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All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and may God be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny.
All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty, the Creator of the earth, the universe and all life. There is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One and True God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, the first of creation and the most beloved of God the Exalted. And may God be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny, until the Day of Judgment, when the righteous will rejoice in meeting and seeing Allah in all His honor, splendor and beauty, while the corrupt will be deprived of this sight, and they will be in utter despair. “Verily, the friends of God, upon them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
This is an attempt to shed light on the life of one of the greatest spiritual, political Islamic leaders of the last century. His Holiness [hadhrat] Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi was the most popular successor [khalifa] of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelawi himself who is considered the one who gave new life to Islam in the last century [mujaddid].
Shah Abdul Aleem (1892 – 1954) acquired immense amounts of knowledge in the natural sciences, social sciences and of course especially in the religious fields during his short life. He spent most of his life traveling around the world to illuminate and spread knowledge about Islam. Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi founded schools and mosques, newspapers, magazines and other organizations that exist and still spread his message of love.
Shah Abdul Aleem’s youth
Hadhrat Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi was born in 1892 in the holy month of Ramadan in Mirath. Shortly after his birth, Hadhrat had already shown signs of being a particularly gifted child. He was born into a religious family with both his father and grandfather as spiritual masters. And despite his young age, he was early initiated into the Sufi order of his father.
Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem knew the entire Quran by heart at the age of 4 years and 10 months. He learned Urdu, Persian and Arabic from his father, and at the age of only 9 years he had become so eloquent that he delivered his first speech in the Jame Mosque in Mirath. The audience sat as if hypnotized for a full 90 minutes. His father passed away when he was 12 years old, he was a famous and distinguished scholar and also the teacher of his son. This was a difficult period for Shah Abdul Aleem, but he continued his studies with other scholars.
At the age of 16, he completed his theological education and continued his studies at the University of Mirath. There he studied science and jurisprudence. It was after this that Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem met A`la Hadhrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelawi who offered to become his mentor.
During his apprenticeship under A`la Hadhrat, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem acquired knowledge in Tasawwuf, Quranic sciences and Hadith. In Mecca and Medina, Hadhrat learned the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence from Sheikh Ahmad Al-Shams of Morocco, Sheikh As-Sunnua of Libya, and Maulana Abdul Baqi of Ferrangi Mahal in Medina, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Furthermore, Shah Abdul Aleem learned Arabic medicine from Hakim Qazi Inteshanuddin of Mirath, which he put to good use in his humanitarian work around the world later in his life. He also learned several languages, speaking Arabic, Urdu, Persian, English, French, Indonesian, Malay and Japanese fluently.
Spiritual heights
Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem’s spiritual journey began in earnest when he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in 1919. It was during this journey that Hadhrat combined the inner [Baatini] with the outer [Zahiri], Mecca being the zahiri worship of Allah, and Medina being the baatini.
It was the Prophet Muhammad himself, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, who spiritually commissioned Hadhrat to dedicate his life to the service of humanity. This happened when Hadhrat was at the holy grave of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.
Around the world to spread Islam
Shortly after this incident, his desire to spread the message of Islam became so intense that he decided to embark on a journey for this purpose. The message was the same message that all the prophets throughout history had brought with them: Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all.
Since the time of revelation is over, according to Islamic tradition, it is the scholars who are the heirs of the prophets. That is, it is now the scholars who have the primary responsibility of spreading the good news. Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi took this responsibility very seriously, and he began to travel around to meet people who had not had the opportunity to meet enlightened scholars.
Hadhrat wanted to show the light [noor] he had received from Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and in that way teach people about Islam. This was how Islam had spread around the world 1400 years ago when the disciples of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, traveled around the world and as a result people converted to Islam in droves. They saw the noor of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in him, and recognized the truth in him.
This was the beginning of a worldwide journey that lasted continuously for 40 years. Hadhrat visited, among others, America, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Trinidad, the Philippines, Iraq, Thailand, countries in Europe such as England, the Netherlands, France and a number of other countries.
Hadhrat Shadh Abdul Aleem also founded a number of newspapers and Islamic magazines, such as “The Muslim Digest” in South Africa, “Trinidad Muslim Annual” and “Pakistani News”.
In 1930, Hadhrat visited Singapore and succeeded in establishing a missionary society called the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society. And later, after meetings with the Singaporean authorities, Hadhrat founded an organization for inter-religious dialogue in Singapore called the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO). The IRO eventually played a pivotal role in bringing peace to the country.
Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem met a number of prominent figures of the time in the West and had lengthy discussions with them about Islam. For example, Hadhrat met the Irish playwright, philosopher, socialist and Nobel laureate George Bernard Shaw in 1935 who was greatly impressed by Hadhrat. Several others also became Muslims as a result of their meeting with Hadhrat, including the famous thinker Maria Levinskya and her husband the nuclear physicist Dr. Antonoff.
In 1938, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem founded the very first mosque in Canada. The mosque is called Al-Rashid Mosque and is located in Edmonton. Hadhrat also founded the Hanafi Mosque in Colombo, the Sultaan Mosque in Singapore and the Naagarya Mosque in Japan. And in recognition of his work, the Abdul Aleem Siddiqi Mosque was established in 1954.
As mentioned earlier, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi was fluent in several languages and he also wrote in several languages. He was also a great poet, orator and scholar. The following is a selection from the collection of books and journals left behind by Hadhrat. The titles are in their original languages:
1. History of The Codification of Islamic Law Cultivation Of Science By Muslims
2. Bahare Shabab For Youth
3. A Short Catechism Of Islam
4. Meeting Between A Shavian And A Theologian
5. The Universal Teacher
6. The Universal Religion
7. The Islamic Ideal
8. Quest For True Happiness
9. The Meaning Of Worship
10. Women And Their Status In Islam
11. The Forgotten Path Of Knowledge
12. Islam’s Answer To The Challenge Of Communism
13. Kitabbut Tassawuf ( Urdu)
14. Zikre Habeeb
The passing of the Hadhrat
Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi passed away at the age of 63 in the holy city of Medina. Thousands had by then accepted Islam as their religion and way of life through the guidance of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem. After visiting the grave of the Messenger of God Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for the last time, he died in 1954. His saint is buried in the world’s most blessed cemetery, Jannat-ul-Ba’qi in Medina, which is just a stone’s throw away from the holy grave of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, all his followers, all scholars and especially Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aleem Siddiqi.
You can read more about him here:
