The legendary work of Prof. Dhiyaurrahman Azmi in the field of hadith will include it at the same level as the classical scholars.
Today, we hear a lot of stories of people returning to their nature, embracing Islam. We should be grateful for this. But there are only a few people who come from the darkness of their ancestral religion after accepting the light of Islam succeeding in bringing tremendous influence and contribution to the progress of Islamic knowledge. If we see the great legacy left by converts such as Muhammad Asad, Maryam Jamilah, Dr. Maurice Bucaille, Muhammad Pickthall, Michael Wolfe, and Pamela Taylor, their achievements were truly amazing. At present, there are extraordinary figures who might surpass their predecessors. He is Prof. Muhammad Dhiya ur-Rahman Azmi. He contributed greatly to the study of the science of hadith. An achievement that is worth remembering and a part of the history of Islamic civilization.
Islam Does Not Know the Social Caste
Muhammad Dhiya ur-Rahman Azmi used to be called Banke Laal. Born in 1943 in a Hindu family in the village of Bilarya Ganj. A village located in Azamgarh District, India. When he converted to Islam he was 18 years old. The concept of equality and justice offered by Islam impressed him. According to him, this is a feature and humanism that only exists in Islam. This reason also caused many people in the Indian subcontinent to embrace Islam. They want to escape the caste boundaries. And get the freedom to act in accordance with their ideals and desires.
In India there are several organizations that facilitate conversion. The activity of this organization is known as Ghar Wapsi. An activity facilitated by Hindu Indian organizations to facilitate the conversion of a non-Hindu to Hindu religion. In Indian Islamic society, no such activity is found. There were no donations or material assistance obtained for those who had just embraced Islam. On the bright side, someone who embraces Islam truly welcomes God’s commands and is born of sincere intentions. If you want to be a Muslim, the thing you have to do is understand the essential message of Islam itself.
Shunned the Family and Migrated to Explore Islam
After embracing Islam, both his parents and close family boycotted Sheikh Muhammad Dhiyaurrahman Azmi. He also moved to Pakistan to study religion. He studied religion in Madrasas that worked with Jamiah Islamiyah. Then continued his undergraduate studies at the Islamic University of Medina (Jamiah Islamiyah Madinah), Saudi Arabia. In this place, he became the first graduate ever Hindu.
Not only at the undergraduate level, Syaikh Dhiyaurrahman continued his post-graduate studies (S2) to King Abdul Aziz University in Mecca, which became known as Ummul Qura University. He received his doctorate from al-Azhar University, Cairo.
His expertise in the field of hadith is something that is recognized by the public. The Islamic University of Medina acknowledged it by appointing him as a professor (professor) at the campus Hadith Faculty. Even the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia itself rewarded the citizenship of Saudi Arabia as a form of gratitude for the contribution he made in the study of the science of hadith.
Syaikh Dhiyaurrahman does not limit his activities only in the academic field. He also actively takes part in the administrative field. Like joining the World Muslim League (Muslim World League) in Mecca. And also became the dean of the Faculty of Hadith of the Islamic University of Medina until retirement. After retiring, he was appointed as a lecturer at the Nabawi Mosque by the Department of Affairs of the Nabawi Mosque in 2013.
Contribution to Islamic Civilization
Many papers have been made by Professor Dhiyaurrahman Azmi. He wrote dozens of books on various important topics in Islam. But the most special is its monumental work in the form of an hadith encyclopedia. He gave the title of his work with al-Jami ‘al-Kamil fi al-Hadits ash-Shahih ash-Shamil. This special work is a collection of authentic hadiths scattered in various classical books.
The book al-Jami ‘al-Kamil fi al-Hadith ash-Shahih ash-Shamil consists of 20 volumes more thick books. Which contains about 16,000 Hadiths. Contains various problems: aqeedah, law, worship, biography of the Prophet, fiqh, interpretation of the Koran, and much more. People will remember Shaykh Prof. Muhammad Dhiyaurrahman Azmi and thank him for his efforts to examine the hadith. Gather it so that it is easy to learn and read for the hadith lovers of the Prophet sallallaahu aih alaihi wa sallam. This effort was proof of how he emulated the efforts of Imam al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Turmudzi, an-Nasai, and Imam Malik in researching and collecting hadith.
Another legendary work which is the sincerity of Prof. Azmi is the “Encyclopedia of the Qur’an Glorious” in Hindi. Muslims have been in power for around 800 years in India, unfortunately not many books are available in their native language that explain the meaning of the Koran. Enlighten the values of humanity preached by the Qur’an.
Unique encyclopedia written by Prof. Azmi, explores more than 600 topics of discussion. This book is the first book (pioneer) written about this theme in Hindi. In a very short time, this book has been printed eight times in India. Because of the good response of the people to this book, the Urdu and Indian editions were immediately printed. That said, this book is one of the best books in the study of the Koran. The discussion is sorted by alphabetical order. It also contains photos and maps of famous places.
His research in taking education is also an interesting research. The Master’s thesis is entitled Abu Hurairah fi Dhau-i Marwiyatihi: Dirasatun Muqaranatun fi Miati Haditsin min Marwiyatihi is a form of defense against the Prophet’s best friend, Abu Hurairah radhiallahu ‘anhu. He denied the allegations made by some who questioned the authenticity of the hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah. While his dissertation was a study of the book Aqdhiyatu the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
In his book From Ganga to Zamzam in Urdu, Prof. Azmi told his Islamic story and the many difficulties he had to face. Of course this book is also interesting to read. Then his special work on comparative studies of religion, Dirasat al-Jewsyah wa al-Masihiyah wa al-Adyan al-Hind also received high appreciation. This book is used as a reference for higher level learning material at universities in Saudi Arabia. At present, Prof. Azmi was involved in the project to write a comparative study of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism which will soon be published as well.
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No one thought, a boy who was born in a Hindu family later became a hadith teacher at the Islamic University of Medina and a teacher at the Nabawi Mosque. Professor Azmi is a special person. His life journey taught us that life is like a spinning wheel. Someone can be in the lower round facing difficulties. Then at the top enjoy success. One must try to complete the round of difficulties he faced until he succeeded in proving to the world – with Allah’s permission -, he was able to contribute to civilization.
Simplicity has an important role in character building. Because simplicity is able to hold a person to do things that he should not do. Simplicity also becomes a shield that prevents arrogance. Simplicity is the key to godliness and good deeds. Simplicity, manners, and humility were visible in his figure.
Prof. Azmi is a figure that makes us remember the truth of the words of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam,
الناس معادن كمعادن الذهب والفضة خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا والأرواح جنود مجندة فما تعارف منها ائتلف وما تناكر منها اختلف
“Humans are like valuable mining items such as gold and silver mines. A person who is noble in times of ignorance, will also be a noble person in Islam if he understands religion. The spirit is like a troop that is gathered, it will unite if it is harmonious and will be disputed if it is not in harmony (Muslim).
Muchammad Thohir 