Kifayatullah Dihlawi

Kifayatullah Dihlawi (also known as Mufti Kifayatullah; c. 1875 - c. 31 December 1952), was an Indian Islamic scholar and a Hanafi jurist, who served as the first president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, and the second rector of the Madrasa Aminia. He was regarded as the Grand Mufti of India. He was a founding member of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and was on its foundation committee.

Quotes

• Mufti Kifayatullah was the mufti of Delhi, he was in fact often addressed as the Mufti-i-Azam, the Grand Mufti. His mastery of the Hadis literature was said to be unequalled. Born in 1875, he lived till 1952. He was devoted to Tabligh work. He founded the Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind, and remained its president from 1919 to 1942. He participated vigorously in the Khilafat and Civil Disobedience movements, and was twice imprisoned during the latter. He became a member of the Congress Working Committee in 1930. As the demand for Pakistan gathered momentum, he was one of its principal opponents among the Muslim ulema. In a word, a nationalist among the ulema. Quite apart from that, he was an astute, one is tempted to say a judicious man. Often his formulations are a pleasure to read—he doesn’t give a black or white answer; often he clears a path in between the contending positions. Often his advice is sagacious.
  • Arun Shourie - The World of Fatwas Or The Sharia in Action (2012, Harper Collins)