Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi (1893-1972)

Biography of Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi was born in 1893 in Samrud. He was the son of Sheikh Abu Saadat and grand son of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Hashim Samrodi. At the age of 5, plague affected the village of Samrud and many people from the village passed away and his family was decimated by it including his father and grand father. Only seven members from his family in Samrud survived, three males: Sheikh Abdul Jaleel, his paternal uncle and his paternal uncle’s son; and four Women, his two sisters, his paternal aunt, and a daughter of his paternal uncle.

His Early Schooling

In 1905 he went to Delhi to join the Madrasah of Mian Nazeer Hussain Dehlwi but he was only 12 and the Madrasah did not have classes for young students. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Memon was present there and he advised Sheikh Abdul Jaleel to join the Madrasah of Sheikh Abdul Wahab Dehlwi. His maternal uncle Sheikh Muhammad Surti was also residing in Delhi and he enrolled Sheikh Abdul Jaleel in the Madrasah of Sheikh Abdul Wahab Dehlwi. Sheikh Abdul Jaleel learned Islamic sciences from Sheikh Abdul Wahab Dehlwi for 8 years and became among his preeminent students. He studied logic and philosophy from a Hanafi scholar in Fathpuri Masjid Delhi.

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi performed Hajj in 1912 at the age of 20. While drinking Zamzam water, he prayed to Allah, asking to attain the level of Imam Bukhari in Hadith and surpass the level of verification achieved by Hafiz bin Hajar. He stated, “This was a prayer from the heart of this weak individual, almost like a state of madness, but Allah has blessed me with such generosity in verification that I am unable to adequately express my gratitude.” He added, “At times, after conducting my own verifications, I would discover points that Hafiz bin Hajar may not have found.” He went on to say, “I take pride in this, but I do not claim to be superior to him. No, he is far greater than me, hundreds of thousands of times more so. I am not even worthy to reach his level. The true virtue belongs to those who came before. I do not see myself as comparable to him, let alone superior. However, I do not follow his verification blindly like others do.”

His Institute and Students

After completing his studies, Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi returned to his hometown of Samrud and founded an institute named “Madrasah Islamiyah Arabiyah Daar Al-Kitab wa Sunnah.” At this institution, teachers would instruct students in basic subjects, while he himself would teach in his library and mosque. Students traveled from across various provinces to study under him, including those from Sumatra, Gao, and Indonesia.

Among his notable students were: Sheikh Muhammad Ishaq Jalili Faydhabadi, Sheikh Abdul Barr bin Abdul Jaleel Samrudi, Sheikh Abdul Majeed Faizi, Hafiz Hameedullah Jalili, Sheikh Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Jaleel Samrudi, Sheikh Ahmad Dehlwi, Sheikh Abdul Wahid Dehlwi, Sheikh Shihabudin Mujahid, Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikh Azmatullah (Uttar Pradesh), Sheikh Ismaeel, Sheikh Abdul Mateen (Bengal), and many others.

