Anwar Shah Kashmiri (1875-1933) was a Kashmiri Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal of Madrasa Aminia and the fourth principal of the Darul Uloom Deoband. He was born in Lolab, Kashmir, on 16 November 1875, into a Sayyid family. He began his studies at a young age, and by the time he was 16, he had mastered the Quran and some basic Arabic and Persian texts.
In 1889, he moved to Deoband to study at the Darul Uloom. He studied under some of the leading scholars of the time, including Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
After graduating from Deoband, Anwar Shah Kashmiri taught at various madrasas in India, including Madrasa Aminia in Delhi. In 1903, he returned to Lolab and established his own madrasa, Faiz e Aam. He also served as the fourth principal of the Darul Uloom Deoband from 1913 to 1917.
Anwar Shah Kashmiri was a prolific scholar, and he authored over 100 books and treatises on a variety of Islamic subjects, including Hadith, fiqh, tasawwuf, and history. He was also known to be a gifted poet, and he wrote several masnavis and qasidas.
Here are some of his most notable works:
- Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (A commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari)
- Tuhfat al-Mufti (A compendium of fiqh)
- Risala fi Aqaid al-Islam (A treatise on Islamic creed)
- Irshad al-Awam ila Masalik al-Haqq (A guide for the common people to the paths of truth)
- Diwan-e Anwar Shah Kashmiri (A collection of his poetry)
Anwar Shah Kashmiri passed away in Deoband on 28 May 1933. He was buried in the Darul Uloom cemetery there.
In Srinagar, there is also a large habitation named after him in Hyderpora area.
