Completion of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & A Historic Visit to the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ
"People consider me merely a Maʿqūlī (scholar of the rational sciences). Let them come to me and study jurisprudence, legal theory, as well as subjects like exegesis (and ḥadīth), and then judge whether I am merely a Maʿqūlī." ʿAllāmah ʿAtā Muḥammad Bandiyālwī
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī, a distinguished inheritor and proponent of the Nizāmī and Wali-Allah traditions stands as a living embodiment of these illustrious schools, dedicating a total of 63 years to teaching both the rational and transmitted sciences.
Upon completion of yet another academic year at his institute, now regarded as an advanced finishing school for already trained scholars, the Shaykh visited the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex in Samarqand, Uzbekistan, to pay his respects to Imām al-Bukhārī after successfully completing another rigorous, cover-to-cover study of his magnum opus, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī during his visit to Uzbekistan
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī’s Teaching Schedule
His teaching schedule is unique. He offers alternating year-long programmes. One year focuses on delivering a masterclass on the Ma'qūlāt and Funūn (advanced rational sciences & specialisations) for already trained scholars. The other year features a rigorous study of Ḥadīth, encompassing the six canonical collections and additional important Ḥadīth works.
For a number of years now, the Shaykh's personal curriculum has focused on advanced texts only. While the Shaykh himself no longer teaches texts below the level of Sharh Risālah Shamsīyyah (Qutbī) with a gloss by Mīr Sayyid, they are still offered to students by other instructors at his Institute in KPK. [1]
Successful Completion of the 2024/25 Dawrah Ḥadīth Programme & Planned Visit to the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex in Samarqand
This past year marked the successful completion of yet another rigorous Dawrah Ḥadīth programme. However, this year was unique. The Shaykh chose to travel to Uzbekistan for the first time, concluding the final Ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, along with its detailed commentary, at the grave of ʿĀmir al-Muʾminīn fi’l-Ḥadīth (Leader of the Faithful in Ḥadīth), Imām Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī.
Since 2021, renovation work has been ongoing at the Imam Bukhari Memorial Complex in Samarkand. [2] The project includes expanding the mausoleum to 600 square meters, increasing its height to 28 metres, and constructing a mosque with a capacity of 10,000 worshippers. [3] The complex is expected to reopen later this year.
However, this meant that the complex was closed to the public. Officials of the Pakistani government informed the Uzbekistani Ambassador to Pakistan of this pious intention, ensuring that preparations were made for the Shaykh and his students to sit beside the grave of Imām al-Bukhārī, completing yet another study of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Shaykh Fazl-i Subḥān once remarked that he has always been blessed to complete the entire teaching of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī within the academic year, and this, by Allah’s will, is undoubtedly due to the benevolent gaze of Imām al-Bukhārī himself.
Left: The original mausoleum of Imām al-Bukhārī before renovation. Right: The ongoing renovation of the mausoleum. Below: The planned extension and final design of the entire Imām al-Bukhārī Complex.
Permission to enter the complex was successfully granted, and despite it being an active construction site, arrangements were made for the Shaykh to be escorted, along with his students, to the chamber beneath the mausoleum that houses the actual grave of Imām al-Bukhārī.
Imām al-Bukhārī’s Burial in Khartang (Present-Day Samarkand)
According to historians, Imām al-Bukhārī was unjustly exiled from his hometown of Bukhara due to his unwavering commitment to the sanctity of Ḥadīth and knowledge. He refused to allow it to be dishonoured, even if it meant standing in opposition to the rulers of his time. [4]
When Imam al-Bukhārī was leaving the city of Bukhārā, Ibrāhīm al-Nasafī asked him, "O Abū 'Abd Allah, how do you compare this day to the one when dirhams and dīnārs were showered on you in this very city (of Bukhara, upon your return here)?" Imām al-Bukhārī replied, "I have no remorse for being exiled so long as my Dīn is safe." [5]
When the people of Samarqand heard about his exile from Bukhārā, they invited him to reside with them, and so, he left for Samarqand. When he reached the village of Khartang, close to Samarqand, he was given the news that the people of Samarqand have differing views about him; some wanted him to reside with them whilst others opposed him.
'Abd al-Quddūs al-Samarqandī said: One particular night, I heard that he made the following Duʿāʾ after offering the tahajjud prayer: "O Allah! This land has become too narrow for me now; call me unto You." A few days later, on 1st Shawwal 256 AH, during the night of 'Id al-Fitr, Imam al-Bukhārī passed away. He was buried in Khartang after zuhr prayer on the day of 'Id al-Fitr. [6]
The actual, unadorned grave of Imām al-Bukhārī during the ongoing renovation project. This area is currently strictly off-limits to the public.
After he was buried in Khartang, a fragrance continued to emit from his grave for many days. Many people turned up to witness this miracle and they took away some soil from his grave for blessings.
Some of those who were in conflict with Imām al-Bukhārī also witnessed this miracle, they repented and expressed remorse for opposing him. [7]
Visit to the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex
On the morning of 3 February 2025, the Shaykh arrived at the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex and was escorted to the blessed chamber housing the grave of Imām al-Bukhārī. There, he recited the final Ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and delivered a commentary on it.
Mubashir Iqbal, founder of Khairabadi Institute, along with Hassan Qadiri, accompanying Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī and other devotees to the resting chamber of Imām al-Bukhārī at the Imām al-Bukhārī Complex in Samarqand, Uzbekistan.