List of some of Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi writings

1) “Waseelah An-Najat fi Ittiba Sunnah Nabiyina Sayidina As-Sadat” (Arabic/Urdu)
2) “I’tiqad Al-Akabir fi Ijra As-Sifat ‘ala Zawahir” (Arabic)
3) “Al-Ba’ith Al-Hathith fi Fadl Ilmil Hadith wa Ahlihi Ad-Dahith” (Arabic)
4) “Zahrah Riyadh Al-Abrar” (Arabic/Urdu)
5) “I’lam Sunnan Al-Ghani fi Talkhis Ad-Dua’fa wal Matrukin min Kitab Abil Hasan Ad-Daraqutni” (Arabic)
6) “Ad-Daleel Al-Azhar fi Tahqeeq Ma’na Allahu Akbar” (Arabic)
7) “Al-Ghamghamah fi Suniyatil Tasmiyah Indal At’imah wa Ghayriha dunal Basmalah” (Arabic)
8) “Irsal Al-Bareed Li Qat’ Laghadeed Ahlil Taqleed wa Tardeed liman ‘Aza Ahlal Hadeeth ilal Qawl Al-Jadeed”
9) “Al-Ghamghamah ma’a Tarjmah Al-Jamjamah”
10) “Al-Fakihah Al-Fareedhah fi Jawaz Rafil Yaday ba’dal Fareedhah”
11) “Samsam Al-Muwahideen”
12) “Al-Insaf fi Anna ma Radahu Al-Ajburi Radan li Mazhab Al-Ahnaaf”
13) “Islah Al-Jarh Al-Mateen fi Tathleeth At-Tameen”
14) “Bue Ghuslayn iz Qatarat Ishreen”
15) “Naseem Riyaheen min Riyad Salihin Sharh Riyadh Salihin Imam Nawawi”
16) “Al-Khizi Al-Wajeel liman Sannafa Al-Jarh Al-Jameel”
17) “Al-‘Azab Al-Maheen li Qati Al-Wateen inda Rabbil Alameen Al-Muqalab bih Izhar Al-Haqq Al-Mubeen biRad Talbeesat Al-Muqalideen Ash-Saheer bih Fiqh Ahnaf ke Asrari Gar”
18) “Intiba An-Naaimeen bi Mujarad Wusul Rawaij Khurafat Al-Muqalideen”
19) “Nayl Al-Maram bi Izalatil Awham ‘an Asnan ma yudha min Baheematil An’am” (Tahqiq Al-Musinah)
20) “Ta’lim Ad-Deen Al-Ma’ruf bih Qawaneen Shar’ Muhammadi”
21) “Ihqaq Al-Haqq Al-Haqeeq”
22) “Tahzeer Al-Anam ‘an Wasawis mani’i Al-Qira’ah Khalfal Imam”
23) “Izhar Ainah Haqiqat”
24) “Al-Haqq As-Sahih As-Sareeh fi Masalah At-Taraweeh”
25) “Tams Al-‘Ayn fi Rad Dalail ‘adm Rafil Yadayn”
26) Dhaw Al-Masabih Hashiyah Mishkat Al-Masabih, which he wrote up to Kitab Al-Janaiz (Arabic)
27) Tarjmah Kitab Al-Qira’ah Imam Bayhaqi
28) Islami Kasoti (Gujrati)
29) Tamam Al-Khushu bi Idrak Ar-Ruku’
30) Al-Amr Ar-Rashad.

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi authored several books in both Urdu and Gujarati. Many of the works mentioned above, along with other unpublished books, have recently been compiled into three volumes under the title “Majmooah Rasail Allamah Abdul Jaleel Samrudi.” This compilation was done by Sheikh Mahmood bin Abdul Wahab bin Ahmad bin Mahmood bin Muhammad bin Hashim. Sheikh Mahmood’s grandfather, Ahmad, was the first cousin of Sheikh Abdul Jaleel, being the son of his paternal uncle, and also the grandson of Sheikh Muhammad bin Hashim.

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi’s “Dhaw Al-Masabih” (in Arabic) has been recently published in three volumes by Sheikh Abdur Rahman Feraway. The edition includes the scholarly work of Sheikh Abdul Wahab bin Mahmood bin Abdul Wahab bin Ahmad bin Mahmood bin Muhammad bin Hashim Samrudi Surti and Sheikh Ahrar Shareef.

Similarly, “Al-Ghamghamah” (in Arabic) has been recently published with the scholarly contributions of Sheikh Qasim bin Ahmad At-Talashi, a teacher at Madinah University, and is available through Daar al-Hadith in Delhi.

Contributions and Services of Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi

After completing his studies, Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi succeeded his grandfather, Allamah Muhammad bin Hashim, as the Khateeb. During his career, he engaged in numerous debates with Christian priests and various innovators. These debates led many of the extreme innovators in the Jambosar village of the Broch Gujrat region to embrace the Ahl-e-Hadith ideology. Additionally, Sheikh Abdul Jaleel debated prominent Brelwi scholars, including Chasmat Ali Brelwi, Sakandar Shah Mirathi, and, in 1946, scholars from the Rizwi family in Shish Gharh Brelly.

In addition to his teaching, Sheikh Abdul Jaleel established a madrasa and a library called “Maktabah Muhammadiyah Jaleeliyah.” This library houses rare manuscripts collected by Sheikh Muhammad bin Hashim Samrudi. Sheikh Abdul Jaleel was an avid collector of books and spent much of his time in the library, engaging in reading and research.

