" />

In 1982 (1402 AH), on the invitation of [[Wahiduzzaman Kairanawi]], he came to [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] where he was appointed as a senior teacher.<ref name="Fuzail" /><ref name="Cambridge">{{cite book |last=Zaman|first=Muhammad Qasim|title=Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uf0fAwAAQBAJ&dq=nematullah+azmi&pg=PA98|date=2012|edition=|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=[[Cambridge]]|page=98|isbn=9781139577182 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumillai |first=Muhammad Hifzur Rahman |url=https://shamela.ws/book/819/16 |title=Al Budoor Al Madya Fī Trājim Al Hanafia |publisher=Dar as-Saleh |year=2018 |edition=2nd |location=Cairo, Egypt |pages=20 |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="Ghori">{{Cite book |last=Nadwi |first=Ahmad Zakaria Ghori|url=https://archive.org/download/WAQ110839s/01_110839s.pdf |title=Muqaddamt al-Imām Abil-Hasan |edition=1st|publisher=Dar Ibn-Kathīr |year=2010 |location=[[Damascus]], Syria |page=126 |language=ar}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Azami" /><ref name="Fuzail" /><ref name="Jāme o Mukhtasar" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Al Jabiri |first=Ahmad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpgxDwAAQBAJ |title=الدرس الحديثي المعاصر |publisher=Markaz Nama’ Li al-Buhth wa al-Dirāsāt |year=2017 |isbn=978-614-431-707-5 |edition=1st |location=[[Cairo]], Egypt |pages=363–364 |language=ar |trans-title=A Contemporary Hadith Lesson}}</ref>

After [[Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri]], his name was suggested for the post of Sheikh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, which he declined.<ref name="Fuzail" /> He is known by the title "Bahrul Uloom" ({{translation|The Ocean of Knowledge}}) due to his meticulous and extensive study of [[Hadith studies|Hadith]], [[biographical evaluation]] (ʿIlm al-rijāl), Christianity, and Judaism.<ref name="Fuzail" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=al-Sughnaqi |first1=Husam al-Din |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vY3iEAAAQBAJ&dq=%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85%D9%8A&pg=PT8 |title=An-Nihāyah Fī Sharh al-Hiadayah (Vol. 1) |last2=Afghani |first2=Muhammad Ahmad |publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah |year=2023 |isbn=978-2-7451-9445-9 |location=Beirut, Lebanon |pages=9–10 |language=ar}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Mausoo'ah">{{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=488|language=ar}}</ref><ref name="Hasan">{{cite book |last=Maroofi|first=Muhammad Abdullah|title=Al-Hadith Al-Hasan Fī Jami al-Tirmidhi|url=https://archive.org/details/al-Hadith-al-Hasan-Fi-Jami-al-Tirmidhi/page/n1/mode/1up|date=2004|publisher=Shaikhul Hind Academy|location=Deoband|pages=5–6|chapter=Foreword by [[Marghubur Rahman Bijnori]]|language=ur}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Maroofi |first1=Abd as-Sattar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkAyEAAAQBAJ&dq=%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85%D9%8A&pg=PT9 |title=Masha'ikh al-Imām al-'Azam |last2=Azmi |first2=Mas‘ood Ahmad |publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah |year=2021 |isbn=978-2-7451-9855-6 |location=Beirut, Lebanon |pages=10, 12, 37 |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="Ghori" /><ref name=": Bayyināt">{{Cite journal|date=September 2016 |editor1-last=Iskander|editor1-first=Abdur Razzaq|editor1-link=Abdur Razzaq Iskander |editor2-last=Banuri|editor2-first=Sulaiman Yousuf|editor3-last=Mustafa|editor3-first=Muhammad Ijaz|title=Uloom-e-Hadith Mein Ikhtisās: Ahmiyat o Zarūrat, by Muhammad Yāsir Abdullah|trans-title=Specialization in Hadith Sciences: Importance and Necessity, by Muhammad Yāsir Abdullah|url=https://www.banuri.edu.pk/bayyinat-detail/%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%AD%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AB-%D9%85%DB%8C%DA%BA-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D8%A7%DB%81%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA |journal=[[Bayyināt]] |language=ur |location=[[Allama Banuri Town]], Karachi|publisher=[[Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia]] |volume=79 |issue=11 |pages=38–39}}</ref>

He was appointed as president of the [[Islamic Fiqh Academy, India|Islamic Fiqh Academy]] on 30 May 2011, succeeding [[Zafeeruddin Miftahi]].<ref name="Hanīf" /><ref name="two circles">{{cite news|author=|title=Maulana Nematullah Azmi elected as president of Islamic Fiqh Academy|url=https://twocircles.net/2011may31/maulana_nematullah_azmi_elected_president_islamic_fiqh_academy.html|work=[[Two Circles]]|location=|date=31 May 2011|access-date=11 November 2022|language=en}}</ref><ref name="indianmuslimobserver">{{cite news
| author =
| title = Maulana Mohammad Naimatullah Azmi Elected As The President Of Islamic Fiqh Academy-India
| url = https://theindianawaaz.com/maulana-azmi-is-new-chief-of-fiqh-academy-2/
| work =
The Indian Awaaz
| location =
| date = 1 June 2011
| access-date = 11 November 2022
|language=en
}}</ref><ref name="Deoband Online">{{cite news|author=|title=Maulana Nematullah Azmi Elected President of Islamic Fiqh Academy|url=http://www.deoband.net/news/maulana-nematullah-azmi-elected-president-of-islamic-fiqh-academy|work=Deoband Online|location=|date=31 May 2011|access-date=11 November 2022|language=en}}</ref>