One of the defining features of scholars from the classical Niẓāmī tradition is their ability to integrate various Islamic sciences when interpreting verses of the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth. In this spirit, the Shaykh engaged in a discourse on Kalām, refuting the doctrines of the Muʿtazilah and addressing erroneous theological positions—drawing these insights solely from Imām al-Bukhārī’s chapter heading for the final Ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
ʿAllāmah ʿAtā Muḥammad Bandiyālwī, the teacher of Shaykh al-Ḥadīth, is reported to have said:
"People consider me merely a Maʿqūlī (scholar of the rational sciences). Let them come to me and study jurisprudence, legal theory, as well as subjects like exegesis (and ḥadīth), and then judge whether I am merely a Maʿqūlī."[8]
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī delivering the final ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī inside the chamber housing the grave of Imām al-Bukhārī.
Those moments in the company of a Shaykh al-Ḥadīth, who has been teaching Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī for 60 years, at the graveside of the Imām al-Muḥaddithīn, will be cherished for a lifetime. The serenity felt in those moments cannot be fully captured in words, but what can be said is that it was nothing less than the meeting of a lover with his beloved.
A total of 73 students from both Europe and the subcontinent were honoured to receive ijāzah in the six canonical Ḥadīth collections and the two Muwaṭṭas.
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī paying his respects to Imām al-Bukhārī.
A Synthesis of the Wali-Allah and Khairabadi Traditions
During the twelfth to thirteenth century two families emerged as preeminent for their knowledge, social standing, and substantial contributions to the subcontinental Muslim community: the family of Shāh Walī-Allah and the family of ʻAllāmah Fazl-i Imām Khairabādī (father of ʼImām Fazl-i Ḥaq) a preeminent inheritor of the prestigious Farangī Maḥall.
Remarkably, these two influential lineages (the families of Shah Walī-Allah & ʻAllāmah Fazl-i Imām) share a common ancestral origin. Both families are direct descendants of the two brothers, Bahāuddīn and Shamsuddīn, who trace their ancestry back to the second Caliph, Ḥz. ʻUmar b. Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him). [9] Shāh Walī-Allah is a direct descendant of Ḥz. Shamsuddīn, while ʻAllāmah Fazl-i Imām Khairabādī is a direct descendant of Ḥz. Bahauddin. [10]
Mutual respect characterised the relationship between the two families. A further convergence occurred when ʼImām Fazl-i Ḥaq Khairabadi, son of Fazl-i Imām, became a disciple of Shāh ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz & Shāh ʻAbd al-Qādir Muhaddith Delhawī, both sons of Shāh Walī-Allah. Considering these families as a unified lineage, Imām Fazl-i Ḥaq emerges as a preeminent figure embodying the combined intellectual and spiritual traditions of both.
Shāh Walī-Allah Dehlawī to Shaykh Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī
Shāh Walī-Allah Dehlawī, head of one of these major scholarly families is a widely celebrated figure from the Indian subcontinent, whose scholarly importance especially in the service of Ḥadith is recognised globally. Those unfamiliar with the region recognise the exceptional scholarship of the late Mughal period through their familiarity with Shāh Walī-Allah Dehlawī. This recognition itself serves as a testament to his greatness.
Nearly all chains of transmission in the six canonical Ḥadīth collections within the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to Shāh Walī-Allāh al-Dihlawī.
Shaykh Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī stands today as one of the foremost representatives of the culmination of both these traditions in the subcontinent—the Farangī Maḥall through the Khairabādī tradition and the Shāh Walī-Allāh tradition.
Between Shaykh Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī and Shāh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Muḥaddith Dehlawī, the son of Shāh Walī-Allāh, there are only four teachers of Ḥadīth.
Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī paying his respects to Imām al-Bukhārī, accompanied by his students and devotees.
Shāh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz also played a pivotal role in the preservation and dissemination of Ḥadīth in the subcontinent, with many of its major scholars coming under his tutelage. Among them were Imām Fazl-i Ḥaq Khairabādī, Shāh Fazl-i Raḥmān Ganj-Murādābādī, and particularly Shāh Āl-i Rasūl Mahārāwī, through whom one of Shaykh Fazl-i Subḥān al-Qādirī’s chains of transmission in Ḥadīth is transmitted.
Cherished moments with Shaykh al-Ḥadīth beside the blessed grave of Imām al-Bukhārī.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the students from both Europe and the subcontinent who graduated this year. May Allah grant Shaykh al-Ḥadīth a long and healthy life, allowing him to continue planting the seeds of knowledge for the generations to come. Āmīn.
For more details on the style of study within the Bandiyālwī-Khairābādī-Niẓāmī Tradition, join our free session, where we delve into the intricacies of this esteemed scholarly heritage. Register here.
[1] A Biography of Mufti Fazl-i-Subhan al-Qadiri: https://www.khairabadiinstitute.com/articles/short-biography-of-mufti-fazl-i-subhan-al-qadiri
[2] https://www.ent-en.com/en/page/publication/366
[3] https://kun.uz/en/news/2024/08/26/shavkat-mirziyoyev-visits-imam-bukharis-mausoleum-in-samarkand
[4] Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ
[5] Ibid
[6] Tārīkh Baghdād
[7] Ibid
[8] Zikr-i ʿAṭā fī Ḥayāt Ustād al-ʿUlamāʾ ʿAṭā Muḥammad Bandiyālwī
[9] Bāgī-i Hindustan
[10] Khairabādiyāt