Scholarly and Academic Praises for Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi:

On April 6th, 1947, Sheikh Sanaullah Amritsari wrote a letter to Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi, inviting him and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Memon to Amritsar to resolve a scholarly dispute between Sheikh Sanaullah and Hafiz Abdullah Ropuri. This letter highlights the high regard Sheikh Sanaullah Amritsari held for Sheikh Abdul Jaleel, acknowledging his profound knowledge.
In a correspondence on a jurisprudential issue, Sheikh Abul Qasim Sayf Banarsi and Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi exchanged differing views. After receiving Sheikh Abdul Jaleel’s response, Sheikh Abul Qasim wrote to him some time later: “I have been searching for answers for a month and a half, and you replied in just a few days. My intellect is amazed at how you manage to gather such insights and present them so beautifully. This is a unique virtue of yours, which we are deprived of.”
On August 22nd, 1957, Sheikh Abdur Rauf Rehmani Jandhagarhi wrote in a letter to Sheikh Samrudi: “After Sayf Al-Banarsi, the pride of our Jama’at now rests solely on your courage. Where can we find a scholar of such profound knowledge, the Imam of our time?”
In the introduction to Sheikh Abdul Jaleel’s “Tahqiq Al-Musinah,” Sheikh Abdul Wahab Dehlwi remarked: “There are very few students like him.”
Sheikh Muqtada Hasan Al-Azhari, in his introduction to “Al-Ba’ith Al-Hatith” (p. 11), wrote: “Sheikh Samrudi was a person of great determination, precise in his work, and unbothered by those who opposed him in his research and verification. His vast knowledge and deep understanding of Hadith and Fiqh were what enabled him to achieve this.”
When Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi responded to some of Sheikh Marghoob Ahmad’s epistles on the practice of throwing stones during Hajj, citing ten books of Hadith and Fiqh, Sheikh Marghoob Ahmad wrote to him on January 23rd, 1957: “Dear Sheikh, your quick response, quoting from ten books, demonstrates your great knowledge of the Mazahib (jurisprudential schools of thought). May Allah increase you in faith, certainty, and jurisprudence.”
Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi studied various sciences, including Tafsir, Hadith, Jurisprudence, Arabic literature, grammar, and morphology, under the guidance of Sheikh Abdul Wahab Dehlwi, from whom he received Ijazah in Hadith. He also sought Ijazah in Hadith from Sheikh Sayid Muhammad Badrudin Dimashqi, a teacher at the Madrasah Daar Al-Hadith Nabawiyah in Damascus. Sheikh Badrudin was greatly impressed by Sheikh Samrudi’s knowledge and wrote in his Ijazah: “The noble Molana, the precise Sheikh, the Muhaqiq Al-Allamah Abu AbdulKabeer, known as Abdul Jaleel Samordi, may Allah continue his benefit to the people, Ameen.”

His Deep Respect for Scholars:

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi demonstrated immense respect for scholars and Imams. For example, he referred to Imam Abu Hanifah as “Imam Azam” (The Greatest Imam), Sheikh Abdul Hai Luknawi as “Allamah Lukhnawi,” Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan as “Nawab Walah Jah Bhopali,” Sheikh Sanaullah Amritsari as “Allamah Amritsari,” Sheikh Abdur Rauf Jandhagarhi as “Khateeb Al-Ullama,” Sheikh Abdul Aziz Memon as “Adeeb Al-Hind Allamah Abdul Aziz Memon,” and Sheikh Abdullah Ghaznawi as “Hazrat Molana Arif Billah Abdullah Ghaznawi.”

His Family:

Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi married his paternal cousin and had three sons and three daughters.

Death of Sheikh Abdul Jaleel Samrudi:

On September the 16th of 1972, he passed away from this world. A great loss to the ummah indeed!

Sources: “Gulistan e Hadith” of Sheikh Ishaq Bhatti and introduction of Sheikh Mahmood bin AbdulWahab to “Majmooah Rasail Allamah Abdul Jaleel Samrudi” and others.

[Taken from https://umm-ul-qura. org]

Click here to read about his book: “Al ghamghamah (الغمغمة)”