He is convinced of the necessity of [[ijtihad]] in religious matters.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=About Nematullah Azami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZNtAAAAMAAJ&q=nematullah+azmi|journal=The Muslim World |volume=3|issue=1–12|date=2001|publisher=[[World Muslim Congress]]|page=18|language=en}}</ref>

In March 2019, Islamic jurists, including Azami, stated the [[Sukanya Samriddhi Account|Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana]] (SSY), a scheme launched by the Indian government, is "illegal" according to [[Sharia|Islamic Shari'a]] because it contains [[Riba|interest]] as a part.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 March 2019 |title=Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna "illegal" as per Sharia: Islamic jurists |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sukanya-samriddhi-yojna-illegal-as-per-sharia-islamic-jurists-119033000391_1.html |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=[[Business Standard]]}}</ref>

== 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''.<ref name="Jāme o Mukhtasar" /><ref name=": Bayyināt" />

He has done the work of commenting on the book ''Al-Ilzāmāt'' by [[Al-Daraqutni]].<ref name="Mashāhīr" /> His works include:<ref name="Hanīf" /><ref name="Fuzail" /><ref name="Farooque" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Barnī |first=Abū Muḥammad ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Kawthar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8HXAAAAMAAJ&q=%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85%D9%8A |title=علماء ديوبند وخدماتهم في علم الحديث |publisher=Shaikh al-Hind Academy |year=1998 |location=Deoband |pages=276 |language=ar |trans-title=Deobandi scholars and their services in Hadith science}}</ref><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 |pages=201–202|access-date=9 January 2024|archive-date=24 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024064943/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364027 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Ni'm al-Bayān fī Tarjama al-Quran'' (a exegesis of the Quran)
* ''Dars-e-Bukhari'' (compilation of the lectures of his teacher [[Hussain Ahmad Madani]] on [[Sahih al-Bukhari]])
* ''Ni'mat al-Mun'im'' (an Urdu commentary on [[Sahih Muslim]] in two volumes)<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 |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364028 |access-date=18 October 2025 |archive-date=18 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251018122843/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/364028 |url-status=live |pages=301–302}}</ref>
* ''Taqrīb Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār'' (5 volumes; translated also into English by Habib Bewley under the title ''Sharḥ Maʿāni al-Āthār: Explanation of the Meanings of the Traditions''<ref>{{Cite web |title=At-Tahawi's Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar Meaning of Traditions [English] |url=https://kitaabun.com/shopping3/tahawis-sharh-maani-athar-meaning-traditions-english-p-7651.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108154205/https://kitaabun.com/shopping3/tahawis-sharh-maani-athar-meaning-traditions-english-p-7651.html |archive-date=8 January 2024 |access-date=8 January 2024 |website=kitaabun.com}}</ref>)
* ''Al-Fawāid al-Muhimma Fī Dirāsat al-Mutūn wa Mukhtalaf al-Hadīth'' (important benefits of studying texts and different hadiths)
* ''Madāris ar-Ruwāt wa Mashāhīr-u-Asātizatihā Ma'a Talāmidhatihim wa Tabaqātihim'' (Schools of Hadith narrators and their famous teachers, along with their students and their generations)
* ''īsāiyat; Injīl Ki Roshni Mein'' (A Study of Christianity in the Light of the [[Gospel in Islam|Gospel]])
* ''Dirāsat u Tatbīq al-Amthilah Li ‘Anwā‘ al-ahadīth al-mukhtalifah'' (Study the application of examples to different types of hadiths)
* ''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'' (in Arabic; studying ''the authentic hadith'' and ''the good hadith'' and their divisions, the idea of [[Ibn al-Salah]], and studying the standard of knowledge of the men of ''the good hadith in and of itself''.)
* ''Al-Ahādīth al-Mukhtārah Li al-Hifz Li Qism at-Takhassus Fi al-Hadīth'' (in Arabic; Hadiths selected for memorization for the Department of Specialization in Hadith)
* ''Tashīl al-Usool'' (in Arabic; a book co-authored with Riyasat Ali Zafar Bijnori on the [[Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence]])
* ''[[iarchive:ImamAbuHanifaParIrjaKiTohmat|Hazrat Imām Abu Hanīfa Par Irja’ Ki Tuhmat]]'', a rejection of the accusation of postponement ([[Murji'ah|’Irja’]]) against [[Abu Hanifa]]
* ''Fuqaha‘ as-Sahāba'' (Islamic jurists from the [[Companions of the Prophet]])
* ''Hadīth e Jassāsah'' (A response to the refutation of [[Tamim al-Dari#The narrative of the Dajjal|Hadith Al-Jassasah]] about [[Al-Masih ad-Dajjal|Dajjal]])
* ''Allah Par Imān Kiya Hai?'' (in Urdu; What is the definition of [[Iman (Islam)|faith]] in [[Allah]]?)

== See also ==
* [[List of Deobandis]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azami, Nematullah}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Deobandis]]
[[Category:People from Mau district]]
[[Category:People from Azamgarh district]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Darul Uloom Deoband]]
[[Category:Hadith scholars]]
[[Category:Biographical evaluation scholars]]

Nematullah Azami - Revision history

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